Shantikamalakara 3.1

English (machine translation) 3.1

Language: English

3.1.1

There, in the center, for Sūrya: “I invoke Sūrya.” Outside, in the eight directions beginning with the east: for Soma: “I invoke Soma.” For Bhauma: “I invoke Bhauma.” For Budha: “I invoke Budha.” For Bṛhaspati: “I invoke Bṛhaspati.” For Śukra: “I invoke Śukra.” For Śanaiścara: “I invoke Śanaiścara.” For Rāhu: “I invoke Rāhu.” For Ketu: “I invoke Ketu.” Having installed these deities, worshipped [them] in the manner previously stated with the eight perfumes, drawn a diagram of the planets upon a silken cloth, and placed [the vessels] upon it in proper order, one should install there the planets, the presiding deities, and the secondary presiding deities with saffron and unbroken rice grains. That is as follows. Having made the ritual resolution: “I shall perform the installation of the deities, namely Āditya and the others, in the maṇḍala,” [he meditates:] “Seated upon a lotus, holding a lotus, of lotus-like interior…” [For the verse:] ākṛṣṇena: the seer is Hiraṇyastūpa, the deity Savitṛ, the meter triṣṭubh; application is to the invocation of Sūrya. “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Sūrya, born in the country of Kaliṅga, of the Kāśyapa gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] āpyāyasva: the seer is Gautama, the deity Soma, the meter gāyatrī: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Soma, born on the banks of the Yamunā, of the Ātreya gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] agnirmūrdhā: the seer is Virūpa, the deity Aṅgāraka, the meter gāyatrī: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Bhauma, born in Avantī, of the Bhāradvāja gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] udbudhyasva: the seer is Budha Saumya, the deity Budha, the meter triṣṭubh: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Budha, born in the country of Magadha, of the Ātreya gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] bṛhaspate: the seer is Gṛtsamada, the deity Bṛhaspati, the meter triṣṭubh: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Bṛhaspati, born in the country of Sindhu, of the Āṅgirasa gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] śukram: the seer is Parāśara, the meter dvipadā virāṭ: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Śukra, born in Bhojakaṭaka, of the Bhārgava gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] śamagnir: the seer is Ibiṭa, the deity Śani, the meter uṣṇih: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Śanaiścara, born in the country of Saurāṣṭra, of the Kāśyapa gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] kayā naḥ: the seer is Vāmadeva, the deity Rāhu, the meter gāyatrī:

3.1.2

“Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Rāhu, born in the country of Siṃhala, of the Paiṭhīnasi gotra, come here!” [For the verse:] ketuṃ kṛṇvan: the seer is Madhucchandas, the deity Ketu, the meter gāyatrī: “Oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ, O Ketu, born in the Antarvedī, of the Jaimini gotra, come here!” Now the presiding deities: [For the verse:] tryambakam: the seer is Vasiṣṭha, the deity Rudra, the meter anuṣṭubh. [For the verse:] gaurīr mimāya: the seer is Dīrghatamas, the deity Umā, the meter jagatī. [For the verse:] yad akrandaḥ: the seer is Dīrghatamas, the deity Skanda, the meter triṣṭubh. [For the verse:] viṣṇor nu kam: the seer is Dīrghatamas, the deity Nārāyaṇa, the meter triṣṭubh. [For the verse:] brahma jajñānam: the seer is Vāsudeva, the deity Brahman, the meter triṣṭubh. [For the verse:] indraṃ vaḥ: the seer is Madhucchandas, the deity Indra, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] yamāya somam: the seer is Yama, the deity Yama, the meter anuṣṭubh. [For the verse:] mā ṣū ṇaḥ: the seer is Ghora Kāṇva, the deity Kāla, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] uto rājan: the seer is Praskaṇva, the deity Citragupta, the meter bṛhatī. The secondary presiding deities: [For the verse:] agnim: the seer is Medhātithi Kāṇva, the deity Agni, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] apsu me: the seer is Medhātithi, the deity Apas, the meter anuṣṭubh. [For the verse:] syonā pṛthivi: the seer is Medhātithi, the deity Bhūmi, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] idaṃ viṣṇuḥ: the seer is Medhātithi, the deity Viṣṇu, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] indraśreṣṭhāni: the seer is Gṛtsamada, the deity Indra, the meter triṣṭubh. [For the verse:] indrāṇīm: the seer is Vṛṣākapi, the deity Indrāṇī, the meter paṅkti. [For the verse:] prajāpate: the seer is Hiraṇyagarbha, the deity Prajāpati, the meter triṣṭubh. [For the verse:] āyaṃ gauḥ: the seer is Sārparājñī, the deity Sarpa, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] brahma jajñānam: the seer is Gautama Vāmadeva, the deity Brahman, the meter triṣṭubh. Then to the north: [For the verse:] gaṇānāṃ tvā: the seer is Gṛtsamada, the deity Gaṇapati, the meter jagatī. [For the verse:] jātavedase: the seer is Kaśyapa, the deity Durgā, the meter triṣṭubh. [For the verse:] tava vāyavṛtaspate: the seer is Āṅgirasa, the deity Vāyu, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] ādityāt sūryāt: the deity Ākāśa, the meter gāyatrī. [For the verse:] eṣo uṣāḥ: the seer is Praskaṇva, the deity the Aśvins, the meter gāyatrī. Or, Vināyaka to the north of Rāhu, Vāyu to the north of Śani, Ākāśa to the south of Rāhu, the Aśvins to the south of Ketu. To the north: [For the verse:] kṣetrasya patinā: the seer is Vāmadeva, the deity Kṣetrapati, the meter anuṣṭubh. [For the verse:] vāstoṣpate: the seer is Vasiṣṭha, the deity Vāstoṣpati, the meter triṣṭubh. Then, in the hundred-thousand and ten-million homas: “You whose body is the sound of the Sāman, the vehicle of Parameṣṭhin, / ever the remover of poison and sin: therefore, grant me peace!”

3.1.3

With this mantra, or with [the verse beginning] indraṃ mitraṃ varuṇam, having invoked Garutmat to the north, and having invoked the guardians of the directions in the eight directions with their respective mantras, then one should install: Śeṣa to the east of Ravi; Vāsuki in front of Soma; Takṣaka in front of Bhauma; Karkoṭaka to the north of Budha; Padma to the north of Guru; Mahāpadma to the north of Śukra; Śaṅkhapāla to the west of Śani; Kambala in front of Rāhu; and Kuliśa in front of Ketu. Then, in the east: the seven lunar mansions beginning with Aśvinī, the seven yogas beginning with Viṣkambha, the karaṇas Bava and Bālava, the seven continents, and the Ṛgveda. In the south: the seven lunar mansions beginning with Puṣya, the seven yogas beginning with Dhṛti, the karaṇas Kaulava and Taitila, the seven oceans, and the Yajurveda. [In the west:] the karaṇas Gara and Vaṇij, the seven netherworlds, and the Sāmaveda. In the north: the seven lunar mansions beginning with Abhijit, the six yogas beginning with Sādhya, the Viṣṭi karaṇa, the seven worlds beginning with Bhūḥ, and the Atharvaveda. In the northwest: Dhruva and the Seven Seers. Then, according to available space: the seven rivers beginning with the Gaṅgā, the seven principal mountain ranges, the eight Vasus, the twelve Ādityas, the eleven Rudras, the forty-nine Maruts, the sixteen Mothers, the six seasons, the twelve months, the two solstices, the fifteen lunar days, the sixty years, the birds, the snakes, the yakṣas, the gandharvas, the vidyādharas, the apsarases, the rākṣasas, the spirits, and human beings. But in the ten-million homa: Brahman in the east of the sacrificial altar, Janārdana in the center, Rudra in the west, and Skanda in the north; then one should meditate [upon them]. Then having invoked [them with the verses] mitrā[varuṇā] and gṛhā vai, and having worshipped them with sixteen services according to the Puruṣasūkta, one should pray: “The Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Maruts, and likewise the guardians of the world, / Brahman, Janārdana, Śūlapāṇi, and the destroyer of the eyes of Bhaga— / may all be present here and partake in the sacrifice! / May they everywhere accept the worship offered by me with devotion, / and, composed, may they all bring welfare to the sacrificer!”

3.1.4

Then, having worshipped the pitcher in the north-eastern [corner] of the sacrificial altar, and having prayed with the verse beginning with 'devadānava-saṃvāde', he should perform the anvādhāna. Having declared up to 'the two eyes [of the fire] with ghee', [he resolves]: 'with firewood sticks, caru, and ghee offerings numbering any of one hundred and eight, twenty-eight, or eight for the nine planets; with offerings of any of barley, rice, ghee, or sesame numbering any of ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or ten million for the nine planets; [and] with the remainder for the sviṣṭakṛt...' In the view that there is only a single caru and ghee offering for all [deities], there is marking out [of lines on the ground] and the like accordingly. In the cases of a hundred-thousand fire oblation and a ten-million fire oblation, [he makes offerings] to Garutmat with firewood sticks and so forth numbering one hundred and eight and so on; in the ten-million fire oblation, [offerings are made] to Brahmā and the others just like to Garuḍa. In the view of a single caru offering, the rule of five portions applies for the Vatsas. If the hundred-thousand fire oblation or the like is to be accomplished over many days, the caru-sviṣṭakṛt and so forth are to be performed on the very first day. The worship of the planets is to be performed every day until the completion of the fire oblation; in the ten-million fire oblation, a full offering [is made] at every thousand [oblations]. At the conclusion of the fire oblation, having worshipped the fire and performed [the rites] up to the atonement fire oblations beginning with the sviṣṭakṛt, having offered black-gram and cooked-rice propitiatory offerings all around the fire to the nine planets, to the north of the sacrificial altar to the seven beginning with Vināyaka, and to Garutmat with their respective mantras, he should have a propitiatory offering to the protector of the field cast at the crossroad by a brāhmaṇa or a śūdra. Then, having washed his feet, he should offer the full offering with ghee taken twelve times or four times, together with cloth, a coconut, and so forth. The mantras in this regard: For 'samudrād ūrmiḥ', the ṛṣi is Gautama or Vāmadeva, the deity is Agni, the metre is triṣṭubh. Mantra: 'Oṃ. Homage to the ocean, to the bird, to the lord of rivers. Offer ye to Viśvakarman, the father of all rivers, the offering that is ever to be remembered by mortals.' For 'mūrdhānaṃ divaḥ', Bharadvāja the son of Bṛhaspati is the ṛṣi, Vaiśvānara is the deity, triṣṭubh is the metre. Mantra: 'Oṃ. The head of heaven, the navel of the earth, Vaiśvānara, Agni born for the cosmic order, the universal monarch, the guest of men, a vessel in their mouth—may the gods bring him forth.' For 'punas tvā agniḥ', the Vasus, Rudras, and Ādityas are the deities, triṣṭubh is the metre.

3.1.5

Mantra: 'Oṃ. May the Ādityas, the Rudras, and the Vasus kindle you again; may the brāhmaṇas [kindle you] again with treasures through sacrifices. Increase your bodies with ghee; may the desires of the sacrificer be fulfilled.' For 'pūrṇā darvi', the Viśvedevas are the ṛṣis, Śatakratu is the deity, anuṣṭubh is the metre. Mantra: 'Oṃ. Fly away, full ladle; fly back, well-filled! Like one buying and selling, bring here food and vigour, O Śatakratu.' For 'sapta te agne samidhaḥ', the deity is the sevenfold Agni. Mantra: 'Oṃ. Seven are your firewood sticks, O Agni; seven are your tongues; seven are the ṛṣis; seven are your dear abodes. Seven hotṛs sacrifice to you in sevenfold ways; fill your seven wombs with ghee.' For 'dhāmno dhāmnaḥ', the ṛṣi is Vāmadeva, the Waters are the deity, jagatī is the metre.

