1 Viz. by fanning air into the hole with the hand.
2 With his ' nameless ' (or little) finger, he pushes some of the loose soil into the hole, first from the front (east) and back (west) sides, and then from the right (south) and left (north) sides. Thus, according to Katy. XVI, 3, 4, the sunwise movement is
2 2 2 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
together ; then this one and this one, whence these
two also are joined together : first thus, then thus ;
then thus, then thus. This is moving (from left) to
right, for so (it goes) to the gods: with this and this
one a means of healing is prepared ; with this and
this one he heals.
6. He then takes up together the black antelope
skin and the lotus-leaf; for the lotus-leaf is the
womb, and with the womb he takes up that infused
seed : whence the infused seed is taken up by the
womb. [He does so, with, Va^. S. XI, 40] ' Well-
born with splendour, the refuge and shelter,
hath he settled down in the light ;' for well-born
he is, and he settles down in the refuge, and shelter,
and light.
7. He then ties it (the lump) up : he thereby
keeps the seed within the womb ; whence the seed
kept within the womb does not escape. With a
string (he ties it), for with the string they yoke the
draught beast ; — with a triple one of reed grass :
the significance of this has been told \
8. He lays it round (the skin), with, 'Invest thy-
self, O lustrous Agni, in the many-coloured
garment!' In the sacrifice the cord is Vanmic; hav-
ing thereby made it non-Varu/zic, he makes him put
on (the skin) as one would make a garment be put on.
9. He then takes it and rises ; — that Agni being
yonder sun, he thus causes yonder sun to rise ; — with
(Va§*. S. XI, 41)2, 'Rise, thou of good rites/— the
sacrifice doubtless is a rite : thus, ' rise thou, well
obtained by the hand moving from east (along the south) to west, and then from south (along the west) to north.
1 See VI, 3, 1, 27.
2 See Rik S. VIII, 23, 5, differing considerably.
VI KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, IO. 223
worthy of sacrifice ;' — ' Guard us with godly wis-
dom ! ' — that is, * whatever divine wisdom is thine,
therewith guard us ! ' — 'Most brilliant to see with
great light/ — that is, 'in order to be seen most
brilliant with great light ; ' — 'hither, O Agni, come
thou with praises!' — the praises1 are the steeds :
thus, ' hither, O Agni, come with the steeds/
1 The author might seem to connect '^asti' (in surasti) with ' .ras/ to rule, control, instead of with ' jams/ to praise ; Saya^a, however, takes ' sujasti ' as a bahuvrihi, ' with the praiseworthy/ i. e. with the steeds deserving praise, because they draw well (.robhana jastir esham . . . sadhu vahanty a^va^). It is indeed not improbable that this was the author's intention.
2 Or, a winner — wins.
3 A^ayo vaghata^. See p. 217, note 2.
4 See VI, 7, 1, 8 seq.
2 24 satapatha-brahmaiva.
Fourth Brahma^a.
i. That (lump of clay representing Agni) is still in
his hand when he addresses the animals ; for the
gods, being about to equip1 (Agni), now first laid
vigour into them ; and in like manner does this
(Sacrificer, or priest) now, being about to equip
(Agni), first lay vigour into these (cattle).
2. He addresses the horse, with (Vaf. S. XI, 43 ;
Rik S. X, 1, 2), ' Thus born, art thou the child
of the two worlds;' — the two worlds, doubtless, are
these two, heaven and earth ; and he (Agni) thus
born, is the child of these two; — 'O Agni, the
lovely (child), distributed among the plants,' —
for he, the lovely one, is indeed distributed among
all the plants2; — 'a brilliant child, through
gloom and night/ — for as a brilliant child, he (Agni)
indeed shines beyond gloom and night; — * crying
aloud thou didst go forth from the mothers;' —
his mothers, doubtless, are the plants, and from them
he comes forth crying aloud. He thereby lays vigour
into the horse.
3. Then (he addresses) the ass, with (Vaf. S. XI,
44), 'Steadfast be thou, firm-limbed, and a
swift racer be thou, O steed!' — that is, 'be thou
steadfast, and firm-limbed, and swift, and a racer, O
steed!' — 'Ample be thou, and well to sit upon,
thou, the bearer of Agni's supply!' — that is,'be
1 For the ceremony of 'equipping' Agni, see part i, p. 276,
2 Viz. inasmuch as fire may be elicited from dry wood. See also I» 6, 4, 5, where Soma, frequently identified with Agni (see VI, 5, 1, 1), is said at new moon to come down to the earth, and enter the waters and plants in order to be born anew from them.
VI KANDA, 4 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 7. 225
thou ample (broad), well to rest upon, thou, Agni's pro- vender-bearer1 1' He thereby lays vigour into the ass.
4. Then the he-goat, with (Va£\ S. XI, 45), ' Be
thou propitious unto human creatures, O
Angiras !' — for Agni is Angiras, and the he-goat is
sacred to Agni : he thus appeases him with a view
to his doing no injury ; — ' Scorch not heaven and
earth, nor the air, nor the trees!' — that is, 'do
not injure anything!' He thereby lays vigour into
the he-goat.
5. With three (verses) he addresses (the animals),
for threefold is Agni : as great as Agni is, as great
as is his measure, with so much he thus lays vigour
into them.
6. He then holds it (Agni, the lump of clay) over
these animals, whereby he equips him (Agni) with
these cattle. He does not touch them, lest he should
injure that seed by the thunderbolt, for cattle are a
thunderbolt, and this (clay) is seed ; or lest that Agni
should injure those cattle, for that (lump of clay) is
Agni, and these (animals) are cattle.
7. In the first place he holds it over the horse, with
(Va^. S. XI, 46), 'Let the racer start forth
neighing lustily/ — that is, * Let the racer start
forth neighing repeatedly ;' — 'the running ass, cry-
ing aloud r He thus mentions the ass in the
formula of the horse, and thereby imbues the ass
with sorrow2; — 'bearing Agni Purishya, may he
1 Literally, Agni's bearer of what is suitable for the cattle, or perhaps, be thou, for Agni, the bearer of (himself) favourable to cattle; — 'pasavya' being here as elsewhere used (see p. 201, note) to explain ' purisha/ that which fills, the mould or soil used as mortar for the layers of bricks, in building up the fire-altar.
2 On account of his being compared with the horse, Say. The author probably alludes to the dejected, spiritless look of the ass, as
2 26 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAiVA.
not perish before his full measure of time!' —
that is, ' bearing Agni favourable to cattle, may he (the
horse) not perish before (the completion of) this sacred
work/ He thereby equips him (Agni) with the horse.
8. Then (over) the ass, with, 'The male carrying
Agni, the male/ — for Agni is a male, and the he-
ass is a male: that male carries the male; — 'the
sea-born child of the waters/ — for he (Agni) is
the sea-born child of the waters. He thereby equips
him with the ass.
9. He then takes it off, with, ' O Agni, come
hither to the feast!' — that is, 'in order to rejoice/
By means of the brahman, the ya^us (formula), he
thus removes him (Agni) from the 6udra caste.
10. Then (he holds it over) the he-goat, with (Va^.
S. XI, 47), 'The law — the truth, the law — the
truth!' — the (divine) law doubtless is this Agni;
and the truth is yonder sun ; or, rather, the law is
yonder (sun), and the truth is this (Agni) ; but,
indeed, this Agni is both the one and the other:
hence he says, ' the law — the truth, the law — the
truth/ He thereby equips him with the he-goat.
11. With three (beasts) he equips (Agni), — three-
fold is Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his
measure, with so much he thus equips him. With
three (verses) he previously addresses (the beasts), —
that makes six : the significance of this (number) has
been explained.
12. They then make the beasts return (to the
Ahavaniya) : the he-goat goes first of them, then the
ass, then the horse. Now, in going away from this
compared with that of the horse. The word ' suk ' might, however, perhaps also be taken in the sense of ' fervour, fire/
VI KAiTOA, 4 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAtfA, 1 6. 22 7
(Ahavanlya 1), the horse goes first, then the ass,
then the he-goat, — for the horse corresponds to the
Kshatra (nobility), the ass to the VaLrya and .Sudra,
the he-goat to the Brahma^a.
