Kāṇḍa 8

8.1.1 How shall we speak to the Asura of heaven, how to the tawny Father of fierce might? O Varuṇa, having given the dappled cow as the southern fee, O Punarmagha, thou hast deemed it good in thy mind.

8.1.2 Not by desire alone do I become Punarmagha, having consulted whom I brought near this dappled cow. By what wisdom art thou greater than I, O Atharvan? By what birth art thou Jātavedas?

8.1.3 Truly I am profound in poetic wisdom; truly by my birth I am Jātavedas. Neither serf nor noble has measured the greatness of my vow which I shall uphold.

8.1.4 No other is more skilled in vision, no fashioner, no one more steadfast than thou, O Varuṇa, possessor of thine own power. For thou, indeed, knowest all births; even the crafty man fears thee.

8.1.5 For thou, O Varuṇa, possessor of thine own power, knowest all births, O thou before whom troops tremble. What is beyond yonder firmament? What is the lower beyond the lower, O unwearied one?

8.1.6 One thing is beyond yonder firmament; beyond the other lies yet another that is hard to see. This, knowing it, I declare to thee, O Varuṇa: let the Paṇis become speakers of what is beneath; let the defiled serfs creep low.

8.1.7 For thou, O Varuṇa, dost proclaim many blameable deeds among the Punarmagh ones. Do not, then, fall upon the Paṇi by so much; let not people call thee ungracious.

8.1.8 Let not people call me ungracious; again I give thee the dappled cow, O singer of praise. Come to me with all my hymn of praise among the folk, among the gods and among men, O sage.

8.1.9 I come to thy praises that grant increase; give me that which is yet ungiven. Thou art our seven-paced companion in yoke, our equal kinsman is Varuṇa, equal in birth.

8.1.10 I know indeed that which is our equal birth; I give thee what is yet ungiven. The god, life-sustaining, to the god who praises; the wise one of excellent insight to the wise one who lauds.

8.1.11 For thou, O Varuṇa, possessor of thine own power, didst beget Atharvan, the progenitor, the all-divine. Make for him a wide and laudable life span; thou art our friend and supreme kinsman.

8.2.1 My roar is like a bull, like thunder from the sky; with fierce speech I shall drive it away from thee. I have seized its essence with this my grip, as the sun rises from the darkness like a light.

8.2.2 Whatever waterless poison is thine, that of thine I have now seized with these means. I seize the middle, the highest, and also the lowest; by fear it shall not prevail, and now it is thine no more.

8.2.3 With strength I smite thy strength; with body I smite thy body. With poison I smite thy poison. O serpent, lie thou still; live not. Let the poison flow back and return upon thee.

8.2.4 Of the black serpent, of the Taimāta, of the brown one, of the waterless one, and of the wrath of the all-conquering — I loose the bowstring as of a fierce bow, as one unyokes chariots.

8.2.5 O Kailāta, O dappled one, O Upatṛṇya, O brown one — listen to me, O black ones, O Alīkas. Do not stand in the way of our friend's desire. Make yourselves heard; indeed, be pleased, O serpents.

8.2.6 Āliki and Vili are thy father and thy mother. We know thy kinsman on every side. Thou art made powerless — what wilt thou do?

8.2.7 Daughter of Urugūlā, born of the slavegirl of the black one — she who was crawling about spreading her rash, has now rendered the powerful serpents powerless.

8.2.8 The eared porcupine spoke, roaming at the foot of the mountain: 'Whatever burrowing creatures these are, their poison is the most powerless of all.'

8.2.9 Not Tābuvam, not Tābuvam — thou art not really Tābuvam. By the Tābuvam the poison is made powerless.

8.2.10 Not Tastuvam, not Tastuvam — thou art not really Tastuvam. By the Tastuvam the poison is made powerless.

8.2.11 May this herb render thy poison powerless, O serpent — the Trāyamāṇā, the overpowering one, the possessor of power, the prevailing one. It has surely expelled the poison from cow, from horse, from man.

8.3.1 O Āñjana with the three peaks, born from the Himavat — crush all the sorcerers and all the female demons of sorcery.

