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The Grihya Sutras, Part 1 (SBE29), by Hermann Oldenberg, [1886], at sacred-texts.com
1 1. The Sruva spoon (serves as) a vessel.
2. According to the purpose the properties (of the different things to be used at each oblation) should be chosen.
3 3. Taking up Kusa blades with the left, and the
[paragraph continues] Sruva at its bottom with the right hand, with the words, 'The hand of Vishnu art thou'—
4 4. He offers with the Sruva the Âgya oblations.
5 5. Beginning from the north-west side of the fire he offers (the Âgya) unintermittingly on the south side (of the fire) with (the verse), 'Thou Agni art full of foresight' (Rig-veda I, 31, 10).
6. Beginning from the south-west side of the fire he unintermittingly offers on the north side with (the verse), 'To whom these snowy mountains' (Rig-veda X, 121, 4).
7. To Agni belongs the northern Âgya portion, to Soma the southern.
8 8. In the middle (are made) the other oblations,
9. (With the words,) 'Agni is the begetter; may he give to me N.N. as my wife; svâhâ!
'Soma is rich in wives; may he make me rich in wives by N.N.; svâhâ!
'Pûshan is rich in kindred; may he make me rich in kindred by the father, the mother, the brothers of N.N.; svâhâ!'
10 10. At the Âgya oblations the offering of the two Âgya portions and of the Svishtakrit oblation is not standing,
11 11. Nor in the standing oblations, according to Mândûkeya.
12 12. The place for the insertion is the interval between the Mahâvyâhritis, the general expiation, and the oblation to Pragâpati.
13. If the oblation consists in Âgya, let him seize the Kusa blades in his left hand with his right hand at their points and with the left at their roots, and let him wet their points (with Âgya) in the Sruva, the middle and the roots in the Âgya pot;
14. In the oblations of cooked food, however, the points in the Sruk, the middle in the Sruva, the roots in the Âgya pot.
15. When he then has thrown them (into the fire) with the words, 'Agni's garment art thou,'
16. And has put on (the fire) three pieces of wood,
17 17. (Water) is sprinkled round (the fire) as stated above.
18. Oblations for which only the deities are indicated, but no texts prescribed, are to be made merely with the word SVÂHÂ, 'To such and such a deity svâhâ! To such and such a deity svâhâ!'
19 19. The ritual (here) declared of the sacrifice (to
be performed) when (the father's) assent (to give away his daughter) has been declared—
26:1 9, 1. 'When no special rule is stated, the Sruva is to be understood as the vessel (for the offering). Thereby the rule, "The Guhû is the vessel" (Srauta-sûtra III, 19, 5) is abolished (for the Grihya rites).' Nârâyana.
26:3 The manner of holding the Sruva in which the Âgya is, is described by Kâtyâyana, Sraut. I, 10, 6 seq., Stenzler's note on Pâraskara I, 1, 4.
27:4 As to the characteristics of Âgya (sacrificial butter), which is the substance offered at most of the Grihya sacrifices, comp the statements of the Grihya-samgraha-parisishta I, 105 seq.
27:5 Avikkhinnam (unintermittingly) is explained in Nâr.'s commentary by ekadhârayâ.
27:8 8 seq. Here are indicated the chief oblations of this sacrifice (anyâ âhutayah pradhânabhûtâh, Nâr.), or the âvâpa (the insertion, Sûtra 12) which comes between the standing introductory and concluding oblations.
27:10 On Svishtakrit, comp. Weber, Indische Studien, IX, 217.
28:11 See chap. 8, 13.
28:12 This Sûtra prescribes where the âvâpa, i.e. the special characteristical offerings of each sacrifice, is to be inserted between the regular offerings that belong to the standing model. The same subject is treated of in the Srauta-sûtra in the two rules, I, 16, 3 and 4: 'Whatsoever is offered between the two Âgya portions and the Svishtakrit, that is called âvâpa; this is the chief part (pradhâna) (of the sacrifice); the other (oblations) are subordinate thereto (tadaṅgâni).' The position of the âvâpa among the other oblations is indicated by Pâraskara in the following rule (I, 5, 6): Between the general expiation and the oblation to Pragâpati, this is the place for the âvâpa.' (The word vivâhe at the end of this Sûtra seems to me to belong not to this rule, but to Sûtra 7.) Our Sûtra is identical with that of Pâraskara word for word; only instead of sarvaprâyaskitta, as Pâraskara has, we read here, mahâvyâhritisarvaprâyaskitta. This means, I believe, that the âvâpa, preceded and followed by the Mahâvyâhriti oblations (comp. below, I, 12, 13), should be placed between the Sarvaprâyaskitta and the Prâgâpatya oblation. The oblations made with the Mahâvyâhritayas are four in number; the corresponding formulas are: bhûh svâhâ, bhuvah svâhâ, svâh svâhâ, bhûr bhuvah svah svâhâ (comp. below, chap. 12, 12). The Sarvaprâyaskitta (general expiation) consists of two oblations, one with the three Mahâvyâhritayas, the other with the verse ayâs kâgne, quoted in the Srauta-sûtra III, 19, 3, and in Âsvalâyana's Srauta-sûtra I, 11, 13. (On the Sarvaprâyaskitta in the Srauta ritual, compare Hillebrandt, Neu- und Vollmondsopfer, p. 166.) The Prâgâpatya oblation is performed with the formula Pragâpataye svâhâ. The discussions of Nârâyana on this Sûtra (see p. 125 of the German edition) evidently fail to bring out the true meaning of the text; according to this commentator the oblations follow each other in this order: the two Âgyabhâgas, the principal oblations (pradhânâhutayah), the Svishtakrit, the four Mahâvyâhriti oblations, the two Sarvaprâyaskitta oblations, the Prâgâpatya oblation. Finally we may mention the corrupt form in which the corresponding passage of the Sâmbavya-sûtra is preserved p. 29 in the MS. There the two Sûtras 10 and 11 are placed before the Mantra in Sûtra 9. This Mantra then is given down to svâheti, then follows âgyena, which seems to me to form part of the same Sûtra, and to refer to the oblations to which the Mantra belongs. Then the MS. goes on: mahâvyâhritishu sarvaprâyaskittâram (sic) etad âvâpasthânam âgyahavishi vyâhritishu sarvaprâyaskittâram (the syllables prâyaskittâram seem to be expunged) svishtakrito sthâlîpâke. In the commentary I find the following Slokas, which I give exactly as they are read in the MS.: tisrinâm vyâhritinâm ka prâyaskittâhutîr api yad antaram tad âpâpâsthânam sarpihpradhânake. sthâlîpâke vyâhritinâm yat tat svishtakritottaram âhutînâm pradhânânâm nânâdaivatakhandasâm yas tu kâlas tad âvâpasthânam itâkyate budhaih tatas tat tam ma ârabhya prâyaskittâhutih kramât.
29:17 See above, chap. 8, 17.
29:19 This Sûtra, though reckoned in the Indian tradition to p. 30 chap. 9, seems to me clearly to belong to the next chapter, and to contain the subject, to which the predicate is given in 10, 1. For pratisrute, see chap. 7, 1.