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SÂNKHÂYANA-GR/HYA-SOTRA.
KHANDA 12. 1. After the Âgrahầyani (or the full moon day of the month Margasirsha) (follow) the three Ashtakâs in the second fortnight (of the Margasirsha and of the two following months).
2. At the first of these he sacrifices vegetables,
3. With (the verse), 'She who shone forth first is this (earth); she walks, having entered into this (earth). The wife has brought forth (children), the new-creating mother. May the three powers follow her. Svâhâ !'
4. Now (the oblation for Agni) Svishtakrit,
5. With (the verses), 'She in whom Yama, the son of Vivasvat, and all gods are contained, the Ashtakâ whose face is turned to all sides, she has satiated my desires.
"They call thy teeth "the pressing-stones;" thy
12, 1. On the Ashtakâ festivals, of which some texts reckon three, while others have four, comp. Weber, Naxatra (second article), pp. 337, 341 seq.; Bühler, S. B. E., II, p. 214; Ludwig, Rig-veda, vol. iv, pp. 424 seq.; Atharva-veda III, 1o. The last Ashtaka, which is celebrated in the dark fortnight of Mâgha, is called Ekâshtaka; this Ashtaka is called the wife of the year,''the image of the year,''the disposer of the days. If the Phâlguna month is reckoned as the first of the year, this Ashtakâ precedes the year's beginning only by a few days; there are also some Vedic passages which point to the Ekâshtakâ's following shortly after the beginning of the year; see Weber, loc. cit., p. 342.
3. Instead of navakrit the parallel texts (except the Mantrabrâhmana II, 2, 12) have navagat, which is explained by nûtanavivahavatî (Ludwig, loc. cit.); the three powers' are understood by Mâdhava (in the commentary on Taitt. Samh. IV, 3, 11) as Agni, Surya, and Kandra.
5. After pavamânah there is evidently a word wanting that
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