him then cover it (the altar) over with (fresh) rubbish: for rubbish means cattle, and well-stocked with cattle he thereby makes it’.
18. He (the Agntdhra) smooths it down (from east to west). The gods, namely, when they were preparing for the contest, said to one another: ‘Come, let us remove to the moon for safety what imperishable place of worship there is on this earth; so that if the Asuras, on vanquishing us, should drive us away from here, we may afterwards, by praising and mortifying, prevail again!’ They accordingly removed to the moon what imperishable place of worship there was on this earth. That now is the black (spots) in the moon: hence they say, ‘In the moon is the place of worship for this earth.’ It is in this place of worship also that his sacrifice is performed: for that reason he smooths (the altar) down 2. ;
19. He smooths it down, with the text (Vag. S. I, 28): ‘Before the bloody (battle) with its rushings hither and thither’, O mighty one!’ the bloody one no doubt is the battle, for in battle
1 Purfsha, rubbish; ‘sandy or gravel-like soil,’ Say. on Taitt. Br. III, 2, 9, 12; purfsha also means ‘feces, manure,’ in which sense it is probably taken symbolically for ‘cattle.’ The Taitt. Br. better: ‘well supplied with cattle he thereby makes him (the sacrificér).’
* 1 By stroking along the altar he shifts it to the moon.
* The interpretation of pura krfirasya visripaf here given by the author, and also by Mahidhara on Vag. S. I, 28, is more than doubtful. Sayaza on Taitt. S. I, 1, 9 is probably more correct in taking pura visr:pa& (abl. or gerund) krfirasya to mean ‘before the sneaking away of the cruel enemy (Araru, lying fettered on the heap of rubbish)’—he supplies: ‘thou, O altar, containest merely the divine oblations, but since his removal thou containest everything.’ Cf. also Weber, Ind. Streifen, II, p. 463.
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bloody deeds are done, and slain lie man and horse; and before that battle they removed it (the altar to the moon); therefore he says, ‘ Before the bloody (battle) with its rushings hither and thither, O mighty one!’—‘lifting up the life-bestowing earth,’ for after lifting up what was living on this earth, they removed it to the moon; therefore he says, ‘lifting up the life-bestowing earth;’—‘ which they raised to the moon by prayers,’ ‘which they placed in the moon by worship, he thereby says,—‘that (earth) the wise still point out and worship, to that they accordingly address their worship; and the offering of him also who so understands this, is performed in that place of worship.
20. He now says (to the Agntdhra; V4g. S. I, 28), ‘Put the sprinkling-water down (on the altar)!’ That thunderbolt, the wooden sword, and the priest (brahmaza) have hitherto defended that sacrifice. Now the water also is a thunderbolt: that thunderbolt he thereby lays down for its defence. While the sprinkling-water is being held close above the wooden sword, he takes up the latter. If he were to set the sprinkling-water down, wh le the wooden sword is still lying, the two thunderbolts would come into collision with each other; but in this way the two thunderbolts do not come into collision with each other: for that reason he takes up the wooden sword, while the sprinkling-water is being held close above it.
21. He pronounces this (entire) speech :—‘ Put the sprinkling-water down (on the altar)! put fuel and barhis (sacrificial grass) beside it! wipe the ladles! gird the (sacrificer’s) wife! come hither with the clarified butter!’ This is a direction (given to
{12] Fp. 66 the Agntdhra); he (the Adhvaryu) may pronounce it, if he choose; or, if he so choose, he may omit it: for he (the Agnidhra) himself knows that this work has now to be done.
22. He then flings the wooden sword northwards (on the heap of rubbish). If he wishes to exorcise’, (he does so), with the text, ‘I fling thee as a thunderbolt for so and so!’ and as a thunderbolt the wooden sword accordingly strikes down (the enemy).
23. He then washes his hands*; for what there was bloody (or injured) on it (the altar) that he thereby removes from it: that is why he washes his hands.
24. Now those who made offerings in former times, touched (the altar and oblations) at this particular time, while they were sacrificing. They became more sinful. Those who washed (their hands) became righteous. Then unbelief took hold of men: ‘Those who sacrifice become more sinful, and those who sacrifice not become righteous,’ they said. No sacrificial food then came to the gods from this world: for the gods subsist on what is offered up from this world *.
25. The gods thereupon said to Brzhaspati Angirasa, ‘Verily, unbelief has come upon men; ordain thou the sacrifice to them!’ Brzhaspati Angirasa then went and said, ‘How comes it that you do not sacrifice ?? They replied,‘From a desire for whatp. 67 should we sacrifice, since those who sacrifice become more sinful, and those who sacrifice not become righteous ?’
1 Otherwise he uses the text (V4g. S. I, 28): ‘A killer of the enemy art thou!’ Katy, II, 6, 42.
* He does so (on the utkara) and then lays down the wooden sword west of the prawft water. Katy. II, 6, 43.
* Men, on the other hand, subsist on what is bestowed on them from yonder world. Taitt. S. III, 2, 9, 7; Taitt. Br. Il, 2, 7, 3.
II, 6, 43.
* Men, on the other hand, subsist on what is bestowed on them from yonder world. Taitt. S. III, 2, 9, 7; Taitt. Br. Il, 2, 7, 3.
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should we sacrifice, since those who sacrifice become more sinful, and those who sacrifice not become righteous ?’
26. Brthaspati Angirasa then said, ‘What we have heard of as produced! for the gods that is this sacrifice, that is to say, the cooked oblations and the prepared altar; therewith you have performed while touching: that is why you have become more sinful. Sacrifice therefore without touching, for thus you will become righteous!’ How long ?’ they asked. ‘Till the spreading o* the sacrificial grass (on the altar),’ he said. By the sacrificial grass, namely, it (the altar) becomes appeased. If, therefore, before the spreading of the sacrificial grass anything were to fall on it, let him only remove it at the time when he spreads the sacrificial grass ; for when they spread the sacrificial grass, then they also step on it with the foot. He who knowing this sacrifices without touching, becomes indeed righteous: let him therefore sacrifice, without touching (the altar and oblations).
Tuirp ApnuyAya. First BRAHMANA.
