Gopatha Brahmana

UNIVERSITY

OF

TORONTO

LIBRARY

WILLIAM

H.

DONNER

COLLECTION

purchased from a_giftby

THE DONNER

CANADIAN

^s

/

/

BIBLIOTIIECA

INBICA

:

A

I'lON

4

iK

1 _1]; I

K.NTA

I.

\VORKS

PUBLISHED BY

THE

J

ASIATIC SOCIETY

OF

liK.\<;.\L.

INK

CJOI'ATHA IM.VVIIMANA

Of

TIM' \TIJ \i;\ \ YKI'A

nn:

_dftlGINAl

SANSKfilT.

BDITI-I.

i;A -iI.NIHI \LA'I.A \iri'i.'.v.

;A<'||

\MH:\

vn>\

Ar'BHUSHAJ

LIST

OF

PKOPER

NAMES

-V. y?.

No

referenceshave been attachedtosuchnamesas Indra

b idi_{occur very frequently.}

.. 33 Agni,

LIST

OF

PROPER

NAM

, Kabaiidlui. .. .. fa Kabandhi, .. ,. ... 3Q ... ib. Ivasyapa, ... .. ... ... 28 Kausalya, .. _r-

_

^

^

Kaussimbeya, ... ... ₇₁ Jvrinvaiia, ... ... .. -)^

K

UI' U> ... 45 30 Kusuravindu,

....

71 Magadha, ... .. - ... 30 Mandhata, ... ...

^

fa ... ... ... ... ib. MaudgaJya, ... ... 16 Mitra, ... _{t> .} ... ... 80 Panchala, ...

_^

45 30 Parikshit, ... ... ...

25176

Prajapati, Prachinayogyar ... ... ₄₉ Priyaaiedha, ... ... _5j Predi> -. .. .'!.' .'.'.' 71 - _... ... ... ...

30

-. ... ... ... 35 Saiihanu, ... ... ... 28 Sarpadafishtra, .. ... %. fa Satyahavya, .. ... ... ... Ill Saunaka, ..

_^

... 45 Savasa, .,,

...

.. ... ... 39 8*l va> ... - .. ... _..

₃₀

Svaidayana, Saunaka, .. ... ...

^

Sva, ... ... ... _{"7 28}

Svayambhu,

... .. ... ₂₈ Taraksku, .. ... _itt

^

Uddalaka A'rui)1-, ... ,t, .. 7145

r[>T 01 PR'M'Ki; NAMI-X 3 ... . iik;irk>lm, :;i I.".7 ha' _... ... _... ... L'S Vanuia, 111 113 35 MU' ... ... ... ... ..

1H

i"itra, ... _l^Q dovtili, l>ati> ... '.'.'. 111,115 lllika

_l^

.. ... 171,183 ^TUU' ... 30

CONTENTS

TIII-:

I'ATHA

BRA'HMANA.

KIIIST P.MMK. LpTER I. :;ku. 1. Brahma,vMiinu ... I "i, ... ... H).

AtV'l _lr']>s into tl, . I liliri-u

...

:ll.

I Athar.

S

'f <! na

...

hethree r ,.-1of tin- tin.

' n .vu> //. : .f tllf livi' li. 1 I I' 7 :inl ntln 1 1. J5. A

2

.ik:i.

Page

17. C'n-atioii of ilu- earth A-C. from

Om,

..

..10

18. Do. ether Arc. .In., .. .. if).

19. Do. heaven Arc. do., .. .. ib.

20. Do. waterA.V.

do., .. ., ib.

21. Do. Sruti &c. do.. .. .. ib.

22. Praise of

Om,

.. .. ..

..11

23. _Legend of the Devas_{giving preeminence} to

_Om,

.. ib.

24. _{Questions regarding the}derivationof

Om,

..

..12

25. _Legend of Indra and _Prajapati on the derivation of

Om,

.. .. ... ... ib.

26.

The

root of

Om,

.. .. ..

..13

27.

The

syllabic instants of

Om,

... .. .. ib.

28. _{Legend on} the _preeminenceof

_Om,

t .t ., 14

29. Relationof

Om

to the defferent_Vedas, ..

... 15

30. _Philosophy of

_Om,

... .. .. 16

31-32. Anecdoteof _Maiulgalya and Glavaonthe _meaning, object andpreeminence ofthe

Gaytri, ... ib.

33.

The

twenty-four sources and twelve _{couples of} the

Gayatri, ... ..

<<( 18

34. _Meaningof thefirstfoot of the

Gayatri, .. .. 19

35. Do. of the second foot of do. _. ... ... 20

36. Do. of the third foot of do. . . .. .. ib.

37. Succession of the twelve_greatelements ib.

38. _{True knowledge}of therelative,

importance ofthe twelve

elements, ... ... ... 21

39. _Advantagesof_washingthe

month

_(dchamana) with

refer-enceto_{the preeminence of water, 22}

<'ll.U'TKKIT.

1. _Propriety of _performing

tin-2.

A

Brahmaohri

should overcomethe seven_{passions,~pride}

of_{caste, of fame, of}

dream,of_{anger, of praise of}

beauty,

5

ika. 3.

Th-

dm

ii.-l . ual cuimrctiori :md ni.. thinking on ...

in tin- t\v.. hand>. tli,' _month, '. :in.l th-- -, should )> ,.,

5.- !ik.sliita ami t

dc-r iiii|.irlan-' <>t' I'raliiinu-liai'.

andtlie tiiiu- which should !.. ,i

C.- I 'iia sul',' l-lcrs t..

_p\r

tin-inaim , ing i iii'l ... l'i.i : nd the

8|)ccial knowlcdgo with which tin- ditlrivnt

...

....

sai-rilici: \\itli T ft

.d tli.M'

reason

_why

it. In

:>. !' this a 1,'L' \.M-V-P i^_oxplni1

I r'OXTEXTS.

Kaiidika. _Page

produced byspeechfrom darksomet'rightful _wafers,and

was pacified by Kubaudhi withan A'tharvanu mantra

afterthe other Vedasliad_failed, ... ... .';,">

19.

The

origin of the officiating priests3 the second

requirementof

Agnyddh&na

described in a _legendin

which Indraassumes different_shapesto _protecta

sacri-liceof _{the gods}fromtheintrusion of _{the Asuras,} ... 'W 20, _OriginoftheVaisvanarafireandofthe sacrificial horse, 37 21. _{Agni pacifies} the _horse; theofferings to be presented

tohim, .. ... ... . 38

22. _Advantages of _{offering oblation}onthe_Santapanafire,... 39

23.

The

domestic ceremonies in which the _Santapana fire

should be employed, ... ... ... 40

24. _{Legend on}the_{qualification}of the_priests:the hota should

know

theII_ig

Veda

;the

Adhvaryu

should

know

the

Ya-jur

Veda

;theUdg'Ha should

know

the

Sama Veda

;and

the

Brahma

should

know

the_{Atharva Veda,} ... ib.

CHAPTER

III.

1.

The

_importanceof _havinga

Brahma

versed in the

Athar-vanglrasaat asacrifice, ... ... ... 42

2.

The

_impropriety of_employingless thanfour_priestsversed

in the four_Vedas^atasacrifice, '... ... 43

3. _Expiationsfor_{a priestspeaking}

when

_officiating, .. ib.

4.

The

chief dutiesforwhichthe_priestsrecievefees_(dakshina,) 44

5. _{Legend showing}.thatinasacrifice with three priests the

fees werereduced _by one _half, ... .. ib.

6-10.

