2 
[No. 1, 
E. T. Atkinson— Notes on the history 
of all sins committed wittingly or unwittingly by the dying man during 
his life-time and that he may obtain the fruit of his good acts. Eor this 
purpose on the part of the moribund each of the gifts and the Brahmans 
concerned are reverenced, and the gifts are then presented. 
Kapila-dana. —First the kajpiladdna or a gift of a cow of a yellowish- 
brown colour with the five mantras * * * § beginning with :— Idam vishnur 
vichakrame tredhd nidadhe pa dam samudham asya pdmsure and in 
practice this alone is recited. Then the argha is presented to the Brah¬ 
man with a mantrap praying him as best of men to be present at the 
sacrifice and accept the argha. Then sandal-wood is given with a man¬ 
trap and rice with another mantra .§ Flowers are then presented with 
the mantra : —‘ Glory to thee, 0 Brahman.’ Next the cow should re¬ 
ceive veneration with the appropriate mantra ;— 1 Glory to thee 0 Kapi l a/ 
and each of its members, the fore-feet, mouth, horns, shoulder, back, 
liind-feet and tail with a salutation and the gift of sandal, rice and 
flowers. A covering is then presented with food, incense, light, and the 
installation hymn :— Yd LaJcshmih sarvvalokdndm, Ac. Then the moribund 
takes sesamum, Aiw'a-grass, barley, and gold in a pot of clarified butter and 
with them the cow’s tail in his hand over which water is poured, and all 
are dedicated to the removal of the guilt of his sins and for this purpose 
are given to so and so Brahman in the name of Rudra. TLe cow is first 
addressed, however, with the mantra :— Kapile sarvva-varndndm , Ac. The 
cow and Brahman then circumambulate the moribund, who with clasped 
hands repeats a verse || in praise of the cow. 
Bhumi-dana. —Next comes the Bhumi-dana or gift of land. The in¬ 
stallation hymn ( prdrthana ) beginning :— Sarvvabhutdsrayd bJmmi/i, 
is first addressed to the earth. Then a ball of clay is made from the soil 
of the land which is intended to be given away and is worshipped and 
dedicated as in the previous gift and then after consecration, is given 
away for Vasudeva’s sake to the Brahman. The Tita-ddna or gift of sesa¬ 
mum follows with the mantra :— Tildh suvarna-samdyuJddh, Ac., and the 
usual consecration and dedication in the name of Vishnu and the hymn 
of praise : — Tildh pajpahard nityam , Sfc. 
* Those mantras are practically unknown to the mass of the people who have 
much simpler ritual feebly on tho same lines. 
t Bliumidevdgrajanmusi twain viprapurushottamapratyalcsho yajua-purushah arg- 
ho’yain pratigrihyatdm. 
X Gandhadwdrdm durddharshdm nityapushtdm tcarishinim isvarhn sarvabhutdndm 
tain ihopahvaye sriyam. 
§ Namo brahmanyadevdya gobrdhmanahitdya cha jagaddhitdya Krishndya Govin- 
ddya namonamah. 
[| Gin gdvah surabhayo nityam gdvo guggula-gandhikdh, fyc. 
