Hymns to the Mystic Fire

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RV IV.4

4. Vamadeva's fourth hymn to Agni.

1) कृणुष्व पाजः प्रसितिं न पृथ्वीं
याहि राजेव अमवानिभेन ।
तृष्वीमनु प्रसितिं द्रूणानो
अस्तासि विध्य रक्षसस्तपिष्ठैः ॥

Make the mass of thy strength like a wide marching, go like a king strong with his army; charging in the line of thy swift march,—an Archer art thou,—pierce the Rakshasas with thy most burning strengths.

पाजः—strength, but with the idea of mass, bulk, cf Gr. pagos, a hill, pegnumi etc, पंजि a ball (mass) of cotton, पाजस्यं footing (firm ground for the feet) etc. प्रसितिं may mean a path, but literally it seems to mean an assault or a march & that sense is most appropriate here. In any case the sense of the rik is perfectly lucid & simple & it is painful to see Sayana stumbling about it under a clumsy load of laborious & inapplicable learning.

2) तव भ्रमास आशुया पतंति
अनु स्पृश धृषता शोशुचानः ।
तपृंषि अग्ने जुह्वा पतंगा-
नसंदितो वि सृज विष्वगुल्काः ॥

Swiftly gallop thy ranging steeds, follow & attain by violence burning bright & pure; unfettered pour forth by thy force on every side, O Agni, thy heats and thy flying sparks and thy streaming flames.

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जुहू. Sy. हूयंतेऽस्यामाहुतय इति जुहूर्ज्वाला. This learnedly fanciful derivation cannot be accepted. हु is to cast, pour forth; it expresses any violent motion or action; जुहू must be either the act or the force of the casting or the thing cast, not the thing into which the object is cast.

3) प्रति स्पशो वि सृज तृर्णितमो
भवा पायुर्विशो अस्या अदब्धः ।
यो नो दूरे अघशंसो यो अंति
अग्ने माकिष्टे व्यथिरा दधर्षीत् ॥

Send forth thy éclaireurs in thy great swiftness, become the protector indomitable of this people; he who would express evil in us from afar, he who from near, let no troubler do violence to thee, O Agni.

स्पश् is exactly expressed by the French éclaireur,—they are the flaming illuminations of Agni Jatavedas which help us to distinguish friend & enemy, Arya & unArya, truth & falsehood.

4) उदग्ने तिष्ठ प्रत्या तनुष्व
न्यमित्राँ ओषतात्तिग्महेते ।
यो नो अरातिं समिधान चक्रे
नीचा तं धक्षि अतसं न शुष्कं ॥

Rise up high, O Agni, spread thyself against them, scorch our unlovers, thou with the sharp missiles; he who hath done to us undelight, burn him to the roots like a dry trunk.

अरातिं. Sy. शात्रवं. There is always the ambiguity in अराति, which may mean either enemy or undelight, राति being the long form permissible in the early Aryan tongue of रति. The enemies denounced are the यातुजू, यातुधान, यातुमावत्, the impellers of pain & trouble, vessels of torture, holders in the body & mind of the activity of pain. Therefore "undelight" is the most probable sense of अराति in this passage.

5) ऊर्ध्वो भव प्रति विध्याधि अस्म-
दाविष्कृणुष्व दैव्यानि अग्ने ।
अव स्थिरा तनुहि यातुजृनां
जामिमजामिं प्र मृणीहि शत्रून् ॥

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Be high-exalted, smite them in our march from above us, reveal the things divine, O Agni; lay low the established things of the impellers to anguish; whether sole or companioned he be, crush before us our enemies.

Sy's gloss अस्मदधि—अस्मत्तोऽधिकान्—is both improbable & unnecessary. प्रति & अधि-अस्मद् express the two ideas of piercing the foe in front & smiting them from above,—therefore ऊर्ध्वो भव.

6) स ते जानाति सुमतिं यविष्ठ
य ईवते ब्रह्मणे गातुमैरत् ।
विश्वानि अस्मै सुदिनानि रायो
द्युम्नानि अर्यो वि दुरो अभि द्यौत् ॥

He knoweth the perfected mind in thee, O young & strong Agni, who has sent forth the chant of fulfilment (or has sent thee forth on the road) for the soul in its march; the worker & uplifter illumines for him about all the doors of his being all brightnesses of his days & felicities and shining energies.

