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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1INTRODUCTION. XVii brahmaza '—the Asvamedha is treated immediately after the Ragasiya, and followed by the Purushamedha and Sarvamedha; these four ceremonies being characterised at the end as the Kshatriya’s sacrifices ? (medha). With regard to the earliest phase of Vedic religion, there is no direct evidence to show that the horse-sacrifice was already at that time a recognised institution. Two hymns of the Rzg-veda (I, 162; 163), it is true, relate to that sacrifice *, but they evidently belong to the latest productions* of that collection, though still sufficiently far removed from the time of the oldest of the ritual works just referred to. Seeing, however, that animal sacrifices generally are not alluded to in the Azksamhita ®, whilst there is every reason to believe that they were commonly practised from remote antiquity, this absence of earlier positive evidence regarding the horse-sacrifice cannot be taken as proving the later origin of that institution. As will be seen further on, there are sufficient indications to show that even human sacrifices were at one time practised amongst the Aryans of India, as they were amongst their 1 See Professor M. Bloomfield’s paper on ‘ The Position of the Gopathabrahmaaa in Vedic Literature,’ Journ. Am. Or. Soc., vol. xix. 2 Cf. Mah&bh. XIV, 48, where these four sacrifices are specially recom- mended by Vy&sa to YudhishéAira as worthy of being performed by him as King. * Possibly also, the hymn Rig-veda I, 164 (Ath.-v. IX, 9, 10)—on which see P. Deussen, Allg. Geschichte der Philosophie, I, 1, p. 105 seq.—may have been placed after the two Asvamedha hymns to supply topics for the priests’ colloquy (brahmodya) at the Asvamedha. Cf. XIII, 2, 6, 9 seqq.; 5, 2,11 seqq. The fact that the Asvamedha is not treated of in the Aitareya-brahmama cannot, of course, be taken to prove the later origin of the hymns referred to, though it might, no doubt, fairly be used as an argument in favour of assuming that those parts of the Asvamedha ceremonial in which the Hotr# takes a prominent part were probably not introduced till a later time. * Haug, Ait. Br. I, introd., p. 12 seqq., argues against the assumption of a comparatively late origin of the hymn I, 162; but his argument meets with serious lexical and other difficulties, 5 We may lcave out of account here one or two vague allusions, such as X, 155, 5 ‘ these have Jed around the cow (or bull) and have carried around the fire; with the gods they have gained for themselves glory: who dares to attack them?’ The question also as to whether the so-called Aprt-hymns, used at the fore-offerings of the animal sacrifice, were from the very beginning composed for this purpose, cannot be discussed here. (44) b XVili SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
2(44) b XVili SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA. European kinsmen. The fundamental idea which underlay this practice doubtless was the notion that man, as the highest attainable living being, could not but be the most acceptable gift that could be offered to the gods, and, at the same time, the most appropriate substitute for the human Sacrificer himself. For the same reason no doubt only domesticated animals were considered suitable for sacrifice ; and amongst these the horse was naturally looked upon as ranking next to man (Sat. Br. VI, 2, 1, 2), although considerations of practical expediency and even of social distinction might prevent its use for ordinary sacrificial purposes. In the speculations of the Brahmamas, a deep mystic significance is attached to the Horse-sacrifice. In the last two chapters of the ‘ Mystery of the Fire-altar’ (Sat. Br. X, 6, 4,1; 4), the Asvamedha—i.e. the sacrificial horse itself—is coupled with the Arka, the mysterious name of the sacred fire, as the representative of Agni-PragApati, the Sun. The horse-sacrifice is called the bull (XIII, 1, 2, 2), and the king (XIII, 2, 2, 1), of sacrifices, just as the horse itself is the highest and most perfect of animals? (XIII, 3, 3, 1; Taitt. Br. III, 8, 7; 8,9, 1); the horse selected for sacrifice, in particular, being said to be worth a thousand cows (XIII, 4, 2,1). The connection of the sacrificial horse with ‘the lord of creatures’ is, of course, fully accounted for by the theory of the identity of the sacrifice generally with Purusha-Prag4pati, discussed in the introduction to part iv ofthis translation. The sacrificial horse accordingly belongs to Pragapati, or rather is of Pragapati’s nature (pragdpatya) ; nay, as the Taitt. Br. (III, 9, 17, 4) puts it, it is a form of Pragapati himself (pragapate rdpam asvaf), and is, of all animals, the one most conformable (anuripatama%) to PragApati. Hence also, in the cosmogonic account at the commencement of the Agnizayana section (VI, 1, 1, 11), the horse is represented as having originated, immediately after the Brahman (sacred lore) and Agni, directly from the 1 ‘They (the Massagetae) worship the sun only of all the gods, and sacrifice horses to him; and the reason for this custom is that they think it right to offer the swiftest of all animals to the swiftest of all the gods.’ Herod. I, 216. INTRODUCTION, xix egg produced by Pragapati from the cosmic waters ; whilst, according to other accounts (VII, 5, 2, 6; XIII, 3, 1, 1), the horse originated from Pragdpati’s eye. But, since the offering also represents the offerer himself, or rather his divine self awaiting him in the other world (XI, 1, 8, 6; 2, 2,6), the sacrificial horse is also identified with the Sacrificer (yagamano va asvaA, Taitt. Br. III, 9,17, 4) who thereby obtains the fellowship of the Lord of creatures and a place in his world (ib. ITI, 9, 20, 2).
