' Viz. 'Ida, is called hither!' see par. 24. According to Katy, 111,4, 12, all (the other priests and the sacrificer, probably with the exception of the Brahman) touch the ida (or, according to Karka, they touch the Hotr/ who holds the \da) whilst the invoca- tion of the ids. takes place. The quartering of the cake, according to ib. 13, is done with the text, ' INIake swell, O ruddy one! milk me life; milk me offspring; milk me cattle; milk me brahmahood; milk me kshatriyahood ; milk me people ! Fatten through the pro- geny, through the cattle of him who hates us, whom we hate!'
^ According to Katy. Ill, 4, 14, the Adhvaryu i)Uts the four parts on the barhis and assigns one to each priest. But according to the commentary and to other Siitras, it is the sacrificer who allocates the portions by laying them down so as to correspond with the four intermediate regions, commencing in the south-east (or Agni's) region, and saying, 'This for the Brahman,' ' This for the Hotr?',' ' This for the Adhvaryu,' ' This for the Agnidh.' The sacri- ficer then shifts his Brahmanical cord from the right to the left shoulder, and while touching the four portions, and looking towards the south (the region of the fathers), murmurs (Va^\ S. II, 31), * Here, O fathers, regale yourselves ! Like bulls come hither (avr/shaya- dhvam) each to his own share!' He then quits his hold of the portions, and murmurs, ' The fathers have regaled themselves : like bulls they came each to his own share!' See ^at. Br. II, 4,2, 20 seq. ; Va^. S. p. 57. [The Kawva text of the Brahmawa does not mention the formulas here any more than does our author.] He then shifts the cord back on his left shoulder, touches water, and hands the portions to the priests for them to eat. Kaly. Ill, 4, 16-18.
I KANDA, 8 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 43. 2 29
41. And when he recites,' Hither are called heaven
and earth,' he hands it (the shart'avatta ^) to the
Agnidhra. The Agnidhra eats (the two pieces),
with the respective texts (Va^. S. II, lo-i i), 'Hither
is called mother Earth ; may mother Earth call me
to her! Agni (am I) by virtue of my Agnldhraship.
Hail!' 'Hither is called father Heaven; may father
Heaven call me to him ! Agni (am I) by virtue of
my Agnidhraship. Hail!' He, the Agnidhra, truly
is the representative of heaven and earth, and there-
fore he eats (the sha^favatta) in this manner.
42. And when (the Hotrz) pronounces the bene-
diction-, then (the sacrificer) mutters (Va^. S. II, lo a),
' May Indra bestow^ on me that power of his ! may
abundant riches accrue to us ! may there be blessings
for us ! may there be true blessings for us ! ' For
indeed this is a receiving of blessings : hence what
blessings the priests on this occasion invoke on him,
those he thereby receives and makes his own.
43. [On the conclusion of the invocation and the eating ^] they cleanse themselves (with water poured)
^ Katy. St. Ill, 4, 19. There is some uncertainty as to the particular time when the Adhvaryu cuts the sha^avatta; cf. Hillebrandt, p. 123. Mahidhara onYag. S. II, 10 remarks: When the Uolrt pronounces the call to heaven and earth, then he (the Adhvaryu), having put one piece of each of the two cakes in (the two bowls of) the Sha^/avatta (vessel), gives it to the Agnidh ; and the latter eats it with the formulas ' Hither is called (the mother Earth),' &c. The ' six cuttings' of the Shart'avatta consist of a piece of the Agni cake with an ' underlayer ' and a dripping of butter for each of the two bowls of the Shart'avatta dish.
2 That is, the formula 'Hither is called the sacrificer,' see par. 29.
^ The priests eat first their quarter of the cake and then, with the sacrificer, their share of the \da. The Uotrz eats also the avan- tare^a, with the text (A^v. 6". I, 7, 8), 'O Ida, accept graciously our share ! ' &c.
230 5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
through the two strainers (pavitra, 'purifier'). For
they have now performed the id a, which represents
the domestic offerings ; and thinking, ' Purified by
the purifiers we will now perform what part of the
sacrifice remains still unaccomplished,' they cleanse
themselves with the strainers.
44. He (the Adhvaryu) then throws the two
strainers on the prastara^ The prastara, doubtless,
represents the sacrificer, and the two strainers the
out-breathing and in-breathing : hence he thereby
invokes out-breathiuQf and in-breathine on the sacri-
ficer ; and for this reason he throws the strainers on
the prastara.
Second BRAiiMAiVA.
The After-Offerings (Anuyag^as).
1. They now remove two burning samidhs (from
the Ahavaniya fire). That fire, indeed, is now worn
out, (and therefore useless) for the after-offerings,
since it has been carrying the sacrifice to the gods :
* Let us perform the after-offerings in such (fire) as
is not out-worn !' thus they think, and for this reason
they remove those two burning samidhs (from the
fire).
2. Thereupon they again move them close (to the
fire). Thereby they cause the fire to increase again
and to be no longer out-worn : ' Let us perform
what part of the sacrifice remains still unaccom-
plished in such (fire) as is not out-worn!' so think
they, and for this reason they again move them
close (to the fire).
3. He (the Agnidhra) then puts on the kindling-
' See I, 3, 2, 5 seq. The Ka«va text omits this paragraph.
I KANDA, 8 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAiVA, 5. 23I
Stick (which was reserved at the time of kindling) ^
He thereby kindles that (fire): ' Let us perform in the
well-kindled (fire) what part of the sacrifice remains
unaccomplished ! ' thus he thinks, and for this reason
he puts on the samidh.
4. The Hotri consecrates it (the kindling-stick),
with the formula (Va^. S. II, 14a), 'This, O Agni,
is thy kindler; mayest thou grow and increase by
it ; and may we also grow and increase ! ' for even as
before he recited over the fire when it was being
kindled, so also now he recites. This is the Hotri's
duty ; but the sacrificer himself may pronounce the
consecratory formula, if bethink that the Hotrz'does
not know it ^.
5. He (the Agnidhra) then sweeps (the fire) to-
gether. He thereby harnesses it : * Thus harnessed,
may it convey (to the gods) what part of the sacrifice
still remains unaccomplished!' thus he thinks, and
for this reason he sweeps it together. He sweeps
^ See I, 4, I, 38. The Adhvaryu takes the fresh stick (samidh), asks the permission of the Brahman to step forward for the after- offerings ; and orders the Agnidhra to put the stick on, and trim, the fire. Whilst the Brahman mutters his formula (Va^. S. II, 12-13), 'This thy sacrifice, O divine Savitr/, they proclaimed to Bn'haspati, the Brahman,' &c. (see 1, 7, 4, 2 1), the Agnidhra executes the Adhvaryu's orders. Katy. Ill, 5, i ; II, 2, 21.
- That is to say (as would appear), if the Hot;-/ follows a school which does not recognise this particular ceremony as belonging to theHotr/'s ritual. Thus the Ajval. Sv. makes no mention of it, and hence a Hotr/ belonging to the AS'akala or Bashkala jakhas would not undertake the recitation of this consecratory formula. The .Sahkhay. Sr., on the other hand, does prescribe it (cf. Hillebrandt, Neu- undVollm. p. 135, note 4), and a Hotr/ of the Kaushitaki-jakha would accordingly claim it as his privilege or duty to consecrate the samidh. For a somewhat different view, cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 155; V, 408.
232 DATAPATH A-BRAHMAATA.
once (with the band of the fire-wood along each
of the three enclosing-sticks); for thrice each time
they swept for the gods on the former occasion ^ :
' Lest we should do it in the same way as for the
gods;' thus he thinks, and accordingly he sweeps
once each time in order to avoid repetition (of sacri-
ficial performance). Repetition he would undoubtedly
commit, if he were to sweep thrice the first time and
thrice the second : for this reason he sweeps once
(along each stick).
