Jaiminīya (Talavakāra) Brāhmaṇa 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.233 — 3 parts
2.234 — 6 parts
2.239 — 6 parts
2.240 — 5 parts
2.241 — 10 parts
2.243 — 4 parts
2.244 — 2 parts
2.245 — 17 parts
2.247 — 4 parts
2.24 — 7 parts
2.249 — 2 parts
2.250 — 7 parts
2.252 — 9 parts
2.253 — 65 parts
2.256 — 1 part
2.257 — 22 parts
2.259 — 19 parts
2.260 — 8 parts
2.264 — 10 parts
2.265 — 10 parts
2.267 — 6 parts
2.269 — 9 parts
2.270 — 21 parts
2.275 — 4 parts
2.277 — 5 parts
2.278 — 15 parts
2.279 — 3 parts
2.282 — 6 parts
2.283 — 10 parts
2.284 — 17 parts
2.285 — 14 parts
2.286 — 5 parts

2.233

They say: 'One should sacrifice only with a sacrifice that attains the virāj. / Food is the virāj. / King Soma is indeed the food of the gods. / Having made it food, he presents King Soma to the gods. / For when not pressed, he is not the food of the gods. / Having pressed him, making him food, he presents him to the gods. / Whatever he does for the gods here, that the gods do for him. / Being prosperous, they cause him to prosper with offspring, cattle, and nourishment.' / They say: 'The virāj should not be over-sacrificed.' / Whosoever over-sacrifices the virāj, he sits as a sacrificer again in yonder world. / Dry and rough, wishing to attain the virāj, striving and not obtaining it, he sits. / For where will he obtain that which he departs hence without having obtained? / Asito Daivala said to those sitting as if rough: 'Who are these who sit here?' / They said: 'We who have over-sacrificed the virāj.' / He addressed them: / 'He falls down from the chariot—'

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'the front wheel into the hole of the road;'

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'over him the wheel rolls who sacrifices with what is uncompleted.'

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'Simple, seeking the gods with sacrifice, whatever he gives, just to that world of his it goes.'

2.234

Thus he spoke to them: 'Being simple, not knowing, you were not god-seeking, you who over-sacrificed the virāj.' / Regarding this, they say: 'Whence did you stretch the sacrifice? Where did you establish it?' / 'From where you stretch it,' he should say, 'there indeed have I established it. / From man the sacrifice is stretched; in man it is established.' / Now Hṛtsvāśaya Āllakeya, the king of the Mahāvṛṣas, consecrated his son. / Somaśuṣma Sātyayajñi was engaged for him for the udgītha. / The messengers of the Mahāvṛṣas rushed to him: 'Come, the assembly is gathered!' / Driving forward, he said: 'O Udgātṛ, to you I entrust this son!' / Having sacrificed, he came back. / He said: 'O Udgātṛ, where have you established the sacrifice? Where the sacrificer? Where his cattle?' / He gave him no answer. / He said: 'Consecrate my son again; we do not know what you have done with my son.' / They consecrated him again. / For him he himself sang the udgītha. / Had he replied, [he would have said]: 'In the sacrificer himself I have established the sacrifice; the sacrificer in the Vāmadevya; his cattle in the Rathantara.'

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This indeed is the highest stride of speech: namely, ten.

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So far, indeed, the highest stride of speech proceeded.

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That which is the highest stride of speech—'May I obtain all of that!' [he thinks].

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Now, that which is higher than this—twenty, a hundred, a thousand—these are just its limbs and joints.

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That is the abundance of speech alone.

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And thus right here he obtains the entire virāj.

2.235

This ten-syllabled virāj is indeed the measure of man. / There are ten breaths in man. / That indeed is the praise of these one hundred and ninety stotriya verses. / For this Agniṣṭoma is praised as having one hundred and ninety [verses]. / That which is one hundred and eighty is the kṛta [throw]. / Ten also is a kṛta, being a kṛta. / Regarding this, the Kurus say: 'This is a dvāpara, since one hundred and ninety stotriya verses are the lowest of the three throws: / kṛta, tretā, dvāpara.' / Two stotriya verses are to be praised over and above. / That stoma turns out to be a kṛta. / By the kṛta he wins that which he wishes to win. / By the kṛta he breaks forth. / Moreover, these two wings are the two pavamāna [lauds]. / He makes them equal. / Moreover, the sacrificial rite becomes all-shining. / Moreover, it is over-praised by two. / Those two are the two breasts of the virāj. / That two-footed sacrificer [stands] for firm support.

