[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Vedic Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda) › [Brāhmaṇas (ritual exegesis)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana) › [Aitareyabrahmana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya) › 3.43 # Aitareyabrahmana 3.43 Aitareyabrāhmaṇa 3.43 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [3.43](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.3.43) sa vā eṣo 'gnir eva yad agniṣṭonias, taṃ yad astuvaṃs tasmād agnistomas. tam agnistomaṃ santam agniṣṭoma ity ācakṣate parokṣeṇa, parokṣapriyā iva hi devās taṃ yac catuṣṭayā devāś caturbhiḥ stomair astuvaṃs, tasmāc catustomas. taṃ catustomaṃ santaṃ catuṣṭoma ity ācakṣate parokṣeṇa, parokṣapriyā iva hi devā atha yad enam ūrdhvaṃ santaṃ jyotir bhūtam astuvaṃs, tasmāj jyotistomas. taṃ jyotistomaṃ santaṃ jyotiṣṭoma ity ācakṣate parokṣeṇa, parokṣapriyā iva hi devāḥ sa vā eṣo 'pūrvo 'naparo yajñakratur, yathā rathacakram anantam evaṃ yad agniṣṭomas. tasya yathaiva prāyaṇaṃ tathodayanaṃ tad eṣābhi yajñagāthā gīyate: yad asya pūrvam aparaṃ tad asya, yad v asyāparaṃ tad v asya pūrvam \ aher iva sarpaṇaṃ śākalasya na vijānanti yatarat parastād iti yathā hy evāsya prāyaṇam evam udayanam asad iti tad āhur: yat trivṛt prāyaṇam ekaviṃśam udayaṃaṃ,= kena te same iti yo vā ekaviṃśas trivṛd vai so, 'tho yad ubhau tṛau tṛcināv iti brūyāt, teneti > iii. 43 (xiv. 5). The Agniṣṭoma is Agni; in that they praised him, therefore is it the praise of Agni (\*agniṣṭoma\*); it, being the praise of Agni, they call Agniṣṭoma mystically, for the gods love mystery as it were. In that four sets of gods praised him with four Stomas, therefore is it of four Stomas (\*catu-stoma\*); it being of four Stomas they call it Catuṣṭoma mystically, for the gods love mystery as it were. Again in that they praised him when aloft and having become light (\*jyotis\*), therefore is it the Jyotiṣṭoma; it being the Stoma of light, they call it the Jyotiṣṭoma mystically, for the gods love mystery as it were. This is the sacrificial rite without beginning or end; the Agniṣṭoma is like a chariot wheel endless; as is its beginning so is its end; as to this a sacrificial verse is sung: > — Arthur Berriedale Keith 1920, Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda (HOS 25) > ‘That which is its beginning is also its end, > That again which is its end is also its beginning, > Like the creeping of a snake is the movement of the Çākala (ritual), > They discern not which of the two is the subsequent’; > — Arthur Berriedale Keith 1920, Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda (HOS 25) > for (they say) 'As the beginning, so should be the end.' As to this they say 'Seeing that the beginning has the Trivṛt, the end the Ekaviṅça, how are the two alike?' 'For the reason', he should reply, 'that the Ekaviṅça is threefold and moreover that both consist of repeated triplets. > — Arthur Berriedale Keith 1920, Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda (HOS 25) - [Previous: 3.42](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.3.42) - [Next: 3.44](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.3.44) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.3) ## Translations (2) - [Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda (HOS 25)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya~en-keith.3.4.p9) — Arthur Berriedale Keith 1920, English - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya~en-mt.3.43) — English, machine translation ## Commentaries (1) - [Aitareyabrāhmaṇabhāṣya (Vedārthaprakāśa)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya!sayana.17.p39) — Sāyaṇa, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.3.43](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.3.43) · Pramāṇa