7. Make him share in the songs of triumph, make him share in every hymn that is sung ! Dear be he unto Surya, dear unto Agni ; let him prevail with the living one and with them that are to be born !
8. They that worship thee day by day, O Agni, win all desirable boons ; ardently wishing for wealth, they have opened with thee the stable filled with cows !
9. Agni Vawvanara has been celebrated by the ifoshis, the guardian of Soma, most gracious unto men : let us invoke heaven and earth who are free from hatred ! grant us wealth, ye gods, with abundance of men !
286 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
great as is his measure, with so much he thus stands worshipping by him.
7. And, again, why the Vishnu-strides and the
Vatsapra rite are (performed) ; — by the Vishnu-
strides Pra^apati created this world, and by the
Vatsapra the fire (Agni) ; by the Vishnu-strides
Pra^apati created the air, and by the Vatsapra the
wind (Vayu) ; by the Vishnu-strides Pra^apati created
the sky, and by the Vatsapra the sun (Aditya) ; by
the Vishnu-strides Pra^apati created the regions,
and by the Vatsapra the moon ; by the Vishnu-
strides Pra^apati created that which has been, and
by the Vatsapra that which shall be ; by the Vishnu-
strides Pra^apati created possession (wealth), and by
the V&tsapra hope ; by the Vishnu-strides Pra^*apati
created the day, and by the Vatsapra the night ; by
the Vishnu-strides Pra^apati created the former
(bright) fortnights, and by the Vatsapra the latter
(dark) fortnights ; by the Vishnu-strides Pra^apati
created the half-months, and by the Vatsapra the
months ; by the Vishnu-strides Pra^apati created
the seasons, and by the Vatsapra the year : thus the
reason why the Vishnu-strides and Vatsapra are
(performed) is that he thereby even now creates
everything.
8. And, again, why the Vishnu-strides and the
Vatsapra rite are (performed). By the Vishnu-
strides Pra^apati drove up to heaven. He saw that
unyoking-place, the Vatsapra, and unyoked thereat
to prevent chafing; for when the yoked (beast) is
not unloosed, it is chafed. In like manner the
Sacrificer drives up to heaven by the Vishnu-strides ;
and unyokes by means of the Vatsapra.
9. Having stridden the Vishnu-strides, he then
VI KANDA, 7 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 12. 287
forthwith stands by the fire worshipping it with the
V&tsapra, just as one who has journeyed would
forthwith unyoke. Men (proceed) after the manner
of the gods : hence even now, when a troop of men
have journeyed they forthwith unyoke.
10. Now, the Vishnu-strides indeed are the day
and the night, and the Vatsapra is the day and the
night : he thus journeys for a day and a night, and
takes rest for a day and a night : and hence even
now when a troop of men have journeyed for a day
and a night they take rest for a day and a night.
11. Only for one half of the year he strides the
Vishnu-strides, and for one half he worships the fire
with the Vatsapra ; for the world of heaven is in the
midst of the year : thus were he to stride for less
than half (a year), he would not reach that world of
heaven ; and were he to do so for more than half (a
year), he would pass beyond that world of heaven
and lose it ; but when he strides for one half, and
worships the fire for one half, he unyokes forthwith
after reaching the world of heaven.
12. He proceeds with these two alternately1, even
as one would accomplish a long way by (repeatedly)
unyoking. Both before and after (the Diksha), he
combines both, the Vishnu-strides and the Vatsapra ;
for the Vishnu-strides are the day, and the Vatsapra
the night ; and Pra^apati, both when he was about to
generate and when he had generated this universe,
enclosed it on both sides by day and night : in like
1 That is, whilst on the first day of the Diksha, as well as on the day after its completion, both the Vishmi-strides and the Vatsapra are performed, during the intermediate period of one year they are performed on alternate days, — the Vishnu-strides on even, and the Vatsapra on uneven days.
288 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAiVA.
manner the Sacrificer now, both when he is about to
generate and when he has generated this universe,
encloses it on both sides by day and night.
