^^ This teacher is mentioned again, Sat. Br. II, i, 4, 27, along with two others, viz. Asuri and I\Iadhuki, but nothing further is known of him. According to the Black Ya^us the altar is made four (not three) ahgulas deep.
62 DATAPATH A-BRAhMAJVA.
12. Threefold^ he draws round the first hne of
enclosure, threefold the second : hence sixfold (the
two) ; for six seasons there are in the year, and the
year, as Pra^apati (Lord of Creation), is the sacrifice ^.
As large as the sacrifice, as wide as its extent is,
so wide does he thereby enclose it.
13. With six sacred words ^ he draws around the
first line of enclosure, with six the second : thus
(together) twelvefold, for twelve no doubt are the
months of the year ; and the year, as Pra_c^apati, is
the sacrifice. As large as the sacrifice, as wide as its
extent is, so wide does he thereby enclose it.
14. 'Let it (the altar) measure a fathom* across
on the west side,' they say : that, namely, is the
size of a man, and it (the altar) should be of (the)
man's size. ' Three cubits long (should be) the
^ Viz. each enclosing line consists of three divisions correspond- ing to the three sides (S., W., N.) of the altar.
"^ Pra^apati (Lord of Creation) is here, as elsewhere, identified with the year (probably as the representative of the eternal process of regeneration) and consequently with the annual cycle of sacri- ficial performance, or the sacrifice itself. Cf. -Sat. Br. I, 5, 2, 16;
X, 4. 3. I-
^ According to Sayawa, because each of the three mantras, 'gayatrewa (traish/ubhena, ^agatena resp.) tva Mandasa pari gr^liwami,' consists of two parts, the first ending with tva, the second with gr/hwami, which makes together six. Similarly with the second triad of mantras. In the former case the Taittiriya text (Taitt. S. I, i, 9, 3), 'The Vasus may enclose thee with the Gayatri metre, the Rudras with the Trish/ubh metre, the Adityas with the G^agati metre!' would furnish a more natural explanation of the six sacred words.
* Vyama, the space between the extreme ends of the out- stretched arms. It is doubtful whether it is here intended for a fixed measure, or whether it is a relative one, depending on the size of the respective sacrificer. The size of a man was supposed to be equal to the extent of his outstretched arms.
I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, IJ. 63
" easterly line \" for threefold is the sacrifice,' (so
they say, but) in this there is no (fixed) measure :
let him make it as long as he thinks fit in his
own mind!
15. The two shoulders (of the altar) he carries
along both sides of the (Ahavaniya) fire. For the
altar (vedi, fem.) is female and the fire (agni, masc.)
is male ; and the woman lies embracing the man :
thereby a copulation productive of offspring is
obtained. For this reason he carries the two
shoulders (of the altar) along both sides of the fire.
16. It (the altar) should be broader on the west
side, contracted in the middle, and broad again on
the east side ; for thus shaped they praise a woman :
' broad about the hips, somewhat narrower between
the shoulders, and contracted in the middle (or, about
the waist).' Thereby he makes it (the altar) pleasing
to the gods.
17. It should be sloping towards east, for the
east is the quarter of the gods ; and also sloping
towards north, for the north is the quarter of men.
To the south side he sweeps the rubbish (loose soil),
for that is the quarter of the deceased ancestors.
If it (the altar) were sloping towards south, the
sacrificer would speedily go to yonder world ; and
thus (by making the altar in the prescribed way)
the sacrificer lives for a long time : for this reason
he sweeps the loose soil to the south side. Let
^ I. e. a line drawn from the middle of the western side through the centre of the altar to the Ahavaniya fire. The same line pro- longated from the western side of the altar westwards to the Garha- patya would measure eight (eleven or twelve) steps (prakrama or vikrama, of two feet or pada each) from fire to fire. See I, 7, 3, 23-25.
64 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
him then cover it (the altar) over with (fresh) rubbish :
for rubbish means cattle, and well-stocked with cattle
he thereby makes it\
1 8. He (the Agnidhra) smooths it down (from east
to west). The gods, namely, when they were pre-
paring for the contest, said to one another : ' Come,
let us remove to the moon for safety what im-
perishable place of worship there is on this earth ;
so that if the Asuras, on vanquishing us, should drive
us away from here, we may afterwards, by praising
and mortifying, prevail again !' They accordingly
removed to the moon what imperishable place of
worship there was on this earth. That now is the
black (spots) in the moon : hence they say, ' In the
moon is the place of worship for this earth.' It is
in this place of worship also that his sacrifice is
performed : for that reason he smooths (the altar)
down 2.
19. He smooths it down, with the text (Va^. S. I,
28): 'Before the bloody (battle) with its rush-
ings hither and thither^ O mighty one!' the
bloody one no doubt is the battle, for in battle
^ Purisha, rabbish ; 'sandy or gravel-like soil,' Say. on Taitt. Br. Ill, 2, 9, 12 ; purisha also means 'faeces, manure,' in which sense it is probably taken symbolically for * cattle.' The Taitt. Br. better : ' well supplied with cattle he thereby makes h i m (the sacrificer).'
^ 1 By stroking along the altar he shifts it to the moon.
* The interpretation of pura krurasya v is rip a. /i here given by the author, and also by Mahidhara on Va^. S. I, 28, is more than doubtful. Sayawa on Taitt. S. I, i, 9 is probably more correct in taking pura visr/pa^ (abl. or gerund) krurasya to mean 'before the sneaking away of the cruel enemy (Araru, lying fettered on the heap of rubbish) ' — he supplies : ' thou, O altar, containest merely the divine oblations, but since his removal thou containest every- thing.' Cf. also Weber, Ind. Streifen, II, p. 463.
