^ ' Formerly they took these two separately, as Dhruva and Vai- .yvanara ; but now they take them as one only.' Ka;/va text. "^ Both these libations are reserved for the evening feast. ^ See p. 288, note 2.
IV KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, "J. 299
3. He draws it full ; for full means all, and the vital energy means all : therefore he draws it full.
4. He draws it for(Agni) Vai^-vanara; for Vai^va-
nara (' he that belongs to all men ') is the year,
and the vital energy (life) is the year : therefore he
draws it for Vaii-vanara.
5. Having been drawn at the morning pressing,
it reposes apart from that time : thus he guides him
(the sacrificer) safely through all the pressings.
6. Let him not pour it (into the Hotr/'s cup)
during the chanting ; for, verily, were he to pour it
out during the chanting, the sacrificer would not live
through the year.
7. He pours it out during the recitation of the
^astra ; whereby he guides him safely over the
twelvefold chant of praise : thus he obtains ever
continued life, and thus does the sacrificer live long.
Therefore the Brahman should sit through the
praise of Agni (Agnish/oma)^; till the offering of
this (libation) he must not slip away^ — nor must he
^ 1 Tasmad brahmawo 'gnish/omasat syat. The obvious meaning of this sentence is, ' hence the celebrator of the Agnish/oma should be a Brahman,' or, perhaps, ' hence a Brahman should celebrate the Agnish/oma;' but I do not see how it can have that meaning here, without at least a double-entendre in the term 'agnish/o- masad,' Agnish/oma in that case ('the praise of Agni') referring both to the sacrifice generally and to the chanting (stoma or stotra). See next note. My MS. of Sayawa's commentary (from the library of the Maharaja of Bikaner) has unfortunately an omission here.
2 Viz. from the Sadas ; ' ni/^sarpet,' Ka«va text. The verb sarp, 'to glide or creep,' is used technically of a peculiar noiseless mode of leaving (ni/^sarp) the Sadas and returning thither (prasarp or pratisarp, see paragraph 10), and respectfully approaching the dhishwya fires. If it has to be taken here in that sense, the first prohibition would seem to refer to the Hotr/ (cf. Ait. Br. II, 22, where the question is argued whether or not the Hotf/ ought to
300 .S-ATAPATIIA-BRAHMAiVA.
discharge urine : thus he obtains the full life- — for
this (libation) is his life — thus he reaches the full
(measure of) life.
8. For, what part of him there is below the navel,
that part of his self is this (Dhruva libation). Hence
were he to slip away or discharge urine before the
offering of this (libation), he would discharge the
Dhruva (the firm, constant one) : hence, lest he should
discharge the Dhruva, he sits through the praise of
Agni. This, indeed, applies only to the sacrificer\
for this (libation) is part of the sacrificer's self.
9. He sits through the praise of Agni^; — for
Soma is glory : hence they both approach, he who
partakes of the Soma and he who does not, — they
approach, forsooth, to behold that glory. And thus
indeed the Brahmans, having crept near together,
take unto them that glory, when they drink (the
Soma) ; — and verily whosoever, knowing this, drinks
(Soma), becomes glorious^ indeed.
10. Now, those same (priests) having, while gliding
along*, deposited that glory in him who sits through
(celebrates) the praise of Agni, they glide along
and turn away from that glory'' : having thus en-
compassed it, he again takes that glory unto him-
proceed to the chanting-place with the other priests, and is decided in the negative); since the sacrificer, to whom the second prohibi- tion refers (Katy. IX, 6, 23), goes along with them, according to IV, 2, 5, 4. According to the commentary on Katy. IX, 6, 33, in performing the sarpawa the priests and sacrificer should move along sitting at the morning feast ; walking with bent bodies at the midday feast ; and walking upright at the evening feast.
^ Tad u tad ya^amanasyaiva. Ka«va text.
^ Or, he indeed becomes a celebrator of the Agnish/oma.
^ The Ka«va text has 'ya^asvi.'
