History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c24.s1.62

v2.c24.s1.62

The Śat. Br. (II. 4. 2. 1, S. B. E. vol. 12, p. 361) says "the gods being yajñopavītins approached near, bending their right knee; he (Prajāpati) said to them 'the sacrifice is your food, immortality is your strength, the sun is your light'; then the pitṛs approached him, being prācīnāvītins and bending their left knee and then men approached him covered with a garment and bending their bodies" etc.⁶⁷⁵ It is important to note here that men are said to have been covered only with a garment and there is no reference in their case to any mode of wearing either as yajñopavīta or nivīta or prācīnāvīta. This rather suggests that men wore only garments when approaching gods and not necessarily a cord of threads. In the Tai.⁶⁷⁶ Br. III. 10. 9. it is said that when *vāk* (speech) appeared to Devabhāga Gautama he put on the yajñopavīta and fell down with the words 'namo namaḥ'.