The Satapatha Brahmana
translated by Julius Eggeling
THE SATAPATHA-BRÂHMANA
ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF THE MÂDHYANDINA SCHOOL
Translated by
Julius Eggeling
Part -3
Third KandaSECOND ADHYÂYA. FIRST BRÂHMANA.
3:2:1:11. South of the Âhavanîya he spreads two black antelope skins on the ground, with the neck parts towards the east: thereon he consecrates him. If there are two (skins), they are an image of these two worlds (heaven and earth), and thus he consecrates him on these two worlds.p. 26
3:2:1:22. They are joined (fitted) together along their edge 1, for these two worlds are also, as it were, joined together at their edge. At the hind part they are fastened together through holes: thus, after uniting (mithunîkritya) these two worlds, he consecrates him thereon.
3:2:1:33. But if there be only one (skin), then it is an image of these (three) worlds; then he consecrates him on these (three) worlds. Those (hairs) which are white are an image of the sky; those which are black are (an image) of this (earth);--or, if he likes, conversely: those which are black are an image of the sky, and those which are white are (an image) of this (earth). Those which are of a brownish yellow colour 2, are an image of the atmosphere. Thus he consecrates him on these (three) worlds.
3:2:1:44. And let him, in that case, turn in the hind end (of the skin) 3: thus, after uniting these worlds with each other, he consecrates him thereon.
3:2:1:55. He then squats down behind the two skins, with his face towards the east and with bent (right) knee; and while touching them thus 4 at a place
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where the white and black (hair) join, he mutters (Vâg. S. IV, 9), 'Ye are the images of the Rik and Sâman;'--an image doubtless is what is conformable 1: 'Ye are conformable to, the riks and sâmans' he thereby means to say.
3:2:1:66. 'I touch you.' Now, he who is consecrated becomes an embryo, and enters into the metres: hence he has his hands closed, since embryos have their hands closed.
3:2:1:77. And when he says, 'I touch you,' he means to say, 'I enter into you.' 'Do ye guard me up to the goal of this sacrifice!' whereby he says, 'Do ye protect me until the completion of this sacrifice!'
3:2:1:88. He then kneels down with his right knee (on the skin), with the text, 'Thou art a refuge: afford me refuge!' for the skin (karma) of the black deer it is indeed among men, but among the gods it is a refuge (sarma): therefore he says, 'Thou art a refuge: afford me refuge.' 'Homage be to thee: injure me not!' Now he who raises himself upon the sacrifice 1 doubtless raises himself to one that is his better; for the black deer skin is a (means of) sacrifice. Hereby, now, he propitiates that sacrifice, and thus that sacrifice does not injure him: for this reason he says, 'Homage be to thee: injure me not!'
3:2:1:99. He must indeed sit down first on the hind part (of the skin). Were he, on the other hand, to sit down at once in the middle (of the skin), and were
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any one there to curse him, saying, 'He shall either become demented or fall down headlong!' then that would indeed come to pass. Let him therefore first sit down on the hind part (of the skin).
3:2:1:1010. He then girds himself with the zone. For once upon a time when the Aṅgiras were consecrated, they were seized with weakness, for they had prepared no other food but fast-milk. They then perceived this (source of) strength (viz. the zone), and this (source of) strength they put in (or round) the middle of their body as a (means of attaining) completion: and thereby they attained completion. And so does he now put that (source of) strength in the middle of his body and thereby attain completion.
3:2:1:1111. It is made of hemp. Hempen it is in order to be soft. Now when Pragâpati, having become an embryo, sprung forth from that sacrifice, that which was nearest to him, the amnion, became hempen threads: hence they smell putrid. And that which was the outer membrane (and placenta) became the garment of the consecrated. Now the amnion lies under the outer membrane, and hence that (zone) is worn under the garment. And in like manner as Pragâpati, having become an embryo, sprung forth from that sacrifice, so does he become an embryo and spring forth from that sacrifice.
3:2:1:1212. It (the cord) is a triple one, because food is threefold, food being cattle. (Moreover) the father and mother (are two), and that which is born is a third: hence it is a triple (cord).
3:2:1:1313. It is intertwined with a shoot of reed (muñga) grass, for the sake of chasing away the evil spirits, the reed being a thunderbolt. It is plaited after
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the manner of a braid of hair. For were it to be twisted 1 sunwise (from left to right) as any other cords, it would be human; and were it twisted contrary to the course of the sun, it would be sacred to the Fathers: hence it is plaited after the manner of a braid of hair.
3:2:1:1414. He girds himself with it, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 10), 'Thou art the strength of the Aṅgiras,'--for the Aṅgiras perceived this (source of) strength; 'soft as wool, bestow thou strength on me!' there is nothing obscure in this.
3:2:1:1515. He then tucks up the end of his (nether) garment, with the text, 'Thou art Soma's tuck.' For heretofore it was the tuck of him, the unconsecrated; but now that he is consecrated, it is that of Soma 2: therefore he says, 'Thou art Soma's tuck.'
3:2:1:1616. He then wraps up (his head) 3. For he who is consecrated becomes an embryo; and embryos are enveloped both by the amnion and the outer membrane: therefore he covers (his head).
3:2:1:1717. He covers himself, with the text, 'Thou art Vishnu's refuge, the refuge of the sacrificer.' He who is consecrated indeed becomes both Vishnu and a sacrificer; for when he is consecrated, he is Vishnu; and when he sacrifices, he is the sacrificer: therefore he says, 'Thou art Vishnu's refuge, the refuge of the sacrificer.'
3:2:1:1818. Thereupon he ties a black deer's horn to the
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end (of his garment 1). Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragâpati, entered upon their father Pragâpati's inheritance: the gods came in for the Mind and the Asuras for Speech. Thereby the gods came in for the sacrifice and Asuras for speech; the gods for yonder (heaven) and the Asuras for this (earth).
3:2:1:1919. The gods said to Yagña (m., the sacrifice), 'That Vâk (f., speech) is a woman: beckon her, and she will certainly call thee to her.' Or it may be, he himself thought, 'That Vâk is a woman: I will beckon her and she will certainly call me to her.' He accordingly beckoned her. She, however, at first disdained him from the distance: and hence a woman, when beckoned by a man, at first disdains him from the distance. He said, 'She has disdained me from the distance.'
3:2:1:2020. They said, 'Do but beckon her, reverend sir, and she will certainly call thee to her.' He beckoned her; but she only replied to him, as it were, by shaking her head: and hence a woman, when beckoned by a man, only replies to him, as it were, by shaking her head. He said, 'She has only replied to me by shaking her head.'
3:2:1:2121. They said, 'Do but beckon her, reverend sir, and she will certainly call thee to her.' He beckoned her, and she called him to her; and hence a woman at last calls the man to her. He said, 'She has indeed called me.'
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3:2:1:2222. The gods reflected, 'That Vâk being a woman, we must take care lest she should allure him 1.--Say to her, "Come hither to me where I stand!" and report to us her having come.' She then went up to where he was standing. Hence a woman goes to a man who stays in a well-trimmed (house). He reported to them her having come, saying, 'She has indeed come.'
3:2:1:2323. The gods then cut her off from the Asuras; and having gained possession of her and enveloped her completely in fire, they offered her up as a holocaust, it being an offering of the gods 2. And in that they offered her with an anushtubh verse, thereby they made her their own; and the Asuras, being deprived of speech, were undone, crying, 'He ’lavah! he ’lavah 3!'
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3:2:1:2424. Such was the unintelligible speech which they then uttered,--and he (who speaks thus) is a Mlekkha (barbarian). Hence let no Brahman speak barbarous language, since such is the speech of the Asuras. Thus alone he deprives his spiteful enemies of speech; and whosoever knows this, his enemies, being deprived of speech, are undone.
3:2:1:2525. That Yagña (sacrifice) lusted after Vâk (speech 1), thinking, 'May I pair with her!' He united with her.
3:2:1:2626. Indra then thought within himself, 'Surely a great monster will spring from this union of Yagña and Vâk: [I must take care] lest it should get the better of me.' Indra himself then became an embryo and entered into that union.
3:2:1:2727. Now when he was born after a year's time, he thought within himself, 'Verily of great vigour is this womb which has contained me: [I must take care] that no great monster shall be born from it after me, lest it should get the better of me!'
3:2:1:2828. Having seized and pressed it tightly, he tore it off and put it on the head of Yagña (sacrifice 2);for the black (antelope) is the sacrifice: the black deer skin is the same as that sacrifice, and the black deer's horn is the same as that womb. And because it was by pressing it tightly together that Indra tore out (the womb), therefore it (the horn) is bound tightly (to the end of the garment); and as Indra,
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having become an embryo, sprang from that union, so is he (the sacrificer), after becoming an embryo, born from that union (of the skin and the horn).
3:2:1:2929. He ties it (to the end of the garment) with the open part upwards, for it is in this way that the womb bears the embryo. He then touches with it his forehead close over the right eyebrow, with the text, 'Thou art Indra's womb,'--for it is indeed Indra's womb, since in entering it he enters thereby 1, and in being born he is born therefrom: therefore he says, 'Thou art Indra's womb.'
3:2:1:3030. Thereupon he draws (with the horn) the ('easterly') line, with the text, 'Make the crops full-eared!' Thereby he produces the sacrifice; for when there is a good year, then there is abundant (material) for sacrifice; but when there is a bad year, then there is not even enough for himself: hence he thereby produces the sacrifice.
3:2:1:3131. And let not the consecrated henceforth scratch himself either with a chip of wood or with his nail. For he who is consecrated becomes an embryo; and were any one to scratch an embryo either with a chip of wood or his nail, thereby expelling it, it would die 2. Thereafter the consecrated would be liable to be affected with the itch; and--offspring (retas) coming after the consecrated--that offspring would then also be liable to be born with the itch. Now his
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own womb 1 does not injure its offspring, and that black deer's horn being indeed his own womb, that (horn) does not injure him; and therefore the consecrated should scratch himself with the black deer's horn and with nothing but the black deer's horn.
3:2:1:3232. He (the Adhvaryu) then hands to him a staff, for driving away the evil spirits,--the staff being a thunderbolt.
3:2:1:3333. It is of Udumbara wood (Ficus Glomerata), for him to obtain food and strength,--the Udumbara means food and strength: therefore it is of Udumbara wood.
3:2:1:3434. It reaches up to his mouth,--for so far extends his strength: as great as his strength is, so great it (the staff) is when it reaches up to his mouth.
3:2:1:3535. He makes it stand upright, with the text, 'Stand up, O tree, erect; guard me from injury on to the goal of this sacrifice!' whereby he means to say, 'Standing erect, protect me till the completion of this sacrifice!'
3:2:1:3636. It is only now that some bend the fingers inward 2 and restrain their speech, because, they argue, only from now will he not have to mutter anything. But let him not do so; for in like manner as if one were to try to overtake some one who runs away, but could not overtake him, so does he not overtake the sacrifice. Let him therefore turn in his fingers and restrain his speech on that (former) occasion.
3:2:1:3737. And when the consecrated (after restraining his speech) utters either a rik, or a sâman, or a yagus 3,
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he thereby takes a firmer and firmer hold of the sacrifice: let him therefore turn in his fingers and restrain his speech on that (former) occasion.
3:2:1:3838. And when he restrains his speech--speech being sacrifice--he thereby appropriates the sacrifice to himself 1. But when, from speech restrained, he utters any sound (foreign to the sacrifice), then that sacrifice, being set free, flies away. In that case, then, let him mutter either a rik or a yagus addressed to Vishnu, for Vishnu is the sacrifice: thereby he again gets hold of the sacrifice; and this is the atonement for that (transgression).
3:2:1:3939. Thereupon some one 2 calls out, 'Consecrated is this Brâhman, consecrated is this Brâhman:' him, being thus announced, he thereby announces to the gods: 'Of great vigour is this one who has obtained the sacrifice; he has become one of yours: protect him!' this is what he means to say. Thrice he says it, for threefold is the sacrifice.
3:2:1:4040. And as to his saying, 'Brâhman,' uncertain, as it were, is his origin heretofore 3; for the Rakshas, they say, pursue women here oil earth, and so the Rakshas implant their seed therein. But he, forsooth, is truly born, who is born of the Brahman (neut.), of the sacrifice: wherefore let him address even a Râganya, or a Vaisya, as Brâhman, since he who is born of the sacrifice is born of the Brahman (and hence a Brâhmana). Wherefore they say, 'Let no one slay a sacrificer of Soma; for by (slaying) a Soma-sacrificer he becomes guilty of a heinous sin 4!
Footnotes
25:1 Saishâ mîmâmsaiva, 'This, however, is mere speculation,' Kânva recension.25:2 See I, 2, 5, 14, with note. The sacrifice represents the sacrificer himself, and thus he makes sure of his offering up his entire Self, and obtaining a new divine Self, and a place among the immortals.
