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Atharva Veda
Translator - Maurice Bloomfield

VI, 91. Barley and water as universal remedies.
1. This barley they did plough vigorously, with yokes of eight and yokes of six. With it I drive off to a far distance the ailment from thy body.
2. Downward blows the wind, downward burns the sun, downward the cow is milked: downward shall thy ailment pass!
3. The waters verily are healing, the waters chase away disease, the waters cure all (disease): may they prepare a remedy for thee!
VIII, 7. Hymn to all magic and medicinal plants, used as a universal remedy.
1. The plants that are brown, and those that are white; the red ones and the speckled ones; the sable and the black plants, all (these) do we invoke.
2. May they protect this man from the disease sent by the gods, the herbs whose father is the sky, whose mother is the earth, whose root is the ocean.
3. The waters and the heavenly plants are foremost; they have driven out from every limb thy disease, consequent upon sin.
4. The plants that spread forth, those that are busby, those that have a single sheath, those that creep along, do I address; I call in thy behalf the plants that have shoots, those that have stalks, those that divide their branches, those that are derived from all the gods, the strong (plants) that furnish
life to man.
5. With the might that is yours, ye mighty ones, with the power and strength that is yours, with that do ye, O plants, rescue this man from this disease!
I now prepare a remedy.
6. The plants givalâ ('quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'), gîvanti ('living'), and the arundhatî, which removes (disease), is full of blossoms, and rich in honey, do I call to exempt him from injury.
7. Hither shall come the intelligent (plants) that understand my speech, that we may bring this man into safety out of misery!
8. They that are the food of Agni (the fire), the offspring of the waters, that grow ever renewing themselves, the firm (plants) that bear a thousand names, the healing (plants), shall be brought hither!
9. The plants, whose womb is the avaki (blyxa octandra), whose essence are the waters, shall with their sharp horns thrust aside evil!
10. The plants which release, exempt from Varuna (dropsy), are strong, and destroy poison; those, too, that remove (the disease) baldsa, and ward off witchcraft shall come hither!'
11. The plants that have been bought, that are right potent, and are praised, shall protect in this village cow, horse, man, and cattle!
12. Honied are the roots of these herbs, honied their tops, honied their middles, honied their leaves, honied their blossoms; they share in honey, are the food of immortality. May they yield ghee, and food, and cattle chief of all!
13. As many in number and in kind the plants here are upon the earth, may they, furnished with a thousand leaves, release me from death and misery!
14. Tiger-like is the amulet (made of) herbs, a saviour, a protector against hostile schemes: may it drive off far away from us all diseases and the Rakshas!
15. As if at the roar of the lion they start with fright, as if (at the roar) of fire they tremble before the (plants) that have been brought hither. The diseases of cattle and men have been driven out by the herbs: let them pass into navigable streams!
16. The plants release us from Agni Vaisvânara. Spreading over the earth, go ye, whose king is the tree!
17. The plants, descended from Angiras, that grow upon the mountains and in the plains, shall be for us rich in milk, auspicious, comforting to the heart!
18. The herbs which I know, and those which I see with my sight; the unknown, those which we know, and those which we perceive to be charged with (power),--
19. All plants collectively shall note my words, that we may bring this man into safety out of misfortune,--
20. The asvattha (ficus religiosa), and the darbha among the plants; king Soma, amrita (ambrosia) and the oblation; rice and barley, the two healing, immortal children of heaven!
21. Ye arise: it is thundering and crashing, ye plants, since Parganya (the god of rain) is favouring you, O children of Prisni (the spotted cloud), with (his) seed (water).
22. The strength of this amrita (ambrosia) do we crive this man to drink. Moreover, I prepare a remedy, that he may live a hundred years!
23. The boar knows, the ichneumon knows the healing plant. Those that the serpents and Gandharvas know, I call hither for help.
24. The plants, derived from the Angiras, which the eagles and the heavenly raghats (falcons) know, which the birds and the flamingos know, which all winged (creatures) know, which all wild animals know, I call hither for help.
25. As many plants as the oxen and kine, as many as the goats and the sheep feed upon, so many plants, when applied, shall furnish protection to thee!
26. As many (plants), as the human physicians know to contain a remedy, so many, endowed with every healing quality, do I apply to thee!
27. Those that have flowers, those that have blossoms, those that bear fruit, and those that are without fruit, as if from the same mother they shall suck sap, to exempt this man from injury!
28. 1 have saved thee from a depth of five fathoms, and, too, from a depth of ten fathoms; moreover, from the foot-fetter of Yama, and from every sin against the gods.

VI, 96. Plants as a panacea.

1. The many plants of hundredfold aspect, whose king is Soma, which have been begotten by Brihaspati, shall free us from calamity!
2. May they free us from (the calamity) consequent upon curses, and also from the (toils) of Varuna; moreover, from the foot-fetter of Yama, and every sin against the gods!
3. What laws we have infringed upon, with the eye, the mind, and speech, either while awake, or asleep-may Soma by his (divine) nature clear these (sins) away from us!

II, 32. Charm to secure perfect health.

1. From thy eyes, thy nostrils, ears, and chin--the disease which is seated in thy head--from thy brain and tongue I do tear it out.
2. From thy neck, nape of the neck, ribs, and spine--the disease which is seated in thy fore-arm--from thy shoulders and arms I do tear it out.
3. From thy heart, thy lungs, viscera, and sides; from thy kidneys, spleen, and liver we do tear out the disease.
4. From thy entrails, canals, rectum, and abdomen; from thy belly, guts, and navel I do tear out the disease.
5. From thy thighs, knees, heels, and the tips of thy feet--from thy hips I do tear out the disease seated in thy buttocks, from thy bottom the disease seated in thy buttocks.
6. From thy bones, marrow, sinews and arteries; from thy hands, fingers, and nails I do tear out the disease.
7. The disease that is in thy every limb, thy every hair, thy every joint; that which is seated in thy skin, with Kasyapa's charm, that tears out, to either side we do tear it out.

IX, 8. Charm to procure immunity from all diseases.

1. Headache and suffering in the head, pain in the ears and flow of blood, every disease of the head, do we charm forth from thee.
2. From thy ears, from thy kankûshas the earpain, and the neuralgia--every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee.
3. (With the charm) through whose agency disease hastens forth from the ears and the mouth-every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee.
4. (The disease) that renders a man deaf and blind--every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee.
5. Pain in the limbs, fever in the limbs, the neuralgia that affects every limb-every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee.
6. (The disease) whose frightful aspect makes man tremble, the takman (fever) that comes every autumn, do we charm forth from thee.
7. The disease that creeps along the thighs, and then enters the canals, out of thy inner parts do we charm forth.
8. If from the heart, from love, or from disgust, it arises, from thy heart and from thy limbs the balâsa do we charm forth.
9. Jaundice from thy limbs, diarrhoea from within thy bowels, the core of disease from thy inner soul do we charm forth.
10. To ashes (âsa) the balâsa shall turn; what is diseased shall turn to urine! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee.
11. Outside the opening (of the bladder) it shall run off; the rumbling shall pass from thy belly! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee.
12. From thy belly, lungs, navel, and heart-the poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee.
13. (The pains) that split the crown (of the head), pierce the head, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
14. They that pierce the heart, creep along the ribs, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
15. They that pierce the sides, bore along the ribs, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
16. They that pierce crosswise, burrow in thy abdomen, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
17. They that creep along the rectum, twist the bowels, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
18. They that suck the marrow, and split the joints, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
19. The diseases and the injuries that paralyse thy limbs, the poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee.
20. Of neuralgia, of abscesses, of inflation, or of inflammation of the eyes, the poison of all diseases I have driven forth from thee.
21. From thy feet, knees, thighs, and bottom; from thy spine, and thy neck the piercing pains, from thy head the ache I have removed.
22. Firm are the bones of thy skull, and the beat of thy heart. At thy rising, O sun, thou didst remove the pains of the head, quiet the pangs in the limbs.

II, 29. Charm for obtaining long life and prosperity by transmission of disease.

1. In the essence of earthly bliss, O ye gods, in strength of body (may he live)! May Agni, Sûrya, Brihaspati bestow upon him life's vigour!
2. Give life to him, O Gâtavedas, bestow in addition progeny upon him, O Tvashtar; procure, O Savitar, increase of wealth for him; may this one, who belongs to thee, live a hundred autumns!
3. May our prayer bestow upon us vigour, and possession of sound. progeny; ability and property do ye two, (O heaven and earth), bestow upon us!, May he, conquering lands with might, (live), O Indra, subjecting the others, his enemies!
4. Given by Indra, instructed by Varuna, sent by the Maruts, strong, he has come to us; may he, in the lap of ye two, heaven and earth, not suffer from hunger and not from thirst!
5. Strength may ye two, that are rich in strength, bestow upon him; milk may ye two, that are rich in milk, bestow upon him! Strength heaven and earth did bestow upon him; strength all the gods, the Maruts, and the waters.
6. With the gracious (waters) do I delight thy heart, mayest thou, free from disease, full of force, rejoice! Clothed in the same garment do ye two drink this stirred drink, taking on as a magic form the shape of the two Asvins!
7. Indra, having been wounded, first created this vigour, and this ever fresh divine food: that same belongs to thee. By means of that do thou, full of force, live (a hundred) autumns; may it not flow out of thee: physicians have prepared it for thee!

II. PRAYERS FOR LONG LIFE AND HEALTH (ÂYUSHYÂNI).

III, 11. Prayer for health and long life.

1. I release thee unto life by means of (my) oblation, from unknown decline, and from consumption. If Grâhi (seizure) has caught hold (gagrâha) of this person here, may Indra and Agni free him from that!
2. If his life has faded, even if he has passed away, if he has been brought to the very vicinity of death, I snatch him from the lap of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction): I have freed him unto a life of a hundred autumns.
3. I have snatched him (from death) by means of an oblation which has a thousand eyes, hundredfold strength, and -ensures a hundredfold life, in order that Indra may conduct him through the years across to the other side of every misfortune.
4. Live thou, thriving a hundred autumns, a hundred winters, and a hundred springs! May Indra, Agni, Savitar, Brihaspati (grant) thee a hundred years! I have snatched him (from death) with an oblation that secures a life,of a hundred years.
5. Enter ye, O in-breathirig and out-breathing, as two bulls a stable! Away shall go the other deaths, of which, it is said, there are a hundred more!
6. Remain ye here, O in-breathing and out-breathing, do not go away from here; do ye car anew to old age his body and his limbs!
7. To old age I make thee over, into old age I urge thee; may a happy old age guide thee! Away shall go the other deaths, of which, it is said, there are a hundred more!
8. Upon thee (life unto) old age has been deposited, as a rope is tied upon a bull. That death which has fettered thee at thy birth with a firm rope, Brihaspati with the hands of the truth did strip off from thee.

