Shantikamalakara 3.102_25

English (machine translation) 3.102_25

Language: English

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Now follows the ritual manual for the birth from a cow. The performer makes the ritual resolution: "For the appeasement of the misfortune indicated by the birth of this boy under such-and-such a lunar mansion, I will perform the birth from a cow's face." Having first worshiped Gaṇeśa, he should choose the ācārya. The ācārya, having made a white powder lotus, [places] a winnowing basket upon grains of rice, spread a red cloth upon it, scatters sesame seeds there, places the infant in the winnowing basket facing east, binds the winnowing basket with thread, brings the cow's face near the child, visualizes the birth, bathes the child with the five bovine products with the hymn "Viṣṇur yonim...", and should touch the cow with the mantra "Gavām aṅgeṣu...". And the mantra is: "In the limbs of cows the fourteen worlds abide; therefore, may there be auspiciousness for him; therefore, bestow peace upon me." Then the father, having given [him] again to the mother, removes the cloth and looks upon his face. Then the ācārya should sprinkle the child with the five bovine products with the three verses beginning with "Āpo hi ṣṭhā". Then the father, having smelled the child three times on the head with the verse beginning "Aṅgād aṅgāt...", asks three times: "May you venerable ones pronounce the puṇyāha for this birth from a cow's face; thus may there be increase, prosperity, and welfare." He should give that cow to the ācārya. To please the planets, he should give cows, clothing, gold, grains, and an abundant sacrificial gift according to his capacity. Then the ācārya, having established the fire and the nine planets, having recited the anvādāna ending with "the two eyes [of the sacrifice] with ghee", there the principal [offerings are]: waters four times; with curd, honey, and ghee to Viṣṇu once; to Yakṣman with the hymn beginning "Akṣibhyām..." verse by verse, or twenty-eight times; having made an oblation to each of the planets individually; [saying] "to Sviṣṭakṛt with the remainder", at the end of the ghee portions, having installed a pitcher in the northeast, having cast into it the five bovine products, sesame seeds, and the decoctions of milky trees, having wrapped it with a pair of cloths, having invoked Viṣṇu upon a full vessel with "Tad viṣṇoḥ...", and Varuṇa with "Tat tvā yāmi...", having worshiped and touched the pitcher: of the six verses beginning with "Yata indra...", the seer is Pragātha son of Kaṇva, the deity is Indra...

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[The meter is] Bārhata-pragātha. Having muttered these, after the sacrificer performs the abandonment, he should offer oblations with mixed curds, honey, and ghee, either twenty-eight times or eight times per verse: "āpo hi ṣṭhā...", "tad viṣṇoḥ..." (Medhātithi, Viṣṇu, Gāyatrī), and with the six [verses beginning with] "akṣībhyām..." (Vivṛhā-Yakṣmahan, Anuṣṭubh). Having offered twenty-eight or eight oblations with each of these mantras, and having offered one oblation each with the planetary mantras using curds, honey, and ghee, and having completed the rest [of the rite] beginning with the sviṣṭakṛt offering, he should feed the Brāhmaṇas. Thus ends the ritual manual for the cow-mouth birth [propitiation]. Now, the propitiatory rites for those born under the gaṇḍānta of lunar day (tithi), lunar mansion (nakṣatra), ascendant (lagna), yoga, karaṇa, and so forth are described in order. There, the propitiatory rite for one born under a nakṣatra-gaṇḍānta is commenced. It is of three kinds, based on the division of tithi, nakṣatra, and lagna. "Gaṇḍānta" means the junction-ghaṭikās. And it is stated in the Jyotirnibandha: "The junction of the two lunar days called Pūrṇā and Ānandā is likewise two nāḍīs. It is a gaṇḍānta that causes death at birth, travel, marriage, vows, and so forth. Between Cancer and Leo, Scorpio and Sagittarius, Pisces and Aries, that intermediate space of half a ghaṭikā is a gaṇḍānta, causing death. In the lunar mansions of Sārpa, Indra, and Pauṣṇa, the occurrence of the last sixteenth part, and in the mansions immediately following them likewise a quarter [pada], is designated as gaṇḍānta." But in the Ratnamālā, another view regarding the lunar mansions is stated: "The interval between Pauṣṇa and Aśvinī, between the lunar mansions of Sārpa and Pitrya, and between Jyeṣṭhā and Mūla, that is a gaṇḍānta of four nāḍikās, harmful at times of travel, birth, and marriage." In the Ratnasaṃgraha, the gradation of fault in this matter should be known: "Abandonment of all who are born in a gaṇḍa is prescribed; or one should avoid seeing [the child] for up to a year or for six months. In a tithi- or nakṣatra-gaṇḍa, there is destruction of father and mother; but at the junction in a lagna, destruction of the son. In all [gaṇḍas] he does not live; [or if he lives] he kills relatives; if he lives, the son will have many elephants and horses." In the Prayogapārijāta, Garga and Brahmā [say]: "At the beginning of Aśvinī, Maghā, and Mūla, the nāḍikās are said to be six, six, and six;"

