Chapter XXXI. Chāturmāsyas (seasonal sacrifices)

Volume II: Part II pp. 1091–1108

Chapter XXXI. Chāturmāsyas (seasonal sacrifices)

CĀTURMĀSYAS (seasonal sacrifices)¹

According to Āśv. II. 14. 1 the term Iṣṭyayāna comprehends the Cāturmāsyas, Turāyaṇa, Dākṣāyaṇā and other iṣṭiṣ The cāturmāsyas are three (or four according to some), viz. Vaiśva-deva, Varuṇapraghāsa, Sākamedha (and Śunāsīriya ). Each of these is called a parvan (part or joint ) of the cāturmāsyaṣ They are called cāturmāsyas because each of them takes place after four monthṣ² They are performed respectively on the Full Moon days of Phālguna (or Caitra ), of Āṣāḍha, Kārtika and on the 5th full moon from the day on which the Sākamedha is performed (i. e. on Phālguni) or two or three days before it (coṃ on Āśv. II. 20. 2). They indicate the advent of three seasons viz. vasanta (spring ), varṣā (rains ) and hemanta (autumn). If the Vaiśvadevaparva is performed on Caitra Full Moon, then the Varuṇapraghāsas and Sākamedhas will be performed on Śrāvaṇa and Mārgāśīrṣa Full Moon respec-tively. The Tai. Br. I. 6. 8 states the reward secured by the performance of the cāturmāsyaṣ⁴

According to Āśv. on the day previous to the Full Moon of Phālguna when beginning the cāturmāsyas he performs an iṣṭi for (Agni) Vaiśvānara and Parjanya. According to Kāt. V. 1. 2 there is an option viz. he may perform this iṣṭi or the Anvārambhaṇīyā iṣṭi. Then on the Full Moon day he performs the Vaiśvadeva iṣṭi in the morning and then performs the pūrṇamāsa iṣṭi. According to the coṃ on Kāt.V.1. the Vaiśvadeva iṣṭi is performed in the morning of the first day after Full Moon and then follows the pūrṇamāsa iṣṭi of Phālguna. The sacrificer has to keep certain observances on all the parvans of the cāturmāsyas viz. he has to shave⁵ his head and face, to sleep on the ground (not on a cot), to avoid honey, meat, salt, sexual intercourse and decorations of the body. There is an option as to shaving the moustaches and beard viz. he should shave only on the first and last parvans or may do so on all four. There are five offerings common to all cāturmāsyas, viz., a puroḍāśa (cake) on eight potsherds for Agni, boiled rice (caru) for Soma, a puroḍāśa on 12 or 8 potsherds (12 according to Tai. S. I. 8. 2) for Savitr (upāmśu, inaudibly), a caru for Sarasvatī, a caru of finely ground rice for Pūṣaṇ The reward secured by the performance of the cāturmāsyas⁶ is heaveṇ The cāturmāsyas may be performed throughout life or for one year only.

In the introductory iṣṭi to Vaiśvānara and Parjanya, there is a cake prepared on twelve potsherds for Vaiśvānara and caru for Parjanya. The anuvākyā verses (according to Āśv.)for the two are ‘vaiśvānaro ajījanad-agnir &c.’ (Āśv. II. 15. 2 sets out the whole) and ‘parjanyāya pragāyata’ (Rg. VII. 102. 1) respectively and the yājyā verses respectively are ‘pṛṣṭo divi’ (Rg. I. 98. 2) and ‘pra vātā vānti’ (Rg. V. 83. 4). In the Vaiśva- deva-parvan itself there are (besides the five offerings common to all cāturmāsyas) three more offerings viz. a cake (puroḍāśa) on seven potsherds for Marut Svatavas (self-strong) or for the Maruts, a payasyā (or āmikṣā, according to Bauḍ V. I)⁷ to the All-Gods ( Viśve Devāḥ ) and a cake on a single potsherd to Dyāvāpṛthivī ( Heaven and Earth ).

