FOURTH KHANDA.

1. He who knows one sacrifice above another, one day above another, one deity above the others, he is clever. Now this great uktha (the nishkevalya-sastra) is the sacrifice above another, the day above another, the deity above others .

2. This uktha is fivefold. With regard to its being performed as a Stoma (chorus), it is Trivrit, Pankadasa, Saptadasa, Ekavimsa, and Pankavimsa. With regard to its being performed as a Saman (song), it is Gayatra, Rathantara, Brihat, Bhadra, and Ragana. With regard to metre, it is Gayatri, Ushnih, Brihati, Trishtubh, and Dvipada. And the explanation (given before in the Aranyaka) is that it is the head, the right wing, the left wing, the tail, and the body of the bird .

in each hymn. This, is the first round. He then sings the three middle verses in each hymn. This is the second round. He lastly sings the last three verses in each hymn. This is the third round. This song is called Udyati.

The Pankadasa stoma is formed out of one Sukta only, consisting of three verses. In the first round he sings the first verse three times, the second and third once. In the second round he sings the middle verse three times, in the third round he sings the last verse three times. This song is called Vishtuti.

The Saptadasa stoma is formed in the same manner, only that in the first round he sings the first verse three times, in the second the middle verse three times, in the third round the middle and last verses three times. This song is called Dasasapta.

The Ekavimsa stoma is formed in the same manner, only that in the first round he sings the last verse once, in the second the first verse once, in the third the middle verse once, while the other verses are each repeated three times. This song is called Saptasaptini.

The Pankavimsa stoma is formed in the same manner, only that in the first round he sings the first verse three times, the second four times, the last once; in the second round the first once, the second three times, the third four times; in the third round the first five times, the second once, the last three times; or he sings in the third round the first verse four times, the second twice, the last three times.