Philosophy and Religion / Satapatha Brahmana

The Satapatha Brahmana: Seventh Kânda, First Adhyâya

The Gârhapatya hearth.

First Brâhmana

1. Being about to build the Gârhapatya (fire-place), he sweeps (its site) with a Palâsa (butea frondosa) branch. For when he builds the Gârhapatya¹ he settles on that place; and whatsoever builders of fire-altars (there have been), they are indeed settled on this earth; and when he sweeps (that place) he thereby sweeps away those settled (there before hire), thinking, 'Lest I should settle on those already settled (here).'

2. [He sweeps, with Vâg. S. XII, 45] 'Off with you! away with you! crawl away from here²!'--that is, 'Go off, go away, and crawl away from here!' he says this to those that crawl on their belly;--'Ye that are here of old and of late!' that is, 'both ye who were here of yore, and ye of the present day.'

3. 'Yama hath given the settlement on earth (to this Sacrificer);'--for Yama indeed rules over the settling on this earth, and it is he who grants to this (Sacrificer) a settlement on this earth.

4. 'The Fathers have prepared this place for him!' for Yama is the Kshatra (nobility, or ruling power), and the Fathers (deceased ancestors) are the clansmen; and to whomsoever the chief (kshatriya), with the approval of the clan, grants a settlement, that (settlement) is properly given: and in like manner does Yama, the ruling power, with the consent of the Fathers, the clan, now grant to this (Sacrificer) a settlement on this earth.

5. With a palâsa branch he sweeps; for the Palâsa tree is the Brahman³: it is by the Brahman he thus sweeps away those already settled;--with a prayer (he does so), for the prayer is the Brahman: it is by the Brahman he thus sweeps away those already settled. He throws it (the branch) out towards the north⁴.

6. He then scatters saline soil (over the hearth-site); for the Gârhapatya is this world, and salt means cattle: he thus bestows cattle on this world,--hence those cattle here in this world.

7. And again why he scatters saline soil. Pragâpati created creatures; he created them with different kinds of amnions: they did not agree together. He desired, 'May they agree together!' He made them to be of the same (kind of) amnion: hence even to this day, being of equal amnions, they agree together. And he who offers, offers thinking, 'May I be (born) with the same (kind of) amnion as the gods!' and when he scatters saline salt (in the hearth-site) he thereby becomes of equal amnion with the gods.

8. [He does so, with Vâg. S. XII, 46] 'Concord thou art!' for thereby they agreed together⁵;--'fulfilment of desire;' for salt is cattle, and fulfilment of desire means cattle;--'In me may there be the fulfilment of thy desire!' that is, 'May there be on me cattle for thee!'--He covers with it the whole (circular) Gârhapatya; for the Gârhapatya altar is the womb, and the saline soil is the amnion: he thus covers the whole womb with the amnion.

9. He then scatters sand to keep (the saline soil, or amnion) from being scorched⁶;--for sand is nothing else than the ashes of Agni Vaisvânara, and him, Agni Vaisvânara, he is indeed about to build up; and Agni does not scorch his own self.

10. And again why he scatters sand,--sand is nothing else than the seed of Agni Vaisvânara⁷, and him, Agni Vaisvânara, he is about to build up; but nothing is fashioned from out of the seedless: 'May he (Agni) be fashioned from out of this seed!' so he thinks.

11. [He scatters it, with Vâg. S. XII, 46] 'Agni's ashes thou art! Agni's soil thou art!' for Agni's ashes are useless, and the sand is not useless: he thus makes it (the Gârhapatya hearth) to be useful. He covers with it the whole Gârhapatya; for the Gârhapatya altar is the womb, and the sand is seed: he thus fills the whole womb with seed.

12. He then encloses it with enclosing-stones; for the enclosing-stones are the womb: he thus encloses the seed here cast in the womb; and hence the seed which is cast is enclosed in the womb.

13. And, again, why he encloses it with enclosing-stones;--the Gârhapatya hearth is this (terrestrial) world, and the enclosing-stones are the waters: he thus surrounds this world with water,--it is with the ocean that he thus surrounds it on all sides, and hence the ocean flows round this world on all sides. (He puts up the stones) by turning to the right (or south)⁸, whence the ocean flows round this world (from the east) southwards;--by means of a dug out (hole, or moat)⁹, whence the ocean flows round this world in a moat.

14. [Vâg. S. XII, 46] 'Ranging ye are!' for he does range them;--'ranging around ye are!' for he does range them all round;--'upwards ranging get ye fixed!' thus he says, placing them upright: hence the ocean surges upwards; but were he to place them sideways, the ocean surely would all at once overflow all this (earth). He does not settle them, for unsettled are the waters; nor does he pronounce the Sûdadohas (verse) on them¹⁰.

15. For the enclosing-stones are the bones, and the Sûdadohas is the breath; and there is no breath in the bones. With one and the same formula he lays down many bricks¹¹, for of one and the same form are the waters; and as to there being many enclosing-stones, it is because there are many waters.

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 the seed inside. He who is born is born from these: it is from them that he thus causes him (Agni) to be born.

17. Thereon he now builds it (the hearth): he

Gârhapatya hearth

thereby fashions that infused seed; and hence the infused seed is fashioned in the womb.

18. He puts on (the circular site) four (bricks) running eastwards¹²; two behind running crosswise (from south to north), and two (such) in front. Now the four which he puts on running eastwards are the body; and as to there being four of these, it is because this body (of ours) consists, of four parts¹³. The two at the back then are the thighs; and the two in front the arms; and where the body is that (includes) the head.

19. Now he here fashions him (Agni) with wings and tail; for whatlike the seed is fashioned in the womb suchlike (offspring) is born: thus inasmuch as he now fashions him with wings and tail, he is born hereafter¹⁴ with wings and tail.

20. While being indeed furnished with wings and tail, people do not see him as one having wings and tail¹⁵: hence one does not see the child in the womb in its proper shape; but hereafter they (will) see him as one having wings and tail, and hence one sees the child after it is born in its proper shape.

21. Four (bricks) he puts on first, for of him that is being produced it is the body (trunk) that is produced first. Sitting south (of the hearth-site) with his face to the north he puts on first one (brick) of the upper (north) part¹⁶ (of the trunk); and in this manner that Agni of his comes to be built up towards (or for the Sacrificer) himself.

22. [He puts it on, with Vâg. S. XII, 47; Rik S. III, 22, 1, &c.] 'This is the Agni wherein Indra taketh the Soma-juice,' for the Gârhapatya hearth is this (terrestrial) world, and the Soma-juice is the waters: Indra thus took up the waters in this world;--'into his belly, craving it,'--for the belly is the centre;--'thousandfold strength, like a swift racer,'--the thousandfold strength, doubtless, is the waters,--'thou, having gained, art exalted, O knower of beings!' that is, 'thou, being built, art built¹⁷, O knower of beings!'

23. [The second brick, with Vâg. S. XII, 48] 'O Agni, what splendour is thine in the heaven,'--his splendour in the heaven doubtless is the sun;--'on earth,' that on earth is this fire;--'and that which is in the plants, in the waters, O holy one!' he thereby means the fire that is both in the plants, and in the waters;--'wherewith thou hast overspread the wide air,'--that is, the wind;--'brilliant is that light, surging, man-viewing;' that is, 'great is that light, surging, man-viewing.'

24. [The third, with Vâg . S. XII, 49] 'O Agni, thou goest up to the flood of the heaven;' the flood of that heaven doubtless is the waters (of the atmosphere): to them he goes by his smoke;--'hither callest thou the divine inspirers,'--the divine inspirers doubtless are the vital airs, for these inspire all thoughts;--'the waters approach (thee), they that are beyond the luminous sphere of the sun, and they that are below here;'--the luminous sphere doubtless is that world yonder where that (sun) is burning: he thereby means both the waters which are beyond, and those which are below that (sun).

25. [The fourth one, with Vâg. S. XII, 50] 'The Agnis Purîshyas,'--that is, the Agnis favourable to cattle; 'together with those of the streams (prâvana);' this is a form of starting¹⁸ (prâyana), for the Gârhapatya is indeed a starting of the fire;--'may they, benevolent, accept the sacrifice, the copious, salutary draughts!' that is, 'may they benevolently accept the sacrifice, the copious, innocuous draughts!'

26. He puts them down separately: what different desires there are, those he thereby lays into the self. He 'settles' them once: he thereby makes the self one. He pronounces the Sûdadohas¹⁹ verse on them; for the Sûdadohas is the vital air: by means of the vital air he thus makes him (Agni) continuous, joins him together.

27. Thereupon going round behind, he sits down on the north side with his face to the south, and puts on first the southern one of the two behind, with (Vâg. S. XII, 51), 'Potent nourishment, O Agni, the possession of kine,'--nourishment means cattle: he thus invokes for him the blessing of cattle;--'Grant thou perpetually unto him that calleth!'--he that calls doubtless is the Sacrificer; 'May there be to us a son, the perpetuator of the race,'--a son means offspring;--'let that, O Agni, be thy good-will unto us!' he therewith invokes a blessing.

28. Then the northern one, with (Vâg. S. XII, 52; Rik S. III, 29, 10), 'This is thy natural womb, whence born thou shonest forth,'--that is, 'this (householder's hearth) is thy primeval, perennial womb (birth-place), whence born thou wert enkindled;'--'knowing it, ascend, O Agni, and increase our substance!' as the text, so its meaning.

29. These two are his (Agni's) thighs,--separately he puts them on, separately he 'settles' them, separately he pronounces the Sûdadohas verse upon them, for separate are these two thighs. There are two of them, for there are two thighs. Behind he puts them on, for behind are those thighs. At their upper ends they are joined (to the central ones²⁰), for so are these thighs joined (to the body) at their upper ends.

30. Thereupon, going round again by the same way, he sits down on the south side, with his face to the north, and puts on first the northern one of the two (bricks) in front, with (Vâg. S. XII, 53), 'Ranging thou art: by that deity, Aṅgiras-like, lie thou steady²¹!' Then the southern one, with, 'Ranging round thou art: by that deity, Aṅgiras-like, lie thou steady'!'

31. These two are his (Agni's) arms,--separately he puts them on, separately he 'settles' them, separately he pronounces the Sûdadohas²² verse on them; for separate are these two arms. There are two of them, for there are two arms. He puts them on in the forepart, for these arms are here in front. At their upper ends they are joined (to the central ones), for so are these two arms joined (to the body) at the upper ends. Those two (arms) he puts on thus (from north to south), and those two (thighs) thus (from south to north): that is (from east to) southward²³, for thus it is with the gods²⁴.

32. Eight bricks he puts on (the hearth-site),the Gâyatrî consists of eight syllables, and Agni is Gâyatra²⁵: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so great he thus builds him. Five times he 'settles' (the bricks)--the fire-altar consists of five layers; five seasons are a year, and Agni is the year: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so great he thus builds him. Eight bricks he 'settles' five times, that makes thirteen,--thirteen months are a year, and there are thirteen layers of earth in the fire-altar: as great as Agni is, as great .as is his measure, so great does this become.

33. He then puts on a space-filling one: the significance of that one (will be explained) further on²⁶. Three there are in front²⁷,--threefold is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, so great he thus builds him;--and ten those that follow²⁸,--the significance of these (will be explained) further on. Or first two, then ten, and then one, for in this way they build up the pile,--these amount to thirteen: the significance of this has been told.

34. Both these kinds (of bricks) amount to twenty-one;--there are twelve months, five seasons, these three worlds, and yonder sun as the twenty-first: that sun he thus establishes in this fire-altar.