1. He (the Agntdhra) now brushes the spoons # (with the grass-ends). The reason why he brushes
1 Parishitam, which SAyama interprets by parigr¢hftam, ‘hedged round’ [? ‘set apart’]. The Kava MS. reads parishutam.
* Besides the Agnihotra-havan!, or milk ladle used at the morning and evening oblations (see p. 11, note 2; and II, 3, 1,17), three different srué or offering-spoons are used, viz. the guhf, upabhr/t, and dhruva. They are made each of a different kind of wood, of an arm’s length (or, according to others, a cubit long), with a bowl of the shape and size of the hand, and a hole cut through the bark and front side of the bowl and fitted with a spout some eight or nine inches long, and shaped like a goose’s bill. The sruva or dipping-spoon, on the other hand, chiefly used for ladling the clarified
F 2
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the spoons is that the course! pursued among the gods is in accordance with that pursued among men. Now, when the serving up of food is at hand among men,—
2. They rinse the vessels, and having rinsed them, they serve up the food with them: in the same way is treated the sacrifice to the gods, that is to say, the cooked oblations and the prepared altar; and those vessels of theirs, the sacrificial spoons.
3. Now, when he brushes (the spoons), he in reality rinses them, thinking, ‘with these rinsed ones I will proceed.’ He thereby rinses them with two substances for the gods, and with one for men; viz. with water and the brahman (spirit of worship) for the gods,—for the water is (represented by) the sacrificial grass*, and the brahman (by) the sacrificial formula ;—and with one for men, that is with water alone: and thus this takes place separately’.
4. He, in the first place, takes the dipping-spoon
4. He, in the first place, takes the dipping-spoon butter (or milk) from the butter vessel into the offering-spoons, is of khadira wood (Acacia Catechu), a cubit long, with a round bowl measuring a thumb’s joint across, and without a spout. In our text the term srué is used both in the general sense of ‘spoon’ and in the narrower one of ‘ offering-spoon,’ as distinguished from the sruva or ‘dipping-spoon.’
1 The brushing of the spoons is here compared with the rinsing of vessels preparatory to their being used for serving up the food. At the same time, we shall see further on (I, 8, 3, 26—27) that the two principal offering-spoons, the guhfi and upabhr‘t, are looked upon as yoke-fellows, they being the two horses that are supposed to convey the sacrifice (and consequently the sacrificer himself) to the world of the gods; hence this process of cleaning also corresponds to the rubbing down of the horses preparatory to the setting out of the sacrificer on his progress to the world of the gods.
* See I, 1, 3, 5.
* It is doubtful to me whether this last passage merely refers to the several spoons, or whether it refers to the symbolical meaning
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(sruva, masc.) and makes it hot (on the Garhapatya fire), with either of the texts (V4g.S. I, 29), ‘Scorched is the Rakshas, scorched are the enemies!’ or, ‘Burnt out is the Rakshas, burnt out are the enemies!’
5. For when the gods were performing sacrifice they were afraid of a disturbance on the part of the Asuras and Rakshas. Hence by this means he, from the very opening of the sacrifice, expels from here the evil spirits, the Rakshas}.
6. He brushes it thus inside with the (grass-)tops (cut off from the grass in tying the veda), with the text (Vag. S. I, 29),‘Not sharp? art thou, (but yet) a destroyer of the enemies!’ he says this in order that it may unceasingly destroy the enemies of the sacrificer. Further, ‘Thee, the food-abounding (masc.), I cleanse for the kindling of food#!’— ‘thee that art suitable for the sacrifice, I cleanse for the sacrifice,’ he thereby says. In the same way he brushes all the spoons, saying, ‘Thee, the foodabounding (fem.)...,’ in the case of the offering-spoon (srué, fem.). The pr4sitraharaza‘ (he brushes) silently.
of the wiping with sacrificial grass and the accompanying formula. In the latter case it might mean: ‘and thus that (act) becomes different (i.e. has a different significance).’
1 Cf. 1,1, 2, 3, and note.
* A-nisita, ‘not sharpened,’ from s4 (so), ‘to sharpen’ (thus also Mahidh.). If, however, anuparata, ‘unceasing,’ in the text is intended by the author to explain anisita, he would seem to identify the root s& with s4 (so), ‘to bring to an end, to finish.’ The spoon is sharpened by the wiping, cf. Taitt. Br. III, 3, 1, 1.
If, however, anuparata, ‘unceasing,’ in the text is intended by the author to explain anisita, he would seem to identify the root s& with s4 (so), ‘to bring to an end, to finish.’ The spoon is sharpened by the wiping, cf. Taitt. Br. III, 3, 1, 1.
* Vagedhy4yai, ‘for the lighting (brightening) of the sacrifice (by means of the butter which is poured into the fire), the sacrifice being the food of the gods,’ Mahfdh. The St. Petersburg Dictionary suggests vagety4yai, ‘thee, the courser, I wipe for the race!’ Cf. p. 68, note 1.
‘The prasitraharaza is a pan of khadira wood, either
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7. Inside he brushes with the (grass-)tops thus (viz. from the handle to the top, or in a forward, eastward direction from himself); outside with the lower (grass-)ends thus (viz. in the opposite or backward direction, towards himself)?: for thus (viz. in the former way) goes the out-breathing, and thus (in the opposite way) the in-breathing. Thereby he obtains out-breathing and in-breathing (for the sacrificer): hence these hairs (on the upper side of the elbow) point that way, and these (on the lower side) point that way *%.
8. Each time he has brushed and heated (a spoon), he hands it (to the Adhvaryu). Just as, after having rinsed (the eating vessels) while touching them, one would finally rinse them without touching them, so here: for this reason he hands over each (spoon) after heating it®.
square or round (? oval, of the shape of a cow’s ear, Say.; of the shape of a mirror, Katy.), used for holding the Brahman’s portion (prasitra) of the sacrificial cake. According to KAty. II, 6, 49, the sr’tavad4nam (cake-cutter) and (purod4sa-)p4trf (cakedish) also have to be cleaned on this occasion.
1 While brushing the spoons he stands east of the Ahavantya fire-house, looking toward east. The way of brushing, prescribed by the Black Yagus (Taitt. Br. III, 3, 1, 3-4; comm. on Taitt. S. I, 1, 10), seems to be more complicated.
* Viz. the former (‘aratner uparibh4gasya lom4ni’), according to Sayama, point in a forward direction (away from the body), and the latter (‘prsh‘habhagasya lom4ni’) in a backward direction. The Taitt. Br. III, 3, 1, 4 has ‘on the elbow (aratnau) the hairs above (point) forward, those below backward,’ which Sdyana (Taitt. S.I, 1, 1, 10) explains by ‘the short hairs above the wrist (? manibandh4éd firdhvam) are forward-pointed (préamukha), but those below are backward-pointed (pratyamé).’
* That is to say, the heating of the spoons corresponds to the usual final rinsing of household vessels with water without touching them. Sayama.
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manibandh4éd firdhvam) are forward-pointed (préamukha), but those below are backward-pointed (pratyamé).’
* That is to say, the heating of the spoons corresponds to the usual final rinsing of household vessels with water without touching them. Sayama.
