I. Let him perform the rite of consecration (di- ksha) ^ in the afternoon. Previously to the shaving
^ The rite described in the following paragraphs is called apsu- diksha, or 'consecration in water.'
S'ATAPATFIA-BRAHMAA-'A.
of his hair and beard he may eat of what he Hkes,
or whatever comes to hand ; for hereafter his food
consists of fast-milk (vrata) only. But, if he does
not care to eat, he need not eat anything.
2. Thereupon they enclose a place ^ north of the
hall, and place a vessel of water in it. Beside this
the barber takes up his position. He (the sacrificer)
then shaves his hair and beard, and cuts his nails.
For impure, indeed, is that part of man where water
does not reach him. Now at the hair and beard,
and at the nails the water does not reach him :
hence when he shaves his hair and beard, and cuts
his nails, he does so in order that he may be conse-
crated after becoming pure.
3. Now some shave themselves all over, in order
that they may be consecrated after becoming pure all
over ; but let him not do this. For even by shaving
the hair of his head and his beard, and by cutting
his nails, he becomes pure : let him therefore shave
only the hair of his head and his beard, and cut
his nails.
4. In the first place he cuts his nails, first of the
right hand — for in human (practice) those of the left
hand (are^cut) first, but with the gods in this manner.
First (he cuts those) of the thumbs — for in human
(practice) those of the little fingers (are cut) first,
but with the gods in this manner.
5. He first passes (the comb) through his right
whisker — for in human (practice they comb) first
the left whisker, but with the gods in this manner.
6. His right whisker he moistens first, with the text, 'May these divine waters be propitious
^ It is to be square and covered in on all sides with mats, and with a door on the east side. Katy. VII, i, 25 schoU.
Ill KAA^DA, I ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAiVA, 9. ^
unto me!' The reason why he says, ' May these di-
vine waters be propitious unto me/ is this : the waters
are a thunderbolt, for the waters are indeed a thunder-
bolt ; hence wherever these waters flow they produce
a hollow, and whatever they come near that they
destroy (lit. burn up). Hereby, then, he appeases
that same thunderbolt ; and thus appeased, that
thunderbolt does not injure him. This is why
he says, ' May these divine waters be propitious
unto me!'
7. Thereupon he lays a stalk of sacrificial grass
on (the hair of the whisker), with the text, ' O plant,
protect me!' For the razor is a thunderbolt, and
thus that thunderbolt, the razor, does not injure
him. Thereto he applies the razor, with the text,
' O knife, injure him not !' for the razor is a thun-
derbolt, and thus that thunderbolt, the razor, does
not injure him.
8. Having cut off (part of the stalk and hair), he
throws it into the vessel of water. Silently he
moistens the left whisker ; silently he lays the stalk
of grass on it ; and having silently applied the razor
thereto and cut through (it and the hair), he throws
them into the vessel of water.
9. He then hands the razor to the barber, and the
latter shaves off the hair and beard. When he has
shaved the hair and beard \ —
^ The text has, 'when he shaves (vapati) the hair and beard [when he shaves himself (vapate), K.] he bathes.' According to this it would seem that he does not bathe unless he shaves (?). See, however, Katy. VII, 2, 22, where the shaving is said to be optional, but not so, according to the commentary, the bathing. There seems also to be some doubt as to where the bathing is to take place. While, according to Karka, the sacrificer is to bathe in the vessel of water in the tent ; according to other authorities he is to
8 i-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
10. He bathes. For impure, indeed, is man : he
is foul ^ within, in that he speaks untruth ; — and water
is pure : he thinks, ' May I be consecrated, after be-
coming pure;' — and water is cleansing: he thinks,
' May I become consecrated after being cleansed ! '
This is the reason why he bathes.
11. He bathes, with the text (Va^. S. IV, 2 ; Rig-
veda X, 17, 10), ' May the waters, the mothers,
cleanse us !' whereby he says, ' May they cleanse^!'
