In a sacred and reverent gathering, a young one is dedicated, with prayers that he may play and move about freely, following his own will, and never abandon his people, who are graced with good fortune and abundance. The wish is for him to remain among them, bringing prosperity and wealth. As the ritual proceeds, the goat is prepared for sacrifice. The priests call upon the leaders and guides to lead this one forth, to seize him and let him journey to the world of the righteous, with full awareness. The goat, having crossed through many forms of great darkness, is bid to ascend to the third heaven. For Indra, the goat is led around as a portion in the sacrifice, offered on behalf of the patron. The prayer is that those who harbor hatred toward the sacrificers be seized in turn, while the innocent are protected for the patron’s sake. A blessing is spoken over the goat: may its feet never be stained by any evil it may have done; with pure hooves, let it step forward, fully aware. After traversing many darknesses, with clear vision, let the goat rise to the third heaven. As the ritual skinning takes place, care is taken to remove the hide gently, as one would with a jointed knife, without causing harm. There is a plea: let there be no harshness or malice in the preparation; let the goat rest peacefully in the third heaven. With a sacred verse, the goat is placed in the vessel, set amidst the fire, and water is poured over it. Those who calm and sanctify with fire are called to surround the offering, that the cooked one may journey to the world of the righteous. The goat is bidden to depart, whether uncooked or cooked, and to ascend above, to the third heaven. Born from fire, it becomes one with fire, conquering the world filled with light. The sages proclaim: the goat is Agni, the goat is light; the living goat is to be given to the Brahman. The offering of the goat drives away darkness, given in this world with faith. The five rice offerings are sent forth in five ways, striving toward the three lights. The offering is sent, desiring the world of the righteous, to the middle, to rest in the third heaven. The goat is urged to ascend to the world of the righteous, like a wild ram, unstoppable, overcoming all obstacles. The five-rice-offering, given to the Brahman, brings satisfaction and contentment to the giver. In the three heavens, in the triple sky, on the back of heaven, the goat places the offering. The five-rice-offering, given to the Brahman, is likened to the all-formed cow, the wish-fulfilling one, the unique and only one. The light of the Fathers is said to be the third: the five-rice-offering, the goat, is given to the Brahman. The goat, given in faith, drives away darkness far away. Desiring the world of the righteous, the five-rice-offering, the goat, is offered to the Brahman. May the giver conquer the world with expansion, and may the accepted one be auspicious for all. The goat is said to have been born from the heat of Agni, inspired from the inspired, powerful and wise. The gods are invoked to arrange all that is desired, fulfilled, completed, and the vaṣaṭ-offering in due season. As part of the sacrificial gift, an uncut garment and gold should be given, ensuring the attainment of all worlds, both celestial and earthly. The streams are invoked to approach, O Soma, divine, flowing with honey and backed by ghee; they support the earth and sky, and rest upon the summit of heaven, upon the seven-rayed. The invocation continues: You are unborn, you are the very heaven; through you, Angiras attained the world. May I come to know that auspicious world. By you, O Agni, a thousand is carried; by you, all the Vedas are sustained. With you, may our sacrifice be carried forth, so that we may reach the heavenly realms. The cooked goat establishes itself in the heavenly world, offered with five portions of rice, driving away destruction; through this, may we conquer the worlds of the sun. The offering placed in the Brahmin, in the villages, and the moisture of the goat’s rice offerings—all this, O Agni, may you recognize for us at the meeting of the paths, in the world of the virtuous. The goat, O Agni, has stepped forth; its upper part has become the sky, its middle the mid-region, its sides the directions, and its womb the oceans. Truth and order are its eyes; all is truth; faith is its breath; radiance is its head. This, indeed, is the boundless sacrifice: the goat with five rice portions. He who gives the goat with five rice portions as the sacrificial gift of light attains an unlimited sacrifice and encompasses an unlimited world. The bones of the goat are not to be broken, nor its marrow extracted; it is to be offered whole and complete. This is its true form; with this, it is led forth; nourishment and strength are drawn for the giver of the goat with five rice portions as the sacrificial gift of light. Five gold pieces, five new garments, and five cows that grant desires are given to the one who offers the goat with five rice portions as the sacrificial gift of light. These five gold pieces become light for the giver; armor and garments become his protection; he attains the heavenly world who gives the goat with five rice portions as the sacrificial gift of light. A woman, having lost her former husband and finding another, to whom the goat with five rice portions is given, does not depart from her new husband. He becomes of equal world, reborn with another husband, who gives the goat with five rice portions as the sacrificial gift of light. Those who give a cow with a calf, a draught ox, a seat, a garment, and gold, reach the highest heaven. The sacrificer calls upon all those who are dear—himself, his father, son, grandson, great-grandfather, wife, mother, and birth-giver. He who does not know the difference between summer and winter—this sacrifice, the goat with five rice portions, is itself summer and winter. It burns away the wealth of those who are unfriendly and becomes the wealth of the giver. Whoever knows the one who acts so as not to be harmed, to her alone is given the wealth of the disliked rival. Truly, the goat with five rice-dishes is the one who acts so as not to be harmed. By this act, the giver burns up the wealth of the rival, offering the goat with five rice-dishes as a southern light-offering. Similarly, whoever knows the one who restrains, the one who fattens, the one who rises, and the one who overcomes as not to be harmed, to each of them alone is given the wealth of the disliked rival. In each case, the goat with five rice-dishes is that one, and by this act, the giver burns up the rival’s wealth, offering the goat with five rice-dishes as a southern light-offering. The goat and the five rice-dishes are cooked, and all directions, united and harmonious, along with the intermediate regions, are invoked to accept the offering. Prayers are made for the directions to protect the offering, and clarified butter and oblations are offered to them. Finally, it is declared: he who knows Brahman as manifest, whose components are the sacred hymns and whose recitation is the chanting, truly knows the heart of this sacrifice.