Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/z4uoush
माय [p= 811,1] creating illusions (said of विष्णु) MBh. माया f. art , wisdom , extraordinary or supernatural power (only in the earlier language); Illusion (identified in the सांख्य with प्रकृति or प्रधान and in that system , as well as in the वेदा*न्त , regarded as the source of the visible universe) IW. 83 ; 108Illusion personified (sometimes identified with दुर्गा , sometimes regarded as a daughter of अनृत and निरृति or निकृति and mother of मृत्यु , or as a daughter of अधर्म) Pur.du. (माये इन्द्रस्य) N. of 2 सामन्s A1rshBr. भेद a [p= 757,2] breaking open , disclosing , divulging , betrayal (of a secret cf. रहस्य-भ्°). With these semantics, it is possible to interpret Māyābheda as a divulgence, breaking-open of the Māyā, 'illusion, wisdom'.
Thus, the final rica-s of Rigveda in RV 10.177 to 191 can be viewed as the concluding statements of the Samhitā elucidating the purport of Soma samsthā which is the very essence of the processes described in the entire Samhitā -- Soma in a nutshell.
See:
http://tinyurl.com/j9ldrnn अयस् ayas, अंशुः aṃśuḥ as iron pyrites of Sarasvati civilization & Veda ādhyātmikā tradition — tantra yukti principles in metalwork thesis explained: pratinidhi ‘substitution’ and apamiśraṇa ‘adulterant’
http://tinyurl.com/ogn68y3 Context: Indus Script decipherment. Māyābheda sukta (RV 10.177.1-3) and hieroglyph components from mAhAvIra, gharma pot in pravargya prefacing agniṣṭōma अग्निष्टोम Soma yajna
Hieroglyph components from Mahavira (gharma) Pravargya pot signifying 'face, mouth, nose' are read rebus as muha~ 'iron castings' (Santali) on Indus Script inscriptions, pointing to Vedic अग्निष्टोम Soma yajna tradition continuum evidenced by metalwork during the Bronze Age evidenced by Indus Script Corpora from ca. 3300 BCE.
The context is: Māyābheda sukta (RV 10.177.1-3) and the uniquely designed Mahavira pot used in Agniṣṭoma.
In a rica RV 1.164.31, Rishi di_rghatama_ aucatthya repeats the rica which appears in RV 10.177.3. Both the rica are a prayer to the Sun. "According to the Asvalayana Srauta Sutra IV.6, Mantra ||2|| of this Rigvedic hymn is the inviting verse of the immolated to Vac (speech), and is used in the parvargya rites along with Mantra ||3||. Mantra ||1|| does refer directly to the Sun." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayabheda
The expression used in RV 10..177.1 is significant: asurasya māyayā. This expression can also be interpreted in the context of metalwork by Assur and their extrordinary metallurgical competence as iron smelters and as sun worshippers. आसुर 1 [p= 160,3] mf(ई)n. (fr. असुर) , spiritual , divine RV. VS. AV. The epithet आसुरी f. is also associated with Devi Sarasvati.
असुर m. pl. N. of a warrior-tribe , (g. पर्श्व्-ादि , q.v.)(Monier-Williams, p.121) āsura आसुर A prince of the warrior-tribe Asura asura असुर N. of the preceptor of the Asuras, Sukrāchārya. -2 the planet Venus. -आह्वम् bell-metal.(Apte. Samskritam) The gloss may also relate to Assur 'iron smelters' and to 'sun'.
माय [p= 811,1] mfn. ( √3. मा) measuring (» धान्य-म्°) माया f. art , wisdom , extraordinary or supernatural power (only in the earlier language)(Monier-Williams)
"...a separate observation must be made for the small metal objects found inside the Swat cinerary urns; they generally date from cultural Period V and are always of copper, mostly in the shape of large pins...it may not be wholly accidental that the main metallic types found in the Swat valley...have antecedens in he area of the Middle Danubian Basin, referable to the Early Bronze Age or to the Middle Bronze Age. We are referring in particular to the conical-headed pins, those with a disk head, with a small loop head and with a broad flat head, as well as to small dagger blades or knives; in the period we have mentioned, the main area of European diffusion of the above-mentioned finds seems to be located between northern Hungary and Slovakia."(Giorgio Stacul, 1971, Cremation graves in northwest Pakistan and their Eurasian connections: Remarks and hypothesis, in: East and West, vol. 21, No. 1/2 (March-June 1971), p. 9-19, IsIAO, p. 14)The reference to copper objects and to Hungary/Slovakia is significant. It has earlier been noted that the word for copper is the same in Indian sprachbund and in Slavic languages:
Santali glosses:![]()
Wilhelm von Hevesy wrote about the Finno-Ugric-Munda kinship, like "Munda-Magyar-Maori, an Indian link between the antipodes new tracks of Hungarian origins" and "Finnisch-Ugrisches aus Indien". (DRIEM, George van: Languages of the Himalayas: an ethnolinguistic handbook. 1997. p.161-162.) Sumerian-Ural-Altaic language affinities have been noted. Given the presence of Meluhha settlements in Sumer, some Meluhha glosses might have been adapted in these languages. One etyma cluster refers to 'iron' exemplified by meD (Ho.). The alternative suggestion for the origin of the gloss med 'copper' in Uralic languages may be explained by the word meD (Ho.) of Munda family of Meluhha language stream:
Sa. <i>mE~R~hE~'d</i> `iron'. ! <i>mE~RhE~d</i>(M).
Ma. <i>mErhE'd</i> `iron'.
Mu. <i>mERE'd</i> `iron'.
~ <i>mE~R~E~'d</i> `iron'. ! <i>mENhEd</i>(M).
Ho <i>meD</i> `iron'.
Bj. <i>merhd</i>(Hunter) `iron'.
KW <i>mENhEd</i>
@(V168,M080)
— Slavic glosses for 'copper'
Мед [Med]Bulgarian
Bakar Bosnian
Медзь [medz']Belarusian
Měď Czech
Bakar Croatian
KòperKashubian
Бакар [Bakar]Macedonian
Miedź Polish
Медь [Med']Russian
Meď Slovak
BakerSlovenian
Бакар [Bakar]Serbian
Мідь [mid'] Ukrainian[unquote]
Miedź, med' (Northern Slavic, Altaic) 'copper'.
One suggestion is that corruptions from the German "Schmied", "Geschmeide" = jewelry. Schmied, a smith (of tin, gold, silver, or other metal)(German) result in med ‘copper’.
BB Lal's views on the direction of migration out of India into Eurasia have been clearly spelt out in his lecture. 'Let not the 19th century paradigms continue to haunt us!', Inaugural Address delivered at the 19th International Conference on South Asian Archaeology at University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy on July 2–6, 2007. http://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/19th-century-paradigms.html
Gandhara Swat Grave cultureA cremation urn with a lid from Pakistan, dating to ca. 1200 BC. Swat Valley, Gandhara Grave Culture, made of terracotta.Courtesy of the LACMA, via their online collections: AC1994.234.8a-b. ![]()
Terracotta
(a) Urn: 17 x 15 in. (43.18 x 38.1 cm); (b) Lid: 2 x 8 1/4 in. (5.08 x 20.96 cm)Gift of Marilyn Walter Grounds (AC1994.234.8a-b) http://collections.lacma.org/node/177356
"...we may note the occurrence of post-cremation urn burials in both northern and southern Baluchistan (Periano Ghundai II, Mughal Ghundai III, Dabar Kot, Mehi, Sutkagen-dor - Gupta 1972; Singh 1970). Cenotaphs in the South Cemetery of Mehrgarh were also inferred by Santoni (1984) to have represented cremations, as they were dug into extensive burnt deposits. By the mid-2nd millennium BCE he practice can be observed in Swat (Stacul 1966, etc.), Dir (Dani 1967) and Zarif Karuna (Khan 1973); by the beginning of the first it has entered the Ganga valley, where the cremated remains were deposited in unlined pits instead of urns (at Chirand, Sonpur, Rajgir and Rajghat -- Singh 1970). Since historical times, of course, cremation has been the predominant mode of disposal of the dead among the Hindus of the Subcontinent."(Erdosy, George, 1995, The Indo-Aryans of ancient South Asia: language, material culture and ethnicity, Walter de Gruyter, p. 10). These observations of Erdosy have to be seen in the context of the movements of Ayu and Amavasu as documented in Baudhayana Srautasutra -- and should NOT be construed as proof of Aryan invasion/migration into India. The evidences of post-cremation urns may just explain the movements of people out of India and within India.
