History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c44.42

v3.c44.42

preparing a piṇḍikā and bathing it with pañcagavya with mantras; then raising the image with the mantra ‘uttiṣṭha’ (Ṛg. I. 40. 1), bringing it in the inmost chamber of the temple and placing it on the pīṭha (pedestal), offering it *arghya* water, *pādya* water, *madhuparka*; then the nyāsa (depositing) of eight kinds of jewels viz. diamond, pearl, lapis luzuli, conch, crystal, puṣparāga, indranīla and nīla in the eight directions from the east, also of eight kinds of grains viz. wheat, barley, sesame, mudga, nīvara, śyāmāka, mustard and rice and also eight fragrant things such as white and red sandal-wood, agaru, uśīra &c. Nyāsa of all these is to be made after repeating *om* and the *paurāṇika* mantras (with ‘namo namaḥ’ at end) of the eight guardians (lokapālas) viz. Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirṛti, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Soma, Īśāna and also of Brahmā (9th) and Ananta (10th); raising the image and fixing it in the scooped up portion of the pedestal with the mantra ‘dhruvā dyaur’ (Ṛg. X. 173. 4); placing one's hand on the head of the image and contemplating on the well-known form of the deity that is established, whether Viṣṇu, Śiva, Brahmā, the Sun; repeating appropriate mantras (viz. those of Rudra, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, the Sun in the case of the respective gods whose image is established); establishing deities near the principal image of the god's dependants (such as Nandī in the case of Śiva); invocation (āvāhana) of the principal deity with its attendants with *paurāṇika* mantras; bathing the image with curds, milk, clarified butter, honey and sugar and then with water in which flowers and scents are mixed up; repeating the following mantras again and again viz. ‘yaj-jāgrato dūram-upaiti’ (Vāj. S. 34. 1), ‘tato virāḍ-ajāyata’ (Vāj. S. 31. 5), ‘sahasraśīrṣā’ (Ṛg. X. 90. 1), ‘yenedam bhūtam’ (Vāj. S. 34. 4), ‘na tvāvām’ (Ṛg. VII. 32. 23); touching four times with water the feet, the waist and head (of the image); giving gifts of clothes, ornaments &c. to the ācārya and to the poor, the blind and the distressed and to others that may be gathered to see; filling with sand any aperture in any direction in which the image appears to be unstable and performing propitiatory rites for the guardian of that quarter and making gifts suitable to each lokapāla; celebrating a festival for three, five or seven days.