Skip to content

On Vedic śvāpada- in the Prose of Paippalādasaṃhitā 17.22.10

Umberto Selva


Pages 123 - 148

DOI https://doi.org/10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.171.1.0123




This article presents a critical edition of the Paippalādasaṃhitā prose mantra 17.22.10, a curse that aims to bring about the death of an enemy by evoking the image of a corpse being devoured by carrion-eating birds. Among the list of carrion bird species, the mantra mentions the śvāpadāḥ. This article reviews the etymology of the term śvāpada-, generally translated as “wild beast of prey,” and its occurrences in the verses of the R̥V and AV and in the ritualistic prose literature; it further argues that, in the language of AV yajus-style prose, probably due to a familiarity with the specific poetic tradition of portraying scenes featuring wild beasts as scavengers, the adjective śvāpada- (a vrddhi derivative based on śvápad-, “wild beast”), meaning “ravenous (like a śvápad)” (in nominal use: “the ravenous one”), came to be used as a general term meaning “carrion-eating”; as a noun, it can also mean “carrion-eating animal, scavenger” in general. Thus it can refer to the birds that often appear next to wild beasts in such scenes and in PS 17.22.10 in particular.

Leiden

1 Bhattacharya, D. 2011: The Paippalāda-Saṃhitā of the Atharvaveda. Volume Three, Consisting of the Seventeenth and the Eighteenth Kāṇḍas. Calcutta.

2 Bloomfield, M. 1890: “Women as Mourners in the Atharva-Veda,” chapter V (pp. 336–341) of “Contributions to the Interpretation of the Veda: Second Series.” In: The American Journal of Philology 11/3, pp. 319–356.

3 Bloomfield, M. 1899: The Atharva-Veda and the Gopatha-Brāhmaṇa. Strassburg.

4 Boyce, M. 1988: “Barašnom.” In: Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 7, pp. 756– 757.

5 Boyce, M. 1993: “Corpse, Disposal of, In Zoroastrianism.” In: EIr VI, Fasc. 3, pp. 279–286. Böhtlingk, O. / R. Roth 1855–1875: Sanskrit-Wörterbuch. Vols. I–VII. St. Petersburg.

6 Bozzone, C. 2016: “Weaving songs fot the dead in Indo-European: women poets, funerary laments, and the ecology of *kléüos.” In: D. M. Goldstein/ St. W. Jamison/ B. Vine (eds.): Proceedings of the 27th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference. October 23rd and 24th, 2015. Bremen, pp. 1–22.

7 Brown, D. / D. Anthony 2017: “The dogs of war: A Bronze Age initiation ritual in the Russian steppe.” In: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 48, pp. 134–148. Caland, W. 1904–1924: The Baudhāyana śrauta sūtra belonging to the Taittirıya saṃhitā. 3 vols. Calcutta (Bibliotheca Indica 24) [Consulted on TITUS: ed. by Makoto Fushimi; corrections by Matthias Ahlborn; TITUS version by Jost Gippert].

8 Brown, D. / D. Anthony 1919: Das Jaiminīya-Brāhmaṇa in Auswahl. Amsterdam.

9 Brown, D. / D. Anthony 1921–1928: Der Śrautasūtra des Āpastamba aus dem Sanskrit übersetzt. Books 1–7. Göttingen/Leipzig 1921; Books 8–15. Amsterdam 1923; Books 16–24. Amsterdam 1928.

10 Das, R. P. 1985: “Altindoarisches kāca ‚(Joch-)Strick; Joch‘ und die Sippe um tamilisches kā ‚Stange; Joch‘.” In: Die Sprache 31, pp. 256–278.

11 Das, R. P. 1987: “Ai. aliklava- und Verwandtes.” In: Die Sprache 33, pp. 94–101.

12 Dev, B. 1980: Śaṅkhāyana-Āraṇyaka. Hoshiarpur (Vishveshvaranand Indological Series 70).

13 Eggeling, J. 1882–1900: The Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa. According to the Mādhyandina School. 5 vols. Oxford.

