Kāṇḍa 12

12.1.1 May Agni drive the fever away from here; may Soma, the pressing-stones, and the Maruts of pure might — may the vedi, the barhis, and the blazing kindling-sticks blow the demons away by that same power.

12.1.2 This one — the Ruru who burns with scorching heat, who renders all forms yellow-green — to him, to you, O Takman, the tawny, the reddish-brown, the fervid, the mighty: homage be!

12.1.3 Seek out a travelling companion, O Takman, and being thus appeased, show us mercy! Come now — go to where your dwelling-places are, among the never-satiated Dasyus.

12.1.4 The man who is speckled, reddish like one covered in blemishes — the all-powerful fever, drive it downward and away!

12.1.5 Downward I dispatch it, turning my mind toward the fever. O destroyer of Śakambhara, go back again to the great Vṛṣas!

12.1.6 Go, having departed, to the Mahāvṛṣas, to the Mūjavats — make that your home! We declare vows for Takman: these are other territories for him.

12.1.7 The Mūjavats are his home; the Mahāvṛṣas are his home. By that people among whom you, O Takman, were born, among those Balihikas you shall roam below!

12.1.8 O Takman, ward off the serpent, the tongueless one, the lame — drive them far away! Seek out the slovenly slave-woman; pierce her through with your thunderbolt!

12.1.9 Go to the mountain — you are mountain-born; in the mountain your buffalo's home lies! Seek out the coarse slave-woman; shake her violently, O Takman, like a reed!

12.1.10 You who are the chill, and also the fierce burning, together with your cough: your dreadful missiles, O Takman — with those, do encompass and wound us not!

12.2.1 O Takman, together with your brother Balāsa and your sister Kāsikā, and with Pāman your kinsman-rival — vanish utterly, both of you, toward the Maraṭas!

12.2.2 To the Gandhāris, to the Mūjavats, to the Kāśis, to the Māgadhas — we pass along Takman as one passes a dear treasure to the people!

12.2.3 Not among the Arkavindas, not among the Arvidālas, not among the quail-haunted river Annadī — we declare the vows for Takman: these are other territories for him.

12.2.4 The thousand-eyed immortal one takes no delight in another's territory. Takman has now been duly sought — he will go to the Balihikā!

12.2.5 Go to yonder Mūjavats, or yet farther beyond them! Do not come back to us again from there — this I speak to you, O Takman!

12.2.6 Roam only to the beyond, in the farthest of far regions — so that you may not come to our end, so that you may not burn us again!

12.3.1 As this broad Pṛthivī, like a mature woman, has taken the embryo to herself — so I place the embryo in you; to that end I invoke you for your protection.

12.3.2 Gathered from the mountain, from the womb of heaven, limb by limb — the seed of the god upon god I have set, like a leaf on a bough.

12.3.3 May Viṣṇu prepare the womb; may Tvaṣṭṛ fashion the forms; may Prajāpati pour in the seed; may Dhātṛ place the embryo in you.

12.3.4 Place the embryo, O Sinīvālī; place the embryo, O Sarasvatī! O Aśvins, you two wreathed with lotuses, place the embryo in her here and now!

12.3.5 May King Varuṇa place the embryo in you; may the god Bṛhaspati; may Indra and Agni place the embryo in you; may Dhātṛ place the embryo in you.

12.3.6 You are the embryo of the herbs; you are the embryo of the forest-lords; you are the embryo of all that exists — so, O Agni, place the embryo here!

12.3.7 That by which the herbs become pregnant, that by which the beasts become pregnant — by that embryo of their embryos, may you become pregnant!

12.3.8 We cut loose your knot; may Dhātṛ place the embryo in you. Let a son mount into the womb; let him be born to birth!

12.3.9 For she shall give birth in her greatness — the womb has come together here. Now, like Soma readied for drinking, may the embryo settle in its proper season!

12.3.10 O Dhātṛ, with your finest form — in the two birth-passages of this woman — place a male son, to be delivered in the tenth month!

12.4.4 O Bhaga, with thy most excellent form — in the womb-cavities of this woman — place a male son [there], for her to bring forth in the tenth month.

12.4.5 Mount [her], O Skanda; put forth thy virile power; place the embryo in the womb. A bull-like [son], possessed of bull's vigour — we lead thee [to her] for offspring.

12.4.6 What king Varuṇa knows, what the god Bṛhaspati knows, what Indra the Vṛtra-slayer knows — that embryo-making [power], drink [of it].

12.4.7 Open thyself, O [thou who art] of the Bārhastyasāman; let the embryo lie down into thy womb. The gods shall give thee a son, a drinker of soma, covered with wool on both sides.

12.4.8 With the seasonal [rite] of Soma I approach thee for the making of an embryo. From that may a son be born to thee, to accomplish [great] heroic deeds.

12.5.1 Be born, O Agni, from the aśvattha [tree], for this [man's] sovereign power and vigour — fierce, from the timber-source, who mounts upon the trees.

12.5.2 Even overwhelming the [opposing] obstacle, we generate thee, O Agni. Drive away from me rivals already born and those yet to be born.

12.5.3 The fire-drills have been fashioned from the wood of the aśvattha tree that is to be climbed. From that [fire], born for thee, was Vīḍujambha Agni generated for [the rite of] fire.

12.5.4 That [Agni] born — Jātavedas, immortal — I establish [on the hearth]: the purifying, brilliant fire, for [our] aid, the vanquisher of poison.

12.5.5 Stretch thy bow; put on thy armour; smite [thy] enemies — I fashion thy heroic powers. Let those who are thy rivals submit here; become thou the sole bull [among them].

12.5.6 We make thee the bull among thy kinsmen, the vanquisher of rivals, the slayer of enemies, the sovereign, the lord of cattle.

12.5.7 Thou art the ocean, the foremost of waters; thou art Indra among the gods, the slayer of Vṛtra. We make thee a tiger, a lion, the subduer of those who attack.

12.5.8 Cast [thy] rivals down as Indra [casts down] the Dasyus; crushing rivals as the fierce wind [does]. Let them wither — as [wood dries] away from a forest fire — thou hast turned [them] away from thyself.

12.5.9 Cut them down — let them wither when [thou hast] cut them; leave no remnant of them whatsoever. Having pierced all thy rivals, become thou the sole bull [among them].

12.5.10 Be thou fierce; be thou strong; be thou pre-eminent in speech. Be thou first among those who battle; afflict and drive down thy rivals.

12.6.1 Rivalless, a slayer of rivals — like Indra, uninjured, undiminished — let all thy rivals be beneath thy feet, trodden down.

12.6.2 Let thy rivals wither, their roots dug out; I call forth the fire from their bodies. I deposit their vital breaths into the oblation-offering — thus are the bonds made for them.

12.6.3 An oblation that increases [thee], that overpowers, that destroys rivals — we prepare it for [thy] sovereignty, for thy [use], and for the defeat of [thy] rivals.

12.6.4 The man — whether one of our own or a stranger — who bears hostility toward us: like a kindling-wood layer consumed [by fire], let nothing of him remain.

12.6.5 [The formula] "Rivalless" — [applied to] two [verses].

12.7.1 By thee, O herb, the Ātharvaṇas first smote the demons; by thee Kaśyapa smote them, by thee did Agastya destroy them.

12.7.2 By thee we drive away the Apsarasas and the Gandharvas. O Ajaśṛṅgī, by thy fragrance destroy all demons.

12.7.3 Let the Apsarasas go to the river, breathing as if into a wilderness — Gulgulū, Pīlā, Naladī, Aukṣagandhī, Pramandinī.

12.7.4 Where the immortal ones dwell within the waters of the ocean — Turū, Nīlī, Turvaśī, Puṇḍarīkā — thither go, O Apsarasas; ye have been recognized.

12.7.5 Where the golden swing of the Gandharvas is bound in the sky — [remainder lost].

12.7.6 The assembly-place of the Gandharvas and Apsarasas called Ānarta — [remainder lost].

12.7.7 Where the aśvattha trees and the nyagrodhas, laden with great golden ornaments, stand crested — [remainder lost].

12.7.8 Where your dice — green, white, tawny, kakara — sound together: thither go, O Apsarasas; ye have been recognized.

12.7.9 This creeper of Śikhaṇḍin, lord of the Gandharvas, master of the Apsarasas — may it split his testicles; may his phallus also depart.

