Yajurveda, Book 18

¹MAY my strength and my gain, and my inclination and my influence, and my thought and my mental power, and my praise and my fame, and my renown and my light, and my heaven prosper by sacrifice.

²May my breathing and my out-breathing, and my through-breathing and my vital spirit, and my thought and my reflection, and my voice and my mind, and my eye and my ear, and my ability and my strength prosper by sacrifice.

³May my energy and my force, and my self and my body, and my shelter and my shield, and my limbs and my bones, and my joints and my members, and my life and my old age prosper by sacrifice.

⁴May my preëminence and my overlordship, and my wrath and my angry passion, and my violence and my impetuosity, and my victorious power and my greatness, and my breadth and my width, and my height and my length, and my increase and my improvement prosper by sacrifice.

⁵May my truth and my faith, and my cattle and my wealth, and my goods and my pleasure, and my play and my enjoyment, and my children and my future children, and my hymn and my pious act prosper by sacrifice.

⁶May my religious rite and my immortality, and my freedom from consumption and my freedom from disease, and my life and my longevity, and my freedom from enemies and my freedom from danger, and my happiness and my lying down, and my fair dawn and my fair day prosper by sacrifice.

⁷May my controller and my supporter, and my security and my firmness, and my goods and my pleasure, and my knowledge and my understanding, and my begetting and my propagation, and my plough and my harrow prosper by sacrifice.

⁸May my welfare and my comfort, and what I hold dear and what I desire, and my love and my gratification, and my enjoyment and my substance, and my happiness and my felicity, and my higher bliss and my fame prosper by sacrifice.

⁹May my vigour and my pleasantness, and my milk and my sap, and my butter and my honey, and my meal in company and my drinking in company, and my ploughing and my husbandry, and my superiority and my preëminence prosper by sacrifice.

¹⁰May my wealth and my property, and my prosperity and my growth, and my pervading power and my lordship, and my abundance and my greater abundance, and my bad harvest and my unwasted crop, and my food and my satiety prosper by sacrifice.

¹¹May my gain and my future gain, and what I have and what I shall have, and my good road and my good path, and my success and my succeeding, and my achievement and my contrivance, and my thought and my good counsel prosper by sacrifice.

¹²May my rice-plants and my barley, and my beans and my sesamum, and my kidney-beans and my vetches, and my millet and my Panicum Milliaceum, and my Panicum Frumentaceum and my wild rice, and my wheat and my lentils prosper by sacrifice.

¹³May my stone and my clay, and my hills and my mountains, and my pebbles and my trees, and my gold and my bronze, and my copper and my iron, and my lead and my tin prosper by sacrifice.

¹⁴May my fire and my water, and my creepers and my plants, and lily plants with culture-ripened fruit and my plants with fruit ripened without culture, and my domestic animals and my wild animals, and my substance and my future substance, and my belongings and my power be produced by sacrifice.

¹⁵May my treasure and my dwelling, and my religious service and my ability to perform it, and my object and my course, and my way and my going prosper by sacrifice.

¹⁶May my Agni and my Indra, and my Soma and my Indra, and my Savitar and my Indra, and my Sarasvatî and my Indra, and my Pûshan and my Indra prosper by sacrifice.

¹⁷May my Mitra and my Indra, and my Varuna and my Indra, and my Dhâtar and my Indra, and my Maruts and my Indra, and my All-Gods and my Indra prosper by sacrifice.

¹⁸May my earth and my Indra, and my Air and my Indra, and my Sky and my Indra, and my Half-months and my Indra, and my Lunar Mansions and my Indra, and my Sky-regions and my Indra prosper by sacrifice.

¹⁹May my Amsu and my Rasmi, and my Adhipati and my Upâmsu, and my Antaryâma and my Aindra-Vâyava, and my Maitrâ-Varuna, and my Âsvina and my Pratiprasthâna, and my Sukra and my Manthin proper by sacrifice.

²⁰May my Âgrayana and my Vaisvadeva, and my Dhruvâ and my Vaisvânara, and my Aindrâgna and my Mahâvaisvadeva, and my Marutvatîya and my Nishkevalya, and my Sâvitra and my Sârasvata, and my Pâtnîvata and my Hâriyojana prosper by sacrifice.

²¹May my ladles and my cups, and my Vâyu, vessels and my Soma reservoirs, and my pressing-stones and my two press-boards, and my Pûtabhrit and my Âdhavanîya, and my altar and altar-grass, and my Avabhritha and my cries of Good-speed prosper by sacrifice.

²²May my Agni and my charms, and my Arka and my Sûrya, and my Prâna and my Asvamedha, and my Prithivî and my Aditi, and my Diti and my Sky, and my fingers, powers, and sky-regions prosper by sacrifice.

