Kauthumagrihyasutra (Kauthumagṛhyasūtra)

The Kauthuma Domestic Sūtra.

KauthGS 1:

Now then, the expiations.
Now then, for the order of ceremonies: either a householder or a Vedic student; a householder in the domestic fire, a Vedic student in the common fire. In the householder's rituals, whether in serving [the fire] or when the studentship is broken, the occasional rite preceded by the morning oblation is to be performed in the common fire.
In the case of re-establishment of the fire, he should avoid [the fire of another]; beginning in the evening, if an expiation for the particular occasion is incurred, the rite is to be performed by both of them there.
If the oblation has lapsed on the full-moon day, they should perform those respective rites with both [oblations]; and if on a joint day, he should perform it having combined [them]; in the absence of that, he should perform it immediately; but on the subsequent new-moon day, there is an expiation. For three nights or five nights, or from midnight, those [oblations] preceded by an expiation sacrifice—both of them should sacrifice, having combined both joint days; when those two rites have lapsed, similarly in that case, if there is an omission or if it has lapsed beyond a month, they should perform the re-establishment of the fire.
For the sake of expiation, either a Prājāpatya penance [is performed]; and further there is a particular rule: if one touches the domestic fire in the house-fire, in that ritual either one is to be performed; he should recite both of the mantras; taking [the wood] connected with those kindling sticks, the ritual then is descent [of the fire]; they should perform breath-control.
Having sprinkled [water] silently, having worshipped with the mantra, upon the mystic utterance […] both of them, having laid on two kindling sticks, he should recite the mantra for the offering rite.
Here the cake is to be made silently, or the wife [does it]; thus equally they should perform the internalisation of the sacred fire. Or rather, it must be performed; he is individually one requiring expiation; beyond that, there should be a particular rule; if [the fire] is in another fire, it is to become our own; similarly, one should perform the descent of the sacrificial [fire]; the initial internalisation of the sacred fire is well known; having released that […], you should say: “Bhūr bhuvas svar”.
Standing silently, he should not go away; in that keeping of the fire […] having failed in the rite; in one’s own domestic fire, he is individually one requiring expiation; beyond this, there is a particular rule: if there is no internalisation according to the procedures of the clarified butter offerings, [then] the internalisation is well known; having begun again, whatever rite from the morning oblation up to the introductory formula might be omitted, if it is the morning oblation, some say there is an expiation; repetition of a deficient rite and the like; beyond the primary rite there is expiation; beyond this, the particular rule is explained next according to the ritual procedure for cooked mess; in a place sloping towards the north-east, there he should smear the sacrificial ground.

KauthGS 2:

Now then, having faced east, having sat down upon darbha grass with points directed to the north loudly pronouncing ‘Om’, he should then have the drawing of the lines performed while looking into the domestic fire.
Having offered that morning oblation, he should obtain a brahmin priest who knows the Veda; in his absence, the rule of the Khādira school [applies]; having [said]: ‘A parasol and an upper garment’, that is the rule of the Khādira school—so say some—he should invite the brahmin priest.
He should say to the brahmin priest: ‘Bhūr bhuvas svar; Bṛhaspati is the Brahmā priest, I am the human one.’ The preceptor should give two blades of darbha grass. The brahmin priest, [reciting:] ‘Parāvasu is cast away’, having cast away a blade of grass to the south, having spread darbha grass with points directed east for a seat, [reciting:] ‘May I sit in the seat of the Vasu’, facing north, should sit down softly uttering ‘Om’. The preceptor, having worshipped the brahmin priest, then having taken a bronze vessel or an unbroken earthen vessel, excluding copper, [or] silver, having taken husked grains of rice with a new winnowing-basket, having moved it to the north, should fill the vessel once for the purpose of the ritual pouring out of sacrificial grain.
It is to be done twice silently. He should say: ‘I sprinkle [it] with Om.’ The waters clarify [it]; having moved it to the north, then, among the procedures of the clarified butter offerings beginning with sweeping up [the sacrificial ground] as stated in the domestic manual, the rite of the new-moon day is to be done; having lifted that vessel and placed it in the middle of the fire, he should say: ‘[This is] the ritual pouring out of sacrificial grain.’ Then he should cook the living grains of rice.
Having basted [it] with the sacrificial ladle, having moved it to the north of the two ends of the grass strewn around the fire, he should perform the consecration by sprinkling again.
Then, taking the sacrificial firewood, a particular rule regarding the kindling stick is stated there:
The Ṛgvedic priests sacrifice with khādira wood, the Baudhāyanas with palāśa, the Sāmavedic chanters with udumbara.
Having caused them to be made a span in length, with edges like a whip’s back, straight-tipped, of the measure of the thumb-joint [or] of the measure of an oblation of clarified butter, with well-marked tips—in their absence, with seventeen [blades] of darbha grass—having taken [them], taking these seventeen: one for the sake of what is not destroyed, one for the sake of the introductory formula, fifteen for the sake of the sacrificial firewood; having basted [them] with the sacrificial ladle, having placed the tip, the middle, and the root to the north for the sake of the after-offerings, having thrown the fifteen into the fire, he should mutter the introductory formula with the remainder; as long as […] ends in śaṭha, so long wearing good garments, having offered the forms into the fire, having worshipped the remaining unhusked grains, then having offered with the three mystic utterances, then having offered the mystic utterance of desire, he should offer the fourfold-taken [clarified butter] into the two eyes [of the fire] with the sacrificial ladle.
Among these, in the ritual procedure for cooked mess, these should be according to purpose; but the specific rule there is stated in the manual on the granting of boons.
And by the rule of the Khādira school, from what is stated in the domestic manual: ‘according to the opinion of Kuthuma’—having said this, the Kauthuma follower follows the path of Kuthuma.

