18. Indra's (cake) is one on eleven potsherds, in order that he may secure (Indra s) energy, or vital
* For the use of the two feathers of an eagle, see XII, 7, 3, 22.
* The rule (as laid down in III, 8, 3, i) is that the Paru-puro^axa, or animal cakes, offered after the animal portions, should belong to the same deities to whom the victims are sacred. On the present occasion this is, however, not the case ; for while the three sacri- ficial animals of the main performance belong to the A^vins, to Sarasvati and Indra, the three cakes are offered to Indra, Savitr/, and Varwia respectively.
Digitized by
222 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAJyrA.
power; for the Trish/ubh consists of eleven syllables, and the Trish/ubh is energy, or vital power.
19. Savitr^'s (cake) is one on twelve potsherds,
for there are twelve months in the year, and the
year means constantly existing food : from the year
he thus secures for him food.
20. Varu^a's (cake) is one on ten potsherds, for
the Virdf consists of ten syllables, and Varu«a is
Virijf (the widely ruling), the lord of food : through
Varu«a he thus secures food for him. In the middle
(of the sacrifice) they proceed with (the offering
of) these cakes, for the centre means their (mother's)
womb : he thus causes them to be produced from
their own (mother s) womb.
21. A mare with a foal is the sacrificial fee, for
such a (mare) produces both the horse and the mule,
and the Sautr&ma«l is both an ish/i-offering and an
animal sacrifice : thus it is so in order that he may
secure both of these.
Third Brahmajva.
1. By means of the Sur^-liquor Namuii, the
Asura, carried off Indras (source of) strength, the
essence of food, the Soma-drink. He (Indra)
hasted up to the A^vins and Sarasvatl, crying,
* I have sworn to Namu^i, saying, " I will slay thee
neither by day nor by night, neither with staff
nor with bow, neither with the palm of my hand
nor with the fist, neither with the dry nor with the
moist !" and yet has he taken these things from me :
seek ye to bring me back these things ! '
2. They spake, ' Let us have a share therein, and we will bring them back to thee.' — * These things
Digitized by
XII kXnda, 7 adhyAya, 3 brAhmajva, 5. 223
(shall be) in common to us/ he said, ' bring them back, then ! '
3. The Arvins and Sarasvatl then poured out
foam of water (to serve) as a thunderbolt, saying,
* It is neither dry nor moist;' and, when the night
was clearing up, and the sun had not yet risen,
Indra, thinking, * It is neither by day nor by night,'
therewith struck off the head of Namu>6i, the Asura.
4. Wherefore it has been said by the Rishi
{Rtg-vedsL S. VIII, 14, 13), 'With foam of water,
Indra, didst thou sever the head of Namu^fei, when
thou wert subduing all thine enemies.' Now,
Namu^i is evil : having thus, indeed, slain that
evil, his hateful enemy, Indra wrested from him
his energy, or vital power. Let him who has an
enemy perform the SautrSma»t : he thereby slays
that evil, his hateful enemy, and wrests from him
his energy, or vital power. In his (Namu^fei's)
severed head there was the Soma-juice mixed with
blood. They loathed it. They perceived that
(means of) drinking separately (one of) the two
liquids, — ' King Soma, the drink of immortality, is
pressed^;' — and having thereby made that (Soma)
palatable, they took it in (as food).
5. With (Vaf. S. XIX, i), 'Thee, the sweet
(liquor I mix) with the sweet (Soma),' he com-
pounds (the ingredients for the preparation of) the
Sura-liquor 2, and makes it palatable ; — ' the strong
^ Va^. S. XIX, 72 seq. On the myth cp. Muir, O. S. T., vol. v, p. 94.
• The preparation of the Surd is described in Katy. XIX, i, 20-21 and comms., and by Mahidhara on Va^. S. XIX, i, in the following way. Having purchased (a) malted rice (^shpa), malted barley (lokma), and fried rice (IS^^), and (b) various vegetable substances (called with the generic name of nagnahu) serving as spices and ferments, such as the bark of Vatica robusta, three
Digitized by
224 5atapatha-brAhmajva.
with the strong/ he thereby bestows energy on
him (the Sacrificer); — *the immortal with the
immortal/ he thereby bestows life on him; —
*the honeyed with the honeyed/ he thereby
bestows flavour to it (the liquor); — 'I mix with
the Soma/ he thereby makes it (the Suri-liquor)
a form of Soma.
