1 Literally, were that to be so much only (i.e. were the fire always to be held up there).
VI KANDA} 7 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 8. 279
these worlds both from here upwards and from thence backwards.
6. [Va^*. S. XII, 7-10] ' Ever returning Agni,
turn thou back unto me, with life, with vigour,
with offspring, with riches ; with gain, with
wisdom, with wealth, with prosperity! — O
Agni, Ahgiras! may thine be a hundred
courses, and a thousand returns : with in-
crease of increase bring back what was lost
by us, and bring us again riches! — Return
again with sustenance, again, O Agni, with
food and life, guard us again from trouble! —
With wealth return, O Agni, overflow with
the all-feeding stream on every side!' — that is,
' with all this return thou to me ! ' Four times he
lowers (the fire further and further), for four times it
rises upwards : thus as often as it rises upwards, so
often he lowers it ; and having lowered it (com-
pletely), he holds it above his navel : the significance
of this has been explained l.
7. He then addresses him (Agni) ; for Agni is vital power: he thus lays vital power into his self: [Va^. S. XII, 11] 'Hither have I brought thee/ — for they do indeed bring him hither; — 'thou hast entered/ — he then lays vital power into his self; — 'stand thou firm, never staggering!' — he thus lays the vital power firmly into his self; — 'may all the people long for thee !' — the people are food : thus, ' may all food long for thee ! ' — ' may thy rule not fall away from thee!' — rule means glory : thus, ' may thy glory not fall away from thee ! '
8. He then unties the sling of the netting, and the sling of the gold plate ; for the sling belongs to
1 VI, 7, 1, 8 seq.
2 80 DATAPATH A-BRAHMA2VA.
Varima : he thus frees himself from Varu^as noose.
He does so with a verse to Varu/ea : he thus frees
himself from Vanma's noose by its own self, by its
own deity. [Va^-. S. XII, 12; Rik S. I, 24, 15]
'Take off from us, O Varu/za, the uppermost
cord, down (take) the lowest, away the middle
one ! ' — as the text, so the meaning ; — ' and so,
O Aditya, may we be sinless in thy service for
safety (Aditi) ! ' — Aditi is this earth : thus, ' Sinless
may we belong to thee and to her (the earth) ! '
9. He then holds him (Agni) up thus (towards
south-east) ; for on that former occasion he raises
him upwards from here towards the east with the
fashioning formula1; and he then holds him up
thus (towards north-east2). Now were that alone
to take place, he (the sun), surely, would stop even
there (in the north) ; but inasmuch as he now holds
him up thus (towards south-east), he (the sun) having
gone thus (in a northerly direction), then comes back
again thus (in a southerly direction).
10. \V&g. S. XII, i3;i?z'kS.X, 1, 1] « The great
hath stood up erect before the Dawns/ — for
before the dawn the great one (Agni) indeed stands
up erect; — 'emerged from the gloom he hath
come with light/ — for emerged from the gloom,
the night, he indeed comes with light, with the
day; — 'well-shapen with white light/ — for he,
Agni, is indeed well-shapen with white light ; —
'when born, he hath filled all homesteads;' —
all homesteads, doubtless, means these worlds, and
these he indeed fills, when born. He holds him up
so as to be beyond the reach of the arms, for he (the
1 VI, 7, 2, 9. 2 VI, 7, 3, 1.
VI K&NDA, 7 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 12. 28 1
sun) is beyond the reach of arms from here. He then
lowers him : he thereby comes back to this resting-
place, and stands firmly on this resting-place. [He
does so] with a ^agati verse x, for the Gagatl gains
these worlds from above hitherwards.