26:1 The two skins are fitted together at the inner sides, and stretched along the ground by means of wooden pins driven into the ground and passed through holes all round the edge of the skins; the hairy sides of the latter remaining outside (above and below). At their hind parts they are tacked together by 'means of a thong passed through the holes and tied together in a loop.'
26:2 Yâny eva babhrûniva harîni. The Kânva text reads, Yâny eva madhye babhrûni vâ harîni vâ, 'those in the centre (or between the black and white) which are either brown or yellow (grey).'
26:3 According to Kâty. VII, 3, 21 it would seem that the two hind feet, or one of them, should be doubled up (at the joint) and sewed under. According to the Sûtras of the Black Yagus, on the other hand, the right fore-foot is turned under.
26:4 According to the Sûtras of the Black Yagus, he is to touch at p. 27 the same time the white hair with his thumb and the black with his fore-finger. Sây. on Taitt. S. I, 2, 2 (vol. i, p. 297).
27:1 Sreyâmsam vâ esha upâdhirohati yo manushyah san yagñam upâdhirohati. Kânva recension.
29:1 Twisted and plaited is here expressed by the same term 'srishta.'
29:2 Literally, but now (it being that) of (him) the consecrated, (it is that) of Soma.
29:3 With his upper garment, or, according to others, with a turban. Kay. VII, 3, 28 scholl.
30:1 The Mâdhyandinas tied the horn to the unwoven end (thrum, dasâ) of the nether garment which was tucked through (par. 13) and then allowed to hang down in front. The Kânvas, on the other hand, tied it to the hem of the upper garment (uttarasike! Kânva text); cf. Kâty. VII, 3, 29 scholl.
31:1 Yoshâ vâ iyam vâg yad enam na yuvitâ. The St. Petersburg Dict. (s. v. yu) takes it differently, 'That Vâk is indeed a woman, since she does not wish to draw him towards herself (i.e. since she does not want him to come near her).' Sâyana, on the other hand, explains it elliptically, 'Since she has not joined him (no confidence can be placed in her).' The Kânva text reads: Ta u ha devâ bibhayâm kakrur yoshâ vâ iyam iti yad vâ enam na yuvîteti. Perhaps in our passage also we should read 'yuvîta' (as proposed by Delbrück, Syntact. Forschungen III, p. 79), and translate, 'Verily that Vâk is a woman: (it is to be feared) that she will [or, it is to be hoped that she will not] allure him [viz. so. that Yagña also would fall to the share of the Asuras];' 'Dass sie ihn nur nicht an sich fesselt!' For similar elliptic constructions with yad and the optative, see paragraphs 26 and 27; and II, 2, 4, 3 ['Dass er mich nur nicht auffrisst!']; IV, 3, 5, 3 ('Dass uns nur die Rakshas nichts zu Leide thun!'); IV, 6, 9, 1. One would expect an 'iti' here.
31:2 And therefore requiring no priests’ portion &c. to be taken from it.
31:3 According to Sâyana, 'He ’lavo' stands for 'He ’rayo (i.e. ho, the spiteful (enemies))!' which the Asuras were unable to pronounce correctly. The Kânva text, however, reads, te hâttavâko ’surâ hailo haila ity etâm ha vâkam vadantah parâbabhûvuh; (? i, e. He p. 32 ilâ, 'ho, speech.') A third version of this passage seems to be referred to in the Mahâbhâshya (Kielh.), p. 2.
32:1 Compare the corresponding legend about Yagña and Dakshinâ (priests’ fee), Taitt. S. VI, 1, 3, 6.
32:2 'Yagñasya sîrshan;' one would expect 'krishna(sâra)sya sîrshan.' The Taitt. S. reads 'tâm mrigeshu ny adadhât.'
33:1 In the Kânva text 'atah (therewith)' refers to the head of the sacrificer,--sa yak khirasta upasprisaty ato vâ enâm etad agre pravisan pravisaty ato vâ agre gâyamâno gâyate tasmâk khirasta upasprisati.
33:2 Apâsyan mrityet = apagakkhan mritim prâpnuyât, Sây.--? apâsyet, 'he would force it out and it would die.' The Kânva text has merely 'ayam mrityet (!).'
34:1 That is, the womb from which he (the sacrificer) is born.
34:2 II, 1, 3, 25.
34:3 Viz. in muttering the formulas mentioned above, III, 2, 1, 5 seq.
35:1 Or, puts it in himself, encloses it within himself.
35:2 That is, some one other than the Adhvaryu, viz. the Pratiprasthâtri or some other person, Kâty. VII, 4, 11 scholl.
35:3 That is, inasmuch as he may be of Rakshas origin
35:4 Viz. of the crime of Brâhmanicide (brahmahatyâ).
SECOND BRÂHMANA.
3:2:2:11. He maintains silence; and silently he remains seated till sunset. The reason why he maintains silence is this:3:2:2:22. By means of the sacrifice the gods gained that supreme authority which they now wield. They spake, 'How can this (world) of ours be made unattainable to men?' They sipped the sap of the sacrifice, even as bees would suck out honey; and having drained the sacrifice and scattered it by means of the sacrificial post, they disappeared: and because they scattered (yopaya, viz. the sacrifice) therewith, therefore it is called yûpa (post) 1.
3:2:2:33. Now this was heard by the Rishis. They collected the sacrifice. As that sacrifice was collected (prepared) 2, so does he who is consecrated collect the sacrifice (by keeping his speech within him),--for the sacrifice is speech.
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3:2:2:44. When the sun has set, he breaks silence. Now Pragâpati is the year, since the sacrifice is Pragâpati; and the year is day and night, since these two revolving produce it. He has been consecrated during the day, and he has gained the night: as great as the sacrifice is, as great as is its extent, to that extent has he gained it before he breaks silence.
3:2:2:55. Some, however, make him break his silence on seeing the (first) start 1, arguing that then the sun has actually set. But let him not do so, for what would become of them if it were cloudy? Let him therefore break silence as soon as he thinks the sun has set.
3:2:2:66. Now, some make him break silence by the formula, 'Earth! ether! sky!' arguing that thereby they strengthen the sacrifice, they heal, the sacrifice. But let him not do so; for he who breaks silence with that (formula) does not strengthen the sacrifice, does not heal the sacrifice.
3:2:2:77. Let him rather break silence with this one (Vâg. S. IV, 11), 'Prepare ye the fast-food! prepare ye the fast-food! [prepare ye the fast-food!] Agni is the Brahman, Agni is the sacrifice; the tree is meet for the sacrifice.' For this indeed is his sacrifice, this is his havis-offering at this (rite of consecration), even as the Agnihotra was heretofore 2. In thus preparing the (Soma) sacrifice by means of the sacrifice, he establishes the sacrifice
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in the sacrifice, and carries on the sacrifice by means of the sacrifice; for (the partaking of) that fast-food is indeed carried on by him till the pressing of the Soma. Thrice he pronounces (the first words 1), for threefold is the sacrifice.
3:2:2:88. Moreover, he breaks silence, after turning round towards the fire. He, on the other hand, who breaks silence with any other (formula) but this 2, does not strengthen the sacrifice, does not heal the sacrifice. In pronouncing the first (part of the formula) 3 he utters the truth of speech 4.
3:2:2:99. 'Agni is the Brahman' (neut.), he says, for Agni is indeed the Brahman (sacerdotium);--'Agni is the sacrifice,' for Agni is indeed the sacrifice;--'the tree is meet for the sacrifice,' for trees 5 are indeed meet for the sacrifice, since men could not sacrifice, if there were no trees: therefore he says, 'the tree is meet for the sacrifice.'
3:2:2:1010. Thereupon they cook the fast-food for him. For he who is consecrated draws nigh to the gods and becomes one of the deities. But the sacrificial food of the gods must be cooked, and not uncooked: hence they cook it, and he partakes of that fast-milk
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[paragraph continues] (vrata) and does not offer it in the fire. The reason why he eats the fast-food and does not offer it in the fire is this:
3:2:2:1111. By means of the sacrifice the gods gained that supreme authority which they now wield. They spake, 'How can this (world) of ours be made unattainable to men?' They sipped the sap of the sacrifice, even as bees would suck out honey; and having drained the sacrifice and scattered it by means of the sacrificial post, they disappeared. And because they scattered (yopaya) therewith, therefore it is called yûpa (post).
3:2:2:1212. Now this was heard by the Rishis. They collected the sacrifice. As that sacrifice was collected, so does he who is consecrated now become the sacrifice, for it is he that carries it on, that produces it. And whatever (sap) of the sacrifice was sucked out and drained, that he now restores again by sipping the fast-milk and not offering it in the fire; for, assuredly, were he to offer it in the fire, he would not replenish (the sacrifice). But let him, nevertheless, think (that he does so) sacrificing and not the reverse.
3:2:2:1313. For, verily, these vital airs are born of the mind, endowed with mind 1, of intelligent power 2: Agni is speech; Mitra and Varuna are the out-breathing and the in-breathing; Âditya (the sun) is the eye; and the All-gods are the ear,--it is unto these deities that offering is thereby made by him.
3:2:2:1414. Now, some add both rice and barley to the first (day's) fast-milk, arguing,--"By means of these two substances (rasa) we restore what part of the sacrifice was sucked out and drained; and, should
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the vrata-cow yield no milk, he may prepare his fast-food of whichever of these (cereals) he pleases; and thus both the rice and the barley are 'taken hold of' by him." But let him not do this; for he who adds both rice and barley (to the milk) neither replenishes the sacrifice nor heals it. Let him therefore add only the one or the other (cereal). Both the rice and barley doubtless form his (havis) material for offering (at the New and Full-moon Sacrifice), and when they do so become his material for offering, then they are also 'taken hold of 1' by him. Should the vrata, cow yield no milk, let him prepare the fast-food of whichever of them he pleases.
3:2:2:1515. Some, again, add to the first (day's) fast-food (vrata) all manner of vegetables and fragrant (seasoning), arguing,--'If disease were to befall him, he might cure it by whatever thereof he pleases, as if he cured it by the fast-milk 2.' But let him not
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do this, lest he should do what is inauspicious to the sacrifice; for those people do at the sacrifice what is a human act, and inauspicious to the sacrifice assuredly is that which is human. If any disease were to befall him who is consecrated, let him cure it wherewith he pleases; for completion is proper 1.
3:2:2:1616. He (the Adhvaryu) hands the fast-food to him, after letting the ordinary (meal-)time pass,--viz. the evening-milk in the latter part of the night, and the morning-milk in the afternoon,--for the sake of distinction: he thereby distinguishes the divine from the human.
3:2:2:1717. And when he is about to hand the fast-food to him he makes him touch water 2, with the text, 'For protection we direct our thoughts to divine devotion, the source of supreme mercy 3, the bestower of glory and the bearer of sacrifices 4: may it prosper our ways, according to our desire!' Heretofore, indeed, it was for a human meal that he cleansed himself, but now it is for the sake of divine devotion: therefore he says, 'For the sake of assistance we turn our thoughts to divine devotion, the source of supreme mercy, the bestower of glory, the bearer of sacrifices: may it
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prosper our ways, according to our desire!' Whenever, being about to take the fast-food, he touches water, let him touch it with this same (formula).
3:2:2:1818. Thereupon he drinks the fast-food, with the text, 'May the gods favour us, they who are born of the mind, and endowed with mind 1, and of intelligent power! may they protect us! Hail to them!' Thus that (fast-food) comes to be for him (by means of the Svâhâ) as an oblation consecrated by the Vashat.
3:2:2:1919. Having drank the fast-food, he touches his navel 2, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 12), 'Ye waters that have been drank, may ye become palatable and auspicious within us! may they prove agreeable to us, freeing us from disease and weakness and sin,--they the divine, the immortal, the holy!' Now, he who is consecrated draws nigh to the gods and becomes one of the deities; but the sacrificial food of the gods is not increased (with other material): hence, if in handing the fast-food (to the consecrated) he increases it (with other milk), he commits a fault and breaks the fast. This (formula), however, is the atonement for that (transgression), and thus that fault is not committed by him, and he does not break the fast (or vow): therefore he says, 'Ye waters . . . !' Whenever, after drinking the fast-food, he touches his navel, let him touch it with this (formula); for who
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knows whether (or not) he who hands the fast-food (to the consecrated) increases it (with other milk) 1!
3:2:2:2020. When he intends to pass urine, he takes up a clod of earth or some other object by means of the deer's horn, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 13), 'This (O Earth) is thy covering meet for worship.' For this earth truly is divine, and serves as a place for the worship of the gods: it must not be defiled by him who is consecrated. Having lifted up this its sacrificially pure covering 2, he now relieves himself on its impure body, with the formula, 'I discharge not offspring, but waters,'--for so indeed he does 3; 'delivering from trouble, and consecrated by Svâhâ,'--for they do indeed deliver from trouble what is pressed together inside: therefore he says, 'delivering from trouble,'--'consecrated by Svâhâ, enter ye the earth!' whereby he means to say, 'Having become offerings, do ye enter the earth, appeased!'
