Chapter XXIII. Upākarma or Upākarana and Utsarjana or Utsarga

Volume II: Part II pp. 807–818

Chapter XXIII. Upākarma or Upākarana and Utsarjana or Utsarga

UPĀKARMA or UPĀKARAṆA AND UTSARJANA or UTSARGA.

Upākarma or Upākaraṇa means ‘opening, starting or beginning’ (upakrama as the Mit. on Yaj. I, 142 says) and Utsarjana or Utsarga (in Āśv. gr. III. 5. 13) means ‘the cessation of Vedic studies for a certain period in the year.’ Āp. gr. VIII. 1 and Āp. Dh. S. I. 3. 11. 2 employ the word ‘samāpana’ for utsarjana. In former times these two rites were performed on different dates and in different months, but with the decline of vedic studies in medieval times they came to be performed one after another on the same day. In several sūtras the first of these two is spoken of as adhyāyopākaraṇa (as in Āśv. gr. III. 5. 1.) or adhyāyopākarma (in Pār. gr. II. 10, Vaṣ Dh. S. 13. 1). In this case adhyāya means ‘study of the Veda’ or it may mean Veda itself because it is studied (pre-eminently). Therefore the rite which signalises the opening of the session for Vedic study in the year is itself called upākarma.¹ In Gaut. 16. 1 the rite of upākarma is called vārṣika either because it took place in varṣā (the rainy season) or because it took place once a year (from varṣa, a year). The Āśv. gr. III. 5. 19 also states that this rite is called vārṣika.

