Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 303

THE EVENING SANDHYA
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of sins and abundance of this world's
twenty thousand, the spirit of wisdom and the
gift of knowledge
for a hundred thousand, the supreme
grace of becoming a Vishnu after death.
It is considered most meritorious to solemnly undertake
the forgiveness
goods
;
for
;
to recite the gayatri for a certain fixed time daily, the
credit gained thereby being graduated according to the
length of time devoted to the exercise. It depends, that
is to say, on the choice that one makes of the three follow-
ing periods
(1) from sunrise to sunset
(2) from sunrise
to noon
and (3) at intervals of about three hours.
:
;
;
Any Brahmin who makes such a vow calls together
a certain number of his fellow-Brahmins, and says in their
presence
To-day being such and such a day of such and such
a month, I, so-and-so Brahmin, of such and such country
and family, being desirous of averting all danger from myself,
of growing in virtue, and of obtaining the delights of Swarga
after my death, hereby call all present to witness that
I vow to recite the gayatri every day from such an hour
till such an hour.'
:
'
The Evening Sandhya.
Brahmins begin this sandhya about sunset, but it must
not be performed on the day of the sankranti, that is to
say, on the day that the sun moves from one sign of the
Zodiac to another, nor on the days of the new and full
moon, nor on the twelfth day of the moon, nor yet on the
day on which one has offered the sacrifice for the dead
called sraddha.
To perform the evening sandhya under
these circumstances would be committing a crime equal
to the murder of a Brahmin.
If a Brahmin has just lost
mother, or one of his children if his gums
through a wound or accident any part of his
body above the navel lias been bleeding, or in a word if
he finds that he is impure, he would commit an unpardon-
able sin by performing the evening sandhya.
Indeed, in
the last case he would lose all his possessions and his
children.
Except under these special circumstances, he
must never neglect this religious duty, and he must care-
his father, his
bleed, or
;
if
fully observe the following rules
: