________________
302
SATAPATHA-BRÂHMANA.
the sky.—He rules over the thirty domains; and song is bestowed on the winged one, yea, with the light at the break of day!' Thus he recites; and whatever (benefit) has not been obtained by him either through the equipments, or through the asterisms, or through the seasons, or through the laying down of the fire, all that is thereby obtained by him; and for this reason he stands worshipping by (the fire), while muttering the verses of the queen of serpents.
30. They say, however, that one need not stand by (the fire) worshipping with the verses of the queen of serpents. For the queen of serpents, they argue, is this earth; and accordingly when he lays down the fire on her, he thereby obtains all his desires : hence he need not stand by (the fire) worshipping with the verses of the queen of serpents.
Second Adhyâya. First BRÂHMANA.
The OBLATIONS. 1. When he has taken out the Åhavaniya fire!, he performs the Full-offerings. The reason why
Previously to the performance of the full-offering, the other fires (if there are any more) are laid down. An integral part of the laying down of the Sabhya, or hall-fire, which seems to have been kept up only by Kshatriyas, is a game of dice, played by the priests, with a cow, offered by the sacrificer, for the stake. On an ox-hide, spread north of the sacrificial ground, they place a brass vessel upside down, and on it throw four times five cowries (or, if such are not to be had, five sticks) with 'Even I win, uneven thou art won (or defeated)!'
? The purnâhuti, or 'full-offering,' is an oblation of a spoonful of clarified butter. Káty. IV, 10, 5, and comm., supply the following particulars, applying to all ordinary guhoti-offerings : He puts butter into the butter-pot and places it on the Garhapatya to
Digitized by Google