13. As to this they say, * If the Vishnu-strides are
the day, and the Vatsapra the night, and both of
them are (performed) during the day, not during the
night, how then are they both performed for (or by)
him also during the night ? ' Well, on that (first)
occasion, when he is being initiated, he, at the
outset, combines both (performances) in the after-
noon ; for the afternoon is the same thing as the
night. Then throwing them thus together, he at
the end combines them both in the forenoon ; for
the forenoon is the same thing as the day ; and in
this way they are both performed during the day,
and both during the night.
14. Now early on the day on which he may intend
to combine them, when the sun has risen, he first
throws out the ashes (from the pan) ; having thrown
out the ashes, he releases his speech ; having released
his speech, he puts on a kindling-stick ; having put
on a kindling-stick, he takes the ashes down to (and
throws them into) the water. In the same way as he
takes them down he returns after taking some of the
ashes ; and having thrown it into the pan he stands
reverentially by the fire. He then performs two
expiations.
15. And if the day should be one for the Vishnu-
strides, let him, after striding the Vishnu-strides,
worship the fire with the Vatsapra ; and if it be one
for the Vatsapra, let him, after worshipping with the
Vatsapra, and striding the Vishnu-strides, finally per-
form the Vatsapra. Let him not conclude by per-
forming the Vishnu-strides, for that would be as if
VI KANDA} 8 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 3. 289
after going for a drive he were not to unyoke ; but
when he concludes by performing the Vatsapra — the
Vatsapra being a halting-place — (it is) as if he made
a halt and unloosed (the team) : let him therefore
conclude by performing the Vatsapra.
Eighth Adhyaya. First Brahma^a.
1 . * Let him drive Agni about while keeping him up/
so they say. The gods and the Asuras, both of them
sprung from Pra^apati, were contending. The gods
drove about on wheels (cars), and the Asuras stayed
at home. The gods, while driving about on wheels,
saw1 this rite (sacrificial performance), for it was
indeed in driving about on wheels that they saw this
rite : hence it is to the cart that the formulas relate
at the (performance with) sacrificial cakes 2, and to
the cart in the building of the fire-altar3.
2. Now he who drives Agni about goes to the
gods by the sacred performance, for divine is the
rite performed by him ; but he who does not drive
him about goes to the Asuras by the sacred perform-
ance, for demoniac is the rite performed by him.
3. Here now some say, ' It is by himself that he
(Agni) is driven about ; for by the Vishnu-strides he
drives forward, and by the Vatsapra he unyokes/ Let
him not think this to be so ; for divine (to the gods)
is that progress of his, to wit, the Vishnu-strides;
and divine the unyoking, to wit, the Vatsapra. But
human would be that progress of his, which he makes
in this manner, and human the unyoking he makes.
1 Sayarca says, ' virasiddhe^/ ' by the heroes' success/
2 See I, i, 2, 5.
3 Sayawa refers to Vag. S. XII, 31, ' upwards may the All-gods bear thee . . . ' (paragraph 9 below), as a passage in point.
2 90 DATAPATH A-BRAHM AJVA.
4. This Agni is Pra^apati ; and Pra^apati is both
the gods and men. Now when the Vishnu-strides
and the Vatsapra are (performed), he thereby makes
up that form of his which is divine ; and when he
drives him about he thereby makes up that form of
his which is human. Verily, then, he who, knowing
this, drives him about, makes up that whole and
entire Pra^ipati : let him therefore by all means
drive him (Agni) about.
5. Now on any day on which he may intend to
drive, he gets the chariot placed north of the fire
(with the pole) to the east ; and puts a kindling-stick
on it (the fire) ; for at that time the gods first regaled
him (Agni) with food, with that kindling-stick, when
he was about to start : and in like manner does this
one now first regale him with food, with that kindling-
stick, when he is about to start.
6. \Vdg. S. XII, 30; Rtk S. VIII, 44, 1] 'With
fuel serve ye Agni!' — that is, 'with fuel worship
ye Agni!' — 'with draughts of ghee awake ye
the guest, offer ye libations unto him ! '—that is,
' with (draughts of) ghee do ye awake the guest, and
offer libations unto him ! ' — with a (verse) containing
(the verb) ' awake ' he awakens him for the starting.
7. He then lifts him (the fire) up, with (Vaf. S.
XII, 31), 'Upwards may the All-gods bear thee,
O Agni, by their thoughts!' — at the beginning
all the gods did indeed bear him upwards by their
thoughts, for that (or, he) was then their thought : in
like manner does this (Sacrificer) now bear him up-
wards by his thoughts, for this now is his thought ;
— 'be thou gracious unto us, of fair look, and
rich splendour!' — as the text, so its meaning.
From the south he places him (Agni) northwards
VI KANDA, 8 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAtfA, II. 29 I
on (the chariot) — the significance of this has been
explained. Having put the Gdrhapatya into a pot,
he places it on (the chariot) behind (the Ahavaniya,
or Ukhya Agni). If he choose, he himself may mount
up beside him (Agni), or he may walk by the side (of
the chariot).
8. He then yokes two oxen, first the right one,
then the left one : so (it is done) with the gods,
otherwise in human (practice). And in whatever
direction he may intend to drive, let him first drive
east, for the east is Agni's region : he (Agni) thus
proceeds towards his own region.
9. [Whilst driving thither, he mutters, Va£*. S.
XII, 32] 'Go forth, O Agni, brilliant thou with
propitious flames!' — that is, 'Brilliant, O Agni,
go thou forth with propitious, shining flames!' —
'Beaming with great beams injure not my
people with thy body!' — that is, 'With great
shining flames do not injure my people by thyself!'
10. Whenever the axle creaks, let him mutter
that prayer (Vaf. S. XII, 33); for demoniacal is
that voice which is in the axle : he thereby appeases
that (voice) and makes it as of the gods.
11. And, again, why he mutters that prayer; —
with whomsoever, mounted (on a chariot), the axle
creaks, this is his own voice : hence when the axle
creaks while Agni is mounted, this is the voice of
Agni himself. It was Agni indeed whom the gods
thereby praised and magnified ; and in like manner
does this (Sacrificer) thereby praise and magnify
him: 'Agni roared like the thundering sky/ —
the meaning of this has been explained \
1 See above, VI, 7, 3, 2. U 2
292 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
12. If he unyokes before (reaching) his dwelling,
let the fire remain on the chariot itself; but when he
unyokes for (staying at) his dwelling, he stops the
chariot (with the pole) to the east ; and north of it
he raises and sprinkles (a place) where he takes it
(the fire) down. He takes it down from south to
north : the meaning of this has been explained.
13. He then puts a kindling-stick thereon ; for on
that occasion the gods regaled him (Agni) with food,
with that kindling-stick, after he had travelled : in
like manner does this (Sacrificer) now regale him,
after he has travelled, with food, with that kindling-
stick.
14. [He puts it on, with V&f. S. XII, 34 ; Rik S.
VII, 8, 4] ' Far, far famed is this Agni of the
Bharata (tribe)/ — the Bharata1, doubtless, is Pra^a-
pati, for he sustains (bhar) this entire (universe) ; —
'that his great light shineth brightly, as the sun/
— that is, ' that, like the sun, his great light shines
brightly;' — 'he who overthrew Puru in battles/
— Puru, by name, was an Asura-Rakshas : him Agni
overthrew (abhi-sthd) in battles; — 'blazed up hath
the divine guest, gracious unto us/ — that is,
' being kindled, the divine guest is gracious to us/
With a (verse) containing (the verb) ' stha ' (he per-
forms), for he thereby makes him stop (stha) for
(staying at) his home.
15. Now, then, the (symbolic) correspondence, —
with the first (formula) he puts on a kindling-stick,
with one he lifts him up, with one he starts, with one
he addresses the axle, with the fifth he puts on a