Praśna 11, Kaṇḍikā 18

1. If the Gharma simmers,^[1] the Adhvaryu should offer eight expiatory oblations respectively with the verses,^[2] “O Gharma, staggered thou dost not stagger us; do not lead towards the lower region what is high of ours; do not put us into darkness; let not the attendants of Rudra assault us wrongly.—O Gharma, do thou not deprive us of well conduct through our excited deliberations and through hatred. May not Rudra nor Nirṛti throw us out; may not Dyāvāpṛthivī be angry with us.—O Mitra, Varuṇa, guard us here; O friends, do you enkindle us; may the weapen of Ādityas, the onset, horrible, hundred-barbed and active, spare us.—Do thou, O Varuṇa...^[3]—Praying to thee with the divine song....^[3]—Do thou, O Agni, the wise....^[3]—Do thou, O Agni, be nearest....^[3]—Thou art quick, O Agni....”.^[3]

2. If the sun sets while the Pravargya-rite is going on, the Adhvaryu should tie a piece of gold with a darbha-blade on the rear entrance, pray to Āditya with the verse,“We have gone above darkness...,”^[4] offer oblations respectively with the two verses, “Thy rays bear upwards god Sūrya...,”^[4] and “The bright face of the gods has arisen...,”^[4] then finish the Pravargya-rite, and next morning should pray to Āditya with the verse, “Priyamedha Ṛṣis approached Indra for seeking help like fair-winged birds; do thou (O Indra,) clear the darkness; grant the sight; release us who are fastened as if with a cord.”

3. They should consume the dadhigharma^[5] with the Anuvāka, “Bhūr bhuvaḥ suvaḥ. May that great power be placed within me; the might within me; good valour within me; may the Gharma consisting of three parts shine for me; with thought and mind, with Virāṭ and light. with offering and milk, with the Brahman and splendour, with the Kṣatra and glory, with truth and penance. May we partake of the milk of the Gharma; may we partake of the pleasure of Gharma; may we partake of Gharma; O Gharma, invited I partake of thee, drunk by Indra, sweet, and invited.”^[6]

4. If the Gharma-cow does not come at the time of milking, one should milk another cow, perform the Pravargya-rite, and give away that cow to a Brāhmaṇa^[7] on the pressing day (at the time of giving dakṣiṇā).

5. If the Gharma-cow does not yield milk, one should furnish a leather-bag with four feet, fill it with milk, regard one of the four feet as an udder, and cause it to flow.

6. If the Gharma-cow yields curds, (the Hotṛ) should recite (a hymn) dedicated to Bṛhaspati. If she yields milk together with its preparation (= curds), he should recite (a hymn) dedicated to Aśvins.

7. If the Gharma-cow yields reddish milk or milk of any other colour, the Adhvaryu should enclose the Dakṣiṇa fire, and offer that milk upon it with the formula, “For rudravant Agni svāhā.”

8. If the Gharma-cow sits down, the Adhvaryu should offer oblations with the two verses addressed to Dhātṛ.^[8]

9. If the Gharma-cow sits upon something unholy or noṇ-sacnficial, the Adhvaryu should offer an oblation with a verse addressed to Agni-Varuṇa^[9] or to Agni.^[10]

10. If a fowl disturbs the Gharma-cow, the Adhvaryu should offer an oblation with a verse addressed to Vāyu.^[11]

11. If the Gharma-cow runs away or expires or becomes wasted, or if a tiger kills her, one should drop the sap of arka into a goat’s milk and proceed with the rite.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

As regards the process of the polishing of the Gharma mentioned above in Bhāradvāja-śrauta-sūtra XI.3.9 the text of which is identical with Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XV.3.15,16, Dr. V. S. Agrawala of the Banaras Hindu University has kindly supplied me with useful information. I am grateful to him for the same. I give below the important extracts from his letter:—“Caṇḍātaka simply means a piece of cotton cloth of new and unwashed skirts used for burnishing or giving bright lustre to the earthen vessel named Gharma in particular or to clay-utensils in general. This has reference to the ceramics known as Polished Black Ware amongst Archaeologists which are found from Taxila to Maski distributed almost at all Mauryan and Śaiśunāga sites. Their period is approximately dated from 600 B.C. to 200 B.C., but may well have been a century or two earlier. What was actually done was to put the brightening material or abrasive on a piece of cloth and then to rub it with hand against the surface of the vessel. By this simple technique a very superior kind of polish, preserved on hundreds of specimens even up to now with glistening mirror-like surface often in black colour and sometimes in a violet or golden hue, was produced.

Among the materials used, gavīdhuka (Coix barbata) is actually a wild grain growing in the rainy season resembling coarse barley much liked by the cows, whence the name, and very hard. It appears that in a crushed form it serves as a soft abrasive. Klītaka is explained by Rudradatta in his commentary on the Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra as yaṣṭimadhu from which a blackish paste is prepared and available on this site known as Rabbulsus (an Arabic name) and used by the physicians as an antidote for cough. It is possible that it was used for producing polish on the surface of a vessel already possessing gray or black colour by a special technique of firing. Ājya by constant rubbing is likely to turn black and serve as a lubricant. Veṇuparva will supply the fibrous element in the recipe. All this seems to have been applied to the surface of a utensil oa a piece of new caṇḍātaka cloth.

Comparative light is thrown on this technique by an elaborate description in the Bṛhatkalpasūtrabhāṣya under the heading pātralepanirūpaṇa (Edited by Muni Punya Vijayaji, Vol. I Gathas 471-492, pp. 138-144).”

[2]:

Taittirīya-āraṇyaka IV.20.2,3. According to Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XV.17.11, he should recite four out of these verses over the Mahāvīra.

[3]:

See; III.10.2.

[4]:

Taittirīya-āraṇyaka IV.20.3. See: III.10,2.

[5]:

XIV.2.8.

[6]:

Taittirīya-āraṇyaka IV.21.

[7]:

Whom he may never approach later, cf. Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XV.18.1.

[8]:

Taittirīya-saṃhitā III.3.11.: dhātā dadātu no rayim...etc.

[9]:

Tvaṃ no agne....

[10]:

Agne naya....

[11]:

According to Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra XV. 18.9, with the verse addressed to Aśvins, namely, yā vāṃ kaśā....