The Satapatha- Brahmana - Part - 4 -Books 8, 9 and 10 - 8th Kanda -1st and 2nd Adhayaya

The Satapatha Brahmana, Part IV

translated by Julius Eggeling

THE SATAPATHA-BRÂHMANA

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF THE MÂDHYANDINA SCHOOL

Translated by

Julius Eggeling

Part IV

Books VIII, IX AND X

INTRODUCTION.

THE present volume completes the exposition of the Agnikayana, or construction of the sacred Fire-altar. Whilst to the general reader the section of the Brâhmana treating of this ceremony, and extending over no less than five of its fourteen kândas--or rather more than one-third of the whole--will probably appear the least inviting part of the work, a special interest attaches to this ceremony, and the dogmatic explanation of its details, for the student of Indian antiquity. The complicated ritual of the Fire-altar, as has been pointed out before 1, does not seem to have formed part of the original sacrificial system, but was probably developed independently of it, and incorporated with it at a comparatively recent period. There seems, indeed, some reason to believe that it was elaborated with a definite object in view, viz. that of making the external rites and ceremonies of the sacrificial cult the practical devotional expression of certain dominant speculative theories of the time. As a matter of fact, the dogmatic exposition of no other part of the sacrificial ceremonial reflects so fully and so faithfully as that of the Agnikayana those cosmogonic and theosophic theories which form a characteristic feature of the Brâhmana period. In the present work, that section commences with a cosmogonic account so elaborate as is hardly to be met with anywhere else in the Brâhmana literature; and throughout the course of performance the symbolic import of its details is
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explained here, as in other Brâhmanas, on the lines of those cosmogonic speculations.
When, towards the close of the period represented by the Vedic hymns, inquiring minds began to look beyond the elemental gods of the traditional belief for some ulterior source of mundane life and existence, the conception of a supreme, primordial being, the creator of the universe, became the favourite topic of speculation. We accordingly find different poets of that age singing of this uncreate being under different names,--they call him Visvakarman, the 'All-worker'; or Hiranyagarbha, the 'golden Embryo'; or Purusha, the 'Person'; or Ka, the 'Who?; or the heavenly Gandharva Visvâvasu, 'All-wealth'; or Pragâpati, the 'Lord of Creatures.' Or they have recourse to a somewhat older figure of the Pantheon, likewise of abstract conception, and call him Brahmanaspati 1, the Lord of prayer or devotion; a figure which would naturally commend itself to the priestly mind, and which, indeed, in a later phase of Hindu religion, came to supply not only the name of the abstract, impersonal form of the deity, the world-spirit, but also that of the first of its three personal forms, the creator of the Hindu triad. Amongst these and other names by which the supreme deity is thus designated in the philosophic hymns of the Rik and Atharva-veda, the name of Pragâpati, the Lord of Creatures or generation, plays a very important part in the immediately succeeding period of literature, viz. that of the Brâhmanas.
In the so-called Purusha-hymn (Rig-veda X, 90), in which the supreme spirit is conceived of as the Person or Man (Purusha), born in the beginning, and consisting of 'whatsoever hath been and whatsoever shall be,' the creation of the visible and invisible universe is represented as originating from an 'all-offered' sacrifice 2 (yagña) in which the Purusha himself forms the offering-material (havis), or, as one might
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say, the victim. In this primeval--or rather timeless, because ever proceeding--sacrifice, Time itself, in the shape of its unit, the Year, is made to take its part, inasmuch as the three seasons, spring, summer, and autumn, of which it consists, constitute the ghee, the offering-fuel, and the oblation respectively. These speculations may be said to have formed the foundation on which the theory of the sacrifice, as propounded in the Brâhmanas, has been reared. Pragâpati, who here takes the place of the Purusha, the world-man, or all-embracing Personality, is offered up anew in every sacrifice; and inasmuch as the very dismemberment of the Lord of Creatures, which took place at that archetypal sacrifice, was in itself the creation of the universe, so every sacrifice is also a repetition of that first creative act. Thus the periodical sacrifice is nothing else than a microcosmic representation of the ever-proceeding destruction and renewal of all cosmic life and matter. The theologians of the Brâhmanas go, however, an important step further by identifying the performer, or patron, of the sacrifice--the Sacrificer--with Pragâpati; and it is this identification which may perhaps furnish us with a clue to the reason why the authors of the Brâhmanas came to fix upon 'Pragâpati' as the name of the supreme spirit. The name 'Lord of Creatures' is, no doubt, in itself a perfectly appropriate one for the author of all creation and generation; but seeing that the peculiar doctrine of the Purusha-sûkta imparted such a decisive direction to subsequent dogmatic speculation, it might seem rather strange that the name there chosen to designate the supreme being should have been discarded, only to be employed occasionally, and then mostly with a somewhat different application 1: On the other hand, the term 'Pragâpati' was manifestly a
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singularly convenient one for the identification of the Sacrificer with the supreme 'Lord of Creatures'; for, doubtless, men who could afford to have great and costly sacrifices, such as those of the Srauta ceremonial, performed for them--if they were not themselves Brâhmans, in which case the term might not be inappropriate either--would almost invariably be 'Lords of Creatures,' i.e. rulers of men and possessors of cattle, whether they were mighty kings, or petty rulers, or landed proprietors, or chiefs of clans. It may be remarked, in this respect, that there is in the language of the Brâhmanas a constant play on the word 'pragâ' (progenies), which in one place means creature' in general, whilst in another it has the sense of 'people, subjects,' and in yet another the even more restricted one of 'offspring or family.'
How far this identification of the human Sacrificer with the divine Pragâpati goes back, and whether, when first adopted, it was applied at once to the whole of the sacrificial system, or whether it rather originated with a certain restricted group of ritualists in connection with some limited portion of the ceremonial such as the Agnikayana, and became subsequently part and parcel of the sacrificial theory, it would probably not be easy to determine. As regards the symbolic connection of the Sacrificer himself with the sacrifice, there can at any rate be no doubt that it was an essential and an intimate one from the very beginning of the sacrificial practice. When a man offers to the gods their favourite food, it is in order to please them and to gain some special object of his own,--either to make them strong and inclined for fighting his battles, and to secure their help for some undertaking of his or against some danger by which he is threatened; or to deprecate their wrath at some offence he knows or fancies he has committed against them; or to thank them for past favours, with an eye, it may be, to new and still greater favours to come. Gradually, however, the connection becomes a subtler and more mystic one; the notion of substitution enters into the sacrifice: it is in lieu of his own self that man makes the
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offering. This notion is a familiar one to the theologians of the Brâhmanas, either in the sense that the oblation is sent up to the gods in order to prepare the way for the Sacrificer, and secure a place for him in heaven; or in the sense that along with the burnt-offering the human body of the Sacrificer is mystically consumed, and a new, divine body prepared to serve him in the celestial abodes. Intimately connected with this latter notion we find another, introduced rather vaguely, which makes the sacrifice a mystic union in which the Sacrificer generates from out of the Vedi (f.), or altar-ground, his future, divine self. In this respect Agni, the offering-fire, also appears as the mate of Vedi 1; but it will be seen that Agni himself is but another form of the divine and the human Pragâpati.
With the introduction of the Pragâpati theory into the sacrificial metaphysics, theological speculation takes a higher flight, developing features not unlike, in some respects, to those of Gnostic philosophy. From a mere act of piety, and of practical, if mystic, significance to the person, or persons, immediately concerned, the sacrifice--in the esoteric view of the metaphysician, at least--becomes an event of cosmic significance. By offering up his own self in sacrifice, Pragâpati becomes dismembered; and all those separated limbs and faculties of his come to form the universe,--all that exists, from the gods and Asuras (the children of Father Pragâpati) down to the worm, the blade of grass, and the smallest particle of inert matter. It requires a new, and ever new, sacrifice to build the dismembered Lord of Creatures up again, and restore him so as to enable him to offer himself up again and again, and renew the universe, and thus keep up the uninterrupted revolution of time and matter. The idea of the dismembered Pragâpati, and of this or that sacrificial act being required to complete and replenish him, occurs throughout the lucubrations of the Brâhmanas; but in the exposition of the ordinary forms of sacrifice, this element can hardly be considered as
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one of vital importance; whilst in the Agnikayana, on the contrary, it is of the very essence of the whole performance. Indeed, it seems to me by no means unlikely that the Purusha-Pragâpati dogma was first practically developed in connection with the ceremony of the Fire-altar 1, and that, along with the admission of the latter into the regular sacrificial ceremonial, it was worked into the sacrificial theory generally. In the Agnikayana section (Kândas VI-X), as has already been stated 2, Sândilya is referred to as the chief authority in doctrinal matters, whilst in the remaining portions of the Brâhmana, that place of honour is assigned to Yâgñavalkya. Now, it may be worthy of notice, in connection with this question of the Pragâpati dogma, that in the list of successive teachers 3 appended to the Agnikayana section, the transmission of the sacrificial science--or rather of the science of the Fire-altar, for the list can only refer to that section--is traced from Sândilya upwards to Tura Kâvasheya, who is stated to have received it from Pragâpati; the Lord of Creatures, on his part, having received it from the (impersonal) Brahman. Does not this look almost like a distinct avowal of Sândilya and his spiritual predecessors being answerable for having introduced the doctrine of the identity of Pragâpati and the sacrifice into the sacrificial philosophy? If such he the case, the adaptation of this theory to the dogmatic explanation of the other parts of the ceremonial, as far as the Satapatha-Brâhmana is concerned, might be supposed to have been carried out about the time of Samgivî-putra, when the union of the two lines of teachers seems to have taken place 4. But seeing that the tenth Kânda, called the Mystery, or secret doctrine, of the Fire-altar, was apparently not at first included in the sacrificial canon of the
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[paragraph continues] Vâgasaneyins 1, the mystic speculations in which that section so freely indulges would seem to have been left apart from the regular canon, along with other floating material which was not considered suitable for practical purposes, or indispensable for an intelligent appreciation of the hidden import of the sacrificial rites.
Once granted that the real purport of all, sacrificial performances is the restoration of the dismembered Lord of Creatures, and the reconstruction of the All, it cannot be denied that, of all ceremonial observances, the building of the great Fire-altar was the one most admirably adapted for this grand symbolic purpose. The very magnitude of the structure;--nay, its practically illimitable extent 2, coupled with the immense number of single objects--mostly bricks of various kinds--of which it is composed, cannot but offer sufficiently favourable conditions for contriving what might fairly pass for a miniature representation of at least the visible universe. The very name 'Agni,' by which the Fire-altar is invariably designated, indicates from the very outset an identification of cardinal importance--that of Pragâpati with Agni, the god of fire, and the sacrifice. It is a natural enough identification; for, as Pragâpati is the arch-sacrificer, so Agni is the divine sacrificer, the priest of the sacrifice. hence the constantly occurring triad--Pragâpati, Agni, and (the human) Sacrificer. The identity of the altar and the sacred fire which is ultimately to be placed thereon is throughout insisted upon. Side by side with the forming and baking of the bricks for the altar takes place the process of shaping and baking the fire-pan (ukhâ). During the year over which the building of the altar is spread, the sacred fire is carried about in the pan by the Sacrificer for a certain time each day. In the same way as the layers of the altar are arranged so as to represent earth, air, and heaven, so the fire-pan is fashioned in such a way as to be a miniature copy of the three worlds 3. But, while this identity is never lost sight of, it is not an absolute
