* That is, when the Ukhd was baked, cf. VI, 6, 4, i ; or, perhaps, — they it was that (the gods) made at this juncture. The former translation is more in accordance with what follows, though one would expect * etad ' to mean * at this time.'
' That is, without using bricks (?).
■ Viz. in a square hole dug for the purpose east of the G&rha- patya; the pot being then placed bottom upwards on the burning material, dry herbs, wood, &c. According to Axv. Sr. XV, 3, 20 such materials are to be used as, whilst being burnt, dye red.
Digitized by
, ,11 i*mvr _ ■wiMP*ii'ag««%ir^a- BHiTi -----^
XIV KAJVDA, 1 ADHyAyA, 2 BRAhMAJVA, 25. 457
22. He takes out (the first pot) with (VS^g^-
S. XXXVII, 10), 'For the righteous one
(I take) thee/ — the righteous one, doubtless, is
yonder world, for the righteous one means truth ;
and he that shines yonder is the truth, and the
first Pravargya is that (god) : it is him he thus
gratifies, and therefore he says, * For the righteous
one (I take) thee/
23. With, 'For the efficient one thee' (he
takes out the second pot), — the efficient one (sidhu),
doubtless, is he (Viyu, the wind) that purifies
here by blowing, for as a permanent one (siddha)
he blows through these worlds; and the second
Pravargya is that (god) : it is him he thus gratifies,
and therefore he says, * For the efficient one (I take)
thee/
24. With, 'For a good abode thee!' (he takes
out the third pot), — the good abode, doubtless, is
this (terrestrial) world, for it is in this world that
all creatures abide; and the good abode also is
Agni (fire), for Agni abides with all creatures^ in
this world ; and the third Pravargya is that (god) :
^ is him he thus gratifies, and therefore he says,
' For a good abode thee/ Silently (he takes out)
the two milking-bowls, and silently the two Rauhi«a-
plates.
25. He then pours goat's milk upon them* (the
' The accusative with ' kshi' (to inhabit) is rather peculiar here.
* As the pots are, however, standing with their open parts upwards, on sand north of the hole in which they were baked, it would chiefly be inside that they would receive the milk, being thereby cooled (cf. VI, 5, 4, 15). According to Apastamba, sand is in the first place heaped up around them in the sunwise fashion, L e. keeping them on the right side whilst strewing it
Digitized by
458 iJATAPATHA-BRAHMAi^A.
first) with, *For Makha thee! for Makha's
head theeT the import of this is the same a^
before. In the same way the other two; silently
the two milking-bowls, and silently the two Rauhi«a-
plates.
26. And, verily, whosoever either teaches, or
partakes of, this (Pravargya) enters that life, and
that light : the observance of the rule thereof is the
same as at the creation ^
Third BRAHMAi>rA.
I. Now at the time when he there ' proceeds with
the g^est-meal, he who intends to perform the
Pravargya, prior to the Upasads^ spreads Ku^a
grass with its tops directed towards the east, in
front of the Girhapatya, and places the vessels
thereon in pairs*, — the Upayamanl (tray) and the
Mahavlra (pot), the pair of lifting-sticks*, the
' That is to say, as would seem,— even as, in creating the universe, Pr£^pati reconstructs his body, or constructs himself a new body, so the Sacrificer, in keeping up the observance of the Pravargya, constructs himself a new body for the future life.
* That is, at the Soma-sacrifice, of the preliminary day (upava- satha) of which the guest-meal to, or hospitable reception (atithya) of, King Soma forms part (see part ii, p. 85 seqq.). The assump- tion here is, that the performance of the Pravargya takes place on that day before the Pressing-day, whilst in reality it has been performed for at least two days before that.
' See III, 4, 4, I. The Upasads are performed twice daily, for at least three days, up to the day before the Soma-sacrifice ; and if the Pravargya is to be performed likewise, it precedes immediately each performance of the Upasad. Cf. also XIV, 3, x, i with note.
