4. He, in the first place, takes the dipping-spoon
butter (or milk) from the butter vessel into the offering-spoons, is of khadira wood (Acacia Catechu), a cubit long, with a round bowl measuring a thumb's joint across, and without a spout. In our text the term sru/^ is used both in the general sense of 'spoon' and in the narrower one of ' offering-spoon,' as distinguished from the sruva or 'dipping-spoon.'
^ The brushing of the spoons is here compared with the rinsing of vessels preparatory to their being used for serving up the food. At the same time, we shall see further on (I, 8, 3, 26-27) that the two principal offering-spoons, the^uhfi and upabhr^'t, are looked upon as yoke-fellows, they being the two horses that are supposed to convey the sacrifice (and consequently the sacrificer himself) to the world of the gods ; hence this process of cleaning also corres- ponds to the rubbing down of the horses preparatory to the setting out of the sacrificer on his progress to the world of the gods.
2 See I, I, 3, 5.
' It is doubtful to me whether this last passage merely refers to the several spoons, or whether it refers to the symbolical meaning
I KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 6. 69
(sruva, masc.) and makes it hot (on the Garhapatya
fire),with either of the texts (Vaf.S. I, 29), 'Scorched
is the Rakshas, scorched are the enemies !' or, ' Burnt
out is the Rakshas, burnt out are the enemies !'
5. For when the gods were performing sacrifice
they were afraid of a disturbance on the part of
the Asuras and Rakshas. Hence by this means
he, from the very opening of the sacrifice, expels
from here the evil spirits, the Rakshas ^
6. He brushes it thus inside with the (grass-)tops (cut off from the grass in tying the veda), with the text (Vaf. S. 1,29), 'Not sharps art thou, (but yet) a destroyer of the enemies !' he says this in order that it may unceasingly destroy the enemies of the sacrificer. Further, 'Thee, the food-abounding (masc), I cleanse for the kindling of food^!' — ' thee that art suitable for the sacrifice, I cleanse for the sacrifice,' he thereby says. In the same way he brushes all the spoons, saying, ' Thee, the food- abounding (fem.) . . . ,' in the case of the offering-spoon (srui", fem.). The prai-itrahara;/a^ (he brushes) silently.
of the wiping with sacrificial grass and the accompanying formula. In the latter case it might mean : ' and thus that (act) becomes different (i.e. has a different significance).'
^ Cf. I, I, 2, 3, and note.
^ A-nij-ita, 'not sharpened,' from sa (so), 'to sharpen' (thus also Mahidh.). If, however, anuparata, 'unceasing,' in the text is intended by the author to explain anijita, he would seem to identify the root sa. with sa (so), ' to bring to an end, to finish.' The spoon is sharpened by the wiping, cf. Taitt. Br. Ill, 3, i, i.
' Va^edhyayai, 'for the lighting (brightening) of the sacrifice (by means of the butter which is poured into the fire), the sacrifice being the food of the gods,' Mahidh. The St. Petersburg Dictionary suggests va^etyayai, ' thee, the courser, I wipe for the race !' Cf. p. 68, note i.
^ The prajitraharawa is a pan of khadira wood, cither
70 .SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
7. Inside he brushes with the (grass-)tops thus
(viz. from the handle to the top, or in a forward,
eastward direction from himself); outside with the
lower (grass-)ends thus (viz. in the opposite or
backward direction, towards himself)^: for thus (viz.
in the former way) goes the out-breathing, and thus
(in the opposite way) the in-breathing. Thereby he
obtains out-breathing and in-breathing (for the sacri-
ficer): hence these hairs (on the upper side of the
elbow) point that way, and these (on the lower side)
point that way 2.
8. Each time he has brushed and heated (a spoon),
he hands it (to the Adhvaryu). Just as, after having
rinsed (the eating vessels) while touching them, one
would finally rinse them without touching them, so
here : for this reason he hands over each (spoon)
after heating it^.
square or round (? oval, of the shape of a cow's ear, Say. ; of the shape of a mirror, Katy.), used for holding the Brahman's portion (prajitra) of the sacrificial cake. According to Katy. II, 6, 49, the j-r/'tavadanam (cake-cutter) and (purodai'a-)patri (cake- dish) also have to be cleaned on this occasion.
^ While brushing the spoons he stands east of the Ahavamya fire-house, looking toward east. The way of brushing, prescribed by the Black Ya^us (Taitt. Br. Ill, 3, i, 3-4; comm. on Taitt. S. I, I, 10), seems to be more complicated.
^ Viz. the former (' aratner uparibhagasya lomani'), according to Saya;;a, point in a forward direction (away from the body), and the latter (' pr/sh///abhagasya lomani') in a backward direction. The Taitt. Br. Ill, 3, i, 4 has 'on the elbow (aratnau) the hairs above (point) forward, those below backward,' which Saya«a (Taitt. S. I, I, I, 10) explains by ' the short hairs above the wrist (? ma«i- bandhad urdhvam) are forward-pointed (prahmukha), but those below are backward-pointed (pratya?!/^).'
' That is to say, the heating of the spoons corresponds to the usual final rinsing of household vessels with water without touching them. Saya«a.
I Kanda, 3 Adhyaya, I Brahmajva, 12. 71
9. The dipping-spoon (sruva, masc.) he brushes
first, and then the other spoons (sru>^, fern.). The
offering-spoon (sru-^), namely, is female, and the
dipping-spoon is male, so that, although in this way
several women meet together, the one that is, as it
were, the only male youth among them, goes there
first, and the others after him. This is the reason
why he brushes the dipping-spoon first, and after-
wards the other (offering-)spoons.
10. Let him brush them so as not to spatter
anything towards the fire, as he would thereby
bespatter him, to whom he will be bringing food,
with the slops of the vessels : therefore let him
brush them so as not to spatter anything towards
the fire, that is to say, after stepping outside (the
Ahavaniya fire-house) towards the east.
11. Here now some throw the grass-ends used for
cleaning the spoons into the (Ahavaniya) fire. ' To
the veda (grass-bunch) they assuredly belonged, and
the spoons have been cleaned with them : hence it
is something that belongs to the sacrifice, and (we
throw it into the fire) in order that it should not
become excluded from the sacrifice/ thus (they argue).
Let him, however, not do so, since he would thereby
make him to whom he will offer food, drink the
slops of the vessels \ Let him therefore throw them
away (on the heap of rubbish).
12. He (the Agnidhra) then girds the wife (of the
^ The Black Ya^us (Taitt. Br. Ill, 3, 2, i) prescribes that the grass-ends, after the brushing, should be thrown into the fire, and not on the heap of rubbish, as some do ; or at all events they should not be thrown on the utkara, without their having been previously washed with water, as they would otherwise bring ill-luck to the cattle.
72 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAJVA.
sacriflcer)^ She, the wife, truly is the hinder
part of the sacrifice. ' May the sacrifice go on
increasing before me!' thus (she thinks while) he
girds her, thinking, 'may she sit thus girt by my
sacrifice !'
13. He girds her with a cord (yoktra) : for with
a cord (yoktra) they yoke the draught-animal
(yogya). Impure indeed is that part of woman
which is below the navel ; and therewith she will
be facing the sacrificial butter : that part of her
he thereby conceals with the cord, and only with
the pure upper part of her body she then faces the
sacrificial butter. This is the reason why he girds
the wife ^.
14. He girds her over the garment. Now the
garment represents the plants, and (the cord repre-
sents) Varu^^a's noose ^ (ra^u) : hence he thereby
places the plants between (her and the noose), and
^ The mistress of the house is seated south-west of the Garha- patya fire [with bent (or raised) knees and her face turned towards north-east]. The Agnidhra then girds her round the waist, outside the garment, with a triple cord of reed-grass (muw^a). Katy. 11, 7, i; and Saya;/a on our passage.
