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xxviii
SATAPATHA-BKÂHMANA.
over which sovereign sway is claimed by the Pandava king—to wit, the whole of India from sea to sea-first pressing eastwards towards the sea, then turning southwards along the eastern shore as far as the extreme point of the peninsula, and finally northwards again, on its homeward way, along the western coast. Time after time the determined attempts to impede its progress, or even to capture and retain it as a precious trophy and token of national independence, are successfully repelled by the dauntless son of Prithâ; but, mindful of his brother's injunctions, he spares the lives of the kings and princes who oppose him, and, having obtained their submission, he invites them to attend the sacrifice of the horse at Hastinåpura. On the other hand, not to take up the challenge implied in the progress of the horse was considered a sign of weakness or cowardice. Thus the king of Manipura is censured severely by Arguna for receiving him meekly, accompanied only by Brâhmans and with presents to offer to the intruder, being told that he had lamentably fallen away from the status of a Kshatriya, and acted the part of a woman. At length tidings of the approach of the horse reach the king, and forthwith preparations are made for getting ready the sacrificial ground, and to provide accommodation, on a right royal scale, for the numerous guests expected to witness the ceremonial. Specimens of all available species of animals are brought together to serve as victims' along with the sacred horse ; and dialecticians,
Probladinates 6008
1 That is, real or symbolic, only the domesticated animals being offered, whilst the wild ones are set free after the ceremony of paryagaikarana.' Amongst these animals the poet curiously enough also mentions (XIV, 2542) vriddhastriyah,' which Pratâpa Chandra Rây translates by old women.' This is of course impossible; if it is not a wrong reading, it has doubtless to be taken in the sense of old female kine),' probably the (21) barren cows offered at the end of the Asvamedha to Mitra-Varuna, the Visve Deval, and Brihaspati (XIII, 5, 4, 25) being intended. In its enumeration of the victims, the Taitt. Samhita (V, 6, 31) indeed mentions' vairagi purushi,' taken by the commentator to mean 'two human females consecrated to Virág.' If it be for this or a similar purpose that the 'vriddha-striyal' were intended, we may refer to Taitt. Br. 111, 9, 8, where it is distinctly stated that the man' and the wild animals are to be released as soon as the 'paryagnikaranam' has been performed on them. But no 'man' being mentioned amongst the victims, Sayana
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