3.1.6

Mantra: 'Oṃ. From every abode, O King Varuṇa, release [us] from this; if we have sworn by the waters, by the cow, O Varuṇa, then release [us] from that, O Varuṇa.' Having offered with these [mantras], the ritual relinquishment is: 'This is for Agni Vaiśvānara, for the Vasus, Rudras, and Ādityas, for Śatakratu, and for the sevenfold Agni, not for me.' Then he should pour the stream of vasu. The mantras there: For the nine [verses] beginning with 'agnim īḷe', Madhucchandas is the ṛṣi, Agni is the deity, gāyatrī is the metre. For the six [verses] beginning with 'viṣṇor nu kam', Dīrghatamas is the ṛṣi, Viṣṇu is the deity, triṣṭubh is the metre. For the fifteen [verses] beginning with 'ā te pitā', Gṛtsamada is the ṛṣi, Rudra is the deity, triṣṭubh is the metre. For the ten [verses] beginning with 'svādiṣṭhayā', Madhucchandas is the ṛṣi, Pavamāna Soma is the deity, gāyatrī is the metre. And [he chants] the Mahāvaiśvānara and Jyeṣṭha sāmans; having concluded the remainder of the rite beginning with the releasing of the full vessel, and having brought about the well-being of the sacrificer, he should consecrate the sacrificer, who is seated upon an auspicious seat over a svastika design in the north-eastern part of the pit, with the water of the planetary sacred pots, by means of [the hymns] beginning with 'samudrajyeṣṭhāḥ' and [the verses] beginning with 'surās tvām'. Here the wife is on the left. Then the sacrificer, having anointed himself with all medicinal herbs and bathed, [is consecrated] also with Purāṇic [verses]. And they are: 'May the gods consecrate you—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara; Vāsudeva, the lord of the world, and the omnipresent Saṃkarṣaṇa. / May Pradyumna and Aniruddha bring you victory. / May Indra, lord Agni, Yama, and Nirṛti, / Varuṇa, Pavana, Kubera, and Śiva, / along with Brahmā, all the guardians of the directions, protect me always. / May Kīrti, Lakṣmī, Dhṛti, Medhā, Puṣṭi, Śraddhā, Kriyā, Mati, / Buddhi, Lajjā, Vapuḥ, Śānti, Kānti, and Tuṣṭi—the Mothers— / and these wives of the gods who have assembled together consecrate you. / May the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn— / may the satisfied planets, [including] Rāhu and Ketu, consecrate you. / May the gods, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and pannagas, / the ṛṣis, sages, cows, and mothers of the gods, / the wives of the gods, trees, nāgas, daityas, and hosts of apsarases, / weapons, all sacred scriptures, kings, and mounts [protect you].'

3.1.7

“And herbs, jewels, and whatever are parts of time, / rivers, oceans, mountains, holy fords, and clouds forever, / let these sprinkle you for the attainment of all desired aims.” // Then the performer, facing east, behind the fire, having worshiped the preceptor and the officiating priests who face north, having stated the place and time, saying: “In this planetary sacrifice called the Ayutahoma performed by me, I give to the preceptor and all the officiating priests of various lineages this kapilā cow dedicated to Rudra, which forms the concluding completion, together with the sacrificial fee; [it is] no longer mine,” should recite: “O Kapilā, you are to be worshiped by all gods, O Rohiṇī! / Since you consist of holy fords and deities, therefore grant me peace!” This is to be understood for the subsequent [gifts] as well: “You, O conch, are pure among pure things and the blessing among blessings! / You are forever held by Viṣṇu; therefore grant me peace!”—thus a conch to Soma. “You are Dharma in the form of a bull, causing delight to the world, / the seat of the eight-formed [Śiva]; therefore grant me peace!”—a bull to Bhauma. “Dwelling in the womb of Hiraṇyagarbha, the golden seed of the fire-god, / bestower of endless meritorious fruit, grant me peace!”—thus gold to Budha. “Since a pair of yellow garments is dear to Vāsudeva, / from giving it may Viṣṇu be pleased with me and be the giver of peace!”—thus a yellow garment to Guru. “Since you, O Viṣṇu, in the form of a horse, are born from nectar, / the constant mount of the moon and the sun, therefore grant me peace!”—thus a horse to Śukra. “Since you are famed as the black cow, resembling the color of [dark] hair, / ever destroying all sins, therefore grant me peace!”—thus a black cow to Śani. “Since iron implements, ploughs, weapons, and so forth / are always dependent on you, therefore grant me peace!”—thus a goat to Ketu. Or cows to all [deities]: “The fourteen worlds reside in the limbs of cows. / Since [this is so], let there be well-being for me in this world and in the next”—thus [a cow] is to be given. Or one may give gold to all.

