With focused intent, I draw your mind toward me, guiding it as one would guide a royal horse to the yoke. Just as grass is carefully bound into a single sheaf, so too may your thoughts and heart be closely joined with mine. To win favor, I anoint with ointment, honey, fragrant costus, and spikenard, reaching out with both hands to draw forth the blessing of Bhaga. May the great Bṛhaspati bind you together, and may Savitṛ’s power unite you as well. Let Mitra and Aryaman, too, tie your bonds, and may Bhaga and the swift Aśvins ensure your union is strong. Let the highest, the lowest, and those in the middle all be joined together—Indra, with his mighty arms, has encircled them, and Agni, we call upon you to unite them for us. Those who march to battle, their banners raised before them, are also surrounded by Indra’s strength—Agni, bring them together for us in harmony. By taking and by binding, we bring our enemies under control. For those whose breath and life are slipping away, let them become unconscious, powerless before us. This taking, this act of control, I have performed with austerity and with Indra’s consent. Agni, bring those who stand against us under our power. May Indra and Agni, Soma, and the king of the earth strike down our foes. Let Indra, joined by the Maruts, seize the wealth of our enemies and grant it to us. Now, as the mind, swift as thought, can fly far away, so too, O cough, may you depart, following the wandering course of the mind. And as an arrow, sharp and well-made, flies swiftly across the earth, so may you, O cough, leave us, following the path of the land. As the rays of the sun swiftly spread forth, so, O cough, may you fly away, following the vast flow of the ocean. On your journey and in your return, may the sacred dūrvā grass flourish, bearing blossoms. Let a spring arise in your path, or a pond filled with blooming lotuses. Here is the descent of the waters, the resting place of the ocean; our homes are set in the midst of the lake—let the faces of those who oppose us turn away. We enclose you, our rice field, with the membrane of frost, for our lands are edged with cold lakes; Agni, prepare the remedy for us. Do not harm the one who conquers all and protects; under her shelter, guard all our two-footed and four-footed creatures, and all that belongs to us. Do not harm the protector who conquers all; in her victory, keep safe every being, two-legged and four-legged, and all that is ours. Do not harm the one who brings prosperity through conquest; in her abundance, guard our people and possessions. Do not harm the all-knowing one who brings prosperity; in her wisdom, keep safe our every being and all that is ours. O Medhā, come to us first, bringing cows and horses. You travel with the rays of the sun, and you are worthy of our sacrifices. I invoke Medhā, the foremost, inspired by the Brāhmaṇas, praised by the seers, honored by the students, for the help of the gods. May we instill within ourselves the wisdom known by the sages born of truth, the wisdom known by the gods, the auspicious wisdom known by the seers. The wisdom which the wise seers, creators of beings, have attained—O Agni, grant me that wisdom today. Let wisdom fill us in the evening, in the morning, and throughout the midday. May we infuse ourselves with wisdom through the sun’s rays and through our words. The long pepper, whose remedy is well-known and prepared, has been arranged by the gods; it is sufficient to sustain life. The long peppers, speaking together, are placed at the origin of birth; whoever partakes of this living one does not perish. Though the demons buried you, the gods unearthed you again—a remedy for what is caused by wind, a cure for what has been cast down. You, Agni, are ancient and worthy of praise in sacrifices, whether as the old or new Hotṛ. Cherish your own form and grant us good fortune. Born to destroy the eldest, sprung from the root of Yama’s dispersal, protect this one, and lead him past all evils to a long life of a hundred autumns. A hero was born on the day of the tiger, beneath a constellation, a strong man; may he never strike his father nor harm his mother as he grows. O Agni, release this man for me—he who is bound and mutters with a loosened tongue. When his madness has passed, assign him his proper share. May Agni bring calm to your mind if it is agitated; I, with knowledge, prepare the remedy so you may be restored from madness. From the gods, from the sinless, from madness, from the mad, from the demons—I, knowing, prepare the remedy for your restoration. May the evil spirits return you, may Indra return you, may Bhaga return you, may all unfriendly gods return you, so that you may be restored from madness. O Agni, do not let this one slay the eldest among them; protect him from the root of Yama’s dispersal. Loosen the binding cords, for you know, so that all the gods may recognize you. Release the cords, Agni, from these—the thirty-three with which they were bound. Loosen the bonds, knowing, and free the father and son, the mother, all of them. Whatever cords surround, bind, and fasten him limb by limb, may they be released for you, for there are releasers. O Pūṣan, remover of evil, cleanse away the sins that slay the unborn. The gods cleansed this sin for Trita; Trita cleansed it among men. If the seizure has seized you, may the gods destroy it through the sacred word. Let the rays and the smoke disperse, O sin, go to the wide spaces or to the mists; follow the foam of the rivers. O Pūṣan, remover of evil, cleanse the sins that slay the unborn. The guilt of man, measured twelvefold, was washed away from Trita; if the seizure has not consumed you from that, may the gods destroy it for you by means of sacred utterance. And finally, whatever offense against the gods we, even as gods, have committed—O Ādityas, release us from that by truth, by the law of truth.