The Parvargya rite (from the web)

[Guest guest]

The parvargya rite

 

 

 

The parvargya rite is an exalted vedic sacrifice performed by an Arya

to the ashvins and offers a glimpse of the fusion of the two ancient

ritual streams of the pre-R^igvedic past. One component of it is the

ancient gharma rite to the Ashvins instituted by the bhR^igus under

the great atharvan chyavAna. ChyavAna was revived from decrepitude and

disease by the ashvins and went on to win sukanya the daughter of

shAryAti and accordingly in their honor offered the great sacrifice of

congealed milk (tereti pAl in Dravidian). Then the bhArgava dadhichi,

gained secreted vidyas from the ashvins who had fixed on him the head

of the horse, hence he worshipped them as the gods of medicine. These

ancient memories resulted in the atharvans instituting a sacrificial

pouring for the Ashvins with the mantra AV 7.73 (Shaunaka SaMhita of

AV, samiddhoagnir...). Simultaneously in the Vedic stream of the

bhAratas, the school of the prAjapatya vAishvAmitras instituted a rite

to commemorate the twelve month year also known as prajapati, with a

twelve day pouring two the deities: savitA, agni, mAtarishvAn, the

Adityas, the nakshatras, the R^ita, dhAtA, bR^ihaspati, mitra, varuNa,

indra and soma. The end of the year was marked symbolically by the

beheading of prajapati by rudra. The restoration of his head in the

new year was through the surgery of the ashvins.

 

The myth of the cephalic surgery on prajapati and dadhichi served as

the fusion point of these rites during the early settlement of the

bhAratas in the sub-continent. This resulted in the pravargya rite in

which marks the restoration of the head of yagna or the prajapati also

called makha's head in the brAhmaNa literature. Thus the taittiriya

AraNyaka states:

 

te devA ashvinAvabruvan.h | bhishhajau vai staH | idaM yagnasya shiraH

prati dhattameti |...

 

The head is symbolically denoted by the parvargya pot in the pravargya

rite. Thus is the rite performed:

 

The adhvaryu first set up sacrificial fire and offers ghee to savitA.

Then he mixes clay and makes the pravargya pot with an hourglass-like

shape with a spout in the top half from three pieces of clay. He also

makes the other chamasas and the ladles for the rite with the

remaining clay. They are sun dried and then the adhvaryu fumigates

them in a fire fueled by horse dung. Then they are heated in the fire

in the sacrificial pit taken out and cooled by the pouring of goat's

milk. On the day of the rite the adhvaryu uses his forceps to hold the

pravargya pot over the AhAvaniya fire and melts ghee in it and the

prastotA priest sings the pravargya sAmans during this process. The

pot is then place on a raised altar on a silver disk. Ghee is poured

again into it and its heated by the adhvaryu and then surrounded by

samids and covered with a gold lid and a fire lit. It is fanned with 3

fans till the pot becomes redhot and all except the yajamAna's wife

look at it chanting yajushes. Finally the other participants leave and

the pratiprastAtA priest and yajmAna's wife not looking at the pot

chant the fertility yajushes to tvashTa. Then a goat and a cow are

milked and the milk is poured into the pravargya pot. It is then held

by tongs and taken to the AhAvaniya fire and the gharma offering to

the ashvins is made. An indra pouring with the formula " svAhendrAya

svAhendrA vaD.h " is made and the milk is made to overflow from the pot

into the fire. The pourings to pUshaN and rudra are made. Then after

performing the agnihotra and worshiping the prANa as indra and agni

with the formula " prANa evainaM indratamegnau juhoti " the yajamAna,

his wife and priests eat the congealed milk of the gharma with honey.

The adhvaryu then disposes the sacrificial implements used in the

rite: the forceps, the tripod, the fans, two fire pokers in the east

by arranging them in the shape of a man. The prastotA priest sings the

rakshoha sAmans during the process. Then singing the shukra samans,

the yajamAna, his wife and the priests dispose the pravargya pot on

the east on the west sides of the uttaravedi platform. If he desires

to slay his foes he lays a death-dealing charm invoking

agni-vaishvAnara and disposes it on the branch of an audumbara fig

tree. He may also dispose it near a termite heap with darbha grass for

successful farming.

 

 

http://www.geocities.com/somasushma/pravargya.html

[Guest guest]

Now the issue is that the pravargya pot is a very distinctive

structure that necessarily must appear in the archaeological record.

Especially given the gold/silver base and lid of the pot finding such

structures may be possible. I would like to hear from list members

regarding any pottery that may fit into the parvargya apparatus and

their possible dates and associations. Is there any such material from

Kalibangan for example? Sankalia mentions some pot associated with the

Malwa culture would anyone have details on it?

regards,

Aravind

 

Interested readers may also consult: J Houben, J Gonda and J

Buitenen's works on parvargya. Houben's is a good brief summary with

English translation. Buitenen's interpretations of the rite are in my

humble opinion completely flawed. Gonda talks of psychic effects of

soma, and ghee drinking in the rite.... But i doubt these were really

relevant.