Having sacrificed with: 'To Agni, to Indra, to Āditya, to the Viśvedevas,' they take their stand to the west of the fire; the preceptor facing east, the other facing west; standing, he should initiate him while standing.

2.1.29

With: 'Fending off harsh speech, purifying the caste, a purifier, she has come to us, entering strength through in-breath and out-breath, a friendly goddess, auspicious is this girdle,' having wound the girdle three times, threefold or three times tripled, there is a single knot;

2.1.30

Or three [knots].

2.1.31

With the sacrificial cord [and the formula]: 'I invest you with the sacrificial cord of the sacrifice for long life, for good offspring, for heroic vigor, for lordship over all the Vedas, for fame, for holy splendor'—

2.1.32

Having fastened it, having raised the right arm, placing it over the head, he settles it on the left shoulder.

2.1.33

Thus he is invested with the sacrificial cord.

2.1.34

It is reversed in an ancestral rite.

2.1.35

And with the [formula for the] remainder, [he invests him] with the hide.

2.2.1

Having filled his hands joined as a cup with water, he then asks him: 'What is your name?'

2.2.2

'I am so-and-so, sir,' the other [replies].

2.2.3

'Do we share the same ṛṣi ancestry?' says the preceptor.

2.2.4

'I share the same ṛṣi ancestry, sir,' the other [replies].

2.2.5

'Become a Vedic student,' says the preceptor.

2.2.6

'May I become a Vedic student,' the other [replies].

2.2.7

With: 'Bhūr, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ,' having poured three cupfuls of water into his hands joined as a cup, having grasped his hands with his right hand over the left, he recites: 'At the impulse of the divine Savitṛ, with the arms of the Aśvins, with the hands of Pūṣan, I initiate you, so-and-so.'

2.2.8

With: 'Thee of the hosts...' for one desirous of a host;

2.2.9

With: 'May the non-harming ones come...' for a warrior;

2.2.10

With the great mystical utterances for one who is diseased.

2.2.11

[He recites:] 'Bhaga has grasped your hand; Pūṣan has grasped your hand; Savitṛ has grasped your hand; Aryaman has grasped your hand; Mitra has grasped your hand; you are Mitra by duty; Agni is your preceptor, and both so-and-so and I. / O Agni, I hand over this Vedic student to you! O Indra, I hand over this Vedic student to you! O Āditya, I hand over this Vedic student to you! O Viśvedevas, I hand over this Vedic student to you—for long life of a hundred autumns, for lordship over all the Vedas, for good renown, for welfare.'

2.2.12

With: 'Turn according to the turn of Indra; turn following the turn of Āditya,' having turned around clockwise, touching his right shoulder with his right hand stretched from thumb to forefinger, he recites:

2.2.13

'Bhūr, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ! May I, harmless, be dear to your heart; may you not sever me, so-and-so!'

2.2.14

Having silently turned around counter-clockwise, then placing his hand with fingers pointing upward on his heart, he recites: 'Into my vow I place your heart; may your mind follow my mind; heed my word with single-minded attention; may Bṛhaspati join you to me; you are a Vedic student of desire, so-and-so.'

2.2.15

With that very formula, having turned around in that same way, touching his right arm with his right hand stretched from thumb to forefinger, he says: 'You are a Vedic student; put on kindling wood; sip water; do the work; do not sleep during the day; restrain your speech until the putting on of kindling wood.'

2.2.16

With: 'This is your kindling wood, O Agni,' he puts on kindling wood;

2.2.17

Or silently.

2.3.1

After a year he recites the Sāvitrī [verse] to him, or after three nights, or immediately.

2.3.2

He should recite the Gāyatrī verse to a Brāhmaṇa;

2.3.3

The Triṣṭubh to a Kṣatriya;

2.3.4

The Jagatī to a Vaiśya;

2.3.5

Only a Sāvitrī verse, however.

2.3.6

They sit down to the north of the fire; the preceptor facing east, the other facing west.

2.3.7

'Recite the Sāvitrī verse composed by Viśvāmitra in the Gāyatrī metre, sir,' the other says.

2.3.8

With: 'Tat savitur vareṇyam,' [he recites] this [verse] with the Praṇava, with the mystical utterances, quarter-verse by quarter-verse, half-verse by half-verse, [and then] without taking breath.

2.3.9

If after three nights or a year, having performed [the rite] up to begging alms, he should wait upon [him].

