484 PREPARATION FOR BURIAL
gested a curse which is very common amongst the Brahmins
'
when they quarrel with each other. Mayst thou,' they will say, have no person near thee to place thee on the '
' ground in the hour of death!
As soon as the dying person has breathed his last, it is a recognized custom that everybody present must at once burst into tears; and that in a fashion strictly laid down
for the occasion. The chief mourner then proceeds to bathe without taking off his clothes, next has his head and face shaved, and lastly goes to bathe a second time in order to purify himself from the defilement of the barber ' s touch. On his return he causes to be brought to him pa? wha-gavia, gingelly oil, darbha grass, raw rice, and a few other things. He places on the ring finger of the right hand the pavitram l. Then he performs the sam-kalpa, and offers homam( sacrifice to fire) in order that the deceased may obtain a place in heaven.
Then the corpse is washed, and the barber shaves off all
the hair. It is washed a second time, and after that sandalwood and akshatas are placed upon the forehead and garlands of flowers round the neck. The mouth is filled with betel-leaves and the body is apparelled in rich raiment and
jewels. It is then placed on a kind of state bed, where it remains exposed to view during the time that the preparations for the obsequies are proceeding. When these have been finished, the person who is presiding at the ceremony brings a new piece of ceremonially pure cloth in which he wraps the corpse. A strip of this cloth is torn
off, and a small piece of iron, on which a few drops of gingelly oil are poured, is tied up in it. This cloth is twisted into the form of a triple cord, and must be kept for twelve days, to be used in the various ceremonies of which I shall speak later on.
The litter on which the body is placed is constructed as follows. To two long parallel poles are fastened transversely seven pieces of wood with ropes of straw, and on this the body is placed. Then they bind the toes and the two thumbs together 2. The shroud, which until then has
1
See Part I, Chapter XIII.
2
As soon as a person breathes his last his toes and thumbs are tied with a small piece of cloth. Ed.