Chapter 81 - Punyaka Described by Uma (continued)

1. 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.

2-8. 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 Brahmana, 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.

9-10. 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 Brahmana a golden seat she attains to a most beautiful fore-head.

11-13. 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 Brahmana ripe fruits, salt and vessels of clarified butter with Dakshina of gold of the weight of a masha and then make him recite benedictory hymns.

14-15. The youthful lady, who desires to have a pair of beautiful ears, should, under the influence of Sravana, 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 Brahmana with milk.

16-17. 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.

18-20. 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 Brahmana when they will remain afloat. O chaste lady, by this gift she will forsooth have eyes like those of a black antelope.

20-23. 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.

24-26. 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.

27-29. 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 Brahmana 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 Brahmana to recite benedictory hymns. By such a gift a woman acquires a countenance beautiful like the full-moon.

30-32. The woman, who desires to have breast rising like Tala 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 Vilva fruits made of gold to a self-controlled Brahmanana with Dakshina. By this a woman gets rising breast, great fortune and many sons.

32-34. 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 Brahmana.

35-36. 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 Brahmana one golden lotus and two born in water.

37-40. 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.

41-42. 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 Brahmana accompanied with money gifts. By this the beautiful lady will have words sweeter than those of Sruti even.

43-47. 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 Brahman 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 Brahmana. O beautiful lady, afterwards, keeping two lotuses in a reverse position and mixing them with red articles she should give them away to a Brahmana.

48-52. 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, Asvina, Kartika or Magha 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 Brahmana 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.