The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c30.s5.3

v2.c30.s5.3

The second offering, the Varuṇapraghāsas, is more important. One point in it is the preparation of two animals, a ram and sheep, from barley, which the sacrificer and his wife cover with wool and equip with the marks of sex made prominent; the Adharyu makes the one, the Pratiprasthātṛ the other: there are two Vedis, and the south one is assigned to the latter priest, who there performs a mimicry of the action of the Adhvaryu. There are offerings to Indra and Agni, to Varuṇa, to the Maruts and to Ka: the ram and the ewe are offered in the milk messes presented to Varuṇa and the Maruts respectively, the remainder being eaten. A further important point is the ceremony already referred to,⁴ by which the wife of the sacrificer is called upon to admit what lovers she has and to offer in the Dakṣiṇa fire the plates of Karambha, ‘porridge’, which number one more than the members of the family. The husband and wife then share a bath, washing each other in it. The two elements of the rite are clearly enough the aim to secure the abundance of the flocks, and the sin offering to Varuṇa, whose presence in the rite may be due either to his deep and undeniable connexion with water, or merely be accounted for by the sin offering and the concluding bath, which are clearly in great measure merely pieces of magic to which a religious connexion has been attached.