पूर्वविकल्पः प्रकरणात्स्यात्क्रिया, मानसवत् ॥ ४५ ॥
pūrvavikalpaḥ prakaraṇātsyātkriyā, mānasavat || 45 ||
pūrva-vikalpaḥ—Alternative forms of the one mentioned first; prakaraṇāt—on account of the context; syāt—ought to be; kriyā—part of the sacrifice; mānasavat—like the imaginary drink.
45. (The fires spoken of in the previous Sutra are) alternative forms of the one mentioned first (i.e. the actual sacrificial fire) on account of the context; (they) ought to be part of the sacrifice like the imaginary drink.
The opponent raises a fresh objection. In a certain sacrifice a Soma drink is offered to Prajapati, wherein the earth is regarded as the cup and the sea as the Soma. This is a mental act only, and yet it forms a part of the sacrifice. So these fires also, though mental, i.e. imaginary, are yet part of the sacrifice, and not an independent Vidya, because of the context. They are rather an alternative form of the first-mentioned actual tire.