* The Darvi-homa, or oblation of a darvi-spoonful of boiled rice to Indra, the associate of the Maruts, may be considered as part of the Grzliamedhiya ish/i, being, as it were, an offering of remains (or scrapings, nishkasa, Taitt. Br. I, 6, 7, 3); cf. Katy. V, 6, 33. Like all G^uhoti-off'erings, the darvi-homa is performed by the Adhvaryu while seated on the north side of the fire. According to Taitt. Br. I, 6, 7, 3, it is to be offered in the Garhapatya, but according to Katy. V, 6, 38 (comm.) in the Ahavaniya. If the concluding ceremonies of the Santapaniya ish/i (from the offering of the Barhis) have not already been performed on the previous night, they have to be performed after the conclusion of the darvi- homa. If, however, only the off"ering of the Barhis was then omitted, the darvi-homa, if performed before the Agnihotra, is followed immediately by that oblation.
O thou (Indra), of a hundredfold powers, let us two
barter food and drink, like wares !' In like manner
as an invitatory prayer (is used at offerings) so
does he by this (verse) invite him (Indra) to that
share.
1 8. Let him then tell (the Sacrificer) to make
a bull roar. *If it roars,' say some, 'then that
(sound) is the Vasha/; let him offer after that
Vasha/.' And in this way indeed he calls Indra
in his own form to the slaying of Vr/tra ^ ; for the
bull is indeed Indra's form : hence he thereby
calls Indra in his own form to the slaying of
Vr/tra. If it roars, then one may know that
Indra has come to his sacrifice, that his sacrifice
is with Indra. And should it not roar, let the priest,
seated on the south side (viz. the Brahman), say,
'Sacrifice!' — this, indeed, is Indra's voice.
19. He offers with the text (Va^. S. Ill, 50),
' Give unto me, (and) I give unto thee. Bestow
(gifts) on me, (and) I bestow on thee -! And mayest
thou give me guerdon, (and) I will give thee
guerdon ! Svaha ! '
20. He then offers a cake on seven potsherds
to the sportive (Kridina//) Maruts. For when
Indra went forward in order to slay Vr/tra, the
sportive Maruts were sporting around him singing
his praises ; and even so do they sport around
this (Sacrificer), singing his praises, now that he
is about to slay his wicked, spiteful enemy : this
^ On the symbolic connection of the seasonal offerings, especi- ally the Sakamedha,/^, with the slaying of Vrztra, the evil spirit of drought, see II, 6, 4, i.
^ According to Mahidhara, this first line is spoken by Indra to his worshipper ; the second line containing the latter's reply.
II KAiVDA, 5 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAi\7A, 2. 417
is why (he sacrifices) to the sportive Mariits '.
Thereupon (follows the performance) of the Great
Oblation (Maha-havis) : this (performance) is in
accordance with that of the great (seasonable)
oblation 2.
Fourth Brahmaa'a.
gods slew V7'2tra ^ ; by means of it they gained that
supreme authority which they now wield ; and so
does he (the Sacrificer) thereby now slay his wicked,
spiteful enemy, and gain the victory : this is why
he performs this sacrifice.
2. The mode of its performance (is as follows) :
They raise an uttara-vedi ^ ; they use clotted
butter^; and they churn the fire. There are nine
^ Coinp. Taitt. Br. I, 6, 7, 4 : When Indra had slain Vmra (with the thunderbolt) he went to the farthest distances, thinking that he had missed (his aim). He said, ' Who will know this ' [viz. whether Vrz'tra is really dead or not, comm.] ? The Maruts said, * We will choose a boon, then we will know (find it out) : let the first obla- tion be prepared for us ! They sported (danced about) on him (Vntra, and thereby found out that he was dead).
^ That is to say, the Maha-havis, or Great Oblation, though apparently only an integral part of the Sakamedha^, is in reality its chief ceremony, and may therefore be considered as being itself on a par with the other seasonal offerings ; hence it requires the five oblations common to all the A'aturmasyas ; see II, 5, i, 8-1 1. The Black Ya^s it seems does not use the term Maha-havis, but assigns more importance to the Maha-pitr/ya^^la (see II, 6, i, i seq.). See Apastamba's Paribhashas, 80, 81 (M. Muller, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morg. Ges. IX), according to which the sacrifice to the Manes belongs to the Mahaya^was.
