1. Now, when Indra's energies, or vital powers, departed from him, the gods restored them by means of this very sacrifice. Both cups of milk and cups of Surâ-liquor are filled: they thereby restore to him his energies, or vital powers. On the northern fire they offer (from) the cups of milk, and thereby provide him 1 with the bright liquor, with the Soma-drink.
2. He (the Adhvaryu) offers (of the three cups of milk) with (Vâg. S. XIX, 32), 'By their devotions the buffalos quicken the sacrifice,'--the buffalos, doubtless, are the officiating priests, and devotion is sacrifice: through the priests he causes the sacrifice to prosper, and through the sacrifice the sacrificer 2;--'the barhis-seated one, supplied with Surâ and goodly heroes,' supplied with Surâ, indeed, is this barhis-seated sacrifice, to wit, the Sautrâmanî: by means of the barhis (the sacred grass on the Vedi), and the sacrifice, he causes him to prosper;--'they who bestow Soma,'--they thus bestow the Soma-drink upon him;--'with the deities in heaven,'--they thus place him with the deities in heaven;--'may we enjoy ourselves,'--the Soma-juice, indeed, conduces
4. He (the Pratiprasthâtri) offers (libations from the cups of Surâ-liquor 4), with (Vâg. S. XIX, 33), 'What essence there is of thine, gathered from the plants,' for this Surâ-liquor, indeed, is the essence
6. Here, now, other Adhvaryus hire some Râganya or Vaisya with the view that he shall drink that (liquor); but let him not do this; for, indeed, this Soma-drink falls to the share of the fathers and grandfathers of whoever drinks (the liquor 2) on
7. 'To the Svadhâ-loving Fathers be Svadhâ, adoration!' he thereby places the Fathers with the Svadhâ in the world of the Fathers.--'To the Svadhâ-loving grandfathers he Svadhâ, adoration!' he thereby places the grandfathers with the Svadhâ in the world of the grandfathers.--'To the Svadhâ-loving great-grandfathers be Svadhâ, adoration!' he thereby places the great-grandfathers with the Svadhâ in the world of the great-grandfathers.
8. Having fetched water, he pours it (into the cups) with, 'The Fathers have drunk:' he thereby bestows food on them;--'the Fathers have enjoyed themselves:' he thereby causes them to enjoy themselves;--'the Fathers have become satisfied:' he thereby satisfies them;--'may the Fathers cleanse themselves!' he thereby purifies all of them from the first downwards, for the Sautrâmanî is a means of purification 2.
10. With 'pâvamânî 1 (verses)' they purify; for pâvamânîs are a means of purification: by a means of purification they thus purify him.
11. With three (verses) they purify each time,--there are three vital airs, the in-breathing, the up-breathing, and the through-breathing: it is by means of these that they purify him.
12. With nine (verses) they purify,--there are nine vital airs: by means of the vital airs they purify him, and when purified they establish him again in the vital airs.
13. They purify by means of a (goat's hair and sheep's wool) strainer,--such a strainer doubtless is a form (symbol) of goats and sheep: by means of goats and sheep they thus purify him.
14. They purify by means of a tail-whisk,--such a tail-whisk doubtless is a form of kine and horses: with kine and horses they thus purify him.
16. They purify him by means of Surâ-liquor, for the Surâ is purified: they thus purify him by that which is purified; and even as the liquor, whilst being purified, is cleared of impure matter 1, so is that Sacrificer thereby freed from all evil who, knowing this, performs the Sautrâmanî, or who even knows this.
17. Here, now, they ask, 'Is the Sautrâmanî to be performed, or is it not to be performed, seeing that (in any case) they continuously repel from him all evil?' As to this Revottaras Sthapati Pâtava Kâkra once said, 'Even after making the surrender, one ought certainly to perform the sacrifice; for the Sacrificer is the body of the sacrifice, and the officiating priests are its limbs; and wherever the body is pure there the limbs also are pure; both of them, indeed, purify him, and both of them repel the evil from him: therefore even after making the surrender (of one's own self) one ought certainly to sacrifice.'
