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The Satapatha Brahmana: Thirteenth Kânda, Third Adhyâya
First Brâhmana
1. Pragâpati's eye swelled; it fell out: thence the horse was produced; and inasmuch as it swelled (asvayat), that is the origin and 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 Pragâpati 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 Brahman1 they thereby redeem; and he who performs the Asvamedha redeems all sin, he redeems the slaying of a Brahman.
2. It was the left eye of Pragâpati that swelled: hence they cut off the (meat) portions from the left. side of the horse, and from the right side of other victims.
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.
4. The Katushtoma2 is the form of chanting (on the first day); for a bee tore out3 (a piece of) the horse's thigh, and by means of the Katushtoma form of chanting the gods restored it: thus when there is the Katushtoma mode of chanting, it is for the completeness of the horse. The last day is an Atirâtra with all the Stomas4--with a view to his obtaining and securing everything, for an Atirâtra with all the Stomas is everything, and the Asvamedha is everything.
Second Brâhmana
1. Now this (Sacrificer), having- conquered by means of the supreme Stoma--the Katushtoma, the Krita among dice5,--on the next day establishes himself on the Ekavimsa6, as a firm foundation: from the Ekavimsa, as a firm foundation, he subsequently ascends to the next day, the seasons; for the Prishtha (-stotras) are the seasons, and the seasons are the year: it is in the seasons, in the year, he establishes himself.
2. The Sakvarî7 (verses) are the Prishtha (-stotra of the second day): there is a different metre for each (verse), for different kinds of animals, both domestic and wild ones, are immolated here on each (day). As to the Sakvarî (verses) being the Prishtha, it is for the completeness of the horse (sacrifice)8; and different kinds of animals are immolated on different (days), because different stomas are performed on the different (days of the Asvamedha).
3. As to this they say, 'These--to wit, goats and sheep and the wild (beasts)--are not all animals9; but those--to wit, the bovine (victims)--are indeed all animals.' On the last day he immolates bovine (victims), for they--to wit, bovine (victims)--are all animals: he thus immolates all animals. They are sacred to the All-gods10, for the completeness of the horse, for the horse is sacred to the All-gods. They are many-formed (or, many-coloured), whence animals are many-formed; and they are of distinct forms (or colours), whence animals are of distinct forms.
Third Brâhmana
1. Inasmuch as there are three Anushtubh verses11 (on the first day), therefore the horse, when standing, stands on three (feet); and inasmuch as (they are made into) four Gâyatrî verses, therefore the horse, when stepping out, scampers off on all (four) feet. For that Anushtubh, doubtless, is the highest metre, and the horse is the highest of animals; and the Katushtoma is the highest of Stomas: by means of what is highest he thus causes him (the Sacrificer) to reach the highest position.
2. The Sakvarî verses are the (Hotri's) Prishtha (of the second day): there is a different metre for each (verse), for different Stomas are performed on each (day). And as to the Sakvarî verse being the Prishtha (-stotra), it is for the completeness of the horse (sacrifice).
3. The central day is an Ekavimsa one, for the Ekavimsa is yonder sun, and so is the Asvamedha by means of its own Stoma he thus establishes it in its own deity.
4. The Vâmadevya is the Maitrâvaruna's Sâman12; for the Vâmadevya is Pragâpati, and the horse is of Pragâpati's nature: he thus supplies it with its own deity.
5. The Pârthurasma is the Brahma-sâman13; for the horse is restrained by means of reins14 (rasmi), but when unrestrained, unchecked, and unsteadied, it would be liable to go to the furthest distance: thus when the Pârthurasma is the Brahma-sâman, it is for the safe keeping of the horse.
6. The Samkriti15 is the Akhâvâka's Sâman;-- that Asvamedha, indeed, is, as it were, a disused sacrifice, for what is performed thereof, and what is not16? When the Samkriti is the Akhâvâka's Sâman, it is for (bringing about) the completeness of the horse (sacrifice). The last day is an Atirâtra with all the (six) Stomas, in order to his (the Sacrificer's) obtaining everything, for an Atirâtra with all the Stomas is everything, and the Asvamedha is everything.
