Manava Dharmashastra 3.77

3.77

samyagananyacittatayā devatādhyānaparaḥ | evametābhyo devatābhyo'gnau hutvā tataḥ sarvāsu dikṣu yathāsaṃkhyaṃ pradakṣiṇam | prathamaṃ prācyāṃ tato dakṣiṇasyāṃ ityeṣa pradakṣiṇāvartaḥ | indraḥ antakaḥ appatiḥ induḥ—pratidiśam | aparaścāha—‘‘ahavirbhāginduriti | yadi naitena śabdena baliharaṇaṃ syātkathamindorhavirbhāktvam | baliharaṇaṃ ca homa eveti vyākhyātam’’ | vṛttabhaṅgabhayāccātra na śabdasya rūpavivakṣeti smṛtyantaropāttaireva śabdairuddeśaḥ kartavyaḥ | sānugebhyaḥ | ‘anugā’ anucarāstatpuruṣāḥ | tathā cendrapuruṣebhya ityādi prayogaḥ |

Having thus duly offered the oblation into fire, he should place Bali-offerings in all directions, proceeding towards his right to Indra, Antaka, Ap-pati and Indu, along with their followers.—(87)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
‘Duly’—i.e., with the mind bent upon the deity, and not wandering over anything else.

Having offered in the Fire the oblation to these deities—he should place ‘in all directions, proceeding,’ in due order, ‘towards his right;’ at first in the East, then in the South, and so forth, this being the ‘movement towards one’s right;’

‘To Indra, Antaka, Ap-pati and Indu’—in each direction.

Another writer remarks that ‘Indu’ has no share in the oblation (the offering being made to Soma). If this name is not to be used in making the offering, how could ‘Indu’ be spoken of (as he is in this verse) as a partaker of the oblation? And it has been explained that the ‘placing of the bali’ is nothing other than Homa.

As a matter of fact, no stress is meant to be laid upon the special form of the names used; as they have been used only in view of the exigencies of metre; so that, in actual usage, the names to be used should be those mentioned in other Smṛtis.

‘Along with their followers’—‘followers’ stands for servants, attendants; the formula used in such cases being ‘Indrapuruṣebhyaḥ svāhā,’ and so forth.—(87)