^ The ceremony called stambaya^us (-harawam) consists in ' the throwing away of the grass-bush after cutting it by the (flinging of the) wooden sword, with the simultaneous reciting of Ya^us- texts' [ya_^urmantrako darbha^^ stambaya_§-u/2, ta.kka. stambariipawz sphyena bhittvotkarade^e haret, Say.,Taitt. S. I, i, 9].
^ This passage, in which the author seems to argue against some other ritualistic authority, is not quite clear to me. The Taitt. Br. has, 'from the atmosphere he drives him away (by the second throw), from the sky he drives him away (by the third throw).'
^ That is, between himself, or the wooden sword, and the altar. According to Katy. II, 6, 15, he lays the grass-bush dov/n on the
56 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAiyrA.
should injure the earth with this sharp thunderbolt !'
thus (he thinks, and) for that reason he flings after
putting the grass-bush between.
1 6. He flings it, with the text (Vd^. S. I, 25) : ' O
earth, that affordest the place for making offerings
to the gods! may I not injure the root of thy plant!'
He thereby makes her, as it were, with roots remain-
ing in her^ Whilst he takes up (the earth dug up
by the sword), he thus addresses her : ' May I not
injure the roots of thy plants ! ' — And in further say-
ing, ' Go to the fold, the abode of the cows !' when
he is about to throw it away (on the heap of rubbish),
he causes it not to forsake him ; for that which is
within the fold^ does not forsake him : for that rea-
son he says, ' Go to the fold, the abode of the cows !' —
He further says (whilst looking at the hole in the
ground) : ' May the sky rain on thee !' Wherever,
in digging into her, they wound and injure her —
water being (a means of) expiation — that he thereby
expiates by the water which is (a means of) expiation;
that he thereby makes good by means of the water :
that is the reason why he says : * May the sky rain
on thee!' — 'Tie him down, O divine Savitri, to the
furthest end of the earth !' he says (whilst throwing
on the heap of rubbish the soil dug up) ; he thus
altar with its top pointing northwards, with the text : ' The armour of the earth art thou ! '
' Saya«a explains it by uttaramulam iva karoti ; * prnhivim uparibhagavasthitamulayuktam iva' (P'with the roots remaining in its (the earth's) upper part, or surface'). Cf. also Say. on Taitt. S.
I, I, 9 (P- 155)-
^ The Taitt. Br. (Ill, 2, 9, 3) identifies the fold (pen, stable) with the metres (? which enclose the altar in the shape of the first set of lines), cf. Szt. Br. I, 2, 5, 6 seq. This identification rests on the double meaning of go (in gosthanam) as ' cow' and 'metre.*
I Kanda, 2 Adhyaya, 4 Brahmaa^a, 1 8. 57
says to the divine Savitr^ : ' Tie him down to bUnd
darkness!' when he says 'to the furthest end of the
earth,' — ' With a hundred fetters !' by this he means
to say, 'so that he cannot free himself.' — ' Him who
hates us and whom we hate, do not release from
there !' Whether or not he wishes to exorcise, let
him say: ' So and so ... do not release from there!'
17. He then throws (the wooden sword) a second
time, with the text (Va^. S. I, 26) : ' May I drive
Araru away from the earth, the place of offerings!'
Araru \ namely, was an Asura and Rakshas. Him
the gods drove away from this (earth), and in the
same way he (the Adhvaryu) thereby drives him
away from this (earth). He adds (whilst repeating
the several corresponding acts) : ' Go to the fold,
the abode of the cows ! May the sky rain on thee !
Tie him down, O divine Savitrz, to the furthest end
of the earth, with a hundred fetters, him who hates
us and whom we hate, do not release him from
there !'
18. The Agnidhra presses it down (on the heap
of rubbish), with the text (Vaf. S. I, 26): ' O Araru!
thou shalt not fly up to heaven !' For when the gods
drove away Araru, the Asura- Rakshas, he wished to
fly up to heaven. Agni pressed him down, saying,
' O Araru, thou shalt not fly up to heaven!' and he
did not fly up to heaven. In the same way the
^ Of this demon we have no further particulars except that in Rig-vedaX, 99, 10, he is said to have four feet; see alsoTaitt.Br.III, 2, 9, 4 seq. Perhaps there is some connection between Araru and the Arurmaghas in Ait. Br. VII, 28, and the Arunmukhas in Kaushtt. Up. 3, I ; both of them enemies of Indra. Cf. INI. Haug's and Max MuUer's translations of these works ; and Weber, Ind. Stud. I, 411.
58 i-ATAPATHA-BRAHMA^A.
Adhvaryu thereby cuts him off from this world, and
the Agnidhra from the side of heaven. That is the
reason why he does this.
19. He then throws (the wooden sword) a third
time, with the text (Va^. S. I, 26) : ' Let thy drop
not spring up to the sky!' Her (the earth's) drop
no doubt is that moisture of hers upon which the
creatures subsist. ' Let this thine (moisture) not fly
away to the sky !' he thereby says. — He adds (whilst
again repeating the several acts) : ' Go to the fold,
the abode of the cows ! May the sky rain on thee !
Tie him down, O divine Savitr/, to the furthest end
of the earth, with a hundred fetters, him who hates
us and whom we hate, do not release him from
there!'
20. Three times he throws it, with the sacrificial
formula (Ya^is) ; for three are these worlds, and
with these worlds he thereby puts him (the evil
spirit) down ^ And what these worlds are, that
in truth is the Ya^is : for that reason he throws it
thrice with the sacrificial formula.
