a May I be pleasing to speech; pleasing to the lord of speech, O divine speech. The sweetness of speech place in me; hail to Sarasvati.

b By the Rik make the provision to prosper,

By the Gayatra the Rathantara,

The Brihat with the Gayatri for its metre.

c The drop that falls of them, that shoot,

Shaken by the arms, from the womb of the pressing-planks,

Or from the filter of the Adhvaryu,

Over it I say Hail! and offer it to the Mighty.

d The drop, the shoot, that has fallen on the ground,

From the rice grains, the cake, the mush,

From the provision with grain, from the mixed, O Mighty One, from the pure,

Over it I say Hail! and offer it to the Mighty.

e Thy sweet drop, powerful,

Over which Hail! is said and which goes back to God

From the sky, the earth, the atmosphere

Over it I say Hail! and offer it to the Mighty.

f The Adhvaryu is the first of the priests to start work, they say the Stoma should be started by him.

g "May speech that goes in front go in front, going straight to God, placing glory in me, breath in cattle, offspring in me and in the sacrificer," he says; thus he yokes speech at the beginning of the sacrifice. The place of the sacrifice is made when having drawn off the libations they creep to the Bahispavamana; for they go away, and they praise with verses which go away; he returns, and with a verse addressed to the All-Pervading reverences the provision. "O All-Pervading, as our nearest, O mighty one, grant us protection; the streams dripping honey milk for thee the unfailing source," he says; thus he makes to swell by it whatever of the provision has dried up through lying in the barrels.