16. The teacher [is] the Vedic student; the Vedic student [is] Prajāpati; Prajāpati bears rule (vi-rāj); the virā́j became the controlling Indra.
17. By Vedic-studentship, by fervor, a king defends his kingdom; a teacher by Vedic-studentship (brahmacárya) seeks a Vedic student.
Ppp. reads rakṣate in b, and ichati in d.
18. By Vedic-studentship a girl wins (vid) a young husband; by Vedic-studentship a draft-ox, a horse strives to gain (ji) food.
Instead of jigīṣati at the end, SPP. reads jigīrṣati 'strives to swallow,' finding it in the comm., and in less than a quarter (four out of seventeen) of his authorities; none of ours give it, so far as noted. Ppp. suggests yet another and a better reading, namely jihīrṣati—if, as seems probable, that underlies its corruption jāhiruṣati. As between jigīṣati and jigīrṣati, the former seems preferable. ⌊These verses will seem much less inept if we give a less rigid interpretation to brahmacarya: see Deussen, p. 281, p. 278.⌋
19. By Vedic-studentship, by fervor, the gods smote away death; Indra by Vedic-studentship brought heaven (svàr) for the gods.
Ppp. reads apā ’jayan at end of b ⌊and amṛtaṁ for devebhyaḥ in d⌋.
20. The herbs, past and future, day and night, the forest tree, the year together with the seasons—they are born of the Vedic student.
All the saṁhitā-mss. chance to agree in c in reading sahá rtúbhis, which SPP. accordingly gives in his text. Ppp. also has it; and further bhūtābhavyam in a, and brahmacāriṇā at the end.
21. The earthly, the heavenly cattle, they of the forest, and they that are of the village, the wingless and they that are winged—they are born of the Vedic student.
Ppp. again reads at the end -cāriṇā. ⌊For paçavas, cf. xi. 2. 24 note.⌋
22. Individually do all that are of Prajāpati bear breaths in their bodies (ātmán); all these the bráhman defends, brought in the Vedic student.
Ppp. reads at end of b bibhrate; one would like to emend to bíbhratas. ⌊But cf. Deussen's interpretation, p. 282.⌋ Ppp. also has in c sarvāṅs tān.
23. That, sent forth (? pariṣūtá) of the gods, not mounted onto, goes about shining; from that [was] born the brā́hmana, the chief bráhman, and all the gods, together with immortality.
The translation of the first half-verse is merely mechanical. The second is identical with 5 c, d, above. Ppp. puts the verse after our vs. 24, reads puruhūtam instead of the obscure pariṣūtam in a, and gives the verse a last half of its own: tasmin sarve paçavas tatra yajñās tasminn annaṁ saha devatābhiḥ; and this version of the second half-verse is given in GB. i. 2. 7. The comm. explains pariṣūtam as parigṛhītam; ātmatayā sākṣātkṛtam.
