Atharvaveda German translations

[Arlo Griffiths]

Griffith's translation does not resemble very much the English version you cite. But Whitney helpfully cites all other preceding translations. These were by Ludwig (in vol. III of his Der Rigveda), Deussen (in his Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie ...), and Weber (in Indische Studien XVIII). 

Deussen might be the most likely to have fallen into Jung's hands. None of these works are available to me, but I expect one or more of them to be able to exist in some form online. Perhaps one of our colleagues can points us to such online versions.

Arlo Griffiths
EFEO/Jakarta



Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:05:47 -0800
From: nasadasin at GMAIL.COM
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Atharvaveda German translations
To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk

I'm doing some research on the influence of India on the ideas of C.G. Jung. In his Red Book (Liber Novus) just published (2009) there is an error of attribution. Plate 45 is cited by Jung (calligraphy at the bottom of the page) to refer to "Atharva-veda 4.1.4." The translator mistakenly quotes, from the Bloomfield SBE selection of AV hymns, text from hymn 4.4.1 (a magical hymn for sexual potency).  The hymn actually listed by Jung (4.1) is not found in the SBE edition, and concerns Skambha, the prop between heaven and earth, which seems to fit the painting of a man holding up a cosmic mandala.  The Whitney AV translation in English was available before 1917 when Jung did the painting, but is quite obscure about this hymn.  Griffith also translated the entire AV, but I do not have this.  My question is about German translations of the AV text before 1917 that include a semi-accurate translation of 4.1.4. I make it out to read something like, "He (Skambha), established in Order, propped apart the great heaven and earth to be dwelling places (kSema). The Great one as he was born propped apart the heavenly seat (sadman) and the earthly space." The painting, as I read it at any rate centers on a (cosmic) egg from which a serpent is rising to heaven along the axis of a vertical post that is balanced on the head of a man (Skambha?). It fits the AV 4.1.4 text pretty well.  So the question is whether there are German translations (or Griffith's) that say much the same and so could be sources for Jung's painting. A friend is looking at Jung's library to see what he had. We know he possessed the 50 volumes of the SBE, but that cannot be the source.  (Apologize if Jung is too far afield from Indology proper.)
 Al Collins 		 	   		  


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