The Clarion International Multidisciplinary Journal

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1 E The Clarion Volume 2 Number 1 (2013) PP The Clarion International Multidisciplinary Journal ISSN : A note on Pa camah yaj as in the modern perspective Pranabjyoti Deka Department of Sanskrit, Gauhati University, Guwahati, India Abstract The Pa camah yaja s are observed from the Vedic period till today in our Hindu society. The Devayaj a, the Bh tayaj a, the Pit yaj a, the Brhmayaj a and the N yaj a are collectively known as the Pa camah yaja s. These Mah yaj as begin daily and end daily. They are performed in the G hy gni. It is a prime duty of a householder to perform these sacrifices regularly. The nature of these five great sacrifices may be changed in time but its importance remains same. The aim and objective of this present paper is to highlight upon the ethics and philosophy of the Pa camah yaja s by householders in ancient Indian society. Keywords : Pa camah yaja, Devayaj a, Bh tayaj a, Pit yaj a, Brhmayaj a, N yaj a. 1. Introduction The Pa camah yaj as are observed from the Vedic period till today in our Hindu society. The earliest description of these is found in the atapathabr hma a (XI.5.6). They are stated in details in the G hyas tras and the Sm ti-texts. The rites connected with these sacrifices were short and simple in the Br hma ic age, which grew complicated in the s tra literature. 1 These Mah yaj as begin daily and end daily. 2 They are performed in the G hy gni 3, the sacred domestic fire. 4 It is a prime duty of a householder to perform these sacrifices regularly Analysis The Devayaj a, the Bh tayaj a, the Pit yaj a, the Brhmayaj a and the N yaj a are collectively known as the Pa camah yaj as. 6 The Devayaj a consists of offering ahutis to devas. The Bh tayaj a consists of offering Bali or food to all creatures. The Pit yaj a consists of offering libations to ancestors or pit s. The Brhmayaj a consists of reciting of Brahman, i.e. the stanzas of the Vedas, viz. the Rgveda,. the Yajurveda, the S maveda and the Atharvaveda. The N yaj a or the Manu yayaj a consists of feeding guests. 7 They are also known as Huta, Prahuta, Pr it, Ahuta and Brahmyahota. Huta stands for homa, i.e. Devayaj a. Prahuta for the Bali offered to the Bh tas, i.e. Bh tayaj a. Pr it for Tarpa a, i.e. Pit yaj a. Ahuta for the recitation of Vedic texts, i.e. Brhmayaj a and Brahmyahota for the respectful hospitality shown to Br hma as, i.e. Manu yayaj a. 8 According to Prof. Stenzler, the Devayaj a, the Bh tayaj a, and the Pit yaj a are known as Vaisvadevayaj a. Most of the G hyas tras which do not use the expression Pa camah yaj as, describe these Vaisvadevayaj as Devayaj a Daily offering of a piece of wood to the gods in the G hy gni is known as Devayaj a. According to atapathabr hma a, one should offer with Sv h up to the log of firewood to perform this sacrifice to the gods. 10 The Corresponding author : dekapranab66@gmail.com

2 210 Deka / The Clarion (2013) Taittar y ra yaka also states the same description of this yaj a. 11 The Gautama Dharmas tra prescribes that the householder should offer into the fire to Agni, Dhanvantari, Vi vadevas, Praj pati, and Svi tak t with Sv h. 12 According to the Bh skara G hyas tra, one should offer barley or rice in the G hya fire throughout his life in the morning as well as in the evening. In the morning, he offers with the words: To Praj pati Sv h! and in the evening To Agni Sv h!. 13 The M nava G hyas tra, the pastamba G hyas tra, and the Hira yake i G hyas tra also prescribe the same rules for this sacrifice. 14 The pastamba G hyas tra lays down that the householder may offer food like rice, barley, or sesamum excepting meat into the fire. He should sacrifice with the words: To S ry Sv h! in the morning and in the evening To Agni Sv h! then sacrifices silently a second oblation both the times. 15 According to the P raskara G hyas tra, he should offer curds, grains, or fried grains into the Aup sana fire daily after sunset and before sunrise. He should sacrifice in the morning with the words: To S ry Sv h! To Praj pati Sv h! and in the evening To Agni Sv h! To Praj pati Sv h!. 16 Similarly, the S khy yana G hyas tra states that he should offer rice or barley into the fire to S ry in the morning and to Agni in the evening. Then he should sacrifice a second oblation to Praj pati silently. 