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Originating in historical Vedic religion, 'Pravargya' (Sanskrit प्रवर्ग्य), also known as 'Ashvina-pravaya', is an introductory or preliminary ceremony to the Soma Yajña (of which there are several kinds, including but not limited to, the five-day Agnishtoma Soma Yagya forming the basic model).[1]
In the Pravargya Yajña, an earthen pot is fashioned from clay dug up from the ground, placed on a fire-altar, and used to boil milk which is offered to the Ashvins, the twin Rigvedic gods of Ayurvedic medicine.
As with all Vedic Period sacrificial ceremonies, the Pravargya Yajña is mystical in nature insofar as items, positions, actions, and words have indirect, symbolic meanings, rather than direct (i.e. exoteric) literal meanings (e.g. the pot represents the head of Vishnu which in turn represents the Sun). It is also typical in that numerous and complex rules must be strictly followed by participants to the smallest detail.
Although explanations of and instructions for the performance of the Pravargya Yagya are provided by various Vedic literature such as the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Shrautasutras,[2] those provided by the Shatapatha Brahmana of the White Yajurveda are particularly notable in Vaishnavism as the likely origin of the Varaha (boar) avatar of the Rigvedic God Vishnu.
- ^ Kashyap, Rangasami Laksminarayana (2014). Krishna Yajur Veda Taittirīya Āraṇyaka: Text in Devanāgari, Translation and Notes (Vol 2). Sri Aurobindo Kapali Sastry Institute of Vedic Culture. pp. xxii, 11. ISBN 978-81-7994-154-6.
- ^ Houben, Jan E.M. (1991). The Pravargya Brāhmaṇa of the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka: an ancient commentary on the Pravargya ritual. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 3–7. ISBN 81-208-0868-1.
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