Archéologie d'un mantra védique

The Sūtras display that the first mantra of the Yajurveda, iṣé tvorjé tvā, must be recited at the beginning of the darśapūrṇamāsa, when the priest selects and cuts off a branch intended for separating the calves from their mothers. The examination of the most archaic commentaries in prose, inserted in the collections of the Black Yajurveda shows nonetheless that this is a secondary development. Originally, the mantra was not regarding the branch, but rather the attribution to the sacrificer who benefits from the ritual exchange between men and the gods that intervene at daybreak.