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g. The dipping-spoon (sruva, masc.) he brushes first, and then the other spoons (srué, fem.). The offering-spoon (sru&), namely, is female, and the dipping-spoon is male, so that, although in this way several women meet together, the one that is, as it were, the only male youth among them, goes there first, and the others after him. This is the reason why he brushes the dipping-spoon first, and afterwards the other (offering-)spoons.
10. Let him brush them so as not to spatter anything towards the fire, as he would thereby bespatter him, to whom he will be bringing food, with the slops of the vessels: therefore let him brush them so as not to spatter anything towards the fire, that is to say, after stepping outside (the Ahavantya fire-house) towards the east.
11. Here now some throw the grass-ends used for cleaning the spoons into the (Ahavantya) fire. ‘To the veda (grass-bunch) they assuredly belonged, and the spoons have been cleaned with them: hence it is something that belongs to the sacrifice, and (we throw it into the fire) in order that it should not become excluded from the sacrifice,’ thus (they argue). Let him, however, not do so, since he would thereby make him to whom he will offer food, drink the slops of the vessels’. Let him therefore throw them away (on the heap of rubbish).
12. He (the Agntdhra) then girds the wife (of the
1 The Black Yagus (Taitt. Br. III, 3, 2, 1) prescribes that the grass-ends, after the brushing, should be thrown into the fire, and not on the heap of rubbish, as some do; or at all events they should not be thrown on the utkara, without their having been previously washed with water, as they would otherwise bring ill-luck to the cattle.
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sacrificer). She, the wife, truly is the hinder part of the sacrifice. ‘May the sacrifice go on increasing before me!’ thus (she thinks while) he girds her, thinking, ‘may she sit thus girt by my sacrifice !’
13. He girds her with a cord (yoktra): for with a cord (yoktra) they yoke the draught-animal (yogya). Impure indeed is that part of woman which is below the navel; and therewith she will be facing the sacrificial butter: that part of her he thereby conceals with the cord, and only with the pure upper part of her body she then faces the sacrificial butter. This is the reason why he girds the wife *.
14. He girds her over the garment. Now the garment represents the plants, and (the cord represents) Varuza’s noose® (raggu): hence he thereby places the plants between (her and the noose), and
This is the reason why he girds the wife *.
14. He girds her over the garment. Now the garment represents the plants, and (the cord represents) Varuza’s noose® (raggu): hence he thereby places the plants between (her and the noose), and
1 The mistress of the house is seated south-west of the Garhapatya fire [with bent (or raised) knees and her face turned towards north-east]. The Agntdhra then girds her round the waist, outside the garment, with a triple cord of reed-grass (muviga). Kéty. II, 4,1; and Sayama on our passage.
* According to Taitt. Br. III, 3, 3, 2-3 the symbolical meaning of this act is, that it represents the vratopanayana, or initiation of the wife into the sacred rite, The girding of the wife would thus possess a significance similar to that of the ordinary upanayana, or investiture of the youth with the sacred cord.
5 The noose (pasa) is one of the chief attributes of God Varuna, the symbol of his supreme power and his abhorrence of sin. Thus we read in Atharva-veda IV, 16, 4 seq.: ‘And if one were to flee far beyond the sky, one would not escape from king Varuna. From heaven his spies issue forth to this (world), and with their thousand eyes survey the earth. King Varuza sees all that happens between heaven and earth and beyond them: the very twinklings of the eyes of men are numbered by him... . May all those baleful nooses of thine, O Varuma, that are thrown sevenfold and threep. 73thus that noose of Varuaa does not injure her. This is the reason why he girds her over the garment.
15. He girds her, with the text (V4g. S. I, 30), ‘A zone art thou for Aditi!’ Aditi, indeed, is this earth. She is the wife of the gods, and that one is his (the sacrificer’s) wife. It is for the latter, accordingly, that he makes it a zone instead of a noose (or string). A zone means a girdle, and he thereby makes it this for her.
16. Let him not make a knot!, for the knot is Varuza’s (attribute); and Varuza would lay hold on the (sacrificer’s) wife, if he were to make a knot. For this reason he does not make a knot.
17. He twists it through upwards *, with the text (Vag. S. I, 30), ‘The pervader * of Vishzu art thou!’ Let her not sit to the west of the sacrifice, with her face towards the east. For Aditi is this earth‘, she is the wife of the gods, and she indeed sits on the west of the sacrifice of the gods, with her face turned fold, ensnare him who speaks untruth, and pass by him who speaks the truth !’
1 Taitt. Br. IIT, 3, 3, 4, on the contrary, prescribes a knot (granthim grathn&ti), as the symbol which is to secure all blessings for her.
® He winds the cord round her waist from left to right (pradakshizam), and having fixed the southern end by twice twisting round the northern one, he draws the southern end through the encircling cord upwards (so as to hang down, uparish/4l lambayet, Sayama. Katy. II, 7, 1, &c., Scholl.).
® He winds the cord round her waist from left to right (pradakshizam), and having fixed the southern end by twice twisting round the northern one, he draws the southern end through the encircling cord upwards (so as to hang down, uparish/4l lambayet, Sayama. Katy. II, 7, 1, &c., Scholl.).
5 Veshya=vy4paka, Mahfdh.; ‘perhaps a headband,’ St. Petersb. Dict. It is apparently an etymological play on the name of Vishau (? the all-pervading sun). The formula, according to Mahfdhara, is addressed to the southern end of the cord which is drawn through the girdle (? the pervading ray of Vishsm).
* Aditi is the earth and therefore the altar, which represents the earth : hence Aditi, in the shape of the altar, looks towards the east.
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towards the east: and this lady would, therefore, raise herself to her (Aditi), and would speedily go to yonder world. And thus (viz. by sitting in the prescribed way) she lives for a long time, thus she propitiates her (Aditi), and thus the latter harms her not. For this reason let her sit somewhat to the south.
18. She looks down upon the sacrificial butter’; for assuredly that wife is a woman, and the butter (represents) seed: hence a productive union is thereby brought about. For this reason she looks towards the butter.
19. She looks, with the text (Vg. S. I, 30), ‘With an unimpaired eye I look on thee;’ whereby she says, ‘with an uninjured eye I look on thee. — ‘Agni’s tongue art thou!’ for when they offer up that (butter) in the fire, then Agni’s tongues, as it were, issue forth: therefore she says, ‘Agni’s tongue art thou!’—‘A good caller? of the gods,’ whereby she says, ‘well for the gods ;’—‘be thou for every dainty (or, sacrificial site, dhAman), for every prayer of mine!’ whereby she says, ‘for every sacrifice of mine be thou (a good caller)!’
