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The spot was sacred and abounded with birds and beasts. And there bloomed at all times of the year flowers of every season. And, O best of Bharata's race, that foremost of virtuous men, the son of Varuna, practised his ascetic penances in those woods abounding with sweet roots and water. The virtuous son of Varuna obtained Nandini for his Homa rites.

When thou wilt behold in battle Kunti's son, invincible Yudhishthira, devoted to Yapa and Homa and resembling the very sun in brilliance, protecting his own mighty army and burning the army of his foes, then all signs of the Krita, the Treta, and the Dwapara ages will disappear.

After concluding a recitation of the Bharata, one should, O king, perform a Homa with all its ten parts. "'I have thus, O chief of men, told everything in thy presence.

It died out, however, among the Iranians at an early period, perhaps owing to its prevalence among their Indian rivals, who traced to it that very courage with which they contended against the Iranians. The present chapters belong to the period of the revival of the Homa cult among the Mazdaists or Zarathustrians.

"Vaisampayana said, 'Thou didst not ask me before and, therefore, I did not tell thee. Hear as I tell thee who that mongoose was and why he could assume a human voice. In former times, the Rishi Jamadagni proposed to perform a Sraddha. His Homa cow came to him and the Rishi milked her himself. He then placed the milk in a vessel that was new, durable and pure.

Abandoning the luxuries of cities and towns, clad in barks of trees, and living on fruits and roots, I shall wander in deep woods, practising the severest penances. Bathing morning and evening, I shall perform the homa. I shall reduce my body by eating very sparingly and shall wear rags and skins and knotted locks on my head.

Thou art the seven woofs used in the Vedas. Salutations to thee in thy form of Sacrifice. Libations are poured on the Homa fire in accompaniment with the seventeen monosyllabic sounds. Thou art the soul of the Homa. Salutations to thee! Thou art that Purusha whom the Vedas sing. Thy name is Yajus. The Vedic metres are thy limbs. The sacrifices laid down in the three Vedas are thy three heads.

Is the priest thou honourest, possessed of humility, and purity of blood, and renown, and without jealousy and illiberality? Hath any well- behaved, intelligent, and guileless Brahmana, well-up in the ordinance, been employed by thee in the performance of thy daily rites before the sacred fire, and doth he remind thee in proper time as to when thy homa should be performed?

When wishing to be exceptionally courteous tothe foreigners,” the more experienced mandarins would lay their doubled fists in the palms of our hands, instead of raising them in front of their foreheads, with the usual salutation Homa. In shaking hands with a Chinaman we thus very often had our hands full.

For his especial sacrifices Agastya performed the homa with fat of the deer. "The deer then said, 'O king, men do not let fly their arrows at their enemies when the latter are unprepared. Slaughter at such a time is not censurable. "Pandu replied, 'It is well-known that men slay deer by various effective means without regarding whether the animals are careful or careless.