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The Terminology of the Vedas and European Scholars 37
10.The ordure that runs from the belly, and the smallest
particle of raw flesh, may the immolators well prepare all this, and
dress the sacrifice till it is well - cooked.*
11.The juice that flows from thy roasted limb on the spit after
thou hast been killed, may it not run on the earth, or the grass; may it
be given to the gods who desire it.**
12.They who examine the horse when it is roasted, they who
say "it smells well, take it away," they who serve the distribution of
the meat, may their work also be with us.***
13.The ladle of the pot where the meat is cooked, and the
vessels for sprinkling the juice, the vessels to keep off the heat, the
covers of the vessels, the skewers, and the knives, they adorn the
horse.
14.Where he walks, where he sits, where he stirs, the foot-
fastening of the horse, what he drinks, and what food he eats, may
all these which belong to thee be with the god !
15.May not the fire with smoky smell make thee hiss, may
not the glowing cauldron swell and burst. The gods accept the
horse if it is offered to them in due form.
16.The cover which they stretch over the horse, and the
golden ornaments, the head-ropes of the horse, and the foot-ropes,
all these which are dear to the gods, they offer to them.
flesh of the horse,' but
kravisho is
an adjective qualifying
ashvasya,
the
whole really means,'of the pacing horse.'
Kravisho
does not mean 'of the
flesh' but 'pacing' from the root
kram,
to pace. The meaning would be.
"What the fly eats of whatever dirty adheres to the horse,"&c. Again the
words
swarau
and
swadhittu
are translated into stick and axe which is
never their meaning.
Amasya kravisho,
which means 'raw food yet undigested and disposed
to come out' is similarly translated by Muller into 'raw flesh' here.
Ama
is the state of the undigested food in the belly. Here again, Muller does
not follow the structure of the
mantra.
** Agnina pachyamauad,
which means 'forced by the heat of anger,'is
translated by Muller as 'roasted,' and
hatasya,
which means 'propelled,'
is here translated by Muller as "killed."
***The translation of this
mantra
is specially noteworthy. The word
wajinam
from
waja,
cereals, is here taken as meaning 'horse' and Professor Max
Muller is so anxious to bring forth the sense of the sacrifice of the horse
that, not content with this, he interprets
mansa bhiksham upaste,
which
means 'he serves the
absence
of meat' into 'serves the meat.' Can there
be any-thing more questionable?