Adhyāya III, Khaṇḍa 2

1^[1]. If he wishes to have a house built, he draws with an Udumbara branch three times a line round (the building-ground) with (the words), 'Here I include the dwellings for the sake of food,' and sacrifices in (its) centre on an elevated spot,

2. (With the texts,) 'Who art thou? Whose art thou? To whom do I sacrifice thee, desirous of (dwelling in the) village? Svāhā!

'Thou art the gods' share on this (earth). From here have sprung the fathers who have passed away. The ruler has sacrificed, desirous of (dwelling in the) village, not omitting anything that belongs to the gods. Svāhā!'

3. Having had the pits for the posts dug,

4. He pours water-gruel into them,

5. And with (the verse), 'This branch of the immortal one I erect, a stream of honey, promoting wealth. The child, the young one, cries to it; the cow shall low to it, the unceasingly fertile one'—he puts an Udumbara branch which has been besmeared with ghee into the pit for the right door-post.

6. 'This branch of the world I establish, a stream of honey, promoting wealth. The child, the young one, cries to it; the cow shall low to it that has a young calf'—thus to the left.

7. In the same way at the two (pits) to the south, to the west, and to the north.

8. With (the verse), 'This branch of this tree, that drops ghee, I erect in the immortal. The child, the young one, cries to it; cows shall flock to it, unceasingly fertile ones'—he erects the chief post.

9^[2]. 'May the young child come to it, may the calf . . . .; may they come to it with a cup of Parisrut, with pots of curds.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

2, 1 seqq. On the house of the Vedic Indians, comp. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, pp. 148 seqq.

[2]:

On parisrut, see Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 281. The words bhuvanas pari give no sense; Pāraskara probably gives the true reading, ā vatso jagadaiḥ saha (III, 4, 4; comp. Sūtra 8: Vasūṃś ca Rudrān Ādityān Īśānaṃ jagadaiḥ saha; jagada is explained in Jayarāma's commentary by anuga, anucara). The word jagada of course was exposed to all sorts of corruptions; p. 94 thus the text of Āśvalāyana has jāyatāṃ saka; the Atharva-veda (III, 12, 7) jagatā saha; and from this jagat to the bhuvana found in our text the way is not very long.