Kāṇḍa 3

3.1.1 The kingdom has come to you together with lustre; advance eastward as lord of the clans, sole sovereign — reign widely! May all the regions summon you, O king; be here one worthy of approach, worthy of homage.

3.1.2 May the clans choose you for kingship; may these five divine regions choose you. Ascend to the crest, the crown of the kingdom; from there, O mighty one, distribute the good things.

3.1.3 Let those of common birth who bear oblations come toward you; Agni, the swift messenger, shall keep away hostility. May your wives and sons be well-disposed; O mighty one, may you behold abundant tribute.

3.1.4 The two Aśvins shall precede you, both Mitra and Varuṇa, the Viśve Devās, the Maruts — all shall summon you. May you stand paramount among those of common birth; in your own domain reign wide as Savitṛ.

3.1.5 Run forward from the uttermost distance; Heaven and Earth have become propitious for you. Thus has king Varuṇa spoken — he has summoned you; he calls you hither: come here now.

3.1.6 Go forth, O mortal, to Indra the Indra — the worshipful one, in accord with Varuṇa, summons you. He has called you to his own station; may he worship the gods and duly set the clans in order.

3.1.7 The prosperous pathways, manifold and varied in form, all assembling together, have made space for you. May all of them, in full accord, summon you here to the tenth station, O mighty one, be of good will and of your own choosing.

3.1.8 When with swift oblation we cause you to depart — here, then, may Indra make the clans, each one exclusively, tribute-bearing.

3.2.1 The remedy upon the head of the swift-rushing antelope — it has made that which is well-suited for hereditary disease fade away, having utterly destroyed the spreading sickness.

3.2.2 The antelope-bull has stridden over you with all four hooves. O horn, release and scatter whatever hereditary malady is pent up in the heart.

3.2.3 That which shines yonder like a four-sided roof — with that we destroy all your hereditary disease from your limbs.

3.2.4 The two auspicious stars named Vicṛtau have risen; may they loose the hereditary disease — its lowest snare and its highest.

3.2.5 The hereditary disease that has pervaded you from the pressing rite being performed — I know its remedy; I destroy the hereditary disease for you.

3.2.6 At the setting of the asterisms, at the setting also of the dawns — all sickness has departed from us; the hereditary malady has withdrawn.

3.2.7 The waters are indeed the healers; the waters are the chasers of disease. The waters are the remedy for all — may they release you from the hereditary disease.

3.3.1 The Aśvattha tree, a male born from a male, has sprung forth atop the Khadira tree. Let it smite my enemies — those whom I hate and those who hate me.

3.3.2 O Aśvattha, crush those enemies, the harassers who rage repeatedly. Come to me with Indra the Vṛtra-slayer, with Agni and with Varuṇa.

3.3.3 As you, O Aśvattha, crush those born before and those born after — so stand against and overwhelm those who battle against you.

3.3.4 As you, O Aśvattha, split asunder within the great ocean — so split my enemy's thoughts in all directions and overwhelm them.

3.3.5 You who roam as one that overcomes, like a bull that has conquered — O Aśvattha, with you we shall overpower our rivals.

3.3.6 Let Nirṛti bind them with the inescapable nooses of Death. O Aśvattha, my enemies — those whom I hate and those who hate me.

3.3.7 Let them drift downward and away, like a boat cut loose from its moorings. For those who have been driven off and expelled there is no return.

3.3.8 I drive them forth with mind, with intelligence, with sacred power. We drive them forth with the branch of the tree — of the Aśvattha.

3.4.1 Because, rushing forward, you cried out and roared as you struck — therefore you are called rivers (nadyaḥ); those are your names, O Sindhus.

3.4.2 Because, sent forth by Varuṇa, you leapt swiftly together toward the goal — Indra attained you as you strove; therefore, O Waters, follow his ordinance.

3.4.3 Flowing according to desire, he caused your hiccup to cease; Indra, O divine ones, held you back with his powers — therefore your name for the hiccup is vār (water).

3.4.4 One god came near to you as you flowed, drawing close; the great ones roared upward — therefore you are called udaka (water, the upward-roarer).

3.4.5 The divine Waters — it is ghee, the Waters declare; they carry Agni and Soma, those very Waters. The sharp sap of the honey-mixers has come to meet me; may it come to me together with vital breath and vital lustre.

3.4.6 Even now I see, or else I hear — the roar comes to me, the voice reaches my mouth. Having partaken, I deemed myself at that moment sharing in immortality, when the golden-hued Waters came and I was not yet sated.

3.5.1 May Agni, our messenger, go forth against our foes, burning back their curses and their malice; may he confound the minds of our adversaries and render them weaponless — Jātavedas, the Knower of creatures.

3.5.2 This Agni has bewildered all the thoughts that are in your hearts; he blows you away from your dwelling, he blows you forth from every side.

3.5.3 O Indra, confound their minds — draw their very intent hither; with the rushing blast of Agni and of Wind scatter them in all directions and destroy them.

3.5.4 Let their intentions scatter hence, and let their minds be bewildered; and whatever is today within their hearts — that, strike out and expel from them utterly.

3.5.5 Seizing their minds in utter bewilderment, O Apvā, go forth and grasp their limbs; advance, burn them inwardly with grief in their hearts, pierce our foes — those enemies fit to be seized — with darkness.

3.5.6 That army yonder of our adversaries, O Maruts, which advances against us contending with its might — hide it away with darkness and by the hostile rite, so that not one of them may know another.

3.6.1 May Agni the Omniscient go forth against our foes, burning back their curses and their malice; may he confound the army of our adversaries and render them weaponless — Jātavedas, the Knower of creatures.