35. Moreover, there are twenty-one enclosing-stones,--twelve months, five seasons, these three worlds, and that Agni from yonder (sun)²⁹ as the twenty-first: this Agni he thus establishes in yonder sun. And inasmuch as he puts on those (bricks) in this way, he thereby establishes those two (the sun and the fire) in each other, and (accordingly) those two are established in each other; for both of them he now makes out to be the twenty-first, and both of them are then here³⁰, as the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya.

36. He then throws thereon a layer of earth,--the significance of this (will be told) further on³¹. He takes it from the edge of the pit (Kâtvâla); for the Kâtvâla is the same as Agni³², and in this way does that which is of Agni's nature become his. It (the Gârhapatya altar) should be even with the mouth (of the fire-pan): the significance of this has been told³³.

37. It (the Gârhapatya hearth) measures a fathom (in diameter³⁴), for man is a fathom high, and man is Pragâpati (the lord of generation), and Pragâpati is Agni: he thus makes the womb of equal size to his (Agni's) body. It is circular, for the womb is circular; and moreover the Gârhapatya is this (terrestrial) world, and this world doubtless is circular.

38. He then pours those two (fires) together³⁵,--he thereby establishes concord between them--with (Vâg. S. XII, 57-60), 'Unite ye two, and get ye on together, loving, radiant, well-disposed, dwelling together for food and drink!--Together have I brought your minds, together your rites, together your thoughts: O Agni Purîshya³⁶, be thou the overlord, and bestow thou food and drink upon our Sacrificer!--O Agni, thou art the Purîshya, wealthy, prosperous: having made happy all the regions, seat thee here in thine own seat!--Be ye two unto us of one mind, of one thought, without guile! Injure ye not the sacrifice, nor the lord of the sacrifice, and be ye propitious unto us this day, ye knowers of beings!' He therewith pacifies them for (mutual) safety, so that they shall do no injury to one another.

39. With four (verses) he pours them together,--he thereby establishes concord between them by whatever four-footed cattle there are; and cattle being food, it is by means of food that he establishes concord between them.

40. Let him not look at that (pan) while empty: 'I must not look at the empty one!' so he thinks. Were he to look at the empty (pan), it would certainly devour him.

41. He then pours sand into it³⁷, for sand (sikatâ) is the seed of Agni Vaisvânara: he thus pours (sic) Agni Vaisvânara as seed into it. It should be even with the brim: the significance of this has been explained.

42. He then unlooses it, to keep it from chafing; for if that which is yoked is not unloosed it is chafed. Now when yoked there, it (the fire-pan) bore this Agni within it as seed, and him it has now brought forth. It now conceives a second time; for the 'Ukhâ' is a female, and hence when a female has brought forth the seed the first time, it conceives a second time.

43. [He unlooses it from the netting, with Vâg. S. XII, 61] 'Even as a mother her son, so hath the Earth borne Agni Purîshya,'--that is, Agni, favourable to cattle;--'she, the Ukhâ, in her own womb;' that is, the Ukhâ has borne Agni in her own womb;--'May Pragâpati, the all-former, release her, in concert with the All-gods, the seasons!' the All-gods doubtless are the seasons: thus Pragâpati, the all-former, releases it, in concert with the All-gods, the seasons. He deposits it north of the fire, at a cubit's distance: the significance of this has been explained³⁸.

44. He then pours milk into it,--it first receives seed, and now it receives milk; for the fire-pan is a female: hence when a female receives seed, then it receives milk. The sand is below, and the milk above, for the seed is below, and the milk above. He pours it into the middle, so that thereon he may place the human head³⁹.

Second Brâhmana

1. Pragâpati produced creatures. Having produced creatures, and run the whole race, he became relaxed⁴⁰. From him, when relaxed, the vital air went out from within: then his vigour went out of him. That having gone out, he fell down. From him, thus fallen, food flowed forth: it was from that eye on which he lay that his food flowed. And, verily, there teas then no firm foundation whatever here.