2.3.10

With: 'Waters are your name; auspicious are your name; vigor are your name; unaging are your name; immortal are your name; fearless are your name; may I partake of those [waters] of yours; place me in your favor,' having made him sip water three times, he hands him the staff with the five-verse hymn: 'May he measure out welfare for us.'

2.3.11

The water pot with: 'Like a water-skin...'

2.3.12

A choice gift is the sacrificial fee.

2.3.13

Having approached the sun with, 'That eye […],' and circumambulated clockwise, he begs of the village,

2.3.14

his mother first of all,

2.3.15

or [a woman] who would not refuse him.

2.3.16

He should announce the begged food to the preceptor.

2.3.17

Permitted by the guru, he should eat.

2.3.18

Daily laying on of kindling wood, begging for food, sleeping on the ground, attendance upon the guru: these are the constant duties of a Vedic student.

2.3.19

On this there is also a verse: / 'Land, gold, a cow, clothing, an umbrella, shoes, and lastly / grain, food, and vegetables—these bring delight to the guru.'

2.4.1

Now [the ritual] of the recitation [of the Veda].

2.4.2

To the north of the fire the two sit down: the preceptor facing east, the other facing west.

2.4.3

Having greeted the feet and washed the hands of the preceptor, he takes young shoots of kuśa grass by their roots.

2.4.4

Grasping their tips with his left hand, the preceptor sprinkles them around with water using his right.

2.4.5

The preceptor having said, 'Recite, sir!'

2.4.6

The other says, 'Teach me, sir, the Sāvitrī preceded by the syllable Oṃ and the mystical utterances!'

2.4.7

The preceptor says, 'I teach you the Sāvitrī preceded by the syllable Oṃ and the mystical utterances.'

2.4.8

The other says, 'Teach me, sir, the seers!'

2.4.9

The preceptor says, 'I teach you the seers.'

2.4.10

The other says, 'Teach me, sir, the deities!'

2.4.11

The preceptor says, 'I teach you the deities.'

2.4.12

The other says, 'Teach me, sir, the metres!'

2.4.13

The preceptor says, 'I teach you the metres.'

2.4.14

The other says, 'Teach me, sir, faith and intellect!'

2.4.15

The preceptor says, 'I teach you faith and intellect.'

2.4.16

By whatever seer, dedicated to whatever deity, or in whatever metre [a hymn] may be, he should recite each mantra accordingly.

2.4.17

Or, if he does not know the seer, deity, and metre, he should recite each seer or anuvāka in the very same way.

2.4.18

Or, in the case of short hymns, he should recite an anuvāka.

2.4.19

Or as much as the guru deems fit.

2.4.20

Or he should recite the first and last [verses] of the seer, [or] of the anuvāka.

2.4.21

'The first and last'—this is the standard rule.

2.4.22

The preceptor may, if he wishes, [recite] at the beginning of each hymn.

2.4.23

Thus has been explained through the recitation of the seers.

2.4.24

Taking the young shoots of kuśa grass with [the mantra], 'Equal to you […],' and making a basin at the base with cow-dung of a bull, he sprinkles [them] around with water as prescribed.

2.4.25

Then he satisfies these [with libations]:

2.5.1

'May Agni be satisfied! May Prajāpati be satisfied! May Virūpākṣa be satisfied! Brahmā! The Vedas! The gods! The seers! And all the metres! The syllable Oṃ! The vaṣaṭ-call! The mystical utterances! The Sāvitrī! The sacrifices! Heaven and Earth! The atmosphere! The days and nights! The Sāṅkhyas! The Siddhas! The oceans! The rivers! The cows! The mountains! The fields, herbs, trees, Gandharvas, and Apsarases! The serpents! The birds! The Sādhyas! The Brahmins! The Yakṣas! The Rakṣases! The Piśācas! The beings!' / Then, having suspended the sacred thread around the neck: / 'Madhucchandas! The Śatarcins! The Mādhyamas! Gṛtsamada! Viśvāmitra! Vāmadeva! Atri! Bharadvāja! Vasiṣṭha! The Pragāthas! The Pāvamānī verses! The short hymns! The long hymns! Ending with these, may they be satisfied!' / Then, having wrapped the sacred thread around [the body]: / 'I satisfy Memory! I satisfy Steadfastness! I satisfy Faith! I satisfy Intellect! I satisfy Wisdom! I satisfy Retention!'

