{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4103.htm","path":"hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4103.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4103.htm","text":"Satapatha Brahmana Part III (SBE41), Julius Eggeling tr. [1894]\n5:1:1:11. Once upon a time the gods and the Asuras, both of them sprung from Prag\u00e2pati, strove together. And the Asuras, even through arrogance, thinking, 'Unto whom, forsooth, should we make offering?' went on offering into their own mouths. They came to naught, even through arrogance: wherefore let no one be arrogant, for verily arrogance is the cause 1 of ruin.\n5:1:1:22. But the gods went on making offerings unto one another. Prag\u00e2pati gave himself up to them: thus the sacrifice 2 became theirs; and indeed the sacrifice is the food of the gods 3.\n5:1:1:33. They then spake, 'To which of us shall this 4 belong?' They did not agree together, saying,\n[paragraph continues] 'To me! to me!' Not being agreed, they said, 'Let us run a race for it: whichever of us shall win, to him it shall belong!'--'So be it!' so they ran a race for it.\n5:1:1:44. Then Brihaspati hasted up to Savitri for his impulsion 1,--Savitri being the impeller (prasavitri) among the gods--saying, 'Impel this for me, (so that) impelled by thee, I may win this!' Then Savitri, as the impeller, impelled it for him, and impelled by Savitri, he won: he became everything here, he won everything here; for he won Prag\u00e2pati, and Prag\u00e2pati (the lord of creatures and procreation) indeed is everything here. By offering therewith he (Brihaspati) ascended to that upper region. Therefore who so knoweth, and who so knoweth not,--they say, 'That upper region belongeth to Brihaspati.'\n5:1:1:55. Thus they who of old used to offer the V\u00e2gapeya, ascended to that upper region. From there Aup\u00e2vi G\u00e2nasruteya descended again: thenceforward (all men) descend again.\n5:1:1:66. Indra offered that (V\u00e2gapeya),--he became everything here, he won everything here; for he won Prag\u00e2pati, and Prag\u00e2pati is everything here: by offering therewith he ascended to that upper region.\n5:1:1:77. Thus they who of old used to offer the V\u00e2gapeya, ascended to that upper region. From there Aup\u00e2vi G\u00e2nasruteya descended' again: thenceforward (all men) descend again.\n5:1:1:88. And whosoever offers the V\u00e2gapeya, he becomes everything here, he wins everything here; for he wins Prag\u00e2pati, and Prag\u00e2pati indeed is everything here.\n5:1:1:99. Here now they say, 'One must not offer the V\u00e2gapeya; for he who offers the V\u00e2gapeya wins everything here,--for he wins Prag\u00e2pati, and Prag\u00e2pati is everything here,--he leaves nothing remaining here: his people (or offspring) is like to become worse (off).'\n5:1:1:1010. Let him none the less sacrifice: whatever (priests) thus know that sacrifice properly, in respect of the Rik, the Yagus, and the S\u00e2man, and such as are proficient, let them assist him in offering it; for verily this is the perfection of that sacrifice, when wise (priests) assist him in offering it: let him therefore sacrifice by all means.\n5:1:1:1111. Now truly this (the V\u00e2gapeya) is the Br\u00e2hmana's own sacrifice, inasmuch as Brihaspati (the lord of prayer and devotion) performed it; for Brihaspati is the Brahman (priesthood, or priestly dignity), and the Br\u00e2hmana is the Brahman. And it is also that of the R\u00e2ganya, inasmuch as Indri performed it; for Indra is the Kshatra (nobility, or ruling power), and the R\u00e2ganya is the Kshatra.\n5:1:1:1212. To the king (r\u00e2gan) doubtless belongs the R\u00e2gas\u00fbya; for by offering the R\u00e2gas\u00fbya he becomes king; and unsuited for kingship is the Br\u00e2hmana. And, moreover, the R\u00e2gas\u00fbya is the lower, and the V\u00e2gapeya the higher (sacrifice).\n5:1:1:1313. For by offering the R\u00e2gas\u00fbya 1 he becomes king, and by the V\u00e2gapeya (he becomes) emperor (samr\u00e2g); and the office of king is the lower, and that of emperor the higher: a king might indeed wish to become emperor, for the office of king is the lower, and that of emperor the higher; but the emperor would not wish to become king, for the office of king is the lower, and that of emperor the higher.