Chapter XXIV. Minor Grihya and Other Rites

Volume II: Part II pp. 819–836

Chapter XXIV. Minor Grihya and Other Rites

The grhyasūtras speak of certain other rites performed on certain fixed days in the year. Most of them have ceased to be performed in modern times, though vestiges of some of them appear even now. Gautama (VIII. 19) enumerates the seven pākayajñasamsthās among his forty samskāraṣ Out of these seven pākayajñas, aṣṭakā, pārvaṇa and śrāddha will be dealt with under śrāddha later oṇ The seven havīryajñas and the seven somasamsthās will be treated of in the note on Śrauta. A few of the other rites are briefly described below.

Pārvaṇa sthālīpāka:—Among the seven pākayajñasamsthās mentioned by Gaut. (VIII.19) is the pārvaṇa sthālīpāka. When a person is married and returns to his house after marriage he causes the newly married bride to sacrifice a mess of cooked fooḍ The wife husks the rice grains of which that sthālīpāka is prepareḍ She cooks the mess, sprinkles ājya on it, takes it from the fire. Then he sacrifices to the deities of the Vedic Darśa-Pūrṇamāsa and then to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt. With the remnants of the cooked food he feeds a learned brāhmaṇa and makes the present of a bull to that brāhmaṇa. From that time the householder constantly sacrifices on the days of the full moon and of the new moon a similar mess of cooked food sacred to Agni. In the case of one who has not kindled the three Vedic fires, the sthālīpāka is meant for Agni (it is Agneya). In the case of an householder who keeps the three Vedic fires the sthālīpāka at Full moon is Āgnīṣomīya and Aindra or Māhendra or Aindrāgna on the New moon day (Khādira gr. II. 2, 1-3, Āśv. Śr. I. 3. 8-12). Both the householder and his wife fast on the days of the full and new moon or they eat only once in the morning on those days (Āp. Dh. S. II. 1. 1. 4-5, Āśv. gr. I. 10. 2). This is briefly the pārvaṇa sthālīpāka. It is begun on the first full moon day after marriage and is continued throughout the lives of the husband and wife. In the sthālīpākas performed throughout life on the full moon and new moon there is no dakṣiṇā (of a bull).¹ Vide for details Āśv. gr. I. 10 and Āp. gr. 7. 1–19 (among the sūtras) and Saṁskāra-kaustubha pp. 823 ff and Saṁskāraprakāśa pp. 904–906 among later digestṣ

Caitrī:—According to Haradatta on Gaut. VIII. 19 the caitrī rite is the same as śūlagava, known as īśānabali to the students of the Āpastamba sūtra (Āp. gr. 19, 13 ff.) and this rite called Caitrī was performed on the full moon day of the month of Caitra. In the Śāṅ. gr. IV. 19 it is said that this rite takes place on the full moon day of Caitra and there is a brief description of it which is rather obscure (vide S. B. E. vol. 29, p. 132). The Vaik. IV. 8 describes it as follows: On the full moon day of Caitra the house is cleaned and decorated ; the husband and wife deck themselves in new garments (lower and upper) and with flowers etc. ; after two āghāras² are made in fire and rice is cooked in a vessel for the deities, offerings are made of clarified butter, with the mantras ‘griṣmo hemanta’ (Tai. S. V. 7. 2. 4) ‘ūrṇam me pūryatām,’ ‘śriye jātāh’ (Rg. IX. 94. 4 ), ‘Vaiṣṇavam ’ (Tai. S. I. 2. 13. 3 ) and having offered oblations of boiled rice mixed with ghee to Madhu,³ Mādhava, Śukra, Śuci, Nabhas, Nabhasya, Iṣa, Ūrja, Sahas, Sahasya, Tapas, Tapasya, to the deities of Ṛtus, to herbs, to the lords of herbs, to Śrī (goddess of wealth), to the lord of Śrī, to Viṣṇu ; having worshipped to the west of the fire the goddess Śrī and the god Śrīpati whose face is turned eastwards, he announces the havis (sacrificial food ) and having served to the recitation of the hymn to anna (food) the brāhmaṇas with cooked caitrya food he should himself eat in the company of his sapiṇḍaṣ

Sitāyajña (sacrifice to ploughed land):—In the Gobhila gr. IV. 4. 27 there⁴ is a brief description of the sacrifice performed at the time of ploughing by one who kept the smārta or aupāsana fire: ‘on an auspicious constellation he should cook a mess of sacrificial food and should offer oblations to the following deities, viz. Indra, Maruts, Parjanya (rains), Aśani (thunderbolt), Bhaga. And he should also offer (clarified butter) to Sītā, Āśā, Aradā, Anaghā.’ In Pār. gr. II. 17 this rite is des- cribed in greater detail. But for want of space it is not set out here. The Pār. gr. in II. 13 speaks of a different rite to be performed at the time of taking out the plough and using it for ploughing.

