5. They said, * Surely, this fellow of a RS^nya has outtalked us : come, let us challenge him to
* Yad yadd ihavantyaw gdrhapatydd aham uddliardmi tat tadi-
ntm kntsnam angopShgasahitam agnihotram eva udya^^^mi
udvahllmi, Sdy.
Digitized by
1 1 4 5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
a theological disputation ! ' Ydf ^avalkya said, * We
are Brahma«as, and he is a R^anya : if we were
to vanquish him, whom should we say we had
vanquished ? But if he were to vanquish us, people
would say of us that a RS^nya had vanquished
Brahmawas : do not think of this ! ' They approved
of his words. But Yd^^avalkya, mounting his car,
drove after (the king). He overtook him, and he
(die king) said, ' Is it to know the AgnihotrajYILf^a-
valkya ? ' — ' The Agnihotra, O king ! * he replied.
6. *Well, those two libations, when offered,
rise upwards : they enter the air, and make the air
their offering-fire, the wind their fuel, the sun-motes
their pure libation : they satiate the air, and rise
upwards therefrom.
7. *They enter the sky, and make the sky their
offering-fire, the sun their fuel, and the moon their
pure libation : they satiate the sky, and return
from there.
8. * They enter this (earth), and make this (earth)
their offering-fire, the fire their fuel, and the herbs
their pure libation : they satiate this (earth), and
rise upwards therefrom.
9. * They enter man, and make his mouth their
offering-fire, his tongue their fuel, and food their
pure libation : they satiate man ; and, verily, for
him who, knowing this, eats food the Agnihotra
comes to be offered. They rise upwards from there.
10. ' They enter woman, and make her lap their
offering-fire, her womb the fuel, — for that (womb)
is called the bearer, because by it Pra^pati bore
creatures, — ^and the seed their pure libation : they
satiate woman ; and, verily, for him who, knowing
this, approaches his mate, the Agnihotra comes to
Digitized by
XI kAjvda, 6 adhyAya, 3 BRAnMAiVA, 4. 115
be offered. The son who is born therefrom is the
renascent world: this is the Agnihotra, Y^»a-
valkya, there is nothing higher than this.' Thus
he spoke; and Y^^avalkya granted him a boon.
He said, ' Let mine be the (privilege of) asking
questions of thee when I list, Y^«avalkya!'
Thenceforth (Janaka was a Brahman,
Third BrAhmajva.
1. G^anaka of Videha performed a sacrifice
accompanied with numerous gifts to the priests.
Setting apart a thousand cows, he said, * He who
is the most learned in sacred writ amongst you,
O Brihma«as, shall drive away these (cows) ^ ! '
2. Y3^»avalkya then said, 'This way (drive)
them ! ' They said, * Art thou really the most
learned in sacred writ amongst us, Y4f »avalkya ? '
He replied, * Reverence be to him who is most
learned in sacred writ ! We are but hankering
after cows ^.'
3. They then said (to one another), ' Which of
us shall question him?' The shrewd ^'dkalya
said, ' I ! ' When he (Y^^avalkya) saw him, he
said, ' Have the Br^hma/^as made of thee a thing
for quenching the firebrand, kS^kalya ? '
4. He said^ ' How many gods are there, Y&gna-
valkya ?' — ' Three hundred and three, and three
thousand and three,' he replied. — * Yea, so it is !' he
said. ' How many gods are there really, Y&g-nar
valkya?' — * Thirty- three.' — *Yea, so it is!' he said.
* One might also construe, — These are yours, O Br&hma«as: he who is the most learned in sacred writ shall drive (them) away. Cf. Delbrflck, Altind. Syntax, pp. 251, 363.
^ Gokdmi eva kevala>!« vayam sma^ bhavdinai^, Sdy.
' See XIV, 6, 9, i seqq.
Digitized by
I 1 6 5ATAPATHA-BRAhMAA'A.
' How many gods are there really, Y^^avalkya ?* —
'Three/ — 'Yea, so it is!' he said. * How many
gods are there really, Y^»avalkya?' — * Two.' —
' Yea, so it is ! ' he said. ' How many gods are there
really, Yftfwavalkya ?' — ' One and a half.' — * Yea, so
it is ! ' he said. ' How many gods are there really,
Y^^avalkya?' — 'One.' — *Yea, so it is!' he said.