8.3.2 Thou art indeed a protector, a crusher of sorcerers, O Āñjana. Thou hast power over immortality, and thou art nourishment for the drink-offering.

8.3.3 Thou art the protection of men, the protection of cattle. For the protection of horses, of steeds, thou hast stood firm.

8.3.4 Protect me, protect what is dear to us, protect our wealth. Let not enmity cross us; let nothing afflict us.

8.3.5 No curse reaches him, no sorcery, no grief-causing spell. Viṣkandha does not afflict him who carries thee, O Āñjana.

8.3.6 From the spell cast through the mouth, from evil dreaming, from hereditary disease, from the curse, and from the evil eye, from its terrible gaze — protect us from that, O Āñjana.

8.3.7 Three are the servants of Āñjana: fever, the consumptive disease Balāsa, and the serpent. Highest among mountains, Trikakud is the name of thy father.

8.3.8 Thou art the pupil of Vṛtra's eye; thou art the two eyes of the mountain. Proclaimed by all the gods, thou art named Paridhi — the Encompasser.

8.3.9 The Gandharva Vaida knows thy name as a secret. From wherever thou art born, O Āñjana, come hither for the sake of our unharmed well-being.

8.3.10 Whether thou art Traikakuda or art called Yamunā — both thy names are auspicious; by both of them protect us, O Āñjana.

8.3.11 Into whatever limb by limb, joint by joint thou dost creep, O Āñjana — drive out the disease Yakṣma from that place, like the fierce serpent that strikes at the middle.

8.3.12 The surrounding attackers do not slay him; he does not fall among the fallen. Among men he does not die who carries thee, O Āñjana.

8.3.13 Knowing this, O Āñjana, I shall speak truly, not falsely. May I win the horse, the cow, the garment, and my own self, O thy man.

8.4.1 You who are a one-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.2 You who are a two-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.3 You who are a three-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.4 You who are a four-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.5 You who are a five-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.6 You who are a six-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.7 You who are a seven-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.8 You who are an eight-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.9 You who are a nine-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.10 You who are a ten-bull [potion], you are of releasing essence.

8.4.11 You who are without water [waterless], you are of releasing essence.

8.5.1 One and ten are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.2 Two and twenty are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.3 Three and thirty are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.4 Four and forty are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.5 Five and fifty are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.6 Six and sixty are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.7 Seven and seventy are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.8 Eight and eighty are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.9 Nine and ninety are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.10 Ten and a hundred are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.5.11 A hundred and a thousand are mine — O herb that repels adversaries! Truth-born, truth-protecting, may the honey-maker make you sweet.

8.6.1 You see hither, you see back, you see away, you see — heaven, the atmosphere, and earth: all that, O goddess, you behold.

8.6.2 The three heavens, the three earths, and these six great quarters — by you may I behold all sorcerers, O divine herb.

8.6.3 You are the pupil of that divine Suparṇa [the celestial eagle]; you have climbed up to earth like a weary bride carried in a vehicle.

8.6.4 Her has the thousand-eyed god placed in my right hand; by her I see all that has come to be and all that shall be.

8.6.5 As the four-eyed dog, as the dark horse among steeds, as fire facing in every direction — so are you, O herb.

8.6.6 You are the eye of Kaśyapa, the four-eyed one of Śuni; do not conceal from me the piśāca moving like the sun through the clear sky.

8.6.7 Show me the yātudhānas, show me the yātudhānīs; show me the kimīdin standing as though just bathed.

8.6.8 I have seized the all-protecting [herb] from the yātudhāna and the kimīdin; by it I see everything — both the Śūdra and the Ārya.

8.6.9 As the sun and moon behold all beings — so do you behold them; may the evil-living one not approach here.

8.6.10 He who flies through the atmosphere, he who crawls along the earth, he who regards heaven as his refuge — make that piśāca visible.

8.6.11 Reveal your forms; do not conceal yourself — for you, O thousand-eyed one, see [me] as I come toward you.

8.7.1 The mokṣeja, the toda, the tumala, those that dwell on the road, and the spotted ones — O herb, render powerless the venom of all these serpents.

