17. 'May Tvash/r/, the fashioner of forms,
* I read * push/i^ ' instead of * push/im/ Siya^a takes it thus, — whatever prosperity Sarasvatl, the lord of prosperity, took from me, may he bestow that prosperity upon me I
Digitized by
XI KAiVDA, 4 ADHYAyA, 3 BRAHMAJVA, 1 9. 65
the lord of forms, bestow cattle with form^
upon me at this sacrifice, sv&hi!' Tvash/r/,
taking the oblation, departed and restored her cattle
with (beautiful) form to her.
18. These, then, are ten deities, ten sacrificial
dishes, ten offerings, ten presents to priests, — the
Vir^ consists of decad after decad (of syllables),
and the Virfif (shining one) is Srt (beauty, pros-
perity) : he thus establishes (the Sacrificer) in the
Vird/, in prosperity and food.
19. For this (sacrifice) there are fifteen kindling-
verses * : he offers to the deities in a low voice *.
There are five fore-offerings, three after-offerings,
and one Samish/aya^s. The (formulas of the)
two butter-portions contain the word ' affluence ' : —
{Rig-veds, S. I, i, 3), 'Through Agni may he
obtain wealth and affluence day by day, famous
and abounding in heroes;' — (/?eg-veda S. I, 91,
12), 'An increaser of the house, a remover of
trouble, a procurer of wealth, an augmenter
of affluence, a kind friend be thou unto us,
O Soma!' The two formulas of the Svish/akr^t
contain the word ' thousand ' : — (i?/g-veda S. Ill, 13,
7), ' Grant thou unto us wealth, a thousandfold,
with offspring and affluence, and glorious
manhood, O Agni, most excellent and never
* Sdya^ia supplies * virish/an,'— cattle endowed with form.
' That is, the ordinary number of s&midhents at an ish^, viz. eleven verses, the first and last of which are recited three times each. See part i, p. 102, note i ; p. 112, note i.
' That is, the formulas — ^with the exception of the final ' om ' of the invitatory formulas, and the introduction ' ye ys^mahe ' and the final 'vausha/' of the offering-formulas — ^are pronounced iti a low voice.
Digitized by
66 5ATAPATHA-BRA.HMAJVA.
failing!' — (^/g-veda S. Ill, 13, 6), 'Favour thou
our prayer, as the best invoker of the gods
for our hymns: blaze up auspiciously for
us, wind-fanned, O Agni, the dispenser of a
thousand bounties!'
20. Now, indeed, it was Gotama Rih(iga;»a
who discovered this (sacrifice). It went away to
6^anaka of V id eh a, and he searched for it in the
Brihma^as versed in the Angas* (limbs of the Veda),
and found it in Y4^«avalkya. He said, 'A
thousand we give thee, O Yfi^^avalkya, in whom
we have found that Mitravind&/ He finds (vind)
Mitra, and his is the kingdom, he conquers recur-
ring death ^ and gains all life, whosoever, knowing
this, performs this sacrifice; or whosoever thus
knows it.
Fourth BrAhma^va.
!• Now, as to the successful issue of the sacrificial
food. Now, indeed, there are six doors to the
Brahman \ — to wit, fire, wind, the waters, the moon,
lightning, and the sun.
2. He who offers with slightly burnt sacrificial food, enters through the fire-door * of the Brahman ;
* That is, the Veddngas, i.e. the limbs, or supplementary sciences, of the Veda.
' That is to say, his approaching death will deliver him once for all from mundane existence and its constantly repeated round of birth and death.
* That is, of the (impersonal) world-spirit.
* In the text the two words are not compounded, but stand in apposition to each other (with the fire as the door of B.), with, how- ever, much the same force as a compound word. Cf. XII, 2, i, a g&dham (eva) pratishMd (a foothold consisting of a ford), and ib. 9 gddha-pratish/M, 'ford-foothold.'
Digitized by
XI kAjvda, 4 adhyAya, 4 brAhmajva, 8. 67
and, by entering through the fire-door of the
Brahman, he wins his union with, and participation
in the world of, the Brahman.
