Adhyāya III, Kaṇḍikā 5

1. Now (follows) the Adhyāyopākaraṇa (i.e. the ceremony by which the annual course of study is opened);

2^[1]. When the herbs appear, (when the moon stands in conjunction) with Śravaṇa, in the Śrāvaṇa month,

3. Or on the fifth (Tithi of that month), under (the Nakṣatra) Hasta.

4^[2]. Having sacrificed the two Ājya portions, he should offer Ājya oblations (to the following deities, viz.) Sāvitrī, Brahman, Belief, Insight, Wisdom, Memory, Sadasaspati, Anumati, the metres, and the Ṛṣis.

5. He then sacrifices grains with curds (with the following texts):

6. 'I praise Agni the Purohita'—this one verse (Rig-Veda I, 1, 1),

7^[3]. 'The Kuṣumbhaka (mungoose?) has said it'—'If thou criest, O bird, announce luck to us Sung by Jamadagni'—'In thy abode the whole world rests'

—'Come to our sacrifice, O you that are worthy of sacrifice, with care'—'Whosoever, be he ours, be he alien'—'Look on, look about'—'Come here, Agni, the Maruts' friend'—'The oblation, O king, cooked for thee'—each time two verses;

8. 'United is your will' (Rig-veda X, 191, 4)—this one verse;

9^[4]. 'That blessing and bliss we choose'—this one verse.

10^[5]. When he intends to study (the Veda together with pupils), he should, while the pupils take hold of him, sacrifice to those deities, and sacrifice to (Agni) Sviṣṭakṛt, and partake of the grains with curds; then (follows) the 'cleaning.'

11^[6]. Sitting down to the west of the fire on Darbha grass, the tufts of which are directed towards the east, he should put Darbha blades into a water-pot, and making a Brahmāñjali (i.e. joining his hands as a sign of veneration for the Brahman), he should murmur (the following texts):

12. The Vyāhṛtis preceded by (the syllable) Om (stand first); (these) and the Sāvitrī he should repeat three times and then recite the beginning of the Veda.

13. In the same way at the Utsarga (i.e. at the ceremony performed at the end of the term of Vedic study).

14. He should study six months.

15^[7]. One who has performed the Samāvartana (should live during that time) according to the regulations for Brahmacārins.

16^[8]. The others according to the rules.

17^[9]. Some say that he should have intercourse with his wife.

18. That (is a practice) sacred to Prajāpati.

19. This (Upākaraṇa) they call vārshika (i.e. belonging to the rainy season).

20^[10]. On the middle Aṣṭakā they offer food to those deities, and descend into water.

21. They satiate those same deities (with water oblations),

22. (And besides) the Ācāryas, the Ṛṣis, and the Fathers.

23^[11]. This is the Utsarjana.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

5, 2, 3. Perhaps the division of these Sūtras should be altered, so that śrāvaṇasya would belong to Sūtra 2. In this case we should have to translate, '2. When the herbs appear, (on a day on which the moon stands in conjunction) with Śravaṇa. 3. Or on the fifth (Tithi) of the Śrāvaṇa month, under (the Nakṣatra) Hasta.' Comp. śrāvaṇasya pañcamīm, Par. II, 10, 2. If we count the month beginning with the bright fortnight, and assume that the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa falls, as the name of the month implies, on Śravaṇa, the fifth Tithi of that month will fall indeed on Hasta. Comp. on the dates of the Upākaraṇa, Prof. Weber's remarks, Die vedischen Nachrichten von den Naxatra II, 322, and on the special symbolical signification of the Nakṣatra Śravaṇa in this connection, my note on Śāṅkhāyana IV, 5, 2.

[2]:

On the two Ājya portions, comp. above, I, 3, 5; 10, 13 seqq.

[3]:

Comp. Śāṅkhāyana IV, 5, 8. The verses with which the oblations are performed, are the first and last verses of each Maṇḍala.

[4]:

This is the last verse of the Ṛk-Saṃhitā in the Bāṣkala Śākhā. See my note on Śāṅkhāyana IV, 5, 9.

[5]:

The expression, 'Those deities' would, according to Nārāyaṇa, refer not only to the deities stated in Sūtra 4, but also to the deities of the first and last verses of the Maṇḍalas (Sūtras 6 seqq.). On the grains with curds, comp. Sūtra 5. The technical sense of the 'cleaning' is explained in the Śrauta-sūtra I, 8, 2; comp. Hillebrandt, Das altindische Neu- and Vollmondsopfer, p. 130, note 1. The sacrificer covers his joined hands with the Kuśa grass spread out round the fire, and has water sprinkled on them.

[6]:

On the term brahmāñjali, comp. Manu II, 71.

[7]:

On the Samāvartana, see below, chap. 8 seq. The restrictions referred to consist in the interdiction of eating honey and meat, of having sexual intercourse, of sleeping in a bedstead and in the day-time, &c. Nārāyaṇa.

[8]:

I.e. the Brahmacārins.

[9]:

I.e. one who has performed the Samāvartana.

[10]:

After the six months (Sūtra 14) have elapsed, on the Aṣṭakā of Māgha.

[11]:

Or Utsarga, see Sūtra 13.