7. The fire-altar is the twenty-one-fold one17, the Stoma the twenty-one-fold one, and there are twenty-one sacrificial stakes; even as bulls or stallions18 would clash together, so do these Stomas19, the twenty-one-versed, run counter to one another: were he to bring them together, the Sacrificer would suffer harm, and his sacrifice would be destroyed.
8. There may, indeed, be a twelvefold altar, and eleven stakes. When the altar is a twelvefold one--twelve months being a year--it is the year, the sacrifice, he obtains. When there are eleven stakes, then that Virâg (metre), the Ekâdasinî20, is contrived; and that which is its eleventh (stake) is its teat: thereby he milks it.
9. As to this they say, 'If there were a twelvefold altar, and eleven stakes, it would be as if one were to drive on a cart drawn by one beast.' There are the twenty-one-fold altar, the twenty-one-fold Stoma, and twenty-one stakes: that is as when one drives with side-horses.
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 twenty-one-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.
Fourth Brâhmana
1. Verily, the horse is slaughtered for all the deities: were he to make it one belonging to Pragâpati (exclusively), he would deprive the deities who are co-sharers of their share. Having made ghee (to take the part of) portions (of the horse's body) he makes oblations21 to the deities in mentioning them one by one with (Vâg. S. XXV, 1-9), 'The Grass (I gratify) with the teeth, the Lotus with the roots of the hair, . . . :' the deities who are co-sharers he thus supplies with their share. When he has offered the Aranyeऽnûkya (oblations)22, he offers the last oblation to Heaven and Earth; for all the gods are established in heaven and on earth: it is them he thereby gratifies. Now the gods and the Asuras were contending together.
2. They (the gods) spake, 'We are the Agnayah Svishtakritah23 of the horse (sacrifice); let us take out for ourselves a special share: therewith we shall overcome the Asuras.' They took the blood for themselves in order to overcome their rivals; when he offers the blood to the Svishtakrits, it is in order to overcome (his own) rivals; and the spiteful rival of him who knows this is undone by himself.
3. The first oblation (of blood) he offers24 in the throat (gullet) of the Gomriga25; for Gomrigas are cattle, and the Svishtakrit is Rudra: he thus shields the cattle from Rudra, whence Rudra does not prowl after the cattle where this oblation is offered at the Asvamedha.
4. The second oblation26 he offers on a horse-hoof; for the one-hoofed (animals) are cattle, and the Svishtakrit is Rudra: he thus shields the cattle from Rudra, whence Rudra does not prowl after the cattle where this oblation is offered at the Asvamedha.
5. The third oblation he offers in an iron bowl; for the people (subjects) are of iron27, and the Svishtakrit is Rudra: he thus shields the people from Rudra, whence Rudra does not prowl after the cattle where this oblation is offered at the Asvamedha.
Fifth Brâhmana
1. Verily, there are deaths28 connected with all the worlds; and were he not to offer oblations to them, Death would get hold of him in every world: when he offers oblations to the Deaths29, he wards off Death in every world.
2. Concerning this they say, 'If, in offering, he were to name them all, saying, "To such30 (a death) hail! To such (a death) hail!" he would make that manifold death his enemy31, and would give himself over to Death.' Only one oblation he offers to one of them, with, 'To Death, hail!' for there is indeed but one Death in yonder world, even Hunger32: it is him he wards off in yonder world.
3. A second oblation he makes with, 'To Brahman-slaying, hail!' for, doubtless, a murder other than the slaying of a Brahman is no murder; but that--to wit, the slaying of a Brahman--is manifestly murder: he thus manifestly wards off Death33.
4. Mundibha Audanya34 it was who discovered this atonement for the slaying of a Brahman; and when one offers the oblation to the Brahmahatyâ he prepares a remedy for the slayer of a Brahman by satisfying Death himself with an oblation, and making a protection35 for him (the slayer). At whosoever's Asvamedha, therefore, this oblation is offered, even if in after-times36 any one in his family kills a Brahman, he thereby prepares a remedy (expiation) for him.