12.7.10 This herb has come, potent among plants — Ajaśṛṅgī, Arāṭakī with sharp horns: let it drive them away.

12.8.1 Depart hence, O Apsarasas and Gandharvas, to where your homes are. Let Tīkṣṇaśṛṅgī, Arāṭakī, and Ajaśṛṅgī drive you away.

12.8.2 The wife knows you, O Apsarasas; ye Gandharvas are the husbands. Step away from this man, O immortals; do not follow a mortal.

12.8.3 Fearsome are Indra's missiles, a hundred iron-tipped shafts for him. With these let it drive away the Gandharvas, the invulnerable, the Avakāda-dwellers.

12.8.4 Those who dwell in the water-reeds, shining and blazing with malign heat — all the Gandharvas, O herb, push them forth, lead them away.

12.8.5 Those Apsarasas who roam as a swarm, maddening men, afflicting them with burning, making the sage go naked and laugh in vain, the wives of the Gandharvas — may Ajaśṛṅgī lay them low.

12.8.6 Making the man turn pale, assuming all manner of forms — like a dog at one moment, like a monkey at another, a youth with hair all about — the Gandharva, having become pleasing to look upon, follows after the woman: him from here we drive away.

12.9.1 He who sacrifices a vaśā-cow to the gods and cooks it incompletely without proper oblation — he is bound in the snare of Death, of the gods, and of Yama.

12.9.2 They call the vaśā-cow the dakṣiṇā, the solar Aditi, forming her speech into a common harmony. The seven seers established this speech, Sarasvatī graciously ordering it.

12.9.3 This vaśā they call speech itself as vaśā; three vaśās are deposited together in the common place. Of those three I offer one into Agni with the mind; may the Lord of Beings make her sweet for us.

12.9.4 May Savitṛ make her sweet for us; may the progenitor of cattle make her sweet for us. Sacrifice, O Agni, knowing all the sacred ordinances; may the Lord of Beings make her sweet for us.

12.9.5 This is the third portion of the vaśā-cow; thou art the mistress of vaśā. The embryo has entered into thee for the sake of greatness. Yearning thyself, go to the yearning gods; may the desires of the sacrificer be fulfilled.

12.9.6 This cow, steadfast with her water, sustaining vigor, in whom Indra and Varuṇa flash their brilliance — the heroic and the unheroic attend upon her; she has come here; the steadfast beast has entered into virile power.

12.9.7 The vaśā-cow gave birth to the steadfast wise one; the vaśā gave birth to the yearling calf touching heaven. The vaśā gave birth to the young one for the distribution; the vaśā gave birth to the conqueror of riches.

12.9.8 The sprinkling-water that fell around the sacred grass, south of the altar, charged with vital power — the vaśā-cow lowed above it in full presence; her marrow became her armor-garment.

12.9.9 Homage to your greatness and to your eye, O Vaśā and Ṛṣabha — this I do with the mind. Go together to the gods by auspicious paths; harm us not with divine wrath.

12.9.10 The bull mounted the vaśā-cow as she stood upon the threads of fate. Who today knows that embryo — in what manner he has disposed it?

12.10.1 One encompassed form entire; one is called King by name; one is lord of form, its very form; one is the form of those who act aright.

12.10.2 Prajāpati, Parameṣṭhin, Mṛtyu, Viśvānara, and Svarga — from this sacrifice, from this vaśā, were they born.

12.10.3 In whose house the vaśā were received as an oblation fashioned by the gods — the treasure to be sought of her is like a daughter's to her husband.

12.10.4 Let no one approach her even once; let no lame creature be in his house — for the vaśā, like an ill-omened maiden, brings ruin upon the knowing man who disregards her.

12.10.5 He should not withhold her from Brāhmaṇas, nor cause her name to be dishonoured; he should not turn back one who has gone forth — in whose cattle the vaśā may be.

12.10.6 Neither gods nor men shall restrain her vaśā; because she followed the will through brahman — therefore has she become the vaśā.