2. The gods spake, 'Verily, there is no other foundation than this: let us restore even him, our father Pragâpati; he shall be our foundation.'

3. They said unto Agni, 'Verily, there is no foundation other than this: in thee we will restore this our father Pragâpati; he shall be our foundation.'--'What will then be my reward?' said he.

4. They spake, 'This Pragâpati is food: with thee for our mouth we will eat that food, and he (Pragâpati) shall be the food of us, having thee for our month.' He said, 'So be it!' Therefore the gods eat food with Agni as their mouth; for to whatsoever deity men offer, it is into Agni that they offer, since it is with Agni for their mouth that the gods thus took in the food.

5. Now the vital air which went out from within him is no other than the wind that blows yonder; and the vigour which went out of him is yonder sun; and the food which flowed from him is all the food which there is within the year.

6. The gods heated him in the fire; and when the fire rose over him thus heated, that same vital air which had gone out from within him came back to him, and they put it into him; and the vigour which had gone out of him they put into him; and the food which had flowed from him they put into him. Having made him up entire and complete, they raised him (so as to stand) upright; and inasmuch as they thus raised him upright he is these worlds.

7. This (terrestrial) world truly is his foundation; and what fire there is in this world that is his (Pragâpati's) downward vital air. And the air is his body, and what wind there is in the air, that is that vital air of his in the body. And the sky is his head; the sun and the moon are his eyes. The eye on which he lay is the moon: whence that one is much closed up, for the food flowed therefrom.

8. Now that same foundation which the gods thus restored is the foundation here even to this day, and will be so even hereafter.

9. And the Pragâpati who became relaxed is this same Agni who is now being built up. And when that fire-pan lies there empty before being heated, it is just like Pragâpati, as he lay there with the vital air and the vigour gone out of him, and the food having flowed out.

10. He heats it on the fire, even as the gods then heated him (Pragâpati). And when the fire rises over it thus heated, then that same vital air which went out from within him comes back to him, and he puts it into him. And when, putting on the gold plate, he wears it, he puts into him that very vigour which had gone out of him. And when he puts on kindling-sticks, he puts into him that very food which had flowed from him.

11. He puts them on in the evening and morning, for the food both of the day and the night was flowing out. These same (ceremonies) should be (performed) during a whole year, for that Pragâpati whence those (substances) went out is the year: into that whole (Pragâpati) he thus puts all that (which belongs to him). And in whatever part of this (year) he should therefore⁴¹ not do so, into that part of him (Pragâpati) he would not put that (which belongs therein). 'One must not even be a looker-on at the (building up of a fire) not carried about for a year,' Vâmakakshâyana was wont to say, 'lest he should see this our father Pragâpati being torn to pieces⁴².' He restores him so as to be whole and complete, and raises him to stand upright, even as the gods then raised him.

12. This (terrestrial) world in truth is his (Pragâpati's) Gârhapatya (hearth); and what fire there is in this world that to him is the fire on the Gârhapatya. And what space there is between the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya, that is the air⁴³; and that wind in the air is for him the fire on the Âgnîdhrîya. The sky is his Âhavanîya (hearth), and those two, the sun and the moon, are the fire on the Âhavanîya. This then is indeed his own self⁴⁴.

13. The Âhavanîya truly is his head; and the fire which is on the Âhavanîya is that vital air of his in the head. And as to why it (the Âhavanîya) has wings and tail, it is because that vital air in the head has wings and tail⁴⁵;--the eye is its head, the right ear its right wing, the left ear its left wing, the vital air its central body⁴⁶, and the voice is the tail (and) the foundation (the feet): inasmuch as the vital airs subsist by eating food with speech (voice)⁴⁷, the voice is the tail, the foundation.

14. And what space there is between the Âhavanîya and Gârhapatya, that is the body (trunk); and the fire on the Âgnîdhrîya is to him that vital air inside the body. The Gârhapatya is his foundation; and the fire on the Gârhapatya is his downward vital air.