3.6.2 You are fierce for such a deed, O Maruts — advance, show mercy, prevail together; the Vasus have shown mercy to those who sought their aid. For Agni, knowing all, shall go forth against their foes.

3.6.3 O Maghavan, against the hostile army of those who make themselves our enemies — both of you, O Indra, slayer of Vṛtra, and Agni, burn them back in retaliation.

3.6.4 Urged forward, Indra with his two tawny steeds goes downhill; your thunderbolt goes forth crushing the foes; strike those who face you, those alongside, those who flee — make all destruction a truth and reality for them.

3.6.5 O Indra, bring about confusion of the army against our foes; with the rushing blast of Agni and of Wind scatter them in all directions and destroy them.

3.6.6 May Indra confound their army; may the Maruts strike them down with might; may Agni seize their eyes — may the enemy host return defeated.

3.7.1 One hundred and one viṣkandhas are spread throughout the earth. Of all of them, let this be the viṣkandha-nullifier.

3.7.2 Of Karṣapha, of Viśapha — Dyauṣpitā (Sky-Father) is the father, Earth the mother. Just as the gods have acted against them, so act ye against them again likewise.

3.7.3 The sputum-free ones (the seers) upheld it; thus was it made by Manu. I render the viṣkandha castrate (vadhri), even as one strips the scrotum from the bulls of the herd.

3.7.4 In the tawny cord, the knot (khṛgala) which the wise ones bind — let those who tie knots render the renowned power of kābava castrate (vadhri).

3.7.5 By which (cord) you move about in pursuit of glory, as the gods with their asura-māyā — even as an ape (kapi) is the corrupter of dogs, so are the cord-tyers the corrupters of kābava.

3.7.6 For ruin indeed I shall shatter you, having defiled the kābava. Like swift chariots (driven off the field), you shall career away by means of my imprecations.

3.8.1 From Yama's realm you have arisen, O wise one, eager to yoke mortals to intoxicated women (pramadās). You journey alone on the same chariot, O Svapna, knowing (your nature), measuring out the womb of the Asura.

3.8.2 Bamba first saw you everywhere, before the night, at the birth of a certain day. From that time onward you arose over this (world), O Svapna, concealing yourself in an all-pervading form.

3.8.3 The great pressing-stone (bṛhan grāvā) turned from the Asuras toward the gods, desiring greatness. To that Svapna the thirty-three (gods), having won their way to heaven, granted lordship.

3.8.4 Neither the Pitṛs nor the gods know this babblement (jalpi) that wanders here in the midst. The Āptya-men placed Svapna in Trita Āptya; the Ādityans, instructed by Varuṇa.

3.8.5 Let the cruel deeds of the evildoer depart from him; let the doer of good live a holy life free from evil dream. You make heaven drunk with your highest kinsman; you are born from the tormented mind of one who suffers.

3.8.6 We know all your kindred from of old; we know, O Svapna, who here is your overlord. Protect our glory with glory here; go far away, depart to a distance from those who hate us.

3.9.1 O Mothers (Ambās), fair-faced ones, release (the waters) with their creatures; release what is truly to be known. I send forth messengers to slay this poison. The potent water (vār) — the sap-drained poison, the serpent-born (āheya) — the poison sap-drained, rendered non-poisonous.

3.9.2 I invoke Indra here, the soma-drinker, vigorous on both sides (ubhayāvin), to slay this poison. The potent water — the sap-drained poison, the serpent-born — the poison sap-drained, rendered non-poisonous.

3.9.3 I invoke fierce Varuṇa here together with the royal lords (rājanyās), to slay this poison. The potent water — the sap-drained poison, the serpent-born — the poison sap-drained, rendered non-poisonous.

3.9.4 I invoke Aditi here, daughter of the sun (sūraputrī), the maiden (kanīnikā), to slay this poison. The potent water — the sap-drained poison, the serpent-born — the poison sap-drained, rendered non-poisonous.

3.9.5 I invoke Bṛhaspati here, who is the purohita (domestic priest) of the gods, to slay this poison. The potent water — the sap-drained poison, the serpent-born — the poison sap-drained, rendered non-poisonous.

3.9.6 The āṇas, the cāṇas, and the caṇḍāmarkas — (I invoke them) to slay this poison. The potent water — the sap-drained poison, the serpent-born — the poison sap-drained, rendered non-poisonous.

3.9.7 Of the nine, of the ninety, of the festering poisons — of all of them I have seized the name. The poison whose sap has utterly departed: gone, removed, sap-drained is the poison.

3.10.1 Death is one, Yama is one, Śarva is one, the arrow-hurler is Bhava — may they fashion healing for us, away from the divine hosts.

3.10.2 May Yama restore us together with the Fathers; may Mitra and Varuṇa, Vāyu and Agni restore us; may the slayer of evil, the proclaimer of evil, restore us; may the goddess Nirṛti restore us once more.

3.10.3 The arrow that has flown dispatched by the gods, or that which has been released toward heat or toward the great power — may Soma the knowing drive it away from us, or the Fathers invoked by the gods, who behold mankind.

3.10.4 May the thousand-eyed immortal one, of manifold forms, protect here. In your friendship, O fierce one, may I come to no harm — you who are companion to the cow and companion to man.

3.10.5 The fury of yours, O Thousand-eyed one, that is poured round with poison — with that same fury be gracious to us; come to us as benign, as Śambhu.

3.10.6 May no world of mine fall under your wrath, O Thousand-eyed one, in your blazing fury. Go to him who hates us; strike down him whom we hate.

3.11.1 Those gods who stand in the eastern quarter, named Hetayas — their arrows are Agni. May they show us mercy, may they speak on our behalf. Homage to them; svāhā to them.