.21. Silently (he throws) a fourth time ^. What
fourth world there may or may not be beyond these
(three), by that one he thereby drives away the
spiteful enemy. For uncertain indeed is what fourth
world there may or may not be beyond these (three);
and uncertain also is what (is done) silently : for that
reason (he throws) silently a fourth time.
^ In the corresponding passage of the Black Ya^^-us (Taitt. Br. Ill, 2, 9, 5 seq.) the Adhvaryu is represented as driving the enemy away from the four worlds by throwing the sword four times.
"^ When, together with the dug-out soil, he throws the grass-bush on the heap of rubbish. Katy. II, 6, 24.
I Kanda, 2 Adhyaya, 5 Brahma2va, 5. 59
Fifth Brahmajva.
1. The gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung
from Pra^apati, were contending for superiority. Then
the gods were worsted, and the Asuras thought : ' To
us alone assuredly belongs this world ! '
2. They thereupon said: 'Well then, let us divide
this world between us ; and having divided it, let
us subsist thereon!' They accordingly set about,
dividing it with ox-hides from west to east.
3. The gods then heard of this, and said : ' The
Asuras are actually dividing this earth : come, let us
go to where the Asuras are dividing it. For what
would become of us, if we were to get no share in it ? '
Placing Vis h;^u, (in the shape of) this very sacrifice,
at their head, they went (to the Asuras).
4. They then said: 'Let us share in this earth
along with yourselves ! Let a part of it be ours !'
The Asuras replied rather grudgingly : ' As much as
this Vish;m lies upon, and no more, we give you ! '
5. Now Vish?^u was a dwarfs The gods, however,
^ This legend is given in Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts, IV, p. 1 22, where it is pointed out that we have here the germ of the Dwarf Incarnation of Vish/m ; and in A. Kuhn's treatise, ' Ueber Entwick- lungsstufen der Mythenbildung,' p. 128, where the following re- marks are made on the story : ' Here also we meet with the same struggle between light and darkness : the gods of light are vanquished and obtain from the Asuras, who divide the earth be- tween themselves, only as much room as is covered by Vishwu, who measures the atmosphere with his three steps. He represents (though I cannot prove it in this place) the sun-light, which, on shrinking into dwarf's size in the evening, is the only means of preservation that is left to the gods, who cover him with metres, i. e. with sacred hymns (probably in order to defend him from the powers of darkness), and in the end kindle Agni in the east — the dawn — and thereby once more obtain possession of the earth.' Compare also the corresponding legend in Taitt. Br. Ill, 2, 9, 7,
60 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
were not offended at this, but said : * Much indeed
they gave us, who gave us what is equal in size
to the sacrifice.'
6. Having then laid him down eastwards, they
enclosed him on all (three) sides with the metres,
saying (Va^. S. I, 27), on the south side, 'With the
Gayatri metre I enclose thee ! ' on the west side :
' With the Trish/ubh metre I enclose thee ! ' on the
north side : 'With the 6^agati metre I enclose theeM'
7. Having thus enclosed him on all (three) sides,
and having placed Agni (the fire) on the east side,
they went on worshipping and toiling with it (or
him, i.e. Vish;m, the sacrifice). By it they obtained
(sam-vid) this entire earth; and because they obtained
by it this entire (earth), therefore it (the sacrificial
ground) is called vedi (the altar). For this reason
they say, ' As great as the altar is, so great is the
earth ; ' for by it (the altar) they obtained this entire
(earth). And, verily, he who so understands this,
wrests likewise this entire (earth) from his rivals,
excludes his rivals from sharing in it.
8. Thereupon this Vish;m became tired; but being enclosed on all (three) sides by the metres, with the
where the gods are granted by the Asuras as much as they can enclose ; and by the Vasus being placed in the south, the Rudras in the west, the Adityas in the north, and Agni in the east, they obtain the whole of the earth,
^ In the actual performance of the sacrifice this represents the piirva-parigraha, or first enclosing of the altar by a single line being drawn with the wooden sword on each of the three sides (viz. S.W. to S. E. ; S.W. to N.W. ; N.W. to N. E.) whilst muttering the respective texts. Before doing so he has, however, to ask and receive the permission of the Brahman, mutatis mutandis, in the usual way (cf. p. 7 note): the same forms have to be gone through at the marking of the second and third enclosures. Kity. II, 6, 25 seq. On the ritualistic application of the metres, see note on I, 3, 2, 9.
I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, II. 6 1
fire on the east, there was no (means of) escaping: he then hid himself among the roots of plants.
9. The gods said : 'What has become of Vish;m ?
What has become of the sacrifice ? ' They said :
' On all (three) sides he is enclosed by the metres,
with Agni to the east, there is no (way of) escaping ':
search for him in this very place!' By slightly
digging they accordingly searched for him. They
discovered him at a depth of three inches (or thumb's
breadths): therefore the altar should be three inches
deep; and therefore also Fau^i^ made the altar for
the Soma-sacrifice three inches deep.
10. This, however, one must not do. Among
the roots of the plants he (Vish?m) hid himselfl
therefore let him (the Adhvaryu) bid (the Agmdhra)
to cut out the roots of the plants. And since they
found (anu-vid) Vish/m in that place, therefore it is
called vedi (altar).
11. When they had found him, they enclosed him
with a second enclosure, saying (Va^. S. I, 27), 'Of
good soil art thou, and auspicious art thou !' on the
south side ; for when they had thus obtained this
earth they made it of good soil and auspicious ;—
* Pleasant art thou, and soft to sit upon!' they said
on the west side, for when they had thus obtained
this earth, they made it pleasant and soft to sit
upon;— 'Abounding in food and drink art thou !' they
said on the north side, for when they had thus
obtained this earth, they made it abounding in food
and drink.