Apri (') in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

means "conciliation, propitiation" and refers to special

invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb ''invocare'' "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of: *Supplication, prayer or spell. *A form of possession. *Command or conjuration. *Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms are ...

s spoken previous to the offering of

oblation Oblation, meaning "the act of offering; an instance of offering" and by extension "the thing offered" (Late Latin ''oblatio'', from ''offerre'', ''oblatum'', to offer), is a term used, particularly in ecclesiastical use, for a solemn offering, s ...

s in an

animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spr ...

. Some scholars have proposed however, that these hymns were originally meant for a family ritual centered around

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

, which was then later connected to the animal sacrifice.

Aprisuktas

Of the ten Aprisuktas mentioned in Gargya Narayana's commentary, I.13 and I.142 both invoke the and manifestations of Agni, I.188, III.4, IX.5 and X.110 invoke only the manifestation and II.3, V.5, VII.2 and X.70 invoke only the manifestation.

References

*''{{IAST, āprī'' in:

Monier-Williams Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially S ...

''A Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. *R. Fick, "Gotra" in: ed. Hastings, ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics'' vol. 6, 1999
p. 355
*Samir Nath, "Gotra-system" in: ''Dictionary Of Vedanta'', 2002
p. 153
Rigveda Rigvedic deities Fire in Hindu worship Gotras