Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya-Sûtra: Adhyâya V

Khanda 1

1¹. Now when he intends to set out on a journey, he makes (his sacred) fire enter into himself, (or) into the two kindling sticks, or into (an ordinary) log of wood,

2². Once with (the text), 'Come, enter into my Prânas,' twice silently.

3. Or with (the verse), 'This is thy womb' (Rig-veda III, 29, to) he warms the two kindling sticks,

4. Or an (ordinary log of) wood.

5³. And before sunset the kindling (by attrition),

6. And at the time of the Vaisvadeva sacrifice.

7⁴. Having carried a common fire to a place that has been smeared (with cowdung), which is elevated, and which has been sprinkled (with water), he makes (the sacred fire) redescend (from its receptacle, with the formula), 'Redescend!'

8⁵. If the fire goes out, he sacrifices the two Sarvaprâyaskitta oblations (oblations for general expiation) and (other oblations) with (the formulas), 'Protect us, Agni, that we may prosper. Svâhâ! Protect us that we may obtain all wealth. Svâhâ! The sacrifice protect, O resplendent one! Svâhâ! Protect everything, O hundredfold wise one. Svâhâ!'

9. In the case of a breach of his vow let him fast and sacrifice (an oblation) of Âgya with (the verse), 'Thou, Agni, art the lord of the vow' (Rig-veda VIII, 11, 1).

Khanda 2

1⁶. Now about (the consecration of) ponds, wells, and tanks.

2. In the bright fortnight, or on an auspicious Tithi,

3. Having cooked barley-grains with milk,

4. He shall sacrifice with the two (verses), 'Thou hast us, Agni' (Rig-veda IV, 1, 4. 5), (and with the verses), 'We propitiate thy wrath' (I, 24, 14), 'This my prayer, Varuna' (I, 25, 19), 'Loosen the highest, Varuna' (I, 24, 15), 'This prayer of the man who exercises himself' (VIII, 42, 3),

5⁷. (And with the words), 'The domestic one, he who goes away from the house, the refreshing one, he who goes into the kennel, he who dwells in the kennel, he who comes out of it, the greedy one, the destroyer of enemies'—to the different directions (of the horizon), beginning with that belonging to Varuna (i.e. the west), from left to right.

6. in the centre he makes oblations with milk with (the verses), 'Having eyes all around' (Rig-veda X, 81, 3), 'This has Vishnu' (Rig-veda I, 22, 17),

7. Plunging (into the water) with (the verse), 'Whatever here' (Rig-veda VII, 89, 5).

8. A cow and a pair of clothes is the fee for the sacrifice.

9. Then feeding of the Brâhmanas.

Khanda 3

1⁸. Now at (the consecration of) a garden: having established the (sacred) fire (in that garden),

2. (And) having prepared a mess of cooked food,

3. He shall sacrifice with (the formulas), 'To Vishnu svâhâ! To Indra and Agni svâhâ! To Visvakarman svâhâ!' (and with the verses), 'Whom the men' (Rig-veda III, 8, 6 seq.), verse by verse.

4. He recites over (the garden), 'O tree with thy hundred branches' (Rig-veda III, 8, 11).

5. The fee for the sacrifice is gold.

Khanda 4

1. Now if a half-monthly sacrifice has not been performed, one or the other of them, then a mess of rice (is to be offered as an expiation),

2. With (the words), 'To Agni Vaisvânara svâhâ! To Agni Tantumat svâhâ!'

3. In the case of an intermission of the (morning or evening) oblations—

4. (He shall make expiatory oblations), in the evening with (the formula), 'Enlightener of the darkness, adoration! Svâhâ!'

5. In the morning with (the formula), 'Enlightener of the morning, adoration! Svâhâ!'

6⁹. After he has sacrificed as many oblations as there had been sacrifices (left out), the sacrifice (itself goes on) as (stated) above.

Khanda 5

1. If a dove or an owl sits down (on his house),

2. Let him sacrifice with (the hymn), 'O gods, the dove' (Rig-veda X, 165), verse by verse.

3. If he has seen a bad dream or an occurrence boding misfortune,

4. Or when the cawing of a crow is heard in (the dead of) night,

5. And in the case of other prodigies,

6. Let him cook rice-grains with milk,

7. With the milk of a cow that has a calf of the same colour (with her own),

8. But in no case of a black (cow),

9. And let him sacrifice with the night-hymn (Rig-veda X, 127), verse by verse.

10. Having eaten the remnants of those oblations with the Mahâvyâhritis,

11. And having recited over his ears (the verse), 'Blessing with our ears' (Rig-veda I, 89, 8),

12. And over himself (the verse), 'May a hundred autumns be before us, ye gods' (ibid. 9),

13. He shall give something to the Brâhmanas.

Khanda 6

1. When a disease has befallen him,

2. Let him offer boiled rice-grains with Gavedhukâ-grass with (the hymn), 'These (prayers) to Rudra, the strong one, with braided hair' (Rig-veda I, 114), verse by verse.

Khanda 7

1¹⁰. If (his wife) gives birth to a child, without the Sîmantonnayana having been performed,

2¹¹. (Or if) the Gâtakarman has not been performed (for the child),

3¹². He places, when ten days have elapsed since (the delivery), the little child in the mother's lap,

4. And after he has sacrificed with the Mahâvyâhritis, the sacrifice (that had been omitted, is performed) as (stated) above.

Khanda 8

1. If a post puts forth shoots,

2. Let him prepare a mess of cooked food and offer the boiled rice with the two (verses), 'In that way bringing forth deeds' (Srauta-sûtra III, 17, 1), 'Of tawny shape, weighty, a giver of vigour' (Rig-veda II, 3, 9). A

3¹³. Should the pot for the Pranîtâ water, the Âgya- pot, any other earthen (vessel) be damaged and leak,

4¹⁴. He sacrifices the two Sarvaprâyaskitta oblations and recites the three verses, 'He who without' (Rig-veda VIII, I, 12 seq.), over the broken (vessel).

5¹⁵. Should the two (Kusa blades which are used as) strainers be spoiled before the completion of the sacrifice,

6¹⁶. Let him sacrifice the Sarvaprâyaskitta and make new ones with (the verse), 'In the water, Agni' (Rig-veda VIII, 43, 9).

Khanda 9

1¹⁷. Now (follows) the Sapindîkarana.

2¹⁸. Let him fill four water-pots (for the Manes) from the father upwards,

3. And prepare in the same way lumps (of flour),

4. And let him distribute the first lump on the (other) three with (the verses), They who commonly, concordantly (dwell) in Yama's realm, the fathers: for them be space, freedom, adoration, sacrifice established among the gods.

'They who commonly, harmoniously (dwell), the living among the living, mine: may their prosperity fall to my lot in this world through a hundred years'—

And with the two (verses), 'Equal the design' (Rig-veda X, 191, 3. 4).

5¹⁹. In the same way the vessels with Argha water.

6. In the same way for the mother, for a brother, and for a wife that has died before (her husband), adding (the lump belonging to that person) to those (other) lumps.

Khanda 10

1. If the bees make honey in his house,

2. Let him fast and sacrifice a hundred and eight pieces of Udumbara wood, which are besmeared with curds, honey, and ghee, with the two (verses), 'No (harm) to us in our offspring' (Rig-veda I, 114, 8. 9).

3²⁰. And let him murmur the hymn, 'For welfare may Indra and Agni' (Rig-veda VII, 35); and (the same hymn should be used) at all (ceremonies), such as that of the sacrifice after assent has been declared (see above, I, 7, 1).

4²¹. After he has sacrificed seventeen one span long pieces of Palâsa wood, he then seizes the Sruva.

5. Fifteen at the full and new moon sacrifices.

6²². At the Ashtakâ ceremony in the middle of the rainy season there may optionally be three (pieces of wood); the sacrifice as at the Pitriyagña.

