History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c48.77

v3.c48.77

The adhvaryu heats the pātrī (the puroḍāśa pātrī, according to Kāt. II. 6. 49) that is washed with water on the fire on which the cake is to be baked and when it is heated and slightly cooled he places the pavitras on it and pours on to it across the pavitras the flour (of ground and bruised grains) from the black antelope skin with the *yajus* mantra²³²⁰ 'devasya tvā ... agnaye juṣṭam saṁvapāmi' thrice and once silently. While pouring the ground grains he restrains his speech and gives up the restraint only when he spreads holy ashes over the puroḍāśa (vide below). He purifies the flour by moving forwards and backwards and raising up the two pavitras (darbha blades) the tips of which are turned northwards thrice (i. e. he performs *utpavana*) once with the mantra 'haryos-tvā vārābhyām-ut-punāmi' or with the mantra 'devo vaḥ' (vide note 2291 above). He takes in the sruva ladle water from the praṇītā water, and supporting it on the veda bunch pours that water on the flour with a mantra 'waters have joined with waters &c.' (Tai. S. I. 1. 8. 1) and also pours thereon the hot water from the *madantī* vessel with the mantra²³²¹ 'you are generated from waters' and mixes the flour through and through on all sides with the water from left to right with 'may you be well mixed up with water' (Tai. S. I. 1. 8. 1). He stirs and mixes the flour and water with the *mekṣaṇa*²³²² with 'I mix thee together for generation', and makes a ball (of the flour) with 'thou art the head of the sacrifice'. He then divides the ball into two parts with 'may you (two) become separate according to the respective shares (of the deities)'. He makes two balls of equal size from the dough and touches the two separately with 'this for Agni' and 'this for Agni and Soma.'²³²³ From the group of potsherds to the south he removes the burning coals with the veda bunch with 'Here do I remove the face from the approaching (or attacking) army' and then removes the coals also from the group of potsherds that are to the north. Taking the ball of flour that is to be placed on the southern potsherds with 'thou art the head of the sacrifice' he bakes the ball with 'thou art heat and bestower of all life' and similarly bakes the other ball on the northern group of potsherds in the same way.²³²⁴ He makes the cake assume the shape of a tortoise, but its back should be neither too high nor too low like an apūpa and the cake should be as large as the hoof of a horse.²³²⁵ He spreads the cake so that it covers all the potsherds with 'may thou spread wide' (i. e. have progeny &c.). He puts water in the vessel (with the water from which the flour was mixed up) and sweeps the surface of the cake from left to right with his wet hand in such a way that the cake will have a skin-like continuous surface with 'mayst thou take on a skin'. He passes a burning firebrand thrice round each cake with 'vanished is the evil spirit, vanished are the enemies'. He applies over the cakes the flames of burning darbhas with 'may the god Savitṛ bake thee in the kindled (fire) called nāka'. He applies heat by passing round the cakes burning fire-brands with 'may fire not burn thy body! O Fire, protect the offering'. He spreads over the cake ashes in which there are also burning coals with 'mayst thou be connected with prayer'. The adhvaryu issues a direction (to the āgnīdhra) 'bake the cakes without burning them' and here he gives up the restraint of speech (that was imposed as stated above).