History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.402

v4.c63.402

The procedure common to all ordeals and described in the Mit. on Yāj. II. 97 and 99, the V. May. pp. 52-55, V.P. pp. 183-186 (all relying on Pitāmaha) and Vyavahāra-nirṇaya pp. 148-53 (relying on Prajāpati, Pitāmaha, Bṛ.) is briefly as follows:—In ordeals the chief justice is to do every thing at the king's bidding as the *adhvaryu* priest does in all sacrifices. He should observe a fast and the *śodhya* (person undergoing the ordeal to clear himself) is also to do the same. Both are to bathe in the morning and the *śodhya* was to have his wet clothes on. The Chief Judge is to invoke the gods to the accompaniment of music and to offer flowers, sandal-wood paste and incense. He should fold his hands, face the east and invoke Dharma to be present at the ordeal (Dharma being the principal deity in ordeals) and assign places to Indra, Yama, Varuṇa and Kubera in the four principal quarters from the east and to Agni and other guardians of quarters in the corners of the principal quarters. He is to contemplate on the eight deities of the eight quarters as having different colours (viz. Indra as yellow, Yama as dark &c.). He is to assign the eight Vasus (repeating their names) to the south of Indra, the twelve Ādityas (repeating their names) between Indra and Īśāna (i. e. between east and north-east), assign a place to the eleven Rudras to the west of Agni, assign a place to the seven Mother goddesses between Yama and Nirṛti (between south and southwest), assign a place to Gaṇeśa to the north of Nirṛti, to the Maruts (seven) to the north of Varuṇa; to the north of the balance (or the place of other ordeals) he should invoke Durgā. All these deities are to be invoked with appropriate Vedic mantras (set out in V. May.). He should offer the several items of worship from *arghya* (water offered by way of honour) to ornament to Dharma (as the principal deity) and then to the subsidiary deities from Indra to Durgā (according to appropriateness) and then sandalwood paste, flowers, incense, lamp and *naivedya* to the deities from Dharma to Durgā. The flowers for Dharma are to be red. Up to this is the work of the Chief Justice. Sacrificial priests should offer into fire in the four quarters 108 oblations of clarified butter, boiled rice and fuel sticks with syllable *Om* and the *Gāyatrī* and with '*Om*' and '*svāhā*' at the end of each. Having written down on a leaf the subject matter for which the party is undergoing ordeal the leaf should be placed on the head of the *śodhya* with the *mantra*,⁵⁸³ 'the sun, the moon, the wind, fire, heaven and earth, waters, the heart, Yama, day and night, the two twilights and Dharma know (see or mark) the deeds of men'.