6. ' Thou art Soma: get thee matured for the
Ajvins! get thee matured for Sarasvatt! get
thee matured for Indra Sutrdman!' for these
were the deities who first prepared that sacrifice, and
with their help he now prepares it ; and, moreover,
he thereby provides these deities with their share.
He distils it with a view to (its being like) the Soma-
pressing. For three nights it remains standing, for
the Soma remains standing for three nights after it
has been bought : he thus makes it a form of Soma.
myrobalans (nutmegs, areca-nut, and cloves), ginger, hog-weed, &c., he takes them into the fire-house, and pounds the two lots sepa- rately. He then prepares two gruels or mashes of rice and millet respectively, adding more water than is ordinarily used, puts them on the fire till they boil over, and catches the overflowing water in two separate vessels. He then adds thereto one-third part of the (still separate) pounded malted rice and barley and fried rice (or one-sixth part into each vessel), and likewise one-half of the spice (or one-fourth part into each vessel) : this mixture, called misara (serving both as malt and as flavouring matter), is allowed to dry and is then pounded. One-half of the remaining pounded malted rice and barley and fried rice, as well as the whole of the remaining spices, is then, in equal parts, added to the two mashes, which are thereupon poured into a large vessel, after which the pounded * mdsara ' is mixed with the compound whilst the above formula is pronounced ; and the pot is deposited in a hole dug in the south-western comer of the fire-shed (silk), where it remains standing for three days (and nights), during which the milk of one, two, and three cows respectively, and the remaining quantities of malted and fried grain are gradually added to it (see XII, 8, 2, 8-io).
Digitized by
XII KANDA, 7 ADHYAyA, 3 BRAhMA^VA, 9. 225
7. There are two Vedis ^ (altar-grounds), — ' Two
worlds in truth there are/ they say, 'the world of
the gods, and the world of the Fathers.' One
(of the Vedis) is in the north, and the other in
the south, for the world of the gods is in the north,
and the world of the Fathers in the south : by the
northern one he secures the world of the gods, by
the southern one the world of the Fathers.
8. There are both milk and SurA-liquor ; for milk
is Soma, and the Surd-liquor food : through the
milk he secures the Soma-drink, and through the
Surd-liquor food. And milk is the nobility (chief-
taincy), and Suri-liquor the peasantry (clan) ; the
milk he purifies after purifying the Surd-liquor : he
thus produces the nobility from out of the peasantry,
for the nobility is produced from out of the
peasantry.
9. With (Vdf. S. XIX, 3), ' Purified by Vdyu's
* The two Vedis are prepared, in front of the Ahavantya, by the Adhvaryu and Pratiprasth&tr« respectively in a way similar to those required for the Vanwapragh4s&A, see part i, p. 392, note. There is some space between them, but not more than will allow a seat to stand on both Vedis (XU, 8, 3, 6). The dimensions (of the northern altar-ground) are in accordance with those of the mah&- vedi (measuring thirty-six prakramas or steps long, twenty-four on the hind (west) side, and thirty-six (or thirty) on the front (east) side), except that the unit of measure, in this case, is one-third prakrama, — the area being thus equal to one-ninth of the mahdvedi (some authorities, however, making it one-third). Behind the two Vedis two mounds (khara) are thrown up for the three cups of milk, or three cups of Surd-liquor respectively, to be deposited thereon. On the northern Vedi an uttara-vedi (high-altar), occupying about one-third of its area, is prepared, on which a sacrificial fire (taken from the Ahavantya) is afterwards laid down for the use of the Adhvaryu in making libations from the cups of milk ; another fire being laid down on the southern mound for the use of the Prati- prasthStrx in making libations from the cups of Suri-liquor.
Digitized by
226 5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
purifier is the backward-flowing, exceeding
swift Soma/ he purifies (the liquor') in the case
of one purged by Soma : in a suitable manner he
thus purifies him (the Sacrificer); — 'Indra's faith-
ful companion-/ whatever energy, or vital power,
had passed away from him with that (Soma), that
he now restores to him,
ID. With, * Purified by Vdyu's purifier is the
forward-flowing, exceeding swift Soma,* he
purifies (the liquor) in the case of one who has
vomited Soma : in a suitable manner he thus
purifies him (the Sacrificer); — *Indra's faithful
companion:' whatever energy, or vital power,
had passed away from him with that (Soma), that
he now restores to him.