Śrāvaṇī or Śrāvaṇākarma and Sarpabalī :—Āśv. gr. II. 1.1–15, Pār. gr. II. 14, Gobhila gr. III. 7. 1–23, Śāṅ. gr.IV. 15, Bhār. gr. II. 1, Āp. gr. 18. 5–12 and others describe these two rites which are performed on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa, whether the moon be in conjunction with the constellation of Śrāvaṇa or not. Āśv. gr. describes it as follows :⁵ ‘Having filled a new jar with the flour of unbroken grains of barley he places it on a new śikya (an arrangement of strings for holding pots etc.) along with a spoon for making offerings (bali). Having got ready fried barley grains he smears⁶ half of them with clarified butter. At sunset he prepares a mess of cooked food and a cake on one potsherd and offers oblations (of cooked food) with the four verses ‘O Agni ! lead us to wealth by a good path &c.’ (Rg. I. 189. 1–4) verse by verse and offers with one hand the cake prepared on one potsherd with the mantra ‘to the constant one, the Earth demon, svāhā.’ The cake should have been completely submerged in clarified butter or its top may be visible ; with the verse ‘Agni, do not hand us over to evil’ (Rg.I.189.5) he sacrifices over the entire cake the clarified butter in which the cake had been submergeḍ Reciting the verse ‘may the steeds bring bliss to us in our invocations’ (Rg. VII. 38. 7) he sacrifices into the fire the fried grains with his joined handṣ⁷ He should give the other (not smeared with clarified butter) fried grains to his people (sons &c.). Out of the jar he fills the spoon with barley flour, goes out of the house with his face towards the east, pours down water on a pure spot and offers sacrifice with the mantra ‘to the divine ⁸ hosts of snakes, svāhā' and makes an obeisance to them with joined hands in the words 'the serpents that are terrestrial,⁹ that are aerial, that dwell in the several directions—to them I have brought this bali; to them I make ready this bali. Having gone round the bali with the right hand turned towards it, he sits down to the west of the bali ( and recites the mantra ) 'thou art a serpent; thou art the lord of serpents that creep; by food thou protectest men and by a cake the serpents, by sacrifice the gods, me who am in thee ( i. e. who seek thy favour and protection ) may not the serpents who also are in thee do any harm; I give over the Dhruvā ( spoon ) to thee.' Then with the words 'O firm one, I give over this one, this one to thee' he gives his people ( son, unmarried daughter, wife ) one by one. With the words 'O firm one, I give myself over to thee' he gives himself over at the enḍ Let no one pass between the sacrificer ( and the bali ) up till the rite of giving in charge ( paridāna ).¹⁰ 'To the divine hosts of serpents svāhā'—with these words let him offer a bali in the evening and in the morning till Pratyavarohaṇa. Some count the days till Pratyavarohaṇa ¹¹ ( from Śrāvaṇa full moon ) and offer the same number of balis on that very day ( on which the śrāvaṇa rite takes place )." The Śāṇ gr. IV. 15 has a similar ceremony called Śravaṇākarma; however it practically contains nothing beyond rules about the bali to serpents and it is worthy of note that some of the 16 upacāras associated with honouring a guest and with devapūjā are employed ( in it and in Āp. gr. &c. ) for honouring the serpents viz. offering a comb, unguents, flowers, thread ( vastra ), collyrium, mirror. The Pār. gr. II. 14 is more elaborate as to sarpabali and the deities to whom the oblations of cooked food are offered are 'Viṣṇu, Śravaṇa ( nakṣatra ), the Full moon day of Śrāvaṇa and the rainy seasoṇ' In Pār. gr. also, a comb, ointment, collyrium, garlands are offered to the serpentṣ Āp. gr. 18. 5–12, Hir. gr. II. 16 ( S. B. E. vol. 30, pp. 237–239 ), Gobhila gr. III. 7. 1–23, Bhār. gr. II. 1, Bauḍ gr. III. 10, Mānava gr. II. 16 and others contain similar elaborate rules about sarpabali, the Hir. gr. and Āp. gr. requiring that the flowers used should be of the kimśuka tree. It appears that when the husband was absent the wife was to offer the bali during the four monthṣ The Mānava gr. II. 16. 6 adds that even the śūdra wife of a brāhmaṇa should silently offer the bali after washing her handṣ Vide Sāṇ gr. IV. 15. 20 also for the wife doing it silently.

