1870.] On the Funeral Ceremonies of the ancient Hindus. 243 



right hand of the dead, to the Gdrhapatya fire, with a spoon over- 

 flowingly full of clarified butter. Bharadvaja prefers the Ahavaniya 

 fire, and is silent as to whether the offering should be fourfold or 

 not. As'valayana recommends the rite to be performed at. a 

 subsequent stage of the funeral. All three take it for granted 

 that death has happened within the house, if not near the place 

 where the sacrificial fires are kept, and none has anything to say 

 regarding the taking of the dying to the river-side, or of the cere- 

 mony of immersing the lower half of the body in water at the 

 moment of death, (antarjali) which forms so offensive a part of the 

 modern ceremonial in Bengal, and which has been, by a flourish 

 of incisive rhetoric and at a considerable sacrifice of truth, called 

 " ghat murder." Looking to this negative evidence against it, to its 

 total absence in other parts of India, and to the oldest authorities 

 on the subject being the most recent of the Puranas, it may be 

 fairly concluded that it is of modern origin. None of the authori- 

 ties usually quoted, enjoin it as a positive duty, and it has come into 

 general practice probably since the date of Raghunandana and his 

 contemporary Smritikaras of the 16th century.* 

 * The authorities usually quoted are the following : — 



^fifcm ^<o i ^ipT^f htstct: STwr«r ^reraTfir ^pt^ i ^n? nmT.^ 



" I shall relate to you, O handsome-faeed, the merit of giving up life in the 

 Ganges. I give him (who does so) my own rank, and pour in his ears the 

 mantra of the Great Brahma." Skanda Purdna, quoted in the Suddhi tattva. 



*ivmi ^tt\ TrapTWrrereTTf nmtfj infq ^f^^rf j wm tftsra^rraifa* 



" He who fasting dies with half his body immersed in the water of the Jah- 

 navi (Ganges), is never born again, and attains equality with Brahma." Agni 

 Pv/rdna, quoted in the Prdyaschitta tattva. 



" The embodied who dies with its body up to the navel in water, attains the 

 fruit of all the sacred waters, tirthas. There is no doubt about it." Skanda 

 Purdna. 



f^m^R^TT: i Tiifrqf (Wcrf ^f W mm >r fq^jw xvff • W I 



" After giving up the body in the Ganges there is no second birth." Kriyd- 

 yogasdra. 



" Even the crime of Brahmanicide may be expiated by giving up the body iu 

 the Ganges." Kriydgogasdra. 



