Upanishads · Prāṇāgnihotra 1.2
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वेन विधिनान्नं भूमौ निक्षिप्य या ओषधीः सोमराज्ञीरिति तिसृभिरन्नपत इति द्वाभ्यामनुमन्त्रयते
Transliteration (IAST)
svena vidhinānnaṃ bhūmau nikṣipya yā oṣadhīḥ somarājñīriti tisṛbhirannapata iti dvābhyāmanumantrayate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्वेन विधिना अन्नं भूमौ निक्षिप्यsvena vidhinā annaṃ bhūmau nikṣipyahaving placed the food on the ground according to one's own rule
याः ओषधीः सोम-राज्ञीः इति तिसृभिःyāḥ oṣadhīḥ soma-rājñīḥ iti tisṛbhiḥ'herbs, whose king is Soma' — with three [verses]
अन्न-पते इति द्वाभ्याम्anna-pate iti dvābhyām'lord of food' — with two
अनुमन्त्रयतेanumantrayatehe consecrates with mantras
Translation
Having placed the food on the ground according to one's own rule, he consecrates it with the three verses "Herbs, whose king is Soma" and the two "Lord of food."
Version
a856ccca37a2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first action is described: the food is placed on the ground, and five verses are recited over it. Note the phrase svena vidhinā, "according to one's own rule." That is, the book does not prescribe a single order: everyone acts by the custom of his own family and community.
Such a qualification is rare in ritual books and deserves praise. It acknowledges that customs differ, and does not attempt to level them. The Vaiṣṇava side loves such qualifications and states the same rule with the word deśa-kāla-pātra, "place, time, and person": one and the same precept is fulfilled differently, depending on circumstances.
Let us add what lies behind this and deserves stating, for it applies broadly. In a rite there is the essential and the customary. The essential is that food is offered before it is eaten; the customary is whether it is placed on the ground, how many verses are read, and with which hand.
Confusing these two is, to my mind, the chief affliction of every developed piety: the customary, in time, becomes indistinguishable from the essential, and a person who breaks custom feels he has broken the law. This is why the rule "according to one's own custom," placed right at the start, is a good warning; and it is worth remembering as we read all that follows, where the order will be spelled out to the fingertip.