०१

अग्निर्वै देवानामवमो विष्णुः परमस्तदन्तरेण सर्वा अन्या देवता ।

Agni, among the gods, has the lowest,[1] Viṣṇu the highest, place; between them stand all the other deities.

[1]Sāyaṇa, whom M. Müller follows in his translation of the first six chapters of the first book, as given in his “History of Ancient Saṃskṛit Literature” (pages 390-405), explains the words avama and parama by “first " and “last.” To prove this meaning to be the true one, Sāyaṇa adduces the mantra (1,4. Aśval. Śr. S. 4, 2), agnir mukham prathamo devatānām samgatānām uttamo Viṣṇur āsīt, i.e., Agni was the first of the deities assembled, (and) Viṣṇu the last. In the Kauṣītaki-Brāhmaṇam (7, 1) Agni is called avarārdhya (instead of avama), and Viṣṇu parārdhya (instead of parama), i.e., belonging to the lower and higher halves (or forming the lower and higher halves). That the meaning “first” cannot be reasonably given to the word avama, one may learn from some passages of the Rigveda Saṃhitā, where avama and parama are not applied to denote rank and dignity, but only to mark place and locality. See Rigveda 1, 108, 9, 10 : avamasyām pṛithivyām, madhyamasyām, paramasyām uta, i.e., in the lowest place, the middle (place), and the highest (place). Agni, the fire, has, among the gods, the lowest place; for he resides with man on the earth; while the other gods are either in the air, or in the sky. Viṣṇu occupies, of all gods, the highest place; for he represents (in the Rigveda) the sun in its daily and yearly course. In its daily course it reaches the highest point in the sky, when passing the zenith on the horizon; thence Viṣṇu is called the “highest” of the gods. Sāyaṇa understands “first” and “last” in reference to the respective order of deities in the twelve liturgies (Śāstra) of the Soma day at the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. For, says he, “The first of these liturgies, the so-called Ajya-Śāstra (see 2, 31), belongs to Agni, and in the last out of the twelve, in the so-called Agnimāruta Śāstra (see 3, 32-38), there is one verse addressed to Viṣṇu. But this argument, advanced by Sāyaṇa, proves nothing for his opinion that “Agni is the first, and Viṣṇu the last deity;” for these twelve liturgies belong to the fifth day of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice, whilst the Dîkṣaṇīya-íṣṭi, in connection with which ceremony the Brāhmaṇam makes the remark “agnir vai devānām avamo,” &c., forms part of the first day. The ceremonies of the first and those of the fifth day have no connection with one another.

अग्निर्वै देवानामवमो विष्णुः परमस्तदन्तरेण सर्वा अन्या देवता ।

आग्नावैष्णवम्पुरोळाशं निर्वपन्ति दीक्षणीयमेकादशकपालम् ।

They offer[2] the Agni-Viṣṇu rice-cake (Purodāśa)[3] which belongs to the Dîkṣaṇîya iṣṭi (and put its several parts) on eleven potsherds (kapāla).

Equally inconclusive are two other arguments brought forward by Sāyaṇa. The one is, that in all the constituent parts of the Jyotiṣṭoma sacrifice, of which the Agniṣṭoma is the opening, the first place is assigned to Agni, and the last to Viṣṇu, and that the last Stotra (performance of the Sāma singers), and the last Śāstra (performance of the Hotṛi-priests), in the last part of that great cycle of sacrifices (the Jyotiṣṭoma), known by the name of* Aptoryāma*, are devoted to Viṣṇu. The other argument is, that Agni is worshipped in the first, or Dîkṣaṇîya iṣṭi, and that the Vājasaneyins (the followers of the so-called White Yajurveda) use, instead of the last Iṣṭi (the avasānīyā), the Pūrṇāhuti to Viṣṇu.

Both arguments prove only, that the ceremonies commenced with the deity who is on earth, that is, Agni, and ended with that one who occupies the highest place in heaven. Though, from a liturgical point of view, Sāyaṇa’s opinion might be correct, yet he does not state any reason why the first place in certain invocations is assigned to Agni, and the last to Viṣṇu. But the translation “lowest and highest,” as given here, does not only account for the liturgical arrangement, but states the proper reason of such an order besides. That these terms are really applicable to both respective deities, Agni and Viṣṇu, and that the words avama and parama actually convey such meaning, has been shown above.

