Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Now MAathava, the (king of) Videgha}, carried Agni Vaisvanara in his mouth. The Azshi Gotama Rahdgama was his family priest. When addressed (by the latter), he made no answer to him, fearing lest Agni might fall from his mouth. 11. He (the priest) began to invoke the latter with 1 To this important legend attention was first drawn by Professor Weber, Ind. Stud. I, 170 seq. (cf. also Ind. Streifen, I, p. 13; J. Muir, Sanskrit Texts, II, p. 402). It was pointed out by Weber that this legend distinguishes three successive stages of the eastward migration of the Brahmanical Hindus. In the first place the settlements of the Aryans had already been extended from the Pafigab (where they were settled in the times of the hymns of the Rig-veda) as far as the Sarasvatt. They thence pushed forward, led by the Videgha Mathava and his priest, according to our legend, as far east as the river Sadanfr4 (that is, ‘she that is always filled with water’), which, according to SAyama, is another name for the Karatoy4 (the modern Kurattee, on which Bograh lies), which formed the eastern boundary of the Videhas ; or more probably the Gandakf (the modern Gunduck, a noble river which falls into the Ganges opposite Patna, and) which formed the boundary between the Kosalas and the Videhas (cf. par.17). It would appear from our legend, that for some time the Aryans did not venture to cross this river; but at the time of the author the country to the east of it had long been occupied by them. Sdyana takes the hero of the legend to be Videgha, the Madhava or son of Madhu; but: Videgha, an older form of Videha, is more probably intended here (as Weber takes it) for the name of that people and country (corresponding to the modern Tirhut). The Agni Vaisvanara (or Agni who is common to all men) of our legend Professor Weber considers a personification of Brahmanical worship and civilisation and the destructive effects of their extension. I KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 16. 105 verses of the Rig-veda, ‘We kindle thee at the sacrifice, O wise Agni, thee the radiant, the mighty caller to the sacrificial feast (Rig-veda V, 26, 3)!— O Videgha !’ 12. He (the king) did not answer. (The priest went on), ‘Upwards, O Agni, dart thy brilliant, shining rays, thy flames, thy beams (Rig-veda VIII, 44, 16)!—O Videgha-a-a!’ 13. Stillhe didnot answer. (The priest continued), ‘ Thee, O butter-sprinkled one, we invoke! (Rig-veda V, 26, 2);’ so much he uttered, when at the very mentioning of butter, Agni Vaisvanara flashed forth from the (king’s) mouth: he was unable to hold him back; he issued from his mouth, and fell down on this earth.
2(The priest continued), ‘ Thee, O butter-sprinkled one, we invoke! (Rig-veda V, 26, 2);’ so much he uttered, when at the very mentioning of butter, Agni Vaisvanara flashed forth from the (king’s) mouth: he was unable to hold him back; he issued from his mouth, and fell down on this earth. 14. Mathava, the Videgha, was at that time on the (river) Sarasvatt!. He (Agni) thence went burning along this earth towards the east; and Gotama Rahdgaza and the Videgha MAthava followed after him as he was burning along. He burnt over (dried up) all these rivers. Now that (river), which is called ‘ Sadantr4,’ flows from the northern (Him4laya) mountain: that one he did not burn over. That one the Brahmans did not cross in former times, thinking, ‘ it has not been burnt over by Agni Vaisvanara.’ 15. Now-a-days, however, there are many Brdahmans to the east of it. At that time it (the land east of the Sadanira) was very uncultivated, very marshy, because it had not been tasted by Agni Vaisvanara. 16. Now-a-days, however, it is very cultivated, for the Brahmans have caused (Agni) to taste it through Or, according to Sayama, he was then in the Sarasvatf, plunged into the river in order to quench the heat produced by Agni. 106 SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, sacrifices. Even in late summer that (river), as it were, rages along’: so cold is it, not having been burnt over by Agni Vaisvanara. 17. Mathava, the Videgha, then said (to Agni), ‘Where am I to abide?’ ‘To the east of this (river) be thy abode!’ said he. Even now this (river) forms the boundary of the Kosalas and Videhas ; for these are the Mathavas (or descendants of MAthava). 18. Gotama R&hfgawa then said (to Mathava), ‘Why didst thou not answer when addressed by us?’ He replied, ‘Agni Vaisvanara was in my mouth; I did not reply, lest he should escape from my mouth.’ 19. ‘How then did this happen ?’—‘ At the moment when thou didst utter the words, “ (Thee), O buttersprinkled one, we invoke!” just then, at the mention of butter, Agni Vaisvanara flashed forth from my mouth; I was unable to hold him back, he issued from my mouth.’ 20. That (word) in the sAmidhents, therefore, which contains butter (ghvzta) is especially suitable for kindling (sam-indh); and by it he accordingly kindles him (Agni, the fire) and bestows vigour on this (sacrificer). 21. Now that (word) is ghv7t4zy4, ‘with the buttered (spoon).—‘ He nears? the gods, wishful of bliss.’ Wishful of bliss, truly, is the sacrificer, since he wishes to approach the gods, to go to® 1 That is to say, it is not affected by the heat of the summer, as the other rivers, but rushes along as rapidly and as well-filled as ever. 2 Gigdti is taken by Sayava in the sense of ‘he sings, praises.’ Our author, on the other hand, seems to interpret it by ‘he conquers (gi) ;’ see, however, next note. 5 The text has, ‘Sa hi devin gigfshati sa hi devan gig4msati.’ The Kava recension has the same reading, except that it omits ‘hi’ I KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 24. 107
35 The text has, ‘Sa hi devin gigfshati sa hi devan gig4msati.’ The Kava recension has the same reading, except that it omits ‘hi’ I KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 24. 107 the gods: therefore he says, ‘he nears the gods, wishful of bliss.’ This (verse), which is addressed to Agni, is undefined (vague); and undefined, doubtless, is the ‘All:’ he thus commences (this holy work) with the All. 22. [He recites the second samidhent]: ‘Come hither, Agni, to expand!’—‘To expand’ he says, because at the beginning these worlds were wellnigh contiguous to one another: at that time one could touch the sky thus’. 23. The gods desired, ‘How could these worlds of ours become farther apart from one another? How could there be more space for us?’ They breathed through them (the worlds) with these three syllables (forming the word) ‘vitaye?, and these worlds became far apart from one another; and there was then ampler space for the gods: ample space, therefore, he will have for whom, knowing this, they recite this (verse) containing (the word) ‘vitaye.’ 24. He proceeds, ‘Invoked for the giver of oblations!’ ‘The giver of oblations’,’ of course, is the in both cases. Instead of gigamsati, however, some MSS., as well as Sayama, read gighAmsati (‘he wishes to conquer, or beat, the gods’), probably an old corruption, easily accounted for by the circumstance that gigishati is the regular desiderative of gi, ‘to conquer,’ though it also occurs in some passages as the desiderative of g4, ‘to go.’ Sayama, however, though he reads gigh4msati, here allows to the root han (with Naigh. 2, 14) the meaning of ‘to go.’ Cf. Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 406, note 4. 1 Viz. by stretching the arms upwards. SfAyaza. 1 That is, vi-itaye, ‘for going asunder,’ a fanciful analysis of the word viti; the correct rendering is ‘ for the meal or food,’ ‘ for the feast.’ * Havyadati, the correct meaning of the word is ‘the giving of oblations.’ 108 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAWNA. sacrificer : hence ‘invoked for the sacrificer’ is what he thereby means to say.—‘ As Hotz on the barhis sit!’ Agni, indeed, is the Hotvz, and the barhis (the covering of sacrificial grass on the altar) is this world: hence he thereby establishes Agni (the fire) in this world, as this fire is established (or, beneficial, hita) in this world. This (verse), then, is recited with reference to this world (the earth): through it this world is conquered by him for whom, knowing this, they recite this (verse). 25. [He recites the third sA4midhent]: ‘ With samidhs thee, O Angiras !’—with samidhs (kindlingsticks), indeed, the Angiras kindled him. ‘O Angiras!’ he says, for Agni is indeed Angiras!.—‘ With butter we exhilarate!’ This (viz. ghvztena, ‘with butter’) is a word which is especially suitable for the kindling of Agni: by it he kindles him, and bestows vigour on this (sacrificer).
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Now MAathava, the (king of) Videgha}, carried Agni Vaisvanara in his mouth. The Azshi Gotama Rahdgama was his family priest. When addressed (by the latter), he made no answer to him, fearing lest Agni might fall from his mouth. 11. He (the priest) began to invoke the latter with 1 To this important legend attention was first drawn by Professor Weber, Ind. Stud. I, 170 seq. (cf. also Ind. Streifen, I, p. 13; J. Muir, Sanskrit Texts, II, p. 402). It was pointed out by Weber that this legend distinguishes three successive stages of the eastward migration of the Brahmanical Hindus. In the first place the settlements of the Aryans had already been extended from the Pafigab (where they were settled in the times of the hymns of the Rig-veda) as far as the Sarasvatt. They thence pushed forward, led by the Videgha Mathava and his priest, according to our legend, as far east as the river Sadanfr4 (that is, ‘she that is always filled with water’), which, according to SAyama, is another name for the Karatoy4 (the modern Kurattee, on which Bograh lies), which formed the eastern boundary of the Videhas ; or more probably the Gandakf (the modern Gunduck, a noble river which falls into the Ganges opposite Patna, and) which formed the boundary between the Kosalas and the Videhas (cf. par.17). It would appear from our legend, that for some time the Aryans did not venture to cross this river; but at the time of the author the country to the east of it had long been occupied by them. Sdyana takes the hero of the legend to be Videgha, the Madhava or son of Madhu; but: Videgha, an older form of Videha, is more probably intended here (as Weber takes it) for the name of that people and country (corresponding to the modern Tirhut). The Agni Vaisvanara (or Agni who is common to all men) of our legend Professor Weber considers a personification of Brahmanical worship and civilisation and the destructive effects of their extension. I KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 16. 105 verses of the Rig-veda, ‘We kindle thee at the sacrifice, O wise Agni, thee the radiant, the mighty caller to the sacrificial feast (Rig-veda V, 26, 3)!— O Videgha !’ 12. He (the king) did not answer. (The priest went on), ‘Upwards, O Agni, dart thy brilliant, shining rays, thy flames, thy beams (Rig-veda VIII, 44, 16)!—O Videgha-a-a!’ 13. Stillhe didnot answer. (The priest continued), ‘ Thee, O butter-sprinkled one, we invoke! (Rig-veda V, 26, 2);’ so much he uttered, when at the very mentioning of butter, Agni Vaisvanara flashed forth from the (king’s) mouth: he was unable to hold him back; he issued from his mouth, and fell down on this earth.
2(The priest continued), ‘ Thee, O butter-sprinkled one, we invoke! (Rig-veda V, 26, 2);’ so much he uttered, when at the very mentioning of butter, Agni Vaisvanara flashed forth from the (king’s) mouth: he was unable to hold him back; he issued from his mouth, and fell down on this earth. 14. Mathava, the Videgha, was at that time on the (river) Sarasvatt!. He (Agni) thence went burning along this earth towards the east; and Gotama Rahdgaza and the Videgha MAthava followed after him as he was burning along. He burnt over (dried up) all these rivers. Now that (river), which is called ‘ Sadantr4,’ flows from the northern (Him4laya) mountain: that one he did not burn over. That one the Brahmans did not cross in former times, thinking, ‘ it has not been burnt over by Agni Vaisvanara.’ 15. Now-a-days, however, there are many Brdahmans to the east of it. At that time it (the land east of the Sadanira) was very uncultivated, very marshy, because it had not been tasted by Agni Vaisvanara. 16. Now-a-days, however, it is very cultivated, for the Brahmans have caused (Agni) to taste it through Or, according to Sayama, he was then in the Sarasvatf, plunged into the river in order to quench the heat produced by Agni. 106 SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, sacrifices. Even in late summer that (river), as it were, rages along’: so cold is it, not having been burnt over by Agni Vaisvanara. 17. Mathava, the Videgha, then said (to Agni), ‘Where am I to abide?’ ‘To the east of this (river) be thy abode!’ said he. Even now this (river) forms the boundary of the Kosalas and Videhas ; for these are the Mathavas (or descendants of MAthava). 