262 On the Funeral Ceremonies of the ancient Hindm. [No. i, 



changed to suratndh " well ornamented" without in any way altering 

 the construction. The verb is drohantu " let ascend" or " proceed," 

 and agrees with the nominative janayah " wives." The dative is 

 jonim " to house" in the singular, the house of the chief mourner, 

 where they are to partake of a feast, and not that of the females. 

 The last word agre, tl first or foremost" is an adverb qualifying the 

 verb drohantu. 



The words dnjanena sarpishd have confounded all the European 

 translators. Wilson has rendered them into " unguents and 

 butter," and Max Midler into " oel und butter." One has drop! 

 the word dnjanena and used only " butter ;" he is particular in re- 

 minding his readers that he has followed Sayana, but his assurance 

 must be received with some reservation, for the scholiast neithor 

 omits the first word nor is remiss in explaining it ; his words are 

 anjana-sddhanena sarpishd " with butter for making collyrium" or 

 anjanahetund sarpishd " with butter the source of collyrium," that 

 is, as I have rendered, " with collyrious butter," or collyrium made 

 of butter, the other element of the unguent being, as statedl 

 in a subsequent mantra, a mineral of the name of traikakudd 

 which I guess to be sulphuret of antimony or surma. The object 

 of the mantra is to prohibit the use of the ordinary collyrium, which 

 is differently made. The usual practice to this day is to smear a 

 little butter or oil in the bowl of a spoon, and to hold it over a 

 lamp, so that a quantity of lamp-black may be deposited on it, and 

 when the two are mixed together with the fingers, they constitute 

 the collyrium. The sulphuret is still used in the North-West 

 Provinces. 



The second mantra to which I wish to draw the attention of the 

 reader is the one with which a brother, student, or servant of 

 the deceased is to remove the widow from the pyre ; inasmuch 

 as it clearly shows that the widow at the time was not burnt, but 

 taken to abide in the land of the living, and to marry if she liked. 

 That the removal was positive and final, and not nominal, is evi- 

 dent from the rules of the Sutrakaras. Baudhayana says, il He 

 who approaches her should, holding her by the left hand, take her 

 up," tan pratigatah savye pdndvabhipadyotthdpayati. This is done 

 after obtaining the permission of the deceased by a formal mantra, 