II, 28. Prayer for long life pronounced over a boy.

1. For thee alone, O (death from) old age, this (boy) shall grow up: the other hundred kinds of death shall not harm him! Like a provident mother in her lap Mitra shall befriend him, shall save him from misfortune!
2. May Mitra or Varuna, the illustrious, cooperating, grant him death from old age! Then Agni, the priest, who knows the ways, promulgates all the races of the gods.
3. Thou, (O Agni), rulest over all the animals of the earth, those which have been born, and those which are to be born: may not in-breathing leave this one, nor yet out-breathing, may neither friends nor foes slay him!
4. May father Dyaus (sky) and mother Prithivi (earth), co-operating, grant thee death from old age, that thou mayest live in the lap of Aditi a hundred winters, guarded by in-breathing and outbreathing!
5. Lead this dear child to life and vigour, O Agni, Varuna, and king Mitra! As a mother afford him protection, O Aditi, and all ye gods, that he may attain to old age!

III, 31. Prayer for health and long life.

1. The gods are free from decrepitude; thou, O Agni, art removed from the demon of hostility. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
2. (Vâyu), the purifying (wind), shall free thee from misfortune, Sakra (Indra) from evil sorcery! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
3. The tame (village) animals are separate from the wild (forest animals); the water has flowed apart from thirst. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
4. Heaven and earth here go apart; the paths go in every direction. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
5. 'Tvashtar is preparing a wedding for his daughter,' thus (saying) does this whole world pass through. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
6. Agni unites (life's) breaths, the moon is united with (life's) breath. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
7. By means of (life's) breath the gods aroused the everywhere mighty sun. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
8. Live thou by the (life's) breath of them that have life, and that create life; do not die! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
9. Breathe thou with the (life's) breath of those that breathe; do not die! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
10. Do thou (rise) up with life, unite thyself with life, (rise) up with the sap of the plants! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
11. From the rain of Parganya we have risen up, immortal. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.

VII, 53. Prayer for long life.

1. When, O Brihaspati, thou didst liberate (us) from existence in yonder world of Yama, (and) from hostile schemes, then did the Asvins, the physicians of the gods, with might sweep death from us, O Agni!
2. O in-breathing and out-breathing, go along with the body, do not leave it: may they be thy allies here! Live and thrive a hundred autumns; Agni shall be thy most excellent shepherd and overseer!
3. Thy vital force that has been dissipated afar, thy in-breathing and thy out-breathing, shall come back again! Agni has snatched them from the lap of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), and I again introduce them into thy person.
4. Let not his in-breathing desert him, nor his out-breathing quit him and depart! I commit him to the Seven Rishis: may they convey him in health to old age!
5. Enter, O in-breathing and out-breathing, like two bulls into a stable: this person shall here flourish, an unmolested repository for old age!
6. Life's breath we do drive into thee, disease we do drive away from thee. May this excellent Agni endow us with life from every source!
7. Ascending from the darkness of death to the highest firmament, to Sûrya (the sun), the god among gods, we have reached the highest light.

VIII, 1. Prayer for exemption from the dangers of death.

1. To the 'Ender,' to Death be reverence! May thy in-breathing and thy out-breathing remain here! United here with (life's) spirit this man shall be, sharing in the sun, in the world of immortality (amrita)!
2. Bhaga has raised him up, Soma with his rays (has raised) him up, the Maruts, the gods, (have raised) him up, Indra and Agni (have raised) him up unto well-being.
3. Here (shall be) thy (life's) spirit, here thy inbreathing, here thy life, here thy mind! We rescue thee from the toils of Nirriti (destruction) by means of our divine utterance.
4. Rise up hence, O man! Casting off the footshackles of death, do not sink down! Be not cut off from this world, from the sight of Agni and the sun!
5. The wind, Mâtarisvan, shall blow for thee, the waters shall shower amrita (ambrosia) upon thee, the sun shall shine kindly for thy body! Death shall pity thee: do not waste away!
6. Thou shalt ascend and not descend, O man! Life and alertness do I prepare for thee. Mount, forsooth, this imperishable, pleasant car; then in old age thou shalt hold converse with thy family!
7. Thy mind shall not go thither, shall not disappear! Do not become heedless of the living, do not follow the Fathers! All the gods shall preserve thee here!
8. Do not long after the departed, who conduct (men) afar! Ascend from the darkness, come to the light! We lay hold of thy hands.
9. The two dogs of Yama, the black and the brindled one, that guard the road (to heaven), that have been despatched, shall not (go after) thee! Come hither, do not long to be away; do not tarry here with thy mind turned to a distance!
10. Do not follow this path: it is terrible! I speak of that by which thou hast not hitherto gone. Darkness is this, O man, do not enter it! Danger is beyond, security here for thee.
11. May the fires that are within the waters gLiard thee, may (the fire) which men kindle guard thee, may Gâtavedas Vaisvânara (the fire common to all men) guard thee! Let not the heavenly (fire) together with the lightning burn, thee!
12. Let not the flesh-devouring (fire) menace thee: move afar from the funeral pyre! Heaven shall guard thee, the earth shall guard thee, the sun and moon shall guard thee, the atmosphere shall guard thee against the divine missile!
13. May the alert and the watchful divinities guard thee, may he that sleeps not and nods not guard thee, may he that protects and is vigilant guard thee!
14. They shall guard thee, they shall protect thee. Reverence be to them. Hail be to them!
15. Into converse with the living Vâyu, Indra, Dhâtar, and saving Savitar shall put thee; breath and strength shall not leave thee! Thy (life's) spirit do we call back to thee.
16. Convulsions that draw the jaws together, darkness, shall not come upon thee, nor (the demon) that tears out the tongue (?)! How shalt thou then waste away? The Âdityas and Vasus, Indra and Agni shall raise thee up unto well-being!
17. The heavens, the earth, Pragâpati, have rescued thee. The plants with Soma their king have delivered thee from death.
18. Let this man remain right here, ye gods, let him not depart hence to yonder world! We rescue him from death with (a charm) of thousandfold strength.
19. I have delivered thee from death. The (powers) that furnish strength shall breathe upon thee. The (mourning women) with dishevelled hair, they that wail lugubriously, shall not wail over thee!
20. 1 have snatched thee (from death), I have obtained thee; thou hast returned with renewed youth. O thou, that art (now) sound of limb, for thee sound sight, and sound life have I obtained.
21. It has shone upon thee, light has arisen, darkness has departed from thee. We remove from thee death, destruction, and disease.

VIII, 2. Prayer for exemption from the dangers of death.

1. Take hold of this (charm) that subjects to immortality (life), may thy life unto old age not be cut off! I bring to thee anew breath and life: not to mist and darkness, do not waste away!
2. Come hither to the light of the living; I rescue thee unto a life of a hundred autumns! Loosing the bands of death and imprecation, I bestow upon thee long life extended very far.
3. From the wind thy breath I have obtained, from the sun thine eye; thy soul I hold fast in thee: be together with thy limbs, speak articulating with thy tongue!
4. With the breath of two-footed and four-footed creatures I blow upon thee, as on Agni when he is born (as on fire when kindled). I have paid reverence, O death, to thine eye, reverence to thy breath.
5. This (man) shall live and shall not die: we rouse this man (to life)! I make for him a remedy: O death, do not slay the man!
6. The plant gîvalâ (quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'), and gîvantî ('living), a victorious, mighty saviour-plant do I invoke, that he may be exempt from injury.
7. Befriend him, do not seize him, let him go, (O death); though he be thy very own, let him abide here with unimpaired strength! O Bhava and Sarva, take pity, grant Protection; misfortune drive away, and life bestow!
8. Befriend him, death, and pity him: may he from here arise! Unharmed, with sound limbs, hearing perfectly, through old age carrying a hundred years, let him get enjoyment by himself (unaided)!
9. The missile of the gods shall pass thee by! I pass thee across the mist (of death); from death I have rescued thee. Removing far the flesh-devouring Agni, a barrier do I set around thee, that thou mayest live.
10. From thy misty road that cannot be withstood, O death, from this path (of thine) we guard this (man), and make our charm a protection for him.
11. In-breathing and out-breathing. do I prepare for thee, death in old age, long life, and prosperity. All the messengers of Yama, that roam about, dispatched by Vivasvant's son, do I drive away.
12. Arâti (grudge), Nirriti (destruction), Grâhi (seizure), and the flesh-devouring Pisâkas (do we drive) away to a distance, and hurl all wicked Rakshas away into darkness as it were.
13. I crave thy life's breath from the immortal, life-possessing Agni Gâtavedas. That thou shalt not take harm, shalt be immortal in (Agni's) company, that do I procure for thee, and that shall be fulfilled for thee!
14. May heaven and earth, the bestowers of happiness, be auspicious and harmless to thee; may the sun-shine, and the wind blow comfort to thy heart; may the heavenly waters, rich in milk, flow upon thee kindly!
15. May the plants be auspicious to thee! I have raised thee from the lower to the upper earth: there may both the Âdityas, the sun and the moon, . protect thee.
16. Whatever garment for clothing, or whatever girdle thou makest for thyself, agreeable to thy body do we render it; not rough to thy touch shall it be!
17. When thou, the barber, shearest with thy sharp well-whetted razor our hair and beard, do not, while cleansing our face, rob us of our life!
18. Rice and barley shall be auspicious to thee, causing no balâsa, inflicting no injury! They two drive away disease, they two release from calamity.
19. Whatever thou eatest or drinkest, the grain of the plough-land or milk, whatever is or is not to be eaten, all that food do I render for thee free from poison.
20. To day and to night both do we commit thee: from the demons that seek to devour, do ye preserve this (man) for me!
21. A hundred years, ten thousand years, two, three, four ages (yuga) do we allot to thee; Indra and Agni, and all the gods without anger shall favour thee!
22. To autumn thee, to winter, spring and summer, do we commit; the rains in which grow the plants shall be pleasant to thee!
23. Death rules over bipeds, death rules over quadrupeds. From that death, the lord of cattle, do I rescue thee: do not fear!
24. Free from harm thou shalt not die; thou shalt not die: do not fear! Verily, they do not die there, they do not go to the nethermost darkness;--
25. Verily, every creature lives there, the cow, the horse, and man, where this charm is performed, as the (protecting) barrier for life.
26. May it preserve thee from sorcery, from thy equals and thy kin! Undying be, immortal, exceedingly vital; thy spirits shall not abandon thy body!
27. From the one and a hundred deaths, from the dangers that are surmountable, from that Agai Vaisvânara (the funeral pyre?) may the gods deliver thee!
28. Thou, the remedy called p6tudru, art the body of Agni, the deliverer, slayer of Rakshas, slayer of rivals, moreover thou chasest away disease.

