^ While he pronounces this formula (and while the Hotr/ recites the formula of invitation to the gods, cf. note on I, 4, 2, 16) the Adhvaryu steps to the south side of the altar (and Ahavaniya fire) and in so doing must take care always to keep the left foot before the right (Katy. III. i, 16, 18) and not to touch the top of the prastara, ib. 17, schol. In returning (par. 5) to his former position he has to keep the right foot before the left.
'^ With this and the succeeding formulas, the Adhvar)'u makes the second libation (cf. note on I, 4, 4, i). Before the butter is poured into the fire the sacrificer pronounces the dedicatory formula, ' Om ! for Indra this, not for me !'
I KAiVDA, 4 ADHYAYA, 5 BRAHMAiVA, 5. 1 29
namely, means sacrifice, hence he thereby says ' erect stood the sacrifice/
4. Further (Vaf. S. II, 9): 'O Agni, take thou
upon thyself the office of Hot;'/, take thou upon
thyself the part of messenger!' for Agni is both
Hot;'/ and messenger to the gods : hence he thereby
says, ' know thou ^ both (offices) which thou art
(holding) for the gods ! ' — ' May earth and heaven
guard thee! Guard thou earth and heaven!' there
is nothing obscure in this. — ' Indra, by this butter-
oblation, may be the maker of good offering
(svish/ak;'/t) for the gods! Svaha!' Indra, indeed,
is the deity of sacrifice ; therefore he says ' Indra,
by this butter-oblation. . / ' It is for speech that he
makes this sprinkling, and Indra is speech ' so say
some; and for this reason also he says 'Indra,
by this butter-oblation. , .'
5. Having then returned (to his former position
behind the altar), without letting the two offering-
spoons touch each other, he mixes (some of the butter
left in the i^uhu) with (that in) the dhruva. Now
the second libation (which he has just offered)
is the head of the sacrifice, and the dhruva is its
body 2; hence he thereby replaces the head on the
body. And the second libation, moreover, is the
head of the sacrifice, and the head (.-riras) represents
excellence (sri), for the head does indeed represent
excellence : hence, of one who is the most excellent
(^resh///a) of a community, people say that he is
' the head of that community.'
^ Ve//, in the formula, our author refers to vid, 'to know,' instead of to vi, 'to strive after, undertake.'
^ Cf. I, 3, 2, 2, and Taitt. S. II, 5, 11, 7-8. The second liba-
tion (aghara) has just been made \Yith the ^uhu.
[12] K
130 JATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
6. The sacrificer, assuredly, stands behind the
dhruva, and he who means evil to him stands
behind the upabhrzt\ Hence if he were to mix
(the butter remaining in the ^uhti) with (that in)
the upabhrzt, he would bestow excellence on
him who means evil to the sacrificer; but in this
way he bestows that excellence on the sacrificer
himself : for this reason he mixes (the butter in
the^uliQ) with (that in) the dhruva.
7. He mixes it, with the text (Va^. S. H, 9 h),
'Light with light!' for light (lustre), indeed, is
the butter in the one (spoon) and light also is that
in the other. Thereby these two lights unite
with each other, and for this reason he mixes (the
butter) in this manner.
8. Now a dispute once took place between Mind
and Speech as to^ which was the better of the two.
Both Mind and Speech said, ' I am excellent!'
9. Mind said, ' Surely I am better than thou, for
thou dost not speak anything that is not understood
by me ; and since thou art only an imitator of what
is done by me and a follower in my wake, I am surely
better than thou !'
10. Speech said, 'Surely I am better than thou, for what thou knowest I make known, I communicate.'
* The same idea has been expressed above, I, 3, 2, i r.
' Cf. Taitt. S. II, 5, II, 4: 'Mind and Speech (or Voice) were contending against one another.' ' I will carry the oblation to the gods !' said Speech. ' T (will carry it) to the gods I' said the Mind. They went to Pra^apati to question him. Pra^apaii said (to Speech), 'Thou art the handmaid (duti) of the mind, for what one thinks in one's mind that one speaks with one's speech.' [Speech replied], ' Then indeed they shall not offer to thee with speech !' For this reason they offer to Pra^apati with the mind; for Pra^apati, as it were, is the mind, &c.
I KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 1 BRAHMAiVA, I. 131
11. They went to appeal to Pra^apati for his
decision. He, Pra^apati, decided in favour of
Mind, saying (to Speech), ' Mind is indeed better
than thou, for thou art an imitator of its deeds and
a follower in its wake ; and inferior, surely, is he who
imitates his better's deeds and follows in his wake.'
12. Then Speech (va/&, fern.) being thus gainsaid,
was dismayed and miscarried. She, Speech, then said
to Pra^apati, ' May I never be thy oblation-bearer,
I whom thou hast gainsaid!' Hence whatever at
the sacrifice is performed for Pra^apati, that is per-
formed in a low voice ; for speech would not act as
oblation-bearer for Pra^apati.
13. That germ (retas) the gods then brought
away in a skin or in some (vessel). They asked:
'Is it here (atra) ?' and therefore it developed
into Atri. For the same reason one becomes guilty
by (intercourse) with a woman who has just mis-
carried (atreyi); for it is from that woman, from
the goddess Speech, that these (germs) originated
Fifth Adhyaya. First BRAHMAiVA.
I. He (the Adhvaryu) now utters his call for the
Pravara (choosing of the Hotri)'^. The reason why
he utters his call, is that the (Adhvaryu's) call is
^ ' Tasmad apy atreyya yoshitainasvy etasyai hi yoshayai va-('0 devataya ete sambhfitd/^,' [ete laukika/z sarve garbha-^ sambhuta/z, Say.] — The Ka/zva text has, 'Tasmad api striyatreyyainasvity ahur etasya hi sa yoshaya devataya va.kix/i sambhuta iti' ['—for it is from that woman, from the goddess Speech, that he (Atri) originated'].
2 The Uotri, on concluding the invitation of the gods, sits down "with raised knees in the same place where he has been standing (see p. 95, note i), parts the sacrificial grass of the altar, and measures a span on the earth, with the text {Asv. I, 3, 22), 'Aditi is his mother, do not cut him off from the air. With the aid of
132 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAA'A.
the sacrifice : ' having bespoke the sacrifice, I will
choose the Hotrz,' thus (he thinks, and) for this
reason he utters his call for the Pravara.
2. He utters his call after taking the fuel-band ;
for if the Adhvaryu were to utter his call without
taking hold of the sacrifice, he would either be
unsteady or meet with some other ailment.
3. Here now some utter the call after taking
sacrificial grass (barhis) from the covered altar, or
they utter the call after cutting off and taking a
chip of fire-wood, arguing, ' this, surely, is something
belonging to the sacrifice ; after taking hold of this,
the sacrifice, we will utter the call.' Let him, how-
ever, not do this ; for that also wherewith the fire-
wood was tied together and wherewith they sweep
the fire^ is, doubtless, something belonging to the
sacrifice ; and thus indeed he utters his call after
taking hold of the sacrifice : for this reason let him
utter the call after taking the fuel-band.
4. Having uttered the call, he in the first place
chooses him who is the Hotrz of the gods, that is,
Agni. Thereby he propitiates both Agni and the
gods : for by first choosing Agni, he propitiates Agni ;
Agni, the god, the deity ; with the threefold chant, with the rathantara-saman, with the gayatri metre, with the agnish/oma sacrifice, with the vashaZ-call, the thunderbolt, — I here kill him who hates us, and whom we hate!' The Adhvaryu having thereupon walked round the Hotri from left to right, steps behind the utkara (heap of rubbish) with his face to the east and the fuel-band in his hand, and calls on (a^ravayati) the Agnidhra, with O jravaya (or 0;« jravaya, i.e. a iravaya; or simply jravaya;' cf. Saya«a on Taitt. S. I, 6, 11). The Agnidhra (whilst standing north of the Adhvaryu, wiih his face to the south, and taking the wooden sword and the fuel-band from the Adhvaryu) responds (pratyajravayati) by 'astu .yrausha/.' ' See p. 127, note i.
I Kanda, 5 Adhyaya, I Brahmaa^a, to. 1 33
and by first choosing him who is the Hotr/ of the gods, he propitiates the gods.
5. He says, 'Agni, the god, the divine Hotr/ — ,'
for Agni is indeed the Hotrz of the gods, therefore
he says 'Agni, the god, the divine Hot;V :' thereby
he propitiates both Agni and the gods ; for by his
first mentioning Agni he propitiates Agni ; and by
his first mentioning him who is the Hoiri of the
gods, he propitiates the gods.
