Kāṇḍa 20

20.1.1 Those who by thought led speech to its summit, or who by mind declared the truths — waxing great through the third sacred utterance, by the fourth they perceived the name of the milch-cow.

20.1.2 He, the son, came to know his father; he, the son, came to know his mother; he became a son, he became again a munificent one. He disclosed the sky, he the atmosphere, he the sun; he became all the worlds — he came into being.

20.1.3 The Atharvan as father, all-divine; the embryo of the mother, the father bringing together — he who discerned the abode of immortality, who saw the boundaries of eternal wealth.

20.1.4 Some of your forms are auspicious, some are inauspicious — you bear them all without anger. Three forms of speech are hidden in the secret place; from one of them all this world has spread forth.

20.1.5 Aditi is the sky, Aditi the atmosphere, Aditi is the mother, he the father, he the son; all the gods are Aditi, the five peoples are Aditi; Aditi is what has been born, Aditi is what shall be born.

20.1.6 I have made praise for the sons of Aditi, the great sheltering ones, the great and unharmed ones. Their abode indeed is fathomless, reaching the sea; beyond their trembling power there is nothing whatsoever.

20.1.7 At the starting of the vigorous race we shall invoke by speech the great mother, Aditi by name, in whom all this universe has entered — may that goddess, easy to invoke, bestow shelter upon us.

20.1.8 The great mother of those of excellent vows, the wife of cosmic order — we would invoke her for aid: Aditi, of mighty dominion, ever-young, wide-reaching, granting fine shelter, of good guidance.

20.1.9 The well-protecting earth, the sinless sky, Aditi of fine shelter and good guidance — may we ascend the divine boat, well-oared, faultless and never leaking, for our well-being.

20.1.10 O Vāyu, well-invoked, you travel with one and with ten, with two and twenty for the sacrifice, with three and thirty — unyoke those here, release them now.

20.2.1 By this pervasion he generated glorious deeds; for that radiance is broad for choosing a path. Varuṇa rose up toward the summit of sweetness when he set his own body in motion within himself.

20.2.2 The gods worshipped sacrifice with sacrifice — those were the first cosmic laws. Those great ones attend the vault of heaven where the ancient Sādhya gods abide.

20.2.3 The sacrifice came into being; it fully came into being; it became lord over the earth. It was born, it grew again — may it establish wealth in us.

20.2.4 When the immortal gods worshipped the immortal gods with an oblation, worshipped the deathless with a deathless mind — let us speak of that in the highest heaven, let us utter it at the rising of the sun.

20.2.5 The enchanted gods also worshipped with a dog, and worshipped with the limbs of a cow in many ways. He who by mind discovered this sacrifice — may he proclaim it to us; let us speak of him here and now.

20.2.6 When the gods extended the sacrifice with the primordial being as the oblation — who indeed today could tell us of that, if the oblation-offerers were actually set in motion?

20.2.7 May Indra, the good protector, self-strong, with his aids, gracious and all-knowing, be favorable; may he thrust away enmity and make us fearless — may we be lords of heroic strength.

20.2.8 May that good-protecting, self-strong Indra keep enmity far away from us, away into the distance. May we be in the favor of that worshipful one, abiding in his auspicious goodwill.

20.2.9 Your broad thunder, your towering form, your divine banner that adorns all this world — be merciful to us, O god, with lightning for the crops, and do not strike us down with the rays of the sun.

20.2.10 That breast of yours, O Sarasvatī, that is richly nourishing, that brings delight, that is grace-giving, easy to invoke and full of skill — the one with which you win all desirable things, set that here for giving nourishment.

20.3.1 This oblation of yours, O Sarasvatī, mixed with ghee — this is the mouth-offering belonging to the ancestors. These most beneficent utterances of yours that have been proclaimed — by these may we become wealthy patrons.

20.3.2 Pūṣan was born on the foremost of paths, on the foremost path of heaven, on the foremost path of earth. Knowing the way, he travels to and fro between both most beloved abodes.

20.3.3 Pūṣan knows all these directions; may he lead us by the most fearless path. A giver of well-being, shining bright, with all heroic power, never neglectful, may he go before us, ever knowing.

20.3.4 May Pūṣan follow our cattle; may Pūṣan protect our horses; may Pūṣan win strength for us.

20.3.5 O Pūṣan, under your vow may we never come to harm at any time. We are your praisers here.

20.3.6 One of your forms is bright, another is worthy of worship; you have two forms of different appearance — you are like the sky. For you protect all creative powers, O self-powerful one. May your bountiful gift be here, O Pūṣan.

20.3.7 May Dhātṛ bestow on the pious man an undiminished, forward-moving life. May we hold in mind the good favor of that god whose law is truth.

20.3.8 May Dhātṛ bestow all things upon the pious man, upon the pious man desiring offspring, in his house. May immortal offspring clothe themselves about him; may all the gods and Aditi, with one accord, be favorable.

20.3.9 May Dhātṛ, Rāti, and Savitṛ be pleased with this; may Prajāpati, lord of treasures, our Agni — may Tvaṣṭṛ, delighting in offspring together with Pūṣan, bestow wealth upon the sacrificer.

20.3.10 Dhātṛ rules over offspring and over wealth; Dhātṛ generated this entire universe. May abundant nourishment be conveyed to the pious man — to that god let us offer homage with an oblation.

20.4.1 For you, O god, have set forth for the primal Father his full stature and his breadth. Now, O Savitṛ, press out for us desirable gifts twofold, along with abundant cattle.

20.4.2 Go forward from the good to the better; let Bṛhaspati be your forerunner. Then make this man, in the choicest part of this earth, one who has driven off enemies, possessed of all heroic men.

20.4.3 The god Savitṛ, dwelling in the house, most excellent, bestowing wealth, vigor, and long lives upon the fathers — may he drink soma, may he exhilarate this man at the sacrifice; even the wide-roaming one delights in his holy ordinance.

20.4.4 That brilliant gift of Savitṛ of true might, of the god, at his impulsion, do we win — that which Kaṇva milked for the great bull, the full-uddered cow of thousandfold streams, for the sustaining.

20.4.5 Who among the nobles, desiring better fortune, will lead us out of this blameworthy hostility? Who desires the fulfillment of vows? Who desires sacrifice? Who wins long life among the gods?

20.4.6 Who, milking by friendship with Bṛhaspati the dappled cow given by Varuṇa to the Atharvan — easy to milk, ever with her calf — shall make the body prosper according to his will?

20.4.7 Heat has not scorched him, nor has cold struck him down; the earth, the swift-flowing, streams forth for him. Even the waters flow for him unceasingly; where soma is, there is blessing evermore.

20.4.8 In whose quarter of the sky this shines forth, toward Anumati do the descendants adorn themselves; whose lap is the wide atmosphere — may she grant us abundant shelter.

20.4.9 May Anumati today guide our sacrifice to the gods; may Agni, the carrier of oblations, be a source of joy for the one who has given.

20.4.10 For truly, O Anumati, you will consent; bring welfare to us. Bestow nourishment upon our offspring; extend our lifespans for us.

20.5.1 May the consenting Anumati consent — the nourishment rich in progeny, never diminishing. May we not fall into her wrath; may that goddess, easy to invoke, grant us shelter.

20.5.2 O Anumati, consent to those deeds of ours — whatever we have done with our bodies; whatever has been done regarding offspring, regarding bodies, regarding progeny, among cattle, among herbs, within the waters.

20.5.3 May divine Anumati, well-born, possessed of good dominion and heroic power, come to us. For her guidance has been benevolent; may she protect this sacrifice beloved by the gods.

20.5.4 Anumati begot all this — whatever trembles, whatever moves, and whatever stands still. May I be in the good grace of her, O goddess Anumati; for you, O Anumati, will indeed consent to us.

20.5.5 By that name of yours which is easy to invoke, O well-guiding Anumati, agreed upon and good to bestow — by that name, O goddess, swell nourishment for us, all-desired and rich in heroes, with benevolent thought.

20.5.6 I consecrate you for progeny; may progeny breathe after you; breathe life into the progeny. I buy your brightness with brightness, your radiance with radiance, your immortality with immortality.

20.5.7 You are the body of austerity, the color of Prajāpati. You are purchased with the supreme sacrificial animal.

20.5.8 I praise that god Savitṛ, of poet-wisdom, hidden within the two woolen strands, of true impulse, the bestower of gems, with a beloved thought.

20.5.9 He whose upward-shooting thought blazed with light at his impulsion — golden-handed and of excellent resolve, he measured out the sky with grace.

20.5.10 This one, the thought of seers, measuring out a thousand, the light in the ordinance — may the radiant one drive together the meeting dawns.

20.6.1 Sinless, like-minded, on the day of Svā, most full of spirit — at the recognition of the cow.

20.6.2 Come together, all, with might toward the lord of heaven, who alone has truly been the guest of peoples. That ancient one, making the new shine forth — the track has turned back around him alone, everywhere.

20.6.3 I call with repeated invocation the divine Kuhū, the immortal, the skilled in work, the easy to invoke, in this sacrifice. She who gives us the hearing of the ancestors — to you, O goddess, we render worship with oblation.

20.6.4 May Kuhū, consort of immortality among the gods, hear our oblation of this offering. Abundantly nourished, may she pour forth blessings upon the one who gives; may she bestow flourishing of riches upon the wise one.

20.6.5 Come to agreement together; come to union together; let your minds know one another. May Mitra unite all of you together; may there be concord among you with me.

20.7.1 Whatever Agni has granted us, whatever Indra, whatever all the gods, the Maruts bright with light — may Savitā of true ordinance, Sarasvatī, and Anumati bestow that upon us.

20.7.2 O gods, for the sake of both kinds of welfare, grant shelter to our two-footed and four-footed creatures. One who eats, who drinks, who is nourished with strength and is well-fed — establish for us that state of well-being and ease, free from affliction.

20.7.3 O Bṛhaspati, O Savitā, awaken him; though already sharpened, whet him yet more keenly. Make him grow for great good fortune; may all the gods rejoice after him.

20.7.4 May he thrive yonder beyond what Yama holds; Bṛhaspati has released him from the accusation. May those two Aśvins, the healers of the gods, push back death from him, O Agni, with their skills.

20.7.5 O Indra and Varuṇa, you two who are drinkers of the pressed, drink this pressed, intoxicating soma, you who hold firm to your vows. Your chariot comes to the rite for the delight of the gods, comes at daybreak for the drinking.

20.7.6 O Indra and Varuṇa, you two bulls, drink your fill of the most sweetly intoxicating, vigorous soma. This drink has been poured out for you two among us; be seated on this sacred grass and be exhilarated.

20.7.7 Step wide, O Viṣṇu; make a broad dwelling space. Drink the ghee, O you born from ghee; lead forward, forward the lord of the sacrifice.

20.7.8 From the sky, O Viṣṇu, or from the earth, or from the wide, great middle-space — fill both your hands with sweetness; reach them out, from the right and from the left.

20.7.9 Now let me proclaim the heroic deeds of Viṣṇu, who measured out the earthly realms, who propped up the upper abode as he strode forth — the wide-pacing one who strides in three ways.

20.7.10 Viṣṇu proclaims those heroic deeds: like a fearsome wild beast that roams and dwells on the mountains — in whose three wide strides all the worlds abide.

20.8.1 O Agni and Viṣṇu, great is your dear abode; guard the secret names of ghee. Bearing the seven treasures in house after house, may the tongue move toward you laden with ghee.