2.236

Regarding this, Kahoḷa Kauṣītakeya used to say: 'Long-breasted indeed is their Virāj, who have two stotriyā verses as the breasts of the Virāj! Do they really milk this Virāj from the neighbor's house?' he used to say. 'The gods meditated on this numerical correspondence in terms of syllables alone; the ṛṣis meditated on it; and we ourselves, later generations, meditate on it. Of just these one hundred and ninety stotriyā verses, there are five thousand fourscore and seventy-two syllables. Those which are the seventy-second syllables are the two breasts of the Virāj. The sacrificer is two-footed, for firm standing.' Regarding this they say: 'Since the stoma is a dvāpara, how then is it a kṛta stoma?' One should say: 'By the syllables.' Also: 'By the chants.' Also: 'By the chants and recitations.' And if one should say: 'Because it is ten times kṛta,' by that too it is a kṛta stoma. Truly this [sacrificer] obtains the ten times kṛta.

2.237

In the beginning, this [universe] was waters, a great flood. The sovereignty belonged to the waters alone. Agni contemplated that sovereignty of the waters, the kingship of the waters, the food of the waters: 'May this sovereignty be mine, this kingship mine, this food mine!' He perceived this correspondence of the Agniṣṭoma. By it he drove apart these waters, upward and downward. Chanting day after day this very stoma, he made this entire food his own. With nine twenty-one-fold [stomas] he propped up those upper [waters]. He moved them beyond the sky. These, moved away, remain raining according to the seasons. With twenty-one three-fold [stomas] he stood upon these lower [waters]. He moved them beyond the earth; having dug along these [waters] that were moved away, some subsist on them—

2.238

—some standing, some flowing. Having thus driven apart and thrust away these waters, he ate food in this world. There was not a small amount, nor a middling, nor a great amount of food that was left over [uneaten by him]. In the same way, having driven apart and thrust away his hating rival, he who knows thus eats food in this world; there is not a small, nor a middling, nor a great amount of food that is left over. When he had won that food, all the gods gathered toward him. Truly, they could not find him. For placing that twenty-first [verse] of the Yajñāyajñīya upon those nine [verses] of the Bahiṣpavamāna, he lies down, having become endless, grasping around this food. And just as coals would be scattered in a vessel, so he remained invisible, endless, in these worlds. To them, unable to find him, he said: 'Praise me!'

2.239

The Vasus praised him with the Gāyatrī meter, with the Gāyatra sāman, with the morning pressing. He invited them to that very pressing. The Rudras praised him with the Triṣṭubh meter, with the Traiṣṭubha sāman, with the midday pressing. He invited them to that very pressing. The Ādityas praised him with the Jagatī meter, with the Jāgata sāman, with the third pressing. He invited them to that very pressing. The All-Gods, Speech, Mind, and Prajāpati praised him with the Anuṣṭubh meter, with the Yajñāyajñīya sāman. He invited them to that very stotra. In this way these gods attached themselves to this sacrificial rite. Now, those who did not attach themselves to it—

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—they of the gods have constantly perished from hunger.

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Now, those who attached themselves to it, they are the ones remaining now.

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And they are the ones who shall not become stale.

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This indeed is the Vaiśvadeva stoma.

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Formerly, indeed, it was the stoma of all the gods.

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Because they praised Agni with it, that is its nature as the Agniṣṭoma.

2.240

They praised Agni with it. His own people praise him, strangers praise him, in the community his own people praise him who knows thus. It corresponds to nine twenty-one-fold [stomas]: twelve months, five seasons, these three worlds, and that Āditya is the twenty-first. One stotriyā verse remains over. The sacrificer who knows thus is himself the one that remains over. Just as a light would shine on a mountain, so he shines in whichever community he lives, who knows thus. And it corresponds to twenty-one three-fold [stomas]. Agni is indeed the three-fold [stoma]. Therefore, whatever is three-fold, all that corresponds to Agni alone. Whatever great correspondences there are, and whatever small ones, they all correspond to the one who knows thus. All desires accrue to him who knows thus. This [Agni], with twenty-one three-fold [stomas], is firmly established in that Āditya; that [Āditya], with nine twenty-one-fold [stomas], in this [Agni]. These two are thus firmly established in each other. He who knows thus is firmly established.

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That one does not set, this one does not go out.

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That one sets toward this one alone.

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That is its setting.

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For that one sets toward this one alone; this one goes out toward that one alone.

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That is yonder one's nature of 'thatness' (amutva).

2.241

For this one goes out toward that one alone. He who knows thus neither sets nor goes out. Truly, these two are co-dwelling deities. He attains co-dwelling with these two. And truly, these two deities remain warding off all evil from him in these worlds. As long as this fire burns in this world, so long does Āditya [burn] in that world. The world of the one who knows thus does not perish as long as that. Just as a possessor of an abode would wish to reach an abode, so the waters wish to reach this world—both those above and these below. That they do not break through is by virtue of the performance of this very stoma. This stoma alone holds them apart. Now, one who is the protector of one kingdom, of two, of three, he would consider himself possessor of a world by that. But in the end he will possess the world, who will be one of those who are the protectors of this world. He who knows thus becomes one of the protectors of this world; by that he possesses a world. Truly, as long as there will be Brahmins who know thus, so long both those waters above and these below will not converge and wipe away this world.