The time for upākarma is variously stated in the sūtraṣ The Āśv. gr. III. 5. 2-3 states ‘when the herbs appear, when the moon is in conjunction with the constellation of Śrāvaṇa or on the 5th (tithi) of Śrāvaṇa when the moon is in the Hasta nakṣatra.’² The Pār. gr. II. 10 says 'when the herbs appear, when the moon is in conjunction with Śrāvaṇa on the full moon day in the month of Śrāvaṇa or on the fifth of the month of Śrāvaṇa when the moon is in Hasta.' Gaut. 16. 1 and Vaṣ Dh. S. 13. 1 require that it should be performed on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa or Bhādrapada. The Khādira gr. (III. 2. 14-15) and Gobhila III. 3. 1 and 13 ordain that Upākarma should be performed on the full moon day of Bhādrapada or under the constellation of Hasta in that month or according to some on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa. The Bauḍ gr. III. 1. 2 prescribes that Upākarma may be done on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa or Āṣāḍha. The Hir. gr. (II. 18. 2, S. B. E. vol. 30 p. 241) says 'during the fortnight (at the end of which) the full moon of Śrāvaṇa occurs, when the herbs have sprouted forth, the ceremony for the open- ing of the annual Veda study (should be performed) under the Hasta constellation or on the full moon day'. The Āp. Dh. S. I. 3. 9. 1 speaks only of the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa as the time for the performance of the Upākarma rite. Manu. IV. 95 prescribes the full moon of Śrāvaṇa or Bhādrapada as the time for upākarma. Yāj. I. 142 provides three times viz. on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa or on a day (in Śrāvaṇa) when the moon is in conjunction with the Śrāvaṇa nakṣatra or on the 5th tithi of Śrāvaṇa if the moon is in conjunction with Hasta. The Kūrmapurāṇa (Uttarārdha 14, 60-61) holds that Upākarma should be performed on the full moon day of either Śrāvaṇa, Āṣāḍha or Bhādrapada. In this rather bewildering variety of opinions commentators like the Mit. prescribed that one should follow one's gṛhyasūtra.³ This means (as stated by Madhātithi on Manu IV. 95) that the full moon of Bhādrapada being mentioned by Gobhila gr. and Khādira gr. Chāndogas (students of the Sāmaveda) should perform upākarma on that day; but as Āp. Dh. S. speaks only of the full moon of Śrāvaṇa, the followers of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda should perform upākarma only that day. When there is no rain and so no herbs appear in Śrāvaṇa or when that day is inauspicious owing to an eclipse or the like, Upākarma may be performed on the full moon day of Bhādrapada by those whose gṛhya sūtra allows the option of two months or on the fifth of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa. But if both days of the full moon in the two months are inauspicious, then Upākarma should be performed on the full moon of Śrāvaṇa. As the Bauḍ gr. refers to the full moon of Āṣāḍha, the followers of the Black Yājurveda may perform upākarma on Āṣāḍha full moon, if the full moon of Śrāvaṇa is not available. But the students of the Ṛgveda cannot do so, since no sūtra of the Ṛgveda speaks of Āṣāḍha as an optional month. Ṛgvedins have to prefer Śrāvaṇa nakṣatra ( so that they may perform upākarma on the 14th or 15th of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa ); the followers of the Yājurveda ( Śukla ) must perform it on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa when the moon is in Śravaṇa nakṣatra, but if the moon is not so, then they have to prefer the full moon day. The students of the Taittirīya śākhā also have to follow this last course. The followers of the Sāmaveda should prefer Hasta. Vide Saṃ Pr. pp. 497-498, Sṃ M. pp. 32-33, Nirṇ. pp. 114-120. Some interpreted Yāj. I. 142 in such a way as to yield four times for upākarma, viz. the full moon of Śrāvaṇa, the day in Śrāvaṇa on which the moon is in conjunction with Śravaṇa nakṣatra ( this may sometimes be the 14th tithi of the bright half ), or on the 15th of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa or on that day in Śrāvaṇa when the moon is in Hasta. Why so much importance was attached to the month of Śrāvaṇa and to the constellation of Śravaṇa as the season for starting Veda study is obscure. It is possible that that month was originally chosen as owing to showers of rain it is pleasantly cool, there is more leisure and staying inside the house in that month for brāhmaṇas than in other months of the year and then Nature is at its best. The month of Śrāvaṇa being fixed upon, the best day therein would be the full moon ( Soma in another sense being the king of brāhmaṇas ). If any other day in Śrāvaṇa was to be chosen then the day on which the moon was in Hasta would be the best, which would ordinarily be the 5th of the bright half ( of Śrāvaṇa ). As the Paurnamāsī of that month was called Śrāvaṇī owing to the moon’s conjunction with the Śravaṇa nakṣatra ( which conjunc- tion usually takes place on that day) the Śrāvaṇa nakṣatra came to be associated with the starting of the annual session of Vedic studieṣ But that the Śrāvaṇa nakṣatra by itself had no direct connection with upākarma is clear from the fact that several sūtras do not mention it at all. The Gobhila and Khādira gr. do not accept the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa (but of Bhādrapada and the Hasta nakṣatra) as the proper time for upākarma. H. D. 102 Oldenberg in his note on Śāṇ gr. IV. 5. 2 'when the herbs appear, under the nakṣatra Hasta or Śravaṇa' (S. B. E. vol. 29, p. 112) remarks 'the nakṣatra Śravaṇa is evidently considered as particularly fit for this occasion because of its name containing an allusion to śruti'. But this conjecture has no plausibility. Hardly any ancient writer makes the suggestion that Śravaṇa and Śruti are brought together on account of the root 'śru'. The presiding deity of Hasta is Savitṛ. Owing to the supreme importance given to the Gāyatrī verse (of which Savitṛ is the deity) and to the fact that Veda study begins with the recitation of the Gāyatrī, the nakṣatra Hasta would be closely connected with the starting of Veda study. As a matter of fact the Śāṇ gr. IV. 5. 2 mentions Hasta first and then Śravaṇa; the Hir. gr. does not name the Śravaṇa nakṣatra at all, but names Hasta in this connection; while the Āśv. gr., Pār. gr. and several others mention both Śravaṇa and Hasta.

Upākarma is to be done in the morning. If for part of the day, the moon is in conjunction with Uttarāṣādhā and then with Śravaṇa that day is not to be chosen for upākarma, but the next day is to be chosen on which the moon is in conjunction with Śravaṇa and Dhaniṣṭhā. Later writers introduced further complications about the zodiacal sign (rāśi) in which the Sun would be at the time. Garga required that upākarma must be performed during the days when the Sun was in the sign of Leo by the followers of the Sāmaveda and by those who are to the north of the Narmadā river. There is no upākarma in the intercalary month of Śrāvaṇa and Bhādrapada except for the intercalary month. When upākarma is to be done for the first time after a boy's upanayana, the planets Jupiter and Venus must not be in the position of asta (i. e. invisibility owing to their being too near the sun).