3.1.8

For the pleasure of all, a bed, jewels, and land are to be given with a sacrificial fee. The mantras for that are: “Since the bed of Keśava and of Śiva is never vacant, / may this bed not be vacant for me, given life after life!” / “Just as all deities reside in all gems, / so may the gods grant me peace by the gift of gems!” / “Just as other gifts are not worth a sixteenth part / of the gift of land, let there be peace for me from the gift of land!” He should also give clothing, gold, and jewels according to capacity. Then, having performed the concluding worship of the planets, having dismissed them with “May the hosts of deities go…,” having worshiped the fire, having applied sacred ash, having dismissed [the fire] with “Go, go, O best of gods…,” and having fed the Brahmins according to the prescribed number, [he concludes]: “This rite is offered to the Lord.” Thus ends the Ayutahoma composed by Kamalākara. Now the procedure for the Lakṣahoma from the Matsyapurāṇa: “This Ayutahoma has been described; now hear the Lakṣahoma, / since the wise know the Lakṣahoma to be for the attainment of all desires. / The Lakṣahoma was declared by the Self-born [Brahmā] to be ten times greater than this, / both in oblations with effort and likewise in sacrificial fees.” Now the officiating priests stated by Bṛhatparāśara: “Even numbers of officiating priests should be appointed, Brahmins who are wise; / Brahmins constantly devoted to recitation should be appointed by him for that rite, / eating roots, bulbs, and fruits, or consuming curd and milk.” In the Matsyapurāṇa: “Two cubits wide and likewise four cubits long then…” (The phrase “four cubits long” is an alternative view regarding barley or the like; others say this is a statement of the surface area: for in a side of two cubits there is a surface area of four cubits, thus they say there is only one view).

3.1.9

“In a Lakṣahoma, the pit should have the vulva-mouth and three steps. / The first step should be made two fingers high by the wise, / the second there is declared to be two fingers high; / the third is four fingers in both height and breadth. / A breadth of four fingers is also commended for the preceding two. / To the north-east of it, [one should prepare] an area measuring three spans, / sloping toward the north-east, likewise square and level. / The raised platform was declared by Viśvakarman to be half the diameter in height, / adorned with two tiers for the installation of the gods. / The first tier is declared to be two fingers high; / then above it two tiers are said to have an elevation of three fingers. / A width of two fingers for all of them is declared by the wise. / The wall of the platform above that should be ten fingers high. / On that, one should invoke the gods upon white rice grains as before.” One who desires prosperity should also install Garuḍa additionally there. Nor is he to be installed at the eastern side of the whole altar, according to the principle: “At the end, according to Bādarāyaṇa.” The mantras for that invocation are: “O you whose body is the sound of the Sāman, mount of the Supreme Lord, / ever removing poison and sin, therefore grant me peace!” Or the reading is: “remover of poison.” Having consecrated the pitcher as before, he should perform the fire oblation in the same manner. Having offered a hundred thousand [oblations], with the number of firewood sticks and so forth as before, having offered firewood sticks, ghee, and boiled grain offering as before, and having offered the oblation whose deity is Garuḍa with “You are the well-winged Garutmān…,” one should perform the Lakṣahoma with the sacred utterances (vyāhṛtis); this is the meaning. Mantra: “Om, you are the well-winged Garutmān; the trivṛt is your head, the Gāyatrī your eye, the stoma your breath, the Sāman your body, the Vāmadevya [and] the Bṛhat and Rathantara your wings, the yajñāyajñiya your tail, the metres your limbs, the altars your claws, the Yajus verses your name. You are the well-winged Garutmān; go to heaven, fly to the celestial realm!”

