Kanda XII, adhyaya 7, brahmana 1

THE SAUTRĀMAṆĪ^[1].

1. Indra slew Tvaṣṭṛ's son, Viśvarūpa. Seeing his son slain, Tvaṣṭṛ exorcized him (Indra), and brought Soma juice suitable for witchery^[2], and withheld from Indra. Indra by force drank off his Soma-juice, thereby committing a desecration of the sacrifice. He went asunder in every direction, and his energy, or vital power^[3], flowed away from every limb.

2. From his eyes his fiery spirit flowed, and became that grey (smoke-coloured) animal, the he-goat; and what (flowed) from his eyelashes became wheat, and what (flowed) from his tears became the kuvala-fruit^[4].

3. From his nostrils his vital power flowed, and became that animal, the ram; and what (flowed) from the phlegm became the Indra-grain, and what moisture there was that became the badara-fruit 1.

4. From his mouth his strength flowed, it became that animal, the bull; and what foam there was became barley, and what moisture there was became the karkandhu-fruit^[5].

5. From his ear his glory flowed, and became the one-hoofed animals, the horse, mule, and ass.

6. From the breasts his bright (vital) sap flowed, and became milk, the light of cattle; from the heart in his breast his courage flowed, and became the talon-slaying eagle, the king of birds.

7. From his navel his life-breath flowed, and became lead,--not iron, nor silver; from his seed his form flowed, and became gold; from his generative organ his essence flowed, and became parisrut (raw fiery liquor); from his hips his fire flowed, and became surd (matured liquor), the essence of food.

8. From his urine his vigour flowed, and became the wolf, the impetuous rush of wild beasts; from the contents of his intestines his fury flowed, and became the tiger, the king of wild beasts; from his blood his might flowed, and became the lion, the ruler of wild beasts.

9. From his hair his thought flowed, and became millet; from his skin his honour flowed, and became the aśvattha tree (ficus religiosa); from his flesh his force flowed, and became the udumbara tree (ficus glomerata); from his bones his sweet drink flowed, and became the nyagrodha tree (ficus indica); from his marrow his drink, the Soma juice, flowed, and became rice: in this way his energies, or vital powers, went from him.

10. Now at that time he (Indra) had to do with Namuci, the Asura. Namuci bethought him, 'He has been undone once for all: I will seize upon his energy, his vital power, his Soma-drink, his food,' By (taking) that Surā-liquor of his he seized upon his energy, or vital power, his Soma-drink, his food. He lay there dissolved. The gods gathered around him, and said, 'Verily, he was the best of us; evil has befallen him: let us heal him!'

11. They said to the two Aśvins, 'Ye are Brahman physicians: heal ye this one!' They replied, 'Let there be a guerdon for us!' They spake, 'That he-goat there shall be your guerdon.' They said, 'So be it!' and hence the smoke-coloured (he-goat) is sacred to the two Aśvins.

12. They (the gods) said to Sarasvatī, 'Verily, thou art healing medicine: heal thou this one!' She replied, 'Let there be a guerdon for me!' They spake, 'That ram there shall be thy guerdon!' She said, 'So be it!' and therefore the ram is sacred to Sarasvatī.

13. They then spake, 'Verily, there is even now as much in him (Indra) as that -bull: that one shall belong to him himself.' They said, 'So be it!' and therefore the bull is sacred to Indra.

14. The two Aśvins and Sarasvatī, having taken the energy, or vital power, from Namuci, restored them to hire (Indra), and saved him from evil, 'Truly, we have saved him from evil so as to be well-saved (sutrāta),' they thought, and this became the Sautrāmaṇī: and this is the (saving) nature of the Sautrāmaṇī--it saves the self from death, and repels evil for whosoever thus knows that (saving) nature of the Sautrāmaṇī. There are (for this sacrifice) thirty-three Dakṣiṇās (presents to priests), for thirty-three were the gods who healed him: whence they say, 'Dakṣiṇās are healing medicine.'

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The Sautrāmaṇī is usually classed as one of the seven divisions of the Haviryajña, though, in reality, it is much more than that; its peculiarity consisting in a combination of the ordinary features of the Haviryajña, or iṣṭi (cf. XII, 7, 2, 22), with those of the animal sacrifice, whilst a third important element, viz. libations of spirituous liquor, imparts to it a certain resemblance, and doubtless an intended resemblance, to the Soma-sacrifice. Of this sacrifice we have already met with a variation in connection with the Rājasūya (cf. part iii, p. 229 seq.), that form being usually called the Caraka-Sautrāmaṇī, as being adopted from the ritual of the Caraka-adhvaryus; whilst the form described in the remaining portion of the present Kāṇḍa is, according to Lāṭy. Śraut. V, 4, 20, called Kaukili Sautrāmaṇī. (cf. Āśv. Śr. III, 9, 9 comm.; Weber, Ind. Stud. III, p. 385). The name itself is derived from 'sutrāman,' i.e. 'the good guardian,' as which Indra is worshipped in this sacrifice (cf. V, 5, 4. 1 seq.). The whole performance takes four days, during the first three of which the Surā-liquor is prepared and matured, and offerings of a rice-pap to Aditi, and a bull to Indra are performed; whilst the main sacrifice takes place on the fourth day--the day of either full moon or new moon--the chief oblations offered on that day being three cups of milk, and as many of Surā-liquor, to the Aśvins, Sarasvatī, and Indra respectively; of three animal victims to the same deities; and of thirty-three libations of fat gravy, or liquid fat (vasā), obtained from the cooking of the victims, and offered by means of bull's hoofs used as cups. At the end of the sacrifice, a third bull is offered to Indra in his form of Vayodhas (giver of life), together with another pap p. 214 (caru) to Aditi and an oblation of curds to Mitra and Varuṇa. No mention is made of the Agnīṣomīya he-goat usually offered .on the day preceding the Soma-pressing, the first bull offered to Indra probably taking its place on this occasion, whilst the hull to Indra Vayodhas would seem to take the place of the sacrifice of a barren cow (to Mitra and Varuṇa) which usually takes place at the end of a Soma-sacrifice. In an interesting variation (Sautrāmaṇa-yajña), described in Śāṅkh. Śr. XIV, 12-13, and performed as a real (Agniṣṭoma) Soma-sacrifice, the final animal sacrifice indeed is that of a barren cow to Indra Sutrāman; only two other victims--a reddish he-goat to the Aśvins and a ewe to Sarasvatī--being mentioned.

[2]:

'Exposed (liable) to witching,' Delbrück, Altindische Syntax, p. 401.

[3]:

'Vīrya' (virile power) is constantly used to explain 'indriya.'

[4]:

The words 'kuvala, badara, and karkandhu' are the names of three varieties of the jujube, or fruits of Zizyphus Jujuba, for a description of which see the comm. on Kāty. Śr. XIX, 17 seqq. According to Stewart and Brandis’ Forest Flora of North-West and Central India (p. 87), 'this species varies exceedingly, in the shape and size of the fruits, the shape and tomentum of the leaves, and general habit;' 'the Zizyphi of North India want more investigation on the spot.' . . . 'Lakh is produced on this tree in Sindh, the Panjab, and Central India, The bark is used as dye-stuff; the root is a febrifuge in native pharmacy. A gum exudes from the trunk; and in Kangra a wild silkworm lives on the tree, the silk of which was much employed formerly to tie the barrel to the stock of the matchlock. But the tree is mainly cultivated for its fruit, p. 215 which is more or less globose on the wild and commoner sorts, and ovoid or oblong on the cultivated and improved kinds.'

[5]:

See note 3 on preceding page.