Let us carefully measure out the span of our lives, so that we fulfill all that is due to us and not fall short of our purpose. With this intention, may we reach a hundred autumns, living out our full measure before our time comes. Again and again, with reverence, we pray: may our lives be measured with care, may we not leave anything undone, and may we see a hundred years before the end. Let this wish be repeated, so our lives are complete, and our days are not cut short. May I not be parted from my mother; may I attain the blessed realm of heaven and be endowed with a long, full life. Let me not depart before my allotted time, nor be felled by any untimely blow, nor struck down among the hundred arrows of fate. When the time comes, let breath, outgoing and incoming, the diffused breath, life, and sight that beholds the sun, all take the unerring path to the ancestors, under the rule of Yama. Those who went before us—those who rejoiced and passed beyond, having abandoned hatred and childlessness—discovered the radiant world of heaven, shining on the summit of the sky. The heavens are filled with water, the middle region is abundant, and the highest heaven is named, where the ancestors dwell in peace. To those who are the fathers of our father, our grandfathers, who entered the vast midspace and oversee both earth and sky, we offer our reverent homage. Now, as the sun is hidden from your sight, may the earth, as a mother wraps her child, enfold you gently. You will no longer see old age or anything of this world; as a wife wraps her husband with a garment, so may the earth embrace you. I wrap you in the auspicious garment of Mother Earth herself. May good fortune be with the living, sustenance with the ancestors, and may blessings be with you. Agni and Soma, makers of the path, have established the precious abode among the gods. Let Pūṣan, swift and wise, carry the departed forth on his chariots along the appointed paths, so that they may reach their destination. Let Pūṣan, protector of all beings and unfailing guide, drive you forward. He gives to the ancestors, and Agni gives to the gods who bestow good gifts. May the universal life-force protect you on every side. May Pūṣan guard you on the forward path, and may god Savitṛ place you where the righteous dwell, where they have gone before. I yoke for you these two fires, to lead forth your breath—may you reach the seat of Yama and the assembly of ancestors. This is your first garment, which has come to you. Let go of what you wore in this world. Pass onward, wise one, to the reward of your offerings and good deeds, where your gifts are shared among many relatives. Put on the armor of Agni, surrounded by cows, and cover yourself with fat and marrow. May you, strong and eager, be led forth without delay to your destined place. Taking the staff from your hand, with departed breath, with hearing, brilliance, and strength, may we, together and heroic, overcome all adversaries and hostilities. Taking the bow from your hand, with power, brilliance, and strength, gathering wealth and abundant nourishment, come near and return to the world of the living. Now, the woman, choosing the world of her husband, steps forward to you, O mortal departed. Following the ancient law, place offspring and wealth here for her. Arise, woman, return to the world of the living. Join this one whose breath has departed; by grasping his hand, you have become the mother of your husband and are united with him. I saw a young woman being led away, living yet set apart from the dead, enveloped in darkness. But I brought her back by the path that was trodden before. O sinless one, you know the world of the living and walk the path of the gods. Here is your guardian; accept him and ascend to the heavenly world with him. Rise to the sky, rise to the sacred grass, descend to the rivers. O Agni, we remove the bile from the waters. Whomever you, O Agni, have consumed equally, extinguish him again; let him rise here with water, with sacred grass, with the spreading shoots. This is your place before; that is your place now. With the third light, enter together. In the resting place, unite with your body, becoming dear to the gods in the highest abode. Rise, go forth, move to your dwelling in the waters; there, united with the Fathers, rejoice with Soma and with the offerings. Shake off your body, gather yourself together; let not your limbs be scattered, nor your body lost. Enter with a settled mind, and go where you are welcomed on earth. May the Fathers, who delight in Soma, anoint me with radiance; may the gods with honey and ghee. May they lead me across for sight, and may they grant me long life, even into old age with a toothless mouth. May Agni endow me with radiance, may Vishnu grant me intelligence. May all the gods bestow wealth upon me, and may the waters purify me with their streams. May Mitra and Varuna protect me; may the Adityas increase my fame. May Indra grant me radiance, and may Savitar remove old age from my hands. He who died first among mortals, who first departed to this world, to Yama, the gathering place of people—King Yama—offer him the oblation. Go forth, O Fathers, and return again; this sacrifice is prepared for you with honey. Grant us good fortune and wealth, and bestow upon us all-heroic prosperity. Kanva, Kakshivan, Purumidha, Agastya, Syavashva, Sobhari, Arcanana, Visvamitra, Jamadagni, Atri—may Kasyapa and Vamadeva protect us. Visvamitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Bharadvaja, Gotama, Vamadeva—may Atri lead our host at the front with homage; may the well-praised Fathers be gracious to us. May those pure ones, who cross over the foe bearing ever-renewed life, increase with offspring and wealth, and may we be prosperous in our homes. They anoint, they adorn, they unite, and they stir up resolve; they anoint with honey. The golden-hoofed ones seize the bull leaping at the breath of the river among the cattle. Whatever is your Soma-offering and your sign, O Fathers, join with that, for you are self-glorious. Wise ones, hear us here, being invoked at our assembly, and bestow good guidance. Those Atris, Angirases, Navagvas, sacrificers, bestowers of gifts, those who made offerings, those who are righteous, who stand here—rejoice on this sacred grass.