________________
168
SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
ever these creatures crave for food, they pay tribute to this Vritra, the belly. Whosoever knows that Vritra as a consumer of food, becomes himself a consumer of food.
18. Those deities then said, 'Ye, Agni and Soma, whom we have followed hither, take the best part (of the sacrificial food): do let us share along with you in what ye have!'
19. They both said, 'What (share) shall then be ours ?' They replied, 'For whatever deity they shall take out sacrificial food, they shall in the first place offer to you some clarified butter!' Whenever, therefore, they take out sacrificial food for any deity, they in the first place offer two butterportions to Agni and Soma. This does not take place at the Soma-sacrifice, nor at the animal offering; for they said, 'for whatever deity they take out...?'
20. Agni then said, 'In me they shall sacrifice for all of you, and thus I give you a share in me!' For this reason they sacrifice in Agni (the fire) to all the gods; and for this reason they say that Agni is all the deities.
21. Soma then said, 'Me they shall offer up to all of you, and thus I give you a share in me!' For this reason they offer up Soma to all the gods; and hence they say that Soma is all the deities.
22. And further, since all the gods were abiding in Indra, for that reason they say that Indra is all the deities, that the gods have Indra for their chief (sreshtha). Thus the gods came in a three
i The nirvapanam, or taking out (literally throwing out) of (handfuls of) havis from the receptacle and putting it into the winnowing basket (or other vessels), does not apply to these two kinds of sacrifices. Cf. I, 1, 2, 5 seq.
Digitized by Google