.After Fig. 2 Gandhara grave culture (Ghalegay V period) face urn from Zarif Karuna near Peshawar, now in the Islamabad Museum.Source: Parpola, Asko, The face urns of Gandhara and the Nasatya cult in: Asko Parpola, ed., Migration, trade and peoples Part 3: Aryans and Nomads, London, British Assn. for South Asian Studies, British Academy, pp. 149-162. "The parallelism in the head symbolism between the gharma vessel in the cult of the As'vins -- the 'possessorsof horses' -- and the face of the urn of the Gandhara Graves appears not to be just a coincidence...the conspicuous three-dimensional 'nose' of the later face urns has a counterpart in the gharma vessel. The Satapatha Brahmana (14.1.2.17) describes the preparation of the gharma vessel thus: 'He then takes a lump of clay and makes the Mahavira (pot) with (the mantra), 'For Makha thee! for Makha's head thee!...a span high, for the head is, as it were, a span high; -- contracted in the middle, for the head is, as it were, contracted in the middle. At the top he then draws it out (unnayati) (so as to form) a spout (mukham 'mouth') of three thumb's breadths (high); he thereby makes a nose (nAsikam) to this (Mahavira, or Pravargya).' It is true that the description does not exactly match the making of the face urns of the Gandhara Graves, but it is remarkable that the gharma pot alone of all the vessels described in the Vedic literature is expressly told to have a 'nose'. It is also true that the Satapatha Brahmana is the only Vedic text to mention this 'nose', and although its present redactions are younger than the texts of the Black Yajurveda, it goes back to an earlier version and its contents in some respects differ entirely from all the other texts. That it can well have preserved ancient traditions prevalent among the Kanvas is quite likely on the basis that one of the two redactions belongs to the Kanvas. The 'nose' of the face urn and the gharma pot should have some specific function, and it indeed is meaningful when considered in the context of the As'vin cult...Comparing the gharma vessel with the cinerary urn of the Gandhara Grave culture implies that there should be a close relationship between the gharma rite and the funeral. I think such a relationship does indeed exist. According to the Rigveda, the gharma rite was instituted by Atri and offered by his descendants out of gratitude to the As'vins, because these had saved Atri from the distress of the rbIsa pit. It was the As'vins who had first given the hot gharma drink to Atri while saving him, so the gharma rite imitates the service rendered by the As'vins. I am arguing that the Atri legend reflects the Atri clan's initial adoption of the cremation burial and the associated cult of the As'vins as funeral deities, who revive the dead by means of their drink of heated milk. These funeral practices new to them the Atris took over from the Kanvas, with whom they established friendly relations while setting in Gandhara." (pp.156-157)."About 1800 BCE, there is a major cultural change in the Swat Valley with the introduction of new ceramics and two new burial rites: flexed inhumation in a pit and cremation burial in an urn which, according to early Vedic literature, were both practiced in early Indo-Aryan society." http://www.indicstudies.us/Archives/AIT/Aryan%20Migration%20Theories.doc
Asko Parpola goes on to relate nas- 'nose' to NAsatya, an extrapolation which may be a stretch.
Assuming that the Zarif Karuna (near Peshwar) pot is rebus-metonymy layer signifying muha~ 'iron ingot' (Santali), both the prominent 'nose' hieroglyph and the 'face' hieroglyph on the pot can be explained as cognate signifiers, 
Focus on nose, face, mouth on Zarif Karuna potIn one stream of the Indian sprachbund lexis one set of glosses relate to mukha, the semantics relate to face, mouth; in another stream the entries relate to muk 'nose'.