Khanda 11

1. If an anthill arises in his house, the house should be abandoned.

2²³. Then, after having fasted three nights (and days), he should perform the great expiation.

Here ends the Fifth Adhyâya.

Footnotes

1. The ceremony of Samârohana, by which the duties towards the sacred fire are suspended, by causing the fire to 'enter' into the sacrificer's body, or into the two Aranis, or into another piece of wood, is already mentioned in several passages of the Brâhmana texts; comp. the quotations given by Professor Weber, Indische Studien, IX, 3r 1. Comp. besides Âsvalâyana-Srauta-sûtra III 10; Sâṅkhâyana-Sraut. II, 17. The Samârohana into the sacrificer's own body is done by warming the hands at the sacred fire; see Âsv., loc. cit., Sûtra 6. In the Sâṅkhâyana-Srauta-sûtra the corresponding rule, which regards there of course the Âhitâgni, runs thus, 'If he performs the Samârohana, he warms his hands at the Gârhapatya fire, and then touches his Prânas with the words, "Come, enter into my Prânas."' On the two other cases, see the Sûtras 3 and 4. Sûtras 2, 3, 5 are taken word for word from the Srauta-sûtra.

2. This Sûtra refers only to the case where he causes the fire to enter into himself.

3. Comp. the commentary on Âsv.-Sraut., loc. cit. 8. He makes the fire redescend from his body or from the Aranis by performing the Manthana (kindling the fire by attrition of the Aranis).

4. The Mantra alluded to here is given in the Srauta-sûtra. It runs thus, 'Redescend, O Gâtavedas; carry again offerings to the gods, knowing us. Long life, offspring, wealth bestow on us; uninjured shine in our dwelling!'

5. These Sûtras stand in no connection with the Samârohana treated of before.

On the two Sarvaprâyaskitta oblations see above, I, 9, 12 and the note there.

The vow spoken of in Sûtra 9 Nârâyana refers to the restrictions regarding the food which the sacrificer and his wife are to eat on the Upavasatha days, connected with the festivals of the full and new moon.

6. Comp. Âsvalâyana-Parisishta IV, 9.

7. These are names of Agni dwelling in the waters; see Pâraskara II, 6, 10; Mantrabrâhmana I, 7, 1. Several of the names are here misspelled; thus Grihya, Apagrihya should be, no doubt, Gohya, Upagohya, which is the reading given in Pâraskara, loc. cit.

8. Comp. Âsvalâyana-Parisishta IV, so. Nârâyana uses for the ceremony here described the expressions Ârâmapratishthâ, Ârâmotsarga.

9. Nârâyana: 'After he has thus taken and sacrificed as many Sruvas full of Âgya as there were sacrifices omitted through his guilt, the morning and evening sacrifices have to be performed as (stated) above (I, 3, 10) with oblations of rice or barley.'

10. On the Sîmantonnayana, see I, 22.

11. The Gâtakarman has been described I, 24.

12. On the ten days, comp. I, 25, 1 and the note there.

13. On the Pranîtâ water, see above, I, 8, 8. 25.

14. Comp. I, 9, 12 and the note there.

15. See I, 8, 14 seqq.

16. See Sûtra 4.

17. Comp. above, IV, 3 and the notes there.

18. On these four vessels, see IV, 3, 4 seq.

19. These are the vessels mentioned in the second Sûtra.

20. This is a supplementary rule belonging to the exposition of the general type of sacrifice. On the 'Pratisruta' sacrifice, see I, 7, seqq.; I, 9, 19.

21. See I, 9, 1. 3.

22. Comp. III, 13, 1 with the note.

23. Nârâyana understands the 'great expiation' as a rite directed to Ganesa and to the planets (comp. Yâgñavalkya I, 276 seq., 292, &c.); that this ceremony was known already to the author of this Sûtra seems very doubtful. Another 'mahâsânti' is frequently mentioned in the Kausika-sûtra (quoted in Böhtlingk-Roth's Dictionary); comp. my German edition of Sâṅkhâyana, p. 159.