The
Pyramid Texts of UNAS
by Wim
van den Dungen
Burial-Chamber
l
Passage-way
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Antechamber
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Corridor l
Serdab
introduction
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English text
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commentary
VIII
ANTECHAMBER
West Wall
(254 - 258 & 260)
"<" or ">" between numbers = sequence of the
text
"<" from right to left (facing right) or ">" from left to right (facing left)
THE
HORUS-KING ACQUIRES THE HORIZON
adapted from the pictures of L.F. Husson in
:
Piankoff, A. : The Pyramid of Unas,
Bollingen Series, 1968.
to download a larger picture click
here
the text reads from right to left
Translation
{...} : restored passage
<...> : conjectured translation of unknown word
(...) : words added to bring out the sense and/or to clarify
The first number given, is the ordinal position of the utterance in the present
English version of the 228 utterances of the Unas text, while the second is the
traditional enumeration of the sayings by Sethe.
The King as Horus of the South (Hierakonpolis)
171
(254)
Horus the King confirmed at the
entrance of the horizon
by the priest
The Great One will be censed
for the Bull of Nekhen, and
the flame of the blast will be toward You who are around the
shrine.
by the King
O great god whose name is unknown !
A meal in place for the Sole Lord !
O Lord of the Horizon, make
ready a place for me, King Unas !
For if You fail to make ready a place for me, I will lay a
curse on my father Geb, (saying) : "The Earth will speak no more. Geb has no
<guard>."
Whoever I find in my way, I will devour.
The pelican will prophesy !
The Sunshine bird will go up !
The
Great One will arise !
The Enneads will speak (saying) :
"The Earth being entirely dammed up, for the mountain ranges on either
side of the river have been joined together and the river-banks have been united,
the roads have been made impassable to travellers, and the slopes have
been destroyed for those who would go up !"
by the god with the great plow
The rope has been guided, the
<beaten path> crossed and the ball struck at the mouth of the Apis's
canal.
Oho ! Your fields are in
fear, You Climbing Star, before the Pillar of the Stars, for they have seen the
Pillar of Kenzet, the Bull of the Sky, and the Oxherd shall be overwhelmed upon
its stem.
Oho ! Fear and trembling shall descend upon the Knife-Bearers before the storm of the sky,
for he has parted the Earth by means of what he knew, on the day when he wished to
come - so says the god with the great plow who is in the midst of the Duat.
by the Beautiful West
See, she comes to meet You, the goddess of the Beautiful West, meeting You with her lovely tresses
!
She says:
"Here comes he whom I gave birth, whose horn is upstanding, eye-painted
pillar, the Bull of the Sky ! Your shape is notable ! Pass in peace, for I have
protected You." - so says the Beautiful West to King Unas.
by Thighs-Forward
"Go, row to the Field of
Offerings and travel to Him who is on his high tree.", so says
Thighs-Forward.
"You plow into the Earth to your thickness, to your middle, to your
shoulders.
You shall see Re in his fetters, You shall praise Re in his loosing from fetters by
means of the aegis of the Great One, which is in its red linen. The
Lord of Peace is giving You your {title}."
by the King
O You apes who
cut off heads, I, King Unas, will pass by You in peace, for I have tied my head to my
neck, and my neck is on my torso in this my name of Head-Tier, by means
of which I tied the head of Apis on that day when the longhorned bull was lassoed.
Since I have allowed them <to eat> from their cups and drink from
their inundation, so shall I be protected in the same by those who see me.
The jubilation uraeus, Tefnut of King Unas, who supports Shu, is on her
electrum staff, widening my place in Busiris, in Mendes, and in Djedut,
erecting dual standards in front of the Great Ones, excavating a pool for me
in the Field of Reeds, and confirming my farmland in the Field of Offerings.
I will give judgment between the two contestants in the Great Immersion,
for my power is the
power of the Eye of Tebi, my strength is the strength of the Eye of Tebi.
I have protected myself from those who would do this against me, who
would take away my food from me, who, when it was there, would take my supper
from me and who, when it was there, would take the breath from my nose and who
would bring to an end my days of life.
My force will be against them, when he is apparent on my shore. Their hearts
will fall to my fingers, their entrails are
for the denizens of the sky, their red parts are for the denizens of the Earth ! Their
heirs are to be poor, their houses to conflagration, and their
courtyards to the high Nile !
