^ The cart stands south of the place where the purchase of Soma took place, with the shafts towards the east, fitted with all the appli- ances, and yoked with a pair of oxen. The antelope skin is spread with the hairy side upwards, and the neck part towards the east.
2 See I, I, 4, I seq. The Ka«va text has : 'the significance of this ya^us is the same.'
^ In Rig-veda VIII, 42, i, this verse relates to Varu?za. In adapting it to the present sacrificial requirements, 'vnshabho (r/shabho, K.) antariksham ' has been substituted for the original ' asuro vij-vaveda,/^ ;' Soma being meant by ' the bull.'
76 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAA^A.
thereby they rendered it (the sacrifice or Soma) superior to the deadly shaft \
3. 'He hath measured the breadth of the
earth;' — thus he gains through him (Soma) these
worlds, for there is no slayer, no deadly shaft for
him by whom these worlds have been gained : there-
fore he says, ' He hath measured the breadth of the
earth.'
4. 'As all-ruler hath he taken his seat over
all things existing (bhuvana) ;'— thus he gains
through him this All, for there is no slayer, no deadly
shaft for him by whom this All has been gained :
therefore he says, 'As all-ruler hath he taken his
seat over all things existing.'
5. 'Verily, all these are Varu7^a's ordin-
ances;'— thereby he makes here everything what-
soever obedient to him, and every one that is re-
fractory: therefore he says, 'Verily, all these are
VarunsJs ordinances.'
6. Thereupon he wraps (the Soma) up in the
Soma-wrapper, lest the evil spirits should touch him.
For this one doubtless is an embryo, and hidden
(tiras), as it were, are embryos, and hidden also is
that (which is) wrapped up ; — hidden, as it were, are
the gods to men, and hidden is that which is wrapped
up : therefore he wraps him up.
7. He wraps him up, with the text (Va^. S. IV, 31 ;
Rig-veda V, 85, 2), 'Over the woods he hath
stretched the welkin,' for over the woods, over
the tops of the trees, that welkin (or air) is indeed
stretched; — 'strength (hath he laid) into the
coursers, milk into the kine,' — strength means
^ Or, superior to (beyond the reach of) the slayer (or the blow), '^yayawsaw vadhat.'
Ill KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAA^A, 9. 77
manliness and the coursers are the men : he thereby
bestows manHness upon men ; and ' milk into the
kine ' he says, because this milk is indeed contained
in the kine; — 'Into the hearts Varuna (hath
laid) wisdom, into the homesteads^ fire;' for
into the hearts that wisdom, the swiftness of
thought, has indeed entered ; and ' into the home-
steads fire' he says, because that fire is in the home-
steads, with the people; — 'Into the heaven hath he
placed the Sun, and Soma upon the rock;' for
that sun is indeed placed in the heaven ; and ' Soma
on the rock ' he says, because Soma is in the moun-
tains. This is why he says, 'In the heaven hath he
placed the Sun, and Soma upon the rock.'
8. If there are two deer-skins^, he then puts up
the other by way of a flag 2; — and if there is only one,
he cuts off the neck of the deer-skin and puts it up
by way of a flag; — with the text (Va^. S. IV, 32),
'Mount thou the eye of Surya, the eye -ball of
Agni, where thou fllest along with the dap-
pled (horses), shining through the wise (Surya).'
He thereby places Surya (the sun) in front, thinking,
' May Surya, in front, ward off the evil spirits ! '
They now drive (Soma) about on a safe (cart), un-
molested by evil spirits.
9. At the fore-part of the shafts two boards have been put up : between them the Subrahma^^ya *
^ * Into the waters (apsu),' Rig-veda.
^ See III, 2, I, I seq.
^ He is to fasten it to a staff fixed to the pole of the cart near the yoke. Katy. VII, 9, 9.
* The Subrahmawya is one of the assistants of the Udgatn (chanter of Sama-hymns). He stands on the ground between the two shafts in front of the yoke ; the two planks, according to Saya«a, reaching up to his chin.
78 S-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Stands and drives. He (Soma), indeed, is too high
for (the driver) mounting beside him, for who is
worthy of mounting beside him ? Therefore he
drives while standing between (the boards).
