Praśna 14, Kaṇḍikā 25

1. Or, one, who is desirous of cattle, should, as an alternative to the Anūbandhyā cow,^[1] offer āmikṣā to Mitra-Varuṇa.

2. In that case, he should have his hair and beard shaved beforehand.

3. Being seated in front of the Havirdhāna, the Hotṛ should recite the yājyā.

4. After having offered the Devikā oblations, the Adhvaryu should make the offering of āmikṣā to the relevant divinity (= Mitra-Varuṇa).

5. The Iṣṭi should begin with the principal offering and end with the Iḍā.

6. The Sviṣṭakṛt-offenng and the Iḍā should be common to the offerings of the āmikṣā and the Devikā oblations.

7. The first knots tied in connection with the construction of the Sadas and the Havirdhāna^[2] should be loosened, and the two Havirdhāna carts should be moved towards the north.

8. The Adhvaryu should bum the Barhis (with the fire) from the Āhavanīya fire with the verse, “The debt which I have not yet repaid, the tribute that I still owe to Yama, here do I make requital for it Here, O Agni, may I be freed from that debt.”^[3]

9. If he has acted mixedly (that is, if he has met with fortune and misfortune), he should offer the flour of roasted barley-grains on the flagrant fire through the cavity of his folded hands with the verse, “O Viśvalopa, I offer thee in the mouth of the burner of all. One is an eater of the uneaten, one an eater of the unoffered, one an eater of that which is gathered. May they make for us medicine, an abode and delightful strength.”^[4]

10. Then be should pray to the divinities: to the Āhavanīya or the flagrant fire with the verse, “May he that fattens protect us towards the front with the cloud so that the houses may not fail us. Many be our houses.” To Vāyu with the verse, “Do thou, O lord of cloud, bestow on us strength with kindliness. Return to us what is lost, return wealth to us.” To Āditya with the verse, “O god that dost fatten; thou art a lord of a thousandfold prosperity. Do thou give us increase of wealth which is unfailing and rich in heroes, and prosperity abiding through the year.”^[5]

11. After the sacrificer has prayed to the sacrificial-post,^[6] the Adhvaryu should consign the sacred fires—tbe Prājahita and the Dakṣiṇa fires into different kindling woods. If the sacrificer is a gataśrī, the Adhvaryu should consign the third sacred fire, namely, the Śālāmukhīya.

12. While murmuring the atīmokṣa formulas^[7] as in the New-moon and the Full-moon sacrifices,^[8] the sacrificer and others should move away in between the cātvāla and the rubbish-heap.

13. They should move away either towards the east or towards the north. According to some teachers, they should move towards the north-east.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

XIV.24.11.

[2]:

XII.8.4,10,20; 10.15.

[3]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā III.3.8.1,2.

[4]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā III.3.8.2. According to Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XIII.24.17 the sacrificer should follow the smoke issuing out with the three verses beginning with yad ākūtāt... (Taittirīya-saṃhitā V.7.7.1.)

[5]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā III.3.8.1,2.

[6]:

VII.23.7.

[7]:

IV.22.1.

[8]:

According to Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XIII.25.1,2, the sacrificer should sit within the altar holding the veda in his lap, and murmur the atīmokṣa formulas. According to some teachers, he should go through the viṣṇukrama rite at this stage. Then the consignment of the fires should take place.