12.10.7 Making the will her own, the auspicious one has arrived at the station proper to the sovereign; being born beyond the unsacrificed sacrifice, she who measures out the measure of the rite.

12.10.8 The Maruts who possess Indra — they have partaken of the fourth portion in the vaśā; the Ādityas and Rudras have the fourth portion, the Vasus the fourth, in the vaśā.

12.10.9 The seers know the Ādityas as sharers of the fourth portion in the vaśā; then her body, as the one path, became arranged as the four quarters.

12.10.10 The vaśā beheld the path, the back of the firmament belonging to those who know heaven; the Ādityas followed after her, and the seers rich in austerity.

12.11.1 Step by step the Ādityas and the Aṅgirasas arranged the Yajus; those who praise followed after the vaśās — therefore is that called the iḍā-Sāman.

12.11.2 The vaśā is Iḍā; the vaśā is Anumati; they call Sarasvatī the vaśā; the vaśā they reckon as Virāj; Speech is the vaśā, the Earth is the vaśā.

12.11.3 The vaśā is the guide Sinīvālī; the vaśā is Uṣas; Nirṛti is the vaśā; Death entered into the vaśā — yes, Death entered the vaśā.

12.11.4 Agni, Speech, Water, Eye, Mind, Wind — the sovereign vaśā is the vaśā. Who knows that body of hers wherewith she has stepped forth as the one?

12.11.5 Her whom the seers, the wise ones, behold in unison with eye, mind, and heart — of her is the lord of the creation of cattle; the vaśā is sovereign: this creation has no boundary-garment.

12.11.6 Who knows the udder of the vaśā? Who knows her amnion and caul? Who knows her teats? Who, indeed, knows that which she yields when milked?

12.11.7 I know the udder of her; I know her amnion and caul; I know her teats — and I know that which she yields when milked.

12.11.8 I would not protect her; yet should she be given, and should she be mine — for I know her teats, her milk, her amnion and her caul.

12.11.9 Skin, womb, covering-garment, caul, pallid amnion, navel, and turban are hers; let the sovereign vaśī suckle the mother to old age — for he who is fashioned by brahman-spells is truly her kinsman.

12.12.1 Now shall I proclaim the heroic deeds of Indra, the first deeds the Vajra-bearer performed: he smote the serpent, then pierced open the waters; he cleft the flanks of the mountains.

12.12.2 He smote the serpent that lay sprawled upon the mountain; Tvaṣṭar had fashioned for him the resonant bolt of heaven. Like lowing cows flowing swiftly, the waters straightway descended to the sea.

12.12.3 Exerting himself as a bull he chose Soma; he drank of the pressed draught at the three Kadrū-pressings; Maghavan took up the missile, the thunderbolt, and smote that first-born among serpents.

12.12.4 When, O Indra, thou smotest the first-born among serpents and then destroyed the māyās of the māyā-wielders, bringing forth the sun, the sky, and the dawn — then, verily, thou foundest no enemy to match thee.

12.12.5 Indra smote Vṛtra, the greater of obstructors, the shoulderless one, with the great death-weapon, the thunderbolt; like the branches of a tree split by an axe, the serpent lay stretched along the earth.

12.12.6 For like one drunk with ill-madness he challenged the great hero, the overpowering, the pressers-juice-drinker; the enemy of Indra could not cross the meeting-point of his death-blows — crashing together, he was crushed.

12.12.7 Footless and handless he gave battle to Indra; Indra struck the thunderbolt upon his back's ridge; the castrated one seeking to match the bull — Vṛtra lay strewn in many places, scattered asunder.

12.12.8 Like a broken reed he lay there prostrate; the waters pass over him, rising and climbing in their minds. Over those very waters which Vṛtra in his greatness had encompassed, the serpent became one whose head is crushed underfoot.

12.12.9 The mother of Vṛtra was brought low — Indra seized the weapon away from her; the mother was above, the son was below; Dānu lies there like a cow with her calf beside her.

12.12.10 Among the currents that stand still, that find no resting-place, the body was laid in the midst of the flood-channels; the waters flow about the secret of the wolf — the enemy of Indra lay stretched in long darkness.