Serpent worship arose from the fears entertained about the deadly effects of snake-biteṣ The serpent cult is very ancient as the quotation from the Tai. S. cited above showṣ Vide also Atharvaveda VIII. 7. 23 and XI. 9. 16 and 24. In the Atharvaveda (VIII. 14. 14–16) the well known names of some mythical serpents viz. Takṣaka, Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Airāvata occur. The dangers from snakes must have intensified in the rainy season when serpents sought shelter in human habitations owing to vast areas being flooded and in search of their prey, viz. mice and frogs &c. Therefore the rite of offering a bali to serpents was performed on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa and a bali was offered every day to serpents for four months till the full moon of Mārgaśīrṣa on which day took place the Pratyavarohaṇa (re-descent) i. e. discarding the use of cots for sleeping on and using the ground for that purpose. Fergusson in his famous work ‘Tree and Serpent worship’ (1868) traces serpent worship in the nations of antiquity, such as in Egypt, Judea, Greece &c. In the Mahābhārata nāgas figure very frequently. Vide Adi. 35 and 123. 71, Udyoga 103, 9–16; Anuśāsana 150. 41 (where the names of seven nāgas that support the earth such as Vāsuki, Ananta &c. are specified). In Anuśāsana 14. 55 Śiva is said to have snakes on his body like yajñopavita. The purāṇas are full of the stories of nāgaṣ Serpent worship continues to this day particularly in South India, but now serpents are worship- ped on the 5th of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa instead of on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa as in the times of the sūtraṣ This day is now called Nāgapañcamī and some account of it will be given later on under vrataṣ India possesses more varieties of serpents than any single country in the world and the toll of life taken by snake bites is very heavy as compared with any other country.

In certain medieval digests like the Saṁskāra-kaustubha (p. 122) a rite called Nāgabali is describeḍ It is performed on Sinīvālī (a day on which the moon is seen, but there is amāvāsyā thereafter) or full moon day or on the 5th or on the 9th when the moon is in Āśleṣā (of which serpents are the presiding deity). Its object is two-fold viz. to expiate the sin of having killed a snake or snakes and to remove the obstacle to progeny (supposed to arise from the wrath of serpents killed by a person). In this a figure of a serpent is made of the flour of rice or wheat or sesame which is then placed in a śūrpa (winnowing basket), then it is worshipped with the 16 upacāras (described above) and a bali of pāyasa (rice-milk) is offered to it; then after washing the hands and feet and sipping water a homa is performed with ordinary fire (but there is no sviṣṭakṛt offering); an oblation of clarified butter is offered with om and all the three vyāhṛtis into the mouth of the serpent figure and the rest of the ājya is sprinkled on its body, the serpent is praised with the mantras quoted above from Tai. S. IV. 2. 8. 3 and certain Purāṇa verses are repeated and the figure is thrown into the fire; then impurity (āśauca) is observed by the sacrificer and his wife for three days or one day; then eight brāhmaṇas are invited, they are supposed to stand in the place of the burnt effigy and upacāras are offered to them, they are fed and gifts are given to them; then a golden image of a serpent is put into the kalaśa (water-pot ) and prayer is offered to it, and the golden image or its value or a cow is gifted to a brāhmaṇa.

The Pār. gr. (II. 15) describes a rite called Indrayajña on the full moon day of Prosthapada (i. e. Bhādrapada). It is briefly as follows: Having cooked pāyasa (rice cooked in milk) for Indra¹² and cakes and having placed (four) cakes round the fire, and having offered the two ājyabhāgas he offers milk rice to Indra; he offers the ājya oblations to Indra, Indrāṇī (Indra's wife ), Aja Ekapād, Ahirbudhnya and to the Prosthapadas; he offers milk-rice to Indra; after he has eaten (a portion of the sacrificial food ) he offers a bali to the Maruts; for Śruti says (Śat. Br. IV. 5. 2. 16) 'the maruts are the eaters of ahuta ';¹³ the bali (to Maruts) is offered on leaves of the Aśvatthā tree, because there is a Vedic passage (Śat. Br. IV. 3. 3. 6)¹⁶ the Maruts stayed in the Aśvatthā tree. He offers the bali with the passage ‘Śukra-jyotir’ (Vāj. S. 17. 80–85) mantra by mantra and with the mantra called vimukha which latter is to be revolved in the mind only (and not to be uttered loudly), for the śruti says ‘these are their names’ ¹⁴ (Śat. Br. IX. 3. 1. 26). He repeats the mantra ‘Indram daivir’ (Vāj. S. 17. 86); then follows the feeding of a brāhmaṇa.

