[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India)](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930) › v2.c15 # History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c15: Synopsis of Contents History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c15 - **Language:** English ## Contents - [v2.c15.64](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.64) — 5 parts ### Synopsis of Contents ### [v2.c15.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.1) CHAP. I. 1—18 ### [v2.c15.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.2) Topics of dharmaśāstra. Various divisions of \*dharma\*. Dharmas common to all (sādhāraṇa-dharma). Truth, love, charity, self-restraint. Standard of moral values. Four puruṣārthas (goals of human existence) and their gradation. Limits of Āryāvarta. Bharatavarṣa. ### [v2.c15.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.3) CHAP. II. 19—104 ### [v2.c15.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.4) \*Varṇa\*. High eulogy and condemnation of caste system. Characteristic features of modern caste system. History of the word \*varṇa\*. Ārya and dāsa or dasyu. Viś in the Ṛgveda. Position of Śūdra in Vedic Literature. Position of the three higher varṇas \*inter se\*. Professions and crafts in Vedic Saṁhitās. Rathakāra and Niṣāda. Propositions deducible from Vedic Literature. List of various crafts and avocations culled from Vedic Literature. Ramifications of caste traced by dharmaśāstra writers to mixed unions. Two postulates as to castes in dharmaśāstra writers. \*Anuloma\* and \*pratiloma\* castes. \*Jāti\*. Status of children of mixed castes. \*Varṇasaṁkara\*. \*Jātyutkarṣa\* and \*Jātyapakarṣa\*. Professional castes and guilds. List of castes mentioned by works from 500 B. C. to 1000 A. D. Revolt against the caste system in the Mahābhārata. A few of the castes mentioned by medieval works. ### [v2.c15.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.5) CHAP. III. 105–164 ### [v2.c15.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.6) Duties, disabilities and privileges of varṇas. Brāhmaṇa's special privileges and duties—study of veda, teaching the veda, officiating at and performing sacrifices, making and receiving gifts. Rules about receiving gifts. Special duty of śūdras to serve higher castes. Divisions of śūdras. Brāhmaṇa in distress may do the work specially meant for kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. Brāhmaṇa and money-lending, agriculture, sale and barter as means of livelihood in distress. Begging. High eulogy of brāhmaṇas. Enumeration and discussion of special privileges claimed by brāhmaṇas. Disabilities of śūdras, viz. not authorized to study the veda nor to perform vedic sacrifices with vedic mantras, liability to receive higher punishment for certain offences, not to hold high offices like that of judge. ### [v2.c15.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.7) \*Untouchability.\* Hardly any Vedic passage supports it. \*Antyajas\* according to the smṛtis. Rules about shadow of untouchables. Public roads and untouchables. Matters in which immediate relief required. ### [v2.c15.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.8) \*Slavery.\* Existence of slavery in Vedic times. Kinds of slaves in the smṛtis. Manumission of slaves. ### [v2.c15.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.9) \*Saṁskāras.\* Purpose of saṁskāras. Divisions of saṁskāras. Divergence as to number of saṁskāras. List of saṁskāras named by all or most of the smṛti writers. Saṁskāras of śūdras. Easy expiation provided for non-performance of saṁskāras. Garbhādhāna known from the times of the Atharvaveda. Procedure of Garbhādhāna in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣad and smṛtis. Whether it is a saṁskāra of the woman or of the child. Altar in gṛhya rites. \*Homa.\* Preliminary rites in all saṁskāras such as Gaṇapatipūjana, Puṇyāhavācana, Mātṛkāpūjana, Nāndīśrāddha. \*Puṁsavana.\* \*Anavalobhana.\* \*Sīmantonnayana.\* \*Viṣṇubali.\* \*Soṣyantīkarma.\* \*Jātakarma\* and several component parts of it such as \*homa\*, \*Medhājanana\*. \*Nāmakaraṇa.\* How names were given at various periods; several names for the same person. Rules about names. \*Karṇavedha.\* \*Niṣkramaṇa.\* \*Annaprāśana.\* \*Varṣavardhana.\* \*Cūlā.\* \*Vidyārambha.\* ### [v2.c15.10](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.10) \*Upanayana.\* Meaning of the word. Origin and development of this sacrament. It implies gāyatryupadeśa. Ancient features of upanayana. Originally a simple ceremony. The proper age for upanayana for the three varṇas. The auspicious time for it. Rules about the skin, the garments, the girdle and the staff of the brahmacārin of different varṇas. The preliminary rites of Upanayana such as homa. The principal rites of upanayana. History of yajñopavīta from ancient times. Rules for manufacturing and wearing yajñopavīta. Whether women had upanayana performed and could wear yajñopavīta. Wearing of yajñopavīta given up by kṣatriyas in the first few centuries after Christ. Whether upanayana performed for the blind, the deaf and dumb, idiots &c. Upanayana of mixed castes and of the aśvattha tree. Imparting of sacred Gāyatrī to the student. ### [v2.c15.11](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.11) Vyāhṛtis and 'om'. Eulogy of Gāyatrī. The dharmas (duties) of brahmacārins. Bhikṣā (begging) for food by brahmacārin. Performance of Saṁdhyā twice daily and rules about the principal elements of saṁdhyā, such as ācamana, prāṇāyāma, mārjana, aghamarṣaṇa, arghya to the sun, japa of Gāyatrī, upasthāna (worship). Nyāsas and Mudrās. Study of the veda, the first duty. Features of the ancient educational system, such as oral instruction, teaching without stipulating for a fee, student's stay with the teacher. Qualifications of a good teacher and the qualities of a good pupil. Students did work for the teacher. Rules about honouring the teacher and elders, bowing to them and about the return of greetings. Saluting women relatives and the wife of the teacher. Rules about showing courtesy and precedence on public roads. Grounds of showing respect. Duration of student-hood. Subjects of study at various periods. Corporal punishment of pupils. Education of kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras and of women. Merits and defects of the ancient system of education. The \*Veda-vratas\*. Perpetual (naiṣṭhika) students. \*Patitasāvitrīka\* (whose upanayana had not been performed). Whether kṣatriyas and vaiśyas exist in the Kali age. The Vrātyastoma for those whose upanayana had not been performed at all. Taking back those who had been forcibly converted or who belonged to other faiths. Tolerance in ancient India. Absorption of foreign elements. \*Punarupanayana\* (performing upanayana again). \*Anadhyāya\* (cessation of study) on various days and for various reasons. \*Keśānta\* or \*Godāna\*. \*Snāna\* or \*Samāvartana\* (the student's return from the teacher after finishing Vedic study). Rules of conduct for snātakas. ### [v2.c15.12](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.12) CHAP. VIII. 416-426 ### [v2.c15.13](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.13) \*Āśramas\*. Origin and development of the idea of āśramas (stages of life). Number of āśramas four from the times of the most ancient dharmasūtras. Manu's theory. Brahmacarya and householder's stage well-known even to the Ṛgveda. Vaikhānasa and yati in Vedic Literature. Three āśramas expressly mentioned in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad. Idea of mokṣa (release from saṁsāra). Varṇa and āśrama complementary. Three different points of view about the four āśramas. ### [v2.c15.14](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.14) CHAP. IX. 427-541 ### [v2.c15.15](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.15) \*Marriage\*. The most important saṁskāra of all. Texts do not point to a society where there was promiscuity and no marriage. Purposes of marriage. Qualifications of a desirable bridegroom. Rules for the selection of a bride. Lakṣaṇas (indicatory characteristics), \*bāhya\* (visible) and \*ābhyantara\* (invisible or inferrible). Four or five grounds for preferring a particular girl. Selecting a girl by asking her to take one out of several lumps of clay gathered from various places. In ancient times brotherless maidens not accepted as brides. No unmarried woman was deemed in medieval times to go to heaven. Restrictions as to caste, gotra, pravara and sapiṇḍa relationship. Breach of these rules rendered a so-called marriage null and void. Age of marriage for men not fixed. Age of marriage for girls varied at different periods. In the ancient sūtras girls were married about the time of puberty. Reasons for insistence on pre-puberty marriages in Yājñavalkyasmṛti and other works not clear. Examples of inter-caste marriages in Vedic Literature, in dharma and gṛhya sūtras and smṛtis and in inscriptions. Anuloma marriages allowed till about the 9th century A. D. Sapiṇḍa relationship explained in the Mit. Rules about prohibition of marriage on the ground of sapiṇḍa relationship. Conflict of texts as to these rules. Marriage with one's maternal uncle's daughter. Conflict on this point among medieval writers and among several castes. Narrowing of sapiṇḍa relationship permitted by writers of digests only on the ground of usage. Meaning of ‘\*viruddhasambandha\*.’ Sapiṇḍa relationship of the adopted son. Meaning of sapiṇḍa according to Dāyabhāga and Raghunandana. Marriage between sagotras and sapravaras forbidden. Meaning of ‘gotra’ and ‘pravara’ in Vedic works. Gotra and pravara of importance in several matters. Gotra in the sūtras and digests. Divisions and sub-divisions of gotras. Each gotra has one or more pravaras. Gotras of kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. Names of kṣatriya kings among gotras and pravaras. Marriage of sagotras and sapravaras void according to the writers of digests. Persons that have power to give a girl in marriage. Sale of girls in marriage in ancient times. Taking monetary consideration for one's daughter condemned. Father's power over his children. Conflict of views among writers as to ownership over one's wife and children. Infanticide, medieval and modern. Auspicious time for marriage. Medieval works introduced difficulties on astrological grounds. Forms of marriage. Meaning of rākṣasa and paiśāca marriages. \*Svayaṁvara\*. Only two forms of marriage in vogue in modern times. Procedure of marriage in the Ṛgveda and in the gṛhya sūtras. List of the several elements in the marriage rite and their description. When marriage becomes complete and irrevocable. Marriage brought about by force or fraud. ### [v2.c15.16](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.16) CHAP. X. ### [v2.c15.17](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.17) \*Madhuparka\*. Procedure of it from the sūtras. \*Arkavivāha\* (marriage with the arka plant). \*Parivedana\* (marrying before an elder brother or sister). ### [v2.c15.18](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.18) CHAP. XI. ### [v2.c15.19](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.19) Polygamy, polyandry, rights and duties on marriage. No evidence for polyandry in Sanskrit Literature except in the case of Draupadī. First duty of wife was to co-operate with the husband in all religious matters. Wife not authorised to perform religious rites independently or without husband's consent. Precedence among co-wives in religious matters. Theory of debts with which every man was supposed to be born, one being the debt to his ancestors and discharged by procreating sons. Duties of wife dwelt upon at great length in all smṛtis and digests. Foremost duty of wife is to obey her husband and honour him as god. Ideal of a \*pativratā\*. Wife's conduct when husband was away from home on a journey. Supernatural powers ascribed to \*pativratā\*. Wife's right of residence and maintenance. Husband's power of correction. Humane treatment even when wife guilty of adultery. No identity of husband and wife for secular or legal purposes. Position of women in ancient India. Estimate of the character of women in Sanskrit works. Passages condemning women's character. High eulogy of and reverence for the mother. ### [v2.c15.20](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.20) CHAP. XII. ### [v2.c15.21](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.21) Duties of widows. Rules of conduct for widows for one year after the death of the husband. In widowhood woman to lead an ascetic life, avoid luxuries like perfumes, flowers, chewing betelnut. Widow (except one's mother) declared to be most inauspicious. Her rights in a joint family, and as heir to husband's separate property. Widow's position improved by recent legislation. The practice of tonsure of brāhmaṇa widows has no sanction in the vedas and smṛtis (excepting one or two). Examination of texts relied upon in support of this practice. Only Skandapurāṇa and medieval digests insist on tonsure. Practice gradually evolved from about 10th or 11th century. Sentiment that a woman should not be killed on any account. ### [v2.c15.22](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.22) Position of women became assimilated to that of śūdras in religious matters. Certain advantages conceded to women. Practice of purda did not exist for women except for queens and ladies of high or noble rank. ### [v2.c15.23](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.23) CHAP. XIII. 599-607 ### [v2.c15.24](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.24) \*Niyoga.\* Great divergence of views about the origin and purpose of this practice. Stringent conditions were laid down by smṛtikāras before niyoga could be resorted to. Breach of the conditions severely condemned and made punishable. Some even very ancient writers on dharma did not allow this practice. The Mahābhārata is full of examples of niyoga. Some writers held that texts permitting niyoga applied to śūdras or to girls who were only promised in marriage to a person but not actually married to him (as he died in the meantime). Three views upon the question ‘to whom the child born of niyoga belonged.’ Niyoga forbidden in the Kali age by Bṛhaspati and other smṛti writers. ### [v2.c15.25](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.25) CHAP. XIV. 608-623 ### [v2.c15.26](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.26) Remarriage of widows. The word ‘punarbhū’ does not necessarily mean ‘remarried widow’. Nārada on the kinds of punarbhūs and svairiṇīs. Baudhāyana and Kaśyapa on 7 kinds of punarbhū. Smṛtis (except those of Vasiṣṭha, Nārada and one or two others) prohibit remarriage of widows. Rules for a wife whose husband is unheard of for many years. Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act of 1856. Appalling number of child widows. Verses of Ṛgveda and Atharvaveda supposed to refer to remarriage of widows examined. Divorce unknown in Vedic or Dharmaśāstra Literature. Kauṭilya on divorce. Divorce law in England and Roman Catholic countries. ### [v2.c15.27](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.27) CHAP. XV. 624-636 ### [v2.c15.28](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.28) \*Satī.\* Forbidden in India from 1829. Practice of widow burning obtained in many countries. Practice of Satī very limited in ancient times. \*Sahagamana\* and \*anumaraṇa\*. Brāhmaṇa widows were not allowed \*anumaraṇa\*. References to practice of Satī in classical Sanskrit Literature and epigraphic records. Rewards promised to \*Satī\*. Some commentators were opposed to this practice. Restrictions imposed against widow-burning by the smṛtis. Procedure of the rite of widow-burning. Widow-burning more prevalent in Bengal than anywhere else owing to the higher rights of succession granted to wives. ### [v2.c15.29](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.29) CHAP. XVI. 637-639 ### [v2.c15.30](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.30) \*Veśyā\*. The institution existed from Vedic times. The rights of concubines to maintenance. ### [v2.c15.31](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.31) CHAP. XVII. 640-695 ### [v2.c15.32](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.32) \*Āhnika and ācāra\*. Importance of the stage of householder. Gṛhasthas grouped into śālīna and yāyāvara. Duties of householders described in detail in many smṛtis and digests. Various ways of dividing the day. Smṛtis usually divide the day into eight parts. Actions to be done on getting up from bed, such as hymns of praise to God, repeating the names of famous personages like Nala and of persons that are supposed to be \*cirajīvins\*. Auspicious and inauspicious sights on getting up from bed. Rules about answering calls of nature. Cleanliness of body (\*śauca\*) in various ways. Ācamana (sipping water). \*Dantadhāvana\* (brushing the teeth) existed from the most ancient times. What twigs to be used for it. Times when there is to be no brushing of teeth. \*Snāna\* (bath). Kuśas necessary in most religious acts. Rules about collecting kuśas. Snāna twice a day or thrice according to some. No bath at night (except on rare occasions). Natural water preferred to water drawn from wells or hot water. Procedure of bathing. Rules about the clay to be employed for smearing and cleaning the body. Ten good results of a bath. Six varieties of bathing with water. How one who is ill is to be purified. \*Tarpaṇa\* as a constituent part of \*snāna\*. Clothes to be worn by a householder. Making marks on the forehead after bathing. \*Ūrdhvapuṇḍra\* and \*Tripuṇḍra\*. Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava sectarians condemning each other's marks. \*Saṁdhyā\* after bath. \*Homa\*. Two views about performing it before or after sunrise. Agnihotra twice daily. Three or five or six fires. When to begin maintaining gṛhya fire. Materials for \*havis\*. Homa to be offered by oneself or by one's son, pupil, brother, sister's son or a similar relative. Wife or unmarried daughter may offer homa in gṛhya fire if householder be ill. \*Japa\* of Vedic texts. What are maṅgala (auspicious) objects. The matters described so far occupy first eighth part of the day. In 2nd part revision of Vedic texts, collecting fuel sticks, flowers, kuśas &c. In 3rd part one was to find out means of maintenance and to earn wealth. In 4th part mid-day bath. Then \*tarpaṇa\* of gods, sages and \*pitṛs\*. A brief \*tarpaṇa\* is also prescribed. ### [v2.c15.33](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.33) CHAP. XVIII. 696-704 ### [v2.c15.34](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.34) \*Mahāyajñas\* (five daily observances or sacrifices). These are mentioned in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka. Mahāyajñas distinguished from śrauta rites in two ways. Sentiments that prompted the five yajñas in very remote days. Later on purpose of Mahāyajñas stated to be atonement for injury to life caused by daily acts. The five yajñas in order of performance are brahmayajña, devayajña, bhūtayajña, pitṛyajña and manuṣya-yajña. \*Brahmayajña.\* Earliest description in Śatapatha Br. and Tai. Ār. Brahmayajña for Ṛgvedins described. ### [v2.c15.35](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.35) CHAP. XIX. 705-740 ### [v2.c15.36](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.36) \*Devayajña.\* In sūtras homa is Devayajña. In medieval times homa receded into background and \*devapūjā\* took its place. Discussion whether images of gods were known in Vedic times. Meaning of \*Siśnadeva.\* Phallic emblems at Mohenjo-daro. \*Liṅga\* worship. Images known long before Pāṇini. Erection of temples and worship of images, whether borrowed or indigenous. Substances from which images were made. Principal gods of whom images were worshipped. Ritual of image worship. Who are entitled to perform devapūjā. Śālagrāma and other sacred stones. Pañcāyatanapūjā. Ten \*avatāras\* of Viṣṇu. Germs of the theory in Vedic Literature. When Buddha came to be looked upon as an \*avatāra\* of Viṣṇu. Why Buddhism disappeared from India. Evidence for religious persecution in India very meagre. Śiva worship. Worship of Gaṇeśa and Dattātreya. Earliest description of the worship of Viṣṇu and Śiva. The 16 modes of worship (\*upacāras\*). Flowers in the worship of different gods. \*Tāmbūla.\* Namaskāras to the sun. Worship of Durgā. Analysis of devapūjā in modern times. ### [v2.c15.37](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.37) CHAP. XX. 741-748 ### [v2.c15.38](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.38) \*Vaiśvadeva.\* According to some it comprises three yajñas, viz. to gods, bhūtas and pitṛs. Deities of Vaiśvadeva. Usually performed only once in the noon. Procedure of Vaiśvadeva. Views about Vaiśvadeva in relation to śrāddha. \*Baliharaṇa\* or \*bhūtayajña.\* Daily pitṛ-yajña. ### [v2.c15.39](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.39) CHAP. XXI. 741-756 ### [v2.c15.40](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.40) \*Nṛyajña\* or \*Manuṣyayajña\* (honouring guests). Guests honoured from Ṛgveda downwards. Who is an \*atithi.