20. Having then taken up the butter (from the
1 He takes the pot containing the clarified butter from the fire, with the text (Vag. S. I, 30): ‘For juice thee!’ [see I, 2, 2, 6,] puts it down on the ground before the sacrificer’s wife and bids her look down on it. Katy. II, 7, 4.
* Suhf4. The K4ava recension and Taitt. S. I, 1, 10, 3 have subh4@&, ‘well-being, good,’ which reading seems also to be presupposed by our author’s explanation ‘well (or good) for the gods.’ The Black Yagus assigns this entire mantra to the Adhvaryu, when he has taken the butter from the Ahavantya, and puts it down north of the altar. In other respects also it differs considerably from the order followed by our author.
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In other respects also it differs considerably from the order followed by our author.
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ground), he (the Agntdhra) carries it eastwards. In the case of one whose Ahavantya fire is used for the cooking, he (now in the first place) puts it on the Ahavantya, thinking, ‘My oblation shall be entirely cooked on the Ahavantya?!’ The reason why he first puts it thereon (viz. on the GAarhapatya) is, because he will have to make the wife look at it: for it would not be proper, if he were to take it (from the Ahavantya) to the west in the midst of the performance, for the purpose of making the wife look at it; and if he were not to let the wife look at it at all, he would thereby exclude her from the sacrifice. And in this way, then, he does not exclude the (sacrificer’s) wife from the sacrifice: therefore he does not take it eastwards till after melting it close by the wife (on the Garhapatya), and making her look at it. In the case of one who (through death or from other causes) has not his wife with him, he puts it from the very beginning on the Ahavaniya. He then takes it again from thence and puts it down within the altar.
21. Here now they say,—‘ He must not place it within the altar; for from that (butter) they make the oblation to the wives of the gods?: he therefore excludes the wives of the gods from the company (of
1 According to the ritual of the Black Yagus, the butter, after the sacrificer’s wife has looked at it, is again heated on the GArhapatya fire, in order to remove the impurity which has thereby been imparted to it.
3 The patnisamy4gas are four oblations of butter to Soma, Tvashiri, the wives of the gods, and Agni Grshapati respectively, made at the end of these sacrifices. See I, 9, 2,1. It would seem that, according to the ritual of the Black Yagus, the butter is not put on the altar, but on a line drawn with the wooden sword north of the altar. See p. 74, note 2,p. 76 their husbands)?, and thereby his (the sacrificer’s) wife becomes dissatisfied with her own husband.’ Yagaavalkya, however, said in reference to this point, ‘Let it be so as it has been prescribed for the wife ! who would care whether his wife may consort with other men??’ ‘As the altar is (part of the) sacrifice, and the butter is (part of the) sacrifice, I will build up the sacrifice from out of the sacrifice!’ thus thinking, let him place it within the altar.
22. The two strainers are lying in the sprinkling water. He takes them from thence and purifies (ut-pf) the butter with them. Now one of them is related to the wind (that blows) upwards (utpavana)*, so that he thereby makes it (the butter) sacrificially pure.
23. He clarifies it, with the text (V4g. S. I, 31), ‘By the impulse of Savitzz I purify thee with a flawless purifier (strainer), with the rays of the sun!’ The meaning (of this formula) is the same (as before).
23. He clarifies it, with the text (V4g. S. I, 31), ‘By the impulse of Savitzz I purify thee with a flawless purifier (strainer), with the rays of the sun!’ The meaning (of this formula) is the same (as before).
24. He then purifies the sprinkling water with the strainers covered with butter, with the text (Vay. S.
1 Avasabhasé karoti=avagataganasamiha’ karoti, Say.; the gods are supposed to be assembled around the altar (cf. I, 3, 3, 8): hence by placing the butter, from which the oblations to the wives of the gods are to be made, within the altar, the Adhvaryu would separate the wives from their husbands.
* T am not quite certain as to whether this last scornful remark is really to be assigned to Yagfiavalkya. The K4ézva text has,— YAgiiavalkya, however, said, ‘Let him place it within the altar !’ thus he said. ‘Let it be so as it has been prescribed for the wife,’ thus (thinking) let him place it, whether or not she consort with other men. ;
5 Probably the same as ud-4na (breathing upwards or inspiration), which one of the strainers is said to represent in I, 1, 3, 2. See also I, 1, 3, 6; Taitt. Br. III, 3, 4, 4. The St. Petersburg Dictionary proposes the meaning ‘an implement for cleaning’ for utpavana in this passage.
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I, 31), ‘By the impulse of Savitzz I purify you (O waters) with a flawless purifier, with the rays of the sun!’ The meaning is the same (as before).
25. The reason why he purifies the sprinkling water with the strainers covered with butter is, that he thereby puts milk into the water, and that the milk thereby (becomes) beneficial? in the water, for, when it rains, plants are thereby produced ; and on eating the plants and drinking the water, vital fluid (serum) results therefrom: and thus (he does this) in order to supply the vital fluid (of the sacrificer).
26. He then looks down on the butter. Here now some make the sacrificer look down. YAg#avalkya, however, said in reference to this point,—‘ Why do not (the sacrificers) themselves become (act as) Adhvaryu priests ? and why do not they (the sacrificers) themselves recite when far higher blessings are prayed for?? How can these (people) possibly have faith in this?? Whatever blessing the officiating priests invoke during the sacrifice that is for the benefit of the sacrificer alone.’ The Adhvaryu should accordingly look down on it.’
1 A play on the word hitam, which means both ‘put, placed,’ and ‘beneficial, salutary.’
Whatever blessing the officiating priests invoke during the sacrifice that is for the benefit of the sacrificer alone.’ The Adhvaryu should accordingly look down on it.’
1 A play on the word hitam, which means both ‘put, placed,’ and ‘beneficial, salutary.’
3 The K4nva text has as follows,—Here now some make the sacrificer eye it, arguing, ‘whatever blessing (resides therein) that he should himself pray for.’ Y4Agviavalkya, however, said in reference to this point, ‘Why then does not he himself become Adhvaryu? and why does he not recite (the solemn prayers of the Hotr? priest), and that when they pray for higher blessing? Whatever blessing the priests invoke at the sacrifice, that they invoke for the sacrificer alone ;’ thus he said. The Adhvaryu, therefore, should look down on it.
* Tesh4m sikhindm atraivavekshanam yagam4nenaiva kartavyam iti kasm4t karan4t sraddh4 gAté, evam tam sraddham prahasya, Say. The Kaava text omits this derisive remark.
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27. He looks down on it. The eye assuredly is the truth, for the eye is indeed the truth. If, therefore, two persons were to come disputing with each other and saying, ‘I have seen it!’ ‘I have heard it!” we should believe him who said, ‘I have seen it!’ and not the other: hence he thereby causes it (the butter) to increase by means of the truth.