3.1.10

From a pot of ghee, one should pour a continuous stream of wealth (vasordhārā) over the fire. Having made an udumbara [wooden ladle] resembling a sruva ladle, moist, straight, free of hollows, and one cubit in length, he should then pour the stream of ghee properly over the fire with both of them. He should also have [the priests] recite the auspicious hymn (śamyuvāka), the hymn to Agni, to Viṣṇu, to Rudra, to Soma, and the great Vaiśvānara chant. Of the nine [verses beginning with] ‘agnim īḷe’, the seer is Madhucchandas, the deity is Agni, and the meter is gāyatrī. Of the six [verses beginning with] ‘viṣṇor nu kam’, the seer is Dīrghatamas, the deity is Viṣṇu, and the meter is triṣṭubh. Of the ten [verses beginning with] ‘svādiṣṭhayā’, the seer is Madhucchandas, the deity is Soma, and the meter is gāyatrī. Of the great Vaiśvānara chant, Vaiśvānara is the seer and the deity, and the meters are jagatī and bṛhatī. Of the senior chant (jyeṣṭhasāman) [beginning with] ‘mūrdhānaṃ divaḥ’, the seers are the two Bharadvājas, the deity is Vaiśvānara, and the meter is triṣṭubh. And the bath and svastivācana of the sacrificer are as before. Dakṣiṇās are to be given in sequence by the sacrificer as before. Likewise, ten or eight officiating priests should be engaged in the lakṣahoma according to one's capacity, or four who are free from jealousy. One should give everything tenfold in excess of the nine-planet sacrifice in the lakṣahoma; and, O best of sages, one should also give ornaments according to one's capacity. Here, gifts should be given according to capacity by one desiring prosperity: one brāhmaṇa for every hundred offerings, or one for every thousand—such is the meaning. As for the fruit: He is worshipped in the world of Śiva by the hosts of Vasus, Ādityas, and Maruts; having spent eight hundred cosmic ages (kalpa) there, he then attains liberation. But one with desires who performs this lakṣahoma according to the rules attains all desires and enjoys an eternal state. One desiring a son obtains a son; one desiring wealth obtains wealth; one desiring a wife obtains a wife; and an unmarried girl obtains an auspicious husband. One who has fallen from kingship obtains kingship, and one desiring fortune obtains fortune. Whatever desire he wishes for, that he fully obtains. But one who performs it without desire reaches the supreme Brahman and beyond. Thus the lakṣahoma. Now the koṭihoma, in the Matsyapurāṇa: ‘The koṭihoma is proclaimed by the Self-born to be a hundred times greater than this;