KauthGS 3:

Now then, having inspected the vessel of cooked oblation, it should be placed in front; some say it is to be moved to the north; it should be done in front; a division into two parts of the cooked oblation is to be made; having set down the sacrificial ladle [and] vessel […], in its absence, a bronze vessel; having basted the middle thereof, having cut off a portion once from the eastern part of the cooked oblation, a second portion cut off indeed in the middle part, having basted again with the remainder in the sacrificial ladle, he should offer it into the middle of the fire; and if the second [portion] is from the western part of the cooked oblation, having cut off a portion once, having basted twice, he should offer it in the north-eastern part; if they are descendants of Jamadagni, from the middle, the west, and the east, having cut off a portion once, [an oblation] is made of the heat of the cooked oblations by a descendant of Bhṛgu in the middle of kāmarṣya wood; he should remove [it]; with ‘By the strength of both’, he should do it twice silently; if there is an affliction in the two ritual fires, he should offer a Prājāpatya penance or an expiation.
When [an oblation] has lapsed and been omitted at that moment, having sacrificed to sixty deities, and that day and night has elapsed […], among these, if it is to be done on the new and full moon days by the master in the middle, it is an expiation; also to perform a rite in the domestic fire; or if in the fourth [month] [the wife] in her courses is not followed by an outcaste, after a year, as is the kṛcchra penance and tonsure, so is the expiation, the expiation.

KauthGS 4:

Now, the expiation for the joint days: whether in the northern course of the sun or the southern course of the sun, in the sixth [month] beginning with spring, among these four, lunar and solar—if [an omission] should occur in the middle of a sacrifice to the joint-day fires, an expiation must be performed. In the domestic fire, even for a rite in season, beginning on the fourth day of the hand[-taking], until that month has passed; if it should be performed in the southern course in the southern fire, an expiation must be performed with the intentions [set for] the beginning of that month. In a marriage, if in the first half of the month, or if in the other, it must be performed beginning from the full-moon day. With the intentions of the new- and full-moon sacrifices, when two sacrificial grass seats are prescribed, there, on the day of the second grass seat, opening the mouth, an obstruction [arises] in the sacrifice; therefore, an obstruction should be caused with those two grass seats. An expiation must be performed with three [mantras]; [one should offer] the avamārayās: if [an omission occurs] in the middle of those svadhā and viṣṭi [offerings], an expiation must be performed. During the establishment of these two [fires], or at an eclipse on a joint day: '[Agni,] tell Indra...' / With the first [verse] in the paṅkti [metre], and the second in the gāyatrī [metre], having stated: 'The deity for both is the Moon', the expiation [is performed]. / And if at a solar joint day [eclipse]: 'The wonderful face of the gods...' [and] 'Upward that [all-knowing god]...', with these initial [verses]—the first in the triṣṭubh [metre] and the second in the gāyatrī [metre]—having stated: 'The deity for both is the Sun', the expiation [is performed]. If one begins anew without an expiation, an expiation must be performed. Having intended that, in the middle of ancestral rites, if the offering is made there into the fire, or offered into the hand, eating in that manner, an expiation must be performed. Now, the special rule: by restrictive observances, if between the husband and wife there is menstruation or approach of a cāṇḍāla, an expiation must be performed. During the establishment of those two [fires], if in a heap [of grain] there is a decrease or an increase through touching, an expiation must be performed. During the establishment of those two [fires], having entered another village and traversed a path, an expiation must be performed. Between those two, if both go to another [partner] or in case of daytime sexual intercourse, an expiation must be performed. If a man, during eating, [engages in] such an act and sexual intercourse, or having touched a dog or a cat, an expiation must be performed. Now, a special rule: in the case of those without fire in the domestic sphere, having touched a widow, an expiation must be performed. One who is shelterless, one who enjoys the lower part of a śūdra woman, a Cārvāka, one who approaches another's wife, one who abandons one's own duty, one who constantly eats another's food, likewise one who takes what is not offered, a slayer of a cow or a brahmin, one whose family keeps prostitutes, one who eats a king's food, one who abandons the text of study, one who defames learning and disputes with the teacher, a destroyer of living beings, one who eats the remnants of a cat's food, a seller of the Veda, a defiler of a maiden and a chaste wife, one who abandons his own family, an abuser of an upādhyāya teacher, one who approaches the wife of a guru, an eater of meat, one who neglects the proper time for ancestral rites, likewise one who eats at an ancestral rite, a destroyer of a pond, one who lengthens [the measure of] rain, one who is always impassioned, a striker of a brahmin, a thrower of earth and stones, one who is always impure with food remnants, a slanderer of vipras—these are equal to cāṇḍālas. If touched at the domestic fire, the garment of the husband and wife must be [washed]; an expiation must be performed. For the purpose of expiation, sixty deities are declared. / With the three mystic utterances, repetition [is made]; again, with the three, it is to be made twelvefold. The Prājāpatya penance [consisting of five oblations] is not the fivefold one ending with the all-inclusive formula: with the three [verses], 'Protect us, Agni, from sin...', one Prājāpatya penance; and [the verse] 'Whatever debt [to Yama]...', ending with the all-inclusive formula; the fourth is the Sviṣṭakṛt offering. Such is the rite of expiation for these. Thus, knowing the specified expiation in the Brāhmaṇa, he is freed from the body, he who is freed from the body.

KauthGS 5:

Now, the inversion of the expiations: everywhere, repeated use of water. Having completed the Prājāpatya penance and the 'Whatever debt [to Yama]...' [mantra] and offered the ardhyāśabali oblation: if prior to that there is an inversion, he should offer the 'Whatever debt [to Yama]...' [mantra]. When everywhere the clarified butter is not consecrated, having offered even the patron of the sacrifice, there is satisfaction. That sacrifice in which the brahmin receives no sacrificial fee becomes demonic. He who sacrifices without sacrificial firewood falls into hell—both the patron of the sacrifice and the priest. Everywhere, through disregarding the proper time for the oblation, a vipra is a destroyer of the sacrifice; with three [omissions], he is a slayer of a brahmin. Disregarding the time of twilight devotion, a vipra is a destroyer of the celestial light. Everywhere, study during the evening twilight is a destroyer of the Veda. Giving instruction to another caste is the destruction of a guru. Everywhere, one who abandons [his duties] by his own will is a slayer of his ancestors. These are those guilty of major sins; there should be no talking with them, nor should they be greeted with respectful salutation; on the road [one should not] look at their face. If done inadvertently, one should murmur the gāyatrī [verse] eight times.

KauthGS 6:

The joining of the fires of two wives. / Now then, among all varnas, if there is remarriage for brahmins: having previously brought forward half of the domestic fire, for the purpose of joining them together, on the fourth day, having begun in the evening, the patron of the sacrifice, having caused the previous fire to descend, making a sacrificial ground there, having established [it] with the triplet beginning 'agniṃ vo vṛdhantam', taking the next wife's [fire] in a vessel to the new fire, having joined [them] with the triplet beginning 'imaṃ stomam', at the end of each triplet [reciting] four syllables in a whisper; then, clarified butter having been offered with the six [verses] beginning 'agnir aitu', he should make the patron of the sacrifice recite [the formula]; having controlled the breath, having sprinkled around, [he offers:] 'To Agni svāhā! To Prajāpati svāhā!'; having sprinkled around again, having performed the internalisation of the sacred fire, having sung the Vāmadevya; if in another region, he should perform it there in a common fire; having joined it as before, if there is marriage with a non-preferred [or supplementary bride], there is a special rule there; we shall explain that: having invited brahmins, he should feed them a hundred cakes, or eight; having bathed and adorned himself, taking water with a water pot, going into another forest, looking for an arka branch endowed with these qualities in that place: un-withered, tender, having auspicious leaves, bearing fruit, broad, facing eastward, possessing [vitality]; for the sake of its father, having examined a brahmin who knows the Veda, having bathed [the branch], he should not carry away the arka branch; having covered it with a new garment, the brahmin gives the gift of the arka maiden [saying] 'devasya tvā...'; [the groom says] 'I receive the bridegroom's [gift]'; making a sacrificial ground in front, sitting to the north of the arka [branch], having surrounded the arka branch with eight brahmins, all facing east or facing north, the brahmin, having then worshipped the brahmin, should give ten cakes to each; placing the remainder to the north, having established a common fire, having then performed [the rites] from the sweeping up to the introductory formula, having offered the limb of the sacrificial firewood, having then offered with the three mystic utterances, with the six [verses] beginning 'agnir aitu', [and] again with the three [mystic utterances]; then the patron of the sacrifice, standing, taking circumambulation from left to right of the fire, Agni and Āditya, [with] internalisation of all brahmins, [and] externalisation of heaven and earth, should silently perform circumambulation three times; sitting down in his own place, he should take the companion with his right hand; he recites in a whisper 'tad gṛhṇāmi te...'; then, having completed the later offerings, he should give ten remaining cakes to the priest, [and] himself should eat ten; having sprinkled around the fire there, having worshipped it, he should offer clarified butter with the three mystic utterances; having discharged that, then the Vāmadevya, the words of blessing of the brahmins; he should go to the maiden's house; then remarriage, remarriage.

KauthGS 7:

Now, the examination of the fertile period (ṛtukāla). Being purified after the first menses, having bathed, [performing] the recitation of auspicious blessings, having adorned the bed-chamber, having scattered flowers and fruits, having decorated each direction with lamps, making an oblong sacrificial ground with fragrant paste, having strewn upon it palāśa leaves with their tips pointing northward, and having strewn a new cloth above it with its ends pointing eastward, having made his wife lie down with her head to the east and face turned upward, stepping upon the earth with knees and feet, near her, the husband, facing towards her there, touching her organ, having muttered eight times 'May Viṣṇu prepare the womb' (viṣṇur yoniṃ kalpayatu), there will be eight sons; at the proper time the husband is to be approached; another man must not be taken; the fertile period lasts six nights.

KauthGS 8:

Now then, the consecration of the fetus: from the sixth day of sexual union onwards, knowing that sons are born on even days, sons are born on even [nights], [and] daughters are born on uneven nights, when it is the bride's first pregnancy, through the consecration of the womb, for the sake of consecrating the offspring about to be born, he should perform the puṃsavana and the sīmantonnayana; counting one month from whatever day conception occurred, in the third month, on an auspicious day, then the puṃsavana; the ancestral offering for prosperity on the preceding day; then, on the following day at dawn, having bathed, having smeared a four-cornered sacrificial ground, sitting upon darbha grass with tips to the north, the wife to the south and the patron of the sacrifice to the north, facing east, the brahmin priest, then having brought forward the fire or without it, having offered the morning oblation, having offered [the rites] from the sweeping up to the introductory formula, having offered the limb of the sacrificial firewood, having then offered with the three mystic utterances; then the patron of the sacrifice, standing behind his wife, should touch her right waist down to the navel, saying 'Two males!'; sitting down in his own place, then having completed the later offerings, the bride having bathed again, the patron of the sacrifice, having placed flowers, unbroken grains, and twenty-one barley grains in a new winnowing basket, taking it, going out from the village, having gone near the king of banyan trees, having approached the goddess residing there, [praying] 'O pervasive with vigour... grant me enduring prosperity, therefore may they fulfil my desire!', having worshipped with flowers and unbroken grains, having scattered barley over it, having cut a branch with its tip to the north using an axe, he should catch that herb either above the ground or in the mid-air; having brought it home with its tip upward, having installed it in the middle of the storehouse or in the place of the water-jar on a proper seat, then having smeared a square sacrificial ground, having performed [the rites] up to the introductory formula, having offered the limb of the sacrificial firewood, and again having offered with the three mystic utterances, having had that herb ground by an auspicious maiden or a brother facing east, taking it as she brings it, the patron of the sacrifice should mutter [the verse]...; then, having made the wife lie down to the west of the fire with her head to the east and face turned upward, the patron of the sacrifice should lie between the bride and the fire facing west; pressing the juice of the paste into the right nostril with the mantra beginning 'punānagnir', having squeezed it out, placing the paste in water, he should give the garment to the brahmin; she should take that juice into her stomach; both sitting in their own places, then having completed the later offerings, then feeding of brahmins, then feeding of brahmins.

KauthGS 9:

Now, in the fourth month, the parting of the hair (sīmantonnayana) should be performed. The ancestral offering for prosperity (nāndīmukha) [is performed] on the preceding day. Then, having bathed at dawn on the following day, the patron of the sacrifice, following the sequence of the rite for producing a male child (puṃsavana), brings an udumbara branch to the house. And having cooked rice grains mixed with sesame with a porcupine quill that has three white rings on the common fire, and having placed it to the north of the sacrificial ground, having performed [the ritual] up to the introductory formula (prapada) as before, having made the offering of the kindling sticks (idhmāṅga), and having offered again with the three mystic utterances (vyāhṛti); then the patron of the sacrifice, standing behind, taking that udumbara branch, or having muttered 'ayam ūrjā...', looking at the tip of the nose, parts [her hair upwards]... having said 'yenāditih...'; taking [it] again with the quill, according to some [with the verse to] Rākā; establishing [it], having silently performed consecration by sprinkling three times, sitting in his own place, then having completed the subsequent offerings, having made the wife who holds the vessel say, 'What do you see?', having sung the Vāmadevya chant, then the feeding of brahmins, then the feeding of brahmins.

KauthGS 10:

Now, at the time of the birth of a son, he begins the offering for the woman in labour (soṣyantīhoma). Having brought [fire] from one portion, having bathed, having smeared the sacrificial ground, having performed [the rites] from the sweeping up to the introductory formula (prapada), having made the offering of the kindling sticks (idhmāṅga); then at the time of the emergence of the head, having offered clarified butter with the two [verses], 'yātir aśvī...', at the word 'asau' ('so-and-so') he should speak the name... [...] at the word 'asau' a name connected with a lunar asterism should be given, or 'Magha'... after the naming ceremony, he should himself perform the rite separately.
I shall describe the birth-rite (jātakarma): [...] taking one pala each of honey and clarified butter, joining them both together with 'yaśaso yaśaso 'si...', grasping together with a piece of gold with the two thumbs or the two ring fingers—in the absence of that, with kuśa grass—or barley flour mixed with clarified butter... with honey and clarified butter with 'medhāṃ te...'; then the priestly fee to the brahmin.

KauthGS 11:

Then the moon-viewing rite (candradarśana).
After ten nights from the birth, or on the second [day], or on that [same] lunar asterism, that boy... I shall describe how: the ancestral offering for prosperity (nāndīmukha) [is performed] on the preceding day; then, having bathed at dawn on the [following] day, the patron of the sacrifice, having smeared a four-cornered sacrificial ground, having divided the fire from a portion of the domestic fire, having performed [the rites] from the sweeping up to the introductory formula (prapada), having made the offering of the kindling sticks (idhmāṅga); then the mother, taking her boy, clothed in unwashed garments, sitting on the south facing west, having caused that to be done, placing [him] into the hand of her husband, having gone behind, sits on the north. The patron of the sacrifice, looking at his boy, having offered with the three mystic utterances (vyāhṛti), having handed [him] back, the patron of the sacrifice touches each eye with the middle of the five [fingers] with the two [formulas], 'ko 'si...'; touches the two ears with the four-syllable [formula], 'katamo 'si...'; touches the root of the middle of the tip of the nose with the three-syllable [formula], 'eṣo 'si...'; touches each hand and arm with the four-syllable [formula], 'amṛto 'si...'; having touched each hand and arm with the four-syllable [formula], 'amṛto 'si...', having taken the head with the remainder; then the mother, taking the boy with her left hand, should whisper the aforesaid appellation into his right ear. Then the patron of the sacrifice should take the right [ear/hand]. Then he should speak in a low voice the name used in greeting. Then, having completed the subsequent offerings, having sung the Vāmadevya chant according to rule, having caused the chaste wife to recite blessings, then the feeding of brahmins.