15. Now some build it (the Gârhapatya) in three layers, saying, 'There are here three downward vital airs.' Let him not do so: they who do so do what is excessive,--one amounting to twenty-one, one amounting to the Anushtubh, and one amounting to the Brihatî; for this (altar) is of one single form--a womb. And as to those downward vital airs, they are indeed a bringing forth, for even the urine and faeces he voids are 'brought forth.'

16. Now then the (mystic) correspondence,--twenty-one bricks, nine formulas⁴⁸, that makes thirty;--and the 'settling' and Sûdadohas verse, that makes thirty-two,--the anushtubh verse consists of thirty-two syllables: this is an anushtubh⁴⁹.

17. And, again, there are twenty-one enclosing-stones; the formula the twenty-second; the formula for the sweeping, the saline earth and its formula, the sand and its formula, the filling (soil) and its formula; with four (formulas) he pours (the two fires) together; with a fifth he unties (the pan); then this (Nirriti) with three⁵⁰,--the anushtubh verse consists of thirty-two syllables: this then is an anushtubh.

18. Then there are these two formulas⁵¹, and they are indeed an anushtubh--the Anushtubh is speech: thus what twofold form of speech there is, the divine and the human, loud and low, that is those two.

19. The Gârhapatya pile thus is those three anushtubh verses. And as to why they make up three anushtubhs in this (Gârhapatya), it is because all these (three) worlds then come to be (contained) therein. From it they take one of the two (first) anushtubhs of thirty-two syllables (to be) the Âhavanîya,--that Âhavanîya is that sky, that head (of Pragâpati). Then one of the two (anushtubhs) is left here (to be) this Gârhapatya, this foundation, this very (terrestrial) world.

20. And as to those two formulas, they are that space between the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya, that air (-world), that body (of Pragâpati). And because there are two of them (making up one anushtubh), therefore that space (and hearth) between the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya (viz. the Âgnîdhrîya hearth⁵²) is smaller; and therefore the air-world is the smallest of these worlds.

21. That same Anushtubh, speech, is threefold. That fire, taking the form of the vital air, goes along with it (speech),--the fire which is on the Âhavanîya (altar) is the out-breathing, and yonder sun; and the fire which is on the Âgnîdhrîya is the through-breathing, and the wind which blows yonder; and the fire which is on the Gârhapatya is the in-breathing, and what fire there is here in this (earth-) world. And verily he who knows this makes up for himself the whole Vâk (speech), the whole vital air, the whole body (of Pragâpati).

22. Then that Brihatî (metre),--the two (verses) of thirty-two syllables: that makes thirty-two; then those two formulas: that makes thirty-four; Agni the thirty-fifth;--a metre does not vanish by a syllable (too much or too little), neither by one nor by two⁵³;--moreover, that (Agni) consists of two syllables: that makes thirty-six. The Brihatî consists of thirty-six syllables,--it is the Brihatî that that (Âhavanîya) pile thus amounts to; for whatlike the seed which is infused into the womb, suchlike (offspring) is born therefrom: thus in that he makes up that Brihatî (metre) in this (Gârhapatya hearth), thereby that (Âhavanîya) fire-altar amounts to the Brihatî.

23. As to this they say, 'As the Gârhapatya is this (terrestrial) world, the Dhishnya hearths the air, and the Âhavanîya the sky, and the air-world is not separated from this (earth-) world, why then, after building the Gârhapatya, does he build the Âhavanîya, and (only) then the Dhishnyas?' Well, at first these two worlds (heaven and earth) were together; and when they parted asunder, the space which was between (antar) them became that air (antariksha); for 'îksha⁵⁴' indeed it was theretofore, and 'Now this "îksha" has come between (antarâ),' they said, whence 'antariksha' (air). And as to why, after building the Gârhapatya, he builds the Âhavanîya, it is because these two worlds were created first. Then, going back, he throws up the Dhishnya hearths, just to prevent discontinuity of the sacred work; and thus indeed the middle is completed, after the two ends have been completed.

Footnotes

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