A simple explanation can be offered for the prominence of the 'nose' in gharma or Pravargya clay pot.
The rebus reading of mu~h 'face' and mu~h 'ingot' has been notd. The cognates for mu~h face in languages of Indian sprachbund: Ta. muka (-pp-, -nt-), mukar (-v-, -nt-), mō (-pp-, -nt-) to smell; mōppam smell; nose (DEDR 4886) Ta. mukam face, mouth; Ka. moga face, mouth; Go. (G. Ma.) mukam, (M.) mukum id. (Voc. 2861); (A. S. Ko.) mokom id (Voc. 2972). Konḍa mokom
id.;Kuwi (Su. P. Isr. F.) mūmbu, (S.) mūmbū, (Mah.) mūkā id. (DEDR 4889) Ko. mu·k nose, funnel of bellows; mu·kn man with long nose; fem. mu·ky. To. mu·k nose (in songs); Koḍ. mu·kï nose. Tu.
mūku, mūgu, mūṅku nose, beak; Ta. mūkku nose, nostril, beak, nose-shaped part of anything; Te. mukku nose, beak, end, point, tip. Kol. muŋgaḍ,(Kin.) mukk, (SR.) mukku nose
(DEDR 5024)
Allograph: See frogs on the Dong Son Bronze drums: Kur. mūxā frog. Malt. múqe id. / Cf. Skt. mūkaka- id. (DEDR 5023) If the rebus reading was the same as in Santali muha~ (as an Autro-asiatic gloss of Indian sprachbund), the message conveyed by the bronze-smiths of Dong Son can be interpreted: that iron castings are also part of the supercargo conveyed together with the bronze drums.
Hieroglyph: múkha n. ʻ mouth, face ʼ RV., ʻ entrance ʼ MBh.Pa. mukha -- m.; Aś.shah. man. gir. mukhato, kāl. dh. jau. °te ʻ by word of mouth ʼ; Pk. muha -- n. ʻ mouth, face ʼ, Gy. gr. hung. muy m., boh. muy, span. muí, wel. mūīf., arm. muc̦, pal. mu', mi', pers. mu; Tir. mū ʻ face ʼ; Woṭ. mū m. ʻ face, sight ʼ; Kho. mux ʻ face ʼ; Tor. mū ʻ mouth ʼ, Mai. mũ; K. in cmpds. mu -- ganḍ m. ʻ cheek, upper jaw ʼ, mū -- kāla ʻ having one's face blackened ʼ, rām. mūī˜, pog. mūī, ḍoḍ. mū̃h ʻ mouth ʼ; S. mũhũ m. ʻ face, mouth, opening ʼ; L. mũh m. ʻ face ʼ, awāṇ. mū̃ with descending tone, mult. mũhã m. ʻ head of a canal ʼ; P. mū̃h m. ʻ face, mouth ʼ, mū̃hã̄ m. ʻ head of a canal ʼ; WPah.śeu. mùtilde; ʻ mouth, ʼ cur. mū̃h; A. muh ʻ face ʼ, in cmpds. -- muwā ʻ facing ʼ; B. mu ʻ face ʼ; Or. muhã ʻ face, mouth, head, person ʼ; Bi. mũh ʻ opening or hole (in a stove for stoking, in a handmill for filling, in a grainstore for withdrawing) ʼ; Mth. Bhoj. mũh ʻ mouth, face ʼ, Aw.lakh. muh, H. muh, mũh m.; OG. muha, G. mɔ̃h n. ʻ mouth ʼ, Si. muya, muva. -- Ext. -- l<-> or -- ll -- : Pk. muhala -- , muhulla -- n. ʻ mouth, face ʼ; S. muhuro m. ʻ face ʼ (or < mukhará -- ); Ku. do -- maulo ʻ confluence of two streams ʼ; Si. muhul, muhuna, mūṇa ʻ face ʼ H. Smith JA 1950, 179.; -- -- ḍ -- : S. muhaṛo m. ʻ front, van ʼ; Bi. (Shahabad) mohṛā ʻ feeding channel of handmill ʼ. -- Forms poss. with expressive -- kkh -- : seemúkhya -- . -- X gōcchā -- s.v. *mucchā -- .mukhará -- , múkhya -- , maukhya -- ; *mukhakāṣṭha -- , *mukhaghāṭā -- , mukhacandra -- , *mukhajāla -- , *mukhanātha -- , mukhatuṇḍaka -- , *mukhatuttikā -- , *mukhadhara -- , mukhaśuddhi -- , *mukhahāra -- , mukhāgra -- , *mukhāñcala -- , *mukhānta -- , *mukhāyana -- ; amukhá -- , abhimukhá -- , āmukha -- , unmukha -- , *nirmukha -- ; adhōmukha -- , ūrdhvamukha -- , kālamukha -- , gṓmukha -- , caturmukha -- , *paścamukha -- , valīmukha -- , śilīmukha -- , saṁmukhá -- , *sāṁmukha -- , sumukha -- .Addenda: múkha -- : WPah.kṭg. (kc.) mū̃ (with high level tone) m. (obl. -- a) ʻ mouth, face ʼ; OMarw. muhaṛaü ʻ face ʼ.(CDIAL 10158)
Rebus: mũh ‘ingot’ (Munda) mũh ʻ opening or hole (in a stove for stoking, in a handmill for filling, in a grainstore for withdrawing) ʼ (Bihari)(CDIAL 10158)mleccha-mukha (Skt.) = copper; milakkha (Pali) mu~hu~ = face (S.); rebus: mu_ha ‘smelted ingot’ [mũh opening or hole (in a stove for stoking, in a handmill for filling, in a grainstore for withdrawing)(Bi.)]
Deux représentations du dieu Soma
http://www.anthropologieenligne.com/pages/sacrificeI_2.html (Note: No literary source has been cited for this identification).
After gharma is taken out of the furnace hot milk is offered to As'vins. The prayer is offered on three consecutive days preceding the upasad; gharma or mahavira pot and implements used are carried in procession to uttaravedi and buried there. gharma or ukhA Mahavira vessel is the head of Makha, head of the yajna and is the sun, the all-seeing eye.
SBr. (14.1.1-5) explains: "The ods, Agni, Indra, Soma, Makha, Vishnu and the Vis've DevAh perform a sacrificial session that whoever amongst them through austerity, fervour, faith, sacrifice and oblations would first encompass the end of the sacrifice would be the most excellent amont them and the glory should then be common to them all. Vishnu obtained it." Our all-encompassing hero (mahAn VIrah) has fallen... Dadhyanc AtharvaNa knew...how the head of the sacrifice is put on again...Dadhyanc AtharvaNa with a horse's head taught them (As'vins) the sweet (secret)(SB. 14.1.1.11-18, 25). The decapitated divinity in Tandya Brahmana is Makha. Taittiriya Aranyaka calls him Makha Vaishnava. Vishnu is the sacrifice; Makha is Vishnu. (SB 14.1.1.6; SB 14.1.1.13). Dadhyanc's horse's head was submerged in S'aryaNAvat. (RV 1.84.14). (See: Kramrisch, Stella, 1975, The Mahavira vessel and the plant Putika, in:Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 95, No. 2 (Apr-Jun 1975), pp. 222-235).
Deux représentations du dieu Soma
RV_1,084.14c tad vidac charyaṇāvati ||
RV 1.84.14: Wishing for the horse's head hidden in the mountains, he found in S'aryan.a_vat.
Ekamukha linga seen in Bhuteshwar next to a smelter and tree (kuTi 'tree' rebus: kuThi 'smelter') may be comparable to the mukha seen on gharma, Mahavira pot.
प्रवर्ग्य [p= 693,2] m. a ceremony introductory to the सोम sacrifice (at which fresh milk is poured into a heated vessel called ,महा-वीर or घर्म , or into boiling ghee) Br. S3rS. MBh. &c n. N. of a सामन् A1rshBr (Monier-Williams) घर्म gharma The प्रवर्ग्य ceremony A cauldron, boiler.Sunshine; A cavity in the earth shaped like a boiler. -A hot day. Ved. A sacrifice. pravargyḥ प्रवर्ग्यः A ceremony preliminary to the Soma sacrifice; प्रवर्ग्यं शास्त्रतः कृत्वा Rām.1.14.4; Bhāg.3.13.37. (Apte. Samskritam) ప్రవర్గ్యము (p. 0843) [ pravargyamu ] pra-vargyamu. [Skt.] n. A certain ceremony or sacrifice. అగ్నిష్టోమాద్యంగ భూతమైనయాగవిశేషము . ప్రవర్గ్యుడు pra-vargyuḍu. n. An officiating priest. పురోహితుడు .
For a metaphysical account of the significance of Mahavira and Pravargya in the context of RV 10.117, see: https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/the-mayabheda-sukta/
10.177.01 The wise behold their mind; (seated) in their heart the Sun made manifest by the illusion of the asura; the sages look into the solar orb, the ordainers (of solar worship) desire the region of his rays. [Illusion of the asura: asurasya = the supreme Brahma devoid of all disguise; aktam ma_yaya_ = united, to knowledge, all-knowing].
10.177.02 The Sun bears the (sacred) word in his mind the Gandharva has spoken it, (abiding) within the womb; sages cherish it in the place of sacrifice, brilliant, heavenly ruling the mind. [Sacred word: va_k: the three Vedas; Taittiri_ya Bra_hman.a 3.12.9: in the morning the deity moves in the sky with the hymns of the R.k, he abides at noon in the Yajurveda, at his setting he is extolled with the Sa_maveda; the sun moves accompanied by the three Vedas; gandharva: from gah (voices), and dhr. (to hold) = the breath of life].
10.177.03 I beheld the protector (the Sun), never descending, going by his paths to the east and to the west; clothing (with light) the (four) quarters of heaven and the intermediate spaces, he constantly revolves in the midst of the worlds.
10.178.01 Let us invoke here for our welfare that Ta_rks.ya, who is mighty, the commissioned of the gods, the victorious, the outstripper of chariots, of irresistible car, the overthrower of hosts, the swift. [Ta_rk.sya: i.e., suparn.a, the son of Tr.ks.a, commissioned by the gods to bring the Soma from heaven; cf. Nirukta 10.28].
10.178.02 Repeatedly invoking the liberality (of Ta_rks.ya), as (we do that) of Indra, let us mount upon it for our welfare as upon a ship; O heaven and earth, vast, expanded, manifold, profound, may we not suffer harm now from (Ta_rks.ya's) coming to or departing from you.
10.178.03 He who has by his strength rapidly spread out the waters for the five castes like the sun by his light-- thousand-yielding, hundred-bestowing is his course, like an unfailing arrow, none can stop it. [Arrow: Nirukta 10.29: yuvatim s'arya_m = paryuvati_m s'aramayam is.um = a diving reed-made arrow].
10.179.01 Rise up, look to the portion of Indra suitable to the season; if it be cooked, offer it; if uncooked, gratify him (by praise).
10.179.02 Go, Indra, quickly to the oblation which is cooked, the sun is advanced nearly to the middle of his road; your friends sit around you with their offerings as the protectors of a family (attend upon) the migrating lord of the mansion. [Protectors of a family: kulapa_h = the sons; uraja = gantavya gr.ha_h, houses to be gone to, as if they were inns or caravanseries].
10.179.03 I consider (the oblation) as cooked in the udder (of the cow), I consider it cooked in the fire, I consider this pure and fresh (oblation) well-cooked; Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt, doer of many deeds, drink well pleased of the curd of the noon-day sacrifice.
10.180.01 Indra, invoked of many, you triumph over your enemies; pre-eminent is your strength, may your generosity be shown on this occasion; bring treasures with your right hand; you are the lord of the wealth-conveying rivers.
