176 H. OcrteL 



And the}' also sa}- : •' He transferred it to the mare '" ; therefore the 

 mare has two [kinds of] seed. And the}' also say : " He transferred 

 it to the plants"; therefore the plants, [though] unanointed shine. ^ 

 And they also say : " He transferred it to the [other] creatures " ; 

 therefore twins are born. Therefore the he-mule is sterile, for he 

 had his seed taken away. Therefore he is not suitable [as a fee] in 

 the barhis (sacrificial grass-covering), 2 [but] in a sacrifice where [the 

 sacrificer gives] all [his possessions as sacrificial fee] or in [a sacri- 

 fice where the sacrificer gives] a thousand [cows as sacrificial fee] 

 he is suitable, for he escaped. He who knowing thus sacrifices with 

 the agnistoma causes unborn progeny to be born, encloses [that 

 which is] born. Therefore they say : " [This is] the foremost sacri- 

 fice." 3. Prajapati, verily, is the foremost, for he sacrificed in the 

 iDeginning with this [sacrifice].' In TMB.3 vi. 1. 1, 'Prajapati desired: 

 " May I be manifold, may I bring forth." He saw this agnistoma, he 

 seized it; with it he created these creatures. 2. Verily, both with 

 that stotra of the Agnistoma which is the eleventh* he created 

 them and with the eleventh month of the year. Both with the 

 twelfth stotra of the Agnistoma he enclosed them^ and with the 

 twelfth month of the }'ear. 3. Therefore do creatures give birth 

 about the eleventh month, having carried the foetus for ten months ; 

 therefore they do not hold it beyond the twelfth month, for by the 



' The P. W. translates this : ' deslialb knarrt das Holz (am Wagen). 

 wenn es nicht gesclimiert ist ' ; but osadlii for ' Holz am Wagen ' would 

 be very unusual and tlie proper term for ' knarrt ' would be utsarjati 

 (cf. CB. vi. 8. 1. 10—11 where an expiation for the creaking of the axle 

 is given). It is therefore preferable to follow the commentator who para- 

 l^hrases bv ' saradliikyena vardliante snigdhavad drgj'ante,' ' they grow 

 with an abundance of gum, they look shiny,' as Geldner does, Ved. 

 Stud., Ill, p. 176, ' deslialb glanzen die Pflanzen, obwohl sie nicht gesalbt 

 werden (wie die Mensclien).' The same use of the Vafij is probably found 

 in RV. X. 45. 4, ksama rerihad viriidhah saniaiijan, where Agni is identi- 

 fied with Pai'janya (CB. vi. 7. 3. 2) and rain makes the plants shiny, 

 virudliah samanakti. Cp. further OB. vi. 6. 8. 3, tasmad sarvada 'rdrah 

 sarvada ksiri of the udumbara tree which is always moist (fresh) and 

 full of sap. 



* That is ' in the case of an ordinary sacrifice.' 



' A German translation in Deussen, AUgemeinr Geschichtc dcr Phi/osophu', 

 Bd. I, Abt. 1, p. 183. 



* A list of the twelve stotras and castras of the Agnistoma is given by 

 Eggeling, SBE.. xxvi, p. 325—6, note 2.— Possi])ly ' sa tah ' should be read 

 here for satil, see JB. text (below). 



' Deussen translates : ' uahm er in Pfleue.' 



1 