[2]The term of the original is, nirvapanti (from vap, to strew, to sow). This expression, which very frequently occurs in liturgical writings of all kinds, means, originally, “to take some handfuls of dry substances (such as grains) from the heap in which they are collected, and put them into separate vessel.” It is used in a similar sense of liquids also. Sāyaṇa restricts the meaning of this common sacrificial term somewhat too much. He says, that it means “to take four handfuls of rice from the whole load which is on the cart, and throw them into the winnowing basket (Śūrpa).” In this passage, he further adds, the term means the bringing of that offering the preparation of which begins with this act of taking four handfuls from the whole load. Sāyaṇa discusses the meaning of the form “nirvapanti” which is in the present tense, and in the plural number. Referring to a parallel in the “Black Yajurveda,” agnā́vaiṣṇavam ekā́daśakapā́lam nirváped dīkṣiṣyámāṇaḥ, where the potential (nirvapet) is used instead of the present tense of (nirvapanti), and to a rule of Pāṇini (3, 4, 7,) which teachers that the conjunctive (Let) can have the meaning of the potential, he takes it in the sense of a conjunctive, implying an order. The plural instead of the singular is accounted for the supposition, that in the Vedic language the numbers might be interchanged. But the whole explanation is artificial.

[3]The principal food of the gods at the so-called Iṣṭis is the puroḍāśa. I here give a short description of its preparation, which I myself have witnessed. The Adhvaryu takes rice which is husked and ground (piṣṭa), throws it into a vessel of copper (madantī), kneads it with water, and gives the whole mass a globular shape. He then places this dough on a piece of wood to the Āhavanīya fire (the fire into which the oblations are thrown), in order to cook it. After it is half cooked, he takes it off, gives it the shape of a tortoise, and places the whole on eleven potsherds (kapālas). To complete cooking it, he takes Darbha grass, kindles it and puts it on the Puroḍāśa. After it is made ready, he pours melted butter over it and puts the ready dish in the so-called Iḍāpātra, which is placed on the Vedi, where it remains till it is sacrificed.

आग्नावैष्णवम्पुरोळाशं निर्वपन्ति दीक्षणीयमेकादशकपालम् ।

सर्वाभ्य एवैनं तद्देवताभ्यो ऽनन्तरायं निर्वपन्ति ।

They offer it (the rice-cake) really to all the deities of this (Iṣṭi) without foregoing any one.[4]

[4]Anantarāyam : literally, without any one between, without an interval, the chain of the gods being uninterrupted.

सर्वाभ्य एवैनं तद्देवताभ्यो ऽनन्तरायं निर्वपन्ति ।

अग्निर्वै सर्वा देवता विष्णुः सर्वा देवता ।

For Agni is all the deities, and Viṣṇu is all the deities.

अग्निर्वै सर्वा देवता विष्णुः सर्वा देवता ।

एते वै यज्ञस्यान्त्ये तन्वौ यदग्निश्च विष्णुश्च ।

For these two (divine) bodies, Agni and Viṣṇu, are the two ends[5] of the sacrifice.

[5]Antye. Sāyaṇa opines that this adjective here is ekaśeṣa, i.e., that out of two or more things to be expressed, only one has actually remained. It stands, as he thinks, instead of ādyā and antyā, just as pitarau means “father and mother.” (Pāṇini, 1, 2, 70.)

एते वै यज्ञस्यान्त्ये तन्वौ यदग्निश्च विष्णुश्च ।

तद्यदाग्नावैष्णवम्पुरोळाशं निर्वपन्त्यन्तत एव तद्देवानृध्नुवन्ति ।

Thus when they portion out the Agni-Viṣṇu rice-cake, they indeed make at the end[6] (after the ceremony is over) prosper[7] (all) the gods of this (ceremony).

[6]Antataḥ. Sāy. “at the beginning and end of the sacrifice.” But I doubt whether the term implies the beginning also. In the phrase: antataḥ pratitiṣṭati*, which so frequently occurs in the Ait. Brāhm., antataḥ means only “ultimately,” at the end of a particular ceremony or rite.

[7]Ṛidhnuvanti. Sāy. paricharanti, they worship. He had, in all probability, Nighaṇṭ. 3, 5, in view, where this meaning is given to ṛidhnoti. But that this word conveys the sense of “prospering” follows unmistakeably from a good many passages of the Saṁhitā of Rigveda and Manu. (See the Saṁskṛit Dictionary by Böhtlingk and Roth. s. v. अर्ध and Westergaard’s Radices Sanscritæ s. v. ऋध, page 182.) In this passage the meaning “to worship,” as given by Sāyaṇa, is too vague, and appears not quite appropriate to the sense. On account of its governing the accusative, we must take it here in the sense of a transitive verb, although it is generally an intransitive one. The meaning which lies nearest, is, “to make prosperous.” At the first glance it might appear somewhat curious, how men should make the gods prosperous by sacrificial offerings. But if one takes into consideration, that the Vedas, and particularly the sacrificial rites inculcated in them, presuppose a mutual relationship between men and gods, one depending on the support of the other, the expression will no longer be found strange. Men must present offerings to the gods to increase the power and strength of their divine protectors. They must, for instance, inebriate Indra with Soma, that he might gather strength for conquering the demons. The meaning “to satisfy, to please,” which is given to the word “ṛidhnuvanti” of the passage in question in Böhtlingk’s and Roth’s Dictionary, is a mere guess, and wholly untenable, being supported by no Brahmaṇik authority.

