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IX.
PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS IN THE INTEREST
OF THE BRAHMANS.
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V, 18. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brahmans.
1. The gods, O king, did not give to thee this (cow) to eat. Do not, O prince,
seek to devour the cow of the Brāhmaṇa, which is unfit to be eaten!
2. The prince, beguiled by dice, the wretched one who has lost as a stake his
own person, he may, perchance, eat the cow of the Brāhmaṇa, (thinking), 'let
me live to-day (if) not to-morrow'!
3. Enveloped (is she) in her skin, as an adder with evil poison; do not, O
prince, (eat the cow) of the Brāhmaṇa: sapless, unfit to be eaten, is that
cow!
4. Away does (the Brāhmaṇa) take regal power, destroys vigour; like fire which
has caught does he burn away everything. He that regards the Brāhmaṇa as fit
food drinks of the poison of the taimāta-serpent.
5. He who thinks him (the Brahman) mild, and slays him, he who reviles the
gods, lusts after wealth, without thought, in his heart Indra kindles a fire;
him both heaven and earth hate while he lives.
6. The Brāhmaṇa must not be encroached upon, any more than fire, by him that
regards his own body! For Soma is his (the Brāhmaṇa's) heir, Indra protects
him from hostile plots.
7. He swallows her (the cow), bristling with a hundred hooks, (but) is unable
to digest her, he, the fool who, devouring the food of the Brahmans, thinks,
'I am eating a luscious (morsel).'
8. (The Brahman's) tongue turns into a bowstring, his voice into the neck of
an arrow; his windpipe, his teeth are bedaubed with holy fire: with these the
Brahman strikes those who revile the gods, by means of bows that have the
strength to reach the heart, discharged by the gods.
9. The Brāhmaṇas have sharp arrows, are armed with missiles, the arrow which
they hurl goes not in vain; pursuing him with their holy fire and their wrath,
even from afar, do they pierce him.
10. They who ruled over a thousand, and were themselves ten hundred, the
Vaitahavya, when they devoured the cow of the Brāhmaṇa, perished.
11. The cow herself, when slaughtered, came down upon the Vaitahavyas, who had
roasted for themselves the last she-goat of Keśaraprābandhā.
12. The one hundred and one persons whom the earth did cast off, because they
had injured the offspring of a Brāhmaṇa, were ruined irretrievably.
13. As a reviler of the gods does he live among mortals, having swallowed
poison, he becomes more bone (than flesh). He that injureth a Brāhmaṇa, whose
kin are the gods, does not reach heaven by the road of the Fathers.
14. Agni is called our guide, Soma our heir, Indra slays those who curse (us):
that the strong (sages) know.
15. Like a poisoned arrow, O king, like an adder, O lord of cattle, is the
terrible arrow of the Brāhmaṇa: with that he smites those who revile (the
gods).
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V, 19. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brahmans.
1. Beyond measure they waxed strong, just fell short of touching the heavens.
When they infringed upon Bhṛgu they perished, the Sṛñjaya Vaitahavyas.
2. The persons who pierced Bṛhatsāman, the descendant of Aṅgiras, the
Brāhmaṇa — a ram with two rows of teeth, a sheep devoured their offspring.
3. They who spat upon the Brāhmaṇa, who desired tribute from him, they sit in
the middle of a pool of blood, chewing hair.
4. The cow of the Brahman, when roasted, as far as she reaches does she
destroy the lustre of the kingdom; no lusty hero is born (there).
5. A cruel (sacrilegious) deed is her slaughter, her meat, when eaten, is
sapless; when her milk is drunk, that surely is accounted a crime against the
Fathers.
6. When the king, weening himself mighty, desires to destroy the Brāhmaṇa,
then royal power is dissipated, where the Brāhmaṇa is oppressed.
7. Becoming eight-footed, four-eyed, four-eared, four-jawed, two-mouthed,
two-tongued, she dispels the rule of the oppressor of the Brahman.
8. That (kingdom) surely she swamps, as water a leaking ship; misfortune
strikes that kingdom, in which they injure a Brāhmaṇa.
9. The trees chase away with the words: 'do not come within our shade,' him
who covets the wealth that belongs to a Brāhmaṇa, O Nārada!
10. King Varuṇa pronounced this (to be) poison, prepared by the gods: no one
who has devoured the cow of a Brāhmaṇa retains the charge of a kingdom.
11. Those full nine and ninety whom the earth did cast off, because they had
injured the offspring of a Brāhmaṇa, were ruined irretrievably.
12. The kūdī-plant (Christ's thorn) that wipes away the track (of death),
which they fasten to the dead, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the
gods did declare (to be) thy couch.
13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed (Brahman), as
he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to
thee as thy share of water.
14. The water with which they bathe the dead, with which they moisten his
beard, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as
thy share of water.
15. The rain of Mitra and Varuṇa does not moisten the oppressor of Brahmans;
the assembly is not complacent for him, he does not guide his friend according
to his will.
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V, 7. Prayer to appease Arāti, the demon of grudge and avarice.
