XII, 3. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to the Brahmans.

1
Thyself a male, step thou upon the hide of the male (steer): go, call thither all that is dear to thee! At whatever age ye two formerly did first unite (in marriage), may that age be your common lot in Yama's kingdom!

2
Your sight shall be as clear (as formerly), your strength as abundant, your lustre as great, your vitality as manifold! When Agni, the (funeral-) pyre, fastens himself upon the corpse, then as a pair ye.shall rise from the (cooked) porridge!

3
Come ye together in this world, upon the road to the gods, and in Yama's realms! By purifications purified call ye together the offspring that has sprung from you!

4
Around the water united, sit ye down, O children; around this living (father) and the waters that refresh the living! Partake of these (waters), and of that porridge which the mother of you two cooks, and which is called amrita (ambrosia)!

5
The porridge which the father of you two, and which the mother cooks, unto freedom from defilement and foulness of speech, that porridge with a hundred streams (of ghee), leading to heaven, has penetrated with might both the hemispheres of the world.

6
In that one of the two hemispheres and the two heavenly worlds, conquered by the pious, which especially abounds in light, and is rich in honey, in that do ye in the fulness of time come together with your children!

7
Keep ever on in an easterly direction: this is the region that the faithful cling to! When your cooked porridge has been prepared on the fire, hold together, O man and wife, that ye may guard it!

8
When ye shall have reached the southerly direction, turn ye to this vessel! In that Yama, associated with the fathers, shall give abundant protection to your cooked porridge!

9
This westerly direction is especially favoured: in it Soma is ruler and consoler. To this hold, attach yourselves to the pious: then as a pair ye shall rise from the cooked porridge!

10
The northerly direction shall make our realm the very uppermost, in offspring, uppermost! The purusha is the metre pahkti [sic]: with all (our kin), endowed with all their limbs, may we be united!

11
This 'firm' direction (nadir) is Virâg (brilliancy): reverence be to her; may she be kind to my children and to me! Mayest thou, O goddess Aditi, who boldest all treasures, as an alert guardian guard the cooked porridge!

12
As a father his children do thou, (O earth), embrace us; may gentle winds blow upon us here on earth! Then the porridge which the two divinities (the sacrificer and his wife) are here preparing for us shall take note of our religious fer~our and our truth!

13
Whatever the black bird, that has come hither stealthily, has touched of that which has stuck to the rim, or whatever the wet-banded slavegirl does pollute-may ye, O waters, purify (that) mortar and pestle!

14
May this sturdy press-stone, with broad bottom, purified by the purifiers, beat away the Rakshas! Settle upon the skin, afford firm protection; may man and wife not come to grief in their children!

15
The (pestle of) wood has come to us together with the gods: it drives away the Rakshas and Pisâkas. Up it shall rise, shall let its voice resound
through it let us conquer all the worlds!

16
The cattle clothed itself in sevenfold strength, those among them that are sleek and those that are poor. The thirty-three gods attend them mayest thou, (O cattle), guide us to the heavenly world!

17
To the bright world of heaven thou shalt lead us; (there) let us be united with wife and children! I take her hand, may she follow me there; neither Nirriti (destruction), nor Arâti (grudge), shall gain mastery over us!

18
May we get past the evil Grâhi (seizure)! Casting aside darkness do thou, (O pestle), let thy lovely voice resound; do not, O wooden tool, when raised, do injury; do not mutilate the grain devoted to the gods!

19
All-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter, (O pot), as a co-dweller this space!--Take hold of the winnowing-basket, that has been grown by the rain: the spelt and the chaff it shall sift out!

20
Three regions are constructed after the pattern of the Brâhmana: yonder heaven, the earth, and the atmosphere.--Take the (soma-) shoots, and hold one another, (O man and wife)! They (the shoots) shall swell (with moisture), and again go back into the winnowing-basket!

21
Of manifold variegated colours are the animals, one colour hast thou, (O porridge), when successfully prepared.--Push these (soma-) Shoots upon this red skin; the press-stone shall purify them as the washer-man his clothes!

22
Thee, the (pot of) earth, I place upon the earth: your substance is the same, though thine, (O pot), is modified. Even though a blow has cracked or scratched thee, do not therefore burst: with this verse do I cover that up!

23
Gently as a mother embrace the son: I unite thee, (pot of) earth, with the earth! Mayest thou, the hollow pot, not totter upon the altar, when thou art pressed by the tools of sacrifice and the ghee!

