1. He then puts down a (living) tortoise;--the tortoise means life-sap: it is life-sap (blood) he thus bestows on (Agni). This tortoise is that life-sap of these worlds which flowed away from them when plunged into the waters 1: that (life-sap) he now bestows on (Agni). As far as the life-sap extends, so far the body extends: that (tortoise) thus is these worlds.
2. That lower shell of it is this (terrestrial) world; it is, as it were, fixed; for fixed, as it were, is this (earth-)world. And that upper shell of it is yonder sky; it has its ends, as it were, bent down; for yonder sky has its ends, as it were, bent down. And what is between (the shells) is the air;--that (tortoise) thus is these worlds: it is these worlds he thus lays down (to form part of the altar).
3. He anoints it with sour curds, honey, and ghee,--sour curds doubtless are a form of this (earth-)world,
5. And as to its being called 'kûrma' (tortoise);Pragâpati, having assumed that form, created living beings. Now what he created, he made; and inasmuch as he made (kar), he is (called) 'kûrma;' and 'kûrma' being (the same as) 'kasyapa' (a tortoise), therefore all creatures are said to be descended from Kasyapa.
6. Now this tortoise is the same as yonder sun: it is yonder sun he thus lays down (on the altar). He lays it down in front with the head towards the back (west): he thus places yonder sun in the east
7. And, again, why he puts down a tortoise;--the tortoise (kûrma) is the breath, for the breath makes (kar) all these creatures: it is breath he thus puts into him (Agni). He puts it down in front looking towards the back: he thus puts in the breath in front tending towards the back; whence the breath is taken in from the front backwards. [He puts it down so as to be] turned towards the (gold) man: he thus puts breath into the Sacrificer. South of the Ashâdhâ (he puts it), for the tortoise is breath, and the Ashâdhâ speech; and the breath (prâna, masc.) is the male, the mate, of speech (vâk, fem.).
8. [He sets it down, with Vâg. S. XIII, 30-32] Seat thee in the depth of the waters for that indeed is the deepest (place) of the (heavenly) waters where yonder (sun) burns;--'lest the sun, lest Agni Vaisvânara should scorch thee!' that is, lest the Sun, lest Agni Vaisvânara injure thee;--'Overlook the creatures with unbroken wings,' that is, overlook all these uninjured, unharmed creatures, that is, these bricks;--'may
10. 'The mighty sky and the earth,' that is, the great sky and the earth;--'shall mix (prepare) this our sacrifice!' that is, shall favour this sacrifice;--'they shall fill us with nourishments!' that is, they shall nourish us with nourishments! With the last (verse) relating to heaven and earth he puts it down, for the tortoise represents heaven and earth.
11. With three (formulas) he puts it on (the altar);--three are these worlds, and threefold is Agni: as great as Agni is, as great as is his measure, by so much he thus puts it on. With three (formulas) he anoints it; that makes six: the significance of this (number) has been explained. There are avakâ-plants 2 below and avakâ-plants above (the
13. He puts them down at the distance of the two retahsik 1,--the retahsik being the ribs, and the ribs being the middle: he thus puts food into the middle of him (Agni);--on the north (upper) side (of the central brick): he thus puts the food upon him;--at the distance of a cubit, for from a cubit's distance food is (taken by the hand and) eaten.
14. They measure a span, for Vishnu, when an embryo, was a span long; and these (mortar and pestle) being food, he thus puts food into him (Agni-Vishnu) proportionate to his body. And indeed the food which is proportionate to the body satisfies,
16. And, again, why he places a mortar and pestle thereon. From Pragâpati, when relaxed, the breath wanted to go out from within. He kept it back by means of food: hence the breath is kept back by food, for he who eats food, breathes.
17. The breath being kept back, the food wanted to go out of him. He kept it back by means of the breath: hence food is kept back by the breath, for he who breathes, eats food.
18. Those two being kept back, strength wanted to go out of him. He kept it back by those two: hence strength is kept back by those two; for he who eats food, breathes; and to him it gives strength.
