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XIII KÂNDA, 8 ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMANA, 4. 437
and a Vritra-peg' on the right (south corner) for sin not to pass beyond.
2. On the right (south) side they then dig two somewhat curved (furrows), and fill them with milk and water,-these, indeed, are two inexhaustible streams (that) flow to him in the other world ;-and seven (they dig) on the left (north) side, and fill them with water, for sin not to pass beyond, for indeed sin cannot pass beyond seven rivers :
3. They* throw three stones each into the northern furrows), and pass over them, with (Våg. S. XXXV, 10; Rig-v. X, 53, 8): 'Here floweth the stony one: hold on to each other, rise, and cross over, ye friends: here will we leave behind what unkind spirits there be, and will cross over to auspicious nourishments;' -as the text so its import.
4. They cleanse themselves with Apåmârga plants 8—they thereby wipe away (apa-marg) sin—
· The exact meaning of vritra-sanku' is doubtful. Kâty. Sr. XXI, 3, 31 has deha-sanku' instead, to which the commentary assigns the rather improbable meaning of 'stone-pillar,' in favour of which he refers to IV, 3, 5, 15 of our Brahmara-Soma, in truth, was Vritra : the mountains and stones are his body;' whence he makes 'vritra'='asman' (stone).
Or narrow trenches or ditches-kuhile karsha, Kâty. XXI, 4, 20. They are apparently semicircular, probably with their open part towards the grave.
• These seven furrows are straight, running from west to east; thus separating the grave from the north, the world of men.
• That is, the Adhvaryu and the members of the Sacrificer's family.
Lit. cleansing-plants' or wiping-plants,' Achyranthes aspera ; also called the burr-plant (Birdwood), a common hairy weed sound all over India, and much used for incantations and sacrificial purposes.
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