* The vira§^ (the ' shining' or 'ruling' metre) consists of (generally three or four) padas of ten syllables each : hence it is here con- nected with the ten metings out of Soma.
^ The Soma representing offspring, he gives the bundle a shape resembling the human body.
Ill KAiVDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 4. 69
Third Brahmaa^a.
1. He bargains for the king (Soma); and because
he bargains for the king, therefore any and every-
thing is vendible here. He says, ' Soma-seller, is
thy king Soma for sale ?' — * He is for sale,' says the
Soma-seller. — 'I will buy him of thee !' — ' Buy him !'
says the Soma-seller. — ' I will buy him of thee for
one-sixteenth (of the cow).' — ' King Soma, surely, is
worth more than that!' says the Soma-seller. — ' Yea,
King Soma is worth more than that; but great, surely,
is the greatness of the cow,' says the Adhvaryu.
2. ' From the cow (comes) fresh milk, from her
boiled milk, from her cream, from her sour curds,
from her sour cream, from her curdled milk, from
her butter, from her ghee, from her clotted curds,
from her whey :
3. I will buy him of thee for one hoofM' — * King
Soma, surely, is worth more than that!' says the
Soma-seller. — ' Yea, King Soma is worth more than
that, but great, surely, is the greatness of the cow,'
replies the Adhvaryu ; and, having (each time)
enumerated the same ten virtues, he says, ' I will
buy him of thee for one foot,' — 'for half (the cow),' —
' for the cow !' — ' King Soma has been bought !' says
the Soma-seller, ' name the kinds !'
4. He (the Adhvaryu) says, ' Gold is thine, a cloth
is thine, a goat is thine, a milch cow is thine, a pair
of kine is thine, three other (cows) are thine !' And
because they first bargain and afterwards come to
terms, therefore about any and everything that is
for sale here, people first bargain and afterwards
^ That is, for one-eighth of a cow, each foot consisting of two hoofs (or toes, japha).
70 5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
come to terms. And the reason why only the
Adhvaryu enumerates the virtues of the cow, and
not the Soma-seller those of the Soma, is that Soma
is already glorified, since Soma is a god. And the
Adhvaryu thereby glorifies the cow, thinking, ' See-
ing her virtues he shall buy her !' This is why only
the Adhvaryu enumerates the virtues of the cow,
and not the Soma-seller those of the Soma.
5. And as to his bargaining five times : — the sacri-
fice being of equal measure with the year, and there
being five seasons in the year, he thus obtains it
(the sacrifice. Soma) in five (divisions), and therefore
he bargains five times.
6. He then makes (the sacrificer) say on the gold^
(Va^. S. IV, 26), 'Thee, the pure, I buy with
the pure,' for he indeed buys the pure with the
pure, when (he buys) Soma with gold; — *the bril-
liant with the brilliant,' for he indeed buys the
brilliant with the brilliant, when (he buys) Soma
with gold; — 'the immortal with the immortal,'
for he indeed buys the immortal with the immortal,
when (he buys) Soma with gold.
7. He then tempts ^ the Soma-seller (with the
gold): ' In compensation ^ for thy cow,' whereby
he means to say, ' With the sacrificer (be) thy cow!'
^ That is, according to Katy.VII, 8, 5, in making him touch the gold. The Ka«va text has, ' Thereupon he buys him (Soma) with
gold;
"^ Or, according to the commentaries, ' he frightens the Soma- seller (by threatening to take back the money).'
^ ? Sagme (? compact), explained by the commentators as meaning the sacrificer. Perhaps it may mean, ' one of the parties to an agreement,' and he'nce here the sacrificer as the bargainee. The Ka«va text reads, He then takes it back again (punar adatte) with ' Sagme te go/^,' and throws it down with ' Ours thy gold.'
Ill KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 9. 71
He then draws it (the gold) back towards the sacri-
ficer, and throws it down, with, 'Ours be thy gold !'
whereby he (the sacrificer) takes unto himself the
vital energy, and the Soma-seller gets only the body.