A

_legendof

Uddalaka

in which _questionsare

propoun-ded and answer* ^iven regarding the process of the

development of the _{body and} the functions of its

differ-ent_organs, ... .. _... 45

11-12. Legend of _{Pr&chinayogya} and

Gotama-

the former

inquires whicharethe differentDevaswith reference to

whome

thedifferent

members

of the _Agnihotaare per-formed,andthelatter's_{reply thereto, ... ,,.} 49

lika.

l.'J. _Legend - l>.uit r-i'vtain

. ;ni<l _expiations for tin'

''

11.

Ad

f _Priyamedhaa of tln r:\cr of

Bharadvrfja, <>n shoulil In*_in-rfornu-il

lailv .. ... ...

..54

16.-'

. i-Tivaii-'ii 'ic \v>nl pi,

17. _LogiMul about certain t' th n.-uii'.- "t' Kani. \\\\ n A^iiishtonia witli a feo of on- _ro\v, and

MTCof,.. _... ..

..//>.

18. i

ling tli" distribution ofthe slaughtered

Tiriutms_r

I'l-it-.--

...

.. if>,

'. <>rdi ita in fiiMH'i'tioii

wit ' Jl-L"J. i 1 1 slimild not jii-rfonn, .. H>.

-..okin.u'

fnuwnty

l>y an .nlaiin-d |.i

, ... ... 60

OBAFTIB

iv. 1 '_>i-'iin.i' tder, .. of i Do. \\lh-in //'. the 1 . .

6 CONTENTS.

Kandiku.

10.

Rewards

attendant_upon the _{performance of those}

cere-monies _(the sameas in the 8th

_K.,

... ₅₅

11. _Advantagesof _{knowingthe above,}

66

12. Do. of _performing the Dasaratra as a _part of the

year _..

.. ib.

13. Do. do. Mahavrata_{as do., 67}

14. _Questionsand answers _{regarding the performanceof}

do., ',!>.

15.

-Do

_do.,

mm

_

iftm

16. Do. do., t;

..68

17. Rewards attendanton _do., ?7,.

18.

The

_{two wings}of the _year, the twohalf-years, .. 69

19. Both _halfyearsconnected with _{sacrifice, ib.}

20. _Question and answer

regarding the connection of the

Jyotishtoma &c. with the _half-year, if>.

21-22. Connectionof _{the year with the Atiratras}

&(.-., 70

23, Do. with the sun, ...

^

24. _Legend of Predi son of_{Kansambi, and Uddalaka} son of

Kusuravindu, onthe _subject of the ceremonial

connec-tion of _{the days} ofthe _year, .. ₇₁

CHAPTER V.

! _{Abhiplava ceremony} noticed in connexion with the_year, 72

2. _{Gadhapratishtha ceremony}

noticed, ... ?7>.

3-5. _{Allegorical description of}the _yearas a

man

;its

mem-bers are_{represented by}the different _ceremonies, ... 73

6 _Advantage of _{performing the} ceremonies after _knowing

their relation tothe_{year, 77}

7.

The

succession of _ceremonies;which should follow _which, ib.

8. _Legend of _Prajapati

attaining eternal fruition _by a

cere-mony

whichenvolved afeeof_{a thousand heads}of_cattle, ib.

9.

The

most_{important requirementsof different ceremonies}

to

make

their fruition_{permanent, 78}

10.

A

_legend about the Sahasra-samvatsara _sacrifice,andits

. ,,\ 7

Page

11. I 12.-- ' _{tin- inori.} ,na-... 13. ! :n:i <!>., Do, I> . 83

m

sacrit . . .. >} 22. < ;.(! fruit<, of . ill'I _rr.jti: 86 ccr- ... 87

OK,

: I. ' : ^'/, 89 90 . 6.- :. tliMM- v. . '

8

Kandik;i. _Page

7. _Legend on the origin of the Odana-sava or _cooking

ceremony, .. .. ... ... //...

8. _Origin of theNakshatras, .. ... !KJ

9,- _{Kxpiution necessry should}the

moon

rise

when

the pri

isabout tocook rice for _{the eveningoffering,} .. ib.

10.-

The

new

and full _{moons, and} the creation of animals

therefrom, .. .. . . .. 94

11-15. Rules _regarding ceremonies to _{be performed} onthe

new

and the full _{moons, ...} .. 94

16. Sacrifice toIndra and

_Agni

_by those whose father and

grandfatherhave notdrunk the

Soma

_juice, .. 95

17. _{Legend showing}thedifferent cosharers of the _offerings

at an _{Iiidragni sacrifice, ...} ... ib.

18. Do.continued,showing the advantages ofthe sacrifice,.. 9G

19.

A

_vantages of the _Chaturmasya

homa

which should be

performed for fourmonths fromthe full-moonof

Phal-guna, .. ... .. 97

20. _Advantages of _worshiping differentdeities at the

Agni-soma

sacrifice, .. _{... ...} ... ib.

21. Anecdote of _{Prajapati creating}theanimatedworld, and

Varuna

regulating the same... ... .. OS

22. _Advantages of various _offerings to _Indragni,

Varuna

fec., ... ... ... _... 99

23. _Advantages of offerings at various_times, .. _... 100

24. Do. _{offerings to}the _manes, .. .. .. 101

25. Do. ofvariousofferings to differentdeitiesondifferent

oc-casions, . . .. ib.

2G. Do. of the _{Chaturmasya homa,} . 103

CHAPTER

II.

1. _{Offerings of}flesh meat onthe _A'hit'igni, .. 104

2. Thegods, resolved toovercome the Asuras, devide

them-selvesinto_{five parlies,} .. ... ib.

ika. th". !. . . 7 'it \vitli 11 ' :".Irinkii 1 11 .

,.,112

3 I ... ... ... ... i ' -1. n, I>,.Vft

10

CONTESTS.

Kandik-i.

."). -The

means

of

_making

the Vashat most advantageous, ... 1-4

('. The Yushat identifiedwith speech andbreath,

7. Do. do. witli the seasons, ... ...

...125

8, _Rapetitionof a certain mantra beginning with the word

ItoldyakuJtat, kc,

9 lirasons for_{repeating theHinkara,} ... .. 12G"

lU-11. Various terms and measuresappropriate forthe

nioi'u-ihg,noon

and

eveningsacrifices, .. ... 1-7

1'2. Legendof _Prajapati and Mrityu inconnexionwiththe

inoniing offering of the

Ekaha

ceremony, .. I'l-)

13. Mitni and Varnna'ssharesof themorning offering, ... i!>

11. _Surya and Indra's shareat_do., ..

.^.131

.15. ludrngni'sdo. at do.,

10.

Number

ofinvocations meetatdo., .. ... 132

17. Necessity of fee, or dakshina,at the _{morning and} the

midday

offerings, ... ... 133

18. The order in which feeshould be given beginning \\ith

the _Agnidhra, .. . . /'<>

19.

Ad

vantages of giving cows, goats, sheep, horses, gold, clothes, carriages,cooked rice&<., .. ... I'H

o,)__|J( .,rj,n(] ofthe

Sama

and tbo Uik nniting to niu]tl))ly, ... th. ^>[_ Identification of

members

of a sacrilioe with ivrtain

classesof mantras, .. .. .. '"''

'22.

r

rhe above identifications _explained in detail, ... <>

23. The god of the _{midday ceremony ^Indra)} and u

to him, .. . .

I\r.

l-2-3.-*-RelationBliipsofthe

members

of the VC<!MS, witli

tlu-l)<-vas, .. .. ... .. 137 4.-

_Hymns

_appropriateat_{the ceremony,} .. ... 1-30

5.

