Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s2.343

v2.c4.s2.343

In the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa¹⁴ the Brahmin is said to be the ‘recipient of gifts’ (ādāyī) and the ‘drinker of the offering’ (āpāyī). The other two epithets applied, āvasāyī and yathā-kāma-prayāpya, are more obscure; the former denotes either ‘dwelling everywhere’¹⁵ or ‘seeking food’;¹⁶ the latter is usually taken as ‘moving at pleasure,’ but it must rather allude to the power of the king to assign a place of residence to the Brahmin.