The Satapatha-Brâhmana, Part III — SBE Vol. 41 (trans. Julius Eggeling, 1894)
The translator’s English as printed (Julius Eggeling). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
25. These same (clods) are bricks having special prayers (yagushmatt?): on the body (of the altar) he places them, not on the wings and tail; for bricks having special prayers are placed on the body, not. on the wings or tail.
See p. 301, note 3. 3 See p. 153, note 1.
vil KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 29. 349
26. As to this they say, ‘How do these (clodbricks) come to be put on as baked, as heated (burnt) ones?’ Well, these (clods) are vital sap, and the vital sap (blood) is naturally-heated ; and, moreover, whatever comes in contact with Agni Vaisvanara, even thereby comes to be put on as baked, as heated.
27. He then throws up the Uttara-vedi? (highaltar),—the Vedi is this (earth), the Uttara-vedi the sky, and the clod-bricks are the regions : thus when he puts on the clod-bricks between (the preparation of) the Vedi and (that of) the Uttara-vedi, he thereby places the regions between these two worlds; whence the regions are between these two worlds. He makes it either a yoke long on each side, or forty feet—whichever way he pleases. He then throws sand thereon: the meaning of this has been explained.
28. He throws it on the Uttara-vedi ;—the Uttaravedi is the womb: he thus infuses seed into the womb ; and the seed which is infused into the womb becomes generative. He covers the whole body (of the altar) with that (sand): he thus puts seed into the whole body*; whence the seed is produced from the whole body.
29. [He throws it on the high-altar, with Vag. S. XII, 106-111; Azk S. X, 140] ‘Thine, O Agni, is glory and vigour, —his glory (sravas) and vigour doubtless is the smoke, for that announces (srAvaya) him in yonder world,—‘ mighty shine forth thep. 350 flames, O rich-beamed one!’ that is, ‘ the flames of (thee), the mighty one, shine forth, O thou, abounding in wealth!’—‘ With might, O wide-rayed one (thou bestowest) strength, worthy of song,’ might is power : thus, ‘ By (thy) power, O wide-rayed one, (thou givest) food worthy of song;’—‘bestowest thou upon the worship, O sage!’ worship doubtless is the Sacrificer : thus, ‘Upon the worship thou bestowest, O sage!’
1 See p. 325, note 6.
* That is to say, he first throws down sand on the Uttara-vedi, and then covers with it the whole of the body of the altar, so as to make it even with the Uttara-vedi.
30. ‘Pure-flamed, bright-flamed, for pureflamed and bright-flamed he (Agni) is; ‘full-flamed, didst thou burst forth with light,’ that is, ‘ fullflamed shonest thou forth with light ;'—‘running about as their son thou helpest the two mothers, for as their son he does help the two mothers ;—‘ thou fillest both spheres,’ the two spheres doubtless are these two, heaven and earth, and these two he indeed fills—with smoke yonder (sky), with rain this (earth).
31. ‘Child of strength, knower of beings, in benedictions,’ that is, ‘child of strength, knower of beings, in praises, —‘delight thou, kindly in thoughts,’ that is, ‘ shine thou, kindly in thoughts ;’ -—‘in thee have they brought together multiform nourishments,’ that is, ‘in thee have they brought together many-formed nourishments ;’—‘ of wondrous help are the fair-born,’ as the text, so the meaning.
32. ‘Ruling, O Agni, spread thou by beings’ —the beings are men: thus, ‘Shining, O Agni, spread thyself by men!’—‘riches amongst us, O immortal!’ that is, ‘ bestowing wealth upon us, O immortal !’—‘Of beautiful form, shinest thou’— for he indeed shines, of beautiful form ;—‘ thouVil KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 36. 351 fillest (us with) profitable! wisdom;’ that is, ‘thou fillest (us with) perennial wisdom.’
33. ‘Him, the wise arranger of the cult,— the cult is the sacrifice: thus, ‘him, the wise preparer of the sacrifice;’'—‘ruling over great wealth, that is, ‘ruling in great wealth ;’'—‘the bestowal of good things,—prosperous, mighty (mah) nourishment,’ —that is, ‘the bestowal of good things ; prosperous, ample (mahat) nourishment,’— ‘givest thou, and profitable substance, that is, ‘givest thou, and perennial substance.’
