18. Whatever liberal givers may worship 1 the Maruts, and move about together as generous 2 benefactors, even from them turn 3 towards us with a kinder heart, you youths

19. O Sobhari, call loud with your newest song

the young, strong, and pure Maruts, as the plougher calls the cows.

20. Worship the Maruts with a song, they who are strong like a boxer, called in to assist those who call 1 for him in all fights; (worship them) the most glorious, like bright-shining bulls.

21. Yes, O united friends, kindred, O Maruts, by a common birth, the oxen lick one another's humps 1.

22. O ye dancers, with golden ornaments on your chests, even a mortal comes (to ask) for your brotherhood 1; take care of us, ye Maruts, for your friendship lasts for ever.

23. O bounteous Maruts, bring us some of your Marut-medicine, you friends, and (quick, like) steeds.

24. With the favours whereby you favour the Sindhu, whereby you save, whereby you help Krivi 1, with those propitious favours be our delight, O delightful ones, ye who never hate your followers 2.

25. O Maruts, for whom we have prepared good altars, whatever medicine 1 there is on the Sindhu, on the Asiknî, in the seas, on the mountains,

26. Seeing it, you carry it all on your bodies. Bless us with it! Down to the earth, O Maruts 1, what hurts our sick one,—straighten what is crooked!

NOTES.

Ascribed to Sobhari Kânva; metre, Kâkubha pragâtha. Verse 1 = SV. I, 401; verse 21 = SV. I, 404.

Verse 1.

SV. reads sthâta, and dridhâ kid yamayishnavah.

Verse 2.

Note 1. It might be better to supply rathaih, but the poet may have used pars pro toto.

Note 2. The Sobharis, who are mentioned in the 8th Mandala only, are clearly a clan of that name, and their hymns form a small collection by itself. See Oldenberg. Prolegomena, p. 209 seq.

Verse 3.

Note 1. Mîlhvas is sometimes used by itself in the sense of patron or benefactor, VII, 86, 7; 97, 2. Whether it can govern a genitive is doubtful, but see VII, 58, 5, note.

Note 2. Here again, as in II, 34, 11, Vishnu esha seems to mean Soma, possibly the food, or even the seed (retas) of Vishnu. Sâyana too takes Vishnu as a name of rain. In I, 154, 5, we read that the spring of madhu is in the highest place of Vishnu. Could it mean the generous sons of Vishnu?

Verse 4.

Note 1. My translation is purely conjectural. I take dvîpa for isolated or scattered clouds, different from the dukkhunâ, which I take for the black mass of storm-clouds, threatening destruction. Grassmann: 'Die Wolkeninseln stoben and das Unheil floh.' Ludwig: 'Empor stigen gewaltig die waszerinseln, still stand das unglück.'