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392
HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
pânusârena ni minoti ni kshipati... yathâ kitavah akshân âtmano gayârtham nikshipati. The Pet. Lex. (V, 764; VII, 409) emends to ní kinoti and ví kinoti without real gain, tempting as the emendation is in the light of RV. X, 42, 9= AV. VII, 50, 6, and AV. IV, 38, 2. Grill suggests ní minoti (or minâti) in the sense of 'reducing, causing to vanish the strength of men' (cf. Sâyana), but neither expression will bear such an interpretation (ní minâti does not occur). The translators offer the greatest variety of versions, without, as a rule, adhering closely to the text.
Stanza 6.
Sâyana reads visitâh and rushantah (so also the Paippalâda). For sinantu of the vulgate the MSS. have khinantu, khinattu, and sinantu (Sâyana, khinattu khindantu).
Stanza 7.
a. varuna is metrically superfluous, an obvious gloss. c. The MSS. read sramsayitva and sramsayitvâ. Sâyana, correctly, sramsayitvâ (galodararogena srastam kritvâ).
d. Sâyana, followed by Shankar Pandit, reads abandhár for abandhráh. The Pet. Lex. s. v. 2 kart, 'like a leaking tub wound about with rags' (to stop the leakage). Sâyana, aseh kosa iva parikrityamânah (kritî khedane), 'like the broken sheath of a sword.'
Stanza 8.
6
Literally, with Varuna who is fastened lengthwise, &c.' The word várunah could be well spared from all three Pâdas, if it were not for the metrical symmetry with the next stanza. Or it might be changed to the vocative varuna. For samâmyò and vyâmyò, cf. AV. XVIII, 4, 70: the words are clear. Ludwig and Sâyana erroneously connect them with âmaya, 'disease.' videsyà is naturally derived from videsa, 'foreign country;' in that case samdesyà is an artificially formed opposite 'native, indigenous.' So Sâyana. Both words are år. λey. An alternate possibility
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