ONE WHO KNOWS THIS

(As compiled from SPB)

FROM SHATPATH BRAHMIN 1
1:1:1:7. Now then of the eating (or) fasting. And on this point shdha
Svayasa, on the one hand, was of opinion that the vow consisted in fasting.
For assuredly, (he argued,) the gods see through the mind of man; they
know that, when he enters on this vow (sankalpa), he means to sacrifice to
them the next morning. Therefore all the gods betake themselves to his
house, and abide by (him or the fires, upa-vas) in his house; whence this
(day) is called upa-vasatha

1:1:1:8. Now, as it would even be unbecoming for him to take food, before
men (who are staying with him as his guests) have eaten; how much more
would it be so, if he were to take food before the gods (who are staying with
him) have eaten: let him therefore take no food at all.
1:1:1:9. Ygavalkya, on the other hand, said: 'If he does not eat, he
thereby becomes a sacrificer to the Manes (Pitra); and if he does eat, he
eats before the gods have eaten: let him therefore eat what, when eaten,
counts as not eaten.' For that of which no offering is made, even though it is
eaten, is considered as not eaten. When he therefore eats, he does not
become a sacrificer to the Manes; and by eating of that of which no offering
is made, he does not eat before the gods have eaten.
1:1:1:10. Let him therefore eat only what grows in the forest, be it forest
plants or the fruit of trees. And in regard to this point BarKAUSHITAKIUPANISHAD Vrshna said: 'Cook ye beans for me, for no offering is made of
them!' This, however, he should not do; for pulse serves as an addition to
rice and barley; and hence he increases the rice and barley by means of it:
let him therefore eat only what grows in the forest.
1:1:1:11. Let him sleep that night in the house of the havanya fire or in
the house of the Grhapatya fire. For he who enters on the vow approaches
the gods; and he sleeps in the midst of those very gods whom he
approaches. Let him sleep on the ground; for from below, as it were, one
serves one's superior.
He now takes the black antelope skin, for completeness of the sacrifice. For
once upon a time the sacrifice escaped the gods, and having become a black
1

antelope roamed about. The gods having thereupon found it and stripped it
of its skin, they brought it (the skin) away with them.
1:1:4:2. Its white and black hairs represent the Rik-verses and the Smanverses; to wit, the white the Sman and the black the Rik; or conversely,
the black the Sman and the white the Rik. The brown and the yellow ones,
on the other hand, represent the Yagus-texts.
1:1:4:3. Now this same threefold science is the sacrifice; that manifold
form, that (varying) colour of this (science) is what is (represented by) this
black antelope skin. For the completeness of the sacrifice (he takes the
skin): hence the rite of initiation (for the Soma-sacrifice) is likewise
performed on the black antelope skin;--for the completion of the sacrifice:
hence it is also used for husking and bruising (the rice) on, in order that
nothing of the oblation may get spilt; and that, if any grain or flour should
now be spilt on it, the sacrifice would still remain securely established in the
sacrifice. For this reason it is used for husking and bruising upon
1:1:4:4. He thus takes the black antelope skin, with the text (Vg. S: I, 14
a): 'Bliss-bestowing (sarman /Sharma) art thou!' For karman ('hide') is the
name of that (skin of the) black deer used among men, but sarman (bliss) is
(that used) among the gods; and for this reason he says, 'Bliss-bestowing
art thou!' He shakes it, with the text (Vg. S. I, 14 b), 'Shaken off is the
Rakshas, shaken off are the enemies!' whereby he repels from it the evil
spirits, the Rakshas. He shakes it whilst holding it apart from the vessels;
whereby he shakes off whatever impure matter there may have been on it.
holding the wooden sword (sphya) in his left hand, touches the right knee of
the Brahman with his right hand, in which he holds barley-corns and]
chooses him for his Brahman with the formula: ['Thou, of such and such a
family, N.N. Sarman!( XY Sharma) we are about to perform the Full-moon
sacrifice,'] 'O Lord of the earth! Lord of the world! Lord of the great
universe! we choose thee for our Brahman!' The chosen one then mutters
(cf. Vg. S. p. 57): 'I am the lord of the earth, I lord of the world, I lord of
the great universe (mahbhta)! earth! ether! heaven! O God Savitri, thee
they choose for their Brahman, their lord of prayer (Brihaspati)!' &c.,
'Brihaspati is Brahman to the gods, I to the men!' He (or, according to some,
the sacrificer) further says, 'O Lord of speech, protect the sacrifice!' after
which he betakes himself to the Brahman's seat (south of the havanya),
and whilst [standing north of it, with his face turned eastward and] looking
on it, he mutters: 'Avaunt! unholy one (daidhishavya, lit. son of a re-married
woman)! take thee away from here and seat thee on another's seat who is
less exalted (pkatara) than we!' He takes one blade of grass from the seat
and flings it towards south-west (the region of the Rakshas or evil spirits)
2

with the formula: 'Expelled is sin with him whom we detest!' and then sits
down with the formula 'Here I sit on the seat of Brihaspati, at the command
of the divine Savitri! This I proclaim to the fire, this to the wind, this to the
earth!' Here he remains seated, with his face towards the havanya fire, to
watch the progress of the ceremony and give directions, whenever he is
appealed to. When the full or new-moon sacrifice is performed for the first
time, it should be preceded by the Anvrambhany offering, performed in
much the same way as the Paurnams, except that the oblations
themselves consist of a rice cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Vishnu, a
potful of boiled (rice) grains (karu) for Sarasvati; and a rice cake on twelve
potsherds for Sarasvat; the priest's fee on this occasion consisting of a cow
four years old, or a pair of cattle, instead of the Anvhrya mess. Kty. Sr.
IV, 5, 22-23.
And whatever here in this (sacrifice) the Hotri, or the Adhvaryu, or the
Brahman, or the gndhra, or the sacrificer himself, does not succeed in
accomplishing, all that is thereby obtained (or made good).
1:1:1:16. Another reason why he brings forward water is this: whilst the
gods were engaged in performing sacrifice, the Asuras and Rakshas forbade
(raksh) them, saying, 'Ye shall not sacrifice!' and because they forbade
(raksh), they are called Rakshas.
1:1:1:17. The gods then perceived this thunderbolt(vajra), to wit, the water:
the water is a thunderbolt(vajra), for the water is indeed a
thunderbolt(vajra); hence wherever it goes, it produces a hollow (or
depression of ground); and whatever it comes near, it destroys (lit. it burns
up). Thereupon they took up that thunderbolt(vajra), and in its safe and
foeless shelter they spread (performed) the sacrifice. And thus he (the
Adhvaryu priest) likewise takes up this thunderbolt(vajra), and in its safe
and foeless shelter spreads the sacrifice. This is the reason why he brings
forward water.
1:1:1:18. After pouring out some of it (into the jug) he puts it down north of
the Grhapatya fire. For water (ap) is female and fire (agni) is male; and the
Grhapatya is a house: hence a copulation productive of offspring is thereby
effected in this house. Now he who brings forward the water, takes up a
thunderbolt(vajra); but when he takes up the thunderbolt(vajra), he cannot
do so unless he is firmly placed; for otherwise it destroys him.
1:1:1:19. The reason then why he places it near the Grhapatya fire is, that
the Grhapatya is a house, and a house is a safe resting-place; so that he
thereby stands firmly in a house, and therefore in a safe resting-place: in

this way that thunderbolt(vajra) does not destroy him,--for this reason he
places it near the Grhapatya fire.
1:1:1:20. He then carries it north of the havanya fire. For water is female
and fire is male: hence a copulation productive of offspring is thereby
effected. And in this way alone a regular copulation can take place, since the
woman lies on the left (or north) side of the man.
1:1:1:21. Let nobody pass between the water (and the fire), lest by passing
between them he should disturb the copulation which is taking place. Let
him set the water down without carrying it beyond (the north side of the
fire, i.e. not on the eastern side); nor should he put it down before reaching
(the north side, i.e. not on the western side). For, if he were to put the
water down after carrying it beyond,--there being, as it were, a great rivalry
between fire and water,--he would cause this rivalry to break forth on the
part of the fire; and when they (the priests and the sacrificer) touch the
water of this (vessel), he would, by carrying it and setting it down beyond
(the northern side), cause the enemy to rise (spirt) in the fire. If, on the
other hand, he were to put it down before gaining (the northern side), he
would not gain by it the fulfillment of the wish for which it has been brought
forward. Let him therefore put it down exactly north of the havanya fire.
1:1:1:22. He now strews sacrificial grass all round (the fires) , and fetches
the utensils, taking two at a time, viz. the winnowing basket and the
Agnihotra ladle, the wooden sword and the potsherds, the wedge and the
black antelope skin, the mortar and the pestle, the large and the small millstones. These are ten in number; for of ten syllables consists the Virg
(metre), and radiant (virg) also is the sacrifice: so that he thereby makes
the sacrifice resemble the Virg. The reason why he takes two at a time is,
because a pair means strength; for when two undertake anything, there is
strength in it. Moreover, a pair represents a productive copulation, so that a
productive copulation (of those respective objects) is thereby effected.
1:1:3:2. Two there are of them: for means of cleansing (pavitra) is this
(wind) which here ventilates (pavate); and this, it is true, ventilates as one
only; but on entering into man, it becomes a forward and a backward one,
and they are these two, to wit, the prna (breathing out) and the udna
(breathing up or in) . And as this (clarifying process) takes place in
accordance with the measure of that (process of breathing), therefore there
are two (strainers).
1:1:3:3. There may also be three: for the vyna (or pervading vital air) is a
third (kind of breathing); but in reality there are only two. Having then

strained the sprinkling water with these two (strainers), he sprinkles with it.
The reason why he strains it with the two (strainers) is this:
1:1:3:4. Vritra in truth lay covering all this (space) which here extends
between heaven and earth, And because he lay covering (vri) all this,
therefore his name is Vritra.
1:1:3:5. Him Indra slew. He being slain flowed forth stinking in all directions
towards the water; for in every direction lies the ocean. And in consequence
of this, some of the waters became disgusted, and, rising higher and higher,
flowed over: whence (sprung) these grasses (of which the strainers are
made; for they represent the water which was not putrified. With the other
(water), however, some matter has become mixed up, inasmuch as the
putrid Vritra flowed into it. This he now removes from it by means of these
two strainers; whereupon he sprinkles with the (sacrificially) pure water.
This is the reason why he strains it through them.
1:1:3:8. And further (Vg. S. I, 13 a): 'You Indra chose (for his companions)
in the battle against Vritra!' For Indra, when he was battling with Vritra, did
choose them (the waters) and with their help he killed him; and for this
reason he says, 'You Indra chose in the battle against Vritra!'
1:1:4:14. Manu was in possession of a bull . Into him had entered an Asurakilling, foe-killing voice; and by his snorting and roaring the Asuras and
Rakshas were continually being crushed. Thereupon the Asuras said to one
another: 'Evil, alas! this bull inflicts upon us! how can we possibly destroy
him?' Now Kilta and KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHADli were the two priests
(brahman) of the Asuras.
1:1:4:15. These two said, 'God-fearing, they say, is Manu: let us two then
ascertain!' They then went to him and said: 'Manu! we will sacrifice for thee!'
He said: 'Wherewith?' They said: 'With this bull!' He said: 'So be it!' On his
(the bull's) being killed the voice went from him.
1:1:4:16. It entered into Manv, the wife of Manu; and when they heard
her speak, the Asuras and Rakshas were continually being crushed.
Thereupon the Asuras said to one another: 'Hereby even greater evil is
inflicted on us, for the human voice speaks more!' Kilta and KAUSHITAKIUPANISHADli then said: 'God-fearing, they say, is Manu: let us then
ascertain!' They went to him and said: 'Manu! we will sacrifice for thee!' He
said: 'Wherewith?'
They said: 'With this thy wife!' He said: 'So be it!' And on her being killed
that voice went from her.
5

1:1:4:17. It entered into the sacrifice itself, into the sacrificial vessels; and
thence those two (Asura priests) were unable to expel it. This same Asurakilling, foe-killing voice sounds forth (from the millstones when they are
beaten with the wedge). And for whomsoever that knows this, they produce
this discordant noise on the present occasion, his enemies are rendered very
miserable.
1:1:4:18. He beats the mill-stones with the wedge, with the text (Vg.S. I,
16 a): 'A honey-tongued cock (KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHAD) art thou (O
wedge)!' For honey-tongued indeed was he (the bull) for the gods, and
poison-tongued for the Asuras: hence he thereby says: 'What thou wert for
the gods, that be thou for us!' He adds: 'Sap and strength do thou call
hither! with thy help may we conquer in every battle!' In these words there
is nothing that is obscure.
Mahdhara offers the following etymological derivation of this word: 1. from kva kva,
'where? where?' ['He who, wishing to kill the Asuras, roams about everywhere, crying
"where, where are the Asuras?"']; 2. from KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHADk, 'a hideous noise,' and
KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHADt, 'to spread;' or 3. one who, in order to frighten the Asuras, utters
a sound resembling that of the bird called KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHAD kKAUSHITAKIUPANISHADta (cock). Professor Weber translates it by 'Brller' (roarer, crier).

1:2:3:1. Fourfold, namely, was Agni (fire) at first. Now that Agni whom they
at first chose for the office of Hotri priest passed away. He also whom they
chose the second time passed away. He also whom they chose the third time
passed away. Thereupon the one who still constitutes the fire in our own
time, concealed himself from fear. He entered into the waters. Him the gods
discovered and brought forcibly away from the waters. He spat upon the
waters, saying, 'Bespitten are ye who are an unsafe place of refuge, from
whom they take me away against my will!' Thence sprung the ptya deities,
Trita, Dvita, and Ekata.
1:2:3:4. And the ptyas then said: 'Let us make this pass on beyond us!'
'On whom?' they asked. 'On him who shall make an offering without a
dakshin (gift to the officiating priests)!' they said. Hence one must not
make an offering without a dakshin; for the sacrifice wipes (the guilt) off
upon the ptyas, and the ptyas wipe it off upon him who makes an offering
without a dakshin.
1:2:3:5. Thereupon the gods ordained this to be the dakshin at the newand full-moon sacrifices, to wit, the Anvhrya mess of rice, 'lest the
oblation should be without a dakshin.' That (rinsing water) he pours out
(for each ptya) separately: thus he avoids a quarrel among them. He
makes it hot (previously) : thus it becomes boiled (drinkable) for them. He

pours it out with the formulas, 'For Trita thee!' 'For Dvita thee!' 'For Ekata
thee!'--Now it is as an animal sacrifice that this sacrificial cake is offered.
In the Taitt. Sarah. II, 5, 1, 1, Visvarpa, the Tvshtra, is said to have been a sister's son of
the Asuras, and house-priest (purohita) to the gods, and to have been killed by Indra,
because he had secretly contrived to let the oblations go to the Asuras, instead of to the
gods. Thus by killing him, Indra (or Trita, according to our version of the legend) became
guilty of that most hideous crime, the brahmahaty, or killing of a Brhmana. Trita, the
ptya (i.e. probably 'sprung from, or belonging to the ap, or waters of the atmosphere'),
seems to have been a prominent figure of the early Indo-Iranian mythology, the prototype,
in many respects, of Indra, the favourite god of the Vedic hymns. The notion of wishing evil
and misfortune away to Trita, or far, far away, is a familiar one to the Vedic bards. The
name Traitana also occurs once in Rig-veda (I, 158, 5), though in a rather dark passage. On
the connection between Trita (? Traitana) and the Iranian Thraetona (Ferdn), son of
Athvya, Dvita (the second) and Ekata are no doubt later abstractions suggested by the
etymology of the name Trita (the third), although the former, Dvita, occurs already in the
Vedic hymns.

1:2:3:6. At first, namely, the gods offered up a man as the victim. When he
was offered up, the sacrificial essence went out of him. It entered into the
horse. They offered up the horse. When it was offered up, the sacrificial
essence went out of it. It entered into the ox. They offered up the ox. When
it was offered up, the sacrificial essence went out of it. It entered into the
sheep. They offered up the sheep. When it was offered up, the sacrificial
essence went out of it. It entered into the goat. They offered up the goat.
When it was offered up, the sacrificial essence went out of it.
1:2:3:7. It entered into this earth. They searched for it, by digging. They
found it (in the shape of) those two (substances), the rice and barley:
therefore even now they obtain those two by digging; and as much efficacy
as all those sacrificed animal victims would have for him, so much efficacy
has this oblation (of rice &c.) for him who knows this. And thus there is in
this oblation also that completeness which they call 'the fivefold animal
sacrifice.'
1:2:3:9. The man (purusha) whom they (Gods) had offered up became a
mock-man (kim-purusha). Those two, the horse and the ox, which they had
sacrificed, became a bos gaurus and a gayal (bos gavaeus) respectively. The
sheep which they had sacrificed, became a camel. The goat which they had
sacrificed, became a sarabha. For this reason one should not eat (the flesh)
of these animals, for these animals are deprived of the sacrificial essence
(are impure).
1:2:4:4. He takes it, with the text (Vg. S. I, 24): 'At the impulse of the
divine Savitri, I take thee with the arms of the Asvins, with the hands of
Pshan; thee that performs sacred rites to the gods!' Savitri, namely, is the
7

impeller of the gods: thus he thereby takes that (wooden sword) as one
impelled by Savitri. 'With the arms of the Asvins,' he says, because the
Asvins are the two Adhvaryu priests (of the gods): with their arms he
therefore takes it, not with his own. Pshan is distributer of portions (to the
gods): with his hands he therefore takes it, not with his own; for it is the
thunderbolt(vajra), and no man can hold that: he thus takes it with (the
assistance of) the gods.
1:2:4:8. The gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati,were
contending for superiority. The gods vanquished the Asuras; and yet these
afterwards harassed them again.
1:2:4:9. The gods then said: 'We do, no doubt, vanquish the Asuras, but
nevertheless they afterwards again harass us. How then can we vanquish
them so that we need not fight them again?'
1:2:4:10. Agni then said: 'By fleeing northwards they escape from us.' By
fleeing northwards they had indeed escaped from them.
1:2:4:11. Agni said: 'I will go round to the northern side, and you will then
shut them in from here ; and whilst shutting them in, we will put them down
by these (three) worlds; and from what fourth world there is beyond these
(three) they will not be able to rise again.'
1:2:4:12. Agni thereupon went round to the northern side; and they (the
other gods) shut them in from here; and whilst shutting them in, they put
them down with these (three)worlds; and from what fourth world there is
beyond these (three) they did not rise again. Now this same (expulsion of
the Asuras) is virtually the same act as the flinging away of the grass-bush.
1:2:5:1. The gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati,
were contending for superiority. Then the gods were worsted, and the
Asuras thought: 'To us alone assuredly belongs this world!
1:2:5:2. They thereupon said: 'Well then, let us divide this world between
us; and having divided it, let us subsist thereon!' They accordingly set about
dividing it with ox-hides from west to east.
1:2:5:3. The gods then heard of this, and said: 'The Asuras are actually
dividing this earth: come, let us go to where the Asuras are dividing it. For
what would become of us, if we were to get no share in it?' Placing Vishnu,
(in the shape of) this very sacrifice, at their head, they went (to the Asuras).

1:2:5:4. They then said: 'Let us share in this earth along with yourselves!
Let a part of it be ours!' The Asuras replied rather grudgingly: 'As much as
this Vishnu lies upon, and no more, we give you!'
1:2:5:5. Now Vishnu was a dwarf. The gods, however, were not offended at
this, but said: 'Much indeed they gave us, who gave us what is equal in size
to the sacrifice.'
1:2:5:6. Having then laid him down eastwards, they enclosed him on all
(three) sides with the metres, saying (Vg. S. I, 27), on the south side,
'With the Gyatr metre I enclose thee!' on the west side: 'With the
Trishtubh metre I enclose thee!' on the north side: 'With the Gagat metre I
enclose thee!
1:2:5:7. Having thus enclosed him on all (three) sides, and having placed
Agni (the fire) on the east side, they went on worshipping and toiling with it
(or him, i.e. Vishnu, the sacrifice). By it they obtained (sam-vid) this entire
earth; and because they obtained by it this entire (earth), therefore it (the
sacrificial ground) is called vedi (the altar). For this reason they say, 'As
great as the altar is, so great is the earth;' for by it (the altar) they obtained
this entire (earth). And, verily, he who so understands this, wrests likewise
this entire (earth) from his rivals, excludes his rivals from sharing in it.
1:2:5:8. Thereupon this Vishnu became tired; but being enclosed on all
(three) sides by the metres, with the fire on the east; there was no (means
of) escaping: he then hid himself among the roots of plants.
1:2:5:9. The gods said: 'What has become of Vishnu? What has become of
the sacrifice?' They said: 'On all (three) sides he is enclosed by the metres,
with Agni to the east, there is no (way of) escaping: search for him in this
very place!' By slightly digging they accordingly searched for him. They
discovered him at a depth of three inches (or thumb's breadths): therefore
the altar should be three inches deep; and therefore also Pki made the
altar for the Soma-sacrifice three inches deep.
Here also we meet with the same struggle between light and darkness: the gods of light are
vanquished and obtain from the Asuras, who divide the earth between themselves, only as
much room as is covered by Vishnu, who measures the atmosphere with his three steps. He
represents the sun-light, which, on shrinking into dwarf's size in the evening, is the only
means of preservation that is left to the gods, who cover him with metres, i.e. with sacred
hymns (probably in order to defend him from the powers of darkness), and in the end kindle
Agni in the east--the dawn--and thereby once more obtain possession of the earth.'
Compare also the corresponding legend in Taitt. Br. III, 2, 9, 7, where the gods are granted
by the Asuras as much as they can enclose; and by the Vasus being placed in the south, the
Rudras in the west, the dityas in the north, and Agni in the east, they obtain the whole of
the earth.

1:2:5:10. This, however, one must not do. Among the roots of the plants he
(Vishnu) hid himself: therefore let him (the Adhvaryu) bid (the gndhra) to
cut out the roots of the plants. And since they found (anu-vid) Vishnu in that
place, therefore it is called vedi (altar).
1:2:5:11. When they had found him, they enclosed him with a second
enclosure, saying (Vg. S. I, 27), 'Of good soil art thou, and auspicious art
thou!' on the south side; for when they had thus obtained this earth they
made it of good soil and auspicious;--'Pleasant art thou, and soft to sit
upon!' they said on the west side, for when they had thus obtained this
earth, they made it pleasant and soft to sit upon;--'Abounding in food and
drink art thou!' they said on the north side, for when they had thus obtained
this earth, they made it abounding in food and drink.
1:2:5:16. It (the altar) should be broader on the west side, contracted in the
middle, and broad again on the east side; for thus shaped they praise a
woman: 'broad about the hips, somewhat narrower between the shoulders,
and contracted in the middle (or, about the waist).' Thereby he makes it (the
altar) pleasing to the gods.
1:2:5:17. It should be sloping towards east, for the east is the quarter of the
gods; and also sloping towards north, for the north is the quarter of men. To
the south side he sweeps the rubbish (loose soil), for that is the quarter of
the deceased ancestors. If it (the altar) were sloping towards south, the
sacrificer would speedily go to yonder world; and thus (by making the altar
in the prescribed way) the sacrificer lives for a long time: for this reason he
sweeps the loose soil to the south side. Let him then cover it (the altar) over
with (fresh) rubbish: for rubbish means cattle, and well-stocked with cattle
he thereby makes it.
1:2:5:18. He (the gndhra) smooths it down (from east to west). The gods,
namely, when they were preparing for the contest, said to one another:
'Come, let us remove to the moon for safety what imperishable place of
worship there is on this earth; so that if the Asuras, on vanquishing us,
should drive us away from here, we may afterwards, by praising and
mortifying, prevail again!' They accordingly removed to the moon what
imperishable place of worship there was on this earth. That now is the black
(spots) in the moon: hence they say, 'In the moon is the place of worship for
this earth.' It is in this place of worship also that his sacrifice is performed:
for that reason he smooths (the altar) down.

10

1:3:1:16. Let him not make a knot, for the knot is Varuna's (attribute); and
Varuna would lay hold on the (sacrificer's) wife, if he were to make a knot.
For this reason he does not make a knot.
The noose (psa) is one of the chief attributes of God Varuna, the symbol of his supreme
power and his abhorrence of sin. Thus we read in Atharva-veda IV, 16, 4 seq.: 'And if one
were to flee far beyond the sky, one would not escape from king Varuna. From heaven his
spies issue forth to this (world), and with their thousand eyes survey the earth. King Varuna
sees all that happens between heaven and earth and beyond them: the very twinklings of
the eyes of men are numbered by him. . . . May all those baleful nooses of thine, O Varuna,
that are thrown sevenfold and three-fold, ensnare him who speaks untruth, and pass by him
who speaks the truth!'

1:3:3:19. Indeed, they should be of Palsa wood (Butea Frondosa); for the
Palsa tree, doubtless, is the Brahman, and Agni also is the Brahman: for
this reason the Agnis should be of Palsa wood.
1:3:3:20. Should he be unable to procure them of Palsa wood, they may be
of Vikankata wood (Flacourtia Sapida); and if he be unable to procure any of
Vikankata, they may be of Krshmarya wood (Gmelina Arborea); and if he
be unable to procure any of Krshmarya wood, they may be of Vilva (Aegle
Marmelos), or of Khadira (Acacia Catechu), or of Udumbara wood (Ficus
Glomerata). These, doubtless, are the trees that are suitable for sacrificial
purposes, and from these trees they (the enclosing-sticks) (paridhis) are
therefore (taken).
Thereupon he puts on (the fire) a samidh (sam-indh, to make blaze)
(kindling-stick). He first touches with it the middle enclosing-stick (paridhis):
thereby he first kindles those (three Agnis). After that he puts it on the fire:
thereby he kindles the visible fire. (idhma, lighting material) lights (indh)
the fire.
1:3:5:13. Thrice he should recite the first and thrice the last (verse), without
drawing breath; for three are these worlds, so that he thereby spreads (santan) these worlds, gains these worlds. Also three breaths there are in man:
this recitation thereby causes him (the sacrificer) to be extended (santata),
not cut short (by death).
1:4:1:11. He recites after uttering (the syllable) 'Hi!' Sacrifice, they say, is
not (performed) without the Sman; and neither is the Sman chanted
without 'Hi' having been uttered. By his uttering 'Hi!' the peculiar nature
(rpam) of the word 'Hi' is produced (in the sacrifice); and by the sacred
syllable (om) it assumes the nature of the Sman. By uttering 'Om! Om !'
this his entire sacrifice becomes endowed with the Sman.
11

1:4:1:2. And (another reason) why he utters 'Hi!' is this. The word 'Hi'
means breath, for the word Hi' does indeed mean breath: he cannot
therefore pronounce the word 'Hi,' when he closes his nostrils. The rik
(verse) he recites with his voice. Now, voice and breath are a pair, so that a
productive union of the smidhens is thereby effected at the outset: for this
reason he recites, after uttering 'Hi!'
That is, by uttering 'Om!' after each verse. The recitation of the first verse is preceded by
the mystic words 'Hi bhr bhuvah svar om!' sv. S. I, 2, 3. Both syllables 'hi' and 'om' are
essential elements in the recitation of Sman hymns

1:4:1:10. 'With buttered (spoon)--' he adds. Now Mthava, the (king of)
Videgha, carried Agni Vaisvnara in his mouth. The Rishi Gotama Rhgana
was his family priest. When addressed (by the latter), he made no answer to
him, fearing lest Agni might fall from his mouth.
1:4:1:11. He (the priest) began to invoke the latter with verses of the Rigveda, 'We kindle thee at the sacrifice, O wise Agni, thee the radiant, the
mighty caller to the sacrificial feast (Rig-veda V, 26, 3)!--O Videgha!'
1:4:1:12. He (the king) did not answer. (The priest went on), 'Upwards, O
Agni, dart thy brilliant, shining rays, thy flames, thy beams (Rig-veda VIII,
44, 16)!--O Videgha-a-a!'
1:4:1:13. Still he did not answer. (The priest continued), 'Thee, O buttersprinkled one, we invoke! (Rig-veda V, 26, 2);' so much he uttered, when at
the very mentioning of butter, Agni Vaisvnara flashed forth from the
(king's) mouth: he was unable to hold him back; he issued from his mouth,
and fell down on this earth.
1:4:1:14. Mthava, the Videgha, was at that time on the (river) Sarasvat .
He (Agni) thence went burning along this earth towards the east; and
Gotama Rhgana and the Videgha Mthava followed after him as he was
burning along. He burnt over (dried up) all these rivers. Now that (river),
which is called 'Sadnr,' flows from the northern (Himlaya) mountain:
that one he did not burn over. That one the Brhmans did not cross in
former times, thinking, 'it has not been burnt over by Agni Vaisvnara.'
1:4:1:15. Now-a-days, however, there are many Brhmans to the east of it.
At that time it (the land east of the Sadnr) was very uncultivated, very
marshy, because it had not been tasted by Agni Vaisvnara.
1:4:1:16. Now-a-days, however, it is very cultivated, for the Brhmans have
caused (Agni) to taste it through sacrifices. Even in late summer that (river),
12

as it were, rages along : so cold is it, not having been burnt over by Agni
Vaisvnara.
1:4:1:17. Mthava, the Videgha, then said (to Agni), 'Where am I to abide?'
'To the east of this (river) be thy abode!' said he. Even now this (river)
forms the boundary of the Kosalas and Videhas; for these are the Mthavas
(or descendants of Mthava).
1:4:1:18 Gotama Rhgana then said (to Mthava), 'Why didst thou not
answer when addressed by us?' He replied, 'Agni Vaisvnara was in my
mouth; I did not reply, lest he should escape from my mouth.'
1:4:1:19. 'How then did this happen?'--'At the moment when thou didst
utter the words, "(Thee), O butter-sprinkled one, we invoke!" just then, at
the mention of butter, Agni Vaisvnara flashed forth from my mouth; I was
unable to hold him back, he issued from my mouth.'
1:4:1:20. That (word) in the smidhens, therefore, which contains butter
(ghrita) is especially suitable for kindling (sam-indh); and by it he
accordingly kindles him (Agni, the fire) and bestows vigour on this
(sacrificer).
1:4:1:25. [He recites the third smidhen]: 'With samidhs thee, O Agiras!'-with samidhs (kindling-sticks), indeed, the Agiras kindled him. 'O Agiras!'
he says, for Agni is indeed Agiras.--'With butter we exhilarate!' This (viz.
ghritena, 'with butter') is a word which is especially suitable for the kindling
of Agni: by it he kindles him, and bestows vigour on this (sacrificer).
1:4:1:34. He recites [the eighth smidhen]: 'Agni we choose as
messenger!' Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprang from
Pragpati, were contending for superiority. When they were thus contending,
the gyatr stood between them. That gyatr was the same as this earth,
and this earth indeed lay between them. Now both of them knew that
whichever she would side with, they would be victorious and the others
would be defeated. Both parties then invited her secretly to come to them.
Agni acted as messenger for the gods; and an Asura-Rakshas, named
Saharakshas, for the Asuras. She then followed Agni: he therefore recites,
'Agni we choose for messenger,' because he was the messenger of the
gods.--'As Hotri the all-knowing, him!'
1:4:1:40. This tristich, containing (the word) 'cult (adhvara),' he thus
recites. For once when the gods were engaged in sacrificing, their rivals, the
Asuras, wished to injure (dhurv, dhvar) them; but, though desirous of
injuring them, they were unable to injure them and were foiled: for this
13

reason the sacrifice is called adhvara ('not damaged, uninterrupted'); and

for whomsoever, that knows this, they recite this tristich containing (the
word) adhvara ('cult, sacrifice'), his rival, though desirous of injuring him, is
foiled; and he, (the sacrificer), moreover, gains as much as one gains by
offering a Soma-sacrifice.
1:4:3:3. He recites, 'Pra vah;' for the (word) prna contains the syllable pra
('forwards;' or, is directed forwards):. hence it is the prna (out-breathing)
which he kindles by this (the first smidhen). [He further recites the second
verse], 'Come hither, Agni, to expand!' the backward breathing (apna),
doubtless, is of this nature: the backward breathing he accordingly kindles
with this (verse). Further (in the third verse), 'Shine forth, O youngest,
brilliantly!' the high-flaming one, indeed, is the upward breathing (udna):
the upward breathing he accordingly kindles with this (the third verse).
1:4:3:8 Further, 'Agni we choose for messenger,'--what central breath there
is (in the body), that he kindles with this (the eighth verse): that one indeed
is the internal motive force of the breathings; from it (two) others tend
upwards, and from it (two) others tend downwards, for it is indeed the
internal motive force. And whosoever knows that internal motive force of the
breathings, him they regard as the internal motive force.
1:4:3:9. Further, 'The flaming-locked, him we adore!' the flaming-locked,
doubtless, is the sisna, for it is that organ which chiefly burns (torments)
him who is endowed with it: the sisna he accordingly kindles by this (the
ninth verse).
1:4:5:11. They went to appeal to Pragpati for his decision. He, Pragpati,
decided in favour of Mind, saying (to Speech), 'Mind is indeed better than
thou, for thou art an imitator of its deeds and a follower in its wake; and
inferior, surely, is he who imitates his better's deeds and follows in his
wake.'
1:4:5:12. Then Speech (vk, fem.) being thus gainsaid, was dismayed and
miscarried. She, Speech, then said to Pragpati, 'May I never be thy
oblation-bearer, I whom thou hast gainsaid!' Hence whatever at the sacrifice
is performed for Pragpati that is performed in a low voice; for speech would
not act as oblation-bearer for Pragpati.
1:4:5:13. That germ (retas) the gods then brought away in a skin or in
some (vessel). They asked: 'Is it here (atra)?' and therefore it developed
into Atri. For the same reason one becomes guilty by (intercourse) with a
woman who has just miscarried (trey)for it is from that woman, from the
goddess Speech, that he (Atri) originated'].
14

The Hotri's seat stands north of the north-west corner of the altar, the havanya and the
Grhapatya fires being about equidistant from it towards south-east and south-west
respectively.

1:5:2:5. These same (preceding formulas) are nine utterances; for nine, in
number, are those breaths (or vital airs) in man , and these he thereby puts
into him (the sacrificer): for this reason there are nine utterances.
1:5:2:6. The sacrifice fled away from the gods. The gods called out after it,
'Listen (a-sru) to us! come back to us!' It replied, 'So be it!' and returned to
the gods; and with what had thus returned to them, the gods worshipped;
and by worshipping with it they became the gods they now are.
1:5:2:16. Now there are here five utterances, viz. (1) 'Bid (him, Agni, or
them) hear!' (2) 'Yea, may he (or, one) hear!' (3) 'Pronounce the prayer to
the kindling-sticks!' (4) 'We who pronounce the prayer . . .' (5) 'May he bear
(the sacrifice to the gods)!' fivefold is the sacrifice, fivefold the animal
victim, five are the seasons of the year: this is the one measure of the
sacrifice, this its consummation.
1:5:2:17. These (five formulas) consist of seventeen syllables;-seventeenfold, indeed, is Pragpati, and Pragpati is the sacrifice: this is the
one measure of the sacrifice, this its consummation.
1:5:2:18. With 'O srvaya !' the gods sent forth the east wind; with 'Astu
sraushat !' they caused the clouds to flow together; with 'Yaga (pronounce
the ygy)!' (they sent forth) the lightning; with' Ye yagmahe (we who
pray),' the thunder; with the vashat-call they caused it to rain.
1:5:2:20. With 'O srvaya!' the gods called the shining one (virg, viz. cow),
with 'Astu sraushat!' they untied the calf and let it go to her; with 'Yaga!'
they raised (its head to the udder of the cow) ; with 'Ye yagmahe!' they sat
down by her (for milking); with the vashat-call they milked her. The shining
one, doubtless, is this (earth), and of her this is the milking: and for him
who knows this to be the milking of the shining one, this shining (earth-cow)
thus milks out all his desires.
1:5:3:2. The gods and the Asuras, both of them sprang from Pragpati,
were once contending for this sacrifice, (which is) their father Pragpati, the
year: 'Ours it (he) shall be!' 'Ours it (he) shall be!' they said.
1:5:3:4. The sacrificial food at these offerings consists of clarified butter.
Now the butter, indeed, is a thunderbolt (vajra), and with that thunderbolt
(vajra), the butter, the gods gained the seasons, the year, and deprived
their rivals of the seasons, of the year. And with that thunderbolt (vajra),
15

the butter, he now, in the same way, gains the seasons, the year, and
deprives his enemies of the seasons, of the year. For this reason clarified
butter forms the sacrificial food at these (offerings).
1:5:3:5. Now this butter is the year's own liquor: hence the gods gained it
(the year) by means of its own liquor; and in the same way he also now
gains it by means of its own liquor. This is the reason why clarified butter
forms the sacrificial food at these (fore-offerings).
1:5:3:13. He then pronounces the offering-prayer with 'Svh! Svh !' The
Svh-call, namely, marks the end of the sacrifice, and the end of the year
is the winter, since the winter is on the other (remoter) side of the spring.
By the end (of the sacrifice) the gods, at that time, appropriated the end (of
the year); by the end they deprived their rivals of the end; and by the end
this one also now appropriates the end; by the end he deprives his rivals of
the end: this is why he pronounces the offering-prayers with 'Svh! Svh!'
1:5:3:14. Now the spring, assuredly, comes into life again out of the winter,
for out of the one the other is born again: therefore he who knows this, is
indeed born again in this world.
1:5:4:5. He then pronounces the offering-prayer with 'Svh! Svh!' The
Svh-call, indeed, is what the winter is among the seasons; for the winter
subjects these creatures to its will: hence in winter the plants wither, and
the leaves fall off the trees; the birds retire more and more, and fly lower
and lower; and the wicked man has his hair, as it were, falling off; for the
winter subjects these creatures to its will. And, verily, he who knows this,
makes that locality wherein he lives, his own, for his own happiness and
supply of food.
1:6:1:1. Now the Seasons were desirous to have a share in the sacrifice
among the gods, and said, 'Let us share in the sacrifice! Do not exclude us
from the sacrifice! Let us have a share in the sacrifice!'
1:6:1:2. The gods, however, did not approve of this. The gods not
approving, the Seasons went to the Asuras, the malignant, spiteful enemies
of the gods.
1:6:1:3. Those (Asuras) then throve in such a manner that they (the gods)
heard of it; for even while the foremost (of the Asuras) were still ploughing
and sowing, those behind them were already engaged in reaping and
threshing: indeed even without tilling the plants ripened forthwith for them.

