Rámáyan of Válmíki (World's Classics Series). Valmiki
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Thus did each priest obtain his meed
At the great Slaughter of the Steed,
Ordained, the best of all to be,
By self-existent deity.
Ikshváku’s son with joyful mind
This noble fee to each assigned,
But all the priests with one accord
Addressed that unpolluted lord:
“Tis thine alone to keep the whole
Of this broad earth in firm control.
No gift of lands from thee we seek:
To guard these realms our hands were weak.
On sacred lore our days are spent:
Let other gifts our wants content.”
The chief of old Ikshváku’s line
Gave them ten hundred thousand kine,
A hundred millions of fine gold,
The same in silver four times told.
But every priest in presence there
With one accord resigned his share.
To Saint Vaśishṭha, high of soul,
And Rishyaśring they gave the whole.
That largess pleased those Bráhmans well,
Who bade the prince his wishes tell.
Then Daśaratha, mighty king,
Made answer thus to Rishyaśring:
“O holy Hermit, of thy grace,
Vouchsafe the increase of my race.”
He spoke; nor was his prayer denied:
The best of Bráhmans thus replied:
“Four sons, O Monarch, shall be thine,
Upholders of thy royal line.”
1 “The Pravargya ceremony lasts for three days, and is always performed twice a day, in the forenoon and afternoon. It precedes the animal and Soma sacrifices. For without having undergone it, no one is allowed to take part in the solemn Soma feast prepared for the gods.” Haug’s Aitareya Bráhmaṇam. Vol. II. p. 41. note q.v.
2 Upasads. “The Gods said, Let us perform the burnt offerings called Upasads (i.e. besieging). For by means of an Upasad, i.e. besieging, they conquer a large (fortified) town.”—Ibid. p. 32.
3 The Soma plant, or Asclepias Acida. Its fermented juice was drunk in sacrifice by the priests and offered to the Gods who enjoyed the intoxicating draught.
4 “Tum in cærimoniarum intervallis Brachmanæ facundi, sollertes, crebros sermones de rerum causis instituebant, alter alterum vincendi cupidi. This public disputation in the assembly of Bráhmans on the nature of things, and the almost fraternal connexion between theology and philosophy deserves some notice; whereas the priests of some religions are generally but little inclined to show favour to philosophers, nay, sometimes persecute them with the most rancorous hatred, as we are taught both by history and experience. . . . This śloka is found in the MSS. of different recensions of the Rámáyan, and we have, therefore, the most trustworthy testimony to the antiquity of philosophy among the Indians.” Schlegel.
5 The Angas or appendices of the Vedas, pronunciation, prosody, grammar, ritual, astronomy, and explanation of obscurities.
6 In Sanskrit vilva, the Ægle Marmelos. “He who desires food and wishes to grow fat, ought to make his Yúpa (sacrificial post) of Bilva wood.” Haug’s Aítareya Bráhmanam. Vol. II. p. 73.
7 The Mimosa Catechu. “He who desires heaven ought to make his Yúpa of Khádira wood.”—Ibid.
8 The Butea Frondosa. “He who desires beauty and sacred knowledge ought to make his Yúpa of Paláśa wood.”—Ibid.
9 The Cardia Latifolia.
10 A kind of pine. The word means literally the tree of the Gods. Compare the Hebrew עצי יהוה “trees of the Lord.”
11 The Hindus call the constellation of Ursa Major the Seven Rishis or Saints.
12 A minute account of these ancient ceremonies would be out of place here. “Ágnishṭoma is the name of a sacrifice, or rather a series of offerings to fire for five days. It is the first and principal part of the Jyotishṭoma, one of the great sacrifices in which especially the juice of the Soma plant is offered for the purpose of obtaining Swarga or heaven.” Goldstücker’s Dictionary. “The Ágnishṭoma is Agni. It is called so because they (the gods) praised him with this Stoma. They called it so to hide the proper meaning of the word: for the gods like to hide the proper meaning of words.”
“On account of four classes of gods having praised Agni with four Stomas, the whole was called Chatushṭoma (containing four Stomas).”
“It (the Ágnishṭoma) is called Jyotishṭoma, for they praised Agni when he had risen up (to the sky) in the shape of a light (jyotis).”
“This (Ágnishṭoma) is a sacrificial performance which has no beginning and no end.” Haug’s Aitareya Bráhmaṇam.
The Atirátra, literally lasting through the night, is a division of the service of the Jyotishṭoma.
The Abhijit, the everywhere victorious, is the name of a sub-division of the great sacrifice of the Gavámanaya.
The Viśvajit, or the all-conquering, is a similar sub-division.
Áyus is the name of a service forming a division of the Abhiplava sacrifice.
The Aptoryám, is the seventh or last part of the Jyotishṭoma, for the performance of which it is not essentially necessary, but a voluntary sacrifice instituted for the attainment of a specific desire. The literal meaning of the word would be in conformity with the Prauḍhamanoramá, “a sacrifice which procures the attainment of the desired object.” Goldstücker’s Dictionary.
“The Ukthya is a slight modification of the Ágnishṭoma sacrifice. The noun to be supplied to it is kratu. It is a Soma sacrifice also, and one of the seven Saṇsthas or component parts of the Jyotishṭoma. Its name indicates its nature. For Ukthya means ‘what refers to the Uktha,’ which is an older name for Shástra, i.e. recitation of one of the Hotri priests at the time of the Soma libations. Thus this sacrifice is only a kind of supplement to the Ágnishṭoma.” Haug. Ai. B.
13 “Four classes of priests were required in India at the most solemn sacrifices. 1. The officiating priests,