By Swami Harshananda
Anvāhārya literally means ‘that which is made up’.
In the Darśa-purṇamāsa sacrifice, the yajamāna (sacrificer) is advised to gift away cooked rice as sacrificial fee to the priests after cooking it on one of the fires, the dakṣiṇāgni. This is meant to offset whatever defects might have been accrued to the sacrifice due to errors of omission and commission. This is called anvāhārya.
Since anvāhārya is cooked on the dakṣiṇāgni, the latter is also called anvāhārya-pacana.
A monthly śrāddha (religious rite in honor of the departed ancestors performed immediately after piṇḍapitṛyajña is also called anvāhārya.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore