Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 380

200
M. A. Mehendale
we read in the Apastamba Śrauta Sūtra 11. 11. 8: 'virād asi'ti bāhum upāvahrtyedam aham tam valagam udvapāmi'ty udupyoparavanyante 'vabādhate 'gāyatrena chandasāvabāðho valaga' iti „Nachdem er mit der Formel: «Du bist der den Feind erschlagende Herrscher den Arm (über dem Loch, das er ausgräbt) niedergesenkt hat, wirft er den Sand hinaus mit den Formeln: Hier werfe ich die Zaubersubstanz hinaus...). Den Sand drückt er mit der Faust) an dem Rande des Loches nieder mit der Formel: Durch das Gayatrīversmass ist die Zaubersubstanz hinabgedrückt» 5 (Caland). This occurs with slight variations in the Hiranya. Śr. S. 7. 6. 10 ff. as follows: 'idam aham tam valagam udvapāmi'ti pārsūn udvapati / 'idam onam adharam karomity uparavabile' vabādhate / nirasto valaga' iti harati /'avabādho durasyur iti yatra kharaṁ karisyan bhavati tasmin dese nivapati / 'gāyatrena chandasăvabādho valaga'ity uparavabile 'bhryā nigrhnāti ,Here I dig out the charm' thus saying he throws out the earth. Here I press it down' thus saying he presses it down in the uparava hole & The charm is expelled' thus saying he carries away (some part of the dug out earth). "The evil (charm) is pressed down' thus saying he digs down (the earth) on that part where he is going to erect Khara (earthen mound). With the Gāyatri metre the charm is pressed down (in the ground) thus saying he presses, it firmly with a shovel in the hole" 7.
In a different ritual which concerns the preparation of the Vedi, the officiating priest removes from the place where the Vedi is to be erected pieces of darbha grass and the earth, which is dug out by the wooden sword, and buries (nivap) 'them away at some distance. This he does four times. At the time of each successive nivapana the Āgnidhra priest who sits there covers the preceding nivapana with different formulas. This is given in Ap. Sr. S. as follows: 'avabādham raksa' iti dvitiye nivapana
• The meaning 'discovered' assigned to avabād ha in the lexicons is clearly wrong. The ritual action consists of two parts --- digging out the earth, which stands for the digging out (udy vap) of the hidden charm, and then pressing down in the ground a part of the earth, which symbolizes the pressing down (avaybādh) of the charm. Instead of avay badh-, we get miyvap- (opposite of udyvap) in the Vaikha. Sr. S. 14. 7, 8.
6 Āp. Sr. S. 11.11.9 and 11 we read: avabadho durasyuh 'Hinabgedrückt ist der Bösartige', pūrvena pūrvena mantrena bahum upāvahrtyottarenottarona chandasāvabadhate nachdem er mit dem je vorhergehenden Spruch den Arm niedergesenkt hat, drückt er mit dem je folgenden Versmasse den Sand nieder' (Caland). Also cf. Baudh. Sr. S. 6.28, line 14; 3.27, lines 21-23 (Caland's edn.).
* The commentator explains uparavabile as wparavabilasamipavartisumantapradeso 'vabādhate 'vanáto bhūtvā hastena nipidayati / The place is given as yajamānasyādhaspadan in the Baudh. Sr. S. 6.28° line 15, the Vaikhā. Sr. S. 14.7.
? nigohnati (this is in place of avabädhate of the Ap. Sr. S. cited above)= dārdhyār. tham abhryā nitarām grhạāti samhantity arthah / Commentator.
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