Praśna I, Paṭala 4, Section 14

1. And should, after that person has eaten, seize his right hand,

2.^[1] If he wishes that one of his companions, or a pupil, or a servant should faithfully remain with him and not go away, he should bathe in the morning, should put on clean garments, should show patience (with that servant, &c.) during the day, should speak (only) with Brāhmaṇas, and by night he should go to the dwelling-place of that person, should make water into a horn of a living animal, and should three times walk round his dwelling-place, sprinkling (his urine) round it, with (the Mantra), 'From the mountain (I sever?) thee, from thy brother, from thy sister, from all thy relations. paṛṣīdaḥ kleṣyati (i.e. kvaiṣyasi?) śaśvat parikupilena saṃkrāmeṇāvicchidā, ūlena parimīḍho^ऽsi parimīḍho^ऽsy ūlena.'

3. He puts down the horn of the living animal in a place which is generally accessible.

4.^[2] One whose companions, pupils, or servants use to run away, should rebuke them with (the Mantra), 'May he who calls hither (?), call you hither! He who brings back, has brought you back (?). May the rebuke of Indra always rebuke you. If you, who worship your own deceit, despise me (?), . . . . may Indra bind you with his bond, and may he drive you back again to me.'

5. Then he enters his house, puts a piece of Sidhraka wood on (the fire), and sacrifices with the 'on-drawing verse,' 'Back-bringer, bring them back' (Taitt. Saṃh. III, 3, 10, 1).

6. Now (we shall explain) how one should guard his wife.

7.^[3] One whose wife has a paramour, should grind big centipedes (?) to powder, and should insert (that powder), while his wife is sleeping, into her secret parts, with the Mantra, 'Indra. . . . from other men than me.'

8. Now (follows the sacrifice for procuring) prosperity in trade.

9. He cuts off (some portion) from (every) article of trade and sacrifices it—

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

14, 2. Mātṛdatta: 'The description of the Samāvartana is finished. p. 176 Now some ceremonies connected with special wishes of the person who has performed the Samāvartana and has settled in a house, will be described.' In my opinion, it would be more correct to consider Sūtra 18 of the preceding section as the last of the aphorisms that regard the Samāvartana, With Sūtra 2 compare Pāraskara III, 7; Āpastamba VIII, 23, 6. It seems impossible to attempt to translate the hopelessly corrupt last lines of the Mantra.

[2]:

A part of this Mantra also is most corrupt. In the first line I propose to write, nivarto vo nyavīvṛtat. With the last line comp. Pāraskara III, 7, 3. I think that the text of Pāraskara should be corrected in the following way: pari tvā hvalano hvalan nivartas tvā nyavīvṛtat, indraḥ pāśena sitvā tvā mahyam . . . (three syllables) ānayet. The Āpastambīya Mantrapāṭha, according to Dr. Winternitz's copy, gives the following text: anupohvad anuhvayo vivartto p. 177 vo nyavīvṛdhat. aindraḥ parikrośo to vaḥ parikrośatu sarvataḥ. yadi mām atimanyādvā ā devā devavattara indraḥ pāśena śitkvā vo mahyam id vaśam ānayāt svāhā. Comp. Prof. Pischel's remarks, Philologische Abhandlungen, Martin Hertz zum siebzigsten Geburtstage von ehemaligen Schülern dargebracht (Berlin, 1888), p. 69 seq.

[3]:

On sthūrā driḍhā[ḥ] Mātṛdatta says, sthūrā dṛḍhāḥ sthūrāḥ śatapadyaḥ. A part of the Mantra is untranslatable on account of the very corrupt condition of the text. The reading given by most of the MSS. is, Indrāya yāsya śepham alikam anyebhyaḥ purushebhyo^ऽnyatra mat. The Āpastambīya Mantrapāṭha reads, indrāyāsya phaligam anyebhyaḥ purushebhyonyatra mat. The meaning very probably is that Indra is invoked to keep away from the woman the śepha of all other men except her husband's.