The goddess continued:—O Arundhati, hear with these ladies, I shall
describe the pious rites, by which the body becomes worthy of attaining
to most excellent bliss (1). If a chaste woman fasts on the eighth day
of the dark-half of the month, or living on roots and fruits if she
gives a meal to a Brāhmana, and if she, clad in a white raiment, and
observant of pure conduct, adores her preceptor and gods for one year
and gives away to the twice-born, according to her might, chowries of
the hairs of cows, flags and sweet meats, her hairs become curling and
waving and extend up to the waist and she becomes the most favorite of
her husband. The chaste woman, who wishes to make her head worthy of the
most excellent bliss, should wash it with milk mixed with _bel_ fruit
and myrobalan and should drink the urine of a cow and mix the latter
with water for washing her head. O fair lady, if one observes these
practises on the fourteenth day of the dark-half of a month, she does
not become a widow and becomes lucky and freed from diseases. She never
suffers from head-diseases (2-8). O you of pure smiles, the woman, who
desires to have a beautiful forehead, must spend the first days of the
fort-nights, taking her meals once a day. And as long as the year does
not run out she should only subsist on milk and food mixed with it.
Thereupon, bestowing on a Brāhmana a golden seat she attains to a most
beautiful fore-head (9-10). The youthful woman, who seeks beautiful
eye-brows, beginning with the second day of a fortnight, must take her
meals every alternate day and live upon vegetables. O gentle lady, after
the completion of full one year she should give to a Brāhmana ripe
fruits, salt and vessels of clarified butter with _Dakshina_ of gold of
the weight of a _māsha_ and then make him recite benedictory hymns
(11-13). The youthful lady, who desires to have a pair of beautiful
ears, should, under the influence of Srāvana, feed on barley. And after
the completion of one year she should throw into clarified butter a pair
of golden ears and then offer them to a Brāhmana with milk (14-15). The
damsel, who desires for a beautiful nose extending straight to the end
of fore-head, should fast every alternate day till the season of the
growing of flowers and offer water with sessamum. And when the flowers
will grow she should cull some and throw them into clarified butter and
then give them away (16–17). O you of pure smiles, O you born from
ambrosia, the learned and chaste lady, who wishes to have beautiful
eyes, should fast every alternate day and live upon milk and curd.
Thereupon when one year will be complete, she should throw leaves of
lotus and lily upon milk and give them away to a Brāhmana when they will
remain afloat. O chaste lady, by this gift she will forsooth have eyes
like those of a black antelope (18–20). The pious and chaste lady, who
desires to have a pair of charming lips, should, for one year, live upon
unsolicited food on the ninth day of a fortnight and drink water from an
earthen pot. After the completion of the year she should give away
sapphires. If a woman observes this rule she becomes lucky, mother of
sons, rich and a mistress of kine and her lips become shining like
_Nimva_ fruits (20–23). The fair lady, who wishes to have beautiful
teeth, should not take her meals twice on the eight day of a light-half
month. O accomplished and pious lady, a chaste woman, completing one
year in this way, should throw silver teeth into milk and give them
away. O sinless one, observing this rite, a chaste lady will acquire
teeth like _Tila_ flowers, good fortune and sons (24–26). O you of a
beautiful countenance, the lady, who wishes to have a charming
countenance, should bathe when the moon rises in a full-moon night and
give to a Brāhmana barley boiled with milk. Thereupon after the
completion of one year, placing a moon made of pure silver on a full
blown lotus, she should request a Brāhmana to recite benedictory hymns.
By such a gift a woman acquires a countenance beautiful like the
full-moon (27–29). The woman, who desires to have breast rising like
_Tāla_ fruits, should control her speech and feed upon unsolicited food
on the tenth day of a fortnight. After the completion of a year she
should give away two _Vilwa_ fruits made of gold to a self-controlled
Brahmanana with _Dakshinā_. By this a woman gets rising breast, great
fortune and many sons (30–32). The woman, who wishes to have a
thin-built belly, should live on one meal for one year and should not
take her food with water on the fifth day of a fortnight. After the
completion of one year she should, with many gifts, give a beautiful
_Jali_ creeper to a self-controlled Brāhmana (32–34). O youthful lady,
she, who wishes to have beautiful arms, should live on all sorts of
herbs on the twelfth day of every fort-night. And after the completion
of one year she should give to a selected Brāhmana one golden lotus and
two born in water (35-36). O you of firm vows, she, who wishes to have a
spacious waist, should spend the thirteenth day of every fortnight by
taking food once unsolicited. O you of a beautiful face, when a year
will be complete in this way she should make a model of Brahma’s face
with salt and give it away. Afterwards the lady, conversant with
religious rites, should give away a figure of his made of gold and free
from collyrium and other powders, unbroken jems and crimson coloured
raiments. O gentle lady, by doing this, one gets a waist after her heart
(37–40). The chaste lady, who wishes to have sweet words, should avoid
the use of salt for one year, at least for one month and should give it
to a Brāhmana accompanied with money gifts. By this the beautiful lady
will have words sweeter than those of Sruti even (41-42). O daughter of
Soma, she, who wishes to have legs well-built, should take watery food
on every sixth day of a fortnight. O you engaged in Tapas, she should
not touch fire or a Brāhman a with her foot; if she does it any time she
must adore them. While observing this rite a chaste lady, well-versed in
religious ceremonies, should not wash her foot with another. O sinless
one, O chaste lady, after the termination of the Vrata, she should place
two golden tortoises into clarified butter and give it to a Brāhmana. O
beautiful lady, afterwards, keeping two lotuses in a reverse position
and mixing them with red articles she should give them away to a
Brāhmana (43–47). O pure lady, the chaste lady, who desires to have all
beautiful limbs, should observe this _Vrata_ for three nights in the
flowery season. In the full moon day of either the month of Ashara,
Aswina, Kartika or Māgha she should adore her father and mother as the
presiding deity of the day. O honourable lady, the woman, considering
her husband as her God, should daily give clarified butter and salt to a
Brāhmana during that period. She should clean the house and rub it with
clay. O pure and illustrious lady, the damsel, looking upon her husband
as her God, should not, during that period, commit sin (even) by her
words, eat any sort of herb and offer any sort of unclean food (48–52).