XII, 3, 4. Fourth Brâhma<I>n</I>a

Satapatha Brahmana Part V (SBE44), Julius Eggeling tr. [1900], at sacred-texts.com

12:3:4

FOURTH BRÂHMANA.

12:3:4:11. Pragâpati once upon a time spake unto Purusha

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[paragraph continues] Nârâyana, 'Offer sacrifice! offer sacrifice!' He spake, 'Verily, thou sayest to me, "Offer sacrifice! offer sacrifice!" and thrice have I offered sacrifice: by the morning-service the Vasus went forth, by the midday-service the Rudras, and by the evening-service the Âdityas; now I have but the offering-place ¹, and on the offering-place I am sitting.'

12:3:4:22. He spake, 'Offer yet sacrifice! I will tell thee such a thing that thy hymns shall be strung as a pearl on a thread, or a thread through a pearl.'

12:3:4:33. And he spake thus unto him, ‘At the (chanting of the) Bahishpavamâna, at the morning-service, thou shalt hold on to the Udgâtri from behind, saying, "Thou art a falcon formed of the Gâyatrî metre,--I hold on to thee: bear me unto well-being!"

12:3:4:44. ‘And at the midday Pavamâna thou shalt hold on to the Udgâtri from behind, saying, "Thou art an eagle formed of the Trishtubh metre,--I hold on to thee: bear me unto well-being! "

12:3:4:55. ‘And at the Ârbhava-pavamâna, at the evening-service, thou shalt hold on to the Udgâtri from behind, saying, "Thou art a Ribhu formed of the Gagat metre,--I hold on to thee: bear me unto well-being!"

12:3:4:66. 'And at the close of each pressing thou shalt mutter, "In me be light, in me might, in me glory, in me everything!"'

12:3:4:77. Now light, indeed, is this (terrestrial) world, might the air-world, glory the heavens, and what other worlds there are, they are everything (else).

12:3:4:88. And light, indeed, is Agni, might Vâyu (the

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wind), glory Âditya (the sun), and what other gods there are they are everything.

12:3:4:99. And light, indeed, is the Rig-veda, might the Yagur-vela, glory the Sâma-veda, and what other Vedas there are they are everything.

12:3:4:1010. And light, indeed, is speech, might the breath, glory the eye, and what other vital airs there are they are everything.

12:3:4:1111. Let him know this:--'All the worlds have I placed within mine own self, and mine own self have I placed within all the worlds; all the gods have I placed within mine own self, and mine own self have I placed within all the gods; all the Vedas have I placed within mine own self, and mine own self have I placed within all the Vedas; all the vital airs have I placed within mine own self, and mine own self have I placed within the vital airs.' For imperishable, indeed, are the worlds, imperishable the gods, imperishable the Vedas, imperishable the vital airs, imperishable is the All: and, verily, whosoever thus knows this, passes from the imperishable unto the imperishable, conquers recurrent death, and attains the full measure of life.

Footnotes

173:1 ? That is to say, those deities have taken possession of everything else. Cf. J. Muir, Orig. Sansk. Texts, vol. v, p. 377.