^ He puts them into the central one of the potsherds for the Agni cake, and throws them on the utkara, or heap of rubbish (of. p. 25, note i). Schol. on Katy. Si: II, 4, 19. Before he pro- ceeds with his work, he has to touch water; cf. p. 2, note 2.
2 He separates them whilst holding the mouth of the winnowing basket sideways or horizontally, and makes the husked ones fall into the pot. Schol. on Katy. Sr. II, 4, 20. According to the Pad- dhati, he now puts the unhusked once more into the mortar and threshes them again, and then pouring them back into the basket, repeats the same process.
JATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
23. He addresses (those in the pot) thus (Vi^. S.
I, 16 g) : 'May the divine Savitr/, the golden-
handed, receive you with a flawless^ hand!' By this
he says: 'May they be well received!' He then
cleans them thrice - ; for threefold is the sacrifice.
24. Here now some clean them with the formula:
* For the gods get clean! for the gods get clean!'
But let him not do so : for this oblation is intended
for some particular deity ; and if he were to say,
* For the gods get clean ! ' he would make it one
intended for all the deities, and would thereby raise
a quarrel among the deities. Let him therefore do
the cleaning silently !
Second Adhyaya. First BRAHMAi\rA.
1, Now the one (viz. the Agnidhra) puts the
potsherds on (the Garhapatya fire); the other (viz.
the Adhvaryu) the two mill-stones (on the black
antelope skin) : these two acts are done simulta-
neously. The reason why they are done simul-
taneously (is this) :
2. The head of this sacrifice is (represented by)
the rice-cake^: for those potsherds (kapala), no
doubt, are to this (rice-cake) what the skull bones
(kapala) are to the head, and the ground rice is
' Viz. with the fingers joined together so as not to allow any grains to fall to the ground. INTahidh.
^ By removing the minute husks and grains (k a « a) he makes the husked grains (ta«(/ula) free from dust and shiny (this is apparently done by repeated winnowings). Schol. on Katy. Sr. II, 4, 22.
^ This idea was no doubt suggested by the derivation of the word puro^ai' (rice-cake), from puras, 'before, in front, at the head,' and daj, 'to offer' (see I, 6, 2, 5); the double meaning of kapala (shell or cup and skull) being made use of to complete the simile.
I KAiVDA, 2 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 5. 33
nothing else than the brain. Now this (combination
of skull and brain) certainly forms one limb : ' Let
us put that (which is) one together ! Let us make it
one ! ' thus they think ; and therefore the two acts
are done simultaneously.
3. He who puts the potsherds on (the fire), takes
the shovelling-stick (upavesha), with the text(Va^.
S. I, 17a): 'Bold (dhre'sh/i) art thou!' For since
with it he, as it were, attacks the fire boldly, there-
fore it is called dhrzsh/i\ And since with it he
touches (the coals) at the sacrifice, since with it he
attends to (upa-vish) this (Garhapatya fire), there-
fore it is called upavesha.
4. With it he shifts the coals to the fore-part-
(of the khara or hearth-mound), with the text (Vaf,
S. I, 17b): 'O fire! cast off the fire that eateth
raw flesh ! drive away the corpse-eating one ! ' For
the raw flesh-eating (fire) is the one with which men
cook what they eat ; and the corpse-eating one is
that on which they burn (the dead) man : these two
he thereby expels from it (the Garhapatya).
5. He now pulls toward himself^ one coal, with
the text (V^^. S. I, 17c): ' Bring hither that (fire)
which maketh offerings to the gods!' He thinks:
' On that (fire), which makes offerings to the gods, we
^ The upavesha, or dhrish/i, is made of fresh varawa or pal a J a wood, a cubit (aratni) or span (vitasti) long; one of its ends having the shape of a hand (hastakr/ti), to serve as a coal shovel; cf. Mahidh. and Schol. on Katy. I, 3, 36 ; II, 4, 26. Dhrz'sh/i is apparently derived from the root dhrz'sh, ' to be bold.'
2 The burning coals have been hitherto lying on the western side of the Garhapatya hearth, and as this side, which has been well heated by this time, will be used for the potsherds to be put on, he shifts the coals to the eastern or fore-part of the hearth.
^ Viz. to the centre of the cooking-place. [12] D
34 S'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAJVA.
will cook the oblations! on that one we will perform
the sacrifice!' and for this reason he pulls (one of
the coals) toward himself.