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"At the end of Revatī, Sārpa, and Śākra, they belong to the junction in both respects. In the beginning of Aśvinī, Maghā, and Mūla, there are likewise two nāḍikās; at the end of Revatī, Sārpa, and Śākra, there are indeed two nāḍikās. In the first half of Aśvinī, Maghā, and Mūla, there is affliction of the father; in the second half of Paurva, Āhi, and Śakra, the child afflicts the mother. Born by day, he is a patricide; but born at night, a matricide"—the meaning is: one born in a daytime gaṇḍānta. "Born in both twilights, he destroys himself; there is no gaṇḍa that is harmless. Abandonment of all who are born in a gaṇḍa is prescribed. Or avoiding sight of the child should last for six months. With devotion, I shall declare his propitiatory rite by means of the Soma-mantra: One should prepare a vessel of bell-metal weighing sixteen palas, or eight, or four, or two, well-crafted; in the middle of it, milk porridge, and in a conch filled with butter, an untainted silver Moon, which he should worship with white flowers. Clad in white linen garments, adorned with white garlands and apparel, reflecting 'I am Soma,' he should perform the worship without sloth. With faith and composed mind, he should mutter the mantra a thousand times. He should also give a sacrificial gift for the appeasement of the gaṇḍa defect: A white [image of] Vāgīśvarī together with a copper vessel, he, being pure, should give to one who knows the Vedas to appease the gaṇḍa defect." In the Jyotirnibandha, a further [detail] is also stated in one verse: "Born by day, [the child] with the mother; born at night, both parents should bathe him; in both twilights also. He should give ghee in a vessel of bell-metal for the appeasement of the gaṇḍa defect, along with milk, a pearl, a conch, and an auspicious pair of white garments, to one who knows the Yajurveda, to dispel the gaṇḍa defect. He should give gold, both processed and raw, and should worship the planets. Having muttered [the mantra] that increases longevity, he should satisfy the Brāhmaṇas." Here, in the cow-mouth birth [rite], the propitiation of the nine planets is also to be performed. The rest is clear, so it is not stated in this ritual manual. Thus ends the propitiatory rite for one born under a nakṣatra-gaṇḍānta and the like, as spoken by Garga.

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Now, the propitiatory rite for one born under a tithi- or lagna-gaṇḍānta. Uttara-Gārgya: "For a son born under a tithi-gaṇḍānta, the propitiatory rite should be performed on that very day, on that lunar day, or on an auspicious day; until then, he should not look upon the son. In a tithi-gaṇḍa, an ox [should be given]; in a nakṣatra-[gaṇḍa], a cow; and gold in a lagna-gaṇḍa, and the gaṇḍa defect is destroyed. The first part is the gaṇḍa of the father; consecratory sprinkling is for all three"—the meaning is: for mother, father, and child. "For one born under Uttarā, Tiṣya, Citrā, and Pūrvāṣāḍhā, accompanied by a pair of garments, worship of Varuṇa should be performed preceded by the svastivācana"—the meaning is: in a pitcher, he should worship Varuṇa and the presiding deity of the lunar mansion. "Along with a hundred herbs, jewels, earth, bark, and shoots; at the end of the worship, he should offer oblations of ghee, sesamum, and barley to the sea. Then, having offered the full oblation (pūrṇāhuti), to a householder who studies the Vedas, in the first quarter of Uttarā [he should give] a vessel of sesamum; in Tiṣya, a well-behaved, milch cow along with her calf; in Citrā, he should give a goat; and in Pūrvāṣāḍhā, gold. He should give barley, unhusked rice, black gram, sesamum, and mung beans. Likewise, according to his means, he should feed the Brāhmaṇas. Here, the propitiatory rite is prescribed for increasing the lifespan of the father. Whoever properly performs this propitiatory rite with a composed mind, attains longevity, health, and prosperity day by day." Thus ends the propitiatory rite for one born under a tithi- or lagna-gaṇḍānta.

