Kauṣītaki (Śāṅkhāyana) Brāhmaṇa 27: ADHYĀYA XXVII

Rigveda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda (HOS 25) 27

Language: English

ADHYĀYA XXVII

xxvii. 1. 'The tenth day is that which is above in the sky' Kauṣītaki used to say; therefore it is what is not to be explained, for no one knows this clearly. 'Let me not explain ignorantly' (he thinks). The tenth day is a limited divine rite; it is the Anuṣṭubh; he who explains it makes a surplus; stumbling is liable to befall him who explains. As to this they say 'Let him explain; the sacrifice rejoices at the approach of a wise man, "What is to become successful in me, that will he cause to be successful."' If any person inadvertently makes an error, then he who observes it should aside repeat the passage as a self study, or the householder or one of the priests should creep up, and he aside should recite the passage as a self study. If he does not think this proper, he should at once explain. The Anuṣṭubh is released on the tenth day; the Anuṣṭubh is speech; now speech having borne the burden becomes as it were the bearer of a dread thing.

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Therefore is it released, (as they think) 'Let us not consort with speech.' Now all the metres here he converts into the Anuṣṭubh; there is this (verse)

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'Her I touch not as being a Çūdrā;
Yet will I not let her go;
Nowhere else do I go;
To a courtesan is my approaching,'

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for on the tenth day here the Anuṣṭubh is sung around.

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They say, 'He should not abandon the abode of the Anuṣṭubh; there should he recite Virāj verses; the Virāj and the Anuṣṭubh are the same metre, for not by one syllable is a metre made different, nor yet by two.' Of these two triplets there are six syllables over, and six of the strophe and antistrophe of the Agniṣṭoma Sāman; these twelve syllables the Hotṛ should make up in the morning litany. He need not trouble as to this; it is made up here. 'There is an Uṣṇih additional,' we hold, 'or a Gāyatrī; that he should make up at the morning litany.' He need not trouble about this; it is made up here.

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xxvii. 2. 'O Agni, this to-day as a steed with praises' is the Ājya. That being created for the tenth day he need not make up. He need not trouble as to this; it is made up here. The Praüga is by Madhuchandas; the explanation of this has been given. With an Atichandas (verse), 'In the three bowls the bull that mixed with barley, he of strong power,' he begins the Marutvatīya. It made up amounts to sixty-four syllables; these make up two Anuṣṭubhs. 'Sing aloud to Indra' and 'Forward to Indra, the great', these two Pragāthas he recites along with the 'Water swellers' before the hymn; so it is made up. 'Thou hast been born dread, for

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impetuous strength' is the Marutvatīya of the one-day (rite); the one-day (rite) is a support; verily (it serves) for support. 'With what hath he come, the brilliant one?' and 'With what aid thou to us?', on the basis of the Vāmadevya is imposed the Rathantara. The Sāman is for Agni and is performed on Indra verses; this is a pairing, a symbol of generation. There are as many Uṣṇih triads as Pragāthas; one verse of two Padas forms the inserted verse, another the seventeenth of the hymn; this is made up. 'I shall proclaim the manly deeds of Indra' is the Niṣkevalya of the one-day (rite); the one-day (rite) is a support; the tenth day is a support; the two (verses of) two Padas are a metre on which to find support; verily (they serve) for support. 'To the god Savitṛ in the bowls the sage,' with this Atichandas verse he begins the Vaiçvadeva; it made up amounts to sixty-four syllables; these make up two Anuṣṭubhs; the antistrophe contains (the word) 'towards'; the explanation of this has been given. Then, before the 'Prosperity to us' hymn, he recites the 'Forward the bright' hymn; the one-day (rite) is a support; the tenth day is a support; (the verses) of two Padas are a metre on which to find support; verily (they serve) for support. The Agniṣṭoma Sāman as the Vāmadevya is performed on Virāj verses; the Virāj is prosperity and proper food; (verily they serve) to obtain the Virāj as prosperity and proper food. Moreover the Vāmadevya is healing and medicine; verily thus at the end in the sacrifice are healing and medicine produced.

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xxvii. 3. In that they perform the additional litany of the conjunct (form), thereby they obtain the additional litany. Now this is the milking of the tenth day; they must make up the day so that there may be a thousand and fifteen Anuṣṭubhs; taking out fifteen, then of each hundred four he takes out; thus are fifty-five taken out. Then the rest make up thirty sets of thirty-two. Now this is the Anuṣṭubh of the Stomas and the syllables; the Gāyatrī has eight syllables; the Stoma is the twenty-fourfold; so the Anuṣṭubh of the Stoma and the syllables has thirty-two parts. Now there is the Anuṣṭubh of the Padas; there are six Padas in the Gāyatrī and Uṣṇih; three in the Virāj; these make nine; four in the Bṛhatī; these make thirteen; five in the Paṅkti; these make eighteen; four in the Triṣṭubh; these make twenty-two; in the Jagatī and Atichandas eight; these make thirty; two in the verse of two Padas; these make

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thirty-two; so the Anuṣṭubh of the Padas becomes of thirty-two parts. Now there is the Anuṣṭubh of the gods ; eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Ādityas, Indra as the thirty-second; so the Anuṣṭubh of the deities becomes of thirty-two parts. Now the fifty-five taken out are forty-four Paṅkti verses; the forty of these are the udder, the four over the teats; thus the Anuṣṭubh of the Stoma and the syllables with this udder and these teats pours over this body of Indra, the fast day; by reason of the pouring over of it the Chandomas increase both as regards Stomas and Çastras; he who knows it becomes composed thereof; he who knows thus before his life (is over) becomes master of this body of Indra, the fast day ; him this Anuṣṭubh of the Stoma and the syllables with this udder, these teats, with all flavours, all delights, all proper food, all immortality besprinkles, who recites the tenth day (rite) as thus made up. 'Therefore should he recite the tenth day (rite) as thus made up,' (they say).