11. With (Vfi^. S. XIX, 4), 'She purifieth thy
liquor,' he, for prosperity, purifies (the Sur&) in the
case of one wishing for prosperity; — 'thy Soma,
she, the daughter of Stirya:' the daughter of
Sfirya (the sun) assuredly is Faith, and by faith
that (liquor) becomes Soma-juice, and by faith he
makes it to be Soma-juice; — *with the perpetual
tail,' for with a tail-whisk that (liquor) is purified.
12. With (V^. S. XIX, 5), 'The Brahman
^ This performance thus takes place on the fourth day. Behind the mound of the southern Vedi a hole is dug, and an ox-hide spread over it. On this skin the unstrained liquor (parisrut) is either poured, a fine strainer (made of bamboo) being then laid thereon so that the clear liquor percolates through the holes, and the dregs remain below; or the strainer is placed on the skin, and the unstrained liquor is poured on it so as to allow the clear liquor to flow through on the skin. The liquor is then poured into a pan (sata), and further purified by a whisk of cow and horse-hair being drawn through it, or the liquor beuig strained through the hair.
Digitized by
XII KANDAy 7 ADHYAya, 3 BRAhMAJVA, 1 4. 227
and Kshatra he purifieth/ he purifies the milk^ :
he thus produces the Kshatra from out of the
Brahman, for from out of the priesthood the
nobility is produced; — 'the fiery spirit and
energy;' fiery spirit and energy, vital power, he
thus bestows on him ; — * with the Sur4 the Soma/
for with the Surd-liquor is Soma; — *the juice,
is distilled,' for from the distilled the juice is
obtained; — 'for joy,' to joy (intoxication), indeed,
the Soma-juice contributes, and to joy also does the
SurA-liquor: he thus secures both the joy of the
Soma, and the joy of the Surd; — 'with the pure
juice, O god, satiate the deities!' that is, 'with
the pure juice satisfy thou the deities ; ' — ' with sap
bestow thou food on the Sacrificer,' sap and
food he thereby bestows on the Sacrificer. The
cups of milk are taken first, then the cups of Surd-
liquor: he thereby makes the peasantry obedient
to the nobility.
13, With (Vdf. S. XIX, 6), 'Yea, even as the
owners of barley cut their barley ^ • .,' (the
Adhvaryu) fills (three) cups of milk, — barley-stalks
are Soma-stems, and milk is Soma-juice : by means
of Soma he thus makes it Soma-juice. With
a single (verse) he fills them : singly and solely
on the Sacrificer he thus bestows prosperity, for
milk is prosperity.
14. With (V^. S. XIX, 7), 'Separately, indeed,
a seat, acceptable to the gods, hath been
prepared for you two,' he fills the (three) cups
' This takes place on the northern Vedi; by means of a wooden
(reed) vessel and a strainer of goat's and sheep's hair,
• For the complete verse, see V, 5, 4, 24.
Digitized by
228 ^atapatha-brAhmajva.
of Surd-liquor ; for separate, indeed, are the Soma-
juice and the SurA-liquor; and * acceptable to the
gods * he says, because these two are indeed accept-
able to the gods ; and ' separately a seat hath been
prepared' he says, because there are two altar-
grounds; — 'do not ye mingle in the highest
heaven!* he thereby keeps him (the Sacrificer)
from evil; — *the potent SurA-liquor thou art,'
he thereby makes Surd to be Surd; — ' and this is
Soma,' he thereby makes Soma to be Soma; —
'entering thine own seat, injure me not!' he
thereby turns it (the Surd-liquor) away to its own
seat for his own safety. With a single (verse) he
fills them : singly and solely on the Sacrificer
he thus bestows fame, for the Surd-liquor is
fame.
15. Verily, the cups of milk are the nobility
(chieftaincy), and the cups of Surd-liquor are the
peasantry (clan) : thus, were he to draw (the cups)
without interlinking them, he would detach the
peasantry from the nobility, and the nobility from
the peasantry, and would cause confusion between
the higher and lower, and a failure of the sacrifice.
He draws them so as to be interlinked \ and
thereby combines the peasantry with the nobility,
and the nobility with the peasantry, for the pre-
vention of confusion between the higher and lower,
and for the success of the sacrifice.
