III, 12. Prayer at the building of a house.
1
Right here do I erect a firm house: may it stand upon a (good) foundation,
dripping with ghee! Thee may we inhabit, O house, with heroes all, with strong
heroes, with uninjured heroes!
2
Right here, do thou, O house, stand firmly,
full of horses, full of cattle, full of abundance! Full of sap, full of ghee,
full of milk, elevate thyself unto great happiness!
3
A supporter art thou,
O house, with broad roof, containing purified grain! To thee may the calf come,
to thee the child, to thee the milch-cows, when they return in the
evening!
4
May Savitar, Vāyu, Indra, Brihaspati cunningly erect this house!
Alay the Alaruts sprinkle it with moisture and with ghee; may king Bhaga let our
ploughing take root!
5
O mistress of dwelling, as a sheltering and kindly
goddess thou wast erected by the gods in the bealrinina [sic]; clothed in grass, be
thou kindly disposed; give us, moreover, wealth along with heroes!
6
Do
thou, O cross-beam, according to regulation ascend the post, do thou, mightily
ruling, hold off the enemies! May they that approach thee reverently, O house,
not suffer injury, may we with all our heroes live a hundred autumns!
7
Hither to this (house) hath come the tender child, hither the calf along with
(the other) domestic animals; hither the vessel (full) of liquor, together with
bowls of sour milk!
8
Carry forth, O woman, this full jar, a stream of ghee
mixed with ambrosia! Do thou these drinkers supply with ambrosia; the sacrifice
and the gifts (to the Brahmans) shall it (the house) protect!
9
These
waters, free from disease, destructive of disease, do I carry forth. The
chambers do I enter in upon together with the immortal Agni (fire).
VI, 142. Blessing during the sowing of seed.
1
Raise thyself up, grow thick by thy own might, O grain! Burst every
vessel! The lightning in the heavens shall not destroy thee!
2
When we
invoke thee, god grain, and thou dost listen, then do thou raise thyself up like
the sky, be inexhaustible as the sea!
3
Inexhaustible shall be those that
attend to thee, inexhaustible thy heaps! They who give thee as a present shall be
inexhaustible, they who eat thee shall be inexhaustible!
VI, 79. Charm for procuring increase of grain.
1
May this bounteous Nabhasaspati (the lord of the cloud) preserve for us
(possessions) without measure in our house!
2
Do thou, O Nabhasaspati, keep
strengthening food in our house, may prosperity and goods come hither!
3
O
bounteous god, thou dost command thousandfold prosperity: of that do thou bestow
upon us, of that do thou give us, in that may we share with thee!
VI, 50. Exorcism of vermin infesting grain in the field.
1
Slay ye the tarda ('borer'), the samanka ('hook'), and the mole, O Asvins;
cut off their heads, and crush their ribs! Shut their mouths, that they shall
not eat the barley; free ye, moreover, the grain from danger!
2
Ho tarda
('borer'), ho locust, ho gabhya ('snapper'), upakvasa! As a Brahman (eats not)
an uncompleted sacrifice, do ye, not eating this barley, without working injury,
get out!
3
O husband of the tardā (-female), O husband Of the vaghā
(-female), ye of the sharp teeth, listen to me! The vyadvaras (' rodents') of
the forest, and whatever other vyadvaras (there are), all these we do crush.
VII, 11. Charm to protect grain from lightning.
1
With thy broad thunder,with the beacon, elevated by tile gods that pervade
this all, with the lightning do thou not destroy our grain, O god; nor do thou
destroy it with the rays of the sun!
II, 26. Charm for the prosperity of cattle.
1
Hither shall come the cattle which have strayed to a distance, whose
companionship Vāyu (the wind) enjoys! (The cattle) whose structure of form
Tvashtar knows, Savitar shall hold in place in this stable!
2
To this stable
the cattle shall flow together, Brihaspati skilfully shall conduct them hither!
Sīnīvālī shall conduct hither their van: do thou, O Anumati, hold them in place
after they have arrived!
3
May the cattle, may the horses, and may the
domestics flow together; may the increase of the grain flow together! I
sacrifice with an oblation that causeth to flow together!
4
I pour together
the milk of the cows, I pour together strength and sap with the ghee. Poured
together shall be our heroes, constant shall be the cows with me the owner of
the cows!
5
I bring hither the milk of the cows, I have brought hither the
sap of the grain. Brought hither are our heroes, brought hither to this house
are our wives.
