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330
SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA.
as much as the number of metres he utters has that (altar) of him who knows this, prayers uttered upon it in metre after metre, or hymns chanted, or sastras recited, or (bricks) laid down upon it.
SECOND BRAHMANA. 1. As to this they say, 'What metre and what deity are the head of the fire-altar ?' The metre Gayatri and the deity Agni are its head.
2. "What metre and what deity are its neck ?' The metre Ushrih and the deity Savitri are its neck.
3. What metre and what deity are its spine?' The metre Brihati and the deity Brihaspati are its spine.
4. What metre and what deity are its wings?' The metres Brihat and Rathantara and the deities Heaven and Earth are its wings.
5. What metre and what deity are its waist ?' The metre Trishtubh and the deity Indra are its waist.
6. What metre and what deity are its hips ?' The metre Gagati and the deity Aditya (the sun) are its hips.
7. What metre and what deity are the vital air whence the seed flows?' The metre Atikhandas and the deity Pragâ pati.
8. 'What metre and what deity are that downward vital air?' The metre Yagñayagñiya and the deity Vaisvânara.
9. 'What metre and what deity are the thighs ?' The metre Anushtubh and that deity, the Visvedevâh, are the thighs.
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