The Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana, aka the Talavakara Upanishad Brahmana, is a confusingly named text which is actually an Aranyaka of the Sama Veda, not a Brahmana or Upanishad. It does contain within it the famous Kena Upanishad which I discuss here, but my question is about a different part of the text. In this excerpt from the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana, the birth of Brahma and what ensued after it is described:
The brahman created Prajapati. It created him without seeing, without mouth. Him lying not looking, without mouth, the brahman entered. That [became?] human. Verily the brahman is breath. Breath, indeed, entered him thus. He arose, a generator of progeny.Him the Rakshasas fastened on. Him one singing this same saman rescued. Because he singing (gayan) rescued (atrayata), that is the reason why the gayatra[-saman] is called so.... By means of the bodiless saman he shook off this one's bodies.
My question is, who is the one who rescued Brahma from demons by singing the Gayatra Saman hymn of the Sama Veda?
I think the story being referred to is the one told in this chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam:
Out of disgust, Brahmā threw off the body of ignorance, and taking this opportunity, Yakṣas and Rākṣasas sprang for possession of the body, which continued to exist in the form of night. Night is the source of hunger and thirst. Overpowered by hunger and thirst, they ran to devour Brahmā from all sides and cried, “Spare him not! Eat him up!” Brahmā, the head of the demigods, full of anxiety, asked them, “Do not eat me, but protect me. You are born from me and have become my sons. Therefore you are Yakṣas and Rākṣasas.” He then created the chief demigods, who were shining with the glory of goodness. He dropped before them the effulgent form of daytime, and the demigods sportingly took possession of it. Lord Brahmā then gave birth to the demons from his buttocks, and they were very fond of sex. Because they were too lustful, they approached him for copulation. The worshipful Brahmā first laughed at their stupidity, but finding the shameless asuras close upon him, he grew indignant and ran in great haste out of fear. He approached the Personality of Godhead, who bestows all boons and who dispels the agony of His devotees and of those who take shelter of His lotus feet. He manifests His innumerable transcendental forms for the satisfaction of His devotees. Lord Brahmā, approaching the Lord, addressed Him thus: "My Lord, please protect me from these sinful demons, who were created by me under Your order. They are infuriated by an appetite for sex and have come to attack me. My Lord, You are the only one capable of ending the affliction of the distressed and inflicting agony on those who never resort to Your feet." The Lord, who can distinctly see the minds of others, perceived Brahmā’s distress and said to him: “Cast off this impure body of yours.” Thus commanded by the Lord, Brahmā cast off his body.
So is the Vishnu the person who rescued Brahma in that Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana? If so, did he sing the Gayatra Saman in the process, even if the Srimad Bhagavatam doesn't mention it? Or did someone, perhaps Brahma himself, pray to Vishnu using the Gayatra Saman to get Vishnu to rescue Brahma from the demons?
Does Sayana's commentary shed any light on this? Are there any other scriptures that describe someone rescuing Brahma by chanting the Gayatra Saman?
