With a heart full of reverence, the sage stood before the gathered people and invoked a blessing upon them: “May your minds, your vows, and your intentions be united as one. I bow before you all, and for those among you whose hearts are divided, I bring you together in harmony.” He continued, “With my own mind, I take hold of yours; my thoughts follow where your thoughts lead. I draw your hearts close, so that your paths may follow mine.” Turning to the earth, the sage spoke of the sacred ploughshare: “Heaven is its father, earth is its mother, and as the gods have joined them together, so too, O waters, may you unite them again.” He recalled the deeds of Manu: “Those who could not bear, he supported. The barren branch he made fruitful, just as the udder of a cow gives forth milk.” He described the rituals of the field, “With a tawny thread, the khṛgala is bound. Let the skilled ones make the shravasyu, the shushma, the kābava, and the vadhri firm and strong. These shravasyus move as the gods do, employing the illusion of the asuras. Yet the bandhurā and kābava are like monkeys, defiling what is pure.” He warned, “For harm, I will revile you and defile the kābava; like chariots without horses, you will go forth, cursed. Across the earth, a hundred viṣkandhas are spread, but among them, you are lifted up as a jewel, the defiler of viṣkandha.” He turned his gaze to the night and the turning of the year: “She was the first to awaken, becoming the cow of Yama. May she, rich in milk, yield for us the greatest abundance. The gods delight in her as night approaches, the cow who is the wife of the year. May she be auspicious for us. You, whom we worship as the counterpart of the year, as the night, grant us offspring with long life, and unite us with wealth and nourishment.” He praised the one who moves among the dawns: “This is she, who first enters the dawns; great powers dwell within her. She is the bride who has conquered, the mother of nine offspring. The stones of the forest, resounding, prepare the offering for the year. On the eighth night, may we become lords of wealth, blessed with good children and strong sons.” He prayed, “To the abode of Iḍā, rich in ghee, Jātavedas, accept our offerings. Among the seven diverse domestic animals, may their delight be in me. In nourishment and increase, O night, may we remain in the favor of the gods. Leap forth from the full ladle, leap forth again from the well-filled one. Having enjoyed all the sacrifices, bring us food and strength.” He declared, “This year has come, the lord on the eighth night for you. Grant us offspring who live long, and unite us with wealth and nourishment. I worship the seasons, their lords, the periods, and the years; I worship the months and years for the lord of beings. To the seasons, the periods, the months, and the years; to the supporter, the arranger, the prosperous, I offer worship for the lord of beings.” He continued with the offering: “With Iḍā, offering with ghee, we worship the gods. May we enter homes without greed, homes rich in cattle. The eighth night, heated by austerity, produced the great embryo, Indra. With him, the gods overcame their enemies; he became the slayer of the Dasyus, the lord of power. Daughter of Prajāpati, born of Indra and Soma, fulfill our desires and accept our offering.” Turning to healing, the sage proclaimed, “I release you with offering for life, from known and royal diseases. If the seizure has seized him, may Indra and Agni release him. Whether his life is rooted in the earth, or has departed, or stands near to death itself, I draw him away from destruction, untouched, for a hundred autumns. With the thousand-eyed, hundred-powered, hundred-lived offering, I have drawn him forth, as Indra leads him through the autumns, beyond all misfortune.” He blessed the one in need: “Live a hundred autumns, growing strong; a hundred winters, a hundred springs. May Indra, Agni, Savitṛ, and Bṛhaspati, with the hundred-lived offering, draw you forth. Enter, O breaths, as oxen enter the stall; let other deaths depart, those which are called the hundred others. Remain here, O breaths; do not depart from here, both of you. Carry the limbs and body of this one back again to youth." “I place you in old age, I set you down in old age. May auspicious old age lead you; let other deaths depart. Old age has bound you, as a cow is bound with a rope. The death that approached you at birth with tight bonds, Bṛhaspati has released you from it with the hands of truth.” He turned to the house, the center of life: “Here I establish a firm house, secure, pouring forth ghee. In this house, may all heroes, noble and unharmed, dwell together. Remain firm here, O house, with horses, with cattle, with pleasant speech, with strength, with ghee, with milk; rise up for great good fortune. You are established, O house, with broad shelter and pure grain. May the calf come to you, the boy, may the cows return to you in the evening, stirring.” He invoked the gods: “May Savitṛ, Vāyu, Indra, and Bṛhaspati establish this house with knowledge. May the Maruts sprinkle it with ghee; may Bhaga, our king, extend our cultivation. Wife of the mind, shelter, gentle goddess, created by the gods at the beginning, wearing grass, kindly and without malice, grant us wealth with strong sons. Climb the pillar with truth, O bamboo, shining, drive away enemies. May those who approach not harm you; O house, may we live a hundred autumns, all heroes.” He described the abundance of home: “Here the young boy, the calf, comes with the living; here the flowing jar, the vessel of curds, is brought with the pots. Bring forth, O woman, this full jar, a stream of ghee, gathered with nectar. Mix these vessels with nectar; may fulfilled sacrifice and offering protect this one. I bring these waters, free from sickness, destroyers of disease. I enter the houses with nectar and with Agni.” He honored the rivers: “When the flowing ones moved together, sounding, unharmed, from that you are called rivers; these are your names, O streams. When sent by Varuṇa, you rushed swiftly; then Indra attained you, O waters. Therefore, O waters, you flow onward.” Thus, through blessings, invocations, and sacred remembrance, the sage wove together the unity of minds, the bounty of earth and night, the healing of the body, the security of the home, and the ceaseless flow of the rivers, all under the watchful gaze of the gods.