iv. 6. 1.

The strength resting on the stone, the bill,
On the wind, on Parjanya, on the breath of Varuna,
Brought together from the waters, from the plants, from the trees;
That food and strength do ye, O Maruts, bounteously bestow upon us.
In the stone is thy hunger; let thy pain reach N. N., whom we hate.
With the wind of the ocean
We envelop thee, O Agni;
Be thou purifying and auspicious to us.
With the caul of winter
We envelop thee, O Agni;
Be thou purifying and auspicious to us.
Down upon earth , upon the reed,
Upon the waters lower (do thou descend);
Thou, O Agni, art the bile of the waters,
O female frog, with these come hither;
Do thou make this sacrifice of ours
Pure in hue and auspicious.
Pure, with radiance wonderful,
On earth he hath shone as with the light of dawn.
Who (cometh) to battle,
Moving with strength as on Etaça's course,
In the heat unathirst, immortal.
O Agni, the purifying, with thy light,
O god, with thy pleasant tongue,
Bring hither the gods , and sacrifice.
Do thou, O shining and purifying one,
O Agni, bring hither the gods
To our sacrifice and our oblation.
1 This is the meeting of the waters,
The abode of the ocean;
May thy bolts afflict another than us;
Be thou purifying and auspicious to us.
Homage to thy heat, thy blaze
Homage be to thy light;
May thy bolts afflict another than us;
Be thou purifying and auspicious to us.
To him that sitteth in man, hail! To him that sitteth in the waters, hail! To him that sitteth in the wood, hail! To him that sitteth on the strew, hail! To him that findeth the heaven, hail!
Those gods among gods, worshipful among the worshipful,
Who await their yearly portion,
Who eat not oblations, in this sacrifice
Do ye delight yourselves with honey and ghee.
The gods who above the gods attained godhead,
Who lead the way to this holy power,
Without whom no place whatever is pure,
Neither on the heights of sky or earth are they.
Giver of expiration art thou , of inspiration, of cross-breathing,
Giver of eyesight, giver of splendour, giver of wide room;
May thy bolts afflict another than us;
Be thou purifying and auspicious to us.
May Agni with his piercing blaze
Cast down every foe;
May Agni win for us wealth.
With his countenance the kindly one
Will sacrifice to the gods for us, most skilled to win prosperity by sacrifice;
Guardian undeceived and protector of us,
O Agni, shine forth with radiance and with wealth.

iv. 6. 2.

He who sat down, offering all these beings,
As Hotr, the seer, our father,
He seeking wealth with prayer,
Hath entered into the boon of the first of coverers.
Since Viçvakarman is mighty in mind,
Disposer, ordainer, and highest seer,
Their offerings rejoice in food,
Where say they is one beyond the seven Rsis.
He who is our father, our begetter, the ordainer,
Who begot us from being unto being ,
Who alone assigneth their names to the gods,
Him other beings approach for knowledge.
Wealth they won by offering to him
The seers of old like singers in abundance,
They who fashioned these beings illumined and unillumined
In the expanse of space.
Ye shall not find him who produced this world;
Another thing shall be betwixt you;
Enveloped in mist and with stammering
The singers of hymns move enjoying life.
Beyond the sky, beyond this earth,
Beyond the gods, what is secret from the Asuras,
What germ first did the waters bear,
When all the gods came together?
This germ the waters first bore,
When all the gods came together;
On the navel of the unborn is set the one
On which doth rest all this world.
Viçvakarman, the god, was born;
Then second the Gandharva;
Third the father, begetter of plants [31
In many a place did he deposit the germ of the waters.
Father of the eye, the sage with his mind,
Produced these two worlds rich in ghee,
When the fore ends were made firm,
Then did sky and earth extend.
With eyes on every side, with a face on every side,
With hands on every side, with feet on every side,
The one god producing sky and earth
Welds them together with arms, with wings.
What was the basis?
Which and what his support?
When producing earth Viçvakarman, all-seeing,
Disclosed the sky with his might.
What was the wood, and what the tree,
Whence they formed sky and earth?
O ye wise ones, inquire with your minds
On what he stood as he supported the worlds.
Thy highest, lowest,
Midmost abodes here, O Viçvakarman,
In the offering do thou teach thy comrades, O faithful one;
Do thou thyself sacrifice to thyself, rejoicing.
The lord of speech, Viçvakarman,
Let us invoke this day to aid us , thought yoked for strength,
May he delight in our nearest offerings,
He with all healing, to aid (us), the doer of good deeds.
O Viçvakarman, waxing great with the oblation,
Do thou thyself sacrifice to thyself rejoicing;
May the others around, our foes, be confused;
May our patrons here be rich.
O Viçvakarman, with the oblation as strengthening,
Thou didst make Indra, the protector, free from scathe,
To him the clans of old bowed in homage,
That he might be dread, to be severally invoked.
To the ocean, the moving,
The lord of streams, homage!
To the lord of all the streams
Do ye offer, to Viçvakarman,
Through all the days the immortal offering.

iv. 6. 3.

O Agni, to whom ghee is offered,
Do thou lead him forward;
Unite him with increase of wealth,
With offspring and with wealth.
O Indra, bring him to the fore,
That he may be lord over his fellows;
Unite him with splendour,
That he may assign their shares to the gods.
Him, O Agni, do thou exalt
In whose house we make the offering;
To him may the gods lend aid,
And he the lord of holy power.
May the All-gods thee ,
O Agni, bear up with their thoughts;
Be thou to us most propitious,
With kindly face, abounding in light.
May the five regions divine aid the sacrifice,
The goddesses driving away poverty and hostility,
And giving to the lord of the sacrifice increase of wealth.
In increase of wealth the sacrifice hath been established,
Waxing great on the kindled fire,
Grasped with hymns as wings, to be adored;
They sacrificed embracing the heated cauldron.
When with strength the gods laboured at the sacrifice
For the divine supporter, the enjoyer,
Serving the gods, benign, with a hundred drinks (was it);
The gods kept embracing the sacrifice .
With the rays of the sun, with tawny hair,
Savitr hath raised before (us) his unending light;
On his instigation fareth Pusan the god,
The guardian, gazing on all things.
The gods stand serving as priests for the gods;
Ready (is it) for the immolator, let the immolator sacrifice;
Where the fourth offering goeth to the oblation,
Thence let our pure invocations be accepted.
As measurer he standeth in the midst of the sky,
Filling the two worlds and the atmosphere;
The all-reaching , the butter-reaching, he discerneth,
Between the eastern and the western mark.
Bull, ocean, ruddy bird,
He hath entered the birthplace of his ancient sire;
In the middle of the sky is the dappled stone set down
He hath stepped apart, he guardeth the two ends of space.
All songs have caused Indra to wax
To encompass the ocean,
Best charioteer of charioteers,
True lord and lord of strength.
Let the sacrifice invite favour, and bring (to us) the gods; let the god, Agni, offer and bring (to us) the gods.
With the impulse of strength,
With elevation he hath seized me;
Then Indra hath made my enemies
Humble by depression.
The gods have increased my prayer,
Which is elevation and depression;
Then do ye, O Indra and Agni,
Scatter my foes on every side.

iv. 6. 4.

Swift, like a bull sharpening his horns, the warrior
Fond of slaughter, disturber of the people,
Bellowing, unwinking, sole hero,
Indra at once conquered a hundred hosts.
With the bellowing, unwinking, conquering,
Fighter, hard to overthrow, and daring Indra,
With Indra do ye conquer, do ye withstand
The foe, O heroes, with the strong one who holdeth the arrow in his hands.
He is mighty with those who have arrows in their hands and quivers,
Indra who joineth hosts with his band,
Conquering in combat, drinker of Soma, with many a band,
With bow uplifted, and shooter with well-drawn arrows.
O Brhaspati, fly round with thy chariot ,
Slaying the foe, driving away the enemy;
Defeating hosts, destroyer, victor in battle,
Be thou protector of our chariots.
The cleaver of the cowstalls, finder of the cows, with the thunderbolt on his arm,
Victorious, crushing in might a host,
Be heroes, O my fellows, like him;
O comrades, follow in Indra's footsteps.
Conspicuous by might, strong, heroic,
Enduring, mighty, steadfast, dread,
Surpassing heroes and warriors born of strength,
Do thou, winning kine, mount, O Indra, thy victorious car.
In might penetrating the cowstalls,
Impetuous , the hero, Indra, with wrath a hundredfold,
Hard to resist, enduring in battle, unovercomable,
May he aid our armies in the battles.
Indra (be) their leader, and let Brhaspati,
The sacrificial fee, the sacrifice and Soma go before;
Let the Maruts precede the hosts divine,
That overthrow and conquer.
Of Indra, the strong, of Varuna, the king,
Of the Adityas, of the Maruts the mighty host--
The voice hath ascended of the gods
Great-hearted that shake the worlds as they conquer.
Ours (be) Indra, when the standards meet;
Ours be the arrows that conquer ;
Ours be the heroes who are victors,
And us do ye aid, O gods, at our invocations.
Exalt our weapons, O bounteous one,
Exalt the might of my warriors;
Exalt the strength of the steed, O slayer of Vrtra,
Let the sound of the conquering chariots arise.
Go ye forward, O heroes; conquer;
Be your arms strong;
May Indra accord you protection
That ye may be unassailable.
Let loose, fly forward,
O arrow, expelled with holy power;
Go to our foes, and enter them;
Not one of them do thou spare.
Thy vital parts I clothe with armour;
May Soma, the king, cover thee with immortality,
Space broader than broad be thine;
May the gods take delight in thy victory.
When the arrows fly together
Like boys unshorn,
Then may Indra, slayer of foes,
Accord us protection for ever.

