278 On the Marriage Rites and Usages (Jung, 
durbars. These disputes would indeed be endless but for the inter- 
ference of the superior party, who may always command or obtain the 
silence of the priests by a well-timed fee, or the promise of a grant 
of land. All opposition then ceases ; difficulties and scruples founded 
upon texts from the sacred writings vanish, as soon as the land of 
promise appears in sight : a little ingenuity and a considerable portion 
of hardihood is all that is required; for with the aid of these two 
auxiliaries the very Shastras which at first appeared to condemn the 
arrangement may be clearly shown to favour it. There is an especial 
advantage in this sort of arrangement to the soothsaying Brahmans. 
Should the Mohrat prove a fortunate one, they take good care to 
attribute ail the happy results following it to the skill with which it was 
arranged by them, but if on the other hand any untoward events 
should happen; if for instance the bride should prove barren or pro- 
lific only in female* children, they represent that they had from the 
first had a divine presentiment of the evil, but yielding to the opinion 
attempted by the anger of the Prince had consented to fix the 
Mohrat agreeably to his wishes. 
As before stated, many years elapse between the act of betrothal and 
the celebration of the marriage rites. It is however expedient that 
the number of years thus intervening should constitute an uneven sum, 
as 3, 5, 7, not 2, 4, 6, which would be deemed unlucky. A similar be- 
lief in the virtue of uneven numbers has obtained amongst many na- 
tions from the earliest ages. It is especially laid down in the astro- 
logical books of the Hindus. Thus in the Mohrat-Chintaman, (a 
book abounding in the most extraordinary absurdities,) it is written. 
that it is always fortunate to meet the black antelope on the right- 
hand side, and if the number of antelopes be odd, it is even fortunate 
to meet them on the left side. A bad omen occurring to a person 
starting on a journey is removed by eleven inspirations, and twenty-five 
steps with the right foot should then be taken. Perhaps this belief may 
have given rise to the Hindi Triad, and triliteral monosyllable for 
the three worlds—earth, sky, and heaven. The number three being 
* There is a curious passage in the Koran, illustrative of the feeling which pre- 
vailed among the Pagan Arabs on the subject of female offspring : see SALE’s 
Koran, c. 16. ‘*‘ And when any of them is told the news of the birth of a female, 
his face becometh black, and he is deeply afflicted ; he hideth himself from the 
people, because of the ill tidings which have been told him, considering with himself 
whether he shall keep it with disgrace, or whether he shall bury it in the dust.” 
The feeling led, in Arabia as in India, to the crime of infanticide. It was formerly 
practised by many of the Rajputs and by the J4ts. I wish I could persuade my 
self that it has ceased. 
