ZONAR. HIND., PERS.
The zonar is regarded by the Brahmans as of sacred import ; and they do not consider an individual as fully member of his class until lie has assumed this symbol. Some writers call this the Bmhmanical, priestly, or sacerdotal cord ; but it is worn by the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya castes, by the Bed or herbalists of Bengal, by tho five komsallar or artisan castes of tho Dekhan, carpenters, goldsmiths, coppersmiths, blacksmiths, and stone-cutters, and also by the Parsee Zoroas trians. The zonar, however, is different for each of the races who wear it. It is imposed with solem nity, whence the three castes are ternaed Dwija, or twice-born. The investiture, with its accom panying formulte, is considered to indicate the regeneration of the individual. The rite is applic able to all the three superior castes, or the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya, to each of whom the term Dwija is appropriate ; although, as the two latter are considered to be extinct, it now signifies the Brahman only. The cord of the Brahman should be made of cotton, that of the Kshatriya of a kind of grass, and that of the Vaisya of woollen thread. The investiture of the first should take place between the ages of five and sixteen ; of the second, between six and twenty-two ; and of the third, between eight and twenty-four. If delayed beyond the latter period, the individual is considered degraded. from his caste. An essential part of the ceremony is the communication of the Gayatri or holiest verse of the Vedas. Various ceremonies are attendant upon Hindu boys between infancy and the age of eight years. After that age, and before a boy is fifteen, it is imperative upon him to receive this sacred thread, which, after a variety of prelimi nary ceremonies, is thus performed. The priest first offers a burnt sacritice, and worships the salagrama, repeating a number of prayers. The boy's white garments are then taken off, and he is dressed in yellow or red, and a cloth is brought over his head, that no Sudra may see his face ; after which he takes in his right hand a branch of the vilva, tEgle marmelos, and a piece of cloth in the form of a pouch, and places the branch on his shoulder. A poita of three threads, made of the fibres of the suru, to which a piece of deer's skin is fastened, is suspended from the boy's left shoulder, falling under his right arm, during the reading of the invocations. The father of the boy then repeats certain formulas, and in a low voice pronounces three times the. Gayatri. It is communicable to all three, and is the following : O'm ! Bhurbhuvri ssuvilha, O'm ! Tatsa vit'hru varennylim ; B'hargo devassya dhimahi dhiyo yonaha pracho dayath. Om ! earth, air, heaven,
O'tn ! Let us meditate on the supreme splendour of the divine Sun ; may Ile illutninate our under standing.' After this the suru poita is taken off, and the real poita, or sacred thread, put on. During this ceremony the father repeats certain formulas ; the sum poita is fastened to the vilva staff, shoes are put on the boy's feet, and an umbrella in his hand. The receiving of the poita is considered as the second birth of a _Hindu, who is from that time denominated twice-born. A boy cannot be married till he has received the poita. The sacred thread rnust be mad6 by a re ligious Brahman. It consists of three strings, each 96 hands (48 yards), -which are twisted together ; it is then folded into three, and again twisted ; these are a second time folded into the same number, and tied at each end in knots. It is worn over the left shoulder (next the skin, extending half-way down the right thigh) by the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya castes. The first are usually invested with it at eight years of age, the second at eleven, and the Vaisya at twelve. The period may, from special,causes, be deferred ; but it is indispensable that it\should be received, or the parties omitting it become outcastes. Colonel Tod, describing a gift to the Saiva temple of Eklinga, mentions that in return, the donor, who was the prince of Mewar, received lessons of morality, was initiated into the mysterious rites of Siva, and finally was invested with the triple cordon of faith (tin purwa zonar) by the bands of the sage, who became his spiritual guide, and bestowed on his pupil the title of regent (dewan) of Eklinga. When the Carthaginian gained the battle of Canna, he measured his success by the bushels of rings taken from the fingers of the equestrian Romans who fell in that memorable field. Akbar estimated his by the quantity of cordons (zonar) of distinction taken from the necks of the Rajputs, and seventy-four and a half man ' are the recorded amount. To eternize the memory of this disaster, the numerals 74i are, amongst the Rajput race, tilac, or accursed. Marked on the banker's letter in Rajasthan, it is the strongest of seals, for the sin of the slaughter of Chitore is thereby invoked on all who violate a letter under the safeguard of this mysterious number. Some thing like the zonar was ordered in Numbers xv. 38, in the hinges to be attached to the Arba bamforth on his breast, and which every Jew still wears.—Tod's Rajasthan, i. pp. 225, 328 ; Cole. Myth. Hind. p. 154 ; Wilson's Hindu 7'heatre, p. 163 ; Moor's Hindoo Pantheon ; Chow-Chow.