I KAiVJDA, I ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, 2. 1 9
the navel means the centre, and the centre is safe
from danger: for this reason he says, * On the navel
of the earth I place thee !' And further, ' In the
lap of Aditi {the boundless or inviolable earth) !' for
when people guard anything very carefully, they
commonly say that ' they, as it were, carried it in
their lap ; ' and this is the reason why he says, ' In
the lap of Aditi ! ' And further, ' O Agni, do thou
protect this offering!' whereby he makes this obla-
tion over for protection both to Agni and to this
earth : for this reason he says, ' O Agni, do thou
protect this offering!'
Third BRAHMAiVA.
1. He now prepares two strainers (pavitra)\ with
the text (Va^. S. I, 12 a): ' Purifiers (or strainers,
pavitra) are ye, and belonging to Vish;m!' For
Vish?2u is the sacrifice ; so that he thereby says,
* You belong to the sacrifice.'
2. Two there are of them: for means of cleansing
(pavitra) is this (wind) which here ventilates (pa-
vate) ; and this, it is true, ventilates as one only;
but on entering into man, it becomes a forward and
a backward one, and they are these two, to wit, the
pra?za (breathing out) and the udana (breathing up
or in) 2. And as this (clarifying process) takes place
^ These strainers (or clarifiers) are to consist of two blades of Kui-a grass, with unbroken or undecayed tops, and without buds on them ; and they must be severed from their roots by means of other Kuja blades, so as to be of equal length (viz. one pradeja, or span of thumb and fore-finger, long). Katy. St. II, 3, 31-
" Thus Sayawa here takes the terms prawa (i</apihgaladina<5?T- dvara bahir nirga^-/^/^an prafioJi prah) and udana (tathaiva dvara punar antaA pravii-an pratyan). In Ait. Br. II, 29, and A'^and. Up. I, 3, 3, pra7za, apana, and vyana are mentioned as the
20 .SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
in accordance with the measure of that (process of breathing), therefore there are two (strainers).
3. There may also be three: for the vyana (or
pervading vital air) ^ is a third (kind of breathing) ;
but in reality there are only two. Having then
strained the sprinkling water ^ with these two
(strainers), he sprinkles with it. The reason why
he strains it with the two (strainers) is this :
4. Vr^'tra in truth lay covering all this (space)
which here extends between heaven and earth.
And because he lay covering {yri) all this, there-
fore his name is Vr/tra.
5. Himlndra slew. He being slain flowed forth
stinking in all directions towards the water ; for in
every direction lies the ocean. And in consequence
of this, some of the waters became disgusted, and,
rising higher and higher, flowed over : whence
(sprung) these grasses (of which the strainers are
made) ; for they represent the water which was not
putrified. With the other (water), however, some
three vital airs; where prawa is taken by Professors Haug and Miiller as ' in-breathing ' (' respiration ' or ' expiration/ Roer), and apana as 'out-breathing' ('inspiration,' Roer). Five vital airs are generally enumerated (^at. Br. IX, 2, 2, 5) ; but theological speculation evidently considered these bodily processes a very con- venient source of symbolism, as we find mention made in the ^at. Br. of six (XIV, 1,3, 32); seven (III, i, 3, 21; XIII, 1,7, 2); nine (I, 5, 2, 5); and ten (XI, 6, 3, 7) breaths or vital airs.
' ' A combination of the out-breathing and in-breathing;' but as there is no distinction between this kind of breath and the others (combined), two must be considered as the normal number of strainers. Schol.
^ He pours water into the Agnihotra ladle (in which some of the awn of the rice remains), and after cleaning it with the two strainers, he sprinkles with it. Katy. II, 3, 33 seq. The details of this process are given in par. 6 seq.
I KANDA, I ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAiVA, J. 2 1
matter has become mixed up, inasmuch as the
putrid Yrztra. flowed into it. This he now removes
from it by means of these two strainers ; whereupon
he sprinkles with the (sacrificially) pure water. This
is the reason why he strains it through them.
6. He strains it, with the text (Vaf. S. I, 12 b): ' By the impulse of Savitr/ I purify thee with this flawless purifier (or ventilator, pavitra), with the rays of the sun!' For Savitrzis the impeller (p rasa vit?'z) of the gods, so that he strains this (water) as one impelled by Savitr/. ' With this flawless purifier (ven- tilator, pavitra),' he says, because this (wind) which here ventilates (or purifies, pa vate) is a flawless puri- fier. ' With the rays of the sun,' he says, because they, the rays of the sun, are certainly purifying; and for this reason he says, 'With the rays of the sun.'
7. Having taken it (the water with the ladle) in
his left hand, he makes it spirt upwards with his
right hand, and eulogises and glorifies it, with the
text (Vaf. S. I, 12 c) : * Shining (or divine) waters !
ye the first-going, the first-drinking ^ ones ! ' For
the waters are shining ; and for this reason he says,
' Shining waters ! ' ' First-going,' he calls them, be-
cause they flow towards the sea and are therefore
going in front (or forwards). * First-drinking,' he
calls them, because they are the first that drink
of king Soma 2 and are therefore 'drinking first.'
And further : * Forward now lead this sacrifice ^
1 Agrepuva//; Mahidhara allows to it the alternative meaning 'first- purifying.'
2 ' Because, for the sake of extracting the juice from the Soma- plants, water is poured on them, so that the water drinks of the juice before the gods do.' Say.
* I. e. ' carry the sacrifice through without hindrance.' Mahidh.
2 2 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
forward the Lord of Sacrifice, the Hberal, god-loving
Lord of Sacrifice ! ' whereby he says, ' Well (lead)
the sacrifice, well the sacrificer!'
8. And further (Va^. S. I, 13 a): 'You Indra
chose (for his companions) in the battle against
Vr^'tra!' For Indra, when he was battling with
Vr/tra, did choose them (the w^aters) and with their
help he killed him; and for this reason he says,
' You Indra chose in the battle against Vmra !'
9. 'You chose Indra in the battle against Vr/tra!'
for they, too, chose Indra when he was battling with
Vmra, and with them he killed him : therefore he
says, 'You chose Indra in the battle against Vr/tra !'
10. And further (Va^. S. I, 13d) : 'Consecrated
by sprinkling are ye !' With these words he makes
amends to them \ He then sprinkles the (first)
oblation ^ One and the same meaning applies to
the (whole process of) sprinkling, viz. he thereby
makes sacrificially pure that (which he sprinkles).
11. He sprinkles, with the text (Va^. S. I, 13 e) :
'Thee, agreeable to Agni, I sprinkle!' Thus for which-
ever deity the oblation is intended, for that one he
thereby renders it sacrificially pure. When he has in
the same way as before sprinkled (all) the oblations, —
12. He then sprinkles the sacrificial vessels '^
^ He, in the first place, sprinkles the sprinkling water in the ladle with itself; and the guilt incurred in the act of consecrating it with itself, that is, with something unconsecrated, is made amends for by the accompanying formula, Say. Similarly Mahidhara : ' The unconsecrated (water) cannot consecrate other (water).'
^ Before doing so he asks the Brahman's permission (cf. p. 7, note i), ' O Brahman ! shall I sprinkle the oblation?' when the latter, after muttering the mantra, 'Sprinkle the sacrifice! gladden the deities,' &c., gives the permission by ' Om ! sprinkle!' Paddh. on Katy. II, 3, 36.
^ According to some authorities the vessels are placed together
I KANDA, I ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiy^A, I. 23
with the text (Va^. S. I, 13 g), 'Be ye pure for the
divine work, for the sacrifice to J:he gods!' for it is
for the divine work, the sacrifice to the gods, that he
consecrates them. 'Whatever, that belongs to you,
the impure have defiled by touching, that I hereby
purify for you!' For whatever belonging to them
some impure one — either a carpenter or some other
impure person — has on this occasion desecrated by
touching, that he thereby renders sacrificially pure
for them by means of the water; and therefore he
says, * Whatever, that belongs to you, the impure
have defiled by touching, that I hereby purify for
you ^ ! '
Fourth BRAHMAivA.