28. He looks down on it, with the text (Vag. S. I, 31), ‘Lustrous art thou! resplendent art thou! immortal (or, ambrosia) art thou!’ That prayer is indeed true, for that (butter) is lustrous, it is resplendent, it is immortal: hence he thereby causes it to increase by that (prayer) which is true.
SEcoND BRAHMANA.
1. Now the sacrifice is the man. The sacrifice is the man for the reason that the man spreads (performs) it; and that in being spread it is made of exactly the same extent as the man?: this is the reason why the sacrifice is the man.
2. The guha (spoon) further belongs to that (manshaped sacrifice) and so does the upabhvzt; and the dhruv4? represents its trunk. Now it is from the
1 The sacrifice is the representation of the sacrificer himself; and hence its dimensions are to be those of a man, viz. the altar (vedi) on its western side is to measure a fathom, or space between the extreme ends of the outstretched arms (? of the sacrificer), which is supposed to be equal to the size of a man; see I, 2, 5, 14. Originally these measurements were no doubt relative to the size of the sacrificer; but it is doubtful whether this was still the case at the time of our author.
* For a description of these spoons, see p. 67, note 2. The guha is supposed to represent the right, and the upabhr‘t the left arm, and the dhruvé the trunk.
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trunk that all these limbs proceed, and for this reason the entire sacrifice proceeds from the dhruvaé.
67, note 2. The guha is supposed to represent the right, and the upabhr‘t the left arm, and the dhruvé the trunk.
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trunk that all these limbs proceed, and for this reason the entire sacrifice proceeds from the dhruvaé.
3. The dipping-spoon (sruva, masc.) is no other than the breath. This breath passes through (or, goes to) all the limbs, and for that reason the dippingspoon goes to all the offering-spoons (srué, fem.).
4. That guhd further is to him no other than yonder sky, and the upabhvzt this atmosphere, and the dhruvaé this same (earth). Now it is from this (earth) that all the worlds originate: and from the dhruvé, therefore, the whole sacrifice proceeds.
5. The dipping-spoon then is no other than that blowing one (the wind); it is this that sweeps across all these worlds: and for that reason the sruva goes to all the offering-spoons.
6. Now when this sacrifice is being performed, it is performed for the gods, the seasons, and the metres (or sacred texts). To the gods belongs what sacrificial food there is, to wit, king Soma and the sacrificial cake: all this he takes, while announcing it with the formula, ‘1 take thee, agreeable to so and so!’ for thus it becomes theirs.
7. And whatever oblations of butter are taken, they are taken for the seasons and the metres. Every one of them he takes in the form of butter without announcing it (to any particular deity). In the guht he takes of it four times (with the sruva from the pot), in the upabhvzt eight times?.
8. Now when he takes of it four times (with the sruva) in the guhd, he takes it for the seasons, since he takes it for the fore-offerings’, and the fore-offerings are the seasons: all this he takes in the form of butter without making any announcement, in order to avoid sameness; for if he were to take it with the formulas ‘For Spring (I take) thee!’ ‘For Summer—thee!’ he would commit (the fault of) a repetition?: he therefore takes it in the form of butter without making any announcement.
1 He takes butter in the guhft and upabhrs't by four or eight ladlings with the dipping-spoon. As we learn further on, the quantity taken in the guhA, by ladling four times, should exceed that in the upabhrit, although the latter requires eight ladlings. Cf. Katy. II, 7, 13.
80 SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA. :
g. When, on the other hand, he takes eight times (with the sruva) in the upabh7zt, he takes it for the metres’, since it is for the after-offerings! that he takes it; and the after-offerings are the metres: all this he takes in the form of butter without making any announcement, in order to avoid sameness; for were he to take it with the formulas ‘For the Gayatri—thee!’ ‘For the Trishtubh—thee!’ he would commit a repetition: he therefore takes it in the form of butter without making any announcement.
10. Again, when he takes four times(with the sruva)
10. Again, when he takes four times(with the sruva)
1 On the pray 4gas, or oblations of clarified butter introductory to, and the anuy4gas, oblations of the same material made subsequently to, the chief sacrifice, see I, 5, 3, 1 seq., and I, 8, 2, 1 seq.
2 Repetition of one and the same sacrificial act on the same day is to be avoided, as far as possible. The repetition in the present case would consist in his announcing the butter-oblations to the several deities in the same way as he has done in regard to the riceportions. See I, 1, 2, 17-18.
5 On the frequent symbolical employment of the metres in the ritual, as the embodiment of supreme harmony and the efficacy of prayer, see Weber, Ind. Stud. VIII, 8 seq. The three principal Vedic metres are the gayatri (three times eight syllables), the trish/ubh (four times eleven syllables), and the gagat? (four times twelve syllables); and three anuy 4gas there are at these sacrifices, viz. to the barhis or sacrificial grass, to Narfsamsa and Agni Svishfakrit respectively. In the present instance (see par. 16) the trishfubh and gagati metres are taken together as one, and as a fourth is added the anush/ubh (four times eight syllables).
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in the dhruvéA, he takes it for the whole sacrifice, and all this he takes in the form of butter without making any announcement. To whom indeed should he announce it, since he cuts it off for all the deities ? He therefore takes it in the form of butter without making any announcement.
11. Now the sacrificer stands behind the guha, and he who means evil to him stands behind the upabhvzt. The eater stands behind the guha, and what (or, he who) is to be eaten stands behind the upabhrzt. And the guh4, indeed, is the eater, and the upabhz?zt is that which is to be eaten. In the guhd he takes four times (with the sruva), and in the upabhzzt eight times.
12. Now when he takes four times (butter) in the guht, he thereby makes the eater more limited, smaller; and when he takes eight times in the upabhvzt, he makes that which is to be eaten more unlimited, more abundant: for a flourishing condition indeed exists where the eater is smaller and that which is to be eaten more abundant.
13. In taking four times in the guh4, he takes (altogether) more butter, and in taking eight times in the upabhz?t he takes less butter.
14. For when, in taking four .times (butter with the sruva) in the guh4, he takes more butter, he thereby, in making the eater more limited, smaller, imparts vigour and strength to him. And when, in taking eight times in the upabhzzt, he takes less butter, he thereby, in making that which (or, him who) is to be eaten more unlimited, more abundant, makes it (or, him) vigourless and weaker. And thus a king who has established himself among a numberless people, subdues them even from a single dwelling,
[12] G
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And thus a king who has established himself among a numberless people, subdues them even from a single dwelling,
[12] Gp. 82 and takes possession of whatever he likes': with that very same energy (the Adhvaryu acts) when he takes a greater quantity of butter in the guhQ. Now what he takes in the guhf, that he offers with the guha; and what he takes in the upabhrzt, that also he offers with the guha.