The

_{eveningofferingto|l>:-}

made

)>y the Agnidhra with the

11

lika.

Itar wit:; 1 tiion off

.141

fuurj'l.v . ,nl ttg tlit'in, 10. '. ilu- nii'l'i .n.l thru 11. ! -{'.! Iniinan o' . 1 ! I n uitli tlio !': ... 13. i !ia im-lu'i ... 1 . 1. 2.-i; the liiiin v -,

12 TENTS.

Kundika

11. Anaikahika ceremonydescribed,

12. _A'rambhaniyamantras, .. .. ... l;i^

13-11. Faridhditiya mantras,

15. Tlie_singingofthe

Achchhvdvaka

_priest, ..

CHAPTER. VI.

1. _Originofthe _Sampata mantras, ... ... 161 2. Praiseofthe Sampatamantras, ... ... 102

3. Do. of_{the Pragatha, kuxtamifidra} &c.,

4. Do. of the _{Sampatamantras,}

5. Peculcaritiesaboutthe Ahina ceremony

6.

Doubts

_{regrading the}

Uktha

solved, .. .. 100

7.

The

usesand _{advantages of various} Ukthas, ... 107

8. Do. ofthe Nabhanedishta, Narasunsa, Pragatha,

Bal:\-khilya,Vihrita, Vrihati,and other hymns, ... 109

9. _Legend in_support of the _above, ..

..171

10. Praise ofthe6th. andthe_{7th. days,} ... 1^'

11. Legend regarding the above, ... ... .. 174

12-16. Various

hymns

to bemuttered (safisana) incourseof

RODUCTION

., I | ''ini 7 .. ! I .. 11,, 1 l . . -I Wilson's V; 1,:, i I'm.na

,,. -jso. I havenot been

!

.;:XTS.

Kandika

11. Anaikahika ceremonydescribed,

12.

_A'ramUumiya

mantras, .. .. ... I'1

-13-11. Puridhdiiiyiimantras, ... .. ... v7.

IT).

The

singingofthe

Achchhvavaka

_priest, .. ., 15

(

IN

PRODUCTION.

Alik and in _extent, th A.tharva ia tin- lea^t

nn-four

\Vda-

It ha> n<ne of the halo ofthat

remote antiquity \\; 'inmends tin/ 1: to

tin-attiMitin >f tin- scholar, tin.-liistori;jn,

and

_the

philo-"f a cliai-adtT which cai.nt but

plar.- it i .linatinii to the other works of the d;i

which it IM-IOM^.

P

l'i -al> in matt.-rswhicli :iual,

arni _-tamp.'il with tin- s-al

'

themost _{primitive simplicity}; the

Ath-ina

f..ll<.\v>. it alup n _-\]>niiilrr. In extent, the

In- _{Yaju>h, and} tin- S ideral.lv

comjii-i- \ _iyu Pin

lively: whereastha< -f the

; \\liile theM<-;

^nailer.

One r>rahmana. BOUie "I

. eaeh. while tin- latter ha-, an mil\ !

int

The

nui

re, like\\isc, limited, .ind

"' !l _Ahieh ;i; .nltheliliriu !iie|\

doubtful, I ! A ISO. I I. ,

INTRODUCTION.

mainly, tlimioi,

noti-exclusively, founded on the _reprah',1 tinn of th

Yedns

iii ;inH'iit Sanskrit literature

under

the

name

of _Trayi-vidyii or "the threefold _knowledge," or _simply

trayi'

"

the thn /^V _strayas

trayi.

_Amarakosha.)

including the Rig, the

Sama, and

the

Yajush, but omitting the

Atharva. This, argue the impugners, is _{as plain}

an

acl<

ledgement

as could be, 'of the non-existence of the

Atharva

at

an

_{early period,}

and

ofits Avant of _{authority as}a

Veda

; arid,

in _support of this

opinion, quote,

among

others,

two

_passages

from

theShadvinsa

Brahmana

of the

Sama

Veda, (1 p. v. kh.)

in

which

it issaid that "

_Praati

_{created the}

(the first)three

Vedas,*"

and

that "

he

_{produced the}

_Rig

Veda

from

the _earth,

the Yajur

Veda

from

_space,

and

the

Sama

Veda

from

the

hea-ven,"(Lit.

from

this),f

and

alsoasloka

from

Mann,

which

_says,

"

Prajapati

milked from

the threegods Agni, Vayu,

and

Ravi, the three Vedas,Rig, Yajush,

and

Sama

for _the

accomplish-ment

of

sacrifices.''];

The

defendants

admit

the_premiss,btit

_deny

-the conclusion.

They

assert that the

term

_Tmyi-vidya,

is a

common name

for those parts of the

Vedic

literature

which

refer _only to

sacrifices,

and

asthe

hymns

of the

Atharva

are not used in

su-ch sacrifices,they are very properly excluded,

without

in

_any

way

impugning

their _authenticity or _authority as _scriptures.

There

was, they add, only one

Veda

at first,

and

when

the

hymns

comprised in it

were

_classified, those

which

did not.

refer to sacrifices

were

put together,

and

these constitute a

se-perate class. Thus, "the

Veda,"

says

Madhiisudana

Sarasvati,

*'

is dividedinto _Rich,

_Yajush

and

Sama

for the _purpose of

carrying .out the sacrifice

under

its three different forms.

Rig-vn

3

, those of the

Adhvar-u

'th tlie Yajur-veda/ll.

of the _Udgatri j

The

duties of

the

BHhman

and th :iroe.

The

.' _la, on ti

-tally dii It is n<

to blt:ss. * jiimcnt ;>ear

than coinin

i ;ui<l ivmarkal.: hr

Hindus

tht-n.

i d-mi)' th, autht-ir

and

that it did

sa-crifices

which

constitute th '

;'

the circu inn^

h occur likewise in th

freqr,

uned

inthe Brahni in.is of tin- .>th.-r Vi-d.i^. !>

>r

doubt

that it \\M* _ounpih-d,

m

_{put to^L-t'}

at

about

the

same

_&%* \vh.-ii th- I -dh-.-tion

pleU is of course ol ter dajbe th*o

the

_Rig

Safthita\ for it inrlud.^a _p

its _p u but t!

coiniH

I

^at will s^u . J 1)j

MJ\

Mulh'i

after a c-u- tul .n has

come

to t1

n. !!- c Ti .

cnceto their sacred lit

meat

the _songs of the

Ath

sa .li 1

Apud

Max

M

f

"

_Tut

fessor

Max

Mullrr, 4*is well niHrkr-J in a

p:r,,-:, ,,f f

INTKolHVTloN.

literature of the _Brahmai.as. In "someof the

Brahm

anas,the

Artharvangiras' are mentioned.

The

passage translated

be-fore

shows

that at the

time

when

_{the S'atapatha}

Brahma

MM

was

_composed

_{the songs} of _{the Atharvangiras'}

were

_{not only}

known,

but

had been

collected,

and had

accually obtained the

title of Veda. Their _original title

was

_{the Atharvangiras'} or

the _{Brigvangiras, or}the

Atharvans

;

and

these very titles

show

that _songs

which

could be _quoted in such a

manner must

have been

ofancient date, and

must have had

_{a long} lifeinthe

oral tradition ofIndia."*

Accordingto Puranic account the

name

ofthe

Atharva

Veda

is

due

to _{a mythological personage, Atharvan, the} eldest son

of

_Brahma,

to

_whom,

it is

alleged, it

was

first_imparted.

From

Atharvan

it

decended

_{through a succession of pupils to Angiras,}

from

whose

name

the

Veda

is called _A'ngirasa, or

Athar-vamgirasa. It is, likewise sometimes, called

Bhargvan-girasa,

and

Brahma

Veda.

The

last

name

is. accounted for

on the

_assumption

that it _belongs to the

_Brahma,

or the

chief _priest, in the

_{same way}

as the other _{three belong}tothe

Hota, the

Adhvaryu, and

the

_{Udgata. Inasmuch,}

however, as

it contains nothing

which

a

Brahma

can

make

useof at a

sacrifice, the ascription is _probably

due

to a desire toraise

the

Veda

to a rank

which

it did not _{originally possess.}

The

Gopatha

Brahman

a recognises all these several names, but

the details it _{gives (as quoted below)} are _totally different from

those of the Puranas.

Allegorically the

Atharva

is _represented as a lean,

black-man,

sharp

and

irascible,

amorous

and

fond of little _things,

possessing

power

to

_{assume any}

_shape itlikes. It is

describ-ed to _belong to the _familyor clan _(gotra) of Vaitana,

and

to

have

Indra lor its

special divinity,

and

the

anustubh

for its

peculiar metre. Its

upaveda

or subsidiarybranch is said to

bethe science of _{warfare, s'astravidyd.}

mivomvi

'

tt

mn

and aiTaii"vm_O ut h_{J J} -ixlni""^

the Vislinu Pii illustriniis

Muni

Suinantu

indha. \\hn i portion-' -I

and

to

Krahma-K-ili, _Saulkayani,

and

_{Pip;>al:ula. Pathya} had _thrrrpii'

i. Kiunudadi. and S.iun <l

Saunaka. ha\in- dividrd \\\> Sanhita

to r.ahhru,

and

thr nth.r

i t'mni thrin

Bp]

an<l _MnDJakesas.

Thr

_{piinripal suhjrrt.-} nj' <lit]rrriur in

<>t' thr A.tharva-Veda nn- tin- tivr _kalpa>

monials: tho

Nakshatra

_Kalpa, or ruh-s t'nr \\..i_^hipini; th.

tlir Vaitana _Kalpn, rulrs t'nr nl!

-rnerallv ; thr Sanhita Kalpa, Ornii

olfl: tin \ \ _i!pa,

in-md

pi.; 'inn <t' tors and th.-^;i:iti _Kalpa,

n in tli

the aliovo, lut 'hout 101 wn.

Ace

the .' iiuantii. ?h- Irarnrd in

th-iiita to his _{pupil (\\} to th

it in t-i

h

him).

N

. ili. tli- ;

ioa,

i tii. n t i

and

others

(pu; Tin-

N

thr

INTRODUCTION.

Vedas, (whose teacher's

name

says the _commentator, are not

given). These arethe teachers of the Albarvana."*

The

_{Charanavyuha, which}

is believed

_{by some}

tobe

an

older

and

more

reliable _authority, does not,however, support these

subdivisions. _Accordingto it, there were,_{originally, only nine}

different recensions of the

_hymns

of the Atharvans.

But

neither the sakhas ofthe

_Vayu,

nor those of the

_{Charanavyuha,}

with one _exception, are

now

available,

ami

evenof the nine

schools of the latterthe

names

are in

_many

cases doubtful.

According

to Dr.

Max

Muller's _{conjectural emendations, the}

names

are: 1. _Paippaladas, 2. _Saunakas, 3.

_Damodas,

4. Tot-tayanas, 5. _Jayalas, 6. _{Biahmapalasas,} 7.

_Kaunakhins,

8.

De-vadarsanins, 9. _{Charanavidyas.}

These, however, are not all borne out

_by

the six

MSS.

which

I

have

consulted.

_They

_give

IMKul.lVTi

t

Professor M.i\

_MulU-rpuN

all th<>

names

in tlio

plural; hut in

3 of the treinthe_singular,

and

the

names

are in the _plural,

there m, art' _implied; where _they are in

liar _only 01. <tr<i

>kiog to these (liscni it

_may

be

fairly ootieia

nl

become

_already ol>- ben th <

v vU:

illu<l>(l I, i

r tlie

name

of tin-

Atharva

\'

da

Sanhitn. of

nn has Ix-rii _jnihlish.'d In Pn.tr^or

Roth and

To

which of the nine receDflioDfl it

lt-l.in^> I

know

:-an. lit- takeit to

be

the text of the Saunakas,

but

nn no reliable_authority that I

am

awaiv

of. It <-.i

uprises

twen-n

K'iiplas; of whicli tin- last tv. 'id to_be

SUp-plein

Th-

i'ollowr .r \Vhitiu-y's sinnniar

'I'll.- At !

ikc tin- Hik.a

histor-ii. t a In

<

'1 _up..n

M tlin.ii'jh.'Ut. ; _-li of thf hvnin>. _ah.i

thrir all'",'-l _{antlMrship. beiDg}

flu-8 nnrul

:nl tli.- )..

lnit

[NTRODUCTK

lion has no information of value bo_give: they are with ntions attributed to _{mythical personal's.} Tin- ^ivatei portion of

them

are plainly shown, both

by

their _language

ami

internal character, to lie of

much

laterdate than the _general

e,intent^ of the other historic Veda,

and

even than its tenth

book

with

which

_{they yet} stand _nearly connected in _import

and

in _origin.

The

condition of the text alsoin _those pas-sagesfound likewise in the Rik, points as distinctly to a

more

_{recent period} as that of the other collection. This,

how-ever,

would

not necessarily

imply

that the

main

body

of the

Atharva hymns, were

not already in existence

when

the

com-pilation of-the

Rik

took place. Their character

would

be

ground enough

for their _rejection

and

exclusion

from

the

canon, until other

and

less _scrupulous

hands were

found to

undertake

_{their seperate gathering} into

an

_independent

col-lection.

The

nineteenth

book

is a

kind

of

_supplement

to the

preceding ones,

and

is

made

_up

ofmatterof a likenature

which

had

either

been

left out

when

_{they were compiled,} or

had

been

since _produced.

The

twentieth

and

last

book

is a liturgical selection of passages

from

the

hymns

of the Rik,

and

it is _{not easy} to see

how

itshould

have

become

_appended

tothe

Atharva

as _{a portion}of its text."*

No

record has

_any

where been

met

with of the

number

of

Brahmanas

which

the

Atharva

Veda

originally included.

At

presentthe

Gopatha

is the _only one

which

isaccessible.

If the

Atharva

is _{thus poor}in its _hymnological

and

litur-gical portions, it is

particularly rich in Upanishads.

The

Rig-Veda

is _represented

_by

_only

two

_Upanishads, the _Aitareya

and

the Kausitaki ; the

Sama

by

two, the

Chhandogya

and

the

Talavakara

; the

White

Yajush

also

by

two, the

Vriha-darauyaka and

the _Vajasaneyi; the Black Yajush,

by

four,

the _Taittiriya, the _Maitrayani, the _Yajiiika,and the Setas

vatara;

whereas

the

Atharva

has

no

less than _fifty-two

i numht-r c! .'th.T> nt

more

orleesdoubtful

auth'-ntieitv.

Tin-H

't the >.-i-allt'd A'thrin

which

1 ha, all inii

Each

of

ofarran_

One

of

them

inch.

of the S .thor

tin-Taittiriya,

ftin- Ulat-k Vaju-h: aii'l the thirl, \vhioh is the in.tst nio.l iiii, the _{Gopichaiulana}

and

othor

works

which ai ni th^ oth.-r t\vn.