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one, but rather one which seems to hold good only for this special sacrificial performance. Though it may be that we have to look upon this identification as a serious attempt to raise Agni, the divine priest, to the position of a supreme deity, the creator of the universe, such a design seems nowhere to be expressed in clear and unmistakeable terms. Nor are the relations between the two deities always defined consistently. Pragâpati is the god above all other gods; he is the thirty-fourth god, and includes all the gods (which Agni does likewise); he is the three worlds as well as the fourth world beyond them 1. Whilst, thus, he is the universe, Agni is the child of the universe, the (cosmic). waters being the womb from which he springs 2. Whence a lotus-leaf is placed at the bottom of the fire-altar to represent the waters and the womb from which Agni-Pragâpati and the human Sacrificer are to be born. Agni is both the father and the son of Pragâpati: 'inasmuch as Pragâpati created Agni, he is Agni's father; and inasmuch as Agni restored him, Agni is his father 3.' Yet the two are separate; for Pragâpati covets Agni's forms,--forms (such as Îsâna, the lord; Mahan Devah, the great god; Pasupati, the lord of beasts) which are indeed desirable enough for a supreme Lord of Creatures to possess, and which might well induce Pragâpati to take up Agni within his own self. Though, in accordance with an older conception, Agni is still the light or regent of the earth, as Vâyu, the wind, is that of the air, and the sun that of the heavens; it is now explained that really these are but three forms of the one Agni,--that Agni's splendour in heaven is Âditya, that in the air Vâyu, and that on earth the (sacrificial) fire 4. When Pragâpati is dismembered, Agni takes unto himself the escaping fiery spirit of the god; and when he is set up again, Agni becomes the right arm, as Indra becomes the left one, of the Lord of Creatures. Upon the whole, however, the peculiar relations between the two gods may perhaps be defined best in accordance with the
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passage already referred to:--Agni is created by Pragâpati, and he subsequently restores Pragâpati by giving up his own body (the fire-altar) to build up anew the dismembered Lord of Creatures, and by entering into him with his own fiery spirit,--'whence, while being Pragâpati, they yet call him Agni.'
The shape adopted for the altar is that of some large bird--probably an eagle or a falcon--flying towards the east, the gate of heaven. Not that this is the form in which Pragâpati is invariably conceived. On the contrary, he is frequently imagined in the form of a man, and symbolic features are often applied to him which could only fit, or would best fit, a human body. But, being the embodiment of all things, Pragâpati naturally possesses all forms; whence the shape of a four-footed animal is likewise occasionally applied to the altar 1. It was, doubtless, both traditional imagery and practical considerations which told in favour of the shape actually chosen. Pragâpati is the sacrifice and the food of the gods 2; and Soma, the drink of immortality and at the same time the Moon, is the divine food or offering κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, the uttamam havis 3, or paramâhuti 4, or supreme oblation: hence Pragâpati is Soma 5. But Soma was brought down from heaven by the bird-shaped Gâyatrî; and the sacrifice itself is fashioned like a bird 6. In one passage 7, certain authorities are referred to as making the altar (Agni) take the form of a bird in order to carry the Sacrificer to heaven; but the author himself there insists dogmatically on the traditional connection of the altar with Pragâpati: that it was by assuming that form that the vital airs became Pragâpati 8; and that in that
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form he created the gods who, on their part, became immortal by assuming the birdlike form--and apparently flying up to heaven, which would seem to imply that the Sacrificer himself is to fly up to heaven in form of the bird-shaped altar, there to become immortal. It is not, however, only with the Moon, amongst heavenly luminaries, that Pragâpati is identified, but also with the Sun; for the latter, as we have seen, is but one of the three forms of Agni, and the fire on the great altar is itself the Sun 1; whilst the notion of the sun being fashioned like a bird flying through space is not an unfamiliar one to the poets of the Vedic age. More familiar, however, to the authors of the Brâhmanas, as it is more in keeping with the mystic origin of Pragâpati, is the identification of the latter, not with the solar orb itself, but with the man (purusha) in the sun, the real shedder of light and life. This gold man plays an important part in the speculations of the Agnirahasya 2, where he is represented as identical with the man (purusha) in the (right) eye--the individualised Purusha, as it were; whilst his counterpart in the Fire-altar is the solid gold man (purusha) laid down, below the centre of the first layer, on a gold plate, representing the sun, lying itself on the lotus-leaf already referred to as the womb whence Agni springs. And this gold man in the altar, then, is no other than Agni-Pragâpati and the Sacrificer: above him--in the first, third, and fifth layers--lie the three naturally-perforated bricks, representing the three worlds through which he will have to pass on his way to the fourth, invisible, world, the realm of immortal life. We thus meet here again with the hallowed, old name of the Lord of Being, only to be made use of for new mystic combinations.
As the personified totality of all being, Pragâpati, however, not only represents the phenomena and aspects of space, but also those of time,--he is Father Time. But just as, in the material process of building up the Fire-altar, the infinite dimensions of space require to be reduced to
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finite proportions, so, in regard to time, the year, as the lowest complete revolution of time, is taken to represent the Lord of Creation:--he is Father Year; and accordingly Agni, the Fire-altar, takes a full year to complete. And, in the same way, Agni, the sacrificial fire, from the time of his being generated in the fire-pan, as the womb, requires to be carried about by the Sacrificer for a whole year, to be matured by him before the child Agni can be born and placed on the Fire-altar. The reason why the Sacrificer must do so is, of course, that Agni, being the child of the universe--that is of Pragâpati and the Sacrificer,--the latter, at the time when the fire is kindled in the fire-pan, has, as it were, to take Agni within his own self 1, and has afterwards to produce him from out of his own self when mature.
But whilst, in regard to Agni-Pragâpati, the year during which the altar is erected represents the infinitude of time, to the mortal Sacrificer it will not be so until he shall have departed this life; and, as a rule, he would probably not be anxious there and then to end his earthly career. Nor is such an effort of renunciation demanded of him, but, on the contrary, the sacrificial theory holds out to the pious performer of this holy ceremony the prospect of his living up to the full extent of the perfect man's life, a hundred years; this term of years being thus recognised as another unit of time, so to speak, viz. that of a complete lifetime. Yet, be it sooner or be it later, the life of every creature comes to an end; and since time works its havoc on all material existence, and carries off generation after generation, the Supreme Lord of generation, Father Time, as he is the giver of all life, so he is likewise that ender of all things--Death. And so the Sacrificer, as the human counterpart of the Lord of Creatures, with the end of his present life, becomes himself Death,--Death ceases to have power over him, and he is for ever removed from the life of material existence, trouble, and illusion, to the realms of light and everlasting bliss.
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And here we get the Supreme Lord in his last aspect; nay, his one true and real aspect, in which the Sacrificer will himself come to share,--that of pure intellectuality, pure spirituality;--he is Mind: such is the ultimate source of being, the one Self, the Purusha, the Brahman. The author of the Mystery of Agni attempts to reveal the process of evolution by which this one true Self, through sacrifice carried on by means of the Arka-fires of his own innate fervour and devotion, comes to manifest himself in the material universe; and--as the sum total of the wisdom of Sândilya--he urges upon the searcher after truth to meditate on that Self, made up of intelligence, and endowed with a body of spirit, a form of light, and an etherial nature, . . . holding sway over all the regions and pervading this All, being itself speechless and devoid of mental affects;--and bids him believe that 'even as a grain of rice, or the smallest granule of millet, so is the golden Purusha in the heart; even as a smokeless light, it is greater than the sky, greater than the ether, greater than the earth, greater than all existing things; that Self of the spirit is my Self: on passing away from hence I shall obtain that Self. Aid, verily, whosoever has this trust, for him there is no uncertainty.'
As the practical application of the Agni-Pragâpati mystery to the sacrificial ritual consists mainly in the erection of the Fire-altar and the ceremonies connected with the fire-pan, which fell almost entirely within the province of the Adhvaryu priest, it is naturally in his text-books, in the Yagur-veda, that the mystic theory has become fully elaborated. Yet, though the two other classes of priests, the Hotris and Udgâtris 1, take, upon the whole, a comparatively subsidiary part in the year's performance symbolising the reconstruction of the Lord of Creatures, they have found another solemn opportunity, subsequently to the completion of the Fire-altar, for making up for any
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shortcomings in this respect, viz. the Mahâvrata, or Great Rite.
The brick altar, when complete, might apparently be used at once for any kind of Soma-sacrifice 1; but whether, if this were to be merely a one-day performance, it might be made a Mahâvrata day (in which case it must be an Agnishtoma), seems somewhat doubtful 2. As a rule, however, at any rate, the Mahâvrata was performed in connection, not with an ekâha or ahîna, but with a sacrificial session (sattra); and since sacrificial sessions, it would seem, could only be undertaken by Brâhmans who would at the same time be the Sacrificers--or rather Grihapatis (masters of the house or householders) as the Sattrins are called--and their own officiating priests, the Mahâvrata would thus generally, if not invariably, be reserved for Brâhmans 3. Indeed, in our Brâhmana (IX, 5, 2, 12-13) the rule is laid down that no one may officiate for another person at the Agnikayana, the Mahâvrata (sâman), and the Mahad Uktham; and dire consequences are predicted in the case of any one who does so; 'for, indeed, these (rites) are his divine, immortal body; and he who performs them for another person, makes over to another his divine body, and a withered trunk is all that remains.' And, though other authorities are then referred to who merely prescribe, as a penance for those who have officiated at these ceremonies for others, that they should either perform them for themselves or cause others to perform them again, the author
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adheres to his opinion that there is no atonement for such an offence. There can be no doubt, however, that the Agnikayana, at any rate, was not restricted to the Brâhmanical order 1; and this passage, if it does not merely record a former sacrificial practice, has probably to be understood in the sense that one must not officiate for another at an. Agnikayana which is to be followed by a Soma-sacrifice with the Mahâvrata. If the Sattra performed was one of the shortest kind, viz. a Dvâdasâha, or twelve days’ performance--consisting of a Dasarâtra, preceded and followed by an Atirâtra--the Mahâvrata was inserted, it would seem, between the Dasarâtra and the final Atirâtra. Usually, however, the Sattra, like the Agnikayana, lasted a full year; the favourite form being the 'Gavâm ayanam,' arranged, in accordance with the progress of the sun, in two halves, an ascending and a descending one, divided by a central day, the Vishuvat. The Mahâvrata was performed on the last day but one of the year, the day before the final Atirâtra, being itself preceded (as it was in the case of the Dvâdasâha) by a Dasarâtra, or ten days’ performance. Now, the chief feature of the Mahâvrata day is the chanting,--in connection with a special cup of Soma-juice, the Mahâvratîya-graha--of the Mahâvrata-sâman 2, as the Hotri's Prishtha-stotra at the midday service; this chant being followed by the recitation of the Mahad Uktham 3, or Great Litany, by the Hotri. The special feature, however, of these two ceremonies, which recalls the mystic Agni-Pragâpati doctrine, is the supposed birdlike form of both the chant and the litany. The Lord of Creatures, as the embodiment of all things, also represents the 'trayî vidyâ,' or sacred threefold science, the Veda. Accordingly, the Stomas (hymn-forms) of the single Sâmans (chanted
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verses) composing the Stotra or hymn of praise (the Mahâvrata-sâman), on the one hand, and the verses and metres of the recited litany, on the other, are so arranged and explained as to make up the different parts of a bird's body. It need scarcely be remarked that, whilst in the case of the altar the task of bringing out at least a rough resemblance to a flying bird offered no great difficulties, it is altogether beyond the capabilities of vocal performances such as the chant and the recitation of hymns and detached verses. But the very fact that this symbolism is only a matter of definition and make-believe makes it all the more characteristic of the great hold which the Pragâpati theory had gained upon the sacerdotal mind.
The question as to whether these compositions themselves might seem to show any signs of comparatively recent introduction of this symbolism requires further investigation before it can be answered. Of the Mahâvrata-sâman we have virtually a single version, with only indications of certain substitutions which may be made in the choice of texts and tunes; the parts of the bird's body represented by the single Sâmans being in the order--head, right wing, left wing, tail, and trunk. Of the Mahad Uktham, on the other hand, we possess two different versions, those of the Aitareya and the Sâṅkhâyana schools of Rig-veda theologians. Both of them start with the hymns representing the trunk of the bird; but otherwise there is so marked a difference between them, both as to arrangement and the choice of verses and hymns, that it seems pretty clear that, whilst there must have existed already a certain traditional form of the litany when these two schools separated, it was not yet of a sufficiently settled character to prevent such serious discrepancies to arise as those exhibited by the two rituals. This point being, however, of too technical a nature to be entered upon in this place, its further investigation must be reserved for some other opportunity.

