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VIII KÂNDA, 7 ADHYAYA, 2 BRÂHMANA, 1. 131
of the sky, thee, the luminous one!'—for on the back of the sky is yonder luminous sun.
22. For all out-breathing, and off-breathing, and through-breathing,'—for the Visvagyotis is the breath, and breath, indeed, is (necessary) for everything here;- bestow thou all the light!'that is, 'bestow thou the whole (or every) light;' -'Sarya is thine overlord,'—he thereby makes Surya (the sun) its overlord. Having 'settled' it, he pronounces the Sadadohas on it: its (symbolical) meaning has been told'.
23. Now, these (bricks) are indeed stepping-stones, for by means of the Visvagyotis (bricks) the gods then stepped over these worlds, both from hence upwards, and from above downwards : and in like manner does the Sacrificer now, by means of the Visvagyotis, step over these worlds, both from hence upwards, and from above downwards.
24. Now, the Karakâdhvaryus lay down here yet other stepping-stones'; but let him not do so, for they do what is redundant, and these are indeed the stepping-stones.
SECOND BRÂHMANA. 1. He then lays down a Lokamprina? (spacefilling brick); the Lokamprinâ, doubtless, is yonder
For this verse see part iii, p. 307, note 2; for its symbolic meaning (as the breath, or vital air) VII, 1, 1, 15; 26. See also VIII, 7, 3, 21, where the verse itself is explained.
* In laying down the Lokamprinâs of the fifth layer, he begins, as in the first layer, from the right shoulder, or the south-east corner, of the altar, but so that in this case the first 'space-filler' is laid down, not at the corner, but a cubit to the west of it. Starting from that spot, he fills up the available spaces, in two turns, moving in the sunwise fashion.
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