[Advaita-l] Question on yajur Veda samhitā yagya

[subhanu saxena]

Rama wrote regarding samhitā homa: : Can someone tell me what it is and the source texts for the prayoga (if
any)?


Namaste. Around 50 years ago it seems the renowned Veda scholar Keshava Murthy Ghanapathi made the observation that, whilst there was a long tradition of Rig Veda Samhita homa, why was there no equivalent for Yajur Veda? With Veda acharyas the krama for such a procedure was prepared to have svāhākāra for all rik and yajur portions of all the kāṇḍas starting with prājāpatyam, saumyam etc and not for the brāhmaṇa portions. The yagya was to be performed over 7 days with ghee only. Apparently Sringeri Acharya was consulted who told them if you are performing according to Shrauta traditions then do it properly with pashu (animal) offerings. If it is to be performed in one homa kuṇḍa only then ghee can be used (there is a precedent in Srauta prayoga that if vapa is not available or damaged during extraction then ghee will suffice). This single homa krama was adopted. A Ramachandra Shrauti from Gokarna prepared a book of the krama. 

The full prayoga now adopted is available in a 4 volume book Taittirya Samhitā Svāhākāra Pāṭha by Rajarajashri publications. There is a set available at present in Vedanta Book House Chamrajpet Bangalore. It starts with Iṣe tvā svāhā, ūrje tvā svāhā, etc, to give you an idea how the yajur mantras are broken up. Each mantra has the idam na mama devatā with it also.

Whilst there is the authority of Bodhāyana Grihya Sutra : Samhitāgaṇakuṣmāṇḍapavamānyādibhih dvijah juhūyāt, the Sanskrit introduction of the above publication attempts to provide some scriptural authority for this practice of yagya:

Sruti precedent: 
whatever you study you must practice by offering via Iṣṭi: yam yam kratum adhīte tena tenāsyeṣṭam bhavati

Bodhāyana Dharma Sutra:

Yān siṣādhayiṣuh mantrān dvādhasāhāni tān japet
Ghṛtena payasā dadhnā prāshyā nishyodanam sakṛt

He who wishes to master the Veda should chant for 12 days
Then eat cooked rice with ghee milk and curd in the night

ṛgyajusāmavedānānām atharvāngirasām api 
dashāvaram tathā homah sarpiṣā savanatrayam

Then with with all four Vedas one can perform homa with ghee 3 times a day
 (not sure how this is physically possible)

Then in Pārāsharya Smṛti:

pāṭhayeyuh svakān vedān ṛgvedaprabhṛtīn shanaih
dashāmshena tayo homah, grahashānti purah sarah

One should study one's own Veda (ṛgveda etc) slowly (and carefully)
And then offer homa in the style of navagraha homa,
by reciting the mantra 10 times before offering svāhā

(this can mean 10 people recite the mantra once and offer svāhā,
or one person chants 10 times and offers svāhā like we do in navagraha homa)

Hope the above is helpful

Subhanu