History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c46.90
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c46.90
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The Baud. Dh. S. II. 10. 11-30, the Baud. gṛ. śeṣasūtra IV. 16, the Vaik. IX. 6-8 contain the procedure of becoming a sannyāsin. That of the Baud. Dh. S. being probably the most ancient among extant works is briefly set out below:²¹⁸² After having cut the hair on the head, the beard, the hair on the body, the nails, he makes ready three sticks, a loop of strings, (a piece of cloth as) a water strainer, a jar and a bowl. Having taken these he should go to the end of his village, or to the extremity of the boundary of his village, or the fire-hall; he should partake of clarified butter, milk and curds (mixed together) and should fast or drink water. Then he should recite the vyāhṛtis separately preceded by 'oṃ' and followed by the words 'I enter the Sāvitrī' and by one *pāda* of the sacred Gāyatrī and then all together.²¹⁸³ Before sunset, he heaps fuel on the gārhapatya fire (if he has maintained Vedic fires), brings the anvāhāryapacana (dakṣiṇāgni) to the spot, takes the flaming āhavanīya fire out of the gārhapatya, melts clarified butter on the gārhapatya, cleanses it (with blades of kuśa), takes four portions of the butter in the spoon called '*sruc*' and offers in the āhavanīya fire on which fuel-sticks have been heaped a full oblation (i. e. whole spoonful) four times saying 'oṃ svāhā'. This is called Brahmānvādhāna (putting fuel-sticks on fire for securing knowledge of *brahman*).
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Then in the evening after agnihotra has been offered, he strews grass to the north of the gārhapatya fire, places on the grass sacrificial vessels in pairs with the upper parts turned downwards, spreads darbha grass to the south of the āhavanīya fire on the seat meant for the brahmā priest, covers it with black antelope skin and remains awake the whole of that night. Then he rises at the time (muhūrta) sacred to Brahmā and offers agnihotra in the early morning at the proper time. Then after covering the part of the altar called pṛṣṭhyā and bringing water he prepares an offering for Agni Vaiśvānara cooked on twelve pot-sherds. That well-known iṣṭi will be the last he will perform. Afterwards, he throws in the āhavanīya fire those sacrificial vessels which are not made of stone or earth. And throwing the two araṇis (the wooden logs by the friction of which fire was produced for vedic rites) into the gārhapatya fire with the words 'may you two be of one mind with us' he (mentally) deposits the three fires in himself. Repeating the mantra '*yā te agne yajñiyā tanūr*' (Tai. S. III. 4. 10. 5) he inhales the smell of the smoke of each of the three fires thrice. Then standing within the sacrificial enclosure he says thrice in a low voice and thrice aloud the words 'om bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ svaḥ. I have entered the order of sannyāsa (lit. I have abandoned), I have entered the order of sannyāsa, I have entered the order of sannyāsa'.
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Lastly he pours out as much water as will fill his joined hands saying 'I promise that no injury will proceed from me to any creature'. He must henceforward restrain his speech. He holds his staff saying 'thou art my friend, protect me'. He takes the *śikya* (loop of strings) with the words '*yadasya pāre rajasaḥ*' (Tai. S. IV. 2. 5. 2); he takes the cloth for straining water with the text '*yena devāḥ pavitreṇa*' (Tai. Br. I. 4. 8 and Nirukta V. 6); he takes the water jar reciting '*yena devā jyotiṣordhvam*' (Tai. S. V. 7. 2. 2); he takes the bowl after reciting the seven vyāhṛtis. Taking with him the staffs, the loop of strings, the cloth as a water strainer, the water-pot and the bowl he goes to a place where water can be had, bathes, sips water and sprinkles himself (performs *mārjana*) with the Surabhimatī ²¹⁸⁴ verse (dadhi-krāvṇo, Ṛg. IV. 39. 6), with Abhliṅgā verses, Vāruṇī verses, Hiraṇyavarṇā verses (Tai. S. V. 6. 1. 1 = Atharvaveda I. 33. 1-4) and Pāvamānī verses (Ṛg. IX. 1 &c.). While still in the water he performs sixteen prāṇāyāmas after (mentally going over) the Aghamarṣaṇa verses (Ṛg. X. 190. 1-3), comes out of the water on the bank, wrings his garments, puts on another pure (washed) garment, sips water, takes the cloth for straining water with the words 'om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ' and performs *tarpaṇa* to the seven ²¹⁸⁵ vyāhṛtis.
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He then fills his joined hands with water and performs *tarpaṇa* to the Manes just in the same way as he did to the gods, then he worships the sun with the two verses '*udu tyam*' (Ṛg. 1. 50. 1) and '*citram*' (Ṛg. I. 115. 1). He then offers *tarpaṇa* to the Ātman (self) with 'the syllable *om* is *brahma*; this light (the sun) that diffuses warmth is indeed brahma; this which gives warmth is indeed the Veda; this indeed that sheds warmth is the (proper) object of knowledge'; then he worships the *Ātman* with the words 'the Self is brahman, it is light'. Let him repeat the Gāyatrī verse one thousand times or an unlimited number of times. Repeating 'om bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ' he takes up the water strainer (cloth) and fetches water. Let him not thereafter perform *ācamana* with water that has not been drawn up (from a well), which has not been strained²¹⁸⁶ and which has not been completely cleansed. Let him not wear thereafter whitegarments. He may carry one staff or three. He has to keep the following vows: *ahiṁsā* (abstaining from injury to any creature), truthfulness, not depriving others of any property of theirs, continence, and liberality. There are five minor *vratas* (vows) viz. absence of anger, waiting upon the guru, avoidance of carelessness (or rashness), cleanliness, purity in food. Then follow rules as to begging for alms (some of them are at pp. 933-934 above).
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When he returns from begging, he places the alms in a pure spot, washes his hands and feet and announces (the alms) first to the sun with the verses 'udu tyam' (Ṛg. I. 50. 1) and 'citram' (Ṛg. I. 115. 1); he also announces the alms to *brahman* with the text 'brahma jajñānam' (Tai. S. IV. 2. 8. 2 = Atharvaveda IV. 1. 1). It is declared (in Vedic texts) that after the *brahmādhāna* the sacred fires are contained in the sacrificer himself; his prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna represent the five fires gārhapatya, anvāhāryapacana (dakṣiṇāgni), āhavanīya, sabhya and āvasathya. These five fires indeed abide in the *Ātman*; he, therefore, offers (the oblations) in the *Ātman* only. This sacrifice offered in the soul, which is centred in and based on the Ātman, leads the soul to bliss. Giving compassionately portions of the alms to creatures and sprinkling the remainder with water, he should partake of it as if it were some medicine. After he has eaten and taken *ācamana* he worships the sun with the Jyotiṣmatī²¹⁸⁷ verse viz. 'ud vayam' (Ṛg. I. 50. 10) after inaudibly muttering the two texts 'vāṅ me āsan' (Tai. S. V. 5. 9. 2) and 'nasoḥ prāṇaḥ' (Tai. Ār. X. 72). Let him eat food given without asking, regarding which nothing has been settled beforehand and which comes to him by chance and so much only as is necessary to support life.