2 Prade^amatra^ hidazrc mukham abhi vag vadati, mukham abhi vamatmika vag vadati vaktastis(P) tasya\r £a pradcramatratvam adhyatmavadharitam ato*trapi prade^amatra . . . yuktd, Say.
3 According to Saya^a the tip of the tongue is indicated (as VII, 2, 3, 3; 2, 4, 14, 'vak' means 'mouth'); but perhaps it is rather sharp, vituperative speech addressed to another person that is intended here.
4 Sayawa identifies the divine speech with Samskrit, and the human speech with the Apabhra^^as, or low dialects (Pmanushazrc Mpatmyam, MS.).
VI KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 38. 201
35. And, again, why it is sharp on both sides, —
the strength of the spade doubtless is on that side
on which there is its sharp edge : he thus lays
strength into it on both sides.
36. And, again, why it is sharp on both sides, —
wThen the gods had there discovered him (Agni),
they dug him out from these worlds ; and in like
manner does he now, after discovering him, dig him
out from these worlds.
37. When it digs thus (downwards), then it digs
him out from this world ; and when it moves up-
wards, then from yonder world; and when it moves
about between the two, then from the air-world : it
thus digs him out from all these worlds.
38. He takes it up, with (Va^-. S. XI, 9), ' At the
impulse of the god Savitrz, I take thee by the
arms of the A^vins, by the hands of Pushan,
by the Gayatri metre, Angiras-like ! ' By
means of those deities he thus takes it up, impelled
by Savitri ; by the Gayatri metre : he thus imparts
the Gayatri metre to it. ' From the Earth's seat,
Angiras-like, bring thou Agni Purishya1!' —
1 Mahidhara says, Agni is called ' purishya/ because loose soil (purisha) is put in the fire-pan (ukha), on which the fire is then placed. It also doubtless refers to the loose soil which is spread over the different layers of the altar, thus serving as mortar to the bricks. In this epithet of Agni, l purisha ' seems, however, to be taken in yet another, more subtle sense, the author apparently connecting with it its etymological meaning of ' that which fills, fillings, Germ. Fiillung, Fiillsel ; ' whilst the reference to cattle might also seem to point to the later ordinary meaning, ' faeces, manure/ Mahidhara, on the force of the symbolical identification 4 pa^avo vai purisham/ seems straightway to take ' purisha' as a synonym of ' pa.ru,' when he says, — purishebhya^ pambhyo hita^ purishya^. Saya^a's comment here is corrupt, — pa^avo vai purishaw pura^amuhi (?) karyazra pa^ava^ purayanti.
202 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
now soil means cattle : thus, ' from the earth's lap
bring thou Agni, favourable to cattle, as Agni
(did)!' — 'by the Trish^ubh metre, Angiras-
like ! ' he thereby takes it with the Trish^ubh
metre and thus lays into it the Trish/ubh metre.
39. [Va£\ S. XI, 10] 'A spade thou art/ — for a
spade it is : he thus takes it by means of the truth ;- —
' A woman thou art ! ' — the spade is a thunderbolt,
and the woman is a female, and a female injures no
one : he thus appeases it so as not to do any injury.
'By thee may we be able to dig out Agni in
the seat! ' the seat no doubt is this (spot): thus,
* By thee may we be able to dig out Agni in this seat
(place)/ — 'By the Gagati metre, Angiras-like!'
he thus takes it up by means of the Gagati metre,
and lays the Gagatt metre into it.
40. With three (formulas) he takes it up, — three-
fold is Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his
measure, by so much he thus takes it. Having
taken it up with three (formulas), he addresses it
with a fourth ; for the gods having thus taken it
with three (formulas), then laid vigour into it by
means of a fourth ; and in like manner does he now,
after taking it up with three (formulas), lay strength
into it with the fourth.
41. [Va£*. S. XI, 11] 'Having taken into his
hand, Savitrz,' — for it has indeed been taken into
his (the Adhvaryu's) hand, — ' bearing the spade,' —
for he indeed bears it, — ' the golden,' — for golden
indeed is the one that consists of the metres (the
Veda); — 'beholding Agni's light,' — that is, see-
ing Agni's light, — 'lifted it up from the earth,' —
for he indeed lifts it up from the earth ; — 'by the
Anush/ubh metre, Angiras-like ;' — he thus takes
Vi Kanda, 3 Adhyaya, 2 Brahma2va, I. 203
it up by means of the AnushAibh metre, and lays
the AnushAibh metre into it : for his undertaking
that spade of bamboo is thus made to be those
metres.
42. Some, indeed, make it of gold, saying, ' It is
spoken of as golden.' Let him not do so : in that it
is the metres, thereby that (spade) is gold, immortal
gold, the immortal metres.
43. He takes it up with four (formulas), for all
speech consists of four syllables : ' vak ' (speech) is
one syllable, and ' aksharam ' (syllable) consists of
three syllables. Now that monosyllable ' v&k ' is the
same as this last one, the Anush/ubh ; and that
trisyllable * aksharam ' is the same as those former
formulas : he thus digs up Agni by the whole
speech, and equips it with the whole speech, — hence
with four (formulas).
44. And, again, why with four (formulas) ; — there
are four quarters : he thus lays speech into the four
quarters, whence speech speaks in the four quarters.
He takes it up both by metres and by formulas,
that makes eight — there are four quarters, and four
intermediate quarters : he thus lays speech into all
the quarters, whence speech speaks in all the
quarters.
THE SEARCH AND DIGGING FOR AGNI (THE LUMP OF CLAY).
Second Brahma2va.
1. The spade is still in his hand, when he addresses
the beasts. For when the gods at that time were
about to search (for Agni) in these (animals) they
placed their vigour in front ; and in like manner does
204 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
this one, now that he is about to search in these (animals), place his vigour in front.
2. He addresses the horse, with (Va^. S. XI, 12),
' Most speedily x, O courser, run hither/ — what
is swift, that is speedy, and what is swifter than
swift, that is most speedy; — 'along the widest
range/ — the widest range doubtless is this (earth) :
thus, ' along this wide range ; ' — ' in the sky is thy
highest home, in the air thy navel, upon earth
thy womb : ' he thus makes it to be those deities,
Agni, Vayu, and Aditya (the sun), and thus lays
vigour into the horse.
3. Then the ass, with (Va£\ S. XI, 13), 'Yoke ye
two the ass/ he says this to the Adhvaryu and the
Sacrificer; — 'upon this course, ye showerers
of wealth!' — that is, 'upon this performance, ye
showerers of wealth ; ' — 'him, bearing Agni, and
helpful2 unto us;' — that is, 'him, bearing Agni,
and urged forward by us : ' he thereby lays vigour
into the ass.
4. Then the he-goat, with (Va£\ S. XI, 14), 'At
every yoking, at every race, we call him, the
most powerful/ — race3 means food: thus, 'in every
performance, in respect of every food we call him,
the most powerful;' — ' Indra to our help, we his
friends ! ' — that is, ' him, the strong (indriyavat), to
our help : ' he thereby lays vigour into the he-goat.
5. With three (formulas) he addresses (the vic- tims),— threefold is Agni : as great as Agni is, as
1 Praturtam, ' sped forward, speeding forward/
2 Asmayu, ' tending towards us, favourable to us,' is explained differently by the author of the Brahmawa.
3 The author here, as elsewhere, rather takes 'va^-a' in the sense of ' strength, sustenance/
Vi Kanda, 3 Adhyaya, 2 Brahma2va, Io. 205
great as is his measure, by so much he thus lays vigour into them.
6. He then makes them walk forward to the east :
he thus searches for him (Agni) by means of these
animals. He does not touch (them) lest he, Agni,
should injure him ; for Agni is the same as the
animals \
7. He makes the horse walk on, with (Va^. S. XI,
15), 'Forth-speeding, come treading down the
curses ! ' — curse means evil : thus, ' running come,
treading down the evil!' — 'come, delighting, into
Rudra's chieftainship ! ' — beasts belong to Rudra :
thus, 'come thou, delighting, into the chieftainship
of him who is thy deity ! ' he thus searches for him
by means of the horse.
8. Then the ass with, 'Traverse the wide air,
thou possessed of prosperous pastures and
affording safety ! ' — as the text, so its meaning; —
'with Pushan as thy mate;' — Pushan, doubtless,
is this earth ; thus, ' together with her as thy mate : '
he thus searches for him by means of the ass.
9. Then the he-goat, with (Va£\ S. XI, 16),
'From the Earth's seat, Arigiras-like, bring
thou Agni Purishya!' — that is, 'from the Earth's
lap bring thou Agni, favourable to cattle, as Agni
(did) ! ' he thus searches for him (Agni) by means
of the he-goat.
10. With three (animals) he searches, — threefold
is Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his
measure, with so much he thus searches for him.
1 The text here has the ordinary Sanskrit construction, running literally thus : — he does not touch — Agni (being) the same as the animals — ' lest he, Agni, should injure me ! '
206 satapatha-brAhma^a.
By three (formulas) he first addresses (the beasts) ;
that makes six, — six seasons are a year, and the
year is Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his
measure, so great does this become.
Third Brahma^a.
i . Those fires have been kindled (afresh) ; and
they (the priests and sacrificer) betake themselves to
the lump of clay l ; — those fires doubtless are these
worlds : when they are kindled, then they are these
worlds. For formerly the gods were seeking this
sacred rite outside of these worlds ; and when he
fetches the lump of clay after passing by those fires,
he is seeking him (Agni) outside of these worlds.
2. They go eastwards ; for the east is Agni's
region : he thus seeks him in his own region, finds
him in his own region.
3. They go forward, with, 'Angiras-like, we go
to Agni Purishya;' — that is, 'like Agni, we are
going to Agni, favourable to cattle/
4. He then looks at the sham-man, with, ' Ang-
iras-like, we shall carry Agni Purishya;, — that
is, ' Like Agni, we shall carry Agni, favourable to
cattle : ' he thus searches for him by means of the
sham-man.
5. Thereupon a hollow ant-hill is laid down mid-
ways (between the lump of clay and the Ahavantya
fire). He looks along it2; for the ant-hill is this
1 The lump of clay which is to be used for the making of
the fire-pan has been placed in a square hole east of the
Ahavaniya fire.
2 That is to say, he looks at the lump of clay through the hollow part of the ant-hill, whilst muttering the formula given in the next paragraph.
Vi Kanda, 3 Adhyaya, 3 Brahmajva, 9. 207
earth, and this earth is these worlds. For the gods
searched for him (Agni) in these worlds part by-
part ; and in like manner does this one now search
for him in these worlds part by part.
6. [Va£\ S. XI, 17] 'Agni hath looked along
the crest of the Dawns/ — thereby they sought
him in the dawns; — 'along the days, he, the
first knower of beings/ — thereby they sought
him in the days; — 'and oftentimes along the
rays of the sun/ — thereby they sought him in the
rays of the sun; — 'along the sky and the earth
hast thou spread;' — therewith they sought him in
the sky and the earth, and found him ; and in like
manner does this one thereby find him (Agni).
When he sees him from afar, he throws down that
(ant-hill) ; and they go up to the lump of clay.
7. He then addresses the horse ; for the gods then
said, ' Let us drive away his evil ! ' Now evil is
weariness : thus, ' Let us drive away his weariness,
the evil ! ' They drove away his weariness, the
evil ; and in like manner does this one now drive
away his weariness, the evil.
8. [Va^. S. XI, 18] 'The courser, having
started on his way/ — for his way has indeed been
started upon; — 'shaketh off all assaults/ —
assaults mean evils : thus, ' shakes off all evils ; '
and hence, indeed, the horse, whilst running, shakes
itself; — 'Agni he seeks to descry with his eye
on the great seat;' — the great seat doubtless is this
sacrificial (place) : thus, ' Agni he wishes to see with
his eye on this great seat/
9. He then makes it (the horse) step on (the
lump of clay with the left fore-foot) ; for having dis-
covered him (Agni), it (the horse) then indicated