482 ON ACQUIRING KNOWLED( JK
received everywhere— a gallant warrior, a learned man, and
a pretty woman. LXVI. The favours of a prostitute appear like nectar at
first, but they soon become poison. The pursuit of knowledge is troublesome at first, but knowledge is a source of
great delight when it is acquired.
LXVII. A virtuous man ought to be like the sandal- tree,
which perfumes the axe that destroys it.
CHAPTER XXIX
The Funeral Ceremonies of Brahmins.
The closing moments of a Brahmin ' s life are associated with a number of ridiculous ceremonies. One might suppose therefrom that Brahmins were eager to preserve after their death that superiority over their fellows which they boast about so much during their lifetime; and that their desire was to surpass everybody else in the foolishness of their practices at the period when the scythe of Father
Time reduced these gods of the earth to the level of the humblest Pariah. For the rest, most Hindus observe very many formalities when their near relatives die. As soon as the symptoms of death become manifest in a Brahmin, a spot is chosen on the ground and smeared over with cow-dung. On this darbha grass is strewn, and over this
again is placed a new and ceremonially pure cloth, upon which the dying man is then laid. His loins are next girded with another ceremonially pure cloth. Then, the dying man having given his permission, the ceremony called
sarva prayaschitta, or perfect expiation, is performed by the purohita and the chief mourner— that is to say, the person
who is most nearly related to the deceased or who by common usage has the right to perform this function.
Then a few small coins of gold, silver, and copper are carried in on a metal salver, and on another akshatas, sandalwood, and pancha-gavia. The purohita pours a few drops of the
pancha-gavia! into the mouth of the dying man, by virtue of which his body becomes perfectly purified. Then the general purification ceremonies are proceeded with. The purohita and the chief mourner invite the sick Brahmin to
1
See Part I, Chapter XIII.