History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.119.4

v3.c48.119.4

Then the hotṛ invokes the names of the pravara sages²³⁵⁷ of the sacrificer as many as he may have (1, 2, 3 or 5), the most remote one being first uttered, then the more remote and so on. In the case of a kṣatriya or a vaiśya sacrificer, the invocation is made of the pravara sages of the purohita of the sacrificer or of the names ‘Mānava, Aila, Paurūravasa’ or of ‘Mānava’ for all in case of doubt (Āśv. I. 3. 3-5). He then proceeds ‘(Agni) that was kindled by the Gods and by Manu, that was sung by the sages, whom wise men gladdened, that was praised by the sages, that was aroused by prayers, that is offered ghee, the bringer (or leader) of sacrifices, the charioteer of sacrifices, the unobstructed hotṛ, the swift carrier of offerings’. He takes breath here and proceeds ‘thou art the mouth and the vessel of the gods, the juhū of the gods, a camasa (cup) with which the gods drink; O fire! as the spokes are centered in the felly, so thou encompassest the gods, bring the gods to this sacrificer’.²³⁵⁸ Then he calls upon Agni to bring the several deities, viz. Agni, Soma, Agni, Prajāpati, Agniṣomau, the ghee-drinking gods and adds ‘bring Agni for the *hotra* (the function or office of hotṛ), bring thy own greatness, O Jātavedas (fire), bring and sacrifice with a good offering'.