III, 14. Charm for the prosperity of cattle.
1
With a firmly founded stable, with wealth, with well-being, with the name
of that which is born on a lucky day do we unite you (O cattle)!
2
May
Aryaman unite you, may Pūshan, Brihaspati, and Indra, the conqueror of booty,
unite you! Do ye prosper my possessions!
Flocking together without fear,
making ordure in this stable, holding honey fit for soma, free from disease, ye
shall come hither!
4
Right here come, ye cows, and prosper here like the
sakā-bird! And right here do ye beget (your youn(y [sic])! May ye be in accord with
me!
5
May your stable be auspicious to you, prosper ye like the sāri-birds
and parrots! And right here do ye beget (your young)! With us do we unite
you.
6
Attach yourselves, O cows, to me as your possessor; may this stable
here cause you to prosper! Upon you, growing numerous, and living, may we,
increasing in wealth, alive, attend!
VI, 59. Prayer to the plant arundhatī for protection to cattle.
1
Thy foremost protection, O Arundhatī, do thou bestow upon steer and
milch-kine, upon (cattle of) the age when weaned from their mother, upon (all)
four-footed creatures!
2
May Arundhatī, the herb, bestow protection along
with the gods, render full of sap the stable, free from disease our men!
3
The variegated, lovely, life-giving (plant) do I invoke. May she carry away for
us, far from the cattle, the missile hurled by Rudra!
VI, 70. Charm to secure the attachment of a cow to her calf.
1
As meat, and liquor, and dice (abound) at the gambling-place, as the heart
of the lusty male hankers after the woman, thus shall thy heart, O cow, hanker
after the calf!
2
As the elephant directs his steps after the steps of the
female, as the heart of the lusty male hankers after the woman, thus shall thy
heart, O cow, hanker after the calf!
3
As the felloe, and as the spokes, and
as the nave (of the wheel is joined) to the felloe, as the heart of the lusty
male hankers after the woman, thus shall thy heart, O cow, hanker after the
calf!
III, 28. Formula in expiation of the birth of twin-calves
1
Through one creation at a time this (cow) was born, when the fashioners of
the beings did create the cows of many colours. (Therefore), when a cow doth
beget twins portentously, growling and cross she injureth the cattle.
2
This
(cow) doth injure our cattle: a flesh-eater, devourer, she hath become. Hence to
a Brahman he shall give her; in this way she may be kindly and auspicious!
3
Auspicious be to (our) men, auspicious to (our) cows and horses, auspicious to
this entire field, auspicious be to us right here!
4
Here be prosperity,
here be sap! Be thou here one that especially gives a thousandfold! Make the
cattle prosper, thou mother of twins!
5
Where our pious friends live
joyously, having left behind the ailments of their bodies, to that world the
mother of twins did attain: may she not injure our men and our cattle!
6
Where is the world of our pious friends, where the world of them that sacrifice
with the agnihotra, to that world the mother of twins did attain: may she not
injure our imen [sic] and our cattle!
VI, 92. Charm to endow a horse with swiftness.
1
Swift as the wind be thou, O steed, when joined (to the chariot); at
Indra's urging go, fleet as the mind! The Maruts, the all-possessing, shall
harness thee,Tvashtar shall put fleetness into thy feet!
2
With the
fleetness, O runner, that has been deposited in thee in a secret place, (with
the fleetness) that has been made over to the eagle, the wind, and moves in
them, with that, O steed, strong with strength, do thou win the. race, reaching
the goal in the contest!
3
Thy body, O steed, leading (our) body, shall run,
a pleasure to ourselves, delight to thyself! A god, not stumbling, for the
support of the great, he shall, as if upon the heaven, found his own light!
III, 13. Charm for conducting a river into a new channel.
1
Because of yore, when the (cloud-) serpent was slain (by Indra), ye did
rush forth and shout (anadatā), therefore is your name 'shouters' (nadyah
rivers'): that is your designation, ye streams!
2
Because, when sent forth
by Varuna, ye then quickly did bubble up; then Indra met (āpnot) you, as ye
went, therefore anon are ye 'meeters' (āpah waters')!
3
When reluctantly ye
flowed, Indra, forsooth, did with might choose (avīvarata) you as his own, ye
goddesses! Therefore 'choice' (vār 'water') has been given you as your
name!
