26. Now that father (Pra^apati) is (also) the son :
1 In contradistinction to the ya^ushmati (prayerful) bricks, which bear special names, and have special formulas attached to them; lokam-prz'/za (space-filling ones) is the technical term for those bricks which have no special prayers belonging to them, but are piled up with a common formula (Va^. S. XII, 54 ; *Sat. Br. VIII, 7, 2, 1 seq.), beginning 'lokam pr/«a Mdram prma/ ' fill the space, fill the gap!'
154 DATAPATH A-BR AHM A2VA.
inasmuch as he created Agni, thereby he is Agni's
father ; and inasmuch as Agni restored him, thereby
Agni is his (Pra^apati's) father; and inasmuch as he
created the gods, thereby he is the father of the
gods ; and inasmuch as the gods restored him, thereby
the gods are his fathers.
27. Twofold verily is this, — father and son, Pra^a-
pati and Agni, Agni and Pra^apati, Pra^apati and
the gods, the gods and Pra^apati — (for) whosoever
knows this.
28. He builds up with1, ' By that deity' — that deity, doubtless, is Va/£ (speech), — ' Angiras-like,'j — Angiras, doubtless, is the breath; — 'lie thou steady!' — that is, ' lie thou firm ; ' or ' lie thou firmly estab- lished.' It is both with speech and with breath that he builds ; for Agni is speech, and Indra is the breath ; and the fire (agni) relates to Indra and Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus builds him up. And again, Indra and Agni are all the gods, (for) Agni belongs to all deities : thus as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus builds him up.
29. Here now they say, ' Wherefore is Agni (the fire-
altar) built of this (earth) ? ' But, surely, when that
deity (Pra^apati) became relaxed (fell asunder), he
flowed along this (earth) in the shape of his life-sap ;
and when the gods restored him (put him together),
they gathered him up from this earth : this earth
then is that one brick 2, for Agni is this earth, since
1 This is the formula (Va£\ S. XII, 53) with which the so-called 'sadanam' or ' settling' of the bricks is performed. See VII, 1, 1, 3°-
2 That is, the first brick which the wife of the Sacrificer herself forms, and which is called Asha^a. See VI, 3, 1, 1; 5, 3, 1.
VI K AND A, I ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAiVA, 3 I. I 55
it is thereof1 that the whole Agni is built up. Now
this earth is four-cornered, for the quarters are her
corners : hence the bricks are four-cornered ; for all
the bricks are after the manner of this earth.
30. As to this they say, ' But if he (Agni) thus
consists of one brick, how then (comes he to be) a five-
bricked 2 one ? ' Now surely the first brick of clay
is this earth, — whatever made of clay he places
on that (altar) that is that one brick. And when he
puts thereon the heads of the animal victims 3, that
is the animal-brick. And when he puts on the gold
plate and man4, when he scatters gold shavings
thereon, that is the golden brick. And when he
puts on two spoonfuls (of ghee)5, when he puts
on the mortar and pestle6, and fire-sticks, that is
the wood-brick. And when he puts on a lotus-leaf
(petal), a tortoise 7, sour curds, honey, ghee, and
whatever other food he puts on, that is the fifth
brick, the food. Thus, then, it is a five-bricked
(Agni).
31. As to this they say, ' On which side is the
head of the brick ? ' — ' Where he touches it and
says a prayer/ so say some, 'on one end of the
naturally perforated (brick) 8 alone indeed should he
1 Viz. by means of the clay bricks, and the loose soil put between the layers.
2 Sayawa only refers here to the fact that the sacrifice (yagna) is called ' pahkta/ ' the fivefold.'
8 See VII, 5, 2, 1 seq. 4 See VII, 4, 1, 15 seq.
5 See VII, 4, 1, 32 seq. 6 See VII, 5, 1, 12 seq.
7 See VII, 5, 1, 1 seq.
8 Apparently some kind of porous stone. Three such per- forated stones or ' bricks ' are used in the construction of the fire- altar ; viz. one which is laid on the gold man in the centre of the bottom layer (a saman relating to bhus, the earth, being pronounced
say a prayer while touching it, but thus all those
(bricks) of his are turned towards the naturally
perforated one/ Let him not do so, for those
bricks doubtless are his (Agni's) limbs, his joints ;
and it would be just as if he were to put a head
on each limb, on each joint. But indeed, the fire
which is deposited on the pile, that is the head of
all those (bricks).
32. Here they say, * How many animal victims
are laid upon the fire (altar) ? ' — Let him say ' Five/
for he does lay thereon those five victims.
33. Or, ' One/ he may say ; ' a ewe ; ' for a ewe
(avi) is this earth, since she favours (av) all these
creatures. And the fire (altar) also is this earth,
for the whole fire (altar) is built up thereof : hence
he may say, ' One/
34. Or, ' Two,' he may say, ' two# sheep ; ' for
sheep, indeed, are both this (earth) and that (sky),
since these two favour all these creatures ; — what
clay (there is in the brick) that is this earth ; and
what water there is that is that sky ; and the bricks
consist of clay and water : therefore he may say,
* Two/
35. Or he may say, ' A cow (or bullock, go) ; ' —
the cow forsooth means these worlds, for whatever
walks (gam) that walks in these worlds * ; and that
on it while touching it) ; the second in the centre of the third layer ; and the third one being laid upon the centre of the completed fifth layer. They are meant to represent the three worlds, the holes being intended to afford to the Sacrificer (represented by the gold man) a passage to the highest regions. See VI, 2, 3, 1 seq.
1 It is not quite clear whether the author indulges in etymo- logical trifling (go — gu). The Bombay MS. of Saya^a reads, — ima^stallokan ga^atiti kavana(?gavana)karmasadhana^ gcrab- da#z darcayati.
VI KANDA, I ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMA^A, 4. I 5 7
fire also is these worlds : therefore he may say, * A cow/
36. As to this they say, ' For what object is this
fire (altar) built ? ' — ' Having become a bird, he
(Agni) shall bear me to the sky ! ' so say some ; but
let him not think so ; for by assuming that form,
the vital airs became Pra^"apati * ; by assuming that
form, Pra^apati created the gods 2 ; by assuming
that form, the gods became immortal : and what
thereby the vital airs, and Pra^apati, and the gods
became, that indeed he (the Sacrificer) thereby
becomes.
Third Brahma^a.
1. Verily, Pra^apati alone was here in the begin-
ning. He desired, ' May I exist, may I reproduce
myself!' He toiled, he practised austerity (or,
became heated). From him, worn out and heated,
the waters were created : from that heated Person
the waters are born.
2. The waters said, ' What is to become of us ? ' —
' Ye shall be heated/ he said. They were heated ;
they created foam : hence foam is produced in
heated water.
3. The foam (m.) said, ' What is to become of
me?' — ' Thou shalt be heated!' he said. It was
heated, and produced clay ; for indeed the foam is
heated, when it floats on the water, covering it ; and
when one beats upon it, it indeed becomes clay.
4. The clay (f.) said, 'What is to become of me ?' — 'Thou shalt be heated!' he said. It was heated,
1 See VI, 1, 1, 2 seq., where the seven vital airs are represented as assuming the form of a bird— the Purusha Pra^ipati.
2 See paragraphs 7-1 1.
I58 SATAPATHA-BRAHM ANA.
and produced sand ; for this clay becomes indeed
heated when they plough it ; and if only they
plough very fine then it becomes, as it were, sandy.
So much, then, as to that 'What is to become of
me ? what is to become of me x ? '
5. From the sand he created the pebble : whence
sand finally indeed becomes a pebble ; — from the
pebble the stone : whence the pebble finally indeed
becomes a stone; — from the stone metal ore : whence
from stone they smelt ore ; — from ore gold : whence
ore much smelted comes, as it were, to have the
appearance of gold.
6. Now that which was created was flowing ; and
inasmuch as it was flowing (aksharat), a syllable
(akshara) resulted therefrom ; and inasmuch as it
flowed eight times, that octosyllabic Gayatri was
produced.
7. 'This has indeed become (bhu) a foundation
(resting-place)/ so he thought: whence it became
the earth (bhiimi). He spread it out (prath) : it
became the broad (earth, przthivi). On this earth,
as on a foundation, the beings, and the lord of
beings, consecrated themselves for a year : the lord
of beings was the master of the house 2, and Ushas
(the Dawn) was the mistress.
8. Now, those beings are the seasons; and that
lord of beings is the year; and that Ushas, the
mistress, is the Dawn. And these same creatures,
as well as the lord of beings, the year, laid seed
1 He means to say that he will leave this to be supplied in the enumeration of the subsequent creations.
2 At sacrificial sessions the Sacrificer is called Gnhapati. On this, see IV, 6, 8, 3-5.
VI KANDA, I ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, I 3. I 59
into Ushas1. There a boy (kumara) was born in a year : he cried.
9. Pra^apati said to him, ' My boy, why criest
thou, when thou art born out of labour and trouble?'
He said, ' Nay, but I am not freed from (guarded
against) evil ; I have no name given me : give me
a name ! ' Hence one should give a name to the
boy that is born, for thereby one frees him from
evil ; — even a second, even a third (name), for
thereby one frees him from evil time after time.
10. He said to him, 'Thou art Rudra2/ And
because he gave him that name, Agni became such-
like (or, that form), for Rudra is Agni : because he
cried (rud) therefore he is Rudra. He said, ' Surely,
I am mightier than that : give me yet a name ! '
11. He said to him, 'Thou art Sarva/ And
because he gave him that name, the waters became
suchlike, for Sarva is the waters, inasmuch as from
the water everything (sarva) here is produced. He
said, ' Surely, I am mightier than that : give me yet
a name ! '
12. He said to him, ' Thou art Pasupati.' And
because he gave him that name, the plants became
suchlike, for Pasupati is the plants : hence when
cattle (paiii) get plants, then they play the master 3
(patiy). He said, ' Surely, I am mightier than that :
give me yet a name ! '
13. He said to him, 'Thou art Ugra.' And
1 On the legend regarding Pra^apati and his daughter Ushas, see I, 7, 4, 1 seq.
2 On this and several of the other names, see part i, p. 201.
8 As, when a horse gets much corn, it becomes spirited, ' master- ful/ The St. Petersburg dictionary suggests the meaning, ' they become strong.' It might also mean, ' they lord it (over the plants)/
1 60 SATAPATHA-BRAHMA2VA.
because he gave him that name, Vayu (the wind)
became suchlike, for Ugra is Vayu : hence when
it blows strongly, they say ' Ugra is blowing.' He
said, ' Surely, I am mightier than that : give me yet
a name ! '
14. He said to him, ' Thou art Asani/ And
because he gave him that name, the lightning
became suchlike, for A^ani is the lightning : hence
they say of him whom the lightning strikes, ' A^ani
has smitten him/ He said, ' Surely, I am mightier
than that : give me yet a name ! '
15. He said to him, 'Thou art Bhava/ And
because he gave him that name, Par£*anya (the
rain-god) became suchlike ; for Bhava is Par£*anya,
since everything here comes (bhavati) from the rain-
cloud. He said, ' Surely, I am mightier than that :
give me yet a name ! '
16. He said to him, 'Thou art Mahan Deva/£
(the Great God)/ And because he gave him that
name, the moon became suchlike, for the moon is
Pra^apati, and Pra^apati is the Great God. He
said, ' Surely, I am mightier than that : give me
yet a name ! '
17. He said to him, ' Thou art l^ana (the Ruler)/
And because he gave him that name, the Sun became
suchlike, for Isana is the Sun, since the Sun rules
over this All. He said, ' So great indeed I am :
give me no other name after that ! '
18. These then are the eight forms of Agni.
Kumara (the boy) is the ninth: that is Agni's
threefold state \