Upākarma is to be done by brahmacārins, by householders and also by vānaprasthas (forest hermits). The teacher does it in the company of his pupils whether they be brahmacārins or not and performs the homa in his own gṛhya fire, as the Pār. gr. II. 10 sayṣ Karka the coṃ of Pār. gr. states that if the ācārya has no pupils then he has no adhikāra (right or eligibility) to perform the upākarma in the gṛhya fire, while Harihara says that the practice of performing upākarma in the ordinary . domestic fire in the company of a Veda student is based on no authority, but is a mere usage.⁴

The procedure of upākarma is set out as follows⁵ in the Āśv. gr. (III. 5. 4-12) : 'having sacrificed the two ājyabhāgas⁶ (portions of clarified butter), he should offer oblations of ājya to the following deities, viz. Sāvitrī, Brahmā, śrāddha, Medhā, Prajñā, Dhāraṇā (memory), Sadasaspati, Anumati, Chandases (metres) and Ṛṣis (sages). Then he sacrifices saktu (barley flour) mixed with curds to the accompaniment of the following mantras; the one verse 'I praise Agni, the purohita' (Ṛg. I. 1. 1),⁷ and 'the Kuśumbhaka has said it' (Ṛg. I. 191. 16), 'O bird, when crying announce welfare to us' (Ṛg. II. 43. 3), 'Sung by Jamadagni' (Ṛg. III. 62. 18), 'In thy abode the whole world rests' (Ṛg. IV. 58. 11), 'you (Maruts) that deserve saori-fice, come to our sacrifice' (Ṛg. V. 87. 9), 'whosoever whether ours or a stranger (Ṛg. VI. 75. 19), 'look towards us, look in various directions' (Ṛg. VII. 104. 25), 'Come here, O Agni, the friend of the Maruts' (Ṛg. VIII. 103. 14), 'O king, the oblation that is cooked for thee' (Ṛg. IX. 114. 4),—each time two verses; the one verse 'one is our intention' (Ṛg. X. 191. 4); the one verse 'we choose that blessing and booṇ' When he is about to study the Veda he should, while the pupils (i. e. those who are to be taught the Veda) join him (lit. take hold of him), sacrifice to those deities,⁸ then offer an oblation to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt and partake of the barley mixed with curds and then follows cleaning.⁹ Sitting down to the west of the fire on darbha grass, the ends of which are turned towards the east, he should dip darbha blades into a water pot, he (the ācārya) should join his hands in the brahmañjali¹⁰ form and then recite (together with his pupils, if any) the following: the three vyāhṛtis pre-ceded by oṃ, these and the Sāvitrī verse (Rg. III. 62. 10) he should repeat thrice and then the beginning of the Ṛgveda (either one hymn or an anuvāka ).

In the other gṛhya sūtras there is a good deal of divergence as to the mantras, the deities and the materials offered as obla-tionṣ Pār. gṛ. II. 10 says that the two ājya portions are offered if the Ṛgveda is to be studied, to the Airy region and to Vāyu if the Yajurveda, to the Heaven and the Sun if the Sāmaveda, to the quarters and the moon if the Atharvaveda and oblations are also offered to Brahmā, to the Chandases (metres) in all cases, and to Prajāpati, to the gods, to the Ṛṣis, to śrāddha, to Medhā, to Sadasaspati, to Anumati. Then Pār. gṛ. (II. 10) proceeds “with the verse ‘Sadaspatim’ (Vāj. S. 32. 13=Ṛg. I. 18. 6 ) the teacher three times sacrifices fried grainṣ All (pupils) should repeat the verse after hiṃ After each oblation they should each time put on the fire three pieces of udumbara wood that are fresh branches with leaves, anointed with ghee, reciting the Sāvitrī. And the pupils should put on samidhs in the manner stated above (Pār. gṛ. II. 4). With the verse ‘Śam no bhavantu’ (Vāj. S. 9. 16 ) they should gulp down the fried grains without chewing them under the teeth. With the verse ‘dadhihrāvṇo’ (Vāj. S. 23. 32 ) they should eat curdṣ What-ever number of pupils he wishes to obtain so many sesame grains should the ācārya sacrifice by means of a dice board ¹ with the Sāvitrī or with the anuvāka (Vāj. S. 17. 80-86). After they (the pupils) have eaten (the remainder) the teacher should pronounce the word om and then repeat the Sāvitrī three times and the beginnings of the adhyāyas to the students who are seated facing the east. All repeat “may it be ours in common; may it bless us in common; may this Brahman be powerful with us together. Indra knows that through which and in which no hatred may spring up among uṣ”

