42 THE ' SASHTANGA '
When all this is finished lie is looked upon as reinstated .
The sashta ? iga , by the way , is a sign or salute expressing humility , which is not only recognized amongst the Hindus and other Asiatic nations , but was in use amongst more ancient peoples . Instances of it are quoted in Scripture , where this extraordinary mark of respect is known as adoration , even when it is paid to simple mortals . { Vide
Genesis xviii . 2 ; xix . 1 ; xxxiii . 3 ; xlii . 6 ; xliii . 26 ; 1 .
18 , & c , & c .) In the same way the Egyptians , Chaldeans , and other nations mentioned in Holy Writ were acquainted with this method of reverent salutation and observed it under the same circumstances as the Hindus . As I shall often have occasion in this work to mention the sashtanga
1 will give here a definition of it . The person who performs
it lies prostrate , his face on the ground and his arms extended beyond his head . It is called sashtanga from the
prostration of the six members , because , when it is performed , the feet , the knees , the stomach , the chest , the forehead , and the arms must touch the earth . It is thus that prostrations are made before persons of high degree , such as princes and priests . Children sometimes prostrate themselves thus before their fathers . It is by no means rare to see Sudras of different classes performing sashtanga before Brahmins ; and it often happens that princes , before engaging an enemy , thus prostrate themselves before their armies drawn up in battle array \
When expulsion from caste is the result of some heinous offence , the guilty person who is readmitted into caste has to submit to one or other of the following ordeals : his tongue is slightly burnt with a piece of heated gold ; he is branded indelibly on different parts of his body with redhot iron ; he is made to walk barefooted over red-hot
embers ; or he is compelled to crawl several times under the belly of a cow . Finally , to complete his purification ,
he is made to drink the pancha-gavia . These words , of which a more detailed explanation will be given later on , signify literally the five things or substances derived from the
1
Here and elsewhere the Abbe makes the mistake of interpreting saslUanga to mean ' the six angas ,' or ' parts of the body .' Sashtanga ( Saashtanga ) really means with the eight jxirt * of the body , which are the two hands , the two feet , two knees , forehead , and breast . Ed ,