CHAPTER VI
The Brâhmana said: On this, too, they relate this ancient story. Learn now of what description is the institution of the ten sacrificial priests. The ear, the tongue, the nose, the two feet, the two hands, speech, the genital organ, and the anus, these, verity, are ten sacrificial priests, O beautiful one! Sound, touch, color, and taste, smell, words, action, motion, and the discharge of semen, urine, and excrement, these are the ten oblations. The quarters, wind, sun, moon, earth and fire, and Vishnu also, Indra, Prajâpati, and Mitra, these, O beautiful one! are the ten fires. The ten organs are the makers of the offering; the offerings are ten, O beautiful one! Objects of sense, verily, are the fuel; and they are offered up into the ten fires.
The mind is the ladle; and the wealth is the pure, highest knowledge}. (Thus) we have heard, was the universe duly divided. And the mind, which is the instrument of knowledge, requires everything knowable (as its offering). The mind is within the body the upholder of the frame, and the knower is the upholder of the body. That upholder of the body is the Gârhapatya fire; from that another is produced, and the mind which is the Âhavanîya; and into this the offering is thrown. Then the lord of speech was produced; that (lord of speech) looks up to the mind. First, verily, are words produced; and the mind runs after them.
The Brâhmana’s wife said:
How did speech come into existence first, and how did the mind come into existence afterwards, seeing that words are uttered (after they have been) thought over by the mind? By means of what experience does intelligence come to the mind, and (though) developed, does not comprehend? What verily obstructs it?
The Brâhmana said:
The Apâna becoming lord changes it into the state of the Apâna in consequence. That is called the movement of the mind, and hence the mind is in need (of it). But since you ask me a question regarding speech and mind, I will relate to you a dialogue between themselves. Both speech and mind went to the self of all beings and spoke (to him thus), ‘Say which of us is superior; destroy our doubts, O lord!’ Thereupon the lord positively said to speech, ‘Mind (is superior).’ But speech thereupon said to him, ‘I, verily, yield (you) your desires.’
The Brâhmana said:
Know, that (in) my (view), there are two minds, immovable and also movable. The immovable, verily, is with me; the movable is in your dominion. Whatever mantra, or letter, or tone goes to your dominion, that indeed is the movable mind. To that you are superior. But inasmuch, O beautiful one I as you came personally to speak to me (in the way you did), therefore, O Sarasvatî! you shall never speak after (hard) exhalations. The goddess speech, verily, dwelt always between the Prâna and Apâna. But, O noble one! going with the Apâna wind, though impelled, (in consequence of) being without the Prâna, she ran up to Prajâpati, saying, ‘Be pleased, O venerable sir!’ Then the Prâna appeared again nourishing speech. And therefore speech never speaks after (hard) exhalation. It is always noisy or noiseless. Of those two, the noiseless is superior to the noisy (speech). This excellent (speech), like a cow, yields milk, and speaking of the Brahman it always produces the eternal (emancipation). This cow-like speech, O you of a bright smile! is divine, with divine power. Observe the difference of (its) two subtle, flowing (forms).
The Brâhmana’s wife said:
What did the goddess of speech say on that occasion in days of old, when, though (she was) impelled with a desire to speak, words could not be uttered?
The Brâhmana said:
The (speech) which is produced in the body by means of the Prâna, and which then goes into the Apâna, and then becoming assimilated with the Udâna leaves the body, and with the Vyâna envelopes all the quarters, then (finally) dwells in the Samâna. So speech formerly spoke. Hence the mind is distinguished by reason of its being immovable, and the goddess distinguished by reason of her being movable.