19. Strength being kept back, those two wanted
21. It is thereto that this verse applies,--'Then, indeed, he became that breath,'--for that breath he then indeed became;--'having become the great Pragâpati,'--for great he indeed then became, when those gods entered him;--'having obtained the benefits, the beneficial,'--the benefits doubtless are the vital airs (breaths), and the beneficial are the food: thus, having obtained all that;--'when he breathed the breaths in the stronghold;'--the stronghold doubtless is the self (body), and inasmuch as he breathed the breaths, the gods are the breaths; and inasmuch as Pragâpati breathed, the breath also is Pragâpati; and verily he who is that breath, he is that Gâyatrî;--and as to that food, that is Vishnu, the deity; and as to that strength, that is the Udumbara (tree).
22. He said, 'Verily this one has lifted me from out of all evil;' and because he said he has lifted me out (udabhârshît),' hence (the name) 'udumbhara;'--'udumbhara' doubtless being what is mystically called Udumbara, for the gods love the mystic. 'Wide space (uru) shall it make (karat) for me!' he said, hence 'urukara;' 'urukara' doubtless being what is mystically called 'ulûkhala' (the mortar); for the gods love the mystic. Now that mortar is
24. Now when the gods restored him (Pragâpati-Agni), they put all that inside him--breath, food, strength; and in like manner this (Sacrificer) now puts that into him. At the distance of the two retahsik (he places it),--the retahsik being the ribs, and the ribs the middle, it is thus in the middle of (or, inside) him that he puts all that.
25. [He sets them down 1, with Vâg. S. XIII, 33; Rik S. I, 22, 191 'See ye the deeds of Vishnu'--deed doubtless means power: thus, see ye the powers of Vishnu;--'whereby he beheld the sacred ordinances,'--ordinance means food: thus, whereby he did behold the food;--'Indra's allied friend,' for he is indeed Indra's allied friend. With a (verse) relating to two deities he sets them down, for the mortar and pestle are two. Once he 'settles' them: he thereby makes them one and the same; for one and the same is that food. Having 'settled' it, he pronounces the Sûdadohas on it: the significance of this has been explained.
26. He then places the fire-pan thereon,--the fire-pan is a womb: a womb (birth-place) he thus gives to him (Agni). He places it on the mortar,--the mortar is the air, and everything that is above this
27. And, again, why he places the fire-pan thereon;--that same Pragâpati who became disjointed doubtless is this same fire-pan, for the fire-pan is these worlds, and Pragâpati is these worlds. He places it on the mortar: he thereby establishes him (Pragâpati) in all that--breath, food, strength; and thus he places him se as not to be separated from all that.
28. Thereupon, having pounded the remainder (of the clay), and having put the fire-pan in its place, he throws (the pounded clay) in front of the fire-pan; for this is the place of that (remainder 2), and thus that (remainder) is not separated therefrom 3.
30. [He sets the fire-pan down, with Vâg. S. XIII, 34-35] 'Steady thou art, supporting,' the meaning of this has been explained 1;--'from here he was at first born, from these wombs, the knower of beings;' for from these wombs the knower of beings (Agni) was indeed born at first;--'by the Gâyatrî, the Trishtubh, and the Anushtubh, may he, the knowing, bear the offering to the gods!'--by means of these metres he, the knowing, indeed bears the offering to the gods.
31. 'For sap, for wealth, do thou rest, for might in glory, for strength, for offspring!' that is, for all that do thou rest!--'all-ruling thou art, self-ruling thou art!' for both all-ruling and self-ruling he (Agni) indeed is;--'may the two Sârasvata wells cheer thee!' Sarasvat (m.) is the Mind, and Sarasvatî (f.) Speech,--these two are the Sârasvata wells: thus, may these two cheer thee! With two (formulas) he sets it down: the significance of this has been explained; and, moreover, twofold is that form, (consisting as it does of) clay and water. Having 'settled' it, he pronounces the Sûdadohas on it: the significance of this has been explained.
32. He then offers upon it;--now seed was poured into it before, (in the shape of) sand 2; that he now
33. [Vâg. S. XIII, 36-37; Rik S. VI, 16, 43 VIII, 75,1] 'O Agni, harness those good steeds of thine: they draw equal to thy mettle!--Like a chariot-fighter, harness thou the steeds, the best callers of the gods, O Agni! take thy seat as the old Hotri!' with two (verses) containing the (verb) 'yug' (to harness, fasten),--he thus settles that seed injected into the womb, whence the seed settled in the womb does not escape.
