1 Or, in whatever part of this (year) from henceforward he should not do so.
2 It is very doubtful whether this second clause of the oratio directa is really meant to belong to Vamakakshayarca s argument, or whether it is the author's own, in which case it has to be taken with what follows. ' Lest he should . . . pieces, he (first) restores him/ &c. That is, he is not to place him (Pra^apati) in an upright position, until he has been completely restored. The par- ticular form of the participle qualifying Pra^apati (viMdyamana) might seem to favour the former alternative ; see, however, para- graph 23, antayo^ sa^skriyama^ayor, ' after the two ends have been perfected/
3 In this and the following paragraphs the ordinary position of subject and predicate seems often reversed: in the present case one would expect — that air is to him the space between the two fires.
VII KANDA, I ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMA JVA, I 5. 315
the air is for him the fire on the Agnidhriya. The
sky is his Ahavaniya (hearth), and those two, the sun
and the moon, are the fire on the Ahavaniya. This
then is indeed his own self1.
13. The Ahavaniya truly is his head ; and the fire
which is on the Ahavaniya is that vital air of his in
the head. And as to why it (the Ahavaniya) has
wings and tail, it is because that vital air in the head
has wings and tail 2 ; — the eye is its head, the right
ear its right wing, the left ear its left wing, the vital
air its central body 3, and the voice is the tail (and)
the foundation (the feet) : inasmuch as the vital airs
subsist by eating food with speech (voice)4, the voice
is the tail, the foundation.
14. And what space there is between the Ahava-
niya and G&rhapatya, that is the body (trunk); and
the fire on the Agnidhriya is to him that vital air
inside the body. The Garhapatya is his founda-
tion ; and the fire on the Garhapatya is his downward
vital air.
15. Now some build it (the Garhapatya) in three
layers, saying, * There are here three downward vital
airs/ Let him not do so : they who do so do what
is excessive, — one amounting to twenty-one, one
amounting to the Anush/ubh, and one amounting to
the Brzhati ; for this (altar) is of one single form — a
1 Viz. the sacrificial ground thus becomes identical with the universe, i. e. with Pra^apati.
2 That is, it is (like) a bird. The word ' prafta ' might almost be rendered here by ' the living being/
3 In the text this is reversed, the head is the eye, the right wing the right ear, the left wing the left ear, the central body the vital air, which can scarcely be the construction intended by the author.
4 Or, with the mouth. In VIII, 5, 4, 1 ; X, 5, 2, 15, 'va/T is identified with the tongue.
3 1 6 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
womb. And as to those downward vital airs, they
are indeed a bringing forth, for even the urine and
faeces he voids are 'brought forth/
1 6. Now then the (mystic) correspondence, —
twenty-one bricks, nine formulas 1, that makes thirty ;
— and the 'settling' and Sudadohas verse, that makes
thirty-two, — the anush^ubh verse consists of thirty-
two syllables : this is an anush/ubh 2.
17. And, again, there are twenty-one enclosing-
stones ; the formula the twenty-second ; the formula
for the sweeping, the saline earth and its formula,
the sand and its formula, the ' filling ' (soil) and its
formula ; with four (formulas) he pours (the two
fires) together ; with a fifth he unties (the pan) ;
then this (Nirmi) with three 3, — the anushAibh verse
consists of thirty-two syllables : this then is an
anushAibh.
18. Then there are these two formulas4, and they
are indeed an anush/ubh — the Anush/ubh is speech :
thus wh^t twofold form of speech there is, the divine
and the human, loud and low, that is those two.
19. The Garhapatya pile thus is those three
1 Viz. XII, 47-54 (XII, 53, consisting of two formulas).
2 That is to say, these thirty-two items form, as it were, an Anush/ubh verse consisting of thirty-two syllables.
3 See VII, 2, 1, 1 seq.
4 I do not see what other formulas can be intended here except those addressed to the enclosing stones, concluding with the 1 sadana/ or 'settling' formula, viz. V&g. S. XII, 53; see above, VII, 1, 1, 30; though these do not exactly yield thirty-two syllables, but thirty-four (see, however, paragraph 22). Our avail- able MSS. of the commentary are unfortunately defective at this place. — On the artificial manipulation of making up imaginary metres by the mere number of syllables, irrespective of their real prosodic value, see Professor Weber, Ind. Stud., VIII, p. 23 seq.
