अथ य इच्छेत्पुत्रो मे पण्डितो विगीतः समितिंगमः शुश्रूषितां वाचं भाषिता जायेत, सर्वान्वेदाननुब्रुवीत, सर्वमायुरियादिति, मांसौदनं पाचयित्वा सर्पिष्मन्तमश्नीयाताम्; ईश्वरौ जनयितवै—अउक्शेण वार्षभेण वा ॥ १८ ॥
atha ya icchetputro me paṇḍito vigītaḥ samitiṃgamaḥ śuśrūṣitāṃ vācaṃ bhāṣitā jāyeta, sarvānvedānanubruvīta, sarvamāyuriyāditi, māṃsaudanaṃ pācayitvā sarpiṣmantamaśnīyātām; īśvarau janayitavai—aukśeṇa vārṣabheṇa vā || 18 ||
18. He who wishes that a son should be born to him who would be a reputed scholar, frequenting the assemblies and speaking delightful words, would study all the Vedas and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked with the meat of a vigorous bull or one more advanced in years, and he and his wife should eat it with clarified butter. Then they would be able to produce such a son.
‘Vigīta (reputed) literally means ‘variously praised.’ Frequenting the assemblies, i.e. eloquent for scholarship has been separately mentioned. Delightful, lit. pleasant to hear, i.e. words that are chaste and pregnant with meaning. Rice cooked together with meat. The meat is restricted to that of a vigorous bull, able to breed, or one more advanced in years.