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Now, the propitiatory rite for dinakṣaya and similar inauspicious times. / Uttara-Gārgya says: / "Now, therefore, I shall declare, particularly at the time of birth, / the names of the gaṇḍāntas that produce great misfortune: / on a dinakṣaya, during a vyatīpāta, a vyāghāta, a viṣṭi, a vaidhṛti, / a śūla, a gaṇḍa, an atigaṇḍa, a parigha, a yamakaṇṭaka, / a kālagaṇḍa, a mṛtyuyoga, or an extremely dreadful dagdhayoga— / if birth should take place upon the arrival of that gaṇḍa day, / it is declared to cause extreme misfortune, especially if combined with malefic [planets]. / Here the word 'gaṇḍānta' is technical in cases such as dinakṣaya. / One should perform sacrifice to the deities and worship of the planets; / with devotion, one should keep a lamp burning with ghee in a temple of Śiva. / Consecratory sprinkling for Śaṅkara, circumambulation of an aśvattha tree, / [and] chanting that increases life and destroys all misfortunes [should be performed]." / "The Mṛtyuñjaya mantra" means reciting the mantra beginning with *āśuḥ śiśānaḥ*, and so forth. / "Worship of the guru, deities, and Brahmins increases one's lineage. / To remove all misfortunes, one should perform a planetary sacrifice. / That man who duly gives a lamp to Śiva with devotion, / unbroken, with cow's ghee alone, shall conquer death. / That best of men who with devotion circumambulates the aśvattha tree, / the great-merited image of Viṣṇu that constantly brings prosperity, / having overcome untimely death, certainly becomes long-lived. / Having recited the Gāṇapatya mantra, the Puruṣasūkta, the Saura hymn, the auspicious Mṛtyuñjaya [hymn], / the propitiatory chanting, and the Rudra recitation, he becomes a conqueror of death. / One should perform these diligently in Mūla or in the Sārpa-gaṇḍa, / to increase lifespan and to pacify the flaw of the gaṇḍa." / This is combined with the propitiatory rite for Mūla, etc. / Thus ends the propitiatory rite for all gaṇḍas.

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Now, the propitiatory rite for viṣaghaṭikās. / On this, Vṛddha-Gārgya says in the *Jyotirnibandha*: / "On the lunar days: eight, seven, eleven, four, eight, seven, ten, three, ten, twelve, seven, eight, fifteen, five, and eight [are the numbers indicating the starting ghaṭikā] / successively from the first [lunar day]; after these, the four ghaṭikās are called 'poison'. / Twenty, four, twelve, ten, seven, five, and twenty-five—respectively / on the days of the week starting with Sunday, there are four ghaṭikās known as 'poison'." / Regarding the lunar mansions, Nārada says: / "Fifty, twenty-four, thirty, forty, / fourteen, twenty-one, thirty, twenty, / thirty-two, thirty, twenty, eighteen, / twenty-one, twenty, fourteen, fourteen, / twenty, ten, fourteen, sixteen, fourteen, / ten, ten, ten, eighteen, / sixteen, fourteen, and thirty—successively from Aśvinī: after these

