2 34 The Honey-Makers 



One of the rights of the king is to collect as taxes from 

 his subjects a sixth part of the honey they gather. 



And whosoever steals honey shall pay three times its 

 value. 



The souls of men upon death transmigrate into the 

 bodies of animals and very frequently into bees — if the 

 men were wise and good enough to deserve such an 

 honor. 



We learn that upon his death, "One who has stolen 

 honey becomes a gadfly." 



A householder in passing honey must turn his right side 

 towards it, the same as when passing a deity. 



The householder must not eat all of the food set before 

 him, " Unless it consist of sour milk, or honey, or clarified 

 butter, or milk, or ground barley, or meat, or sweetmeats," 

 these evidently being considered the necessaries of life. 



By giving clarified butter, honey or oil, the pious man 

 becomes exempt from disease. 



While he who would be beautiful may become so by help 

 of honey. 



" He who feeds on the Revati day of every month three 

 Brahmanas with rice boiled in milk with sugar and mixed 

 with honey and clarified butter, in order to please the god- 

 dess Revati, obtains beauty." 



It is a very different form of religion, as we see, that 

 the bees are called upon to witness in these later days. 

 The stately march of the clouds and the heavenly phe- 

 nomena which form the imagery of the " Vedas," are re- 

 placed by earthly images. 



In the " Institutes of Vishnu " we read the following de- 

 scription of the goddess of the Eartli r — 



" Her eyes were similar to the leaves of the blue lotus 

 (of which the bow of Kima, the god of love, is made) ; 

 her face was radiant like the moon in the autumn season ; 