Vii Kanda, I Adhyaya, 2 Brahma2va, 21. 31 7
anush/ubh verses. And as to why they make up
three anushAibhs in this (Garhapatya), it is because
all these (three) worlds then come to be (contained)
therein. From it they take one of the two (first)
anush/ubhs of thirty- two syllables (to be) the
Ahavantya, — that Ahavaniya is that sky, that head
(of Pra^apati). Then one of the two (anushAibhs)
is left here (to be) this Garhapatya, this foundation,
this very (terrestrial) world.
20. And as to those two formulas, they are that
space between the Ahavaniya and the Garhapatya,
that air (-world), that body (of Pra^apati). And
because there are two of them (making up one
anush/ubh), therefore that space (and hearth) between
the Ahavaniya and the Garhapatya (viz. the Agni-
dhriya hearth *) is smaller ; and therefore the air-
world is the smallest of these worlds.
21. That same Anush/ubh, speech, is threefold.
That fire, taking the form of the vital air, goes along
with it (speech), — the fire which is on the Ahavaniya
(altar) is the out-breathing, and yonder sun ; and the
fire which is on the Agnidhriya is the through-
breathing, and the wind which blows yonder; and
the fire which is on the Garhapatya is the in-breath-
ing, and what fire there is here in this (earth-) world.
And verily he who knows this makes up for himself
the whole Va^ (speech), the whole vital air, the whole
body (of Pra^apati).
1 Or, the Dhishwya hearths (see paragraph 23), which are more properly situated between the Garhapatya and the Ahavaniya fire- places. See the plan of the sacrificial ground in part ii ; where, however, the Ahavaniya of the Pra^inavama (hall), or the so-called saladv&rya (hall-door fire), would represent the Garhapatya for the Ahavaniya of the Mahavedi.
3 1 8 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
22. Then that Brzhati (metre), — the two (verses)
of thirty-two syllables : that makes thirty-two ; then
those two formulas : that makes thirty-four ; Agni
the thirty-fifth ; — a metre does not vanish by a
syllable (too much or too little), neither by one nor
by two 1 ; — moreover, that (Agni) consists of two
syllables : that makes thirty-six. The Brzhati con-
sists of thirty-six syllables, — it is the Brzhati that
that (Ahavaniya) pile thus amounts to ; for whatlike
the seed which is infused into the womb, suchlike
(offspring) is born therefrom : thus in that he makes
up that Brzhati (metre) in this (Garhapatya hearth),
thereby that (Ahavaniya) fire-altar amounts to the
Brzhati.
23. As to this they say, ' As the G&rhapatya is
this (terrestrial) world, the Dhish^ya hearths the
air, and the Ahavaniya the sky, and the air-world is
not separated from this (earth-) world, why then,
after building the Garhapatya, does he build the
Ahavaniya, and (only) then the Dhish^yas ? ' Well,
at first these two worlds (heaven and earth) were
together ; and when they parted asunder, the space
which was between (antar) them became that air
(antariksha) ; for ' iksha 2 ' indeed it was theretofore,
and 'Now this "iksha" has come between (antara)/
they said, whence ' antariksha ' (air). And as to
why, after building the Garhapatya, he builds the
Ahavaniya, it is because these two worlds were
created first. Then, going back, he throws up the
Dhish^ya hearths, just to prevent discontinuity of
1 The same latitude in the computation of the number of syllables constituting a metre is conceded, Ait: Br. I, 6.
2 ? That is, ' visible/ or, ' capable of being seen through/
VII KAiVDA, 2 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 5. 319
the sacred work ; and thus indeed the middle is completed, after the two ends have been completed.
THE ALTAR OF NIRtf/TL
Second Adhyaya. First Brahmaata.
