| Philosophy and Religion / Satapatha Brahmana |
The Satapatha Brahmana: Tenth Kânda, Fourth Adhyâya
First Brâhmana
1. When the gods restored the relaxed Pragâpati, they poured him, as seed, into the fire-pan (ukhâ) as the womb, for the fire-pan is a womb. In the course of a year they prepared for him this food, to wit, the fire-altar built here, and enclosed it in a body; and, being enclosed in a body, it became the body itself; whence food, when enclosed in a body, becomes the body itself.
2. In like manner does the Sacrificer now pour his own self (or body), as seed, into the fire-pan as the womb, for the fire-pan is a womb. In the course of a year he prepares for it (his self) this food, to wit, the fire-altar here built, and encloses it in a body, and, being enclosed in a body, it becomes the body itself; whence food, when enclosed in a body, becomes the body itself.
3. He places him (the Ukhya Agni, on the fire-altar) with 'Vaushat1!' for 'vauk' is he (Agni), and 'shat (six)' is this six-layered food: having prepared it, he offers it to him as proportionate to this body, for food which is proportionate to the body satisfies, and does not injure it; but when there is too much, it does injure it, and when there is too little, it does not satisfy it.
4. Now that Arka2 (flame) is this very fire which they bring here; and the Kya3 is this his food, to wit, the fire-altar built here: that (combined) makes the Arkya4 in respect of the Yagus. And the Great one (mahân) is this (Agni), and this vrata5 (rite) is his food: that makes the Mahâvrata (sâman) in respect of the Sâman. And 'uk' is this (Agni), and 'tha' his food,--that (combined) makes the Uktha (sastra, recitation)6 in respect of the Rik. Thus, whilst being only one, this is accounted threefold.
5. Now Indra and Agni were created as the Brahman (priesthood) and the Kshatra (nobility): the Brahman was Agni and the Kshatra Indra. When created, the two were separate. They spake, 'Whilst being thus, we shall be unable to produce creatures (people): let us both become one form!' The two became one form.
6. Now those two, Indra and Agni, are the same as these two, to wit, the gold plate and the (gold) man7: Indra is the gold plate, and Agni the man. They are made of gold: gold means light, and Indra and Agni are the light; gold means immortal life, and Indra and Agni mean immortal life.
7. It is these two, Indra and Agni, that they build up. Whatever is of brick that is Agni: whence they bake that (part) by fire, and all that is baked by fire is Agni. And what filling of earth there is (in the altar) that. is Indra: whence they do not bake that (part) by fire, lest it should be Agni, and not Indra. Thus it is these two, Indra and Agni, that are built up.
8. And the two become that one form, to wit, the fire which is placed on the built (altar), and hence those two, by means of that form, produce creatures. Now Agni, indeed, is this single brick8, and into this the whole Agni passes: this, indeed, is the perfection of bricks,--it is that one syllable (akshara) 'vauk,' it is this into which the whole Agni passes, and which is the perfection of syllables.
9. It is this that the Rishi saw when he said, 'I praise what hath been and what will be, the Great Brahman, the one Akshara,--the manifold Brahman, the one Akshara; for, indeed, all the gods, all beings pass into that Akshara (imperishable element9): it is both the Brahman and the Kshatra; and the Brahman is Agni, and the Kshatra Indra; and the Visve Devâh (all the gods) are Indra and Agni.' But the Visve Devâh (the All-gods) are also the peasantry: hence it is Priesthood, Nobility, and Peasantry.
10. And, indeed, Syâparna Sâyakâyana, knowing this, once said, 'If this my sacrificial performance were complete, my own race would become the kings (nobles), Brâhmanas, and peasants of the Salvas; but even by that much of my work which has been completed10 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 food11.
11. And regarding this, Sândilya, having instructed Vâmakakshâyana12, 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.
12. And this Agni is no other than Pragâpati. The gods, having restored this Agni-Pragâpati, in the course of a year prepared this food for him, to wit, this Mahâvratîya cup of Soma.
13. The Adhvaryu draws it by means of a cup, and inasmuch as he draws (grah) it, it is (called) a draught (graha, cup of Soma). The Udgâtri (chanter), by the Mahâvrata (sâman), puts flavour (vital sap) into it; and the Mahâvrata (sâman) being (composed of) all those (five) sâmans, he thus puts flavour into it by means of all sâmans (hymn-tunes). The Hotri puts flavour into it by means of the Great Recitation; and the Great Recitation being (composed of) all those Rik-verses: he thus puts flavour into it by all the Rik-verses.
