FOLKLORE NOTES.
FOLK LORE NOTES.
Vol. I—GUJARAT.
COMPILED FROM MATERIALS COLLECTED BY
the late A. M. T. JACKSON, indian civil service.
R. E. ENTHOVEN, c.i.e., i.c.s.
BRITISH INDIA PRESS, MAZGAON BOMBAY.
1914
INTRODUCTION.
The circumstances attending the murder of Mr. A. M. T. Jackson in Nasik in December 1909 led to the raising of a small subscription among his friends, to be devoted to a memorial in some shape or form, showing the respect and affection with which he was regarded in Western India. A large part of the fund then raised was expended on the purchase of his valuable library, which now forms a part of the collection owned by the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. It was subsequently decided that the balance could not be better spent than in defraying the cost of publishing certain folklore materials which he had collected and intended, at the time of his untimely death, to publish in the pages of the Indian Antiquary. These materials were the result of an enquiry set on foot by him about the year 1900. His plan of operation was to forward, through the agency of the Education Department, Crooke’s list of folklore questions to schoolmasters in various parts of the Presidency. The question paper is given below; the replies form the raw material from which these notes have been compiled. For convenience they are divided into two series: Gujarat and the Konkan.
I desire at the outset of these introductory remarks to explain that, when at the request of the memorial committee I undertook the task of seeing these notes through the press, I did not contemplate any critical handling of the materials found in the papers made over to me. I had neither the leisure nor the knowledge to carry out Mr. Jackson’s intention, i.e., to edit the notes carefully with such criticisms and comparisons as his ripe scholarship would have suggested. I make no claim, therefore, to have effected more than to have rescued from the wastepaper basket a number of replies to questions regarding the beliefs of the people in Gujarat and the Konkan. The notes as now presented doubtless contain much that is trivial, and possibly many inaccuracies; but among them students of folklore may on the other hand discover material of real value—such as they are, they will, I trust, repay careful study, and perhaps serve one day to form the basis of a further and more comprehensive examination of the folk-lore of the Bombay Presidency—an examination which should not be too long deferred, for the old practices and beliefs are yearly tending to decay and vanish in contact with the spread of education. The field for enquiry is wide and rich, but workers fail to come forward; and meanwhile the old beliefs and practices slowly disappear. On the subjects with which these notes deal, much information of value has already been collected and recorded by another oriental scholar, the late Sir James Campbell, K.C.I.E., and will be found partly in the pages of the Bombay Gazetteer, and partly in the notes on the Spirit Basis of Belief and Custom which he published from time to time in the Indian Antiquary. The present notes carry striking confirmation of Sir James Campbell’s theory regarding the extent to which beliefs and religious practices in this country can be traced to the desire to propitiate spirit presences. It may be remarked that Campbell’s work in the domain of Indian folk-lore does not seem to have received the notice that it deserves in the works of writers on folk-lore generally, possibly because so much of it is buried in the pages of the Bombay Gazetteer or in scattered numbers of the Indian Antiquary. The notes would amply repay the labour of republication, with a summary and suitable index. They deal very fully with spirit worship and possession, witchcraft and magic, and the evil eye. They differ from the present notes in being to a large extent comparative, assembling under the various heads of ancestor worship, spirit haunts, spirit possession, exorcism, etc., kindred beliefs from all parts of the world. Doubtless his work to no small extent suggested to Mr. Jackson the line of enquiry which is contained in the question paper. From the materials accumulated by these two scholars a comprehensive study of the folk-lore of western India may one day be compiled.
The notes illustrate very fully the common beliefs in unseen presences causing mischief of various kinds. They illustrate the common methods of protection by propitiation, of spirit and disease scaring, and of avoidance of the effects of the evil eye. A full list will be found (pp. 126–130) of the lucky and unlucky omens besetting the undertaking of various acts, and much information is recorded regarding lucky and unlucky numbers, and spirit scaring names which has not, so far as I am aware, been made public before. Ceremonies for exorcising spirits that have possessed human beings are given in some detail. There will also be found an account of the interpretation commonly put on such natural phenomena as the rainbow, an eclipse, thunder, lightning, meteors, comets, &c.
Many examples are given of the beliefs regarding the means for securing successful pregnancy. The trees and animals worshipped in the country side are described, with the ceremony that is held to be suitable in each case. An unusually interesting belief is that which attributes to a certain lake in Gujarat the power to transform males into females and vice versa (see p. 39). The curing of diseases by the wearing of magic threads and the application of mantras or holy verses is also dealt with in some detail. Finally a list is given of the shrines of the country side with the tradition regarding the holy man in whose honour and to whose memory they have been erected. They are for the most part worshipped alike by Hindu and Musalman.
In conclusion, I would refer once more to the fact that no attempt has been made to edit critically the information embodied in these notes. In the scanty leisure available after official demands on my time have been met, it has only been possible to see the materials through the press as they stood, after translation. The task has been greatly lightened by the generous assistance received from R. B. P. B. Joshi who undertook the preparation of the whole of the MSS. of the Konkan series. I am also greatly indebted to Mr. G. M. Kalelkar for many arduous hours of work on the compilation of the Gujarat papers. To both these gentlemen my cordial thanks are due for their co-operation. If the publication of these materials serve to stimulate interest in the subject of Indian folk-lore, they will not have been printed in vain. Such as they are, they will, I trust, remain as a small tribute to the memory of an oriental scholar, of no mean merit, of whose services India was deprived in so untimely a manner.
QUESTIONS ON FOLKLORE.
By W. CROOKE, Late of the Indian Civil Service.
Author of the Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India.
I. NATURE POWERS.
1. Give any indications of the connection of the worship of the Deota or minor local deities with the lower races, as, for instance, where the village deity is served by a priest drawn from the lower castes.
2. Give any current beliefs about sun worship. How and at what periodical feasts is the worship conducted and what form of ritual is adopted?
3. Give any customs of moving round temples or sacred objects in the course of the sun in the heavens: cases in which women after childbirth are exposed to the sun: conception believed to be caused by exposure to the rays of the sun: the use of the Swastika as an emblem.
4. Give any legends or customs connected with moon worship: the spots on the surface of the moon: the moon as a healer of disease: the custom of drinking the moon’s rays: any ceremonies at new or full moon.
5. Give any legends and rites connected with eclipses.
6. Similarly for star worship; superstitions connected with the rainbow; the milky way.
7. Rites connected with worship of the earth mother: sacred things not to fall on earth: occasions when people sleep on the earth.
8. Superstitions connected with thunder and lightning.
9. Popular belief regarding earthquakes.
10. Collect instances of and ritual for worship of sacred rivers; springs; waterfalls; water spirits and goblins: prejudice against saving drowning people: ceremonies at digging and dedication of wells: well water as a cure for disease: instances of sacred lakes: palaces under the water.
11. Instances of sacred mountains and legends connected with them: dread of climbing mountains.
12. Name any deities supposed to control the weather, and describe the modes of causing or averting rain, of checking storms and hail.
13. Give instances of any rites in which women alone take part or from which they are excluded: any rites in which the worshipper must be nude.
14. Are there any sacred stones which are believed to influence the rain?
15. Note any superstitions in connection with aerolites and meteors.
II. THE HEROIC GODLINGS.
16. Describe the ritual and any legends or superstitions connected with the worship of Hanumān, Bhīmsen, Bhīshma.
17. Name and describe the local deities most generally worshipped in your neighbourhood. What legends are connected with them; who are their priests; what offerings and on what occasions are offerings made to them?
18. How is the local deity of a new settlement selected and installed?
19. What local deity is considered responsible for crops and cattle? When and how is he worshipped?
20. Describe the worship of Bhairon or Bhairava, Ganesa, the Matris or Mothers, the deities of the jungle, those who assist parturition.
III. DISEASE DEITIES.
21. Describe the worship of any deities who are believed to have the power of averting or causing disease, such as cholera, small pox, fever, etc.
22. Is epidemic disease attributed to witchcraft, and, if so, what precautions are taken? Give particulars of observances in connection with cattle disease.
23. What methods are in vogue for the exorcism of disease? Give examples of any rural charms used for this purpose.
24. Is dancing used in exorcism? If so, give instances of religious dances.
25. What are the position and functions of the village sorcerer and how is he appointed?
26. Give examples of the offering of rags, coins, etc., at sacred trees, wells, etc.
27. Give any methods of transferring disease to another person.
28. Give instances of the use of scapegoats.
IV. THE WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AND SAINTS.
29. Give instances of worship of ancestors: the belief that spirits are mortal and that the spirits of the dead are re-born in children.
30. Give instances of miracle-working tombs, and of saints who have been deified in modern times.
31. Give instances of Muhammadan saints whose worship has been adopted by Hindus.
32. Give the rural methods in vogue for the cure of barrenness.
V. THE WORSHIP OF THE MALEVOLENT DEAD.
33. What are the current beliefs as to the cause of dreams and the omens derived from them?
34. Is it considered possible for the soul to leave the body temporarily? If so, give instances.
35. What is the popular conception of the character and functions of the Bhut or disembodied soul?
36. What beliefs are current as to the state of the soul after death; the path to the other world: the condition of souls in the other world: the possibility of the soul returning thence?
37. What belief is current as to the souls of those dying by a sudden or violent death?
38. What are believed to be the appearance and habits of the Bhut?
39. In what way do spirits enter or leave the body?
40. What is the current theory regarding sneezing and yawning?
41. What is known of the Rakshasa or malevolent demon?
42. Name and describe any other varieties of malignant spirits.
43. Do any evil spirits go about headless?
44. What special evil spirits infest burial or cremation grounds, and what are the other haunts of such spirits?
45. Does any special class of evil spirit infest mountains, jungles, trees?
46. What fiends attack the young mother and her child?
47. What belief prevails as to the spirits of those killed by tigers or other wild beasts?
48. What form does the ghost of a woman dying at childbirth or during her menses assume?
49. Is there any belief that the father has to take special precautions at the birth of his child?
50. Is there any belief in a connection of the bat or owl with spirits of the dead?
51. Describe the evil spirits which haunt ruins and guard buried treasure: or occupy caves and mines.
VI. THE EVIL EYE AND THE SCARING OF GHOSTS.
52. Describe the belief in the Evil eye and the modes of evading it.
53. Does the belief in giving opprobrious names to children prevail, and if so, how is it accounted for?
54. Can you give instances of change of sex?
55. Illustrate the value of the following protection against evil spirits—iron and other metals: coral and shells: precious stones: blood: incense: spittle: salt: water: grain: colours: grasses: tattooing: leather: garlic: glass.
56. Describe the amulets generally used.
57. Illustrate the sacred circle as a protective.
58. Illustrate the belief in omens, numbers, lucky and unlucky days.
59. What means are adopted to help the spirit to the other world, to prevent it from returning and to secure its good-will to the survivors?
60. Illustrate the prevalence of earth burial and cremation: the customs of shaving the hair: placing food or other articles for the use of the dead.
61. Does the spirit reappear in the form of insects and animals?
62. Are the earthen vessels of the household broken at death: if so, why? Describe rites connected with mourning.
63. What spirits are benevolent?
64. Illustrate the belief in tree spirits.
65. What spirits are special protectors of crops and cattle?
66. What spirits are invoked to frighten children?
VII. TREE AND SERPENT WORSHIP.
67. Name any sacred groves in your neighbourhood and describe any prejudice against cutting trees.
68. Are any trees specially connected with any local deity or saint?
69. Name any trees which receive particular respect or devotion and note any legends or superstitions in connection with them.
70. Does the custom of marrying a bride or bridegroom to a tree prevail? Any instances of marriage to a god: religious prostitution.
71. Give instances of snake worship and shrines of serpent deities: of deified snake heroes.
72. Does the belief prevail that snakes guard treasure? Give details.
73. What snake festivals are observed? Describe the ritual.
74. What is the village treatment of snake-bite?
75. The snake has a jewel in his head: he is connected with the rainbow: he has a palace under the water: he weds mortal girls: he protects the household—illustrate these beliefs.
VIII. TOTEMISM AND FETISHISM.
76. Can you quote any beliefs which are suggestive of Totemism? Are any clans named after or do they claim descent from animals or plants? What animals are treated with special respect by particular tribes? Do special castes refuse to eat any special food?
77. Are any local deities specially associated with animal worship?
78. Illustrate the worship of stocks and stones. Is any respect shown to perforated stones?
79. Are there any modern survivals of human sacrifice?
80. Are fetish stones supposed to cure disease or to be the abode of spirits?
81. Are any fetishes peculiar to particular families or castes?
82. Is special respect shown to the corn sieve, the winnowing basket, the broom, the rice pounder, the plough?
83. Give instances of fire worship. Is the sacred fire maintained in any shrine? Is fire made by friction for special rites?
IX. ANIMAL WORSHIP.
84. Illustrate from local examples the worship or respect paid to the horse, ass, lion, tiger, dog, goat, cow, buffalo, antelope, elephant, cat, rat and mouse, squirrel, bear, jackal, hare, crow, fowl, dove and pigeon, swan, and other birds, alligators, fish and insects, and give any legend or superstition in connection with them.
X. WITCHCRAFT.
85. How far does the belief in witches and their powers prevail? Do they appear as animals and have they special haunts and seasons?
86. What ordeals are used to test a witch and what means to guard against her witchcraft?
XI. GENERAL.
87. Describe the rural ceremonies in connection with ploughing, sowing the various crops, reaping and harvesting.
88. Rites intended for the protection of cattle; to ensure sunshine and favourable weather: to scare noxious animals or insects: to protect special crops: illustrate these from local custom.
89. Are there any rites in which secrecy and silence are essential?
90. Describe the observances at the Holi.
91. Give details of any rites performed when boys or girls attain puberty.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
[Nature Powers.] Page.
Worship of minor local deities. Sun-worship. Circumambulation round images and other sacred objects. Exposure of women to the Sun after child-birth. The Swastika. Moon-worship. Eclipses. Worship of planets and stars. The rainbow. The milky way. Worship of the earth. Thunder and lightning. Earthquakes. Worship of sacred rivers, springs and pools. Water spirits and goblins. Ceremonies at digging of wells. Well water as a cure for disease. Sacred Lakes. Palaces under the water. Sacred mountains. Deities who control the weather. Methods of causing or averting rain and of checking storms. Vratas or religious vows practised only by women. Rites in which women are excluded. Rites in which the worshipper must be nude. Superstitions in connection with aerolites and meteors. 1
CHAPTER II.
The worship of Hanumān, Bhimsen and Bhishma. Local deities. Installation of deities in new settlements. Deities responsible for crops and cattle. The worship of Bhairow, Ganesh, Mātrikās or mothers, the deities of the jungle and the deities who preside over childbirth. 54
CHAPTER III.
Deities who can cause or avert diseases such as cholera, small pox, fever, etc. Causes of the outbreak of cholera. Remedies adopted to stop cholera. Causes of the outbreak of small pox. Remedies adopted for the cure of small pox. Causes of fever. Remedies adopted in cases of fever. Cattle diseases. Remedies practised by the village people in connection with them. The methods for the exorcism of disease. Methods of expelling evil spirits from the body. The village sorcerer. Offerings of rags, coins, etc. at sacred trees and wells. The transferring of disease from one person to another. Scapegoats. 74
CHAPTER IV.