3:2:2:2121. Thereupon he throws the clod of earth down again, with the text, 'Unite with the earth!' for truly this earth is divine, and serves as a place for the worship of the gods: it must not be defiled by him who is consecrated. Having lifted up this its
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sacrificially pure covering, he has relieved himself on its impure body, and now restores to it this its pure covering: therefore he says, 'Unite with the earth!'
3:2:2:2222. He then gives himself up to Agni (the fire) for protection and lies down to sleep. For he who is consecrated draws nigh to the gods and becomes one of the deities; but the gods do not sleep, while to him sleeplessness is not vouchsafed; and Agni being Lord of vows to the gods, it is to him that he now commits himself and lies down to sleep, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 14), 'O Agni, be thou a good waker: may we thoroughly refresh ourselves!' whereby he says, 'O Agni, wake thou: we are going to sleep!'--'Guard us unremittingly!' whereby he means to say, 'protect us heedfully!'--'Make us awake again!' whereby he means to say, 'Order so that, having rested here, we may awake safely.'
3:2:2:2323. And when he has slept and does not wish to fall asleep again, (the Adhvaryu) makes him mutter the text (Vâg. S. IV, 15), 'Thought and life have come back to me, breath and soul have come back to me, eye and ear have come back to me;' for all these depart from him when he sleeps; the breath alone does not; and after he has slept he again unites with them: therefore he says, 'Thought and life have come back to me . . .'--'May Agni Vaisvânara, the unassailable preserver of lives, preserve us from mishap and shame!' whereby he means to say, 'May Agni save us from whatever mistake (may be committed) on this occasion, either by sleep or otherwise:' this is why he says, 'May Agni Vaisvânara, the unassailable preserver of lives, preserve us from mishap and shame!'
3:2:2:2424. For, when he who is consecrated utters anything
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that is foreign to the vow, or when he becomes angry, he commits a fault and breaks his vow, since suppression of anger behoves him who is consecrated. Now, Agni is the Lord of vows among the gods,--it is to him therefore that he resorts (Vâg. S. IV, 16; Rig-veda VIII, II, 7): 'Thou, O Agni, art the divine guardian of vows among men, to whom praise is due at the sacrifices.' This, then, is his atonement for that (transgression); and thus that fault is not committed by him, and he does not break his vow: therefore he says, 'Thou, O Agni, art the divine guardian of vows among men, to whom praise is due at the sacrifices.'
3:2:2:2525. And whatever (gift) people offer to him 1, thereon he (the Adhvaryu) makes him pronounce the text, 'Bestow this much, O Soma, bring more!' for Soma indeed it is that appropriates for the consecrated whatever people offer to him: when he says, 'Bestow this much, O Soma,' he means to say, 'Bestow this much on us, O Soma;' and by 'Bring more,' he means to say, 'Fetch more for us!'--'The divine Savitri, the bestower of wealth, hath bestowed wealth on us;' whereby that (gift) comes to be impelled by Savitri with a view to (further) gifts.
3:2:2:2626. Before sunset he (the Adhvaryu) says, 'Consecrated, restrain thy speech!' and after sunset he releases speech. Before sunrise he says, 'Consecrated, restrain thy speech!' and after sunrise he releases
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his speech,--for the sake of continuity: with the night he continues the day, and with the day the night.
3:2:2:2727. Let not the sun set on him while abiding elsewhere (than the hall); nor let the sun rise on him while asleep. For were the sun to set on him while abiding elsewhere, he (the sun) would cut him off from the night; and were the sun to rise on him while asleep, he would cut him off from the day: there is no atonement for this, hence it must by all means be avoided. Prior to the purificatory bath he should not enter water, nor should it rain upon him; for it is improper that he should enter water, or that it should rain upon him, before the purificatory bath. Moreover, he speaks his speech falteringly, and not effusively after the manner of ordinary speech 1. The reason why he speaks his speech falteringly and not after the manner of ordinary speech is this:
3:2:2:2828. By means of the sacrifice the gods gained that supreme authority which they now wield. They spake, 'How can this (world) of ours be made unattainable to men?' They sipped the sap of the sacrifice, even as bees would suck out honey; and having drained the sacrifice and scattered it by means of the sacrificial post, they disappeared. And because they scattered (yopaya) therewith, therefore it is called yûpa (post).
3:2:2:2929. Now this was heard by the Rishis. They collected the sacrifice; and as that sacrifice was collected, so does he who is consecrated now collect the sacrifice (by keeping back his speech),--for the sacrifice is speech. And whatever part of the sacrifice
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was then sucked out and drained, that he now restores again by speaking his speech falteringly and not effusively after the manner of ordinary speech. For were he to speak effusively after the manner of ordinary speech, he would not restore (the sap of the sacrifice): therefore he speaks his speech falteringly and not effusively after the manner of ordinary speech.
3:2:2:3030. He verily anoints himself,--it is for speech that he anoints himself 1, since he anoints himself for the sacrifice, and the sacrifice is speech. Dhîkshita (the anointed) doubtless is the same as dîkshita (the consecrated).
Footnotes
36:1 Professor Whitney (American Journal of Philology, III, p. 402) proposes to take yopaya here in the sense of 'to set up an obstacle, to block or bar the way.' He remarks, 'How the setting up of a post should operate to "efface traces" cannot easily be made to appear.' I am not aware that any one has supposed that it was by the 'setting up' of the post that the traces of the sacrifice were obliterated. From what follows--'They collected the sacrifice '--it seems to me pretty clear that our author at any rate connects 'yopaya' with the root yu, to mix, stir about, and hence to efface the traces by mixing with the ground, or by scattering about. This causative was evidently no longer a living form, but resorted to for etymological purposes.36:2 Or, perhaps, They collected the sacrifice in the same way as this (present) sacrifice has been collected. See, however, the corresponding passage III, 2, 2, 29; 4, 3, 16. The Kânva text is clearer: Tam yathâ yatharshayo yagñam samabharams tathâyam yagñah sambhrito yatho vai tad rishayo yagñam samabharann evam u vâ esha etad yagñam sambharati yo dîkshate.
37:1 'After pointing out (some) stars [nakshatrâni darsayitvâ],' Kânva recension. Cf. Taitt. S. VI, 1, 4, 4, 'when the stars have risen, he breaks silence with "Prepare the fast-food!"'
37:2 That is to say, the eating of the fast-food, consisting chiefly of milk, takes, as it were, the place of the Agnihotra, or evening and morning sacrifice, which he is not allowed to perform during the time of his consecration.
38:1 Viz. the injunction 'Prepare ye the fast-food!' which is indeed read thrice in the Kânva text, where the arrangement of these paragraphs is much clearer.
38:2 Thus Sây. 'ato ’nyena, bhûr bhuvah suvar ityanena' (MS. I. O. 657). Dr. Lindner makes atah refer to Agni. The Kânva text begins the passage, corresponding to paragraphs 7 and 8: 'So ’gnim îkshamâno visrigate vratam krinuta (thrice) etad vâ etasya havir esha yagño yad vratam.'
38:3 That is, the words 'Agni is the Brahman.'
38:4 Viz. because 'the Brahman (neut.) is the truth (or essence, satyam),' Sây.
38:5 Viz. trees from which sacrificial implements, fire-wood, the sacrificial stake, &c., are obtained.
39:1 Manoyug (?), 'mind-yoked,' i.e. having thoughts for their team.
39:2 Cf. paragraph 18.
40:1 Anvârabdha has here the usual sacrificial meaning of 'taken hold of (from behind),' with perhaps something of that of 'taken (as medicine = einnehmen).' Thus at the invocation of the Idâ, the sacrificer has to touch (anv-ârabh) the idâ from behind, thereby keeping up his connection, and identifying himself, with the sacrifice. Cf. part i, p. 228, note 1; and III, 2, 4, 15. Hence the author, making use of the term suggested by those he criticises, argues that as both kinds of material have already been used and therefore touched (anvârabdha) by him at the New and Full-moon Sacrifice (Sâyana), they have therefore been taken possession of by him. It is possible, though scarcely likely, that the verb may have reference here to the anvârambhanîyâ ishti,--or preliminary ceremony of the first performance of the New and Full-moon Sacrifice,--with which the present use of these cereals would, in that case, be identified, as that of the vrata-milk was with the Agnihotra (cf. paragraph 7 above). The Kânva text has the verb â-rabh instead, yathâ havishârabdhena bhishagyed ity evam etat.
40:2 That is to say, though the restoration might be due to the medicinal properties of some of those ingredients, it could be ascribed to the milk.
41:1 Sâyana takes this to mean, that, as above all the consummation of the sacrifice is desirable, one should in case of disease cure it by any of those drugs without their being taken (anvârabdha) sacrificially, or as part of the sacrificial performance.
41:2 According to the Kânva text, the sacrificer first washes himself (nenikte) and then sips water (âkâmati); and having drunk the fast-milk, he touches water (apa upasprisati).
41:3 Or, perhaps, we meditate on the divine intelligence, the most merciful.'
41:4 Yagñavâhasam ('bringing, or bearing, worship'); thus also Taitt. S. I, 2, 2. The Kânva text reads visvadhâyasam, 'all-nourishing, all-sustaining.'
42:1 See p. 39, note 2. The Kânva text here again identifies the divinities referred to in the text with the vital airs.
42:2 Having eaten and touched water, he strokes his belly (udaram abhimrisate), Kânv. The Kânva text renders the meaning quite clear: Uta vai tîvram vratam bhavati tat kshudrataram asad iti vopotsiñkaty, alpam vâ bhavati tad bhûyaskâmyopotsiñkati.
43:1 No other fresh milk is to be added to that obtained by one milking of the vratadughâ (fast-milk) cow (Kâty. VII, 4, 29); but the preceding formula is to be muttered in order to obviate any evil consequences arising from a possible secret breach of this rule, on the part of him who hands the milk to the sacrificer. Dr. Lindner takes upotsik in the sense of 'to spill,' but I find no authority for this rendering, which neither the prep. upa, nor abhi (in the equivalent abhyutsik) would seem to admit of.
43:2 See p. 10, note 4.
43:3 'Ubhayam vâ ata ety âpas ka retas ka; sa etad apa eva muñkati na pragâm.'
45:1 'And if they were to bring him either a garment or a cow, let him address it with the text--.' Kânva text. According to some authorities the Dîkshita is to go about for twelve days begging his means of subsistence, and whatever he obtains he is to touch and consecrate by the above text. Kâty. VII, 5, 3, comm.
46:1 Literally, 'Falteringly (i.e. hesitatingly, cautiously) he speaks speech, not human effusive (speech).'
47:1 Dhîkshate, apparently the desiderative of dih (Weber, in St. Petersb. Dict. s. v.) Cf. III, 1, 3, 7 seq. The construction (especially the first hi) is rather peculiar. This paragraph apparently is to supply further proof why he should be cautious in his speech, and the words 'sa vai dhîkshate' have to be taken parenthetically: 'He speaks his speech cautiously . . . .; for (anointing himself as he does) he anoints himself for speech, &c.' The Kânva text offers less difficulty: Atha yad dhîkshito nâma vâke vâ esha etad dhîkshate, yagñâya hi dhîkshate, yagño hi vâk, tasmâd dhîkshito nâma, dhîkshito ha vai nâmaitad yad dîkshita ity âhuh. Sâyana's comment (MS.) is not very satisfactory: Vâkam yagñasâdhanatvena prasamsati; sa vai dhîkshita iti prasaṅgâd dhîkshitasabdam nirvakti dhîkshito ha vâ iti yasmâd dîkshita iti nâma tâdrisî dîkshâ vâk sâdhyeti vâk srutih.
THE PRÂYANÎYESHTI, OR OPENING-SACRIFICE.
THIRD BRÂHMANA.
3:2:3:11. He prepares the Prâyanîya rice-pap for Aditi. Now while the gods were spreading (performing) the sacrifice on this (earth) they excluded her (the earth) from the sacrifice. She thought, 'How is it that, in spreading the sacrifice on me, they should exclude me from the sacrifice?' and confounded their sacrifice: they knew not that sacrifice.p. 48
3:2:3:22. They said, 'How comes it that our sacrifice was confounded, when we spread it on this (earth)? how is it that we know it not?'
3:2:3:33. They said, 'In spreading the sacrifice on her, we have excluded her from the sacrifice: it is she that has confounded our sacrifice,--let us have recourse to her!'
3:2:3:44. They said, 'When we were spreading the sacrifice on thee, how was it that it became confounded, that we know it not?'
3:2:3:55. She said, 'While spreading the sacrifice on me, ye have excluded me from the sacrifice: that was why I have confounded your sacrifice. Set ye aside a share for me; then ye shall see the sacrifice, then ye shall know it!'
