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


4:1:2

SECOND BRÂHMANA.

II. THE GREAT PRESSING 1.

4:1:2:11. The Upâmsu (graha), forsooth, is his out-breathing, the Upâmsu-savana (stone) his through-breathing,

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and the Antaryâma (graha) his in-breathing.

4:1:2:22. Now as to why it is called Antaryâma. That which is the out-breathing is also the in-breathing and the through-breathing. Now, in drawing the Upâmsu (graha), he puts into him that out-breathing which tends away from him; and in drawing the

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[paragraph continues] Antaryâma, he puts into him that in-breathing which tends towards him. But this same in-breathing is confined within his self; and because it is confined (yam) within (antar) his self, or because these creatures are sustained (yam) by it, therefore it is called Antaryâma.

4:1:2:33. He draws it from inside the strainer 1, whereby he puts that in-breathing into him as one tending towards him, and that in-breathing of his is placed (or beneficial) within his self. And thereby also that Upâmsu (libation) of his comes to be drawn from inside the strainer (i.e. from the pure Soma), for one and the same are the Upâmsu and Antaryâma, since they are the out-breathing and in-breathing. And thereby, moreover, that (vital air) of his comes to be unceasing also at the other grahas.

4:1:2:44. Now as to why he purifies the Soma by means of a strainer (pavitra). When Soma had oppressed his own family-priest Brihaspati, he restored to him (his property); and on his restoring it, he (Brihaspati) became reconciled to him. Still there was guilt remaining, if only for having contemplated oppressing the priesthood.

4:1:2:55. The gods purified him by some means of purification (or a strainer, pavitra), and, being cleansed and pure, he became the (sacrificial) food of the gods. And

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in like manner does he now purify him by means of that strainer, and, being cleansed and pure, he becomes the food of the gods.

4:1:2:66. Then as to why the grahas are drawn with the Upayâma 1. Now Aditi is this (earth), and hers was that prâyanîya oblation, that Âditya rice-pap 2. But that was, as it were, previous to the Soma feast: she desired to have a share along with the gods in the Soma feast, and said, 'Let there be for me also a share of the pressed Soma!'

4:1:2:77. The gods said, 'This sacrifice has already been distributed among the deities: by means of thee the grahas shall be taken and offered to the deities!'--

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[paragraph continues] 'So be it!' This, then, is her share of the pressed Soma.

4:1:2:88. And, again, why the grahas are drawn with the Upayâma. The Upayâma indeed is this (earth), since it is this (earth) that bears (upa-yam 1) food here for cattle and men and trees; and the gods are above this, for the gods are in heaven.

4:1:2:99. The reason, then, why the grahas are drawn with the Upayâma, is that they are drawn by means of this (earth); and why he deposits them in the womb 2, is that this earth is the womb of everything, that it is from her that these creatures have sprung.

4:1:2:1010. That same Soma the priests carry about as seed. And seed which is cast outside the womb is lost; but that which he deposits in the womb is indeed deposited in this earth.

4:1:2:1111. Now these two grahas are his out-breathing and in-breathing; one of them he offers after sunrise and the other before sunrise, in order to keep the out-breathing and in-breathing distinct from each other. He thus keeps the out-breathing and in-breathing distinct from each other: hence these two, even while being one and the same, are yet called differently 'out-breathing' and 'in-breathing.'

4:1:2:1212. Now those two grahas are for him day and night; one of them he offers after sunrise and the

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other before sunrise, in order to keep day and night distinct from each other: he thus keeps day and night distinct. from each other  1.

4:1:2:1313. The Upâmsu, being the day, he offers in the night; and thus he puts the day into the night: whence even in the deepest darkness one distinguishes something 2.

4:1:2:1414. The Antaryâma, being the night, he offers after sunrise, and thus he puts the night into the day: whence that sun, on rising, does not burn up these creatures; whence these creatures are preserved.