2.5.2

'May the metres be satisfied! May the seers be satisfied! May the deities be satisfied!'

2.5.3

Then, wearing the sacred thread over the right shoulder and looking towards the southern direction: / 'Sumantu, Jaimini, Vaiśampāyana, Paila, the teachers of the Sūtras, the Bhāṣya, the Mahābhārata, and the Dharma! / Jānanti, Bāhavi, Gārgya, Gautama, Śākalya, Bābhravya, Māṇḍavya, Māṇḍūkeya! / Suyajña, Sāṅkhyāyana, Jātūkarṇya! / Paiṅga, Śāmbavya, Aitareya! / Gārgī Vācaknavī! / Baḍavā Prātitheyī! / Sulabhā Maitreyī! / Kahoḷa Kauṣītaki! / The great Kauṣītaki! / Suyajña! / Sāṅkhyāyana! / Aitareya! / The great Aitareya! / Paiṅgya! / The great Paiṅgya! / Śāmbavaka! / The great Śāmbavaka! / Bāṣkala! / Śākala! / Gārgya! / Mahājapatra! / Sujātavaktra! / Audavāhi! / Saujāmi! / Bābhravya Somaśarman! / The Pāñcāla Vedamitra! / The preceptor Śaunaka!'

2.5.4

'And whatever other preceptors there are, may they also be satisfied!'

2.5.5

The ancestors, person by person.

2.5.6

'Suyajña! Sāṅkhyāyana! Paila! Kahoḷa! Kauṣītaki! Svadhā be to Kahoḷa Kauṣītaki!'

2.6.1

Standing and fasting for the remainder of the day.

2.6.2

In the afternoon, having begged unhusked fried barley grains, he should offer [them] in the fire with his hand, following the rule for clarified butter oblations, verse by verse with the remainder of the hymn [beginning], 'The wonderful lord of the assembly […].'

2.6.3

Having made the preceptor say a benediction over the begged food, he always observes the twilight devotion in the forest, with kindling wood in hand, restrained in speech, facing north-west towards the region after the eighth [point], when half the disc [of the sun] has set, until the appearance of the stars; / when it has passed, having muttered the great mystical utterances, the Sāvitrī, and auspicious verses.

2.6.4

In the same way in the morning, standing and facing east, until the appearance of the disc [of the sun].

2.6.5

When it has risen, early study [takes place].

2.6.6

Every day, evening and morning, having brought forward the fire, added fuel to it, swept around it, and sprinkled it with water, he offers into it when it is well kindled: the first [kindling wood] with, 'I have brought kindling wood for Agni, the great Jātavedas; with that kindling wood do you thrive, O Agni, and may we thrive through sacred study, svāhā!'; the second with, 'You are fuel; may we thrive!'; the third with, 'You are kindling wood; may we be kindled!'; the fourth with, 'This is your kindling wood, O Agni; thrive with it and swell; and may we thrive and swell!'

2.6.7

Then, having sprinkled water around, he approaches the fire with, 'May Agni, praised Jātavedas, grant us faith, intellect, freedom from failure, and memory for our welfare!'

2.6.8

He who, having offered thus, approaches the fire, prospers in one, two, three, or all of these Vedas.

2.6.9

On this there are also verses: / 'Aśvattha, khadira, arka, plakṣa, vikaṅkata, and śamī; / kāṣmarya, wild dried cow-dung, and plough-timber of all kinds [are suitable for fuel]; / bamboo is to be avoided, or any others [such as] nimba, aralu, thorny trees; / karañja and trees resembling mango are to be avoided, and those with lovely names. / But one who desires to sacrifice should employ [the approved woods] in regular or occasional rites; / the sacrificial ladle should be of palāśa wood, or the sruc of parṇa wood and the dipping spoon of khadira.'

2.7.1

Now the assignment of observances.

2.7.2

Its ritual procedure is explained by the initiation.

2.7.3

He does not recite the Sāvitrī.

2.7.4

[It lasts] up to the giving of the staff, say some.

2.7.5

During the northern course of the sun, in the waxing fortnight, having observed chastity for a day and a night, the preceptor, eating no meat,

2.7.6

leaving out the fourteenth, the eighth, and the ninth [tithis],

2.7.7

and the first and last, according to some,

2.7.8

or on whatever other [tithi] he regards as auspicious with regard to the asterisms, on that he should assign the Śukriya vow of studenthood.

