In the ancient times, before the other gods were born, there existed ten primal deities. These forebears, having fashioned the world, bestowed it upon their sons. Yet, the question arises: in which realm do these original gods now dwell, having fulfilled their purpose? As creation unfolded, a mysterious being gathered together the elements of hair, bone, sinew, flesh, and marrow. With these, he shaped a body, complete with feet. Once this body was formed, into which world did its creator then enter? From whence did he collect each part—hair, sinew, bone, limbs, joints, and marrow? Who brought together flesh, and from where was it summoned? The gods known as the Samcicas took up this task. They gathered all the materials, assembling every part with care and purpose. When their work was complete, these gods entered into the mortal man, infusing him with divine presence. The arrangement of the body was a marvel: thighs and feet with bones, the head, hands, mouth, back, ribs, and sides—all set together in harmonious order. Who, O wise one, orchestrated this intricate design? The head, hands, mouth, tongue, neck, and jaws were all covered with skin, and it was the earth herself who joined them, making the body whole. This body, once assembled and great in form, lay complete with all its joints. But what gave it its shining color? All the gods sought after this mystery, but it was the wise bride, the wife of the lord of power, who knew. She alone brought color into the body, completing the creation. When Tvaṣṭṛ, the divine artisan, divided the forms—along with his father, and the one who followed—they made a dwelling. Into this abode, the gods entered the mortal man, animating him with their presence. Yet, not only the divine entered. Sleep, drowsiness, decay, and evil—these too are deities, and they entered the body, bringing old age, baldness, and greyness. Alongside them came theft, wrongdoing, sin, truth, sacrifice, great glory, strength, sovereignty, and vigor—all finding their place within the human form. Prosperity and adversity, gifts and refusals, every hunger and thirst—all these entered as well. So too did blame and blamelessness, the impulses to strike or not strike, faith, generosity, and lack of faith. Knowledge and ignorance, all that is to be taught, the Veda itself—Ṛc, Sāman, and Yajus—entered the body. Joys, delights, pleasures, supreme happiness, laughter, harmlessness, and dances—these too became part of the human experience. Speech, babbling, desires, and idle talk—all these, both joined and unjoined, found a home in the body. The vital breaths, in-breath and out-breath, sight and hearing, the two earths, what is firm and what is ground, vital air and upward breath, speech and mind—all these move within the body, animating it. Blessings and commands, permissions and distinctions, all intentions and resolves entered as well. The tendencies to steal and to dwell, haste and misery, what is hidden, what is pure, what is gross, what is rejected, and what is repulsive—all these settled into the body. The gods, using bone as the fuel-stick and semen as the clarified butter, entered the person, accompanied by eight sacred waters. The waters, the deities, the sovereign order, and Brahman himself entered the body, with Prajapati presiding over all. The sun became the eye, the wind became the breath, and the gods gave the inner self to Agni, the fire. Thus, the wise recognize the person as Brahman, for in him dwell all the gods, just as cows are gathered within a pen. This being moves everywhere in threefold ways, manifesting in many forms—one here, one there, one elsewhere—yet always present. The body, placed in the waters and grown within the mothers, is set within, containing a shadow, and thus is called "shadow." Within this shadow, all aspects of being are present. In the midst of this creation, the power of Arbuda arises. All arms, arrows, bows, swords, axes, weapons, and the resolve of the heart—these, O Arbuda, you possess. Reveal them to us, that we may see our enemies and behold the mighty ones. Rise up, O divine beings, our friends in Arbuda! Let those who are seen and those who are hidden be our protectors. Let all our friends in Arbuda stand together. Rise up, take hold, bind, and strike down the armies of enemies in Arbuda. Arbuda is the name of the god, and Nyarbudi is the lord; by these two, the midspace and the great earth are encompassed. With these two, and with Indra, we pursue victory with our army. Rise up, O divine beings in Arbuda, together with the army, break the enemy's forces, and surround them with enjoyments. Seven noble ones, born in Nyarbuda, observe all. With them, when the offering is poured, rise up with the army. Make the enemies' wives tearful, fill their ears with wailing and their hair disheveled, when their men are slain and torn apart in Arbuda. Let the bereaved women, longing for their sons, husbands, brothers, or kin, drag the corpses and wail, torn apart in Arbuda. Let the vultures, crows, eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey, as well as jackals and greedy ones, be satisfied as they witness the enemies destroyed in Arbuda. Let every wild beast, fly, and worm be satisfied with the corpse, the excrement, the carrion, and what is chewed, with your swelling, O Arbuda. Let the vital breaths, inhaled and exhaled, be seized and gathered in the swelling; let the dwellings and settlements depart, watching among the enemies, with your swelling. Shake and scatter the enemies in fear; pierce them with your wide jaws and strong arms. Let their arms and the deceit in their hearts be confounded; let nothing of theirs remain, with your swelling. Let the destroyers—strong, loud-voiced, and fierce—run together; let the evil, disheveled, weeping women gather over the slain in your swelling. The dog-like nymphs, the forms, the swelling, the one who stirs within the vessel, the biting, the one who seeks evil—may all these be revealed in the swelling for the enemies to see, and let the mighty ones be made manifest. Thus, in this grand interplay of gods and forces, of virtues and vices, of blessings and battles, the body stands as the dwelling of the divine, a vessel for all that is, shaped by the hands of the gods and sustained by their presence.