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Satapatha Brahmana Part II (SBE26), Julius Eggeling tr. [1885], at sacred-texts.com


p. 357

4:4:1

FOURTH ADHYÂYA. FIRST BRÂHMANA.

4:4:1:11. Savitri, forsooth, is his 1 mind: therefore he draws the Sâvitra cup. And, forsooth, Savitri is his breath (vital air);--when he draws the Upâmsu cup, then he puts into him that vital air in front; and when he draws the Sâvitra cup, then he puts into him that vital air behind: thus those two vital airs on both sides are beneficial (or, put into him), both that which is above and that which is below.

4:4:1:22. And the sacrifice, forsooth, is the seasons, the year. There, at the morning feast, they are overtly attended to, in that he draws the cups for the seasons; and at the midday feast they are covertly attended to, in that he takes the Marutvatîya libations by means of the two Ritu vessels 2. Now here (at the evening feast) they neither draw any libation expressly for the seasons, nor is any libation taken with the two Ritu vessels.

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4:4:1:33. But Savitri, forsooth, is he that burns yonder (the sun); and he indeed is all the seasons: thus the seasons, the year, are overtly attended to at the evening feast,--for this reason he draws the Sâvitra cup.

4:4:1:44. He draws it with the Upâmsu vessel. For Savitri is his mind, and the Upâmsu is his breath: therefore he draws it with the Upâmsu vessel; or with the Antaryâma vessel, for that is one and the same, since the Upâmsu and Antaryâma are the out-breathing and in-breathing 1.

4:4:1:55. He draws it from the Âgrayana graha; for Savitri is his mind, and the Âgrayana is his body (or self): he thus puts the mind into the body. Savitri is his breath, and the Âgrayana is his body: he thus puts the breath into the body.

4:4:1:66. He thus draws it therefrom with (Vâg. S. VIII, 6; Rig-veda VI, 71, 6), 'Bring thou forth boons for us this day, O Savitar, boons to-morrow, boons day by day: O God, through this our prayer may we be sharers of boons, of a good and plenteous abode!--Thou art taken with a support!--Thou art Savitri's joy-giver, thou art a joy-giver: give me joy! speed the sacrifice; speed the lord of the sacrifice to (receive) his share!'

4:4:1:77. Having drawn it, he does not deposit it; for Savitri is his (Yagña's) mind, and hence this mind is restless. And Savitri is his breath: hence this breath passes to and fro unrestingly. He then says (to the Maitrâvaruna), 'Recite (the invitatory prayer) to the god Savitri!' Having called for the

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[paragraph continues] Sraushat, he says, 'Prompt (the Hotri to recite the offering prayer) to the god Savitri!' The Vashat having been pronounced, he offers. He (the Hotri) pronounces no Anuvashat 1,--for Savitri is his mind,--'lest he should consign his mind to the fire;' and Savitri being his breath,--'lest he should consign his breath to the fire.'

4:4:1:88. Then with the (same) vessel, without drinking therefrom 2, he draws the Vaisvadeva graha. The reason why he draws the Vaisvadeva graha with the (same) vessel, without drinking therefrom, is this: on the Sâvitra graha he (the Hotri) pronounces no Anuvashat, and it is therefrom that he is about to draw the Vaisvadeva graha,--thus it is by means of the Vaisvadeva that it becomes supplied with the Anuvashat for him.

4:4:1:99. And further why he draws the Vaisvadeva graha. Savitri, forsooth, is his rind, and the Visve Devâh (All-gods, or all the gods 3) are everything here: he thus makes everything here subservient and obedient to the mind, and hence everything here is subservient and obedient to the mind.

4:4:1:1010. And again why he draws the Vaisvadeva graha. Savitri, forsooth, is his breath, and the All-gods are everything here: he thereby puts the out-breathing and in-breathing into everything here, and

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thus the out-breathing and in-breathing become beneficial (or put) in everything here.

4:4:1:1111. And again why he draws the Vaisvadeva graha. The evening feast belongs to the All-gods: thus indeed it is called on the part of the Sâman, in that the evening feast is called Vaisvadeva on the part of the Rik 1, and in the same way on the part of the Yagus, by way of preparatory rite, when he draws that Mahâ-vaisvadeva graha.

4:4:1:1212. He draws it from the Pûtabhrit; for the Pûtabhrit belongs to the All-gods, because therefrom they draw (Soma juice) for the gods, therefrom for men, therefrom for the Fathers: hence the Pûtabhrit belongs to the All-gods.

4:4:1:1313. He draws it without a puroruk 2, for he draws it for the All-gods, and the All-gods are everything, the Rik and Yagus and Sâman; and even in that he draws it for the All-gods, thereby it becomes supplied with a puroruk for him: therefore he draws it without a puroruk.

