Aitareyabrahmana 2.5

2.5

The adhvaryu priest says: "Recite for the one around whom fire is being carried." "Agni, the hotṛ priest of our sacrifice..." — he recites a triplet to Agni in the gāyatrī metre as the fire is being carried around; thereby he enriches him with his own deity and his own metre. "Being a courser, he is led around..." For they lead him around as if he were a courser. "Agni goes three times around the sacrifice, like a charioteer..." For he goes around the sacrifice like a charioteer. "The sage, the lord of prize..." For he is the lord of prizes. "From here, summon [the deities] for the offerings to the gods, O hotṛ!" says the adhvaryu. "Agni has won, he has gained the prize..." — the maitrāvaruṇa priest takes up the supplementary summons. Regarding this they say: "Since the adhvaryu summons the hotṛ, why then does the maitrāvaruṇa take up the supplementary summons?" The maitrāvaruṇa is the mind of the sacrifice, while the hotṛ is the speech of the sacrifice. Impelled by the mind, speech speaks. The speech that one speaks with an distracted mind belongs to the asuras and is not pleasing to the gods. In that the maitrāvaruṇa takes up the supplementary summons, he thereby stirs speech with the mind; with speech stirred by the mind, he prepares the oblation for the gods.