Rudra-Shiva concept (Study)
by Maumita Bhattacharjee | 2018 | 54,352 words
This page relates ‘4c. Rudra in the Yajnavastu ceremony’ of the study on the Rudra-Shiva concept in the Vedic and Puranic literature, starting with the concept of God as contemplated by the Rishis (Vedic sages). These pages further deal with the aspects, legends, iconography and eulology of Rudra-Shiva as found in the Samhitas, Brahamanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads Sutras and Puranas. The final chapters deal with descriptions of his greatness, various incarnations and epithets.
4c. Rudra in the Yajñavāstu ceremony
According to the Gobhila Gṛhyasūtra, the Yajñavāstu ceremony is offered to Rudra by a āhitāgni or a householder. This ceremony is performed at the end of a sacrifice. A handful of kuśa grass, dipped into ājya or the haviṣ are sprinkled with water and are thrown into the fire by the householder, uttering this mantra—O Rudra you are the lord of cattle, you walk with the lines of cattle. Do not harm our cattle, this is offered to you.[1] The Yajñavāstu is a rite of the sacrificial ground.[2]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
(a) tata eva barhiṣaḥ kuśamuṣṭimādāyā’jye vā habiṣi vā triśvadadhyādagrāṇi madhyāni mūlānī...|| athainamadbhirbhyukṣyāgnāvapyarjayet—yaḥ paśūnāmadhipatī rudrastanticaro vṛṣā | paśūnasmākaṃ mā hiṃsīretadastu hutaṃ tava svāhā || edad yajñavāstvityācakṣate || Gobhila-gṛhyasūtra, 1.8.26-28 (b) Khādira-gṛhyasūtra, 2.1.2
[2]:
Vide, Sen, Chitrabhanu, A Dictionary of the Vedic Rituals, p.154