| Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna I, Patala 8 | Title page | Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna II, Patala 2 |
[ p. 208 ]
1. Now (follows) the Sîmantonnayana (or parting of the pregnant wife’s hair).
2. In the fourth month of her first pregnancy, in the fortnight of the increasing moon, under an auspicious constellation he puts wood on the fire, performs the rites down to the Vyâhriti oblations, and makes four oblations to Dhâtri with (the verse), ‘May Dhâtri give us wealth’ (and the following three verses, Taitt. Sarih. III, 3, II, 2. 3).
3. [1] ‘This, O Varuna’ (&c.; see I, chap. 27, Sûtra 2, down to): ‘Hail! Good luck!’
He then makes the wife who has taken a bath, who wears a clean dress and ornaments, and has spoken with a Brâhmana, sit down to the west of the fire, facing the east, in a round apartment. Standing to the east (of the wife), facing the west he parts her hair upwards (i.e. beginning from the front) with a porcupine’s quill that has three white spots, holding (also) a bunch of unripe fruits, with the Vyâhntis (and) with the two (verses), ‘I invoke Râkâ,’ (and), ‘Thy graces, O Râkâ’ (Taitt. Sanh. III, 3, 11, 5). Then he recites over (his wife the formulas), ‘Soma alone is our king, thus say the Brâhmana tribes, sitting near thy banks, O Gaṅgâ, [ p. 209 ] whose wheel does not roll back (?)!’ (and), ‘May we find our way with thee through all hostile powers, as through streams of water’ (above I, 20, 5).
1. Now (follows) the Pumsavana (i.e. the ceremony for securing the birth of a male child).
2. [2] In the third month, in the fortnight of the increasing moon, under an auspicious constellation (&c.; see the preceding section, Sûtras 2 and 3, down to:) in a round apartment. He gives her a barley-grain in her right hand with (the formula), ‘A man art thou;’
3. With (the formula), ‘The two testicles are ye,’ two mustard seeds or two beans, on both sides of that barley-grain.
4. With (the formula), ‘_Svâvri_tat’ (? _svâvri_ttat?) (he pours) a drop of curds (on those grains). That he gives her to eat.
5. After she has sipped water, he touches her belly with (the formula), ‘With my ten (fingers) I touch. thee that thou mayst give birth to a child after ten months.’
6. [3] (He pounds) the last shoot of a Nyagrodha trunk (and mixes the powder) with ghee, or a silkworm (and mixes the powder) with a pap prepared of panick seeds, or a splinter of a sacrificial post taken from the north-easterly part (of that post) exposed to the fire, or (he takes ashes or soot [?] of) [ p. 210 ] a fire that has been kindled by attrition, and inserts that into the right nostril of (the wife) whose head rests on the widely spread root (of an Udumbara tree?).
7. If she miscarries, he should three times stroke (her body), from the navel upwards, with her wet hand, with (the formula), 'Thitherwards, not hitherwards, may Tvashtri bind thee in his bonds. Making (the mother) enter upon the seasons, live ten months (in thy mother’s womb); do not bring death to men.’
8. [4] When her confinement has come, he performs the kshipraprasavana (i.e. the ceremony for accelerating the confinement). Having placed a water-pot near her head and a Tûryantî plant near her feet, he touches her belly.
1. ‘As the wind blows, as the ocean waves, thus may the embryo move; may it come forth together with the after-birth’—with (this verse) he strokes (her body) from above downwards.
2. When the child is born, he lays an axe on a stone, and a piece of gold on that axe; after he has turned these things upside down (so that the stone lies uppermost), he holds the boy over them with (the two verses),
‘Be a stone, be an axe, be insuperable gold. Thou indeed art the Veda called son; so live a hundred autumns.
[ p. 211 ]
‘From limb by limb thou art produced; out of the heart thou art born. Thou indeed art the self (âtman) called son; so live a hundred autumns.’
3. (The contents of this Sûtra are similar to those of Pâraskara I, 16, 2.)
4. They take the Aupâsana (or regular Grihya) fire away, and they bring the Sûtikâgni (or the fire of the confinement).
5. That (fire) is only used for warming (dishes, etc.).
6. No ceremonies are performed with it except the fumigation (see the next Sûtra).
7. [5] He fumigates (the child) with small grains mixed with mustard seeds. These he throws into the coals (of the Sûtikâgni) (eleven times, each time with one of the following Mantras):
(a) 'May Sanaa and Marka, Upavîra, Sanaikera, Ulûkhala, Kyavana vanish from here. Svâhâ!
(b) 'Âlikhat, Vilikhat, Animisha, Kimvadanta, Upamruti. Svâhâ!
© 'Aryamna, Kumbhin, Satru, Pâtrapâni, Nipuni. Svâhâ!
(d) 'May Ântrîmukha, Sarshapâruna vanish from here. Svâhâ!
(e) 'Kesinî, Svalominî, Basâbosâ, Upakâsini—go away, vanish from here. Svâhâ!
(f) 'The servants of Kuvera, Visvavâsa (?), sent by the king of demons, all of one common origin, [ p. 212 ] walk through the villages, visiting those who wake (?). Svâhâ!
(g) '“Kill them! Bind them!” thus (says) this messenger of Brahman. Agni has encompassed them. Indra knows them; Brihaspati knows them; I the Brâhmaria know them who seize (men), who have prominent teeth, rugged hair, hanging breasts. Svâhâ!
(h) 'The night-walkers, wearing ornaments on their breasts, with lances in their hands, drinking out of skulls! Svâhâ!
(i) 'Their father Ukkaikkrâvyakarkaka walks (?) at their head, their mother walks in the rear, seeking a vikhura (?) in the village. Svâhâ!
(k) 'The sister, the night-walker, looks at the family through the rift (?)—she who wakes while people sleep, whose mind is turned on the wife that has become mother. Svâhâ!
(l) ‘O god with the black path, Agni, burn the lungs, the hearts, the livers of those (female demons); burn their eyes. Svâhâ!’
8. [6] Then he washes his hands and touches the ground with (the verses), 'O thou whose hair is well parted! Thy heart that dwells in heaven, in the moon: of that immortality impart to us. May I not weep over distress (falling to my lot) through my sons.
‘I know thy heart, O earth, that dwells in heaven, in the moon: thus may I, the lord of immortality, not weep over distress (falling to my lot) through my sons.’
9. Now (follows) the medhâganana (or production [ p. 213 ] of intelligence). With (an instrument of) gold over which he has laid a Darbha shoot tied (to that piece of gold) he gives to the child, which is held so that it faces the east, ghee to eat, with the formulas, ‘Bhû_h_! I sacrifice the Rigas over thee! Bhuva_h_! I sacrifice the Yagus over thee! Suva_h_! I sacrifice the Sâmans over thee! Bhûr bhuva_hgh_! I sacrifice the Atharvan and Aṅgiras hymns over thee!’
10. [7] He then bathes the child with lukewarm water with (the following Mantras):
‘From chronic disease, from destruction, from wile, from Varuna’s fetter I release thee. I make thee guiltless before the Brahman; may both Heaven and Earth be kind towards thee.
‘May Agni together with the waters bring thee bliss, Heaven and Earth together with the herbs; may the air together with the wind bring thee bliss; may the four quarters of the heaven bring thee bliss.
‘Rightly have the gods released the sun from darkness and from the seizing demon; they have dismissed him from guilt; thus I deliver this boy from chronic disease, from curse that comes from his kin, from wile, from Varuna’s fetter.’
11. He then places the child in his mother’s lap with (the verse):
1. ‘The four divine quarters of the heaven, the consorts of Wind, whom the sun surveys: to their [ p. 214 ] long life I turn thee; may consumption go away to destruction!’
2. [8] Having placed (him there) he addresses (his wife with the Mantra), ‘May no demon do harm to thy son, no cow that rushes upon him (?). Mayst thou become the friend of treasures; mayst thou live in prosperity in thy own way.’
3. He washes her right breast and makes her give it to the child with (the formula), ‘May this boy suckle long life; may he reach old age. Let thy breast be exuberant for him, and life, glory, renown, splendour, strength.’
4. In the same way the left breast.
5. With (the words), ‘He does not suffer, he does not cry, when we speak to him and when we touch him’—he touches both breasts. Then he places a covered water-pot near her head, with (the formula), ‘O waters, watch in the house. As you watch with the gods, thus watch over this wife, the mother of a good son.’
