Millets in Rituals

First-fruits offering of the new harvest, shyamaka form (solemn Shrauta rite)

What is offered

A pot (caru) of the newly harvested shyamaka grain, offered to Soma. It is the "shyamaka offering" (śyāmākeṣṭi) of the first-fruits rite; Apastamba also allows it as a separate offering.

From the text (4)

श्यामाकेष्ट्यां सौम्यश्चरुः

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Áśvaláyana, with the commentary of Gárgya Náráyaṇa (Bibliotheca Indica, New Series Nos. 55, 61, 66, 69, 71, 80, 84, 86, 90, 93 and (ed. Rámanáráyaṇa Vidyáratna), Calcutta (Baptist Mission and Válmíki Presses, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1874, p. 135śyāmāka.iṣṭyām.saumyaś.caruḥ"At the shyamaka offering, a pot for Soma." (our translation)
AsvSS II.9 (GRETIL numbering 2.9.1-13)

वैश्वदेवं पयसि चरुं सौम्यं श्यामाकं चरुं

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 382vaiśvadevaṃ payasi caruṃ saumyaṃ śyāmākaṃ caruṃ"a pot cooked in milk for the All-gods, a pot of shyamaka for Soma" (our translation)
ApSS VI.29.2-10

There is a pap for SomaKB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

सौम्यश् चरुः

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

a potful of boiled syâmâka or bamboo grains respectivelySB II.4.3 introduction (Eggeling, from Katyayana SS IV.6) and SB II.4.3.1 · printed pp. 369-370 · translator’s note

Why

The texts state: one who desires food to eat should sacrifice with the first-fruits offering (Kausitaki Brahmana); the sap of the new plants is first offered to the gods, and only then eaten (Shatapatha Brahmana). Keith adds that the rite secures the fruitfulness of the new crop.

From the text (4)

He who desires proper food should sacrifice with the Agrayana.KB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

आग्रयणेन अन्न अद्य कामो यजेत

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

आग्रयणेनान्नाद्यकामो यजेत

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17āgrayaṇena.anna.adya.kāmo.yajeta"One who desires food to eat should sacrifice with the first-fruits offering." (our translation)
KB 4.8.2 (GRETIL)

having offered of this sap to the gods, we will eat itSB II.4.3 introduction (Eggeling, from Katyayana SS IV.6) and SB II.4.3.1 · printed pp. 369-370

The Sanskrit of this line

ऽस्य रसस्य हुत्वा देवेभ्यो ऽथेममश्नामेति

as an offering to secure the fruitfulness of the new cropKB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369 · translator’s note

How

A pot of new shyamaka is cooked for Soma. For a separate shyamaka offering the order is given to gather the shyamaka grain. Seventeen kindling verses are recited. The priest's fee is a garment (Apastamba) or a honey drink (Kausitaki, Sankhayana). The share of the new shyamaka is eaten with the verse "May Agni eat first, for he knows how the offering is".

From the text (6)

यदि नानातन्त्रां श्यामाकेष्टिं कुर्वीत श्यामाकानुद्धर्तवा इति संप्रेष्यति

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 390yadi nānātantrāṃ śyāmākeṣṭiṃ kurvīta śyāmākānuddʰartavā iti saṃpreṣyati"If he performs the shyamaka offering as a separate rite, he gives the order: 'the shyamaka are to be gathered'." (our translation)
ApSS VI.31.1-14

There are seventeen kindling verses in this sacrificeKB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

तस्यै सप्तदश सामिधेन्यः

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

वासः श्यामाके

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 387vāsaḥ śyāmāke"(the fee is) a garment at the shyamaka (offering)" (our translation)
ApSS VI.30.7-10

सौम्यस्य मधुपर्को दक्षिणा

The printed page
The Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra together with the commentary of Varadattasuta Ānartīya, Vol. I: Text of the Sūtra, critical notes, indices (Bibliotheca In (ed. Alfred Hillebrandt), Calcutta (G. H. Rouse, Baptist Mission Press), 1888, p. 27saumyasya.madhu.parko.dakṣiṇā"For the Soma (offering) the fee is the honey mixture (madhuparka)." (our translation)
SSS III.12.1, III.12.6

In that he gives the honey drink, it is because this is the sap of the forest thingsKB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

अथ यन् मधु पर्कम् ददाति । एष ह्य् आरण्यानाम् रसः

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

अग्निः प्रथमः प्राश्नातु स हि वेद यथा हविः

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 387agniḥ pratʰāmaḥ prāśnātu sa hi veda yatʰā haviḥ"May Agni eat first, for he knows how the offering is" (the verse for eating the new shyamaka, ApSS VI.30.10) (our translation)
ApSS VI.30.7-10

When

In the rainy season, when the shyamaka harvest has come; on the new-moon (or full-moon) day falling at that time. Eggeling, following the Katyayana sutra, gives the rainy season or autumn.

From the text (5)

In the rains when the millet harvest has come, he gives orders to pluck millet.KB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

वर्षास् आगते श्यामाक सस्ये । श्यामाकान् उद्धर्तव आह

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

The new moon night which coincides with that time, on it should he sacrifice and then offer this sacrificeKB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

सा या तस्मिन् काले अमावास्या उपसम्पद्येत । तया इष्ट्वा अथ एतया इष्ट्या यजेत

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

वर्षासु श्यामाकैर्यजेत

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 393varṣāsu śyāmākairyajeta"In the rains he should sacrifice with shyamaka." (our translation)
ApSS VI.31.1-14

अमावास्यायां पौर्णमास्यां वा

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 380amāvāsyāyāṃ paurṇamāsyāṃ vā"on the new-moon or the full-moon day" (our translation)
ApSS VI.29.2-10

(syâmâka), in the rainy season or in autumnSB II.4.3 introduction (Eggeling, from Katyayana SS IV.6) and SB II.4.3.1 · printed pp. 369-370 · translator’s note

Who performs it

A householder who has set up the sacred Shrauta fires (āhitāgni), as sacrificer: he may not eat of the new grain before this offering.

From the text (2)

नानिष्ट्वाग्रयणेनाहिताग्निर्नवस्याश्नीयात्

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1882, p. 380nāniṣṭvāgrayaṇenāhitāgnirnavasyāśnīyāt"One who has set up the (sacred) fires should not eat of the new (crop) without having offered the first-fruits offering." (our translation)
ApSS VI.29.2-10

with relation to a sacrificer who keeps theOldenberg, note on Asvalayana GS II.2.4 · printed p. 203 · translator’s note

Its meaning

Soma is called the king of the plants, so the new shyamaka is offered to him (Kausitaki). Apastamba says that whoever eats the new grain without this offering eats the share set apart for the gods. Even during a year-long sacrificial session the first-fruits offering must not lapse: it is kept up "by Soma's pap" (Shatapatha XII).

From the text (5)

Soma is the king of the plants ; thus he delights him with his own subjectsKB IV.12 (Keith; GRETIL numbering KB 4.8) · printed p. 369

The Sanskrit of this line

सोमो वै राजा ओषधीनाम् । तद् एनम् स्वया दिशा प्रीणाति

The printed page
Das Kaushitaki Brahmana, herausgegeben und uebersetzt von B. Lindner. I. Text (Kaushitakibrahmanam) (ed. Bruno Lindner), Jena (H. Costenoble), 1887, p. 17

यदकृत्वाग्रायणं नवस्याश्नीयाद्देवेभ्यो भागं प्रतिकॢप्तमद्याद्

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá, with the commentary of Rudradatta (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1885, p. 172yadakr̥tvāgrāyaṇaṃ navasyāśnīyāddevebʰyo bʰāgaṃ pratikḷptamadyād"If he ate of the new (grain) without having performed the first-fruits offering, he would be eating the share set apart for the gods." (our translation)
ApSS IX.14.5-6

how does their offering of firstfruits come to be uninterruptedSB XII.3.5.7 and Eggeling's note (citing Katyayana SS IV.6.11 ff.) · printed p. 176

By Soma’s papSB XII.3.5.7 and Eggeling's note (citing Katyayana SS IV.6.11 ff.) · printed p. 176

is to be offered to Soma at the proper season (during the rains, or autumn)SB XII.3.5.7 and Eggeling's note (citing Katyayana SS IV.6.11 ff.) · printed p. 176 · translator’s note

Household first-fruits offering, shyamaka form (domestic Grihya rite)

What is offered

A pot dish (sthālīpāka) of the new shyamaka grain for the household fire: boiled whole (Jaiminiya), cooked in milk (Manava; Gobhila treats it "in the same way" as its milk-rice), or cooked in water or milk (Kausika).

From the text (5)

In the same way (sacrifices of the first fruits are performed) of Syamaka (panicum frumentaceum) and of barley.GGS III.8.9-24 · printed pp. 93-94

a mess of boiled rice-grains with milk, sacred to Indra and AgniGGS III.8.9-24 · printed pp. 93-94

a mess of the corns boiled wholeJGS I.24 · printed pp. 43-44

The Sanskrit of this line

ऐन्द्राग्नौ वैश्वदेवो द्यावापृथिव्यश्चरव

The printed page
The Jaiminigṛhyasūtra belonging to the Sāmaveda, with extracts from the commentary (Punjab Sanskrit Series No. 2) (ed. W. Caland), Lahore (Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot), 1922, p. 24

अग्रपाकस्य पयसि स्थालीपाकं श्रपयित्वा

The printed page
Das Mānava-Gṛhya-Sūtra nebst Commentar in kurzer Fassung (ed. Friedrich Knauer), St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 41agrapākasya payasi sthālīpākaṃ śrapayitvā"having cooked a pot dish of the first-ripened (grain) in milk" (our translation)
MGS II.3.9-14 (GRETIL)

अप्सु स्थालीपाकं श्रपयित्वा पयसि वा

The printed page
The Kāuçika-Sūtra of the Atharva-Veda, with extracts from the commentaries of Dārila and Keçava (Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. XIV) (ed. Maurice Bloomfield), New Haven (American Oriental Society), 1890, p. 198apsu sthālīpākaṃ śrapayitvā payasi vā"having cooked the pot dish in water, or in milk" (our translation)
KausS 74.13-17 (GRETIL numbering 9,6[74])

Why

The household may not eat the new grain until it has been offered: "one should not eat of the new (crop) without having offered the first-fruits offering" (Manava).

From the text (1)

नानिष्ट्वाग्रयणेन नवस्याश्नीयात्

The printed page
Das Mānava-Gṛhya-Sūtra nebst Commentar in kurzer Fassung (ed. Friedrich Knauer), St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 41nāniṣṭvāgrayaṇena navasyāśnīyāt"One should not eat of the new (crop) without having offered the first-fruits offering." (our translation)
MGS II.3.9-14 (GRETIL)

How

The pot of new grain is offered in the domestic fire to the deities of the first-fruits rite (with Agni Svishtakrit as the fourth; Manava: to Heaven and Earth and to Soma). The householder then eats of it; for shyamaka the verse is "May Agni eat first ...". Gobhila gives the remnants to all present who have been initiated. Manava: the fee is a first-born calf.

From the text (6)

He prepares a Sthalipaka of the fresh fruitsApGS VII.19.6-7 · printed p. 289

The Sanskrit of this line

नवानां स्थालीपाकं श्रपयित्वा

The printed page
Āpastambagṛhyasūtra with two commentaries, the Anākulā of Haradatta Miśra and the Tātparyadarśana of Sudarśanācārya (Kashi Sanskrit Series No. 59, Kar (ed. A. Chinnaswami Sastri), Benares (Jaikrishnadas-Haridas Gupta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office), 1928, p. 231

तस्य जुहोति सजूर्द्यावापृथिवीभ्यां स्वाहा सजूः सोमाय स्वाहेति

The printed page
Das Mānava-Gṛhya-Sūtra nebst Commentar in kurzer Fassung (ed. Friedrich Knauer), St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 41tasya juhoti sajūrdyāvāpṛthivībhyāṃ svāhā sajūḥ somāya svāheti"He offers of it (saying): 'together with Heaven and Earth, svaha; together with Soma, svaha'." (our translation)
MGS II.3.9-14 (GRETIL)

Of the millet he should partake with the verseJGS I.24 · printed pp. 43-44

The Sanskrit of this line

शिवा अस्मभ्यमोषधीः कृणोतु विश्वचर्षणीरिति श्यामाकस्य प्राश्नीयात्

The printed page
The Jaiminigṛhyasūtra belonging to the Sāmaveda, with extracts from the commentary (Punjab Sanskrit Series No. 2) (ed. W. Caland), Lahore (Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot), 1922, p. 25

अग्निः प्रथमः प्राश्नातु स हि वेद यथा हविः

The printed page
The Jaiminigṛhyasūtra belonging to the Sāmaveda, with extracts from the commentary (Punjab Sanskrit Series No. 2) (ed. W. Caland), Lahore (Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot), 1922, p. 25agniḥ prathamaḥ prāśnātu sa hi veda yathā haviḥ"May Agni eat first, for he knows how the offering is" (our translation)
JGS 1.24 (GRETIL)

he should give to eat to all (persons present) who have received the initiation (Upanayana)GGS III.8.9-24 · printed pp. 93-94

वत्सः प्रथमजो दक्षिणा

The printed page
Das Mānava-Gṛhya-Sūtra nebst Commentar in kurzer Fassung (ed. Friedrich Knauer), St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 42vatsaḥ prathamajo dakṣiṇā"The fee is a first-born calf." (our translation)
MGS II.3.9-14 (GRETIL)

When

Jaiminiya: in the rainy season (rice in autumn, barley in spring). Manava and Kausika: the shyamaka offering in autumn. Manava: on a parvan (new- or full-moon) day.

From the text (5)

of barley, in the rainy season of milletJGS I.24 · printed pp. 43-44

The Sanskrit of this line

वसन्ते यवानां वर्षासु श्यामाकानाम्

The printed page
The Jaiminigṛhyasūtra belonging to the Sāmaveda, with extracts from the commentary (Punjab Sanskrit Series No. 2) (ed. W. Caland), Lahore (Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot), 1922, p. 24

वर्षासु श्यामाकानाम्

The printed page
The Jaiminigṛhyasūtra belonging to the Sāmaveda, with extracts from the commentary (Punjab Sanskrit Series No. 2) (ed. W. Caland), Lahore (Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot), 1922, p. 24varṣāsu śyāmākānām"in the rains, of shyamaka" (our translation)
JGS 1.24 (GRETIL)

शरदि सोमाय श्यामाकानाँ

The printed page
Das Mānava-Gṛhya-Sūtra nebst Commentar in kurzer Fassung (ed. Friedrich Knauer), St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 41śaradi somāya śyāmākānāṃ"in autumn, to Soma, of shyamaka" (our translation)
MGS II.3.9-14 (GRETIL)

सौम्यं तन्वच्छ्यामाकं शरदि

The printed page
The Kāuçika-Sūtra of the Atharva-Veda, with extracts from the commentaries of Dārila and Keçava (Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. XIV) (ed. Maurice Bloomfield), New Haven (American Oriental Society), 1890, p. 198saumyaṃ tanvat_śyāmākaṃ śaradi"(for) Soma, shyamaka, in autumn" (tanvat left untranslated) (our translation)
KausS 74.13-17 (GRETIL numbering 9,6[74])

पर्वण्याग्रयणं कुर्वीत

The printed page
Das Mānava-Gṛhya-Sūtra nebst Commentar in kurzer Fassung (ed. Friedrich Knauer), St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 41parvaṇyāgrayaṇaṃ kurvīta"He should perform the first-fruits offering on a parvan (new- or full-moon) day." (our translation)
MGS II.3.9-14 (GRETIL)

Who performs it

The householder who keeps only the domestic fire, i.e. one who has not set up the Shrauta fires; he (the sacrificer, yajamāna) takes the first portion to eat.

From the text (3)

partaking of the first-fruits) of one who has not set upApGS VII.19.6-7 · printed p. 289

The Sanskrit of this line

अनाहिताग्नेराग्रयणम्

तेन श्यामाकानां वेणुयवानां चाग्रयणं अनाहिताग्नेर्भवति

The printed page
Āpastambagṛhyasūtra with two commentaries, the Anākulā of Haradatta Miśra and the Tātparyadarśana of Sudarśanācārya (Kashi Sanskrit Series No. 59, Kar (ed. A. Chinnaswami Sastri), Benares (Jaikrishnadas-Haridas Gupta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office), 1928, p. 231tena śyāmākānāṃ veṇukānāṃ veṇuyavānāṃ cāgrayaṇaṃ anāhitāgnerbhavati"Thereby the first-fruits offering of shyamaka, of bamboo seed and bamboo grain (also) applies to one who has not set up the (Shrauta) fires." (Haradatta) (our translation)
ApGS 19.6-7 with Haradatta's Anakula and Sudarsana's Tatparyadarsana (GRETIL)

अथ यजमानः प्राशित्रं गृह्णीते

The printed page
The Kāuçika-Sūtra of the Atharva-Veda, with extracts from the commentaries of Dārila and Keçava (Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. XIV) (ed. Maurice Bloomfield), New Haven (American Oriental Society), 1890, p. 198atha yajamānaḥ prāśitraṃ gṛhṇīte"Then the sacrificer takes the portion to be eaten." (our translation)
KausS 74.13-17 (GRETIL numbering 9,6[74])

Its meaning

Sudarsana's commentary explains the name āgrayaṇa: it is the rite by which the new produce first (agre) reaches the gods. The eating verse asks Agni to "make the plants kindly for us".

From the text (2)

येन कर्मणा अग्रे नवद्रव्यं देवान् प्रापयतीति

The printed page
Āpastambagṛhyasūtra with two commentaries, the Anākulā of Haradatta Miśra and the Tātparyadarśana of Sudarśanācārya (Kashi Sanskrit Series No. 59, Kar (ed. A. Chinnaswami Sastri), Benares (Jaikrishnadas-Haridas Gupta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office), 1928, p. 231yena karmaṇā agre navadravyaṃ devān prāpayatīti"(Āgrayaṇa is the name of the rite) by which one first brings the new produce to the gods." (Sudarsana) (our translation)
ApGS 19.6-7 with Haradatta's Anakula and Sudarsana's Tatparyadarsana (GRETIL)

शिवा अस्मभ्यमोषधीः कृणोतु

The printed page
The Jaiminigṛhyasūtra belonging to the Sāmaveda, with extracts from the commentary (Punjab Sanskrit Series No. 2) (ed. W. Caland), Lahore (Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot), 1922, p. 25śivā asmabhyamoṣadhīḥ kṛṇotu"may he make the plants kindly for us" (our translation)
JGS 1.24 (GRETIL)

Royal consecration: the first-fruits offering with a pot of shyamaka for Soma

What is offered

A pot of shyamaka for Soma, among the opening offerings of the royal consecration. The Taittiriya Brahmana calls this group a first-fruits offering (āgrayaṇa), and the Shatapatha likewise has the king perform the offering of first-fruits here.

