Asurikalpa -- atharva veda

THE EISENHOWER LIBRARY

1151

02538 4748

THE ASURi-KALPA WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE

ATHARVA-VEDA, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION, AND COMMENTARY.

DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY.

By H. W.

MAGOUN.

1889.

BALTIMORE: Press of Isaac Friedenwald, 32 S.

Paca

St.

THfe

ASURI-KALPA

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE

ATHARVA-VEDA, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, COMMENTARY.

AND

DISSERTATION HE BO RD OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY.

PRESENTED TO

By H. W.

MAGOUN.

1889.

BALTIMORE Press of Isaac Friedenwald, 32 S.

Paca

St.

DEDICATED

TO PROFESSOR MAURICE BLOOMFIELD

OF THE

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

WITH THE SINCERE REGARD AND GRATITUDE OF

THE AUTHOR.

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ASURI-KALPA; THE ATHARVA-VEDA. I.— INTRODUCTION.

The

ritual literature

Vedas, ha

Of

attached to

of the Atharva-Veda, like that of the other itself certain

parifistas, or supplements.

MS,

these, the thirty-fifth, according to the best accessible

Asurl-Kalpa, an abhicara,

the

taining rites to

in

or witchcraft practice, con-

connectio

with the asurl-plant.

question as to what this plant was will be discussed below.

use of the word kalpa for such the

text

is

explained by

Atharvanlya-Paddhati, which

of Uparvarsa,' that in addition to the five

handed down by

considered as smrti

MSS

Three of

have been consulted

th ri

AV. kalpas

to the

a,

in

kalpas which

preparing

this paper.

Asuri-Kalpa.

the third

am

say that

MSS,

of these

is

Just here

greatly indebted to Dr. Bloomfield for the use

for the

encouragement and assistance which he has

given me, and for his kindness in looking over

MSS

Two

All three are loans to Dr.

Bloomfield from the British Government in India,

may

are to be

tradition.'

them are copies ofjhe parifistas of the AV.

commentary

in

which are called

certain other

inspired,'

The The

passage

on

states,

Vaitana, Naksatra, ^anti, and prz^/z

is

my

work.

The

are as follows

A,

large sheecs of light yellow

written lengthwise in care.

bound

in

book form,

hand and with considerable

copy.

It is

JB,

large clear

paper,

narrow sheets of light blue paper, bound

in

book form,

written lengthwise, text fuller in places than the preceding, but in

poor hand and with numerous Both of these

copy.

(Scholiast),

sheets

MSS

much

numbered

must be

mimansa J.

(purva-)

MSS, teacher.

II, pp. 319-49.

but

in

See

the edges, written

very poor, though large,

Life and Essays

of H.

T.

XI 377, Bloomfield, On the Position of the Vaitanathe Literature of the Atharva-Veda.

A. O.S.

Sutra in

very recent

23.

of light brown paper grown dark at

Colebrooke, Vol. 2Cf.

It

older than either of the preceding, single

lengthwise as the other

'A

are

errors.

THE ASUKI-KALPA. hand.

ib-6a') contains

all

one-fourth of the

MS.

th

practice

MS. JPart third

preceded

but

in brief

MS

is

an elaborate commentary on what has

is

present condition deals with only about two-

in its

MS

numbered 120; but

is

some

lacks

From

the margin, S47-

be as old as one hundred and

folios at the close.'

marked

also

and, on the last

sam. {saihvat) 1880-81

(^pattrdni) 18;

written across the

folio,

MS

the appearance

fifty

it

looks.

who

saying

It

is

be as

[comes into being].

as the

(see p. 11, note 19)

by

not to be uttered (performed) with-

by the precept of

out teachers cess)

mantra]

names Mahadeva

it

commentary

introduces his

[the

MS may

contains about 200 ^lokas.

It

At the beginning of part third speaker,'

might

it

years; and since sam. 1880-8/

probably has reference to Kielhorn's Report,' the old as

only of

treats

and occupies scarcely one-tenth

rite,

thirds of the practices, since the

This

(ScXxos

form, and occupies about

Part second (folios Sa'-jb")

the e.xternals of the principal

of the

IP art fivst

contains three sections or chapters,

It

teacher this magic power (suc-

Accordingly

commen-

single final

in

tary the Asurl-[rite] should succeed,'

vhid gurun akariavyam gJirtivdkyena siddhtdam

ekdntiniatikdmadhye (cod. ekdnte-) sddhayet

Mahadeva^

is

spoken of as the seer

and as becomes

ta

dsiiri.

after

to

be in fact

the text and differing from

it

pari?

version

some passages, but

in

still

is

a,

been put into gloka form where the

second and third The

p. 5, foot-note i.

MS

seemed

They have

MS

but for this text all rules

to warrant

Readings

it.

are so marked. is

catalogued on p.

'The parigistas as whole are in the form History of Indian Literature, p. 153. *The conjectural reading siddh'idam requires widely in places from

fuller than

essentially the same.

chief points of difference have been noted as readings of S.

regarded as neu.

which he

instructions concerning the rites.

full

^JPavt first seems

See

2.

rsi he speaks of the Gayatri, Tristubh, and

proceeds to give

horn j)(irfs

sldhi-'),

divine asurl-text,*

Anustubh metres {gdyatrHnstuba7msh(pchandah'),

The

(cod.

it

may be

of grammar,

58.

Weber,

of dialogues.

Cf.

regular fern,

noun

allowable, since the

and also

MS

treats siddhi as

to

be

departs neu. in

other passages.

The comma and the simplest (I

and

An

It is

period

means of

(,

and

.)

have been used in

transliterating

all

the two Sanskrit

Sanskrit passages as

marks of punctuation

II).

epithet of

Rudra

an appropriate

or ^iva, also of

title,

Visnu and the name of various persons.

Great-Lord," for the teacher of such

*asya ^rydsurimantrasya (cod. friastd-) mahadeva

rsiJl,

text,

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Apart from because

contains

it

sapta

is

satpa

interest,

little

abundant evidence of the character of the

people having to do with

may

few examples

possesses no

subject-matter

its

its

gtes.

It

The common

show.

suffice to

exceedingly corrupt, as

is

for silksma,

for dsurl, asiiri

writing for

suksma

for ciirna,

curna, Qic: jukiyat 3X\djilhiydta are used ior juhuydt for

mriyaie,

for

abhi-

rdayam

etc.

(beginning of

tithir, etc.:

some

from

was bad

due

th

MS

presen

is

which

of

is

in

it

may

it

at the start

for

all

it

but

every single instance.^

part to later copyists

in

the scribes should be guilty of if

common

eight different ways,

in

the present state of corruption,

MS

for

phonetic standpoint, and the writing of the

errors are doubtless

original

titha

notably the use of cy

for muficati),

mistake of some kind

twelve times, with

-yet

for

exceedingly

in spelling occur,

for curna,

interest

is

bhimantritefia

samdhi:

paid to

is

and vice versa,

for

word vagika7-tukdma

The

karaye

sentence)

and other curious freaks {cyurna

found for hrdayam

or no attention

little

sion of sibilants,'

for

is

?nryaie

be safe to

but,

from

infer that the

seems hardly possible that

the errors which

it

contains, even

the result of several successive transcriptions.

The

nature of the mistakes stamps the writer at once as an igno-

rant

and perhaps degraded person.

as

might be expected

among

doctor

to

be written

document

It

is

in

English by some

Numerous

the South.

the

Voodoo

repetitions

when the brief combined with the commentary

serve to light up otherwise hopeless passages, and

parijista are

outlines

the whole practice becomes clear.

No

two of the

MSS

agree in the order in which the different forms treated,

na el great

and J5 has he

parifista

service

parigista nical in

its

passage not found

in is

is

the

like the

true

reading.^

In

are

Fortu-

mostly written in glokas, which

determining

somewhat

rite

or S.

in either

exactly

style

is

of

the

sutras, being terse and tech-

forms of expression, and consisting mostly of what

may

Proc. a. O. S., May, 1886. Introduction to the Study of the Old-Indian Sibilants; by Prof. Bloomfield and Dr. Edward H. Spieker. ^It may be said in addition that there is hardly sentence in the entire MS in which there are not mistakes in the case-forms, the most common being the 'Cf.

use of

stem-form for an ace.

In the

text,

best to omit

it;

where

MS

so, in the

reading

is

of

quotations from

no importance, the

MS

it

has been thought

reading has been omitted

where the emendation is obvious, where the same mistake is repeated several times, and, in few instances, where MS evidence warrants the change; on th ther hand, where it has been thought best to do so, the passage has been quoted

verbatim.

THE ASURI-KALPA. be called rules nary

the

commentary

more

of course,

is,

like

an ordi-

text.

In this paper the attempt has been correct version of the allow, but also

citing,

mostly from the

first

division,

on the same part of the

commentary accompanying the throw

upon those already

light

matters not treated of

its

en

translation such other passages as cited, or give

an idea of additional

way most

In this

all.

at the

of the

same

commentary

not that the

for, as

has been shown,

much importance

is

work of

represents the

it

in itself,

person of

intelligence apparently, certainly of small acquirements

dark chapter

practice of witchcraft forms

and anything that throws

light

in the history of

upon the

attitude of

devotees have practiced their curious

despised. gestions to practice

rites

is

little

but that

the picture of the whole might be as complete as possible.

which

time,

tiresome minuteness of detail and unending repeti-

tions

kind,

text,

and by incorporating into the

rite,

the text at

in

such passages, with the

have been preserved without,

salient points of

copying

not only to

pari gista, so far as the material at hand to reproduce to some extent the scholiast by

would

as bear

made

The man-

mind

in

not to be

may not be without their sugThe "meditations" oi those who care to read between the lines, and the whole curious bit of evidence of the power of superstition

is

human mind. While the Asurl-Kalpa has proved and has afforded some opportunity for over the

altogether unfruitful in

new

rich field for emendation,

conjecture,

it

material, as the following

has not been list will

show.