■* See p. ^99, note 2.
^ The Ka«va MS. (\V.) reads, 'agnish/omasad etad yisah sanni-
Iv Kanda, 2 Adhyaya, 4 Brahmaa^a, 1 4. 3oi
self; — verily, whosoever, knowing this, sits through
(celebrates) the praise of Agni, he passes away after
becoming the most glorious of these (men).
11. Now, the gods and the Asuras, both of them
sprung from Pra^f'apati, were contending for this sacri-
fice— their father Pra^apati, the year, — saying, ' Ours
he shall be ! ours he shall be !'
12. Then the gods went on singing praises and
toiling. They devised this Agnish/oma feast, and
by means of this Agnish/oma feast they appropriated
the entire sacrifice and excluded the Asuras from the
sacrifice. And in like manner does this (sacrificer), by
means of this Agnish/oma feast, now appropriate the
entire sacrifice, and exclude his enemies from the
sacrifice : therefore he celebrates the Agnish^'oma.
13. Having drawn it (the Dhruva graha), he de-
posits it with the northern cart\ lest he should con-
found the vital airs, for the grahas are vital airs :
now the other grahas he deposits on the raised
(mound), but this one (he deposits) after pushing
(the dust) aside without leaving as much as a blade
of grass between^
14. For those (other cups of Soma) are that part
of his body from the navel upwards, and above, as it
were, is what is from the navel upwards, and above,
as it were, is what is raised : therefore he deposits
dhayata etasmat parawio yajaso (sic) bhavanti' (' they turn away from that glorious one ').
^ The dhruva-sthali is placed just in front of the northern prop.
^ Lit. not putting a blade of grass between (the sthali and the ground on which it stands). Cf. Katy. IX, 2, 18. Apparently he is to shift the sthali along the ground from the khara to the place where it is to stand, all grass and other objects being thus removed between this vessel and those standing on the mound (' vyuhyaita/;? na trma.?n /^anantardhaya,' Kawva text).
302 ^'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
(the Others) on the raised (mound), and this one (he
deposits) after pushing (the dust) aside without leav-
ing as much as a blade of grass between.
1 5. For this (cup of Soma) is that part of his body
from the navel downwards ; and below, as it were,
is what is from the navel downwards; and below, as
it were, is what (one deposits) after pushing (the
dust) aside and leaving not so much as a blade of
grass between : therefore he deposits this (Dhruva
graha) after pushing (the dust) aside, without leaving
so much as a blade of grass between.
t6. Now, that sacrifice which is being performed
is Pra^apati, from w^hom these creatures on earth
have been born, — and indeed even now they are
born after this (sacrifice). The creatures that are
born therefrom after those (libations) which he de-
posits on the raised (mound), stand on this (earth)
with something different from their own self, — for
those which stand on hoofs indeed stand on this
(earth) with something different from their own self.
And when he deposits this (Dhruva cup) after shift-
ing aside (the dust), and not leaving so much as a
blade of grass between, — the creatures that are born
thereafter from this (sacrifice), stand on this (earth)
with their own self, namely, men and wild beasts \
17. Moreover, on the one hand, in throwing up
(the mound) he puts upon this (earth) something dif-
ferent from it ; and those creatures that are born
from this (sacrifice) after those (libations) which he
deposits on the raised (mound), they stand on this
(earth) with something different from their own self,
namely, with hoofs.
^ 6'vapada, lit. ' dog-footed ' beasts.
IV KAiVDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 20. 30
O^J
18. And, on the other hand, they offer in the
Ahavaniya^ a sacrificial cake, parched barley-grains,
porridge, sour curds, and clotted curds, — this is like
pouring (food) into one's mouth. But this (libation)
remains apart, (being) of one form like water. Hence
while he eats the multiform food with that mouth
(the fire), he lets flow from that opening the uniform
(libation) like water. Then as to why it is called
Dhruva.