The

lit'tv

:iii.l-

_up

lv OOlIBi -lillVn-iit

i-hajittM-s of th

as distinct work \

fill - :

rompih'd the fnllov.

il list ; 1. Oarhha. ma, V Kdiuri

Ohnlika

7 i' jI 1-J Nil.-iru.: i\ indii. luavindu. iiidu 17 lu j -s I't L1 1 K

81

A'tinan. 11. M-ih.-i. Kathavalii :u

ma

V'rihaiii, . . lirudra

H

i k-liv.-.lxa 14 ; I'M,.i,i ^7 18 1 \ 11 [fi 'Mil11

10

INTHOhl

i I;

33, 35, 30, 45,

and

51,

and

_supplies tlicir _places

by

Brahma

-\_idya,

_Samanya,

_Shatchakra,

Gopala-ta'pani, Vasudeva,

Gopi-chand&na,

A'tmabodhn,

Ganapati, Krishna, Atharvavcda,

and

a second

_Maha,

_following in this _respect the

modern

MS

of

the text.

It should

be

noticed, however, that, strictly speaking, the

Upanishads

cannot

be

called _{integral parts} of the Vedas,

for _they

have

_generally

been

_placed in _opposition tothose

works.

Thus

Jaimini, in the

Purva

_Mimafisa, defines the

Vedas

to

be

" \vorks intended to

_promote

ceremonial

ob-servances ; those

which

do

not

promote

them

are not

Vedas."* Prabhakara, in the

same

_{way, says,} "

thereis

no

_part of the

Vedas which

is _purely

descriptive,

and which

does notinduce, restrain, enjoin, or prohibit actions."f In the

Mundaka

_Upanishad

the

Vedas

are

condemned

as _teaching

"secondary

knowledge"

(Apara

vidya"),

which

is to be

re-jected infavor of the teaching of _{the Upanishads."* Narada,} inthe

_Chhandogya

_Upanihsad,

appears before

_Sanatkumara,

and

_says that

he

has studied the _Rig, the _Yajush, the

Sma

and

the

Atharva

_Vedas,

and

other _subjects, but that_they

have

not sufficed to_give

him

true _knowledge,

and

he

accordingly

seeks instruction inthe _{Upanishads.|| Kapila holds the}

_Vcdic

or revealed

means

of

attaining salvation to be as ineffectual

as the _{temporal onelT;}

and

_{Isvaralcrishna,}

working

in this

light,

condemns

the

Vedas

as worthless, because the rewards

attainable

_by

them

are

transient.^

The

Gopatha

Bra-hamana,

likewise,

makes

the

_Upanishads

stand _apart from

the

Vedas

_{(1,21). Seeing,}

further,that the so-called

A'tharva-||Chhandogya

U.

p. 116.

INTRODUCTION.

1 1

is do not

oo

of

_any

extant

Brahmana

or

_A'ranyaka

of the

Athan

_they

_may

\

ably be i

indrpemlaut ofthat

Veda.

It

theless,

be

borne in

mind

that

some

of tli

<f ti from a _{very early period,} ami

Mann.

a

and

other hi<^li authority's

have

reeo^ni>ed t!

right to be th<>u .-,hole of

the

'

-ithority >n tltcii

antln-nti-M

s.-rij.rur- Kofit oi theological in

lal loaiiin a.sos, to

j-A- ileviniti.-s of tlio

Hindn

_panthcun. l^ut alto^'tm-i

miscellamM>ns a

chaiad

with a.-li nth.-r. BO dissimilar in _lan^1 ^nd

snhj

that _they cannot he takni tn he _{the pixulnetions of} one ;>

miK

;

MI,,- author.

For

brief a.V"iints of tl Qtfl

f tli.-^c, 1 mu>t refer the r.-adn- to

_my

" Not

I and to th' Irani.'d on ,,f I

1

the I,),!',*}' ,s7///-' .-liable b : with _in l)i:r

1

livid.-d into tWO _paita

j

th. G

rompri-iii- tiv rhaj- -nd

Th.- _Ohapi of _nne.|ii:kl : ,nd th. '101u i:> 41- oftIn 1 ( io| itha i- '-innlir to Ihat ot 11, ;id invo 1 : l.iit | ?h-;on to il.

liin- likr rli'iran

Wit.li the

exception of a few _quotations from the

hymns

of the

_Rig

_Veda,

and

several

anustubh

slokas, the

work

is _throughout in _prose,

resembling in this respect the Aitareya

more

_closelythan the

Brfhmanas

ofthe

_{Yajush and}

_the

_Sama.

This resemblance is also observable inits _subject.

Nothing

is

treated of in it in fullor in allits detail.

The

readeris

pre-sumed

tobe familiarwith the rituals of_{the Vedas,}

_and

_has

only

particular topics brought tohis notice

which

serve to

elluci-date

some

obscure _point, or is

worthy

of _being

_known

as

important;

and

even_{these are discussed in such a}

disjointed,

fragmentary, abrupt way, that _they

entirelyfail _{to be, to} us at

least, in

_any

_way

interesting. Myths, legends

and

parables constitutethe _{staple of} the

work

; but _theyare _short,

inconse-quential

and

pointless.

They

are intended to _explain the

origin, nature

and

fruits _{of particular ceremonies}

; but, _being

most

inartistically set forth, fail to attract attention.

The

case

_may

have

been different_before, butcertain it is that _they

have

ceasedto interest _{the people}ofthis_countrysince thelast

two thousand

_years.

The

work

_opens with the creation ofthe _world, to

which

the bulk of the first _chapter is _devoted.

_As

_the

subject

has

been

treated in it with _greater detail than in

_any

other

Veda,

and

is of

some

_{interest, I shall}

attempt

to _{give a}

para-phraseofithere with the omission_only ofsuch

eulogistic

and

explanatory passagesasbreak the thread ofthe narrative.

"

_Om

!

Verily,

Brahma

alone

_by

itself_only existed at first. It willed. '

Ialone existas_{the highly} adorable.*

Ho

! I

must

create _{from myself a second}

_Deva

_{like unto}

me.' It _worked,

upon, itwell

_warmed,

it

fullyheated itsself.

On

_{the forehead}

of this _working,

well-warmed

and

_fullyheated _(being)

per-spiration broke forth.

Well

_{pleased tltcrcby,} it _said, " _I, the

highlyadorable,

know

well all that should be

known."

13

li U.ly ol 'ik-l him. ,.ill .support all :u : ; \}\-

tli.-.M-f

he lookol l.wii. aii<l in

I

:i-l _ilr.pp i into tin-

H-upon

v. \\airn-'.l

ami

tully ih.>

ireU-waimod an.l _fully ht-ati-.i \\,

into tu that which

gross, G ine, nnp>tah!.-. nnp.-i >n.|

with ; k ! i-l _fully I by what having !|.l H til.-' II. r n ! In ; 'iMld t!

INTRODUCTION.

Atharvan

is called

_by

that

name.

_Verily, of that venerable

sage (rishi) Atharvan, the

whole

_body

with its

members

down

to the smallest hair

and

the vital airs,

was

like that of

Brahma.

To

_{him, Atharvan,} said

Brahma

;

"

Having

created

the _beings of _Prajapati

protect them."

And

because

he

said,

_Pmjdpatek

_prajzsrishtvd

_pdlayasva,

_{therefore Prajapati}

came

_{into beinr,}

and became

the lord of creation.

Atharvan

verily is thatPrajapati.