Thereupon the Soma-seller takes it^
8. He then makes him (the sacrificer) say on the
she-goat, which stands facing the west, 'Thou art
the bodily form of fervour,' — that she-goat was
indeed produced as the bodily form of fervour, of
Pra^apati ; hence he says, ' Thou art the bodily
form of fervour,' — ' Pra^apati's kind,' because she
brings forth three times in the year, therefore she is
Pra^apati's kind. 'Thou art bought with the
most excellent animal,' because she brings forth
three times in the year, she is the most excellent of
animals. 'May I increase with a thousandfold
increase!' Thereby he implores a blessing: a
thousand meaning abundance, he thereby means to
say, ' May I obtain abundance ! '
9. With that (text) he gives the she-goat, with that he takes the king 2; for a^a (goat) doubtless
^ According to some authorities, the gold is again taken away forcibly from the Soma-seller by the Adhvaryu, after the sacrificer has uncovered his head (paragraph 12), and the seller is driven away by blows with a speckled cane. Katy. VII, 8, 27. According to Apastamba (ib.), he buys off the Soma-cow with another cow, and then dismisses her to the cow-pen ; and if the Soma-seller objects, he is to be beaten with a speckled cane. The Manava-sutra merely says, that they are to give the Soma-seller something for compensation. The whole transaction was evidently a feigned purchase, symbolising the acquisition of the Soma by the gods from the Gandharvas. The real bargain was probably concluded before the sacrificial performance. See also Haug, Ait. Br. Transl. p. 59, note 2.
^ While making over the she-goat to the Soma-seller with his left hand, he receives the Soma with the right.
72 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
means the same as a^a (driving thither^), since it is
through her (the she-goat) that he finally drives him
(Soma) thither. It is thus in a mystic sense that
they call her 'a^a.'
10. He takes the king, with the text (Va^. S. IV,
27), ' Come to us, a friend, bestowing good
friends!' whereby he means to say, 'Come to us,
as a kind and propitious one!' Having pushed
back the garment on the sacrificer's right thigh, he
lays him (Soma) down thereon, with the text, 'Seat
thee on Indra's right thigh,' — for he, the sacri-
ficer, is at present Indra^: therefore he says, 'Seat
thee on Indra's right thigh ;' — ' willing on the will-
ing,' whereby he means to say, 'beloved on the
beloved one;' — 'tender on the tender!' w^hereby
he means to say, ' propitious on the propitious one.'
11. Thereupon he (the sacrificer) assigns (to the
Gandharvas) the objects constituting the purchase
price for the Soma, with the text, ' O Svana,
Bhra^a, Anghari, Bambhari, H asta, Suhasta,
KreVanu! these are your wages for Soma:
keep them! may they not fail you!' Now
those (Gandharvas) are instead of the hearth-
mounds — these being the names of the hearth-
mounds — it is these very (names) that he thereby
has assigned to them^
^ Sayawa takes a-a^ in the sense of ' to go to, to come' (a^a, the comer) ; because the sacrificer through her comes to Soma.
^ See part i, introduction, p. xix, note 4.
' 'For those same Gandharvas, the overseers of the Guardians of Soma, they are (meant) in lieu of those (? heartli-mounds), for those are their names: it is to them that he thereby assigns those (objects constituting the purchase-price), and thus he becomes debtless to^vards them.' Ka?/va text. See also part i, p. 183,
Ill KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAA^A, 1 5. y T^
12. He now uncovers (his head^) ; for he who is
consecrated becomes an embryo, and embryos are
enveloped both in the amnion and the outer mem-
brane : him (the sacrificer or sacrifice) he has now
brought forth, and therefore he uncovers himself.
Now it is he (Soma^) that becomes an embryo, and
therefore he is enveloped, since embryos are, as it
were, enveloped both in the amnion and the outer
membrane.
