Canto 2: Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa ()Chapter 91: Bharadvāja’s Hospitality to Bharata, His Army and FamilyText 2.91.11
Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 91: Bharadvāja’s Hospitality to Bharata, His Army and Family
Text 2.91.11
अग्निशालां प्रविश्याथ पीत्वापः परिमृज्य च।
आतिथ्यस्य क्रियाहेतोर्विश्वकर्माणमाह्वयत्॥
agni-śālāṁ praviśyātha pītvāpaḥ parimṛjya ca
ātithyasya kriyā-hetor viśvakarmāṇam āhvayat
agni-śālām = the fire sacrifice sanctuary; praviśya atha = having entered; pītvā = the sage sipped; āpaḥ = water; parimṛjya = cleansed himself; ca = and so on; ātithyasya = hospitality [as follows]; kriyā-hetoḥ = for the purpose of providing; viśvakarmāṇam = Viśvakarmā; āhvayat = he then called.
Having entered the fire sacrifice sanctuary, the sage sipped water, cleansed himself and so on. He then called Viśvakarmā for the purpose of providing hospitality [as follows].
He entered the sanctuary of fire sacrifice to purify himself because it was a place where the deities reside. He sipped water thrice as stated in the Śruti: trir ācāmet. He cleansed himself, that is, he cleansed his face twice [with water] as stated in the Śruti: dviḥ parimṛjya. Ca [in this verse] indicates that [he also cleansed his head, eyes, nostrils, ears and heart with water as indicated in the following scriptural statement]: sakṛd upaspṛśya śiraś cakṣuṣī nāsike śrotre hṛdayam ārabhya. It is thus shown here that performing such ācamana is an item of all Vedic rituals.