20.8.2 O Agni and Viṣṇu, great is that greatness of yours; enjoy the secret gifts of ghee. Growing with excellent praise in house after house, may the tongue rise up to you with ghee.

20.8.3 Raise up the earth; pierce open this heavenly cloud. O Dhātṛ, lord and sovereign of the heavenly udder, open wide the aperture for us.

20.8.4 Moving away from the human realm, praising the divine might — turn back toward our leadings, O god, enjoying the friendship of the gods.

20.8.5 I worship the lord of nourishment through nourishment — Dhātṛ, the ordainer, in these worlds. By the half-measure be sweet for me here; by the half-measure be the equator now for that one yonder.

20.8.6 This nourishing one has been brought with nourishment beyond; let this one hear what I say. By the half-measure be sweet for me here; by the half-measure be the equator now for that one yonder.

20.8.7 Here seize him, O Nirṛti; here destroy him, O Nirṛti; here cut him entirely away. By the half-measure be sweet for me here; by the half-measure be the equator now for that one yonder.

20.8.8 Whatever I invoke of you, O Nourishment, hear that for me; be one to be invoked in this call of mine. Nirṛti, conspiring together with the gods, severs that one yonder from the snare of Varuṇa.

20.8.9 Whatever sin we have committed through forgetfulness, whatever we have come upon with our steps, O Jātavedas — from that protect us, O wise one, for good fortune; lead us and our friends to immortality.

20.8.10 O Agni, overseer, come to us; protect us from misfortune, protect us from evil dreams. Protect us from disease of the mouth and from all other afflictions.

20.9.1 You are radiance; may we become full of radiance — possessed of vision, rich in cattle, rich in progeny, and full of splendor.

20.9.2 The milk you collect by day, the milk you carry in your udders — that milk of yours, O all-formed ones, I take away with a herb.

20.9.3 The sweetness you cows gather from herbs, from waters — that milk of yours, O all-formed ones, I take away with a plant.

20.9.4 You who press down upon one — seek out a sleeping man, one who lies there listless. May Varuṇa enfold us with armor of iron, with armor of stone.

20.9.5 Those who, considering themselves Brahmins in our house, speak cruel words falsely — may they become laden with sin, laden with filth; may they carry away from us the evil dwelling.

20.9.6 This Agni, lord of truth, of ancient virile strength, like a charioteer has generated for the lord as his domestic priest. Placed at the navel of the earth, blazing forth — may those who fight against us be trampled underfoot.

20.9.7 O Agni, roar out for great good fortune; let your glories be the highest. Bring together a well-ordered household; advance against the great powers of those who act as enemies.

20.9.8 You have been seen, O lord of the house, as the guest in the hall; come to this sacrifice of ours, O knowing one. For, O Agni, having struck down all attackers, bring the riches of those who act as enemies.

20.9.9 O Agni, drive away our rivals who have been born; O Jātavedas, drive back those not yet born. Speak on our behalf with benevolence; grant us shelter, the three-folded protection that bursts forth.

20.9.10 Overpower the other rivals with might; O Jātavedas, strike down those not yet born. Fill this realm for good fortune; may the Vasus, the gods, rejoice following you.

20.10.1 O Bṛhaspati, whoever rival assails us — Mitra and Varuṇa — or whatever enemy, puffed up with pride: cast him down entirely beneath us, O Agni; may I, like Indra, be perceived as the highest among them.

20.10.2 May I be recognized as the foremost among them; may all stand under my sway. O Jātavedas, butter-backed and radiant, blazing with oblations offered, shine in the midst of riches.

20.10.3 O Agni, cast that puffed-up rival down beneath us; destroy him utterly. Those who seek to harm us — let them fall lower; crush all hostilities on every side.

20.10.4 You are the head of heaven, the unwearied force of the earth; may all peoples wait upon you bearing tribute. Among them may I stand as the mighty one in their midst; rule wide in your own domain, like Savitṛ.

20.10.5 We call hither Sarasvant, who bestows upon the worshipping sacrificer, the lord of nourishment and of riches — clothed in swelling wealth and glory — the seat of riches, to come to us face to face.

20.10.6 In whose vow all cattle go; in whose vow the waters attend; in whose vow the lord of nourishment is established — that Sarasvant we call for protection.

20.10.7 O Sarasvant, those waves of yours that are honey-sweet, dripping with ghee — with those be our protector.

20.10.8 The celestial ocean, great in milky abundance, the embryo of the waters, the bull of the plants — him who satisfies the devotee with riches, Sarasvant the richest — establish here.

20.10.9 You are the belly of Indra, the vessel of Soma, the self of the gods, and all-formed. Generate here the progeny that belongs to you; those who are elsewhere — let them here sing your praises, O self-sustaining one.

20.10.10 The divine falcon, fair-winged, man-seeing, thousand-footed, hundred-born, bestower of strength — may he bring down to us the wealth that has been carried away; let it rest with us among the fathers, rich in its own power.

20.11.1 The falcon, man-gazing, beholding the abode, cleaved beyond the deserts and beyond the waters; crossing all the shielding regions of the air, in friendship with Indra, auspicious, he came.

20.11.2 The god Savitṛ, sustainer of all, of vast light, has come, unsubdued, with homage. May we mount the great boat of Aditi, where Soma is — there, ever, is blessing.

20.11.3 [Rubric:] one [verse beginning] 'ud vayam' ('Up, we rise…').

20.11.4 He is lord of heaven; Agni is lord of the earth; he reigns as lord of the entire world. As lord he has entered all the plants; O Agni, who has a spouse, come here to the Soma.

20.11.5 Come together, both of you; do not abandon the body — in-breath and out-breath, be yoked here together. We entrust this one to the seven sages; may they lead him safely to old age.

20.11.6 Whatever life-span of yours has been set aside by those gone afar, the out-breath and the in-breath that had departed from you — Agni has retrieved them from the lap of Nirṛti; I cause them to enter back into your self.

20.11.7 May the in-breath that has entered you not abandon you; may the out-breath not go away from you, carrying you off. Gathering strength, live your autumns in splendor; Agni, the mightiest, is your guardian and overlord.

20.11.8 I invoke Rākā, easy to call, with good praise; may the bounteous one hear us, may she awaken of herself. Let her sew her work with needle and unbreaking thread; may she give a hero worthy of a hundred gifts, worthy of praise.

20.11.9 O Rākā, those fair-formed graces of yours, by which you give treasures to the devotee — come to us today with those, well-minded, O bounteous one, bestowing a thousandfold abundance.

20.11.10 Rākā, Sinīvālī, Guṅgū, Sarasvatī — I have called upon Indrāṇī for aid and Varuṇānī for well-being.

20.11.11 She who has beautiful arms, fair fingers, and lovely body, rich in many beautiful forms — offer the oblation to her, the lady of the clans, Sinīvālī.

20.11.12 O Sinīvālī of the broad braid, you who are sister of the gods — accept the oblation poured, O goddess; grant offspring to us.

20.11.13 You who face Indra from all sides — may the goddesses of the thousand-praised one approach. O wife of Viṣṇu, oblations are offered to you; O goddess, urge your husband on with your bounty.

20.12.1 [Rubric:] three [verses beginning] 'upa hvaya' ('I call near…').

20.12.2 [Text lost — lacuna in manuscript.]

20.12.3 [Text lost — lacuna in manuscript.]

20.12.4 [Rubric:] one [verse beginning] 'sūyavasād bhagavatī' ('The blessed one from good pasture…').

20.12.5 In mutual understanding, let those who have wives sit down on bent knee, paying homage to what is worthy of homage; those who have poured out of the body, seeking well-being and life — let them be guarded in the twinkling of a friend's eye.

20.12.6 The fire is kindled, O Aśvins; the hot milk-vessel is heated for you — come! The cows are being milked now, O mighty ones; the skilled singers call out, O Dasras.

20.12.7 The fire is kindled, O Aśvins, O charioteers of heaven; the hot gharma is being milked for your refreshment, sweet as honey. For we, the singers, O Aśvins, invoke you most abundantly at the shared feast.

20.12.8 The ghee and milk offered among the dawn-cows — this is your share, O Aśvins; come to it. You two sweet sustainers, true lords of the assembly, drink the heated gharma in the brilliance of heaven.

20.12.9 The hot gharma hastens to you, O Aśvins, well-offered; the milk-rich adhvaryu moves forward for you. Drink your fill from the sweet milked offering, the lineage-gift — drink the milk of the dawn-cow.

20.12.10 Run up swiftly, milkmaid, with the milk; pour the milk of the dawn-cow into the hot vessel. Savitṛ the excellent has surveyed the vault of heaven; heaven and earth follow him, well-guided.

20.13.1 Consecrated with svāhā, pure among the gods is the gharma-vessel, the divine drinking-cup of the two Aśvins. The immortal ones, all of them delighting in it, lick it to the face of the Gandharva.

20.13.2 I make your abodes easy to reach, O gods, you who stand here delighting in this pressing. The clouds, bearing and carrying, set westward — arise accordingly after that gharma-vessel.

20.13.3 Be auspicious to us, most soothing, bestowing good comfort, O Sarasvatī. May we not be parted from your sight.

20.13.4 The divine Bṛhaspati seized it with a ladle. Purify it for the sacrificer; O Indra, bring it to us as with our hymns.

20.13.5 "Let the Maruts pour upon me" — so runs the single verse.

20.13.6 May Iḍā alone clothe us with her vow, she in whose footstep the god-seeking ones purify themselves — ghee-footed, great, soma-backed, she has stood near the sacrifice, belonging to all the gods.

20.13.7 "The drop has spilled" — so runs the single verse.

20.13.8 Whatever drop of yours spills, whatever shoot of yours has fallen from the arm, from the lap of Dhiṣaṇā, or that which falls around the purifying-cloth of the adhvaryu priests — that I offer to you, made into an oblation by the mind.

20.13.9 A drop has fallen, universally known, renowned on all sides. May this divine Bṛhaspati pour it together for the bestowal of bounty.

20.13.10 Whatever drop of yours has fallen on the earth — the soma mixed with grain, the scattered offering, the gruel — may this divine Bṛhaspati pour it together for radiant splendor.

20.14.1 "The herbs are full of milk; full of milk be my word" — so runs the single verse.

20.14.2 This Agni, most excellent, bestowing your lifespan from every side — your breath returns to you again; I drive away the wasting disease from you.

20.14.3 From among people, from among the universal folk, from the clans with wide dwelling-places — from afar do I consider this remedy named jealousy to have been brought.

20.14.4 Gathering this from afar — the remedy named jealousy — that is the cure for agitation; that is what grips and seizes like a stone.

20.14.5 As of Agni burning, as of a forest-fire burning — thus I ward off this jealousy of his from the heart, like water wards off fire.

20.14.6 I wipe away, removing the anger from your heart. We place jealousy upon that one yonder; there upon him we set it down.

20.14.7 Gathered from the spotted serpent, from the dark pṛdāku snake — the poison of that kaṅka-joint: this plant here has countered it.

20.14.8 This plant is honey-born, honey-dropping, full of honey — it is the remedy for the one who has been afflicted, and moreover a destroyer of mosquitoes.

20.14.9 Wherever bitten, wherever the venom was drunk — from there we lead it out of you: the insipid poison of the cloud-borne, deeply biting mosquito.

20.14.10 This one who is notorious, terrifying, with disjointed limbs — you make the mouths of these crooked. Bend them down, O divine Savitṛ, like a reed stalk.

