Praśna 1, Kaṇḍikā 24

1. The sacrificer’s wife should crush the grains; or a maid.

2. With the formula, “Thou art a fire-stirring stick; do thou support (our) prayer,”^[1] the Adhvaryu should take a fire-stirring stick, take out towards the west two burning embers from the Gārhapatya fire, and disperse one of them towards the north-west with the formula, “O Agni, drive off the fire that eats raw flesh, send away the corpse-eating one

3. He should place the other ember with the formula, “Bring hither the fire that sacrifices to the gods”,^[2] and arrange a potsherd on it with the formula,“Thou art firm, make the earth firm, make life firm, make the offspring firm, make the kinsmen subordinate to this sacrificer.”^[2]

4. He should stay the potsherd with the finger of his left hand and put the burning ember on it with the formula, “The Rakṣas is burnt out, the evil spirits are burnt out.”^[3]

5. With the formulas, “Thou art a supporter, make the midregion firm, make Prāṇa firm, make Apāna firm, make the kinsmen subordinate to this sacrificer and “Thou art supporting, make the heaven firm, make the eye firm, make the ear firm, make the kinsmen subordinate to this sacrificer,”^[4] he should respectively arrange the second potsherd to the east of the former, and the third one to the east of the second one. With the formula, “Thou art a support, make the quarters firm, make the organs firm make the offspring firm, make the kinsmen subordinate to this sacrificer,”^[4] the fourth potsherd, to the south of the first one; with the formula, “You are gatherers, bring offspring to this sacrificer, bring wealth to him, make the kinsmen subordinate to this sacrificer,”^[4] the fifth to the north of the first one; with the formula, “Thou art the troops of Maruts,” the sixth.^[5] He should arrange the remaining two^[6] potsherds respectively with the formulas, “Thou art intelligence,”^[7] and “Thou art overintelligence.”^[8] Or he should arrange the eight potsherds without reciting any formula.”^[9]

6. In the same manner, he should arrange another set of potsherds to the north of this set.

7. He should arrange eleven or twelve potsherds for the cake to Indra-Agni.

8. The further rites should be performed on these (potsherds) in the same order.

9. With the formula, “Do you become hot with the heat of the Bhṛgus and the Aṅgirases,”^[10] he should cover^[11] these (potsherds) with embers.

10. At this stage, he should put the vessel of madantī-water (over the Gārhapatya fire).

11. In the pan, which has been first heated and which has then become cool, the Adhvaryu, while he has restrained his speech, should pour out the flour over the strainers with the formula, “Under the impulse of god Savitṛ, with the arms of Aśvins, with the hands of Pūṣan, I pour out (into the pan) the flour acceptable to Agni.”^[12] (He should repeat the formula substituting) “to Agni-Soma,”^[12] etc., (for “to Agni”) in accordance with the divinity. He should pour out the flour three times, each time reciting the formula, and the fourth time without reciting any formula.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.1.7.1. Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra I.22.2 prescribes the first part of this formula, ending with jahi, for the taking out of the two burning embers.

[2]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.1.7.1.

[3]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.1.7.1.

[4]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.17.1.

[5]:

In front of the fifth.

[6]:

In front of the sixth, one after another.

[7]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā IV.2.4.11.

[8]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā IV.2.4.12.

[9]:

Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra and the other Sūtras prescribe a different arrangement of the potsherds.

[10]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.I.7.2.

[11]:

With the help of the veda, as stated in the Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra I.23.6.

[12]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.1.8.1.