Kāṇḍa 17
Ancient Anonymous (Vedic) Sanskrit17.1.1 Truth, the vast, cosmic order fierce, consecration, austerity, sacred knowledge, and sacrifice — these uphold the Earth. She, the mistress of what has been and what shall be, may Earth make a wide world for us, unobstructed, in the midst of humankind.
17.1.2 She who bears the upland slopes, the plains, and the level stretches, the many-powered herbs — may Earth spread wide for us, may she prosper us.
17.1.3 She in whom the ocean, the river, and the waters dwell; she in whom the gods discovered the untruth; she who sustains in manifold ways the living breath that stirs — may that Earth bestow upon us cattle, horses, and food.
17.1.4 She upon whom the ancestors of old moved about; she upon whom the gods turned back the asuras; she in whom all this living, stirring universe dwells — may that Earth grant us the first draft of life.
17.1.5 She in whom the four directions of Earth exist; she in whom food and cultivated peoples arose — the station of cattle, horses, and birds — may Earth grant us fortune and vital radiance.
17.1.6 The all-sustaining, wealth-holding, steady foundation, golden-breasted resting place of the world — bearing Vaiśvānara, the universal fire, Earth, whose bull is Indra, may she bestow wealth upon us.
17.1.7 She on whom the gathering waters flow in their rounds, pouring day and night without ceasing — may that Earth, abundant-streamed, milk nourishment for us, and also sprinkle us with vital radiance.
17.1.8 She whom the gods guard, ever-wakeful, at all times, the Earth, the wide one, without negligence — may she milk sweet, dear nourishment for us, and also sprinkle us with vital radiance.
17.1.9 She who was the primordial waters above the ocean; whom the wise have traced through their visionary powers; she whose heart, in the highest sky, is wrapped in truth, the immortal essence of Earth — may that Earth place brilliance and strength in my realm for me.
17.1.10 She whom the two Aśvins measured out, upon whom Viṣṇu strode; she whom Indra, lord of power, made enemy-free for himself — may that Earth release milk for us as a mother for her son.
17.2.1 Your hills, your mountains, your snow-bearing ranges, your forests, O Earth — may it be gentle for us. I stand upon the tawny, black, reddish, all-formed, firm Earth, protected by Indra — unconquered, unslain, unwounded, I take my stand upon the Earth.
17.2.2 What is your center, O Earth, what is your navel, and those bodily energies that have arisen from you — set us there, purify us.
17.2.3 Earth is the mother, I am the son of Earth; Parjanya is the father — may he fill us with nourishment.
17.2.4 She on whose surface they set up the altar, on whom the all-skilled ones spread out the sacrifice; she on whose surface the wooden stakes are measured out, and the bright oblations ascend before — may that growing Earth increase us.
17.2.5 Whoever hates us, O Earth, whoever attacks us, whoever with his mind intends to slay us — deliver that one to us, O Earth, as you have done in former times.
17.2.6 Born from you, mortals move about on you; you sustain the two-footed and the four-footed. In you, O Earth, are these five races of humans, for whom the rising sun stretches out the immortal light with its rays to mortal beings.
17.2.7 May all those offspring be milked for us completely; O Earth, place the sweetness of speech in me.
17.2.8 The mother of all, of herbs, the firm Earth, the wide one, held firm by cosmic law — may we ever walk in her, benign and gentle, all our days.
17.2.9 Great is your assembly place; you have become great; great is the speed, your trembling, your quaking. Great Indra guards you with his might — O Earth, make us glorious in sight, as though shining with gold.
17.2.10 Fire is in the Earth, fire is in the herbs; the waters carry fire, fire is in the stones. Fire is within human beings; fires are in cattle and horses.
17.3.1 Fire blazes from the sky; from divine Fire comes the broad atmosphere. Mortals kindle Fire, the carrier of oblations, the lover of clarified butter.
17.3.2 Earth, the abode of fire, dark-kneed — may she not make me shrunken, wasted, or without brilliance. On the Earth they pour out the sacrifice, the duly prepared oblation, for the gods. On the Earth mortals live, sustained by food according to their nature. May that Earth grant us breath and long life; may Earth not make us bitten by old age.
17.3.3 That fragrance of yours, O Earth, which has arisen, which the herbs carry, which the waters carry, which the gandharvas and apsarases have shared, which befits a cow and a horse — with that make us fragrant; let no one hate us.
17.3.4 That fragrance of yours which entered the lotus, which was gathered at the wedding of Sūryā — the immortals, O Earth, took the fragrance first. With that make us fragrant; let no one hate us.
17.3.5 That lustre and splendor of yours, O Earth, which is in men and in women, which is in brides and in bridegrooms, which is in cattle and horses, in wild beasts, and in elephants — that vital radiance which is in a maiden, O Earth — with that unite us; let no one hate us.
17.3.6 Rock, Earth, stone, sand — the Earth that has been gathered together and held firm; she on whose surface the forest trees stand firm forever — to that golden-breasted, steadily held Earth we address our words.
17.3.7 Rising, sitting, standing, walking about — may we not stumble upon the Earth with our right and left feet.
17.3.8 I address the wide Earth, the patient Earth, the ground swelling with sacred power, bearing vigor, nourishment, and a share of food — upon you, O Earth, upon clarified butter, I take my seat.
17.3.9 May pure waters flow over my body; whoever my foe is in what is not dear to me, him I lay low. With the purifying strainer I purify the Earth.
17.3.10 Bearing treasures in many hidden places — gems, gold — may Earth bestow wealth on us. The goddess, wealth-giving, graciously bestowing, of good mind, may she grant us riches.
17.4.1 O Earth, may your eastern directions, your northern ones, those below you and those behind — may they all be pleasant for me as I travel; may I not fall in the world wherein I take my dwelling.
17.4.2 Push me not from behind, push me not from the front — O Earth, grant me well-being and breadth; drive away slaughter; let those who lie in ambush not find me.
17.4.3 As far as I look upon you, O Earth, with the shining sun, so long may my sight not be extinguished — year after year, ever higher.
17.4.4 Whatever I dig from you, O Earth, as a medicinal herb — may that grow back again; may I not pierce your vital parts, O one whom many search; may I not wound your heart.
17.4.5 When lying down I turn upon my right or my left side, O Earth; when we stretch out on our backs, lying facing you with our spines — do not harm us then, O Earth, you who bestow healing on all things.
17.4.6 Summer is yours, O Earth, and the rains, autumn, early winter, the cold season, and spring — your seasons are ordained year by year; may Earth with day and night yield nourishment to us.
17.4.7 She who drives away the serpent and searches out all things, in whom the fires dwell within the waters — she who drives off the Dasyus who scoff at the gods, Earth who chose Indra as Vṛtra did not choose him, bearing him up for the mighty, the virile bull — may he point us toward the wealth from the Earth that we desire.
17.4.8 May Bhaga set things in motion; may Indra go as the leader of the herd; she upon whom stand the sacrificial hall and the offering-shed, upon whom the post is fixed, upon whom the brahmins chant with Ṛgvedic hymns, those who know the Yajurveda with Sāman, upon whom the ritual priests are yoked to press soma for Indra to drink — may that Earth, well-disposed, place us graciously on the southern side at the sacrifice.
17.4.9 She upon whom the ancient world-making seers sang forth the cows, the seven wise ones together through sacrifice, ascetic rite, and the extended soma session — may she bestow on us cattle of every kind; may Savitṛ grant me long life.
17.4.10 She upon whom are food, rice, and barley, upon whom these five peoples dwell — to Earth, whose lord is Parjanya, let there be homage; let rain increase.
17.5.1 She upon whom mortals, the people of the village settlements, sing and dance; upon whom the battle-cry is raised, upon whom the war-drum sounds — may that Earth drive away our rivals; may she bring low the one who hates us.
17.5.2 She upon whom the divine-built cities stand, upon whose field they display their power — may Prajāpati make this Earth, who bears all creatures in her womb, delightful for us in every direction.
17.5.3 Earth bearing in many ways a people of diverse speech and diverse customs, each as if at home — like a steady cow that does not kick, may she yield us a thousand streams of wealth.
17.5.4 Whatever serpent, scorpion, sharp-fanged, frost-roused, buzzing worm lies in a crevice — the worm that stirs in the swampy ground in the rainy season, O Earth — may that crawler not creep upon us; and whatever is auspicious in it, with that be gracious to us.