6. He sweeps (each time), with the formula (Va^.
S. 11,14 b), 'O Agni, food-gainer, I cleanse thee,
the food-gainer, who hast hastened to the food !' On
the former occasion he said, ' thee who art about
to hasten (to the food),' for on that occasion he was
indeed about to hasten thither; now, however, he
says, 'who hast hastened (to the food),' for now he
has indeed hastened thither : for this reason he says
' thee who hast hastened.'
7. He now makes the after-offerings. Whatever
gods he invokes by means of this sacrifice, and for
whichever of them this sacrifice is performed, to all
offering has now been made ; and to all those to
whom offering has been made, he now, after that,
offers once more : hence the name ' after-offerings.'
8. Now this is why he makes the after-offerings.
The after-offerings assuredly are the metres -, and
the metres are the cattle of the gods : hence as
cattle, when harnessed, here convey (burdens) for
men, so in like manner the metres, being harnessed,
^ See 1,4,4, 14- While, on the former occasion, the Agnidhra in sweeping moved round the fire, on the present occasion he remains standing on the north side of it. Katy. Ill, 5, 4.
' See I, 3, 2, 8, 9.
I KANDA, 8 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAiVA, 12. 23;
convey the sacrifice to the gods. Now the occasion
on which the metres gratified the gods, and for
which the gods, in their turn, then gratified the
metres, was when before this the metres, on being
harnessed, conveyed the sacrifice to the gods and
thereby gratified them.
9. And this again is why he makes the after-
offerino-s. The after-offerings are the metres : hence
he thereby gratifies the metres, and for this reason
also he makes the after-offerings. By whatever
team, therefore, he has himself drawn, that (team)
he would thereby unyoke, saying, 'Give it to drink,
feed it well!' and thus his team is propitiated.
10. In the first place he makes offering to the
Barhis (sacrificial -grass covering). Though the
smallest metre, the gayatri is yoked first of the
metres ^ ; and this on account of its strength, since,
having become a falcon, it carried off the Soma from
heaven ^. They consider it unseemly, however, that
the gayatri, being the smallest metre, should be
yoked first of the metres ; and the gods accordingly
arranged the metres here, at the after-offerings, so
as it ouorht to be, ' lest there should be a confusion.'
11. In the first place, then, he offers to the
Barhis. The Barhis indeed is this world; the
Barhis is the plants : hence he thereby bestows
plants on this world, and these plants are firmly
rooted in this world. Now this entire universe
(^agat) is contained in this (metre), and therefore
the latter is (called) ^agati : this is why they have
placed the ^agati metre first.
12. In the second place he offers to Nara5a7;2sa.
^ See, for instance, I, 3, 4, 6. 2 For this myth, see I, 7, i, i.
234 ^ATAPATHA-BRAIIMAiVA.
Now, Nar^amsa. is the air. Man (nara), namely,
means (human) being ; and these same beings move
about in the air speaking aloud. And when he
(man) speaks, they say 'he chants (sams)',' and
therefore Narai-a;;/sa is the air\ But the trish^ubh
also is the air-, and for this reason they have placed
the trish/ubh second.
13. Then Agni is the last (to whom offering is
made). Agni assuredly is the gayatri; and there-
fore they placed the gayatri last. In this way they
established the metres in complete and proper order ;
and hence no confusion here takes place.
14. The Adhvaryu^ says (to the Hotrz), 'Pro-
nounce the offering-prayer (ya^ya) to the gods!'
and the Hotrz (begins his prayer) at all (the three
offerings) with ' The divine . . . .' For the metres as-
suredly are the gods of the gods, since they are
their cattle, and cattle means a home, and a home
is a safe resting-place. The after-offerings, doubtless,
are the metres : therefore the Adhvar)u says, ' Pro-
nounce the offering-prayer to the gods!' and at all
of them the Hotri begins with ' The divine . . . ^'
^ That is, because man (nara) speaks, chants (j'amsati) in it.