^ The exact meaning of ' hdrdvSnam ' is doubtful. Mahtdhara analyses it by ' h&rd ' = * hri'd ' + * vdna,' blowing, going, hence ' heart-wafting, going to the heart = dear to the heart,' The St. Petersb. Diet takes the word to be ' hSrd-van,' in the sense of * herzst^rkend ' (heart - sustaining, invigorating — ? literally, 'possessed of heartiness'). The Taitt Ar. has ' hdrdivSnam ' instead. The author of the Br&hmana apparently considers th^ term as obscure, and uses this circumstance for his own symbolic purposes.
* Perhaps the author means to characterise also the epithet
I i 2
Digitized by
484 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
this is indistinct, for Pra^pati is indistinct (un-
defined), and the sacrifice is Praglpati : Pra^pati,
the sacrifice, he thus heals ; —
22. *To the web-weaver,' — the web-weaver,
doubtless, is he that shines yonder, for he moves
along these worlds as if along a web; and the
Pravargya also is that (sun): thus it is him he
thereby pleases, and therefore he says, *To the
web-weaver ' —
23. *To Heaven and Earth be reverence!'
he thus propitiates heaven and earth, within which
everything here is contained.
24. Thereupon the Sacrificer (mutters), — the
Sacrificer being the sacrifice, he thus heals the
sacrifice by means of the sacrifice; —
25. [VAf. S. XXXVIII, 13,] 'The A^vins
drank the Gharma,' — he says this with regard
to the A^ins, for the Amns restored the head
of the sacrifice : it is them he thus pleases.
26. 'Heaven and Earth have approved of
it\' — he says this with regard to heaven and
earth, within which everything here is contained ; —
'may gifts accrue here!' — whereby he means
to say, 'may there be riches for us here/
27. The rising (milk) he then consecrates by the anumantra^a^ * For freshness swell thou!'
'ahar-diva' (lit ' day-daily,' cf. Germ. tagtILglich; Aberdonian 'daily- day ') as obscure. M ahtdhara takes it to mean ' relating to morning and evening/ as applying to the two performances of the Pravargya.
* They approved of it by saying * Well done ' ; Mahidh,
* That is, as would seem, he speaks the anumantrana in order to consecrate whatever milk might have been spilled in bubbling over. Possibly, however, he is to do so at the time when the pot bubbles over (though the * atha ' would rather be out of place in that case). The Taittirtyas diflfer somewhat on this point of the performance.
Digitized by
st^
XIV kAjvDA, 2 ADHYAyA, 2 BRkUMANA, 30. 485
— whereby he means to say, * For rain . . . ; ' —
*for vigour swell thou!* — he thereby means
the vigour, the life-sap, which results from the
rain; — 'for the Brahman swell thou!' — he
thereby means the priesthood ; — 'for the Kshatra
swell thou!* — ^he thereby means the nobility; —
'for Heaven and Earth swell thou!' — ^he
thereby means these two, the heaven and the
earth, within which everything here is contained.
28. When it rises upwards, it rises for (the benefit
of) the Sacrificer ; when on the front side, it does
so for the gods; when on the right (south) side,
it does so for the Fathers; when at the back
(west side), it does so for the cattle ; when on the
left (north) side, it does so for (the Sacrificer's)
offspring: in any case no fault is incurred by the
Sacrificer, for it always rises upwards ; and in what-
ever direction it rises in that it rises. When the
drops cease, —
29. He steps out towards the north-east with,
' A well-supporting support thou art,' — ^he who
shines yonder is indeed a support, for he supports
everything here, and by him everything here is
supported ; and the Pravargya also is that (sun) :
thus it is him he thereby pleases, and therefore
he says, * A well-supporting support thou art/
30. He then places (the MahAvlra) on the mound
with, 'Incapable of injuring, preserve thou
our powers ! ' — * Not angry ^, preserve our wealth,'
After the Ghanna-milk has been offered, the Pratiprasthdtrf fills the Mahdvtra pot, whilst it is held over the fire, with boiled sour curds and whey (dadhi), whilst muttering the text, ' The Arvins drank the Gharma . . . ,' and wiih the texts^ ' For freshness swell thou,' &c. ^ The author apparently takes 'ameni' in the sense of ' amanyu/
Digitized by
486 .DATAPATH A-BRAHMAi\rA .
is what he thereby means to say; — 'preserve
the priesthood, preserve the nobility, pre-
serve the people!' — 'preserve all that/ is what
he thereby means to say.