\* Modes of showing honour to guests. Motive of the injunction about guests was universal kindliness. Taking leave of a guest. ### [v2.c15.41](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.41) CHAP. XXII. 757-806 ### [v2.c15.42](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.42) \*Bhojana\* (taking meals). Importance attached to purity of food. Rules about \*bhojana\* in Vedic Literature. Direction in which to take food. Times of taking food. Vessels to be used in \*bhojana\*. Preliminaries before bhojana (such as ācamana, prāṇāhutis &c.). Posture at time of eating. How much to eat. How \*paṅktis\* (rows of dinners) were distinguished. Who are \*paṅktipāvana brāhmaṇas\*. Etiquette at time of \*bhojana\*. Occasions (like eclipses) when abstaining from food was prescribed. What food should or should not be eaten. Various grounds on which food was forbidden. Flesh-eating in Vedic times. Sacredness of cow. \*Pañcagavya\*. Occasions when cow could be offered in sacrifices. Rules about the flesh of beasts, birds and fishes. Causes of the giving up of flesh-eating. Kṣatriyas have been meat-eaters from ancient times. Rules about taking milk and its products and about certain herbs and vegetables. Exhaustive list of persons whose food may not be taken. Great fluctuations about the rules as to whose food may not be taken by a brāhmaṇa. Laxity about food prepared with ghee, oil or milk. Food from five classes of śūdras could be taken by brāhmaṇas in the times of sūtras, but later on this was forbidden. Rules about persons who could cook and serve food for brāhmaṇas. Drinking liquor in ancient times. All intoxicants forbidden to brāhmaṇas from sūtra times, but some intoxicants allowed to kṣatriyas and others. \*Madyas\* of various kinds. \*Tāmbūla\* after bhojana. Acts to be done after bhojana. Rules about sleeping. Sexual intercourse between husband and wife. Rules about \*Rajasvalā\* (a woman in her monthly illness). Rules about the distribution of the king's duties—in the several parts of the day and night. ### [v2.c15.43](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.43) CHAP. XXIII. 807-818 ### [v2.c15.44](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.44) \*Upākarma\* (starting of the session of vedic studies) and \*utsarjana\* (cessation from vedic studies). Divergence about time of upākarma. Explanation of the importance attached to the month of Śrāvaṇa and the Śravaṇa constellation. Procedure of upākarma in ancient times. Analysis of the constituents of upākarma in modern times. Holiday after upākarma. Divergence about times of utsarjana. Description of modern \*utsarjana\*. ### [v2.c15.45](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.45) CHAP. XXIV. 819-836 ### [v2.c15.46](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.46) Minor gṛhya and other rites. Pārvaṇa sthālīpāka. Caitrī. Sītāyajña. Śrāvaṇī and Sarpabali. Serpent-worship from ancient times. Festival in honour of Indra. Āśvayujī. Āgrayaṇa \*iṣṭi\*. Āgrahāyaṇī. Śūlagava or Īśānabali. Vāstupratiṣṭhā, ancient and modern. ### [v2.c15.47](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.47) CHAP. XXV. 837-888 ### [v2.c15.48](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.48) \*Dāna\* (gifts). Dāna is a special feature of householder's stage. Gifts highly extolled in the Ṛgveda. Gift of horses censured in some works. Gifts of land were not favoured in very early times. Difference between dāna, yāga and homa. Meaning of iṣṭāpūrta. All could make gifts (including women and śūdras). Persons fit and unfit to be donees. What things could be donated and what not. Three classes of things that could be given. Dānas of three kinds, viz. \*nitya\*, \*naimittika\* and \*kāmya\*. Making gifts in secret eulogised. Certain gifts should not be spurned. Gifts of certain things forbidden. Proper times for making gifts. Generally gifts not to be made at night. Gifts at times of eclipses, \*saṁkrānti\* and on \*ayana\* days specially recommended. Proper places for gifts. Presiding deities of various articles of gift. General procedure of making gifts. Kings were required to make various kinds of gifts to brāhmaṇas. Spending money for marriages of brāhmaṇas and settling them in houses highly eulogised. Gifts of land the most meritorious. Smṛti rules about land-grants followed in epigraphic records. Verses deprecating the resumption of gifts made by earlier kings. Prior gifts to temples and brāhmaṇas excepted in grants of villages. Taxes remitted in royal grants. The eight \*bhogas\* in relation to land grants. Discussion whether king is owner of all lands in the kingdom. Gifts called mahādānas described in purāṇas. Sixteen mahādānas. Procedure of Tulāpuruṣa and other mahādānas. Gift of cows highly extolled. Gifts of ten kinds called \*dhenus\* such as of ghee, jaggery &c. Ten kinds of gifts called \*parvata\* or \*meru dānas\* viz. of heaps of corn, salt, sesame &c. Establishing a pavilion for distributing water. Gift of books. Gifts for propitiating planets. Founding of hospitals. Expiations for accepting gifts which should not have been accepted. When gift becomes irrevocable. Kinds of invalid gifts. Gifts to dharma held void by modern courts. ### [v2.c15.49](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.49) CHAP. XXVI. 889-916 ### [v2.c15.50](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.50) \*Pratiṣṭhā\* and \*Utsarga\* (founding of temples and dedication of wells &c.). Women and śūdras also could spend on \*pūrta\*- \*dharma\*, though not on iṣṭa (vedic sacrifices). Charitable works for the benefit of the public came to be regarded as more meritorious than sacrifices. Procedure of dedicating a tank or well to the public in the sūtras. Procedure prescribed in purāṇas gradually superseded the sūtra procedure. Meaning of dāna, pratiṣṭhā and utsarga. Trees highly valued in ancient India. Trees supposed to save a man from hell just as a son did. Worship of trees. Consecration of images in temples. Image worship in a public temple or privately. Procedure of consecration of images according to the Matsya-purāṇa. In later times other details added from Tantra works. Three kinds of Nyāsas viz, mātṛkānyāsa, tattvanyāsa and mantranyāsa. Consecration of the image of Viṣṇu from Vaikhānasa Smārtasūtra. Practice of attaching dancing girls to temples is comparatively ancient. When re-consecration (punaḥ-pratiṣṭhā) becomes necessary. Jīrṇoddhāra (repairing or re-constructing a dilapidated temple &c.), time and procedure of. Founding of maṭhas (monasteries or colleges for teachers and pupils). Distinction between a temple and a maṭha. Maṭhas said to have been established by the great teacher Śaṁkarācārya. The origin of maṭhas in general. How property of maṭha devolves. Appointment and powers of the head of a maṭha. How rulers and courts in ancient and medieval times controlled administration of temple and maṭha properties. Modern legislation dealing with religious and charitable endowments. Yogakṣema is impartible. Control of founder on work dedicated to the public. Powers of a shebait to remove an idol or to establish another. ### [v2.c15.51](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.51) CHAP. XXVII. 917-929 ### [v2.c15.52](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.52) \*Vānaprastha\* (forest hermit). Vaikhānasa, ancient word for \*vānaprastha\*. An ancient work called Vaikhānasa sūtra or śāstra. Time for becoming a vānaprastha. Principal points connected with being a vānaprastha. If he suffers from an incurable disease, he may start on the great journey till the body falls to rise no more. Intricate classification of vānaprasthas in Baudhāyana-dharma-sūtra and others. Members of all varṇas except śūdras could become vānaprasthas. Members of princely houses as vānaprasthas. Ending one's life by starting on the great journey (mahāprasthāna) or by fire or water or falling from a precipice when and why allowed. Historical examples of this practice. This practice prohibited in the Kali age. Most of the duties prescribed for vānaprasthas are the same as those for saṁnyāsins. So vānaprastha stage forbidden in Kali age by the Nāradīya-purāṇa and other works. ### [v2.c15.53](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.53) CHAP. XXVIII. 