Footnotes

xiii:1 See part i, introduction, p. xxxi.
xiv:1 Cf. Rig-veda X, 22, 2.
xiv:2 That is to say, a sacrifice at which not only portions of the sacrificial dish, or the victim, are offered up to the deities, but where every single part of it is offered.
xv:1 In its original sense it occurs at the beginning of the Agnikayana section, VI, 1, 1, 2-3, in connection with what might almost be regarded as an exposition of the Purusha-sûkta. The seven original purushas out of which the Purusha comes to be compacted, are apparently intended to account for the existence of the seven Rishis (explained in the Brâhmanas as representing the vital airs) prior to the creation of the one Purusha. It would seem that they themselves previously composed the as yet uncorporeal Purusha.
xvii:1 See I, 2, 3, 15-16. From the woman Vedi (otherwise representing the earth) creatures generally are produced; cf. III, 5, 1, 11.
xviii:1 VI, 2, 2, 21, This performance (of the Agnikayana) assuredly belongs to Pragâpati, for it is Pragâpati he undertakes (to construct) by this performance.'
xviii:2 Part i, introduction, p. xxxi.
xviii:3 For this Vamsa, as well as that appended to the last book of the Brâhmana, see ibid. p. xxxiii, note 1.
xviii:4 Ibid. p. xxxiv; Max Müller, History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 437.
xix:1 Ibid. p. xxxii.
xix:2 See X, 2, 3, 17-18; 2, 4, 1 seqq.; 4, 3, 5-8.
xix:3 VI, 5, 2, I seq.; VII, I, 2, 7-9.
xx:1 IV, 6, 1, 4.
xx:2 VI, 8, 2, 4-6.
xx:3 VI, I, 2, 26.
xx:4 VI, 7, 4, 4; VII, 1, I, 22-23.
xxi:1 See, for instance, VIII, 1, 4, 3.
xxi:2 V, 1, I, 2.
xxi:3 Rig-veda IX, 107, I.
xxi:4 Sat. Br. VI, 6, 3, 7.
xxi:5 See, for instance, VI, 2, 2, 16; X, 4, 2, 1.
xxi:6 IV, I, 2, 25.
xxi:7 VI, I,2,36; cf. XI, 4,x,16.
xxi:8 This can only refer to the cosmological statement at the beginning of the same Kânda, where the seven Rishis, or vital airs, are said to have combined to form the bird-shaped Purusha or Pragâpati. Though nothing is said there of their having themselves been shaped like birds, this might perhaps be inferred from the use of the term 'purusha' with reference to them. In the Purusha-sûkta nothing whatever is said of a birdlike form, either in regard to the Rishis, p. xxii or the Purusha; the latter being on the contrary, imagined in the form of a gigantic man.
xxii:1 VI, 1, 2, 20; 3, 1, 55.
xxii:2 X, 5, 2, 1 seqq.
xxiii:1 VII, 4, 1,1.
xxiv:1 They take part, however, in such ceremonies as the doing homage to the completed Fire-altar by means of the Parimâds; cf. p. 288, note 2 of this volume.
xxv:1 Our Brâhmana, X, 2, 5, 16, says that, if a man cannot press Soma for a year, he should perform the Visvagit Atirâtra with all the Prishthas, and at that performance he should give away all his property. These, however, were doubtless by no means the only alternatives.
xxv:2 See, however, Sâyana on Ait. Âr. V, 1, s, 1, where it is distinctly stated that the Mahâvrata may either be performed as an Ekâha, or as part of either an Ahîna, or a Sattra.--Kâtyâyana, XVI, s, 2, lays down the rule that (though the building of an altar is not a necessary condition for the performance of a Soma-sacrifice) it is indispensable in the case of a Soma-sacrifice performed. with the Mahâvrata.
xxv:3 That is to say, as Sacrificers. Persons of other castes of course took part in the proceedings of this day. In the various accounts of these proceedings, no alternative ceremonies seem anywhere referred to in case the Sacrificers themselves belong to different castes.
xxvi:1 See, for instance, Sat. Br. VI, 6, 3, 12-15, where directions are given as to certain alternatives of performance at the initiation ceremony in case the Sacrificer is either a Kshatriya, or a Purohita, or any other person. The ceremonies connected with the consecration of the Sacrificer (IX, 3, 4, 1 seqq.) point chiefly to a king.
xxvi:2 See p. 282, note 5 of the present volume.
xxvi:3 See notes to pp. 110-113 of this volume.

SATAPATHA-BRÂHMANA,

EIGHTH KÂNDA.

THE BUILDING OF THE SACRED FIRE-ALTAR

(continued).

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST LAYER

(continued).

FIRST ADHYÂYA. FIRST BRÂHMANA.8:1:1

8:1:1:11. He lays down the Prânabhritah (breath-holders) 1: now, the Prânabhritah being--the vital
p. 2
airs, it is the vital airs he thereby bestows upon (Agni). He lays them down in the first layer;--that which is the first layer is the forepart (ground-part) of Agni: it is thus in front that he puts (into Agni) the vital airs, whence there are (in creatures) these (orifices of the) vital airs in front.
p. 3
8:1:1:22. He lays them down by ten and ten, for there are ten vital airs; and even though 'ten-ten' may mean many, times, here they mean only ten. Five times he puts on ten (bricks) each time; for it is those five (kinds of sacrificial) animals he bestows, and there are ten vital airs in each .animal: upon all of them he thus bestows the vital airs. He lays down (the bricks) so as not to be separated from the animals: he thus bestows vital airs not separated from the animals. He lays them down on every side: on every side he thus bestows on them (orifices of) the vital airs.
8:1:1:33. And again why he lays down the Prânabhritah. From Pragâpati, when relaxed (by producing creatures), the vital airs departed. To them, having become deities, he spake, 'Come ye to me, return ye unto me that wherewith ye have gone out of me!'--'Well then, create thou that food which we will await here looking on!'--'Well then, let us both create!'--'So be it!'--So both the final airs and Pragâpati created that food, these Prânabhrit (bricks).
8:1:1:44. In front (of the altar) he lays down (ten bricks 1,--the first) with (Vâg. S. XIII, 54), 'This one in front, the Existent,'--in front, doubtless, is Agni; and as to why he speaks of him (as being) 'in front,' it is because they take out the fire (from the Gârhapatya) towards the front, and attend on Agni towards the front 2. And as to why he says 'the
p. 4
existent (bhuva),' Agni is indeed the existent, for it is through Agni that everything exists (bhû) here. Agni, indeed, having become the breath, remained in front 1: it is that very form 2 he now bestows (on Agni).
8:1:1:55. [The others with], 'His, the Existent's son, the Breath,'--from out of that form, fire, he (Pragâpati) fashioned the breath;--'Spring, the son of the breath,'--from out of the breath he fashioned the spring-season 3;--'The Gâyatrî, the daughter of the Spring,'--from out of the spring-season he fashioned the Gâyatrî metre;--'From the Gâyatrî the Gâyatra,'--from out of the Gâyatrî metre he fashioned the Gâyatra 4 hymn-tune;--'From the Gâyatra the Upâmsu,'--from out of the Gâyatra hymn-tune he fashioned the Upâmsu-graha 5;--
p. 5
[paragraph continues] 'From the Upâmsu the Trivrit,'--from out of the Upâmsu-graha he fashioned the nine-versed hymn-form;--'From the Trivrit the Rathantara,'--from out of the Trivrit-stoma he fashioned the Rathantara-prishtha 1.
8:1:1:66. 'The Rishi Vasishtha 2,'--the Rishi Vasishtha, doubtless, is the breath: inasmuch as it is the chief (thing) therefore it is Vasishtha (the most excellent); or inasmuch as it abides (with living beings) as the best abider (vastri), therefore also it is Vasishtha.--'By thee, taken by Pragâpati,'--that is, 'by thee, created by Pragâpati,'--'I take breath for my descendants (and people)!'--therewith he introduced the breath from the front. Separately he lays down (these ten bricks): what separate desires there are in the breath, those he thereby lays into it. Only once he settles them 3: he thereby makes it one breath; but were he to settle them each separately, he assuredly would cut the' breath asunder. This brick is trivrit (threefold): the formula, the settling, and the sûdadohas 4, that is threefold, and threefold is Agni,--as great as
p. 6
[paragraph continues] Agni is, as great as is his measure, so much he lays down (on the altar) by so dying.
8:1:1:77. And on the right (south) side 1 with (Vâg. S. XIII, 55), 'This one on the right, the all-worker,'--the all-worker (visvakarman), doubtless, is this Vâyu (the wind) who blows here, for it is he that makes everything here; and because he speaks of him as (being) 'on the right,' therefore it is in the south that he blows most. Vâyu, indeed, having become the mind, remained in the right side (of the body): it is that form (part) he now bestows (on Agni).
8:1:1:88. 'His, the all-worker's child, the Mind,'--from out of that (all-working) form, the wind, he fashioned the mind;--'the summer, the son of the mind,'--from out of the mind he fashioned the summer season 2;--'the Trishtubh, the daughter of Summer,'--from out of the summer season he fashioned the Trishtubh metre;--'from the Trishtubh the Svâra tune,'--from out of the Trishtubh metre he created the Svâra hymn-tune 3;--'from
p. 7
the Svâra the Antaryâma,'--from out of the Svâra-sâman he fashioned the Antaryâma-graha;--'from the Antaryâma the Pañkadasa,'--from out of the Antaryâma-cup he fashioned the fifteen-versed hymn-form;--'from the Pañkadasa the Brihat,'--from out of the Pañkadasa-stoma he fashioned the Brihat-prishtha.
8:1:1:99. 'The Rishi Bharadvâga,'--the Rishi Bharadvâga, doubtless, is the mind;--'vâga' means 'food,' and he who possesses a mind, possesses (bharati) food, 'vâga;' therefore the Rishi Bharadvâga is the mind.--'By thee, taken by Pragâpati,'--that is, 'by thee, created by Pragâpati;'--'I take the mind for my descendants!'--therewith he introduced the mind from the right side. Separately he lays down (these ten bricks): what separate desires there are in the mind, those he thereby lays into it. Only once he settles them: he thereby makes it one mind; but were he to settle them each separately,
p. 8
he assuredly would cut asunder the mind. This brick is threefold: the meaning of this has been explained.

