The Taittiriya Upanishad ends with a description of what happens to souls after they attain Moksha:
[H]e sits down singing this Sâman (of Brahman): "Hâvu, hâvu, hâvu! I am food (object), I am food, I am food! I am the eater of food (subject), I am the eater of food, I am the eater of food! I am the poet (who joins the two together), I am the poet, I am the poet! I am the first-born of the Right (rita). Before the Devas I was in the centre of all that is immortal. He who gives me away, he alone preserves me: him who eats food, I eat as food. I overcome the whole world, I, endowed with golden light."
For those who don't know, Saman is a term generally used to refer to hymns of the Sama Veda, so I asked this question to find out where in the Sama Veda this quote from. In this answer, I traced it back to verse 594 of the Sama Veda Samhita:
ahamasmi prathamajā ṛtasya pūrvaṃ devebhyo amṛtasya nāma |
yo mā dadāti sa idevamāvadahamannamannamadantamadmi ||
I have been created before the creation of devtas and nobody can survive without consuming me. Those who donate me in Yagna etc., I protect them and bestow them with the result of pious deeds [punya].
As the Sama Veda is musical, this verse was turned into a Sama Veda song called Purushagati, which is apparently used by the gods to pray to Vishnu, as I discuss here.
But my question isn't about the use of the verse in singing, but rather the origin of the verse itself. Most verses of the Sama Veda Samhita originate from other Vedas, and I think this verse originated in the Taittiriya Barhamana of the Yajur Veda. Let me explain. Each of the four Vedas is divided into four parts: Samhitas, the core part of the Vedas which consist of verses heard from the gods; Brahmanas, commentaries on the Samhitas which provide instructions for important rituals; Aranyakas, which provide a guide to rituals meant for forest-dwellers and hermits; and Upanishads, which consist of conversations between teachers and students which clarify the philosophical message of the Vedas. But the Yajur Veda has seem peculiarities in its organization.
First of all, the Yajur Veda comes in two versions, the Shukla or "white" version, and the Krishna or "dark" version. The Shukla Yajur Veda has its own peculiarities, but as I discuss in this answer the Krishna Yajur Veda is even weirder: its Samhita, known as the Taittiriya Samhita contains not only mantras heard from the gods, as you'd expect a Samhita to have, but also instructions on performing rituals, like a Brahmana would have. And similarly, the Taittiriya Brahmana also consists of mantra portions and Brahmana portions.
Now chapter 2.8.8 of the Taittiriya Brahmana is one of the mantra portions of the text, and as you can see here, it begins with the Sama Veda verse I'm interested in:
ahamasmi prathamaja rtasya. piirvam devebhyo amrtasya nabhih. yo ma daddti sa ideva ma' 'vah. ahamannamannamadantamadmi
purvamagnerapi dahatyannam. yattau ha' 'sate ahamuttaresu. vyattamasya pasavah sujambham. pasyanti dhirah pracaranti pakah
jahamyanyam na jahdmyanyam. ahamannam vasamiccarami. samanamartham paryemi bhunjat. ko mdmannam manusyo dayeta
parake annarh nihitam loka etat. visvairdevaih pitrbhirguptamannam. yadadyate lupyate yatparopyate. satatami sd tanurme babhuva
mahdntau cam sakrddugdhena paprau. divanca prsni prthivim ca sakam. tatsampibanto na minanti vedhasah. naitadbhuyo bhavati no kaniyah
annam pranamannamapanamahuh. anharh mrtyurh tamu jivatumahuh. annam brahmano jarasam vadanti. annamahuh prajananam prajanam
moghamannam vindate apracetah. satyam bravimi vadha itsa tasya. ndry'amanam pusyati no sakhdyam. kevalagho bhavati kevaladi
aham meghastanayanvarsannasmi. mdmadantyahamadmyanydn. aham sadamrto bhavdmi. madadityd adhisarve tapanti
See pages 2-5 of this PDF for an English translation of the hymn. It seems to be about Anna Devata god of food, who talks about how he rewards people who share their food with others and punishes people who eat food without sharing it. But my question is, who is the sage who heard this hymn from the gods? Did Anna Devata himself hear it, or did someone else?
Information like who heard what verse of the Vedas from the gods is found in the Anukramanis (indices) of the Vedas. I compiled Anukramani information for the Rig Veda Samhita in my answer here, and I requested the Anukramani for the Shukla Tajur Veda Samhita here. But does anyone know if the Anukramani information for the Krishna Yajur Veda Samhita, i.e, the Taittiriya Samhita, is available online in English?
