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II 



388 Bajendralala Mitra — An Imperial Assemblage [No. 3, 



of various kinds, .not excepting several species of wild grass, the seeds of 

 which, though now no longer thought of as edible, seem to have been prized 

 not only as articles fit for presentation to the gods but as nutritious food. 

 The mantras of course differed for every separate offering, and the 

 ritual was very scrupulously fixed for the morning, noon, and evening 

 observances ; but for the successive days there was little or no change, except 

 on the successive new and full moons when the Darsa and the Purnamasa 

 were celebrated with the usual offerings of Soma beer, and the priests and 

 their congregations regaled themselves with the intoxicating beverage. One 

 of the mantras from the Black Yajur Brahmana contains a curious reference 

 to an iron instrument put inside the mouth for governing and guiding horses. 

 This completely refutes the accuracy of the statement made by Arrian that 

 the Indians at the time of Alexander's invasion knew not the use of the 

 bit or snaffle, and tied a piece of raw bullock's hide round the lower part of 

 the horse's jaw.* The name for the bit or snaffle in the olden days was 

 ddMna.f Subsequently the word hhalina was substituted. 



The second period of four months bore the name of Varuna-praghdsa 

 JParva. It commenced in the month of Asadha (June — July), or S'ravana 

 (July — August), according as the first period commenced in Phalguna or 

 Chaitra. The articles of offering during this period included, besides the 

 frumenty, grains, clarified butter, &c, an occasional allowance of mutton. 

 The arrangement of the altars was slightly changed, and the mantras used 

 were mostly different, but the gods invoked were the same, and the alter- 

 nate celebration of the Darsa and the Purnamasa rites, as also of the 

 Prayuja, was regularly continued. 



The third period opened with the performance of a group of rites 

 called the Sdhamedha Parva, which took up two days, the first devoted to 

 three nomas, and the second to nine homas, and three offerings to the manes — 

 MaMpitri yajna. The homas of the second day were designed for the Maruts. 

 It is said that " Indra having destroyed Yritra, ran away', thinking that he 

 had done wrong. (Meeting the Maruts in the way) he asked, ' Who can 

 ascertain this (whether I have killed Yritra or not) ?' The Maruts replied, 

 ' We shall give you the blessing, and ascertain the fact ; do you give us 

 the first oblation.' They then played about (on the corpse of Yritra 

 and were satisfied that it was lifeless). Hence the play of players, and 

 therefore are the oblations first given to the Maruts for success in war- 

 fare." The details of the offering to the manes were very much like 

 what is well known in connexion with the ordinary sraddhas, but the man- 

 tras were different, and the rite was looked upon with special veneration. 

 * Vide Mitra's Antiquities of Orissa, I. p. 128. 



t ^PRJJTO ^T T 5 ?^ ^ft %*WSTT I W: trf^^ ^TCT*f I ^ft ^Ift <T%- 

 ^KfaW^T 3*1 ^f^T %^f3"jpsT ^m\^ I Black Yajur Saiiliita, II. p. 27. 



