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655
XII, 3. COMMENTARY.
seems as though the smoke rising from the porridge (the earth) symbolises a cloud, and thus procures rain.
Stanza 54.
At Kaus. 63, 8 'other chaff of grain (phalikarana in Sutra 7) is thrown (into the fire) while reciting this stanza.'
Previously, in Sûtras 6 and 7, similar substances (tusha and kambûka) have been thrown into the fire, and cast aside with the left foot; see the note on XI, 1, 29. The stanza is extremely obscure, and I have lost confidence in the interpretation of it advanced in Contributions, Sixth Series, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XLVIII, 576. Its purpose seems to be, rather, to cause the fire to blaze up anew, perhaps, in order to drive away demons. As the sky can assume different colours, and, especially in the morning, can drive away its blackness for the brightness of the dawn (Pâda c), so the fire may be enlivened unto redness by sacrificing (chaff) into it. RV. X, 3, Id is almost identical with our Pâda c. The Paippalâda, suitably to the metre, reads âtmany in Pâda b, and rusantîm in c; for ápâgait, see the passage in the Contributions, cited above.
Stanza 55 ff.
With the remaining stanzas the bestowal of the brahmaudana and the concomitant gifts takes place (Kaus. 63, 22). The series of formulas beginning here are closely related to the sarpâhuti, AV. III, 27; Maitr. S. II, 13, 21; Tait. S. V, 5, 10, 1 ff.; cf. Weber, Indische Studien, XVII, 295 ff. For the names of the serpents, see the notes on VI, 56; VII, 56, and Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 94 ff. The expression gara mrityáve in the third line of the formula reminds us of the bahuvrîhi garamrityu, XIX, 24, 8; 26, 1; 30, 1. This suggests here a tatpurusha garâmrityú, 'death from old age;' the passage would then mean, 'may he lead us to death from old age.' In stanza 59 the association of Vishnu with the dhruva dís is remarkable: we should expect the ûrdhva. For the association of Indra (not Yama) with the southern direction, see Weber, 1. c., P. 296.
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