3.11.2 Those gods who stand in the southern quarter, named Aviṣyavaḥ — their arrows are the Waters. May they show us mercy, may they speak on our behalf. Homage to them; svāhā to them.

3.11.3 Those gods who stand in the western quarter, named Virājaḥ — their arrows are Kāma. May they show us mercy, may they speak on our behalf. Homage to them; svāhā to them.

3.11.4 Those gods who stand in the northern quarter, named Pravidhyantaḥ — their arrows are Vāyu. May they show us mercy, may they speak on our behalf. Homage to them; svāhā to them.

3.11.5 Those gods who stand in the fixed (nadir) quarter, named Vilimpāḥ — their arrows are Food. May they show us mercy, may they speak on our behalf. Homage to them; svāhā to them.

3.11.6 Those gods who stand in the upper quarter, named Aviṣyantaḥ — their arrows are Rain. May they show us mercy, may they speak on our behalf. Homage to them; svāhā to them.

3.12.1 He who dwells within the Waters, he who dwells within Vṛtra, he who is in man, he who is in the stone — he who has entered into the herbs and into the trees of the forest: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.2 He who dwells within Soma, he who dwells within cattle, he who has entered into birds and into wild beasts — he who has entered into two-footed creatures and into four-footed ones: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.3 He who shares a chariot with Indra, Vaiśvānara the all-consuming one — him I invoke with repeated calls, the one who ever conquers in battles: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.4 That god whom they call the all-devourer, whom they call Kāma, whom they call the giver and the receiver — he the wise, the mighty, the encompassing, the undeceivable: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.5 Thee whom thirteen world-beings and five human ones recognized in mind as the hotar-priest — for the bearing of vital luster, for glory, for the one rich in true speech: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.6 To him whose food is the bull, whose food is the cow, who bears Soma upon his back, the wise ordainer — to the eldest forms of Vaiśvānara: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.7 Those who move in succession through heaven, earth, and atmosphere, those who pursue the lightning — those who dwell within the quarters and those who dwell within the wind: may this oblation be offered to those fires.

3.12.8 Bṛhaspati, Varuṇa, Mitra, Agni, the golden-handed Savitṛ, Indra — all the gods and the Aṅgirasas we invoke: may they appease this flesh-devouring fire.

3.12.9 Appeased is the flesh-devouring fire, and also the man-seeking one. And that which is the all-devourer — that flesh-eating fire I have wholly pacified.

3.13.1 Here has come the parṇa-amulet, powerful, crushing rivals by its might; the vigour of the gods, the sap of plants — may it invigorate sovereignty in me without faltering.

3.13.2 In me hold sovereignty, O parṇa-amulet; in me establish splendour; may I, in the overlordship of the realm, be allied with you and be supreme.

3.13.3 The prize, the dear hidden treasure, that the gods deposited in a forest tree — may Indra bestow that amulet upon me together with long life, to be worn.

3.13.4 The leaf of Soma has come hither with powerful force, given by Indra, in friendship by Varuṇa; I wear it, shining brilliantly in many ways, for long life, for a hundred autumns.

3.13.5 May the parṇa-amulet cling fast to me for my complete uninjuredness, so that I may be supreme over the human accumulation of riches.

3.13.6 May vital power return to me, may the self, wealth, and the brahman return; may the dhiṣṇya fires arrange themselves back in their proper stations, right here.

3.13.7 The carpenters, the chariot-makers, the blacksmiths, and the wise counsellors — subdue them all, O Parṇa; make my people into submissive attendants.

3.13.8 Let there be a submissive attendant whether Vaiśya, or Śūdra, or noble Ārya — subdue them all, O Parṇa; make my people into submissive attendants.

3.14.1 That by which you became a barren woman — that we destroy; this very thing we lay away far from you, elsewhere, at a distance.

3.14.2 May an embryo enter your womb, a male, like an arrow into a quiver; may a hero be born here — your son at ten months.

3.14.3 Bear a male child, a son; after him may another male be born; may you become a mother of sons — of those already born and those yet to be born.

3.14.4 With the good seeds that bulls engender, find a son for yourself with those; be a prolific cow, a milch-cow.

3.14.5 I make for you the Prajāpati rite; may the embryo enter your womb; find a son, O woman — one who shall be a blessing to you, and you in turn shall be a blessing to him.

3.14.6 Those divine plants whose father was Parjanya and whose mother was the Earth — may they, the goddesses, help you toward the finding of a son.

3.14.7 That bull who shall stir your womb together with his seed — may he pour into you offspring of long life, lasting a hundred autumns.

3.15.1 The plant that the great bull with the moist navel, Vāta, enclosed — from it I bring up for you the all-sustaining poison-neutralizer.

3.15.2 The plant that the boar rooted up in a single lotus-pond — from it I bring up for you the all-sustaining poison-neutralizer.

3.15.3 The plant that Aditi sowed as seed-sower upon a lotus-pond — from it I bring up for you the all-sustaining poison-neutralizer.

3.15.4 She whose nest is within the waters in the great ocean — from it I bring up for you the all-sustaining poison-neutralizer.

3.15.5 I bring up for you from the highest; from the lowest I bring up for you; from the middle-ones the middle one — I bring up that poison-neutralizer.

3.15.6 I seized, together I seized, both ends together I seized; I bring up the poison-neutralizer of heaven and earth.

3.16.4 The serpent was not as an embryo; the serpent struck the stone-cloud and rendered its venom impotent. By the brahman of the poison it came into being — from that, alive, you shall not escape.

3.16.5 The serpent is scorched, the serpent is utterly scorched, rendered juiceless, made powerless. By the brahman of the poison it came into being — from that, alive, you shall not escape.

3.16.6 I give back your venom to you — you have indeed reached your former step. You think yourself one who has bitten me; bitten by me, you shall not escape.

3.17.1 One hundred and one are the remedies; of them you are the mother, O herb. You flow down to the ocean, established upon the earth.

3.17.2 In her I know the remedy: the ten-headed, ten-tongued one. He who first gathered you — may he fare well, O herb; and he to whom the heroic physician gave you — may he be well.

3.17.3 May sight return again, may breath return again, may life's span return again to us. I have extracted you by the counter-rite; by the counter-rite I have extracted you.

3.17.4 I release you from the bond of the curse, and also from that which belongs to Varuṇa; and from the foot-fetter of Yama, from every transgression against the gods.

3.17.5 Well joined are the skull-plates of your head and of your heart — those who know them. The rising sun, Āditya, has caused the body's radiance to shine forth.

3.17.6 Flow forth from Himavat; your confluence is in the Sindhu. Let all those waters, gathering together, bestow sight and breath upon us.

3.18.1 May the elephant-splendour spread wide, the great glory that arose from the body of Aditi. All of that — this which is Savitṛ's — let all the gods together with Aditi grant to me.

3.18.2 Let Mitra and Varuṇa, and Indra and Rudra fashion it. Let the gods, sustainers of all, anoint me with that splendour.

3.18.3 That great radiance of yours, O Jātavedas, which blazes up when you are invoked — with that radiance today, O Agni, make me full of splendour.

3.18.4 By that splendour whereby the elephant came into being, whereby the king stands foremost among men, whereby the gods ascended heaven with their light — with that splendour, O Agni, unite me here.

3.18.5 As great as is the splendour of the sun and of the mighty elephant — that much splendour, O you two Aśvins garlanded with lotus-wreaths, create for me.

3.18.6 As far as the four cardinal directions, as far as the eye reaches in its range — let that vital power, that elephant-splendour, gather itself entirely within me.

3.19.1 Sharpened is this brahman-power of mine, sharpened my heroic might; sharpened is my conquering kṣatra-force — of those for whom I am the purohita.

3.19.2 I sharpen for them the kingdom, I sharpen vigor, heroic might, and strength; I hew off the arms of the enemies, and I sharpen my own men.

3.19.3 Sharper than the edge of Agni's axe, and sharper still — sharper than the vajra of Indra are those for whom I am the purohita.

3.19.4 May they fall down, may they be brought low, those who assail Indra the bountiful overlord. I wound the enemies with brahman-power; I raise up my own men.

3.19.5 I sharpen the weapons of these men; I make their kingdom flourish with good heroes. May their kṣatra-power be ageless and conquering; may all the gods win over their fierce resolve.

3.19.6 Go forward, conquer, urged onward! I sharpen your weapons, O men. You of sharp arrows and powerful bows — strike down the weaklings; you of fierce weapons and mighty arms!

3.20.1 Right here I set firm the house, that it may stand in peace, sprinkled with ghee. O house, may we approach you — all heroes, good heroes, heroes unharmed.

3.20.2 Stand firm right here, O house — you who possess horses, who possess cattle, who possess pleasant speech; full of vigor, full of ghee, full of milk — rise up for great good fortune!

3.20.3 You are a support, O house, of great meter, storing good grain. May the calf low toward you, may the young child, may the milk-cows come streaming in at evening.

3.20.4 May Savitṛ, Vāyu, Agni, Tvaṣṭṛ, the hotar — knowing it — firmly establish this house. May the Maruts sprinkle it from their udder with ghee; may Bhaga, our king, extend our tillage.

3.20.5 O wife of Māna, sheltering and pleasant goddess — you were first established by the gods. Clothed in grass, benevolent, may you be; bestow on us, O auspicious one, wealth rich in good heroes.

3.20.6 Into you may the young boy come, and the calf together with the herd; into you may the jar of fermented grain and the pot of curds flow in.

3.21.1 Magnify this kṣatriya of mine, O Indra; make him the sole bull of the clans. Drive away all his enemies; subdue them for him in the coming contests.

3.21.2 May he be the lord of lords of wealth; may he be king, the lord of the clans. Place great splendors in him, O Indra; render his enemy devoid of splendor.

3.21.3 Allot to him a share in the village, in horses, in cattle; cut off from his share whoever is his enemy. May he be the highest king among the kṣatra-powers; O Indra, subdue all the foes for him.

3.21.4 May Heaven and Earth milk out abundant treasure for him, like a milk-cow yielding warm milk. May this king be dear to Indra, dear to the cows, to the plants, and to the waters.

3.21.5 I yoke for you Indra, who brings victory — by whom they conquer and are never conquered — who shall make you the sole bull of the peoples and the highest of human kings, O king.

3.21.6 May you be supreme; may all the others be lower — whoever, O king, are your adversaries. As sole bull, as the companion of Indra, as the victor, trample upon the great deeds of those who would be your enemies.

3.22.1 O horn-faced one, of Āṅgirasa descent, born of the gods, all-perceiving — born of heaven and earth, O Thousand-eyed one, be here for us.

3.22.2 O thousand-eyed herb, thou who seest beyond the snare — ever flame-armed, slayer of demons, be here as our all-perceiving one.

3.22.3 Those who steal away the freshly pressed libation and the abundance of milk, O herb — seize thou them, O Thousand-eyed one, O thou of proven might.

3.22.4 Those who deliver the afflicted one into ruin and the wounded man who is exposed — seize thou them, O Thousand-eyed one, O thou of proven might.

3.22.5 As the four-eyed horse sees through the night in darkness, so dost thou, O Thousand-eyed one, look forward upon him who approaches.

