Now the gods were fully agreed on this point, ‘ Verily, so and thus shall he of us fare who shall transgress this (covenant) of ours!’ And so are these (priests and sacrificer) now agreed on this,—‘Verily, so and thus shall he of us fare who shall transgress this (covenant) of ours!’
14. They touch it simultaneously, with the text, ‘Thou art the strength of the gods, unassailed and unassailable; for the gods were indeed unassailed and unassailable while being together, and speaking with one accord and holding together. ‘The strength of the gods’ doubtless means the favourite forms and desirable powers of the gods, ‘uncursed, curse-averting, uncursable,’ for the gods have overcome every curse;— ‘May Il straightway go to the truth!’ whereby he means to say, ‘May I speak the truth, may I not transgress this (covenant) ;’—‘ Establish me in welfare!’ for in welfare the gods indeed established themselves by speaking the truth, by performing the truth: therefore he says, ‘ Establish me in welfare !’
15. Now those favourite forms and desirable powers which the gods put together, they then deposited in Indra!;— Indra verily is he that burns yonder (the sun); but he indeed did not burn in the beginning, but as now everything else is dark, so was he then; and it is by that very energy (derived
* According to Ait. Br. I, 24 the gods deposited their forms in the house of king Varuza.
Ill KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAMNA, 2. 97 from those divine objects) that he burns. Hence, if many persons perform the consecration’, let it (the TAndnaptra butter), after pouring the fast-milk to it, be handed only to the master of the house, since he, among them, is the representative of Indra. And if he perform the consecration by means of an (offering) with a dakshizé, let them hand it (the butter) to the sacrificer, after pouring the fast-milk to it, for thus it is said —‘ The Sacrificer is Indra.’
16. Now what favourite forms and desirable powers the gods then laid together, all that was wrought together and became the Saman: wherefore they say, ‘The S4man is the truth, the SAman is born of the gods.’
THE AVANTARADIKSHA, or INTERMEDIARY CONSECRATION.
THIRD BRAHMANA.
1. When the gods had performed the guestoffering, discord arose between them. They allayed it by means of the T4ndnaptra (oaths). They desired an atonement for having spoken evil to one another; for they had appointed no other consecration-ceremony till the expiatory bath. They perceived this intermediate consecration?,
2. By means of fire they enveloped (the body) with askin. Now, fire being fervour, and the consecration being fervour, they thereby underwent an intermediate consecration ; and because they underwent that
? That is, in a Sattra or sacrificial session, where all the officiating priests are consecrated and ‘sacrificers ;’ the Yagam4na proper being styled Grihapati (master of the house). See IV, 6, 8, 1 seq.
* The Avantaradiksh4 extends to the end of the sixth Brahmana.
{26} H
That is, in a Sattra or sacrificial session, where all the officiating priests are consecrated and ‘sacrificers ;’ the Yagam4na proper being styled Grihapati (master of the house). See IV, 6, 8, 1 seq.
* The Avantaradiksh4 extends to the end of the sixth Brahmana.
{26} Hp. 98 intermediate consecration, therefore this in termediary consecration (avantaradikshd, is performed). They turned in their fingers more tightly and drew! their zone tighter, whereby they (again) put round them what had been put round them before *;—and so does he thereby make atonement for what heretofore he has done injurious to the vow, for what he has spoken injurious to the vow.
3. By means of the fire they (the priests) envelop him with, a skin. Now, fire being fervour, and the consecration being fervour, he thereby undergoes an intermediate consecration. He turns in his fingers more tightly and draws the zone tighter, whereby he (again) puts round himself what was put round him before. Moreover, it was offspring the gods thereby obtained.
4. By means of Agni (fire) they enveloped (the body) with a skin. Now, Agni being the causer of sexual union, the progenitor, they thereby obtained offspring. They turned in their fingers more tightly and drew their zone tighter, whereby they produced offspring for themselves. And in like manner does he (the sacrificer) thereby obtain offspring.
5. By means of Agni he envelops himself with a skin. Now, Agni being the causer of sexual union, the progenitor, he thereby ® obtains offspring. He turns in his fingers more tightly and draws his zone tighter, whereby he produces offspring for himself.
6. Now, while the gods were consecrated, whichever of them fetched fire-wood or uttered his appointed texts, him the Asura-Rakshas endeavoured to
1 Our text has no verb; the K4Amva recension reads ‘auhanta.’ ? Viz. the diksha, as symbolised by the zone (or the skin). * Viz. through Agni, or the Avantaradiksh&,p. 99 strike—the one by (assuming) the form of this one, and the other by that of another. They came together, upbraiding one another, saying, ‘See, what thou hast done to me! see, how thou hast struck me!’ But Agni alone did not speak thus to any one, nor did any one speak thus to Agni.
7. They said, ‘Have they spoken thus to thee also, Agni?’ He said, ‘Verily, I have not spoken to any one, nor has any one spoken to me.’
8. They became aware,—‘ He verily is the greatest repeller of the Rakshas among us; let us be like him : thereby we shall escape from the Rakshas, thereby we shall attain to the heavenly world.’ They accordingly became like Agni, and thereby escaped from the Rakshas and attained to the heavenly world. And in like manner does this one now become like Agni, and thereby escape from the Rakshas and attain to the heavenly world. It is in putting a kindling-stick on (the Ahavantya fire) that he enters upon the Avantaradiksha.
And in like manner does this one now become like Agni, and thereby escape from the Rakshas and attain to the heavenly world. It is in putting a kindling-stick on (the Ahavantya fire) that he enters upon the Avantaradiksha.
9. He puts on the kindling-stick, with the text (Vag. S. V, 6), ‘O Agni, protector of vows; on thee, O protector of vows—’ for Agni is lord of vows to the gods; wherefore he says, ‘O Agni, protector of vows, on thee, O protector of vows — ‘what bodily form’ there is of thine, (may that be) here on me; and what bodily form there is of mine, (may that be) on thee! May my vows be bound up with thine, O lord of vows!’ whereby he envelops himself with the skin by means of Agni, ‘May the lord of consecration approve my
1 The sacrificer’s wife performs silently on and near the Garhapatya fire the same ceremonies as her husband. 2 Tanu, see p. 10, note 4. H 2p. 100 consecration, and the lord of penance my penance!’ Thereby he enters upon the intermediary consecration. More closely he turns in his fingers, and closer he draws the zone; whereby he (again) puts round himself what was put round him before.
10. They then attend on him with the boiling lustral water (madantt) ;—fire is heat, and the lustral water is heat: that is why they attend on him with the lustral water.