Kāt. ( V. 1. 21-24 ) requires that this Vaiśvadeva-parvan should be performed in a spot which inclines towards the east,⁸ that the sacrificer and his wife each put on two fresh and unworn garments ( one lower and the other upper ) which they have to wear again at the Varuṇapraghāsaparvaṇ Kāt. ( V. 1. 25-26 ) following Śat. Br. ( II. 5. 1 ) says that barhis ( sacred grass to be strewn on sacrificial ground ) is tied up in three bunches separately with a rope of grass and then all three bunches are tied together with a bigger rope and therein ( i. e. inside this last rope ) is thrust a bunch of flowering kuśa grass which is to be used as prastara. After putting the yajñapātras⁹ on the sacrificial ground, fire is produced by churning from the araṇiṣ Being directed by the adhvaryu the hotṛ priest repeats at the time of churning fire the verses Ṛg. I. 24. 3, I. 22. 13, VI. 16. 13-15 ( except the last pāda of VI. 16. 15 ) and stops till he receives another direction ( sampraiṣa ) from the adhvaryu. If fire is not produced at once the hotṛ should go on repeating the hymn, Ṛg. X. 118, till fire is struck from the araṇiṣ¹⁰ On hearing from the adhvaryu that fire is produced and that he should repeat a formula for that event, the hotṛ repeats the last pāda of Ṛg. VI. 16. 15 at which he had stopped ( after the syllable om added at the end of that verse of Ṛg. X. 118 at which he hears about the production of fire ). Then he should repeat Ṛg. I. 74. 3 and stop after repeating half of Ṛg. VI. 16. 40, then recite Ṛg. VI. 16. 41-42, I. 12. 6, VIII. 43. 14, the verse ' tamarjayanta sukratum ' and then repeat Ṛg. X. 90. 16 as the paridhānīyā ( the finishing verse ).¹¹ There are nine prayājas and nine anuyājas in the Vaiśvadeva-parvan, while in the Darśapūrṇamāsa there are only five prayājas and three anuyājaṣ The number nine of the prayājas ¹² is made up by adding before the 5th prayāja of the Darśapūrṇamāsa four as stated in the note below. Rg. V. 82. 7 and VI. 71. 6 are the anuvākyā and yājyā for the offering to Savitṛ, Rg. VI. 54. 9 and VI. 58. 1 for that to Pūṣan and VII. 59. 11 and VI. 66. 9 for that to Marutṣ ¹³ The nine anuyājas are made up by adding after the first anuyāja of the darśapūrṇa- māsa six more. After the anuyājas, or after the sūktavāka or śamyuvāka, an offering of vājina is made to the deities called Vājinṣ The remainder of the vājina is brought in a vessel and is dealt with in the same way as iḍā ( i. e. it is placed in the folded hands of the hotṛ by the adhvaryu, the hotṛ then holds it in his left hand and then on the right hand some ghee is sprinkled by the adhvaryu and then two portions of the vājina are put thereon and then again some ājya is sprinkled over it ), the vessel is then raised as high as the mouth or nose, the hotṛ should request the other priests in order ( as done in the note ) to repeat an invocation ( upahava ) with a mantra and then the hotṛ, adhvaryu, brahmā and āgnīdhra partake of the vājina by merely smelling ¹⁴ it. The sacrificer partakes of the vājina actually. Kāt. (V. 2. 9 and 12 ) adds that the adhvaryu offers three offerings called samista-yajus respectively to Vāta, Yajña and Yajñapati with three mantras ( viz. Vāj. VIII. 21, 22 first half and 22 latter half ) or only one samiṣṭa-yajus may be offered ( with Vāj. S. VIII. 21 ) in Vaiśvadeva and Sunāśīrīya parvanṣ According to the Śat. Br. (II. 5. 1. 21 ) the dakṣiṇā in this rite is the first born calf of the seasoṇ Kāt. ( V. 2. 13 ) further says that the sacrificer may on finishing each of the three cāturmāsyas ( except Sunāśīrīya ) shave himself. Jai. (IV. 1. 22-24) concludes that āmikṣā is the principal purpose of mixing curds in boiled milk and not vājina and in VIII. 2. 1-9 that in offering vājina the procedure of iṣṭi is to be followed and not of Somayāga though śruti in one passage states 'somo vai vājinaṁ'. Vide also Jai. II. 2. 23.¹⁵

Varuṇapraghāsa.¹⁵

The word Varuṇapraghāsa is masculine and is always employed in the plural. The Śat. Br. (II. 5. 2. 1) gives a fanciful etymology viz. that yavas (barley grains) belong to Varuṇa and as these are eaten (from ghas to eat) in this rite it is so calleḍ This rite is performed in the rainy season four months after Vaiśvadeva on the Full Moon day of Āṣāḍha or of Śrāvaṇa. The sacrificer should go out of his house to a spot where plenty of shrubs grow. Two altars (vedi) have to be prepared to the east of the āhavaniya inclined towards the east, one south of the other. The northern vedi is in charge of the adhvaryu and the southern one in charge of his assistant, the pratiprasthātṛ (Āp. VIII. 5. 5.). The latter follows the adhvaryu in doing the same actions on the southern vedi that are done by the adhvaryu on the northern vedi except carrying the water forward, girding the wife, producing fires and a few others specified in Kāt. V. 4. 33; all the orders (saṃpraiṣas, like 'agnaye samidhyamānāya anubrūhi') are to be uttered once and everything that concerns the uttering of words is to be done by the adhvaryu only (Āp. VIII. 5. 17)¹⁶. But Jai. XII. 1. 18 says that the mantras for taking ājya, for prokṣaṇa and the like are to be recited by the two separately. The procedure is like that of Vaiśvadevapārvan except where special directions are giveṇ The two vedis are separated from each other by a space (at the corners) two, three or four aṅgulas or a span or even wider (Āp. VIII. 5. 10). There is a single utkara. The pratiprasthātṛ moves between the two vediṣ On the previous day he makes ready pots full of karambha i. e. husked grains of barley slightly fried on the dakṣiṇa fire, ground and mixed with curds (Kāt. V. 3. 2). According to Āp. (VIII. 6. 3) it is the wife that makes these karambhapātraṣ These pātras exceed by one the number of the children (sons, unmarried daughters, grandsons and unmarried grand-daughters) of the house-holder (Kāt. V. 3. 3-5, Āp. VIII. 5. 41, who includes daughters-in-law) or they are at least three (if the house-holder is childless or has only a son or two). The figures of a ram and ewe are also made of the remaining part of the ground and fried barley used for the karambhapātras, the male being made by the adhvaryu and the female by the pratiprasthātr and each figure having the characteristic signs of sex. The figures of the ram and ewe are covered by the adhvaryu and pratiprasthātr respectively with a bunch of the wool of some animal other than the eḍakā (wild goat) or with the ground tips of kuśa (in the absence of wool). Besides the five offerings common to all cāturmāsyas (these being offered in the Varuṇa-praghāsas with all attributes and subsidiaries as in Vaiśva-deva, according to Jai. VII. 1. 17-21), in this rite offerings are made to four more, viz. Indra and Agni, the Maruts, Varuṇa and Ka i. e. Prajāpati (Āśv. II. 17. 14) and the offerings are a cake on twelve potsherds (for Indrāgṇī), payasyā or āmikṣā (for Maruts and Varuṇa) and a cake on one potsherd for Ka silently. All offerings are made from yava or only the karambhapātras are so made and the figures of the ram and the ewe also are made from yava and the rest from rice grains (Āp. VIII. 5. 36-37). The anuvākyā and yājyā verses of each of these four special offerings to Indrāgṇī, Maruts, Varuṇa and Ka are respectively¹⁷ Ṛg. VII. 94. 18, VI. 60. 1; I. 86. 1, V. 58. 5; I. 25. 19, I. 24. 11; IV. 31. 1, X. 121. 1 (Āśv. II. 17. 15). Straight to the east of the āhavanīya about three prakramas from it the northern vedī is prepared and several rules are laid down in Kāt. (V. 3. 13 ff) and its coṃ about its extent. The northern vedī is six or seven aratnis in length from west to east, its western side is four aratnis and its eastern side is three aratnis or the vedī may be even much larger than thiṣ On this vedī a fire-place is constructed with the earth dug up from the sacrificial pit called cātvāla which is measured with a yoke-pin 32 aṅgulas in length and made to the east of the utkara and after leaving a space between it and the utkara for the priests to move about. The pit is knee-deep, is outside the uttaravedi to its east and is measured from the northern corner of the uttaravedi at a distance equal to the yoke-pin and is square, the east side being 32 aṅgulas in extent or ⅓ of the vedi or of the extent of a yoke or of ten steps of the yajamāna ( on all sides ). In the midst of the northern vedi a hole ( nābhi ) is made, a span in length on four sides and having four corners or it may be as large as the hoof of a bull or a horse. On the uttaravedi water is sprinkled with a mantra and gravel is also spread with ‘ a lioness art thou’ ( Vāj. S. V. 10). That night the uttaravedi is covered with darbhaṣ In the morning the adhvaryu and pratiprasthātṛ carry forward fire on to the two vedis from the gārhapatya ( according to Āp. VIII. 5. 22 ) or from the āhavaniya ( according to Kāt. V. 4. 2-3) by means of kindled fuel-sticks ( idhma ) held in earthen pots or by dividing the āhavanīya in two partṣ Jai. ( VIL 3. 23-25 ) declares that the carrying forward of the fire is done only in the Varuṇapraghāsas and Sākamedhaṣ The pratiprasthātṛ draws with the sphya a line from the āhavanīya to the northern hind corner of the southern vedi or of the uttara- vedi ( according to Kāt. V. 4. 9-10 ) or he connects the two vedis ( Āp. VIII. 5. 20 ) by drawing a line from the north hind corner of the southern vedi to the south front corner of the uttaravedi. He surrounds the hole ( nābhi ) with three sticks ( paridhis ), one span long, of devadāru tree on the west, south and north ( with Vāj. S. V. 13 ) and puts down thereon guggulu ( bdellium ) and perfumed substances and the hair on the head or between the horns of a ram and places the fires on these materials ( sambhāras ). The pratiprasthātṛ places dakṣiṇa fire on a square mound of one aratni in length after drawing lines and sprinkling water. The figure of the ram is put in the payasyā meant for Maruts and that of the ewe in the payasyā meant for Varuṇa. The liquid called vājina ( of both payasyās ) is collected in separate pots and in the payasyā are put the fruit of karīra and leaves of śamī. All the offerings except the payasyā for Maruts and the pots of karambha are placed by the adhvaryu on the uttaravedi; while the pratiprasthātṛ places the payasyā for Maruts together with the pot for ājya and also the karambha pot ( if the yava grains for them had not been taken out by the adhvaryu ) on the southern vedi and the vājina is placed near the utkara by both. When the adhvaryu issues a direction to the āgnīdhra ‘please sweep clean the paridhis of the two fires’ ( the two āhavanīyas on the two vedis ) with the ropes binding the idhma, the pratiprasthātṛ goes to the H. D. 138 sacrificer's wife sitting near the gārhapatya and asks her to declare what lover or lovers (jāra)¹⁸ she haṣ She either declares the names of her lovers or lifts up (if she feels shame in the declaration) as many blades from the bunch of darbhas lying on the ground as the number of lovers she has haḍ If she names any, he (the pratiprasthātr) declares that Varuna will seize him or theṃ If she conceals the truth, the result would be that her dear relatives would suffer. If she has none she says so. In that case or when she has declared or intimated her lover or lovers, the pratiprasthātr makes her repeat the verse 'praghāsiņo havāmahe' (Vāj. III. 44). The pots are placed in a śūrpa made of iṣīka (reed) in which a little ājya is sprinkled, then there is further sprinkling of ājya thereon twice (abhigārana), the śūrpa is placed on the head of the wife who is led by the pratiprasthātr between the fires and the seats of the brahmā priest and the sacrificer to the east of both āhavanīyas and then to the northern vedī; and she standing to the east of the dakṣiņa fire with her face to the west takes down from her head the śūrpa into her right hand and offers the contents (using the śūrpa¹⁹ as a juhū ladle) into the dakṣiņa fire with 'mo ṣu na indrātra' (Ṛg. I. 173. 12, Vāj. S. III. 46 or Tai. S. I. 8. 3. 1) muttered by the sacrificer and with the verse 'yad grāme' (Vāj. S. III. 45, Tai. S. I. 8. 3. 1) uttered by the wife as offering prayer (yājya). Āp. (VIII. 6. 26) says that the adhvaryu or pratiprasthātr may offer the oblation of karambha pots and the sacrificer and his wife may only touch his hand from behinḍ When the pratiprasthātr leads back the wife to her seat near the gārhapatya fire (by the same way that she came) he makes her repeat the verse 'akran karma' (Vāj. S. III. 47, Tai. S. I. 8. 3. 1). Then the adhvaryu offers the five offerings common to all cāturmāsyas (stated above) and the cake to Indra and Agni. on twelve potsherds and then sits silent. Then the prati-prasthātṛ cuts off a portion of the āmiṣā for Maruts together with the whole of the figure of the ewe (this is the first avadāna) and offers it into fire. He mixes the second portion of the payasyā for Maruts with the leaves of śāmī and fruits of karīra and offers it. Then the adhvaryu offers two portions of the āmiṣā meant for Varuṇa mixing the figure of the ram in the first or second avadāna for Varuṇa. According to Āp. (VIII. 6. 31) the adhvaryu offers the first portion of the payasyā along with the figure of the ram and the second portion of payasyā having in it the fruit of karīra and the leaves of śāmī. Then both adhvaryu and pratiprasthātṛ make an offering to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt. The fee (dakṣiṇā) is either a cow with its calf or a horse or six or twelve bullṣ²⁰