Sixth Brâhmana
1. When the horse was slaughtered, the life-sap37 went out of it; it became the Asvastomîya (set of oblations38): when he offers the Asvastomîya (oblations) he indeed supplies the horse with life-sap.
2. He performs it with ghee; for ghee is life-sap, and the Asvastomîya is life-sap: by means of life-sap he thus puts life-sap into it. He performs with ghee, for that--to wit, ghee--is the favourite resource of the gods: he thus supplies them with their favourite resource.
3. Having performed the Asvastomîya (set of) oblations, he offers the Dvipadâs39; for the Asvastomîya is the horse, and the Dvipadâ is man, for man is two-footed (dvipâd), supported on two (feet): he thus supplies him with a support.
4. Concerning this they say, 'Is the Asvastomîya to be offered first, or the Dvipadâ?' The Asvastomîya, surely, is cattle, and the Dvipadâ is man: inasmuch as he performs the Dvipadâs after performing the Asvastomîya, man subsequently establishes himself amongst cattle.
5. Sixteen Asvastomîya oblations he performs, for animals (cattle) consist of sixteen parts40: that is the measure of cattle, and he thus supplies cattle with their (right) measure; Were he to offer either less or more, he would deprive cattle of their (right) measure. Sixteen he offers, for cattle consist of sixteen parts: that is the measure of cattle, and he thus supplies cattle with their (right) measure. He offers no other as a final oblation41: were he to offer another as a final oblation, he would lose his support. The Dvipadâs he offers last, for Dvipadâs are a support: he thus finds a support (establishes himself). With, 'To Gumbaka hail!' he offers, at the purificatory bath, the last oblation42; for Gumbaka is Varuna: by sacrifice he thus manifestly redeems himself from Varuna. He offers it on the head of a white-spotted43, baldheaded (man) with protruding teeth44 and reddish brown eyes; for that is Varuna's form: by (that) form (of his) he thus redeems himself from Varuna.
6. Having stepped out (of the water) he prepares twelve messes of cooked rice for the priests, or performs twelve ishtis. Concerning this they say, 'These to wit, ishtis--are a form of sacrifice: were he to perform ishtis, the sacrifice would be ready to incline towards him; but he would become the worse for it, for, surely, of exhausted strength now are the metres (offering formulas) of him who has performed the Soma-sacrifice;--how could he make use of them so soon? For when the sacrifice is complete, Vâk (speech and sacred writ45) is wholly gained, and, being gained, it now is exhausted in strength, and, as it were, wounded and mangled; but sacrifice is speech: hence he should not make use of it.'
7. Having stepped out (of the water) he should certainly prepare twelve messes of rice for the priests; for cooked rice is Pragâpati, and Pragâpati is the year, Pragâpati is the sacrifice: it is the year, the sacrifice, he thus gains, and the sacrifice becomes ready to incline towards him, and he does not become the worse for it.
Seventh Brâhmana
1. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Strengthful: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes strong.
2. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Plenteous: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes plentiful.
3. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Obtainment: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes obtained.
4. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Distinction: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes distinct46.
5. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Severance: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes severed47.
6. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Food-abounding: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes abounding in food.
7. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Sapful: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes rich in sap (or drink).
8. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Abounding in holiness: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, the Brâhmana is born as one rich in holiness.
9. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Excelling in hitting: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, the Râganya is born as one excelling in hitting (the mark).
10. Verily, this is the sacrifice called the Long (wide) one: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, a wide tract of forest-land will be provided48.
11. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Fitness: wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes fit and proper.
12. Verily, this is the sacrifice called Support (foundation): wherever they worship with this sacrifice, everything indeed becomes supported (firmly established).
Eighth Brâhmana
Expiatory offerings.
1. Now, then, of the expiations. If the sacrificial horse were to couple with a mare, let him in addition prepare a milk (oblation) to Vâyu;--Vâyu doubtless is the transformer of seeds, for Vâyu (the wind) is the vital air, and the vital air is the transformer of seeds: by means of seed he thus puts seed into it.