10.180.02 Terrible are you as a wandering lion who dwells in the mountains; come from a far-off, distant (world); having whetted your rapid and sharp bolt, destroy our enemies, Indra, put to flight our opponents. [Nirukta 1.20: kucarah = having a bad gait; cf. about Vis.n.u RV 1.154.2].
10.180.03 You have been born, Indra, endowed with protecting and desirable vigour; benefactor of mankind, you did drive away the man who was unfriendly(to us), you prepared a spacious region for the gods.
10.181.01 Vasis.t.ha, whos (son) is Pratha by name, and whose (son) is Sapratha, has (with them) borne away from Dha_ta, and from the radiant Savita_, and from Vis.n.u, the rathantara portion of the oblation which is offered with the anus.t.up verse. [Rathantara: is the Sa_maveda; or some hymns of this Veda].
10.181.02 They discovered (the Br.hat) which has been put away, the most excellent substance of the sacrifice which was hidden; Bharadva_ja took the Br.hat from Dha_ta_, the radiant Savita_, Vis.n.u, and Agni. [They: i.e., Dha_ta_, Savita_ etc.; br.hat: br.hat is also a portion of the Sa_maveda].
10.181.03 Those brilliant deities discovered by their intelligence the principal means of sacrifice which has to be effused, whichleads to the gods; these (priests) have taken the Gharma from Dha_ta_, the radiant Savita_ and Vis.n.u.
10.182.01 Let Br.haspati, the overcomer of difficulties, put aside (all sins), let him thrust aside the weapon of the calumniator; may he hurl down the inglorious (enemy), may he baffle the malevolent, and bestow upon the sacrificer health and prosperity. [Difficulties: duragaha = destroyer of those who go wickedly; or, may he lead us across difficulties].
10.182.02 May Nara_s'am.sa protect us at the Praya_ja rite; may he be (the giver of) felicity to us as the Anuya_ja (divinity) at oblations; may Br.haspati hurl down the inglorious (enemy), may he baffle the malevolent, and bestow upon the sacrificer health and prosperity. [At the Praya_ja rite: there are five praya_jas, and three anuya_jas; the second Praya_ja has Nara_s'am.sa (a name of Agni) for its deity; the second Anuya_ja has Agni as its deity].
10.182.03 May Tapurmu_rdha_ consume the ra_ks.asas, who are the enemies of the Bra_hman.as, (and then proceed) to slay (their) malignant (chief); may Br.haspati hurl down the inglorious (enemy), may he baffle the malevolent, and bestow upon the sacrificer health and prosperity.
10.183.01 (The wife speaks). I beheld you in my mind conversant (with sacred rites), born of penance, renowned for penance; enjoying in this world progeny and riches, do you who are desirous of offspring beget offspring.
10.183.02 (The Yajama_na speaks). I behold you in my mind radiant (with beauty), beseeching (your husband's approach) to your body at due season; may you, who are youthful, come up to me; bear offspring, you who are desirous of offspring.
10.183.03 (The hota_ speaks). I implant the seed in vegetables, the germ in all living beings; I engender progeny upon the earth; I beget children on other women. [I beget children: the share of the hota_ in the procreation of living beings is referable to the efficacy of the sacrifices at which he ministers. The metaphor: children = riches derived from sacrifice].
10.184.01 May Vis.n.u construct the womb, may Tvas.t.a_ fabricate the members, may Praja_pati sprinkle (the seed), may Dha_ta_ cherish your embryo.
10.184.02 Sustain the embryo, Sini_va_li, sustain the embryo, Sarasvati_, may the divine As'vins, garlanded with lotuses, sustain your embryo.
10.184.03 We invoke your embryo which the A'vins have churned with the golden pieces of touchwood, that you may bring it forth in the tenth month.
10.185.01 May the great, brilliant, unassailable protection of the three (deities), Mitra, Aryaman, and Varun.a, be (granted to me).
10.185.02 Let not their malignant enemy have power over dwellings, or roads, or enclosures.
10.185.03 (Nor the enemy of) the mortal upon whom the sons of Aditi bestow the eternal light (of life) that he may live. [Yajus. 3.31-33)].