1. Bring (wealth) to us, do not stand in our way, O Arāti; do not keep from us
the sacrificial reward as it is being taken (to us)! Adoration be to the power
of grudge, the power of failure, adoration to Arāti!
2. To thy advising minister, whom thou, Arāti, didst make thy agent, do we
make obeisance. Do not bring failure to my wish!
3. May our wish, instilled by the gods, be fulfilled by day and night! We go
in quest of Arāti. Adoration be to Arāti!
4. Sarasvatī (speech), Anumati (favour), and Bhaga (fortune) we go to invoke.
Pleasant, honied, words I have spoken on the occasions when the gods were
invoked.
5. Him whom I implore with Vāk Sarasvatī (the goddess of speech), the
yoke-fellow of thought, faith shall find to-day, bestowed by the brown soma!
6. Neither our wish nor our speech do thou frustrate! May Indra and Agni both
bring us wealth! Do ye all who to-day desire to make gifts to us gain favour
with Arāti!
7. Go far away, failure! Thy missile do we avert. I know thee (to be)
oppressive and piercing, O Arāti!
8. Thou dost even transform thyself into a naked woman, and attach thyself to
people in their sleep, frustrating, O Arāti, the thought, and intention of
man.
9. To her who, great, and of great dimension, did penetrate all the regions,
to this golden-locked Nirṛti (goddess of misfortune), I have rendered
obeisance.
10. To the gold-complexioned, lovely one, who rests upon golden cushions, to
the great one, to that Arāti who wears golden robes, I have rendered
obeisance.
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XII, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans.
1. 'I give,' he shall surely say, 'the sterile cow to the begging Brahmans' —
and they have noted her — that brings progeny and offspring!
2. With his offspring does he trade, of his cattle is he deprived, that
refuses to give the cow of the gods to the begging descendants of the Ṛṣis.
3. Through (the gift of) a cow with broken horns his (cattle) breaks down,
through a lame one he tumbles into a pit, through a mutilated one his house is
burned, through a one-eyed one his property is given away.
4. Flow of blood attacks the cattle-owner from the spot where her dung is
deposited: this understanding there is about the vaśā (the sterile cow); for
thou (sterile cow) art said to be very difficult to deceive!
5. From the resting-place of her feet the (disease) called viklindu overtakes
(the owner, or the cattle). Without sickness breaks down (the cattle) which
she sniffs upon with her nose.
6. He that pierces her ears is estranged from the gods. He thinks: 'I am
making a mark (upon her),' (but) he diminishes his own property.
7. If any one for whatsoever purpose cuts her tail then do his colts die, and
the wolf tears his calves.
8. If a crow has injured her hair, as long as she is with her owner then do
his children die: decline overtakes them without (noticeable) sickness.
9. If the serving-maid sweeps together her dung, that bites as lye, there
arises from this sin disfigurement that passeth not away.
10. The sterile cow in her very birth is born for the gods and Brāhmaṇas.
Hence to the Brahmans she is to be given: that, they say, guarantees the
security of one's own property.
11. For those that come requesting her the cow has been created by the gods.
Oppression of Brahmans it is called, if he keeps her for himself.
12. He that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the descendants of the Ṛṣis
who ask for it, infringes upon the gods, and the wrath of the Brāhmaṇas.
13. Though he derives benefit from this sterile cow, another (cow) then shall
he seek! When kept she injures (his) folk, if he refuses to give her after she
has been asked for!
14. The sterile cow is as a treasure deposited for the Brāhmaṇas: they come
here for her, with whomsoever she is born.
15. The Brāhmaṇas come here for their own, when they come for the sterile cow.
The refusal of her is, as though he were oppressing them in other concerns.
16. If she herds up to her third year, and no disease is discovered in her,
and he finds her to be a sterile cow, O Nārada, then must he look for the
Brāhmaṇas.
17. If he denies that she is sterile, a treasure deposited for the gods, then
Bhava and Śarva, both, come upon him, and hurl their arrow upon him.
18. Though he does not perceive upon her either udder, or teats, yet both
yield him milk, if he has prevailed upon himself to give away the sterile cow.
19. Hard to cheat, she oppresses him, if, when asked for, he refuses to give
her. His desires are not fulfilled, if he aims to accomplish them without
giving her away.
20. The gods did ask for the sterile cow, making the Brāhmaṇa their
mouthpiece. The man that does not give (her) enters into the wrath of all of
these.
21. Into the wrath of the cattle enters he that gives not the sterile cow to
the Brāhmaṇas; if he, the mortal, appropriates the share deposited for the
gods.
22. Even if a hundred other Brāhmaṇas beg the owner for the sterile cow, yet
the gods did say anent her: 'The cow belongs to him that knoweth thus.'
23. He that refuses the sterile cow to him that knoweth thus, and gives her to
others, difficult to dwell upon is for him the earth with her divinities.
24. The gods did beg the sterile cow of him with whom she was born at first.
That very one Nārada recognised and drove forth in company with the gods.
25. The sterile cow renders childless, and poor in cattle, him that yet
appropriates her, when she has been begged for by the Brāhmaṇas.