18. Gotama R&hfgawa then said (to Mathava), ‘Why didst thou not answer when addressed by us?’ He replied, ‘Agni Vaisvanara was in my mouth; I did not reply, lest he should escape from my mouth.’ 19. ‘How then did this happen ?’—‘ At the moment when thou didst utter the words, “ (Thee), O buttersprinkled one, we invoke!” just then, at the mention of butter, Agni Vaisvanara flashed forth from my mouth; I was unable to hold him back, he issued from my mouth.’ 20. That (word) in the sAmidhents, therefore, which contains butter (ghvzta) is especially suitable for kindling (sam-indh); and by it he accordingly kindles him (Agni, the fire) and bestows vigour on this (sacrificer). 21. Now that (word) is ghv7t4zy4, ‘with the buttered (spoon).—‘ He nears? the gods, wishful of bliss.’ Wishful of bliss, truly, is the sacrificer, since he wishes to approach the gods, to go to® 1 That is to say, it is not affected by the heat of the summer, as the other rivers, but rushes along as rapidly and as well-filled as ever. 2 Gigdti is taken by Sayava in the sense of ‘he sings, praises.’ Our author, on the other hand, seems to interpret it by ‘he conquers (gi) ;’ see, however, next note. 5 The text has, ‘Sa hi devin gigfshati sa hi devan gig4msati.’ The Kava recension has the same reading, except that it omits ‘hi’ I KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 24. 107
35 The text has, ‘Sa hi devin gigfshati sa hi devan gig4msati.’ The Kava recension has the same reading, except that it omits ‘hi’ I KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 24. 107 the gods: therefore he says, ‘he nears the gods, wishful of bliss.’ This (verse), which is addressed to Agni, is undefined (vague); and undefined, doubtless, is the ‘All:’ he thus commences (this holy work) with the All. 22. [He recites the second samidhent]: ‘Come hither, Agni, to expand!’—‘To expand’ he says, because at the beginning these worlds were wellnigh contiguous to one another: at that time one could touch the sky thus’. 23. The gods desired, ‘How could these worlds of ours become farther apart from one another? How could there be more space for us?’ They breathed through them (the worlds) with these three syllables (forming the word) ‘vitaye?, and these worlds became far apart from one another; and there was then ampler space for the gods: ample space, therefore, he will have for whom, knowing this, they recite this (verse) containing (the word) ‘vitaye.’ 24. He proceeds, ‘Invoked for the giver of oblations!’ ‘The giver of oblations’,’ of course, is the in both cases. Instead of gigamsati, however, some MSS., as well as Sayama, read gighAmsati (‘he wishes to conquer, or beat, the gods’), probably an old corruption, easily accounted for by the circumstance that gigishati is the regular desiderative of gi, ‘to conquer,’ though it also occurs in some passages as the desiderative of g4, ‘to go.’ Sayama, however, though he reads gigh4msati, here allows to the root han (with Naigh. 2, 14) the meaning of ‘to go.’ Cf. Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 406, note 4. 1 Viz. by stretching the arms upwards. SfAyaza. 1 That is, vi-itaye, ‘for going asunder,’ a fanciful analysis of the word viti; the correct rendering is ‘ for the meal or food,’ ‘ for the feast.’ * Havyadati, the correct meaning of the word is ‘the giving of oblations.’ 108 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAWNA. sacrificer : hence ‘invoked for the sacrificer’ is what he thereby means to say.—‘ As Hotz on the barhis sit!’ Agni, indeed, is the Hotvz, and the barhis (the covering of sacrificial grass on the altar) is this world: hence he thereby establishes Agni (the fire) in this world, as this fire is established (or, beneficial, hita) in this world. This (verse), then, is recited with reference to this world (the earth): through it this world is conquered by him for whom, knowing this, they recite this (verse). 25. [He recites the third sA4midhent]: ‘ With samidhs thee, O Angiras !’—with samidhs (kindlingsticks), indeed, the Angiras kindled him. ‘O Angiras!’ he says, for Agni is indeed Angiras!.—‘ With butter we exhilarate!’ This (viz. ghvztena, ‘with butter’) is a word which is especially suitable for the kindling of Agni: by it he kindles him, and bestows vigour on this (sacrificer).
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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