' See p. 416, note i.
* See p. 392, note i. The southern altar is not required at the present ceremony.
^ See p. 404, note i.
[12] E e
4 1 8 DATAPATH A-BRAIIMAA^A.
fore-offerings and nine after-offerings \ and three
Samish/aya^Lis. In the first place there are those
five oblations ^.
3. Now as to why there is a cake on eight pot-
sherds for Agni. With Agni, (shaped into) a sharp
point (te^as)^, indeed, they (the gods) slew him
(Vmra) ; and Agni, that sharp point, swerved not :
hence there is (a cake) for Agni.
4. Then as to why there is a rice-pap for Soma.
With the aid of Soma, the king, indeed they slew
him, they who have Soma for their king: hence
there is a pap for Soma.
5. Then as to why there is a cake on twelve,
or eight*, potsherds for Savitrz. Savitr/, indeed,
is the impeller (prasavit/V) of the gods ; and impelled
by Savitr/ they slew him : hence there is (a cake)
for Savitr^.
6. Then as to why there is a rice-pap for
Sarasvati, Sarasvati in truth is Speech; and
Speech indeed it was that cheered them up, saying,
'Strike! slay^!' Hence there is a pap for Sara-
svati.
7. Then as to why there is a rice-pap for Pushan. Pushan doubtless is this earth ^, and this
^ See II, 5, 2, 30 and 41.
^ See II, 5, 1, II, with note 9.
^ See II, 5, 3, 2. This cake, again, is to be prepared (or offered) simultaneously with the rising of the sun ; see p. 409 note.
* According to Taitt. S. I, 8, 4 it is to be one on twelve potsherds.
'' The Kawva text has, 'Attack (abhipadyasva) ! strike! slay!'
" This identification of Pushan with the earth is very strange, the more so as, at II, 5, i, 11, special stress is laid on the male nature of Pfishan. Perhaps it is in his character of bountiful bestower of food and cattle, or as the tutelary god of travellers, that he is so identified.
II KAA'DA, 5 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAiVA, II. 419
earth, indeed, gave him (Vrztra) up to slaughter ;
and they slew him, thus given up by her : hence
there is a rice-pap for Pushan.
8. Then follows a cake on twelve potsherds
for Indra and Agni; for by means of that they
slew him, since Agni means fiery glow (te^as),
and Indra means manly power, and by means of
these two powers they did indeed slay him. More-
over, Agni .is the priesthood, and Indra is the
nobility ; having allied these two, having closely
united the priesthood with the nobility, they (the
gods) slew him by means of these two powers :
hence there is a cake on twelve potsherds for
Indra and Agni.
9. Then follows a rice-pap for Mahendra. For
before the slaying of V^'/tra he was indeed Indra;
but after slaying V/^/tra he became Mahendra (the
great Indra), even as (a king becomes) a mahara^a,
after obtaining the victory : hence there is a rice-pap
for Mahendra. And thereby indeed he renders him
great (strong) for the slaying of Vr/tra : for this
reason also there is a rice-pap for Mahendra.
10. Then follows a cake on one potsherd for
Vii'vakarman. To the gods, indeed, on perform-
ing the Sakamedha-sacrifice and obtaining the victory
(over Vmra), that sacred work (karman) was made
complete (vi^va), and all was conquered; and so
is that sacred work made complete, and all is con-
quered, by him who has performed the Sakamedha-
sacrifice and obtained the victory : hence there is a
cake on one potsherd for Vijvakarman.
11. And, verily, by performing this sacrifice the
gods became what race, what prosperity of the gods
there now is ; and that same race he propagates,
E e 2
420 S'ATAPATIIA-BRAHMAiVA.
that same prosperity he attains, whosoever, knowing
this, performs this sacrifice. Let him therefore
perform this sacrifice.
Sixth Adhyaya. First BRAHMAiVA.
gods slew Vmra, and gained that supreme autho-
rity which they now wield. And by means of the
sacrifice to the fathers they then recalled to life
those of them that had been slain in this battle ;
and they, indeed, were the fathers : hence the
name Pitr/ya^^la^ (sacrifice to the Manes).
2. Now the spring, the summer, and the rainy
season, — they are those who vanquished (Vmra) ;
and the autumn, the winter, and the dewy season, —
they are those whom they (the gods) recalled to
life'^.
3. Now when he performs that sacrifice, he does
so, hoping that thus they (the Asuras) will not slay
any of his, or because the gods did so (perform it).
Moreover he thereby offers to those (fathers) the
share which the gods assigned to them ; and thus
he gratifies those whom the gods recalled to life, and
leads his own fathers up to a better world ; and
whatever injury or loss he suffers through his own
unrighteous conduct (or wrong sacrificial perform-
ance)^ that is thereby made good to him: that is
why he performs this sacrifice (to the fathers).
^ This is generally called the Mahapitr/ya^7la, as distinguished from the ordinary monthly 'P'ltri'ya.gna. of the new-moon sacrifice ; for which see II, 4, 2, i seq.
^ See II, I, 3, I seq.
* Instead of ' a/('ara«ena,' the Ka«va MS. has '/C'ara7/(5na(!).' Cf. Sayawa's interpretation * anu/('ara«ena anugamanena X-a.'
II KANDA, 6 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 8. 42 1
4. He offers a cake on six potsherds to the
Pitara/^ Somavanta/z, or to Soma Pitr^'mat^
Six doubtless are the seasons, and the fathers are
the seasons : hence it is one of six potsherds.
5. Thereupon they parch barley-grain on the
Anvaharyapa/f'ana (or Dakshi/mgni) for the Pitaro
Barhishada/^-. They then grind one half of it ;
and (the other) half remains thus unground, — this
is the parched grain for the Barhis-seated fathers.
6. Then a porridge is (prepared) for the Pitaro
'gnishvatta/^^ (by the ground half of the parched
grain) being mixed with the milk of a cow suckling
an adopted calf, by stirring it once with a single
splinter. It is indeed once for all that the fathers
have departed, and hence it is stirred but once.
These are the oblations.
7. Now those (fathers) who have sacrificed with
Soma are the Pitara/^ Somavanta/^ ; and those
who gain the world (of the gods) by means of
cooked (sacrificial food) offered by them are the
Pitaro Barhishada/^ ; and they who (have offered)
neither the one nor the other, and whom Agni
consumes by burning, they are the Pitaro 'gnislivat-
ta/^ These, then, are the fathers ^
8. He takes out [the rice for] that cake of six
potsherds, while seated behind the Garhapatya, and
looking southwards, with the sacrificial cord over
his rio^ht shoulder. From thence he rises and
1 That is, either to ' the fathers, accompanied by Soma (or possessed of Soma),' or to ' Soma, accompanied by the fathers.' The Black Ya^-us assigns the oblation to Soma Pitr/mat.
- That is, ' the fathers seated on the barhis.'
^ That is, ' the fathers consumed by the fire,'
■* ' These, then, are the three kinds of fathers,' Ka?A'a recension.
42 2 ^-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
threshes (the rice), while standing north of the
Dakshi;2a-fire, with his face towards the south. He
cleans it but once '; since it is once for all that the
fathers have departed.
9. He places the two mill-stones on (the black
antelope skin, so as to be inclined) towards the
south 2; and puts the six potsherds on the south
part of the Garhapatya hearth. The reason why
they keep the southern direction is because that
is the region of the fathers : this is why they keep
the southern direction.
10. Thereupon he raises a square altar south
of the Dakshi;^agni^. He makes the corners point
towards the intermediate quarters. There are doubt-
less four intermediate quarters, and the fathers are
the intermediate quarters : this is why he makes the
corners point towards the intermediate quarters.
11. In the centre of this (altar) he lays down the
fire. From the east, indeed, the gods came westwards
to the men : hence one offers to them while standino;
^ Not thrice, as at an ordinary ish/i; see I, i, 4, 23.