34. ‘(Thee,] the righteous,’ that is, ‘the truthful;’—‘the mighty, the mighty (or buffalo) doubtless is Agni ;—‘ the all-remarkable,’ for he (Agni) is indeed remarkable to all ;—‘(thee), Agni, men have placed foremost for happiness,’ happiness doubtless is the sacrifice, and for the sacrifice they indeed place him foremost ;—‘ thee, the hearer, the far-ruling, divine one, with song the human tribes;’ that is, ‘thee who hearest, thee, the farruling god, we men invoke.’
35. Now this hymn of six verses is that same Agni Vaisvanara; and it is in order to make a beginning (in the building of the altar) that that sand is scattered,—he thereby pours into it Agni Vaisvanara as seed ;—(he does so) with a six-versed hymn: six seasons are a year and the year is Vaisvanara (belonging to all men).
36. As to this they say, ‘ If the seed is said to be seed what is its seed characteristic ?’—Let him say, ‘white ;’ for seed is white ;—or ‘speckled,’ for seed is, as it were, speckled.
! The author connects ‘s4nasi’ with ‘sandtana’ (old, perpetual).
p. 352
37. As to this they say, ‘As seed is moist, and he scatters dry sand, how does it become moist for him, after the manner of seed?’ Well, the metres are vital sap, and vital sap is moist; and inasmuch as he scatters that (sand) with metres, it is thus that it becomes moist for him, after the manner of seed.
38. As to this they say, ‘ How does it come to be put on for him by means of the day and the night ?’ Well, day and night are two, and there are two (kinds of) seed, the white and the black: as black and white it is thus put on for him by means of the day and the night.
38. As to this they say, ‘ How does it come to be put on for him by means of the day and the night ?’ Well, day and night are two, and there are two (kinds of) seed, the white and the black: as black and white it is thus put on for him by means of the day and the night.
39. As to this they say, ‘ How does that (sand), put on by the days and nights, become complete (or perfect) for him, neither deficient, nor superabundant ?’ Well, endless are the days and nights, and endless is the sand: it is thus that, put on by the days and nights, it becomes complete for him, neither deficient, nor superabundant. ‘ And wherefrom (is obtained) the oceanic (Samudriya ') metre?’ The ocean is endless, and the sand is endless: that is the oceanic metre.
40. As to this they say, ‘ How is that (sand) of his put on separately with different prayers?’ Well, prayer is thought; this thought, prayer, comes to be equal to the whole sand?: and thus that (sand) of his comes to be put on separately with different prayers.
41. As to this they say, ‘ How does that (sand) of his come to be put on by all the metres ?’— Inasmuch as he scatters it with that hymn of six verses; for as many syllables as there are in the
1 The exact purport of this term is not clear.
Sikat4A, sand, is plural, consisting as it does of a multiplicity
of sand-grains.
vul KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 44. 353
seven metres, so many syllables there are in that hymn of six verses’: thus that (sand) of his comes to be put on by all the metres.
42. And as to why he scatters sand—that Agni (fire-altar) is Pragapati, and PragApati is the whole Brahman. Now that sand is (put) in (the place of) the lost part of the Brahman; and that part of it which has not been lost is this fire-altar which is now being built: thus when he scatters sand he restores to him that lost part of the Brahman. That (sand which) he scatters is unnumbered, unlimited; for who knows how great is that lost part of the Brahman? And verily he who, knowing this, scatters sand, restores the whole, complete Pragdpati.
43. As to this they say, ‘What is the number of these unnumbered sand grains?’ Let him say, ‘Two;’ for there are two kinds of sand, the white and the black ; or let him say, ‘Seven hundred and twenty, for so many days and nights there are in the year; or ‘Two hundred and fifty-two,’ for so many syllables there are in that hymn of six verses ; or ‘ Twenty-five,’ for seed is twenty-fivefold *.
