| Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna I, Patala 2 | Title page | Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna I, Patala 4 |
1. After he has studied the Veda, the bath (which signifies the end of his studentship, is taken by him).
2. We shall explain that (bath).
3. During the northern course of the sun, in the time of the increasing moon, under (the Nakshatra) Rohiriî, (or) Mrigariiras, (or) Tishya, (or) Uttarâ [ p. 162 ] Phalgunî, (or) Hasta, (or) Kitrâ, or the two Viriâkhâs: under these (Nakshatras) he may take the bath.
4. [1] He goes to a place near which water is, puts wood on the fire, performs the rites down to the oblations made with the Vyâhritis, and puts a piece of Palâria wood on (the fire) with (the verse), ‘Let us prepare this song like a chariot, for Gâtavedas who deserves it, with our prayer. For his foresight in this assembly is a bliss to us. Agni! Dwelling in thy friendship may we not suffer harm. Svâhâ!’
5. Then he sacrifices with the Vyâhritis as above,
6. [2] (And another oblation with the verse), 'The threefold age of Gamadagni, Kasyapa’s threefold age, the threefold age that belongs to the gods: may that threefold age be mine. Svâhâ!’
7. (Then follow oblations with the verses), ‘This, O Varuna,’ &c. (see above, I, 2, 8, 16, down to the end of the Sûtra).
8. [3] After he has served food to the Brâhmanas, and has caused them to say, ‘An auspicious day! Hail! Good luck!’ he discharges himself of his vow by (repeating) these (Mantras), ‘Agni, lord of the vow, I have kept the vow.’
9. Having (thus) discharged himself of his vow, he worships the sun with the two (verses), ‘Upwards [ p. 163 ] that (Gâtavedas)’ (Taitt. Samh. I, 4, 43, 1), and, ‘The bright’ (ibid.).
10. [4] With (the words), ‘(Loosen) from us thy highest band, Varuna,’ he takes off the upper garment which he has worn during his studentship, and puts on another (garment). With (the words), ‘(Loosen) the lowest (fetter),’ (he takes off) the under garment; with (the words), ‘(Take) away the middle (fetter),’ the girdle. With (the words), ‘And may we, O Âditya, under thy law (&c.),’ (he deposes) his staff. The girdle, the staff, and the black antelope’s skin he throws into water, sits down to the west of the fire, facing the east, and touches the razor (with which he is going to be shaven), with (the formula), ‘Razor is thy name; the axe is thy father. Adoration to thee! Do no harm to me!’
11. [5] Having handed over (that razor) to the barber, he touches the water with which his hair is to be moistened, with (the formula), ‘Be blissful, (O waters), when we touch you.’ [(The barber) then pours together warm and cold water. Having poured warm (water) into cold (water)—]
12. [6] (The barber) moistens the hair near the right ear with (the words), ‘May the waters moisten thee for life, for old age and splendour’ (Taitt. Samhitâ I, 2, 1, 1). [ p. 164 ]
13. [7] With (the words), ‘Herb! protect him’ (Taitt. Samh., loc. cit.), he puts an herb with the point upwards into (the hair).
14. [8] With (the words), ‘Axe! do no harm to him!’ (Taitt. Samh., loc. cit.), he touches (that herb) with the razor.
15. With (the words), ‘Heard by the gods, I shave that (hair)’ (Taitt. Samh., loc. cit.), he shaves him.
16. [9] With (the formula), ‘If thou shavest, O shaver, my hair and my beard with the razor, the wounding, the well-shaped, make our face resplendent, but do not take away our life’—(the student who is going to take the bath), looks at the barber.
17. He has the beard shaven first, then the hair in his arm-pits, then the hair (on his head), then the hair of his body, then (he has) his nails (cut).
18. A person who is kindly disposed (towards the student), gathers the hair, the beard, the hair of the body, and the nails (that have been cut off), in a lump of bull’s dung, and buries (that lump of dung) in a cow-stable, or near an Udumbara tree, or in a clump of Darbha grass, with (the words), ‘Thus I [ p. 165 ] hide the sin of N.N., who belongs to the Gotra N.N.’
19. Having rubbed himself with powder such as is used in bathing, he cleanses his teeth with a stick of Udumbara wood—
1. With (the formula), ‘Stand in your places for the sake of the enjoyment of food. Stand in your places for the sake of long life. Stand in your places for the sake of holy lustre. May I be blessed with long life, an enjoyer of food, adorned with holy lustre.’
2. Then (the teacher) makes him wash himself with lukewarm water, with the three verses, ‘O waters, ye are wholesome’ (Taitt. Samh. IV, I, 5, 1), with the four verses, ‘The gold-coloured, clean, purifying (waters)’ (Taitt. Samh. V, 6, 1), and with the Anuvâka, ‘The purifier, the heavenly one’ (Taitt. Brâhmama I, 4, 8).
