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414
HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
pronouncing Padas 7c and 7d, the things indicated in (these) mantras are done (i. e. fodder is given to the young cow, and she is fastened with the halters).' In consideration of these practices, and the statements of the stanzas themselves, we have thought that the purport of the hymn is a more special one, to wit, to secure the return of the young cows from pasture, and have formulated the caption accordingly. The stanzas are also employed at Kaus. 66, 13 at a so-called sava, or formal bestowal of the dakshina: a karkî (young white cow), together with an anúbandhya, a cow designed for the cattle-sacrifice, are given to the priests as a particular kind of reward.
This part of the hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 455.
Stanze 5. Because the Tait. S. III, 4, 7, 1 mentions an Apsaras by the name of mariki, Sayana connects this stanza with the preceding gambling charm. The true sense seems to be that the cows which wander 'in den tag hinein' are in charge of the daily sun; as he comes daily without fail, so do the young cows return. But the text is vague and fanciful, marred moreover by an anacoluthon.
Stanza 6.
Sâyana explains karki by karkavarna subhrà iyam gauh. Accordingly we, 'white calf.'
V, 4. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 4. Next to the soma-plant the kushtha is one of the most valued members of the Vedic flora. According to the medical books it is costus speciosus, or arabicus. The word is not mentioned in the Rig-veda, but is common in the Atharvan where three hymns, V, 4; VI, 95; XIX, 39, are devoted to accounts of its origin and its healing properties. It is the prince of remedies, like unto the steer among domestic animals, and the tiger among the beasts of prey. Like the soma, his good friend and companion,
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