2 According to Taitt. Br. Ill, 3, 3, 2-3 the symboHcal meaning of this act is, that it represents the vratopanayana, or initiation of the wife into the sacred rite. The girding of the wife would thus possess a significance similar to that of the ordinary upanayana, or investiture of the youth with the sacred cord.
^ The noose (pa^a) is one of the chief attributes of God Varuwa, the symbol of his supreme power and his abhorrence of sin. Thus we read in Atharva-veda IV, 16, 4 seq. : 'And if one were to flee far beyond the sky, one would not escape from king Varuwa. From heaven his spies issue forth to this (world), and with their thousand eyes survey the earth. King Varuwa sees all that happens between heaven and earth and beyond them : the very twinklings of the eyes of men are numbered by him. . . . May all those bale- ful nooses of thine, O Varu;/a, that are thrown sevenfold and three-
I KAJVDA, 3 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 1 7. 73
thus that noose of Varu;^a does not injure her. This is the reason why he girds her over the garment.
15. He girds her, with the text (Va^. S. I, 30),
'A zone art thou for Aditi!' Aditi, indeed, is this
earth. She is the wife of the gods, and that one
is his (the sacrificer's) wife. It is for the latter,
accordingly, that he makes it a zone instead of a
noose (or string). A zone means a girdle, and he
thereby makes it this for her.
16. Let him not make a knot \ for the knot is
Varu;^a's (attribute) ; and Varu;^a would lay hold
on the (sacrificer's) wife, if he were to make a knot.
For this reason he does not make a knot.
17. He twists it through upwards^, with the text
(Vi^. S. I, 30), ' The pervader •'' of Vish;ai art thou!'
Let her not sit to the west of the sacrifice, with her
face towards the east. For Aditi is this earth *, she
is the wife of the gods, and she indeed sits on the
west of the sacrifice of the gods, with her face turned
fold, ensnare him who speaks untruth, and pass by him who speaks the truth ! '
^ Taitt. Br. Ill, 3, 3, 4, on the contrary, prescribes a knot (granthi/« grathnati), as the symbol which is to secure all blessings for her.
2 He winds the cord round her waist from left to right (prada- kshiwam), and having fixed the southern end by twice twisting round the northern one, he draws the southern end through the encircling cord upwards (so as to hang down, uparish/al lambayet, Sayawa. Katy. II, 7, I, &c., ScholL).
3 Veshya=:vyapaka, Mahidh. ; 'perhaps a headband,' St. Petersb. Diet. It is apparently an etymological play on the name of Vish;/u (? the all-pervading sun). The formula, according to Mahidhara, is addressed to the southern end of the cord which is drawn through the girdle (? the pervading ray of ^'ish;/u).
* Aditi is the earth and therefore the altar, which represents the earth : hence Aditi, in the shape of the altar, looks towards the east.
74 ^-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
towards the east : and this lady would, therefore,
raise herself to her (Aditi), and would speedily go
to yonder world. And thus (viz. by sitting in the
prescribed way) she lives for a long time, thus she
propitiates her (Aditi), and thus the latter harms her
not. For this reason let her sit somewhat to the
south.
1 8. She looks down upon the sacrificial butter ^ ;
for assuredly that wife is a woman, and the butter
(represents) seed : hence a productive union is
thereby brought about. For this reason she looks
towards the butter.
19. She looks, with the text(Va^. S. I, 30), ' With
an unimpaired eye I look on thee;' whereby
she says, ' with an uninjured eye I look on thee.' —
' Agni's tongue art thou!' for when they offer up
that (butter) in the fire, then Agni's tongues, as it
were, issue forth: therefore she says, 'Agni's tongue
art thou!' — 'A good caller ^ of the gods,' whereby
she says, 'well for the gods;' — 'be thou for every
dainty (or, sacrificial site, dhaman), for every
prayer of mine!' whereby she says, 'for every
sacrifice of mine be thou (a good caller)!'