17.5.5 Your roads that lead people in many directions, the track of the chariot, and the paths along which the mind travels — upon which both the good and the wicked walk — may we conquer on that path, free from foes, free from thieves.
17.5.6 Bearing the sluggish (or the soft?), heavy-bearing, enduring the dissolution of both good and evil — Earth, in accord with the boar, opens herself wide for the wild boar.
17.5.7 Your forest-dwelling animals, the beasts set loose in the woods, lions and tigers that roam man-eating — O Earth, drive away from here the hyena, the wolf, the evil omen, the she-bear, and the demon.
17.5.8 Gandharvas and Apsarases, those who wander about, the kimīdins — Piśācas, all the Rakṣasas — O Earth, drive all of them away from us.
17.5.9 She to whom winged two-footed creatures fly — swans, eagles, birds, and fowl; upon whom the wind, Mātariśvan, moves, raising dust-clouds and shaking the trees; the flame that blows along the forward and the inward current of the wind — she upon whom the black and the red are gathered together, upon whom day and night are ordained, spread out over the Earth.
17.5.10 Earth, enveloped and re-enveloped by the rain — may she sustain us with blessing in each beloved dwelling-place and resting-place.
17.6.1 Sky and Earth — this expanse — and the midspace have given me room; Fire, the Sun, the Waters, and all the gods together have bestowed wisdom upon me.
17.6.2 I am the prevailing one, named the Higher, here on Earth; I am the overpowerer, the all-conqueror, ever victorious in every direction.
17.6.3 O goddess, when you first spread out there in front, sent forth by the gods, you pervaded greatness — well-being entered into you at that very moment; you arranged the four directions.
17.6.4 In the villages, in the wildernesses, in the assembly halls that are upon the Earth — among them, O goddess Earth, may I rise up with honey-sweet speech.
17.6.5 What I speak, may I speak it sweetly; what I see, may the soma-pressers purify me; I am lustrous, I am impelled — those whom I strike down are the agitators.
17.6.6 Like a horse she has milked the dust — she scattered that people who oppressed the Earth when she was born; the gracious one, guardian of the world, embracing the forest trees and the herbs.
17.6.7 Peaceful, fragrant, pleasant, her udder filled with sweet drink, milk-laden — may Earth speak over us; may the Earth speak together with her milk.
17.6.8 O Mother Earth, set me down well-established in blessing; you who are in accord with Heaven — set me in splendor, in prosperity.
17.6.9 She whom Viśvakarmā sought out with an oblation, in whom the fires dwell within the waters — the vessel of enjoyment was laid hidden in a secret place; it became manifest with its riches, possessed of motherly powers.
17.6.10 You are the scattering-ground of peoples, Aditi, yielding all desires, of all forms; whatever is deficient in you, Prajāpati, in accord with his creatures, fills that up for you.
17.7.1 In which limb does his austerity abide? In which limb is his cosmic order established? Where do his vow and his faith stand? In which limb is his truth firmly founded?
17.7.2 Where is the sacred power, where do the waters stand? In which limb are the directions established? Along which limb do day and night, in mutual accord, move together as one?
17.7.3 In which limb does his earth stand? In which limb does the atmosphere stand? In which limb is heaven set in place? In which limb stands what is beyond the sky?
17.7.4 From which limb does his fire blaze? From which limb does Mātariśvan blow? From which limb does the moon measure out, measuring the great limb of the Pillar?
17.7.5 Striving to reach where does fire blaze upward? Striving to reach where does Mātariśvan blow? Where do the encompassing forces approach in their striving? Tell us that Pillar — which one precisely is it?
17.7.6 Striving to reach where do the two young women of different forms, day and night, run in mutual accord? Where do the waters approach in their striving? — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.7.7 Where do the fortnights go? Where do the months go, in accord together with the year? Where the seasons go, where the seasonal moments go — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.7.8 He upon whose branches Prajāpati upheld all the worlds — tell us that Pillar, which one precisely is it?
17.7.9 What is the highest, what is the lowest, and what is the middle, all-formed — which Prajāpati created — how far did the Pillar enter there? What did not enter it, where did that come to be?
17.7.10 How far did the Pillar enter into what has come to be? How much of what is yet to be lies latent within it? The one limb that it made thousandfold — how far did the Pillar enter there?
17.8.1 Where the worlds and the treasuries are, where people know the sacred power to be, where non-being and being are within — tell us that Pillar, which one precisely is it?
17.8.2 Where austerity, having gone forth beyond, holds up the higher cosmic order; where vow and faith, sacred power and the waters are gathered together — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.8.3 In which earth, atmosphere, and heaven are set aloft; where fire, the moon, the sun, and wind stand fixed in place — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.8.4 He in whose limb all thirty-three gods are gathered together — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.8.5 Where the seers who brought things into being, the Ṛc verses, the Sāman, the Yajus, and the great earth — the solitary seer in whom they are all fixed — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.8.6 Whose four directions stand as arteries stretched to their reach; in whom sacrifice has gone forth beyond — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.8.7 Where immortality and death and the Person are gathered together; whose arteries are the ocean — tell us that Pillar, which one precisely is it?
17.8.8 Those who know the sacred power in the Person, they truly know the Pillar. He who knows Parameṣṭhin, and he who knows Prajāpati — those who know the eldest Brahman, they truly know the Pillar.
17.8.9 Whose head is Vaiśvānara, whose eyes the Aṅgirases became; whose limbs are the demonic forces — tell us that Pillar, which one precisely is it?
17.8.10 Whose mouth they call the sacred word, and whose tongue the honey-whip; whose udder they call the Virāj — [that Pillar, tell us which one precisely it is].
17.9.1 From whom they carved the Ṛc verses, from whom they scraped out the Yajus; whose body-hairs are the metres — tell us that Pillar, which one precisely is it?
17.9.2 People know the branch of non-being as if it were the highest support; yet those of lesser insight who worship his branch consider it to be being.
17.9.3 Where the Ādityas, the Rudras, and the Vasus are gathered together — tell us that Pillar, which one precisely is it?
17.9.4 Whose treasure the thirty-three gods always guard — who today knows that treasure which the gods protect?
17.9.5 Where the gods who know the sacred power worship the eldest Brahman — he who truly knows that Brahman, the knowers of Brahman know him.
17.9.6 Those gods named the Bṛhant ones were born from non-being; that one limb of the Pillar, further-knowing people call non-being.
17.9.7 Where the Pillar, bringing forth, set the ancient tradition in motion — that one limb of the Pillar those who follow the ancient way truly know.
17.9.8 Where the thirty-three gods took their portions as limbs and body-parts — those very thirty-three gods certain knowers of the sacred power truly know.
17.9.9 People know the Golden Embryo as the supreme, as the unexcellable risen one; the Pillar poured out that golden light in the beginning, within the world.
17.9.10 In the Pillar are the worlds; in the Pillar is austerity; upon the Pillar is cosmic order established. We know you, the Pillar, directly — in Indra all is gathered together.
17.10.1 In Indra are the worlds, in Indra is heat, in Indra is cosmic order established. We know you as Indra directly — in the Skambha all is gathered together.
17.10.2 I call out name by name, before the sun, before the dawn. That which first came into being — together with it, sovereignty departed; beyond that there is no being whatsoever.
17.10.3 He whose measure is the earth, whose belly is the atmosphere — who made heaven his head — to that greatest Brahman, homage.
17.10.4 He whose eye is the sun and whose moon is ever renewed — who made fire his mouth — to that greatest Brahman, homage.
17.10.5 He whose in-breath and out-breath is the wind, whose eyes became the Aṅgirases — who made the directions his cognizing faculty — to that greatest Brahman, homage.
17.10.6 He who was born from toil and austerity and pervaded all the worlds — who made Soma his alone — to that greatest Brahman, homage.
17.10.7 The Skambha upheld the earth and yonder heaven; the Skambha upheld the vast atmosphere. The Skambha upheld the six broad directions; the Skambha entered into this entire world of beings.
17.10.8 Why does the wind never cease? Why does the mind not rest? Why do the waters, ever seeking truth, keep moving on forever?
17.10.9 A great Yakṣa in the midst of the world, suffused with austerity upon the surface of the waters — upon it all the gods whatsoever take their refuge, like branches around the trunk of a tree.
