^ See XIV, 1-3 ; and part ii, p. 104, note 3.
• Viz. Agni, Soma, and Vishwu; cf. part ii, p. 105, note i.
• See part ii, p. 162 seqq.
• Viz. inasmuch as the Atirdtra includes both a day and a night performance.
" Viz. both because this is the real opening day of the year*g session, and because Pra^pati (as the Purusha and the Year) is '^aturvi>wja' or * twenty-four-fold ' (e.g. VI, 2, i, 23).
Digitized by
142 iPATAPATH A-BRAHMAiVTA.
10. And when they enter upon the Abhiplava-
sha^aha they indeed offer sacrifice to those deities,
the Half-months and Months: they become those
deities, the Half-months and Months, and attain to
fellowship and co-existence with the Half-months
and Months.
11. And when they enter upon the FrtshiAya,-
sha^aha they indeed offer sacrifice to those deities,
the Seasons : they become those deities, the Sea-
sons, and attain to fellowship and co-existence with
the Seasons.
1 2. And when they enter upon the Abhi^it (day)
they indeed offer sacrifice to the deity Agni : they
become the deity Agni, and attain to fellowship and
co-existence with Agni.
13. And when they enter upon the Svarasfiman .
(days) they indeed offer sacrifice to that deity, the
Waters : they become that deity, the Waters, and
attain to fellowship and co-existence with the Waters.
14. And when they enter upon the Vishuvat
(day) they indeed offer sacrifice to the deity Aditya :
they become the deity Aditya, and attain to fellow-
ship and co-existence with Aditya. The SvarasA-
mans have been told.
15. And when they enter upon the Viswagit (day)
they indeed offer sacrifice to the deity Indra : they
become the deity Indra, and attain to fellowship
and co-existence with Indra. The Pr/shMya and
Abhiplava (sha^feihas) have been told.
16. And when they enter upon (the performance
of) the Go and Ayus (stoma) ^ they indeed offer
sacrifice to the deities Mitra and Varu»a: they
* See p. 140, note i.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
XII KANDA, 1 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 2 2. 1 43
become the deities Mitra and Varu/^a, and attain to fellowship and co-existence with Mitra and Varu;^a.
17. And when they enter upon the Da^ar&tra
they indeed offer sacrifice to that deity the Vi^ve
Dev&A : they become that deity, the Vi^ve DevA^,
and attain to fellowship and co-existence with the
Vi^ve Devkk.
18. And when they enter upon the Pr/shMya-
sha//aha of the Da^ar&tra they indeed offer sacrifice
to those deities, the Regions : they become those
deities, the Regions, and attain to fellowship and
co-existence with the Regions.
19. And when they enter upon the A^Aandomas
they indeed offer sacrifice to those deities, these
Worlds : they become those deities, these Worlds,
and attain to fellowship and co-existence with these
Worlds.
20. And when they enter upon the tenth day (of
the DajarAtra) they indeed offer sacrifice to that
deity, the Year ; they become that deity, the Year,
and attain to fellowship and co-existence with the
Year.
21. And when they enter upon the Mahivrata
they indeed offer sacrifice to the deity Pra^pati :
they become the deity Pra^pati, and attain to
fellowship and co-existence with Pra^pati.
22. And when they enter upon the concluding Ati-
r4tra (of the sacrificial session), then, indeed, having
gained the Year, they establish themselves in the
world of heaven. And were any one to ask them, *To
what deity are ye offering sacrifice this day ? what
deity are ye ? with what deity do ye dwell ? ' let them
name of those (deities) the one to whom they may
be nearest (in the performance of the Sattra). And,
Digitized by
144 iSATAPATHA-BRAHMAi^^A.
verily, such (sacrificers) are seated (sad) in the
good^ (place), for they are for ever seated among
the good deities ; and the others are mere partakers
in the sacrificial session * ; and if any one were,
during a sacrificial session, to speak evil of such
initiates as know this, let them say to him, * We cut
thee off from those deities ; ' and he becomes the
worse, and they themselves become the better for it.
23. That same year contains three great rites
(mahAvrata) : — the great rite on the A^aturviwiJa
day, the great rite on the Vishuvat day, and the
great rite ^ on the MahS.vrata day itself. Now, those
of old used, indeed, to enter upon (perform) that
(years session) with three great rites, and they
became glorious, truth-speaking, and faithful to
their vow ; but if nowadays any (sattrins) were to
perform it on this wise, they assuredly would crum-
ble away even as a jar of unbaked clay would
crumble away if water were poured into it. They
(who do so) perform too much : that (object) of
theirs is gained by truth, by toil, by fervid devotion,
by faith, by sacrifice, and by oblations.
Fourth BrAhmajva.
I. The Year, indeed, is Man; — the opening (pr4- ya«lya) Atiratra is his feet, for by means of their
* Or, in the true, abiding (place) — sati.
' That is, those who perform a sacrificial session (sattra) without their possessing the esoteric knowledge regarding the several ceremonies, set forth in the preceding paragraphs, are mere * sattra- sadaA ' (i. e. merely * sitting through the sacrificial session ') whilst those possessing that knowledge are ' sati sada^/
• That is, more especially, the chanting of the Mahdvrata-siman, for which see part iv, p. 282, note 5.