"

He

_{(Brahma) worked}

_upon,

and

well

_{warmed, and}

fully

hea-ted that_{sage Atharvan.}

Out

of that_wrought,

well-warmed

and

fully heated Atharvaii

he

formed

ten

Atharvana

_sages; one

ofone _richa,

one

of

two

_richas,

one

of _three, one of _four,

one

of _five, oneof six,

one

of seven, one of _eight,

one

_{of nine,}

and

one

of tenrichas.

Those Atharvana

_rishis,

_{he worked}

upon,

and

well

warmed

and

fully heated,

and

therefrom ten

A'tharvanarishis_{proceeded, the}

eleventh, twelveth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth,seventeenth,eighteenth, nine-teenth,

and

twentieth.

"

_He

worked

_upon, well

_warmed,

and

_fully heated those

A'tharvana as well as the

Atharvana

_rishis,

and

whatever

'mantras

he

beheld in those _wrought,

_well-warmed

_and

fully

heated rishis, the

same

became

the

Atharvana

Veda.

He

worked

_upon,

and

well

_warmed,

and

_fully heated the

A'tharvana

Veda,

aud

from it issued forth the mind-like

syllable

Om.

"

_He

again

worked

upon, well

warmed

and

fully heated his

self.

From

his self

he

created the _{three regions earth, ether}

and

heaven.

He

_verily

_produced

_{the earth}

_from

his _feet,the

ether

from

his _belly,

and

the

heaven

from

his head.

He

worked

_upon, well

warmed

and

_fully heated the three _regions,

and

therefrom created the three_{gods Agni,}

(fire,)

Vayu,

fair,}

and

_A'ditya (sun).

He

verily

made

Agni

out ofthe _earth,

Vayu

outofthe ether,

and

A'ditya outofheaven.

He

worked

upon, well

warmed

and

fully heated the threegods,

and

u

i from

A.irui, tli Yajur \Yd:i from Va'vu. and ih.- 9

ma

Veda

from B -rk'd _upon,

and

wett

wanned

ami

fully li- and then-front _produced the

o

great

Vyahnt

is /,A>///, /*//'/<,,-' <l< : tlio first from the

RigVeda.th

i.anil the third from

"Tin* water which cncirHiiifj the

mod)

tin-H,.\\. -uth. tli -rth,

ami it Hnw. ,lltl

/.,ocean. It

was

frightened,

and

.said,

"

Lord,\\

c

install

as our _king."

And

1 -?irin-lin

>

u-(crifrti]itremained,

V:irana _{pnuhu-ed from} it,

and

since

Varana

I it, therefore is it _{indirectly called Varuna,}for _verily

1 of indirect,

and

inimical to direct, allusi

H.-.Varun.-i.>. nerated(ar,nicj/,/<if<t^ from_theocean;he

hecame

!iy:, an.i

Murhya

was

l..rn of

him

therefore is he

d _mdin-ctlyMrit\ lily the . tond of indr

nnd

inimical to direct, allusioi-. M-

BmblM

work.-.l _upon,

wpll \varnv-.l and _fully herit.-d that

Varuna

alias _Miityu. and

all tin- iii'-n '

!K' 1'odvof that _wrought,

wrll-warm-id _{fully Mrityu} fluids \udi'd; these for:

rasa), and tlmsi- fluids ,f his

_hody

-ily the i;ods are fund of

H

Hi :

:

:'M , Corked

uj...u. \\vll \\ .nd _fully Ih

-.-that fr..m _].r...-e, ,1,-d tli,- VIM

H

_{worked upon}

well

warmed

and

_fully h.

Iith f.-nned the t.-n

hree, t"':1 '

'

kc<l ,,,)

f,,||y 1,rated t- (-. >and

iiui \vh itrv.'i niaiitra- he

;

! in

th.-m t

;

MJM-:

16

INTRODUCTION.

*'It,the A'noirasa_Veda,

remained

above,leavitagtheseregions,

thereforethe render of the_A'ngirasa remains above. "

_He

(Brahtna), looked towards the sides, the east, the south,

the west, the north, above

and

below,

and worked upon and

well

warmed

and

_fully heated

them

;

and

therefrom prepared

the five_Vedas,

_Sarpa

_{Veda, Pisacha Veda,}

Asura

Veda, Itihasa

Veda, and Purana

Veda.

From

the eastside

he formed

the

_Sarpa

Veda,

or the science _{of serpents};

from

the south the Pisacha

Veda, on

thescience of _hobgoblins

;

from

the west the

Asura

Veda,

or the science _{of giants}

;

from

the north the Itih asa

Veda,

orthe _{science of history};

and

from above

and below

the

Purana Veda,

orthe science ofancient_legends.

He

worked

up-on,

and

well

warmed

and

_fully heated thefive_Vedas,

and

there-from formed

the five _{great Vyahritis, Vridhat, Karat,}

_Guhan,

Mahat

and Tat

;

Vridhat

from the

Sarpa

Veda,

Karat

from the

Pisacha

Veda,

Guhan

from

the

_{Asura Veda,}

Mahat

from the

Itihasa Veda,

and Tat from

thePura'na Veda.

"

_He

looked forwards

and

_backwards,

_{and worked up^n and}

well

warmed

and

_{fullyheated them,}

and formed

therefrom the

preeminent

syllable

Sam.

11

_He

again

worked

upon,

and

well

warmed

and

fully heated

himself,

and from

his

mind

_{produced the}

_{moon, from}

his nails

thestars, from the hairs of his

_body

herbs

and

trees,

and

from

his

minor

vital airsthe other

numerous

_objects.*

"

_He

again

worked

upon,

and

well

warmed

and

fully heated

himself;

he

beheld the_{threefold seven-stringed}

and

twenty-onc-membered

sacrifice (_Yajwa). Thereof this

_Rig

Veda

verse

may

be quoted:

"

Agni formed

the threefold

and

_{seven-stringed}

sa-*

The

word usedis

"

clevan" _gods, but _seeing that in the Rig

Veda

even _pestles and mortars and leather strainers are

named

devas,the word,it

_may

_{be presumed,}is hereused inthe sense_merely of created _objects, and notofdevine _{beings especially.}

The

use of

the

_{word anydn}

"others" as _opposedto herbsand trees can _suggest

ROD! cn . i ;

ipplein, i: tka

ma\

:U.

|

ell-11 i it ;h with it. In tliaf

1 \ svii as Adlr.

^>irya Uraliiiiii, _ParyvaiiY.

herhs

and

! the

Adhvaryu

Yi6vedevaa

Ithe

At

having completed the

lice, tiiii .Itiii-' nblatorv

IJUU-M-ni.i! immortal creation hce(ll.-.' _Verily tl

'].<! tli<- li-a [QTSo(

sMii&te

_{aadaJi-praaarpcd}

i'lajapati, pleiitii'ul tees shoul.l l)e award.- 1 ;

\vlio liav.- n..' 1 Brahn:

and

..,iniinuri' _ia^ane

verily

enemies

of the :ihe the sarritire _injure tin- institut.rtin-rout': th- .

tlio iii-tiiutnr iiijiir.- tin- liltvijas; t! _tli.>

llljlllV til,' ,

ml

c.ittlf; the nil-lilies nf \i\^ (liil<li\'ii

aii.l itiit-u- in this world

and

in heaven ;

i

injure halt' the res..me. they only areoniplish halt a saeriti

II

iviug thus i the _in

ihe the ereatinn

Ont

[t says, w Brahfl (hin;J, thu-Cl ^vllahle dl

Dei

\\ln-th.-i

Ii ..-Id the >\liable

nreeinin 1UK>; :

llllH, tii' Hie

INTKOIM ri'ION.

ions, nil Devas,all _{Vedas,all sacrifices, all}

words,all fruit_ioi?,

the

whole

creation fixed

and

_moving.

