14. That is thy glorious (nature) that when kindled in thy own house, and fed with Soma, thou art awake , the most merciful one. Thou bestowest treasures and wealth on the worshipper. Agni! May we suffer no harm in thy friendship.

15. May we be of those to whom thou, O possessor of beautiful wealth, O Aditi , art pleased to grant sinlessness in health and wealth , and whom thou wilt quicken with glorious strength and with abundance of progeny.

16. Do thou, O Agni, thou who knowest (how to grant) happiness, prolong our life here, O God! May Mitra and Varuna grant us this, may Aditi, the Sindhu, the Earth, and the Sky !

NOTES.

This hymn with the whole collection which it opens is ascribed to Kutsa Angirasa. The metre is Gagati; the two last verses, as is frequently the case in Gagati-hymns (see H. O., Prolegomena, 144 seq.), are composed in Trishtubh. The hymn has been translated by Prof. Max Muller, Physical Religion, p. 173.--Verse 1 = MS. II, 7, 3; SV. I, 66; AV. XX, 13, 3. Verses I, 3, 4 = SV. II, 414. 416. 415.

Verse 1.

Note [1:94:1:1]1. Prof. Max Muller translates, 'Let us build up this hymn of praise.' To me it rather seems that the reading should be, as Boehtlingk-Roth have proposed, s. v. sam-hi, sam ahema. Comp. I, 61, 4. asmai it u stomam sam

hinoini ratham na tashta-iva, 'to him I send forward a song of praise as a carpenter (fits out) a chariot.' Compare besides, IX, 71, 5; I, 184, 4; II, 19, 7; VI, 45, 14, &c.

Verse 2.

Note [1:94:2:1]1. Comp. vol. xxxii, p. 65, I, 37, 1 note.

Verse 4.

Note [1:94:4:1]1. Parvan, 'joint,' seems to refer here, as it very frequently does in the later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, to the joints of the month, the sacrificial days of the full and change of the moon (the parvana-sacrifices). As to the temporal use of the instrumental, comp. rituna and ritubhih; Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 130.

Verse 5.

Note [1:94:5:1]1. Ludwig proposes the correction of visa'm gopa'h into visa'm gopah (genitive). But I think it will be sufficient to write asya accented. As to visa'm gopa'h, comp. 96, 4.

Verse 6.

Note [1:94:6:1]1. The Prasastri (or Upavaktri), literally, 'the commander,' is the same priest who is more usually designated as the Maitravaruna. All the priests mentioned here (with the exception of the Purohita, see next note) belong to the ancient system of the 'seven Hotris,' enumerated, for instance, II, 1, 2. Comp. H. O., Religion des Veda, 383 seq.