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CHAPTER  LXXVII.

ON DAYS WHICH ARE HELD IN SPECIAL VENEEATION,
ON LUCKY AND UNLUCKY TIMES, AND ON SUCH
TIMES AS ARE PARTICULARLY FAVOURABLE FOR
ACQUIRING  IN  THEM  BLISS  IN  HEAVEN.

The single days enjoy different degrees of veneration
according to certain qualities which they attribute to
them. They distinguish, e.g., the Sunday, because it is
the day of the sun and the beginning of the week, as
the Friday is distinguished in Islam.

To the distinguished days further belong a,mdvdsyd The days of
and pjurnimd, i.e. the days of conjunction (new moon) andfuu
and opposition (full moon), because they are the limits
of the wane and the increase of the moonlight. In ac¬
cordance with the belief of the Hindus regarding this Page 291.
increase and wane, the Brahmans sacrifice continually
to the fire in order to earn heavenly reward. They let
the portions of the angels accumulate, which are the
offerings thrown into the fire at moonlight during the
whole time from new moon to full moon. Then they
begin distributing these portions over the angels in
the time from full moon to new moon, till at the time
of new moon nothing any more remains of them. We
have already mentioned that new moon and full moon
are noon and midnight of the nychthemeron of the
Fathers. Therefore the uninterrupted almsgiving on
these two days is always done in honour of the
Fathers.