24
May Agni who cooks thee protect thee on the east, Indra with the Maruts protect thee on the south! May Varuna on the west support thee upon thy foundation, may Soma on the north hold thee together!

25
Purified by the purifiers, the (waters) flow pure from the clouds, they reach to the spaces of heaven, and of the earth. They are alive, refresh the living, and are firmly rooted: may Agni heat them, after they have been poured into the vessel!

26
From heaven they come, into the earth they penetrate; from the earth they penetrate into the atmosphere. May they, now pure, yet purify themselves further; may they conduct us to the heavenly world!

27
Whether ye are over-abundant or just sufficient, ye are surely clear, pure, and immortal: cook, ye waters, instructed by the husband and wife, obliging and helpful, the porridge!

28
Counted drops penetrate into the earth, commensurate with the breaths of life and the plants. The uncounted golden (drops), that are poured into (the porridge), have, (themselves) pure, established complete purity.

29
The boiling waters rise and sputter, cast up foam and many bubbles. Unite, ye waters, with this grain, as a woman who beholds her husband in the proper season!

30
Stir up (the grains) as they settle at the bottom: let them mingle their inmost parts with the waters! The water here I have measured with cups; measured was the grain, so as to be according to these regulations.

31
Hand over the sickle, with haste bring promptly (the grass for the barhis); without giving pain let them cut the plants at the joints! They whose kingdom Soma rules, the plants, shall not harbour anger against us!

32
Strew a new barhis for the porridge: pleasing to its heart, and lovely to its sight it shall be! Upon it the gods together with the goddesses shall enter; settle down to this (porridge) in proper order, and cat it!

33
O (instrument of) wood, settle down upon the strewn barhis, in keeping with the divinities and the agnishloma rites! Well shaped, as if by a carpenter (Tvashtar) with his axe, is thy form. Longing for this (porridge) the (gods) shall be seen about the vessel!

34
In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it, by the cooked grain he shall obtain heaven; the parents and the children shall live upon it. Bring thou this (man) to heaven, into the presence of Agni!

35
(Thyself) a holder, (O pot), hold on to the foundation of the earth: thee, that art immoveable the gods (alone) shall move! Man and wife, alive, with living children, shall remove thee from the hearth of the fire!

36
Thou hast conquered and reached all worlds; as many as are our wishes, thou hast satisfied them. Dip ye in, stirring stick and spoon! Place it (the porridge) upon a single dish!

37
Lay (ghee) upon it, let it spread forth, anoint this dish with ghee! As the lowing cow her young that craves the breast, ye gods shall greet with sounds of satisfaction this (porridge)!

38
With ghee thou hast covered it, hast made this place (for the porridge): may it, peerless, spread afar to heaven! Upon it shall rest the mighty eagle; gods shall offer it to the divinities!

39
Whatever the wife cooks aside from thee, (O husband), or the husband (cooks) unbeknown of thee, O wife, mix that together: to both of you it shall belong; bring it together into a single place!

40
As many of her children as dwell upon the earth, and the sons that have been begotten by him, all those ye shall call up to the dish: on shall come the young knowing their nest!

41
The goodly streams, swelling with honey, mixed with ghee, the seats of ambrosia, all these does he obtain, ascends to heaven. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it!

42
The treasurer shall fetch this treasure: all outsiders round about shall not control it! The heaven-directed porridge, that has been presented and deposited by us, in three divisions has reached the thrte [sic] heavens.

43
May Agni burn the ungodly Rakshas; the flesh-devouring Pisâka shall have nothing here to partake of! We drive him away, hold him afar from us: the Âdityas and Angiras shall stay near it!

44
To the Âdityas and the Angiras do I offer this (food of) honey, mixed with ghee. Do ye two, (man and wife), with clean hands, without having injured a Brâhmana, performing pious deeds, go to that heavenly world!

45
I would obtain this highest part of it (the porridge), the place from which the highest lord permeates (the all). Pour butter upon it, anoint it with plentiful ghee: this here is our share, fit for the Angiras!

46
For the sake of truth and holy strength do we make over this porridge as a hoarded treasure to the gods: it shall not be lost to us in gaming or in the assembly; do not let it go to any other person before me!

47
I cook, and I give (to the Brahmans), and so, too, my wife, at my religious rite and practice.--With the birth of a son the world of children has arisen (for you): do ye two hold on to a life that extends beyond (your years)!