3.22.6 Purchased with cows, with horses, with riches art thou, O herb. With the eye of the dark horse, look upon the demons, the Kimīdins.

3.23.1 Come together, drink together; let your food be sweet and shared. Let all your vows be unanimously the same; let your minds be of one accord.

3.23.2 Be of one mind; let Indra be your common guide; let this Agni, the carrier downward, bring peace to you. Whatever hostility, whatever terror there was — may all the gods wash that away.

3.23.3 May Bṛhaspati be well-being for you; may both heaven and earth be well-being; may the atmosphere too, and the Marutvān, be well-being for you; may Aditi, mother of gods, be well-being for you.

3.23.4 May heaven and earth be well-ordered; may the waters and the plants be well-ordered; may all the fires, together in their shared vow, be well-ordered for this pre-eminence.

3.23.5 I unite your hearts; let your minds be united; let your bodies be united; let your breath of life be united.

3.23.6 I unite the hearts of your cattle; I unite those of your sons and of your daughters; I unite the minds of your wives in harmony with their minds; I unite even the sight of your husbands.

3.24.1 The eastern quarter — Agni is its overlord, Asita its guardian, the Ādityas its arrows. Homage to those overlords, homage to those guardians, homage to those arrows, homage be to you. He who hates us, he whom we hate — him we place in your jaws; let the breath of life abandon him.

3.24.2 The southern quarter — Indra is its overlord, Tiraścirājī its guardian, the Vasus its arrows. Homage to those overlords, homage to those guardians, homage to those arrows, homage be to you. He who hates us, he whom we hate — him we place in your jaws; let the breath of life abandon him.

3.24.3 The western quarter — Varuṇa is its overlord, Pṛdākū its guardian, Mitra its arrows. Homage to those overlords, homage to those guardians, homage to those arrows, homage be to you. He who hates us, he whom we hate — him we place in your jaws; let the breath of life abandon him.

3.24.4 The northern quarter — Soma is its overlord, Svaja its guardian, Vāta its arrows. Homage to those overlords, homage to those guardians, homage to those arrows, homage be to you. He who hates us, he whom we hate — him we place in your jaws; let the breath of life abandon him.

3.24.5 The fixed (nadir) quarter — Viṣṇu is its overlord, Kalmāṣagrīva its guardian, the plants its arrows. Homage to those overlords, homage to those guardians, homage to those arrows, homage be to you. He who hates us, he whom we hate — him we place in your jaws; let the breath of life abandon him.

3.24.6 The upward quarter — Bṛhaspati is its overlord, Citra its guardian, the thunderbolt its arrows. Homage to those overlords, homage to those guardians, homage to those arrows, homage be to you. He who hates us, he whom we hate — him we place in your jaws; let the breath of life abandon him.

3.25.1 The bull (anaḍvān) upholds the earth and yonder sky; the bull upholds the wide midspace. The bull upholds the six broad quarters; the bull has entered into this entire world.

3.25.2 The bull is milked for the realm of good deeds; may Pavamāna swell him from the east. Parjanya is the stream, the Maruts are his udder; sacrifice is the milk, the sacrificial fee is the milking.

3.25.3 The bull — he is Indra — surveys the beasts; he measures out the threefold path. Yielding milk of what has been and what shall be, bearing all the ordinances of the gods, he moves about.

3.25.4 Of him neither the lord of sacrifice holds power, nor does sacrifice itself; neither the giver nor the receiver rules over him. He who bears all, who fashions all — tell us of the gharma vessel: which of the four-footed ones is he?

3.25.5 This one is Indra; among human beings the heated gharma moves, blazing bright. He who, knowing it, would not eat of the bull's flesh shall not be stirred in his generous bounty — he shall be rich in offspring.

3.25.6 By that by which the gods ascended to heaven, having left the body — the abode of immortality — by that may we attain the realm of good deeds: by the vow of the gharma, by glory, by fervent austerity.

3.25.7 These twelve nights they call the observance nights of Prajāpati. Therein also is the vow of brahman; therein also is the strength of the bull.

3.25.8 Those twelve observance nights of Prajāpati that they speak of — he who knows the brahman therein knows verily the strength of the bull.

3.25.9 The bull is milked at evening, milked at dawn, milked by day. Those milkings of his that come together — we know them from his followers.

3.25.10 He who knows the seven milkings of the bull through his devotees — he attains offspring and the heavenly realm; so indeed the seven ṛṣis know.

3.25.11 This is the middle part of the bull where his yoke-bar is set. His forward part extends as far as his hinder part is gathered in.

3.25.12 Treading the ploughshare down with his hooves, churning up the soil with his shanks — by toil the bull and the ploughman together approach the sweet drink of refreshment.

3.25.13 This one is called the bull among human beings; he is Indra. May his hooves not be harmed, nor any of his leg joints.

3.25.14 By strength thou art Indra, by vow thou art Parameṣṭhin; by that whereby the cow exists, thou art Vaiśvadeva. Him who hates us, whom we hate — crush together his vital breaths, tear asunder his vital breaths.

3.26.1 I approach the houses rejoicing in my mind, bearing vigor, intent on wealth, of keen intelligence. Beholding the milk of the houses with a benign, friendly eye, I rise up.

3.26.2 These houses are sources of joy, full of vigor, full of milk, standing laden with good things — may they recognize us as those who know them.

3.26.3 Rich in pleasant words, blessed, food-abounding, glad with laughter — O houses free from hunger and thirst, be not afraid of us.

3.26.4 The houses to which one returns when traveling abroad, in which there is great goodwill — those houses we invite; may they know us as we arrive.