The rite is concluded by the priests and the sacrificer and his wife going for a bath (avabhṛtha) in a river²¹ or the like taking with them the remainder of payasyā for Varuṇa and the scrapings from the pan that are treated like the refuse (ṛjīṣa of Soma). The remainder of payasyā serves as haviṣ (sacrificial offering) at the avabhṛtha, a portion of which is offered to Varuṇa and the whole of what remains is offered to Agni and Varuṇa instead of to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt. The sacrificer and his wife silently come to the water, throw into the water the scrapings (niṣkāṣā) that are placed in a vessel (sthālī) with a mantra (Vāj. S. III. 48, according to Kāt. V. 5. 30 and ‘samudre te’ Tai. S. I. 4. 45. 2, according to Āp. VIII. 8. 12). They do not plunge their heads into water but only splash water over their heads and rub each other’s backs with water. They then put on new clothes and make a gift of the clothes so far worn (that they had already worn at the Vaiśvadevaparvan) to one of the (five) priests or to another (worthy) person at their pleasure. After returning to the house the sacrificer puts a fuel-stick on the āhavanīya (with Vāj. S. VIII. 27). Jai. (VII. 3. 12-15) states that this avabhṛtha has the same characteristics as the avabhṛtha in Somayāga and that the material offered therein is the scrapings from the pan and not the puroḍāśa (VII. 3. 16 ).

