Kāṇḍa 2

2.1.1 Powerless is the poison from the east, powerless what comes from the north; and this here from below is dissolved by the grain-gruel karamba.

2.1.2 Having placed the karamba grain-gruel crosswise — full-fatted and excellently conveyed — hunger, they say, has devoured you, O malicious one; let it not wound.

2.1.3 Your intoxication, O intoxicating one, we cause to fall like an arrow shot; you who surge forward like a boiling cauldron, we bring to a standstill by our utterance.

2.1.4 As one heaps up around a village, so we heap up around you; stand firm as a tree in its standing-place — in the pit dug by the spade let it not wound.

2.1.5 They have bought you round about with pavasta-grain and with hides of distant aspect; you are a herb of wide purchase — in the pit dug by the spade let it not wound.

2.2.1 Invoking Heaven-and-Earth, invoking Bhaga and the two Aśvins, invoking Bṛhaspati, I render the poison powerless.

2.2.2 Verily powerless shall this poison be, even as I have wished it to be; moreover, let a person eat of it — he shall be free from disease again.

2.2.3 Fear not — you shall not die; I protect you on every side. I have not known the potency of the poison, as one eating the foam of water.

2.2.4 The avertive speaker, the first divine physician, has spoken away — even before Indra's eyes, like cows — those words that are the bane of poison.

2.2.5 Whatever has been ground, whatever unground, whatever has been smeared, whatever may be smeared — O Gods, knowing all things, render the poison powerless.

2.3.1 From hereditary disease, from Nirṛti, from the calumny of kinsmen, from treachery, from the noose of Varuṇa I release you. Sinless I make you by sacred utterance; may Heaven-and-Earth be propitious to you.

2.3.2 Auspicious to you be Agni together with the waters; auspicious the cows together with the herbs; auspicious to you be the atmosphere together with the wind; auspicious to you be the four cardinal directions.

2.3.3 The four divine cardinal directions, whose consort is the Wind, upon which the Sun looks forth — in them I place this one unto old age; let the yakṣma-disease go forth, let Nirṛti depart into the beyond.

2.3.4 Just as the Gods, releasing the Sun, the embodiment of cosmic order, from the grip of darkness, sent it forth free of sin — so from hereditary disease, from Nirṛti, from the calumny of kinsmen, from treachery, from the noose of Varuṇa I release you.

2.3.5 Released is he from yakṣma-disease, from misfortune, from disgrace, from the noose of treachery — and also released from the grip of demonic seizure. Casting off ill fortune he has found ease; he has entered the blessed world of those who have done good.

2.4.1 The houseless, the bold, the clever one, the solitary-speaker, the devouring one — we destroy all the granddaughters of Caṇḍa, the perpetually pursuing ones (sadānvāḥ).

2.4.2 Whether you have arisen from hereditary disease (kṣetriya), or whether you have been sent by a man, or whether you were born from the Dasyus — perish hence, O perpetually pursuing ones (sadānvāḥ)!

2.4.3 I have swiftly encircled their abodes, as one drives cattle to the pen. I have conquered all your contests — perish hence, O perpetually pursuing ones!

2.4.4 We drive you out from the cow-pen, out from the womb, out from the cart; we chase you away, O daughters of Magundī, from the houses.

2.4.5 In that lower house over there, let all the miserly demons (arāyyaḥ) dwell; let sin be poured out there, and all the sorcerer-women (yātudhānyaḥ) as well.

2.5.1 Heaven and Earth, the broad mid-space, the mistress of the field, the wide-ranging, wondrous one — and the broad atmosphere guarded by the wind — let these all burn with affliction for me, even as I am burning.

2.5.2 Hear this, O Indra, drinker of Soma — I call upon you repeatedly with a burning heart: I shall hew down like a tree with an axe him who harms this mind of ours.

2.5.3 Hear this, O Gods, you who are worthy of sacrifice — let Bharadvāja recite the praises for me: let him who harms this mind of ours be bound in a snare and fastened into misfortune.

2.5.4 With the eighty-three chanters of Sāmans, with the Ādityas, the Vasus, and the Aṅgirases, may the merit of our fathers' sacrificial offerings and pious works protect us — I seize that man with divine consuming fire.

2.5.5 May Heaven and Earth shine after me; may all the Gods take hold of me. May the Aṅgirasas, the Soma-drinking ancestral fathers, let evil befall him who is the author of malicious will.

2.5.6 He who thinks too little of our sacred word, O Maruts, or who would revile the brahman being performed — let burning afflictions and crooked evils be his lot; let the sky burn down upon that hater of the brahman.

2.5.7 I lay your footstep upon the kindled Jātavedas (Fire who knows all beings); may Agni envelope your body; may your life-breath go to Yama.

2.5.8 The seven breaths and the eight marrows — these I hew asunder from you by the sacred word. Go to the dwelling of Yama, made ready as the messenger of Agni.

2.6.1 The seer (Vena) beheld that supreme footstep where the All becomes a single nest. There the milch-cow yielded forth this — the hosts who know the heavenly world sang after, as it was being born.

2.6.2 The Gandharva, though not knowing the immortal, proclaimed that supreme abode which lies concealed in the cave. Three footsteps are set down in the secret place; he who knows them becomes the father of the father.

2.6.3 He is our kinsman, he is the progenitor, he is the sustainer; he knows all the abodes, all the worlds. There where the Gods, having reached immortality, were set in motion in the common dwelling.

2.6.4 I have come around all the worlds; I stand attendant upon the first-born of cosmic order (ṛta). Like speech in a speaker, he who dwells in the worlds and is the nourisher — verily, this is Agni.

2.6.5 I have come around Heaven and Earth straightway, to behold the stretched-out thread of cosmic order (ṛta). The god, guarding his divine nature, the One asked after the common bond.

2.7.1 O Indra, be pleased and come, O hero; drink of the pressed honey-mead, delighting in it — charming for exhilaration.

2.7.2 Let the pressed Soma-draughts enter into you, O Indra; fill your belly, strengthen yourself, O Śakra — come hither to our devotions.

2.7.3 O Indra, fill your belly with this pressed honey-mead; may vigour attend you in your states of rapture.

2.7.4 Indra the irresistible conqueror smote Vṛtra; the wielder of the vajra overcame enemies in battles — in the rapture of Soma.

2.7.5 Hear my invocation, be pleased with my hymns, O Indra; exhilarate yourself with your own teams for rapture — for great battle.

2.8.1 Up have stepped these three: the tiger, the man, the wolf. The light is turned away, the sun is turned away, the god Vanaspati is turned away — may the enemies be turned away.

2.8.2 Let the wolf rush away by the farthest path, let the thief rush away by the far path; the tiger is the most distant of all.

2.8.3 Both your eyes and your jaws, O tiger, we crush; and therewith all your twenty claws.

2.8.4 Whatever has come together is scattered, whatever has scattered does not come together again — blunted are the beast's teeth, and its ribs are shattered.

2.8.5 We crush first the tiger that tears with its teeth; and therewith the thief, the serpent, the sorcerer, and also the wolf.

2.8.6 Do not seize upon, do not enter the house; go far away. Do not harm our bipeds and our quadrupeds — you are born of Indra, born of Soma.

2.9.1 This herb, honey-born, we dig up for honey's sake; you have sprung forth from honey — make us rich in honey.

2.9.2 At the tip of my tongue be honey, at the root of my tongue a honey-sweet — so that you may be impassioned for me, so that you may come after me.

2.9.3 I have come around you with the encircling sugarcane, for freedom from enmity — so that we two may never be hostile to each other, may never part from each other at any time.

2.9.4 Speak to King Varuṇa, and to the horse, and to the man — by the prosperous, auspicious path, O Pathyā Revatī, bring the wife to me by a good road.

2.9.5 May Mitra and Varuṇa grant me a wife; may the goddess Sarasvatī grant me a wife; may both the Aśvins, garlanded with lotuses, bestow a wife upon me.

2.10.1 O ten-tree, release this one from distress and from the seizure-demon! And do thou, O lord of the forest, lead him up into the world of the living.

2.10.2 He who made it shall undo it — he alone is the most skillful physician; he it is who has made the remedy for thee, and who practises healing.

2.10.3 The gods, the brahman-sages, and the plants have found thy cure; they have found today thy highest cure upon the earth.

2.10.4 He has come, he has risen up, he has rejoined the company of the living; he has become once more the father of his sons, the most blessed one among men.

2.10.5 This one has passed beyond affliction; he has gone to the citadel of the living — he whose plants number a hundred and whose remedies number a thousand.

2.11.1 For long life, for great exhilaration — ever unharmed and thriving — we wear the amulet jaṅgiḍa, the destroyer of viṣkandha.

2.11.2 From the crusher, from the bursting-pain, from viṣkandha, from tormenting affliction — may the amulet jaṅgiḍa, thousand-powered, guard us on all sides.

2.11.3 This one overpowers viṣkandha; this one drives away the rakṣas; may this jaṅgiḍa, the all-healer, protect us from distress.