Digitized by
XII kAnda, 2 adhyAya, I brAhmajya, I. 145
feet (men) go forward (prayanti) : that part of them
which is white is of the form of the day, and that
which is black is (of the form) of the night; the
nails are of the form of herbs and trees. The
ICsiturvimsB, day is the thighs, the Abhiplava the
breast, and the VrisYithyB, the back.
2. The Abh^it is this right arm, the Svarasi-
man days these three (openings of the) vital airs on
the right side\ the Vishuvat the head, and the
(second period of) Svarasiman days these three
vital airs on the left side.
3. The Vi^va^it is this left arm, — the Vrhhthyz,
and Abhiplava have been told, — the Go and Ayus
those downward vital airs ; the Da^arAtra the limbs,
the Mahivrata the mouth ; and the concluding
(udayanlya) AtirAtra is the hands, for by means of
the hands (men) move (reach) upwards (udyanti) :
that part of them which is white is of the form of
the day, and that which is black is of that of the
night ; and the nails are of the form of the stars.
Thus that year is established in respect of the body ;
and, verily, whosoever thus knows that year to be
established in respect of the body, establishes him-
self by means of offspring and cattle in this, and by
immortality in the other, world.
Second Adhyaya. First BrAhmajva.
I. Verily, those who become initiated for (a sacri-
ficial session of) a year cross an ocean : the Pr4ya-
«lya Atir^tra is a flight of steps *, for it is by means
of a flight of steps that one enters (the water) ; and
^ Viz. the right eye, ear, and nostril.
' Or, a descent, a passage leading down to a bathing-place.
[44] L
Digitized by
1 46 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
when they enter on the PrA)ra«lya AtirAtra it is
just as if they were entering the ocean by a flight
of steps.
2. The Aaturvi»*^ day is (in the form of) a
foothold, a shallow place ^, such a one as (where the
water reaches) either to the arm-pits or to the neck,
whence, having rested, they enter* (the deep water).
The Abhiplava is (a spot) suitable for swimming ;
and so is the Pr^sh/Aya suitable for swimming.
3. The Abh^fit is a foothold, a shallow place,
such a one as (where the water reaches) either to the
arm-pits, or to the neck, whence, having rested, they
come out (of the water). The first Svarasiman is
thigh-deep, the second knee-deep, the third knuckle-
deep. The Vishuvat is a foothold (in the form .of)
an island. The first (Svarasiman) with revc^s^d
Simans is knuckle-deep, the second knee-deep, and
the third thigh-deep.
4. The VisvB^t is a foothold, a shallow place,
such a one as (where the water reaches) either to
the arm-pits or to the neck, whence, having rested,
he enters (the deep water again). The Presh^^ya is
suitable for swimming, and so is the Abhiplava, and
so are the Go and Ayus, and so is the Da^aritra.
5. The Mahivrata is a foothold, a shallow place,
such a one as (where the water reaches) either to
the arm-pits or to the neck, whence, having rested,
^ Gidham eva pratish/^ — it may be remarked that this is just the form in which an appositional compound is analyzed by native grammarians, as if it were * gSdha-pratish/Ai,' a foothold which is just a ford, a ford-foothold, as indeed it is written in paragraph 9. Cf. p. 66, note 4.
• Or, bathe, — ' prasn&ti,' indeed, would really seem to mean here ' he swims forward.'
Digitized by
XII kXnda^ 2 adhyAya, I brAhmat^ta, 9. 147
they step out (of the water). The Udayanlya (con-
cluding) AtirStra is a flight of steps, for it is by
a flight of steps that people step out (of the water) :
thus, when they perform the Udayanlya AtirAtra,
it is just as if, having entered the sea by a flight
of steps, they were to step out of it by a flight
of steps.
6. Regarding this they say, ' How many Atiri-
tras are there in the year, how many Agnish/omas,
how many Ukthyas, how many Sho^/a^ins, how
many Sha^/ahas ? ' — Two Atirdtras, a hundred and
six Agnish/omas, and two hundred and forty Uk-
thyas,— thus in the case of those who perform the
Svarasfimans as Ukthyas.
7. But in the case of those who perform them as
Agnish/omas, a hundred and twelve Agnish/omas,
two hundred and thirty-four Ukthyas, twelve Sho-
dzsins, and sixty Sha//ahas. This, then, is how the
year is obtained.
8. There are twelve months in the year, and
their vital energy and power are the Frish/A^s ; and
by performing the Pr/sh/^s month by month, they
obtain, in monthly portions \ that vital energy of the
year. — * And how do they obtain the vital energy of
the thirteenth (intercalary) month ? ' Well, sub-
sequent to the Vishuvat day they perform the
WisvBgit Agnish/oma with all the Pz-esh/Aas ^ and
thus indeed they obtain the vital energy of the
thirteenth month.
9. Now, concerning this, .Svetaketu Aru»eya,
* Lit, by the month, i.e. by monthly instalments; cf. TSjuiyz- Br. IV, 2, 9.
* On Soma-days with all the (six) Prish/>^-sdmans, see part iii, introd., p. zzi.
Digitized by
1 48 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
knowing this, once said, * I am now going to get my-
self initiated for one year.' His father, looking at him,
said, 'Knowest thou, long-lived one, the fording-
footholds of the year ? ' — ' I know them,' he replied,
for, indeed, he said this as one knowing it.
Second BRAHMAiVA.
I. Here, now, they say, * Whereby are the Abhi- plavas possessed of light (^otis) on both sides S