20.15.1 Whatever manifold food of varied kinds I eat — gold, horse, cow, goat, sheep — whatever it may be that I have accepted: may Agni make all of that free from sickness.

20.15.2 Whatever in me was shaken by hopeful expectation as I roamed among people begging and speaking — whatever in my body and mind was injured, may Sarasvatī fill that with ghee.

20.15.3 Whatever sin we incurred as we went about seeking to win tribute and accepting offerings, O Agni — free us from that sin, O Vaiśvānara; receive in return the oblations.

20.15.4 From the snares of the eye, and from the snares of the mind, from the snare of jealous gazing, and from the bonds of the powerful ones — from that free us, O Viśvāvasu, so that we may enjoy the gifts of the givers.

20.15.5 All the gods have given to me; Savitṛ has given this. Brahmaṇaspati has given to me; the dear Mitra has given this.

20.15.6 Joined with Indra as my ally, I drive away those who fight against me. May the enemies be brought low.

20.15.7 When you two, Agni and Indra, have slain the obstructions without resistance — for you are the fierce ones most effective at slaying Vṛtra.

20.15.8 When we invoke both Agni and Indra for the sake of priestly office, may those two show grace to us in such a situation.

20.15.9 Those two by whom the sun was won in the beginning, who have stood firm delighting in the worlds — the two wide-ranging, bull-like ones with the thunderbolt in their arms: we call upon Agni and Indra, slayers of Vṛtra.

20.15.10 Those two by whose might the realms of space are propped up, who are most heroic in their heroic deeds and powers — those two who rule unresisted by their forces: a foremost invocation reaches Viṣṇu and Varuṇa.

20.16.1 Whose greatness overflows in the waters, in the rivers, in the luminous expanse of heaven above; whose consent is most abundant — the first invocation has reached Viṣṇu and Varuṇa.

20.16.2 Whatever shines in the quarters of the sky belongs to those two, who survey the creatures with their mighty powers; the two youthful upholders of the great cosmic order — the first invocation has reached Viṣṇu and Varuṇa.

20.16.3 Both of you have conquered; neither of you is ever conquered; neither of you two has ever been defeated in any way. O Viṣṇu, when you and Indra strove with each other in sport, you sent forth that thousand threefold.

20.16.4 Whatever is impure, whatever is false, whatever we have done through wickedness — may the waters protect me from that sin and from that wrongdoing on every side.

20.16.5 Bad dreaming, bad living — thus one verse.

20.16.6 Whatever the dark bird touched with its beak, O Nirṛti, as it belongs to you — may Agni, the bearer of oblations, the clarifier of ghee, purify all of that completely.

20.16.7 Whatever has reached us from the dark bird flying down — may the waters protect me from that sin and from that wrongdoing on every side.

20.16.8 May Agni, the foremost, protect me from evil-mindedness; we wipe away all misfortunes toward Nirṛti. May all the gods, the Maruts, purify me; may King Varuṇa and Savitā purify me with their purifying filters.

20.16.9 It flies through the midair, driven away by the demon-sorcerer. Upon whomever it has dripped a drop — him I make gentle and harmless for you.

20.16.10 That which the dark one touched you with, having been expelled from the gods — we make that auspicious for your body; we cut asunder your bonds.

20.17.1 O Tṛṣṭikā, worthy of bitter homage, cut that one asunder, O Tṛṣṭikā — so that it bites the one made hateful to all, the one who deserves to be reviled.

20.17.2 You are bitter, you are Tṛṣṭikā, you are poison, you are Viṣātakī. You are like a heifer that has been turned around by a bull.

20.17.3 I take from you from the flanks, I take from above the heart; I take what radiance belongs to your face, I take what virile satisfaction you crave.

20.17.4 In me be the radiance, in me be the glory, in me be the splendor, in me be the brilliance. I take your luster for myself; may I become the foremost.

20.18.1 The thousand-eyed one has gone forward, having yoked the chariot of the curse. Let it go seeking the curser, as a wolf goes to an unguarded house.

20.18.2 Ward off the curse from us, O cool pool, like Agni burning. Strike the curser here, like the divine thunderbolt strikes a tree.

20.18.3 Whoever has cursed us without cause, and whoever has cursed us when we have cursed — like a tree struck by lightning, let him wither from the root on up.

20.18.4 Let the curses go to the curser who, being a friend, acts against us. We also shatter the ribs of that smooth-tongued, evil-hearted one.

20.18.5 Whomever we hate, and whoever hates us, the evil-lived one who has cursed us — I hurl him down toward death, like a mortar tossed to a dog.

20.18.6 Let the diseases go forth, let the afflictions go forth, let the reviling speeches go forth. May Agni slay the female demons, may Soma slay those who act with ill will.

20.18.7 Go away from here, O evil portent; be annihilated; fly away from here to yonder. With the iron brand we release you upon whomever we hate.

20.18.8 The ill-omened fortune that has clambered up over you like a creeper over a tree — O Savitā of the golden hand, bestowing wealth upon us, place that away from us, elsewhere from here.

20.18.9 Savitā has impelled the fire-drill free from the feet, Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman have freed it from the hands. The Ādityas, with Anumati bestowing grace, have freed it — may Savitā impel us forward toward good fortune.

20.18.10 One hundred and one portents are born here together at the birth of a mortal. Of those, we drive the most evil one away from here; O Jātavedas, restrain what is auspicious for us.

20.19.1 Whatever is dreadful in your self, in your body, or in your hair, or in your appearance — that I, knowing it, drive away from you; may Savitṛ impel you forward unto good fortune.

20.19.2 We impel out the ill-omened mark, the evil sign, and hostility — so that you may be more prosperous for us; impel here the swelling of riches.

20.19.3 The minds of those who seek the gods stream toward Agni as eyes stream toward the Sun. When the two Dawns of differing forms set forth together, the white steed is born at the front of the days.

20.19.4 Indra is king of the world, of all peoples, over the earth, over whatever exists in diverse forms. From that abundance he gives treasures to the worshiper; even when praised from afar he drives generosity near.

20.19.5 Having become a bird it pecks the fig-tree; whether it has settled on the husband or indeed on the wife — the terrible, dreadful ill-omened portents that are companions of misfortune: those we drive away from here with an oblation.

20.19.6 Whatever ill-luck in your houses or in your wealth devours your offspring, or devours you — that, as Bṛhaspati repels it with oblation and has driven it out, we blow it away far from us.

20.19.7 Her of the deer's feet, the wounding one, the cow-scatterer, the extinguisher; the licker-away and the afflicting one — those I have destroyed with sacred utterance.

20.19.8 The one who burns back, the one who clings, and also the one full of holes, the one who brings down; the lioness, the eldest ill-luck, the tigress — these we destroy.

20.19.9 The brooding one, the roaming one, the obstructress, and also the harming one; the wife of Rodas, the one who blocks — those ill-omens I blow away.

20.19.10 The one who craves the left, the one who sits with the ancestors, the one who stirs about, and also the scorching one; the one who fails to succeed, the destroyer, and the ill-luck that kills with a goad — those I have annihilated with the sacred utterance.

20.20.1 The one who whispers while seated, the chattering one, the one who drinks together, the downward-pressing one; the superior one, the one who drives people away — those ill-omens I blow away.

20.20.2 Whatever dreadful ill-luck has entered your body, whatever ill-omens are all united in you — Agni has given you protection among them for good fortune; may the waters purify you for great combat.

20.20.3 O Bṛhaspati, the ill-luck that does not kill a brother-in-law, Varuṇa — the one that kills a husband; O Savitṛ, impel away from her those ill-omens that kill the sons of Indra.

20.20.4 Whatever ill-luck is in your eyes, or in your teeth, or in your hands, in your breasts, or in your armpits; in your hips, in your buttocks, or in your feet — step beyond all those dreadful ones.

20.20.5 From your thighs, from your kneecaps, from your heels, from the balls of your feet; the ill-omens from your hips, from your limbs — those sinful ones they have destroyed.

20.20.6 May the earth smite away the obscenity that is in the feet, away from the hands — Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman; the Ādityas, Anumati, taking delight — may Savitṛ impel us forward unto good fortune.

20.20.7 They have driven apart these two, the cows in the barren patch, like Aditīs. May the auspicious good fortunes take delight; those that are sinful — they have been annihilated.

20.20.8 You are indeed named Sāhuṣī — the all-conquering, the mighty-possessing one; the guardian of the house, the follower, the nest-maker — those we install here.

20.20.9 She who has come to pass on both sides, who moves about — one quickens the other, auspicious and sinful alike. That goddess of fortune we lead down by invocation; the auspicious, the very auspicious one, also for good fortune.

20.20.10 One hundred and one are the fortune-goddesses; of those you have become queen. O auspicious one, uniting together with auspicious ones, attend to us with auspiciousness.

20.21.1 From sky, from earth, from the atmosphere, from the wind, from cattle, and from plants — wherever the wicked ill-luck has arisen together, dislodged by the sacred utterance, may it go far away.

20.21.2 With the fragrance of the Vālkutsa plant and with the golden radiance, and with whatever fragrance belongs to the lotus pond — may Bhaga quicken me with that.

20.21.3 When Indra smote the Asuras in the beginning, therefrom they placed ill-omens among mortals. The most sinful of those we drive out from here; O Jātavedas, extend to her the auspicious ones.

20.21.4 The ill-luck that is a brother-in-law-killer, the one that is a husband-killer, the savage one that drives you from your homes — being released from that sin, may we both cross together the seven flowing streams.

20.21.5 The one who grinds down, the one who pricks, the one who drinks together, the one who presses down; the breaker, the embryo-slayer, the ill-luck — those I have annihilated with the sacred utterance.

20.21.6 The victorious in rising up, the powerful, the conquering, the unconquered — the fortunes that are meritorious and auspicious: O Savitṛ, impel those toward her.

20.21.7 The fortunes have spoken together, have spoken together, the fortunes; the auspicious fortunes have won, the sinful ones they have conquered and sent away.

20.21.8 O most auspicious among the fortune-goddesses, you are the sovereign of the fortune-goddesses. Pure, I shall protect you — for you were born of the gods.

20.21.9 May the assembly and the council both protect me — Prajāpati's two daughters of one mind. With whomever I go together, may that one stand by me; may I speak within the hearts of people.

20.21.10 May the assembly, the army, and the council protect you — the wise daughters of Prajāpati. With whomever I shall speak, may that one be instructed toward me; may I speak within the hearts of people.

20.22.1 As I speak, let all speak after me; as I breathe, let all breathe after me; as I enter, let all enter after me — may the gods be united in me as one.

20.22.2 May the Sun protect my sight, Bṛhaspati my speech, King Soma the assembly — I become Indra for your beholding.

20.22.3 I know your name, O Assembly — you are Subhadrā, O Sarasvatī; and those who sit in your assembly, may they speak well for me.

20.22.4 These scattered words that go in all directions, O Brahmaṇaspati — making them converge, O Indra, render them most auspicious for me.

20.22.5 I seize the handshake-essence of these people and their discernment; may I be the foremost in this entire assembly, even as Indra is foremost among those who sing.

20.22.6 Make me the highest among the highest, for you yourself have become supreme — you whom the restless Gandharva sought for a hundred autumns.

20.22.7 I have come as one who overpowers; may I be the foremost. I shake down this adversary who speaks against me and harbors hatred.

20.22.8 May your bladder become spacious like the cavity of the ocean; may your urine flow from your body as water pours from a distant source.

