other object) the heads of the preceding layer and push the roots of the succeeding one under them. lb. 27 (schol.).
^ He takes one stick from the fuel and gets the fire ready (for the oblations, either by throwing the stick into it, or by stirring it with the stick). lb. 29.
^ The Ahavamya is at the foremost or eastern end of the sacri- ficial ground.
5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAA^A.
and they have passed away \ Restore them to me :
then I shall be equal to this, that I should be your
Hot;-/ and that I should carry your oblation !' They
said, ' So be it ! ' and they restored to him those
(three former Agnis) : they are these enclosing-sticks.
14. He then said, 'The thunderbolt, (in the shape
of) the vasha/-calP, has struck these down: I am
afraid of that thunderbolt, the vasha/-call. Lest
that thunderbolt, the vashaZ-call, should strike me
down, enclose me by those (three Agnis, or pari-
dhis); and thus that thunderbolt, the vasha/-call,
will not strike me down.' They said, 'So be it!'
and they enclosed him with those (three sticks), and
that thunderbolt, the vashaAcall, did not strike him
down. When he encloses Agni with those (sticks)
he buckles armour on him.
15. They (the other three Agnis) then said, 'If
you join us with the sacrifice in this wise, then let
us also have a share in the sacrifice !'
16. The gods said: 'So be it! What shall fall out-
side the enclosure, that is offered unto you ; and
what they shall offer just upon you, that will sate
^ See I, 2, 3, I.
^ The call 'vasha/' (or vausha/), apparently signifying 'may he (Agni) carry it (the oblation) up!' (from vah, to bear, carry), is pronounced by the Hotr/ at the end of the ya_^yas or offering prayers (see note on I, 5, i, 16). Professor Weber has somewhere proposed to derive it from vaksh, to grow, increase, hence 'may it prosper, or agree, with youl' Different, but quite fanciful, inter- pretations of vasha/ are given .S'at. Br. I, 5, 2, 18 ; Ait. Br. 3, 6. As to the awful solemnity of this formula, and the danger arising from a careless use of it, see Ait. Br. 3, 8, on which Haug remarks, ' Up to the present day the Shrotriyas or sacrificial priests never dare to pronounce this formula save at the time of sacrificing. They say that if they would do so at any other time, they would be cursed by the gods.'
I KAiVDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 3 BRAHMAA^A, 1 9. 89
you ; and what they shall offer up in the fire that will
sate you !' Thus what they offer up in the fire, that
satisfies them (the Agnis) ; and what they offer up
just upon them (the enclosing-sticks, or Agnis), that
satisfies them ; and what is spilled outside the en-
closure, that is offered to them^ : hence no sin attaches
to what (butter) is spilt ; for into this earth they en-
tered (when they, the Agnis, passed away), and what-
ever is spilt here, — all that remains indeed in her.
17. That which is spilt he touches, with the
formulas (Va^. S. II, 2), 'To the Lord of the Earth —
svaha !' ' To the Lord of the World — svaha!' ' To
the Lord of Beings — svaha !' These, indeed, are the
names of those Agnis, — to wit. Lord of the Earth,
Lord of the World, and Lord of Beings. Thus in
like manner as that (oblation) which is accompanied
by ' Vasha/' is offered up (to the particular deity to
which it is announced), so is this (offered up) on his
(the sacrificer's) part to those Agnis.
18. Here now some people take the sticks they
lay around from the fire-wood; but let him not do so,
for unsuitable for laying around are those which they
take from the fire-wood, since the fire-wood is pre-
pared for the purpose of being put upon (the fire); but
what other (kind of sticks) they bring to him, called
'enclosing-sticks (paridhis),' they are indeed suitable
for his purpose : let them therefore bring others.
19. Indeed, they should be of Palai-a wood
^ The Kafixa. text has as follows : — They said, ' So be it ! what shall fall outside the enclosure that shall be yours ! and what they shall ofifer just upon you that shall sate you!' for what they offer just upon them that does indeed sate them (enan) ; and what they ofi'er up in the fire that is theirs (esham, ? the gods'); and what falls outside the enclosure by that he shall incur no guilt, &c.