iv. 6. 5.

Along the eastern quarter do thou advance, wise one;
Be thou, O Agni, of Agni the harbinger here;
Illumine with thy radiance all the regions;
Confer strength on our bipeds and quadrupeds.
Mount ye, with Agni, to the vault,
Bearing him of the pan in your hands;
Having gone to the ridge of the sky, to the heaven,
Do ye eat, mingled with the gods.
From earth have I mounted to the atmosphere;
From the atmosphere have I mounted to the sky;
From the ridge of the vault of the sky
Have I attained the heaven, the light .
Going to the heaven, they look not away;
They mount the sky, the two worlds,
They who extended, wisely,
The sacrifice, streaming on every side.
O Agni, advance, first of worshippers,
Eye of gods and mortals;
Pressing on in unison with the Bhrgus,
Let the sacrificers go to heaven, to prosperity.
Night and the dawn, one-minded, but of various form,
United suckle one child;
The radiant one shineth between sky and earth;
The gods, granters of wealth, support Agni.
O Agni, of a thousand eyes , of a hundred heads,
A hundred are thy expirations, a thousand thine inspirations;
Thou art lord of wealth a thousandfold;
To thee as such let us pay homage for strength, hail!
Thou art the winged bird, sit on the earth; sit on the ridge of earth; with thy blaze fill the atmosphere, with thy light establish the sky, with thy brilliance make firm the quarters.
Receiving offering, fair of face, O Agni;
Sit down in front in thine own birthplace, in due order;
In this higher place,
O All-gods , do ye sit with the sacrificer.
Enkindled, O Agni, shine before us,
O most youthful, with unfailing beam;
Ever upon thee strength awaiteth.
I Let us pay homage to thee in thy highest birth, O Agni;
Let us pay homage with praises in thy lower abode;
The place of birth whence thou didst come, to that I offer;
In thee when kindled they offered the oblations.
That various lovingkindness given to all men,
Of Savitr the adorable, I choose,
That mighty fat cow of his which Kanva milked,
Streaming with a thousand (draughts) of milk .
Seven are thy kindling-sticks, O Agni, seven thy tongues,
Seven seers, seven dear abodes;
Seven Hotras sevenfold sacrifice to thee
Seven birthplaces with ghee do thou fill.
Such like, other like, thus like, similar, measured, commensurate, harmonious;
Of pure radiance, of varied radiance, of true radiance, the radiant, true, protector of holy order, beyond distress ;
Winning holy order, winning truth, host-conquering, having a good host, with foes within, with foes afar, the troop;
Holy order, true, secure, supporting, supporter, upholder, upholding;
Such like, thus like, do ye come to us, similar and equal.
Measured and commensurate, to aid us, harmonious, at this sacrifice, O Maruts.
On Indra attend the divine folk, the Maruts; even as the divine folk, the Maruts, attend on Indra, so may the folk divine and human, attend on this sacrificer.

Continued...

iv. 6. 6.

