________________
I PRASNA, 2 PATALA, 6 SECTION, 5.
153
May I be dear to thee, the fire (?), N. N.! Let us dwell here! Let us dwell in breath and life! Dwell in breath and life, N. N.!'
14. He then seizes with his right hand (the boy's) right hand together with the thumb, with the five sections, 'Agni is long-lived.'
15. May (Agni) bestow on thee long life everywhere' (Taitt. Samh. I, 3, 14, 4)—
Patala 2, SECTION 6.
1. (This verse the teacher) murmurs in (the boy's) right ear;
2. (The verse), 'Life-giving, Agni' (Taitt. Samh. I, 3, 14, 4) in his left ear.
3. Both times he adds (to the verses quoted in the last Satras the formula), Stand fast in Agni and on the earth, in Vayu and in the air, in Sarya and in heaven. The bliss in which Agni, Vayu, the sun, the moon, and the waters go their way, in that bliss go thy way, N. N.! Thou hast become the pupil of breath, N. N.!'
4. Approaching his mouth to (the boy's) mouth he murmurs, 'Intelligence may Indra give thee, intelligence the goddess Sarasvati. Intelligence may the two Asvins, wreathed with lotus, bestow on thee.'
5. He then gives (the boy) in charge (to the gods and demons, with the formulas), 'To Kashaka (3) I
14. Comp. above, Sätra 9. 6, 3. Asvalâyana I, 20, 8. 4. Asvalâyana I, 15, 2; 22, 26; Pâraskara II, 4, 8. 5. Comp. Sânkhâyana II, 3, 1 ; Pâraskara II, 2, 21. The name
Digitized by Google