Footnotes

1:1 The construction of the first of the five layers of the altar which, as far as the special bricks are concerned, is now nearing its completion, may be briefly recapitulated here. The altar (agni) is constructed in the form of a bird, the body (âtman) of which consists of a square, usually measuring four man's lengths, or forty feet (Indian=c. 30 ft. Engl.) on each side. The ground of the 'body' having been ploughed, watered, and sown with seeds of all kinds of herbs, a square mound, the so-called uttaravedi, measuring a yuga (yoke= 7 ft. Ind.) on each side, is thrown up in the middle of the 'body,' and the whole of the latter then made level with it. In the centre of the 'body' thus raised, where the two 'spines'--connecting the middle of each of the four sides of the square with that of the, opposite side--meet, the priest puts down a lotus-leaf, and thereon the gold plate (a symbol of the sun) which the Sacrificer wore round his neck during the time of initiation. On this plate he then lays a small gold figure of a man (representing Agni-Pragâpati, as well as the Sacrificer himself), so as to lie on his back with the head towards the east; and beside him he places two offering-spoons, one on each side, filled with ghee and sour curds p. 2 respectively. Upon the man he then places a brick with naturally-formed holes in it (or a porous stone), a so-called Svayam-âtrinnâ (self-perforated one), of which there are three in the altar, viz. in the centre of the first, third, and fifth layers, supposed to represent the earth, air, and sky respectively, and by their holes to allow the Sacrificer (in effigy) to breathe, and ultimately to pass through on his way to the eternal abodes. On this stone he lays down a plant of dûrvâ grass--with the root lying on the brick, and the twigs hanging down--meant to represent vegetation on earth, and food for the Sacrificer. Thereupon he puts down in front (east) of the central stone, on the 'spine,' a Dviyagus brick; in front of that, on both sides of the spine, two Retahsik; then in front of them, one Visvagyotis; then again two Ritavyâh; and finally the Ashâdhâ, representing the Sacrificer's consecrated consort. These bricks, each of which is a pada (foot, Ind.) square, occupy nearly one-third of the line from the centre to the middle of the front side of the 'body' of the altar. South and north of the Ashâdhâ, leaving the space of two bricks, he places a live tortoise, facing the gold man, and a wooden mortar and pestle respectively. On the mortar he places the ukhâ, or fire-pan, filled with sand and milk; and thereon the heads of the five victims, after chips of gold have been thrust into their mouths, nostrils, eyes, and ears. At each of the four ends of the two spines' he then puts down five Apasyâh bricks, the middle one lying on the spine itself, with two on each side of it. The last set of five bricks, those hid down at the north (or left) end of the 'cross-spine,' are also called Khandasyâh by the Brâhmana. He now proceeds to lay down the Prânabhritah, meant to represent the orifices of the vital airs, in five sets of ten bricks each. The first four sets are placed on the four diagonals connecting the centre with the four corners of the body of the altar, beginning from the corner (? or, according to some, optionally from the centre), in the order S.E., N.W., S.W., N.E.; the fifth set being then laid down round the central stone at the distance (or, on the range) of the retahsik bricks. See the diagram at p. 17.
3:1 Whilst standing in front (east) of the altar, he puts down the first set of ten bricks on the line from the south-west corner (or right shoulder) of the altar towards the centre. The formulas with which each set of ten bricks are deposited are spread over three paragraphs, the first of which gives that of the first brick, the second those for two to eight, the third for the last two.
3:2 Viz. in taking out the fire from the Gârhapatya and transferring p. 4 it to the Âhavanîya, as well as in approaching the sacrificial fire for offerings. It should also be borne in mind that the altar (agni) is built in form of an eagle flying towards the east, or front.
4:1 See VII, 5, 1, 7, 'The breath is taken in from the front backwards.'--In the text 'prâno hâgnir bhûtvâ purastât tasthau,' I take 'prânah' to be the predicate.
4:2 At VII, 4, 1, 16, the vital air is called Pragâpati's (Agni's) pleasing form (or part).
4:3 For a similar connection of the East with the Gâyatrî, the Rathantara, the Trivrit, the Spring, and the Brahman (priesthood) see V, 4, I, 3, (part iii, p. 91).
4:4 The Gâyatra-sâman is the simplest, and by far the most common of all hymn-tunes. It is especially used in connection with the trivrit-stoma, or nine-versed hymn, and is invariably employed for the Bahishpavamâna-stotra. It is also the tune of the first triplet both of the Mâdhyandina and Ârbhava-pavamâna; as well as for all the four Âgya-stotras.
4:5 See part ii, pp. 238 seqq., where this soma-cup is repeatedly connected with the Gâyatrî. Though its pressing is performed by three turns of eight, eleven, and twelve beatings respectively, representing the three chief metres, it is expressly stated (IV, 1, 1, 14) p. 5 that he who is desirous of obtaining holiness, should press eight times at each turn.
5:1 For this and the other Prishtha-sâmans see part iii, introd. pp. xvi, xx seqq.
5:2 In Taitt. S. IV, 3, 2, 1, this formula is connected with the preceding one,--'from the Rathantara (was produced) the Rishi Vasishtha.' Similarly in the corresponding passages of the subsequent sets of bricks.
5:3 The sâdana, or settling, consists in the formula, 'By that deity, Aṅgiras-like, lie thou steady!' being pronounced over the bricks. See VI, 1, 2, 28.
5:4 For the sûdadohas verse, the pronunciation of which, together with the 'settling,' constitutes the two necessary (nitya) ceremonies, see part iii, p. 307.
6:1 Whilst standing on the right (south) side of the altar he lays down the third set of ten Prânabhritah, viz. those on the diagonal from the south-west corner (or right thigh) towards the centre. Whilst, in the actual performance, these bricks are only laid down after those referred to in paragraphs 1-3 of the next Brâhmana, the author, in his explanation of the formulas, follows the course of the sun from left to right.
6:2 For a similar combination of the south with the Trishtubh metre, the Brihat-sâman, the Pañkadasa-stoma, the summer season, and the Kshatra, see V, 4, 1, 4 (part iii, p. 91).
6:3 Svâra-sâman is called a chanted verse which has no special concluding nidhana, or finale, but in which the svarita (circumflex), or first rising then falling pitch (eg., f-g-f) of the final vowel, takes the place of the finale; whence 'svâra' is often explained by 'svaranidhana,' i.e. having the svara (svarita) for its nidhana. See p. 7 Pañk. Br. IX, 3, 11, where a svâra-sâman is prescribed in case the Udgâtris have previously committed an excess in their chanting. The last tristich of the Mâdhyandina-pavamânastotra of the Agnishtoma, the Ausana-sâman (to Sâma-v., vol. ii, pp. 27-29), is chanted in this way, probably in order to make good the excess committed in the preceding triplet, the Yaudhâgaya (ii, pp. 25, 26), in which each verse is chanted with three nidhanas, one at the end, and two inserted inside the sâman. Lâty. Srautas. VI, 9, 6, the svâra-sâmans thus treated are called 'padânusvârâni;' whilst those with which the musical syllables 'hâ-i' are used with a similar effect, are called 'hâikârasvârâni.' As an instance of the former, the Ausana (Sâma-v., vol. iii, p. 8r) is adduced, and of the latter the Vâmadevya (iii, p. 89). It is not only the final syllable of a sâman, however, that may be modulated in this way, but also that of a musical section of the sâman; cf. Pañk. Br. X, 12, 2, where the Udgîtha is to be so treated to make up for the preceding Prastâva, chanted without a Stobha. Sacrificial calls such as the 'Svâhâ' and 'Vashat' are also modulated in this way,' ib. VII, 3, 26; XI, 5, 26.

SECOND BRÂHMANA.

8:1:2:11. And at the back (western part of the altar), with (Vâg. S. XIII, 56), 'This one behind, the all-embracer;'--the all-embracer, doubtless, is yonder sun, for as soon as 1 he rises, all this embracing space comes into existence. And because he speaks of him as (being) 'behind,' therefore one sees him only when he goes towards the back (west). The Sun, indeed, having become the eye, remained behind: it is that form he now bestows (on Agni).
8:1:2:22. 'His, the all-embracer's child, the Eye,'--from out of that (all-embracing) form, the Sun, he fashioned the eye;--'the rains, the offspring of the eye,'--from out of the eye he fashioned the rainy season;--'the Gagatî, the daughter of the rains,'--from out of the rainy season he fashioned the Gagatî metre;--'from the Gagatî the Riksama,'--from out of the Gagatî metre he fashioned the Riksama hymn-tune 2;--'from the Riksama
p. 9
the Sukra,'--from out of the Riksama-sâman he fashioned the Sukra-graha;--'from the Sukra the Saptadasa,'--from out of the Sukra cup he fashioned the seventeen-versed hymn-form;--'from the Saptadasa the Vairûpa,'--from out of the Saptadasa-stoma he fashioned the Vairûpa-prishtha.
8:1:2:33. 'The Rishi Gamadagni,'--the Rishi Gamadagni, doubtless, is the eye: inasmuch as thereby the world of the living (gagat) sees and thinks, therefore the Rishi Gamadagni is the eye.--'By thee, taken by Pragâpati,'--that is, 'by thee, created by Pragâpati,'--'I take the eye for my descendants,' therewith he introduced the eye from behind. Separately he lays down (these ten bricks): what separate desires there are in the eye those he thereby lays into it. Only once he settles them: he thereby makes this eye one; but were he to settle them each separately, he assuredly would cut the eye asunder. This is a threefold brick: the meaning of this has been explained.
8:1:2:44. And on the left (upper, north) side, with (Vâg. S. XIII, 57), 'This, on the upper side, heaven,'--in the upper sphere, doubtless, are the regions (quarters); and as to why he speaks of them as being 'on the upper (left) side,' the regions, indeed,
p. 10
are above everything here. And as to why he says, 'heaven (or, the light),' the regions, indeed, are the heavenly world (or world of light). The regions, having become the ear, remained above: it is that form he now bestows (on Agni).
8:1:2:55. 'Its, heaven's, child, the Ear,'--from out of that form, the regions, he fashioned the ear;--'the autumn, the daughter of the ear,'--from out of the ear he fashioned the autumn season;--'Anushtubh, the daughter of the autumn,'--from out of the autumn season he fashioned the Anushtubh metre;--'from the Anushtubh the Aida,'--from out of the Anushtubh metre he fashioned the Aida-sâman 1;--'from the Aida the Manthin,'--from out of the Aida-sâman he fashioned the Manthin cup;--'from the Manthin the Ekavimsa,'--from out of the Manthi-graha he fashioned the twenty-one-versed hymn-form;--'from the Ekavimsa the Vairâga,'--from out of the Ekavimsa-stoma he fashioned the Vairâga-prishtha.
8:1:2:66. 'The Rishi Visvâmitra,'--the Rishi Visvâmitra ('all-friend'), doubtless, is the ear: because therewith one hears in every direction, and because there is a friend (mitra) to it on every side, therefore the ear is the Rishi Visvâmitra.--'By thee, taken by Pragâpati,'--that is, 'by thee, erected by Pragâpati;'--'I take the ear for my descendants,'
p. 11
[paragraph continues] --therewith he introduced the ear from the left (or upper) side. Separately he lays down (these bricks): what separate desires there are in the ear, those he thereby lays into it. Only once he settles them: he thereby makes the ear one; but were he to settle them each separately, he assuredly would cut the ear asunder. This is a threefold brick: the meaning of this has been explained.
8:1:2:77. Then in the centre, with (Vâg. S. XIII, 58), 'This one, above, the mind,'--above, doubtless, is the moon; and as to why he speaks of him as (being) 'above,' the moon is indeed above; and as to why he says, 'the mind,' the mind (mati), doubtless, is speech, for by means of speech everything thinks (man) here 1. The moon, having become speech, remained above: it is that form he now bestows (on. Agni).
8:1:2:88. 'Its, the mind's, daughter, Speech,'--from out of that form, the moon, he fashioned speech;--'Winter, the son of Speech,'--from out of speech he fashioned the winter season;--'Paṅkti, the daughter of Winter,'--from out of the winter season he fashioned the Paṅkti metre;--'from the Paṅkti the Nidhanavat,'--from out of the Paṅkti metre he fashioned the Nidhanavat-sâman 2;--'from the Nidhanavat the Âgrayana,'--from out of the Nidhanavat-sâman he fashioned the Âgrayana cup;--'from the Âgrayana the Trinava and Trayastrimsa,'--from out of the Âgrayana-graha he fashioned the thrice-nine-versed and the three-and-thirty-versed hymn-forms;--
p. 12
[paragraph continues] 'from the Trinava and Trayastrimsa the Sâkvara and Raivata,'--from out of the Trinava and Trayastrimsa-stomas he fashioned the Sâkvara and Raivata-prishthas 1.
8:1:2:99. 'The Rishi Visvakarman,'--the Rishi Visvakarman ('the all-worker'), doubtless, is Speech, for by speech everything here is done: hence the Rishi Visvakarman is speech:--'By thee, taken by Pragâpati,'--that is, 'by thee, created by Pragâpati;'--'I take speech for my descendants,'--therewith he introduced speech from above. Separately he lays down (these bricks): what separate desires there are in speech, those he now lays into it. Only once he settles them: he thereby makes speech one; but were he to settle them each separately, he assuredly would cut speech asunder. This is a threefold brick: the meaning of this has been explained.
8:1:2:1010. This, then, is that same food which both the vital airs and Pragâpati created: just so great indeed is the whole sacrifice, and the sacrifice is the food of the gods.
8:1:2:1111. He lays them down by ten and ten,--of ten syllables consists the Virâg (metre), and the Virâg is all food: he thus bestows on him (Agni) the whole food. He puts them down on every side: on every side he thus bestows the whole food on him. And verily these same Virâg (verses) sustain those vital airs, and inasmuch as they sustain (bhri) the vital airs (prâna) they are called Prânabhritah.

Footnotes

8:1 Or, perhaps, 'only when' (yadâ-eva).
8:2 No explanation of this sâman has been found anywhere. Sâyana, on the corresponding formula, Taitt. S. IV, 3, 4, 2 (where the term is spelt rikshama), merely remarks that it is a kind of sâman.' The meaning of the term 'similar to a rik' would seem to indicate a hymn-tune involving little, or no, modification of the text chanted to it. At V, 4, 1, 5 it is the Vairûpa-sâman which (together with the Gagatî, the Saptadasa-stoma, the rainy season, and the Vis) is in this way connected with the West. Now the textual parts of the Pañkanidhanam Vairûpam (Sâma-v., vol. v, pp. 387, 575-6), ordinarily used as a prishtha-sâman, show p. 9 hardly any modifications on the original verses (Sâma-v., vol. ii, p. 278), even less so indeed than the simple Vairûpa-sâman (Sâma-v., vol. i, p. 572), and possibly 'riksama' (if it does not apply to a whole class of sâmans) may be another name for the Vairûpa (of which there are two other forms, Sâma-v., vol. i, pp. 425, 438) in its simplest form. The Vairûpa, in its prishtha form, would in that case, indeed, have originated from the Riksama-sâman. It is true, however, that there is no special connection between the other Prishtha-sâmans and the respective hymn-tune with which they are symbolically connected in the foregoing formulas.
10:1 Aida-sâmans are those sâmans which have the word 'idâ' for their nidhana, or chorus. Such sâmans are, eg. the Vairûpa (Sâma-v., vol. V, p. 387) and the Raurava (iii, 83), the latter of which forms the central sâman of the Mâdhyandina-pavamâna-stotra. What connection there can be between the Aida and the Vairâga-prishtha (Sâma-v., vol. v, p. 391; cf. vol. i, pp. 814-5) it is not easy to see. In Sat. Br. V, 4,i, 6 the North is connected with the Anushtubh, the Vairâga-sâman, the Ekavimsa and the autumn.
11:1 Or, perhaps, one thinks everything here.
11:2 That is a sâman which has a special nidhana, or chorus, added at the end (or inserted in the middle) of it.
12:1 For these Prishtha-sâmans see part iii, introd. pp. xx-xxi. In V, 4, I, 7 the upper region is symbolically connected with the Paṅkti metre, the Sâkvara and Raivata-sâmans, the Trinava and Trayastrimsa-stomas, and the winter and dewy seasons.

THIRD BRÂHMANA.

8:1:3:11. As to this they say, 'What are the vital airs (prâna), and what the Prânabhritah?'--The vital airs are just the vital airs, and the Prânabhritah (holders of the vital airs) are the limbs, for the limbs do hold the vital airs. But, indeed, the vital airs are the vital airs, and the Prânabhrit is food, for food does uphold the vital airs.
8:1:3:22. As to this they say, 'How do all these (Prânabhrit-bricks) of him (Agni and the Sacrificer) come to be of Pragâpati's nature?'--Doubtless in that with all of them he says, 'By thee, taken by Pragâpati:' it is in this way, indeed, that they all come to be for him of Pragâpati's nature 1.
8:1:3:33. As to this they say, 'As they chant and recite for the cup when drawn, wherefore, then, does he put in verses and hymn-tunes 2 before (the drawing of) the cups?'--Doubtless, the completion of the sacrificial work has to be kept in view;--now with the opening hymn-verse the cup is drawn; and on the verse (rik) the tune (sâman) is sung: this means that he thereby puts in for him (Agni) both the verses and hymn-tunes before (the drawing of) the cups. And when after (the drawing of) the cups there are the chanting (of the Stotra) and the recitation (of the Sastra): this means that thereby he puts in for him both the stomas (hymn-forms) and the prishtha (sâmans) after (the drawing of) the cups 3.
p. 14
8:1:3:44. As to this they say, 'If these three are done together--the soma-cup, the chant, and the recitation,--and he puts in only the soma-cup and the chant, how comes the recitation also in this case to be put (into the sacrificial work) for him 1?' But, surely, what the chant is that is the recitation 2; for on whatsoever (verses) they chant a tune, those same (verses) he (the Hotri) recites thereafter 3; and in this way, indeed, the Sastra also comes in this case to be put in for him.
8:1:3:55. As to this they say, 'When he speaks first of three in the same way as of a father's son 4, how, then, does this correspond as regards the rile and sâman?' The sâman, doubtless, is the husband of the
p. 15
[paragraph continues] Rik; and hence were he also in their case to speak as of a father's son, it would be as if he spoke of him who is the husband, as of the son: therefore it corresponds as regards the rik and sâman. 'And why does he thrice carry on (the generation from father to son)?'--father, son, and grandson: it is these he thereby carries on; and therefore one and the same (man) offers (food) to them 1.
8:1:3:66. Those (bricks) which he lays down in front are the holders of the upward air (the breath, prâna); those behind are the eye-holders, the holders of the downward air (apâna) 2; those on the right side are the mind-holders, the holders of the circulating air (vyâna); those on the left side are the ear-holders, the holders of the outward air (udâna); and those in the middle are the speech-holders, the holders of the pervading air (samâna).
8:1:3:77. Now the Karakâdhvaryus, indeed, lay down different (bricks) as holders of the downward air, of the circulating air, of the outward air, of the pervading air, as eye-holders, mind-holders, ear-holders, and speech-holders; but let him not do this, for they do what is excessive, and in this (our) way, indeed, all those forms are laid (into Agni).
8:1:3:88. Now, when he has laid down (the bricks) in
p. 16
front, he lays down those at the back (of the altar); for the upward air, becoming the downward air, passes along thus from the tips of the fingers; and the downward air, becoming the upward air, passes along thus from the tips of the toes: hence when, after laying down (the bricks) in front, he lays down those at the back, he thereby makes these two breathings continuous and connects them; whence these two breathings are continuous and connected.
8:1:3:99. And when he has laid down those on the right side, he lays down those on the left side; for the outward air, becoming the circulating air, passes along thus from the tips of the fingers 1; and the circulating air, becoming the outward air, passes along thus from the tips of the fingers 1: hence when, after laying down (the bricks) on the right side, he lays down those on the left side, he thereby makes these two breathings continuous and connects them; whence these two breathings are continuous and connected.
8:1:3:1010. And those (bricks) which he lays down in the centre are the vital air; he lays them down on the range of the two Retahsik (bricks), for the retahsik are the ribs, and the ribs are the middle: he thus lays the vital air into him (Agni and the Sacrificer) in the very middle (of the body). On every side he lays down (the central bricks) 2: in every part he thus
p. 17
lays vital air into him; and in the same way indeed that intestinal breath (channel) is turned all round
p. 18
the navel. He lays them down both lengthwise and crosswise 1, whence there are here in the body (channels of) the vital airs both lengthwise and crosswise. He lays them down touching each other: he thereby makes these vital airs continuous and connects them; whence these (channels of the) vital airs are continuous and connected.

Footnotes

13:1 Or, come to be (Agni-) Pragâpati's (prâgâpatyâ bhavanti).
13:2 In laying down the different sets of Prânabhrit-bricks the priest is said (in VIII, 1, 1, 5; 8; 2, 2; 5; 8) symbolically to put into the sacrificial work (or into the altar, Agni) 'both verses or metres (as Gâyatrî, Trishtubh, &c.) and hymn-tunes (as Gâyatra. Svâra, &c.).
13:3 It is not quite clear whether this is the correct construction of p. 14 the text, especially as, in the paragraph referred to in. the last note, it is not only the metres and tunes that are supposed to be put in along with the Prânabhritah, but also the stomas and prishtha-sâmans.
14:1 Only soma-cups (graha) and hymn-tunes (sâman) and hymn-forms (stoma) are specially named in connection with these bricks, but no sastras.
14:2 Every stotra, chanted by the Udgâtris, is followed by a sastra recited by the Hotri or one of his assistants.
14:3 Most chants (stotra) consisting of a single triplet (e. g. the Prishtha-stotras at the midday service) have their text (stotriyatrika) included in the corresponding sastra recited by the Hotri, or one of the Hotrakas; it being followed, on its part, by the recitation of an analogous triplet (anurûpa, 'similar or corresponding,' i.e. antistrophe) usually commencing with the very same word, or words, as the stotriya.
14:4 As in the case of the first (south-west) set of bricks, VIII, 1, 1, 4-6, he puts down the first four with 'This one, in front, the existent,' 'His, the existent's son, the breath,' 'Spring, the son of the breath,' and 'The Gâyatrî, the daughter of spring,'--implying three generations from father to son (or daughter). In the formulas of the remaining bricks of each set referring to the metres (or verses, ilk) and hymn-tunes (sâman) the statement of descent is expressed more vaguely by, 'From the Gâyatrî (is derived) the Gâyatra,' &c.
15:1 At the offerings to the Fathers, or deceased ancestors, oblations are made to the father, grandfather, and great-grandfather; see II, 4, 2, 23.
15:2 Sâyana, on Taitt. S. IV, 3, 3, explains 'prâna' by 'bahihsamkârarûpa,' and 'apâna' by 'punarantahsamkârarûpa;' see also part i, p. 120, note 2; but cp. Maitry-up. II, 6; H. Walter, Hathayogapradipikâ, p. xviii. Beside the fifty bricks called 'Prânabhritah,' the Taittirîyas also place fifty Apânabhritah in the first layer of the altar.
16:1 ? Or, perhaps, the fingers and toes. The same word (aṅguli), having both meanings, makes it difficult exactly to understand these processes. The available MSS. of Harisvâmin's commentary unfortunately afford no help.
16:2 That is to say, he lays down the fifth set round the (central) Svayamâtrinnâ, on the range of the two Retahsik bricks. It is, p. 17 however, not quite clear in what particular manner this fifth set of ten bricks is to be arranged round the centre so as to touch one another. The two Retahsik bricks, occupying each a space of a square foot north and south of the spine, are separated from the central (Svayamâtrinnâ) brick by the Dviyagus brick a foot square. The inner side of the retahsik-space would thus be a foot and a half, and their outer side two feet and a half, distant from the central point of the altar. The retahsik range, properly speaking, would thus consist of a circular rim, obtained by drawing two

THE CENTRAL PART OF THE FIRST LAYER.

concentric circles round the centre, with diameters of one and a half and two and a half feet respectively. On this rim (allowing for the corners of the bricks jutting out) room would have to be found for twelve bricks of a foot square, viz. the two retahsik, already lying on the eastern side, south and north of the spine, and ten prânabhrits. The way in which these latter were arranged would probably be this: on each of the three other sides two bricks were laid down so as to join each other in a line with the respective 'spine,' similarly to the two retahsik bricks on the east side; and the four remaining bricks would then be placed in the four corners--the twelve bricks thus forming, as nearly as could be, a circular rim. In the construction of the altar, this retahsik range is determined by a cord being stretched from. the centre to the east end of the altar, after the special bricks of the first layer have p. 18 been laid down, knots being then made in the cord over the middle of each of the special bricks. The retahsik range is consequently ascertained, in subsequent layers, by a circle drawn round the centre, with that part of the cord marked by the central and the retahsik knot for the diameter. The foregoing diagram shows that portion of the first layer which contains the continuous row of special bricks laid down first, viz. Svayamâtrinnâ, Dviyagus, two Retahsik, Visvagyotis, two Ritavyâ, and Ashâdhâ; and further the central (or fifth) set of ten prânabhritah, placed round the central brick on the range of the retahsik.
18:1 Each special brick is marked on its upper surface with (usually three) parallel lines. Now the bricks are always laid down in such a way that their lines run parallel to the adjoining spine, whence those on the east and west sides have their lines running lengthwise (west to east), and those on the north and south sides crosswise (north to south). As to the four corner bricks there is some uncertainty on this point, but if we may judge from the analogy of the second layer in this respect, the bricks of the south-east and north-west corners would be eastward-lined, and those of the northeast and south-west corners northward-lined.

