Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 290

PRAYERS AT BED-TIME
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who guard
Siva, and to the bird garuda (Brahminy
he makes the following prayers
Illustrious son of Kasyapa and Vinata
king of birds,
with beauteous wings and sharp-pointed beak you who
are the enemy of snakes, preserve me from their poison
He who repeats this prayer when he goes to bed, when
he rises, and after his ablutions, will never be bitten by
a snake. Here is another and most efficacious prayer
which they are supposed to make a rule of saying before
going to bed. It bears the name of kalasa, and is addressed
spirits
kite), to
whom
:
'
!
;
'
!
to those evil spirits, Siva's guardians.
While repeating it
the right hand must be placed over the various parts of the
body as they are mentioned
May
head be preserved from all accidents by
Bhairava, my forehead by Bishana, my ears by Bhuta
Karma, my face by Preta-Vahana, my thighs by Bhuta
Karta, my shoulders by the Ditis who are endowed with
supernatural strength,
hands by Kapalini who wears
round his neck a chaplet of human skulls, my chest by
Santa, my belly, lips, and two sides by Ketrika, the back
of my body by Kadrupala, my navel by Kshetraja, my
:
my
'
my
my ankles by Siddha Vatu, and the
my head to my feet by Surakara,
my waist by Vi