* That is, from the Purusha ; cf. Xig-v, S. X, 90, 5*
D d 2
Digitized by
404 5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAJVA.
This, then, is that Virif, and from out of that
VirS^ he (the Sacrificer) generates the Purusha,
the Sacrifice.
3. Now these (forty days) are four decades ; and
as to there being these four decades, it is for the
obtainment of these worlds, as well as of the regions :
by the first decade they* obtained even this (terres-
trial) world, by the second the air, by the third
the sky, and by the fourth the regions (quarters) ;
and in like manner does the Sacrificer, by the first
decade, obtain even this (terrestrial) world, by the
second the air, by the third the sky, and by the
fourth the regions — and, indeed, as much as these
worlds and the regions are, so much is all this
(universe); and the Purushamedha is everything:
thus it is for the sake of his obtaining and securing
everything.
4. On the Upavasatha' (day) there are eleven
victims sacred to Agni and Soma : the performance
for these is one and the same. There are eleven
stakes, — the Trish/ubh (verse) consists of eleven
syllables, and the Trish/ubh is a thunderbolt, and
the Trish/ubh is vigour : with the thunderbolt, with
vigour, the Sacrificer thus from the first repels evil.
5. On the Suty4 (days) there are the (Savantya)
victims of the set of eleven * (stakes), — the Trish-
/ubh consists of eleven syllables, and the Trish/ubh
is a thunderbolt, and the Trish/ubh is vigour : with
the thunderbolt, with vigour^ the Sacrificer thus
from the first repels evil.
^ Harisvimin supplies ' pArve punishS^ ' (? former men, or the first seven purushd^, the seven ^fshis).
* That is, the day before the Soma-sacrifice.
• See III, 7, 2, I seqq.
Digitized by
XIII KkNDAy 6 ADHYAyA, I BRAhMAJVA, Q. 405
6. And, again, as to why there are (the victims)
of the set of eleven (stakes) : it is for the sake of
his obtaining and securing everything, for the set
of eleven (stakes) is everything, since the set of
eleven (stakes) is Pr^fipati, and Pra^pati is every-
thing, and the Purushamedha is everything.
7. Now this Purushamedha is a five-days' sacri-
ficial performance — the sacrifice is fivefold, the vic-
tim is fivefold, and five seasons are a year : what-
soever of five kinds there is, either concerning the
deity or the self (body), all that he thereby obtains.
8. The first day thereof is an Agnish/oma ; then
(follows) an Ukthya, then an Atir&tra, then an
Ukthya, then an Agnish/oma : this (sacrifice) thus
has light (fyotis^) on both sides, and an Ukthya
on both sides (of the central Atir&tra).
9. It is a five-days' (sacrifice), like a barley-corn
in the middle*; for the Purushamedha is these
worlds, and these worlds have light on both sides —
through Agni (the sacrificial fire) on this side, and
through Aditya (the Sun) on the other: therefore
it has light on both sides. And the Ukthya is food,
and the Atirdtra the body (self) ; and because there
are these Ukthyas on both sides of the Atir&tra,
therefore this body is surrounded by food. And
that Atir&tra which is the largest of them is in the
middle, it is thereby that it (the body, or sacrifice)
is like a barley-corn (yava) in the middle ; and, verily,
' Viz. an Agnish/oma form of the Gyotish/oma order of sacrifice. Cf. part iv, p. 287, note 2.
' That is, becoming larger towards the middle, inaanuch as the Ukthya is — as far as Stotras and 5astras, and cups of Soma are concerned — a larger sacrifice than the Agnish/oma; and the Atir&tra is the largest form of all.
Digitized by
406 a^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAJVA.
whosoever knows this repels (yu) his hateful enemy :
* He alone exists, not his hateful enemy/ thus they
say of him.
10. The first day is for it this same (terrestrial)
world,and the springseason^ also is this its (terrestrial)
world ; and the second day is what there is above
this (terrestrial) world and below the air, and the
summer season also is that (part) of it; and the
central day is its air, and the rainy and autumn
seasons also are its air ; and the fourth day is what
is above the air, and below the sky, and the winter
season also is that (part) of it ; and its fifth day is
the skyi and the dewy season also is its sky : thus
as to the deities.
11. Then as to the body*. The first day is its
feet, and the spring season also is its feet ; and
the second day is what is above the feet, and below
the waist, and the summer season also is that (part)
of it ; and the central day is its waist, and the rainy
and autumn seasons also are its waist ; the fourth
day is what is above the waist and below the head,
and the winter season also is that (part) of it ; and
the fifth day is its head, and the dewy season also
is its head : — thus these worlds, as well as the year
and the (sacrificer's) self, pass into the Purushamedha
for the obtainment and securing of everything, for,
indeed, these worlds are everything, and the year
is everything, and the self is everything, and the
Purushamedha is everything.
^ It should be borne in mind here that the sacrifice (Pn^fipati) is identical with the Sacrificer on the one hand, and with the year on the other.
' Or, as to the self, viz. of Prs\^paii (and the Sacrificer), which the sacrifice is supposed to reproduce.
Digitized by
XIII KANDA, 6 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAhMAJ^TA, 3. 407
Second BRAnMAivA.
1. And as to why it is called Purushamedha : —
The stronghold (pur) doubtless is these worlds,
and the Purusha (spirit) is he that blows here (the
wind), he bides (si) in this stronghold (pur) : hence
he is the Purusha. And whatever food there is in
these worlds that is its * medha/ its food ; and inas-
much as this is its ' medha/ its food, therefore (it is
called) Purushamedha. And inasmuch as at this
(sacrifice) he seizes ^ men (purusha) meet for sacrifice
(medhya), therefore also it is called Purushamedha.
2. He seizes them on the central day, for the
central day is the air, and the air is the abode of
all beings ; and, indeed, these victims are also food,
and the central day is the belly : he thus puts food
in the belly.
3. He seizes them by decades * for the obtainment
^ That is, he (symbolically) immolates them.
' The statement in paragraphs 3 and 4, according to which there are eleven decades of human victims, does not refer to the actual distribution of victims over the eleven stakes, but it is apparendy made purely for symbolical reasons (viz. with reference to the Vir^ and TrishAibh metres), and is probably based on the way in which the victims are enumerated in the V^asaneyi-samhitS, XXX, 5-22 (see the Translation at the end of this chapter, where they are, however, numbered according to the stakes). There the first eleven K^ind'ik&s (5-15) are made up of the names and deities of ten victims each, hence together of eleven decades ; whilst of the subsequent Ka^^^kas — k. 16 consists of twelve, ks» 17-21 of ten each, and k. 22 of twelve victims. The actual mode of distribution over the several stakes is that referred to in para- graphs 5-8, viz. the first forty-eight victims are tied to the central stake, after which eleven victims are tied to each of the other ten stakes. After these, amounting to 1&8 victims, the SsLmhxtSi
Digitized by
4o8 -^atapatha-brAhmajva.
of all food, for the Vir^f consists of ten syllables, and the VirS^ is all food \
4. Eleven decades ^ he seizes ; — the Trish/ubh
consists of eleven syllables, and the Trish/ubh is
the thunderbolt, and vigour : with the thunderbolt,
with vigour, the Sacrificer thus repels evil from
within him.
5. Forty-eight he seizes at the central stake; —
the (7agat! consists of forty-eight syllables, and
cattle are of 6^&gata (movable) nature : by means of
the ^agatt he (the priest) secures cattle for him.