26. For Agni and Soma, for Kāma, for Mitra, and for Varuṇa, for these do the
Brāhmaṇas beg her: upon these he infringes, if he gives her not.
27. As long as the owner does not himself hear the stanzas referring to (the
giving away of) her, she may herd among his cattle; (only) if he has not heard
(them) may she pass the night in his house.
28. He that has listened to the stanzas, yet has permitted her to herd among
the cattle, his life and prosperity the angry gods destroy.
29. The sterile cow, even when she rambles freely, is a treasure deposited for
the gods. Make evident thy true nature when thou desirest to go to thy
(proper) stable!
30. She makes evident her nature when she desires to go to her (proper)
stable. Then indeed the sterile cow puts it into the minds of the Brahmans to
beg (for her).
31. She evolves it in her mind, that (thought) reaches the gods. Then do the
Brahmans come to beg for the sterile cow.
32. The call svadhā befriends him with the Fathers, the sacrifice with the
gods. Through the gift of the sterile cow the man of royal caste incurs not
the anger of (her), his mother.
33. The sterile cow is the mother of the man of royal caste: thus was it from
the beginning. It is said to be no (real) deprivation if she is given to the
Brahmans.
34. As if he were to rob the ghee ladled up for Agni (the fire) from the
(very) spoon, thus, if he gives not the sterile cow to the Brahmans, does he
infringe upon Agni.
35. The sterile cow has the puroḍāśa (sacrificial cake) for her calf, she
yields plentiful milk, helps in this world, and fulfils all wishes for him
that gives her (to the Brahmans).
36. The sterile cow fulfils all wishes in the kingdom of Yama for him that
gives her. But they say that hell falls to the lot of him that withholds her,
when she has been begged for.
37. The sterile cow, even if she should become fruitful, lives in anger at her
owner: 'since he did regard me as sterile (without giving me to the Brahmans),
he shall be bound in the fetters of death!'
38. He who thinks that the cow is sterile, and (yet) roasts her at home, even
his children and grandchildren Bṛhaspati causes to be importuned (for her).
39. Fiercely does the (supposed) sterile cow burn when she herds with the
cattle, though she be a (fruitful) cow. She verily, too, milks poison for the
owner that does not present her.
40. It pleases the cattle when she is given to the Brahmans; moreover, the
sterile cow is pleased, when she is made an offering to the gods (Brahmans).
41. From the sterile cows which the gods, returning from the sacrifice,
created, Nārada picked out as (most) terrible the viliptī.
42. In reference to her the gods reflected: 'Is she a sterile cow, or not?'
And Nārada in reference to her said: 'Of sterile cows she is the most
sterile!'
43. 'How many sterile cows (are there), O Nārada, which thou knowest to be
born among men?' About these do I ask thee, that knowest: 'Of which may the
non-Brāhmaṇa not eat?'
44. Of the viliptī, of her that has born a sterile cow, and of the sterile cow
(herself), the non-Brāhmaṇa, that hopes for prosperity, shall not eat!
45. Reverence be to thee, O Nārada, that knowest thoroughly which sterile cow
is the most terrible, by withholding which (from the Brahmans) destruction is
incurred.
46. The viliptī, O Bṛhaspati, her that has begotten a sterile cow, and the
sterile cow (herself), the non-Brāhmaṇa, that hopes for prosperity, shall not
eat!
47. Three kinds, forsooth, of sterile cows are there: the viliptī, she that
has begotten a sterile cow, and the sterile cow (herself). These he shall give
to the Brahmans; (then) does he not estrange himself from Prajāpati.
48. 'This is your oblation, O Brāhmaṇas,' thus shall he reflect, if he is
supplicated, if they ask him for the sterile cow, terrible in the house of him
that refuses to give her.
49. The gods animadverted in reference to Bheda and the sterile cow, angry
because he had not given her, in these verses — and therefore he (Bheda)
perished.
50. Bheda did not present the sterile cow, though requested by Indra: for this
sin the gods crushed him in battle.
51. The counsellors that advise the withholding (of the sterile cow), they,
the rogues, in their folly, conflict with the wrath of Indra.
52. They who lead the owner of cattle aside, then say to him: 'do not give,'
in their folly they run into the missile hurled by Rudra.
53. And if he roasts the sterile cow at home, whether he makes a sacrifice of
her, or not, he sins against the gods and Brāhmaṇas, and as a cheat falls from
heaven.
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XI, 1. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to the
Brahmans.
1. O Agni, come into being! Aditi here in her throes, longing for sons, is
cooking the porridge for the Brahmans. The seven Ṛṣis, that did create the
beings, shall here churn thee, along with progeny!
2. Produce the smoke, ye lusty friends; unharmed by wiles go ye into the
contest! Here is the Agni (fire) who gains battles, and commands powerful
warriors, with whom the gods did conquer the demons.
3. O Agni, to a great heroic deed thou wast aroused, to cook the Brahman's
porridge, O Jātavedas! The seven Ṛṣis, that did create the beings, have
produced thee. Grant her (the wife) wealth together with undiminished heroes!