Sākamedha²²

This third parvan of the cāturmāsyas is described at great length in Bauḍ, Āp. and Kāt. Only a few salient features are brought out below. 'Sākamedha' is used in the plural, since there are many rites therein and many and various offerings (coṃ on Kāt. V. 6. 1). It literally means 'kindling along with or at the same time as' (sākam edha). The name is probably given because the first offering in it is a cake on eight potsherds offered to Agni Anīkavat with the ris-ing suṇ²³ It is performed four months after the Varuṇapraghāsas on the Full Moon day of Kārtika or Mārgaśīrṣa (according as the Vaiśvadeva-parvan was performed on the full moon of Phālguna or Caitra). The whole of this parvan requires two dayṣ On the day previous to the full moon there are three iṣṭis offered at the three savanas (morning, midday and evening) to the three deities respectively, viz. to Agni Anīkavat a cake on eight potsherds in the morning, to Sāntapana Maruts caru (oblation of cooked rice) at midday, to Grhamedhin Maruts in the evening a caru boiled in the milk of all the cows belonging to the sacrificer (Āp. VIII. 9. 8). As regards this last caru it is stated (Āp. VIII. 10. 8 and VIII. 11. 8-10, Kāt. V. 6. 29-30) that if plenty of rice is cooked the priests and the sons and grandsons of the sacrificer (who have had the upanayana performed) eat the food to satiety and go to sleep that night in the same hall without indulging in any talk about poverty or hunger. Jaimini (V. 1. 19-22) refers to the text 'agnaye anīkavate prātar-aṣṭakapālah &c.' and states as the conclusion that all the three rites are performed on one day and no part of the three is to be performed the next day. On that night the milch cows are let loose to mix up among their calves (which can then drink the milk of their mothers with-out let or hindrance). He, however, binds down that calf which is required for milking the cow that has lost its own calf (and which is to be milked the next morning for the offerings to the Manes ). That night and in the next morning agnihotra is performed with rice gruel (and not with milk). On the next day (the principal day of Sākamedha) the sacrificer either before or after the daily agnihotra performs a homa with a darvi taking a portion of the boiled rice sticking to the bottom of the sthālī (pot) that had been cooked for the offering to Gṛhamedhin Maruts the previous evening. He fills the darvī ²⁴ (ladle) with a mantra (Vāj. S. III. 49, Tai. S. I. 8. 4. 1). Then the adhvaryu directs the yajamāna to fetch a bull and make it bellow. When the bull bellows, he offers the rice in the darvī into fire with a mantra (Vāj. S. III. 50, Tai. S. I. 8. 4. 1). If the bull does not bellow, then the oblation is offered after the brahmā priest directs ‘offer’. Āśv. (II. 18. 11-12) states that the homa may be offered (if the bull does not bellow) at the thunder of a cloud or some make the āgnīdhra roar calling him ‘brahmaputra’ (‘the son of the brahmā priest’, whose assistant he is). The bull is given as fee to the adhvaryu. Then an iṣṭi is offered to Krīḍin Maruts with a cake cooked on seven potsherds and a caru to Aditi. This is followed by a mahāhavis (a great offering), which consists of eight offerings to eight deitieṣ They are five offerings common to all cāturmāsyas, the 6th offering is a cake on twelve potsherds to Indra and Agni, the 7th is caru to Mahendra (or according to Āśv. II. 18. 18 to Indra, or Vṛtrahan Indra or Mahendra ), the 8th is a cake on one potsherd to Viśvakarmaṇ ²⁵ (inaudibly). According to Āp. he offers the 8th offering of a cake after taking the names of the four months Sahas, Sahasya, Tapas and Tapasya (i. e. Mārgaśīrṣa to Phālguna ). A bull is the fee of this Mahāhavis (or a cow according to Āp. ).

After the mahāhavis comes the pitryajña which is called mahāpitryajña. To the south of the dakṣiṇā fire a new vedi having four corners in the four principal directions ²⁶ is prepared and has the same length and breadth as the height of the sacrificer (Āp. VIII. 13. 2). He brings fire from the dakṣiṇa fire and lays it on the new vedi in the centre and all offerings that are to be offered in the āhavanīya are offered in this fire. In this mahāpitṛyajña the wife does nothing. In this yajña a cake on six kapālas is offered to Somavat Pitṛs or to Pitṛmat Soma, dhānās (fried barley) to Barhiṣad Pitṛs, mantra²⁷ to Agnisvātta Pitṛṣ Āśv. II. 19. 21 adds another deity viz. Yama and according to some (vide Āp. VIII. 13. 16) the devatās and offerings are ājya to Pitṛmat Soma, a cake on six potsherds to Barhiṣad Pitṛs, fried barley to Agnisvātta Pitṛs and mantra to Yama or Agni Kavyavāhana or Yama Aṅgi- rasvat Pitṛmat. The beating of grains (with a pestle) and grinding is done by the adhvaryu or āgnīdhra to the east of the gārhapatya fire with his face to the south. The cake is cooked on burning coals taken with a shovel from the gārha- patya to its south and the dhānā is fried on the dakṣiṇāgni. There are only four prayājas (omitting barhiṣ out of the five at the darśapūrṇamāsa) and so also anuyājaṣ Instead of the usual direction (called āśruta) of the adhvaryu to the āgnī- dhra 'O śrāvaya', in this rite he utters 'Om svadhā'; simi- larly the āgnīdhra responds (pratyāśruta) with 'astu svadhā' instead of the usual 'astu śrauṣaṭ' and instead of the syllable ' vauṣaṭ ' uttered at the end the words 'svadhā namaḥ' are employeḍ Instead of the concluding offering usually made to Agni Sviṣṭakṛt, in this rite it is made to Agni Kavyavāhana. In this rite two anuvākyās and one yājyā are repeated at each offering i. e. Rg. X. 15. 1, IX. 96. 11 are the two anuvākyās and Rg. X. 15. 5 the yājyā for Somavat Pitṛs, Rg. I. 91. 1 and I. 91. 20 are the anuvākyās and VIII. 48. 13 the yājyā for Pitṛmat Soma, Rg. X. 15. 4 and X. 15. 3 the anuvākyās and Rg. X. 15. 2 the yājyā for Barhiṣad Pitṛs, Rg. X. 15. 11 and 13 the anuvākyās and X. 15. 14 the yājyā for Agnisvātta Pitṛs, Rg. X. 14-5 the anuvākyās and X. 14. 1 the yājyā for Yama, Rg. X. 15. 9 and IV. 11. 3 the anuvākyās and I. 96. 1 the yājyā for Agni Kavyavāhana (vide Āśv. II. 19. 22, 24). The adh- varyu or sacrificer sprinkles water from a water vessel thrice Ch. XXXI ] round the vedi from right to left. He offers water for washing the feet to the three ancestors (of the sacrificer) in the north-west, south-west and south-east corners of the vedi respectively. He mixes portions of the cake, the fried barley and the mantra and prepares three balls therefrom and offers them facing the south on the three corners referred to above for the three ancestors with the appropriate mantras ( etat te tata²⁸ ye ca tvām-anu, etat te pitāmaha &c. ). According to Āp. ( VIII. 16. 7) he prepares three more pindas for the three ancestors beyond the paternal great-grand-father and invokes them on the pindas in the reverse order i. e. the sixth ancestor on the first (out of these other three pindas), the fifth on the 2nd pinda and the fourth on the 3rḍ He then wipes off the remnants of the pindas (pindalepa) sticking to the hand on the north-eastern corner of the vedi with ‘atra pitaro’ ( Vāj. S. II. 31 first half ). The priests and the sacrificer with faces to the north leave that place, wear the sacred thread in the upavita form and wait upon the āhavaniya with Vāj. S. III. 51-52 (= Tai. S. I. 8. 5. 1-2), and on the gārhapatya with Vāj. S. III. 53-55 (=Tai. S. I. 8. 5. 2-3). Then entering the vedi the sacrificer, wearing the sacred thread in the prācīnāvīta form, mutters the mantra ‘amimadanta’ (Vāj. S. II. 31 latter half ). They sprinkle the vedi from left to right and do all the rest as in pindapitryajña. The sacrificer then folds his hands with ‘namo vah’ (Vāj. S. II. 32) or makes six namaskāras (salutations) and invokes the blessing ‘give us house’ (Vāj. S. II. 32). This rite ends with Śamyu (Āśv. II. 19. 2, Kāt. V. 9. 32) i. e. ‘tacchamyorā ...... śam catuspade’ (Tai. Br. III. 5. 11) and there is no patnisamyāja homa in dakṣiṇa fire and so oṇ The remaining portion of the material for offerings is thrown into the fire or into water or may be eaten by the priestṣ

