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The Sacred Laws of the Âryas: Baudhâyana - Prasna II, Adhyâya 10
Kandikâ 17
1. Now we will explain the rule for entering the order of ascetics (samnyâsa).
2. Some (teachers say), 'He who has finished his studentship may become an ascetic immediately on (the completion of) that.'1
3. But (according to others, asceticism is befitting) for Sâlînas and Yâyâvaras who are childless;2
4. Or a widower (may become an ascetic).3
5. (In general) they prescribe the profession of asceticism after the completion of the seventieth year and after the children have been firmly settled in (the performance of) their sacred duties.
6. Or a hermit in the woods (may become an4 ascetic) on finishing the (special) ceremonies (prescribed for him).
7. 'That eternal greatness of the Brâhmana is neither increased nor diminished by works. The soul knows the nature of that (greatness). He who knows that, is not stained by evil deeds.'5
8. 'It leads to the cessation of births.'
9. 'The eternal one leads (him) to glory.' The greatness (of asceticism is declared by these passages).
10. After having caused the hair of his head, his beard, the hair on his body, and his nails to be cut, he prepares
11. Sticks, a rope, a cloth for straining water, a water vessel, and an alms-bowl.6
12. Taking these (implements, let him go) to the extremity of the village, or to- the extremity of the boundary (of the village), or to the house where the sacred fires are kept, partake of a threefold (mixture of) clarified butter, milk, (and) sour milk, and (afterwards) fast;
13. Or (he may partake of) water.
14. (Saying), 'Om, Bhûh, I enter the Sâvitrî, tat savitur varenyam; Om, Bhuvah, I enter the Sâvitrî, bhargo devasya dhîmahi; Om, I enter the Sâvitrî, dhiyo yo nah pr.akodayât;' (he shall recite the Sâvitrî) foot by foot, half-verse by half-verse, (and finish by repeating) the whole or the parts (of the verse).7
15. It is declared in the Veda, 'Entering order after order, (man) becomes (one with) Brahman.'
16. Now they quote also (the following verse) 'He who has passed from order to order, has offered burnt oblations and kept his organs in subjection, becomes afterwards, tired with (giving) alms and (making) offerings, an ascetic.'8
17. Such an ascetic (becomes one with) the infinite (Brahman).
18. Before the sun sets, he heaps fuel on the Gârhapatya fire, brings the Anvâhâryapakana fire (to the spot), takes the flaming Âhavanîya. fire out (of the Gârhapatya), melts butter on the Gârhapatya fire, cleanses it (with Kusa grass), takes four times (portions of it) in the sacrificial spoon (called Sruk), and offers in the Âhavanîya fire on which sacred fuel has been heaped, (four times) a full oblation, (saying), 'Om, Svâhâ!'9
19. It is declared in the Veda that this (offering is) the Brahmânvâdhâna (putting fuel on the sacred fires for the sake of the universal soul).
20. Now in the evening, after the Agnihotra has been offered, he scatters grass to the north of the Gârhapatya fire, places the sacrificial vessels in pairs, the upper part turned downwards, on it, strews Darbha grass to the south of the Âhavanîya fire on the seat destined for the Brahman priest, covers it with the skin of a black antelope, and remains awake during that night.
21. A Brâhmana who, knowing this, dies after fasting during the night of Brahman and repositing within himself the sacred fires, conquers all guilt, even (that of) killing a Brâhmana.10
22. Then he rises in the muhûrta sacred to Brahman, and offers the early Agnihotra just at the (appointed) time.
23. Next, after covering the (part of the altar called) Prishthyâ and bringing water, he prepares (an offering) to (Agni) Vaisvânara (which is cooked) in twelve potsherds. That (well-)known Ishti is the last (which he performs).
24. Afterwards he throws the sacrificial vessels, which are neither made of earth nor of stone, into the Âhavanîya fire,
25. (And) throwing the two Aranis into the Gârhapatya fire (with the words), 'May ye be of one mind with us,' he reposits the sacred fires in himself.11
26. (Reciting the sacred text), 'O Fire, that body of thine, which is fit for the sacrifice,' he inhales the smell of (the smoke of) each fire thrice three times.
27. Then, standing within the sacrificial enclosure, (he says) thrice in a low voice and thrice aloud, 'Om, Bhûh, Bhuvah, Svah, I have entered the order of ascetics, I have entered the order of ascetics, I have entered the order of ascetics,'
28. It is declared in the Veda, 'The gods are trebly true.'12
29. (Finally) he pours out as much water as will fill his joined hands, (saying), 'I promise not to injure any living being.'13
30. Now they quote also (the following verse) An ascetic who roams about after having given a promise of safety to all living beings, is not threatened with danger by any creature.'14
31. (Henceforth) he must restrain his speech.15
32. He grasps his staff, (saying), '(Thou art my) friend, protect me.'
33. He takes the rope, (reciting the verse), 'The brilliant light,' &c.16
34. He takes the cloth for straining water, (reciting the text), 'With which means of purification the gods,' &c.
35. He takes the waterpot, (reciting the verse), Through that light, by which the gods rose on high,' &c.17
36. He takes the alms-bowl, (reciting the Vyâhritis).
37. Taking with him the staves, the rope, the18 cloth for straining water, the waterpot, (and) the alms-bowl, he goes where water (is to be obtained), bathes, sips water, (and) washes himself, (reciting the verses called) Surabhimatî, Abliṅgâs, Vârunîs, Hiranyavarnâs, and Pâvamânîs. Entering the water, he performs sixteen suppressions of the breath, (mentally repeating) the Aghamarshana hymn, ascends the bank, wrings out his dress, puts on another pure dress, sips water, takes the cloth for straining, (saying), 'Om, Bhûh, Bhuvah, Svah,' and performs the Tarpana (with the following texts), 'Om, Bhûh, I satiate,' 'Om, Bhuvah --, Om, Svah --, Om, Mahah --, Om, Ganah --, Om, Tapah --, Om, Satyam --.'
38. He takes up as much water as his joined hands will hold for the manes, (and satiates them19
with it) exactly in the same manner as the gods, (saying), 'Om, Bhûh Svadhâ, Om, Bhuvah Svadhâ,' &c.
39. Then he worships the sun, (reciting) the two verses (which begin), 'Ud u tyam kitram,' &c.20
40. (Saying), 'Om, this (syllable Om), forsooth, is Brahman; this (syllable) which sheds warmth is light; this which gives warmth is the Veda; this must be known as that which sheds warmth;' he thus satiates the soul (and afterwards) worships the soul (with these texts), 'The soul (is) Brahman, (is) light.'
41. Let him repeat the Sâvitrî one thousand times, or one hundred times, or an unlimited number of times.
42. (Saying), 'Bhûh, Bhuvah, Suvah,' he takes up the cloth for straining, (and) fetches water.
43. Let him not, (at any period) after that (moment), sip water which has not been drawn up (from a well and the like), which has not been strained, and which has not been completely cleansed.21
44. Let him not wear any longer a white dress.
45. (He may carry) one staff or three staves.
Kandikâ 18
1. Now the following vows are (to be kept by an ascetic):
2. Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, continence, (and) liberality.22
3. There are five minor vows, (viz.) abstention from anger, obedience towards the Guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness and purity in eating.23
4. Now (follows the rule for) begging. Let him24 ask Brâhmanas, both those who have houses (sâlîna) and those who lead a wandering life (yâyâvara), for alms, when the Vaisvadeva offering has been finished.
5. Let him ask (for it), prefacing (his request with the word) Bhavat.
6. Let him stand begging no longer than the time required for milking a cow.
7. When he returns from begging, he lays (the alms) down in a pure place, washes his hands and feet, and announces (what he obtained) to the sun, (reciting the text), 'Ud u tyam kitram,' &c. He (also) announces it to Brahman (with the text), 'The first-born Brahman,' &c.25
8. It is declared in the Veda, 'After the Brahmâdhâna the sacrificer himself (contains) the sacrificial fires. His respiration (prâna, represents) the Gârhapatya fire, the air that goes downwards (apâna, represents) the Anvâhâryapakana (or Dakshina) fire, the circulation in the body (vyâna, represents) the Âhavanîya fire, the cerebral circulation (udâna) and the abdominal circulation (samâna, represent) the Sabhya and Âvasathya fires. These five fires are abiding in 'the soul. He (therefore) offers (the oblations) in the soul alone.'26
9. 'This sacrifice, offered in the soul, which is located in and based on the soul, leads the soul to happiness.'
10. Giving, compassionately, portions (of his food) to the living beings, and sprinkling the remainder with water, he shall eat it as if it were a medicine.