* Who are those three hundred and three, and three
thousand and three ?'
5. He replied, * These are their powers, but
thirty-three gods indeed there are.' — * Who are those
thirty-three?' — * Eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, and
twelve Adityas, — that makes thirty-one; and Indra
and Pra^dpati make up the thirty-three.'
6. *Who are the Vasus ?' — 'Agni, the Earth, Vayu
(the wind), the Air, Aditya (the sun), Heaven, the
Moon, and the Stars : — these are the Vasus, for these
cause all this (universe) to abide (vas), and hence
they are the Vasus.'
7. ' Who are the Rudras ? ' — * These ten vital airs
in man, and the self (spirit) is the eleventh : when
these depart from this mortal body, they cause wail-
ing (rud). and hence they are the Rudras.'
8. * Who are the Adityas ?' — * The twelve months
of the year : these are the Adityas, for they pass
whilst laying hold on everything here ; and inasmuch
as they pass whilst laying hold (ci-di) on everything
here, they are the Adityas.'
9. * Who is Indra, and who Pra^dpati ?' — * Indra,
indeed, is thunder \ and Pra^pati the sacrifice.' —
'What is thunder .>'— * The thunderbolt.' — * What is
the sacrifice ?' — * Cattle.'
' Siya«a takes * stanayitnu ' iu ihe sense of * ihunder-cloud,' — stanayitnu^ stanana^ilo gar^n par^anya ity artha^.
Digitized by
XI kAnDA, 6 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAhMAA^A, II. II7
10. *Who are those three gods?* — 'These three
worlds, for therein all the gods are contained/ —
*Who are those two gods?' — 'Food and breath
(life)/ — ' Who is the one and a half?' — ' He who is
blowing here^ (Viyu, the wind)/ — * Who is the one
god ?'— * Breath/
11. He (Y^wavalkya) said, * Thou hast gone on
questioning me beyond the deity ^ beyond which there
must be no questioning : thou shalt die ere such and
such a day, and not even thy bones shall reach thy
home !' And so, indeed, did he (^y&kalya) die ; and
robbers carried off his bones ^ taking them for some-
thing else*. Wherefore let no man decry* any one, for
even (by) knowing this, he gets the better of him^
* XIV, 6, 9, 10, the use of * adhyardha (having one half over)' in conneclion with the wind is accounted for by a fanciful etymology, viz. because the wind succeeds (or prevails) over (adhy-ardh) everything here.
^ That is, as would seem, Pra^pati, cf. XIV, 6, 6, i, where Yl^^valkya tells Gdrgt how one world is * woven and rewoven ' on another, the last being that of Pra^apati, which was woven on that of the Brahman ; and when Gdrgi asks him as to what world the Brahman-world was woven on, he gives the same reply as here, viz. that there must be no questioning beyond that deity (Pra^pati).
' Prof. Weber, Ind. Streifen, I, p. 21, connects this feature with the belief in a strictly personal existence after death prevailing at the time of the BrShma/ra, which involved, as a matter of great moment, the careful collection of the bones after the corpse had been burnt, with a view to their being placed in an earthen vessel and buried. — Cf. Axval. Gr/hyas. IV, 5, i seqq. ; Kity. St. XXI, 3, 7 seqq. See also J. Muir, Orig. Sanskrit Texts, vol. v, p. 316.
* That is, mistaking them for gold or some other valuable substance, comm., — anyan manyam&n&^ suvar^ididravyatvena ^nanta^.
• Or, * revile,' as the St. Petersb. Diet takes it. Possibly, how- ever, *upa-vad ' has here the sense of * to speak to,' i.e. * to question or lecture some one.'
• The commentary is partly corrupt and not very intelligible : —
Digitized by
i 1 8 ^atapatha-brahma/^a.
Seventh AdhyAya. First Brahmaa'a. Tire Animal SACRincE*.
1. He performs the animal sacrifice. Now the
animal sacrifice means cattle: thus, when he per-
forms the animal sacrifice (panibandha, the binding
of the animal), rt is in order that he may be pos-
sessed of cattle. Let him perform it at his home,
thinking, * I will bind (attach) cattle to my home.'