4:1:2:1515. He draws (the Antaryâma graha) therefrom 3 with (Vâg. S. VII, 4), 'Thou art taken with a support!'--The significance of the Upayâma has been told 4.--'Restrain thou, O mighty (Indra), guard Soma!' the mighty, forsooth, is Indra; and Indra is the leader of the sacrifice: wherefore he says 'O mighty!' and by 'guard Soma' he means to say 'protect Soma!' 'Preserve the riches! gain thee food in the sacrifice!'--riches mean cattle: 'Protect the cattle' he thereby means to say. 'Gain thee food in the sacrifice!'--food means creatures: he thus makes these eager to sacrifice, and these creatures go on sacrificing and praising and toiling.

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4:1:2:1616. 'Into thee I lay day and night 1; into thee I lay the wide air: allied with the gods, the lower and the higher,'--thereby he makes this (graha) one belonging to all the gods: because by means of it these creatures move about in the air breathing out and breathing in, therefore it belongs to all the gods.--'Delight thyself in the Antaryâma, O mighty one!' the mighty one is Indra, and Indra is the leader of the sacrifice, wherefore he says 'O mighty one!' and in that he draws it with 'into--into,' thereby he means to say 'I lay thee into his (Indra's) self.'

4:1:2:1717. Having drawn it, he wipes (the vessel) all round, lest (any Soma-juice) should trickle down. He does not deposit it; for this is the in-breathing: hence this in-breathing passes unceasingly. But should he desire to exorcise, let him deposit it with 'I put thee down, the in-breathing of N.N.!'

4:1:2:1818. If he deposits the Upâmsu, let him also deposit this (Antaryâma cup) 2; and if he does not deposit the Upâmsu, let him also not deposit this. And if he covers the Upâmsu (with his hand), let him also cover this; and if he does not cover the Upâmsu, let him also not cover this: as the performance regarding the Upâmsu, so regarding this (graha); for one and the same are these two, the Upâmsu and Antaryâma, since they are the out-breathing and in-breathing.

4:1:2:1919. Now the Karakas, forsooth, offer these two

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[paragraph continues] (libations) with two different formulas 1, saying, 'These two are his out-breathing and in-breathing: we make the out-breathing and in-breathing of varied vigour.' But let him not do this, for they disorder the sacrificer's out-breathing and in-breathing. Now, one might also 2 offer this one silently:--

4:1:2:2020. But, as he offers the Upâmsu with a formula, even thereby this (libation) also comes to be offered with a formula. How then could one offer it silently, for these two, the Upâmsu and Antaryâma, are one and the same, since they are the out-breathing and in-breathing?

4:1:2:2121. With the very same formula with which he offers the Upâmsu, he offers this (libation),--'Self-made thou art: for all powers divine and earthly: may the mind obtain thee! Hail!--thee, O well-born, for Sûrya!' The significance of this formula has been told.

4:1:2:2222. And, having offered 3, he wipes the cup clean downwards. For even now, after offering the Upâmsu, he wiped (the cup) upwards; but here he wipes it downwards; whereby he puts the in-breathing into him as one tending towards him.

4:1:2:2323. He then rubs (the wiped-off Soma) upon the middle enclosing stick from east to west with the palm of his hand turned downwards. For even now, after offering the Upâmsu, he rubbed it upon the

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middle enclosing stick from west to east with the palm of his hand turned upwards; but here he does so from east to west with the palm of his hand turned downwards--whereby he puts the in-breathing into him as one tending towards him--with, 'Thee for the gods sipping motes of light!' The significance is the same as before.

4:1:2:2424. Having returned (to the cart-shed), he deposits that (cup) with, 'Thee for the in-breathing!' for this is indeed his in-breathing. He deposits them 1 so as to touch one another; whereby he makes out-breathing and in-breathing touch one another, joins the out-breathings and in-breathings together.