2. And if disease were to befal it, let him in addition prepare a pap to Pûshan, for Pûshan rules over beasts (cattle); and, indeed, he thereby gratifies him who owns cattle and rules over cattle; and it (the horse) thereby indeed becomes free from disease.
3. And if sickness without (visible) injury49 were to befal it, let him in addition prepare for (Agni) Vaisvânara a cake on twelve potsherds, with the earth serving for potsherds50; for Vaisvânara is this (earth): he thereby gratifies this (earth), and it (the horse) becomes free from disease.
4. And if an eye-disease were to befal it, let him in addition prepare a pap to Sûrya;--the Sun, doubtless, is the eye of creatures, for when he rises everything here moves: by means of the eye (of the world) he thus bestows the eye upon it. And as to why it is a pap (karu), it is because by means of the eye this self (body or mind) moves (kar).
5. And if it were to die in water, let him in addition prepare a barley pap to Varuna, for Varuna seizes him who dies in water: he thereby thus gratifies that very deity who seizes it, and, thus gratified, he approves his slaughtering another (horse), and he slaughters it as one approved by that (deity). And as to why it is (prepared) of barley, it is because barley belongs to Varuna.
6. And if it were to get lost, let him in addition perform an ishti with three sacrificial dishes--a cake on one potsherd for Heaven and Earth, a milk (oblation) for Vâyu, and a pap for Sûrya;--for whatsoever is lost, is lost within heaven and earth; and the wind blows upon it, and the sun shines upon it; and nothing whatever is lost out of (the reach of) these deities. And even by itself51 this (ishti) is the recoverer of what is lost; and even if any other thing of his were to get lost let him perform this very offering, and he verily finds it. And if enemies were to obtain the horse, or if it were to die (either in any other way) or in water52, let them bring another (horse) and consecrate it by sprinkling: this, indeed, is the expiation in that case.
Footnotes
1. See XIII, 3, 5, 3 seq.
2. The term Katushtoma originally apparently means a sacrificial performance, or succession of chants, in which four different Stomas, or hymn-forms, are used. Hence, in Tândya-Br. VI, 3, 16, the name is applied to the ordinary Agnishtoma, for its twelve Stotras, or chants, require the first four normal Stomas (Trivrit, Pañkadasa, Saptadasa, Ekavimsa). The term has, however, assumed the special meaning of a hymnic performance, the different Stomas of which (begin with the four-versed one, and) successively increase by four verses (cf. XIII, 5, 1, 1). In this sense, two different forms of Katushtoma are in use, one being applicable to an Agnishtoma, the other to a Shodasin, sacrifice. Whilst this latter form requires only four different Stomas (of 4, 8, 12, 16 verses resp.) and thus combines the original meaning of 'katushtoma' with its special meaning, the Agnishtoma form, used on the first of the three days of the Asvamedha, requires six Stomas, ascending from the four-versed up to the twenty-four-versed one. In regard to this latter occasion, Sâyana on Tândya-Br. XXI, 4, 1, curiously enough, seems to take 'katushtoma' in its original senses, since he speaks of this first day of the Asvamedha as an Agnishtoma with four Stomas, beginning with Trivrit; whilst on ib. XIX, 5, 1 seq. he gives the correct explanation. As to the distribution of the six Stomas over the chants of the first day, see XIII, 5, 1, 1. The katushtoma has, however, another peculiarity, which, in Lâty. S. VI, 8, 1 (or at least by the commentator Agnisvâmin thereon), is taken as that which has given its name to this form of chanting, viz. that each stotra performed in it is chanted in four, instead of the ordinary three, paryâyas or turns of verses (see part ii, p. 350 note). The Bahishpavamâna-stotra is to be performed on three anushtubh verses (consisting each of four octosyllabic pâdas) which, however, by taking each time three pâdas to make up a verse, are transformed into four verses, constituting at the same time the four paryâyas of the Stotra. As regards the exact text to be used there seems to be some doubt, Sâmav. S. II, 366-8 (pavasva vâgasâtaye) being mentioned by Sâyana on Tândya-Br. XXI, 4, 5; whilst on XIX, 5, 2 he gives S. V. II, 168-70 (ayam pûshâ rayir bhagah) as the text to be used--but apparently only when the performance is that of an ekâha (one day's sacrifice) proper, instead of one of the days of an âhîna sacrifice, as is the case in the three days’ Asvamedha. As regards the Âgya-stotras to be chanted on the eight-versed Stoma, the text of each of them consists of three gâyatrî-verses: these are to be chanted in four turns (paryâya) of two verses each, viz. either 1 and 2, 2 and 3, 1 and 2, 2 and 3;--or 1 and 1, 1 and 2, 2 and 2, 3 and 3;--(or 1 and 1, 1 and 1, 2 and 2, 3 and 3;--or 1 and 1, 2 and 2, 2 and 2, 3 and 3). By similar manipulations the subsequent Stomas are formed.
