I, 142. Apri Hymn
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"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 153
Ma\"N"D"Ala I, Hymn 142.
Ash\"T"Aka Ii, Adhyya 2, Varga 10-11.
Pr 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 Tannapt 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 Nar"s"a"m"sa 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 "Ri"ta, 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 "Ri"ta, sit down together on the sacrificial grass 3.
8. May the two divine Hot"ri"s, 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, Hotr Bhrat 2, I"l", Sarasvat, and Mah 3: may these worshipful (goddesses) sit down on the sacrificial grass.
10. May Tvash"t"ri", 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 Pshan and by the Maruts, by the Vi"s"ve dev"h", (by) Vyu 1, who is moved by the Gyatra song, for Indra pronounce the Svh over the offering.
13. Come hither to the offerings over which the Svh has been pronounced, in order to feast. Indra! Come hither! Hear our call! Thee they call at the worship.
Notes.
The hymn is an prskta. The same "Ri"shi. Metre, Anush"t"ubh. 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 Pda 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 "li"t"h"; comp. the note on I, 1, 1. The verse is addressed to the I"d"a"h".
Note 2. The text has "k"kh"a va"k"yte. To me there seems to be no doubt that this is the passive of va"k", not of va"k". Comp. the name of the priest a"k"kh"vka, and the phrase "k"kh"oktibhi"h" matnm, I, 61, 3; 184, 2. The same passive of va"k" is found Iii, 39, 1. mat"h" hrid"h" va"k"ymn (then follows "k"kh"a "g"igti); X, 47, 7 (stm"h") mnas va"k"ymn"h".--It may be observed that in our passage as well as in Iii, 39, 1 and X, 47, 7, the forms va"k"yte, va"k"ymn, va"k"ymn"h" are preceded by a vowel; and we may infer that the poet did not say u"k"yte, &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 Beitrge, XX, 60) tries to explain the difficulty in a way in which I cannot follow him.
Note 2. On the verb v"ri"g" technically connected with barh"h", 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 p"s"a"h" means 'Gestalt, Form, Farbe, rpa,' does not convince me.
Note 2. See Geldner, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, Xxviii, 195.
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Note 3. Comp. Viii, 87, 4. barh"h" sdatam sumt. Geldner (Vedische Studien, Ii, 190) translates: 'das schne Opfergras.'
Verse 9.
Note 1. 'Should we read mrteshu for martsu?' M. M. This conjecture seems perhaps rather bold.
Note 2. Hotr Bhrat, i. e. the personified Offering of the Bharatas, seems to be one goddess, more usually called simply Bhrat. Comp. I, 22, 10; Ii, 1, 11; Iii, 62, 3; Bergaigne, Religion Vdique, 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 Nbhnedish"th"a.
Note 2. For pur vram very probably puruvram should be read (Grassmann). See Ii, 40, 4. puruvram rys psham v syatm nbhim asm.
Note 3. With the last Pda compare Ii, 40, 4, quoted in note 2, and Ii, 3, 9. pra"g"m Tvsh"t" v syatu nbhim asm; see also Taittirya Sa"m"hit Iv, I, 8, 3. Tvash"t"ri" 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 Vyu,' not 'for (the god) accompanied by Vyu.' But there is no doubt that psha"n"vte, &c., refers to Indra, and that Vyu is named merely as a companion of Indra.
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 153
Ma\"N"D"Ala I, Hymn 142.
Ash\"T"Aka Ii, Adhyya 2, Varga 10-11.
Pr 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 Tannapt 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 Nar"s"a"m"sa 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 "Ri"ta, 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 "Ri"ta, sit down together on the sacrificial grass 3.
8. May the two divine Hot"ri"s, eager in praising (the gods), the sages with lovely tongues, perform
p. 154
for us to-day this successful sacrifice which attains to Heaven.
9. The brilliant (goddess) placed among the gods, among the Maruts 1, Hotr Bhrat 2, I"l", Sarasvat, and Mah 3: may these worshipful (goddesses) sit down on the sacrificial grass.
10. May Tvash"t"ri", 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 Pshan and by the Maruts, by the Vi"s"ve dev"h", (by) Vyu 1, who is moved by the Gyatra song, for Indra pronounce the Svh over the offering.
13. Come hither to the offerings over which the Svh has been pronounced, in order to feast. Indra! Come hither! Hear our call! Thee they call at the worship.
Notes.
The hymn is an prskta. The same "Ri"shi. Metre, Anush"t"ubh. 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 Pda 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 "li"t"h"; comp. the note on I, 1, 1. The verse is addressed to the I"d"a"h".
Note 2. The text has "k"kh"a va"k"yte. To me there seems to be no doubt that this is the passive of va"k", not of va"k". Comp. the name of the priest a"k"kh"vka, and the phrase "k"kh"oktibhi"h" matnm, I, 61, 3; 184, 2. The same passive of va"k" is found Iii, 39, 1. mat"h" hrid"h" va"k"ymn (then follows "k"kh"a "g"igti); X, 47, 7 (stm"h") mnas va"k"ymn"h".--It may be observed that in our passage as well as in Iii, 39, 1 and X, 47, 7, the forms va"k"yte, va"k"ymn, va"k"ymn"h" are preceded by a vowel; and we may infer that the poet did not say u"k"yte, &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 Beitrge, XX, 60) tries to explain the difficulty in a way in which I cannot follow him.
Note 2. On the verb v"ri"g" technically connected with barh"h", 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 p"s"a"h" means 'Gestalt, Form, Farbe, rpa,' does not convince me.
Note 2. See Geldner, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, Xxviii, 195.
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Note 3. Comp. Viii, 87, 4. barh"h" sdatam sumt. Geldner (Vedische Studien, Ii, 190) translates: 'das schne Opfergras.'
Verse 9.
Note 1. 'Should we read mrteshu for martsu?' M. M. This conjecture seems perhaps rather bold.
Note 2. Hotr Bhrat, i. e. the personified Offering of the Bharatas, seems to be one goddess, more usually called simply Bhrat. Comp. I, 22, 10; Ii, 1, 11; Iii, 62, 3; Bergaigne, Religion Vdique, 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 Nbhnedish"th"a.
Note 2. For pur vram very probably puruvram should be read (Grassmann). See Ii, 40, 4. puruvram rys psham v syatm nbhim asm.
Note 3. With the last Pda compare Ii, 40, 4, quoted in note 2, and Ii, 3, 9. pra"g"m Tvsh"t" v syatu nbhim asm; see also Taittirya Sa"m"hit Iv, I, 8, 3. Tvash"t"ri" 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 Vyu,' not 'for (the god) accompanied by Vyu.' But there is no doubt that psha"n"vte, &c., refers to Indra, and that Vyu is named merely as a companion of Indra.
