Aitareyabrahmana 4.29

4.29

Agni indeed as deity carries the first day; / the stoma is the ninefold, the saman the Rathantara, the metre the Gayatri. / According to deity, according to stoma, according to saman, according to metre he succeeds / who knows thus. / What contains 'eti' (comes) and 'pra' (forth), that is the characteristic of the first day; / what contains 'yoked', what contains 'chariot', what contains 'swift', what contains 'drink', / in which the deity is distinctly expressed in the first quarter-verse, / in which this world is mentioned, / what belongs to the Rathantara, what belongs to the Gayatri, what is in the future tense: / these indeed are the characteristics of the first day. / 'Going forth to the sacrifice' is the Ajya chant of the first day; / having 'pra' on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'Come, O Vayu, worthy of being seen' is the Prauga chant; / having 'eti' on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'Thee like a chariot for help', 'Here, O good one, is the pressed juice' are / the opening verse and the following verse of the Marutvatiya sastra. / Containing 'chariot' and containing 'drink' on the first day, they are the characteristic of the first day. / 'Indra, come nearer here' is the invocation pragatha of Indra; / the deity is distinctly expressed in the first quarter-verse; on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'May Brahmanaspati go forth' is the verse addressed to Brahmanaspati; / having 'pra' on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'Agni is leader', 'Thou, O Soma, by thy insights', 'The waters swell' are the additional verses (dhayyas); / the deities are distinctly expressed in the first quarter-verses; on the first day, they are the characteristic of the first day. / 'Forth to great Indra' is the Marutvatiya pragatha; / having 'pra' on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'May Indra come to us for help' is the hymn; / having 'eti' on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'To thee, O hero, we shout aloud', 'To thee for the first drinking': / this is the Rathantara Prstha chant; / on the day of the Rathantara, on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'He who has won the most, victor of old' is the additional verse, and 'Slayer of Vrtra, Indra has filled his names'; / having 'eti' on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'Drink of the pressed sap' is / the saman-pragatha containing 'drink'; on the first day, it is the characteristic of the first day. / 'That swift courser sped by the gods'—he recites the verse to Tarksya before the hymn. / Tarksya is indeed a journey toward well-being, for the sake of well-being. / He thereby makes a journey toward well-being; / safely he reaches the far shore of the year, who knows thus.