138 5'ATAPATHA-ERAHMAA'A.
throws out (the earth remaining in the several holes ^), whereby he casts out witchcraft.
14. Let him dig them arm-deep; for that being
the end (extreme Hmit to which he can reach) he
thereby in the end brings witchcraft to naught.
He connects them crossways by (underground) chan-
nels^; or, if he cannot crossways, he may do so
in one and the same direction. This is why these
(openings of the) vital airs are connected by channels
farther (inside).
15. In the same order in which he has dug them
he makes (the sacrificer) touch them, with the texts
(Va^. S. V, 24), 'Self-ruling thou art, a slayer
of enemies! Ever-ruling thou art, a slayer
of haters! Man-ruling thou art, a slayer of
Rakshas ! All-ruling thou art, a slayer of foe-
men!' This is the blessing of that work : he thereby
invokes a blessing.
16. The Adhvaryu and Sacrificer then touch one
another (with their right hands through the holes),
the Adhvaryu is at the right one of those in front,
and the Sacrificer at the left one of those behind.
The Adhvaryu asks, 'Sacrificer, what is here?' —
' Happiness !' he says. — ' (Be) that ours in common !'
says the Adhvaryu in a low voice.
17. Thereupon the Adhvaryu is at the right one
of those behind, and the Sacrificer at the left one of
those in front. The Sacrificer asks, ' Adhvaryu,
what is here?' — ' Happiness!' he says. — '(Be) that
mine!' says the Sacrificer. Now in that they thus
^ That is, these words are to be pronounced at the end of each of the preceding four formulas, and the remaining loose soil is therewith to be removed from the respective hole.
2 Lit. he inter-perforates, inter-channels.
Ill KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 21. 1 39
touch one another, thereby they make the vital airs
yoke-fellows : hence these vital airs meet together
farther (inside). And in that, when asked, he replies,
* Happiness (bhadram),' thereby he utters the wish
of * prosperity (kalya;/am)' of ordinary speech : that is
why, being asked, he replies, ' Happiness.' There-
upon he sprinkles (the holes with water) : one and
the same forsooth is the significance of sprinkling ;
he thereby renders them pure.
18. He sprinkles, with the text (Vaf. S. V, 25),
'You, the Rakshas-killers, the charm-killers;'
for they are indeed Rakshas-killers as well as charm-
killers ; 'Vishnu's own, I sprinkle;' for they
indeed belong to Vish/^u.
19. What remains of the sprinkling-water he then
pours out into the pits ; — what moisture there is here
in the vital airs\ that he thereby puts into them:
hence that moisture in the vital airs.
20. He pours it out with, 'You, the Rakshas-
killers, the charm-killers, Vish/^u's own, I pour
out.' Thereupon he spreads barhis-grass, both such
as is turned with its tops to the east and such as is
turned to the north ^ ; what hair there is here at (the
openings of) the vital airs, that he thereby bestows :
hence that hair at (the openings of) the vital airs.
21. He spreads it with, 'You, the Rakshas-
killers, the charm-killers, Vish^^u's own, I
spread.' He, as it were, covers the bodies on
the top, for that (grass) is indeed his (Vish;Ri's)
hair^.
^ The Kawva text has /('idra (' holes, openings ') instead of prawa.
' Cp. I, 3, 3, 7 seq.
' Or, the hair of the sacrificial man ; see III, 5, 3, i seq.
140 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
2 2. Thereon he lays two pressing-boards^ with,
'You, the Rakshas-killers, the charm-killers,
Vish;2u's own, I lay down;' they are indeed his
(Vish;m's) jaws. He surrounds them (with earth)
with, 'You, the Rakshas-killers, the charm-
killers, Vish;^u's own, I surround;' he thereby
steadies them, makes them immovable.
23. Now the pressing-skin is cut straight all
round and (dyed) red all over, for it is his (Vish;2u's)
tongue : the reason, then, why it is quite red, is
because this tongue is, as it were, red. He lays it
down with, 'Thou art Vish;^u's own;' for it
indeed belongs to Vish/m^.