\n5:1:1:1414. Thus that (king) who, by performing the V\u00e2gapeya, becomes emperor, possesses himself of everything here. Previously to each performance (of an ishti 2) he offers that oblation to Savitri (the sun), with the text, 'O divine Savitri, impel (prosper) the sacrifice, impel Prag\u00e2pati for his portion!'\n5:1:1:1515. And even as then Brihaspati hasted up to Savitri for his impulsion Savitri being the impeller among the gods--saying, 'Impel this for me, (so that) impelled by thee I may win it!' and Savitri, as the impeller, impelled it for him; and impelled by Savitri he won it; even so does this (sacrificing king) now haste up to Savitri for his impulsion--Savitri being the impeller among the gods--saying, 'Impel this for me: may I win it, impelled by thee!' and Savitri, as the impeller, impels it for him, and he wins it impelled by Savitri.\n5:1:1:1616. Wherefore he says (V\u00e2g. S. IX, 1), 'God Savitri, speed the sacrifice, speed the lord of sacrifice unto his portion! May the heavenly. thought-cleansing Gandharva cleanse our thought! May the Lord of Speech render our meat palatable, hail!' For the Lord of Speech is Prag\u00e2pati, and meat means food: 'May Prag\u00e2pati this day make palatable this our food!' thus he thereby says. This same oblation he offers till the day before the Soma-feast, for thus that performance of his has been commenced; and he (Savitri, the Sun) becomes serene during that sacrifice.\n1:1 Lit. 'the mouth,' i.e. the opening or beginning, of ruin. The St. Petersburg Dict. compares Prov. xvi. 18: 'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.'\n1:2 Prag\u00e2pati (the lord of creatures or generation) is both the sacrifice and the year (time); see III, 2, 2, 4.\n1:3 See II, 4, 2, 1. To them (the gods) he (Prag\u00e2pati) said, 'The sacrifice (shall be) your food, immortality your sustenance (\u00fbrg), and the sun your light!'\n1:4 For the neuter idam--hardly here 'this universe,' or 'v\u00e2gapeyam,' p. 2 but rather 'this thing, it'--the K\u00e2nva text reads ayam 'he,' i.e. Prag\u00e2pati, or the sacrifice (yag\u00f1a, masc.); cf. note on V, 1, 4, 15.\n2:1 For want of a simpler and more homely set of terms for the derivatives of the verb s\u00fb 'to animate' here used, those used in the preceding volumes are here generally adhered to, though, as there, somewhat reluctantly. The simple 'to bless, blessing, &c.' might sometimes fit quite well, though no doubt they imply an idea altogether foreign to the etymological meaning of this verb, and could not possibly be used, as is the case here, of the animating influence of the sun. Sometimes 'to speed' has been chosen, where the etymological connection with Savitri is not insisted upon; while in other passages 'to consecrate, consecration, &c.' might probably come nearer to the meaning of the original. Cp. Delbr\u00fcck, Altindische Syntax, p. 256.\n4:1 K\u00e2ty. Sr. XV, I, 1-2, lays down the rule that the R\u00e2gas\u00fbya is to be performed by a king who has not yet performed the V\u00e2gapeya. \u00c2sval. Sr. IX, 9, 19, on the other hand, rules: 'After performing it (the V\u00e2gapeya) let a king perform the R\u00e2gas\u00fbya, a Br\u00e2hmana the Brihaspati-sava' (cf. V, 2, 1, 19). See also K\u00e2ty. XIV, 1, 2 seq. Cf. L\u00e2ty. Sr. VIII, 11, 1 seq.\n4:2 During the bright fortnights (of the waxing moon) preceding and following the V\u00e2gapeya ceremony proper, the sacrificer has to perform a number of so-called pariyag\u00f1a ('surrounding or enclosing sacrifices') consisting of one-day Soma-sacrifices of different kinds, each of which is preceded by a special d\u00eeksh\u00e2, or initiation ceremony (cf. III, 1, 2, 1 seq.; L\u00e2ty. Sr. VIII, 11, 2). It is to the ishtis (d\u00eekshan\u00eeyeshti, pr\u00e2yan\u00eeyeshti) of these pariyag\u00f1as that the above injunction regarding the performance of the S\u00e2vitr\u00ee \u00e2huti refers.","title":"Satapatha Brahmana Part III (SBE41): Fifth K\u00e2nda: V, 1, 1. First Adhy\u00e2ya. First Br\u00e2hmana","type":"page"}