Kauṣītaki (Śāṅkhāyana) Brāhmaṇa 26.2

26.2.1

atha ha eka ūrdhvān eva māsān upayanty ūrdhvāny ahāni /

Now some enter upon ascending months and ascending days,

26.2.2

ūrdhvam vā u vayam saṃvatsaram rohāma iti vadantaḥ /

saying: “We ascend upwards through the year.”

26.2.3

māsā eva āvarteran na ahāni ity eke /

“Only the months should turn round, not the days,” say some,

26.2.4

ya eva eṣa pṛṣṭhyaḥ ṣaḍahaḥ punaḥ parastāt paryeti tena māsā āvṛttā iti vadantaḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

saying: “By this very Pṛṣṭhya six-day period that comes around again beyond, the months are turned round.”

26.2.5

tad āhur vidūra rūpam vā etad yat trivṛc ca trayas triṃśaś ca stomau / (soma: chandomāh)

Regarding this they say: “Indeed, it is disparate in form when there are the Trivṛt and the Trayastriṃśa stomass;

26.2.6

tad yathā giri śikharāt kartam abhi praskanded evam tat stoma kṛntatram /

just as one would plunge from a mountain peak into an abyss, so is that cutting off of the stoma.

26.2.7

tasmād eva ahāni varteran / (soma: chandomāh)

Therefore only the days should turn round,

26.2.8

no māsā astoma kṛntatratāyā iti /

not the months, so that there may be no cutting off of the stoma.”

26.2.9

atha ato go āyuṣor mīmāṃsā /

Now follows the discussion of the Go and Āyus [days].

xxvi. 2. Then (follows) the discussion of the Go and Āyus. They should

26.2.10

vihṛte go āyuṣī upeyuḥ /

They should perform the Go and Āyus transposed.

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

xxvi. 2. Then (follows) the discussion of the Go and Āyus. They should

26.2.11

ahorātre vai go āyuṣī / (soma: chandomāh)

Day and night are indeed the Go and Āyus;

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.12

vihṛte vā ime ahorātre anyonyasmin /

these two, day and night, are transposed in one another.

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.13

atho dyāvā pṛthivī vai go āyuṣī / (soma: chandomāh)

Moreover, heaven and earth are the Go and Āyus;

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.14

vihṛte vā ime dyāvā pṛthivī anyonyasmin /

these two, heaven and earth, are transposed in one another.

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.15

atho prāṇa apānau vai go āyuṣī / (soma: chandomāh)

Moreover, out-breath and in-breath are the Go and Āyus;

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.16

vihṛtau vā imau prāṇa apānāv anyonyasmin pratitiṣṭhataḥ /

these two, out-breath and in-breath, transposed, find support in each other.

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.17

te ha eka ūrdhve upayanty ūrdhve upetavye go āyuṣī iti / (soma: chandomāh)

Some enter upon them in direct order, saying: “The Go and Āyus should be performed in direct order;

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.18

anvābhiplavikāḥ stomā āvartatnte daśarātram anupṛṣṭhyas stomā iti vadantaḥ /

the stomas of the Abhiplava turn round; following the ten-day period the stomas of the Pṛṣṭhya [turn round].”

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.19

tad yad eva idam dvitīyam ahar yac ca tṛtīyam ete vā u go āyuṣī / (soma: chandomāh)

Now, what this second day is and what the third is—these indeed are the Go and Āyus.

perform the Go and Āyus as inverted; the Go and Āyus are day and night; day and night are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are sky and earth; sky and earth are inverted towards each other; moreover the Go and Āyus are expiration and inspiration; expiration and inspiration, being inverted, find support in each other. Some perform them in the forward order, saying 'The Go and Āyus should be performed in the forward direction; the Abhiplava Stomas are reversed, and the Pṛṣṭhya Stomas in the ten-night (period).' They say 'The Go and Āyus are the second and the third day.'