I. He now takes the black antelope skin 2, for
completeness of the sacrifice. For once upon a
time the sacrifice escaped the gods, and having be-
come a black antelope roamed about. The gods
having thereupon found it and stripped it of its
skin, they brought it (the skin) away with them.
on one heap, and are then consecrated together by one sprinkhng. According to others, each vessel must be consecrated separately. Katy. ^r. II, 3, 39.
^ After he has done the sprinkling, he puts the remaining water away in some place where nobody is allowed to walk [as between the pra7/itas and the Ahavaniya ; or (according to Apastamba) before, or east of, the Garhapatya, since nobody is allowed to pass between the Garhapatya and Ahavaniya. The two strainers also remain in the sprinkling water]. Katy. Sr. II, 3, 40.
2 The skin of the black antelope may be regarded as one of the symbols of Brahmanical worship and civilisation. Thus it is said in Manu II, 22-23: 'That which lies between these two mountain ranges (the Himalaya and the Vindhya), from the eastern to the western ocean, the wise know as Aryavarta (the land of the Aryas). Where the black antelope naturally roams about, that should be known as the land suitable for sacrifice; what lies beyond that is the country of the MlcX'/('>^as (barbarians).'
24 i-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAJVA.
2. Its white and black hairs represent the Rik-
verses and the Saman-verses; to wit, the white the
Saman and the black the Rik\ or conversely, the
black the Saman and the white the Rik. The
brown and the yellow ones, on the other hand,
represent the Ya^us-texts.
3. Now this same threefold science is the sacri-
fice ; that manifold form, that (varying) colour of
this (science) is what is (represented by) this
black antelope skin. For the completeness of the
sacrifice (he takes the skin) : hence the rite of ini-
tiation (for the Soma-sacrifice) is likewise performed
on the black antelope skin ; — for the completion of
the sacrifice : hence it is also used for husking and
bruising (the rice) on, in order that nothing of the
oblation may get spilt ; and that, if any grain or
flour should now be spilt on it, the sacrifice would
still remain securely established in the sacrifice. For
this reason it is used for husking and bruising upon.
4. He thus takes the black antelope skin, with
the text (Va^". S. I, 14 a): 'Bliss-bestowing (carman)
art thou!' For /barman ('hide ') is the name of that
(skin of the) black deer used among men, but
carman (bliss) is (that used) among the gods; and
for this reason he says, ' Bliss-bestowing art thou ! '
He shakes it, with the text (Vd^. S. I, 14 b),
' Shaken off is the Rakshas, shaken off are the
enemies ! ' whereby he repels from it the evil spirits,
the Rakshas. He shakes it whilst holding it apart
from the vessels ^ ; whereby he shakes off whatever
impure matter there may have been on it.
^ According to some exegetes the Adhvaryu himself must step beyond (i. e. aside from) the vessels when he shakes the skin ; according to others, he should not move, but only hold the skin
I KANDA, I ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 7. 25
5. He spreads it (on the ground with the hairy
side upwards, and) with its neck-part turned to the
west\ with the text (Va^. S. I, 14 c) : ' The skin of
Aditi art thou! May Aditi acknowledge thee!'
For Aditi is this earth, and whatever is on her,
that serves as a skin to her: for this reason he says,
' The skin of Aditi art thou ! ' And ' may Aditi
acknowledge thee ! ' he says, because one who is
related (to another) acknowledges (him). Thereby
he establishes a mutual understanding between her
and the black antelope skin, (thinking) ' they will
not hurt each other.' While it is still being held
down with his left hand, —
6. He at once takes the mortar with his right
hand, fearing lest the evil spirits, the Rakshas,
might rush in here in the meantime. For the
priest (brihmawa) ^ is the repeller of the Rakshas :
therefore, whilst it is still being held down with his
left hand, —