16

1:6:1:4. This now caused anxiety to the gods: 'That owing to that (desertion
of the Seasons), enemy (viz. the Asuras) seeks to injure enemy (viz. us) is
of little consequence; but this indeed goes too far: try to find out how
henceforth this may be different !'
1:6:1:5. They then said, 'Let us invite the Seasons!'--'How? Let us offer
prayer to them first of all at the sacrifice!'
1:6:1:6. Agni then said, 'But whereas hitherto you used to offer prayer to
me in the first place, what is now to become of me?' 'We will not remove you
from your place!' said they. And since, in inviting the Seasons, they did not
remove Agni from his place, for that reason Agni is immutable ; and verily,
he who knows that Agni to be immutable, does not move from the place
where he bides.
1:6:3:3. Now from the one which was Soma-drinking, a hazel-cock
(francoline partridge) sprang forth; whence the latter is of brownish colour,
for king Soma is brown.
1:6:3:4. From the one which was spirit-drinking, further, a sparrow sprang;
whence the latter talks as if stammering, for he who has drunk spirits, talks
as if he stammered.
1:6:3:16. Now Vritra, on being struck, lay contracted like a leather bottle
drained of its contents, like a skin bag with the barley-meal shaken out.
Indra rushed at him, meaning to slay him.
1:6:3:17. He said, 'Do not hurl (thy thunderbolt (vajra)) at me! thou art now
what I (was before) Only cut me in twain; but do not let me be annihilated!'
He (Indra) said, 'Thou shalt be my food!' He replied, 'So be it!' He
accordingly cut him in twain; and from that (part) of his which was of the
Soma nature , he made the moon, and that which was demoniacal (asurya)
he made enter these creatures as their belly; hence people say : 'Vritra was
then a consumer of food, and Vritra is so now.' For even now, whenever that
one (the moon) waxes fuller, it fills itself out of this world ; and whenever
these creatures crave for food, they pay tribute to this Vritra, the belly.
Whosoever knows that Vritra as a consumer of food, becomes himself a
consumer of food.
1:6:3:4141. Those two (qualities), truly, are related to the natures of Agni
and Soma: that which is white is related to Agni, and that which is black is
related to Soma. If, however (it were asserted), on the contrary, that what
is black is related to Agni, and what is white is related to Soma,--[the
answer would be:--] what sees is of the nature of Agni, for dry, as it were,
17

are the eyes of one who looks, and that which is dry relates to Agni;--and
what sleeps is of the nature of Soma, for moist, as it were, are the eyes of
one who is asleep, and moist also is Soma. And, verily, he who thus knows
those two butter-portions to be eyes, remains endowed with eye-sight till old
age in this world, and starts in yonder world possessed of eye-sight.
1:6:4:3. The gods said, 'Our Vasu, who has gone to live away from us, is
this day dwelling together (am vas, viz. with Agni );' and as one would
cook a dish of rice or a goat in common for two relatives or friends who have
come to stay with him,--for such-like is human (fare), as the sacrificial food
(havis) is that of the gods,--in like manner they offered to those two
together that sacrificial food, the rice-cake on twelve potsherds for Indra and
Agni. This is the reason why there is a rice-cake on twelve potsherds for
Indra and Agni.
1:6:4:8. Now although this (mixture of sweet and sour milk) is, indeed, one
and the same substance--it being milk (payas) and belonging to Indra--they,
nevertheless, declare it to be (two) different (substances). Since he said 'it
satiates (dh) me,' therefore it is sour milk (dadhi); and since they made it
agree (sri) with him with boiled milk (or, by boiling), therefore it is (fresh)
boiled milk (srita).
1:6:4:9. In the same way as the Soma stalk becomes strong (by being
touched or sprinkled with water), so he (Indra) became strong (by the Soma
being mixed with boiled milk) and overcame that evil, the jaundice. Such is
likewise the significance of the new-moon ceremony (and the Snnyya, or
libation of sweet and sour milk offered to Indra thereat); and verily he who,
knowing this, mixes (sweet and sour milk at the new-moon sacrifice) in like
manner increases in offspring and cattle, and overcomes evil: let him
therefore mix together (sweet and sour milk).
1:6:4:15. But as they (the cows), previously (to the new moon), eat mere
plants (not imbued with the moon or Soma), and drink mere water, and
yield mere milk,--so that (milk which they offer on the day before new
moon, is not imbued with Soma, is ordinary milk). For king Soma, the food
of the gods, indeed, is no other than the moon. When he is not seen that
night either in the east or in the west, then he visits this world, and here
enters into the waters and plants. Having then collected him from the water
and plants, he (the performer of the Snnyya) causes him to be reproduced
from out of the libations; and he (Soma, the moon), being reproduced from
the libations, becomes visible in the western sky.
The identification of the Soma (plant and juice) with the moon already occurs in some of the
hymns of the Rig-veda, all of which, however, probably belong to the later ones. According
to the St. Petersburg Dictionary, the identification was probably suggested by the

18

circumstance that indu, 'drop, spark,' applies both to the Soma and the moon. Rig-veda X,
85, 3 says that of that Soma which the priests know, no one ever eats.'

1:6:4:17. Thus during that night (of new moon) food moves away from the
gods and comes to this world. Now the gods were desirous as to how that
(food) might (be made to) come back to them; how it might not perish away
from them. For this they put their trust in those who prepare the libation of
sweet and sour milk (snnyya), thinking, 'when they have prepared it, they
will offer it to us.' And, verily, in him, who knows this, both his own kin and
strangers put their trust; for in him, who attains to the highest rank, people
indeed put their trust.
1:6:4:18. Now the one that burns there (viz. the sun) is, assuredly, no other
than Indra, and that moon is no other than Vritra. But the former is of a
nature hostile to the latter, and for this reason, though this one (the moon,
Vritra) had previously (to the night of new moon) risen at a great distance
from him (the sun, Indra), he now swims towards him and enters into his
open mouth.
1:6:4:19. Having swallowed him, he (the sun) rises; and that (other) one is
not seen either in the east or in the west. And, verily, he who knows this,
swallows his spiteful enemy, and of him they say, 'He alone exists, his
enemies exist not.
1:6:4:20. Having sucked him empty, he throws him out; and the latter, thus
sucked out, is seen in the western sky, and again increases; he again
increases to serve that (sun) as food: and verily if the spiteful enemy of one
who knows this, thrives either by trade or in any other way, he thrives again
and again in order to serve him as food.
1:7:2:1. Verily, whoever exists, he, in being born, is born as (owing) a debt
to the gods, to the Rishis, to the fathers, and to men.
1:7:2:2. For, inasmuch as he is bound to sacrifice, for that reason he is born
as (owing) a debt to the gods: hence when he sacrifices to them, when he
makes offerings to them, he does this (in discharge of his debt) to them.
1:7:2:3. And further, inasmuch as he is bound to study (the Veda), for that
reason he is born as (owing) a debt to the Rishis: hence it is to them that he
does this; for one who has studied (the Veda) they call 'the Rishis' treasurewarden.'

19

1:7:2:4. And further, inasmuch as he is bound to wish for offspring, for that
reason he is born as (owing) a debt to the fathers: hence when there is
(provided by him) a continued, uninterrupted lineage, it is for them that he
does this.
1:7:2:5. And further, inasmuch as he is bound to practise hospitality, for
that reason he is born as (owing) a debt to men: hence when he harbours
them, when he offers food to them, it is (in discharge of his debt) to them
that he does so. Whoever does all these things, has discharged his duties:
by him all is obtained, all is conquered.
1:7:2:6. And, accordingly, in that he is born as (owing) a debt to the gods,
in regard to that he satisfies (ava-day) them by sacrificing; and when he
makes offerings in the fire, he thereby satisfies them in regard to that
(debt): hence whatever they offer up in the fire, is called avadnam
(sacrificial portion ).
1:7:2:22. Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from
Pragpati, entered upon their father Pragpati's inheritance, to wit, these
two half-moons. The gods entered upon the one which waxes, and the
Asuras on the one which wanes.
1:7:2:23. The gods were desirous as to how they might appropriate also the
one that had fallen to the Asuras. They went on worshipping and toiling.
They saw this haviryaga, to wit, the new- and full-moon sacrifices, and
performed them; and by performing them they likewise appropriated the
one-1:7:2:24. Which belonged to the Asuras. Now when these two revolve, then
the month is produced; and month (revolving) after month, the year (is
produced). But the year, doubtless, means all; hence the gods thereby
appropriated all that belonged to the Asuras, they deprived their enemies,
the Asuras, of all. And in the same way he (the sacrificer) who knows this
appropriates all that belongs to his enemies, deprives his enemies of all.
1:7:3:18. Or they are both anushtubh verses. The anushtubh is residue (or
site, vstu), and the svishtakrit also is residue: hence he thereby puts a
residue to a residue. And, verily, one who knows this, and whose (invitatory
and offering-formulas) are two anushtubh verses, his homestead (vstu) is
prosperous, and he himself prospers in regard to progeny and cattle.
1:7:4:1. Pragpati conceived a passion for his own daughter,--either the Sky
or the Dawn. 'May I pair with her!' thus (thinking) he united with her.

20

1:7:4:2. This, assuredly, was a sin in the eyes of the gods. 'He who acts
thus towards his own daughter, our sister, [commits a sin],' they thought.
1:7:4:3. The gods then said to this god who rules over the beasts (Rudra),
'This one, surely, commits a sin who acts thus towards his own daughter,
our sister. Pierce him!' Rudra, taking aim, pierced him. Half of his seed fell
to the ground. And thus it came to pass.
According to Ait. Br. III, 35, where this legend is also given in connection with the
gnimruta sstra, Agni Vaisvnara, aided by the Maruts, stirred (and heated) the seed;
and out of it sprang successively ditya (the sun), Bhrigu, and the dityas; whilst the coals
(agra) remaining behind became the Agiras, and Brihaspati, and the coal dust, the burnt
earth and ashes were changed into various kinds of animals. According to Harisvmin it
would seem that our passage has to he understood to the effect that the composition of the
gnimruta sstra shows the order of beings which the gods caused to spring forth from the
seed.

1:7:4:4. Accordingly it has been said by the Rishi with reference to that
(incident), 'When the father embraced his daughter, uniting with her, he
dropped his seed on the earth.' This (became) the chant (uktha) called
gnimruta ; in (connection with) this it is set forth how the gods caused
that seed to spring. When the anger of the gods subsided, they cured
Pragpati and cut out that dart of this. (Rudra); for Pragpati, doubtless, is
this sacrifice.
1:7:4:5. They said (to one another), 'Think of some means by which that
(part of the sacrifice torn out with the dart) may not be lost, and how it may
be but a small portion of the offering itself!'
1:7:4:6. They said, 'Take it round to Bhaga (Savitri, the Patron), who sits on
the south side (of the sacrificial ground): Bhaga will eat it by way of foreportion, so that it may be as though it were offered.' They accordingly took it
round to Bhaga, who sat on the south side. Bhaga (Savitri) looked at it: it
burnt out his eyes. And thus it came to pass. Hence they say, 'Bhaga is
blind.'
1:7:4:7. They said, 'It has not yet become appeased here: take it round to
Pshan!' They accordingly took it round to Pshan. Pshan tasted it: it
knocked out his teeth. And thus it came to pass. Hence they say, 'Pshan is
toothless;' and therefore, when they prepare a mess of boiled rice
(charu) for Pshan, they prepare it from ground rice, as is done for one
toothless.
1:8:1:1. In the morning they brought to Manu water for washing, just as
now also they (are wont to) bring (water) for washing the hands. When he
was washing himself, a fish came into his hands.
21

1:8:1:2. It spake to him the word, 'Rear me, I will save thee!' 'Wherefrom
wilt thou save me?' 'A flood will carry away all these creatures : from that I
will save thee!' 'How am I to rear thee?'
1:8:1:3. It said, 'As long as we are small, there is great destruction for us:
fish devours fish. Thou wilt first keep me in a jar. When I outgrow that, thou
wilt dig a pit and keep me in it. When I outgrow that, thou wilt take me
down to the sea, for then I shall be beyond destruction.'
1:8:1:4. It soon became a ghasha (a large fish); for that grows largest (of
all fish). Thereupon it said, 'In such and such a year that flood will come.
Thou shalt then attend to me (i.e. to my advice) by preparing a ship ; and
when the flood has risen thou shalt enter into the ship, and I will save thee
from it.'
1:8:1:5. After he had reared it in this way, he took it down to the sea. And
in the same year which the fish had indicated to him, he attended to (the
advice of the fish) by preparing a ship; and when the flood had risen, he
entered into the ship. The fish then swam up to him, and to its horn he tied
the rope of the ship, and by that means he passed swiftly up to yonder
northern mountain.
1:8:1:6. It then said, 'I have saved thee. Fasten the ship to a tree; but let
not the water cut thee off , whilst thou art on the mountain. As the water
subsides, thou mayest gradually descend!' Accordingly he gradually
descended, and hence that (slope) of the northern mountain is called
'Alarm's descent.' The flood then swept away all these creatures, and Manu
alone remained here.
1:8:1:7. Being desirous of offspring, he engaged in worshipping and
austerities. During this time he also performed a pka-sacrifice: he offered
up in the waters clarified butter, sour milk, whey, and curds. Thence a
woman was produced in a year: becoming quite solid she rose; clarified
butter gathered in her footprint. Mitra and Varuna met her.
1:8:1:8. They said to her, 'Who art thou?' 'Manu's daughter,' she replied.
'Say (thou art) ours,' they said. 'No,' she said, 'I am (the daughter) of him
who begat me.' They desired to have a share in her. She either agreed or
did not agree , but passed by them. She came to Manu.
1:8:1:9. Manu said to her, 'Who art thou?' 'Thy daughter,' she replied. 'How,
illustrious one, (art thou) my daughter?' he asked. She replied, 'Those
offerings (of) clarified butter, sour milk, whey, and curds, which thou madest
in the waters, with them thou hast begotten me. I am the blessing
22

(benediction): make use of me at the sacrifice! If thou wilt make use of me

at the sacrifice, thou wilt become rich in offspring and cattle. Whatever
blessing thou shalt invoke through me, all that shall be granted to thee!' He
accordingly made use of her (as the benediction) in the middle of the
sacrifice; for what is intermediate between the fore-offerings and the afterofferings, is the middle of the sacrifice.
1:8:1:10. With her he went on worshipping and performing austerities,
wishing for offspring. Through her he generated this race, which is this race
of Manu; and whatever blessing he invoked through her, all that was
granted to him.
1:8:1:11. Now this (daughter of Manu) is essentially the same as the Id;
and whosoever, knowing this, performs with (the) Id , he propagates this
race which Manu generated; and whatever blessing he invokes through it (or
her), all that is granted to him.
1:8:1:12. It (the id) consists of a fivefold cutting; for the id, doubtless,
means cattle, and cattle consist of five parts : for this reason it (the id)
consists of a fivefold cutting.
2:1:2:6. He may also set up his fires under (the asterism of Rohin. For
under Rohin it was that Pragpati, when desirous of progeny (or creatures),
set up his fires. He created beings, and the creatures produced by him
remained invariable and constant , like (red) cows (rohin): hence the cowlike nature of Rohin. Rich in cattle and offspring therefore he becomes
whosoever, knowing this, sets up his fires under Rohin.
2:1:2:7. Under Rohin, indeed, the cattle set up their fires, thinking that
they might attain to (ruh) the desire (or love) of men. They did attain to the
desire of men; and whatever desire the cattle then obtained in regard to
men, that same desire he obtains, in regard to cattle, whosoever, knowing
this, sets up his fire under Rohin.
2:1:2:8 He may also set up his fires under (the asterism of) Mrigasrsha. For
Mrigasrsha, indeed, is the head of Pragpati; and the head (siras) means
excellence (sr), for the head does indeed mean excellence: hence they say
of him who is the most excellent (sreshtha) of a community, that he is the
head of that community. Excellence therefore he attains whosoever,
knowing this, sets up his fire under Mrigasrsha.
2:1:2:9. On the other hand (it is argued) why one should not set up his fire
under Mrigasrsha. The latter, indeed, is Pragpati's body. Now, when they
(the gods) on that occasion pierced him with what is called 'the three23

knotted arrow,' he abandoned that body, for the body is a mere relic (or
dwelling, vstu), unholy and sapless. He should therefore not set up his fires
under Mrigasrsha.
2:1:2:10. But he may, nevertheless, set them up (under Mrigasrsha). For,
assuredly, the body of that god, Pragpati, is neither a relic nor unholy, : he
may therefore set up (his fires under Mrigasrsha). 'Under the Punarvas he
should perform the Punardheya,' thus (it is prescribed).
2:1:2:11. He may also set up his fires under the Phalguns. They, the
Phalguns, are Indra's asterism, and even correspond to him in name; for
indeed Indra is also called Arguna, this being his mystic name; and they (the
Phalguns) are also called Arguns. Hence he overtly calls them Phalguns, for
who dares to use his (the god's) mystic name? Moreover, the sacrificer
himself is Indra, so that he in that case sets up his fires under his own
asterism. Indra is the deity of the sacrifice; and accordingly his Agnydheya
is thereby brought into relation with Indra. He may set up the fires under
the first (Prva-phalguns)--whereby an advancing (successful) sacrifice
accrues to him; or he may set them up under the second (Uttara-phalguns)-whereby a progressive (uttarvat) improvement accrues to him.
2:1:2:12. Let him set up his fires under the asterism Hasta , whosoever
should wish that (presents) should be offered him: then indeed (that will
take place) forthwith; for whatever is offered with the hand (hasta), that
indeed is given to him.
2:1:2:13. He may also set up his fires under Chitr. Now the gods and the
Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati, were contending for
superiority. Both parties were desirous of rising to yonder world, the sky.
The Asuras then constructed the fire (altar) called rauhina (fit to ascend by),
thinking, 'Thereby we shall ascend (-ruh) to the sky.'
2:1:2:14. Indra then considered, 'If they construct that (fire-altar), they will
certainly prevail over us.' He secured a brick and proceeded thither, passing
himself off for a Brhman.
2:1:2:15. 'Hark ye!' he said, 'I, too, will put on this (brick) for myself!' 'Very
well,' they replied. He put it on. That fire (altar) of theirs wanted but very
little to be completely built up,-2:1:2:16. When he said, 'I shall take back this (brick) which belongs to me.'
He took hold of it and pulled it out; and on its being pulled out, the fire-altar
fell down; and along with the falling fire-altar the Asuras fell down. He then
converted those bricks into thunderbolts and clove the (Asuras') necks.
24

2:1:2:17. Thereupon the gods assembled and said, 'Wonderfully (kitram)

indeed it has fared with us who have slain so many enemies!' Hence the
wonderful nature (kitrtva) of the asterism Chitr; and verily wonderfully it
fares with him, and he slays his rivals, his spiteful enemy, whosoever,
knowing this, sets up his fires under Chitr. A Kshatriya, therefore, should
especially desire to take advantage of this asterism; since such a one is
anxious to strike, to vanquish his enemies.
2:1:2:18. Originally these (nakshatras) were so many different powers
(kshatra), just as that sun yonder. But as soon as he rose, he took from
them (-d) their energy, their power; therefore he (the sun) is called
ditya, because he took from them their energy, their power.
2:1:2:19. The gods then said, 'They who have been powers, shall no longer
(na) be powers (kshatra) !' Hence the powerlessness (na-kshatratvam) of
the nakshatras. For this reason also one need only take the sun for one's
nakshatra (star), since he took away from them their energy, their power.
But if he (the sacrificer) should nevertheless be desirous of having a
nakshatra (under which to set up his fires), then assuredly that sun is a
faultless nakshatra for him; and through that auspicious day (marked by the
rising and setting of the sun) he should endeavour to obtain the benefits of
whichever of those asterisms he might desire. Let him therefore take the
sun alone for his nakshatra .
2:1:3:5. The spring is the priesthood, the summer the nobility, and the rainy
season the common people (vis): a Brhman therefore should set up his
fires in spring, since the spring is the priesthood; and a Kshatriya should set
them up in summer, since the summer is the nobility; and a Vaisya should
set them up in the rainy season, since the rainy season is the common
people.
2:1:4:1. On the day preceding his Agnydheya, he (the sacrificer with his
wife) should take his food in the day-time. For the gods know the minds of
man: they are, therefore, aware that his Agnydheya is to take place on the
morrow; and all the gods betake themselves to his house and stay (upa-vas)
in his house; whence this day is called upavasatha (fast-day) .
2:1:4:2. Now, as it would be unbecoming for him to take food before men
(who are staying with him as his guests) have eaten; how much more would
it be so, if he were to take food before the gods have eaten: let him
therefore take his food in the day-time. However, he may also, if he choose,
take food at night, since the observance of the vow is not necessary for him
who has not performed Agnydheya. For so long as he has not set up a

25

(sacrificial) fire of his own, he is merely a man, and may therefore, if he

choose, take food at night.
2:2:2:1. Now, in performing that sacrifice, they slay it; and in pressing out
the king (Soma), they slay him; and in quieting and immolating the victim,
they slay it. The haviryaga they slay with the mortar and pestle, and with
the two mill-stones.
2:2:2:2. When slain, that sacrifice was no longer vigorous. By means of
dakshins (gifts to the priests) the gods again invigorated it: hence the
name dakshin, because thereby they invigorated (dakshay) that (sacrifice).
Whatever, therefore, fails in this sacrifice when slain, that he now again
invigorates by means of gifts to the priests; whereupon the sacrifice
becomes successful: for this reason he makes gifts to the priests.
2:2:2:19. Now, attendance on (or, the worship of) that consecrated fire
(agnydheya) means (speaking) the truth. Whosoever speaks the truth, acts
as if he sprinkled that lighted fire with ghee; for even so does he enkindle it:
and ever the more increases his own vital energy, and day by day does he
become better. And whosoever speaks the untruth, acts as if he sprinkled
that lighted fire with water; for even so does he enfeeble it: and ever the
less becomes his own vital energy, and day by day does he become more
wicked. Let him, therefore, speak nothing but the truth.
2:2:4:1. Pragpati alone, indeed, existed here in the beginning. He
considered, 'How may I be reproduced?' He toiled and performed acts of
penance. He generated Agni from his mouth; and because he generated him
from his mouth, therefore Agni is a consumer of food: and, verily, he who
thus knows Agni to be a consumer of food, becomes himself a consumer of
food.
2:3:1:13. Here now they say,--All other sacrifices come to an end, but the
Agnihotra does not come to an end. Although that which lasts for twelve
years is indeed limited, this (Agnihotra) is nevertheless unlimited, since,
when one has offered in the evening, he knows that he will offer in the
morning; and when one has offered in the morning, he knows that he will
again offer in the evening. Hence that Agnihotra is unlimited, and in
consequence of this its unlimitedness, creatures are here born unlimited.
And, verily, he who thus knows the unlimitedness of the Agnihotra, is
himself born unlimited in prosperity and offspring.
2:3:2:12. And when the flame of the waning (fire) gets lower and lower, and
(burns) as it were sideways, then, indeed, that (fire) is Mitra. And if any one
desires to consume food here through the kindness (maitra, of others),--as
26

one of whom they say, 'Truly, this Brahman is everybody's friend, he harms
not any one,'--let him offer (the Agnihotra) then: and, assuredly, he who,
knowing this, offers then (when the fire gets low), obtains that food.
2:3:3:6 Hence it has been said by the Rishis (Rig-veda I, 89, 9), 'A hundred
autumns (may there he) before us, O gods, during which ye complete the
life-time of our bodies, during which sons become fathers! do not cut us off,
midway, from reaching the full term of life!' for he (Agni) who is the son,
now in his turn becomes the father: this, then, is why one must establish the
fires.
2:4:2:1. Now the living beings once approached Pragpati--beings doubtless
mean creatures--and said, 'Ordain unto us in what manner we are to live!'
Thereupon the gods, being properly invested with the sacrificial cord and
bending the right knee, approached him. To them he said, 'The sacrifice
(shall be) your food; immortality your sap; and the sun your light!'
2:4:2:2. Then the fathers approached, wearing the cord on the right
shoulder, and bending the left knee. To them he said, 'Your eating (shall be)
monthly; your cordial (svadh) your swiftness of thought; and the moon
your light!'
2:4:2:3. Then the men approached him, clothed and bending their bodies.
To them he said, 'Your eating (shall be) in the evening and in the morning;
your offspring your death; and the fire (Agni) your light!'
2:4:2:4. Then the beasts approached him. To them he granted their own
choice, saying, 'Whensoever ye shall find anything, whether in season or out
of season, ye shall eat it!' Hence whenever they find anything, whether in
season or out of season, they eat it.
2:4:2:5. Thereupon--so they say--the Asuras also straightway approached
him. To them he gave darkness (tamas) and illusion (my): for there is
indeed what is called the illusion of the Asuras. Those creatures, it is true,
have perished; but creatures still subsist here in the very manner which
Pragpati ordained unto them.
2:4:2:6. Neither the gods, nor the fathers, nor beasts transgress (this
ordinance); some of the men alone transgress it. Hence whatever man
grows fat; he grows fat in unrighteousness, since he totters and is unable to
walk because of his having grown fat by doing wrong. One should therefore
eat only in the evening and morning; and whosoever, knowing this, eats
only in the evening and morning, reaches the full measure of life; and
whatever he speaks, that is (true); because he observes that divine truth.
27

For, verily, that is Brhmanic lustre (tegas), when one knows to keep His
(Pragpati's) law.
2:4:2:7. Now that (lustre) indeed belongs to him who presents (food) to the
fathers once a month. When that (moon) is not seen either in the east or in
the west, then he presents (food) to them; for that moon doubtless is king
Soma, the food of the gods. Now during that night (of new moon) it fails
them, and when it fails, he presents (food to them), and thereby establishes
concord (between the gods and fathers). But were he to present (food) to
them when it is not failing, he would indeed cause a quarrel between the
gods and fathers: hence he presents (food) to them when that (moon) is not
seen either in the east or in the west.
2:4:2:8. He presents it in the afternoon. The forenoon, doubtless, belongs to
the gods; the mid-day to men; and the afternoon to the fathers: therefore
he presents (food to the fathers) in the afternoon.
2:4:2:9 While seated behind the Grhapatya, with his face turned toward
the south , and the sacrificial cord on his right shoulder, he takes that
(material for the offering from the cart) . Thereupon he rises from thence
and threshes (the rice) while standing north of the Dakshina fire and facing
the south. Only once he cleans (the rice) ; for it is once for all that the
fathers have passed away, and therefore he cleans it only once.
2:4:2:10. He then boils it. While it stands on the (Dakshina) fire, he pours
some clarified butter on it;--for the gods they pour the offering into the fire;
for men they take (the food) off the fire; and for the fathers they do in this
very manner: hence, they pour the ghee on it while it stands on the fire.
2:4:2:11. After removing it (from the fire) he offers to the gods two libations
in the fire. For, in establishing his sacrificial fires, and in performing the new
and full-moon sacrifice, that (householder) resorts to the gods. Here,
however, he is engaged in a sacrifice to the fathers: hence he thereby
propitiates the gods, and being permitted by the gods, he presents that
(food) to the fathers. This is why, on removing (the rice), he offers to the
gods two libations in the fire.
2:4:2:12. He offers both to Agni and Soma. To Agni he offers, because Agni
is allowed a share in every (offering); and to Soma he offers, because Soma
is sacred to the fathers. This is why he offers both to Agni and Soma.
2:4:2:17. Now those (stalks of sacrificial grass) are severed with one stroke,
and cut off near the root;--the top belongs to the gods, the middle part to
men, and the root-part to the fathers: therefore they are cut off near the
28

root. And with one stroke they are severed, because the fathers have passed
away once for all.
2:4:3:1. Now Kahoda Kaushtaki spake, 'This sap (of the plants) truly
belongs to those two, heaven and earth: having offered of this sap to the
gods, we will eat it.' 'That is why the offering of first-fruits is performed.'
2:4:3:2. And Ygavalkya also spake:--The gods and the Asuras, both of
them sprung from Pragpati, once contended for superiority. The Asuras
then defiled, partly by magic, partly with poison, both kinds of plants--those
on which men and beasts subsist--hoping that in this way they might over
come the gods. In consequence of this neither did men eat food, nor did
beasts graze; and from want of food these creatures well-nigh perished.
2:4:3:3. Now the gods heard as to how these creatures were perishing from
want of food. They spake unto one another, 'Come, let us rid them of this!'-'By what means?'--'By means of the sacrifice.' By means of the sacrifice the
gods then accomplished all that they wanted to accomplish ; and so did the
Rishis.
2:4:3:4. They then said, 'To which of us shall this belong?' They did not
agree (each of them exclaiming), 'Mine (it shall be)!' Not having come to an
agreement, they said, 'Let us run a race for this (sacrifice): whichever of us
beats (the others), his it shall be!' 'So be it!' they said, and they ran a race.
2:4:3:5. Indra and Agni won, and hence that Indra-Agni cake on twelve
potsherds ; Indra and Agni having won a share in it. And where Indra and
Agni were standing when they had won, thither all the gods followed them.
2:5:1:1. Verily, in the beginning, Pragpati alone existed here. He thought
within himself, 'How can I be propagated?' He toiled and practised
austerities. He created living beings. The living beings created by him passed
away: they are those birds. Now man is the nearest to Pragpati; and man
is two-footed: hence birds are two-footed.
2:5:1:2. Pragpati thought within himself, 'Even as formerly I was alone, so
also am I now alone.' He created a second (race of beings); they also passed
away: they are those small crawling reptiles other than snakes. He created a
third (race), they say; they also passed away: they are those snakes.
Ygavalkya, on his part, declared them to be of two kinds only; but of three
kinds they are according to the Rik.
2:5:1:3. While praising and practising austerities, Pragpati thought within
himself, 'How comes it that the living beings created by me pass away?' He
29

then became aware that his creatures passed away from want of food. He
made the breasts in the fore-part of (their) body teem with milk. He then
created living beings; and by resorting to the breasts, the beings created by
him thenceforward continued to exist: they are these (creatures) which have
not passed away.
2:5:1:4. Hence it has been said by the Rishi ,.--'Three generations have
passed beyond,'--this is said regarding those that passed away;--'Others
settled down around the light (arka, the sun)'--the light doubtless is the fire:
those creatures which did not pass away, settled down around the fire; it is
with regard to them that this is said.
2:5:1:5. 'The great one (neut.) remained within the worlds'--it is with
regard to Pragpati that this is said.--'The blower (or, purifier) entered the
regions'--the regions doubtless are the quarters, and these were indeed
entered by that blowing wind: it is with regard to them that this verse was
uttered. And in like manner as Pragpati created these living beings, so they
are propagated: for whenever the breasts of woman and the udder of cattle
swell, then whatever is born is born; and by resorting to the breasts these
(beings) continue to exist.
2:5:1:6.Now that milk is indeed food; for in the beginning Pragpati
produced it for food. But that food also means living beings (progeny), since
it is by food that they exist: by resorting to the breasts of those who have
milk, they continue to exist. And those who have no milk are nursed by the
former as soon as they are born; and thus they exist by means of food, and
hence food means progeny.
2:5:1:7. He who is desirous of offspring, sacrifices with that oblation, and
thereby makes himself the sacrifice, which is Pragpati.
2:5:1:12. After that (follows), as a foundation for the curds, a cake on seven
potsherds for the Maruts. The Maruts indeed are the people (visah), the
people of the gods. They roamed about here entirely unimpeded. Having
approached Pragpati, when he was sacrificing, they said, 'We shall destroy
those creatures of thine which thou art about to create by means of this
offering.
2:5:2:4. Now when this (sacrificer) performs these offerings in the fourth
month (after the Vaisvadeva), he does so either because thus Varuna does
not seize his offspring, or because the gods performed (the same offering);
and both the children that have been born to him and those that are yet
unborn he thereby delivers from Varuna's noose, and his children are born

30

without disease and blemish. This is why he performs these offerings in the
fourth month.
2:5:2:12. Upon both of them he also scatters sam-leaves; for with samleaves Pragpati bestowed bliss (sam) on the creatures, and so does he now
thereby bestow bliss on the creatures.
2:5:2:23. (In the form of) dishes they are, because it is from dishes that
food is eaten; and of barley they are prepared, because it was when they
(the creatures) had eaten the barley corn that Varuna seized them. From the
winnowing basket she offers, because food is prepared by means of the
winnowing basket. The wife offers (together with her husband): thus he
delivers his offspring from Varuna's noose through conjugal union.
3:1:1:1. They choose a place of worship. Let them choose (the place) which
lies highest, and above which no other part of the ground rises ; for it was
from thence that the gods ascended to heaven, and he who is consecrated
indeed ascends to the gods. He thus sacrifices on a place of worship
frequented by the gods; but were any other part of the ground to rise above
it, he would indeed be lowered while sacrificing: let them therefore choose
(the place) which lies highest.
3:1:1:2. While being high, that place should be even; and being even, it
should be firm; and being firm, it should incline towards the east, since the
east is the quarter of the gods; or else it should incline
towards the north, since the north is the quarter of men. It should rise
somewhat towards the south, that being the quarter of the Fathers. Were it
to incline towards the south, the sacrifice would quickly go to yonder world;
but in this way the sacrificer lives long: let it therefore rise somewhat
towards the south.
3:1:1:3. Let not the measure of the sacrificial ground be exceeded on the
east side, since such an excess would be in favour of his spiteful enemy. It
may be so in the south, and also in the north; but that place of worship
alone is thoroughly efficient where the measure of the sacrificial ground is
exceeded in the west; for to him (who possesses such a one) the higher
worship of the gods readily inclines. So much as to the place of worship.
3:1:1:4. Now Ygavalkya spake,--'We went to choose a place of worship
for Vrshnya. Styayaga then said, "Verily, this whole earth is divine: on
whatever part thereof one may sacrifice (for any one), after enclosing (and
consecrating) it with a sacrificial formula, there is a place of worship."

31

3:1:1:5. 'It is, however, the officiating priests that constitute the place (or
medium) of worship: wheresoever wise and learned Brhmans, versed in
sacred lore, perform the sacrifice, there no failure takes place: that (place of
worship) we consider the nearest (to the gods).
3:1:1:66. On this (ground) they erect either a hall or a shed, with the topbeams running from west to east; for the east is the quarter of the gods,
and from the east westwards the gods approach men: that is why one offers
to them while standing with his face towards the east.
3:1:1:7. For this reason one must not sleep with his head towards the west,
lest he should sleep stretching (his legs) towards the gods. The southern
quarter belongs to the Fathers; and the western one to the snakes; and that
faultless one is the one where the gods ascended (to heaven); and the
northern quarter belongs to men. Hence in human (practice) a hall or shed is
constructed with the top-beams running from south to north, because the
north is the quarter of men. It is only for a consecrated, not for an
unconsecrated person that it is (constructed) with the top-beams running
from west to east.
3:1:1:8. They enclose it on every side, lest it should rain upon (the
sacrificer, while being consecrated): this, at least, is (the reason for doing so
in) the rainy season. He who is consecrated, truly draws nigh to the gods,
and becomes one of the deities. Now the gods are secreted from men, and
secret also is what is enclosed on every side: this is why they enclose it on
every side.
3:1:1:9. Not every one may enter it, but only a Brahman, or a Rganya, or
a Vaisya, for these are able to sacrifice.
3:1:1:10. Let him not commune with every one; for he who is consecrated
draws nigh to the gods, and becomes one of the deities. Now the gods do
not commune with every one, but only with a Brahman, or a. Rganya, or a
Vaisya; for these are able to sacrifice. Should there be occasion for him to
converse with a Sdra, let him say to one of those, 'Tell this one so and so!
tell this one so and so!' This is the rule of conduct for the consecrated in
such a case.
3:1:2:1. Let him perform the rite of consecration (dksh) in the afternoon.
Previously to the shaving of his hair and beard he may eat of what he likes,
or whatever comes to hand; for hereafter his food consists of fast-milk
(vrata) only. But, if he does not care to eat, he need not eat anything.