17.10.10 He to whom with both hands and both feet, with voice, with hearing, with sight — to whom the gods ever offer tribute, the bounded to the boundless — tell me of that Skambha: who indeed is he?
17.11.1 From him darkness has been struck away; he has turned back from evil. All three lights that exist in Prajāpati — all are in him.
17.11.2 He who knows the golden reed standing in the waters — that one is truly the hidden Prajāpati.
17.11.3 No one surpasses Prajāpati, no one surpasses Parameṣṭhin. And yet there too our attention was turned, where the eldest passed beyond the beyond.
17.11.4 That truly exists beyond the earth; that truly exists beyond the sky. The worlds are strung upon it, and upon it these creatures are woven.
17.12.1 You who lick inside the pot, O ill-looking seeker of misplaced things — O Uruṇḍa, O Abhicaṅkrama, O Vakmaka, O Bastavāsini — we know all your names together, O she-demons. As many as are born among you, so many shall perish from here, O Sadānvāḥ.
17.12.2 Karṇa, Dṛṣadrathāmahā, Urukī, Keśinī, Kraku, Khaḍurī, Ambarīṣyā — we destroy these Sadānvāḥ she-demons.
17.12.3 Paṇḍugirā, Phāladatī, she who swallows without proper incantation — all of you we declare harmful; perish from here, O Sadānvāḥ.
17.12.4 Those she-demons who devour one who is lying down, who seek by night the sick man, and who lick from the mouth and hand of a sleeping person — accustomed to gnawing with their teeth — those we drive away from here.
17.12.5 The Sadānvāḥ she-demons who come flying and scattering, smelling of goat — I will pierce them with the Bhaṇvā sword, as a bull with sharp horns.
17.12.6 O Sadānvāḥ, O progeny of Sādānvī — both women and men together. With strength, powerfully, with might, I crush and smite the Rakṣasas.
17.12.7 The four-fanged ones, the jar-testicled ones, the long-haired ones, the blood-faced ones, those smelling of bottle-gourd, the rats — ill-named ones, we destroy you.
17.12.8 Born in the thicket, upon the tender one who weeps and wails from you — all of you ill-named ones together with your offspring, we destroy, O Sadānvāḥ.
17.12.9 Those whose offspring cry out within the clefts, and who blaze in the forest, who lie down upon the trees — [the remainder of the verse is lost in the manuscript].
17.12.10 Those who roam when storm-clouds rise, along with rain and lightning, who quickly seek out dwellings — all of you ill-named ones together with your offspring, we destroy, O Sadānvāḥ.
17.13.1 Those [demon-women] who arise from grain, from a field that has been sown, from what has been threshed — the fierce ones that attack what has been done, let those sadānvāḥ perish from here.
17.13.2 Those [women-demons] who take human form, who always have an evil stench, ever rough, with scattered feet — drive them away with the thunderbolt, expel them, O lord of Śacī!
17.13.3 Rise up! Run away! There is no shelter for you here. Indra will shatter together all your embryos and eggs at once.
17.13.4 Indra, strike down the thick-shelled one; crush the ill-fated kuha; the greed-demon, the one reeking of dung-smoke — we destroy these sadānvāḥ.
17.13.5 Why do they brew the naked-caller and the goat-snatcher who slays? The sharp-prodding viṭiṭiṅga-demons — we destroy those sadānvāḥ.
17.13.6 You bhaṇva-sadānvā demons subdue whose brew? Make the broth bitter! And when you are sated with the liquor — then you urinate out the surā.
17.13.7 After drinking of her [brew], one vomits and then lies down with a splitting head-pain. Those that corrupt the shared meal — we destroy those sadānvāḥ.
17.13.8 Let the foul-smelling dung-smoke demons go quickly to the trees! And let the evil-hearted arāyī-goblins stroke the house [to their ruin].
17.13.9 Among those [demons]: the solitary lurker, the bent-horned one, the forest-screamer, the sole laugher, the chattering one — all your names together, O bhaṇvā-demons, we know them. As many as have been born among you, let that many perish from here, O sadānvāḥ.
17.13.10 I drive forward the herb endowed with power, this victorious [plant] that overcomes poison, the herb that slays the sadānvāḥ — we speak it forth for victory.
17.14.1 O ill-seen one, terrible-eyed, naked bhaṇvā, sadānvā — the rushing, blazing, pure fire [is here] — what do you want here, arāyī? Do not come near my smoke! I press you down, O sadānvā.
17.14.2 The solitary heron-like one, the solitary digger — what do they seek, lurking by the fire? The ill-named arāyī-demons that wander at night seeking women in childbed — we drive those away from here.
17.14.3 The boaster, the fire-croucher, the dancing one full of restless curiosity, the granary-haunter, the chariot-breaker, the three-humped ones born from the threshing floor — we drive those away from here.
17.14.4 Those disheveled, maddened, broad-chested, terrible-eyed ones — some sit as if stretching out the heads of others, O sadānvā-demons. O Bṛhaspati, hurl their embryos far away!
17.14.5 Those whose odor of many forms circles a person on the path — let Agni Jātavedas overpower and drive away those sadānvāḥ from here.
17.14.6 Those who wish to devour a person being cremated, [who prey upon] the vacant [body] on the fire — you are called bhaṇvā niṣkuṣṭā ('the winnowed one'); we drive those sadānvāḥ away from here with the tip of the fist.
17.14.7 Those accustomed to the fire-pit who eat dry ash, like mares and she-asses — we destroy those sadānvāḥ.
17.14.8 Those sadānvāḥ who devour fetuses one by one at every morśa, who are accustomed to the body of a woman like red cows [attached to their spot] — we drive those away from here.
17.14.9 Those sadānvāḥ who arise from the ancestral realm, born of Indra, coming to us — we send those back again, as if returning a load that was brought.
17.14.10 Eaters of the raw, eaters of the cruel, eaters of what smells of no fire — eat that corpse carried off to the beyond, O sadānvāḥ! A bare corpse is your proper fare; what indeed do you seek in houses?
17.15.1 Those sadānvāḥ who are girls, who are old women, who are young women — let all go as kurūṭinī-demons, as the cowless outcast clan; let the arāyī-goblin creep away in awe from here.
17.15.2 Let Rudra loose against them his fury that slays wayfarers; let the archer smite them with lightning and the faultless thunderbolt. O Śakra, do not spare them; O Indra, shatter the bhaṇvā-demons!
17.15.3 Those gluttonous ones who devour boys — some — and old men — let Indra the Vṛtra-slayer destroy them, the god who repels all demons from all sides.
17.15.4 Those who are slave-women of the asuras and those made [to harm] humans as well — let both kinds go far away, beyond the distance of ninety [river-crossings] by boat.
17.15.5 Those whose din when gathered sounds like the growling of wolves — those that offer pracaṅkaśā ['the harsh snatcher'] as a gift-in-return — we destroy those sadānvāḥ.
17.15.6 The yakṣa-spirits that are stirred up at evening from wherever they station themselves to roam the night — let Agni, overpowering them all, repel those demons from all sides.
17.15.7 Those ṛkṣīkā-demons, the egg-laying kalīlā-ones, the pulīkā-beings born in the waters — one guardian alone knows their origin. Those sadānvāḥ who have been born — we drive them away from here.
17.15.8 The heavy-shadowed one, the one borne upward, the child-devourer, the echo-maker, the over-milker, the wanderer, the cotton-tufted one — all these granddaughters of Caṇḍa among the sadānvāḥ we destroy.
17.15.9 The loudly speaking one, the name-caller, the thundering one, the claw-footed one, the protruding-toothed one, the noseless one — we destroy these sadānvāḥ.
17.15.10 The incessant babbler, the unintelligible mutterer, the disheveled one, the blabbering one, the roaming one, the arāyī, the one that makes the voice tremble — we destroy these sadānvāḥ.
17.16.1 He should simply say "I give," and then accompany her; the cow given to the Brahmins who ask for her — that act yields offspring and progeny.
17.16.2 He pays with his offspring and wastes away his cattle — he who refuses to give the cow of the gods to those sages who ask for her.
17.16.3 By the deformed cow his bones crumble; by the lame cow he is ground down at the joint; by the mutilated cow his houses burn; by the one-eyed cow his property is lost.