3.26.5 As cattle are called home, as goats and sheep are called home — so too may the sweet drink of food be called home into our houses.

3.26.6 Called in are friends of great wealth and sweet delight; unharmed and with all their folk, may our houses be so always.

3.27.1 May this one be a slayer, irresistible in attack — Indra who has prevailed, standing firm in battles. Prajāpati has bestowed upon him great vigor, the great oblation, growing strong through the offered oblation.

3.27.2 O Prajāpati, with the growth-conferring oblation thou hast made Indra a slayer, impossible to strike down. Before him the clans created by the gods bow down; for he verily is the smiter, he verily has become the one worthy of oblation.

3.27.3 O Prajāpati, lead us toward better fortune, to a wide cattle-pasture, O overcomer of assailants — strengthening Indra for great battle, the god with the god-strengthening oblation.

3.27.4 As thou shalt conquer all battle arrays, as thou shalt prevail overwhelming enemies, as thou shalt be sovereign, a great sovereign — even so may Indra make thee irresistible in smiting.

3.27.5 May this hero smite enemies without check; all you gods, clear away his adversaries. Do not injure his offspring nor his heroes — may Indra make him irresistible in smiting.

3.27.6 Strike the enemies, make them subject to thee — Agni is thy guardian, the most excellent overlord. May King Varuṇa grant thee shelter — even so may Indra make thee irresistible in smiting.

3.28.1 May you two touch each other with your bodies, may you touch each other with your faces, with your very selves; Bṛhaspati and Soma bring you two into mutual contact.

3.28.2 I fix his name upon him with my speech — he shall not be released from it; let me seize hold of him in longing, as one seizes a dark one in a muddy pit.

3.28.3 The love-charm that was in the beloved one, bestowed by tawny Soma — from that charm, renowned above all others, his mind has been fixed upon me.

3.28.4 Whatever man you desire, in whomsoever you wish to find your good fortune — in him we place a heart-burning, so that he shall pine away after you.

3.28.5 Just as his heart shall wither — like a string freshly severed — let his gaze grow terrible, sky-wide, and let him weep aloud, unable to see me.

3.28.6 That supreme maker-of-love, brought here by the honey-licker — you indeed are possessed of radiance, and you indeed are truly auspicious; moreover, among all plants you are called the maker-of-love.

3.29.1 You, O herb, face Soma; you face likewise the sun; you face all the gods — so too we address you directly.

3.29.2 I dig up this herb that spreads wide, that stretches along the ground — that which greets the one who comes, and turns back the one who departs.

3.29.3 Of yonder man, as he departs and as he comes, I have seized the mind; I have seized the mind that resides in his hand, and also the mind that dwells in his heart.

3.29.4 Upon me your mind is fixed, upon me your thought, upon me your vow; in my intention may you be, and together let us dwell in my heart.

3.29.5 Let me speak — not you; in the assembly, you shall not speak; let you be mine alone, and do not praise any other woman.

3.29.6 Whether you be beyond the folk, or whether you be beyond the rivers — let this herb bring you back to me, as if binding you and leading you home.

3.30.2 Kings have gone to union, debts have gone to union, skin-diseases have gone to union, clans have gone to union; toward us let good dreams be gathered together — we drive the ill dream away to the one who hates us.

3.30.3 O Embryo of the wives of the gods, O instrument of Yama — whatever dream is auspicious, that is mine; whatever is evil, that we dispatch to the one who hates us.

3.30.4 Tṛṣṇāman is your name; you are the face of the dark bird, the face of Nirṛti — thus we know you, O Dream, for what you are.

3.30.5 You, O Dream, carry off the bodiless one as a horse carries a load; like a horse you have dragged us in the night — carry off the god-reviler, the slanderer, who is not ours.

3.30.6 Whatever ill dream there is among us, whatever among our cattle, and whatever in our house — the god-reviler and slanderer who is not ours: let him be released with that, as one releases a necklace-amulet.

3.30.7 Measuring off nine cubits away from our bodies — all ill dream, all ill omen, we consign to the one who hates us.

3.31.1 O gods, O Maruts born of Pṛśni, grant the waters, cleave the deep reservoir — from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!

3.31.2 O gods — Agni, Indra, Sūrya — grant the waters, cleave the deep reservoir [from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!]

3.31.3 O gods yoked together — Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman — grant the waters [cleave the deep reservoir, from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!]

3.31.4 O gods, O Fathers, the near descendants of Āyu who consume the raw offering — grant the waters [cleave the deep reservoir, from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!]

3.31.5 O gods who dwell in the waters — Apāṃ Napāt, Tanūnapāt, Narāśaṃsa — grant the waters, cleave the deep reservoir [from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!]

3.31.6 O god Bṛhaspati, set forth the waters, cleave the ocean [from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!]

3.31.7 O god Prajāpati, set forth the waters, cleave the ocean [from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!]

3.31.8 O god Parameṣṭhin, set forth the waters, cleave the ocean — from broad heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere — for this sovereignty, for the Brahmins through this sacred word, for the offspring, for these, for the herbs: svāhā!

3.32.1 These creatures here that are being born and those already born from Prajāpati — make them known to this one; may the all-knowing approve and consent.

3.32.2 Those beasts — the four-footed ones over whom Paśupati holds sway, or those that are two-footed — once ransomed they go as sacrificial offerings to the sacred realm; may they accompany the sacrificer for the flourishing of wealth.

3.32.3 As they release it, O guardians of the world, O gods, bestow passage upon the sacrificer; that which stood prepared and laboring — may the dear path of the gods be attained.

3.32.4 Those who gazed upon it with contemplation as it was being bound, who watched it with mind and with eye — Agni first released them, the god who is in accord with Prajāpati together with his offspring.