FOURTH BRÂHMANA.

8:1:4:11. Now some lay down (these bricks) so as to be in contact with the (gold) man, for he is the vital air, and him these (bricks) sustain; and because they sustain (bhri) the vital air (prâna), therefore they are called 'Prânabhritah.' Let him not do so: the vital air is indeed the same as that gold man, but this body of his extends to as far here as this fire (altar) has been marked out. Hence to whatever
p. 19
limb of his these (breath-holders) were not to reach, that limb of his the vital air would not reach; and, to be sure, to whatever limb the vital air does not reach, that either dries up or withers away: let him therefore lay down these (bricks) so as to be in contact with the enclosing stones; and by those which he lays down in the middle this body of his is filled up, and they at least are not separated from him.
8:1:4:22. Here now they say, 'Whereas in (the formulas) "This one, in front, the existent--this one, on the right, the all-worker--this one, behind, the all-embracer--this, on the left, heaven--this one, above, the mind"--they (these bricks) are defined as exactly opposite the quarters, why, then, does he lay down these (bricks) in sidelong places 1?' Well, the Prânabhritah are the vital airs; and if he were to place them exactly opposite the quarters, then this breath would only pass forward and backward; but inasmuch as he now lays down these (bricks) thus defined in sidelong places, therefore this breath, whilst being a backward and forward one, passes sideways along all the limbs and the whole body.
8:1:4:33. Now that Agni (the altar) is an animal, and (as such) he is even now made up whole and entire,--those (bricks) which he lays down in front are his fore-feet, and those behind are his thighs; and those
p. 20
which he places in the middle are that body of his. He places these in the region of the two retahsik (bricks), for the retahsik are the ribs, and the ribs are the middle, and that body is in the middle (of the limbs). He places them all round, for that body extends all round.
8:1:4:44. Here now they say, 'Whereas in the first (four) sets he lays down a single stoma and a single prishtha each time, why, then, does he lay down here (in the centre) two stomas and two prishthas?' Well, this (central set) is his (Agni's) body: he thus makes the body (trunk) the best, the largest, the most vigorous of limbs 1; whence that body is the best, the largest, and most vigorous of limbs.
8:1:4:55. Here now they say, 'How does that Agni of his become made up whole and entire in brick after brick?'--Well, the formula is the marrow, the brick the bone, the settling the flesh, the sûdadohas the skins, the formula of the purîsha (fillings of earth) the hair, and the purîsha the food: and thus indeed that Agni of his becomes made up whole and entire in brick after brick.
8:1:4:66. That Agni is possessed of all vital power: verily, whosoever knows that Agni to be possessed of all vital power (âyus), attains his full measure of life (âyus).
8:1:4:77. Now, then, as to the contraction and expansion (of the body). Now some cause the built (altar) in this way 2 to be possessed of (the power of) contraction and expansion: that Agni indeed is an animal;
p. 21
and when an animal contracts and expands its limbs, it develops strength by them.
8:1:4:88. [Vâg. S. XXVII, 45] 'Thou art Samvatsara,--thou art Parivatsara,--thou art Idâvatsara,--thou art Idvatsara,--thou art Vatsara,--May thy dawns prosper 1!--may thy days and nights prosper!--may thy half-months prosper!--may thy months prosper!--may thy seasons prosper!--may thy year prosper!--For going and coming contract and expand thyself!--Of Eagle-build thou art: by that deity, Aṅgiras-like, lie thou steady 2!'
8:1:4:99. Sâtyâyani also once said, 'Some one heard (the sound) 3 of the cracking wings of the (altar)-when touched with this (formula): let him therefore by all means touch it therewith!'
8:1:4:1010. And Svargit Nâgnagita or Nagnagit, the Gândhâra, once said, 'Contraction and expansion surely are the breath, for in whatever part of the body there is breath that it both contracts and expands; let him breathe upon it from outside when completely built: he thereby lays breath, the (power of) contraction and expansion, into it, and so it contracts and expands.' But indeed what he there said as to that contraction and expansion, it was only one of the princely order who said it; and assuredly were they to breathe upon it from outside a hundred
p. 22
times, or a thousand times, they could not lay breath into it. Whatever breath there is in the (main) body that alone is the breath: hence when he lays down the Prânabhritah (breath-holders), he thereby lays breath, the (power of) contraction and expansion, into it; and so it contracts and expands. He then lays down two Lokamprinâ (bricks) in that corner 1: the meaning of them (will be explained) further on 2. He throws loose earth (on the layer): the meaning of this (will be explained) further on 3.

Footnotes

19:1 That is to say, why does he not place them at the ends of the spines, but at the corners of the (square) body, i.e. in places intermediate between the lines running in the direction of the points of the compass? When speaking of the regions, or quarters, it should be borne in mind that they also include a fifth direction, viz. the perpendicular or vertical line (both upward and downward) at any given point of the plane.
20:1 Or,--better, larger, and more vigorous than the limbs.
20:2 Viz. by touching, or stroking along, the layer of the altar, and muttering the subsequent formulas.
21:1 Or, perhaps, 'may the dawns chime in (fit in) with thee!'
21:2 For this last part of the formula ('by that deity,' &c.), the so-called settling-formula, see part iii, p. 307, note 1.
21:3 Harisvâmin (Ind. Off. MS. 657) seems to supply 'sabdam;' the sound of the cracking being taken as a sign of the powerful effect of the formula. Unfortunately, however, the MS. of the commentary is hopelessly incorrect.

THE SECOND LAYER.

SECOND ADHYÂYA. FIRST BRÂHMANA.

8:2:1:11. He lays down the second layer. For now the gods, having laid down the first layer, mounted it.
p. 23
[paragraph continues] But, indeed, the first layer is this (terrestrial) world: it is this same world which, when completed, they mounted.
8:2:1:22. They spake, 'Meditate ye!'--whereby, doubtless, they meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer! Seek ye (to build) from hence upwards!' Whilst meditating, they saw this second layer: what there is above the earth, and on this side of the atmosphere, that world was to their mind, as it were, unfirm and unsettled.
8:2:1:33. They said to the Asvins, 'Ye two are Brahmans and physicians: lay ye down for us this second layer!'--'What will therefrom accrue unto us?--'Ye two shall be the Adhvaryus at this our Agnikityâ.'--'So be it!'--The Asvins laid down for them that second layer: whence they say, 'The Asvins are the Adhvaryus of the gods.'
8:2:1:44. He lays down (the first Âsvinî 1 brick, with
p. 24
[paragraph continues] Vâg. S. XIV, 1), 'Thou art firmly-founded, firmly-seated, firm!' for what is steady and settled, that is firm. Now that world was to their minds, as it were, unfirm and unsettled: having thereby made it firm, steady, they (the Asvins) went on laying down (bricks).--'Seat thee fitly in thy firm seat!'--that is, 'Seat thee fitly in thy steady seat;'--'enjoying the first appearance of the Ukhya,'--the Ukhya, doubtless, is this Agni; and that first layer is indeed his first appearance: thus, 'enjoying that.'--'May the Asvins, the Adhvaryus, settle you here!' for the Asvins, as Adhvaryus, did lay down (this brick).
p. 25
8:2:1:55. [The second Âsvinî he lays down, with Vâg. S. XIV, 2], 'Nest-like, fat, wise,'--a nest, as it were, is indeed the second layer 1;--'seat thee in the soft seat of the earth!'--the second layer, no doubt, is the earth: thus, 'Sit on her pleasant seat!'--'May the Rudras, the Vasus sing thy praises!'--that is, 'May those deities sing thy praises!'--'Replenish them, O Brahman, for happiness!'--that is, 'Favour them, O Brahman, with a view to happiness.'--'May the Asvins, the Adhvaryus, settle thee here!' for the Asvins, as Adhvaryus, did lay down (this brick).
8:2:1:66. [The third Âsvinî brick he lays down, with Vâg. S. XIV, 3], 'By thine own powers seat thee here, a holder of powers,'--that is, 'By thy own energy seat thee here;'--'in the gods’ favour for high joy!' that is, 'for the favour of the gods, for great joy 2;"--'be thou kind, as a father to his son!'--that is, 'As a father is gentle, kind, to his son, so be thou kind!'--'rest thou readily accessible with thy form!'--the form, doubtless, is the body: thus, 'rest thou with readily accessible body!'--'May the Asvins, the Adhvaryus, settle thee here!' for the Asvins, as Adhvaryus, did lay down (this brick).
p. 26
8:2:1:77. [The fourth Âsvinî he lays down, with Vâg. S. XIV, 4], 'Thou art the earth's soil-cover,'--the first layer, doubtless, is the earth, and this, the second (layer) is, as it were, its soil-cover (purîsha)--'her sap 1, in truth,'--that is, 'her essence, in truth,'--'May the All-gods sing thy praises!'--that is, 'May all the gods sing thy praises!'--'Seat thee here, laden with stomas, and rich in fat!'--whatever hymn-forms he will be spreading (constructing) thereon by them this (brick) is laden with stomas 2;--'Gain for us by sacrifice wealth (dravinâ, pl.) with offspring (adj. sing.)!'--that is, 'Gain for us, by sacrifice, wealth (dravinam, sing.) with offspring!'--'May the Asvins, the Adhvaryus, settle thee here!' for the Asvins, as Adhvaryus, did lay down (this brick).
8:2:1:88. These (bricks) are those regions (quarters); he places them on the range of the two retahsik (bricks), for the retahsik are these two (worlds): he thereby places the regions within these two (worlds), whence there are regions within these two (worlds). He lays down (these bricks) in every direction: he thus places the regions in all (the four) directions, whence the regions are in all directions. [He places them] on all sides so as to face each other 3: he thereby
p. 27
makes the regions on all sides face each other, and hence the regions on all sides face each other. He lays (the bricks) down separately, settles them separately, and pronounces the sûdadohas over them separately, for separate are the regions.
8:2:1:99. He then lays down the fifth regional (or Âsvinî brick). Now that region is the one above 1; and that same region above, doubtless, is yonder sun: it is yonder sun he thus places thereon. He places this (brick) within the southern regional one 2: he thus places yonder sun within the southern region, and therefore he moves within the southern region.
8:2:1:1010. [He lays it down, with Vâg. S. XIV, 5], 'I settle thee upon the back of Aditi,'--Aditi doubtless is this (earth): it is upon her, as a foundation, that he thus founds him (Agni);--'the holder
p. 28
of the air, the supporter of the regions, the ruler of beings,'--for he (the sun) is indeed the holder of the air, the supporter of the regions, and the ruler of beings;--'thou art the wave, the drop, of water,'--the wave, doubtless, means the essence;--'Visvakarman is thy Rishi!'--Visvakarman (the all-shaper), doubtless, is Pragâpati: thus, 'Thou art fashioned by Pragâpati.'--'May the Asvins, the Adhvaryus, settle thee here!' for the Asvins, as Adhvaryus, did lay down (this brick).
8:2:1:1111. Now as to why he lays down these Âsvinî (bricks). When Pragâpati had become relaxed (disjointed), the deities took him and went away in different directions. Now what part of him there was above the feet and below the waist, that part of him the two Asvins took and kept going away from him.
8:2:1:1212. He said to them, 'Come to me and restore unto me that wherewith ye have gone away from me!'--'What will accrue to us therefrom?'--'That part of my body shall be sacred unto you!'--'So be it!' so the Asvins restored that (part) unto him.
8:2:1:1313. Now these five Âsvinî (bricks) are that same (part) of his (Agni's) body; and when he now puts them into this (layer of the altar), he thereby restores to him what (part) of his body these (bricks) are: that is why he puts them into this (layer).
8:2:1:1414. 'Thou art firmly founded, firmly seated, firm,' he says, for whatsoever is steady and established that is firm. Now that part of his (Pragâpati-Agni's) body was, as it were, unsteady, unfirm; and having made it steady and firm they (the Asvins) restored it to him.
8:2:1:1515. 'Nestlike, fat, wise,' he says, for this indeed
p. 29
is as a nest for his body.--'By thine own powers seat thee here, a holder of powers,' he says, for they did make that (part) of him powerful.--'Thou art the Earth's soil-cover,' he says, for that (lower part) of his body is, as it were, in connection with the soil-cover. At the range of the Retahsik (he places the bricks),--the Retahsik are the ribs, for level with the ribs, as it were, is that (part) of his body. He places them on every side, for on every side the Asvins restored that (part) of his (Pragâpati's) body.
8:2:1:1616. He then lays down two Ritavyâ 1 (seasonal bricks);--these two, the Ritavyâ, are the seasons (ritu): it is the seasons he thus bestows thereon. [He lays them down, with Vâg. S. XIV, 6], 'Sukra and Suki, the two summer-seasons;'--these are the names of these two: it is with their names that he thus lays them down. There are two bricks, for a season consists of two months. He settles them once only: he thereby makes (the two months) one season.
8:2:1:1717. And as to why he lays down these two in this (layer):--this Agni (fire-altar) is the year, and the year is these worlds. Now that part of him which is above the earth and below the atmosphere, is this second layer; and that same part of him (Agni, the year,) is the summer season. And when he lays down those two in this (layer), he thereby restores to him (Agni) that part of his body which these two are: this is why he lays down these two (bricks) in this (layer).
p. 30
8:2:1:1818. And, again, as to why he lays down these two in this (layer). This fire-altar is Pragâpati, and Pragâpati is the year. Now that (part) of him which is above the feet and below the waist is this second layer; and that same part of him is the summer season. Thus when he lays down those two in this (layer), he thereby restores to him that (part) of his body which these two ale: this is why he lays down these two (bricks) in this (layer).

