Bharadvaja-srauta-sutra
by C. G. Kashikar | 1964 | 166,530 words
The English translation of the Bharadvaja-Srauta-Sutra, representing some of the oldest texts on Hindu rituals and rites of passages, dating to at least the 1st millennium BCE. The term Srautasutra refers to a class of Sanskrit Sutra literature dealing with ceremonies based on the Brahmana divisions of the Veda (Sruti). They include Vedic rituals r...
Praśna 6, Kaṇḍikā 12
1. He should lift it up,[1] as it were, with the formula, “Do thou go to the wide mid-region.”
2. With the formula, “Svāhā, to vaiśvānara Agni,” he should bend it down[2] in the middle of the sanctuary.
3. He should lift it up with the formula, “To wind thee,” and place it on the Barhis to the rear of the Āhavanīya fire with the formula,“Give me (long) life.”
4. He should put the fire-stick[3] in the middle of the fire with the verse, “This is thy fire-stick, O Agni; do thou flare up thereby and be swollen. May thy lord of the sacrifice be increased and swollen.”
5-6. As soon as the fire-stick catches flame, he should offer the oblation—with the formula, “Agni the light, the light Agni, svāhā,”[4] in the evening, and with the formula, “Sūrya the light, the light Sūrya, svāhā,” in the morning. Or with the formula, “Agni the light, the light Sūrya, svāhā,”2 in the evening, and with the formula, “Sūrya the light, the light Agni, svāhā,”[5] in the morning.
7. With the formula, “For food thee,”[6] he should wipe out the smearings in the Agnihotra-ladle ending downwards (that is, from the beak to the bowl) in the evening; with the formula, “For strength thee,”[6] ending upwards (that is, from the bowl to the beak) in the morning.
8. He should put down the ladle with the formula, “Give me strength,” and remove those smearings on the Barhis with the. formula, “For plants thee; impel the plants.”[7]
9. He should gaze at the Gārhapatya fire with the formula, “O Agni, lord of the house, do thou not burn me; may I receive within me immortality, offspring, and light.”[8]
10. He should offer the second oblation on the fire-stick, beyond the first offering, without reciting any formula, or with the formula, “For Prajāpati, svāhā.”
11. Having offered a large quantity of the oblation, he should again remove the smearings on the Barhis.[9]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Up to the nose, according to Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra VI.8.8.
[3]:
One, two, or three fire-sticks, according to Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra VI.9.3.
[4]:
Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa II. 1.9.2.
[5]:
Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa II.1.2.10.
[7]:
Taittirīya-saṃhitā III.5.2.4.
[8]:
Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra VI.10.11 adds, “I gaze at thee with the undeceived eye.”
[9]:
VI.12.8.