6. On the twelfth day the mother and the son take a bath.
7. They make the house clean.
8. [9] They take the Sûtikâgni away, and they bring the Aupâsana fire.
9. Having put wood on that fire, and having performed the rites down to the Vyâhriti oblations, they sacrifice twelve oblations with the verses, ‘May Dhâtri give us wealth’ (III, 3, II, 2-5); according to some (teachers they make) thirteen (oblations). [ p. 215 ]
10. ‘This, O Varuria’ (&c.; see I, chap. 27, Sûtra 2, down to): ‘Hail! Good luck!’ Then let him give a name to the child, of two syllables or of four syllables, beginning with a sonant, with a semi-vowel in it, with a long vowel (or) the Visarga at its end, or a name that contains the particle su, for such a name has a firm foundation; thus it is understood.
11. [10] Let the father and the mother pronounce (that name) first. For it is understood, ‘My name first, O Gâtavedas.’
12. He should give him two names. For it is understood (Taitt. Samh. VI, 3, I, 3), ‘Therefore a Brâhmama who has two names, will have success.’
13. [11] The second name should be a Nakshatra name.
14. The one name should be secret; by the other they should call him.
15. He should give him the name Somayâgin (i.e. performer of Soma sacrifices) as his third name; thus it is understood.
16. When he returns from a journey, or when his son returns, he touches him with (the formula), 'With Soma’s lustre I touch thee, with Agni’s splendour, with the glory of the sun.’
17. [12] With (the formula), ‘With the humkâra (the mystical syllable hum) of the cattle I kiss thee, N.N.! For the sake of long life and of glory! Hu_m_!’ he [ p. 216 ] kisses his head. Then he seizes with his right hand (his son’s) right hand together with the thumb, with the five sections, ‘Agni is long-lived.’
18. [13] ‘May Agni bestow on thee long life everywhere’ (Taitt. Samh. I, 3, 14, 4)—this (verse) he murmurs in (his son’s) right ear as above.
1. Then (follows) in the sixth month the Annaprâsana (i.e. the first feeding with solid food).
2. In the fortnight of the increasing moon, under an auspicious constellation, he puts wood on the fire, performs the rites down to the Vyâhriti oblations, and sacrifices (with the Mantras), ‘This, O Varuria’ (&c.; see I, chap. 27, Sûtra 2, down to): ‘Hail! Good luck!’ Then he gives (to the child) threefold food to eat, curds, honey, and ghee, with (the formula), ‘Bhûh I lay into thee! Bhuvah I lay into thee! Suvah I lay into thee!’
3. Then he gives him (other) food to eat with (the formula), ‘I give thee to eat the essence of water and of the plants. May water and plants be kind towards thee. May water and plants do no harm to thee.’
1. In the third year (he performs) the _Kûd_âkarman (i.e. the tonsure of the child’s head).
2. In the fortnight (&c., as in the preceding section, Sûtra 2, down to): ‘Hail! Good luck!’ The boy sits down to the west of the fire, facing the east; [ p. 217 ]
3. [14] To the north (of the fire) his mother or a student (brahmakârin) holds a lump of bull’s dung;
4. Therewith he (or she) receives the (cut-off) hair.
5. He then pours cold and warm water together.
6. [15] Having poured warm water into cold water he moistens the hair near the right ear with (the formula), ‘May the waters moisten thee for life’ (Taitt. Samh. I, 2, I, 1).
7. [16] With (the formula), ‘Herb, protect him!’ (Taitt. Samh., loc. cit.) he puts an herb, with its point upwards, into (the hair).
8. With (the formula), ‘Axe, do no harm to him!’ (Taitt. Samh., loc. cit.) he touches (that herb) with the razor.
9. With (the words), ‘Heard by the gods, I shave that (hair)’ (Taitt. Samh., loc. cit.) he shaves him.
10. In the same way (he moistens, &c.) the other (sides of his head) from left to right.
11. Behind with (the Mantra), ‘The razor with which Savit_ri_, the knowing one, has shaven (the beard) of king Soma and Varuna, with that, ye Brâhmanas, shave his (head); make that he be united with vigour, with wealth, with glory.’
On the left side with (the Mantra), ‘(The razor) with which Pûshan has shaven (the beard) of Brihaspati, of Agni, of Indra, for the sake of long life, with that I shave thy (head), N.N.!’
[ p. 218 ]
Before with (the Mantra), ‘That he may long live in joy, and may long see the sun.’
12. After the hair has been shaven, they arrange the locks (which are left over), according to custom or according to what family he belongs.
13. [17] A person who is kindly disposed towards him, gathers the (cut-off) hair and buries it in a cow-stable, or near an Udumbara tree, or in a clump of Darbha grass, with (the Mantra), ‘Where Pûshan, Brihaspati, Savit_ri_, Soma, Agni (dwell), they have in many ways searched where they should depose it, between heaven and earth, the waters and heaven.’
14. [18] He makes a gift to a Brâhmana according to his liberality.
15. To the barber (he gives) boiled rice with butter.
16. In the same way the Godânakarman (or the ceremony of shaving the beard) is performed in the sixteenth year.
17. He has him shaven including the top-lock.
18. Some declare that he leaves there the top-lock.
19. [19] Or he performs the Godâna sacred to Agni.
20. He gives a cow to his Guru.
End of the First Patala.
| Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna I, Patala 8 | Title page | Grihya Sûtra of Hiranyakesin — Prasna II, Patala 2 |
208:3 1, 3. The corrupt word vivrittariakrâ(h) seems to contain a vocative fem. referring to Gaṅge—avivrittariakra? The Âpastambîya Mantrapâria reads, vivrittariakra âsînâs tîreria yamune tava. Comp. Ârivalâyana I, 14, 7; Pâraskara I, 15, 8. ↩︎
209:2 2, 2. Comp. the note on Âsvalâyana I, 13, 2. ↩︎
209:6 The translation of this Sûtra should be considered merely as tentative. Some words of the text are uncertain, and the remarks of Mâtridatta are very incorrectly given in the MSS. ↩︎
210:8 Comp. Âpastamba-Grihya VI, 14, 14; Ârivalâyana II, 8, 14; IV, 4, 8. ↩︎
211:7 3, 7. According to Pâraskara (I, 16, 23) this is done daily in the morning and in the evening, until the mother gets up from childbed.—Comp. the names of the demons, Pâraskara I, 16, 23.—For vikhuram (Mantra i) the Âpastambîya Mantrapâtha has vidhuram (‘distress’ or ‘a distressed one’). ↩︎
212:8 Pâraskara I, 6, 17. ↩︎
213:10 Comp. Atharva-veda II, 10; Taitt. Brâhm. II, 5, 6. ↩︎
214:2 4, 2. I am not certain about the translation of dhenur atisârithî. The Âpastambîya Mantrapâtha has atyâthârithî. Atisârin means, suffering from diarrhoea; perhaps we should read abhisârithî. ↩︎
214:8 Comp. chap. 3, Sûtra 4. ↩︎
215:11 The verse beginning with ‘My name,’ &c., contains the words, ‘which my father and my mother have given me in the beginning’ (pitâ mâtâ ka dadhatur yad agre). ↩︎
215:13 Comp. Professor Weber’s second article, ‘Die vedischen Nachrichten von den Naxatra’ (Abb. der Berliner Akademie), pp. 316 seq. ↩︎
215:17 Comp. above, I, 2, 5, 14. ↩︎
216:18 18. 1, 2, 5, 15; 2, 6, 1. ↩︎
217:3 6, 3, 4. Some consider, according to Mâtridatta, these two Sûtras as one. He says (p. 149 of Dr. Kirste’s edition), uttarata ity etadâdi pratigrihriâtîty etadanta_mrim_, dhârayaris tenâsya keriân pratipariitavyam (read, pratigrihriâtîti pariitavyam). ↩︎
217:6 As to dakshinam godânam unatti, comp. the note on Pâraskara II, 1, 9. Comp. also above, I, 3, 9, 12. ↩︎
217:7 7 seq. See above, I, 3, 9, 13 seq. ↩︎
218:13 Comp. I, 3, 9, 18. ↩︎
218:14 Literally, according to his faith (yathâsraddham). ↩︎
218:19 Agnigodâno vâ kumâro bhavati upasamâdhânâdi punyâhavâkanântam agnikâryam iva vâ bhavatîty artha_h_. Mâtkdatta. Comp., however, the note on Âpastamba-Gkhya VI, 16, 13. ↩︎