History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c93.547

v7.c93.547

In the Vedic passage about the dīkṣā in a sattra, the adhvaryu, after performing the dīkṣā (initiation rite) on the gṛhapati (the *yajamāna*, the performer of the sacrifice) performs dīkṣā on the brahmā priest, then on udgātṛ etc. the Vedic text directly lays down the sequence (by means of the termination 'tvā') that the dīkṣā of brahmā priest comes after the dīkṣā of the yajamāna. In the passage 'samidho yajati tanūnapātam yajati &c'. the very order in which the sentences occur in the text (i. e. pāṭha) determines the order of the performance of the several yāgas (PMS V. 1 4). The Veda first speaks of the offering of Agnihotra and then of the cooking of gruel. Here the offering of Agnihotra comes first and preparation of gruel comes after that But, unless the material to be offered is ready, no Agnihotra offering can be made. Therefore, here the pāṭhakrama has to be given up and arthakrama (order as dictated by the purpose and suitability) has to be followed i. e. first gruel must be prepared and then Agnihotra offered.²¹⁶¹ This is an example showing that arthakrama is more powerful than pāṭhakrama (PMS V. 4. 1). The Parāśarasmṛti lays down that every day one should perform *sandhyā* (morning adoration), bath, japa (muttering of sacred texts), *homa*, study of the Veda, worship of gods, Vaiśvadeva and feeding guests. The Par. M. says that²¹⁶² setting aside the *pāṭhakrama* one must follow the suitability and therefore bath comes first and *sandhyā* afterwards. The Sm. C. quotes Vṛddhamanu to the effect that a childless chaste widow should offer piṇḍa to her deceased husband and take his wealth. Here it is proper to hold that she should first take his wealth and then perform his śrāddhas. In the Vājapeya the text says that the performer (yajamāna) has to tie to the sacrificial post seventeen paśus to be offered to Prajāpati (Tai. Br. I. 3. 4.