With reverence and care, the ritual began. As the razor, sharp and gleaming, was drawn across hair and beard, a gentle wish was spoken: may the face shine with beauty from this act, and may no harm or loss of life come from it. Blessings were invoked for strength and health—may rice and barley, robust and full of vigor, be auspicious, driving away disease and shielding from harm. Every morsel of food, every drop of drink—be it grain, milk from cattle, or anything consumed or left untouched—was sanctified. All nourishment was made free from poison, ensuring the well-being of the one at the center of the rite. Day and night, the circle of protection was drawn, a shield against enemies and those who wished harm. Long life was bestowed: a hundred years, a thousand, even through two, three, four ages—may Indra, Agni, and all the gods willingly grant this span, without opposition. The protection extended through all seasons—autumn, winter, spring, and summer—so that each year would be pleasant, and the plants would flourish. Yet, the shadow of death hovered. Death, lord of both two-legged and four-legged beings, was acknowledged. But from that herdsman of all lives, the one at the center was lifted up—there was no need for fear. Assurances were given: unharmed, you will not die; do not be afraid. In the place created by this sacred act, none die nor descend to darkness; all live there—the white, the horse, the man, the beast—where the band for life is tied. Further protection was invoked: from peers, from sorcery, from those with kin, may you be guarded. Let immortality and undying breath be yours; may your vital force never leave your body. Let a hundred forms of death and obstacles pass by, released by the gods and the fire of Vaiśvānara. There stood a healing presence: the very body of Agni—powerful, destroyer of demons and enemies, dispelling disease, known as Pūtu-dru, the remedy. With devotion, Agni was approached—the powerful friend, swift and demon-slaying, established for protection. Kindled with offerings, Agni was asked to guard by day and night from harm. Jātavedas, the all-knowing fire, was called upon with his fangless flame to touch the sorcerers, seize evil spirits with his tongue, devour the flesh-eaters, and cast them into the rainless wastes. Agni was urged to set his fierce jaws above and below, to move through the sky with roaring might and strike down the sorcerers. Let his fierce flame break the skin of the sorcerer, cut apart his limbs, and scatter the flesh-eater. Wherever the sorcerer stood or moved, even flying in the sky, Agni was asked to strike him down with his weapon. With arrows of sacrifice, words as darts, and stones as missiles, Agni was to pierce their hearts and break their arms. Jātavedas was called to drive away those who had arisen and those yet to rise, with his flames. Agni was to destroy the shining ones first, and let the devourers devour each other. He was asked to reveal the sorcerer, seize him with flame, and blind him to the sight of men. Agni, with sharp sight, was to protect the sacrifice, lead it forward for good, and destroy the demons with his fierce brilliance. He was to ensure that the sorcerers could not harm him, the seer. Agni was asked to look among the people for the demon, cut off his foremost limbs, sever his backs, and root out the sorcerer in three parts. The sorcerer, who approaches the path three times and harms with falsehood, was to be bound by Jātavedas, flashing with flame, before those who praised him. Any curse uttered, any words of rebellion, any arrow of anger or mind—Agni was to pierce the sorcerers in their hearts with these. Agni was asked to drive away the sorcerers with his heat, the demons with his strength, the evil spirits with his flame, and the greedy shining ones. The gods were invoked to drive away the wicked, return curses upon them, and strike their vital parts, so that the sorcerer would depart from all paths. Whoever stained himself with human, horse, or cattle flesh, or brought the milk of the cow for evil, was to have his head cut off by Agni’s strength. Let the sorcerers carry away the poison, let the wicked be cut off for Aditi, let Savitṛ remove them, and let the share of the herbs prevail elsewhere. The yearly milk of the tawny cow was protected, so that the flesh-eating fiend, the man-seer, would not consume it. Agni was to strike the glutton with his returning flame at the vital spot, preserving the sweet essence. Agni, ever the destroyer of fiends, was undefeated in battle by demons. He was to burn up the flesh-eaters and their followers, letting no divine weapon miss its mark. Rising from below, guarding behind and before, Agni’s ageless, sharp flames were to burn the evil-wisher and the one seeking harm. Agni was called to guard from all directions—behind, before, below, and above—with wisdom and friendship, ageless among mortals, immortal among the aging. He was asked to set his vision in the bellowing and split-hoofed, to see the fiends, and with Atharvan’s light and divine radiance, cast down the false and unknowing. Around Agni, the wise and mighty, protection was placed. Day by day, with steadfast strength, he was the slayer of the breaker and the destroyer. With poison for the breaker, Agni was to strike down the demons, burning them with his sharp flames and grasping tongues. With his vast light, Agni made all things manifest, shining forth in greatness, withstanding the evil devices of the wicked, and casting down the demons with his horns. Those ageless horns, sharp and sanctified by prayer, were to strike down the hostile, the devourer, the fiend who approached, casting them down with returning flame. Agni, pure and radiant, drove away the demons, the immortal one with bright flames, ever worthy of praise. Then, Indra and Soma were invoked. Mighty ones who increase the darkness, they were asked to scorch, drive away, and subdue the demon. They were to hear the false one, cast him down, slay, drive away, and freeze the devourer. Indra and Soma were called to scorch the evil-wisher who came fiercely, like a wolf to the fire. Hatred was to be placed against the hater, the flesh-eater, the one with dreadful eyes, the enemy of prayer, so that the powerless fiend would be subdued and driven away. Thus, through sacred act, invocation, and the power of the gods, protection, health, and long life were woven around the one at the heart of the rite, and all evil was cast out and destroyed.