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HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Stansa 2. &. áranim is dr. dey., reminding us of árana, 'strange, áranya, 'waste, forest,' and aranyâni (-nî), the personified goddess of the forest, RV. X, 146. Sayana reads aranim, commenting, aramanım alakshmim daurbhâgyakaram kihnam ... yadvå aramanim sarvadà paryatanakarinîm artikarim va alakshmim. Shankar Pandit retains the reading of the MSS., såvishak (for såvishat in our edition), but Sayana reads savishat. Cf. the Våg. S. in the Kånvasâkhà X, 2, 1; XX, 1, 1 (= IX, 5; XVIII, 30 of the Mådhyamdina-såkha), and Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 248, 412; XIII, 108. See also Åpast. Sr. XIII, 7, 13.
Stanse 4.
Såyana treats all these epithets as referring directly to a woman; we prefer to regard them as personifications of evil qualities, imagined as dwelling within the person whose characteristics are foul. Såyana, vrishasye-va dantâ yasyâh så vrishadati sthaladantà nâri . . . gaur iva sedhati gakkhatîsti gosedhå strî ... vikritam dhamati sabdâyate iti vidhamà, phůtkârådivividhasabdakarinî ... lalâmyam lalåmasthåne lalå taprânte bhavam ... vilidhyam viseshena lidham vilidham, vilidham iva sthitam kesânám prátilomyarūpam. Our rendering of vilidhyami is not at all certain.
I, 19. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 120. The hymn is one of a list of battle-charms, såmgråmikâni (sc. saktàni), rubricated in Kaus. 14, 7, and associated with ceremonies of a general character, preparatory to going to battle. The Ganamåla, Ath. Paris. 32, 13, has a similar list, somewhat more extensive, which is entitled aparágitagana: see the note at Kaus. 14, 7, and cf. the introduction to I, 2. The hymn is also employed against certain portentous occurrences, as when Brâhmanas carry arms (Kaus. 104, 3), when images of the gods dance, shake, laugh, sing, or indulge in other freaks (Kaus. 105, 1), or
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