4:4:1:1414. He thus draws it therefrom with (Vâg. S. VIII, 8), 'Thou art taken with a support: thou art well-guarded, well-established,'--for well-guarded and well-established is the breath,--'homage to the great bull!'--the great bull is Pragâpati (the lord of creatures): 'homage to Pragâpati,' he thereby means to say.--'Thee to the All-gods! this is thy womb,--thee to the All-gods!' Therewith he

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deposits it; for it is for the All-gods that he draws it. Thereupon he goes (to the Sadas) and sits down (in front of the Hotri) with his face to the east 1.

4:4:1:1515. And when he (the Hotri) recites this (verse), 'With one and ten for thine own sake, with two and twenty for offering, with three and thirty for up-bearing (the sacrifice to the gods); with thy teams, O Vâyu, do thou here unloose them!'--during (the recitation of) this verse to Vâyu the drinking-vessels are unyoked 2, for beasts have Vâyu for their leader; and Vâyu

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[paragraph continues] (wind) is breath, since it is by means of the breath that beasts move about.

4:4:1:1616. Now once on a time he went away from the gods with the beasts. The gods called after him at the morning pressing,--he returned not. They called after him at the midday pressing,--but he returned not. They called after him at the evening pressing.

4:4:1:1717. Being about to return, he said, 'If I were to return to you, what would be my reward? '--'By thee these vessels would be yoked, and by thee they would be unloosed!'--Hence those vessels are yoked by that (Vâyu), when he (the Adhvaryu) draws the (cups) for Indra and Vâyu and so forth 1. And now those vessels are unloosed by him, when he says, 'with thy teams, O Vâyu, do thou here unloose them;'--teams mean cattle: thus he unlooses those vessels by means of cattle.

4:4:1:1818. Now, had he returned at the morning pressing--the morning pressing belonging to the Gâyatrî, and the Gâyatrî being the priesthood 2--then cattle would have come to be with priests only. And had he returned at the midday pressing--the midday pressing belonging to Indra, and Indra being the nobility--cattle would have come to be with nobles only. But in that he returned at the evening pressing--the evening pressing belonging to the All-gods, and the All-gods being everything here--therefore there are cattle everywhere here.


Footnotes

357:1 Viz. that of Yagña, the sacrificial man, representing the sacrificer himself, with a view to the preparation of a new body in a future existence.

357:2 See IV, 3, 3, 12.

358:1 See IV, 1, 1, 1.

359:1 See p. 351, note 1.

359:2 Lit. 'with the not-drunk-from vessel.' He is not to drink with the Hotri the remains of the Sâvitra graha, which is to be offered up entirely (holocaust).

359:3 In Ait. Br. III, 31 five classes of beings, viz. the gods and men, the Gandharva-Apsaras, the serpents and the manes, are included in the term Visve Devâh.

360:1 The first sastra of the Tritîya-savana, now about to be recited by the Hotri (Rig-veda priest), is the Vaisvadeva sastra; hence also, he argues, it is Vaisvadeva on the part of the Sâman, because of the intimate connection of the Sâman chants (here the Tritîya, or Ârbhava, pavamâna stotra; see p. 325, note 2) with the sastras.

360:2 See p. 268, note 1.

361:1 He remains thus seated till the Hotri utters the Âhâva 'Adhvaryo sosamsâvom' (Adhvaryu, let us sing!), when he turns round and makes his response (pratigara) 'Samsâmo daivom.' See p. 326, note 1.

The Vaisvadeva sastra consists of the following parts:--

Pratipad (opening triplet), Rig-veda V, 82, 1-3.

Anukara (sequel), ib. 4-7.

Sûkta (hymn) to Savitri, IV, 54. Before the last verse the Nivid ('May the god Savitri drink of the Soma!' &c.) is inserted; to which the verse to Vâyu, referred to in paragraph 15, is added.

Sûkta to Heaven and Earth, I, 159, with the Nivid 'May Heaven and Earth delight in the Soma!' &c., inserted before the last verse; the Adhvaryu's response being thrice Madâmo daiva,' see p. 330, note 3.

Dhâyyâ verse, I, 4, 1.

Sûkta to the Ribhus, I, 111; with Nivid before the last verse.

Three Dhâyyâs, X, 123, 1; X, 63, 3; IV, 50, 6.

Sûkta to Visve Devâh, I, 89; with Nivid before the last verse.

The concluding verse (paridhânîyâ) is recited thrice; the first time with stops at every half verse, the second and third time at every pâda.

Ukthavîrya, 'Praise has been sung to Indra, to the gods, to hear thee!'

Then follows the recitation of the offering prayer VI, 52, 13, after which the libation is made, the remaining juice being then drunk, as well as that in the kamasas.

361:2 That is, having been rinsed in the Mârgâlîya, the three dvidevatya are deposited on the khara by the Pratiprasthâtri.

362:1 See IV, 1, 3.

362:2 Perhaps we ought to read, with the Kânva text, gâyatram vai prâtahsavanam gâyatram agnes khando brahma vâ agnir, brâhmaneshu haiva pasavo ’bhavishyan, 'the morning pressing relating to the gâyatrî, and the gâyatrî metre belonging to Agni, and Agni being the priesthood.'


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