14. And when they chant the hymn, and he (the Hotri) afterwards recites (the sastra)13, he (the Adhvaryu) offers that (cup of Soma) to him (Agni-Pragâpati) as the Vashat-call is uttered. Now 'vauk' is this (Agni), and 'shat' this sixfold food14: having prepared it, he offers it to him as proportionate to his body; for food which is proportionate to the body satisfies, and does not injure it; but when there is too much, it does injure it, and when there is too little, it does not satisfy it.
15. Now that Arka (flame) is this very fire-altar built here; and the Kya is this his food, to wit, the Mahâvratîya-graha: that (combined) makes the Arkya in respect of the Yagus. And the Great one (mahân) is this (Agni), and this rite (vrata) is his food: that makes the Mahâvrata in respect of the Sâman. And 'uk' is this (Agni), and 'tha' his food: that makes the (Mahad) Uktha in respect of the Rik. Thus, whilst being only one, this is accounted threefold.
16. And this Agni is Pragâpati, the year15: the Sâvitra (oblations) are one half thereof, and the Vaisva-karmana (oblations)16 the (other) half; the Sâvitra are eight digits (kalâ17) thereof, and the Vaisvakarmana (the other) eight; and that which is performed between them is the seventeenfold Pragâpati. Now what a digit is to men that a syllable (akshara) is to the gods.
17. And 'loma (hair)' is two syllables, 'tvak18 (skin)' two, 'asrik (blood)' two, 'medas (fat)' two, 'mâmsam (flesh)' two, 'snâva (sinew)' two, 'asthi (bone)' two, 'maggâ (marrow)19' two,--that makes sixteen digits; and the vital air which circulates therein, is the seventeenfold Pragâpati.
18. These sixteen digits convey the food to that vital air; and when they take to conveying no food to it, then it consumes them and departs (from the body): hence he who is hungry here, feels very restless, consumed as he is by his vital airs; and hence he who suffers from fever becomes very thin, for he is consumed by his vital airs.
19. Now for that seventeenfold Pragâpati they prepared this seventeenfold food, the Soma-sacrifice: those sixteen digits of his are these sixteen officiating priests,--one should not, therefore, take a seventeenth priest20 lest one should do what is excessive;--and what vital sap there is here--the oblations that are offered--that is the seventeenfold food.
20. And when they chant the hymn, and when he (the Hotri) afterwards recites (the sastra), he (the Adhvaryu) offers to him that food as the Vashat-call is uttered. Now 'vauk' is this (Agni), and 'shat' this sixfold food: having prepared it, he offers it to him as proportionate to his body; for food which is proportionate to the body satisfies, and does not injure it; but when there is too much it does injure it, and when there is too little, it does not satisfy it.
21. Now that Arka (flame) is this very fire-altar built here; and the Kya is this his food, to wit, the Soma-sacrifice: that (combined) makes the Arkya in respect of the Yagus. And the Great one (mahân) is this (Agni), and this rite (vrata) is his food: that makes the Mahâvrata in respect of the Sâman. And 'uk' is this (Agni), and 'tha' his food: that makes the (Mahad) Uktha in respect of the Rik. Thus, whilst being only one, this is accounted threefold. With this food he went upwards; and he who went upwards is yonder sun, and that food wherewith he went up is that moon.
22. He who shines yonder is indeed that Arka (flame), and that moon is his food, the Kya: that (combined) makes the Arkya in respect of the Yagus. And the Great one (mahân) is this (Agni), and this rite (vrata) is his food: that makes the Mahâvrata in respect of the Sâman. And 'uk' is this (Agni), and 'tha' his food: that makes the (Mahad) Uktha in respect of the Rik. Thus, whilst being only one, this is accounted threefold. Thus much as to the deity.
23. Now as to the body. The Arka (flame), doubtless, is the breath (vital air), and the Kya is its food: that makes the Arkya in respect of the Yagus. And the Great one (mahân) is this (Agni), and this rite (vrata) is his food: that makes the Mahâvrata in respect of the Sâman. And 'uk' is this (Agni), and 'tha' his food: that makes the (Mahad) Uktha in respect of the Rik. Thus, whilst being only one, this is accounted threefold. And, indeed, that (Agni) is that (sun) as to the deity, and this (breath) as to the body.
