1884 .] 
of Religion in the Himalaya. 
91 
which all the deities are invoked that the aspersion may be frnctnons 
and their protection be extended to all. The tilalca of sandal is then 
given by the celebrant to the men of the assembly with the man¬ 
tra^ :—“ Om, may it be well with thee, be then fortunate ; may Maha- 
lakshmi be pleased with thee ; may the gods always protect thee ; may 
good fortune be always with thee everywhere ; may evil planets, sins, 
impurities and causes of quarrel seeing the mark on thy forehead be 
powerless to harm thee.” The rice is applied with the mantra :—‘ Om 
may this rice protect thee.’ The tilalca is given to women merely as an 
ornament without any mantra, but the rice is applied with the mantra 
used for men. The mantra-j9a^7z.u follows, of which twenty-one verses 
are for the men and three for the women whose husbands are alive at the 
time ; when finished, flowers are distributed to all present. After this 
the ceremony of fastening on the bracelet (jalcshabandliana) takes place 
as described, and the bhuyast-dana with its gifts in which all the dancers 
and the musicians share. The worship of the planets concludes as usual 
with a feast to Brahmans. 
Ghurd-Jcaraiia. —The rite known as churd-lcarana or shaving^ of the 
head is also included amongst those preparatory to the assumption 
of the sacrificial thread. The favourable moment is fixed by the family 
astrologer and when arranged for, the father of the boy commences the 
rite the night before by going through the Ganesa-pz^ja. He then takes 
ten small bags of cloth and wrapping up in them portions of turmeric, 
c7ii&-grass, mustard and a coin, ties them in the hair of the boy with the 
mantra :—‘ To-morrow you will be cut off,’ &c. Three are tied on the 
right side of the head, three on the left side, three at the back of the 
head and one on the top. The next morning all proceed to the yajha- 
sdla in which the graha-vedi of the previous ceremony was erected. The 
duties of the day are opened with the rinsing of the mouth, next the 
argha is set up and consecrated and the jordndydma is gone through 
followed by the dedication. 
In the last rite, the celebrant defines the object by stating that the 
ceremony is performed for the churd-karana and ujpanayana (initia¬ 
tion) of so and so, the son of so and so, &c. Next follow the whole of 
the usual preparatory ceremonies as far as the Punydha-vdehana. The 
celebrant now approaches the cJiurd-karana-vedi and again consecrates 
the argha and makes a dedication to Agni and then lights a fire upon 
the vedi or altar. The father now takes the boy in his arms and the 
mother seats herself to his left, and all assist in the installation of the altar 
and the invitation, &c., is gone through as before. Then an offering of 
clarified butter is thrown on the fire with the mantra :—‘ Om prajdpa-- 
* Om hhadramas tu, &c. 
