Âsvalâyana-Grihya-Sûtra: Adhyâya II

Kandikâ 1

1¹. On the full moon day of the Srâvana month the Srâvana ceremony (is performed).

2. Having filled a new jug with flour of fried barley, he lays (this jug) and a spoon for offering the Balis on new strings of a carrying pole (and thus suspends them).

3. Having prepared fried barley grains, he smears half of them with butter.

4. After sunset he prepares a mess of cooked food and a cake in one dish and sacrifices (the cooked food) with the four verses, 'Agni, lead us on a good path to wealth' (Rig-veda I, 189, 1 seqq.), verse by verse, and with his hand the (cake) in one dish with (the formula), 'To the steady One, the earth-demon, svâhâ!'

5. (The cake) should be (entirely) immersed (into the butter), or its back should be visible.

6. With (the verse), 'Agni, do not deliver us to evil' (Rig-veda I, 189, 5) he sacrifices over it (the butter) in which it had lain.

7². With (the verse), 'May the steeds at our invocation be for a blessing to us' (Rig-veda VII, 38, 7) (he sacrifices) the besmeared grains with his joined hands,

8. The other (grains) he should give to his people.

9. Out of the jug he fills the spoon with flour, goes out (of the house) to the east, pours water on the ground on a clean spot, sacrifices with (the formula), 'To the divine hosts of the serpents svâhâ!' and does reverence to them with (the formula), 'The serpents which are terrestrial, which are aerial, which are celestial, which dwell in the directions (of the horizon)—to them I have brought this Bali; to them I give over this Bali.'

10. Having gone round (the Bali) from left to right, he sits down to the west of the Bali with (the words), 'The serpent art thou; the lord of the creeping serpents art thou; by food thou protectest men, by cake the serpents, by sacrifice the gods. To me, being in thee, the serpents being in thee should do no harm. I give over the firm one (i.e. the spoon) to thee.'

11. 'Firm one, (I give) N.N. (in charge) to thee! Firm one, (I give) N.N. (in charge) to thee!'—with (these words he gives) his people, man by man, (in charge to the serpent god);

12. 'Firm one, I give myself in charge to thee!'—with these words himself at the end.

13. Let no one step between it (i.e. the Bali, and the sacrificer), until the giving in charge has been performed.

14³. With (the formula), 'To the divine hosts of the serpents svâhâ!'—let him offer the Bali in the evening and in the morning, till the Pratyavarohana (i.e. the ceremony of the 'redescent').

15⁴. Some count (the days till the Pratyavarohana) and offer the corresponding number of Balis already on that day (on which the Sravanâ ceremony is performed).

Kandikâ 2

1. On the full moon day of Âsvayuga the Âsvayugî ceremony (is performed).

2⁵. Having adorned the house, having bathed and put on clean garments, they should pour out a mess of cooked food for Pasupati, and should sacrifice it with (the formula), To Pasupati, to Siva, to Samkara, to Prishâtaka svâhâ!'

3. He should sacrifice with his joined hands a mixture of curds and butter (prishâtaka) with (the formula), 'May what is deficient be made full to me; may what is full not decay to me. To Prishâtaka svâhâ!'

4⁶. 'United with the seasons, united with the manners, united with Indra and Agni, svâhâ!

'United with the seasons, united with the manners, united with the Visve devâs, svâhâ!

'United with the seasons, united with the manners, united with Heaven and Earth, svâhâ!'—with (these formulas) a mess of cooked food is offered at the Âgrayana sacrifice by one who has set up the (sacred Srauta) fires.

5. Also by one who has not set up the (Srauta) fires (the same offering is performed) in the (sacred) domestic fire.

Kandikâ 3

1⁷. On the full moon of Mârgasîrsha the 'redescent' (is performed)—on the fourteenth (Tithi),

2. Or on (the Tithi of) the full moon (itself).

3⁸. Having again renovated the house by (giving a new) coating (to the walls), by spreading out (a new roof), and by levelling (the floor), they should sacrifice after sunset (oblations) of milk-rice with (the texts), 'Beat away, O white one, with thy foot, with the forefoot and with the hind-foot, these seven daughters of Varuna and all that belong to the king's tribe. Svâhâ!

'Within the dominion of the white one no serpent has killed anything. To the white one, the son of Vidârva, adoration! Svâhâ!'

4. Here no oblation to (Agni) Svishtakrit (is made).

5⁹. 'May we be secure from Pragâpati's sons'—thus he murmurs while looking at the fire.

6. (Saying), 'Be happy and friendly to us'—he should think in his mind of the winter.