तद्यदाग्नावैष्णवम्पुरोळाशं निर्वपन्त्यन्तत एव तद्देवानृध्नुवन्ति ।

तदाहुर्यदेकादशकपालः पुरोळाशो द्वावग्नाविष्णू कैनयोस्तत्र कॢप्तिः का विभक्तिरिति ।

Here they say: if there be eleven potsherds on which portions of the rice-cake are put, and (only) two deities, Agni and Viṣṇu, what arrangement is there for the two, or what division?

तदाहुर्यदेकादशकपालः पुरोळाशो द्वावग्नाविष्णू कैनयोस्तत्र कॢप्तिः का विभक्तिरिति ।

अष्टाकपाल आग्नेयो ऽष्टाक्षरा वै गायत्री गायत्रमग्नेश्छन्दः ।

(The answer is) The rice-cake portions on eight potsherds belong to Agni; for the Gāyatrī verse consists of eight syllables, and the Gāyatrī is Agni’s metre.

अष्टाकपाल आग्नेयो ऽष्टाक्षरा वै गायत्री गायत्रमग्नेश्छन्दः ।

त्रिकपालो वैष्णवस्त्रिर्हीदं विष्णुर्व्यक्रमत ।

The rice-cake portions on the three potsherds belong to Viṣṇu; for Viṣṇu (the sun) strode thrice through the universe.[8]

[8]This refers to the verse in the Rigveda Saṁhitā 1,22,17,18 : idaṁ Viṣṇur vichakrame tredhā nidadhe padam, i.e., Viṣṇu strode through the universe; he put down thrice his foot; and trīṇi padā vichakrame, he strode three steps. These ‘three steps of Viṣṇu,’ who represents the sun, are: sunrise, zenith, and sunset.

त्रिकपालो वैष्णवस्त्रिर्हीदं विष्णुर्व्यक्रमत ।

सैनयोस्तत्र कॢप्तिः सा विभक्तिः ।

This the arrangement (to be made) for them; this the division.

सैनयोस्तत्र कॢप्तिः सा विभक्तिः ।

घृते चरुं निर्वपेत यो ऽप्रतिष्ठितो मन्येत ।

He who might think himself to have no position (not to be highly respected by others) should portion out (for being offered) Charu[9] over which clarified butter is poured.

[9]Charu is boiled rice. It can be mixed with milk and butter; but it is no essential part. It is synonymous with odanam, the common term for “boiled rice.” Śatap. Brāh. 4, 12, 1. There were different varieties of this dish; some being prepared with the addition of barley, or some other grains. See Taittirīya Saṁh. 1, 8, 10, 1.

घृते चरुं निर्वपेत यो ऽप्रतिष्ठितो मन्येत ।

अस्यां वाव स न प्रतितिष्ठति यो न प्रतितिष्ठति ।

For on this earth no one has a firm footing who does not enjoy a certain (high) position.[10]

[10]Pratitiṣṭati, which is here put twice, has a double sense, viz., the original meaning “to have a firm footing, standing,” and a figurative one “to have rank, position, dignity.” In the latter sense, the substantive pratiṣṭhā is of frequent occurrence Dignity and position depend on the largeness of family, wealth in cattle, &c.

अस्यां वाव स न प्रतितिष्ठति यो न प्रतितिष्ठति ।

तद्यद्घृतं तत्स्त्रियै पयो ये तण्डुलास्ते पुंसस्तन्मिथुनम् ।

The clarified butter (poured over this Charu) is the milk of the woman; the husked rice grains (taṇḍula of which Charu consists) belong to the male; both are a pair.

तद्यद्घृतं तत्स्त्रियै पयो ये तण्डुलास्ते पुंसस्तन्मिथुनम् ।

मिथुनेनैवैनं तत्प्रजया पशुभिः प्रजनयति प्रजात्यै ।

Thus the Charu on account of its consisting of a pair (of female and male parts) blesses him with the production of progeny and cattle, for his propagation (in his descendants and their property).