V. 30. Prayer for exemption from disease and death.

1. From near thy vicinity, from near thy distance (do I call): remain here, do not follow; do not follow the Fathers of yore! Firmly do I fasten thy life's breath.
2. Whatever sorcery any kinsman or stranger has practised against thee, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee.
3. If thou hast deceived or cursed a woman or a man in thy folly, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee.
4. If thou liest (ill) in consequence of a sin committed by thy mother or thy father, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee.
5. Fight shy of the medicine which thy mother and thy father, thy sister and thy brother let out against thee: I shall cause thee to live unto old age!
6. Remain here, O man, with thy entire soul; do not follow the two messengers of Yama: come to the abodes of the living!
7. Return when called, knowing the outlet of the path (death), the ascent, the advance, the road of every living man!
8. Fear not, thou shalt not die: I shall cause thee to live unto old age! I have charmed away from thy limbs the disease that wastes the limbs.
9. The disease that racks and wastes thy limbs, and the sickness in thy heart, has flown as an eagle to a far distance, overcome by my charm.
10. The two sages Alert and Watchful, the sleepless and the vigilant, these two guardians of thy life's breath, are awake both day and night.
11. Agni here is to be revered; the sun shall rise here for thee: rise thou from deep death, yea from black darkness!
12. Reverence be to Yama, reverence to death; reverence to the Fathers and to those that lead (to them) [death's messengers?]! That Agni who knows the way to save do I engage for this man, that he be exempt from harm!
13. His breath shall come, his soul shall come, his sight shall come, and, too, his strength! His body shall collect itself: then shall he stand firm upon his feet!
14. Unite him, Agni, with breath and sight, provide him with a body and with strength! Thou hast a knowledge of immortality: let him not now depart, let him not now become a dweller in a house of clay!
15. Thy in-breathing shall not cease, thy outbreathing shall not vanish; Sûrya (the sun), the supreme lord, shall raise thee from death with his rays!
16. This tongue (of mine), bound (in the mouth, yet) mobile, speaks within: with it I have charmed away disease, and the hundred torments of the takman (fever).
17. This world is most dear to the gods, unconquered. For whatever death thou wast destined when thou wast born, O man, that (death) and we call after thee: do not die before old age!

IV, 9. Salve (âñgana) as a protector of life and limb.

1. Come hither! Thou art the living, protecting eye-ointment of the mountain, given by all the gods as a safeguard, unto life.
2. Thou art a protection for men, a protection for cattle, thou didst stand for the protection of horses and steeds.
3. Thou art, O salve, both a protection that crushes the sorcerers, and thou hast knowledge of immortality (amrita). Moreover, thou art food for the living, and thou art, too, a remedy aorainst jaundice.
4. From him over whose every limb and every joint thou passest, O salve, thou dost, as a mighty intercepter, drive away disease.
5. Him that bears thee, O salve, neither curse, nor sorcery, nor burning pain does reach; nor does the,vishkandha come upon him.
6. From evil scheme, from troubled dream, from evil deed, and also from foulness.; from the evil eye of the enemy, from this protect us, O salve!
7. Knowing this, O salve, I shall speak the truth, avoid falsehood. May I obtain horses and cattle, and thy person, O serving-man!
8. Three are servants of the salve: the takman (fever), the balâsa, and the serpent. The highest of the mountains, Trikakud ('Three-peaks') by name, is thy father.
9. Since the salve of Trikakud is born upon the Himavant, it shall demolish all the wizards and all the witches.
10. Whether thou art derived from the (mountain) Trikakud, or art said to come from the (river) Yamunâ, both these names of thine are auspicious: with these, O salve, protect us!

IV, 10. The pearl and its shell as an amulet bestowing long life and prosperity.

1. Born of the wind, the atmosphere, the lightning, and the light, may this pearl shell, born of gold, protect us from straits!
2. With the shell which was born in the sea, at the head of bright substances, we slay the Rakshas and conquer the Atrins (devouring demons).
3. With the shell (we conquer) disease and poverty; with the shell, too, the Saânvâs. The shell is our universal remedy; the pearl shall protect us from straits!
4. Born in the heavens, born in the sea, brought on from the river (Sindhu), this shell, born of gold, is our life-prolonging amulet.
5. The amulet, born from the sea, a sun, born from Vritra (the cloud), shall on all sides protect us from the missiles of the gods and the Asuras!
6. Thou art one of the golden substances, thou art born from Soma (the moon). Thou art sightly on the chariot, thou art brilliant on the quiver. [May it prolong our lives!]
7. The bone of the gods turned into pearl; that, animated, dwells in the waters. That do I fasten upon thee unto life, lustre, strength, longevity, unto a life lasting a hundred autumns, May the (amulet) of pearl protect thee!

XIX, 26. Gold as an amulet for long life.

