History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.127
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.127
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v3.c51.127.1
After the chanting of the Mādhyandina-pavamāna comes the rite called Dadhigharma, if the sacrificer has performed the Pravargya rite (Āśv. V. 13. 1). The pratiprasthātṛ brings curds in the ladle (sruc) made of udumbara; the curds are heated on the āgnīdhriya fire. The hotṛ when asked 'is the *havis* heated' repeats Ṛg. X. 179. 2 as the anuvākyā and X. 179. 3 is the yājyā and after he says 'vau3ṣaṭ' the curds are offered in the āhavanīya, and when he repeats 'agne vīhi' and also a second vauṣaṭ another offering of the heated curds is made and the remnants of curds are eaten by those who partake of the remnants in the Pravargya rite. Then the paśupuroḍāśa (of the animal killed in the morning) and the other offerings (such as puroḍāśa on eleven potsherds) are made and the remnants eaten. Then ten camasas are filled (including that of acchāvāka). Then offerings of soma from the śukra and manthin cups are made respectively by the adhvaryu and pratiprasthātṛ and the camasādhvaryus offer the soma taken in their camasas and the remnants are partaken by the priests. After this come the offerings of ājya called dakṣiṇāhuti or dākṣiṇa homa (Kāt. X. 1. 4., Śat. IX. 2. p. 910). The procedure here resembles the Vaisarjina homa described above (p. 1158). Gold is tied by the hem of the garment that covers the yajamāna and his family, it is placed in the ājya contained in the juhū, and two āhutis are offered with 'udu tyam' (Ṛg. I. 50. 1) and 'citram (Ṛg. I. 115.
v3.c51.127.2
1) in the gārhapatya fire, the piece of gold is taken out and the yajamāna holding that gold piece and ājya in his hand approaches the dakṣiṇās (the various articles that constitute the fee) placed to the south of the mahāvedi. Vide Śat. Br. IV. 3. 4 about dakṣiṇā (derived from 'dakṣay' to invigorate) where it is stated that no priest should officiate at a soma sacrifice for a fee less than one hundred cows. Āp. (XIII. 5. 1—XIII. 7. 15) gives numerous rules about the dakṣiṇā to be distributed among the sixteen priests. The dakṣiṇā may consist of 7, 21, 60, 100, 112, or 1000 cattle or an unlimited number or a man may give all his wealth except the share of the eldest son²⁶¹³ and when he gives a thousand cattle or all his wealth he has to give one mule in addition (Āp. XIII. 5. 1-3). He may also give goats, sheep, horses, slaves, an elephant, clothes, chariots, corn of various kinds, asses. A man may give his own daughter in marriage (in the daiva form) as fee (Āśv. V. 13. 7). With regard to the cows meant as fee Āp. states that the yajamāna drives them with the black antelope skin so as to form them into four groups. One group (i. e. ½ of the whole number) is given to the adhvaryu and his assistants in such a way that the pratiprasthātṛ, neṣṭṛ and unnetṛ receive respectively half, one-third and one-fourth of what the adhvaryu gets; that is, as stated by Kāt. X. 2. 25 and the com. on Āp. XIII. 2.
v3.c51.127.3
12, twelve cows are given to each of the four principal priests, 6, 4 and 3 respectively to each of their assistants in the order stated above in note 2228 (supposing one hundred cows are to be distributed). Jai. (as indicated below) and Manu VIII. 210 refer to this rule of distribution. The āgnīdhra is the first recipient of gifts, receiving a piece of gold, pūrṇapātra and a pillow woven with threads of all colours. The pratihartṛ is the last recipient (Āp. XIII. 6. 2, Kāt. X. 2. 39). Gifts are made to the priests while they sit inside the sadas and to the adhvaryu and his assistants in the havirdhāna pavilion. To a brāhmaṇa of the Atri gotra (who is not a ṛtvik) a gold piece is given before everybody else or after the āgnīdhra (Āp. XIII. 6. 12, Kāt. X. 2. 21). After the āgnīdhra come brahmā, udgātṛ and hotṛ (Kāt. X. 2. 26). Apart from the gifts meant for the ṛtviks something is given according to ability and inclination to the camasādhvaryus, the sadasya and to sight-seers in the sadas (they are called prasarpakas), except to those who belong to the Kaṇva or Kaśyapa gotra or those who ask for a gift (Āp. XIII. 7. 1-5, Kāt. X. 2. 35). Āp. (XIII. 7. 6-7) says that generally no gift is to be given to one who is not a brāhmaṇa, but a gift may be given to a non-brāhmaṇa who knows the Vedic lore, while no gift is to be made to a brāhmaṇa who is not learned. Kāt. X. 2. 38 states that the wife also joins in making gifts.
v3.c51.127.4
After the anuvākya is repeated by the maitrāvaruṇa for the marutvatīya cup to be described below no gifts are made (Āp. XIII. 7, 14, Kāt. X. 3. 2). On making the gifts the sacrificer does obeisance (namaskāra) to the priests and utters an invocation as to animals donated in the words 'who gave to whom?'²⁶¹⁴ Drāhyāyaṇa (V. 3. 14-19) states that before accepting a gift every priest murmurs the famous mantra 'I take thee at the impulse of god Savitṛ.... &c' (Tāṇḍya I. 8. 1) and after receiving the gift each donee murmurs 'who gave to whom' (Tāṇḍya I. 8. 17). The gifts are taken away by the path between the āgnīdhrīya shed and the sadas and then by the tīrtha (Drāhyāyaṇa V. 3. 13). Jai. (X. 2. 22-28) declares that the making of gifts to the priests is not merely a formal act as part of the sacrificial rites, but is intended to induce the priests to give their services in return for the gifts. In Jai. X. 3. 39-49 it is concluded that in the words 'the dakṣiṇā is 112' the vedic text refers only to cows and not to the various kinds of corns, in X. 3. 50-52 that the division of the gifts is to be made by the sacrificer and not left to be done by the priests and that all the priests do not share equally, but according to the Vedic texts some get half (they are ardhinaḥ), others one-third (they are called tṛtīyinaḥ) and still others one-fourth (X. 3. 53-55). Jai. XII. 1.
v3.c51.127.5
32 states that as valuable gifts are given in Somayāga, there is no rice cooked (called anvāhārya) for the priests in the iṣṭis of Somayāga as there is in darśapūrṇamāsa (note 2390).