31. He then offers by means of the pieces of
(split) wood^ — the pieces of wood being the vital
airs, it is the vital airs he thus bestows upon him ; —
32. With (Vdf. S. XXXVIII, 15), •Hail to
PAshan, to the cream!' — PClshan, doubdess, is
he who blows here, for he (the wind) supports
(push) everything here; and the breath also is
that (wind): it is breath he thus bestows upon
him, whence he says, * Hail to Pfishan, to the
cream ! ' The call of ' hail ! * he places first, and
the deity last: the significance of this is the same
as before. Having offered (by means of the first
piece) he leans it against the middle enclosing-
stick* (paridhi).
33. 'Hail to the pressing-stones!' — the
pressing-stones being the vital airs, it is the vital
airs he thus bestows upon him. Having offered
(with the second stick) he leans it against the middle
enclosing-stick.
34. *Hail to the sounding-holes^!' — the
The St. Petersb. Diet, assigns to it the meaning 'not shooting, incapable of shooting.'
* For these pieces of wood, or large chips, of Vikahkata wood (Flacourtia sapida) which were laid round the pot, see XIV, i, 3, 26, They are dipped into the remains of the hot milk and ghee, the Uquid adhering to them being then offered.
' That is, that one of the three fresh sticks enclosing the fire which is laid down first, along the back, or west side, and forms the base of a triangle the apex of which points eastwards. Cf. 1, 3, 4, I seqq.
' This meaning is, by the St. Petersb. Diet., assigned to *prati-rava'
Digitized by
XIV KkNDA, 2 ADHYAya, 2 BRAhMAJVA, 35. 487
sounding-holes (pratirava), doubtless, are the vital
airs, for everything here is pleased (pratirata)
with the vital airs: it is the vital airs he thus
bestows upon him. Having offered (with the
third stick) he leans it against the middle enclosing-
stick.
35. 'Hail to the Fathers, (seated) upon the
Barhis\ and drinking the Gharma!' — even
without offering he secretes (this, the fourth stick)
under the barhis of the south part (of the vedi ^)
whilst looking towards the north \ When the
sacrifice had rts head cut off, its life-sap flowed
away, and went to the Fathers — the Fathers being
three in number : it is them he thus pleases. And
(otherwise * echo '), the proper term for the sounding-holes being ' upa-rava,' cf. Ill, 5, 4, i, where they are likened to the eyes and ears, as channels of the vital airs.
" If this rendering (St. Petersb. Diet.) of * flrdhvabarhis * is correct — the term being apparently based on the Fathers' epithet * barhishadaA,' * seated on the barhis ' (sacrificial grass-covering of the altar-ground) — the force of * firdhva ' in the compound is very peculiar. Mahidhara takes it in the sense of ' having their barhis pointed upwards,' i. e. towards the east (I), the peculiar feature of the barhis in the present case — as far as the participation of the Fathers in the drinking of the Gharma is concerned — being its having the tops of the grass-stalks turned to the east instead of to the south, as is the case in all ceremonies relating to the Fathers. The term * (irdhvabarhis ' might possibly mean ' having their (special) barhis above/ i. e. in the world of the Fathers, where they would be supposed to partake of the libations of hot milk ; whilst yet another (suggested by the next paragraph) would be that of ' having the barhis above them ; ' which would, however, be more appropriate if the secreting of the stick under the barhis applied to the present, instead of the next one.
* The comm. on K^ty. XXVI, 6, 14 calls this part of the barhis '&tithy&barhi8'(?).
' And accordingly, without looking at it.
Digitized by
488 ^atapatha-brAhmajva.
as to why he does not look at it, — once for all the Fathers have passed away.
36. *Hail to Heaven and Earth!' — heaven
and earth being the out (and in)-bfeathing and the
up-breathing, it is the out and up-breathing he thus
bestows upon him. Having offered (with the fifth
stick) he leans it against the middle enclosing-stick.
37. * Hail to the All-gods!' — the Vixve Devi*
being the vital airs, it is the vital airs he thus
bestows upon him. Having offered (with the
sixth stick) he leans it against the middle enclos-
ing-stick.
