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Satapatha Brahmana Part V (SBE44), Julius Eggeling tr. [1900], at sacred-texts.com


13:1:8

EIGHTH BRÂHMANA.

13:1:8:11. Pragâpati poured forth the life-sap of the horse 2. When poured forth, it weighed down the rik (hymn-verse) and the sâman (hymn-tune). The Vaisvadeva (offerings) upheld that (Asvamedha): thus, when he offers the Vaisvadevas, it is for the upholding of the Asvamedha.

13:1:8:22. With (Vâg. S. XXII, 20), 'To Ka hail! To the Who hail! To the Whoever hail!' he makes the one relating to Pragâpati the first (or chief one), and thus upholds (the Asvamedha) by means of the deities with Pragâpati as their chief.

13:1:8:33. 'Hail, meditation (we give) unto him meditated upon! Hail, the mind unto the Lord of creatures! Hail, thought unto him, the known 3!' what the mystic sense of the former (utterances 4) was that it is here.

p. 293

13:1:8:44. 'To Aditi hail! To Aditi, the mighty, hail! To Aditi, the most merciful, hail!' Aditi, doubtless, is this (earth): it is by her that he upholds it.

13:1:8:55. 'To Sarasvatî hail! To Sarasvatî, the pure, hail! To Sarasvatî, the great, hail!' Sarasvatî, doubtless, is speech: by speech he thus upholds it.

13:1:8:66. 'To Pûshan hail! To Pûshan, the protector of travellers, hail! To Pûshan, the watcher of men, hail!' Pûshan, doubtless, is cattle: by means of cattle he thus upholds it.

13:1:8:77. 'To Tvashtri hail! To Tvashtri, the seminal, hail! To Tvashtri, the multiform hail!' Tvashtri, doubtless, is the fashioner of the couples of animals: by means of forms he thus upholds it.

13:1:8:88. 'To Vishnu hail! To Vishnu, the protector of what grows 1, hail! To Vishnu, the bald 2, hail!' Vishnu, doubtless, is the sacrifice: by sacrifice he thus upholds it. With (Vâg. XXII, 21), 'Let every mortal espouse the friendship of the divine guide, . . . 3,' he offers last of all a full (-spoon)-oblation; for the full-offering is this (earth): he thus finally establishes himself on this (earth).


Footnotes

292:2 See p. 289, note 1. It is here taken to be represented by the Yagus:--asvamedham yagurâtmakavigrahavantam srishtavân, Harisv.--the larger number of sacrificial formulas used at the performances being too heavy for the recited and chanted texts.

292:3 Mahîdhara takes 'âdhim âdhîtâya' in the sense of 'âdhânam prâptâya' (who has obtained a consecrated fire); and 'manah pragâtaye' in the sense of 'manasi vartamânâya p.' (to P. who is in our mind); and 'kittam vigñâtâya' in the sense of 'sarveshâm kittasâkshine' (to the witness, or knower, of all men's thoughts).

292:4 Harisvâmin probably is right in supplying 'vyâhritînâm;' though possibly 'devatânâm' (deities) may be understood.

293:1 The meaning of 'nibhûyapa' is doubtful; Mahîdhara explains it by 'nitarâm bhûtvâ matsyâdyavatâram kritvâ pâti.' Perhaps it may mean 'condescending protector,' though one expects a direct object with 'pa.'

293:2 The word 'sipivishta,' as applied to Vishnu, is likewise of doubtful meaning. The native dictionaries assign both the meaning 'bald' and 'leprous' (or, affected with skin-disease) to it; whilst the first part 'sipi' is taken variously by commentators as meaning 'cattle,' or 'ray,' or 'water,' or 'living being.'

293:3 See III, 1, 4, 18; VI, 6, 1, 21; and p. 294, note 1.


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