12.13.1 The waters, guarded by the serpent, stood blocked, mastered by the Paṇi-lord like cattle penned. The aperture of the waters that had been stopped up — he who smote Vṛtra swept that aside.

12.13.2 That became a horse-hair noose for thee, O Indra, wherein the one god struck back at thee with a tusk. Thou didst win the cattle, thou didst win the Soma, O hero; thou didst loose the seven rivers to flow.

12.13.3 Neither lightning nor thunder could restrain him; Yamī dispersed neither mist nor hailstorm against him. When Indra and the serpent fought, the Bountiful One conquered utterly over all adversaries.

12.13.4 Whom didst thou behold as the avenger of the serpent, O Indra, when fear entered thy heart upon slaying it? Like an undaunted eagle thou didst cross the realms of space where nine and ninety rivers flow.

12.13.5 Indra, vajra-armed, has departed — king of the halted, of the still, and of the horned one. He it is who reigns as king over all peoples; like a wheel-rim he has encompassed them all.

12.14.1 He who, born first of all, was full of mind — the god who surpassed the gods in power of will; at whose vehemence the two world-halves trembled, by the greatness of whose manly might — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.2 He who steadied the earth as it was shaking, who calmed the mountains that were stirred to fury; who measured out the atmosphere more broadly, who propped up the sky — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.3 He who, having slain the serpent, set the seven rivers free; who drove forth the cattle, having broken open the lair of Vala; who kindled fire within the two stones, undefeated in battles — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.4 By whom all these movable things have been set in motion; who cast the Dāsa colour downward into concealment; who, like a dicing-master winning, seized the prize — the Ārya's prosperities — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.5 Of whom they ask in dread, "Where is he?" — and of whom they even say, "He does not exist" — he diminishes the Ārya's prosperities like a gambler's stake. Place faith in him — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.6 He who is the impeller of the weak, of the lean; who aids the imploring brahman-poet; the fair-lipped one who is the protector of him whose pressing-stones are yoked and whose Soma is pressed — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.7 Whose are the horses in every direction, whose the cattle, whose the settlements, whose all the chariots; who begot the sun, who begot the dawn, who is the leader of the waters — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.8 Whom the two battle-cries, meeting in conflict, call upon — both the farther and the nearer, both enemy hosts — even while they have mounted the same chariot, they invoke him separately — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.9 Without whom people do not conquer; whom those fighting invoke for aid; who has become the counterpart of all the world; who shakes the unshakeable — he, O people, is Indra.

12.14.10 He who slew all those perpetually bearing great sin, all those who remained unawakened; who does not yield to the insolent their arrogance; who is the slayer of the Dasyu — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.1 He who found Śambara dwelling in the mountains in the fortieth autumn; who slew the serpent gathering its strength, lying prostrate in the flood — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.2 He who ranged around Śambara with his missiles, who did not drink the pressed draught of Vṛka; who within the mountain did not rejoice over that abundant folk performing sacrifice — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.3 He who, the seven-rayed bull, the mighty one, loosed the seven rivers to flow; who, vajra-armed, kicked aside Rauhiṇa as it climbed toward the sky — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.4 Even heaven and earth bow down to him; even the mountains tremble from his vehemence; who is a Soma-drinker, collected within, vajra-armed, who holds the vajra in his hand — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.5 He who with his aid protects the one pressing Soma, who protects the one cooking the offering, who protects the one reciting the hymn, who protects the one who has toiled; whose sacred formula is the strengthener, whose is the Soma, whose is this bounty — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.6 Even for him who presses and cooks though refractory, thou dost grant the prize — thou indeed art true. We, thy beloved at all times, O Indra, possessed of good heroes, shall speak forth at the assembly.

12.15.7 Born, he gazed about in the lap of his parents; he knew not the womb of a further begetter. Gathering strength, he perceived his might and the ordinances of the gods — he, O people, is Indra.

12.15.8 He who, bay-horsed, desires the Soma in these very things; from whom all the worlds tremble; who slew Śambara and who slew Śuṣṇa; who is the sole hero — he, O people, is Indra.

