Satapatha Bramhana Part 02

Author(s): Julius Eggeling
Publisher: Oxford

Page 59

SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
18. He offers, with the text (Vág. S. IV, 8; Rigveda V, 50, 1), ‘May every mortal espouse the friendship of the divine guide! every one prayeth for wealth: let him choose glory, that he may prosper, hail!
19. Now this (verse and libation) consists of five parts in respect of deities 1: visvo devasya' refers to the Visve Devâh; 'netur' to Savitri; 'marto vurita' to Mitra ; 'dyumnam vrinita' to Brihaspati, since Brihaspati means dyumna (glory); and 'pushyase' (for prospering) refers to Pushan.
20. This (libation), then, consists of five parts, in respect of deities ;-fivefold is the sacrifice, fivefold the animal victim, and five seasons there are in the year : the latter he accordingly gains by this (libation) consisting of five parts in respect of deities.
21. He offers this libation with an anushtubh verse, because the anushtubh is speech, and the sacrifice is speech; so that he thereby obtains the real sacrifice.
22. As to this they say, 'Let him offer only this one: for whatever object the others are offered, that object he gains even by this one.' And, indeed?, if
ghee from the pot into the sruva, so as to fill it; after which he pours it from the sruva into the guha. Kâty. VII, 3, 18 comm.
1 The Taitt. S. (VI, 1, 2, 5) divides the couplet into its four pâdas, which it assigns to Savitri, the Fathers, the Visve Devah, and Pashan respectively. The various reading 'visve' of the Black Yagus, instead of visvah,' is very remarkable.
2 The author here states, in his own words, the reasons (byvai') which have led the teachers referred to to maintain that by offering this one oblation one gains all the objects in view. The Kânva text includes the entire passage regarding the fivefold division of the formula and oblation (pars. 19-21) in the argument of those teachers. For a detailed description of the půrnâhuti, or full-offering,
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