shatapath brahman (english)
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The Shatapatha Brahmana (शतपथ ब्राह्मण śatapatha brāhmaṇa, "Brahmana of one hundred paths") is one of the prose texts describing the Vedic ritual, associated with the Shukla Yajurveda. It survives in two recensions, Madhyandina (ŚBM, of the vājasaneyi madhyandina śākhā) and Kanva (ŚBK, of the kāṇva śākhā), with the former having the eponymous 100 adhyayas,7624 kandikas in 14 books, and the latter 104 adhyayas,6806 kandikas in 17 books. Linguistically, it belongs to the latest part of the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit (i.e. roughly the 8th to 6th centuries BCE, Iron Age India)TRANSCRIPT
I
m^'':
s
PRINCETON,
N.
J.
%
BL 1010
.S3 V.26 Satapathabr ahma na. The satapatha~br ahmana
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m^^^
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C^. ^.
. .V.,
^
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;^r-^ respectively.i'oshatta;;^
woof^
(otu),
Praghata, apparently the closely-woven part at both ends of the
cloth
(thrum)," '
from whence the loose threads of the nivi, or unwoven fringe come out. The Black Ya^us ascribes it to the plants.'
Literally,
unbeaten (ahata), unwashed.'if it
That
is
to say,
be not a new garment,
it
should be one&c.), but
that
has not been washed by a washerman (with mautra,daily after bathing.Its
worn*
Or, outward form, tanu.'
meaning sometimes comes veryit
near to that of2,2,
skin,'
assigned to
by the lexicographers. Cf.
Ill,
20
;
4, 3, 9.
Ill
KAiVDA,
I
ADHYAYA,
2
BRAHMAiVA, 21.
11
'fostering a fair appearance;' for evil indeed is that appearance which he has heretofore fostered
while unconsecrated
;
but
now
(he'
fosters)
a
fair
appearance
:
therefore he says,
fostering a
fair
appearance.'
Adhvaryu) then makes him enter the hall. Let him not eat (the flesh) of either the cow or the ox for the cow and the ox doubtless support everything here on earth. The gods spake, Verily, the cow and the ox support everything here come, let us bestow on the cow and the ox whatever vigour21.
He
(the
;
'
:
belongs to other species^!'
Accordingly they bestowed on the cow and the ox whatever vigour belonged to other species (of animals) and thereHence, were one fore the cow and the ox eat most.;
to eat (the flesh) of an
ox or a cow, there would be,or,
as
it
were, an eating of everything,(or,
as
it
were,
a going on to the end
to destruction).
Such
a one indeed would be likely to be born (again) as a strange being, (as one of
whom
there
is)
evil report,
such as
he has expelled an embryo from a woman/ 'he has committed a sin^ ;' let him therefore not eat (the flesh) of the cow and the ox. Nevertheless'
Ya^;}avalkyais
said,
'
I,
for one, eat
it,
provided that
it
tender.'
^ Vayasam, cf. Ill, 3, 3, 3. The Kava vayasaw viryaw yad anyesham pajunam.'
rec.
has yad anyesha;'
^
A different
translation of this passage
is
proposed by Professor
Delbriick (Synt. Forsch. Ill, p. 25); but the Ka?/va text (sa td.ffi hejvaro 'dbhutam abhi^anitor ^ayaya va garbha? niravadhid yadveti tad
isv2iTa.k to the infinitive in tos.
u hova^a) shows that we have here, as frequently, to supply The Ka/zva yad va (*or some such thing ') would also seem to indicate that we ought to translate:
(as of
some such
(iti) sin
one of whom) there is evil report: he has committed as the producing of abortion.''
1
5'ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Third BRAHMAiVA.1.
Having brought water forward^ he takes outfor
(the material for) a cake on eleven potsherds for
Agni and Vish7^u;sinceit
Agni
is
all
the deities,
is
in
the deities.Vish;2uis
Agni that offering is made to all Moreover Agni is the lower half, and' :
the upper half of the sacrificeafter
I
will
become
consecrated
encompassing
all
the
encompassing the entire sacrifice,' thus he thinks, and hence there is a cake on eleven potsherds for Agni and Vish/m. 2. Some then offer a rice-pap to the Adityas. This is referred to (in the passage, Rig-veda X, 72,8),' There are eight sons of Aditi who were borndeities, after
from her body with seven she went to the gods, but Mart^jidsi^ she cast off.' But those that are 3. Now Aditi had eight sons. called the gods, sons of Aditi,' were only seven, for the eighth, Marta;/^a, she brought forth unformed ^ it was a mere lump of bodily matter^, as broad as it;'
was
Some, however, say that he was of the size of a man. That 4. The gods, sons of Aditi, then spake,high.'