13. And inasmuch as, in going from here, the
horse goes first, therefore the Kshatriya, going first,
is followed by the three other castes ; and inasmuch
as, in returning from there, the he-goat goes first,
therefore the Brahma^a, going first, is followed by
the three other castes. And inasmuch as the ass
does not go first, either in going from here, or in
coming back from there, therefore the Brahma^a and
Kshatriya never go behind the Vaisya and 6iidra :
hence they walk thus in order to avoid a confusion
between good and bad. And, moreover, he thus
encloses those two castes (the Vai^ya and .Sfidra) on
both sides by the priesthood and the nobility, and
makes them submissive.
14. He then looks at the sham-man, with, ' Agni
Purishya we bear, Angiras-like;' — that is, 'Agni,
favourable to cattle, we bear, like Agni.' He thereby
equips him with the sham-man.
15. He (the Adhvaryu) arrives (near the fire) while
holding (the lump of clay) over the he-goat ; for the
he-goat is sacred to Agni : he thus equips him
(Agni) with his own self, with his own godhead.
And, moreover, the he-goat is the Brahman (priest-
hood) : with the Brahman he thus equips him.
16. He then takes it down, with, ' O plants, wel-
come ye with joy this propitious Agni coming
hitherwards !' for the plants are afraid lest he
(Agni) should injure them : it is for them that he
1 See VI, 3, 2, 6 seq. Q 2
2 28 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
now appeases him, saying, f Welcome ye him with
joy, propitious he comes to you ; he will not injure
you!' — 'Removing all infirmities, afflictions;
settling down, drive off from us evil inten-
tion!' that is, 'removing all infirmities and afflic-
tions, settling down, drive off from us all evil ! '
17. [Va£\ S. XI, 48] 'O plants, receive him joy-
fully, ye blossoming, full-berried ones ! ' for that
is their perfect form when they are blossoming and
full-berried : thus, ' Being perfect, receive ye him
joyfully!' — 'this timely child of yours hath
settled down in his old seat;' that is, 'this
seasonable child of yours has settled down in his
eternal seat/
18. With two (verses) he takes it down, — two-
footed is the Sacrificer, and the Sacrificer is Agni :
as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with
so much he thus takes it down. He takes it down
from the right (south) to the left (north) side : the
significance of this has been explained. Raised and
sprinkled is (the place) where he takes it down, for
on a (mound), raised and sprinkled, the (sacrificial)
fire is laid down. Gravel is strewed thereon : the
significance of this (will be explained) hereafter 1.
19. It is enclosed on all sides2; for at that time
the gods were afraid, thinking, ' We hope the Ra-
kshas, the fiends, will not smite here this (Agni) of
ours!' They enclosed him with this stronghold;
and in like manner does this one now enclose him
with this stronghold. And, again, this is a womb ;
1 See VII, 1, 1, 9.
2 The lump of clay is deposited on a raised mound (or perhaps rather on a cut-out piece of ground, uddhata), in an enclosed shed, (with a door on the east side) north of the Ahavaniya.
VI KA2VDA, 5 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, I. 229
and this (clay) is seed ; and in secret, as it were, the
seed is infused into the womb : it is thus made of the
form of the womb ; and hence it is only in secret that
one would have intercourse even with his own wife.
20. He then unties it (the lump of clay) : what-
ever part of his (body) pains him (Agni) when tied
up, that pain he now puts outside of him; and,
moreover, he causes him to be born from that
womb (the antelope skin).
21. [He unties it, with V&g-. S. XI, 49 ; Rik S. Ill,
15, 1] 'Blazing forth with wide glare/ — that is,
'Shining brightly with wide glare;' — 'chase away
the terrors of the hating demons!' — that is,
' chase away all evils ! ' — ' May I be in the protec-
tion of the great, the good protector, in the
guidance of Agni, ready to our call!' thereby
he invokes a blessing.
22. He then cuts off some goat's hair, and lets
loose the animals towards the north-east ; for this,
the north-east, is the region of both gods and men :
he thus bestows cattle on that region, and hence
both gods and men subsist on cattle.