Second Brâhmana
1. Verily, Pragâpati, the year, is Agni, and King Soma, the moon. He himself, indeed, proclaimed (taught) his own self to Yagñavakas Râgastambâyana, saying, 'As many lights as there are of mine, so many are my bricks.'
2. Now in this Pragâpati, the year, there are seven hundred and twenty days and nights, his lights, (being) those bricks; three hundred and sixty enclosing-stones21, and three hundred and sixty bricks with (special) formulas. This Pragâpati, the year, has created all existing things, both what breathes and the breathless, both gods and men. Having created all existing things, he felt like one emptied out, and was afraid of death.
3. He bethought himself, 'How can I get these beings back into my body? how can I put them back into my body? how can I be again the body of all these beings?'
4. He divided his body into two; there were three hundred and sixty bricks in the one, and as many in the other: he did trot succeed22.
5. He made himself three bodies,--in each of them there were three eighties of bricks I he did not succeed.
6. He made himself four bodies of a hundred and eighty bricks each: he did not succeed.
7. He made himself five bodies,--in each of them there were a hundred and forty-four bricks: he did not succeed.
8. He made himself six bodies of a hundred and twenty bricks each: he did not succeed. He did not develop himself sevenfold23.
9. He made himself eight bodies of ninety bricks each: he did not succeed.
10. He made himself nine bodies of eighty bricks each: he did not succeed.
11. He made himself ten bodies of seventy-two bricks each: he did not succeed. He did not develop elevenfold.
12. He made himself twelve bodies of sixty bricks each: he did not succeed. He did not develop either thirteenfold or fourteenfold.
13. He made himself fifteen bodies of forty-eight bricks each: he did not succeed.
14. He made himself sixteen bodies of forty-five bricks each: he did not succeed. He did not develop seventeenfold.
15. He made himself eighteen bodies of forty bricks each: he did not succeed. He did not develop nineteenfold.
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.
17. He made himself twenty-four bodies of thirty bricks each. There he stopped, at the fifteenth; and because he stopped at the fifteenth arrangement24 there are fifteen forms of the waxing, and fifteen of the waning (moon).
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 muhûrtas25, as forms for his body, as space-fillers (Lokamprinâs26), as well as fifteen of the night; and inasmuch as they straightway (muhu) save (trai), they are (called) 'muhûrtâh'; and inasmuch as, whilst being small, they fill (pûr) these worlds (or spaces, 'loka') they are (called) 'lokamprinâh.'
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 Bhâradvâga of Agni; 'for he bakes what has been baked by that (sun).'
20. In the year these (muhûrtas) amounted to ten thousand and eight hundred: he stopped at the ten thousand and eight hundred.
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.
22. Pragâpati 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.'
23. He arranged the Rik-verses into twelve thousand of Brihatîs27, for of that extent are the verses created by Pragâpati. At-the thirtieth arrangement they came to an end in the Paṅktis; 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 Paṅktis, therefore Pragâpati is 'pâṅkta' (fivefold)28. There are one hundred-and-eight hundred29 Paṅktis.
24. He then arranged the two other Vedas into twelve thousand Brihatîs,--eight (thousand) of the Yagus (formulas), and four of the Sâman (hymns)--for of that extent is what was created by Pragâpati in these two Vedas. At the thirtieth arrangement these two came to an end in the Paṅktis; 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 Paṅktis, therefore Pragâpati is 'pâṅkta.' There were one hundred-and-eight hundred30 Paṅktis.
25. All the three Vedas amounted to ten thousand eight hundred eighties (of syllables)31; muhûrta by muhûrta he gained a fourscore (of syllables), and muhûrta by muhûrta a fourscore was completed32.
26. Into these three worlds, (in the form of) the fire-pan33, he (Pragâpati) poured, as seed into the womb, his own self made up of the metres, stomas, vital airs, and deities. In the course of a half-moon the first body was made up, in a further (half-moon) the next (body), in a further one the next,--in a year he is made up whole and complete.