[The worship of ancestors and saints.]
Shrāddhas and other ceremonies performed for the propitiation and emancipation of the deceased. Worship of the founders of religious sects, of saints, etc. Ghosts. The length of their life. Rebirth of ancestors in the same family. Miracle-working tombs. Muhammadan saints whose worship has been adopted by Hindus. Rural methods for the cure of barrenness. 89
CHAPTER V.
[The worship of the malevolent dead.]
Popular notions about dreams. Auspicious and inauspicious dreams. Temporary abandonment of the body by the soul. Character and functions of the bhut or disembodied soul. The state of the soul after death. The rebirth of the soul. The souls of persons dying a sudden or violent death. The ways by which ghosts enter and leave the body. Methods of driving away evil spirits from the body. Beliefs regarding sneezing and yawning. Rākshasa or the malevolent demon. Mahārākshasas. Other malignant spirits. Evil spirits which go about headless. The haunts of evil spirits. Ghosts of women dying an unnatural death. Spirits of persons killed by tigers and other wild beasts. Ghosts of women dying in child-bed or menses. Precautions taken by parents at the birth of children. Beliefs in connection with bats and owls. Spirits which haunt ruins, guard buried treasure and occupy valleys. 102
CHAPTER VI.
[The evil eye and the scaring of ghosts.]
Effects of the evil eye. Objects liable to be influenced by the evil eye. Precautions taken to evade the influence of the evil eye. Opprobrious names. Change of sex. Protection against evil spirits. Amulets. Charmed circles. Omens. Numbers. Lucky and unlucky days. Rites performed to help the soul to the other world. Cremation and burial. The customs of shaving the hair. Offerings of food to the dead. Manifestation of evil spirits in form. The practice of breaking earthen vessels at death. Rites connected with mourning. Benevolent spirits. Spirits which haunt trees. The guardian spirits of crops and cattle. Spirits invoked to frighten children. 120
CHAPTER VII.
Trees connected with deities and saints. Legends and superstitions connected with them. Marriage of brides and bridegrooms to trees. Snake worship. Shrines of snake deities. Deified snakes. Snakes guarding treasure. The village treatment of snake-bite. The jewel in the head of the snake. Its connection with the rainbow. Weddings of snakes with human beings. Guardian snakes. 136
CHAPTER VIII.
Names derived from animals. Names derived from plants. Clan names derived from trees and animals. Sacred animals. Deities associated with animal worship. Worship of stocks and stones. Survivals of human sacrifice. Disease-curing stones. Respect shown to corn sieves, corn pounders, the broom and the plough. Fire worship. 144
CHAPTER IX.
Sacred animals and the legends and superstitions connected with them. 150
CHAPTER X.
Human and ghost by Dākans or witches. 152
CHAPTER XI.
Rural ceremonies connected with agricultural operations. Rites performed for the protection of cattle. Rites performed for scaring noxious animals and insects. Rites performed for ensuring sunshine and favourable weather. Rites performed for the protection of crops. Rites in which secrecy and silence are observed. The observances at the Holi festival. Rites performed when girls attain puberty. 153
THE FOLKLORE OF GUJARAT
NATURE POWERS
CHAPTER I
Besides the higher-grade deities, whose worship is enjoined and treated of in the Shāstras and Purānas, numerous other minor deities, none of whom however find a place in the Scriptures, are worshipped by the lower classes. The principle underlying the whole fabric of the worship of these minor deities, who for the most part are the spirits of dead ancestors or heroes, has more in it of fear for their power of harming than of love for their divine nature. All untoward occurrences in domestic affairs, all bodily ailments and unusual natural phenomena, inexplicable to the simple mind of the villager, are attributed to the malignant action of these nameless and numerous spirits, hovering over and haunting the habitations of men.[1] The latent dread of receiving injuries from these evil spirits results in the worship by the low-class people of a number of devas and mātās, as they are called. The poor villager, surrounded on all sides by hosts of hovering spirits, ready to take offence, or even to possess him, on the smallest pretext, requires some tangible protector to save him from such malign influences.[1] He sets up and enshrines the spirit that he believes to have been beneficent to him, and so deserving of worship, and makes vows in its honour, often becoming himself the officiating priest. Each such deity has its own particular thānak (sthāna) or locality. Thus there is hardly a village which has not a particular deity of its own. But in addition to this deity, others in far off villages are generally held in high esteem.[1]
There are a number of ways in which these lower-class deities can be installed. Their images are made either of wood, stone, or metal.[2] No temples or shrines are erected in their honour.[3] An ordinary way of representing them is by drawing a trident, (trishūl, a weapon peculiar to god Shiva) in red-lead and oil on an upright slab of stone on a public road, on any dead wall, on the confines of a village, or a mountain side, or a hill top, in an underground cellar, or on the bank of a stream.[4] Some people paint tridents in their own houses. The trishūl, or trident, may also be made of wood, in which case its three points are plastered with red-lead and oil and covered with a thin coating of tin.[5] Sometimes carved wooden images in human shape, daubed over with red-lead and oil, are placed in a small wooden chariot or in a recess about a foot square. In some shrines two brooms or whisks of peacock’s feathers are placed on either side of the image.[6] A slight difficulty overcome or a disease remedied by a vow in honour of any of these deities offers the occasion for an installation, and in all future emergencies of the same kind similar vows are observed. A mātā installed to protect a fortress or a street is called a Gadheri Mātā, and the worshippers of a fortress, or street, mother are known as Pothias.[7] At the time of installation flags are hoisted near the dedicated places. A troop of dancers with jingling anklets recite holy verses, while the bhuva, exorcist-priest, performs the ceremonies. Generally installations are frequent during the Navarātra[8] holidays when, if no human-shaped image is set up, a trishūl at least is drawn in red-lead and oil.[9] Some of these evil deities require, at the time of their installation, the balidān (sacrifice or oblation) of a goat or a he-buffalo. Also, when a spirit is to be exorcised, the symbol of the familiar spirit of the exorcist is set up and invoked by him.[9] After the installation, no systematic form of worship is followed in connection with them.[10] Regular forms are prescribed for the real gods of the Purānas. But upon these the low-caste people are not authorised to attend.
Still, in practice there are two forms of worship: ordinary or sāmānya-pūjā and special or vishesha-pūjā.[11] Ordinary worship is performed by bathing the deity—which can be done by sprinkling a few drops of water over it—burning a ghi, or an oil, lamp before it, and by offering a cocoanut and a pice or a half-anna piece. The last is taken away by the bhuva, or priest, who returns generally half or three-quarters of the cocoanut as a prasād of the god.
There are no particular days prescribed for such worship, but Sundays and Tuesdays would seem to be the most favoured.[12] On such days, offerings are made for the fulfilment of a vow recorded in order to avoid a bādhā, or impending evil. In the observance of this vow the devotee abstains from certain things, such as ghi, butter, milk, rice, juvar, betelnut till the period of the vow expires. When a vow is thus discharged, the devotee offers flowers, garlands, incense, food or drink according to the terms of his vow.[12] The dhūpa, i.e., burning incense of gūgal (balsamodendron) is one of the commonest methods of worship.
The days for special worship are the Navarātra holidays, the second day of the bright half of Āshādh, the ninth month of the Hindu Calendar,[13] Divāsā[14] or the fifteenth day of the dark half of Āshādh, and Kālī-chaudas[15] or the fourteenth day of the dark half of Āshvin, the last month; besides other extraordinary occasions when a spirit has to be exorcised out of a sick person.
The Navarātra days are said to be the most auspicious days for devī-worship. People believing in the power of the mātās observe fast on these days. Most of them at least fast on the eighth day of the Navarātra known as Mātā-ashtamī, taking only a light meal which consists of roots, as a rule, especially the suran (Amorphophallus campanulatus), and of dates and milk.[16] On the Navarātra days red-lead and oil are applied to the images of the devis, and a number of oblations, such as loaves, cooked rice, lāpsi[17], vadān[18] and bāklā[19] are offered.[20] The utmost ceremonial cleanliness is observed in the preparation of these viands. The corn is sifted, cleaned, ground or pounded, cooked, treated with frankincense, offered to the gods and lastly partaken of before sunset, and all these operations must be performed on the same day; for the offerings must not see lamp-light.[21] Girls are not allowed to partake of these offerings. All ceremonies should be conducted with much earnestness and reverence; otherwise the offerings will fail to prove acceptable to the mātās or devis.[21]
On Mātā-ashtamī and Kālī-chaudas devotees sometimes offer rams, goats or buffaloes as victims to the devis or devas in addition to the usual offerings of lāpsi, vadān and bāklā.[21] The night of Kālī-chaudas is believed to be so favourable for the efficacious recitation (sādhana) of certain mantras, mysterious incantations possessing sway over spirits, that bhuvas (exorcists) leave the village and sit up performing certain rites in cemeteries, on burning-ghats, and in other equally suitable places where spirits are supposed to congregate.[22]
On Divāsā, the last day of Āshādh, the ninth month, low-caste people bathe their gods with water and milk, besmear them with red-lead and oil, and make offerings of cocoanuts, lāpsi, bāklā of adād (Phaseoleus radiatus) or kansār[23]. Particular offerings are believed to be favoured by particular deities: for instance, khichdo (rice and pulse boiled together) and oil, or tavo (flat unleavened loaves) are favoured by the goddess Meldi, boiled rice by Shikotar and lāpsi by the goddess Gātrād.[24]
On these holidays, as well as on the second day of the bright half of Āshādh the devotees hoist flags in honour of the spirits, and play on certain musical instruments producing discordant sounds. Meanwhile bhuvas, believed to be interpreters of the wills of evil spirits, undergo self-torture, with the firm conviction that the spirits have entered their persons. Sometimes they lash themselves with iron chains or cotton braided scourges.[25] At times a bhuva places a pan-full of sweet oil over a fire till it boils. He then fries cakes in it, and takes them out with his unprotected hands, sprinkling the boiling oil over his hair. He further dips thick cotton wicks into the oil, lights them and puts them into his mouth and throws red-hot bullets into his mouth, seemingly without any injury.[26] This process secures the confidence of the sevakas or followers, and is very often used by bhuvas when exorcising spirits from persons whose confidence the bhuvas wish to gain. A bowl-full of water is then passed round the head of the ailing person (or animal) to be charmed, and the contents are swallowed by the exorcist to show that he has swallowed in the water all the ills the flesh of the patient is heir to.[26]
In the cure of certain diseases by exorcising the process known as utār is sometimes gone through. An utār is a sacrificial offering of the nature of a scapegoat, and consists of a black earthen vessel, open and broad at the top, and containing lāpsi, vadān, bāklā, a yard of atlas (dark-red silk fabric), one rupee and four annas in cash, pieces of charcoal, red-lead, sorro (or surmo-lead ore used as eye-powder), an iron-nail and three cocoanuts.[26] Very often a trident is drawn in red-lead and oil on the outer sides of the black earthen vessel.[27] The bhuva carries the utār in his hands with a drawn sword in a procession, to the noise of the jingling of the anklets of his companions, the beating of drums and the rattling of cymbals. After placing the utār in the cemetery the procession returns with tumultuous shouts of joy and much jingling of anklets.[28]
Sometimes bhuvas are summoned for two or three nights preceding the day of the utār ceremony, and a ceremony known as Dānklān-beswān or the installation of the dānklā[29] is performed. (A dānklā[30] is a special spirit instrument in the shape of a small kettle-drum producing, when beaten by a stick, a most discordant, and, by long association, a melancholy, gruesome and ghastly sound—K. B. Fazlullah).
Many sects have special deities of their own, attended upon by a bhuva of the same order.[31] The bhuva holds a high position in the society of his caste-fellows. He believes himself to be possessed by the devi or mātā whose attendant he is, and declares, while possessed by her, the will of the mātā, replying for her to such questions as may be put to him.[32] The devis are supposed to appear in specially favoured bhuvas and to endow them with prophetic powers.[33]
The following is a list of some of the inferior local deities of Gujarat and Kathiawar:—
(1) Suro-pūro.—This is generally the spirit of some brave ancestor who died a heroic death, and is worshipped by his descendants as a family-god at his birthplace as well as at the scene of his death, where a pillar (pālio) is erected to his memory.[34]
(2) Vachhro, otherwise known by the name of Dādā (sire).—This is said to have been a Rajput, killed in rescuing the cowherds of some Chārans, who invoked his aid, from a party of free-booters.[35] He is considered to be the family-god of the Ahirs of Solanki descent, and is the sole village-deity in Okha and Baradi Districts.[36] Other places dedicated to this god are Padānā, Aniālā, Taluka Mengani,[37] Khajurdi, Khirasarā and Anida.[38] He is represented by a stone horse, and Chārans perform priestly duties in front of him.[39] Submission to, and vows in honour of, this god, are believed to cure rabid-dog-bites.[40]
(3) Sarmālio commands worship in Gondal, Khokhāri and many other places. Newly-married couples of many castes loosen the knots tied in their marriage-scarves as a mark of respect for him.[41] Persons bitten by a snake wear round their necks a piece of thread dedicated to this god.[40]
(4) Shitalā is a goddess known for the cure of small-pox.—Persons attacked by this disease observe vows in her honour. Kālāvad and Syādlā are places dedicated to her.[40]
(5) Ganāgor.—Virgins who are anxious to secure suitable husbands and comfortable establishments worship this goddess and observe vows in her honour.[40]
(6) Todāliā.—She has neither an idol nor a temple set up in her honour, but is represented by a heap of stones lying on the village boundary—Pādal or Jāmpā. All marriage processions, before entering the village (Sānkā) or passing by the heap, pay homage to this deity and offer a cocoanut, failure to do which is believed to arouse her wrath. She does not command daily adoration, but on occasions the attendant, who is a Chumvāliā Koli, and who appropriates all the presents to this deity, burns frankincense of gugal (balsamodendron) and lights a lamp before her.[42]
(7) Buttāya also is represented by a heap of stones on a hillock in the vicinity of Sānkā. Her worshipper is a Talabdia Koli. A long season of drought leads to her propitiation by feasting Brāhmans, for which purpose four pounds of corn are taken in her name from each threshing floor in the village.[42]
(8) Surdhan.—This seems to have been some brave Kshatriya warrior who died on a battlefield. A temple is erected to his memory, containing an image of Shiva. The attending priest is an Atit.[42]
(9) Ghogho.—This is a cobra-god worshipped in the village of Bikhijada having a Bajana (tumbler) for his attending priest.[42]
(10) Pir.—This is a Musalman saint, in whose honour no tomb is erected, the special site alone being worshipped by a devotee.[42]
(11) Raneki is represented by a heap of stones, and is attended upon by chamārs (tanners). Her favourite resort is near the Dhedvādā (i.e., a quarter inhabited by sweepers). A childless Girasia is said to have observed a vow in her honour for a son, and a son being born to him, he dedicated certain lands to her; but they are no longer in the possession of the attendants.[43]
(12) Hanuman.—On a mound of earth there is an old worn-out image of this god. People sometimes light a lamp there, offer cocoanuts and plaster the image with red-lead and oil. A sādhu of the Māragi sect, a Koli by birth, acts as pujari.[43]
(13) Shaktā (or shakti).—This is a Girasia goddess attended upon by a Chumvāliā Koli. On the Navarātra days, as well as on the following day, Girasias worship this goddess, and if necessary observe vows in her name.[43]
(14) Harsidh.—Gāndhavi in Bardā and Ujjain are the places dedicated to this goddess. There is a tradition connected with her that her image stood in a place of worship facing the sea on Mount Koyalo in Gandhavi. She was believed to sink or swallow all the vessels that sailed by. A Bania named Jagadusā, knowing this, propitiated her by the performance of religious austerities. On being asked what boon he wanted from her, he requested her to descend from her mountain-seat. She agreed on the Bania promising to offer a living victim for every footstep she took in descending. Thus he sacrificed one victim after another until the number of victims he had brought was exhausted. He then first offered his four or five children, then his wife and lastly himself. In reward for his self-devotion the goddess faced towards Miani and no mishaps are believed to take place in the village.[44]
(15) Hinglaj.—This goddess has a place of worship a hundred and fifty miles from Karachi in Sind, to which her devotees and believers make pilgrimage.[44]
In the village of Jāsdān, in Kathiawar, there is an ancient shrine of Kālu-Pīr in whose memory there are two sepulchres covered with costly fabrics, and a large flag floats over the building. Both Hindus and Musalmans believe[45] in this saint, and offer cocoanuts, sweetmeats and money to his soul. A part of the offering being passed through the smoke of frankincense, burning in a brazier near the saint’s grave in the shrine, the rest is returned to the offerer. Every morning and evening a big kettle-drum is beaten in the Pīr’s honour.[46]
Other minor deities are Shikotār, believed by sailors to be able to protect them from the dangers of the deep;[47] Charmathvati, the goddess of the Rabarīs;[48] Macho, the god of the shepherds;[48] Meldi, in whom Vaghries (bird-catchers) believe;[49] Pithād, the favourite god of Dheds;[50] Dhavdi, who is worshipped by a hajām (barber);[51] Khodiar;[52] Géla,[52] Dādamo,[52] Kshetrapāl,[52] Chāvad,[53] Mongal,[53] Avad,[53] Pālan,[53] Vir Vaital,[54] Jālio,[54] Gadio,[54] Paino,[54] Parolio,[54] Sevalio,[54] Andhario,[54] Fulio,[54] Bhoravo,[54] Ragantio,[54] Chod,[55] Gātrad,[55] Mammai and Verai.[56] There are frequent additions to the number, as any new disease or unusual and untoward incident may bring a new spirit into existence. The installation of such deities is not a costly concern,[57] and thus there is no serious check on their recognition.