From the text (4)

oblation of millet to Soma; the sacrificial fee is a garmentTS I.8.1.2 · printed p. 114 (PDF p. 286)

सौम्यꣳ श्यामाकं चरुं वासो दक्षिणा

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 2saumyáṁ śyāmākáṃ carúṃ vā́so dákṣiṇā"a pot of shyamaka for Soma; the fee is a garment" (our translation)
TS 1.8.1.2 (TITUS)

आग्रयणं भवति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. I (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta, 1859, p. 111āgrayaṇáṃ bʰavati"there is a first-fruits offering" (TB I.6.1.9) (our translation)
TB I.6.1.9-11 (TITUS)

Thereupon he performs the offering of first-fruitsSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

अथाग्रयणेष्ट्या यजते

Why

The Taittiriya Brahmana: by this pot the sacrificer makes palatable for himself what ripens on unploughed land. The Shatapatha: the king wishes to be consecrated by this offering too, "for it is for the plants that he who is consecrated, is consecrated".

From the text (3)

अकृष्टपच्यम् एवास्मै स्वदयति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. I (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta, 1859, p. 111akr̥ṣṭapacyám evā́smai svadayati"he makes palatable for him what ripens without ploughing" (our translation)
TB I.6.1.9-11 (TITUS)

May I be consecrated by this (offering) alsoSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

अनयापि सूया इति

it is for the plants that he who is consecrated, is consecratedSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

ओषधीर्वा एष सूयमानो ऽभि सूयते

How

A pot (caru) of shyamaka is offered to Soma; the priest's fee is a garment, "for a garment by its deity belongs to Soma".

From the text (2)

सौम्यꣳ श्यामाकं चरुं वासो दक्षिणा

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 2saumyáṁ śyāmākáṃ carúṃ vā́so dákṣiṇā"a pot of shyamaka for Soma; the fee is a garment" (our translation)
TS 1.8.1.2 (TITUS)

सौम्यꣳ हि देवतया वासः समृद्ध्यै

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. I (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta, 1859, p. 111saumyám̐ hí devátayā vā́saḥ sámr̥ddʰyai"for a garment by its deity belongs to Soma; (it serves) for success" (our translation)
TB I.6.1.9-11 (TITUS)

When

Early in the royal consecration: in the Shatapatha order it comes after the cake for Indra and Agni offered on the following day, and before the seasonal offerings.

From the text (3)

And on the following day he prepares a cake on twelve potsherds for Indra and AgniSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

अथ श्वो भूते । ऐन्द्राग्नं द्वादशकपालम् पुरोडाशं निर्वपति

Thereupon he performs the offering of first-fruitsSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

अथाग्रयणेष्ट्या यजते

Thereupon he performs the Seasonal offeringsSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

अथ चातुर्मास्यैर्यजते

Who performs it

The sacrificer is "he who is consecrated", the king.

From the text (2)

it is for the plants that he who is consecrated, is consecratedSB V.2.3.9-10 · printed p. 46

The Sanskrit of this line

ओषधीर्वा एष सूयमानो ऽभि सूयते

as much as he (the king) rules overSB V.3.3.3 (a later day of the same royal consecration) · printed p. 69

The Sanskrit of this line

यावतोयावत ईष्टे

Its meaning

The Taittiriya Brahmana names Soma "king of what ripens without ploughing", which is why the shyamaka pot goes to Soma.

From the text (1)

सोमो वा अकृष्टपचस्य राजा

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. I (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta, 1859, p. 111sómo vā́ akr̥ṣṭapacyásya {AS akr̥ṣṭapacásya } rā́jā"Soma is king of what ripens without ploughing" ({AS ...} is a variant reading in the e-text) (our translation)
TB I.6.1.9-11 (TITUS)

Royal consecration: offerings to the "Divine Quickeners", with a pot of shyamaka for Soma, lord of the forest

What is offered

A pot of shyamaka for Soma as "lord of the forest" (Soma Vanaspati), one of eight grain offerings to the "Divine Quickeners"; each deity receives a different grain.

From the text (3)

to Soma, lord of the forest, an oblation of milletTS I.8.10.1-2 · printed p. 121 (PDF p. 293)

The Sanskrit of this line

सोमाय वनस्पतये श्यामाकं चरुꣳ

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 112

सोमाय वनस्पतये श्यामाकं चरुꣳ

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 112sómāya vánaspátaye śyāmākáṃ carúṁ"for Soma, lord of the forest, a pot of shyamaka" (our translation)
TS 1.8.10.1 (TITUS)

he then prepares a pap of syâmâka milletSB V.3.3.4 · printed p. 70 (PDF p. 102)

Why

The Shatapatha: "thereby Soma, the wood-lord, quickens him for the plants". In the formula spoken afterwards the king is quickened by "Soma for trees".

From the text (2)

thereby Soma, the wood-lord, quickens him for the plantsSB V.3.3.4 · printed p. 70 (PDF p. 102)

The Sanskrit of this line

तदेनं सोम एव वनस्पतिरोषधिभ्यः

The printed page
The Çatapatha-Brâhmaṇa in the Mâdhyandina-Çâkhâ with extracts from the commentaries of Sâyaṇa, Harisvâmin and Dvivedagaṅga [series label White Yajurve (ed. Albrecht Weber), Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler's Verlagsbuchhandlung; London: Williams and Norgate, 1855, p. 449

Agni for householders, Soma for treesSB V.3.3.11 · printed p. 71

The Sanskrit of this line

अग्निर्गृहपतीनां सोमो वनस्पतीनाम्

How

The shyamaka is cooked as a pot (pap) and offered in the series of eight. Afterwards the priest takes the sacrificer by the right arm and speaks the formula "May Savitr quicken thee ... Soma for trees ...".

From the text (3)

अथ सोमाय वनस्पतये । श्यामाकं चरुं निर्वपति

The printed page
The Çatapatha-Brâhmaṇa in the Mâdhyandina-Çâkhâ with extracts from the commentaries of Sâyaṇa, Harisvâmin and Dvivedagaṅga [series label White Yajurve (ed. Albrecht Weber), Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler's Verlagsbuchhandlung; London: Williams and Norgate, 1855, p. 449atha somāya vanaspataye | śyāmākaṃ carum nirvapati"Then for Soma, lord of the forest, he offers a pot of shyamaka." (our translation)
SB 5.3.3.4 (GRETIL)

taking hold of him (the Sacrificer) by the right arm, he muttersSB V.3.3.11 · printed p. 71

The Sanskrit of this line

अथैनं दक्षिणे बाहावभिपद्य जपति

takes the sacrificer by the handTS I.8.10.1-2 · printed p. 121 (PDF p. 293) · translator’s note

When

On the day of preparation of the consecration (abhiṣecanīya) ceremony. Eggeling notes that this ceremony takes five days and that its initiation falls about the middle of March.

From the text (3)

On the day of preparationSB V.3.3.1-3 and Eggeling's note on the consecration ceremony · printed pp. 68-70

The Sanskrit of this line

स उपवसथे

requires for its performance five daysSB V.3.3.1-3 and Eggeling's note on the consecration ceremony · printed pp. 68-70 · translator’s note

(about the middle of March)SB V.3.3.1-3 and Eggeling's note on the consecration ceremony · printed pp. 68-70 · translator’s note

Who performs it

The king being consecrated is the sacrificer; a priest speaks the formula over him.

From the text (2)

as much as he (the king) rules overSB V.3.3.1-3 and Eggeling's note on the consecration ceremony · printed pp. 68-70

The Sanskrit of this line

यावतोयावत ईष्टे

taking hold of him (the Sacrificer) by the right arm, he muttersSB V.3.3.11 · printed p. 71

The Sanskrit of this line

अथैनं दक्षिणे बाहावभिपद्य जपति

Its meaning

The Shatapatha explains why shyamaka is used: the shyamaka plants are "most manifestly Soma's own".

From the text (1)

the syâmâkas among plants doubtless are most manifestly Soma's ownSB V.3.3.4 · printed p. 70 (PDF p. 102)

Wish offering for harmony with one's equals: a pot of shyamaka for Soma with the Rudras

What is offered

In a set of four offerings for harmony, Soma with the Rudras receives a pot of shyamaka (Maitrayani Samhita); Indra with the Maruts receives a cake of wild rice, Varuna with the Adityas a pot of barley.

From the text (1)

सोमाय रुद्रवते श्यामाकं चरुम् इन्द्राय मरुत्वते नैवारम् एकादशकपालं वरुणायादित्यवते यवमयं चरुं

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 19somāya rudravate śyāmākaṃ carum indrāya marutvate naivāram ekādaśakapālaṃ varuṇāyādityavate yavamayaṃ caruṃ"for Soma with the Rudras a pot of shyamaka, for Indra with the Maruts a cake of wild rice on eleven potsherds, for Varuna with the Adityas a pot of barley" (our translation)
MS II.2.6 (GRETIL)

Why

Whoever sacrifices with this offering, (his fellows) turn to him and agree on him (Maitrayani). The Taittiriya parallel, which does not name the grain, says he becomes the best of his fellows.