27. Whenever he laid down an enclosing-stone34, he laid down a night, and along with that fifteen muhûrtas, and along with the muhûrtas fifteen eighties (of syllables of the sacred texts)35. And whenever he laid down a brick with a formula (yagushmatî), he laid down a day36, and along with that fifteen muhûrtas, and along with the muhûrtas fifteen eighties (of syllables). In this manner he put this threefold lore into his own self, and made it his own; and in this very (performance) he became the body of all existing things, (a body) composed of the metres, stomas, vital airs, and deities; and having become composed of all that, he ascended upwards; and he who thus ascended is that moon yonder.
28. He who shines yonder (the sun) is his foundation, (for) over him he was built up37, on him he was built up: from out of his own self he thus fashioned him, from out of his own self he generated him.
29. Now when he (the Sacrificer), being about to build an altar, undergoes the initiation-rite,--even as Pragâpati poured his own self, as seed, into the fire-pan as the womb,--so does he pour into the fire-pan, as seed into the womb, his own self composed of the metres, stomas, vital airs, and deities. In the course of a half-moon, his first body is made up, in a further (half-moon) the next (body), in a further one the next,--in a year he is made up whole and complete.
30. And whenever he lays down an enclosing-stone, he lays down a night, and along with that fifteen muhûrtas, and along with the muhûrtas fifteen eighties (of syllables). And whenever he lays down a Yagushmatî (brick), he lays down a day, and along with that fifteen muhûrtas, and along with the muhûrtas fifteen eighties (of syllables of the sacred texts). In this manner he puts this threefold lore into his own self, and makes it his own; and in this very (performance) he becomes the body of all existing things, (a body) composed of the metres, stomas, vital airs, and deities; and having become composed of all that, he ascends upwards.
31. And he who shines yonder is his foundation, for over him he is built up, on him he is built up: from out of his own self he thus fashions him, from out of his own self he generates him. And when he who knows this departs from this world, then he passes into that body composed of the metres, stomas, vital airs, and deities; and verily having become composed of all that, he who, knowing this performs this sacrificial work, or he who even knows it, ascends upwards.
Third Brâhmana
1. The Year, doubtless, is the same as Death; for he38 it is who, by means of day and night, destroys the life of mortal beings, and then they die: therefore the Year is the same as Death; and whosoever knows this Year (to be) Death, his life that (year) does not destroy, by day and night, before old age, and he attains his full (extent of) life.
2. And he, indeed, is the Ender, for it is he who, by day and night, reaches the end of the life of mortals, and then they die: therefore he is the Ender, and whosoever knows this Year, Death, the Ender, the end of his life that (Year) does not reach, by day and night, before old age, and he attains his full (extent of) life.
3. The gods were afraid of this Pragâpati, the Year, Death, the Ender, lest he, by day and night, should reach the end of their life.
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.
5. They also built a fire-altar,--they laid down unlimited enclosing-stones; unlimited Yagushmatî (bricks), unlimited Lokamprinâ (bricks), even as some lay them down to this day, saying, 'The gods did so.' They did not attain immortality.
6. They went on praising and toiling, striving to win immortality. Pragâpati 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.'
7. They spake, 'Tell thou us thyself, then, in what manner we may lay down all thy forms!'
8. He spake, 'Lay ye down three hundred and sixty enclosing-stones, three hundred and sixty Yagushmatî (bricks), and thirty-six thereunto; and of Lokamprinâ (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.
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 fire-altar that is the holy work.
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.
11. But when he builds the fire-altar, he thereby gains Agni, Pragâpati, the Year, Death, the Ender, whom the gods gained; it is him he lays downy even as the gods thus laid him down.
12. By the enclosing-stones he gains his nights; by the Yagushmatî (bricks) his days, half-moons, months, and seasons; and by the Lokamprinâs the muhûrtas (hours).
13. Thus the enclosing-stones, supplying the place of nights, are made the (means of) gaining the nights, they are the counterpart of the nights: there are three hundred and sixty of them, for there are three hundred and sixty nights in the year. Of these, he lays twenty-one round the Gârhapatya, seventy-eight round the Dhishnya hearths, and two hundred and sixty-one round the Âhavanîya.
14. Then the Yagushmatî (bricks with special formulas):--the grass-bunch, the (four) clod-bricks, the lotus-leaf, the gold plate and man, the two spoons, the naturally-perforated (brick), the dûrvâ-brick, the (one) dviyagus, two retahsik, a visvagyotis, two seasonal ones, an ashâdhâ, the tortoise, the mortar and pestle, the fire-pan, the five victims’ heads, fifteen apasyâs, five khandasyâs, fifty prânabhrits--these ninety-eight are (in) the first layer.