3:2:3:66. 'So be it!' said the gods: 'Thine, forsooth, shall be the opening (prâyanîya 1), and thine the concluding (udayanîya) oblation!' This is why both the Prâyanîya and the Udayanîya (pap) belong
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to Aditi; for Aditi truly is this (earth). Thereupon they saw and spread the sacrifice.
3:2:3:77. Hence, when he prepares the Prâyanîya rice-pap for Aditi, he does so for the purpose of his seeing the sacrifice: 'After seeing the sacrifice I shall buy (the Soma) and spread that (sacrifice);' thus thinking he prepares the Prâyanîya pap for Aditi. The sacrificial food had been prepared, but offering had not yet been made to the deity (Aditi),--
3:2:3:88. When Pathyâ Svasti 1 appeared to them. They offered to her, for Pathyâ Svasti (the wishing of 'a happy journey') is speech, and the sacrifice also is speech. Thereby they perceived the sacrifice and spread it.
3:2:3:99. Thereupon Agni appeared to them: they offered to him; whereby they perceived that part of the sacrifice which was of Agni's nature. Now of Agni's nature is what is dry in the sacrifice: that they thereby perceived and spread.
3:2:3:1010. Then Soma appeared to them: they offered to him; whereby they perceived that part of the sacrifice which was of Soma's nature. Now of Soma's nature is what is moist in the sacrifice: that they thereby perceived and spread.
3:2:3:1111. Then Savitri appeared to them: they offered to him. Now Savitri represents cattle, and the sacrifice also means cattle: hence they thereby perceived and spread the sacrifice. Thereupon they offered to the deity (Aditi), for whom the sacrificial food had been prepared.
3:2:3:1212. It is to these same five deities, then, that he offers. For that sacrifice, when thrown into disorder,
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was in five parts; and by means of those five deities they recognised it.
3:2:3:1313. The seasons became confounded, the five: by means of those same five deities they recognised them.
3:2:3:1414. The regions became confounded, the five: by means of those same five deities they recognised them.
3:2:3:1515. Through Pathyâ Svasti they recognised the northern (upper) region: wherefore speech sounds higher here 1 among the Kuru-Pañkâlas; for she (Pathyâ Svasti) is in reality speech, and through her they recognised the northern region, and to her belongs the northern region.
3:2:3:1616. Through Agni they recognised the eastern region: wherefore they take out Agni from behind towards the east 2, and render homage to him; for through him they recognised the eastern region, and to him belongs the eastern region.
3:2:3:1717. Through Soma they recognised the southern region: hence, after the Soma has been bought, they drive it round on the south side; and hence they say that Soma is sacred to the Fathers; for through him they recognised the southern region, and to him belongs the southern region.
3:2:3:1818. Through Savitri they recognised the western region, for Savitri is yonder burning (sun): wherefore he goes towards the west, for through him they recognised the western region, and to him belongs the western region.
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3:2:3:1919. Through Aditi they recognised the upper region, for Aditi is this (earth): wherefore the plants and trees grow upwards on her; for through her they recognised the upper region, and to her belongs the upper region.
3:2:3:2020. The hospitable reception 1 (of King Soma) verily is the head of the sacrifice, and the opening and closing oblations are its arms. But the arms are on both sides of the head, and hence those two oblations, the Prâyanîya and Udayanîya, are made on both sides of (before and after) the reception.
3:2:3:2121. Now, they say that whatever is done at the Prâyanîya should be done at the Udayanîya 2, and the barhis (grass-covering of the altar), which is used at the Prâyanîya, is also used at the Udayanîya: he lays it aside, after removing it (from the altar). The pot (in which the rice-pap was cooked) he puts aside with the parched remains of dough, and (so he does) the pot-ladle after wiping it. And the priests who officiate during the Prâyanîya, officiate also at the Udayanîya. And because of this identical performance at the sacrifice the two arms are alike and of the same shape.
3:2:3:2222. But let him not do it in this way. Let him rather 3 (at the proper time) throw both the barhis and the pot-ladle after (the prastara, into the fire 4), and let him put the pot aside after rinsing it. The priests who officiate during the Prâyanîya, officiate also at the Udayanîya; but should they (in the
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mean time) have departed this life, others may officiate instead. It is because he offers to the same deities, and the same oblations, that the two arms are alike and of the same shape.
3:2:3:2323. To five deities he offers at the Prâyanîya, and to five at the Udayanîya: hence there are five fingers here and five there. This (Prâyanîya offering) ends with the Samyu. They perform no Patnîsamyâgas 1. For the arms are on the fore-part of the body, and the fore-part of the sacrifice he perfects by this (opening ceremony). This is why it ends with the Samyu, and why no Patnîsamyâgas are performed.
Footnotes
48:1 At IV, 5, 1, 2, the name prâyanîya is derived from pra-i, to go forth, because by means of this offering they, as it were, go forth to buy the Soma. Similarly, udayanîya is explained as the offering he performs after coming out (ud-i) from the bath. In Ait. Br. I, 7, on the other hand, the name prâyanîya is explained as that by means of which sacrificers go forward (pra-i) to the heavenly world. In the Soma sacrifice, the Prâyanîyâ and Udayanîyâ may be said to correspond to the Fore-offerings and After-offerings (prayâga and anuyâga) of the New and Full-moon Sacrifice; though, of course, the Fore- and After-offerings form part of the prâyanîyâ and udayanîyâ, as ishtis. But they are peculiar in this respect, that offering is made at both to the very same deities, and that the invitatory prayers (anuvâkyâ) of the prâyanîyeshti form the offering-prayers (yâgyâ) of the udayanîyeshti, and vice versâ. For these formulas, see Âsval. Srautas. IV, 3; Haug, Ait. Br. Transl. p. 16. The offering formula of the oblation to Aditi at the Prâyanîyâ (and invitatory formula at the Udayanîyâ), strange to say, is not a Rik-verse, but one from the Atharvan (VII, 6, 2).49:1 I.e. 'welfare on the road, or a happy journey,' a genius of well-being and prosperity.
50:1 Atra,? 'there.' In the St. Petersb. Dict. uttarâhi is here taken in the sense of 'in the north,' instead of 'higher.' See also part i, pref. p. xlii, note 1; Weber, Ind. Stud. I, p. 191.
50:2 That is, from the Gârhapatya to the Âhavanîya fire-place.
51:1 See III, 4, 1.
51:2 See p. 48, note 1. For the Udayanîya, see IV, 5, 1.
51:3 Or, perhaps, 'let him, if he chooses (kâmam) . . .;' see Kâty. VII, 5, 16-19; cf. also note on III, 2, 4, 14.
51:4 See I, 8, 3, 19; 9, 2, 29.
52:1 For the Samyuvâka, see I, 9, 1, 24; for the Patnîsamyâgas, I, 9, 2: 1 seq.
HIRANYAVATÎ-ÂHUTI, OR OFFERING WITH GOLD; AND HOMAGE TO THE SOMA-COW.
FOURTH BRÂHMANA.
3:2:4:11. Now Soma was in the sky, and the gods were here on earth. The gods desired,--'Would that Soma came to us: we might sacrifice with him, when come.' They created those two illusions, Suparnî and Kadrû. In the chapter on the hearths (dhishnya 2) it is set forth how that affair of Suparnî and Kadrû came to pass.3:2:4:22. Gâyatrî flew up to Soma for them. While she was carrying him off, the Gandharva Visvâvasu stole him from her. The gods were aware of this,--'Soma has indeed been removed from yonder (sky), but he comes not to us, for the Gandharvas have stolen him.'
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3:2:4:33. They said, 'The Gandharvas are fond of women: let us send Vâk (speech) to them, and she will return to us together with Soma.' They sent Vâk to them, and she returned to them together with Soma.
3:2:4:44. The Gandharvas came after her and said, 'Soma (shall be) yours, and Vâk ours 1!' 'So be it!' said the gods; 'but if she would rather come hither, do not ye carry her off by force: let us woo her!' They accordingly wooed her.
3:2:4:55. The Gandharvas recited the Vedas to her, saying, 'See how we know it, see how we know it 2!'
3:2:4:66. The gods then created the lute and sat playing and singing, saying, 'Thus we will sing to thee, thus we will amuse thee!' She turned to the gods; but, in truth, she turned to them vainly, since she turned away from those, engaged in praising and praying, to dance and song. Wherefore even to this day women are given to vain things: for it was on this wise that Vâk turned thereto, and other women do as she did. And hence it is to him who dances and sings that they most readily take a fancy 3.
3:2:4:77. Both Soma and Vâk were thus with the gods. Now, when he buys Soma he does so in order that he may sacrifice with him, when obtained, for his (own) obtainment (of heavenly bliss 4); for he who
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sacrifices with Soma that has not been bought, sacrifices with Soma that has not been (properly) obtained 1.
3:2:4:88. In the first place he pours the butter, which remains in the dhruvâ spoon, in four parts into the guhû; and having tied a piece of gold with a blade of the altar-grass 2, and laid it down (in the guhû), he offers (the butter), thinking, 'I will offer with pure milk;' for milk and gold are of the same origin, since both have sprung from Agni's seed 3.
3:2:4:99. He lays down the piece of gold, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 17), 'This (butter) is thy body, O shining (Agni)! this (gold) is thy light,'--for that gold is indeed light:--'unite therewith and obtain splendour!' When he says, 'Unite therewith,' he means to say, 'Mingle therewith;' and when he says, 'Obtain splendour,'--splendour meaning Soma,--he means to say, 'Obtain Soma.'
3:2:4:1010. And as the gods then sent her (Vâk) to Soma, so does he now send her to Soma; and the cow for which the Soma is bought being in reality Vâk, it is her he gratifies by this offering, thinking, 'With her, when gratified, I shall buy the Soma.'
3:2:4:1111. He offers, with the text, 'Thou art the singer of praises 4,'--for this (word 'gûh'), the 'singer of praises,' is one of her (Vâk's) names;--'upholden by the Mind,'--this speech of ours
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is indeed upheld by the mind, because the Mind goes before 1 Speech (and prompts her), 'Speak thus! say not this!' for, were it not for the Mind, Speech would indeed talk incoherently: for this reason he says, 'Upholden by the Mind.'
3:2:4:1212. 'Well-pleasing to Vishnu,' whereby he means to say, 'Well-pleasing to Soma whom we approach 2.' [He proceeds, Vâg. S. IV, 18], 'Inspired by thee of true inspiration,' whereby he means to say, 'Be thou of true inspiration! go thou to Soma for us!'--'May I obtain a support for my body, Svâhâ!' for he who reaches the end of the sacrifice, indeed obtains a support for his body: hence he thereby means to say, 'May I reach the end of the sacrifice!'
3:2:4:1313. Thereupon he takes out the piece of gold (from the spoon), whereby he bestows gold on men; but were he to offer (the butter) together with the gold, he would doubtless cast the gold away from men, and no gold would then be gained among men.
3:2:4:1414. He takes it out, with the text, Thou art pure, thou art shining, thou art immortal, thou art sacred to all the gods.' When, having offered the whole milk, he now says, 'Thou art pure . . . ,' it is indeed pure, and shining, and immortal, and sacred to all the gods. Having loosened the grass-blade, he throws it on the barhis, and ties a string round the gold 3.
3:2:4:1515. Having then taken butter a second time in
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four parts, he says, 'Sacrificer, hold on behind 1!' They open the (south and east) 2 doors of the hall (and walk out). On the right side (of the front door) approaches the Soma-cow 3: (by having) her thus put forward 4, he has sent her forth (to Soma); for the Soma-cow is in reality Vâk: it is her he has gratified by this offering, thinking, 'With her, when gratified, I will buy Soma.'
3:2:4:1616. Having gone up to her, he (the Adhvaryu) salutes her, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 19), 'Thou art thought, thou art the mind,'--for speech, doubtless, speaks in accordance with thought, with the mind 5;--'Thou art intelligence, thou art the Dakshinâ 6,'--for it is by means of their respective intelligence 7 that people seek to make their living, either by reciting (the Veda), or by readiness of speech 8, or by songs: therefore he says, 'Thou art intelligence;' and 'Dakshinâ' (gift to the priests) he calls her, because she is indeed the Dakshinâ;--
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[paragraph continues] 'Thou art supreme, thou art worthy of worship,'--for she is indeed supreme and worthy of worship;--'Thou art Aditi, the double-headed,'--inasmuch as, through her (Vâk, speech), he speaks the right thing wrongly, and puts last what comes first, and first what comes last, therefore she is double-headed: that is why he says, 'Thou art Aditi, the double-headed 1.'
3:2:4:1717. 'Be thou for us successful (in going) forward and successful (in coming) back!' when he says, 'Be thou for us successful (in going) forward,' he means to say, 'Go to (fetch) Soma for us!' and when he says, 'Be thou successful (in coming) back,' he means to say, 'Come back to us with Soma!' This is why he says, 'Be thou for us successful (in going) forward and successful (in coming) back!'