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Now, of this very Agniṣṭoma, the morning pressing corresponds to the Gāyatrī, the midday pressing to the Triṣṭubh,

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the third pressing to the Jagatī.

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This morning pressing is complete of itself:

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all is simply Gāyatra.

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Now, the midday pressing contains four meters: Gāyatrī, Bṛhatī, Kakubh, Triṣṭubh.

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From this Kakubh of twenty-eight syllables, one adds twenty syllables to the Gāyatrī.

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It becomes a Triṣṭubh.

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Now, the eight [syllables] that remain over, those one adds to the Bṛhatī.

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It becomes a Triṣṭubh.

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The Triṣṭubh remains a Triṣṭubh.

2.242

Now the third pressing has six meters: Gāyatrī, Uṣṇih, Kakubh, Anuṣṭubh, Jagatī, and Bṛhatī. From this twenty-four-syllable Gāyatrī, he places twenty syllables onto the Kakubh. It becomes a Jagatī. Then the four [syllables] that remain over, he places those onto the Uṣṇih. It becomes a thirty-two-syllable Anuṣṭubh. The Anuṣṭubh is indeed an Anuṣṭubh. He arranges it in two parts. He places sixteen syllables of it onto the Anuṣṭubh. It becomes a Jagatī. The Jagatī is already complete beyond. Then the sixteen [syllables] that remain over, he places those onto the Bṛhatī of the Yajñāyajñīya [sāman]. It becomes a fifty-two-syllable Jagatī. Four syllables exceed the Jagatī, which are these four-footed cattle; and they are the udders, the milk of the Virāj; and they are the firm support, so that one may stand firmly as a four-footed [animal] stands firmly. In this way it corresponds right there. Nothing remains in excess. He places three [syllables] into the deficiency of the Vāmadevya [sāman]—

2.243

—[and] one into the Yajñāyajñīya. The morning pressing belongs to the Gāyatrī; the midday pressing belongs to the Triṣṭubh; the third pressing belongs to the Jagatī. Even being a Brahmin, he has brilliance like that of a kṣatriya, and wealth and nourishment like that of a vaiśya, who knows this. And in terms of its syllables, the morning pressing amounts to the Gāyatrī, the midday pressing to the Triṣṭubh, and the third pressing to the Jagatī: sixty-nine stoma verses of the morning pressing, sixty Triṣṭubhs of the midday pressing, and twenty-four Jagatīs of the third pressing. The Kakubh is one. Man is indeed a Kakubh. That sacrificer himself has attained and mounted upon this. In this way it corresponds right there. Nothing remains in excess. Having taken four syllables from the one Kakubh of twenty-eight syllables, he places three into the deficiency of the Vāmadevya [sāman], and one into the Yajñāyajñīya. Then the Gāyatrī that remains over, that he places over there into the sixty-nine stoma verses of the morning pressing. That indeed is endless. He wins endless prosperity who knows this.

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And in this same way, two pressings amount to the Bṛhatī.

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Just as the third pressing was before, so is the third pressing.

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There are sixty-nine stoma verses of the morning pressing.

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They amount to forty-six Bṛhatīs.

2.244

For what are three Gāyatrīs are two Bṛhatīs. These do not amount to forty-six Bṛhatīs. It is this: the morning pressing as it comes amounts to the Bṛhatī. Because the morning pressing as it comes amounts to the Bṛhatī, therefore the Brahmin is born already possessing a world. Through his conduct he makes it greater or he makes it smaller. Now, two [priests] bring this midday pressing to completion: the Udgātṛ and the Hotṛ. The Udgātṛ yokes four meters. And the Hotṛ recites after them and brings in three: Anuṣṭubh, Paṅkti, and Jagatī. A Gāyatrī and a Jagatī: they are two Bṛhatīs. An Uṣṇih and a Triṣṭubh: they are two Bṛhatīs. An Anuṣṭubh and a Paṅkti: they are two Bṛhatīs. The Bṛhatī is indeed the Bṛhatī. Because two [priests] bring this midday pressing to completion, therefore a world is to be made by a nobleman through sacrifices, charitable works, faith, and devotion to the brahman. Now, because the third pressing is just as before, therefore the Vaiśya also has a world from the Brahmin and the nobleman; the other [caste does] not indeed have a world like the Brahmin and the nobleman.

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The sacrificer is born into an arranged world.