* Prior to this, the doors of the jdld are to be closed, to keep the Mah&vira from being seen ; see p. 452, note 2. The entire performance of the Pravargya indeed has to be kept secret from the eyes of unauthorised persons.
* The 'parfjdsau' (also called *«iphau,' XIV, 2, i, 16) are two
Digitized by
XIV kIyda, 1 adhyAya, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 3. 459
two milking-bowls, the two Rauhi;^-plates, the two
offering spoons for the Rauhi«a (cakes), and what-
ever other (implement) there is, — these make ten,
for the Virif consists of ten syllables, and the
sacrifice is Vir^ : he thus makes this to be equal
to the Vir4f, ^^ sacrifice. And as to their being
in pairs, — a pair means strength, for when two
take hold of each other they exert strength; and
a pair (couple) means a productive union: with a pro^
ductive union he thus supplies and completes it
2. Then the Adhvaryu takes the (lustral) sprink-
ling water, and, stepping up, says, ' Brahman, we
shall proceed : Hotr/, sing praises ! ' for the Brah-
man is seated on the right (south) side as the
guardian of the sacrifice : to him he thus says, * Sit
thou undistracted : we are about to restore the head
of the Sacrifice;' and * Hotri, sing praises!' he
says, because the Hotri is the sacrifice: he thus
thereby says to him, * Restore the head of the
sacrifice!' and accordingly the Hotrt begins to
recite —
3. [V^f. S. XIII, 3,] *The Brahman, firstborn from afore \ — the Brahman, doubtless, is yonder
pieces of wood or laths apparently fastened together by a kind of clasp (or a cord) at one end, so as to serve the purpose of a pair of tongs (parfjSsau sa/ndain^kftrau, comm. on Kity. XXVI, 2, 10) for taking up the Mahfivtra pot, which must not be handled in any other way. According to Haug, Ait. Br., Transl., p. 51, they are placed underneath the pot in lifting it, but this seems very improb- able, seeing that, at the end of the sacrifice, the Adhvaryu, by means of them, turns the pot upside down so as to pour the remainder of its contents into the offering spoon (see Katy. XXIV, 6, 17 with comm.) ; nor could the blackened pot in that way be cleansed properly and placed on the supporting tray (XIV, 2, i, 16-17). * For the complete verse, see VII, 4, i, 14. For the complete
Digitized by
460 ^atapatha-brAhmajva.
sun, and he is bom day by day from afore (in
the . east) ; and the Pravargya also is that (sun) :
it is him he thus gratifies, and therefore he says,
' The Brahman (n.), firstborn from afore/ He then
sprinkles (the vessels) : the import of this is the
same as before \
4. He sprinkles (the chief Mahdvlra) with ( &g. S.
XXXVH, 11), *For Yama thee! — Yama, doubt-
less, is he who shines yonder, for it is he who controls
(yam) everything here, and by him everything here
is controlled ; and the Pravargya also is that (sun) :
it is him he thus gratifies, and therefore he says,
* For Yama (I sprinkle) thee/
5. * For Makha thee ! ' — Makha, doubtless, is he
who shines yonder, and the Pravargya also is that
one : it is him he thus gratifies, and therefore he
says, ' For Makha thee/
6. 'For SCkryas heat thee!' — ^Sftrya, doubtless,
is he who shines yonder, and the Pravargya also is
that one : it is him he thus gratifies, and therefore
he says, *For Sftrya's heat thee/
7. Having taken out a post^ by the front door
(of the 5ili), he drives it into the ground on the
south side (of the JdlS ^), so that the Hotr/, whilst
singing praises, may look upon it; for the WoXri
is the sacrifice, and he thereby restores the sacrifice
to this (earth), and she causes the Gharma (milk)
to rise.
series of texts recited by the Jiotri', see Ait. Br. I, 19 seqq. ; Ajv. Sx, IV, 6.
' Viz. he makes the vessels sacrificially pure (I, 3, 3, i).
' For tying the cow that is to furnish the milk for the Gharma« Near it a peg is driven into the ground to tie the goat to whose milk is to be used afterwards.
