उपवीत होमः, शिखाहुतिःOffering the sacred thread; offering the tuft
Verse 258
ब्रह्मपुत्रि शिखे त्वं हि बालरूपा तपस्विनी । दीयते पावके स्थानं गच्छ देवि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ २५८ ॥
brahmaputri śikhē tvaṁ hi bālarūpā tapasvinī | dīyatē pāvakē sthānaṁ gaccha dēvi namō’stu tē || 258 ||
Translation
"Daughter of Brahmā, O tuft, you who have the form of a child and are rich in austerity: a place is given you in the fire; go, Devī, salutation to you."
Word by word
- brahma
- of Brahmā
- putri
- O daughter
- śikhē
- O tuft
- tvaṁ
- you
- hi
- indeed
- bāla
- of a child
- rūpā
- who have the form
- tapasvinī
- rich in austerity
- dīyatē
- is given
- pāvakē
- in the fire
- sthānaṁ
- a place
- gaccha
- go
- dēvi
- O Devī
- namō
- (namaḥ) salutation
- astu
- be
- tē
- to you
Meaning
The tuft is addressed as a goddess, "daughter of Brahmā", child-formed (it is kept from childhood) and full of tapas (it has been worn through a life of rites). The commentary gives the complete mantra, with the seeds of the next verse added at its end: "brahmaputri śikhe tvaṁ hi bālarūpā tapasvinī, dīyate pāvake sthānaṁ, gaccha devi namo 'stu te klīṁ hrīṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā". It reads verses 258 to 260 together.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
"Brahma…". Then, uttering the mantra that begins "brahmaputri" and ends "namo 'stu te", and at the end of this mantra kāma, klīṁ; māyā, hrīṁ; kūrca, hūṁ; astra, phaṭ; and vahnijāyā, svāhā, voicing these seeds, he should perform the homa of the śikhā in that well-consecrated fire. Assembled, the mantra is: "brahmaputri śikhe tvaṁ hi bālarūpā tapasvinī, dīyate pāvake sthānaṁ, gaccha devi namo 'stu te klīṁ hrīṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā" (O śikhā, daughter of Brahmā, you who have the form of a child and are rich in austerity, a place is given you in the fire: go, O goddess, salutation to you). (This explanation covers verses 258 to 260.)