20. 'To Agni Vaisvanara, hail!' — Agni Vais- vanara, doubtless, is the year ; and the year, indeed,
layers of bricks, on the top of these there is a small additional pile of two layers, the lower one (puna^iti) in the form of the Garha- patya hearth (VII, i, 1,1 seq.), and the upper one, consisting of two bricks, on which the fire is ultimately laid down. See p. 188, note 4. Hence Agni is also called l sapta&tika/
1 Viz. the seven special Audgrabharca libations of the Agni- £ayana.
VI KANDAy 6 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 23. 25 1
of old performed this rite ; and he now makes use thereof for this rite.
21. He then offers the one to Savitrz, for Savitrz,
indeed, of old performed this rite, and he now makes
use of him for this rite, — (V&£\ S. XI, 67; Rz\l S.
V, 50, 1), 'Every mortal would choose the
friendship of the divine Guide; every one
craves riches, and would have glory for him
to prosper, hail!' He who chooses the friend-
ship of the god Savitrz, chooses both glory and
prosperity; and he who performs this rite, indeed
chooses his friendship.
22. Now some offer these Audgrabha^a libations
into the fire-pan itself, saying, ' These, surely, are
offered for (special) objects of desire, and that fire-
pan is the Sacrificers self: we thus secure for the
Sacrificers self all his objects of desire/ Let him
not do so ; for the fire which is kindled (in the fire-
pan) is the essence of the completed sacrifice and of
those libations, and when he puts the fire-pan on the
fire, after the sacrifice has been completed and the
Audgrabha/zas offered, then the sacrifice mounts it
(the pan), and it bears the sacrifice : let him, there-
fore, put the fire-pan on the fire only after the sacri-
fice is complete, and the Audgrabha/zas have been
offered.
23. It is covered with a layer of Mu/^a grass,
just for the purpose that it may blaze up. And as
to why it is with a layer of MungB. grass, (it is done)
to avoid injury, for that Mu^a grass is a womb,
and the womb does not injure the child ; for he who
is born, is born from a womb : ' May he (Agni),
when he is born, be born from the womb/ thus he
thinks.
252 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
24. Inside1 there is a layer of hemp, just for the
purpose that it may blaze up. And as to its being
a layer of hemp, — the inner membrane (amnion) of
the womb from which Pra^apati was born consists
of flax, and the outer membrane (chorion) of hemp :
hence the latter is foul-smelling, for it is the outer
membrane of the embryo. [It is so used] to avoid
injury, for the outer membrane does not injure the
embryo ; and it is from the outer membrane of the
embryo that he who is born is born : ' May he ( Agni),
when he is born, be born from the outer membrane
of the embryo ! ' thus he thinks.
Second Brahmawa.
1. Standing he puts it (the pan) on the fire, for the
fire-pan is these worlds, and these worlds stand, as
it were. And, moreover, whilst standing one is
strongest.
2. Standing (with his face) towards north-east,
for standing towards north-east Pra^dpati created
creatures.
3. And, again, why (he does so) standing towards
north-east; — that (quarter), the north-east, is the
quarter of both gods and men.
4. And, again, why standing towards north-east, —
in that quarter is the gate of the world of heaven,
hence it is standing with his face towards north-
east that one offers libations, and standing towards
north-east that one leads up the dakshi/zas : it is
by the gate that he thus makes him enter into the
world of heaven.
1 That is, underneath the layer of mu^a. Both the reed-grass and the hemp are to be crushed and reduced to the condition of powder previously to their being strewed into the fire-pan.
VI KAiVDA, 6 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAiVA, 7. 253
5. \V$g. S. XI, 68] < Break not! Suffer not
injury!' — as the text, so its meaning; — 'O
mother, bear up bravely!' — for the fire-pan
(ukha, f.) is a woman ; and ' O mother ' is a term for
addressing a woman : ' bear up well, . indeed ! ' —
' (Thou) and Agni will do this (work)!' — for
(the fire-pan) and Agni will indeed be doing this
(sacred work).
6. [Va^*. S. XI, 69] 'Stand firm, divine Earth,
for our well-being ! ' as the text, so its meaning ; —
'A divine (asura) contrivance thou art made in
the wonted manner;' — the vital spirit (asu) is the
breath, and this (fire-pan) has indeed been made its
contrivance in the wonted manner; — 'May this
offering be agreeable to the gods!' he thereby
means those libations which he intends to offer in
that fire ; and moreover, that (fire-pan) itself is an
offering; — 'unharmed rise thou in this sacri-
fice!' this he says with the view that it may rise
unharmed, uninjured, in this sacrifice.
7. With two (verses) he heats it on the fire, — the
Sacrificer is two-footed, and the Sacrificer is Agni : as
great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so
much he thus heats it (the pan). [He does so] with
a gayatri and a trish^ubh verse, — the Gayatri is the
vital air, and the Trish/ubh the body; and the
animal is as much as the vital air and the body :
thus by as much as the animal (consists of) he puts
that (pan) on the fire. And, again, the Gayatri is
Agni, and the Trish/ubh is Indra; and the fire re-
lates to Indra and Agni : as great as the fire is, as
great as is its measure, by so much he thus heats it.
These two (verses) have seven feet (viz. three and
four respectively), — the fire-altar consists of seven
2 54 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
layers 1 ; seven 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.
8. When the fire heats it, then the flame mounts
up to it ; for the fire-pan is a female, and the fire is
a male : hence when the male heats the female, he
infuses seed into her.
9. Now, if the flame is too long in mounting up,
some throw coals on (the pan), thinking, ' There is
fire now on both sides/ But let him not do so ; for
the animal is indeed born with bones 2 ; but it is not
forced in with bones, as it were, at first ; but it is
introduced only as seed. Now that flame is bone-
less seed : hence the flame alone should mount up
to it.
10. When the flame mounts up to it, he places a
kindling-stick thereon : thereby the seed enters it
(the fire-pan), and that fire imparts growth to that
seed (in the shape of) this (kindling-stick).
11. It should be one of krzmuka wood. Now,
the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from
Pra^apati, strove together. The gods, having placed
Agni in front, went up to the Asuras. The Asuras
cut off the point of that flame held forward. It set-
tled down on this earth, and became that kranuka
tree : hence it is sweet, for there is vital essence (in
it). Hence also it is red, for it is a flame, that krz-
1 See p. 249, note 3.
2 The fire ultimately to be placed on the new Garhapatya hearth (VII, 1, 1, 1 seq.) — whence the Ahavaniya on the great fire-altar has to be kindled — is to be produced in the ukha, or pan, as it were in its womb ; but the material (grass and hemp) which has already been put in the pan, is only to be kindled by the blaze of the fire on which the pan has been placed, without any burning coals being applied to the fuel within the pan.
VI KAiVDA, 6 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMA2VA, 1 5. 255
muka tree being the same as this Agni : it is (in the shape of) fire that he imparts growth to it.
12. It (the kindling-stick) is a span long, for
Vishmi, as an embryo, was a span long : he thus
imparts to it growth equal to his body.
13. It is soaked in ghee; — the inner membrane
of the womb from which Agni was produced con-
sisted of ghee : hence he now blazes up towards it,
for it (the stick) is his self (body) ; and hence it (the
krzmuka) has no ashes : (Agni) himself now enters
into his own self, — to avoid injury1, for the inner
membrane does not injure the embryo ; and it is
from the inner membrane that he who is born is
born : * When he (Agni) is born, may he be born
from the inner membrane ! * thus he thinks.
140 He puts it (the kindling-stick) on, with (Va£\
S. XI, 60; Rik S. II, 7, 6), 'The wood-eating,
ghee-drinking/ — that is, he who has wood for his
food, and ghee for his drink, — 'the primeval,
desirable Hotrz',' — that is, 'the old, desirable
Hotrz;' — 'the wonderful son of power,' — power
is strength : thus, ' the wonderful son of strength/
Standing he puts it on with the ' Svaha : ' the mean-
ing of this (will be explained) hereafter 2.