Let him perform it in the season of abundant fodder,
thinking, * I will bind to myself cattle in a season of
abundant fodder. For, whilst he is offering^ the
Sacrificer s fires become worn out, and so does the
Sacrificer, along with the worn-out fires, and along
with the Sacrificer Tiis house and cattle.
2. And when lie performs the animal sacrifice, he
renews his fires, and so, along with the renewal of
his fires, does the Sacrificer (renew himself), and
along with the Sacrificer his Tiouse and cattle. And
beneficial to life, indeed, is that redemption of his
Yasmdd evzm tasmdd iti goshu kaMri^pe»a tattvanikr/(ti)m upetya vidi na bhavet, sva (? svayam) api tu eva/wvit paro bhavati, uktapra- kire»a ya^ pr&»asvaHlpai» ^niti ta>n vidva/vsam upetya tdtparyend savi (? atmani) yukto bhaved ity artha^ Sdy. Cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. V, p. 361, note.— Prof. Delbrtick, Altind. Syntax, p. 528, takes * paro bhavati ' in the sense of * he becomes one of the other side, or shore,' i.e. he dies.
' Whilst a full account is given in the third Kl^^^a (part ii, p. 162 seqq.) of the animal sacrifice performed on the day before the Soma-sacrifice, the Brihma»a, in the last two adhydyas of the present Kd;i(/a, touches on certain features in which the perform- ance of the animal sacrifice of the pressing-day differs from that of the preceding day.
■ Viz. the Agnihotra every morning and evening.
Digitized by
XI kXnDA, 7 ADHYAYA, 2 BKAuMANA, I. II9
own self\* for whilst he is offering the Sacrificers
fires long for flesh ; they set their minds on the
Sacrificer and harbour designs on him. In other
fires ^ people do indeed cook any kind of meat, but
these (sacrificial^ fires) have no desire for any other
flesh but this (sacrificial animal), and for him to
whom they belong.
3. Now, when he performs the animal offering he
thereby redeems himself — male by male, for the
victim is a male, and the Sacrificer is a male. And
this, indeed, to wit, flesh, is the best kind of food :
he thus becomes an eater of the best kind of food.
Let not a year pass by for him without his offering ;
for the year means life : it is thus immortal life he
thereby confers upon himself.
Second BrAhmajva.
I. Now there is one animal sacrifice of the Havlr-
ya^^a order', and another of the order of the Soma-
sacrifice. Of the Havirya^f^a order is that at which
he (the Adhvaryu) brings him fast-food*, leads water
^ That is, the ransoming of one's own life from the sacrificial fires, by offering an animal victim to them in lieu of his own self.
* That is, in ordinary, culinary fires.
* That is, the offering of the Agnishointya he-goit which takes place on the day before the press-day (see part ii, p. 162 seqq.); whilst the Savanlya-parubandha is performed on the day of the Soroa-sacrifice itself; . the victim being slaughtered during the morning-service, and the fiesh-portions cooked during the day and offered at the evening-service (cf. part ii, p. 313, note 3; p. 356, note 3).
* That is, milk from the Vratadughd cow (which may be mixed with some rice or barley; III, 2, 2, 14), the only food to be taken by the Sacrificer during his dikshd, or period of initiation — in this case on the day before the Soma-sacrifice.
Digitized by
1 20 ^atapatha-brAhmajva.
forward^, and pours out a jarful of water^, and at
which (the Sacrificer) strides the Vishwu-strides^; and
of the order of the Soma-sacrifice is that (animal
sacrifice) at which these (rites) are not performed.
2. Concerning this they ask, * Is the animal sacri- fice an ish/i or a great (Soma-) sacrifice ?' — * A great sacrifice/ let him say ; * for in that (other) case* thou hast made the animal sacrifice an ish/i, and shattered it/ Thus he should say to him.
3. Its fore-offerings are the morning-service*, its
after-offerings the evening-service, and its sacrificial
cake® the midday-service.
4. Now, some bring up the Dakshi»&s (presents to the priests) when the omentum has been offered';