2.11.4 With the amulet jaṅgiḍa given by the gods, bestower of bliss, we overpower viṣkandha and all the rakṣas-demons in combat.

2.11.5 May śaṇa and jaṅgiḍa both release thee from viṣkandha — one brought from the forest, the other from the cultivated field, from their essences.

2.12.1 Let the cattle that have strayed hence come hither — cattle whose companionship Vāyu has favored, whose forms Tvaṣṭṛ knows well; may Savitṛ settle them in this cattle-pen.

2.12.2 Let the cattle stream together into this pen; may Bṛhaspati lead them hither in his wisdom; may Sinīvālī lead them at their head, and may Anumati settle those that have returned.

2.12.3 Let the cattle stream together, let the horses and men stream together; let the prosperity of the grain come together — with the oblation that causes confluence I offer.

2.12.4 I pour together the milk of the cattle; I pour together strength and essence with ghee; united are our heroes in me and the cattle in their herdsman.

2.12.5 I bring hither the milk of the cattle; I have brought hither the essence of grain; I have brought hither our heroes, and the wife — this is the oblation.

2.13.1 May Aryamā unite you together, may Pūṣan unite you, may Bṛhaspati unite you; may Indra, the winner of wealth, unite you — flourish here, whatever wealth there is.

2.13.2 Come here, O cows, come right here; thrive here like mushrooms growing where they stand. Multiply right here; let there be concord with me among you.

2.13.3 Stay together with me, your herdsman; this cattle-pen of yours shall nourish you here. Becoming plentiful through the abundance of wealth, alive and thriving, may we sit down beside you.

2.13.4 We unite you with your well-seated cattle-pen, with riches, with excellent nourishment. By the name of the one born this day we unite you together.

2.13.5 In mutual understanding, undispersed, laden with dung-fuel in this cattle-pen, bearing the oblation dear to Soma — enter, each into your own stall.

2.14.1 As the Āditya rises, may he slay the worms; as the sun sets, may he slay with his rays the worms that are within the cow.

2.14.2 The worm that is all-formed, four-eyed, the spotted one, the white one — slain is that worm, slain-brothered, slain-mothered, slain-sistered.

2.14.3 Slain is the king of the worms, and slain is their chief; slain are his neighbours, slain are his neighbours round about.

2.14.4 I break off your two horns with which you gore; I also shatter that vessel in which your poison has been placed.

2.14.5 As Atri did, I smite you, O worm; as Kaṇva did, as Jamadagni did. By the sacred formulation of Agastya all your worms are slain.

2.15.1 That great grinding-stone of Indra, crusher of every worm — with it I grind up the worms with the millstone, as grain in a hand-mill.

2.15.2 The seen and the unseen I have crushed; I have also crushed the kurūru. The algaṇḍu-worms, all the śalūla-worms — with the sacred word we crush the worms.

2.15.3 I smite the algaṇḍu-worms with a great blow; the afflicted and the unafflicted have become devoid of essence. Those remaining and those not yet reached I overwhelm with the sacred word, so that not one of the worms shall survive.

2.15.4 The intestinal worm, the head worm, and the worm of the ribs, the avaskava, the vyadhvara — with the sacred word we crush the worms.

2.15.5 The worms that are in the mountains, those that are in the forests, those in the plants, within cattle, within the waters — those that have made our body their abode, may Indra smite them with a great blow.

2.16.1 O herb, thou who art the over-conquering victor that has crushed enemies — strike down these same ones in counter-attack, rendering them powerless.

2.16.2 The eagle Suparṇa tracked thee out; the boar dug thee up with his snout; Indra placed thee in his arms to spread thee against the Asuras.

2.16.3 Indra devoured the pāṭā plant in order to slay the Asuras; with that same herb may I overcome my enemies, as Indra overcame the hyenas.

2.16.4 O Rudra, healer with cooling medicine, blue-crested, active doer — strike down the hostile inquiry of him who assails us.

2.16.5 Strike down the hostile inquiry of him who assails us with Indra's might; speak over us with thy powers; consume him, and make me the superior.

2.17.1 As the wind churns the grass upon the earth, so do I churn thy mind, so that thou shalt be in love with me, so that thou shalt follow after me.

2.17.2 She has come here yearning for a husband; I have come yearning for a wife. As a neighing stallion, so have I come together with her through the grace of Bhaga.

2.17.3 O Aśvins, ye have brought together these two who are in love, and ye shall lead them together; may your minds come together, your eyes come together, and your vows come together.

2.17.4 What is within, let that be without; what is without, let that be within — O herb, seize the mind of the maidens of all forms.

2.17.5 [Uncertain text: she of the eagle-winged — she without wings —] here thy mind is fixed, as an arrow transfixes a young bud.

2.18.1 The fiery splendor that is in the lion, in the tiger, and in the pṛdāku serpent, that is in fire, in the brahmin, and in the sun — the auspicious goddess by whom Indra was augmented: may she come to us, united with radiant glory.

2.18.2 The fiery splendor that is in the elephant, in the leopard, and in gold, that is in horses, in men, and in cattle — [may she come to us, united with radiant glory].

2.18.3 The fiery splendor that is in the warrior-noble, in the battle-drum when it is stretched, in an army on the march, in the thunder, and in the war-cry — [may she come to us, united with radiant glory].

2.18.4 In the chariot, in the axles, in the swift charge of the bull, in Parjanya, in the wind, in the might of Varuṇa — the auspicious goddess by whom Indra was augmented [may she come to us, united with radiant glory].

2.18.5 The fiery splendor that is among the Rudras, that is among the Vasus, among the Ādityas, among the Maruts — the splendor that is among all the gods: may she come to us, united with radiant glory.

2.19.1 Whether on the fordable or the navigable side of the rivers our lord and ally abides — may all the gods protect him, so that he, living, may speak in the assembly.

2.19.2 Whether on the hither bank or indeed on the yonder bank, or on the desert plain, our lord and ally abides — [may all the gods protect him, so that he, living, may speak in the assembly].

2.19.3 Whether in the contest, whether in the endurance-trial, whether in the assembly our lord and ally abides — [may all the gods protect him, so that he, living, may speak in the assembly].

2.19.4 May they fall down, may they become inferior, those who battle against our patron, the munificent lord — may all the gods protect him, so that he, living, may speak in the assembly.

2.19.5 O Yama, O Death, do not harm him whom I have guarded with heart and mind — he who carries me across and whom I carry across, may he be rich in offspring, munificent, a lord.

2.20.1 Board this ship, the one without breach, the one capable of ferrying across — she who stands in the house of Narāśaṃsa and of Bhaga, furnished with a hundred oars.

2.20.2 Fumigate with bdellium — may the kine be free of consumption and unharmed; with the arrows of Rudra strike down the sorcerers, and those of King Bhava as well.

2.20.3 The two Rudras hold sway over bipeds and quadrupeds — may we stand under their patronage. Let them be honoured with ripe viṭṭha-grains; may we be in the good favour of the gods.

2.20.4 Pratīcī is your mother's name; Śatavāra indeed is your father's name. From them were you born, O Arundhatī, causing no harm.

2.20.5 You are named 'Mother' from your very nature as mother; you are as it were the very essence of immortality. O Arundhatī, you encompass all life — and this too.

2.21.1 O Agni, may propitious thought come to Śambhala; bring this maiden together with our portion. Pleasing in the choice assemblies, fair of speech — may she soon become united in fortune with a husband.

2.21.2 O Agni, this woman seeks a husband; may King Soma make her well-favoured. Bearing sons, may she become a queen; having gone to a husband, may she, the fortunate one, reign resplendent.

2.21.3 Fortune, cherished by Soma, cherished by Brahman, assembled by Aryaman — by the truth of the god Dhātṛ̥ I bring about the finding of a husband.

2.21.4 Just as the donkey, this fair and munificent one, has become beloved of the does, pleasant of abode — so may this one, cherished and mutual-beloved, be of Bhaga, pleasing her husband without obstruction.

2.21.5 Board the ship of Bhaga, the full one, the one that moves without stumbling; sail forth by her to the husband who is to be desired in return.

2.21.6 This gold, this bdellium, this bull-offering, and this Bhaga — these they have given you for your husbands, for the knowing of one who is desired in return.

2.22.1 Yoke the plows, stretch wide the yokes; sow the seed here in the prepared field. May the grace of Virāj be fruitful for us, and may the sickle come ever nearer to the ripened barley.

2.22.2 The wise ones yoke the plows, the steadfast ones stretch the yokes apart, seeking the favor of the gods. The bullocks and the men who plow — the plow and the share I anoint with the sphātī-plant for prosperity.

2.22.3 May the plowman go behind the draught animals with good fortune; may the share go breaking into the earth with good fortune. Whoever sacrifices to Śunā and Sīra with oblation — may the herbs be well-berried for him.

