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Iii, 28

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"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],

p. 300

Ma
\"N"D"Ala Iii, Hymn 28.

Ash
\"T"Aka Iii. Adhyya 1, Varga 31.

1. O
Agni "G"tavedas, accept graciously our offering, the sacrificial cake at the morning libation, O god who givest wealth for our prayers.

2.
The sacrificial cake, O Agni, has been baked or made ready for thee: accept it graciously, O youngest (god).

3.
Agni, accept eagerly the sacrificial cake which has been offered, which has stood overnight. Thou art the son of strength, established at the sacrifice.

4.
At the midday libation, "G"tavedas, accept here graciously the sacrificial cake, O sage. Agni, the wise ones do not diminish at the sacrificial distributions 1 the portion which belongs to thee, the vigorous one 2.

5.
Agni, at the third libation take joyfully the sacrificial cake, O son of strength, which has been offered. And in thy admirable way place our wakeful sacrifice, blessed with treasures, before the immortal gods.

6.
Agni, grown strong, O "G"tavedas, accept graciously our offering, the sacrificial cake which has stood overnight.

Notes.

The same "Ri"shi. The metre is Gyatr in verses 1, 2, 6, Ush"n"ih in verse 3, Trish"t"ubh in verse 4, and "G"agat in verse 5.--No verse occurs in the other Sa"m"hits.

p. 301

This Skta and the following are, as their position at the end of the Anuvka and the number of their verses show, later additions to the original collection. The 28th hymn contains verses destined for the offerings of sacrificial cakes to Agni at each of the three Savanas. Quite in the same way hymn 52, which also belongs to the later additions, refers to sacrificial cakes offered to Indra. The oblation of such cakes to Indra at each Savana is found also in the later Vedic ritual (comp. Ktyyana IX, 9, 2 seq.; Weber, Indische Studien, X, 369, 376), and several verses of III, 52 are indicated there as Puronuvky verses for those very offerings; see "s"valyana "S"rautastra V, 4, 2. 3. After each cake-offering to Indra follows the Svish"t"ak"ri"t-oblation to Agni: and for these oblations "s"valyana (loc. cit. Stra 6) prescribes verses 1, 4, and 5 of our hymn, according to the order of the three Savanas. From the text of the hymn it seems to be evident that verses 1-3 have been composed for the first, verse 4 for the second, and verses 5-6 for the third Savana. With this distribution the change of the metres evidently stands in connection. In accordance with the theories of the later Vedic theologians, we have here the Gyatr as the characteristic metre of the first, the Trish"t"ubh of the second, the "G"agat of the third Savana.

Comp. also "s"valyana Vi, 5, 25, and the very ingenious but at the same time somewhat hazardous observations of Bergaigne, Recherches sur l'Histoire de la Liturgie Vdique, 16 seq.

Verse 4.

Note 1. The text has vidtheshu.

Note 2. Comp. I, 36, 1, note 2.
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