The Āp. gr. (VIII. 1-2) is very brief and states that at the opening and concluding rites of Vedic study that Rṣi who is indicated as the Rṣi of the Kāṇḍa (section of the Tai. S.) to be studied is the deity to whom the rite belongs and in the second place Sadasaspati is the deity. Sudarśanācārya explains ¹ these two sūtras at great length. Briefly what he means is : the commencement (upākarma) of the study of the whole Veda (Black Yajurveda) is to be done on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa, tarpaṇa is to be done for nine Ṛṣis and nine oblations of ājya are to be offered to these nine, the ninth being offered with the verse 'sadasaspatim' (Rg. I. 18. 6 = Āp. M. P. I. 9. 8). But when a Kāṇḍa is to be begun that is another upākarma and a homa is to be performed in respect of it also.

Gradually many accretions were made to the simple upā- karma rite given in the Āśv. gr. and other gṛhya sūtraṣ In modern times upākarma is a most elaborate matter. That of Ṛgvedins may be briefly described here: After ācamana, prāṇāyāma and reference to time and place, a saṅkalpa is made as stated ¹³ below, then follow worship of Gaṇapati, the preparation of the altar and fire (as described before for homa in general); then nine āhutis of clarified butter are made to the nine deities Sāvitrī (as in Āśv. gr. above), then offerings of barley flour mixed with curds are made to twenty deities with the first ¹⁴ and last verses of each of the ten maṇḍalas of the Ṛgveda viz. to Agni, Aptṛṇasūrya (plural), Agni, Śakunta, Agni, Mitrāvaruṇa (dual), Agni, Āpaḥ (waters), Agni, Maruts, Agni, Viśve Devas, Agni, Indrāśoma (dual), Indra, Agnāmarutaḥ, Pavamānasoma, Pavamānasoma, Agni, Samjñāna. Then the remains of barley and curds are offered to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt. Then the persons engaged in upākarma should partake of the remains of barley mixed with curds after repeating the verse 'dadīhīkravṇo' (Ṛg. IV. 39. 6). Then ācamana and mārjana are performed, then homa of a yajñopavīta in fire, then giving of yajñopavīta and dakṣiṇās to brāhmaṇas and wearing new yajñopavīta oneself (which consists in its abhimantraṇa with the three verses 'āpo hi sthā' Ṛg. X. 9. 1-3 and several mantras beginning with 'hiraṇyavarṇāḥ', Tai. S. V. 6. 1. 1-2 and Tai. Br. I. 4. 8), after symbolical nyāsa (deposit) of oṁkāra, Agni, Nāgas, Soma, Pitṛs, Prajāpati, Vāyu, Sūrya and Viśve Devas on the nine tantus (strands) of the yajñopavīta, then japa of ten Gāyatrī verses for each of the yajñopavītas intended to be worn, then presenting the yajñopavīta to the Sun with the three verses 'udyan-nadya' (Ṛg. I. 50. 11-13), clapping the hands thrice, then repeating the mantra 'yajñopavītam paramam &c.' (vide f. ṇ 662 above) and then putting on the yajñopavīta, then ācamana, casting away the old yajñopavīta in water, prāṇāyama, then repeating three verses 'pṛthvī tvayā &c.', then repeating the words 'Vidyudasi vidyā me pāpmānam-ṛtāt-satyam-upaimi' (Tai. Br. III. 10. 9), then placing one's folded hands with darbha blades between on one's right knee, to repeat and make others repeat 'om', vyāhṛtis and Gāyatri thrice, then brahmayajña and then saying 'upākṛtā vai vedāḥ' (the study of the Vedas has been begun), then the ācārya finishes the rest of the rite such as prāyaścitta, then all resolve to feed brāhmaṇas and give dakṣiṇā according to ability. The ācārya takes leave of the fire, bows to Viṣṇu and sips water twice.

