Preface

Out of the four Vedas, the Yajurveda is mainly related to Vedic Rituals. The Saṃhitās of this Veda are the collections of Yajuṣ Mantras. The Yajurveda is found in two principal recensions viz., the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda and the Śukla Yajurveda. The Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda Saṃhitā is a mixer of both mantra and brāhmaṇa while the Śukla Yajurveda Saṃhitā is purely a collection of the sacrificial formulae. In the entire Vedic literature, the Śukla Yajurveda known as the Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā holds a significant place among the ritualistic texts of the Vedas due to its systematic arrangement of the subject matter. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa which belongs to the Śukla Yajurveda complements the contents of this Saṃhitā by laying down the procedures for the rituals in which the Mantras are meant to be employed.

Vedic rituals consist of performance of various major and minor sacrifices. Out of these sacrifices, the Soma sacrifice occupies a prominent position among the numerous Vedic rituals. The Soma sacrifice contains seven Saṃsthās and out of these, the Agniṣṭoma ritual stands out as the model of all the Soma sacrifices.

In this thesis an attempt has been made to have an insight into the characteristics of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice as depicted in the Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā, the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa and the Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra.

The thesis has been divided into five chapters. These are as follows

Chapter-1: An Introduction to the Śukla Yajurvedic Texts

This chapter contains an introduction to the Śukla Yajurvedic texts viz, the Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā, the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa and the Sūtra text of Kātyāyana. Hence its contents have been prepared under the following headings -

1. Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā
2. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
3. Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra

After a preliminary discussion on the characteristics of the Vedas, the Brāhmaṇas and the Sūtra texts under these headings have been presented discussions on(a) origin of the name vājasaneyī, the arrangement of the contents of the Saṃhitā, its recensions and its commentators. (b) the origin of the name śatapatha, the recension of this brāhmaṇa text, arrangement of its contents into Adhyāyas, Kāṇḍas, Prapāthakas, Brāhmaṇas and Kaṇḍikās, and other salient features of the Śatapatha; (c) the source of the contents of the Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra, the nature of its contents and their distribution into twenty six chapters and the commentaries of this text.

Chapter-2: An Introduction to the Ritualistic Religion of the Vedas

This chapter has been divided under the following headings-

1. Meaning and significance of the word yajña.
2. Types of sacrifices in general.
3. The Adhikārins.

This chapter contains an introduction to the sacrificial religion of the Vedas. In this discussion, meaning of the word yajña has been given following the views of Panini, Yāska etc. Moreover, the high position of the Vedic sacrifices given in the Vedic scriptures by describing their various significances have also been dealt with elaborately here. There are numerous Vedic sacrifices and these are different from one another in their nature. On the basis of their nature, the Vedic sacrifices are divided into four types viz. Homa, Iṣṭṭi, Paśu and Soma. All these have been dealt with in these chapter. In this connection has been discussed the question related to the Adhikārins of the Śrauta sacrifices viz. Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, the Rathakāra and the Niṣādasthapati.

Chapter-3: The Somayāga

This chapter is divided under the following headings-

1. Forms (Saṃsthās) of Somayāga.
2. Types of Somayāga.
3. The priests of Somayāga.

The Soma sacrifice comprises of seven Saṃsthās and these are Agniṣṭoma, Atyagniṣṭoma, Ukthya, Ṣoḍaśī, Vājapeya, Atirātra and Aptoryāma. Each succeeding saṃsthā is differentiated from the preceding one on the basis of the name of its last stotra and after that particular stotra, the saṃsthā is named. Brief introduction and main features of each saṃsthā have been presented in this chapter. The Soma sacrifices are of three types viz. ekāha, ahīna and sattra. In the Soma sacrifice, the priests play a significant role. Generally, the priests are sixteen or seventeen including the Sadasya priest and all these are not appointed in all the sacrifices. But in a Soma sacrifice all the sixteen priests are appointed. All these have been dealt with in the third chapter of this thesis.

Chapter 4: The Agniṣṭoma Ritual

The fourth chapter contains the main subject matter of the thesis i.e. the Agniṣṭoma Somayāga. This chapter is exclusively prepared on the texts of the ŚuklaYajurveda. This chapter consists of five major headings under which the rituals performed during the five days of the sacrifice are dealt with. Of these the first four days’ rites are preliminary rituals which complement the actual Agniṣṭoma sacrifice on the fifth day. Agniṣṭoma is an ekāha type of Soma sacrifice but it needs five days to complete.

The main sacrifice is accomplished known as the sutyā day. Sutyā means the day on which soma juice is pressed out and offered to the gods. On this day, three sessions of Soma-pressing takes place viz., prātaḥsavana, mādhyandina, and tṛtīyasavana. The animal sacrifice holds an important position in this Soma ritual. On the fourth day the Agniṣomīya animal sacrifice is performed, on the fifth day, the Savanīya and the Anubandhyā animal sacrifices are performed. The Agniṣṭoma Somayāga starts by the Prāyanīyeṣṭi and ends by the Udavasānīyeṣṭi.

Each of the five major headings under which the contents of this chapter are presented have further been arranged into some sub-headings as demanded by its contents.

Chapter-5: Summary and Conclusion

This chapter contains a summary of the former chapters and concluding remarks on the importance of the Soma sacrifice, its characteristics, position of Soma as a deity and as an offering material in the Vedic literature, various features of the Vedic society in the context of the Agniṣṭoma Somayāga and so on.