1872.] Rajendralala Mitra — Beef in Ancient India. 191 
or officiating priests, it was the most appropriate ; hut the word used for it 
by As'val&yana is vish(ara, which means simply an article to sit upon, 
and it may have been a carpet, a stool, a chair, or a couch. \\ ooden seats 
are particularly mentioned in different works. 
After the guest was seated, the most appropriate article for refreshing 
him, in a warm country like India, was water to wash his feet with. This was 
called pddya, and the role on the subject required that a Brahmana guest 
should have his right foot washed first, and then the left, the order being 
reversed in the case of SYidras ; the Kshatriyas and V aisyas being left to 
follow their own inclination in the matter. The washing was repeated 
three times. The next offering was the argliya , which consisted of a little 
water with scents and flower garlands,* and was no doubt much more appro- 
priate than what is offered to gods in the present day, which consists of 
sandal wood paste and a few grains of rice thrown on a flower and sprinkled 
over with water. The mantra for the offering was repeated three times. 
A glass of water for washing the face next followed, and the guest was ex- 
pected to drink of it as much as he liked. The Madhuparka strictly so called 
was next brought forward. It consisted of curds and honey held in a small 
cup, butter being substituted when honey was not at hand. When bi’inging 
it, the host was required to look at it and repeat a mantra three times. The 
guest received the cup while repeating a mantra, then looked at it while 
repeating another, and mixing the ingredients in the cup with his index 
finger or the thumb or the little finger with a third, and cleared his finger 
by giving it a jerk while repeating a fourth mantra. He was required then 
to repeat three mantras successively, throwing a little of the mixture after 
each repetition upwards into the air with the tip of his finger, offering it 
to Eudra, Aditya, and Vis'vedevah. Then placing the cup on the ground, 
he tasted the mixture three times, repeating a mantra on each occasion. 
According to some, he had to eat the whole of the mixture in three mouth- 
fuls, but according to others, a portion was left behind to be given to a 
Brahman, or should such a person to receive it happen not to be at hand, 
to be thrown into water. f* A drink of water after this honeyed meal was 
of course a necessity, which was met in the same way as the first drink 
before the meal, the mantra for it being the same ; but a second drink 
followed with a different mantra. The order to give the remains of a tasted 
food to a Brahman is worthy of note. It would be the direst insult to a 
Brahman in the present day to ask him to receive such an offering. 
* I Garganarayana s Vritti on At/valayana, 105. 
fsrftripT ii \<f ii 