3. Or, wounded, as Sâyana takes 'â brihat,' on Tândya-Br. XXI, 4, 4 (vranam kakâra).
4. The Atirâtra sarvastoma is arranged in such a way that the six principal Stomas are used successively first in the ascending, and then again in the descending, or reversed, order as is explained in XIII, 5, 3, 10.
5. For this and the other names of the dice, see part iii, p. 106, note 1.
6. Though applying in the first place to the second day of the Asvamedha, as an Ukthya sacrifice which is at the same time an Ekavimsa day, i.e. one the stotras of which are all chanted in the twenty-one-versed hymn-form, Ekavimsa, the twenty-first or twenty-one-fold, as is clear from XIII, 3, 3, 3, here also refers to the sun, of which it is a common epithet (cf. part iii, p. 265, note 2, also XIII, 4, 4, 11). This solar name seems to be derived from the fact that the sun is also identified with the central day of the year, the Vishuvant day, which is considered the central day of a twenty-one days’ sacrificial performance--having one prishthya-shadaha, an Abhigit (or Visvagit day resp.) and three svarasâman days before and after it;--see p. 139, note *1*; and A. Hillebrandt, Die Sonnwendfeste in Alt-Indien, p. 6 seqq.
7. That is to say, the so-called Mahânâmnî verses (Sâm. V. ed. Bibl. Ind. II, p. 371), chanted on the sâkvara-sâman (see part iii, of this transl., introd. p. xx, note 2), are to be used for the Hotri's Prishtha-stotra. For this purpose the Rathantara-sâman is ordinarily used in the Agnishtoma, and the Brihat-sâman in the Ukthya, form of sacrifice.
8. The commentator takes this as an allusion to the 'potent' (sakvara = sakta) nature of the verses.
9. That is to say, they do not fitly represent all kinds of animals, as the highest kind of animals, the bovine cattle, may be said to do. The argument as to the 'sarve pasavah' is, of course, suggested by the 'asvasya sarvatvâya' of the preceding paragraph; and to bring out the parallelism, one might translate,--these . . . . are not complete animals.
10. See XIII, 5, 3, 11.
11. That is, for the Bahishpavamâna-stotra of the Katushtoma, see p. 329, note.
12. That is, the hymn-tune of the second Prishtha-stotra chanted for the Maitrâvaruna (who responds thereto by the recitation of the second Nishkevalya-sastra): the Mahâ-Vâmadevya on the text 'kayâ nas kitra bhuvat' (S. V. II, 32-34; figured for chanting in Bibl. Ind. ed. III, p. 89) is ordinarily used for this stotra both in the Agnishtoma, and in the Ukthya, form of sacrifice.
13. That is, the tune of the third, or Brâhmanâkhamsin's, Prishthastotra. For the sâmans commonly used for this stotra see part ii, p. 434, note 1. The Pârthurasma-sâman may be chanted on either of the texts Sâmav. II, 352-4 (figured ed. Bibl. Ind. vol. V, p. 395) or II, 355-7 (figured vol. V, p. 483). It is the latter text which is to be used on the present occasion. On the legendary origin of this sâman (which is said to represent 'strength,' and therefore to be appropriate to a Râganya) see Tândya-Br. XIII, 4, 17.
14. Or, is fastened by means of a rope.
15. The Samkriti-sâman is used with the texts Sâmav. II, 663-4 (figured ed. Bibl. Ind. V, p. 407), II, 669-70 (ib. p. 482, wrongly p. 334 called Samgati), and II, 679-82 (ib. p. 515). It is probably the second of these texts that is to be used here, as it is also used for the same stotra on the second day of the Garga-trirâtra.
16. Cp. the corresponding passage, Taitt. S. V, 4, 12, 3, 'that Asvamedha, indeed, is a disused sacrifice, for, say they, who knows if the whole of it is performed or not?' Perhaps, however, 'utsanna-yagña' rather means 'a decayed sacrifice,' i.e. one which has lost (or in the usual performance is apt to lose) some of its original elements; whence the 'Samkriti' tune is to be used for the purpose of 'making up' the lost parts. Part of the commentary in this passage is not clear to me:--ukkaihkalâpagrâmâdau siddhasthâne satrasthito granthatoऽrthatas ka yat yagña utsannayagña esha yah asvamedhah katham utsanna ity ata âha, kim vâ hîti, yasya dharmâh pûrvayonau (? pûrvayuge) prayugyante teshâm kimkit kalau kriyate kimkin na kriyate, tatas ka samkritir akhâvâkasâma bhavati.
17. That is, an altar measuring twenty-one man's lengths on each of the four sides of its body.
18. The commentary seems to take both 'rishabha' and 'vrishan' here in the sense of 'bulls,' but cp. Taitt. Br. III, 8, 22, 1, 'yathâ vâ asvâ varshabhâ vâ vrishânah sam sphureran'--'even as if male horses or bulls were to clash together.'
19. That is, not only the twenty-one-fold Stoma, but also the other two twenty-one-fold objects, looked upon as Stomas (lit. 'means of praise').
20. Viz. the set of eleven (stakes), here represented as a cow; but in order to assimilate it to the Virâg, or metre consisting of ten syllables, the eleventh stake is made the teat or udder of the cow.
21. These oblations of ghee, apparently amounting to 132, are made, after the principal flesh-portions have been offered, viz. in the interval between the ghee oblation to Vanaspati (the lord of the forest, or the plant, Soma) and the Svishtakrit oblation, for which see part ii, pp. 208-9; each formula, as a rule, containing the name of some divinity, and that of some part of the body of the horse supposed to be represented by the ghee (by four ladlings of which the offering spoon is filled each time). Mahîdhara, apparently in accordance with the Brâhmana, supplies 'prinâmi (I gratify)' with each (complete) formula which then concludes with 'svâhâ (hail)!' According to other authorities, however, these formulas are each to be divided into two separate dedicatory formulas:--'To the Grass hail! To the Teeth hail!' &c.--The last of the 132 oblations (with the formula, To Gumbaka, hail!') is, however, withheld for the present to be offered (or perhaps the formula alone is to be muttered) at the end of the purificatory bath (avabhritha) towards the end of the sacrifice on the third day.
22. The term 'aranyeऽnûkya' ('to be recited in the forest') we met before (IX, 3, 1, 24) as applying to the last of seven cakes offered to the Maruts immediately after the installation of Agni (the sacred fire) on the newly-built altar The formula used for that cake is the so-called Vimukha-verse, Vâg. S. XXXIX, 7. This verse is followed in the Samhitâ by a series of twenty formulas (ib. 8-9) of a similar nature to those referred to in the preceding note (i.e. consisting each of a deity and a part of the body of the horse--'Agni I gratify with the heart,' &c.), and these again by forty-two expiatory formulas ('To the hair, hail!' &c., ib. 10-13), ending with, 'To Yama, hail! To Antaka (the Ender), hail! To Death, hail! To (the) Brahman, hail! To Brahman-slaying, hail! To the All-gods, hail! To Heaven and Earth, hail!' These sixty-two formulas are used with as many ghee-oblations, which are to be performed immediately after the 131st of the previous set of oblations. Prior, however, again to the last of the forty-two expiatory oblations, (viz. the one made with 'To Heaven and Earth, hail!') there is another set of sixteen oblations (XIII, 3, 6, 1 seqq.), the so-called 'Asvastomîyâ âhutayah' or 'oblations relating to the Stomas of the horse (sacrifice),' each of which has a complete couplet for its offering-formula (Vâg. S. XXV, 24-39). At the end of the three sets of oblations the term 'aranyeऽnûkya' is here extended by the author. At the end of the third set this succession of ghee-oblations is concluded with the last expiatory oblation, that to Heaven. and Earth; whereupon the ordinary flesh-oblation to Agni Svishtakrit is performed.
23. I.e. the (three) fires, the makers of good offering.
24. The formula for each of these three special blood-oblations-- offered immediately after the ordinary Svishtakrit oblation, and being, in fact, the special Svishtakrit of the Asvamedha--is 'Agnibhyah svishtakridbhyah svâhâ, i.e. to the (three) Agnis, the makers of good offering, hail!'
25. 'Gomriga' is usually taken by the commentators, and in our dictionaries, as another name of the 'Gavaya,' variously called Gayâl, Bos Gavaeus, Bos frontalis, or Bos cavifrons, a species of wild cattle found in various mountain districts of India (especially on the eastern boundaries of Bengal, and in Malabar, as also in Ceylon), and frequently domesticated amongst the hill-tribes, by whom it is valued for its flesh and milk (cf. Colebrooke's paper, As. Res. VIII, p. 511 seqq.). The Gavaya itself is, however, as Colebrooke remarks, confounded by some Sanskrit writers with the 'Risya,' which he takes to be the buck of the painted, or white-footed (or slate-coloured) Antelope, the Portax pictus (or Antelope picta), also called by the vernacular names of Nîlgau or (Mahr.) Nîlgây, whilst the female is called 'rohit' in Sanskrit. All these three animals occur amongst the wild animals to be used as quasi-victims, but ultimately released on the second day of the Asvamedha; and I am inclined to think that they are three different animals. To show that the Risya and the Gavaya cannot be the same animals, Colebrooke already refers to the fact that three Risyas (consecrated to the Vasus) and three Gavayas (to Brihaspati) occur as victims side by side in Vâgasaneyi-samhitâ XXIV (27 and 28); and in the same way a Gomriga, sacred to Pragâpati and Vâyu, is mentioned immediately after, ib. 30; whilst another, sacred to Pragâpati, was, as we saw, one of the two animals tied along with the horse to the central stake (see XIII, 2, 2, 2). Taitt. S. II, 1, 10, 2, treating of the sacrifice of a Gomriga to Vâyu, remarks that it is neither a domestic animal (or cattle, pasu) nor a wild one; and Sâyana explains it as a cross between a female deer (or antelope, mrigî) and a hull that has gone with his cows to graze in the forest; whilst, on Taitt. Br. III, 8, 20, 5, he leaves one to choose between its being a vicious bull (dhûrto balîvardah), dangerous to men, or an animal 'of mixed breed, sprung from a cow and a male gazelle or antelope (goharinayoh, or possibly, from parent beasts of the bovine and antelope species).' In this latter passage, the editor of the Brâhmana (in the list of contents, p. 53) takes it to mean 'wild cattle (Nîlagâo gomriga, erroneously explained as a cross between a deer and a cow),' which would be a probable enough explanation, if the Risya were not the Nîlgau; whilst otherwise the animal might belong to some other species of bovine antelopes no longer found in India.
26. Whilst the first of these oblations must take place immediately after the ordinary Svishtakrit of the animal sacrifice, the second may be postponed till after the 'after-offerings'; and the third till after the 'Patnîsamyâgas.' See also XIII, 5, 3, 8 seq.
27. That is, their value--as compared with that of the king or nobles, and the Brâhmanas--is that of iron, compared with that of gold and silver; cp. XIII, 2, 2, 19.
