History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c47.s2.1.1

v3.c47.s2.1.1

According to Gau. VIII. 20 there are seven forms of haviryajñas of which agnihotra is the second. From the evening of the day of agnyādheya the house-holder has to perform agnihotra²²⁵⁷ (burnt offering of cow's milk &c.) twice daily in the evening and morning to the end of his life or till he becomes a saṁnyāsin, or as the Śat. Br. (XII. 4. 1. 1) says 'Those who offer agnihotra indeed enter upon a long sacrificial session; agnihotra indeed is a sattra that ends with old age or death, since he becomes free from it only by old age or death.' Satyāṣāḍha prescribes (III. 1) that from the time of setting up the three śrauta fires, agnihotra and darśapūrṇamāsa are obligatory on all members of the twice-born classes and he holds that the niṣāda and rathakāra also are bound to perform them, though other sūtrakāras are opposed to this. Vide pp. 45-47 above. Jai. (VI. 3. 1-7 and 8-10) holds that agnihotra being obligatory, it may be undertaken even by him who is not able to perform every detail of it in its entirety, but that a kāmya rite should be undertaken only by him who is able to carry out every detail. Vide also Jai. II. 4. 1-7 where 'yāvaj-jīvam-agnihotraṁ juhoti' is explained as laying down a characteristic required of the performer. The several sūtras present differing details and mantras.²²⁵⁸ According to one view all the three fires are permanently maintained by the house-holder²²⁵⁹ (Kāt. IV. 13. 5); according to others only the gārhapatya is permanently kept (Āp. VI. 2.