2.22.4 May the men go auspiciously with plow and bullocks; Bhaga with the plowshares, the Lord of the Field with the Maruts. May Parjanya stimulate and impel this seed; O Śunā and Sīra, make the grain plentiful here.

2.22.5 May Indra take hold of the furrow; may Pūṣan guard her. May she yield milk for us, year after year surpassing the last.

2.22.6 He has arisen — winner of chariots, winner of cattle, winner of horses, winner of gold — encompassed by glad speech. With his single-wheeled chariot, Savitṛ traverses the earth, filling it with portions of vital nourishment.

2.23.1 Having apportioned in succession the essence of cattle, of houses, of herbs — the luster and the life-span — do not harm my parents as you grow; proceed from the auspicious world toward a yet more excellent one.

2.23.2 Whether this field is undivided or divided, whether it belongs to the gods or to the ancestors, whether at sunrise or in human fashion — may the earth be benign to us, and heaven too.

2.23.3 Your share is nourishment, O divine pair of doors, the choicest part of the earth; I uphold you both with the sacred word. May our resting-place be auspicious and propitious, the gift granted by the gods, the fathers, and human beings.

2.23.4 The Gandharvas, the wise ones, told me of this abode of Viśvāvasu, this nest. Do not harm this treasure which we hereby entrust to you — a human being — for a hundred winters.

2.23.5 At the ever-inexhaustible spring, the Rudras rejoice, gods and fathers and human beings. This is the share, and the Lord of Shares is present; O gods, may we cross over the wide, unending autumns.

2.24.1 Whatever consumption-disease has entered into this man — a power sent forth by the divine — may Agni, awakened by ghee, drive it far away from us. May it unite with another; we dispatch it to that one.

2.24.2 Whatever consumption-disease was sent by the gods, and whatever was sent by the fathers — from that may all the gods release you from affliction. May they drive your disease away…

2.24.3 Whatever guilt made by another or made by yourself you have incurred — from that may all beings release you from affliction. May they drive your disease away…

2.24.4 Whatever one of your own kindred has done to you, or whatever an outsider has done — from that may Mother Earth release you from affliction. May she drive your disease away…

2.24.5 With the apaskanda-oblation we destroy your disease. So spoke Agni, so spoke Soma, so Bṛhaspati, Savitṛ, and Indra. May they drive your disease far away from us. May it unite with another; we dispatch it to that one.

2.25.1 Those Ādityas who are Agni-led and Indra-powered, who know battles — established as foremost in battle, the priests pour oblations for victory.

2.25.2 For the one engaged in the foremost combat, desiring a warrior to follow — accept the oblations of those who fight at the vanguard, of those who pour the offering.

2.25.3 He conquers by Varuṇa the victorious king, by Rudra the long-haired victor; by Bhava the triumphant he wins, and by Parjanya the exceedingly mighty.

2.25.4 By the weapon of the great copper-hued one, by the weapon of Śarva the warrior; by the Gandharva full of fiery brilliance, on his chariot that fights without an equal.

2.25.5 Sinīvālī and Anumati, bearing swift horses, quiver-bearing — conquering, they advance against the enemies together with Indra the ally.

2.26.1 Whatever you have struck down in a dream, or whatever falsehood you have uttered — may Agni, may Brahmā release you from that transgression, from that sin.

2.26.2 Whatever treachery you have committed at dice, or whatever you have done against friends — may Soma, may Brahmā release you from that transgression, from that sin.

2.26.3 What as a youth you have uttered among youths, or what among elders; what you have spoken having made a wager — that we make auspicious and free of disease.

2.26.4 For you, O Apāmārga, have become backward-fruited; drive away from me all the curses, driving them to something broader.

2.26.5 The Apāmārga plant is truly the sole lord of all herbs; with it we wipe away what has settled upon you — now move about free of disease.

2.27.1 The hundred-ringed one has destroyed the wasting diseases and the demons with its brilliance; ascending with radiance, this amulet drives away those of evil name.

2.27.2 With its horns it pushes away the Rakṣas, with its root the Yātudhānīs; with its middle it repels the wasting disease — no evil passes beyond it.

2.27.3 The wasting diseases that are small, those that are great, and those that are noisy — the hundred-ringed amulet, slayer of those of evil name, has destroyed them all.

2.27.4 It has generated a hundred heroes; it has swept away a hundred wasting diseases; having slain all those of evil name, it shakes off the demons.

2.27.5 A bull with golden horns — this hundred-ringed amulet; having pierced all those of evil name, it has stepped down upon the demons.

2.27.6 A hundred of those evil-named ones, a hundred Gandharvas and Apsarases, a hundred she-demons accompanied by dogs — with the hundred-ringed amulet I ward them all off.

2.28.1 I encompass all, as the earth encompasses abundance; I receive food as it comes and goes. By the great greatness of Vaiśvānara, may Agni make that wholly free of disease.

2.28.2 Whatever food I eat in manifold and varied forms — gold, horse, cow, goat, or sheep — by the great greatness of Vaiśvānara, may Agni make that wholly free of disease.

2.28.3 Whatever food I eat in untruth, O gods — whether I was about to give, or not give, or was about to act — by the great greatness of Vaiśvānara, may Agni make that wholly free of disease.

2.28.4 What has come to me as offered oblation or as unoffered gift, from whatever food my mind shrinks back in repulsion — by the great greatness of Vaiśvānara, may Agni make that wholly free of disease.

2.28.5 May Jamadagni, Kaśyapa — this is sweet — may Bharadvāja make the food honey-sweet. For the receiver: Gotama, Vasiṣṭha, and Viśvāmitra extend our life onward.

2.29.1 O Agni, eye of the sacrifice — this we know, as this shall come to be. Svāhā!

2.29.2 O Agni, ear of the sacrifice — this we know, as this shall come to be. Svāhā!

2.29.3 O Agni, in-breath of the sacrifice — this we know, as this shall come to be. Svāhā!

2.29.4 O Agni, out-breath of the sacrifice — this we know, as this shall come to be. Svāhā!

2.29.5 O Agni, self of the sacrifice — this we know, as this shall come to be. Svāhā!

2.29.6 O Agni, all of the sacrifice — this we know, as this shall come to be. Svāhā!

2.30.1 May the benevolent grace of the gods flow straight toward us; may the bounty of the gods turn back upon us. We have drawn near to the friendship of the gods; may the gods extend our life so that we may live.

2.30.2 We summon them with the ancient laudatory formula: Bhaga, Mitra, Aditi, unfailing Dakṣa, Aryaman, Varuṇa, Soma, the two Aśvins — may the auspicious Sarasvatī grant us bliss.

2.30.3 Let this homage be to the Fathers today — those who have gone before and those who went afterward; those who are settled in the earthly realm of dust, and those who now dwell among well-ordered peoples.

2.30.4 O Agni, let the arrows fly back upon the sorcerer-maker, the mortal enemy. Show no mercy to the flesh-devouring devourer; place the flesh-hungry one in the lap of Nirṛti.

2.30.5 From the curse of one greater or of one lesser, from the curse of a clansman or the curse of a kinsman, from whatever sin is uninstructed or done by another — from that, O Jātavedas, release us.

2.31.1 I stride forward with these two feet, homeward for well-being. Indra behind, Indra before — may Indra guard us in the middle.

2.31.2 May Indra cast away fear from us — from the Śūdra and from the Ārya alike. May Indra run down upon the roads those malevolent ones who have not prospered.

2.31.3 May Indra strike down the blow and disentangle our snares as though loosening fetters.

2.31.4 We have mounted this path, easy to travel, bearing well-being — by which one wards off all enemies, wins wealth, comes home uninjured.

2.31.5 Let the cutting one go away, the one who strikes downward, as if slashing apart. Let the road-guards scatter in all directions, let the lurking highwaymen scatter in all directions. Let the minds of the malevolent, those who recur again and again, scatter in all directions — those who have not prospered.

2.31.6 I have looked forth with well-being, I have looked back with well-being. Well-being on the roads and deserts, well-being in the waters within. O wanderer, you whose sound is svara — you are the going-forth for well-being. O Bhāradvāja, may there be a safe return.

2.32.1 That which is born from the north, the madhugha plant, born from the madhugha — in it I know the remedy. My tongue is full of sweetness.

2.32.2 Sweet is your leaf, O plant, sweet your horns and your blossom. Sweet was the mountain from which you were born, O herb.

2.32.3 You are the embryo of the plants, and you were the embryo of the waters. Moreover, you are the brother of Soma — O madhugha, promote my speech.

2.32.4 For good fortune I have grasped the name of the madhugha plant as one grasps a father's name — may it make me brilliant as gold, beloved of men.

2.32.5 Make me dear among the gods, make me dear among kings. Make me dear in the sight of all who look — both the Śūdra and the Ārya.

2.33.1 Be pleased with the udder, be pleased with the heart, be pleased with the mouth and the tongue. Be pleased, O cow swollen full with milk.

2.33.2 Long for the foot, long for the hide, long for the eyes, long for the haunches. Let your mind flow toward the calf like water flowing downhill.