8.7.2 Of the aśvakranda, the vaṇḍa, the pṛdāku, and the gonasa — O herb, render powerless the venom of all the white-patched ones as well.

8.7.3 Of the dyāṃpāta, the gavaka, and the snake with the godhā-striped back — make this whole breed of the black ones harmless; grant us freedom from harm.

8.7.4 This breed of the svaja serpents — make that of the brown ones powerless. You are the remedy for every brown serpent here; you are the corrupter of venom.

8.7.5 Let the trāyamāṇā herb speak out against all the kings among serpents — the tiraścirājin, the black ones, and those that lie in ambush.

8.7.6 With might she overpowers the sorcerers; with might, the sorceresses. The power that has overpowered all of you — I have seized hold of its name.

8.7.7 Together with Paidva's power and with my fierce utterance — the blind serpents, the sṛjaya snakes, the śaphaka, and the rathavra: leaping upon all of them together with force, she has made them all devoid of venom.

8.7.8 The yellow one that is a vidradha of the asita serpent, and whatever else is a vidradha — she who is the submerger of the vidradhas, the purifier: she crushed them all.

8.7.9 The blue-throated one among the svajas, the tawny one among the svajas as well — O herb Arundhatī, you crush the speckle-tailed one.

8.7.10 Let not this man bitten by the serpent die; may his father's venom not be his. For I am bringing him this herb, Arundhatī.

8.7.11 This whole breed of the pṛdāku serpents — render it powerless, O jīvala. You are Indra's dear plant; you are here the corrupter of venom.

8.8.1 A hundred flow hither, a hundred flow yonder; a hundred are the shafts of Vṛtra. From those — O waters, flow apart and away.

8.8.2 Fluttering through the mid-space, they were born forth from the cloud. Golden-hued are those waters — may they be beneficent to your heart.

8.8.3 Benign be they to your heart; benign to the regions of your heart; benign to your liver and lungs; and benign also to your inner parts.

8.8.4 Whatever you have trembled with in your limbs, whatever in the head, whatever in the joints of the back — may the waters cleanse all of that away, as a craftsman planes the broken part of a cart.

8.8.5 Let heart be joined with heart, let the lobes of the lung be joined with the lobes. Release the seized limb with the waters; may the radiance of my heel come together whole.

8.8.6 The divine waters coming down from the mountains, flowing forth from the gods — whatever man they reach today, that man shall suffer no harm.

8.8.7 Beneficent to you be the Himāvat waters; beneficent too be the spring-fed waters. Beneficent to you be the ever-flowing waters; and beneficent too be the rain-waters.

8.8.8 Beneficent to you be the desert waters; beneficent too be the marshy waters. Beneficent to you be the well-dug waters; and those brought in jars — may they too be beneficent.

8.8.9 Cloudless, digging their own way, inspired, deep in their flowing — more healing than healers: thus do we address the waters directly.

8.8.10 By the divine waters, by the stream-flowing waters — by the waters that cleanse: O horses, become strong and swift!

8.8.11 Those waters are auspicious waters — waters that make one free of disease. Just as there is refreshment when one thirsts, so too are those waters the foremost remedy for you.

8.9.1 The powers gathered together have brahman as their chief; brahman in the beginning stretched out the highest heaven. Among all beings brahman was born first — who then is worthy to contend against brahman?

8.9.2 These heaven and earth are brahman; these seven rivers are brahman; all these Ādityas are brahman; the gods attend upon brahman.

8.9.3 The brahmaṇa speaks brahman; into brahman the night retreats. That which belongs to Savitṛ̥ is born of brahman; through brahman Agni shines forth.

8.9.4 The plants come to rest in brahman; the rains rain down as brahman. All this that is endowed with self — as far as the sun surveys it — that is brahman.

8.9.5 The hotr̥ priest is brahman, the sacrifice is brahman; the oblation-sticks are measured by brahman. The adhvaryu is born of brahman; through brahman the oblation is poured out.

8.9.6 The ladling-spoons laden with ghee are brahman; the altar is raised up through brahman. The threads of the sacrifice are brahman — the officiating priests who have prepared the oblation.

