1
Om. He who knows what is the oldest and
greatest becomes the oldest and greatest among his kinsmen. The vital breath
(prana) is indeed the oldest and greatest. He who knows this becomes the
oldest and greatest among his kinsmen and also among those of whom he wishes
to be so.
2
He who knows what is the most excellent
(vasishtha) becomes the most excellent among his kinsmen. The organ of
speech is indeed the vasishtha. He who knows this becomes the most excellent
among his kinsmen and also among those of whom he wishes to be
so.
3
He who knows what has the attribute of
steadiness (pratishtha) lives steadily in rough as well as smooth places and
times. The eye indeed is endowed with steadiness, for with the help of the
eye one remains steady in rough as well as smooth places and times. He who
knows this lives steadily in rough as well as smooth places and
times.
4
He who knows prosperity (sampad) attains
whatever object he desires. The ear indeed is prosperity, for when the ear
is intact all the Vedas are acquired. He who knows this attains whatever
object he desires.
5
He who knows the abode (ayatana) becomes
the abode of his kinsmen and also of other people. The mind indeed is the
abode. He who knows this becomes the abode of his kinsmen as well as of
other people.
6
He who knows what has the attribute of
procreation (prajati) is enriched with children and animals. Semen verily
has this attribute. He who knows this is enriched with children and
animals.
7
These organs, disputing about who was
superior among them, went to Prajapati and asked: "Which one among us is the
most excellent (vasishtha)?" He said: "That one among you is the most
excellent by whose departure this body is considered to suffer
most."
8
The organ of speech departed. After being
absent for a whole year it came back and said: "How have you been able to
live without me?" The other organs said: "We lived just as dumb people live,
without speaking through the tongue, but living through the vital breath,
seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear, knowing through the mind
and procreating through the organ of generation." Then the organ of speech
entered the body.
9
The eye departed. After being absent for a
whole year it came back and said: "How have you been able to live without
me?" The other organs said: "We lived just as blind people live, without
seeing through the eye, but living through the vital breath, speaking
through the organ of speech, hearing through the ear, knowing through the
mind and procreating through the organ of generation." Then the eye entered
the body.
10
The ear went out. After being absent for a
whole year it came back and said: "How have you been able to live without
me?" The other organs said: "We lived just as deaf people live, without
hearing through the ear, but living through the vital breath, speaking
through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, knowing through the
mind and procreating through the organ of generation." Then the ear entered
the body.
11
The mind went out. After being absent for
a whole year it came back and said: "How have you been able to live without
me?" The other organs said: "We lived just as idiots live, without knowing
through the mind, but living through the vital breath, speaking through the
organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and
procreating through the organ of generation." Then the mind entered the
body.
12
Then the organ of generation went out.
After being absent for a whole year it came back and said: "How have you
been able to live without me?" The other organs said: "We lived just as
impotent people live, without procreating children through the organ of
generation, but living through the vital breath, speaking through the organ
of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and knowing
through the mind." Then the organ of generation entered the body.
13
Then as the vital breath was about to
depart, it uprooted the organs from their places just as a great, noble
horse of the Sindhu country tears up the pegs to which his feet are tied.
They said: "Venerable Sir, please do not go out. We shall not be able to
live without you."
"If I am such, then give me an offering."
"So be
it."
14
The organ of speech said: "That attribute
of being most excellent which I possess is yours."
The eye said: "That
attribute of steadiness which I possess is yours."
The ear said: "That
attribute of prosperity which I possess is yours."
The mind said: "That
attribute of being an abode which I possess is yours.
The organ of
generation said: "That attribute of procreation which I possess is
yours."
Then the vital breath said: "If I am such, then what will be my
food and what will be my dress?"
They replied: "Whatever food there
is—including that of dogs, worms, insects and moths—will be your food and
water will be your dress."
He who knows the food of the vital breath to
be such never happens to eat anything or accept anything that is not food.
Wise men who are versed in the Vedas therefore take a sip of water Just
before and after eating; they think that thereby they remove the nakedness
of the vital breath.
