Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa ("of a hundred paths") 7.1.2

Pragâpati produced creatures. Having produced creatures, and run the whole race, he became relaxed. From him, when relaxed, the vital air went out from within: then his vigour went out of him. That having gone out, he fell down. From him, thus fallen, food flowed forth: it was from that eye on which he lay that his food flowed. And, verily, there teas then no firm foundation whatever here.

The gods spake, 'Verily, there is no other foundation than this: let us restore even him, our father Pragâpati; he shall be our foundation.'

They said unto Agni, 'Verily, there is no foundation other than this: in thee we will restore this our father Pragâpati; he shall be our foundation.'--'What will then be my reward?' said he.

They spake, 'This Pragâpati is food: with thee for our mouth we will eat that food, and he (Pragâpati) shall be the food of us, having thee for our month.' He said, 'So be it!' Therefore the gods eat food with Agni as their mouth; for to whatsoever deity men offer, it is into Agni that they offer, since it is with Agni for their mouth that the gods thus took in the food.

Now the vital air which went out from within him is no other than the wind that blows yonder; and the vigour which went out of him is yonder sun; and the food which flowed from him is all the food which there is within the year.

The gods heated him in the fire; and when the fire rose over him thus heated, that same vital air which had gone out from within him came back to him, and they put it into him; and the vigour which had gone out of him they put into him; and the food which had flowed from him they put into him. Having made him up entire and complete, they raised him (so as to stand) upright; and inasmuch as they thus raised him upright he is these worlds.

This (terrestrial) world truly is his foundation; and what fire there is in this world that is his (Pragâpati's) downward vital air. And the air is his body, and what wind there is in the air, that is that vital air of his in the body. And the sky is his head; the sun and the moon are his eyes. The eye on which he lay is the moon: whence that one is much closed up, for the food flowed therefrom.

Now that same foundation which the gods thus restored is the foundation here even to this day, and will be so even hereafter.

And the Pragâpati who became relaxed is this same Agni who is now being built up. And when that fire-pan lies there empty before being heated, it is just like Pragâpati, as he lay there with the vital air and the vigour gone out of him, and the food having flowed out.

He heats it on the fire, even as the gods then heated him (Pragâpati). And when the fire rises over it thus heated, then that same vital air which went out from within him comes back to him, and he puts it into him. And when, putting on the gold plate, he wears it, he puts into him that very vigour which had gone out of him. And when he puts on kindling-sticks, he puts into him that very food which had flowed from him.

He puts them on in the evening and morning, for the food both of the day and the night was flowing out. These same (ceremonies) should be (performed) during a whole year, for that Pragâpati whence those (substances) went out is the year: into that whole (Pragâpati) he thus puts all that (which belongs to him). And in whatever part of this (year) he should therefore not do so, into that part of him (Pragâpati) he would not put that (which belongs therein). 'One must not even be a looker-on at the (building up of a fire) not carried about for a year,' Vâmakakshâyana was wont to say, 'lest he should see this our father Pragâpati being torn to pieces.' He restores him so as to be whole and complete, and raises him to stand upright, even as the gods then raised him.

This (terrestrial) world in truth is his (Pragâpati's) Gârhapatya (hearth); and what fire there is in this world that to him is the fire on the Gârhapatya. And what space there is between the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya, that is the air; and that wind in the air is for him the fire on the Âgnîdhrîya. The sky is his Âhavanîya (hearth), and those two, the sun and the moon, are the fire on the Âhavanîya. This then is indeed his own self.

The Âhavanîya truly is his head; and the fire which is on the Âhavanîya is that vital air of his in the head. And as to why it (the Âhavanîya) has wings and tail, it is because that vital air in the head has wings and tail;--the eye is its head, the right ear its right wing, the left ear its left wing, the vital air its central body, and the voice is the tail (and) the foundation (the feet): inasmuch as the vital airs subsist by eating food with speech (voice), the voice is the tail, the foundation.

And what space there is between the Âhavanîya and Gârhapatya, that is the body (trunk); and the fire on the Âgnîdhrîya is to him that vital air inside the body. The Gârhapatya is his foundation; and the fire on the Gârhapatya is his downward vital air.

Now some build it (the Gârhapatya) in three layers, saying, 'There are here three downward vital airs.' Let him not do so: they who do so do what is excessive,--one amounting to twenty-one, one amounting to the Anushtubh, and one amounting to the Brihatî; for this (altar) is of one single form--a womb. And as to those downward vital airs, they are indeed a bringing forth, for even the urine and faeces he voids are 'brought forth.'

Now then the (mystic) correspondence,--twenty-one bricks, nine formulas, that makes thirty;--and the 'settling' and Sûdadohas verse, that makes thirty-two,--the anushtubh verse consists of thirty-two syllables: this is an anushtubh.

And, again, there are twenty-one enclosing-stones; the formula the twenty-second; the formula for the sweeping, the saline earth and its formula, the sand and its formula, the filling (soil) and its formula; with four (formulas) he pours (the two fires) together; with a fifth he unties (the pan); then this (Nirriti) with three,--the anushtubh verse consists of thirty-two syllables: this then is an anushtubh.

Then there are these two formulas, and they are indeed an anushtubh--the Anushtubh is speech: thus what twofold form of speech there is, the divine and the human, loud and low, that is those two.

The Gârhapatya pile thus is those three anushtubh verses. And as to why they make up three anushtubhs in this (Gârhapatya), it is because all these (three) worlds then come to be (contained) therein. From it they take one of the two (first) anushtubhs of thirty-two syllables (to be) the Âhavanîya,--that Âhavanîya is that sky, that head (of Pragâpati). Then one of the two (anushtubhs) is left here (to be) this Gârhapatya, this foundation, this very (terrestrial) world.

And as to those two formulas, they are that space between the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya, that air (-world), that body (of Pragâpati). And because there are two of them (making up one anushtubh), therefore that space (and hearth) between the Âhavanîya and the Gârhapatya (viz. the Âgnîdhrîya hearth) is smaller; and therefore the air-world is the smallest of these worlds.

That same Anushtubh, speech, is threefold. That fire, taking the form of the vital air, goes along with it (speech),--the fire which is on the Âhavanîya (altar) is the out-breathing, and yonder sun; and the fire which is on the Âgnîdhrîya is the through-breathing, and the wind which blows yonder; and the fire which is on the Gârhapatya is the in-breathing, and what fire there is here in this (earth-) world. And verily he who knows this makes up for himself the whole Vâk (speech), the whole vital air, the whole body (of Pragâpati).

Then that Brihatî (metre),--the two (verses) of thirty-two syllables: that makes thirty-two; then those two formulas: that makes thirty-four; Agni the thirty-fifth;--a metre does not vanish by a syllable (too much or too little), neither by one nor by two;--moreover, that (Agni) consists of two syllables: that makes thirty-six. The Brihatî consists of thirty-six syllables,--it is the Brihatî that that (Âhavanîya) pile thus amounts to; for whatlike the seed which is infused into the womb, suchlike (offspring) is born therefrom: thus in that he makes up that Brihatî (metre) in this (Gârhapatya hearth), thereby that (Âhavanîya) fire-altar amounts to the Brihatî.

As to this they say, 'As the Gârhapatya is this (terrestrial) world, the Dhishnya hearths the air, and the Âhavanîya the sky, and the air-world is not separated from this (earth-) world, why then, after building the Gârhapatya, does he build the Âhavanîya, and (only) then the Dhishnyas?' Well, at first these two worlds (heaven and earth) were together; and when they parted asunder, the space which was between (antar) them became that air (antariksha); for 'îksha ' indeed it was theretofore, and 'Now this "îksha" has come between (antarâ),' they said, whence 'antariksha' (air). And as to why, after building the Gârhapatya, he builds the Âhavanîya, it is because these two worlds were created first. Then, going back, he throws up the Dhishnya hearths, just to prevent discontinuity of the sacred work; and thus indeed the middle is completed, after the two ends have been completed.