History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c72.87

v5.c72.87

It would be interesting to see how the ceremonies on the death of an *āhitāgni* are described in the śrauta and gṛhya sūtras. The Āśv. Śr. S. VI. 10 describes what is to be done in case one that has undergone a *dīkṣā* (initiation) for a Soma sacrifice or a sattra dies before the sacrifice is finished. It states "When the *dīkṣita* is dead, they take out the body by the *tīrtha*,⁴⁸⁰ place it on the spot where it was intended that *avabhṛtha* (bath at the end of a soma or sattra sacrifice) was to be taken and deck the body with the decorations that ordinarily are placed on a dead body. They cut the hair (on the head) of the corpse, the hair on the lips, the hair on the body and also pare the nails. They apply paste of *Nalada* (Indian spikenard) to the corpse and throw on it a garland of *naladas*. Some (having cut open the entrails) take out the fecal matter from them and fill them with pṛṣadājya (when clarified butter is mixed with curds it is so called). They cut off a portion as wide as the foot of the corpse from a new (unworn) garment and cover the dead body with it in such a way that the fringe is towards the west (the head being placed towards the east) and the feet of the corpse are exposed to view. The portion cut off from the piece of cloth is taken by the sons and the like. The deceased man's śrauta fires are placed on the churning sticks (the two *araṇis*), the dead body is taken outside the *vedi* (fire altar) towards its south, fire is produced by attrition and then the body is burnt therewith. After returning from the cremation, they should finish the work of the day. On the next morning, the recitation of the śastras, the singing of the stotras and the samstavas (reciting hymns in chorus) should be without repetition and the uttering of the *him* sound. On the same day before taking up the *grahas* (cups), the priests come out by the tīrtha, go round the place of cremation with the right hand turned away (from the place) and sit round it in the following manner viz. the hotṛ priest sits to the west (of the place of cremation), the adhvaryu to the north, and the sāma priests to the west of the adhvaryu (and the brahmā priest to the south). Then the sāma priests sing in a low voice the verse beginning with 'āyam gauḥ pṛśnirakramīt' When the singing is finished the hotṛ walks round the place of cremation thrice with his left turned towards the place of cremation and without uttering the syllable 'om' recites immediately after the song of the sāma priests the stotriya in a low voice and also the following verses attributed to Yama and Yāmyāyanas (as seers or authors) viz. Ṛg X 14. 7-8, 10-11, X. 16. 1-6, X. 17. 3-6, X. 18. 10-13, X. 154. 1-5. They should finish with Ṛg. X. 14.12, then collect the charred bones in a jar, take the jar by the way of the tīrtha and place it on the seat that was occupied by the deceased sacrificer.⁴⁸¹