SIMPLE STEMS.

Denominative Verb: pidaya.Xo

Nouns (members

of

tree or plant of

ravi,^

lection of six.

sruca

compounds}

some

kind,

grind up,

nadika .jar//

make

into meal.

[;ia.j//],

(not in

comp.),

col-

(?) [.yrz^^],. sacrifice-ladle.

Adjectives: pretaka

\_preta\

belonging to

dead [man].

0) jigdi!ia, desiring to conquer. klrm, ksdiim, and fr/m." Particles

Possibly

daughter. Analogical Vocative: duhite \diihitar\ New Meanings or Uses: .y/^rfffz^ar/ (compound stem), asur (plant

and probably

possibly

Qri.

also goddess).

caturtham

(?),

So

lak.pnl,

apparently and

fourthly (as adverb).

25, foot-note 4.

Evidently from

muttered

spell,

Qri 'beauty, welfare.'

and have,

therefore,

These words are used

no particular meaning.

as part of

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. COMPOUND STEMS.

Nouns:

utkarana, overcoming

aprajaiva, childlessness,

Adjectives: daksinakarnika, having south,

devija,

garment,

goddess-born,

day (A. M., M., and

'a?w, at

(watches) of the day. Possibly

the three parts of the

dindstakam, at the

(?)

eight

parts

saptdhayiam, at the seventh dawn.

karmakdrikd

apardjaya, invincibleness. deed-performer,

ndgendra,

kdma, the desire

to render submissive.

some

reddish

MORE GENERAL CHARACTER.

COMPOUNDS OF

plant of

having

VossWAy pratyd7}tukha,i2iC\ng.

M.)

P.

point (ear) to the

its

raktavdsasa,

agyag; a, snhdn^d.

Neuters as Adverbs:

(?).

plant,

of adj. -rakd),

(fern,

probably Betel,

vaglkarhi-

Possibly also surati,

kind.

few words have as yet baffled

solution.

They

one time have occupied

posi-

all

attempts at

be mentioned as they occur.

will

That the Asurl-Kalpa must

some importance appears from

tion of

according

to

ture offered

cakalpali

is

Mahabhasya IV

the

in

In this connection

19b.

f.

the fact that

it is

mentioned,

Weber, Ind. Stud. XIII 415, under the

Asurlyah Kalpah

kam

at

it

may

by Professor Bloomfield

i,

Vartti-

19,

be added that the conjec-

(J.

XI

A. O. S.

378)

''pafi-

probably not to be understood (with Weber, Ind. Stud.

XIII 455) as one studying five different kalpas, i. e. grduta-siltras, but means an Atharvavedin who is familiar with these five kalpas," i.

the five belonging to the AV., has recently been confirmed

e.

by th discovery, made by the same kalpi {siem -hi) used

words

the

This of

(loc. cit.), the

In the

(AV.

Wort ist in Kaugika-Sutra, 8, VI

II 2,

which

object of

is

Atharva-Parigis No.

37

No.

for

32,

each

No.

3f.

67a) mentions but says

define,

to

24, is

mentioned

preventing or

gana

removing of

ta^ 34, 4, mentions the

of

hymns

mdirndmdni, the

tide

same

Report on the Search for Sanskrit

86.

bay Presidency, '^A.

the

mean

der vorliegenden Beziehung unklar."

and VIII 6) under the

III,

to

and mdtrkalpikali.

pdrdgarakalpikali,

Letzleres

it

(Vartt.

word Weber does not attempt

last

pafica-

In cown^cXionyNXth. pancakalpali, says

Mahabhas ya

kdlpasiltrali,

word

Kaug. MS*

the colophon of

Kau?. MS.

the writer of

Weber

in

scholar, of the

evil;

gana

MSS

and

with the

in the

Bom-

1880-81, by F. Kielhorn. 34.

MS gives

The

between

latter it

numbering makes the Asuri-Kalpa No.

and the

two other

THE ASURI-KALFA. AV. IV 20, under the same 7ndtrgiincihr As kdlpastltrali means one

name.'

addition of

Sat

ras, and Piirdgaraka/pikah

son

who had

that the

made it

If

it

pa-

per-

safe to infer

is

familiar with or

may

text

yet be

priest in connectio

use of

ritual for the

with

aThe presence of these words in t-he which contains many Atharvanic words not found

a,

a.

as they are

elsewhere, cited that they were

without explanation, goes to show

by the people of

well understood

all

and therefore referred

to rites

Hindoos that the mere name was

and practices so

As they

Asuri-Kalpah is also that the Asurl-Kalpah

and the word no doubt

are

Patafijali's

familiar to the

make

sufficient to

understand the author's meaning.

all

the reader

Atharvanic,

Atharvanic, jhere can be

and

the

Asurlyah

may have

are essentially the same, though the text

some changes

suffered

///

ever appears, Professor Bloomfield conjectures that

o^

this

time,

al

have been used of

atr-Kalpa, and such

prove to be

will

to

studied the

of the

also adds,

familiar with the

Parag ara-Kalpa,Mt word mdirkalpikali meant one who was

use

found.

seems

It

uses of

r,

and

at

is

it

the hands of later authorities on the

must have

evident that the

had considerable currency among those who made use of Atharvan Additional evidence of the familiarity of the Hindoos with rites. such practices

be found

to

is

Laws

the

in

of

Manu

(XI 63^

where the practice of witchcraft {abhicdrd) and of magic with roots lyvnilakarviari)

mentioned

practices are old

back, therefore, in

On

marks of

list

of secondary crimes

all

fact

that such

they must have been well established when

for

Manava-Dharma^astra

our era.

in

This reference also makes clear the

{upapdtaka). the

is

took

it

present

must be said

that the

mentions the Hindoo

late origin.

shape,

and go

some hundreds of years before

probability,

the other hand,

its

MSS

bear

trinity {bralmia-

vhmihard), contains the Buddhistical word hevara, uses the gen. for the loc.

and

ins., etc.;

and

fers to the a-declension, etc.)

of the dictionaries, beside the

Mahabhiseka

latter

or

evidently

the

34.

Not 3Cf.

has

Weber,

Omina

A. ox

et

analogy and not cited

alpa.

in

any

after

the

does not number the

Mahabhiseka

The Peters. Lex., with A, makes

The numbering

Bloomfield's edition of the

to

nuloma-K

Asurl-Ka

a-K alpa No. iCf.

due

contain forms (trans-

exhibiting in the subject-matter certain

and the

corruption for JJ.

MSS

the

all

pp. 350-53-

but see Bloomfield,

Weber, Ind. Stud. XIII

445.

is

Anulo-

has been taken to correspond to Dr.

of

Kau9. Portenta,

the

what

Kaug.

S,

24, note

5.

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. They

tendencies which are recognized as modern.

are mentioned

below.

The word

dsurl'xs the fern, of

an

adj.

and therefore means primarily,

from asura

belonging

Under the form

to,

spirit,

demon,"

or having to

do

dsuri, the

Peters.

Lex. gives the meaning, schwarzer Senf, Sinapis

ramosa

demons."

with, spirits or

Roxb.^

From pungent

with

moreover, refer to

MSS,

the evidence of the leaf,

and must bear

dsuri must be

{phald) and flowers

fruit

religious meditation (dhydna) of S,

anything

else,

speaks of the

plant

which can hardly

bright four-sided granter of

wishes"; then of the same as "reddish," "blue-colored," "having

sword

hand," "having

in the

hook

appear below.

characteristics of the plant, as will

meal of rajika' (rdjikdm fact,

occurs

dsuri, is

only in

in

pMayed made

as

true of the

latter

word rdjasarsapa,

upon

In describing

budhali), while

into meal.

part third,

and always where the

red-

The wise man should make

pari^ista says:

passage speaks of

having

All these expressions are based

stone' in the hand," etc.

the oblation the

the hand,"

in

in

The word

rdjikd., in

never in connection with

The same

might be expected.

for

the same

example,

vidhdne parvavat karmapratimdm rdjasarsapdiJi,

purvavat kdrayen nydsam, chedayet piirvavad

apt.

In [his] preparation, as before, [one should cause] an image for the rite [to

be made] with black mustard seeds.

As

in the

former case, he should cause the [limb]-placing ceremony to be

performed

he should cause [the image] to be chopped also as

left untranslated above, is The word rdjikd, common name for the Black Mustard of India. This plant has

before.'

the

bright yellow flowers, and bears small dark seeds contained in

pod which beak.'^

In

is

all

tipped by

members of

pervades the entire the plant actually

the

used, and

saw

Roxburg, Flora Indie

it

is

goddess a,

and seedless

Mustard Family, the pungency

There can be no doubt

plant.^

superstitious devotee

Wm.

long, straight, flattened,

plain in

that

the

the

that this

was

ignorant and

itself,^

and found,

Semapore, 1832.