11. Having touched the lustral water, they (the priests and sacrificer) therewith strengthen’ the king (Soma). The reason why, after touching the lustral water, they strengthen the king is this ;—ghee is a thunderbolt, and Soma is seed: hence they strengthen the king after touching the lustral water, lest they should injure the seed, Soma, by the thunderbolt, the ghee.
12, Here now they say, ‘ Him, Soma, for whom that strengthening (meal), the guest-offering, is prepared, they ought first to strengthen, and then (ought to be performed) the Avantaradtksh4, and thereupon the TAndnaptra.’ But let him not do this. Forsuch indeed was the course of the sacrificial performance : discord arose between them (the gods) thereat ; they attained to their former tranquillity ; then the Av4ntaradtksh4 and finally the strengthening.
13. Then as to why they strengthen (Soma). Soma is a god, since Soma (the moon) is in the sky. ‘Soma, forsooth, was V7ztra ; his body is the sameas the mountains and rocks: thereon grows that plant called Us4na,—so said Svetaketu Audd4laki;
1 On the ‘ Apy4yana’ (4-pyai, ‘to swell, make swell,’ to strengthen, become strong, increase, fill), see parti, p. 178, note 2. According to Apastamba and other authorities, they tie a piece of gold to their nameless (gold) finger, and touch the Soma with their moist hands.
178, note 2. According to Apastamba and other authorities, they tie a piece of gold to their nameless (gold) finger, and touch the Soma with their moist hands.
as ; <fPORWS ‘they fetch it hither and press it; and by means the consecration and the U pasads, by the Tandnaptra and the strengthening they make it intoSoma.’ And in like manner does he now make it into Soma by means of the consecration and the Upasads, by the TAndnaptra and the strengthening.
14. ‘It is bees’ honey,’ they say; for bees’ honey means the sacrifice, and the bees that make the honey are no other than the officiating priests; and in like manner as the working-bees make the honey increase, so do they (the priests) thereby strengthen the sacrifice.
15. By means of the sacrifice the gods gained that supreme authority which they now wield. They spake, ‘How can this (world) of ours be made unattainable to men?’ Having sipped the sap of the sacrifice, as bees would suck out honey, and having drained the sacrifice and scattered it by means of the sacrificial post, they disappeared ; and because they scattered (yopaya) therewith, therefore it is called ydpa (post).
16. Now this was heard by the Azshis. They collected the sacrifice; and as that sacrifice was collected, so does he collect the sacrifice who is consecrated. The sacrifice is speech : hence he thereby again supplies what part of the sacrifice here has been sucked out and drained.
17. They strengthen (the Soma), being six! ;— there are six seasons: having become the seasons, they strengthen it?.
18. They strengthen him with (Vag. S. ve 7),
1 Viz. the five priests Brahman, Udg4trs, Hotri, Adhvaryu, and Agntdhra—and the sacrificer. 3 That is, as the seasons make the Soma-plant grow.
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‘Let stalk after stalk of thine wax strong, O divine Soma!’ whereby they strengthen (increase) stalk after stalk of his ;—‘for Indra, the winner of the ekadhanas!;’ Indra indeed is the deity of the sacrifice: therefore he says, ‘For Indra, the winner (or bestower) of the ekadhanas,’ For verily every one of those stalks swells to fill a hundred or ten? ekadhana cups for the several gods. ‘May Indra wax strong for thee, and wax thou strong for Indra!’ for Indra is the deity of the sacrifice: he thus strengthens him who is the deity of the sacrifice. By saying, ‘Wax thou strong for Indra,’ he instils that invigorating draught into him. ‘Strengthen us friends with gain and understanding!’ ‘With gain’ he says with reference to what he gains; and ‘with understanding’ he says with reference to what he recites. ‘Mayest thou thrive, O divine Soma, and may I attain to the Soma-feast!’ They, the priests and sacrificer, have one prayer in common, ‘May we reach the end of the sacrifice!’ hence he thereby-means to say,‘ May I reach the end of the sacrifice !’
‘Mayest thou thrive, O divine Soma, and may I attain to the Soma-feast!’ They, the priests and sacrificer, have one prayer in common, ‘May we reach the end of the sacrifice!’ hence he thereby-means to say,‘ May I reach the end of the sacrifice !’
19. Thereupon they make amends on the prastara. For the sacrifice requires a northward attend-
1 Ekadhana-vid; the meaning of ‘ ekadhana’ (apparently ‘ one prize’ or ‘one part of the booty or goods’) in this compound is not clear. The author of the Brahmaza seems to take it in its technical sense, viz. the ekadhana pitchers in which the ekadhana water, used for mixing with the Soma juice, is kept, see III, 9, 3; 16; 27; 34. According to Haug, Transl. Ait. Br. p.114 notes, they are so called because the Adhvaryu throws one stalk of Soma (eka-dhana) into each pitcher to consecrate it.
4 This anticlimax is rather curious. The Kazva text reads: dasa dasa va ha smaisha ekaiko ’msur dev4n pratindrfyaikadhanan Apyayayanti (1) satam satam v4 tasm4d 4haikadhanavida iti.
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ance ; but now they strengthen (Soma) after going, as it were, towards the right (south); and, the sacrifice being the fire, they thereby turn their back on the sacrifice and thus do wrong and are cut off from the gods. Now the prastara also is (part of) the sacrifice, and by (touching) it they again get hold of the sacrifice. And this is his expiation of that (transgression); and so no wrong is committed by them and they are not cut off from the gods: for this reason they make amends on the prastara.
20. Here now they say, ‘On the anointed ?—let them rather make amends on the unanointed ?!’ They should indeed make amends on the unanointed (prastara), since anointed it is thrown into the fire.
21. They make amends? with, ‘ Desirable treasures (may come) forth for strength and wellbeing—the right for the right-saying’—whereby
1 Soma’s throne stands south of the Ahavanfya fire, and in going to perform the 4pyayanam upon him, the priests and sacrificer have to move round the fire, along the east side of it towards the south (the region of the Fathers).
* This seems to be Sdyaza’s interpretation of the passage ‘ akte nihnuviran anaktai,” The two words, with their final syllable protracted, being intended to strongly contradict the preceding ‘akte.’ It is hardly possible to take the latter absolutely, ‘it being anointed (when thrown into the fire), let them make amends on it while unanointed.’ On the throwing of the prastara into the fire, see I, 8, 3,17. The prastara referred to is that of the guest-offering (atithyeshéi), which was broken off after the 1¢4 ceremony (see III, 4, 1, 26)and has to be completed after the present ceremony. Neither the prastara nor the barhis is burnt on this occasion.
The prastara referred to is that of the guest-offering (atithyeshéi), which was broken off after the 1¢4 ceremony (see III, 4, 1, 26)and has to be completed after the present ceremony. Neither the prastara nor the barhis is burnt on this occasion.