3.1.11

in offerings, in effort, in dakṣiṇās, and in fruit. The invocation and dismissal of the household deities are as before. The fire oblation mantras are as stated before, as is the case for the bath and the gifting. Understand this special detail regarding the fire pit, pavilion, and altars: In the koṭihoma, with effort, [the pit should be] four cubits [wide] and square, furnished with two vulva-shaped openings, and they say that it too has three stepped borders.’ ‘One vulva-shaped opening is in the west, the other in the south’—so it is stated in Hemādri and the Madanaratna. ‘And the altar in the koṭihoma should be four spans [in size], square all around, and covered with three cloths. The size of the raised edge is as stated before, as is the height of the platform. And the four-faced pavilion should be sixteen cubits [in extent]. Stationing at the eastern door a Rigvedic priest who has mastered the Veda, a Yajurvedic priest is to be stationed at the southern [door], a Samavedic priest at the western, and likewise the wise man should station an Atharvavedic priest at the northern door. Eight brāhmaṇas who know the Veda and the auxiliary disciplines of the Veda are to be invited for the fire oblation; having gathered twelve brāhmaṇas in total, he should worship them with devotion using garments, garlands, ointments, and all kinds of ornaments, as before. Reciting the Rātrisūkta, the Raudrasūkta, the Pāvamānasūkta, the Sumaṅgalasūkta, and the propitiatory hymn of Rigvedic verses, he should sit facing north at the eastern door. At the southern door, he should have the excellent Yajurvedic priest recite the hymn to Indra, to Soma, to Rudra, the Kūṣmāṇḍa hymns, and the propitiatory hymn. O King, at the western door the chanter of the Sāmaveda should recite the Sauvarṇa, the Madhyama, the hymn to Agni, the Rudrasaṃhitā, the Jyeṣṭhasāman, and the propitiatory chant. At the northern door, O King, the knower of the Atharvaveda should recite the Śāntisūkta, the hymn to Sūrya, the auspicious Śākunika hymn, and the Pauṣṭika hymn. The fire oblation is to be performed there by eight brāhmaṇas as before; and the mantras for the bath and gifting are the very same, O best of sages. And the procedure for the continuous stream of wealth (vasordhārā) is taught to be just like in the lakṣahoma. One who performs the koṭihoma according to this rule obtains all desires and then goes to the realm of Viṣṇu.

3.1.12

Whatever fruit one who knows righteousness obtains by performing eighteen thousand horse sacrifices (aśvamedha), that he enjoys from the koṭihoma. Thousands of slayings of brāhmaṇas and tens of millions of embryo-killings are destroyed by the koṭihoma, exactly as spoken by Śiva.’ Thus the rite of koṭihoma in the Matsyapurāṇa. Now the rite of the Nṛsiṃha fire oblation. The Nṛsiṃha fire oblation: A specific rule of the Nṛsiṃha fire oblation in the Nṛsiṃhapurāṇa: ‘Upon seeing a terrible nightmare, upon the arising of torment from the planets, or especially if an icon strikes, blazes, or is seen covered with sweat, O son of kings, or when afflicted by a great fever, the wise man should himself pour, or have poured by learned men, a continuous stream [of water/ghee] upon the head of the god Narasiṃha. At the solstices and the equinoxes, and likewise at lunar and solar eclipses, having worshipped Narasiṃha, he should have the lakṣahoma performed. In the event of drought, a major epidemic, fever, or fear of disease, the ruler of men should have the lakṣahoma performed by brāhmaṇas who have mastered the Veda, after worshipping Narasiṃha, to protect the village. Seeing an affliction or death of the subjects and of himself, having thoroughly worshipped with care in a temple of Narasiṃha or in a shrine of Śaṅkara, he should perform the koṭihoma. The size of the fire pit is to be one cubit on all sides. Being celibate and observing vows, especially for three nights, or having fasted for a day and a night, he should then recite the Gāyatrī ten thousand times. Being without food, pure, and with all senses restrained, they, free of laziness, should then begin the sacrifice and the fire oblation. The wise man, with a concentrated mind, should first make offerings with the Gāyatrī using barley, grain, and sesame seeds mixed together, accompanied by the utterance of “svāhā”. Then afterward, he should offer sesame and the rest with the Vyāhṛtis, until the count is completed—whether a hundred thousand (lakṣa) or ten million (koṭi). Each day he should perform it preceded by the worship of Acyuta; he should give food for as long as he performs the fire oblation. When it is completed, he should give the dakṣiṇā and then sprinkle with water. When this is done, for the village, the king, and the countryside...’

3.1.13

always becomes a propitiatory rite that pacifies all afflictions. Thus ends the procedure for the Nṛsiṃha fire oblation. Now, the procedure for the hundred-thousand and ten-million fire oblations of the Gāyatrī. (In Hemādri, the Madanaratna, and the Devīpurāṇa): / One should make a hexagonal Śiva [linga] endowed with the characteristics, made of cat's-eye gem, on a golden pedestal rich in splendid beauty, with the moon and the sun, and the Mothers there; // 1

Linked texts (1)

Śāntikamalākara — Kamalākarabhaṭṭa 1587, Sanskrit