24. He then brings down the (five) press-stones.
The press-stones, doubtless, are his (Vish/^u's) teeth :
hence, when they press (the Soma) with the stones
it is as if he chewed with his teeth. He puts them
down with, *Ye are Vish;«u's own;' for they
indeed belong to Vish;m. Thus, then, the head
of the sacrifice is complete.
Sixth Adhyaya. First BRAHMAiVA.
I. The Sadas^ is no other than his (Vishwu, the sacrifice's) belly ; therefore they feed (drink) in the
^ The pressing-boards are a cubit long, and somewhat broader behind than in front. They are placed one south of the other, and so as to lie close together behind (sambaddhante, Ka?A'a rec), or the space of two inches between them. The space between them is filled up with earth.
^ East of the ' sound-holes ' he raises a square mound (khara), covered with gravel, for placing vessels on, Katy. VIII, 5, 28.
^ The Sadas is a shed or tent, facing the east with its long side, which is to measure eighteen (or twenty-one, or twenty-four, or, according to the -Sulva-sutra, twenty-seven) cubits, the breadth by
Ill KANDA, 6 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAA^A, 5. I4I
Sadas ; for whatever food is eaten here on earth, all
that settles down in the belly. And because all the
gods sat (sad) in it, therefore it is called sadas : and
so do these Brahmans of every family now sit therein.
By way of deity it belongs to Indra.
2. In the middle of it he puts up a (post) of
udumbara wood (Ficus Glomerata) ; for the udum-
bara means strength and food ; now the Sadas
being his (Vish;m's belly), he thereby puts food
therein ; this is why he puts up an udumbara (post)
in the middle of it.
3. From the peg^ which stands in the middle on
the hind-part of the altar, he strides six steps east-
wards (along the * spine') ; the seventh he strides
away from it to the right, for the sake of complete-
ness, and there marks off a pit.
4. He takes the spade with (Vaf. S. V, 26), 'At
the impulse of the divine Savitr^, I take thee
with the arms of the Aj-vins, with the hands
of Ptashan : thou art a woman;' the significance
of this formula is the same (as before). That spade,
indeed, is a female (feminine) : therefore he says
' thou art a woman.'
5. He then marks off the pit with, 'Herewith
six cubits (or ten, or one half that of the long side). The udumbara post, according to some, is to stand exactly in the centre of the shed; or, according to others, at an equal distance from the (long) east and west sides; the 'spine' (cf. p. 112, note 2) in that case dividing the building into two equal parts, a northern and a southern one. In the middle the shed is to be of the sacrificer's height, and from thence the ceiling is to slant towards the ends where it is to reach up to the sacrificer's navel. According to the Black Ya^us, the erection of the Sadas precedes the digging of the Uparavas, described in the preceding Brahma«a. Taitt, S. VI, 2, 10, ii. ^ The anta/^pata, see III, 5, i, i.
142 ^-ATAPATHA-BRAHMATVA.
I cut off the necks of the Rakshas!' for the
spade is the thunderbolt : it is with the thunder-
bolt that he cuts off the necks of the evil spirits.
6. Thereupon he digs : eastwards he throws up
the heap of earth. Having made the udumbara
(post) of the same size as the sacrificer^ he cuts
it smooth all round, and lays it down, with the top
to the east, in front (of the pit). Thereon he lays
barhis-grass of the same length.
7. Now the sprinkling-water (used on this occa-
sion) contains barley-corns. For the essence (sap)
of plants is water ; wherefore plants when eaten
alone do not satiate ; and the essence of water, on
the other hand, are the plants ; wherefore water
when drunk alone does not satiate ; but only when
the two are united they satiate ; for then they are
sapful : ' with the sapful I will sprinkle,' so he
thinks,
8. Now, the gods and the Asurus, both of them
sprung from Pra^apati, were contending. Then all
the plants went away from the gods, but the barley
plants alone went not from them.
9. The gods then prevailed : by means of these
(barley-grains) they attracted to themselves all the
plants of their enemies ; and because they attracted
(yu) therewith, therefore they are called yava
(barley).
10. They said, ' Come, let us put into the barley
whatever sap there is of all plants ! ' And, accord-
ingly, whatever sap there was of all plants, that they
put into the barley : therefore the latter thrives
lustily where other plants wither, for in such wise
^ It is the part which is to stand above ground that is to be of the sacrificer's size.