²³May my vow and my seasons, and my austere devotion, and my day and night, thighs and knees, and two Great Rathantaras prosper by sacrifice.

²⁴May me One and my Three, and my Three and my Five, and my Five and my Seven (and similarly up to thirty-three) prosper by sacrifice.

²⁵May my Four and my Eight and my Twelve (and similarly up to forty-eight) prosper by sacrifice

²⁶May my eighteen-months steer and my eighteen-months heifer, and my two-year bull and cow (and similarly up to four-year) prosper by sacrifice.

²⁷May my six-year bull and my six-year cow, and my bull and my barren cow, and my young bull and my calf-slipping cow, and my ox and my milch-cow prosper by sacrifice.

²⁸To strength, Hail! To Gain, Hail! To After-born, Hail! To Power, Hail! To Vasu, Hail! To the Lord of Days, Hail! To the Failing Day, Hail! To the Failing Sprung from the Transitory, Hail! To the Transitory sprung from the Final, Hail! To the Final Mundane, Hail! To the Lord of the World, Hail! To the Sovran Lord, Hail! To Prajâpati, Hail! This is thy kingdom. Thou art a guiding controller for the friend. Thee for vigour, thee for rain, thee for the sovran lordship of creatures.

²⁹May life succeed through sacrifice. May life-breath thrive by sacrifice. May the eye thrive by sacrifice. May the ear thrive by sacrifice. May the voice thrive by sacrifice. May the mind thrive by sacrifice. May the self thrive by sacrifice. May Brahma thrive by sacrifice. May light succeed by sacrifice. May heaven succeed by sacrifice. May the hymn thrive by sacrifice. May sacrifice thrive by sacrifice; And laud and sacrificial text, and verse of praise and Sâma chant, The Brihat and Rathantara. Gods, we have gone to light. We have become the children of Prajâpati. We have become immortal.

³⁰In gain of wealth we celebrate, etc: = IX. 5.

³¹This day come all the Maruts, all to aid us! Let all the fires be thoroughly enkindled. May the All-Gods come hither with protection. May we possess all property and riches.

³²May our strength fill the regions seven, fill the four distant places full. Here may our riches guard us with the All-Gods in the gain of wealth.

³³May strength to-day procure for us donations strength range the Gods together with the Seasons. Yea, strength hath made me rich in store of heroes. As lord of strength may I gain all the regions.

³⁴Strength be before us, in the midst among us. May strength exalt the Gods with our oblation. Yea, strength hath made me rich in store of heroes. As lord of strength may I gain all the regions.

³⁵With milk of Prithivî do I unite me, unite myself with waters and with plants. As such may I gain strength, O Agni.

³⁶Store milk in earth and milk in plants, milk in the sky and milk in air. Teeming with milk for me he all the regions.

³⁷Thee by the radiant Savitar's impulsion, with arms of Asvins, with the hands of Pûshan, Controlled by Vâk Sarasvatî's Controller, with Agni's sole dominion I besprinkle.

³⁸Maintainer of Law, true by nature, Agni is the Gandharva. The plants are his Apsarases, namely Delights. May he protect this our Priesthood and Nobility. To him All-hail! Ave! To those All-hail!

³⁹The Conjoined, Visvasâman, Sûrya is the Gandharva. His motes are his Apsarases, Swift-moving. May he protect, etc., as in 38.

⁴⁰The Highly-Blessed, the Moon whose rays are like the Sun's, is the Gandharva. The Asterisms are his Apsarases, Luminous. May he protect, etc.

⁴¹The Quick, All-reaching, Wind is the Gandharva. The Waters are his Apsarases, named Energies. May he protect, etc.

⁴²The Protecting, Strong-winged, Sacrifice is the Gandharva. Guerdons are his Apsarases, called Praisers. May he protect, etc.

⁴³The Lord of Creatures, Omnific, Mind is the Gandharva. Richas and Sâmans are his Apsarases, called Wishings. May he protect, etc.

⁴⁴Lord of the World, Prajâpati, whose are the homes above and here, Give great protection unto these, the Priesthood and Nobility.

⁴⁵Thou art the vapoury sea that giveth moisture. Blow on me, thou, healthful and blessing-laden. Thou art the Maruts’ own, the band of Maruts. Blow on me, etc. Seeker of aid art thou, receiving worship. Blow on me, etc.

⁴⁶Thy lights, O Agni, in the Sun, etc., as in XIII. 22.

⁴⁷Lights of yours in the Sun, O Gods, etc., as in XIII. 23.

⁴⁸Give lustre to our holy priests, set lustre in our ruling chiefs Lustre to Vaisyas, Sûdras: give, through lustre; lustre unto me.

⁴⁹I ask this of thee with my prayer, adoring: thy worshipper asks this with his oblations. Varuna, stay thou here and be not angry: steal not our life from us, O thou Wide-Ruler.

⁵⁰Heaven-like is Warmth, Hail! Heaven-like is Arka, Hail! Heaven-like is the Bright One, Hail! Heaven-like is Light, Hail! Heaven-like is Sûrya, Hail!

⁵¹I yoke with power and flowing butter Agni, divine, strong- pinioned, great with vital vigour. Through him may we approach the Bright One's station, ascending to the loftiest sky, to heaven.

⁵²With these thy two ne’er-wasting feathered pinions wherewith thou drivest fiends away, O Agni, Let us fly to the regions of the pious whither have gone the first-born ancient Rishis.

⁵³The Drop, the powerful, the falcon, righteous, impetuous bird borne on his golden pinions, Great, stedfast, settled in the habitation—to thee be reverence! Forbear to harm thee!

⁵⁴Centre of earth, heaven's head art thou, essence of waters and of plants. Eternal, far spread refuge. Homage to the Path!

⁵⁵Attached thou standest at the head of all the world. Thy heart is in the sea, thy life is in the floods. Give water: cleave the reservoir. Help us with rain sent from the sky, Parjanya, firmament, or earth.

⁵⁶By Bhrigus and by Vasus hath prayer-granting sacrifice been paid. Come, Wealth, into the house of him our dear, our well-beloved one.

⁵⁷May Agni, served with sacrifice and gifts, protect our offered food: This homage be Good-speed to Gods!

⁵⁸That which hath flowed from purpose or from judgment, or gathered from the wind or from the vision, Follow ye to the region of the pious whither have gone the first-born ancient Rishis.

⁵⁹To thee I trust this man. Celestial Dwelling! treasure which Jâtavedas shall bring hither. After you will the Sacrificer follow. Here recognize him in the highest heaven.

⁶⁰Acknowledge him, ye Gods, in highest heaven. Ye who are present, know the shape he weareth. When he approacheth by the God-ward pathways, reveal to him the meed of pious actions.

⁶¹Wake up, O Agni, etc., as in XV. 54.

⁶²Convey our sacrifice to heaven, etc., as in XV. 55,

⁶³With Darbha-bunch, with fencing-wood, with spoon, with altar, holy grass, With laud, lead this our sacrifice to go to heaven among the Gods.

⁶⁴Our gifts, our charitable grants, our pious works, our fees to priests, May the Omnific's Agni set all this among the Gods in heaven.

⁶⁵There where all never-failing streams of honey and of butter flow, May Agni, Visvakarman's own, place us in heaven among the Gods.

⁶⁶Agni am who know by birth all creatures. Mine eye is butter, in my mouth is nectar. I am the triple light, the region's meter: exhaustless heat am I, named burnt oblation.

⁶⁷Praise-verses, sacrificial texts, and chanted hymns am I in name. Thou art the best of all the Fires among the fivefold race of man That burn upon this earth of ours. Speed thou us on to lengthened life.

⁶⁸O Indra, for the strength that slays Vritra and conquers in the fight We torn thee hitherward to us.

⁶⁹Thou, Indra, much-invoked, didst crush to pieces, Kunâru, handless fiend who dwelt with Dânus. Thou with might, Indra, smotest dead the scorner, the footless Vritra as he waxed in vigour.

⁷⁰O Indra, beat our foes away, etc. as in VIII. 44.

⁷¹Like some dread wild beast roaming on the mountain thou hast approached us from the farthest distance. Whetting thy bolt and thy sharp blade, O Indra, crush thou the foes and scatter those who hate us.

⁷²To aid us let Vaisvânara come from the distance far away: Come Agni, to our eulogies!

⁷³Sought in the sky, sought on the earth, sought after, all plants that grow on ground hath Agni entered. May Agni, may Vaisvânara with vigour, sought for, by day and night from harm preserve us.

⁷⁴Help its that we may gain this wish, O Agni, gain riches, Wealthy One! with store of heroes. Desiring strength from thee may we be strengthened, and win, Eternal! thine eternal glory.

⁷⁵Approaching with raised hands and adoration, we have this day fulfilled for thee thy longing. Worship the Gods with most devoted spirit as Priest with no unfriendly thought. O Agni.

⁷⁶Home-hider Agni, Indra, and Brahma, and bright Brihaspati— May the All Gods, one-minded, guard our sacrifice in happy place.

⁷⁷Guard thou the Sacrificer's men, O Youthfullest, etc., as in XIII. 52.