The Black Mustard of -Hooker, Flora of British India, 157. Europe, which is closely related, is described as having smooth erect pods They sword-shaped style. which are somewhat four-sided and tipped with The Black Mustard of the contain small dark brown or nearly black seeds. U. S. is similar. ^Gray, Introduction

Structural and Systematic Botany, and Vegetable Physiology. 1873, p. 389 f. Cf. the frequent similar personification of the AV. •*

to

THE ASUKI-KALFA. perhaps,

the effect of the seeds

in

The

her supernatural power.'

upon

(j-udhird) mentioned

red-stone

above, and defined by the dictionaries as

means the seeds

ruby, here plainly

pod

plant, while the

pod of the asurl-

was the subduing of another

one's will, or the destruction of an

Manu

the

in

probably the "sword," and possibly

itself is

chief object to be attained

of the

certain red stone, not

hook."

also the

The

an evidence of

his palate

AV.

for the latter

hymns

the

word

is

of the Atharva-Veda,'

of

utter (perform)

him be] without

[let

hymns

Laws

sanctioned by the

the Brahman's weapon,

is

use of the

'With the thought 'one should

(XI 33)

the

purpose

The

enemy.

to

you know, with

hesitation

it

the twice-

born should smite [his] enemies,' gruiir atharvdiigirasili kiirydd ity avicdrayan,

vdk gastraih vdi brdhnianasya iena hanydd

The

other practice, as has been stated,

the

same

rite

pronounced criminal by

is

briefly as

itself is

into meal, with

follows

after

which he makes an image representing the person

Having muttered

he desires to overcome or destroy.

anoints stance,

it

with ghee (melted butter), curds, or some similar sub-

and

finally

burns

it

accomplishes the

it

can be duplicated

witchcraft has been practiced.

contains

similar practice, in

in

in

destruction of the

various countries, the

still

survives in

which

The Samavidhana-Brahmana which an image of dough is roasted

An image

sorcerer.

idea that

almost any country

so as to cause the moisture to exude, and

and eaten by the

The

does him serious harm,

person represented, or

and

sacred-fire-pot."

in

an image thus destroyed India,

cer-

he chops up the image,

tain spells to give efficiency to the rite,

used

dvijdh. jj.

introductory ceremonies, the person grinds up mustard

certain

whom

The

authority.

arm

life

of the

it

is

then cut to pieces

wax has been largely enemy represented having of

been supposed to waste away as the wax gradually melted over slow

This

fire.

Romans,

to

the

process

was known

Germans, and even

This may also account

for the

name, since

to

the

Greeks, to

to the Chaldeans." at the

time

when

the vari-

these practices

originated the Hindoos were both very superstitious and extremely unscientific in

all

matters pertaining to natural

quite naturall

assign th

phenomena, and they would,

pungency of the plant

to

some

spirit or

therefore,

demon.

Hon Epod. XVII 76 Grimm, Deutsche MytholLenormant, Chaldean Magic, p. 5, foot-note i, and p. 63; ogie, 1047 Burnell, Samavidhana-Brahmana, Vol. I, Introd. p. xxv, and see p. 26, ^Cf.Theocr. Idyll II 28, ff.

foot-note

I,

end.

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. same performance

ation

name

hated

to

it,

and

set

This

the material used

is

it

is

to

the image with pins, attach

fill

away

said to be

England

and early

used against the our

own

It

making of an

by means of sorcery, was

destruction

his

the

e.

i.

Nizam

for

on Henry VI of similar

Among

of the Deccan.^

be used

effigy to

tried

parts

reported ^that

is

the present century

in

some

practiced in

still

of America, England and the Continent.' practice of this kind,

dry up according to

to melt or

trick

was

the Indians of

country, the Ojibway sorcerers were supposed to be able

to transfer

somewhat

person to another by

disease

They were accustomed to make, for the patient who paid them, small wooden image representing his enemy

similar process.

then, piercing th

heart of this image, they put in small powders,

and pretended by

this

to

means, with the help of certain incantations,

The

accomplish the desired end.'

fact that

so universally used in witchcraft practices

than the fact that sent their

gods

made

nations have

all

is

in religious worship,

an image

been

no more remarkable

use of images to repre-

and the two things may both

be referred to some law of the human mind by which similar

There

conditions produce similar results.

of

dough other than

desire to injure,

what

is

rm

to

in their turn

fact that

each

the outcome

is

to think

of

same expedient.

practices of the

or

either to

mere

the Hindoo's

and nature teaches them both

practically the

The minor

the

no discoverable con-

wooden image and

nection between the Ojibway's effigy of

is

Asurl-Kalpa, which

an

or

good

the part of the author to furnish

practitioner, will

to

They seem

below.

are designed

desire

to indicate

short cut to

power and

to

on

some

of the more important blessings which were supposed to be gained

by the

sacrifices

practices of the

prescribed

Asurl-Kalpa,

whole,

as

sition to supplant certain religious

while endeavoring at the

Brahmanas;

by the

Brahmans or did not bestow

show

dispo-

forms by simpler magical

same time

which religious practices either

to

indeed, the

to obtain

for

harm

the hands of the educated

left in

at all.

powers

rites,

It

must be added, however,

that the belief in the efficacy of repetition, so conspicuous in the

modern prayer-mills of the Asurl-Kalpa, as in there

is,

all

is

other

here

lainly to be seen.

Demonology and Devil-Lore,

Asiatic Studies,

In

Indian witchcraft practices,

of course, an underlying stratum of skepticism

Conway, Lyall,

Thibet,

Vol.

I, p.

272.

p. 88.

Dorman, Origin of Primitive Superstitions,

p. 361.

but the

THE ASUKI-KALPA.

10

power of the

great

enjoined upon one

priests

who undertakes

are confined to the latter part of

practices for obtaining blessings

the pari fist

a,'

and, from their general character, seem like an

perhaps

of the original practices,

extension

The

Brahman.

subdue

to

by

recognized

tacitly

is

the purpose of

for

giving additional currency or respectability to the whole; they

may

possibly be regarded as

however ancient

a,

main practices may

its

Asurl-

further indication that the be,

is,

in its present

shape, comparatively modern.

At the present time

shown by our

the interest

none the

in witchcraft is

felt

surprisingly large and growing literature on

subject.^ is

America, the interest

in

To

less strong.

and while the native

the

felt is

the

different nature, but

of

Hindoo the

subject

gi

literature referring to

it

living one,

is

nd superstition

has always been great, at present, especially in the vernacular dialects,

So great

people.^

craft

hold upon the natives that Lyall says of

is its

ever been so comfortably practiced as

British rule"

;'

in India

again,

fact"; and just below,

keep

of the

probable that in no other time or country has witch-

It is

it :*

enormous, and forms the favorite reading

is

it

it is

now

everyone believes

in India

in witchcraft as

India they

In every village

whose profession

hereditary servant

under

it

ward

to

off

impending hailstorms by incantations, by consulting the motion of water

in

Beside

certain

may

this

and by dancing about with

pots,

be placed the statement of Conway,* that there

made

are 84,000 charms to produce evil

present time.

far as

it

MSS

shown by

{2)

at

the

Asurl-Kalpa may

not have

in vain.

'Both as

use of in Ceylon

throws light on the past history of

such practices, the work on the

been

sword."

where

recognize

division of the practices

and

the figures (/

has one

alone contains.

been marked

It

in

and JB apparently into three

lacks the

Roman

number

numerals, since

MSS

it

do not do

same general

division are all

the end.

at

A. into two,

for

it

has

two

one (/) in the passage which

may be

(/),

okas, although the

the

2),

into groups

The

divisions of

it

have

has been thought best to number so.

The

practices

of the second

nature.

-See Poole's Index, third edition, iS32, under the headings Witch-

Demonology, Magic, etc. Burnell, Sam vidh ana-Brahman a,

craft, •^

Asiatic Studies,

^"Of

course

swindling

(1

xxv.

1882, p. 96.

the witch c.

I, p.

is

punished when he takes to poisoning

t.)

'Demonology and Devil-Lore,

274.

or pure

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

CRITICAL NOTES, AND EXTRACTS FROM THE SCHOLIAST.

II.— TEXT,

om namo rudrdya>,

kahcke kaUckapaitre' subhaga dsuri

oi'n

rakte^ rakiavdsase*, atharvanasya dichite' 'ghore

amukam

rike\

II

^ghorakarmakd-

hana' hana daha daha paca paca mantha^ mantha

me vaqam dnayaW

idvad daha tdvat paca ydvan vasthitdyds'^ tdvaf^

japed ydvat

svapiti,

svdhd.^" gayyd-

prasthitdyd" gatwi daha

daha svdhd svdha, upavistdyd bhagam^* daha daha svdhd svdhd, sttptdyd^^ mano daha daha svdhd svdhd svdhd svdhd, prabuddhdyd

hrdayam

ah

svdh

svdh

svdhd svdhd svdhd.^^

athdta dsiirlkalpam^'' zcpadeksydmo^^ 'tharvanali,

ndsyds

iithir^^

na naksatram nopavdso

vidhiyate.

i.

ghriddisarvadravyesv'^'' dsurf^ gatajdpitd,

I.

and

7iamali.

2.

begins griganegdya

omit these three words.

MSS

all

three) regularly patra.

and

3.

omit.

5. So MSS from transition stem in -a. In all cases where (all three), analog, voc, as if from stem in -d. -kdrake; -karike, an a- is elided it is written in the MSS.— 6.

So

4.

MSS (all three), fern,

hana 2. —7. Ji hana, amukasya matii'n daha 10. omits. 8. 9. MSS -naya. daha, iipavMasya subhagam (cod. gii-^ daha daha, snptasya ma7io daha daha, prabuddhasya hrdayam daha daha hana hajia paca paca paca (cod. pra-') matha matha idvad daha daha ydvan me also vagam dydti hrlm hmii phat svdhd, iti mulat7iantrah. but in one passage

calls

it

13.

(p. 23)

atharvanama7itrali.

prachit'dydpagatim.

svaptdya.

16.

-kdrinl.

12. ]S Agisyd-. 14. JS magam.—iS-

etdv-.

11.

part third

omits,

Of certain one,' upaviddyd bhagam daha daha,

devadaitasya

['

daha daha, snptdyd mano (cod. 7nard) daha daha, prabuddhdyd hrdayatn (cod. rda-') daha daha paca hana matha (cod. ra atha) idvad daha ydva7i me (cod. -vakie') vaga7n dnayo (cod. -ya') hum phat svdhd. technical use] viaiim

17. iSi

17.