The sun, the beneficent night-dispelling, light-bestowing great luminary, is believed to be the visible manifestation of the Almighty God,[58] and inspires the human mind with a feeling of grateful reverence which finds expression in titles like Savitā, Life-Producer, the nourisher and generator of all life and activity[59].
He is the chief rain-sender[60]; there is a couplet used in Gujarat illustrative of this belief. It runs:—“Oblations are cast into the Fire: the smoke carries the prayers to the sun; the Divine Luminary, propitiated, responds in sending down gentle showers.” “The sacred smoke, rising from the sacrificial offerings, ascends through the ethereal regions to the Sun. He transforms it into the rain-giving clouds, the rains produce food, and food produces the powers of generation and multiplication and plenty. Thus, the sun, as the propagator of animal life, is believed to be the highest deity.[60]”
It is pretty generally believed that vows in honour of the sun are highly efficacious in curing eye-diseases and strengthening the eyesight. Mr. Damodar Karsonji Pandya quotes from the Bhagvadgītā the saying of Krishna:
प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः
“I am the very light of the sun and the moon.[61]” Being the embodiment or the fountain of light, the sun imparts his lustre either to the bodies or to the eyes of his devotees. It is said that a Rajput woman of Gomātā in Gondal and a Brahman of Rajkot were cured of white leprosy by vows in honour of the sun.[62] Similar vows are made to this day for the cure of the same disease. Persons in Kathiawar suffering from ophthalmic disorders, venereal affections, leucoderma and white leprosy are known to observe vows in honour of the sun.[63]
The Parmār Rajputs believe in the efficacy of vows in honour of the sun deity of Māndavrāj, in curing hydrophobia.[64]
Women believe that a vow or a vrat made to the sun is the sure means of attaining their desires. Chiefly their vows are made with the object of securing a son. On the fulfilment of this desire, in gratitude to the Great Luminary, the child is often called after him, and given such a name as Suraj-Rām, Bhānu-Shankar, Ravi-Shankar, Adit-Rām.[65]
Many cradles are received as presents at the temple of Māndavrāj, indicating that the barren women who had made vows to the deity have been satisfied in their desire for a son, the vows being fulfilled by the present of such toy-cradles to the sun. In the case of rich donors, these cradles are made of precious metal.[66]
At Mandvara, in the Muli District of Kathiawar, the Parmār Rajputs, as well as the Kāthis, bow to the image of the sun, on their marriage-day, in company with their newly-married brides.[66] After the birth of a son to a Rajputani, the hair on the boy’s head is shaved for the first time in the presence of the Māndavrāj deity,[67] and a suit of rich clothes is presented to the image by the maternal uncle of the child.[68]
The sun is सर्वसाक्षी the observer of all things and nothing can escape his notice.[69] His eye is believed to possess the lustre of the three Vedic lores, viz., Rigveda, Yajurveda and Sāmaveda, and is therefore known by the name of वेदत्रयी. The attestation of a document in his name as Sūrya-Nārāyana-Sākshi is believed to be ample security for the sincerity and good faith of the parties.[70] Oaths in the name of the sun are considered so binding that persons swearing in his name are held to be pledged to the strictest truth.[71]
Virgin girls observe a vrat, or vow, called the ‘tili-vrat’ in the sun’s honour, for attaining अखंड सौभाग्य—eternal exemption from widowhood. In making this vrat, or vow, the votary, having bathed and worshipped the sun, sprinkles wet red-lac drops before him.[72]
According to Forbes’s Rāsmālā, the sun revealed to the Kāthis the plan of regaining their lost kingdom, and thus commanded their devout worship and reverence. The temple named Suraj-deval, near Thān, was set up by the Kāthis in recognition of this favour. In it both the visible resplendent disc of the sun and his image are adored.[73]
People whose horoscopes declare them to have been born under the Sūrya-dashā, or solar influence, have from time to time to observe vows prescribed by Hindu astrology.[74]
Cultivators are said to observe vows in honour of the sun for the safety of their cattle.[75]
The following are some of the standard books on sun-worship:—
(1) Aditya-hridaya—literally, the Heart of the Sun. It treats of the glory of the sun and the mode of worshipping him.
(2) Brihadāranyakopanishad and Mandula-Brahmans—portions of Yajurveda recited by Vedic Brahmans with a view to tender symbolic as well as mental prayers to the sun.
(3) Bibhrād—the fourth chapter of the Rudri.
(4) A passage in Brāhman—a portion of the Vedas, beginning with the words स्वयंभूरसि Thou art self-existent—is entirely devoted to Sun-worship.[76]
(5) Sūrya-Purāna—A treatise relating a number of stories in glorification of the sun.
(6) Sūrya-kavacha.[77]
(7) Sūrya-gīta.
(8) Sūrya-Sahasranama—a list of one thousand names of Sūrya.[78]
It is customary among Hindus to cleanse their teeth every morning with a wooden stick, known as dātan[79] and then to offer salutations to the sun in the form of a verse which means: “Oh God, the dātans are torn asunder and the sins disappear. Oh the penetrator of the innermost parts, forgive us our sins. Do good unto the benevolent and unto our neighbours.” This prayer is common in the mouths of the vulgar laity.[80]
Better educated people recite a shloka, which runs: “Bow unto Savitri, the sun, the observer of this world and its quarters, the eye of the universe, the inspirer of all energy, the holder of a three-fold personality (being an embodiment of the forms of the three gods of the Hindu Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvar)—the embodiment of the three Vedas, the giver of happiness and the abode of God.[81]
After his toilet a high-caste Hindu should take a bath and offer morning prayers and arghyas to the sun.[82] The Trikāla-Sandhyā is enjoined by the Shāstras on every Brahman, i.e., every Brahman should perform the Sandhyā thrice during the day: in the morning, at mid-day and in the evening. The Sandhyā is the prayer a Brahman offers, sitting in divine meditation, when he offers three arghyas to the sun and recites the Gāyatrī mantra 108 times.[83]
The arghya is an offering of water in a spoon half filled with barley seeds, sesamum seeds, sandal ointment, rice, and white flowers. In offering the arghya the right foot is folded below the left, the spoon is lifted to the forehead and is emptied towards the sun after reciting the Gāyatrī mantra.[84] If water is not available for offering the arghyas, sand may serve the purpose. But the sun must not be deprived of his arghyas.[85]
The Gāyatrī is the most sacred mantra in honour of the sun, containing, as it does, the highest laudations of him.[85] A Brahman ought to recite this mantra 324 times every day. Otherwise he incurs a sin as great as the slaughter of a cow.[86] Accordingly a Rudrākshmālā, or a rosary of 108 Rudrāksh beads, is used in connecting the number of Gāyatrīs recited.[87] It is exclusively the right of the twice-born to recite the Gāyatrī. None else is authorised to recite or even to hear a word of it. Neither females nor Shūdras ought to catch an echo of even a single syllable of the Gāyatrī mantra[88].
A ceremony, called Sūryopasthān, in which a man has to stand facing the sun with his hands stretched upwards at an angle towards the sun, is performed as a part of the sandhyā.[89]
Of the days of the week, Ravivar, or Sunday is the most suitable for Sun worship[90]. Persons wishing to secure wealth, good-health and a happy progeny, especially people suffering from disorders caused by heat and from diseases of the eyes, barren women, and men anxious for victory on the battlefield, weekly observe vows in honour of the sun, and the day on which the vow is to be kept is Sunday.[91] It is left to the devotee to fix the number of Sundays on which he will observe the vrat, and he may choose to observe all the Sundays of the year.[92] On such days the devotees undergo ceremonial purifications by means of baths and the putting on of clean garments, occupy a reserved clean seat, light a ghi-lamp and recite the Aditya-hridaya-pātha, which is the prescribed mantra for Sun worship.[93] Then follows the Nyāsa, (न्यास) in the recitation of which the devotee has to make certain gestures (or to perform physical ceremonials). First the tips of all the four fingers are made to touch the thumb as is done in counting. Then the tips of the fingers are made to touch the palm of the other hand. Then one hand is laid over the other. Then the fingers are made to touch the heart, the head, the eyes, and the hair in regular order. The right hand is then put round the head and made to smite the left.[93] An ashtadala or eight-cornered figure is drawn in gulal, (red powder) and frankincense, red ointment and red flowers are offered to the sun.[94] Durvā grass is also commonly used in the process of Sun-worship.[95]
Sometimes a hexangular figure is drawn instead of the ashtadal, a copper disc is placed over it and the sun is worshipped by Panchopachar or the five-fold ceremonials.[96] Of all ceremonials a namaskār is especially dear to the sun.[97] It is said:—
नमस्कारप्रियो भानुर्जलधाराप्रियः शिवः ।
परोपकारप्रियो विष्णुर्ब्राह्मणो भोजनप्रियः ॥
A namaskār or bow is dear to the sun; a stream of water (pouring water in a small stream over Shiva’s idol) is dear to Shiva: benevolence to Vishnu and a good dinner to a Brahman.[97]
In observing vows in the sun’s honour on Sundays, the following special foods are prescribed in particular months:[98]—
(1) In Kārtika, the first month, the devotee is to take only three leaves of the Tulsi or the holy basil plant.
(2) In Mārgashīrsha, the devotee may only lick a few pieces of candied sugar.
(3) In Pausha, the devotee may chew three stalks of green darbha grass.
(4) In Māgha, a few seeds of sesamum and sugar mixed together may be swallowed.
(5) In Phālguna, a consecrated draught of curds and sugar may be drunk.
(6) In Chaitra, people should break their fasts with a little ghi and molasses.
(7) In Vaishākha, the only satisfaction allowed to those observing the vrat is to lick their own palms three times.
(8) In Jyeshtha, the fast is observed simply on three anjalis or palmfuls of pure water.
(9) In Ashādha, three chillies may be eaten.
(10) In Shrāvana, only cow-urine and molasses are tasted.
(11) In Bhādrapada, cow-dung and sugar are partaken of.
(12) In Āshvina, the application of chandan (sandal wood) either in the form of an ointment or of powder.
Only a few very pious and enthusiastic devotees observe all Sundays in the above manner. In average cases, the devotee allows himself rice, ghi, sugar, milk, i.e., white food, the restriction being only as to colour.[98]
People observing vows in honour of the sun take food only once during the day, and that too in bājas or dishes made of khākhara (or palāsh) leaves. This is considered one of the conditions of worship, there being some mysterious relation between Sūrya and the khākhara.[99]
If the Pushya Nakshatra happens to fall on a Sunday, the worship of the sun on that day is believed to be most efficacious in fulfilling the desires of the devotees.[100]
Of the days of the month, the seventh day of both the bright and the dark halves of each month[101] and the Amāvāsyā day, i.e., the last day of a Hindu calendar month,[102] are set apart for Sun-worship. The ceremonies of the worship are the same as those on Sundays. In fact, in almost all the observances in connection with the sun the same ceremonials are to be gone through. Very often a Brahman recites the pātha directing his hosts or hostesses to perform certain ceremonial gestures. On the last of the number of days which the devotee has decided to observe, the vrat is celebrated and Brahmans are feasted. This celebration of the vrat is known as vratujavavun.[103]
The special occasions for Sun-worship are the Sankrānti days and the solar eclipses.