17 The Gobhila G hyas tra lays down that the householder should worship the domestic fire with the oblation of cooked or raw food. In the evening, he should offer the first oblation with the words: To Agni Sv h! and the second in the northeastern part of the fire silently. In the same way, the first oblation should be offered in the middle of the fire with the words : To S ry Sv h! in the morning and the second one silently in the northeastern part of the fire. The householder s wife may also offer the morning and evening oblations into the G hya fire if she likes it. 18 In this way, the householder should perform this sacrifice over the sacred domestic fire daily till the end of his life. The pure smoke of the sacrifice helps to produce cloud for rain. 19 It is the scientific reason to perform this yaj a daily. In this way, the householder protects the environment of the earth. Therefore, one should perform this sacrifice in his day-to-day life Bh tayaj a Daily offering of food to all the beings is called the Bh tayaj a. It signifies the distribution of food in various places outside the G hya-fire. The householder should offer these Balis in particular places to particular deities and beings with the word nama. According to atapathabr hma a, one should offer an oblation to beings to perform this yaj a. 20 The Taittar y ra yaka also states the same rules for this sacrifice. 21 According to Gautama Dharmas tra, one should offer Balis in the individual direction of the individual deities. The householder offers Bali to respected one with the words : Mahadbhyah Sv h on all the doors of his house. He offers to G hadevat s with the words : G hadevat bhyah Sv h inside of his house. In the middle of his house he offers to Brahm with the words : Brahma e Sv h. He offers to k a with the words : k ya Sv h in the atmosphere and in the evening he offers with the words : Naktamcarebhya Sv h for night walkers. 22 The Gobhila G hyas tra prescribes that he should offer Balis outside or inside the G hy gni. The first Bali offers to the P thiv, the second to the V yu, the third to the Vi vadevas, and the fourth to Praj pati. Then he should offer a Bali to the waters near the water-pot, a Bali to the herbs and trees at the middle supporting-pillar, a Bali to the sky at the door, a Bali to K ma or to Manyu in the bedroom, and a Bali to the R kshasas on the heap of sweepings. 23

3 Deka / The Clarion (2013) 211 According to the S mkhy yana G hyas tra, he should offer Balis to V stospati in the centre of the floor with the Rgvedic. (VII.54.1) stanza i.e. pra dy v yaj ai p thiv namobhi sab dha le b hat yajatre / te cidhdi p rve kavayo g anta puro mah dadhire devaputre// Then he offers Balis to Indra and his men in the west, in the south to Yama and his men, in the west to Varu a and his men, in the north to Soma and his men, and in the north-east to B haspati and his men. He should offer a Bali to Vi u on the millstone, to the Vanaspati in the mortar, to the O adhis at the place of herbs and to Parjanya near the water-pot. He throws a Bali into the atmosphere with the words : To the night-walkers in the evening and in the morning with the words : To daywalkers and with the Rgvedic. verse (I ), i.e. ye dev so divyek da a stha p thivy m- adhyek da a stha /apsuk ito mahinaik da a stha te dev so yaj amimam ju adhvam // 24 The M nava G hyas tra and the K thaka G hyas tra prescribe this offering of Bali to Dharma and Adharma at the door of the householder. 25 According to Y j avalkya, the householder should throw food on earth for the dogs, the c d las, the crows, etc Pit yaj a An offering to the Manes is called the Pitryajna. The atapathabr hma a says that the householder should offer water to the Fathers with the word svadh. 27 The Taittar y ra yaka also prescribe the similar way for this sacrifice. 28 In the Gautama Dharmas tra, it is stated that one should offer water and also food, fruits etc. (if it possible) to the pitrs to perform this yaj a. 29 According to the S khy yana G hyas tra, this offering should be with the words : Svadh to the pit s! or with a Rgvedic. verse (X.15.14), i.e. ye agnidagdh ye anagnidagdh madhye divah svadhay m dayante / tebhih svar t sun timet m yath vasam tanvam kalpayasva// 30 This offering in the form of pindas is prescribed by the K thaka G hyas tra. 31 The Bh skara G hyas tra and the Hira yake i G hyas tra lay down that he should always satisfy the deities, the is, and the pit s with libations of water. 