Sukta 6
Rishi: Uncertain from the excerpt alone (requires Anukramaṇī for AVŚ 9.6).
Devata: Ritual bandhu (sacrificial implements/acts as correlates of cosmic entities).
Chandas: Prose-like yajus-style formulation (not a regular ṛc-meter); often treated as anustubh-deficient/ritual prose in AV ritual sections.
Mantras
Mantra 1
अतिथि-सत्कारः। (१) यो विद्याद् ब्रह्म प्रत्यक्षं परूंषि यस्य संभारा ऋचो यस्यानूक्यऽम्
Whoso should know the sacred power, made manifest in very limbs; whose requisites are the Ṛc-verses, whose appointed recitation is the Anūkyā,—
Mantra 2
सामानि यस्य लोमानि यजुर्हृदयमुच्यते परिस्तरणामिद्धविः
Whose hairs are the Sāman-chants, whose heart is called the Yajus; whose spreadings are the kindled oblations,—
Mantra 3
यद् वा अतिथिपतिरतिथीन् प्रतिपश्यति देवयजनं प्रेक्षते
When, again, the Master of Guests looks forth upon the guests, he is, in very deed, looking upon the worship of the Gods.
Mantra 4
यदभिवदति दीक्षामुपैति यदुदकं याचत्यपः प्र णयति
When he makes reverent address, he enters upon consecration; when he asks for water, he leads the Waters forth.
Mantra 5
या एव यज्ञ आपः प्रणीयन्ते ता एव ताः
The very Waters that are led forward in the sacrifice—those, even those, are these.
Mantra 6
यत् तर्पणमाहरन्ति य एवाग्नीषोमीयः पशुर्बध्यते स एव सः
When they bring the refreshment-offering, that is, in very truth, the Agnīṣomīya victim that is bound.
Mantra 7
यदावसथान् कल्पयन्ति सदोहविर्धानान्येव तत् कल्पयन्ति
When they set in order the lodging-places, they are, in very deed, setting in order the Sadas and the Havirdhāna.
Mantra 8
यदुपस्तृणन्ति बर्हिरेव तत्
What they spread beneath—this, in very truth, is the Barhis.
Mantra 9
यदुपरिशयनमाहरन्ति स्वर्गमेव तेन लोकमव रुन्द्धे
What covering they bring—therewith, in very deed, he fences in for himself the world of heaven.
Mantra 10
यत् कशिपूपबर्हणमाहरन्ति परिधय एव ते
What seat-cushion they bring—these, in very truth, are the Paridhis.
Mantra 11
यदाञ्जनाभ्यञ्जनमाहरन्त्याज्यमेव तत्
What anointing-unguent they bring—this, in very truth, is ghee.
Mantra 12
यत् पुरा परिवेषात् स्वादमाहरन्ति पुरोडाशावेव तौ
What, before the serving, they bring as the savoury portion—those two are, in very truth, the Puroḍāśa-cakes.
Mantra 13
यदशनकृतं ह्वयन्ति हविष्कृतमेव तद्ध्वयन्ति
What they call ‘made for eating,’ that—verily the same—they call ‘made into an oblation.’
Mantra 14
ये व्रीहयो यवा निरुप्यन्तेंऽशव एव ते
The rice and barley that are duly set forth—those, in very truth, are a horse.
Mantra 15
यान्युलूखलमुसलानि ग्रावाण एव ते
What mortar-and-pestles there are—those, in very truth, are the pressing-stones.
Mantra 16
शूर्पं पवित्रं तुषा ऋजीषाभिषवणीरापः
The winnowing-fan is the purifier; the husks are the ṛjīṣa; the waters (here) are the pressing-waters.
Mantra 17
स्रुग् दर्विर्नेक्षणमायवनं द्रोणकलशाः कुम्भ्योऽ वायव्याऽनि पात्राणीयमेव कृष्णाजिनम्
The ladle, the spoon, the sprinkling-vessel, the leading-up; the drona-jars are the pots; the vessels are Vāyu’s: this, verily, is the black antelope-skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bandhu is a ritual correspondence: the mantra states that a given tool or action is truly the same as its authoritative sacrificial/cosmic form, so the rite becomes valid and connected to its intended result.
Because ritual efficacy depends on correct sacral framing. By equating the fan with the purifier (pavitra) and husks with ṛjīṣa, the domestic process is aligned with soma-rite purity and order.
Not primarily. Its main function is śānti and ritual-technical correctness—purifying and validating the rite by fixing the identities of implements, spaces, and waters through bandhu statements.