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M. A. MEHENDALE
ate meat of milch cows and oxen, provided that the flesh was amsala, a word of doubtful import, rendered either 'firm' or 'tender' by various authorities." Thus Keith does not wish to commit himself to any particular meaning of the word amsalá. In the opinion of Alsdorf, op. cit. p. 56, foot-note 1, the meaning of aṁsalá is unknown. He observes that the different translations of the word, referred to above, are no more than mere guesses. He adds: "daß es 'zart', 'saftig', 'gut', 'feist' 0. dgl. heiße, ist mir äußerst unwahrscheinlich; viel eher dürfte es irgend eine rituell relevante Eigenschaft bezeichnen, die das Rindfleisch nach Yājñavalkya auch während der Dikșa unbedenklich macht...".
One would readily agree with the above observation of Alsdorf. It seems further possible to define the 'rituell relevante Eigenschaft' which, according to Alsdorf, is denoted by amsalá, and which, according to Yājñvalkya, renders beef unobjectionable even during the dikşă. As will be shown below, the ritually relevant quality is only indirectly, and not directly, denoted by amsalá.
The word amsalá occurs once again in the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa (3.8.4.5-6). There in the context of the cutting off of the hind-part (guda) of the sacrificial animal for the principal, the sviştakrt, and the upayāja offerings, we read: sá ha tv èvá paśúm alabheta ya enam médham upanáyet/ yadi krşáḥ syád yad udaryasya médasaḥ parisisyéta tád gudé nyişet/ ... gudó vai paśúḥ / médo vaí médhaḥ / tad enam médham úpanayati / yády u assaló bhávati svayám upetá evá tárhi médham bhavati "He alone, indeed, should slay the animal who may take to it sacrificial essence (medha). If it (i.e. the animal) be lean, let him put into the hind-part what may remain from the fat of the belly (after a portion for the idă offering has been cut off). ... The hind-part, verily, is the animal, the fat, verily, is the sacrificial essence. (When he puts the remainder of the fat from the belly into the hind-part of the lean animal), he carries in this way the sacrificial essence to it (i.e. to the animal). If, however, it (i.e. the animal) be arnsalá, then it has itself approached the sacrificial essence".
The context in which the word amsalá occurs in the above passage leaves no room for doubt with regard to its meaning, amsalá is contrasted with kịśá 'lean'. Further we are informed that if the animal be lean, it does not itself contain enough sacrificial essence. Hence it is necessary to add some fat from its belly to its hind+ amsalá occurs also in the Taitt. Br. 3.4.17.1 in the context of the Purusamedha. An
arsala animal is bound for Agni (agnaye 'msalám). But this occurrence does not help in determining the meaning of the word. Sāyaṇa explains aṁsalam = balavantam, and Bhatta Bhāskara explains it as pinarsam. In the Käty. Sr.S. 7.2.24 we read amsalabhojanam vă. The option indicated here by the word va has, as explained in the commentary of Karka, a reference to the view held by Yäjñavalkya in regard to beef-eating referred to in the Sat.Br. above.
Madhu Vidya/140
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