19. Now, once on a time, the gods, while perform-
ing sacrifice, were afraid of an attack from the Asura-
Rakshas. The Asura-Rakshas assailed them from
the south, and overturned those southern cups of
Soma, — even that southern Soma-cart they over-
turned ; but that other (cart) they could not overturn :
the northern cart then kept the southern cart steady^.
And because they could not overturn that (northern
cup) therefore it is called Dhruva (firm)^
20. They indeed watch over it ; for this (cup of
Soma) is the head of Gayatri, Gayatri being the
sacrifice, — there are twelve chants (stotra) and twelve
recitations (i-astra) : that makes twenty-four, and of
twenty-four syllables consists the Gayatri. This cup
of Soma is her head ; but the head means excellence,
for the head indeed means excellence : hence people
say of him who is the best man of a place, that ' so
and so is the head of such and such a place.' And,
indeed, the best man would come to harm, if this
^ See IV, 2, 5, isseq.
^ ' They (the gods) then made the southern cart firm from (or by means of) the northern cart.' Kanva text.
^ It is more probable that the Dhruva (firm, constant) derives its name from the fact that it remains intact till the very end of the Agnish/oma, as suggested in the Petersburg Dictionary.
304 ^-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
(cup) were to come to harm ; and, the best man being
the sacrificer, they watch (this cup) lest the sacrificer
should come to harm.
21. Moreover, this (graha) is Gayatri's calf, Gaya-
tri being the sacrifice, — there are twelve chants and
twelve recitations : that makes twenty-four, and of
twenty-four syllables consists the Gayatri. This is
her calf; — when they watch it, then they watch these
calves for the sake of the milking : * as they yield
this milk, even so may this Gayatri yield all the
sacrificer's wishes,' — this is why they watch it.
22. And when both the Adhvaryu and the Prati-
prasthatr2 walk out (of the cart-shed) and (afterwards)
enter (again) ^ it is as if (a cow) were to come with
the calf tied to her. They come to this cup of Soma,
and he (the Adhvaryu) pours it out ; whereby he lets
loose the Gayatri : ' Made over to the sacrificer, may
this Gayatri yield all his desires!' for this reason he
pours it out.
23. He pours it (into the Hotrfs cup^) with (Va^.
S. VII, 25), 'The firm Soma I pour out — or, I
take — with firm mind and speech : now may
Indra make our people ofone mind, free from
enemies!' whereby he means to say, 'so that Indra
may make these our creatures, the people, of one
mind and free from enemies, for their happiness and
glory and nourishment!'
24. Here now he draws it from that (stream of Soma)^ (Va,^. S. VII, 24; Rig-veda VI, 7, i), ' Agni
^ Viz. at the evening feast, when the Adhvaryu pours the Soma from the Dhruva-sthali into the Hotrfs cup (paragraph 23).
"^ See p. 256, note i. The preceding paragraphs anticipate the future rites regarding this hbation, the original drawing of which is only now described.
Iv Kanda, 2 Adhyaya, 5 Brahmaa^a, 2. 305
Vabvanara, the crest of heaven, the disposer
of the earth, born in the sacred rite, the wise
all-ruler, the guest of men, — him the gods
have begotten as a vessel for their mouth.
Thou art taken with a support: thou art firm
(Dhruva), of firm abode, the firmest of the firm,
the most solidly founded of the solid! This
is thy womb — thee for Vai^vanara!' therewith
he deposits it after pushing (the dust) aside, and not
leaving so much as a blade of grass between : for he
indeed takes it for (Agni) Vaiivanara.
Fifth BRAHMAiVA.
• I. Having drawn the cups of Soma, and gone out
(of the cart-shed to the high altar) \ he offers the
oblation of drops^. The reason why he offers the
oblation of drops is this. Whatever drops of that
(Soma) are spilt here, to them he now wishes a safe
journey to the Ahavaniya, for the Ahavaniya is the
resting-place of offerings : this is why he offers the
oblation of drops.
2. He offers with (Va^. S. VH, 26 ; Rig-veda X, 17, 12), 'Whatever drop of thine leapeth