34. If (the fire in the pan) has been carried about for a year 2, in that case he should now offer; for (the fire) which has been carried about for a year is everything, and that also whereon he offers is everything. But if it has not been carried about for a year, let him only stand by (worshipping) it; for (the fire) which has not been carried about for a year is not everything; and that by which he stands (worshipping) is not everything. Let him nevertheless offer thereon.
35. Now that Agni is an animal, and even now he is (being) made up whole and complete: the naturally-perforated (brick) is his lower vital air, the
37. He then turns him towards the right 1,--he thereby turns yonder sun towards the right, whence yonder sun moves round these worlds (from left) to right.
38. The fire-pan is the belly, the mortar the womb;--the fire-pan is above, and the mortar below; for the belly is above, and the womb below. The pestle is the sisna; it is round-like, for the sisna is round-like. He places it to the right (south of the mortar), for the male lies on the right side of the female. And what food there is for the consecrated animal, that is the dûrvâ-brick. The left (north) side of that (Agni or altar) is more raised,--that Agni is an animal, and hence the left side of the belly of a well-filled beast is more raised (than the right side).
389:1 See VI, 1, 1, 12.
390:1 That is to say, each Vedic text is identical with the deity to which it is addressed. Cf. VI, 5, 1, 2.
391:1 While the bricks generally measure a pâda or foot square, the cubit measures about two feet.
392:1 He sets the tortoise down with three verses; and in muttering the second verse he makes it move while he still holds it in his hand.
392:2 Blyxa octandra, a grassy plant growing in marshy land ('lotus-flower,' Weber, Ind. Stud. XIII, p. 250).
393:1 The mortar and pestle are to be placed as far north of the central (naturally-perforated) brick, as the two retahsik lie in front (towards the east) of it. This distance is ascertained by means of a cord stretched across the bricks hitherto laid down (from the Svayamâtrinnâ to the Ashâdhâ), and knots made in the cord over the centre of the respective bricks.
394:1 I do not see what else could here be referred to than the heaven and the earth (cf. VII, 4, 2, 22), though in that case one might rather expect 'imau (lokau)' instead of 'ime.' Possibly, however, the earth and atmosphere may be intended.
396:1 The mortar, according to the commentaries to Katy., is partly dug into the ground, with the open part upwards; the pestle being then placed to the right (south) of it.
397:1 Viz., according to Sâyana, because they spring from the germ in the centre of the fruit.
397:2 ? Or, of it (the fire-pan). There is some uncertainty regarding this item of the ceremonial. Kâtyâyana's rule (XVII, 5, 4)--'Having placed the Ukhâ (pan) on the mortar, pounded the remainder of clay, and thrown it down in front, with the text "Dhruvâ asi," (of) the Ukhâ'--is evidently intentionally vague. Mahîdhara (on Vâg. S. XIII, 34) gives the following interpretation of it,--'Having first silently placed the Ukhâ on the mortar, then pounded the remaining clay, and thrown it down on the ground in front of the Ukhâ, let him place the Ukhâ thereon with two formulas.' According to this, the Ukhâ would only temporarily be placed on the mortar, its proper and permanent place (loka) being on the powdered clay in front (to the east) of the mortar. The text of the Brâhmana, as it stands, however, cannot possibly be construed so as to accord with Mahîdhara's interpretation. This would require some such reading as,--athopasayâm pishtvâ, purastâd ukhâyâ upanivapya lokabhâgam ukhâm karoti. See, however, paragraph 38 below, which evidently applies to the permanent position of the pan.
397:3 For the genitive 'asya' (viz. lokasya) with 'antarita'--instead VI, 2, 2, 38, 'prânasya tad antariyât.'
398:2 See VII, 1, 1, 41.
399:1 The verb 'abhi-kri' is here taken in the sense of 'vi-kri' (he gives form to it); and in that sense I would now take it at II, 3; I, 4, 'he fashions (gives human shape to) that embryo,' instead of 'he benefits that embryo.' The St. Petersburg dictionary proposes the meaning, 'to do something with reference to (or, for the benefit of).' The proper German meaning would rather seem to be 'bearbeiten.' The preposition 'abhi' is probably used here with reference to the 'abhi-guhoti.'
400:1 ? Viz. by filling up the vacant spaces of the altar from left to right.