18. But, indeed, those who perform at the southern fire, go down to the world of the Fathers. He offers an oblation of ghee: ghee being (material of) sacrifice, it is by sacrifice that they establish themselves in the sacrifice.
19. He (the Sacrificer) offers, with (Vâg. S. XIX, 45), 'The Fathers who, one in form and one in mind, live in Yama's realm,--may their world,
20. He (the Sacrificer) offers, with (Vâg. S. XIX, 46), 'Mine own (people) who are one in form and one in mind, living among the living,--may their fortune prosper with me, in this world, for a hundred years!' he thereby secures the good fortune of his own people, and he also confers long life on them. Whilst they hold on to each other, he (the Adhvaryu) offers milk, for milk is vital air and food: in the vital air, in food, they thus finally establish themselves.
21. He offers, with (Vâg. S. XIX, 47), 'Two paths for mortals have I heard of, (that of the Fathers and that of the gods 4),'--'two paths
22. He drinks it, with (Vâg. S. XIX, 48), 'May this oblation be productive for me,'--for productive indeed it is, whether it be milk or Soma;--'possessed of ten heroes,'--the ten heroes, doubtless, are the vital airs: vital airs he thus takes to himself;--'possessed of all the troops,'--all the troops, doubtless, are the limbs: it is limbs he thus takes to himself;--'for well-being: breath-winning,'--the breath of life he thus wins;--'race-winning,'--a race (offspring) he thus wins;--'cattle-winning,'--cattle he thus wins;--'place-winning'--for it is for a place (in heaven) that he sacrifices: it is that he gains;--'safety-winning,'--the (place of) safety, doubtless, is the heavenly world: in the heavenly world he thus finally establishes himself;--'May Agni raise for me abundant offspring,
231:1 Or, cause him to prosper, render him successful by means of the liquor; MS. I. O. 311 reads 'samardhayanti.'
231:2 Or, perhaps, he provides the sacrifice with priests, and the Sacrificer with sacrifice. For obvious reasons the first two pâdas of the verse have been transposed in the translation.
232:1 For particulars as to the persons who partake of the respective cups of milk and Surâ-liquor, see XII, 8, 2, 22 seqq.
232:2 That is, on the fire of the southern of the two special Vedis, see p. 225, note.
232:3 Viz. inasmuch as the libations of liquor are not made on the offering-fire proper, the (northern) Âhavanîya, where the oblations from the cups of milk are made.
232:4 These cups are of the same kind as those used for the draughts of Soma, being made of palâsa-wood, and resembling mortars in shape; cf. part ii, p. 259, note 1, towards the end.
233:1 For the distinction between 'suta' and 'âsuta' (not 'asuta'), cf. XII, 8, 2, 12.
233:2 According to Kâty. Sr. XIX, 3, 15, some authorities, however,
234:2 At XII, 7, 2, 13 a perforated pot (with a hundred holes) was mentioned as being used at this sacrifice. According to Kâty. Sr.
236:1 The term 'balkasa' (apparently connected with 'valkala') would seem to mean vegetable matter, esp. chaff or husks. The comm. explains it by 'kidisa' (? kilbisha or kiknasa).
237:1 That is, by shifting their Brâhmanical cord so as to hang across the breast from the left shoulder to the right hip.
237:2 That is, the fire on the uttara-vedi of the northern of the two special Vedis, see p. 225, note.
237:3 They are supposed to return to the earth from the world of the Fathers below.
237:4 Not only is the second pâda of the verse omitted here (as also in MS. I. O. 311), but the construction of the first half of the verse is also rather peculiar, the most natural rendering being, 'Two paths of the Fathers have I heard of, (those) of the gods and of men.' The same verse occurs Riks. X, 88, 15 (with the reading 'dve srutî' instead of 'dve sritî'), where Grassmann translates,--
239:1 Kâty. Sr. XIX, 3, 27, 'Over the kâtvâla (pit) they cleanse themselves, with their wives, putting gold between;' that is to say, whilst the water is poured on their hands a piece of gold is held between, over which the water flows.
