तद्धापि ब्रह्मदत्तश्चैकितानेयो राजानं भक्षयन्नुवाच, अयं त्यस्य राजा मूर्धानं विपातयतात्, यदितोऽयास्य आङ्गिरसोऽन्येनोदगायदिति; वाचा च ह्येव स प्राणेन चोदगायदिति ॥ २४ ॥
taddhāpi brahmadattaścaikitāneyo rājānaṃ bhakṣayannuvāca, ayaṃ tyasya rājā mūrdhānaṃ vipātayatāt, yadito’yāsya āṅgiraso’nyenodagāyaditi; vācā ca hyeva sa prāṇena codagāyaditi || 24 ||
24. Regarding this (there is) also (a story): Brahmadatta, the great-grandson of Cikitāna, while drinking Soma, said, ‘Let this Soma strike off my head if I say that Ayāsya Āṅgirasa chanted the Udgītha through any other than this (vital force and speech).’ Indeed he chanted through speech and the vital force.
Regarding this subject described above a story is also narrated in the śruti. Brahmadatta, the grandson[18] of Cikitāna, while drinking Soma in a sacrifice, said, ‘Let this Soma in the bowl that I am drinking strike off my head for being a liar, i.e. if I have told a lie.’—The suffix of the verb is a substitute for an imperative suffix and expresses a wish. —How can he become a liar? This is being explained: ‘If I say that Ayāsya Āṅgirasa chanted the Udgītha through any other deity than this vital force combined with speech, which is being discussed.’ The term ‘Ayāsya Āṅgirasa,’ denoting the vital force in the mouth, refers to the priest who chanted in the sacrifice of the ancient sages who projected this world. ‘If I say like this, I shall be a liar, and for entertaining this false notion let that deity strike off my head.’ The mention of his taking this oath shows that one must have a firm conviction of this knowledge.[20] This purport of the story the Śruti concludes in its own words: He, that chanter, called here Ayāsya Āṅgirasa, chanted through speech, which is subordinate to the vital force, and the vital force, which is his own self, meaning this is the significance of the oath.