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He wins the waters by the first stoma verse of the first triplet, the earth by the second, [and] fire by the third;

2.245

he wins the intermediate space by the first stoma verse of the second triplet, the wind by the second, [and] breath by the third; he wins heaven by the first stoma verse of the third triplet, the sun by the second, [and] the constellations by the third. These are nine Bahiṣpavamāna verses; nine are the divine worlds. He reaches them by means of these. These are the three Virājes: the divine, the sacrificial, and the human. Regarding these, Sucitti Śailana conversed with Janaka of Videha. He said: 'Faith has seized me; let my officiating priests be summoned.' The Kuru-Pañcāla priests were brought to him. When they had arrived, Śailana became afraid: 'Like wandering Brahmins carrying their loads, they will make light of it.' He said: 'O Emperor, I have a statement: these three Virājes are satisfying, containing all desires, named

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Then indeed he drove around.

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About to send [messengers] out to him, he used to ask these [people] about the prosperity of these Virājes.

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They did not understand [it].

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And whatever single [Virāj] they did understand,

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he recalled: "Alas, I saw a Brahmin inquiring into these [matters]! Run toward

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the son of Śilana!"

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That explanation indeed was just as the son of Śilana desired.

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These are the three Virājes: divine, sacrificial, [and] human.

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This divine Virāj is these worlds.

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It is deficient.

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It is deficient precisely for the placement of the sacrificer.

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Therein he places the sacrificer.

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The moon indeed is its cover.

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For this, namely the moon, is the manifest food of the gods.

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Now, this sacrificial Virāj is these Bahiṣpavamāna [verses].

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It is deficient.

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It is deficient precisely for the placement of the sacrificer.

2.246

In that he places the sacrificer inside.
Of this [virāj], the hiṃ-sound is the cover.
For by the hiṃ-sound food is given to the gods at the end.
Now, this human virāj is these breaths in man.
It is deficient.
And that is visible in the sacrificer.
Therefore it is deficient.
Of this [human virāj], food is the cover.
These three virājs are indeed the navel.
He attains those desires that are in these [virājs].
Moreover, here he attains among them [and] is freed beyond repeated death.
He eats food sufficient for many men in this world,
for the food that is in these is not for a single man.
Whatever in this world possesses a self, death stands opening its mouth over all of it.
That death—it is the year.
Its mouths are the seasons.
Therefore whatever dies, he who knows thus does not die out of season.
He is born in the seasons with offspring and cattle, who knows thus.

2.247

These are the nine bahiṣpavamāna [verses].
They are six bṛhatīs.
Six are the mouths of death, namely the seasons.
Now, only the bṛhatī can match these mouths of death, no other meter.
With the bṛhatī he covers the mouth of the season, with the bṛhatī of the season, with the bṛhatī of the season.
Just as one, having crossed over uneven ground by even ground, looks back, even so, having crossed beyond this death, he looks back.
He rolls forward that very three-fold thunderbolt.
It rolls after these worlds day by day.
Regarding this, Nagarī Jānaśruteya used to say: 'Indeed, there will not be a clash between gods and asuras as long as this
three-fold thunderbolt rolls after these worlds day by day.
For this fire blazes upward, this wind blows across, yonder sun shines downward.
These look at one another without blinking.
While they are thus, how could there be a clash between gods and asuras?'
And this threefold thunderbolt of his, rolling after these worlds day by day, goes about striking off all evil, for him who knows thus.

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Regarding this they say: 'He indeed should sacrifice today, or he should officiate for another, who, officiating with the fourfold stoma, officiates with all the stomas.'

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He officiates.

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These bahiṣpavamāna [verses] are nine.

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Of them there are twenty-seven feet.

2.24

Thereby they do not omit the twenty-seven-fold stoma.
These bahiṣpavamāna [verses] are nine.
The gāyatrī has twenty-four syllables.
That is thirty-three.
Thereby they do not omit the thirty-three-fold stoma.
In this way indeed he officiates with the fourfold stoma.
He who knows the lowest and the highest of the stomas reaches the highest state.
The threefold stoma is the lowest of the stomas, the threefold is the highest.
Regarding this Barku Vārṣṇa said: 'I saw the threefold stoma becoming thirty-three-fold; therefore I reached the highest state.'
He reaches the highest state who knows thus.
Now Āruṇi used to say: 'Why should he practice sorcery, or why, being subjected to sorcery, should he care, who knows this threefold thunderbolt, three-pointed, unbroken, unassailable, rolling after these worlds day by day?
He by himself is struck by sorcery whom the one who knows thus hates, or who hates the one who knows thus.'
And this threefold thunderbolt, three-pointed, unbroken, unassailable, rolling after these worlds day by day, turns against him.
There is not even a slight hope for his prosperity; he only falls lower and lower.

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Regarding this Upajīva Khāḷāyana used to say: 'I know this threefold thunderbolt directly; therefore whomever I

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hate, and whoever hates me, both of them become worse and worse day by day.'