गातुम् often means a road or to go and ईवते seems to demand the latter sense; on the other hand the idea of the गायत्र or गाथ is usually closely connected with the idea of ब्रह्मा in the Veda & we have the mention of उक्थ in a similar context. Possibly the ambiguity is intentional in order to maintain the secrecy of the निण्यं वचः about the soul. I cannot accept Sayana's interpretation of ब्रह्मणे = परिवृढाय तुभ्यं. ब्रह्मणे in Veda means either to the mantra, or to the soul, or to Brahma; we need not embarrass ourselves with a fourth & unnecessary choice.

7) सेदग्ने अस्तु सुभगः सुदानु-
र्यस्त्वा नित्येन हविषा य उक्थैः ।
पिप्रीषति स्व आयुषि दुरोणे
विश्वेदस्मै सुदिना सासदिष्टिः ॥

May he, O Agni, be perfect in enjoyment and activity who thee with constant oblation, who with expressive mantras seeketh to satisfy in his own being, in its gated house, may that sacrifice of his be in all its scope attended with brightness of its days.

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दुरोणे. Sy. दुरवने कृच्छ्रलभ्ये शतवर्षारव्ये जीवने. I take दुरोणे as usual = दुर्या. Sy.takes सुदिना = सुदिनानि, & सासदिष्टिः a separate sentence, अस्तु = फलसाधनसमर्थो भवतु,—a tall order. I take सुदिना simply as an adjective to इष्टिः, cf सुदिनत्वमन्हाम्.

8) अर्चामि ते सुमतिं घोषि अर्वाक्
सं ते वावाता जरतामियं गीः ।
स्वश्वास्त्वा सुरथा मर्जयेम
अस्मे क्षत्राणि धारयेरनु द्यृन् ॥

I effect by the rik the perfect mind in thee; with sound descend; may this word woo thee entirely to me by its wide force of manifestation (or this word that I have uttered); may we with perfect steeds, in a perfect chariot put forth strength towards thee. Mayst thou uphold all mights in us from day to day.

Sy. वावाता—going to thee. घोषि—Sy. घोषयुक्तं यथा भवति & अर्वाक् = त्वदभिमुखं. क्षत्राणि—Sy. धनानि.

9) इह त्वा भूर्या चरेदुप त्मन्
दोषावस्तर्दीदिवांसमनु द्यून् ।
कीळंतस्त्वा सुमनसः सपेम
अभि द्युम्ना तस्थिवांसो जनानाम् ॥

In this world one can direct one's works by the self & with largeness towards thee shining in darkness & by light all man's days; perfected in mind and at play may we possess thee prevailing in our force over the energies of creatures.

Sy. दोषावस्तर् day & night or O coverer of night, rather shiner in the darkness. सपेम. Sy. परिचरेम. सप् means to be wise—सप्त, sapio, sapiens—or to possess, enjoy, taste—sapor etc. सपर्या means seeking to possess, keep up or enjoy, so courting, wooing, tending. Sy. दयुम्ना = धनानि.

10) यस्त्वा स्वश्वः सुहिरण्य अग्न
उपयाति वसुमता रथेन ।
तस्य त्राता भवसि तस्य सखा
यस्त आतिथ्यमानुषग् जुजोषत् ॥

He who cometh to thee with perfect steeds, with wealth of gold, O Agni, and his car full of substance, to him deliverer thou

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becomest and to him friend, who accepts thy uninterrupted hospitality (or thee with un- etc).

जुजोषत्. Sy. प्रापयति—appᵈ = जोषयेत्. This is wholly improbable; it would ignore the ते & give an unusual force to the simple जुष्.

11) महो रुजामि बंधुता वचोभि-
स्तन्मा पितुर्गोतमादन्वियाय ।
त्वं नो अस्य वचसश्चिकिद्धि
होतर्यविष्ठ सुक्रतो दमृनाः ॥

With my narrow strength I break down great opposers by the words of the mantra; for that power has come to me from Gotama my father. Housed in my being do thou take knowledge of this word of ours, O young & vigorous, O perfect in force, O offerer.