4
One god stood upon you, as ye flowed according to will. Up breathed
(ud ānishuh) they who are known as 'the great' (mahīh). Therefore 'upbreather'
(udakam 'water') are they called!
5
The waters are kindly, the waters in
truth were ghee. These waters, truly, do support Agni and Soma. May the readily
flowing, strong sap of the honey-dripping (waters) come to me, together with
life's breath and lustre!
6
Then do I see them and also do I hear them;
their sound, their voice doth come to me. When, ye golden-coloured, I have
refreshed myself with you, then I ween, ambrosia (amrita) am I tasting!
7
Here, ye waters, is your heart, here is your calf, ye righteous ones! Come ye,
mighty ones, by this way here, by which I am conducting you here!
VI, 106. Charm to ward off danger from fire.
1
Where thou comest, (O fire), and where thou goest away, the blooming
dūrvā-plant shall grow: a well-spring there shall rise up, or a lotus-laden
pool!
2
Here (shall be) the gathering place of the waters, here the
dwelling-place of the sea! In the midst of a pond our house shall be: turn, (O
fire), away thy jaws!
With a covering of coolness do we envelop thee, O
house; cool as a pond be thou for us! Agni shall furnish the remedy!
IV, 3. Shepherd's charm against wild beasts and robbers.
1
Three have gone away from here, the tiger, man, and wolf. Out of sight,
forsooth, cm the rivers, out of siaht (grows the divine tree (the banyan-tree?):
out of sight the enemies shall retreat!
2
The wolf shall tread a distant
path, and the robber one still more distant! On a distant path shall move the
biting rope (the serpent), on a distant path the plotter of evil!
3
Thy eyes
and thy jaw we crush, O tiger, and also all thy twenty claws.
4
We crush the
tiger, the foremost of animals, armed with teeth. Next, too, the thief, and then
the serpent, the wizard, and also the wolf.
5
The thief that approacheth
to-day, crushed to pieces he goeth away. Where the paths are precipitate he
shall go, Indra shall slay him with his bolt!
6
The teeth of the wild beast
are dulled, and broken are his ribs. Out of thy sight the dragon shall go, down
shall tumble the hare-hunting beast!
7
The (jaw, O beast,) that thou
shuttest together, thou shalt not open up; that which thou openest up, thou
shalt not shut together!--Born of Indra, born of Soma, thou, (my charm), art
Atharvan's crusher of tigers.
III, 15. A merchant's prayer.
1
Indra, the merchant, do I summon: may he come to us, may he be our van;
driving away the demon of grudge, the waylayers, and wild beasts, may he, the
possessor, bestow wealth upon me!
2
May the many paths, the roads of the
gods, which come together between heaven and earth, c,ladden [sic] me with milk and
ghee, so that I may gather in wealth from my purchases!
3
Desirous do I, O
Agni, with firewood and ghee offer oblations (to thee), for success and
strength; according to ability praising (thee) with my prayer, do I sing this
divine song, that I may gain a hundredfold!
4
(Pardon, O Agni, this sin of
ours [incurred upon] the far road which we have travelled!) May our purchases
and our sales be successful for us; may what I get in barter render me a gainer!
May ye two (Indra and Agni) in accord take pleasure in this oblation! May our
transactions and the accruing gain be auspicious to us!
5
The wealth with
which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may
that grow more, not less! Drive away, O Agni, in return for the oblation, the
gods who shut off gain!
6
The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring,
ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may Indra, Pragāpati, Savitar, Soma,
Agni, place lustre into it for me!
7
We praise with reverence thee, O priest
(Agni) Vaisvdnara. Do thou over our children, selves, cattle, and life's breath
watch!
8
Daily, never failing, shall we bring (oblations to thee), O
Gātavedas, (as if fodder) to a horse standing (in the stable). In growth of
wealth and nutriment rejoicing, may we, O Agni, thy neighbours, not take
harm!
IV, 38. A. Prayer for success in gambling.
1
The successful, victorious, skilfully gaming Apsarā, that Apsarā who makes
the winnings in the game of dice, do I call hither.
2
The skilfully gaming
Apsarā who sweeps and heaps up (the stakes), that Apsarā who takes the winnings
in the game of dice, do I call hither.
May she, who dances about with the
dice, when she takes the stakes from the game of dice, when she desires to win
for us, obtain the advantage by (her) magic! May she come to us full of
abundance! Let them not win this wealth of ours!