44. This same (sand represents) bricks with special prayers: he places it on the body (of the altar), not
25. These same (clods) are bricks having special prayers (yagushmatt?): on the body (of the altar) he places them, not on the wings and tail; for bricks having special prayers are placed on the body, not. on the wings or tail.
See p. 301, note 3. 3 See p. 153, note 1.
vil KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 29. 349
26. As to this they say, ‘How do these (clodbricks) come to be put on as baked, as heated (burnt) ones?’ Well, these (clods) are vital sap, and the vital sap (blood) is naturally-heated ; and, moreover, whatever comes in contact with Agni Vaisvanara, even thereby comes to be put on as baked, as heated.
27. He then throws up the Uttara-vedi? (highaltar),—the Vedi is this (earth), the Uttara-vedi the sky, and the clod-bricks are the regions : thus when he puts on the clod-bricks between (the preparation of) the Vedi and (that of) the Uttara-vedi, he thereby places the regions between these two worlds; whence the regions are between these two worlds. He makes it either a yoke long on each side, or forty feet—whichever way he pleases. He then throws sand thereon: the meaning of this has been explained.
28. He throws it on the Uttara-vedi ;—the Uttaravedi is the womb: he thus infuses seed into the womb ; and the seed which is infused into the womb becomes generative. He covers the whole body (of the altar) with that (sand): he thus puts seed into the whole body*; whence the seed is produced from the whole body.
29. [He throws it on the high-altar, with Vag. S. XII, 106-111; Azk S. X, 140] ‘Your, O Agni, is glory and vigour, —his glory (sravas) and vigour doubtless is the smoke, for that announces (srAvaya) him in yonder world,—‘ mighty shine forth thep. 350 flames, O rich-beamed one!’ that is, ‘ the flames of (you), the mighty one, shine forth, O you, abounding in wealth!’—‘ With might, O wide-rayed one (you bestowest) strength, worthy of song,’ might is power : thus, ‘ By (your) power, O wide-rayed one, (you givest) food worthy of song;’—‘bestowest you upon the worship, O sage!’ worship doubtless is the Sacrificer : thus, ‘Upon the worship you bestowest, O sage!’
1 See p. 325, note 6.
* That is to say, he first throws down sand on the Uttara-vedi, and then covers with it the whole of the body of the altar, so as to make it even with the Uttara-vedi.
30. ‘Pure-flamed, bright-flamed, for pureflamed and bright-flamed he (Agni) is; ‘full-flamed, did you burst forth with light,’ that is, ‘ fullflamed shonest you forth with light ;'—‘running about as their son you helpest the two mothers, for as their son he does help the two mothers ;—‘ you fillest both spheres,’ the two spheres doubtless are these two, heaven and earth, and these two he indeed fills—with smoke yonder (sky), with rain this (earth).
31. ‘Child of strength, knower of beings, in benedictions,’ that is, ‘child of strength, knower of beings, in praises, —‘delight you, kindly in thoughts,’ that is, ‘ shine you, kindly in thoughts ;’ -—‘in you have they brought together multiform nourishments,’ that is, ‘in you have they brought together many-formed nourishments ;’—‘ of wondrous help are the fair-born,’ as the text, so the meaning.
32. ‘Ruling, O Agni, spread you by beings’ —the beings are men: thus, ‘Shining, O Agni, spread yourself by men!’—‘riches amongst us, O immortal!’ that is, ‘ bestowing wealth upon us, O immortal !’—‘Of beautiful form, shinest you’— for he indeed shines, of beautiful form ;—‘ you
Vil KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 36. 351 fillest (us with) profitable! wisdom;’ that is, ‘you fillest (us with) perennial wisdom.’
33. ‘Him, the wise arranger of the cult,— the cult is the sacrifice: thus, ‘him, the wise preparer of the sacrifice;’'—‘ruling over great wealth, that is, ‘ruling in great wealth ;’'—‘the bestowal of good things,—prosperous, mighty (mah) nourishment,’ —that is, ‘the bestowal of good things ; prosperous, ample (mahat) nourishment,’— ‘givest you, and profitable substance, that is, ‘givest you, and perennial substance.’