32 Manu defines this yaj a in his Manusm ti as Tarpa a, i.e. the offering of libations to the pit s. 33 Y j avalkya also lays down that food and water should be offered to the departed Manes and human beings daily. 34 We should perform this yaj a daily to remember our departed Fathers and to inspire from their idealistic life Brhmayaj a Daily recitation of at least one hymn or anuv ka is called the Brhmayaj a or Sv dhy ya. According to atapathabr hma a, the Brhmayaj a or the sacrifice to the Brahman is one s own daily study of the Veda. One who studies the Rk-texts daily he satisfies the gods with milk offerings. In this way, he satisfies the gods with ghee offerings by the yajus-texts, by the saman-texts he satisfies with soma-offerings, he satisfies with fat-offerings by the Atharva-texts and by the Ved ngas, Philosophical systems, the Dialogue, the Itih sa-pur a, N r sams G th s he satisfies with honey offerings and being satisfied they satisfy him by security of possession, by life-breath, by seed, by his whole self, and by all auspicious blessings and rivers of ghee and honey flow for his departed Fathers. 35 The Gautama Dharmas tra prescribes simply that one should study the Vedas regularly to perform this sacrifice. 36 Most of the G hyas tras comment on this sacrifice but the Gobhila G hyas tra, the Hira yake i G hyas tra, and the pastamba G hyas tra are silent on this. The Baudh yana G hyas tra lays down that the householder should take a seat in the west of the G hy gni and request the domestic fire with the words : Recite, sir! after that he should

4 212 Deka / The Clarion (2013) perform three Pr yamas and repeat the S vitr a thousand times, or a hundred times, or any number of times but not less than ten. Then he should recite the first verse of the each Veda, and the Vedic mantras known as k m das. 37 The Bh skara G hyas tra also prescribes the similar rules for the performance of Sv dhy ya. 38 The S khy yana G hyas tra lays down that he should recite certain mantras of the Rgveda. in the morning daily. 39 The val yana G hyas tra describes this yaj a in a different way. According to this G hyas tra, firstly he should recite the Vy h tis preceded by the syllable Om. Then he repeats the S vitr and recites the Rcah,. Yajus, S mans, Atharva-texts, Br hma as, the Kalpas, the G th s, the N r amsis, the Itih sas and the Pur as. After that he should conclude the Sv dhy ya with the verse : Adoration to Brahman! Adoration to Agni! Adoration to the Earth! Adoration to the Herbs! Adoration to V k! Adoration to V caspati! Adoration I offer to Vi u. 40 With the perform of Brhmayaj a one can meditate himself as well as grow the knowledge of Vedas automatically N yaj a Generally, hospitality to a guest is called the N yaj a or Manu yayaj a. The Hindus from very ancient times welcome a stranger who comes to seek hospitality at a householder s door with the act of peace offering. It has been the custom among them to consider a guest as god and to worship him as such. The first thing that a householder should offer him is water by which he should wash his feet, then a seat; next, he should worship him with a respectful offering called arghyam, consisting of rice, flower, d rv, water etc. and then he should be satisfied by food and other gifts. 41 This yaj a also revealed in the Aitareyabr hma a in the context of welcome the purohita by the king. 42 According to atapathabr hma a, the householder performs the sacrifice to men by giving him a cupful of water everyday. 43 The Taittar y ra yaka says, He gives food to the br hma as daily for this yaj a. 44 This sacrifice is described in a little different way in the G hyas tras. The P raskara G hyas tra stated that the householder should give food to a Br hma a with the words: Well! This is thee! and to beggars and guests. Then the members of the family, young and old, should take their food. After that the householder and his wife take their meal or the householder may eat first. 