' In Dr. Hillebrandt's interpretation, it is also not quite easy to see in what way Pn^pati, by carrying off Vanwa's horse, impaired — ' griff an,* attacked, assailed — his own godhead. One might possibly refer * sv^i ' to the horse, but this would make the construction rather harsh. The verb * nt * here would seem to refer to the leading up of the sacrificial horse to the offering-ground, either for being set free for a year's roaming, or for sacrifice, for both of which acts the verb * ud-fi-nl * — i. e. to lead up the horse from the water where it was washed — is used {Sat, Br. XIII, 4, 2, i ; 5, i, 16).
Digitized by
Introduction. Xxv
be slaughtered first in order to carry the welcome news of the sacrifice to the gods, is in one place referred to as Piishan's share, and in another as going forward to the dear seat of Indra and PCishan^. ^inkh^yana (5rautas. XVI, 3, 37-30), however, takes these statements of the Rishi to refer to two different he-goats, both of which he includes amongst the victims tied to the horse's limbs, viz. one, sacred to PAshan, tied to the forehead, and another, sacred to Indra and Pdshan, fastened to the navel, of the horse ^. The corresponding * paryangya' victims recognised by the Maitriyawi Sawhiti (III, 13) and the White Ya^us (V^. S. XXIV, i), on the other hand, are a black-necked he-goat for Agni, tied to the forehead, and a black or grey (sykma) one, bound to the navel, and consecrated by the one authority to Piishan, and by the other to Soma and Pfishan. But, curiously enough, the Taittiriya school (Taitt. Br. Ill, 8, 23 ; Ap. Sr. XX, 13, 12) recognises not only ^&hkhayana*s two victims, but also the one for Agni ; whilst in regard to the other victims also it differs con- siderably from the other schools of the Y^^r-veda. Seeing, then, that there is so little agreement on these points even amongst different branches of the same Veda, one can hardly escape the inference that, in this respect at least, there was no continuity of ritual practice since the time of those two hymns. As regards the other points therein alluded to, the he-goat and horse are referred to
* ^»g-veda S. I, 163, 2. 'When, held by the month (by the bridle), they lead rotmd the offering of the (horse) covered with rich trappings, the all- coloared he-goat goes bleating in front right eastwards to the dear seat of Indra and PAshan. 3. This he-goat, fit for all the gods, is led in front of the swift horse as P{ishan*s share ; like (?) the welcome cake, Tvash/rt promotes it, along with the steed, to great glory. 4. When thrice the men dnly lead around the horse meet for offering along the way to the gods, then the he-goat walks first, announcing the sacrifice to the gods. ... 16. The cloth which they spread (for the horse to lie upon) and the upper cloth and the gold, the halter, the steed, the shackle — ^these they bring up as acceptable to the gods.' — I, 163, 12. ' Forth came the swift steed to the slaughter, musing with reverent mind ; his mate, the he- goat, is led in front ; and behind go the wise singers.'
' According to the Taittittyas, this second he-goat is tied to the cord sniTounding the horse's limbs somewhere above the neck of the horse.
Digitized by
XXVl 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
as being led round thrice in accordance with the sacred ordinance. Now, tliis ceremony is quite foreign to the later practice in animal sacrifices. Sdyaz/a accordingly takes it to refer to the rite of ' paryagnikara;«a,' or carrying fire round the victims ^ ; but the text of the passage evidently does not admit of such an interpretation ; and, besides, in Rig-v. X, 155, 5, the sacrificial cow is apparently referred to as first being led round, and then fire being carried round it. It is therefore more probable that the victims were in the first place made to circumambulate the fire, or the fire and stake combined.
Further, the allusion to the pa^-purorflras, or cakes offered in connection with the victims, as well as to the two cloths and the piece of gold placed on the ground, as they are in the later practice, for the dead horse to lie upon, might seem to suggest that even then this sacrifice was not performed in quite so simple a manner, but somewhat more in accordance with the later ceremonial than the scanty allusions in the hymns might lead one to suppose. At all events, however, we shall probably not be far wrong in assuming that, from the very beginning, the performance of the horse-sacrifice must have had connected with it a certain amount of ceremonial of a purely secular and popular character. Even at the time of the fully developed ritual this was almost certainly the case to a larger extent than would appear from the exposition of it given in the BrAh- ma«as and Sdltras which, indeed, are mainly concerned with the religious side of the ceremonial. For this reason considerable interest attaches to the description of the horse-sacrifice given in the A^vamedhika-parvan of the Mah^bhdrata in which much greater stress is laid on the popular and chivalrous aspect of this religious observance. Though this epic account manifestly emanates from a much later period*, it seems, upon the whole, to present the
* See p. 307, note 5.
' It has even been supposed to be merely a condensed yersion of a com- paratively modern work ascribed to 6aimini, the (Arvamedha-parvan of the) C7aimini-Bharata.
