.

,'. . . .
. . .. , ..
. .. ' i . -
. " : '''' ' :,'
.' . "
........ " '-""_"";"'''-.' .............. : ._-_ ... .. __ .... -_ ... " .. ,,-- ... -." - .... ... __ . . .. . ..... - . .. - ' " . .. "-- ., -" .. _. __ .. _ ... -- _ .... _- -- ' , .. ".'--- .. ... " . ........... .. - .. __ ...... ""'''_.,-, . .. __._-_ . .... __ . " . .. _-_ .. _- ----.- . ' ,- '"'''-,. - ." ." . . . . . . .......
.- .- LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE . -
- -
But-the trick becomes ridiculous when it is suggested in all seriousness
as a way of averting the ill omen of a twinning animal, that one of the
twiricalvesshould be made over to a Brahmal).a (AT, -28; 2}.Most
. am4sing, however, is the 10rig' hYI)1ll (AV, XII. 4) in fierce denunciation
- _. . ." .." .
of tliose who fail to bestow on . Brahmanas their barren cows. C -' ..
. (The supposed thus <i
In the Atharvaveda, and of hIS obhgatlOns there IS hardly any mentIon.
Thus in A V, III. 58 the it is true, is praying for glory instead
- .
of wealth, but he cannot help adding: "so that I may be dear to the <...--
best ower of Dakshi1Jii (sacrificial fee)." To the Brahmal).asof the Athar- .,
r
vaveda it was evidently more important to be dear to the bestower of (>
Dakshi1Jii than to be dear to the gods. Nor were the Mantras of the
Atharvaveda primarily meant for thos sacrificial sessions (sattras) at
which there was neither Yajamiina nor
. .
The community in which the Atharvan priest ordinarily moved was no
doubt the society of the poor and ignorant villagers, to meet the demands
\0 of whose primitive superstitions was his principal professional ' business.
But as even the highest and the mighty in the land were not above those
superstitions, the Atharvan gained access even to the rulers of the
country, and in fact came to be recognized as the king's alter ego in the
role of his Purohita. How the Atharvan alone of the various types of
priests came to occupy this enviable position is quite clear. While the other
priests were adepts in the higher Srautacritual of which the solemn
ceremonies were performed only at intervals or on special occasions, the
Atharvan had to advise the king on trivial events of his daily life, such
as a cough (A V, VI. 105), sleep (A V, IV. 5), nightmare (A V, VI. 45), etc.,
and therefore had to be constantly in attendance on him.29 Who else
in these circumstances could be the king's chief adviser? Moreover, were
not the king's victories due to the effective prayers of his Purohita?
A king's Purohit a actually says in the Atharvaveda (III. 19):-
. ;"
I. Sharpened is this prayer of mine,
sharpened is my manly strength;
Sharp and imperishable be their rule
whose victorious Purohit a I am.

4. Sharper than the axe,
and sharper than the flame,
. ' . . than the thunder of Indra
,
are those whose Purohita I am.


. .. ' . . .-
_. . -
Since an Atharvan priest was by custom the king's Purohit a it is but
natural that an elaborate hymn of coronation at which, also according
to later ritual, the Purohit a was the chief functionary, should be-included
in the Atharvaveda (IV. 8): ..
4
0
9
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