8. And light, indeed, is Agni, might Viyu (the
* ? That is to say, those deities have taken possession of every- thing else. Cf. J. Muir, Orig. Sansk. Texts, vol. v, p. 377.
Digitized by
T 74 ^atapatha-brAhmaata,
wind), glory Aditya (the sun), and what other gods there are they are everything.
9. And light, indeed, is the 7?%-veda, might the
Ya^ur-veda, glory the Sfima-veda, and what other
Vedas there are they are everything.
10. And light, indeed, is speech, might the breath,
glory the eye, and what other vital airs there are
they are everything.
11. Let him know this: — 'AH the worlds have
I placed within mine own self, and mine own self
have I placed within all the worlds ; all the gods
have I placed within mine own self, and mine own
self have I placed within all the gods ; all the Vedas
have I placed within mine own self, and mine own
self have I placed within all the Vedas ; all the vital
airs have I placed within mine own self, and mine
own self have I placed within the vital airs.' For
imperishable, indeed, are the worlds, imperishable
the gods, imperishable the Vedas, imperishable the
vital airs, imperishable is the All : and, verily, who-
soever thus knows this, passes from the imperishable
unto the imperishable, conquers recurrent death, and
attains the full measure of life.
Fifth BrAhmajva.
I. Of old, indeed, they were wont to seize this
victim as one dedicated to Savitr/, but now they seize
it as one dedicated to Pra^pati, saying, *Savitre*,
in truth, is the same as Pra^pati.' It is therefore
after having thrown together the (sacrificial) fires
that they ought to perform this (animal) sacrifice on
the Gr Aapati's own fires, thinking, * May we also
have a share in this tail (of the victim) wherewith
they are now making oflfering together to the wives
Digitized by
XII kXnda, 3 adhyAya, 5 BRAnMAiVA, 5. 175
(of the gods).' They then perform the initiation ceremony whenever they choose.
2. Here now they say, *They ought to have
separate hearths ; and if one of the initiates were to
be taken ill let him stay aside offering the Agnihotra.
If he gets well again, they bring (the fires) together
and invite him to join them ; but if he dies they
bum him by his own (three) fires ^ without an (ordi-
nary) fire for (burning) a dead body; and the other
sacrificers sit (through the sacrificial session); — such
at least is the performance in the case of one who
keeps up his sacrificial fires ; but, indeed, they have
their hearths in common : the theological explication
of this is the same as in regard to the preparatory
ceremonial *.'
3. They also say, * Seeing that the performers of
a year's session become initiated for a year, how
does their Agnihotra come to be uninterrupted?'
Let him reply, ' By the fast-milk.'
4. They also say, * Seeing that the performers of
a yearns session become initiated for a year, how
does their Full-moon oblation come to be uninter-
rupted?' Let him reply, 'By the ghee and the
sacrificial cake.'
5. They also say, * Seeing that the performers of
a year's session become initiated for a year, how
does their New-moon oblauon come to be unin-
terrupted ?' Let him reply, * By the sour curds and
the cake.'
* This is the regular procedure in accordance with Gr/hya rites, cf. Ajv.Grihy. IV, 2, 11-13; whilst Pdraskara, III, lo, 11, merely says, * with the domestic fire they bum him who has established his (sacred) fire.'
* For the * purar^axra,' see part iv, p. 337, note 2.
Digitized by
1 76 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
6. They also say, ' Seeing that the performers of
a year s session become initiated for a year, how
does their offering to the Fathers come to be unin-
terrupted ? ' Let him reply, * By the Aupdsana (rites ^).'
7. They also say, ' Seeing that the performers of
a years session become initiated for a year, how
does their offering of firstfruits come to be uninter-
rupted ? ' Let him reply, * By Soma s pap^.'