As of a thunder-cloud is the face of the warrior
As he advanceth to the lap of the battles;
Be victorious with unpierced body;
Let the might of thine armour protect thee.
By the bow cows, by the bow the contest may we win,
By the bow dread battles may we win;
The bow doth work displeasure to the foe;
By the bow let us win in all the quarters.
As if about to speak it approacheth the ear,
Embracing its dear comrade,
Like a woman this bowstring twangeth stretched over the bow ,
Saving in the battle.
They coming together as a maiden to the assembly,
As a mother her child, shall bear (the arrow) in their lap;
In unison shall they pierce the foes,
These two ends springing asunder, the enemies.
Father of many (daughters), many his sons,
He whizzeth as he goeth to battle,
The quiver, slung on the back, yielding its content,
Doth conquer every band and army.
Standing on the chariot be guideth his steeds before him
Wheresoever he desireth, good charioteer;
The might of the reins do ye admire;
The reins behind obey the mind (of the driver).
Shrilly the strong-hooved horses neigh,
As with the cars they show their strength;
Trampling with their forefeet the enemy
They unflinchingly destroy the foe.
The chariot-bearer is his oblation by name,
Where is deposited his armour and his weapon;
Then may we sit on the strong car,
All the days, with friendly hearts.
The fathers with pleasant seats, granting strength,
A support in trouble mighty and profound,
With varied hosts, with arrows to strengthen them, free,
With real heroes, broad conquerors of hosts.
The Brahmans , the fathers worthy of the Soma,
And sky and earth, unequalled be propitious to us;
May Pusan guard us from misfortune, us that prosper holy order
Do thou guard; may no foe overpower us.
I A feather her garment, a deer her tooth,
Tied with cowhide she flieth shot forth;
Where men run together and apart,
There may the arrows accord us protection.
O thou of straight path, avoid us;
Be our body as of stone
May Soma favour us,
And Aditi grant protection!
Their backs it smites,
Their thighs it belabours;
O horse-whip, do ye stimulate
The skilled horses in the battles.
Like a snake with its coils it encircleth his arm,
Fending off the friction of the bowstring,
Let the hand-guard, knowing all cunning,
Manfully guard the man on all sides.
O lord of the forest, be strong of limb,
Our comrade, efficacious, of great strength;
Thou art tied with cowhide, be thou strong;
Let him that mounteth thee conquer what is to be conquered.
From sky, from earth is might collected,
From trees is strength gathered;
The might of the waters surrounded with the kine,
Indra's thunderbolt, the chariot, do thou adore with oblation.
The thunderbolt of Indra, the face of the Maruts,
The embryo of Mitra, the navel of Varuna,
Do thou, accepting this our sacrifice,
O chariot divine, take to thyself the oblations.
Roar to earth and sky;
Let the scattered world be ware of thee in many places;
Do thou, O drum, in unison with Indra and the gods ,
Drive away the foe further than far.
Roar thou! Grant us force and might.
Thunder, overthrowing obstacles;
Snort away, O drum, misfortune hence;
Indra's fist art thou; show thy strength.
Drive to us those, and these make to come to us;
The drum speaketh aloud for a signal (of battle)
Our heroes winged with steeds meet together;
Be our chariotmen victorious, O Indra.

iv. 6. 7.

When first thou didst cry on birth,
Arising from the ocean or the dust,
The wings of the eagle, the limbs of the gazelle,
That is thy famed birth, O steed.
The steed given by Yama hath Trita yoked,
It Indra first mounted,
The bridle of it the Gandharva grasped;
O Vasus, from the sun ye fashioned the steed.
Thou art Yama, O steed, thou art Aditya;
Thou art Trita by secret ordinance;
Thou art entirely separated from Soma ;
Three, they say, are thy bonds in the sky.
Three, they say, are thy bonds in the sky,
Three in the waters, three within the ocean
And like Varuna to me thou appearest, O steed,
Where, say they, is thy highest birthplace.
These, O swift one, are thy cleansings,
These the placings down of thy hooves in victory;
Here I have seen thy fair ropes,
Which the guards of holy order guard.
The self of thee with my mind I perceived from afar,
Flying with wings from below through the sky ;
Thy head I saw speeding with wings
On paths fair and dustless.
Here I saw thy highest form,
Eager to win food in the footstep of the cow;
When a mortal man pleaseth thy taste,
Then most greedily dost thou consume the plants.
Thee follows the chariot, thee the lover, O steed,
Thee the kine, thee the portion of maidens;
Thy friendship the companies have sought;
The gods have imitated thy strength .
Golden his horns, iron his feet;
Swift as thought, Indra was his inferior;
The gods came to eat his oblation
Who first did master the steed.
Full haunched, of slender middle,
The heroic divine steeds,
Vie together like cranes in rows,
When the horses reach the divine coursing-place
1 Thy body is fain to fly, O steed;
Thy thought is like the blowing wind;
Thy horns are scattered in many places,
They wander busy in the woods.
To the slaughter the swift steed hath come,
Pondering with pious mind;
The goat, his kin, is led before,
Behind him come the sages to sing.
To his highest abode hath the steed come,
To his father and his mother;
To-day do thou go, most welcome, to the gods;
Then boons shall he assign to the generous.

iv. 6. 8.

Let not Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, Ayu,
Indra, Rbhuksan, the Maruts disregard us,
When we shall proclaim before the assembly
The might of the strong god-born steed.
When they bear before him, covered with a garment and with wealth
The gift they have seized,
The goat, all-formed, bleating,
Goeth straight to the dear stronghold of Indra and Pusan.
This goat is led before the strong steed
As share of Pusan, connected with the All-gods,
When Tvastr impels him as an acceptable sacrifice
Together with the steed for fair renown .
When men thrice lead round in due season
The steed going to the gods as an acceptable offering
Then first goeth Pusan's share,
The goat announcing the sacrifice to the gods.
Hotr Adhvaryu, atoner, fire kindler,
Holder of the stone, and skilled reciter,
With this well-prepared sacrifice
Well offered do ye fill the channels.
The cutters of the stake, the bearers of the stake,
And they that fashion the top piece for the stake for the horse,
And they that collect the cooking-pot for the steed ,
May their approval quicken us.
He hath come forth--efficacious hath been my prayer--
To the regions of the gods, straight backed;
In him the sages, the seers, rejoice,
For the prosperity of the gods a good friend have we made.
The bond of the strong one, the tie of the steed,
The head stall, the rope of him,
And the grass placed in his mouth,
May all these of thine be with the gods.
Whatever of the horse's raw flesh the fly eateth,
Whatever on the chip or the axe hath stuck,
Whatever is on the hands, the nails of the slayer,
May all these of thine be with the gods.
The refuse that bloweth forth from the belly,
The smell of raw flesh,
Let the slayers see that in order
Let them cook the fat to a turn.
I Whatever flieth away from thy limb
As it is cooked by the fire when thou art spitted,
Let it fall not on earth, nor on the grass;
Be that given to the eager gods.

iv. 6. 9.

Those who watch for the cooking of the strong one,
And call out, 'It is fragrant; take it out,'
And who wait to beg for the meat of the steed,
May their approval quicken us.
The trial spoon of the meat-cooking pot,
The vessels to hold the juice,
The coverings of the dishes for warming,
The hooks, the crates, attend the steed.
The starting-place, the sitting down, the turning,
The hobbles of the steed,
What it hath drunk, what it hath eaten as fodder ,
May all these of thine be with the gods.
May Agni, smoke smelling, not make thee crackle;
May not the radiant pot be broken, smelling;
Offered, delighted in, approved, offered with the Vasat cry,
The gods accept the horse.
The garment they spread for the horse,
The upper garment, the golden (trappings),
The bond of the steed, the hobble,
As dear to the gods they offer.
If one hath smitten thee, riding thee driven with force,
With heel or with whip ,
As with the ladle the parts of the oblation in the sacrifice,
So with holy power all these of thine I put in order.
The four and thirty ribs of the strong steed,
Kin of the gods, the axe meeteth;
Skilfully do ye make the joints faultless;
Declaring each part, do ye cut it asunder.
One carver is there of the steed of Tvastr
Two restrainers are there, so is the use;
Those parts of thy limbs that I place in order,
Those in balls I offer in the fire.
Let not thy dear self distress thee as thou comest;
Let not the axe stay in thy body;
May no greedy skilless carver,
Missing the joints, mangle thy limbs with the knife.
Thou dost not die, indeed, thou art not injured,
On easy paths thou goest to the gods;
The bays, the dappled ones, have become thy yoke-fellows;
The steed bath stood under the yoke of the ass.
I Wealth of kine for us, may the strong one (grant), wealth in horses,
Men and sons, and every form of prosperity;
May Aditi confer on us sinlessness;
Kingship for us may the horse rich in offering gain.

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