1885.] 
of 'Religion in the Himalaya . 
3 
Next comes tlie Hiranya-ddna or gift of gold with, a mantra* :—and 
the usual dedication, &c., in the name of Agni. The Ajyaddna or gift of 
clarified butter is next made with the mantra :— £ Sprung from Kama- 
dhenu, &c.,’ and the dedication in the name of Mrityunjaya. The pro¬ 
cedure is the same all through, the mantras used alone being different 
For the Vastra-ddna or gift of apparel we have the mantra : — £ Pita vas - 
tra , &c.,’ and the dedication in the name of Vrihaspati. The Dlianya - 
ddna or gift of rice of seven kinds has the mantra :— Dhdnyam karoti 
dataram , &c.,’ and is presented in the name of Prajapati. The Guraddna 
or gift of molasses has the mantra :— Guda manmathacha/pottha , &c.,’ 
and is given in the name of Rudra. The Baupya-ddna or gift of silver has 
the mantra :—‘ Budranetra-samudbhutam , &c.,’ and is offered for the sake 
of Soma, the moon, with the prayer that any laxity in morals may be 
forgiven. The Lavana-ddna or gift of salt follows with the mantra :— 
‘ Yasmdd annarasah sarve, &c., and is presented on behalf of all the 
gods 
Last service for the dying .— The moribund next presents the fruit of 
all the ceremonial observances that he has undertaken during his life to 
plead on his behalf with I'svara. He also dedicates sesamum, kusa, bar¬ 
ley and water and enumerates all the penance that he has performed 
during his life and commits it with an oblation to the mercy-seat in the 
name of Agni to plead on his behalf. He then prays that for the sake 
of the good Vasudeva whatever errors he may have committed in cere¬ 
monial or other observances knowingly or in ignorance, in eating or 
drinking and in his conduct towards women or men may be forgiven, 
for which purpose he offers gold. A similar gift of a cow is sometimes 
made to clear off all debts due to friends and others, but the practice has 
fallen into disuse, as the heir, according to the usage of the British law- 
courts, must pay his father’s debts if sufficient assets fall into his 
hands. 
Vaitarani-ddna. —Another cow should be presented in Govinda’s name 
to prevent the retribution due on account of evil acts of the body, evil 
speech in words and evil thoughts in the heart, and again another cow in 
the hope of final liberation ( moksha-ddna ) through the loving-kindness of 
Rudra and in his name. As a rule, however, but one cow is given, and 
this only in the Vaitarani-ddna which now takes place. For this rite a 
cow of a black colour is selected and worshipped as prescribed in the 
Kapild-ddna , and the gift is dedicated to help the spirit of the moribund 
after death in its passage across the Vaitarani river, and with this object 
it is formally delivered over to a Brahman. The installation verse for 
* Hiranyagarblia-garbhasthain hemabijam vibhdvasoh, aiianLa-jounyaphaladam atah 
sdntim prayachchha me. 