11. After he has eaten and sipped water, he mutters (the texts), 'Out of darkness we,' &c., (and), My speech resides in the mouth,' &c., and worships the sun with the (verse called) Gyotishmatî.27
12. Let him eat food, given without asking, regarding which nothing has been settled before-hand and which has reached him accidentally, so much only as is sufficient to sustain life.28
13. Now they quote also (the following verses): 'Eight mouthfuls (make) the meal of an ascetic, sixteen (that) of a hermit in the woods, thirty-two (that) of a householder, an unlimited (quantity that) of a student.'29
14. 'Alms (may) either (be obtained) from (men
of) the three castes, or the food (given) by a single Brâhmana (may be eaten); or (he may obtain food) from (men of) all castes, and not (eat) that given by a single Brâhmana.'
15. Now they quote (the following special rules) for the case that the teachers explain (the doctrine) of the Upanishads: 'Diligently standing (in the day-time), keeping silence, sitting (at night) with crossed legs, bathing three times a day, and eating at the fourth, sixth, or eighth (meal-time only), he shall subsist entirely on (rice) grains, oil-cake, food prepared from barley, sour milk, (and) milk.'
16. It is declared in the Veda, On that (occasion) he shall rigidly keep silence; pressing the teeth together he may converse, without opening his mouth, as much as is necessary with teachers deeply versed in the three Vedas (and) with ascetics possessing a great knowledge of the scriptures, not with women, nor when he would break (his vow).'
17. (Let him keep) only one of (the rules which enjoin) standing (in the day-time), rigid silence, and sitting (at night) with crossed legs; let him not keep all three together.
18. It is declared in the Veda, And he who has gone there may eat, in times of distress, a small quantity of the food prescribed by his vow after (having partaken of other dishes), provided he does not break (his vow).'30
19. 'Eight (things) do not cause him who is intent on standing (in the day-time), keeping rigid silence, sitting (at night) with crossed legs, bathing three times a day, and (eating) at the fourth, sixth, or eighth meal-time only, to break his vow, (viz.) water, roots, clarified butter, milk, sacrificial food, the wish of a Brâhmana, an order of his teacher, and medicine.'31
20. Let him mutter the (Mantras which must be recited at the) Agnihotra, in the evening and in the morning,
21. After performing his evening devotions by (reciting the verses called) Vârunîs, and his morning devotions by (reciting the verses called) Maitrîs.32
22. An ascetic shall keep no fire, have no house, no home, and no protector. He may enter a village in order to collect alms, and emit speech at the private recitation of the Veda.'33
23. It is declared in the Veda,' Limited in number are the Rik-verses, limited in number are the Sâmans, limited is the answer (of the Adhvaryu priest):34
24. 'Thus (an ascetic) shall not give up the Veda, (but live), until he is liberated from the body, at the root of the tree.'35
25. 'The tree (is) the Veda; the syllable Om is its root; the syllable Om is the essence of the Veda.'
26. 'Meditating on the syllable Om, he becomes fit (to be united with) Brahman.' Thus spake the lord of created beings.
27. Let him cleanse the vessel of Brahman with the seven Vyâhritis.36
Footnotes
1. Gautama III, 1.
2. Regarding the two terms Sâlîna and Yâyâvara, see below, III, I, 3.4.
3. Vidhura, translated, according to Govinda's explanation, by 'widower,' perhaps includes all persons who have been separated from their families.
4. Regarding the ceremonies to be performed by hermits in the wood, see above, II, 6, 11, 15, and below, III, 3.
5. See above, II, 6, 11, 30.
6. Yâgñavalkya III, 58-60.
7. This part of the ceremony is called Sâvitrîpravesa, 'entering the Sâvitrî: According to the Dharmasindhu, fol. 84 a, 1. 8, the last Mantra is 'Om, Bhûh, Bhuvah, Svah, I enter the Sâvitrî; we meditate on that adorable light of divine Savitri, who may impel our thoughts.'
8. Manu VI, 34.
9. Anvâhâryapakana is another name of the so-called Dakshinâgni, in which the sacrificial viands are cooked. The cleansing of the butter (utpavana) is performed by taking hold of the ends of blades of Kusa grass and dipping the bent middle part into the melted butter and then drawing it upwards. A full burnt oblation (pûrnâhuti) consists of a whole spoonful. As four spoonfuls are to be taken out, it follows that four oblations are to be offered.