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[numbers of ghaṭikās have elapsed], the following four ghaṭikās are designated as 'poison'." / Vṛddha-Garga declares the propitiatory rite for one born therein: / "When born in the poison ghaṭikās, it causes fear of all misfortunes; / it destroys the father, maternal uncle, and oneself—of this there is no doubt— / and the mother by poison, weapons, or missiles, especially if in a cruel lagna or navāṃśa. / To avert that defect, one should perform a propitiatory rite. / Rudra, Yama, Agni, and Mṛtyu are declared to be the deities; / having caused idols [of them] to be made of gold according to one's capacity, marked by their respective characteristics, / on a ground [cleansed with cow dung] having an āḍhaka of paddy, / having prepared an altar ground, having filled a pitcher with water containing herbs and having installed it, / one should cast in earth [from seven places] and so forth; having wrapped it with two cloths, one should drop in the five gems. / Having placed the four idols upon the pitcher, / having installed them there, one should worship and sacrifice with mantras in due order. / With firewood sticks, caru, and ghee, respectively, in due order, / the priests together with the ācārya should offer eight thousand, / or one hundred and eight, or twenty-eight oblations. / Then, the one skilled in rituals should make offerings of sesame to the deities with their respective mantras. / Then, he should perform consecratory sprinkling, and give gifts with purāṇic mantras in due order: / 'May the blessed Lord, the wielder of the Pināka, facing every direction, be pleased! / Destroy my sin through the donation of this idol of Yours! / O one with dreadful fanged face, with a form like blue collyrium, / red-eyed, holding a sword and mace in hand: protect me from death at all times!' / The wise man, composed, should give gifts with such mantras according to the ritual rules, / and honor the ācārya with cattle, land, gold, and garments. / When one acts thus according to the rule, the defect of the poison [ghaṭikā] is pacified." / Thus ends the propitiatory rite for the [poison] ghaṭikās. / Now, the propitiatory rite for birth on [certain] lunar days. / There, the propitiatory rite for birth on the fourteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight. / Garga says in the *Prayogapārijāta*: / "When birth takes place on the fourteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight, the result is of six kinds. / One should divide the fourteenth lunar day into six parts; the first is declared auspicious, / the second kills the father, the third likewise the mother,

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[In the] fourth, it kills the maternal uncle; in the fifth, it causes destruction of the lineage; / and in the sixth, there would be loss of wealth and destruction of one's own lineage. / Therefore, with every effort, one should perform the propitiatory rite according to rule: / Having chosen the preceptor and the officiating priests, preceded by the svastivācana, / one should fashion from that a gold image of the deities headed by Rudra measuring a karṣa, / or half of that, without miserliness regarding wealth, according to rule. / Having chosen the preceptor and the officiating priests, preceded by the svastivācana, / one should fashion from that a gold image of the deities headed by Rudra measuring a karṣa, / or half of that, according to rule. / Having chosen the preceptor and the officiating priests, preceded by the svastivācana, / one should fashion from that a gold image of the deities headed by Rudra measuring a karṣa, / or half of that, free from miserliness regarding wealth; / he should cause an image of Śambhu to be made, endowed with all auspicious characteristics: / seated upon a bull, with hands granting boons and fearlessness, / resembling pure crystal, and adorned with white garlands and garments. / One should perform the worship according to rule with the mantra named 'Tryambaka'. / And he should set up four pitchers in the intermediate directions according to rule— / 'in the intermediate directions' means beginning with the southeast, / since it is seen later: 'beginning with the southeastern pitcher'— / filled with the water of sacred pilgrimage places, placed upon heaps of grain. / In their middle, he should set up a pitcher provided with one hundred holes. / Five kinds of earth, five jewels, five kinds of bark, five leafy twigs, / five kinds of grain, and gold he should deposit with their respective mantras. / Having deposited the hundred herbs, he should wrap it with a white cloth, / and surround it with fragrant white flowers: / 'May all oceans, rivers, holy places, and water-yielding rivers / come, causing the destruction of the sacrificer's sins.' / Having invoked [them] with Varuṇa mantras and with this [verse] according to rule: / with this [mantra] 'imaṃ me varuṇa', or with 'tat tvā yāmi', / with this [mantra] 'tvan no agne', and with the mantra 'sa tvan naḥ', / and the hymn named 'ā no bhadrāḥ', and the hymn 'bhadrā agneḥ';