38. [V4f. S. XXXVIII, 16,] •Hail to Rudra,
praised by the Rudras*!' — even without offering
(with this, the seventh stick), he, looking south-
wards, hands it to the Pratiprasth&tr^*, and the latter
throws it outside (the offering-ground) northwards
to the north of the hall, for this is the region of
that god : he thus gratifies him in his own region.
And as to why he does not look at it, he does
so thinking, * Lest Rudra should do me harm.'
39. There are seven of these oblations, for seven
in number are these (channels of the) vital airs in
the head : it is these he thus bestows upon him,
40. He then pours (the remaining milk and ghee)
from the Mahivtra into the supporting-tray with,
'Hail, light with light!' — for light indeed the
milk was in the one (vessel), and light it is in the
other, and these two lights thus unite with each other.
The call of 'hail ! ' he places first, and the deity last :
the mystic import of this is the same as before.
* Or, ' having his praises sung by the chanters,' as Mahtdhara takes ' rudrahfiti/
Digitized by
XIV KAiVDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAhMAJVA, 43. 489
41. He then oflfers (the second of) the two
Rauhi«a^ (cakes) with, * May the day be pleased
with its brightness, the well-lighted with its
light, hail!' — the mystic import of this is the
same as before; — *may the night be pleased
with its brightness, the well-lighted with its
light, hail ! ' — ^the mystic import of this is the same
as before.
42. He then hands to the Sacrificer the remainder
of the Gharma. He, having solicited an invitation *
(to the meal), drinks it with, 'Offered is the
honey unto Agni, the greatest of Indras,* —
* Offered is the honey unto Agni, the most power-
ful,' he thereby means to say; — *let us eat of
thee, god Gharma: reverence be unto thee,
injure us not ! ' — ^a blessing he thereby invokes.
43. Now, on the south side sand has been strewn ; there they cleanse themselves * : in this there is the
» Viz. XIV, 2, I, I.
* Viz. at the hands of the officiating priests, by saying to each,
* Invite me, N. N. T whereupon each of them replies, * Thou art invited/ Cf. XII, 8, 3, 30. According to Apast. St. XV, 11, 12, the priests and the Sacrificer partake of the residue in the order — Hotn*, Adhvaryu, Brahman, Pratiprasthdlri*, Agnidh, and Sacri- ficer; or, optionally (ib. 14), only the Sacrificer drinks of it, whilst the priests merely smell it. Cf. the eating of the whey (of clotted curds), II, 4, 4, 25, to which the present eating of the remains is stated, by KSty. XXVI, 6, 20, to be analogous ; whilst the oflFering is said to be on the model of the Agnihotra.
' The usual place to do so is over the pit (>&atrala), cf. Ill, 8, 2, 30 ; XII, 8, 1, 22 ; whilst the utensils are cleaned in the Mir^lfya. On the present occasion a mound of sand (or covered with, sand) — the so-called * u^^^iish/a-khara ' (mound of remains) — is raised in the south part of the fil&, close to the mat or hurdle forming its wall, just east of the southern doon According to Kdty. XXVI, 6, 21 seqq., Apast. XV, 12, i seqq., the Mah&vfra and the remaining
Digitized by
490 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
same significance as in the M4r^llya. The pieces
of wood he throws into the fire. They then pro-
ceed with the Upasad. And thus the head of the
sacrifice has been set right in the very same manner
in which the A^vins then restored it
44. One must not perform the Pravargya at one's
first Soma-sacrifice, since that would be sinful, and
lest Indra should cut off his head ; but at the
second or the third (Soma-sacrifice) ; for at first
the gods went on worshipping and toiling with
the headless sacrifice, therefore (he should do so)
at the second or the third (sacrifice). Moreover,
it will become heated and ablaze; —
45. And were he to perform the Pravargya at
the first Soma-sacrifice, that (Mahivlra) of his,
when heated and ablaze, would burn up his family
and cattle, and also his life, and the Sacrificer
would be liable to perish : therefore (let him
perform it) at the second or third (sacrifice).
46. Let him not perform the Pravargya for any
and every one, lest he should do everything for
every one, for the Pravargya is everything; but
let him only perform it for him who is known, or
to whoever may be dear to him, or who has studied
sacred writ: by means of the study of sacred writ
he would thus gain it.
47. One may perform the Pravargya for a thousand
(head of cattle) \ for a thousand means everything,
and that (Pravargya) is everything. One may