3. And he who offers with sacrificial food that
has fallen (on the ground) enters through the wind-
door of the Brahman; and, by entering through
the wind-door of the Brahman, he wins his union
with, and participation in the world of, the Brahman.
4. And he who offers with uncooked sacrificial
food, enters through the water-door of the Brahman ;
and, by entering through the water-door of the
Brahman, he wins his union with, and participation
in the world of, the Brahman.
5. And he who offers with slightly browned
sacrificial food, enters through the moon-door of
the Brahman, and, by entering through the moon-
door of the Brahman, he wins his union with, and
participation in the world of, the Brahman.
6. And he who offers with browned sacrificial
food, enters through the lightning-door of the
Brahman, and, by entering through the lightning-
door of the Brahman, he wins his union with, and
participation in the world of, the Brahman.
7: And he who offers with well-cooked sacrificial
food, enters through the sun-door of the Brahman ;
and, by entering through the sun-door of the
Brahman, he wins his union with, and participation
in the world of, the Brahman. This, then, is the
successful issue of the sacrificial food, and, verily,
whosoever thus knows this to be the successful
issue of the sacrificial food, by him offering is made
with wholly successful sacrificial food. ^
8. Then, as to the successful issue of the sacrifice. Now, whatever part of the sacrifice is incomplete
Digitized by
68 i^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAJVA.
(nyAna) that part of it is productive for him ^ ; and
what is redundant in it that is favourable to cattle ;
and what is broken (disconnected) ^ in it that makes
for prosperity; and what is perfect in it that is
conducive to heaven.
9^ And if he think, 'There has been that which
was incomplete in my sacrifice/ let him believe,
* That is productive for me : I shall have offspring
produced (in men and cattle)/
ID. And if he think, 'There has been that which
was redundant in my sacrifice,' let him believe,
' That is favourable to cattle for me : I shall become
possessed of cattle.'
1 1. And if he think, * There has been that which was
disconnected in my sacrifice,' let him believe, * That
makes for my prosperity : Prosperity, surrounded by
splendour, fame and holy lustre, will accrue to me/
1 2. And if he think, * There has been that which
was perfect in my sacrifice,' let him believe, ' That is
conducive to heaven for me : I shall become one of
those in the heavenly world/ This then is the
successful issue of the sacrifice ; and, verily, who-
soever thus knows this to be the successful issue
of the sacrifice, by him offering is made by a wholly
successful sacrifice.
Fifth AdhyAya. First BRAHMAiVA.
I. The nymph Urva^l loved PurAravas^ the
son of lci&. When she wedded him, she said,
^ See XI, I, 2, 4; — tad asya ys^^asya pra^nanam pr^otpatd- s&dhanam.
* S&yafra's explanation of the term ' sa/^ikasuka ' (? broken, affected with gaps) is not available owing to an omission in the MS. Ind. Off. 1071.
' King Purdravas, of the lunar race of kings, is considered the
Digitized by
XI KkNDA, 5 ADHYAyA, I BRAHMAiVA, 4. 69
* Thrice a day shalt thou embrace ^ me ; but do not
lie with me against my will *, and let me not see
thee naked, for such is the way to behave to us
women/
2. She then dwelt with him a long time, and was
even with child of him, so long did she dwell with
him. Then the Gandharvas ' said to one another,
* For a long time, indeed, has this Urvail dwelt
among men : devise ye some means how she may
come back to us/ Now, a ewe with two lambs was
tied to her couch : the Gandharvas then carried off
one of the lambs.
3. 'Alas,' *she cried, 'they are taking away my
darling*, as if I were where there is no hero and
no man ! ' They carried off the second, and she
spake in the selfsame manner.
4. He then thought within himself, * How can
that be (a place) without a hero and without a man
where I am ? ' And naked, as he was, he sprang
son of Budha (the planet Mercury, and son of Soma). On this myth (based on the hymn i?/g-veda S. X, 95) see Prof. Max MUUer, Oxford Essays (1856), p. 61 seqq. ; (reprinted in Chips from a German Workshop, II, p. 102 seqq.); A. Kuhn, Herabkunft des Feuers und des Gfittertranks, p. 81 seqq. (2nd ed. p. 73 seqq.); Weber, Ind. Streifen I, p. 16 seqq.; K. F. Geldner, in Pischel and Geldner's Vedische Studien I, p. 244 seqq.; cf. H. Olden- berg, Religion des Veda, p. 253.
