The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c30.s3.1

v2.c30.s3.1

It is the duty of the man who has established his fires, as of the man who has no fires, to offer daily, morning and evening, the Agnihotra :² the precise time of offering, whether just before or just after the rising of the sun in the morning, and whether after sunset or after the appearance of the first star in the evening, is a subject of much discussion in the Brāhmaṇas and Sūtras. If the fires were kept perpetually alight, then they required only to be brightened up for each occasion : if not, then the fire must be taken from the Gārhapatya, either only every evening, it being used also for the morning, or each time : the Dakṣiṇa might be kept perpetually alight, or taken out daily, or only on the new- and full-moon days, on which according to some authorities the sacrificer must himself perform the ritual. The main offering was milk, milked by an Aryan into a pail made by an Aryan : the milk was heated and mixed with water on the Gārhapatya, and offered in the Āhavanīya and Gārhapatya. At the end the sacrificer eats and offers four water libations to the gods, the Fathers, the seven seers, and Agni on the earth, or to other deities also. The Dakṣiṇa fire received no special honour.