I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVrA, 21. 65
bloody deeds are done, and slain lie man and horse ;
and before that battle they removed it (the altar
to the moon) ; therefore he says, ' Before the bloody
(battle) with its rushings hither and thither, O mighty
one!' — 'lifting up the life-bestowing earth,' for
after lifting up what was living on this earth, they
removed it to the moon ; therefore he says, ' lifting
up the life-bestowing earth;' — 'which they raised
to the moon by prayers,' 'which they placed
in the moon by worship,' he thereby says, — 'that
(earth) the wise still point out and worship,'
to that they accordingly address their worship ; and
the offering of him also who so understands this, is
performed in that place of worship.
20. He now says (to the Agnidhra ; Va^. S. 1,28),
* Put the sprinkling-water down (on the altar) !' That
thunderbolt, the wooden sword, and the priest (brah-
ma?^a) have hitherto defended that sacrifice. Now
the water also is a thunderbolt : that thunderbolt
he thereby lays down for its defence. While the
sprinkling-water is being held close above the wooden
sw^ord, he takes up the latter. If he were to set the
sprinkling-water down, wh le the wooden sword is
still lying, the two thunderbolts would come into col-
lision with each other; but in this way the two
thunderbolts do not come into collision with each
other: for that reason he takes up the wooden
sword, while the sprinkling-water is being held close
above it.
21. He pronounces this (entire) speech: — 'Put
the sprinkling-water down (on the altar)! put fuel
and barhis (sacrificial grass) beside it! wipe the
ladles ! gird the (sacrificer's) wife ! come hither with
the clarified butter ! ' This is a direction (given to
66 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
the Agnidhra) ; he (the Adhvaryu) may pronounce it,
if he choose ; or, if he so choose, he may omit it :
for he (the Agnidhra) himself knows that this work
has now to be done.
2 2. He then flings the wooden sword northwards
(on the heap of rubbish). If he wishes to exorcise ^
(he does so), with the text, ' I fling thee as a thunder-
bolt for so and so!' and as a thunderbolt the wooden
sword accordingly strikes down (the enemy).
23. He then washes his hands 2; for what there
was bloody (or injured) on it (the altar) that he
thereby removes from it : that is why he washes
his hands.
24. Now those who made offerings in former
times, touched (the altar and oblations) at this
particular time, while they were sacrificing. They
became more sinful. Those who washed (their
hands) became righteous. Then unbelief took hold
of men : ' Those who sacrifice become more sinful,
and those who sacrifice not become righteous,' they
said. No sacrificial food then came to the gods from
this world : for the gods subsist on what is offered
up from this world ^
25. The gods thereupon said to Br/haspati An-
girasa, 'Verily, unbelief has come upon men; ordain
thou the sacrifice to them!' Brzhaspati Aiigirasa
then went and said, ' How comes it that you do not
sacrifice?' They replied, ' From a desire for what
' Otherwise he uses the text (Va^. S. I, 28): 'A killer of the enemy art thou !' Katy. II, 6, 42.
2 He does so (on the utkara) and then lays down the wooden sword west of the prawita water. Katy. II, 6, 43.
' Men, on the other hand, subsist on what is bestowed on them from yonder world. Taitt. S. Ill, 2,9,7; Taitt. Br. II, 2, 7, 3.
I KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, I. 67
should we sacrifice, since those who sacrifice become
more sinful, and those who sacrifice not become
righteous ? '
26. Brzhaspati Angirasa then said, 'What we have heard of as produced ^ for the gods that is this sacrifice, that is to say, the cooked oblations and the prepared altar ; therewith you have per- formed while touching : that is why you have become more sinful. Sacrifice therefore without touching, for thus you will become righteous!' How long ?' they asked. ' Till the spreading of the sacri- ficial grass (on the altar),' he said. By the sacrificial grass, namely, it (the altar) becomes appeased. If, therefore, before the spreading of the sacrificial grass anything were to fall on it, let him only remove it at the time when he spreads the sacrificial grass ; for when they spread the sacrificial grass, then they also step on it with the foot. He who knowing this sacrifices without touching.becomes indeed righteous: let him therefore sacrifice, without touching (the altar' and oblations).
Third Adhyaya. First BRAHMAivA.
I. He (the Agnidhra) now brushes the spoons -
(with the grass-ends). The reason why he brushes
^ Parishfitam, which Sayawa interprets by parigr/hitam, 'hedged round' [? 'set apart']. The Kawva MS. reads pari shutam.
^ Besides the Agnihotra-hava«i, or milk ladle used at the morning and evening oblations (see p. 11, note 2; and II, 3, i, 17), three different sru/^ or offering-spoons are used, viz. the ^uhfl, upabhrz"t, and dhruva. They are made each of a different kind of wood, of an arm's length (or, according to others, a cubit long), with a bowl of the shape and size of the hand, and a hole cut through the bark and front side of the bowl and fitted with a spout some eight or nine inches long, and shaped like a goose's bill. The sruva or dipping-spoon, on the other hand, chiefly used for ladling the clarified
68 .SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
the spoons is that the course ^ pursued among the
gods is in accordance with that pursued among
men. Now, when the serving up of food is at
hand among men, —
2. They rinse the vessels, and having rinsed them,
they serve up the food with them : in the same way
is treated the sacrifice to the gods, that is to say, the
cooked oblations and the prepared altar; and those
vessels of theirs, the sacrificial spoons.
3. Now, when he brushes (the spoons), he in reality
rinses them, thinking, ' with these rinsed ones I will
proceed.' He thereby rinses them with two sub-
stances for the gods, and with one for men ; viz.
with water and the brahman (spirit of worship) for
the gods, — for the water is (represented by) the sacri-
ficial grass '^, and the brahman (by) the sacrificial
formula ; — and with one for men, that is with water
alone : and thus this takes place separately ^