{spr-')

Epilepsy,"

nagaram

Fever," kustha.

sa prsthato

silksmetat

dra-,B

'nucaro st'iktam

has,

uglram tagaram kmtham zisrdm othasitghdthaih Q.) {'^'^^') pagcaka (pa/lcakam), dsuripuspasamyuktam siiksmacilrnam tu kdrayet 108, (cod. -yet, tendcatdbhi loS)

abhimantritena (cod. mantrl-') yasya gati (sprgati) gavago (savagd) bhavati (bhavet). 14.

THE ASURI-KALPA.

14

achidrapattrdny asita nqirali' sarmpds iaihd, etacciirndt piirvaphalam- eidig cdivdparajaya¥. 13.

ktisumdni vianahgild priyangictagardni*

gajendramadasamyukta))t

ydg

kiih

tdiii

ca,

hirvdnas

tv

akimkaram".

14.

vaqah pddakpinalf

ca' striyo 'bhigachaniitd

sapuspdrif

I.

samdddydnjanam ndgakeqara'w>\

15.

anendktdbhydni''' aksjbhydm yam''' pagyet sa ca kimkarah,

anjanam tagaram

devljam

kiistham'''

kddham

eva ca. 16.

mdhsl ca sarvabJultdndm sdicbhdgyasya hi kdranani"', tatsaviidhdm lakmhomdn nidhdnam pagyate viahaV''.

17.

sarpir\_dadhi'^'\madhvakfapaitrdndm vrddhapuirf sahasratali,

rdjyam tu labhate vaqyam

tatpattratrisahasraiah'*. 18.

ok as 13-18 directly after the pasputs 2. uclram. has yuvatphala ghate cdi-. sage which it alone contains.— 3. I.

instead,

dsuriptisipapaiirdni pmpdni ca phaldni ca,

ndgend'raphalasamyuktam silksmacurnam he kdrayet 108, abliimantritena yana (yasya) sprgati sa vago bhavati {-vet). mrjyamyti

4.

ta-.

15.

has,

manaligild priyangug ca iagaram ndgakegaram, dstcnphalasaihy7iktam silk^maciirnam tu kdrayet 108 [a^tagatdni'], abhimantrite7iaya(yasya)sprh {sprgati) savagobhavati{-vet). 16.

akrdvaram.

gajciidrdsa saih-.—6.

5.

7.

Ayasyd.—S.

10. MSS pwhf^pdndmtsa-. pdramdalepaldt.—(^. yam yam pagyet sa anjanetdktdm.—\2. -kesara7n.—ii. abhimantritena cakamv aujayitvd yam nirjksayaii kimkarah. has instead,— hista.— \^. omits, sa vago bhavati.— \^.

-lepanali,

dsuryangapaucakendtmd7iam dhfipayet, yasydgagahdham (!) {yo 'sya gandham

?)

tighrati {ji-) sa vagyo

bhavati. 18. It

also reverses the

order of the two following statements.

15.

has,— dadhimadhughrtdkidm htdvdsurlm juMiydt, ?nahdnidhd7iani labhate dagasahasrdni, gatdytir vdi purtisd {-sah). 20.

Omit on account of metre? labhate putram. 19.— ilhutvd 16.

tratridhdnam

pad

to

(9loka

which

it

-i'r/^fl'/za^ra/i^A,

18 end inclusive.

end of

first

continues with

pa da

rdjydrthaih madlnighridktdm sa

rdjyam

labhate. 21.

repeating from

then has sdrdham

It

to

^loka

madhughrtdktdm tatpavrdvapannm.—i^. dstirim

^loka

12

19 {siivarna-).

end

floka

17 last acetasali

inclusive), after

has,

juhuydd dsurllakqmlm,

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. stcvarnasahasraprdptis^ tatpattrdndm tu laksaiah,

sahasrajapdc^ ca iadvad udake ksirabhaksmah. zp.

Hha kalaqe^ paldqipallavdn

vdripilrne

ksipei*,

sndndd alaksmyd^ mucyeta sdicvarnakalage" pi

20.

hi'.

vindyakebhyali sndnato ddurbhdgydc cdiva durbhagdf prsthatag cdnudhdvaiiti samsprshV tidakena

21.

tu.

ugiram tagaram kustham^" mustd^^ taipattrasarsapdh, curnendbhihitas^^ iiirnam igvaro iulast

pi vago

bhilmadd devi cfirnasprstas^^ tathd

bhavet.

22.

vagi,

rdjabhaye^^ suregvarl mdrjandd^^ dhdrandt tathd. 2j. na^^

sydd asyddbhzdaih

kiih

civ}'' 7ia

kmdropadravas^^

tathd,

7idndigvaryam^^ ndprajatvam"^" yasya devy dsuri grhe, 24.

yasya

devydstiri grhe'^\

II.

iiy dsurikalpali santdptalf"^

I.

A.

svarnasahasrasydptis tu tatpuspdndni.

dsuriphaldiii dagasahasram

S7ivarnasahasram labhate. payobhaksy dsuryudake praksindTii (!) {daksi-

JB sahaja-. ditydmukho (!) 2.

-lage lokegl-.

viantritani atTTia

ij)

suvaryidtha7n

{pratyd-

4.

?)

hutvd

bhiitvd

dagasahasram japet.

IB -vara ksapet.

dsurjpallavdir

{krtvdtmdTiamT

sndpayet

{-yed})

A.

astagdtoti-

saihpilrnam

{astottaragatdbhi77ta7itritam ?)

(!)

3.

?)

krtvd

{dtmd7iam}')

77ta(l)

ataks?7zlih muiicyati (!) (mtiflcati), jB -ksml. -phalage. 7. vi7idye kopasvarga {kopasargam'i) 77iuiicati. 6. -gd7i. 8. durbhagd subhagd bhavet. 9. MSS J5 krdam, J5 kusUwi. samsprda. 10. 11. JB 77iastdrdsndtatpatra-. -bhihatas. -bhaya. 12. 15. jB 77iarj13. jB -stasas. 14,

dhiipayet.

5.

ja7idt, vd7'a7ids

has instead, cya7'tutha

tathd.

jva7'ddibhutd7i adagatdTii japeta 77idrjaye77a (-inaTJi?) mticyati

(-/^?).

16.

JB

7ia

(!)

(!)

{caturthaiW^.)

(^-Tiena}) p7'aksi7ia

ca tasyadbhu-.

17.

-ci

has instead, dstWipistaih gatavd7-dhn (!) {^-raml) parijaspya (^-apyd) girasi dhdpayeta grhito 7nucati {-cyate ?), dudagrhl7ia.

18.

td7idm dsurim ho77iayet jo8 tato Tnucyati -7ilgva-.

ksipram. 19. has instead, atha 77ta7itra7h p7'a-

-pramatay'n.

20.

(^-te)

kdgayati lokdndm hitakdTTtyayd, dsuri7na7it7'ali saihpiirriavi astu i^stu).

21.

MSS

grhe

iti.

22.

-tali.

S5-

l_-7id)

THE ASURI-KALPA.

i6

III.— TRANSLATION Orii,

obeisance to Rudra

om,

blessed asuri, reddish

leaf,

AND COMMENTARY. pungent one, thou

non-terrific

worker (deed-performer),

'so-and-so'

cook, cook, crush, crush, so long hast brought [him] into

This ceding

is

gives,

my power

somewhat

caranavidhi), in which

which

is

here duplicated.

placed that one angl

pa

{or

parvd

south," and

pr^ pratici

west."

-nam) trikmiakunde

in

See

the south

{purag-

prescribed for use

diagram of

gives

it

for the

diagram has

north," de probably for dak&ina

Used

has been

description

Sixidme Edition, 1863,

is

rite

may

easily bq

corruption for (cod.

vediyonisahitam saliva (cod. satvd) dak^ina-

we use Amen. The equilateral magic.

preparation

Pre-

part first) purusahastapramdne

Good-offering, good oblation.' as

to

one (7) which

Cf.

long cook, until thou

appears that the altar-mouth was so

for udlci

figure

burn,

formula {pnillamantra).

at length,

pointe

east,"

wonder-

Svaha.'

Part third

It

non-terrific

burn,

triangular fire-pot

reverencing the goddess.

in

one,

burn, so

the so-called fundamental

it

pungent

one, thou of the reddish garment,

atharvan,

daughter of

of the

of the

p. 518.

at the

end of invocations very much

favorite figure in mysticism as well as

pentacle in

Dictionnaire Infernal,

Cf. also Cornelius Agrippa, Vol.

I, p.

196

ff.,

duodenario cum duplici duodenarii CabalisOrphic a; also 226 ff., Ue Geometricis figuris atque Cortica quae quibus dementis poribus quavirtutein magia pollean t,

De undenario

conveniant, atquecoelio.

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. karnike devfni (cod.

Having

-vi) piljayei.^

one should worship the goddess

reclined

The

to the south.'

down),

(sat

three-cornered fire-pot of the

in

man's hand, with an altar-mouth having

size of

1/

point (ear)

[its]

preparation-rite includes an oblation of

and -sugar {^hrtagarkardhoma), garlands of the

ghee

red, sweet-smelling

oleander (^raktakaravlrapmpamdla), an ornament (mark) of red

sandal-wood {raktacmidanatilakcC), the partaking of

brahma-

carya-oblation {brahmacaryahavispdnam bhakivd, cod, bhaktd'), and lying on the ground (bhamigayana).^

daksindbhimukho nityam sayiam

on

sitting

S,

part second,

facing the south constantly,' kanibald-

woolen blanket,'

(cod- tram pari-') 'putting on

raktavastraparidhdyiam

red garment,' and raktagandhd-

nulepanam 'anointing with red sandal-wood powder.'*

third, says

sarvatra prdndydmddisu

also,

holding of the breath

The address

in

variations

slight

several times, mostly in

one instance

in

appears

it

second

says of

daknnavmkhaveslne

agnim

made having thereupon

{-vdsijiiT)

l^>,

(?)

one should

fire

offer

its

Three-

Under

in the form,

the

title

om kllm

hardly oni-) ayata (athato ?) brdhmanasidhi [siddhih).

