Listen, O seeker, to the ancient wisdom of the Yajur Veda, where the world’s beings and forms are woven into the tapestry of the gods. In the sacred order of sacrifice, each creature, each color, and each form is dear to a particular deity, and the universe is thus offered back to itself in reverence. The black-necked animals are cherished by Agni, the fire-god, while the white-spotted ones belong to the Vasus. The red-hued are for Rudra, the fierce one, and the white, keen-eyed creatures are the domain of the Ādityas. Those that mirror the sky in form are held by Parjanya, the rain-bringer. There are animals of many shapes: the tall, the bull, and the dwarf are dear to Indra-Viṣṇu; the tall, those with white arms and white backs, are for Indra-Bṛhaspati. The boar-shaped are the swift ones, the dappled are for Agni and the Maruts, and the dark ones are Pauṣṇa’s. Pairs of deities claim their own: the two-formed belong to Indra-Agni, the dwarfish to Agni-Soma, the submissive ones to Agni-Viṣṇu, and others to Maitrāvaruṇi and Maitri. Again, the black-necked are Agni’s, the tawny to Soma, the white to Vāyu, the unmarked to Aditi, those of similar form to Dhātri, and the calves are offered to the wives of the gods. The black animals are rooted in the earth, the smoky in the atmosphere, the large ones in the sky, the mottled in lightning, and the ashy in the stars. According to the seasons, the smoky are for spring, the white for summer, the black for the rains, the red-spotted for autumn, the tawny for winter, and the reddish-brown for the cool season. Each age of beast is dedicated: three-year-olds to Gāyatrī, five-year-olds to Triṣṭubh, two-year-old draught animals to Jagatī, three-calved ones to Anuṣṭubh, four-year-old draught animals to Uṣṇih, six-year-old draught animals to Virāj, oxen to Bṛhatī, bulls to Kakubh, Anaḍvāha to Paṅkti, and cows to Aticchandas. Again, the black-necked are for Agni, the tawny for Soma, the upadhvastā for Sāvitrī, calves for Sarasvatī, the dark for Pūṣan, the speckled for the Maruts, the many-formed for the Viśvadevas, and the submissive for Heaven and Earth. Among the moving ones are the Indra-Agni pair, the black ones, the Varuṇa pair, the speckled, the Maruts, and the highest forms. For Agni with many faces, one takes the firstborn of the Maruts; for the heating Maruts, the Savāti; for the Maruts of the householder, the Baṣkihā; for the playful Maruts, the mingled ones; and for the Maruts who possess their own, the following ones. Again, the moving ones are the Indra-Agni pair, the horned, the Mahendra, and the many-formed of Viśvakarman. The smoky, tawny animals are for the Fathers who have Soma; the tawny, tawny for the Fathers who sit on the barhis; the black, tawny for the Fathers consumed by fire; the black, speckled for the Triambakas. The moving ones also include those of Śunāsīra, the white of Vāyu, and the white of Sūrya. For spring, one offers francolins; for summer, lapwings; for the rains, partridges; for autumn, quails; for winter, crows; and for the cool season, jackdaws. For the ocean, porpoises are given; for Parjanya, frogs; for the waters, fish; for Mitra, kulīpaya birds; for Varuṇa, crocodiles. For Soma, swans; for Vāyu, cranes; for Indra and Agni, curlews; for Mitra, grebes; for Varuṇa, ruddy shelducks. For Agni, woodpeckers; for the forest trees, owls; for Agni and Soma, jays; for the Aśvins, peacocks; for Mitra and Varuṇa, pigeons. For Soma, lapwings; for Tvaṣṭṛ, the kaulīka birds; for the cowsheds, the birds of the wives of the gods; for Agni, the lord of the house, the pāruṣṇa birds. For the day, doves; for the night, the sīcāpū bird; for the junctions of day and night, the jatū bird; for the months, the dātyuha; for the year, the great eagle. From the earth, rats are offered; for the midspace, groups of mongooses; for the sky, shrews; for the directions, mongooses and civets; for the intermediate directions, striped mongooses. For the Vasus, antelopes; for the Rudras, spotted deer; for the Ādityas, nyanku deer; for all the gods, spotted antelopes; for the Sādhyas, kulunga deer. For Īśāna, parasvata animals; for Mitra, cows; for Varuṇa, buffaloes; for Bṛhaspati, wild oxen; for Tvaṣṭṛ, camels. For Prajāpati, men; for Hastī, elephants; for Vāc, the pluṣi bird; for Cakṣuṣ, flies; for Śrotra, bees. For Prajāpati and Vāyu, cattle and wild animals; for Varuṇa, the forest ram; for Yama, the black antelope; for the king of men, the monkey; for the tiger, the red cow; for the bull, the wild cow; for the swift hawk, the quail; for the blue-necked