बंधुता. Sy. बंधुतया—by friendship with thee won by my praises. I take बंधुता from बंध् to confine, limit—or as in बंधुर = crookedness, in either case referring to the limitations of the mental being.

12) अस्वप्नजस्तरणयः सुशेवा
अतंद्रासो अवृका अश्रमिष्ठाः ।
ते पायवः सघ्र्यंचो निषद्य
अग्ने तव नः पांतु अमृर ॥

Unsleeping that carry us over & are full of felicity, undrowsing, unrent, ever most unwearied, may those protecting powers of thine continuously seated in us, O Agni, shield us, O illimitable Agni.

अव्रृकाः. Sy. not tearing. अमूर—अमूढ सर्वज्ञ । यदूा अमूर अप्रति-हतगते ।

13) ये पायवो मामतेयं ते अग्ने
पश्यंतो अंधं दुरितादरक्षन् ।
ररक्ष तान्सुकृतो विश्ववेदा
दिप्संत इद्रिपवो नाह देभूः ॥

Thy protecting powers, O Agni, which guarded the son of Mamatá from stumbling; the Omniscient guardeth them in their

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right doing and the foe that strive to do us hurt cannot overcome them.

मामतेयं. A long story is told to explain this allusion—उचथ्यस्य गर्भिणीं ममतानामधेयां भार्यां तदनुजो बृहस्पतिरचकमत। तस्यां रेत आधित्सुं तं बृहस्पतिं गर्भस्थं रेतोऽब्रवीत् । रेतोऽत्र मा सैक्षीरहमत्र वसामीति । एवमुक्तो बृहस्पतिर्निरुद्धरेतस्कः सन् रेतोरुपं गर्भं शशाप । जात्यंधत्वरुपं दीर्घं तमः प्राप्नुहीति । ततस्तस्यां दीर्घतमा अजनिष्ट । स चांध्यपरिहारायाग्निं स्तुत्वा चक्षुरलभतेति । This story like other myths of the Brahmanas seems to be a Vedantic parable. In any case the blindness of the text is obviously a spiritual blindness. दुरितं, false going, stumbling = sin or misfortune, here sin, as we have सुकृतः.

14) त्वया वयं सधन्यस्त्वोता-
स्तव प्रणीती अश्याम वाजान् ।
उभा शंसा सृदय सत्यताते
अनुष्ठुया कृणुह्यह्रयाण ॥

By thee may we effecting our perfection, by thee increased in being (or protected), by thy leading taste all substantial possessions; impel both the divine and human self-expressions, O builder of Truth; O thou undeviating, accomplish each step successively.

सधन्यः. Sy. सधनाः. It may, however, be सधनिः from सध् to effect, accomplish. सूदय. Sy. (आसन्नविप्रकृष्टौ) पापानां शंसितारौ जहि. This is forced & unnatural & has no connection with सत्यताते. अह्रयाण. Sy. अलज्जितगमन. Again far-fetched & improbable. It may be from हृ to attract out of the way, cf जुहुराण & हुरः IV.3.13, or to be troubled in heart, disturbed by passion, cf हृष्, हृणानः etc.

15) अया ते अग्ने समिधा विधेम
प्रति स्तोमं शस्यमानं गृभाय ।
दहाशसो रक्षसः पाहि अस्मान्
द्रुहो निदो मित्रमहो अवद्यात् ॥

With this fuel, O Agni, we would dispose the sacrifice for thee, do thou take to thyself the hymn of thy confirming as it is

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expressed, burn the Rakshasas who would take its enjoyment (or who would devour us), protect us, O thou might of Love, from harm and limitation and fault.

समिधा. Sy. दित्प्या स्तुत्या! मित्रमहः. Sy. मित्रैः पूजनीय. A sufficiently absurd explanation. अवद्यात्. Sy. परिवादात्. अवद्य is either non-expression or insufficient expression, fault of शंस or positively fault or defect, that which should not be spoken or expressed.