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Fire is the thunderbolt of this world, wind of the intermediate space, the sun of heaven.

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Now this regarding the self:

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What fire is, that is speech; what wind is, that is breath; what the sun is, that is the eye.

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Therefore, when I speak toward an enemy, when I breathe toward him, when I look toward him, it is the thunderbolt that I

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hurl at him.

2.249

There is not even a slight hope of eminence for him.
These very deities harm the one who harms him who knows thus.
Now, Śvetaketu Āruṇeya used to say: 'Just as the appearance of a white horse with black ears, brought here in such a manner, would be, so indeed do I know the appearance of this stoma,
so worthy to be seen, so wondrously beautiful.
Therefore, those very people who wish to see me in the forenoon wish to see me in the afternoon, even though I am not particularly good to look upon.
Never indeed do I walk around [with people merely] possessing eyes.'
Regarding this, Śāṭyāyani said: 'What white horse? What is this unique thing?'
'Just as is the form of this fire, just as its brightness, just as that of this wind, just as that of yonder sun, so indeed is the form of this stoma, so is its brightness.
It is that which creatures stand around, wishing to see.
Therefore, at the Bahiṣpavamāna, both those who understand and those who do not, all powerless, stand around wishing to see.'
Moreover, these [verses] are indeed also the glory of the other deities.
That faculty, vital power, essence, and brilliance of theirs is gathered together, which are these Bahiṣpavamāna verses.
He who thus knows this faculty, vital power, essence, and brilliance of the deities gathered together becomes possessed of faculty, possessed of vital power, glorious, and brilliant.

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Regarding this they say: 'Since a man, about to mate with a woman, seeks a secret hiding place, while other

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beasts mount one another in the open, what is done in the sacrifice because of which that is so?'

2.250

He should say: 'Because the trivṛt stoma in the Bahiṣpavamāna, having stepped out as it were toward the east and hiding from the hearths, mounts the Gāyatrī, while the other officiating priests sit inside, in the middle of the hearths,
therefore that is so.
For man is attached to the trivṛt stoma, [while] other beasts [are attached] to the hearths.'
Now they also say: 'When that trivṛt stoma mounts the Gāyatrī, what does it produce from that?'
He should say: 'The sacrifice ending in the iḷā, having seven navels.'
The Gāyatrī conceives an embryo.
She brings forth the introductory verse; the introductory verse [brings forth] the offering verse; the offering verse, the vaṣaṭ-call; the vaṣaṭ-call, the oblations; the oblations, the sacrificial gifts; the sacrificial gifts, the heavenly world.
Just as a known current of water would carry one swiftly along, so these deities carry him swiftly along to the heavenly world.
The trivṛt stoma hands him over to the Gāyatrī; the Gāyatrī, to the introductory verse; the introductory verse, to the offering verse; the offering verse, to the vaṣaṭ-call; the vaṣaṭ-call, to the oblations; the oblations, to the sacrificial gifts; the sacrificial gifts make him reach the heavenly world.
That is this sacrifice ending in the iḷā, having seven navels.
Of it, the trivṛt stoma is a navel, the Gāyatrī is a navel, the introductory verse is a navel, the offering verse is a navel, the vaṣaṭ-call is a navel, the oblations are a navel, and the sacrificial gifts are a navel.
The sacrifice yields to him who knows thus.

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The ājya [stotras] are fifteenfold. Fifteen are the nights of the waxing half-month.

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He obtains that very thing by this.

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Ten are the fingers of the hands, four are the thighs and knees; what is above the navel is the fifteenth.

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He joins that together here.

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The midday [pavamāna] is fifteenfold. Fifteen are the nights of the waning half-month.

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He obtains that very thing by this.

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Ten are the toes of the feet, four are the thighs and knees; what is below the navel is the fifteenth.

2.251

He joins that together here.
The pṛṣṭha [stotras] are seventeenfold.
Twelve are the months, five are the seasons.
He obtains that very thing by this.
Ten are the fingers of the hands, seven are the vital breaths in the head.
That is seventeenfold.
He joins that together here.
The Ārbhava [pavamāna] is seventeenfold.
Twelve are the months, five are the seasons.
He obtains that very thing in succession by this.
Ten are the toes of the feet, four are the thighs and knees, three are the downward breaths.
That is seventeenfold.
He joins that together here.
The Agniṣṭoma-sāman is twenty-one-fold.
Twelve are the months, five are the seasons, three are these worlds, yonder sun is the twenty-first.
He obtains that very thing by this.
Ten are the fingers of the hands, ten are the toes of the feet, the trunk is the twenty-first.
He joins that together here.

