Śaṅkaraon Brahma Sūtra 3.3.41

When eating is actually taking place, ‘ from that,’ i.e. with that material of food which first pre.sents itself, the agni- hotra offered to the pra;/as is to be — effected. On what ground —? ‘ On the ground of the passage declaring this.’ For the clause, ‘ The first food which a man may take is in the place of a homa,’ enjoins the circumstance of the obla- tions to the pranas being effected by means of a material (primarily) subserving another purpose (viz. eating), as appears from its referring to the presentation of food as something accomplished (i. e. accomplished independently of the oblations ; not tending to accomplish the oblations). How then should these — oblations which are characterised as not having any motive power with regard to the -employ- ment of the food—be capable of causing us to substitute, in the absence of eating, some other material (than food) ? Nor is it true that there are already established, for the pra;/agnihotra, all the details belonging to the fundamental agnihotra. In the case of the ayana of the Ku;^^apayins, the term ‘agnihotra’ forms part of the injunctive pas- sage, ‘ They offer the agnihotra during a montli,’ and therefore may have the force of enjoining a general character of the sacrifice identical with that of the funda- mental agnihotra ; and it is therefore appropriate to con- sider the details of the latter as valid for the agnihotra of the Ku//^apayins also. In the case of the so-called praw%nihotra, on the other hand, the term ‘agnihotra’ occurs in an arthavada-passage only, and does not therefore possess an analogous inj unctivc force. I f, again, we ad m itted that the details of the fundamental agnihotra are valid for the pra;/^gnihotra also, such details as the transference of the fire (from the garhapatya fire to the two other fires) would be likewise valid. But this is impossible, as the transference of the fire is made for the purpose of establishing a fire- place in which the oblations arc made ; in our case, on the other hand, the oblations arc not made in the fire at all because that would interfere with their being used as food, and because they are connected with a material procured for the purpose of — eating, but are made in the mouth (of the eater). Thus the text of the Cabalas also, ‘ He is to eat before the guests,’ shows that the accomplishment of the oblation has the mouth for its abode. For the same reason (i. e. because the details of the fundamental agnihotra are —; not valid for the pra;/Agnihotra) the text declares the sub- ordinate members of the agnihotra to be present here (i.e, in the prdwagnihotra) in the way of fanciful combination only, ‘ the chest is the vedi, the hairs the sacrificial grass, the heart the Garhapatya fire, the mind the Anvaharya- pa/t’ana fire, the mouth the Ahavaniya fire.’ By the vedi mentioned in this passage we have to understand a levelled spot, as in the fundamental agnihotra there is no vedi, and as the intention of the passage is to effect a fanciful combi- nation of the members of the fundamental agnihotra (with members of the — pra;/agnihotra). And as the pra;/agnihotra is connected with eating which has its definite times, it is also not possible that it should be restricted to the time enjoined for the fundamental agnihotra. In the same way other particulars also of the fundamental agnihotra, such as the so-called upasthana, cannot be reconciled with the re- quirements of the prA;<ragnihotra. From all this it follows that the five oblations, as connected with their respective mantras, materials, and divinities, have to be performed only in the case of food being eaten.—With reference to the pas- sage showing ‘ respect,’ we remark that it is meant to inti- mate priority (of the host), in the case of food being actually eaten. But the passage has no power to declare that the offering of the pra;^agnihotra is of permanent obligation. It therefore is a settled conclusion that the pra;/agnihotra is omitted when the eating of food is omitted.