Page:Atharva-Veda samhita volume 2.djvu/426

xviii. 4- no rayiṁ sarvavīraṁ ni yacchantu; and the comparison appears to convict our unintelligible third pāda of being a very gross corruption. ⌊Observe that the word preceding āsīnam ends in m, and cf. the cases assembled under xviii. 2. 3.⌋ The comm. has no difficulty in explaining 'a sitting refreshment' as "a piṇḍa set upon the barhis." Both editions read at the end yachān, but all the mss. save one of SPP's read yachāt; the comm. has -ān. The Anukr. does not heed that the first pāda is jagatī. For the ritual application, see under the preceding verse. ⌊With a, cf. 2. 4 d, above.⌋

41. They kindle the immortal one, oblation-carrying, ghee-loving; he knoweth the deposited deposits, the Fathers that are gone away to the distances.

42. What stirabout for thee, what rice-dish, what flesh I offer (ni-pṛ) to thee, be they for thee rich in svadhā́, rich in honey, dripping with ghee.

43. What grains I scatter along for thee, mixed with sesame, rich in svadhā́, be they for thee abundant, prevailing; them let king Yama approve for thee.

44. This [is] the former, the after down-track, by which thy former Fathers went away; they who are the forerunners, the followers (? abhiṣác) of it, they carry thee to the world of the well-doing.

Our reading abhiṣā́cas is an emendation, almost every ms. giving abhiçā́cas (our Op. has abhi॰sā́caḥ, and also one ⌊or two⌋ of SPP's authorities); -ṣā́c- is of course intended, and the comm. gives it. SPP's text follows the mss. The comm. explains niyāna as the wagon (çakaṭa) on which the corpse is carried to the funeral pile; and the 'forerunners' and 'followers' as the oxen that draw it, in front and on all sides: which is