The last rite in the Sākamedhas is the Traiyambaka homa. Vide Tai. S. I. 8. 6, Śat Br. II. 6. 2. 1-17, Āśv. II. 19. 37-40, Āp. VIII. 17-19, Bauḍ V. 16-17, Kāt. V. 10. This homa is offered to Rudra. Some of its peculiarities may be noteḍ In this the adhvaryu takes out material to prepare cakes cooked on one potsherd exceeding by one the children (the sons and grandsons together with their wives and unmarried daughters) of the sacrificer or at least four (if he is childless or has no more than a few children). Every thing is done facing the north and all places where offerings are to be made must be to the north. He cooks the cakes on the northern side of the gār- hapatya and may anoint the cake with clarified butter,²⁹ he carries a single smoking firebrand kindled at the dakṣiṇa fire with the mantra 'eka eva rudro' (Tai. S. I. 8. 6). All ( priests and relatives ) go to a spot near by in the north-east and lay down one cake on earth dug out by rats from a hole with the words 'O Rudra! the rat is thy beast' (Tai. S. I. 8. 6. 1.) or if one has an enemy and one hates him one may think of him and offer that cake with the words 'that is thy beast'. He places the single firebrand in a spot where four roads meet and which has the usual five purifying rites performed on it and offers thereon with the middle leaflet of a palāśa leaf (used as the juhū ladle ) portions cut off once each from all the cakes prepared for Rudra with the mantra 'O Rudra! this is your portion, may you partake of it together with Ambikā, your sister, svāhā' (Tai. S. I. 8. 6 = Vāj. S. III. 57). The remainder he places on the earth heap dug up by rats and covers it with earth. After coming back from the heap, the sacrificer and the priests mutter a mantra (Vāj. S. III. 58) or only the yajamāna mutters the same mantra (Tai. S. I. 8. 6). The yaja- māna, his children and his wife and other ladies go round the fire thrice from right to left ( as in pitṛyajña ) with the famous mantra 'Tryambakam yajāmahe' (Tai S. I. 8. 6 and Vāj. S. III. 60) striking their left thigh with their right hand and again thrice striking their right thigh with their right hanḍ The unmarried daughter of the yajamāna desirous of a husband should go round the fire from right to left and again from left to right ( thrice in each mode ), with the above mantra altered to suit her case (Vāj. S. III. 60 ).³⁰ The portions of the cakes that remain are thrown up in the air by the yajamāna so high that a cow (or bull) with upturned mouth cannot reach them and he catches them in his hand one after another.³¹ If he cannot catch them he touches them when they fall on the grounḍ They are then placed in two woven baskets (half and half), which are then hung from the two ends of a bamboo pole or the beam of a scale or a pole made of a sacrificial tree and he fastens them on two sides on a tree trunk, or a tree or a bamboo or an ant-hill, in such a way that a cow or bull cannot reach them, with the mantra (Vāj. S. III. 61 first part, Tai. S. I. 8. 6 'eṣa te rudra bhāgaḥ). They mutter the mantra 'avatatadhanvā &c.' (Vāj. S. III. 61 latter half and Tai. S. I. 8. 6) repeatedly without taking breath and do so thrice (according to Āp. VIII. 18. 9). They (priests and yajamāna) return to the place where the other rites were performed and touch water. Accord- ing to Āp. (VIII. 19. 1-3) a white horse is the dakṣiṇā or a white bull or a bull that has a white spot of hair.

Śunāsīrīya²⁴⁷³

Besides the five offerings common to all cāturmāsyas, the special offerings in this iṣṭi are a cake on twelve potsherds to Śunāsīrau (Vāyu and Āditya, according to coṃ on Kāt. V. 11. 5 and to Indra Śunāsīra, according to Āp. VIII. 20. 5 and coṃ), an oblation of fresh warm milk (not heated) direct from the cow to Vāyu, a cake on one potsherd to Sūrya. There is no uttaravedi in this rite, and no fire is produced by attritioṇ There are five prayājas, three anuyājas and one samiṣṭayajus, but according to Āp. VIII. 20. 6 there are nine prayājas and anuyājaṣ The dakṣiṇā for the rite is a plough with six bulls or two big bulls and for the cake to Sūrya a white horse or a white bull (Kāt. V. 11. 12-14), while according to Tai. S. I. 8. 7 it is a plough to which twelve oxen are yokeda plough with twelve and according to Āp. (VIII. 20. 9-10) or six oxeṇ

'Śunāsīrau' occurs in the Ṛgveda IV. 57. 5 and 8. In Ṛg. IV. 57. 4 and 8 the word 'śunam' occurs several timeṣ The meaning is doubtful. According to Yāska's Nirukta IX. 40 Śuna and Sīra mean Vāyu and Āditya respectively; while the Śat. Br. II. 6. 3. 2 appears to hold that śuna means prosperity and sīra means 'essence or sap' (sāra) and this iṣṭi is so called because the sacrificer thereby secures both prosperity and sap. European scholars see in this name a reference to the plough and ploughshare.³³ Vide Vedic Index vol. II. p. 386.

