Contributions from the Jaisniniya Brahnmiia. 185 



155. \. With the thunderbolt in his hand he (Indra) ran up 

 against him (Tvastr). 2. Tvastr, tleeing onward, took refuge with the 

 Wives [of the gods].^ He (Indra) did not follow him (Tvastr) thither. 

 Therefore, in the case of the patnl [-saihyajasp they offer [an oblation 

 of ajya] to Tvastr also ; and therefore one should not slay one who 

 has taken refuge with the Wives [of the gods]. 3. Up went Indra. 

 To clarify king Soma in the two soma-carts, in the wooden soma-tub,3 

 he went up. Lifting it (the somaj with the wooden soma-tub up 

 [to his lips] he drank it [and then] went off. 3. Up came Tvastr 

 after him. He asked : ' Is there anything left ? ' They said : ' There 

 is this remnant.' 4. He turned it into the fire [saying] : ' Grow thou, 

 having Indra as thy conqueror, svaha.' 5. As he turned it [into 

 the fire] it became Vrtra. Just as it was being turned [into the fire] 

 it became possessed of Agni and Soma. Therefore they say : ' Agni 

 and Soma are Asura-like. 6. A thousand arrows' range he surged 

 up'i . . . 7. Of the threefold knowledge, of all glory, of all food, 

 even of the thousand [cows] which are turned over [as sacrificial 

 fee] at the triratra [-sacrifice] he became possessed. 8. To him this 

 whole [universe] became tributary. Ambrosial drink the rivers used 

 to bring to him. 9. Now there were eight satellites of the gods. 

 Adversaries by name, eight of the Fathers, eight of men, eight of 

 the Asuras. Of these [latter] Indra, by his magic, became the eighth, 

 because he wished to slay Vrtra. And for this reason did Indra 



^ On these sliadoAvy divuiities see Hillebrandt, Vcd. Mythol.. hi. 

 p. 409-410. 



^ • The patnlsaiiiyajas are four ol)lations of butter to Soma, Tvastr. the 

 wives of the g'ods, and Agni Grliapati respectively,* Eggeling-, SBE.. xii. 

 p. 7.5, note 2. ' The meaning of the term seems to be " offerings nuide 

 (to some deities) along with the wives (of the gods),'" ' Ibid., p. 2.56, note 1. 

 Cf. also Caland-Henry, L'Agnistoma^ i, p. xxxiv. 



^ ' The pressing is performed in three rounds .... On the completion 

 of the third round the di'onakalaga is brought forward ... by the Udgatrs 

 . . . and placed on the four stones covered Avith the pressed Soma husks, 

 the straining cloth being then stretched over it. The Hotr's cup . . . hav- 

 ing then been filled up by the Unnetr with the Soma-juice in the iidha- 

 vanlya trough, the sacrificer pours it in one continuous stream from 

 the Hotr's cup upon the straining cloth, spread over the dronakala^a by 

 the chanters . . . From this stream the first eight (at the midday pressing 

 the first five) libations are taken, by the respective cups being held under, 

 the remaining libations or cups being dra^vn either from the strained (or 

 • pure," (;ukra) Soma-juice in the droiiakalaca, or from the agrayanasthall 

 or the putabhrt,' Eggeling, SBE. xxvi, p. 257. note. 



* The words which follow are not intelligible. 