1. They now take the Nirrzti (bricks) from there.
For, having built the Garhapatya, the gods then
ascended it, — the Garhapatya being this (earth-)
world, it is this world they ascended after completing
it. They saw nothing but darkness not to be seen
through.
2. They said, ' Think ye upon this, how we may
dispel that darkness, evil ! ' They said, ' Meditate
ye (/£etay) ! ' — whereby indeed they said, * Seek ye
to build an altar (iitim) ! ' — ' Seek ye so that we may
dispel that darkness, evil ! '
3. Whilst meditating, they saw those Nirrzti bricks;
they piled them up, and by them dispelled that dark-
ness, evil ; for NirWti (corruption, or destruction) is
evil ; and inasmuch as by them they dispelled Nirrzti,
evil, these are Nirrzti's (bricks).
4. Now that same thing which the gods did, is
done here : even now that darkness, that evil, has
indeed been dispelled by the gods themselves ; but
when he now does this, it is because he thinks,
' I must do what the gods did/ And, besides, he
removes, by means of these (bricks), whatever evil,
whatever corruption there is; and because he
removes by them evil, corruption (nirrzti), therefore
these are Nirrzti's (bricks).
5. And, again, why they take these (bricks) of
Nirrzti ; — when the gods restored the relaxed Pra^a-
pati, they cast him as seed into the fire-pan, the
3 20 SATAPATHA-BRAHMA2VA.
womb ; the fire-pan being indeed a womb. In the
course of a year they prepared for him this founda-
tion, even this (terrestrial) world ; the Garhapatya
(hearth) being this world : therein they generated
him. And whatever evil there was in him, whatever
mucus, whatever inner and outer membrane, that
they removed from him by means of these (bricks) ;
and inasmuch as thereby they removed his evil, his
corruption, these are Nirrzti's (bricks).
6. In like manner the Sacrificer now casts his
own self1, as seed, into the fire-pan, the womb ; the
fire-pan being indeed a womb. In the course of a
year he prepares for that (self of his) this foundation,
even this (terrestrial) world ; the Garhapatya being
this world : therein he generates it. And whatever
evil there is of it, whatever mucus, whatever inner
and outer membrane, that he removes therefrom
by these (bricks) ; and inasmuch as he thereby
removes its evil, its corruption, these are Nirrzti's
(bricks).
7. They measure a foot (square) : he thus treads
evil, corruption, under foot. They are unmarked ;
for whatever is not, that is unmarked (by charac-
teristics) : he thus makes evil, corruption to be
non-existent. They get baked by (rice) husks, for
husks belong to Nirrzti : by Nirrzti's own (objects)
he thus performs Nirrzti's rite. They are black, for
black was that darkness ; and black in truth is
Nirrzti (corruption).
8. With them they proceed towards that (south-
western) quarter, for that is Nirrzti's quarter: he
thus places Nirrzti (corruption) in Nirrzti's quarter.
1 Or (Pra^-apati's), Agni's self, or body.
VII KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, IO. 32 I
And anywhere where there is a self-produced hollow *
or cleft in the ground, he lays down those (bricks) ;
for on whatever part of this (earth) there is a cleav-
ing, or in whatever part of it plants are not produced,
verily that part of it Nirmi seizes upon : he thus
places corruption in a (part) of the earth set aside
for Nirrzti. Having put them in their places in a
direction away from himself2, he lays them down3.
9. [He lays them down, with V&g. S. XII, 62-64]
* Seek thou him that offereth not Soma, nor
other offering!' him who neither presses Soma
nor makes offering Nirrzti indeed visits; — 'Of the
thief do thou follow the way, of the robber!'
that is, ' follow the way both of the thief and the
robber, and even as a thief or a robber remains
concealed, so do thou remain concealed !' — 'Seek
thou some one other than us : this is thy way;'
that is, ' seek him who is ignorant of this (sacred
work);' — 'Homage be to thee, O divine Nir-
riti ! ' he thus turns Nirrzti aside by rendering
homage to her.
10. ' Homage be unto thee full well, O sharp-
edged Nirrzti! ' for Nirrzti is indeed sharp-edged :
to her he -thereby renders homage; — Moose thou