"

_From

itsfirst letter

was

_produced

heaven

;

and

from it*

secondletter _vigor

and

the luminaries,

"

From

its firstvocalic instant

were

_{produced theearth,}

fire,

herbs,trees,the

Rig

Veda, the mystic sellable (Vyjlu-i//') him,

the Gayatri metre, thethreefold _{stoma, the} eastern _side, the

spring season,the instrumentofspeech tongue,

and

the

power

oftaste.

"

_From

its second vocalic instant

_{were produced}

ether, air,

the

_Yajur

Veda,

the _{mystic syllable bkuva,} the traistubha

metre, the fifteen-fold _stoma, the western _side, the

summer

season,the organsof breath the nostrils,

and

the

_power

of smelling.

"

From

itsthird vocalic instant

were

_{produced the heaven, the}

sun, the

Sama

Veda,

the mystic syllable svah, the jagati metrr,

theseventeen-fold _stoma, the northern side, the _{rainy season,}

theseatsof_{light, eyes,}

and

the

_power

ofvision.

<l

From

its consonantalinstant

b were

_{produced the} wat,

the

moon,

the

Atharva

Veda, the stars,the circumflex

Cm

its

l\fe,janat,the Angirasas, the

anustubh

metre, the

twenty-one-fold _stoma, the southernside, the

autumn

season, theseat of

knowledge

mind, and

the

_power

of_knowing.

"From

its consonantal instant

m

_{were produced}

the Itiliasa

Parana,speech,metrical language, ndrasansi, the

Upamshads,

the

_commanding

syllables Vridkat,

Karat,

Guhan,

Makat,

Tat,

and Sam,

the great Vyahriti

Om,

harmony

of

_many

corded

instru-ments,voice,dancing, singing, music, the Cbaitraratha _Devas,

lightning,light,thevrihati metre, the thirty-three-fold stoma, the

upper and

lower sides,the cold

and

<lowy seasons, the organs of

hearing ears,

and

the

power

ofaudition."*

4Tlioughthesyllable issaidtocomprehendfour_{instants,yet three}

vocalicandt\\oconsonantal instants are hererecounted;probably the

ivi 1

A

legend

now

follows in \\hi<-h

over> :>\ startii l>v

_Om,

to

xJilJ-Rika's of the first chni- 8

praise ivation

and

of -us in tli

ent Yrda-.

ami

its

j>laoe in tin- Cavani. tlu> in ai-iu^ t.J \\\

length.

The

account _givenof the('

-with in tli.' _Vedas,

and

will _perhap to

_many

aa

containing tlie

nM-t

ideas of tlio

1-account n in theformof a

nan

follows :

i of tho ia<v of Mitru

' '

i^a-vell versed in tli

kg

him

: in the duties of

P>rahm;u'harya> 8:t II iw if liatever exists in this Oral

"A

desciple of

M

heariDj

10 _{our guest}

:k< ill of

ynr

_learning.*

"'

\\ .;n-ln-i

II

replied the pupil

a'

I

youth, t

i

who

has com.- t

ng.

"The

_pupil oi <i_lava,

and

s

9 tutor, II

"(Of

hi in _:^alya) ' \

N

?.'

*H

Vedas, s " (Glavasai<l), '

How

do

ive _got all tl

so _speak of _go<> II

II(.\.

youth, to

Gltoa

ol the raceof_Mitra,

and

address him. _saying

instruct _me,sir,

and

_explainto

me

the _Savitn,(/,c. the (i.-iva-tri,) oftwenty-four syllables

and

twelvecouples, of

which

Bl, van--ii\is-is arctlie

eyes,

and

in

which

all this creation suh>

Should

that

Brahmachari

tutor, fair_youth,

happen

notto

know

it,

and

toask a

Bramachari

_{pupil (like you)} to _{explain the}

S.-i-vitri, to him, then tell_him,'as

_you

saidto

_Maudgalya,

soare

you

ill-instructed, since questioned

by

me

you have

given

no

answer.

You

shall

have

to

submit

to_privationsfora _year.'

"

The

pupil repaired to

where

the other _{(Glava) was,}

and

asked

_{the question (which} histutor

had

_suggested to him).

"

_He

(Glava)

gave

him

no

reply.

Thereupon

the _pupilsaid, '

as

_you

said to

_Maudgulya,

so are

_you

_{ill-instructed,} since

questioned

by

me

you have

given

no

answer.

You

shall

have

to

submit

_{to privations} fora_year,'

"

He,

Maitreya,tohis

own

pupils,said;

'

forsaking me, repair

as

_you

list, to your homes. I said of

Maudgalya

that

he

was

ill-instructed,

and

_yet

have

failed to

answer

the question

put

to

me

_by

him

;I shall therefore

go and

pacify him.'

"

On

the_fallowing

_morning

_{Maitreya, taking a handful}of

crificial

wood

_(in token of_submission)

went

to

_Maudgalya

and

said, 'Sir, I

am

Maitreya.'

'

Wherefore

are

_you

come

?' _{(enquired Maudgalya.)}

'

I

have

_(saidMaitreya) called

you

ill-instructed,

and

_yet

have

failedto

answer

the question put

by

you, I

have

therefore

come

_{to pacify} you.'

"

_He

(Maudgalya) said;

'

itis said that

_{you have committed}

everysin

by coming

here in a conveyance. I give

you

this

auspiciouscar of

mine

(instruction) ;go

away

in it.'

s<

_The

_other

said,

'

what you

say is neither _ungenerous

nor

unkind,

and

for it

have

I

come

to you.'

Then

_approaching

him

(nearer) enquired,

'

Sir, to

whom

do

wise

men

allude

_by

(the

phrase)

"

the adorableglory ofthe

god

Savita"? arid advise

me

as

i'.rnu-h

which

the sun in

')."*

'I'

;

idI _Mid

'hli;iinl;> _nirtres)

mv

the _preeminei I

-MM;

and

tin' _{^1 ry} //// 'i_/;/'/, <!' that _^-"l is alim

Ikiya

means

dut'

by which

the SUM u.

'

II iva _HMjUfStrd liii;

iu) au.l \vh;ii

;^"

tin-MiinJ(mrt/<

speechthe Savitri. \\ iniinl. _v.-rily th- i

h,

and

\vhTt'V.T tlu'iv is _speech, tln-r niiii1 ; thu> ' _are

two

_sources

and

_one

coupl . 'I'll'

1

fe

;i.

and

llu- earth, tii- S;ivitri; wln-ivvcr

th-alwa '

:i,

and

\\i thereai'., ith:

and one_coupl^.

_Vayu

:id '-th'-r, tin- S.-iviiri ; wliere\

id wherever tlicr v,

and

\\ thus th ' the .nd the .11 : thin ' i'h' COefl :nnl OD6

and uli '"also18

Thosr ! {}l''

L!2

INTRODUCTION.

(abbhra)isS&vit&,

and

rain(vardui) theSavitii; wherever there

is cloml tin-re is rain,

and where

there is rain, there is cloud; thus there are

two

sources

and

one

_couple.

The

_lightning (c'tdywt)is Savita,

and

the

thunder

(stanayitnu), theSavitri ;

wherever

there is _{lightning there}is _thunder,

and where

theio is

thunder there also is _lightning; thusthere are

two

sources

and

one_couple. Life_(prdna)is _Savita,

and

food_{(anna), the}Savitri;

wherever

thereislifethere is_food,

and

where

thereisfood there

also is life

; thus thereare

two

sources

and

one _couple.

