History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c43.151

v3.c43.151

In medieval and modern times gifts were and are made with a view to propitiate the planets. And this sentiment can be traced back to the days of the sūtras. Gaut.²⁰⁵⁷ XI. 15 advises the king to perform the rites that experts in astrology and in portentous signs might indicate (as necessary) for averting evil consequences and states (XI. 16) that according to some ācāryas the welfare of the king depends upon the performance of such rites. The Āśv. gṛ. (III. 12. 16) states that the purohita should direct the king to fight from the direction or side on which the sun is or (if fighting at night) from the side on which Venus shines (and not from a side opposite to them). Yāj. (I. 295–308) deals with Grahaśānti (propitiation of planets). He states that he who desires prosperity, or the averting of calamities, or good rains, long life and health and also wants to harm his enemies by magic rites should perform a sacrifice; that the nine planets are the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rāhu and Ketu; that images of the planets are to be made respectively of copper, crystal, red sandal-wood, gold (for both Mercury and Jupiter), silver, iron, lead and bell-metal or they may be drawn on a piece of cloth in these colours or may be painted in circles on the ground with colours; that flowers and clothes may be offered to them of the respective colours described above; fragrant substances, incense of guggulu should be offered to them and oblations of cooked food may be made to them in fire with the following mantras respectively, viz. Ṛg. I. 35. 2, Vāj. S. 9. 40, Ṛg. VIII. 44. 16, Vāj. S. 15. 54, Ṛg. II. 23. 15, Vāj. S. 19. 75, Ṛg. X. 9. 4, Vāj. S. 13. 20, Ṛg. I. 6. 3. The fuel-sticks to be offered to the nine planets should respectively be of the following trees and plants: of arka plant, palāśa, khadira, apāmārga, pippala, undumbara, śamī, dūrvā and kuśa grass. 108 or 28 *samidhs* of each of these should be thrown into the fire, they being anointed with honey, clarified butter, curds and milk. The foods on which the brāhmaṇas are to be regaled at dinner in the *grahayajña* are respectively rice mixed with jaggery, rice cooked in milk, *haviṣya* food (i. e. the food on which the ascetics live), corn that ripens in sixty days cooked in milk, curds and rice, rice with clarified butter, rice mixed with crushed sesame, flesh (with rice), rice of various colours. The fee (*dakṣiṇā*) to be paid should respectively be a milch cow, conch, a draught ox, gold, clothes, horse (white), dark cow, iron weapon, a goat. 'The rise and fall of kings depend upon the (aspects of) planets and the existence and destruction of the world depend upon planets; therefore the planets should be honoured the most'—says Yāj. I. 308.