26.2.3_2

atha kaścit śastre vā anuvacane vā pramatta upahanyād vicikitsā vā syād upahatam abuddham atikrāntam manyamāno manasā vṛtta antam īkṣamāṇo vinivṛtya upahatam anupahatam kṛtvā ānantaryāt prayogaḥ syād vṛtta antād iti mīmāṃsante / (soma: chandomāh)

Now, if someone through negligence should spoil [a verse] in the recitation or in the repeating, or if there should be doubt, thinking that it has been spoiled, omitted, or passed over, looking with the mind to the conclusion of the event, turning back, making the spoiled un-spoiled, they discuss: “Should the performance proceed from the immediate continuation or from the conclusion of the event?”

xxvi. 3. Now they discuss (this question), 'Supposing some one in carelessness makes a blunder in a Çastra or a recitation or if there is doubt, should one, thinking that the error has passed unnoticed, mentally considering the (place of) occurrence, having gone back and remedied the error, proceed immediately from the (place of) occurrence (of the error)?' Now Paiṅgya used to say 'Superfluous would be a Mantra repeated twice when not prescribed; therefore he should not proceed immediately.' So used Paiṅgya to say. Now Kauṣītaki used to say 'These rites in which the number of Mantras employed is limited have limited fruits. Those in which an unlimited number of Mantras is employed have unlimited fruits; the unlimited is mind; mind is Prajāpati, Prajāpati is the sacrifice; the sacrifice rejoices in the sacrifice itself as mind in mind; therefore should he proceed immediately.' So used Kauṣītaki to say. 'By the limited he conquers the limited, the unlimited by the unlimited; (it serves) for the winning of the unlimited; in that there is no flaw', so used Kauṣītaki to say. He should not offer a libation. So the sacrificer obtains the worlds of heaven, all desires, all attainments, and all immortality, and acquires the pre-eminence, rule, and overlordship of all creatures, for whom it is done thus.

26.2.3_3

atha ha sma āha paiṅgyo na ānantaryāt prayogaḥ syād atirikto vā eṣa mantraḥ syād yo avacanād dvir ucyate / (soma: chandomāh)

Then Paiṅgya said: “The performance should not proceed from the immediate continuation; for that mantra would be redundant which without prescription is spoken twice.”

26.2.3_4

tasmān na āntaryāt prayogaḥ syād iti ha sma āha paiṅgyaḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

"Therefore the application should not be immediate," so said Paiṅgya.

26.2.3_5

atha ha sma āha kauṣītakiḥ parimita phalāni vā etāni karmāṇi yeṣu parimito mantra gaṇaḥ prayujyate / (soma: chandomāh)

Now Kauṣītaki used to say: "Limited indeed are the fruits of those rites in which a limited group of mantras is applied.

26.2.3_6

atha aparimita phalāni yeṣu aparimito mantra gaṇaḥ prayujyate / (soma: chandomāh)

And unlimited are the fruits of those in which an unlimited group of mantras is applied.

26.2.3_7

mano vā etad yad aparimitam prajāpatir vai mano yajña u vai prajāpatiḥ svayam vai tad yajño yajñasya juṣate yan mano manasas tasmād ānantaryāt prayogaḥ syād iti ha sma āha kauṣītakir / (soma: chandomāh)

Mind, indeed, is that which is unlimited. Mind is Prajāpati; sacrifice too is Prajāpati. The sacrifice itself enjoys of the sacrifice that which is mind of mind. Therefore the application should be immediate," so said Kauṣītaki.

26.2.3_8

mitam ha vai mitena jayaty amitam amitena aparimitasya avaruddhyā anulbaṇam etad iti ha sma āha kauṣītakir / (soma: chandomāh)

"One wins the measured by the measured, the unmeasured by the unmeasured. For obtaining the unlimited, this is without excess," so said Kauṣītaki.

26.2.3_9

na āhutim juhuyāt tathā ha yajamānaḥ svargāṃl lokānt sarvān kāmān sarvā aṣṭīḥ sarvam ca amṛtatvam āpnoti sarveṣām ca bhūtānām śraiṣṭhyam svārājyam ādhipatyam paryeti yasya evam kriyate / (soma: chandomāh)

He should not make an oblation. Thus indeed the sacrificer obtains heavenly worlds, all desires, all attainments, and all immortality, and he attains pre-eminence among all beings, self-rule, and overlordship, for whom it is performed thus.

