India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c11.s2.5

c11.s2.5

ĀSPADA—Social status (*pratishṭhā*) amongst the Brāhmaṇas was termed *āspada* (*Āspadaṁ pratishṭhāyām*, VI.1.146), a term still current. The *āspadas* were derived from the various sacrificial performances, such as Vājapeyī, Agnihotrī, etc. An Āhitāgni (II.2.37) was one who had consecrated the Three Śrauta Fires. One who had ceremoniously lived in the place set apart for the Āvasatha Fire, was called *Āvasathika* (IV.4.74), a word still seen in modern Avasthī. Inside the *yajña-bhūmi*, the special place built for the *yajamāna* is called *āvasatha* (also *agni-śaraṇa*, because of the *āvasathya agni* consecrated there), and it was obligatory for him to stay in the *āvasatha* room for the duration of the sacrifice.