Adhyāya I, Khaṇḍa 27

1. In the sixth month the Annaprāśana (i.e. the first feeding with solid food).

2^[1]. Goat's flesh, if he is desirous of nouṛṣment,

3^[2]. Flesh of partridge, if desirous of holy lustre,

4. Fish, if desirous of swiftness,

5. Boiled rice with ghee, if desirous of splendour—

6. (Such) food, prepared with milk curds, honey, and ghee, he should give (to the child) to eat.

7^[3]. After he has made oblations with (the verses), 'Lord of food, give us food, painless and strong; bring forward the giver; bestow power on us, on men and animals;' 'Whatsoever' (Rig-veda IV, 12, 4); 'Even of great' (ibid. 5), 'Him, Agni, (lead) to long life and splendour; sharp strength (mayst thou), Varuṇa, king Soma, protection may Aditi, like a mother, afford to him, and all the gods that he may reach old age'—

8. And has recited over (the child) the verse, 'Powers of life, Agni' (Rig-veda IX, 66, 19),

9. And has set him down on northward pointed Kuśa grass with (the verse), 'Be soft, O earth' (Rig-veda I, 22, 15)—

10. The act of feeding is performed with the Mahāvyāhṛtis.

11. Let the mother eat the remnant.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

27, 2-6. These rules stand here, in the beginning of the chapter, as introductory remarks; the act of feeding itself (Sūtra 10) does not follow till after the sacrifice and the other performances prescribed in Sūtras 7-9.

[2]:

This rule evidently rests on the allusion of taittira (partridge flesh) to the Taittirīya school.

[3]:

Both metre and construction show that the Pāda imam Agna āyushe varcase is incomplete; the Śāmbavya-Gṛhya and Taitt. Saṃhitā II, 3, 10, 3 add kṛdhi after varcase.