Footnotes

22:1 Viz. in the south-east corner, or on the right shoulder, of the altar. From these two lokamprinâs (or space-fillers) he starts filling up, in two turns, the still available spaces of the 'body' of the altar, as also the whole of the two wings and the tail. For other particulars as to the way in which these are laid down, see VIII, 7, 2, 1 seqq. The 'body' of an ordinary altar requires in this layer 1028 lokamprinâs of three different kinds, viz. a foot (Ind.), half a foot, and a quarter of a foot square, occupying together a space of 321 square feet, whilst the 98 special (yagushmatî) bricks fill up a space of 79 square feet. Each wing requires 309 lokamprinâs of together 120 square feet; whilst the tail takes 283 such bricks, of together 110 square feet. The total number of lokamprinâs in the layer thus amounts to 7929 of all sizes, equal to 671 square feet. If (as is done in Kâty. Srautas. XVII, 7, 21) the 21 bricks of the Gârhapatya (part iii, p. 304) are added to this number, the total number of lokamprinâs is 1,950. Similarly, in the second, third, and fourth layers; whilst the last layer requires about a thousand lokamprinâs more than any of the others, viz. 2,922, or, including the special hearths, 3,000. The total number of such bricks required--including the 21 of the Gârhapatya--amounts to 10,800. Cp. Weber, Ind. Stud. XIII, p. 255.
22:2 See VIII, 7, 2, 1 seq.
22:3 See VIII, 7, 3, 1 seq.
23:1 The main portion of the special bricks of the second layer consists of five, or (if, for the nonce, we take the two southern sets of half-bricks as one) of four sets of four bricks each, or of together sixteen bricks, each measuring a foot square, placed on the range of the retahsik bricks so as to form the outer rim of a square measuring five feet on each side, and having in the middle a blank square of nine square feet. Each of the four sides of the retahsik rim contains a complete set of four bricks; but as there are five bricks on each side, the one in the left-hand corner (looking at them from the centre of the square) is counted along with the adjoining set. Each set, proceeding from left to right (that is, in sunwise fashion), consists of the following bricks,--âsvinî, vaisvadevî, prânabhrit, and apasyâ, the last of these occupying the corner spaces. The southern bricks consist, however, of two sets of half-bricks (running with their long sides from west to east), counted as the second and fifth set respectively. The eastern and western bricks are laid down so that their line-marks (which, in the case of the bricks of the second and fourth layers, are of an indefinite number) run from west to east; whilst those of the southern p. 24 and northern ones run from south to north. All the five bricks of each class, beginning with the âsvinîs, are laid down at the same time, proceeding again in sunwise fashion (east, south, &c.); the

THE CENTRAL PART OF THE SECOND LAYER.

order of the procedure being only interrupted by the two Ritavyâ bricks being laid down, immediately after the placing of the five âsvinî, exactly over the two ritavyâs of the first layer, that is to say in the fifth (easterly) space from the centre, north and south of the spine. The only other special bricks of the second layer are nineteen vayasyâs placed at the four ends of the two spines, viz. four in the east, and five in each of the other quarters.
25:1 This comparison doubtless refers to the way in which the central portion of the special bricks of this layer are arranged so as completely to enclose an empty space in the middle.. In the first layer there was, no doubt, a similar enclosure of bricks as the retahsik range, but the central space was not left quite empty. In the end, however, the empty spaces are in both cases filled up by 'space-fillers.'
25:2 The author seems to take 'rasa' as an adjective (= ramanîya), as does Mahîdhara, who interprets the formula as meaning 'for the gods’ great, cheerful happiness.'
26:1 The word 'apsas,' which western philologists usually take to mean 'cheek,' is here apparently connected with 'ap,' water.
26:2 Literally, 'having stomas on her back.' Mahîdhara interprets 'stoma-prishthâ' by 'possessed of stomas and Prishthas.' Sâyana, on Taitt. S. III, 7, 2, 7, by '(Prishtha-)stotras performed with stomas.'
26:3 'Samyañk' may either mean 'tending to one and the same point,' or 'running in the same direction, parallel to each other.' It is probably in the former sense that we have to take it here, though not quite literally, but in so far as the line-marks of these p. 27 bricks, if continued towards the centre of the altar, intersect one another. As applied to the quarters this meaning would then modify itself to that of 'facing each other.' On the other hand, it is quite possible that the meaning of 'tending in the same direction' is the one intended; and it would in that case probably apply to the fact that the sets opposite to each other have their line-marks running in the same direction, or are parallel to each other; and this meaning would seem to be implied to the quarters where the author supports his argument by the fact that the wind blows, and the rain falls, in the same direction in all the four quarters (VIII, 2, 3, 2; 5). It is curious that the expression is used by the author in connection with the âsvinî, prânabhrit, and apasyâ, but not with the vaisvadevî, the line-marks of which all meet in one central point, which is not the case with the others. At VIII, 3, 1, 11, on the other hand, it is used again in connection with the Disyâ bricks, which, in the third layer, occupy exactly the same spaces as the Vaisvadevîs do here.
27:1 Or, that direction is the one upward (from here).
27:2 That is to say, he places it immediately north of the southern âsvinî, so as to fill up the unoccupied, inner half of the space (of a foot square).
29:1 These two bricks are placed exactly upon the two Ritavyâs of the first layer, that is, in the fifth space from the centre; see p. 1, note 1.

SECOND BRÂHMANA.

8:2:2:11. He then lays down the Vaisvadevî (All-gods’ bricks). For this second layer is that one which the Asvins at that time laid down for them (the gods); and by laying it down they became everything here whatsoever there is here.
8:2:2:22. The gods spake, 'The Asvins have become everything here: think ye upon this as to how we also may share in it!' They said, 'Meditate ye (kit)!' whereby, no doubt, they meant to say, Seek ye a layer (kiti)! seek ye in what way we also may share in it!' whilst meditating, they saw these Vaisvadevî (All-gods’) bricks.
8:2:2:33. They said, 'The Asvins have become everything here: with the help of the Asvins let us lay down (bricks) along with the Asvins’ layer!' With the help of the Asvins they accordingly laid down (bricks) along with the Asvins’ layer, whence they call this the Asvins’ layer. Hence the end of these (bricks) is the same as that of the former ones; for they laid them down with the help of the Asvins along with the Asvins’ layer.
8:2:2:44. And, again, as to why he lays down the
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[paragraph continues] All-gods’ (bricks). These indeed are those same All-gods who saw this second layer, and who came nigh with that life-sap: it is them he thereby bestows, that is, all these creatures. He lays them down in the range of the Retahsik; for the Retahsik are these two (heaven and earth): within these two (worlds) he thus places creatures; whence there are creatures within these two (worlds). He places (bricks) on every side: he thus places creatures everywhere, whence there are creatures everywhere. He places them alongside of the regional ones 1: he thus places creatures in the regions (quarters); whence there are creatures in all the (four) quarters.
8:2:2:55. And, again, as to why he lays down the All-gods’ (bricks). When Pragâpati had become relaxed, all creatures went forth from the midst of him, from that birth-place of theirs. When that (central part) of his body had been restored, they entered him.
8:2:2:66. Now the Pragâpati who become relaxed is this very Agni (fire-altar) that is now being built up; and the creatures who went forth from the midst of him are these same All-gods’ bricks; and when he lays these down, he causes those creatures, which went forth from the midst of him, to enter him. In the range of the Retahsik (he places the Vaisvadevî bricks), for the Retahsik are the ribs, and the ribs
p. 32
are the middle: he thus causes the creatures to enter him in the very middle. He places them on all sides: on all sides he thus causes the creatures to enter him.
8:2:2:77. And, again, as to why he lays down the Vaisvadevî (bricks). At that time, when that (part) of his body had been restored, Pragâpati desired, 'May I create creatures, may I be reproduced!' Having entered into union with the seasons, the waters, the vital airs, the year, and the Asvins, he produced these creatures; and in like manner does this Sacrificer, by entering into union with those deities, now produce these creatures. Hence with all (of these bricks, the word) sagush ('in union with') recurs.
8:2:2:88. [He lays down the Vaisvadevî bricks, with Vâg. S. XIV, 7], 'In union with the seasons,'--he thereby produced the seasons, and having entered into union with the seasons he produced (creatures);--'in union with the ranges,'--the ranges, doubtless, are the waters, for by water everything is ranged (distributed or produced) here: having entered into union with the waters he produced (creatures);--'in union with the gods,'--he thereby produced the gods,--those who are called 'gods 1;'--'in union with the life-sustaining gods,'--the life-sustaining gods, doubtless, are the vital airs, for by the vital airs everything living here is sustained; or, the life-sustaining gods are the metres, for by the metres (sacred writ) everything living is sustained here; having entered into union with the vital airs he produced creatures;--
p. 33
[paragraph continues] 'for Agni Vaisvânara,'--Agni Vaisvânara ('belonging to all men'), doubtless, is the year: having entered into union with the year he produced creatures;--'May the Asvins, the Adhvaryus, settle thee here!'--having entered into union with the Asvins he produced creatures.
8:2:2:99. 'In union with the Vasus,' he says on the right side: he thereby produced the Vasus;--'in union with the Rudras,' he says at the back: he thereby produced the Rudras;--'in union with the Âdityas,' he says on the left side: he thereby produced the Âdityas;--'in union with the All-gods,' he says upwards: he thereby produced the All-gods. These (bricks) have the same beginning and end, but are different in the middle: as to their having the same beginning and end, it is because having become united with the deities in front and behind, he produced creatures; and as to their being different in the middle, it is that each time he produced different creatures from within him.

Footnotes

31:1 The Âsvinî (or Disyâ) bricks were placed in a circle round the centre, at the distance of a foot from where the central brick (Svayamâtrinnâ) was placed in the first layer,--that is to say, in the third place from the centre. They were, moreover, placed in the second space (or at the distance of half a foot) from the two spines, see p. 23, note 1. The five Vaisvadevîs are then placed alongside of the Âsvinîs, so as to fill up the 'first spaces,' that is to say, to lie on the spines themselves; each of the two half-foot bricks laid down in the south being, as it were, halved by the spine.
32:1 Lit. what they (viz. the Vedic hymns, according to the commentator) call gods:--Yat kimkid ity eva vedavâdâ âkakshate.

THIRD BRÂHMANA.