The

Vedas

are Savita,

and

the_{metres (ckhandas),}the Savitri;

wher-ever there are _{Vedas, there are metres,}

and where

there are

metres, there alsoare the

Vedas

; thus there are

two

sources

and

one_couple. Sacrifice(_Yajfta)isSavita,

and

fee

(dakshinA),

the _Savitri;

wherever

thereis sacrifice there is _fee,

and where

there isfeetherealsois_sacrifice;thusthere are

two

sources

and

one

_couple.

These

_{verily are}the twelve _couples/

"

Verily

Brahma

beheldthis _recepacle, the adorable

prosperi-ty, (the Savitri aliasGayatri).

Meditate

on

it. If it

be

religi-ouslyheld, (vrate), itabides1_*

in truth.

_He,

Savita,

bavin*

created

Brahmanas

from

the _Savitri,held it_{within him,}

hence

thefirstfoot oftheSavitriis savitur

_varenyam

_{the preeminient}

portion of Savita, (a play

upon

the

word

vrata, religiously

held

and

thence

_varenyam

the _preeminent.)

_By

the earth is

upheld the

Rig

hymns

;

by

the

Rig

hymns,

Agni

;

by

Agni,

prosperity (sri,here intendedfor Savitri);

by

_prosperity,

woman

;

by woman,

a couple;

by

acouple,

man

;

by man, work

;

by

work,

religious austerity;

by

religious austerity, truth;

by

truth,

Brahma, by

Brahma, Brahmana;

by Brahmana,

devotion;

by

devotion are

Brdhmanas

_bepraised,

made

_voidless,

and

un-broken.

His

thread _{(lineage) remains unbroken,}

and

the

abode

of hislife remains undisturbed

who knows

this the first

foot of the Savitri, or

knowing

explains it.

i.\Ti;.'ii . 1 1 -j:

IV of th

) is tin- seounl toot of tho Savitri.

By

ether

U

the

-h _upheld ;

by

i 5

- i

; _ly th.-

Vavu,

cloud;

by tii-- _{eloud, rain: by the} rain. h.-rbs

and

:

and

:by work,austiritv ;bv_austirity,

truth; _bytruth,

Brahma

;_byjli'.iliina.

Urahmana

; lv IJndunana,

:

liy devotion is

Brahmana

b

and

unbroken. H;> thread T _{imainaunbrokon,}

and

the

ahodc

of his life ivniains undisturln'1,'who

knows

this tho

i 1 foot of the _Savitri, or

_knowing

.-xplains it.

II"

who

irradiatesour understanding/ (<!ltii/tt ;/<> nah

/'/''-'.; is the third foot of the Savitri.

By

the _sky is the

i _upheld;

_by

tin.' S.-ima, _A'ditya; l>y A'ditya, li^ln ;

l>y the liijht, rain ; _l>y the rain, h.-r'o-

and

_trees; liv the herbs

and

trees, animals ;

l>y the animals,

work

; by work, _austerity ;

;ty. truth; by truth, Urainn i ; by Bra'nni, Urali_mat;a ;

in :

by

devotion is the

J>iahmana

and imhrokeu. His

Im-M^v

remains

unbi >f his life n-niaius umii-turlied,

be third :

!]', or

knou

in-plain

i.us

knows

_this^ is, ,f a truth,

I

quired, digested

and

well un<; r>\ Urabn,

tlie ether acMjuii-.

ud

wellunderstood. Uv iiu-

tin-l-and well und'-rstood. IIv \',-i\u

juir-'d. -i .ml well understood.

lly li^ht is

L H\ wateris earth

a

quii : rth _ia i

fjiiii'i-d. '! ad well mid*

and well mi :

Hy

lif-- Ifl milli

a'-|iiiie.l. di id w.-ll i '-h aoquii

and

.

By

speech an-; ; ' v

~ 1

IMKoDl

_CTION,

elfin si!sar,1 _sit

nuti

1

i in this_order, and ihereof is sacrifice (ho

highest

"Those

\v1ioknow the above think that _they kn<nv it _.rightly);

but

in_{reality they}

know

it not. Sacrifice is

.established <>u

the

Vedas

; the

Vedas

arc established

on

speech; speech

is established on the

mind;

tin

mind

isestablished

on

life; life is established

on

food; food is established on. the earth; the earth is established

on

_water; water is established

on

light; light is established on wiiid; the

wind

is established

on

ether;the etheris established on

_{Brahma; Brahma}

is

esta-blished on Bralnnanas _{acquainted with}

Brahma.

_Verily

he

asconscient of

Brahmi who

knows

this.

He

achieves meri-torious_acts,

and

sweet odours,

he

destroys all sins,

and

enjoys endless _grace,

who

knows

this; as also he,

who

knowing

this, adores the

Upanishad

which

has the Savitri, the

mother

ofthe Vedas, forits

subject."

This _{interpretation} differs

from

what

is

generally received

by later authors,

inasmuch

as it _seperates the _epithet

_varenya

from

_bliarga,

and

makes

the

two

distinct. This, however, is

more

_{apparent than} real, for it is

_merely

allegorical,

and

does

not alter the sense. Otherwise it is

on

all fours with the

belief of the

Hindus

_{that the object} adored is

Brahma

or the

universal soul,

and

therefore also of the sun,

and

not the sun itselfas_represented

_by

its_rays.

As

the _{interpretation} is

the oldest

we

_possess,

and

was

_given within a short time

after _{the Gayatri}

had been

_composed, this fact is

_worthy

of note, particularly as it is at variance with the version _given

~by

some European

orientalists,notably

by

the late Professor

Wilson,

which

makes

the sun itself to be the_{object of}

wor-ship. Itisofcourse impossible tosay

what

the author of the

Gayatri himself had in view, but his Indian commentators,

both ancient

and modern,

are at one_{in believing that}he rose

from

nature

_up

to nature's _God,

and

adored thatsublime

lumi-nary

which

is visible _onlytothe _eye of reason,

and

not the

i\Il;ii|i CTI<

21

with a _kaij'lik.i on _{the importai}

or

wash

in_ 'lum-nei? !\. Ti I chapter d the duties _appro1 llralm; i

in-dispassion, m>-ndieity, chastity d< motion to tin- tutor,

mil fixing the tinn- to !) _ieVOt^d to

rom

twehret

_t\\Mty-tur

_years,

much

the

same

as tlwse _,L;ivni in _{the Grihy;i}

! for no remark. A !>-.'iu) follows in

which

._je of th- nanio ,.t Kahandhi, >on ct' Kal;ni'lha, :MI

A'tliar-; :

>hi, 18described afl an _{int.-lli^pnt li>putant.} a kn

of the

M

nil srlt-surficient to _{a degree.}

II with the _pi

'

tlie _{jjroat king}

Yan-MI 1

questiona tl-c-Mi about the

duti-ttd the _pini -ul ii-

knowlr

: them.

i-rict' and ii 8 ral other _legends

rilio the various _{retjuij-finents} of E

Of

tli'-s-? Ini-'t aeeounts will he found in the table of

omt

i ,ned

d.lish tli. _preeminence ( ih- .\iliar the

othei

pens with

an

injunction that tl. -tsatasacrifice should

know

the tour Veda-, andti

with tin :i the Ki._r, ^'a|ll>ll,and Saina,

is, I . il with Miimlier of feet than _{four, or}

a

man

with on with our wherl. _incapable

u h.- _pin o; nd tli.-n fol-;V the )j.. I the l.,.dv I

why

why

th-- le.rh I)