In each year there are twelve Sankrānti days on which the sun moves from one sign of the zodiac to another. Sun-worship is performed on all these Sankrāntis, but Makara-Sankrānti, which falls on the 12th or 13th of January, is considered the most important.[104] The Uttarāyana-parvan falls on this day, i.e., the sun now crosses to his northern course from his southern, and the time of that Parvan is considered so holy that a person dying then directly attains salvation.[105] On this day, many Hindus go on a pilgrimage to holy places, offer prayers and sacrifices to the sun, and give alms to Brahmans in the shape of sesamum seeds, gold, garments and cows.[106] Much secret, as well as open, charity is dispensed,[107] grass and cotton-seeds are given to cows, and lāpsi[108] and loaves to dogs.[107] Sweet balls of sesamum seeds and molasses are eaten as a prasād and given to Brahmans, and dainties such as lāpsi are partaken of by Hindu households, in company with a Brahman or two, who are given dakshinā after the meals.[109]
On solar eclipse days, most of the Hindu sects bathe and offer prayers to God. During the eclipse the sun is believed to be combating with the demon Rāhu, prayers being offered for the sun’s success. When the sun has freed himself from the grasp of the demon and sheds his full lustre on the earth, the people take ceremonial baths, offer prayers to God with a concentrated mind, and well-to-do people give in alms as much as they can afford of all kinds of grain.[110]
The Chāturmās-vrat, very common in Kathiawar, is a favourite one with Hindus. The devotee, in performing this vrat, abstains from food on those days during the monsoons on which, owing to cloudy weather, the sun is not visible. Even if the sun is concealed by the clouds for days together, the devout votary keeps fasting till he sees the deity again.[111]
Barren women, women whose children die, and especially those who lose their male children, women whose husbands suffer from diseases caused by heat, lepers, and persons suffering from ophthalmic ailments observe the vow of the sun in the following manner.[112] The vows are kept on Sundays and Amāvāsyā days, and the number of such days is determined by the devotee in accordance with the behests of a learned Brahman. The woman observes a fast on such days, bathes herself at noon when the sun reaches the zenith, and dresses herself in clean garments. Facing the sun, she dips twelve red karan flowers in red or white sandal ointment and recites the twelve names of Sūrya as she presents one flower after another to the sun with a bow.[113] On each day of the vrat, she takes food only once, in the shape of lāpsi, in bajas of khākharā or palāsh leaves; white food in the form of rice, or rice cooked in milk is sometimes allowed. She keeps a ghi-lamp burning day and night, offers frankincense, and sleeps at night on a bed made on the floor.[114]
People who are declared by the Brahmans to be under the evil influence (dashā) of Sūrya, observe vows in the sun’s honour and go through the prescribed rites on Sundays. Such persons take special kinds of food and engage the services of priests to recite holy texts in honour of the sun. If all goes well on Sunday, Brahmans, Sādhus and other pious persons are entertained at a feast. This feast is known as vrat-ujavavun. Some persons have the sun’s image (an ashtadal) engraved on a copper or a golden plate for daily or weekly worship.[115]
On the twelfth day after the delivery of a child, the sun is worshipped and the homa sacrifice is performed.[116]
If at a wedding the sun happens to be in an unfavourable position according to the bridegroom’s horoscope, an image of the sun is drawn on gold-leaf and given away in charity. Charity in any other form is also common on such an occasion.[116]
A Nāgar bride performs sun-worship for the seven days preceding her wedding.[117]
In Hindu funeral ceremonies three arghyas are offered to the sun, and the following mantra is chanted[118]:—
आदित्यो भास्करो भानू रविः सूर्यो दिवाकरः ।
षण्नाम स्मरेन्नित्यं महापातकनाशानम् ॥
It means—one should ever recite the six names of the Sun, Aditya, Bhāskar, Bhānu, Ravi, Surya, Divākar, which destroy sin.
The sun is also worshipped on the thirteenth day after the death of a person, when arghyas are offered, and two earthen pots, containing a handful of raw khichedi—rice and pulse—and covered with yellow pieces of cotton are placed outside the house. This ceremony is called gadāso bharvo.[118]
Rajahs of the solar race always worship the rising sun. They also keep a golden image of the sun in their palaces, and engage learned Brahmans to recite verses in his honour. On Sundays they take only one meal and that of simple rice (for white food is most acceptable to the sun).[119]
Circumambulations round images and other holy objects are considered meritorious and to cause the destruction of sin.[120] The subject has been dwelt on at length in the Dharma-sindhu-grantha, Vratarāja, and Shodashopachāra among the Dharma-Shāstras of the Hindus.[121]
The object round which turns are taken is either the image of a god, such as of Ganpati, Mahādev or Vishnu[122] or the portrait of a guru, or his footmarks engraved or impressed upon some substance, or the agni-kunda (the fire-pit),[123] or the holy cow[124], or some sacred tree or plant, such as the Vad (banyan tree), the Pipal (ficus religiosa),[125] the Shami (prosopis spicegera), the Amba (mango tree), the Asopalava tree (Polyalthea longifolia),[126] or the Tulsi (sweet basil) plant.
It is said to have been a custom of the Brahmans in ancient times to complete their daily rites before sunrise every morning, and then to take turns round temples and holy objects. The practice is much less common now than formerly.[127] Still, visitors to a temple or an idol, usually are careful to go round it a few times at least (generally five or seven). The usual procedure at such a time is to strike gongs or ring bells after the turns, to cast a glance at the shikhar or the pinnacle of the temple, and then to return.[128]
Women observing the chāturmās-vrat, or the monsoon vow, lasting from the eleventh day of the bright half of Ashādh (the ninth month) to the eleventh day of the bright half of Kārtik (the first month) first worship the object, round which they wish to take turns, with panchāmrit (a mixture of milk, curds, sugar, ghi and honey). The number of turns may be either 5, 7, 21 or 108. At each turn they keep entwining a fine cotton thread and place a pendā[129] or a bantāsā[130] or a betel-leaf or an almond, a cocoanut, a fig or some other fruit before the image or the object walked round. These offerings are claimed by the priest who superintends the ceremony.[131] When a sacred tree is circumambulated, water is poured out at the foot of the tree at each turn.[132]
During the month of Shrāvan (the tenth month) and during the Purushottama (or the intercalatory) month, men and women observe a number of vows, in respect of which, every morning and evening, they take turns round holy images and objects.[133]
People observing the chāturmās-vrat (or monsoon vow), called Tulsi-vivāha (marriage of Tulsi), worship that plant and take turns round it on every eleventh day of both the bright and the dark halves of each of the monsoon months.[133] The gautrat-vrat (gau = cow) necessitates perambulations round a cow, and the Vat-Sāvitri-vrat round the Vad or banyan tree. The banyan tree is also circumambulated on the Kapilashashthi day (the sixth day of the bright half of Mārgashīrsha, the second month) and on the Amāvāsyā or the last day of Bhādrapada (the eleventh month).[134]
Women who are anxious to prolong the lives of their husbands take turns round the Tulsi plant or the banyan tree. At each turn they wind a fine cotton thread. At the end of the last turn, they throw red lac and rice over the tree and place a betelnut and a pice or a half-anna piece before it.[135]
The Shāstras authorise four pradakshinās (or perambulations) for Vishnu, three for the goddesses, and a half (or one and a half)[136] for Shiva.[137] But the usual number of pradakshinās is either 5, 7, 21 or 108. In taking turns round the image of Vishnu, one must take care to keep one’s right side towards the image, while in the case of Shiva, one must not cross the jalādhari[138] or the small passage for conducting water poured over the Shiva-linga.[137]
Sometimes in pradakshinās the votary repeats the name of the deity round which the turns are taken while the priest recites the names of the gods in Shlokas.[139] Sometimes the following verse is repeated.[140]
पापोऽहं पापकर्माऽहं पापात्मा पापसंभवः ।
त्राहि मां पुण्डरीकाक्ष सर्वपापहरो भव ॥
यानि कानि च पापानि जन्मांतरकृतानि च ।
तानि तानि विनश्यन्तु प्रदक्षिणपदेपदे ॥
‘I am sinful, the doer of sin, a sinful soul and am born of sin. O lotus-eyed One! protect me and take away all sins from me. Whatever sins I may have committed now as well as in my former births, may every one of them perish at each footstep of my pradakshinā.’
The recitation and the turns are supposed to free the soul from the pherā of lakh-choryasi[141]. Alms are given many times to the poor after pradakshinās.[142]
The reason why pradakshinās are taken during the day is that they have to be taken in the presence of the sun, the great everlasting witness of all human actions.[143]
As all seeds and vegetation receive their nourishment from solar and lunar rays, the latter are believed in the same way to help embryonic development.[144]
The heat of the sun causes the trees and plants to give forth new sprouts, and therefore he is called ‘Savita’ or Producer.[145] Solar and lunar rays are also believed to facilitate and expedite delivery.[146] The medical science of the Hindus declares the Amāvāsya (new-moon day) and Pūrnima (full-moon day) days—on both of which days the influence of the sun and the moon is most powerful—to be so critical for child-bearing women as to cause, at times, premature delivery.[147] Hence, before delivery, women are made to take turns in the sunlight and also in moonlight, in order to invigorate the fœtus, thus securing that their delivery may be easy. [The assistance rendered by solar rays in facilitating the delivery is said to impart a hot temperament to the child so born, and that by the lunar rays a cool one.][148] After delivery, a woman should glance at the sun with her hands clasped, and should offer rice and red flowers to him.[149] Sitting in the sun after delivery is considered beneficial to women enfeebled by the effort.[150] It is a cure for the paleness due to exhaustion,[151] and infuses new vigour.[152]
The Bhils believe that the exposure of a new-born child to the sun confers upon the child immunity from injury by cold and heat.[153]
The practice of making recently delivered women sit in the sun does not seem to be widespread, nor does it prevail in Kathiawar. In Kathiawar, on the contrary, women are kept secluded from sunlight in a dark room at the time of child-birth, and are warmed by artificial means.[154] On the other hand, it is customary in many places to bring a woman into the sunlight after a certain period has elapsed since her delivery. The duration of this period varies from four days to a month and a quarter. Sometimes a woman is not allowed to see sunlight after child-birth until she presents the child to the sun with certain ceremonies, either on the fourth or the sixth day from the date of her delivery.[155]
A ceremony called the Shashthi-Karma is performed on the sixth day after the birth of a child, and the Nāmkaran ceremony—the ceremony of giving a name—on the twelfth day. The mother of the child is sometimes not allowed to see the sun before the completion of these ceremonies.[156] Occasionally, on the eleventh day after child-birth, the mother is made to take a bath in the sun.[157]
Exactly a month and a quarter from the date of delivery a woman is taken to a neighbouring stream to offer prayers to the sun and to fetch water thence in an earthen vessel. This ceremony is known as Zarmāzaryan.[158] Seven small betel-nuts are used in the ceremony. They are carried by the mother, and distributed by her to barren women, who believe that, by eating the nuts from her hand, they are likely to conceive.[159]
In difficult labour cases, chakrāvā water is sometimes given to women. The chakrāvā is a figure of seven cross lines drawn on a bell-metal dish, over which the finest white dust has been spread. This figure is shown to the woman in labour: water is then poured into the dish and offered her to drink.[160] The figure is said to be a representation of Chitrangad.[161] It is also believed to be connected with a story in the Mahābhāarata.[162] Subhadrā, the sister of god Krishna and the wife of Arjuna, one of the five Pāndavas, conceived a demon, an enemy of Krishna. The demon would not leave the womb of Subhadrā even twelve months after the date of her conception, and began to harass the mother. Krishna, the incarnation of god, knowing of the demon’s presence and the cause of his delay, took pity on the afflicted condition of his sister and read chakrāvā, (Chakravyūha) a book consisting of seven chapters and explaining the method of conquering a labyrinthine fort with seven cross-lined forts. Krishna completed six chapters, and promised to teach the demon the seventh, provided he came out. The demon ceased troubling Subhadrā and emerged from the womb. He was called Abhimanyu. Krishna never read the seventh chapter for then Abhimanyu would have been invincible and able to take his life. This ignorance of the seventh chapter cost Abhimanyu his life on the field of Kuru-kshetra in conquering the seven cross-lined labyrinthine forts. As the art of conquering a labyrinthine fort when taught to a demon in the womb facilitated the delivery of Subhadrā, a belief spread that drinking in the figure of the seven cross-lined labyrinthine fort would facilitate the delivery of all women who had difficulties in child-birth.[162]
The figure Swastika (literally auspicious), drawn as shown below, is an auspicious sign, and is believed to be a mark of good luck and a source of blessings. It is one of the sixteen line-marks on the sole of the lotus-like feet of the god Ishwar, the Creator of the Universe.[163] The fame of the good effects of the Swastika figure is said to have been first diffused throughout society by Nārad-Muni, as instructed by the god Brahma.[164]
Various conjectures have been made concerning the origin of this figure. The following explanation is found in a work named Siddhāntsar. The Eternal Sat or Essence, that has neither beginning nor end nor any maker, exhibits all the religious principles in a chakra or a wheel-form. This round shape has no circumference; but any point in it is a centre; which being specified, the explanation of the whole universe in a circle is easy. Thus the figure ☉ indicates the creation of the universe from Sat or Essence. The centre with the circumference is the womb, the place of creation of the universe. The centre then expanding into a line, the diameter thus formed represents the male principle, linga-rūp, that is the producer, through the medium of activity in the great womb or mahā-yoni. When the line assumes the form of a cross, it explains the creation of the universe by an unprecedented combination of the two distinct natures, animate and inanimate. The circumference being removed, the remaining cross represents the creation of the world. The Swastika, or Sathia, as it is sometimes called, in its winged form (卍) suggests the possession of creative powers by the opposite natures, animate and inanimate.[165]
Another theory is that an image of the eight-leaved lotus, springing from the navel of Vishnu, one of the Hindu Trinity, was formerly drawn on auspicious occasions as a sign of good luck. The exact imitation of the original being difficult, the latter assumed a variety of forms, one of which is the Swastika.[166]
Some people see an image of the god Ganpati in the figure. That god being the master and protector of all auspicious ceremonies has to be invoked on all such occasions. The incapacity of the devotees to draw a faithful picture of Ganpati gave rise to a number of forms which came to be known by the name of Swastika.[167]
There are more ways than one of drawing the Swastika, as shown below, but the original form was of the shape of a cross. The first consonant of the Gujarati alphabet, ka, now drawn thus ક, was also originally drawn in the form of a cross (+). Some persons therefore suppose that the Swastika may be nothing more than the letter ક (ka), written in the old style and standing for the word kalyān or welfare.[168]
Though the Swastika is widely regarded as the symbol of the sun, some people ascribe the figure to different deities, viz., to Agni,[169] to Ganpati,[170] to Laxmi,[171] to Shiva,[172] besides the sun. It is also said to represent Swasti, the daughter of Brahma, who received the boon from her father of being worshipped on all auspicious occasions.[173] Most persons, however, regard the Swastika as the symbol of the sun. It is said that particular figures are prescribed as suitable for the installation of particular deities: a triangle for one, a square for another, a pentagon for a third, and the Swastika for the sun.[174] The Swastika is worshipped in the Ratnagiri district, and regarded as the symbol as well as the seat of the Sun-god.[175] The people of the Thana district believe the Swastika to be the central point of the helmet of the sun; and a vow, called the Swastika-vrat, is observed by women in its honour. The woman draws a figure of the Swastika and worships it daily during the Chāturmās (the four months of the rainy season), at the expiration of which she presents a Brahman with a golden or silver plate with the Swastika drawn upon it.[176]
A number of other ideas are prevalent about the significance of the Swastika. Some persons believe that it indicates the four directions;[177] some think that it represents the four mārgas—courses or objects of human desires—viz., (1) Dharma, religion; (2) Artha, wealth; (3) Kām, love; (4) Moksha, salvation.[178] Some again take it to be an image of the ladder leading to the heavens.[179] Others suppose it to be a representation of the terrestrial globe, and the four piles of corn placed in the figure, as shown below (p. 16) represent the four mountains, Udayāchala, Astāchal, Meru and Mandārāchala.[180] The Swastika is also believed to be the foundation-stone of the universe.[181]
The Swastika is much in favour with the gods as a seat or couch, and as soon as it is drawn it is immediately occupied by some deity.[182] It is customary therefore to draw the Swastika on most auspicious and festive occasions, such as marriage and thread ceremonies, the first pregnancy ceremonies and the Divali holidays.[183] In the Konkan the Swastika is always drawn on the Antarpāt, or the piece of cloth which is held between the bride and the bridegroom at the time of a Hindu wedding.[184] And at the time of the Punyāha-wāchan, a ceremony which precedes a Hindu wedding, the figure is drawn in rice and is worshipped.[184] Throughout the Chāturmās some persons paint the auspicious Swastikas, either on their thresholds or at their doors, every morning.[185]
On the sixth day from the date of a child’s birth, a piece of cloth is marked with a Swastika in red lac, the cloth is stretched on a bedstead and the child is placed upon it.[186] An account of this ceremony is to be found in the treatises Jayantishastra, Jātakarma, and Janakālaya.[186]
Before joining the village-school, little boys are made to worship Saraswati, the goddess of learning, after having installed her on a Swastika, in order that the acquisition of learning may be facilitated.[187]
A Brahman host, inviting a party of brother-Brahmans to dinner, marks the figure one (૧) against the names of those who are eligible for dakshinā, and a Swastika against the names of those who are not eligible. These latter are the yajamāns or patrons of the inviting Brahman, who is himself their pūjya, i.e., deserving to be worshipped by them. A bindu or dot, in place of the Swastika, is considered inauspicious.[188]
The Swastika is used in calculating the number of days taken in pilgrimage by one’s relations, one figure being painted on the wall each day from the date of separation.[188]
It is said that the Swastika when drawn on a wall is the representation of Jogmāya. Jogmāya is a Natural Power, bringing about the union of two separated beings.[189]
The Jains paint the Swastika in the way noted below and explain the figure in the following manner:—The four projectors indicate four kinds of souls: viz., (1) Manushya or human, (2) Tiryach or of lower animals, (3) Deva or divine, (4) Naraki or hellish. The three circular marks denote the three Ratnas or jewels, viz., (1) Jnān or knowledge, (2) Darshana or faith, (3) Charita or good conduct; and the semi-circular curve, at the top of the three circles, indicates salvation.[190]
Every Jain devotee, while visiting the images of his gods, draws a Sathia (Swastika)[191] before them and places a valuable object over it. The sign is held so sacred that a Jain woman has it embroidered on the reticule or kothali in which she carries rice to holy places.[192]
‘I am the very light of the sun and the moon,’ observes Lord Krishna in his dialogue with Arjuna,[193] and the moon also receives divine honours like the sun. Moon-worship secures wealth, augments progeny, and betters the condition of milch-cattle.[194] The suitable days for such worship are the second and the fourth days of the bright half of every month (Dwitīya or Bīj and Chaturthi or Choth, respectively) and every full-moon day (Purnima or Punema). On either of these days the devotees of Chandra (the moon) fast for the whole of the day and take their food only after the moon has risen and after they have seen and worshipped her.[195] Some dainty dish such as kansār,[196] or plantains and puris,[197] is specially cooked for the occasion.