From the text (2)

तद् य एतया यजते तम् एवाभिसमावर्तन्ते तम् अभिसंजानते

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 19tad ya etayā yajate tam evābhisamāvartante tam abhisaṃjānate"So whoever sacrifices with this, to him they turn, on him they agree." (our translation)
MS II.2.6 (GRETIL)

he becomes the best of his fellowsTS II.2.11.5-6 (parallel; the grain is not named) · printed pp. 159-160

The Sanskrit of this line

वसिष्ठः समानानाम् भवति

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 370

How

Four offerings together: a cake on eight potsherds for Agni with the Vasus, the pot of shyamaka for Soma with the Rudras, a cake of wild rice on eleven potsherds for Indra with the Maruts, and a pot of barley for Varuna with the Adityas.

From the text (2)

अग्नये वसुमते सतीनानाम् अष्टाकपालं निर्वपेत्

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 19agnaye vasumate satīnānām aṣṭākapālaṃ nirvapet"For Agni with the Vasus he should offer a cake of satīna grain on eight potsherds." (our translation)
MS II.2.6 (GRETIL)

सोमाय रुद्रवते श्यामाकं चरुम् इन्द्राय मरुत्वते नैवारम् एकादशकपालं वरुणायादित्यवते यवमयं चरुं

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 19somāya rudravate śyāmākaṃ carum indrāya marutvate naivāram ekādaśakapālaṃ varuṇāyādityavate yavamayaṃ caruṃ"for Soma with the Rudras a pot of shyamaka, for Indra with the Maruts a cake of wild rice on eleven potsherds, for Varuna with the Adityas a pot of barley" (our translation)
MS II.2.6 (GRETIL)

When

The text names no season or date

Who performs it

One who is at variance with his fellows; a priest has him offer it (Taittiriya parallel).

From the text (1)

at variance with his fellows he should cause to offer with the verse for harmonyTS II.2.11.5-6 (parallel; the grain is not named) · printed pp. 159-160

The Sanskrit of this line

यः समानैर् मिथो विप्रियः स्यात् तम् एतया संज्ञान्या याजयेत्

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 370

Its meaning

The story behind it: the gods, unwilling to accept one another's lead, split into four groups; Brihaspati had them sacrifice with this offering, and they came together.

From the text (2)

देवा अन्योन्यस्य श्रैष्ठ्ये तिष्ठमानाश् चतुर्धा व्युदक्रामन्न्

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 19devā anyonyasya śraiṣṭhye tiṣṭhamānāś caturdhā vyudakrāmann"The gods, standing on their own pre-eminence over one another, went apart in four groups." (our translation)
MS II.2.6 (GRETIL)

तान् वा एतया बृहस्पतिर् अयाजयत्

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 19tān vā etayā bṛhaspatir ayājayat"Brihaspati made them sacrifice with this (offering)." (our translation)
MS II.2.6 (GRETIL)

Offering to the lunar mansion Mrigashirsha: shyamaka cooked in milk for Soma

What is offered

A pot of shyamaka cooked in milk, offered to Soma and to the lunar mansion Mrigashirsha.

From the text (1)

स एतꣳ सोमाय मृगशीर्षाय श्यामाकं चरुं पयसि निरवपत्

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11sá etám̐ sómāya mr̥gaśīrṣā́ya śyāmākáṃ carúṃ páyasi níravapat"He offered this pot of shyamaka in milk to Soma, to Mrigashirsha." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

Why

Whoever sacrifices with this oblation wins kingship over his equals.

From the text (2)

समानानाꣳ ह वै राज्यम् अभिजयति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11samānā́nām̐ ha vái rājyám abʰíjayati"He wins kingship over his equals ..." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

य एतेन हविषा यजते

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11yá eténa havíṣā yájate"... who sacrifices with this oblation." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

How

The shyamaka is cooked in milk and offered with the calls "to Soma svaha, to Mrigashirsha svaha, to the Invakas svaha, to the plants svaha, to kingship svaha, to victory svaha".

From the text (3)

सोमाय स्वाहा मृगशीर्षाय स्वाहा

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11sómāya svā́hā mr̥gaśīrṣā́ya svā́hā"to Soma svaha, to Mrigashirsha svaha" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

इन्वकाभ्यः स्वाहौषधीभ्यः स्वाहा

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11invakā́bʰyaḥ svā́hā _óṣadʰībʰyaḥ svā́hā"to the Invakas svaha, to the plants svaha" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

राज्याय स्वाहाभिजित्यै स्वाहेति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11rājyā́ya svā́hā _abʰíjityai svā́hā _íti"to kingship svaha, to victory svaha" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

When

The text names the lunar mansion that receives the offering but gives no date for performing it

Who performs it

Whoever sacrifices with this oblation, and whoever knows it thus.

From the text (2)

य एतेन हविषा यजते

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11yá eténa havíṣā yájate"he who sacrifices with this oblation" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

य उ चैनद् एवं वेद

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11yá u ca _enad eváṃ véda"and he who knows it thus" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

Its meaning

Origin story: Soma wished to win kingship over the plants, offered this pot, and won it.

From the text (2)

ओषधीनाꣳ राज्यम् अभिजयेयम् इति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11óṣadʰīnām̐ rājyám abʰíjayeyam íti"(Soma desired:) 'May I win kingship over the plants.'" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

ततो वै स ओषधीनाꣳ राज्यम् अभ्यजयत्

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Sáyanáchárya, Vol. III (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. Rájendralála Mitra), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press), 1863, p. 11táto vái sá óṣadʰīnām̐ rājyám abʰyàjayat"Then he won kingship over the plants." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.3 (TITUS)

The "stream of wealth" at the completion of the fire altar: millets named in the litany

What is offered

The millets are named, not offered: while a long unbroken stream of ghee is poured into the fire, the litany asks that the sacrificer's grains, among them priyangu (foxtail millet), shyamaka (barnyard millet) and a grain called anu (identification uncertain), "prosper through the sacrifice".

From the text (3)

प्रियङ्गवश्च मेऽणवश्च मे श्यामाकाश्च मे

The printed page
The Vâjasaneyi-Sanhitâ in the Mâdhyandina- and the Kâṇva-Çâkhâ with the commentary of Mahîdhara (ed. Albrecht Weber), Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler's Verlagsbuchhandlung; London: Williams and Norgate, 1852, p. 566priyáṅgavaś ca mé ṇavaś ca me śyāmā́kāś ca me"and my priyangu, and my anu, and my shyamaka" (our translation)
VS 18.12 (TITUS)

millet, Panicum miliaceum, Panicum frumentaceum, and wild rice (prosper through the sacrifice)TS IV.7.4.2 · printed p. 381 (PDF p. 104)

and my millet and my Panicum MilliaceumVS XVIII.12 · Book XVIII, verse 12 (page number not legible in the scan text)

The Sanskrit of this line

प्रियङ्गवश् च मे णवश् च मे

The printed page
The Vâjasaneyi-Sanhitâ in the Mâdhyandina- and the Kâṇva-Çâkhâ with the commentary of Mahîdhara (ed. Albrecht Weber), Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler's Verlagsbuchhandlung; London: Williams and Norgate, 1852, p. 566

Why

The formulas ask that each thing named "prosper by sacrifice". The Shatapatha says the sacrificer thereby gratifies Agni; Eggeling explains that the sacrificer makes the objects of desire named in the formulas accrue to himself.

From the text (3)

and my wheat and my lentils prosper by sacrificeVS XVIII.12 · Book XVIII, verse 12 (page number not legible in the scan text)

The Sanskrit of this line

गोधूमाश् च मे मसूराश् च मे यज्ञेन कल्पन्ताम्

The printed page
The Vâjasaneyi-Sanhitâ in the Mâdhyandina- and the Kâṇva-Çâkhâ with the commentary of Mahîdhara (ed. Albrecht Weber), Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler's Verlagsbuchhandlung; London: Williams and Norgate, 1852, p. 566

in like manner this (Sacrificer) offers to him this shower, and gratifies him therebySB IX.3.2.1-2 and Eggeling's notes · printed pp. 213-214

The Sanskrit of this line

तथैवास्मा अयमेतां धाराम् प्रगृह्णाति तयैनम् प्रीणाति

he makes the objects of desire mentioned in the formulasSB IX.3.2.1-2 and Eggeling's notes · printed pp. 213-214 · translator’s note

How

An unbroken stream of ghee is poured into the fire from a large ladle of udumbara wood while the formulas are recited.

From the text (2)

of clarified butter poured from a large ladle of Udumbara wood, while the Adhvaryu recites the formulasGriffith's note at the head of VS Book XVIII · Book XVIII, introductory note · translator’s note

With ghee taken in five ladlings, and an offering-ladle of udumbara woodSB IX.3.2.1-2 and Eggeling's notes · printed pp. 213-214

The Sanskrit of this line

आज्येन पञ्चगृहीतेनौदुम्बर्या स्रुचा

When

When the fire altar has been completed (in the fire-altar rite, agnicayana).

From the text (2)

That whole Agni has now been completedSB IX.3.2.1-2 and Eggeling's notes · printed pp. 213-214

The Sanskrit of this line

अत्रैष सर्वो ऽग्निः संस्कृतः

on the completion of the Fire-altarGriffith's note at the head of VS Book XVIII · Book XVIII, introductory note · translator’s note

Who performs it

The sacrificer pours the stream; the Adhvaryu priest recites the formulas (Griffith).