1. The gold which is born from fire, the immortal, they bestowed upon the mortals. He who knows this deserves it; of old age dies he who wears it.
2. The gold, (endowed by) the sun with beautiful colour, which the men of yore, rich in descendants, did desire, may it gleaming envelop thee in lustre! Long-lived becomes he who wears it!
3. (May it envelop) thee unto (long) life, unto lustre, unto force, and unto strength, that thou shalt by the brilliancy of the gold shine forth among people!
4. (The gold) which king Varuna knows, which god Brihaspati knows, which Indra, the slayer of Vritra, knows, may that become for thee a source of life, may that become for thee a source of lustre!

III. IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, SORCERERS, AND ENEMIES (ÂBHIKÂRIKÂNI AND KRITYÂPRATIHARANÂNI).

I, 7. Against sorcerers and demons.

1. The sorcerer (yâtudhâna) that vaunts himsel and the Kimîdin do thou, O Agni, convey hither! For thou, O god, when lauded, becomest the destroyer of the demon.
2. Partake of the ghee, of the sesame-oil, O Agni Gâtavedas, that standest on high, conquerest by thyself! Make the sorcerers howl!
3. The sorcerers and the devouring (atrin) Kimîdin shall howl! Do ye, moreover, O Agni and Indra, receive graciously this our oblation!
4. Agni shall be the first to seize them, Indra with his (strong) arms shall drive them away! Every wizard, as soon as he comes, shall proclaim himself, saying, 'I am he'!
5. We would see thy might, O Gâtavedas; disclose to us the wizards, O thou that beholdest men! May they all, driven forth by thy fire, disclosing themselves, come to this spot!
6. Seize hold, O Gâtavedas: for our good thou wast born! Become our messenger, O Agni, and make the sorcerers howl!
7. Do thou, O Agni, drag hither the sorcerers, bound in shackles; then Indra with his thunderbolt shall cut off their heads!

I, 8. Against sorcerers and demons.

1. May this oblation carry hither the sorcerers, as a river (carries) foam! The man or the woman who has performed this (sorcery), that person shall here proclaim himself!
2. This vaunting (sorcerer) has come hither: receive him with alacrity! O Brihaspati, put him into subjection; O Agni and Soma, pierce him through!
3. Slay the offspring of the sorcerer, O soma-drinking (Indra), and subject (him)! Make drop out the farther and the nearer eye of the braggart (demon)!
4. Wherever, O Agni Gâtavedas, thou perceivest the brood of these hidden devourers (atrin), do thou, mightily strengthened by our charm, slay them: slay their (brood), O Agni, piercing them a hundredfold!

I, 16. Charm with lead, against demons and sorcerers.

1. Against the devouring demons who, in the night of the full-moon, have arisen in throngs, may Agni, the strong, the slayer of the sorcerers, give us courage!
2. To the lead Varuna gives blessing, to the lead Agni gives help. Indra gave me the lead: unfailingly it dispels sorcery.
3. This (lead) overcomes the vishkandha, this smites the devouring demons (atrin); with this I have overwhelmed all the brood of the Pisâkas.
4. If thou slayest our cow, if our horse or our domestic, we pierce thee with the lead, so that thou shalt not slay our heroes.

VI, 2. The soma-oblation directed against Demons (rakshas).

1. Press the soma, ye priests, and rinse it (for renewed pressing), in behalf of Indra who shall listen to the song of the worshipper, and to my call!
2. Do thou, O doughty (Indra), whom the drops of soma enter as birds a tree, beat off the hostile brood of the Rakshas!
3. Press ye the soma for Indra, the soma-drinker, who wields the thunderbolt! A youthful victor and ruler is he, praised by many men.

II, 14. Charm against a variety of female demons, conceived as hostile to men, cattle, and home.

1. Nissâlâ, the bold, the greedy demon (?dhishana), and (the female demon) with long-drawn howl, the bloodthirsty; all the daughters of Kanda, the Sadânvâs do we destroy.
2. We drive you out of the stable, out of the axle (of the wagon), and the body of the wagon; we chase you, O ye daughters of Magundî, from the house.
3. In yonder house below, there the grudging demons (arâyî) shall exist; there ruin shall prevail, and all the witches!
4. May (Rudra), the lord of beings, and Indra. drive forth from here the Sadânvâs; those that am seated on the foundation of the house Indra shall overcome with his thunderbolt!
5. Whether ye belong to (the demons) of inherited disease, whether ye have been dispatched by men, or whether ye have originated from the Dasyus (demon-like aborigines), vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs!
6. About their dwelling-places I did swiftly course, as if on a race-course. I have won all contests with you: vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs!

III, 9. Against vishkandha and kâbava (hostile demons).

1. Of karsapha and visapha heaven is the father and earth the mother. As, ye gods, ye have brought on (the trouble), thus do ye again remove it!
2. Without fastening the), (the protecting plants?) held fast, thus it has been arranged by Manu. The vishkandha do I render impotent, like one who gelds cattle.
3. A talisman tied to a reddish thread the active (seers) then do fasten on: may the fastenings render impotent the eager, fiery kâbava!
4. And since, O ye eager (demons), ye walk like gods by the wile of the Asuras, the fastening (of the amulet) is destructive to the kâbava, as the ape to the dog.
5. I revile thee, the kâbava, unto misfortune, (and) shall work harm for thee. Accompanied with curses ye shall go out like swift chariots!
6. A hundred and one vishkandha are spread out along the earth; for these at the beginning they brought out thee, the amulet, that destroys vishkandha.