8:2:3:11. He then lays down the Prânabhrit (bricks). For at that time the gods said, 'Meditate ye!' whereby, doubtless, they meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer!' Whilst meditating, they saw even that layer, the wind: they put it into that (fire-altar), and in like manner does he (the priest) now put it therein.
8:2:3:22. He lays down the Prânabhrits,--wind, doubtless, is breath: it is wind (air) he thus bestows Upon him (Agni). On the range of the Retahsik (they are placed); for the Retahsik are these two (worlds): it is within these two (worlds) that he thus places the wind; whence there is wind within these two (worlds).
p. 34
[paragraph continues] He places them on every side: he thus places wind on all sides, whence the wind is everywhere. [He places them so as] on every side to run in the same direction 1: he thus makes the wind everywhere (to blow) in the same direction, whence, having become united, it blows from all quarters in the same direction. He lays them down alongside of the regional (bricks) 2: he thereby places the wind in the regions, whence there is wind in all the regions.
8:2:3:33. And, again, as to why he lays down the Prânabhrits;--it is that he thereby bestows vital airs on these creatures. He places them so as not to be separated from the Vaisvadevîs: he thereby bestows vital airs not separated from the creatures. [He lays them down with, Vâg. S. XIV, 8], 'Preserve mine up-breathing! Preserve my down-breathing! Preserve my through-breathing! Make mine eye shine far and wide! Make mine ear resound!' He thereby bestows on them properly constituted vital airs.
8:2:3:44. He then lays down the Apasyâ (bricks). For the gods, at that time, spake, 'Meditate ye!' whereby, doubtless, they meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer!' Whilst meditating, they saw even that layer, rain:
p. 35
they put it into that (fire-altar) and in like manner does he now put it therein.
8:2:3:55. He put on the Apasyâs; for rain is water (ap); it is rain he thereby puts into it (the altar; or into him, Agni). On the range of the Retahsik (he places them), for, the Retahsik being these two (worlds), it is on these two (worlds) that he thereby bestows rain, whence it rains therein. He places them on every side: he thus puts rain everywhere, whence it rains everywhere. [He places them] so as everywhere to run in the same direction 1: he thereby bestows rain (falling) everywhere in the same direction, whence the rain falls everywhere, and from all quarters, in the same direction. He places them alongside of those referring to the wind 2: he thereby puts rain into the wind, whence rain follows to whatever quarter the wind goes.
8:2:3:66. And, again, as to why he lays down Apasyâs,--he thereby puts water into the vital airs. He places them so as not to be separated from the Prânabhrits: he thus places the water so as not to be separate from the vital airs. Moreover, water is food: he thus introduces food not separated from (the channels of) the vital airs. [He lays them down with, Vâg. S. XIV, 8], 'Make the waters swell! Quicken the plants! Bless thou the two-footed! Protect the four-footed! Draw thou rain from the sky!' He thereby puts water that is made fit, into those (vital airs).
p. 36
8:2:3:77. He then lays down the Khandasyâ 1 (bricks) for the gods, at that time, spake, 'Meditate ye!' whereby, doubtless, they meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer!' Whilst meditating, they saw even that layer, cattle (or beasts): they put it therein, and, in like manner, does he now put it therein.
8:2:3:88. He lays down the Khandasyâs; for the metres (khandas) are cattle: it is cattle he thus puts into it (or, bestows on him, Agni). On every side (he places them): he thereby places cattle (or beasts) everywhere, whence there are cattle everywhere. He places them alongside of the Apasyâs: he thus establishes the cattle on (or, near) water, whence cattle thrive when it rains.
8:2:3:99. And, again, as to why he lays down Khandasyâs. When Pragâpati was relaxed, the cattle, having become metres, went from him. Gâyatrî, having become a metre, overtook them by dint of her vigour; and as to how Gâyatrî overtook them, it is that this is the quickest (shortest) metre. And so Pragâpati, in the form of that (Gâyatrî), by dint of his vigour, overtook those cattle.
8:2:3:1010. [He lays down four in front, with, Vâg. S. XIV, 9], 'The head is vigour,'--Pragâpati, doubtless, is the head: it is he that became vigour;--'Pragâpati the metre,'--Pragâpati indeed became a metre.
8:2:3:1111. 'The Kshatra is vigour,'--the Kshatra, doubtless, is Pragâpati, it is he that became vigour;--'the pleasure-giving metre,'--what is undefined
p. 37
that is pleasure-giving; and Pragâpati is undefined, and Pragâpati indeed became a metre.
8:2:3:1212. 'Support is vigour,'--the support, doubtless, is Pragâpati: it is he that became vigour;--'the over-lord the metre,'--the over-lord, doubtless, is Pragâpati, and Pragâpati indeed became a metre.
8:2:3:1313. 'The All-worker is vigour,'--the All-worker, doubtless, is Pragâpati: it is he that became vigour;--'the highest lord the metre,'--Pragâpati, the highest lord, doubtless, is the waters, for they (the waters of heaven) are in the highest place: Pragâpati, the highest lord, indeed became a metre.
8:2:3:1414. These then are four kinds of vigour, and four metres; this (makes) eight,--the Gâyatrî consists of eight syllables: this, assuredly, is that same Gâyatrî in the form of which Pragâpati then, by his vigour, overtook those cattle; whence they say of worn-out cattle that they are overtaken by vigour (or, age), and hence (the word) 'vigour' recurs with all (these bricks). And those cattle which went away from him (Pragâpati) are these fifteen other (formulas): the cattle are a thunderbolt, and the thunderbolt is fifteenfold: whence he who possesses cattle, drives off the evildoer, for the thunderbolt drives off the evildoer for him. And in whatever direction, therefore, the possessor of cattle goes, that he finds torn up by the thunderbolt.

Footnotes

34:1 That is, the bricks placed in opposite quarters, run in the same direction; see p. 26, note 3.
34:2 The Prânabhrits are placed beside the Vaisvadevîs so as to be separated from them by the respective section of the anûkas or 'spines' (dividing the square 'body' of the altar into four quarters). Each Vaisvadevî would thus be enclosed between an Âsvinî and a Prânabhrit; but whilst the Âsvinî and Vaisvadevî are placed in the same section (or quarter) of the altar, the Prânabhrit comes to lie in the adjoining section, moving in the sunwise direction from left to right.
35:1 See p. 26, note 3.
35:2. The five Apasyâ bricks are placed immediately to the right of the Prânabhrits (looking towards the latter from the centre of the altar), so as to fill up the four remaining spaces between the four sets of bricks on the range of the Retahsik.
36:1 These are otherwise called Vayasyâ (conferring vigour, or vitality), each formula containing the word vayas, 'vitality, force.' There are nineteen such bricks which are placed on the four ends of the two 'spines,' viz. four on the front, or east end of the spine proper, and five on the hind end of it as well as on each end of the 'cross-spine.'

FOURTH BRÂHMANA.

8:2:4:11. 'The he-goat is vigour 1,'--the he-goat he overtook by his vigour;--'gapless the metre,'--
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the gapless metre, doubtless, is the Ekapadâ: in the form of Ekapadâ (metre) the goats indeed went forth (from Pragâpati).
8:2:4:22. 'The ram is vigour,'--the ram he overtook by his vigour;--'ample the metre,'--the ample metre, doubtless, is the Dvipadâ: in the form of the Dvipadâ the sheep indeed went forth.
8:2:4:33. 'Man is vigour,'--the man he overtook by his vigour;--'slow the metre,'--the slow metre, doubtless, is the Paṅkti: in the form of the Paṅkti the men indeed went forth.
8:2:4:44. 'The tiger is vigour,'--the tiger he overtook by his vigour;--'unassailable the metre,'--the unassailable metre, doubtless, is the Virâg, for the Virâg is food, and food is unassailable; in the form of the Virâg the tigers indeed went forth.
8:2:4:55. 'The lion is vigour,'--the lion he overtook by his vigour;--'the covering the metre,'--the covering metre, doubtless, is the Atikkhandas, for that covers (includes) all metres: in the form of the Atikkhandas the lions indeed went forth. And so he places undefined metres along with defined beasts.
8:2:4:66. 'The ox is vigour,'--the ox he overtook by his vigour;--'the Brihatî the metre,'--in the form of the Brihatî the oxen indeed went forth.
8:2:4:77. 'The bull is vigour,'--the bull he overtook by his vigour;--'the Kakubh the metre,'--in the form of the Kakubh the bulls indeed went forth.
8:2:4:88. 'The steer is vigour,'--the steer he overtook by his vigour;--'the Satobrihatî the metre,'--in the form of the Satobrihatî the steers indeed went forth.
p. 39
8:2:4:99. 'The bullock is vigour,'--the bullock he overtook by his vigour;--'the Paṅkti the metre,'--in the form of the Paṅkti the bullocks indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1010. 'The milch cow is vigour,'--the milch cow he overtook by his vigour;--'the Gagatî the metre,'--in the form of the Gagatî the milch cows indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1111. 'The calf of eighteen months is vigour,'--the calf of eighteen months he overtook by his vigour;--'the Trishtubh the metre,'--in the form of the Trishtubh the calves of eighteen months indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1212. 'The two-year-old bull is vigour,'--the two-year-old bull he overtook by his vigour;--'the Virâg the metre,'--in the form of the Virâg the two-year-old kine indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1313. 'The bull of two years and a half is vigour,'--the bull of two years and a half he overtook by his vigour;--'the Gâyatrî the metre,'--in the form of the Gâyatrî the kine of two years and a half indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1414. 'The three-year-old bull is vigour,'--the three-year-old bull he overtook by his vigour;--'the Ushnih the metre,'--in the form of the Ushnih the three-year-old kine indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1515. 'The four-year-old bull is vigour,'--the four-year-old bull he overtook by his vigour;--'the Anushtubh the metre,'--in the form of the Anushtubh the four-year-old kine indeed went forth.
8:2:4:1616. These then are those very beasts which Pragâpati overtook by his vigour. The animal he (the priest) mentions first, then vigour, then the
p. 40
metre, for having hemmed them in with vigour and the metre, he put them into himself, and made them his own; and in like manner does he (the sacrificer) now hem them in with vigour and the metre, and put them into himself, and make them his own.
8:2:4:1717. Now that animal is the same as Agni: (as such) he is even now made up whole and entire. Those (bricks) which he places in front are his head; those on the right and left sides are his body, and those behind his tail.
8:2:4:1818. He first lays down those in front, for of an animal that is born the head is born first. Having then laid down those on the right (south) side, he lays down those on the left (north) side, thinking, 'Together with its sides this body shall be born.' Then those behind, for of (the animal) that is born the tail is born last.
8:2:4:1919. The metres which are longest, and the animals which are biggest, he puts in the middle: he thus makes the animal biggest towards the middle; whence the animal is biggest towards the middle. And the animals which are the strongest he puts on the right side: he thus makes the right side of an animal the stronger; whence the right side of an animal is the stronger.
8:2:4:2020. The fore and hind parts he makes smallest; for inasmuch as those (bricks in front) are only four in number 1, thereby they are the smallest; and inasmuch as here (at the back) he puts the smallest animals, thereby these are the smallest: he thus makes the fore and hind parts of an animal the smallest, whence the fore and hind parts of an animal
p. 41
are the smallest; and hence the animal rises and sits down by its fore and hind parts. He then lays down two Lokamprinâ (bricks) in that corner 1: the significance of them (will be explained) further on 2. He throws loose earth on the layer: the significance of this (will be explained) further on 3.

Footnotes

37:1 Mahîdhara, in accordance with the explanation added by the Brâhmana to this and the corresponding formulas in the succeeding paragraphs, takes vayas' as a defective instrumental (vayasâ). It is, however, very doubtful whether such an interpretation of the formula was intended by the author of the Brâhmana.
40:1 See p. 35, note 2.
41:1 Whilst, in laying down the Lokamprinâs of the first layer, he started from the right shoulder (or south-east corner) of the altar (see p. 22, note 1), in this layer he begins from the right hip (or south west-corner), filling up the available spaces, in two turns, in sunwise fashion.

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(My humble salutations to the translator Sreeman Julius Eggeling for the collection)