An Atharvanic hymn to night: textcritical and linguistic remarks on the interpretation of Saunakiya 19.50 = Paippalada 14.9

This paper offers an analysis and a new translation of an Atharvanic hymn addressed to the goddess of Night, Ratri, attested in both recensions of the Atharvaveda (AV), in the Saunakiya, and in the Paippalada. The translation is accompanied by a philological and text-critical commentary as well as an analysis of some linguistic features of the Vedic language of this period, such as the use of emphatic reflexive pronouns and the periphrastic progressive tense (usually disregarded in standard Vedic grammars).