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SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
• Verily, there is no perpetuity in austerities; well, then, I will offer up mine own self in the creatures, and the creatures in mine own self. And, accordingly, by offering up his own self in the creatures, and the creatures in his own self, he compassed the supremacy, the sovereignty, and the lordship over all creatures; and in like manner does the Sacrificer, by thus offering all sacrificial essences 1 in the Sarvamedha, compass all beings, and supremacy, sovereignty, and lordship. :
2. Now this Sarvamedha is a ten-days' (Soma-) sacrifice, for the sake of his gaining and winning every kind of food, for the Virág consists of ten syllables, and the Virág is all food. At this (sacrifice) he builds the greatest possible fire-altar, for thisto wit, the Sarvamedha — is supreme amongst all sacrificial performances: by means of the supreme (sacrifice) he thus causes him (the Sacrificer) to attain supremacy.
3. The first day thereof is an Agnishtut Agnishtoma”, for the sake of his gaining and winning all the gods, for the Agnishtut Agnishtoma is Agni; and all the gods have Agni (the sacrificial fire) for their mouth. The cups of Soma thereat pertain to Agni, and so do the Puroruk: formulas pertain to Agni, in order that everything should pertain to Agni.
1 Or, all kinds of victims (medha).
* That is, a one-day's Soma-sacrifice (ekâha) of the Agnishsoma order, arranged so as specially to promote the praise of Agni. In the same way the next three ekâhas are intended to bonour special deities.
That is, the formulas preceding the 'upayama' ('Thou art taken with a support, &c.,' cf. part ii, p. 259, note 1) or formula with which the cup of Soma is drawn.
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