From the text (2)

The Sacrificer offers an uninterruptedGriffith's note at the head of VS Book XVIII · Book XVIII, introductory note · translator’s note

of clarified butter poured from a large ladle of Udumbara wood, while the Adhvaryu recites the formulasGriffith's note at the head of VS Book XVIII · Book XVIII, introductory note · translator’s note

Its meaning

Griffith calls the rite "the Stream or Shower of Riches"; the Shatapatha calls it Agni's consecration (abhiṣeka).

From the text (2)

the Stream or Shower of RichesGriffith's note at the head of VS Book XVIII · Book XVIII, introductory note · translator’s note

this is his (Agni’s) AbhishekaSB IX.3.2.1-2 and Eggeling's notes · printed pp. 213-214

The Sanskrit of this line

अभिषेक एवास्यैष

Building the fire altar: sowing seeds of fourteen plants on the ploughed altar site

What is offered

Seeds of fourteen plants are sown on the ploughed site of the fire altar: seven cultivated, among them priyangu (foxtail millet) and anu (identification uncertain), and seven wild, among them shyamaka (barnyard millet) and the wild grasses jartila and gavidhuka (identification uncertain).

From the text (3)

तिलमाषा व्रीहियवाः प्रियङ्ग्वणवो गोधूमा वेणुश्यामाकनीवारा जर्तिलाश्च गवीधुका

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25tilamāṣā vrīhiyavāḥ priyaṅgvaṇavo godʰūmā veṇuśyāmākanīvārā jartilaśca gavīdʰukā"sesame and beans, rice and barley, priyangu and anu, wheat; bamboo seed, shyamaka, wild rice, jartila and gavidhuka" (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

गार्मुतसप्तमाः कुलत्थसप्तमा वा सप्त ग्राम्याः कृष्टे

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25gārmutasaptamāḥ kulattʰasaptamā vā sapta grāmyāḥ kr̥ṣṭe"the seven cultivated (kinds), with garmut or kulattha as the seventh, on the ploughed (ground)" (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

सप्तारण्या अकृष्टे

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25saptāraṇyā akr̥ṣṭe"the seven wild (kinds) on the unploughed (ground)" (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

Why

The Taittiriya: "the domesticated plants are seven, the wild are seven; (verily they serve) to win both sets". The Shatapatha: all herbs means all food, so he puts all kinds of food into Agni; sowing on ploughed and unploughed ground makes food ripen on both.

From the text (3)

the domesticated plants are seven, the wild are seven; (verily they serve) to win both setsTS V.2.5.5 · printed p. 409 (PDF p. 132)

all herbs means all food ; he thus puts all (kinds of) food into himSB VII.2.4.13-17 · printed pp. 337-338

The Sanskrit of this line

सर्वमेव तदन्नं यत्सर्वौषधं सर्वमेवास्मिन्नेतदन्नं दधाति

hence food ripens both on ploughed, and on unploughed, groundSB VII.2.4.13-17 · printed pp. 337-338

The Sanskrit of this line

कृष्टे चाकृष्टे च वपति तस्मात्कृष्टे चाकृष्टे चान्नम् पच्यते

How

The seed is sown with fourteen verses beginning "yā jātā oṣadhayaḥ", from a four-cornered udumbara vessel: the cultivated kinds on the ploughed ground, the wild kinds on the unploughed ground (Apastamba).

From the text (5)

या जाता ओषधय इति चतुर्दशभिरोषधीर्वपति

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25yā jātā oṣadʰaya iti caturdaśabʰiroṣadʰīrvapati"With fourteen (verses) beginning 'yā jātā oṣadhayaḥ' he sows the plants." (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

With fourteen verses he scattersTS V.2.5.5 · printed p. 409 (PDF p. 132)

By means of the udumbara jar (he sows the seed)SB VII.2.4.13-17 · printed pp. 337-338

The Sanskrit of this line

औदुम्बरेण चमसेन

गार्मुतसप्तमाः कुलत्थसप्तमा वा सप्त ग्राम्याः कृष्टे

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25gārmutasaptamāḥ kulattʰasaptamā vā sapta grāmyāḥ kr̥ṣṭe"the seven cultivated (kinds), with garmut or kulattha as the seventh, on the ploughed (ground)" (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

सप्तारण्या अकृष्टे

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25saptāraṇyā akr̥ṣṭe"the seven wild (kinds) on the unploughed (ground)" (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

When

While the fire altar is being built, after the altar site has been ploughed and watered.

From the text (3)

लाङ्गलं पवीरवमिति द्वाभ्यां कृषति

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 24lāṅgalaṃ pavīravamiti dvābʰyāṃ kr̥ṣati"With two (verses) beginning 'lāṅgalaṃ pavīravam' he ploughs." (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

Fifteen jarfuls of water he pours outSB VII.2.4.13-17 · printed pp. 337-338

The Sanskrit of this line

पञ्चदशोदचमसान्निनयति

He then sows all (kinds of) herb (-seed)SB VII.2.4.13-17 · printed pp. 337-338

The Sanskrit of this line

अथ सर्वौषधं वपति

Who performs it

The texts say only "he" sows; the person for whom the altar is built is called "he who piles the fire".

From the text (1)

If he who piles the fireTS V.2.5.5 · printed p. 409 (PDF p. 132)

Its meaning

The Shatapatha adds a lifelong vow: the builder gives up one of the sown kinds of food and does not eat it as long as he lives. In Apastamba's list shyamaka counts among the wild plants and priyangu among the cultivated ones.

From the text (2)

Let him omit one of those kinds of food, and not eat thereof as long as he livesSB VII.2.4.13-17 · printed pp. 337-338

The Sanskrit of this line

तेषामेकमन्नमुद्धरेत्तस्य नाश्नीयाद्यावज्जीवम्

तिलमाषा व्रीहियवाः प्रियङ्ग्वणवो गोधूमा वेणुश्यामाकनीवारा जर्तिलाश्च गवीधुका

The printed page
The Śrauta Sútra of Ápastamba belonging to the Taittiríya Saṃhitá (Bibliotheca Indica; text volume, no commentary) (ed. Richard Garbe), Calcutta (Baptist Mission Press, for the Asiatic Society, 57 Park Street), 1902, p. 25tilamāṣā vrīhiyavāḥ priyaṅgvaṇavo godʰūmā veṇuśyāmākanīvārā jartilaśca gavīdʰukā"sesame and beans, rice and barley, priyangu and anu, wheat; bamboo seed, shyamaka, wild rice, jartila and gavidhuka" (our translation)
ApSS XVI.19.2-14 (TITUS)

Marriage: plants and grains for the consecrated water-jar

What is offered

In the marriage rite, shyamaka (barnyard millet) and priyangu (foxtail millet) are named, with shami, durva grass and white mustard, among the plants and grains used when the water-jar is consecrated and carried forward.

From the text (2)

शमीशमकश्यामाकानां प्रियङ्गुदूर्वागौरसर्षपाणां

śamīśamakaśyāmākānāṃ priyaṅgudūrvāgaurasarṣapāṇāṃ"of shami, shamaka, shyamaka, priyangu, durva grass and white mustard" (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

सहिरण्यापो ऽभिमन्त्र्य प्रणीतोदकुम्भं प्रणयेत्

sahiraṇyāpo 'bhimantrya praṇītodakumbhaṃ praṇayet"having consecrated water containing gold, he should carry forward the water-jar" (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

Why

the text gives no purpose

How

On a clean spot of ground, with these plants (as available) and other grains, water containing gold is consecrated with Vedic verses, and the water-jar is carried forward.

From the text (2)

शुचौ भूमिप्रदेशे

śucau bhūmipradeśe"on a clean spot of ground" (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

सहिरण्यापो ऽभिमन्त्र्य प्रणीतोदकुम्भं प्रणयेत्

sahiraṇyāpo 'bhimantrya praṇītodakumbhaṃ praṇayet"having consecrated water containing gold, he should carry forward the water-jar" (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

When

During the wedding, before the parched-grain (lāja) oblations and the taking of the bride's hand.

From the text (2)

तं लाजाहुतीषु हूयमानासु भ्राता ब्रह्मचारी वोद्गृह्य धारयेद् दक्षिणतश्च

taṃ lājāhutīṣu hūyamānāsu bhrātā brahmacārī vodgṛhya dhārayed dakṣiṇataśca"While the parched-grain oblations are being offered, a brother or a Vedic student should lift it and hold it, on the south side." (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

गृह्णामि ते सौभगत्वाय हस्तं

gṛhṇāmi te saubhagatvāya hastaṃ"I take your hand for good fortune" (the hand-taking verse that follows) (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

Who performs it

The rite is the wedding performed by the groom (upayantā); the text names a brother or a Vedic student as the one who holds the water-jar.

From the text (2)

पुरस्तात्प्रत्यङ्मुख उपयन्ता

purastāt pratyaṅmukha upayantā"the groom, in front (of her), facing west" (VarGS 14.12, before the hand-taking) (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

तं लाजाहुतीषु हूयमानासु भ्राता ब्रह्मचारी वोद्गृह्य धारयेद् दक्षिणतश्च

taṃ lājāhutīṣu hūyamānāsu bhrātā brahmacārī vodgṛhya dhārayed dakṣiṇataśca"While the parched-grain oblations are being offered, a brother or a Vedic student should lift it and hold it, on the south side." (our translation)
VarGS 14.6-12 (GRETIL numbering)

Its meaning

The text gives no meaning or significance for these plants

Grains set out for the regular fire offerings

What is offered

Kernels of priyangu (foxtail millet) and shyamaka (barnyard millet), with barley, rice, large rice and sesame, are listed as offering materials to be set out "as enjoined by the Veda".