1
Svetaketu, the grandson of Aruna, came to
the assembly of the Panchalas. He approached Pravahana, the son of Jivala,
who was being waited upon by his courtiers. As soon as the king saw him, he
said:
"Is it you, boy?" He replied: "Yes, Sir."
Then the king asked:
"Have you been taught by your father?" "Yes," he replied.
2
The king said: "Do you know how people,
after departing from this life, proceed on different paths?" "No," he
replied.
"Do you know how they return to this world?" "No," he
replied.
"Do you know why the other world is never filled up even though
so many people go there again and again?" "No," he replied.
"Do you know
after how many offerings of oblations the water (the liquid oblation)
becomes endowed with a human voice, rises up and speaks?" "No," he
replied.
"Do you know the means of access to the path leading to the gods
or to that leading to the Manes, that is to say, through what deeds men
attain the path leading to the gods or that leading to the Manes? We have
heard the following words of the Mantra: ‘I have heard of the two paths for
men, one leading to the Manes and the other to the gods. Going along them
they (departed souls) are united with their destination. They (the paths)
lie between the father (heaven) and the mother (earth).’
Svetaketu said:
"I do not know even one of these."
3
Then the king invited him to stay. But the
boy, disregarding the invitation, hurried away. He went to his father and
said: "Did you not tell me before that you had fully instructed
me?"
"What then, my intelligent child?"
"That fellow of a kshatriya
asked me five questions and I did not know one of them."
"What were
they?"
"These," said Svetaketu and he recited them.
4
The father said: "My child, believe me,
whatever I myself knew, I told you. But come, let us go there and live as
religious students (brahmachirins)." "You may go, Sir," the son
replied.
Then Gautama went to where King Pravahana, the son of Jivala,
was giving audience. The king offered him a seat, ordered water for him and
made him the reverential offering. Then he said: "Revered Gautama, we will
give you a boon."
5
Gautama said: "You have promised me this
boon. Now please tell me what you spoke about to my boy."
6
The king said: "Ah, those are divine
boons, Gautama. Please ask a human boon."
7
Gautama said: "You know well that I have
gold, cows, horses, maidservants, retinue and apparel. Please do not be
ungenerous towards me in regard to that gift which is plentiful, infinite
and in—exhaustible."
The king said: "Then, verily, O Gautama, you should
ask it in the prescribed way."
Gautama replied: "I approach you as a
disciple."
The ancients used to approach a teacher through mere
declaration. So Gautama lived with the king by merely announcing that he was
a student.
8
The king said: "Please do not be offended
with us even as your paternal grandfather was not offended with ours. Before
now this knowledge never rested with a brahmin. But I shall teach it to you,
for who can refuse you when you speak like this?
9
"Yonder world is the sacrificial fire, the
sun is its fuel, the rays its smoke, the day its flame, the four quarters
its cinders and the intermediate quarters its sparks. In this fire the gods
offer faith as libation. Out of that offering King Moon is born.
10
"Parjanya (the god of rain), O Gautama, is
the fire, the year is its fuel, the clouds its smoke, lightning its flame,
the thunderbolt its cinders, the rumbling its sparks. In this fire the gods
offer King Moon as libation. Out of that offering rain is
produced.
11
"This world, O Gautama, is the fire, the
earth is its fuel, fire its smoke, the night its flame, the moon its
cinders, the stars its sparks. In this fire the gods offer rain as libation.
Out of that offering food is produced.
12
"Man, O Gautama, is the fire, the open
mouth is its fuel, the vital breath its smoke, speech its flame, the eye its
cinders and the ear its sparks. In this fire the gods offer food as
libation. Out of that offering semen is produced.
13
"Woman, O Gautama, is the fire, her sexual
organ is the fuel, the hairs the smoke, the vulva the flame, sexual
intercourse the cinders, enjoyment the sparks. In this fire the gods offer
semen as libation. Out of this offering a man is born. He lives as long as
he is to live. Then, when he dies,
14
"They carry him to be offered in the fire.
The fire becomes his fire, the fuel his fuel, the smoke his smoke, the flame
his flame, the cinders his cinders and the sparks his sparks. In this fire
the gods offer the man as libation. Out of this offering the man emerges in
radiant splendour.
15
"Those even among householders who know
this, as described and those too who, living in the forest, meditate with
faith upon the Satya Brahman (Hiranyagarbha), reach the deity identified
with flame, from him the deity of the day, from him the deity of) the
fortnight in which the moon waxes, from him the deities of the six months
during which the sun travels northward, from them the deity identified with
the world of the gods (devaloka), from him the sun, from the sun the deity
of lightning. Then a being created from the mind of Hiranyagarbha comes and
leads them to the worlds of Brahmin. In those worlds of Brahma they become
exalted and live for many years. They no more return to this
world.
16
"But those who conquer the worlds through
sacrifices, charity and austerity reach the deity of smoke, from smoke, the
deity of the night, from night the deity of the fortnight in which the moon
wanes, from the decreasing half of the moon the deities of the six months
during which the sun travels southward, from these months the deity of the
world of the Manes and from the world of the Manes, the moon. Reaching the
moon they become food. There the gods enjoy them, just as here the priests
drink the shining soma juice—saying as it were: "Flourish, dwindle." And
when their past work is exhausted they reach this very akasa, from the akasa
they reach the air, from the air rain, from rain the earth. Reaching the
earth they become food. Then they are again offered in the fire of man and
thence in the fire of woman. Out of the fire of woman they are born and
perform rites with a view to going to other worlds. Thus do they
rotate.
"Those, however, who do not know these two ways become insects
and moths and those creatures which often bite (i.e. mosquitoes and
gnats)."
1
Whoever wishes to attain greatness (i.e.
wealth for performing sacrificial rites) should act as follows: On an
auspicious day of the fortnight in which the moon waxes, under a
constellation bearing a masculine name, during the northward journey of the
sun, he should undertake for twelve days a vow connected with the Upasads,
gather in a cup or a bowl made of fig wood all the herbs and their grains,
sweep and plaster the ground, lay the fire, spread the kusa grass, purify
the offering (clarified butter) according to the rules, place between
himself and the fire the mantha (the paste made of those herbs etc.) and
offer oblations with the following mantras:
"O Fire, to all those gods
under you who spitefully slay men’s desires, I offer their share. May they
be satisfied and satisfy me with all the objects of my desire! Svaha!
"To
that deity who turns out to be spiteful under your protection, thinking that
she is the support of all, I offer this stream of clarified butter.
Svaha!"
2
"Svaha to the oldest, svaha to the
greatest!"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation in the fire and lets
the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the paste (mantha).
"Svaha
to the vital breath (prana), svaha to the vasishtha (the most
excellent)!"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation in the fire and
lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the paste
(mantha).
"Svaha to the organ of speech, svaha to that which has
steadiness!"
—uttering these words, he offers an oblation in the fire and
lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the paste
(mantha).
"Svaha to the eye, svaha to prosperity!"—uttering these words,
he offers an oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the
ladle drip into the paste (mantha).
"Svaha to the ear, svaha to the
abode!"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation in the fire and lets the
remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the paste (mantha).
"Svaha to
the mind, svaha to procreation (prajati)!"—uttering these words, he offers
an oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip
into the paste (mantha).
"Svaha to the organ of generation!"—uttering
these words, he offers an oblation in the fire and lets the remainder
adhering to the ladle drip into the paste (mantha).
3
"Svaha to fire"—uttering these words, he
offers an oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle
drip into the paste.
"Svaha to the moon"—uttering these words, he offers
an oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip
into the paste.
"Svaha to the earth"—uttering these words, he offers an
oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into
the paste.
"Svaha to the sky"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation
in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the
paste.
"Svaha to heaven"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation in
the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the
paste.
"Svaha to earth, sky and heaven"—uttering these words, he offers
an oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip
into the paste.
"Svaha to the brahmin"—uttering these words, he offers an
oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into
the paste.
"Svaha to the kshatriya"—uttering these words, he offers an
oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into
the paste.
"Svaha to the past"—uttering these words, he offers an
oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into
the paste.
"Svaha to the future"—uttering these words, he offers an
oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into
the paste.
"Svaha to the universe"—uttering these words, he offers an
oblation in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into
the paste.
"Svaha to all"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation in
the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the
paste.
"Svaha to Prajapati"—uttering these words, he offers an oblation
in the fire and lets the remainder adhering to the ladle drip into the
paste.
4
Then he touches the paste, uttering the
mantra: "You move as the vital breath; you burn as fire; you are infinite as
Brahman; you are unshaken as the sky. You are the meeting—place of all. You
are the sound hing and are uttered as hing in the sacrifice by the
prastotri. You are the Udgitha and are chanted by the udgatri. You are
recited by the adhvaryu and recited back by the agnidhra. You are fully
ablaze in the moist cloud. You are omnipresent and the ruler. You are food
as the moon and light as fire. You are death and you are that in which all
things merge."
5
Then he raises the paste, saying: "As the
vital breath you know all; we too are aware of your greatness as the vital
breath. The vital breath is the king, the ruler, the sovereign. May it make
me king, ruler and sovereign."
6
Then he eats the paste, saying: ‘Tat
saviturvarenyam’ (‘That adorable light’)—’The winds blow sweetly (madhu),
the rivers pour forth sweetness (madhu); may the herbs be sweet (madhu) unto
us!’ ‘Svaha to the earth (Bhuh).
‘Bhargo devasya dhimahi’—(‘Of the
radiant sun, We meditate upon’ )—’May the nights and days be sweet (madhu),
may the dust of the earth be sweet (madhu), may heaven, our father, be sweet
(madhu)!’ ‘Svaha to the sky (Bhuvah).’
‘Dhiyo yo nah prachodayit’ (‘May
He stimulate our intellect’)—
‘May the soma creeper be sweet (madhu) unto
us, may the sun be sweet (madhu), may the quarters be filled with sweetness
(madhu) for us!’ ‘Svaha to heaven (Svah).’
Then he repeats the whole
Gayatri and all the verses about sweetness (madhumati) and says at the end:
"May I be all this! Svaha to earth, sky and heaven.
Then he eats all that
is left of the paste, washes his hands and lies down behind the fire with
his head to the east.
In the morning he salutes the sun saying: "You are
the one non—dual and best lotus of the quarters; may I be the one lotus
among men.
Then he returns the way he went, sits behind the fire and
repeats the line of teachers.
7
Uddalaka, the son of Aruna, taught this to
his pupil Vijasaneya Yajnavalkya and said: "Should One pour it (the paste)
even On a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring
forth."
8
Then Vajasaneya Yajnavalkya taught this to
his pupil Madhuka, the son of Paingi and said: "Should one pour it even on a
dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth."
9
Then Madhuka, the son of Paingi, taught
this to his pupil Chula, the son of Bhagavitta and said: "Should one pour it
even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring
forth."
10
Then Chula, the son of Bhagavitta, taught
this to his disciple Janaki, the son of Ayasthuna and said: "Should One pour
it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring
forth."
11
Then Janaki, the son of Ayasthuna, taught
this to his pupil Satyakama, the son of Jabala and said: "Should one pour it
even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring
forth."
12
And Satyakama, the son of Jabala, taught
this to his pupils and said:
"Should one pour it even on a dry stump,
branches would grow and leaves spring forth."
One must not teach this to
anyone but a son or a pupil.
13
Four articles are made of fig wood: the
sacrificial ladle, the bowl, the fuel and the two mixing—rods.
The
cultivated grains are ten in number: Rice, barley, sesamum, beans, millet
(anu), panic seeds (priyangu), wheat, lentils, pulse and vetch.
They
should be crushed and soaked in curds, honey and clarified butter and
offered as an oblation.
1
The earth is verily the essence of all
these beings, water is the essence of the earth, herbs of water, flowers of
herbs, fruits of flowers, man of fruits and semen is the essence of
man.
