In the presence of the great Bassava,
Who sprang from Banige the holy cow.
The dead has sinned a thousand times.
E'en all the thirteen hundred sins
That can be done by mortal men
May stain the soul that fled to-day.
Stay not their flight to God's pure feet.
Chorus--Stay not their flight.
He killed the crawling snake
Chorus--It is a sin.
The creeping lizard slew.
It is a sin.
Also the harmless frog.
It is a sin.
Of brothers he told tales.
It is a sin.
The landmark stone he moved.
It is a sin.
Called in the Sircar's aid.[5]
It is a sin.
Put poison in the milk.
It is a sin.
To strangers straying on the hills,
He offered aid but guided wrong.
It is a sin.
His sister's tender love he spurned
And showed his teeth to her in rage.
It is a sin.
He dared to drain the pendent teats
Of holy cow in sacred fold.
It is a sin.
The glorious sun shone warm and bright
He turned its back towards its beams.[6]
It is a sin.
Ere drinking from the babbling brook,
He made no bow of gratitude.
It is a sin.
His envy rose against the man
Who owned a fruitful buffalo.
It is a sin.
He bound with cords and made to plough
The budding ox too young to work.
It is a sin.
While yet his wife dwelt in his house
He lusted for a younger bride.
It is a sin.
The hungry begged--he gave no meat,
The cold asked warmth--he lent no fire.
It is a sin.
He turned relations from his door,
Yet asked unworthy strangers home.
It is a sin.
The weak and poor called for his aid,
He gave no alms, denied their woe.
It is a sin.
When caught by thorns, in useless rage
He tore his cloth from side to side.
It is a sin.
The father of his wife sat on the floor
Yet he reclined on bench or couch.
It is a sin.
He cut the bund around a tank,
Set free the living water's store.
It is a sin.
What though he sinned so much,
Or that his parents sinned?
What though the sins' long score
Was thirteen hundred crimes?
O let them every one,
Fly swift to Bas'va's feet.
Chorus--Fly swift.
The chamber dark of death
Shall open to his soul.
The sea shall rise in waves;
Surround on every side,
But yet that awful bridge
No thicker than a thread,
Shall stand both firm and strong.
The dragon's yawning mouth
Is shut--it brings no fear.
The palaces of heaven
Throw open wide their doors.
Chorus--Open wide their doors.
The thorny path is steep,
Yet shall his soul go safe.
The silver pillar stands
So near--he touches it.
He may approach the wall
The golden wall of heaven.
The burning pillar's flame
Shall have no heat for him.
Chorus--Shall have no heat.
Oh let us never doubt
That all his sins are gone,
That Bassava forgives.
May it be well with him!
Chorus--May it be well!
Let all be well with him!
Chorus--Let all be well.
Surely an impressive burial service to have been found in use amongst
a poor little obscure tribe of Indian mountaineers!
It cannot be said that this moral attitude is often reached. Research
into funeral rites, of whatever nature, confronts us with much that
would be ludicrous were it not so very pitiful, for humanity has
displayed a fatal tendency to rush into the committal of ghastly
absurdities by way of showing the most sacred kind of grief. Yet, take
them all in all, the death laments of the people form a striking and
beautiful manifestation of such homage as "Life may give for love to
death."
[Footnote 1: "Calling the dead" was without doubt once general
amongst all classes--which may be true of all the customs that
we are now inclined to associate with only the very poor. In
the striking mediaeval ceremonial performed at the entombment
of King Alfonso in the vault at the Escurial, the final act
was that of the Lord Chamberlain, who unlocked the coffin, and
in the midst of profound silence shouted into the king's ear,
"Senor, Senor, Senor." After which he rose, saying, "His
majesty does not answer. Then it is true the king is dead."]
[Footnote 2: The child's "personal fate."]
[Footnote 3: The brother.]
[Footnote 4: A little sister had died before.]
[Footnote 5: He had recourse to the Rajahs, whose courts under
the old regime, had become a byeword for oppression and
corruption.]
[Footnote 6: Compare _Inferno_, Canto vii.]