History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.30.4

v3.c48.30.4

If there are more cows (generally six are referred to) they also are got milked with the same mantras as for the first cow or silently and the adhvaryu does not hold his tongue, nor does he touch the kumbhī while the other cows are being milked. Jai. (XI. 1. 47-53) concludes that the passage of Tai. Br. about milking the other three cows is a mere anuvāda and not a *vidhi* and Śabara quotes passages of the śruti that on that night no agnihotra is offered with milk and the children in the house do not get any milk (as all milk is used up for the sānnāyya). When all are milked, if any drops have fallen about (on the ground &c.) he repeats a mantra (Tai. S. I. 1. 3. 1) and invokes the pot in which sānnāyya is to be prepared with a mantra. He washes the inside of the milking vessel with water and then pours that water into the pot (in which sānnāyya is to be prepared). He heats the milk and pours over it (i. e. does *abhighāraṇa*) clarified butter silently. He draws the heated pot from the burning coals in such a way as to make a line on the ground and places it to the east, north or north-east with a mantra. When the bottom of the heated vessel cools, he adds curds to it in order to coagulate the fresh milk with 'I add soma (i. e. curds) to thee in order to turn thee into curds for Indra' (Tai. S. I. 1. 3).²²⁹⁵ He adds to the vessel what remains sticking to the pot or sruc after agnihotra was offered with a mantra or silently.