12. ^Sau^eya, thus instructed, said, 'I would yet ask thee a question, reverend sir.* — 'Ask then, Pr^l-
* At the time of dissolution (layakile) they pass into the wind ; and at the time of creation (srx'sh/ikile) they are again created,
say.
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XI KAATDA, 5 ADHYAyA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 1 3. 85
nayogya ! ' he replied. He said, * If at that very
time all the fires were to go out, when there should
be no wind blowing, dost thou know what danger
there would be for him who offers ? ' — ' I know it/
he replied ; ' unpleasant things, indeed, he would see
in this world, and unpleasant things in yonder world,
were he not to know this ; but by dint of knowledge
I myself have prevailed/ — ' What is that knowledge,
and what the atonement ? ' he asked. — * Having,
without delay, churned out fire, and taken out an
offering-fire towards the east, and sat down behind
it, I myself would drink (the Agnihotra milk) :
I should then know that my Agnihotra would be
successful, belonging as it would to all deities, for all
beings, indeed, pass into the Brihma«a\ and from
the Br&hma»a they are again produced. That would
be the atonement ; and I should not be committing
that sin.' — *And, verily, I did not know this,' said
(6au^eya).
13. ^Sauieya, thus instructed, said, * Here are logs
for fuel : I will become thy pupil, reverend sir.' He
replied, * If thou hadst not spoken thus, thy head
would have flown off ^ : come, enter as my pupil ! ' —
*So be it,' he said. He then initiated him, and
taught him that pain-conquering utterance, Truth :
therefore let man speak naught but truth '.
^ Viz. as the representative of the Brahman, or world-spirit.
^ Yadaiva/Ti ndvakshya^ yadaivam Ag^nsjn n&vishkaroshi te miirdh^ vj^patishyat, m^rdhi(va)patana/7z sva^inapraka/anenitra- bhavata^ parihritam iti, Siy. — Prof. Delbriick, Altind. Syntax, p. 366, takes ' vi-pat' in the sense of— (thy head would have) flown asunder, or burst ; which is indeed possible; cf. XI, 4, i, 9.
^ Cf. F. Max Mailer, * India, what can it teach us ? ' p. 65 seqq.
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86 afATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Fourth BRAnMAiVA.
The Upanatana, or Initiation of the BRXHMAj\acAL Student *.
1. He says, *I have come for Brahma^arya*:'
he thereby reports himself to the Brahman. He
says, *Let me be a Brahmai&rin (student):' he
thereby makes himself over to the Brahman. He
(the teacher) then says, 'What (ka) is thy
name.^' — now Ka is Pra^pati: he thus initiates
him after making him one belonging to Pra^pati.
2. He then takes his (right) hand with, ' Indra's
disciple thou art; Agni is thy teacher, I am
thy teacher, O N. N. !' — now idiese are two most
high and most powerful deities : it is to these two
most high and most powerful deities he commits
him ; and thus his disciple suffers no harm of any
kind, nor does he who knows this \
3. He then commits him to the beings : — ' To
Pra^&pati I commit thee, to the god Savitr^'
I commit thee;' — now these are two most high
and most important deities : it is to these two most
high and most important deities he commits him;
and thus his disciple suffers no harm of any kind,
nor does he who knows this.
* With this chapter compare P&raskara GriTiyasfitra II, 2, 17 seqq. ; A^valiyana Gnliyasiitra I, 20 seqq.; «Sankhdyana Gri- byasdtra II, i seqq.
* That is, for religious (theological) studentship : < I have come to be a student/ — S&yana takes the aorist 'ig&m' in an optative sense 'may I enter (or obtain),' — brahma>Klri«o bhivo brahma- kajy2jn tad AgSw prSpnuydm.
' Vidusho<py etat phalam flha, na sa iti, evam ukt&rtham yo veda^niti so«py &r\m na prSpnotity arthaA, SSy.
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XI kAjvda, 5 adhyAya, 4 brAhmajva, 6. 87
4. •To the waters, to the plants I commit
thee/ — he thus commits him to the waters and
plants. — 'To Heaven and Earth I commit
thee/ — he thus commits him to these two, heaven
and earth, within which all this universe is con-
tained.— * To all beings I commit thee for
security from injury,' — ^he thus commits him to
all beings for security from injury; and thus his
disciple suffers no harm of any kind, nor does he
who knows this.
5. 'Thou art a Brahma^&rin,' he says, and
thus commits him to the Brahman^ — 'sip water!' —
water, doubtless, means ambrosia: 'sip ambrosia'
is thus what he tells him ; — ' do thy work ! '—work,
doubtless, means vigour : ' exert vigour* is thus what
he tells him ; — ' put on fuel ! ' — ' enkindle thy mind
with fire, with holy lustre ! ' is what he thereby tells
him; — 'do not sleep^!' — ='do not die' is what he
thereby says to him ; — ' sip water!' — ^water means
ambrosia : ' sip ambrosia' is what he thus tells him.
He thus encloses him on both sides with ambrosia
(the drink of immortality), and thus the Brah-
Tmi&rin suffers no harm of any kind, nor does he
who knows this.
6. He then recites to him (teaches him) the
Sivitrl 2 ; — formerly, indeed, they taught this (verse)
at the end of a year', thinking, 'Children, indeed, are
^ * Do not sleep in the daytime I ' P&r., Ajv.
■ For this verse, also called the GSyatrt (-^/g-veda S. Ill, 62, 10), see II, 3, 4, 39-
' Sdjana takes this in the sense of * some only teach this (for- mula) a year after (or, after the first year),'— purd pftrvasminn upanayandd drdhvabh&vini saxwatsaraMie'ttte sati t&m et&m gdya- trim anvSho^, ke^d iMiyi upadiranti.
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88 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
born after being fashioned for a year ^ : thus we lay
speech (voice) into this one as soon as he has been
born/
7. Or after six months, thinking, ' There are six
seasons in the year, and children are born after being
fashioned for a year : we thus lay speech into this
one as soon as he has been born/
8. Or after twenty-four days, thinking, * There are
twenty-four half-months in the year, and children are
born when fashioned for a year : we thus lay speech
into this one as soon as he has been born/
9. Or after twelve days, thinking, ' There are
twelve months in the year, and children are born
when fashioned for a year : we thus lay speech into
this one as soon as he has been bom/
10. Or after six days, thinking, ' There are six
seasons in the year, and children are born when
fashioned for a year : we thus lay speech into this
one as soon as he has been born/
11. Or after three days, thinking, 'There are
three seasons in the year, and children are born
when fashioned for a year : we thus lay speech into
this one as soon as he has been born/
12. Concerning this they also sing the verse, —
* By laying his right hand on (the pupil), the teacher
becomes pregnant (with him) : in the third (night) he
is bom as a Brahma;«a with the SAvitrl */ Let him,
^ Literally, made equal, or corresponding, to a year, — Sa/nvat- sar^tmani kilena samyakpari^^^inn^ khalu garbhfi vyaktdvayavi^ santaA pra^yante utpadyante; ata upanayaninantaram tA&ryz- samipe garbhavad ava^^innas taduktaniyaman&t samvatsarakila eva punar ^yate, S&y.
^ AMryo md»avakam upanfya samtpavartin& tena garbhi bhavati garbhav^n bhavati, ki/n krnv&, iimty^Lm dakshinam hastam ^shya-
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XI KkNDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAhMAJVA, 1 5. 89
however, teach a Br&hma«a (the S&vitri) at once, for
the Br&hma;^ belongs to Agni, and Agni is bom at
once ^ : therefore, he should teach the Brfihma^a at
once.
13. Now some teach an Anush/ubh S&vitrl, saying,
* The Anush/ubh is speech : we thus lay speech into
him/ But let him not do so; for if, in that case, any
one were to say of him, ' Surely, this (student) has
taken away his (the teacher s) speech : he will
become dumb ; ' then that would indeed be likely to
come to pass: let him therefore teach him that
Gdyatrl Sivitrl.
14. And some recite it to him while he (the
student) is standing or sitting on (the teacher's) right
side ; but let him not do this ; for if, in that case,
any one were to say of him, * Surely, this (teacher)
has bom this (student) sideways, he will become
averse to him ; ' then that would indeed be likely to
come to pass : let him therefore recite it in a forward
(easterly) direction to (the student) looking at him
towards the west.
