Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 462

LETTEB TO AX EQUAL
422
that
it
know
is
in
the
same with you
and 1 trust you will let me
which give you joy and
;
detail all the matters
contentment.
The twenty-second of the above-mentioned month being
a day on which all the good omens are combined, we have
selected it for the commencement of the marriage festivities
of my daughter Vijaya-Lakshmi.
I beg you will be good
enough to be present here before that day, and to bring
with you all the members of your household without
excepting any. I beg that you will place yourself at the
head of the ceremony, and that you will be pleased to con-
duct it *.
Lastly, if there is anything in which I can be of service
to you, I request you will be pleased to let me know.
'
'
Namaskaram!
'
Letter to a Superior,
To them, the lords, the Brahmin lords, the great Brah-
mins Lakshmanayah, who are endowed with every virtue
*
;
are great as Mount Meru
who possess a perfect
knowledge of the four Vedas who, by the splendour of
their good works, shine forth like the sun
whose renown
is known throughout the fourteen worlds, and who are
highly praised therein
I, Krishnayah, their humble ser-
vant and slave, keeping myself at a respectful distance
from them, with both hands joined, my mouth closed, my
eyes cast down, my head bent I wait in this humble
posture, until they may vouchsafe to cast their eyes on
one who is nothing in their presence. After obtaining
their leave, approaching them with fear and respect, and
prostrating myself on the ground at their feet, which are in
reality tamarasa (lotus) flowers
after saluting those feet
with profound respect and kissing them, I address to them
the following humble supplication
The year Vikary, the twentieth of the month Pushya,
I, your most humble slave, whom you have deigned to look
upon as some chattel, having received with both hands the
letter which your excellency humbled yourself by writing
who
;
;
;
:
—
—
;
:
'
This is an expression used merely out of politeness in the case of
every one who is invited under similar circumstances. Dubois.
1