1 Whether * Dhisha^a ' (the name of certain female divinities who have the power of bestowing prosperity and granting wishes) is here connected with 'dhisrmya/ fire-hearth; or whether it is* taken by the author in some such primary sense as ' intelligence ' or 'inspiration/ it were difficult to decide. Sayawa connects it with l dhi/ — vag vai dhisha^a, sa hi dhiyaw karma £7zavasani(?) sambha^ate.
244 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
of old the divine women, with undipped wings, dear
to all the gods, did bake it, like Angiras, in the lap
of the earth ; and with their help he now bakes it.
But, surely, these are the stars, — the women (^ani)
are indeed the stars, for these are the lights of those
righteous men (^ana) who go to the celestial world :
it is by means of the stars that he thus bakes it.
9. Now he digs with one (formula), he sets down
(the fire-pan) with one, he kindles with one, he heats
with one, he bakes (pa/£) with two, whence twice in
the year food is ripened (pa>£) ; these amount to six,
— six seasons are a year, and Agni is the year : as
great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so great
does this become.
10. And as often as he attends to (the fire by
adding fresh fuel)1 he attends to it with the prayer
relating to Mitra, '[The protection] of Mitra, the
preserver of men2 . . . ;' for a friend (mitra) does
not injure any one, nor does any one injure his
friend ; and in like manner does this one not injure
that (fire-pan), nor does it (injure) him. By day he
should put (fuel) on it, by day he should clear it (of
the ashes).
11. He clears it (of the ashes) with a prayer relat- ing to Savitrz, — for Savitrz is the impeller : impelled
1 The St. Petersburg dictionary seems to take ' yavat kiya£ ^opanya^arati ' in the sense of ' as much (or, as deep) as he enters (into the pan)/ But see III, 2, 2, 19, where 4 yavat kiya^a . . . upaspwet ' has likewise the meaning ' as often as he touches/ Cf. also Katy. Sr. XVI, 4, 15, He keeps up (the fire by adding fuel), with ' Mitrasya . . . ; ' 16, [He repeats the formula] as often (or long) as he keeps it up (or, adds fuel).
2 V£g. S. XI, 62 ; Rik S. Ill, 59, 6, < The gainful protection of the God Mitra, the preserver of men, is glorious and of most wonderful renown/
VI KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 1 6. 245
by Savitrz, he thus clears it — [Va£\ S. XI, 63]
' May the divine Savitrz, the well-handed,
well-fingered, and well-armed, clear thee by
his might ! ' — for Savitrz is all that.
12. He then turns it (the fire-pan) round, with,
' Not tottering upon the earth, fill the regions,
the quarters!' — that is, ' not tottering, fill thou
with sap the regions and quarters on earth ! '
13. He then takes it up, with [Va^\ S. XI, 64],
'Having risen, do thou become great/ — for these
worlds, having risen, are great; — ' and stand up
steadfast ! ' that is, ' stand thou up firm and fixed ! '
14. Having taken it in both hands, he sets it down,
with, 'O Mitra, unto thee I consign this fire-
pan for safety : may it not break ! ' for Mitra is
that wind which blows yonder : it is to him he thus
consigns it for protection ; for these worlds are pro-
tected by Mitra (or by a friend), whence nothing
whatever is harmed in these worlds.
1 5. He then pours (milk) into it, — just for strength,
or to (mark) the progress of the work. And, again,
why he pours (milk) into it, — that fire-pan is the
head of the sacrifice, and milk is breath : he thus lays
breath into the head. Moreover, the fire-pan (ukha, f.)
is a female : he thus lays milk into the female, whence
there is milk in the female.
16. He pours goat's milk into it to avoid injury1 ;
for the goat sprang from Pra^&pati's head, and Pra-
^apati is Agni ; and one does not injure one's own
self. And as to why it is goat's (milk), — the goat
eats all (kinds of) herbs : he thus pours into it (the
pan) the sap of all (kinds of) herbs.
1 The construction of this, and similar previous passages, is the same as that referred to in part ii, p. 15, note 3.
246 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
17. \V&g. S. XI, 65] ' May the Vasus fill thee
with the Gayatri metre, Ahgiras-like! — May
theRudras fill thee with theTrish/ubh metre,
Ahgiras-like ! — May the Adityas fill thee with
the £agati metre, Ahgiras-like! — May the All-
gods, dear to all men, fill thee with the Anush-
/ubh metre, Ahgiras-like!' — by these deities he
thus moistens it : by whatever deities he fashions it,
by them he fumigates it, and by them he moistens
it. For he who performs a work, knows the practice
of it : hence by whatever deities he fashions it, by
them he fumigates and moistens it.
THE DIKSHA, or INITIATION. Sixth Adhyaya. First Brahma^a.
1. Many1 are the oblations, in the building of the
fire-altar, as well as at any other (special ceremony)
than the building of the fire-altar. For there are
supernumerary rites, — supernumerary are those
which are (performed) over and above another rite :
of these 2 are the building of the altar ( Agniiitya),
the Rag-astiya, the Va^apeya, and the A^vamedha ;
and because they are over and above the other
(normal) rites, therefore they are supernumerary.
1 Or rather, too many, more (than are required at one of the normal Soma-sacrifices), — adhvarikebhyo bahutarani, Say.
2 That is, as would seem from Sayawa, of such ceremonies as have supernumerary, or additional, oblations to the normal ones connected with them. This discussion seems to be introduced here on account of the additional oblation (that to Vai^vanara) offered at the initiation ceremony. As an ' additional ' or special, oblation at the Vag-apeya, Saya/za refers to the pap of wild rice (V, 1, 4, 12); whilst at the Ra^asuya the one to Anumati (V, 2, 3, 4) is said to belong to the same category.
VI KANDA, 6 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 5. 247
2. A cake1 on eleven potsherds to Agni and
Vishnu, — that is the initiation (offering) of the
(Soma) sacrifice ; — one on twelve potsherds to
Vaisvanara, and a pap to the Adityas, — these two
belong to Agni.
3. Now were he to prepare only the one for Agni
and Vishnu, and not the other two oblations, then
only the initiation (offering) of the (Soma) sacrifice
would be performed, and not those of Agni (the
fire-altar) ; and were he to prepare only the other
two oblations, and not the one to Agni and Vish/m,
only the initiation (offering) of Agni would be per-
formed, and not that of the sacrifice.
4. He prepares both that of the sacrifice, and those of Agni, for this rite is both a rite of sacrifice, and a rite of fire : first (comes) that of the sacrifice, and then that of the fire, for the rite of the fire is an accessory rite.
5. Now as regards that (cake) for Agni and
Vish/zu, its mystic import is the same as what is
(implied) in a preparatory ceremony. And the
(cake) on twelve potsherds for Vaisvanara is for
1 These and the subsequent offerings form part of the Diksha, or initiation ceremony, for the Soma-sacrifice to be performed after the completion of the fire-altar. This initiation ceremony com- mences on the day of new moon, a week after the preparation of the ukM, or fire-pan. An integral part of (the first day of) this ceremony is the kindling of a fire in the ukha — the 'Ukhya Agni' — which ultimately serves to supply the fires for the brick altars built on the completion of the period of initiation. The Diksha is, as a rule, to be performed daily for a year, during which time the fire has to be kept up in the ukha, and carried about by the Sacrificer for a time each day. While the cake to Agni- Vish/zu here mentioned is the ordinary cake-offering prescribed for the Diksha of the normal Soma-sacrifice (see III, 1, 3, 1), the Vauvanara cake is peculiar to the AgnL&ayana.
248 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
the obtainment of all the fires, VaLsvanara being all
the fires ; — it is one of twelve potsherds, for twelve
months are a year, and VaLsvanara is the year.
6. And, again, as to why he prepares one for
Vai^vanara, — it is because he is about to produce
Agni as Vaisvanara (belonging, or dear to, all men) :
in the initiation offering he first pours him forth as
seed, and whatlike the seed is that is poured into
the womb, suchlike is (the child) born therefrom ;
and inasmuch as he now pours forth that (Agni)
Vai^vanara as seed, therefore he is born hereafter
as Vai^vanara.
7. And why he prepares those two (other) obla-
tions,— Vaisvanara is the ruling power, and that
Aditya pap is the people : he thus makes both the
ruling power and the people. The Vai^vdnara
(cake) he prepares first, and having thereby made
the ruling power, he makes the people.
8. That (Vaisvanara cake) is one single (oblation),
having one single deity: he thus makes the ruling
power to be concentrated in one (person), and ex-
cellence to be concentrated in one. The other, the
pap, has many deities, for the pap is a multiplicity
of rice-grains, and those Adityas are a multiplicity of
gods : he thus bestows multiplicity on the people.
Thus much as to the deities.
9. Now as regards the self (or body of Agni).
The Vaisvanara (cake) is the head, and that Aditya
pap is the body: he thus makes both the head and
the body. The Vaisvanara (cake) he prepares first ;
and having thereby made the head, he then makes
the body.
10. That (Vaisvanara cake) is one single (obla- tion), for the head is, as it were, one only; and the
VI KANDA, 6 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 1 4. 249
other, the pap, has many deities, for that pap is a
multiplicity of rice-grains, and this body is a multi-
plicity of limbs : he thus bestows on the body a
multiplicity of limbs.
11. That (pap) is (prepared) on ghee, for the
Adityas are consumers of ghee : he thus gratifies
them, each by his own share, by his own liquor.
These offerings are (made) silently, for here in the
sacrifice there is seed, and silently seed is infused.
1 2. He then offers the Au dgrabha^a (libations)1,
for by the Audgrabha/zas (elevatory libations) the
gods raised themselves from this world to the
heavenly world : and inasmuch as (thereby) they
raised themselves (ud-grabh), they are called ' aud-
grabha^a;' — and in like manner does the Sacrificer,
by means of the Audgrabha^as, now raise himself
from this world to the heavenly world.
1 3. There are many of these, in the building of the fire-altar as well as at any other (special ceremony) : the significance of this has been told. They are of both kinds : (the significance) of this has been told ; — first those of the sacrifice, and then those of the fire : (the significance) of this also has been told.
14. He offers five of the sacrifice2, — the sacrifice is fivefold : as great as the sacrifice is, as great as is its measure, by so much he thus pours it forth as seed. Seven (libations) of the fire, — the fire(-altar) consists of seven layers 3 ; seven seasons are a year, and
1 See III, 1, 4, 1.
2 Viz. the five Audgrabha/za libations of the ordinary Soma- sacrifice offered in the manner there described. See part ii, p. 20, note.
3 Though Agni, or the fire-altar, is commonly called the five- layered one (pa#/£a/£itika), consisting as it does of five complete
25O SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Agni is the year : as great as Agni is, as great as is
his measure, by so much he thus pours him forth as
seed. Those two kinds (of libations) amount to
twelve, — twelve months are a year, and Agni is
the year : as great as Agni is, as great as is his
measure, so great does this become.
15. He offers1, with (Va£\ S. XI, 66-67), 'The
Purpose, Agni, the Impulse, hail!' — from pur-
pose, indeed, this sacred rite originated at first, and
he now impels (yokes, uses) it for this rite.
16. 'Mind,Wisdom, Agni, the Impulse, hailF
— from the mind indeed this sacred rite originated
at first, and he now impels it for this rite.
17. * Thought, knowledge, Agni, the Im-
pulse, hail ! ' — from thought, indeed, this sacred rite
originated at first, and he now impels it for this rite.
18. 'The distinction of Speech, Agni, the
Impulse, hail! ' — from speech, indeed, this sacred
rite originated at first, and he now impels it for
this rite.
19. 'To Pra^apati, to Manu, hail!' — Manu,
forsooth, is Pra^*apati, for he thought out (man) all
this (universe) ; and Pra^apati, indeed, of old per-
formed this rite, and he now makes use of him for
this rite.