The gṛhyasūtras prescribe a holiday (anadhyāya) after the performance of upākarma, though the duration varieṣ Pār. gṛ. II. 10 prescribes that he should not study the Veda for three days and nights and should not clip his nails or shave for that period and points out that some said that he should not clip nails or hair till the date of utsarjana (i. e. for 5 months and a half). Sāṇ gṛ. IV. 5. 17 (=Manu IV. 119) prescribes an anadhyāya (holiday) for three nights on upākarma and utsarga. Gobhila gṛ. (III. 3. 9 and 11) says that there is no study on the upākarma day performed on Hasta nakṣatra and that according to some teachers for three days before it and after it. The Bhār. gṛ. III. 8 enjoins that after upākarma there should be a holiday of three days or one day and for one month thereafter one should not study the Veda in the evening (i. e. the first watch after sunset ).

Utsarjana:—About the time of utsarjana also there was divergence of view. The Bauḍ gṛ. (I. 5. 163) prescribes that it may be performed on the full moon day of Pauṣa or Māgha. Āśv.gṛ.(III.5.14) requires Veda study after upākarma for six months and so if the upākarma was performed on the new moon of Śrāvaṇa the utsarjana according to it would be on the full moon of Māgha (vide III. 5. 20 also ). The Pār. gṛ. II. 11 states that after having studied the Veda for five months and a half or for six months and a half they (teacher and pupils) should perform utsarga (i. e. the rite of closing the course of Vedic study). These periods are only approximate, since Pār. gṛ. II. 12 further on says that utsarjana should be performed in the month of Pauṣa when the moon is in the Rohiṇī nakṣatra (i. e. about the eleventh of the bright half ) or in middle Aṣṭakā (i. e. 8th of the dark half of Pauṣa ). The Gobhila gṛ. III. 3. 14 says that utsarga is performed on the full moon of Taiṣa (i. e. Pauṣa ), while the Khādira gṛ. III. 2. 24 says that having studied the Veda for four months and a half they close the session on the full moon day of Pauṣa. The Sāṇ gṛ. IV. 6. 1 holds that utsarjana should be performed on the first day of the bright half of Māgha; Yaj. I. 143 follows Pār. gṛ. II. 12 by saying that utsarga takes place in Pauṣa on the Rohiṇī nakṣatra or on the 8th of the dark half, while Manu (IV. 95–96) says that after studying Veda for four months and a half from upākarma, utsarga should take place when the moon is in the Puṣya nakṣatra thereafter or on the first day of the bright half of Māgha. The Mānava gr. I. 4. 7 says that Veda study is stopped 4½ or 5 or 5½ months after upākarma. These several periods (4½ months, or 5½ months or 6½ months) and the various dates of utsarga in Pauṣa or Māgha were due to the fact that upākarma may take place on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa or Bhādrapada (or even Āṣāḍha) or on the 5th of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa or on Hasta in Bhādrapada or Śrāvaṇa.

The Āśv. gr. III. 5. 13 extends the procedure of upākarma to utsarga and adds (III. 5. 20–22) that offerings of boiled rice are made to the same deities instead of clarified butter, then they take a bath and perform tarpaṇa of those very deities and of ācāryas, ṛṣis and pitṛs (as in brahmayajña). Nārāyaṇa states that in utsargjana there is no eating (of barley)¹⁵ with curds) as there is in upākarma nor mārjana. Pār. gr. II. 12 gives the procedure of utsargjana as follows: “They (teacher and pupils) should go to the brink of water (a river &c.) and offer oblations of water (i. e. tarpaṇa) to the gods, to the metres, to the Vedas, ṛṣis, the ancient teachers, the Gandharvas, the other teachers, the year with its divisions, the Pitṛs, ācāryas, their (deceased) relativeṣ After having rapidly recited the Sāvitrī four times, they should utter loudly ‘we have stopped (Vedic study).’ There is anadhyāya in utsargjana for the same period as on upākarma and they should then continue the repetition (of the Veda as before”. The Gobhila gr. III. 3. 15 says about utsargjana ‘they go out of the village turning their faces to the east or north, they should approach water that is deeper than their waist, should bathe therein and should offer tarpaṇa to the vedas, ṛṣis and ācāryaṣ’ A holiday was observed on the day of utsargjana for a day and half (pakṣiṇī) or three days after it (Manu IV. 97, Yāj. I. 144). To give up Veda study for several months altogether was probably found undesirable. Therefore Manu IV. 98, Vaṣ Dh. S. 13. 6-7, Auśanasa (p. 515) and others prescribe that after utsarjana the Vedas should be studied till the next upākarma during the bright fortnights of the remaining months and the Vedāngas at one's will or in the dark fortnightṣ The Gobhila smṛti III. 134 says that after Dakṣiṇāyana (sun's passage in the southern celestial hemisphere) for six months one should not study the Upaniṣads and Rahasya textṣ It appears that gradually the rite of utsarga in Pauṣa or Māgha came to be discontinueḍ Aṣṭāvakra¹⁶ on Mānavagṛhya I. 5. 1 deplores that in his day hardly any one was found to celebrate utsarga on the day specified by the sūtrakāra, that he was powerless to do anything or to upbraid any one but that he would only describe what the śāstra prescribeḍ Similarly the Smṛtyarthasāra, after describing the procedure of utsarjana, remarks (p. 11) 'after studying the Veda for a year utsarjana may be performed on the day of upākarma or may not be so performed'. Gobhila-Smṛti (III. 128-129, quoted in Sṃ C. I p. 55) says 'when dvijas perform every year upākarma together with utsarjana according to the prescribed procedure, that results in the growth of the Vedas (Vedic study ). Whatever act is performed even in sport by brāhmaṇas whose Vedas have not grown stale, that act becomes successful.' Vide Śāṇ gr. IV. 5. 16 to the same effect. It is on account of this idea that in the sańkalpa the expression 'yāta-yāmātirāsena' (by removing staleness) occurṣ In modern times utsarjana is performed on the same day as upākarma, but precedes the latter. These two together being generally performed in Śrāvaṇa either on the full moon or on Śravaṇa nakṣatra or on the 5th of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa are designated by the word Śrāvaṇī.