Āgrayaṇa (offering of first fruits)³⁴ This is an iṣṭi, without performing which an āhitāgni was not to make use of freshly harvested rice, barley and millet. It was either performed on a New Moon day or Full Moon day, but the procedure was the same as that of the iṣṭi on New Mooṇ The time of the āgrayaṇa iṣṭi with rice is śarad (autumn) when one had ample rainṣ³⁵ As barley crops became ready in vasanta (spring), the āgrayaṇa for yavas was to be performed in spring. Āśv. allowed an option that when the iṣṭi was once performed in the autumn one may not perform it in spring for the barley crop. The iṣṭi for millet crop (śyāmāka) was performed in the rainy season and therein a caru was offered to Soma. The iṣṭi was so called because therein the first fruits (agra) were first employed or eaten (ayana).³⁶ According to Āp. (VI. 29. 6) there are 17 kindling verses (sāmidhenī), which number is obtained by inserting two additional verses called dhāyyā after the 8th or 9th sāmidhenī of the darśa-pūrṇa-māsa iṣṭi. The deities and offerings are a cake on twelve potsherds for Indra and Agni (or according to Āp. VI. 29. 10 and Āśv. II. 9. 13, it is either Aindrāgņa or Āgnendra), a caru cooked in milk or water for All Gods (Viśve Devāh) silently, a cake on one potsherd to Heaven and Earth and caru to Soma (if the first fruits are millets). Kāt. IV. 6. 7 allows an option that the caru for All Gods may be of old rice. For him who performs only daily agnihotra or who does not perform any iṣṭi except darśapūrṇamāsa Kāt. IV. 6. 11 and Āśv. II. 9. 4 prescribe that he may make his agnihotra cow eat the first fruits, viz., rice or barley bundles or food and with the milk of that cow perform on the āgrayana day the homa. But this alternative was not open to the king who had to perform this iṣṭi (Āśv. II. 9. 6 ). According to Kāt. (IV. 6. 16-17 ) the caru of millets for Soma is performed only for the forest-dweller and a caru of bamboo seed is prescribed for Soma in summer. About the dakṣiṇā there are various opinionṣ According to Kāt. (IV. 6. 18 ) it is either a repaired waggon or silken cloth, madhuparka (i. e. honey, curds and ghee ) or the the sacrificer in the rainṣ According to Āp. (VI. 30. 7) the first among the calves born before the Full Moon of Māgha is the fee, and cloth for iṣṭi with milletṣ Jai. has several sūtras about silk cloth and a calf being the dakṣiṇā in this rite and that rice cooked on dakṣiṇā fire is not the fee (vide X. 3. 34-38 ). Vide also Jai. XII. 2. 34-37 ( about the characteristics of the barhis ).

The āgrayaṇa sacrifice in the gṛhya fire has been already described ( pp. 827-829 ) and it will have been noticed that it was a replica of the śrauta sacrifice meant for those who had consecrated the three Vedic fireṣ

Kāmyeṣṭi

In the Śrauta sūtras there are rules for the performance of several iṣṭis on the occurrence of certain events or for the pur- pose of securing some desired object. Āśv. II. 10-14, Āp. XIX. 18-27 and others mention several such iṣṭis, viz., the āyuṣkā- meṣṭi ( for one desirous of long life ), the svastyayanī ( for safe journey ), the putrakāmeṣṭi¹ ( for one desirous of a son or one adopting a son, Āśv. II. 10. 8-9 ), Lokeṣṭi, Mahāvairājī ( Āśv. II. 11. 1-4 ) or Mitravindā ( Kāt. V. 12, for one who is desirous of prosperity, territory, friends and long life, addressed to ten deities ), Samjñānī ( for the reconciliation of those who have fallen out ), Kārīriṣṭi² ( for one who desires rain, Āśv. II. 13. 1-13, Āp. XIX. 25. 16 ff ), Turāyaṇā ( Āśv. II. 14. 4-6 ), Dākṣāyaṇa³ (Āśv. II. 14. 7-10). These and other iṣṭis though very interesting from several points of view have to be passed over for want of space.