May they restore to us to-day the auspicious breath of life,
that we may behold the sun." Evidently the part of the Cerberi here is
not in harmony with their function in stanza 10: instead of debarring
men from the abodes of bliss they pick out the dead that are ultimately
destined to boon companionship with Yama. The same idea is expressed
simply and clearly in prayers for long life in the _Atharva-Veda_: "The
two dogs of Yama, the dark and the spotted, that guard the road (to
heaven), that have been dispatched, shall not (go after) thee! Come
hither, do not long to be away! Do not tarry here with thy mind turned
to a distance." (viii. 1. 9.) And again: "Remain here, O man, with thy
soul entire! Do not follow the two messengers of Yama; come to the
abodes of the living." (v. 30. 6.)
These prayers contain the natural, yet under the circumstances rather
paradoxical, desire to live yet a little longer upon the earth in the
light of the sun. Fitfully the mortal Hindu regales himself with
saccharine promises of paradise; in his every-day mood he clings to life
and shrinks with the uneasy sense that his paradise may not materialize,
even if the hope is expressed glibly and fluently.
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