12.16.1 May Indrāgnī be auspicious to us with their aids; may Indrāvaruṇa, to whom oblations are given, be auspicious to us; may Indrāsomā be auspicious for our well-being and bliss; may Indrāpūṣaṇa be auspicious to us in the winning of spoil.

12.16.2 May Bhaga be auspicious to us, and may our praise be auspicious; may Puruṃdhī be auspicious to us and may riches be auspicious; may the laud of Truth, well-pressed, be auspicious to us; may Aryaman, born of many, be auspicious to us.

12.16.3 May Dhātṛ be auspicious to us, and Dhartṛ be auspicious to us; may the broad-stretching one be auspicious to us with her bounties; may the vast Rodasī be auspicious, may the stone be auspicious to us; may the invocations of the gods be auspicious to us.

12.16.4 May Agni, whose face is light, be auspicious to us; may Mitrāvaruṇā be auspicious, and the Aśvins auspicious; may the good deeds of the righteous be auspicious to us; may the vigorous wind blow auspiciously upon us.

12.16.5 May Dyāvāpṛthivī be auspicious to us at the first invocation; may the atmosphere be auspicious for our beholding; may the plants and the forest trees be auspicious to us; may the victorious Lord of the realm of dust be auspicious to us.

12.16.6 May Indra, the god together with the Vasus, be auspicious to us; may Varuṇa of excellent praise be auspicious with the Ādityas; may the refreshing Rudra be auspicious to us with the Rudras; may Tvaṣṭṛ with the goddesses hear us here with auspiciousness.

12.16.7 May Soma be auspicious to us, may brahman be auspicious to us; may the pressing-stones be auspicious to us, may the sacrifices be auspicious; may the measured chants of the heavenly melodies be auspicious to us; may the pressing-ladle be auspicious to us, and the vedi be auspicious.

12.16.8 May Sūrya of wide sight rise auspiciously for us; may the four directions be auspicious to us; may the steadfast mountains be auspicious to us; may the rivers be auspicious to us, and may the waters be auspicious.

12.16.9 May Aditi be auspicious to us with her ordinances; may the Maruts, fond of the sun, be auspicious to us; may Viṣṇu be auspicious to us, and Pūṣan be auspicious to us; may our future be auspicious, and may Vāyu be auspicious.

12.16.10 May the god Savitṛ, who protects, be auspicious to us; may the shining Dawns be auspicious to us; may Parjanya be auspicious to us for our offspring; may the Lord of the field, the beneficent one, be auspicious to us.

12.17.1 May the Lords of Truth be auspicious to us; may the horses be auspicious to us and the cattle be auspicious; may the Ṛbhus, of good deed and skillful hand, be auspicious to us; may the Pitṛs be auspicious to us at the oblations.

12.17.2 May the All-gods, the Viśvedevas, be auspicious to us; may Sarasvatī be auspicious along with inspirations; may those that accompany the oblation and those that accompany the gift be auspicious; may the celestial, the terrestrial, and the aquatic be auspicious to us.

12.17.3 May Aja Ekapād, the god, be auspicious to us; may Ahir Budhnya be auspicious, and the ocean; may Apāṃ Napāt, the swift one, be auspicious to us; may Pṛśni, the god-guarded one, be auspicious to us.

12.17.4 May the Ādityas, the Rudras, and the Vasus delight in this brahman-prayer being fashioned anew; may the celestial and terrestrial ones hear us, those born of cattle and those worthy of sacrifice.

12.17.5 Those divine priests who are worthy of sacrifice, who are adorable as Manu's, immortal and knowing the Ṛta — may they grant us wide renown today; do you all ever protect us with blessings.

12.17.6 May that be so, O Mitrāvaruṇā, may that be so, O Agni; may this that is recited be auspicious and blissful for us; may we attain the path and firm footing; homage to the vast sky, to its abode.

12.18.1 Fire moves having entered into fire — this one is the supreme king, the son of the seers; to him I offer with an oblation of ghee; may the due portion of the gods not be withheld.

12.18.2 Yoked, carry forward from the east, O Jātavedas; O Agni, know what is being performed here; you are the physician, the maker of the remedy; through you may we win cattle, horse, and man.