15. And in reference to this point they say: ‘Wherefore then is he to take it in the upabhr¢t, if he does not offer it with the upabhvzt?’ Now, ifhe were to offer it with the upa bhret, those subjects-(of the king) would assuredly become separated from him, nor would there be either an eater or what is to be eaten. When, on the other hand, he pours (the butter) together and thus offers it with the guhd, thereby the people pay tribute to the Kshatriya. Hence by what he takes in the upabhrzt, the Vaisya (man of the people), under the rule of the Kshatriya, becomes possessed of cattle; and when he pours (the butter) together and offers it with the guh4d, thereby the Kshatriya, whenever he likes, says, ‘ Hallo Vaisya, just bring to me what thou hast stored away!’ Thus he both subdues him and obtains possession of anything he wishes by dint of this very energy.
16. These butter-portions, then, are taken for the metres. Now what he takes in the guhd (by ladling) four times (with the sruva), that he takes for the gdyatr!; and what he takes in the upabhrzt (by ladling) eight times, that he takes for the trish/ubh and gagati; and what he takes in the dhruva (by
1 Tasmfd uta ragip4ram visam pravasy4py ekavesmanaiva (‘by one who has a single dwelling, i.e. by himself, Sayama) ginati tvad yathé tvat kamayate tatha sakate. The MS. of the K4nva text has: ‘Tasm&t kshatriyo rfagotép4rad visam pravas4ya ginati tvad yatha tva(t) kamayate tat karoti.’
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ladling) four times, that he takes for the anush¢ubh. For the anush¢ubh is speech, and from speech all this (universe) springs: hence it is from the dhruvA that the whole sacrifice originates. The anush‘ubh also is this (earth), and from it all this (universe) originates: hence it is from the dhruva4 that the whole sacrifice originates.
17. He takes (butter with the sruva), with the text (V4g. S. I, 31), ‘Verily, thou art the favourite resort (or, dainty) of the gods!’ He thereby makes that butter the most favourite resort of the gods: for this reason he says, ‘verily, thou art the favourite resort of the gods!’—‘ An unassailable means of worship!’ the butter is indeed a thunderbolt: therefore he says, ‘an unassailable means of worship!’
18. Once he puts (butter with the sruva) into tht guhd with this formula, three times silently. With the same formula he puts (butter) once into the upabhzzt, seven times silently. With the same formula he puts once (butter) into the dhruvaA, three times silently. Now, as to this, they say, ‘Thrice he should take with the formula in each case, for threefold is the sacrifice.’ Nevertheless (it is done) only once with each (spoon), for it is just in this way that the taking thrice (with a formula) is accomplished.
THIRD BRAHMANA.
1. The Adhvaryu takes the sprinkling-water, and sprinkles in the first place the fire-wood', with the
1 The fire-wood had been brought by the Agntdhra and laid down on the altar. The Adhvaryu now unties and sprinkles it. [Before doing so he has, as usual, to ask and obtain the permission of the Brahman. The same is the case in regard to the barhis, but not in regard to the altar.] Katy. II, 7, 19.
G 2
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text (Vag. S. II, 1), ‘A black deer, living in the den, art thou!; I sprinkle thee, agreeable to Agni!’ He thereby makes it sacrificially pure for Agni.
2. He then sprinkles the altar, with the text (Vag. S. II, 1), ‘Thou art the altar; I sprinkle thee, agreeable to the barhis (sacrificial-grass covering)!’ He thereby makes it sacrificially pure for the grass covering.
3. He (the Agntdhra) then hands the sacrificial grass? to him (the Adhvaryu). The latter puts it down (on the altar) with the knot turned to the east, and sprinkles it, with the text (Vag. S. II, 1), ‘Barhis art thou! I sprinkle thee, agreeable to the spoons!’ He thereby makes Jt sacrificially pure for the spoons.
4. Thereupon he pours the sprinkling-water
1? Akhare-shéAa; it probably has a double meaning in this place, viz. ‘that which dwells in a den (4khara)’ and ‘that which has its place on the hearth (khara).’
4. Thereupon he pours the sprinkling-water
1? Akhare-shéAa; it probably has a double meaning in this place, viz. ‘that which dwells in a den (4khara)’ and ‘that which has its place on the hearth (khara).’
* At the beginning of the sacrifice the Adhvaryu makes of the load of Darbha or sacred grass, which has been brought to the sacrificial compound, seven mush/is or bunches, each of which is tied together with a stalk of grass, just as the Baresma (Barsom) of the Parsis. The several names of these seven bunches are, 1. Yagam4namushii, the bunch kept by the sacrificer himself in his hand as long as the sacrifice lasts. 2. Three bunches from the Barhis, or the covering of the Vedi on which the sacrificial vessels are put. These are unloosened and spread all over the Vedi. 3. Prastara. This bunch, which must remain tied, is put over the Darbha of the Vedi. 4. Paribhoganf. From this bunch the Adhvaryu takes a handful out for each priest, and the sacrificer and his wife, which they then use for their seat. 5. The Veda. This bunch is made double in its first part; the latter part is cut off and has to remain on the Vedi; it is called parivasana. The Veda itself is always wandering from one priest to the other, and is given to the sacrificer and his wife. It is handed over to the latter only when one of the priests makes her recite a mantra.’ Haug’s translation of the Ait. Br. p. 79.
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which is left on the roots of the (grass) plants, with the text (Vag. S. II, 2), ‘A moistening art thou for Aditi!’ Aditi, indeed, is this earth; hence it is for the latter that he thus moistens the roots of the plants: thereby these plants become root-moistened ; and even if their tops are dry, their roots at least remain moist.
5. Having thereupon untied the knot, he takes the prastara bunch from the front (of the barhis), with the text (V4g. S. II, 2), ‘Vishzu’s crest art thou!’ Vishzu, namely, is the sacrifice, and this (the prastara) is his top-knot or crest: this he thereby makes it at this sacrifice. From the front he takes it, because this top-knot also is (worn) on the front (of the head): for this reason he takes it from the front. ,
6. He then undoes the band (of the barhis). ‘ His (the sacrificer’s) wife is sure to bring forth without difficulty?” thinking thus he undoes the band. He puts it down on the right hip (of the altar); for this represents his (the sacrificer’s) waist-band, and it is on the right side that the waist-band is (tied): this is the reason why he puts it down on the right hip. He again covers it over (with sacrificial grass) ; for the waist-band also is covered (by the upper garment): for this reason he again covers it.