15. Now the fire-pan is the body, the reed-grass (fuel) the womb, the hemp the inner membrane 3,
1 The dative ' ahiwsayai ' again doubtless belongs to the first sentence of the paragraph (' it is soaked in ghee '), the intervening clauses being inserted for explanation. For a, similar construction, see above, p. 198, note 2.
2 See VI, 7, 2, 1.
3 The inverted order of the words ' ja«a ^arayu ' is peculiar. It seems to have been resorted to with the view of keeping together the two pairs of subjects, ' mu^-^aA ' and ' ^arayu- ulbam/
256 DATAPATH A-BRAHM AiVA.
the ghee the outer membrane, and the kindling-stick the embryo.
16. The pan is outside, and the reed-grass (fuel)
is inside ; for the body is outside, and the womb
inside. The reed-grass is outside, and the hemp
inside ; for the womb is outside, and the outer mem-
brane is inside. The hemp is outside, and the ghee
is inside ; for the outer membrane is outside, and the
inner membrane is inside. The ghee is outside, and
the kindling-stick is inside ; for the inner membrane
is outside, and the embryo is inside. It is from
these that he who is born is born, and from them he
thus causes him (Agni) to be born.
Third Brahma^a.
1. He then puts on a vikankata (flacourtia sapida)
one. When Pra^apati performed the first offering,
a vikankata tree sprang forth from that place where,
after offering, he cleansed (his hands). That vi-
kankata, then, is that first offering ; it is that he now
offers on this (fire), and he therewith gratifies him
(Agni). \V&g. S. XI, 71; Rik S. VIII, 75, 15]
'From the far region come thou over to the
near one : do thou protect that wherein I am!'
as the text, so its meaning.
2. He then puts on an udumbara (ficus glomerata)
one. The gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung
from Pra^apati, strove together. Now all the trees
sided with the Asuras, but the udumbara tree alone
did not forsake the gods. The gods, having con-
quered the Asuras, took possession of their trees.
3. They said, * Come, let us lay into the udumbara
tree whatever pith, whatever vital sap there is in
these trees : were they then to desert us, they would
VI KANDAy 6 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 6. 257
desert us worn out, like a milked-out cow, or like an
ox that has been (tired out by) drawing (the cart).'
Accordingly they laid into the udumbara tree what
pith and essence there was in those trees ; and
on account of that pith it matures (fruit) equal to
all the (other) trees 1 : hence that (tree) is always
moist, always full of milky sap, — that udumbara
tree, indeed, (being) all the trees, is all food : he
thus gratifies him (Agni) by every kind of food, and
kindles him by all trees (kinds of wood).
4. [Va^. S. XI, 72] 'From the farthest dis-
tance/— that is, ' (from) what farthest distance there
is;' — 'O red-steeded, come hither!' for red, in-
deed, is Agni's horse; — 'Purishya, much-loved/
— that is, ' favourable to cattle, dear to many ; ' — ' O
Agni, overcome thou the scorners!' that is,
' O Agni, overcome all evil-doers ! '
5. He then puts on one not cut by an axe, — that
(Agni) is born when he is built up : it is for all
(kinds of) food that he is born. Now that (wood)
not cut by an axe is one kind of food (for the fire) :
it is thereby that he now gratifies him. [Va£\ S.
XI, 73 ; Rik S.VIII, 102, 20] 'Whatsoever wood
we lay upon thee, O Agni, let all that be ghee
unto thee, do thou relish that, O youngest!'
as the text, so its meaning : whatever (wood there
is) not cut by the axe, that he makes palatable to
him ; and having made it food for him, he sets it
before him.
6. He then puts on one that has lain on the
ground, — he (Agni) is born when he is built up : it
is for all (kinds of) food that he is born. Now that