History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.123

v3.c51.123

After the recitation of the śastra and the partaking of remnants of soma the adhvaryu takes the Vaiśvadeva cup, fills it from the droṇakalaśa, touches it with two kuśa blades, hands over the blades to the prastotṛ priest and urges the sāman priests to chant a stotra. This is the mode in all cases of dhurya stotras. Stotras other than the Bahiṣpavamāna are chanted near the Audumbarī post in the sadas; the prastotṛ sits facing the west behind the adhvaryu, the udgātṛ sits to his west facing the north, and the pratihartṛ sits facing udgātṛ, but looking towards the south-east (Tāṇḍya VI. 4. 14, Drāhyāyaṇa III. 3. 28). The stotra chanted after the Vaiśvadeva cup is taken and the three following ones are called ājyastotras²⁶¹¹ (com. on Āp. XII. 28. 6). The 2nd śastra is called *prauga* (Āśv. V. 10. 6) which is recited after the taking up of the Vaiśvadeva cup and is supposed according to the Ait. Br. XI. 2 to confer food. This śastra is made up of Ṛg. I. 2 and 3 (in all 21 verses), which are divided into seven triplets addressed to seven deities in order viz. Vāyu, Indra-vāyu, Mitra and Varuṇa, Aśvins, Indra, Viśve Devas, Sarasvatī. Each of the seven triplets is preceded by a verse called *puroruk*. The first puroruk is preceded by 'hiṁ' and 'bhūr-bhuvaḥ svaro 3m.'²⁶¹² The 2nd verse of Ṛg. I. 2 is repeated thrice (and not the first as is usual, com. on Āśv. V. 10. 6). At the end of the recitation the priest mutters 'ukthaṁ vāci ślokāya tvā' (instead of 'ghoṣāya tvā'), and Ṛg. I. 14. 10 is the yājyā of the Prauga-śastra. This cup is offered and the remnants of it and of the camasas are drunk by the priests. Then from the Ukthyasthālī containing soma a third is taken for filling three cups to Mitra and Varuṇa, Indra, and Indra-Agni. Stotras and śastras follow at each of these three cups, the śastras being repeated respectively by the maitrāvaruṇa, brāhmaṇācchaṁsin and acchāvāka. For want of space all these three śastras cannot be set out at length here. Āśv. V. 10. 26 very succintly incticates them. Each of these śastras has four parts, (1) a triplet called *stotriya* (because those very verses have been chanted in the corresponding stotra); (2) then another triplet called *anurūpa* which should agree in metre, deity and even the sage (according to some) with the stotriya triplet (Āśv. V. 10. 26-27); (3) the core or principal part of the śastra, hence called uktha-mukha (vide Śāṅ. VII. 11. 3); (4) a yājyā verse. For example, in the maitrāvaruṇa śastra, Ṛg. III. 62. 16-18 constitute the stotriya triplet (those three verses are chanted as the 2nd ājyastotra), Ṛg. V. 71. 1-3 form the anurūpa triplet, Ṛg. V. 68. 1-5 and Ṛg. VII. 66. 1-9 are the uktha-mukha and Ṛg. VII. 66. 19 is the yājyā of the śastra. This brings the prātaḥsavana to an end, and the adhvaryu makes an offering at the end with the words 'May Agni protect us in the morning savana'. At the bidding of the adhvaryu the maitrāvaruṇa asks all the priests to come out of the sadas and they come out by the way they went in.