From the text (2)

यवव्रीहिमहाव्रीहिप्रयङ्गूणां हि तण्डुलाः

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 151yavavrīhimahāvrīhiprayaṅgūṇāṃ hi taṇḍulāḥ"the kernels of barley, rice, large rice and priyangu" (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

श्यामाकतण्डुलतिला आसाद्याः श्रुतिचोदिताः

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 151śyāmākataṇḍulatilā āsādyāḥ śruticoditāḥ"kernels of shyamaka and sesame are to be set out, (as) enjoined by the Veda" (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

Why

the text gives no purpose

How

Set out as husked kernels for the offering; whatever substance is used in the evening offerings is to be used in the morning offerings too.

From the text (2)

श्यामाकतण्डुलतिला आसाद्याः श्रुतिचोदिताः

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 151śyāmākataṇḍulatilā āsādyāḥ śruticoditāḥ"kernels of shyamaka and sesame are to be set out" (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

सायंहोमेषु यद् द्रव्यं प्रातर्होमेषु तद् भवेत्

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 151sāyaṃhomeṣu yad dravyaṃ prātarhomeṣu tad bhavet"What substance is in the evening offerings, that shall be in the morning offerings." (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

When

The evening and morning fire offerings.

From the text (1)

सायंहोमेषु यद् द्रव्यं प्रातर्होमेषु तद् भवेत्

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 151sāyaṃhomeṣu yad dravyaṃ prātarhomeṣu tad bhavet"What substance is in the evening offerings, that shall be in the morning offerings." (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

Who performs it

The text says it was taught for the benefit of Brahmins (and of their sons and pupils).

From the text (1)

ब्राह्मणानां हितार्थाय पुत्रशिष्यहिताय च

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 154brāhmaṇānāṃ hitārthāya putraśiṣyahitāya ca"for the benefit of Brahmins, and for the benefit of sons and pupils" (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

Its meaning

The chapter is a manual of sacrificial vessels and materials.

From the text (1)

अथातो यज्ञपात्राणां लक्षणं योनिर् एव च

The printed page
The Pariśiṣṭas of the Atharvaveda, Volume I: Text and critical apparatus (Part I, Pariśiṣṭas I-XXXVI, bound with Parts II-III) (ed. George Melville Bolling and Julius von Negelein), Leipzig (Otto Harrassowitz), 1909, p. 150athāto yajñapātrāṇāṃ lakṣaṇaṃ yonir eva ca"Now then (are described) the marks and origin of the sacrificial vessels ..." (our translation)
AVParis 23.7.2-3 (yajñapātralakṣaṇa)

Worship of Vishnu: shyamaka in the water offered for washing the deity's feet

What is offered

Shyamaka grain is put into the vessel of water for washing the deity's feet (pādya), together with lotus, durva grass and viṣṇupatrī: "four substances".

From the text (2)

पाद्यपात्रे च कमलं दूर्वा श्यामाकम् एव च

pādyapātre ca kamalaṃ dūrvā śyāmākam eva ca"And in the vessel for foot-water (he should put) lotus, durva grass and shyamaka ..." (our translation)
Haribhaktivilasa 5.40-44 (DCS)

निक्षिपेद् विष्णुपत्रीं चेत्य् एवं द्रव्यचतुष्टयम्

nikṣiped viṣṇupatrīṃ cety evaṃ dravyacatuṣṭayam"... and viṣṇupatrī; thus the four substances." (our translation)
Haribhaktivilasa 5.40-44 (DCS)

Why

the text gives no purpose

How

The grain is placed in the foot-water vessel with the other three substances.

From the text (1)

निक्षिपेद् विष्णुपत्रीं चेत्य् एवं द्रव्यचतुष्टयम्

nikṣiped viṣṇupatrīṃ cety evaṃ dravyacatuṣṭayam"he should put in ... viṣṇupatrī; thus the four substances" (our translation)
Haribhaktivilasa 5.40-44 (DCS)

When

During worship (arcana), when the vessels for the offerings are prepared.

From the text (1)

न्यसेद् अर्चनकाले तु कृष्णस्यातीव वल्लभम्

nyased arcanakāle tu kṛṣṇasyātīva vallabham"at the time of worship he should set (it) down, (a thing) very dear to Krishna" (5.40, of the water-pot) (our translation)
Haribhaktivilasa 5.40-44 (DCS)

Who performs it

The worshipper (sādhaka) who prepares the vessels.

From the text (1)

कुशाग्रतिलदूर्वाश् च सिद्धार्थान् अपि साधकः

kuśāgratiladūrvāś ca siddhārthān api sādhakaḥ"the worshipper (puts) kusha tips, sesame, durva and white mustard (into the arghya vessel)" (5.42) (our translation)
Haribhaktivilasa 5.40-44 (DCS)

Its meaning

The text gives no meaning for the shyamaka in the foot-water

Wish offering to the Maruts: priyangu cooked in the milk of a speckled cow

What is offered

Priyangu (foxtail millet) cooked as a pot (caru) in the milk of a speckled cow, offered to the Maruts.

From the text (3)

should offer to the Maruts an oblation of panic seed in the milk of a speckled (cow)TS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

The Sanskrit of this line

पृश्नियै दुग्धे प्रैयंगवं चरुं निर् वपेन् मरुद्भ्यो ग्रामकामः

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 369

पृश्नियै दुग्धे प्रैयंगवं चरुं निर् वपेन् मरुद्भ्यो

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 369pŕ̥śniyai dugdʰé práiyaṃgavaṃ carúṃ nír vapen marúdbʰyo"in the milk of a speckled (cow) he should offer a pot of priyangu to the Maruts" (our translation)
TS 2.2.11.4 (TITUS)

मारुतं चरुं निर्वपेत् पयसि प्रैयङ्गवं

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 9mārutaṃ caruṃ nirvapet payasi praiyaṅgavaṃ"He should offer to the Maruts a pot of priyangu in milk." (our translation)
MS II.1.8 (GRETIL)

Why

"He who desires a village" offers it, and "he becomes possessed of a village". The Maitrayani adds: or one who desires cattle.

From the text (3)

He who desires a village should offerTS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

he becomes possessed of a villageTS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

ग्रामकामो वा पशुकामो वा

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 9grāmakāmo vā paśukāmo vā"one who desires a village or one who desires cattle" (our translation)
MS II.1.8 (GRETIL)

How

The priyangu is cooked in the milk of a speckled cow and offered to the Maruts; the offering and invitation verses contain the word "dear" (priya), which the Maitrayani says makes him dear to his kinsmen.

From the text (3)

should offer to the Maruts an oblation of panic seed in the milk of a speckled (cow)TS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

The Sanskrit of this line

पृश्नियै दुग्धे प्रैयंगवं चरुं निर् वपेन् मरुद्भ्यो ग्रामकामः

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 369

The Yajya and the Anuvakya contain the wordTS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

The Sanskrit of this line

प्रियवती याज्यानुवाक्ये । भवतः प्रियम् एवैनꣳ समानानां करोति

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 369

प्रियवती याज्यानुवाक्ये भवतः प्रियम् एनं सजातानां करोति

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 9priyavatī yājyānuvākye bhavataḥ priyam enaṃ sajātānāṃ karoti"The offering and invitation verses contain the word 'dear'; he makes him dear to his kinsmen." (our translation)
MS II.1.8 (GRETIL)

When

The text names no season or date (a wish offering, made when the wish arises)

Who performs it

One who desires a village (grāmakāma).

From the text (2)

He who desires a village should offerTS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

ग्रामकामः

The printed page
The Sanhitá of the Black Yajur Veda, with the commentary of Mádhava Áchárya, Vol. II: Kánda I, Prapáthaka VIII - Kánda II (Bibliotheca Indica) (ed. E. B. Cowell), Calcutta (C. B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press), 1866, p. 369grā́makāmaḥ"one who desires a village" (our translation)
TS 2.2.11.4 (TITUS)

Its meaning

The Taittiriya explains the choice: the Maruts were born from the milk of the speckled cow, and so was panic seed; and one's fellows have the Maruts as their deity. The Maitrayani: what the speckled cow gave as milk became priyangu.

From the text (3)

from the milk of a speckled (cow) were the Maruts born, of the speckled (cow) panic seedTS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

his fellows have the Maruts for their deityTS II.2.11.4 · printed p. 159 (PDF p. 331)

पृश्निर् वै यद् अदुहत् स प्रियङ्गुर् अभवद्

The printed page
Māitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, herausgegeben von Dr. Leopold von Schroeder. Zweites Buch (gedruckt auf Kosten der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft) (ed. Leopold von Schroeder), Leipzig (in Commission bei F. A. Brockhaus), 1883, p. 9pṛśnir vai yad aduhat sa priyaṅgur abhavad"What the speckled (cow) gave as milk became priyangu." (our translation)
MS II.1.8 (GRETIL)

Offering to the lunar mansion Ardra: priyangu cooked in milk for Rudra

What is offered

A pot of priyangu cooked in milk, offered to Rudra and to the lunar mansion Ardra.

From the text (1)

स एतꣳ रुद्रायार्द्रायै प्रैय्यङ्गवं चरुं पयसि निरवपत्

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35sá etám̐ rudrā́ya _ārdrā́yai práiyaṃgavaṃ {BS práiyyaṅgavaṃ } carúṃ páyasi níravapat"He offered this pot of priyangu in milk to Rudra, to Ardra." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

Why

Whoever sacrifices with this oblation becomes rich in cattle.

From the text (2)

पशुमान् ह वै भवति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35paśumā́n ha vái bʰavati"He becomes rich in cattle ..." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

य एतेन हविषा यजते

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35yá eténa havíṣā yájate"... who sacrifices with this oblation." (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

How

The priyangu is cooked in milk and offered with the calls "to Rudra svaha, to Ardra svaha, to her who swells (with milk) svaha, to the cattle svaha".

From the text (2)

रुद्राय स्वाहाऽऽर्द्रायै स्वाहा

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35rudrā́ya svā́hā _ārdrā́yai svā́hā"to Rudra svaha, to Ardra svaha" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

पिन्वमानायै स्वाहा पशुभ्यस्स्वाहेति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35pínvamānāyai svā́hā paśúbʰyaḥ svā́hā _íti"to her who swells (with milk) svaha, to the cattle svaha" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

When

The text names the lunar mansion that receives the offering but gives no date for performing it

Who performs it

Whoever sacrifices with this oblation, and whoever knows it thus.

From the text (2)

य एतेन हविषा यजते

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35yá eténa havíṣā yájate"he who sacrifices with this oblation" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

य उ च एनद् एवं वेद

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35yá u ca _enad eváṃ véda"and he who knows it thus" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

Its meaning

Origin story: Rudra wished to be rich in cattle and offered this pot of priyangu.

From the text (1)

पशुमान्थ्स्यामिति

The printed page
The Taittiríya Bráhmana with the commentary of Bhaṭṭa Bhāskara Miśra, Aṣṭaka III, Part I (prapāṭhakas 1-7) (Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Government Oriental (ed. A. Mahadeva Sastri and L. Srinivasacharya), Mysore (Government Branch Press), 1911, p. 35paśumā́nt syām íti"(Rudra desired:) 'May I be rich in cattle.'" (our translation)
TB III.1.4.4 (TITUS)

The mantha rite: a mash of ten cultivated grains

What is offered

A mash (mantha) of the ten cultivated grains, among them priyangu (foxtail millet) and anu (identification uncertain), ground and moistened with curds, honey and ghee.

From the text (4)

There are ten kinds of village (cultivated) seedsBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

दश ग्राम्याणि धान्यानि भवन्ति

millet and panic seedBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

अणुप्रियंगवो

व्रीहियवास्तिलमाषा अणुप्रियङ्गवो गोधूमाश्च

The printed page
The Çatapatha-Brâhmaṇa in the Mâdhyandina-Çâkhâ with extracts from the commentaries of Sâyaṇa, Harisvâmin and Dvivedagaṅga [series label White Yajurve (ed. Albrecht Weber), Berlin: Ferd. Dümmler's Verlagsbuchhandlung; London: Williams and Norgate, 1855, p. 1105vrīhiyavāstilamāṣā aṇupriyaṅgavo godhūmāśca"rice and barley, sesame and beans, anu and priyangu, and wheat" (our translation)
SB 14.9.3.22 (GRETIL)

ground these he sprinkles them with curds (dadhi), honey, and gheeBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

तान् पिष्टान् दधनि मधुनि घृत उपसिञ्चति

The printed page
The Works of Sri Sankaracharya (Sri Vani Vilas edition), Vol. 10: Upanishad-bhashya part 7 - Brihadaranyaka adhyayas 5-6, Nrisimhapurvatapani (mula te (ed. Sri Vani Vilas Press edition (no individual editor named in the scan metadata)), Srirangam (Sri Vani Vilas Press), 1910, p. 795

Why

"If a man wishes to reach greatness" (Max Muller adds: wealth for performing sacrifices).

From the text (1)

If a man wishes to reach greatness (wealth for performing sacrifices)BAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

स यः कामयेत महत् प्राप्नुयाम्

How

He keeps a twelve-day observance, lays the fire and offers ghee with "svaha" to a series of deities and powers, each time dropping what remains into the mash; at the end he eats the mash.

From the text (3)

he performs the upasad rule during twelve daysBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

द्वादशाहम् उपसद्व्रती

pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar)BAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

अग्नौ हुत्वा मन्थे संस्रवम् अवनयति

Then he eats itBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

अथैनम् आचामति

When

The observance begins on an auspicious day of the bright half of the month during the sun's northern course; the offering is made on a day under a "male" lunar mansion.

From the text (2)

beginning on an auspicious day of the light half of the moon during the northern progress of the sunBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

उदगयन आपूर्यमाणपक्षस्य पुण्याहे

on a day, presided over by a male star (nakshatra)BAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

पुंसा नक्षत्रेण

Who performs it

A man who wishes to reach greatness, at his own house fire; Max Muller notes that the rite is domestic (smārta).

From the text (2)

If a man wishes to reach greatness (wealth for performing sacrifices)BAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

स यः कामयेत महत् प्राप्नुयाम्

As the whole act is considered smartaBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215 · translator’s note

Its meaning

The teaching is to be passed on only to a son or a pupil. Sankara notes that priyangu is the grain known as kangu.

From the text (2)

to any one, except to a son or to a pupilBAU VI.3.1-13 (Kanva) = SB XIV.9.3 · printed pp. 209-215

The Sanskrit of this line

तम् एतं नापुत्राय वानन्तेवासिने वा ब्रूयात्

प्रियङ्गवः प्रसिद्धाः कङ्गुशब्देन

The printed page
The Works of Sri Sankaracharya (Sri Vani Vilas edition), Vol. 10: Upanishad-bhashya part 7 - Brihadaranyaka adhyayas 5-6, Nrisimhapurvatapani (mula te (ed. Sri Vani Vilas Press edition (no individual editor named in the scan metadata)), Srirangam (Sri Vani Vilas Press), 1910, p. 795priyaṅgavaḥ prasiddhāḥ kaṅguśabdena"priyangu is known by the word kangu" (our translation)
Sankara on BAU 6.3.13 (GRETIL)

The great anointing of a king: young shoots of priyangu among the anointing materials

What is offered

Young green shoots of four plants, rice, large rice, priyangu (panic seed) and barley, are gathered as materials for the great anointing of a king.

From the text (2)

the green shoots of rice, large rice, panic seed and barleyAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

तोक्मकृतानि व्रीहीणाम् महाव्रीहीणाम् प्रियंगूनां यवानाम्

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205

तोक्मकृतानि व्रीहीणाम् महाव्रीहीणाम् प्रियंगूनां यवानाम्

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205tokmakr̥tāni vrīhīṇām mahāvrīhīṇām priyaṃgūnāṃ yavānām"as young shoots: of rice, of large rice, of priyangu, of barley" (our translation)
AB 8.16 (TITUS)

Why

"In that they bring together the green shoots of panic seeds, verily thus he confers upon him paramount rule."

From the text (2)

in that they bring together the green shoots of panic seeds, verily thus he confers upon him paramount ruleAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

यत् प्रियंगूनां तोक्म सम्भरन्ति भौज्यम् एवास्मिंस् तद् दधाति

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205

भौज्यं वा एतद् ओषधीनां यत् प्रियंगवो

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205bʰaujyaṃ vā etad oṣadʰīnāṃ yat priyaṃgavo"Priyangu is the bhaujya (Keith: paramount rule) of the plants." (our translation)
AB 8.16 (TITUS)

How

The shoots, with products of four sacred trees, are put together in an udumbara bowl or goblet, mixed with curds, honey, melted butter and rain water, and the king is anointed with the mixture.

From the text (3)

they should throw them together in the bowl or goblet of UdumbaraAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

तान् एतान् सम्भारान् सम्भृत्यौदुम्बर्याम् पात्र्यां वा चमसे वा समावपेयुस्

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205

he should put curds, honey, melted butter, and water of the rains with sunshineAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

दधि मधु सर्पिर् आतपवर्ष्या आपो ऽभ्यानीय

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205

he should anoint him with this great anointing of IndraAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

एतेनैन्द्रेण महाभिषेकेण क्षत्रियं शापयित्वा ऽभिषिञ्चेद्

When

The text gives no season or date

Who performs it

A Kshatriya (king) "who knows thus" and desires these powers; he is anointed with "this great anointing of Indra".

From the text (2)

If a Ksatriya who knows thus desireAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

स य इछेद् एवंवित् क्षत्रियो

he should anoint him with this great anointing of IndraAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

एतेनैन्द्रेण महाभिषेकेण क्षत्रियं शापयित्वा ऽभिषिञ्चेद्

Its meaning

Each of the four plants stands for a kind of royal power; priyangu stands for "paramount rule".

From the text (1)

Panic seeds are the paramount rule of the plantsAB VIII.15-17 · printed pp. 331-333

The Sanskrit of this line

भौज्यं वा एतद् ओषधीनां यत् प्रियंगवो

The printed page
The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda ... edited, translated and explained by Martin Haug. Vol. I: Sanskrit text, with preface, introductory essay, an (ed. Martin Haug), Bombay (Government Central Book Depot; London: Truebner), 1863, p. 205

Rule: kodrava is not used in offerings

What is offered

Kodrava (kodo millet) is not offered: it is named among grains "not fit for sacrifice", and among the "dark grains" avoided in household offerings.