2
Prajapati said to Himself: "Well, let Me
make a firm basis for it (semen)." So He created woman. Having created her,
He placed her below and worshipped her. Therefore one should worship a
woman, placing her below. He (Prajapati) extended His organ that projects
and with it impregnated her.
3
Her lap is the sacrificial altar, her hair
the sacrificial grass, her skin within the organ the lighted fire; the two
labia of the vulva are the two stones of the soma—press.
He who, knowing
this, practises sexual intercourse wins as great a world as is won through
the Vijapeya sacrifice; he acquires for himself the fruit of the good deeds
of the woman. But he who, without knowing this, practises sexual intercourse
turns over to the woman his own good deeds.
4
Having known this, Uddalaka the son of
Aruna, Naka the son of Mudgala and Kumara—harita said: "Many mortals,
brahmins only in name, perform the sexual act without knowledge of what has
been said and depart from this world impotent and without merit."
Even if
this much semen—of one asleep or of one awake—is spilled,
5
He should touch it and repeat the
following mantra:
"Whatever semen of mine has spilt on earth, whatever
has flowed to plants, whatever to water, I reclaim it."
With these words
he should take the semen with his ring finger and thumb and rub it between
his breasts or eyebrows, repeating the following mantra:
"Let the semen
return to me, let Vigour come to me again, let glow and good fortune come to
me again. May the deities who dwell in the sacrificial fire put the semen
back in its proper place."
6
Now, if a man sees himself (his
reflection) in water, he should recite the following mantra:
"May the
gods bestow on me vigour, manhood, fame, wealth and merit."
In praise of
the wife who will bear him a son:
She (his wife) has put on the soiled
clothes of impurity; she is, verily, loveliness among women. Therefore when
she has removed the clothes of impurity and appears beautiful, he should
approach her and speak to her.
7
If she does not willingly yield her body
to him, he should buy her with presents. If she is still unyielding, he
should strike her with a stick or with his hand and overcome her, repeating
the following mantra:
"With power and glory I take away your
glory."
Thus she becomes discredited.
8
If she grants his desire, he should repeat
the following mantra:
"With power and glory I give you glory."
Thus
they both become glorious.
9
If a man desires his wife with the
thought: "May she enjoy love with me," then, after inserting the member in
her, joining mouth to mouth and stroking her organ, he should utter the
following mantra:
"O semen, you have been produced from my every limb,
especially from my heart through the essence of food you are the essence of
the limbs. Bring this woman under my control, like a deer pierced by a
poisoned arrow."
10
Now, the wife whom he desires with the
thought: "May she not conceive"—after inserting the member in her and
joining mouth to mouth, he should inhale and then exhale, repeating the
following mantra:
"With power, with semen, I reclaim the semen from
you."
Thus she comes to be without semen.
11
Now, the wife whom he desires with the
thought: "May she conceive"—after inserting the member in her and joining
mouth to mouth, he should inhale and then exhale, repeating the following
mantra:
"With power, with semen, I deposit semen in you."
Thus she
verily becomes pregnant.
12
Now, if a man’s wife has a paramour whom
he detests, he should perform the following rite in order to cast an evil
spell upon him:
Let him put fire in an unbaked earthen vessel, spread
stalks of reed and kusa grass inversely and offer in the sacrificial fire
the reed tips, soaked in clarified butter, inversely, repeating the
following mantra:
"You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take
away your prana and apana, you, _______! Here the name of the evil—doer
should be uttered. You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take away
your sons and cattle, you, _______! You have made a libation in my kindled
fire! I take away your Vedic rites and those done according to the Smritis,
you, _______! You have made a libation in my kindled fire! I take away your
hopes and expectations, you, _______
He whom a brahmin who knows this
rite curses, departs from this world impotent and shorn of merit. Therefore
let no one even joke with the wife of a Vedic scholar who knows this rite;
for he who has this knowledge is a dangerous enemy.
13
If a man’s wife has the monthly sickness,
she should for three days drink water from a cup made of bell metal. Let no
sudra man or woman touch her. After three nights she should bathe, put on a
new cloth and her husband should make her thresh rice.