10.186.01 May Va_ta breath into our hearts a healinv balm, bringing happiness; may he prolong our lives.
10.186.02 You, Va_ta, are both our father and our brother and our friend; cause us to live.
10.186.03 The store of ambrosia, Va_ta, which is placed in your house, give us of it that we may live.
10.187.01 Raise the hymn to Agni, the benefactor of mankind; may he bear us (safe) beyond (the reach of) those who hate us.
10.187.02 May (Agni), who from a great distance shines fiercely upon the desert tract that he has attained, bear us (safe) beyond (the reach of) those who hate us. [Desert tract: tiro dhanva = across the desert; tiras = pra_ptam].
10.187.03 May (Agni), the showerer of benefits, who, his pure radiance destroys the ra_ks.asas, bear us (safe) beyond (the reach of) those who hate us.
10.187.04 The Agni that glances at all the lokas, should protect us from the ill-will of enemies.
10.187.05 The Agni that appears in the celestial sphere above us in the form of illumined light, should protect us from all kinds of sorrows and troubles.
10.188.01 Urge the food-giver, Ja_tavedas, (as) a horse, to sit down upon this our sacred grass. [Ja_tavedas as a horse: or, as'vam (adj.) = the all-pervading Ja_tavedas].
10.188.02 I offer earnest and ample praise to this Ja-tavedas, the showerer (of benefits), whose sons are intelligent (worshippers).
10.188.03 May he invest our sacrifice with those bright (flames) of Ja_tavedas, that are the bearers of the oblation to the gods.
10.189.01 This moving many-coloured (Sun) has arrived, he has sat down before his mother (earth) in the east, and advances to his father heaven. [Deity Sa_rpara_jn~i_: i.e., Kadru, the mother of the serpent race; Yajus. 3.6-8; gau = gamanas'i_la, moving; the deity: first line, Agni; second line, Su_rya or Agni].
10.189.02 His radiance penetrates internally, drawing (the air) down (through the lungs) after having sent it up, the mighty one beholds the sky. [After having sent it up: i.e., setting after having risen; the mighty one: the sun; or, Agni in the character of Va_yu; mahis.ah = mighty].
10.189.03 The thirty stations of the day and night shine with (the sun's) rays, the gvoice (of praise) is addressed to the Sun. [Sun's rays: dha_ma = related to duration of time: he shines for thirty stations (or ghat.is, one ghat.i = 24 minutes) in the day; stations = muhu_rtas, or periods of 48 minutes; voice of praise: patan:ga = agni; dha_ma = either 30 muhu_rtas (making up 24 hours), or as the thirty days of the month during every one of which the diligent yajama_na sacrifices].
10.190.01 Truth (of thought) and truthfulness (of speech) were born of arduous penance, thence was night generated, thence also the watery ocean. [Penance: an allusion to the penance of Brahma_ preceding creation; tatah = from that penance, or from him (Brahma_); watery ocean: samudra = firmament and ocean (arn.ava)].
10.190.02 From the watery ocean was the year afterwards produced, ordaining nights and days, the ruler of every moment.
10.190.03 Dha_ta_ in the beginning created the sun and moved the heaven, the earth, the firmament, and the happy (sky).
10.191.01 Agni, showerer (of benefits), you who are the lord, you verily combine with all creatures, you are kindled upon the footmark of Il.a_ (the altar); bring unto us riches. [You verily combine: lit., you mix, associate all things; you alone among the gods pervade all living beings; or, Yajus. 15.30: you give the sacrificer all the objects (phala_ni) for which he prays].
10.191.02 Meet together, talk together, let your minds apprehend alike; in like manner as the ancient gods concurring accepted their portion of the sacrifice.
10.191.03 Common be the prayer of these (assembled worshippers), common be the acquisition, common the purpose, associated be the desire. I repeat for you a common prayer, I offer for you with a common oblation.
10.191.04 Common, (worshipppers), be your intention; common be (the wishes of) your hearts; common be your thoughts, so that there may be thorough union among you.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
January 26, 2017