The Kauśika sūtra ( 140 ) describes the procedure of a festival in honour of Indra for kingṣ It is begun on the eighth day in the bright half of Bhādrapada or Aśvina in which a banner is raised on Śravaṇa nakṣatra. Yāj. I. 147 declares a holiday for one day on the day on which the banner in honour of Indra is raised and when it is taken dowṇ Aparārka (p. 190) quotes Garga to the effect that the banner is raised by the king on the 12th of the bright half of Bhādrapada, when the moon is in conjunction either with Uttarāṣāḍhā, Śravaṇa or Dhaniṣṭhā and adds that it is taken down on the Bharaṇī nakṣatra after the full moon day of Bhādrapada. The Kṛtya-ratnākara (pp. 292–93) adds that during the days of the festival worship is offered to figures of Indra and his wife Śacī and son Jayanta made from pieces of sugarcane stalks and that it is not raised on Saturday or Tuesday or in periods of impurity due to birth or mourning or in portents like an earth-quake. From Ādiparva 63. 1–29 it appears¹⁵ that the festival (called Indramaha) was started by Uparicara Vasu. It is stated there-in that when that king was prevailed upon by Indra to desist from being a hermit in a forest and to rule over the country called Cedi, Indra gave him a bamboo staff as an affectionate gift and in honour of Indra the king planted it in the earth and since that time when the year ended a bamboo staff was raised by kings (and also other humbler persons ) and next day it was decked with baskets full of fragrant substances and ornaments, and garlands were suspended from it. It is possible that the raising of a bamboo staff on the first day of Caitra every year in the Deccan and other places is reminiscent of this ancient festival in honour of Indra. The Brhatsamhitā (chap. 43) describes the origin of the Indramaha festival and devotes over sixty verses to the elucidation of the method of celebrating it. Viṣṇu gave to Indra a flag-staff to frighten asuras; in verse 8 it refers to Uparicara Vasu as the originator of the Indra festival, states on what auspicious conjunctions a carpenter and an astrologer should go to a forest and gives directions as to the tree to be selected (Arjuna tree being the best ); then the tree is to be felled the next day and brought to the capital by the king on the eighth of the bright half of Bhādra-pada with a retinue of citizens, ministers and brāhmaṇas; the city should be decorated with fine patākas ( flags ) and toraṇas ( festival arches ); on the 11th there was to be a vigil, the trunk of the tree should be pared and chiselled and it should be placed on a yantra (a mechanical contrivance to raise it up), homa is to be offered; then it is to be raised up erect on the 12th of the bright half of Bhādrapada when the moon is in Śravaṇa nakṣatra or even without that being so; five or seven wooden figures ( called śakrakumāris ) are also to be placed near it (to enhance the charm of the staff) and two smaller staffs (one ¼ and the other ⅓ of the length of the principal staff) are also to be raised called Nanda and Upananda; another staff also is to be raised as Indra’s mother; the staff was to be decked with several ornaments, baskets were to be hung round the staff, each one above the other and smaller in size, on the 4th day (from 12th tithi) verses in praise are to be recited and on the 5th day (from the 12th i. e. on 1st of the dark half ) the staff is to be bidden farewell to. The Āśv. gr. II. 2. 1-3 describes¹⁷ the rite as follows: ‘on the full moon day of Āśvayuja (i. e. Āśvina) the Āśvayujī rite ( is performed ). Having adorned the house, having bathed and put on clean ( white ) garments, they should take out a mess of cooked food for Paśupati and should offer it with the formula ‘to Paśupati, to Śiva, to Śaṁkara, to Pṛṣātaka, svāhā.’ He should sacrifice with his joined hands a mixture of milk and clarified butter with the formula ‘may what is deficient in me be made complete ( or full ); may what is complete not deteriorate in me. To Pṛṣātaka, svāhā.’

