Sacred Texts Hinduism Index Previous Next
Buy this Book at Amazon.com
The Grihya Sutras, Part 1 (SBE29), by Hermann Oldenberg, [1886], at sacred-texts.com
1 1. Now (follows) the Upâkarana (i.e. the ceremony by which the annual course of study is opened).
2 2. When the herbs appear, under the Nakshatra Hasta or Sravana,
3. Let him make oblations of the flour of fried barley and of grains, mixed with curds and ghee, with the (whole) Veda, verse by verse: thus say some (teachers).
4 4. Or with the first verses of the Sûktas and Anuvâkas.
5. With the first verses of the Adhyâyas and of the sections belonging to the (different) Rishis, according to Mândûkeya.
6. But Kaushîtaki has said:
7. 'I praise Agni the Purohita' (Rig-veda I, 1, 1), this one verse,
8. 'The Kushumbhaka (mungoose?) has said it;' 'If thou criest, O bird, announce luck to us;' 'Sung by Gamadagni;' 'In thy abode the whole world rests;'
[paragraph continues] 'Come to our sacrifice, O you that are worthy of sacrifice, with care;' 'Whosoever, be he ours, be he alien;' 'Look on, look about;' 'Come here, Agni, the Maruts’ friend;' 'The oblation, O king, cooked for thee:' each time two verses,
9 9. 'That blessing and bliss we choose'—this one verse (the first and last verse of each Mandala).
10. (Taking something) of the remnants of the sacrificed (food) they partake of that sacrificial food with this (verse), 'I praised Dadhikrâvan' (Rig-veda IV, 39, 6).
11. They sip water, sit down,
12. Murmur the Mahâvyâhritis, the Sâvitrî, and the auspicious hymns commencing from the beginning of the Veda,
13. And cause the teacher to pronounce auspicious wishes.
14. Of this (ceremony) it is also said,
15. 'Desirous (of acquiring) for the hymns inexhaustible vigour, reverence, and also soundness, the Rishis, by the power of their austerities, have discovered the Upâkarman.
16 16. 'Therefore a constant performer of the six kinds of works should, in order that his Mantras might be successful, perform the Upâkarman—so they say—if he wishes for success of his (holy) works.
17 17. 'At the time of the Upâkarman and of the Utsarga an interruption (of the Veda-study) shall take place for (three days and) three nights, likewise at the Ashtakâs for one day and one night, and so on the last night of each season.'
112:1 5, 1. As to the Upâkarana, see the statements of Professor Weber in his second article on the Nakshatras, Abhandlungen der Berliner Akademie, 1861, p. 338, and of Professor Bühler in his notes on Âpastamba, S.B.E., II, pp. 110, 111.
112:2 The Nakshatra Sravana is evidently considered as particularly fit for this occasion because of its name containing an allusion to sruti, &c.
112:4 I have followed Nârâyana, but perhaps I ought to have translated, 'Sûktas or Anuvâkas,' and in the fifth Sûtra, 'Adhyâyas or the sections, &c.'
113:9 According to Kaushîtaki, the oblations are made with the first and last rikas of each Mandala. The last rik of the tenth Mandala quoted here, tak kham yor â vrinîmahe, is different from the verse with which our Samhitâ (the Sâkala Samhitâ of the Rig-veda) closes. It is well known that tak kham yor â vrinîmahe is the last verse in the Bâshkala Sâkhâ which was adopted by the Sâṅkhâyana school (comp. Indische Studien, IV, 431; Weber, Verzeichniss der Berliner Sanskrit-Handschriften, p. 314, &c.; Indische Literaturgeschichte, second edition, Nachtrag, p. 2). It was also known long since that the Bâshkala Sâkhâ of the Rig-veda contains eight hymns more than the Sâkala Sâkhâ. The Karanavyûha Bhâshya (comp. Dr. von Schroeder's Introduction to his excellent edition of the Maitrâyanî Samhitâ, vol. i, p. xxiv), known to me through the kindness of Professor Weber, tells which eight hymns these are. There it is said (folio 22 of Professor Weber's MS.) that in the Bâshkala Samhitâ there followed after VIII, 48 the first two of the Vâlakhilya hymns, after VIII, 94 the Vâlakhilya hymns 3-7, and at the end of the whole collection the so-called samgñâna hymn (see Professor Max Müller's edition, vol. vi, p. 32), which ends with the very verse quoted in our Sûtra, tak kham yor â vrinîmahe.
114:16 The six kinds of works are, performing sacrifices (yagana), officiating at the sacrifices of others (yâgana), studying the Veda (adhyayana), teaching the Veda to others (adhyâpana), giving (dâna), and accepting gifts (pratigraha). Nârâyana.
114:17 Concerning the Utsarga, see chap. 6. This Sloka occurs also Manu IV, 119 with the reading kshepanam instead of kshapanam ('kshapanam khandasâm virâma anadhyâyah,' Nârâyana). Kshapanam is correct.