History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c44.9

v3.c44.9

From very ancient times the procedure of dedicating a well or tank to the public has been settled. Among the earliest is the one in the Sāṅkhyāyana gṛ. V. 2 (S. B. E. vol. 29 pp.134-135) which is as follows: Now about the consecration of ponds, wells and tanks. In the bright fortnight or on an auspicious *tithi* (day) having cooked a caru (boiled food) of barley in milk he (the donor) should sacrifice with the two verses 'tvam no agne' (Ṛg. IV. 1. 4-5) and with the verses 'ava te heḷa' (Ṛg. I. 24. 14), 'imam me varuṇa' (Ṛg. I. 25. 19), 'uduttamam Varuṇa' (Ṛg. I. 24. 15), 'imām dhiyam' (Ṛg. VIII. 42. 3) and with the words 'the domestic one, he who goes away from the house, the refreshing one, he who goes into the kennel, he who dwells in the kennel, he who comes out of it, the greedy one, the destroyer of enemies' to the different directions beginning with the west (Vāruṇī, one over which Varuṇa presided) from left to right. In the centre he makes oblations with milk with the verses 'viśvatas cakṣuruta' (Ṛg. X. 81. 3), 'idam Viṣṇur' (Ṛg. I. 22. 17); he plunges into the water with the verse 'yat kim cedam Varuṇa' (Ṛg. VII. 89. 5).²⁰⁷¹ A cow and a pair of clothes are the fee for this sacrifice. Then follows the feeding of brāhmaṇas.