2.33.3 Let your hairs stand erect, let your eyes wither with longing. As the cow unites with the calf, as sura liquor is mixed — so let her be joined.

2.33.4 These cows, bound by kinship, have turned together toward one calf. Lowing with a hiṅ sound, performing their acts again and again, they stand full-uddered, drawing breath serenely.

2.33.5 Tasseled at the horns, adorned at the throat, inviolable, clad in their hides — the cows, mothers of ghee: we lead them as one leads calves.

2.34.1 Whatever radiance is lodged in maidens, whatever is lodged in elephants, whatever radiance abides in gold and in cattle — of that radiance may I partake.

2.34.2 Whatever radiance is in the royal chariot, whatever is lodged in kings, whatever radiance abides in the niṣka-ornament and in gold — of that radiance may I partake.

2.34.3 Whatever radiance is in the waters, whatever in the forest-lord, whatever in Agni and in the Sun, whatever radiance abides in the sacrifice and in the sacrificial fee — of that radiance may I partake.

2.34.4 May my face be full of radiance, and my head too be radiant; may I be radiant on all sides — may my complexion be radiant.

2.34.5 May my face be auspicious, and my head too be auspicious; may I be auspicious on all sides — may my complexion be auspicious.

2.35.1 Yonder Sun has risen together with my bridal procession. I am honeyed for you, honey-producing, yet more honey-sweet.

2.35.2 Whatever honey is in the mountains and on the highland peaks, in cattle and in horses, the honey in surā as it is poured, the honey in kīlāla — let all that be in me.

2.35.3 As surā, as honey, as the dice upon the gaming board, as the mind of one enamoured of cattle — even so may your mind be fixed upon me.

2.35.4 I have trodden upon your footstep with my foot; I have drawn your mind to me with my mind. I have seized you who face me, as a mare is haltered with a horse-tether.

2.35.5 Heaven and Earth have joined you to me; the goddess Sarasvatī has joined you to me; for me may both ends of the earth's middle be yoked together for you.

2.36.1 The arrows that belong to all the gods, those of the Vasus, those of Rudra, of Soma, and of Bhaga — all you gods, however many your arrows may be, those I appease with the protection of Agni.

2.36.2 The arrows of the Ādityas, those of the Vasus, those of Rudra and of the Aśvins, however many they are — all you gods, however many your arrows, the god Savitā shall appease them.

2.36.3 Your arrows, O Agni, your arrows, O Vāta, those of the waters and of Aditi, and those among the Maruts — Indra with his pacifying chant and king Varuṇa, and the Sun with his greatness shall appease them.

2.36.4 May we not be smitten by the Ādityas, nor by the Vasus, nor by Rudra, nor by the earthly Agni. The scorchings of Indra and the scorchings of Varuṇa — the goddess Aditi shall appease those of yours.

2.36.5 Those arrows that are in the wind, in the all-pervading wind, and those that are in Rudra's quiver — may Agni, the lord of the Vasu, make all of them remedies.

2.37.1 I worship Thought with my mind, the Thought of the gods who augment the cosmic order. O Jātavedas, O Agni, carry us across with all thy aids.

2.37.2 Drive away enmities from us with the barley oblation. Whatever share of the evil dream belongs to thee, O Trita — that same do we here dispatch unto thee.

2.37.3 As they bring together the kalā measure, as the hoof, as a debt — so do we gather together all evil-dreaming into the Unfavorable One.

2.37.4 Ha, the glutton! Today let him consume a hundred cattle, a hundred goats, a hundred sheep, a hundred horses, a hundred men — and there too let him devour that one, yonder son of that man, that man's offspring.

2.37.5 Him do I hand over to Nirṛti; him do I bind in the noose of Mṛtyu. Bound and slain let him be; from there let him never be released.

2.38.1 Those who curse us — let them be cut off; we shall pass beyond them as past felled trees. Bearing a longer, more extended life, may we abide in the good favour of the gods.

2.38.2 O Agni, be thou fully awake against the sorcerer who worked the kṛtyā-spell, him who looks toward destruction. O god, burn that one down.

2.38.3 He who knowingly launched thee, O kṛtyā-spell, against the house of an ignorant man — we place thee back upon that one, so that thou mayest smite the one who wrought the kṛtyā.

2.38.4 Take the kṛtyā-spell by the hand and lead it back to its maker. Let it then devour him, and return again to its own dwelling, like a woodpecker.

2.38.5 Let the kṛtyā-spells go back to their maker, as a wolf to the house of one who lacks cattle. Let the offspring of the innocent flourish like herbs under good rain.

2.39.1 What of thee was wrung out by the pressing-stone flung from the arm, what the men squeezed from thee into the hands — let that swell back for thee, let that stiffen again for thee, O king Soma.

2.39.2 What of thy dear and well-made limbs, many as they are, were cut asunder by the pressing-stone, O king Soma — join those together with ghee and grow strong, so that we, being without offence, may ever dwell in thee.

2.39.3 The skin of thee they split, and the matrix — whether thou wast dislodged from thy resting-place or art pressed out — what has been prepared for us by thee, O Soma, O king, call us in that good deed.

2.39.4 Come together with in-breath and out-breath, come together with sight, come together with hearing, O king Soma. Whatever of thee was torn asunder — let that come together again; may our path-companions know us at the meeting-place of ways.

2.39.5 The days come together in his body with milk; one and another becomes the hue thereof. For him — thee, O Indu — do we offer worship with oblation; may we be lords of riches.

2.39.6 The sacrificial ladles flow over thee with ghee, nourishing thy limbs and joints. To thee, O Soma, reverence indeed, and vaṣaṭ! — call us in that good deed, O king.

2.40.1 Come hither, O divine ones; let this be the path; this world is good for your shelter. Rise up, enjoying this oblation; swiftly, urged on by King Varuṇa.

2.40.2 Let King Varuṇa come hither with his swift ones, the god together with the goddesses, taking delight in the oblation. Make for yourself an ascending path with the waves — O tawny one — by means of this great earth.

2.40.3 O dear ones, hold fast to the ascending way; let the flooding waters rejoice here in their home among the floods. Prajāpati released the currents through this; O Sarasvatīs, hold fast here as refuge.

2.40.4 Let your common impulse be held here — of the waters, of the fires, of Varuṇa, of Soma. Through this one, the resplendent one released the currents — harmless, auspicious, swift — the one free from thirst.

2.40.5 The fires that are placed beyond, in the middle, and at the two ends — seated in the waters, established on the bank — may those born of the gods be gracious to us here; and the waters too, both kinsmen from birth.

2.40.6 This is your heart, O waters, O mighty ones rich in truth; this is your calf. Come hither thus, O powerful ones, to where we settle this one.

2.41.1 Yonder Sūrya has risen; my good fortune has risen too. Thereby have I, the knowing one, overcome my husband — victorious and prevailing.

2.41.2 I am the banner; I am the head; I am the fierce, commanding one. My husband shall attend upon my will, yielding to me who bear up under all.

2.41.3 My sons are slayers of enemies; my daughter too is a sovereign ruler. And I myself am the victorious one; my glory over my husband is supreme.

2.41.4 By that whereby the gods became more glorious than the Asuras — by that, O gods, was this done; I have become free of rivals.

2.41.5 Without rivals, a slayer of rivals, victorious, overpowering — I steal the fortune of the other women as one strips the garment of one with no firm standing.

2.42.1 O śerabhaka, O śerabha! Let the Yātu-demons go back again; let the rushing Kimīdin-demons go back again. Devour him to whom you belong; devour him who dispatched you; eat your own flesh.

2.42.2 O śevṛdhaka, O śevṛdha! [Formula repeated as in 2.42.1: Let the Yātu-demons go back; let the Kimīdin-demons go back; devour him to whom you belong; devour him who dispatched you; eat your own flesh.]

2.42.3 O sarpānusarpa! [Formula repeated as in 2.42.1: Let the Yātu-demons go back; let the Kimīdin-demons go back; devour him to whom you belong; devour him who dispatched you; eat your own flesh.]

2.42.4 O mrokānumroka! [Formula repeated as in 2.42.1: Let the Yātu-demons go back; let the Kimīdin-demons go back; devour him to whom you belong; devour him who dispatched you; eat your own flesh.]

2.42.5 O Jūrṇa, Bharūji, Arjuni, Upabda! Let the Yātu-demons go back again; let the rushing Kimīdin-demons go back again. Devour him to whom you belong; devour him who dispatched you; eat your own flesh.

