History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.50
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c51.50
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v3.c51.50.1
On the next day both the pravargyas and upasads of the morning and afternoon are gone through in the morning. After the *udvāsana* of the pravargya, the bringing forward of the fire (agnipraṇayana) from the āhavanīya to the uttaravedi takes place. The fire placed on the nābhi becomes the āhavanīya for all actions in the soma sacrifice and the original āhavanīya becomes the gārhapatya (Āp. XI. 5. 9–10). Kuśa grass, the fuel and vedi are thrice sprinkled with water and the vedi is covered with that grass with the points of the blades to the east. Two carts, washed with water, with their yokes tightly bound but with no yoke-pins, are brought round from the agniśālā and placed in the mahāvedi, one about one cubit (aratni) to the south of the pṛṣṭhyā line and the other to the north about one cubit. The cart to the south (called dakṣiṇa-havirdhāna) is larger than the one to the north and the shafts of both are towards the east. These carts are called havirdhāna because the soma plant (which is the *havis* in somayāga) is to be placed thereon.²⁵⁶⁵ The south and north carts are respectively in charge of the adhvaryu and pratiprasthātṛ. They are then covered with grass mats or thatch made of split bamboos. A maṇḍapa (called havirdhāna-maṇḍapa) is erected by having six posts in front of the two carts and six behind them and having two bamboos on the posts from south to north. He suspends from the front part of the maṇḍapa a garland-like sheaf of twisted grass (rarāṭī).
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Various saṃskāras are performed on the axles of the carts by the wife and pratiprasthātṛ respectively. Detailed rules about covering the carts and similar matters are passed over (Āp. XI. 7-8, Kāt. VIII. 4). The havirdhāna maṇḍapa is higher in the east than in the west and has two doors one to the east and the other to the west (Sat. VII. 4. p. 701). No one is to take his meals or even to eat iḍā inside the havirdhāna maṇḍapa. The adhvaryu digs four round holes (in two rows, two in each row) below the fore part of the shafts of the southern cart (but not far from the axle), each hole being about one span in diameter, being at a distance of one span from each and all being connected by cross-way subterranean passages. They are one arm deep. They are dug in such an order that the hole to the north-east is the last (i. e. first south-east one is dug, then north-west one is dug, then south-west and then north-east or first north-west one, then south-east, then south-west and lastly north-east). On these holes are spread kuśa blades over which two wooden boards (adhiṣavaṇa-phalaka) are placed over which is spread the red skin of a bull (adhiṣavaṇa-carma), on which soma juice is extracted by means of four stones. These holes add to the noise of the stones by the sound reverberating through them and they are therefore called uparava.²⁵⁶⁶ Jai. (XI. 4. 52-53) states that the mantra 'rakṣohaṇo' is to be repeated at each time when a hole is dug and not only once for all holes.
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The adhvaryu and the sacrificer insert their right hands in the holes (the adhvaryu inserting his hand in the south-east hole and the sacrificer in the north-west and then a second time the adhvaryu inserts his hand in the south-west hole and the sacrificer in the north-east) and touch each other's hands and adhvaryu asks 'sacrificer! what is there?'; the sacrificer replies 'welfare (or happiness)' and the adhvaryu in a low voice says 'may that belong to us both.' This is done twice (Kāt. VIII. 5. 14-21). At the second time the yajamāna asks 'adhvaryu! what is there?', the adhvaryu replies 'welfare' and the yajamāna says 'let it be mine.' The uparavas are sprinkled with water beginning from the south-east one and ending with the north-east one with a mantra ('rakṣohaṇo &c.' Vāj. S. V. 25, Tai. S. I. 3. 2). Then the rest of the prokṣaṇī water is poured into them, kuśas are spread over their bottoms as in the hole of the yūpa (described above), a golden piece is placed thereon and offering of ājya is made. To the east of the uparavas or of the adhiṣavaṇa-carma or of the upastambhana²⁵⁶⁷ a four-cornered mound (khara) is made for keeping the soma vessels on with the earth (dug up from the uparavas) that is sprinkled with water and mixed with sand. In front of this mound sufficient space is left to move about in the havirdhāna maṇḍapa.
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To the west of the utkara at a distance of six prakramas (which comes to about the middle of the north side of the great altar) is prepared the shed for āgnīdhra, which is half inside and half outside the great vedi, which has four posts and the beams of which run from west to east, which has a door to the south and is covered on all sides with mats. This shed is so made that its west side would be a continuation of the end of the western side of the havirdhāna maṇḍapa and this shed is a square having sides of five aratnis each (com. on Kāt. VIII. 6. 13). The *sadas* is measured at a distance of three prakramas from the western side of the great vedi to its east and has its length from south to north. The width of the *sadas* is nine aratnis (or half of its length) and its length (from south to north) 27 aratnis or as much as would be necessary for allowing room to all the priests, their dhiṣṇyas (seats) and the prasarpakas (assistants and spectators). In the midst of the sadas a post of udumbara is fixed which is of the height of the sacrificer above its pit and which is placed at a distance of one prakrama to the south of the pṛṣṭhyā. All saṁskāras that are made on the yūpa and its pit are made in the case of this post except those referring to *śakala* (vide p. 1115 above). The udumbara post has an ear-like protuberance towards the east when it is fixed in the pit.
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On that protuberance a gold piece is offered with the juhū and ājya is poured on in such a way that some of it will trickle to the ground. This audumbarī is thicker than any post of the sadas. The posts on the borders of the sadas are as high as the navel of the yajamāna towards its sides, but in the middle they are as high as the audumbarī post. On the posts of the sadas beams are placed running from south to north and west to east. The middle of one third of this is covered with three mats that have their ends to the north, and then to the south and north of the middle portion three mats (on each side) are placed in such a way that their ends are turned towards the audumbarī post. The sadas is covered with nine mats in all that are well sewn together. The sadas is surrounded by screens and it has two doors to the east and west (just as the havirdhāna pavilion has). Some prepare the sadas first and then the uparavas or vice versa (Āp. XI. 10. 19). The doors of the prāgvaṁśa, the sadas and havirdhāna are so arranged (opposite each other) that a person sitting in one of these can see into all. Then eight dhiṣṇyas (seats) are to be prepared. The first is made in the āgnīdhra shed in its middle in such a manner that between it and the north side of the great vedi some space will be left for moving about. Six more dhiṣṇyas are to be made in the sadas. The earth for all these dhiṣṇyas is taken from the cātvāla pit.
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The six seats are made in the eastern portion of the sadas leaving between them and the eastern side of the sadas sufficient space to move about. The earth is spread on the seats by the adhvaryu who faces the north when preparing all the seats (except two) and who is touched by the sacrificer with the sphya. Over the earth sand or gravel is spread on all the seats. Out of the six seats the adhvaryu facing the west makes the seat for the hotṛ to the north of the pṛṣṭhyā line but touching it about one prakrama from the eastern door of the sadas (or on the pṛṣṭhyā line itself, according to Āp. XI. 14. 4). Then four more seats are made to the north of the seat of the hotṛ in order for brāhmaṇācchaṁsin, potṛ, neṣṭṛ and acchāvāka respectively, each of which is at the same distance from the next and the seat of the acchāvāka is (four aṅgulas) larger than those of the rest. The seats are either square or round (according to Sat VII. 7. p. 723) and of 18 aṅgulas in diameter or on each side, and at the distance of one cubit or 18 aṅgulas from each other (com. on Kāt. VIII. 6. 22). To the south of the hotṛ's dhiṣṇya, the adhvaryu with his face to the north prepares at a distance of 4½ aratnis from the hotṛ seat the seat for maitrāvaruṇa (or praśāstṛ), which seat is also to the southeast of the audumbarī post. The seat of maitrāvaruṇa is prepared immediately after hotṛ's seat. These seven priests viz. āgnīdhra to maitrāvaruṇa are called the 'seven hotṛs' in somayāga according to Tai. Br.
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II. 3. 6 and Sāyaṇa thereon, but Āśv. I. 2. 26 seems to be opposed to this. Outside the sadas just opposite the āgnīdhra shed to the south is prepared the mārjālīya²⁵⁶⁸ shed which is half inside the great vedi and half outside to the south and in the midst there is the mārjālīya seat made by the adhvaryu facing the south. The mārjālīya shed has a door facing the north. When all these several sheds and seats are got ready the adhvaryu and spectators have to enter and leave the great vedi by a route between the cātvāla pit and the utkara or between the cātvāla and the āgnīdhra shed and according to some on the day on which soma is pressed spectators may move about anywhere (Āp. XI. 13. 10-11).