13. He then makes (the sacrificer) say the text
(Va^. S. IV, 28), 'Keep me, O Agni, from evil
ways! let me share in the right ways.' Now
he (Soma) approaches him while he is seated, and
when he has come, he rises : thereby he does wrong
and breaks the vow. This, then, is his expiation
of that (transgression), and thus no wrong is thereby
done, and he breaks not the vow : therefore he says,
' Keep me, O Agni, from evil ways ! let me share in
the right ways ! '
14. Having then taken the king, he rises, with
the text, 'With new life, with good life, am I
risen after the immortals;' for he who rises
after the bought Soma, rises indeed after the im-
mortal : therefore he says, ' With new life, with good
life, am I risen after the immortals.'
15. Thereupon he takes the king and goes towards the car, with the text (Va^. S. IV, 29), 'We have
* See III, 2, I, 16. His wife does the same.
^ According to a former passage (III, i, 2, 28), the sacrificer is supposed to remain in the embryonic state till the pressing of the Soma. The Ka«va recension reads, ' Sa etam yagnum a^i^anat sa esha garbho bhavaty a sutyaya/^;' where ' a^i^anat' seems to mean ' he has begotten.' I am not quite certain whether Soma himself is really implied. See III, 3, 4, 6.
74 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
entered upon the path that leadeth to well-
being, free from danger ; whereon he eschew-
eth all haters, and meeteth with goodV
1 6. Now, once on a time, the gods, while per-
forming sacrifice, were afraid of an attack from the
Asura-Rakshas. They perceived that prayer for
a safe journey; and having warded off the evil
spirits by means of that prayer, they attained well-
being in the safe and foeless shelter of that
prayer. And so does he now ward off the evil
spirits by means of that prayer, and attain well-
being in the safe and foeless shelter of that prayer.
For this reason he says, ' We have entered upon the
path that leadeth to well-being, free from danger ;
whereon he escheweth all haters and meeteth with
good.'
17. They carry him thus^ and (afterwards) drive
him about on the cart ; whereby they exalt him :
for this reason they carry the seed on their head (to
the field), and bring in (the corn) on the cart.
18. Now the reason why he buys (the Soma) near
water ^ is that — water meaning sap — he thereby buys
Soma sapful ; and as to there being gold, he thereby
buys him lustrous ; and as to there being a cloth, he
thereby buys him with his skin ; and as to there
being a she-goat, he thereby buys him fervid ; and
as to there being a milch cow, he thereby buys him
with the milk to be mixed with him ; and as to there
being a pair (of kine), he thereby buys him with a
mate. — He should buy him with ten (objects), and
' Compare the slightly different verse, Rig-veda VI, 51, 16. ^ The sacrificer carries the bundle of Soma on his hand resting on his head.
^ Viz. the vessel of water mentioned III, i, 2, 2.
Ill KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 2. 75
not with Other than ten, for the viraf consists of ten
syllables, and Soma is of vira^ nature : therefore he
should buy him with ten (objects) and not with other
than ten.
PROCESSION AND ENTRANCE OF KING SOMA.
Fourth Brahmaata.
1. In the enclosed space (of the cart)i he (the
Adhvaryu) lays down the black deer-skin, with the
text(Va^. S. IV, 30), 'Thou art Aditi's skin;' its
significance is the same (as before) 2. Thereon he
places him (Soma), with, 'Seat thee on Aditi's
seat!' for Aditi being this (earth), and she being
indeed a safe resting-place, he thereby places him
on that safe resting-place : therefore he says, ' Seat
thee on Aditi's seat ! '
2. He then makes (the sacrificer) say, after touching
(the Soma), 'The bull hath propped the sky,
the welkin ^' For, when the gods were spreading
the sacrifice, they were afraid of an attack on the
part of the Asura-Rakshas. Now by what he
says, ' The bull hath propped the sky, the welkin,'