7. To the west of the fire is a well-spread layer (of straw); on that he should sit down, murmur (the verse), 'Be soft, O earth' (Rig-veda I, 22, 15), and lie down (on that layer) with his people, with the head to the east and the face to the north.

8. The others, as there is room.

9. Or following on each other from the eldest to the youngest.

10¹⁰. Those who know the Mantras, should murmur the Mantras.

11¹¹. Arising (they should) three times (murmur the verse), 'From that place may the gods bless us' (Rig-veda I, 22, 16).

12¹². The same (verse) a fourth time with their faces to the south, to the west, and to the north.

13. Having arisen, having murmured the hymns sacred to the Sun and the auspicious hymns, having prepared food and given to the Brâhmanas to eat, he should cause (them) to pronounce auspicious words.

Kandikâ 4

1¹³. On the eighth days of the four dark fortnights of (the two seasons of) winter and Sisira the Ashtakâs (are celebrated).

2¹⁴. Or on one (of these days).

3. The day before, he should offer to the Fathers (i.e. Manes)—

4. Boiled rice, boiled rice with sesamum seeds, rice-milk—

5. Or cakes made of four Sarâvas (of ground grain)—

6. Sacrificing with the eight (verses), 'May the lower (Fathers) and the higher arise' (Rig-veda X, 15, 1 seqq.), or with as many (verses) as he likes.

7¹⁵. Then on the next day the Ashtakâs (are celebrated) with an animal (sacrifice) and with a mess of cooked food.

8. He may also give grass to an ox,

9. Or he may burn down brushwood with fire—

10. With (the words), 'This is my Ashtakâ.'

11. But he should not omit celebrating the Ashtakâ.

12. This (Ashtakâ) some state to be sacred to the Visve devâs, some to Agni, some to the Sun, some to Pragâpati, some state that the Night is its deity, some that the Nakshatras are, some that the Seasons are, some that the Fathers are, some that cattle is.

13¹⁶. Having killed the animal according to the ritual of the animal sacrifice, omitting the sprinkling (with water) and the touching of the animal with a fresh branch, he should draw out the omentum and sacrifice it with (the verse), 'Carry the omentum, Gâtavedas, to the Fathers, where thou knowest them resting afar. May streams of fat flow to them; may all these wishes be fulfilled. Svâhâ!'

14¹⁷. Then (follow oblations) of the Avadâna portions and the cooked food, two with (the two verses), 'Agni, lead us on a good path to wealth' (Rig-veda I, 189, 1 seq.), (and other oblations with the texts), 'May summer, winter, the seasons be happy to us, happy the rainy season, safe to us the autumn. The year be our lord who gives breath to us; may days and nights produce long life. Svâhâ!

'Peaceful be the earth, happy the air, may the goddess Heaven give us safety. Happy be the quarters (of the horizon), the intermediate quarters, the upper quarters; may the waters, the lightnings protect us from all sides. Svâhâ!

'May the waters, the rays carry our prayers (to the gods); may the creator, may the ocean turn away evil; may the past and the future, (may) all be safe to me. Protected by Brahman may I pour forth songs. Svâhâ!

'May all the Âdityas and the divine Vasus, the Rudras, the protectors, the Maruts sit down (here). May Pragâpati, the abounding one, the highest ruler, bestow vigour, offspring, immortality on me. Svâhâ!

'Pragâpati, no other one than Thou (Rig-veda X, 121, 10).'

15. The eighth (oblation) is that to (Agni) Svishtakrit.

16¹⁸. He should give to the Brâhmanas to eat: this has been said.

Kandikâ 5

1. On the following day the Anvashtakya (i.e. the ceremony following the Ashtakâ, is performed).

2¹⁹. Having prepared (a portion) of that same meat, having established the fire on a surface inclined towards the south, having fenced it in, and made a door on the north side of the enclosure, having strewn round (the fire) three times sacrificial grass with its roots, without tossing it, turning the left side towards the fire, he should put down the things to be offered, boiled rice, boiled rice with sesamum seeds, rice-milk, meal-pap with curds, and meal-pap with honey.

3²⁰. (The ceremony should be performed) according to the ritual of the Pindapitriyagña.

4²¹. Having sacrificed (of those sorts of food) with the exception of the meal-pap with honey, let him give (lumps of those substances) to the Fathers.

5. And to (their) wives, with the addition of rum and the scum of boiled rice.

6. Some (place the lumps to be offered) into pits, into two or into six:

7. In those situated to the east he should give (the offerings) to the Fathers.

8. In those to the west, to the wives.

9²². Thereby the ceremony celebrated in the rainy season on the Mâgha day, in the dark fortnight after the full moon of Praushthapada (has been declared).