2.7.9

“Become a Śukriya student,” says the preceptor.

2.7.10

“May I become a Śukriya student,” says the other.

2.7.11

In this manner, for the subsequent [vows], whatever vow he may assign, he should indicate by the respective name of each.

2.7.12

He should practice chastity for three nights,

2.7.13

or twelve nights, or a year,

2.7.14

or as long as the guru thinks fit.

2.7.15

And [likewise] for the Godāna.

2.7.16

The Śākvara [vow], however, lasts for a year, and also the Māhāvratika and the Aupaniṣada.

2.7.17

When the period is complete and the vow of studenthood has been observed, the Veda ending with the Śayu and Cārhaspatya having been recited, when he intends to recite the secret text, one should know the fixed rule of time by the instruction [given before].

2.7.18

After he has eaten his morning meal,

2.7.19

in the afternoon, having offered an oblation in the invincible quarter, the preceptor then asks him concerning the very deities to whom he had been entrusted: “In Agni, Indra, Āditya, and the Viśve Devas, has your studenthood been fulfilled?”

2.7.20

When he has replied, “It has been fulfilled, sir,” while [the student] stands west of the fire facing east, the preceptor, wrapping an unblemished cloth three times clockwise around his head, having placed the fringes on the top so that it will not slip down,

2.7.21

[says:] “For three nights, putting fuel on the fire, begging food, sleeping on the ground, and serving the guru, restrained in speech, heedful, fasting in the forest, in a temple, or at the Agnihotra, dwell.”

2.7.22

Here indeed some observe those very rules standing; they sit down only at night.

2.7.23

The student, eating no meat, going out of the village, must not look at these: reasons for suspension of recitation, one who touches a corpse, raw flesh, a Caṇḍāla, a woman who has newly given birth, a woman with clipped fingers, a cremation ground, and all dark-colored things that could not enter the mouth.

2.7.24

In the northeast direction, in a pure place, when the sun has risen, he recites [the texts] according to the rule of recitation to him who is restrained in speech and wearing a turban.

2.7.25

This rule applies only to the Mahānāmnī verses.

2.7.26

Then in the subsequent sections, he should perform daily Vedic recitation in this way: the other listens to the preceptor.

2.7.27

He gives to the preceptor a turban, a vessel of clarified butter, and a sacrificial fee, with: “Thee, that…”

2.7.28

and with: “High in heaven…”

2.7.29

Or everything with the praṇava [oṃ].

2.7.30

Here indeed some prepare a boiled mess of rice for the Viśve Devas in all sections.

2.7.31

“According to how he was entrusted,” says Māṇḍūkeya.

2.8.1

Now then the rule for the staff.

2.8.2

One should not allow anything to pass between oneself and the staff.

2.8.3

Now if any of the staff, the girdle, or the sacred thread should break or be cut, its expiation is the same as that for the chariot at marriage.

2.8.4

If the girdle cannot be repaired, having made another, he recites over it: “O goddess who knows the division between pure and impure, protector Sarasvatī, / O girdle, fallen away and broken, do thou restore my vow!”

2.8.5

With this very [verse] suitably [he addresses] the sacred thread.

2.8.6

Having offered oblations with the two verses, “Thou, Agni, vow-holder, pure…”, then placing the girdle on an auspicious tree, when the time is complete, he ties the girdle and the sacred thread to the staff.

2.8.7

This also has been said: “The sacred thread, the staff, the girdle, and likewise the skin / he should cast into water when the vow is complete, with a verse addressed to Varuṇa or with ‘Rasa’.”

2.8.8

The student, when about to go on a journey, addresses the preceptor with: “Of inhalation and exhalation…” in a low voice, and loudly with: “We shall dwell here, sir!”

2.8.9

“Inhalation and exhalation, wide-extended, with thee I take refuge. I entrust thee to the divine protector. O god Savitṛ, this is thy student; protect him, may he not die!” in a low voice; [and] “Om, hail!” the preceptor [says] loudly; “Om, hail!” the preceptor [says] loudly.

2.8.10

Thus ends the second chapter in the Kauṣītakagṛhya.

Linked texts (1)

Kauṣītakagṛhyasūtra — Sanskrit

Kaushitakagrihyasutra 2

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