By Swami Harshananda
Purodaśa literally means ‘that which is given first’.
The offerings made into the fires in various Vedic sacrifices are of different types. The puroḍāśa is one such, which is very common in the Darśa, Somayāgas and Paśuyāgas. It is actually a cake made of pounded rice or barley flour, baked on the gārhapatya fire on kapālas or potsherds generally 8 or 11 in number. These puroḍāśas must be shaped like a tortoise. They are offered to the deities like Indra, Puṣan, Sarasvatī, Mitra and Varuṇa. The detailed process involved in their preparation is given in the Śrautasutras of Āpastamba[1] and Kātyāyana.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ Śrautasutras 1.24.6
- ↑ Śrautasutras 2.6.49
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore