PRAPATHAKA III
The Supplement to the Soma Sacrifice (continued).
iii. 3. 1.
a. O Agni, brilliant, be thou brilliant among the gods; make me brilliant, of long life, radiant among men; for the brilliance of consecration and of penance do I offer to thee.
b. Thou dost win brilliance; may brilliance forsake me not, may I forsake not brilliance, may brilliance forsake me not.
c. O Indra, full of force, be thou full of force among the gods, make me full of force, of long life, radiant among men; for the force of the Brahmanhood and royalty [1] do I offer to thee.
d. Thou dost win force; may force forsake me not, may I forsake not force, may force forsake me not.
e. O sun, blazing, be thou blazing among the gods; make me blazing, of long life, radiant among men; for the blazing of the wind and of the waters do I offer to thee.
f. Thou dost win the light; may the light forsake me not, may I not forsake the light, may the light forsake me not.
g. On me wisdom, on me offspring, on me brilliance may Agni bestow; on me wisdom, on me offspring, on me power may Indra bestow; on me wisdom, on me offspring, on me blazing may Surya bestow.
iii. 3. 2.
a. The maker of the sound ‘Him’ is Vayu, the Prastotr is Agni, the Saman is Prajapati, the Udgatr is Brhaspati, the subordinate singers are the All-gods, the Pratihartrs are the Maruts, the finale is Indra; may these gods who support breath bestow breath upon me.
b. All this the Adhvaryu, as he begins, begins for the Udgatrs; ‘May these gods who support breath bestow breath upon me’, he says; verily he bestows all this on himself.
c. May Ida who summoneth the gods, Manu who leadeth the sacrifice,
d. May Brhaspati recite the hymns and acclamations.
e. The All-gods [1] are reciters of the hymns.
f. O earth mother, do not harm me.
g. Of honey shall I think, honey shall I produce, honey shall I proclaim, honey shall I speak, may I utter speech full of honey for the gods, and acceptable to men.
h. May the gods aid me to radiance, may the Pitrs rejoice in me.
iii. 3. 3.
a. Let the Vasus press thee with the Gayatri metre; go thou to the dear place of Agni.
b. Lot the Rudras press thee with the Tristubh metre; go thou to the dear place of Indra.
c. Let the Adityas press thee with the Jagati metre; go thou to the dear place of the All-gods.
d. The pure for thee, O pure one, I stir in the gladdening (water);
e. In the joyous (ones);
f. In the Kotanas;
g. In the new (ones);
h. In the Regis;
i. In the Mesis;
k. In the roaring (ones);
l. In the all-supporting (ones);
m. In the sweet (ones);
n. In the lofty (ones);
o. In the strong (ones) [1];
p. In the pure ones, I stir the pure for thee, O pure.
q. The pure for thee I take with the pure form of day, with the rays of the sun.
r. Herein the dread (ones) have moved themselves,
The streams of the sky have consorted.
s. The lofty form of the bull shineth on high;
Soma precedeth Soma,
The pure precedeth the pure.
t. That undeceived, watchful, name of thine, O Soma, to that of thine, O Soma, to Soma hail!
u. Gladly do thou, O god Soma, go to the dear place of Agni [2] with the Gayatri metre.
v. Willingly do thou, O god Soma, go to the dear place of Indra with the Tristubh metre.
W. Our friend, do thou, O god Soma, go to the dear place of the All-gods with the Jagati metre.
x. Come breath to us from afar,
From the atmosphere, from the sky,
Life from the earth;
Thou art ambrosia; for breath thee!
y. May Indra and Agni confer radiance upon me,
Radiance (may) Soma and Brhaspati (confer);
Radiance on me the All-gods,
Radiance confer on me, O ye Açvins.
z. When one doth hasten after him,
Or uttereth prayers, he doth accept it
All knowledge doth he embrace,
Even as the felly the wheel.
iii. 3. 4.
The stirrings are the secret name of the waters; ‘The pure for thee, O pure one, I stir in the gladdening (waters)’, he says; verily with the secret name of the waters he wins the rain from the sky. ‘The pure for thee I take with the pure’, he says; the night is of the form of the day, the rays of the sun, he makes the rain to fall from the sky. ‘Herein the dread (ones) have moved themselves’ [1], he says; that is as in the text. ‘The lofty form of the bull shineth on high,’ he says; the rain is in its lofty form; verily by the form he wins the rain. ‘That undeceived, watchful, name of thine, O Soma’, he says; he indeed offers an oblation with an oblation who drawing the Adabhya (cup) offers it to Soma. The life and breath him [2] who draws the Ançu depart; ‘Come breath to us from afar’, he says; verily he bestows life and breath upon himself. ‘Thou art ambrosia; for breath thee!’ (with these words) he breathes over the gold; the gold is ambrosia, breath is life; verily with ambrosia he bestows life upon him self. It is of a hundred (Krsnalas) in weight; man has a hundred years of life, a hundred powers; verily he finds support in life and power. He touches the waters; the waters are medicine; verily he makes medicine.
iii. 3. 5.
a. Thou art the wind, expiration by name, in the lordship of Savitr give me expiration.
b. Thou art the eye, the ear by name, in the lordship of Dhatr give me life.
c. Thou art the form, colour by name, in the lordship of Brhaspati, give me offspring.
d. Thou art holy order, truth by name, in the lordship of Indra, give me lordly power.
e. Thou art the past, the future by name, in the lordship of the Pitrs, expugnate the waters and the plants.
f. Thee for the realm of holy order!
g. Thee for the might of holy order! [1]
h. Thee for the circumference of holy order!
i. Thee for the truth of holy order!
k. Thee for the light of holy order!
Prajapati saw the Viraj; by it he created the past and the future; he concealed it from the Rsis; by penance Jamadagni beheld it, and by it he created various delights; that is why the various (cups) have their name. In that the various (cups) are drawn, so the sacrificer wins various delights. ‘Thou art the wind, expiration [2] by name’, he says; verily he wins expiration and inspiration.’ ‘Thou art the eye, the ear by name’, he says; verily he wins life. ‘Thou art the form, colour by name’, he says; verily he wins offspring. ‘Thou art holy order, truth by name’, he says; verily he wins lordly power. ‘Thou art the past, the future by name’, he says; the foetus of the waters and the plants is cattle; verily he wins cattle [3]. So much as is around a man, that does he thus win. ‘Thee for the realm of holy order’, he says; the realm of holy order is this (earth); verily he conquers this (earth). ‘Thee for the might of holy order’, he says; the might of holy order is the atmosphere; verily he conquers the atmosphere. ‘Thee for the circumference of holy order’, he says; the circumference of holy order is the sky; verily he conquers the sky. ‘Thee for the truth of holy order’ [4], he says; the truth of holy order is the quarters; verily he conquers the quarters. ‘Thee for the light of holy order’, he says; the light of holy order is the world of heaven; verily he conquers the world of heaven. So many are the worlds of the gods; verily he conquers them. They make up ten; the Viraj has ten syllables, the Viraj is food; verily he finds support in the Viraj, the eating of food.
iii. 3. 6.
What the gods could not win by the sacrifice, that they won by the Para (Grahas), and that is why the Paras have their name. In that the Paras are drawn, (it serves) to win that which one does not win by the sacrifice. The first he draws, by this he conquers the world; the second (he draws), by this he conquers the atmosphere; the third (he draws), by this he conquers yonder world. In that they are drawn, (they serve) to conquer these worlds [1]. In the latter days they are drawn hitherward from yonder, verily having conquered these worlds they descend again towards this world. In that in the former days they are drawn thitherward from hence, therefore these worlds are thitherward from hence; in that in the latter days they are drawn hitherward from thence, therefore these worlds are hitherward from thence; therefore men depend on the worlds in variation. The theologians say, ‘For what reason do plants spring from the waters, the food of man is plants [2], and offspring are born through Prajapati?’ ‘Through the Paras’, he should reply. In that he draws (saying),’For the waters thee, for the plants I take’, therefore from the waters plants spring; in that he draws (saying), ‘For the plants thee, for offspring I take’, therefore the food of man is the plants; in that he draws (saying), ‘For offspring thee, for Prajapati I take’, therefore through Prajapati offspring are born.
iii. 3. 7.
Prajapati created the gods and the Asuras; thereafter the sacrifice was created, after the sacrifice the metres; they went away in all directions, the sacrifice went after the Asuras, the metres after the sacrifice; the gods reflected, ‘These have become what we are’; they had recourse to Prajapati; Prajapati said, ‘Taking the strength of the metres I shall bestow it upon you.’ He took the strength of the metres [1] and bestowed it upon them. Then the metres ran away, and the sacrifice followed the metres. Then the gods prospered, the Asuras were defeated. He who knows the strength of the metres–‘Do thou proclaim’, ‘Be it proclaimed’, ‘Utter’, ‘We that utter’, the Vasat call–prospers himself, his foe is defeated. The theologians say, ‘For whose gain does the Adhvaryu cause (him) to proclaim?’ ‘For the strength of the metres’, he should reply; ‘Do thou proclaim’, ‘Be it proclaimed’, ‘Utter’, ‘We that utter’, the Vasat call, that is the strength of the metres [2]; he who knows thus sings what ever he sings with the metres in full strength. ‘In that Indra, slew Vrtra, there is impurity, in that he destroyed the Yatis, there is impurity; then why is the sacrifice Indra’s up to the completion?’ they say. The sacrifice is the sacrificial body of Indra, and it is this they sacrifice. To him who knows thus the sacrifice resorts.