?)

an oblation

situation towards

moreover with

The word karavu

[results].'

etc.

the

(?)

south

in the

'A

(})

fire-pot

fire-pot

The

occurs nowhere else and

(!)

{-de

must be

with an altar-

suitable for worship

to the south.

agna

hand moreover

altar-mouth of the size of

triangular

mouth having kindled]

has as one of

it

homa {-mayet}) karavukundanu

daksinakaravtim param {-rd

?)

third, with

trikonakaravuyonisahitam karavuhastamdtram tu

it

kundarh karyam, onisahita (!) (yonisahitam tv

part

ksdum k^dum grim hrim kllm om, kahipattre subhaga

hrfih grirh

^Par

whisper- spell,"

fundamental

obeisance

and then continues, om hrim katuke,

japamantrali

cases in the

in all

I-goddess, beginning the

introductory phrases, netratraydya namali eyes,'

part

S,

worship, etc'

to the

formula," occurs in

adds,

[having

(?)

greatest magic (success) is

not at present trans-

latable. Cf.

part second

bhojanam havispdnam

gayanam brahmacaryam

also

(!)

part third jitendriyaJi

{-bhuktam

(cod. ja)

?)

hhilmi-

pujayed dsurim

dev'im (cod. -ri devi).

^For explanation see

Ghosha

Durga Puja

(durgdpujd) by

{pratapachandra ghosd), note 19,

Pratapachandra

p. xxix.

*It heads the preparation-rite with the words atha padgdtimantra {-ah),

ends

it

mean, puzzle

by saying

The going but

of the god.

it

iti

damkathitam

to the feet [of

{-ali\

The first seems to The second is {pad for pad).

mantrant

Rudra] text'

and

{-ah).

probably contains some similar idea referring to the propitiation

THE ASUKI-KALPA. dsuri raktavdsase 'iharvanasya duhitc 'ghore 'ghore svdhd,

krlm grim k.^dmh k^dum grim hr'm klim

kliih

Following the

mony in

ma la mantra,

(aTigaJiydsa), consisting

and

pairs,

orii.^

b-

gives

of" obeisance

ceremony

object of such

various parts of the

body

gestures and prayers.^

paid to the fingers

made

"The

accompanying

to certain divinities, with

In the present case, the end in view seems

Next

meditation {dhydncC), in which the protection of is

cere-

said to be the mental assignment of

is

to have been the propitiation of Rudra.^

and mention

ac

the two palms and backs of the hands.

to

om

some of her

of

order comes

in

Durga

characteristics,

is

invoked,

among them

the possession of 90,000,000 bodily forms {dtcrgd navakotimiirtisahiid').

woman

In the case of

Of her

one should mutter

svaha svaha;

of her seated the

her

of

bhaga (pudenda) mind burn,

awake

of her

couch, as long as she sleeps,

svaha,

arisen the going burn, burn

the

asleep

svaha, svaha;

lying on

the

svaha, svaha,

burn:

he

svaha,

burn, burn

ur

svaha,

burn

svaha, svaha, svaha, svaha.'* 1.

So then we

will teach the

For her

(atharvan).

nor the kindling of 2.

Over

'lunar-day,'

holy

material

all

Asuri-Kalpa

fire is

nor

pp. 36 end

f.

lists

of particles

and 61 end.

consisting

throughout; the

MS

somewhat

It has

uses the

Atharva-Veda

'lunar-mansion,'

decreed. of

ghee,

caused to be muttered' one hundred times, For other

of the

And

similar in nature,

asurl*'

the

etc.,

there be]

[let

cf.

is

Durga Puja,

been thought best to keep the anusvara

anunasika

sign, possibly to

pro-

indicate

longation of the vowels by nasalization.

and note 21, p. xxxi f. Durga Puja, p. 30 Cf. part third, tatra kardhgultnydsah, evam rudayddi

'See

flf.,

evara niantraih

{-a7i)

[sadhakottamdili).

samaih {sdma

Then

?)

jtydsam {roh) kartavyam {-ah) sadhakottanidi

the finger-placing ceremony; thus to

beginning the nyasa, thus the mantra, the

formed with the highest magical S,

part first,

(ritdrdydddii) nydsa

does no

the

nyasa

is to

in the

be per-

[rites].'

contai

5'The highest asuri-ordinance.' not altogether clear form of the

saman

Rudra

this formula.

Cf. p. II, foot-note 19,

mantra

is

where

fuller but

given.

mantra just given, possibly the mula-mantra. Laws of Manu, II 85, where the statement is made that

Probably the "Cf.

[the syllable om, the words dhttr, bhuvah, and svar, and the Ill 62, 10)]

is

ten times better than

regular sacrifice;

if

muttering

Savitri re (RV.

they are muttered so

low that they cannot be understood, they avail one hundred times more than regular sacrifice

This

is

and,

if

they are recited mentally, one thousand times more.

possibly the starting point of the notion that muttered words and par-

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. portion of this' consisting of leaves, etc be]

one, surely,

who

to smite

desires

I9

[Let there

enemies and to render

[his]

submissive kings.

Owing

to th

uncertaint

of the text,^

to omit the translation of one

has been adopted.

atha

pad a, though

mdrane mohane vasikarane yogah, 'Then me possessing seer

Atharva-ritual,

tides possess

peculiar and

(vagi-)

human

aum

the

[let]

is

vini-

number

but the

the

[let]

[help?]:

asurl-divinity

how

to use

them can control word

they also

still

mani padme hum of the Buddhists.

of oblations as

one hundre

an

S,par second

and

eight,

be pronounced with the oblation.

number 108

At the

sacrilege to utter the

it

the trinity) aloud, and

Cf. the oih

it.

dred images are mentioned by

108

{stambh-')

mysterious power which even the gods cannot

as regularly said to

pratimagatah

{-yo)

agencies and accomplish what he wills.

attach wonderful powers to

mantra

atharvdna rsih

asurl-m antra

as representing

regularly gives the

but reads

gatrziksayam

stambhane

present time in India, the Brahmans consider

(pronounced

it,

bijam (^m) asuri-

mama

{-7idd)

the person understanding

escape,

well as

md

asuridevatd (dsurl-') hrim

nastikachandah

Qakti {dsurl-)

oih

provisional reading

dsurimahtram {qrydstirlmantrani)

gri

as

has been thought best

has nothing corresponding to

imdtharvdnarsir)

divine

it

One hun-

sarmpatdilahomah (cod. pars-)

follows immediately, as elsewhere.

The asuri-plant. The reading culties

of

desires to

why

conquer" (here

woman

is

and that of

The word

presents

jigdisa could scarcely be

while gamtu or dgamtu might be inf.

used

in

98, foot-note),

etc.)

compound.

It is

The

would remain unsatisfactory.

rest

and may

and indha

for

he

who

3d, sing., difficult

to

root-aor. of the

justly be suspected here,

Roots, seem

though the

example, homa (probably for homarti), the i^yu

(p.

gloka 8). The infinitive stem also, as part of make satisfactory sense, though the form is unobjec-

[A.,

compound, does not here

The

diffi-

should be specified as the one desiring to conquer, and even

some Vedic words,

tionable.

stands,

confined to the Vedas, Brahmanas, and Sutras (Whitney,

Verb-Forms, to use

fern.),

the stem of the

were plain the

\fgam

it

secondary adjective derivative from jigtsa, meaning

root-aor., imv. or

if it

impossible as

which can hardly be overlooked.

anything but

see

is

three lines taken together evidently serve as

sort of intro-

duction to the practice, and taking the reading given in the text (as emended

from the better MS), the whole

'The asurl-[mantra] over

all sorts

may perhaps be rendered is

caused to be muttered one hundred times

of materials,. such as ghee, etc.; [There

tion of the [asuri] consisting of leaves, etc., to conquer without

who both While

[ordinary

?]

is

and [there

means (by magic

?)

to be] both is

to be]

For [there

pordesire

is]

one

wishes to smite [his] enemies and to render submissive kings.'

this is not

the best that

freely:

altogether satisfactory from

done

at present.

Sanskrit standpoint,

it

is

THE ASURI-KALPA.

20 [There

hrlm.

is]

might of fisurl,

enemy

the desire

making submis-

the practice.'

is]

contemplation'" {dhydnd),

has

statement

my

of

destroy, the destruction

post [this

sive, in the fixing like

this

to

(seed) possessing the

the stupefying, in the

in the slaying, in

Following

mantra

the core of the

which the person should meditate {dhydyef) on the bright fourvaraddm'), having sided granter of wishes (j^ukldih caturblmjdm

in

hook

adorned with

the hand l^ankvgahastdni)

in

(^sarvdlamkdrabhil^J(dm), se2ii&d in the

ornaments

all

padmasana-position^ on

serpent {ndgopari padmdsanopaviddifi), and having

countenance {prasa7inavada7id?n).

Thus [readeth

rane,

in

it]

The

MS

making

the

in the fixing like a'post {stavibhane

gracious

then has. Hi vag'ika-

Secondly,

submissive.'

person

th

is

on

to meditate

the reddish, four-sided, fearless wish-granter {kapildm caturbhujdm

abhayavaraddm), with sword as an

hand (khangarahastdni), having

in

half-moon crest(?) {candrdrdhamdulbiepathydnii

ornament

cod. cahddrdhamdulineprdiix), etc.

And

thirdly,

in

."^

the slaying

or magical incantation for that purpose (mdrane), he should meditate

four-sided, fearless wish-granter (jilla-

on the blue-colored,

varndm,

etc.),

having

red-stone

the

hand

(rtcdhira-),

dead-man {mrta^ndnusopaviddni), wearing

seated on

{^minddmdlddhardm),

garland

in

a-

meditation

etc.

contains

several vocatives addressed to the goddess, for example,

gracious one," ndgayajrwpavitini "thou that hast

sacred cord,"

and so on.

part third,

written in

[There

meditation.

divine,

glokas, begins

This

is

to

>S,

the time-triad

goodness and [that] pertaining

be attained accomplishment by

place],'

for

of

reflection

thereupon the highest, accompanied by

hard

snake

the meditation] pertaining to passion and

is

also [that] pertaining to

darkness

The corresponding

k^ame

all

to spiritual

sacred

magic

rites,

[takes

atha kdlatrayam dhydnam.

rdjasam sdtvlkl (!) {sdttvikam) cdiva tdmasam ca tatali paratn, sarvakarmasamdyuktam sddhanam devadurlabham. i. For

similar

This word

is

dhyana,

see

Durga

Puja,

p.

34

used as an epithet of Visnu in

f.

tlie

sense of having

four

arms." posture in religious meditation.

one hand resting on the

left thigh,

the

The person

sits

other held with the

heart, while his eyes are directed to the tip of his nose.

Candrdrd ham dull

An

is

an epithet of iv

epithet of Durga.

with his thighs crossed,

thumb upon

his

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. The

three parts of this meditation

ment and

passage just cited begins

goddess']

the

'At

The

first following the

dawn [one should meditate on reddish

with

shining

mostly of the adorn-

treat

goddess.

characteristics of

21

adorned

apparel,

with

gufija^ and vidula(?)," prdtd (cod. prdtarakta-) raktdmbardbhdsdm gufijdvidumabhiisi-

tdm It

{-avidula-

(!)

?).

with similar expressions, and the third

continue

9loka

reads

The one having three eyes and having four mouths, illustrious with the murmuring proceeding from the reading of the Veda, Possessed of staves and

trinetrdiii

ca cahirvaktrdm vedadhvanivirdjiidm,

dandekmnandaldiyuktdm

grucadhardm

(!)

{dandikdniandaldir yuktdthl:') guvali-

(!)

{sruvasruca-

ends with the words should

?)"

cubhdm.

j.

Thus [readeth]

rdj'asam,

zVz

The second

tion] pertaining

[one

and

beautiful one,'

ladle,

It

sacrifice-spoon^

disk,*

the [medita-

begins: 'At

midday

meditate on] the goddess wearing white apparel,

moreover always gracious. Having put on

white garment, carry-

white serpent,^ Decked with garlands of malati^ along with white sandal-wood ointment,

etc..

Having an appearance

made

[that of] the fruit of the ghatri,'

like

string of

beautiful with

pearls in the nose,' This meditation contains no verb first,

it is

evident that dhydyet

is

but from the meditation in S,

to be supplied.

The

devlnh

is

part

expressed in

the next division.

^Abrus precatorius. ^Calamus rotangor Calamusfasciculatus. The tion.

disk

There

is

is

mentioned again

just

below

in

another section of the medita-

general tendency noticeable in both divisions of

to repeat

certain ideas in the three parts of the meditation.

The

constant use of these two implements together makes

this is the

meaning of the passage, which

Transition stem in

The sruc wood, and

is is

-a

large spoon or ladle,

made

used for pouring ghee on

may be

probable that

very corrupt.

from srtu, though, possibly bad writing

spoon used for skimming the suvahsruca-

is

it

fat

usually of

palaQa-

or

ht sruva. khadira-

sruva is small The reading sruc.

the

sacrificial fire

from the pot into the

suspected here.

'There are several plants called these.

sjasminum grandiflorum. 'Emblicmyrobolan.

kaflcukin,

and

it

may

possibly be one of

THE ASUKI-KALPA.

22

Qukldmbaradhardm devi

madhydhne

(-vim)

(!)

sadd givani

tii

(!)

(-vdm'),

qubhravastraparidhdnam (-ndni) kanczikidhdrinim

?).

gretakahcukidhdrini

{gveta-

(!)

5.

qubhracandanakpadyam mdlai'imdldmanditdm {-pddyamdlghdtriphalasamdkdrdm ndsdtyiduktikaQobhitdm.

To

these expressions

may

bearing

-hidhard)

6.

be added triQiilacandrdhidhardm (cod. white serpent,' and gvetavrsa-

and

trident

standing by

bhasamsthitdm

white

bull.'

It

ends with the words

Thus [readeth] the [meditation] pertaining

Hi tdmasam

tual darkness.'

?),

The third

division

is

to spiri-

substantially as follows

made

the afternoon moreover [he should meditate on] the goddess

black ornament, Having put on

beautiful with

decorated

ornament

an

with

Adorned with three eyes

made

illustrious

down along with

goddess*

the

praises'

Laksmi,

black

in

bird,

discus,* Possessed of

blue lotus,^ decked with garlands of holy

ing

kasturl (musk?),

of

conch-shell and

with

black garment,

streak of black antimony [applied

in

collyrium], Sitting

the lashes as

to

(mark)

In

Thus

basil,^

color,

even-

at

obeisance!

one

(?),

apardhne (cod. -dnhe)

tu sd (!)

idm

?)

devi

(!) {-vlni)

krqndlamkdra-

gobhitdm,

krmapataparidhdnam kdfljitdm

(-dni) kastiirililakdhkitdm (!)

{kastiiritila-

?).

kr^nakajjalarekhdydm locanatrayabhmUdm

samdsindm

vihahge (jhangena) idm.

(-dsindHi)

cankhacakravirdji-

i"."

a. Qaflkhacakmgadddhara an epithet of

'holding

conch-shell,

discus,

and

mace';

Visn.u.

*Nymphaea caerulea. ^Ocymum sanctum. Possibly the reading should be rdnidm devim

there

is

reason to believe that

triad meditation," there

is

it

the beautiful goddess

should be ranidm.

Preceding the

brief asurl-meditation

LaksmT

part

MS

are

and

in

the

beginning the

te

laksmi),

?)

The asuri-

which ^rl and

in

and the meditation of 8,

first, referring to Durga also mentions Laksmi.

to repeat

(vedi-

altar-meditation,'

both mentioned (cod. fr/f ca

Time-

nature, intro-

duced by the words dsuridhydnain dddu ca vdididhydnam meditation

but

The tendency

of the

has been mentioned.

trilocani \%

an ep thet of Durga; trilocana, of ^iva.

the netratraya used in

*The numbering

form of the

of the

MS

miilamant ra

has been followed.

It

is

probable that

(p. 17) refers to

the latter.

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VE DA.

23

nilotpalasamayuktdm tulaslmdldm anditdm eva {-vam

namo

?)

sdya {-yam

devi {-vim) krsnavarne

almost

is

hopelessly

corrupt.

contains

It

more than three jlokas, has the figure four and seems to emphasize some of the items already

syllables for

{4) at

mentioned/

concludes with the words:

It

Thus

irikdladhydnam

asurl

the

ramd {-mam ?)

{-mail ?) stute. 2.

The next passage enough

?)

in

the beginning [of the

Further

meditation.'

time-triad

adi {-ddv"^) dsuri-

ity

readeth]

rite (?)

references

the

to

goddess follow, among them, mahddevi {-devyT) aghorttkarma-

kdrinV

great goddess non-terrific deed-performer."

{-nil')

whole ends as follows

'And

who

[thou

also

compassion [and] who dost bestow many tion

of

Brahma, Visnu and

mother.^

Thus

success.

The medita-

deliver the three worlds,

(^iva,

precisely [readeth

asuri, supreme mistress, [Thou

dost grant]

supreme meditation.

th

giver of success to the

art] the

Thus

magical [rites] producing enjoyment and deliverance. the beginning [readeth

aneka {-kam

cdiva

?)

it]

in

The much

in

the asurl-meditation,'

kdrunydm {-yam

?)

anekasiddhiddyini,

{-z?h

dd--^),

brahmavimuharadhydyiam trdhi irdilokyam ambike. ity

3.

eva paramadhydnam dsuri paramegvari,

sddhakdndm siddhiddtd bhuktimuktiphalapradd.

4.

ddi {dddv ?) dsuridhydne.

The

significance of these references to the

discussed parts

below.

It

appears from the

of the day that the oblations

named, and

parts

were used with them,

i.

e.

goddess asurl

references

were made

at

to

the

the

will

be

three

periods

meditation, in the order given,

the one referring to rajas was used in

the morning, that referring to

tamas

at

noon, and the one refer-

The passage begins with the words sdttvikam puvdnhe, which should for the conclusion to the probably be emended to iti sdtivikam. purvdhne third part of the meditation is lacking in the MS, and the words madhydhne and apardhne follow in the two succeeding lines. The reference to the

trisamdhyam

becomes clear only on the supposition that sdttvikam ends

the third division, and that the rest of the passage

is

supplementary to the

whole.

The passage or

is

too corrupt to determine whether the words

ace; but they are probably

voc.

passage cited just below, also p.

Cf. the

II, foot-note 6.

Commonly used

of ParvatI, wife of Qiva,

should be voc.

i.

e.

Durga.

THE ASURI-KALPA.

24

sattva

ring to

in

The number

the afternoon.'

been mentioned above, and

be again considered below

will

it

of oblations has in

another connection.

The wise man should

3.

and

asurl-meal

fine

of

fire

arka-wood

as an

offer

an image, Having kindled

the form of]

[in

mixture of ghee

oblation

having chopped the image, moreover, with

fuel,

weapon.

He

4.

