History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c53.10

v3.c53.10

The northern vedi is in extent only one-third of the vedi for a soma sacrifice. When the uttaravedi is being prepared the pratiprasthātṛ takes earth from the cātvāla pit, makes a mound to the south of the uttaravedi, a second mound for keeping wine cups in front of the dakṣiṇa fire, brings fire from the dakṣiṇa fire and establishes it on the mound which is to the south of the uttaravedi. According to Kāt. XIX. 2. 11 (which is part of the description of the independent sautrāmaṇī) the adhvaryu purifies on the northern vedī milk contained in a vessel made of reeds (*vetasa*) and fills cups of milk, the one for Aśvins being made of aśvattha wood, and those for Sarasvatī and Indra being made of udumbara and nyagrodha. The three cups of milk are offered together by the adhvaryu. After the offering to Vanaspati in the animal sacrifice a couch of muñja cords is placed between the two vedis and the sacrificer sits on the couch which is covered with a black antelope skin with a silver piece under his left foot and a golden one under his right foot. The adhvaryu offers thirty-two cups of *vasā* (fat) from vessels made of the hoofs of bulls with Vāj. S. XIX. 80-95. The remnants of fat are contained in a *śata* (vessel) of reeds. The adhvaryu sprinkles over the yajamāna whose body has been rendered fragrant with unguents the liquid from that vessel till it trickles down up to his mouth. The adhvaryu touches the sacrificer who summons his men and servants calling them by auspicious names (such as suśloka). The men lift him gradually first up to the knee, then up to the navel &c. The sacrificer alights on a black antelope skin when a 33rd cup of fat is taken, a sāman in the Bṛhat tune for Indra (Vāj S. XX. 30) is chanted by the brahmā priest and the nidhana (finale) of it differs according to the varṇa of the sacrificer2664a and is sung in chorus by all and then the 33rd cup is offered. There is the final purificatory bath as in Somayāga. Finally, after the caru to Aditi āmikṣā is offered to Mitra and Varuṇa and then an animal to Indra Vayodhas. Jaimini lays down certain propositions about the Sautrāmaṇī. In III. 5. 14-15 he states that all the contents of the grahas of milk are offered in the fire on the northern vedi and of the wine cups into the southern fire and nothing is left out of them for being offered as Sviṣṭakṛt offering or for the purpose of iḍā. In IV. 3. 29-31 it is established that when the Vedic text says 'after piling the fire altar one should perform Sautrāmaṇī' there is no injunction about the time of performing Sautrāmaṇī but what is declared is that the Sautrāmaṇī is an aṅga (a subordinate constituent) of the principal rite viz. agnicayana and in IX. 3. 40-41 it is stated with reference to the same text that the sautrāmaṇī is not necessarily performed immediately after agnicayana but on the Full Moon day or New Moon day thereafter. In VIII. 2. 1-9 Jaimini declares that though the surā offered in Sautrāmaṇī is spoken of as soma and though several actions such as purchase of surā, tying in cloth are common to surā and soma, the general procedure to be followed in Sautrāmaṇī is that of darśapūrṇamāsa and not of soma sacrifice and that surā is spoken of as soma by way of lauding the offering of wine cups.²⁶⁶⁵