2.46.1 You are the destroyer of Piśācas; you are the crusher of Piśācas — svāhā!

2.46.2 You are the destroyer of Yātudhānas; you are the crusher of Yātudhānas — svāhā!

2.46.3 You are the destroyer of Sadānvās; you are the crusher of Sadānvās — svāhā!

2.46.4 You are the destroyer of rivals; you are the crusher of rivals — svāhā!

2.46.5 You are the destroyer of the hostile kinsman; you are the crusher of the hostile kinsman — svāhā!

2.48.1 O Agni, with that heat of yours, burn back him who hates us, whom we hate.

2.48.2 With that consuming flame of yours, consume back him who [hates us, whom we hate].

2.48.3 With that blazing glow of yours, blaze back against him who [hates us, whom we hate].

2.48.4 With that fierce radiance of yours, radiate back against him who [hates us, whom we hate].

2.48.5 O Agni, with that light of yours, burn down him who hates us, whom we hate.

2.49.1 The eastern quarter, the Gāyatra is its deity. Whatever sin this person has committed among gods, among the ancestors, among human beings — you, O [rite], are the expiation of that. Release him from this wasting disease, from this affliction. Svāhā!

2.49.2 The southern quarter, the Rathantara [Sāman] is its deity. [Whatever sin this person has committed among gods, among the ancestors, among human beings — you are the expiation of that. Release him from this wasting disease, from this affliction.] Svāhā!

2.49.3 The western quarter, the Vāmadevya [Sāman] is its deity. [Whatever sin this person has committed among gods, among the ancestors, among human beings — you are the expiation of that. Release him from this wasting disease, from this affliction.] Svāhā!

2.49.4 The northern quarter, the Yajñāyajñiya [Sāman] is its deity. [Whatever sin this person has committed among gods, among the ancestors, among human beings — you are the expiation of that. Release him from this wasting disease, from this affliction.] Svāhā!

2.49.5 The upward quarter, the Bṛhat [Sāman] is its deity. Whatever sin this person has committed among gods, among the ancestors, among human beings — you are the expiation of that. Release him from this wasting disease, from this affliction. Svāhā!

2.50.1 We call upon Agni as protector — may he protect this person from this wasting disease, from this affliction. May Agni, gratified with the oblation of ghee, protect as protector. Svāhā!

2.50.2 We call upon Mitra and Varuṇa as two protectors — may those two protect this person from this wasting disease, from this affliction. May Mitra and Varuṇa, gratified with the oblation of ghee, protect as protectors. Svāhā!

2.50.3 We call upon the Maruts as protectors — may they protect this person from this wasting disease, from this affliction. May the Maruts, gratified with the oblation of ghee, protect as protectors. Svāhā!

2.50.4 We call upon the Pitṛs as protectors — may they protect this person from this wasting disease, from this affliction. May the Pitṛs, gratified with the oblation of ghee, protect as protectors. Svāhā!

2.50.5 We call upon Bṛhaspati as protector — may he protect this person from this wasting disease, from this affliction. May Bṛhaspati, gratified with the oblation of ghee, protect as protector. Svāhā!

2.51.1 We worship Agni as our protector, the smiter of meni-disease, the slayer of valaga-affliction. May Agni, pleased with the ghee-offering, as smiter of meni, as slayer of valaga, as protector, protect us — svāhā!

2.51.2 We worship Indra as our protector, the smiter of meni-disease, the slayer of valaga-affliction. May Indra, pleased with the ghee-offering, as smiter of meni, as slayer of valaga, as protector, protect us — svāhā!

2.51.3 We worship Soma as our protector, the smiter of meni-disease, the slayer of valaga-affliction. May Soma, pleased with the ghee-offering, as smiter of meni, as slayer of valaga, as protector, protect us — svāhā!

2.51.4 We worship all the gods as our protectors, the slayers of meni-disease, the destroyers of valaga-affliction. May all the gods, pleased with the ghee-offering, as smiters of meni, as slayers of valaga, as protectors, protect us — svāhā!

2.51.5 We worship Bṛhaspati as our protector, the smiter of meni-disease, the slayer of valaga-affliction. May Bṛhaspati, pleased with the ghee-offering, as smiter of meni, as slayer of valaga, as protector, protect us — svāhā!

2.52.1 Those who were the first long-haired ones to sit at the sattva-session, through whom that which shines here was brought — to those I pour the oblation with ghee. May this man be possessed of horses and cattle, a hero.

2.52.2 Without the gift of the dān, one is not freed from darkness. He who approaches the twofold-named, potent dīkṣā — his hair grows forward, they become nodose; of those rites the brahman is lord of the shaving, and no other.

2.52.3 With that razor with which Savitā first shaved the hair of the head, the hair of King Varuṇa — with that very razor the brahmin shall shave this man's hair. Free from āśrama-sin, long-lived may this man be — a hero.

2.52.4 Let not your vital lustre depart along with your hair — so let Dhātā establish it for you. May Indra, Varuṇa, Bṛhaspati, and Savitā bestow vital lustre upon you.

2.52.5 Mount the seat of honour, overpower your enemies — the potent, formidable dīkṣā has been discharged. Give the sacrificial fee to the brāhmaṇas; then you shall be freed from the snare of Varuṇa.

2.53.1 Those gods who are seated in the east, who have Agni as their leader, who are slayers of rākṣasas — may they protect us, may they shelter us. Homage to them, svāhā to them!

2.53.2 Those gods who are seated in the south, who have Yama as their leader, who are slayers of rākṣasas — may they protect us, may they shelter us. Homage to them, svāhā to them!

2.53.3 Those gods who are seated in the west, who have the Maruts as their leaders, who are slayers of rākṣasas — may they protect us, may they shelter us. Homage to them, svāhā to them!

2.53.4 Those gods who are seated in the north, who have Soma as their leader, who are slayers of rākṣasas — may they protect us, may they shelter us. Homage to them, svāhā to them!

2.53.5 Those gods who are seated in the atmosphere, who have Bṛhaspati as their leader, who are slayers of rākṣasas — may they protect us, may they shelter us. Homage to them, svāhā to them!

2.55.1 Born of heaven, son of heaven, from whom great might was born — to the aśvattha tree first, for victory, we speak, addressing the divine one.

2.55.2 As horses stand ready beside a chariot, so may kings attend upon you — to speak forth at assemblies.

2.55.3 With you, O god-born one, may we win all the contests — both those that are just and those that are not.

2.55.4 He who goes to assemblies with the aśvattha as his ally — may he conquer all battles, both those that are just and those that are not.

2.55.5 May they flee downward, driven out from the assembly with ululation — those who with words attack the man whose ally is the aśvattha.

2.56.1 You are named the Fierce Ones; their houses are in front of you; the eastern quarter is yours; fire is their arrow. May they be gracious to us, to the two-footed and four-footed. To their weapons, to their arrows — homage to them, svāhā!

2.56.2 You are named the Flesh-Eaters; their houses are to the south of you; the southern quarter is yours; water is their arrow. [May they be gracious to us, to the two-footed and four-footed. To their weapons, to their arrows — homage to them, svāhā!]

2.56.3 You are named the Resplendent Ones; their houses are behind you; the western quarter is yours; desire is their arrow. [May they be gracious to us, to the two-footed and four-footed. To their weapons, to their arrows — homage to them, svāhā!]

2.56.4 You are named the Abiding Ones; their houses are to the north of you; the northern quarter is yours; wind is their arrow. [May they be gracious to us, to the two-footed and four-footed. To their weapons, to their arrows — homage to them, svāhā!]

2.56.5 You are named the Superior Ones; their houses are above you; the upward quarter is yours; rain is their arrow. May they be gracious to us, to the two-footed and four-footed. To their weapons, to their arrows — homage to them, svāhā!

2.57.1 Whether this deity has come from heaven, or from the atmosphere, or the one that is earthly — whether it be the sacrifice, whether the heaven of the lord of the sacrifice — to all of them together may we offer homage.

2.57.2 Him whom they call Indra, whom they call Varuṇa, whom they call Mitra, and whom they call Soma — him whom they call Agni, and whom they call Sūrya — to all of them together may we offer homage.

2.57.3 Those who with their minds lead souls to the cremation grounds, who move along the rays of the sun — those who are the officiating priests of the sacrifice-worthy gods — to all of them together may we offer homage.

2.57.4 Those who spread forth languor and incoherent babbling, who scatter ill-being and evil dreams — those who have become the upholders of the divine order — to all of them together may we offer homage.

2.57.5 Those who terrify with their own brilliances, who create radiances, and who cause weeping — or those who have taken on the likeness of women — to all of them together may we offer homage.

2.58.1 Two cows turned away from the path, unyoked — they have indeed become a pair of enemies; you have been made a thing of enmity so that these two might be set at strife with each other.

2.58.2 These two have indeed been set hostile to each other for all the successive years to come; and further, like a firebrand amid khadira wood, may fire stand between you two.

2.58.3 May a lion be before your sight, a tiger at your embrace; may fire stand between you two so that you two shall not dwell together.

2.58.4 It flashed apart, it spread apart, it stood apart like a door split open; O herb, as you creep forward, burn those two apart as fire does.

2.58.5 Let your hearts go apart, let your thoughts and minds go apart; and further, whatever union there has been of your two bodies — let that be far removed from you both.

2.58.6 There is indeed a thing of enmity between you two on the couch; may you two turn in opposite directions all around, so that you two shall not dwell together.

