Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/185

Rh address it with certain mantras or incantations as a preliminary ceremony called adhivāsa. Next day the tree should be cut or killed after reciting the following mantra or prayer: "Oh you with great fiery power may not thy strength be lost! Oh you auspicious tree, stay here and accomplish my work. After accomplishing my work you will go to heaven." Then the ceremony of homa, or burning the sacrificial fire, should be performed with one hundred red flowers. The tree should then be cut to pieces and piled in a place free from wind. Some limestone should be placed on the pile which should be set on fire by stalks of Sesamum Indicum. When the fire is extinguished, the ashes of the ghantāpātali tree and the burnt lime should be kept separate. In the same way the following trees may be burnt with their root, branches, leaves and fruits for the preparation of alkalies, namely: