Avabhṛtha
Avabhṛtha · ava-bhṛtha, “the closing bath of a yajña”
Grammar: masculine noun, from the root bhṛ (to carry, to bear) with the prefix ava (down, away): “that which carries away”. With snāna (bath) it is the avabhṛtha snāna.
Meaning: the sacred bath taken at the close of a yajña, which ends the rite.
In the scriptures: the Brahma Purāṇa tells of the avabhṛtha at the close of Soma‘s Rājasūya. Brahmā gave Soma sovereignty over the seeds and oshadhis, over the vipras and over the waters, and Soma performed a Rājasūya with a dakshiṇā of a hundred thousand; it is heard that he gave the three worlds as dakshiṇā. Hiraṇyagarbha, Atri and Bhṛgu were the ṛtvijas, the brahmarshis were the sadasyas, and Hari, surrounded by many munis, sat among the sadasyas. Having bathed in the avabhṛtha, honoured by all the devarshis, Soma Rājendra shone, lighting the ten directions (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 9).
The avabhṛtha is also named among the means of yajña that the Yajña-purusha himself arranged. The Mahānubhāva who has no mouth, no hand and no limb at all set out the gārhapatya, anvāhārya and āhavanīya fires, the Veda, dīkshā and the samidhs, the dhruvā and prokshaṇa vessels, the sruva and the avabhṛtha; and that Yajña-purusha, Bhagavān Vishṇu, descended as Kṛshṇa (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 179).
Related terms: Avabhṛtha Snāna · Yajña · Rājasūya · Dīkshā · Sruva · Dakshiṇā
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 9, 179