The Śāṁ. gr. (IV. 16) requires that in this rite oblations of clarified butter should be offered to Aśvins, to the two stars of Āśvayuj nakṣatra, to the full moon of Āśvina; to Śarad (autumn) and to Paśupati and the mixture of milk and ājya is offered with the hymn Ṛg. VI. 28 (ā gāvo agman) and that on that night the calves are allowed to join their motherṣ Pār. gr. II. 16 calls this rite Pṛṣātakāḥ, but it prescribes the cooking of pāyasa (milk-rice) for Indra and offerings of that mixture with curds, honey and ghee are made to Indra, Indrāṇī, the Aśvins, to the full moon of Āśvina and Śarad (autumn). The Gobhila gr. III. 8. 1 also calls this rite Pṛṣātaka and it adds the tying to the arms &c. of amulets made of lac together with all sorts of herbs for the sake of prosperity. Vide also Khādira gr. III. 3. 1-5, Vaik. IV. 9 for this rite.

In most of the gṛhyasūtras another rite called Āgrayaṇa is described immediately after Āśvayujī. Haradatta on Gaut. VIII. 19 explains that in the Āśvayujī rite mentioned by Gaut. both the Āśvayujī described above from Āśv. gr. and Āgrayaṇa are includeḍ Āgrayaṇa is also called ‘Navayajñā’ in Gobhila-smṛti ( in verse III. 103 ) and Navasasyēṣṭi in Manu IV. 27. Āgrayaṇa iṣṭi is prescribed in the Āśv. śrauta sūtra II. 9 and other śrauta sūtras for those who have consecrated the three vedic fires (i. e. āhitāgnis). According to Nārā- yaṇa an āhitāgni is to perform this āgrayaṇa sacrifice of fresh corn according to the śrauta sūtra, but in case of difficulties he may do so in accordance with Āśv. gr. II. 2. 4 in the Tretā fires and that one who has not conse- crated the three fires may offer the sacrifice in the śālā (i. e. aupāsana) fire. This āgrayaṇa rite is required even by the śrauta sūtra as to crops of rice, barley and śyāmāka ¹⁸ only and no one was to make use of fresh corn of these three kinds without offering this sacrifice, but there was no restriction as to the use of other kinds of corn or as to vege- tables &c. The word Āgrayaṇa is explained as ¹⁹ 'that rite in which fresh fruits are first offered to gods' or 'that rite in which fresh corn is first offered or eaten'. The deities of the śrauta Āgrayaṇa are three, viz. Indrāgni (or AgnIndrau), Viśvedevas, Dyāvāpṛthivī (heaven and earth), but in the gṛhya Āgrayaṇa, Agni Sviṣṭakṛt is added as the fourth (Śāṅ. gr. III. 8. 1, Āp. gr. 19. 7). Āśv. gr. (II. 2. 4-5) gives a very brief description 'united ²⁰ with the seasons, united with the manners, united with Indra and Agni, svāhā; uniteḍ..with Viśvedevas, svāhā; uniteḍ..with Heaven and earth, svāhā'- with these formulas a mess of cooked food is offered at the Āgrayaṇa by one who has set up the śrauta fires; also by one who has not set up the śrauta fires, (the same offerings are made) in the domestic (gṛhya) fire. Ap. gr. 19. (6-7) also is concise '(Now follows the description of) Āgrayaṇa for one who has not set up the śrauta fireṣ Having prepared a mess of cooked food with fresh corn, he offers oblations to the deities of the (Śrauta) Āgrayaṇa with Sviṣṭakṛt (Agni) as the fourth, he fills his mouth with grains of rice, swallows them, takes ācamana and having rolled up a lump of rice (from the mess of cooked rice) he throws it up on to the top of the dwelling with the next yajus (Ap. M. P. II. 18. 1). This rite is also described in Śāṇ gr. III. 8, Pār. gr. III. 1, Gobhila gr. III. 8. 9–24, Khādira gr. III. 3. 6–15, Vaik. IV. 2, Mānava gr. II. 3. 9–14 &c. There is one peculiarity in Vaik. viz. that it connects the Pitrs also with this rite. According to Mānava gr. the Āgra- yaṇa is performed on a parva day in Vasanta (spring) with fresh barley that is (then) harvested and with rice in śarad (autumn). Vaik. VI. 19 prescribes the prāyaścitta of pādakṛcchra or a fast for using first fruits without performing Āgrayaṇa rite. In modern times some vestige of this Navayajña (sacrifice of first fruits) still remainṣ The full moon day of Āśvina is still called in the Deccan 'navyācī paurṇimā' and a few ears of growing crops are picked up, are woven with flowers and tastefully arranged and the whole is suspended from the entrance door or its lintel. Āgrahāyaṇī :—This is one of the seven pākayajñas men- tioned by Gautama (VIII. 19) among his forty saṁskāraṣ The full moon day of Mārgaśīrṣa is called Āgrahāyaṇī; the rite ²¹ performed on that day is also called by the same name on account of association with it. Pratyavarohaṇa is a rite performed to signalise the giving up of the use of cots and high couches, recommended from the full moon of Śrāvaṇa for fear of snakes (as in Śāṇ gr. IV. 15. 