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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1they say, ' As great as the altar is, so great is the earth ; ' for by it (the altar) they obtained this entire (earth). And, verily, he who so understands this, wrests likewise this entire (earth) from his rivals, excludes his rivals from sharing in it. 8. Thereupon this Vish;m became tired; but being enclosed on all (three) sides by the metres, with the where the gods are granted by the Asuras as much as they can enclose ; and by the Vasus being placed in the south, the Rudras in the west, the Adityas in the north, and Agni in the east, they obtain the whole of the earth, ^ In the actual performance of the sacrifice this represents the piirva-parigraha, or first enclosing of the altar by a single line being drawn with the wooden sword on each of the three sides (viz. S.W. to S. E. ; S.W. to N.W. ; N.W. to N. E.) whilst muttering the respective texts. Before doing so he has, however, to ask and receive the permission of the Brahman, mutatis mutandis, in the usual way (cf. p. 7 note): the same forms have to be gone through at the marking of the second and third enclosures. Kity. II, 6, 25 seq. On the ritualistic application of the metres, see note on I, 3, 2, 9. I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, II. 6 1 fire on the east, there was no (means of) escaping: he then hid himself among the roots of plants. 9. The gods said : 'What has become of Vish;m ? What has become of the sacrifice ? ' They said : ' On all (three) sides he is enclosed by the metres, with Agni to the east, there is no (way of) escaping ': search for him in this very place!' By slightly digging they accordingly searched for him. They discovered him at a depth of three inches (or thumb's breadths): therefore the altar should be three inches deep; and therefore also Fau^i^ made the altar for the Soma-sacrifice three inches deep. 10. This, however, one must not do. Among the roots of the plants he (Vish?m) hid himselfl therefore let him (the Adhvaryu) bid (the Agmdhra) to cut out the roots of the plants. And since they found (anu-vid) Vish/m in that place, therefore it is called vedi (altar). 11. When they had found him, they enclosed him with a second enclosure, saying (Va^. S. I, 27), 'Of good soil art thou, and auspicious art thou !' on the south side ; for when they had thus obtained this earth they made it of good soil and auspicious ;— * Pleasant art thou, and soft to sit upon!' they said on the west side, for when they had thus obtained this earth, they made it pleasant and soft to sit upon;— 'Abounding in food and drink art thou !' they said
2they made it of good soil and auspicious ;— * Pleasant art thou, and soft to sit upon!' they said on the west side, for when they had thus obtained this earth, they made it pleasant and soft to sit upon;— 'Abounding in food and drink art thou !' they said on the north side, for when they had thus obtained this earth, they made it abounding in food and drink. ^^ This teacher is mentioned again, Sat. Br. II, i, 4, 27, along with two others, viz. Asuri and I\Iadhuki, but nothing further is known of him. According to the Black Ya^us the altar is made four (not three) ahgulas deep. 62 DATAPATH A-BRAhMAJVA. 12. Threefold^ he draws round the first hne of enclosure, threefold the second : hence sixfold (the two) ; for six seasons there are in the year, and the year, as Pra^apati (Lord of Creation), is the sacrifice ^. As large as the sacrifice, as wide as its extent is, so wide does he thereby enclose it. 13. With six sacred words ^ he draws around the first line of enclosure, with six the second : thus (together) twelvefold, for twelve no doubt are the months of the year ; and the year, as Pra_c^apati, is the sacrifice. As large as the sacrifice, as wide as its extent is, so wide does he thereby enclose it. 14. 'Let it (the altar) measure a fathom* across on the west side,' they say : that, namely, is the size of a man, and it (the altar) should be of (the) man's size. ' Three cubits long (should be) the ^ Viz. each enclosing line consists of three divisions correspond- ing to the three sides (S., W., N.) of the altar. "^ Pra^apati (Lord of Creation) is here, as elsewhere, identified with the year (probably as the representative of the eternal process of regeneration) and consequently with the annual cycle of sacri- ficial performance, or the sacrifice itself. Cf. -Sat. Br. I, 5, 2, 16; X, 4. 3. I- ^ According to Sayawa, because each of the three mantras, 'gayatrewa (traish/ubhena, ^agatena resp.) tva Mandasa pari gr^liwami,' consists of two parts, the first ending with tva, the second with gr/hwami, which makes together six. Similarly with the second triad of mantras. In the former case the Taittiriya text (Taitt. S. I, i, 9, 3), 'The Vasus may enclose thee with the Gayatri metre, the Rudras with the Trish/ubh metre, the Adityas with the G^agati metre!' would furnish a more natural explanation of the six sacred words. * Vyama, the space between the extreme ends of the out- stretched arms.
