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362
SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
But what is man that he could secure for himself a (life) of a thousand years1? By knowledge, assuredly, he who knows secures for himself (the benefits of a performance) of a thousand years.
4. Let him look upon all these bricks as a thousandfold let him look upon each enclosing-stone as charged with a thousand nights, each day-holder? with a thousand days, each half-moon-holder with a thousand half-moons, each month-holder with a thousand months, each season-holder with a thousand seasons, each muhûrta-holder3 with a thousand muhurtas, and the year with a thousand years. They who thus know this Agni as being endowed with a thousand, know his one-thousandth digit; but they who do not thus know him, do not even know a one-thousandth digit of him. And he alone who so knows this, or who performs this sacred work, obtains this whole and complete Pragâpatean Agni whom Pragâpati obtained. Wherefore let him who knows this by all means practise austerities; for, indeed, when he who knows this practises austerities, even to (abstention from) sexual intercourse, every (part) of him will share in the world of heaven".
1 Tasmai sahasrasamvatsaragîvanâya ko vâ manushyah saknuyât; manushyâvadhih satam ato gîvato manushyena sahasrasamvatsarâh prâptum asakyât. Sây.
That is, the majority of Yagushmatî bricks, viz. 360 of them, whilst the remaining ones are supposed to stand in lieu of halfmoons, months, and seasons; see X, 4, 3, 19.
Viz. the Lokamprinâ bricks; see X, 4, 3, 20. Or, religious fervour (meditation).
'Or, as Sâyana seems to interpret it, 'that austerity will gain for him all his (Agni's thousandfold perfection) and the heavenly world (?),'-etat tapah agnes tadavayavânâm ka sahasrâtmakatvarûpam karoti tasmâk ka svargalokaprâptir bhavatîty arthah.
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