XIX, 3, 20, and Mahtdhara on Y§ig, S. XIX, 37, use is made of this pot at this juncture in much the same way as is described in V, 5, 4, 27 seqq.; viz. two poles are driven into the ground north and south of the southern fire, and a bamboo stick laid thereon : on a string fastened to this stick the pot, containing a tail-whisk (for straining) and a piece of gold, is then made to hang over the fire, and the remains of the Surd-liquor poured into it ; and whilst it trickles through into the fire, the priest makes the Sacrificer pro- nounce the verses V^. S. XIX, 37-44, 52-60, addressed to the different kmds of departed ancestors.
* That is, verses recited at the Soma-sacrifice whilst the Soma- juice is clarifying ; the term being usually confined to the verses of hymns of the ninth maWala of the J^tkssLmhii&f whence indeed most of the verses used on this occasion (V^. S. XIX, 37-44) are taken.
Digitized by
236 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
15. They purify by means of gold, — that (metal),
to wit, gold, doubtless is a form of the gods : by
means of a form of the gods they thus purify him,
16. They purify him by means of Suri-liquor, for
the SurA is purified : they thus purify him by that
which is purified ; and even as the liquor, whilst
being purified, is cleared of impure matter^, so is
that Sacrificer thereby freed from all evil who,
knowing this, performs the SautrAmawf, or who
even knows this.
17. Here, now, they ask, * Is the Sautrima/d to
be performed, or is it not to be performed, seeing
that (in any case) they continuously repel from him
all evil ?' As to this Revottaras Sthapati PS./ava
K&kra, once said, ' Even after making the sur-
render, one ought certainly to perform the sacrifice ;
for the Sacrificer is the body of the sacrifice, and the
officiating priests are its limbs; and wherever the
body is pure there the limbs also are pure ; both of
them, indeed, purify him, and both of them repel
the evil from him : therefore even after making the
surrender (of one's own self) one ought certainly to
sacrifice/
18. But, indeed, those who perform at the
southern fire, go down to the world of the Fathers.
He offers an oblation of ghee : ghee being (material
of) sacrifice, it is by sacrifice that they establish
themselves in the sacrifice.
19. He (the Sacrificer) offers, with (Vif. S. XIX,
45), 'The Fathers who, one in form and one in
mind, live in Yama's realm, — may their world,
^ The term 'balkasa' (apparently connected with 'valkala') would seem to mean vegetable matter, esp. chaff or husks. The comm. explains it by * kidisa ' (? kilbisha or kiknasa).
Digitized by
XII kXnda, 8 adhyAya, i brahmaya, 21. 237
the Svadh4, adoration, and sacrifice prosper
among the gods!' he thereby commits the Fathers
to Yama, and he also conquers the world of the
Fathers. Having, all of them, invested themselves
sacrificially \ they betake themselves to the northern
fire, for the northern fire* is this (terrestrial) world':
they thus establish themselves in this world. He
offers an oblation of ghee : ghee being sacrifice, it is
from out of the sacrifice that they establish them-
selves in the sacrifice.
20. He (the Sacrificer) offers, with (V4^. S. XIX,
46), 'Mine own (people) who are one in form
and one in mind, living among the living, —
may their fortune prosper with me, in this
world, for a hundred years!' he thereby secures
the good fortune of his own people, and he also
confers long life on them. Whilst they hold on to
each other, he (the Adhvaryu) offers milk, for milk
is vital air and food : in the vital air, in food, they
thus finally establish themselves.
21. He offers, with (V^. S. XIX, 47), 'Two
paths for mortals have I heard of, (that of the
Fathers and that of the gods*),' — 'two paths
' That is, by shifting their Br&hmaiiical cord so as to hang across the breast from the left shoulder to the right hip.
* That is, the fire on the uttara-vedi of the northern of the two special Vedis, see p. 225, note.
' They are supposed to return to the earth from the world of the Fathers below.
