Report
The national seminar on Shatpatha Brahmana was organised on March 31, 2026. The discussion focused on the chapter titled “Paristaraṇa and Pātrāsādana” from the book Shatapatha Brāhmaṇa Vijñāna Bhāṣhya composed by Pandit Motilal Shastri. This national seminar was organised based on various themes found in this Brāhmaṇa text.
Dr. Jyotsna Dwivedi, Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Institute of Excellence in Higher Education, Government Thakur Ranmat Singh College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, stated in her lecture that in the Shatapatha Brahmana, there are ten ritual implements:
Śūrpa–Agnihotra-havaṇī, Sphya–Kapālani, Śamyā–Kṛṣṇājina, Ulūkhal–Mūsal, and Dṛṣat–Upala.
These ten implements are placed in the sacrificial hall (yajñasgālā), and this act is called Pātrāsādana. These implements are arranged in pairs according to prescribed rules. It is explained in the Vijñāna Bhāshya that creation arises from pairing (yugma). While explaining the word dvandva (pair), it is stated that a task performed by one person can also be performed by two persons, but when two individuals work together, greater power arises. A novel interpretation of the term dvandva in the sequence of Pātrāsādana has been presented by Pandit Motilal Shastri in the Śhatapatha Brāhmaṇa Vijñāna Bhāṣhya.
Dr. Sapna Chandel, Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit Evening Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, stated that yajña represents the connection between the spiritual world and the divine world. When the individual soul establishes a connection with the divine soul, the yajña takes place. In the ritual of Pātrāsādana, these ten vessels represent mediation. Regarding this mediation, the author of the Vijñāna Bhāṣhya explains that these ten vessels function as intermediaries between the individual soul and the divine soul.
Dr. Shilpa Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, stated that speech (vāk) is the fundamental principle of the creation of yajña. The first initiator of yajña is the water-based Parameṣṭhī. Creation is of two types—artha-srishṭi (material creation) and śabda-srishṭi (verbal creation). In the Parameṣṭhī principle reside Bhṛgu and Aṅgirā. These two principles are elaborately explained by the author using the terms ṛta and satya. The dense state of Aṅgirā is Agni. Agni becomes speech and enters the mouth. According to this principle, Agni plays the primary role in the origin of sound.
Dr. Ranjan Lata, Assistant Professor, Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, stated that in Vedic science, creation is explained through the concept of three worlds (trailokya). Among these, Earth occupies the first position. On Earth reside the metre Māchanda and the deity Agni. The second realm is the intermediate region (Antarikṣa), where the metre Pramāchanda and the deity Vāyu reside. The third realm is the heavenly region (Dyuloka), where the metre Pratimāchanda and the deity Sūrya reside. In the ritual of Pātrāsādana, there are ten vessels, corresponding to ten metres. Creation itself is formed from metres (chandas). In the Paristaraṇa ritual, sacred kuśa grass is spread carefully throughout the sacrificial hall. In the Pātrāsādana ritual, the ten prescribed vessels suitable for yajña are arranged.
Prof. Santosh Kumar Shukla, Professor at the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, presided over the program. He stated that the lectures delivered today by distinguished women scholars of the country were highly meaningful and worthy of appreciation. Through their dedicated efforts, they have elucidated complex aspects of the Śhatapatha Brāhmaṇa. Just as yajña occurs in nature, similarly human beings perform yajña using material substances. In this section, the Virāṭ Purusha, metres (chandas), and yajña vessels have been explained from a scientific perspective. The presentation of new insights regarding creation itself constitutes science.
Dr. Kamalraj Upadhyay, Vedic scholar at Brahmachari Mahanand Veda Pathshala, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, recited the Vedic invocation (maṅgalācaraṇa) in traditional chant. The program was conducted by Dr. Lakshmi Kant Vimal, Research Officer at the Shri Shankar Shikshayatan Vedic Research Institute. Scholars, teachers, research students, and enthusiasts of Sanskrit studies from various universities and colleges across different states participated enthusiastically, making the seminar successful.