Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/364

328 the Devavrata hymn and the Soma hymn and the Rudra hymn, and having made himself like Siva adorned in the many ornaments, he should in meditation call up the form of whatever god he may be setting up, thus : 'Having become a god, I set up the mighty god Vishnu, resembling the flower of the flax, bearing the conch, discus, and club. I set up Siva Trilochana, the three-eyed and ten-armed, having the half-moon for his crest, lord of Ganas, seated on a bull. I set up Brahma, praised of hermits, the four-faced god wearing the twisted locks, great-armed, sprung from the lotus. I set up the Sun, thousand-rayed, calm, accompanied by bands of Apsarases, lotus-handed, great-armed.' "In the same way he should utter Mantras referring to gods, to Siva when setting up Siva, to Vishnu when setting up Vishnu, to Brahma when setting up Brahma. And wise men should utter Mantras referring to Sûrya, the Sun, when setting him up, and in the case of the other gods the Mantras referring to them. But since the establishment of gods with Mantras gives joy, whatever god he sets up he should make him the chief, and should remember the other gods standing at his side as attendants." Then follows the prayer : "Approach, revered one, be merciful, be gracious, be everlasting! Receive, revered one, this holy water for the feet, this for rinsing the mouth, this seat over which the holy words have been spoken. Hail!" Then the person dedicating the image is directed to have it bathed with curds and ghi, with a declaration that the day is a holiday, and with the salutary recital of sacred words. He should not move the god after he is set up, otherwise he will be guilty of sin. And he should fill up all the chinks in the pedestal of the image with sand — I suppose, with an idea that no evil spirit may take up its quarters in the neighbourhood of the image.

The ritual ends with the solemn injunction : "This erecting of a god is not to be performed by an immoral