^ Doshavastar, ' the illuminer of the dusk;' or perhaps, as Professor Ludwig proposes, ' We approach thee, day by day, at dusk and dawn (in the evening and morning), with prayer.'
11 KAiVDA, 3 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, 37. 355
patya, he prays for men : hence the first tristich is in
the gayatri metre, since the gayatri is Agni's metre,
and he thus approaches him with his own metre.
T,^. Thereupon (he mutters) the dvipada (two-
footed) verses. The dvipada, doubtless, is man's
metre, since man is two-footed, and men are there-
with prayed for: and as he now prays for men,
therefore (he uses) dvipadi verses. And whoso-
ever, knowing this, approaches (the two fires), be-
comes possessed both of cattle and men.
34. He then goes (again) to the cow, with the
text (Vd^. S. Ill, 27), 'O Ida, come hither! O Aditi,
come hither!' for both Id^ and Aditi are cows. He
touches her with, 'Come hither, ye much-desired!'
— for men's wishes are fixed on them, and hence he
says, 'come hither, ye much-desired;' — 'Let there be
for me the fulfilment of wishes from you!' whereby
he says, ' may I be dear to you ! '
35. Thereupon, while standing between the Aha-
vaniya and Gdrhapatya and looking eastward at the
(former) fire, he mutters (Va^. S. HI, 28-30), ' O
Lord of prayer, make him sweet-voiced, the offerer
of Soma, Kakshivat, U^'i^'s son! — Be he with us,
he the opulent, the killer of woe, the bestower of
wealth, the increaser of prosperity, he the nimble ! —
Let not the curse of the evil-doer reach us, nor the
guile of the mortal : preserve us, O Lord of prayer !'
36. Now when he approaches the Ahavaniya, he
approaches the sky ; and when (he approaches) the
Garhapatya, (he approaches) the earth. Hereby
now (he approaches) the ether, that being Brzhas-
pati's region ; and that region he thereby approaches :
this is why he mutters the prayer to B/Vhaspati.
37. [He continues, Va^. S. HI, 31-33], ' May the
A a 2
356 5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
mighty, the heavenly, the unassailable favour of the
three, Mitra, Aryaman, and Varu;2a, be (with us) !
For the wicked enemy lords it not over them (that
are protected by these gods), neither at home nor on
dangerous paths : for those sons of Aditi bestow
undying light on the mortal that he may live !' — In
this (prayer) he says, ' nor on dangerous paths ;' for
dangerous indeed are the paths that lie between
heaven and earth : those he now walks, and therefore
he says, 'nor on dangerous paths.'
38. Then follows a verse to Indra (Va^. S. Ill,
34) ; for Indra is the deity of the sacrifice, and with
Indra therefore he now connects the fire-worship :
* At no time, O Indra, art thou barren; and never
dost thou fail the worshipper — ;' the worshipper,
doubtless, is the sacrificer : ' never dost thou harm
the sacrificer,' this is what he thereby says : ' — but
more and evermore is thy gift increased, O mighty
god!' thereby he says, 'do thou make us ever more
prosperous here!'
39. Then follows a verse to Savitrz ^ (Vaf. S. Ill,
35), — for Savit;'/ is the impeller (prasavitr/) of the
gods ; and thus all his (the sacrificer's) wishes are
fulfilled, impelled as they are by Savitr/. — (He mut-
ters), ' May we obtain the glorious light of the divine
Savitr/, who, we trust, may inspire our prayers !'
40. Thereupon a verse to Agni (Vajf. S. Ill, 36), —
whereby he finally makes himself over to Agni
for protection : ' May thine unapproachable chariot,
wherewith thou protectest the worshippers, encircle
us on every side!' The worshippers, doubtless, are
^ Or, the Savitri, that is, the sacred prayer to Savitr?', the sun, also called Gayatri, Rig-veda III, 62, 10. Cf. p. 344, note i.