But my heart is sweet, my heart is sweet, for I am the unique one, the
Bull of the Sky, for I have crushed those who would do this against me and have
annihilated their survivors.
That which appertains to my throne, (that) which I have taken and lifted
up, is this which my father Shu gave me in the presence of Seth !
172
(255)
the King subdues the Hateful
One
by the priest
To say the words :
The horizon will be censed for
Horus of Nekhen !
A meal for the Lords !
The horizon will be censed for Horus of
Nekhen !
The flame of <its> blast will be <toward You> who are around the shrine !
The outburst of its blast will be toward You who raise up the Great One
!
The horizon will be censed for
Horus of Nekhen !
A meal for the Lords !
by the King
{O You Hateful One}, hateful of character
and hateful of shape, remove yourself from your place and lay your insignia of
rank on the ground for me.
If You do not remove yourself from your place {and
lay your insignia of rank on the ground} for me, then I, King Unas, will come, my face being
that of this Great One, the Lord of Power who is strong through the injury which
was done to him.
I will put {flame in my Eye}, and it will encompass You and set
storm among the doers of (evil) deeds, gushing its (fiery) outburst among these
primeval ones. I will smite away {the arms of Shu which support the sky} and I
will thrust my shoulder into that rampart on which You lean.
The Great One indeed will rise within his shrine {and lay his insignia on
the ground for} me, for I have assumed authorative speech and have power through
understanding.
173
(256)
the King on the throne of
Horus
by the King
To say the words :
I, King Unas, have succeeded to Geb !
I
have succeeded to Geb !
I have succeeded to Atum !
I am on the throne of Horus
the first-born !
His Eye is my strength !
I am protected from what was done
against him.
The flaming blast of my Uraeus is that of Renenutet on my head.
I
have set the fear of me in their hearts by making strife with them.
I have seen the gods
naked and bowing to me in adoration.
Row me, O mother of mine !
Tow me, O abode of mine !
Haul your cable !
174
(257)
the King breaks through the
canopy of the sky
by the priest
To say the words :
There is excitement in the sky :
"We saw something new !", say the primeval gods.
O You Ennead, Horus is in the
Sunlight !
Let the Lords of Forms terrorize for him.
Let Atum's Dual Ennead serve him as he sits on the throne of the Lord of
All.
King Unas will acquire the sky, and cleave its iron.
King Unas will lead <on> the roads
to Kheprer.
When
King Unas rests in life in the West,
those of the
Duat attend him.
When
King Unas shines anew in the East,
he who settled the
dispute will come to him bowing.
The gods will terrorize for King Unas,
since he is older than the Great One and belongs to the control of his throne.
King Unas will assume authorative speech.
Eternity shall be brought to him.
Understanding shall be placed for him at his feet.
Haul (the sky-boat) for King Unas,
for he has acquired the horizon.
The King as a Living Osiris
175
(258)
the Horus King is an Osiris
headed to the sky of Re
by the priest
To say the words :
King Unas is Osiris in a
dust-devil.
Earth is his detestation !
King Unas will not enter into Geb, lest his bones perish and lest he sleep
in his mansion upon Earth ; his bones are {made strong}, his ills are
removed.
King Unas has become pure through the Eye of Horus.
His ill has been removed by the two Kites of Osiris.
King Unas has shed his outflow to
Earth in Qus.
It is his sister (Wadjet), the Lady of Pe, who laments him, (saying) :
"King Unas goes to the sky !
King Unas goes to the sky !
On the wind !
On the wind !
He shall not be turned away, and there is none who will turn away from him.
He shall not sit in the tribunal of the god."
King Unas is the one who is
<on his own>, the eldest of the gods : his bread-offering is for above with Re, his
feast is from Nun !
King Unas is the one who goes to and fro, coming and going
with Re and embracing his mansions.
King Unas will bestow Kas and take away
Kas.
He will impose an obstacle and remove an obstacle.
King Unas will spend day
and night appeasing the Two Adzes (Horus & Seth) in Hermopolis.
His foot will not be opposed, his heart cannot be barred.
The King is a Living Horus
176
(260)
the King is a Living Horus
vindicated by the Two Truths
by the King
To say the words :
O Geb !
Bull of Nut !
I, King Unas, am Horus, the heir of my father.
I have gone and came back, the fourth of these four gods who have brought water,
who have administered purification,
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