10. The night during which the ascetic keeps watch near the fires is called 'the night of Brahman.'
11. The Aranis are the two pieces of wood used for producing fire by friction, Taittirîya Samhitâ I, 3, 7, 1-2.
12. Taittirîya Âranyaka II, 18, 6.
13. All gifts must be confirmed by a libation of water, which ii other cases is poured into the hand of the recipient. The ceremony proves more clearly even than the numerous other passages of the Smritis, in which ascetic, are exhorted to abstain from injuring living beings, that the so-called ahimsâ doctrine is not of Buddhistic, but of Brâhmanical origin.
14. Vasishtha X, 1-2.
15. Gautama III, 27.
16. Taittirîya Brâhmana III, 7, 8, 1.
17. Taittirîya Samhitâ V, 7, 2, 2,
18. The Surabhimatî occurs Taittirîya Brâhmana III, 9, 7, 5. For the other texts named, see above, II, 4, 7, 2. The Tarpana has been fully described above, II, 5, 9-20.
19. 'In he same manner as the gods,' i.e. without passing the sacred string over the right shoulder.--Govinda.
20. The Gugarât and Dekhan MSS., including K., place after the first Om two additional Mantras, 'Brahman (is) Om; this universe (is) Om.' The object of the Mantras given in the Madras MSS. is to identify the Pranava with the Brahman, the sun, and the Veda.
21. Manu VI, 46. Aparipûtâbhih, 'which has not been completely cleansed,' probably refers to the so-called drishtyâ paripavana, 'carefully looking at it in order to see if any living being remains in it.'
22. The five vows (vratas) named here are the principal ones. As to the vow of 'liberality' Govinda remarks that though the ascetic possesses no 'store' and no property in the ordinary sense of the word, still he can have books and give those away.
23. 'Avoidance of rashness,' i.e. committing any act which might destroy life.
24. 'When the Vaisvadeva offering has been finished,' i.e. when people. have had their dinner; see also Vasishtha X, 7.
25. The second text occurs repeatedly in the Taittirîya-veda, eg. Taittirîya Âranyaka X, 1, 10.
26. Regarding the Brahmâdhâna, see above, II, 10, 17, 19.
27. The first text occurs frequently in the Taittirîya-veda, e.g. Taittirîya Samhitâ IV, i, 7, 4; the second, Taittirîya Âranyaka X, 72. The Gyotishmatî is, according to Govinda, the first of the two Mantras quoted.
28. According to Govinda this verse gives the opinion of 'some' teachers, not the author's. Asamkliptam, 'regarding which nothing has been settled beforehand,' indicates, according to Govinda, that the ascetic must not even mentally determine what he is going to eat.
29. See above, II, 7, 13, 7.
30. 'The meaning is, that in times of distress, having partaken at his pleasure (of other food), he may afterwards eat of one (of the substances mentioned above, viz.) rice-grains and the rest.'--Govinda.
31. All the MSS. except M. have snâna, 'bathing,' instead of sthâna, 'standing (in the day-time),' though the reading is clearly wrong.
32. The Maitrîs occur Taitt. Samhitâ III, 4, 11, 5, and the Vârunîs follow them immediately.
33. Âpastamba II, 9, 21, 10.
34. This and the next Sûtras are intended to teach that ascetics may limit their private recitation to the repetition of the, pranava, the syllable Om: According to Govinda the passage of the Veda quoted refers originally to the Katurhotârah, which the Taittirîya Brâhmana II, 2, I, 4, and III, 12, 5, I identifies with. the Brahman, and where the pratigara, the answer of the Adhvaryu priest, is 'Om hotah' (Aitareya Brâhmana V, 25).
35. I have taken vrikshamûlikovedasamnyâsî to stand for vrikshamûliko avedasamnyasî. For the vedasamnyâsa, 'giving up the Veda,' is not permitted to an ascetic; see e.g. Vasishtha X, 4. But even without the negative particle vedasamnyâsî may convey a sense not opposed to the general teaching of the Smritis. For it may be taken to mean 'abandoning (the recitation of other portions of) the Veda.'
36. Govinda is uncertain if the term brahmabhâgana, 'the vessel of Brahman,' refers to the alms-bowl or to the body of the ascetic. Probably both are meant, and the Sûtra is intended to prescribe the frequent recitation of the Vyâhritis in addition to the syllable Om.
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