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and having recited the Puruṣasūkta, he should then recite in order the 'kad rudra' hymn. / He should perform the consecratory sprinkling of Īśvara and the worship of the planets. / Having completed the acts of worship, he should perform the fire oblation according to rule. / In the northeast direction from the planets, he should make a fire pit according to rule, / having a width, length, and depth measuring two aratnis. / Leaving aside the rim of the fire pit, all around by one finger-breadth in order, / the height and width of the stepped tiers should be four, three, and two finger-breadths respectively. / In the western middle part, he should make the vulva-channel according to rule: / a vulva-channel six finger-breadths across, twelve finger-breadths in length, / shaped like an aśvattha leaf, slightly deep, and auspicious. / He should perform [the rites] up to the āghāra oblations according to the rule declared in his own Gṛhyasūtra, / [offering] firewood sticks, ghee, and oblation-mash, and sesame, black gram, and mustard seeds— / 'sesame and black gram accompanied by mustard seeds' is the meaning— / with auspicious firewood sticks of aśvattha, plakṣa, palāśa, and khadira: / one thousand and eight, or one hundred and eight, / or twenty-eight times, with these materials he should perform the fire oblation separately, / with the 'Tryambaka' mantra, sesame with the sacred utterances in succession; / and the planets are to be offered to thus according to the rule stated by us. / Having offered fire oblations in this sequence, he should then conclude the remainder of the fire oblation. / There is the consecratory sprinkling of the three who are adorned with all ornaments— / the three are the mother, father, and child— / with the water of the four sacred pots along with the large pitcher— / the large pitcher has one hundred holes. / Then, putting on cleansed garments, he should perform the gazing into the ghee. / Accompanied by the sacrificer, he should offer the final oblation. / With supreme devotion he should dedicate all of that to Īśvara. / Endowed with all ornaments, a milch cow along with her calf, / and the image, as well as a pair of garments, he should present to the preceptor. / For the pleasure of Īśvara, he should feed brāhmaṇas according to his ability. / He who performs the propitiatory rite thus is freed from all sins, / attains all desires, lives long, and becomes happy. / Thus ends the propitiatory rite for Kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī.

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Now the ritual manual: / The performer, having performed the cow-mouth birth rite in the case of inauspicious misfortune to the father and others, / having pronounced the place and time, makes the ritual resolution: 'For the sake of pleasing Parameśvara through the warding off of the misfortune indicated by birth on the Kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī of this boy, I shall perform the propitiatory rite for birth on Kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī, accompanied by the nine planets and containing an animal-sacrifice.' / He should perform the worship of Gaṇeśa, the puṇyāhavācana, the nāndīśrāddha, and the choosing of the preceptor and officiating priests. / Then the preceptor deposits in the four pitchers in the intermediate directions beginning with the southeast and in the pitcher with one hundred holes in the center the five earths, five leafy twigs, five jewels, five barks, five grains, gold, and the hundred herbs; and having wrapped [them] with cloths and garlands, / having worshipped on a full vessel the image of Rudra made of a karṣa, half of that, or half [of that again], with the mantra 'tryambakam', having established the pitchers in the corners beginning with the southeast; / [with the mantras] 'imaṃ me', 'tat tvā yāmi', 'tvan no agne', / and 'May all oceans, rivers, holy places, and water-yielding rivers / come, causing the destruction of the sacrificer's sins'— / having worshipped on the images and sacred pots located in the corners beginning with the southeast with the three mantras beginning with 'imaṃ me' and Varuṇa with 'sarve samudrāḥ', he should recite the Rudra hymns, the five propitiatory hymns, 'ā no bhadrāḥ', 'bhadrā agneḥ', 'sahasraśīrṣā', 'kad rudrāya', and the longevity hymns. / Then, having made the installation of the planets in front, taking two firewood sticks and giving eye-salve, [he should offer to] Rudra with firewood sticks of aśvattha, plakṣa, palāśa, and khadira, ghee, oblation-mash, sesame, black gram, and mustard seed substances, each eight thousand, one hundred and eight, or twenty-eight times, with the Tryambaka [mantra]—

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[having offered] to Prajāpati with the mantra, with the separate and combined vyāhṛtis, a thousand or other number [of oblations] of sesame material, [and] the sviṣṭakṛt with the remainder, having prepared the caru through the procedure of measuring out and the rest, the priest together with the ācārya, at the end of the homa and presentation of balis, should perform the abhiṣeka using the [pitcher] with a hundred perforations, the four pitchers, and the pitchers of the planets. Then the sacrificer, having put on the sacred ash, having looked with his family into ghee in a bell-metal vessel with the mantra "Rūpaṃ rūpam...", having given to the ācārya that vessel along with a fee, a cow, and a pair of garments, and a fee to the priests, having fed the brāhmaṇas, and having dedicated the rite to Rudra, should eat.

Linked texts (1)

Śāntikamalākara — Kamalākarabhaṭṭa 1587, Sanskrit