10²³. And thus he should offer (a celebration like the Anvashtakya) to the Fathers every month, observing uneven numbers (i.e. selecting a day with an uneven number, inviting an uneven number of Brâhmanas, &c.).

11. He should give food at least to nine (Brâhmanas),

12. Or to an uneven number;

13²⁴. To an even number on auspicious occasions or on the performance of meritorious deeds (such as the consecration of ponds, &c.);

14. To an uneven number on other (occasions).

15²⁵. The rite is performed from left to right. Barley is to be used instead of sesamum.

Kandikâ 6

1²⁶. When going to mount a chariot he should touch the wheels with his two hands separately with (the words), 'I touch thy two fore-feet. Thy two wheels are the Brihat and the Rathantara (Sâmans).'

2²⁷. 'Thy axle is the Vâmadevya'—with (these words he touches) the two (naves) in which the axle rests.

3. He should mount (the chariot) with the right foot first, with (the words), 'With Vâyu's strength I mount thee, with Indra's power and sovereignty.'

4. He should touch the reins, or if the horses have no reins, (he should touch) the horses with a staff, with (the words), 'With Brahman's splendour I seize you. With truth I seize you.'

5. When (the horses) put themselves in motion, he should murmur, 'Go forward to thousandfold successful vigour, divine chariot, carry us forward!'—(and the verse), 'Free, strong be thy limbs!' (Rig-veda VI, 47, 26.)

6²⁸. With this (verse he should touch also) other articles of wood.

7. 'May the two oxen be strong, the axle firm' (Rig-veda III, 53, i7)—with (this verse) he should touch (each) part of the chariot (alluded to in that verse).

8. With (the verse), 'The earth, the good protectress, the unattained heaven' (Rig-veda X, 63, 10) (he should ascend) a ship.

9. With a new chariot he should drive round a widely known tree or round a pool that does not dry up, with his right side turned towards it, and then should fetch branches which bear fruits,

10. Or something else that belongs to the household.

11. (He then) should drive (in that chariot) to an assembly.

12. Having murmured, while looking at the sun, (the verse), 'Make our renown highest' (Rig-veda IV, 31, 15), he should descend.

13. 'To the bull among my equals' (Rig-veda X, 166, 1)—(this verse he should murmur) while approaching (that assembly?).

14. 'May we be called to-day Indra's best friends' (Rig-veda I, 167, 10)—when the sun is setting.

15. 'Thus I address you, O daughters of heaven, while you arise' (Rig-veda IV, 51, 11)—when day appears.

Kandikâ 7

1. Now the examination of the ground (where he intends to build a house).

2. (It must be) non-salinous soil of undisputed property,

3. With herbs and trees,

4. On which much Kusa and Vîrana grass grows.

5. Plants with thorns and with milky juice he should dig out with their roots and remove them—

6. And in the same way the following (sorts of plants), viz. Apâmârga, potherbs, Tilvaka, Parivyâdha.

7. A spot where the waters, flowing together from all sides to the centre of it, flow round the resting-place, having it on their right side, and then flow off to the east without noise—that possesses all auspicious qualities.

8. Where the waters flow off, he should have the provision-room built.

9. Thus it becomes rich in food.

10. On a spot which is inclined towards the south, he should have the assembly-room constructed; thus there will be no gambling in it.

11. (But others say that) in such (an assembly-room) the young people become gamblers, quarrelsome, and die early.

12. Where the waters flow together from all directions, that assembly-room (situated on such a spot) brings luck and is free from gambling.

Kandikâ 8

1. Now he should examine the ground in the following ways.

2. He should dig a pit knee-deep and fill it again with the same earth (which he has taken out of it).

3. If (the earth) reaches out (of the pit, the ground is) excellent; if it is level, (it is) of middle quality; if it does not fill (the pit, it is) to be rejected.

4. After sunset he should fill (the pit) with water and leave it so through the night.

5. If (in the morning) there is water in it, (the ground is) excellent; if it is moist, (it is) of middle quality; if it is dry, (it is) to be rejected.

6. White (ground), of sweet taste, with sand on the surface, (should be elected) by a Brâhmana.

7. Red (ground) for a Kshatriya.

8. Yellow (ground) for a Vaisya.

9. He should draw a thousand furrows on it and should have it measured off as quadrangular, with equal sides to each (of the four) directions;

10. Or as an oblong quadrangle.

11²⁹. With a Samî branch or an Udumbara branch he sprinkles it (with water), going thrice round it, so that his right side is turned towards it, reciting the Santâtîya hymn.

12. And (so he does again three times) pouring out water without interruption, with the three verses, 'O waters, ye are wholesome' (Rig-veda X, 9, 1 seqq.).

13³⁰. In the interstices between the bamboo staffs he should have the (single) rooms constructed.

14. Into the pits in which the posts are to stand, he should have an Avakâ, i.e. (the water-plant called) Sîpâla put down; then fire will not befall him: thus it is understood (in the Sruti).

15³¹. Having put (that plant) into the pit in which the middle-post is to stand, he should spread (on it) eastward-pointed and northward-pointed Kusa grass and should sprinkle (on that grass) water into which rice and barley have been thrown, with (the words), 'To the steady one, the earth-demon, svâhâ!'

16³². He then should, when (the middle-post) is being erected, recite over it (the two verses), 'Stand here, fixed in the ground, prosperous, long-lasting (?), standing amid prosperity. May the malevolent ones not attain thee!

'To thee (may) the young child (come), to thee the calf . . .; to thee (may) the cup of Parisrut (come); (to thee) may they come with pots of curds.'

Kandikâ 9

1. (Over) the bamboo staff, when it is put on (the middle-post, he recites the hemistich),

2. 'Rightly ascend the post, O staff, bestowing on us long life henceforward.'

3. On four stones, on which Dûrvâ grass has been spread, he should establish the water-barrel with (the words), 'Arise on the earth'—

4³³. Or with (the verse), 'The Araṅgara sounds, three times bound with the strap. It praises the welfare; may it drive away ill.'

5. He then should pour water into it with (the verse), 'Hither may king Varuna come with the plentiful (waters); at this place may he stay contented; bringing welfare, dropping ghee may they lie down together with Mitra.'

6³⁴. He then 'appeases' it (in the following way).

7³⁵. He puts gold into water into which rice and barley have been thrown, and (with that water) he sprinkles it three times, going round it with his right side turned towards it, with the Santâtîya hymn.

8³⁶. And (so he does again three times) pouring out water without interruption, with the three verses, 'O waters, ye are wholesome' (Rig-veda X, 9, I seqq.).

9³⁷. In the middle of the house he should cook a mess of food, sacrifice (therefrom) with the four verses, 'Vâstoshpati, accept us' (Rig-veda VII, 54, 1 seqq.), verse by verse, should prepare food, should give to the Brâhmanas to eat, and should cause them to say, 'Lucky is the ground! Lucky is the ground!'

Kandikâ 10

1³⁸. It has been declared how he should enter the house (when returning from a journey).

2. The house, when he enters it, should be provided with seed-corn.

3³⁹. He should have his field ploughed under the Nakshatras Uttarâh Proshthapadâs, (Uttarâh) Phâlgunyas, or Rohinî.

4. In order that the wind may blow to him from the field, he should offer oblations with the hymn, 'Through the lord of the field' (Rig-veda IV, 57), verse by verse, or he should murmur (that hymn).

5⁴⁰. He should speak over the cows when they go away, the two verses, 'May refreshing wind blow over the cows' (Rig-veda X, 169, I seq.).

6⁴¹. When they come back, (he should recite the following verses,)

'May they whose udder with its four holes is full of honey and ghee, be milk-givers to us; (may they be) many in our stable, rich in ghee.

'Come hither to me, giving refreshment, bringing vigour and strength. Giving inexhaustible milk, rest in my stable that I may become the highest one'

And, 'They who have raised their body up to the gods'—the rest of the hymn (Rig-veda X, 169, 3. 4).

7⁴². Some recite (instead of the texts stated in Sûtra 6) the Âgâvîya hymn.

8⁴³. He should approach their herds, if the cows do not belong to his Guru, with (the words), 'Prospering are ye; excellent are ye, beautiful, dear. May I become dear to you. May you see bliss in me.'

End of the Second Adhyâya.

Footnotes

1. Nârâyana's observation that the Srâvana full moon can fall also under certain other Nakshatras than Sravana itself, furnishes no reason why we should think here of solar months, as Prof. Stenzler proposes.

2. See above, Sûtra 3. 9. See above, Sûtra 1.

3. On the Pratyavarohana, see the third chapter of this Adhyâya.

4. I.e. two Bali offerings for each day, one for the morning and one for the evening.

5. 'The plural "They should sacrifice it" means, that while the sacrifice is performed by the householder, his sons and the other persons belonging to the house should touch him.' Nârâyana.

6. The Âgrayana sacrifice, which is offered when the sacrificer is going to partake of the first-fruits of the harvest, is treated of, with relation to a sacrificer who keeps the Srauta fires, in the Srauta-sûtra II, q. This Sûtra in my opinion should be understood as a supplementary addition to that chapter. Nârâyana refers the rule here given to the case of any incident or danger (âpad) which prevents the sacrificer from performing the ceremony in its fuller form, as prescribed in the Srauta-sûtra.