2.252

Knowing thus, having joined his self together in day and night, in half-months, in months, in seasons, in years, in all this, he crosses over that death which is in the heavenly world.
He who knows thus does not die again.
His bones become composed of verses, his flesh composed of sāmans.
Having struck off evil, with his body shaken free, transcending that death, he shakes off his body.
Now these two are the divine and the human Virājs.
Mounted upon these two, this sun burns:
The four quarters, the four intermediate quarters, and these two worlds—
this is the divine Virāj.
Now the human [Virāj]:
Four are the eaters, six are the foods.
The Brahmin, the nobleman, the commoner, and the servant—these are the eaters.
The cow, the horse, the goat, the sheep, rice, and barley—these are the foods.
Mounted upon these two, this sun burns.
There is no heat, no cold; he hungers not, he thirsts not; there is no turning back for him.
Neither does he hunger nor does he thirst, nor is there any turning back for him, who knows thus.

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Indeed, as semen does the Udgātṛ pour the sacrificer out when he sings the Bahiṣpavamāna.

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He stirs up mind with the seed-bearing verse, breath with the Gāyatrī, eye with the Triṣṭubh, ear with the Jagatī,

2.252.p3

speech with the Anuṣṭubh.

2.252.p4

He establishes the self with the Paṅkti.

2.252.p5

Then, as for this final triplet, that is birth itself.

2.252.p6

He brings forth [the sacrificer] through it.

2.252.p7

Because this is sung with a sound as it were, with a commotion as it were, therefore embryos are born with a sound as it were, with a commotion as it were.

2.252.p8

Regarding this they say: 'It should be sung without sound.'

2.252.p9

When [a woman] giving birth experiences severe pain, then she makes a sound.

2.253

Now, as it were quietly, as it were without sound, great delight is born.
And this is the truth, which is the gāyatra.
One would confound its proper form if one were to repeat it with the character of the rathantara.
Therefore it should be sung without sound.
Now the ājya [stotra] for Agni has one deity.
It is departure.
Then that for Mitra and Varuṇa has two deities.
It is stability.
Then that for Indra has one deity.
It is departure.
Then that for Indra and Agni has two deities.
That is both departure and stability.
He attains stability who knows thus.
By the threefold and fifteen-fold [stomas] a man is established in this world.
The [foot] which he lifts is the threefold; that with which he stands is the fifteen-fold.
These two are both threefold and both fifteen-fold.
Brilliance and spiritual luster are the threefold stoma; force and vital power are the fifteen-fold.
Having stood firm with force and vital power, he carries off brilliance and spiritual luster, who knows thus.

2.253.p1

Now the gāyatrī of the midday pavamāna:

2.253.p2

this downward breath—that is it.

2.253.p3

On it there are two sāmans.

2.253.p4

Therefore with this breath one does two things: one produces feces and passes wind.

2.253.p5

There are different preludes and different final choruses, with the hiṃ-sound between them.

2.253.p6

Therefore the one does not sound along with the other, nor the other with the one.

2.253.p7

For by this it is kept distinct.

2.253.p8

Then the bṛhatī:

2.253.p9

this forward breath—that is it.

2.253.p10

On it there are two sāmans.

2.253.p11

Therefore with this breath one does two things: one emits semen and urinates.

2.253.p12

There are different preludes and different final choruses, with the hiṃ-sound between them.

2.253.p13

Therefore the one does not sound along with the other, nor the other with the one.

2.253.p14

For by this it is kept distinct.

2.253.p15

Then the triṣṭubh:

2.253.p16

that is the navel.

2.253.p17

On it there is one sāman.

2.253.p18

Therefore with this breath one does only one thing: that one breathes out in accord with the out-breathing breaths.

2.253.p19

Now the pṛṣṭha [stotras]:

2.253.p20

the pṛṣṭhas are faculty and vital power.

2.253.p21

Therefore, of whatever possesses a spine—an ox, a horse, a man—their spine is the strongest.

2.253.p22

For faculty and vital power are the pṛṣṭhas.

2.253.p23

They are [chanted] on bṛhatī verses.

2.253.p24

Therefore these ribs, like bṛhatīs, and these cattle, like bṛhatīs, come together to the back.

2.253.p25

Now the gāyatrī of the ārbhava pavamāna:

2.253.p26

this breath—that is it.

2.253.p27

On it there are two sāmans.

2.253.p28

Therefore with the breath one does two things: one breathes in and breathes out.

2.253.p29

There are different preludes and different final choruses, with the hiṃ-sound between them.

2.253.p30

Therefore the one does not sound along with the other, nor the other with the one.

2.253.p31

For by this it is kept distinct.

2.253.p32

Then the uṣṇih and the kakubh:

2.253.p33

they are the two eyes.

2.253.p34

The meter is the same.

2.253.p35

There are two sāmans.

