Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
18 note ekavimsa is performed may be represented by the formula aaa—bbb-c ; a-bbbecc ; aaa—b-ccc, making together twenty-one verses. 1 Asval. Sr. IX, 3, 4-5. ? It is given somewhat imperfectly in the ed. Bibl. Ind. V, p. 391. XXIV SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, below—all the preceding chants, from the Bahishpavam4ana onward, are remodelled in accordance with it. Besides, over and above the three victims of the Shodasin-sacrifice, the Vagapeya requires, not only a fourth one, sacred to Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, but also a set of seventeen victims for Prag4pati, the god of creatures and procreation. As regards other rites peculiar to the Vagapeya, the most interesting, doubtless, is the chariot-race in which the sacrificer, who must be either of the royal or of the priestly order, is allowed to carry off the palm, and from which this sacrifice perhaps derives its name. Professor Hillebrandt!, indeed, would claim for this feature of the sacrifice the character of a relic of an old national festival, a kind of Indian Olympic games; and though there is perhaps hardly sufficient evidence to bear out this conjecture, it cannot at least be denied that this feature has a certain popular look about it. Somewhat peculiar are the relations between the Vagapeya and the Ragasfya on the one hand, and between the Vagapeya and the Brthaspatisava on the other. In the first chapter of the fifth book, the author of this part of our Braéhmama is at some pains to impress the fact that the Vagapeya is a ceremony of superior value and import to the Ragasfya; and hence K4ty4yana (XV, 1, 1-2) has two rules to the effect that the Ragasiya may be performed by a king who has not yet performed the Vagapeya. These authorities would thus seem to consider the drinking of the Vagapeya-cup a more than sufficient equivalent for the Ragasdya, or inauguration of a king; they do not, however, say that the Ragasiya must be performed prior to the Vagapeya, but only maintain that the Vagapeya cannot be performed after the Ragashya. The Régasfya, according to the Brahmaza, confers on the sacrificer royal dignity (ragya), and the Vagapeya paramount sovereignty (simragya). It might almost seem as if the relatively loose positions here assigned to the Ragasdya were entirely owing to the fact that it is a purely Kshatriya ceremony to which the 1 Vedische Mythologie, p. 247. INTRODUCTION. XXV
2It might almost seem as if the relatively loose positions here assigned to the Ragasdya were entirely owing to the fact that it is a purely Kshatriya ceremony to which the 1 Vedische Mythologie, p. 247. INTRODUCTION. XXV Brahmamza has no right, whilst the Vagapeya may be performed by Brahmazas as well as Kshatriyas. But on whatever grounds this appreciation of the two ceremonies may be based, it certainly goes right in the face of the rule laid down by Asvalayana (IX, 9, 19) that, ‘after performing the Vagapeya, a king may perform the Ragasfya, and a Brahmaza the Brzhaspatisava.’ With this rule would seem to accord the relative value assigned to the two ceremonies in the Taittiriya Samhita (V, 6, 2, 1) and Brahmaza (II, 7, 6, 1), according to which the Vagapeya is a ‘ samrda¢sava,’ or consecration to the dignity of a paramount sovereign, while the Ragastya is called a ‘varuzasava,’ i.e., according to Sayaza, a consecration to the universal sway wielded by Varuma?. In much the same sense we have doubtless to understand the rule in which Laty4yana defines the object of the Vagapeya (VIII, 11, 1), viz. ‘Whomsoever the Brahmazas and kings (or nobles) may place at their head, let him perform the Vagapeya.’ All these authorities, with the exception of the Satapatha-Brahmaza and Katydyana, are thus agreed in making the V4gapeya a preliminary ceremony, performed by a Brahmaza who is raised to the dignity of a Purohita, or head-priest (so to speak, a minister of worship, and court-priest), or by a king who is elected paramount sovereign by a number of petty ragas; this sacrifice being in due time followed by the respective installation and consecration ceremony, viz. the Brzhaspatisava, in the case of the Purohita ; and the Régasfya, in that of the king. In regard to the Brzhaspatisava, which these authorities place on an equality with the Ragasdya, our Brahmamza finds itself in a somewhat awkward position, and it gets out of its difficulty (V, 2, 1,19) by simply identifying the Brthaspatisava with the V4gapeya, and making the Vagapeya itself to be ‘the consecration of Brzhaspati ;” and Katyayana (XIV, 1, 2) compromises matters by combining the two ceremonies in this way that he who performs the Vagapeya is to perform the Brzhaspatisava for a fortnight before and after the Vagapeya. 1 Cf. Sdakh. Sr. XV, 13, 4, ‘for it is Varussa whom they consecrate.’ XXVi SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA,
