________________
240
GRIHYA-SUTRA OF HIRANYAKESIN.
What domestic animals there are, of all shapes, all seven kinds of them: may they gladly dwell here and may they prosper. Svâhâ!
'The night which men welcome like a cow that comes to them, (the night) which is the consort of the year, may that (night) be auspicious to us. Svâhâ!
'Bringing bliss to the cattle, to the wife, bringing bliss by night and by day, may this (night) which is the consort of the year, be auspicious to us. Svâhâ!
'The full-moon night, bringing abundance, visiting one after another, dividing the months and fortnights may this (night), the full one, protect us. Svâhâ!'
3. He sacrifices the oblation to Agni Svishtakrit with (the verse), 'Agni, make this (sacrifice) full that it may be well offered. Be victorious, O god, in all battles. Shine far and wide, showing us a wide path. Bestow on us long life, full of splendour and free from decay. Svâhâ!'
4. Then he washes his hands and touches the earth with (the formulas), 'In power I establish myself, in royalty. Among the horses I establish myself, among the cows. In the limbs I establish myself, in the self. In the Prânas I establish myself, in prosperity. In Heaven and Earth I establish myself, in sacrifice.
'May the three times eleven gods, the thirty-three, the gracious ones, whose Purohita is Brihaspati, on the impulse of the god Savitri-may the gods with (all) the gods give me bliss!'
5. The master of the house sits down at their southerly end,
3. Comp. Taitt. Br. II, 4, 1, 4; Pâraskara III, 1, 3.
Digitized by Google