learning, succeed, O scorcher of foes, its attaining to great prosperity and affluence each time they take birth in the world.  One should never go to bed without reciting the names of kine.  Nor should one rise from bed in the morning without a similar recitation of the names of kine.  Morning and evening one should bend one’s head in reverence to kine.  As the consequence of such acts, one is sure to attain to great prosperity.  One should never feel any repugnance for the urine and the dung of the cow.  One should never eat the flesh of kine.  As the consequence of this, one is sure to attain to great prosperity.  One should always take the names of kine.  One should never show any disregard for kine in any way.  If evil dreams are seen, men should take the names of kine.  One should always bathe, using cow-dung at the time.  One should sit on dried cowdung.  One should never cast one’s urine and excreta and other secretions on cowdung.  One should never obstruct kine in any way.  One should eat, sitting on a cowhide purified by dipping it in water, and then cast one’s eyes towards the west, Sitting with restrained speech, one should eat ghee, using the bare earth as one’s dish.  One reaps, in consequence of such acts, that prosperity of which kine are the source[375].  One should pour libations on the fire, using ghee for the purpose.  One should cause Brahmanas to utter blessings upon one, by presents of ghee.  One should make gift of ghee.  One should also eat ghee.  As the reward of such acts one is sure to attain to that prosperity which kine confer.  That man who inspires a vaccine form made of sesame seeds by uttering the Vedic Mantras called by the name of Gomati, and then adorns that form with every kind of gems and makes a gift of it, has never to suffer any grief on account of all his acts of omission and commission,—­Let kine that yield copious measures of milk and that have horns adorned with gold,—­kine viz., that are Surabhis or the daughters of Surabhis.—­approach me even as rivers approach the ocean!  I always look at kine.  Let kine always look at me.  Kine are ours.  We are theirs.  Ourselves are there where kine are!—­Even thus, at night or day, in happiness or woe, verily, at times of even great fear,—­should a man exclaim.  By uttering such words he is certain to become freed from every fear.’”

SECTION LXXIX

“Vasishtha said, ’The kine that had been created in a former age practised the austerest penances for a hundred thousand years with the desire of attaining to a position of great pre-eminence.  Verily, O scorcher of foes, they said unto themselves,—­We shall, in this world, become the best of all kinds of Dakshina in sacrifices, and we shall not be liable to be stained with any fault!  By bathing in water mixed with our dung people shall become sanctified.  The deities and men shall use our dung for the purpose of purifying all creatures mobile and immobile.