14 Fitzgerald, J. L. 1998: “Some Storks and Eagles Eat Carrion: Herons and Ospreys Do Not: Kaṅkas and Kuraras (And Baḍas) in the Mahābhārata.” In: JAOS 118/2, pp. 257–261.

15 Garbe, R. / C. G. Kashikar 1983: The Śrauta Sūtra of Āpastamba, belonging to the Taittirıya Saṃhitā with the commentary of Rudradatta. Vols. 1–3, by R. Garbe (1st ed. 1882–1902), 2nd edition, with new appendix containing corrections and emendations to the text by C. G. Kashikar [Consulted on TITUS: ed. (without the commentary) by Makoto Fushimi].

16 Gonda, J. 1975: Vedic Literature. Wiesbaden (A History of Indian Literature 1, Fasc. 1).

17 Grassmann, H. 1873: Wörterbuch zum Rig-Veda. Leipzig (überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage von M. Kozianka. Wiesbaden 1996).

18 Griffiths, A. 2009. The Paippalādasaṃhitā of the Atharvaveda, Kāṇḍas 6 and 7: A New Edition with Translation and Commentary. Groningen (Groningen Oriental Studies XXII).

19 Hoffmann, K. 1956. “Notizen zu Wackernagel-Debrunner, Altindische Grammatik II, 2.” In: MSS 8, pp. 5–24 (= 1976, pp. 387–402).

20 Hoffmann, K. 1975–1992. Aufsätze zur Indoiranistik. Vol. I (1975), II (1976). Ed. by J. Narten.

21 Vol. III (1992). Ed. by S. Glauch, R. Plath, S. Ziegler. Wiesbaden.

22 Insler, S. 1998. “On the recensions of the Atharva Veda and Atharvan hymn composition.” In: WZKS 42, pp. 5–21.

23 Jamison, S. / J. Brereton 2014: The Rigveda. The Earliest Religious Poetry of India. 3 vols. Oxford/New York.

24 Kashikar, C. G. 2003: The Baudhāyana Śrautasūtra. Critically edited and translated. 4 vols. Delhi.

25 Keith, A. B. 1908: The Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka. With an appendix on the Mahāvrata. London.

26 Keith, A. B. 1925: The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads. 2 vols. Cambridge. Kershaw, K. 2000: The One-eyed God. Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Männerbünde. Washington (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph 36).

27 Kubisch, P. 2012: Paippalāda-Saṃhitā Kāṇḍa 20, Sūkta 1–30. Kritische Edition, Übersetzung, Kommentar. Bonn (PhD Dissertation).

28 Lilja, S. 1976: Dogs in Ancient Greek Poetry. Helsinki.

29 Lindenau, M. 1924: Atharva Veda Sanhita. 3rd edition. Ed. by R. Roth and W. D. Whitney. Bonn (2nd ed. 1966).

30 Macdonell, A. A. / A. B. Keith 1912: Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. 2 vols. London.

31 Mair, V. 1998: “Canine Conundrums.” In: Sino-Platonic Papers 87, pp. 1–74.

32 Mayrhofer, M. 1992–2001: Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoiranischen. 3 vols. Heidelberg.

33 Modi, J. J. 1922: The religious ceremonies and customs of the Parsees. Bombay. Monier Williams, M. 1899: A Sanskrit English Dictionary. New Edition, Greatly Enlarged and Improved. Oxford.

34 Olivelle, P. 1998: The Early Upaniṣads. Annotated text and translation. New York/Oxford.

35 Omidsalar et al. 1995: “Dog” [= M. Omidsalar/ T. P. Omidsalar: “i. In literature and folklore”; M. Boyce: “ii. In Zoroastrianism”; J.-P. Digard: “iii. Ethnography”]. In: EIr VII, Fasc. 5, pp. 461–470.

36 Renou, L. 1955: “Les parties en prose de l’Atharvaveda.” In: Études Védiques et Pāṇinéennes. Vol. I. Paris, pp. 71–90.

37 Renou, L. 1957a: “List of remarkable words from the Kashmirian (Paippalāda) version of the Atharva Veda.” In: Vāk 5, pp. 74–108.