4. Burn, O Agni, after having been kindled by the firewood, bring skilfully
hither the gods that are to be revered! Causing the oblation to cook for these
(Brahmans), do thou raise this (sacrificer) to the highest firmament!
5. The threefold share which was of yore assigned to you (belongs) to the
gods, the (departed) Fathers, and to the mortals (the priests). Know your
shares! I divide them for you: the (share) of the gods shall protect this
(woman)!
6. O Agni, possessed of might, superior, thou dost without fail prevail! Bend
down to the ground our hateful rivals! — This measure, that is being measured,
and has been measured, may constitute thy kin into (people) that render thee
tribute!
7. Mayest thou together with thy kin be endowed with sap! Elevate her (the
wife) to great heroism! Ascend on high to the base of the firmament, which
they call 'the world of brightness'!
8. This great goddess earth, kindly disposed, shall receive the (sacrificial)
skin! Then may we go to the world of well-doing (heaven)!
9. Lay these two press-stones, well coupled, upon the skin; crush skilfully
the (soma-) shoots for the sacrificer! Crush down, (O earth), and beat down,
those who are hostile to her (the wife); lift up high, and elevate her
offspring!
10. Take into thy hands, O man, the press-stones that work together: the gods
that are to be revered have come to thy sacrifice! Whatever three wishes thou
dost choose, I shall here procure for thee unto fulfilment.
11. This, (O winnowing-basket), is thy purpose, and this thy nature: may
Aditi, mother of heroes, take hold of thee! Winnow out those who are hostile
to this (woman); afford her wealth and undiminished heroes!
12. Do ye, (O grains), remain in the (winnowing-) basket, while (the wind)
blows over you; be separated, ye who are fit for the sacrifice, from the
chaff! May we in happiness be superior to all our equals! I bend down under
our feet those that hate us.
13. Retire, O woman, and return promptly! The stable of the waters
(water-vessel) has settled upon thee, that thou mayest carry it: of these (the
waters) thou shalt take such as are fit for sacrifice; having intelligently
divided them off, thou shalt leave the rest behind!
14. These bright women, (the waters), have come hither. Arise, thou woman, and
gather strength! To thee, that art rendered by thy husband a true wife, (and)
by thy children rich in offspring, the sacrifice has come: receive the
(water-) vessel!
15. The share of food that belongs to you of yore has been set aside for you.
Instructed by the Ṛṣis bring thou (woman) hither this water! May this
sacrifice win advancement for you, win protection, win offspring for you; may
it be mighty, win cattle, and heroes for you!
16. O Agni, the sacrificial pot has settled upon thee: do thou shining,
brightly glowing, heat it with thy glow! May the divine descendants of the
Ṛṣis, assembled about their share (of the porridge), full of fervour, heat
this (pot) at the proper time!
17. Pure and clear may these sacrificial women, the waters bright, flow into
the pot! They have given us abundant offspring and cattle. May he that cooks
the porridge go to the world of the pious (heaven)!
18. Purified by (our) prayer, and clarified by the ghee are the soma-shoots,
(and) these sacrificial grains. Enter the water; may the pot receive you! When
ye have cooked this (porridge) go ye to the world of the pious (heaven)!
19. Spread out far unto great extent, with a thousand surfaces, in the world
of the pious! Grandfathers, fathers, children, grandchildren — I am the
fifteenth one that did cook thee.
20. The porridge has a thousand surfaces, a hundred streams, and is
indestructible; it is the road of the gods, leads to heaven. Yonder (enemies)
do I place upon thee: injure them and their offspring; (but) to me that brings
gifts thou shalt be merciful!
21. Step upon the altar (vedi); make this woman thrive in her progeny; repel
the demons; advance her! May we in happiness be superior to all our equals! I
bend down under our feet all those that hate us.
22. Turn towards her with cattle, (thou pot), face towards her, together with
the divine powers! Neither curses nor hostile magic shall reach thee; rule in
thy dwelling free from disease!
23. Properly built, placed with care, this altar (vedi) has been arranged of
yore for the Brahmans' porridge. Put it, O woman, upon the purified aṃsadhrī;
place there the porridge for the divine (Brāhmaṇas)!
24. May this sacrificial ladle (sruk), the second hand of Aditi, which the
seven Ṛṣis, the creators of the beings, did fashion, may this spoon, knowing
the limbs of the porridge, heap it upon the altar!
25. The divine (Brāhmaṇas) shall sit down to thee, the cooked sacrifice: do
thou again descending from the fire, approach them! Clarified by soma settle
in the belly of the Brāhmaṇas; the descendants of the Ṛṣis who eat thee shall
not take harm!
26. O king Soma, infuse harmony into the good Brāhmaṇas who shall sit about
thee! Eagerly do I invite to the porridge the Ṛṣis, descended from Ṛṣis, that
are born of religious fervour, and gladly obey the call.
27. These pure and clear sacrificial women (the waters) I put into the hands
of the Brāhmaṇas severally. With whatever wish I pour this upon you, may
Indra, accompanied by the Maruts grant this to me!
