History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.62

v3.c48.62

²³⁰⁸ The black antelope skin has been throughout the ages a symbol of holiness and vedic culture. It is therefore that āryāvarta was defined, as shown above (p. 13), as that territory where the black antelope wanders naturally. Vide Śat. Br. I. 1. 4. 1–2, where yajña is said to have escaped from the gods and wandered about as a black antelope and the white, black and yellow hairs of the antelope are said to represent respectively Ṛg, Sāman and Yajus. On account of its holiness, the antelope skin is employed for husking and bruising the grains (from which the cake is to be made).