History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c50.16.1

v3.c50.16.1

He takes a spade with a mantra (e. g. Vāj. S. VI. 1), draws to the east of the new āhavanīya an outline of the hole to be dug for inserting the yūpa. He digs a pit so deep that when the yūpa is erected therein its *upara* (the lower unchiselled portion) will not be exposed to view and he throws out to the east of the pit the earth dug out. The pit is so dug that it is partly within the vedi (prepared for paśubandha) and partly outside²⁴⁹¹ (i. e. it is on the border). The yūpa is laid down in front of the pit, with its top to the east, is washed with water and sprinkled over with water in which barley grains have been mixed, a separate mantra (pṛthivyai tvā &c. as in Vāj. S. V. 26) being recited when sprinkling the bottom, middle and top of the yūpa. He places a handful of kuśas and the first chip (that was cut off with the axe from the tree) on the yūpa which are both subsequently thrown into the hole, the ends of the kuśas being towards the north and east; and then places to the north of the top of the yūpa the caṣāla. The rest of the water taken for sprinkling is poured into the hole for the yūpa with 'Śundhantāṁ lokāḥ pitṛṣadanāḥ' (Vāj. S. VI. 1, Tai. S. I. 3. 1. 1) in which there is a reference to the world of the pitṛs. He silently makes an offering of clarified butter in the hole with the sruva ladle.