31 Cf. Sdakh. Sr. XV, 13, 4, ‘for it is Varussa whom they consecrate.’ XXVi SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, The Ragasfya, or inauguration of a king, is a complex ceremony which, according to the Srauta-sitras, consists of a long succession of sacrificial performances, spread over a period of upwards of two years. It includes seven distinct Soma-sacrifices, viz. 1, the Pavitra,an Agnish¢oma serving as the opening sacrifice, and followed, after an interval of a year (during which the seasonal sacrifices have to be performed), by 2, the Abhishe#antya, an Ukthya-sacrifice, being the consecration (or anointing)ceremony. Then follows 3, the Dasapeya, or ‘drink of ten, an Agnish¢oma, socalled because ten priests take part in drinking the Somaliquor contained in each of the ten cups. After another year’s interval?, during which monthly ‘offerings to the beams (i.e. the months)’ are made, takes place 4, the Kesavapaniya, or hair-cutting ceremony, an Atiratra-sacrifice ; followed, after a month or fortnight, by 5, and 6, the Vyushéi-dviratra, or two nights’ ceremony of the dawning, consisting of an Agnishfoma and an Atiratra ; and finally 7, the Kshatra-dhvriti, or ‘the wielding of the (royal) power,’ an Agnish¢oma performed a month later. The round of ceremonies concludes with the Sautramazi, an ish¢i the object of which is to make amends for any excess committed in the consumption of Soma-liquor. The fifth book completes the dogmatic discussion of the ordinary circle of sacrifices, some less common, or altogether obsolete, ceremonies, such as the Asvamedha (horsesacrifice), Purushamedha (human sacrifice), Sarvamedha (sacrifice for universal rule), being dealt with, by way of supplement, in the thirteenth book. With the sixth Kazda, we enter on the detailed explanation of the Agnif#ayana, or building of the fire-altar, a very solemn ceremony which would seem originally to have stood apart from, if not in actual opposition to, the ordinary sacrificial system, but which, in the end, apparently by some ecclesiastical compromise, was added 1 The Brihmana (V, 5, 2, 2), however, would rather seem to dispense with this interval by combining the twelve oblations so as to form two sets of six each. INTRODUCTION. XXVIi on to the Soma ritual as an important, though not indispensable, element of it. The avowed object of this ceremony is the super-exaltation of Agni, the Fire, who, in the elaborate cosmogenic legend with which this section begins, is identified with Pragdpati, the lord of Generation, and the source of life in the world. As the present volume contains, however, only a portion of the Agnikayana ritual, any further remarks on this subject may be reserved for a future occasion.
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.
18 note ekavimsa is performed may be represented by the formula aaa—bbb-c ; a-bbbecc ; aaa—b-ccc, making together twenty-one verses. 1 Asval. Sr. IX, 3, 4-5. ? It is given somewhat imperfectly in the ed. Bibl. Ind. V, p. 391. XXIV SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, below—all the preceding chants, from the Bahishpavam4ana onward, are remodelled in accordance with it. Besides, over and above the three victims of the Shodasin-sacrifice, the Vagapeya requires, not only a fourth one, sacred to Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, but also a set of seventeen victims for Prag4pati, the god of creatures and procreation. As regards other rites peculiar to the Vagapeya, the most interesting, doubtless, is the chariot-race in which the sacrificer, who must be either of the royal or of the priestly order, is allowed to carry off the palm, and from which this sacrifice perhaps derives its name. Professor Hillebrandt!, indeed, would claim for this feature of the sacrifice the character of a relic of an old national festival, a kind of Indian Olympic games; and though there is perhaps hardly sufficient evidence to bear out this conjecture, it cannot at least be denied that this feature has a certain popular look about it. Somewhat peculiar are the relations between the Vagapeya and the Ragasfya on the one hand, and between the Vagapeya and the Brthaspatisava on the other. In the first chapter of the fifth book, the author of this part of our Braéhmama is at some pains to impress the fact that the Vagapeya is a ceremony of superior value and import to the Ragasfya; and hence K4ty4yana (XV, 1, 1-2) has two rules to the effect that the Ragasiya may be performed by a king who has not yet performed the Vagapeya. These authorities would thus seem to consider the drinking of the Vagapeya-cup a more than sufficient equivalent for the Ragasdya, or inauguration of a king; they do not, however, say that the Ragasiya must be performed prior to the Vagapeya, but only maintain that the Vagapeya cannot be performed after the Ragashya. The Régasfya, according to the Brahmaza, confers on the sacrificer royal dignity (ragya), and the Vagapeya paramount sovereignty (simragya). It might almost seem as if the relatively loose positions here assigned to the Ragasdya were entirely owing to the fact that it is a purely Kshatriya ceremony to which the 1 Vedische Mythologie, p. 247. INTRODUCTION. XXV
