History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.513

v7.c93.513

Veda enjoins many acts such as performing a *yāga*, casting an oblation into fire, making a gift, milking a cow, melting clarified butter &c, but all are not on the same level. Some are *pradhāna* (primary²¹⁴⁰ or principal), while others are *guṇabhūta* (subsidiary). The acts denoted by words such as Prayājas by which some substance is not embellished or not made fit or is not produced are primary, while those which produce a substance or make it fit (such as pounding in the case of grains of paddy) are subsidiary. Acts are further classified into various groups such as *nitya*, *naimittika* or *kāmya* or as kratvartha and puruṣārtha. These have already been explained. There are six means²¹⁴¹ by which is ascertained the difference or non-difference among acts viz. (1) *śabdāntara* (different words, such as yajati, juhoti, dadāti, i. e. yāga, homa, dāna are different acts); abhyāsa²¹⁴² (repetition) as in 'samidho yajati, tanūnapātam yajati' &c. (Tai. S. II. 6. 1. 1–2), where the word yajati is repeated five times and therefore there are five different acts prescribed; (3) sankhyā (number) as in 'he sacrifices seventeen animals to Prajāpati' (Tai. Br. I. 3. 4 3), which are seventeen distinct acts; (4) *guṇa* (an accessory detail such as the deity or substance in such a passage as 'when curds²¹⁴³ are put into heated milk it turns into curdled solid mass *āmikṣā* which is offered to Viśvedevas and the liquid called *vājina* is to be offered to Vājins, these two being two distinct offerings); (5) prakaraṇa, (context). In the sentence 'one should offer agnihotra' (Tai. S. I. 5. 9. 1) there is a vidhi of the daily performance of Agnihotra. In the Kuṇḍapāyinām-ayana²¹⁴⁴ it is said 'he offers agnihotra for a month'. Since this last occurs in a different context altogether (while the former occurs in the context of Darśa-pūrṇamāsa), this sentence (from Kuṇḍapāyinām-ayana) deals with a different act from that of the daily Agnihotra. (6) The name (Sañjñā) also differentiates acts, since they occur in utpattivākya (originative injunction) as in the passage quoted in the note below.²¹⁴⁵ This technique about determining what actions are different on account of the several grounds noted above, was employed by Hemādri, the Kālanirṇaya and the Nirṇayasindhu in deciding whether Janmāṣṭamīvrata and Jayantīvrata are really one vrata or separate vratas. Vide pp 132-133 above.