930–975 ### [v2.c15.54](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.54) \*Saṁnyāsa\* (order of ascetics). Life of giving up worldly ties, of begging and contemplation on the Absolute known to the earliest Upaniṣads. Jābālopaniṣad prescribes rules for ascetics. The most salient features of saṁnyāsa gathered from the dharmasūtras and smṛtis. Tridaṇḍi and ekadaṇḍi ascetics. Four kinds of ascetics, \*kuṭīcaka\*, \*bahūdaka\*, \*haṁsa\* and \*paramahaṁsa\* and their characteristics. Popular notion that the paramahaṁsa is beyond all rules and prohibitions combated by ancient texts. Vidvat-saṁnyāsa and vividiṣā-saṁnyāsa. The \*turīyātīta\* and \*avadhūta\* kinds of ascetics. Opinions as to whether saṁnyāsa was allowed only to brāhmaṇas or to all three varṇas. According to smṛtis and medieval works a śūdra could not become an ascetic. Women in rare cases adopted the ascetic mode of life. The word saṁnyāsa conveys two distinct ideas. Some held that saṁnyāsa was meant only for the blind and the cripple. Ascetics were to give up wife and home and were not to revert to householder's life. Ten orders of \*advaita\* saṁnyāsins following Śaṁkarācārya's doctrines and their \*maṭhas\*. Disputes among the heads of these maṭhas as to properties and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. How successors to the pontiffs of the maṭhas are appointed. How and why saṁnyāsins gave up doctrine of \*ahiṁsā\* in medieval times. A saṁnyāsin is severed from his family and loses rights of property in it. By custom certain saṁnyāsins called Gosāvīs were allowed to have wives and concubines. Procedure of saṁnyāsa according to the sūtras. Procedure of saṁnyāsa according to Dharmasindhu. Principal elements are; eight śrāddhas, \*sāvitrīpraveśa\*, \*virajāhoma\*, declaration of leaving home, all wealth and desires and taking vow of ahiṁsā, giving up of topknot and sacred thread, teaching by guru of \*pañcīkaraṇa\* and \*mahāvākyas\* (like tat tvam-asi), giving of a new name by the teacher, \*yogapaṭṭa\* (p. 962), paryaṅka-śauca. Saṁnyāsa \*in extremis\* (ātura-saṁnyāsa). Controversies about giving up śikhā and yajñopavīta. Daily duties of an ascetic. No impurity on his death for his relatives and \*vice versa\*. Ascetic heads of maṭhas claim in modern times jurisdiction in matters of caste, excommunication, expiations for lapses. In ancient times pariṣads (assemblies of learned men) exercised these functions and kings acted on their advice. The number of persons required to constitute a pariṣad for deciding a doubtful point about dharma. Śiṣṭas constitute a pariṣad. Meaning of śiṣṭa. The council of eight ministers established by Shivaji and the duties of the Panditrao, one of these eight. Panditrao took advice of the pariṣads of learned brāhmaṇas on questions of re-admission of converts, expiations &c. Many features of asceticism are common to all religions. It is a partial truth that Indians have the highest regard for the ascetic. ### [v2.c15.55](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.55) CHAP. XXIX. 976-1008 ### [v2.c15.56](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.56) \*Śrauta\* (Vedic) sacrifices. Deep study of vedic sacrifices essential for the proper understanding of Vedic Literature, for appreciating the influence of that Literature on varṇas. Chronology uncertain. Works, ancient and modern, on Vedic sacrifices. Jaimini on interpretation of Vedic texts relating to sacrifices. Cult of yajña existed in Indo-Iranian period. Literary and epigraphic evidence for the performance of Vedic sacrifices by kings after the advent of Buddha. Grants made by kings for enabling brāhmaṇas to perform agnihotra &c. The references to sacrificial matters in the Ṛgveda. General rules applicable in all sūtras. Mantras of four kinds, \*ṛk\*, \*yajus\*, \*sāman\* and \*nigada\*. Different kinds of ladles. Sacrificial utensils. The several fires. The five bhūsaṁskāras. \*Agnyādheya\*. Choosing the devayajana (place of worship). Procedure of agnyādheya. \*Punarādheya\*. \*Agnihotra\* in the morning and evening. Rules about agnihotra when the householder goes away from home either alone or with his wife. ### [v2.c15.57](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.57) CHAP. XXX. 1009-1090 ### [v2.c15.58](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.58) Darśapūrṇamāsa (New moon and Full moon sacrifices). Time for starting the performance of darśapūrṇamāsa. Anvārambhaṇīyā iṣṭi, śākhāharaṇa, barhirāharaṇa (bringing bundles of kuśa grass), idhmāharaṇa (bringing fuel-sticks), \*Sāyaṃdoha\*. \*Upavasatha\* day. \*Sānnāyya\*. \*Brahmavaraṇa\* (choosing the brahmā priest). \*Praṇītā\* waters. \*Nirvāpa\* (taking out sacrificial material). \*Prokṣaṇa\* (sprinkling) of sacrificial material, utensils &c. The \*Haviṣkṛt\* call. Beating the grains of rice. Baking cake (\*puroḍāśa\*) on potsherds. Construction of vedi (altar). \*Patnīsaṁnahana\* (girding up the sacrificer's wife). Barhirāstaraṇa (strewing the vedi with kuśas). Fifteen Sāmidhenī verses. Pravaramantra (invocation of fire). The two āghāras (pouring of ājya in a continuous stream). \*Hotṛvaraṇa\*. The \*Prayājas\* (five offerings). Vaṣaṭkāra. \*Ājyabhāgas\* (two). The principal sacrifice of portions of the cake. Offering to Agni sviṣṭakṛt. Cutting off a portion of the cake called prāśitra (for brahmā). \*Iḍā\* cut off from puroḍāśa. A thin long slice of puroḍāśa for yajamāna. Invocation of Iḍā by the hotṛ. Brahmā eats prāśitra, hotṛ eats avāntareḍā, all priests together with the yajamāna partake of iḍā. Division of puroḍāśa for Agni into four parts and eating of the portions by the four priests. \*Mārjana\* thereafter. Cooking a mess of boiled rice (called \*anvāhārya\*) as fee for the four priests. The three \*anuyāja\* offerings. Recitation of \*sūktavāka\*. Throwing of prastara bunch and śākhā into fire. \*Śaṁyuvāka\*. Throwing the \*paridhis\* on fire. \*Patnīsaṁyājas\*. \*Phalīkaraṇahoma\*. Saṁsthājapa by hotṛ. Saṁiṣṭayajus offerings. Adhvaryu and brahmā leave the sacrificial hall. Yajamāna takes Viṣṇu strides. Final prayer by yajamāna. \*Piṇḍapitṛyajña\*. ### [v2.c15.59](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.59) CHAP. XXXI. 1091–1108 ### [v2.c15.60](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.60) \*Cāturmāsyas\* (seasonal sacrifices). Four Cāturmāsyas each called a \*parvan\*, viz. Vaiśvadeva, Varuṇapraghāsa, Sākamedha and Śunāsīrīya, respectively performed on Full moon days of Phālguna, Āṣāḍha, Kārtika and on the 5th full moon day from Sākamedha or two or three days before it. Observances on all \*parvan\* days such as shaving head and face, not using a cot, avoiding meat, honey, salt and sexual intercourse. Five offerings common to all Cāturmāsyas. Cāturmāsyas may be performed throughout life or for one year. Three special offerings in Vaiśvadeva-parva. Nine \*prayājas\* and nine \*anuyājas\* in Vaiśvadeva. Varuṇapraghāsa performed in rainy season outside the house. Two vedis prepared, to north and south, respectively in charge of adhvaryu and pratiprasthātṛ. Procedure is like that of Vaiśvadeva. Four special offerings in this in addition to five common to all. Procedure of Varuṇapraghāsas. The wife has to declare or indicate if she has any paramour. Concluding \*avabhṛtha\* (bath) in a river or the like. Sākamedha requires two days. Three iṣṭis and a \*mahāhavis\* of eight offerings to eight deities. Then pitṛyajña (called \*mahāpitṛyajña\*) on a separate vedi. Also Traiyambaka homa offered to Rudra. Śunāsīrīyaparvan has three special offerings to Śunāsīrau, Vāyu and Sūrya. Iṣṭi called Āgrayaṇa (offering of first fruits) in Śarad on Full moon day. Other iṣṭis performed for some specific objects e. g. putreṣṭi for son, Kārīrīṣṭi for rain &c. ### [v2.c15.61](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.61) CHAP. XXXII. 