4
The (Apsarās) who rejoice
in dice, who carry grief and wrath-that joyful and exulting Apsarā, do I call
hither.
B. Prayer to secure the return of calves that have strayed to a distance.
5
They (the cattle) who wander along the rays of the sun, or they who wander
along the flood of light) they whose bull (the. sun), full of strength, from
afar protecting, with the day wanders about all the worlds-may he (the bull),
full of strength, delighting in this offering, come to us together with the
atmosphere!
6
Together with the atmosphere, O thou who art full of strength,
protect the white (karkī) calf, O thou swift steed (the sun)! Here are many
drops (of ghee) for thee; come hither! May this white calf (karkī) of thine, may
thy mind, be here!
7
Together with the atmosphere, O thou who art full of
strength, protect the white (karkī) calf, O thou swift steed (the sun)! Here is
the fodder, here the stall, here do we tie down the calf. Whatever (are your)
names, we own you. Hail!
VII, 50. Prayer for success at dice.
1
As the lightning at all times smites irresistibly the tree, thus would I
to-day irresistibly beat the gamesters with my dice!
2
Whether they be
alert, or not alert, the fortune of (these) folks, unresisting, shall assemble
from all sides, the gain (collect) within my hands!
3
I invoke with
reverence Agni, who has his own riches; here attached he shall beap [sic] up gain for
us! I procure (wealth) for myself, as if with chariots that win the race. May I
accomplish auspiciously the song of praise to the Maruts!
4
May we by thy
aid conquer the (adversary s) troop; help us (to obtain) our share in every
contest! Make for us, O Indra, a good and ample road; crush, O Maghavan, the
lusty power of our enemies!
5
I have conquered and cleaned thee out (?); I
have also gained thy reserve. As the wolf plucks to pieces the sheep, thus do I
pluck thy winnings.
6
Even the strong hand the bold player conquers, as the
skilled gambler heaps up his winnings at the proper time. Upon him that loves
the game (the god), and does not spare his money, (the game, the god) verily
bestows the delights of wealth.
7
Through (the possession of) cattle we all
would suppress (our) wretched poverty, or with grain our hunger, O thou oft
implored (god)! May we foremost among rulers, unharmed, gain wealth by our
cunning devices!
8
Gain is deposited in my right hand, victory in my left.
Let me become a conqueror of cattle, horses, wealth, and gold!
9
O dice,
yield play, profitable as a cow that is rich in milk! Bind me to a streak of
gain, as the bow (is bound) with the string!
VI, 56. Exorcism of serpents from the premises.
1
May the serpent, ye gods, not slay us along with our children and our men!
The closed (jaw) shall not snap open, the open one not close! Reverence (be) to
the divine folk!
2
Reverence be to the black serpent, reverence to the one
that is striped across! To the brown svaga reverence; reverence to the divine
folk!
3
I clap thy teeth upon thy teeth, and also thy jaw upon thy jaw; I
press thy tongue against thy tongue, and close up, O serpent, thy mouth.
X, 4. Charm against serpents, invoking the horse of Pedu that slays serpents.
1
To Indra belongs the first chariot, to the gods the second chariot, to
Varuna, forsooth, the third. The serpents' chariot is the last: it shall hit a
post, and come to grief!
2
The young darbha-grass burns (the serpents?), the
tail of the horse, the tail of the shaggy one, the seat of the wagon (burns the
serpents?).
3
Strike down, O white (horse), with thy forefoot and thy
hind-foot! As timber floating in water, the poison of the serpents, the fierce
fluid, is devoid of strength.
4
Neighing loudly he dived down, and, again
diving up, said: 'As timber floating in water, the poison of the serpents, the
fierce fluid, is devoid of strength.'
5
The horse of Pedu slays the
kasarnīla, the horse of Pedu slays the white (serpent), and also the black. The
horse of Pedu cleaves the head of the ratharvī, the adder.
6
O horse of
Pedu, go thou first: we come after thee! Thou shalt cast out the serpents from
the road upon which we come!
7
Here the horse of Pedu was born; from here is
his departure. Here are the tracks of the serpent-killing, powerful steed!
8
May the closed (serpent's jaw) not snap open, may the open one not close! The
two serpents in this field, man and wife, they are both bereft of
strength.
9
Without strength here are the serpents, those that are near, and
those that are far. With a club do I slay the vriskika (scorpion), with a staff
the serpent that has approached.