IV, 20. Charm with a certain plant (sadampushpâ) which exposes demons and enemies.

1. He sees here, he sees yonder, he sees in the distance, he sees--the sky, the atmosphere as well as the earth, all that, O goddess, he sees.
2. The three heavens, the three earths, and these six directions severally; all creatures may I see through thee, O divine plant!
3. Thou art verily the eyeball of the divine eagle; thou didst ascend the earth as a weary woman a palanquin.
4. The thousand-eyed god shall put this plant into my right hand: with that do I see every one, the Sûdra as well as the Ârya.
5. Reveal (all) forms, do not hide thy own self; moreover, do thou, O thousand-eyed (plant), look the Kimîdins in the face!
6. Reveal to me the wizards, and reveal the witches, reveal all the Pisâkas: for this purpose do I take hold of thee, O plant!
7. Thou art the eye of Kasyapa, and the eye of the four-eyed bitch. Like the sun, moving in the bright day, make thou the Pisâka evident to me!
8. 1 have dragged out from his retreat the sorcerer and the Kimîdin. Through this (charm) do I see every one, the Sûdra as well as the Ârya.
9. Him that flies in the air, him that moves across the sky, him that regards the earth as his resort, that Pisâka do thou reveal (to me)!

IV, 17. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against sorcery, demons, and enemies.

1. We take hold, O victorious one, of thee, the mistress of remedies. I have made thee a thing of thousandfold strength for ever), one, O plant!
2. Her, the unfailingly victorious one, that wards off curses, that is powerful and defensive; (her and) all the plants have I assembled, intending that she shall save us from this (trouble)!
3. The woman who has cursed us with a curse, who has arranged dire misfortune (for us), who has taken hold of our children, to rob them of their strengthmay she eat (her own) offspring!
4. The magic spell which they have put into the unburned vessel, that which they have put into the blue and red thread, that which they have put into raw flesh, with these slay thou those that have prepared the spell!
5. Evil dreams, troubled life, Rakshas, gruesomeness, and grudging demons (arâyî), all the evil-named, evil-speakinor (powers), these do we drive out from us.
6. Death from hunger, and death from thirst, poverty in cattle, and failure of offspring, all that, O apâmârga, do we wipe out (apa mrigmahe) with thee.
7. Death from thirst, and death from hunger, moreover, ill-luck at dice, all that, O apâmârga, do we wipe out with thee.
8. The apâmârga is sole ruler over all plants, with it do we wipe mishap from thee: do thou then live exempt from disease!

IV, 18. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against sorcerers and demons.

1. Night is like unto the sun, the (starry) night is similar to day. The truth do I engage for help: the enchantments shall be devoid of force!
2. He, O ye gods, who prepares a spell, and carries it to the house of one that knows not (of it), upon him the spell, returning, shall fasten itself like a suckling calf upon its mother!
3. The person that prepares evil at home, and desires with it to harm another, she is consumed by fire, and many stones fall upon her with a loud crash.
4. Bestow curses, O thou (apâmârga), that hast a thousand homes, upon the (demons) visikha ('crestless'), and vigrîva ('crooked-neck')! Turn back the spell upon him that has performed it, as a beloved maid (is brought) to her lover!
5. With this plant I have put to naught all spells, those that they have put into thy field, thy cattle, and into thy domestics.
6. He that has undertaken them has not been able to accomplish them: he broke his foot, his toe. He performed a lucky act for us, but for himself an injury.
7. The apâmârga-plant shall wipe out (apa mârshtu) 'inherited ills, and curses; yea, it shall wipe out all witches, and all grudging demons (arâyî)!
8. Having wiped out all sorcerers, and all grudging demons, with thee, O apâmârga, we wipe all that (evil) out.

IV, 19. Mystic power of the apâmârga-plant, against demons and sorcerers.

1. On the one hand thou deprivest of kin, on the other thou now procurest kinfolk. Do thou, moreover, cut the offspring of him that practises spells, as a reed that springs up in the rain!
2. By a Brâhmana thou hast been blest, by Kanva, the descendant of Nrishad. Thou goest like a stronor army; where thou hast arrived, O plant, there there is no fear.
3. Thou goest at the head of the plants, spreading lustre, as if with a light. Thou art on the one hand the protector of the weak, on the other the slayer of the Rakshas.
4. When of yore, in the beginning, the gods drove out the Asuras with thee, then, O plant, thou wast begotten as apâmârga ('wiping out').
5. Thou cuttest to pieces (vibhindatî), and hast a hundred branches; vibhindant ('cutting to pieces') is thy father's name. Do thou (turn) against, and cut to pieces (vi bhindhi) him that is hostile towards us!
6. Non-being arose from the earth, that goes to heaven, (as) a great expansion. Thence, verily, that, spreading vapours, shall turn against the performer (of spells)!
7. Thou didst grow backward, thou hast fruit which is turned backward. Ward off from me all curses, ward off very far destructive weapons!
8. Protect me with a hundredfold, guard me with a thousandfold (strength)! Indra, the strong, shall put strength into thee, O prince of plants!

VII, 65. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against curses, and the consequences of sinful deeds.

