Kauṣītaki (Śāṅkhāyana) Brāhmaṇa 3.p8

3.p8

this is kindled. He offers to Tanūnapāt; verily (thus he delights) the hot season, for the hot season heats the body. He offers to the sacrificial food; verily (thus he delights) the rains, for through the rains sacrificial food arises. He offers to the strew; verily (thus he delights) the autumn, for in the autumn the plants on the strew grow best. He offers at the end to the making of Hail!; verily (thus he delights) the winter, for in the winter over all this is Hail! made. They say 'Seeing that there are five fore-offerings and six seasons, where does he offer to the sixth season?' In that in the fourth fore-offering he mingles (the butter), thus he gives it a share in the others. Again, in that in the last fore-offering he mixes together the gods, he makes them sharers in the fore-offerings. Just as Agni has a share in all oblations, so he makes the deities sharers in the share of Agni. He does not say here 'Agni from the Hotṛ's office' (thinking), 'The fore-offerings are cattle; the Sviṣṭakṛt is Rudra; let me not bring the cattle of the sacrifice into contact with Rudra.' Some say 'Hail! May the gods, drinking the butter, rejoicing, O Agni, enjoy this butter.' He should not so do. The butter is one half of the sacrifice, the oblation is the other half; if he were to say one only of these, then one half of the sacrifice would have an accompaniment, the other half not. Therefore he should say 'Hail! May the gods, drinking the butter, rejoicing, O Agni, enjoy this butter, this oblation.'