38 Renou, L. 1957b: “Faits de langue propres au Paippalāda-Atharvaveda.” In: Études Védiques et Pāṇinéennes. Vol. III. Paris, pp. 195–119.

39 Renou, L. 1957c: “Linguistic remarks on the Paippalāda version of the Atharvaveda.” In: Radhakrishnan et al. (eds.): Felicitation Volume presented to Professor Sripad Krishna Belvalkar. Banaras, pp. 63–71.

40 Roth, R. / W. D. Whitney 1856: Atharva Veda Sanhita. Berlin.

41 Schlerath, B. 1954–1958: “Der Hund bei den Indogermanen.” In: Paideuma VI, pp. 25–40.

42 Selva, U. 2019a: The Paippalādasaṃhitā of the Atharvaveda. A New Critical Edition of the Three ‘New’ Anuvākas of Kāṇḍa 17 with English Translation and Commentary. Leiden (doctoral dissertation).

43 Selva, U. 2019b: “The study of the Paippalāda recension of the Atharvaveda. The state of the art.” In: Kervan – International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies 23 (special issue – Scritti e pensieri per Pinuccia Caracchi), pp. 199–234.

44 Shahbazi, A. Sh. 1987: “Astōdān.” In: EIr II, Fasc. 8, pp. 851–853.

45 Slaje, W. 2019: Wo unter schönbelaubtem Baume Yama mit den Göttern zecht. Zweisprachige Proben vedischer Lyrik. München (Indologica Marpurgensia 9). Spiers, C. (in prep.): Magie et poésie dans l’Inde ancienne. Édition, traduction et commentaire de l’Atharvaveda-Paippalâda, livre 3. Paris (doctoral dissertation).

46 Sukhtankar, V. S. et al. 1927–1959: The Mahābhārata. For the first time critically edited by V. S. Sukhtankar and others. 19 vols. Poona.

47 Tucker, E. 2016: “Is it time to re-evaluate the contribution which the Atharvaveda can make to Indo-Iranian and Indo-European Historical Linguisticṣ” In: D. M. Goldstein/ St. W. Jamison/ B. Vine (eds.): Proceedings of the 27th Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference. October 23rd and 24th, 2015. Bremen, pp. 199–223.

48 Vassilkov, Y. 2015: “Animal Symbolism of Warrior Brotherhoods in Indian Epic, History and Culture.” In: T. Pontillo/ C. Bignami/ M. Dore/ E. Mucciarelli (eds.): The Volatile World of Sovereignty. The Vrātya Problem and Kingship in South Asia. New Delhi, pp. 231–253.

49 Vira, Raghu/ Lokesh Chandra 1954: Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa of the Sāmaveda. Nagpur.

50 von Schroeder, L. 1900–1910: Kāṭhakam. Die Saṃhitā der Kaṭha-çākhā. Leipzig. Weber, A. 1855: The Çatapatha-Brâhmaṇa in the Mâdhyandina-Çâkhâ. Berlin/London.

51 White, D. G. 1989: “Dogs die.” In: History of Religions 28/4, pp. 283–303.

52 White, D. G. 1991. Myths of the dog-man. Chicago/London.

53 Whitney, W. D. 1881: Index Verborum to the Published Text of the Atharva-Veda. New Haven (= JAOS 12).

54 Whitney, W. D. 1905: Atharva-Veda Saṃhitā: translated with a critical and exegetical Commentary. Revised and brought nearer to completion and edited by Charles Rockwell Lanman. 2 vols. Cambridge (Mass.).

55 Witzel, M. 1997: “The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu.” In: M. Witzel (ed.): Inside the Texts. Beyond the Texts. New approaches to the study of the Vedas. Proceedings of the International Vedic Workshop, Harvard University, June 1989. Cambridge.

56 Witzel, M. 2012: The Origins of the World’s Mythologies. Oxford/New-York.

57 Zeuner, F. E. 1963: A History of Domesticated Animals. New York.

58 Zimmer, H. 1879: Altindisches Leben. Berlin.

Share


Export Citation