3. [10] Or (instead of performing these rites in the neighbourhood of water) they make an enclosure in a cow-stable and cover it (from all sides); that (the student) enters before sunrise, and in that (enclosure) the whole (ceremony) is performed. ‘On that day the sun does not shine upon him,’ some say. ‘For he who shines (i.e. the sun), shines by the splendour of those who have taken the bath. Therefore the face of a Snâtaka is, as it were, resplendent (?).’
4. [11] (His friends or relations) bring him all sorts of [ p. 166 ] perfumes, or ground sandal wood; he besprinkles that (with water), and worships the gods by raising his joined hands towards the east, with (the formulas), ‘Adoration to Graha (the taker) and to Abhigraha (the seizer)! Adoration to Sâka and Gâka and ñâka and abha! Adoration to those deities who are seizers!’ (Then) he anoints himself with (that salve of sandal wood) with (the verse), ‘The scent that dwells with the Apsaras, and the splendour that dwells with the Gandharvas, divine and human scent: may that here enter upon me!’
5. They bring him a pair of (new) garments that have not yet been washed. He besprinkles them (with water) and puts on the under garment with (the formula), ‘Thou art Soma’s body; protect my body! Thou who art my own body, enter upon me; thou who art a blissful body, enter upon me.’ Then he touches water, (puts on) the upper garment with the same (Mantra), and sits down to the west of the fire, facing the east.
6. [12] They bring him two ear-rings and a perforated pellet of sandal wood or of Badarî wood, overlaid with gold (at its aperture); these two things he ties to a Darbha blade, holds them over the fire, and pours over them (into the fire) oblations (of ghee) with (the Mantras),
‘May this gold which brings long life and splendour and increase of wealth, and which gets through (all adversities), enter upon me for the sake of long life, of splendour, and of victory. Svâhâ! [ p. 167 ] ’(This gold) brings high gain, superiority in battles, superiority in assemblies; it conquers treasures. All perfections unitedly dwell together in this gold. Svâhâ!
‘I have obtained an auspicious name like (the name) of a father of gold. Thus may (the gold) make me shine with golden lustre; (may it make me) beloved among many people; may it make me full of holy lustre. Svâhâ!
‘Make me beloved among the gods; make me beloved with Brahman (i.e. among the Brâhmanas), beloved among Vainyas and Sûdras; make me beloved among the kings (i.e. among the Kshatriyas). Svâhâ!
‘This herb is protecting, overcoming, and powerful. May it make me shine with golden lustre; (may it make me) beloved among many people; may it make me full of holy lustre. Svâhâ!’
7. Having thrice washed (the two ear-rings) in a vessel of water with the same five (Mantras), without the word Svâhâ, (moving them round in the water) from left to right—
1. He puts on the two ear-rings, the right one to his right ear, the left one to his left ear, with (the verse which he repeats for each of the two earrings), ‘Virâg and Svarâ_g_, and the aiding powers that dwell in our house, the prosperity that dwells in the face of royalty: therewith unite me.’
2. [13] With (the Mantra), ‘With the seasons and the combinations of seasons, for the sake of long life, of [ p. 168 ] splendour, with the sap that dwells in the year: therewith we make them touch the jaws’—he clasps the two ear-rings.
3. [14] With (the Mantra), ‘This herb is protecting, overcoming, and powerful. May it make me shine with golden lustre; (may it make me) beloved among many people; may it make me full of holy lustre. Thou art not a bond’—he ties the pellet (of wood, mentioned above, Section 10, Sûtra 6) to his neck.
4. [15] He puts on a wreath with the two (verses),
‘Beautiful one, elevate thyself to beauty, beautifying my face. Beautify my face and make my fortune increase’—(and),
‘(The wreath) which _Gamadagni has brought to S_raddhâ to please her, that I put on (my head) together with fortune and splendour.’
5. [16] ‘The salve coming from the Trikakud (mountain), born on the Himavat, therewith I anoint you (i.e. the eyes), and with fortune and splendour. (I put?) into myself the demon of the mountain (?)’—with (this verse) he anoints himself with Traikakuda salve, (or) if he cannot get that, with some other (salve).
6. With (the verse), ‘My mind that has fled away’ (Taitt. Samhitâ VI, 6, 7, 2) he looks into a mirror. [ p. 169 ]
7. [17] With (the formula), ‘On the impulse of the god,’ &c., he takes a staff of reed (which somebody hands him), and with (the formula), ‘Thou art the thunderbolt of Indra. O Amvins, protect me!’—he thrice wipes it off, upwards from below.