20.22.9 As the wind stirs, as water stirs, as the ocean heaves — so may your womb stir; may the ten-month child come forth outward together with the placenta.

20.22.10 I have come to this resting-place that is better; heaven and earth have become auspicious for me; may the directions be free of rivals for me — truly we bear no hatred toward you; may fearlessness be ours.

20.23.1 O Lord of the Homestead, grant us shelter here; lead us from the auspicious to the better and more prosperous. May my heroes be unharmed here; may two-footed and four-footed beings thrive in me.

20.23.2 O Lord of the Homestead, free from disease, entering into all forms — be a kind and gentle friend to us.

20.23.3 Ascend the post by the power of cosmic order, O mighty one shining resplendently, and cut away the enemies. May those who dwell near you not be harmed here; may he who shines brightly live a hundred autumns.

20.23.4 Rise up, you two wings clad in immortality; grant long life to the couple. There the woman with living sons and a living husband takes up her place in this nest.

20.23.5 May Agni purify me from all evil; may Mātariśvan, the purifying wind, do so from the east; may Soma protect me; may the Maruts, Bṛhaspati, and Vāyu the purifying wind purify me.

20.23.6 By you, truth is won in debate; your truth is the decisive utterance. You are born at the tip of the tree — give birth to this man.

20.23.7 With the fruit of the vibhīdaka tree — that tree of a hundred branches, the honey-sweet one, the one that strips away — with that we intoxicate you.

20.23.8 Fly forth before the wind; fly forth before the Aśvins. These two swift ones — I have kindled the fire as one pours a libation upward.

20.23.9 Do not leave disease behind here; do not go away muttering. Bestow well-being upon us; let sin follow after you.

20.23.10 Here I summon vigor, here milk, here eyesight. Establish virile power here.

20.24.1 The two tawny ones have flown hither; this cow has come from the forest to this calf. Against your will, O inviolable cow, O goddess, your calf has died.

20.24.2 Those who have come to know you — they know. Yield milk as for your own calf. I know your concord; I know the means of winning you over.

20.24.3 This is your calf, O inviolable cow — long for him. This true word we speak.

20.24.4 She who is Sarasvatī, the one who wins cattle — let her come near with her auspicious flank and make this cow yield. Svāhā!

20.25.1 A remedy has been brought from afar, passing over many leagues. I saw Rudra shooting [his shafts]; when seen, let him not inflict harm on the wrongdoer.

20.25.2 I split open the distant [fastening] of you as one splits a calf's tether. Be potent toward me as the dark, horned bull.

20.25.3 May all the cows be of one mind, dwelling together, sharing the same nave. Bearing a common name, let the calves lick each other.

20.25.4 Indra led you down first; Savitṛ aided you next. Thirdly, O fire-woman [cow], the Aśvins [led you]; come!

20.25.5 May Savitṛ lead him to you, may Bṛhaspati lead him. O herb, set upon this woman the husband who is to be desired.

20.25.6 "We follow Indra, the Anurādha [star]" — this is one [verse, cited by its opening words].

20.25.7 O Bhaga, go forth first; we come after you. May Indra and Agni, through the sacred word, lead us safely on the path.

20.25.8 Let Aditi go forth first; let Bṛhaspati be your vanguard. May Indra drive away fear for us — from the Śūdra and from the Ārya alike.

20.25.9 These [animals] yoked to the cart — the camels and the elephants — I have bound together their feet, their haunches, and their thighs as well.

20.25.10 The middle [ones] among the donkeys ran apart like those struck by frenzy. Then by the Asura's magic power we establish this [spell] in me.

20.26.1 Unite me with twofold prosperity and radiance; unite me with the earth and with the plants. Let the beneficial waters sprinkle me together with prosperity and radiance.

20.26.2 "O Mitra-Varuṇa, [give] me radiance" — this is one [verse, cited by its opening words].

20.26.3 We worship the ṛc and the sāman, by means of which rites are performed. May they, shining in their seat, extend the sacrifice among the gods.

20.26.4 Limb by limb I build up [the body]: eye, breath, and also strength. May we be dear through [sacred] learning, long-lived and of good understanding.

20.26.5 O divine Savitṛ, and you who sustain the world, protect us. May Pūṣan drive it back again — unbroken, undispersed.

20.26.6 As many grey hairs as have appeared together, sprouting from the tips — from them I speak around you: may my hairs be black.

20.26.7 O Sinīvālī, make my hairs black; O Sarasvatī, make my hairs black. O Aśvins garlanded with lotuses, make my hairs black.

20.26.8 That which stands yonder before the gods in the east — that Tvaṣṭṛ declared to me as the remedy for what is broken.

20.26.9 What is done by the dog with all-nourishing, all-healing power — whatever ails [one], drive it out; for you are indeed named Deliverance.

20.26.10 I join together your birth-passage, I join together your womb, I join together your birth-canals. I join together mother and child, and I join together the embryo and the afterbirth.

20.27.1 Let your embryo lie transverse; let your afterbirth be lodged at the heart. Then mount the consuming fire — go to the abode of Yama.

20.27.2 I rend asunder your birth-passage, I rend asunder your womb, I rend asunder your birth-canals. I rend asunder mother from child, and I rend asunder the embryo and the afterbirth.

20.27.3 Let your embryo follow along the right way; let your afterbirth flow in sequence. So that you may obtain a son, so that you may live in good fortune.

20.27.4 Press the embryo forward along the back; release the opening of the womb. Let the ten-month embryo come forth from the birth-canals.

20.27.5 With a prop, prop them apart; spread those two asunder in opposite directions. This fire between you two — let it drive those two apart in opposite directions.

20.27.6 Let the prop prop apart your mind and your heart. O Revolving One, turn [them] away for all the years to come.

20.27.7 I send you off to the ocean; return to your own womb. May I be whole in body; let not my milk be spilled away.

20.27.8 Whatever of my essence has here slipped away, forgotten — that we call back hither; let that swell up in me again.

20.27.9 The seer first inscribed [the design]; the upholder fixed the hairs in place. Placing [them] here on all sides, the creator Tvaṣṭṛ implanted the hairs in the skin.

20.27.10 O Sarasvatī, O goddess, in your divine observances and in your celestial abodes — you who are joyful, moving on a golden path — extend our life-spans forth.

20.28.1 Whatever sweetness is yours, O Sarasvatī, in the waters, in the cows, in the horses — with that, O Vājinīvatī, anoint our faces with radiant splendour, O Sarasvatī.

20.28.2 O divine Sun, whoever stands between you and me today — onto him we wipe away all evil dreams and all misfortunes.

20.28.3 You who stand between our shadow among mortals and the fire — I cut away your root; no further shadow shall these hands of his make.

20.28.4 Let the divine arrows strike him, let the Brāhmaṇas strike him with wrath — him who, O Prajāpati, stands between us and the fire.

20.28.5 O Prajāpati, him who, having looked upon us, stands between us and the fire — I hand him over to Death; may he be Rudra's target.

20.28.6 Drive him forth to the divine thunderbolts; may Death stride over him. May Nirṛti bind them with the nooses of Death, with bonds from which there is no release.

20.28.7 O long-haired one, do not address the village with auspicious speech. We speak to you, O owl, with the formula of the brahman-non-brahman.

20.28.8 Speak only away, speak away, following the westward-facing year, as if in Yama's house, sapless, staring out, lodged there, staring out.

20.28.9 Cry out favourably to us, O owl, and lead away from here the one we hate. In the house of King Yama, your gaming with sand shall be your portion, and a mouse shall nibble it away.

20.28.10 Speak of the plentiful cow-pen, the calf-seeking cow, the cow not lost. Speak of two-footed beings to the crow; speak of four-footed beings to the dog.

20.29.1 May King Varuṇa give back to me again, may Indra give back again, may Bhaga give back again; may all the gods give back to me again life and the means of living.

20.29.2 Rise up, run forward toward us; do not stand gazing here. Having taken the radiance away from the rival wife, then you shall be together with us.

20.29.3 Rise up, run out; there is no descending for you here. I press toward you the wealth of that man yonder — follow it, O fair-toothed ones; the serpent has shed that.

20.29.4 Among those kinsmen of ours who are dispersed across the earth, may I be the highest among them, as Indra is among the gods.

20.29.5 Among the earthly fires that have been kindled across the earth, you are their meeting-place; make us live.

20.29.6 You are piled up, you are piled all around; and the fires are called 'Nihava' by name. Do not call us down; homage to you — I do not come to your summons. Let him who hates us and whom we hate come to your summons.

20.29.7 O Indra and Agni, restore these two to us; these two are firm-heroed ones whose cows do not wander away. May all of them be at our Nihava-call; may we know the secret name of the cows of those.

20.29.8 O Prajāpati, roar after them; may all the gods become trackers of their path. May the Ādityas, heroes gathered together, those for whom Indra is chief, turn them back again.

20.29.9 O Indra, leader, increase me; O Aśvins swift as horses, carry me forward. Putting on the armour of Indra and Agni, may I speak the pleasing assembly-call for both sides.

20.29.10 Sweet of speech, sweet of face, appear sweetly to us among men — one whose countenance is free of hatred, victorious, unconquered.

20.30.1 Cut away, as of old, like the tangled growth of a creeper; crush the vigour of the Dāsa. Let us share out between us this honey he has gathered — let it be Indra's.

20.30.2 I wilt your bright manly power by the ordinance of Varuṇa, so that your phallus falls away and you are incapable before women.

20.30.3 Of the impotent, the eunuch, the brittle, the stinging one — that which is stretched up, draw it down; that which is stretched taut, flatten it down.

20.30.4 I have wilted your body; I have made you impotent by means of this plant. Like an inner sheath among sheaths, go among women as one whose form is withdrawn within.

20.30.5 May the householder bestow fat upon us together with Indra the fat-giving one; may Sarasvatī bring fat to us; may the rivers carry fat to us.

20.30.6 May Dhātṛ bestow fat upon me, may Pūṣan bestow fat, may Indra bestow fat on me; may both Aśvins garlanded with blue lotus bestow fat upon me.

20.30.7 Fatten my thighs, my arms, my knee-joints and my chest; may Indra bestow fat upon me, along with the omentum around the belly of this one.

20.30.8 Like the hair of a hide brought near for dressing, I pluck out all your hair, so that your head may be even and level like an iron bowl.

20.31.1 The stars flashed forth in the sky, the seven rays of the sun; the ocean's streaming waters — they have dislodged the thorn from you.

20.31.2 I praise Agni, rich in good wealth, with reverences; engaged here, may he scatter away what is done against us. As with prize-winning chariots I bring forward my praise; may the hymn to the Maruts proceed sunwise to its fulfilment.

20.31.3 Seven streams flow for the young one attended by the Maruts; the father has truly guarded his sons. Both protect him, both rule over him; both strive, both make him flourish.

20.31.4 The vedi is our well-being; the slayer of the deceiver is well-being; the axe is the vedi, the hatchet is our well-being. O gods who have prepared the oblation, who are worthy of worship, who desire the sacrifice — enjoy this offering.

20.31.5 We have come to the beloved, ever-resplendent young one, who grows great with oblations, bearing our reverence.

20.31.6 These hundred arteries of yours and also the thousand conduits — for all of them together I have stopped up the opening with a stone.

20.31.7 I dig up this remedy, the māṃpaśya herb that weeps upward, by which Indrāṇī made her husband wholly devoted to her.

20.31.8 Our two eyes are honey-bright, the ointment unites our countenances. Bring it within, into the heart — so that the mind of us two shall dwell together.