7. He now spreads the barhis (on the altar). For the prastara is the top-knot; and this other
He again covers it over (with sacrificial grass) ; for the waist-band also is covered (by the upper garment): for this reason he again covers it.
7. He now spreads the barhis (on the altar). For the prastara is the top-knot; and this other
1 Because, according to Sdyana, it lies on the front, or eastern side of the altar, near the Ahavantya fire, and men also wear their topknot (in the form of a ball or lump) on the fore-part of their head. The prastara he hands to the Brahman-priest. Ka4ty. II, 7, 22.
* Prak/:ptam; SAyawa takes it in the sense of ‘a completely formed (child).’
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sacrificial grass is for this (sacrifice) what other hair there is below that (top-knot, viz. the beard, &c.):— that (hair) he thereby puts on it, and for this reason he spreads the barhis.
8. Now the altar (vedi, fem.) is a woman, and around her sit the gods and those priests who have studied and teach revealed lore!; and as they thus sit around her, he makes her not naked: hence it is in order to avoid nudity (on her or the altar’s part) that he spreads the barhis.
9. As large as the altar is, so large is the earth ; and the plants (are represented by) the barhis; so that he thereby furnishes the earth with plants ; and those plants are firmly established in this earth : for this reason he spreads the barhis.
10. Here now they say, ‘Let him strew abundantly; for where the plants are most abundant on her, there the means of subsistence are most amply afforded by her: let him therefore strew abundantly!’ It is in favour of him (the sacrificer) who procures (the sacrificial grass), then, (that this is done.) He strews it threefold?, for threefold is the sacrifice. Or he may also spread it whilst lifting up (the tops)*; for
1 ‘Around her on the south sit the gods and those man-gods (manushyadev4A), the priests who have studied and teach revealed lore.’ Kanva recension.
2 Viz. in three layers, one beside the other, each consisting of one handful of grass. He first spreads a layer on the east side from the southern to the northern shoulder of the altar, with the tops of the blades turned towards the east ; then a second one west of it, so as to cover the roots of the first with the tops of the second layer; and in the same way a third one on the west side of the altar. If he thinks fit, he may make more than three layers, but their number should be uneven. Kéty. II, 7, 22-26 (schol.).
3 That is to say, he is to begin on the west side, and in laying down the successive layers, he is to lift up (with a stick or somep. 87 it has been said by the seer (V4g.S. VII, 32), ‘They spread the barhis continuously.’ He spreads it with the roots below (the tops); for it is with their roots below that those plants are firmly established in this earth: for this reason he spreads it with the roots below.
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it has been said by the seer (V4g.S. VII, 32), ‘They spread the barhis continuously.’ He spreads it with the roots below (the tops); for it is with their roots below that those plants are firmly established in this earth: for this reason he spreads it with the roots below.
11. He spreads it, with the text (V4g. S. IT, 2), ‘I spread thee, soft as wool, pleasant to sit upon for the gods !’—when he says ‘thee, soft as wool,’ he thereby means to say ‘agreeable to the gods;’ and by ‘pleasant to sit upon for the gods,’ he means to say ‘forming a good seat for the gods.’
12. He now trims the fire. The Ahavantya, doubtless, is the head of the sacrifice, for the head is the fore-part?: that fore-part of the sacrifice he thereby trims. He trims it while holding the prastara (which he has received back from the Brahman) close over it; for the prastara is the top-knot, and it is this which he thereby puts on it: for this reason he trims (the fire) while holding the prastara close over it.
13. He then lays the (three) enclosing-sticks (paridhi) around (the fire). The reason why he lays the enclosing-sticks around (is this). When at first the gods chose Agni for the office of Hotz, he said: ‘Verily, I am not equal to this, that I should be your Hotv#, and that I should carry your oblation. Already you have chosen three before, other object) the heads of the preceding layer and push the roots of the succeeding one under them. Ib. 24 (schol.).
1 He takes one stick from the fuel and gets the fire ready (for the oblations, either by throwing the stick into it, or by stirring it with the stick). Ib. 29.
® The Ahavanfya is at the foremost or eastern end of the sacrificial ground.
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and they have passed away. Restore them to me: then I shall be equal to this, that I should be your . Hot? and that I should carry your oblation!’ They said, ‘So be it!’ and they restored to him those (three former Agnis) : they are these enclosing-sticks.
14. He then said, ‘The thunderbolt, (in the shape of) the vashaé-call*, has struck these down: I am afraid of that thunderbolt, the vashaé-call. Lest that thunderbolt, the vashaécall, should strike me down, enclose me by those (three Agnis, or paridhis); and thus that thunderbolt, the vasha¢-call, will not strike me down.’ They said, ‘So be it!’ and they enclosed him with those (three sticks), and that thunderbolt, the vashaécall, did not strike him down. When he encloses Agni with those (sticks) he buckles armour on him.
15. They (the other three Agnis) then said, ‘If you join us with the sacrifice in this wise, then let us also have a share in the sacrifice !’
16. The gods said: ‘So be it! What shall fall outside the enclosure, that is offered unto you; and what they shall offer just upon you, that will sate
1 See I, 2, 3,1.
The gods said: ‘So be it! What shall fall outside the enclosure, that is offered unto you; and what they shall offer just upon you, that will sate
1 See I, 2, 3,1.
* The call ‘vasha/’ (or vausha/), apparently signifying ‘may he (Agni) carry it (the oblation) up!’ (from vah, to bear, carry), is pronounced by the Hotr? at the end of the y4gy4s or offering prayers (see note on I, 5, 1,16). Professor Weber has somewhere proposed to derive it from vaksh, to grow, increase, hence ‘may it prosper, or agree, with you!’ Different, but quite fanciful, interpretations of vasha/ are given Sat. Br. I, 5, 2,18; Ait. Br. 3, 6. As to the awful solemnity of this formula, and the danger arising from a careless use of it, see Ait. Br. 3, 8, on which Haug remarks, ‘Up to the present day the Shrotriyas or sacrificial priests never dare to pronounce this formula save at the time of sacrificing. They say that if they would do so at any other time, they would be cursed by the gods.’
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you ; and what they shall offer up in the fire that will sate you!’ Thus what they offer up in the fire, that satisfies them (the Agnis); and what they offer up just upon them (the enclosing-sticks, or Agnis), that satisfies them; and what is spilled outside the enclosure, that is offered to them!: hence no sin attaches to what (butter) is spilt; for into this earth they entered (when they, the Agnis, passed away), and whatever is spilt here,—all that remains indeed in her.