[becomes] submissive before whose

eight thousand

woman

oblations.

feet [a person]

offers

made] submissive by [an

[is

image of asurl-meal] anointed with ghee: Brahmans

in

of

fire

palaga-wood: Ksatriyas, moreover, by [an image] anointed with sugar

5.

Vai9yas

by

[those]^

mixed

mixed

[one]

with

Cudras, wise

the

salt

man

but

furthermore,

by

make meal

should

of

black mustard.

As

6.

seventh day,^

The

practice

wizard

all

in

full'

seems

meal, with

into

The which he made an

whom

he desired to overcome."

used kindlings (samidhs)^ of arka-wood It is to

also

divisions in that place

down

reflection

and

Rajas

for

be observed that the correspcmding meditation in S, 'part first,

No

divided into three minor reflections.

that laid

follows

as

to

image, symbolizing the person

He

the

to

these [are made] submissive.

ground asuri'

first

asurl [extending] up

of an oblation of

result

in

mentioned with the

is

probable that the same rule was observed as

it is

part third.

was regarded

time

is

It

also appears from the former, that each

accomplishing some particular part

as instrumental in

of the complete process of subjugation or destruction.

The change in

masc. seems at the

the text,

may be

it

inferred

As

implied in the case of ^udras. to

them

Cf. (jloka

masc.

is

*Cf. p. 12, notes

*See

(J

first

glance to be for the sake of

but since ^udras lavanajni^rayd makes even

the metre

one

to the plu.

okas

8, 10,

3, 4,

and

word was purposely

different

and foot-note. also p. 13, note

3,

and

p. 27.

and foot-notes.

Probably the leaves as well as the seeds.

a. part third

the

matter of fact the word most appropriate

and 12 end 5,

that

ada than

better

(beginning of the

rite

See translation of gloka

Brahman),

used to subdue

2.

///rz/a-

brahmatimdm {parvabrahmapratimdmT) krtvd 'having made the former image Brahman,'

of

i.

e.

as before.

'The samidhs used span

(9

in.)

long

in offering oblation

and about

Asiatic Researches, VII

as

thick

233.

Grhyasamgraha-Parigista

were small sticks of wood about man's thumb.

as

The

usual

number

is

of Gobhilaputra gives nine

Cf.

seven;

and

(1*28 f.),ity

etah samidho nava,

viQlrnd vidald hrasvd vakrd

stilld

kvQd dvidhd,

krmidastd ca dirghd ca varjanlyah prayatnatah.

Colebrooke,

28-

but the

their

names

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. women,

a-wood

udumbara-wood

Brahmans,

a-wood for Ksatriyas,

Vaigyas and ^udras, and nimba*-wood

for

Having chopped up the image with

for foes.

offered

for

adding ghee

as an oblation,

it

[and honey

for princes, curds

caste persons, salt for fourth caste persons, oil for foes.^

to be observed that

It is

This

left.

is

in the

case /Sf,

two in

woman,

of

in that

doubtless to be put with the similar

woman, while with

for

is

Hindoo

lucky for

left

eye or arm the

fuller in its details

than the other

the

reversed.

is

part third, adds

sections,

which

the

king the

case of

notion that the throbbing of the right eye or arm

man and unlucky

for third

and pungent mustard

person was to advance with the right foot; with the

sword, he finally

king or woman, ghee

for

Brahman, sugar

for

?]

25

rite

used

little

much

of importance or interest.

king

ensnaring

for

may be

from them

differs

it

while

having kindled [a

fire]

with

it

mentioned, for example, in has ravikddhena prajvdlya

stick of

ra vi^-wood

Dr. Bloomfield, in his edition, thus translates

Spanne)

Zweige

ein

ist,

ist,

dicker

(als

sind nach Kraften zu vermeiden."

of them, however,

is

ein

Daumen)

also pre-

neun samidhs

kiirzer ist,

to

(als

eine

eins das zwei

Wiirmern zerfressenes, und eins das langer

ein von

hat,

Spanne)

krummes, eins da

it

dies sind die

Ein zerbrochenes, ein gespaltenes, eins das

(Zundholzer).

few points

The most complete

(als

eine

description

be found in the grhya-sutras.

Calotropis gigantea, the Bute Ficus glomerata, and theAzadi-

In the order named these trees are the

Acacia catechu, the rachta indica. Some idea of the Hindoo view in regard to these woods maybe obtained from the Ait areya-Br ah man a, II i. The Erection of the Sacrifice-post {yupa) and their appropriateness may be inferred from the Laws of Manu, II 45, where it is stated that the Brahman's staff should be of vilva- (^gle marmelos) or palaga-wood; the Ksatriya's, of vat a(Ficus indica) or khadira-wood and the Vaigya's, of pilu- (Carey ^udras are not arbora or Salvadora persica) or udumbara-wood. frondosa,

the

twice-born," and so do not come under the rule.

vij as

tllird uses picumanda, which emendation

verifies the

^See

is

only another

an image

adhyaya

6,

and

17, 54;

same wood, and

the

(p. 12, foot-note 12 end).

is

contains further material of

similar sort.

49, 22.

which makes

it

Kaug. Su., See Kauc. 35,28;

treated of in the Introduction above.

Bohtlingk, Lex. V, 172, cites identical with

vi as the a.

Calotropis gigantea

In this sense

it

seems

to

have been

heretofore to the lexicographers only.

This lexicon, It

for

p. 12,. foot-note 9.

The

known

name

For nimba, 'part

article

was

in

type before

had access

which also contains the word

has not been in

or doubtful

words

my power in these

to the

aparajaya and

to carefully consult that

MSS.

index to Bohtlingk's

perhaps others.

work

for all the

new

THE ASUKI-KALPA.

26

scribes in this connection the

woman

that for ensnaring

kamah and

it

whisper-spell

the two fundamental formulas

refers to

Brahman

{jnulaman-

ornaments {fvetacandanasamyuktam gvetamdld-

fvetavastra-

the oblation must also be performed with especial

saynanvitani)

care (^prayatnena homayef) and in preparing

gum {gtigguldir gutikdh

Guggula

white

prescribes

it

white garment with other

white wreath, and

sandal-wood,

in

has the heading rdmdvaglkarana-

under the ensnaring of

iraii)

above):

17

(p.

use

it

made

is

of balls of

cod. guguldi giifikd

black mustard seeds (rdjasar^apdlf),

leaves

krtvd'),

the betel-plant

of

{ndgavallidaldir Jmidili), and other vegetable products, such as

and

fruits

flowers;^

and alas.

mentions also the

may be

division

and the time

under the subjugation of

finally,

performing

women: 'Afterward

them.

the muttering

it

passages from the same

fe

number of

cited with reference to the

for

C^udra,

In

the

oblations

used

rite

against

to be performed, moreover,

is

one hundred and eight times by (of) men,' pafcdj japam tu kartavyam adottaragatam nrndm.

Having muttered the fundamental formula in the mouth and [having performed] one hundred and eight [rites], The girl wastes

away

(of) her middle

in

become

thereupon the

[parts]

girl

likely to

is

submissive,'

mfila^nantre

mukhe japtvddottaragatdni

(^-trani)

ca,

dasyate madyd?idm yosd tato yom bhaved vagd.

Under ness

of

this

The words

detail.

beautiful

woman," ^issa

The words used

wife."

word

employed

to

also used

(third use),

where

stri occurs, it is difficult

to say

some instances

practice

was used

in

believe

that

may have been

ff.

this

Hor. Sat.

I,

Ovid Met. VII 224 8,

foot-note '•^

It will

VIII 23 ff.,

and there

most common

and Epod.

It

use.

Lucian

(fourth use).

In the

first

use

appears that the is

even reason to

Cf. Virg. Ec.

Dial. Mer.

IV

and see (jlokas 14 and

VIII

and 15,

and

p.

2.

be remembered that two formulas were given for

Bdellium From

philter,

and Heroid. VI 91

the preliminary rites in

••

ff.,

its

as

is.

woman,

va^gd "obedient"

^iidra.)

what the word

rdma

are,

stri

subdued

and va^yagd

Vaigya and of

of

last

is

her subjection are,

signify

(This

woman

designate

to

young woman," and (once only)

girl,

submissive

(second use), vaQl

64

with considerable minute-

heading four different uses are

'part third the

or the exudation of the

plu.

is

used {miilamantrdiQ

i^^ityahevara) leads

thousand oblations

Brahman

certain high to one's will,

text (p. 12)

Under

ca).

Amyris agallochum.

the statements here made, and another passage

which says that by oblation

woman.

number it

may be

(p. 12,

foot-note 9)

consisting of hundreds inferred that the eight

have special reference

to

Brahmans.

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. In the

Having done

Vaijya

for

rite

and performed the other preliminary the day, he should burn

image].

perform the muttering

the

fire

the three periods of

asurl [made

an

into

eight [rites] so long should he

the three

at

rites), at

the prepared

With one hundred and

this (kindled

27

periods [morning, noon, and

afternoon],' evai'n

dinatraymii krtvddhydktdm {jaktdin

?)

dsurim dahet,

adottaragatdis tdvat trikdlamjapam dcaret.

One should perform

j.

with pains the muttering during one month

uninterruptedly,'

japam kurydt prayatnena mdsmn ekam nirantaram. Under

heading also

this

(first

§loka) the dark

new moon {krmapakse)

full

to

the

rite.

subdued

In respect to

Finally, regarding

foe,

specified as

Ksatriya,

course

the

in

is

of twelve

it

On

becomes

fixed,'

from

e.

he should be

days {dvddagdir

vdsardili).

eight periods (watches)

mantra

of the day having done honor with the [his] foe

i.

time for performing

is

says

it

fortnight,

he goes against

the seventh day the completion of the foe-slaying

param pratyeti manirena pajayitvd dindstakam, saptdhe ripughdtasya nidhaiiam bhavati

Most of the references agree ensnaring on the seventh day.

dhruvam (cod. dhrvam).

fixing

in

completion

the

eight oblations

to just eighteen pe

day, and these

in six

days amounts

performed

at the

trisafndhyam would make six

and the same

the plan followed as

in

It is

With

'^

dog,''

the oblation]' at the three periods

[in

split in

it is

is

omitted in

found only

in this

many in

interpolation.

Its

Having it

is]

with

afflicted

all of the

following

of them.

JB at

this point

is

very corrupt, yields It is

probably an

general meaning seems to be about as follows

then, moreover, smeared

leaf with

having well smeared with mustard seeds

He

and

and contains nothing of importance.

no connected

(perfume

the family.

moreover, [a person

probable that asuri was to

The passage which

morning,

rule.

the hairs of

prescriptions, though

in the

the afternoon, which was evidently

With pungent mustard oil of the day, surely one makes 7.

of the

One hundred and

performed

six at noon,

j.

(!)

the hairs of

dog, or

he should fumigate the

li

liga

with incense).

should then give

vanishes (dies).

And

measure

there

practice in all diseases.

is

(?)

of white mustard drink

health in eating and in fasting:

all

doubt

[it is]

the

THE ASUKI-KALPA. The stopping

epilepsy during three days.'

by milk, honey, and ghee with

rite]

In

8.

surefvarl, which occurs in one other passage below

The word

thus defined by the Peters. Lex.: Bez.

is

Ganga.

here means evidently asuri'' (probably both plant

It

The

divinity).

may

ment

use of this word for dsuri, combined with the

words found

fact that various

are or

the asurl-meditation (p. 20

in

be used of Durga, makes

asuri was regarded

that

der Durga

derRadha...derhimmlischen

derLakshml

and

fever.'-

ofsuregvarl and with ghee.

(stopping) with the help

(p. 33),

with

Of these he should understand the cure

source of boils.

lishes

afflicted

arka^-wood samidhs, furthermore, one estab-

of

fire

ecom s]

brought about]

is

[By performing the

the oblation].

[in

however, he

salt,

[of this

f.)

strong presumptive argu-

form of Durga.

as

surefvarl,

may be used of LaksmI, who is spoken of in the same connection, and who appears again below. It will also be observed however,

known ones who

Surely the well

bad

result of muttering.

as

The

sion.

become

in

split

injured by

thir

may become

In the overcoming (doing up) of

headache,

arises]

adya

Brahmans, four even

etc.:

The word ddyd

is

puzzle.

The

is

scenting the

however, Herod. TTepl dvfi'iTjfia

hair from

suddenly

asur

afflicted

an

to

[is]

is

non-

is

be used in

quaternion

of

kalpa.

it

It

^'

l!^£i,

may

rj

possibly be

yvvf]

ass,

rij

tuvto

up (made one) the asuri white

possibly refer to the

does not seem likely that

av /mx^V yvvaml

iripudi de

be

of Durga, but can hardly

an epithe

If for ddya (neu.),

198, oaaKiq

tied

(?)

new word. linga with incense may

Karayi^ouevov

^S 'Having with

It

as the beginning of the

reading valpddyd

(?),

manifest.'

used in that sense here.

mantra

Disagreement

colic.

finger

coming together, the magic practice of the

thus

made

is

(?)

non-meeting with prosperity.

kalpa

of the

person] go

seized [it] pressed by the

[and]

fever,

meeting with prosperity, the

let [the

place where four ways meet.

Having written the name, having

Or

is

should offer as an oblation

moreover,

a,

lotus-plant {padmini) to

[there

destroyed (he

made with powdered suratis(?)(surabhis "nutmegs"?).

[an image]

with

[Brahmans] become

?)

person

cast

(?)

be muttered eleven times in succes-

split in the family

In the subjugation of (?)

It is to

family

the

by alms

live

ku.vTov

mu lathe MS

love-charm. avtjp

Cf.,

B«,3i'/wi'Wf,

Tzodei.

[in

the form of an image?]

he with whose name he may make oblation

with (hidden in

?)

is

epilepsy.'

milk are used in making the one hundred and eight oblations

for his restoration to health. jS

has simply asuri and

nimba

'Having made asuri, ghrtdktdm

is

probably omitted.

leaves.

loS, he

becomes well

(in

his

own

condition).'

WITCHCRAFT PRACTICE OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

dhy anas

large part of the

that

be wondered

not to

fact

and

who used

these

In the

suitable.

deities, especially

refer to

as likely to give success.

reference to asurl,

ones,

evil

who

mixture of direct

allusions to these other divinities,

is

there-

be expected, and clear conceptions are hardly to be looked

fore to

confusion of the two sets of ideas

since

with an untrained mind, and

who

those

might seem

that

might be regarded

for,

since the people

at,

would naturally

same way they would

stolen thunder,"

of originating any ideas themselves, and

were hardly capabl

rites

consists of

29

an essential element of In

fire

The

prayers.' spell

which

because of the mystery

almost inevitable

doubted whether

really definite idea as to the

would probably only make the

9.

to be seriously

it is

practiced the rites

exact meaning of their

is

it

confusion of divinities

appear

created

all

the

more potent

mysterious

for the

is

magic.

all

of arka-wooci, with

may

plant and milk, [a person]

[asurij

anointed with arka-

cause the two eyes of

foe to

[hisj

twitch (burst).

adds

which

clause

emending

regularly takes the ace, and

When

he mentions

seems more one

nical

in

likely

his

name.'

from the

MS

some such sense

along with the name,'

i.

e.

The Vgrabh

not altogether clear.

is

If

ndma, the meaning

to

emended

to the

ins.,^

which

reading, the use must be

When

as

is,

tech-

he grasps [the image]

having the name attached to

it.^

Durga

Puja, foot-notes, pp. 18 and 20. That the capacity of the Hindoo mind for the mysterious is not small can be seen from stanza in the RV. (X 54, 3), in which Indra appears as the begetter Cf. references to the

of his

own

parents

mahimdnah samasydsmdt mi fsayd 'ntam dpuTi, ydn mdtdram capitdrarh ca sdkdm djanayathds tanvaJi svaydh. J. Grassmann thus translates Gabje es Sanger, welchevoruns lebten, die deiner kd

ganzen Grosse Ziel erreichten

Der du zugleich den Vater und

aus deinem eignen Leibe dir erzeugt hast."

thought

and

document

slight

as the

confusion of

Asurl-Kalpa,

in

After this, some obscurity in the

divinities

may be pardonable

which the object

the sense as the use of potent words

die Mutter

and particles

in

to

view

is

in

such

not so

accomplish

much

result

by

magic. ^Cf.

p. 12,

*Cf. pp.

foot-note 14, which favors the emendation.

and

foot-note

Oblation having been

made on

the words

Part

tllird begins the practice with atha netrandganam, ravikd»the krte home Then the eye-destruction. 27,

arka-plant, and

salt in

2.

stick of ravi-wood.'

the oblation, and says

arrived (been obtained) he

becomes deprived of

saptame vdsare prdpte QcakmhinaQ

(!)

It

prescribes

asurl

'And the seventh day having his eye,'

caksurkl-) cajdyate. J.

THE ASURI'-KALPA.

30

The funeral

his

remauis of course, and ashes from

pile.'

He who

10.

an

flesh of

possessed of

duced as

touched with the meal [made] of these becomes

[is]

Deliverance from this

ridiculous character.'^

result of

is

pro-

an oblation with [asurl] anointed with goat's

milk.

Tagara, kustha, and maiisl^ plants and also certainly this [asurlj He who [is] touched with these [ground]

11.

fine,

moreover, runs about behind [one's] back.*

12.

Fruits

and roots of

From

elephant.

runs after thos It

contact with

own

(?)

material

fine

of an

with the fragrant

[a person]

of these^

devoid of sense.

adds: 'Then the cure (causing

asuri anointed

[asurl]

this

to

Having made an

cease).

with cow's milk, with

fires

of

ravi-wood

result of his

as

own

oblation (niahd) he becomes well (goes to the being in his

condition)

the eye-disease should disappear (become vanished),' atlia

godugdhendsuriptiipta

(!)

Qantdu

{-tiliT).

{-rim liptdml) hutvd ravihutdf;andth,

svamahdt svasthatdra ydti netrartm mllitd

Part

first has 'asurl anointe

who can

popular notion in India that he

duce

is

similarity of the

means

noteworthy as an evidence

cure disease must also be able to pro-

and vice versa.

it

Having united asuri, ashes from

^S

The

with milk.'

used in producing and curing the evils

bhavet.

remains of

dead [man].'

Part third

funeral pile [and]

adds

human

flesh, the

chopped meat, the

fine

of

Candala, and some other things not yet clear {ullakamaydih),

dsurim ca citdbhasnia janah pi^itam samyute, cdnddlakeQnsamyuktam ullakamaydih saha {sahitam), mrtanirmdlyasarhyuktam sadir (-im {Mdi

is

ekatra kdrayet. 2.

derivative from cad in the

probably

tion of six.

?)

The person

sixness,"

unites the six items mentioned.)

It

collec-

puts this rite

under those to be employed against an enemy, ending the whole with the words

id Qatruksayavivaranatn

destructio

-S

Thus [readeth]

he

et il

account of the

of an enemy.'

out of his senses.'

It

adds that the

mantra

is

to

be pronounced over

the meal.

"TagaraisTabernaemontanacaronaria, also powder made from plant used for the cure of takman (fever?), the Costos it; ku.stha is arabicus; man's may be jatamansi (Nardostachy jatamansi), kakkoli, or mansacchanda. The MSS seem to require

speciosus

plant called

known.

or

kusthamahsT.

The omission 22.