27 Urge Aryaman to send us gifts, and Indra, and Brihaspati, Vâk, Vishnu, and Sarasvatî, and the strong Courser Savitar. 28 Agni, speak kindly to us here, be graciously inclined to us. Winner of thousands, grant us boons, for thou art he who giveth wealth. 29 Let Aryaman vouchsafe us wealth, and Pûshan, and Bṛihaspati. May Vâk the Goddess give to us. All-hail! 30 Thee by the radiant Savitar's impulsion, with arms of Aşvins, with the hands of Pûshan. To Vak Sarasvatî's controlling guidance, hers the controlling leader, I consign thee. I with Brihaspati's supreme dominion endow thee by the balm of consecration. 31 With the monosyllable Agni won vital breath: may I win With the dissyllable the Asvins won bipeds: may that. I win those. With the trisyllable Vishnu won the three worlds: may I win those. With quadrisyllabic metre Soma won four-footed cattle may I win those. : 32 With five-syllable metre Pûshan won the five regions: may I win them. With six-syllable metre Savitar won the six seasons: may With seven-syllable metre the Maruts won the seven domes- May I win them. With octosyllabic metre Brihaspati won the Gayatri may I win that. 33 With nine-syllable metre Mitra won the Trivṛit Stoma: may I win that. With decasyllabic metre Varuņa won Virâj may I win that. 27 Taken from R. V. X. 141. 5, Vâk, the Goddess of Speech, being substituted for Vâta the Wind-God. 28 Taken with a slight variation from R. V. X. 141. 1. 29 The first line is taken from R. V. X. 141. 2, Pûshan being substituted for Bhaga the Distributor of food or wealth. 30 Thee: 'I besprinkle' understood. The priest sprinkles the Sacrificer with the remainder of the sacrificial elements. I endow thee: addressing him by his name. 31 He offers oblations, or makes the Sacrificer recite the Ujjitis or Victory. Formulas. Monosyllable: metre of one syllable. Six Seasons: Spring, Summer, Rains, Autumn, Winter, Dews. See II. 32. See 32 Seven domestic animals: ox, horse, sheep, goat, mule, ass, man. The Hymns of the Atharva-veda, II. 34. 1, note; III. 10. 6 and note. 33 Trivrit Stoma: Triple Praise-Song; a recitation in which first the first three verses of each triplet of R. V. IX. 11 are sung together, then the second verses, and lastly the third. With hendecasyllabic metre Indra won Trishṭup: may I With dodecasyllabic metre the All-Gods won Jagatî: may 34 The Vasus by thirteen-syllable metre won the Thirteenfold Stoma: may I win that. The Rudras by fourteen-syllable metre won the fourteenfold Stoma: may I win that. The Adityas with fifteen-syllable metre won the Fifteenfold Stoma: may I win that. Aditi with sixteen-syllable metre won the Sixteenfold Stoma: may I win that. Prajâpati with seventeenfold metre won the Seventeenfold Stoma: may I win that. 35 This is thy portion, Nirṛiti! Accept it graciously. All-hail! To Gods whose guide is Agni, to the eastward-seated Gods, All-hail! To Gods whose guide is Yama, to the southward-seated To Gods whose guides are the All-Gods, those who are seated Hail to the northward-seated Gods, to those whose guides To Gods whose guide is Soma, who, worshipful, sit on high, 36 Gods who have Agni as their guide, whose seat is eastward, Hail to them! Gods who have Yama as their guide, whose seat is southward, Gods who have All-Gods as their guides, whose seat is west- Gods who have Mitra-Varuņa for guides, north-seated, Hail to them! Gods who have Soma as their guide, high-seated, worshipful, 37 Agni, subdue opposing bands and drive our enemies away. Invincible, slay godless foes: give splendour to the worshipper. 35 Here begin the formulas for the Râjasûya or King's Inauguration, the Ceremony in verse 30 being merely an entr'acte. A rice-cake is prepared for Anumati or Divine Favour; then the Sacrificer takes a firebrand, goes towards the south, and having made up a fire in a natural cleft in the ground, or on barren land, offers to Nirriti, or Earth in her lowest depths. This mess of meal. He offers in five fires, or in five parts of the fire, to the five classes of Gods mentioned, with an address to each class. 37 He then offers the Apâmârga oblation, an exorcising ceremony performed with seeds of the Apâmarga plant (Achyranthus Aspera: see The Hymns of the A. V. IV. 17. 6), having taken a firebrand from the southern fire, and reciting the text from R. V. III. 24. 1. 38 Thee at the radiant Savitar's impulsion, with Aṣvins' arms and with the hands of Pûshan, I offer with the strength of the Upâmṣu. Slain is the demon brood. All-hail ! Thee for the slaughter of the brood of demons. The demons have we slain, have slain. So-and-So, So-and-So is slain. 39 Savitar quicken thee for sway of rulers, Agni of householders, of the trees Soma, Brihaspati of Speech, for lordship Indra, Rudra for cattle, Mitra for true-speaking, Varuna for the sway of Law's protectors. 40 Gods, quicken him that none may be his rival, for mighty domination, mighty lordship, Him, son of Such-a-man and Such-a-woman, of Such-a-tribe. This is your King, ye Tribesmen. Soma is Lord and King of us the Brahmans. 38 He puts the fire together and offers an oblation of Apâmârga seeds. Upamsu: the Soma libation so named. See VI. 30. Thee for the slaughter : with these words he throws the dipping-spoon towards the place where he offers oblation. So-and-So: in the performance of the ceremony the name of the enemy whom the Sacrificer wishes to destroy is to be substituted for the asau (iste) of the text. Cf. VII. 3. 39 Oblations are prepared for the eight Devasûs, Quickening or Furthering Gods, and the Adhvaryu recites the formulas holding the Sacrificer by the right arm, and proclaiming his name and parentage. Rulers: or 'orders,' according to Mahîdhara; savânâm, from su to impel,' the root of Savitar, Impeller. Householders: Grihapati, Lord of the Household, being a little of Agni. Trees: Soma being called Vanaspati, Tree or Plant par excellence. Speech: Brihaspati being Lord of Speech, i. e. Prayer. Lordship or preeminence, Indra representing royalty and being King of Gods. Cattle: Rudra being Pasupati, Lord of Beasts or Cattle. True-speaking: Mitra, as the Sun, being called the Truthful (Solem quis dicere falsum Audeat ?). Law's Varuna being the Moral Governor of the world. 40 Him he pronounces the name of the Sacrificer. Such-a-man, etc.: he declares the names of the Sacrificer's parents. Tribe: or people. Tribesmenor, people: here the name of the tribe or people, e. g. Ye Kurus, or Pañchâlas, or Bharatas, as the case may be, is to be substituted in the performance of the ceremony. BOOK THE TENTH. THE Gods drew waters with their store of sweetness, succulent and observant, king-creating, Wherewith they sprinkled Varuna and Mitra, wherewith they guided Indra past his foemen. 2 Wave of the male art thou, giver of kingship. Do thouAll-hail !-bestow on me the kingdom. Wave of the male art thou, giver of kingship. Do thou on Thou hast a host of males, giver of kingship. Do thouAll-hail!-bestow on me the kingdom. A host of males hast thou, giver of kingship. So-aud-So bestow the kingdom. Do thou on 3 Swift at your work are ye, givers of kingship. Do ye-Allhail!-bestow on me the kingdom. Swift at your work are ye, givers of kingship. Do ye on Endowed with strength are ye, givers of kingship, etc. The Waters' Lord art thou, giver of kingship. Do thou, etc. The Rajasuya Ceremony is continued, with formulas for the collection and mixing of waters from different streams and sources for the Abhisheka, Aspersion or Consecration of a King. For fuller details of the Sacrifice, see Sacred Books of the East, XLI. pp. 73 seq; Weber, Über den Râjasûya; Hillebrandt, Ritual-Litteratur, pp. 143-147. 1 The Adhvaryu first takes water brought from the Sarasvati, the sacred river of the earlier Hindus, and recites the text. Varuna and Mitra: predecessors, as Kings, of Indra. 2 Of the male: raised by a male animal, beast or man. He steps into the water, and takes the ripple that rises in front of him. On me: to be transferred to the Sacrificer. So-and-So: the Sacrificer who is to be consecrated King, and whose name he mentions. Host of males: the ripples are likened to an opposing band of armed men. With this formula he takes up the wavelet that rises behind him. 3 Stanzas 1 and 2 are formulas for taking water from a tank or poolthat in stanza 1 being mixed with Sarasvati water; he now takes water from a stream. So-and-So: as in verse 2. Endowed with strength: which is to be conferred upon the Sacrificer. He takes water that runs in the opposite direction. O'erflowing: signifying abundant wealth. He takes water that escapes from its channel. Waters' Lord: he takes water that has been brought from the sea. Waters' child: he takes water from an eddy. 4 With sun-bright skins are ye, givers, etc. Bringers of joy are ye, etc. Most powerful are ye, etc. Man-nourishing are ye, etc. All-nourishing are ye, etc. Self-ruling Waters are ye, giving kingship. On So-and-So do ye bestow the kingdom. Together with the sweet let sweet ones mingle, obtaining Rest in your place inviolate and potent, bestowing on the 5 Brilliance of Soma art thou: may my brilliance grow like thine. To Agni Hail! To Soma Hail! To Savitar Hail! To Sara- 6 Ye are two strainers, Varuna's own possession. I make you pure at Savitar's impulsion, with flawless strainer, with the beams of Sûrya. Thou, friend of speech, heat-born, art undefeated. Soma's share art thou. Hail, ye king-producers! 4 With sun-bright skins: he takes water from a pool on which the sun shines. Brilliant: rain-water that falls in sunshine. Bringers of joy: water from a lake. Dwellers in cloud: fold-dwellers': Eggeling; waters from a well. Desirable: or, perhaps, obedient: the water of dew-drops. Most powerful: he takes flowing honey. Endowed with might: fluids of an unborn calf. Man nourishing: milk. All-nourishing: clarified butter. Self-ruling: sunmotes which, after taking seventeen kinds of water, he takes and mingles with them. Together: he mixes them all in a vessel of Udumbara wood. The Kshatriya: the prince who is being consecrated King. 5 He spreads a tiger-skin, one of the emblems of royalty, before the Maitrâvaruna's dhishnyd or fire-hearth, and recites the formulas. Of Soma: because Indra became a tiger after he had drunk Soma, says the Commentator. The tiger, in the Atharva-veda, is the king of beasts and the type of heroic strength and courage. See A. V. IV. 8. 4, 7. The Noise: of his proclamation as king. Amga: the name of one of the Âdityas. 6 He makes two strainers (see I. 3), and interweaves them with gold, Friend of speech: the mingled waters are addressed in the singular number. Man, it is said, has the power of speech so long as there is water in his vital airs or breathings. Heat-born: from fire smoke, from smoke cloud, from cloud water. Soma's share: when the priests moisten the plant with water. |