7. On the ceremony of 'redescent,' comp. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya IV, 17; Pâraskara III, 2. The fourteenth Tithi of the bright fortnight, preceding the full moon, is referred to.

8. 'Again' refers to chap. 2, 2. As to the words 'they should sacrifice,' comp. the note on the same Sûtra. The first Mantra reoccurs in Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya IV, 18, 1. The text of the second should be, na vai svetasyâdhyâkâre, &c.; comp. Pâraskara II, 14, 5.

9. The serpents are the children of Kasyapa (i.e. Pragâpati) and Kadrû; see Mahâbhârata I, 1074 seqq.

10. 'The Mantras beginning from "Be soft, O earth" (Sûtra 7) down to the auspicious hymns (Sûtra 13).' Nârâyana.

11. It follows from Sûtra 12 that they are to turn here their faces to the east.

12. They mutter one Pâda of that verse, which is in the Gâyatrî metre, turned towards each of the three directions.

13. Comp. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya III, 12 seqq. The four p. 206 months of Hemanta and Sisira are Mârgasîrsha, Pausha, Mâgha, and Phâlguna.

14. The statement of the Prayogaratna that in case the sacrificer should celebrate only one Ashtakâ festival, the Ashtakâ of the Mâgha month is to be selected, well agrees with the designation of this Ashtakâ as 'the one Ashtakâ' (ekâshtakâ); see Weber, Naxatra II, 341 seq.; Indische Studien, XV, 145.

15. Comp. the nearly identical passage in Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya III, 14, 3 seqq. and the note there. Âsvalâyana evidently gives these rules not as regarding one special Ashtakâ but all of them.

16. Comp. above, I, 11, 1. 2. 10. As to the Mantra, comp. Sâṅkhâyana III, 13, 3.

17. I read, as Prof. Stenzler and the Petersburg Dictionary do, svârâ ksharâni. Comp. Pâraskara III, 3, 6.

18. See above, chap. 3, 13.

19. The meat is that of the animal killed on the Ashtakâ day; see chap. 4, 53.

20. This ritual is given in the Srauta-sûtra II, 6 seq.

21. He sacrifices the two oblations prescribed in the Srauta-sûtra II, 6, 12, to Soma pitrimat and to Agni kavyavâhana.

22. Comp. the note on Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya III, 13, 1.

23. Comp. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya IV, 1, 1.

24. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya IV, 4, 4.

25. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya IV, 4, 6. 9.

26. 'He should touch at the same time the right wheel with his right hand, the left wheel with his left hand.' Nârâyana.

27. On the Vedic form of the chariot and of the wheels, comp. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 247.

28. According to Nârâyana this Sûtra would refer only to other vehicles of wood, which he is directed to touch with that Rik when going to mount them. Perhaps the commentator is right; the wording of the Rik is well in keeping with his explanation.

29. The hymn of which all verses (except a few) commence with, and frequently contain, the word sam (Rig-veda VII, 35).

30. The bamboo staffs (vamsa) rest on the chief posts (sthûnâ); see chap. 9, 1. 2.

31. Comp. chap. 1, 4.

32. Comp. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya III, 3, 1 and the note there. How stâmirâvatîm should be corrected and translated is quite uncertain. Instead of poshasva Prof. Stenzler proposes to read poshasya, as Sâṅkhâyana has; I have adopted this correction.—In the second verse gâyatâm saha seems to be corrupt; comp. my note on Sâṅkhâyana III, 2, 9. Instead of parisritah we should read, as Sâṅkhâyana, Pâraskara, and the Atharva-veda (III, 12, 7) have, parisrutah.

33. The meaning of Araṅgara is unknown to me; it seems to be a musical instrument. Comp. Atharva-veda XX, 135, 13.

34. The ground on which the house is to be built.

35. On the Santâtîya hymn, see above, chap. 8, Ir.

36. This Sûtra is identical with chap. 8, 12.

37. Comp. above, chap. 3, 13.

38. See Srauta-sûtra II, 5, 17 seqq. It is there expressly stated that these rules refer also to an Anâhitâgni.

39. Sâṅkhâyana IV, 13, 1.

40. Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya III, 9.

41. Sâṅkhâyana, loc. cit.—Should the reading upa maitu be corrected into upa maita?

42. The hymn commencing â gâvo agman (hither came the cows) is Rig-veda VI, 28.

43. Perhaps the last words (which are repeated twice in order to mark the end of the Adhyâya) should be written sam mayi gânîdhvam, 'live with me in harmony together.'