Kanda IV, adhyaya 5, brahmana 8

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

1. Now when at that Trirātra^[1] sacrifice he gives those thousand (cows), then that one is made the one-thousandth^[2]. On the first day he brings three hundred and thirty-three; and likewise on the second day he brings three hundred and thirty-three; and likewise on the third day he brings three hundred and thirty-three. Then that one-thousandth is left over.

2. She should be three-coloured, they say, for that is the most perfect form for her. But let it be a red one, and spotted, for that indeed is the most perfect form for her.

3. Let it be one that has not been approached (by a bull), for she, the Sāhasrī, is in reality Vāc (speech); but Vāc, forsooth, is of unimpaired vigour, and so is one of unimpaired vigour which has not been approached: therefore it should be one that has not been approached.

4. He may lead her up (to the sacrificial ground) on the first day; for she, the Sāhasrī, is in reality Vāc, and hers, Vāc's, is that thousandfold progeny^[3].

She walks at the head (of the other 333 cows), and behind her follows her progeny. Or he may lead her up on the last day; then her progeny precedes her, and she herself walks behind. This, however, is mere speculation: let him lead her up on the last day,--her progeny precedes her, and she herself walks behind.

5. North of the Havirdhāna shed, and south of the Āgnīdhra fire-house he makes her smell the Droṇakalaśa; for the Droṇakalaśa is the sacrifice; thus he makes her see the sacrifice.

6. With (Vāj. S. VIII, 42), 'Smell the trough: may the drops enter thee, O mighty one!' Now he who gives a thousand (cows) becomes, as it were, emptied: him, thus emptied, he thereby replenishes, when he says, 'Smell the trough: may the drops enter thee, O mighty one!'

7. 'Return again with sap!' him who is emptied he thus replenishes when he says, 'Return again with sap!'

8. 'And milk to us a thousandfold!' him who is emptied he thus replenishes with a thousand (forces), when he says, 'And milk to us a thousandfold!'

9. 'Broad-streamed, milk-abounding,--may wealth come back to me!' him who is emptied he thus replenishes when he says, 'May wealth come back to me!'

10. He then mutters in her right ear, 'O Iḍā, blithesome, adorable, lovable, bright, shining, Aditi (inviolable), Śarasvatī (sapful), mighty, glorious,--these are thy names, O cow: tell thou the gods of me as a doer of good!'--or, 'speak thou . . .' These indeed are her names with the gods: he thus means to say, 'whatever thy names are with the gods, therewith tell the gods of me as a doer of good.'

11. They release her. If, not urged by any man, she goes eastwards, then let him know that this sacrificer has succeeded, that he has won the happy world. If she goes northwards, let him know that the sacrificer will be more glorious in this world. If she goes westwards, let him know that he will be rich in dependants and crops. If she goes southwards, let him know that the sacrificer will quickly depart from this world. Such are the ways of knowledge.

12. And what three (cows) there are each time over and above the (three hundred and) thirty, thereto they add that one^[4]. Now, when they draw out a Virāj (verse), they pull it asunder, and a Virāj which is pulled asunder is torn in two;--and the Virāj consisting of ten syllables, he thus makes the Virāj complete. Let him give her to the Hotṛ; for the Hotṛ is a thousandfold^[5]: therefore let him give her to the Hotṛ.

13. Or let him appoint two Unnetṛs, and let him give her to him, of the two, who does not call for the Śrauṣaṭ; for defective, indeed, is he who, being an officiating priest, does not call for the Śrauṣaṭ; and defective also is the Virāj which is pulled asunder: thus he puts the defective to the defective.

14. Now they say, one ought not to give anything above a thousand (cows), because by a thousand he obtains all the objects of his desire. But Āsuri said, 'Let him give according to his wish: by a thousand he indeed obtains all his wishes; and anything else (that he gives) is likewise given at his wish^[6].'

15. And should he intend to give a cart yoked (with a team of oxen), or something else, let him give it either after the offering of the omentum of the barren cow, or at the concluding (udavasānīyā) offering.

16. In bringing the dakṣiṇās, let him bring complete decads. If he intends to give one (cow) to any (priest), let him pass over a decad to ten such (priests). If he intends to give two to any one, let him pass over a decad to five such (priests). If he intends to give three to any one, let him pass over a decad to three such^[7]. If he intends to give five to any one, let him pass over a decad to two such. Thus up to a hundred: and thus this perfect Virāj of his becomes a cow of plenty for him in yonder world.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The Sahasradakṣiṇa Trirātra, or sacrifice of three (pressing) days, with a thousand cows as the priests’ fee, is mentioned Kāty. XIII, 4, 35 seq. as, apparently, an independent Ahīna sacrifice. I do not, however, know whether it might not be added on to some other sacrificial performance, as, for instance, to the Pṛṣṭhya ṣaḍaha, thus forming together with this the Navarātra (or first nine days of the Daśarātra, see p. 402, note 2). Kāty. gives no indication as to the particular forms of Soma-sacrifice required for the several days; but, guided no doubt by the Brāhmaṇa, he confines his remarks to the manner of distribution of the dakṣiṇās.

[2]:

Sāhasrī, lit. 'she who makes the dakṣiṇā to consist of one thousand.'

[3]:

Or,--and from her, Vāc, those thousand (cows) were produced; p. 415 or,--and from her (the thousandth cow) that thousandfold progeny of Vāc was produced; see IV, 6, 7, 3, where the thousandfold progeny of Vāc is identified with the Vedic texts generally.

[4]:

I am not certain whether I understand this passage rightly. According to paragraph 16, and Kāty. XIII, 4, 23, he is to give away the cows by tens. This would leave three each day, or nine on the three days. To them he is to add the Sāhasrī, and give the ten cows to the Hotṛ.--A common Virāj verse consists of three times ten syllables; but there are also such as consist of three times eleven syllables. These latter the sacrificer is thus represented (by withholding three cows out of thirty-three) to make into a proper Virāj.

[5]:

That is, according to the St. Petersb. Dict., he possesses a p. 417 thousand verses;--if it does not rather refer to the extent of the Rig-veda, consisting of rather more than a thousand (1028) hymns. Cp. also 'the thousandfold progeny of Vāc,' p. 414, note 3.

[6]:

The Kāṇva text has much the same reasoning, but does not ascribe it to any one.

[7]:

In this and all other cases the text has 'to those three (ten &c.).' It is not clear in what manner he is to divide the ten cows between the three priests, unless indeed he is to repeat the same process three times, giving the odd cow each time to another priest. The Kāṇva text only mentions two of the cases here given, viz. that if he intends to give one cow to each (ekaikām), p. 418 he is to give ten to ten such; and if he intends to give two to each, he is to give ten to five such. Professor Weber, Ind. Stud. X, 52, remarks that this paragraph is not clear to him, and suggests that it may be interpolated. It does not appear, what the exact proportion of the thousand cows is for each of the sixteen priests; but we may assume that it did not differ much from that given at the Agniṣṭoma (see p. 345, note 1), and that this result was brought about by repeated distributions among varied groupings of the priests.