15. Then the second (layer):--five asvinîs, two seasonal ones, five vaisvadevîs, five prânabhrits, five apasyâs, nineteen vayasyâs--these forty-one are (in) the second layer.
16. Then the third (layer):--the naturally-perforated one, five regional ones, a visvagyotis, four seasonal ones, ten prânabhrits, thirty-six khandasyâs, fourteen vâlakhilyas--these seventy-one are (in) the third layer.
17. Then the fourth (layer):--first eighteen, then twelve, then seventeen--these forty-seven are (in) the fourth layer.
18. Then the fifth (layer):--five asapatnâs, forty virâgs, twenty-nine stomabhâgâs, five nâkasads, five pañkakûdâs, thirty-one khandasyâs, eight (of) the Gârhapatya hearth, eight (of) the Punaskiti, two seasonal ones, a visvagyotis, a vikarnî, a naturally-perforated one, the variegated stone, the fire which is placed on the altar--these one hundred and thirty-eight are (in) the fifth layer.
19. All these make three hundred and ninety-five. Of these, three hundred and sixty, supplying the place of days, are made the (means of) gaining the days, they are the counterpart of the days: There are three hundred and sixty of them, for there are three hundred and sixty days in the year. And for the thirty-six (additional days) which there are39 the filling of earth (counts as) the thirty-sixth; and twenty-four thereof, supplying the place of half-moons, are made the (means of) gaining the half-moons, they are the counterpart of the half-moons. And the (remaining) twelve, supplying the place of months, are made the (means of) gaining the months, they are the counterpart of the months. And, lest the seasons should be wanting, these (twelve bricks), by two and two (taken) together, supply the place of seasons.
20. And as to the Lokamprinâ (space-filling bricks), supplying the place of muhûrtas (hours), they are made the (means) of gaining the muhûrtas, they are the counterpart of the muhûrtas: there are ten thousand and eight hundred of them, for so many muhûrtas there are in the year. Of these, he lays down twenty-one in the Gârhapatya (altar), seventy-eight in the Dhishnya-hearths, and the others in the Âhavanîya. So many, indeed, are the (different) forms of the year: it is these that are here secured for him (Pragâpati, the Year), and are put on him.
21. Now, some wish to get this total amount40 in the Âhavanîya itself, arguing, 'Those are different brick-built fire-altars: why should we here (in the Âhavanîya altar) take into account those laid down there (in the Gârhapatya and Dhishnyas)?' But let him not do so. There are, indeed, ten of these fire-altars he builds--eight Dhishnyas, the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya--whence they say, 'Agni is Virâg (wide shining or ruling),' for the Virâg (metre) consists of ten syllables: but, surely, all these (altars and hearths) are looked upon as only one, as Agni; for it is merely forms of him that they all are,--even as the days and nights, the half-moons, the months, and the seasons (are forms) of the year, so are they all forms of him (Agni).
22. And, assuredly, they who do this put those forms of his41 outside of him, and produce confusion between the better and the worse; they make the peasantry equal and refractory to the nobility. Surely, on the Âgnîdhrîya he places the variegated stone42, and that he takes into account: why, then, taking that into account, should he not take others into account? That (altar) by which they ward off Nirriti43, evil, is the eleventh.
23. As to this they say, 'Why, then, do they not take into account here those (of Nirriti's altar)?' Because he makes no offering on them, for it is by offering that a brick becomes whole and complete.
24. As to this they say, 'How are these (bricks) of his laid down so as not to be excessive?' Well, these (bricks) are his (Agni's) vital power, and man's vital power is not excessive. Thus whosoever, knowing this, performs this holy work, or he who but knows this, makes up this Pragâpati whole and complete.
Fourth Brâhmana
1. When Pragâpati was creating living beings, Death, that evil, overpowered him. He practised austerities for a thousand years, striving to leave evil behind him.
2. Whilst he was practising austerities, lights went upwards from those hair-pits44 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 muhûrtas there are in a (sacrificial performance) of a thousand years.
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 years45? By knowledge, assuredly, he who knows secures for himself (the benefits of a performance) of a thousand years.
