The two queens were also laid down beside the corpse,
one on the right hand, and the other on the left, and they joined hands
by stretching them over the body. The astrologer having then declared
that the happy moment was come for firing the pile, the Brahmins
repeated several prayers in a loud voice, and sprinkled the pile with
holy water. When these ceremonies were finished, a signal was given, and
the pillars which supported the pyramid and the scaffold were suddenly
taken away. Immediately the women were covered with the falling mass of
timber, which tumbled over them with a crash. At the same instant the
pile was fired in all its parts. On one side, the nearest relative of
the king applied his torch, and on the other side, the priest; while the
Brahmins, in every quarter, were pouring jars of melted butter on the
flames, creating so intense a heat as must instantly have consumed the
victims. Then the multitude shouted for joy, and the relations
approaching the pile also set up a loud cry, calling them by their
names. They supposed that they heard a voice in answer pronouncing
_Enna?_ that is, _What_? but the fall of the platform, and the immediate
bursting out of the flames, must have stifled them at once.
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