28. This gold is my immortal light, this ripe fruit of the field is my
wish-granting cow. This treasure I present to the Brāhmaṇas: I prepare for
myself a road that leads to the Fathers in the heavens.
29. Scatter the spelt into Agni Jātavedas (the fire), sweep away to a far
distance the chaff! This (chaff) we have heard, is the share of the ruler of
the house (Agni), and we know, too, what belongs to Nirṛti (destruction) as
her share.
30. Note, (O porridge), him that takes pains, and cooks and presses the soma;
lift him up to the heavenly road, upon which, after he has reached the fullest
age, he shall ascend to the highest firmament, the supreme heavens!
31. Anoint (with ghee), O adhvaryu (priest), the surface of this sustaining
(porridge), make skilfully a place for the melted butter; with ghee do thou
anoint all its limbs! I prepare for myself a road that leads to the Fathers in
the heavens.
32. O sustaining (porridge), cast destruction and strife among such as are
sitting about thee, and are not Brāhmaṇas! (But) the descendants of the Ṛṣis,
that eat thee, being full of substance, spreading forth, shall not take harm!
33. To the descendants of the Ṛṣis I make thee over, O porridge; those who are
not descended from Ṛṣis have no share in it! May Agni as my guardian, may all
the Maruts, and all the gods watch over the cooked food!
34. Thee (the porridge) that milkest the sacrifice, art evermore abundant, the
male milch-cow, the seat of wealth, we beseech for immortality of offspring
and long life with abundance of wealth.
35. Thou art a lusty male, penetratest heaven: go thou to the Ṛṣis, descended
from Ṛṣis! Dwell in the world of the pious: there is a well-prepared (place)
for us two!
36. Pack thyself up, go forth! O Agni, prepare the roads, that lead to the
gods! By these well-prepared (roads) may we reach the sacrifice, standing upon
the firmament (that shines) with seven rays!
37. With the light with which the gods, having cooked the porridge for the
Brahmans, ascended to heaven, to the world of the pious, with that would we go
to the world of the pious, ascending to the light, to the highest firmament!
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{12003}
XII, 3. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to
the Brahmans.
1. (Thyself) a male, step thou upon the hide of the male (steer): go, call
thither all that is dear to thee! At whatever age ye two formerly did first
unite (in marriage), may that age be your common lot in Yama's kingdom!
2. Your sight shall be as clear (as formerly), your strength as abundant, your
lustre as great, your vitality as manifold! When Agni, the (funeral-) pyre,
fastens himself upon the corpse, then as a pair ye shall rise from the
(cooked) porridge!
3. Come ye together in this world, upon the road to the gods, and in Yama's
realms! By purifications purified call ye together the offspring that has
sprung from you!
4. Around the water united, sit ye down, O children; around this living
(father) and the waters that refresh the living! Partake of these (waters),
and of that porridge which the mother of you two cooks, and which is called
amṛta (ambrosia)!
5. The porridge which the father of you two, and which the mother cooks, unto
freedom from defilement and foulness of speech, that porridge with a hundred
streams (of ghee), leading to heaven, has penetrated with might both the
hemispheres of the world.
6. In that one of the two hemispheres and the two heavenly worlds, conquered
by the pious, which especially abounds in light, and is rich in honey, in that
do ye in the fulness of time come together with your children!
7. Keep ever on in an easterly direction: this is the region that the faithful
cling to! When your cooked porridge has been prepared on the fire, hold
together, O man and wife, that ye may guard it!
8. When ye shall have reached the southerly direction, turn ye to this vessel!
In that Yama, associated with the fathers, shall give abundant protection to
your cooked porridge!
9. This westerly direction is especially favoured: in it Soma is ruler and
consoler. To this hold, attach yourselves to the pious: then as a pair ye
shall rise from the cooked porridge!
10. The northerly direction shall make our realm the very uppermost, in
offspring, uppermost! The puruṣa is the metre paṅkti: with all (our kin),
endowed with all their limbs, may we be united!
11. This 'firm' direction (nadir) is Virāj (brilliancy): reverence be to her;
may she be kind to my children and to me! Mayest thou, O goddess Aditi, who
holdest all treasures, as an alert guardian guard the cooked porridge!
12. As a father his children do thou, (O earth), embrace us; may gentle winds
blow upon us here on earth! Then the porridge which the two divinities (the
sacrificer and his wife) are here preparing for us shall take note of our
religious fervour and our truth!
13. Whatever the black bird, that has come hither stealthily, has touched of
that which has stuck to the rim, or whatever the wet-handed slave-girl does
pollute — may ye, O waters, purify (that) mortar and pestle!
14. May this sturdy press-stone, with broad bottom, purified by the purifiers,
beat away the Rakṣas! Settle upon the skin, afford firm protection; may man
and wife not come to grief in their children!
15. The (pestle of) wood has come to us together with the gods: it drives away
the Rakṣas and Piśācas. Up it shall rise, shall let its voice resound; through
it let us conquer all the worlds!
16. The cattle clothed itself in sevenfold strength, those among them that are
sleek and those that are poor. The thirty-three gods attend them: mayest thou,
(O cattle), guide us to the heavenly world!