^ Not onlj is the second pdda of the verse omitted here (as also in MS. I. O. 311), but the construction of the first half of the verse is also rather peculiar, the most natural rendering being, ' Two paths of the Fathers have I heard of, (those) of the gods and of men.' The same verse occurs i^zks. X, 88, 15 (with the reading *dve sruii' instead of 'dve sri'tl'), where Grassmann translates,—^
Digitized by
238 5atapatha-brAhmajva.
indeed there are/ they say, ' those of the gods and
of the Fathers,' — 'thereon all that liveth here
passeth,' for thereon, indeed, everything living here
passes; — *what there is between the father and
the mother,' — the father, doubtless, is yonder (sky),
and the mother is this (earth): by means of these
two he leads the Fathers to the world of heaven.
He (the Sacrificer) alone drinks what is left from
the offering ^ : to himself alone he thus takes pros-
perity, for milk is prosperity.
22. He drinks it, with (V^. S, XIX, 48), 'May
this oblation be productive for me,' — for pro-
ductive indeed it is, whether it be milk or Soma ; —
'possessed often heroes,' — the ten heroes, doubt-
less, are the vital airs : vital airs he thus takes to
himself; — 'possessed, of all the troops,' — all the
troops, doubtless, are the limbs : it is limbs he thus
takes to himself; — 'for well-being: breath-
winning,' — the breath of life he thus wins ; — ' race-
winning,' — a race (offspring) he thus wins; — 'cattle-
winning,' — cattle he thus wins; — 'place-winning,'
— for it is for a place (in heaven) that he sacrifices :
it is that he gains; — 'safety-winning,' — the (place
of) safety, doubtless, is the heavenly world : in the
heavenly world he thus finally establishes himself; —
'May Agni raise for me abundant offspring,
* Two paths there are, so the Fathers have told me, passable for gods and men ; ' whilst Ludwig takes it in the way just referred to. The above interpretation is that of Mahtdhara, who refers to iSat- Br. I, 9, 2, 3 ; whilst S&ya/ia (on Xtks.) seems to take the two paths to be that of the Fathers and gods, and that of men {piirff^m devdn&m ^otdpi marty^nd/;; kz dve srutt dvau morgan) ; though he afterwards calls them * devay&na ' and * pitr/y&«a/
* That is to say, the milk which remains in the pot (ukh&), from which the milk used for the oblation was taken.
Digitized by
XII KkNDA, 8 ADHYAyA, 2 BRAHMA^A, 3. 239
and bestow ye upon us food, milk, and seed!'
it is to those (priests) who offer for him that he
thus says, * Bestow ye all this upon me ! ' By means
of gold they cleanse themselves^; for gold is
immortal life : in immortal life they thus finally
establish themselves.
Second BrAhmajva.
1. Pra^pati created the (Soma-)sacrifice. He
took it and performed it. When he had performed
it, he felt like one emptied out. He saw this sacri-
ficial performance, the Sautrima^l, and performed
it, and then he was again replenished ; and, indeed,
he who performs the Soma-sacrifice is, as it were,
emptied out, for his wealth, his prosperity is, as it
were, taken from him.
2. Having performed a Soma-sacrifice one ought
to perform the Sautrfima«l : as a cow that has been
milked would replenish again, even so, indeed, does
he replenish himself, — he replenishes himself by
offspring and cattle ; and, verily, he who, knowing
this, performs the SautrAma^!, or he who (even)
knows this, establishes himself in this world, and
wins the heavenly world.
3. As to this Suplan SSr^^aya asked Pratt- dar^a AibhAvata^ 'Seeing that neither does one
^ Kdty. Sr. XIX, 3, 27, 'Over the ^tvdla (pit) they cleanse themselves, with their wives, putting gold between;' that is to say, v^hilst the water is poured on their hands a piece of gold is held between, over which the water flows.
* Cf. II, 4, 4, 3-4, where the latter is called Pratldarja 5'vaikna (king of the 5vikna), whilst the foraier, after studying with him, is said to have been called Sahadeva SSr^^ya.
Digitized by
240 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAi^A.
become initiated, nor are Soma-shoots^ thrown down
(to be pressed), how then does the Sautrima^l
become a Soma-sacrifice ? '
4. He replied, 'The observance of the fast,
assuredly, is the head of the sacrifice, and the
initiation its body. And the truth, doubtless, is of
the form of the fast-observance, and faith of that
of the initiation. And mind is of the form of the
Sacrificer, and speech of that of the sacrifice/
5. Thus, when he enters upon the fast-observance,
he thereby restores the head to the body of the
sacrifice, and he puts truth into faith, and the Sacri-
ficer into the sacrifice.