1. With fruit turned backward thou verily didst grow, O apâmârga: do thou drive all curses quite far away from here!
2. The evil deeds and foul, or the sinful acts which we have committed, with thee, O apâmârga, whose face is turned to every side, do we wipe them out (apa mrigmahe).
3. If we have sat together with one who has black teeth, or diseased nails, or one who is deformed, with thee, O apâmârga, we wipe all that out (apa mrigmahe).

X, 1. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.

1. The (spell) which they skilfully prepare, as a bride for the wedding, the multiform (spell), fashioned by hand, shall go to a distance: we drive it away!
2. The (spell) that has been brought forward by the fashioner of the spell, that is endowed with head, endowed with nose, endowed with ears, and multiform, shall go to a distance: we drive it away!
3. (The spell) that has been prepared by a Sadra, prepared by a Râga, prepared by a woman, prepared by Brahmans, as a wife rejected by her husband, shall recoil upon her fabricator, (and) his kin!
4. With this herb have I destroyed all spells, that which they have put into thy field, into thy cattle, and into thy men.
5. Evil be to him that prepares evil, the curse shall recoil upon him that utters curses: back do we hurl it against him, that it may slay him that fashions the spell.
6. Pratikîna (' Back-hurler'), the descendant of Angiras, is our overseer and officiator (purohita): do thou drive back again (pratîkîh) the spells, and slay yonder fashioners of the spells!
7. He that has said to thee (the spell): 'go on'! upon that enemy, that antagonist do thou turn, O spell: do not seek out us, that are harmless!
8. He that has fitted together thy joints with skill, as the wagoner (Ribhu) the joints of a chariot, to him go, there is thy course: this person here shall remain unknown to thee!
9. They that have prepared thee and taken hold of thee, the cunning wizards-this is what cures it, destroys the spell, drives it back the opposite way - with it do we bathe thee.
10. Since we have come upon tile wretched (spell), as upon (a cow) with a dead calf, flooded away (by a river), may all evil go away from me, and mav possessions come to me!
11. If (thy enemies) have made (offerings) to thy Fathers, or have called thy name at the sacrifice, may these herbs free thee from every indigenous evil!
12. From the sin of the gods, and that of the fathers, from mentions of (thy) name, from (evil schemes) concocted at home, may the herbs free thee with might, through (this) charm, (and these) stanzas, (that are) the milk of the Rishis!
13. As the wind stirs up the dust from the earth, and the cloud from the atmosphere, thus may all misfortune, driven by my charm, go away from me!
14. Stride away (O spell), like a loudly braying she-ass, that has been loosened (from the tether); reach those that have fabricated thee, driven from here by (my) forceful charm!
15. 'This is the way, O spell,' with these words do we lead thee. Thee that hast been sent Out against us do we send back again. Go this way like a crushing army, with heavy carts, thou that art multiform, and crowned by a crest(?)!
16. In the distance there is light for thee, hitherward there is no road for thee; away from us take thy course! By another road cross thou ninety navigable streams, hard to cross! Do not injure, go away!
17. As the wind the trees, crush down and fell (the enemy), leave them neither cow, nor horse, nor serving-man! Turn from here upon those that have fabricated thee, O spell, awaken them to childlessness!
18. The spell or the magic which they have buried against thee in the sacrificial straw (barhis), in the field, (or) in the burial-ground, or if with superior skill they have practised sorcery against thee, that art simple and innocent, in thy household fire,--
19. The hostile, insidious instrument which they have brought hither has been discovered; that which has been dug in we have detected. It shall go whence it has been brought hither; there, like a horse, it shall disport itself, and slay the offspring of him that has fashion'ed the spell!
20. Swords of good brass are in our house: we know how many joints thou hast, O spell! Be sure to rise, go away from hence! O stranger, what seekest thou here?
21. I shall hew off, O spell, thy neck, and thy feet: run away! May Indra and Agni, to whom belong the children (of men), protect us!
22. King Soma, who guards and pities us, and the lords of the beings shall take pity on us!
23. May Bhava and Sarva cast the lightning, the divine missile, upon him that performs evil, fashions a spell, and does wrong!
24. If thou art come two-footed, (or) four-footed, prepared by the fashioner of the spell, multiform, do thou, having become eight-footed, again go away from here, O misfortune!
25. Anointed, ornamented, and well equipped, go away, carrying every misfortune! Know, O spell, thy maker, as a daughter her own father!
26. Go away, O spell, do not stand still, track (the enemy) as a wounded (animal)! He is the game, thou the hunter: he is not able to put thee down.
27. Him that first hurls (the arrow), the other, laying on in defence, slays with the arrow, and while the first deals the blow, the other returns the blow.
28. Hear, verily, this speech of mine, and then return whence thou camest, against the one that fashioned thee!
29. Slaughter of an innocent is heinous, O spell: do not slay our cow, horse, or serving-man! Wherever thou hast been put down, thence thee do we remove. Be lighter than a leaf!
30. If ye are enveloped in darkness, covered as if by a net--we tear all spells out from here, send them back again to him that fashioned them.
31. The offspring of them that fashion the spell, practise magic, or plot against us, crush thou, O spell, leave none of them! Slay those that fashion the spell!
32. As the sun is released from darkness, abandons the night, and the streaks of the dawn, thus every misery, (every) device prepared by the fashioner of the spell, (every) misfortune, do I leave behind, as an elephant the dust.

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