II KA/VDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 3. 357
the sacrificers ; and what unassailable chariot he
(Agni) possesses, therewith he protects the sacri-
ficers. Hence he thereby means to say, 'what
unassailable chariot thou possessest, wherewith thou
protectest the sacrificers, therewith do thou guard
us on every side.' This (verse) he mutters thrice,
41. He then pronounces his son's name ^ : 'May
this son (N. N.) carry on this manly deed of mine !'
Should he have no son, let him insert his own name.
Fourth Adhyaya. First BRAHMAiVA.
1. Now after the performance of the Agnihotra
he (optionally-) approaches the fires with (Va^. S.
HI, 2)7), 'Earth! ether! sky!' In saying 'Earth!
ether! sky!' he renders his speech auspicious by
means of the truth, and with that (speech) thus
rendered propitious he invokes a blessing: — 'May
I be well supplied with offspring !' whereby he prays
for offspring ; ' — well supplied with men ! ' whereby
he prays for men (heroes) ; ' — well supplied with
viands!' whereby he prays for prosperity.
2. That long (form of) fire-w^orship is a prayer
for blessing, and so is this (short) one a prayer for
blessing : hence even with this much he obtains all,
and he may therefore worship the fires with it.
'Therewith, indeed, we perform,' so spake Asuri.
3. Now, when he is about to set out on a
journey^, he approaches first the Garhapatya, and
thereupon the Ahavaniya.
' See I, 9, 3, 21.
^ For this shorter form of worshipping the fires, see p. 349, note 2.
^ That is, a journey which will compel him to pass the night beyond the village boundary.
358 JATAPATHA-BRAHMAATA.
4. The Garhapatya he approaches with the text
(Vaf. S. Ill, '^'] b seq.), 'Thou, that art friendly to
man, protect my offspring!' He (Agni Girhapatya),
truly, is the guardian of offspring ; and therefore he
now makes over to him his offspring for protection.
5. He then approaches the Ahavaniya, with ' Thou,
that art worthy of praise, protect my cattle!' He
(Agni), truly, is the guardian of cattle, and therefore he
now makes over to him his cattle for protection ^.
6. Thereupon he walks or drives off; and having
got as far as what he considers to be the boundary 2,
he breaks silence. And when he returns from his
journey he maintains silence from the moment he
sees what he considers to be the boundary. And
even though there be a king inside (one's house),
one must not go to him (or any other person before
one has rendered homage to the fires).
7. He first approaches the Ahavaniya fire, and thereupon the Garhapatya. The Garhapatya doubt- less is a house (grzha/^), and a house is a safe resting- place : so that he thereby (finally^) establishes himself in a house, that is, in a safe resting-place.
8. He approaches the Ahavaniya fire, with the
text (Va/. S. HI, 38 seq.), 'We have approached
(thee), the all-knowing, the most liberal dispenser of
^ The Va^. S. gives also the formulas with which the Dakshi- wagni should be approached, after the other two fires, by the house- holder, both in starting on, and returning from, his journey. See Katy. IV, 12, 13; 18. The Ka«va text does not allude to the Dakshiwa fire any more than ours.
"^ According to the Paddhati on Katy. IV, 1 2, he has to maintain silence as long as he can see the roof of one of his fire-houses; but according to the -Sahkhayana jakha he has to do so only as long as he can see one of the fires.
' The Ka«va text reads ' antata,^.'
II KAiVDA, 4 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, II. 359
goods : O Agni, sovereign lord, bestow on us lustre
and strength!' Having then sat down he sweeps
the blades of grass ^ (into the fire).
9. Thereupon he approaches the Garhapatya,
with the text, ' He, Agni Garhapatya, is the lord of
the house, the most liberal dispenser of goods to
our offspring : O Agni, lord of the house, bestow on
us lustre and strength !' Having then sat down, he
sweeps off the blades of grass. In this way (house-
holders) mostly approach the fires with muttered
prayer.
10. However, one may also approach the fires
silently, — and that for this reason : — If in the place
(where one lives), a Brahman or noble — in short,
a better man — resides, one dares not say to him,
' I am going on a journey, take care of this (pro-
perty) of mine^!' Now in this (sacrificial ground)
one's betters indeed reside, viz. the divine Agnis :
who, then, would dare to say to them, ' I am going
on a journey, take ye care of this (property) of
mine 1'
11. The gods assuredly see through the mind of
man : that (Agni) Garhapatya therefore knows that
he (the householder) now approaches in order to give
^ According to Katy. IV, 12, 18-19 he [after performing ablu- tions, and lustrating the Ahavaniya and Dakshiwa fire-places, and taking out these fires from the Garhapatya] approaches the Ahava- niya, while holding pieces of fire-wood in his hand, and mutters the formula given above. He then sits down and silently puts on the fire a piece of wood and the grass that has fallen around the fire. According to the Kawva text he mutters the second half of the formula (' O Agni,' &c.) while sweeping the grass (into the fire).
2 In Taitt, Br. I, i, 10, 6, a householder who is about to start on a journey is apparently recommended to entrust his house to a Brahman, who may be staying in it.
360 5ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
himself up to him. Silently he approaches the Aha-
vaniya fire : that (Agni) Ahavaniya knows that he
now approaches in order to give himself up to him.
12. Thereupon he walks or drives off; and having
got as far as what he considers the boundary line,
he releases his speech. And when he returns from
the journey, he maintains silence from the moment
he sees what he considers to be the boundary. And
even though there be a king inside (one's house), one
must not go to him.
13. He first approaches the Ahavaniya, and there-
upon the Garhapatya. Silently he approaches the
Ahavaniya ; and silently he sits down and sweeps
away the grass-blades. Silently he approaches the
Garhapatya ; and silently he sits down and sweeps
away the grass-blades.
14. Then as to the observances in regard to
(the entering of) his house. Now when a house-
holder comes home from a journey, his house
trembles greatly for fear of him, thinking, 'What
will he say here ? what will he do here ?' It is there-
fore for fear of him that speaks or does anything
on this occasion that the house trembles and is
liable to crush his family ; but him who neither
speaks nor does anything, his house receives w'ith
confidence, thinking, ' He has not spoken here, he
has not done anything here!' And should he be
ever so angry at anything on this occasion, let him
rather do on the next day whatever he might wish
to say or do. This then is the observance in regard
to the house ^
^ The Kawva text here adds the formulas Va^. S. Ill, 41-43, lines I and 2, wherewith he approaches (upatishMate) the house. See Katy. IV, 12, 22. According to Katy. ib. 23, he then enters
II KAiVDA, 4 ADHYAYA, 2 BRAHMAA^A, 4, 36 1
Second Brahmaa^a.
III. THE FlNBAPITIilYAGNA or OBLATION OF OBSE- QUIAL CAKES TO THE FATHERS.
1. Now the living beings once approached Pra^a-
pati — beings doubtless mean creatures — and said,
' Ordain unto us in what manner we are to live ! '
Thereupon the gods, being properly invested with
the sacrificial cord^ and bending the right knee,
approached him. To them he said, 'The sacrifice
(shall be) your food ; immortality your sap ; and the
sun your light ! '
2. Then the fathers approached, wearing the
cord on the right shoulder, and bending the left
knee. To them he said, 'Your eating (shall be)
monthly ; your cordial (svadha) your swiftness of
thought ; and the moon your light !'
3. Then the men approached him, clothed and
bending their bodies. To them he said, ' Your eating
(shall be) in the evening and in the morning ; your
offspring your death ; and the fire (Agni) your light !'
4. Then the beasts approached him. To them he
granted their own choice, saying, 'Whensoever ye
shall find anything, whether in season or out of season,
the house with the formula Va^. S. Ill, 43, line 3, 'For safety, for peace I resort to thee : be there kindliness, happiness, all-hail, and blessing!' Thereupon, according to the Schol., he is to proceed in accordance with the rules laid down in the Gnhya-siitras ; cf. Parask. G. I, 18; As\. G. I, 15, 9.