26.2.4_2

atha yady ūrdhvam paridhānāt praṇava vaṣaṭ kārayor vā ūrdhvam yājyā puronuvākyayor budhyeta atikrāntam ulbaṇam etasyām velāyām bhavati iti ha sma āha prāgahiḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

"Now if after the concluding verse, or after the praṇava and vaṣaṭ-call, or after the offering verse and invitatory verse, he should notice [it], the error has passed beyond at this moment," so said Prāgahi.

xxvi. 4. 'Now if after the conclusion or after the Praṇava or vaṣaṭ call of the invitatory and offering verses, (an error) is perceived, by that time the flaw has been passed over', Prāgahi used to say. 'Therefore the priest in

26.2.4_3

tasmān na etasyām velāyām atikrāntam ulbaṇam sadasyo bodhayeta iti ha sma āha paiṅgyaḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

"Therefore at this moment the sadasya should not remind him of the error that has passed beyond," so said Paiṅgya.

the Sadas should not call attention to a flaw passed over at this time', Paiṅgya used to say; 'he knocks into a pillar or falls into a pit or is put into one or perishes', he used to say. 'If the priest in the Sadas should call attention to a flaw passed over, there must not be repetition of what has been done,' Āruṇi used to say; 'There is loss of a secondary element,' said Çvetaketu. 'Therefore the priest in the Sadas should not call attention to a flaw passed over,' Paiṅgya used to say. 'It is a tribulation to the sacrifice if the priest in the Sadas calls attention to a flaw passed over'. 'Therefore the priest in the Sadas should not call attention to a flaw passed over,' Paiṅgya used to say.

26.2.4_4

sthāṇum vā ṛcchati garte vā patati dhīyate vā pra vā mīyata iti ha sma āha yady atikrāntam ulbaṇam sadasyo bodhayeta / (soma: chandomāh)

"He either encounters a post, falls into a pit, is overwhelmed, or dies," he used to say, "if the sadasya should remind him of an error that has passed beyond.

26.2.4_5

kṛtasya anāvṛttir iti ha sma āha āruṇir guṇa lopa iti śvetaketus tasmān na atikrāntam ulbaṇam sadasyo bodhayeta iti ha sma āha paiṅgyaḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

"There is no repetition of what has been done," so said Āruṇi. "A subordinate element is omitted," said Śvetaketu. "Therefore the sadasya should not remind him of an error that has passed beyond," so said Paiṅgya.

26.2.4_6

aṃho vā etad yajñasya yady atikrāntam ulbaṇam sadasyo bodhayeta iti tasmān na atikrāntam ulbaṇam sadasyo bodhayeta iti ha sma āha paiṅgyaḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

"This is indeed a distress of the sacrifice, if the sadasya should remind him of an error that has passed beyond. Therefore the sadasya should not remind him of an error that has passed beyond," so said Paiṅgya.

26.2.5_2

atha ha sma āha daivodāsiḥ pratardano naimiṣīyāṇām satram upagamya upāsyad ya vicikitsām papraccha yady atikrāntam ulbaṇam sadasyo bodhayeta ṛtvijām vā anyatamo budhyeta katham vo anulbaṇam syāt iti / (soma: chandomāh)

Now Pratardana Daivodāsi, having approached the sacrificial session of the Naimiṣīyas and having sat down, asked a question of doubt: "If the sadasya should remind him of an error that has passed beyond, or one of the priests should notice it, how would it become free of error for you?"

xxvi. 5. Further he used to say this. Daivodāsi Pratardana having gone to a sacrificial season of the Naimiṣīyas and having glided up asked a question on this point of doubt, 'If the priest in the Sadas should call attention to a flaw passed over or any one of the priests should note it, how would you remove the flaw?' They were silent; Alikayu Vācaspata was their Brahman priest; he said 'I know that not; but will ask Jātūkarṇya, the aged teacher of those formerly.' Him he asked, 'If the performer himself should note a flaw passed over or another should call attention to it, how is that flaw to be made flawless? By repetition of the Mantra or by an oblation?' 'The Mantra should be recited again', Jātūkarṇya said. Him Alikayu again asked, 'Should one recite in full the Çastra or recitation or Nigada or offering verse or whatever else it be?' 'So much as is erroneous only need be repeated, a verse, or half verse, or quarter verse, or word, or letter,' Jātūkarṇya replied. But Kauṣītaki used to say, 'He should not repeat the Mantra, nor offer a libation; there is no flaw', for, whatever flaw the Hotṛs make in the sacrifice through inattention, all that Agni as divine Hotṛ makes flawless. This is declared in a Ṛc,

26.2.5_3

ta u ha tūṣṇīm āsus teṣām alīkayur vācaspato brahmā āsa sa ha uvāca na aham etad veda hanta pūrveṣām ācāryam sthaviram jātūkarṇyam pṛchāni iti / (soma: chandomāh)

And they remained silent. Alīkayu Vācaspata was their brahman priest. He said: "I do not know this; come, let me ask the elder teacher of our ancestors, Jātūkarṇya."

26.2.5_4

tam ha papraccha yady atikrāntam ulbaṇam kartā vā svayam budhyeta anyo vā bodhayeta katham tad ulbaṇam anulbaṇam bhavet punar vacanam vā nigadam vā yājyām vā yad vā anyat sarvam tat punar brūyād iti yāvan mātram ulbaṇam tāvad brūyād ṛcam vā ardharcam vā pādam vā padam vā varṇam vā iti ha sma āha jātūkarṇyaḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

He asked him: "If the performer himself should notice an error that has passed beyond, or another should remind him, how would that error become free of error? Should he recite again the repetition, or the ritual direction, or the offering verse, or whatever else—recite all that again?" "Only so much as is the error should he recite: a verse, or a half-verse, or a pāda, or a word, or a syllable," so said Jātūkarṇya.

26.2.5_5

atha ha sma āha kauṣītakir na mantram punar brūyān na āhutim juhuyād anulbaṇam etad iti ha sma āha kauṣītakiḥ / (soma: chandomāh)

Now Kauṣītaki used to say: 'One should not repeat a mantra, nor offer an oblation; it is [already] flawless,' so Kauṣītaki used to say.

26.2.5_6

yadd hi hotāro yajñasya kiṃcid ulbaṇam abudhyamānāḥ kurvanti sarvam tad agnir daivo hotā anulbaṇam karoti tad etad ṛcā abhyuditam / (soma: chandomāh)

For whatever flaw the hotṛs unknowingly make in the sacrifice, Agni, the divine hotṛ, makes all of that flawless. That has been expressed in a verse:

26.2.6_2

yat pākatrā manasā dīna dakṣā na yajñasya manvate martyāsaḥ agniṣ ṭadd hotā kratuvid vijānan yajiṣṭho devām ṛtuśo yajāti iti yac ca āha saṃsthite yajñe ayāḍ.(.ayād.).yajñam jātavedā ity ayākṣīd imam yajñam jātavedā iti tad āha antaraḥ pūrvo asmin niṣadya iti yad āha agnir ha daivo hotā mānuṣādd hotuḥ pūrvo niṣadya yajata iti tad āha āśiṣam eva uttareṇa ardharcena vadati pūrvayā vā ṛcā / (soma: chandomāh)

'When mortals, being of simple mind and feeble understanding, do not comprehend the sacrifice, may Agni, the hotṛ knowing the ritual intention, discerning [all], the best sacrificer, worship the gods in proper season.' And when he says, upon the completion of the sacrifice, 'Jātavedas has sacrificed for the sacrifice,' he means: 'Jātavedas has sacrificed for this sacrifice.' When he says, 'having seated himself within, previously, in this [sacrifice],' he means: Agni, the divine hotṛ, having seated himself prior to the human hotṛ, sacrifices. With the latter half-verse, or with the preceding verse, he speaks a blessing.

xxvi. 6. 'If that in poverty of mind, with feeble intellect,

Men think not of the sacrifice, Then Agni the Hotṛ skilled in the offering, well knowing, Most skilled to offer, to the gods shall offer in due season.’ In that also, when the sacrifice is completed, he says ‘The All-knower hath offered the sacrifice,’ he says ‘The All-knower hath offered this sacrifice.’ In that he says ‘Having sat down before us,’ he says ‘Agni, as divine Hotṛ, having sat down before the human Hotṛ sacrifices.’ Verily with the second half verse or the first verse he utters a benediction.