14
If a man wishes that a son with a fair
complexion should be born to him, that he should study one Veda and that he
should attain a full term of life, then they (husband and wife) should have
rice cooked in milk and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be
able to beget such a son.
15
If a man wishes that a son with a tawny or
brown complexion should be born to him, that he should study two Vedas and
that he should attain a full term of life, then they should have rice cooked
in curds and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be able to beget
such a son.
16
If a man wishes that a son with a dark
complexion and red eyes should be born to him, that he should study three
Vedas and that he should attain a full term of life, then they should have
rice cooked in water and eat it with clarified butter. Thus they should be
able to beget such a son.
17
If a man wishes that a daughter should be
born to him who will be a scholar and attain a full term of life, then they
should have rice cooked with sesamum and eat it with clarified butter. Thus
they should be able to beget such a daughter.
18
If a man wishes that a son should be born
to him who will be a famous scholar, frequenting assemblies and speaking
delightful words, a student of all the Vedas and an enjoyer of the full term
of life, he should have rice cooked with the meat of a young bull or of one
more advanced in years and he and his wife should eat it with clarified
butter. Then they should be able to beget such a son.
19
Now, towards morning he purifies the
clarified butter according to the rules of Sthalipaka and offers Sthalipaka
oblations repeatedly, saying:
"Svaha to fire! Svaha to Anumati! Svaha to
the radiant sun, who produces infallible results!"
Having made the
offering, he takes up the remnant of the cooked food, eats part of it and
gives the rest to his wife. Then he washes his hands, fills the water—vessel
and sprinkles her thrice with water, uttering once this mantra:
"Get up
from here, O Visvavasu! Seek another young woman, a wife with her
husband."
20
Then he embraces her, repeating the
following mantra:
I am the vital breath and you are speech. You are
speech and I am the vital breath. I am Saman and you are Rig; I am heaven
and you are earth. Come, let us strive together so that we may have a male
child."
21
Then he spreads apart her thighs,
repeating the following mantra:
"Spread yourselves apart, Heaven and
Earth."
Inserting the member in her and joining mouth to mouth, he
strokes her three times from head to foot, repeating the following
mantra:
"Let Vishnu make the womb capable of bearing a son! Let Tvashtra
shape the various limbs of the child! Let Prajapati pour in the semen! Let
Dhatra support the embryo! O Sinivali, make her conceive; O goddess whose
glory is widespread, make her conceive! May the two Atvins, garlanded with
lotuses, support the embryo!
22
"Let the two Atvins churn the womb with the
two golden arani sticks! I am placing a seed in your womb to be delivered in
the tenth month. As the earth has fire in its womb, as heaven is pregnant
with the sun, as the quarters are impregnated by air, so I am impregnating
you by placing this seed in your womb."
After the reciting of the mantra,
he utters his own name and that of his wife and places the seed.
23
When she is about to deliver the child, he
sprinkles her with water, repeating the following mantra:
"As the wind
agitates a pond on every side, even so let your foetus stir and come out
along with the chorion. Indra (prana) made a path when the seed entered the
womb. O Indra, follow that path and come out with the foetus and the
covering and cause also the after birth to come forth with the
babe."
24
When the son is born, he should light a
fire, take the child on his lap, put a mixture of curds and clarified butter
in a bell—metal cup and offer oblations in the fire repeatedly, uttering the
mantra:
"May I increase as the son in my own home and support a thousand
people! May the Goddess of Fortune never depart, with children and cattle,
from his line! Svaha! The vital breath that is in me, I mentally offer to
you. Svaha! If I have done anything too much or too little in this ceremony,
may the all—knowing and highly beneficent fire make it just right and proper
for me. Svaha!"
25
The, putting his month to the child’s
right ear, he should say thrice: "Speech! Speech!" Next he would mix
together curds, honey and clarified butter and feed the child with a golden
stick which is not placed inside the month, saying these mantras:
"I put
the earth (Bhuh) into you; I put the sky (Bhuvah) into you; I put heaven
(Svah) into you. The whole of earth, sky and heaven I put into
you."
