Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 1.8
॥
Devanāgarī
निधाय सोमाय स्वाहेति मन्त्रेण ततस्तिलब्रीहिभिः साज्यैर्जुहुयात् । अयं तेनाष्टोत्तरसहस्रं सार्धमेतद्वा । तत्राज्यस्य पर्णमयी जुहूर्भवति । तेन न पापं शृणोति । तद्घोममन्त्रस्र्यम्बकमित्येव
Transliteration (IAST)
nidhāya somāya svāheti mantreṇa tatastilabrīhibhiḥ sājyairjuhuyāt | ayaṃ tenāṣṭottarasahasraṃ sārdhametadvā | tatrājyasya parṇamayī juhūrbhavati | tena na pāpaṃ śṛṇoti | tadghomamantrasryambakamityeva
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
निधाय सोमाय स्वाहा इति मन्त्रेणnidhāya somāya svāhā iti mantreṇahaving placed it, with the mantra «Somāya svāhā»
तिलः-ब्रीहिभिः स-आज्यैः जुहुयात्tilaḥ-brīhibhiḥ sa-ājyaiḥ juhuyātlet him offer sesame and rice with ghee
अष्ट-उत्तर-सहस्रंaṣṭa-uttara-sahasraṃa thousand and eight
तत्र आज्यस्य पर्ण-मयी जुहूः भवतिtatra ājyasya parṇa-mayī juhūḥ bhavatithere the ladle for the ghee is made of a leaf
तेन न पापं शृणोतिtena na pāpaṃ śṛṇotiby that he does not hear of sin
Translation
«Having placed it, with the mantra «Somāya svāhā», let him offer sesame and rice with ghee; a thousand and eight [times] or one and a half. There the ladle for the ghee is made of a leaf: by that he does not hear of sin. And that mantra of offering is «tryambaka»».
Version
4fd6763bae39 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The rite is described with the precision usual to such books: with what to offer, how many times, from what the ladle is made. Worth noting is the phrase tena na pāpaṃ śṛṇoti, «by that he does not hear of sin». A strange expression: not «does not commit sin» and not «does not suffer sin», but — does not hear.
This turn of phrase in Vedic speech occurs and seems to mean «bad talk does not reach him» or «nothing ill is heard of him». That is, the consequence of the rite is described socially: nothing bad is said of the person. This detail, on reflection, is curious and shows what such promises meant for a person of that age. Sin was not only an inner state but also what would be said of you; and to be cleansed meant, among other things, to regain one's good name.
The Vaishnava side draws this distinction firmly and says that a good name and purity are different things. The Bhāgavatam is full of accounts of devotees spoken ill of who were nonetheless pure: Prahlāda, reviled by his father; Haridāsa, beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. And so for it the measure is set not by what is said, but by before whom one stands.
Worth adding that a thousand and eight is a ritual number and signifies completeness; on numbers of this kind, see the discussion when reading Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (2.22).