32

3:1:2:2. Thereupon they enclose a place north of the hall, and place a vessel
of water in it. Beside this the barber takes up his position. He (the sacrificer)
then shaves his hair and beard, and cuts his nails. For impure, indeed, is
that part of man where water does not reach him. Now at the hair and
beard, and at the nails the water does not reach him: hence when he shaves
his hair and beard, and cuts his nails, he does so in order that he may be
consecrated after becoming pure.
3:1:2:3. Now some shave themselves all over, in order that they may be
consecrated after becoming pure all over; but let him not do this. For even
by shaving the hair of his head and his beard, and by cutting his nails, he
becomes pure: let him therefore shave only the hair of his head and his
beard, and cut his nails.
3:1:2:4. In the first place he cuts his nails, first of the right hand--for in
human (practice) those of the left hand (are cut) first, but with the gods in
this manner. First (he cuts those) of the thumbs--for in human (practice)
those of the little fingers (are cut) first, but with the gods in this manner.
3:1:2:5. He first passes (the comb) through his right whisker--for in human
(practice they comb) first the left whisker, but with the gods in this manner.
3:1:2:6. His right whisker he moistens first, with the text, 'May these divine
waters be propitious unto me! The reason why he says, 'May these divine
waters be propitious unto me,' is this: the waters are a thunderbolt, for the
waters are indeed a thunderbolt; hence wherever these waters flow they
produce a hollow, and whatever they come near that they destroy (lit. burn
up). Hereby, then, he appeases that same thunderbolt; and thus appeased,
that thunderbolt does not injure him. This is why he says, 'May these divine
waters be propitious unto me!'
3:1:2:7. Thereupon he lays a stalk of sacrificial grass on (the hair of the
whisker), with the text, 'O plant, protect me!' For the razor is a thunderbolt,
and thus that thunderbolt, the razor, does not injure him. Thereto he applies
the razor, with the text, 'O knife, injure him not!' for the razor is a
thunderbolt, and thus that thunderbolt, the razor, does not injure him.
3:1:2:8. Having cut off (part of the stalk and hair), (when he shaves (vapati)) he
throws it into the vessel of water. Silently he moistens the left whisker;
silently he lays the stalk of grass on it; and having silently applied the razor
thereto and cut through (it and the hair), he throws them into the vessel of
water.
3:1:2:9. He then hands the razor to the barber, and the latter shaves off the
hair and beard. When he has shaved the hair and beard ,-

33

3:1:2:10. He bathes. For impure, indeed, is man: he is foul within, in that

he speaks untruth;--and water is pure: he thinks, 'May I be consecrated,
after becoming pure;'--and water is cleansing: he thinks, 'May I become
consecrated after being cleansed!' This is the reason why he bathes.
3:1:2:11. He bathes, with the text (Vg. S. IV, 2; Rig-veda X, 17, 10), 'May
the waters, the mothers, cleanse us!' whereby he says, 'May they cleanse !'
'May the purifiers of ghee purify us with (heavenly) ghee!' For he, indeed, is
thoroughly purified whom they have purified with ghee : accordingly he
says, 'May the purifiers of ghee purify us with ghee!'--'For they, the divine,
take away all taint;' now 'all' means 'every,' and 'taint' means what is
impure; for they do take away from him every impurity: therefore he says,
'For they, the divine, take away all taint.'
3:1:2:13. He then puts on a (linen) garment, for completeness sake: it is
indeed his own skin he thereby puts on himself. Now that same skin which
belongs to the cow was originally on man.
3:1:2:14. The gods spake, 'Verily, the cow supports everything here (on
earth); come, let us put on the cow that skin which is now on man:
therewith she will be able to endure rain and cold and heat.'
3:1:2:15. Accordingly, having flayed man, they put that skin on the cow,
and therewith she now endures rain and cold and heat.
3:1:2:16. For man was indeed flayed; and hence where-ever a stalk of grass
or some other object cuts him, the blood trickles out. They then put that
skin, the garment, on him; and for this reason none but man wears a
garment, it having been put on him as his skin. Hence also one should take
care to be properly clad, so that he may be completely endued with his own
skin. Hence also people like to see even an ugly person properly clad, since
he is endued with his own skin.
3:1:2:17. Let him, then, not be naked in the presence of a cow. For the cow
knows that she wears his skin, and runs away for fear lest he should take
the skin from her. Hence also cows draw fondly near to one who is properly
clad.
3:1:2:18. Now the woof of this cloth belongs to Agni, and the warp to Vyu ,
the thrum to the Fathers, the fore-edge to the snakes, the threads to the
All-gods, and the meshes to the asterisms. For thus indeed all the deities are
concerned therein; and hence it is the garment of the consecrated.
3:1:2:21. He (the Adhvaryu) then makes him enter the hall. Let him not eat
(the flesh) of either the cow or the ox; for the cow and the ox doubtless
34

support everything here on earth. The gods spake, 'Verily, the cow and the
ox support everything here: come, let us bestow on the cow and the ox
whatever vigour belongs to other species!' Accordingly they bestowed on the
cow and the ox whatever vigour belonged to other species (of animals); and
therefore the cow and the ox eat most. Hence, were one to eat (the flesh) of
an ox or a cow, there would be, as it were, an eating of everything, or, as it
were, a going on to the end (or, to destruction). Such a one indeed would be
likely to be born (again) as a strange being, (as one of whom there is) evil
report, such as 'he has expelled an embryo from a woman,' 'he has
committed a sin ;' let him therefore not eat (the flesh) of the cow and the
ox. Nevertheless Ygavalkya said, 'I, for one, eat it, provided that it is
tender.'
3:1:3:3. Now Aditi had eight sons. But those that are called 'the gods, sons
of Aditi,' were only seven, for the eighth, Mrtnda, she brought forth
unformed : it was a mere lump of bodily matter, as broad as it was high.
Some, however, say that he was of the size of a man.
3:1:3:4. The gods, sons of Aditi, then spake, 'That which was born after us
must not be lost: come, let us fashion it.' They accordingly fashioned it as
this man is fashioned. The flesh which was cut off him, and thrown down in a
lump, became the elephant: hence they say that one must not accept an
elephant (as a gift) , since the elephant has sprung from man. Now he whom
they thus fashioned was Vivasvat, the ditya (or the sun); and of him
(came) these creatures.
3:1:3:7. He (the sacrificer) then gets himself anointed (with fresh butter),
while standing east of the hall. For, having been flayed, man is sore; and by
getting himself anointed, he becomes healed of his soreness: for man's skin
is on the cow, and that fresh butter also comes from the cow. He (the
Adhvaryu) thus supplies him with his own skin, and for this reason he gets
himself anointed.
3:1:3:8. It is fresh butter,--for melted butter (ghee) belongs to the gods,
and creamy butter to men. Here, on the other hand, it is neither ghee nor
creamy butter; it should rather be both ghee and creamy butter, for the
sake of unimpaired vigour: by means of that which is of unimpaired vigour
he accordingly makes him of unimpaired vigour.
3:1:3:9. He anoints him from the head down to the feet in accordance with
the tendency of the hair, with the text (Vg. S. IV, 3), 'Thou art the sap of
the great ones.' The 'great ones,' doubtless, is one of the names of those
cows, and their sap indeed it is: therefore he says, 'thou art the sap of the
great ones.' 'Thou art life-giving: give me light!' There is nothing obscure in
this.
35

3:1:3:10. Thereupon he anoints the eyes. 'Sore, indeed, is the eye of man;
mine is sound,' so spake Ygavalkya. Dim-eyed, indeed, he was
(heretofore); and the secretion of his eyes was matter. He now makes his
eyes sound by anointing them.
3:1:3:11. Now, when the gods slew the Asura-Rakshas, Sushna , the
Dnava, falling backward entered into the eyes of men: he is that pupil of
the eye, and looks like a young lad. Against him he (the sacrificer), now that
he enters on the sacrifice, raises a rampart of stone all round himself, for the
ointment is (produced from) stone.
3:1:3:12. It is such as comes from mount Trikakud; for when Indra slew
Vritra he transformed that eye of his (Vritra's) into the mount Trikakud . The
reason, then, why (ointment) from mount Trikakud (is used), is that he
thereby puts eye into eye. Should he be unable to obtain any Traikakuda
ointment, any other than Traikakuda may be used; for one and the same,
indeed, is the significance of the ointment.

3:1:4:3. By means of the sacrifice the gods obtained that supreme authority
which they now wield. They spake, 'How may this (world) of ours be
unattainable by men!' They then sipped the sap of the sacrifice, as bees
would suck out honey; and having drained the sacrifice and effaced its
traces by means of the sacrificial stake, they disappeared: and because they
effaced (scattered, yopaya) therewith, therefore it is called ypa (stake).
3:1:4:4. Now this was heard by the Rishis. They collected the sacrifice, just
as this sacrifice is collected (prepared); for even so does he now collect the
sacrifice, when he offers those (audgrabhana) libations.
3:1:4:9. 'To Sarasvat, to Pshan, to Agni, hail!' Now Sarasvat is speech,
and the sacrifice also is speech. And Pshan represents cattle, because
Pshan means prosperity (pushti), and cattle also means prosperity, since
the sacrifice means cattle. What part of the sacrifice (is contained) in this
(third libation), that he now collects and makes his own.
3:1:4:23. He offers this one with an anushtubh verse. Being an anushtubh
verse, it consists of thirty-one syllables. Now there are ten fingers, ten toes,
ten vital airs, and the thirty-first is the body wherein those vital airs are
contained; for this much constitutes man, and the sacrifice is a man, the
sacrifice is of the same proportion as a man. Thus, whatever the extent of
the sacrifice, whatever its measure, to that extent he takes possession of it
36

by means of this (libation), when he offers it with an anushtubh verse of

thirty-one syllables.
3:2:1:18. Thereupon he ties a black deer's horn to the end (of his garment).
Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati, entered
upon their father Pragpati's inheritance: the gods came in for the Mind and
the Asuras for Speech. Thereby the gods came in for the sacrifice and Asuras
for speech; the gods for yonder (heaven) and the Asuras for this (earth).
3:2:1:19. The gods said to Yaga (m., the sacrifice), 'That Vk (f., speech)
is a woman: beckon her, and she will certainly call thee to her.' Or it may
be, he himself thought, 'That Vk is a woman: I will beckon her and she will
certainly call me to her.' He accordingly beckoned her. She, however, at first
disdained him from the distance: and hence a woman, when beckoned by a
man, at first disdains him from the distance. He said, 'She has disdained me
from the distance.'
3:2:1:20. They said, 'Do but beckon her, reverend sir, and she will certainly
call thee to her.' He beckoned her; but she only replied to him, as it were,
by shaking her head: and hence a woman, when beckoned by a man, only
replies to him, as it were, by shaking her head. He said, 'She has only
replied to me by shaking her head.'
3:2:1:21. They said, 'Do but beckon her, reverend sir, and she will certainly
call thee to her.' He beckoned her, and she called him to her; and hence a
woman at last calls the man to her. He said, 'She has indeed called me.'
3:2:1:22. The gods reflected, 'That Vk being a woman, we must take care
lest she should allure him.--Say to her, "Come hither to me where I stand!"
and report to us her having come.' She then went up to where he was
standing. Hence a woman goes to a man who stays in a well-trimmed
(house). He reported to them her having come, saying, 'She has indeed
come.'
3:2:1:23. The gods then cut her off from the Asuras; and having gained
possession of her and enveloped her completely in fire, they offered her up
as a holocaust, it being an offering of the gods . And in that they offered her
with an anushtubh verse, thereby they made her their own; and the Asuras,
being deprived of speech, were undone, crying, 'He lavah! he lavah !'
3:2:1:24. Such was the unintelligible speech which they then uttered,--and
he (who speaks thus) is a Mlekkha (barbarian). Hence let no Brahman speak
barbarous language, since such is the speech of the Asuras. Thus alone he

37

deprives his spiteful enemies of speech; and whosoever knows this, his
enemies, being deprived of speech, are undone.
3:2:1:25. That Yaga (sacrifice) lusted after Vk (speech), thinking, 'May I
pair with her!' He united with her.
3:2:1:26. Indra then thought within himself, 'Surely a great monster will
spring from this union of Yaga and Vk: [I must take care] lest it should
get the better of me.' Indra himself then became an embryo and entered
into that union.
3:2:1:27. Now when he was born after a year's time, he thought within
himself, 'Verily of great vigour is this womb which has contained me: [I must
take care] that no great monster shall be born from it after me, lest it should
get the better of me!'
3:2:1:40. And as to his saying, 'Brhman,' uncertain, as it were, is his origin
heretofore; for the Rakshas, they say, pursue women here oil earth, and so
the Rakshas implant their seed therein. But he, forsooth, is truly born, who
is born of the Brahman (neut.), of the sacrifice: wherefore let him address
even a Rganya, or a Vaisya, as Brhman, since he who is born of the
sacrifice is born of the Brahman (and hence a Brhmana). Wherefore they
say, 'Let no one slay a sacrificer of Soma; for by (slaying) a Soma-sacrificer
he becomes guilty of a heinous sin!
3:2:2:13. For, verily, these vital airs are born of the mind, endowed with
mind, of intelligent power: Agni is speech; Mitra and Varuna are the outbreathing and the in-breathing; ditya (the sun) is the eye; and the All-gods
are the ear,--it is unto these deities that offering is thereby made by him.
3:2:3:8. When Pathy Svasti appeared to them. They offered to her, for
Pathy Svasti (the wishing of 'a happy journey') is speech, and the sacrifice
also is speech. Thereby they perceived the sacrifice and spread it.
3:2:3:9. Thereupon Agni appeared to them: they offered to him; whereby
they perceived that part of the sacrifice which was of Agni's nature. Now of
Agni's nature is what is dry in the sacrifice: that they thereby perceived and
spread.
3:2:3:10. Then Soma appeared to them: they offered to him; whereby they
perceived that part of the sacrifice which was of Soma's nature. Now of
Soma's nature is what is moist in the sacrifice: that they thereby perceived
and spread.

38

3:2:3:11. Then Savitri appeared to them: they offered to him. Now Savitri
represents cattle, and the sacrifice also means cattle: hence they thereby
perceived and spread the sacrifice. Thereupon they offered to the deity
(Aditi), for whom the sacrificial food had been prepared.
3:2:3:12. It is to these same five deities, then, that he offers. For that
sacrifice, when thrown into disorder, was in five parts; and by means of
those five deities they recognised it.
3:2:3:18. Through Savitri they recognised the western region, for Savitri is
yonder burning (sun): wherefore he goes towards the west, for through him
they recognised the western region, and to him belongs the western region.
3:2:3:19. Through Aditi they recognised the upper region, for Aditi is this
(earth): wherefore the plants and trees grow upwards on her; for through
her they recognised the upper region, and to her belongs the upper region.
3:2:4:1. Now Soma was in the sky, and the gods were here on earth. The
gods desired,--'Would that Soma came to us: we might sacrifice with him,
when come.' They created those two illusions, Suparn and Kadr. In the
chapter on the hearths (dhishnya) it is set forth how that affair of Suparn
and Kadr came to pass.
3:2:4:2. Gyatr flew up to Soma for them. While she was carrying him off,
the Gandharva Visvvasu stole him from her. The gods were aware of this,-'Soma has indeed been removed from yonder (sky), but he comes not to us,
for the Gandharvas have stolen him.'
3:2:4:3. They said, 'The Gandharvas are fond of women: let us send Vk
(speech) to them, and she will return to us together with Soma.' They sent
Vk to them, and she returned to them together with Soma.
3:2:4:4. The Gandharvas came after her and said, 'Soma (shall be) yours,
and Vk ours!' 'So be it!' said the gods; 'but if she would rather come hither,
do not ye carry her off by force: let us woo her!' They accordingly wooed
her.
3:2:4:5. The Gandharvas recited the Vedas to her, saying, 'See how we
know it, see how we know it!'
3:2:4:6. The gods then created the lute and sat playing and singing, saying,
'Thus we will sing to thee, thus we will amuse thee!' She turned to the gods;
but, in truth, she turned to them vainly, since she turned away from those,
39

engaged in praising and praying, to dance and song. Wherefore even to this
day women are given to vain things: for it was on this wise that Vk turned
thereto, and other women do as she did. And hence it is to him who dances
and sings that they most readily take a fancy .
3:2:4:7. Both Soma and Vk were thus with the gods. Now, when he buys
Soma he does so in order that he may sacrifice with him, when obtained, for
his (own) obtainment (of heavenly bliss); for he who sacrifices with Soma
that has not been bought, sacrifices with Soma that has not been (properly)
obtained.
3:2:4:18. 'May Mitra bind thee by the foot!' For that rope, doubtless, is of
Varuna; and were she (the cow) tied with a rope, she would be (under the
power) of Varuna. And, on the other hand, were she not tied at all, she
would be uncontrolled. Now that which is of Mitra is not of Varuna; and as (a
cow), if tied with a rope, is under control, so it is in the case of this one
when he says, 'May Mitra bind thee by the foot!'
3:2:4:19. 'May Pshan guard thy paths!' Now Pshan is this Earth, and for
whomsoever she is the guardian of his paths, he stumbles not at any time:
therefore he says, 'May Pshan guard thy paths!'
3:3:1:1. He follows her, stepping into seven foot-prints of hers ; he thereby
takes possession of her: that is why he steps into seven of her foot-prints.
For when the metres were produced from Vk (speech), the one consisting
of seven feet, the Sakvar, was the last (highest) of them. It is that (metre)
he now draws down towards himself from above: this is why he steps into
seven of her foot-prints.
3:3:1:2. It is as Vk that he steps into them; (with the text, Vg. S. IV,
21), 'Thou art a Vasv, thou art Aditi, thou art an dity, thou art a Rudr,
thou art Chandr; for she is indeed a Vasv and Aditi, an dity, a Rudr,
Chandr. 'May Brihaspati make thee rest in happiness!'--Brihaspati being the
Brahman, he thereby means to say, 'May Brihaspati lead thee hither by
means of the good (work) !' 'Rudra, together with the Vasus, is well-pleased
with thee:' this he says to secure her (the cow's) safety, for cattle cannot
pass beyond Rudra.
3:3:1:3. They now sit down round the seventh footprint; and having laid
down the piece of gold in the foot-print, he offers. For offering is made on
nothing but fire, and the gold has sprung from Agni's seed: and thus that
offering of his is indeed made over the fire. And the clarified butter being a
thunderbolt, he now delivers her (the cow) by means of that thunderbolt,
the butter; and by delivering her he makes her his own.
40

3:3:2:8. Now some, on noticing any straw or (piece of) wood (among the
Soma-plants), throw it away. But let him not do this; for--the Soma being
the nobility and the other plants the common people, and the people being
the nobleman's food--it would be just as if one were to take hold of and pull
out some (food) he has put in his mouth, and throw it away. Hence let him
merely touch it, with, 'Let the pickers pick thee!' Those pickers of his do
indeed pick it.
3:4:1:16. The enclosing-sticks are of krshmarya wood (Gmelina Arborea),
for the gods, once upon a time, perceived that one, the krshmarya, to be
the Rakshas-killer among trees. Now, the guest-offering being the head of
the sacrifice, the enclosing-sticks are of krshmarya wood, in order that the
evil spirits may not injure the head of the sacrifice.
3:4:1:17.The
prastara-bunch is
of
asvavla-grass
(Saccharum
Spontaneum). For, once upon a time, the sacrifice escaped from the gods. It
became a horse (asva) and sped away from them. The gods, rushing after it,
took hold of its tail (vla) and tore it out; and having torn it out, they threw
it down in a lump, and what had been the hairs of the horse's tail then grew
up as those plants (of asvavla-grass). Now the guest-offering is the head of
the sacrifice, and the tail is the hind-part (of animals): hence by the prastara
being of asvavla-grass he encompasses the sacrifice on both sides.
3:4:1:22. Thereon he lays the lower churning-stick (with the top to the
north), with, 'Thou art Urvas!' He then touches the (ghee in the) ghee-pan
with the upper churning-stick, with, 'Thou art yu,' he puts it down (on the
lower arani) with, 'Thou art Purravas.' For Urvas was a nymph, and
Purravas was her husband; and the (child) which sprung from that union
was yu: in like manner does he now produce the sacrifice from that union.
Thereupon he says (to the Hotri), 'Recite to Agni, as he is churned !'
3:4:2:1. When the gods had performed the guest-offering, discord befell
them. They separated into four different parties, unwilling to yield to each
other's excellence,--Agni, with the Vasus, Soma with the Rudras, Varuna
with the dityas, and Indra with the Maruts. Brihaspati with the All-gods,
say some , but, indeed, those who separated into four parties were 'all the
gods.' When they were separated, the Asura-Rakshas came after them and
entered between them.
3:4:2:2. They became aware of it,--'Forsooth, we are in an evil plight, the
Asura-Rakshas have come in between us: we shall fall a prey to our
enemies. Let us come to an agreement and yield to the excellence of one of

41

us!' They yielded to the excellence of Indra; wherefore it is said, 'Indra is all
the deities, the gods have Indra for their chief.'
3:4:2:3. For this reason let not kinsmen fall out, for any (enemy) of theirs,
be he ever so far away, steps in between them; they do what pleases their
enemies and fall a prey to their enemies: therefore let them not fall out. For
he who, knowing this, quarrels not, does what displeases his enemies and
falls not a prey to his enemies: let him therefore not quarrel.
3:4:2:5. The gods laid down together their favourite forms and desirable
powers, one after another, and said, 'Thereby he shall be away from us, he
shall be scattered to the winds, whosoever shall transgress this (covenant)
of ours!'--'Whose (is it) as witness ?'--'Tannapt, the mighty!'--Now the
mighty Tannapt indeed is yonder blowing (wind), he is the witness of
living beings, entering thus as the in-breathing and out-breathing.
3:4:3:1. When the gods had performed the guest-offering, discord arose
between them. They allayed it by means of the Tnnaptra (oaths). They
desired an atonement for having spoken evil to one another; for they had
appointed no other consecration-ceremony till the expiatory bath. They
perceived this intermediate consecration.
3:4:3:2. By means of fire they enveloped (the body) with a skin. Now, fire
being fervour, and the consecration being fervour, they thereby underwent
an intermediate consecration; and because they underwent that
intermediate consecration, therefore this intermediary consecration
(avntaradksh, is performed). They turned in their fingers more tightly and
drew their zone tighter, whereby they (again) put round them what had
been put round them before;--and so does he thereby make atonement for
what heretofore he has done injurious to the vow, for what he has spoken
injurious to the vow.
3:4:3:3. By means of the fire they (the priests) envelop him with a skin.
Now, fire being fervour, and the consecration being fervour, he thereby
undergoes an intermediate consecration. He turns in his fingers more tightly
and draws the zone tighter, whereby he (again) puts round himself what
was put round him before. Moreover, it was offspring the gods thereby
obtained.
3:4:3:4. By means of Agni (fire) they enveloped (the body) with a skin.
Now, Agni being the causer of sexual union, the progenitor, they thereby
obtained offspring. They turned in their fingers more tightly and drew their
zone tighter, whereby they produced offspring for themselves. And in like
manner does he (the sacrificer) thereby obtain offspring.
42

3:4:3:13. Then as to why they strengthen (Soma). Soma is a god, since

Soma (the moon) is in the sky. 'Soma, forsooth, was Vritra; his body is the
same as the mountains and rocks: thereon grows that plant called Usn,'-so said Svetaketu Auddlaki; 'they fetch it hither and press it; and by means
of the consecration and the Upasads, by the Tnnaptra and the
strengthening they make it into Soma.' And in like manner does he now
make it into Soma by means of the consecration and the Upasads, by the
Tnnaptra and the strengthening .
3:4:4:3. Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati,
were contending against each other. The Asuras then built themselves
castles in these worlds,--an iron one in this world, a silver one in the air, and
a golden one in the sky.
3:4:4:4. The gods then prevailed. They besieged them by these sieges
(upasad); and because they besieged (upa-sad) them, therefore the name
Upasads.They clove the castles and conquered these worlds. Hence they
say, 'A castle is conquered by siege;' for it is indeed by beleaguering that
one of these human castles is taken.
3:5:1:13. Now, in the beginning there were two kinds of beings here, the
dityas and the Agiras. The Agiras then were the first to prepare a
sacrifice, and having prepared the sacrifice they said to Agni, 'Announce
thou to the dityas this our to-morrow's Soma-feast, saying, "Minister ye at
this sacrifice of ours!"'
3:5:1:14. The dityas spake (to one another), 'Contrive ye how the Agiras
shall minister unto us, and not we unto the Agiras!'
3:5:1:15. They said, 'Verily by nothing but sacrifice is there a way out of
this : let us undertake another Soma-feast!' They brought together the
(materials for) sacrifice, and having made ready the sacrifice, they said,
'Agni, thou hast announced to us a Soma-feast for to-morrow; but we
announce to thee and the Agiras a Soma-feast even for to-day: it is for us
that thou art (to officiate as) Hotri !'
3:5:1:16. They sent back some other (messenger) to the Agiras; but the
Agiras going after Agni, were exceeding angry with him, saying, 'Going as
our messenger, why didst thou not mind us?'
3:5:1:17. He spake, 'The blameless chose me: as the chosen of the
blameless, I could not go away.' And let not therefore the chosen (priest) of
43

a blameless man turn away from him. The Agiras then officiated for the
dityas in the sacrifice with Soma bought (kr) on the same day (sadyas);
whence this Sadyahkr.
3:5:1:18. They brought Vk (speech) to them for their sacrificial fee. They
accepted her not, saying, 'We shall be losers if we accept her.' And so the
performance of that sacrifice was not discharged (completed), as it was one
requiring a sacrificial fee.
3:5:1:19. Thereupon they brought Srya (the sun) to them, and they
accepted him. Wherefore the Agiras say, 'Verily, we are fit for the sacrificial
office, we are worthy to receive Dakshins; yea, even he that burns yonder
has been received by us !' Hence a white horse is the sacrificial fee for the
Sadyahkr.
3:5:1:20. On the front of this (horse) there is a golden ornament, whereby it
is made an image of him that burns yonder.
3:5:1:21. Now Vk was angry with them: 'In what respect, forsooth, is that
one better than I,--wherefore is it, that they should have accepted him and
not me?' So saying she went away from them. Having become a lioness she
went on seizing upon (everything) between those two contending parties,
the gods and the Asuras. The gods called her to them, and so did the
Asuras. Agni was the messenger of the gods, and one Saharakshas for the
Asura-Rakshas.
3:5:1:22. Being willing to go over to the gods, she said, 'What would be
mine, if I were to come over to you?'--'The offering shall reach thee even
before (it reaches) Agni.' She then said to the gods, 'Whatsoever blessing ye
will invoke through me, all that shall be accomplished unto you!' So she
went over to the gods.
3:5:1:23. And, accordingly, when he pours ghee on the high altar, while the
fire is held (over it)--since the gods said to her on that occasion, 'The
offering shall reach thee even before Agni'--then that offering does reach her
even before (it reaches) Agni; for this (high altar) is in reality Vk. And when
he raises the high altar, it is for the completeness of the sacrifice, for the
sacrifice is Vk (speech) and that (high altar) is Vk.
3:5:1:25. One must not therefore accept a Dakshin (sacrificial fee) that has
been refused (by another priest), for, having turned into a lioness, it
destroys him;--nor must he (the sacrificer) take it home again, for, having
turned into a lioness, it destroys him;--nor must he give it to any one else,
as he would thereby make over the sacrifice to some one other than himself.
44

Hence if he have any wretched kinsman, let him give it to him; for in that he
gives it away, it will not turn into a lioness and destroy him; and in that he
gives it to a kinsman, he does not make over (the sacrifice) to one other
than himself: and this is the settling of a refused Dakshin.
3:5:3:5. The Sadas (tent for the priests) is no other than his belly:
wherefore they feed in the Sadas, for whatever food is eaten here on earth
all that settles down here in the belly. And because all the gods sat (sad) in
it therefore it is called Sadas: and so do these Brahmans of every family now
sit therein.
3:5:4:1. It is for a twofold reason that the sounding-holes are dug. The cartshed, truly, is the head of the sacrificer; and what four holes there are here
in the head--namely, these two and these two --those he thereby makes: for
this reason he digs the sounding-holes.
3:5:4:2. Now the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati,
were contending. The Asuras then by way of witchcraft buried charms within
these worlds, thinking, 'Peradventure we may thus overcome the gods.'
3:5:4:3. The gods then prevailed. By means of these (sounding-holes) they
dug up those magic charms. Now, when a charm is dug up, it becomes
inoperative and useless. And in like manner, if any malicious enemy buries
here charms by way of witchcraft for this (sacrificer), does he thereby dig
them up; this is why he digs sounding-holes. He digs just beneath the forepart of the shafts of the southern cart.
3:5:4:4. He takes up the spade, with the text (Vg. S. V, 22),'At the impulse
of the divine Savitri, I take thee with the arms of the Asvins, with the hands
of Pshan: thou art a woman.' The significance of this formula is the same
(as before). That spade (abhri, fem.) is indeed a female: therefore he says
'thou art a woman.'
3:6:1:23. That Sadas has its tie-beams running (from south) to north, and
the cart-shed (from west) to east. For this, the cart-shed, belongs
exclusively to the gods: hence neither food nor drink is taken therein,
because it belongs exclusively to the gods; and were any one either to eat or
to drink therein, his head would verily burst asunder. But those two, the
gndhra and the Sadas, are common (to the gods and men): hence food
and drink is taken in these two, because they are common (to the gods and
men). Now the north is the quarter of men: therefore the Sadas has its tiebeams running (from south) to north.

45

The Sadas is a shed or tent, facing the east with its long side, which is to measure eighteen
(or twenty-one, or twenty-four, or, according to the Sulva-stra, twenty-seven) cubits, the
breadth by six cubits (or ten, or one half that of the long side). The udumbara post,
according to some, is to stand exactly in the centre of the shed; or, according to others, at
an equal distance from the (long) east and west sides; the 'spine' in that case dividing the
building into two equal parts, a northern and a southern one. In the middle the shed is to be
of the sacrificer's height, and from thence the ceiling is to slant towards the ends where it is
to reach up to the sacrificer's navel. According to the Black Yagus, the erection of the Sadas
precedes the digging of the Uparavas, described in the preceding Brhmana. Taitt. S. VI, 2,
10, 11.

3:6:2:2. Now Soma was in heaven, and the gods were here on earth. The
gods desired, 'Would that Soma might come to us; we might sacrifice with
him, when come.' They produced those two illusions, Suparn and Kadr ;
Suparn, forsooth, was Vk (speech) , and Kadr was this (earth). They
caused discord between them.

3:6:2:16. Verily, even in being born, man, by his own self, is born as a debt
(owing) to death. And in that he sacrifices, thereby he redeems himself from
death, even as Suparn then redeemed herself from the gods.

3:6:2:26. But those creatures which are not admitted to the sacrifice are
forlorn; wherefore he now admits to the sacrifice those creatures here on
earth that are not forlorn; behind the men are the beasts; and behind the
gods are the birds, the plants, and the trees; and thus whatsoever exists
here on earth all that is admitted to the sacrifice. And verily both the gods
and men, and the Fathers drink together, and this is their symposium; of old
they drank together visibly, but now they do so unseen.
3:9:1:1. Now Pragpati (the lord of creatures), having created living beings,
felt himself as it were exhausted. The creatures turned away from him; the
creatures did not abide with him for his joy and food.
3:9:1:2. He thought within him, 'I have exhausted myself, and the object for
which I have created has not been accomplished: my creatures have turned
away from me, the creatures have not abode with me for my joy and food.'
3:9:1:3. Pragpati thought within him, 'How can I again strengthen myself:
the creatures might then return to me; the creatures might abide with me
for my joy and food!'

46

3:9:1:4. He went on praising and toiling, desirous of creatures (or progeny).