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xxvii. 4. In that they perform the additional litany of the transposed (form), verily thus they delight mind. That with all the sacrifices they recite, for this is the measure of mind. When the tenth day is over, before the offerings to the wives (with the gods), at this moment they creep forward, saying 'The wives are unworthy of sacrifice, for they are outside the altar.' But the rule is (that they do so) when the offerings to the wives have been completed. 'Here a little space is left over for rivals,' (thinking thus) they creep forward together and sing with the verses of the serpent queen; the serpent queen is this (earth), for she is the queen of what creeps; the serpent queen is speech, for speech is the queen of what creeps; moreover, the serpent queen is the cow, for the cow is the queen of what creeps. 'The spotted bull hath come', this triplet he should not omit, to prevent the omission of the strophe. 'In us place manliness' (he says); manliness is food; verily thus he places food in the sacrifice and in

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the sacrificers. ‘O breath obtainer, that hear the call’ (he says); the breath obtainer is Indra, for he having obtained the breath goes round seeking bodies. (Now the) Adhvaryu; he offers in the Gārhapatya two libations to Prajāpati, without mention (of the deity); the Gārhapatya is Prajāpati; the Stotra and Çastra end with the two libations; the Stotra is completed; the Çastra is completed; the discussion of the Brahman is completed. Moreover they may if they will offer a sacrifice, and take food. Here is Vena. These are obviously the bodies of Prajāpati; them let the Hotṛ recite.

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xxvii. 5. ‘Eater of food and mistress of food’ (is one form); the eater of food is this (earth); the mistress of food yonder (sky). ‘The fair and the beautiful’ (is a second): the fair is the Soma; the beautiful is cattle. ‘The unresting and the fearless’ (is a third); the unresting is Vāyu, for he never rests; the fearless is death, for he has no fear. ‘The unattained and the unattainable’ (is a fourth); the unattained is this earth; the unattainable yonder sky. ‘The unattacked and the unattackable’ (is a fifth); the unattacked is Agni here; he unattackable yonder Āditya. ‘That which has no prius and no rival’; that which has no prius is the mind; that which has no rival the year. Now he yonder who gives heat is yonder householder, for he is a lord of houses, his houses are the seasons; he is a lord and he is also a god from whom evil has been smitten away. The Adhvaryu runs northward; they close the doors of the Sadas and also of the shed.

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xxvii. 6. They lay hold of the branch of Udumbara; the Udumbara is strength and proper food; (it serves) for the obtaining of strength and proper food. The Hotṛ should make his two hands the highest (thinking),

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'Let me be the highest'; the highest does he become. In silence, with closed eyes, they sit until the Nakṣatras appear; speech do they make to grow strong in that they sit in silence, (thinking) 'Speech grown strong and poured upon may we obtain at the end.' Near the Mārjālīya, when the Nakṣatras (appear), they open their eyes; the Nakṣatras are light; verily thus they place light in themselves. They enter the two oblation holders by the western door; then the Adhvaryu approaching the pole of the northern oblation holder says 'Do thou sing the Prosperity of the Sacrificial Session'; he sings the 'Prosperity of the Sacrificial Session'; thus they obtain the prosperity of the sacrificial session. All perform the finale of the Sāman; the finale is a support; verily (it serves) for support. They creep beneath the axle of the northern oblation holder, muttering an Atichandas verse to Indra ; verily thus by the Atichandas verse the sacrificers smite away evil under the axle. 'We go round (them) to the north', Kauṣītaki used to say, 'following the path of the sacrifice, not being concealed from the Seven Ṛṣis.' Having taken up their places in front of the oblation holders they think of what they desire; whatever they desire 'Let this desire be fulfilled for us,' this desire for them is fulfilled; those who have many desires should mutter the three exclamations, _bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svar._ Having gone out to the east and to the north they vie in invoking speech, (thinking) 'Let not speech be averted.' They release the speech of the Subrahmaṇyā ; the Subrahmaṇyā is the holy power; verily thus with the holy power do they utter speech. They go to the Āgnīdhriya along with the king; this is as if men should conduct the king, or his vicegerent, when wearied to an abode; Soma the king they day by day, having taken down from the oblation holders, conduct to the Agnīdh's altar; at the Āgnīdhriya they settle down with the king.

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xxvii. 7. In that they perform the Daçarātra in its conjunct form, verily (it serves) to obtain all desires. In that they perform it in its transposed form, verily (it serves) to obtain all the metres. In that they perform both the transposed and the conjunct forms, verily (it serves) to confer variety on the Daçarātra. The conjunct form was alone in the beginning. The metres desired one another's place, (thinking) 'Let us all be first, all be in the middle, and all at the end.' Moreover thus he makes all the metres

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sharers in all the pressings. The first set of three days has the Gāyatrī at the morning pressing, the Triṣṭubh at the midday, and the Jagatī at the third pressing. The second set of three days has the Jagatī at the morning pressing, the Gāyatrī at the midday, and the Triṣṭubh at the third pressing. The third set of three days has the Triṣṭubh at the morning pressing, the Jagatī at the midday, and the Gāyatrī at the third pressing. The tenth day has the Gāyatrī at the morning pressing; thus from the same metre to the same metre they proceed. Again in that they transform the tenth day into Anuṣṭubh verses, and this day is speech, and the Anuṣṭubh is speech, verily thus they establish speech in speech. Immortality they obtain who perform the tenth day (rite).

Linked texts (1)

Kauṣītakibrāhmaṇa — Kauṣītaki, Sanskrit