4:1:2:2525. Now these (cups and stone) repose without being moved until the evening Soma feast, whence men sleep here on earth; and at the evening Soma feast they are used again, whence these men, having slept, awake and are bustling and restless;--this, forsooth, is after the manner of the sacrifice, for the sacrifice is fashioned like a bird: the Upâmsu and Antaryâma (grahas) are its wings, and the Upâmsusavana (stone) its body.

4:1:2:2626. They repose without being moved until the evening Soma feast. The sacrifice is spread along; but what is spread along moves, whence those birds fly spreading their wings, not drawing them in. At the evening Soma feast they are again used; whence

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these birds fly drawing in their wings to fold them: this indeed is after the manner of the sacrifice.

4:1:2:2727. The Upâmsu, forsooth, is this (earth), for the Upâmsu is the out-breathing, and breathing out one breathes upon this (earth). And the Antaryâma is yonder (sky), for the Upâmsu is the in-breathing (up-breathing), and in breathing up one breathes towards yonder world. And the Upâmsu-savana (stone) is the air, for the Upâmsu-savana is the through-breathing, and he who breathes through (in and out), breathes through this air.


Footnotes

256:1 The 'Great Pressing' (mahâbhishava) from which the Antaryâma and following libations are obtained is performed by the four priests, viz. the Adhvaryu and his three assistants, Pratiprasthâtri, Neshtri and Unnetri, each having an equal portion of Soma-plants and one of the four remaining pressing-stones assigned to him. The ceremonies mentioned in III, 9, 4, 1 seq. are repeated on the present occasion, each of the priests tying a piece of gold to his ring-finger. The pressing is performed in three rounds of three turns each, the number of single strokes of the several turns p. 257 being, however, not limited, as was the case at the pressing of the Upâmsu. Only before the first turn of each round Nigrâbhyâ water is poured on the plants. After each turn the scattered plants are gathered together on a heap. At the end of each round (of three turns) the Soma is touched (or 'strengthened'); whereupon the completely pressed-out stalks are thrown into the Hotri's cup and the Nigrâbha formula is pronounced (III, 9, 4, 21). The stalks which are still juicy are then 'gathered together' (see III, 9, 4, 19) into the so-called sambharanî and poured into the Âdhavanîya trough, and having been stirred about therein by the Unnetri, are taken out, pressed out, and thrown on the skin, when the same process is repeated. On the completion of the third round the Dronakalasa is brought forward (from behind the axle of the southern cart) by the Udgâtris (for the mantras used by them see Tândya Br. I, 2, 6-7) and placed on the four stones covered with the pressed-out Soma husks, the straining-cloth being then stretched over it, with the fringe towards the north. The Hotri's cup (held by the sacrificer and containing the remaining Nigrâbhyâ water) having then been filled up by the Unnetri with the Soma-juice in the Âdhavanîya trough, the sacrificer pours it in one continuous stream from the Hotri's cup upon the straining-cloth, spread over the Dronakalasa by the chanters (Udgâtris), muttering a mantra (Tândya Br. I, 2, 9) all the time. From this stream the first eight (at the midday pressing the first five) libations are taken, by the respective cups being held under, the remaining libations or cups being drawn either from the strained (or 'pure,' sukra) Soma-juice in the Dronakalasa, or from the Âgrayanasthâlî or the Pûtabhrit. Sâyana on Ait. Br. II, 22, 1 seems to exclude the Antaryâma graha from the 'great pressing:' antaryâmagrahahomâd ûrdhvam mahâbhishavam kritvâ. Also in II, 21, 1 he mentions the Dadhi graha, Amsu graha, and Adâbhya graha (see p. 255, n. 2) as intervening between the Aponaptrîya ceremony and the drawing of the Upâmsu graha.

258:1 Antahpavitrât, lit. from (the vessel or stream of Soma) which has the strainer inside it; the straining-cloth being spread over the Dronakalasa, into which the pressed-out Soma-juice is poured. The Petersburg Dictionary assigns to it the meaning 'the Soma within the filtering vessel' (see IV, 1, 1, 3). Perhaps it means 'from that which has a strainer between,' i.e. from the poured-out stream from which the libation is taken, and which is separated from the Dronakalasa by the straining-cloth.

259:1 The term Upayâma, lit. 'foundation, substratum,' referring properly to 'that which is held under' while taking the libation, that is, the cup of the respective graha (and hence also identified with the earth, as the substratum of everything, cf. Sây. on Taitt. S. I, 4, 3), has come to be applied likewise to the formula 'upayâmagrihîto ’si,' i.e. 'thou art taken with (or on) a support,' which is repeated at those libations before the formulas muttered while they are drawn into the respective vessels or cups (see par. 15). Haug, Transl. Ait. Br. p. 118 note, makes the following distinction between the graha (cup) and pâtra (vessel) of the Antaryâma (and Upâmsu) libation: 'The pâtra is a vessel resembling a large wooden jar with but a very slight cavity on the top, in which the Soma-juice is filled. The graha is a small cup, like a saucer, made of earth, and put over the cavity of the Soma vessel, in order to cover the "precious" juice. The bottom of it is first put in water, and a gold leaf placed beneath it. There are as many grahas as there are pâtras; they belong together just as cup and saucer, and are regarded as inseparable. The word graha is, however, taken often in the sense of the whole, meaning both graha and pâtra.' I doubt, however, whether this distinction is in accordance with the old authorities. The graha vessels or cups are described as resembling the shape of a mortar. For other peculiarities, see IV, I, 5, 19. With some libations there is both a pâtra (cup) and a sthâlî (bowl).

259:2 See III, 2, 3, 1 seq.

260:1 Lit. forms the support or basis for it. The sentence could also be translated, 'this earth doubtless is an upayâma (support), since she bears food.' Apparently he means to say that, as the gods are above, the food to he offered to them requires some support, something to 'hold it up' by for the gods to reach it.

260:2 This refers to the formula 'This is thy womb,' with which most libations, after being drawn, are deposited in their proper place on the khara until they are used for offering. See IV, 1, 3, 19.

261:1 'Were he to offer both after sunrise, there would only be day, and no night; and were he to offer both before sunrise, there would only be night, and no day.' Kânva text.

261:2 Tasmâd y idam râtrau tamasi sati nirgñâyata iva kimkid iva. Kânva text.

261:3 Viz. from the stream of Soma poured from the Hotri's cup on the straining-cloth. See p. 256, note 1.

261:4 See paragraph 6, with note.

262:1 Mahîdhara offers the alternative interpretation, 'through thee I place day and night between (Soma and the enemies),' which is also Sâyana's interpretation on Taitt. S. I, 4, 3; as apparently that of the Taitt. S. itself, VI, 4, 6.

262:2 See IV, 1, 1, 17-18.

263:1 This does not appear to refer to the Taittirîyas, since by them the same order of proceeding is prescribed for the Antaryâma as for the Upâmsu (p. 252, note 2); cf. Sâyana on Taitt. S. I, p. 603. See, however, Maitrây. Samh. I, 3, 4-5.

263:2 'Apîd (vai)' seems to have much the same meaning ('perhaps') as the later 'api nâma.' Cf. I, 9, 1, 19.

263:3 He offers the entire Soma in the Antaryâma cup, without leaving any, or pouring any juice into the Âgrayanasthâlî.

264:1 According to the Kânva text he is to place the Antaryâma cup on the south-east corner (dakshinârdhe) of the khara (see p. 255, n. 2); while, according to Kâty. IX, 2, I, both the Upâmsu and Antaryâma are to be placed on the north-east corner, the former south of the latter. This arrangement, however, would scarcely agree with IV, I, 1, 27-28. The Upâmsu-savana stone, doubtless, is to lie between the two cups, with its face towards the Upâmsu.


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