6. Eleven at each of the others ; — ^the TrishAibh
consists of eleven syllables, and the Trish/ubh is
the thunderbolt, and vigour : with the thunderbolt,
enumerates twenty-six additional victims, which, according to Maht- dhara (cf. K&ty. XXI, i, 10), are to be added to the eleven victims of the second stake, — viz. fourteen victims dedicated to various so- called deities ; eight victims, sacred to Pra^pati and belonging neither to the 6fidra nor to the Brfthma^a castes ; and finally four more victims, characterised in exactly the same way as the eight preceding ones. It will be seen that of these twenty-six victims only the first set of (eight) Prfi^patya victims are referred to in the lJrihma«a, and that as the victims seixed last of all. This circum- stance clearly characterises the last four victims of the Sa«rhit& as not recognised by the Br&hma«a ; and seeing that all four of these are such as have already occurred amongst the previously enumerated victims (though there assigned to different divinities) they must be considered (as they are by Prof. Weber, Ind. Streifen, I, p. 68) as having been added to the list of the Sajwhitd subsequently to the composition of the BrAhmana. A similar inference will probably apply to the fourteen victims preceding the eight Pr^patya ones, though all that can be urged against them is that they are not referred to m the Brdhmawa.
J,Ku''"!!l?'~''"'^.t^^ ^"^^ '^ "^'^ (^dely ruling or shining). In * See note 2 on p. 407.
Digitized by
XIII KANDA, 6 ADHYAyA, 2 BRAhMAjVA, IO. 409
with vigour, the Sacrificer thus repels evil from about him.
7. Last of all he seizes eight ; — the G4yatr!
consists of eight syllables, and the Gijratrt is the
Brahman (n.): he thus makes the Brahman to be
the ultimate thing of this universe, whence they
say that the Brahman is the ultimate thing of
this universe.
8. These (eight) are sacred to Pra^Apati, —
Prs^pati assuredly is the Brahman, for Pra^pati is
of the nature of the Brahman ^ : therefore they are
sacred to Pn^pati.
9. When about to bring up the victims, he offers
those three oblations to Savitri, with (V^. S.
XXX, 1-3), *God Savitr^*, (speed the sacrifice,
speed the lord of sacrifice unto his share)!' —
'May we obtain that glorious light of the
God SavitW, (who shall inspire our prayers)!'
— * All troubles remove thou from us, O God
Savltr/; bestow unto us what is auspicious!'
He thus pleases Savitrf, and thus pleased with him,
he (Savitrt) impels (speeds) those (sacrificial) men,
and he seizes them impelled by that (Savitrf ).
10. For the priesthood he seizes a Br&hma^ta, for
the Br&hmzna, is the priesthood: he thus joins
priesthood to priesthood*; — ^for the nobility he
seizes a R&fanya, for the R^^nya is the nobility :
he thus joins nobility to nobility; — for the Maruts
(he seizes) a Vai.fya, for the Maruts are the clans
(peasants) : he thus joins peasantry to peasantry ; —
' That 18, of the divine spirit, the world-soul, of which Prs^pati is, as it were, the personification, or phenomenal represenlative.
* Or, he perfects, completes, the priesthood by (adding to it a member of) the priesthood.
Digitized by
4 lO DATAPATH A-BRAhMAJ^A.
for (religious) toil (he seizes) a .SCidra, for the *SXkdra is toil : he thus joins toil to toil ; — ^according to their particular form he thus supplies these divinities with victims, and) thus supplied, they supply him with all his objects of desire.
1 1. He makes offering with ghee, for ghee is fiery
mettle: by means of fiery mettle he thus endows him
(the Sacrificer) with fiery mettle. He makes offering
with ghee, for that — to wit, ghee — is the dear
resource of the gods : he thus supplies them with
their dear resource,, and, thus supplied, they supply
him with all his objects of desire.
1 2. By means of the Purusha N4r4ya«a (litany),
the Brahman priest (seated) to the right (south) of
them, praises the men bound (to the stakes) with
this sixteen-versed (hymn, Rtg-v. X, 90, V&f. S.
XXXI, 1-16), *The thousand-headed Purusha,
thousand-eyed, thousand-footed^ . . .;* — thus
(he does) for the obtainment and the securing of
everything, for everything here consists of sixteen
parts, and the Punishamedha is everything : in thus
saying, ' So and so thou art, so and so thou art,' he
praises and thereby indeed magnifies him (Purusha);
but he also thereby speaks of him, such as he is.
Now, the victims had had the fire carried round
them, but they were not yet slaughtered, —
