This book of Asvalayana, the pupil of Saunaka, pertains to the Vedic Samskaras that are obligatory for man's purification. The elaborate ritual and the manner it is performed indicate the extent to which the life of a Vedic Aryan was involved in ceremonial acts. The book is arranged into four chapters : Ch. I consists of 24 sections. It enjoins rites obligatory for the householder, the period and tenure of rites such as Initiation, Tonsure, Marriage etc. It elaborates on the establishment of domestic fire, on the offering of oblations on the new and full moon days, on the ritual of animals and Caitya sacrifices. It dwells upon securing the conception of a male child or preventing disturbances likely to endanger the embryo. It deals with the ceremonies of parting the hair, the birth of a child, his nomenclature, his fisrt partaking of the solid food or the Tonsure of his head. Ch. II is arranged into 10 sections and is primarily concerned with the rites of the full moon day in the months of 6ravana, Asvayuj, Margasirsa and the Astaka rites on the eighth days of the four dark fortnights of Hemanta and Sisira seasons. It describes the anvastakya ceremony following the astakas, the ceremony of mounting'a chariot or building a house. Ch. III is divided into 12 sections. It deals with miscellaneous topics, such as the fire sacrifices, the recitation of Vedic texts, satiating the deities and sages, the rite by which the annual course of study opens and the ceremony of attaining to one's desires. Ch. IV contains 9 sections and deals with the funeral rites of the deceased person. CONTENTS: Foreword; Preface; Introduction; Chap. I : 1. Sacrifices for the Householder 2. Sacrifices' and Oblations 3. Details of Sacrifice 4. Marrigeable Age 5. Selection of Bride. Examination of the Family etc. 6. Marriage Ceremony 7. Local Customs and General Practice 8. Departure of Marriage Party 9. Establishment of Domestic Fire 10. Oblations of Cooked Food on the New and Full Moon Days 11. Animal Sacrifice 12. Caitya Offerings (through a leaf messenger) 13. Rites for Seeking the Conception of a Child Rites for Seeking the Male Issue Rites for Protecting the Embryo 14. Rite of Parting the Hair 15. Birth ceremonies 16. Feeding the Child with the Solid Food 17. Tonsure Ceremony 18. The Ceremony of Shaving the Beard 19-22. Initiation 23. Selection of Priests 24. Offerings of Honey-mixture Chap. II : 1. Sravana Ceremony 2. Asvayuji Ceremony 3. Rite of Redescent 4. Rite of Astaka 5. The Ceremony Following the Astakas 6. Mounting the Chariot 7-8. Examination of the Ground Where House is to be Built 9. Laying-in of the Middle-post 10. Entering the House Chap. III : 1. Five Sacrifices 2-3. Rules for Reciting the Vedic Texts 4. Satiation of Deities, Sages and Manes 6. Opening the Annual Course of Study 6. Sacrifices for the Attainment of Wishes 7. Twilight Worship 8-10. The End of Studentship 11. Return Home. Warding off Danger 12. Consecration of Royal Armour on the Eve of War Chap. IV : 1. Resort to the Forest for Curing Disease Return Home After Curt : Digging the Grave 2. Funeral Procession 3-4. Cremation and Days of Mourning 5. Gathering Bones 6. Pacificatory Rites for the Living 7. Offerings to the Dead 8. Gifts to the Brahmanas in the Pinda-sacrifice to the Manes 9. Spit-Ox Sacrifice for Propitiating Rudra Errata