History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.125.3

v6.c81.125.3

The underlying conception in these passages is the same as that involved in offering naivedya to an image. In the Śatapatha Br⁸⁰ the word upacāra appears to have been used in the sense of 'honour' or 'mode of showing honour' In the Tai. Ā X. 40⁸¹ occurs a mantra called 'Medhā-janana' which was recited in the ear of a child in the *jātakarma* 'may god Savitṛ, goddess Sarasvatī and the gods Aśvins wearing wreaths of blue lotuses produce in you intelligence'. There is evidence that long before the time of the gṛhyasūtras several of the sixteen upacāras were well-known. The Nighaṇṭu (III. 14) enumerates 44 verbs that have the sense of 'worship' among which 'pūjayati' is included. The Nirukta in explaining the word 'supāṇiḥ' occurring in Rg III. 33 6 states that the word 'pāṇi' is⁸² derived from 'pan' to offer pūjā and supports this derivation by saying that people worship gods by joining together their hands. It is clear that the Nighaṇṭu treated 'pūjayati' as a verb occurring in the Vedas and that folding the hands (i. e. namaskāra) was a item of worship long before the Nirukta While explaining the word 'saparyan' occurring in Rg. III. 31 1 the Nirukta offers 'pūjayan' as a synonym.