6. On it he places the central potsherd ^ For
^ In Yai,mika Deva's commentary on Katy. II, 4, 37, full explana- tions are given regarding the manner of arranging the potsherds (k a pal as) on which the sacrificial cakes are spread, and which vary in number and shape. The Adhvaryu is first to describe a circle, the diameter of which is six ahgulas (an ahgula or thumb's breadth = about f inch). This circle he then divides into three parts by drawing across, from west to east, two parallel lines at a distance of two ahgulas from one another, so as to make the two outer (or southern and northern) segments of equal size. The middle division he then covers with three equal square potsherds (measuring two ahgulas on each side), by laying down first the central one, then the one behind or west of it, and lastly the front or eastern one. He then lays down another (the fourth) south of the first or central one ; after which he divides the still remaining potsherds equally between the southern and the northern segments, or, in case of that number being uneven, assigns the odd potsherd to the southern division. Thus, in the present case, where in the first place a cake on eight potsherds is to be offered to Agni; after laying down the three intermediate ones and the fourth, or central one of the southern division, he divides the remaining four equally between the southern and northern segments, beginning, in laying them down, in the south-east corner, and moving around from right to left, so as to end in the north-east. Similarly in the case of the cake on eleven potsherds for Agnishomau, after laying down the first four potsherds, he assigns four of the re- maining seven to the southern, and three to the northern division. Thus with cakes requiring an uneven number of potsherds, the number of those of the southern division exceeds that of the nor- thern one by two ; and in the case of an even number, by one only. This is the rule applying to cakes requiring at least six potsherds. When one potsherd only is required, it is to be of the size of a hand ; when two, they are to form a circle divided into two equal parts by a line drawn from south to north ; when three, the circle is divided into three sections from south to north ; when four or five, it is divided into two halves from west to east ; and in the one case three potsherds are placed in the southern and one (of half-moon shape) in the northern half; in the other case three in the northern and two in ihe southern division. The potsherds,
I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, 7. 35
the gods, when they were performing sacrifice, were
in fear of a disturbance from the Asuras and
Rakshas. They were afraid lest those evil spirits,
the Rakshas, might rise from below them. Now
Agni (fire) is the repeller of the Rakshas, and for
this reason he thus places (the potsherd) on it.
The reason why it is just this (coal) and no other
(on which the potsherd is put) is, that this one,
having been consecrated by the (above) sacrificial
formula, is sacrificially pure : that is why he places
the central potsherd on it.
7. He puts it on, with the text (Vaf. S. I, 17 d) :
'Thou art firm; make thou the earth firm!' For
under the form of the earth he renders this same
(sacrifice) firm ; by it he chases away the spiteful
enemy. He adds : ' Thee, devoted to the brah-
man, devoted to the kshatra, devoted to the
(sacrificer's) kinsmen, I put on for the destruction of
the enemy ! ' Manifold, indeed, are the prayers for
blessing in the sacrificial texts (ya^us) : by this one
he prays for the priestly and military orders, those
two towers of strength (virye, energies) ^ 'Thee,
devoted to the (sacrificer's) kinsmen,' he says, be-
cause kinsmen mean wealth, and wealth he thereby
prays for. When he says, ' I put thee on for the
destruction of the enemy,' whether or not he wishes
to exorcise, let him say, ' for the destruction of so
though mostly irregular in shape, must always exactly fit one another, so as not to leave any space between. This is effected by rubbing the edges. The cake itself is to be of the shape of a tortoise ; the convex shield, or carapace, of the latter consisting of plates arranged in a somewhat similar way as the potsherds of most cakes, viz. in a central (dorsal) and two lateral sets.
^ For special prayers for the two highest castes, in the Va^as. Sa.mh., cf Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 27.
36 .SATAPATIIA-BRAHMAiVA.
and so ! ' The moment it (the potsherd) has been
put down (and while it is still being touched) with
the (fore-)finger of his left hand, —
8. He seizes a (second) coal, lest the evil spirits,
the Rakshas, should in the meantime rush in here.
For the Brahman is the repeller of the Rakshas ^ :
hence, the moment it (the potsherd) has been put
down (and while it is still being touched) with the
finger of his left hand, —
9. He pushes the coal on it, with the text (Va^.
S. I, 18 a) : 'Accept, O Agni, this holy work (brah-
man)-!' He says this, lest the evil spirits, the
Rakshas, should rush in here before ; for Agni is
the repeller of the Rakshas : this is the reason why
he pushes it on (the potsherd).
10. He then puts on that (potsherd) which is
(to stand) behind (or west of the first or central
one), with the text (V^^. S. I, 18 b) : 'A support art
thou! make firm the aerial region!' Under the
form of the atmosphere he makes this (sacrifice)
firm; by this he chases away the spiteful enemy. He
adds : 'Thee, devoted to the brahman, devoted to
the kshatra, devoted to the (sacrificer's) kinsmen,
I put on for the destruction of the enemy ! '
11. He then puts on that one which is (to stand)
before (i. e. east of the first potsherd), with the text
(Va^. S. I, 18 c) : 'A stay art thou ! do thou make
firm the sky ! ' Under the form of the sky he makes
this same (sacrifice) firm ; by it he chases away the
spiteful enemy. He adds ; * Thee, devoted to the
brahman, devoted to the kshatra, devoted to the
kinsmen, I put on for the destruction of the enemy I'
^ Cf. I. I, 4, 6.
- Mahidhara admits the alternative interpretation, 'Receive (me) the priest I'
I KANDA, 2 ADHYAYA, I BRAHMAiVA, I 3. 37
12. He now puts on the one that is (to stand) on
the right (i.e. south of the first), with the text (Va^. S.
I, 18 d) : ' For all the regions I put thee on !' What
fourth (world) there is or is not beyond these (three)
worlds, by that indeed he thereby chases away the
spiteful enemy. Uncertain, no doubt, is what fourth
(world) there is or is not beyond these (three)
worlds, and uncertain also are all those regions ; for
this reason he says, ' For all the regions I put thee
on!' The remaining potsherds he puts on ^ either
silently, or with the text (Vd^. S. I, i8 e) : ' Layer-
forming are ye! heap-forming are ye !'
13. He then covers them over with (hot) coals,
whilst muttering the text (Vd^. S. I, iSf): 'May
ye be heated with the heat of the Bhr^'gus and