8.9.7 The bull of auspicious seed is brahman; the cows that produce the oblation are brahman. That chariot of the divine one which conquers while adorned with its own sound — it too is brahman.

8.9.8 Through brahman the plow is drawn; through brahman the chariot is yoked. Through brahman the two-footed man does not falter as he walks.

8.9.9 The seers were born of brahman; the royal warriors too are of brahman. This universe is brahman; all that is born is of brahman; the food that will be revealed is of brahman.

8.9.10 The śūdras who serve the royal warriors are brahman; brahman also are those who tax them. Their auspicious dwelling-place is brahman; through brahman are their assembly-sitters.

8.9.11 The fishermen are brahman, the slaves are brahman; these gamblers too are brahman. Woman and man, both born of brahman; women are brahman, and the weavers as well.

8.9.12 Brahman on the heights, brahman in the valleys; brahman in the enclosed spaces — the forest trees, the mountains are brahman, the plants are brahman. Brahman has stretched out through all this, between both heaven and earth.

8.9.13 Brahman alone became the highest, O Jātaveda; the thunderbolt-wielder shattered the great demon sorcerer. May Bhava and Śarva, dispatched by Māyā, release their fiery weapon against him for his destruction.

8.10.1 Whatever honey the Aśvinā, lotus-garlanded, have poured into the plants, which the herbs carry — with that I anoint the head of this woman.

8.10.2 Whatever honeybee-honey the Aśvinā have gathered from the flower, whatever honey is in food and salt — with that [I anoint her head].

8.10.3 Whatever honey the Aśvinā have gathered in guggulu-resin, in collyrium, whatever honey is in this honey-jar — [with that I anoint her head].

8.10.4 Whatever honey the Aśvinā have in the eyes of cattle, whatever honey is in horses, whatever honey rests upon the surā as it is poured, upon the sweet mead — with that [I anoint her head].

8.10.5 Whatever radiance of cattle, whatever golden radiance, whatever radiance of elephants the Aśvinā hold — with that I anoint the head of this woman.

8.10.6 I make for you delight, I make exultation, I make pride. May the Aśvinā, lotus-garlanded, turn your good fortune toward you.

8.10.7 Radiance upon your teeth, O fair one; honey upon your tongue. Your face, with its two alluring eyes, is sweeter than sweet.

8.10.8 Cleave to your husband as the talāśa-creeper to a tree, as a vine to its support. You have seized the man — as a falcon seizes other birds.

8.10.9 I have fetched for you the water, the waters that bestow good fortune through anointing. Whatever radiance has departed from the aspect of your face — may the Aśvinā, lotus-garlanded, restore it to you.

8.10.10 I have anointed you with radiance together with celestial milk, so that you may be a devoted wife, sweeter than sweet to your brothers-in-law.

8.10.11 May Mitra and Varuṇa bestow prosperity upon you; may the goddess Sarasvatī bestow prosperity; may both the Aśvinā, lotus-garlanded, bestow prosperity upon you.

8.10.12 May king Varuṇa assign you a husband; may the god Bṛhaspati assign you a husband; may Indra and Agni assign you a husband; may Dhātṛ bestow a husband upon you.

8.11.1 The threshing-floor has four corners, and I am the center of the threshing-floor. I shall praise the four streams, the altar that causes humanity to prosper.

8.11.2 Seize upon that which is full of vigor, purify that which is full of abundance. Indra is the bearer who brings the seed to fullness; may Bhaga come as leader of the herd.

8.11.3 For Bhaga's two bullocks — the carriers of heaped grain — are yoked. Now, O Aśvinā, bring hither the sweet essence of the earth.

8.11.4 Covered over, surrounded by grain, pervading and lordly — the threshing-floor is born as the sustainer of humankind, the clarified butter of the gods.

8.11.5 The winnowing-sieves were the purifying ladles; the sickles were the encircling faggots; the husbandmen were the hotṛ-priests; the seed-giver was the lord of the oblation.

8.11.6 Here, O Indra, release both your full fists; here may goodwill be fulfilled. Those Gandharvā who feed on oblations — may they bring abundance here.

8.11.7 O far-seer, O discerning one, O iḍuka — bring the ripe grain! May the Gandharvā, lords of all existence, bring abundance to the threshing-floor and true words of blessing here.

8.11.8 From behind and from before, from the north and from below as well — O Indra, lord of riches, bring abundance here to the threshing-floor.

8.11.9 Indra has filled the threshing-floor here with great abundance, has breathed it full, has filled it up. May all the gods give me abundance; may Soma give abundance, and Bhaga.

8.11.10 May abundance be in my hands; may abundance be wherever I begin. Fill this up with a hundred hands, as if from the middle of the ocean.

8.11.11 Bring it here to me in abundance just as I desire. May this swell up as if three elephants together were swelling here.

8.12.1 May Mitra and Varuṇa make you sweet, O surā; may the goddess Sarasvatī make you sweet; may the Aśvinā, lotus-garlanded, make you sweet.

8.12.2 The surā that the saudhanvanā — all the gods and the Marut-hosts — have poured out, the surā that the Aśvinā have poured — may that surā flow abundantly.

8.12.3 Become sweeter than the sweet; become more honeyed than honey. As this is the she-spotted-deer of the spotted deer, so become you, O fair one.

8.12.4 That which is born from cloud, born from rain, born also from around heaven, born also from the ocean — may that become the splitting-vessel of the surā.

8.12.5 By birth you are called Nāḍī — be the splitting-vessel of the surā. For your companion was the blessed tree, the sweet vikaṅkata.

8.12.6 The asura Aurdhvanabhas first fashioned you, O surā. In the house of the dāsa they made the head and the blindness of you, O surā.

8.12.7 From the kaśīkā pour out the little blossom; pour out the surā from the stream as well. Come forth, O you rich in sustenance — what do you seek among the aṅkati-vessels?

8.12.8 These your kinsmen sit here, deep-natured and bold. O divine surā, flow around, gladdening each and every person.

8.12.9 She from whose vessel people receive cattle, horses, grain, and wealth — may that surā flow abundantly.

8.12.10 Those waters flowing down from the mountains, digging their way, free of clouds — those whose dwelling-place is in the ocean, those who have no resting-place — may they give you the bubbling forth.

8.12.11 Upward and northward may this surā rise — the one we long for in our heart. May Bhaga give it to me, may the Aśvinā give it to me, may Sarasvatī vouchsafe it to me.

8.12.12 May this divine mayūlaśa-plant grant the splitting of the surā. Brought from the mountains through confluence and outpouring — may the brain in the midst of the hundred flow out like a bull making water.

8.13.1 From the ocean a honey-sweet wave has risen up; in silence it has reached to immortality. The secret name of ghee that exists — it is the tongue of the gods, the navel of immortality.

8.13.2 We shall proclaim the name of ghee; at this sacrifice we sustain it with reverences. Let the brahman hear it as it is chanted: the four-horned wild bull lowed it forth.

8.13.3 Four are his horns, three are his feet, two are his heads, seven are his hands. Thrice-bound, the bull bellows aloud; the great god has entered into mortals.

8.13.4 Placed in three parts, hidden away by the Paṇis, the gods found the ghee within the cow. One part Indra engendered, one part Sūrya; one part they fashioned out by inspiration through the power of Svadhā.

8.13.5 These flow forth from the heart, from the inner ocean, possessed of a hundred enclosures — the enemy does not perceive them. I behold the streams of ghee; golden is the reed-grass in their midst.

8.13.6 They flow together aright like rivers, like milk-cows, purified inwardly by heart and mind. These waves of ghee rush forth like deer driven forward by the bowstring.

8.13.7 Like the roar that precedes the Sindhu, their rushing voices — the great ones fly like a wind that sweeps away. The stream of ghee, like a red prize-horse splitting the courses, swells with its waves.

8.13.8 Like fair women going to a tryst, radiant and smiling, they flow toward Agni. The streams of ghee rush to the kindling-sticks; delighting in them, Jātavedas rejoices.

8.13.9 I behold them, adorning themselves like maidens going to a wedding, anointing themselves. Where Soma is pressed, where the sacrifice is performed — toward that the streams of ghee flow clear.

8.13.10 Rush forward to the praise, to the contest for cattle; place auspicious treasures in us. Lead this sacrifice, O deities — the streams of ghee flow forth sweet as honey.

8.13.11 Upon your abode all existence is established — in the inner ocean, within the heart, within life. That wave of yours, sweet as honey, which has been brought from the face of the waters, from the confluence — may we attain it.

8.14.1 Two of differing form wander, each seeking its own goal; each in turn suckles the calf. In one he appears tawny, self-sustaining; in the other he is seen white, of brilliant radiance.

8.14.2 Ten young women, unwearied, who carry the embryo of Tvaṣṭṛ, lead it round — it of sharp edge, self-resplendent among peoples, shining brightly.

8.14.3 They adorn three of his births — one in the ocean, one in the sky, one in the waters. Following the eastward direction of earthly beings, he ruled the seasons and distributed them in due order.

8.14.4 Who among you has comprehended this secret? The calf has begotten the mothers through inherent powers. The embryo of the many active waters, resting in their lap — the great seer moves forth, self-sustaining.

8.14.5 Possessing them, the beautiful one grows — upright in the lap of the crooked ones, in the self-sustained. Both, fearing the one being born of Tvaṣṭṛ, facing westward, welcome the lion.

8.14.6 Both auspicious ones take pleasure in him, not proudly; neither the cows nor the calves stood near them with their tracks. He became the lord of the wise among the wise; they anoint him from the south with oblations.

8.14.7 He stretches both arms upward like Savitṛ, the terrible one straining at both flanks. He shoots up a bright garment from himself; he sheds the new garments from the mothers.

8.14.8 He makes a brilliant, supreme form when he mingles his dwelling with rays of light and waters. The seer-vision cleanses the foundation thoroughly; that has become the gathering of the divine host.

8.14.9 Broadly your course goes around the foundation, the brightly shining abode of the great bull. O Agni, kindled by all self-resplendent ones, guard us with your undeceivable guardians.

8.14.10 He makes the desert a stream, a path, a wave; with bright waves he reaches the earth. He bears all prizes within his womb; he moves within the newly delivered mothers.

8.14.11 Thus, O Agni, growing through the kindling-sticks, shine brilliantly upon us, O purifier, with splendor. May Mitra and Varuṇa magnify that for us, Aditi, Sindhu, Earth, and Heaven.

8.15.1 He who is of the lineage of Jamadagni here, he who is a Kauśika, he who is of the lineage of Atri, and he who is a Kaśyapa — the Bharadvājas, Gotamas, and those who are Vasiṣṭhas — to them we here declare the transgressions.

8.15.2 The Agastyas, Kaṇvas, Kutsas, Prasravaṇas, Virūpas, Gargas, Mudgalas, Yaskas, Śūnakas — the Saṃkṛtis, all brāhmaṇas who have not been wronged — to them we here declare the transgressions.

8.15.3 He who does not rise to help a brāhmaṇa in distress, whether through sloth, pride, or stubbornness — all the Viśve Devās are witnesses against him; may the guilt, the poison, converge upon him.

8.15.4 Whatever festering wounds of guilt belong to a brāhmaṇa, whatever evil deeds done in many ways — he who follows along when instructed places them within himself; thus the gods also cause them to lodge in him.

8.15.5 He shall not eat, shall not drink, shall not lie down, shall not kiss wife nor son — one instructed in brahman-guilt should simply rise up and stand; that is the path of cosmic order.

8.15.6 The middling great seers of the hundred-versed hymns, and whatever progeny of the lesser hymns is here — the births of the seers that we know — to them we here declare the transgressions.

8.15.7 Of the fifteen hundreds of brothers, thirty-three gods arose as pupils. When one was pierced, all were wounded; they found that guilt resting upon the brāhmaṇa.

8.15.8 He who did not bring this, he who did not rise, he who did not speak up in this matter — he acts treacherously against that brāhmaṇa; he who, though the brāhmaṇa was in distress, sought brotherhood among brāhmaṇas.

8.15.9 Rise up, O brāhmaṇas, speak together; let us demand back what was won — may it all return. May Indra and Agni, may all the Viśve Devās turn what was won back to me again.

8.15.10 He secures long life; he attends to progeny — the brāhmaṇa who, himself a brāhmaṇa, when called follows in the matter of guilt.

8.15.11 Neither Śarva smites his progeny, nor Rudra smites it, nor the thunderbolt — he, the brāhmaṇa, who truthfully speaks in the matter of a brāhmaṇa's guilt.

8.15.12 The drinking of Soma delights him, the one who sees into men, together with the pressing-stones — he who stripped away the darkness from the standing heart of a brāhmaṇa as the sun strips away darkness.

8.15.13 He who, rising up in the matter of a brāhmaṇa's guilt, departs seeking food — let both Heaven and Earth scorch him; then let him go the path of one who has not gone.

8.16.1 Those ninety-nine that have mounted along the flanks — let them all perish from here, driven off by me, the knower of putthajñī.

8.16.2 Those seventy-seven that have mounted along the flanks — let them all perish from here, driven off by me, the knower of putthajñī.

8.16.3 Those fifty-five that have mounted along the flanks — let them all perish from here, driven off by me, the knower of putthajñī.

8.16.4 From your thighs, from your knee-joints, from your heels and buttocks — we crush the putthajñī as a woman's paramour.

8.16.5 Her who has crept into the thickets, the harmful, wicked one, the trembling one — that demoness who is the slave of the dasyus: burn her away, O Cukākaṇi.

8.16.6 She who creeps into the birth-chamber of women, into the hollows — that demoness who is the slave of the dasyus: burn her away, O Cukākaṇi.

8.16.7 Fall away now, O needle-pipe of suṣa, like the kuṣīṭaka worm — I shall burn sharply at your palate; you shall perish, O putthagī.

8.16.8 When her palate shall burn and when her head shall burn with fire — then shall this slave of the dasyus, this putthagī, dissolve utterly.

8.16.9 For a full year you roamed, O prataṅkinī, from among the asuras — where the field emits its foul smell, there is this, your lurking-place.

8.16.10 This is not your mother's abode; this is not your lurking-place — this has been made by the gods as a place of procreation for our heroes.

8.16.11 Your stone-child is on the mountain, your water among the Himāvats — leaping thither, dance, O putthagī, among the herds of goats.

8.16.12 May you be surpassed by cattle, horses, and offspring — by the one who sent me there where they live in prosperity.

8.17.1 Mitra has ascended from the earth; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.2 Vāyu has ascended through the atmosphere; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.3 Sūrya has ascended from the sky; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.4 Candramā has ascended with the nakṣatras; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.5 Soma has ascended with the herbs; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.6 The sacrifice has ascended with the dakṣiṇās; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.7 The ocean has ascended with the rivers; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.8 Brahman has ascended with the brahmacārins; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.9 Indra has ascended with heroic might; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.10 The gods have ascended with amṛta; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.17.11 Prajāpati has ascended with his progeny; I lead that stronghold forth to you — enter it, advance into it; may it grant you shelter and armor.

8.18.1 Joining and drawing out, when the gods spoke the blessing over you — that true blessing: bring it to fulfillment for these, O Indra, here on the threshing-floor.

8.18.2 May the oxen of true strength make the plough respond to my word — where I have set this down for your benefit, may Parjanya rain down upon you.

8.18.3 May the celestial, mighty waters flow out for you along the hollow — rich in vigor, rich in ghee, rich in milk: be visible, do not be hidden.

8.18.4 Rise up, O bearer of strength, with vessel full and blazing splendor — flowing freely, guarded by Pūṣan: fill the desire of these to the brim.

8.18.5 May this furrow, fruit-bearing and hundred-branched, spread forth and grow — this one of thousandfold enjoyment: may Indra give it his aid.

8.18.6 May the Aśvins make the plough-share ready; may Bṛhaspati lend aid — so that it may be rich in grain, free from disease, rich in men.