22). Some describe two rites separately, one on the full moon day of Mārgaśīrṣa and another called Pratyavarohaṇa on the first night of Hemanta (vide Ap. gr. 19. 3–5 and 8–12). There is some divergence as to the time and the exact procedure of this rite. Some (like Āśv. gr. II. 3. 1–2) hold that it may be performed on the 14th day of the bright half or the full moon day of Mārgaśīrṣa. Others restrict it to the full moon day. Very elaborate descriptions are given in Pār. gr. III. 2, Gobhila gr. III. 9. 1-23. As this rite has entirely gone out of vogue a brief description from the Āśv. gr. alone is appended²² here. “Having again (after Āśvayuji) renovated the house with plaster (of paint or cow-dung) and by levelling (the floor), they should offer after sunset oblations of pāyasa (milk-rice) with the mantras ‘strike aside,’²³ O white one, with thy foot, with the front and back portions of the foot these seven women (daughters) of Varuna and all (females) that belong to the tribes of the king (of serpents). Inside the house the white one the serpent did not kill any thing, adoration to the white one, the son of Vidārva, svāhā.’ Here no oblation is offered to (Agni) Sviṣṭakṛt. While gazing fixedly at the fire he repeats in a low voice ‘may there be no harm to us from the progeny²⁴ of Prajāpati.’ He should think in his mind of Hemanta (winter) saying ‘be auspicious and well-disposed towards uṣ’ To the west of the fire a well-spread layer of grass should be prepared; he should sit down on it and having recited in a low voice ‘Be blissful, O Earth’ (Ṛg. I. 22. 15) he should lie down on that layer with his people (sons &c.) with the head towards the east and face turned towards the north. The others may lie down according as space permits or each should lie down one after another, the elder one before the one next to him in yearṣ Those (of the sacrificer’s sons &c.) who know the mantras should murmur them (Ṛg. I. 22. 15 and the mantras referred to in sūtra 12 below). Getting up from the layer they should three times recite the mantra ‘from that place may the gods protect us’ (Ṛg. I. 22. 16); the same verse (they should repeat) a fourth time turning their faces to the south, to the west and the north.²⁵ Having gathered together they should repeat in a low tone the mantras sacred to the sun and the Svastyayana²⁵ mantras, cook food and feed the brāhmaṇas and make the latter pronounce auspicious wordṣ” In the Pāli work called Aṅguttara-nikāya there is a section called Paccoro-hanivagga in which the Pratyavarohaņa observed by brāhmaṇas is describeḍ Vide Aṅguttara vol. V. (eḍ by Hardy) p. 233 CXIX. and Z. D. M. G. vol. 52 pp. 149-151. Āgrahāyaṇī has been described also in Khādira gr. III. 3. 1–26, Gobhila gr. III. 9, Mānava gr. II. 7. 1–5, Bhār. gr. II. 2, Āp. gr. 19. 3–5, Kāthaka gr. 60. 1 ff., Kauśika sūtra 24. 24–36 Hir. gr. II. 17. 1 (where Mātrdatta says that Āgrahāyaṇī is also styled Pratyavarohaņa). Bauḍ gr. II. 10 speaks of a rite called Pratyavarohaņa to be performed at the beginning of each of the six ṛtus (seasons) and the intercalary month (if any). This is a different rite. Śūlagava or Īśānabali:—This was originally an offering of the flesh of an ox to Śiva. There was some difference of opinion as to the time. Aśv. gr. IV. 9. 2 states that it was to be perform-ed in Śarad (autumn) or in Vasanta (spring) under the constel-lation of Ārdrā. The Bauḍ gr. II. 7. 1–3 says that every year it was to be performed on the full moon day of Mārgaśīrṣa or on the Ārdrā nakṣatra²⁷ in that month or whenever cattle suffer from some pest or disease. The Kāthaka gr. (52. 2–3) declares that the Śūlagava may be performed from various desires in śarad or vasanta and that according to some ācāryas there is no restriction as to seasoṇ The Bhār. gr. II. 8 and Hir. gr. II. 3. 2 say that it may be performed in the bright half of a month and on an auspicious nakṣatra. Various explanations are given why this rite was called Śūlagava. Nārāyaṇa²⁸ says Śūla here means one who has a spit ( or pointed rod ) i. e. Śiva who is called Śulin and that this sacrifice is offered to Rudra Śulin with the ox as a sacrificial animal. Haradatta explains that here the ox is marked with the rod ( of Śiva ).