2.253.p36

Therefore the two eyes see the same [thing].

2.253.p37

They are composed of three-footed verses.

2.253.p38

Therefore, the eye is threefold: the white, the black, and the pupil.

2.253.p39

They are on two verses that are increasingly wider.

2.253.p40

Therefore, a person sees increasingly further.

2.253.p41

There is a different prastāva, a different nidhana, and the sound hiṃ in between.

2.253.p42

Therefore, the two eyes have different vital powers.

2.253.p43

Then the Anuṣṭubh.

2.253.p44

That is speech itself.

2.253.p45

On it are two sāmans.

2.253.p46

Therefore, one does two things with speech: eats food with it and speaks.

2.253.p47

There is a different prastāva, a different nidhana, and the sound hiṃ in between.

2.253.p48

Therefore, one does not speak everything as truth with speech, nor everything as untruth.

2.253.p49

For it is distributed by this.

2.253.p50

Then the Jagatī.

2.253.p51

That is the ear itself.

2.253.p52

On it is one sāman.

2.253.p53

Therefore, one does only one thing with this ear, which is merely to hear.

2.253.p54

It is on a four-footed verse.

2.253.p55

Therefore, being in the same place, one hears in all directions.

2.253.p56

Even when facing away, one hears someone speaking from behind.

2.253.p57

Then the Yajñāyajñīya.

2.253.p58

That is the head itself.

2.253.p59

For the head is placed upon the other limbs.

2.253.p60

The Yajñāyajñīya is elevated above the other chants.

2.253.p61

He who knows thus becomes elevated above his own people.

2.253.p62

The head is indeed higher than the other limbs.

2.253.p63

The Yajñāyajñīya is higher than the other chants.

2.253.p64

He who knows thus becomes higher than his own people.

2.253.p65

This sacrifice, with evil dispelled, is truly perceptible.

2.254

He has neither a reviler nor does anyone do him evil.
If one should curse him during the Bahiṣpavamāna, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the poured seed of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Your offspring will be seedless!'
If one should curse him during the single-deity Ājya chant, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the progress of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Having passed away, you will die among foreign people!'
If one should curse him during the two-deity Ājya chant, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the foundation of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! You will be without a foundation!'
If one should curse him during the Gāyatrī verse of the Midday Pavamāna, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the downward breath of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Obstruction will kill you!'
And he should also say: 'Diarrhea will kill you!'
If one should curse him during the Bṛhatī verse, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the penis of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Retention of urine will kill you!'
And he should also say: 'You will become seedless!'
If one should curse him during the Triṣṭubh verse, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the navel of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Intestinal spasm will kill you!'
If one should curse him during the pṛṣṭha chants, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the faculty and vital power of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! The thunderbolt will kill you!'
And he should also say: 'An unknown blow will kill you!'

2.255

If one should curse him during the Gāyatrī verse of the Ārbhava Pavamāna, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the breath of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Breath will abandon you!'
And he should also say: 'You will become prone to early death!'
If one should curse him during the Uṣṇih and Kakubh verses, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the two eyes of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! You will become blind!'
If one should curse him during the Anuṣṭubh verse, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the speech of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Your speech will depart from you!'
And he should also say: 'You will die of hunger!'
If one should curse him during the Jagatī verse, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the ear of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! You will become deaf!'
If one should curse him during the Yajñāyajñīya, he should say to him: 'You have disturbed the head of the sacrifice, you killer of the sacrifice! Your head will fly off!'

2.256

These indeed are the counter-curses.
One who knows thus does not come to sacrificial ruin.
He who reviles him, he comes to ruin.
If someone reviles him, he should say to him: 'I know this sacrifice whole, complete with its limbs and body; what you know to be deficient here, that I cover over with you yourself.'
He who reviles one who knows thus comes to ruin.
This Prajāpati is the Agniṣṭoma, who, placing that twenty-first [verse] of the Yajñāyajñīya against these nine Bahiṣpavamānī verses, lies milking these two-uddered Virājes: five fifteen-versed ones and five seventeen-versed ones.
These are the five thirty-two-syllabled Virājes.
He who knows thus milks all desires from the Virāj.
The sacrifice of one who knows thus does not leak, even if he speaks untruth.
The sacrifice of one who speaks untruth indeed leaks and it rots;
but the sacrifice of one who knows thus does not leak, nor does it rot.
Therefore, the Kuru-Pañcālas milk the two-uddered one,
for it belongs to Prajāpati.
Therefore, the wild people on the borders do not milk it,
for they do not know it.
Therefore, the wild people on the borders are hungrier, as it were. This Prajāpati is the Agniṣṭoma—

2.256.p3

—becoming circular, becoming endless, he lies.
In imitation of him, these other deities are circular:
circular is Āditya, circular is the moon, circular is the sky,
circular is the intermediate space, circular is this earth.

2.257

Following the mark of this one, he who knows thus wins circular, great, endless fortune.
This sacrifice extends upward along with man.
His feet are the Bahiṣpavamāna;
these four thighs and knees are the Ājya chants;
what is below the navel is the midday [pressing] consisting of three meters;
the pṛṣṭha chants are the sides;
this Ārbhava is this, and the Agniṣṭoma-sāman is this.
A Brahmin asked Nagarin Dālbhya about this: 'In which direction does the sacrifice go?'
He said: 'It extends upward along with man.'
Thus indeed he spoke.
He who knows this sacrifice being stretched out upward in himself climbs upward with offspring and cattle.
And he who knows it as facing backward, he achieves prosperity directed backward.
His Bahiṣpavamāna is this; these Ājya chants; this midday [pressing]; the pṛṣṭha chants are the sides; this is the Ārbhava; the Yajñāyajñīya is the foundation.
He achieves prosperity directed backward.
For him who knows these two sacrifices being stretched out in himself, the two sacrifices bow down to him.

2.257.p1

Concerning this, there is this verse:

2.257.p2

'What is its front is its rear;

2.257.p3

and what is its rear is its front;

2.257.p4

like the slithering of a snake, or of Śākala,

2.257.p5

I do not discern which is in front.'

2.257.p7

Śakala Gaupāyana went along, measuring out the sacrifice.

2.257.p8

He did not discern which was the front of the sacrifice, which the rear, which the more slender,

2.257.p9

which the thicker.

2.257.p10

Regarding this, they say: 'From where is the thinnest part of the sacrifice?'

2.257.p11

'From where it is the thickest.'

2.257.p12

'From where is the thickest part?'

2.257.p13

'From where it is the thinnest.'

2.257.p14

With respect to the Bahiṣpavamāna, the sacrifice is indeed thinnest.

2.257.p15

It spoke this regarding the two feet.

2.257.p16

A man is indeed thinnest with respect to the two feet.

2.257.p17

Then indeed it is thickest.

2.257.p18

For it goes flying.

2.257.p19

'From where is it the thickest?'

2.257.p20

'From where it is the thinnest.'

2.257.p21

With respect to the Yajñāyajñīya, the sacrifice is indeed thinnest.

2.257.p22

It spoke this regarding the head.

2.257.p23

A man is indeed thinnest with respect to the head.

2.258

It is indeed the highest. For seeing with his two eyes, he goes forward. As to this, they say: 'If the sacrifice were extended upward, only the gods would live, not men. If it were extended downward, only men would live, not the gods.' The sacrifice is extended upward and downward, and also crosswise. Hence, if they should ask, 'Whither directed is the sacrifice?', he should say, 'Upward,' and also 'Downward,' and also 'Crosswise.' He should say, 'In all directions.' For the sacrifice of one who knows thus becomes extended in all directions. The Kurus and Pañcālas held a theological disputation. They came upon a dog lying curled up. They said, 'Let our victory be determined right over this!' Then the Pañcālas asked the Kurus, 'What of the sacrifice is this like?' They did not answer. Vasiṣṭha Caikitāneya said: 'Just as that twenty-first [stoma] lying over yonder, placing itself against the Yajñāyajñīya upon these nine Bahiṣpavamāna verses, so this one lies joining both ends. This sacrificial rite, by means of this resting-posture, attains its form.' Therefore, [they said,] 'Do not bring this useless one!' By that, they won.

2.259

Twice indeed is the sacrificer born: once he is born from a pair, once from the sacrifice. That which is born from a pair is born for this world; then that which is born from the sacrifice is born for that world: he is born for the world of the Gandharvas, he is born for the world of the gods, he is born for the heavenly world. The sacrificer is the sacrifice; King Soma is the sacrifice. In that they press King Soma with the stones in the havirdhāna shed, they thereby make the sacrificer semen. The Udgātṛ is Prajāpati. He is Tvaṣṭṛ; he is the shedder of semen, he is the transformer of forms. When he sings the semen-bearing [verse] in the Bahiṣpavamāna, he thereby pours the sacrificer as semen. If he should sing a verse without a sāman, only bone would be born, not flesh. If he should sing a sāman without a verse, only flesh would be born, not bone. He sings the verse smeared with the sāman; therefore, a person is born smeared with hair, skin, and flesh. On it he should not utter the sound hiṃ. If he should utter the sound hiṃ, he would sever the semen with the vajra of the sound hiṃ. For even he who were to separate it with a hair would sever it. He should sing it meditating. If he were to sing without meditating, seedless embryos would be born. Seedless indeed are the embryos born in the course of a bad Udgātṛ.

Linked texts (1)

Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit

Jaiminīya (Talavakāra) Brāhmaṇa 2

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