6. 'May he worship, knowing the gods\ he the
thoughtful one,' — for he, Agni, indeed, knows the
gods well : hence he thereby says ' may he who
knows them well worship (them) in due form !'
7. ' Like as Manu (did), like as Bharata;' — Mann,
indeed, worshipped with sacrifice in olden times,
and doing as he did these descendants of his now
sacrifice : therefore he says ' like as Manu.' Or, say
they, (it means) ' at the sacrifice of Manu,' and there-
fore he says ' as (he did) with Manu.'
8. ' Like as (with) Bharata,'— for, say they, he
bears (bhar) the oblation to the gods, hence Bha-
rata (the bearer) is Agni ; or, say they, he, having
become the breath, supports (bhar) these creatures,
and therefore he says ' like as Bharata.'
9. He then chooses (Agni as) the ancestral (Hot/V).
He thus introduces him both to the (ancestral) r/shis
and to the gods (as if he were saying), 'he is of
mighty strength who obtained the sacrifice !' for this
reason he chooses (him as) the ancestral one.
10. He chooses from the remote end (of the sacri- ficer's ancestral line)^ downwards; for it is from the
^ Thus our author. It should rather be 'May (he) worship
the gods, he the wise, the considerate one.'
^ Cf. p. 115, note I.
1 34 5'ATAPATIIA-BRAHMAA'A.
remote end downwards that a race is propagated.
Thereby he also propitiates the lord of seniority ;
for here among men the father comes first, then the
son, and then the grandson : this is the reason why
he chooses from the remote end downwards.
11. Having named the ancestral, he says, 'Like
as Brahman;' — for Agni is the Brahman (the Veda,
or the sacerdotium), and therefore he says ' like as
Brahman ;' — ' may he bring (the gods) hither!' what
deities he bids him bring hither, those he refers to
in saying ' may he bring (them) hither.'
12. 'The Brahma;2as (priests) are the guardians
of this sacrifice ;' for guardians of the sacrifice,
indeed, are those Brahma;^as who are versed in
the sacred writ, because they spread it, they origi-
nate it : these he thereby propitiates ; and for this
reason he says, ' the Brahma;^as are the guardians
of the sacrifice.'
13. ' N. N. is the man,' thereby he chooses this
man for his Hotri ; heretofore he was not a Hotn,
but now he is a Hot;x
14. The chosen Hot?'?* mutters, — has recourse to
the deities : in order that he may give the vasha/-
call to the gods in its proper order, that he may
convey the oblation to the gods in its proper order,
that he may not stumble, he has thus recourse to
the deities.
15. He mutters on this occasion', 'Thee, O
divine Savit;?', they now choose,' — thereby he has
recourse to Savitrz for his impulsion (prasava), for
Savitr/ is the impeller (prasavitr/) of the gods ; —
'(thee who art) Agni, for the Hotr^'ship,' thereby he
* Except the beginning, these formulas are entirely different from those given by ksv. S. I, 3, 23-24.
I KANDA, 5 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAJVA, 1 9. I 35
propitiates both Agni and the gods ; for by first
naming Agni, he propitiates Agni ; and by first
naming him who is the Hotrz of the gods, he pro-
pitiates the gods.
16. 'Together with father Vaijvanara,' — for the
father Vaijvanara ('common to all men'), doubtless,
is the year, is Pra^apati (lord of creatures) ; hence
he thereby propitiates the year and thus Pra^apati. —
' O Agni ! O Pushan ! O Brzhaspati ! speak forth
and offer up sacrifice (pra-ya^)!' — he (the Hotri),
namely, will have to recite the anuvakyas and the
yi^yas^ ; he therefore now propitiates those gods:
*do ye recite, do ye offer!' thus (he thereby says).
1 7. ' May we partake of the bounty of the Vasus, of
the wide sway of the Rudras ! may we be beloved of
the Adityas for the sake of (aditi) security from injury,
free from obstruction !' — these, to wit, the Vasus, Ru-
dras, and Adityas, namely, are three (classes of) gods :
' may we enjoy their protection' he thereby says.
18. ' May I this day utter speech that is agreeable
to the gods ; ' — by this he means to say 'may I this day
recite what is agreeable to the gods,' for auspicious it
is when one recites what is agreeable to the gods.
19. 'Agreeable to the Brahmans,' — by this he
means to say ' may I this day recite what is agreeable
to the Brahma;2as (priests);' for auspicious it is when
one recites what is agreeable to the Brahma;/as.