I, 142. Âprî Hymn

Vedic Hymns, Part II (SBE46), by Hermann Oldenberg [1897], at sacred-texts.com

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MANDALA I, HYMN 142.

ASHTAKA II, ADHYÂYA 2, VARGA 10–11.

ÂPRÎ HYMN.

1. Being inflamed, Agni, bring hither to-day the gods to the man who holds forth the (sacrificial) ladle. Spin out the ancient thread (of sacrifice) 1 for the sacrificer who has prepared Soma.

2. Measure out, O Tanûnapât 1, the sacrifice rich in ghee, rich in honey, of a priest like me, of a sacrificer who has toiled hard.

3. The brilliant, purifying, wonderful Narâsamsa 1 mixes the sacrifice with honey three times a day, the god worthy of worship among the gods.

4. Agni, magnified 1 by us, bring hither the bright, beloved Indra. For this my prayer is addressed 2 to thee whose tongue is good.

5. (Priests) hold forth the (sacrificial) ladle, strewing the sacrificial grass at the decorous service of the sacrifice;—I 1 trim 2 (the sacrificial grass) which best receives the gods with its wide extent, a big shelter for Indra.

6 1. May the divine doors open themselves, the increasers of Rita, the never sticking, large ones, the purifying, much-desired (doors), that the gods may come forth.

7. May Night and Dawn, of glorious appearance, the two neighbouring (goddesses), wearing beautiful ornaments 1, the young 2 mothers of Rita, sit down together on the sacrificial grass 3.

8. May the two divine Hotris, eager in praising (the gods), the sages with lovely tongues, perform

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for us to-day this successful sacrifice which attains to Heaven.

9. The brilliant (goddess) placed among the gods, among the Maruts 1, Hotrâ Bhâratî 2, Ilâ, Sarasvatî, and Mahî 3: may these worshipful (goddesses) sit down on the sacrificial grass.

10. May Tvashtri, inclined towards us, pour forth for us, in our navel 1, that wonderful seed with many treasures 2, plentiful by itself, for the sake of prosperity and wealth 3.

11. Letting go (the sacrificial food to the gods) sacrifice by thyself to the gods, O tree 1. May 2 Agni make the offerings ready 3, the god among the gods, the wise one.

12. For Him who is accompanied by Pûshan and by the Maruts, by the Visve devâh, (by) Vâyu 1, who is moved by the Gâyatra song, for Indra pronounce the Svâhâ over the offering.

13. Come hither to the offerings over which the Svâhâ has been pronounced, in order to feast. Indra! Come hither! Hear our call! Thee they call at the worship.

NOTES.

The hymn is an Âprîsûkta. The same Rishi. Metre, Anushtubh. The whole hymn is closely related to I, 13.—Verse 10: cf. VS. XXVII, 20; TS. IV, 1, 8, 3; MS. II, 12, 6.

Verse 1.

Note 1. The third Pâda of this verse is identical with VIII, 13, 14.

Verse 2.

Note 1. Comp. I, 13, 2, note 1.

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Verse 3.

Note 1. Comp. I, 13, 2, note 1.

Verse 4.

Note 1. 'Magnified' is îlitáh; comp. the note on I, 1, 1. The verse is addressed to the Idah.

Note 2. The text has ákkha … vakyáte. To me there seems to be no doubt that this is the passive of vak, not of vañk. Comp. the name of the priest akkhâvâka, and the phrase ákkhoktibhih matînâ´m, I, 61, 3; 184, 2. The same passive of vak is found III, 39, 1. matíh hridáh â´ vakyámânâ (then follows ákkha … gigâti); X, 47, 7 (stómâh) … mánasâ vakyámânâh.—It may be observed that in our passage as well as in III, 39, 1 and X, 47, 7, the forms vakyáte, vakyámânâ, vakyámânâh are preceded by a vowel; and we may infer that the poet did not say ukyáte, &c., in order to avoid the hiatus.

Verse 5.

Note 1. The poet begins as if he intended to say, 'Priests … lay down the sacrificial grass.' But he continues, I lay down.' Dr. Neisser (Bezzenberger's Beiträge, XX, 60) tries to explain the difficulty in a way in which I cannot follow him.

Note 2. On the verb vrig technically connected with barhíh, see Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, 152 seq., and compare vol. xxxii, I, 38, 1, note 2; I, 64, 1, note 2.

Verse 6.

Note 1. With the whole verse compare I, 13, 6.

Verse 7.

Note 1. Pischel's opinion (Vedische Studien, II, 113 seq.) that pésah means 'Gestalt,' 'Form,' 'Farbe,' 'rûpa,' does not convince me.

Note 2. See Geldner, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXVIII, 195.

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Note 3. Comp. VIII, 87, 4. â´ barhíh sîdatam sumát. Geldner (Vedische Studien, II, 190) translates: 'das schöne Opfergras.'

Verse 9.

Note 1. 'Should we read márteshu for marútsu?' M. M. This conjecture seems perhaps rather bold.

Note 2. Hotrâ Bhâratî, i. e. the personified Offering of the Bharatas, seems to be one goddess, more usually called simply Bhâratî. Comp. I, 22, 10; II, 1, 11; III, 62, 3; Bergaigne, Religion Védique, I, 322; H. O., Religion des Veda, 243, note 2. Pischel's opinion (Vedische Studien, II, 85) is different.

Note 3. See above, I, 13, 9, note 1.

Verse 10.

Note 1. On the navel as the symbol of the connection between father and son, see Bergaigne, I, 35, 36, and comp. the well-known name Nâbhânedishtha.

Note 2. For purú vâ´ram very probably puruvâ´ram should be read (Grassmann). See II, 40, 4. puruvâ´ram … râyás pósham ví syatâm nâ´bhim asmé.

Note 3. With the last Pâda compare II, 40, 4, quoted in note 2, and II, 3, 9. pragâ´m Tváshtâ ví syatu nâ´bhim asmé; see also Taittirîya Samhitâ IV, I, 8, 3. Tvashtri is generally considered as giving sons; see H. O., Religion des Veda, 234.

Verse 11.

Note 1. Comp. I, 13, 11, note 1.

Note 2. The second hemistich recurs I, 105, 14.

Note 3. See Neisser, Zur Vedischen Verballehre, 22.

Verse 12.

Note 1. The text has 'for Vâyu,' not 'for (the god) accompanied by Vâyu.' But there is no doubt that pûshanváte, &c., refers to Indra, and that Vâyu is named merely as a companion of Indra.