Aitareyabrahmana 8.7
English (machine translation) 8.7
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8.7
Then, interposing an udumbara branch, he sprinkles him [with the verses]:
'These most auspicious waters, these healers of everything,
these strengtheners of the realm, these immortal sustainers of the realm,
with which Prajāpati sprinkled Indra, King Soma, Varuṇa, Yama, Manu—
with those waters I sprinkle you; may you be the overlord of kings here.
As a great one among the great, as an emperor among the peoples, the divine mother brought you forth; / the auspicious mother brought you forth.'
[With the formula:] 'At the instigation of divine Savitṛ, with the arms of the Aśvins, with the hands of Pūṣan, / with the splendour of Agni, with the brilliance of Sūrya, with the faculty of Indra, I sprinkle you, / for strength, for prosperity, for fame, for proper food.'
[Saying] 'Bhūḥ', if he should wish for him alone: 'May he eat food'; then, if he should wish [it] for two generations, [saying] 'Bhūr bhuvaḥ'; then, if he should wish [it] for three generations or without a rival, [saying] 'Bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ'.
On this matter, some say indeed:
'These mystical utterances are the attainment of everything; surely through that which exceeds everything it is done for someone else.'
He should sprinkle him with this [formula alone]:
'At the instigation of divine Savitṛ, with the arms of the Aśvins, with the hands of Pūṣan, with the splendour of Agni, with the brilliance of Sūrya, with the faculty of Indra, I sprinkle you, for strength, for prosperity, for fame, for proper food.'
Yet, on the contrary, they censure this [saying]:
'Because he is sprinkled with an incomplete [utterance] of Speech, he is liable to pass away before his full lifespan'—so indeed said Satyakāma Jābāla—'[the one] whom they do not sprinkle with these mystical utterances. He is liable to attain his full lifespan, he attains everything through victory'—so indeed said Uddālaka Āruṇi—'[the one] whom they sprinkle with these mystical utterances.'
He should sprinkle him with just this:
'At the instigation of divine Savitṛ, with the arms of the Aśvins, with the hands of Pūṣan, with the splendour of Agni, with the brilliance of Sūrya, with the faculty of Indra, I sprinkle you, for strength, for prosperity, for fame, for proper food, bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ.'
Now these things, indeed, depart from a kṣatriya when he has sacrificed:
priestly and royal power, vigor and proper food, the essence of waters and plants, priestly lustre, nourishment, strength, and procreation, the form of royal power, and also the essence of food, the plants, royal power, and foundation.
In that he offers those two oblations before, thereby he establishes in him priestly and royal power.
Translations (1)
- Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda (HOS 25) — Arthur Berriedale Keith 1920, English
Commentaries (1)
- Aitareyabrāhmaṇabhāṣya (Vedārthaprakāśa) — Sāyaṇa, Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Aitareyabrāhmaṇa — Mahidāsa Aitareya, Sanskrit