8. They also say, 'Seeing that the performers
of a year s session become initiated for a year, how
do their seasonal offerings come to be uninter-
rupted ?' Let him reply, * By the PayasyA \'
9. They also say, * Seeing that the performers of
a year s session become initiated for a year, how
does their animal sacrifice come to be uninter-
rupted ?' Let him reply, * By the animal and the
cake */
ID. They also say, * Seeing that the performers of a years session become initiated for a year, how
' Viz., by those rites which, during the time for which the Sacri- ficer is initiated, may be performed on his domestic (Avasathya or Aupdsana) fire. Cf. Kity. I, i, 20. 21. Whether the domestic offerings to the Fathers (jrdddha) may be so performed seems doubtful.
* For the ordinary performance of the Agraya«esh/i, see part i, p. 370 seqq. According to Kdty. IV, 6, 11 seq. the performance of a year's sattra is to mark the time at which the offering of first- fruits would otherwise have taken place by using new grain for his vrata-food, as well as for two Rauhiita cakes at the Upasads, and for the cakes offered in the animal sacrifice of the Soma days; and that a pap of new jydmika (millet) is to be offered to Soma at the proper season (during the rains, or autumn), and a pap of bamboo grain in summer.
■ For this dish, made by the addition of fresh boiled milk to sour curds, see part i, p. 381, note 2.
* That is, by the animal offered on each successive Soma day, and the (savantya) puro^lras offered subsequently; cf. IV, 2, 5, 14-22.
Digitized by
XII kXnda, 3 adhyAya, 5 brAhmajva, 13. 177
does their Soma come to be uninterrupted ? * Let him reply, * By the Soma-pressings/
11. It IS thus that these sacrificial rites enter into
the year; and, verily, whosoever thus knows this
entering of the sacrificial rites into the year becomes
a sharer in the heavenly world.
12. In the year there should be known to be
uniformity : — one Atir&tra they perform before, and
one after, the Vishuvat; fifty-three Agnish/omas
they perform before, and fifty-three after, the Vishu-
vat; one hundred and twenty Ukthya days they
perform before, and one hundred and twenty after,
the Vishuvat, — thus at least in the case of those who
perform the Svarasdmans as Ukthyas.
1 3. And in the case of those who (perform them)
as Agnish/omas, they perform fifty-six Agnish/omas
before, and fifty-six after, the Vishuvat; one hun-
dred and seventeen Ukthya days they perform
before, and one hundred and seventeen after, the
Vishuvat; six Sho/Za^ins they perform before, and
six after, the Vishuvat ; thirty Shaafahas * they per-
form before, and thirty after, the Vishuvat :— such,
then, is the uniformity of that (year), and, verily,
he who thus knows this goes through a course of
sacrificial performance which is uniform, and not
ineffectual, neither defective nor redundant.
* That is, counting the Pr&ya^iya Atiratra, A!aturvi/«ja, Abhi^t, and three Svarasimans as one six-days' performance, before the Vishuvat; and the three Svarasimans, the Vijva^t, Gosh/oma, Ayush/oma, four days of the Dararatra (preceding and succeeding the central Sha^iSaha), the Mahavrata, and Udayaniya Atiritra as two six-days' performances after the Vishuvat.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
1 78 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Fourth AdhyAya. First BRAHMAiVA. Expiatory Ceremonies in connection with the Agnihotra.
1. Verily, they who perform an Agnihotra enter
upon a long sacrificial session : — the Agnihotra,
indeed, is a sacrificial session ensuring death in old
ageS for people are set free from it either by old
age or by death.
2. Here, now, they say, * If either a team (yukta)
were to drive through, or people were to walk to and
fro, between the two fires of such a one performing
an Agnihotra, and (being thus) a performer of a long
session, what rite and what expiation would there be
in that case ? ' He may, indeed, perform an expia-
tion, and also offer an ish/i ; but let him disregard
it, for he \xho lays down his two fires doubtless
spreads himself all over these worlds.