n. [Va^. S. XII, 14; Rik S. IV, 40, 5] 'The
swan dwelling in the light/ — the swan dwelling
in the light, doubtless, is yonder sun; — 'the Vasu
dwelling in the air/ — the Vasu dwelling in the
air, doubtless, is the wind; — 'the priest seated
on the altar/ — the priest seated on the altar,
doubtless, is Agni ; — ' the guest/ — for he (Agni) is
indeed the guest of all beings ; — ' dwelling in the
retreat2/ — that is, 'dwelling in rugged places;' —
' the man-dwelling/ — the man-dwelling, doubtless,
is the vital air ; and men are human beings : he
thus means that vital air, that fire, which (burns) in
human beings ; — ' the space-dwelling/— -for he
(Agni) indeed is seated in all spaces; — 'the law-
seated/ — that is, ' the truth-seated ;' — 'the sphere-
dwelling/ — for he is indeed seated in all spheres ; — •
'the water-born, cow-born' — for he is indeed both
water-born and cow-born; — 'law-born/ — that is,
'truth-born;' — 'rock-born/ — for he is born from
the rock; — 'the law/ — that is, 'the truth/ With
' the Great ! ' he deposits it (the fire); for he (Agni)
is indeed the great (truth) : he thus deposits him (on
the seat) after making him what he is.
12. [He does so] with two syllables ('brzhat'), — the Sacrificer is two-footed, and the Sacrificer is
1 It is rather a trish/ubh verse.
2 Rather, (the guest) dwelling in the house (durowa-sad), but the author evidently derives ' durowa ' from l dus ' (bad), making it a synonym of ' durga/
282 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his mea- sure, with so much he thus deposits him.
13. He then stands worshipping by him ; for he
makes, as it were, light of him, when he strides with
him through these worlds both thus (upwards), and
thus (downwards) : he now makes amends to him,
so that he (Agni) may not hurt him.
14. And, again, why he stands by him ; — the gods
at that time were afraid, lest he should injure these
worlds of theirs from anigh : they thereby appeased
him towards these worlds ; and in like manner does
he (the Sacrificer) now appease him towards these
worlds.
J5- [va£\ S. XII, 15-17] ' Seat thee in this thy
mother's lap, thou, O Agni, knowing all ordi-
nances ! burn her not with thy heat, thy flame!
shine in her with a brilliant light! — Glowing
with light and heat within thine own seat, be
thou gracious unto this Ukha, O knower of
beings! — Being gracious unto me, O Agni,
now seat thee graciously! seat thee here in
thine own seat, having made happy all the
regions!' — by saying 'Gracious — Gracious/ he
appeases him, so that he may not injure any one,
and thus he, being appeased, does not injure these
worlds.
16. With three (verses) he stands by worship-
ping ; — three in number are these worlds, and three-
fold is Agni : as great as Agni is, as great as is his
measure, with so much he thereby makes amends to
him, and with so much does he thereby appease him
towards these worlds.
vi kanda, 7 adhyaya, 4 brahman a, 3. 283
Fourth Brahma^a.
1. He then stands by him worshipping with the
Vatsapra rite1. For Pra^pati, having by means
of the Vishnu-strides produced creatures, created
vital power for them by means of the Vatsapra rite ;
and in like manner the Sacrificer, having, by means
of the Vishnu-strides, produced creatures (or, sub-
jects), creates vital power for them by means of the
Vatsapra rite.
2. Now the Vatsapra rite, doubtless, is he, the
golden-handed 2 (Agni) ; — hence whomsoever that is
born one may wish to obtain the full (measure of)
life, let him touch that one with the Vatsapra rite,
and he thereby creates vital power for that new-
born one ; and accordingly that one obtains the full
(measure of) life. And whomsoever one may wish
to be vigorous, let him first address that one with
the Vikr/ti (fashioning) formula3, and that one
accordingly becomes vigorous.
3. [Vag\ S. XII, 18-20] 'From the sky Agni
was first born;' — the sky, doubtless, is the breath,
and from the breath he (Agni) was indeed first
born, — 'from us the second time, the knower
of beings,' — inasmuch as he, man-like, on that
occasion generated him a second time4; — 'the
1 That is, the recitation of Vag. S. XII, 18-28 or 29 (Rik S. X, 45), ascribed to the poet Vatsapri Bhalandana. The Brahma^a, however, comments only on the first three verses, and perhaps these alone were used for the purpose at the time when the Brahmaraa was composed.
