Listen, as the sacred verses unfold the tapestry of creation, sacrifice, and cosmic order. Time itself, in the forms of half-months, months, days, and nights—along with the mighty Maruts—bind, cut, and shape you. The divine priests, with their authority, divide and command, marking boundaries at your joints, binding you to the rhythm of the universe. Heaven, earth, the atmosphere, and the wind fill your every opening; the sun, accompanied by the stars, sanctifies your world, making it auspicious. Peace descends upon you—peace to your upper and lower limbs, to your bones and marrow, to your whole body. Deep questions arise: Who walks alone? Who is born again? What is the remedy for winter? What is the great covering? The sun alone walks its solitary path; the moon is ever reborn; fire brings relief in winter’s chill; and earth is the great covering for all. What can compare to the sun’s radiant light? Which lake is like the ocean? What surpasses the earth, and whose measure is unknown? Brahman alone equals the sun’s brilliance; the sky is a lake as vast as the ocean; Indra is greater than the earth; and the measure of the cow is unknowable. A seeker asks for understanding, yearning to grasp the mystery of those three strides of Vishnu, where the entire world entered and was sheltered. The answer comes: “I am present in those three steps where all the world entered. With a single portion of myself, I swiftly traverse the earth and the sky, reaching even the back of heaven.” Again, the seeker inquires: “In what did the person enter? What resides within the person?” The reply is profound: “The person entered into five, and those five are placed within the person. I search for you here—not by illusion, but with clarity of thought.” Further questions arise: “What was the original intention? What was the great speed? What is the pilippilā? What is the piśaṅgilā?” The answers are revealed: Heaven was the original intention; the horse, the great speed; the goat, the pilippilā; and night, the piśaṅgilā. Curiosity persists: “Who is this Piśaṃgilā? Who is Kurupiśaṃgilā? Who leaps upon the branch? Who glides along the path?” The she-goat is Piśaṃgilā, the dog is Kurupiśaṃgilā; the hare leaps upon the branch, and the serpent glides along the path. “How many are its droppings? How many syllables? How many offerings? In how many ways is it kindled? And in the assembly of sacrifice, how many priests worship in due season?” The answers come: There are six droppings, a hundred syllables, eighty offerings, and three kindling-sticks. In the sacred assembly, seven priests worship in due season. The seeker asks, “Who knows the navel of the world, the sky, the earth, and the atmosphere? Who knows the great origin of the sun and the birth of the moon?” The reply: “I know the navel of the world, the sky, the earth, and the atmosphere. I know the great origin of the sun and the source of the moon.” Further, the seeker seeks the farthest end of the earth, the navel of the world, the seed of the mighty horse, and the highest realm of speech. The answers are given: “This altar is the farthest end of the earth; this sacrifice is the navel of the world; this Soma is the seed of the mighty horse; this Brahman is the highest realm of speech.” The story of creation is recounted: The well-born, self-existent One, first within the great ocean, placed the embryo of sacrifice, from which Prajāpati was born. The priest invokes Prajāpati, empowered by the greatness of Soma, offering and inviting him to drink. A prayer is offered: “O Prajāpati, none but you has encompassed all forms. May your desire, for which we offer, become ours. May we be lords of riches.” The narrative turns to the sacred animals, each part and form dedicated to a deity. The horse is the upper part, the cow and deer belong to the offspring of Prajāpati. The black-necked is Agni’s, placed in front; the Sarasvatī sheep lies below, under the sand. The Aśvins claim the lower thighs; Saumya and Pauṣṇa the arms; the dark one at the navel, Sūrya the sides. The white and black are the flanks for Tvaṣṭṛ; the hairy thighs for Vāyu; the white tail for Indra, the beautiful one for Svapasya; the great Vaiṣṇava is the dwarf. The red, smoky-red, and Karkandhu-red are offered to the gentle one; brown, ruddy-brown, and white-brown to Varuṇa; white-marked ones to Sāvitrī; white-armed to Bṛhaspati; and the spotted to Maitrāvaruṇa. The pure-maned, all-pure-maned, and jewel-maned to the Aśvins; white, white-eyed, and red to Rudra, lord of cattle; ears to Yama; smeared ones to Raudra; those resembling the sky to Parjanya. Speckled, crosswise-speckled, and upward-speckled are the Maruts’; reddish, red-tailed, and spotted are Sarasvatī’s; spleen-eared, trunk-eared, and upward-iron-eared to Tvaṣṭṛ; black-necked, white-eyed, and marked-thighed to Indra-Agni; black-fingered, small-fingered, and great-fingered to Uṣas. The artisans belong to the Vaiśvadevas; the red ones to Rohiṇī; three-year-olds to Speech; unknown ones to Aditi; similar-formed to Dhātr; calves to the wives of the gods. Black-necked belong to Agni, white-spotted to the Vasus, red to Rudra, white and seeing ones to the Ādityas, and those of sky-form to Parjanya. The elevated, the bull, and the dwarf are Indra-Viṣṇu’s; elevated, white-armed, and white-backed to Indra-Bṛhaspati; boar-formed to the swift ones; dappled to Agni-Marut; dark ones to Pauṣṇa. The Indra-Agni pair are two-formed; Agni-Soma pair are dwarfish; Anaḍvāha and Agni-Viṣṇu pair are submissive; Maitrāvaruṇi and Maitri are others. Black-necked belong to Agni, tawny to Soma, white to Vāyu, unmarked to Aditi, similar-formed to Dhātri, calves to the wives of the gods. Black ones are for earth, smoky for the atmosphere, large for the sky, mottled for lightning, ashy for the stars. The smoky are for spring, white for summer, black for the rains, red-spotted for autumn, tawny for winter, reddish-brown for the cool season. Three-year-olds are for Gāyatrī, five-year-olds for Triṣṭubh, two-year-old draught animals for Jagatī, three-calved for Anuṣṭubh, four-year-old draught animals for Uṣṇih. Six-year-old draught animals are for Virāj, oxen for Bṛhatī, bulls for Kakubh, Anaḍvāha for Paṅkti, cows for Aticchandas. Black-necked for Agni, tawny for Soma, upadhvastā for Sāvitrī, calves for Sarasvatī, dark ones for Pūṣan, speckled for the Maruts, many-formed for the Viśvadevas, submissive for Heaven and Earth. These are the moving ones: the Indra-Agni pair, the black ones, the Varuṇa pair, the speckled ones, the Maruts, and the uppermost of the forms. Thus, the cosmic order is woven—each being, each limb, each color and form, each season and measure, each question and answer—offered up to the gods in the great sacrifice, sustaining the world and all that moves within it.