KauthGS 12:

Now, therefore, the reverence of the moon (candropasthāna). It should be performed on the third, fifth, seventh, or sixth or eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight, as will be explained; it is to be done in the third month or in the sixth month on a day purified according to the five astrological components (pañcāṅga).
Having appointed a Sāmavedic chanter (chandoga), a brahmin who knows the Veda, that good brahmin, going forth from the village before sunrise, having placed [the vessel] with its top... taking a golden water vessel, or a bronze one, avoiding an earthen one, having waded knee-deep into the water, having filled it with the triplet 'āpo hi ṣṭhā...', having lifted it up with the mantra 'śaṃ no devīḥ...', having placed it on his head, having stepped out of the water with 'yaḥ pāvamānīḥ...', he should enter the village with the Vāmadevya chant. Nowhere should there be conversation, nor should he smile; being cheerful, having placed that water vessel on a seat in the house of the patron of the sacrifice, near an assembly of the gods, or in the middle of a cow-pen, and having covered it on top with kuśa grass... until sunset... standing there, the patron of the sacrifice, having gone outside the house, having smeared a four-cornered sacrificial ground in a clean place, facing south, having entered the circle with 'hā u ya candra...', sitting facing east, having performed the recitation of auspicious blessings (svastivācana), having filled the hands of the patron of the sacrifice with a handful of flowers (puṣpāñjali), standing facing the moon; then the mother also, having lifted up the boy, being on the south facing west, having handed that boy into the hand of her husband, having gone behind, should stand on the north. The patron of the sacrifice holds the boy above the handful of flowers; having revered [the moon] with the three [verses], '...'; having handed [the child] facing north to the mother, he should make a hollow of his hands. Having filled that hollow of the hands with the sacred syllable (praṇava), he should pour out the hollow of water line by line. Having filled it again silently, having likewise poured it out silently twice, sitting facing west, having sung the Vāmadevya chant, then the feeding of brahmins, then the feeding of brahmins.

KauthGS 13:

In the sixth month is the first feeding of solid food. The ancestral offering for prosperity is on the preceding day. On the following day, having bathed at dawn, the patron of the sacrifice cooks barley meal or rice boiled in milk. Whether [regular] rites [have been performed] or not, [with grain] husked into its natural state, the father and the mother, taking the boy and sitting down as at the birth-rite, shall feed him the rice boiled in milk at the beginning of the ceremony. Then the feeding of brahmins; then the feeding of brahmins.

KauthGS 14:

In the third year tonsure should be performed. The ancestral offering for prosperity is on the preceding day. Then, on the following day, having bathed at dawn, the patron of the sacrifice smears a square sacrificial ground. Having placed [the fire etc.] beginning with the fire for clarified butter to the south outside the circle, the barber sits facing east. Then a vessel with warm water and a mirror; immediately following that, a receptacle for hair; to the west of that, a bundle of darbha grass; to the north, [or] north-west, etc., of the sacrificial ground, having bathed [the boy]; fresh dung of a red bull, common [substances]; a pot-cooked offering of kṛsara, [or] what is cooked for ordinary food, saying: ‘Let there not be a sacrifice in an unfit place.’ Then, having established the domestic fire and offered the morning oblation, in a clan other than his own, in one place he should have a line made [with hair-cutting]. Some [have] three tufts of hair, some five tufts of hair, according to the rule of their clan and family. They should bury the hair in the wilderness; some dispose of it [otherwise]. The young boy having bathed again, the patron of the sacrifice sits down in his own place. Then, having completed the later [rites] and sung the Vāmadevya chant, then the feeding of brahmins; then the feeding of brahmins.

KauthGS 15:

In the eighth year is studentship; before the twelfth year, [or] in the eighth year he should perform it, under an auspicious constellation mentioned in the Smṛti. On that day, having undertaken [the rite] in the forenoon and having first performed the ancestral offering for prosperity; then, on an auspicious day having undertaken [the rite] in the forenoon and having first performed the ancestral offering for prosperity; then, on an auspicious day in the forenoon, the preceptor, having bathed [the boy] along with his head and had a complete shaving done of the young initiate, having bathed, decorated himself, and put on an unwashed garment, smears a square sacrificial ground and sits facing east. Stepping onto the foot-washing platform, the student does likewise to the right; the preceptor himself, or of wood, should silently give a new thread [and] wrap it on him. In the same manner with gold, with the hairy hide, having put on the sacred thread, the two having sipped water again, having established the domestic fire […] in the tonsure, initiation, and the shaving of the beard. Then, having performed from the sweeping [of the hearth] up to the introductory formula, having offered the limb of firewood, then, while [the boy] holds on from behind, having offered with the three mystic utterances, taking the young boy with both hands, having made him recite […], he should look [at him] meditating on Savitṛ. With [the formula], ‘With warm [water]...’, he should sprinkle warm water, meditating on Vāyu. The young boy having filled the cavity of his hands with his right hand, having had the hair shaved on the right side, having had it shaved with [the formula], ‘May the waters moisten...’, he should look at the mirror with [the formula], ‘You are the tusk of Viṣṇu.’ Having washed the bundle of darbha grass with [the formula], ‘O herb, protect him!’, and having placed it in its spot, with [the formula], ‘Axe, do not harm him!’, joining the mirror and the herbs, the brahmins should sprinkle him with [the verse], ‘With which Pūṣan...’ Another man, having cut off the tips of the hair once with an iron [razor] along with the tips of the darbha grass, silently throws them into bull’s [dung]; and again, beginning with the moistening and so forth, in this manner on the back and on the north. Having seized his head with [the formula], ‘A life of three lifetimes...’, he should mutter. Approaching him, he should say to the brahmin: ‘Perform [it]!’ The preceptor should ask: ‘What is your name?’ The student should himself say his asterism name. Silently, into the student’s joined hands, and so on the ground, the student [pours water]. Then the preceptor should speak. With both hands he should take the young boy’s joined hands. With [the formula], ‘At the impulse of the god...’, the preceptor reciting the mantra, turning around as if toward the sun, standing facing east; standing behind the preceptor facing east, touching the student’s navel region with both palms: up to [the formula ending with] ‘... of the vital breaths.’ With [the formula], ‘Who...’, [touching] the heart; with ‘kṛsara’, the throat; […] left with left, with [the formula], ‘To the god you...’; or on the opposite side, the left [with], ‘To Prajāpati you...’ And again, the young initiate facing east, the preceptor [says]: ‘You are a Vedic student, [Name]! Add firewood! Sip water! Do your duty! Do not sleep during the day!’ That is, you are a Vedic student. ‘Perform your fire-rite! [...]’ Thus the preceptor should say: ‘It should be done.’ Having replied, ‘Let it be so!’, and having offered the morning oblation, having sung his own hymn, he should perform breath-control. In his own clan or in another clan: in his own clan he should give the portion of the Veda; or in another clan, having divided it, in his own clan in the eastern region, in one region having said ‘...’, they know it to be the bringing forward [of fire]. Having placed that fire directly on the sacrificial grass, then having performed from the sweeping up to the introductory formula, having offered the limb of firewood, then, while [the boy] holds on from behind, having offered with the three mystic utterances, and again having offered with [all of them] combined, the young boy having offered with [the verses] beginning with ‘O Agni, lord of vows...’, he should then lead him between the fire and the teacher. Considering it thus, the brahmin preceptor standing, facing east, placing darbha grass with tips pointing east, the brahmin standing, having filled and taken the water vessel, having made the student join his hands, the brahmin having filled around the hands of the preceptor, the preceptor having muttered the mantra, he should make him look at the student’s joined hands. Then, the Vedic student, having performed breath-control, having sprinkled around and worshipped, should take one piece of firewood with [the formula], ‘To Agni [I offer] the kindling stick...’ Having offered a second [stick] mentally to Prajāpati, having revered the fire with [the formula], ‘Faith and wisdom...’, having introduced himself, having taken ashes with [the formula], ‘A life of three lifetimes...’, joining them with the middle, ring finger, and thumb: on the forehead with [the formula], ‘You are the drop of Brahmā’; on the head with ‘You are the drop of life’; on the chest with ‘You are the drop of prosperity’; on the throat with ‘You are the drop of faith’; on the navel with ‘You are the drop of intellect’; at the root of the right arm with ‘You are the drop of splendour’; on the left or on the back with ‘You are the drop of desire’; or on all limbs with ‘You are all desires.’ Then he should beg for alms. He should give those alms to the Brahmā priest. Dependent on the preceptor, he should remain silent. Then he should perform the wiping as prescribed on the middle limb. In the evening is the fire-rite. Then the feeding of brahmins; then the feeding of brahmins.