3:2:4:1818. 'May Mitra bind thee by the foot!' For that rope, doubtless, is of Varuna; and were she (the cow) tied with a rope, she would be (under the power) of Varuna. And, on the other hand, were she not tied at all, she would be uncontrolled. Now that which is of Mitra is not of Varuna; and as (a cow), if tied with a rope, is under control, so it is in the case of this one when he says, 'May Mitra bind thee by the foot!'
3:2:4:1919. 'May Pûshan guard thy paths!' Now Pûshan is this Earth, and for whomsoever she is the guardian of his paths 2, he stumbles not at any time: therefore he says, 'May Pûshan guard thy paths!'
3:2:4:2020. 'For Indra as the supreme guide;'--whereby he says, 'May she be well-guarded!' [He
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proceeds, Vâg. S. IV, 20], 'May thy mother grant thee permission, thy father, thine own brother, thy fellow in the herd!' whereby he says, 'Go thou for us to fetch Soma, with the permission of all thy kin.'--'O goddess, go to the god,'--for it is indeed as a goddess, as Vâk, that she goes to a god, to Soma: therefore he says, 'O goddess, go to the god;'--'To Soma for the sake of Indra!' Indra truly is the deity of the sacrifice: therefore he says, 'To Soma for the sake of Indra.' 'May Rudra guide thee back!' this he says for her safety, for cattle cannot pass beyond Rudra 1. 'Hail to thee! come back, with Soma for thy companion!' whereby he says, 'Hail to thee, come back to us together with Soma!'
3:2:4:2121. Even as, at that time, the gods sent her to Soma, and she returned to them together with Soma, so does he now send her to Soma, and she returns to him together with Soma.
3:2:4:2222. And as the gods then wooed her with the Gandharvas, and she turned to the gods, so does the sacrificer now woo her, and she turns to the sacrificer. They lead her (the Soma-cow) northwards round (to the place where the Soma is to be sold); for the north is the quarter of men, and hence it is that of the sacrificer for this reason they lead her northwards round.
Footnotes
52:2 See III, 6, 2, 2 seq.53:1 'Yours (shall be) Soma, and ours Vâk, wherewith you bought (Soma) from us.' Kânva text.
53:2 The G. proclaimed the sacrifice and Veda to her, saying, 'Thus we know the sacrifice, thus we know (the Veda); mighty are we.' Kânva text.
53:3 'And hence it is to him who is given to vain things, who dances and sings, that women are most attached.' Kânva text.
53:4 Literally, 'that he may sacrifice with the arrived (guest) for his own arrival (? in the world of the gods).'
54:1 Lit. 'with Soma that has not come' (to him as a guest), so that the guest-offering (âtithya, III, 4, 1) could not take place.
54:2 Because of this piece of gold, the offering here described is called Hiranyavatî-âhuti, or 'offering with gold.'
54:3 See II, 1, 1, 5; 3, 1, 15.
54:4 The author seems to take gûh here as nom. of gur = gur (gri, gir), cf. gûrni. Some of the native dictionaries give gû as one of the names of Sarasvatî. The St. Petersb. Dict. takes it here in the sense of 'drängend, treibend (pressing forward).'
55:1 Mano hîdam purastâd vâkas karati, Kânva text.
55:2 To whom we send you, K.
55:3 The concluding ceremonies of the Prâyanîya (see III, 2, 3, 23) are now performed; the offering of the Barhis being optional, as the barhis may be used again for the Udayanîya (ib. 22). Katy VII, 6, 11 comm.
56:1 According to the Kânvas, the Adhvaryu's formula is,--Ihi, Yagamâna, 'Go, Sacrificer!' In Kâty. VII, 6, 1 2 only the above formula is mentioned.
56:2 The eastern door is for the Adhvaryu (and Sacrificer) and the southern for the Pratiprasthâtri.
56:3 Soma-krayanî, 'the cow for which the Soma-is bought.'
56:4 Prahitam seems to be taken here in the double sense of 'put forward or in front' (from pra-dhâ) and despatched (from pra-hi).
56:5 'In accordance with the thought of the mind,' manaso vai kittam anu vâg vadati, K.
56:6 The omission of 'asi' in the Brâhmana is curious; the Kânva text has correctly 'dakshinâsi.'
56:7 Dhiyâ-dhiyâ, or rather 'by means of this their respective genius (in regard to speech).' Dhî seems to mean 'thought expressed by speech,' hence often 'prayer, hymn;' cf. III, 5, 3, 11.
56:8 Prakâmodya, rather either 'fondness for talk' or 'effusive speech.' It seems to refer to story-tellers (? amusing speech).
57:1 In Taitt. S. VI, 1, 7, 5, this epithet is explained by the fact that both the prâyanîya and the udayanîya belong to Aditi.
57:2 'And her he thereby makes the guardian on his path,' imâm evâsmâ etad adhvani goptâram karoti, K.
58:1 Rudra rules over these (cows); the cattle do not pass beyond (nâtiyanti) him; and thus she does not pass beyond him: therefore he says, 'May Rudra turn thee back!' Kânva text.
THIRD ADHYÂYA. FIRST BRÂHMANA.
3:3:1:11. He follows her, stepping into seven foot-prints of hers 2; he thereby takes possession of her: thatp. 59
is why he steps into seven of her foot-prints. For when the metres were produced from Vâk (speech), the one consisting of seven feet, the Sakvarî, was the last (highest) of them. It is that (metre) he now draws down towards himself from above: this is why he steps into seven of her foot-prints.
3:3:1:22. It is as Vâk 1 that he steps into them; (with the text, Vâg. S. IV, 21), 'Thou art a Vasvî, thou art Aditi, thou art an Âdityâ, thou art a Rudrâ, thou art Kandrâ; for she is indeed a Vasvî and Aditi, an Âdityâ, a Rudrâ, Kandrâ. 'May Brihaspati make thee rest in happiness!'--Brihaspati being the Brahman, he thereby means to say, 'May Brihaspati lead thee hither by means of the good (work) 2!' 'Rudra, together with the Vasus, is well-pleased with thee:' this he says to secure her (the cow's) safety, for cattle cannot pass beyond Rudra.
3:3:1:33. They now sit down 3 round the seventh footprint; and having laid down the piece of gold in the foot-print, he offers. For offering is made on nothing but fire, and the gold has sprung from Agni's seed: and thus that offering of his is indeed made over
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the fire. And the clarified butter being a thunderbolt, he now delivers her (the cow) by means of that thunderbolt, the butter; and by delivering her he makes her his own.
3:3:1:44. He (the Adhvaryu) offers (with the text, Vâg. S. IV, 22), 'On Aditi's head I pour thee;' for Aditi being this earth, it is on the head of the latter that he offers;--'on the worshipping-ground of the earth'--for on the worshipping-ground of the earth he indeed offers;--'Thou art Idâ's footprint, filled with butter, Hail!' for Idâ being the cow 1, he indeed offers on the cow's foot-print; and 'filled with butter, Hail!' he says, because it indeed becomes filled with butter when offered upon.
3:3:1:55. Thereupon he takes the wooden sword and draws lines round (the foot-print): the wooden sword being a thunderbolt, it is with the thunderbolt that he draws round it. Thrice he draws round it, so that he encompasses it on all sides with a threefold thunderbolt, for no one to trespass upon it.
3:3:1:66. He draws the lines (with the texts), 'Rejoice in us!' whereby he means to say, 'Rejoice in the sacrificer!' Having then, by tracing, cut out the foot-print all round 2, he throws it into the pan, with, 'In us is thy kinship,' whereby he means to say, 'In the sacrificer is thy kinship.'
3:3:1:77. He then pours some water on (the place whence the earth has been removed). Wherever in digging they hurt her (the earth) and knock off anything
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from her,--water being (a means of) soothing,--that he now soothes by means of water, that he heals by means of water: that is why he pours water thereon.
3:3:1:88. He then hands (the dust of) the foot-print to the sacrificer, with, 'In thee is wealth,'--wealth meaning cattle, he thereby means to say, 'in thee is cattle.' The sacrificer receives it with, 'With me 1 is wealth,'--wealth meaning cattle, he thereby means to say, 'with me is cattle.'
3:3:1:99. The Adhvaryu then touches himself (near the heart), with, 'May we not be deprived of prosperity!' Thus the Adhvaryu does not exclude himself from (the possession of) cattle.
3:3:1:1010. Thereupon they hand (the dust of) the footprint over to the (sacrificer's) wife. The house being the wife's resting-place, he thereby establishes her in that safe resting-place, the house: for this reason he hands over the (earth of the) foot-print to the wife.
3:3:1:1111. The Neshtri makes her say, 'Thine, thine 2 is wealth;' whereupon he causes her to be looked at by the Soma-cow. Now, Soma is a male, and the wife is a female, and that Soma-cow becomes here (exchanged for) Soma: a productive union is thus effected;--this is why he causes her to be looked at by the Soma-cow.
3:3:1:1212. He causes her to be looked at (while she pronounces the text, Vâg. S. IV, 23), 'I have seen eye to eye with the divine intelligence, with the far-seeing Dakshinâ: take
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not my life from me, neither will I take thine; may I obtain a hero 1 in thy sight!' She thereby asks a blessing: a hero meaning a son, she thereby means to say, 'May I obtain a son in thy sight!'
3:3:1:1313. One that is brown, with red-brown eyes, is (fit to be) a Soma-cow. For when Indra and Vishnu divided a thousand (cows) into three parts, there was one left 2, and her they caused to propagate herself in three kinds; and hence, even now, if any one were to divide a thousand by three, one would remain over.
3:3:1:1414. The brown one, with red-brown eyes, is the Soma-cow; and that ruddy one is the Vritra-killer's (India's) own, whom the king here chooses for himself 3 after winning the battle; and the ruddy one with reddish-white eyes 4 is the Fathers' own whom they slay here for the Fathers.
3:3:1:1515. Let, then, the brown one, with red-brown eyes, be the Soma-cow. And if he be unable to obtain a brown one with red-brown eyes, let it be a dark-red 5 one. And if he be unable to obtain a dark-red one, let it be a ruddy one, one of the
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[paragraph continues] Vritra-killer's own. But let him nowise turn his fancy upon a ruddy one with reddish-white eyes.
3:3:1:1616. Let it be one that is not impregnated. For that Soma-cow is in reality Vâk, and this Vâk (speech) is of unimpaired vigour; and of unimpaired vigour is one not (yet) impregnated: let it therefore be one not impregnated. Let it be one that is neither tailless, nor hornless, nor one-eyed, nor ear-less 1, nor specially marked, nor seven-hoofed 2;--for such a one is uniform, and uniform is this speech.
Footnotes
58:2 Viz. into seven foot-prints of her right fore-foot. According to p. 59 Taitt. S. VI, 1, 8, 1 he steps into six foot-prints and offers on the seventh. According to Kâty. VII, 6, 17 they pass (or overstep, atikram) six foot-prints and sit down round the seventh.59:1 Literally, 'by a form (rûpena) of Vâk (speech),' viz. the text which is pronounced.
59:2 This can scarcely be the correct reading. The Kânva text has the more acceptable reading, 'Brihaspati being the Brahman, and felicity the sacrifice, he thereby says, "May the Brahman make thee rest (or delight, ramayatu) in the good (work), the sacrifice!"'
59:3 According to the comm. on Kâty. VII, 6, 17 the Brahman and the Sacrificer are to sit on the south, the Adhvaryu on the west, and the Neshtri on the north side of the foot-print.
60:1 See the legend, part i, p. 216 seq.; especially I, 8, 1, 7; 20; and p. 226, note 3.
60:2 According to the comm. on Kâty. VII, 6, 20, it would rather seem that he scratches with the sphya all over the foot-print and then takes out the loose dust (pâmsûn) and throws it into the pan.
61:1 The Kânva text (Samhitâ and Br.) has asme instead of me.
61:2 See St. Petersb. Dict. s. v. totas. The Kânva text explains it similarly: 'tvayi tvayi pasavah.' The Taitt. S. VI, 1, 8, 5 has 'Tote râyah'--"Thine (?) is wealth" thus for the wife, for she, the wife, is one half of himself.'
62:1 The Kânva text reads 'may I obtain heroes.'
62:2 This arithmetical feat of Indra and Vishnu is apparently already referred to in Rig-veda VI, 69, 8, though nothing is said there as to the difficulty regarding the odd cow. The threefold division seems to refer to Vishnu's three steps, by which (as the sun) he measures the sky; or to the division of the universe into the three worlds (?). See also Ait. Br. VI, 15.
62:3 Or, drives forth (from the enemy's stables). The red cows are compared with the red clouds, which appear after the thunderstorm (i.e. after king Indra's battle with Vritra).
62:4 Sâyana takes 'syetâkshî' as 'black-eyed (krishnalokanâ).'
62:5 'Arunâ;' the Kânva text adds, 'for that one nearest to it (the brown one, or Soma-cow proper) in appearance.'
63:1 'Akarnâ;' the Kânva text has 'anupârshtakarnâ (one whose ears are not perforated?),' and instead of 'alakshitâ (not specially marked),' it reads 'asronâ (aslonâ), not lame.'
63:2 That is, with one hoof undivided (seven-toed).
THE BUYING OF SOMA.
SECOND BRÂHMANA.
3:3:2:11. Having thrown the (earth of the) foot-print (into the pan), he (the Adhvaryu) washes his hands. Now as to why he washes his hands;--clarified butter being a thunderbolt, and the Soma being seed, he washes his hands lest 3 he should injure the seed, Soma, with the thunderbolt, the ghee.3:3:2:22. Thereupon he ties the piece of gold to this (finger 4). Now, twofold indeed is this (universe),--there is no third,--the truth and the untruth: the gods are the truth and men are the untruth. And gold having sprung from Agni's seed, he ties the gold to this (finger), in order that he may touch the twigs (of the Soma) with the truth, that he may handle the Soma by means of the truth.
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3:3:2:33. He then orders (the sacrificer's men), 'Bring thou the Soma-cloth! bring thou the Soma-wrapper! bring thou the head-band!' Let some shining (cloth) be the Soma-cloth; for this is to be his (king Soma's 1) garment, and shining indeed is his garment: and whosoever serves him with a shining (garment), he truly shines. But he who says, '(Bring) anything whatsoever,' he will indeed be anything whatsoever: let the Soma-cloth, therefore, be some splendid (cloth), and the Soma-wrapper one of any kind.
3:3:2:44. If he can get a head-band, let there be a headband; but if he cannot get a head-band, let him cut off from the Soma-wrapper a piece two or three fingers long, to serve as the head-band. Either the Adhvaryu or the Sacrificer takes the Soma-cloth, and some one or other the Soma-wrapper.
3:3:2:55. Now, in the first place, they pick the king (Soma). A pitcher of water is placed close to him, and a Brâhman sits beside him 2. Thither they (the priests and sacrificer) now proceed eastward.
3:3:2:66. While they go there, he (the Adhvaryu) makes
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[paragraph continues] (the sacrificer) say the text (Vâg. S. IV, 24), 'Say thou, for me, unto Soma, "This is thy gâyatrî-part (bhâga) 1!" Say thou, for me, unto Soma, "This is thy trishtubh-part!" Say thou, for me, unto Soma, "This is thy gayatî-part!" Say thou, for me, unto Soma, "Obtain thou the supreme sovereignty of the names of metres!"' Now, when he (king Soma) is bought, he is bought for one (destination 2)--for the sovereignty of the metres, for the supreme sovereignty of the metres; and when they press him, they slay him: hereby now he says to him, 'It is for the sovereignty of the metres, for the supreme sovereignty of the metres that I buy thee, not for slaying thee.' Having gone there, he sits down (behind the Soma) with his face towards the east.
3:3:2:77. He touches (the Soma-plants), with, 'Ours thou art,'--thereby he (Soma), now that he has come (as a guest), becomes as it were one of his (the sacrificer's) own (people): for this reason he says, 'Ours thou art;'--'Thy pure (juice) is meet for the draught,' for he will indeed take therefrom the 'pure draught 3.' 'Let the pickers pick thee!' this he says for the sake of completeness.
3:3:2:88. Now some, on noticing any straw or (piece of) wood (among the Soma-plants), throw it away. But let him not do this; for--the Soma being the nobility and the other plants the common people, and the
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people being the nobleman's food--it would be just as if one were to take hold of and pull out some (food) he has put in his mouth, and throw it away. Hence let him merely touch it, with, 'Let the pickers pick thee!' Those pickers of his do indeed pick it.
3:3:2:99. He then spreads the cloth (over the ox-hide), either twofold or fourfold, with the fringe towards the east or north. Thereon he metes out the king (Soma); and because he metes out the king, therefore there is a measure,--both the measure among men and whatever other measure there is.
3:3:2:1010. He metes out, with a verse to Savitri; for Savitri is the impeller of the gods, and so that (Soma) becomes for him impelled by Savitri to the purchase.
3:3:2:1111. He metes out with an atikhandas-verse; for that one, viz. the atikhandas 1, embraces all metres; and so that (Soma) is meted out for him by means of all the metres: therefore he metes out with an atikhandas-verse.
3:3:2:1212. He metes out, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 25), 'Unto that divine Savitri within the two bowls 2, the sage, I sing praises, to him of true
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impulse, the bestower of treasures, the wise and thoughtful friend;--he at whose impulse the resplendent light shone high, the golden-handed sage hath measured the ether with his form.'
3:3:2:1313. Therewith 1 he metes out (the Soma) with all (five fingers), therewith with four, therewith with three, therewith with two, therewith with one; therewith with one, therewith with two, therewith with three, therewith with four, therewith with all (fingers); having laid (the two hands) together 2 he throws (Soma) thereon with the joined open hands.
3:3:2:1414. He metes out while bending up and bending down (the fingers). The reason why he metes out in bending (the fingers) up and down is that he thereby makes those fingers of separate existence, and therefore they are born separate (from each other); and as to his meting out with all (fingers) together, these (fingers) are to be born, as it were, united. This is why he metes out in bending (the fingers) up and down.
3:3:2:1515. And, again, as to his meting out in bending them up and down,--he thereby renders them of varied power, and hence these (fingers) are of varied
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power. That is why he metes out in bending them up and down.
3:3:2:1616. And, again, as to his meting out in bending them up and down,--he thereby harnesses a virâg 1 (to ply) thitherwards and hitherwards: going thither-wards, namely, it conveys the sacrifice to the gods, and coming hitherwards it assists men. This is why he metes out in bending (the fingers) up and down.
3:3:2:1717. And as to his meting out ten times,--the virâg is of ten syllables, and the Soma is of virâg nature: for this reason he metes out ten times.
3:3:2:1818. Having gathered up the ends of the Soma-cloth, he (the Adhvaryu) ties them together by means of the head-band, with, 'For descendants (I tie) thee;'--for it is indeed for (the purpose of obtaining) descendants that he buys it (Soma): what (part of man) here is, as it were, compressed between the head and the shoulders, that he thereby makes it to be for him (the sacrificer) 2.
3:3:2:1919. He then makes a finger-hole in the middle (of the knot), with the text, 'Let the descendants breathe after thee!' For, in compressing (the cloth), he, as it were, strangles him (Soma and the sacrificer) and renders him breathless; hereby now he emits his breath from inside, and after him breathing the descendants also breathe: for this reason he says, 'Let the descendants breathe after thee.' Thereupon he hands him (Soma) to the Soma-seller. Now, then, of the bargain.
Footnotes
63:3 The construction in the original is as usual in the oratio directa.63:4 Viz. to the nameless (or ring) finger. Kâty. VII, 6, 27.
64:1 I do not think 'asya' could refer to the sacrificer, in opposition to 'etasya' (Soma); nor can the latter be construed with the following relative clause 'sa yo . . .' The Kânva text reads, Tad yad eva sobhanatamam tat somopanahanam syâd, vâso by asyaitad bhavati; sa yo haitak khobhanatamam kurute, sobhate haiva sah, &c.
64:2 The Pratiprasthâtri, in the first place, takes the Soma-plants (from the seller) and puts them on an ox-hide, dyed red and spread on the ground at the place (in the east of the hall) where the 'sounding-holes' will be dug (see III, 5, 4, 1 seq.). The seller of the Soma, who is to be either of the Kutsa tribe or a Sûdra, then picks the Soma, breaking the plants at the joints. A jar filled with water is placed in front of the Soma, and a Brâhman (or the assistant of the Brahman, viz. the Brâhmanâkhamsin) sits down by the (right or south) side of the Soma. Kâty. VII, 6, 1-6.
65:1 The three parts refer to the three Savanas, at which the respective metres are used. See IV, 3, 2, 7 seq.
65:2 Bhâgam appears to have been lost here, since a play on that word seems to be intended, which might perhaps be reproduced by lot.' It is given both at the Kânva text and at III, 4, 1, 7.
65:3 For the Sukra-graha, see IV, 2, 1, 1 seq.
66:1 Atikhandas ('over-metre') is the generic name for the metres which number more than forty-eight syllables: hence it is said to include all the other metres which consist of fewer syllables. See VIII, 6, 2, 23, where the term is explained by atti-khandâh (metre-eater).'
66:2 Or, that divine invigorator of the two 'oni.' According to the St. Petersb. Dict., 'oni' would seem to refer to two parts of the Soma-press. Professor Ludwig takes it to mean 'press-arm' and the 'arm' generally, which suits very well some of the passages in which the word occurs. Here, in the loc. or gen. case, it can scarcely mean 'arms' (though Savitri's two arms are often referred to as dispelling the darkness and keeping asunder the spaces, cf. Rig-veda II, 38, 2; IV, 53, 3; 4; VI, 75, 1; 5; VII, 45, 2), but apparently refers to 'heaven and earth' being thus equivalent to p. 67 the two kamû (originally the two receptacles or bowls into which the pressed Soma flows) in Rig-veda III, 55, 20.
67:1 Viz. with the same formula, repeating it each time. The meting out of the Soma is done with the fingers of the right hand, first with all five, and then successively turning in one (beginning with the thumb), till the little finger remains with which he takes Soma twice, whereupon he again successively releases the fingers.
67:2 There is some doubt as to whether this refers to the preceding 'with all (viz. ten fingers);' or whether he is to take for the tenth time some Soma with the five fingers of the right hand, and then once more (without muttering the text) with the joined hands. See Kâty. VII, 7, 18, 29. The text seems to be purposely vague.
68:1 The virâg (the shining' or 'ruling' metre) consists of (generally three or four) pâdas of ten syllables each: hence it is here connected with the ten metings out of Soma.
68:2 The Soma representing offspring, he gives the bundle a shape resembling the human body.
THIRD BRÂHMANA.
3:3:3:11. He bargains for the king (Soma); and because he bargains for the king, therefore any and everything is vendible here. He says, 'Soma-seller, is thy king Soma for sale?'--'He is for sale,' says the Soma-seller.--'I will buy him of thee!'--'Buy him!' says the Soma-seller.--'I will buy him of thee for one-sixteenth (of the cow).'--'King Soma, surely, is worth more than that!' says the Soma-seller.--'Yea, King Soma is worth more than that; but great, surely, is the greatness of the cow,' says the Adhvaryu.3:3:3:22. 'From the cow (comes) fresh milk, from her boiled milk, from her cream, from her sour curds, from her sour cream, from her curdled milk, from her butter, from her ghee, from her clotted curds, from her whey:
3:3:3:33. 'I will buy him of thee for one hoof 1!'--'King Soma, surely, is worth more than that!' says the Soma-seller.--'Yea, King Soma is worth more than that, but great, surely, is the greatness of the cow,' replies the Adhvaryu; and, having (each time) enumerated the same ten virtues, he says, 'I will buy him of thee for one foot,'--'for half (the cow),'--'for the cow!'--'King Soma has been bought!' says the Soma-seller, 'name the kinds!'
3:3:3:44. He (the Adhvaryu) says, 'Gold is thine, a cloth is thine, a goat is thine, a milch cow is thine, a pair of kine is thine, three other (cows) are thine!' And because they first bargain and afterwards come to terms, therefore about any and everything that is for sale here, people first bargain and afterwards
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come to terms. And the reason why only the Adhvaryu enumerates the virtues of the cow, and not the Soma-seller those of the Soma, is that Soma is already glorified, since Soma is a god. And the Adhvaryu thereby glorifies the cow, thinking, 'Seeing her virtues he shall buy her!' This is why only the Adhvaryu enumerates the virtues of the cow, and not the Soma-seller those of the Soma.
3:3:3:55. And as to his bargaining five times:--the sacrifice being of equal measure with the year, and there being five seasons in the year, he thus obtains it (the sacrifice, Soma) in five (divisions), and therefore he bargains five times.
3:3:3:66. He then makes (the sacrificer) say on the gold 1 (Vâg. S. IV, 26), 'Thee, the pure, I buy with the pure,' for he indeed buys the pure with the pure, when (he buys) Soma with gold;--'the brilliant with the brilliant,' for he indeed buys the brilliant with the brilliant, when (he buys) Soma with gold;--'the immortal with the immortal,' for he indeed buys the immortal with the immortal, when (he buys) Soma with gold.
3:3:3:77. He then tempts 2 the Soma-seller (with the gold): 'In compensation 3 for thy cow,' whereby he means to say, 'With the sacrificer (be) thy cow!'
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[paragraph continues] He then draws it (the gold) back towards the sacrificer, and throws it down, with, 'Ours be thy gold!' whereby he (the sacrificer) takes unto himself the vital energy, and the Soma-seller gets only the body. Thereupon the Soma-seller takes it 1.
3:3:3:88. He then makes him (the sacrificer) say on the she-goat, which stands facing the west, 'Thou art the bodily form of fervour,'--that she-goat was indeed produced as the bodily form of fervour, of Pragâpati; hence he says, 'Thou art the bodily form of fervour,'--'Pragâpati's kind,' because she brings forth three times in the year, therefore she is Pragâpati's kind. 'Thou art bought with the most excellent animal,' because she brings forth three times in the year, she is the most excellent of animals. 'May I increase with a thousandfold increase!' Thereby he implores a blessing: a thousand meaning abundance, he thereby means to say, 'May I obtain abundance!'
3:3:3:99. With that (text) he gives the she-goat, with that he takes the king 2; for agâ (goat) doubtless
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means the same as âgâ (driving thither 1), since it is through her (the she-goat) that he finally drives him (Soma) thither. It is thus in a mystic sense that they call her 'agâ.'
3:3:3:1010. He takes the king, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 27), 'Come to us, a friend, bestowing good friends!' whereby he means to say, 'Come to us, as a kind and propitious one!' Having pushed back the garment on the sacrificer's right thigh, he lays him (Soma) down thereon, with the text, 'Seat thee on Indra's right thigh,'--for he, the sacrificer, is at present Indra 2: therefore he says, 'Seat thee on Indra's right thigh;'--'willing on the willing,' whereby he means to say, 'beloved on the beloved one;'--'tender on the tender!' whereby he means to say, 'propitious on the propitious one.'
3:3:3:1111. Thereupon he (the sacrificer) assigns (to the Gandharvas) the objects constituting the purchase price for the Soma, with the text, 'O Svâna, Bhrâga, Aṅghâri, Bambhâri, Hasta, Suhasta, Krisânu! these are your wages for Soma: keep them! may they not fail you!' Now those (Gandharvas) are instead of the hearth-mounds--these being the names of the hearth-mounds--it is these very (names) that he thereby has assigned to them 3.
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3:3:3:1212. He now uncovers (his head 1); for he who is consecrated becomes an embryo, and embryos are enveloped both in the amnion and the outer membrane: him (the sacrificer or sacrifice) he has now brought forth, and therefore he uncovers himself. Now it is he (Soma 2) that becomes an embryo, and therefore he is enveloped, since embryos are, as it were, enveloped both in the amnion and the outer membrane.
3:3:3:1313. He then makes (the sacrificer) say the text (Vâg. S. IV, 28), 'Keep me, O Agni, from evil ways! let me share in the right ways.' Now he (Soma) approaches him while he is seated, and when he has come, he rises: thereby he does wrong and breaks the vow. This, then, is his expiation of that (transgression), and thus no wrong is thereby done, and he breaks not the vow: therefore he says, 'Keep me, O Agni, from evil ways! let me share in the right ways!'
3:3:3:1414. Having then taken the king, he rises, with the text, 'With new life, with good life, am I risen after the immortals;' for he who rises after the bought Soma, rises indeed after the immortal: therefore he says,' With new life, with good life, am I risen after the immortals.'
3:3:3:1515. Thereupon he takes the king and goes towards the car, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 29), 'We have
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entered upon the path that leadeth to wellbeing, free from danger; whereon he escheweth all haters, and meeteth with good 1.'
3:3:3:1616. Now, once on a time, the gods, while performing sacrifice, were afraid of an attack from the Asura-Rakshas. They perceived that prayer for a safe journey; and having warded off the evil spirits by means of that prayer, they attained wellbeing in the safe and foeless shelter of that prayer. And so does he now ward off the evil spirits by means of that prayer, and attain wellbeing in the safe and foeless shelter of that prayer. For this reason he says, 'We have entered upon the path that leadeth to well-being, free from danger; whereon he escheweth all haters and meeteth with good.'
3:3:3:1717. They carry him thus 2, and (afterwards) drive him about on the cart; whereby they exalt him: for this reason they carry the seed on their head (to the field), and bring in (the corn) on the cart.
3:3:3:1818. Now the reason why he buys (the Soma) near water 3 is that--water meaning sap--he thereby buys Soma sapful; and as to there being gold, he thereby buys him lustrous; and as to there being a cloth, he thereby buys him with his skin; and as to there being a she-goat, he thereby buys him fervid; and as to there being a milch cow, he thereby buys him with the milk to be mixed with him; and as to there being a pair (of kine), he thereby buys him with a mate.--He should buy him with ten (objects), and
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not with other than ten, for the virâg consists of ten syllables, and Soma is of virâg nature: therefore he should buy him with ten (objects) and not with other than ten.
Footnotes
69:1 That is, for one-eighth of a cow, each foot consisting of two hoofs (or toes, sapha).70:1 That is, according to Kâty. VII, 8, 5, in making him touch the gold. The Kânva text has, 'Thereupon he buys him (Soma) with gold.'
70:2 Or, according to the commentaries, 'he frightens the Soma-seller (by threatening to take back the money).'
70:3 ? Sagme (? compact), explained by the commentators as meaning the sacrificer. Perhaps it may mean, 'one of the parties to an agreement,' and hence here the sacrificer as the bargainee. The Kânva text reads, He then takes it back again (punar âdatte) with 'Sagme to goh,' and throws it down with 'Ours thy gold.'
71:1 According to some authorities, the gold is again taken away forcibly from the Soma-seller by the Adhvaryu, after the sacrificer has uncovered his head (paragraph a 2), and the seller is driven away by blows with a speckled cane. Kâty. VII, 8, 27. According to Âpastamba (ib.), he buys off the Soma-cow with another cow, and then dismisses her to the cow-pen; and if the Soma-seller objects, he is to be beaten with a speckled cane. The Mânava-sûtra merely says, that they are to give the Soma-seller something for compensation. The whole transaction was evidently a feigned purchase, symbolising the acquisition of the Soma by the gods from the Gandharvas. The real bargain was probably concluded before the sacrificial performance. See also Haug, Ait. Br. Transl. p. 59, note 2.
71:2 While making over the she-goat to the Soma-seller with his left hand, he receives the Soma with the right.
72:1 Sâyana takes â-ag in the sense of 'to go to, to come' (âgâ, the corner); because the sacrificer through her comes to Soma.
72:2 See part i, introduction, p. xix, note 4.
72:3 'For those same Gandharvas, the overseers of the Guardians of Soma, they are (meant) in lieu of those (? hearth-mounds), for those are their names: it is to them that he thereby assigns those (objects constituting the purchase-price), and thus he becomes debtless towards them.' Kânva text. See also part i, p. 183, note 2.
73:1 See III, 2, 1, 16. His wife does the same.
73:2 According to a former passage (III, 1, 3, 28), the sacrificer is supposed to remain in the embryonic state till the pressing of the Soma. The Kânva recension reads, 'Sa etam yagñam agîganat sa esha garbho bhavaty â sutyâyâh;' where 'agîganat' seems to mean 'he has begotten.' I am not quite certain whether Soma himself is really implied. See III, 3, 4, 6.
74:1 Compare the slightly different verse, Rig-veda VI, 51, 16.
74:2 The sacrificer carries the bundle of Soma on his hand resting on his head.
74:3 Viz. the vessel of water mentioned III, 1, 2, 2.
PROCESSION AND ENTRANCE OF KING SOMA.
FOURTH BRÂHMANA.
3:3:4:11. In the enclosed space (of the cart) 1 he (the Adhvaryu) lays down the black deer-skin, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 30), 'Thou art Aditi's skin;' its significance is the same (as before) 2. Thereon he places him (Soma), with, 'Seat thee on Aditi's seat!' for Aditi being this (earth), and she being indeed a safe resting-place, he thereby places him on that safe resting-place: therefore he says, 'Seat thee on Aditi's seat!'3:3:4:22. He then makes (the sacrificer) say, after touching (the Soma), 'The bull hath propped the sky, the welkin 3.' For, when the gods were spreading the sacrifice, they were afraid of an attack on the part of the Asura-Rakshas. Now by what he says, 'The bull hath propped the sky, the welkin,'
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thereby they rendered it (the sacrifice or Soma) superior to the deadly shaft 1.
3:3:4:33. 'He hath measured the breadth of the earth;'--thus he gains through him (Soma) these worlds, for there is no slayer, no deadly shaft for him by whom these worlds have been gained: therefore he says, 'He hath measured the breadth of the earth.'
3:3:4:44. 'As all-ruler hath he taken his seat over all things existing (bhuvana);'--thus he gains through him this All, for there is no slayer, no deadly shaft for him by whom this All has been gained: therefore he says, 'As all-ruler hath he taken his seat over all things existing.'
3:3:4:55. 'Verily, all these are Varuna's ordinances;'--thereby he makes here everything whatsoever obedient to him, and every one that is refractory: therefore he says, 'Verily, all these are Varuna's ordinances.'
3:3:4:66. Thereupon he wraps (the Soma) up in the Soma-wrapper, lest the evil spirits should touch him. For this one doubtless is an embryo, and hidden (tiras), as it were, are embryos, and hidden also is that (which is) wrapped up;--hidden, as it were, are the gods to men, and hidden is that which is wrapped up: therefore he wraps him up.
3:3:4:77. He wraps him up, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 31; Rig-veda V, 85, 2), 'Over the woods he hath stretched the welkin,' for over the woods, over the tops of the trees, that welkin (or air) is indeed stretched;--'strength (hath he laid) into the coursers, milk into the kine,'--strength means
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manliness and the coursers are the men: he thereby bestows manliness upon men; and 'milk into the kine' he says, because this milk is indeed contained in the kine;--'Into the hearts Varuna (hath laid) wisdom, into the homesteads 1 fire;' for into the hearts that wisdom, the swiftness of thought, has indeed entered; and 'into the homesteads fire' he says, because that fire is in the homesteads, with the people;--'Into the heaven hath he placed the Sun, and Soma upon the rock;' for that sun is indeed placed in the heaven; and 'Soma on the rock' he says, because Soma is in the mountains. This is why he says, 'In the heaven hath he placed the Sun, and Soma upon the rock.'
3:3:4:88. If there are two deer-skins 2, he then puts up the other by way of a flag 3;--and if there is only one, he cuts off the neck of the deer-skin and puts it up by way of a flag;--with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 32), 'Mount thou the eye of Sûrya, the eye-ball of Agni, where thou fliest along with the dappled (horses), shining through the wise (Sûrya).' He thereby places Sûrya (the sun) in front, thinking, 'May Sûrya, in front, ward off the evil spirits!' They now drive (Soma) about on a safe (cart), unmolested by evil spirits.
3:3:4:99. At the fore-part of the shafts two boards have been put up: between them the Subrâhmanyâ 4
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stands and drives. He (Soma), indeed, is too high for (the driver) mounting beside him, for who is worthy of mounting beside him? Therefore he drives while standing between (the boards).
3:3:4:1010. He drives with a palâsa branch. Now when Gâyatrî flew towards Soma 1, a footless archer aiming at her while she was carrying him off, severed one of the feathers (or leaves, parna), either of Gâyatrî or of king Soma; and on falling down it became a parna (palâsa) tree; whence its name parna. 'May that which was there of the Soma nature, be here also now!' so he thinks, and for this reason he drives with a palâsa branch.
3:3:4:1111. He urges on the two oxen. If they be both black, or if either of them be black, then let him know that it will rain, that Parganya will have abundance of rain that year: such indeed is science.
3:3:4:1212. He (the Adhvaryu) first yokes them, with the text (Vâg. S. IV, 33), 'Ye oxen, come hither, patient of the yoke!' for they are indeed oxen, and they are patient of the yoke;--'Let yourselves be yoked, tearless!' for they are now being yoked; and tearless means unscathed;--'not man-slaying,' this means 'not doing wrong;'--'speeding the Brahman,' for they are indeed speeders of the Brahman (worship, or the priests);--'Go ye happily to the sacrificer's dwelling!' this he says in order that the evil spirits may not injure them on the way.
3:3:4:1313. Having then gone round to the back (of the
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cart) and taken hold of the drag 1, he says (to the Hotri) 2, 'Recite to the bought Soma!' or,'--to Soma, now driven about!' whichever way he pleases.
3:3:4:1414. He then makes (the sacrificer 3) say the text (Vâg. S. IV, 34), 'Thou art gracious unto me, go forth, O Lord of the world--,' for he (Soma) is indeed gracious to him, wherefore he heeds no other but him. Even his (Soma's own) kings 4 come (to
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him) to attend the assembly, and he is the first to salute the kings, for he is gracious. This is why he says, 'Thou art gracious.' 'Go forth, O Lord of the world,' he says, because he (Soma) is the lord of beings. 'To all dwellings,' 'all dwellings' doubtless means the limbs; with reference to his limbs he says this, 'May no prowling enemies meet thee! may no waylayers meet thee! May no malicious wolves meet thee!' this he says lest the evil spirits should meet him on his way.
