Book Reviewed: The Atharva-Veda Saṁhitā by Maurice Bloomfield (Editor: F. Max Müller)

Atharvaveda This work is a partial English translation of the Atharvaveda (Śaunaka recension) that includes Books 1–7, 11, 12, 19, and part of twenty. This is a blend of magical, healing, and ritual hymns against demons, diseases, and sorcery. About one-sixth of Atharvaveda contains lofty hymns of Rigveda and philosophical hymns like Purusha Sūkta RV 10.90 (AV 19.6). The author makes notes about these hymns from Rigveda, but this work is a literal 19th-century style translation, and the commentary is influenced by the linguistics of Max Müller’s era. The practice of healing and sorcery was not limited to the Vedic times in ancient India, but also practiced widely in the first two centuries of Christianity (30–230 CE). The evidence from early Christian writings, Roman observers, and modern scholarship suggests that healing and curing of diseases were central to why people were drawn to the Christian movement. The Gospels present Jesus as performing acts of healing: restoring sight, curing leprosy, enabling the lame walk, exorcising demons, even raising the dead. These stories gave Christianity a strong appeal among the sick, poor, and marginalized who did not have access to the medical care. The Acts of the Apostles records the healings of Peter, and Paul.