History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.41

v3.c51.41

According to Śat. Br. XIV. 2. 2. 44-46 and Jai. III. 3. 32-33 the Pravargya was not to be performed at a sacrificer's first soma sacrifice and it was not to be performed for anyone and everyone, but only for him who was well-known or was a complete master of the veda. On the day previous to the soma pressing day, the two performances of pravargya and upasad are combined and gone through in the morning and on that day takes place the 'udvāsana' (setting out or orderly discharge) of the pravargya either by laying out the pravargya apparatus in the form of a human body or by throwing them in the midst of water or in a river island &c. They (the priests and yajamāna) set out as a general rule (Āp. XV. 16. 6) all the implements on the uttaravedi, the principal mahāvīra vessel as the head is placed close to the front side of the navel of the uttaravedi, the two other mahāvīras are placed to its east, the bunch of kuśa grass (called veda) is placed on top of the mahāvīra to represent śikhā (top-knot of hair), the two lifting sticks (śaphas) are placed on two sides as arms and so on. Vide Śat. Br. XIV. 3. 1. 16, Āp. XV. 15, Kāt. 26.7.14 ff. According to Āp. XV. 11. 10-13 the yajamāna and some of the priests viz. hotṛ, adhvaryu, brahmā, pratiprasthātṛ and āgnīdhra drink the remainder of the milk (gharma) from the upayamani (a large wooden spoon).