ORIENTAL SERIES.

BRAHMANASAPTI BRAHMA PURANA. 61
the BrahmaTias of the Rig are specially devoted to the duties of
the Hotn, who recites the nchas or verses, those of the Yajur to
the performance of the sacrifices by the Adhwaryu, and those of
the Saman to the chaunting by the Udgatn. The Rig has the
Aitareya Brahmana, which is perhaps the oldest, and may date
as far back as the seventh century B.C. This is sometimes called
Aswalayana. It has another called Kaushitaki or $ankhayana.
The Taittinya Sanhita of the Yajnr-veda has the Taittiriya
Brahmawa, and the Yajasaneyi Sanhita has the $atapatha Brahmam,
one of the most important of all the Brahmanas. The
Sama-veda has eight BrahmaTias, of which the best known are
the Praiuftia or Pancha-vinsa, the Taratfya, and the ShaeZ-vinsa.
The Atharva has only one, the Gopatha Brahma^a, In their
fullest extent the Brahmarcas embrace also the treatises called
Arafiyakas and TJpanishads.
BEAHMANASPATI. A Yedic equivalent of the name Bn-
haspati.
BEAHMAiVDA PTJEAJVA.
" That which has declared, in
12,200 verses, the magnificence of the egg of Brahma, and in
which an account of the future kalpas is contained, is called
the BrahmaTi^a PuraTia, and was revealed by Brahma." This
PuraTia, like the Skanda, is " no longer procurable in a collective
body," but is represented by a variety of Kha?i^as and Mahatmyas
professing to be derived from it. The Adhyatma Eama-
yaTia, a very popular work, is considered to be a part
of this
Pura?za.
BEAHMAJVI The female form, or the daughter of Brahma,
also called ata-rupa (q.v.).
BEAHMA-PUEA. The city of Brahma. The heaven of
Brahma, on the stimmit of Mount Meru, and enclosed by the
river Ganga.
BEAHMA PUEAZVA. In all the lists of the Purawas the
Brahma stands first, for which reason it is sometimes entitled
the Adi or "First" Purami. It was repeated by Brahma to
Marlchi, and is said to contain 10,000 stanzas, but the actual
number is between 7000 and 8000. It is also called the Saura
Purarai, because " it is, in great part, appropriated to the worship
"
of Surya, the sun." The early chapters give a description of
the creation, an account of the Manwantaras, and the history
of the Solar and Lunar dynasties to the time of Knshrza in a