2.59.1 May the threefold nourishments, triply woven, take hold; may Pūṣan anoint with milk and ghee; the fullness of food, the fullness of the man, the fullness of cattle — may those take hold here.

2.59.2 O Ādityas, sprinkle this one richly with goods; O Agni, ever increasing, cause this one to grow; may the threefold, nourishing power take hold in him; O Indra, endow this one with vigor.

2.59.3 May the all-sustaining Earth protect you with her green; may Agni, in concord, fill you with iron strength; may the white gold, finding accord with you through the herbs, bestow luster, making you well-minded.

2.59.4 Born threefold at birth, this gold: one portion became the dearest of Agni; one flew forth from Soma when he was pressed; one they call the seed of the Creator among the waters — may that gold, threefold, be for your life.

2.59.5 The triple lifespan of Jamadagni, the triple lifespan of Kaśyapa — the threefold vision of the immortal: grant us the three lifespans.

2.59.6 When the three fair-winged ones, mighty, came together threefold, converging upon the single syllable, they thrust back Death with immortality, concealing within themselves all the worlds.

2.59.7 May the green gold of heaven protect you; from the mid-region may the white gold protect you; may the iron of the earth protect you — this one has gone forward to the city of the gods.

2.59.8 These three cities of the gods — may they protect you on all sides; bearing them, be long-lived, full of luster, superior over those who hate you.

2.59.9 The immortal gold, the city of the gods, which the first god pierced at the very beginning — to that one I offer ten salutations to the east; may he assent with the threefold weapon.

2.59.10 He spans the nine breaths with nine, for long life, for the span of a hundred autumns — three in green gold, three in silver, three in iron, charged with heat and power.

2.59.11 May Aryaman stir you, may Pūṣan and Bṛhaspati stir you; by the name that belongs to you, born of the day, by that name do we rouse you on.

2.59.12 "With the seasons, with what belongs to the seasons" — thus is the one verse.

2.60.1 I mount after the sacrifice going forth, great with fervent power, with my mind, being of the same womb; being summoned, O Agni, beyond old age, may we rejoice together in revelry upon the third heaven.

2.60.2 May wise Prajāpati, firstborn of cosmic order, recognizing it, receive that; may we, having given what is given by us, traverse beyond old age the unbroken thread of continuity.

2.60.3 The falcon, the fair-winged, the heavenly, who watches over men, thousand-footed, hundred-wombed, the bestower of vigorous life — may he place within our reach the wealth that has been carried away; may it be among our fathers in the manner of the ancestral oblation.

2.60.4 O companions of the assembly, I hand over to you this one whom Jātavedas has brought as a treasure-trove; the sacrificer shall come after safely — know him on the highest firmament.

2.60.5 Know him indeed on the highest firmament, O gods, O companions of the assembly, recognize this world; O knowing one, step along in the wake of the sacrificial and charitable acts, to where what has been given by you is distributed in many ways among kinsmen and those without kin.

2.61.1 Those bonds with which you bind the treacherous ones, those who have joined together in falsehood — those I loosen from you, for life and strength. Eat food free from disease, you who are born forth.

2.61.2 O tawny one (Varuṇa), may this hero be free from guilt; guard him from the bonds of treachery. O king, all-knowing, release the bonds of him for whom I perform rites with oblation and ghee.

2.61.3 Kaśyapa moved with oblation toward Indra among the golden-hued ones; the bountiful lord gave to the bountiful. The guardian of all being traversed the great expanse of the vast atmosphere.

2.61.4 The round cake, the navel-shaped one, dripping with ghee, well-renowned at the ford of the rivers — this I offer to you. O knowing king, release the bonds, lest another man's wife become a widow.

2.61.5 May Varuṇa lead him unharmed along this path, conducting him past all difficulties with blessings. Receiving him, may the Aśvins hand him over, for well-being, from dusk to dawn.

2.62.1 Those Piśācas who befuddle our understanding and intent — their brilliance, their mind, and their offspring: destroy these, O Agni.

2.62.2 Destroy, O Agni, the brilliance, mind, and offspring of the Piśācas; and then fulfil my desire according to how I wish it.

2.62.3 Having fulfilled my desire with vital power as though immortal, you, O Agni, flesh-consuming one, burn all the Piśācas with your flame.

2.62.4 Burn back the sorcerers, the foolish pseudo-gods, O all-seeing one — those who, with hatred seek to harm us and confound our desire.

2.62.5 Those who seek to harm us in our cattle and in our desires and in our people — them, O thousand-eyed lord, burn those Piśācas with your flame.

2.63.1 Together with these, O all-overcoming one, and also O goddess Sarasvatī — and this: O you two Aśvins, make this mark red.

2.63.2 O Agni, you are called the mark-face of the Āsura's face. Become greater from here, become smaller from there; depart, be gone — may the far one not injure you.

2.63.3 Those whose father is Parjanya and whose mother has become the Earth — I summon all those plants, the cow-born ones, those quickened by Soma.

2.63.4 O seven-branched one, destroy this kilāsa-blemish from the skin. Indeed you are named Niṣkṛti — cure this with your auspiciousness.

2.63.5 Niṣkṛti is the name of your mother, Niṣkṛti is the name of your father; and you yourself are Niṣkṛti — cure this with your auspiciousness.

2.64.1 The first one, whose thought is of the sun, who rises toward the upper sky, who desires blessings — that Āsura fashioned a kṛtyā-sorcery; may it turn auspicious for us.

2.64.2 Those who brought this kṛtyā-sorcery, those who have desired the destruction — may the goddess Nirṛti, sister of all the gods, smite them.

2.64.3 This counter-amulet belongs to Kaśyapa; Heaven is the father, Earth is the mother. As the gods wrought the counter-spell, so do ye fashion it again.

2.64.4 The kṛtyā-sorceries that are blue-tinged, the kṛtyā-sorceries that are noose-bearing, the kṛtyā-sorceries that those women made and that are blood-red — all of these we drive away from here.

2.64.5 Or if they brought this sorcery thinking "may these things be auspicious" — O kṛtyā, thou art benign, thou art propitious; go back and follow that very maker of thee.

2.65.1 May thy great splendor spread upward to the sky; be thou fragrant and brilliant among thy allies. May King Varuṇa speak on thy behalf — and do thou share thy oblation with him. For a hundred winters subdue thy rivals; may all the clans follow thee with acclamation.

2.65.2 He who rises up against thee as thou risest, he who is of thine own kin yet rails against thee from close by — may Indra bind him fast in the lowest tether; upon such a one [let the curse fall].

2.65.3 He who restrains thee as thou art advancing, he who would conquer thy forces in the battle — may Bṛhaspati strike him down; upon such a one [let the curse fall].

2.65.4 Those who have brought tribute to thee, and those who have brought thee their offering — Soma bends the men of thine own kin toward thee. May Agni, thy yokefellow, speak on thy behalf; upon such a one [let the curse fall].

2.65.5 Be thou the greatest, abundant in offspring, possessed of good heroes; harness thyself forward, subdue thy rivals. May Indra with the Maruts speak on thy behalf — and do thou share thy oblation with him. For a hundred winters subdue thy rivals; may all the clans follow thee with acclamation.

2.66.1 First I offer oblation to Bhaga the king; may all the gods rejoice in the latter portion. O Agni, thou who art richly offered oblation, desiring wives and these desiring women — bring to them a husband.

2.66.2 Choose thou a husband with oblation, praising him; may Savitṛ bring him, may Agni bring him to thee. Bow before him who shall live for a hundred autumns — thou who art endowed with good fortune, possessed of Bhaga's blessing, rich in brave sons.

2.66.3 The husband whom thou, O Aryaman, hast pointed out for her — even though he dwells among people — him thou shalt bring hither. O highly auspicious one, not a destroyer of husbands, benevolent — follow him with the abundance of wealth and with refreshment.

2.66.4 The husband whom Aryaman and Dhātṛ ordained for thee at thy birth — him thou shalt bring hither. I offer oblation with the vow of choice; may he come knowing, coming with good will.

2.66.5 May Heaven and Earth bestow a husband upon thee, may Mitra and Varuṇa, Vāyu and Agni bestow a husband; may the seven Ṛṣis, Aditi, Soma, and Indra — may these gods make thee a woman possessed of a husband.

2.67.1 Whatever demon (arāya) has entered you — the one who knows not a wife, and the one who does know women — and whatever has touched your body, him we drive out from here.

2.67.2 We lead you, O arāya, out — you who have entered her. Do not harm her person; go elsewhere, be not here.

2.67.3 When you, O arāya, approach her, bestow upon her the nourishment of wealth. Yet do not harm her offspring; go elsewhere, be not here.

2.67.4 When you, O arāya, come here, we smite you with the herb. And also with the dug-up roots we strike you with the potent one, each according to his share.

2.67.5 That which comes from envy, that which belongs to women's sorcery, that which pertains to difficult childbirth, whatever ill-fortune derives from the seat of the fathers — all that we drive out from here.