12.18.3 So do you act, O Agni Jātavedas, knowing through this oblation, O youngest one; whichever Piśāca has devoured this man, may it fall from his enclosure.

12.18.4 Whichever one has deceived and devoured this man, may it fall from his enclosure; so do you act, O Agni Jātavedas, in accord with all the gods.

12.18.5 Pierce out its eyes, pierce out its heart, cut out its tongue, crush its teeth; whichever Piśāca has devoured this man — O Agni, youngest one, smite that one in return.

12.18.6 Whatever has been taken from him, dispersed, carried away, devoured from his own self, and whatever by Piśācas — that, O Agni, knowing it, do you bring back; stir up again the breath of life in his body.

12.18.7 Whichever Piśāca has injured you in the drinking of water, in porridge, in the stirred drink, or in what is licked — may the Piśācas pay penalty with their own selves and offspring; may this man be free of disease.

12.18.8 Whichever Piśāca has injured you in milk, in flesh, in food cooked without plowing, in grain — may the Piśācas pay penalty with their own selves and offspring; may this man be free of disease.

12.18.9 Whichever Piśāca has injured this man in raw food, in well-cooked, in mixed, in half-cooked — may Indra the mighty slay it with his thunderbolt; may the bold Soma split open its head.

12.18.10 Whichever flesh-eating Piśāca sorcerer has injured you by day or by night while lying down — that, O Agni, knowing it, burn up and destroy; place it in the lap of Nirṛti.

12.19.1 By the might of Soma and Indra, of Varuṇa the king, by the power of Viṣṇu and the impulse of Savitṛ, by the priestly office of Agni — I drive away the piśācas by the sacred word of Jātavedas, the youngest.

12.19.2 O Agni Jātavedas, smite with your powers the flesh-eating, blood-drinking piśāca, the slayer of the mind. May this sacred formula find favour with the generous one; may he live long, may he be free of disease.

12.19.3 May breath return to you, may life return; may sight return to you, may hearing return. Drive away from us all misfortunes; may we rejoice through a hundred winters, possessing all heroic sons.

12.19.4 Restore mind to him, restore life, restore strength. O Agni, increase in him both the out-breath and the in-breath, that he may live.

12.19.5 O Sūrya, grant him sight again; O Vāyu, stir his breath back together. O Agni, restore his body and his flesh, make them whole.

12.19.6 O Jātavedas, bring together again what has been consumed and what has been borne away. Set his limbs in order; may this man swell back to fullness.

12.19.7 O Jātavedas, may this man swell as the shoot of Soma swells. O Agni, make him abundant, fit for the sacred rite, free from disease, that he may live.

12.19.8 "May the Maruts sprinkle me" — so runs the single verse.

12.19.9 With the sacred formula I release Jātavedas, Agni the priest, the ageless one who touches the chariot. Knowing all the birthplaces of the gods, may Agni carry the oblation, each portion to its proper share.

12.19.10 The male sorcerers, the yātudhānas, and the female sorcerers, the yātudhānīs — with the mighty vajra of Indra I smite them down, driving them away to the nether regions.

12.20.1 Him whom we curse and who curses us, him whom we hate and who, the piśāca, hates us — that flesh-eater, O Agni, burn him down here with a great weapon, O Jātavedas.

12.20.2 He who has seized someone, or the Apsarā who has devoured his substance, the sorcerer who conspires with a crafty device — he whose demon is the owl-phantom, the bhṛmala — him [burn down here, O Jātavedas].

12.20.3 He who has taken, or who has consumed another's ancestral property — the thief, the dog-demon, and those who conspire together; he who has fallen upon the stake of the barring-place with intent to gamble, the flesh-eating piśāca who craves raw flesh and lusts for carrion — he whose demon is the owl-phantom, the bhṛmala — him [burn down here, O Jātavedas].

12.20.4 He who rides with a man in the chariot — the flesh-eating, malicious yātu, the piśāca — him, with Vaiśvānara yoked together with Sūrya — him [burn down here, O Jātavedas].

12.20.5 He who haunts our tribute-hunt, who has beset our tillage with sorceries, and who has cursed us — may Rudra the bowman shatter his life — him [burn down here, O Jātavedas].