15. He (first) recites it by p4das*: there being
three breathings, the out-breathing, the up-breathing
and the through-breathing ; it is these he thus lays
into him ; — then by half-verses : there being these
mastaka ddh&ya nikshipya; sa garbhar&po msbiavakas trittyasySm litrau vyalttAy^OT ^yate ^Mryid utpadyate, g^tsis H S^irye«opa- dish/^y^ sSvitryi sahita san brdhma^o bhavati sdvitrtrQpam ^a brahmddhlta iti brdhma^a iti vyutpatti^, biihma^ia^titvam asya sampannam ity artha^, Sfiy.
' Viz. immediately on the ' churning-sticks ' being set in motion.
' The G&yatri (S&vitrt) consists of three octosyllabic pddas, form- ing two half-verses of two and one pdda respectively; whilst an Anush/ubh (Sivitr!) would consist of four octosyllabic pddas, two of which make a half-verse.
Digitized by
go iSATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
two (principal) breathings, the out-breathing and the
up-breathing^, it is the out-breathing and the up-
breathing he thus lays into him ; — then the whole
(verse) : there being this one vital air (in man),
he thus lays the whole vital air into the whole
of him.
1 6. As to this they say, ' When one has admitted
a Brihmawa to a term of studentship, he should not
carry on sexual intercourse, lest he should gene-
rate this Brihma^^ from shed seed ; for, indeed, he
who enters on a term of studentship becomes an
embryo/
1 7. And concerning this they also say, ' He may
nevertheless do so, if he chooses; for these creatures
are of two kinds, divine and human, — these human
creatures are born from the womb, and the divine
creatures, being th^ metres (verses of scripture), are
born from the mouth : it is therefrom he (the teacher)
produces him, and therefore he may do so (have
intercourse) if he chooses/
18. And they also say, * He who is a BrahmaMrin
should not eat honey, lest he should reach the end
of food, for honey, doubtless, is the utmost (supreme)
essence of plants/ But vSvetaketu Aru«eya, when
eating honey, whilst he was a student, said, ' This
honey, in truth, is the remainder (essential part) of
the triple science (the Vedas), and he, indeed, who
has such a remainder, is an essence/ And, indeed,
if a Brahma^irin, knowing this, eats honey, it is just
as if he were to utter either a y?zk-verse, or Ya^s-
formula, or a S4man-tune : let him therefore eat
freely of it.
' That is, the breath of the mouth, and that of the nostrils.
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XI kAnda, 5 adhyAya, 5 brAhmaya, 5. 91
Fifth BrAhma;^a.
The «SatAtirAtram, or Sacrificial Session of a Hundred Atiratra-Sacrifices.
1. Now, when the gods were passing upwards to
the world of heaven, the Asuras enveloped them in
darkness. They spake, 'Verily, by nothing else
save a sacrificial session is there any way of dis-
pelling this (darkness) : well, then, let us perform
a sacrificial session ! '
2. They entered upon a sacrificial session of
a hundred Agnish/oma (days), and dispelled the
darkness as far as one may see whilst sitting ; and in
like manner did they, by (a session of) a hundred
Ukthya (days), dispel the darkness as far as one
may see whilst standing.
3. They spake, * We do indeed dispel the darkness,
but not the whole of it: come, let us resort to
Father Praj^pati/ Having come to Father Pra^-
pati, they spake, ' Reverend sir, when we were
passing upwards to the world of heaven the Asuras
enveloped us in darkness/
4. *We entered upon a sacrificial session of a
hundred Agnish/omas, and dispelled the darkness
as far as one may see whilst sitting ; and in like
manner did we dispel the darkness as far as one may
see whilst standing : do thou teach us, reverend sir,
how, by dispelling the Asuras and darkness, and all
evil, we shall find (the way to) the world of
heaven ! '
5. He spake, ' Surely, ye proceeded by means of
two sacrifices, the Agnish/oma and Ukthya, which
do not contain all Soma-rites ^ ; — enter ye upon