48
In that place exists no guilt, and no duplicity, not even if he goes conspiring with his friends. This full dish of ours has here been deposited: the cooked (porridge) shall come back again to him that cooks it!

49
kind deeds we shall perform for our friends: all that hate us shall go to darkness (hell)!--As (fruitful) cow, and (strong) steer, they (man and wife) shall during, every successive period of their lives drive away man-besetting death!

50
The fires (all) know one another, that which lives in plants, and lives in the waters, and all the (light-) gods that glow upon the heaven. The gold (here) becomes the light of him that cooks (the porridge).

Continued...

51
This (naked skin) among the hides is born upon man (alone), all other animals are riot naked. Clothe yourselves, (ye Brahmans), in sheltering garments: (even) the face of the porridge is a homespun garment!

52
What falsehood thou shalt speak at play and in the assembly, or the falsehood that thou shalt speak through lust for gain--put on together, (O man and wife), this same garment, deposit upon it every blemish!

53
Produce rain, go to the gods, let smoke arise from (thy) surface; all-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter as a co-dweller this place!

54
In many ways heaven assumes within itself a different form, according to circumstances. It (the heaven) has laid aside its black form, purifying itself to a bright (form); the red form do I sacrifice for thee into the fire.

55
Thee here we hand over to the eastern direction, to Agni as sovereign lord, to the black serpent as guardian, to Âditya as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive! To the goal here he shall lead us, to old age; old age shall hand us over to death: then shall we be united with the cooked (porridge)!

56
Thee here we hand over to the southern direction, to Indra as sovereign lord, to the serpent that is striped across as guardian, to Yama as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive! To the goal here, &c.

57
Thee here we hand over to the western direction, to Varuna as sovereign lord, to the pridâku-serpent as guardian, to food as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.

58
Thee here we hand over to the northern direction, to Soma as sovereign lord, to the svaga-serpent as guardian, to the lightning as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.

59
Thee here we hand over to the direction of the nadir, to Vishnu as sovereign lord, to the serpent with black-spotted neck as guardian, to the plants as bowmen: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.

60
Thee here we hand over to the direction of the zenith, to Brihaspati as sovereign lord, to the light-coloured serpent as guardian, to the rain as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.

IX, 3. Removal of a house that has been presented to a priest as sacrificial reward.

1
The fastenings of the buttresses, the supports, and also of the connecting, beams of the house, that abounds in treasures, do we loosen.

2
O (house) rich in all treasures! the fetter which has been bound about thee, and the knot which has been fastened upon thee, that with my charm do I undo, as Brihaspati (undid) Vala.

3
(The builder) has drawn thee to,,ether, pressed thee together, placed firm knots upon thee. Skilfully, as the priest who butchers (the sacrificial animal), do we with Indra's aid disjoint thy limbs.

4
From thy beams, thy bolts, thy frame, and thy thatch; from thy sides, (O house) abounding in treasures, do we loosen the fastenings.

5
The fastenings of the dove-tailed (joints), of the reed (-covering), of the frame-work, do we loosen here from the 'mistress of dwelling.'

6
The ropes which they have tied within thee for comfort, these do we loosen from thee; be thou propitious to our persons, O mistress of dwelling, after thou hast (again) been erected!

7
A receptacle for Soma, a house for Agni, a seat for the mistresses (of the house), a seat (for the priests), a seat for the gods art thou, O goddess house!

8
Thy covering of wicker-work, with thousand eyes, stretched out upon thy crown, fastened down and laid on, do we loosen with (this) charm.

9
He who receives thee as a gift, O house, and he by whom thou hast been built, both these, O mistress of dwelling, shall live attaining old age!

10
Return to him in the other world, firmly bound, ornamented, (thou house), which we loosen limb by limb, and joint by joint!

11
He who built thee, O house, brought together (thy) timbers, he, a Pragâpati on high, did construct thee, O house, for his progeny (pragâyai).

12
We render obeisance to him (the builder); obeisance to the giver, the lord of the house; obeisance to Agni who serves (the sacrifice); and obeisance to thy (attendant) man!

13
Reverence to the cattle and the horses, and to that which is born in the house! Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we loosen.

14
Thou dost shelter Agni within, (and) the domestics together with the cattle. Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we loosen.

