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IV, 9. Salve (âñgana) as a protector of life and limb.

1. Come hither! Thou art the living, protecting eye-ointment of the mountain, given by all the gods as a safeguard, unto life.
2. Thou art a protection for men, a protection for cattle, thou didst stand for the protection of horses and steeds.
3. Thou art, O salve, both a protection that crushes the sorcerers, and thou hast knowledge of immortality (amrita). Moreover, thou art food for the living, and thou art, too, a remedy aorainst jaundice.
4. From him over whose every limb and every joint thou passest, O salve, thou dost, as a mighty intercepter, drive away disease.
5. Him that bears thee, O salve, neither curse, nor sorcery, nor burning pain does reach; nor does the,vishkandha come upon him.
6. From evil scheme, from troubled dream, from evil deed, and also from foulness.; from the evil eye of the enemy, from this protect us, O salve!
7. Knowing this, O salve, I shall speak the truth, avoid falsehood. May I obtain horses and cattle, and thy person, O serving-man!
8. Three are servants of the salve: the takman (fever), the balâsa, and the serpent. The highest of the mountains, Trikakud ('Three-peaks') by name, is thy father.
9. Since the salve of Trikakud is born upon the Himavant, it shall demolish all the wizards and all the witches.
10. Whether thou art derived from the (mountain) Trikakud, or art said to come from the (river) Yamunâ, both these names of thine are auspicious: with these, O salve, protect us!


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