2It might almost seem as if the relatively loose positions here assigned to the Ragasdya were entirely owing to the fact that it is a purely Kshatriya ceremony to which the 1 Vedische Mythologie, p. 247. INTRODUCTION. XXV Brahmamza has no right, whilst the Vagapeya may be performed by Brahmazas as well as Kshatriyas. But on whatever grounds this appreciation of the two ceremonies may be based, it certainly goes right in the face of the rule laid down by Asvalayana (IX, 9, 19) that, ‘after performing the Vagapeya, a king may perform the Ragasfya, and a Brahmaza the Brzhaspatisava.’ With this rule would seem to accord the relative value assigned to the two ceremonies in the Taittiriya Samhita (V, 6, 2, 1) and Brahmaza (II, 7, 6, 1), according to which the Vagapeya is a ‘ samrda¢sava,’ or consecration to the dignity of a paramount sovereign, while the Ragastya is called a ‘varuzasava,’ i.e., according to Sayaza, a consecration to the universal sway wielded by Varuma?. In much the same sense we have doubtless to understand the rule in which Laty4yana defines the object of the Vagapeya (VIII, 11, 1), viz. ‘Whomsoever the Brahmazas and kings (or nobles) may place at their head, let him perform the Vagapeya.’ All these authorities, with the exception of the Satapatha-Brahmaza and Katydyana, are thus agreed in making the V4gapeya a preliminary ceremony, performed by a Brahmaza who is raised to the dignity of a Purohita, or head-priest (so to speak, a minister of worship, and court-priest), or by a king who is elected paramount sovereign by a number of petty ragas; this sacrifice being in due time followed by the respective installation and consecration ceremony, viz. the Brzhaspatisava, in the case of the Purohita ; and the Régasfya, in that of the king. In regard to the Brzhaspatisava, which these authorities place on an equality with the Ragasdya, our Brahmamza finds itself in a somewhat awkward position, and it gets out of its difficulty (V, 2, 1,19) by simply identifying the Brthaspatisava with the V4gapeya, and making the Vagapeya itself to be ‘the consecration of Brzhaspati ;” and Katyayana (XIV, 1, 2) compromises matters by combining the two ceremonies in this way that he who performs the Vagapeya is to perform the Brzhaspatisava for a fortnight before and after the Vagapeya. 1 Cf. Sdakh. Sr. XV, 13, 4, ‘for it is Varussa whom they consecrate.’ XXVi SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA,
31 Cf. Sdakh. Sr. XV, 13, 4, ‘for it is Varussa whom they consecrate.’ XXVi SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, The Ragasfya, or inauguration of a king, is a complex ceremony which, according to the Srauta-sitras, consists of a long succession of sacrificial performances, spread over a period of upwards of two years. It includes seven distinct Soma-sacrifices, viz. 1, the Pavitra,an Agnish¢oma serving as the opening sacrifice, and followed, after an interval of a year (during which the seasonal sacrifices have to be performed), by 2, the Abhishe#antya, an Ukthya-sacrifice, being the consecration (or anointing)ceremony. Then follows 3, the Dasapeya, or ‘drink of ten, an Agnish¢oma, socalled because ten priests take part in drinking the Somaliquor contained in each of the ten cups. After another year’s interval?, during which monthly ‘offerings to the beams (i.e. the months)’ are made, takes place 4, the Kesavapaniya, or hair-cutting ceremony, an Atiratra-sacrifice ; followed, after a month or fortnight, by 5, and 6, the Vyushéi-dviratra, or two nights’ ceremony of the dawning, consisting of an Agnishfoma and an Atiratra ; and finally 7, the Kshatra-dhvriti, or ‘the wielding of the (royal) power,’ an Agnish¢oma performed a month later. The round of ceremonies concludes with the Sautramazi, an ish¢i the object of which is to make amends for any excess committed in the consumption of Soma-liquor. The fifth book completes the dogmatic discussion of the ordinary circle of sacrifices, some less common, or altogether obsolete, ceremonies, such as the Asvamedha (horsesacrifice), Purushamedha (human sacrifice), Sarvamedha (sacrifice for universal rule), being dealt with, by way of supplement, in the thirteenth book. With the sixth Kazda, we enter on the detailed explanation of the Agnif#ayana, or building of the fire-altar, a very solemn ceremony which would seem originally to have stood apart from, if not in actual opposition to, the ordinary sacrificial system, but which, in the end, apparently by some ecclesiastical compromise, was added 1 The Brihmana (V, 5, 2, 2), however, would rather seem to dispense with this interval by combining the twelve oblations so as to form two sets of six each. INTRODUCTION. XXVIi on to the Soma ritual as an important, though not indispensable, element of it. The avowed object of this ceremony is the super-exaltation of Agni, the Fire, who, in the elaborate cosmogenic legend with which this section begins, is identified with Pragdpati, the lord of Generation, and the source of life in the world. As the present volume contains, however, only a portion of the Agnikayana ritual, any further remarks on this subject may be reserved for a future occasion.
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.
No commentary for this page.