In the sacred space of the ritual, the offerings are prepared and the invocations begin. The consecration is made for all the divine and earthly senses, and a prayer is uttered that Tvaṣṭṛ, the divine craftsman, may shape the mind aright. The good-born offering is dedicated to Sūrya, to the gods, to the Marīcis, and to the vital breath, udāna, with the sacred utterance, svāhā. Vāyu, the wind-god, is called forth—adorned and pure, the drinker of the Soma. A thousand of his eager troops are invited, all choosing, all welcome. The intoxicating Soma is brought forward, and Vāyu, who is first to taste, is honored with it. The offering is made to Vāyu. Indra and Vāyu are then jointly invoked. The freshly pressed draughts of Soma await them, longing for their presence. Vāyu is taken up for approach, offered a seat alongside Indra. Both are honored together, and their seat is prepared. Next, the Soma pressed for Mitra and Varuṇa—those who increase truth—is presented. The sacrificer’s call is sent forth, hoping to be heard. The offering is lifted up to Mitra and Varuṇa, inviting their approach. A prayer follows for joy and prosperity: “May we, together with our companions, rejoice in wealth. May the gods accept our offering, and may the cows thrive on their fodder.” The sacrificer asks Mitra and Varuṇa to grant a cow that is ever-yielding and never failing. Their seat is set, and they are placed as the keepers of truth. The Aśvins, divine twins, are then welcomed. Their whip is praised as sweet and a bringer of pleasant speech. With it, may they foster the sacrifice. The Aśvins are received, and their seat is prepared for those who delight in sweetness. To the ancient and foremost, the all-encompassing, eldest one seated on the sacred grass—knower of the light, nourisher of people, swift and victorious among the devoted—the offering is made for the eunuch. The seat is set, asking for protection of virility. The eunuch is purified, and a prayer is made for the favor of the gods who drink the bright Soma. This one is declared invincible. The mighty one, who generates heroes, surrounds the sacrificer with prosperity, shining with radiant brilliance in both heaven and earth. Now, the eunuch is removed, and the abode of the bright one is established. A prayer to Soma follows: “May we be givers of unbroken strength, heroic power, and abundant wealth.” This is the first, universal preparation, with Varuṇa, Mitra, and Agni as the foremost. Bṛhaspati, the wise one, is honored first. The pressed Soma is offered to Indra with the exclamation ‘svāhā.’ The officiants are invited to enjoy the sweet offerings, pleasing and well-invoked. Agni, the fire, remains unharmed. Now, an offering is received for the Ādityas. For Viṣṇu’s wide stride, this Soma is dedicated, asking for its protection and that no harm may come to it. Indra is invoked as never weak, always united with the worshipper. The generous one is called upon, his gifts sought from the gods, and the offering is affirmed as belonging to the Ādityas. The Ādityas are praised for never abandoning, for guarding both births. The fourth pressing, their power, is wished to reach immortality in heaven. Again, the offering is dedicated to the Ādityas. The sacrifice itself is said to approach the favor of the gods, and a prayer is made for the Ādityas’ mercy. Their favorable thought is sought, to remove distress and grant the best path. Vivasvat and the Ādityas are called to delight in their Soma seat. Faith is asked to be placed in the sacrificer’s words, so that when a couple receives blessings, a son is born, wealth is gained, and prosperity fills the home each day. A prayer to Savitar follows, asking for prosperity today, tomorrow, and every day, so that all may be sharers in prosperity. The offering is received for Savitar, remover of evil. The removal of all evil is asked to be placed in the sacrificer. The sacrifice and its lord are to be strengthened for fortune, for the god Savitar. Another offering is received, well-protected and firmly established, with abundant milking. Homage is paid, and it is placed as the seat for all the gods. The pressed Soma of Bṛhaspati is offered to Soma and Indra, the powerful, the husbandly grahas. The sacrificer proclaims, “I am above, I am below; whatever is in the midspace, that is my father. I have seen the sun on both sides; I have seen the highest secret of the gods.” Agni is then invoked, together with his spouse and Tvaṣṭṛ, to drink Soma. Prajāpati is praised as vigorous and the bearer of seed, and a prayer is made for that seed to be placed in the sacrificer, to partake of the seed of the vigorous Prajāpati and the seed-bearers. The offering is received for Hari, yoked with Hari, belonging to the two Haris, and it is the wealth of the Haris, abundant with Soma, for Indra. The horse-offering, the food, the cow-offering—all that is pleasingly offered, praised, well-spoken, and well-invoked—is declared as the food the sacrificer partakes of. The offering is praised as the remover of sin: of the gods, of humans, of ancestors, of oneself, of every kind of sin. Whatever sin is committed, knowingly or unknowingly, this offering is the remover of all. A prayer is made for brilliance, nourishment, and strong bodies, with auspicious mind. Tvaṣṭṛ is asked, as the gracious giver, to bestow wealth and to wipe away all defects from the body. Indra is invoked to lead with his mind, with cows, wise and generous companions, and well-being. The wish is for unity with the sacred utterance, with what is made by the gods, and with the favor of the worshipful gods. Again, the prayer is repeated for brilliance, nourishment, strong bodies, and auspicious mind, and Tvaṣṭṛ is asked to bestow wealth and remove bodily defects. Dhātṛ and Rati, Savitṛ, Prajāpati the guardian of treasures, and Agni are called to accept the offering. Tvaṣṭṛ and Viṣṇu, rejoicing in offspring, are asked to grant wealth to the sacrificer. The gods are told that an easy seat has been made for them at this pressing of Soma. They are asked to delight in it and, bearing and carrying the offerings, to grant treasures. Agni is asked to bring the eager gods to their seat, to urge them to partake, so that all who eat and drink may ascend to the vital warmth and radiant energy. Agni is chosen as the Hotṛ priest, the one who knows the sacrifice. He is invited to come with favor and prosperity, fulfilling each wish. The gods, knowing the path, are said to go upon it. The lord of the mind is asked to place the sacrifice with the wind. The offering is directed to go to the sacrifice, to the lord of sacrifice, to its own source. The sacrifice is declared to be for the lord of sacrifice, with a thousand hymns and full of heroes, and is asked to be accepted with favor. A prayer is made not to harm or strike, for King Varuṇa has made a broad path for the sun and steps for feet to tread. Even those who would turn away are pierced in the heart. Homage is paid to Varuṇa, and the sacrificer declares release from Varuṇa’s noose. Having entered the face of Agni, the son of the waters, the sacrificer seeks to protect the lordship and, in every house, to worship with fuel. Agni’s tongue, shining with ghee, is asked to move forth. The heart of the offering is in the ocean, within the waters. The plants and waters are called to enter it. The offering is made to the lord of sacrifice with hymns and homage. The divine waters are invoked, their embryo is entrusted to them to bear well and with care. Soma is told, “This is your world; in it, grant happiness and protection.” The offering is praised as cleansing, a remover of impurity. With the gods, the sin made by the gods is cast away; with mortals, the sin made by mortals. The many-formed god is asked to protect from harm, for this is the kindling of the gods. A prayer is made for the ten-month embryo to move, together with its membrane, as the wind and ocean move, so may the embryo be born whole. For whom this sacrificial embryo is intended, for whom the golden womb is, whose limbs are not taken away, to her may the sacrificer come together with the mother. The many-formed, manifold Soma, wise, is said to have entered the greatness within, spreading to all beings—one-footed, two-footed, three-footed, four-footed, and eight-footed—throughout the worlds. Thus, with reverence, the offerings are made, the gods are invoked, and the blessings of the sacrifice are sought for all beings, in every realm.