He beheld that set of eleven (victims). By offering therewith Pragpati again
strengthened himself; the creatures returned to him, his creatures abode for
his joy and food. By offering he truly became better.
3:9:2:1. Now, when the head of the sacrifice (victim) was struck off, its sap,
running, entered the waters. It is by that very sap that those waters flow;
that very sap is believed to be flowing there.
3:9:2:2. And when he goes for the Vasatvar water, he fetches that same
sap and puts it into the sacrifice, and makes the sacrifice sapful; this is why
he goes for the Vasatvar water.
3:9:3:18. When the head of the sacrifice was struck off, its sap, running,
entered the waters; those Gandharva Soma-wardens watched it.
3:9:3:19. The gods then said, 'Those Gandharvas, surely, are a great
danger to us here, how can we carry off the sap of the sacrifice to a place
free from danger and injury?'
3:9:3:20. They said, 'Well, the Gandharvas are fond of women; let us go
together with the wives! The Gandharvas, surely, will hanker after the wives,
and we shall carry off that sap of the sacrifice to a place free from danger
and injury.'
4:1:1:10. He then presses eleven times; for of eleven syllables consists the
Trishtubh, and the midday Soma-feast belongs to the Trishtubh: thus this
(second turn of pressing) is made to be the midday Soma-feast.
4:1:1:11. He draws (the juice into the cup) with, 'Grow thou pure, a god, for
the gods--;' for he (Soma) is indeed a god, and for the gods he becomes
pure;--'whose portion thou art;' for he indeed is their portion.
4:1:1:12. He then presses twelve times; for of twelve syllables consists the
Gagat, and the evening Soma-feast belongs to the Gagat: thus this (third
turn of pressing) is made to be the evening Soma-feast.
4:1:1:13. He draws (the juice) with, 'Make thou our draughts sweet!'
whereby he imbues him (Soma) with sap, and renders him palatable for the
gods: hence, when slain, he does not become putrid . And when he offers
(that graha) he thereby completely establishes him.
4:1:1:14. 'For one desirous of spiritual lustre (brahmavarkasa) he should
press eight times at each (turn),' so they say;--for of eight syllables consists
47

the Gyatr, and the Gyatr is the Brahman: he indeed becomes endowed
with spiritual lustre.
4:1:2:2. Now as to why it is called Antaryma. That which is the outbreathing is also the in-breathing and the through-breathing. Now, in
drawing the Upmsu (graha), he puts into him that out-breathing which
tends away from him; and in drawing the Antaryma, he puts into him that
in-breathing which tends towards him. But this same in-breathing is confined
within his self; and because it is confined (yam) within (antar) his self, or
because these creatures are sustained (yam) by it, therefore it is called
Antaryma.
4:1:3:4. He spake, 'What shall be my reward then?'--'The first Vashat of
king Soma!'--'So be it!' so Vyu went, and lo Vritra slain. He spake, 'Vritra is
slain: do ye with the slain what ye list!'
4:1:3:5. The gods rushed thither,--as (those) eager to take possession of
their property, so (it fared with) him (Vritra--Soma) : what (part of him) one
of them seized, that became an ekadevatya (graha, belonging to one deity),
and what two of them, that became a dvidevatya 2, and what many
(seized), that became a bahudevatya;--and because they caught him up
each separately (vi-grah) by means of vessels, therefore (the libations) are
called graha.
4:1:3:6. He stank in their nostrils,--sour and putrid he blew towards them:
he was neither fit for offering, nor was he fit for drinking.
4:1:3:7. The gods said to Vyu, 'Vyu, blow thou through him, make him
palatable for us!' He said, 'What shall be my reward then?'--'After thee they
shall name those cups.'--'So be it!' he said, 'but blow ye along with me!'
4:1:3:8. The gods dispelled some of that smell, and laid it into the cattle,-this is that foul smell in (dead) cattle: hence one must not close (his nose)
at that foul smell, since it is the smell of king Soma.
4:1:3:9. Nor must one spit there at ; even though he should think himself
ever so much affected, let him go round it windward ; for Soma means
eminence, and disease meanness: even as at the approach of his superior
the meaner man would get down (from his seat), so does disease go down
before him (Soma).
4:1:3:10. Then Vyu blew a second time through him and thereby made him
palatable; whereupon he was fit for offering and fit for drinking. Hence those
(vessels), though belonging to various deities, are called 'vyavya (Vyu's
48

vessels).' His (Vyu's) is that first Vashat of king Soma, and, moreover,
those vessels are named after him.
4:1:4:1. Mitra and Varuna, forsooth, are his intelligence and will; and as
such belonging to his self: whenever he desires anything in his mind, as
'Would that this were mine! I might do this!' that is intelligence; and
whenever that is accomplished, that is will. Now intelligence indeed is Mitra,
and will is Varuna; and Mitra is the priesthood, and Varuna the nobility; and
the priesthood is the conceiver, and the noble is the doer.
4:1:4:2. Now in the beginning these two, the priesthood and the nobility,
were separate: then Mitra, the priesthood, could stand without Varuna, the
nobility.
4:1:4:4. Varuna, the nobility, then called upon Mitra, the priesthood, saying,
'Turn thou unto me that we may unite: I will place thee foremost, sped by
thee, I will do deeds!'--'So be it!' So the two united; and therefrom resulted
that graha to Mitra and Varuna.
4:1:4:5. Such, then, is the office of Purohita (placed foremost, domestic
priest). Wherefore let not a Brhman desire to become the Purohita of any
one Kshatriya (he may meet with), as thereby righteousness and
unrighteousness unite; nor should a Kshatriya make any Brhman (he may
meet with) his Purohita, as thereby righteousness and unrighteousness
unite.--Whatever deed, sped by Mitra, the priesthood, Varuna thenceforward
did, in that he succeeded.
4:1:4:6. Hence it is quite proper that a Brhman should be without a king,
but were he to obtain a king, it would be conducive to the success (of both).
It is, however, quite improper that a king should be without a Brhman, for
whatever deed he does, unsped by Mitra, the priesthood, therein he
succeeds not. Wherefore a Kshatriya who intends to do a deed ought by all
means to resort to a Brhman, for he verily succeeds only in the deed sped
by the Brhman.
4:1:5:1. The svina graha , forsooth, is his organ of hearing; hence in
drinking it he turns (the cup) all round , since with that ear of his he hears
all round.--Now when the Bhrigus, or the Agiras, attained the heavenly
world, Chyavana the Bhrgava, or Chyavana the girasa, was left behind
here (on earth) decrepit and ghostlike.
4:1:5:2. But Saryta, the Mnava, just then wandered about here with his
tribe, and settled near by that same place. His boys , while playing, setting
that decrepit, ghostlike man at nought, pelted him with clods.
49

4:1:5:3. He was wroth with the Srytas, and sowed discord among them:
father fought with son, and brother with brother.
4:1:5:4. Saryta then bethought him,--'This has come to pass for something
or other I have done!' He caused the cowherds and shepherds to be called
together, and said-4:1:5:5. He said, 'Which of you has seen anything here this day?'--They
said, 'Yonder lies a man, decrepit and ghostlike: him the boys have pelted
with clods, setting him at nought.' Then Saryta knew that this was
Chyavana.
4:1:5:6. He yoked his chariot, and putting his daughter Sukany thereon, he
set forth, and came to the place where the Rishi was.
4:1:5:7. He said, 'Reverence be to thee, O Rishi; because I knew thee not,
therefore have I offended thee; here is Sukany, with her I make atonement
to thee: let my tribe live at peace together!' And from that same time his
tribe lived at peace together. But Saryta, the Mnava, departed forthwith,
lest he should offend him a second time.
4:1:5:8. Now the Asvins then wandered about here on earth performing
cures. They came to Sukany, and desired to win her love; but she
consented not thereto.
4:1:5:9. They said, 'Sukany, what a decrepit, ghostlike man is that whom
thou liest with; come and follow us!' She said, 'To whom my father has given
me, him will I not abandon, as long as he lives!' But the Rishi was aware of
this.
4:1:5:10. He said, 'Sukany, what have those two said to thee?' She told
him all; and, when she had told him, he said, 'If they speak to thee thus
again, say thou to them, "But surely, ye are neither quite complete nor quite
perfect, and yet ye deride my husband!" and if they say to thee, "In what
respect are we incomplete, in what respect imperfect?" say thou to them,
"Nay, make ye my husband young again, and I will tell you!"' They came
again to her, and said to her the same thing.
4:1:5:11. She said, 'But surely ye are neither quite complete nor quite
perfect, and yet ye deride my husband!' They said, 'In what respect are we
incomplete, in what respect imperfect?' She said, 'Nay, make ye my husband
young again, and I will tell you!'

50

4:1:5:12. They said, 'Take him down to yonder pool , and he shall come
forth with whatever age he shall desire!' She took him down to that pool,
and he came forth with the age he desired.
4:1:5:13. They said, Sukany, in what respect are we incomplete, in what
respect imperfect?' The Rishi himself answered them,--'In Kurukshetra
yonder the gods perform a sacrifice and exclude you two from it: in that
respect ye are incomplete, in that respect imperfect!' And the Asvins
departed forthwith, and came to the gods, as they were performing a
sacrifice, after the chanting of the Bahishpavamna.
4:1:5:14. They said, 'Invite us thereto!' The gods said, 'We will not invite
you: ye have wandered and mixed much among men, performing cures.'
4:1:5:15. They said, 'But surely ye worship with a headless sacrifice!'--'How
with a headless (sacrifice)?'--'Nay, invite us, and we will tell you!'--'So be it!'
so they invited them. They drew this svina cup for them; and those two
became the Adhvaryu priests of the sacrifice, and restored the head of the
sacrifice. Then, in the chapter of the divkrtyas, it is explained how they did
restore the head of the sacrifice. Hence this libation is drawn after the
chanting of the Bahishpavamna, for it was after the chanting of the
Bahishpavamna that they arrived.
4:2:1:1. The Sukra and Manthin (grahas), forsooth, are his eyes. Now the
Sukra, indeed, is he that burns yonder (the sun); and because it burns
there , therefore it is (called) Sukra ('bright'). And the Manthin, indeed, is
the moon.
4:2:1:2. He mixes it with (barley) meal: thus he makes it to be gruel
(mantha), whence it is (called) Manthin. Now those two (sun and moon);
forsooth, are the eyes of these creatures; for were those two not to rise,
these (creatures) could not distinguish even their own hands.
4:2:1:3. One of them is the eater, and the other the food ; to wit, the Sukra
is the eater, and the Manthin the food.
4:2:1:4. To one of them corresponds the eater, and to the other the food; to
wit, the eater corresponds to the Sukra, and the food to the Manthin. Now
these two (cups) are drawn for one (person) and offered to another. There
are two Asura-Rakshas, Sanda and Marka: for them they are drawn; and to
deities they are offered. The reason for this is as follows.

51

4:2:1:5. Now when the gods drove away the Asura-Rakshas, they could not
drive away these two; but whatever (sacrificial) work the gods performed,
that these two disturbed, and then quickly fled.
4:2:1:6. The gods then said, 'Contrive ye how we shall drive away these
two!' They said, 'Let us draw two cups (of Soma juice) for them: they will
come down to us, and we shall seize them and drive them away.' They
accordingly drew two cups (of Soma) for them, and they both came down,
and, having seized them, they (the gods) drove them away. This is why (the
two cups) are drawn for Sanda and Marka, but are offered to deities.
4:2:1:7. Also Ygavalkya said, 'Should we not rather draw them for the
deities, since that is, as it were, the sign of conquest ?' In this, however, he
merely speculated, but he did not practise it.
4:2:1:11. He mixes it with (barley) meal: the reason why he mixes it with
meal is this. Varuna once struck king Soma right in the eye, and it swelled
(asvayat): therefrom a horse (asva) sprung; and because it sprung from a
swelling, therefore it is called asva. A tear of his fell down: therefrom the
barley sprung; whence they say that the barley belongs to Varuna. Thus
whatever part of his eye was injured on that occasion in (that part he now
restores him and makes him whole by means of this (barley): therefore he
mixes (the libation) with meal.
4:2:3:7. He draws it without (reciting) a puroruk; for the puroruk is a song
of praise, since the puroruk is a Rik, and the song of praise is Rik; and the
libation is Sman; and what other (formula) he mutters, that is Yagus.
Formerly these same (puroruk verses) were apart from the Riks, apart from
the Yagus, and apart from the Smans.
4:2:3:8. The gods said, 'Come, let us place them among the Yagus: thus
this science will be still more manifold.' Accordingly they placed them among
the Yagus, and thenceforward this science was still more manifold.
There are many different stomas, or forms of chanting stotras, named from the number of
verses produced in each form (generally by repetitions of certain verses). Those required for
the Shadaha and Dvdasha (see IV, 5, 4, 1 seq.) are: trivrit (9), pakadasa (15),
saptadasa 07), ekavimsa (21), trinava (27), trayastrimsa (33), katurvimsa (24),
katuskatvrimsa (44), and ashtakatvrimsa (48). The first four of these are those most
frequently used, and the only ones used at the Agnishtoma. All these stomas, with one
exception (24), have two or more different varieties or arrangements, called vishtuti,
differing from one another either in the order in which the several verses are to be chanted,
or in regard to the number of repetitions which the corresponding verses have to undergo.
Besides, stomas are generally performed in three turns or rounds, paryya, consisting of a
triplet of verses (some of which may have to be repeated more than once), and preceded by
the sound 'hum' (Hikra). Thus the first gyastotra, Smav. II, 10-12, (consisting of three

52

verses, a, b, c,) is to be performed in the pakadasa-stoma; that is, the three verses have
to be so treated, by repetitions, as to produce fifteen verses in three turns. Now, as there
are three different varieties of performing the pakadasa-stoma, the stotra might be
chanted in one or other of the following three arrangements:-1.

Or
2.

Or
3.

Hum a a a

Hum

bbb

Hum

ccc

Hum a a a

Hum

Hum

Hum

Hum

bbb

ccc

Hum a a a

this form is called 'paka-pakin,' i.e. consisting of five in each

row.

('apr' or 'other, second').

bbbccc

this form is called 'udyat,'

or the ascending one.

The three paryyas of a stoma (or vishtuti) show each three subdivisions (viz. a a a--b--c.
being those of the first paryya above), called vishtva. When the Udgtris are about to
commence a chant, the Prastotri spreads in their midst a cloth, doubled up so that the
unwoven fringe lies over the selvage, either towards the east or north. Thereon he marks
the subdivisions of the rounds, by means of sticks (kus), a span long, of some kind of
wood suitable for sacrifice, split lengthways along the pith (the bark being left outside) and
somewhat pointed at one end, then smeared over with some fragrant substance, and
wrapped up singly in pieces of the same kind of cloth as that spread on the ground. The
marking of the vishtvas, or subdivisions, takes place at the end of the prastva or prelude
in this way, that each vishtva is marked by as many sticks as the corresponding verse has
to be repeated; those of the first vishtva being laid down with the point to the north, then
behind or west of them those of the second turn with the point to the west, and behind
them those of the third turn with the point to the north. Thereupon those of the other two
rounds are laid down in the same way, each turn north of the preceding one. Hence the
arrangement of sticks for the first of the above varieties of the pakadasa-stoma would be
three straight, one across, one straight; one straight, three across, one straight; one
straight, one across, three straight.
With the exception of the Bahishpavamna, the chanting is performed in the Sadas by the
side of the Udumbara post , the latter being likewise enclosed in a cloth of the above
description, wrapt round it from left to right, with the unwoven fringe towards the top.

4:3:4:4. Now, truly, there are two kinds of gods; for the gods, forsooth, are
the gods; and the learned Brhmans versed in sacred lore are the human
gods. And the sacrifice to them is twofold, oblations (being the sacrifice) to
the gods, and gifts to the priests being that to the human gods, to the
learned Brhmans versed in sacred lore. With oblations, forsooth, one
gratifies the gods, and with gifts to the priests the human gods, the learned
53

Brhmans versed in sacred lore. These two kinds of gods, when gratified,
convey him to the heavenly world.
4:3:4:5. But it is to the officiating priests, forsooth, that these gifts of his
belong, for they prepare him another self,--to wit, this sacrifice, consisting of
Rik and Yagus and Sman and oblations,--that becomes his self in yonder
world: 'It is they that have generated me,' from this (consideration) he
should give the gifts to officiating priests and not to non-officiating.
4:5:1:8. And again, why there is a barren cow for Mitra and Varuna. Now,
when the gods caused the cast seed to spring,--there is that sastra called
gnimruta: in connection therewith it is explained how the gods caused
that seed to spring. From it the coals (agra) sprung, and from the coals
the Agiras; and after that the other animals.
4:5:1:9. Then the dust of the ashes which remained: therefrom the ass was
produced,--hence when it is dusty anywhere, people say, 'A very place for
asses, forsooth !' And when no sap whatever remained,--thence was
produced that barren cow belonging to Mitra and Varuna; wherefore that
(cow) does not bring forth, for from sap seed is produced, and from seed
cattle. And because she was produced at the end, therefore she comes after
the end of the sacrifice. Hence also a barren cow for Mitra and Varuna is the
most proper here: if he cannot obtain a barren cow, it may also be a
bullock .
4:5:1:10. Then the Visve Devh applied themselves a second time: thence
the Vaisvadev (cow) was produced; then the Brhaspaty: that is the end,
for Brihaspati is the end.
4:5:4:1. Now, at first the gods were all alike, all good. Of them, being all
alike, all good, three desired, 'May we be superior!--Agni, Indra, and Srya.
4:5:4:2.They went on praising and toiling. They saw those Atigrhyas, and
drew (grah) them for themselves over and above (ati): hence the name
Atigrhyas. They became superior, even as they are now superior and verily
he becomes superior for whomsoever, knowing this, they draw those cups of
Soma.
4:5:4:3. And at first there was not in Agni that lustre which is now in him.
He desired, 'May that lustre be in me!' He saw this graha, and drew it for
himself, and henceforth that lustre was in him.

54

4:5:4:4. And at first there was not in Indra that power which is now in him.
He desired, 'May that power be in me!' He saw this graha and drew it for
himself, and henceforth that power was in him.
4:5:4:5. And at first there was not in Srya that splendour which is now in
him. He desired, 'May that splendour be in me!' He saw this graha and drew
it for himself, and henceforth that splendour was in him. And verily for
whomsoever, knowing this, they draw those cups of Soma, he takes unto
himself those same fires (energies), those same powers.
4:5:5:2. After the Upmsu cup goats are produced. Now that (cup) is again
employed in the sacrifice: hence creatures are here produced again and
again.
4:5:5:3. After the Antryama cup sheep are produced. Now that (cup) is
again employed at the sacrifice: hence creatures are here produced again
and again.
4:5:5:4. And because of those two (cups) which are together he offers the
Upmsu first, therefore, of goats and sheep when they are together 1, the
goats go first, and the sheep behind them.
4:5:5:5. And because, having offered the Upmsu, he wipes (the vessel)
upwards, therefore these goats walk like nimbly climbing spokes.
4:5:5:6. And because, having offered the Antaryma, he wipes (the vessel)
downwards, therefore these sheep walk with their heads down, as if digging.
Now they, the goats and sheep, are most conspicuously Pragpati-like:
whence, bringing forth thrice in the year, they produce two or three (young
ones).
4:5:5:7. After the Sukra cup men are produced. Now that (cup) is again
employed at the sacrifice: hence creatures are here produced again and
again. But the Sukra (bright) is the same as he that burns yonder, and he
indeed is Indra; and of animals, man is Indra-like: whence he rules over
animals.
4:5:7:4. Now should the cow, which supplies the gharma, fail (to give milk),
let them go to another; and at the same place where they otherwise make
that gharma (milk) flow , let them place her with her head towards the
north, or in front of the hall with her face to the east.
4:5:7:5. And that which is the right one of the two bones with hair-tufts
which protrude on both sides of her tail-bone,--thereon he offers those
55

thirty-four oblations of ghee; for as much as are those thirty-four

utterances, so much is the sacrifice: thus he lays the whole sacrifice entirely
into her; for therefrom she lets the gharma (milk) flow, and this is the
atonement therefore.
4:6:1:13. Now Kauksta indeed gave as many as twenty-four heifers with
their first calf as dakshins, and a bull as the twenty-fifth, and gold; and
truly that is what he gave.
4:6:4:2. With his joints thus restored, he approached this food, what food of
Pragpati there is,--for what eating is to men, that the vrata (fast-food, or
religious observance generally) is to the gods. And because (they say),
'Great, indeed, is this vrata whereby he has raised himself,' therefore it is
called Mahvratya.
4:6:4:3. Now, even as Pragpati then was, when he had created the living
beings, so are those who sit (in sacrificial session) for a year; and as
Pragpati then, after a year, approached food, so do they now, after a year,
approach food, for whomsoever that knows this, they draw that cup.
4:6:7:5. Both the Riks and the Smans are Speech, and the Yagus are the
Mind. Now wherever this Speech was, there everything was done,
everything was known; but wherever Mind was, there nothing whatever was
done, nothing was known, for no one knows (understands) those who think
in their mind.
4:6:7:6. The gods said to Speech, 'Go thou forward and make this known!'
She said, 'What will be my reward then?'--'Whatever in the sacrifice is
offered with Svh, and without Vashat, that shall be thine!' Hence whatever
in the sacrifice is offered with Svh, and without Vashat, that belongs to
Speech. She then went forward and made that known, saying, 'Do this so!
do this so!'
4:6:7:11. Now there, in the Sadas, that male, the Sman, longs after the
female, the Rik. From that generation Indra was produced: from fire, indeed,
fire is produced, viz. Indra from the Rik and the Sman; for Indra they call
him that burns yonder (the sun).
4:6:7:12. And there, in the Havirdhna, that male, the Soma, longs after
the female, the water. From that generation the moon was produced: from
food, indeed, food is produced, viz. the moon from water and Soma; for the
moon is the food of him that burns yonder. Hence he thereby produces the
sacrificer, and for him he produces food: from the Rik and Sman he
produces the sacrificer, and from water and Soma he produces food for him.
56

4:6:7:18. He who performs with the Yagus in a low voice, strengthens them;
and they, thus strengthened, strengthen him. But he who performs in a loud
voice, weakens them, and, being weak, they weaken him.
4:6:7:19. The Riks and Smans, forsooth, are speech, and the Yagus are the
mind; and so those who perform with the Rik and Sman are speech, and
those who perform with the Yagus are the mind. Hence nothing whatever is
done, unless ordered by the Adhvaryu: when the Adhvaryu says, 'Recite (the
invitatory prayer)! Pronounce the offering prayer!' then those who perform
with the Rik perform it. And when the Adhvaryu says, 'Soma becometh pure:
turn ye back !' then those who perform with the Sman perform it,--for
speech speaks not but what is conceived by the mind.
4:6:7:20. Thus, then, the Adhvaryu, the mind, walks, as it were, in front
(puras-karati): hence the name 'puraskarana;' and verily, he who knows
this, stands, as it were, in front through prosperity and glory.
5:1:1:1. Once upon a time the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung
from Pragpati, strove together. And the Asuras, even through arrogance,
thinking, 'Unto whom, forsooth, should we make offering?' went on offering
into their own mouths. They came to naught, even through arrogance:
wherefore let no one be arrogant, for verily arrogance is the cause of ruin.
5:1:1:5. Thus they who of old used to offer the Vgapeya, ascended to that
upper region. From there Aupvi Gnasruteya descended again:
thenceforward (all men) descend again.
5:1:1:6. Indra offered that (Vgapeya),--he became everything here, he
won everything here; for he won Pragpati, and Pragpati is everything
here: by offering therewith he ascended to that upper region.
5:1:1:7. Thus they who of old used to offer the Vgapeya, ascended to that
upper region. From there Aupvi Gnasruteya descended' again:
thenceforward (all men) descend again.
5:1:1:8. And whosoever offers the Vgapeya, he becomes everything here,
he wins everything here; for he wins Pragpati, and Pragpati indeed is
everything here.
5:1:1:9. Here now they say, 'One must not offer the Vgapeya; for he who
offers the Vgapeya wins everything here,--for he wins Pragpati, and
Pragpati is everything here,--he leaves nothing remaining here: his people
(or offspring) is like to become worse (off).'

57

5:1:1:10. Let him none the less sacrifice: whatever (priests) thus know that
sacrifice properly, in respect of the Rik, the Yagus, and the Sman, and such
as are proficient, let them assist him in offering it; for verily this is the
perfection of that sacrifice, when wise (priests) assist him in offering it: let
him therefore sacrifice by all means.
5:1:1:11. Now truly this (the Vgapeya) is the Brhmana's own sacrifice,
inasmuch as Brihaspati (the lord of prayer and devotion) performed it; for
Brihaspati is the Brahman (priesthood, or priestly dignity), and the
Brhmana is the Brahman. And it is also that of the Rganya, inasmuch as
Indri performed it; for Indra is the Kshatra (nobility, or ruling power), and
the Rganya is the Kshatra.
5:1:1:12. To the king (rgan) doubtless belongs the Rgasya; for by
offering the Rgasya he becomes king; and unsuited for kingship is the
Brhmana. And, moreover, the Rgasya is the lower, and the Vgapeya the
higher (sacrifice).
5:1:1:13. For by offering the Rgasya he becomes king, and by the
Vgapeya (he becomes) emperor (samrg); and the office of king is the
lower, and that of emperor the higher: a king might indeed wish to become
emperor, for the office of king is the lower, and that of emperor the higher;
but the emperor would not wish to become king, for the office of king is the
lower, and that of emperor the higher.
5:1:1:14. Thus that (king) who, by performing the Vgapeya, becomes
emperor, possesses himself of everything here. Previously to each
performance (of an ishti) he offers that oblation to Savitri (the sun), with the
text, 'O divine Savitri, impel (prosper) the sacrifice, impel Pragpati for his
portion!'
5:1:3:7. He then seizes seventeen victims for Pragpati. They are all
hornless, all dark-grey , all (uncastrated) males; for he who offers the
Vgapeya, wins Pragpati; but Pragpati is food, and the victim (cattle) is
food: he thus wins Pragpati. And Pragpati is Soma, and the victim is the
visible Soma: he thus wins the visible Pragpati. There are seventeen
(victims), because Pragpati is seventeenfold: he thus wins Pragpati.
5:1:3:8. Now, they are all hornless;--for man is nearest to Pragpati, and he
is hornless, unhorned; and Pragpati also is hornless, unhorned; and these
(victims) belong to Pragpati: therefore they are all hornless.

58

5:2:1:9. He then leans a ladder (against the post). He may ascend either
from the south northwards, or from the north southwards; but let him rather
ascend from the south northwards (udak), for thus it goes upwards (udak).
5:3:2:3. Even he who, while being qualified for fame, is not yet famous,
may perform that offering. Now he who is learned (in the Veda), while being
qualified for fame, is not famous; and he who is not famous, is covered with
darkness: that darkness of his Soma and Rudra thereby remove; and freed
from evil he becomes a very light by his prosperity and renown.
5:3:2:5. The course of this (is as follows). Any asvattha branch broken off
by itself, either on the eastern or on the northern side (of the tree), from
that he makes a vessel (to hold the pap) for Mitra; for that which is hewn by
the axe belongs to Varuna; but that which is broken off by itself belongs to
Mitra: therefore he makes the vessel for Mitra from a branch broken off by
itself.
5:3:2:6. Thereupon having curdled the (milk into) curds, and poured it into
a leathern bag; and having put (the horses) to the cart, and fastened (the
bag on the cart), he tells it to 'fly away.' This is that (kind of) fresh butter
which is self-produced ; for that which is churned belongs to Varuna, and
that which is self-produced belongs to Mitra: therefore it is self-produced
butter.
5:3:5:3. He spreads a tiger-skin in front of the Maitrvaruna's hearth , with
(Vg. S. X, 5), 'Thou art Soma's beauty.' For because when Soma flowed
through Indra he (Indra) thereupon became a tiger, therefore he is Soma's
beauty: this is why he says, 'Thou art Soma's splendour;'--'may my beauty
become like unto thine!' He thus bestows the tiger's beauty on him:
therefore he says, 'May my beauty become like unto thine!
5:3:5:9. Those which he offers after the consecration, he offers (resp.) with,
'To Indra hail!'--Indra is vigour: with vigour he thus sprinkles him;--'To the
roar hail!'--roar means vigour: with vigour he thus sprinkles him;--'To the
noise hail! 'noise means vigour: with vigour he thus sprinkles him;--'To
Amsa hail!'--Amsa is vigour: with vigour he thus sprinkles him;--'To Bhaga
hail!'--Bhaga is vigour: with vigour he thus sprinkles him;--'To Aryaman
hail!'--he thus makes him the friend (aryaman) of everything here. These he
offers after the consecration: these are called the ditya-named ones.
5:3:5:11. There is a palsa (butea frondosa) one: with (the water of) that
(vessel) a Brhman sprinkles;--the Palsa tree is priestly dignity (brahman):
it is with priestly dignity that he sprinkles (endows) him.

59

5:3:5:12. There is an udumbara (ficus glomerata) one: therewith one of his

own (kinsmen, or brothers) sprinkles. The udumbara tree means
sustenance, (that is) food, and the 'own' means sustenance, for as far as a
man's own goes, so far he does not hunger: thereby his 'own' is sustenance,
and therefore one of his own (kinsmen) sprinkles with an udumbara
(vessel).
5:3:5:13. There is one made of the foot (stem) of the nyagrodha (ficus
indica): therewith a friendly (mitrya) Rganya sprinkles: for by its feet the
nyagrodha tree is supported, and by the friend (mitra) the Rganya
(nobleman or king) is supported: therefore a friendly Rganya sprinkles with
(the water of a vessel) made of the foot of a nyagrodha.
5:3:5:14. There is an asvattha (ficus religiosa) one: therewith a Vaisya
sprinkles. Because Indra on that (former) occasion called upon the Maruts
staying on the Asvattha tree, therefore a Vaisya sprinkles with an asvattha
(vessel). These are the consecration vessels.
5:3:5:16. He purifies with, 'By the impulse of Savitri I purify you with a
flawless purifier, with the rays of the sun.' The significance is the same (as
before). 'Not downfallen thou art, the friend of Speech, born of heat,'-unimpaired by the Rakshas he means to say when he says, 'not
downfallen;'--'the friend of Speech'--as long as there is water in the vital
airs, so long (man) speaks with speech: therefore he says, 'the friend of
Speech.'
5:3:5:17. 'Born of heat' he says, for from fire springs smoke, from smoke
the cloud, from the cloud rain,--it is from fire that these are produced: hence
he says, 'born of heat.'
5:4:1:2. And as to why it is of a long-haired man,--such a long-haired man
is neither woman nor man; for being a male, he is not a woman, and being
longhaired (a eunuch), he is not a man. And copper (or bronze) is neither
iron nor gold; and those mordacious ones (snakes) are neither worms nor
non-worms. And as to its being copper,--reddish to be sure are mordacious
ones: therefore (he throws it in the face) of a long-haired man.
Lohyasa, literally, 'red metal,' apparently either copper, or an alloy of copper and some
other metal,--The eunuch is sitting in the Sadas.

5:4:1:9. On the hind part of the tiger's skin a piece of lead is laid down. He
kicks it off with his foot, with (Vg. S. X, 14), 'Kicked off is Namuki's head!'
Now there was once an sura, Namuki by name. Indra knocked him down,
and trod with his foot upon him. And in that he, thus trodden upon, bulged
out, that (is the origin of) a rupture. He tore off his head with his foot, and
60

therefrom sprang a goblin (Rakshas). That one kept calling out to him,
'Whither art thou going? Where wilt thou rid thyself of me?'
Either at this juncture, or after the game at dice, the Hotri recites the legend of
Sunahsepha, as given Ait. Br. VII, 13-18.--'King Hariskandra, of the race of Ikshvku, being
childless, made a vow that if he obtained a son he would sacrifice him to Varuna. A son was
born, who received the name of Rohita, but the father postponed, under various pretexts,
the fulfilment of his vow. When at length he resolved to perform the sacrifice, Rohita
refused to be the victim, and went out into the forest, where he lived for six years. He then
met a poor Brhman Rishi called Aggarta, who had three sons, and Rohita purchased from
Aggarta, for a hundred cows, the second son, named Sunahsepha, to be the substitute for
himself in the sacrifice. Varuna approved of the substitute, and the sacrifice was about to be
performed, the father receiving another hundred cows for binding his son to the sacrificial
post, and a third hundred for agreeing to slaughter him. Sunahsepha, however, saved
himself by reciting verses in honour of different deities, and was received into the family of
Visvmitra, who was one of the officiating priests.' Dowson, Dict. of Hindu Mythology.

5:4:3:19. He then puts on shoes of boar's skin. Now the gods once put a pot
of ghee on the fire. Therefrom a boar was produced: hence the boar is fat,
for it was produced from ghee. Hence also cows readily take to a boar: it is
indeed their own essence (life-sap, blood) they are readily taking to. Thus he
firmly establishes himself in the essence of the cattle: therefore he puts on
shoes of boar's skin.
5:5:4:1. There is a reddish-white (he-goat as the victim) for the Asvins, for
the Asvins are reddish-white. There is an ewe with teats in the dewlap for
Sarasvat; and a bull he seizes for Indra Sutrman (the good protector) .
Difficult to obtain are beasts with such perfections; if he cannot obtain any
with such perfections, they may slaughter only goats, for they are easier to
cook. And if they seize only goats, that for the Asvins is a red one. Then as
to why he performs this sacrifice.
5:5:4:2. Now Tvashtri had a three-headed, six-eyed son . He had three
mouths; and because he was thus shapen, he was called Visvarpa ('Allshape').
5:5:4:3. One of his mouths was Soma-drinking, one spirit-drinking, and one
for other food. Indra hated him, and cut off those heads of his.
5:5:4:4. And from the one which was Soma-drinking, a hazel-cock sprang
forth; whence the latter is of brownish colour, for king Soma is brown.
5:5:4:5. And from the one which was spirit-drinking, a sparrow sprang;
whence the latter talks like one who is joyful, for when one has drunk spirits,
one talks as one who enjoys himself.

61

5:5:4:6. And from the one which was for other (kinds of) food, a partridge
sprang; whence the latter is exceedingly variegated: ghee drops indeed
have, as it were, dropped on his wings in one place, and honey-drops, as it
were, in another; for suchlike was the-food he consumed with that (mouth).
5:5:4:7. Tvashtri was furious: 'Has he really slain my son?' He brought
Soma juice withheld from Indra ; and as that Soma-juice was, when
produced, even so it remained withheld from Indra.
5:5:4:8. Indra thought within himself: 'There now, they are excluding me
from Soma!' and even uninvited he consumed what pure (Soma) there was
in the tub, as the stronger (would consume the food) of the weaker. But it
hurt him: it flowed in all directions from (the openings of) his vital airs; only
from his mouth it did not flow. Hence there was an atonement; but had it
flown also from his mouth, then indeed there would have been no
atonement.
5:5:4:9. For there are four castes, the Brhmana, the Rganya, the Vaisya,
and the Sdra; but there is not one of them that vomits Soma; but were
there any one of them, then indeed there would be atonement.
5:5:4:10. From what flowed from the nose a lion sprang; and from what
flowed from the ears a wolf sprang; and from what flowed from the lower
opening wild beasts sprang, with the tiger as their foremost; and what
flowed from the upper opening that was the foaming spirit (parisrut). And
thrice he spit out: thence were produced the (fruits called) 'kuvala,
karkandhu, or badara ' He (Indra) became emptied out of everything, for
Soma is everything.
5:5:4:11. Being thus purged by Soma, he walked about as one tottering.
The Asvins cured him by this (offering), and caused him to be supplied with
everything, for Soma is everything. By offering he indeed became better.
5:5:4:12. The gods spake, 'Aha! these two have saved him, the well-saved
(sutrta):' hence the name Sautrman.
5:5:4:13. Let him also cure by this (ceremony) one purged by Soma;--he
whom Soma purges is indeed emptied out of everything, for Soma is
everything. He now causes him to be supplied with everything, for Soma is
everything; and by offering he indeed becomes better: let him therefore
cure thereby also one purged by Soma.
5:5:4:14. And as to why the performer of the Rgasya performs this
offering. He who performs the Rgasya assuredly gains for himself all
62

sacrificial rites, all offerings, even the spoonful-oblations; and instituted by

the gods indeed is this offering, the Sautrman: 'May offering be made by
me with this one also! may I be consecrated by this one also!' thus (he
thinks, and) therefore the performer of the Rgasya performs this offering.
5:5:5:11. And, verily, he who performs the Rgasya gains for himself all
sacrificial rites, all offerings, even the spoonful-oblations; and this offering,
the Traidhtav (ishti), is instituted by the gods: 'May this offering also be
performed by me, may I be consecrated by this one also!' thus he thinks,
and therefore this is the completing offering for him who performs the
Rgasya.
5:5:5:12. And also for him who would give (to the priests) a thousand
(cows) or more, let this be the completing offering. For he who gives a
thousand or more becomes as it were emptied out; and that triple Veda is
the thousandfold progeny of Vk (speech): him who was emptied out he
thus fills up again with a thousand; and therefore let it be for him also the
completing offering.
5:5:5:13. And also for those who would sit through (perform) a long
sacrificial session, for a year or more, let this be the completing offering. For
by those who sit through a long sacrificial session, for a year or more,
everything is obtained, everything conquered; but this (offering) is
everything: let it therefore be for them also the completing offering.
5:5:5:14. And indeed one may also practise magic by this (offering); for it
was thereby that rani bewitched Bhadrasena gtasatrava: 'Quick, then,
spread (the barhis)!' thus Ygavalkya used to say. And by this (offering)
indeed Indra also shattered Vritra's retreat; and, verily, he who therewith
practises magic shatters thereby the retreat (of his enemy): therefore one
may also practise magic with this (offering).
5:5:5:15. And, indeed, one may also heal thereby; for, verily, whomsoever
one would heal by a single rik, by a single yagus, by a single sman, him he
would indeed render free from disease; how much more so by the triple
Veda! Therefore one may also heal by this (offering).
6:1:1:1. Verily, in the beginning there was here the non-existent. As to this
they say, 'What was that non-existent?' The Rishis, assuredly,--it is they
that were the non-existent. As to this they say, 'Who were those Rishis?' The
Rishis, doubtless, were the vital airs: inasmuch as before (the existence of)
this universe, they, desiring it, wore themselves out (rish) with toil and
austerity, therefore (they are called) Rishis.

63

6:1:1:2. This same vital air in the midst doubtless is Indra. He, by his power
(indriya), kindled those (other) vital airs from the midst; and inasmuch as
he kindled (indh), he is the kindler (indha): the kindler indeed,--him they
call 'Indra' mystically (esoterically), for the gods love the mystic. They (the
vital airs), being kindled, created seven separate persons (purusha).
6:1:1:3. They said, 'Surely, being thus, we shall not be able to generate: let
us make these seven persons one Person!' They made those seven persons
one Person: they compressed two of them (into) what is above the navel,
and two of them (into) what is below the navel; (one) person was (one)
wing (or side), (one) person was (the other) wing, and one person was the
base (i.e. the feet).
6:1:1:4. And what excellence, what life-sap (rasa) there was in those seven
persons, that they concentrated above, that became his head. And because
(in it) they concentrated the excellence (sr), therefore it is (called) the head
(siras). It was thereto that the breaths resorted (sri): therefore also it is the
head (siras). And because the breaths did so resort (sri) thereto, therefore
also the breaths (vital airs, and their organs) are elements of excellence
(sr). And because they resorted to the whole (system) therefore (this is
called) body (sarra).
6:1:1:5. That same Person became Pragpati (lord of generation). And that
Person which became Pragpati is this very Agni (fire-altar), who is now (to
be) built.
6:1:1:8. Now this Person Pragpati desired, 'May I be more (than one), may
I be reproduced!' He toiled, he practised austerity. Being worn out with toil
and austerity, he created first of all the Brahman (neut.), the triple science.
It became to him a foundation: hence they say, 'the Brahman (Veda) is the
foundation of everything here.' Wherefore, having studied (the Veda) one
rests on a foundation; for this, to wit, the Veda, is his foundation. Resting on
that foundation, he (again) practised austerity.
6:1:1:9. He created the waters out of Vk (speech, that is) the world; for
speech belonged to it : that was created (set free). It pervaded everything
here; and because it pervaded (p) whatsoever there was here, therefore (it
is called) water (pah); and because it covered (var), therefore also it (is
called) water (vr).
6:1:1:10. He desired, 'May I be reproduced from these waters!' He entered
the waters with that triple science. Thence an egg arose. He touched it. 'Let
it exist! let it exist and multiply!' so he said. From it the Brahman (neut.)
was first created, the triple science. Hence they say, 'The Brahman (n.) is
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the first-born of this All.' For even before that Person the Brahman was
created : it was created as his mouth. Hence they say of him who has
studied the Veda, that 'he is like Agni;' for it, the Brahman (Veda), is Agni's
mouth.
6:1:1:11. Now the embryo which was inside was created as the foremost
(agri): inasmuch as it was created foremost (agram) of this All, therefore (it
is called) Agri: Agri, indeed, is he whom they mystically call Agni; for the
gods love the mystic. And the tear (asru, n.) which had formed itself became
the 'asru' (m.): 'asru' indeed is what they mystically call 'asva' (horse), for
the gods love the mystic. And that which, as it were, cried (ras), became the
ass (rsabha). And the juice which was adhering to the shell (of the egg)
became the he-goat (aga ). And that which was the shell became the earth.
6:1:1:12. He desired, 'May I generate, this (earth) from these waters!' He
compressed it and threw it into the water. The juice which flowed from it
became a tortoise; and that which was spirted upwards (became) what is
produced above here over the wafers. This whole (earth) dissolved itself all
over the water: all this (universe) appeared as one form only, namely,
water.
6:1:1:13. He desired, 'May it become more than one, may it reproduce
itself!' He toiled and practised austerity; and worn out with toil and
austerity, he created foam. He was aware that 'this indeed looks different, it
is becoming more (than one): I must toil, indeed!' Worn out with toil and
austerity, he created clay, mud, saline soil and sand, gravel (pebble), rock,
ore, gold, plants and trees: therewith he clothed this earth.
6:1:1:14. This (earth), then, was created as (consisting of) these same nine
creations. Hence they say, 'Threefold (three times three) is Agni;' for Agni is
this (earth), since thereof the whole Agni (fire-altar) is constructed.
6:1:1:15. 'This (earth) has indeed become (bh) a foundation!' (he
thought): hence it became the earth (bhmi). He spread it out (prath), and
it became the broad one (or earth, prithiv). And she (the earth), thinking
herself quite perfect, sang; and inasmuch as she sang (g), therefore she is
Gyatr. But they also say, 'It was Agni, indeed, on her (the earth's) back,
who thinking himself quite perfect, sang; and inasmuch as he sang (g),
therefore Agni is Gyatra.' And hence whosoever thinks himself quite
perfect, either sings or delights in song .
6:1:2:5. Having created these worlds, he desired, 'May I create such
creatures as shall be mine in these worlds!'

