(    13°   )
 

CHAPTER  LXIII.

ON TEAT WHICH ESPECIALLY CONGEENS THE BRAHMANS,
AND WHAT THEY ARE OBLIGED TO DO DURING THEIR
WHOLE  LIFE.

First period The life of the Brahman, after seven years of it have
man's life, passcd, is divided into four parts. The first part begins
with the eighth year, when the Brahmans come to him
to instruct him, to teach him his duties, and to enjoin
him to adhere to them and to embrace them as long as
he lives. Then they bind a girdle round his waist and
invest him with a pair of yajnopavitas, i.e. one strong
cord consisting of nine single cords which are twisted
together, and with a third yajnopavitct, a single one
made from cloth. This girdle runs from the left
shoulder to the right hip. Further, he is presented
with a stick which he has to wear, and with a seal-
ring of a certain grass, called dctrbhct, which he wears on
the ring-finger of the right hand. This seal-ring is also
called pctvitrct. The object of his wearing the ring on
the ring-finger of his right hand is this, that it should
be a good omen and a blessing for all those who receive
gifts from that hand. The obligation of wearing the
ring is not quite so stringent as that of wearing the
yajnopavita, for from the latter he is not to separate
himself under any circumstances whatever. If he
takes it off while eating or fulfilling some want of
nature, he thereby commits a sin which cannot be
Page 268. wiped off save by some work of expiation, fasting, or
almsgiving.