' That would be, south of the southern door (Apast. XV, 6, 13).
Digitized by
XIV KANDA,^ I ADHYAyA, 3 BRkllMANA, 12. 46 1
8. Having turned round the Emperor's throne-
seat ^ in front of the Ahavan!ya> he places it south
thereof, and north of the King's (Soma's) throne-
seat ^ so as to face the east.
9. It is made of Udumbara wood, for the Udum-
bara means strength : with strength, with vital sap»
he thus supplies and completes it (the Pravargya).
10. It is shoulder-high, for on the shoulders this
head is set : he thus sets the head upon the
shoulders.
11. It is wound all over with cords'* of Balva^
grass (Eleusine indica). When the sacrifice had
its head cut off, its vital sap flowed out, and
thence these plants grew up : with that life-sap he
thus supplies and completes it.
12 And .as to why he places it north (of Soma's
seat), — Soma is the sacrifice, and the Pravargya
is its head ; but the head is higher (uttara) : there-
fore he places it north (uttara) of it. Moreover,
Soma is king, and the Pravargya is emperor, and
the imperial dignity is higher than the royal : there-
fore he places it north of it *,
* The Pravargya is styled * samrS^,' or universal king, emperor ; as distinguished from King Soma, for whose seat, reaching only up to the navel, see III, 3, 4, 26 seqq. (Cf. also that of the Ukhya Agni, which is only a span high, VI, 7, i, i, 12 seqq.) — For a similar attribution of imperial dignity (sdmri^ya) — as well as royal dignity (r^ya) — to him who is consecrated by the Sautr&mani (where the seat used is knee-high), see XII, 8, 3, 4 seqq.
* Apast. XV, 6, 10 places it in front (east) of the seat for Soma.
* Cf. XII, 8, 3, 6.
* According to Kiiy. XXVI, 2, 17 (Apast XV, 6, 11), the black antelope-skin is then spread over the seat, and the two unused Mah&vfra pots (as well as the reserve piece of clay and the spade, Kdty.) placed thereon.
Digitized by
462 ^atapatha-brAhmaj^a.
13. And when the Hotn recites this (verse,
Rig'V. V, 43, 7), * Whom the priests anoint, as
if spreading him • . . / he anoints that MahAvlra
which is to be used, all over with ghee^, with,
*May the god Savitre anoint thee with
honey!' for Savitr^' is the impeller of the gods,
and honey means everything whatever there is
here: he thus anoints it (or him) all over with
everything here, and Savitn, as the impeller, impels
it for him, — this is why he says, *May the god
Savitr/ anoint thee with honey!'
14. Now sand has been strewed* on the north
side of it: below that he (previously) throws
(a plate of) white gold^ with, 'Protect it from
contact with the earth!' For at that time
the gods were afraid lest the Rakshas, the fiends,
might injure that (Pravargya) of theirs from below ;
and that, to wit, gold, being Agni's seed, it (serves)
for repelling the fiends, the Rakshas, But, indeed,
the Earth also was afraid of this lest this (Pra*
vargya), when heated and glowing*, might injure
* Kdty. XXVI, 2, 4 refers to the pot as * containing ghee (Sa- vant),' which the comm. takes to mean 'filled with consecrated ghee ; ' whilst Apast. XV, 7, 5 leaves the option between greasing it (a^^) and filling it (abhipiir) with ghee. It would doubtless, at all events, be abundantly greased inside.
' North of the Garhapatya and the Ahavantya in the jal& two mounds (khara) are formed, covered with (or consisting of) sand. The one north of the latter fire is here alluded to.
' That is, a silver plate weighing a hundred grains,
^ Though 'tapta^' and 'juni^naA* are here translated as if they were actually co-ordinate predicates, I am not sure whether we should not rather take the passage to mean, — that this glowing one, when heated ; or rather, this one when heated so as to be glowing. Cf. XIV, 2, 1, 18 ; 3, i, 14, where I prefer to subordinate one of the participles to the other.
