Sankhayana-grihya-sutra
by Hermann Oldenberg | 1886 | 37,785 words
The Grihya-sutra ascribed to Shankhayana, which has been edited and translated into German in the XVth volume of the "Indische Studien", is based on the first of the four Vedas, the Rig-veda in the Bashkala recension, and among the Brahmana texts, on the Kaushitaka. Alternative titles: Śāṅkhāyana-gṛhya-sūtra (शाङ्खायन-गृह्य-सूत्र), Shank...
Adhyāya II, Khaṇḍa 3
1[1]. 'Bhaga has seized thy hand, Savitar has seized thy hand, Pūṣan has seized thy hand, Aryaman has seized thy hand. Mitra art thou by right, Agni is thy teacher, and I, N.N., both of us. Agni, I give this student in charge to thee. Indra, I give this student in charge to thee. Sun, I give this student in charge to thee. Viśve devās, I give this student in charge to you, for the sake of long life, of blessed offspring and strength, of increase of wealth, of mastership of all Vedas, of renown, of bliss.'
2[2]. 'In Indra's course I move; in the sun's course I move after him'—with these words he turns round from left to right,
3. And grasping down with the span of his right hand over (the student's) right shoulder he touches the place of his heart with the words, 'May I be dear to thy inviolate heart.'
4. Having silently turned round from right to left,
5[3]. And then laying his hand with the fingers upwards on his (i.e. the student's) heart, he murmurs:
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
3. 1. T. Nārāyaṇa: 'Instead of asau (N.N.) he puts the name of the student in the vocative case.' I think rather that the teacher here pronounced his own name. Comp. asāv ahaṃ bho, chap. 2, 5, &c., and the Mantra in Pāraskara II, 2, 20.
[2]:
Literally, 'he turns round, following his right arm.' Nārāyaṇa here has the following note, 'Ācāryo baṭor dakṣiṇaṃ bāhuṃ hastaṃ aindrīm āvṛtam iti mantreṇānvāvartayet. ayam arthaḥ, ācārya imaṃ mantraṃ japtvā taṃ baṭuṃ ca vācayitvā pradakṣiṇāvartaṃ kārayet.' I believe that the commentator here, as he frequently does, instead of interpreting the text of Śāṅkhāyana, fathers p. 65 on him statements belonging to other Sūtras, in this case probably to Āśvalāyana I, 20, 9. As our text has not anvāvartya but anvāvṛtya; and in the Mantra not āvartasva but āvarte, we must conclude that he turned round himself, and, as far as the statements of the text go, did not cause the pupil to do so.
[3]:
The gesture is the same as that prescribed in the Pāraskara-Gṛhya I, 8, 8 to the bridegroom at the wedding; the Mantra there is identical with Śāṅkh. II, 4, 1, the only difference consisting in the name of the god who is invoked to unite the two: at the wedding this is Prajāpati, of course, because he is 'lord of offspring,' at the Upanayana, Bṛhaspati, the Brahman κατ᾽ εξοχήν among the gods. It is very natural that at the Upanayana and at the Vivāha, which both are destined to establish an intimate union between two persons hitherto strangers to each other, a number of identical rites should occur, for instance, the seizing of the hand; see the note on Sūtra 1.