History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c71.s1.506

v5.c71.s1.506

The general rules prescribed for the Kṛcchra penance in Gaut. 26 6-11 are applicable to Cāndrāyaṇa also. If it is performed as a penance the performer must tonsure his hair and observe a fast on the day preceding the Full Moon. He offers libations of water, oblations of clarified butter, consecrates the sacrificial food and worships the moon, reciting 'āpyāyasva' (Ṛg I. 91. 17), 'saṁ te payāṁsi' (Ṛg. I. 91. 18). He shall offer clarified butter, reciting the four (ṛks) beginning with 'yad devā devaheḍanaṁ' (Vāj. S. 20.14 or Tai. Br. II. 6. 6.1). These four together with the preceding are seven oblations of clarified butter that have to be offered. At the end of the offering of clarified butter he shall offer pieces of sacred fuel while reciting the (eight) texts beginning with ‘devakṛtasya’ (Vāj S VIII. 13). Each mouthful must be consecrated by (mentally) reciting one of the ³¹⁴ following words ‘oṁ bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ, tapaḥ truth, fame, prosperity, vigour, refreshment, strength, lustre, brightness, soul, dharma and śiva’³¹⁵; or he may consecrate all of them at once saying ‘adoration’ svāhā’. The sacrificial food must be one of the following, boiled rice, food obtained by begging, ground barley, grain separated from the husk, barley gruel, vegetables, milk, sour milk, clarified butter, roots, fruits and water. Among these each succeeding one is preferable to that enumerated earlier.