3he Vasus may enclose thee with the Gayatri metre, the Rudras with the Trish/ubh metre, the Adityas with the G^agati metre!' would furnish a more natural explanation of the six sacred words. * Vyama, the space between the extreme ends of the out- stretched arms. It is doubtful whether it is here intended for a fixed measure, or whether it is a relative one, depending on the size of the respective sacrificer. The size of a man was supposed to be equal to the extent of his outstretched arms. I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, IJ. 63 " easterly line \" for threefold is the sacrifice,' (so they say, but) in this there is no (fixed) measure : let him make it as long as he thinks fit in his own mind! 15. The two shoulders (of the altar) he carries along both sides of the (Ahavaniya) fire. For the altar (vedi, fem.) is female and the fire (agni, masc.) is male ; and the woman lies embracing the man : thereby a copulation productive of offspring is obtained. For this reason he carries the two shoulders (of the altar) along both sides of the fire. 16. It (the altar) should be broader on the west side, contracted in the middle, and broad again on the east side ; for thus shaped they praise a woman : ' broad about the hips, somewhat narrower between the shoulders, and contracted in the middle (or, about the waist).' Thereby he makes it (the altar) pleasing to the gods. 17. It should be sloping towards east, for the east is the quarter of the gods ; and also sloping towards north, for the north is the quarter of men. To the south side he sweeps the rubbish (loose soil), for that is the quarter of the deceased ancestors. If it (the altar) were sloping towards south, the sacrificer would speedily go to yonder world ; and thus (by making the altar in the prescribed way) the sacrificer lives for a long time : for this reason he sweeps the loose soil to the south side. Let ^ I. e. a line drawn from the middle of the western side through the centre of the altar to the Ahavaniya fire. The same line pro- longated from the western side of the altar westwards to the Garha- patya would measure eight (eleven or twelve) steps (prakrama or vikrama, of two feet or pada each) from fire to fire. See I, 7, 3, 23-25. 64 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA. him then cover it (the altar) over with (fresh) rubbish : for rubbish means cattle, and well-stocked with cattle he thereby makes it\ 1 8. He (the Agnidhra) smooths it down (from east to west).
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.
1they say, ' As great as the altar is, so great is the earth ; ' for by it (the altar) they obtained this entire (earth). And, verily, he who so understands this, wrests likewise this entire (earth) from his rivals, excludes his rivals from sharing in it. 8. Thereupon this Vish;m became tired; but being enclosed on all (three) sides by the metres, with the where the gods are granted by the Asuras as much as they can enclose ; and by the Vasus being placed in the south, the Rudras in the west, the Adityas in the north, and Agni in the east, they obtain the whole of the earth, ^ In the actual performance of the sacrifice this represents the piirva-parigraha, or first enclosing of the altar by a single line being drawn with the wooden sword on each of the three sides (viz. S.W. to S. E. ; S.W. to N.W. ; N.W. to N. E.) whilst muttering the respective texts. Before doing so he has, however, to ask and receive the permission of the Brahman, mutatis mutandis, in the usual way (cf. p. 7 note): the same forms have to be gone through at the marking of the second and third enclosures. Kity. II, 6, 25 seq. On the ritualistic application of the metres, see note on I, 3, 2, 9. I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, II. 6 1 fire on the east, there was no (means of) escaping: he then hid himself among the roots of plants. 9. The gods said : 'What has become of Vish;m ? What has become of the sacrifice ? ' They said : ' On all (three) sides he is enclosed by the metres, with Agni to the east, there is no (way of) escaping ': search for him in this very place!' By slightly digging they accordingly searched for him. They discovered him at a depth of three inches (or thumb's breadths): therefore the altar should be three inches deep; and therefore also Fau^i^ made the altar for the Soma-sacrifice three inches deep. 10. This, however, one must not do. Among the roots of the plants he (Vish?m) hid himselfl therefore let him (the Adhvaryu) bid (the Agmdhra) to cut out the roots of the plants. And since they found (anu-vid) Vish/m in that place, therefore it is called vedi (altar). 11. When they had found him, they enclosed him with a second enclosure, saying (Va^. S. I, 27), 'Of good soil art thou, and auspicious art thou !' on the south side ; for when they had thus obtained this earth they made it of good soil and auspicious ;— * Pleasant art thou, and soft to sit upon!' they said on the west side, for when they had thus obtained this earth, they made it pleasant and soft to sit upon;— 'Abounding in food and drink art thou !' they said
