The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 2 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
Religion
The Dabistán, or School of manners, Volume 2 (of 3): translated from the original Persian, with notes and illustrations
Iran -- Religion; Religions
[87] The यज्ञोपवीत or “sacrificial cord,” originally worn by
the three principal casts of Hindus; at present, from the
loss of the pure Chatríya and Vaisya casts in Bengal,
confined to the Brahmanical order: from _Yajna_, “a
sacrifice,” and _Upavíta_, “a thread.”
[88] गो दान _Go-dána_, from _Go_, “a cow,” and _Dána_, “a
gift.”
[89] Probably अशन पञ्च or पञ्च तन्त्र _asana pancha_, or
_pancha tantra_, “five things.”
[90] विवाह.
[91] पिण्ड प्रदान _Pinda-pradána_, from _pinda_, “a funeral
cake;” an oblation to deceased ancestors, offered at the
several _Sraddhas_, by the nearest surviving relation, and
_prádán_, “the act of giving.”
[92] माघ _Magha_, the name of a Hindu month commencing when
the sun enters Capricornus. (January-February).
[93] दान फल _Dána-phal_, from _Dána_, “a gift,” and _phal_,
“fruit.”
[94] शिव रात्रि _Shiva-ratri_, from _Shiva_, “Siva, the
deity,” in his character of destroyer and reproducer; the
third person of the Hindu triad, and _ratri_, “night,” being
the night of the fourteenth day of the moon’s wane, in the
month _Magha_, or _Magha-phalguna_, a rigorous fast with
extraordinary ceremonies in honour of the _Sivalinga_, or
_Phallus_.
(_As. Res._, vol. III. p. 274.)
[95] फणी _Phani_, from _Phana_, “the expanded hood or neck
of the _Cobra di Capello_”――(_Wilson_).
[96] For a more detailed account, see _Ward on the Hindoos_,
vol. II. p. 29, etc.――The abstract given in the Dabistán is
inaccurate, agreeing neither with _Manu_ nor _Ward_: in
_Manu_, it is as follows (l. II. sl. 58): Let a Brahman at
all times perform the ablution with the pure part of his
hand, denominated from the Veda, or with the part sacred to
the Lord of creatures, or with that dedicated to the gods:
but never with the part named from the _Pitris_. (sl. 59)
The pure part under the root of the thumb is called
_Brahma_; that at the root of the little finger, _Cáya_;
that at the tips of the fingers, _Daiva_; and the part
between the thumb and index, _Pitrya_. (sl. 60) Let him sip
water thrice; then twice wipe his mouth; and lastly, touch
with water the six cavities (or his eyes, ears, and
nostrils), his breast, and his head. (61) He who knows the
law and seeks purity, will ever perform his ablution with
the pure part of his hand, and with water neither hot nor
frothy, standing in a lonely place, and turning to the east
or north. (62) A Brahman is purified by water that reaches
his bosom; a Chatríya, by water descending to his throat; a
Vaisya, by water barely taken into his mouth; a Sutra, by
water touched with the extremity of his lips.――D. S.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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