1109-1132 ### [v2.c15.62](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.62) \*Nirūḍhapaśubandha\* or \*Paśubandha\* (\*animal sacrifice\*). A victim is offered in Somayāga also, but as part of it. Nirūḍhapaśu is an independent sacrifice to be performed by an \*āhitāgni\* every six months or once a year. Six priests required in this sacrifice. Procedure of animal sacrifice. Selecting a tree and making a yūpa (sacrificial post) and a head piece (caṣāla) for the post. Preparing a vedi and a raised platform on it called \*uttaravedi\* and a square hole thereon called \*nābhi\*. Animals sacrificed for Indra-Agni or Sūrya or Prajāpati. Eleven prayāja offerings. Verses from Āprī hymns employed. The eleven prayāja deities. Śāmitra fire for roasting omentum of the victim. Hotṛ's recitation of the Adhrigu formula. Choking to death or strangling of the he-goat. Omentum taken out and offered by the adhvaryu into Āhavanīya fire for Indra-Agni or Sūrya or Prajāpati. Six priests, sacrificer and his wife perform \*Mārjana\*. The limbs of the victim that are cut off, and portions of which are offered as paśu-puroḍāśa. Heart of victim is roasted with a pike on śāmitra fire and offered as \*havis\* to Manotā. Priests and sacrificer partake of \*iḍā\* constituted by remnants of the limbs of the victim. Upayāja offerings of a part of the entrails along with the Anuyāja offerings. The hotṛ repeats the formula called Sūktavāka. Maitrāvaruṇa throws his staff into fire. Offerings of Patnī-saṁyājas with portions of the tail. \*Kāmyāḥ Paśavaḥ\* (animal sacrifices from various desires). Ekādaśina, a group sacrifice of eleven victims. ### [v2.c15.63](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.63) CHAP. XXXIII. 1133-1203 ### [v2.c15.64.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.64.1) \*Agniṣṭoma\*. Sacrifices are divided into \*iṣṭi\*, \*paśu\* and \*soma\*. Seven forms of soma sacrifices, Agniṣṭoma, Atyagniṣṭoma, Ukthya &c. Soma sacrifices divided into ekāha, ahīna and sattra. Jyotiṣṭoma, often identified with Agniṣṭoma, usually lasts for five days. Chief rites performed on those five days. Time for performing Agniṣṭoma. Priests invited and honoured with Madhuparka. Requesting the king for sacrificial ground (\*devayajana\*). Sacrificer and his wife undergo \*apsu-dīkṣā\* and subsist on milk or light food. Purification of both with bunches of darbhas. Procedure of dīkṣaṇīyā iṣṭi after which sacrificer comes to be called dīkṣita. Even a kṣatriya sacrificer was announced as a brāhmaṇa. Observances of the dīkṣita and his wife and people's conduct towards him. Observance of silence by sacrificer twice daily. The \*prāyaṇīyā iṣṭi\*. Purchase of Soma and the drama of higgling about its price. Cow offered as its price is taken back. Bundle of Soma stalks placed on antelope skin spread on a cart, that is brought to the east of the prāgvaṁśa. Recital of the Subrahmaṇyā litany by the Subrahmaṇya priest. A goat is presented to king Soma. Oxen are released from the cart, soma bundle taken out of the cart, placed on a couch of udumbara wood and brought to the south of the āhavanīya. Ātithyeṣṭi (iṣṭi for hospitably receiving king Soma) follows. Then comes Tanūnaptra (a solemn covenant of the sacrificer and priests not to injure each other). Pravargya and Upasad follow. ### [v2.c15.64.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.64.2) Pravargya was a sublime rite supposed to endow sacrificer with a new body. Not necessary in every Agniṣṭoma. The heated milk is called gharma and the pot of heated milk Mahāvīra or Saṁrāṭ. Wife was not to look at it (at least in the beginning), nor śūdras. On 2nd, 3rd and 4th days Pravargya and Upasad performed twice. How pravargya apparatus is discharged (udvāsana). Upasad is an iṣṭi. Mantras repeated in Upasad refer to sieges of iron, silver and gold castles. On 2nd day of upasads Mahāvedi is prepared, on which a quadrangular platform (called uttaravedi) is raised and a square hole called nābhi is made on which fire is brought on the 4th day from the original āhavanīya. Erection of the harvidhāna-maṇḍapa in which two carts are kept. Digging of four holes (called uparavas) below the forepart of the shafts of the southern cart. A mound (khara) to east of uparavas for keeping soma vessels on. Erection of sadas to the west of the havirdhāna maṇḍapa. Planting of an udumbara post in sadas. Preparing eight dhiṣṇyas (seats), six in sadas, one in the āgnīdhrīya shed and the eighth in the mārjālīya shed. On uparavas kuśas are spread, over which two boards of udumbara are placed and a hide thereon. On the hide are stones for crushing soma stalks. Offering of an animal to Agni-Soma. Then follow offerings of ājya called Vaisarjina to Soma. Fire is carried to the uttaravedi, and established on āgnīdhra dhiṣṇya. Bringing Vasatīvarī water in a jar and keeping it in āgnīdhra shed. ### [v2.c15.64.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.64.3) Last day is called ‘sutyā’. Repeating of a long prayer called Prātaranuvāka by hotṛ long before day-break to Agni, Uṣas and Aśvins. Making ready of five offerings. Filling of ekadhana pitchers by adhvaryu and of pannejana vessel by the sacrificer's wife. Extracting Soma from a few stalks, filling the upāṁśugraha and offering its contents. Then comes \*Mahābhiṣava\* (principal pressing). Offering soma from various cups to several deities. \*Viprud-dhoma\*. Priests come creeping towards the north corner of the great vedi, where the Bahiṣpavamāna laud is to be chanted by the udgātṛ, prastotṛ and the prati-hartṛ. Some of the other priests and the sacrificer become choristers. The nine verses of the Bahispavamāna stotra set out from the Ṛgveda and method of their manipulation when sung in the sāma chant exhibited. Notes on the parts and svaras of sāmans. Rites of offering the savanīya animal. The five savanīya offerings of cake &c. Offerings of soma from \*dvidevutya grahas\* (cups). \*Camasonnayana\* (filling of nine camasas) for the priests called Camasādhvaryus. The offering of soma from the cups called \*śukra\* and \*manthin\*. Two chips of wood offered to the asuras, Śaṇḍa and Marka. Acchāvāka priest's request and filling his camasa with soma Offering of \*ṛtugrahas\*. Kṣatriyas were not authorised to drink soma. ### [v2.c15.64.