India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c11.s2.18

c11.s2.18

OTHER ACCESSORIES—*Yajña* required a number of accessory articles of which some are mentioned in the *Ashṭādhyāyī*. That place in the *yajña* was called *saṁstāva* (III.3.31) where the Chhandoga singers sang the hymns in the Soma *Kratus*, a sort of *stuti-bhūmi* (*Amara*). Another portion was the *avaskara* for throwing refuse (IV.3.28), also called *utkara*. The *kuśa* grass, necessary for sacrificial ceremonies, is referred to as *pavitra* which had become a *saṁjñā* word (*Puvaḥ saṁjñāyām*, III.2.185; cf. *Yaju.* I. 2, 3, 12). The Soma plant was required for Soma sacrifices. Patañjali mentions *pūtika* grass as a substitute for Soma, but observes that Soma had not become obsolete (*na cha tatra somo bhūtapūrvo bhavati*, I.1.56, I.137).