322 OWEN BERKELEY-HILL
the pious Hindu proceeds to the regular Morning Service, called Pratah-Sandhya, performed at the junction of night and day. The first act of the morning service, and, as stated before, the usual preliminary to all Hindu rehgious rites, is sipping water (acamana); two or three mouthfuls being swallowed for internal ablution. The water is taken up in the hollowed palm of the right hand or poured from a spoon into the palm, and is supposed to cleanse body and soul in its downward course. This is done two or three times at the commencement of the Morning Service. During the sipping of the water the twenty-four principal names of the god Vishnu are invoked. The second act is called the Pranayama, 'exercise or regulation of the breath', to which reference has already been made on page 310. The next division of the ceremonial is caUed Marjana, 'sprinkling'. It is a kind of self-baptism performed by the worshipper himself by sprinkling water on the head while the first three verses of the Rig-Veda are recited. Then follows a second performance of Marjana, or 'sprinkling', and a repetition of all the nine verses of the Rig-Veda hymn of which the first three verses had been previously recited. The next division of the ser- vice is called Karna-nyasa, or 'imposition of fingers'. Its peculiar ritual is taught in the more modern religious works called Tantras. To understand the Karna-nyasa we must bear in mind that the five fingers and the palm of the hand are consecrated to various forms of Vishnu, and that different gods are supposed to reside in different parts of the body, the Supreme Being occupying the top of the head. Hence the act of placing the fingers or hand reverentially on the several organs is supposed to gratify and do honour to the deities whose essence pervade these organs, and to be completely efficacious in removing sin. The tip of the thumb is held to be occupied by Govinda, the forefinger by Mahidhara, the middle finger by Hrishikesa, the next finger by Tri-vikrama, the little finger by Vishnu, the palm of the hand by Madhava, all being different forms of the same god Vishnu. The worshipper then commences the nyasa ceremonial by saying: 'Homage to the two thumbs, ,to the two forefingers, to the middle fingers, to the two nameless fingers (i. e. the ring fingers), to the two little fingers, to the two palms, to the two backs of the hands. ' Then follows another division ot the Nyasa ceremonial called Indriya-Sparsa, or the act of touching different parts of the body, such as the breast, eyes, ears, navel, throat, and head with the fingers.
