History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.61.4

v3.c48.61.4

He then takes them and pours them in the mortar and issues a direction (praiṣa) to the sacrificer's wife to make the rice free from the thin coating of husk.²³¹³ The wife or some one else or a *dāsī* (a maid-servant) does the threshing several times, then she hands over the pestle to the āgnīdhra who beats with the pestle the grains and then the wife does the final beating with 'may you become pure for the gods, shine for the gods, purify for the gods'. The adhvaryu puts the kaṇas (little particles of rice grains) separated from the polished grains of rice in a vessel, cleanses the polished grains that are in the śūrpa with water. That portion which remains after the grains are beaten thrice is made to flow towards the utkara with the water (collected in another vessel) that is used in washing the polished grains with 'this is the portion of evil spirits. May the waters carry it forward from this place, svāhā', the water being also poured inside the vedi. Then he repeats the whole procedure about the black antelope skin from its being taken up to its being spread already described. Then the adhvaryu places the yoke-pin (śamyā) with its head (kumba, thick part) to the north on the antelope skin with 'thou art the support of the heavenly world'; he establishes²³¹⁴ the larger mill-stone (dṛṣad) with its face to the east on the śamyā in such a way as to cover the śamyā with its western half with 'thou art intelligence (though) made of a stone;