10. He drives with a pala^a branch. Now when
Gayatri flew towards Soma\ a footless archer
aiming at her while she was carrying him off,
severed one of the feathers (or leaves, par;«a), either
of Gayatri or of king Soma ; and on falling down
it became a par/za (pala^a) tree ; whence its name
par;/a. 'May that which was there of the Soma
nature, be here also now ! ' so he thinks, and for this
reason he drives with a palai^a branch.
11. He urges on the two oxen. If they be
both black, or if either of them be black, then let
him know that it will rain, that Par^anya will
have abundance of rain that year: such indeed is
science.
12. He (the Adhvaryu) first yokes them, with the
text (Va^. S. IV, 33), 'Ye oxen, come hither,
patient of the yoke!' for they are indeed oxen,
and they are patient of the yoke ; — ' Let your-
selves be yoked, tearless!' for they are now
being yoked; and tearless means unscathed; — 'not
man-slaying,' this means 'not doing wrong;' —
'speeding the Brahman,' for they are indeed
speeders of the Brahman (worship, or the priests); —
'Go ye happily to the sacrificer's dwelling!'
this he says in order that the evil spirits may not
injure them on the way.
13. Having then gone round to the back (of the
^ See I, 7, I, i; part i, p. 183. According to Ait. Br. Ill, 26, Kr/sanu the Soma-keeper's arrow cut off one of the talons of Gayatri's left foot, which was turned into a porcupine.
Ill KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAATA, 1 4. 79
cart) and taken hold of the drag\ he says (to the
Hotr^V,' Recite to the bought Soma !' or,*— to Soma,
now driven about!' whichever way he pleases.
14. He then makes (the sacrificer^) say the text
(Vaf. S. IV, 34), * Thou art gracious unto me, go
forth, O Lord of the world — ,' for he (Soma) is
indeed gracious to him, wherefore he heeds no other
but him. Even his (Soma's own) kings* come (to
^ Apalamba, a piece of wood fastened to the back part of the cart to prevent its running backwards when going up-hill ; or, according to others, a rope used for retarding the progress of the cart in going down-hill. Katy. VII, 9, 15 comm. The cart stands with the oxen towards the east ; it is then wheeled round towards the right to the west and driven to the hall, in front of which it is turned towards the north ; the Soma being then taken down. See Ait. Br. I, 14.
2 The duties of the Hotn, while the Soma-cart is driven to the hall, are set forth A^v. 6'rautas. IV, 4 : He stands three feet behind the cart between the two wheel tracks, and throws thrice dust towards the south with the fore-part of his foot without moving the heel, with the formula, ' Thou art wise, thou art intelligent, thou upholding all things : drive away the danger arising from men ! ' Thereupon, after uttering the sound ' Him,' he recites eight verses, or, the first and last being recited thrice each, in all twelve verses. Cf. Ait. Br. I, 13. He first remains standing in the same place and recites thrice the first verse. Then in following the cart he recites the five following verses. The cart having now stopped, he walks round it on its right (south) side, and while looking on the Soma follows it while it is placed on the throne. He then touches it and completes his recitation by the last two verses. The first of these two verses is the same which the sacrificer is to mutter (with the Adhvaryu) while Soma is carried into the hall, and which is given in paragraph 30.
^ While the Soma is driven to the hall, the sacrificer has to hold on to it from behind.
* 'Asya Ta.ga.nak sabhaga>^ ;' — Soma seems to be compared here with an emperor or overlord of kings (adhira^o ra^»tam, V, 4, 2, 2), who is holding a royal court (ra§-asabha), or a Darbar, to which the under-kings are flocking. Sayawa seems to interpret the passage differently : apy asya ra^ana-^ iti sabhaga ity anena ra^wam anatikra-
8o i'ATAPATIIA-BRAHMAiVA.
him) to attend the assembly, and he is the first to
salute the kings, for he is gracious. This is why he
says, 'Thou art gracious.' ' Go forth, O Lord of the
world,' he says, because he (Soma) is the lord of
beings. 'To all dwellings,' 'all dwellings' doubt-
less means the limbs ; with reference to his limbs
he says this, 'May no prowling enemies meet
thee! may no waylayers meet thee! May no
malicious wolves meet thee!' this he says lest
the evil spirits should meet him on his way.
15. ' Having become a falcon, fly away!' he
thereby makes him fly forward after becoming a
falcon ; for the evil spirits fly not after what is
fearful : now he, the falcon, forsooth is the most
fearful, the strongest of birds, and as such a one
he makes him (Soma) fly forwards when he says,
* Having become a falcon, fly away !'
16. Now they (can) only hit his body \ ' Go to
the sacrificer's dwelling, — that is the place pre-
pared for us.' In this there is nothing obscure.
ma?nyam uktam bhavati ; api sambhavanayam madhuparkam aha 'ragne ^a/^aryajvajurapitnvyamatulana^ -^eti' (Ai-v. G/7"hyas. I, 24) sambhavaniyanam madhye ra^?lam prathamato nirdijena (!) jre- sh//^yavagamad itarapu^opalakshakatvenapy asya ra^ana iti nirde^-a iti mantavyam, ra^wa agatan svayam prahva eva san purvas tebhyaA prag evabhivadati vagvyavaharaw karoti. The Ka«va text reads : For he is his gracious lord, therefore he heeds not even a king ; and yet (?) he is the first to salute the kings : thus he is indeed gracious to him : ' esha va etasya bhadro bhavati, tasmad esha na ra^anaw /^ana- driyate 'tho purvo ra^wo'bhivadati tathasyaisha eva bhadro bhavati(!).* ^ Or, they can only shoot after his body, 'jariram evanvavahanti.' The Ka«va text has *athasyeda;« rariram evanasa 'nvavahanti,' i.e. 'Now they only bring his body with the cart.' The MS. of Saya«a also has 'anvavahanti,' but it explains it by 'jyenibhavad upade- yasya sara/wjasya badhabhavad dhanta jariram evanugatya hanti natmanam.'
Ill KAiVZiA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMA.VA, I 8. 8 1
18. 'Come, O Indra!' Indra is the deity of the
sacrifice: therefore he says, 'Come, O Indra!'
'Come, O lord of the bay steeds! Ram of
MedhatithiM Wife of Vr/sha;^ai"va^! Be-
striding buffalo! Lover of Ahalya^'' Thereby
he wishes him joy in those affairs of his.
^ This myth, according to which Indra was supposed to have assumed the form of a ram and to have carried off Medhatithi, the Ka«va (or, according to others, to have robbed him of his Soma), appears to be alluded to in Rig-veda VIII, 2, 40. On the possible connection of the myth with the Greek one of Ganymede, see Weber, Ind. Stud. IX, p. 40. Sayawa does not explain the Subrah- ma«ya formula, but ' remarks, that he has already done so in the Sama-brahma«a (viz. in the Sh2Ldvimsa).
^ According to Rig-veda I, 51, 13, Indra became the wife (mena) of Vnsha«ajva (Mena) ; the reason for this transformation being, according to the Shzdvimsa. Br., that he was in love with Mena or Menaka, the daughter of that king (or sage). Ind. Stud. I, p. 38. The later explanation of the simple statement of the Rik seems of doubtful authenticity, unless the choice of the word mena for ' wife ' was intended by the bard as an allusion to the name of the king's daughter. It is more likely that the myth alluded to in the Rik had been forgotten at the time of the Brahmawas, and a new version of it was invented, based on the 'mena' of the original. Haug, Transl. Ait. Br. p. 383, takes Mena here as a name.
^ This is another of Indra's love-myths about which very little is known. Ahalya (Maitreyi) is said to have been the wife of the 7?/shi Gautama (or of Kaujika, according to Shao'v. Br.) and to have been loved by Indra.
82 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAiVA.
19. 'O Kauj•ika^ Brahman, thou who callest
thee Gautama 2/ Just so has this (formula) been
devised in these days by Arum, to wit, ' thou who
callest thee Gautama :' he may say it, if he choose,
and if he does not choose, he need not attend to
it^ 'In so and so many days, to the Soma-
feast,' (stating) in how many days from hence the
pressing is to be.
20. *Ye gods and priests, come hither^!'
This he says to the gods and Brahmans, because it
is of these two, the gods and Brahmans, that he
has need.
21. Thereupon the Pratiprasthatr2 steps up to
the front of the hall with the victim for Agni and
Soma. Now Agni and Soma have seized him, who
consecrates himself, between their jaws, for that con-
secration-offering above ^ belongs to Agni and
Vish/m, and Vish/m, forsooth, is no other than