20.31.9 With the word of Tvaṣṭṛ I have dissolved the jealousy entirely; and also whatever anger is yours, O husband, that too we now calm for you.

20.31.10 Anointed by the vow, O lord of vows, shine upon us all our days with a gracious mind. May all of us, blessed with offspring, draw near to you, O Jātavedas, as you blaze.

20.32.1 Fruitful cows grazing in good pasture — let neither lightning strike you nor an army. Drinking at an easy ford with good water to drink, let them roam, avoiding the slaughter of cows.

20.32.2 Knowing the path, calm, assembled, all-formed — come to us, O divine ones, together with the gods. Sprinkle this cowpen, this abode, with clarified butter for us.

20.32.3 The swellings that are on the neck, and those that are in the armpits, those swellings that are related, that fall of themselves — those we drive away from here.

20.32.4 O Maruts, O burners, enjoy this oblation; you who are devourers of enemies, under your protection.

20.32.5 The mortal, O Maruts, O Vasus, who with evil intent, crossing our thoughts, seeks to slay us — upon him cast those fetters; smite him with your most burning heat.

20.32.6 The Maruts who abide through the year, luminous, dwelling in wide space, traveling in their troop among men — may those burners, those inebriating and gladdening ones, release all fetters from us.

20.32.7 Drink boldly, O Indra, the soma from the vessel, O slayer of Vṛtra, hero in the battle of treasures. Partake at the midday pressing, O seat of wealth, and place wealth among us.

20.32.8 I yoke you with the divine sacred word, O Agni, sustaining the sovereign powers for him. Shine here upon us with good wealth; speak this our word among the gods who receive oblations.

20.32.9 I loose your halter, I loose the yoke-strap, I loose the harness. Stay right here, O Agni, incessant one.

20.32.10 O Prajāpati, none other than you has brought forth all forms in his greatness. Whatever wish we have when we offer oblation to you, may that be ours; may we be lords of riches.

20.33.1 What share the gods apportioned you, O Amāvāsyā, dwelling together in your greatness — fill this sacrifice, O you who hold all that is desirable; bestow on us wealth rich in heroes, O auspicious one.

20.33.2 Ghee is for you, O Agni, in the divine assembly-place; with ghee Manu kindles you today. The water-born gods bring ghee for you; the cows milk out ghee for you at the front.

20.33.3 First I take up Agni within myself, together with sovereignty, radiance, and strength. I place offspring within me, lifespan within me — svāhā — Agni is within me.

20.33.4 In the waters, O king Varuṇa, is your well-measured golden house. From there, O king who holds fast to your vow, release us from all our bonds.

20.33.5 From station to station, O king Varuṇa, release us from here.

20.33.6 Whatever we said — 'O inviolable waters,' 'O Varuṇa' — from that, O Varuṇa, release us.

20.33.7 The Rudra who is in fire, who is within the waters, who has entered into herbs and plants, who has arranged all these worlds — to that Rudra let there be homage today.

20.33.8 Go away — you are the enemy, or you are like an enemy. You have mixed poison with poison; go back against the serpent himself and slay him.

20.33.9 We call upon Agni, the conqueror of armies, the overwhelming, the fierce, from the highest seat of assembly. May he, the god, carry us always across all difficulties; may Agni burn away all misfortunes.

20.33.10 Whether it was in the atmosphere, or whether it was in the wind, whether in the trees, whether in the shrubs — whatever of the brahman power the animals heard being raised up, may that come back to us.

20.34.1 May the wind blow upon me with blessing; may the sun warm me with blessing. May the days be auspicious for me; may the night be laid out for me in blessing; may the dawn shine forth for me in blessing.

20.34.2 Rise up, O Fathers who stood in the east; honor King Yama as the final resting place. This most heroic, most excellent of men has arrived — make a world for him together with all his kin.

20.34.3 That which is here proclaimed and fashioned as an image, given by the gods and charged with the sun's power — the seers, having gone beyond, thrust death back thrice-seven times by the stumbling of their feet.

20.34.4 The cows have returned to their stall; the birds have gone to their dwelling. The mountains stand firm in their station — I have made the two kidneys stand still.

20.34.5 The cows have entered the cowpen; the fires have entered the fire-altars. The two kidneys have come together and united — you are the remedy that loosens the obstruction.

20.34.6 Just as the arrow-shaft stands between heaven and earth, so may the muñja grass stand between the disease and the discharge, holding them apart.

20.34.7 This entire world of beings has stood firm; the wind that shakes the forest has stood still. The trees standing with their tops dreaming upward have stood — let this your disease stand still.

20.34.8 Of the hundred remedies you possess and the thousand that have been gathered, you are the highest, the best — the finest remedy against discharge, the most potent destroyer of disease.

20.34.9 When today we have chosen you at this sacrifice, O Hotṛ, as the one who perceives — come to the Soma knowing it, understanding it; firm is the metal, firm and most soothing.

20.34.10 O Indra, guide us together with mind and with cattle; O bay-horsed one, with generous patrons and with well-being. Unite us with the brahman power, with all that is made by the gods.

20.35.1 "Joined with radiance" — this is one (verse standing alone).

20.35.2 Sharers in the common flow, mighty and vast, those gods who sit on the strewn grass and dwell on the barhis — let all the immortal gods, praising this sacrifice, rejoice! Svāhā!

20.35.3 O Agni, those eager gods you brought here — send them back again to their own seat. Having eaten, having drunk the sweet things, O Vasus, bestow riches upon this one.

20.35.4 May this our sacrifice reach the gods; may the altar reach the upper altar. I release the officiating priests with the sacrificial fees — may the gods worship again as before.

20.35.5 O sacrifice, go to the sacrifice; go to the lord of the sacrifice. Go to your own womb. Svāhā!

20.35.6 This is your sacrifice, O sacrificer, accompanied by a thousand sūktas and salutations. Rich in heroes. Svāhā!

20.35.7 O Lord of the Mind, O god, this sacrifice — place svāhā in speech, place svāhā in the wind. Svāhā!

20.35.8 Svāhā to those for whom the oblation is offered; vaṣaṭ to those for whom it is offered with the exclamation. O gods who know the path, having found the path, go the path from here. Svāhā!

20.35.9 The barhis anointed together with oblation and ghee, united with Indra, with the Vasus, united with the Maruts — anointed together with the gods and the All-Gods, may whatever is offered with svāhā go to Indra.

20.35.10 Hoping for good will, for progeny, for sight, and also for strength — following the vow of Indrāṇī, I bind myself for the sake of immortal bliss.

20.36.1 Indrāṇī, blessed woman and good wife, burst forth with her shoulder to be known to her husband. She whose hips span thirty yojanas — may her lap carry venerable Indra.

20.36.2 You are an army, earth-wide, wealth-conquering; Aditi of all forms, with a sun-skin. Indrāṇī who strikes forward, all-conquering — with this oblation we honor her.

20.36.3 Rising swiftly, rising at the fore, the swift one strikes forward, hastening rapidly to attend. The swift one strikes forward — who with swiftness? You at the fore; O swift one, may this swiftness here be for you, O auspicious one.

20.36.4 I turn away from ill-dreaming, from evil dream, from misfortune. I make the brahman my inner shield — let the sorrows that show their face in dreams depart.

20.36.5 Whatever food I eat in a dream that is not found in the morning — may all that be auspicious for us, for it is not seen by daylight.

20.37.1 I spread out all nourishment as the earth does; whatever food comes to me I receive. By the great majesty of Vaiśvānara (Agni, the universal fire), may he make it sweet and comfortable for us.

20.37.2 You are three-horned, hard to assail; you are upheld for Indra. Pūṣan is your first taster.

20.37.3 O Agni, protect our body; protect the cattle; protect whatever belongs to the person. Those two immortal ones who are eaters of the unoffered oblation—may they guard us from harm.

20.37.4 Those two immortals among the gods who are eaters of the unoffered—Svarbhānu and Svarjyoti—with their mouth I taste you; I taste you with the mouth of Agni Vaiśvānara.

20.37.5 May Dakṣa the mental one taste you, and Svarbhānu the Marutic one. May the generous one not fail through his bounty; and may we not fail in offspring and wealth.

20.37.6 O drink (pitu), you who are irresistible, whose strength is irresistible—may we, with all heroes and all selves whole, partake of your substance.

20.37.7 O queen, desire has entered into you; that desire I now call back from you. May my mind dwell in my home and cattle, may my fortune be in my eyes, may the taste be on my tongue, may strength be in my arms, and swiftness in my thighs.

20.37.8 You are churned out from the sky, raised up from the earth; you are said to be born from the ocean. You are the Atharvaṇa remedy for eye disease.

20.37.9 May Pūṣan from beyond turn back the four directions of the earth. O Sagalika, O Puṣalika, may what was lost to us return; with life let us enjoy it.

20.37.10 Whatever the blazing fire carried away, scorching it—the knowledge of what was lost—as given back like a khargala, O Aśvins, drive back to him what was lost.

20.38.1 Whether you were born from something unpleasant, or brought from elsewhere—these divine waters of mine are the remedies of Visalpaka.

20.38.2 Of barley, of the pūtika plant, of the dṛśāmba herb and also of garmutas—I have seized their vital force, like swift ones running.

20.38.3 The thin creeper that crawls forward like a deadly weapon—the peacock, they say, and the cock shall consume your poison.

20.38.4 Stretching northward, the nitatni herb spreads itself over the earth. See how the paired plants have together strengthened the vigor-bestowing one.

20.38.5 I have stretched you down with the nitatni, I have encompassed you with what is more powerful, with what is faster than an eagle, with what surpasses the suparṇas.

20.38.6 Whatever here even of honey—poison extracted, forgotten—may Agni and Savitṛ place that back again in my belly.

20.38.7 O fire, you are the wife of Rudra, the daughter of Prajāpati. O mistress of gifts, renowned for oblations, of high fame—I call to you, call back to me. You are indeed named Nariṣṭā.

20.38.8 As that tawny bull leaps down from the bank, so leap down from the paternal share—winning prosperity, winning wealth.

20.38.9 Ṛjiśvā spoke to me the instruction of the Gandharva: this here is the means of winning a husband for you.

20.38.10 May the pāṭā plant shatter the pot; may pāṭā shatter the pot used for milking; may pāṭā make her the bride of every vessel from all sides.

20.39.1 Go away, O fever! Move far away from us; seek some other man, whomever it may be. O fever, I know your father, I know your mother.

20.39.2 You are associated with the śamī tree, you who are śāmīvata; associated with śamī is the burning one. The burning one is the son of Hārṣaṇi, Harṣaṇa is from jāñjabhi.

20.39.3 He who is the sweeper of cattle, in whom you share as your portion—go to that donkey, O fever; you have no right to come to me.

20.39.4 Visrasā is the name of your mother; Kiṃkiśa (or Kiṣkiṣa?) is the name of your father; Śimidā is the name of your sister.

20.39.5 Go to the mountain; you are mountain-born; the buffalo's lair is your home in the mountains. A slave woman mounted on a wheel will make Nāmlāta wail.

20.39.6 May the sinless wind blow here, the messenger of all, the protector against accusations. It sprinkles the healing jalāṣa—may it wash away that poison.

20.39.7 That desired haridru-leafed plant which the speckle-armed one shoots—we pull it out for him, so that you may live in well-being.

20.39.8 With the mind of the unwearied and with that of the first one I yoke you. Become one who lifts uphill—having drawn up, run back.