'May the purifiers of ghee purify us with
(heavenly) ghee!' For he, indeed, is thoroughly
purified whom they have purified with ghee^: accord-
ingly he says, ' May the purifiers of ghee purify us
with ghee!' — 'For they, the divine, take away
all taint ;' now 'all' means 'every,' and 'taint' means
what is impure ; for they do take away from him
every impurity : therefore he says, ' For they, the
divine, take away all taint.'
12. He steps out (from the water) towards the north-east*, with the text, 'Cleansed and pure
do so in some tank, or other kind of bathing-place of standing water. Cf. Taitt. S. VI, 1,1, tirthe snati, tirtham eva samananam bhavati.
^ I now take puti (with Dr. Lindner) in the sense of 'foul, filthy, fetid,' and would correct the passage (I, i, i, i) accordingly. Pro- fessor Ludwig (Gottinger Gel. Anz. 1883, p. 49) proposes to take pftti in the sense of 'pure,' both here and in I, i, i, i.
"^ The Ka«va recension has the better reading, 'For they, indeed, now cleanse him when he bathes.' According to Taitt. S. VI, i, 1,3, he also sips (ajnati) some water with the view of internal puri- fication.
^ Lit. ' for that indeed is well purified, whom they purified (i. e. when they purify anybody) with ghee.' The imperfect is rather strange. See also III, i, 3, 22. The Ka«vas read, 'For that, in- deed, is well purified what is purified (yad puyate) with ghee.'
* Prah ivodari = uttarapurvardham, Katy. VII, 2, 15, i.e. 'towards the north with a slight turn to the east.' Dr. Lindner takes ' udafi '
Ill KAiVDA, I ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAT/A, 1 8. 9
I go forth from them;' for cleansed and pure he indeed goes forth from them.
13. He then puts on a (linen) garment, for
completeness' sake : it is indeed his own skin he
thereby puts on himself. Now that same skin
which belongs to the cow was originally on man.
14. The gods spake, 'Verily, the cow supports
everything here (on earth) ; come, let us put on the
cow that skin which is now on man : therewith she
will be able to endure rain and cold and heat'
15. Accordingly, having flayed man, they put that
skin on the cow, and therewith she now endures
rain and cold and heat.
16. For man was indeed flayed ; and hence where-
ever a stalk of grass or some other object cuts him,
the blood trickles out. They then put that skin,
the garment, on him ; and for this reason none but
man wears a garment, it having been put on him as
his skin. Hence also one should take care to be
properly clad, so that he may be completely endued
with his own skin. Hence also people like to see
even an ugly person properly clad, since he is endued
with his own skin.
17. Let him, then, not be naked in the presence
of a cow. For the cow knows that she wears his
skin, and runs away for fear lest he should take the
skin from her. Hence also cows draw fondly near
to one who is properly clad.
18. Now the woof of this cloth belongs to Agni, and the warp to Vayu\ the thrum to the Fathers,
as meant to explain the preposition ' ud.' This, hawever, does not account for the ' iva/
^ Agne/^ paryaso bhavati, vayor anu>^y^ado (?). The Black Ya^us
lO 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
the fore-edge^ to the snakes, the threads to the
All-ofods, and the meshes to the asterisms. For
thus indeed all the deities are concerned therein ;
and hence it is the garment of the consecrated.
19. Let it (if possible) be a new one^ for the sake
of unimpaired vigour. Let him (the Adhvaryu) tell
(the Pratiprasthitrz) to beat it, in order that whatso-
ever part of it an unclean woman has spun or woven
may become clean. And if it be a new one, let him
sprinkle it with water, so that it become clean. Or
let him be consecrated in one which is laid aside to
be worn (daily) after bathings without being soaked
(in some sharp cleansing substance) ^
20. H e puts it round him, with the text, 'Thou art
the covering* of consecration and penance;'
heretofore, indeed, this was the covering of him as
one unconsecrated, but now it is that of consecration
and penance : hence he says, ' thou art the covering
of consecration and penance.' ' I put thee on, the
kindly and auspicious;' whereby he means to
say, ' I put thee on, the kindly and pleasing one ;' —
(T. S. VI, 1,1) reads, agnes tushadhanam (jalakopadhana;« tusha/z, tatra tantunam purawaw tushadhanam; Say.), vayor vatapanam (vayuna i'oshatta;;^ vatapanam, S.). The warp (pra-i-inatana) and woof (otu), on the other hand, are by the Black Ya^us ascribed to the Adityas and Vijve Deva>^ respectively.