3Br. III, 9,17, 4) who thereby obtains the fellowship of the Lord of creatures and a place in his world (ib. ITI, 9, 20, 2). Besides Pragapati, there is, however, another deity who lays claim to the possession of the sacred steed; for the horse is Varuma’s sacrificial animal (Sat. Br. V, 3,1,5; VI, 2,1, 5; Taitt. Br. III, 9, 16,1); nay, Varusa is even the lord of all one-hoofed cattle (Vag. S. XIV, 30; Sat. Br. VIII, 4, 3, 13). This connection of the horse with Varuza seems natural enough, seeing that this god, as the king of heaven and the upholder of the law, is the divine representative of the earthly king ; whence the Ragasdya, or coronation-ceremony, is called Varuza’s consecration (Sat. Br. V, 4, 3,21; cf. II, 2, 3,1). For this reason the barley also is sacred to Varuaa ' (XIII, 3, 8, 5); and accordingly, during the same ceremony, the king offers a barley-mash to Varuna, in the house of his Sata, or charioteer and herald ; a horse being the sacrificial fee for this offering (V, 3, 1, 5). In the Vedic hymns, this association of the god Varuza with the noble quadruped finds a ready, if rather commonplace, explanation in a common natural phenomenon: Varuna’s horse is none other than the fiery racer who pursues his diurnal course across the all-encompassing arch of heaven, the sphere of Varuaa?, the all-ruler. It is ih the Dr. Hillebrandt, ‘ Varuva und Mitra,’ p. 65, is inclined to refer this connection to Varuma’s character as the god of waters and the rains, as favouring the crops and fertility generally. 3 Whilst it may be a matter of opinion whether, with Professor Brugmann (Grundr, IT, p. 154), we have to take the original form of this name to be ‘vorvanos,’ or whether the ‘u’ of the Sanskrit word is merely due to the dulling influence of the preceding r (cf. taruza, dhérusa, karuza), the etymological identity of ‘varuzas’ and odpayés is now probably questioned by few scholars. The ethical attributes of this mythological conception seem to b2 XX SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.,
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.
1INTRODUCTION. XVii brahmaza '—the Asvamedha is treated immediately after the Ragasiya, and followed by the Purushamedha and Sarvamedha; these four ceremonies being characterised at the end as the Kshatriya’s sacrifices ? (medha). With regard to the earliest phase of Vedic religion, there is no direct evidence to show that the horse-sacrifice was already at that time a recognised institution. Two hymns of the Rzg-veda (I, 162; 163), it is true, relate to that sacrifice *, but they evidently belong to the latest productions* of that collection, though still sufficiently far removed from the time of the oldest of the ritual works just referred to. Seeing, however, that animal sacrifices generally are not alluded to in the Azksamhita ®, whilst there is every reason to believe that they were commonly practised from remote antiquity, this absence of earlier positive evidence regarding the horse-sacrifice cannot be taken as proving the later origin of that institution. As will be seen further on, there are sufficient indications to show that even human sacrifices were at one time practised amongst the Aryans of India, as they were amongst their 1 See Professor M. Bloomfield’s paper on ‘ The Position of the Gopathabrahmaaa in Vedic Literature,’ Journ. Am. Or. Soc., vol. xix. 2 Cf. Mah&bh. XIV, 48, where these four sacrifices are specially recom- mended by Vy&sa to YudhishéAira as worthy of being performed by him as King. * Possibly also, the hymn Rig-veda I, 164 (Ath.-v. IX, 9, 10)—on which see P. Deussen, Allg. Geschichte der Philosophie, I, 1, p. 105 seq.—may have been placed after the two Asvamedha hymns to supply topics for the priests’ colloquy (brahmodya) at the Asvamedha. Cf. XIII, 2, 6, 9 seqq.; 5, 2,11 seqq. The fact that the Asvamedha is not treated of in the Aitareya-brahmama cannot, of course, be taken to prove the later origin of the hymns referred to, though it might, no doubt, fairly be used as an argument in favour of assuming that those parts of the Asvamedha ceremonial in which the Hotr# takes a prominent part were probably not introduced till a later time. * Haug, Ait. Br. I, introd., p. 12 seqq., argues against the assumption of a comparatively late origin of the hymn I, 162; but his argument meets with serious lexical and other difficulties, 5 We may lcave out of account here one or two vague allusions, such as X, 155, 5 ‘ these have Jed around the cow (or bull) and have carried around the fire; with the gods they have gained for themselves glory: who dares to attack them?’ The question also as to whether the so-called Aprt-hymns, used at the fore-offerings of the animal sacrifice, were from the very beginning composed for this purpose, cannot be discussed here. (44) b XVili SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