A sight of the moon on the second day of the bright half of every month is considered auspicious. After seeing the moon on this day some people also look at silver and gold coins for luck.[198] The belief in the value of this practice is so strong that, immediately after seeing the moon, people refrain from beholding any other object. Their idea is that silver, which looks as bright as the moon, will be obtained in abundance if they look at a silver piece immediately after seeing the moon.[199] Moon worship on this day is also supposed to guarantee the safety of persons at sea.[200] In the south, milk and sugar is offered to the moon after the usual worship, and learned Brahmans are invited to partake of it. What remains after satisfying the Brahmans is divided among the community.[199] On this day, those who keep cattle do not churn whey nor curd milk nor sell it, but consume the whole supply in feasts to friends and neighbours.[201] The Ahirs and Rabaris especially are very particular about the use of milk in feasts only: for they believe that their cattle are thereby preserved in good condition.[202]
The fourth day of the dark half of every month is the day for the observance of the chaturthi-vrat (or choth-vrat). This vrat is observed in honour of the god Ganpati and by men only. The devotees fast on this day, bathe at night after seeing the moon, light a ghi lamp, and offer prayers to the moon. They also recite a pāth containing verses in honour of Ganpati, and, after worshipping that god, take their food consisting of some specially prepared dish. This vrat is said to fulfil the dreams of the devotees.[203]
The day for the chaturthi-vrat in the month of Bhādrapad (the 11th month of the Gujarati Hindus) is the fourth day of the bright half instead of the fourth day of the dark half,[204] and on this day (Ganesh Chaturthi[205]) the moon is not worshipped. The very sight of her is regarded as ominous, and is purposely avoided.[206] The story is that once upon a time the gods went out for a ride in their respective conveyances. It so happened that the god Ganpati fell off his usual charger, the rat, and this awkward mishap drew a smile from Chandra (the moon). Ganpati, not relishing the joke, became angry and cursed Chandra saying that no mortal would care to see his face on that day (which happened to be the fourth day of the bright half of Bhādrapad). If any one happens to see the moon even unwittingly on this day, he may expect trouble very soon.[207] There is one way, however, out of the difficulty, and that is to throw stones on the houses of neighbours. When the neighbours utter abuse in return, the abuse atones for the sin of having looked at the moon on the forbidden night. The day is therefore called (in Gujarat) Dagad-choth, i.e., the Choth of stones.[208]
On the fourth day of the dark half of Phālgun (the 5th month of Gujarati Hindus) some villagers fast for the whole of the day and remain standing from sunset till the moon rises. They break their fast after seeing the moon. The day is, therefore, called ubhi (i.e., standing) choth.[209]
Virgins sometimes observe a vow on Poshi-Punema or the full-moon day of Pausha (the 3rd month of the Gujarati Hindus). On this day a virgin prepares her evening meal with her own hands on the upper terrace of her house. She then bores a hole through the centre of a loaf, and observes the moon through it, repeating while doing so a verse[210] which means: O Poshi-Punemadi, khichadi (rice and pulse mixed together) is cooked on the terrace, and the sister of the brother takes her meal.[211] The meal usually consists either of rice and milk or of rice cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar, or of kansār. She has to ask the permission of her brother or brothers before she may take her food; and if the brother refuses his permission, she has to fast for the whole of the day.[212] The whole ceremony is believed to prolong the lives of her brothers and her future husband. The moon is also worshipped at the time of griha-shānti, i.e., the ceremonies performed before inhabiting a newly-built house.[213]
If the moon is unfavourable to a man born under a particular constellation, on account of his occupying either the 6th, the 8th or the 12th square in a kundali[214] (see below) prayers are offered to the moon; and if the occasion is a marriage, a bell-metal dish, full of rice, is presented to Brahmans.[215]
The appearance of the moon and the position of the horns of her crescent at particular times are carefully watched as omens of future events. Cultivators believe that if the moon is visible on the second day of the bright half of Āshādh (the 9th month of Gujarati Hindus), the sesamum crops of that season will be abundant; but if the moon be hidden from sight on that day, the weather will be cloudy during the whole of Āshādh, and will prove unfavourable to vegetable growth.[216] If the moon appears reddish on a Bīj day (or the second day of the bright half of a month), and if the northern horn of the crescent be high up, prices in the market are believed to rise; if, on the other hand, it is low, it prognosticates a fall in prices. If the two horns are on a level, current prices will continue.[216]
Similarly, the northern horn of the crescent, if it is high up on the Bīj day of Āshādh, augurs abundant rainfall; if it is low, it foreshadows a season of drought.[217]
If the moon presents a greenish aspect on the full-moon day of Āshādh, excessive rains may be expected in a few days; if on that day she rises quite clear and reddish, there is very little hope of good rains; if she is partly covered by clouds when she rises and then gets clear of the clouds, and then again disappears in the clouds in three ghadis,[218] three pohors,[218] or three days, rain is sure to fall.[219]
If on the 5th day of the bright half of Chaitra, the moon appears to the west of the Rohini constellation, the prices of cotton are believed to rise; if to the east, they are said to fall; and if in the same line, the current rates are believed to be likely to continue.[220]
The Bīj (2nd day) and the ninth day of Āshādh (the 9th month of the Gujaratis and the 4th month of the Hindus of the Deccan) falling on a Sunday is a combination that foretells excessive heat. If they fall on Wednesday, intense cold is said to be the result. Their occurring on a Tuesday, threatens absence of rains, and on a Monday, a Thursday or a Friday, foreshadows excessive rainfall.[221]
Thunder on Jeth-Sud-Bīj, or the second day of the bright half of Jyeshtha, is a bad omen and threatens famine.[222]
The spots on the moon have given rise to numerous beliefs, mythological as well as fanciful. One of them is that they are the result of a curse, pronounced by the sage Gautama on Chandra. Indra, the god of rain, was infatuated with the charms of Ahalyā, the wife of Gautama, and with the help of Chandra laid a cunning plot to gain his ignoble object. Accordingly, one night, Chandra set earlier than usual, when Indra assumed the form of a cock and crowed at midnight in order to deceive Gautama into the belief that it was dawn, and therefore his time for going to the Ganges to perform his religious services. The trick was successful, and the holy sage being thus got rid of, Indra assumed the form of Gautama himself and approached Ahalyā, who was surprised to see her husband (as she thought) so quickly returned. The wily god allayed her suspicions by explaining that it was not yet time for the morning ceremonies, and thus enjoyed the favours due to her husband. Gautama, in the meanwhile, finding the water of the Ganges cool and placid, and discovering that it was not yet dawn, returned to his hermitage. On reaching home he detected the treachery of Indra, who tried to escape in the disguise of a tom-cat. The exasperated sage then cursed Indra, Chandra and his wife: Indra to have a thousand sores on his person, Ahalyā to turn into a stone, and Chandra to have a stain on his fair face.[223]
Another mythological story is that Daksha Prajāpati, the son of Brahmā, gave all his twenty-seven daughters in marriage to Chandra, who was inspired with love for one of them only, named Rohini, the most beautiful of them all. The slighted twenty-six sisters complained to their father, Daksha, of Chandra’s preference for Rohini. Daksha in anger cursed Chandra to be attacked by consumption (which is supposed to be the reason of the waning of the moon) and his face to be marred by a stain.[224]
The curse of Gautama and the curse of Daksha are also supposed to be reasons of the waxing and the waning of the moon.
Another belief regarding the moon-spots is that when the head of Ganpati was severed by Shiva’s trident, it flew off and fell into the chariot of the moon. The spots are either the head itself[225] or are due to drops of blood fallen from the flying severed head.[226]
The spots are also said to be explained by the fact of the image of god Krishna or Vishnu[227] residing in the heart of the moon who, as a devotee of Vishnu, holds his image dear to his heart.[228]
The moon is often called mrigānka (lit. deer-marked) and mriga-lānchhana (lit. deer-stained); and a further explanation of the spots in this connection is that the moon-god took into his lap a strayed deer, out of compassion, and thus his lap became stained.[229] Jains believe that in the nether parts of the moon’s vimān or vehicle, there is an image of a deer whose shadow is seen in the spots.[230]
Some persons declare the spots to be a shami tree (prosopis spicigera).[231] The belief of the masses in Gujarat is said to be that the spot on the moon’s disc is the seat of an old woman, who sits spinning her wheel with a goat tethered near her.[232] If the droppings of the goat were to fall on earth, departed souls would return to the earth.[233]
It is said that a child and a tree are never seen to grow except during the night. Such growth is therefore held to be due to lunar rays.[234] As all trees, plants, etc., thrive owing to the influence of the moon, the moon-god is called the lord of herbs. The moon is also a reservoir of nectar and is called Sudhākar, i.e., one having nectarine rays.[235] As the lord of herbs, the moon-god is supposed to have the power of removing all diseases that are curable by drugs, and of restoring men to health.[236]
Persons suffering from white leprosy, black leprosy, consumption and diseases of the eyes are believed to be cured by the observance of the Bīj and Punema vows.[237] Consumption in its incipient and latter stages is also said to be cured by exposure to the rays of the moon.[238] Constant glimpses of the moon add to the lustre of the eyes.[239] On the Sharad-Punema, or the 15th day of the bright half of Ashvin (the last month of the Gujaratis and the 7th month of the Deccani Hindus), tailors pass a thread through their needles in the belief that they will thereby gain keener eyesight.[240]
A cotton-wick is exposed to the moon on Sharad-Punema, and is afterwards lighted in oil poured over the image of Hanūmān. The soot, which is thus produced, if used on the Kali-chaudas day—the fourteenth day of the dark half of Ashvin—is said to possess much efficacy in strengthening the eyesight and also in preserving the eyes from any disease during the ensuing year.[241]
Sweetened milk or water is exposed to moonlight during the whole of the night of Sharad-punema (the full-moon day of Ashvin) in order to absorb the nectarine rays of the moon, and is drunk next morning. Drinking in the rays of the moon in this manner is believed to cure diseases caused by heat as well as eye-diseases, and it similarly strengthens the eyesight and improves the complexion.[242] Sugar-candy thus exposed and preserved in an air-tight jar is partaken of in small quantities every morning to gain strength and to improve the complexion.[243] The absorption of the lunar rays through the open mouth or eyes is also believed to be of great effect in achieving these objects.[244]
Once upon a time the gods and demons, by their united efforts, churned the ocean and obtained therefrom fourteen ratnas or precious things.[245] These were distributed among them. Lakshmi, the kaustubha jewel, the Shārnga bow and the conch-shell fell to the share of Vishnu, and the poison, Halāhal visha, was disposed of to Shiva. Only two things remained, sudhā, or nectar, and surā or liquor. To both gods and demons the nectar was the most important of all the prizes. A hard contest ensuing between them for the possession of it, the demons, by force, snatched the bowl of nectar from the gods. In this disaster to the gods, Vishnu came to their help in the form of Mohini—a most fascinating woman—and proposed to the demons that the distribution of the immortalising fluid should be entrusted to her. On their consent, Vishnu or Mohini, made the gods and the demons sit in opposite rows and began first to serve the nectar to the gods. The demon Rāhu, the son of Sinhikā, fearing lest the whole of the nectar might be exhausted before the turn of the demons came, took the shape of a god and placed himself amongst them between Chandra (the moon) and Sūrya (the sun). The nectar was served to him in turn, but on Chandra and Sūrya detecting the trick, the demon’s head was cut off by Vishnu’s discus, the sudarshana-chakra. Rāhu however did not die: for he had tasted the nectar, which had reached his throat. The head and trunk lived and became immortal, the former being named Rāhu, and the latter Ketu. Both swore revenge on Chandra and Sūrya. At times, therefore, they pounce upon Chandra and Sūrya with the intention of devouring them. In the fight that ensues, Chandra and Sūrya are successful only after a long contest, with the assistance of the gods, and by the merit of the prayers that men offer.[246]
The reason of the eclipse is either that Chandra and Sūrya bleed in the fight with Rāhu and their forms get blackened[247]; or that the demon Rāhu comes between the two luminaries and this earth, and thus causes an eclipse[248]; or because Rāhu obstructs the sun and the moon in their daily course, and this intervention causes an eclipse[249]; or because Rāhu swallows the sun and the moon, but his throat being open, they escape, their short disappearance causing an eclipse.[250]
Besides the mythological story, there is a belief in Gujarat that a bhangi (scavenger or sweeper), creditor of the sun and the moon, goes to recover his debts due from them, and that his shadow falling against either of them causes an eclipse.[251]
A third explanation of the eclipse is that the sun and the moon revolve round the Meru mountain, and the shadow of the mountain falling upon either of them causes an eclipse.[252]
It is believed amongst Hindus that eclipses occur when too much sin accumulates in this world.[253] Most Hindus regard an eclipse as ominous, and consider the eclipse period to be unholy and inauspicious. The contact of the demon Rāhu with the rays of the sun and the moon pollutes everything on earth. Great precautions therefore become necessary to avoid pollution.[254] A period of three pohors[255] (prahars) in the case of the moon, and of four in the case of the sun, before the actual commencement of an eclipse, is known as vedha, i.e., the time when the luminaries are already under the influence of the demon. During this period and during the time of an eclipse people observe a strict fast. Anyone taking food within the prohibited period is considered sutaki or ceremonially impure, as if a death had happened in his family.[256] An exception is, however, made in the case of children, pregnant women and suckling mothers who cannot bear the privation of a strict fast. From the beginning of an eclipse to its end, everything in the house is believed to be polluted, if touched.[256]
As the sun and the moon are believed to be in trouble during an eclipse, people offer prayers to God from the beginning of the vedha for their release. It is the custom to visit some holy place on an eclipse-day, to take a bath there, and to read holy passages from the Shāstras. Some people, especially Brahmans, sit devoutly on river-banks and offer prayers to the sun.[256] Much secret as well as open charity is given at the time of an eclipse. But the receivers of charity during the actual period of an eclipse are the lowest classes only, such as bhangis, mahārs and māngs. When an eclipse is at its full, these people go about the streets giving vent to such cries as āpó dān chhuté chānd (give alms for the relief of the moon!).[257]