10
Here is the remedy for both the aghāsva
and the svaga! Indra (and) Pedu's horse have put to naught the evil-planning
(aghāyantam) serpent.
11
The horse of Pedu do we remember, the strong, with
strong footing: behind he, staring forth, these adders.
12
Deprived are they
of life's spirit, deprived of poison, slain by Indra with his bolt. Indra hath
slain them: we have slain them.
13
Slain are they that are striped across,
crushed are the adders! Slay thou the one that produces a hood, (slay) the white
and the black in the darbha-grass!
14
The maiden of the Kirāta-tribe, the
little one digs up the remedy, with golden spades, on the mountain's
back.
15
Hither has come a youthful physician: he slays the speckled
(serpent), is irresistible. He, forsooth, crushes the svaga and the vriskika
both.
16
Indra did set at naught for me the serpent, (and so did) Mitra and
Varuna, Vāta and Parganya both.
17
Indra did set at naught for me the
serpent, the adder, male and female, the svaga, (the serpent) that is striped
across, the kasarnīla, and the dasonasi.
18
Indra slew thy first ancestor, O
serpent, and since they are crushed, what strength, forsooth, can be
theirs?
19
I have gathered up their heads, as the fisherman the karvara
(fish). I have gone off into the river's midst, and washed out the serpent's
poison.
20
The poison of all serpents the rivers shall carry off! Slain are
they that are striped across, crushed are the adders!
21
As skilfully I cull
the fibre of the plants, as I guide the mares, (thus), O serpent, shall thy
poison go away!
22
The poison that is in the fire, in the sun, in the earth,
and in the plants, the kāndā-poison, the kanaknaka, thy poison shall go forth,
and come!
23
The serpents that are sprung from the fire, that are sprung
from the plants, that are sprung from the water, and originate from the
lightning; they from whom great brood has sprung in many ways, those serpents do
we revere with obeisance.
24
Thou art, (O plant), a maiden, Taudī by name.;
Ghritākī, forsooth, is thy name. Underfoot is thy place: I take in hand what
destroys the poison.
25
From every limb make the poison start; shut it out
from the heart! Now the force that is in thy poison shall go down below!
26
The poison has gone to a distance: he has shut it out; he has fused the poison
with poison. Agni has put away the poison of the serpent, Soma has led it out.
The poison has gone back to the biter. The serpent is dead!
XI, 2. Prayer to Bhava and Sarva for protection from dangers.
1
O Bhava and Sarva, be merciful, do not attack (us); ye lords of beings,
lords of cattle, reverence be to you twain! Discharge not your arrow even after
it has been laid on (the bow), and has been drawn! Destroy not our bipeds and
our quadrupeds!
2
Prepare not our bodies for the dog, or the jackal; for the
aliklavas, the vultures, and the black birds! Thy greedy insects, O lord of
cattle (pasupate), and thy birds shall not get us to devour!
3
Reverence we
offer, O Bhava, to thy roaring, to thy breath, and to thy injurious qualities;
reverence to thee, O Rudra, thousand-eyed, immortal!
4
We offer reverence to
thee from the east, from the north, and from the -south; from (every) domain,
and from heaven. Reverence be to thy atmosphere!
5
To thy face, O lord of
cattle, to thy eyes, O Bhava, to thy skin, to thy form, thy appearance, (and to
thy aspect) from behind, reverence be!
6
To thy limbs, to thy belly, to thy
tongue, to thy mouth, to thy teeth, to thy smell (nose), reverence be!
7
May
we not conflict with Rudra, the archer with the dark crest, the thousand-eyed,
powerful one, the slayer of Ardhaka!
8
Bhava shall steer clear from us on
all sides, Bhava shall steer clear from us, as fire from water! May he not bear
malice towards us: reverence be to him!
9
Four times, eight times, be
reverence to Bhava, ten times be reverence to thee, O lord of cattle! To thy
(charge) have been assigned these five (kinds of) cattle: cows, horses, men,
goats and sheep.
10
Thine, O strong god (ugra), are the four regions, thine
the sky, thine the earth, and thine this broad atmosphere; thine is this all
that has a spirit and has breath upon the earth.
11
Thine is this broad,
treasure-holding receptacle within which all worlds are contained. Do thou spare
us, O lord of cattle: reverence be to thee! Far from us shall go the jackals,
evil omens, dogs; far shall go (the mourning women) who bewail misfortune with
dishevelled hair!
12
Thou, O crested (god), carriest in (thy hand), that
smites thousands, a yellow, golden bow that slays hundreds; Rudra's arrow, the
missile of the gods, flies abroad: reverence be to it, in whatever direction
from here (it flies)!
13
The adversary who lurks and seeks to overcome thee,
O Rudra, upon him thou dost fasten thyself from behind, as (the hunter) that
follows the trail of a wounded (animal).
14
Bhava and Rudra, united and
concordant, both strong (ugrau), ye advance to deeds of heroism: reverence be to
both of them, in whatever direction (they are) from here!
15
Reverence be to
thee coming, reverence to thee going; reverence, O Rudra, be to thee standing,
and reverence, also, to thee sitting!
16
Reverence in the evening, reverence
in the morning, reverence by night,reverence by day! I have offered reverence to
Bhava and to Sarva, both.
17
Let us not with our tongue offend Rudra, who
rushes on, thousand-eyed, overseeing all, who hurls (his shafts) forward, who is
manifoldly wise!
18
We approach first the (god) that has dark horses, is
black, sable, destructive, terrible, who casts down the car of Kesin: reverence
be to him!
19
Do not hurl at us thy club, thy divine bolt; be not incensed
at us, O lord of cattle! Shake over some other than us the celestial
branch!
20
Injure us not, interpose for us, spare us, be not angry with us!
Let us not contend with thee!
21
Do not covet our cattle, our men, our goats
and sheep! Bend thy course elsewhere, O strong god (ugra), slay the offspring of
the blasphemers!
22
He whose missile, fever and cough, assails the single
(victim), as the snorting of a stallion, who snatches away (his victims) one by
one, to him be reverence!
23
He who dwells fixed in the atmosphere, smiting
the blasphemers of the god that do not sacrifice, to him be reverence with ten
sakvarī-stanzas!
24
For thee the wild beasts of the forest have been placed
in the forest: flamingoes, eagles, birds of prey, and fowls. Thy spirit, O lord
of cattle, is within the waters, to strengthen thee the heavenly waters
flow.
25
The dolphins, great serpents (boas), purīkayas (water-animals),
sea-monsters, fishes, ragasas at which thou shootest-there exists for thee, O
Bhava, no distance, and no barrier. At a glance thou lookest around the entire
earth; from the eastern thou slayest in the northern ocean.
26
Do not, O
Rudra, contaminate us with fever, or with poison, or with heavenly fire: cause
this lightning to descend elsewhere than upon us!
27
Bhava rules the sky,
Bhava rules the earth; Bhava has filled the broad: atmosphere. Reverence be to
him in whatever direction from here (he abides)!
28
O king Bhava, be
merciful to thy worshipper, for thou art the lord of living beasts! He who
believes the gods exist, to his quadruped and biped be merciful!
29
Slay
neither our great nor our small; neither those of us that are riding, nor those
that shall ride; neither our father, nor our mother. Cause no injury, O Rudra,
to our own persons!
30
To Rudra's howling dogs, who swallow their food
without blessing, who have wide jaws, I have made this obeisance.
31
Reverence, O god, be to thy shouting hosts, reverence to thy long-haired,
reverence to thy reverenced, reverence to thy devouring hosts! May well-being
and security be to us!
IV, 28. Prayer to Bhava and Sarva for protection from calamities.
1
O Bhava and Sarva, I am devoted to you. Take note of that, ye under whose
control, is all this which shines (the visible universe)! Ye who rule all these
two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity!
2
Ye to whom
belongs all that is near by, yea, all that is far; ye who are known as the most
skilful archers among bowmen; ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed
creatures, deliver us from calamity!
3
The thousand-eyed slayers of Vritra
both do I invoke. I go praising the two strong gods (ugrau) whose pastures
extend far. Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver
us from calamity!
4
Ye who, united, did undertake many (deeds) of old, and,
moreover, did visit portents upon the. people; ye who rule all these two-footed
and fourfooted creatures, deliver us from calamity!
5
Ye from whose blows no
one either among gods or men escapes; ye who rule all these twofooted and
four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity!
6
The sorcerer who prepares
a spell, or manipulates the roots (of plants) against us, against him, ye strong
gods, launch your thunderbolt! Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed
creatures, deliver us from calamity.
7
Ye strong gods, favour us in battles,
bring into contact with your thunderbolt the Kimīdin! I praise you, O Bhava and
Sarva, call fervently upon you in distress: deliver us from calamity!