3.32.5 Those whose vital breaths were bound in the tether of cattle, of beasts, and of men — Indra first released them, the god who is in accord with Prajāpati together with his offspring.

3.32.6 The wild forest beasts of all forms, and those of all forms as well as those of a single form — Vāyu first released them, the god who is in accord with Prajāpati together with his offspring.

3.32.7 May the gods, fully knowing, receive the vital breath moving about from limb to limb; go to heaven, stand firm with your bodies, travel to the celestial world by auspicious paths.

3.33.1 May the years, O Agni, may the seasons strengthen you; may the year and the seers who are truth itself augment you; blaze together with resplendent brightness; shine upon all four quarters.

3.33.2 Kindle yourself together, O Agni, and awaken him; stand up high for great good fortune; may the worshippers who approach you here not be harmed; may the Brahmins who tend you here be renowned and worthy of honor.

3.33.3 These Brahmins choose you, O Agni; be auspicious and propitious to us, O Agni; O Agni, be the slayer of rivals, the conqueror of adversaries; shine in your own abode without faltering.

3.33.4 Hold fast the wealth here, O Agni; may those who harbor ill intent, the deceivers with prior cunning, not beguile you; may sovereignty well-controlled belong to you, O Agni; may he who approaches you in worship grow, unvanquished.

3.33.5 Seize hold by your own sovereign power, O Agni; strive after friendship's due with the friend, O Agni; may you be chief among kinsmen, the pre-eminent one in their midst; among these kings, O Agni, blaze here as one worthy of invocation.

3.33.6 Beyond the snares, beyond the forces of dissolution, beyond hostilities, beyond those who hate — surpass all adversities, O Agni; then grant us wealth together with heroic offspring.

3.33.7 Invincible Jātavedas, unassailed, resplendent sovereign — blaze here, O Agni, with powers of dominion; releasing afflictions from human beings, guard us today on all sides with auspicious homesteads.

3.34.1 This is your ritual womb, O Agni, from which, having been born, you shone forth. Knowing it, mount it — then increase our wealth.

3.34.2 We invoke the bountiful one, Agni the fierce, for our aid — the pure one who is the mightiest slayer of Vṛtra.

3.34.3 O Agni, speak forth toward us here; be well-disposed, facing us. Grant us boons, O lord of clans — you are our wealth-giver.

3.34.4 Let Aryaman grant us, let Bhaga grant us, let Bṛhaspati grant us; let Pūṣan grant us — and may the divine Sūnṛtā bestow wealth upon us.

3.34.5 Rouse Aryaman, Bṛhaspati, and Indra to give; rouse Vāta, Viṣṇu, Sarasvatī, and Savitār, the prize-winner, to give.

3.34.6 We invoke King Soma for aid, and Agni with hymns; we invoke Āditya, Viṣṇu, Sūrya, and Brahmaṇaspati.

3.34.7 Indra-and-Vāyu and Bṛhaspati — we invoke them here as easy to call, so that at our assembly the whole world may be well-disposed toward us.

3.34.8 You, O Agni, augment our brahman-power and sacrifice with the fires; you, O god, impel wealth for us toward bestowal and giving.

3.34.9 At the impulsion of the prize-winner this came into being, and within it all these worlds — it compels even the reluctant to give, knowing; and may it bestow on us wealth rich in all heroes.

3.34.10 May the five directions milk for me, may the broad ones milk for me according to their strength; may I attain every intention with mind and heart.

3.34.11 May I rise with speech that wins cattle; do not cover me over with brilliance. May Vāyu surround me from all sides; may Tvaṣṭṛ be steadied for prosperity.

3.35.1 From whatever we fear, O Indra, from that make us fearless; O Maghavan, be capable — with your aids sunder the enemies, shatter the foes.

3.35.2 We invoke Indra, the granter of success; may we prosper with bipeds and quadrupeds. Let no hostile armies encroach upon us; O Indra, destroy the treacheries scattering in all directions.

3.35.3 Indra is our protector, the slayer of Vṛtra, the guardian of our farthest boundary, the most excellent. May he be our protector from the outermost, from the middle, from behind, and from before.

3.35.4 Lead us, knowing, into a broad world — the celestial light, freedom from fear, well-being. O Indra, may we dwell under the shelter of your two mighty arms, the arms of the ancient one, the vast shelter.

3.35.5 The atmosphere makes us fearless, both heaven and earth make us fearless; fearlessness behind, fearlessness before — from above and from below, may there be fearlessness for us.

3.35.6 Fearlessness from the friend, fearlessness from the foe, fearlessness from the known, fearlessness before us; fearlessness by night, fearlessness by day for us — may all directions become my friend.

3.36.1 Go forward to victory, do not retreat; drive into the rivals' knowledge. Indra the terrible, slayer of rivals, has set victory altogether stirring for you.

3.36.2 You shall conquer; you shall not be conquered — in small battles, O Maghavan, and in great ones. We whet even you, the fierce one, for our aid; so, O Indra, be gracious to us in our invocations.

3.36.3 His two arms win cattle, matchless in resolve in battle, action after action; of a hundred aids, impetuous by nature — Indra has fashioned unparalleled might. So, O Indra, be gracious to us in our invocations.

3.36.4 I know the dear treasure of Indra, his secret name in the battle; that Maghavan indeed conquers when he is mine — may our warrior come to our invocation in the calling of war.

3.36.5 May we conquer, yoked with you, O sustained one; raise up our share battle by battle. Make wide room and easy passage for us, O Indra; O Maghavan, crush the virile powers of the enemies.

3.36.6 You we invoke first among the gods; you have been the conqueror in battles. This singer of ours — eager, ardent, bursting forth — may you, O Indra, set his chariot foremost at the start.