> In performing this propitiatory rite, the priests and sacrificer lay their hands on the prastara, either both of them with the palms upwards, or only the right one, and the left in the opposite way. Katy. VIII, 2,9. The latter mode is the one practised by the Taittiriyas. Say. on Taitt. S$. 1, 2, 11.
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he means to say, ‘ the truth for the truth-speaking ;’— ‘Homage be to Heaven and to the Earth!’ whereby they make amends to these two, heaven and earth, on whom this All is founded.
22. Having then picked up the prastara, he says, ‘Agnidh, does the water boil ?’—‘It boils,’ replies the Agnidh'. ‘Come hither with it!’ He holds (the prastara) quite close over the fire. The reason why he does not throw it into the fire is that he (the sacrificer) is to perform therewith? during the days that follow; and in that he holds it quite close over the fire, thereby it is for him as if it were really thrown into the fire. He hands it to the Agnidh, and the Agnidh puts it aside (in a safe place).
THE UPASADS, or HOMAGES. Fourty BRAHMANA.
_ 1, Verily the Upasads (homages or sieges) are the neck of the sacrifice, and the Pravargya is its head. Hence when it is performed with the Pravargya’,
1 According to the K4mva text, this conversation takes the place of the colloquy (samudita) held by the Adhvaryu and the Agnidhra, after the prastara has been thrown into the fire at the normal ishA; see I, 8, 3, 20.
? Or, ‘in the shape of it (tena), the prastara representing the sacrificer himself. This sentence seems also to imply, that the sacrificer thereby continues to live during the days that follow.
* The Pravargya, an offering of heated milk, which precedes each performance of the Upasads,—except at the first performance of the Soma-sacrifice, when it is prohibited by many authorities,— seems originally to have been an independent ceremony, and as such it is treated by most ritualistic books apart from the exposition of the Soma-cult. The Satapatha-brahmama deals with it in XIV, 1-3 (V4ag. S. XXXIX). Its mystic significance appears to have been that of supplying the sacrificer with a new celestial body. There seems to have been a tendency towards exalting itsp. 05 they perform the U pasads! after performing the Pravargya, and thereby they put the neck in its place.
2. The anuvakyds (invitatory prayers) in the forenoon are the ydgyd4s (offering prayers) in the afternoon ; and the yagy4s are the anuvakyds%. He thus interlinks them, whence those joints and those bones of the neck are interlinked.
2. The anuvakyds (invitatory prayers) in the forenoon are the ydgyd4s (offering prayers) in the afternoon ; and the yagy4s are the anuvakyds%. He thus interlinks them, whence those joints and those bones of the neck are interlinked.
3. Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from PragApati, were contending against each other®. The Asuras then built themselves castles in these worlds,—an iron one in this world, a silver one in the air, and a golden one in the sky.
4. The gods then prevailed. They besieged them by these sieges (upasad); and because they besieged (upa-sad) them, therefore the name Upasads.
importance— if not, indeed, towards making it take the place of the Soma-cult. The hot milk (gharma) is even styled ‘Samrag’ or supreme king—as against the title ‘ragan’ or king, assigned to Soma; and a throne is provided for it, just as for the latter. The rules for its performance, according to the Apastamba Srauta-sfitra, have been published, with a translation, by Professor Garbe (Zeitsch. der D. M. G. XXXIV, p. 319 seq.). See also Haug’s Transl. of the Ait. Br. pp. 41-43; Weber, Ind. Stud. IX. pp. 218-220.
1 The Upasadad, consisting of three offerings of ghee to Agni, Soma, and Vishau, followed by a Homa, have to be performed twice daily, for at least three days (the normal number at the Agnish/oma). The first day’s performance is called (from the corresponding Homa) the ‘ayasay4’ (lying in iron, made of iron), the second day’s ‘ragahsay4’ (silvern),and the third day’s ‘harisay4’ (golden). If there are six, or twelve Upasad days, each of the three varieties of performance has assigned to it an equal number of successive days ; and if there are more than twelve the three varieties are to be performed alternately.
* For the anuvaky4s and yagy4s, as well as the kindling-verses (simidhents) to be recited at the Upasads, see Ait. Br. I, 26; Asv. IV, 8.
* For other versions of this myth, see Ait. Br. I, 23; Taitt. S. VI, 2, 3.
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They clove the castles and conquered these worlds. Hence they say, ‘A castle is conquered by siege;’ for it is indeed by beleaguering that one of these human castles is taken.
5. By means of these sieges, then, the gods clove the castles and conquered these worlds. And so does this one (the sacrificer) now,—no one, it is true, builds for himself castles against him in this world ; he cleaves these same worlds, he conquers these worlds: therefore he offers with the Upasads.
6. They have clarified butter for their offering material. For ghee is a thunderbolt, and by that thunderbolt, the ghee, the gods clove the strongholds and conquered these worlds. And so does he cleave these worlds by that thunderbolt, the ghee, and conquer these worlds; therefore they (the Upasads) have ghee for their offering material.
For ghee is a thunderbolt, and by that thunderbolt, the ghee, the gods clove the strongholds and conquered these worlds. And so does he cleave these worlds by that thunderbolt, the ghee, and conquer these worlds; therefore they (the Upasads) have ghee for their offering material.
7. He takes eight times (ghee) in the guhd, and four times in the upabhrzt; or conversely, they say, he is to take of it only four times in the guhQ and eight times in the upabhzzt?.
8. He takes eight times in the guhd, and four times in the upabhvzt. He thereby makes the thunderbolt heavy in front, and with that thunderbolt heavy in front he cleaves these worlds, and conquers these worlds.
9. Agni and Soma verily are yoke-fellows among the gods: for these two he takes (ghee) in common? For Vishzu (he takes) singly. He makes only the one libation (4gh4ra) which (he makes) with the dipping-spoon (sruva)’. For when he has made
1 This would be the regular mode of ladling. See 1, 3, 2, 8 seq. ? See p. 108, note 1. ® For the two 4ghfra, or libations of ghee, made with the
Ill KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMANA, 13. 107 the northern (higher) libation he retires’: ‘May I conquer for conquest’ so he thinks, and therefore he makes only the one libation, that with the dipping-spoon.
10. When he has called (on the Agnidhra) for the Srausha/, he does not elect the Hotvz?. ‘Seat thee, O Hotv7!’ he says. The Hotvz sits down on the Hotrz’s seat. Having sat down he urges the Adhvaryu; and he, thus urged, takes the two offering-spoons*.
11. While passing over (to the south side of the fire and altar) he says‘ (to the Hotrz), ‘ Recite the invitatory prayer to Agni!’ and having called for the Sraushaé, he says, ‘ Pronounce the offering prayer to Agni!’ and pours out the oblation when the Vasha/ is uttered. ;
12. Thereupon he says, ‘ Recite the invitatory prayer to Soma!’ and having called for the Sraushat, he says, ‘Pronounce the offering prayer to Soma!’ and pours out the oblation when the Vasha? is uttered.
13. Thereupon, while pouring the ghee which is in the upabhvzt®, together (with what is left in the guhd), he says, ‘Recite the invitatory prayer to Vishzu!’ and, having called for the Srausha¢, he says, ‘Pronounce the offering prayer to Vishzu!’
sruva north of the fire and guhfi south of the fire respectively, see I, 4,4,1seq. At the Upasad-ish/i neither fore-offerings (prayaga) nor after-offerings (anuy4ga) are performed.
1 Viz. to the offering place on the south side of the fire. The covert meaning is that, were he to make the second libation, he would have to recede from the higher (uttara, northern) position already gained.
3 See I, 5, 1, 1 Seq. 5 SeeI,5,2,1seq. ‘See I, 7, 2, 1 seq.
5 Of the ghee in the guh (obtained from eight ladlings with the
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and pours out the oblation when the Vasha/ is uttered.
3 See I, 5, 1, 1 Seq. 5 SeeI,5,2,1seq. ‘See I, 7, 2, 1 seq.
5 Of the ghee in the guh (obtained from eight ladlings with thep. 108 and pours out the oblation when the Vasha/ is uttered.
14. The reason why in offering he remains standing in one and the same place, and does not move about as he is wont to do here in performing, isthat he thinks ‘I will conquer for conquest?!’ And the reason why he offers to those deities is that he thereby constructs the thunderbolt: Agni (he makes) the point (anika), Soma the barb (salya), and Vishzu the connecting piece (kulmala)?*.
15. For the thunderbolt is the year: the day is Agni, the night Soma, and what is between the two, that is Vishzu. Thus he makes the revolving year.
16. The thunderbolt is the year: by that year, as a thunderbolt, the gods clove the strongholds and conquered these worlds. And so does he now by that year, as a thunderbolt, cleave these worlds, and conquer these worlds. This is why he offers to those gods. _ 17. Let him undertake three Upasads; for, there being three seasons in the year, it is thereby made of the form of the year: he thus makes up the year. He performs twice each.
sruva) he first offers one half each to Agni and Soma, Thereupon he pours the ghee from the upabhr#t (obtained from four ladlings with the sruva) into the guhfi and offers it to Vishzu.
1 «Tt is for conquest that he does not move about as he (does when he) performs here in any other sacrifice.’ _KAava recension.
3 ? The socket; compare Ait. Br. I, 25, ‘The gods constructed that arrow, the Upasads: Agni was its point (?anfka, shaft, Haug), Soma its barb (salya, steel, H.), Vishau its shaft (teganam, point, H.), and Varuna its feathers (parma) .... For the arrow consists of three parts, anika, salya, and tegana ... . For the arrow consists of two parts, salya and tegana.’ Here salya would seem to be the barbed head-piece (with the point, anfka), and tegana the shaft or Teed of the arrow.
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18. These amount to six; for, there being six seasons in the year, it is thereby made of the form of the year: he thus makes up the year.
19. And should he undertake twelve Upasads,— there being twelve months in the year, it is thereby made of the form of the year: he thus makes up the "year. He performs twice each.
20. These amount to twenty-four ;—there being twenty-four half-moons in the year, it is thereby made of the form of the year: he thus makes up the year.
21. As to his performing in the evening and in the morning,—it is because only thus completeness is obtained. When he performs in the forenoon, then he gains the victory ;—and when he performs in the afternoon, he does so that it may be a good (complete) victory ;—and when he offers the Homa, (it is as if) people fight here for a stronghold, and having conquered it, they enter it as their own.
When he performs in the forenoon, then he gains the victory ;—and when he performs in the afternoon, he does so that it may be a good (complete) victory ;—and when he offers the Homa, (it is as if) people fight here for a stronghold, and having conquered it, they enter it as their own.
22. When he performs (the upasads), he fights ; and when (the performance) is completed, he conquers; and when he offers the Homa!’, he enters that (stronghold) now his own.
23. He offers it (with the verse) with which he
1 On the completion of each performance of the Upasad offerings, after the anointing of the prastara (see I, 8, 3, 11-14) and previously to taking up the enclosing-sticks (ib. 22), a homa (or guhoti) offering (parti, p. 263, note 2), called Upasad-homa, has to be performed with the dipping-spoon; the sacrificer holding on to Adhvaryu from behind, while the ghee is poured into the fire. Its performance over, the Upasads are brought to an end by a repetition of the ceremony with the prastara (which is not burnt) described above, III, 4, 3, 22, and the minor concluding ceremonies (I, 8, 3, 23 seq.; 9, 2,19 seq.); whereupon the Subrahmazyd litany (III, 3 4,17) is recited.
IIO SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA,
will have to perform twice in one day! (Vag. S. V, 8), ‘What most excellent iron-clad body is thine, O Agni, established in the deep, it hath chased away the cruel word, it hath chased away the fearful word; Hail!’ for such-like it was, it was indeed iron.
24. Again he offers (with the verse) with which he will have to perform twice in one day, ‘What most excellent silver-clad body is thine, O Agni, established in the deep, it hath chased away the cruel word, it hath chased away the fearful word; Hail!’ for such-like it was, it was indeed silver.
25. And again he offers (with the verse) with which he will have to perform twice in one day,‘What most excellent gold-clad body is thine, O Agni, established in the deep, it hath chased away the cruel word, it hath chased away the fearful word; Hail!’ for such-like it was, it was indeed golden. If he undertakes twelve Upasads, let him perform each of them for four days.
26. Now then of the fast-homages. Some Upasads get wider and wider, others narrower and narrower: those at which he milks out one (teat)? on the first day, then two, and then three, are those that get wider and wider; and those at which he
1 While the Hotr#, as we saw (parag. 2, above), uses the same two verses twice in one day, viz. one for the anuvaky& in the morning and for the y4gy4 in the afternoon; and the other for the y4gy4 in the morning and for the anuvaky4 in the evening,—the Adhvaryu ‘is to use the three formulas here mentioned on the three Upasad days respectively, both at the morning and afternoon performances.
2 Viz. of the vratadughé, or cow supplying his fast-milk. The milk so obtained is to be ‘his only food during the Upasad days.
III KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 1 BRAHMANA, I. III
2 Viz. of the vratadughé, or cow supplying his fast-milk. The milk so obtained is to be ‘his only food during the Upasad days.
III KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 1 BRAHMANA, I. III
milks out three on the first day, then two, and then one, are those that get narrower and narrower. Those getting narrower and narrower are (as good as) those getting wider and wider ; and those getting wider and wider are (as good as) those getting narrower and narrower.
27. Verily, the world is conquered by austere devotion. Now, his devotion becomes ever and ever wider, he conquers an ever and ever more glorious world and becomes better even in this world, whosoever, knowing this, undertakes the Upasads that get narrower and narrower’: let him, therefore, undertake the Upasads that get narrower and narrower. And should he undertake twelve Upasads, let him have three (teats) milked out for four days, two for four days, and one for four days.
PREPARATION OF THE SOMA ALTAR WITH THE HIGH ALTAR*
Firty ApuyAya. First BRAHMANA,
1. From that post which is the largest on the east side (of the hall)* he now strides three steps forwards (to the east), and there drives in a peg,— this is the intermediate (peg) *‘.
1 The simile is apparently taken from the arrow, which pierces the deeper the more pointed it is; cf. parag. 14, above; Ait. Br. I, 25. Also Taitt. S. VI, 2, 3, 5, where a goad (4ra?) is compared.
* The preparation of the special altars—viz. the large Soma altar (mah4-vedi, or saumiki-vedi) and the ‘high altar’ (uttara-vedi) on the former—takes place on the last but one Upasad day, after the morning performance of the Upasads.
5 This post stands in the middle of the east door of the hall or Pratina-vamsa, just in front of the Ahavantya-fire. See p. 3, note 2.
* Anta/pata, lit. ‘falling within or between,’ because it stands
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2. From that middle peg he strides fifteen steps to the right, and there drives in a peg,—this is the right hip.
3. From that middle peg he strides fifteen steps northwards, and there drives in a peg,—this is the left hip.
4. From that middle peg he strides thirty-six steps eastwards, and there drives in a peg,—this is the fore-part’.
5. From that middle peg (in front) he strides twelve steps to the right, and there drives in a peg,— this is the right shoulder.
6. From that middle peg he strides twelve steps to the north, and there drives in a peg,—this is the left shoulder. This is the measure of the altar.
7. Now the reason why it is thirty steps broad behind is this: the Virag metre consists of thirty syllables, and by means of the Viraég the gods obtained a firm footing in this world; and even so does he now, by means of the Virag, obtain a firm footing in this world.
8. But there may also be thirty-three (steps); for of thirty-three syllables also consists the Viraég; and by means of the Virag he obtains a firm footing in this world.
8. But there may also be thirty-three (steps); for of thirty-three syllables also consists the Viraég; and by means of the Virag he obtains a firm footing in this world.
9. Then as to why the ‘easterly line*’ is thirty-six steps long ;—the Bvzhatt consists of thirty-six syllables, and by means of the Brzhatt the gods obtained between the (new) altar and the PrAdina-vamsa fires and altar. See III, 5, 2, 2.
1 That is, the middle of the front side of the altar, or, as it were, its head, where the ‘high altar’ is to be raised.
? The ‘ praAt’ is the line drawn from the middle of the west side to that of the front side of the altar, forming as it were the spine (préshshy) of the altar.
lI KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 15. 113 the heavenly world: and so does he now, by means of the Brthatt, obtain the heavenly world and that offering-fire (Ahavantya) of his is in the sky.
to. And as to (the altar) being twenty-four steps broad in front ;—the G4yatri consists of twenty-four syllables, and the Gé4yatri is the fore-part of the sacrifice: this is why it is twenty-four steps broad in front. This is the measure of the altar.
11. And why it is broader behind,—‘ Wider behind, broad-hipped,’ thus they praise a woman. And by its being wider behind, he makes that womb at the hind-part (of the altar) wider, and from that wider womb these creatures are born.
12. That high altar (Uttaravedi') is the nose of the sacrifice; because they throw it up so as to be higher than the altar, therefore it is called ‘ high altar.’
13. Now, in the beginning there were two kinds of beings here, the Adityas and the Angiras. The Angiras then were the first to prepare a sacrifice, and having prepared the sacrifice they said to Agni, ‘ Announce thou to the Adityas this our to-morrow’s Soma-feast, saying, “ Minister ye at this sacrifice of ours!’
14. The Adityas spake (to one another), ‘ Contrive ye how the Aagiras shall minister unto us, and not we unto the Angiras!’
15. They said, ‘Verily by nothing but sacrifice is there a way out of this*: let us undertake another
1 On the uttara-vedi (lit. ‘higher, upper altar’), now about to be raised on the fore-part of the great altar (mah4-vedi or saumiki vedi) described in the preceding paragraphs, see also part i, p. 392 note.
* The K4nva MS. reads, napakramazam astv iti, which, if correct,
(26] I
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Soma-feast !’ They brought together the (materials for) sacrifice, and having made ready the sacrifice, they said, ‘ Agni, thou hast announced to us a Somafeast for to-morrow; but we announce to thee and the Angiras a Soma-feast even for to-day: it is for us that thou art (to officiate as) Hotz?!’
16. They sent back some other (messenger) to the Angiras; but the Angiras going after Agni, were exceeding angry with him, saying, ‘Going as our messenger, why didst thou not mind us? ?’
They sent back some other (messenger) to the Angiras; but the Angiras going after Agni, were exceeding angry with him, saying, ‘Going as our messenger, why didst thou not mind us? ?’
17. He spake, ‘The blameless chose me: as the chosen of the blameless, I could not go away.’ And let not therefore the chosen (priest) of a blameless man turn away from him. The Angiras then officiated for the Adityas in the sacrifice with Soma bought (krt) on the same day (sadyas) ; whence this Sadyakkri’.
18. They brought V4é (speech) to them for their sacrificial fee. They accepted her not, saying, ‘We shall be losers if we accept her.’ And so the performance of that sacrifice was not discharged (completed), as it was one requiring a sacrificial fee.
19. Thereupon they brought Sfrya (the sun) to them, and they accepted him. Wherefore the Angiras say, ‘ Verily, we are fit for the sacrificial office, we are worthy to receive Dakshiz4s; yea, even he that burns yonder has been received by us*!’
would mean, ‘ Let there be no going away!’ i.e. ‘ Let us not go (to the Angiras)!’ or perhaps, ‘Do not thou (Agni) go away!’
1 Tesham nas tvam hot&siti, perhaps ‘thou wilt sacrifice for us.’
2 ‘Sent by us, why didst thou not return?’ KAmva rec.
® An ek&ha (one day’s) performance of the Soma-sacrifice at which the consecrations, buying and pressing of Soma, are compressed into one day.
* Api va asm4bhir esha pratigrzhitak, ‘Ist doch jener von uns empfangen worden.’
III KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 23. II5
Hence a white horse is the sacrificial fee for the Sadyakri.
20. On the front of this (horse) there is a golden ornament, whereby it is made an image of him that burns yonder.
21. Now V&é% was angry with them: ‘In what respect, forsooth, is that one better than I,—wherefore is it, that they should have accepted him and not me!?’ So saying she went away from them. Having become a lioness she went on seizing upon (everything *) between those two contending parties, the gods and the Asuras. The gods called her to them, and so did the Asuras. Agni was the messenger of the gods, and one Saharakshas for the Asura-Rakshas.
22. Being willing to go over to the gods, she said, ‘What would be mine, if I were to come over to you ?’—‘ The offering shall reach thee even before (it reaches) Agni. She then said to the gods, ‘Whatsoever blessing ye will invoke through me, all that shall be accomplished unto you!’ So she went over to the gods.
23. And, accordingly, when he pours ghee on the high altar’, while the fire is held (over it)—since the gods said to her on that occasion, ‘The offering shall reach thee even before Agni’—then that offering does reach her even before (it reaches) Agni; for this (high altar) isin reality V4. And when he raises
1 The K4nva text reads, Na mad esha kena ana srey4n iti na bandhuné na kena fana katham etam pragrthafyur na mam iti; ‘That one is not my superior by anything, not by kinship, not by anything, why should they accept him and not me?’
And when he raises
1 The K4nva text reads, Na mad esha kena ana srey4n iti na bandhuné na kena fana katham etam pragrthafyur na mam iti; ‘That one is not my superior by anything, not by kinship, not by anything, why should they accept him and not me?’
. 12p. 116 the high altar, it is for the completeness of the sacrifice, for the sacrifice is V4é (speech) and that (high altar) is V4é.
24. He measures it with the yoke and pin ;— namely with the yoke (that place) whither they take (the earth); and with a yoke-pin that, from whence they take (the earth’), for the team is harnessed with the yoke and the pin: it is because she (V4), as a lioness, at that time roamed about unappeased that he thus yokes her here at the sacrifice.
25. One must not therefore accept a Dakshina (sacrificial fee) that has been refused (by another priest*), for, having turned into a lioness, it destroys him ;—nor must he (the sacrificer) take it home again, for, having turned into a lioness, it destroys him ;—nor must he give it to any one else, as he would thereby make over the sacrifice to some one other than himself. Hence if he have any wretched kinsman, let him give it to him; for in that he gives it away, it will not turn into a lioness and destroy him; and in that he gives it to a kinsman, he does not make over (the sacrifice) to one other than himself: and this is the settling of a refused Dakshin.
26. He now takes the yoke-pin and the wooden sword; and from where the northern peg of the front side is, he strides three steps backwards and there marks off the pit (44tvdla). The measure for the pit is the same (as for the high altar)*; therep. 17 is no (other) measure in regard to it: wherever he himself may think fit in his mind (to fix it), in front of the heap of rubbish (utkara), there let him mark off the pit.
1 That is to say, the pit (44tvala) whence the earth for the high altar is taken is measured with the yoke-pin, and the high altar with the yoke. Sfyana seems to take it differently: Yatra yasmin dese yugena haranti yato yasm4t tatra samyay4pi haranti.
* Or perhaps, one must not take back a Dakshin4, refused by apriest.
* The earth taken from the pit being used for constructing the
27. From the (north) edge of the altar he lays down the pin from south to north, and draws the (western) outline, with the text (Vag. S. V, 9), ‘Thou art for me the resort of the afflicted!’ Thereby he means this (earth), for it is thereon that he walks afflicted.
28. Thereupon he lays down the pin in front from south to north, and draws the outline with, ‘Thou art my wealth-resort.’ Thereby he means this (earth), for it is thereon that he walks having acquired (wealth).
28. Thereupon he lays down the pin in front from south to north, and draws the outline with, ‘Thou art my wealth-resort.’ Thereby he means this (earth), for it is thereon that he walks having acquired (wealth).
29. He then lays down the pin along the (north) edge of the altar from west to east, and draws the outline with, ‘Preserve me from being in want'!’ Thereby he means this (earth): ‘ Wherever there is want, from that preserve me!’
30. He then lays down the pin on the north side from west to east, and draws the outline with, ‘ Preserve me from being afflicted!!’ Thereby he high altar, both are of the same size or cubic content. The pit is to measure thirty-two angulas (about two feet) on each side. As to the exact distance of the pit from the north-east peg, this is to be left to the discretion of the Adhvaryu, provided it be in front of the utkara, or heap of rubbish formed in making the large altar (on which the high altar is raised), and a passage be left between the utkara and the pit. The latter is contiguous to the north edge of the large altar. As described in the succeeding paragraphs, the west side is marked off first (by drawing the wooden sword along the inner side of the yoke-pin), then successively the front, the south, and the north sides.
1 For ‘nthitat’ and ‘ vyathitat,’ the KAnva text, as the Taitt. S. VI, 2, 7, 2, has the readings ‘n4thitam’ and ‘ vyathitam.’
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means this (earth): ‘wherever there is affliction, from that preserve me!’
31. He then flings (the wooden sword)'; at the place where he flings’, the Agnidh sits. He flings while mentioning the names of the Agnis*. For those (three) Agnis whom the gods at first chose for the office of Hotvz passed away: they crept into these very earths,—namely, into this one and the two beyond it. It is really with this one* that he now flings.
32. He flings with the texts, ‘May the Agni called Nabhas® know (thee)! Go thou, O Agni, Angiras, with the name of Ayu (life)!’ What life they passed away from® that he bestows, that he re-animates. Having with, ‘Thou who art in this earth,’ taken (the loose soil dug up by the wooden sword), he puts it down (on the altar’), with, ‘Whatever inviolate, holy name of thine,
1 Compare the Stambayagur-harazam (which has also to be performed on the present occasion, in preparing the large altar), I, 2, 4, 8 seq.
* That is, at the place where the uttaravedi is to be raised, whence the Adhvaryu throws the sphya to where the pit is to be dug. While he throws (or thrusts in) the wooden sword, the sacrificer has to take hold of him from behind.
5 See I, 2, 3, 1.
‘ T.e. with the Agni who entered into this earth.
5 Apparently ‘vapour, welkin.’ The KAnva rec. reads, ‘ Mayest thou know Agni’s name Nabhas’ (Vider Agner, &c.). The Taitt. S., on the other hand, reads ‘vider Agnir nabho nfma,’ which Sayana explains by ‘the Agni of the vedi (!) is Nabhas by name.’
with the Agni who entered into this earth.