This rite is most elaborately described in Āśv. gr. IV. 9, Bauḍ gr. II. 7, Hir. gr. II. 8–9, Bhār. gr. II. 8–10, Pār. gr. III. 8. It appears that even in the times of the gṛhya sūtras there were many who did not like the rite of ox-flesh. The Bauḍ gr. (II. 7. 26–27) says²⁹ that if a person cannot secure an ox he may sacrifice with a goat or ram or he may cook a mess of cooked food for Īśāna and with that he does everything that is to be done by means of an ox. The commentator Devapāla on Kāṭhaka³⁰ gr. 52. 1 says that only a goat is offered and the bull is let off as the people are opposed to the idea of the sacrifice of an ox.

As this rite has totally gone out of practice only a brief description of it from the Mānava gṛhya³¹ ( which is the briefest of all on this rite ) is given here. ‘Śulagava is to be performed in Śarad for ( propitiating ) Rudra. In the north-east of the village and not near it ( it is to be performed ) at night and there is to be a sacrificial post, not chiselled ( into an octagonal shape as in other sacrifices ), in the midst of oxeṇ Before the ( final offering ) to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt ( i. e. after perform- ing the usual homa with boiled rice up to this point ) he should fill eight vessels made of leaves with blood and offer them in the principal quarters and the intermediate quarters with the eight anuvākas (Tai. S. IV. 5. 1 ff. and Vāj. S. 16th adhyāya ) beginning with ‘adoration to thee, O Rudra, who are Manyu ( wrath ).’ He should not bring the uncooked offerings into the village. He should bury into the ground the rest ( of the animal offered ) and its skin also. Some ācāryas say that in the pākāyajñas in which animals are sacrificed there is no sacri- ficial post.’ Vāstu-pratiṣṭhā :-( construction and occupation of a new house ).

The Aśv. gṛ. II. 7–9, āṇ gṛ. III. 2–4, Pār. gṛ. III. 4, Āp. gṛ. 17. 1–13, Khādira gṛ. IV. 2. 6–22 and other gṛhya works deal with the matter of building a new house. Aśv. gṛ. ( II. 7 ) says that one who intends to build a house should first examine the ground, which must be non-salinous, which should have herbs and trees, much kuśa and vīraṇa grass growing on it; that one should dig out thorny plants and plants having milky juice with their roots and remove them and also certain other plants like apāmārga, tilvaka, etc. He should select a spot where the waters coming together from all sides to the centre of it flow round the resting place having the latter on their right side and then are discharged off to the east without noise. Such a spot possesses all auspicious qualitieṣ He should ( Aśv. gṛ. II. 8 ) also dig a pit knee-deep in the ground to be examined and then fill the pit again with the earth taken out. If the earth taken out fills the entire pit and some earth remains, then the plot is excellent for building a house on; if all the earth dug out just fills the pit, it is of middle quality ; if the earth is not enough to fill the pit the plot is to be rejecteḍ Another method is to fill the pit with water and leave it there through the night. If in the morning there is water in the pit the ground is excellent; if it is moist only, the ground is of middle quality; if it is found dry in the morning the plot is to be rejecteḍ The three dvijātis should respectively select white, red and yellow ground as a site for their house. The plot should be square or rectangular and the owner should draw a thousand furrows on it. ³² With a śamī or udumbara branch he sprinkles the ground with water, going thrice round it with his right hand towards it and recites the Śāntātīya hymṇ ³² He does this thrice pouring out water without interruption with the three verses ‘āpo hi ṣṭhā’ ( Ṛg. X. 9. 1–3 ). Under the divisions of the bamboo which rests on the chief posts he should have the single rooms constructeḍ Into the pits in which the posts are to stand he should have an avakā and the water plant called śīpālā put dowṇ Having put the plant into the pit in which the middle post is to stand he should spread on it east-ward pointed and north-ward pointed kuśa grass and should sprinkle on the kuśas water into which rice and barley have been thrown with the words ‘to the steady one, the earth demon, svāhā.’ He should when the middle post is being erected repeat over it the two verses ‘stand here &c.’ and ‘to thee the young child may come &c.’ Over the bamboo staff when it is placed on the middle post he recites the hemistich ‘rightly ascend the post &c.’ On four stones on which dūrvā grass has been spread he should establish the water barrel with the words ‘arise on the earth’ or with the verse ‘the araṅgara sounds &c.’ He then should pour water into it with the verse ‘hither may king Varuṇa come &c.’ He then appeases it as follows : he puts gold into water in which rice and barley have been put and with that water he sprinkles it three times, going round it with his right turned towards it with the Śāntātīya hymṇ This he does three times pouring water without interruption with the three verses ‘āpo hi sthā’ (Ṛg. X. 9. 1-3). In the middle of the house he should cook a mess of food, sacrifice from it with the four verses ‘Vāstospate prati’ (Ṛg. VII. 54. 1-3 and VII. 55. 1) verse by verse, ³³ should cook food which should be given to the brāhmaṇas to eat, whom he should cause to say ‘lucky is the grounḍ’