3.37.1 Remember! You are Smara; you have been given by the gods — remember! Fix upon the mind of that man yonder; let it be just as I desire.

3.37.2 Burn his heart; go, O Kāma! Let the fever in his limbs blaze and torment of itself. Let his longings be consumed by obsessive thoughts — this woman alone shall be his direction; no other day, no other.

3.37.3 Joyless, causing swoons, confounders of the mind, leading astray, making one lose his purpose, roaming the wilderness — those ādhyaḥ that enter and possess, that spread and inflame: these very obsessive thoughts I send forth with the sacred formula.

3.37.4 Lacerators of the heart, timely ones, destroyers of village-food, severers of sleep, killers of the mighty, confounders of the mind — those ādhyaḥ that enter and possess, that spread and inflame: these very obsessive thoughts I send forth with the sacred formula.

3.37.5 Indra and Agni, Mitra and Varuṇa, both Heaven and Earth, Mātariśvan, the Aśvins, god Savitṛ, and Bhaga — let all of these smite his mind; let him find no repose here.

3.37.6 Let the thirty-three gods smite you; let the ādhyaḥ carry obsessive thoughts right into you. Let the incantations of Bharadvāja have dominion over you — drift away like a boat cut loose from its mooring!

3.37.7 These ādhyaḥ fly down like lightning-flashes of the rainy season. Become the receiver of them at evening, as cows return to their pen.

3.37.8 The ādhyaḥ cast down headlong — I lodge them within you. Let them attend upon you, goading you, rousing you without cease.

3.37.9 These ādhyaḥ I send forth against you with the sacred formula — sated ones, with ill-fortune as their foremost cow. Let them wither you like a blade of grass, and let them make you weep bitterly.

3.38.1 The aja (goat; the unborn) was indeed born from Agni's grief; it beheld its progenitor at the first. By means of it the gods attained divinity in the beginning; by means of it the wise ones mounted upward upon the rungs.

3.38.2 Step upward by means of the fires toward the vault of heaven, holding the cooking-pot in your hands. Having gone to the back of the sky, to the solar light, mingle and ascend together with the gods.

3.38.3 O Agni, go forth first among those who seek the gods — eye of the gods and of mortals alike. May the sacrificers, striving and in fellowship with the Bhṛgus, go to the solar world in well-being.

3.38.4 Going to the solar light, they looked back no longer; let the generous ones ascend the sky. Those who, knowing well, stretched out the sacrifice that pours forth on every side.

3.38.5 I anoint the rice-porridge with strength and ghee — the divine ocean, the great milky expanse. By means of it may we reach the world of the well-doer, rising upward to the highest vault of heaven.

3.38.6 Your two ageless, winged pinions, O Odana, with which you drive away the demons — by means of those two may we fly to the world of the well-doer, where the ancient seers, the first-born of old, dwell.

3.38.7 From where you stand, O Odana, on the back of heaven, in the wide expanse above — the Brāhmaṇas who hold the eternal law followed you along together with their generous bounty.

3.38.8 From the surface of the earth I have ascended to the mid-region; from the mid-region I have ascended to the sky. From the back of the sky's vault I have gone to the solar light.

3.38.9 You are the aja (unborn/goat), O aja; you are heaven. By means of you the Aṅgirasas came to know the world. That world may we come to know in turn.

3.38.10 By that with which you carry a thousand, or by that with which you carry all-wealth — by that carry this sacrifice of ours to the solar world, for us to go among the gods.

3.38.11 Cook the aja and the five rice-porridges. Having cooked the aja and the five rice-porridges, the gods fully attained the worlds.

3.39.1 The offspring-channel of yours that was stopped up of old by the Aśvins through the Dhruva (fixed peg) — that I now bring back for you. May Agni Vaiśvānara give it back to you again from the highest firmament.

3.39.2 You, O Agni, are her second auspicious husband — bestow upon her progeny reaching to old age. Release her from whatever bondage Nirṛti has seized her with. O Agni, grant offspring to this woman who desires offspring.

3.39.3 This woman who desires sons venerates you, O Agni the bull, with bent knee — she calls out to you. Mount her with benevolence; unite her with the progeny of Prajāpati.

3.39.4 For you, O Agni, this woman who desires sons pours an oblation of pure, clarified ghee. Leap upon her, exert your virility; you who hold the seed, O mighty one — unite her with progeny.

3.39.5 From the mountain, from the womb of heaven, drawn together limb by limb — the seed of the god of gods I have placed in the womb like a leaf upon a branch.

3.39.6 The navel-cord fell at the birth of Indra; one god, the eager one, caught hold of it. By means of you, O Agni, may we Brāhmaṇas who drink Soma prosper, and also she who does not give birth.

3.40.1 From the sharpener abandonment is born; from the arrow-shaft abandonment arises. He neither yearns nor grieves, O tejana, who carries you.

3.40.2 You are of ancient standing, O tejana; ancient is your shattering power. Ancient be that desire by which we desire yonder one.

3.40.3 As long as a burning arrow, speeding forth, creates fear among people — so long may you, O tejana, be a fiery force of abandonment here.

3.40.4 The waters have granted me the power of abandonment; the Maruts have granted me the power of abandonment; all the gods have granted me the power of abandonment; the Fathers have granted me the power of abandonment.

3.40.5 By that power I have surpassed the women of others, the rivals, from before. Before the haters I have surpassed; before midday too; before the evening I have surpassed — for in the tejana there is great power.

3.40.6 Heaven has stood firm; earth has stood firm; this entire universe has stood firm. Firm stands he from whom love was wrested away — may this desire of yours stand firm.