20.39.9 This tooth they call the terrible one of Nirṛti—the one that descended and is now seated in you. That terrible one I send into the hard-hearted; may he not harm us, neither the elder nor the younger.

20.39.10 May this tooth become auspicious and propitious; may it not harm us, neither the elder nor the younger. The evil-slayer, the evil-proclaimer, the useless one—may this terrible tooth of yours accompany him.

20.40.1 I drive forth the terrible tooth — the death-bringer, the evil-speaker, the worthless, the hard-to-ward-off, the fierce one. Let it devour his two-footed and four-footed ones; yet may it be auspicious to us, well-disposed.

20.40.2 With oblation I make your tooth auspicious; may the tooth become auspicious for me who render it so. May your three Trikadruka rites be auspicious; may the two heavenly vaults — sky and earth — be auspicious for me.

20.40.3 You are of many forms, broadly ornamented, self-sufficient, a bearer. You are the foundation of four-footed creatures; this fifth foot that is yours — with it I take hold of that one in return.

20.40.4 The Sasarparī, driving away ignorance, sounded loud — given by Jamadagni. The daughter of the Sun spread renown immortal and undecaying among the gods.

20.40.5 The Sasarparī quickly brought glory over these five peoples. She, wing-bearing, bestowing fresh life — her whom Pulastī and the Jamadagnis gave to me.

20.40.6 O inviolable cow, driving far away, strike down the four feet of the one who kicks. Then on the head of the milk-thief let the hooves resound upon his chest.

20.40.7 With your horns knock over the milk-thief; with your foot trample him down. And those others who stand by — scatter and destroy them in all directions.

20.40.8 Just as a dancer treads down with her anklet in a contest-dance, so, O inviolable cow, stir up all those feet together.

20.40.9 Let the milk be raised up and let his cows flow freely. Let the cows yield blood for him who does not honor us.

20.40.10 As is the mind of the she-bear, as is the mind of the tiger — so be the mind of the cows of him who does not honor us.

20.41.1 You are the highest of herbs, the most powerful of plants. O herb Sasyandana, make all these cows flow with milk.

20.41.2 Let them run, let them roll about. In the forests let your vigor be; on the earth let that which is yellow be.

20.41.3 The horse has done it, the donkey has done it, the yellow mule has done it. So too you, O greatly fierce one — let your vagina cry out with the ladle-pouring.

20.41.4 As the donkey brays, so your vagina brays. Of rice, of barley, of beans — behold this manifest demonstration.

20.41.5 I lift up heaven and earth, I lift up the waters, I lift up fire, I lift up Indra, I lift up the sun, I lift up night, I lift up day.

20.41.6 Having paid homage to heaven and earth, to the atmosphere, to death — standing upright I shall stir; let the lords not harm me.

20.41.7 Whatever vital sap the divine Apsarases stole away through their fornication — that we bring back here for sight and for strength. Through the invocation of the gods, may those deities return to me.

20.41.8 O goddess, you who satisfied yourself with the vital sap of my arm-strength — with the hymn of Narāśaṃsa I take it back from you; I take it back from you Apsarases.

20.41.9 The vital sap of our bodies which we take back from the Apsarases — with the hymn of Narāśaṃsa we swell our progeny.

20.41.10 Whatever sap of mine has been drained away — both while I was waking and while I was sleeping — let the gods today pour that back upon my body.

20.42.1 What was milked today and clung to the earth, what flowed into the herbs and into the waters — the milk in the calf, the milk in the cow, whatever milk is in her — let that milk accompany us.

20.42.2 As swift horses fly forward, pulling the yoke downward — so, urine, burst forth; open wide the mouth of the bladder and release it.

20.42.3 "The orifice of your bladder is opened" — so runs one verse.

20.42.4 On the far shore of this ocean shines bright, immortal light. May that protect us from distress; may that protect us from all sides.

20.42.5 May wisdom, good favor, of all forms, golden-hued, mobile and approachable, come to us. O Agni, O Pracetas, may that wisdom delight in us here.

20.42.6 Let the vigorous one who has entered here go forth, and likewise the pair — the bird-percher and his consort — who are here together. Let Syūmaraśmi go on the path of the seven seers; let Kṛṣṇa return again to his own wild creatures.

20.42.7 Go to the seven seers, O Syūmaraśmi; let Kṛṣṇa accompany the wild creatures; let the prize accompany the horse. Let the praiseworthy one accompany us — us with good offspring and good heroes — together with the sacrifice and with milk.

20.42.8 Homage be to the seer Syūmaraśmi; homage to Kṛṣṇa and to the prize that is his. Homage to the divine victor among swift horses — may this prize-winning steed extend our life.

20.42.9 The days pass by, the nights pass by, the dawns pass by. The waters that run within the hidden channels — with those I place you within.

20.42.10 Just as in the summer month many herbs dry up — so dry up following me, both what I see and what I do not see.

20.42.11 The Pāṭā plant bears a hook, golden and marked. With it I seize away the women of others — may they be mine.

20.43.1 Indra, live! Sun, live! May the gods live! May I live! May I live out the full span of life!

20.43.2 I am unborn for destruction; bound to the cord, I rest in the sky. I summon you away from Nirṛti.

20.43.3 You are Rantī, you are Ramatī. May I succeed through what is heard; may I not fail through what is heard.

20.43.4 You are Darśa, you are Darśata, seen on every side. You are Soma, you are Rudra.

20.43.5 You — that shoot of yours which the gods cause to swell, you — that shoot of yours which the Ādityas cause to swell, you — that inexhaustible one which they drink for inexhaustibility — may that Soma extend long life for us.

20.43.6 Swell with the breath of others, not with our breath. With the breath of the one who hates us and whom we hate — with his breath swell.

20.43.7 You are indeed born of the ocean, an eagle, keeper of cosmic order. Come hither to the Soma-drinking; come to us with abundance of wealth, with progeny and riches.

20.43.8 You are self-resounding; homage to your great vigour. Let not the cow wander from the leaves.

20.43.9 May I never fall behind in food. Homage to Rudra, the eater of food, the lord of food, homage to Agni.

20.43.10 O Vāsava, O Wind, that arrow of yours — here it is. With it be gracious to us.

20.44.1 May Agni drive the fever away from here; may Varuṇa, the pressing-stone, and the Maruts of purified might — seated on the sacred grass, the kindled fires blazing bright — thrust the burning fever far away.

20.44.2 You who overwhelm — seek out the man lying asleep, stretched out, unknowing. You who perform deeds with a thousandfold power — be gracious to us.

20.44.3 You are a traveller among the gods, you are gracious. Be gracious to our two-footed and four-footed creatures; do not be gracious to the two-footed and four-footed creatures of the one who hates us and whom we hate.

20.44.4 You are a traveller among Brahman-power, you are gracious. Be gracious to our two-footed and four-footed creatures; do not be gracious to the two-footed and four-footed creatures of the one who hates us and whom we hate.

20.44.5 You are a traveller among food, you are gracious. Be gracious to our two-footed and four-footed creatures; do not be gracious to the two-footed and four-footed creatures of the one who hates us and whom we hate.

20.44.6 You are a traveller among human beings, you are gracious. Be gracious to our two-footed and four-footed creatures; do not be gracious to the two-footed and four-footed creatures of the one who hates us and whom we hate.

20.44.7 You are called Avabharaṇa; you are the inexhaustible water among the gods for us. The one who hates us and whom we hate — him we have enclosed in your mouth.

20.44.8 When that Asura, unwashed yet consecrated, roamed about, the filth that oozed from him — that is truly what you are. By that same means we know you, having acted in full. O scorpion, your venom is made powerless.

20.44.9 Ketuluṅgā is the name of your mother; Karkaṭa is your father. This is the truth: powerless and bereft of fortune is your venom.

20.44.10 There are two streams of the venom — one belonging to the female, the other to the male. Both of them are made powerless.

20.45.1 O All-knower, you see that which has been lost. That which of mine has been lost — give it back to me.

20.45.2 O All-maker, you approach that thing. That which of mine has been lost — give it back to me.

20.45.3 O All-pervading one, that is deposited in you. That which of mine has been lost — give it back to me.

20.45.4 May Pūṣan place his right hand around us from the front. When what was lost returns to us, may we enjoy it with life.

20.45.5 Indra came to you as you crept; he established you in the cow-stall. That is the remedy for the discharge; that indeed has destroyed the disease.

20.45.6 You two are purified by Viṣṇu's mind. May divine Savitā also purify you both.

20.45.7 You are purified by Viṣṇu's mind; may divine Savitā also purify you, with the unbroken filter of a thousand streams, well-filtering.

20.45.8 O Jātavedas, purified by heart and mind, the god who knows all the ways of wisdom — the seven mouths that are yours, O Agni: to them I offer; accept the oblation with favour.

20.45.9 "Fire in fire" — thus one saying.

20.45.10 Whatever worm tears out the lower hairs of yours from the head — may the healing plant that digs in the earth extinguish that creature's breath.

20.45.11 I know indeed: Bhaga is your name; you are named Bhūri; you are named Rayi. You — Bhaga — I enter; you, Bhaga, enter me. In that, O Bhaga, I cleanse myself in you with a thousandfold shaft.

20.46.1 May the brahmacharins come to me — svāhā!

20.46.2 May I move about — svāhā!

20.46.3 May I shine forth — svāhā!

20.46.4 May I be superior in good things — svāhā!

20.46.5 May I move among people as one possessed of glory — svāhā!

20.46.6 May I be dear to the gods, to men, to cattle, to the brahmacharins.

20.46.7 Make me beloved of Prajāpati — svāhā!

20.46.8 O mother, wondrous wanderer!

20.46.9 This hand of mine is unimpaired; he weeps — make that one free of disease for me.

20.46.10 You are the remedy of the wasted and of both — of the unimpaired as well.

20.46.11 O Udelaḍi!

20.46.12 You are life-breath — svāhā!

20.46.13 You are will and resolve — svāhā!

20.47.1 You are the person — svāhā!

20.47.2 You are of distinct birth — svāhā!

20.47.3 You are of offspring-birth — svāhā!

20.47.4 You are of your own kind — svāhā!

20.47.5 Your name is 'of your own kind' — svāhā!

20.47.6 I know your name, O Nārada — you are named Speech; may I partake of your glory.

20.47.7 I know your name, O Sanatkumāra — you are named Sight; may I partake of your sweetness.

20.48.1 That one is the daughter-in-law of this army, of this army here; this is her father-in-law, her father-in-law. Just as a daughter-in-law falls down before her father-in-law, falls lower, falls down in submission —

20.48.2 So may that army of his fall down beneath this army, fall lower, fall down in submission. Struck of its heroes, struck of its men, defeated and driven away by Indra and Agni together, may it retreat to the farthest distance.

20.48.3 May Indra and Agni look upon that army struck of its heroes, struck of its men, defeated, driven away, fleeing. May that son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so, come away defeated.

20.48.4 May he come away laid bare without flesh. For may that son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so, revel in misfortune.

20.48.5 We pierce him with evil — he whose face is evil. Having bound him in the noose of ill-fortune, having united him with evil dreams, I place him into the open mouth of Death.

20.49.1 I release these eager waters hither; mingling together, they have united with milk. The wealth given to us here is auspicious — may he who is lord of waters receive them back.

20.49.2 Rise up, grow large, O barley, by your own greatness. Fill all the vessels; may the heavenly lightning not strike you down.

20.49.3 O divine barley who hears us, wherever we address you — rise up there, inexhaustible as the sky, grow as boundless as the ocean.

