The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c30.s18.14

v2.c30.s18.14

From the point of view of the priest, most important elements of the Mahāvrata are the Mahāvrata Stotra or the Pṛṣṭha Stotra, corresponding to the Mahaduktha of the Hotṛ: it is noteworthy for the fact that it is intended to reproduce the form of the fire, the five Sāmans, the Gāyatra, Rathantara, Bṛhat, Bhadra, and Rājana, are equated to the head, right and left wing, tail and body, and accompanied by the Stomas from Trivṛt to Pañcaviṅça in order. The later ritual of the Çāṅkhāyana Çrauta Sūtra identifies the Stotra with the body of a man, showing the influence of the mystic speculations of the priests who performed the Agnicayana, ‘piling of the fire’, and who saw in this act the making up of the universal father, the creator god Prajāpati, identified with the primeval giant who in the Puruṣasūkta is conceived as having, when sacrificed, provided the material for the whole world.²