90 SATAVATllA-BRAUMANA.
(Butea Frondosa); for the Pala^a tree, doubtless, is
the Brahman \ and Agni also is the Brahman : for
this reason the Ag^nis should be of Palam wood.
20. Should he be unable to procure them of Pa-
la5"a wood, they maybe of Vikankata wood (Pla-
courtia Sapida); and if he be unable to procure any
of Vikankata, they may be of Karshmarya wood
(Gmelina Arborea); and if he be unable to procure
any of Karshmarya wood, they may be of Vilva
(Aegle Marmelos), or of Khadira (Acacia Catechu),
or of Udumbara wood (Ficus Glomerata). These,
doubtless, are the trees that are suitable for sacrificial
purposes, and from these trees they (the enclosing-
sticks) are therefore (taken).
Fourth Brahmaa^a.
1. They should be green (fresh); for that is (what
constitutes) their living element, by that they are
vigorous, by that possessed of strength : for this
reason they should be green,
2. The middle stick he lays down first (on the
west side of the fire), with the text (Va^'. S. II, 3),
'May the Gandharva Vi.fvavasu^ lay thee around
' The Brahman, or supreme spirit (? or, sacred writ), is more than once identified with the Palaja tree in the ^9atapatha Br., as in V, 2, 4, 18 ; VI, 6, 3, 7 ; XII, 7, 2, 15; and with the leaf of that tree (pahuasya palajam) in II, 6, 2, 8. [? Cf. Rig-veda X, 31, 7, * Which was the wood, which was the tree, out of which they fashioned heaven and earth ? ' and Taitt. Br. II, 8, 9, 6, ' Brahma was the wood, Brahma was that tree out of which they fashioned heaven and earth ;' also Ath.-veda X, 7, 38, 'The gods form part of the divine essence (Skambha-Brahma) as branches of a tree.']
"^ The genius Vijvavasu is already mentioned in Rig-veda X, 85, 21 seq., and X, 139, 4, where Grassmann identifies him with the rainbow (cf. Roth, Nirukta notes, p. 145), See also 6'at. Br. Ill, 2, 4, 2; XIV, 9, 4, 18.
I KANDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 6. 9 1
for the security of the All ! Thou art a fence to
the sacrlficer, thou (art) Agnl, invoked and worthy
of invocation !'
3. He then lays down the southern one, with the
text (ib.), ' Thou art Indra's arm for the security
of the All ! Thou art a fence to the sacrificer; thou
Agni, invoked and worthy of invocation ! '
4. He then lays down the northern one, with the
text (ib.), ' May Mitra-Varu;^a lay thee around in
the north with firm law for the security of the All !
Thou art a fence to the sacrificer, thou Agni, invoked
and worthy of invocation !' They are indeed Agnis,
and for that reason he says, 'Agni, invoked and
worthy of invocation ! '
5. Thereupon he puts on (the fire) a samidh
(kindling-stick). He first touches with it the middle
enclosing-stick : thereby he first kindles those (three
Agnis). After that he puts it on the fire : thereby
he kindles the visible fire.
6. He puts it on \ with the gayatri stanza (Va^.
S. II, 4), 'Thee, O Sage, who callest (the gods) to the
feast, we will kindle so as to shine brilliantly; thee,
O Agni, mighty at the sacrifice ! ' He thereby kindles
the gayatri ^ ; the gayatri, when kindled, kindles the
other metres ; and the metres, when kindled, carry
the sacrifice to the gods.
^ According to Saya«a, the two sticks or pieces of wood are put on the fire in a manner similar to that in which the two agharas or sprinklings of clarified butter are made (see I, 4, 4-5); viz. the first in the direction north-west to south-east, and the second from south-west to north-east.
^ The gayatri is the first of the three principal metres, cf. p. 80, note 3. It consists of three octo-syllabic padas, of which Rig-veda I, 164, 25 says, — ' The gayatra, they say, has three flames (or fire- brands, samidh): therefore it excelled in grandeur and power^'
92 SATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
7. By the second kindling-stick (samidh), which
he now puts on, he kindles the spring ; the spring,
when kindled, kindles the other seasons ; and the
seasons, when kindled, cause living beings to be pro-
duced and the plants to ripen. He puts it on, with
the formula (Vaf. S. II, 5), 'A kindler (samidh) art
thou!' for the spring is indeed a kindler.
8. When he has put it on, he murmurs (ib.), 'May
the sun guard thee from the east against any im-
precation !' for the enclosing-sticks serve for pro-
tection on all (the other three) sides ; and thereby
he makes the sun the protector on the east side,
fearing 'lest the evil spirits, the Rakshas, should rush
in from the east:' for the sun is the repeller of the
evil spirits, the Rakshas.
9. By that third kindling-stick, then, which he puts
on at the after-offerings ^ he kindles the officiating
priest (brahmawa); and he, the priest, when kindled,
carries the sacrifice to the grods.
10. He now returns to the altar covered (with
sacrificial grass). Having taken two stalks of grass,
he lays them down across (the barhis or grass
covering, with the tops to the north), with the
formula (Va^. S. II, 5), ' Savitr/'s arms ^ are ye!'
The prastara bunch is indeed the top-knot (of the
sacrifice); and he now lays down these two cross-
wise as its eye-brows : thereby these two (represent)
the transverse eye-brows. The prastara, further,
^ See I, 8, 2, 3.
"^ BahCi, 'the two arms,' is apparently taken here by our author both in its natural sense and as the arms of the bow or arch, formed by the eye-brows. The barhis, or grass covering of the altar, was, as we saw (I, 3, 3, 7), identified witli the beard and other hair of the body.
I KAiVDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 1 4. 93
(represents) the kshatra (or military class); and
the other barhis the vis (or, the common Aryan
people); — (and the two stalks he puts down between
them) for the sake of separating (vidhrz'ti) the
kshatra and the vis: for this reason he lays
them down crosswise ; and for this reason these two
(stalks) are called vidhrz'ti.
11. On them he spreads the prastara, with the
formula (Va^, S. II, 5), ' I spread thee, soft as wool,
pleasant to sit upon for the gods!' When he says
' thee, soft as wool,' he means to say ' agreeable to
the gods ; ' and by 'pleasant to sit upon for the gods'
he means to say 'forming a good seat for the gods.'
12. He presses it down (with his left hand), with
the text (ib.), ' May the Vasus, the Rudras, the
Adityas sit on thee!' These three, that is, the
Vasus, the Rudras, and the Adityas, namely, are
(classes of) gods; and these, he means to say, are
to sit down on it. While it is still being held down
with his left hand, —
13. He seizes the ^uhu with his right, fearing
' lest the evil spirits, the Rakshas, should enter there
in the meantime;' for the officiating priest (brah-
ma/^a) is the repeller of the Rakshas : therefore,
while it (the prastara) is still being held down with
his left hand, —
14. He seizes the ^uhu, with the text (Va^. S.
11,6), ' Fond of butter art thou, 6^uhu by name !' for
fond of butter indeed it is, and Guhu. byname; — ' Sit
down here with the favourite resort^ (or dainty) on the
favourite seat!' The upabhr/t{he takes), with the
formula (ib.), 'Fond of butter art thou, Upabhrzt
^ Viz. the butter, which is the dear resort, or home, of the gods; see I, 3, 2, 17. Possibly, however, dh am an may here mean 'dainty.'
94 ^ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
by name!' for fond of butter indeed it is, and Upa-
bhrz't by name ; — ' Sit down here with the favourite
resort on the favourite seat!' The dh ru va (he takes)
with 'Fond of butter art thou, Dhruva by name!'
for fond of butter indeed it is, and Dhruvi by
name ; — ' Sit down here with the favourite resort
on the favourite seat ! ' What other sacrificial food
there is, (he puts down on the prastara), with the
formula, ' With the favourite resort sit down on the
favourite seat!'
15. He lays the ^^uhu down on (the prastara),
and the other spoons down below, (viz. on the
barhis, north of the ^^hu, and so as not to touch
it or one another); for the ^uh6 assuredly is the
kshatra, and the other spoons (sru/C') are the
vi^: he thereby makes the kshatra superior to
the VIS. Hence the people here serve, from a
lower position, the Kshatriya seated above them :
for this reason he places the ^uhu upon (the pra-
stara) and the other spoons down below it.