3:3:4:1515. 'Having become a falcon, fly away!' he thereby makes him fly forward after becoming a falcon; for the evil spirits fly not after what is fearful: now he, the falcon, forsooth is the most fearful, the strongest of birds, and as such a one he makes him (Soma) fly forwards when he says, 'Having become a falcon, fly away!'
3:3:4:1616. Now they (can) only hit his body 1. 'Go to the sacrificer's dwelling,--that is the place prepared for us.' In this there is nothing obscure.
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3:3:4:1717. Thereupon he recites the Subrahmanyâ litany. Even as one would say to those for whom he intends to prepare a meal, 'On such and such a day I will prepare a meal for you;' so does he thereby announce the sacrifice to the gods. 'Subrahmanyôm! Subrahmanyôm! Subrahmanyôm!' thus he calls, for the Brahman indeed moves the gods onward. Thrice he says it, because the sacrifice is threefold.
3:3:4:1818. 'Come, O Indra!' Indra is the deity of the sacrifice: therefore he says, 'Come, O Indra!' 'Come, O lord of the bay steeds! Ram of Medhâtithi 1! Wife of Vrishanasva 2! Bestriding buffalo! Lover of Ahalyâ 3!' Thereby he wishes him joy in those affairs of his.
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3:3:4:1919. 'O Kausika 1, Brahman, thou who callest thee Gautama 2.' Just so has this (formula) been devised in these days by Âruni, to wit, 'thou who callest thee Gautama:' he may say it, if he choose, and if he does not choose, he need not attend to it 3. 'In so and so many days, to the Soma-feast,' (stating) in how many days from hence the pressing is to be.
3:3:4:2020. 'Ye gods and priests, come hither 4!' This he says to the gods and Brâhmans, because it is of these two, the gods and Brâhmans, that he has need.
3:3:4:2121. Thereupon the Pratiprasthâtri steps up to the front of the hall with the victim for Agni and Soma. Now Agni and Soma have seized him, who consecrates himself, between their jaws, for that consecration-offering above 5 belongs to Agni and Vishnu, and Vishnu, forsooth, is no other than
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[paragraph continues] Soma, and the offering is he himself who is consecrated: thus they have seized him between their jaws; and by this victim he now redeems himself 1.
3:3:4:2222. Now, some take a firebrand from the Âhavanîya, saying, 'Here is Agni, and here is Soma: with these two thus being together we will redeem ourselves.' But let him not do this; for wheresoever these two are, there they are indeed together.
3:3:4:2323. It (the victim) is two-coloured, because it belongs to two deities: 'For the sake of concord between the two deities let it be a black-spotted (buck)!' they say; 'for that is most like those two (gods).' If he be unable to obtain a black-spotted buck, it may be a red-spotted one.
3:3:4:2424. Thereon he makes (the sacrificer) say (Vâg. S. IV, 35; Rig-veda X; 37, 1); 'Homage be to the eye of Mitra and Varuna! perform ye diligently this holy service to the god! sing ye unto the far-seeing, god-born light, to Sûrya, the son of the sky!' Thereby he renders homage to it (the victim) and makes it a token of the covenant.
3:3:4:2525. The Adhvaryu then removes the Soma-wrapper. With (Vâg. S. IV, 36) 'Thou art Varuna's stay,' he props (the cart) with the prop. With 'Ye two are the rest of Varuna's stay,' he pulls out the two wedges. The reason why he says, 'Ye two are the rest of Varuna's stay 2,' is that he, the bought Soma, now indeed is of Varuna 3.
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3:3:4:2626. Thereupon four men take up the king's throne; two men, it is true, take it up for the human king, but four take up this for him who rules over everything here.
3:3:4:2727. It is of udumbara wood--udumbara meaning sap and food--for (the sacrificer's) obtainment of sap and food: therefore it is of udumbara wood.
3:3:4:2828. It reaches up to his navel, for it is there that the food settles, and Soma is food: therefore it reaches up to his navel. Moreover, there is the seat of the seed, and Soma is seed: therefore it reaches up to his navel.
3:3:4:2929. He (the Adhvaryu) touches it with, 'Thou art the rightful seat (ritasadanî) of Varuna!' He then spreads on it the black deerskin with, 'Thou art the rightful seat (ritasadanam) of Varuna!' and places him (Soma) thereon with, 'Seat thee on the rightful seat of Varuna!' The reason why he says, 'Seat thee on the rightful seat of Varuna,' is that he (Soma) is now of Varuna's nature.
3:3:4:3030. Thereupon he makes him (king Soma) enter the hall; and in making him enter, he causes (the sacrificer) to say (Vâg. S. IV, 37; Rig-veda I, 91, 19), 'Whatsoever powers of thine they worship with offering, may they all encompass the sacrifice 1! Go forth to our dwellings, O Soma, prospering our homes, ever helpful, bestowing abundance of men, not slaying our
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men!' dwellings meaning houses, he thereby means to say, 'Go forth to our houses, kind, propitious, not doing evil.'
3:3:4:3131. Some now pour out a vessel of water beside him, saying that this would be as. one would bring water for a king that has come to him. But let him not do this, for they (who do this) do at the sacrifice what is human, and inauspicious for the sacrifice forsooth is that which is human: let him therefore not pour out water, lest he should do at the sacrifice what is inauspicious.
Footnotes
75:1 The cart stands south of the place where the purchase of Soma took place, with the shafts towards the east, fitted with all the appliances, and yoked with a pair of oxen. The antelope skin is spread with the hairy side upwards, and the neck part towards the east.75:2 See I, 1, 4, 1 seq. The Kânva text has: 'the significance of this yagus is the same.'
75:3 In Rig-veda VIII, 42, 1, this verse relates to Varuna. In adapting it to the present sacrificial requirements, 'vrishabho (rishabho, K.) antariksham' has been substituted for the original 'asuro visvavedâh;' Soma being meant by 'the bull.'
76:1 Or, superior to (beyond the reach of) the slayer (or the blow), 'gyâyâmsam vadhât.'
77:1 'Into the waters (apsu),' Rig-veda.
77:2 See III, 2, 1, 1 seq.
77:3 He is to fasten it to a staff fixed to the pole of the cart near the yoke. Kâty. VII, 9, 9.
77:4 The Subrâhmanyâ is one of the assistants of the Udgâtri (chanter of Sâma-hymns). He stands on the ground between the two shafts in front of the yoke; the two planks, according to Sâyana, reaching up to his chin.
78:1 See I, 7, 1, I; part i, p. 183. According to Ait. Br. III, 26, Krisânu the Soma-keeper's arrow cut off one of the talons of Gâyatrî's left foot, which was turned into a porcupine.
79:1 Apâlamba, a piece of wood fastened to the back part of the cart to prevent its running backwards when going up-hill; or, according to others, a rope used for retarding the progress of the cart in going down-hill. Kâty. VII, 9, 15 comm. The cart stands with the oxen towards the east; it is then wheeled round towards the right to the west and driven to the hall, in front of which it is turned towards the north; the Soma being then taken down. See Ait. Br. I, 14.
79:2 The duties of the Hotri, while the Soma-cart is driven to the hall, are set forth Âsv. Srautas. IV, 4: He stands three feet behind the cart between the two wheel tracks, and throws thrice dust towards the south with the fore-part of his foot without moving the heel, with the formula, 'Thou art wise, thou art intelligent, thou upholding all things: drive away the danger arising from men!' Thereupon, after uttering the sound 'Him,' he recites eight verses, or, the first and last being recited thrice each, in all twelve verses. Cf. Ait. Br. I, 13. He first remains standing in the same place and recites thrice the first verse. Then in following the cart he recites the five following verses. The cart having now stopped, he walks round it on its right (south) side, and while looking on the Soma follows it while it is placed on the throne. He then touches it and completes his recitation by the last two verses. The first of these two verses is the same which the sacrificer is to mutter (with the Adhvaryu) while Soma is carried into the hall, and which is given in paragraph 30.
79:3 While the Soma is driven to the hall, the sacrificer has to hold on to it from behind.
79:4 'Asya râgânah sabhâgâh;'--Soma seems to be compared here with an emperor or overlord of kings (adhirâgo râgñâm, V, 4,2,2), who is holding a royal court (ragasabhâ), or a Darbar, to which the under-kings are flocking. Sâyana seems to interpret the passage differently: apy asya râgânah iti sabhâgâ ity anena râgñâm anatikramanîyam p. 80 uktam bhavati; api sambhâvanâyâm madhuparkam âha 'râgñe kâkâryasvasurapitrivyamâtulânam keti' (Âsv. Grihyas. I, 24) sambhâvanîyânâm madhye râgñâm prathamato nirdisena (!) sreshthyâvagamâd itarapûgyopalakshakatvenâpy asya râgâna iti nirdesa iti mantavyam, râgña âgatân svayam prahva eva san pûrvas tebhyah prâg evâbhivadati vâgvyavahâram karoti. The Kânva text reads: For he is his gracious lord, therefore he heeds not even a king; and yet (?) he is the first to salute the kings: thus he is indeed gracious to him: 'esha vâ etasya bhadro bhavati, tasmâd esha na râgânam kanâdriyate ’tho pûrvo râgño ’bhivadati tathâsyaisha eva bhadro bhavati(!).'
80:1 Or, they can only shoot after his body, 'sarîram evânvavahanti.' The Kânva text has athâsyedam sarîram evânasâ ’nvâvahanti,' i.e. 'Now they only bring his body with the cart.' The MS. of Sâyana also has 'anvâvahanti,' but it explains it by 'syenîbhâvâd upâdeyasya sârâmsasya bâdhâbhâvâd dhantâ sarîram evânugatya hanti nâtmânam.'
81:1 This myth, according to which Indra was supposed to have assumed the form of a ram and to have carried off Medhâtithi, the Kânva (or, according to others, to have robbed him of his Soma), appears to be alluded to in Rig-veda VIII, 2, 40. On the possible connection of the myth with the Greek one of Ganymede, see Weber, Ind. Stud. IX, p. 40. Sâyana does not explain the Subrahmanyâ formula, but remarks, that he has already done so in the Sâma-brâhmana (viz. in the Shadvimsa).
81:2 According to Rig-veda I, 51, 13, Indra became the wife (menâ) of Vrishanasva (Mena); the reason for this transformation being, according to the Shadvimsa Br., that he was in love with Menâ or Menakâ, the daughter of that king (or sage). Ind. Stud. I, p. 38. The later explanation of the simple statement of the Rik seems of doubtful authenticity, unless the choice of the word menâ for 'wife' was intended by the bard as an allusion to the name of the king's daughter. It is more likely that the myth alluded to in the Rik had been forgotten at the time of the Brâhmanas, and a new version of it was invented, based on the 'menâ' of the original. Haug, Transl. Ait. Br. p. 383, takes Menâ here as a name.
81:3 This is another of Indra's love-myths about which very little is known. Ahalyâ (Maitreyî) is said to have been the wife of the Rishi Gautama (or of Kausika, according to Shadv. Br.) and to have been loved by Indra.
82:1 According to Sâyana on Rig-veda I, 10, 11 (where Indra is called Kausika, 'favourable to the Kusikas') Kusika desired to have a son equal to Indra, whence the latter was born as Kusika's son Gâthin (Gâdhin). Differently Sây. on Taitt. Âr. I, 12, 4.
82:2 The Shadv. Br. (Ind. Stud. I, p. 38) explains this as follows:--The Gods and Asuras were at war with each other. Gotama was performing austerities between them. Indra went up to him and said, 'Go out as our spy.' 'I cannot,' he replied. 'Then I will go in your form.' 'As thou thinkest fit!' And because he (Indra) went about in the form of Gotama, passing himself off as Gotama, therefore he says, 'thou who callest thee Gotama.'
82:3 The Kânva text also states that this last portion of the formula was devised by Âruni, but nothing is said as to its use being optional.
82:4 For variations of this concluding part of the Subrahmanyâ in different schools, see Lâty. Sr. I, 3, 3 seq.; also notes to III, 9, 3, 10; IV, 9, 6, 25 (?); Haug, Transl. Ait. Br. p. 383.
82:5 See III, 1, 3, 1 seq.
83:1 'By this victim he redeems himself, the victim, and with that redeemed self, now his own, he sacrifices.' Kânva rec.
83:2 Skambha visarganî ('support or pin of the prop') is taken by Sâyana in the sense of 'offshoot of the prop' or 'that which is let go (srishta) by the prop.'
83:3 I.e. belongs to Varuna or is of Varuna's nature (varunyo p. 84 bhavati). Sâyana (if the MS. is correct) takes it in the sense of 'is Varuna himself,' etasmin krîtâvasare somo varuno bhavati.
84:1 Or, 'may the sacrifice encompass them all,' if, with Grassmann and Ludwig, we read 'yagñah' instead of 'yagñam.' This verse is likewise recited (? at the same time) by the Hotri, see p. 79, note 2.
(My humble salutations to the translator Sreeman Julius Eggeling for the collection)
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