History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c50.44

v3.c50.44

Now preparations are to be made for the paśu-puroḍāśa²⁵¹⁵ and the necessary utensils are placed to the east of the āhavanīya (the former āhavanīya i. e. the gārhapatya in this sacrifice) on kuśa grass by the āgnīdhra. The devatā of the puroḍāśa is the same as the devatā of the victim i. e. Indra and Agni (vide p. 1117 above). Jai. (XII. 1. 1-6) prescribes that the procedure (viz. prayājas) performed at the time of offering vapā is not to be repeated when the paśupuroḍāśa is offered. The adhvaryu separates the various organs (such as the heart, the tongue) from the corpse without cutting into parts each organ (according to the com. on Āp. VII. 22. 5 and 7 it is the śamitṛ who cuts up the several limbs). There is some divergence as to the limbs of the victim that are cut off and are used as avadānas and since animal sacrifices became rare or were altogether stopped in medieval times, the commentators do not explain all the words used in the ancient texts in the same way (vide Āp. VII. 22. 6, Kāt. VI. 7. 6-12 and Baud. IV. 8). According to Āp. VII. 22. 6,²⁵¹⁶ the limbs cut off are: the heart, the tongue, chest, the liver, the kidneys (vṛkyau, vṛkkau in Kāt.), left forefoot, the two flanks (pārśve), the right haunch, a third part (i. e. the middle one) of the entrails—these are meant for the devatās and are to be offered with the juhū ladle; the right fore-foot, the left haunch, the thinnest third of the entrails—these are for sviṣṭakṛt; the kloman (the right lung?)²⁵¹⁷, plīhan (the spleen), purītat (pericardium?), adhyūdhnī (a tubular vessel above the udder), vaniṣṭhu (large entrails?), medas (fat), jāghanī²⁵¹⁸ (the tail). Kāt. VI.