28. That is, according to Sâyana, on Taitt. Br. III, 9, 15, 1, causes of death, such as diseases, &c.
29. The oblations referred to in this Brâhmana (§§ 1-4) occur towards the end of the second set of 'aranyeऽnûkya' oblations mentioned above, p. 336, note 2, where the formulas are given. According to Taitt. Br., l.c., however, these final oblations are to be performed--like that to Gumbaka (Varuna)--at the time of the purificatory bath, which, indeed, may also be intended by our Brâhmana, though Kâtyâyana and Mahîdhara seem to offer no indications to that effect. It is clear that these final oblations must have formed the subject of considerable discussion among the early ritualists.
30. That is, according to Sâyana (Taitt. Br.), 'To death in the shape of disease, to death in the shape of poverty, &c.' Harisvâmin, on our passage, has merely, 'Amushmai pitrilokâya mrityave'--'To death (in the shape of) the world of the Fathers,' which is not very clear.
31. Or, perhaps, he would make himself many a death-enemy (bahum mrityum amitram kurvîta), the two nouns being taken as in apposition to each other; cf. p. 146, note 1.
32. See X, 6, 5, 1.
33. Or, he thus wards off what is manifestly Death (Death in person).
34. That is, according to Harisvâmin, the son of Udanya (Odana. St. Petersb. Dict.), Taitt. Br. III, 9, 15, 3, has Mundibha Audanyava (i.e. the son of Udanyu, Sây.) instead. The Taitt. Br., besides, makes the crime to be expiated here to be, not 'brahmahatyâ,' but 'bhrûnahatyâ,' the killing of an embryo. Sâyana, however, there allows to 'bhrûna' optionally its later meaning of 'a Brâhmana versed in the three Vedas and the sacrificial art (kalpa),' and the Taitt. Br. itself, at all events, takes this oblation to 'bhrûnahatyâ' to atone likewise for the slaying of a Brâhmana.
35. Harisvâmin explains 'paripânam' by 'parisishtam vânantam pânam' (?); whilst Sâyana, in Taitt. Br., takes it in the sense of 'sarvatah pâtram,' i.e. having made the Sacrificer 'a thoroughly worthy person.'
36. Harisvâmin here unwarrantably takes 'aparîshû' in the sense of 'in past times.'
37. Or, sacrificial essence.
38. See p. 336, note 2.
39. The formulas of the six dvipâdâs--i.e. (verses) consisting of two pâdas--are found Vâg. S. XXV, 46-47.
40. See XII, 8, 3, 13; for a highly artificial explanation of the sixteen parts of the man Pragâpati, probably intended here, X, 4, 1, 17. Elsewhere those of animals are explained as including head, neck, trunk, tail, the four legs and eight claws; see Weber, Ind. Stud. IX, p. 111, note.
41. This would seem to be directed against the practice of performing the oblation to Heaven and Earth immediately after the Asvastomîyâs, see p. 336, note 2.
42. See p. 336, note 1.
43. ? Or, pale. Sâyana, on Taitt. Br. III, 9, 15, 3, explains 'sukla' by 'kitrin' (? having white spots, or affected with white leprosy). Harisvâmin does not explain the word.
44. Harisvâmin explains 'viklidha' by 'dantura,' i.e. one who has projecting teeth; whilst Sâyana, l.c., explains it by either 'given to perspiring (svedanasîlasarîra),' or 'moist-bodied (? leprous, or, old, in bodily decay, viklinnadeha).'
45. Cf. V, 5, 5, 12 'that triple Veda is the thousandfold progeny of Vâk.'
46. Svakarmasu bhâgena sthâpitam (? confined respectively to its own functions), comm.
47. Harisvâmin supplies 'akâryebhyah'--is kept away from what it is forbidden to do, or from what is not one's business.
48. That is, as would seem, either as a protection from neighbouring countries, or as room for spreading, and as pasture-land. Cf., however, XIII, 2-4, 2, 4, where, as in Ait. Br. III, 44; VI, 23, such a belt of jungle is referred to as a source of danger to the inhabitants of a country.
49. Viz. such as fever, comm.
50. That is, spreading them on the earth, or on clods of earth, comm.
51. That is, even independently of the horse-sacrifice.
52. That is to say, if it were to die by getting drowned, or in any other way.
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