उत्तरीयम् उपवीतञ्च

यज्ञोपवितम् प्रधानतया न सूत्रम्

उत्तरीयस्यैव निवीतोपवीतादिधर्माः

• nivIta, upavIta etc.. apply to uttarIya, not a thread.
• Jaiminīya-nyaya-māla-vistāra, iii. 4. 1.अत्र प्रतीयमानं निवीतादिकं वासोविषयं, न त्रिवृत्-सूत्र-विषयम्। “अजिनं वासो वा दक्षिणत उपवीय” (Taitt. Ara. ii. 1) इत्यनेन सदृशत्वात्। वस्त्रस्य च निवीतं सौकर्याय प्राप्तम्। Taitt. Ara. ii. 1 is the only passage in the Vedic works which fully describes the positions foret &c., and it expressly mentions वास and अजिन, but not सूत्र.

प्राचीनोपनयनकर्मसु सूत्रस्याभावो

• yajnopavīta originally, meant a piece of cloth.
  • According to the ritual given in the Sūtras, no sacred thread is mentioned in the description of the ceremony of Upanayana.
  • We have still retained a memory of this old practice in the performance of obsequies and at the time of performing sacrifices, when a piece of cloth is worn in addition to the sacred thread.
• It was optionally replaced by a thread in some sUtra traditions in the absence of a cloth
  • देवलो वदति - तृतीयम् उत्तरीयाय वस्त्राभावे तद् इष्यते।
  • गोभिलः - “यज्ञोपवीतं कुरुते सूत्रं वस्त्रं वापि वा कुशरज्जुम् एव”।
• In the times of the smriti writers, it came to be symbolically represented by the sacred thread, thrice twisted and thrice folded.
• The investiture with the thread is looked upon at present as the principal part of that ceremony.

निवीतम्

निवीतं नाम किम्?

• nivIta means tying around waist, not garland around neck - in the primary case where cloth rather than a thread is used.
• Kumārila Bhaṭṭa’s Tantra Vārtika (iii. 4. 2.) “निवीतं केचिद् गल-वेणिका-बन्धं स्मरन्ति । केचित् पुनः परिकर-बन्धम्। तत्र गलवेणिकाबन्धो युद्धाद् अन्यत्र न प्राप्नोति । परिकर-बन्धस्तु सर्व-कर्मस्व् अव्यग्रताकरत्वात् प्राप्त इति।”

यज्ञोपवीतस्य कटौ बन्धनम्

• yajJNopavIta was once tied around the waist. (acked in smRtis)
• Madhava in his commentary on the Parāśara Smr̥ti quotes:
  • कात्यायनः - पृष्ठवंशे च नाभ्याञ्च यद् धृतं विन्दते कटिम्। तद् धार्यम् उपवीतं स्यान् नातिलम्बं न चोच्छ्रितम्॥
  • देवलः - स्तनाद् ऊर्ध्वम् अधो नाभेः नैव धार्यं कदाचन ।
• The author of the स्मृत्यर्थसार does, however, clearly state that there are two ways of wearing the thread, first over the shoulder as described in the Taitt, Ara, ii, 1; and ( यद् वा in the original) second as given in the above texts of Kātyāyana and Devala. This view has also been adopted by the author of the संस्कारकौस्तुभ .
• Ānandagiri and Govindananda in their commentaries on Shankara’s Bhashya on the Brahmasūtras (iii. 4. 19.), give the same explanation.

कदा स्यान् निवीतस्थितिः?

• kanchi paraAchArya says nivIta (or the garland) needs to be followed during laukika-samaya. Ravi observed a vaidika doing this when he travelled.
• उपवीतं सूत्रं लम्बं खलु कार्यादिसमये बहुदा बाधतेतराम् इति स्वानुभूतिर्, येन कदाचिद् क्रस्वीकृत्य रक्षामि स्म, एकं वृत्तं गले कृत्वा वा धरामि स्म।