4. Let him look upon all these bricks as a thousandfold: let him look upon each enclosing-stone as charged with a thousand nights, each day-holder46 with a thousand days, each half-moon-holder with a thousand half-moons, each month-holder with a thousand months, each season-holder with a thousand seasons, each muhûrta-holder47 with a thousand muhûrtas, and the year with a thousand years. They who thus know this Agni as being endowed with a thousand, know his one-thousandth digit; but they who do not thus know him, do not even know a one-thousandth digit of him. And he alone who so knows this, or who performs this sacred work, obtains this whole and complete Pragâpatean Agni whom Pragâpati obtained. Wherefore let him who knows this by all means practise austerities48; for, indeed, when he who knows this practises austerities, even to (abstention from) sexual intercourse, every (part) of him will share in the world of heaven49.
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 is no labouring in vain, and so, indeed, the gods favour this every (action) of his50.
Fifth Brâhmana
1. Now the doctrines of mystic imports51. The Sâkâyanins hold that 'Agni is Vâyu (the wind);' but some say that 'Agni is Âditya (the sun).' And either Sraumatya, or Hâliṅgava, said, 'Agni is no other than Vâyu: wherefore the Adhvaryu, when he performs the last work52, passes into that (wind).'
2. And Sâtyâyani said, 'Agni is no other than the Year; his head is the spring, his right wing the summer, his left wing the rainy season, his middle body (trunk) the autumn season, and his tail and feet the winter and dewy seasons--Agni is speech, Vâyu breath, the sun the eye, the moon the mind, the quarters the ear, the generative power water53, the feet (and tail) fervour, the joints the months, the veins the half-moons, the silver and gold feathers the days and nights: thus he passes over to the gods.' Let him know, then, that Agni is the Year; and let him know that it is thereof54 he consists.
3. And Kelaka Sândilyâyana said, 'Let him know that the three layers containing the naturally-perforated (bricks)55 are these worlds, that the fourth (layer) is the Sacrificer, and the fifth all objects of desire; and that it is these worlds, and his own self and all his objects of desire he compasses.'
Footnotes
1. See IX, 2, 3, 35, where it was stated that the fire should be laid down with the Vashat-call ('vaushat!') uttered after the two verses, Vâg. S. XVII, 72. 73. Here, as at I, 7, 2, 21, the sacrificial call, 'vaushat'--for 'vashat,' apparently an irregular subjunctive aorist of 'vah': 'may he bear (the oblation to the gods)!'--is fancifully explained as composed of 'vauk' (i.e. vâk, speech), and 'shat,' six.
2. See X, 3, 4, 2 seq.
3. See X, 3, 4, 2 seq.
4. That is, what relates to the Arka (the Fire, or Agnikayana).
5. That is, here, the Mahad uktham, or Great Recitation of the Mahâvrata day.
6. Perhaps with the implied sense of 'fast-food,' 'fast-milk,' the milk taken by the Sacrificer during the initiation as his only food.
7. For the gold plate worn by the Sacrificer whilst carrying about the Ukhya Agni, and ultimately deposited on the lotus-leaf in the centre of the altar-site before the first layer is laid down, see VI, 7, I, 1 seq.; VII, 4, 1, 10 seq. For the gold man placed on the gold plate, VII, 4, 1, 15 seq. Whilst the gold man was indeed identified with Agni-Pragâpati, as well as with the Sacrificer, the gold plate was taken throughout as representing the sun.
8. According to Sâyana, this one brick is the syllable ('akshara,' which also means 'the imperishable, indestructible') 'vauk' contained in the 'Vaushat,' uttered when the sacred fire is placed on the newly-built altar.
9. Aksharam avinasvaram sarvagatam vâ brahma sakkidânandaikarasam. Sâyana.
10. Or, perhaps--but since so much of my work has been completed, my race will thereby surpass the Salvas. Cf. Delbrück, Altind. Syntax, p. 266.
11. Sâyana takes this as intended to explain the 'in both' ways' of the quotation, viz. in regard to 'srî' (social distinction) on the one hand, and to 'yasas' (fame) and food (material prosperity) on the other. There is, however, nothing in the text to favour any such grouping of the distinctive objects of aspiration associated with the three classes (varnatrayâtmakatvam upagivya karmanah, srîyasoऽnnâdalakshanam phalam. Sâyana), or with men generally (cf. Aitareyâr. I, 4, 2, 10). Perhaps it means both in an intellectual and material point of view. The Syâparnas seem to have been a rather self-assertive family of priests. The Aitareya Brâhmana tells the following story about them (VII, 27):--Visvantara Saushadmana, setting aside the Syâparnas, got up a sacrifice without them. The Syâparnas, becoming aware of this, came to the sacrifice and sat them down inside the sacrificial ground. On seeing them, Visvantara said, 'There sit those doers of evil deeds, those speakers of foul language, the Syâparnas: turn them out let them not sit inside my sacrificial ground!'--'So be it!' they said, and turned them out. In being turned out, they cried aloud, 'At a sacrifice of Ganamegaya, son of Parikshit, performed without the Kasyapas, the Asitamrigas from amongst the Kasyapas won the Soma-drink from the Bhûtavîras (who were officiating). In them they had heroic men on their side: what hero is there amongst us who will win that Soma-drink?'--'Here is that hero of yours,' said Râma Mârgaveya. Râma Mârgaveya was a Syâparnîya, learned in sacred lore. When they rose to leave, he said, 'O king, will they turn out of the sacrificial ground even one so learned as me?'--'Whoever thou art, what knowest thou, vile Brâhman?'--'When the gods turned Indra away because he had outraged Tvashtri's son Visvarûpa, and laid low Vritra, and thrown devotees before the jackals, and slain the Arurmaghas, and retorted on Brihaspati (the teacher of the gods)--then Indra was deprived of the Soma-cup; and along with him the Kshatriyas were deprived of the Soma-cup. By stealing the Soma from Tvashtri, Indra obtained a share in the Soma-cup, but to this day the Kshatriyas are deprived of the Soma-cup: how can they turn out from the sacrificial ground one who knows how the Kshatriya race can be put in possession of the Soma-cup from which they are deprived?'--'Knowest thou (how to procure) that drink, O Brâhman?'--'I know it indeed.'--'Tell us then, O Brahman?'--'To thee, O king, I will tell it,' he said. Ultimately the Syâparnas are reinstated in their sacrificial duties. Cf. R. Roth, Zur Litteratur and Geschichte des Weda, p. 118. At VI, 2, I, 39, Syâparna Sâyakâyana was stated to have been the last who was in the habit of immolating five victims instead of two, as became afterwards the custom.
12. In the succession of teachers of the doctrine of the fire-altar, given at the end of the present Kânda, Vâmakakshâyana is said to have received his instruction from Vâtsya, and the latter from Sândilya, who, in his turn, received it from Kusri. Cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. I, p. 259.
13. Viz. the Mahad uktham (see p. 110, note 3), preceded by the chanting of the Mahâvrata-sâman (see p. 362, note 5) (p. 382 originally--JBH).
14. That is, according as it is flavoured by the six different 'rasas' (flavours or tastes)--sweet (madhura), sour (amla), salt (lavana), pungent (katuka), bitter (tikta), and astringent (kashâya). Thus according to Sâyana; but see also paragraph 3, where the sixfold nature of the food is identified with the six-layered altar. Perhaps both explanations are intended to apply.
15. Or, perhaps, this Pragâpati-Agni is the year.
16. For these two sets of formulas and oblations, see IX, 5, 1, 43 and note.
17. A 'kalâ' is the sixteenth part of the moon's diameter, and then a sixteenth part generally.
18. Pronounce 'tu-ak.'
19. For five of these parts of the body, see X, 1, 3, 4.
20. This prohibition is probably directed against the Kaushîtakins, who recognise a seventeenth officiating priest, the Sadasya, who seems to have taken no other part in the sacrificial performance except sitting in the Sadas as the permanent custodian thereof.
21. See X, 4, 2, 27 with note.
22. Na vyâpnot, intrans., 'he did not attain (his object),' cf. vyâpti, in the sense of 'success';--(svayam teshâm âtmâ bhavitum) asamarthoऽbhavat. Sâyana.
23. Or, did not divide sevenfold, na saptadhâ vyabhavat,--saptadhâvibhâgam na kritavân. Sâyana.
24. Literally, shifting (about of the bricks of the altar), development.
25. The day and night consists of thirty muhûrtas, a muhûrta being thus equal to about forty-eight minutes or four-fifths of an hour.
26. The Lokamprinâ bricks contained in the whole fire-altar amount to as many as there are muhûrtas in the year, viz. 10,800; see X, 4, 3, 20.
