Atharva Veda 11.10 · Vedas – Griffith · Verses Across
Hinduism · Vedas · Atharva Veda
Atharva Veda 11.10
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Rise up, with all your banners rise; prepare your strength, ye vapoury Forms! Serpents and fiends and Other Folk, charge and pursue our enemies!
Let those who bear an evil name, in air, in heaven on earth, and men, After Trishandhi's will, revere your power, the sway that Know- ledge gives, together with your ruddy flags.
Let those with iron faces, with faces like needles or like combs, Flesh-eaters, rapid as the wind, cling closely to our foemen with Trishandhi for their thunderbolt.
Omniscient Āditya, make full many a corpse to disappear. Let this devoted army of Trishandhi be in my control.
Rise up, O Godlike Being, rise, Arbudi, with thine army: this, Tribute is sacrificed to thee, Trishandhi's welcome offering
May this four-footed White-foot, may this arrow brace and bind thee fast: Together with Trishandhi's host, be thou, O Witchcraft, meant for foes.
Down let the dim-eyed demon fly, and let her shorteared sister shriek: Red be the banners when the host of Arbudi hath won the day.
Let all the birds that move on wings come downward, all fowls that roam the heavens and air's midregion. Let beasts of prey and flies attacks, and vultures that eat raw flesh mangle and gnaw the carcase.
By that same binding treaty which thou madest, Brihaspati! with Indra! and with Brahma, By Indra's pledge I bid the Gods come hither. Conquer on this side, not on their side yonder.
Brihaspati Angirasa, Rishis made strong and keen by prayer, Have set Trishandhi in the heaven, dire weapon that destroys the fiends.
The Gods enjoyed Trishandhi for the sake of energy and power, Him under whose protection, both, Indra and yon Āditya stand.
The Gods, victorious, won themselves all worlds by this oblation, which Brihaspati Angirasa effused, a very thunderbolt, a weapon to destory the friends.
That fiend-destroying weapon which Brihaspati Angirasa poured out and made a thunderbolt. Even therewith, Brihaspati, I brush that hostile armament, and strike the foemen down with might.
Over to us come all the Gods who eat the hallowed sacrifice With this oblation be ye pleased: conquer on this side, not on that.
Over,to us let all Gods come: dear is Trishandhi's offering. Keen the great pledge through which, of old, the Asuras were overthrown.
Let Vāyu bend the arrow-points of those who are our enemies. Let Indra break their arms away: no power to lay the shaft be theirs! Āditya utterly destroy their missile! Chandramās bar the path of him who lingers!
If they have issued forth strongholds of Gods, and made their shields of prayer, Gaining protection for their lives, protection round about, make all their instigation powerless
With the Flesh-eater and with Death, following the Purohita, On! forward with Trishandhi's host! conquering enemies advance!
Do thou, Trishandhi, with the gloom of darkness compass round our foes; Let none escape of them expelled with speckled butter mixt with curds.
Let White-foot fall upon those wings of our opponents' arma- ment; Mazed and bewildered be those hands of foes this day, O Nyar- budi.
Mazed are the foemen, Nyarbudi! Slay thou each bravest man of them: with this our army slaughter them.
Low lie the warrior, mailed, unmailed, each foeman in the rush of war. Down-smitten with the strings of bows, the fastenings of mail, the charge!
The armour-clad, the armourless, enemies clothed with coats of mail, All these struck down, O Arbudi, let dogs devour upon the earth.
Car-borne and carless fighting men, riders and those who go on foot, All these, struck down, let vultures, kites, and all, the birds of air devour.
Low let the hostile army lie, thousands of corpses, on the ground, Pierced through and rent to pieces where the deadly weapons clash in fight.
With eagles let them eat the evil-hearted, pierced in the vitals, lying crushed and howling. The foe whoe'er will fight against this our protecting sacrifice.
With this which Gods attend, with this which never fails to gain its end, Let Indra, Vritra-slayer, smite, and with Trishandhi as a bolt.