8. With (the formula), ‘Speed! Make speed away from us those who hate us, robbers, creeping things, beasts of prey, Rakshas, Pisâsas. Protect us, O staff, from danger that comes from men; protect us from every danger; from all sides destroy the robbers’—(and with the verse), ‘Not naked (i.e. covered with bark) thou art born on all trees, a destroyer of foes. Destroy all hosts of enemies from every side like Maghavan (Indra)’—he swings (the staff) three times from left to right over his head.
9. [18] With (the formula), ‘The divine standing-places are you. Do not pinch me’—he steps into the shoes.
10. [19] With (the formula), ‘Pragâpati’s shelter art thou, the Brahman’s covering’—he takes the parasol.
11. [20] With the verse, ‘My staff which fell down in the open air to the ground, that I take up again for the sake of long life, of holiness, of holy lustre’—he takes up his staff, if it has fallen from his hand.
End of the Third Patala.
| Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna I, Patala 2 | Title page | Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna I, Patala 4 |
162:4 9, 4. Comp. I, 1, 3, 4; Rig-veda I, 94, 1. ‘Where the words are used, “He puts wood on the fire” (agnim upasamâdhâya), he should prepare the ground by raising it, &c., should carry the fire to that place, should put wood on it, and then he should sacrifice in the fire. Where those words are not used, he should (only) strew grass round the fire which is (already) established in its proper place, and should thus perform the sacrifice.’ Mâtridatta. ↩︎
162:6 Sâṅkhâyana I, 28, 9. ↩︎
162:8 Comp. I, 2, 7, 25; 8, 7. ↩︎
163:10 The words quoted in this Sûtra are the parts of a Rik which is found in Taittirîya Samhitâ I, 5, 11, 3. ↩︎
163:11 The words which I have included in brackets are wanting in some of the MSS., and are not explained in the commentaries. They are doubtless a spurious addition. Comp. Âsvalâyana I, 57, 6, &c. ↩︎
163:12 Pâraskara II, 1, 9. The same expression dakshinam godânam, of which I have treated there in the note, is used in this Sûtra. Comp., besides, Sâṅkhâyana-Gnhya I, 28, 9; Âpastamba-Srauta-sûtra p. 164 X, 5, 8; Satapatha-Br. III, 1, 2, 6. According to Mâtndatta, there is some difference of opinion between the different teachers as to whether the Mantras for the moistening of the hair and the following rites are to be repeated by the teacher or by the barber. ↩︎
164:13 Âsvalâyana I, 17, 8; Pâraskara II, 1, 10; Âpastamba-Sraut., loc. cit.; Kâtyâyana-Sraut. VII, 2, 10. The parallel texts prescribe that one Kusa blade, or three Kusa blades, should be put into the hair. ↩︎
164:14 Yâggikadeva in his commentary on Kâtyâyana (loc. cit.) says, kshuregâbhinidhâya kshuradhârâm antarhitatggasyopari nidhâya. ↩︎
164:16 Âsvalâyana I, 17, 16. Comp. also Rig-veda I, 24, 11. ↩︎
165:3 10, 3. Rephâyatîva dîpyatîva. Mâtridatta. Comp. Âpastamba Dharma-sûtra II, 6, 14, 13, and Bühler’s note, S.B.E., vol. ii, p. 135. ↩︎
165:4 Comp. above, I, 2, 8, 4. ↩︎
166:6 Regarding the first Mantra, comp. Vâgas. Saghitâ XXXIV, 50. In the fifth Mantra we ought to read oshadhis trâyamâgâ. Comp. below, I, 3, 11, 3; Pâraskara I, 13; Atharva-veda VIII, 2, 6. ↩︎
167:2 11, 2. The end of the Mantra is corrupt. We ought to read, as p. 168 Dr. Kirste has shown, tena samhanu kmnmasi (Av. V, 28, 13). Mâtmdatta says, samgmhmîteऽpidhânenâpidadhâti pratigrahasamgrahamayo_hmm_yuktatvâd ekâpavargatvât. ↩︎
168:3 The Mantra, with the exception of the last words, is identical with the last verse of Section 10, Sûtra 6. Here the MSS. again have oshadhe for oshadhis. ↩︎
168:4 Comp. Atharva-veda VI, 137: yâ_m G_amadagnir akhanad duhitre, &c.; Pâraskara II, 6, 23. ↩︎
168:5 Regarding the Traikakuda salve, comp. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 69, and see Atharva-veda IV, 9, 9. ↩︎
169:7 He takes the staff with the well-known Sâvitra formula, ‘On the impulse of the god Savitri . . . I take thee.’ ↩︎
169:9 Âsvalâyana III, 8, 19; Pâraskara II, 6, 30. ↩︎
169:10 Âsvalâyana III, 8, 19; Pâraskara II, 6, 29. ↩︎
169:11 Instead of yamâyushe I propose to read âyushe. Comp. Pâraskara II, 2, 12. ↩︎