Among the gifts such people receive are cotton clothes, cash, grain such as sesamum seeds, udad, pulses, and salt.[258] The gift of a pair of shoes is much recommended.[259] Sometimes a figure of the eclipsed sun or moon is drawn in juari seeds and given away to a bhangi.[260]
Although the period of an eclipse is considered inauspicious, it is valued by those who profess the black art. All mantras, incantations, and prayogas, applications or experiments, which ordinarily require a long time to take effect, produce the wished for result without delay if performed during the process of an eclipse.[261]
If a man’s wife is pregnant, he may not smoke during the period of an eclipse lest his child become deformed.[262] Ploughing a farm on a lunar-eclipse day is supposed to cause the birth of Chāndrā-children, i.e., children afflicted by the moon.[262]
After an eclipse Hindus bathe, perform ablution ceremonies, and dress themselves in clean garments. The houses are cleansed by cowdunging the floors, vessels are rubbed and cleansed, and clothes are washed, in order to get rid of the pollution caused by the eclipse.[263] Unwashed clothes of cotton, wool, silk or hemp, according to popular belief, do not become polluted.[263] The placing of darbha grass on things which are otherwise liable to pollution is also sufficient to keep them unpolluted.[264]
Brahmans cannot accept anything during the impious time of an eclipse, but after it is over, alms are freely given to them in the shape of such costly articles as fine clothes, gold, cattle and the like.[265]
After an eclipse Hindus may not break their fast till they have again seen the full disc of the released sun or the moon. It sometimes happens that the sun or the moon sets gherāyalā (while still eclipsed), and people have then to fast for the whole of the night or the day after, until the sun or the moon is again fully visible.[266]
There is a shloka in the Jyotish-Shāstra to the effect that Rāhu would surely devour Chandra if the nakshatra, or constellation of the second day of the dark half of a preceding month, were to recur on the Purnima (full-moon day) of the succeeding month. Similarly, in solar eclipses, a similar catastrophe would occur if the constellation of the second day of the bright half of a month were to recur on the Amāvāsya (the last day) of that month.[267] The year in which many eclipses occur is believed to prove a bad year for epidemic diseases.[268]
The Jains do not believe in the Hindu theory of grahana (or the eclipse).[269] Musalmans do not perform the special ceremonies beyond the recital of special prayers; and even these are held to be supererogatory.[270]
With the exception that some people believe that the stars are the abodes of the gods,[271] the popular belief about the heavenly bodies seems to be that they are the souls of virtuous and saintly persons, translated to the heavens for their good deeds and endowed with a lustre proportionate to their merits.[272] And this idea is illustrated in the traditions that are current about some of the stars. The seven bright stars of the constellation Saptarshi (or the Great Bear) are said to be the seven sages, Kashyapa, Atri, Bhāradwāj, Vishwāmitra, Gautama, Jāmadagni and Vasishtha, who had mastered several parts of the Vedas, and were considered specialists in the branches studied by each, and were invested with divine honours in reward for their proficiency.[273] Another story relates how a certain hunter and his family, who had unconsciously achieved great religious merit, were installed as the constellation Saptarshi[274] (or the Great Bear). A hunter, it is narrated in the Shivarātri-māhātmya, was arrested for debt on a Shivrātri[275] day, and while in jail heard by chance the words ‘Shiva, Shiva’ repeated by some devotees. Without understanding their meaning, he also began to repeat the same words, even after he was released in the evening. He had received no food during the day, and had thus observed a compulsory fast. In order to obtain food for himself and his family, he stationed himself behind a Bel[276] tree, hoping to shoot a deer or some other animal that might come to quench its thirst at a neighbouring tank. While adjusting an arrow to his bowstring, he plucked some leaves out of the thick foliage of the tree and threw them down. The leaves, however, chanced to fall on a Shiva-linga which happened to stand below, and secured for him the merit of having worshipped god Shiva with Bel-leaves on a Shivrātri day. He was also all the while repeating the god’s name and had undergone a fast. The result was that not only were his past sins forgiven, but he was placed with his family in heaven.[277]
Similarly, Dhruva, the son of king Uttānapād, attained divine favour by unflagging devotion, and was given a constant place in the heavens as the immovable pole-star.[278]
According to Hindu astrology, there are nine grahas[279] or planets, twelve rāshis[280] or signs of the zodiac, and twenty-seven nakshatras[281] or constellations. Books on astrology explain the distinct forms of the nakshatras. For instance, the Ashvini constellation consists of two stars and presents the appearance of a horse. It ascends the zenith at midnight on the purnima (the 15th day of the bright half) of Ashvin (the first month of the Gujarati Hindus). The constellation of Mrig consists of seven stars, four like the legs of a sofa and three others under them in a line. All these twenty-seven groups of stars reach the zenith at midnight on particular days in particular months; and the months of the Hindu calendar are named after them.[282]
All planets influence the life of a person, one way or the other, according to their position in the heavens at the time of his birth. A kundali, i.e., a figure like the one shown here, is drawn by astrologers to illustrate the respective positions of the planets. The twelve squares of the diagram represent the twelve signs of the zodiac, and the positions of the planets in different squares influence persons in different ways. Ravi (the Sun), Budha (Mercury) and Shukra (Venus) occupy one rāshi for one month; Chandra (the Moon) occupies a rāshi for 135 ghadis,[283] i.e., two days and a quarter; Mangal (Mars) for one month and a half; Guru (Jupiter) for thirteen months; Shani (Saturn) for two years and a half, and Rāhu for a year and a half. This is their normal and ordinary motion. But if they take an abnormal course and move either too fast or too slow, they finish their revolution through a rāshi within a shorter or a longer period.[284]
If the planet Guru (Jupiter) occupies either the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, or 12th, square of a kundali, it is said to bring about a rupture with friends, pecuniary wants, and an increase in the number of enemies.[285]
If Shani (Saturn) occupies the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, or the 12th square in a man’s kundali, it causes despondency of mind, family quarrels, imminent injuries from foes, and pecuniary wants.[286]
The presence of Mangal (Mars) in the 3rd, the 6th, or the 11th square is auspicious.[286]
Of the nine planets, Budha, Guru, and Chandra are benevolent, Mangal and Ravi are neither benevolent nor baneful; and Shani, Rāhu, and Ketu are downright malevolent.[287] Each planet has a story connected with it concerning its benevolence or malevolence, and showing also the way to secure its propitiation. For instance, the malevolence of Shani drove King Vikrama to unknown countries, and subjected him to grave calamities. On the advice of a wise man, however, he observed the Saturday-vows and thus overcame his difficulties.[288]
When a planet is unfavourable to a person, it has to be propitiated by vows, and the person who is under its evil influence often lays upon himself the obligation of abstaining from particular articles of food or from wearing certain articles of clothing for a certain number of days.[289] Particular days of the week are set apart as appropriate for the worship of particular planets, and, on such days, the person keeping the vow observes a fast and worships the planet through the medium of a Brāhman.[290] For instance, vrats or vows are observed on Tuesdays in honour of Mangal (Mars), when an image of the planet, engraved on a golden dish, is worshipped, and the person observing the vow takes food consisting of wheat only, and that too, only once during the day. This mode of fasting is followed for a number of consecutive Tuesdays prescribed by an astrologer; and on the last Tuesday, when pūrnāhuti[291] is offered, Brāhmans are feasted and dakshina is given to them. A piece of red cloth and some corn are used in the installation of the planet; these and the golden engraving are carried away by the priest.[288]
Similarly, in propitiating Rāhu and Ketu the same ceremonies are gone through: only, instead of wheat, mug (Phaseolus mungo) is eaten by the devotee. In the same way Shani (Saturn) is said to favour the diet of adād (or lentils): Guru (Jupiter) inclines to chana (or gram), while Shukra (Venus) favours cholā (dolichos sinensis).[288]
Certain forms or figures, called mandals, are favoured by particular grahās, and are drawn in their honour in worshipping them. Different things, too, are given in charity in honour of different planets.[292]
All the nine grahas and the twenty-seven nakshatras are worshipped on the occasion of the Griha-Shanti ceremony, which is performed before occupying a newly erected building.[287]
It is considered inauspicious to hold a marriage ceremony while Shukra (Venus) is invisible. In such a case, however, the ceremony may be performed after setting up and worshipping a small golden image of the planet.
Of the stars, the constellation of saptarshi is perhaps the one most often worshipped. Its worship forms a part of the ceremonies performed on the occasion of investing boys with the sacred thread[293] and also of the ceremonies of marriage. The worship of the saptarshi on marriage occasions is believed to be an attestation of the marriage, and to secure the benign care of the saptarshi for the couple. The form of worship is sometimes as follows: a red and white piece of cloth is stretched on the ground, bearing an image of the saptarshi over it; wheat and rice are scattered over the cloth, a ghi-lamp is lighted, and red lac and flowers are offered to the image.[294] Another form of worship is to mark seven red-lac-dots on a pātla or a wooden stool, and to place seven pice and seven betel-nuts thereon. After worshipping the seven pice, the bridal pair are made to take four turns round the stool, touching the stool with their great toes at every turn. A proverb runs to the effect that, whatever may happen to the couple, still the seven pice of satpati (i.e., the ceremony described) are secure.[295] A third process is to form seven small piles of kamod,[296] on each of which, successively, the bride places her right foot while the bridegroom removes each pile one by one.[297]
The fifth day of the bright half of Bhādrapad (the eleventh month of the Gujarati Hindus) is observed as a day of worship in honour of the saptarshi group. People observe a fast on that day. Brāhmans set up seven chāts[298] in honour of the seven sages, adding an eighth in honour of Arundhatī, the wife of Vasishtha, and worship them by shodashopachār (i.e. sixteen-fold ceremonial). The worship is said to secure felicity for departed souls.[299]
The saptarshi are also annually worshipped by Brāhmans on cocoanut-day (the 15th day of the bright half of Shrāvan) on the occasion of changing their sacred threads. Hindu seamen also worship the constellation on the same day.[300]
In the performance of the Nīl-parvān ceremony, which is held to propitiate the spirits of departed ancestors, and which requires a calf and a heifer to be married, an entertainment being simultaneously given to one hundred and eight Brāhmans, and on the occasion of Vastu or the ceremonies performed before or at the time of occupying a newly-built house, burnt offerings and worship are offered to the saptarshi.[301]
Every Brāhman must offer arghyas[302] to, and worship, the agastya constellation, in a hut of darbha[303] and kāsada,[303] within seven days from the date of its appearance. Failure to make this offering brings pollution on him for seven months, and disqualifies him from performing any of the rites or ceremonies prescribed by the Shastras.[301]
Married couples are made to look at the Pole star immediately after the Hymenal knot is tied by the priest, in the hope that they may be as long-lived or as inflexible or unmoved by the ups and downs of life.[295]
The twelfth day after the death of a person, known as Tārā-bāras (or the star-twelfth) is kept as the day of star-worship by the relatives of the deceased, when one member of the family observes a fast on that day in honour of the deceased, and takes food only after worshipping the stars at night. It is customary on this day to give up the use of bronze vessels and to give them away in charity.[304]
Just as persons carrying or accompanying a corpse to the cemetery are considered sutaki (under ceremonial impurity), so those who witness this rite are also considered unclean: but they are purified by a sight of the stars.[305]
Young girls watching the starry sky at night recite a verse which means, “I worshipped the star-spangled firmament first and then my lover Ābhlā dabhlā Kankunā dābhlā[306]—“Ye stars! blind the prowling thief and seize him if he tries to steal away, and your blessings on my lord confer!”[307]
The Rohini and Krittika constellations, popularly known as Gadli, are supposed to indicate the rise and fall in the cotton-market.[308]
The dimmest star of the saptarshi group foretells the death of a person within six months from the date on which it becomes invisible to him.[309] Again, if a man cannot perceive the saptarshi or the galaxy in the sky, it is considered such a bad omen that his end is believed to be near at hand.[310]
The rainbow is believed to be the bow of Indra,[311] the god of rains, and is therefore called ‘Indra-dhanushya.’ We see it when Indra draws his bow to release the rains from the rākshasas (demons);[312] or, when successful in bringing down rain, Indra manifests his glory by drawing a bow;[313] or when in the struggle for supremacy between Summer and the rainy season, Indra draws his bow to defeat Summer.[314]
It is also believed that when Rāmachandra, the hero of the Rāmāyana, adjusted an arrow to the bow of Shiva, to compete for the hand of Sītā in the swayamvara (or maiden’s-choice marriage) celebrated by her, the bow was split into three pieces, which ever since present themselves as rainbows in the sky.[315]
The rainbow is popularly regarded as an indication of good or bad rainfall according as it appears at particular hours and in particular directions. If a rainbow appears in the east a speedy rainfall is expected; if on the other hand it is seen in the west, rainfall is apprehended to be distant.[316] Some people, however, believe the contrary, i.e., they regard the appearance of a rainbow in the west as an indication of good rains, and in the east as a sign of scarce rainfall.[317] Perhaps both ideas are reconciled by a third belief according to which the appearance of a rainbow in a direction facing the sun, indicates the proximity of rain.[318]
If a rainbow is seen at sunset or sunrise just before the commencement of rain the fall of rain will be excessive; but if it appears after rainfall, the rain will probably cease.[319] According to some persons the appearance of a rainbow in the morning portends a drought.[320] There is, however, a popular saying to the effect that were the kachbi, i.e., the rainbow, to be seen at sunrise in the west, it foretells great floods before nightfall.[314]
The sight of a rainbow is sometimes regarded as a bad omen. Some believe that it shortens a man’s life and brings misfortunes to him.[310] Others believe that it is calamitous to a man’s relations by marriage, especially to the mother-in-law, who is sure to lose her power of hearing.[321] People sometimes clash earthen vessels against one another to avert the evils which are to be feared from a rainbow.[322] It is also said that the sight of the whole of the rainbow is a good omen: but the sight of a part, however large, is inauspicious.[323]