2(44) b XVili SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA. European kinsmen. The fundamental idea which underlay this practice doubtless was the notion that man, as the highest attainable living being, could not but be the most acceptable gift that could be offered to the gods, and, at the same time, the most appropriate substitute for the human Sacrificer himself. For the same reason no doubt only domesticated animals were considered suitable for sacrifice ; and amongst these the horse was naturally looked upon as ranking next to man (Sat. Br. VI, 2, 1, 2), although considerations of practical expediency and even of social distinction might prevent its use for ordinary sacrificial purposes. In the speculations of the Brahmamas, a deep mystic significance is attached to the Horse-sacrifice. In the last two chapters of the ‘ Mystery of the Fire-altar’ (Sat. Br. X, 6, 4,1; 4), the Asvamedha—i.e. the sacrificial horse itself—is coupled with the Arka, the mysterious name of the sacred fire, as the representative of Agni-PragApati, the Sun. The horse-sacrifice is called the bull (XIII, 1, 2, 2), and the king (XIII, 2, 2, 1), of sacrifices, just as the horse itself is the highest and most perfect of animals? (XIII, 3, 3, 1; Taitt. Br. III, 8, 7; 8,9, 1); the horse selected for sacrifice, in particular, being said to be worth a thousand cows (XIII, 4, 2,1). The connection of the sacrificial horse with ‘the lord of creatures’ is, of course, fully accounted for by the theory of the identity of the sacrifice generally with Purusha-Prag4pati, discussed in the introduction to part iv ofthis translation. The sacrificial horse accordingly belongs to Pragapati, or rather is of Pragapati’s nature (pragdpatya) ; nay, as the Taitt. Br. (III, 9, 17, 4) puts it, it is a form of Pragapati himself (pragapate rdpam asvaf), and is, of all animals, the one most conformable (anuripatama%) to PragApati. Hence also, in the cosmogonic account at the commencement of the Agnizayana section (VI, 1, 1, 11), the horse is represented as having originated, immediately after the Brahman (sacred lore) and Agni, directly from the 1 ‘They (the Massagetae) worship the sun only of all the gods, and sacrifice horses to him; and the reason for this custom is that they think it right to offer the swiftest of all animals to the swiftest of all the gods.’ Herod. I, 216. INTRODUCTION, xix egg produced by Pragapati from the cosmic waters ; whilst, according to other accounts (VII, 5, 2, 6; XIII, 3, 1, 1), the horse originated from Pragdpati’s eye. But, since the offering also represents the offerer himself, or rather his divine self awaiting him in the other world (XI, 1, 8, 6; 2, 2,6), the sacrificial horse is also identified with the Sacrificer (yagamano va asvaA, Taitt. Br. III, 9,17, 4) who thereby obtains the fellowship of the Lord of creatures and a place in his world (ib. ITI, 9, 20, 2).
3Br. III, 9,17, 4) who thereby obtains the fellowship of the Lord of creatures and a place in his world (ib. ITI, 9, 20, 2). Besides Pragapati, there is, however, another deity who lays claim to the possession of the sacred steed; for the horse is Varuma’s sacrificial animal (Sat. Br. V, 3,1,5; VI, 2,1, 5; Taitt. Br. III, 9, 16,1); nay, Varusa is even the lord of all one-hoofed cattle (Vag. S. XIV, 30; Sat. Br. VIII, 4, 3, 13). This connection of the horse with Varuza seems natural enough, seeing that this god, as the king of heaven and the upholder of the law, is the divine representative of the earthly king ; whence the Ragasdya, or coronation-ceremony, is called Varuza’s consecration (Sat. Br. V, 4, 3,21; cf. II, 2, 3,1). For this reason the barley also is sacred to Varuaa ' (XIII, 3, 8, 5); and accordingly, during the same ceremony, the king offers a barley-mash to Varuna, in the house of his Sata, or charioteer and herald ; a horse being the sacrificial fee for this offering (V, 3, 1, 5). In the Vedic hymns, this association of the god Varuza with the noble quadruped finds a ready, if rather commonplace, explanation in a common natural phenomenon: Varuna’s horse is none other than the fiery racer who pursues his diurnal course across the all-encompassing arch of heaven, the sphere of Varuaa?, the all-ruler. It is ih the Dr. Hillebrandt, ‘ Varuva und Mitra,’ p. 65, is inclined to refer this connection to Varuma’s character as the god of waters and the rains, as favouring the crops and fertility generally. 3 Whilst it may be a matter of opinion whether, with Professor Brugmann (Grundr, IT, p. 154), we have to take the original form of this name to be ‘vorvanos,’ or whether the ‘u’ of the Sanskrit word is merely due to the dulling influence of the preceding r (cf. taruza, dhérusa, karuza), the etymological identity of ‘varuzas’ and odpayés is now probably questioned by few scholars. The ethical attributes of this mythological conception seem to b2 XX SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.,
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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