Praśna 13, Kaṇḍikā 1

[The Jyotiṣṭoma Sacrifice (continued)]

[The Morning Pressing]

1. All should awaken at early dawn.

2. The Adhvaryu should touch the Āgnīdhra fire-chamber with the verse dedicated to Agni; the Havirdhāna with the verse dedicated to Viṣṇu;^[1] the ladles with the verse dedicated to Agni;^[2] the Soma-utensils belonging to Vāyu^[3] with the verse dedicated to Vāyu;^[4] and the Sadas with the verse dedicated to Indra.^[5]

3. There is a view that the Adhvaryu should touch these at this stage; there is another view that he should touch any of these (only) when it is (specifically) involved in a rite.

4. He should offer on the Āgnīdhra fire thirty-three yajñātanū oblations with the Anuvāka^[6]: “(Thou art) Prajāpati gone through spirit towards Soma; the Creator in the consecration; Savitṛ in the bearing; Pūṣan in the somakrayaṇī cow; Varuṇa when tied up in the garment; A sura when being brought; Mitra when bought; śipiviṣṭa when placed (on the sacrificer’s lap); delighter of men when being carried in a bullock-cart; overlord when reached (to (the prāgvaṃśa); Prajāpati when being carried forth; Agni when in the Āgnīdhra fire-chamber; Bṛhaspati when being carried forth from the Āgnīdhra fire-chamber; Indra in the Havirdhāna; Aditi when placed (on the southern Harvirdhāna-cart); Viṣṇu when being taken out; Atharvan when made wet (by vasatīvarī water); Yama when pressed; (the sun)purifying the impure when being stirred; Vāyu when being passed through the woollen filter; Mitra when mixed with milk; Manthin when mixed with flour of parched barley; Vaiśvadeva when taken into the goblets; Rudra when offered; Vāyu when carried back (towards the Sadas); gazing at men when revealed; the food when partaken of; Nārāśaṃsa among the Pitṛs; life when taken up; the river when going for the Avabhṛtha; the ocean when it has reached the place of Avabhṛtha; the water when thrown into water; heaven when it has reached completion.” He thus makes a supplementary offering of the ‘injury of the sacrifice.’^[7] He should go over each former formula, and make the offering with each latter. So is it said.

5. The first oblation, however, he should offer (only) with the first formula.

6. He should arrange the necessary cups on the mound respectively with the formulas beginning with, “Agni is the divinity; Gāyatrī is the metre; thou art the utensil of upāṃśu offering.”^[8]

7. He should arrange the cups of Upāṃśu and Antaryāma on the southern shoulder—the Upāṃśu cup in the front and the Antaryāma cup to the rear;

8. or the Upāṃśu cup towards the south, and the Antaryāma dip towards the north.^[9]

9. Between them and touching them, he should place the Upāṃśusavana stone.^[10]

10. The Dvidevatya cups in the rear part: the cup for Indra-Vāyu^[11] should have a girdle round it; the cup for Mitra-Varuṇa^[12] should have a sign resembling the fleshy protuberance on the neck of a goat; the cup for Aśvins^[13] should have two corners.

11. To the west of these (he should) arrange the Śukra cup^[14] and the Manthin cup^[15]: the Śukra cup, made of bilva towards the south, the Manthin cup made of vikaṅkata towards the north.

12. To the west of these, two Ṛtu-cups^[16] made of the wood of aśvattha, of the size of a horse’s hoof at the bottom, and having outlets on both the sides—the southern one belonging to the Adhvaryu and the northern one belonging to the Pratiprasthātṛ.

13. He should arrange the Āgrayaṇa vessel^[17] on the southern buttock; the Ukthya vessel^[18] and the Ukthya cup of the size of a horse’s hoof at the bottom on the northern buttock.

14. Between the two (vessels),^[19]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

idaṃ viṣṇur vi cakrame.. (Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.2.13.1.)

[2]:

agna āyūṃṣi pavase... (Taittirīya-saṃhitā I.3.14.7).

[3]:

The cups (graha) and vessels (sthālī) mentioned in XIII. I.7-2.5. Even though intended for the different divinities, they are said to belong to Vāyu. The goblets (camasa) do not belong to Vāyu. cf. Taittirīya-saṃhitā VI.4.7.2.

[4]:

ā vāyo bhūṣa śucipā... (Taittirīya-saṃhitā

[5]:

ā ghāye agnim indhate... (Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa II.4.5.7).

[6]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā IV.4.9.

[7]:

Caraka-kaṭha-saṃhitā XXXIV. 17.

[8]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā III.1.6.2. He should arrange the Upāṃśu cup with this formula, and the Antaryāma cup with the formula, “Soma is the divinity; the metre is Triṣṭubh; thou art the cup of Antaryāma.” The other formulas are given in the notes to the sūtras in the sequel.

[9]:

This view is held by Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XII.1.7,8.

[10]:

With its mouth (= bottom) towards the south Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XII.1.9.

[11]:

The formula for this cup is: “Indra is the divinity; Jagatī the metre; thou art the cup of Indra-Vāyu.”

[12]:

The formula for this cup is: “Bṛhaspati is the divinity, Anuṣṭubh the metre; thou art the cup of Mitra-Varuṇa.”

[13]:

The formula for this cup is: “The Aśvins are the divinity; Paṅkti the metre; thou art the cup of Aśvins.”

[14]:

The formula is: “Sūrya is the divinity; Bṛhatī the metre; thou art the cup of Śukra.”

[15]:

The formula is: “Candramas is the divinity; Satobṛhatī the metre; thou art the cup of Manthin.”

[16]:

Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XII.1.6 prescribes that the formula, ko vo yunakti sa vo yunaktu, should be employed for arranging those vessels and cups for which no specific formulas have been prescribed.

[17]:

The formula is, “Viśve Devas is the divinity; Uṣṇih the metre; thou art the vessel of Āgrayaṇa.”

[18]:

The formula is: “Indra is the divinity; Kakubh the metre; thou art the vessel of the Ukthas.”

[19]:

See the next sūtra.