According to the Purānas, the milky way or ākāsh-ganga is the celestial River Ganga which was brought down by Bhagīrath to the earth.[324] King Sagar once performed an ashwa-medha[325] sacrifice, when, according to custom, he let loose a horse, and sent his sixty thousand sons with it. Indra, jealous of the growing power of Sagar, stole the horse and concealed it in the hermitage of Kapila, when the sage was deeply absorbed in religious meditation. The sixty thousand sons of Sagar followed it to this asylum, where they taunted and insulted the sage, believing him to be the thief. Kapila, who was ignorant of the theft, opened his long-closed eyes in anger, emitting sparks of flame from them, and destroyed the sons of Sagar together with the whole of their army. Bhagīrath, the grandson of Sagar, propitiated the sage, and on his advice practised religious austerities in honour of Shiva for the purpose of bringing down the River Ganga from heaven. Through the kindness of God Shiva, Bhagīrath was at last successful in bringing the celestial river down to this world; and with the water of the river he revived the sons of Sagar. The River Ganga (i.e., the Ganges) in this world is therefore also known by the name of Bhāgirathi. It is this heavenly river which we see as the milky way.[326] Like the sacred Ganges on the earth, the River Ganga in the celestial regions is held in great respect by the gods[327] and purifies the heavenly bodies, just as the earthly Ganges washes away the worst sins of mortals.[323]
Some people, however, believe the milky way to be the track by which the holy Ganges descended from heaven to earth.[328]
Another belief is that the God Vishnu, at the time of his Vāman (or Dwarf) incarnation, touched the ina (i.e., the Egg) in his third footstep and thus caused a flow of waters, which is known as ākāsh-ganga.[329] Some suppose the milky way to be a ladder leading to the heavens.[330] Astrologers call it Vatsa, a fictitious creature with numerous horns, mouths, and tails.[331] According to another belief, the milky way consists of two rekhās—lines—one of sin and the other of good and meritorious actions. The length of one line compared to the other betokens the predominance of good or evil as the case may be.[332] The milky way is also supposed to be the track left by the rath or car of Rāmachandra.[333]
Ākāsh-ganga or the milky way is said to consist of one crore and eighty lacs of stars.[334] If a man cannot perceive the milky way in the sky, his end is believed to be near at hand.[335]
The Musalmāns declare the milky way to be the track formed by the footstep of the horse of the Prophet Muhammad, on the occasion of his night-journey to Heaven.[330]
The occasion for earth-worship most frequently arises when anything is to be built upon its surface. At the time of setting the manek-stambha, or the first pillar of a marriage-bower or a bower for a thread-ceremony,[336] before commencing the construction of wells, reservoirs, and tanks[336] and in laying the foundation-stone of a house, a temple, or a sacrificial pit,[337] or of a street, a fortress, a city, or a village,[338] or of any constructive work raised upon or made under the ground, certain ceremonies, called khat-muhūrt or khat-puja, are performed. The earth-mother is then worshipped in the manner prescribed in the Shastras, to propitiate her against interruptions in the completion of the work undertaken. The owner or the person interested in the new construction pours a little water on the earth where the foundation-pit is to be dug, sprinkles red lac and gulal (red powder), places a betel-nut and a few precious coins, and digs out the first clod of earth himself.[339] Some of the things offered to the earth at the time of khat-puja are panchāmrit,[340] betel-nuts, betel-leaves, pancha-ratna (or the five kinds of precious things, namely, gold, silver, copper, coral, and pearls), a bowl and green garments.[337] Under the influence of particular rāshis (signs of the zodiac), particular corners of the building under construction are required to be dug in the khat-muhūrt ceremonies.[338] For instance, a little digging in the north-west corner is believed to be favourable to the constructor who happens to be under the influence of Sinha (Leo), Kanya (Virgo) and Tula (Libra): in the north-east corner, if under the influence of Vrishchika (Scorpio), Dhanu (Sagittarius) and Makar (Capricornus): in the south-east corner if under the sway of Kumbha (Aquarius), Mīn (Pisces) and Mesha (Aries): in the south-west corner in the case of Vrishabh (Taurus), Mithun (Gemini) and Kark (Cancer).[338] After the worship of the earth-mother, sugar or molasses is distributed among neighbours, bystanders and relatives, in token of the auspiciousness of the occasion.[341] An image of Ganpati is worshipped in a copper-dish, this is buried underground, and a brick is laid on it when starting the work of construction.[338] In setting up the manek-stambha on marriage occasions, a small earthen bowl is filled with milk, curds, turmeric, dūrvā-sprouts[342] and mag seeds (Phaseolus mungo), and buried in the ground after being sprinkled over with red lac and rice.[343]
The ceremonies appertaining to khat-muhūrt are treated of at length in a book called Dharma-sindhu.[344] They are believed to secure durability of construction.[339]
On the Dasarā[345] day or the 10th day of the bright half of Ashvin (the last month), Rājās go out in state with their ministers and subjects to worship the earth-mother and the holy shami tree (prosopis spicegera). A wetted plot of ground is first dug over with pikes, javālā (tender wheat plants) and shami leaves are then mixed with the muddy earth, and small balls of the mixture are made. A pice and betel-nut are placed in each ball, and they are presented to the worshipper as a mark of good luck. Travellers carry such balls with them on their journeys for luck. Kings carry the same to obtain success on the battle-field. The Pāndavas had such balls with them on the field of Kurukshetra when they obtained a victory over the Kauravas.[346] The balls are also used as pastānā.[347] The javālā in the balls are taken out and allowed to grow in an earthen vessel filled with clay and manure till they reach a span in height, when they are taken up and used.[348]
Earth-worship is performed before burying treasure underground, and also when a marriage-procession, at the time of returning, reaches the limits of the bridegroom’s village.[349]
In some places, virgins worship the plot of ground on which the Holi is lighted, for about ten or twelve days after the Holi holiday.[350]
Another occasion for earth-worship is the third day of the bright half of Chaitra (the sixth month), on which day Vishnu saved the earth in his Varāha (or Boar) incarnation, when it was being carried to the nether regions by the demon Shankhāsur.[351]
On the eighth day of the bright half of Māgh and also of Āshvin (the fourth and the last month respectively), naivedya (an oblation of food) is offered to the earth-mother, and is then used as her prasād (gift). No cooked food is allowed to fall on the ground on this day: even the leavings after meals are given away to cows.[352]
When any ceremony is to be performed on the earth’s surface, as much of the spot as is required for the ceremony is cleansed by watering it and plastering it with cow-dung. A betel-nut and a pice are then placed on it as the Chādā or rent of the spot.[353]
On those occasions when dakshina is given to Brāhmans outside the village limits, worship of the earth-mother is performed by pouring milk on the ground, and by placing seven betel-nuts and seven single copper-pieces thereon.[354]
Some ambitious Brāhmans dig earth from near the roots of a banyan tree after offering prayer to the earth, and out of it, make an image of Parthishwar—Lord of the Earth—hoping thereby to obtain wealth. The same ceremony, if observed near the roots of a pipal tree (ficus religiosa), is believed to confer wealth and male issue.[348]
When Vishnu killed the demons Madhur and Kaitabha, the earth was strewn with their flesh and marrow (meda). Therefore the earth is called medini, and for the same reason is unclean, and no holy objects are allowed to touch it.[355] Another explanation is that the earth was rendered unclean because blood was shed on its surface in the combat of the demon Vritrāsur with the god Indra.[356]
The things polluted by a contact with the earth are either objects which are to be dedicated to gods, such as sandal-wood ointment, panchāmrit,[357] the leaves of the bel tree (Aegle marmelos), tulsi leaves (leaves of the holy or sweet basil plant), betel-leaves and flowers;[358] or objects which are sacred because of their having been dedicated to the gods, including tīrtha[359] or water used in bathing the images of gods[360]; or things which are by nature so holy that it is improper to place them on the bare earth; for instance, images of deities, water of the sacred Ganges or the Jumna,[361] any holy writ,[362] a conch-shell and even gold.[363] Cooked food also deserves respect, as it supports the lives of men, and it is sinful in a Hindu to let it lie on the bare ground. Any irregular conduct in this respect arouses the wrath of the Annadeva (or the food deity).[364]
It is, however, maintained by some that the reason why certain things, such as materials of worship, are not allowed to touch the earth, is that the earth itself being a deity, such things would be dedicated to this deity by a contact with the earth and would thus become incapable of any further use, as things that are dedicated to one deity cannot again be offered to another.[365]
During the course of the recitation of mantras (holy hymns) in honour of Vishnu and Mahādeva; on the occasion of offering prayers to the grahas (planets) for their propitiation; and on occasions like Vishnuyāga,[366] Mahārudra,[366] Shatachandi[366], Gāyatri-purashcharan[367] and Brāhmana-varana[368] the devotee or the sacrificer and the priest sleep on darbha grass or on clean woollen blankets, spread on the bare ground.[358]
Other occasions for sleeping on the floor are the days of the observance of certain vrats or vows; such as, the Divāsa or the 15th day of the dark half of Āshādh (the ninth month), the Janmāshtami or the 8th day of the dark half of Shrāvana (the tenth month), the days of Goatrad, a vrat lasting from the 11th day to the 15th day of the bright half of Bhādrapad, Mahāshivarātri or the 14th day of the dark half of Māgh, the Ekādashi day or the 11th day of both the bright and dark halves of a month,[362] the Navrātra days or the first nine days of Āshvin, eclipse days, and the day of Jāgran or the 15th day of the bright half of Āshādh,[364] besides, sometimes, the whole of the months of Shrāvana and the Purushottam or intercalary month; and the chāturmās, i.e., the four months of the rainy season.[369]
A Brāhman in his brahmacharya (or the period of his life which, according to the Shāstras, should be devoted to the acquirement of learning, and which commences from the date of his being invested with the sacred thread and terminates at the age of twenty-three) and a widow are not allowed by the Shāstras to sleep elsewhere than on beds made on the ground.[362]
Women, while in menstruation, sleep on the floor for four days.[359] Some women, when they are separated from their husbands, also sleep in this fashion.[369]
A dying person, two or three minutes before his death, is placed on the ground, which is first purified with cow-dung-plaster.[370] For ten days after a death, the members of the deceased’s household and his relatives sleep on beds spread on the bare ground.[371] If the demise be very affecting, the nearest relatives sleep on the floor for periods which may extend to three months, six months, or even for a year, and sometimes the penance lasts for their whole lives.[370]
It is customary, among some sects, not to allow the sātharā—i.e., the spot lately occupied by a corpse in the house—to be suna or unoccupied for a single night. Someone must sleep on the spot for twelve consecutive days from the date of demise.[372]
Pilgrims,[373] after pilgrimage, abandon sensual pleasures, take their meals only once every day, and sleep on the floor.[370] It is customary to sleep always on the ground while in holy places. Devotees, ascetics, sādhus, and their disciples sleep on the ground.[371]
The God Indra has twelve meghas or clouds under his control, and he directs each of them to pour out their waters wherever he likes. When in the least irritated in the execution of his orders, Indra’s voice is heard in this world in thunder-claps which rise to a terrible pitch if the deity becomes downright angry.[370] Thunder is also said to be the loud laughter of Indra when in a happy mood.[374]
Another belief is that during the rainy season, Indra plays gedi-dānda[375], and the strokes given to the gedi in the course of the game, produce what we call thunder;[376] or, that the clouds are god’s footballs, and thunder is produced by his foot striking them, while at play during the rainy season.[371] Some believe thunder to be due to the loud sounds produced by various musical instruments which are played upon the occasion of the marriage-ceremony of Indra.[377] According to others, thunder is produced by the cannon of Indra;[378] or, as some again say, by the trumpetings of Airāvat, the elephant of Indra[379]; or, we hear thunder when Indra draws his bow and adjusts an arrow to the bow-string, in order to bring about the fall of rain.[380]
A further belief attributes thunder to the very rapid pace of the chariot of Bhagwān.[381] Some people, however, say that it is produced when Bhīma (one of the five Pāndavas) wields his prodigious club or bludgeon.[382] In the opinion of others, Vidyut or Tanyatun, the offspring of Lambā, the daughter of Daksha, and the wife of Dharmarāj thunders in the rainy season.[383] It is also suggested that the god of rains shakes the heavens and thus produces thunder.[372] The Shāstras, it is said, declare that thunder is caused by the sounds of the dundubhi—or kettledrums—beaten by the gods in delight at the sight of rain.[384] There is also a popular belief in the Surat district that an old hag causes thunder either when she grinds corn or when she rolls stones in the clouds.[385]
The prevalent belief about lightning seems to be that it is the girl whom Kansa tried to dash against a stone, but who escaped and went up to the sky. Kansa, the tyrant king of Mathura, was informed by a heavenly voice, by way of prophecy, that a son would be born to his sister who would cause his destruction. Kansa thereupon confined his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudeva in prison, loaded them with fetters, and kept the strictest watch over them. He took from Devaki, and slew, every child of hers as soon as it was born. In this way he disposed of her first six children. On the seventh occasion, however, on which Devaki gave birth to a son named Krishna, a girl was born at the same hour to Nanda in Mathura; and Vasudeva secretly interchanged the two children in spite of the vigilance of Kansa. When Kansa knew of his sister having been delivered, he seized the infant girl and tried to dash her against a stone. The little one immediately flew away to the skies, where she still dwells in the form of Vijli or lightning.[386]
The Shāstras describe Vijli as the distinctive weapon of Indra, just as pashupatākā is peculiar to Shiva and the Gāndīva bow to Arjuna.[387]
Other beliefs about lightning are that Vijli is the sister of Megharāja, the god of rains, and appears to announce his approach:[388] that Vijli is a goddess who rests upon winds, fire, and rains:[389] that Vijli is but the thunderbolt of Indra:[390] that lightnings are the flashes of the bright weapon of Indra:[391] that lightning is the lustre of the fireworks and the lamps lighted by the gods in honour of the nuptials of Indra:[392] that lightning is produced by the sparks caused by the friction of the gedi and the dāndā of Indra when the god plays the game.[393] Vijli is also known as Saudāmini, i.e., one residing on Mount Sudāma.[394]
The occurrence of thunder and the appearance of lightning on particular days and in particular directions are regarded as signs of the abundance or scarcity of rain during the season.