मिथुनेनैवैनं तत्प्रजया पशुभिः प्रजनयति प्रजात्यै ।

प्रजायते प्रजया पशुभिर्य एवं वेद ।

He who has such a knowledge propagates his progeny and cattle.

प्रजायते प्रजया पशुभिर्य एवं वेद ।

आरब्धयज्ञो वा एष आरब्धदेवतो यो दर्शपूर्णमासाभ्यां यजत ।

He who brings the New and Full Moon oblations, has already made a beginning with the sacrifice, and made also a beginning with (the sacrificial worship of the) deities.

आरब्धयज्ञो वा एष आरब्धदेवतो यो दर्शपूर्णमासाभ्यां यजत ।

आमावास्येन वा हविषेष्ट्वा पौर्णमासेन वा तस्मिन्नेव हविषि तस्मिन्बर्हिषि दीक्षेत ।

After having brought the New or Full Moon oblations, he may be inaugurated in consequence of the offering made at these (oblations) and the sacrificial grass (having been spread) at these (oblations, at the time of making them).

आमावास्येन वा हविषेष्ट्वा पौर्णमासेन वा तस्मिन्नेव हविषि तस्मिन्बर्हिषि दीक्षेत ।

एषो एका दीक्षा ।

This (might be regarded) as one Dîkṣā (initiatory rite).[11]

[11]The present followers of the Vedik religion, the so-called Agnihotris, who take upon themselves the performance of all the manifold sacrificial rites enjoined in the Vedas, begin their arduous career for gaining a place in heaven, after the sacred fires have been established, with the regular monthly performance of the Darśa and Pûrṇimāiṣṭi or the New and Full Moon sacrifices. Then they bring the Chāturmāsya-íṣṭi, and after this rite they proceed to bring the Agniṣṭoma, the first and model of all Soma sacrifices. By the bringing of the New and Full Moon offerings, the Agnihotri is already initiated into the grand rites; he is already an adept (Dîkṣita) in it. Some of the links of the yajna or sacrifice which is regarded as a chain extending from this earth to heaven, by means of which the successful performer reaches the celestial world, the seat of the gods, are already established by these offerings; with the deities, whose associate the sacrificer wishes to become after his death, the intercourse is opened; for they have already received food (haviḥ), prepared according to the precepts of sacred cookery, at his hands, and they have been sitting on the sacred seat (barhis) prepared of the sacrificial grass (Darbha). Thence the performance of the Full and New Moon sacrifices is here called one Dîkṣā, i.e., one initiatory rite. But if the Agnihotri, who is performing a Soma sacrifice, is already initiated (Dîkṣita) by means of the rites just mentioned, how does he require at the opening of the Agniṣṭoma (Soma-sacrifice) the so-called Dîkṣaṇîya Iṣṭi, or “offering for becoming initiated”? This question was mooted already in ancient times. Thence, says Āśvalāyana in his Śrauta sūtras (4, 1), that, some are of opinion, the Soma-sacrifice should be performed, in the case of the means required being forthcoming (the sacrifice is very expensive), after the Full and New Moon sacrifices have been brought; others opine the Soma sacrifice might be performed before the Full and New Moon sacrifices. No doubt, the Agniṣṭoma was in ancient times a sacrifice wholly independent of the Darśa Pûrṇimā-iṣṭi*. This clearly follows from the fact, that just such Iṣṭis, as constitute the Full and New Moon sacrifices, are placed at the beginning of the Agniṣṭoma to introduce it.

एषो एका दीक्षा ।

सप्तदश सामिधेनीरनुब्रूयात् ।

The Hotar must recite seventeen verses for the wooden sticks to be thrown into the fire[12] (to feed it).

सप्तदश सामिधेनीरनुब्रूयात् ।

सप्तदशो वै प्रजापतिर्द्वादश मासाः पञ्चर्तवो हेमन्तशिशिरयोः समासेन ।

For Prajāpati (the Lord of all creatures) is seventeenfold; the months are twelve, and the seasons five, by putting Hemanta (winter) and Śiśira (between winter and spring) as one.

सप्तदशो वै प्रजापतिर्द्वादश मासाः पञ्चर्तवो हेमन्तशिशिरयोः समासेन ।

तावान्संवत्सरः ।

So much is the year.

तावान्संवत्सरः ।

संवत्सरः प्रजापतिः ।

The year is Prajāpati.

संवत्सरः प्रजापतिः ।

प्रजापत्यायतनाभिरेवाभी राध्नोति य एवं वेद ।

He who has such a knowledge prospers by these verses (just mentioned) which reside in Prajāpati.

प्रजापत्यायतनाभिरेवाभी राध्नोति य एवं वेद ।