A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s3.2

v1.c8.s3.2

"Atharva-veda" means "the Veda of the Atharvan" or "the knowledge of Magic Formulas." Originally, however, the word *Atharvan* meant a fire-priest, and it is probably the oldest Indian name for "priest" in general, for the word dates back to the Indo-Iranian period. For the Athravans or "fire-people" of the Avesta correspond to the Indian Atharvans.² The fire-cult played no less a part in the daily life of the ancient Indians than in that of the ancient Persians, so often designated as "fire-worshippers;" the priests of this very ancient fire-cult, however, were still, like the Shamans of Northern Asia and the Medicine-men of the American Indians, "priests of magic," that is, priest and wizard combined in one person, as in the word "Magi"—as the Āthravans in Medea were called—the ideas of wizard and priest are merged together. Thus we can understand that the name Atharvan designated also the "incantations of the Atharvan or the wizard-priest," that is, the spells and magic formulas themselves. The oldest name, however, by which this Veda is known in Indian literature is Atharvāṅgirasah, that is, "the Atharvans and the Aṅgiras." The Aṅgiras, similarly, are a class of prehistoric fire-priests, and the word also, like the word atharvan, attained the meaning of "magic formulas and spells." The two expressions *atharvan* and *aṅgiras*, however, designate two different species of magic formulas: atharvan is "holy magic, bringing happiness," while aṅgiras means "hostile magic, black magic." Among the Atharvans, for example, are the formulae for the healing of diseases, while among the Aṅgiras are the curses against enemies, rivals, evil magicians, and such like. The old name Atharvāṅgirasaḥ thus means these *two* kinds of magic formulae, which form the chief contents of the Atharvaveda. The later name Atharvaveda is merely an abbreviation of "Veda of the Atharvans *and Aṅgiras*."¹