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6:1:2:6. By his Mind (manas) he entered into union with Speech (vk): he
became pregnant with eight drops. They were created as those eight Vasus :
he placed them on this (earth).
6:1:2:7. By his Mind he entered into union with Speech: he became
pregnant with eleven drops. They were created as those eleven Rudras : he
placed them in the air.
6:1:2:8. By his Mind he entered into union with Speech: he became
pregnant with twelve drops. They were created as the twelve dityas : he
placed them in the sky.
6:1:2:9. By his Mind he entered into union with Speech: he became
pregnant. He created the All-gods: he placed them in the quarters.
6:1:2:10. And so they say, 'After Agni having been created, the Vasus were
created: he placed them on this (earth);--after Vyu, the Rudras: (he
placed) them in the air;--after the sun, the dityas: (he placed) them in the
sky;--after the moon, the All-gods: he placed them in the quarters.'
6:1:2:11. And so they say, 'Pragpati, having created these worlds, was
firmly established on the earth. For him these plants were ripened into food:
that he ate. He became pregnant. From the upper vital airs he created the
gods, and from the lower vital airs the mortal creatures.' In whatever way
he created thereafter, so he created; but indeed it was Pragpati who
created everything here, whatsoever exists.
6:1:2:12. Having created creatures he, having run the whole race, became
relaxed ; and therefore even now he who runs the whole race becomes
indeed relaxed. From him being thus relaxed, the vital air went out from
within. When it had gone out of him the gods left him.
6:1:2:13. He said to Agni, 'Restore me!'--'What will then accrue to me?' said
he.--'They shall call me after thee; for whichever of the sons succeeds (in
life), after him they call the father, grandfather, son, and grandson: they
shall call me after thee,--restore me, then!'--'So be it!' so (saying) Agni
restored him: therefore, while being Pragpati, they call him Agni; and
verily, whosoever knows this, after him they call his father, grandfather,
son, and grandson.
6:1:2:14. He said, 'Whereon shall we set thee up?--'On the hita (set, or
suitable, good)!' he said: the vital air is indeed something good, for the vital
air is good for all beings. And inasmuch as he set him up on the hita,
therefore one says, 'I shall set up, I am setting up, I have set up .'
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6:1:2:15. As to this they say, 'What is hita, and what is upahita?' The vital
air, forsooth, is the 'hita,' and speech is the 'upahita,' for it is on the vital air
that this speech is based (upa-hit). The vital air, again, is the 'hita,' and the
limbs are the 'upahita,' for on the vital air these limbs are indeed based.
6:1:2:16. This, then, was his (Pragpati's) 'kitya' (Agni to be set up on an
altar-pile); for he had to be built up (ki) by him, and therefore was his
'kitya.' And so indeed he now is the Sacrificer's 'kitya;' for he is to be built
up by him, and therefore is his 'kitya.'
6:1:2:17. Now it was those five bodily parts (tanu) of his (Pragpati's) that
became relaxed,--hair, skin, flesh, bone, and marrow,--they are these five
layers (of the fire-altar); and when he builds up the five layers, thereby he
builds him up by those bodily parts; and inasmuch as he builds up (ki),
therefore they are layers (kiti).
6:1:2:24. Here now ktkshya used to say, 'Only he who knows abundant
bricks possessed of (special) prayers, should build up the fire (altar):
abundantly indeed he then heals Father Pragpati.'
6:1:2:25. But Tndya used to say, 'Surely the bricks possessed of prayers
are the nobility, and the space-fillers are the peasants; and the noble is the
feeder, and the peasantry the food; and where there is abundant food for
the feeder, that realm is indeed prosperous and thrives: let him therefore
pile up abundant space-fillers!' Such then was the speech of those two, but
the settled practice is different therefrom.
6:1:2:26. Now that father (Pragpati) is (also) the son: in as much as he
created Agni, thereby he is Agni's father; and inasmuch as Agni restored
him, thereby Agni is his (Pragpati's) father; and inasmuch as he created
the gods, thereby he is the father of the gods; and inasmuch as the gods
restored him, thereby the gods are his fathers.
6:1:2:27. Twofold verily is this,--father and son, Pragpati and Agni, Agni
and Pragpati, Pragpati and the gods, the gods and Pragpati--(for)
whosoever knows this.
6:1:2:29. Here now they say, 'Wherefore is Agni (the fire-altar) built of this
(earth)?' But, surely, when that deity (Pragpati) became relaxed (fell
asunder), he flowed along this (earth) in the shape of his life-sap; and when
the gods restored him (put him together), they gathered him up from this
earth: this earth then is that one brick , for Agni is this earth, since it is
thereof that the whole Agni is built up. Now this earth is four-cornered, for

67

the quarters are her corners: hence the bricks are four-cornered; for all the
bricks are after the manner of this earth.
6:1:3:8. Now, those beings are the seasons; and that lord of beings is the
year; and that Ushas, the mistress, is the Dawn. And these same creatures,
as well as the lord of beings, the year, laid seed into Ushas. There a boy
(kumra) was born in a year: he cried.
6:1:3:9. Pragpati said to him, 'My boy, why criest thou, when thou art born
out of labour and trouble?' He said, 'Nay, but I am not freed from (guarded
against) evil; I have no name given me: give me a name!' Hence one should
give a name to the boy that is born, for thereby one frees him from evil;-even a second, even a third (name), for thereby one frees him from evil
time after time.
6:1:3:10. He said to him, 'Thou art Rudra.' And because he gave him that
name, Agni became suchlike (or, that form), for Rudra is Agni: because he
cried (rud) therefore he is Rudra. He said, 'Surely, I am mightier than that:
give me yet a name!'
6:1:3:11. He said to him, 'Thou art Sarva.' And because he gave the him
that name, the waters became suchlike, for Sarva is the waters, inasmuch
as from the water everything (sarva) here is produced. He said, 'Surely, I
am mightier than that: give me yet a name!'
6:1:3:12. He said to him, 'Thou art Pasupati.' And because he gave him that
name, the plants became suchlike, for Pasupati is the plants: hence when
cattle (pasu) get plants, then they play the master (paty). He said, 'Surely,
I am mightier than that: give me yet a name!'
6:1:3:13. He said to him, 'Thou art Ugra.' And because he gave him that
name, Vyu (the wind) became suchlike, for Ugra is Vyu: hence when it
blows strongly, they say 'Ugra is blowing.' He said, 'Surely, I am mightier
than that: give me yet a name!'
6:1:3:14. He said to him, 'Thou art Asani.' And because he gave him that
name, the lightning became such like, for Asani is the lightning: hence they
say of him whom the lightning strikes, 'Asani has smitten him.' He said,
'Surely, I am mightier than that: give me yet a name!'
6:1:3:15. He said to him, 'Thou art Bhava.' And because he gave him that
name, Parganya (the rain-god) became suchlike; for Bhava is Parganya,
since everything here comes (bhavati) from the rain-cloud. He said, 'Surely,
I am mightier than that: give me yet a name!'
68

6:1:3:16. He said to him, 'Thou art Mahn Devah (the Great God).' And
because he gave him that name, the moon became such like, for the moon
is Pragpati, and Pragpati is the Great God. He said, 'Surely, I am mightier
than that: give me yet a name!'
6:1:3:17. He said to him, 'Thou art sna (the Ruler).' And because he gave
him that name, the Sun became suchlike, for sna is the Sun, since the Sun
rules over this All. He said, 'So great indeed I am: give me no other name
after that!'
6:1:3:18. These then are the eight forms of Agni. Kumra (the boy) is the
ninth: that is Agni's threefold state.
6:1:3:19. And because there are eight forms of Agni--the Gyatr consisting
of eight syllables--therefore they say, 'Agni is Gyatra.' That boy entered
into the forms one after another; for one never sees him as a mere boy
(kumra), but one sees those forms of his , for he assumed those forms one
after another.
6:2:1:14. Now when he slaughters those animals, he prepares a home for
Agni; for nowhere but in his home does one enjoy himself. But the home
means food: it is that he lays down in, front, and when Agni sees that, he
turns unto him.
6:2:1:15. There are a man, a horse, a bull, a ram, and a he-goat; for such
are all the animals (used for sacrifice). Animals are food: he thus lays down
in front whatever food there is; and seeing that, Agni turns unto him.
6:2:1:16. There are five; for there are those five Agnis, to wit, the five
layers (of the fire-altar): for them he thus lays down five homes; and seeing
that, Agni turns unto him.
6:2:1:17. And when (he offers) 'to the Agnis,'--it is because there are here
many Agnis, to wit, those layers; and when (he offers) 'to the desire,' it is in
order that the Sacrificer may obtain the object for which he performs that
ceremony.
6:2:1:18. A man (purusha) he slaughters first, for man is the first of
animals; then a horse, for the horse comes after man; then a bull, for the
bull (or cow) comes after the horse; then a ram, for the sheep comes after
the cow; then a he-goat, for the goat comes after the sheep: thus he
slaughters them according to their form, according to their excellence.

69

6:2:1:19. Their ropes may be unequal; that of the man being the longest,
then shorter and shorter: thus he makes the ropes according to the form of
the animals, to avoid confusion between good and bad. But let them be all
alike, all similar; for all these victims are alike, all similar, for they are (all)
called Agnis, they are called food: hence they are alike and similar.
'Now this king Soma, the food of the gods, is no other than the moon. When he (the moon,
masc.) is not seen that night either in the east or in the west, then he visits this world, and
here he enters into the waters (f.) and plants (f.).' Thus Pragpati is here identified with
Soma, the moon, and food.

6:2:3:9. Now when they said, 'Meditate ye (ketayadhvam)!' they doubtless

meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer (kitim ikkhata)!' and inasmuch as meditating
(ketay) they saw them, therefore they are 'layers' (kitayah).
6:3:1:8. Both an offering-spoon (sruk) and a dipping-spoon (sruva) are used
thereat; for the offering-spoon is speech, and the dipping-spoon is breath;
and with speech and breath the gods sought this sacred rite at the
beginning: hence there are an offering-spoon and a dipping-spoon.
6:3:1:19. [Vg. S. XI, 7] 'God Savitri, speed the sacrifice, speed the lord of
sacrifice unto his share!'--the god Savitri is yonder sun, and his share is the
sacrifice, that he means to say when he says 'speed the sacrifice, speed the
lord of sacrifice!'--'May the heavenly, thought-cleansing Gandharva cleanse
our thought!'--the heavenly Gandharva is yonder sun, and thought is
(sacrificial) food; thus, 'May the food-cleanser cleanse our food!'--'May the
lord of speech render agreeable our speech!'--this sacred rite is speech, and
the lord of speech is the breath: thus, 'May the breath render agreeable this
rite of ours!!
6:4:3:4. [Vg. S. XI, 39] 'May Vyu Mtarisvan heal,'--Vyu Mtarisvan,
doubtless, is he (the wind) that blows yonder;--'the broken heart of thee
stretched out with upward look!' for this (hole) is the broken heart of this
earth stretched out with upward look;--'thou who goest along by the breath
of the gods,'--for he (the wind) indeed goes along by means of the breath of
all the gods;--'to thee, Ka, be vashat (success), O god!'--Ka ('Who?')
doubtless is Pragpati, for him he makes this earth to be the Vashat, for
there is so far no other oblation than that.
6:4:4:13. And inasmuch as, in going from here, the horse goes first,
therefore the Kshatriya, going first, is followed by the three other castes;
and inasmuch as, in returning from there, the he-goat goes first, therefore
the Brhmana, going first, is followed by the three other castes. And
inasmuch as the ass does not go first, either in going from here, or in
coming back from there, therefore the Brhmana and Kshatriya never go
70

behind the Vaisya and Sdra hence they walk thus in order to avoid a
confusion between good and bad. And, moreover, he thus encloses those
two castes (the Vaisya and Sdra) on both sides by the priesthood and the
nobility, and makes them submissive.
6:4:4:14. He then looks at the sham-man, with, 'Agni Purshya we bear,
Agiras-like;'--that is, 'Agni, favourable to cattle, we bear, like Agni.' He
thereby equips him with the sham-man.
6:6:1:21. He then offers the one to Savitri, for Savitri, indeed, of old
performed this rite, and he now makes use of him for this rite,--(Vg. S. XI,
67; Rik S. V, 50, 1), 'Every mortal would choose the friendship of the divine
Guide; every one craves riches, and would have glory for him to prosper,
hail!' He who chooses the friendship of the god Savitri, chooses both glory
and prosperity; and he who performs this rite, indeed chooses his friendship.
6:7:1:11. And, again, why over the navel,--that part of the vital air which is
immortal is above the navel, and streams out by upward breathings; but
that which is mortal passes by and away from the navel: he thus makes him
(the Sacrificer) obtain the part of the vital air which is immortal, and by that
he then carries it (the fire).
6:7:1:12. Now, he carries that (fire in the pan) on a seat;--the seat (sand)
doubtless is this earth, for on her everything here is settled (sanna); and
she indeed is able to sustain him (Agni): it was thereby that the gods carried
him, and thereby he now carries him.
6:7:1:13. It is made of udumbara wood (ficus glomerata), for the Udumbara
tree is sustenance (sustaining strength), life-sap: by means of sustenance,
life-sap, he thus carries him. Moreover, that Udumbara represents all the
trees here (on earth), and all the trees (together) are capable of sustaining
that (fire): by means of all the trees the gods bore (or, maintained) it, and
by means of all the trees does he now bear it.
6:7:1:23. And as to why it is called 'Ukh;'--by means of this sacred
performance and this process the gods at that time dug out these worlds;
and inasmuch as they so dug out (ut-khan), it (the pan representing the
worlds) is called 'utkh,'--'utkh' being what they mysteriously (esoterically)
call 'ukh,' for the gods love the mysterious.
7:1:1:16. The enclosing-stones, then, are the womb; the saline earth is the
amnion, and the sand is the seed. The enclosing-stones are outside, and the
saline earth is inside; for the womb is outside, and the amnion inside. The
saline earth is outside, and the sand inside; for the amnion is outside, and
71

the seed inside. He who is born is born from these: it is from them that he
thus causes him (Agni) to be born.
7:2:1:1. They now take the Nirriti (bricks) from there. For, having built the
Grhapatya, the gods then ascended it,--the Grhapatya being this (earth-)
world, it is this world they ascended after completing it. They saw nothing
but darkness not to be seen through.
7:2:1:2. They said, 'Think ye upon this, how we may dispel that darkness,
evil!' They said, 'Meditate ye (ketay)!'--whereby indeed they said, 'Seek ye
to build an altar (kitim)!'--'Seek ye so that we may dispel that darkness,
evil!'
7:5:1:1. He then puts down a (living) tortoise;--the tortoise means life-sap:
it is life-sap (blood) he thus bestows on (Agni). This tortoise is that life-sap
of these worlds which flowed away from them when plunged into the waters:
that (life-sap) he now bestows on (Agni). As far as the life-sap extends, so
far the body extends: that (tortoise) thus is these worlds.
7:5:1:2. That lower shell of it is this (terrestrial) world; it is, as it were,
fixed; for fixed, as it were, is this (earth-)world. And that upper shell of it is
yonder sky; it has its ends, as it were, bent down; for yonder sky has its
ends, as it were, bent down. And what is between (the shells) is the air;-that (tortoise) thus is these worlds: it is these worlds he thus lays down (to
form part of the altar).
7:5:1:3. He anoints it with sour curds, honey, and ghee,--sour curds
doubtless are a form of this (earth-)world, ghee of the air, and honey of
yonder sky: he thus supplies it (the tortoise) with its own form. Or, sour
curds are the life-sap of this (earth-)world, ghee that of the air, and honey
that of yonder sky: he thus supplies it with its own life-sap.
7:5:1:5. And as to its being called 'krma' (tortoise);Pragpati, having
assumed that form, created living beings. Now what he created, he made;
and inasmuch as he made (kar), he is (called) 'krma;' and 'krma' being
(the same as) 'kasyapa' (a tortoise), therefore all creatures are said to be
descended from Kasyapa.
7:5:1:35. Now that Agni is an animal, and even now he is (being) made up
whole and complete: the naturally-perforated (brick) is his lower vital air,
the dviyagus the hip, the two retahsik the ribs, the visvagyotis the breastbone, the two seasonal ones the back, the ashdh the neck, the tortoise
the head, and the vital airs in the tortoise are those vital airs in the head.

72

7:5:2:24. And, again, why he offers thereon:--he thereby lays vigour into
the head. He offers with ghee,--ghee is a thunderbolt, and the thunderbolt
means vigour: he thus lays vigour into it. With 'Hail' (he offers),--the 'Hail'
(svhkra, m.) is a male, and the male means vigour: he thus lays vigour
into it. With a trishtubh verse (he offers);the Trishtubh is a thunderbolt, and
the thunderbolt means vigour; the Trishtubh is vigour: with vigour he thus
lays vigour into it.
7:5:2:25. Having run through the (first) half-verse, he pronounces the
Svh;--the rik (verse) is a bone: having cleft asunder that skull-bone which
is here inside the head, he there lays vigour into it.
7:5:2:26. Having then run through the (second) half-verse, he pronounces
the Svh,--having joined together that skull-bone which is here on the top
of the head, he there lays vigour into it.
8:1:1:3. And again why he lays down the Prnabhritah. From Pragpati,
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 Pragpati created that food, these Prnabhrit
(bricks).
8:1:1:6. 'The Rishi Vasishtha,'--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 Pragpati,'--that
is, 'by thee, created by Pragpati,'--'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: 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 sdadohas, that is threefold, and threefold is Agni,--as
great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so much he lays down (on the
altar) by so dying.
8:1:1:9. 'The Rishi Bharadvga,'--the Rishi Bharadvga, doubtless, is the
mind;--'vga' means 'food,' and he who possesses a mind, possesses
(bharati) food, 'vga;' therefore the Rishi Bharadvga is the mind.--'By thee,
taken by Pragpati,'--that is, 'by thee, created by Pragpati;'--'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
73

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, he assuredly would cut asunder the mind. This brick is threefold:
the meaning of this has been explained.
8:1:2:1. And at the back (western part of the altar), with (Vg. S. XIII, 56),
'This one behind, the all-embracer;'--the all-embracer, doubtless, is yonder
sun, for as soon as 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).
8:1:2:2. 'His, the all-embracer's child, the Eye,'--from out of that (allembracing) 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 Gagat,
the daughter of the rains,'--from out of the rainy season he fashioned the
Gagat metre;--'from the Gagat the Riksama,'--from out of the Gagat metre
he fashioned the Riksama hymn-tune;--'from the Riksama the Sukra,'--from
out of the Riksama-sman he fashioned the Sukra-graha;--'from the Sukra
the Saptadasa,'--from out of the Sukra cup he fashioned the seventeenversed hymn-form;--'from the Saptadasa the Vairpa,'--from out of the
Saptadasa-stoma he fashioned the Vairpa-prishtha.
8:1:2:3. '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 Pragpati,'-that is, 'by thee, created by Pragpati,'--'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.
8:1:2:5. '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-sman ;--'from the Aida the Manthin,'--from out of
the Aida-sman he fashioned the Manthin cup;--'from the Manthin the
Ekavimsa,'--from out of the Manthi-graha he fashioned the twenty-oneversed hymn-form;--'from the Ekavimsa the Vairga,'--from out of the
Ekavimsa-stoma he fashioned the Vairga-prishtha.
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8:1:2:6. 'The Rishi Visvmitra,'--the Rishi Visvmitra ('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
Visvmitra.--'By thee, taken by Pragpati,'--that is, 'by thee, erected by
Pragpati;'--'I take the ear for my descendants,' --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.
8:1:2:7. Then in the centre, with (Vg. 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. The moon, having become speech, remained
above: it is that form he now bestows (on. Agni).
8:1:2:8. '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;--'Pa kti, the daughter of Winter,'-from out of the winter season he fashioned the Pa kti metre;--'from the
Pa kti the Nidhanavat,'--from out of the Pa kti metre he fashioned the
Nidhanavat-sman ;--'from the Nidhanavat the grayana,'--from out of the
Nidhanavat-sman he fashioned the grayana cup;--'from the grayana the
Trinava and Trayastrimsa,'--from out of the grayana-graha he fashioned
the thrice-nine-versed and the three-and-thirty-versed hymn-forms;--'from
the Trinava and Trayastrimsa the Skvara and Raivata,'--from out of the
Trinava and Trayastrimsa-stomas he fashioned the Skvara and Raivataprishthas .
8:1:2:9. '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 Pragpati,'--that is, 'by thee,
created by Pragpati;'--'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.
8:1:2:10. This, then, is that same food which both the vital airs and
Pragpati created: just so great indeed is the whole sacrifice, and the
sacrifice is the food of the gods.
75

8:1:2:11. He lays them down by ten and ten,--of ten syllables consists the
Virg (metre), and the Virg 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 Virg (verses) sustain
those vital airs, and inasmuch as they sustain (bhri) the vital airs (prna)
they are called Prnabhritah.
8:1:3:1. As to this they say, 'What are the vital airs (prna), and what the
Prnabhritah?'--The vital airs are just the vital airs, and the Prnabhritah
(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 Prnabhrit is food, for
food does uphold the vital airs.
8:1:4:6. That Agni is possessed of all vital power: verily, whosoever knows
that Agni to be possessed of all vital power (yus), attains his full measure
of life (yus).
8:1:4:9. Styyani also once said, 'Some one heard (the sound) of the
cracking wings of the (altar)-when touched with this (formula): let him
therefore by all means touch it therewith!'
8:1:4:10. And Svargit Ngnagita or Nagnagit, the Gndhra, 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 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
Prnabhritah (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 Lokamprin (bricks) in that corner: the meaning of them (will
be explained) further on . He throws loose earth (on the layer): the meaning
of this (will be explained) further on.
Harisvmin (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.

8:2:1:3. 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 Agnikity.'--'So be it!'--The Asvins
76

laid down for them that second layer: whence they say, 'The Asvins are the
Adhvaryus of the gods.'
8:2:2:7. And, again, as to why he lays down the Vaisvadev (bricks). At that
time, when that (part) of his body had been restored, Pragpati 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.
8:2:2:8. [He lays down the Vaisvadev bricks, with Vg. 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 ;'--'in union with the lifesustaining 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;--'for Agni Vaisvnara,'--Agni Vaisvnara ('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.
8:2:2:9. '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 dityas,' he says on the
left side: he thereby produced the dityas;--'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.
8:2:4:1. 'The he-goat is vigour,'--the he-goat he overtook by his vigour;-'gapless the metre,'--the gapless metre, doubtless, is the Ekapad: in the
form of Ekapad (metre) the goats indeed went forth (from Pragpati).

77

8:2:4:2. 'The ram is vigour,'--the ram he overtook by his vigour;--'ample

the metre,'--the ample metre, doubtless, is the Dvipad: in the form of the
Dvipad the sheep indeed went forth.
8:2:4:3. 'Man is vigour,'--the man he overtook by his vigour;--'slow the
metre,'--the slow metre, doubtless, is the Pankti: in the form of the Pankti
the men indeed went forth.
8:2:4:4. 'The tiger is vigour,'--the tiger he overtook by his vigour;-'unassailable the metre,'--the unassailable metre, doubtless, is the Virg, for
the Virg is food, and food is unassailable; in the form of the Virg the tigers
indeed went forth.
8:2:4:5. '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.
8:2:4:6. 'The ox is vigour,'--the ox he overtook by his vigour;--'the Brihat
the metre,'--in the form of the Brihat the oxen indeed went forth.
8:2:4:7. '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.
8:2:4:8. 'The steer is vigour,'--the steer he overtook by his vigour;--'the
Satobrihat the metre,'--in the form of the Satobrihat the steers indeed went
forth.
8:2:4:9. 'The bullock is vigour,'--the bullock he overtook by his vigour;--'the
Pankti the metre,'--in the form of the Pa kti the bullocks indeed went forth.
8:2:4:10. 'The milch cow is vigour,'--the milch cow he overtook by his
vigour;--'the Gagat the metre,'--in the form of the Gagat the milch cows
indeed went forth.
8:2:4:11. '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.
8:2:4:12. 'The two-year-old bull is vigour,'--the two-year-old bull he
overtook by his vigour;--'the Virg the metre,'--in the form of the Virg the
two-year-old kine indeed went forth.

78

8:2:4:13. 'The bull of two years and a half is vigour,'--the bull of two years
and a half he overtook by his vigour;--'the Gyatr the metre,'--in the form
of the Gyatr the kine of two years and a half indeed went forth.
8:2:4:14. '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.
8:2:4:15. '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.
8:2:4:16. These then are those very beasts which Pragpati overtook by his
vigour. The animal he (the priest) mentions first, then vigour, then the
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.
8:2:4:17. 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.
8:3:2:1. He then lays down a Visvagyotis (all-light brick). Now the middle
Visvagyotis is Vyu 1, for Vyu (the wind) is all the light in the air-world: it
is Vyu he thus places therein. He places it so as not to be separated from
the regional (bricks): he thus places Vyu in the regions, and hence there is
wind in all the regions.
8:3:2:2. And, again, as to why he lays down the Visvagyotis,--the
Visvagyotis, doubtless, is offspring (or creatures), for offspring indeed is all
the light: he thus lays generative power (into that world). He places it so as
not to be separated from the regional ones : he thus places creatures in the
regions, and hence there are creatures in all the regions.
8:3:4:1. He then lays down the Vlakhilys;--the Vlakhilys, doubtless, are
the vital airs: it is the vital airs he thus lays (into Agni). And as to why they
are called Vlakhilys,--what (unploughed piece of ground lies) between two
cultivated fields is called khila;' and these (channels of the) vital airs are
separated from each other by the width of a horsehair (vla), and because
they are separated from each other by the width of a horse-hair, they (the
bricks) are called Vlakhilys.

79

8:4:1:18. 'The womb, the Chaturvimsa!' he therewith lays down that hymnform which is twenty-four-fold. But the womb, the twenty-four-fold one,
doubtless, is the year: in it there are twenty-four half-months. And as to his
calling it 'the womb,' the year is indeed the womb of all beings: it is that
form he now lays down.
8:4:4:11. Some, again, lay them down on the right (south) side, saying,
'We thus place these signs of good fortune (puny lakshm) on the right
side:' whence he who has a mark (lakshman) on his right side is said to
have good luck (punya-lakshmka), and on the left side in the case of a
woman; for the woman has her position on the left side (of the man):
therefore it is done thus. But let him place them in front; for where the head
is there are also the jaws and the tongue: and thus he places the signs of
good fortune at the head (or, in the mouth, mukhatah), whence they say
that he who has a (peculiar) mark in his mouth has good luck.
8:5:1:13. This one he lays down with its line-marks running eastward and
crosswise; for by that one Pragpati then cut out the root of evil, and in like
manner does this (Sacrificer) now thereby cut out the root of evil. On the
right (south) side (from the centre he places it), for the thunderbolt has a
string on the right side;--inside the one in the southern quarter, for it is for
the sake of extension that he leaves that space.
8:5:1:14. The one which (lies) in front is the out-breathing, the one at the
back the off-breathing: by the out-breathing he (Pragpati) then drove away
evil in front, and by the off-breathing in the rear; and in like manner does
the Sacrificer now by the out-breathing drive away evil in front, and by the
off-breathing in the rear.
8:5:1:15. And the two on both sides (of the spine) are the two arms:
whatever evil there was sideways of him, that he drove away with his arms;
and in like manner does this Sacrificer now drive away with his arms
whatever evil there is sideways of him.
8:5:1:16. The soil-bedded one means food: whatever evil there was above
him, that he (Pragpati) drove away by means of food; and in like manner
does the Sacrificer now, by means of food, drive away whatever evil there is
above him.
8:5:1:17. And, verily, whenever he, knowing this, breathes out, he thereby
drives away the evil which is in front of him; and when he breathes
backward, he thereby (drives away) that which is in the rear; and when he
does work with his arms, he thereby (drives away) that which is sideways of
him; and when he eats food, he thereby (drives away) that (evil) which is
80

above him: at all times, indeed, even while sleeping, does he who knows
this drive away evil. Hence, one must not speak ill of him who knows this,
lest one should be his evil (enemy).

8:5:2:3. [He lays them down, with, Vg. S. XV, 4. 5], 'The Course metre,'-the 'course' metre, doubtless, is this (terrestrial) world;--'the Expanse
metre,'--the 'expanse' metre, doubtless, is the air; 'the Blissful metre,'--the
'blissful' metre, doubtless, is the sky;--'the Encircler metre,'--the 'encircler'
metre, doubtless, is the regions;--'the Vestment metre,'--the 'vestment'
metre, doubtless, is food;--'the Mind metre,'--the 'mind' metre, doubtless, is
Pragpati; 'the Extent metre,'--the 'extent' metre, doubtless, is yonder sun.
8:5:2:4. 'The Stream metre,'--the 'stream' metre, doubtless, is the breath;-'the Sea metre,'--the 'sea' metre, doubtless, is the mind;--'the Flood
metre,'--the 'flood' metre, doubtless, is speech;--'the Kakubh (peak)
metre,'--the 'Kakubh' metre, doubtless, is the out (and in)-breathing;--'the
Three-peaked metre,'--the 'three-peaked' metre, doubtless, is the upbreathing;--'the Wisdom metre,'--the wisdom' metre, doubtless, is the
threefold science;--'the Arikupa metre,'--the 'Arikupa' metre, doubtless, is
the water;--'the Aksharapakti metre,'--the Aksharapakti (row of syllables)
metre, doubtless, is yonder (heavenly) world;--'the Padapakti metre,'--the
Padapakti (row of words or steps) metre, doubtless, is this (terrestrial)
world;--'the Vishtrapakti metre,'--the Vishtrapakti (row of expansion)
metre, doubtless, is the regions;--'the Bright Razor metre,'--the 'bright
razor' metre, doubtless, is yonder sun;--'the Vestment metre, the
Investment metre,'--the 'vestment' metre, doubtless, is food, and the
'investment' metre is food.
8:5:2:5. 'The Uniting metre,'--the 'uniting' metre, doubtless, is the night;-'the Separating metre,'--the 'separating' metre, doubtless, is the day;--'the
Brihat metre,'--the 'brihat' (great) metre, doubtless, is yonder world;--'the
Rathantara metre,'--the 'rathantara' metre, doubtless, is this world;--'the
Troop metre,'--the 'troop' metre, doubtless, is the wind;--'the Yoke metre,'-the 'yoke' metre, doubtless, is the air;--'the Devourer metre,'--the
'devourer' metre, doubtless, is food;--'the Bright metre,'--the 'bright' metre,
doubtless, is the fire;--'the Samstubh metre, the Anushtubh metre,'--the
'samstubh' metre, doubtless, is speech, and the 'anushtubh' metre is
speech;--'the Course metre, the Expanse metre,'--the meaning of this has
been explained.
8:5:2:6. 'The Strength metre,'--the 'strength' metre, doubtless, is food;-'the Strength-maker metre,' the 'strength-maker' metre, doubtless, is Agni
81

(the fire);--'the Striver metre,'--the 'striver' metre, doubtless, is yonder

world;--'the Ample metre,'--the 'ample' metre, doubtless, is this world;--'the
Cover metre,'--the 'cover' metre, doubtless, is the air;--'the Unclimbable
metre,'--the 'unclimbable' metre, doubtless, is yonder sun;--'the Slow
metre,'--the 'slow' metre, doubtless, is the Pakti;--'the Akka metre,'-the 'akka' metre, doubtless, is water.
8:6:2:13. An Atikhandas is the belly; for the metres are cattle, and cattle
are food, and food is (what fills) the belly, because it is the belly that eats
the food: hence when the belly gets the food, it becomes eaten and used up.
And inasmuch as this (brick) eats (atti) the metres (khandas), the cattle, it
is called Attikhandas, for Attikhandas is really what is mystically called
Atikhandas; for the gods love the mystic.
9:1:1:6. And as to why he performs the Satarudriya offering. When
Pragpati had become disjointed, the deities departed from him. Only one
god did not leave him, to wit, Manyu (wrath): extended he remained within.
He (Pragpati) cried, and the tears of him that fell down settled on Manyu.
He became the hundred-headed, thousand-eyed, hundred-quivered Rudra.
And the other drops that fell down, spread over these worlds in countless
numbers, by thousands; and inasmuch as they originated from crying (rud),
they were called Rudras (roarers). That hundred-headed, thousand-eyed,
hundred-quivered Rudra, with his bow strung, and his arrow fitted to the
string, was inspiring fear, being in quest of food. The gods were afraid of
him.
9:1:1:7. They spake unto Pragpati 'We are afraid of this one, lest he should
hurt us!' He spake, 'Gather food for him, and appease him therewith!' They
gathered for him that food, the Satarudriya (offering), and thereby appeased
him; and inasmuch as they thereby appeased (sam) the hundred-headed
(satasrsha)
Rudra,
it
is
called
Satasrsharudrasamanya,--and
satasrsharudrasamanya, doubtless, is what they mystically call Satarudriya,
for the gods love the mystic. And in like manner does this (Sacrificer) now
gather for him that food, the Satarudriya, and appease him thereby.
9:1:1:8. He offers gavedhuk flour; for from the place where that deity lay
disjointed, gavedhuk plants (coix barbata) sprang forth: he thus gratifies
him by his own portion, by his own life-sap.
9:1:1:9. He offers by means of an arka-leaf; for that tree sprang from the
resting-place of that god: he thus gratifies him by his own portion, by his
own life-sap.

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9:1:1:10. He offers on (three) enclosing-stones, for the enclosing-stones are

the hair, and neither poison nor anything else injures one at the hair. He
offers whilst standing on the left (north) side of Agni (the altar), with his
face to the north; for in that region lies the house of that god: it is thus in
his own region that he gratifies him, in his own region he contents him with
offering.
9:1:1:11. The first Svh ('hail') he utters on the knee-high one,---what is
knee-high is, as it were, below, and below, as it were, is this (terrestrial)
world: he thus gratifies those Rudras who entered this world.
9:1:1:12. Then on the navel-high one,--what is navel-high is, as it were, the
middle; and the middle, as it were, is the air-world: he thus gratifies those
Rudras who entered the air-world.
9:1:1:13. Then on the one reaching up to the mouth,--what reaches up to
the mouth is, as it were, above, and above, as it were, is yonder world: he
thus gratifies those Rudras who entered yonder world. [He does so] with
Svh,--the Svh is food: with food he thus gratifies them.
9:1:1:14. [He offers, with, Vg. S. XVI, 1], 'Reverence, O Rudra, be to thy
wrath!' he thereby does reverence to that wrath which remained extended
within him;--'And to thine arrow be reverence, and to both thine arms be
reverence!' for it was by his arrow and his arms that he was inspiring fear.
9:1:1:19. He thus makes offering to the tribes (of Rudras), for it was those
tribes, those Rudras, that spread, and wheresoever they are there he
thereby gratifies them. And thus, indeed, (he gratifies) those tribes of
Rudras; and, men being after the manner of the gods, therefore also these
tribes of men: tribe after tribe he thus gratifies them.
9:2:1:7. With the Svh-call he makes the libation on that (high-altar), for
distinct (manifest) is the Svh, and distinct is that high-altar; but with the
Vet-call (he offers) on this (brick), for indistinct is the Vet-call, and indistinct
is this high-altar. With ghee (they offer), for with ghee they offer on the
high-altar;--with fivefold-taken (ghee), for with fivefold-taken (ghee) they
offer on the high-altar:--by turns (he makes the libations), for by turns they
make the libations on the high-altar.
9:2:1:8. [He offers, with, Vg. S. XVII, 12, a-c resp.], 'To the man-seated,
vet!'--the man-seated one, doubtless, is the breath, and men mean human
beings: he thereby gratifies that fire (or Agni), the breath, which is in human
beings;--'To the water-seated, vet!--he thereby gratifies the fire which is in
the waters;--'To the barhis-seated, vet!' he thereby gratifies the fire which is
83

in plants ;--'To the wood-seated, vet!'--he thereby gratifies the fire which is
in trees;--'To the heaven-winning, vet!'--the heaven-winning one is this Agni
(kitya): it is this Agni he thereby gratifies.
9:2:1:9. And as to why he says, 'To the man-seated, vet! To the waterseated, vet!' &c., these are names of this Agni: these names he thereby
pleases. By means of the oblation he makes them a deity: for whatever
deity the oblation is prepared, that deity (they are), not that deity for whom
it is not prepared. And, in calling them by their names, he also thereby
places those fires along with this fire.
9:3:1:4. And these worlds are the same as this head,--this (lower part of
the head) is the earth, the plants (being) the hair of its beard: this is the All,
and Agni is Speech, he is the man. That (speech) is at the top thereof, for
Agni is on the top of this (earth).
9:3:1:5. This (central part of the face) is the air, whence it is hairless, for
hairless, as it were, is the air; it is this All, and Vyu (the wind) is the
breath, he is the man; he is in the middle thereof, for the wind is in the
middle of the air.
9:3:1:6. The sky is the (upper part of the) head, and the stars are the hair;
it is the All, and ditya (the sun) is the eye, he is the man: it is in the lower
part of the (upper) head, for the sun is below the sky. Vaisvnara is the
head thereof, and this built-up Agni (the altar) is the body: thus, having
completed his body, he restores the head thereto.
9:3:1:24. And the Aranyenkya is the seven (rivers) which flow westwards;
it is one of seven potsherds, for there are seven of those (rivers) which flow
westwards. It is that downward vital air of his. That Aranyenkya belongs to
this Pragpati; for the forest (aranya) is, as it were, concealed, and
concealed, as it were, is that downward vital air; whence those who drink of
these (downward flowing) rivers become most vile, most blasphemous, most
lascivious in their speech. Whenever he here speaks of them as belonging to
the Maruts, he makes them food for him (Agni) and offers it to him, and
gratifies him thereby.
9:4:1:2. And, again, as to why he offers the Realm-sustaining (oblations).
From Pragpati, when dismembered, couples went forth, in the form of
Gandharvas and Apsaras; and he, having turned into a chariot, enclosed
them, and having enclosed them, he took them to himself and made them
his own; and in like manner does this (Sacrificer), thereby enclosing them,
take them to himself and make them his own.
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9:4:1:3. Now that Pragpati who was dismembered, is this very Agni who is
here being built up; and those couples which went forth from him, are these
same deities to whom he now makes offering.
9:4:1:4. He makes offering to the Gandharvas and Apsaras, for in the form
of Gandharvas and Apsaras they went forth (from Pragpati). But the
Gandharvas and Apsaras also busy themselves with sweet scent (gandha)
and beauteous form (rpa), whence if any one goes to his mate he cultivates
sweet scent and a beautiful appearance.
9:4:1:5. He offers pairs (of oblations), for birth originates from a pair; and
he alone is (ruler of) a kingdom who propagates offspring, but not he who
does not propagate offspring. And inasmuch as couples sustain the realm,
and these deities consist of couples, these (oblations are called) Realmsustainers. With ghee taken in twelve ladlings (he offers), and there are
twelve of these oblations: the significance of this has been explained.
9:4:1:6. To the male (deity) he makes offering first, then to the females: he
thereby endows the male pre-eminently with power. To a single male he
makes offering, and to many females, whence even a single man has many
wives. To the male (deity) he makes offering both with the Vashat-call and
the Svh-call, to the female (deities) only with the Svh: he thereby
endows the male pre-eminently with power.
9:4:1:8. 'The Close-knit,'--yonder sun is indeed close-knit, for he knits
together the days and nights;--'all-wealthy,'--for that (sun) indeed is every
kind of wealth;--'Srya is the Gandharva: his Apsaras are the sun-motes;'-for as a Gandharva, the sun, indeed, went forth with the sun-motes as the
Apsaras, his mates,--'Mobile (yu) by name,'--for moving together, as it
were, the sun-motes float;--'may he protect this our priesthood and
nobility,'--the meaning of this has been explained.
9:4:1:9. 'The most blessed,'--that is, the most worthy of worship,--'sunrayed,'--for like the sun's are the moon's rays;--'Chandramas (the moon) is
the Gandharva: his Apsaras are the stars;'--for as a Gandharva the moon,
indeed, went forth with the stars as the Apsaras, his mates;--'Luminous
(bhekuri) by name;'--light-giving (bhkuri ) these, indeed, are called, for the
stars give light;--'may he protect this our priesthood and nobility!' the
meaning of this has been explained.
9:4:1:10. 'The Agile,'--that is, the swift,--'all-expansive,'--for the wind (air),
indeed, makes up all this expanse;--'Vta (the wind) is the Gandharva: his
Apsaras are the waters,'--for as a Gandharva the wind, indeed, went forth
with the waters as the Apsaras, his mates;--'Viands (rg) by name,'--the
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waters, indeed, are called 'rgah,' for food is produced from the waters;-'may he protect this our priesthood and nobility!' the meaning of this has
been explained.
9:4:1:11. 'The beneficent, well-winged,'--beneficent (bhugyu) indeed is the
sacrifice, for the sacrifice benefits all beings,--'Yaga (the sacrifice) is the
Gandharva: his Apsaras are the offering-gifts,'--for as a Gandharva the
sacrifice, indeed, went forth, with the offering-gifts as the Apsaras, his
mates;--'Praises (stv) by name,'--the offering-gifts are indeed praises, for
the sacrifice is praised for offering-gifts; and whosoever gives an offeringgift (to priests) is praised;--'may he protect this our priesthood and nobility!'
the meaning of this has been explained.
9:4:1:12. 'The lord of creatures, the all-worker,'--Pragpati (lord of
creatures) is indeed the all-worker, for he has wrought all this (universe);-'Manas (the mind) is the Gandharva: his Apsaras are the hymn-verses and
hymn-tunes,'--as a Gandharva, the Mind indeed went forth, with the hymnverses and hymn-tunes as the Apsaras, his mates;--'Wishes (eshti) by
name,'--the hymn-verses and hymn-tunes are indeed wishes, for by verses
and tunes people pray, 'May this accrue unto us! may it fare thus with us!'-'may he protect this our priest and nobility!' 'the meaning of this has been
explained.
9:5:1:1. Now, then, as to the taking of milk as fast-food: the initiated should
take milk for his fast-food. Once upon a time the nectar of immortality
departed from the gods.
9:5:1:2. They said, 'Let us seek for it here by toil and penance!' They sought
for it by toil and penance. Having become initiated, they were living on fastmilk, for penance it is when, after becoming initiated, one lives on fast-milk.
They heard the sound of it.
9:5:1:12. Now, then, the discussion of the Samishtayagus (oblations): The
gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati, entered upon
their father Pragpati's inheritance, to wit, speech--truth and untruth, both
truth and untruth: they, both of them, spake the truth, and they both spake
untruth; and, indeed, speaking alike, they were alike.
9:5:1:13. The gods relinquished untruth, and held fast to truth, and the
Asuras relinquished truth, and held fast to untruth.
9:5:1:14. The truth which was in the Asuras beheld this, and said, 'Verily,
the gods have relinquished untruth, and held fast to truth: well, then, I will
go thither!' Thus it went over to the gods.
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9:5:1:15. And the untruth which was in the gods beheld this, and said,
'Verily, the Asuras have relinquished truth, and held fast to untruth: well,
then, I will go thither!' Thus it went over to the Asuras.
9:5:1:16. The gods spake nothing but truth, and the Asuras nothing but
untruth. And the gods, speaking the truth diligently, were very contemptible,
and very poor: whence he who speaks the truth diligently, becomes indeed
very contemptible, and very poor; but in the end he assuredly prospers, for
the gods indeed prospered.
9:5:1:17. And the Asuras, speaking untruth diligently, throve even as salt
soil , and were very prosperous: whence he who speaks untruth diligently,
thrives indeed, even as salt soil, and becomes very prosperous; but in the
end he assuredly comes to naught, for the Asuras indeed came to naught.
9:5:1:19. They prepared the Initiation-offering. But the Asuras became
aware of it, and said, 'Having made up the sacrifice, the gods are now
spreading out that truth: come, let us fetch hither what was ours!' The
Samishtayagus of that (offering) was not yet performed, when they arrived:
whence people offer no Samishtayagus for that sacrifice. The gods, espying
the Asuras, snatched up the sacrifice, and began doing something else .
They (the Asuras) went away again, thinking, 'It is something else they are
doing.'
9:5:1:20. When they had gone away, they (the gods) prepared the
Opening-offering. But the Asuras became aware of this also. The Samyos
(formula) of that (offering) had been pronounced, when they arrived;
whence that sacrifice ends with the Samyos . The gods, espying the Asuras,
snatched up the sacrifice, and began doing something else. They went away
again, thinking, 'It is something else they are doing.'
9:5:1:21. When they had gone away, they (the gods), having bought and
driven about the king (Soma), prepared the guest-offering for him. But the
Asuras became aware of this also. The Id of that (offering) had been
invoked, when they arrived; whence that sacrifice ends with the Id . The
gods, espying the Asuras, snatched up the sacrifice, and began doing
something else. They went away again, thinking, 'It is something else they
are doing.'
9:5:1:22. When they had gone away, they (the gods) spread out
(performed) the Upasads . When they had recited three kindling-verses, and
no more, they made offering to the deities, but laid out no fore-offerings and
no after-offerings on either side of the sacrifice, for they were in too great
haste at that time; whence at the Upasads, when he has recited three
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kindling-verses, and no more, he makes offering to the deities, but lays out
no fore-offerings and no after-offerings on either side of the sacrifice.
9:5:1:23. On the day of preparation they slaughtered the Agnshomya
victim. But the Asuras became aware of this also. The Samishtayagus
oblations of this (offering) had not yet been offered, when they arrived;
whence people offer no Samishtayagus for this animal(-offering). The gods,
espying the Asuras, snatched up the sacrifice, and began doing something
else. They went away again, thinking, 'It is something else they are doing.'
9:5:1:24. On the next morning after they had gone away, they (the gods)
spread out (performed) the morning-service (of the Soma-sacrifice). But the
Asuras became aware of this also. As much as the morning-service had been
performed of it, when they arrived. The gods, espying the Asuras, snatched
up the sacrifice, and began doing something else. They went away, thinking,
'It is something else they are doing.'
9:5:1:25. When they had gone, they (the gods) spread out the middayservice. But the Asuras became aware of this also. As much as the middayservice had been performed of it, when they arrived. The gods, espying the
Asuras, snatched up the sacrifice, and began doing something else. They
went away, thinking, 'It is something else they are doing.'
9:5:1:26. When they had gone, (the gods) went on with the animal-offering
of the Soma-sacrifice . But the Asuras became aware of this also. As much
of this animal-offering as is done (at the evening-service) had been done,
when they arrived. The gods, espying them, snatched up the sacrifice, and
began doing something else. They went away, thinking, 'It is something else
they are doing.'
9:5:1:27. When they had gone away, they (the gods) spread the eveningservice and completed it; and by completing it they obtained that whole
truth. Then the Asuras went down. Then the gods prevailed, and the Asuras
came to naught. And, indeed, he who knows this, himself prevails, and his
spiteful enemy comes to naught.
9:5:1:38. And the same as that Orderer is this cake to the Orderer on
twelve potsherds. On twelve potsherds (it is),--the year is (of) twelve
months, Pragpati is the year, and Pragpati is the Orderer. And that one
which was the farthest gone of the regions is the same as these previous
oblations,--a pap to Anumati, a pap to Rk, a pap to Sinval, and a pap to
Kuh : when he prepares these oblations, he thereby establishes him
(Pragpati) in that which was the farthest gone of the regions. That (cake)
he offers whole, for the completeness of that (Pragpati).
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9:5:1:39. These are goddesses, for they are the regions, the regions are the
metres, and the metres are deities; and that Ka is Pragpati; and inasmuch
as they are goddesses (dev) and Ka, they are 'devikh.' There are five of
them, for there are five regions.
9:5:1:68. And, indeed, let him by all means build who was born a year
(after conception); for Agni is the breath; it is thus him (Agni) he holds.
And, indeed, as the breath, he enters into the infused seed, and takes
possession of it; and inasmuch as he takes possession (vid) of every one
that is born (gta), he is Gtavedas. Wherefore by all means let even one
who knows this build him as one ever carried (within him). And, indeed, if
one who knows this either drinks (Soma), or offers drink to any one else,
these libations of his will be offered even as would be his libations, when
offered on a complete Sndila fire-altar built up with wings and tail.
9:5:2:15. And Sndilya once upon a time said--Tura Kvasheya once built a
fire-altar for the gods at Krot. The gods asked him, 'Sage, seeing that they
declare the building of the fire-altar not to be conducive to heaven, why then
hast thou built one?'
9:5:2:16. He said, 'What is conducive to heaven, and what is not conducive
thereto? The Sacrificer is the body of the sacrifice, and the officiating priests
are the limbs; and, surely, where the body is there are the limbs; and where
the limbs are there is the body. And, verily, if the priests have no place in
heaven, then the Sacrificer has none, for both are of the same world. But let
there be no bargaining as to sacrificial fees, for by bargaining the priests are
deprived of their place in heaven.'
10:1:1:2. Now, that Pragpati who became relaxed is the year; and those
joints of his which became relaxed are the days and nights.
10:1:1:3. And that Pragpati who became relaxed is this very Fire-altar
which here is built; and those joints of his, the days and nights, which
became relaxed are no other than the bricks;--thus, when he lays down
these (in the layers of the altar), he thereby restores to him those joints of
his, the days and nights, which had become relaxed: and thus it is even in
this (building of the altar) that this Yagus is built up and secured (for
Pragpati).
10:1:1:6. When those (Udgtris) chant (the stotra), and when he (the Hotri)
recites (the sastra) afterwards, then he (the Adhvaryu) offers that (vital
fluid, in the form of Soma) unto him (Agni-Pragpati) at the Vashat-call; and
thus this vital fluid enters him. For, indeed, they do not see it to be the
Great Rite that lies there being praised, nor the Great Litany, but it is Agni
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alone they see; for Agni is the self (body), and thus those two, the Rik and
the Sman, enter him in the form of the vital fluid; and thus they both enter
(join) the Yagus.
10:1:1:8. The thumbs (and great toes, 'agushtha,' m.) are males, and the
fingers and toes ('aguli,' f.) females; the ears ('karna' m.) are males, and
the eyebrows ('bhr,' f.) females; the lips ('oshtha,' m.) are males, and the
nostrils ('nsik,' f.) females; the teeth ('danta,' m.) are males, and the
tongue ('gihv,' f.) is a female: indeed the whole (body) consists of pairs,
and with this body, consisting of pairs, that (vital fluid) enters this Agni (the
fire-altar), consisting of pairs.
10:1:1:11. Now, this food, when eaten, becomes of two kinds,--that part of
it which is immortal (remains) above the navel: by the upward vital airs it
moves upwards and enters the air; but that part of it which is mortal tends
to move away: it passes beyond the navel, and, having become twofold,
enters this (earth), as urine and faeces. Now that which enters this (earth)
enters the fire-altar built here; and that which enters the air enters that fire
which is placed on the built (altar). This also is the entering therein.
10:1:3:1. Pragpati created living beings. From the out- (and in-) breathings
he created the gods, and from the downward breathings the mortal beings;
and above the (mortal) beings he created Death as their consumer.
10:1:3:2. Now, one half of that Pragpati was mortal, and the other half
immortal: with that part of him which was mortal he was afraid of death;
and, being afraid, he became twofold, clay and water, and entered this
(earth).
10:1:3:3. Death spake unto the gods saying, 'What has become of him who
has created us?'--'Being afraid of thee, he has entered this (earth),' they
said. He spake, 'Let us search for him, let us gather him up for I shall not
injure him.' The gods gathered him from out of this (earth): that part of him
which was in the water, they gathered as water, and that which was in this
(earth, they gathered) as clay. Having gathered together both clay and
water, they made a brick, whence a brick consists of both clay and water.
10:1:3:4. And, indeed, these five forms (bodily parts) of him are mortal--the
hair on the mouth, the skin, the flesh, the bone, and the marrow; and these
are immortal--the mind, the voice, the vital air; the eye, and the ear.
10:1:3:5. Now, that Pragpati is no other than the Fire-altar which is here
built up, and what five mortal parts there were of him, they are these layers
of earth; and those which were immortal they are these layers of bricks.
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10:1:3:6. The gods spake, 'Let us make him immortal!' Having

encompassed that mortal form by those immortal forms of his, they made it
immortal--the layer of earth by means of two layers of bricks: in like manner
the second, the third, and the fourth (layers of earth).
10:1:4:1. Now, at the beginning, Pragpati was (composed of) both these,
the mortal and the immortal--his vital airs alone were immortal, his body
mortal: by this sacrificial performance, and by this order of proceeding, he
made his body uniformly undecaying and immortal. And in like manner is the
Sacrificer (composed of) both the mortal and the immortal--his vital airs
alone are immortal, his body mortal: by this sacrificial performance, and by
this order of proceeding, he makes his body uniformly undecaying and
immortal.
10:1:4:12. By means of (the channel of) the out- (and in-) breathing the
gods eat food, and Agni (the sacrificial fire) is the out-breathing of the gods;
whence it is in front (of the sacrificial ground) that offering is made to the
gods, for by means of the (channel of the) out-breathing the gods eat food.
By means of the down-breathing men eat food, whence food is introduced
into men (from the front) towards the back, for by their down-breathing
men eat food.
10:1:4:13. Here, now, they say, 'He who has built an altar must not eat of
any bird, for he who builds a fire-altar becomes of a bird's form; he would be
apt to incur sickness: the Agnikit therefore must not eat of any bird.'
Nevertheless, one who knows this may safely eat thereof; for he who builds
an altar becomes of Agni's form, and, indeed, all food here belongs to Agni:
whosoever knows this will know that all food belongs to him.
The Vyna, through-breathing, or circulating air, is the vital air which serves the upward air
(or out- and in-breathing, prna) and downward air (apana). Maitryup. II, 6 (Cowell).
Or, outward breathing,--'That which belches forth or keeps downwards the food eaten or
drunken, this is the udna;' Cowell, ib.
'The Samna (equalizing air) distributes the digested pieces through the limbs.' Maitryup. II,
6 (Cowell).

10:1:5:4. Now, then, as to the powers (conferred by the performance) of

sacrifices. Verily, he who (regularly) performs the Agnihotra eats food in the
evening and in the morning (when he comes to be) in yonder world, for so
much sustenance is there in that sacrifice. And he who performs the New
and Full-moon sacrifice (eats food) every half-month; and he who performs
the Seasonal sacrifice (does so) every four months; and be who performs
the animal sacrifice (twice a year, eats food) every six months; and the
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Soma-sacrificer once a year; and the builder of the fire-altar at his pleasure
eats food every hundred years, or abstains therefrom ; for a hundred years
is as much as immortality, unending and everlasting: and, verily, for him
who knows this, there shall thus be immortality, unending and everlasting;
and whatever he as much as touches, as it were, with a reed, shall be for
him immortal, unending and everlasting.
10:2:1:1. Pragpati was desirous of going up to the world of heaven; but
Pragpati, indeed, is all the (sacrificial) animals--man, horse, bull, ram, and
he-goat:--by means of these forms he could not do so. He saw this bird-like
body, the fire-altar, and constructed it. He attempted to fly up, without
contracting and expanding (the wings), but could not do so. By contracting
and expanding (the wings) he did fly up: whence even to this day birds can
only fly up when they contract their wings and spread their feathers.
10:2:2:1. Now the one person which they made out of those seven
persons became this Pragpati. He produced living beings (or offspring), and
having produced living beings he went upwards,--he went to that world
where that (sun) now shines. And, indeed, there was then no other (victim)
meet for sacrifice but that one (Pragpati), and the gods set about offering
him up in sacrifice.
10:2:2:2. Wherefore it is with reference to this that the Rishi has said (Vg.
S. XXXI, 16, Rig-veda X, 90, 16), 'The gods offered up sacrifice by
sacrifice,'--for by sacrifice they did offer up him (Pragpati), the sacrifice;-'these were the first ordinances:'--for these laws were instituted first;-'these powers clung unto the firmament,'--the firmament is the world of
heaven, and the powers are the gods: thus, 'Those gods who offered up that
sacrifice shall cling to the world of heaven;'-10:2:2:3. 'Where first the perfect gods were,'--the perfect gods, doubtless,
are the vital airs, for it is they that perfected him in the beginning when they
were desirous of becoming that (body of Pragpati ); and even now, indeed,
they do perfect (him).--[Rig-veda X, 149, 3]--'Thereafter this other became
meet for sacrifice by the abundance of the immortal world,'--for thereafter,
indeed, other things here--whatsoever is immortal--became fit for sacrifice.
10:2:2:4. 'Savitri's well-winged eagle verily was first born, and he was
according to his ordinance,'--the well-winged eagle, doubtless, is Pragpati,
and Savitri is that (sun): thus, 'In accordance with his (the sun's) law he
indeed (comported himself).'
10:3:3:6. He said,--Verily, that Agni is the breath; for when man sleeps,
speech passes into the breath, and so do the eye, the mind, and the ear;
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and when he awakes, they again issue from the breath. Thus much as to the
body.
10:3:3:7. Now as to the deity. That speech verily is Agni himself; and that
eye is yonder sun; and that mind is that moon; and that ear is the quarters;
and that breath is the wind that blows here.
10:3:3:8. Now, when that fire goes out, it is wafted up in the wind (air),
whence people say of it, 'It has expired ,' for it is wafted up in the wind. And
when the sun sets it enters the wind, and so does the moon; and the
quarters are established in the wind, and from out of the wind they issue
again. And when he who knows this passes away from this world, he passes
into the fire by his speech, into the sun by his eye, into the moon by his
mind, into the quarters by his ear, and into the wind by his breath; and
being composed thereof, he becomes whichever of these deities he chooses,
and is at rest.
10:3:5:5. And this course (gh) is space--this space which is inside the
body--for along this space it (the breath) courses; and the Yagus is both the
breath and space,--the 'yat' and the 'gh': hence 'yagus.' And the 'yat'
(moving) is the breath, for the breath moves.
10:3:5:7. And the Mind is in front (puras), for the mind is the first of vital
airs; and the eye is motion (karana), for it is in accordance with the eye that
this body moves. Such is the Yagus with the preparatory performance, firmly
established both as regards the deity and the body; and, indeed, whosoever
thus knows this Yagus with the preparatory performance to be firmly
established both as regards the deity and the body,-10:3:5:8. He, indeed, reaches successfully the end of the sacrifice,
unscathed and uninjured: he who knows this becomes the first, the leader
(pura-etri), of his own people, an eater of food (i.e. prosperous), and a
ruler.
10:3:5:9. And if any one strives to become a rival among his own people to
one who knows this, he does not satisfy his dependants; but, indeed, only
he satisfies his dependants, who is faithful to that one and who, along with
him, strives to support his dependants.
10:3:5:10. And this is the greatest Brahman (n., mystic science), for than
this there is no thing greater; and, he who knows this, being himself the
greatest, becomes the highest among his own people.

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10:3:5:11. This Brahman has nothing before it and nothing after it; and
whosoever thus knows this Brahman to have nothing before it and nothing
after it, than he there is no one higher among his equals in station; and ever
higher will be the descendants that spring from him. Wherefore, if any one
would be greater than he, let him reverentially approach the regions in front
(to the eastward) of that one in this way, and he will do him no injury.
10:3:5:12. But, indeed, the mystic import (upanishad) is the essence of this
Yagus; and thus, if, with ever so small a yagus-formula, the Adhvaryu draws
a cup of Soma, that (essence) is equal to both the Stotra and the Sastra,
and comes up to both the Stotra and the Sastra: hence, however small the
essence (flavour) of food, it benefits (renders palatable) the whole food, and
pervades the whole food.
10:3:5:13. Satiation (contentment), doubtless, is the successful issue
thereof (to wit, of food, and the Yagus): hence when one is satiated by food
he feels like one who has succeeded. And joy, the knowledge thereof (viz. of
the essence, the mystic import), is its soul (self); and, assuredly, all the
gods are of joyful soul; and this, the true knowledge, belongs to the gods
alone,--and, indeed, whosoever knows this is not a man, but one of the
gods.
10:3:5:14. And Priyavrata Rauhinyana, knowing this (truth), once spake
unto the blowing wind, 'Thy soul is joy: blow thou either hither or thither!'
and so, indeed, it now blows. Wherefore, if one desire to invoke any blessing
from the gods, let him approach them with this, 'Your soul is joy,--my wish
is such and such: let it be fulfilled unto me!' and whatever the wish he
entertains, it will be fulfilled to him; for, assuredly, he who knows this
attains this contentment, this successful issue, this joy, this soul.
10:3:5:15. This Yagus is silent , indistinct; for the Yagus is the breath, and
the breath is of silent (secret) abode; and if any one were to say of that
(Adhvaryu) who pronounces (the Yagus) distinctly, 'He has uttered distinctly
the indistinct deity: his breath shall fail him!' then that would, indeed, come
to pass.
10:3:5:16. And, assuredly, he who knows the indistinct (secret)
manifestation of this (Yagus) becomes manifest in fame and glory. Silently
the Adhvaryu draws the cup of Soma with the (muttered) Yagus, and, when
drawn and deposited, it becomes manifest;--silently he builds the fire-altar
with the Yagus, and, when built and completed, it becomes manifest;-silently he takes out (material for) the oblation with the Yagus, and, when
cooked and ready (for offering), it becomes manifest: thus, whatever he
performs silently, when performed and completed, it becomes manifest.
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And, assuredly, he who thus knows this secret manifestation of this (Yagus)
becomes manifest in fame, and glory, and sanctity; and quickly, indeed, he
becomes known: he becomes the Yagus itself, and by the Yagus people call
him .
10:4:1:10. And, indeed, Syparna Syakyana, knowing this, once said, 'If
this my sacrificial performance were complete, my own race would become
the kings (nobles), Brhmanas, and peasants of the Salvas; but even by
that much of my work which has been completed my race will surpass the
Salvas in both ways;'--for this (Agni, the fire-altar), indeed, is (social)
eminence and fame, and an eater of food.
10:4:1:11.
And
regarding
this,
Sndilya,
having
instructed
Vmakakshyana , said, 'Thou wilt become eminent, famous, and an eater
of food (rich);' and, indeed, he who knows this becomes eminent, famous,
and an eater of food.
10:4:1:12. And this Agni is no other than Pragpati. The gods, having
restored this Agni-Pragpati, in the course of a year prepared this food for
him, to wit, this Mahvratya cup of Soma.
10:4:2:16. He made himself twenty bodies of thirty-six bricks each: he did
not succeed. He did not develop either twenty-one-fold, or twenty-two-fold,
or twenty-three-fold.
10:4:2:17. He made himself twenty-four bodies of thirty bricks each. There
he stopped, at the fifteenth; and because he stopped at the fifteenth
arrangement there are fifteen forms of the waxing, and fifteen of the waning
(moon).
10:4:2:18. And because he made himself twenty-four bodies, therefore the
year consists of twenty-four half-months. With these twenty-four bodies of
thirty bricks each he had not developed (sufficiently). He saw the fifteen
parts of the day, the muhrtas , as forms for his body, as space-fillers
(Lokamprins ), as well as fifteen of the night; and inasmuch as they
straightway (muhu) save (trai), they are (called) 'muhrth'; and inasmuch
as, whilst being small, they fill (pr) these worlds (or spaces, 'loka') they are
(called) 'lokamprinh.'
10:4:2:19. That one (the sun) bakes everything here, by means of the days
and nights, the half-moons, the months, the seasons, and the year; and this
(Agni, the fire) bakes what is baked by that one: 'A baker of the baked (he
is),' said Bhradvga of Agni; 'for he bakes what has been baked by that
(sun).'
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10:4:2:20. In the year these (muhrtas) amounted to ten thousand and

eight hundred: he stopped at the ten thousand and eight hundred.
10:4:2:21. He then looked round over all existing things, and beheld all
existing things in the threefold lore (the Veda), for therein is the body of all
metres, of all stomas, of all vital airs, and of all the gods: this, indeed,
exists, for it is immortal, and what is immortal exists; and this (contains
also) that which is mortal.
10:4:2:22. Pragpati bethought himself, 'Truly, all existing things are in the
threefold lore: well, then, I will construct for myself a body so as to contain
the whole threefold lore.'
10:4:2:23. He arranged the Rik-verses into thousands of Brihats , for of
that extent are the verses created by Pragpati. At-the thirtieth arrangement
they came to an end in the Paktis; and because it was at the thirtieth
arrangement that they came to an end, there are thirty nights in the month;
and because it was in the Paktis, therefore Pragpati is 'pkta' (fivefold) .
There are one hundred-and-eight hundred Paktis.
10:4:2:25. All the three Vedas amounted to ten thousand eight hundred
eighties (of syllables); muhrta by muhrta he gained a fourscore (of
syllables), and muhrta by muhrta a fourscore was completed .
10:4:3:3. The gods were afraid of this Pragpati, the Year, Death, the
Ender, lest he, by day and night, should reach the end of their life.
10:4:3:4. They performed these sacrificial rites--the Agnihotra, the New and
Full-moon sacrifices, the Seasonal offerings, the animal sacrifice, and the
Soma-sacrifice: by offering these sacrifices they did not attain immortality.
10:4:3:5. They also built a fire-altar,--they laid down unlimited enclosingstones; unlimited Yagushmat (bricks), unlimited Lokamprin (bricks), even
as some lay them down to this day, saying, 'The gods did so.' They did not
attain immortality.
10:4:3:6. They went on praising and toiling, striving to win immortality.
Pragpati then spake unto them, 'Ye do not lay down (put on me) all my
forms; but ye either make (me) too large or leave (me) defective: therefore
ye do not become immortal.'
10:4:3:7. They spake, 'Tell thou us thyself, then, in what manner we may
lay down all thy forms!'

96

10:4:3:8. He spake, 'Lay ye down three hundred and sixty enclosing-stones,

three hundred and sixty Yagushmat (bricks), and thirty-six thereunto; and
of Lokamprin (bricks) lay ye down ten thousand and eight hundred; and ye
will be laying down all my forms, and will become immortal.' And the gods
laid down accordingly, and thereafter became immortal.
10:4:3:9. Death spake unto the gods, 'Surely, on this wise all men will
become immortal, and what share will then be mine?' They spake,
'Henceforward no one shall be immortal with the body: only when thou shalt
have taken that (body) as thy share, he who is to become immortal either
through knowledge, or through holy work, shall become immortal after
separating from the body.' Now when they said, 'either through knowledge
or through holy work,' it is this fire-altar that is the knowledge, and this firealtar that is the holy work.
10:4:3:10. And they who so know this, or they who do this holy work, come
to life again when they have died, and, coming to life, they come to
immortal life. But they who do not know this, or do not do this holy work,
come to life again when they die, and they become the food of him (Death)
time after time.
10:4:3:11. But when he builds the fire-altar, he thereby gains Agni,
Pragpati, the Year, Death, the Ender, whom the gods gained; it is him he
lays downy even as the gods thus laid him down.
10:4:4:11. When Pragpati was creating living beings, Death, that evil,
overpowered him. He practised austerities for a thousand years, striving to
leave evil behind him.
10:4:4:2. Whilst he was practising austerities, lights went upwards from
those hair-pits of his; and those lights are those stars: as many stars as
there are, so many hair-pits there are; and as many hair-pits as there are,
so many muhrtas there are in a (sacrificial performance) of a thousand
years.
10:4:4:3. In the one-thousandth year, he cleansed himself all through; and
he that cleansed all through is this wind which here cleanses by blowing;
and that evil which he cleansed all through is this body. But what is man
that he could secure for himself a (life) of a thousand years? By knowledge,
assuredly, he who knows secures for himself (the benefits of a performance)
of a thousand years.
10:4:4:5. It is regarding this that it is said in the Rik (I, 179, 3), 'Not in vain
is the labour which the gods favour;' for, in truth, for him who knows there
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is no labouring in vain, and so, indeed, the gods favour this every (action) of
his .
10:5:2:9. Now, that person in the right eye is the same as Indra, and (that
other person is) the same as Indrn: it is for the sake of these two that the
gods made that partition (between the eyes), the nose; whence he (the
husband) should not eat food in the presence of his wife ; for from him (who
does not do so) a vigorous son is born, and she in whose presence (the
husband) does not eat food bears a vigorous (son):-10:5:2:10. Such, indeed, is the divine ordinance;--amongst men princes
keep most aloof , and for that reason a vigorous (son) is born to them; and
of birds the Amritavk (does so, and she) produces the Kshiprasyena.
10:5:2:11. Those two (persons in the eyes) descend to the cavity of the
heart , and enter into union with each other; and when they reach the end
of their union, then the man sleeps,--even as here on reaching the end of a
human union he becomes, as it were, insensible , so does he then become,
as it were, insensible; for this is a divine union , and that is the highest bliss.
10:5:2:12. Therefore let him, who knows this, sleep, for it makes for
heaven : he thereby, indeed, makes those two deities enjoy their dear wish,
union. And one should not therefore forcibly awaken him who sleeps, lest he
should hurt those two deities whilst enjoying their union; and hence the
mouth of him who has been asleep is, as it were, clammy, for those two
deities are then shedding seed, and from that seed everything here
originates, whatsoever exists.
10:5:2:13. Now, that man in yonder orb (of the sun), and that man in the
right eye truly are no other than Death;--his feet have stuck fast in the
heart, and having pulled them out he comes forth; and when he comes forth
then that man dies: whence they say of him who has passed away, 'he has
been cut off .'
10:5:2:14. And, indeed, he is the breath (prna), for it is he (the man in the
eye) that leads forward (pranayati) all these creatures. These vital airs
(prna) are his own (sva); and when he sleeps (svapiti) then these vital airs
take possession of him as his own (sv api-yanti): hence (the term)
'svpyaya (being taken possession of by one's own people),' 'svpyaya'
doubtless being what they mystically call 'svapna (sleep),' for the gods love
the mystic.
10:5:2:15. And when he is asleep, he does not, by means of them, know of
anything whatever, nor does he form any resolution with his mind, or
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distinguish the taste of food with (the channel of) his speech, or distinguish
any smell with (the channel of) his breath; neither does he see with his eye,
nor hear with his ear, for those (vital airs) have taken possession of him.
Whilst being one only, he (the man in the eye) is numerously distributed
among living beings: whence the Lokamprin (representing the man in the
sun), whilst being one only (in kind), extends over the whole altar; and
because he (the man in the eye) is one only, therefore (the Lokamprin) is
one.
10:5:2:20. That same (divine person), the Adhvaryus (Yagur-veda priests)
serve under the name of 'Agni' (fire-altar) and 'Yagus,' because he holds
together (yug) all this (universe); the Chhandogas (Sma-veda priests,
chanters) under that of 'Sman,' because in him all this (universe) is one
and the same (samna); the Bahvrikas (Rig-veda priests, Hotars) under that
of 'Uktham,' because he originates (utthp) everything here; those skilled in
sorcery, under that of 'sorcery (ytu),' because everything here is held in
check (yata) by him; the serpents under that of 'poison;' the snakecharmers under that of 'snake;' the gods under that of 'rg (strengthening
food);' men under that of 'wealth;' demons under that of 'my (magic
power);' the deceased Fathers under that of 'svadh (invigorating draught);'
those knowing the divine host under that of 'divine host;' the Gandharvas
under that of 'form (rpa);' the Apsaras under that of 'fragrance (gandha),'-thus, in whatsoever form they serve him that indeed he becomes, and,
having become that, he is helpful to them; whence he who knows should
serve him in all these (forms), for he becomes all that, and, having become
all that, he is helpful to him.
10:5:3:10. That Work created the Fire,--Fire, doubtless, is more manifest
than Work, for by work (sacrificial performance) they produce it, and by
work they kindle it.
10:5:5:1. Kusri Vgasravasa once built a fire-altar. Susravas Kaushya then
said to him, 'Gautama, when thou wert just now building up Agni, didst thou
build him with his face forward, or backward, or downward, or upward?
10:6:1:1. Now at the house of Aruna Aupavesi these came once together,-Satyayaga Paulushi, Mahsla Gbla, Budila svatarsvi, Indradyumna
Bhllaveya, and Gana Srkarkshya. They took counsel together regarding
(Agni) Vaisvnara, but did not agree as to Vaisvnara.
10:6:1:2. They said, 'There is that Asvapati Kaikeya who knows Vaisvnara
thoroughly : let us go to him!' They went to Asvapati Kaikeya. He ordered
for them separate dwellings, separate honours, separate Soma-sacrifices
each with a thousand gifts. In the morning, still at variance with one
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another, they came again to him, with fuel in their hands , saying, 'We want
to become thy pupils.'
10:6:1:3. He said, 'How is this, venerable sirs, when ye are learned in the
scriptures, and sons of men learned in the scriptures?' They replied,
'Venerable sir, thou knowest Vaisvnara thoroughly: teach us him!' He said,
'I do indeed know Vaisvnara thoroughly: put your fuel on (the fire), ye are
become my pupils .'
10:6:1:4. He then said to Aruna Aupavesi, 'O Gautama, as whom knowest
thou Vaisvnara ?'--'As Earth only, O king;' he replied.--'Yea,' he said, 'that
indeed is Vaisvnara, the foundation; and because thou knowest the
Vaisvnara Foundation (pratishth) therefore thou art firmly established
(pratishthita) with offspring and cattle; and, verily, he who knows that
Vaisvnara Foundation, repels recurrent Death and attains all life. But, in
truth, these are only the feet of Vaisvnara, and thy feet would have
withered away, hadst thou not come hither; or the feet would be unknown
to thee, hadst thou not come hither.'
10:6:1:11. Pointing at the head he said, 'This, indeed, is the Vaisvnara Preeminence;'--pointing at the eyes he said, 'This, indeed, is the Vaisvnara of
Soma's splendour;'--pointing at the nostrils he said, 'This, indeed, is the
Vaisvnara of divers courses;'--pointing at the space in the mouth he said,
'This, indeed, is the Vaisvnara Plenteous;'--pointing at the water in the
mouth he said, 'This, indeed, is the Vaisvnara Wealth;'--pointing at the chin
he said, 'This, indeed, is the Vaisvnara Foundation.' This Agni Vaisvnara is
no other than the Purusha; and, verily, whosoever thus knows that Agni
Vaisvnara as Purusha-like, as established within the Purusha, repels death,
and attains all life; and, verily, Vaisvnara does no harm to him that speaks
of him.
10:6:2:1. Now, indeed, there is this twofold thing, to wit, the eater and that
which is eaten ; and when this pair meets it is called the eater, and not the
eaten.
10:6:2:2. Now that eater is the same as this Agni (the fire and fire-altar);
and whatever they assign to him is his assignments; and these assignments
(hiti) are mystically called oblations (huti), for the gods love the mystic.
10:6:2:3. And the eater, doubtless, is the sun, and his assignments
(offerings) are the moon, for the moon is assigned to the sun . Thus much
as to the deity.