5 Apparently ‘vapour, welkin.’ The KAnva rec. reads, ‘ Mayest thou know Agni’s name Nabhas’ (Vider Agner, &c.). The Taitt. S., on the other hand, reads ‘vider Agnir nabho nfma,’ which Sayana explains by ‘the Agni of the vedi (!) is Nabhas by name.’
* Yat pradhanvams tad 4yur dadhati. Perhaps we ought to read with the Kanva text, Yat pradhanvat tad asminn 4yur dadhati tad enam samfrayati, ‘the life which passed away (?), that he bestows on him, therewith he re-animates him.’
7 He throws it on the fore-part of the altar, close to the peg marking the middle of the front side, where the ‘high altar’ is to be raised on it.
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therewith I lay thee down!’ whereby he means to say, ‘whatever holy name, unviolated by the Rakshas, is thine, thereby I lay thee down!.—With ‘Thee, moreover, for the delight of the gods,’ he takes (earth) a fourth time?; whereby he means to say, ‘I take thee well-pleasing to the gods.’ He takes that (high altar) from a quadrangular pit, for there are four quarters: thus he takes it from all the four quarters.
33. Thereupon he shifts (the earth) asunder, with the text (V4g. S. V, 10), ‘ Thou art a lioness, overcoming the enemies; be thou meet for the gods!’ Inasmuch as, on that occasion, she became a lioness and roamed about unappeased, therefore he says to her, ‘ Thou art a lioness ;’ and by ‘overcoming the enemies’ he means to say, ‘ Through thee may we worst our enemies.’ ‘Be thou meet for the gods’ he says, because the high altar is a woman: her he thus renders meet for the gods.
34. He makes it on each side either of the size of the yoke, or ten feet of the sacrificer’s?; for the
1 He repeats the same ceremony a second and a third time with the same texts, except that, instead of ‘Thou who art in this earth,’ he says, ‘ Thou who art in the second (third) earth.’
* He takes with the spade as much as is required to make the high altar of the proper size.
? This statement seems to have greatly puzzled the later ritualists, as KAty. V, 3, 32-35 and the comments thereon show. In rule 32 it is laid down, in accordance with paragraph 26 above, that the Adhvaryu is to make the high altar of the size of the yoke-pin and the pit, ie. about two feet square. The next rule then leaves an option between four other measurements, viz. he may make it either one third of the area of the large altar, or of unlimited size, or of the size of the yoke (86 angulas=c. 5— 5} feet) or of ten of the sacrificer’s feet. This latter measurement is explained rather ingeniously by Harisvamin, as meaning that the high altar is to form
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Virag consists of ten syllables, and the Virdg is speech, and the sacrifice is speech. In the middle! he makes, as it were, a navel, thinking, ‘Seated in one and the same place, I shall sprinkle (ghee) all round®.’
Virag consists of ten syllables, and the Virdg is speech, and the sacrifice is speech. In the middle! he makes, as it were, a navel, thinking, ‘Seated in one and the same place, I shall sprinkle (ghee) all round®.’
35. He sprinkles it with water: inasmuch as, on that occasion, she became a lioness and roamed about unappeased — water being (a means of) appeasement—he appeases her with water. And, the high altar being a woman, he thereby fits her for the gods: this is why he sprinkles it with water.
36. He sprinkles it with, ‘Thou art a lioness, overcoming the enemies: get thee pure for the gods!’ He then bestrews it with gravel. Now gravel certainly is an ornament, because gravel is rather shining. And that gravel being the ashes of Agni Vaisvanara, he is now about to place Agni thereon, and so Agni does not injure it: this is why he bestrews it with gravel. He bestrews it with, ‘Thou art a lioness, overcoming the enemies: array thee for the gods!’ He then covers it®, and thus covered it remains during that night.
an oblong of three feet by one foot, when, in counting the number of sides of the three squares thus obtained, we obtain ten sides of one foot each. However, the repetition of ‘dasa’ in our text— which can only mean ‘ ten feet on each side ’—does not favour this explanation. The last two alternatives, according to rules 34-36, only apply to the Soma-sacrifice, because otherwise the altar (as in the case of the ‘ northern altar’ at the XAturmAsya, cf. part i, p. 392) would not be large enough to contain a ‘high altar’ of that size.
1 The Kanva text wants it to be made at the back (gaghanena).
* When he makes the libation of ghee on the high altar (III, 5, 2,9-11), he pours it on the four corners of the ‘navel’ and thereby, as it were, on the whole ‘high altar.’
® Viz. with branches of udumbara or plaksha (see III, 8, 3, 10), or with darbha grass.
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THE AGNI-PRAWAYANA, ork LEADING FORWARD OF THE FIRE’ TO THE HIGH ALTAR.
SEconD BRAHMANA.
1. They put fire-wood on (the Ahavantya fire), and prepare the underlayer (of gravel*), He (the Adhvaryu) puts the butter on (the Garhapatya to melt), and cleans both the dipping-spoon and the offering-spoon. Having then clarified the ghee, he ladles five times thereof (into the offering-spoon). When the fire-wood is ablaze—
2. They lift the (burning) fire-wood, and place it on the underlayer*. Thereupon he says (to the Hotz), ‘ Recite for Agni as he is taken forward*!’ (and to the Pratiprasthatyz), ‘Come up after me with the single sword(-line)!’ The Pratiprasthatr goes up after him with the single sword(-line) as far
They lift the (burning) fire-wood, and place it on the underlayer*. Thereupon he says (to the Hotz), ‘ Recite for Agni as he is taken forward*!’ (and to the Pratiprasthatyz), ‘Come up after me with the single sword(-line)!’ The Pratiprasthatr goes up after him with the single sword(-line) as far
1 The transferring of the Ahavantya fire to the high altar takes place in the forenoon of the last Upasad day (that is, on the day preceding the pressing day, and called upavasatha, or preparation day). It is preceded by the double or combined performance of the Upasad offerings (one of which took place in the afternoon on the two preceding days).
* Some gravel is put in a pan for the burning wood to lie upon, when it is to be transferred from the Ahavantya to the new altar. The Taittirtyas mix with the gravel one-fourth part of the dust of the foot-print of the Soma-cow (III, 3, 1, 6), the other three parts being used respectively for anointing the axle of the Soma-cart (III, 5, 3, 13), for the underlayer of the Agnidhra fire (III, 6, 3, 4), and for scattering about behind the Garhapatya (III, 6,
3) 4-7).
5 Lit. they lift the underlayer underneath (the burning wood).
‘ For the eight verses (or twelve, the first and last being recited thrice each) which the Hotr# has to repeat while the fire is carried eastward and laid down on the high altar, see Ait. Br. I, 28; Asv. Sr.I],17. For the Brahman’s duties, see Katy. XI, 1, 9.