The Matsyapurāṇa (chap. 252-257) deals at length with Vāstuśāstra, the construction of a house of various dimensions, its posts, the timber to be employed, the rites to be performed when laying the foundation and at later stages, the rite for Vāstuśānti (propitiatory rite for averting evil).

The Matsyapurāṇa ³⁴ (256. 10-11) states that a vāstu- yajña has to be performed five times in relation to a house, viz. when laying down the foundation (lit. using the measuring line), when fixing the first post, when raising the first door frame, when entering the house (gṛhapraveśa) and when vāstu- śānti is to be performed (for averting evil or on seeing portents). It briefly describes Vāstuyajña as follows (chap. 256. 5-9): On an auspicious day and moment, the stone should be laid over jewels and all seeds; similarly the post is to be worshipped at the hands of four brāhmaṇas; the priest who should wear white garments should be master of the Veda and should be accompanied by the artizans, should fix the post that is washed with water mixed with all herbs (or herbs called sarvauṣadhi) and covered with many whole rice and decked with clothes and ornaments to the accompaniment of Vedic mantras and the tunes of auspicious music; he should perform a homa with honey and clarified butter and should repeat the mantra ‘vāstoṣpate prati’ (Rg. VII. 54. 1); then the owner should feed brāhmaṇas with a dish of rice-milk. The Matsyapurāṇa notes that the foundation should be laid in the north-east corner and the first post fixed in the south-east. The Matsyapurāṇa (chap. 268) describes the procedure of Vāstuśānti and remarks (verses 33–35) that it should be performed when beginning the construction of a temple or a house or a public park or when entering a town or one’s house for the first time for averting all evil and it should also be performed every year in one’s house. In that rite he should make the brāhmaṇas repeat the Rākṣoghna hymn and a hymn to Pavamāna Soma (one from Rg. IX. or IX. 1).

In modern times the ceremony of entering a newly built house is an important one, is an extensive affair and marked by great éclat. A very auspicious day is required for this ceremony and numerous astrological considerations enter into the choosing of a proper day. The ceremony of an entrance is preceded on the same day or on the previous day by a vāstuśānti (propitiatory rite) of which grahamakha (a rite for propitiating the planets) forms a part and the usual rites of worship of Gaṇeśa and the like (mentioned at pp. 213–218) have also to be performeḍ A few salient features are mentioned here. A maṇḍala is drawn divided into 81 squares, 62 devatās are invoked to be present in the maṇḍala, then a homa is offered to the nine planets with 28 oblations of fuel sticks, sesame and ājya to each planet and oblations are offered to other deities, the performer and his wife have holy water sprinkled over their heads from auspicious jars, the house is surrounded thrice with thread beginning from the east to the accompaniment of Rākṣoghna (Rg. IV. 4. 1–15 or X. 87. 1–25) and Pavamāna (Rg. IX. 1. 1–10) mantras and round the house water is continuously poured in a stream from a jar with the same two hymnṣ A pit is dug in the south-east corner of the house which is cowdunged, worshipped with flowers and sandalwood paste and a baked brick box containing seven kinds of corn, moss, flowers &c. is lowered into it and the pit is filled up. Then the house is entered to the accompaniment of music by the owner who is accompanied by his wife, sons and brāhmaṇas and who holds in his folded hands an auspicious jar filled with water and having fresh sprouts, dūrvā grass thereon and marked with sandalwood paste and flowers and covered with cloth. The svasti hymn (vide note 1963 above) and the hymn beginning with ‘kraṇikradat’ (Rg. II. 42. 1-3) are recited and the auspicious jar is put down on a heap of corṇ Then the brāhmaṇas perform puṇyāhavācana (vide note 503 above), they are honoured and utter ‘may the house be lucky’, dinner is given to the brāhmaṇas who pronounce benedictions, and the owner then takes his meal with his friendṣ³⁵