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10:6:2:4. Now as to the body. The eater, doubtless, is the breath, and its
assignments are food, for the food is consigned to (the channel of) the
breath. Thus much as to Agni.
10:6:2:5. Now as to the Arka (flame). The Arka, doubtless, is Agni; and his
joy are the oblations, for the oblations are a joy to Agni.
10:6:2:6. And the Arka, doubtless, is the sun; and his joy is the moon, for
the moon is a joy to the sun. Thus much as to the deity.
10:6:2:7. Now as to the body. The Arka, doubtless, is the breath, and his
joy is food, for food is a joy to (the channel of) the breath. Thus much as to
the Arka.
10:6:2:8. Now as to the Uktha (song of praise). The 'uk,' doubtless, is Agni,
and his 'tham' is oblations, for by oblations Agni rises (ut-th, i. e. blazes
up).
10:6:4:1. Verily, the dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse 1, the sun its
eye, the wind its breath, Agni Vaisvnara (the fire belonging to all men) its
open mouth. The year is the body of the sacrificial horse, the sky its back,
the air its belly, the earth the under part of its belly, the quarters its flanks,
the intermediate quarters its ribs, the seasons its limbs, the months and
half-months its joints, the days and nights its feet, the stars its bones, the
welkin its flesh, the sand its intestinal food, the rivers its bowels, the
mountains its liver and lungs, the herbs and trees its hair, the rising sun the
forepart, and the setting sun the hindpart of its body, the lightning its
yawning, the thundering its whinnying, the raining its voiding urine, and
speech its voice. The day, indeed, was produced as the Mahiman (cup)
before the horse, and its birthplace is in the eastern sea. The night was
produced as the Mahiman (cup) behind (or after) it, and its birth-place was
in the western sea: these two Mahiman (cups), indeed, came to be on both
sides of the horse. As Haya (steed) it carried the gods, as Vagin (racer) the
Gandharvas, as Aryan (courser) the Asuras, as Asva (horse) men. The sea,
indeed, is its kindred, the sea its birth-place.
10:6:5:1. Verily, there was nothing here in the beginning: by Death this
(universe) was covered, by hunger, for Death is hunger. He created for
himself this mind, thinking, 'May I have a soul.' He went on worshipping.
Whilst he was worshipping the waters were produced. 'Verily, to me
worshipping (ark) water (kam) has been produced,' thus (he thought): this,
indeed, is the Arka-nature of the Arkya 1; and, verily, there is joy (kam) for
him who thus knows the Arka-nature of the Arkya.

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10:6:5:2. The Arka, doubtless, is the waters; and the cream (froth) which
was on the waters was compacted, and became this earth. Thereon he
wearied himself, and the glow and essence (sweat) of him thus wearied and
heated developed into Fire.
10:6:5:4. He desired, 'May a second self be produced for me.' By his mind
he entered into union with speech,--(to wit) Death with hunger: the seed
which was produced became the year, for theretofore there was no year. For
as long as the year he (Death) carried him (within him), and at the end of
that time he produced him . He opened his mouth (to devour) the new-born
one, and he (the child) cried 'bhn'; thus speech was produced.
10:6:5:5. He bethought him, 'Surely, if I kill him, I shall gain but little food .'
By that speech and that soul of his he created all this (universe) whatsoever
there is,--Rik (hymn-verses), Yagus (formulas), Sman (hymn-tunes),
metres, sacrifices, men, and beasts. And whatsoever he created he set
about devouring; and because he eats (ad) everything, hence the name
'Aditi'; and, verily, he who thus knows the nature of Aditi becomes an eater
of everything, and all food becomes his.
10:6:5:6. He desired, 'May I again sacrifice by yet another sacrifice.' He
wearied himself and practised austerity. From him, thus wearied and heated,
glory and vigour departed; and glory and vigour, indeed, are the vital airs.
The vital airs having departed, that body of his began to swell. The mind was
yet in the body;-10:6:5:7. He desired, 'May this (body) of mine be sacrificially pure: may I
thereby be possessed of a self!' Thereupon the horse (asva) was produced;
and because that which was swelling (asvat) became pure (medhya)
therefore the name Asvamedha (belongs to that sacrifice). He, indeed,
knows the Asvamedha who thus knows him.
10:6:5:8. He bethought him of leaving it unrestrained . At the end of a year
he slaughtered it for his own self, and made over the (sacrificial) animals to
the deities: therefore they slaughter the consecrated (victim) as one that, in
its nature as Pragpati, represents all the deities. But the Asvamedha, in
truth, is he that shines yonder (the sun), and the year is his body. The Arka
is this Fire, and these worlds are his bodies. These two are the Arka and
Asvamedha; but these, indeed, become again one deity, to wit, Death. And,
verily, whosoever knows this, conquers recurrent Death, and Death has no
hold on him: Death is his own self; he attains all life, and becomes one of
those deities.

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10:6:5:9. Now the line of succession (of teachers). The same as far as
Smgvputra. Smgvputra (received it) from Mndkyani, Mndkyani
from Mndavya, Mndavya from Kautsa, Kautsa from Mhitthi, Mhitthi from
Vmakakshyana, Vmakakshyana from Vtsya, Vtsya from Sndilya,
Sndilya from Kusri, Kusri from Yagavakas Rgastambyana, Yagavakas
Rgastambyana from Tura Kvasheya, Tura Kvasheya from Pragpati,
Pragpati from Brahman (n.). Brahman is the self-existent: reverence be to
Brahman!
11:1:1:7. He may lay down the fires on the new moon which falls in the
(month) Vaiskha, for that coincides with the Rohin (asterism); for the
Rohin means the self, offspring and cattle : he thus becomes established in
a self, in offspring and cattle. But, indeed, the new moon is the form of the
Agnydheya: let him therefore lay down the fires at new moon;--let him
perform the preliminary ceremony at full moon, and the initiation ceremony
at new moon.
11:1:2:12. Now, indeed, the gods were at first mortal; and only when they
had gained the year they were immortal; for the year is everything, and the
imperishable means everything: thereby then accrues to him imperishable
merit, the imperishable world.
11:1:2:13. He who, knowing this, offers (the Full and New-moon sacrifice)
for thirty years, becomes one of the race-runners, whence one ought to offer
sacrifice for not less than thirty years. But if he be a performer of the
Dkshyana sacrifice , he need only offer for fifteen years, for therein that
perfection is brought about, since he performs (every month) two Full-moon
and two New-moon offerings, and thus that perfection is indeed brought
about therein.
11:1:5:2. They steal away into the shade. And therefore, indeed, people call
that burning pain 'svalukita' (dog's clutch);--and therefore they also call that
one-11:1:6:2. In a year's time a man, this Pragpati, was produced therefrom;
and hence a woman, a cow, or a mare brings forth within the space of a
year; for Pragpati was born in a year. He broke open this golden egg. There
was then, indeed, no resting-place: only this golden egg, bearing him,
floated about for as long as the space of a year.
11:1:6:3. At the end of a year he tried to speak. He said 'bhh': this (word)
became this earth;--'bhuvah': this became this air;--'svah': this became
yonder sky. Therefore a child tries to speak at the end of a year, for at the
end of a year Pragpati tried to speak.
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11:1:6:4. When he was first speaking Pragpati spoke (words) of one

syllable and of two syllables; whence a child, when first speaking, speaks
(words) of one syllable and of two syllables.
11:1:6:7. Desirous of offspring, he went on singing praises and toiling. He
laid the power of reproduction into his own self. By (the breath of) his mouth
he created the gods: the gods were created on entering the sky; and this is
the godhead of the gods (deva) that they were created on entering the sky
(div). Having created them, there was, as it were, daylight for him; and this
also is the godhead of the gods that, after creating them, there was, as it
were, daylight (diva) for him.
11:1:6:8. And by the downward breathing he created the Asuras: they were
created on entering this earth. Having created them there was, as it were,
darkness for him.
11:1:6:12. Pragpati bethought himself, 'Everything (sarva), indeed, I have
obtained by stealth (tsar) who have created these deities:' this became the
'sarvatsara,' for 'sarvatsara,' doubtless, is the same as 'samvatsara (year).'
And, verily, whosoever thus knows 'samvatsara' to be the same as
'sarvatsara,' is not overcome by any evil which, by magic art, steals upon
him (tsar); and whosoever thus knows 'samvatsara' to be the same as
'sarvatsara,' overcomes against whomsoever he practises magic art.
11:1:6:31. The three after-offerings are the three male organs ; and that
which is the chief after-offering is, as it were, the chief organ. 'He should
offer it without drawing breath ,' they say, 'for thus it becomes unfailing for
him.'
11:1:6:32. He may, however, draw breath once, for that (organ) has one
joint; but if it were jointless, it either would only stand erect, or it would
hang down; whilst now it both becomes erect and hangs down: he may
therefore draw breath once.
11:1:6:36. These, then, are sixteen offerings, for man consists of sixteen
parts, and the sacrifice is the Man (Purusha): hence there are sixteen
offerings.
11:1:8:1. Now, the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from
Pragpati, once strove together. Then the Asuras, even through arrogance,
thinking, 'Unto whom, forsooth, should we make offering?' went on offering
into their own mouths. They came to naught, even through arrogance:
wherefore let no one be arrogant, for verily arrogance is the cause of ruin .

104

11:1:8:2. But the gods went on offering unto one another. Pragpati gave
himself up to them, and the sacrifice became theirs; for, indeed, the sacrifice
is the food of the gods.
11:1:8:3. Having given himself up to the gods, he created that counterpart
of himself, to wit, the sacrifice: whence people say, 'The sacrifice is
Pragpati;' for he created it as a counterpart of himself.
11:1:8:4. By this (Full and New-moon) sacrifice he redeemed himself from
the gods. Now when he (the Sacrificer) enters on the fast, he thereby gives
himself up to the gods, even as Pragpati thereby gave himself up to the
gods. Let him therefore endeavour to pass that night (with his mind)
completely restrained, in the same way as he would proceed with (material
for) an oblation, for he becomes an oblation to the gods.
11:1:8:5. And when (on the following day) he performs the sacrifice, then
he redeems himself by sacrifice from the gods, even as Pragpati thereby
redeemed himself:
11:2:1:1. Verily, man is born thrice, namely in this way:--first he is born
from his mother and father; and when he to whom the sacrifice inclines
performs offering he is born a second time; and when he dies, and they
place him on the fire, and when he thereupon comes into existence again,
he is born a third time;--wherefore they say, 'Man is born thrice.'
11:2:3:3. Then the Brahman itself went up to the sphere beyond. Having
gone up to the sphere beyond, it considered, 'How can I descend again into
these worlds?' It then descended again by means of these two--Form and
Name. Whatever has a name, that is name; and that again which has no
name, and which one knows by its form, 'This is (of a certain) form,' that is
form: as far as there are Form and Name so far, indeed, extends this
(universe).
11:2:3:4. These, indeed, are the two great forces of the Brahman; and,
verily, he who knows these two great forces of the Brahman becomes
himself a great force.
11:2:3:7. There, on the occasion of the offering to Agni, it has been told
how the sacrifice then pleased the Rishis, and how they performed it. Now,
when the Rishis were performing the sacrifice, the Gandharvas came nigh to
them. They looked on, thinking, 'Here, surely, they have done too much,-here they have done too little.' And when their sacrifice was completed, they
pointed it out to them, saying, 'Here, surely, ye have done too much,--here
ye have done too little.'
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11:2:3:8. Now, wherever they had done too much it was like a hill; and
wherever they had done too little it was like a pit.
11:2:3:9. Now, when he pronounces the Samyos (all-hail and blessing), he
touches (the earth ) with (Vg. S. II, 19), 'O Sacrifice, homage be unto
thee: mayest thou complete thy course up to the success of the sacrifice and
up to mine own right offering!' Wherever (in the course of the sacrifice) he
has committed any excess, he makes amends for it by doing homage; and
wherever he has left anything defective, it ceases to be defective by his
saying, 'up to.' In saying, 'Mayest thou complete thy course up to the
success of the sacrifice,'--success being whatever in the sacrifice is neither
defective nor excessive--he thereby makes amends for both of these
(mistakes); and in saying, 'Mayest thou complete thy course up to mine own
right offering,'--right offering being whatever in the sacrifice is neither
defective nor excessive--he thereby also makes amends for both of these
(mistakes); and thus that sacrifice of his comes to be performed as one that
is neither defective nor excessive by whosoever, knowing this, thus touches
(the earth): let him therefore touch it just in this way. But, indeed, those
Gandharvas were Yavamn (rich in barley), the winnowing-basket;
Uddlavn (rich in paspalum frumentaceum), husbandry; and Antarvn (the
pregnant), grain .
11:2:4:9. Now, some prepare two messes of rice, one for Sarasvat on the
full moon, and one for Sarasvat on the new moon, saying, 'We thus clearly
make offering to the full and new moon.' But let him not do this; for
Sarasvat is the Mind, and Sarasvat is Speech; and thus, in making libations
of ghee to these two, offering is made by him to the full and new moon: let
him therefore not prepare these two messes of rice.
11:2:5:1. And, verily, even on this occasion, they slaughter the sacrificial
horse (Asvamedha) as a sacrifice to the gods: of this (New and Full-moon
sacrifice) they say, 'It is the original (normal) Asvamedha;' and that (real
Asvamedha), indeed, is just the other (modified one); for, indeed, the
Asvamedha is the same as the moon.
11:2:5:3. As to this, they say, 'On the starting off of the horse he performs
an offering ; for the moon, doubtless, is the same as King Soma, the food of
the gods: when, during that night (of new moon), he does not appear either
in the east or in the west, then he comes to this world, and starts for this
world .'
11:2:6:12. Now, as to this runi said, 'Every half-month, indeed, I become a
sharer of the same world with yonder sun: that is the perfection of the Full
and New-moon sacrifices which I know.'
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11:2:6:13. As to this they ask, 'Who is the better one, the self-offerer, or
the god-offerer?' Let him say, 'The self-offerer;' for a self-offerer, doubtless,
is he who knows, 'This my (new) body is formed by that (body of Yaga, the
sacrifice), this my (new) body is procured thereby.' And even as a snake
frees itself from its skin, so does he free himself from his mortal body, from
sin; and made up of the Rik, the Yagus, the Sman, and of offerings, does
he pass on to the heavenly world.
11:2:6:14. And a god-offerer, doubtless, is he who knows, 'I am now
offering sacrifice to the gods, I am serving the gods,'--such a one is like an
inferior who brings tribute to his superior, or like a man of the people who
brings tribute to the king: verily, he does not win such a place (in heaven)
as the other.
11:2:7:15. The low-voiced offering is the Kshatra (nobility); and, verily,
whosoever knows the low-voiced offering to be the nobility secures for
himself the nobility; and whatever is to be gained by the nobility all that he
now gains. And inasmuch as some perform the low-voiced offering, and
others do not. therefore people speak (give information) to the noble both in
a loud voice and in a low voice.
11:2:7:16. The second cake is the Vis (people); and, verily, whosoever
knows the second cake to be the people secures for himself the people; and
whatever is to be gained by the people all that he gains. And inasmuch as
Agni's cake and the low-voiced offering come first therefore the priesthood
and nobility are established upon the people.
11:2:7:17. The Snnyya is royal dignity; and, verily, whosoever knows the
Snnyya to be royal dignity secures for himself royal dignity; and whatever
is to be gained by royal dignity all that he gains. And inasmuch as some
pour (sweet and sour milk) together, and others do not, therefore the royal
dignity both (combines) together and (keeps) asunder.
11:2:7:18. The Svishtakrit is fervid devotion; and, verily, whosoever knows
the Svishtakrit to be fervid devotion secures for himself fervid devotion; and
whatever is to be gained by fervid devotion all that he now gains.
11:2:7:19. The fore-portion is the place (in heaven); and, verily, whosoever
knows the fore-portion to be the place (in heaven) secures for himself the
place (in heaven); and whatever is to be gained by the place (in heaven) all
that he now gains; and, indeed, he does not by ever so little fall from his
place, for it is by ever so little that in yonder world men fall from their place;
and whosoever knows this does not fall from his place however much evil he
may have done.
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11:2:7:20. The Id is faith; and, verily, whosoever knows the Id to be faith

secures for himself faith, and whatever is to be gained by faith all that he
now gains.
11:2:7:22. After the first after-offering let him utter (the anumantrana), 'O
thunderbolt, smite N.N.!' (naming) him whom he hates; after the second, O
hail-stone, smite N.N.!' after the third, 'O firebrand, smite N.N.!'
11:2:7:23. And if such a one dies suddenly, then, indeed, it is that afteroffering, the thunderbolt, that smites him; and if he is, as it were, covered
with out-flowing (blood), then it is that after-offering, the hail-stone, that
smites him; and if he is, as it were, covered with scorching, then it is that
after-offering, the (heavenly) firebrand, that smites him.
11:2:7:24. Such is the bolt of the sacrifice: it was by that bolt, indeed, that
the gods overcame the Asuras; and in like manner does the Sacrificer who
knows this overcome his wicked, spiteful enemy.
11:2:7:28. The Sktavka is the completion; and, verily, whosoever knows
the Sktavka to be the completion secures for himself the completion; and
whatever is to be gained by the completion all that he now gains: he obtains
the completion of his (full) lifetime.
11:2:7:29. The Samyorvka is the resting-place; and, verily, whosoever
knows the Samyuvka to be the resting-place secures for himself a restingplace; and whatever is to be gained by a resting-place all that he now gains:
he reaches a resting-place.
11:3:2:1. Verily, whosoever knows the six pairs in the Agnihotra, has
offspring born to him by pair after pair, by all generations. The Sacrificer and
his wife--this is one pair: through it his Agnihotra would be possessed of a
wife,--'May I obtain this pair!' he thinks. The calf and the Agnihotra-cow-this is another pair: through it his Agnihotra-cow would become possessed
of a male calf,--'May I obtain this pair!' he thinks. The pot and the coals-this is another pair; the offering-spoon and the dipping-spoon--this is
another pair; the havanya fire and the log--this is another pair; the
libation and the Svh-call--this is another pair: these, doubtless, are the six
pairs in the Agnihotra; and he who thus knows them, has offspring born to
him by pair after pair, by all generations.
11:3:3:1. The Brahman delivered the creatures over to Death, the
Brahmakrin (religious student) alone it did not deliver over to him. He
(Death) said, 'Let me have a share in this one also.'--'Only the night on
which he shall not bring his fire-wood,' said (the Brahman). On whatever
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night, therefore, the Brahmakrin does not bring fire-wood, that (night) he
passes cutting it off from his own life: therefore the Brahmakrin should
bring fire-wood, lest he should pass (his nights) cutting off (as much) from
his life.
11:3:3:7. Let him not beg alms after he has bathed (at the end of his
studentship), for by bathing he drives off beggary, and drives off hunger
from his kinsmen and his deceased ancestors, 'Let him who knows this beg
alms only from her in whom he has the greatest confidence ,' they say, 'for
that makes for heaven.' And should he find no other woman from whom
alms could be begged, he may even beg from his own teacher's wife, and
thereafter from his own mother. The seventh (night) should not pass by for
him without begging: him who knows this and practises this all the Vedas
enter; for, verily, even as the fire shines when kindled, so does he, after
bathing, shine, who, knowing this, lives a Brahmakrin's life.
11:4:1:1. Now Uddlaka runi was driving about , as a chosen (offeringpriest), amongst the people of the northern country. By him a gold coin was
offered; for in the time of our forefathers a prize used to be offered by
chosen (priests) when driving about, for the sake of calling out the timid to a
disputation. Fear then seized the Brhmanas of the northern people:-11:4:1:2. 'This fellow is a Kurupakla Brahman, and son of a Brahman--let
us take care lest he should deprive us of our domain: come, let us challenge
him to a disputation on spiritual matters.'--'With whom for our champion?'-'With Svaidyana.' Svaidyana, to wit, was Saunaka.
11:4:1:6. 'He alone, O son of Gautama, may drive about amongst people as
chosen (priest), who knows from the Full and New-moon sacrifices, whereby
creatures here are born with hair; whereby, for the second time, as it were,
the hair of the beard and the arm-pits and other parts of the body grow on
them; whereby it is on the head that one first becomes grey, and then,
again, in the last stage of life, one becomes grey all over.
11:4:1:12. And inasmuch as the fore-offerings are without invitatory
formulas, therefore creatures are born here without teeth; and inasmuch as
the chief oblations have invitatory formulas, therefore they (the teeth) grow
in them; and inasmuch as the after-offerings are without invitatory formulas,
therefore they (the teeth) decay in them; and inasmuch as the
Patnsamygas as have invitatory formulas, therefore they (the teeth) come
to remain permanently with them; and inasmuch as the Samishtayagus is
without invitatory formula, therefore they all decay again in the last stage of
life.

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11:4:1:13. And inasmuch as, after uttering the invitatory formula, he offers
with the offering-formula, therefore the lower (teeth) grow first, then the
upper ones; and inasmuch as, after uttering a gyatr verse as invitatory
formula, he offers with a trishtubh verse, therefore the lower (teeth) are
smaller, and the upper ones broader; and inasmuch as he pours out the two
libations of ghee in a forward direction, therefore the incisors are larger; and
inasmuch as the two samygys are in the same metre, therefore the
molars are of equal size.
11:4:1:14. And inasmuch as he spreads a cover of sacrificial grass (on the
Vedi), therefore creatures here are born with hair; and inasmuch as he for
the second time, as it were, spreads the Prastara-bunch, therefore, for the
second time, as it were, the hair of the beard and the arm-pits, and other
parts of the body grow; and inasmuch as at first he only throws the
Prastara-bunch after (the oblations into the fire), therefore it is on the head
that one first becomes grey; and inasmuch as he then throws after it all the
sacrificial grass of the altar-ground, therefore, in the last stage of life, one
again becomes grey all over.
11:4:1:15. And inasmuch as the fore-offerings have ghee for their offeringmaterial, a boy's seed is not productive, but is like water, for ghee is like
water; and inasmuch as, in the middle of the sacrifice, they sacrifice with
sour curds and with cake, therefore it is productive in his middle stage of
life, for thick-flowing, as it were, is (that havis), and thick-flowing, as it
were, is seed; and inasmuch as the after-offerings have ghee for their
offering-material, it again is not productive in his last stage of life, and is like
water, for ghee, indeed, is like water.
11:4:1:16. The Vedi (altar-ground), doubtless, is the Gyatr: the eight
butter-portions (offered) previously are her right wing, and the eight butterportions (offered) subsequently are her left wing: that same golden,
brilliant-winged Gyatr, indeed, bears the Sacrificer who knows this to the
heavenly world.
11:4:3:2. They said to Pragpati, 'Let us kill her and take (all) this from her.'
He said, 'Surely, that Sr is a woman, and people do not kill a woman, but
rather take (anything) from her (leaving her) alive.'
11:4:3:3. Agni then took her food, Soma her royal power, Varuna her
universal sovereignty, Mitra her noble rank, Indra her power, Brihaspati her
holy lustre, Savitri her dominion, Pshan her wealth, Sarasvat her
prosperity, and Tvashtri her beautiful forms.

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11:4:4:7. And he who offers with well-cooked sacrificial food, enters through
the sun-door of the Brahman; and, by entering through the sun-door of the
Brahman, he wins his union with, and participation in the world of, the
Brahman. This, then, is the successful issue of the sacrificial food, and,
verily, whosoever thus knows this to be the successful issue of the sacrificial
food, by him offering is made with wholly successful sacrificial food.
11:5:1:1. The nymph Urvas loved Purravas , the son of Id. When she
wedded him, she said, 'Thrice a day shalt thou embrace me; but do not lie
with me against my will , and let me not see thee naked, for such is the way
to behave to us women.'
11:5:1:2. She then dwelt with him a long time, and was even with child of
him, so long did she dwell with him. Then the Gandharvas said to one
another, 'For a long time, indeed, has this Urvas dwelt among men: devise
ye some means how she may come back to us.' Now, a ewe with two lambs
was tied to her couch: the Gandharvas then carried off one of the lambs.
11:5:1:3. 'Alas,' she cried, 'they are taking away my darling , as if I were
where there is no hero and no man!' They carried off the second, and she
spake in the selfsame manner.
11:5:1:4. He then thought within himself, 'How can that be (a place) without
a hero and without a man where I am?' And naked, as he was, he sprang up
after them: too long he deemed it that he should put on his garment. Then
the Gandharvas produced a flash of lightning, and she beheld him naked
even as by daylight. Then, indeed, she vanished: 'Here I am back,' he said,
and lo! she had vanished. Wailing with sorrow he wandered all over
Kurukshetra. Now there is a lotus-lake there, called Anyatahplaksh: He
walked along its bank; and there nymphs were swimming about in the shape
of swans .
11:5:1:5. And she (Urvas), recognising him, said, 'This is the man with
whom I have dwelt.' They then said, 'Let us appear to him!'--'So be it!' she
replied; and they appeared to him .
11:5:1:6. He then recognised her and implored her (Rig-veda X, 95, I), 'Oh,
my wife, stay thou, cruel in mind : let us now exchange words! Untold, these
secrets of ours will not bring us joy in days to come;'--'Stop, pray, let us
speak together!' this is what he meant to say to her.
11:5:1:7. She replied (X, 95, 2), 'What concern have I with speaking to
thee? I have passed away like the first of the dawns. Purravas, go home
again: I am like the wind, difficult to catch;'--'Thou didst not do what I had
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told thee; hard to catch I am for thee, go to thy home again!' this is what
she meant to say.
11:5:1:8. He then said sorrowing (X, 95, 14), 'Then will thy friend rush
away this day never to come back, to go to the farthest distance: then will
he lie in Nirriti's lap, or the fierce wolves will devour him; Thy friend will
either hang himself, or start forth; or the wolves, or dogs, will devour him!'
this is what he meant to say.
11:5:1:9. She replied (X, 95, 15), 'Purravas, do not die! do not rush away!
let not the cruel wolves devour thee! Truly, there is no friendship with
women, and theirs are the hearts of hyenas ;'--'Do not take this to heart!
there is no friendship with women: return home!' this is what she meant to
say.
11:5:1:10. (Rig-veda X, 95, 16), 'When changed in form, I walked among
mortals, and passed the nights there during four autumns ate a little ghee,
once a day, and even now I feel satisfied therewith.'--This discourse in
fifteen verses has been handed down by the Bahvrikas. Then her heart took
pity on him .
11:5:1:11. She said, 'Come here the last night of the year from now: then
shalt thou lie with me for one night, and then this son of thine will have been
born.' He came there on the last night of the year, and lo, there stood a
golden palace! They then said to him only this (word) , 'Enter!' and then
they bade her go to him.
11:5:1:12. She then said, 'To-morrow morning the Gandharvas will grant
thee a boon, and thou must make thy choice.' He said, 'Choose thou for
me!'--She replied, 'Say, Let me be one of yourselves!' In the morning the
Gandharvas granted him a boon; and he said, 'Let me be one of yourselves!'
11:5:1:13. They said, 'Surely, there is not among men that holy form of fire
by sacrificing wherewith one would become one of ourselves.' They put fire
into a pan, and gave it to him saying, 'By sacrificing therewith thou shalt
become one of ourselves.' He took it (the fire) and his boy, and went on his
way home. He then deposited the fire in the forest, and went to the village
with the boy alone. [He came back and thought] 'Here I am back;' and lo! it
had disappeared : what had been the fire was an Asvattha tree (ficus
religiosa), and what had been the pan was a Sam tree (mimosa suma). He
then returned to the Gandharvas.
11:5:3:1. Saukeya Prknayogya came to Uddlaka runi for a disputation
on spiritual matters, thinking, 'I desire to know the Agnihotra.'
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11:5:3:2. He said, 'Gautama, what like is thy Agnihotra cow? what like the
calf? what like the cow joined by the calf? what like their meeting? what like
(the milk) when being milked? what like when it has been milked? what like
when brought (from the stable)? what like when put on the fire? what like
when the light is thrown on it ; what like when water is poured thereto?
what like when being taken off (the fire)? what like when taken off? what
like when being ladled out ? what like when ladled out? what like when lifted
up (to be taken to the havanya)? what like when being taken there? what
like when held down ?
11:5:6:2. Day by day one should offer an oblation to beings: thus he
performs that sacrifice to beings. Day by day one should offer (presents to
guests) up to the cupful of water: thus he performs that sacrifice to men.
Day by day one should offer with Svadh up to the cupful of water: thus he
performs that sacrifice to the Fathers. Day by day one should perform with
Svh up to the log of firewood : thus he performs that sacrifice to the gods.
11:5:6:3. Then as to the sacrifice to the Brahman. The sacrifice to the
Brahman is one's own (daily) study (of the Veda). The guh-spoon of this
same sacrifice to the Brahman is speech, its upabhrit the mind, its dhruv
the eye, its sruva mental power, its purificatory bath truth, its conclusion
heaven. And, verily, however great the world he gains by giving away (to
the priests) this earth replete with wealth, thrice that and more--an
imperishable world does he gain, whosoever, knowing this, studies day by
day his lesson (of the Veda): therefore let him study his daily lesson.
11:5:6:4. Verily, the Rik-texts are milk-offerings to the gods; and
whosoever, knowing this, studies day by day the Rik-texts for his lesson,
thereby satisfies the gods with milk-offerings; and, being satisfied, they
satisfy him by (granting him) security of possession, by life-breath, by seed,
by his whole self, and by all auspicious blessings; and rivers of ghee and
rivers of honey flow for his (departed) Fathers, as their accustomed
draughts.
11:5:6:5. And, verily, the Yagus-texts are ghee-offerings to the gods; and
whosoever, knowing this, studies day by day the Yagus-texts for his lesson
thereby satisfies the gods with ghee-offerings; and, being satisfied, they
satisfy him by security of possession, by life-breath, by seed, by his whole
self, and by all auspicious blessings; and rivers of ghee and rivers of honey
flow for his Fathers, as their accustomed draughts.
11:5:6:6. And, verily, the Sman-texts are Soma-offerings to the gods; and
whosoever, knowing this, studies day by day the Sman-texts for his lesson
thereby satisfies the gods with Soma-offerings; and, being satisfied, they
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satisfy him by security of possession, by life-breath, by seed, by his whole

self, and by all auspicious blessings; and rivers of ghee and rivers of honey
flow for his Fathers, as their accustomed draughts.
11:5:6:7. And, verily, the (texts of the) Atharvgiras are fat-offerings to
the gods; and whosoever, knowing this, studies day by day the (texts of
the) Atharvgiras for his lesson, satisfies the gods with fat-offerings; and,
being satisfied, they satisfy him by security of possession, by life-breath, by
seed, by his whole self, and by all auspicious blessings; and rivers of ghee
and rivers of honey flow for his Fathers, as their accustomed draughts.
11:5:6:9. Now, for this, sacrifice to the Brahman there are four Vashatcalls,--to wit, when the wind blows, when it lightens, when it thunders, and
when it rumbles whence he who knows this should certainly study when the
wind is blowing, and when it lightens, or thunders, or rumbles, so as not to
lose his Vashat-calls; and verily he is freed from recurring death, and attains
to community of nature (or, being) with the Brahman. And should he be
altogether unable (to study), let him at least read a single divine word; and
thus he is not shut out from beings.
11:5:7:1. Now, then, the praise of the study (of the scriptures). The study
and teaching (of the Veda) are a source of pleasure to him, he becomes
ready-minded , and independent of others, and day by day he acquires
wealth. He sleeps peacefully; he is the best physician for himself; and
(peculiar) to him are restraint of the senses, delight in the one thing, growth
of intelligence, fame, and the (task of) perfecting the people . The growing
intelligence gives rise to four duties attaching to the Brhmana--Brhmanical
descent, a befitting deportment, fame, and the perfecting of the people; and
the people that are being perfected guard the Brhmana by four duties--by
(showing him) respect, and liberality, (and by granting him) security against
oppression, and security against capital punishment.
11:5:7:2. And, truly, whatever may be the toils here between heaven and
earth, the study (of the scriptures) is their last stage, their goal (limit) for
him who, knowing this, studies his lesson: therefore one's (daily) lesson
should be studied.
11:5:7:3. And, verily, whatever portion of the sacred poetry (khandas) he
studies for his lesson with that sacrificial rite, offering is made by him who,
knowing this, studies his lesson: therefore one's (daily) lesson should be
studied.
11:5:7:4. And, verily, if he studies his lesson, even though lying on a soft
couch, anointed, adorned and completely satisfied, he is burned (with holy
114

fire) up to the tips of his nails, whosoever, knowing this, studies his lesson:
therefore one's (daily) lesson should be studied.
11:5:7:5. The Rik-texts, truly, are honey, the Sman-texts ghee, and the
Yagus-texts ambrosia; and, indeed, when he studies the dialogue that
(speech and reply) is a mess of milk and a mess of meat.
11:5:8:7. As to this they say, 'Seeing that the work of the Hotri is performed
with the Rig-veda, that of the Adhvaryu with the Yagur-veda, and that of the
Udgtri with the Sma-veda, wherewith then is the work of the Brahman
(performed)?' Let him reply, 'With that threefold science.'
11:6:2:9. They enter man, and make his mouth their offering-fire, his
tongue their fuel, and food their pure libation: they satiate man; and, verily,
for him who, knowing this, eats food the Agnihotra comes to be offered.
They rise upwards from there.
11:6:2:10. 'They enter woman, and make her lap their offering-fire, her
womb the fuel,--for that (womb) is called the bearer, because by it Pragpati
bore creatures,--and the seed their pure libation: they satiate woman; and,
verily, for him who, knowing this, approaches his mate, the Agnihotra comes
to be offered. The son who is born therefrom is the renascent world: this is
the Agnihotra, Ygavalkya, there is nothing higher than this.' Thus he
spoke; and Ygavalkya granted him a boon. He said, 'Let mine be the
(privilege of) asking questions of thee when I list, Ygavalkya!' Thenceforth
Ganaka(Janak) was a Brahman.
11:6:3:4. He said , 'How many gods are there, Ygavalkya?'--'Three
hundred and three, and three thousand and three,' he replied.--'Yea, so it
is!' he said. 'How many gods are there really, Ygavalkya?'--'Thirty-three.'-'Yea, so it is!' he said. 'How many gods are there really, Ygavalkya?'-'Three.'--'Yea, so it is!' he said. 'How many gods are there really,
Ygavalkya?'--'Two.'--'Yea, so it is!' he said. 'How many gods are there
really, Ygavalkya?'--'One and a half.'--'Yea, so it is!' he said. 'How many
gods are there really, Ygavalkya?'--'One.'--'Yea, so it is!' he said. 'Who are
those three hundred and three, and three thousand and three?'
11:6:3:5. He replied, 'These are their powers, but thirty-three gods indeed
there are.'--'Who are those thirty-three? Eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, and
twelve dityas,--that makes thirty-one; and Indra and Pragpati make up
the thirty-three.'
12:7:1:1. Indra slew Tvashtri's son, Visvarpa. Seeing his son slain, Tvashtri
exorcized him (Indra), and brought Soma juice suitable for witchery, and
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withheld from Indra. Indra by force drank off his Soma-juice, thereby
committing a desecration of the sacrifice. He went asunder in every
direction, and his energy, or vital power , flowed away from every limb.
12:7:1:2. From his eyes his fiery spirit flowed, and became that grey
(smoke-coloured) animal, the he-goat; and what (flowed) from his
eyelashes became wheat, and what (flowed) from his tears became the
kuvala-fruit.
12:7:1:3. From his nostrils his vital power flowed, and became that animal,
the ram; and what (flowed) from the phlegm became the Indra-grain, and
what moisture there was that became the badara-fruit.
12:7:1:4. From his mouth his strength flowed, it became that animal, the
bull; and what foam there was became barley, and what moisture there was
became the karkandhu-fruit.
The words 'kuvala, badara, and karkandhu' are the names of three varieties of the jujube,
or fruits of Zizyphus Jujuba, for a description of which see the comm. on Kty. Sr. XIX, 17
seqq. According to Stewart and Brandis Forest Flora of North-West and Central India (p.
87), 'this species varies exceedingly, in the shape and size of the fruits, the shape and
tomentum of the leaves, and general habit;' 'the Zizyphi of North India want more
investigation on the spot.' . . . 'Lakh is produced on this tree in Sindh, the Panjab, and
Central India, The bark is used as dye-stuff; the root is a febrifuge in native pharmacy. A
gum exudes from the trunk; and in Kangra a wild silkworm lives on the tree, the silk of
which was much employed formerly to tie the barrel to the stock of the matchlock. But the
tree is mainly cultivated for its fruit, which is more or less globose on the wild and
commoner sorts, and ovoid or oblong on the cultivated and improved kinds.

12:7:1:14. The two Asvins and Sarasvat, having taken the energy, or vital
power, from Namuki, restored them to hire (Indra), and saved him from
evil, 'Truly, we have saved him from evil so as to be well-saved (sutrta),'
they thought, and this became the Sautrman: and this is the (saving)
nature of the Sautrman--it saves the self from death, and repels evil for
whosoever thus knows that (saving) nature of the Sautrman. There are
(for this sacrifice) thirty-three Dakshins (presents to priests), for thirtythree were the gods who healed him: whence they say, 'Dakshins are
healing medicine.'
12:7:2:1. Verily, his fiery spirit, his energy, or vital power, depart from him
whom Soma purges either upwards or downwards.
12:7:2:2. As to this they say, 'Truly, the Soma-juice is the Brhmana's food;
and, indeed, it is not owing to Soma when a Brhmana vomits Soma; and he
who vomits Soma is one who, whilst being fit to (gain) prosperity, does not

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gain prosperity, and who, whilst being fit to (gain) cattle, does not gain
cattle , for Soma is cattle.'
12:7:2:3. Let him seize for sacrifice that grey (he-goat) of the Asvins, the
ram of Sarasvat, and the bull of Indra; for the Asvins are the physicians of
the gods, and it is by them that he heals this (Sacrificer); and Sarasvat is
healing medicine, and it is with her help that he prepares medicine for him;
and Indra is energy (indriya), or vital power, and it is with his help that he
bestows energy, or vital power, on this (Sacrificer).
12:7:2:6. Indra is speech, strength; and inasmuch as there is (a victim)
sacred to Indra, he bestows speech, strength, on this (Sacrificer); and mind
also, for one and the same are speech and mind.
12:7:2:7. 'He-goats are sacred to the Asvins, ewes to Sarasvat, and cows
(and bulls) to Indra,' they say: if these animals are sacrificed, he, by means
of those deities, gains those (three) animals.
12:7:2:8. There is a mare with a foal: the one-hoofed (animal), glory, he
thereby secures (for the Sacrificer). There are hairs of wild beasts , for the
purpose of securing the wild beasts;--there are hairs of wolf: vigour, the
impetuous rush of wild beasts, he thereby secures;--there are hairs of tiger:
courage, the sway of wild beasts, he thereby secures;--there are hairs of
lion: might, the rule of wild beasts, he thereby secures.
12:7:2:9. There are grains of rice and grains of millet, grains of wheat and
kuvala jujubes, Indra-grain and badara jujubes, grains of barley and
karkandhu jujubes, malted rice and barley : both cultivated and wild-grain
food he thereby secures; and by means of both kinds of food he duly lays
energy and vital power into his own self.
12:7:3:1. By means of the Sur-liquor Namuki, the Asura, carried off Indra's
(source of) strength, the essence of food, the Soma-drink. He (Indra) hasted
up to the Asvins and Sarasvat, crying, 'I have sworn to Namuki, saying, "I
will slay thee neither by day nor by night, neither with staff nor with bow,
neither with the palm of my hand nor with the fist, neither with the dry nor
with the moist!" and yet has he taken these things from me: seek ye to
bring me back these things!'
12:7:3:2. They spake, 'Let us have a share therein, and we will bring them
back to thee.'--'These things (shall be) in common to us,' he said, 'bring
them back, then!'

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12:7:3:3. The Asvins and Sarasvat then poured out foam of water (to
serve) as a thunderbolt, saying, 'It is neither dry nor moist;' and, when the
night was clearing up, and the sun had not yet risen, Indra, thinking, 'It is
neither by day nor by night,' therewith struck off the head of Namuki, the
Asura.
12:7:3:4. Wherefore it has been said by the Rishi (Rig-veda S. VIII, 14, 13),
'With foam of water, Indra, didst thou sever the head of Namuki, when thou
wert subduing all thine enemies.' Now, Namuki is evil: having thus, indeed,
slain that evil, his hateful enemy, Indra wrested from him his energy, or
vital power. Let him who has an enemy perform the Sautrman: he thereby
slays that evil, his hateful enemy, and wrests from him his energy, or vital
power. In his (Namuki's) severed head there was the Soma juice mixed with
blood. They loathed it. They perceived that (means of) drinking separately
(one of) the two liquids,--'King Soma, the drink of immortality, is pressed ;'-and having thereby made that (Soma) palatable, they took it in (as food).
12:8:1:19. He (the Sacrificer) offers, with (Vg. S. XIX, 45), 'The Fathers
who, one in form and one in mind, live in Yama's realm,--may their world,
the Svadh, adoration, and sacrifice prosper among the gods!' he thereby
commits the Fathers to Yama, and he also conquers the world of the
Fathers. Having, all of them, invested themselves sacrificially , they betake
themselves to the northern fire, for the northern fire is this (terrestrial)
world : they thus establish themselves in this world. He offers an oblation of
ghee: ghee being sacrifice, it is from out of the sacrifice that they establish
themselves in the sacrifice.
12:8:2:6. Therefore at this sacrifice (the Sautrman) the fast-observance is
the initiation. Now, the fast-observance is a male, and the initiation a
female; and the truth is a male, and faith a female; and the mind is a male,
and speech a female; and the Sacrificer is the male to his wife, whence
wherever there is a husband there is a wife: and at the very outset of the
sacrifice he thus sets up couples with a view to production.
12:8:3:1. Tvashtri, seeing his son slain, brought Soma suitable for witchery,
and withheld from Indra. Indra, committing a desecration of the sacrifice, by
main force drank off his (Tvashtri's) Soma juice. He went asunder in every
direction,--from his mouth and vital airs his excellence and fame passed
away, and entered the cattle, whence cattle are one's fame: and famous,
indeed, is he who, knowing this, is consecrated by the Sautrman.
12:9:1:1. Verily, from this sacrifice the man is born and whatever food a
man consumes in this world, that (food), in return, consumes him in yonder
world. Now this sacrifice is performed by means of spirituous liquor, and
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spirituous liquor (parisrut) is not to be consumed by a Brhmana: he thus is

born from that which is not (to be) consumed, and the food does not, in
return, consume him in yonder world. Therefore this (sacrifice), the
Sautrman, is a Brhmana's sacrifice.
12:9:1:2. The malted rice is the same as his (the man's) hair, the malted
barley his skin, the fried rice his flesh, the filtering-cloth his bones, the mash
his marrow, the raw liquor (parisrut) his life-sap (serum), the seasoning
(and fermentative substances) his blood, the milk his seed, the mature
liquor (sur) his urine, and the impure matter the contents of the stomach.
12:9:1:17. Varuna, assuredly, is the womb, Indra the seed, and Savitri the
generator of the seed; and in that, when Varuna's cake is being (offered), he
makes offering to these deities in common, thereby he puts those (parts of
the body) together and takes them to himself. And whosoever thus knows
this comes into being along with these deities, and is born again (so as to
be) along with these deities; he increases in offspring and cattle; he
becomes firmly established in this world, and wins the heavenly world,
whosoever, knowing this, performs the Sautrman, or whosoever thus
knows this.
12:9:3:1. Now, Dushtartu Paumsyana had been expelled from the
kingdom which had come down to him through ten generations; and the
Srigayas also expelled Revottaras Ptava Kkra Sthapati.
12:9:3:2. He said to Dushtartu Paumsyana, 'I will perform the Sautrman
for thee, and will comer upon thee that dominion over the Srigayas.'--'So
be it!' he replied. So he performed it for him.
12:9:3:3. Now Balhika Prtipya, the Kauravya king, heard (people say) this-'There is that Dushtartu Paumsyana who has been expelled from the
kingdom which has come down to him through ten generations: for him that
Chkra Sthapati wants to perform the Sautrman and to confer upon him
the dominion over the Srigayas.'
13:1:3:3. [He offers, with Vg. S. XXII, 6,] 'To Agni, hail!'--to Agni he thus
offers it (the horse);--'to Soma, hail!'--to Soma he thus offers it;--'to the joy
of the waters, hail!'--to the waters he thus offers it;--'to Savitri, hail!'--to
Savitri he thus offers it;--'to Vyu, hail!'--to Vyu (the wind) he thus offers
it;--'to Vishnu, hail!'--to Vishnu he thus offers it to;--'Indra, hail!'--to Indra
he thus offers it;--'to Brihaspati, hail!'--to Brihaspati he thus offers it;--'to
Mitra, hail!'--to Mitra he thus offers it;--'to Varuna, hail!'--to Varuna he thus
offers it:--so many, doubtless, are all the gods: it is to them he offers it. He

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offers them straight away for the obtainment of the heavenly world, for
straight away, as it were, is the heavenly world.
13:1:3:4. But, verily, he who offers the oblations straight away, would be
liable to fall (pass) right away: he turns back again , and establishes himself
in this (terrestrial) world. And this indeed he (Pragpati) has declared to be
the perfection of the sacrifice, so as to prevent falling away (spilling), for
unspilled is what is spilled of the offered (material).
13:1:4:1. Pragpati poured forth the life-sap of the horse (asva-medha).
When poured forth, it went straight away from him and spread itself over
the regions. The gods went in quest of it. By means of offerings (ishti) they
followed it up, by offerings they searched for it, and by offerings they found
it. And when he performs ishtis, the Sacrificer thereby searches for the horse
(asva) meet for sacrifice (medhya).
13:1:4:2. They (the ishtis ) belong to Savitri; for Savitri is this (earth): if
any one hides himself thereon, if any one goes elsewhere , it is on this
(earth) that they find him; for no one (creature), whether walking erect or
horizontally (like an animal), is able to go beyond it. Their belonging to
Savitri thus is in order to find the horse.
13:1:4:3. Concerning this they say, 'Surely the horse disappears when it
goes straight away; for they do not turn (drive) it back ' Now when he
performs the Dhriti offerings in the evening--dhriti (keeping) meaning
peaceful dwelling, and the night also meaning peaceful dwelling--it is by
means of peaceful dwelling that he keeps it; whence both men and beasts
rest peacefully at night. And when he performs offerings in the morning, he
seeks that (horse); whence it is in daytime that one goes to seek for what is
lost. And again when he offers the Dhritis in the evening, and the (Savitri)
ishtis in the morning, it is security of possession the Sacrificer thereby brings
about, whence security of possession is brought about for the subjects
where this sacrifice is performed.
13:1:7:2. But, indeed, the vital airs depart from those who exceed (the
duration of) the Dksh. For seven days they observe it; for there are seven
(outlets of) vital airs in the head, and the Dksh is the vital airs: it is by
means of the vital airs he gains the Dksh, the vital airs, for him. He makes
offering by dividing (each) deity into three parts ; for the gods are of three
orders , and of three orders are these worlds: he thus establishes himself in
these worlds in prosperity and vital power.
13:1:9:6. 'The well-favoured woman:' on the woman he thereby bestows
beautiful form, whence the beautiful maiden is apt to become dear (to men).
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13:1:9:8. 'The blitheful youth:' he, indeed, is a blitheful (or, sociable) youth
who is in his prime of life; whence one who is in his prime of life is apt to
become dear to women.
13:1:9:9. 'May a hero be born unto this Sacrificer!' on the Sacrificer's family
he thereby bestows manly vigour, whence of old a hero was born to him who
had performed the (Asvamedha) sacrifice.
13:2:1:1. Pragpati assigned the sacrifices to the gods; the Asvamedha he
kept for himself. The gods said to him, 'Surely, this--to wit, the Asvamedha-is a sacrifice: let us have a share in that also.' He contrived these Annahomas (food-oblations) for them: thus when he performs the Annahomas, it
is the gods he thereby gratifies.
13:2:1:2. With ghee he makes offering, for ghee is fiery mettle: by means of
fiery mettle he thus lays fiery mettle into him (the horse and Sacrificer).
With ghee he offers; for that--to wit, ghee--is the gods favourite resource: it
is thus with their favourite resource he supplies them.
13:2:1:3. With parched groats he makes offering; for that--to wit, parched
groats--are a form of the gods: it is the gods he thus gratifies.
13:2:1:4. With grain he makes offering; for this--to wit, grain--is a form of
the days and nights: it is the days and nights he thus gratifies.
13:2:1:5. With parched grain he makes offering; for this--to wit, parched
grain--is a form of the Nakshatras (lunar asterisms): it is the Nakshatras he
thus gratifies. He offers whilst mentioning names, with (Vg. XXII, 23-33),
'To the in- (and out-) breathing hail! to the off-breathing hail !' . . . he thus
gratifies them by mentioning their names. [Vg. S. XXII, 34], 'To one hail!
to two hail! . . . to a hundred hail! to a hundred and one hail!' He offers in
the proper order: in the proper order he thus gratifies them (the gods). He
performs oblations successively increasing by one, for single, indeed, is
heaven: singly he thus causes him (the Sacrificer) to reach heaven. Straight
away he offers in order to the winning of heaven; for straight away, as it
were, is heaven.
13:2:1:6. But, verily, he who offers the oblations straight away, is liable to
fall (pass) right away. He does not go beyond a hundred and one: were he
to go beyond a hundred and one, he would deprive the Sacrificer of his vital
power. He offers a hundred and one, for man has a life of a hundred (years),
and his own self is the one hundred and first: he thus establishes himself in
a self (or body), in vital power. With 'To the Dawn hail! to Heaven hail!' he

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offers the two last oblations; for the dawn is the night, and heaven (the
realm of light) is the day: it is day and night he thus gratifies.
13:2:2:1. Verily, this--to wit, the Asvamedha--is the king of sacrifices. But,
indeed, the Asvamedha is the Sacrificer, (for) the sacrifice is the Sacrificer:
when he (the priest) binds victims to the horse (or, at the horse-sacrifice),
he then, indeed, takes hold of the sacrifice at the sacrifice.
13:2:2:2. 'A horse, a hornless he-goat, and a Gomriga' these they bind to
the central stake: thereby, indeed, he (the priest) sharpens the front of his
(the Sacrificer's) army , whence the front of the king's army is sure to
become terrible.
13:2:2:3. A black-necked (he-goat), sacred to Agni, in front (of the horse)
to its forehead : the original (hall) fire he makes it, whence the king's hallfire is sure to be (efficient) .
13:2:2:4. An ewe, for Sarasvat, beneath the (horse's) jaws: he thereby
makes women to be dependent, whence women are sure to be attendant
upon man.
13:2:2:10.
These,
then,
are
the
fifteen
'paryagya'
(bodyencircling) animals,--for fifteenfold is the thunderbolt, and the thunderbolt
means manly vigour: with that thunderbolt, manly vigour, the Sacrificer now
repels evil from in front (of the sacrifice).
13:2:2:11. And fifteen (victims), indeed, are (bound) to each of the other
(stakes);--for fifteenfold is the thunderbolt, and the thunderbolt means
manly vigour: with that thunderbolt, manly vigour, the Sacrificer now repels
evil on both sides (of the sacrifice).
13:2:2:12. As to this they say, 'Does he really repel evil by these?' And,
indeed, he does not make up the complete Pragpati, and does not here
gain everything.
13:2:2:13. Let him rather bind seventeen animals to the central stake ; for
seventeenfold is Pragpati, and the Asvamedha is Pragpati,--thus for the
obtainment of the Asvamedha. And sixteen (victims he binds) to each of the
other (stakes), for of sixteen parts (kal) consists all this (universe); all this
(universe) he thus gains.
13:2:6:9. Verily, fiery spirit and spiritual lustre pass away from him who
performs the Asvamedha. The Hotri and the Brahman engage in a
Brahmodya (theological discussion); for the Hotri relates to Agni, and the
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Brahman (priest) to Brihaspati, Brihaspati being the Brahman (n.): fiery

spirit and spiritual lustre he thus bestows together on him. With the (central)
sacrificial stake between them, they discourse together; for the stake is the
Sacrificer: he thus encompasses the Sacrificer on both sides with fiery spirit
and spiritual lustre.
13:2:6:10. [The Brahman asks,Vg. S. XXIII, 9,] 'Who is it that walketh
singly?'--it is yonder sun, doubtless, that walks singly , and he is spiritual
lustre: spiritual lustre the two (priests) thus bestow on him.
13:2:6:11. 'Who is it that is born again?'--it is the moon, doubtless, that is
born again (and -again): vitality they thus bestow on him.
13:2:6:12. 'What is the remedy for cold?'--the remedy for cold, doubtless, is
Agni '(fire): fiery spirit they thus bestow on him.
13:2:6:13. 'And what is the great vessel?'--the great vessel, doubtless, is
this (terrestrial) world: on this earth he thus establishes himself.
13:2:6:14. [The Hotri asks the Brahman, Vg. S. XXIII, 11,] 'What was the
first conception?'--the first conception, doubtless, was the sky, rain: the sky,
rain, he thus secures for himself.
13:2:6:15. 'Who was the great bird?'--the great bird, doubtless, was the
horse:. vital power he thus secures for himself.
13:2:6:16. 'Who was the smooth one?'--the smooth one (pilippil),
doubtless, was beauty (sr ): beauty he thus secures for himself.
13:2:6:17. 'Who was the tawny one?'--the two tawny ones, doubtless, are
the day and the night: in the day and night he thus establishes himself.
13:2:11:2. He offers them on both sides (before and after) the omentum;-the Asvamedha, doubtless, is the Sacrificer, and that Mahiman (cup) is the
king: it is with royal dignity he thus encompasses him on both sides. Some
gods have the svh-call ('hail') in front, and the other gods have the svhcall behind : it is them he thus gratifies. With 'Hail to the gods!' and 'To the
gods hail!' he makes offering by means of the king (Soma) on both sides of
the omentum: he thereby gratifies those gods who are in this world, and
those who are in the other, and thus gratified, both these kinds of gods lead
him to the heavenly world.
13:3:1:1. Pragpati's eye swelled; it fell out: thence the horse was
produced; and inasmuch as it swelled (asvayat), that is the origin and
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nature of the horse (asva). By means of the Asvamedha the gods restored it
to its place; and verily he who performs the Asvamedha makes Pragpati
complete, and he (himself) becomes complete; and this, indeed, is the
atonement for everything, the remedy for everything. Thereby the gods
redeem all sin, yea, even the slaying of a Brahman they thereby redeem;
and he who performs the Asvamedha redeems all sin, he redeems the
slaying of a Brahman.
13:3:1:2. It was the left eye of Pragpati that swelled: hence they cut off
the (meat) portions from the left. side of the horse, and from the right side
of other victims.
13:3:1:3. There is a rattan mat, for the horse was produced from the womb
of the waters, and the rattan springs from the water: he thus brings it in
connection with its own (maternal) womb.
13:3:3:10. That twenty-one-fold one, indeed, is the head of the sacrifice;
and, verily, he who knows three heads on the Asvamedha, becomes the
head of kings. There are the twenty-one-fold altar, the twenty-one-fold
Stoma, and twenty-one stakes: these are the three heads on the
Asvamedha; and, verily, he who thus knows them becomes the head of
kings. And, indeed, he who knows the three tops on the Asvamedha,
becomes the top of kings;--there are the twenty-one-fold altar, the twentyone-fold Stoma, and twenty-one stakes: these, indeed, are the three tops on
the Asvamedha; and, verily, he who thus knows them becomes the top of
kings.
13:6:1:1. Purusha Nryana desired, 'Would that I overpassed all beings!
would that I alone were everything here (this universe)!' He beheld this fivedays sacrificial performance, the Purushamedha, and took it , and
performed offering therewith; and having performed offering therewith, he
overpassed all beings, and became everything here. And, verily, he who,
knowing this, performs the Purushamedha, or who even knows this,
overpasses all beings, and becomes everything here.
13:6:1:5. On the Suty (days) there are the (Savanya) victims of the set of
eleven (stakes),--the Trishtubh consists of eleven syllables, and the
Trishtubh is a thunderbolt, and the Trishtubh is vigour: with the thunderbolt,
with vigour, the Sacrificer thus from the first repels evil.
13:6:1:6. And, again, as to why there are (the victims) of the set of eleven
(stakes): it is for the sake of his obtaining and securing everything, for the
set of eleven (stakes) is everything, since the set of eleven (stakes) is
Pragpati, and Pragpati is everything, and the Purushamedha is everything.
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13:6:2:1. And as to why it is called Purushamedha:--The stronghold (pur)

doubtless is these worlds, and the Purusha (spirit) is he that blows here (the
wind), he bides (s) in this stronghold (pur): hence he is the Purusha. And
whatever food there is in these worlds that is its 'medha,' its food; and
inasmuch as this is its 'medha,' its food, therefore (it is called)
Purushamedha. And inasmuch as at this (sacrifice) he seizes men (purusha)
meet for sacrifice (medhya), therefore also it is called Purushamedha.
13:6:2:11. He makes offering with ghee, for ghee is fiery mettle: by means
of fiery mettle he thus endows him (the Sacrificer) with fiery mettle. He
makes offering with ghee, for that--to wit, ghee--is the dear resource of the
gods: he thus supplies them with their dear resource, and, thus supplied,
they supply him with all his objects of desire.
13:6:2:18. Now as to the sacrificial fees. What there is towards the middle
of the kingdom other than the land and the property of the Brhmana, but
including the men, of that the eastern quarter belongs to the Hotri, the
southern to the Brahman, the western to the Adhvaryu, and the northern to
the Udgtri; and the Hotrikas share this along with them.
13:8:1:11. They now do what is auspicious for him. They now prepare a
burial-place (smasna ) for him, (to serve him) either as a house or as a
monument; for when any one dies, he is a corpse (sava), and for that
(corpse) food (anna) is thereby prepared, hence 'savanna,' for, indeed,
'savanna' is what is mystically called 'smasna.' But 'smash' also are called
the eaters amongst the Fathers, and they, indeed, destroy in yonder world
the good deeds of him who has had no sepulchre prepared for him: it is for
them that he prepares that food, whence it is 'smasnna,' for 'smasnna' is
what is mystically called 'smasna.'
13:8:1:2. Let him not make it too soon (after the deceased man's death)
lest he should freshen up his sin; but let him make it a long time after, as
thereby he obscures the sin;--and when people do not even remember the
years (that have passed ), as thereby one causes the sin to pass into
oblivion. If they do remember,-13:8:1:3. Let him make it in uneven years, since the uneven belongs to the
Fathers; and under a single Nakshatra , since the single Nakshatra belongs
to the Fathers; and at new-moon, since the new-moon is a single
Nakshatra;--for he (the Sacrificer) is a single (person); and in that all the
beings dwell together during that night, thereby he obtains that object of
desire which is (contained) in all Nakshatras.

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13:8:1:4. Let him make it in autumn, for the autumn is the Svadh, and the
Svadh is the food of the Fathers: he thus places him along with food, the
Svadh;--or in (the month of) Mgha, thinking, 'Lest (m) sin (agha) be in
us;'--or in summer (nidgha), thinking, 'May thereby be removed (nidh)
our sin (agha)!'
13:8:1:5. Four-cornered (is the sepulchral mound, tomb). Now the gods and
the Asuras, both of them sprung from Pragpati, were contending in the
(four) regions (quarters). The gods drove out the Asuras, their rivals and
enemies, from the regions, and, being regionless, they were overcome.
Wherefore the people who are godly make their burial-places four-cornered,
whilst those who are of the Asura nature, the Easterns and others , (make
them) round, for they (the gods) drove them out from the regions. He
arranges it so as to lie between the two regions, the eastern and the
southern, for in that region assuredly is the door to the world of the Fathers:
through the above he thus causes him to enter the world of the Fathers; and
by means of the (four) corners he (the deceased) establishes himself in the
regions, and by means of the other body(of the tomb) in the intermediate
regions: he thus establishes him in all the regions.
13:8:1:6. Now as to the choosing of the ground. He makes it on ground
inclining towards the north, for the north is the region of men: he thus gives
him (the deceased) a share in the world of men; and in that respect, indeed,
the Fathers share in the world of men that they have offspring; and his (the
deceased man's) offspring will, indeed, be more prosperous.
13:8:1:7. 'Let him make it on ground inclining towards the south,' they say,
'for the world of the Fathers inclines towards the south: he thus gives him a
share in the world of the Fathers.' Let him not do so, however, for, indeed,
such a one is an opening tomb, and certainly another of these (members of
the dead man's family) quickly follows him in death.
13:8:1:8. And some, indeed, say, 'Let him make it on a counter-cutting in
ground inclined towards the south, for such (a tomb) indeed becomes rising
sin.' But one must not do so, for indeed such (a burial place) alone becomes
rising sin which one makes, on ground inclining towards the north.
13:8:3:2. He then pours out that (jarful of bones); for this earth is the
foundation: on this (earth), as a foundation, he thus establishes him. Before
sunrise (he does so), for, in secret, as it were, are the Fathers, and in
secret, as it were, is the night;--in secret, indeed, he does this, (but) so that
(the sun) should rise over him doing it: on both day and night he thus
establishes him.

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13:8:3:11. Let him not make it (the sepulchral mound) too large, lest he
make the (deceased's) sin large. For a Kshatriya he may make it as high as
a man with upstretched arms, for a Brhmana reaching up to the mouth, for
a woman up to the hips, for a Vaisya up to the thighs, for a Sdra up to the
knee; for suchlike is their vigour.
13:8:3:13. Having prepared it, he sows barley grain (yava), thinking, 'May
they ward off (yavaya) sin from me!' He covers it over with Avak-plants in
order that there may be joy (or moisture, ka) for him; and with Darbha
grass (Poa cynosuroides) he covers it for the sake of softness.
14:1:1:1. The gods Agni, Indra, Soma, Makha, Vishnu, and the Visve Devh,
except the two Asvins, performed a sacrificial session .
14:1:1:2. Their place of divine worship was Kurukshetra.. Therefore people
say that Kurukshetra is the gods place of divine worship: hence wherever in
Kurukshetra one settles there one thinks, 'This is a place for divine worship;'
for it was the gods place of divine worship.
14:1:1:3. They entered upon the session thinking, 'May we attain
excellence! may we become glorious! may we become eaters of food!' And in
like manner do these (men) now enter upon the sacrificial session thinking,
'May we attain excellence! may we become glorious! may we become eaters
of food!'
14:1:1:4. They spake, 'Whoever of us, through austerity, fervour, faith,
sacrifice, and oblations, shall first compass the end of the sacrifice, he shall
be the most excellent of us, and shall then be in common to us all.' 'So be
it,' they said.
14:1:1:5. Vishnu first attained it, and he became the most excellent of the
gods; whence people say, 'Vishnu is the most excellent of the gods.'
14:1:1:6. Now he who is this Vishnu is the sacrifice; and he who is this
sacrifice is yonder ditya (the sun). But, indeed, Vishnu was unable to
control that (love of) glory of his; and so even now not every one can
control that (love of) glory of his.
14:1:1:8. Then the ants said--these ants (vamr), doubtless, were that (kind
called) 'upadk '--'What would ye give to him who should gnaw the
bowstring?'--'We would give him the (constant) enjoyment of food, and he
would find water even in the desert: so we would give him every enjoyment
of food.'--'So be it,' they said.

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14:1:1:9. Having gone nigh unto him, they gnawed his bowstring. When it
was cut, the ends of the bow, springing asunder, cut off Vishnu's head.
14:1:1:10. It fell with (the sound) 'ghri'; and on falling it became yonder
sun. And the rest (of the body) lay stretched out (with the top part) towards
the east. And inasmuch as it fell with (the sound) 'ghri,' therefrom the
Gharma (was called); and inasmuch as he was stretched out (pra-vrig,),
therefrom the Pravargya (took its name).
14:1:1:11. The gods spake, 'Verily, our great hero (mahn virah) has
fallen:' therefrom the Mahvra pot (was named). And the vital sap which
flowed from him they wiped up (sam-mrig) with their hands, whence the
Samrg.
14:1:1:12. The gods rushed forward to him, even as those eager to secure
some gain (will do) . Indra reached him first. He applied himself to him limb
after limb, and encompassed him, and, in encompassing him, he became
(possessed of) that glory of his. And, verily, he who knows this becomes
(possessed of) that glory which Indra is (possessed of).
14:1:1:13. And Makha (sacrifice), indeed, is the same as Vishnu: hence
Indra became Makhavat (possessed of makha), since Makhavat is he who is
mystically called Maghavat , for the gods love the mystic.
14:1:1:14. They gave to those ants the enjoyment of food; but, indeed, all
food is water, for it is by moistening (the food) therewith that one eats here
whatever one does eat.
14:1:1:23. They said, 'We two shall protect thee from him.'--'How will ye
protect me?' he replied.--They said, 'When thou wilt have received us as thy
pupils, we shall cut off thy head and put it aside elsewhere; then we shall
fetch the head of a horse, and put it on thee: therewith thou wilt teach us;
and when thou wilt have taught us, then Indra will cut off that head of thine;
and we shall fetch thine own head, and put it on thee again.'--'So be it,' he
replied.
14:1:1:24. He then received them (as his pupils); and when he had received
them, they cut off his head, and put it aside elsewhere; and having fetched
the head of a horse, they put it on him: therewith he taught them; and
when he had taught them, Indra cut off that head of his; and having fetched
his own head, they put it on him again,
14:1:1:25. Therefore it is concerning this that the Rishi has said (Rig-v. I,
116, 12), 'That Dadhyak tharvana, with a horse's head, anywise spoke
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forth unto you two the sweet doctrine:'--'Unrestrainedly he spoke this,' is

what is thereby meant.
14:1:1:26. One must not teach this to any and every one, since that would
be sinful, and lest Indra should cut off his head; but one may only teach it to
one who is known to him, and who has studied sacred writ, and who may be
dear to him, but not to any and every one.
14:1:1:30. And whilst not drinking out of earthen (vessels); for whatever
untruth (man) speaks on this (earth) is, as it were, immixed with her:
therefore (one should do so) whilst not drinking out of earthen (vessels);
14:1:1:31. And whilst not coming into contact with Sdras and remains of
food; for this Gharma is he that shines yonder, and he is excellence, truth,
and light; but woman, the Sdra, the dog, and the black bird (the crow), are
untruth: he should not look at these, lest he should mingle excellence and
sin, light and darkness, truth and untruth.
14:1:1:33. And, verily, he who either teaches or partakes of this
(Pravargya), enters that life, and that light. The observance of the rule
thereof (is as follows). Let him not cover himself (with a garment) whilst the
sun shines, lest he should be concealed from that (sun). Let him not spit
whilst the sun shines, lest he should spit upon him. Let him not discharge
urine whilst the sun shines, lest he discharge it upon him. For so long as he
shines, so great he (the sun) is: thinking, 'Lest I should injure him by these
(acts),' let him take food at night, after striking a light, whereby it is made
to be a form of him who shines yonder. But on this point suri used to say,-One rule the gods indeed keep, to wit, the truth: let him therefore speak
nothing but the truth.
14:1:2:5. Or of Vikakata (Flacourtia sapida) wood; for when Pragpati
performed his first offering, a Vikakata tree sprang forth from that place
where, after offering, he cleansed (his hands); now an offering is a sacrifice,
and (consequently) the Vikakata is the sacrifice: with the sacrifice he thus
supplies and completes it.
14:1:2:18. Verily this sacrifice is Pragpati, and Pragpati is both of this,
defined and undefined, limited and unlimited . Whatever one does with a
Yagus formula, by that one makes up that form of him (Pragpati) which is
defined and limited; and whatever one does silently, by that one makes up
that form of him which is undefined and unlimited: verily, then, whosoever,
knowing this, does it on this wise, makes up that whole and complete
Pragpati. But he also leaves over a lump of spare (clay) for expiations.

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14:1:2:26. And, verily, whosoever either teaches, or partakes of, this

(Pravargya) enters that life, and that light: the observance of the rule
thereof is the same as at the creation.
14:1:3:26. He then lays pieces of (split) Vikakata wood round (the
Mahvra), two pointing to the east, with (Vg. S. XXXVII, 13), 'Hail! be thou
encompassed by the Maruts!'--the call of 'hail!' he places first, and the deity
last; for the call of 'hail!' is he who shines yonder, and the Pravargya also is
that (sun): it is him he thus gratifies; and hence he places the call of 'hail!'
first, and the deity last.
14:2:1:9. He then lets the calf to it (to suck), with, 'Pshan thou art,'-Pshan, doubtless, is he that blows here (the wind), for that one supports
(push) all this (universe); and the Pravargya also is that (wind): it is him he
thus pleases, and therefore he says, 'Pshan thou art.'
14:3:1:29. And at a continued pressing of Soma they also perform the
Gharma of curds and whey (Dadhi-gharma),--for Soma is the sacrifice, and
the Pravargya is its head: he thus restores to the sacrifice its head,--at the
midday-pressing, for that--to wit, the midday-pressing--is Indra's special
pressing: he thus pleases him in his own share;--when the Mdhyandinapavamna has been chanted, for the Mdhyandina-pavamna is the breath:
it is breath he thereby lays into him;--with the Agnihotra-ladle, for the
Agnihotra is the mouth of sacrifices: he thus puts a mouth in the head.
14:3:2:3. [He offers, with Vg. S. XXXIX, 1,] 'Hail to the vital airs with their
over-lord!'--the over-lord of the vital airs, doubtless, is the mind (soul), for
in the mind all the vital airs are established: it is thus by means of the mind
that he thereby heals whatever has been unsuccessful in the sacrifice.

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