2 This is a somewhat doubtful meaning of l dakshayawa-hasta/ The synonyms (if correct), hirawyapam and hirawyahasta, always refer to Savitrz', the sun.
8 See VI, 7, 2, 5-6.
4 ? Or, as a second ; see above, VI, 1, 1, 11.
284 DATAPATH A-BRAHM AiVA.
third time in the waters/ — inasmuch as he there
did generate him a third time from the waters ; —
'he, the manly-minded, (kindling him) the im-
perishable/— the manly-minded, doubtless, is
Pra^apati ; and the imperishable, Agni1; — ' kindling
him the mindful praises (^ar) him/ — for he who
kindles him generates him, mindful,
4. 'We know, O Agni, thy threefold three/
— Agni, Vayu (wind), Aditya (sun), these are his
three in three forms; — 'We know thy manifold
scattered sites/ — inasmuch as he (Agni) is here
distributed manyways ; — 'we know thy highest
name which is in secret/ — 'the youngest/ that
indeed is his highest name in secret; — 'we know
that source whence thou art come;' — the source,
doubtless, is the (heavenly) waters, for from the
waters he first came.
5. 'In the sea the manly-minded (kindled)
thee, in the waters/ — the manly-minded is Pra^a-
pati : thus, ' In the waters Pra^apati (kindled) thee ;'
— 'the man-watcher hath kindled thee, O
Agni, in the udder of the sky/ — the man-watcher,
doubtless, is Pra^apati, and the udder of the sky
is the waters; — 'thee, whilst standing in the
third region/ — the third region, doubtless, is the
sky; — 'the buffaloes made (thee) grow in the
lap of the waters ;' — the buffaloes, doubtless, are
1 The construction of the text here favoured by the author is very doubtful. It has probably to be construed, — ' the third time (he, Agni, was born) in the waters, he, the manly-minded (or, friendly to men). Kindling him, the imperishable (Agni), the heedful (? or pious) one praises him/ — or perhaps, ' While kindling him, the considerate one praises him unceasingly/ A point which favours the author's construction is that, in verse 3, ' nrz'ma/zaas ' certainly refers not to Agni, but to him who generated him.
VI KAiTOA, 7 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAJVA, 6. 285
the vital airs : thus, ' the vital airs made thee grow in the sky/
6. These (three verses *) have one and the same
explanation regarding him (Agni) : they are Tri-
sh/ubh verses relating to Agni. Inasmuch as they
relate to Agni, they are Agni ; and inasmuch as
they are Trish/ubhs, and eleven (syllables), they are
Indra; — but Agni consists of Indra and Agni: as
great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with so
much he thus stands worshipping by him. And
Indra and Agni are all the gods, and Agni includes
(or belongs to) all the deities : as great as Agni is, as
1 The remaining verses (XII, 21-29) are as follows : —
1. Agni roared like the thundering sky, &c. (see VI, 7, 3, 2).
2. The upraiser of glories, the upholder of riches, the inspirer of thoughts, the guardian of Soma ; the excellent son of power, shines forth as king in the waters, kindled before the dawns.
3. A beacon unto all that is, the child of the world filled the two spheres even when born ; even the hard rock he broke going thither when the five peoples worshipped Agni.
4. An eager cleanser, a wise messenger, the immortal Agni has been set up among the mortals ; flickering (?) he sends forth the red smoke, striving with his bright flame to reach the sky.
5. Looking like a golden disk, &c. (see VI, 7, 2).
6. Whoso maketh for thee this day a ghee-baked cake, O divine Agni of auspicious flame, lead him onwards to bliss, unto god- allotted glory, O youngest !