History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c24.s1.30.1

v2.c24.s1.30.1

In order to convey an idea of the rites of upanayana in the days of the gṛhya sūtras the ceremony as contained in the Āśv. gṛ. sūtra (which is among the shortest) is set out in full.⁶⁵³ 'Let him initiate the boy who is decked, whose hair (on the head) is shaved (and arranged), who wears a new garment or an antelope skin if a brāhmaṇa, ruru skin if a kṣatriya, goat's skin if a vaiśya; if they put on garments they should put on dyed ones, reddish-yellow, red and yellow (for a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya respectively), they should have girdles and staffs (as described above). While the boy takes hold of (the hand of) his teacher, the latter offers (a homa of clarified butter oblations) in the fire (as described above) and seats himself to the north of the fire with his face turned to the east, while the other one (the boy) stations himself in front (of the teacher) with his face turned to the west. The teacher then fills the folded hands of both himself and of the boy with water and with the verse 'we choose that of Savitṛ' (Ṛg. V. 82. 1) the teacher drops down the water in his own folded hands on to the water in the folded hands of the boy; having thus poured the water, he should seize with his own hand the boy's hand together with the thumb (of the boy) with the formula 'by the urge (or order) of the god Savitṛ, with the arms of the two Aśvins, with the hands of Pūṣan, I seize thy hand, oh!