20.49.4 Inexhaustible be your seed-stores, inexhaustible be your heaps. Those who fill the bowls shall be inexhaustible; those who eat shall be inexhaustible.

20.49.5 Once the sky was born; once the earth was born; once the milk was drawn from the dappled cow — that which is unique is not born again. May no one be born after you.

20.49.6 I make for myself the amulet that stands at the arrowhead and deflects arrows — the auspicious one. May it protect me from all missiles, by day and by night, that I may live.

20.49.7 You are established by sacred power; we, the knowing ones, crush you with apāmārga. With this we wipe you away — strike down the one who attacks the young, who hurls missiles.

20.49.8 This sneeze of yours is broken, this sneeze is not auspicious — what is combined and ill-sneezed, let that ill-omen be yours. May Rudra's thunderbolt smite your hindquarters and neck, as Indra with the vajra smote Vṛtra.

20.49.9 The echo-curse, the surrounding curse, the circling slander, the circling sneeze — O Savitṛ, drive away that woman with the empty pot who walks on the left.

20.49.10 The ill-omened sneeze we drive away; may we partake of the auspicious sneeze. May the parṇaka plant urinate over the wicked-nosed one, and may it be propitious for you.

20.50.1 I have pressed you down with the five-branched, most powerful hand — so that we shall never hate each other, never quarrel at any time.

20.50.2 The charm that makes the ruddy sheldrake one's own — this captivating charm. May it make that dear one my own, the one whom I love.

20.50.3 The love-charm that Kakṣīvān worked, that the mighty Cyavana performed — that I work upon you two, husband and wife; may you two be united and dear to each other.

20.50.4 As two birds joined together, as two deer who roam in mutual love — so joined by sacred power, be mutually beloved, you two.

20.50.5 Go forward, stride forward with your feet to the houses for well-being. O partridge, circle to the right and speak to us with the śatapatra bird.

20.50.6 Speak auspiciously from the south, speak auspiciously from the north. Speak auspiciously to us from the east, O partridge, speak auspiciously from the west.

20.50.7 Speak prosperity from the south, speak prosperity from the north. Speak prosperity to us from the east, O partridge, speak prosperity from the west.

20.50.8 You magnify youthful powers like a war-drum of the victorious. O partridge, circle to the right and speak to us with the śatapatra bird.

20.51.1 I prop up the milk of the cows, I prop up the chariot and its draught-animal. May our heroes stand propped up, and the cows rest in me, in the lord of cattle.

20.51.2 May Savitṛ prop you up, may the god Agni, may both Mitra-Varuṇa, may both Aśvins. You have slain all rivals with the yoke. O lord of the clans, come and seat yourself here.

20.51.3 You, O Rudra, are the ruling goddess who grants fulfillment — you among gods and also among humans. What you as sovereign lead forth, and what you slay — may that be with our fathers, rich in offerings.

20.51.4 O Vāyu, drive the wild game toward us, toward us who are hunting. Bring them nearest to us, for the wind is made as a leash.

20.51.5 Let the bile rise up, let the liver rise up — may your proper station return again. From where the liver settles, let it be propped up there. Do not make this one who has wide rolling movements a stuffer of the haunches.

20.51.6 That which stretches the side together with the heart and tongue — that hiccup, O goddess Earth, make powerless.

20.51.7 "Crept along" — this is one verse.

20.51.8 "Fly forth" — these are two verses.

20.51.10 Bringing tribute day after day, O Agni, we stand like those offering fodder to a horse. Rejoicing together with wealth and nourishment, O Agni, may we, your neighbors, suffer no harm.

20.52.1 Bringing night after night without weariness, as one sets fodder before a horse, may we, gladdened by abundance of wealth and food, never suffer harm from your neighboring fires, O Agni.

20.52.2 O Agni, purify our life-spans; bring us good strength, refreshment, and food; drive misfortune far away.

20.52.3 Yours are three life-spans, O Jātavedas; three are the dawnings of your daybreaks, O Agni; three are your bodies sharpened by the gods — with those three protect us always, free from heedlessness.

20.52.4 Guard us, O Agni, with the first; guard us also with the second; guard us with three hymns, O Lord of Strength; guard us with four, O bountiful one.

20.52.5 May the two auspicious, mighty, life-giving ones guard us; do not sever the ṛc-verses; as guardian of the body through the Sāman may I traverse the world where wealth is found.

20.52.6 "Even without the rite" — this is the single (verse, cited by its opening words).

20.52.7 Come hither toward me, O Bhaga; you here are named Intoxicating Joy — make that one exhilarated in me. Spirituous liquor became your sole birthplace; you were born from Agni, from sacred knowledge and from his brilliance.

20.52.8 Enter into me together with that which leads along. Come, enter! Come, enter! Enter into me, penetrate into me — I call upon you, call back upon me. For you are named Nariṣṭā (the harmless one).

20.52.9 As waters flow downhill, as months pass day by day into old age, so, O Dhātar, may brahmacharins come to me always.

20.52.10 Come here, be not harmed, O praisers; do not stand apart, you of good intent; may you be steadfast, immortal, uncrumbling.

20.53.1 Dhātar has grasped your hand, Savitṛ has grasped your hand; you are Mitra by your sacred law — Agni is your teacher.

20.53.2 You are the chaste student of Agni; you are my chaste student. May Prajāpati protect you; I hand you over to the divine Savitṛ — may that one here move in well-being.

20.53.3 You are the All, O Lord of All; you are the Whole, O Lord of the Whole. You there — I hand you over to the divine Savitṛ; may he move in well-being in me.

20.53.4 Let the one who has returned, standing firm, desirous of victory — let the desire of all move here and be present. Having abandoned all enmities and misdeeds, may they go forth obedient to the divine Savitṛ.

20.53.5 May the hand that has done no wrong, the heavenly one, come back again, meeting the body in accord. May Mitra guard us from both sides — by breath, by brilliance, by vigor, and by strength — and Varuṇa too.

20.53.6 O Desire, longing with desire, we make this oblation for you; may all of that prosper for us — now eat of this oblation: svāhā!

20.53.7 Whatever brilliance belongs to heaven and earth, and whatever brilliance resides in you, O ointment — by that brilliance, sharp-sighted and radiant, may I become, O ointment.

20.53.8 Whether the clinging thing has touched one while awake or has clung while traveling in dream — you are the cutter-away of what clings, your power made manifest by the very seeing.

20.53.9 As water flows down, as rain flows down from a mountain, as the bowstring is cut from a bow — so I cut away what clings in your heart.

20.53.10 Whatever clings in your heart, and whatever clings in the peritoneum, whatever clings in the middle of the ribs — that I cut away from you with the heel-blade.

20.54.1 Whatever clings in your lungs, in your ears, and in your phallus together with the navel — Indra, the healer, declared: the heel-blade is the cutter-away of what clings.

20.54.2 This heel-blade, Duḥsahā by name, is the cutter-away of what clings. I now cut away the clinging thing from so-and-so, son of so-and-so's lineage, son of so-and-so.

20.54.3 The Wise One brought the tail; Viṣṇu brought it back again. That which is in accord with Agni and with the mind — grant a male child, a son, to her: svāhā!

20.54.4 O Wise One, bring the tail with aging hand, with understanding — so that a son may be born to her, a conqueror, through the Wise One.

20.54.5 Go away from here, O Wise One; this male will be born. A male, born from a male, arisen from a male — let him be born as male indeed.

20.54.6 May the ear cry out for good fortune; may the eye tremble for good fortune. Drive away the evil dream; whatever is auspicious, bring that to us.

20.54.7 The trembling of the eye, the evil dream, the affliction that injures men — that, O Aśvins, you two, release from us onto the unloved one.

20.54.8 Whatever trembles in the side, in the chest, limb after limb of me — from that, O Aśvins garlanded with blue lotuses, protect us from distress.

20.54.9 If through desire for immortality we have approached sin and impurity — let it be left behind like a blind lame man; let no evil come to us from wherever it may.

20.54.10 O spotless waters, wash the impurity away from us. Whoever hates us and whomever we hate — upon that one I let loose the evil dream.

20.54.101 Milk-sap be in my lungs and ears; may the plants bestow milk-sap on me; milk-sap poured out among the gods — may it bestow milk-sap on me.

20.55.1 He has been seen — the best knower of the way — in whom vows have been placed. Let our songs go to Soma, the promoter of the noble one's growth, the newborn.

20.55.2 Agni, the god-given, shines forth toward the gods by his greatness. He turned back following his mother Earth, and stood upon the ridge of heaven.

20.55.3 From whom peoples tremble as he performs his notable deeds — tend Agni with devotions in your own person, as if winning a thousand prizes at the sacrifice.

20.55.4 Swell, O Soma; may your virile force come together to you from all sides. Be present at the gathering of nourishment.

20.55.5 Swell, O most exhilarating Soma, with all your shoots. Be our benevolent friend for our growth.

20.55.6 May your milky streams come together, may your nourishments come together, may your virile powers come together, O overcomer of enemies. As you swell, O Soma, for immortality, establish the highest glories in heaven.

20.55.7 We know you, O Soma, as king; those who do not know you — swell through their eyes, through their hearing, their breath, their offspring, their cattle, their houses, their wealth. These are your plants; through them do you swell.

20.55.8 May the swollen one cause us to swell with eye, with hearing, with breath, with offspring, with cattle, with house, with wealth.

20.55.9 What King Varuṇa knows, what the god Bṛhaspati knows, what Indra the slayer of Vṛtra knows — that truth is the bewilderer of minds.

20.55.10 By Śarva of the blue topknot, by Bhava, father of the Maruts, by Virūpākṣa the tawny one — struck down are those who are about to speak a word.

20.56.1 This that you wish to go elsewhere, that you desire to move elsewhere — I have bewildered your mind in that, I have caused your mind to be lost in that.

20.56.2 There is indeed a hidden nook of paths and an uncontrolled flow of rivers. By that I have bewildered your mind, by that I have caused your mind to be lost.

20.56.3 Your seven perceptions and your eight minds — I have bewildered your mind in that, I have caused your mind to be lost in that.

20.56.4 Allied with Indra the munificent, with Agni who knows all beings — by that I have bewildered your mind, by that I have caused your mind to be lost.

20.56.5 I have turned you backward, as a hobble holds a horse. I make you subject to my will, as sandals are subject to the feet.

20.56.6 You are the assembly of the gods, you are the going of the gods. With that body by which you quicken sacred power, with that do quicken me.

20.56.7 Do not make me shine, do not make me visible; let not the Kaṇvas find me, do not lead me there. Let them remain unaware of me.

20.56.8 The birds of good wing, the Priyamedha seers, imploring, have sat near Indra. Roll away the darkness, fill up our vision, release us who are bound as if in a dungeon.

20.56.9 Of the great one born in the waters, born from around the rock — O mountain, destroy with the waters the flame of the self-born one.

20.56.10 The one who swells upward, the Śimidvatī, of difficult origin, the one with open door — make the animals fall after her, destroy them along with the mirage-like rays.

20.56.11 Fallen from the mouth of a horse, your dwelling is made on a leaf. You are the blood of birds — smite the crooked ones, drive them forth.

20.56.12 Born from what is not blood, your seat is made on a leaf. You are the egg of birds — smite the crooked ones, drive them forth.

20.56.13 As a donkey, shaking itself from rolling in the dust, runs away — just so let that one run away from here, who has come upon this.

