History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.261

v7.c93.261

Niyamavidhis are of three classes, viz. those concerned with *pratinidhis* (substitutes), those about *pratipatti* (concluding act or final disposal of certain materials employed in a sacrifice), and those that are concerned with matters other than the preceding two. The Tāṇḍya-brāhmaṇa says²⁰⁰⁰ 'if one is not able to obtain the soma plant, one may extract juice from *pūtīkas*'. Jai. III. 6. 40 and VI. 3 13-17 deal with this matter and Jai. and Śabara prescribe that if no soma plant is available in a soma sacrifice, the sacrificer should substitute pūtīkas for Soma and no other substance, even if the latter be more similar to Soma, can be used.²⁰⁰¹ The word *pratipatti* is used in several sūtras by Jai; vide IV. 2. 11, 15, 19, 22) The casting into water of all utensils and things smeared with *soma* (such as the dregs left after Soma is extracted, the stones, two wooden boards and the post of udumbara in the midst of the sadas) at the time of the final purificatory bath (avabhṛtha) in Jyotistoma is said to be pratipattikarma (P. M S. IV. 2. 22). This terminology is employed in Dharmaśāstra works. Manu (III. 262-263) provides that out of the three piṇḍas (balls of boiled rice) that are offered to the three male ancestors of the performer of *śrāddha* the wife desirous of a son should eat the middle piṇḍa (meant for the paternal grandfather) and Devala provides that the piṇḍas may be given to a brāhmaṇa or may be eaten by a goat or a cow or cast into fire or water.²⁰⁰² This is the pratipatti of the piṇḍas according to Aparārka (on Yāj. I. 256) and the Sm. C. II p 486. Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV pp. 480-481. The word pratipatti is opposed to *arthakarma*. For example, in Tai. S. we read 'after the soma plant is bought, he gives the staff to the Maitrāvaruṇa priest'. Here the staff had been first given to the performer (Yajamāna) at the time of Dīkṣā and then transferred to the Maitrāvaruṇa who has several uses for it, viz. he can walk with its help in darkness, may enter water, can prevent cows and snakes from coming near him and he can support himself on it. So this is different from pratipatti, where the substance is finally disposed of and no further use is made of it. This is dealt with in P. M. S. IV. 2. 16-18. This (giving of the staff) is an *arthakarma* as opposed to pratipatti-karma. This is mentioned in Tai. S. VI. 1. 4. 2 (krīte some maitrāvaruṇāya daṇḍaṃ prayacchati &c.). Another example of pratipatti is the casting of the horn of the black antelope on the *cātvāla* (Tai. S. VI. 1. 3. 8 and PMS IV. 2. 19). PMS XI. 2. 66-68 deal with an example of arthakarma. Cremating a sacrificer when dead with his implements of sacrifice (mentioned in Tai. S. I. 6. 8. 2-3) is pratipattikarma of the implements (P. M. S. XI. 3. 34). Manu V. 167 provides that if the wife of an *āhitāgni* dies before him she is to be cremated with the sacred fires set up by him and with the sacrificial implements. An example of the third kind of niyama (which is not concerned with pratinidhi or pratipatti) is 'one should take his meal, ²⁰⁰³ facing the east'. A man can take food facing any direction but this restricts him to the east alone. Here no question of a pratinidhi or of pratipatti arisess.