6. Therefore at this sacrifice (the Sautr&ma«l)
the fast-observance* is the initiation. Now, the fast-
observance is a male, and the initiation a female ; and
the truth is a male, and faith a female ; and the mind
is a male, and speech a female ; and the Sacrificer is
the male to his wife, whence wherever there is a
husband there is a wife: and at the very outset
of the sacrifice he thus sets up couples with a view
to production.
7. * And, indeed, those (materials) are the Soma-
shoots at this sacrifice,' they say, ' to wit, the malted
rice, the malted barley, and the fried rice.'
8. The malted rice \ indeed, is of the form of the
^ The 'SomSwjava iva' would seem to have here the force of * Soma-shoots proper,' only substitutes (milk and liquor) being used instead.
• That is to say, the observance of the fast — ^by which the Sacri- ficer during the four days of the performance of the Sautr&manf, lives solely on the remains of the Agnihotra — takes the place of the ordinary initiation of the Soma-sacrifice, there being no DlkshS at the Sautrdma^.
• The malted rice, malted barley, and fried rice, referred to in
Digitized by
XII kAjvda, 8 adhyAya, 2 brAhmajva, 11. 241
moming-pressing, for the morning-pressing is this
(terrestrial) world, and the latter relates to the
A^ns, and Arvina milk he pours (into the Surd-
liquor) the first night: he thus provides him (the
Sacrificer *) with the morning-pressing — ^with its own
world, with its own deity, with its own form \
9. And the malted barley is of the form of the
midday-pressing, for the midday-pressing is the air,
and the latter relates to Sarasvatt », and the S&ra-
svata milk he pours (into the Surd) the second
night: he thus provides him with the midday-
pressing — ^widi its own world, with its own deity,
with its own form.
10. And the fried rice is of the form of the
evening-pressing, for the evening-pressing is the sky,
and the latter relates to Indra, and Aindra milk he
pours (into the Suri) the third night : he thus pro-
vides him with the evening-pressing — with its own
world, with its own deity, with its own form.
11. The milk of one (cow) he pours (into the Surd) the first night, the milk of two the second
this and the next two paragraphs, refer to the remnants of these materials, not used at first in the preparation of the Suri, and amounting to one-third of the original quantity of each; these being added successively during the three nights during which the Surd has to mature; of. p. 223, note 2.
^ Or, he renders him, the Sacrificer (or, perhaps, it, the sacrifice), successful by means of the moming-pressing.
* The literal translation would seem to be, — he thus provides him with the respective (sva) world, with the respective deity, and with the respective form, — (hence) with the morning-pressing. It may be remarked, however, that the deities here connected with the three services (the Ajvins, Sarasvatf, and Indra) are not those elsewhere associated with them (Vasus, Rudras, and Adityas, IV, 3, 5, I ; or Agni, Indra, VLrve DevsLi, XI, 5, 9, 7).
' Viz. inasmuch as it is full of moisture (saras).
Digitized by
242 .yATAPATHA-BRAHMAJVA.
night, and the milk of three the third night : he thus
provides him with the pressings, in accordance with
their forms, and in accordance with their deities.
12. With (V^. S. XIX, 2), * Hereof pour ye
to the juice,' he pours in (the milk) for the sake
of (conformity with) the Soma-pressing ; — '(to) the
Soma who is the supreme offering,' — for this,
to wit. Soma, is indeed the supreme offering
(-material) : he thus makes it ^ to be the supreme
offering; — 'the manly one who hath rushed
into the waters,' for both with water and between
it is he (Soma) indeed pressed out; — 'I have
pressed out Soma by stones,' for by means of
stones Soma is indeed pressed out; it is thus by
means of stones he presses it out for the sake of
(conformity with) the Soma-pressing.
1 3. As to this they say, * That Sautrdma^f , surely,
is of the form of both effused (extracted) and infused*
(Soma); — to wit, that essence of both water and
plants, the milk, is of the form of the effused (Soma) ;
and that essence of food, the liquor, is of the form of
infused (Soma) : by both (kinds of) pressings he thus
expresses it, by both pressings he secures it.
14. As to this they say, * Seeing that the Soma-
juice is pressed out by stones, how as to the Sautri-
ma»i ?' Let him reply, *By the directions ^ and the