17.16.4 From the standing-place of the red-spotted one, the dog finds the cow-owner — such is the covenant of the vaśā cow; for she is truly called the hard-to-deceive.
17.16.5 He who clips her ears is cut off among the gods; he thinks he is merely making a mark, but he diminishes his own fortune.
17.16.6 From the place where her hooves stand, he obtains the disease called viklindu; the limbs of one who sniffs her from the front crumble.
17.16.7 When a crow truly defiled the hair of the vaśā cow while she was in her owner's keeping, from that act the colts die and the wolf, the killer, takes the calves.
17.16.8 If someone cuts her tail-hairs for his own enjoyment, from that act the young boys die and disease strikes through the limbs.
17.16.9 If a slave woman gathers her dung for use as fuel, from that a misbegotten child is born; therefore one should keep away from this transgression.
17.16.10 At birth the vaśā cow is born together with the gods and Brahmins; therefore she must be given to the Brahmins — that, they say, is the protection of one's own welfare.
17.17.1 The vaśā cow, made by the gods, belongs to those who come to her as petitioners; what they called "robbing the Brahmins" is what he does who dishonors her.
17.17.2 He who refuses to give her to those sage-born petitioners is cut off among the gods and faces the wrath of the Brahmins.
17.17.3 He whose enjoyment of the vaśā cow belongs to another — if he desires a different one then — the unbestowed cow would harm the owner, for he refuses to give away the one that has been asked for.
17.17.4 Just as a treasure is laid up belonging to the Brahmins, so is the vaśā cow; they come to her wherever and in whatever family she is born.
17.17.5 When the Brahmins approach the vaśā cow, they come to what is their own; just as one would win over another through this — such is the means of not obstructing her.
17.17.6 She should roam freely for three years, being a true cow whose ailment is unrecognized; and then, O Nārada, one should identify the vaśā cow — then is the Brahmin to come for her.
17.17.7 He who calls her unsuitable — this treasure laid down by the gods — both Bhava and Śarva circle around him and shoot their arrows at him.
17.17.8 The hard-to-deceive one lies in wait for him who refuses to give the one that was asked for; no desire of his prospers — whatever he wishes to accomplish without giving her.
17.17.9 He who knows neither her udder nor her teats — yet by both means he milks her — if only he had been able to give the vaśā cow.
17.17.10 The gods ask for the vaśā cow, taking on the form of Brahmins; the mortal who does not give to all of them falls into their displeasure.
17.18.1 He falls into the displeasure of the cattle — he who has not given the vaśā cow to the Brahmins; if a mortal dishonors the share that the gods have laid away.
17.18.2 Even if a hundred Brahmins were to ask the cow-owner for the vaśā cow — then the gods declared: "Such is the vaśā of a knowing man."
17.18.3 He who, without giving to such a knowing man, gives the vaśā cow to another — for him the earth with all her deities becomes a place of hardship.
17.18.4 The gods begged for the vaśā cow from the one in whose family she was first born; this one Nārada recognized, and he led her out together with the gods.
17.18.5 May the vaśā cow render a man childless and poor in cattle — he who dishonors her even when she has been asked for by Brahmins.
17.18.6 For Agni-and-Soma, for Kāma, for Mitra and for Varuṇa — the Brahmins ask in their name; he who does not give is cut off from them.
17.18.7 As long as the owner of the vaśā cow himself has not listened to the sacred verses, she may roam among his cattle for that time — but she would not be as one heard of in his house.
17.18.8 He who, having listened to the sacred verses about her, then lets her wander among ordinary cattle — the gods, angered, cut short both his life and his prosperity.
17.18.9 The vaśā cow, roaming in many ways, is the treasure laid down by the gods; she reveals her forms according to whatever dwelling-place she desires to reach.
17.18.10 She makes herself manifest according to whatever dwelling-place she desires to reach; and so the vaśā cow turns her mind to the Brahmins for the purpose of being asked for.
17.19.1 She resolves it in her mind, and that resolve reaches even the gods; and so the Brahmins approach the vaśā cow, drawing near to beg for her.
17.19.2 By the svadhā offering to the ancestors, by sacrifice to the gods, by the gift of the vaśā cow — the prince does not incur the wrath of his mother.
17.19.3 O prince, the vaśā cow is your mother — so it has come to be from the beginning. They declare that not giving her who is to be presented to the Brahmins is non-surrender of what is owed.
17.19.4 Just as the clarified butter received in the ladle would flow into the fire for the god, so indeed the Brahmins, if one does not give the vaśā cow, cut him off for the fire.
17.19.5 With the sacrificial cake as her calf, easily milked, she stands available for him in this world; for the one who has given her, the vaśā cow milks all desires in abundance.
17.19.6 In the realm of Yama too the vaśā cow milks all desires for the one who has given her; but they declare a hellish world for him who withholds her when she has been begged for.
17.19.7 The vaśā cow wanders about in distress, angry with her keeper; let him who regards her as barren be bound in the nooses of Death.
17.19.8 He who regards her as a barren animal and cooks the vaśā cow in his house — Bṛhaspati will make even his sons and grandsons become beggars.
17.19.9 Greatly does she blaze with wrath, roaming among the cattle, the cow; and so the vaśā cow milks poison for the keeper who has given her away in that manner.
17.19.10 Whatever is given to Brahmins becomes dear to the livestock; therefore that is dear about the vaśā cow: that she should become an oblation offered to the gods.
17.20.1 The vaśā cows that the gods set apart upon arising from the sacrifice — among them Nārada singled out the fearsome viliptyā cow.
17.20.2 The gods deliberated about her: is she a vaśā or not a vaśā? Nārada said to them: she is the most thoroughly vaśā among all vaśā cows.
17.20.3 How many vaśā cows born among men do you know, O Nārada? Which of them is the most fearsome? Whose flesh should a non-Brahmin not eat?
17.20.4 The viliptyā cow, O Bṛhaspati, and also the sūtavaśā cow — of these, a non-Brahmin who desires prosperity should not eat.
17.20.5 Homage be to you, O Nārada — instruct us concerning the vaśā for the knowing one. Which is the most fearsome of them, by not giving which one would come to ruin?
17.20.6 The viliptyā, O Bṛhaspati, and the sūtavaśā cow — these one should give to the Brahmins, he who desires prosperity.
17.20.7 There are truly three kinds of vaśā: viliptyā, sūtavaśā, and vaśā. One should give these to Brahmins, resting at ease under the care of Prajāpati.
17.20.8 He who is asked should think: "This is an oblation for you, O Brahmins" — if the Brahmins should beg the vaśā from him which the fearsome one gave in his house.
17.20.9 The gods, angered, whispered about the vaśā cow: "He will not give her to us." By these very hymns of Bheda, therefore that man came to ruin.
17.20.10 And Bheda, when asked by Indra, took this vaśā cow away from Nārada; therefore the gods cut him off from well-being, saying "We are the superior ones.".
17.20.11 Those scoundrels who speak in favor of not giving the vaśā cow — the wretches, through their unwisdom, cut themselves off from Indra's favor.
17.20.12 He who, having brought the keeper of cattle to the other side, then says "Do not give" — those mindless ones circle around that weapon of Rudra.
17.20.13 Whether she has been offered or not offered in sacrifice, if one cooks the vaśā cow at home — having struck down both gods and Brahmins, the crooked one proceeds to the lower worlds.
17.21.1 Blood, flesh, skin, the crushed parts, the brain, the marrow, the body — let the flesh-eating fire devour all of these of so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman.
17.21.2 To the gods who are present at morning, to the gods who are present at evening, to the gods who are present at all times — I cut off so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman.
17.21.3 To Vaiśvānara, the swift-bowman — I cut off this so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman.
17.21.4 O swift-bowman, swift-handed one — pierce the heart, the liver, and the two kidneys of so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman.
17.21.5 To Indra and Agni, to Prajāpati, to Parameṣṭhin, to King Soma, to King Varuṇa, to Pūṣan, to Dhātṛ, to Savitṛ, to Tvaṣṭṛ — I cut off this so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman.
17.21.6 To Dawn, to Day, to Night, to the Sun — I cut off this [so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman].
17.21.7 To the creeping plants, to the herbs, to the lord-of-the-forest trees, to the forest-born plants — I cut off this [so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman].
