History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c50.25.2

v3.c50.25.2

110 have only Tanūnapāt (and no Narāśaṁsa) and the rest have only Narāśaṁsa (and no Tanūnapāt). According to Āśv. III. 2. 5–7, persons of Śunaka and Vasiṣṭha gotras should repeat their own Āprī hymn (viz. II. 3 and VII. 2 respectively), persons of gotras other than these two should employ the Āprī hymn beginning with 'samiddho adya' (according to the com. Ṛg. X. 110 and not I. 188) or persons of any one of the ten gotras may employ an Āprī hymn²⁴⁹⁹ ascribed to the founder of his gotra if he is from among these ten sages. The words of Āśv. I. 5. 21–22 create some difficulty. Āśv. there prescribes that when uttering the yājyā at the time of offering the 2nd prayāja, the formula should contain an address to Tanūnapāt for all except for persons of Vasiṣṭha, Śunaka, Atri, Vadhryaśva and Rājanya gotras. These latter should utter a formula addressed to Narāśaṁsa. Here if 'rājanya' refers to Viśvāmitra, then the difficulty is that in the Āprī hymn (III. 4) ascribed to him, the 2nd deity is Tanūnapāt and not Narāśaṁsa; but it is possible that the word 'rājanya' stands for a kṣatriya sacrificer in general and does not refer to Viśvāmitra gotra at all. After ten prayājas are offered, the adhvaryu says to the slaughterer of the victim 'bring your two-edged knife.' The adhvaryu takes the *svaru* (chip of wood) and anoints the svaru and one edge of the knife with the clarified butter from the bill-like (or spout-like) part of the *juhū* ladle (according to Āp. VII. 14.