याज्ञवल्क्येति होवाच, कत्ययमद्योद्गातास्मिन्यज्ञे स्तोत्रियाः स्तोष्यतीति; तिस्र इति; कतमास्तास्तिस्र इति; पुरोनुवाक्या च याज्या च शस्यैव तृतीया; कतमास्ता या अध्यात्ममिति; प्राण एव पुरोनुवाक्या, अपानो याज्या, व्यानः शस्या; किं ताभिर्जयतीति; पृथिवीलोकमेव पुरोनुवाक्यया जयति, अन्तरिक्शलोकं याज्यया, द्युलोकं शस्यया; ततो ह होताश्वल उपरराम ॥ १० ॥
इति प्रथमं ब्राह्मणम् ॥yājñavalkyeti hovāca, katyayamadyodgātāsminyajñe stotriyāḥ stoṣyatīti; tisra iti; katamāstāstisra iti; puronuvākyā ca yājyā ca śasyaiva tṛtīyā; katamāstā yā adhyātmamiti; prāṇa eva puronuvākyā, apāno yājyā, vyānaḥ śasyā; kiṃ tābhirjayatīti; pṛthivīlokameva puronuvākyayā jayati, antarikśalokaṃ yājyayā, dyulokaṃ śasyayā; tato ha hotāśvala upararāma || 10 ||
iti prathamaṃ brāhmaṇam ||10. ‘Yājñavalkya,’ said he, ‘how many classes of hymns will the Udgātṛ chant in this sacrifice to-day?’ ‘Three classes.’ ‘Which are those three?’ ‘The preliminary, the sacrificial, and the eulogistic hymns as the third.’ ‘Which are those that have reference to the body?’ ‘The Prāṇa is the preliminary hymn, the Apāna is the sacrificial hymn, and the Vyāna is the eulogistic hymn.’ ‘What does he win through them?’ ‘Through the preliminary hymns he wins the earth, through the sacrificial hymns he wins the sky, and through the eulogistic hymns he wins heaven.’ Thereupon the Hotṛ Aśvala kept silent.
‘Yājñavalkya,’ said he, etc., is to be explained as before. ‘How many classes of hymns will the Udgātṛ chant?’ By the word ‘hymns’ is meant a collection of Ṛces that can be chanted. All Ṛces whatsoever, whether capable of being chanted or not, are comprised in just three classes, says Yājñavalkya; and they are explained as the preliminary, the sacrificial and the eulogistic hymns as the third. It has already been said that the aspirant wins ‘All this that is living.’ One may ask, ‘Through what similarity?’ The answer is being given: ‘Which are those three Ṛces that have reference to the body?’ ‘The Prāṇa is the preliminary hymn,’ because both begin with the letter p. ‘The Apāna is the sacrificial hymn,’ because it comes next in order. Also, the gods eat the oblations offered through the Apāna, and a sacrifice is also an offering. ‘The Vyāna is the eulogistic hymn,’ for another Śruti says, ‘He utters the Ṛc without the help of the Prāṇa or the Apāna’ (Ch. I. iii. 4). ‘What does he win through them?’—already explained. The similarity with regard to particular relations that was not mentioned before is being given here; the rest has already been explained. Because of the similarity of relation to a particular world (viz. the earth), through the preliminary hymns he wins the earth; through the sacrificial hymns he wins the sky, because both occupy an intermediate position; through the eulogistic hymns he wins heaven, because both occupy the highest position. Thereupon, i.e. when his questions were answered, the Hotṛ Aśvala kept silent, realising that his opponent was too deep for him.