VII, 9. Charm for finding lost property.
1
On the distant path of the paths Pūshan was born, on the distant path of
heaven, on the distant path of the earth. Upon the two most lovely places both
he walks hither and away, knowing (the way).
2
Pūshan knows these regions
all; he shall lead us by the most dangerless (way). Bestowing well-being, of
radiant glow, keeping our heroes undiminished, he shall, alert and skilful, go
before us!
3
O Pūshan, under thy law may we never suffer harm: as praisers
of thee are we here!
4
Pūshan shall from the east place his right hand about
us, shall bring again to us what has been lost: we shall come upon what has been
lost!
VI, 128. Propitiation of the weather-prophet.
1
When the stars made Sakadhūma their king they bestowed good weather upon
him: 'This shall be his dominion,' they said.
2
Let us have good weather at
noon, good weather at eve, good weather in the early morning, good weather in
the night
3
For day and night, for the stars, for sun and moon, and for us
prepare good weather, O king Sakadhūma!
4
To thee, O Sakadhūma, ruler of the
stars, that gavest us good weather in the evening in the night, and by day, let
there ever be obeisance!
XI, 6. Prayer for deliverance from calamity, addressed to the entire pantheon.
1
To Agni we speak and to the trees, to the plants and to the herbs; to
Indra, Brihaspati, and Sūya: they shall deliver us from calamity!
2
We speak
to king Varuna, to Mitra, Vishnu and Bhaga. To Amsa and Vivasvant do we speak:
they shall deliver us from calamity!
3
We speak to Savitar, the god, to
Dhātar, and to Pūshan; to first-born Tvashtar do we speak: they shall deliver us
from calamity!
4
We speak to the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, to the Asvins
and to Brahmanaspati, to the god whose name is Aryaman: they shall deliver us
from calamity!
5
Now do we speak to day and night, to Sūrya (sun) and to
Kandramas (moon), the twain; to all the Ādityas we speak: they shall deliver us
from calamity!
6
We speak to Vāta (wind) and Parganya, to the atmosphere and
the directions of space. And to all the regions do we speak: they shall deliver
us from calamity!
7
Day and night, and Ushas (dawn), too, shall deliver thee
from curses! Soma the god, whom they call Kandramas (moon), shall deliver
me!
8
To the animals of the earth and those of heaven, to the wild beasts of
the forest, to the winged birds, do we speak: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
9
Now do we speak to Bhava and Sarva, to Rudra and Pasupati; their
arrows do we know well: these (arrows) shall be ever propitious to us!
10
We
speak to the heavens, and the stars, to earth, the Yakshas, and the mountains;
to the seas.. the rivers, and the lakes: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
11
To the seven Rishis now do we speak, to the divine waters and
Pragāpati. To the Fathers with Yama at their head: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
12
The gods that dwell in heaven, and those that dwell in the
atmosphere; the mighty (gods) that are fixed upon the earth, they shall deliver
us from
calamity!
13
The Ādityas, Rudras, Vasus, the divine Atharvans in
heaven, and the wise Angiras: they shall deliver us from calamity!
14
We
speak to the sacrifice and the sacrificer, to the riks, the sāmans, and the
healing (Atharvan) charms; we speak to the yagus-formulas and the invocations
(to the gods): they shall deliver us from calamity!
15
We speak to the five
kingdoms of the plants with soma the most excellent among them. The
darbha-grass, hemp, and mighty barley: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
16
We speak to the Arāyas (demons of grudge), Rakshas, serpents,
pious men, and Fathers; to the one and a hundred deaths: they shall deliver us
from calamity!
17
To the seasons we speak, to the lords of the seasons, and
to the sections of the year; to the halfyears, years, and months: they shall
deliver us from calamity!
18
Come, ye gods, from the south and the west; ye
gods in the east come forth! From the east, from the north the mighty gods, all
the gods assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity!
19, 20. We speak
here to all the gods that hold to their agreements, promote the order (of the
universe), together with all their wives: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
21
We speak to being, to the lord of being, and also to him that
controls the beings; to the beings all assembled: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
22
The five divine regions, the twelve divine seasons, the teeth
of the year, they shall ever be propitious, to us!
23
The amrita (ambrosia),
bought for the price of a chariot, which Mātalī knows as a remedy, that Indra
stored away in the waters: that, O ye waters, furnish ye as a remedy!