भूषणालेपस्रक्तिलकादिभिरुपस्कृतं भुक्तवन्तं धूपदीपमाल्यलाजकिसलया
ङ्कुरफलोपहारोपेतया वैशससंस्थयामहता गीतस्तुतिमृदङ्गपणवघोषेण च
पुरुषपशुं भद्रकाल्याः पुरत उपवेशयामासुः ॥१५॥
atha paṇayas taá¹ sva-vidhinÄbhiá¹£icyÄhatena vÄsasÄcchÄdya bhÅ«á¹£aṇÄlepa-srak-tilakÄdibhir upaská¹›taá¹ bhuktavantaá¹ dhÅ«pa-dÄ«pa-mÄlya-lÄja-kisalayÄá¹…kura-phalopahÄropetayÄ vaiÅ›asa-saá¹sthayÄ mahatÄ gÄ«ta-stuti-má¹›daá¹…ga-paṇava-ghoá¹£eṇa ca puruá¹£a-paÅ›uá¹ bhadra-kÄlyÄḥ purata upaveÅ›ayÄm Äsuḥ
atha - thereafter; paṇayaḥ - all the followers of the dacoit; tam - him (Jaá¸a Bharata); sva-vidhinÄ - according to their own ritualistic principles; abhiá¹£icya - bathing; ahatena - with new; vÄsasÄ - garments; ÄcchÄdya - covering; bhÅ«á¹£aṇa - ornaments; Älepa - smearing the body with sandalwood pulp; srak - a flower garland; tilaka-Ädibhiḥ - with markings on the body and so on; upaská¹›tam - completely decorated; bhuktavantam - having eaten; dhÅ«pa - with incense; dÄ«pa - lamps; mÄlya - garlands; lÄja - parched grain; kisalaya-aá¹…kura - twigs and sprouts; phala - fruits; upahÄra - other paraphernalia; upetayÄ - fully equipped; vaiÅ›asa-saá¹sthayÄ - with complete arrangements for sacrifice; mahatÄ - great; gÄ«ta-stuti - of songs and prayers; má¹›daá¹…ga - of the drums; paṇava - of the bugles; ghoá¹£eṇa - by vibration; ca - also; puruá¹£a-paÅ›um - the man-animal; bhadra-kÄlyÄḥ - of the goddess KÄlÄ«; purataḥ - just in front; upaveÅ›ayÄm Äsuḥ - made him sit down.
After this, all the thieves, according to their imaginative ritual for killing animalistic men, bathed Jaá¸a Bharata, dressed him in new clothes, decorated him with ornaments befitting an animal, smeared his body with scented oils and decorated him with tilaka, sandalwood pulp and garlands. They fed him sumptuously and then brought him before the goddess KÄlÄ«, offering her incense, lamps, garlands, parched grain, newly grown twigs, sprouts, fruits and flowers. In this way they worshiped the deity before killing the man-animal, and they vibrated songs and prayers and played drums and bugles. Jaá¸a Bharata was then made to sit down before the deity.
In this verse the word sva-vidhinÄ (according to their own ritualistic principles) is very significant. According to the Vedic Å›Ästras, everything must be done according to regulative principles, but here it is stated that the thieves and rogues devised their own process for killing an animalistic man. The tamasic Å›Ästras give instructions for the sacrifice of an animal like a goat or buffalo before the goddess KÄlÄ«, but there is no mention of killing a man, however dull he may be. This process was manufactured by the dacoits themselves; therefore the word sva-vidhinÄ is used. Even at this time there are many sacrifices being conducted without reference to the Vedic scriptures. For instance, in Calcutta recently a slaughterhouse was being advertised as a temple of the goddess KÄlÄ«. Meat-eaters foolishly purchase meat from such shops, thinking it different from ordinary meat and taking it to be the prasÄda of Goddess KÄlÄ«. The sacrifice of a goat or a similar animal before the goddess KÄlÄ« is mentioned in Å›Ästras just to keep people from eating slaughterhouse meat and becoming responsible for the killing of animals. The conditioned soul has a natural tendency toward sex and meat-eating; consequently the Å›Ästras grant them some concessions. Actually the Å›Ästras aim at putting an end to these abominable activities, but they impart some regulative principles so that gradually meat-eaters and sex hunters will be rectified.
