History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c41.2

v3.c41.2

*Upākarma* or *Upākaraṇa* means 'opening, starting or beginning' (*upakrama* as the Mit. on Yāj. I. 142 says) and Utsarjana or Utsarga (in Āśv. gṛ. III. 5. 13) means 'the cessation of Vedic studies for a certain period in the year.' Āp. gṛ. VIII. 1 and Āp. Dh. S. I. 3. 11. 2 employ the word '*samāpana*' for utsarjana. In former times these two rites were performed on different dates and in different months, but with the decline of vedic studies in medieval times they came to be performed one after another on the same day. In several sūtras the first of these two is spoken of as adhyāyopākaraṇa (as in Āśv. gṛ. III. 5. 1.) or adhyāyopākarma (in Pār. gṛ. II. 10, Vas. Dh. S. 13. 1). In this case adhyāya means 'study of the Veda' or it may mean Veda itself because it is studied (pre-eminently). Therefore the rite which signalises the opening of the session for Vedic study in the year is itself called upākarma.¹⁹²² In Gaut. 16. 1 the rite of *upākarma* is called *vārṣika* either because it took place in *varṣā* (the rainy season) or because it took place once a year (from *varṣa*, a year). The Āśv. gṛ. III. 5. 19 also states that this rite is called *vārṣika*.