15
The expanse which is between heaven and earth, with that do I receive as a gift this house of thine; the middle region which is stretched out from the sky, that do I make into a receptacle for treasures; with that do I receive the house for this one.

16
Full of nurture, full of milk, fixed upon the earth, erected, holding food for all, O house, do thou not injure them that receive thee as a gift!

17
Enveloped in grass, clothed in reeds, like night does the house lodge the cattle; erected thou dost stand upon the earth, like a she-elephant, firm of foot.

18
The part of thee that was covered with mats unfolding do I loosen. Thee that hast been enfolded by Varuna may Mitra uncover in the morning!

19
The house built with pious word, built by seers, erected--may Indra and Agni, the two immortals, protect the house, the seat of Soma!

20
Chest is crowded upon chest, basket upon basket; there mortal man is begotten from whom all things spring.

21
In the house which is built with two facades, four facades, six facades; in the house with eight facades, with ten facades, in the 'mistress of dwelling.' Agni rests as if in the womb.
Turning towards thee that art turned towards me, O house, I come to thee that injurest me not. For Agni and the waters, the first door to divine order, are within.

23
These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease, do I bring here. The chambers do I enter in upon in company with the immortal Agni (fire).

24
Do thou not fasten a fetter upon us; though a heavy load, become thou light! As a bride do we carry thee, O house, wherever we please.

25
From the easterly direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail to the gods who are to be addressed with hail!

26
From the southerly direction of the house, &c.!

27
From the westerly direction of the house, &c.!

28
From the northerly direction of the house, &c.!

29
From the firm direction (nadir) of the house, &c.!

30
From the upright direction (zenith) of the house, &c.!
3 1. From every direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail to the gods who are to be addressed with hail!

VI, 71. Brahmanical prayer at the receipt of gifts.

1
The varied food which I consume in many places, my gold, my horses, and, too, my cows, goats, and sheep: everything whatsoever that I have received as a gift--may Agni, the priest, render that an auspicious offering!

2
The gift that has come to me by sacrifice, or without sacrifice, bestowed by the Fathers, granted by men, through which my heart, as it were, lights up with joy--may Agni, the priest, render that an auspicious offering!

3
The food that I, O gods, improperly consume, (the food) I promise, intending to give of it (to the Brahmans), or not to give of it, by the might of mighty Vaisvânara (Agni) may (that) food be for me auspicious and full of honey!

XX, 127. A kuntâpa-hymn.

A.

1
Listen, ye folks, to this: (a song) in praise of a hero shall be sung! Six thousand and ninety (cows) did we get (when we were) with Kaurama among the Rusamas,--

2
Whose twice ten buffaloes move right along, together with their cows; the height of his chariot just misses the heaven which recedes from its touch.

3
This one (Kaurama) presented the seer with a hundred jewels, ten chaplets, three hundred steeds, and ten thousand cattle.

B.

4
Disport thyself, O chanter, disport thyself as a bird upon a flowering tree; thy tongue glides quickly over the lips as a razor over the strop.

5
The chanters with their pious song hurry on blithely as cows; at home are their children, and at home the cows do they attend.

6
Bring hither, O chanter, thy poem, that which earns cattle and earns good things! Among the gods (kings) place thy voice as a manly archer his arrow!

C.

7
Listen ye to the high praise of the king who rules over all peoples, the god who is above mortals, of Vaisvânara Parikshit!

8
'Parikshit has procured for us a secure dwelling when he, the most excellent one, went to his seat.' (Thus) the husband in Kuru-land, when he founds his household, converses with his wife.

9
'What may I bring to thee, curds, stirred drink, or liquor?' (Thus) I the wife asks her husband in the kingdom of king Parikshit.

10
Like light the ripe barley runs over beyond the mouth (of the vessels). The people thrive merrily in the kingdom of king Parikshit.

D.

11
Indra has awakened the poet, saying: 'Arise, move about, and sing; of me, the strong, verily, sing the praises; full every pious one shall offer thee (sacrificial reward)!'

12
Here, O cattle, ye shall be born, here, ye horses, here, ye domestics! And Pûshan also, who bestows a thousand (cows) as sacrificial reward, settles down here.

13
May these cattle, O Indra, not suffer harm, and may their owner not suffer harm; may the hostile folk, O Indra, may the thief not gain possession of them!

14
We shout to the hero with hymn and song we (shout) with a pleasing song. Take delight in our songs; may we not ever suffer harm!

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