*
Viz. the so-called
'praita>^.,'
see part
i,
p. 9 note.
described in the following paragraphs,yesh/i,'
is
called the
The offering, Dikshantusedat the
Consecration offering.'bird, Vishwu, the sun.
As
to the formulas
offering, see Ait. Br. I, 4 seq.^ ^
The
Or, the eighth she brought forth undeveloped, as a marta^ kumaraka iva paribhasate. A play on the word kaninaka, which has the double meaning of youth' and pupil of the eye.' The St. Petersburg Diet, assigns also to kumaraka the meaning of 'ball of the eye' in this (the only) passage. The Kava recension reads, Sa esha kumaraka iva kaninakayam (?both 'maiden' and 'pupil of the eye'). ^ Indra slew Vntra, his eye-ball fell away, it became collyrium.''
'
'
Taitt.^
S.VI,
I, I, 5.it
Professor Delbruck, S. F. Ill, 27, takesis
thus,
'
He brushesto'
the
eye with the end of a reed, for the reedrepelling mischief.'
a thunderbolt capable of'
But,
if
'
virakshastayaito
belonged
what pre-
cedes,'nakti,'
it
would probably havewhile, in
be construed with
jareshikaya
the clause with 'vai,';
giving the
reason, being insertedit
parenthetically
an idiomatic rendering,evil spirits, theis
would have
to
be placed
at the
end:
He
anoints the eyes with a reed-stalk in
order to chase away the
reed being a thunderbolt.;
This abstract dative of purposeconstrued with what precedes,5, 3,
very
common
it
being generally
as, for instance, I, i, 4, i;3,
8; 15; III,
I,
2,
13; 19;
3, 2, 8; 6; 8; and, with a parenthetici,
clause with 'vai' intervening, III,
2,
13; IV,
5, 7, 7.
Not
less
common
is
the analogous construction with a clause with 'ned'
1
i-ATAPATHA-BRAHMAiVA.
Rakshas roams along the air even as man here roams along the air^ rootless and unfettered on both sides: theindeed, and unfettered on both sides, the;
reason, then,to chase14.
why
it
is (a
reed-stalk) with a tuft,
is
away the
evil spirits.
The(it is
right eye
he anointsis
first; for infirst,
human
practice the left (eye
anointed)
but with theart the
gods15.
done) thus.anointsit
He
with the text,
'Thou
eye-ball of Vretra,'is;
'
Vmra's eye-ball it indeed Eye-giving thou art give me the eye!'for:
in this there is nothing obscure. 16. The right eye he anoints once with the sacrificial
formula, once silently;
and the
left
one he:
anoints once with the formula, twice silently
thus
he makes the left (or upper) one superior 2. five times, 1 7. And the reason why he anoints:
is
that the sacrifice is of equal measure with the year, and five seasons there are in the year he thus
obtains possession of the latter in five (divisions),
and therefore he anoints five times. 18. He then purifies him with a cleanserstrainer)
(pavitra,is
of sacred grassis
;
forin
impure, indeed,
man
:
truth
within he and sacred grassfoul;
that
he'
speaks
un-
is
pure
:
Having becomecleansing,
pure,
I
shall be consecrated,' thus he thinks;
and the
stalks of sacred grass are a
means of
('
lest
such an event should happen') instead of the dative of the
abstract, cf.1
I
now
IV, 5, 9, 3. I, 2, i, 8 ; 9 take this passage differently from;
my
interpretation of
about the air, 4 ('and, in order that this man may move See also IV, i, i, 20. rootless and unfettered in both directions'). 2 Tad uttaram evaitad uttaravat karoti ;' ' uttaram dvaitad uttaI, I, 2,'
ram
karoti,'
Kava
recension.
Cf. p. 2, note
i.
Ill
KANDA,
I
ADHYAYA,
3 BRAHMAiVA, 2 2.
I
7
he thinks19.It
'Having become cleansed, I shall be consecrated,' thus and therefore he purifies him with a;
cleanser of sacred grass.
may
consist of
one
(stalkis
of grass); for
that blower (or purifier, thein
Wind)
one only, and
accordance with his nature is this (cleanser) hence it may consist of one (stalk).20.
Oris
there
may be
three (stalks)
;
for one, in-