17. That which is spilt he touches, with the formulas (V4g. S. II, 2), ‘To the Lord of the Earth— svéha!’ ‘To the Lord of the World—svaha!’ ‘To the Lord of Beings—svaha!’ These, indeed, are the names of those Agnis,—to wit, Lord of the Earth, Lord of the World, and Lord of Beings. Thus in like manner as that (oblation) which is accompanied by ‘Vasha2’ is offered up (to the particular deity to which it is announced), so is this (offered up) on his (the sacrificer’s) part to those Agnis.
18. Here now some people take the sticks they lay around from the fire-wood; but let him not do so, for unsuitable for laying around are those which they take from the fire-wood, since the fire-wood is prepared for the purpose of being put upon (the fire); but what other (kind of sticks) they bring to him, called ‘enclosing-sticks (paridhis),’ they are indeed suitable for his purpose: let them therefore bring others.
19. Indeed, they should be of Palasa wood
1 The K4nva text has as follows:—They said, ‘So be it! what shall fall outside the enclosure that shall be yours! and what they shall offer just upon you that shall sate you!’ for what they offer just upon them that does indeed sate them (en4n); and what they offer up in the fire that is theirs (esh4m, ?the gods’); and what falls outside the enclosure by that he shall incur no guilt, &c.
90 SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
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(Butea Frondosa); for the Paldsa tree, doubtless, is the Brahman}, and Agni also is the Brahman: for this reason the Agnis should be of Paldsa wood.
20. Should he be unable to procure them of Pal4sa wood, they may be of Vikankata wood (Flacourtia Sapida); and if he be unable to procure any of Vikankata, they may be of Karshmarya wood (Gmelina Arborea); and if he be unable to procure any of Karshmarya wood, they may be of Vilva (Aegle Marmelos), or of Khadira (Acacia Catechu), or of Udumbara wood (Ficus Glomerata). These, doubtless, are the trees that are suitable for sacrificial purposes, and from these trees they (the enclosingsticks) are therefore (taken).
FourtH BRAHMANA.
1. They should be green (fresh); for that is (what constitutes) their living element, by that they are vigorous, by that possessed of strength: for this reason -they should be green.
2. The middle stick he lays down first (on the west side of the fire), with the text (V4g. S. II, 3), ‘May the Gandharva Visvavasu? lay thee around
1 The Brahman, or supreme spirit (? or, sacred writ), is more than once identified with the Palasa tree in the Satapatha Br., as in V, 2, 4,18; VI, 6, 3,7; XII, 7, 2,15; and with the leaf of that tree (palasasya palasam) in II, 6, 2, 8. [? Cf. Rig-veda X, 31, 7, ‘Which was the wood, which was the tree, out of which they fashioned heaven and earth?’ and Taitt. Br. II, 8, 9, 6, ‘ Brahma was the wood, Brahma was that tree out of which they fashioned heaven and earth ;’ also Ath.-veda X, 7, 38, ‘The gods form part of the divine essence (Skambha-Brahma) as branches of a tree.’]
* The genius VisvAvasu is already mentioned in Rig-veda X, 85, 21 seq., and X, 139, 4, where Grassmann identifies him with the rainbow (cf. Roth, Nirukta notes, p. 145). See also Sat. Br. III, 2, 4, 2; XIV, 9, 4, 18.
I KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMANA, 6. gI for the security of the All! Thou art a fence to the sacrificer, thou (art) Agni, invoked and worthy of invocation !’
3. He then lays down the southern one, with the text (ib.), ‘Thou art Indra’s arm for the security of the All! Thou art a fence to the sacrificer; thou Agni, invoked and worthy of invocation!’
4. He then lays down the northern one, with the text (ib.), ‘May Mitra-Varumza lay thee around in the north with firm law for the security of the All! Thou art a fence to the sacrificer, thou Agni, invoked and worthy of invocation!’ They are indeed Agnis, and for that reason he says, ‘Agni, invoked and worthy of invocation!’
5. Thereupon he puts on (the fire) a samidh (kindling-stick). He first touches with it the middle enclosing-stick : thereby he first kindles those (three Agnis). After that he puts it on the fire: thereby he kindles the visible fire.
Thereupon he puts on (the fire) a samidh (kindling-stick). He first touches with it the middle enclosing-stick : thereby he first kindles those (three Agnis). After that he puts it on the fire: thereby he kindles the visible fire.
6. He puts it on’, with the gayatrt stanza (Vag. S. II, 4), ‘Thee, O Sage, who callest (the gods) to the feast, we will kindle so as to shine brilliantly; thee, O Agni, mighty at the sacrifice!’ He thereby kindles the gayatri?; the g4yatrt, when kindled, kindles the other metres; and the metres, when kindled, carry the sacrifice to the gods.
1 According to Sayama, the two sticks or pieces of wood are put on the fire in a manner similar to that in which the two 4gh4aras or sprinklings of clarified butter are made (see I, 4, 4-5); viz. the first in the direction north-west to south-east, and the second from south-west to north-east.
* The gAyatrt is the first of the three principal metres, cf. p. 80, note 3. It consists of three octo-syllabic padas, of which Rig-veda I, 164, 25 says,—‘ The g4yatra, they say, has three flames (or firebrands, samidh): therefore it excelled in grandeur and power.’
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7. By the second kindling-stick (samidh), which he now puts on, he kindles the spring; the spring, when kindled, kindles the other seasons; and the seasons, when kindled, cause living beings to be produced and the plants to ripen. He puts it on, with the formula (V4g. S. II, 5),‘A kindler (samidh) art thou!’ for the spring is indeed a kindler.
8. When he has put it on, he murmurs (ib.), ‘May the sun guard thee from the east against any imprecation!’ for the enclosing-sticks serve for protection on all (the other three) sides; and thereby he makes the sun the protector on the east side, fearing ‘lest the evil spirits, the Rakshas, should rush in from the east:’ for the sun is the repeller of the evil spirits, the Rakshas.
9. By that third kindling-stick, then, which he puts on at the after-offerings', he kindles the officiating priest (brahmaza); and he, the priest, when kindled, carries the sacrifice to the gods.
10. He now returns to the altar covered (with sacrificial grass). Having taken two stalks of grass, he lays them down across (the barhis or grass covering, with the tops to the north), with the formula (V4g. S. II, 5), ‘Savitvz’s arms? are yel’ The prastara bunch is indeed the top-knot (of the sacrifice); and he now lays down these two crosswise as its eye-brows: thereby these two (represent) the transverse eye-brows. The prastara, further,
1 See I, 8, 2, 3.
* Baha, ‘the two arms,’ is apparently taken here by our author both in its natural sense and as the arms of the bow or arch, formed by the eye-brows. The barhis, or grass covering of the altar, was, as we saw (I, 3, 3, 7), identified with the beard and other hair of the body.