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.64.4) The hotṛ performs japa, āhāva (hotṛ's call) to which there is \*pratigara\* (response of adhvaryu), hotṛ offers prayer called tūṣṇīm-śaṁsa, twelve clauses of \*nivid\*, then hotṛ recites the ājyaśastra. Enumeration and distribution of the twelve stotras and śastras of Agniṣṭoma. Explanation of \*stoma\*, \*stobha\* and \*stotra\*. Meaning of Rathantara and other sāmans. Chanting of stotras other than Bahispavamāna near audumbarī post in sadas. Four ājya-stotras in morning pressing. The 2nd śastra called Prauga recited by hotṛ and three more repeated by maitrāvaruṇa, brāhmaṇācchaṁsin and acchāvāka. At the end of morning pressing priests go out of the \*sadas\*. For the mid-day pressing priests again enter sadas. Procedure of midday pressing similar to that of morning pressing. The priest grāvastut wears the cloth, in which soma stalks were tied, as a turban and repeats many verses from the Ṛgveda. The chanting of the Mādhyandina-pavamāna-stotra. The dadhigharma rite, then the offering of paśu puroḍāśa and the five savanīya offerings (cake &c.). Distribution of dakṣiṇā to the several priests, sight-seers and others. The yajamāna throws antelope horn in cātvāla pit. Five offerings called Vaiśvakarmaṇa. The Marutvatīya śastra. Pṛṣṭha-stotra and Niṣkevalya śastra. Three more Pṛṣṭha stotras and three śastras recited by maitrāvaruṇa and two others. Procedure of evening pressing similar to mid-day pressing. Ārbhava-pavamāna chanted. Ṛbhus connected with third pressing. ### [v2.c15.64.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.64.5) \*Havis\* prepared from savanīya paśu offered. Vaiśvadeva śastra. The Pātnīvata cup to Agni Patnīvat. Chanting of Yajnāyajñīya stotra also called Agniṣṭomasāman. Wife of sacrificer pours pānnejana water over her thigh and udgātṛ priest looks at her. Āgnimāruta-śastra recited by hotṛ. Hāriyojana cup offered to Indra. All priests wait on āhavanīya with \*Mindā mantras\*. Avabhṛtha (final bath). All vessels except four sthālīs are thrown into water. Yajamāna casts antelope skin in cātvāla pit. Avabhṛtha sāman chanted. The \*nīdhana\* of the sāman is repeated by all priests, yajamāna and his wife at three places on their way to reservoir of water. Yajamāna and wife enter water, rub each other's back. Handful of kuśa thrown in avabhṛtha iṣṭi. Puroḍāśa offered to Varuṇa and then to Agni and Varuṇa. The unnetṛ brings out yajamāna, wife and priests. They offer fuel sticks. The Udayanīyā iṣṭi (concluding). Anubandhyā rite (offering of a barren cow to Mitra and Varuṇa) or only \*payasyā\*. Then five offerings called Devikā to Dhātṛ, Anumati, Rākā, Sinīvālī and Kuhū. Udavasānīyā iṣṭi like punarādheya. Theories about the identity of the soma plant and its relation to the moon. In the Deccan a substitute called ‘rāṅśera’ is employed for soma. ### [v2.c15.65](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.65) \*Other soma sacrifices\*. Brief descriptions of Ukthya, Ṣoḍaśin, Atyagniṣṭoma, Atirātra and Aptoryāma. Vājapeya may be regarded as an independent sacrifice. Number 17 predominant in it. 17 cups of soma and 17 cups of surā for Prajāpati. A race with 17 chariots and 17 drums beaten. Vājapeya to be performed only by a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya who desired super-eminence or overlordship. Horses of the chariots are made to smell \*caru\* of wild rice. When race starts brahmā priest repeats Vāji-sāman. An udumbara post as the goal for the chariot race. Chariot of sacrificer is in front and the rest follow at a distance. Chariots go round udumbara post and return to sacrificial ground. The principal wine cup is held by the pratiprasthātṛ and other sixteen are held by those who joined in the race and they are drunk by those latter. Ladder raised against yūpa and the sacrificer climbs up and holds a dialogue with his wife. Animals for Prajāpati are offered at time of mid-day pressing. Adhvaryu declares yajamāna to be \*saṁrāt\* Certain observances after Vājapeya. Fees distributed are 1700 cows, 17 chariots with four horses yoked to each, 17 \*dāsīs\* &c. After Vājapeya a king should perform Rājasūya and a brāhmaṇa Bṛhaspatisava. Jaimini's conclusions about Vājapeya. Viśvajit, Gosava and Sarvasvāra among Ekāha sacrifices briefly described. \*Ahīna\* sacrifices extending over two to twelve days of soma pressing. Description of the twelve days of the Dvādaśāha. Differences between Dvādaśāha as an ahīna and as a sattra. \*Rājasūyu\*. A very complex ceremony extending over a long period (over two years), and comprising many separate iṣṭis, soma sacrifices and animal sacrifices. Rājasūya to be performed only by kṣatriyas. Its relation to Vājapeya. Dīkṣā on first day of bright half of Phālguna. The Pavitra sacrifice which is like Agniṣṭoma. One year thereafter Abhiṣecanīya. Five offerings one on each day after Pavitra sacrifice. On Full moon of phālguna iṣṭi to Anumati. Cāturmāsyas performed for one year, between the \*parvans\* of which darśa and pūrṇamāsa rites are celebrated. After Śunāsīrīya several rites. Twelve offerings called 'ratninām havīmṣi' on twelve days in the houses of the \*ratnas\* (viz. the king, his queens, state officers &c.) offered to different deities. Abhiṣecanīya (consecration) rite on first of Caitra and follows procedure of Ukthya. Eight offerings called Devasūhavīmṣi. Waters of seventeen kinds in seventeen vessels of udumbara from Sarasvatī river and other sources. Pārtha homas. Holy water taken in four vessels. Sacrificer recites \*āvid\* formulae. Four principal priests sprinkle him with water from four vessels and a kṣatriya, vaiśya and a friend of the king do the same. Story of Śunaḥśepa recited by hotṛ for sacrificer's benefit. King takes three strides called Viṣṇukramas. Remnants of anointing water handed by king to his son. Symbolic march for plunder of cows. Dice-play which is so arranged that best throw comes to the king. Avabhṛtha follows. For ten days after Abhiṣecanīya offerings called 'Saṃsṛpām havīṃṣi' are made to Savitṛ and other deities. The Daśapeya, in which each of the camasas of soma are drunk by ten brāhmaṇas (i.e. in all 100). Very large dakṣiṇās prescribed e.g. some say 240000 cows should be presented. After Daśapeya some observances are kept by the sacrificer for one year. At the end of the year, the keśavapanīya ceremony took place. Then two rites called Vyuṣṭi-dvirātra at the interval of a month. One month after 2nd Vyuṣṭidvirātra the Kṣatradhṛti rite. One month after that the Sautrāmaṇī iṣṭi. ### [v2.c15.66](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.66) CHAP. XXXV. ### [v2.c15.67](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.67) Sautrāmaṇī and other sacrifices. \*Sautrāmaṇī\* is one of the seven Haviryajñas according to Gautama. Chief characteristic was offering of surā (wine) in it, in modern times milk being offered instead. Kokilī and Caraka-sautrāmaṇī. Procedure of both. Sautrāmaṇī takes four days, during first three of which wine is prepared from various ingredients and on last day, three cups of milk and three of wine were offered. Three goats were killed in this and fourth to Bṛhaspati. Method of preparing wine described. Remnants of the wine offered were not drunk by the priests, but a brāhmaṇa was hired for drinking them or they were poured on an ant-hill. Persons for whom Sautrāmaṇī was offered. Avabhṛtha and then āmikṣā to Mitra-Varuṇa and an animal to Indra. \*Aśvamedha.\* Horse-sacrifice in vogue even in Ṛgveda. It was a sacrifice for three days, to be performed by a king. Time of commencement. The four queens accompanied by princesses and large retinue come near the king. Rules about colour and qualities of horse. Guards of the horse, when it is let off to roam over the country. During horse's absence for a year three iṣṭis every day to Savitṛ. Chants by a brāhmaṇa after the iṣṭis every day and also by a kṣatriya lute-player. Hotṛ recites to the king surrounded by his sons and ministers the narrative called 'Pāriplava.' Every day for a year four oblations called Dhṛti made in the āhavanīya. At the end of the year horse was brought back and sacrificer took dīkṣā. 21 yūpas, each 21 aratnis high. Large number of animals tied to yūpas slaughtered. Horse taken to a lake, bathed in it, brought back and anointed by the queens on various parts of the body. Dialogue between hotṛ and brahmā. When horse killed, queens go round horse, fan it with their garments, crowned queen lies by the side of the horse and both are covered with mantle. Abusive and obscene dialogues between hotṛ and crowned queen, between brahmā and favourite wife, between four principal priests and chamberlain on one side and the queens and their attendants on the other. Fat and blood of the horse offered. \*Brahmodya\* (theological dialogue of questions and riddles). \*Mahiman\* offerings. Remnants of these sprinkled over the king and offering to 12 months. Avabhṛtha on third pressing day. Offerings on the head of a bald man who dips into water to 'Jumbaka' (Varuṇa). When sacrificer comes out of water after avabhṛtha bath, persons guilty of grave sins plunge into it and become free from sins. Large fees on first and third pressing days. Aśvamedha rare even in ancient times. Description of Aśvamedha in the Mahābhārata. Epigraphic references to Aśvamedha. \*Sattras.\* Their duration is from twelve days to a year or more. Dvādaśāha is the archetype. Sattras divided into two classes, rātrisattras and sāṁvatsarika. Gavāmayana is model of all sattras of one year or more. Scheme of the parts of Gavām-ayana. When dīkṣā commenced. General rules applicable to all sattras. Though all are yajamānas and also priests in a sattra, one of them is called gṛhapati. Peculiar procedure followed as to dīkṣā. Brahmodya on 10th day or abuse of Prajāpati. Rules to be observed while dīkṣā lasts. Most interesting day is Mahāvrata, which is the last day but one in sattras. Harp with a hundred strings, brāhmaṇa and śūdra engage in praise and abuse of those engaged in sattra. Fight of ārya and śūdra for a white circular skin; abuse by harlot and brahmacārin of one another. Drums beaten on corners of vedi. Wives of sacrificers become choristers for chanting. Dance round mārjālīya by servants and slave-girls singing popular airs referring to cows. Sattras of a thousand years believed even by ancient writers to be mythical and Jaimini states that in such descriptions saṁvatsara means 'a day'. ### [v2.c15.68](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15.68) Agnicayana (piling of the fire altar). This rite is the most complicated and recondite of all śrauta sacrifices. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa is leading work on it. Fundamental conceptions underlying it are cosmological. Construction of fire altar in five layers is an aṅga of Somayāga. Five victims are first offered. Heads built up into altar. Clay for the bricks how brought, mixed and prepared. First brick called Aṣāḍhā prepared by wife of sacrificer. Ukhā (pan) prepared from same clay, from which he prepares three bricks called Viśvajyotis. Other bricks prepared. Description of the piling of the altar in five layers. Several forms of altar and of bricks. Bricks are of various sizes and have various names. Three bricks called svayamātṛṇṇāḥ. Ground measured and ploughed. Furrows sown with several corns. Several things such as a lotus leaf, golden ornament, golden image of a man are first placed, then a living tortoise is enveloped in moss and made motionless and then altar is constructed on it. Each of five layers contains 200 bricks according to Satyāṣāḍha, but others give larger numbers. Time required for piling varies. Peculiar mode of cooling altar. Numerous offerings. Procedure of Somayāga followed with a few variations. Observances for a year after \*cayana\*. ## Linked texts (24) - [Chāndogyopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.mukhya.chandogya.6.8.7) — Sanskrit - [Nāradapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.narada) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Matsyapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.matsya) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Hiraṇyakeśiśrautasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.kalpa.srauta.hiranyakesi) — Hiraṇyakeśin, Sanskrit - [Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.artha.kautilya) — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit - [Aṣṭādhyāyī](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.vyakarana.astadhyayi) — Pāṇini, Sanskrit - [Mīmāṃsāsūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darsana.mimamsa.mimamsasutra) — Jaimini, Sanskrit - [Baudhāyanadharmasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.kalpa.dharma.baudhayana) — Baudhāyana, Sanskrit - [Yājñavalkyasmṛti](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.yajnavalkya) — Yājñavalkya, Sanskrit - [Gautamadharmasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.kalpa.dharma.gautama) — Gautama (dharmasūtrakāra), Sanskrit - [Vaikhānasasmārtasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.kalpa.grhya.vaikhanasa) — Vikhanas, Sanskrit - [Taittirīyāraṇyaka](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.aranyaka.taittiriya) — Sanskrit - [Jābālopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.sannyasa.jabala) — Sanskrit - [Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.mukhya.brhadaranyaka) — Sanskrit - [Mahābhārata](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Veda](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda) — Sanskrit - [Ṛgvedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.rg) — Sanskrit - [Atharvavedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.atharva) — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit - [Saṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.med.samhita) - [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.satapatha) — Yājñavalkya & Śāṇḍilya (Vedic teacher), Sanskrit - [\*Vaikhanasasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.agama.madhyama.vaikhanasasutra) — Sanskrit - [Dharmasindhu](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.krtya.dharmasindhu) — Kāśīnātha Upādhyāya 1790, Sanskrit - [Dāyabhāga](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.dayabhaga) — Jīmūtavāhana, Sanskrit - [Smṛtitattva](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.smrtitattva) — Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācārya 1520, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.kane-1930.v2.c15) · Pramāṇa