17. To the bright world of heaven thou shalt lead us; (there) let us be united
with wife and children! I take her hand, may she follow me there; neither
Nirṛti (destruction), nor Arāti (grudge), shall gain mastery over us!
18. May we get past the evil Grāhi (seizure)! Casting aside darkness do thou,
(O pestle), let thy lovely voice resound; do not, O wooden tool, when raised,
do injury; do not mutilate the grain devoted to the gods!
19. All-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter, (O pot), as a
co-dweller this space! — Take hold of the winnowing-basket, that has been
grown by the rain: the spelt and the chaff it shall sift out!
20. Three regions are constructed after the pattern of the Brāhmaṇa: yonder
heaven, the earth, and the atmosphere. — Take the (soma-) shoots, and hold one
another, (O man and wife)! They (the shoots) shall swell (with moisture), and
again go back into the winnowing-basket!
21. Of manifold variegated colours are the animals, one colour hast thou, (O
porridge), when successfully prepared. — Push these (soma-) shoots upon this
red skin; the press-stone shall purify them as the washer-man his clothes!
22. Thee, the (pot of) earth, I place upon the earth: your substance is the
same, though thine, (O pot), is modified. Even though a blow has cracked or
scratched thee, do not therefore burst: with this verse do I cover that up!
23. Gently as a mother embrace the son: I unite thee, (pot of) earth, with the
earth! Mayest thou, the hollow pot, not totter upon the altar, when thou art
pressed by the tools of sacrifice and the ghee!
24. May Agni who cooks thee protect thee on the east, Indra with the Maruts
protect thee on the south! May Varuṇa on the west support thee upon thy
foundation, may Soma on the north hold thee together!
25. Purified by the purifiers, the (waters) flow pure from the clouds, they
reach to the spaces of heaven, and of the earth. They are alive, refresh the
living, and are firmly rooted: may Agni heat them, after they have been poured
into the vessel!
26. From heaven they come, into the earth they penetrate; from the earth they
penetrate into the atmosphere. May they, now pure, yet purify themselves
further; may they conduct us to the heavenly world!
27. Whether ye are over-abundant or just sufficient, ye are surely clear,
pure, and immortal: cook, ye waters, instructed by the husband and wife,
obliging and helpful, the porridge!
28. Counted drops penetrate into the earth, commensurate with the breaths of
life and the plants. The uncounted golden (drops), that are poured into (the
porridge), have, (themselves) pure, established complete purity.
29. The boiling waters rise and sputter, cast up foam and many bubbles. Unite,
ye waters, with this grain, as a woman who beholds her husband in the proper
season!
30. Stir up (the grains) as they settle at the bottom: let them mingle their
inmost parts with the waters! The water here I have measured with cups;
measured was the grain, so as to be according to these regulations.
31. Hand over the sickle, with haste bring promptly (the grass for the
barhis); without giving pain let them cut the plants at the joints! They whose
kingdom Soma rules, the plants, shall not harbour anger against us!
32. Strew a new barhis for the porridge: pleasing to its heart, and lovely to
its sight it shall be! Upon it the gods together with the goddesses shall
enter; settle down to this (porridge) in proper order, and eat it!
33. O (instrument of) wood, settle down upon the strewn barhis, in keeping
with the divinities and the agniṣṭoma rites! Well shaped, as if by a carpenter
(Tvaṣṭar) with his axe, is thy form. Longing for this (porridge) the (gods)
shall be seen about the vessel!
34. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it, by the
cooked grain he shall obtain heaven; the parents and the children shall live
upon it. Bring thou this (man) to heaven, into the presence of Agni!
35. (Thyself) a holder, (O pot), hold on to the foundation of the earth: thee,
that art immoveable the gods (alone) shall move! Man and wife, alive, with
living children, shall remove thee from the hearth of the fire!
36. Thou hast conquered and reached all worlds; as many as are our wishes,
thou hast satisfied them. Dip ye in, stirring stick and spoon! Place it (the
porridge) upon a single dish!
37. Lay (ghee) upon it, let it spread forth, anoint this dish with ghee! As
the lowing cow her young that craves the breast, ye gods shall greet with
sounds of satisfaction this (porridge)!
38. With ghee thou hast covered it, hast made this place (for the porridge):
may it, peerless, spread afar to heaven! Upon it shall rest the mighty eagle;
gods shall offer it to the divinities!
39. Whatever the wife cooks aside from thee, (O husband), or the husband
(cooks) unbeknown of thee, O wife, mix that together: to both of you it shall
belong; bring it together into a single place!
40. As many of her children as dwell upon the earth, and the sons that have
been begotten by him, all those ye shall call up to the dish: on shall come
the young knowing their nest!
41. The goodly streams, swelling with honey, mixed with ghee, the seats of
ambrosia, all these does he obtain, ascends to heaven. In sixty autumns the
treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it!
42. The treasurer shall fetch this treasure: all outsiders round about shall
not control it! The heaven-directed porridge, that has been presented and
deposited by us, in three divisions has reached the three heavens.
