248 On the Funeral Ceremonies of the ancient Hindus. [No. 4, 



along with, the wife. They were probably performed without the 

 aid of any mantra, for the Aranyaka does not allude to them. The 

 trench, according to As'valayana, should be twelve fingers deep, 

 five spans* wide, and as long as the corpse with its hands uplifted. 

 The corpse, in the opinion of some, should be disembowelled, and 

 the cavity filled with ghi. When placed on the pyre, it should 

 have in its hands, if a Brahman, a bit of gold, if a Kshatriya a 

 bow, and if a Vaisya, a jewel. The wife should lie down on the 

 left side of the corpse according to Baudhayana and Sayan a. As'- 

 valayana recommends that she should be placed near the head on 

 the north side. The chief mourner, or he who is to set fire to the 

 pyre, should then address the dead saying, " mortal, this woman, 

 (your wife), wishing to be joined* to you in a future world, (lit. to 

 obtain the Patiloka, or the region of husbands) is lying by thy 

 corpse ; she has always observed the duties of a faithful wife ; grant 

 her your permission to abide in this world, and relinquish your 

 wealth to your descendants."! A younger brother of the dead, or 

 a disciple, or a servant, should then proceed to the pyre, hold the 

 left hand of the woman, and ask her to come away, saying, " Rise up, 

 woman, thou liest by the side of the lifeless ; come to the world 

 of the living, away from thy husband, and become the wife of him 

 who holds thy hand and is willing to marry thee."J In a subse- 

 quent mantra, she is to be asked to bring away the bit of gold above 

 alluded to, from the hand of the corpse. The words for the pur- 

 pose are — " For the promotion of thy wealth, and glory as a Brah- 

 man woman, and beauty and power, take the gold from the hand 



* Aratni extending from the thumb to the tip of the index finger. 



f "rs "Tift "crfww^f wrTT fj-mjrr ^ wt wl sr w i fW tow*t- 



-^^^wf^^fW-R-W II 



'qHTs'. 'ifTrf', 'wfcner' srnira, '-^ftrg-*-^' ^iTfwTWPr tow ^rsrfe ii 



The Rig Vedic reading of this verse will be noticed further on. 