8.18.7 What the gods spoke over you — "may it be more abundant here" — that divine fullness we here invoke.

8.18.8 "May this fill me up" — so it is said; "may prosperity fill me up" — so it is said; "may it increase my heap" — so it is said.

8.18.9 Maker of prosperity, maker of abundance — this one, the fat-lipped, inexhaustible: the threshing-floor, the eldest, the all-pervading, the sovereign.

8.18.10 In it grain is sown — barley, rice, and sesame too — take from it what has been made: four hundred for distribution.

8.18.11 Whatever is heaped like gravel, heaped like sand, piled in the wheel-shape, O bull — all that prosperity, as it comes in, overflows entirely.

8.18.12 Strike down the great darkness; set in motion a thousandfold nourishment — be abundant for us, O herb, like the confluence of the ocean.

8.19.1 From clarified butter the goat came into being; from the quarters these rice-porridges arose. Bṛhaspati beheld them — he it was who became the five-porridge sacrifice.

8.19.2 Gather these porridges together in fourfold fashion, O Bṛhaspati. The goat, born from clarified butter, became the fifth among them.

8.19.3 By its smoke it reaches heaven; by its heat it reaches the atmosphere; by its glow it reaches the quarters — this goat, the five-porridge sacrifice.

8.19.4 Your mother, your father, your brothers, and those who are your own — let them all live upon it, having cooked the goat as the five-porridge offering.

8.19.5 Those of your forebears who have gone beyond, and those who are the more recent fathers — let a stream of clarified butter flow to them, hundredfold, flooding everywhere.

8.19.6 Those who always give, or those who cook the rice-porridge — they indeed dwell in a world higher than the realm of Yama.

8.19.7 The Atirātra does not attain it; the Ukthya does not attain it; nor does the Agniṣṭoma attain the goat, the five-porridge sacrifice.

8.19.8 It is measured equal to the Daśarātra; it is reckoned equivalent to the Dvādaśāha; the goat, the five-porridge sacrifice, is measured equal to the Dīrghasattra.

8.19.9 All that is lost from the sacrificial grass, all that perishes, all that a thief drives away — for those whose rite is the five-porridge sacrifice, it is restored in full.

8.19.10 She who, having known a first husband, then finds another — those two, cooking the goat as the five-porridge offering, shall not be separated.

8.19.11 The later husband of a twice-wed woman comes to share the same world with her, giving the goat as the five-porridge offering with the southern light.

8.20.1 May the Sun sprinkle me with radiance; may both the Aśvins sprinkle me. The Āditya rising high aloft — may he too sprinkle me with radiance.

8.20.2 May Agni, the father's fire, anoint me with radiance; may Bṛhaspati anoint me with radiance. With the radiance of surā as it is poured, with the brilliance of sweet drink, may both the Aśvins, wreathed in lotus, sprinkle me.

8.20.3 Let my face be possessed of radiance, glowing and victorious over all. I make myself golden-bright, beloved in the sight of those who behold.

8.20.4 Sweeter than sweetness am I; dripping with honey, I overflow with honey. Let radiance enter into me as a bull enters the lowing cow.

8.20.5 This ointment I anoint upon myself, calling aloud with radiance. So may I move about calling aloud, endowed with radiance and with good fortune.

8.20.6 With radiance they establish Agni; with radiance the Sun rises. As great as the radiance of cattle and gold — so great may my radiance become.

8.20.7 As far as you, O divine Sun, look out upon the world as you rise — look upon me with that same radiance.

8.20.8 Having become full of Bhaga's bounty, I have mounted the chariot of radiance. May it carry me always — long-lived and of splendid brilliance.

8.20.9 I am clothed about with Bhaga's bounty, with radiance, and with wealth, so that I may ever move glowing, brilliant like the sun.

8.20.10 Thus let Bhaga's bounty come to me; thus let radiance come to me; thus let fiery energy come to me; thus let renown come to me.

8.20.11 With a golden wheel the house of Bhaga is covered over. I open it with sacred utterance — may that be granted to me by the Aśvins, granted to me by the lotus-wreathed ones.