43. May Agni burn the ungodly Rakṣas; the flesh-devouring Piśāca shall have
nothing here to partake of! We drive him away, hold him afar from us: the
Ādityas and Aṅgiras shall stay near it!
44. To the Ādityas and the Aṅgiras do I offer this (food of) honey, mixed with
ghee. Do ye two, (man and wife), with clean hands, without having injured a
Brāhmaṇa, performing pious deeds, go to that heavenly world!
45. I would obtain this highest part of it (the porridge), the place from
which the highest lord permeates (the all). Pour butter upon it, anoint it
with plentiful ghee: this here is our share, fit for the Aṅgiras!
46. For the sake of truth and holy strength do we make over this porridge as a
hoarded treasure to the gods: it shall not be lost to us in gaming or in the
assembly; do not let it go to any other person before me!
47. I cook, and I give (to the Brahmans), and so, too, my wife, at my
religious rite and practice. — With the birth of a son the world of children
has arisen (for you): do ye two hold on to a life that extends beyond (your
years)!
48. In that place exists no guilt, and no duplicity, not even if he goes
conspiring with his friends. This full dish of ours has here been deposited:
the cooked (porridge) shall come back again to him that cooks it!
49. Kind deeds we shall perform for our friends: all that hate us shall go to
darkness (hell)! — As (fruitful) cow, and (strong) steer, they (man and wife)
shall during every successive period of their lives drive away man-besetting
death!
50. The fires (all) know one another, that which lives in plants, and lives in
the waters, and all the (light-) gods that glow upon the heaven. The gold
(here) becomes the light of him that cooks (the porridge).
51. This (naked skin) among the hides is born upon man (alone), all other
animals are not naked. Clothe yourselves, (ye Brahmans), in sheltering
garments: (even) the face of the porridge is a homespun garment!
52. What falsehood thou shalt speak at play and in the assembly, or the
falsehood that thou shalt speak through lust for gain — put on together, (O
man and wife), this same garment, deposit upon it every blemish!
53. Produce rain, go to the gods, let smoke arise from (thy) surface;
all-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter as a co-dweller this
place!
54. In many ways heaven assumes within itself a different form, according to
circumstances. It (the heaven) has laid aside its black form, purifying itself
to a bright (form); the red form do I sacrifice for thee into the fire.
55. Thee here we hand over to the eastern direction, to Agni as sovereign
lord, to the black serpent as guardian, to Āditya as bowman: do ye guard it
for us, until we arrive! To the goal here he shall lead us, to old age; old
age shall hand us over to death: then shall we be united with the cooked
(porridge)!
56. Thee here we hand over to the southern direction, to Indra as sovereign
lord, to the serpent that is striped across as guardian, to Yama as bowman: do
ye guard it for us, until we arrive! To the goal here, &c.
57. Thee here we hand over to the western direction, to Varuṇa as sovereign
lord, to the pṛdāku-serpent as guardian, to food as bowman: do ye guard it for
us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.
58. Thee here we hand over to the northern direction, to Soma as sovereign
lord, to the svaja-serpent as guardian, to the lightning as bowman: do ye
guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.
59. Thee here we hand over to the direction of the nadir, to Viṣṇu as
sovereign lord, to the serpent with black-spotted neck as guardian, to the
plants as bowmen: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here,
&c.
60. Thee here we hand over to the direction of the zenith, to Bṛhaspati as
sovereign lord, to the light-coloured serpent as guardian, to the rain as
bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.
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{09003}
IX, 3. Removal of a house that has been presented to a priest as sacrificial
reward.
1. The fastenings of the buttresses, the supports, and also of the connecting
beams of the house, that abounds in treasures, do we loosen.
2. O (house) rich in all treasures! the fetter which has been bound about
thee, and the knot which has been fastened upon thee, that with my charm do I
undo, as Bṛhaspati (undid) Vala.
3. (The builder) has drawn thee together, pressed thee together, placed firm
knots upon thee. Skilfully, as the priest who butchers (the sacrificial
animal), do we with Indra's aid disjoint thy limbs.
4. From thy beams, thy bolts, thy frame, and thy thatch; from thy sides, (O
house) abounding in treasures, do we loosen the fastenings.
5. The fastenings of the dove-tailed (joints), of the reed (-covering), of the
frame-work, do we loosen here from the 'mistress of dwelling.'
6. The ropes which they have tied within thee for comfort, these do we loosen
from thee; be thou propitious to our persons, O mistress of dwelling, after
thou hast (again) been erected!
7. A receptacle for Soma, a house for Agni, a seat for the mistresses (of the
house), a seat (for the priests), a seat for the gods art thou, O goddess
house!
8. Thy covering of wicker-work, with thousand eyes, stretched out upon thy
crown, fastened down and laid on, do we loosen with (this) charm.
9. He who receives thee as a gift, O house, and he by whom thou hast been
built, both these, O mistress of dwelling, shall live attaining old age!
10. Return to him in the other world, firmly bound, ornamented, (thou house),
which we loosen limb by limb, and joint by joint!