one, the worm; for the ocean, the porpoise; for the snowy mountain, the elephant. The peacock is Prajāpati’s; the owl, Halikṣṇa’s; the vṛṣadamsha fly, Dhātri’s; the heron, the directions’; the cuckoo, Agni’s; the kalaviṅka bird, Lohitāhi’s; the puṣkarasāda bird, Tvaṣṭṛ’s; the crane, Vāc’s. For Soma, the kulunga deer; for the forest, the wild goat; for Nakula, the mongoose; for Śaka, the pauṣṇa birds; for the jackal, the peacock; for Indra, the wild cow; for Pidva, the nyanku deer; for Kakkaṭa, the crab; for Anumati, the pratishrutkā bird; for Cakravāka, the ruddy shelduck. The balākā crane belongs to Sūrya; the śārga bird to Sṛjaya; the śayāṇḍaka bird to the Maitrā; the śāri bird to Sarasvatī; the puruṣavāk bird to the dog; the śārdūla (tiger) to the earth; the wolf to Pṛdāku; the parrot to Manyu; the śuka parrot to Sarasvatī; the puruṣavāk bird to man. The suparṇa bird is Parjanya’s; the ātirvāhasa bird, Darvida’s; the vulture, Vāyu’s; the kalaviṅka bird, Agni’s; the puṣkarasāda bird, Tvaṣṭṛ’s; the crane, Vāc’s; the plava bird, the midspace’s; the madgu bird and the fish, the lord of rivers’; the tortoise, Dyāvāpṛthivī’s. The puruṣamṛga is the moon’s; the iguana, Kālakā’s; the dārvāghāṭa bird, the lords of the forest’s; the kṛkavāku bird, Sāvitr’s; the swan, Vāta’s; the nākra crocodile, Makara’s; the kulīpaya bird, Akūpāra’s; the śalpa bird, Hri’s. The eṇi antelope belongs to the day; the frog to the night; the mouse to the partridge; the snake to the Aśvins; the black one to the night; the bear to the jatū; the suṣilīkā bird to the other people; the jahaka bird to Viṣṇu. The anyavāpa bird is for the half-months; the ṛśya antelope for the peacock; the suparṇa bird for the Gandharvas; the otter for the waters; the kaśyapa turtle for the months; the red fish for Kuṇḍṛṇācī; the golattikā bird for the Apsarases; the asita black bird for Death. The varṣāhū bird is for the seasons; the rat for the shrew; the mānthāla bird for the ancestors; the python for the Vasus; the francolin for the pigeons; the owl for the hare; the forest ram for Nirṛti and Varuṇa. The śvitra bird is for the Ādityas; the camel for the shining one; the vulture for Matī; the sṛmara for the forest; the spotted deer for Rudra; the kvayi bird for Kuṭarur; the dātyauha bird for the steeds; the pika bird for Kāma. The rhinoceros is for the Viśvadevas; the black dog for Karṇa; the donkey for Tarakṣu; the bear for the Rakṣasas; the boar for Indra; the lion for the Maruts; the kṛkalāsa bird for Pippaka; the śakuni bird for the missile; and the spotted antelope for all the gods. Thus, the offerings continue, each with its place and purpose. The śādaṃ bird is offered with curds, the avakā plant with roots of teeth, clay with barley, the tegā plant with tusks. Sarasvatī is invoked with the tip of the tongue, the base of the tongue with the uvula, the palate with the jaws, water with the mouth, the virile member with the testicles, the Ādityas with the beard, the path with the eyebrows, Dyāvāpṛthivī with the eyelids, lightning with the eyelashes. White is offered to Svāhā, black to Svāhā; the upper and lower eyelids are the barriers. Wind is offered with inhalation and exhalation, the nostrils with the approach, the lips with the good and the shining, inner and outer with their qualities, the head with thunder, the brain with lightning, the ears with hearing, the throat with water and mind, the neck with Aditi, the head with Nirṛti, the breath with the hair, and the heap with the body. Mosquitoes are for the hair, Indra for sleep, Bṛhaspati for the bird’s seat, tortoises for the shells, the step for the thighs, the bear for the calves, francolins for speed, the journey for the arms, arani wood for the jaw, Agni for the forearms, Pūṣan for the arms, the Aśvins for the shoulders, Rudra for the howling. The first part of the sacrifice is for Agni, the second for Vāyu, the third for Indra, the fourth for Soma, the fifth for Aditi, the sixth for Indrāṇī, the seventh for the Maruts, the eighth for Bṛhaspati, the ninth for Aryaman, the tenth for Dhātu, the eleventh for Indra, the twelfth for Varuṇa, and the thirteenth for Yama. Likewise, the first part is for Indra and Agni, the second for Sarasvatī, the third for Mitra, the fourth for the Waters, the fifth for Nirṛti, the sixth for Agni and Soma, the seventh for the Serpents, the eighth for Viṣṇu, the ninth for Pūṣan, the tenth for Tvaṣṭṛ, the eleventh for Indra, the twelfth for Varuṇa, and the thirteenth for Yamī. The southern side is for Dyāvā-Pṛthivī, and the northern for all the gods.