Kanda XIII, adhyaya 1, brahmana 2

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

1. Now, unsuccessful in the sacrifice, assuredly, is what is performed without a formula. (With Vāj. S. XXII, 2,) 'This rope did they take, at the first age of the truth, [the sages, at the rites: it hath been with us at this Soma-sacrifice, declaring the course in the gaining of the truth],' he takes the halter of the horse in order to supply a formula for the success of the sacrifice. It (the rope) is twelve cubits long,--twelve months make a year: it is the year, the sacrifice^[1], he secures.

2. Concerning this they say, 'Is the rope to be made twelve cubits long, or thirteen cubits long?' Well, that year is the bull among the seasons, and the thirteenth (or intercalary) month is an excrescence of the year; and this Aśvamedha is the bull among sacrifices; and inasmuch as the bull has an excrescence (hump), one may add on a thirteenth cubit to the rope as an excrescence to this (Aśvamedha): even as the bull's hump is attached^[2] (to his back), suchlike would this be.

3. [He puts the halter on the horse, with Vāj. S. XXII, 3, 4,] 'Encompassing^[3] thou art,'-therefore the offerer of the Aśvamedha conquers all the quarters^[4];--'the world thou art,'--the world he thus conquers;--'a ruler thou art, an upholder,'--he thus makes him a ruler and upholder;--'go thou unto Agni Vaiśvānara,'--he thus makes him go to Agni Vaiśvānara (the friend of all men);--'of wide extent,'--he thus causes him to extend in offspring and cattle;--'consecrated by Svāhā (hail!),'--this is the Vaṣaṭ-call^[5] for it;--'good speed (to) thee for the gods!'--he thus makes it of good speed for the gods;--'for Prajāpati,'--the horse is sacred to Prajāpati: he thus supplies^[6] it with his own deity.

4. But, verily, he who fetters the horse without announcing it to the Brahman and the gods is liable to incur injury. He addresses the Brahman (the superintending priest) by saying, 'O Brahman, I will fetter the horse for the gods, for Prajāpati: may I prosper therewith!' and having made the announcement to the Brahman, he ties up the horse, and thus incurs no injury. 'Fetter it for the gods, for Prajāpati: prosper thou therewith!' thus the Brahman urges him, and supplies it (the horse) with its own deity. He then sprinkles it (with water): the (symbolic) meaning of this is the same as before^[7].

5. He sprinkles^[8] it, with (Vāj. S. XXII, 5), 'I sprinkle thee (so as to be) acceptable to Prajāpati,'--for Prajāpati is the most vigorous of the gods: it is vigour he bestows on it, whence the horse is the most vigorous of animals.

6. 'I sprinkle thee, acceptable to Indra and Agni,'--for Indra and Agni are the most powerful of the gods: it is power he bestows on it, whence the horse is the most powerful of animals.

7. 'I sprinkle thee, acceptable to Vāyu,'--for Vāyu is the swiftest of gods: it is speed he bestows on it, whence the horse is the swiftest of animals.

8. 'I sprinkle thee, acceptable to the All-gods,'--for the All-gods are the most famous of gods: it is fame he bestows on it, whence the horse is the most famous of animals,---'I sprinkle thee, acceptable to all the gods.'

9. Concerning this they say, 'Seeing that the horse is sacred to Prajāpati, wherefore (does he say), "I sprinkle thee" for other deities also?' Well, all the gods are concerned in the horse-sacrifice;

when he says, 'I sprinkle thee for all the gods,' he makes all the gods take a concern in the horse-sacrifice; whence all the gods are concerned in the horse-sacrifice. But his wicked enemy seeks to lay hold of him who performs the horse-sacrifice, and the horse is a thunderbolt;--having killed the four-eyed dog, he--with 'Undone^[9] is the man! undone is the dog!'--plunges^[10] it under the horse's feet: it is by means of the thunderbolt he thus stamps him down; and the wicked enemy does not lay hold of him.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Or, possibly, it is for the space of a year that he secures the sacrifice, but see part iv, introduction, p. xxiii.

[2]:

Lit., spread out.

[3]:

Some such meaning as this (or perhaps 'encompassed, encircled') seems to be assigned by the author to 'abhidhāḥ,' with evident reference to 'abhidhānī,' halter,' from 'abhi-dhā,' 'to fasten, enclose.' The St. Petersburg Dict., on the other hand, takes it in the sense of 'naming, denoting' (? inasmuch as the horse gives the name to the horse-sacrifice); whilst Mahīdhara explains it by 'that which is named or praised.'

[4]:

In epic times the Aśvamedha is commonly performed by kings who have been successful in the 'digvijaya,' or conquest in all quarters.

[5]:

'Vaṣaṭ' is the sacrificial call uttered by the Hotṛ at the end of the 'yājyā,' or offering-verse of a regular oblation (āhuti) as distinguished from minor libations, such as homas and āghāras, which require no 'yājyā' and for which the sacrificial call--marking the pouring out of the libation into the fire--is 'svāhā!' The meaning of 'vaṣaṭ' is doubtful; but it would seem to be connected either with the root 'vakṣ,' to grow, to wax, or with 'vah,' to bear; and would thus mean either 'may it prosper!' or 'may he (Agni) bear it (to the gods)!' By the mention of the Svāhā in our formula the horse is, as it were, marked as dedicated to the gods.

[6]:

Or, perhaps, he causes it to succeed by means, or with the help, of its own deity.

[7]:

For the sprinkling of (the material for) oblations see I, 1, 3, 6 seq.; and an animal victim in particular, III, 7, 4, 3.

[8]:

According to Kāty. XX, 1, 37, he goes with the horse to stagnant water, and there sprinkles it. It would seem that the horse stands in the water during this ceremony.

[9]:

Mahīdhara explains 'paraḥ' by 'parābhūtaḥ, adhaspadaṃ nītaḥ,' i.e. defeated, laid low. Perhaps it may mean, 'Away is the man, away the dog!' As given in the Vāj. Saṃh., this is only the last part of the formula, pronounced by the Sacrificer; whilst during the killing of the dog, he is made to say, 'Whosoever seeketh to slay the steed, him Varuṇa besetteth.'--According to Kāty. XX, 1, 38 seqq., the priest says to an Āyogava (the offspring of a Śūdra father and a Vaiśya mother)--or, to a lewd man, according to others--'Kill the four-eyed dog!' whereupon the man kills a dog by means of a club of Sidhraka wood; and (the priest?), by means of a rattan hoop (? or mat, kaṭa, comm. kaṭaka), makes the dead dog float beneath the horse. According to the comment. on Kāty. XX, 1, 38, in case a four-eyed dog--i.e. a (two-faced) one 'yasya dve mukhe' and hence looking in the four (intermediate) directions (vidiś), Sāy.--is not available (!), a dog with marks about the eyes should be used. The mention of the 'four-footed' dog in the formula is, however, doubtless meant merely symbolically, as representing evil threatening the Sacrificer from every quarter.

[10]:

Harisvāmin seems to connect this with the sprinkling of the horse itself--prokṣaṇaṃ śuna upaplāvanam ucyate--perhaps in the sense that the water flowing down from the sprinkled horse would soak the dog, in which case the horse would apparently be supposed to stand on the dry ground. See, however, comm. on Kāty. XX, 2, 2, 'Śvānam aśvasyādhaḥpradeśe jalamadhye plāvayati tārayati.' The 'offerings of drops' to be performed immediately after this ceremony might seem to be offered with reference to the drops of water flowing from the horse, and as it were falling outside the sacrifice; but see paragraph 5.