20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

The importance of myths in search of the significance of the saumikī dīkṣā 637The rites for the eligibility which are peculiar to the AitBrTherefore, before the consecration the kṣatriya sacrificer has to offercertain oblations and announce, “I hereby become a brāhmaṇa.” However,this brāhmaṇatva or brahminhood was a temporary phase. After thesacrificial performance he wanted to be kṣatriya again and for that purpose,he had to offer oblations after the completion of the sacrifice also. Onlythen could he get back his lordly power.This idea is more clearly expressed in the AitBr 34.5. As a part of theajītapunarvaṇya offerings, the kṣatriya has to pay homage to the āhavanīyafire. While praising this act, it is said in the Brāhmaṇa texts:The kṣatriya has Indra as his deity, the triṣṭubh as his metre, thepañcadaśa stoma as his stoma, the Soma as his kingdom, and therājanya as his relatives. When such a kṣatriya is being consecrated fora sacrifice, he comes to assume brāhmaṇatva. When he covers himselfwith black antelope skin and observes the vows of the consecrated andwhen the other brāhmaṇas come around him, Indra takes away hissensual power, triṣṭubh his strength, the pañcadaśa stoma his life, theSoma his kingdom, and the fathers his fame and name, thinking, “he hasbecome somewhat special, somewhat different from us. He has becomethe holy power.”Therefore he pays homage to the āhavanīya fire and declares:“I am not going away from all these presiding deities and therefore, mayall these deities not take away my faculties. With all these qualities of akṣatriya, I am approaching the holy power and the deity Agni, the metregāyatrī, trivṛt stoma, Soma the king and thus becoming brāhmaṇa.”When he thus pays homage to Agni, it is said that these deities do nottake away the respective faculties from him; but it seems that they are madeinoperative. Otherwise the necessity of making offerings for the secondtime would not have arisen. Thus, when he performs the udavasānīyā iṣṭihe becomes a kṣatriya again and, therefore, in order to set all his facultiesinto action once again, he makes the after offerings and thereby declares, “Ibecome a kṣatriya again by these offerings.”After offering these oblations, he pays homage to the āhavanīya fire.This act of his is also glorified in a significant way. Thus it is said:When the sacrificer has finished the sacrificial performance, the deitiesof the holy power think: “Now he has become a kṣatriya and has becomesomeone different from us.” Therefore, they take away his splendour,valour, life, fame and name.