The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c30.s14.1.4

v2.c30.s14.1.4

Before descending from the chariot which he mounts for the fray, the king puts on sandals of boar's hide, and prays neither to injure the earth, nor be injured by it, a clear allusion to his high sanctity. After the later Keçavapanīya rite he never stands with bare feet on the ground. He then sits on a throne placed over the tiger-hide, and takes five dice from the Adhvaryu: the priest gently beats him from behind with sticks of pure trees, doubtless to expel any taint of ill.³ Before the dicing begins the Purohita hands the king a wooden sword, which he passes on to his brother, and through him it is taken by a man who marks out the place for dicing, where a hut is erected. After the dicing, which is merely formal and which deliberately was so carried out as to make the king a victor, the sacrifice progresses to the normal end, but the bath is followed by an offering to Indra and Viṣṇu of a special nature. Then comes the preparation for the Daçapeya offering, for which the Dīkṣā consists in ten Saṁsṛpāṁ Havīṅṣi. The offering itself seems to have been in origin an independent offering: it is performed on the 7th of Caitra: the performers must have ten generations of Soma drinkers: from ten cups ten drink together at each: it is uncertain if the relatives of the king may drink or not, but he certainly has a goblet. After this, according to some authorities, the king, the people save the Brahmans, and the steeds may not have their hair cut for a year.