PEDALINEJiJ. 27 



Hindus liope to obtain delivery from sin, poverty, and otlier 

 evils, and secure a place in Indra's heaven. These acts are, 

 tilodvarth " batliino: in water containing the seeds" ; tUasnayi, 



"anointing the body with the pounded seeds'^; tjlahomi, ''making 

 a burnt off ering of the seeds" ; tilapmda, ''offering the seeds to 

 thedead''; tilahhnj, ''eating the seeds*'; and tilmapiy ^'throwing 

 out the seeds/^ Water and Sesamum seeds are offered to the 

 Manes of the deceased. In the first act of Sakuntala this prac- 

 tice (called Til-anjU) is alluded to by the anchorite's daughter 

 in love with King Dushyanta, when she tells her companions 

 that if they do not give their assistance, they will soon have to 

 offer her water and Sesamum seeds. [De Guhernatis.) In 

 proverbial language a grain of Sesamum signifies the least quan- 

 tity of anything — Til ckor so hajjar chor, *'who steals a grain 

 will steal a sack" j Til til ka hisab, ^'to exact the uttermost 

 farthing/' 



A worthless person is compared to wild Sesamum { Jartila, 

 Sans.) which yields no oil — In tilon men tel nakin, "there is no 

 good in him." Dutt remarks: — " The word Taila, the Sanskrit 

 for oil, is derived from Tila ; it woxild therefore seem that Sesa- 

 mum oil was one of the first, if not the first oil manufactured 



r 



from oil-seeds by the ancient Hindus. The Bhavaprakasa 

 describes three varieties of Til seeds, namely, black, white, and 

 red. Of these the black is regarded as the best suited for 

 medicinal use ; it yields also the largest quantity of oil. White 

 Til is of intermediate quality. Til of red or other colours is said 

 to be inferior and unfit for medicinal use. Sesamum seeds are 

 used as an article of diet, being made into confectionery with 

 sugar or ground into meal. Sesamum oil forms the basis of most 

 of the fragrant or scented oils used by the natives for inunction 

 before bathing, and of the medicated oils prepared with various 

 vegetable drugs. It is preferred for these purposes from the 

 circumstance of its being little liable to turn rancid or thick, and 

 from its possessing no strong taste or odour of its own. Sesa- 

 mum seeds are considered emollient, nourishing, tonic, diuretic, 

 and lactagogue. They are said to be especially serviceable m 

 piks, by regulating the bowels and removing constipation. A 



