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Satapatha Brahmana Part III (SBE41), Julius Eggeling tr. [1894], at sacred-texts.com


5:2:5

FIFTH BRÂHMANA.

5:2:5:11. He prepares a cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Vishnu, a pap for Indra and Vishnu, and either a cake on three potsherds, or a pap, for Vishnu. He performs that Trishamyukta 1 offering. Therewith the gods came by men, and in like manner does this (king) now thereby come by men.

5:2:5:22. Now as to why there is that cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Vishnu;--Agni is the giver, and men are Vishnu's: thus Agni, the giver, gives him (the king) men.

5:2:5:33. And as to why there is a pap for Indra and Vishnu;--Indra is the Sacrificer, and men are Vishnu's: thus Agni, the giver, gives him (the

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[paragraph continues] Sacrificer) men; he now puts himself in contact with them, makes them his own.

5:2:5:44. And as to why there is either a cake on three potsherds, or a pap, for Vishnu;--whatever men Agni, the giver, gives him, among them he thereby finally establishes him (the king); and whatever work he wishes to do with his men, that he is able to do. Thus he thereby approaches the men, thinking, 'May I be consecrated, and possessed of men!' A dwarfish bull is the sacrificial fee for this (offering), for the dwarf belongs to Vishn1.

5:2:5:55. He then performs another Trishamyukta offering. He prepares a cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Pûshan, a pap for Indra and Pûshan, and a pap for Pûshan: this Trishamyukta he offers. Thereby the gods obtained cattle; and in like manner does this (king) thereby obtain cattle.

5:2:5:66. Now as to why there is that cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Pûshan; Agni is the giver, and the cattle are Pûshan's: thus Agni, the giver, gives him cattle.

5:2:5:77. And as to why there is a pap for Indra and Pûshan;--Indra is the Sacrificer, and the cattle are Pûshan's: whatever cattle Agni, the giver, gives him, therewith he now puts himself in contact, those he makes his own.

5:2:5:88. And why there is a pap for Pûshan;--whatever cattle Agni, the giver, gives him, therewith he thereby finally establishes him, and whatever work he wishes to do with his cattle, that he is able

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to do: thus he comes by cattle, thinking, 'May I be consecrated, possessed of cattle!' A dark-grey 1 bull is the fee for this (offering), for such a dark-grey one is of Pûshan's nature: there are two forms of the dark-grey, the white hair and the black; and 'two and two' means a productive pair, and Pûshan represents productiveness, for Pûshan is cattle, and cattle means productiveness: thus a productive pair is obtained,--hence a dark-grey bull is the sacrificial fee.

5:2:5:99. He then performs another Trishamyukta offering. He prepares a cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Soma, a pap for Indra and Soma, and a pap for Soma: this Trishamyukta (triply connected) he offers:--Thereby the gods attained glory; and in like manner does this (king) thereby attain glory.

5:2:5:1010. Now as to why there is that cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Soma;--Agni is the giver, and Soma is glory: thus Agni, the giver, gives him glory.

5:2:5:1111. And as to why there is a pap for Indra and Soma;--Indra is the Sacrificer, and Soma is glory: whatever glory Agni, the giver, gives him, therewith he now puts himself in contact, that he makes his own.

5:2:5:1212. And why there is a pap for Soma;--whatever glory, Agni, the giver, gives him, therein he now finally establishes him; and whatever work he, the glorious, wishes to do, that he is able to do. Thus he thereby attains glory,--thinking, 'May I be consecrated, endowed with glory!' for the inglorious one has no concern with success. A brown bull is

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the fee for this (offering); for such a brown one is of Soma's nature.

5:2:5:1313. And on the following day he prepares a cake-on twelve potsherds for (Agni) Vaisvânara, and a barley pap for Varuna. These two offerings he performs either on days following one another, or so as to use the same barhis 1.

5:2:5:1414. And as to why there is that (cake) for Vaisvânara;--Vaisvânara ('belonging to all men') truly is the year, and Pragâpati is the year; and Pragâpati indeed thereby created abundance and creatures, thinking, 'May I be consecrated, having created abundance and creatures!' And in like manner does that (king) thereby create abundance and creatures, thinking, 'May I be consecrated, having created abundance and creatures!'

5:2:5:1515. And why it is one on twelve potsherds;--twelve months there are in the year, and Vaisvânara is the year: this is why it is one on twelve potsherds.

5:2:5:1616. And as to why there is a barley pap for Varuna; he thereby frees the creatures from every snare of Varuna, from all that comes from Varun2;

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and those creatures of his are produced sound and faultless: 'May I be consecrated for sound and faultless creatures (or subjects)!' he thinks.

5:2:5:1717. A bull is the fee for the Vaisvânara (oblation); for Vaisvânara is the year, and Pragâpati is the year; and the bull is the Pragâpati (lord of creatures or generation) among cows: therefore a bull is the fee for the Vaisvânara. A black cloth for the Vâruna (oblation), for what is black belongs to Varuna. If he cannot obtain a black one, any kind of cloth will do: it is by its knots that the cloth belongs to Vanilla, for the knot is sacred to Varuna.


Footnotes

54:1 That is, 'the triply connected,' the ceremony being made up of three rounds, each of which consists of three separate oblations,

1. Agnâvaishnava cake, Aindrâvaishnava pap, Vaishnava pap;
2. Agnâpaushna cake, Aindrâpaushna pap, Paushna pap;
3. Agnîshomîya cake, Aindrâsaumya pap, Samnya pap.

[paragraph continues] In this way one of the three divinities for whom the offering is intended,--viz. Vishnu, Pûshan, and Soma,--is each time connected with the two head-gods, Agni and Indra.--In the Black Yagur-veda, this set of offerings (not, however, called there by this name), is preceded by another ceremony consisting of five oblations to Dhâtri, Anumati, Râkâ, Sinîvâlî, and Kuhû. Taitt. S. I, 8, 8. Cf. Sât. Br. IX, 5, 1, 38.

55:1 See the legend, I, 2, 3, 1 seq., which represents Vishnu as a dwarf, who obtained from the Asuras as much ground for the gods, as he lay upon.--'Tad dhi pasushu vaishnavam rûpam yad vâmanasya goh.' Kânva rec.

56:1 See V, 1, 3, 9.

57:1 That is to say, he is either to perform the Vaisvânara on one, and the Vâruna one on the next--in which case a different barhis, or altar-covering of sacrificial grass, would be needed--or he may perform them both on one and the same day, with the same barhis serving for both.

57:2 See III, 8; 5, 10 where I translated, 'from all (guilt) against Varuna;' varunya, doubtless, implies both the guilt incurred by the infringement of Varuna's sacred laws, and the punishment inflicted by him. As regards the 'swearing by Varuna (?)' there referred to, see Rik S. X, 97, 16 where the conjurer mutters: 'May they (the plants) free me from the (evil) resulting from the curse and from Varuna;'--muñkantu mâ sapathyâd atho varunyâd uta.


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