^ 





398 Kajendralala Mitra — An Imperial Assemblage at Delhi. 



during all his life, which may last for an infinitely long time, that he might 

 be the sole king of the earth up to its shores bordering on the ocean ; such 

 a priest should inaugurate the Kshatriya with Indra's great inauguration 

 ceremony. ' ' * Such a blessing, however was not easily granted. Before grant - 

 ing it, the priest was required to demand from the king the following in the 

 form of an oath :" Whatever pious works thou mightest have done during the 

 time which may elapse from the day of thy birth to the day of thy death, all 

 these together with thy position, thy good deeds, thy life, thy children, I 

 would wrest from thee shouldst thou do me any harm."f 



The utensils required for the ceremony were very much the same as 

 noticed before, but the fluid for the bathing instead of including eighteen 

 kinds of water and other substances, comprised only four kinds of fruit 

 powdered, curds, honey, clarified butter and rain-water fallen during sun- 

 shine, all mixed in a bucket of Udumbara wood. The mixture was too 

 repulsive to be poured over the head, and so it was used only for sprinkling 

 over the person of the king. The drinking of the Soma beer and spirituous 

 liquor then followed, for the latter of which the following mantras are given : 

 " Of what juice well-prepared beverage Indra drank with his associates, just 

 the same, viz, king Soma, I drink here with my mind being devoted to him." 

 " To thee who growest like a bullock (Indra) by drinking Soma, I send off 

 (the Soma juice) which was squeezed to drink it ; may it satiate thee and 

 make thee well drunk. "J 



The effect of the drinking is thus described by the author of the Brah- 

 mana : " The drinking of spirituous liquor, or Soma, or the enjoyment 

 of some other exquisite food, affects the body of the Kshatriya who is 

 inaugurated by means of Indra's great inauguration ceremony, just as 

 pleasantly and agreeably till it falls down, as the son feels such an excess 

 of joy when embracing his father, or the wife when embracing her husband, 

 as to lose all self-command. "§ 



It is no where stated whether the whole or only a part of the cere- 

 monies above described was observed by Yudhishthira. Each school of 

 Vedic priests having had their own separate system of ritual, it is to be 

 presumed that Yudhishthira must have followed one of them, and conse- 

 quently omitted some details. It is not known to which school his family 

 priest Dhaumya belonged, but the school of the client must have been the 

 same as that of the priest. 



* Haug's Translation, p. 519. f Loc. cit. t Ibid., p. 522. § Ibid., p. 523. 