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as that middle peg on the hind-part of the altar’: whatever part of the Gdrhapatya? is cut off from the altar by that intermediate (peg), that he thereby carries on to (connects with) it.
3. Now some walk up behind (and draw a line) as far as the high altar; but let him not do that: let him walk up only as far as that middle peg. They proceed and come up to the high altar®.
4. The Adhvaryu takes the sprinkling-water. He first sprinkles (the high altar) in front, while standing (south of it) facing the north, with the text (V4g. S. V, 11), ‘May Indra’s noise* shield thee in front with the Vasus!’ whereby he means to say, ‘May Indra’s noise protect thee in front with the Vasus.’
5. He then sprinkles it behind with, ‘May the Wise® shield thee from behind with the Rudras!’ whereby he means to say, ‘May the Wise One protect thee from behind with the Rudras!’
6. He then sprinkles on the right (south) side with, ‘May the Thought-swift shield thee with the Fathers on the right!’ whereby he means
1 See III, 5,1, 1.
* The Ahavantya or offering fire being now transferred to the new altar, the old Ahavantya hearth is henceforward used as Garhapatya ; and a line is drawn from it up to the antafpata, marking the middle of the west side of the great altar.
° In ‘leading forwards’ the fire they proceed along the north side of the large altar.
° In ‘leading forwards’ the fire they proceed along the north side of the large altar.
* Indraghosh4, perhaps ‘Indra’s name;’ Mahfdhara and Sayana take it as ‘he who is noised abroad as Indra’ (i.e. called Indra), which, however, would require the accent ‘{ndraghosha.’ Perhaps ‘the noise of Indra’ means Agni, the roaring fire: for Agni and the Vasus, see III, 4,2, 1.°
5 Praketas, here Varuza according to Mahfdhara and Sayana. Cf. III, 4, 2, 1.
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to say, ‘May he swift as thought? protect thee on the right with the Fathers!’
7. He then sprinkles on the left side with, ‘May Visvakarman (the All-shaper) shield thee with the Adityas on the left!’ whereby he means to say, ‘May Visvakarman protect thee on the left with the Adityas!’
8. The sprinkling-water which is left he pours outside the altar close to where is the southern of those two front corners (of the high altar) with, ‘This burning water I dismiss from the sacrifice.’ Because she (V4é—the altar) on that occasion became a lioness and roamed about unappeased?, he thus dismisses from the sacrifice that sorrow of hers,—if he do not wish to exorcise. But should he wish to exorcise, let him indicate it by saying, ‘This burning water I dismiss from the sacrifice against so and sol’ He then smites him with that sorrow, and sorrowing he goes to yonder world.
9. Now as to why he pours ghee on the high altar, while the fire is held (over it). Because the gods said to her on that occasion, ‘The offering shall reach thee before Agni,’ therefore the offering now does reach her before (it reaches) Agni. And because she said to the gods, ‘ Whatsoever blessing ye will invoke through me, all that shall be accomplished unto you!’ therefore the priests now invoke through her that blessing upon the sacrificer, and it is fully accomplished unto him.
10. When he pours ghee on the high altar, he
1 “Manogavas’ is taken by Mahtdhara and Sayama as referring to Yama. 5 «Sofanti (sorrowing),’ Kazva rec.
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does it twofold even while doing it in one’. Now that which is the southern of the two front corners of that navel, so to say, which is in the middle of these (sides of the high altar)—
11, On that* he pours ghee, with the text (Vag. S. V,12), ‘Thou art a lioness, Hail!’ Then on the northern of the two back corners with, ‘Thou art a lioness, winning the Adityas?, Hail!’ Then on the southern of the two back corners with, ‘Thou art a lioness, winning the Brahman, winning the Kshatra, Hail!’ Manifold, verily, is the prayer for blessing in the sacrificial texts: by this one he prays‘ for the Brahman (priesthood) and the Kshatra (nobility), those two vital forces.
12, Then on the northern of the front corners with, ‘Thou art a lioness, winning abundant offspring, winning growth of wealth, Hail!’ In that he says, ‘winning abundant offspring,’ he prays for offspring; and in that he says, ‘ winning growth of wealth’—growth of wealth meaning abundance—he prays for abundance.
13. He then pours ghee into the middle with, ‘Thou art a lioness, bring thou hither the gods for the sacrificer! Hail!’ whereby he causes the gods to be brought to the sacrificer. He then raises the offering-spoon with, ‘To the
1 Viz. by pouring the ghee cross-wise on the corners of the ‘navel’ of the altar.
* The south-east is sacred to Agni, the north-west to Vayu.
* Because the Adityas brought her as a Dakshin, KAnva rec.; cf. III, 5, 1, 18.
* But for the lack of a demonstrative pronoun with 4si4 one would like to take the passage thus: ‘ Plenteous, forsooth, is this prayer for blessing among sacrificial texts: he thereby prays for the priesthood and the nobility.” Cf. I, 2, 1, 7.
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beings thee! Hail!'—beings meaning offspring— he thereby means to say, ‘ To offspring thee!’
14. He then lays the enclosing-sticks! round (the navel); with the text (V4g. S. V, 13), ‘Thou art firm, steady thou the earth!’ the middle one; with, ‘Thou art firmly settled, steady thou the air!’ the right one; with, ‘Thou art immovably settled, steady thou the sky!’ the left one. With, ‘Thou art Agni’s provision’ he throws the ‘equipments’ upon (the high altar). Wherefore are the equipments ?—for Agni’s completeness.
15. The pine-wood, namely, is his body?: hence in that there are enclosing-sticks of pine-wood, thereby he supplies him with a body, makes him whole.
16. And the bdellium, forsooth, is his flesh: hence in that there is bdellium, thereby he supplies him with flesh, makes him whole.
17. And the fragrant reed-grass (sugandhi-tegana), forsooth, is his fragrance: hence in that there is fragrant reed-grass, thereby he supplies him with fragrance, makes him whole.
18. And as to why there is a wether’s hair-tuft,— Agni, forsooth, dwelt once for one night between the two horns of a wether: ‘Whatever of Agni’s nature is inherent therein, let that be here too,’ so he thinks, and therefore there is a wether’s hair-tuft. Let him, therefore, cut off that (tuft) which is nearest to the head, and bring it; and if he be unable to procure that, let him bring any kind (of wether’s hair). And why there are enclosing-sticks ?—for the
? They are of pitud4ru (Pinus Deodora) wood, a span (of thumb and fore-finger) long. * The Kanva text makes it his bones.
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protection (of Agni): for it is somewhat long before the next enclosing-sticks will come nigh to him}.
CONSTRUCTION OF SHEDS, AND PREPARATION OF PRESSING-PLACE AND HEARTHS (DHISHYYAS).