2they made it of good soil and auspicious ;— * Pleasant art thou, and soft to sit upon!' they said on the west side, for when they had thus obtained this earth, they made it pleasant and soft to sit upon;— 'Abounding in food and drink art thou !' they said on the north side, for when they had thus obtained this earth, they made it abounding in food and drink. ^^ This teacher is mentioned again, Sat. Br. II, i, 4, 27, along with two others, viz. Asuri and I\Iadhuki, but nothing further is known of him. According to the Black Ya^us the altar is made four (not three) ahgulas deep. 62 DATAPATH A-BRAhMAJVA. 12. Threefold^ he draws round the first hne of enclosure, threefold the second : hence sixfold (the two) ; for six seasons there are in the year, and the year, as Pra^apati (Lord of Creation), is the sacrifice ^. As large as the sacrifice, as wide as its extent is, so wide does he thereby enclose it. 13. With six sacred words ^ he draws around the first line of enclosure, with six the second : thus (together) twelvefold, for twelve no doubt are the months of the year ; and the year, as Pra_c^apati, is the sacrifice. As large as the sacrifice, as wide as its extent is, so wide does he thereby enclose it. 14. 'Let it (the altar) measure a fathom* across on the west side,' they say : that, namely, is the size of a man, and it (the altar) should be of (the) man's size. ' Three cubits long (should be) the ^ Viz. each enclosing line consists of three divisions correspond- ing to the three sides (S., W., N.) of the altar. "^ Pra^apati (Lord of Creation) is here, as elsewhere, identified with the year (probably as the representative of the eternal process of regeneration) and consequently with the annual cycle of sacri- ficial performance, or the sacrifice itself. Cf. -Sat. Br. I, 5, 2, 16; X, 4. 3. I- ^ According to Sayawa, because each of the three mantras, 'gayatrewa (traish/ubhena, ^agatena resp.) tva Mandasa pari gr^liwami,' consists of two parts, the first ending with tva, the second with gr/hwami, which makes together six. Similarly with the second triad of mantras. In the former case the Taittiriya text (Taitt. S. I, i, 9, 3), 'The Vasus may enclose thee with the Gayatri metre, the Rudras with the Trish/ubh metre, the Adityas with the G^agati metre!' would furnish a more natural explanation of the six sacred words. * Vyama, the space between the extreme ends of the out- stretched arms.
3he Vasus may enclose thee with the Gayatri metre, the Rudras with the Trish/ubh metre, the Adityas with the G^agati metre!' would furnish a more natural explanation of the six sacred words. * Vyama, the space between the extreme ends of the out- stretched arms. It is doubtful whether it is here intended for a fixed measure, or whether it is a relative one, depending on the size of the respective sacrificer. The size of a man was supposed to be equal to the extent of his outstretched arms. I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, IJ. 63 " easterly line \" for threefold is the sacrifice,' (so they say, but) in this there is no (fixed) measure : let him make it as long as he thinks fit in his own mind! 15. The two shoulders (of the altar) he carries along both sides of the (Ahavaniya) fire. For the altar (vedi, fem.) is female and the fire (agni, masc.) is male ; and the woman lies embracing the man : thereby a copulation productive of offspring is obtained. For this reason he carries the two shoulders (of the altar) along both sides of the fire. 16. It (the altar) should be broader on the west side, contracted in the middle, and broad again on the east side ; for thus shaped they praise a woman : ' broad about the hips, somewhat narrower between the shoulders, and contracted in the middle (or, about the waist).' Thereby he makes it (the altar) pleasing to the gods. 17. It should be sloping towards east, for the east is the quarter of the gods ; and also sloping towards north, for the north is the quarter of men. To the south side he sweeps the rubbish (loose soil), for that is the quarter of the deceased ancestors. If it (the altar) were sloping towards south, the sacrificer would speedily go to yonder world ; and thus (by making the altar in the prescribed way) the sacrificer lives for a long time : for this reason he sweeps the loose soil to the south side. Let ^ I. e. a line drawn from the middle of the western side through the centre of the altar to the Ahavaniya fire. The same line pro- longated from the western side of the altar westwards to the Garha- patya would measure eight (eleven or twelve) steps (prakrama or vikrama, of two feet or pada each) from fire to fire. See I, 7, 3, 23-25. 64 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA. him then cover it (the altar) over with (fresh) rubbish : for rubbish means cattle, and well-stocked with cattle he thereby makes it\ 1 8. He (the Agnidhra) smooths it down (from east to west).
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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