﻿^60 ox THE RELIGIOUS CERKMOXTES 



me perfect in my own person, and in the person* 

 of all who are allied to me ; may I live long in thy 

 sij^ht ; long may I live in thy siglit." 5. " Salnta- 

 tion to thee [O fire !] M'ho dost seize oblations, to 

 thee wlio dost shine, to thee who dost scintillate; 

 may thy flames burn oar foes ; mayst thou the purifier 

 be auspicious unto us." 6. " Salutation to thee, 

 manifested in lightning ; salutation to thee, mani- 

 fested in thunder; salutation to thee,- O God ! for 

 thou dost endeavour to bestow celestial bliss." 

 7. " Since thou dost seek to awe the wicked [only], 

 make us fearless ; grant happiness to our progeny, 

 and courage to our cattle." 8. " M^iy water and 

 herbs be friendly to us ; may they be inimical to him 

 who hates us, and v/hom we hate." 9. " May we 

 see ao hundred years that pure eye which rises from 

 the east, and benefits the Gods ; may v»e live a hun- 

 dred years ; may we speak a hundred years ; may we 

 be free from distress a hundred years, and ai>-ain a 

 hundred years." After another prayei-, the priest 

 again meditates the gayatr'i^ and thus concludes the 

 third consecration. He then hallows the fourth ves- 

 sel of water in a similar manner, with a repetition of 

 the prayer " May the earth be our comfort, vxc." 

 and with some others, which must be here omitted 

 for the reason before-mentioned *. 



Though it be not positively enjoined, it is cus- 

 tomary, immediately after this lustraticftV, to give 

 away a vessel of tUa, and also a cow, for the sake of 

 securing the passage of the deceased over the Vaita- 

 rani, or river of hell ; whence the cow so given is 

 called Vaitaran'i-d''henu. Afterwards a bed with its 



furniture 



* At most religious ceremonies, and especially at the deprecatory 

 rites, the prayers directed in the several Fe'dasy and in the various 

 Suc'has of them, differ much. Those which are tranflated in the 

 present and former essays, are most!/ taken from the Yajitr^veda^ 

 and may be ufcd by any Brahmen^ instead of the prayers diredled in 

 the particular Veda^ by which he should regularly be guided. The 

 subject of lustrations is curious ; they are performed with various ce- 

 temonies, to avert calamities, or to obviate disappointments. Should 

 other engagements permit it, this topic will be treated in a future essay. 