27. The Brihatî verse, consisting of 36 syllables, this calculation makes the hymns of the Rig-veda to consist of 36 × 12,000= 432,000 syllables.
28. The Paṅkti consists of five pâdas (feet) of eight syllables each.
29. That is to say, 10,800 Paṅktis, which, as the Paṅkti verse has 40 syllables, again amount to 432,000 syllables.
30. That is to say, 10,800 Paṅktis, which, as the Paṅkti verse has 40 syllables, again amount to 432,000 syllables.
31. The three Vedas, according to the calculations in paragraphs 23 and 24, contain 2 × 432,000 = 864,000 syllables, which is equal to 80 × 10,800. On the predilection to calculate by four-scores, see p. 112, note 1.
32. That is, within the year, for the year has 360 × 30 = 10,800 muhûrtas, which is just the amount of eighties of which the three Vedas were said to consist. I do not see how any division of the 'muhûrta' itself into eighty parts (as supposed by Professor Weber, Ind. Streifen, I, p. 92, note 1) can be implied here.
33. On the construction of the Ukhâ, as representing the universe, see VI, 5, 2 seq.
34. The number of 'parisrits' by which the great altar is enclosed is only 261; but to these are usually added those of the other brick-built hearths, viz. the Gârhapatya (21) and the eight Dhishnyas (78),--the whole amounting to 360 enclosing-stones, or one for each day (or night) in the year.
35. According to paragraph 25, a fourscore of syllables was completed in each muhûrta; and day and night consist of fifteen muhûrtas each.
36. See IX, 4, 3, 6, where the number of Yagushmatî bricks is said to be equal to that of the parisrits, or enclosing-stones--with, however, 35 (36) added for the intercalary month, hence altogether 395 (396); cf. X, 4, 3, 14-19.
37. Viz. inasmuch as the round gold plate, representing the sun, was laid down in the centre of the altar-site, before the first layer was built. Sâyana.
38. Father Time, Pragâpati.
39. Namely, in an intercalary month. The layers of loose soil have to be counted in for the reason that only 35 yagushmatîs remain after taking away the 360.
40. Viz. of 10,800 Lokamprinâs.
41. Viz. the Gârhapatya and Dhishnya hearths.
42. See IX, 2, 3, 14-17; 4, 3, 6.
43. See VII, 2, 1, 1 seq.
44. That is, the pores from which the hairs spring.
45. Tasmai sahasrasamvatsaragîvanâya ko vâ manushyah saknuyât; manushyâvadhih satam ato gîvato manushyena sahasrasamvatsarâh prâptum asakyât. Sây.
46. That is, the majority of Yagushmatî bricks, viz. 360 of them, whilst the remaining ones are supposed to stand in lieu of half-moons, months, and seasons; see X, 4, 3, 19.
47. Viz. the Lokamprinâ bricks; see X, 4, 3, 20.
48. Or, religious fervour (meditation).
49. Or, as Sâyana seems to interpret it, 'that austerity will gain for him all his (Agni's thousandfold perfection) and the heavenly world (?),'--etat tapah agnes tadavayavânâm ka sahasrâtmakatvarûpam karoti tasmâk ka svargalokaprâptir bhavatîty arthah.
50. Evam vidvân yat kurute tat sarvam yad yasmâd devâ avanti. Sây.
51. Athânantaram upanishadâm rahasyârthânâm âdesâ upadesâ vakshyante. Sây.--Prof. Oldenberg (Zeitsch. of G. Or. S., 50, p. 457 seq.) takes 'upanishad' in the sense of 'worship.'
52. That is, the concluding rites of the sacrifice,--tasmâd adhvaryuh yadâ uttamam yagñasamâptilakshanam karma karoti, tadaitam eva vâyum apyeti, tathâ hi, samishtayagurhome devâ gâtuvido gâtum vittvâ gâtum ita manasaspata iti mantreऽvâki, svâhâ vâte dhâh svâhâ, iti vâyau dhâranam uktam. Sây. See IV, 4, 4, 53, where the sacrifice (though not the Adhvaryu priest) is consigned to the wind by means of the Samishtayagus formulas.
53. Note the change in the relative position of subject and predicate from here.
54. That is, of the objects enumerated before.
55. That is, the first, third, and fifth layers. By the fourth and fifth layers mentioned immediately after, we have not of course to understand the real fourth and fifth layers, but the two making up the five layers (viz. the second and fourth).
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