The Agnistoma Somayaga in the Shukla Yajurveda
by Madan Haloi | 2018 | 109,416 words
This page relates ‘Part 1.1: Appointment of the priests (ritvigvarana)’ of the study on the Agnistoma Somayaga as described in the Shukla Yajurveda (dealing with Vedic Rituals). The Agnistoma sacrifice (lit. “praise of Agni”) connects god with men and is performed in the spring season. It is the model of all the Soma sacrifices and forms a large and complicated ceremony preceded by four preliminary ritualistic days. This thesis deals with all the details involved in the Agnistoma sacrifice.
Part 1.1: Appointment of the priests (ṛtvigvaraṇa)
[Full title: Rites Performed on the First Day: (a) Appointment of the priests (ṛtvigvaraṇa)]
The ritual of the first day of the Agniṣṭoma Somayāga can be discussed under the following sub-headings:
- Appointment of the priests (ṛtvigvaraṇa)
- Selection of the sacrificial place (devayajananirdhāraṇa)
- Construction of the śālā (śālānirmāṇa)
- Consecration rite (Dikṣaṇīyeṣṭi)
The Agniṣṭoma Somayāga starts by the rite of giving appointment of the sixteen saumika priests. Mahīdhara states as follows—
tatrādau yajmānaḥ ṣoḍaśartvijo vṛtvā.../[1]
The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa states the qualifications as well as the names of the sixteen priests.This has already been stated in the third chapter of this thesis. Kātyāyana too states that at the very outset, before the beginning of the Agniṣṭoma takes place the formal selection of the priests. Apart from this, he adds that the sacrificer may begin by the appointment of only the four principal priests belonging to the four Vedas.[2] Karka in his commentary on Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra makes it clear that through the selection of the principal priests, the other assistant priests become automatically selected.[3] Before selecting the priests, the sacrificer may send a person known as somapravāka to approach the priests.[4]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
cf., Mahīdhara on Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā , 4.1.
[2]:
Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra , 7.1.7-8.