12.20.6 May the sorcerer find no one to show him mercy; may all the quarters of space be lightless for him. May both heaven and earth burn him with heat — burn him down here, O Jātavedas.

12.20.7 Those luminous, scorching, and shining flames of yours, O Agni, those bodies of yours that burn in counter-fire — with those protect my vital points on all sides; may the yātudhānas not deceive you, O watcher over men.

12.20.8 May the divine Waters bind shut the mouths of the piśācas, so that this self of mine may fall back upon them, unassailable.

12.20.9 Always in flower, always in fruit, always under Indra's protection — may the piśācas die forever; may not one of them survive.

12.20.10 Those yātudhānas who fly about and prowl by day and by night — may Night protect me from them; to Day I entrust my self.

12.21.1 This amulet I bind upon you for long life and for vigour — darbha grass, crusher of rivals, scorcher of the hearts of those who hate.

12.21.2 Scorching the hearts of those who hate, burning the minds of enemies — you, O darbha, the ill-willed one, scorch them all utterly as the gharma cauldron scorches.

12.21.3 Scorching all around like the gharma, O darbha, burning down those who hate, O amulet — split apart the hearts of rivals as Indra splits the resisting Vala.

12.21.4 Split apart, O darbha, the hearts of rivals, of those who hate, O amulet. As one strips away the crust of the earth, so send their heads flying asunder.

12.21.5 Split apart my rivals, O darbha; split apart those who array armies against me. Split apart all who bear me ill will, O amulet; split apart those who hate me.

12.21.6 Cut through my rivals, O darbha; cut through those who array armies against me. Cut through all who bear me ill will, O amulet; cut through those who hate me.

12.21.7 Hew down my rivals, O darbha; hew down those who array armies against me. Hew down all who bear me ill will, O amulet; hew down those who hate me.

12.21.8 Shear through my rivals, O darbha; shear through those who array armies against me. Shear through all who bear me ill will, O amulet; shear through those who hate me.

12.21.9 Tear to pieces my rivals, O darbha; tear to pieces those who array armies against me. Tear to pieces all who bear me ill will, O amulet; tear to pieces those who hate me.

12.21.10 Pierce through my rivals, O darbha; pierce through those who array armies against me. Pierce through all who bear me ill will, O amulet; pierce through those who hate me.

12.22.1 Pierce, O Darbha, my rivals; pierce for me those who array armies against me; pierce for me all the malicious of heart; pierce for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.2 Bore through, O Darbha, my rivals; bore through for me those who array armies against me; bore through for me all the malicious of heart; bore through for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.3 Shatter, O Darbha, my rivals; shatter for me those who array armies against me; shatter for me all the malicious of heart; shatter for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.4 Crush, O Darbha, my rivals; crush for me those who array armies against me; crush for me all the malicious of heart; crush for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.5 Churn down, O Darbha, my rivals; churn down for me those who array armies against me; churn down for me all the malicious of heart; churn down for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.6 Compress, O Darbha, my rivals; compress for me those who array armies against me; compress for me all the malicious of heart; compress for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.7 Scorch, O Darbha, my rivals; scorch for me those who array armies against me; scorch for me all the malicious of heart; scorch for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.8 Burn, O Darbha, my rivals; burn for me those who array armies against me; burn for me all the malicious of heart; burn for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.9 Smite, O Darbha, my rivals; smite for me those who array armies against me; smite for me all the malicious of heart; smite for me the haters, O amulet.

12.22.10 What in you, O Darbha, constitutes death-by-old-age — that is your armour at the vital points; having made this one armour-clad with it, smite the rivals with heroic powers.

12.22.11 A hundred armours are yours, O Darbha, a thousand heroic powers are yours; all the gods have given you over to be borne by him unto old age.

12.22.12 They call you the armour of the gods; they call you, O Darbha, the lord of brahman-power; they call you the armour of Indra — you are the protector of kingdoms.

12.22.13 The Darbha that destroys rivals, that scorches the heart of the hater, the amulet that augments sovereign power — I make it a guardian of your person.

12.22.14 When the ocean roared forth and Parjanya roared with the lightning — from that was born a golden drop, from that was born the Darbha.