Prapathaka 3
Darśa–Pūrṇamāsa (new- and full-moon iṣṭi) within the Śrauta new/full-moon sacrifice cycle; with emphasis on the preparatory and offering-sequences (upasad-like preliminaries, puroḍāśa preparation/oblation handling, and the yajamāna–ṛtvij procedural acts) as transmitted in the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda Taittirīya Saṃhitā.
Kṛṣṇa-Yajurveda (Taittirīya Saṃhitā) 2.3 gehört zum frühen Śrauta-Komplex, der die Darśa–Pūrṇamāsa-iṣṭi als paradigmatischen Übergangsritus vom häuslichen zum feierlich-öffentlichen Opfer systematisiert. Das Prapāṭhaka entfaltet die Opfergrammatik, durch die Substanzen (havis), Gottheiten und Offizianten mittels eng sequenzierter Yajuṣ-Formeln koordiniert werden. Seine Mantras fungieren weniger als „Hymnen“ denn als performative Operatoren: Sie autorisieren Akte des Nehmens, Platzierens, Kochens, Teilens und Darbringens und projizieren diese zugleich auf kosmische Entsprechungen (Agni als Mund, Soma als Saft, Prajāpati als Totalität). Die innere Logik des Kapitels akzentuiert die Korrektheit der Reihenfolge (krama), Reinheit und Abgrenzung (pavitra/rekhā) sowie die Transformation roher Materialien in rituell gültige Oblationen. Damit exemplifiziert es den Taittirīya-Stil: dichte Verfahrenssprache, eingebettete Etymologien und eine Wirksamkeitstheologie, die in exakter Rezitation und Geste gründet.
Anuvakas
Anuvaka 1
Predominantly Brāhmaṇa-style prose with embedded mantra-quotations; the ‘vidhi’ (injunction: nirvapet) is followed by arthavāda (why it works) and conditional extensions (yadi na avagacchet…).
Anuvaka 2
Brāhmaṇa prose with embedded mantra-frames; includes numeric structuring (counts, repetitions) and explicit prayojana statements (āyus, brahmavarcasa, hiraṇya, somapītha).
Anuvaka 3
Narrative arthavāda (mythic frame) leading into explicit vidhi (nirvapet) and offering triads; integrates ‘tejas–indriya–brahmavarcasa’ as a threefold restoration set.
Anuvaka 4
Primarily vidhi with arthavāda justification; focuses on Āditya (Aryaman) and Indra/Bṛhaspati ‘anūṣūka’ modules with formulaic yājyānuvākyā descriptors (budhnavatī/agravatī).
Anuvaka 5
Mythic narrative (Soma and the lunar wives) leading to etiological explanation and a remedial Āditya module; includes explicit yājyā/puro’nuvākyā cues for renewal.
Anuvaka 6
Brāhmaṇa prose with strong numeric-geometry (triadic world mapping) and explicit offering-structure (three units with graded magnitude).
Anuvaka 7
Narrative of conflict and loss/recovery of power leading to a multi-deity ‘sarvapṛṣṭhā’ configuration; includes explicit mapping of ‘tejas’ sources by chant-names.
Anuvaka 8
Vidhi plus explanatory bandhu: Agni and Sūrya as paired ‘vision’ principles; includes explicit ṛc citation (ud u tyaṃ jātavedasam…).
Anuvaka 9
Mantra-heavy section with repeated ‘dhruvo’si’ formulas and subsequent brāhmaṇa explanation; includes paridhi placement and triple oblations.
Anuvaka 10
Mantra sequence centered on prāṇa attribution to multiple deities; followed by extended life-force release formulas and āyus reinforcement verses.
Anuvaka 11
Composite iṣṭi prescription with multiple deities (Agni, Soma, Varuṇa, Sarasvatī, Agni-Viṣṇu) and subsequent mantra explanations; explicitly frames as therapeutic/repair logic.
Anuvaka 12
Narrative-etiological prose leading to Varuṇa-focused offering counts; includes conditional add-ons (extra unit; solar follow-up; water-related closure; Apām Napāt module).
Anuvaka 13
Mantra-led invocation to Indra-Varuṇa with brāhmaṇa explanation; includes fourfold directional arrangement and recombination (vyūhati / punaḥ samūhati).
Anuvaka 14
Predominantly mantra anthology (ṛk-style) invoking Indra, Soma, Agni-Soma, Gaṇapati/Brahmaṇaspati, Aryaman, Maruts, etc.; functions as a liturgical ‘constellation’ layer rather than prose vidhi.
Inside Prapathaka 3
Liturgical sequence
(1) Saṃkalpa/adhvaryu’s procedural yajuṣ establishing the rite and its deities; (2) Preparation of the vedi and fire-operations (kindling/arranging, defining ritual space); (3) Taking and consecrating havis-materials (grain, water, ghee) with accompanying yajuṣ; (4) Puroḍāśa processing: grinding/mixture, shaping, placing on the fire, cooking and guarding the oblation; (5) Clarified butter (ājya) handling and ladling sequences; (6) Invitation/assignment of deities for the iṣṭi portions (Agni, Soma, and associated devatā-sets typical of Darśa–Pūrṇamāsa); (7) Main offering acts (āhuti) with formulaic “this for that deity” structure; (8) Ancillary acts: sprinkling, touching, enclosing, and expiatory/rectificatory formulas for faults; (9) Concluding procedural mantras sealing the offering and restoring ordinary order (avabhṛtha-like closure in miniature: dismissal/appeasement and re-integration).
Key mantras
Representative yajuṣ-types prominent in TS 2.3: (a) performatives for taking/placing: ‘gṛhṇāmi…’, ‘dadhāmi…’, ‘upastṛṇāmi…’; (b) cooking/transforming formulas for puroḍāśa and ājya; (c) deity-allocation and offering tags: ‘agne… svāhā’, ‘somāya… svāhā’, and paired devatā-datives characteristic of Darśa–Pūrṇamāsa; (d) enclosure/purification: ‘pavitreṇa…’, ‘pari…’; (e) fault-removal/śānti-style yajuṣ used when sequence or material is impaired.
Commentary synthesis
Sāyaṇācārya reads the chapter primarily as a manual of adhvaryu-operations: each yajuṣ is glossed by the exact physical act (taking, placing, cooking, offering) and by the devatā-intent (devatā-prayojana) that makes the act efficacious. He repeatedly explains technical terms via nirukta-style derivations and aligns each step with the Darśa–Pūrṇamāsa prayoga as standardized in the Śrauta tradition, stressing krama (order) and saṃskāra (ritual refinement) as the source of apūrva. Bhāskara Miśra tends to foreground the internal coherence of the rite: why a given mantra must accompany a given gesture, how substitutions/rectifications work, and how the same formula can shift meaning by context (prakaraṇa). Both emphasize that the mantras are not descriptive but operative; their shared hermeneutic is that correct pairing of speech and act converts material havis into a cosmically legible offering, with Agni functioning as the transmitting mouth and Prajāpati-like totality as the implicit horizon of the iṣṭi.
Read Krishna Yajur Veda in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.