3. His GArhapatya is this (terrestrial) world, his
Anv&hiryapa^feana (or southern fire) the air-world,
and his Ahavantya yonder (heavenly) world; and
freely, indeed, birds, both combined (yukta) and
single, pass to and fro in these worlds ; and even if
a whole crowd were to pass through between his
fires, let him know that no harm and no hurt
will come to him.
4. * But, surely, there are three unclean animals, a vicious boar, a vicious ram ^ and a dog : if any
' Literally, as would seem, ' old-age-deathed ' (garSmarya), or perhaps, * having old age for its extreme limit (maryd).' The author apparently takes it in the former sense, though interpreting the compound in his own way.
• According to Molesworth's Dictionary, * e^aki ' and * mtmdMi* in MarSMf, mean both * ram,' but the former • is ordinarily under-
Digitized by
XII kAatda, 4 adhyAya, r brAhmajya, 6. 179
one of these runs about between (the fires) whilst the
Agnihotra-offering is put on (the fire), what rite and
what expiation would there be in that case ? ' Well,
some poke out the ashes from the Gdrhapatya, and
keep throwing it down from the Ahavanfya, with this
verse (^/g-veda I, 22, 17), * Here Vish/^u strode S'
saying, ' Vishwu is the sacrifice : by the sacrifice we
thus continue the sacrifice, and with ashes we bestrew
its track.' But let him not do it in this way, for if,
in that case, any one were to say of him, * Surely this
(priest) has scattered about ^ the Sacrificer's ashes :
he will soon scatter his last ashes, the chiefs house-
hold will be wailing,' then that would indeed be
likely to come to pass.
5. Let him proceed in this way : — Having taken
either a bowl of water, or a pot of water, let him
go on pouring it out from in front of the G&rhapatya
up to the Ahavantya, with this verse, 'Here
Vishnu strode;' for Vish«u being the sacrifice, he
thus continues the sacrifice by the sacrifice ; and
whatever is injured or unpropitiated in the sacrifice,
for all that the water is the means of propitiation,
and by water, as a means of propitiation, he thus
propitiates it. Such, then, is the rite performed in
that case.
6. They also say, * If any one's Agnihotra (milk)
were to be spilled whilst he gets it milked, what
rite and what expiation would there be in that
stood of a ram trained to fight, or suflFered to live long enough to obtain horns.'
* See III, 5, 3, 13.
• ?Or, thrown in (viz. into the pot, or urn). According to Ajv. Grihy, IV, 5, i seqq., it is, however, only the bones which are collected and placed in the urn.
Digitized by
1 80 MTAPATHA-BRA HMA^A.
case?' Having touched (the spilled milk) with
the (formula of) expiation for spilling, and poured
water on it, let him make offering with what (milk)
is left. But if the bowl were to be turned upside
down, or if it were to break, let him touch (the
spilled milk) with the (formula of) expiation, and,
having poured water on it, let him make offering
with what other (milk) he can procure.
7. Now, in case there should be a spilling (of
milk), let him touch it with, *It hath been shed,
it hath been implanted: birth hath ensued;*
for when (seed) is shed then it is implanted; and
when it is implanted then birth takes place. And,
indeed, this (earth) is a womb, and the milk is seed :
he thus implants seed in that womb, and forthwith
that shed seed of him who so knows this is born
forth. And, indeed, it rains from yonder sky, and
herbs and trees are produced here on earth ; and
seed flows from man and animals, and therefrom
everything here is generated : let him therefore
know that abundant production has accrued unto
him, that he will be multiplied in offspring and
cattle, and that he will become more prosperous.
8. And in case there should be a breaking (of
the vessel), let him pour out a bowlful or potful of
water, and, indeed, whatever is injured or unpro-
pitiated in the sacrifice, for all that water is the
means of propitiation, and by water, as a means
of propitiation, he thus propitiates it. He does so
with these utterances, * Bhftr bhuvaA svar (earth,
air, sky) ; ' for these utterances are all-expiatory ' :
