1. He then pours out jarfuls of water,--for the gods then said, 'Meditate ye (ketay)!' whereby they doubtless meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer (kitim)!' Whilst meditating they saw the rain to be a (suitable) layer, and put it on that (altar-site); and in like manner does this (Sacrificer) now put it thereon.
2. Jarfuls of water are (poured out); for rain is water: it is rain he thereby bestows on it. With an udumbara jar (he pours them on): the significance of this has been told;--with a four-cornered one;--four quarters there are: from all quarters he thus bestows rain thereon.
3. Three jarfuls he pours out each time 1,--threefold is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with so much he thus bestows rain thereon.
4. Twelve jarfuls of water he pours on the ploughed ground,--twelve months are a year, and the year is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus bestows rain thereon.
6. Three (jarfuls) 1 he pours both on the ploughed, and on the unploughed, ground;--threefold is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with so much he thus bestows rain thereon.
7. And, again, why he pours out jarfuls of water;--at that time the gods, being about to put him (Agni-Pragâpati) together, in the first place put water into him; and in like manner does this one now, being about to put him together, in the first place put water into him.
8. Three jarfuls he pours out each time,--threefold is Agni: as large as Agni is, as large as is his measure, by so much he thus puts water into him.
9. Twelve jarfuls he pours on the ploughed ground,--twelve months are a year, and the year is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus puts water into him.
10. On the ploughed ground he pours it: he thereby puts water into the vital airs. But were he to pour (water) only on the ploughed ground, and
12. Fifteen jarfuls of water he pours out,--fifteenfold is the thunderbolt: by that fifteenfold thunderbolt of his he thus drives away all evil.
13. He then sows all (kinds of) herb (-seed);--for the gods then said, 'Meditate ye!' whereby doubtless they meant to say, 'Seek ye a layer!' whilst meditating, they saw food to be a (suitable) layer, and put that on (or, into) him (Agni); and in like manner does this one now put it into him.
14. It is (seed) of all herbs,--all herbs means all food; he thus puts all (kinds of) food into him. Let him omit one of those kinds of food, and not eat thereof as long as he lives. By means of the udumbara jar (he sows the seed): the significance of this has been explained;--with a four-cornered one,--there are four quarters: from all quarters he thus puts food into him (Agni). He sows it with anushtubh (verses),--the Anushtubh (metre) is speech, and by means of speech (the mouth 1) food is eaten.
16. With twelve verses he sows on the ploughed ground,--twelve months are a year, and the year is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with so much he thus puts food into him.
17. On the ploughed ground he sows, whence food ripens on ploughed ground. Were he to sow only on the ploughed ground, and not on the unploughed, food would only ripen on ploughed ground, not on unploughed; and were he to sow only on unploughed ground, and not on ploughed ground, food would only ripen on unploughed ground, and not on ploughed ground. He sows on both the ploughed, and the unploughed, ground: hence food ripens both on ploughed, and on unploughed, ground.
18. With three (verses) he sows both on the ploughed, and on the unploughed, ground,--threefold is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus puts food into him.
19. And, again, why he sows all (kinds of) herb (-seed),--the gods at that time, being about to put him (Agni-Pragâpati) together, in the first place healed him by healing medicine; and in like manner does this one now, being about to put him together, first heal him with healing medicine.
20. It is (seed) of all herbs;--all herbs is the
22. With twelve verses he sows on the ploughed ground,--twelve months are a year, and the year is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with so much he thus heals him.
23. On the ploughed ground he sows: he thereby heals the vital airs. And were he to sow only on the ploughed ground, and not on the unploughed, he would only heal the vital airs, and not the other (parts of the) body; and were he to sow only on the unploughed, and not on the ploughed, ground, he would only heal the body, and not the vital airs: he sows both on the ploughed, and on the unploughed, ground; and thus he heals both the vital airs and the body.
24. With three (verses) he sows both on the ploughed, and on the unploughed, ground,--threefold is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, with so much he thus heals him.
25. Fifteen jarfuls of water he pours out, and with fifteen verses he sows,--that makes thirty,--the Virâg (metre) consists of thirty syllables, and the Virâg (the far-shining, or far-ruling) is the whole food: the whole food he thus puts into him.
26. [He sows, with Vâg. S. XII, 75 seq.; Rik S. X, 97] 'The herbs first grown three ages before the gods 1,'--the gods doubtless are the seasons,
27. 'Yours, O Mother, are a hundred powers, and yours a thousand growths,'--inasmuch as (the plants) here are shooting out a hundredfold, and a thousandfold;--'Ye of a hundred virtues, render ye free from sickness this one of mine!' that is, him whom I am now healing.
28. These (verses) 2 have one and the same explanation
30. This Agni is Pragâpati, and Pragâpati is both the defined and the undefined, the limited and the
335:1 On every four of the sixteen furrows, in the order in which they have been ploughed, he is to empty three jarfuls of water, making altogether twelve jars of water. 336:1 These are additional three jarfuls poured over the whole Agnikshetra, or site of the altar. 338:1 The sowing of the seed is done after the manner of the watering of the site, viz. so as to finish the sowing of every four furrows with the completion of the muttering of three verses (Vâg. S. XII, 75-86); whereupon the remaining seed is scattered over the whole site with additional three verses (87-89). 339:1 Thus the St. Petersburg dictionary; while Professor Ludwig construes 'triyugam purâ' together,--'the herbs first come from 340:2 That is, the two verses just explained, as well as the remaining thirteen verses (Vâg. S. XII, 77 seq.; Rik S. X, 97, 3 seq.), viz.:-- 3. Rejoice ye at the plants, the full-budded, abounding in shoots: like victorious mares, the herbs are eager to win (or, to save). 4. As plants, O divine mothers, I call upon you: horse, and cow, and raiment would I win, and thine own self, O Purusha! 5. On the Asvattha tree is your abode, on the Parna dwelling is made for you: possessed of cattle shall ye be, when ye save the Purusha. 6. Wherein the herbs have met together, even as the nobles in the assembly, that priest is called physician, demon-killer, pain-remover. 7. The (herb) rich in horses, the one rich in Soma, the Next: VII, 3, 1. Third Adhyâya. First Brâhmana