11. He who built thee, O house, brought together (thy) timbers, he, a
Prajāpati on high, did construct thee, O house, for his progeny (prajāyai).
12. We render obeisance to him (the builder); obeisance to the giver, the lord
of the house; obeisance to Agni who serves (the sacrifice); and obeisance to
thy (attendant) man!
13. Reverence to the cattle and the horses, and to that which is born in the
house! Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we
loosen.
14. Thou dost shelter Agni within, (and) the domestics together with the
cattle. Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we
loosen.
15. The expanse which is between heaven and earth, with that do I receive as a
gift this house of thine; the middle region which is stretched out from the
sky, that do I make into a receptacle for treasures; with that do I receive
the house for this one.
16. Full of nurture, full of milk, fixed upon the earth, erected, holding food
for all, O house, do thou not injure them that receive thee as a gift!
17. Enveloped in grass, clothed in reeds, like night does the house lodge the
cattle; erected thou dost stand upon the earth, like a she-elephant, firm of
foot.
18. The part of thee that was covered with mats unfolding do I loosen. Thee
that hast been enfolded by Varuṇa may Mitra uncover in the morning!
19. The house built with pious word, built by seers, erected — may Indra and
Agni, the two immortals, protect the house, the seat of Soma!
20. Chest is crowded upon chest, basket upon basket; there mortal man is
begotten from whom all things spring.
21. In the house which is built with two facades, four facades, six facades;
in the house with eight facades, with ten facades, in the 'mistress of
dwelling,' Agni rests as if in the womb.
22. Turning towards thee that art turned towards me, O house, I come to thee
that injurest me not. For Agni and the waters, the first door to divine order,
are within.
23. These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease, do I bring here.
The chambers do I enter in upon in company with the immortal Agni (fire).
24. Do thou not fasten a fetter upon us; though a heavy load, become thou
light! As a bride do we carry thee, O house, wherever we please.
25. From the easterly direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail
to the gods who are to be addressed with hail!
26. From the southerly direction of the house, &c.!
27. From the westerly direction of the house, &c.!
28. From the northerly direction of the house, &c.!
29. From the firm direction (nadir) of the house, &c.!
30. From the upright direction (zenith) of the house, &c.!
31. From every direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail to the
gods who are to be addressed with hail!
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{06071}
VI, 71. Brahmanical prayer at the receipt of gifts.
1. The varied food which I consume in many places, my gold, my horses, and,
too, my cows, goats, and sheep: everything whatsoever that I have received as
a gift — may Agni, the priest, render that an auspicious offering!
2. The gift that has come to me by sacrifice, or without sacrifice, bestowed
by the Fathers, granted by men, through which my heart, as it were, lights up
with joy — may Agni, the priest, render that an auspicious offering!
3. The food that I, O gods, improperly consume, (the food) I promise,
intending to give of it (to the Brahmans), or not to give of it, by the might
of mighty Vaiśvānara (Agni) may (that) food be for me auspicious and full of
honey!
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{20127}
XX, 127. A kuntāpa-hymn.
A.
1. Listen, ye folks, to this: (a song) in praise of a hero shall be sung! Six
thousand and ninety (cows) did we get (when we were) with Kaurama among the
Ruśamas,--
2. Whose twice ten buffaloes move right along, together with their cows; the
height of his chariot just misses the heaven which recedes from its touch.
3. This one (Kaurama) presented the seer with a hundred jewels, ten chaplets,
three hundred steeds, and ten thousand cattle.
B.
4. Disport thyself, O chanter, disport thyself as a bird upon a flowering
tree; thy tongue glides quickly over the lips as a razor over the strop.
5. The chanters with their pious song hurry on blithely as cows; at home are
their children, and at home the cows do they attend.
6. Bring hither, O chanter, thy poem, that which earns cattle and earns good
things! Among the gods (kings) place thy voice as a manly archer his arrow!
C.
7. Listen ye to the high praise of the king who rules over all peoples, the
god who is above mortals, of Vaiśvānara Parikṣit!
8. 'Parikṣit has procured for us a secure dwelling when he, the most
excellent one, went to his seat.' (Thus) the husband in Kuru-land, when he
founds his household, converses with his wife.
9. 'What may I bring to thee, curds, stirred drink, or liquor?' (Thus) the
wife asks her husband in the kingdom of king Parikṣit.
10. Like light the ripe barley runs over beyond the mouth (of the vessels).
The people thrive merrily in the kingdom of king Parikṣit.
D.
11. Indra has awakened the poet, saying: 'Arise, move about, and sing; of me,
the strong, verily, sing the praises; full every pious one shall offer thee
(sacrificial reward)!'
12. Here, O cattle, ye shall be born, here, ye horses, here, ye domestics! And
Pūṣan also, who bestows a thousand (cows) as sacrificial reward, settles down
here.
13. May these cattle, O Indra, not suffer harm, and may their owner not suffer
harm; may the hostile folk, O Indra, may the thief not gain possession of
them!
14. We shout to the hero with hymn and song we (shout) with a pleasing song.
Take delight in our songs; may we not ever suffer harm!
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