From the text (2)

when it is said that mashas, varakas, kodravas are not fit for sacrificeApastamba's Yajna-paribhasha-sutras CXXXVIII, commentary · printed p. 353 · translator’s note

कृष्णधान्यानि चणककोद्रवादीनि

The printed page
Āpastambagṛhyasūtra with two commentaries, the Anākulā of Haradatta Miśra and the Tātparyadarśana of Sudarśanācārya (Kashi Sanskrit Series No. 59, Kar (ed. A. Chinnaswami Sastri), Benares (Jaikrishnadas-Haridas Gupta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office), 1928, p. 114kṛṣṇadhānyāni caṇakakodravādīni"dark grains such as chickpea and kodrava" (our translation)
ApGS 8.3 with Haradatta's Anakula (GRETIL)

Why

the text gives no purpose

How

Nothing may be substituted for a prohibited substance; the prohibition applies to all cooked-food (pākayajña) offerings, and the learned avoid these grains.

From the text (3)

nothing else can be substituted for what is thus prohibitedApastamba's Yajna-paribhasha-sutras CXXXVIII, commentary · printed p. 353 · translator’s note

पाकयज्ञाधिकारे सर्वत्रायं प्रतिषेधः

The printed page
Āpastambagṛhyasūtra with two commentaries, the Anākulā of Haradatta Miśra and the Tātparyadarśana of Sudarśanācārya (Kashi Sanskrit Series No. 59, Kar (ed. A. Chinnaswami Sastri), Benares (Jaikrishnadas-Haridas Gupta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office), 1928, p. 114pākayajñādhikāre sarvatrāyaṃ pratiṣedhaḥ"in the section on cooked-food offerings, this prohibition applies everywhere" (our translation)
ApGS 8.3 with Haradatta's Anakula (GRETIL)

परिचक्षते वर्जयन्ति शिष्टाः

The printed page
Āpastambagṛhyasūtra with two commentaries, the Anākulā of Haradatta Miśra and the Tātparyadarśana of Sudarśanācārya (Kashi Sanskrit Series No. 59, Kar (ed. A. Chinnaswami Sastri), Benares (Jaikrishnadas-Haridas Gupta, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office), 1928, p. 114paricakṣate varjayanti siṣṭāḥ"'they disapprove': the learned avoid (them)" (our translation)
ApGS 8.3 with Haradatta's Anakula (GRETIL)

When

A standing rule, not tied to a time

Who performs it

No performer is named; the rule applies to every offering

Its meaning

The texts give no reason for the exclusion

The Maruts, the speckled cow and the origin of priyangu

The Taittiriya Samhita explains why priyangu is cooked in the milk of a speckled cow and offered to the Maruts. From the milk of the speckled cow the Maruts were born, and from the speckled cow came priyangu, which Keith translates as "panic seed". So a man who wishes for a village offers the Maruts priyangu cooked in that milk. His fellows, the text says, have the Maruts for their deity: he approaches the Maruts with their own share, and they make his fellows subject to him. The verses spoken at the offering contain the word "dear", and so he is made dear to his fellows. The Maitrayani Samhita tells the same origin in its own words: what the speckled one gave as milk became priyangu; the speckled one is this earth, or Speech, and the priyangu grains are her milk.

Soma's wish and Rudra's wish: shyamaka and priyangu cooked in milk

The Taittiriya Brahmana tells two short stories, one after the other. Soma once desired: "May I win the kingship of the plants." He offered a pot of shyamaka cooked in milk to Soma and to Mrigashirsha, and so he won the kingship of the plants. Whoever sacrifices with this oblation, the text says, wins kingship over his equals, and the offering is made with the words "svaha to Soma, svaha to Mrigashirsha". Rudra too desired: "May I be rich in cattle." He offered a pot of priyangu cooked in milk to Rudra and to Ardra, and he became rich in cattle. Mrigashirsha (also called Invaka) and Ardra are nakshatras, the lunar mansions: Mrigashirsha is the little group of stars in Orion's head, and Ardra a brilliant star.

How the quarrelling gods were reunited, with a pot of shyamaka for Soma

The Maitrayani Samhita tells of a time when the gods would not grant one another first place and went apart in four groups: Agni with the Vasus, Soma with the Rudras, Indra with the Maruts and Varuna with the Adityas. Brihaspati made them sacrifice with this offering; the Taittiriya version calls it the sacrifice "with the verse for harmony". Each group had its own portion: a cake of satina on eight potsherds for Agni with the Vasus, a pot of shyamaka for Soma with the Rudras, a cake of wild rice on eleven potsherds for Indra with the Maruts, and a pot of barley for Varuna with the Adityas. Then they turned towards Indra and agreed on him. So, the text says, whoever sacrifices with this offering, to him they turn and on him they agree. The Taittiriya Samhita tells the same story with Prajapati as the one Indra turns to, and it does not name the grain of Soma's pot.

Shandilya's teaching: the self smaller than a grain of millet

Shandilya's teaching, found both in the Chandogya Upanishad and in the Shatapatha Brahmana, compares the self within the heart with tiny grains. The self within the heart, it says, is smaller than a grain of rice or of barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than a grain of shyamaka or even the kernel of a shyamaka grain. Yet this same self within the heart is greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than heaven, greater than all these worlds. The Shatapatha version names rice, barley, the shyamaka grain and its kernel, and calls this self the golden Person within. Both passages close with the words "thus spoke Shandilya". Translators differ on the grain: Max Muller wrote "canary seed", Eggeling wrote "millet", and the Monier-Williams dictionary gives shyamaka as a cultivated millet, Panicum frumentaceum.

Nimi's first offering to the ancestors: a meal of shyamaka

In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira asks who first conceived the shraddha, the offering to the ancestors, and Bhishma tells him how it began. In the line of the sage Atri was born Dattatreya; his son was Nimi, and Nimi's son Shrimat, after a full thousand years of severe austerities, passed away. Nimi was filled with grief, thinking continually of his son; then, with his mind collected, he conceived the idea of a shraddha. On the new-moon day he invited Brahmanas, seated them on kusha grass, and gave seven of them a meal of shyamaka, without salt. Afterwards he was troubled, fearing he had done something that no scripture had laid down. He thought of the founder of his line, and Atri came and comforted him: this rite, Atri said, is an offering in honour of the ancestors, laid down by Brahma himself in days of old.

The river Apaga, where a meal of shyamaka brings great merit

The pilgrimage section (Tirtha-yatra) of the Mahabharata's Book of the Forest tells the pilgrim which holy places (tirthas) to visit next. One krosha east of the tirtha called Manusha, it says, flows a river named Apaga, frequented by the Siddhas. Whoever offers a meal of shyamaka there, in honour of the gods and the ancestors, gains great religious merit. And if one Brahmana is fed there, the text says, it is as if ten million had been fed. The Sanskrit speaks of a "meal of shyamaka" (shyamaka-bhojana), given in honour of the gods and the ancestors.

The Vishnu Purana: how the first grains came to be grown

The Vishnu Purana tells how people first came to grow grain. The beings Brahma created were at first endowed with righteousness and perfect faith, but in time, as sin grew, they began to suffer from heat and cold. So they built places of refuge, villages and cities, and then took to manual labour as a means of livelihood. They cultivated seventeen kinds of grain, among them rice, barley, wheat, anu, sesamum, priyangu, udara and koradusha, with many pulses. Wilson identifies kodrava as Paspalum and names chinaka as a sort of panic, Panicum miliaceum. Fourteen kinds, cultivated or wild, may be offered in sacrifice; besides rice, barley and the others they include shyamaka, which Wilson calls "a sort of panic", and nivara, wild rice. These grains, the Purana says, were produced for offering in sacrifice, and sacrifice, the cause of rain, is their origin too.

Brahma milks the earth and the millets appear

The Markandeya Purana tells how grain came to the earth. When the kalpa trees had utterly perished, people were distressed and suffered from thirst and hunger. Then, by their union with the earth, plants came into existence; but the people, lapsing into passion and covetousness, took possession of rivers, fields, mountains, trees and plants, and through that fault the plants perished before their eyes. Tormented by hunger, the people went to Brahma for refuge. Brahma, seeing that the earth had swallowed the plants, made Mount Sumeru the calf and milked the earth as a cow, and the cereals came into existence on the face of the earth. Among the seventeen kinds of cultivated grain that arose were priyangu, koradusha, which Pargiter calls "the modern kodo", and cinaka; among the fourteen kinds for sacrifice was shyamaka. But plants that are let go do not spring forth again, so Brahma devised a means of livelihood, and from then on the plants grew that ripen in ploughed land.

Shakuntala's fawn, reared on handfuls of shyamaka

In Kalidasa's play Shakuntala, the heroine is leaving the home of Father Kanva. As she sets out, something tugs at her dress, and she asks who it is that keeps pulling at her, as if to hold her back. Kanva tells her it is the fawn she adopted as her own son, the fawn she had reared with handfuls of shyamaka; it will not leave her path. Shakuntala tells the little one that she is going away now, and that Father Kanva will take care of it. Translators render the grain in different ways: Monier-Williams notes that it is "rather the grain of a kind of Panic grass"; his verse translation says "grains of rice", and Ryder writes "corn".