45 The M nava G hyas tra lays down that he should offer meal to the guest after having washed his hands and having sipped water. Then he takes his food. 46 According to the S khy yana G hyas tra, he should offer food to a learned Br hma a and a Brahmac rin to perform this yaj a and to a female under his protection, a pregnant women, children, and old people. He should neither eat alone nor eat first. In this connection we find in the Rgveda. (X.117.6) as The Gautama Dharmas tra also states the same procedure to perform the sacrifice to men. 47 Manusm ti also states that he should take food after feeding the Br hma a guest, newly married daughters and daughters-in-law, the other family members and servants. 48 Y j avalkya lays down that the husband and wife should partake food after having fed the child, the woman who lives in her father s house after being married, the aged, women in family way, the diseased, the guests and the servants. If a guest comes uninvited even in the night then he should treat him with gentle words, grass, and water. 49 According to G t, the householder should cook for not only himself but also others. 50 As a whole, the householder should give food to a guest and his fellow beings daily to fulfill this sacrifice. If he is not able to serve his

5 Deka / The Clarion (2013) 213 guest with food then he should offer him a seat, water, and gentle words. 51 We should respect our guests by remembering this simple sacrifice in present day society. The Government also understands the utility of the N yaj a and use the idea 52 to develop the tourist department for better attraction of the tourists (guests). 3. Conclusion From the above discussion it is seen that to protect the environment, to do well for all the creatures, to remember our Fathers, to develop our knowledge and to respect our guests we should perform Pa camah yaj as regularly without fail. As human beings, we like to live in a society. Therefore, everyone has some duties to do on fever of the society. Endnotes 1. India of the age of the Br hma as, p Taittar y ra yaka II.10 pa ca v ete mah yaj h satati prat yante satati samti hante. 3. P raskara G hyas tra I.2.1. The G hy gni is that which the householder sets up at the time of his wedding. 4. Gautama Dharmas tra I cf. Manusm ti III.67 vaiv hike agnau kurv t g hyam karma yath vidhi/ pancayaj avidh na ca pa kti c nv hikim g h // 5. val yana G hyas tra III.1.4 tanetanyajnanaharahah kurv t. 6. atapathabr hma a XI Manusm ti III.70, Y j avalkyasm ti I Manusm ti III India of the age of the Vedic Kalpasutras, p atapathabr hma a XI Taittar y ra yaka II Gautama Dharmas tra I Bh skara G hyas tra I M nava G hyas tra II.3.1-2, the pastamba G hyas tra III , Hira yake i G hyas tra I val yana G hyas tra I P raskara G hyas tra I S khy yana G hyas tra I Gobhila G hyas tra I G t III atapathabr hma a XI Taittar y ra yaka II Gautama Dharmas tra I Gobhila / G hyas tra I S khy yana G hyas tra II cf. Manusm ti III M nava G hyas tra II.12.7, K thaka G hyas tra Y j avalkyasm ti I atapathabr hma a XI.5.6.2

6 214 Deka / The Clarion (2013) 28. Taittar y ra yaka II Gautama Dharmas tra I S khy yana G hyas tra II K haka G hyas tra Bh skara G hyas tra III.11, Hira yake i G hyas tra II Manusm ti III Y j avalkyasm ti I atapathabr hma a XI Gautama Dharmas tra I Baudh yana G hyas tra II Bh skara G hyas tra III S khy yana G hyas tra I val yana G hyas tra III Kathopani ad I Aitareyabr hma a VIII atapathabr hma a XI Taittar y ra yaka II P raskara G hyas tra II M nava G hyas tra II S khy yana G hyas tra II , Gautama Dharmas tra I Manusm ti III Y j avalkyasm ti I.105, G t III.13, Y j avalkyasm ti I Manusm ti III Taittir yopani ad I.6 Atithi devo bhava. References Apte, V. M., 1954 : Social and Religious life in the Grhya Sutras, Popular Book Depot, Bombay. Basu, Jogiraj., 1968 : Vedar Paricay, Assam Prakashan Parisad, Guwahati. Eggeling, Julius., 1987 : The Satapatha-Brahmana, The Sacred Books of the East Vol. 42, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi. Gopal, Ram., 1959 : India of the age of the Kalpasutras, National Publishing House, Delhi. Oldenberg, Hermann., 1979 : The Grihyasutras, The Sacred Books of the East vol & 30, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi. n n n