History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.12

v3.c48.12

On the morning of the full moon day the sacrificer, after the performance of his daily agnihotra, sitting on a seat of darbhas to the west of the gārhapatya, holding kuśa grass in his hand and performing prāṇāyāma and accompanied by his wife, makes a *saṁkalpa* (resolve) as noted below.²²⁷⁸ Then he says to the four priests viz., adhvaryu, brahmā, hotṛ and āgnīdhra 'I choose thee, so and so by name, as my adhvaryu, as my brahmā, as my hotṛ and as my āgnīdhra.' The adhvaryu takes fire from the gārhapatya, carries it to the āhavanīya mound and also to the dakṣiṇāgni mound and places a fuel-stick with its end to the east on the āhavanīya with the verse 'mamāgne varco'²²⁷⁹ (Ṛg. X. 128. 1, Tai. S. IV. 7. 14. 1). The adhvaryu and sacrificer perform *japa* by muttering three verses²²⁸⁰ (from Tai. Br. III. 7. 4 set out in Śat. I. 2. p. 71). While he is between the two fires (āhavanīya and gārhapatya) he mutters standing a verse 'antarāgni...manīṣayā' (Tai. Br. III. 7. 4). Then he offers a *samidh* into the gārhapatya fire with Ṛg. X. 128. 2 (= Tai. S. IV. 7. 14. 1, 'mama devā vihave'). The adhvaryu and sacrificer mutter two verses 'iha prajā &c.' and 'iha paśavo' (Tai. Br. III. 7. 4, Śat. I. 2. p. 71). The adhvaryu then places a *samidh* on the dakṣiṇa fire with 'mayi devā' (Ṛg. X. 128. 3, Tai. S. IV. 3. 14. 1). Then the two mutter a verse 'ayam pitṝṇām' (Tai. Br. III. 7. 4). Those who maintained sabhya and āvasathya fires offered samidhs to them with mantras²²⁸¹ (from Tai. Br. III. 7. 4).