Ill KAiVDA, 6 ADHyAyA, I BRAHMAiVA, 1 5. I43
did they put the sap into them. And in like manner
does this one now by means of those (barley-grains)
attract to himself all the plants of his enemies : this
is why the sprinkling-water contains barley-corns.
11. He throws the barley-corns into it, with,
'Thou art barley (yava) : keep thou (yavaya)
from us the haters, keepfrom us the enemies !'
In this there is nothing obscure. He then besprinkles
(the post) ; — the significance of the sprinkling is one
and the same : he thereby renders it sacrificially pure.
12. He sprinkles (the top, middle, and bottom
parts), with, ' For the sky — thee! for the air —
thee ! for the earth — thee ! ' He thereby endows
these worlds with strength and sap, bestows strength
and sap on these worlds.
13. And the sprinkling-water which remains he
pours into the hole, with, 'Be the worlds pure
wherein the Fathers reside!' for a pit that is
dug is sacred to the Fathers : this he thereby
renders sacrificially pure.
14. He now strews barhis-grass therein, both
eastward-pointed and northward-pointed with, 'Thou
art the seat of the Fathers;' for that part of it
(the post) which is dug into the ground is sacred to
the Fathers: as though it were (naturally) established i
among plants, and not dug in, so does it become
established among those plants.
15. He raises it, with the text (Va^-. S. V, 27),
' Prop thou the sky! fill the air! stand firm on
the earth ! ' Thereby he endows these worlds with
strength and sap, bestows strength and sap on these
worlds.
^ Svaru/^, 'naturally grown,' Taitt. S. VI, 2, 10, 4.
144 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
1 6. He then sinks it (in the hole, with), 'May Dyu-
tana, the son of the Maruts, plant thee! — '
Dyutana the son of the Maruts, doubtless, is he that
blows yonder (the wind) : by means of him he thus
plants it; — 'Mitra andVaru7/a with firm support!'
Mitra and Varu;^a are the in-breathing and out-
breathing: he thus plants it with the in-breathing
and out-breathing.
17. He then heaps up (earth) round it, with, 'I
enclose thee, winner of the priesthood, winner
of the nobility, winner of growth of wealth !'
Manifold, verily, is the prayer for blessing in the
sacrificial texts : by this one he prays for the priest-
hood and nobility, those two vital forces ^ 'Winner of
growth of wealth,' — growth of wealth means abun-
dance : he thereby prays for abundance.
18. He then presses it firmly all round, with,
'Uphold thou the priesthood! uphold the
nobility, uphold our life, uphold our progeny ! '
this is the blessing of this rite : that blessing he
thereby invokes. He presses it so as to be level
with the ground : with an (ordinary) hole (round
trees for watering) it is higher than the ground, but
in this way it is with the gods ; — and thus it is not
planted in an (ordinary) hole.
19. He then pours water thereon; — wherever, in
digging, they wound or injure this (earth), — water
being a means of soothing, — there he soothes it by
that means of soothing, water, there he heals it by
water : therefore he pours water thereon.
^ See III, 5, 2, 1 1 with note. The Kama, text has, bahvi va asir ya^u/^shu te asma ete aj-isha va saste yad brahma ka kshatraz?^ H.
Ill KANDA, 6 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 2 2. 1 45
20. He then makes (the sacrificer) say, while
touching it thus (Vaf. S. V, 28), ' Thou art firm :
may this sacrificer be firm in this homestead
through progeny' — or, 'through cattle!' thus
whatever wish he entertains that wish is accom-
plished unto him.
21. Thereupon, having taken clarified butter with
the dipping-spoon, he pours it upon the (forked)
top\ with 'O Heaven and Earth, be ye full of
ghee!' whereby he endows the heaven and the
earth with strength and sap, bestows strength and
sap on them : upon them thus full of sap and affording
subsistence, these creatures subsist.
22. He then lays on a mat-, with, 'Thou art
Indra's mat,' — for the Sadas belongs to Indra, — ' a
shelter to every one,' for Brahmans of all families
sit therein. He adds two mats, one on each side
thereof, and three north of them and three further
(to the north) : these make nine. For the sacrifice