The modern utsarjana of Ṛgvedins may be briefly described here : after ācamana, putting on a pavitra (a loop or ring ) of darbhas (on the finger called anāmikā), prāṇāyāma, mentioning the time and place, a sańkalpa ( as set out above ) is made; then pañcagavya is taken in by all; then the worship of Gaṇapati,then preparation of an altar for utsarjana homa is made, fire is invited with the verses 'juṣṭo damūnā' (Ṛg. V. 4. 5) and 'ehyagna' (Ṛg. I. 76. 2), then the fire called balavardhana is established on the sthandila, then contemplation of fire with the verse ‘catvāri sṛngā’ (Rg. IV. 58. 3) and several paurāṇika verses ; then two samidhs are placed over the fire, then oblations of clarified butter are offered to the deities, Sāvitrī &c. (specified in upākarma above) and of boiled rice to 20 deities, Agni &c. (vide p. 814 above), then the rest is offered to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt, then ācamana, prāṇā- yāma, then brahmayajñā is performed, then he should say ‘vṛṣṭir-asi vṛśca me pāpmānam-ṛtāt-satyam-upāgām’ (Tai. Br. III. 10. 9); then all should say ‘utsṛṣṭā vai vedāḥ’ (the study of veda has been stopped); then clarified butter is offered into fire by way of prāyaścitta with the verses ‘ayāścāgne’ (Ap. M. P. I. 5. 18 ), ‘ato devā’ (Rg. I. 22. 16 ), ‘idam viṣṇur’ (Rg. I. 22. 17 ); then offering to Agni, Vāyu, Sūrya, Prajāpati respec- tively with the vyāhṛtis separately and together, then offering with the verses ‘anājñātam’ (Tai. Br. III. 7. 11), ‘puruṣa-sammito’ (Tai. Br. III. 7. 11), ‘yatīpākātrā’ (Rg. X. 2. 5), ‘yad vo devā’ (Tai. Br. III. 7. 11); then follows sarva- prāyaścitta with om and the vyāhṛtis; then mārjana (purifica- tion ) with the verses ‘āpo asmān mātarah’ (Rg. X. 17. 10), ‘idamāpaḥ pravahata’ (Rg. I. 23. 22 ), ‘sumitrā na āpa’ (Tai. S. I. 4. 45. 2–3 ); then he should think of the Ganges and other holy rivers; then he should honour Agni with the four verses ‘Agne tvam no’ (Rg. V. 24. 1–4 ) and offer the upacāras of sandal-wood paste, flowers &c. ; then he should take holy ashes from the homa fire with the mantra ‘mānastoke’ (Rg. I. 114. 8) and apply the ashes to his forehead, throat, navel, right and left arms and head; then pray Agni to bestow śrāddha (faith), medhā (intelligence) &c. and then wind up the utsarjana with the words quoted below.¹⁹³⁹