17.21.8 To the waters, to Mātariśvan, to Heaven-and-Earth together — I cut off this [so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman].
17.21.9 To the idā-year, to the pari-year, to the saṃ-year, to the great all-formed [year] — I cut off this [so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman].
17.21.10 To the months, to the year — I cut off this [so-and-so, son of so-and-so, born of such-and-such a woman].
17.22.5 To the Maruts, to the Aśvins, to Brahmaṇaspati the brahman — I cut away that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so.
17.22.6 Those who made heaven, those who were born in heaven — from those makers of heaven, those creators of heaven, I cut away that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so. May those makers of heaven, those creators of heaven, drive that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so, away.
17.22.7 Those who performed austerity, those who were born in austerity — from those performers of austerity, those practisers of austerity, I cut away that one [son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so]. May those performers of austerity, those practisers of austerity, drive that one [away].
17.22.8 Those who made sacred knowledge, those who were born in sacred knowledge — from those makers of brahman, those creators of brahman, I cut away that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so. May those makers of brahman, those creators of brahman, drive that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so, away.
17.22.9 May gods and men behold that woman — sinful, pierced by evil, with dishevelled hair, without a counterpart, speaking false words — as one who has caused that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so, to weep.
17.22.10 Crows, vultures, herons, eagles, dogs, and flying creatures — may birds and omens range about at the cremation of that son of so-and-so, the descendant of so-and-so.
17.23.1 O Waters, carry away all that — the blame and the impurity — whatever evil dream we have experienced, whatever falsehood we have uttered in a verse.
17.23.2 The seven flowing rivers — may they release us from sin.
17.23.3 May they release me from the guilt of a curse, and also from what pertains to Varuṇa; and from the foot-fetter of Yama, and from every sin against the gods.
17.23.4 From slander of kin, from evil dream, from deceit — may they release me from the noose of Varuṇa.
17.23.5 May Indra, Varuṇa, Bṛhaspati, and Savitṛ bestow brilliance upon me.
17.23.6 I am the slayer of rivals, the slayer of foes; that one is my rival among my brothers, that one is my enemy.
17.23.7 I slay him; I pierce him with evil dream; I pierce him with short life; I pierce him with the arrow of diminishing vital substance; I thrust him downward along the path of death.
17.24.1 O Dream, we know your origin: you are the son of Sin, born from ill-fortune, the instrument of Yama. Thus do we know you, O Dream. Whatever dream is auspicious — that is mine; whatever is evil — that we send forth to the enemy. We direct it toward him; with it we pierce him; we pierce him with ill-fortune; we pierce him with utter loss of fortune; we pierce him with utter ruin; we pierce him with the seizure-demon; we pierce him with darkness; O Agni, we cut this enemy off for the flesh-devouring fire; we send him forth beset by the dreadful, cruel commands of the gods; we place him between the jaws of Vaiśvānara.
17.24.2 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of the seizure-demon, born from Nirṛti [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy, directing it, piercing him with it].
17.24.3 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of Varuṇa, born from Varuṇānī [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.4 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of Day, born from Night [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.5 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of Sky, born from Earth [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.6 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of the forest trees, born from the healing plants [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.7 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of the woodland growths, born from the creeping plants [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.8 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of languor, born from drowsiness [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.9 [O Dream, we know your origin:] you are the son of the Rakṣasas, born from the fierce demons [— thus do we know you, O Dream; and whatever is evil we send to the enemy].
17.24.10 O Dream, we know your origin: you are the son of the Gandharvas, born from the Apsarases, the instrument of Yama. Thus do we know you, O Dream — [so runs this verse] three times.
17.25.1 O Heaven and Earth, O Day and Night, O you adorned with constellations — let the evil dream pass from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so.
17.25.2 "Whatever evil is upon us" — thus the eighteen-verse hymn.
17.25.3 May we not stray from the path, O Indra, nor from the sacrifice of the soma-pressers; may enmities not stand between us.
17.25.4 He who is the accomplisher of the sacrifice, the thread stretched out among the gods — may we partake of him who has received the oblation.
17.25.5 Reverence to the eye of Mitra and Varuṇa, to the great god — honor that cosmic order; proclaim the far-seeing one, born of the gods, the beacon, the son of heaven, the sun.
17.25.6 Heaven and the days are spread out there; no ungodly one dwells before you from ancient times. When you race with your swift horses in your chariot, one dominion follows the east and you travel, O Sun, upward by another light.
17.25.7 O Sun, with that very light by which you thrust away darkness and pervade the entire universe with your radiance — drive away from us by that same power all distress, all that is unsacrificed, all disease, and the evil dream.
17.25.8 All distress, disease, and what is unsacrificed — we send these away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so.
17.26.1 O Heaven and Earth, carry away the evil dream, carry it far away — from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so.
17.26.2 O Wind and Purifier, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.3 O Indra and Agni, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.4 O Mitra and Varuṇa, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.5 O Bhava and Śarva, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.6 O divine Aśvins, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.7 O divine Maruts, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.8 O divine Fathers, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.9 O divine Sun, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.10 O divine Moon, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.11 O divine Constellations, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.12 O divine Waters, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.13 O divine Viṣṇu, carry away the evil dream [carry the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.14 O divine Tvaṣṭṛ, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.15 O divine Dhātṛ, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.16 O divine Savitṛ, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.17 O divine Pūṣan, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.18 O divine Bṛhaspati, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.19 O divine Prajāpati, carry it away [carry away the evil dream far away from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.20 O divine Parameṣṭhin, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away [from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so].
17.26.21 O Day and Night, carry away the evil dream, carry the evil dream far away — from this man, son of so-and-so, offspring of so-and-so.
17.27.1 Indra poured out the thunderbolt to slay Vṛtra; Tvaṣṭṛ poured out the thunderbolt to slay Vṛtra.
17.27.2 That which is the thunderbolt, that is the Viśvānara fire; that which possesses sharp power, that is the all-conquering Viśvāṣāḍ; that which has the edge that can be grasped, that is Vaiśvānara.
17.27.3 All this indeed is these three: Viśvānara, Vaiśvānara, and Viśvāṣāṭ.
17.27.4 He wins all the meritorious worlds and all the divinities, who, knowing thus, observes the vow of the bullock.
17.28.1 He took it up, he shook it up, he measured it out — saying: 'Let me hurl it forth.'
17.28.2 It slipped from his hand — the divine thunderbolt, the razor, the wheel-rim, thousand-edged, touching the sky.
17.28.3 It stood there hissing, becoming tawny-gold, finding its mark.
17.28.4 It entered the ocean; it burned the ocean.
17.28.5 Therefore the ocean swallowed its bad speech, for it had been burned by Vaiśvānara.
17.28.6 Śakra strode out; he pondered: 'That thunderbolt has fallen in with the Asuras — the gods must protect it; let me observe the vow.' And he observed the vow.
17.28.7 He became thin and lean; therefore the vow-observer becomes thin and lean — for it was as a thin, lean being that Indra thrust the Asuras away.
17.28.8 He ran to Parameṣṭhin.
17.28.9 He ran to Prajāpati.
17.28.10 He ran to Viṣṇu.
17.28.11 He ran to the Lord of the House.
17.28.12 He ran to Virāj.
17.28.13 He ran to Svarāj.
17.28.14 He ran to Samrāj.
17.28.15 He ran to Day-and-Night.
17.28.16 He ran to the Fortnights.
17.28.17 He ran to the Months.
17.28.18 He ran to the Seasons.
17.28.19 He ran to the Seasonal ones.
17.28.20 He ran to the Seers.
17.28.21 He ran to the descendants of the Seers.
17.28.22 He ran up to Aṅgiras.
17.28.23 He ran to the Āṅgirasas.
17.28.24 He ran to Atharvan.
17.28.25 He ran to the Ātharvaṇas.
17.28.26 The Marut-hosts ran after him toward all the gods — Soma first, then Indra and Agni.
17.28.27 They addressed him with inauspicious and cruel speech: 'We will slay you — we know you, we will cut you off, you shall not escape.' And he became calm.
17.28.28 Therefore, one who calms a brahmin who knows the Veda and has performed austerities merely milks them for benefit.
17.28.29 He took it up with Ṛk and Sāman, with Yajus and sacrifice, with the Gāyatra and the Vāmadevya.
17.28.30 All this indeed is Ṛk and Sāman — these two are the arms of Indra.
17.28.31 He took it up; he set it in the joints.
17.28.32 Offspring is indeed prosperity, inexhaustible; cattle are the joints.
17.28.33 He who [performs this rite] obtains offspring, prosperity, and inexhaustible [wealth] — [see 17.27.4b].
17.29.2 He who [performs this rite] stands firm in all the directions.
17.30.4 He who [performs this rite] obtains all the auspicious worlds and all the deities.
17.31.4 He abides on the god-traversed paths; he who (does this) fully knows the god-traversed paths.
17.32.4 The vital breaths are sustained in him; he who (does this, in him they are sustained).
17.33.2 The limbs, joints, and body-parts of that Vṛtra were shattered. These mountains are indeed the limbs, joints, and body-parts of Vṛtra.
17.33.3 Whatever he desires in his heart and mind — 'may this succeed for me here' — that is made to succeed for him.
17.33.4 He who (does this) finds in this very (earth) a firm footing and a resting-place.
17.34.1 He came to the gods; the gods said to him: 'We commend this heavy vow — it surpasses both the wild beasts in the forest and the domestic cattle in the village.'
17.34.2 He approached the bull (anaḍvāh). The bull said to him: 'What shall be my recompense?' He replied: 'Choose a boon.' And so he chose a boon.
17.34.3 'May I be in the world of Bradhna; may I rest upon the summit of Bradhna' — thus he chose.
17.34.4 The world that is Bradhna, the summit of Bradhna — that world is the sixteenth above this one.
17.34.5 He who [observes this vow] attains the world of Bradhna and rests upon the summit of Bradhna.
17.35.1 Then the serpent Āśvatthī said: 'I will not reproach that brahmin whom I heard thus — lest I be cut off from his accumulated merit of rites and pious works.'
17.35.2 For it is indeed a powerful rite (kṛtyā) that moves among men — namely the bull, namely the one who observes the bull-vow.
17.35.3 Whoever speaks ill of one who knows this — that person's own accumulated rites and pious works are swept away by illusion.
17.35.4 Indeed, Indra first practised the bull-vow among the Asuras; he swept away their rites and pious works into illusion — for they (had wrongly) called him 'non-Indra'.
17.35.5 He stepped onto the back of the bull and came to know all the worlds.
17.35.6 The bull's two fore-legs are the two fortnights of the waxing moon; the two hind-legs are the two fortnights of the waning moon.
17.35.7 His two lips are the two sacrificial cake-offerings (puroḍāśa); his two nostrils are the two sacrificial ladles (sruva).
17.35.8 His two eyes are the sun and the moon; his blinks are the days and nights; his flanks are the rays of the sun. He who [observes this vow thus attains all worlds].
17.35.9 The droṇa-vessel is his head; King Soma is his brain.
17.35.10 His two horns are cosmic order (ṛta) and truth (satya).
17.35.11 Cosmic order and truth are indeed fixed (dhruva); therefore these two horns are firm.
17.35.12 He who [knows this] stands firm, in accord with the fixed reality of cosmic order and truth.
17.36.2 Faith (śraddhā) is indeed both moving and still; therefore one repeatedly inclines the ears again and again [to hear it].
17.36.3 He who [knows this] becomes worthy of faith — people place their faith in him.
17.37.4 He who [performs this rite] wins the stream of the Vasus, prosperity that is imperishable.
17.38.7 The seasons serve him; he is not cut down in the seasons — he who [performs this rite] becomes dear to the seasons.
17.39.1 Austerity, boon, greatness, and renown — the Ṛg-verses, the Sāman-chants, the Yajus-formulas, and the Brāhmaṇa all dwell within him.
17.39.2 He wins both the Brahman and the world — he who [performs this rite] becomes possessed of brahminical radiance.
17.40.9 He fully knows the god-traversed paths — he who, knowing thus, observes the vow of the ox.
17.41.5 He lives long, he attains the full span of life, he does not die before old age — he who, knowing thus, observes the vow of the ox.
17.42.7 He spreads wide with offspring, with cattle, with houses, with wealth — he who, knowing thus, observes the vow of the ox.
17.43.2 He who hates us and whom we hate — compress his breaths, scatter his breaths.
17.43.3 You are Indra, you are the form of Indra; you are Prajāpati, you are Parameṣṭhin.
17.43.4 You are the sun-realm, you are heaven, you are the heavenly world; lead me to the heavenly world.
17.43.5 By that by which it carries this one, by that is the sacrifice; by that by which it carries, by that is the world.
17.43.6 By that by which it sees this one, by that it is the all; by that by which it conveys this one, by that it is the whole.
17.43.7 Its feet are its foundation. He who, knowing this, upholds the vow of the bull-ox becomes established with offspring, with cattle, with houses, with wealth.
17.44.1 Mount the reed; there is no world for you here — this lead is your allotted share, come hither. Whatever disease is in cattle, whatever disease is in men — with that, go down together to the nether regions.
17.44.2 Evil-proclaimer and ill-proclaimer, along with the female elephant and the she-elephant — all deaths and diseases too we drive away from here with this.
17.44.3 From here we drive away death, decay, and disease. O flesh-eating Agni, devour him who hates us; him whom we hate, we press forward to you.
17.44.4 If the flesh-eating fire or a tiger, lodging elsewhere, has entered this cattle-pen — making an offering of beans and ghee I send him far away; let him who sits in the waters go beyond the fires.
17.44.5 What angry men, in their wrath, made of you at the death of a man — that which is well-formed, O Agni, we kindle you with that anew.
17.44.6 The Ādityas, the Rudras, the Vasus restore you; Brahman, the guide of good things, restores you in the beginning. Bṛhaspati has established you anew for long life, for a hundred autumns.
17.44.7 That flesh-eating fire who has entered your house, beholding this other Jātavedas — him I carry away far for the sacrifice to the fathers; let him kindle the hot milk-offering at the highest resting-place.
17.44.8 The flesh-eating fire I send far away; let him, the bearer of filth, go to the realm of King Yama. Let this other Jātavedas remain here — the god, knowing, shall carry the oblation to the gods.
17.44.9 Being urged, I carry away the flesh-eating fire, death that harms people, with the thunderbolt. Knowing, I separate him by means of the Gārhapatya fire; his share is in the world of the fathers.
17.44.10 The flesh-eating fire, worthy of praise-verses though praising slaughter, I send forth along the paths that lead to the fathers. Do not come back by the god-faring paths — stay here, be awake among the fathers.
17.45.1 They kindle the saṃkasuka for well-being, becoming pure, bright, and purifying. He abandons defilement and passes beyond it — the kindled Agni, cleansing well, purifies.
17.45.2 The divine Agni Saṃkasuka has climbed the back of heaven. Being freed from distress, free us also from ill-repute.
17.45.3 In you, O Agni Saṃkasuka, we wipe away our impurities. We have become fit for sacrifice, purified — extend our life-spans forward.
17.45.4 Saṃkasuka, Vikasuka, and Nirṛtha too, and the one who is Nisvara — those of you, O Savedas, have caused disease to reel away, farther and farther.
17.45.5 From food, from men, from cattle, from horses — the flesh-eating fire that undermines life, we push away.
17.45.6 That which is among our horses, among our heroes, among our cattle, among our goats and sheep — the flesh-eating Agni that undermines the people, we push away.
17.45.7 O Agni, kindled and fed with oblation, do not depart from us. Shine right here in the sky, and for long be visible to the sun.
17.45.8 In whom the gods have wiped themselves, and men too — having wiped yourself in him, praised with ghee, O Agni, ascend to heaven.
17.45.9 Wipe yourself on lead, wipe yourself on reed — and whatever Agni Saṃkasuka there is; also on the dark wool of a sheep, the headache-pillow as its pad.
17.45.10 Having placed the evil force in lead, with the headache as its pad, wiping it on the dark wool of a sheep, they become pure and fit for sacrifice.
17.46.1 O Death, go away along that path of yours which is other than the god-trodden way. To those who have eyes and ears I speak: may many heroes be mine here.
17.46.2 These living ones have turned away from the dead; auspicious has been our invocation of the gods today. We have gone forward to dance and to laugh; endowed with good heroes, may we speak in the assembly.
17.46.3 I set this barrier for the living; let no other cross over to this purpose of theirs. May they, living long, traverse many autumns, setting Death aside as if by a mountain.
17.46.4 Just as the days come in succession, just as the seasons go together with the seasons, just as the earlier does not abandon the later — so, O Tvaṣṭṛ, arrange the life-spans of these.
17.46.5 Mount up in life, choosing old age, striving forward in succession wherever you go. May Tvaṣṭṛ of good birth, in harmony with them, lead all their life-span onward to full living.
17.46.6 The stony river flows — take hold, be vigorous, cross over, O friends. Leave behind here those who were of ill will; free from disease, may we rise above to the prizes.
17.46.7 Rise up, cross over, O friends — the rocky river rushes here. Leave behind those who were inauspicious; crossing to the auspicious and comfortable, may we rise above to the prizes.
17.46.8 Take hold of the gracious speech dedicated to all the gods, becoming pure, bright, and cleansing. Overcoming all adversities, rich in all heroes, may we rejoice for a hundred winters.
17.46.9 Going northward by the paths, with winds and waters, surpassing the lower ones by means of the higher — the seers, having gone forth twenty-one times, thrust Death away by the obliteration of footprints.
17.46.10 They who obliterate the footprint of Death, placing an ever-longer life yet further ahead — seated together, push Death away from the common seat; and then, as the living, may we speak in the assembly.
17.47.1 Let these women, unwidowed and having good husbands, enter the anointing with ghee. Tearless, free from disease, possessed of good jewels, let the women mount the womb-place first.
17.47.2 Let these heroes, unwidowed and of good birth, touch themselves with the anointing ghee. Tearless, free from disease, possessed of good jewels, may they mount from the comfortable womb-place onto the bed.
17.47.3 I separate these two with the oblation; with the sacred word I arrange them apart. I make the svadhā-offering undecaying for the Fathers; I release this one together with a long life-span.
17.47.4 That Fire of ours, O Fathers, the immortal who has entered into the hearts of mortals — I take that god for myself in my embrace; let him not hate us, and let us not hate him.
17.47.5 Turn away the gārhapatya fire from the flesh-devouring one; O departed one, go to the south. Make what is dear to the Fathers, to the self, to Brahman — make what is dear.
17.47.6 Taking two shares of the wealth, he destroys it through the rite of turning away: that is the Fire of the eldest son who has not been removed from the flesh-devouring function.
17.47.7 Whatever he plows, whatever he wins, and whatever he obtains by his garment — all of that belongs to the mortal no longer, if the flesh-devouring fire has not been removed.
17.47.8 He becomes unfit for sacrifice, his luster destroyed; there is no eating of the oblation with him. He cuts off plowing, cattle, and wealth — he who continues to follow the flesh-devouring fire.
17.47.9 He speaks much with greedy ones; the mortal enters into distress and comes to ruin — he whom the flesh-devouring fire, closely following him with full knowledge, harasses.
17.47.10 The house becomes fit to be seized, the household is destroyed, when the husband of a woman dies. He alone who is learned in Brahman and who has removed the flesh-devouring fire is the one to be sought out.
17.48.1 Whatever defilement and transgression we have committed, and whatever evil deed — may the waters cleanse me from that, and the fire called Saṃkasuka.
17.48.2 Those waters, knowing their way, have turned from below toward the north along the god-trodden paths. On the back of the bull-mountain, the ancient rivers run ever fresh.
17.48.3 O Agni, you who do not eat flesh — thrust away the flesh-devouring one; carry the company of gods.
17.48.4 The flesh-devouring fire has entered into this one; this one has followed the flesh-devouring fire. Making two tigers face in different directions, I carry away that auspicious other one.
17.48.5 The inner barrier of the gods, the outer boundary of humans — the gārhapatya fire stands between both. O Agni, extend the long life-span of the living; may those who have died go to the world of the Fathers.
17.48.6 The well-tended gārhapatya fire, scattering enemies, granting each day what is more and more excellent — O Agni, overcoming all rivals, place strength and wealth in these and in us.
17.48.7 Take hold of this Indra, the carrier, the fulfiller — he who knows your needs shall drive Death away from you. With him strike away the flying arrow; with him may you be protected all around from Rudra's shaft.
17.48.8 You follow day and night, bearing them, dwelling as the guardian, the one who leads across, endowed with good heroes. Bearing the bed of the unailing and cheerful one, be with us a long time, O you who carry the scent of man.
17.48.9 They are cut off among the gods and live in evil forever — those whom the flesh-devouring fire harasses from close by with full knowledge.
17.48.10 He tumbles forward as if with the mind and turns back again repeatedly — he upon whom the flesh-devouring fire, from close by, scatters itself like a horse scattering a reed.
17.49.1 Those flesh-eaters who gather together without faith, out of greed for wealth — they always snatch away the water-pot of others.
17.49.2 Knowing the iṣīkā-reed that wanders, the tilpiya-plant, the staff-plant, the reed — Indra, making them into fuel, consigned them into Yama's fire.
17.49.3 The black ewe is the appointed share among cattle; lead, they say, is the flesh-eater's — and the moon as well. Ground black lentils are the oblation, their fitting share. Go thou into the thicket of the wild forest.
17.49.4 Having directed back the sun toward the west, the knowing one indeed opened up the path. He pointed away the life-breaths of those others and, with long life, established these ones here.
17.49.5 Take hold of the bull as your raft — he shall carry you out of misfortune, out of disgrace. Mount the golden ship of Savitṛ; with six waves may we pass beyond darkness.
17.49.6 With cattle may we cross the hard-going darkness; with barley, O much-invoked Indra, all hunger. We, kings, foremost claimants of wealth, unharmed, may we cross over with straight paths.
17.49.7 O woman, bring forward the full jar, filled with the essences of waters, of plants, of ghee. Anoint these drinkers with the immortal nectar; may they be steadfast heroes, of united mind.
17.50.1 O man, stand upon the hide of the man; summon there whichever woman is dear to you. As great as you two were when you first came together in the beginning — that same youth of yours is united in the realm of Yama.
17.50.2 As great is the radiance spread out between you two, as great the vigor spread in the same measure, as great the eye spreading abundantly with strength — fire accompanies the body when it blazes; then, when ripened, you two as a couple shall come together.
17.50.3 Come together in this world, come together also on the path of the gods; you have always come together in the kingdom of Yama. Purified by purifying rites, call each other toward that — whatever seed has been born between the two of you.
17.50.4 O sons who are the waters, enter into this living one; you who hold life, come together. Share among yourselves the immortality which they speak of — that rice-porridge which your mother cooks for you.
17.50.5 That which your father cooks and that which your mother cooks — for release from defilement and from the taint of speech — that rice-porridge, having a hundred streams, heavenly, by its greatness pervades both the two expanses of the sky.
17.50.6 Both expanses of the sky and both worlds — those heavenly regions won by sacrificers — the one among them that is luminous and sweet, that is foremost: upon that one may you two, with your sons, take refuge in old age.
17.50.7 Let the two of them take hold of every eastern direction; those who have faith follow this world. You two have measured the vessel — may it be full for you. That cooked offering, ripened, shall flow down to you two in the realm of the fathers.
17.50.8 Turning toward the southern direction, moving swiftly, let the two of them circle around this vessel. For the sake of that — the cooked offering — may Yama, in agreement with the fathers, grant you two abundant shelter.
17.50.9 The western direction — this indeed is the better one for you two, in which Soma is the overlord and the gracious. In that direction you two have measured; may the righteous accompany you. Then may we come together along with the cooked offering.
17.50.10 The northern realm, enriched with progeny, making the north direction our foremost — the pankti meter became the person. May we come together with all, with all his limbs.
17.51.1 This Virāj is steadfast — let homage be to her; may she be auspicious to our sons and to me. O goddess Aditi, all-desirable, guard our cooked offering as a cowherd guards his cattle.
17.51.2 Like a father, accompany us together with our sons; may the winds blow here upon us auspiciously, bringing ease. O two divinities, who cook the rice-porridge here — heat it for us and know it truly as ours.
17.51.3 Whatever black bird, flying here, came upon the mortar lodged and stuck in the hollow — or whatever slave-woman, with wet hand, smeared the mortar and pestle: purify them, burn them clean.
17.51.4 This pressing-stone, broad-based, bearer of strength — purified by purifying rites, let it drive away the demon. Mount the hide, bestow great shelter; let not the master and mistress of the house descend into the sin that harms their grandson.