20.57.1 You are acquisition; you will acquire; may I acquire.

20.57.2 You are action; you will act; may I act.

20.57.3 You are knowledge; you will know; may I know.

20.57.4 You are prosperity; you will prosper; may I prosper.

20.57.5 You are bhūr; you are subhūr; Subhūr is your name.

20.57.6 You are the middle and best ray of Prajāpati.

20.57.7 For prosperity I place you, for wealth I place you, for the acquisition of cattle I place you.

20.57.8 Agni is the carrier; the carrier is Agni.

20.57.9 Indra is the obstructor; Prajāpati is the giver.

20.57.10 With the mouth of Bṛhaspati I implore you; with the eye of the Sun I look toward you; with the undeceived eye I look upon you.

20.57.11 I am unloosed; my self is unloosed; my eye is unloosed; my hearing is unloosed; my in-breath is unloosed; my out-breath is unloosed; I am wholly unloosed.

20.57.12 At the impulse of the divine Savitṛ, urged by the arms of the Aśvins, by the hands of Pūṣan, I take hold.

20.57.13 With the mouth of Agni I eat you; with the mouth of Bṛhaspati.

20.57.14 I place you in the belly of Indra, in the stomach of Varuṇa.

20.57.15 The fire named Nṛmaṇas — the man-minded one — who has entered into the brahmin priests.

20.57.16 May this be well-offered in him; may that which is eaten not harm me in the highest heaven.

20.58.1 I know your name, O Takman — you are also called Viśvasa. Asamaratha is your father's name, O Takman; Hārṣī is your mother's name; Śimidā is the name of your sister.

20.58.2 "Go to the mountain" — this is the verse belonging to the seventh-day fever charm.

20.58.3 The Asuras bore you down from the ocean by their magic. That remedy for the flux — that same thing destroyed the disease.

20.58.4 The seat of disease, the seat of blood-flow, and likewise the remedy for the flux — I bind all those up with the tail-hair of the brown horse.

20.58.5 Whatever staff of mine fell away together with consecration and austerity — that I take up again. Indra restores it, Bhaga restores it; Brahmaṇaspati has again given me the brahman power so that I may live.

20.58.6 In this manner, the little one lying face-upward, stretching out like an owl — may he bring love to me and carry hatred far away.

20.58.7 Just as a well-whetted arrow flies swiftly away, so may your stream of urine fly forth brightly and freely.

20.58.8 Just as the bees gather honey upon the honeycomb, so may my honeyed speech be sweet among the gods and among people.

20.58.9 For long life, for austerity, for my wholeness and safety, the Suparṇa (eagle) spoke to me: this is the Utsakta remedy, this is the Puliśa remedy.

20.58.10 "Agni drives away the demons" — this is a single verse (a one-verse charm).

20.59.1 Paiśī is the mother, Peśa is the father; the Paiśeya — born of Peśa — is slain. Truly, by brahman power already wielded, the scorpion's venom is made powerless.

20.59.2 I call out the leaf-sitters; I draw out your venom from the tail. The Earth is declared your mother — release your venom as homage to her.

20.59.3 What does the tooth ache with? What was the cause of the sitting-down in pain? Waters, drive out the worm; make the jaws free of poison.

20.59.4 Where the immortality of the Earth rests in heaven, in the moon — knowing that place, I direct my mind there. May I not bring harm upon my grandson.

20.59.5 O Susīmā, your heart — that truly resides in Prajāpati. We know that heart of yours. May I not bring harm upon my grandson.

20.59.6 The heart of Suvarṇā, firmly established upon the earth — I know that name of hers. May I not bring harm upon my grandson.

20.59.7 You are the heart of Agni; lightning — thus I know you as such. May I not bring harm upon my grandson.

20.59.8 These creatures are yours, O Prajāpati; may Indra and Agni grant them shelter. So that I may dwell here long as master and ruler over the people.

20.59.9 The offspring that I have found today, born from myself, full of vitality and with a body well-made — lead them, O Agni, to old age.

20.59.10 May I be a conqueror like Indra, great in radiance like Agni, shining in all directions like the Sun, and like the ocean — hard to cross.

20.60.1 The Ṛc, the Sāman, the oblation and vital power, the Yajus and strength — whatever of these I have asked about: from that wrong, O lord of Śacī, may the questioned Veda not harm me.

20.60.2 I lift up Heaven and Earth together with the plants. I take hold of offspring; I release the waters.

20.60.3 O Waters, do not shake out of us our mental power, do not shake out the brahman. You flow as nourishers — I am called forth as one of fine intelligence and full of radiant power.

20.60.4 Do not injure our mental power, do not injure our consecration, do not injure our austerity. May the Waters be our auspicious mothers through all our span of life.

20.60.5 May offspring of all forms take delight here; may the all-sustaining mothers in this cattle-stall, entering around the home-fire, know us with milk and with ghee.

20.60.6 You are sources of joy, you are sources of delight; you rest in me, lean upon me. You are called Manotā — village Apsarases; I know you, I understand you — enter into me.

20.60.7 O Śarva, blue-crested hero, in every act and deed — strike down this man's boasting, by reason of which we are in dispute with him.

20.60.8 The tertian fever, the non-tertian, the continual fever, the Takman, and also the royal consumption — as mighty Śakra released the tertian fever, so I release it; I bind that tertian fever in this plant.

20.60.9 To the great road with its wings outstretched I have made obeisance.

20.60.10 To Indra, to the glittering road I have made obeisance.

20.61.1 To the tiger that bites on both sides, I have paid homage on the road.

20.61.2 Homage to you, O prosperous Pathyā; lead me not away from well-being, bring me back to well-being. Moreover, grant us well-being; may we live and enjoy light.

20.61.3 We worship Āmanasa, the one who eats truth, the household priest. I worship first that god who made this one Āmanasa.

20.61.4 O Āmanaska, O divine one, O divine one who has mounted high — bring him down hither, the beloved one whom I desire.

20.61.5 This Agni is our overseer; this one is richest in good things for us. May we not be harmed in approaching him; may he protect our progeny.

20.61.6 May we flourish a thousandfold in this, blazing in our own home. May we kindle this fire together, long-lived and of good radiance.

20.61.7 The pure-haired one with dark fruit, the kabrū plant, healer of consumption, destroyer of śuktivalga — may the goddess grant the remedy.

20.61.8 The aśvattha tree is the seat of the gods in the third heaven from here. There was born the red tree, śigru, the swift-acting medicine.

20.61.9 There Bhava does not smite, nor does Śarva shoot his arrow — there where you, O god Tumburu, grow upon the mountains.

20.61.10 One grows in the cultivated field, the other spreads over the mountain. May these two eternal protectors, Śigru and Tumburu, come here.

20.62.1 As many leaves, as many fruits, as many nodes upon it — so many are the vigors of Tumburu; that indeed is your antidote to poison.

20.62.2 O Rudra, with your cooling medicine — we have calmed this disease with the jalāṇi plant.

20.62.3 Heaven stood firm, the earth stood firm, this broad atmosphere stood firm. Like the heart of a roaring bull, I calm your heart.

20.62.4 May the Maruts sprinkle me; may that Rohiṇī of the sky sprinkle me; may this Agni sprinkle me with offspring and wealth, and make long life for me.

20.62.5 By night the two bay horses hunt; by day they are the eagle and the red bird. To Bhava and to Śarva — to both of them I have paid homage.

20.62.6 Homage to Bhava, homage to Śarva, homage to the foe of the young. Homage to the blue-crested one, homage to the one who strides into the assembly.

20.62.7 To him whose two bay mules, like donkeys, run on both sides — to that blue-crested one, homage to the one who strides into the assembly.

20.62.8 Yonder comes the porpoise, yonder comes it with the pulīka fish. O destroyer of the young, mount — water is the encircling charm.

20.62.9 Just as this small cloud falls away from Parjanya, so may the abhīlī blemish fall away from my face, O Aśvins.

20.62.10 O abhīlī, disappear from here, further away — do not blight my skin. With the prayer of Agastya, we destroy the abhīlī.

20.63.1 Destroy the sesicā and upatvacā — drive away the abhīlī of many forms from the face.

20.63.2 Whatever impurity has climbed onto my face through some hostile deed — may the Sun sweep that away, as the wind sweeps śīpāla from water.

20.63.3 May the abhīlī fall away from me as a cloud carried off by the wind. May gold come to me; may my face be auspicious.

20.63.4 Just as gold shines at the rising of the sun, so may my face shine with golden color, O Aśvins.

20.63.5 When the fierce birds rushed forward like impetuous cattle — let them smite away the dark skin; may my face be auspicious.

20.63.6 Sent by Indra, O owl — I cook you together.

20.63.7 Sent by Soma, O owl — I cook you together.

20.63.8 Sent by Sūrya, O owl — I cook you together.

20.63.9 Sent by Bṛhaspati, O owl — I cook you together.

20.63.10 Sent by Prajāpati, O owl — I cook you together.

20.64.1 You are the messenger of the Seizure, O owl — I cook you up together.

20.64.2 You are the messenger of Dissolution, O owl — I cook you up together.

20.64.3 You are the messenger of Varuṇa, O owl — I cook you up together.

20.64.4 You are the messenger of Death, O owl — I cook you up together.

20.64.5 You are the messenger of Yama, O owl — I cook you up together.

20.64.6 King Varuṇa dug you up, given over by tawny Soma; we know you as the scorching one — having snatched away his heart, burn it.

20.64.7 Make him grieve, scorch him, afflict him together with fever — just as fire overtook the joints of one burning, so let it lick up his heart; make his eyes blaze with longing for the one who has not looked upon me even for a moment.

20.64.8 This very fire shall bring you here; the wind shall lift you up from there toward Yama — him whom you would turn away: alas, his mind is here, is yours.

20.64.9 May Agni scorch you, may the Sun scorch you, may the Wind yoke you and the Maruts yoke you as well — come hither, scorched through and through by rays of light.

20.64.10 I tear the hairs from your limbs, I cook your flesh, I set your bones ablaze — let your mind find delight here, let your mind find delight in me.

20.65.1 This ball, this crunching ball — Smara, the Pāñcāla, the Scorcher, the Clattering One — burn the heart of that dear one whom I desire.

20.65.2 As this fire burns, as the Sun burns — so let your mind burn, your heart, limb by limb and joint by joint; you shall not find rest here unless longing for me.

20.65.3 As fire heats an axe, as it heats the adze that gnaws wood, as the rising Sun scorches everything — so let your mind burn, your heart, limb by limb and joint by joint; you shall not find rest here unless longing for me.

20.65.4 May Heaven and Earth scorch you together — you shall not find rest here unless longing for me.

20.65.5 Remember! Let him remember her who inflames with fever of the limbs — afflict him with fever, the perennial fever, with longing for me.

20.65.6 Eighty-eight thousand times he has spoken past my word; I spoke here, afar — there afar you are going to your setting.

20.65.7 The love-spell that Sumitrā worked for Sumitrā, stripping her of garments — just as she never once slept soundly for longing of him — so too let that one never once sleep soundly for longing of me.

20.65.8 Fire scorches the waters all around; the Sun traverses the sky all around — may Indra the Vṛtra-slayer scorch you all around on my behalf.

20.65.9 As the wind blows down, as the Sun burns — even so, O Indra Vṛtra-slayer, bring that one here to me.

20.65.10 The śālālava plant, the alluring one, brought from forest to forest — by which Gaya the Gandharva drew the Apsarases to himself — by that same I draw that one to me, from the range of Death, from the farthest distance.