Growth and expansion of the Sacrifice

Day by day sacrifice was growing and expanding. The expansion of the sacrifice is recorded in one of the story of Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa^[1] which is as thus—once the king of Videgha, named Māthava carried Agni Vaiśvāṇara in his mouth. The name of the seer who was the family priest of that king was Gotama Rāhugana. The seer Gotama Rāhugana addressed the king Māthava while he was carrying the Agni Vaiśvāṇara in his mouth. But the king made no answer thinking that the fire might be fallen down from his mouth. Then the seer began to invoke Agni with the verse of the Ṛgveda. But the king still did not give any answer. The seer went on addressing the king again and again, but the king was not responding. Then the seer uttered the expression “butter sprinkled one” and Agni Vaiśvāṇara flashed forth from the king’s mouth. The king was not able to hold him (Agni) back. The fire came out from his month and fell down on this earth. The king Māthava was at that time was on the river Saraswati. Again went there burning along this earth towards the east and Gotama Rāhugana and Videgha Māthava followed after him as he was burning along. Agni burnt over all these rivers. But, Agni could not burn over the river called Sadānira. In the earlier times, the Brāhmaṇas did not cross that river as it was not burnt over by Agni Vaiśvāṇara. At that time the land to the east of the river Sadānira was very much uncultivated and very moorish as it was not tasted by Agni Vaiśvāṇara. But, now-a-days the Brāhmaṇas have involved Agni to taste it through sacrifices. Actually this Agni Vaiśvāṇara is represented as the sacrifice in general and the progress of Agni Vaiśvāṇara is compared to the progress and expansion of the sacrifice.

The expansion of the sacrifice can be acquainted from the story of lord Viṣnu who is regarded as identical with the sacrifice. Once the asuras wanted to seize the world, the Gods then went to the asuras placing Viṣnu, the sacrifice at their hand. The Asuras offered the earth to Gods as much as Viṣnu. Viṣnu who was at that time in the dwarf form would lie upon on the earth. The Gods having surrounded the Viṣnu on all three sides, placed Agni on the east side and went on toiling and worshiping with the sacrifice and then obtained all the earth^[2]. However from this story we can realize that how Gods pervaded all the earth by means of sacrifice and also spread the sacrifice all over the earth. Thus, it can be said that sacrifice was expanding and growing at that time of the Brāhmaṇas in a very great extent.

In the age of the Brāhmaṇas, the sacrifice was always developing, though the ritualism in general which was already established at that time. In changing time various requirements and demands made it always necessary to develop the ritual further. The Brāhmaṇa texts perform this development. Thus, in the Brahmanical age numerous sacrifices were growing and these new sacrifices were admitted in the ritual sphere of the Brāhmaṇas. Therefore, it is clear that the sacrifice was growing notably during the period of the Brāhmaṇa texts. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa stands to be the foremost in respect of giving the best information on the growth and expansion of the sacrifice.