Dhruvā (Ladle)
Dhruvā · dhruvā, “the steady one, a yajña ladle”
Dhruva has other meanings too: see all meanings of Dhruva.
Grammar: feminine noun, from dhruva (fixed, steady): “the steady one”, the name of a ladle (sruc) used in the yajña.
Meaning: one of the vessels (pātra) of the yajña: a ladle that holds the ghee for the offerings. It is a different word from Dhruva, the name of the king and of one of the Vasus.
In the scriptures: in the Brahma Purāṇa, the munis, before asking Vyāsa why Bhagavān Vishṇu descended on earth as Kṛshṇa, praise him as the Yajña-purusha. He who has no mouth, no hand and no limb at all made the means of yajña and arranged them: the gārhapatya, anvāhārya and āhavanīya fires; the Veda, dīkshā (initiation) and the samidhs (fuel sticks); the dhruvā vessel, the prokshaṇa vessel, the sruva ladle and the avabhṛtha, the closing bath of the yajña. He created the devas who eat the havya and the pitṛs who eat the kavya, set out the rule of yajña, and arranged the vessels, the dakshiṇā, the caru, the yūpa, the soma, the pavitras, the paridhis, the camasas (cups), the sadasyas and the yajamānas, dividing them and making them fit for each yuga. “That Yajña-purusha, Vishṇu, descended as Kṛshṇa” (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 179).
Related terms: Sruc · Sruva · Yajña · Pātra · Avabhṛtha · Yajña-purusha
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 179