Now

The Nineteenth Book Kaṇḍa

I bow to the Elephant-faced one Ganesha, whom the wise, including the Lords of Speech, worship at the beginning of every undertaking, and by bowing to whom they accomplish their goals. I adore that Lord of the pilgrimage of knowledge Vidyātīrtha, whose breath is the Vedas, and who created the entire universe from the Vedas.

The nineteenth book consists of seven sections anuvāka. In the first section, there are ten hymns. There, the first hymn, "May they flow together" Saṃ saṃ sravantu, is applied for all rites of prosperity, for the eating of rice mixed with grains consecrated by sprinkling, and for the eating of a porridge of barley and flour mixed with curds and honey. It is codified: "With 'May they flow together,' one fetches water from the navigable rivers, to be worshipped everywhere. He eats the cooked mixed grains in it" (Kaushika Sūtra 19.4.5), and so on. Mixed grains are those like rice. According to the definition rule: "Rice, barley, wheat, upavāka a type of grain, sesame, priyaṅgu a type of millet, and śyāmāka a type of wild millet are mixed grains" (Kaushika Sūtra 8.20).

This hymn is also used in the ritual for obtaining prosperity Lakshmī-karaṇa. It is codified: "For one who desires prosperity, one fetches rice, ghee, and milk, and eats milk-rice" (Kaushika Sūtra 19.7), and so on.

Likewise, in the peace ritual śānti, which is part of the Great Peace mahāśānti for immortality and the like, one should consecrate with this hymn the water collected from rivers and lakes for the peace-water śāntyudaka. It is stated in the Peace Ritual Śāntikalpa:

"We will declare the Great Peace, which functions as a system, in the prescribed manner. It is the immortal, universal remedy for all other peace rituals. One should fetch pure water from rivers or lakes. The learned one should then consecrate it with 'May they flow together'" (Śāntikalpa 20.1.2).

In the first book, the four-verse hymn "May the rivers flow together" (Atharvaveda 1.15) is enumerated. Because of the distinct references to wealth in the verses "May all cattle stand here in this place, and whatever wealth there is" and "With those, we cause the increase of all my wealth" (Atharvaveda 1.15.2,3), it is applied in all rites of prosperity and for obtaining prosperity. Here, too, due to the references in "May they increase this sacrifice, these words" and "Form by form, age by age" (2.3), it is applied in all rites of prosperity...