^ Vaitasena da/7<fena hatdd, — ^vaitaso damfa^ pu/«vya%anasya nima; ukta;» hi Ydskena, ^po vaitasa id pu^nsprs^nanasyeti (Nir.lII, 21), S&y.
' Akdmim k&marahit&;n suratibhil&sharahitim ksL m&m mi sma nipadydsai nigrihya msbi pripnuyi^, S&y.
• The Gandharvas are the natural companions and mates of the Apsaras, or nymphs.
* Literally, 'my son,' — madiya/v putratvena svfkrAam ura«a- dvayam, S&y.
Digitized by
70 ^atapatha-brAhmajva.
up after them : too long he deemed it that he
should put on his garment. Then the Gandharvas
produced a flash of lightning, and she beheld him
naked even as by daylight. Then, indeed, she
vanished: * Here I am back/ he said, and lo! she
had vanished ^. Wailing with sorrow he wandered
all over Kurukshetra. Now there is a lotus-lake
there, called Anyata^plakshi : He walked along
its bank ; and there nymphs were swimming about
in the shape of swans ^.
5. And she (Urva^l), recognising him, said, * This
is the man with whom I have dwelt/ They then
said, * Let us appear to him ! ' — * So be it ! ' she
replied ; and they appeared to him \
6. He then recognised her and implored her
{Rzg'WedB. X, 95, i), * Oh, my wife, stay thou, cruel
in mind*: let us now exchange words! Untold,
these secrets of ours will not bring us joy in days to
* Cf. C. Gaedicke, Der Accusativ im Veda (1880), p. 211. Previous translators had assigned the words * punar emi ' (I come back) to Urvaji; and in view of the corresponding passage in paragraph 13, the new interpretation is just a little doubtful.
' The text has ' iti/ some kind of water-bird— ^la^arapakshi- vLresha^, S4y. — (probably Gr. i^o-o-a ; Lat. anas, anat-is ; Anglo-S. sened, Germ. Ente).
* That is, they became visible, or rather recognisable to him by showing themselves in their real forms, — pakshirdpam vihiya svakiyena rOpe^a pridur babhOvu^, Sdy. — In KdlidSsa's plays, both Urva^t and •S'akuntald become invisible by means of a magic veil (tiraskari^t, ' making invisible ') with which has been compared the magic veil by which the swan-maidens change their form. A. Weber, Ind. Stud. I, p. 197; A. Kuhn, Herabkunft, p. 91.
* Manas^ tishMa ghore, — possibly it may mean, *0 cruel
one, be thou constant in (thy) mind;' or, as Kuhn takes
it, *pay attention, O cruel one.' S&ya^ia, however, takes it as
above.
Digitized by
XI KANDA, 5 ADHyAyA, I BRAhMAJVA, 9. 7 1
come;' — 'Stop, pray, let us speak together!' this is what he meant to say to her.
7. She replied (X, 95, 2), * What concern have
I with speaking to thee ? I have passed away like
the first of the dawns. PurAravas, go home again :
I am like the wind, difficult to catch;' — 'Thou didst
not do what I had told thee ; hard to catch I am for
thee, go to thy home again ! ' this is what she meant
to say.
8. He then said sorrowing (X, 95, 14), *Then
will thy friend ^ rush away ^ this day never to come
back, to go to the farthest distance : then will he
lie in Nirrm's * lap, or the fierce wolves will devour
him ; ' — ' Thy friend will either hang himself, or
start forth ; or the wolves, or dogs, will devour him ! '
this is what he meant to say.
9. She replied (X, 95, 15), * Purdravas, do not
die ! do not rush away ! let not the cruel wolves
devour thee! Truly, there is no friendship with
women, and theirs are the hearts of hyenas*;' —
* This is a doubtful rendering (Max Mdller; Gespiele, A. Weber) of ' sudeva,' — Gdttergenoss (the companion of the gods), Kuhn ; * dem die G5tter einst hold waren ' (he who was formerly favoured by the gods), Grassmann ; Sudeva, Ludwig.
