The next two stanzas (34-35), containing some obscure references to the bridal garments, are followed by six others (36-41) pronounced at the wedding rite, which is again brought into connection with the marriage of Surya. The bridegroom here thus addresses the bride:-- I grasp thy hand that I may gain good fortune, That thou may'st reach old age with me thy husband. Bhaga, Aryaman, Savitri, Puramdhi, The gods have given thee to share my household. The god of fire is at the same time invoked:-- To thee, O Agni, first they led Bright Surya with the bridal throng: So in thy turn to husbands give A wife along with progeny. The concluding verses (42-47) are benedictions pronounced on the newly-wedded couple after the bride has arrived at her future home:-- Here abide; be not divided; Complete life's whole allotted span, Playing with your sons and grandsons, Rejoicing in your own abode. The last stanza of all is spoken by the bridegroom:-- May all the gods us two unite, May Waters now our hearts entwine; May Matariçvan and Dhatri, May Deshtri us together join. There are five hymns, all in the last book (x. 14-18), which are more or less concerned with funeral rites. All but one of them, however, consist chiefly of invocations of gods connected with the future life. The first (14) is addressed to Yama, the next to the Fathers, the third to Agni, and the fourth to Pushan, as well as Sarasvati. Only the last (18) is a funeral hymn in the true sense. It is secular in style as well as in matter, being almost free from references to any of the gods. Grave and elevated in tone, it is distinguished by great beauty of language. It also yields more information about the funeral usages of those early days than any of the rest. From this group of hymns it appears that burial was practised as well as cremation by the Vedic Indians. The composer of a hymn addressed to Varuna in Book VII. also mentions "the house of clay" in connection with death. Cremation was, however, the usual manner of disposing of the dead, and the later Vedic ritual practically knew this method alone, sanctioning only the burial of ascetics and children under two years of age. With the rite of cremation, too, the mythological notions about the future life were specially connected. Thus Agni conducts the corpse to the other world, where the gods and Fathers dwell. A goat was sacrificed when the corpse was burned, and this goat, according to the Atharva-veda (ix. 5, 1 and 3), preceded and announced the deceased to the fathers, just as in the Rigveda the goat immolated with the sacrificial horse goes before to announce the offering to the gods (i. 162-163). In the later Vedic ritual a goat or cow was sacrificed as the body was cremated.