2.68.6 Whatever brilliance (varcas) you have, O Sūrya, in heaven among the gods — bestow that upon us; you are the all-knowing (pracetās). I, fierce and blazing with your fire, filled with splendor, may I make this utterance manifest.

2.69.1 The cloud-bearing wind (nabhasvān Vāta) purifies from the east. Homage to you; we know your name — do not harm us.

2.69.2 Born of heat (tapojā), the unwavering one (amūra), the cloud-bearing wind purifies from the south. Homage to you; we know your name — do not harm us.

2.69.3 The all-life-giving (viśvāyur), born-of-all-people (viśvajanīna), the cloud-bearing wind purifies from the western quarter. Homage to you; we know your name — do not harm us.

2.69.4 The auspicious one (śiva), belonging to all the gods (vaiśvadeva), the cloud-bearing wind purifies from the northern quarter. Homage to you; we know your name — do not harm us.

2.69.5 The supremely standing one (atiṣṭhāvān), belonging to Bṛhaspati (bārhaspatya), the cloud-bearing wind purifies from the upward quarter (zenith). Homage to you; we know your name — do not harm us.

2.70.1 It sprang forth, it rushed off, it leapt aside and would strike the serpent — may the lightnings be propitious to us, even as an auspicious smile.

2.70.2 When Parjanya thunders, the whole moving world trembles; the earth, ready at the proper season, rejoices facing her lord.

2.70.3 He has thundered upon her as a stallion-horsed bull upon a milk-cow — do thou, O lightning, smite the serpents; slay not our men.

2.70.4 From the roaring of the thunder, from the crackle of the thunderbolt — O gods, O Maruts, show mercy to us; may it guard us from peril and from disgrace.

2.70.5 Bending away, bow around us — O Ādityas, grant us shelter; ward off the feathered arrow and the featherless one of Riśādas, the devourer.

2.71.1 O kṛtavyadhanī, piercer of the fashioned wound — pierce him who made it; slay that very one. We do not whet thee for slaughter against one who has not acted against us.

2.71.2 Just as, O divine herb, thy fruit has been turned westward, so do thou seize the sorcery of the sorcerer by the hand and lead it away.

2.71.3 The sorcery goes back to the maker of sorcery, as a monitor lizard that has found its burrow; like flour dispatched to the flour-consumer — may it blaze back, turned westward.

2.71.4 The sorcery they wrought upon the roads, upon the eggplants, and in the circular enclosures, and the sorcery they worked into the frog — with that very (sorcery), slay the sorcerer.

2.71.5 May it advance against (its maker) as fire (advances) against the wind, as water (flows) with the current; may the sorcery, once fashioned, turn upon the sorcerer who fashioned it, as a chariot turns upon a smooth road.

2.72.1 Agni with his brilliance, Sūrya with his light, Dyaus with his greatness, the atmosphere with its expanse, the directions with their prospects, the earth with her waters — may they cause this kingdom to flourish, rich in offspring.

2.72.2 Tvaṣṭṛ with form, Savitṛ with his impulsion, Day with Mitra, Night with Varuṇa, Pūṣan with nourishments, Bhaga with his share and apportionment — may they cause this kingdom to flourish, rich in offspring.

2.72.3 The peg that Viśvakarman drove between the two — Heaven and Earth — of that (peg) they call this kṣatriya the offspring; do not fall away from it; bear it upon thy head.

2.72.4 The metres are its rays on every side, the stomas are its self, the yajus is its substance — of that (sovereignty) they call the kṣatriya fashioned; do not fall away from it; bear it upon thy head.

2.72.5 Push away the affliction with confusion; crush the intractable adversary down underfoot; let not rivals, seeking to deceive thee, delude thee — may thy kingdom be of the highest splendor.

2.73.1 O Mitra and Varuṇa, this oblation is yours, by which the gods formerly attained immortality. By that same [offering] may sovereignty and vital force be established upon him; may the directions be free of rivals for him.

2.73.2 O Mitra and Varuṇa, may a cow that does not kick yield you a stream of ghee. May the divine Savitṛ, and Vāyu, and Agni — the lord of all beings — grant shelter here.

2.73.3 O Mitra and Varuṇa, sing that which is auspicious to us. May the enemies lie slain in many ways on every side. May the army be victorious; let the battle-cry go forth separately; may the warriors carry [spoils] in many ways.

2.73.4 We shall smite the enemies with [the aid of] Mitra and Varuṇa; we shall abide in the auspicious world of the righteous. May the divine Savitṛ and Agni carry us across; may this [rite] be victorious through the oblation of Kaśyapa.

2.73.5 Vāyu declared to Mitra and Varuṇa what Kaśyapa's universal oblation is fashioned for. The Maruts, who were its adhvaryus, made wide spaces for the gods thereby.

2.74.1 O Agni, the beautiful-worker cried out; be here! Sacrifice to the wide-embracing heaven and earth. O you whose oblation is given — lead him hither with reverence; may the Five Peoples yoke [him who is] endowed with good offspring.

2.74.2 May the ruddy [steeds] stir Indra — even when far away — to come for friendship, the wise one. When the gods consecrated for him the Gāyatrī, the Bṛhatī, and the hymn through the Sautrāmaṇī [sacrifice], they dared it.

2.74.3 King Varuṇa has called you from the waters; Soma here calls you from the mountains. Indra here calls you from these clans. Having become an eagle (śyena), let us fly to settle among the clans.

2.74.4 Let the oblation bring the eagle hither from the far [realm], roaming unobstructed in another domain. May the Aśvins make the path easy for you; O kinsmen, enter together the embryo [of sovereignty].

2.74.5 Attend to the eagle's oblation of Kaśyapa! O wind, sent forth as messenger, bring Indra hither! Having overpowered the enemies, choosing the clans with the foremost of armies, go down [to settle], O desirous one.

2.74.6 Whoever among your kinsmen or outsiders stands in the way of your call — O Indra, having led those away to the remote [quarter], then bring this one safely to rest.

2.74.7 May the Five Peoples call you; allies have chosen [you as] lord. Indra, Agni, and all the gods have established security among the clans.

2.75.1 Prajāpati is one who does not turn back; he is one who does not turn back together with his progeny. May he, not turning back, make me one who does not turn back.

2.75.2 Indra is one who does not turn back; he is one who does not turn back together with his heroic might. [May he, not turning back, make me one who does not turn back.]

2.75.3 Soma is one who does not turn back; he is one who does not turn back together with the plants. May he, not turning back, make me one who does not turn back.

2.75.4 The waters are those that do not turn back; they do not turn back together with Parjanya. May those [waters], not turning back, make me one who does not turn back.

2.75.5 The gods are those who do not turn back; they do not turn back together with immortality. May those [gods], not turning back, make me one who does not turn back.

2.76.1 May the plants grant me nourishment, may the herbs grant me nourishment; whatever milky nourishment is in the waters — may the rain-showers shower that down upon me.

2.76.2 May the nourishment-full elephants grant me nourishment; may the birds grant nourishment to me; may the black-antelope grant me nourishment.

2.76.3 Let my field be rich in nourishment, and my grain rich in nourishment; may I myself become nourishment-rich, and my cows likewise milk-full.

2.76.4 May the Apsarases grant me nourishment, may the Gandharvas grant me nourishment; may all beings grant me nourishment — may the Wind bestow nourishment upon me.

2.76.5 May Heaven-and-Earth grant me nourishment, may the atmosphere grant nourishment; may Indra and Agni grant me nourishment — may Dhātṛ bestow nourishment upon me.

2.77.1 I bear your mind, I bear your thought, I bear your vow; may you be within my resolve as well — let us be united in my thought.

2.77.2 Be hither-minded, be here-minded; may your mind take delight here — may your mind take delight in me.

2.77.3 With the root of vīrodeka — of āñjana, of madhugha, of kuṣṭha and of nalada — an enchantment has been placed upon the mouth.

2.77.4 Sweetness within my mouth, an enchantment has been made in the mouth; there now turn you about — you spin like an iron-headed arrow.

2.77.5 As the felloe embraces the wheel of a chariot on every side, so embrace me entirely — so let it be that your mind remains in me.

2.78.1 As the wind, O Aśvins, carries this blade of grass from the earth, so we carry her whom we desire.

2.78.2 May your mother raise you up; may the Aśvins impel you forward; then, as a child turns toward its mother, may your mind follow me alone.

2.78.3 As milk and clarified butter are dear to the hearts of human beings, so may I become the highest and most cherished in this woman's heart.

2.78.4 May Agni's heat burn you; the rushing gust of the wind — let it not touch you toward sitting still. Come, good one — arise and go forth! I make you like fire.

2.78.5 May the Sun's heat burn you; the rushing gust of the wind — let it not touch you toward sitting still. Come, good one — arise and go forth! I make you like the Sun.

2.79.1 The golden-flowered plant is auspicious, and this well too is most propitious; let those two — both immortal — bestow upon her well-being with good fortune, within the immortal realm of Bhaga.

2.79.2 That which is gold, abundant and yellow — may it grow upon your limbs. With that, O Aśvins, sprinkle this woman with the power of Bhaga.

2.79.3 Just as those who are thirsty and filled with desire come eagerly to a well that yields water, so may all your brothers-in-law and would-be husbands come to you with desire.

2.79.4 O plant golden-eyed, of honey-hued color, tended round with gold — your mark is of gold; with it bring a husband to this woman.

2.79.5 Whether you are beyond the people, or beyond the rivers — may this herb bring you to me as if with a hook, drawing you here.

2.80.1 Restore the in-breath, restore the out-breath, restore also the pervading breath to this man, O Soma. This self, this eye — the vital spirit rises together; do protect him now, do quicken him, awaken.

2.80.2 Tvaṣṭṛ by his shaping power, Savitṛ by his impulsion — the day by Mitra and the night by Varuṇa; Indra by his supremacy, this one by sacred speech, Bṛhaspati and Pūṣan — may they restore life-breath to this man.

2.80.3 The Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the All-Gods, Aditi, and the Night; Yajña, Bhaga, Savitṛ, and whatever other gods there are — may Yama restore the life-breath to this man.

2.80.4 May King Varuṇa grant it to you again; may King Soma restore the life-breath to you. Let Indra with the Maruts, and the two Aśvins, heal you; may Agni and Rudra restore the life-breath to you.

2.80.5 May divine Heaven and the Atmosphere, Agni, Vāta, and Pavamāna heal you again. From the fetters of the Seizure, from the fetters of Nirṛti, from the fetters of Death — may the divine goddess Vāc restore you.

2.81.1 O guardian of sacred order, may this eye of mine not abandon me before my full span of life. Whatever darkness there is in you both, whatever malignant film — that we blow away from you both.

2.81.2 Whatever blindness there is, whatever dimness, whatever film creeps over the eye — may the iron hook strip away that film from the eye.

2.81.3 The sight that man-seeing Soma won in the contest with the serpent, or that which the hawk, the bird, the Suparṇa possesses — that which they call the boundless eye of Aditi, may man-seeing Soma place that in me.

2.81.4 As is the eye of the Suparṇa, as of the horse, as of the dog — even so, O Aśvins garlanded with lotuses, make my eye.

2.81.5 From her whose eye the Suparṇa took, seizing sight with sight as he swooped down — from her, O ocean-born one, I take your eye with sight.

2.84.1 This head of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — this brain of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.2 These jaws of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — this tongue of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.3 This neck of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — these shoulders of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.4 These two shoulder-joints of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — these arms of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.5 This heart of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — this right lung of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.6 These ribs of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — these rib-bones of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.7 These hips of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — this entrail of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.8 These two thighs of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — these two shanks of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.9 These two ankles of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — these two feet of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.10 This skin of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — these life-breaths of yours I crush into the earth.

2.84.11 These joints of yours I split, O sorcerer — svāhā! — this marrow of yours I crush into the earth.

2.85.1 O Nardamoda, O Lavuntaka, O Jiṣṇu, O Aparājita — drive the embryonic forces against that one; the snare comes upon him of its own accord.

2.85.2 Let the vital breath come together with will-power, let the self, the breath of life, and bodily strength come forth; may Agni, rich in all treasures, bestow upon us that [vitality] with good fortune for our well-being.

2.85.3 May Dakṣiṇā protect me from the right side; may Dakṣiṇā protect me from the left. May she protect me from the wound-dealing [danger] behind; from in front may Dakṣiṇā protect me.

2.85.4 A hundred are the divine waters and the beneficent gifts of Mitra; may Dhātṛ, Savitṛ, and Rudra release us from distress.

2.85.5 A hundred are the fetters of Varuṇa, a hundred too of Bṛhaspati; release us, O mortal, from the fetters — from a hundred snares we [release] you.

2.86.1 I have taken my stand toward the eastern quarter; may Agni protect me for strength and power. May I become beloved of the directions. May the quarters be free of enemies for me, their faces shining with ghee.

2.86.2 I have taken my stand toward the southern quarter; may Indra protect me for strength and power. [May I become beloved of the directions. May the quarters be free of enemies for me, their faces shining with ghee.]

2.86.3 I have taken my stand toward the western quarter; may Varuṇa protect me for strength and power. [May I become beloved of the directions. May the quarters be free of enemies for me, their faces shining with ghee.]

2.86.4 I have taken my stand toward the northern quarter; may Soma protect me for strength and power. [May I become beloved of the directions. May the quarters be free of enemies for me, their faces shining with ghee.]

2.86.5 I have taken my stand toward the fixed quarter [below/nadir]; may Viṣṇu protect me for strength and power. [May I become beloved of the directions. May the quarters be free of enemies for me, their faces shining with ghee.]

2.86.6 I have taken my stand toward the upward quarter [zenith]; may Bṛhaspati protect me for strength and power. May I become beloved of the directions. May the quarters be free of enemies for me, their faces shining with ghee.

2.87.1 First let her observe the thread for the loom-peg, then let others stretch it out. This I declare to you, O women: may you be skilled, may you be the prolific weavers.

2.87.2 Let your warp-thread be proper, proper the weft, and proper the twisted yarn. And you swift ones — run at dawn like a bride being escorted.

2.87.3 Swift as the khargalā-bird, like the fierce current of waters — let the swift ones, the prolific weavers, fly along by the good path.

2.87.4 The two prods that prick them prod like a goad upon a pair of mules. I have proclaimed the praise of the prolific weavers who ply their craft with speed.

2.87.5 O woman, work the wealth into the five-pegged loom like a strand of thread. May the wearer of this garment be unharmed; O Indra, drive the garment through the loom as well.

2.88.1 Command thus — you are great, the wondrous slayer of foes, he whose companion is never slain, never conquered at any time.

2.88.2 Smite the demon asunder, smite down the adversaries, break apart the jaws of Vṛtra. Shatter the wrath, O Indra, O slayer of Vṛtra, of the foe who assaults us.

2.88.3 For us, O Indra, smite down the adversaries; press the one who fights against us downward. Send into the lowest darkness him who attacks us.

2.88.4 The giver of well-being, lord of the clans, slayer of Vṛtra, crusher of adversaries, the sovereign — may Indra the bull, the drinker of soma, the maker of fearlessness, march at our fore.

2.88.5 O Indra, drive away the mind of the hateful, drive away the weapon of him who seeks to conquer. Extend wide and broad shelter; ward off the weapon.

2.89.1 This amulet which crosses over — by it cross beyond the ill-wishers. O amulet, thrust away the rival foes, the hateful, those who fight against us.

2.89.2 Thrust away, overwhelm the rival foes, the hateful, O amulet. Cross beyond the enmity of the ill-wishers; break the vitality of those who fight against us.

2.89.3 Strike down the vitality, strike down the wrath, strike down the hostile intent of the enemies, O amulet. The divine amulet which crosses over — by it cross beyond those who seek to harm.

2.89.4 Those who injure, those who act treacherously, those who hate and fight against us — may your amulet lay low all those rivals; may it lay low the wrath of the enemy.

2.89.5 May they move within your thought, within your ordinance, under your very foot. The divine amulet which crosses over — by it cross beyond the ill-wishers.

2.90.1 I seize what is eye-dear in your mind, I seize what is heart-dear in you; I seize what is foot-dear in your feet — so that you shall stand under my command.

2.90.2 Yearn for my feet, yearn for my body, yearn for my eyes, yearn for my thighs; may your eyes, the hair of the wanton one, and your lips wither with longing for me.

2.90.3 I make you cling to my arms, cling to my heart — so that you shall be in my will, and as if you had always already been mine.

2.90.4 Those [cows] whose navel is the mounting-place, in whose heart the charm of conciliation is wrought — the cows, mothers of ghee, shall draw that woman together to me.

2.90.5 May Dyāvāpṛthivī yield you to me; may the divine Sarasvatī yield you to me; may Indra and Agni together, and Day-and-Night, deliver you to me.

2.91.1 O Tūlī, O Mūlī, O Arjunī — let the demons return to you, let the swift-rushing Kimīdinīs return; devour him whose creatures you are, devour him who sent you forth, devour your own flesh.

2.91.2 The man-eaters, the devourers, [return to him who unleashed them] — devour him whose creatures you are, devour him who sent you forth, devour your own flesh.

2.91.3 The worm-ridden ones, the foul-drinking ones, [return to him who unleashed them] — devour him whose creatures you are, devour him who sent you forth, devour your own flesh.

2.91.4 The stealers of prosperity, the stealers of vital sap, [return to him who unleashed them] — devour him whose creatures you are, devour him who sent you forth, devour your own flesh.

2.91.5 Wind-impelled, swift as thought — let the demons return to you, let the swift-rushing Kimīdinīs return; devour him whose creatures you are, devour him who sent you forth, devour your own flesh.