114 Bajendralala Mitra — On Human Sacrifices in Ancient India. [No. I, 



in which, the times when, and the places where, the rite should be celebrated • 

 but as the whole of the chapter in which the details occur, has been already 

 published,* I shall confine myself here to a short extract from another 

 chapter to give an idea of the ceremony connected with the Durga Puja. 



After describing the ritual of the Durga Puja, that Purana conti- 

 nues — " Next should be performed such sacrifice as is gratifying to the Devi. 

 The elephant-headed (Ganesa) should be gratified with sweetmeats ; Hari 

 with clarified butter, (Habis, the word may be rendered into rice, fruits 

 &c.) ; the all-destroying Hara, with the threefold entertainment, (of dan- 

 cing, singing and music) ; but the worshipper should always gratify Chandi- 

 ka with animal sacrifice. Birds, tortoises, crocodiles, hogs, goats, buffa- 

 loes, guanos, porcupines, and the nine kinds of deer, yaks, black antelopes, 

 crows, lions, fishes, the blood of one's own body, and camels are the sacrificial 

 animals. In the absence of these sometimes horses and elephants. Goats 

 sarabha, (a young elephant, or a fabulous animal with eight legs,) and 

 human beings in the order in which they are named, are respectively 

 called Bali, (sacrifice) Mahabali, (the great sacrifice,) and Atibali (highest 

 sacrifice). Having placed the victim before the goddess, the worshipper 

 should adore her by offering flowers, sandal paste, and bark, frequently repeat- 

 ing the mantra appropriate for sacrifice. Then, facing the north and placing 

 the victim so as to face the East, he should look backward and repeat this man- 

 tra : ' O man, through my good fortune thou hast appeared as a victim ; 

 therefore I salute thee ; thou multiform, and of the form of a victim. Thou, by 

 gratifying Chandika destroyeth all evil incidents to the giver. Thou, a victim, 

 who appeareth as a sacrifice meet for the Vaishnavi, havest my salutations. 

 Victims were created by the self -born himself for sacrificial rites; I shall slaugh- 

 ter thee to-day, and slaughter at a sacrifice is no murder.' — Then meditating 

 on that human-formed victim a flower should be thrown on the top of its 

 head with the mantra ' Om, Ain, Hrin, Srin' . Then, thinking of one's own 

 wishes, and referring to the goddess, water should be sprinkled on the victim. 

 Thereafter, the sword should be consecrated with the mantra, ' O sword, thou 

 art the tongue of Chandika, and bestower of the region of the gods, Om, 

 Ain, Hrin, Srin. Black, and holding the trident, (thou art) like the 

 last dreadful night of creation • born fierce, of bloody eyes and mouth, wear- 



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* Blacquire, Asiatic Researches, vol. V. pp. 371 ff. 



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