The Pravargya Brahmana of the Taittiriya Aranyaka: An Ancient Commentary on the Pravargya Ritual

A historical commentary on the Pravargya ceremony can be found in Prapathaka 5, which is part of the Taittiriya Aranyaka in the Andhra recension. This commentary, known as the Pravargya Brahmana, is presented here in a translation that also includes annotations. An investigation of the Pravargya ritual is included in the Introduction. This ceremony is referred to as “One of the few rites that have been specifically alluded to in the Rgveda (typically under the term “Gharma”).” The abstract and spiritual character of what is most likely the primary purpose of the ritual – the participants should acquire the lustre of the sun – the straightforward means by which it can be performed, and the manner in which the main implement, the pot which is heated to a red-hot temperature, is worshipped, give it a special place among the vast assortment of Vedic rites. In addition to the translation, the original Sanskrit text of the Pravargya Brahmana of the Taittiriyas has also been provided here. The present work was prepared under the direction of Professor Dr. H.W. Bodewitz (Utrecht), and it is an expansion of an essay that the author wrote as part of the author’s partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of “doctorandus” at the University of Utrecht, 1987. This work was prepared under the guidance of Professor Dr. H.W. Bodewitz (Utrecht).

Author

Jan E.M. Houben

Sri Maa the Guru and the Goddess

There are three books included in The Guru and the Goddess that may be used for study and practise (sadhana). The first one is a translation of the Kasyapa Sutras along with a commentary on them. The second portion contains a Sanskrit text of the Guru Gita as well as a translation of it. The Lalita Trisati Stotram is presented in its original Sanskrit form and then translated into English in the third portion.

About the Author(s)

Swami Satyananda

The Sraddha: The Hindu Book of the Dead (A Treatise on the Sraddha Ceremonies)

Of the sixteen samskaras which encompass a Hindu life the last one is performed for the dead by their sons or grandsons or relatives. Many passages in the Puranas and Dharmasastras extol the role of the son in the life of devout Hindu. The present book deals with the rite of Sraddha and vindicates the popular belief that Sraddha, being an important topic, forms an integral part of Hindu Dharmasastra. The belief in the after-death survival of deceased ancestors and their separate world belongs to the Indo-Iranian period and as such is pre-Vedic. Ancestor-worship for one’s prosperity, continuation of one’s race, is as old as the Rgveda. Preface, Introduction, The Antyesti Samskara, Appendices, Glossary.