Digitized by
Introduction. Xxvii
traditional features of this royal ceremony, embellished no doubt by all the exercise of that poetic fancy to which the occasion so readily lends itself
On the completion of the great war between the P4«rfava and Kaurava princes, YudhishMira, having re- ascended the throne of his fathers, resolves on per- forming the horse-sacrifice, as calculated to cleanse him of all guilt ^ incurred by the slaughter of his Kaurava kinsmen. Having been initiated on the day of the /JTaitra full-moon (beginning of spring), * the king, clad in a linen (? silk) garment and the skin of a black antelope, bearing a staflf in his hand, and wearing a gold wreath, and a round gold plate ^ round his neck, shone like a second Pn^^pati at the holy cult.' The chosen steed ', of black and white colour like the black buck, is then led up, and is set free by the sage Vydsa himself; and that model of knightly perfection, Ar^na, the king's second brother, is appointed to guard the priceless victim during its year's roaming. He accordingly starts after it on his chariot yoked with white steeds, attended by a picked body-guard *, amidst the rejoicings and fervent blessings of all Hasti- nApura — men, women, and children. Thus followed by its martial escort, the noble steed roams at will over the lands
* VyIUa remarks to YndhishMira (XIV, 2071), • For the Ajvamedha, O king of kings, cleanses away aU ill-deeds: by performing it thou wilt without doubt become free from sin.* Cf. Sat Br. XIII, 3, i, i, 'Thereby the gods redeem all sin, yea, even the slaying of a Brahman they thereby redeem ; and he who performs the Ajvamedha redeems all sin, he redeems even the slaying of a Brahman.* As a rule, howerer, greater stress is laid in the Brfihma^ta on the efficacy of the ceremonial in ensuring supreme sway to the king, and security of life and property to his subjects.
' The ' rukma ' is borne by the AgnUit, or builder of a fire-altar, which is required for the Airamedha ; c£ VI, 7, i, i.
' It is carefully selected by charioteers and priests, Mah&bh. XIV, 2087.
* Whilst, according to the Br&hma^a (XIII, 4, a, 5), the body of * keepers ' is to consist of 100 royal princes clad in armour, 100 noblemen armed with swords, 100 sons of heralds and headmen bearing quivers and arrows, and 100 sons of attendants and charioteers bearing staves ; the epic gives no details, except that it states that 'a disciple of Y^^avalkya, skilled in sacrificial rites, and well-versed in the Veda, went along with the son of Prithi to perform the propitiatory rites,' and that <many Br&hmanas conversant with the Veda, and many Kshatriyas followed him at the king's behest.'
Digitized by
XXVlii ^ATAPATHA-BKAHMAiVA.
over which sovereign sway is claimed by the Tkndava, king — to wit, the whole of India from sea to sea — first pressing eastwards towards the sea, then turning southwards along the eastern shore as far as the extreme point of the peninsula, and finally northwards again, on its homeward way, along the western coast. Time after time the determined attempts to impede its progress, or even to capture and retain it as a precious trophy and token of national independence, are successfully repelled by the dauntless son of Pr/tha ; but, mindful of his brother's injunctions, he spares the lives of the kings and princes who oppose him, and, having obtained their submission, he invites them to attend the sacrifice of the horse at Hcisti- napura. On the other hand, not to take up the challenge implied in the progress of the horse was considered a sign of weakness or cowardice. Thus the king of Ma«ipura is censured severely by Ar^una for receiving him meekly, accompanied only by Brdhmans and with presents to offer to the intruder, being told that he had lamentably fallen away from the status of a Kshatriya, and acted the part of a woman. At length tidings of the approach of the horse reach the king, and forthwith preparations are made for getting ready the sacrificial ground, and to provide ac- commodation, on a right royal scale, for the numerous guests expected to witness the ceremonial. Specimens of all available species of animals are brought together to serve as victims ^ along with the sacred horse ; and dialecticians,
' That is, real or symbolic, only the domesticated animals being offered, whilst the wild ones are set free after the ceremony of ' paryagnikanufa.' Amongst these animals the poet curiously enough also mentions (XIV, 254a) * vrrddha- stnya^/ which Prat&pa Chandra REy translates by ' old women/ This is of course impossible ; if it is not a wrong reading, it has doubtless to be taken in the sense of * old female (kine),* probably the (21) barren cows offered at the end of the Axvamedha to Mitra-Varu»a, the Vlrve Dev&A, and Brihaspati (XIII, 5, 4, 25) being intended. In its enumeration of the victims, the Taitt. Sawhita (V, 6, ai) indeed mentions * vair^^ purush!,' taken by the com- mentator to mean ' two human females consecrated to Vir^g:' If it be for this or a similar purpose that the ' vrsddha-stn'ya^ * were intended, we may refer to Taitt. Br. Ill, 9, 8, where it is distinctly stated that * the man' and the wild animals are to be released as soon as the ' paryagnikara»am ' has been per- formed on them. But no ' man ' being mentioned amongst the victims, Slyai»a
Digitized by
Introduction. Xxix
eager to vanquish one another, foregather to discuss the nature and origin of things. At last Ar^na arrives, and, having met with an enthusiastic welcome, he * takes repose like a seafaring man who has reached the shore after crossing the ocean.' Then commences the performance of the sacrifice, the general outline of which, as sketched in the epic ^, fairly corresponds to the ordinary ceremonial ; the chief points of difference being the form and material of the altar, which is described as three-cornered, like the heavenly bird Garu^a, and as being composed of a * trunk,' measuring eighteen cubits, and made, like the wings, of gold bricks, — the structure thus shining like the altar of Daksha Pra^pati. The sacrifice over, a great public festival ensues for which ' mountains of food and sweetmeats, rivers of spirituous and other beverages, and lakes of ghee ' are provided, and the feasting goes on through day and night till every one has had his fill, — a festival, indeed, of which the poet remarks people continued to talk to his day.