17.51.5 The lord of the forest has come to us together with the gods, driving away demons and flesh-eating spirits. Let him be raised up high, let him speak forth his voice; by him may we conquer all the worlds.
17.51.6 Seven animal offerings received the sacrificial fat — the one among them that was rich in fat and the one that was lean. Thirty-three divinities accompany you; lead us toward the heavenly world.
17.51.7 Lead us toward the heavenly world; may we be united — wife together with sons. I take hold of the hand; let her follow here. May Nirṛti not pass us by, nor enmity.
17.51.8 Past that evil seizure may we go; dispelling darkness, speak thou sweetly. O implement born of the forest, raised up, do not injure us; do not shatter the grain that is going to the gods.
17.51.9 O wide-spreading one, ghee-backed, destined to be — knowing, of one womb, go toward that world. Present in the winnowing basket what has grown with rain; let it winnow away the chaff, removing that lustre from the husks.
17.51.10 Three worlds are measured by the brahman: yonder sky, earth, and the atmosphere between. Let the two of them take hold of the stalks that have been grasped; may they swell and come back again from the winnowing basket.
17.52.1 The many and various forms of cattle become one form in prosperity. Drive away this reddish skin; the pressing-stone purifies it as a washerman cleans garments.
17.52.2 As a mother resents her son, you recoil; I unite you, O earth, with the earth. Let the cooking pots and jars move together upon the altar, consecrated with sacrificial implements and with ghee.
17.52.3 I place you, O earth, upon the earth; this body of yours is one, though transformed. Whatever is yoked, inscribed, and offered — with that I sow it, and may it not be heard by the two ears.
17.52.4 May Agni, the cook, protect you from the east; may Indra guard you from the south through his greatness; may Soma strengthen you from the west at the foundation; may Varuṇa unite you from the north.
17.52.5 Let them come from heaven, accompanying the earth; they accompany the wide atmosphere from the earth. Being pure, may they themselves be purified; may they lead us to the heavenly world.
17.52.6 Purified by purifiers, they flow pure; from the cloud they go to heaven and to the realms of the earth. Those life-giving ones, bearing the treasure of life, well-established, poured into the vessel — may Agni blaze around them.
17.52.7 They are abundant, and also measured; they are bright, pure, and immortal. Those waters — a foundation for the rice-dish belonging to the couple — instructing, flowing downward, well-guided.
17.52.8 They foam up, leaping about when heated; they throw off abundant foam and drops. Like a young woman in season who, seeing her husband — with these grains of rice, O waters, be united.
17.52.9 The counted drops accompany the earth; they are measured out with the vital breaths and with plants. The uncounted ones, being sown, shining like gold — all of them, the pure ones, completing everything, bring purity.
17.52.10 Raise up these that have settled at the bottom; may they unite themselves with the waters. The water that is in the vessel is unmixed — the measured rice-grains go forth in all directions.
17.53.1 Stretch forth the rib-bone; let them carry it swiftly. Without injuring, let them give the joint. May the plants over which Soma has sovereignty be without anger for me.
17.53.2 Spread fresh sacred grass for the rice-dish; let it be dear to the heart, pleasant to the eye. May the gods enter there together with the divine ones; seated to the south, may they partake of this.
17.53.3 O Lord of the Forest, sit down upon the spread sacred grass, measured out by the Agniṣṭoma sacrifices and the deities. Like Tvaṣṭṛ who has fashioned a beautiful form with his axe — may they be seen going around the vessel.
17.53.4 O supporter, hold firm in the foundation of the earth; may the deities shake you, the unshakeable one. May that couple, alive, with living sons, move it away from around the fire-holder.
17.53.5 For sixty autumns we wrap this around; with cooked food may the two enjoy heavenly bliss. May sons and fathers sit down near it; O Agni, lead this heavenly one onward.
17.53.6 Having conquered all assembled worlds and as many desires as have been fulfilled — may the two of you plunge into it, O ladle, and into the place of resort; lift it up in the one vessel.
17.53.7 Spread out below, extend in front; pour ghee upon this vessel. Like a lowing cow calling her calf to the litter — O gods, bellow toward this one.
17.53.8 You have spread out this world as a layer; this heaven is wide, broad, and incomparable. May the eagle and the great buffalo lean upon it; may the gods offer it to the divine beings.
17.53.9 Whatever the wife cooks at a distance from you, or the husband from the wife, one beyond the other — may the two of you mingle that together; let it be in common for you both, prospering together, sharing this world.
17.53.10 As many sons as accompany this earth, who have been born from this one — call all of them to the vessel; the children, being born, shall come to the navel as their meeting-place.
17.54.1 Those streams of wealth anointed with honey, mixed with ghee, the navels of immortality — heaven holds all of them back; the guardian of the treasury has come to claim it in sixty autumns.
17.54.2 The guardian of the treasury seeks this treasury; let the others around be without mastery over it. This heaven, given and deposited by us, with its three kāṇḍas has ascended to the three heavens.
17.54.3 May Agni scorch the demon that is ungodly here; let not the flesh-eating piśāca spring forth here. We thrust it away, we ward it off from us; may the Ādityas and Aṅgirases accompany us.
17.54.4 To the Ādityas and Aṅgirases we make known this honey mixed with ghee. With pure hands, having not struck the brahmin's, both well-doers have drunk from this heaven.
17.54.5 This final kāṇḍa has reached the summit of it, from which world the highest one has attained completion. Pour the clarified butter along with the ghee, mixed well — this is our portion of the Aṅgirases here.
17.54.6 For truth, for austerity, and for the deities we wrap around this treasury, this blessed store. Let it not fail us in dice-play, nor in battle; do not release it to another before me.
17.54.7 There is no sin here, no deficiency; there is nothing that goes being measured equally among friends. The cooked food enters again into the cook; may the vessel placed before us be unfailing.
17.54.8 I cook, and I alone speak; the deed is mine alone, even of the pitiable wife. A boyish world was born as a son; may the two of you take hold in succession; may our progeny be excelling.
17.54.9 Let us make the beloved one dear among the beloved; darkness shall smite those who hate you. Let the milk-cow, the ox, the bird, and whatever else belongs to man drive away death.
17.54.10 The fires know one another — the one that accompanies the plants and the one that accompanies the rivers. As many gods as shine in heaven have come to hold the golden light.
17.55.1 This one came together as the skin upon the person — all other cattle are without fire. Let the two of them clothe the self with royal power; and that garment shall be the covering, the face of the rice-offering.
17.55.2 Whatever falsehood you utter in dice, whatever at the assembly, or in competition out of desire for wealth — dwelling together on the same thread, you two shall deposit all that defilement therein.
17.55.3 Win the rain, go also to the gods; you shall send the smoke of the skin flying upward and around. Heaven, all-encompassing and all-accomplishing, is of one womb — go up to that world.
17.55.4 Heaven spread out the body in many ways, so that you may know the different colors within the self. Purifying itself, it has conquered the dark and the bright; that which is red — that I offer for you into the fire.
17.55.5 To the eastern quarter, to Agni the overlord, to the dark one the guardian, to the Āditya bearing arrows — we wrap this around. May they protect us; may what is fated for us not lead us here to old age. May old age deliver us over to death; then may we come together with what is ripened.
17.55.6 To the southern quarter, to Indra the overlord, to Tiraścirāja the guardian, to the Vasus bearing arrows — this [we wrap around, with the same protective prayer as in the east].
17.55.7 To the western quarter, to Varuṇa the overlord, to the serpent Pṛdāku the guardian, to Mitra bearing arrows — this [we wrap around, with the same protective prayer as in the east].
17.55.8 To the northern quarter, to Soma the overlord, to the serpent Svaja the guardian, to Vāta bearing arrows — this [we wrap around, with the same protective prayer as in the east].
17.55.9 To the fixed quarter — the zenith — to Viṣṇu the overlord, to Kalmāṣagrīva the guardian, to the plants bearing arrows — this [we wrap around, with the same protective prayer as in the east].
17.55.10 To the upper quarter, to Bṛhaspati the overlord, to Śvitra the guardian, to the thunderbolts bearing arrows — we wrap this around. May they protect us; may what is fated for us not lead us here to old age. May old age deliver us over to death; then may we come together with what is ripened.