[Advaita-l] Fw: Re: Achidram and Aswamedham

[Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian]

Dear Narayanan,

The basic principle behind chanting these sections is metonymic
associational thought. This principle is brought out very well by
Prof. Laurie Patton in her "Bringing the Gods to Mind: Mantra and
Ritual in Early Indian Sacrifice," University of California Press,
2005. I strongly recommend this book. However it is not just that. The
second prashna in the taittirIya AraNyaka says "yaM yaM kratum adhIte
tena tena asyeShTaM bhavati - agner vAyor-Adityasya sAyujyaM gacchati
tadeshAbhyuktA". So mere recitation is pretty good. Understanding the
meaning also is of course better.

Some of the things to be chanted on some particular occasions/times
can be found in texts like the bR^ihaddevatA, but some are known from
tradition. The latter are also quite valid. The acchidram recitation
is quite a popular tradition.

Regarding the acchidram, only anuvAkas 1-6 and 11 are associated with
the darsha-pUrNamAsa iShTi, the rest are connected with soma yAgas.
The common theme is that these mantras make the sacrifice which might
have been done with errors a whole - breaches the holes, as it were,
in the "whole" sacrifices - hence the name acchidram.

The following are the traditional chanting days:

ekAdashI - acchidram TB 3.7, ashavamedha brAhmaNam TB 3.8-3.9

dvAdashI
tradition 1:  kAThakam TB 3.10, TB 3.11 and TB 3.12. These detail the
sAvitra, nachiketa, vaishvadeva and chAturhotriya chayana mantras and
brAhmaNas.
tradition 2: AraNyakam 7, 8, 9, 10. I.e., taittirIya and mahAnArayaNa upaniShads
tradition 3: includes tradition 1 and tradition 2 + TB 3.4, AraNyakam
6. TB 3.4 is the puruShamedham, and AraNyakam 6 is the pitR^imedham.
The first 2 and last 2 anuvAkas in the pitR^imedham are used in the
last death rites ,and this prashnam is called kATTu prashnam by Tamil
people.

The last tradition is something extensive and requires 3.5-4 hours or
more of chanting, and I learned of its existence from one of my gurus,
Sri Narayana Sastrigal of Mylapore.

Regarding translations, you may consult the following below:

1. The Full-Moon and New-Moon Sacrifices in the Taittiriya-Brāhmaṇa
(Fourth Part): The Anuvākas 1-6 and 11 of The Seventh Prapāṭhaka of
the Third Kāṇḍa of the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa with Translation The
Full-Moon and New-Moon Sacrifices in the Taittiriya-Brāhmaṇa (Fourth
Part): The Anuvākas 1-6 and 11 of The Seventh Prapāṭhaka of the Third
Kāṇḍa of the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa with Translation, Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society, Vol. 105, No. 1 (Feb. 28, 1961), pp.
11-36.

2. Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa 3.7.7-10 and 3.7.12-14: Seven Anuvākas of the
Seventh Prapāṭhaka of the Third Kāṇḍa of the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa with
Translation Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa 3.7.7-10 and 3.7.12-14: Seven Anuvākas
of the Seventh Prapāṭhaka of the Third Kāṇḍa of the
Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa with Translation, Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society, Vol. 107, No. 5 (Oct. 15, 1963), pp. 446-460.

3. The Horse-Sacrifice in the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa: The Eighth and
Ninth Prapāṭhakas of the Third Kāṇḍa of the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa with
Translation The Horse-Sacrifice in the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa: The Eighth
and Ninth Prapāṭhakas of the Third Kāṇḍa of the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa
with Translation, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society,
Vol. 92, No. 6 (Dec. 27, 1948), pp. 447-503.

Rama

On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 10:51 AM, narayan iyer <z1e1b1r1a at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> 5. As I understand it, achidram is a rite of
>> darsha-purnamasya rite.  How do you say it is to be recited
>> on Ekadasi days.  Are you sure of your sources?  If they are
>> authentic, I too would like to start reciting it on ekadasi
>> days.
>>