Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 761

ORDEAL BY WATER
721
man who is about to undergo this ordeal is really
innocent, refrain for his sake from making use of your
natural power of burning, and do him no harm.'
He finishes his discourse by doing homage to the power
which this element possesses of penetrating into the inmost
recesses of the human heart and discovering the truth.
Then he says
and finally pronounces
Glory to the three worlds
fire, come near
come near and stay
this evocation
and he offers puja. The accused places
here
stay here
himself in the first circle, and the purohita, taking up the
fire, you
bar of hot iron with some tongs, says again
know the secrets of men reveal the truth to us on this
At the same moment he puts the red-hot iron
occasion
on the hands of the accused, who then, still keeping hold
of the iron, runs over all the circles, in such a manner as
Arrived at the eighth
to place his feet alternately on all.
circle he throws the iron into the ninth on to some straw,
which should be set on fire by the contact.
In the case of the accused dropping the iron before he
has covered the whole distance, the trial would have to
begin over again. If, on an inspection of his hands, it is
seen that the iron has not injured the skin, he is considered
innocent. An accidental burn on any other part of his
body would not count. To make quite sure that contact
with the red-hot iron has produced no sensible effect on
the skin, the accused is given some unhusked rice, which
he has to rub vigorously between his hands to separate the
grains from the husk.
The preparatory formalities for the ordeal by water are
much the same as the preceding ones. For this they draw
a single circle in which they place flowers and incense.
A stake is also driven into a tank or a river where the current
is not too strong.
Near this stake the accused must place
himself, the water being up to his waist.
The purohita,
with his face to the east, then speaks these words
Water, you are the life of all that has life you create
and destroy at will you purify