26
Then he (the father) gives him (the son) a
name: ‘You are the Veda (knowledge)." That is his secret name.
27
Then he presents him to the mother to give
him her breast, uttering the mantra:
"O Sarasvati, that breast of thine
which is fruitful, the sustainer of all, full of milk, the bestower of
wealth and generous and by which thou nourishest all who are worthy—transfer
that breast here to my wife, for my child to suck.
28
Then he addresses the mother of the child
thus:
‘You are the adorable Arundhati, the wife of Vasishtha and with me,
who am a man, as your partner you have brought forth a male child. Be the
mother of many male children, for you have given us a son.
1
Now the line of teachers:
The son of
Pautimashi received this knowledge from the son of Katyayani. The son of
Katyayani from the son of Gautami. The son of Gautami from the son of
Bharadvaji. The son of Bharadvaji from the son of Parasari. The son of
Parasari from the son of Aupasvasti. The son of Aupasvasti from the son of
another Parasari. The son of this Parasari from the son of Katyayani. The
son of Katyayani from the son of Kausiki. The son of Kausiki from the son of
Alambi and the son of Vaiyaghrapadi. The son of Vaiyaghrapadi from the son
of Kanvi and the son of Kapi. The son of Kapi
2
From the son of Atreyi. The son of Atreyi
from the son of Gautami. The son of Gautami from the son of Bharadvaji. The
son of Bharadvaji from the son of Parasari. The son of Parasari from the son
of Vatsi. The son of Vatsi from the son of another Parasan.. The son of this
Parasan from the son of Varkaruni. The son of Varkaruni from the son of
another Varkaruni. The son of this Varkaruni from the son of Artabbagi. The
son of Artabbagi from the son of Saungi. The son of Saungi from the son of
Sankriti. The son of Sankriti from the son of Alambayani. The son of
Alambayani from the son of Alambi. The son of Alambi from the son of
Jayanti. The son of Jayanti from the son of Mandukayani. The son of
Mandukayani from the son of Manduki. The son of Manduki from the son of
Sandili. The son of Sandili from the son of Rathitari. The son of Rathitari
from the son of Bhaluki. The son of Bhaluki from the two sons of Kraunchiki.
The two sons of Kraunchiki from the son of Vaidabhriti. The son of
Vaidabhriti from the son of Karsakeyi. The son of Karsakeyi from the son of
Prachinayogi. The son of Prachinayogi from the son of Sanjivi. The son of
Sanjivi from Asurivasin, who was the son of Prasni. The son of Prasni from
Asurayana. Asurayana from Asuri. Asuri
3
From Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya from
Uddalaka. Uddalaka from Aruna. Aruna from Upavesi. Upavesi from Kusri. Kusri
from Vajasravas. Vajasravas from Jihvavat, the son of Badhyoga. Jihvavat,
the son of Badhyoga, from Asita, the son of Varshagana. Asita, the son of
Varshagana, from Harita Kasyapa. Harita Kasyapa from Silpa Kasyapa. Silpa
Kasyapa from Kasyapa, the son of Nidhruva. Kasyapa, the son of Nidhruva,
from Vach. Vach from Ambhini. Ambhini from the sun. These white Yajuses
(sacrificial formulas not vitiated by human blemishes) are explained by
Yajnavalkya, belonging to the Vajasaneyi school.
4
The line of teachers is the same up to the
son of Sanjivi. The son of Sanjivi received this knowledge from Mandukayani.
Mandukayani from Mandavya. Mandavya from Kautsa. Kautsa from Mahitthi.
Mahitthi from Vamakakshiyana. Vamakakshiyana from Sandilya. Sandilya from
Vatsya. Vatsya from Kusri. Kusri from Yajnavachas, the son of Rajastamba.
Yajnavachas, the son of Rajastamba, from Tura, the son of Kavashi. Tura, the
son of Kavashi, from Prajapati (Hiranyagarbha). Prajapati received this
knowledge from his relationship to Brahman (the Vedas). Brahman is
self—existent. Salutation to Brahman.