34. ‘(You,] the righteous,’ that is, ‘the truthful;’—‘the mighty, the mighty (or buffalo) doubtless is Agni ;—‘ the all-remarkable,’ for he (Agni) is indeed remarkable to all ;—‘(you), Agni, men have placed foremost for happiness,’ happiness doubtless is the sacrifice, and for the sacrifice they indeed place him foremost ;—‘ you, the hearer, the far-ruling, divine one, with song the human tribes;’ that is, ‘you who hearest, you, the farruling god, we men invoke.’
35. Now this hymn of six verses is that same Agni Vaisvanara; and it is in order to make a beginning (in the building of the altar) that that sand is scattered,—he thereby pours into it Agni Vaisvanara as seed ;—(he does so) with a six-versed hymn: six seasons are a year and the year is Vaisvanara (belonging to all men).
36. As to this they say, ‘ If the seed is said to be seed what is its seed characteristic ?’—Let him say, ‘white ;’ for seed is white ;—or ‘speckled,’ for seed is, as it were, speckled.
! The author connects ‘s4nasi’ with ‘sandtana’ (old, perpetual).
p. 352
37. As to this they say, ‘As seed is moist, and he scatters dry sand, how does it become moist for him, after the manner of seed?’ Well, the metres are vital sap, and vital sap is moist; and inasmuch as he scatters that (sand) with metres, it is thus that it becomes moist for him, after the manner of seed.
38. As to this they say, ‘ How does it come to be put on for him by means of the day and the night ?’ Well, day and night are two, and there are two (kinds of) seed, the white and the black: as black and white it is thus put on for him by means of the day and the night.
38. As to this they say, ‘ How does it come to be put on for him by means of the day and the night ?’ Well, day and night are two, and there are two (kinds of) seed, the white and the black: as black and white it is thus put on for him by means of the day and the night.
39. As to this they say, ‘ How does that (sand), put on by the days and nights, become complete (or perfect) for him, neither deficient, nor superabundant ?’ Well, endless are the days and nights, and endless is the sand: it is thus that, put on by the days and nights, it becomes complete for him, neither deficient, nor superabundant. ‘ And wherefrom (is obtained) the oceanic (Samudriya ') metre?’ The ocean is endless, and the sand is endless: that is the oceanic metre.
40. As to this they say, ‘ How is that (sand) of his put on separately with different prayers?’ Well, prayer is thought; this thought, prayer, comes to be equal to the whole sand?: and thus that (sand) of his comes to be put on separately with different prayers.
41. As to this they say, ‘ How does that (sand) of his come to be put on by all the metres ?’— Inasmuch as he scatters it with that hymn of six verses; for as many syllables as there are in the
1 The exact purport of this term is not clear.
Sikat4A, sand, is plural, consisting as it does of a multiplicity
of sand-grains.
vul KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMANA, 44. 353 seven metres, so many syllables there are in that hymn of six verses’: thus that (sand) of his comes to be put on by all the metres.
42. And as to why he scatters sand—that Agni (fire-altar) is Pragapati, and PragApati is the whole Brahman. Now that sand is (put) in (the place of) the lost part of the Brahman; and that part of it which has not been lost is this fire-altar which is now being built: thus when he scatters sand he restores to him that lost part of the Brahman. That (sand which) he scatters is unnumbered, unlimited; for who knows how great is that lost part of the Brahman? And verily he who, knowing this, scatters sand, restores the whole, complete Pragdpati.
43. As to this they say, ‘What is the number of these unnumbered sand grains?’ Let him say, ‘Two;’ for there are two kinds of sand, the white and the black ; or let him say, ‘Seven hundred and twenty, for so many days and nights there are in the year; or ‘Two hundred and fifty-two,’ for so many syllables there are in that hymn of six verses ; or ‘ Twenty-five,’ for seed is twenty-fivefold *.
44. This same (sand represents) bricks with special prayers: he places it on the body (of the altar), not
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