^ Praghata, apparently the closely-woven part at both ends of the cloth from whence the loose threads of the nivi, or unwoven fringe (thrum), come out. The Black Ya^us ascribes it to the plants.
" Literally, ' unbeaten (ahata), unwashed.'
' That is to say, if it be not a new garment, it should be one that has not been washed by a washerman (with mautra, &c.), but worn daily after bathing.
* Or, outward form, tanu. Its meaning sometimes comes very near to that of ' skin,' assigned to it by the lexicographers. Cf. Ill, 2, 2, 20 ; 4, 3, 9.
Ill KAiVDA, I ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAiVA, 21. 11
'fostering a fair appearance;' for evil indeed
is that appearance which he has heretofore fos-
tered while unconsecrated ; but now (he fosters)
a fair appearance : therefore he says, ' fostering a
fair appearance.'
21. He (the Adhvaryu) then makes him enter the
hall. Let him not eat (the flesh) of either the cow
or the ox ; for the cow and the ox doubtless support
everything here on earth. The gods spake, ' Verily,
the cow and the ox support everything here : come,
let us bestow on the cow and the ox whatever vigour
belongs to other species^!' Accordingly they be-
stowed on the cow and the ox whatever vigour
belonged to other species (of animals) ; and there-
fore the cow and the ox eat most. Hence, were one
to eat (the flesh) of an ox or a cow, there would be,
as it were, an eating of everything, or, as it were,
a going on to the end (or, to destruction). Such
a one indeed would be likely to be born (again) as a
strange being, (as one of whom there is) evil report,
such as ' he has expelled an embryo from a woman/
'he has committed a sin^ ;' let him therefore not eat
(the flesh) of the cow and the ox. Nevertheless
Ya^;}avalkya said, ' I, for one, eat it, provided that it
is tender.'
^ Vayasam, cf. Ill, 3, 3, 3. The Ka«va rec. has ' yad anyesha;« vayasaw viryaw yad anyesham pajunam.'
^ A different translation of this passage is proposed by Professor Delbriick (Synt. Forsch. Ill, p. 25); but the Ka?/va text (sa td.ffi hejvaro 'dbhutam abhi^anitor ^ayaya va garbha?« niravadhid yad veti tad u hova^a) shows that we have here, as frequently, to supply isv2iTa.k to the infinitive in tos. The Ka/zva yad va (*or some such thing ') would also seem to indicate that we ought to trans- late : — (as of one of whom) there is evil report: ' he has committed some such (iti) sin as the producing of abortion.'
1 2 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Third BRAHMAiVA.
1. Having brought water forward^ he takes out
(the material for) a cake on eleven potsherds for
Agni and Vish7^u; for Agni is all the deities,
since it is in Agni that offering is made to all
the deities. Moreover Agni is the lower half, and
Vish;2u is the upper half of the sacrifice : ' I will
become consecrated after encompassing all the
deities, after encompassing the entire sacrifice,' thus
he thinks, and hence there is a cake on eleven
potsherds for Agni and Vish/m.
2. Some then offer a rice-pap to the Adityas.
This is referred to (in the passage, Rig-veda X,
72,8),' There are eight sons of Aditi who were born
from her body ; with seven she went to the gods,
but Mart^jidsi^ she cast off.'
3. Now Aditi had eight sons. But those that are
called ' the gods, sons of Aditi,' were only seven, for
the eighth, Marta;/^a, she brought forth unformed ^ :
it was a mere lump of bodily matter^, as broad as it
was high. Some, however, say that he was of the
size of a man.