Thunder during the Rohini nakshatra[395] is a bad omen: it foreshadows either a famine,[396] or a Boterun, i.e., complete cessation of rains for seventy-two days after the thunder-claps are heard.[391] According to another view, if the Rohini nakshatra lasts for a fortnight and if the sky is clear during the period and yet lightning and thunder occur, a Boterun will be the consequence; but if lightning and thunder were to accompany the clouds in the same nakshatra, heavy and plentiful rains may be confidently expected.[397] Lightning without clouds in the same nakshatra is believed to be the cause of what is popularly called Rohinī-dāzi, i.e., the burning heat of Rohini.[398]
Some persons expect a Boterun after kadakas or crashing thunder. Others apprehend a famine if they hear thunder on the second day of the bright half of Jyeshtha (the eighth month).[391]
Thunder or lightning in the Hasta[399] nakshatra foretells good harvests and a prosperous year.[400] Thunder in the same nakshatra is believed to muzzle the jaws of serpents and other noxious creatures, and to achieve this object, also, a sāmelu (or a log of wood) is struck against a mobhārā (or a hollow stone used for threshing corn).[401] If thunder is not heard during this nakshatra, mosquitoes and other insects and vermin are believed to be likely to multiply.[402]
If thunder is heard during the Ārdrā nakshatra, the rainfall will be delayed for a month.[403]
Lightning is commonly seen on the second and the fifth day of the bright half of Āshādh, and is considered a sign of good rainfall, while its absence indicates a probable scarcity of rain.[404] Its appearance on the fifth day of Āshādh is believed by some to foretell an early fall of rain.[400] Since the rainfall, and therefore the state of the crops during the ensuing year, are suggested by lightning on this day, corn-dealers settle a rise or fall in the price of corn according as lightning is or is not seen on that occasion.[405]
Thunder in the east predicts a speedy fall of rain.[400] If flashes of lightning are seen in the north-east or the north, rain will fall within three days.[400] Lightning in the south-east or the south foretells extreme heat.[406]
Long-continued thunder shows that the rainfall is distant. Similarly, continued flashes of lightning intimate danger to the lives and property of people.[406] Sudden thunder portends an immediate cessation of rain.[400] Thunder or lightning out of season threatens calamity to the country.[407]
Vijli or lightning is said to be fettered on the fifth day of the bright half of Āshādh—(or, as some say, on the second day of Shrāvan)[401]—after which date no apprehensions of its destructive powers need be entertained.[408] Till then, however, it is free and is likely to injure those persons[409] who have not cut or shaved their hair from their birth.[410]
The occurrence of lightning is believed to cause the delivery and sometimes even the death of pregnant women.[411]
Any period marked by the occurrence of lightning is considered inauspicious.[412]
The Puranas speak of fourteen worlds—the seven swargas (celestial regions) and the seven pātāls (nether regions)[413]. Underneath the seventh pātāl[414] lies Shesha (the divine cobra) who supports all the fourteen worlds on one of his one thousand hoods. On account of the heavy burden, the serpent-god sometimes gets tired, and tries to change his position. The result of the movement is an earth-quake.[408] According to another version, an earthquake occurs when Shesha changes his posture in sleep,[415] or is the result of a hair falling from the body of Shesha.[416] Some people say that ordinarily Shesha does not feel the weight of the fourteen worlds on his head; he bears the load as if it were only a single sesamum seed. But when too much sin accumulates in any of the regions, the burden becomes unbearable for him: he begins to shake under it, and an earthquake occurs.[417]
Some believe that there is a tortoise under the divine cobra who supports the world;[418] others go further, and add a frog below the tortoise:[419] and it is said that the slightest motion on the part of either the tortoise or the cobra is the cause of an earthquake.
Another belief is that earthquakes occur whenever there is tyranny or injustice on the part of a king, or whenever immorality spreads in society, because the earth is unable to bear the sin, and trembles at the sight of it.[420]
According to a different opinion, the earth is supported by the Pothia or the favourite bull of Shiva on one of his horns. An earthquake is caused whenever he transfers the earth from one horn to another in order to relieve the former from the constant pressure of the burden.[421]
There is also a belief that deities of some strange species reside in the nether regions, and the earth is shaken whenever these beings fight among themselves.[419]
According to the Varāha-sanhita, an earthquake is always the precursor of some unprecedented calamity.[422] The prevalent belief in the popular mind seems to be that an earthquake is the result of immorality and sin, and further that it forebodes some dire calamity, such as famine, pestilence, an outbreak of fire, a revolution, or a great war.[423] The phenomenon is, therefore, regarded with great fear; and when it occurs, people endeavour to avoid the contingent evils by such meritorious acts as the giving of alms, and generally by leading a virtuous life.[424]
The most popular of the holy rivers are the Ganges, the Jumna (or Jamuna), the Narbadā, the Saraswati (near Sidhpur), the Kāveri, the Godāvari, the Gandaki, the Sarayu, the Dāmodari, the Sindhu (or Indus), the Mahānad, the Gomati (near Dwārka), the Brahmaputra, the Sābarmati, the Ghels (near Gaddheda), the Tungabhadra, the Suvarnabhadrā, the Bhadrashitā, the Jambuvati, the Phalaku (or Phalgu), the Kaushiki, the Tāmraparni, the Sita and the Alakanandā. Any point where three rivers meet is also a sacred place. Most of the holy rivers are the subject of many traditions, and books have been written to celebrate their merits.
The Ganges, the Jumna, and the Godāvari are said to be the holiest of all rivers.[423] There are a number of beliefs about the origin of the Ganges. One of them is that the Ganges is the stream caused by King Bali washing the feet of Vāman (the Dwarf incarnation of Vishnu).[425] Another story relates that the god Brahma was exhausted by overwork at the time of the marriage of Shiva and Pārvati. The gods, therefore, created water from their own lustres, and gave it to Brahma in a gourd, to be used in a similar contingency. When Vishnu in his Vāman avatār (or Dwarf incarnation) bestrode the heavens with a single step, Brahma washed his toe in the water from this gourd. A stream was thus created called Swarga-ganga and brought down to the earth by Bhagīrath, the grandson of Sagar. When the Ganges fell from the heavens, it was supported and held fast by God Shiva in his jatā or matted hair. It was released by his loosening the hair, and in its course, inundated the sacrificial ground of King Jahnu. The latter, being angry, drank up its waters. On the entreaties of Bhagīrath, he released the stream by tearing off his thigh.[426] The river then flowed to the spot where the sixty thousand sons of Sagar were burnt to ashes; and it is said by some that one of the sixty thousand was saved at the end of each year up to the year 1955 of the Samvat era (corresponding to A. D. 1899), by the end of which period all the sixty thousand had attained salvation. From the earth the Ganges went to the nether regions. Thus flowing in the heavens, on the earth and in the Pātāl, the Ganges is called Tripathaga (i.e., flowing in three courses). In its divine form, the Ganges is the wife of Shiva. Owing to the curse of Brahma, she was born in human form in this world and was married to Shantanu, by whom she became the mother of Bhishma, the heroic uncle of the Kauravas and the Pāndavas.[427]
It is customary among Hindu pilgrims, when they visit Kāshi (Benares) to take with them copper-vessels filled with Gangājal (water of the Ganges), and to worship the Gangā when they reach their homes after the pilgrimage. A figure is drawn in seven different kinds of corn; the bowl is placed on it; abil gulāl (red powder), frankincense, and naivedya (an oblation of food) are offered: a ghi lamp is lighted: a Brahman woman is dressed as Uma, the wife of Shiva, and Brahmans are entertained at a feast, dakshina being given to them.[428]
The water of the Ganges, as well as that of the Jumna, is believed to be so pure that it cannot be affected by microbes, even if kept for years in the house. This quality is believed to be a manifestation of its divine nature. It is further called patit-pāvan (lit. purifier of the fallen), and exculpates the sinful from their sins, either by a single draught or by bathing in it.[429] Gangājal is kept in most Hindu families, a draught of it taken by a dying person being believed to secure moksha or eternal salvation for the soul.[430]
A vow is observed by women, in honour of the Ganges, for the first ten days of the month of Jyeshtha. On these days they rise early in the morning and bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges.[431]
Sometimes ghi lamps are placed upon the waters of the Ganges or the Jumna, and vessels of metal, pice, and cocoanuts are cast into the stream. At such a time, when many people are standing on the banks offering prayers with folded hands, or engaged in the arati,[432] the river presents a very picturesque scene, the numerous lights being reflected in the water.[433]
The Jamuna or Yamuna is the daughter of the Sun, and the sister of Yama, the god of Death. The banks of the Jumna are well known as the scene of the amorous sports of God Krishna.[434] The story of the defeat of the demon Kāliya Nāg who was ejected from the Jumna by Krishna is well-known.
It is said that those who have bathed in the Jumnā or have once tasted its water, need not be afraid of Yama, the god of Death.[435] It is considered meritorious among the Hindus to bathe the image of god Shiva in water from the holy Jumnā or the Ganges or the Godāvari.[436] There is a popular shloka in honour of the Jumnā which runs:—“Victory to thee! Oh Yamunā, flowing through the Madhu-vana (the Madhu woods), the bearer of shining waters, the companion of Jāhnavi, the daughter of Sindhu, the ornament of the enemy of Madhu (viz., Krishna), the appeaser of Mādhava, the dispeller of the danger of Gokal, the destroyer of the sins of the world, the giver of intellect, the scene of the amorous sports of Keshava. Victory to thee! O remover of difficulties, purify me.”[437]
The banks of the Godāvari are known as the site of the hermitage of Gautama. When the planet Brihaspati (Jupiter) enters the Sinha-rāshi (the constellation Leo)[438] the holy Ganges goes to the Godāvari, and remains there for one year. During that year, all the gods are believed to bathe in this river. Thousands of pilgrims visit Nasik to offer prayers to the Godāvari, and after bathing in the river, give alms to Brahmans. Similarly, on the Kapilāshashti day, on which six jogs or conjunctive incidents occur simultaneously, the virtue of all tīrthas or holy places is believed to be concentrated in the Godāvari at Nasik.[437]
The mere sight of the Narbadā has the same effect as a bath in the Ganges or the Jumnā.[439] It is said that the Narbadā is the image of Shiva, and that fragments of the stony bow of Shiva are to be found in its bed.[440] The stones in the bed of this river have the same sanctity as the images of god Shiva.[441] Shāligram stones, which are worshipped as the images of Vishnu, are found in this river.[441] It is an act of high merit among Hindus to take a pradakshinā round the Narbadā, i.e., to travel along the banks of the river, inhabited as the region is by many Sādhus and other holy persons.[442] Ashvatthāmā, the immortal son of Drona, is believed to reside on the banks of this river and to pay occasional visits to the Bhils in the neighbourhood.[442] The Shukla-tīrtha, situated on the Narbadā, is visited by numerous pilgrims, and a fair is held there on every sixtieth year.[442]
The sage Kapila instructed his mother Devahūti with divine knowledge on the banks of the Saraswati. Since then, the river is held sacred and funeral ceremonies—Shrāddhas—are performed on its banks in honour of departed female ancestors.[440] Similarly Shrāddhas in honour of male ancestors are performed at the confluence of the Ganges, the Jumnā, and the Saraswati at Allahabad.[443][444]
Of the Gandaki it is said that it contains as many shankars (images of Shiva) as there are sankars (stones). The shāligram stone is found in this river also. The Saryu is sacred as the scene of the childish sports of Rāmachandra, the hero of the Rāmāyana. On the banks of the Phalaku or Phalgu, Rāmachandra performed Shrāddha ceremonies in honour of his father Dasharath.[440]
A bath in the waters of a holy river washes away the sins of the bather.[445] It is also meritorious to repeat the names of the several holy rivers.[446] The performance of Shrāddha ceremonies on the banks of a holy river secures the felicity of deceased ancestors in heaven.[445] At the time of performing Shrāddhas at a holy place, Hindus shave their moustaches, bathe in the sacred waters, and then go through the necessary ceremonies, in the course of which pindas are offered to the Pitars (spirits of dead ancestors). Brahmans are feasted after the ceremonies, and dakshinā is given to them.[447] Tarpan or an offering of water with flowers, ointment, red lac, cocoanuts, and betel, is frequently made to the river on the banks of which the ceremonies are performed.[448] The bones of a deceased person, left unburnt after cremation of the body, are gathered together and thrown into holy rivers such as the Ganges, the Jumnā, and the Godāvari, for the purification of his soul.[449]
When heavy floods threaten a village or a city with serious injury, the king or the headman should go in procession to propitiate the river with flowers, cocoanuts, and other offerings in order that the floods may subside.[450] A story is related of the occurrence of heavy floods in a village in the Jatalpur taluka, when a certain lady placed an earthen vessel (ordinarily used for curdling milk), containing a ghi lamp, afloat on the floods, whereupon the waters were at once seen to recede.[451]
Besides the holy rivers, there are numerous kunds or sacred pools which are regarded with equal reverence, and in which a bath has the same efficacy for destroying sin. Similarly, they are equally suitable places for the performance of Shrāddha ceremonies. These kunds are the subject of numerous beliefs, and each of them has a certain māhātmya or peculiar merit of its own. Six miles to the east of Dwārkā, near the sea-coast, there is a kund called Pind-tārak, where many persons go to perform the Shrāddha and the Nārāyan-bali ceremonies. They first bathe in the kund: then, with its water, they prepare pindas, and place them in a metal dish: red lac is applied to the pindas, and a piece of cotton thread wound round them; the metal dish being then dipped in the kund, when the pindas, instead of sinking, are said to remain floating on the water. The process is believed to earn a good status for the spirits of departed ancestors in heaven.[445] It is further said that physical ailments brought on by the avagati—degradation or fallen condition—of ancestors in the other world, are remedied by the performance of Shrāddha on this kund.[452]
The Dāmodar kund is situated near Junāgadh. It is said that if the bones of a deceased person which remain unburnt after his cremation are dipped in this kund, the soul of that person obtains moksha (or final emancipation).[445]
There is a vāv or reservoir on Mount Girnār, known as Rasakūpikā-vāv. It is believed that the body of a person bathing in it becomes as hard as marble, and that if a piece of stone or iron is dipped in the vāv, it is instantly transformed into gold. But the vāv is only visible to saints and sages who are gifted with a supernatural vision.[453]
Kāshīpuri (Benares) contains a vāv called Gyān-vāv, in which there is an image of Vishweshwar (the Lord of the universe, i.e., Shiva). A bath in the water from this vāv is believed to confer upon a person the gift of divine knowledge.[445]
In the village of Chunval, a few miles to the north of Viramgām, there is a kund known as Loteshwar, near which stands a pipal tree. Persons possessed by ghosts or devils, are freed from possession by pouring water at the foot of the tree and taking turns round it, remaining silent the while.[454]
A bath in the Mān-sarovar near Bahucharāji is said to cause the wishes of the bather to be fulfilled. There is a local tradition[455] that a Rajput woman was turned into a male Rajput of the Solanki class by a bath in its waters.[454]
There is a kund called Zilāka near Zinzuwādā with a temple of Naleshwar Mahādev near it. The kund is said to have been built at the time of King Nala. It is believed locally that every year, on the 15th day of the bright half of Bhādrapad, the holy Ganges visits the kund by an underground route. A great fair is held there on that day, when people bathe in the kund and give alms to the poor.[456] There is also another kund close by, known as Bholava, where the river Saraswati is believed to have halted and manifested herself on her way to the sea.[457]
There is a kund in Baladāna near Wadhwan, dedicated to Hol, the favourite mātā of the Chārans. In this kund, black or red gagar bedinus—pieces of cotton thread—are sometimes seen floating in the water. They appear only for a moment, and sink if any one endeavours to seize them. The appearance of black pieces forebodes famine: but the red ones foretell prosperity.[458]
In Bhadakon near Chudā there is a kund called Garigavo. The place is celebrated as the spot of the hermitage of the sage Bhrigu and a fair is held there annually on the last day of Bhādrapad.[458]
Persons anxious to attain heaven, bathe in the Mrigi kund on Mount Girnār; and a bath in the Revati kund, which is in the same place, confers male issue on the bather.[459] There is also a kund of the shape of an elephant’s footprint Pagahein on Mount Girnār. It never empties and is held most sacred by pilgrims.[460] People bathe in the Gomati kund near Dwārkā and take a little of the earth from its bed, for the purification of their souls.[461] In the village of Bābarā, Babhruvāhan, the son of Arjun, is said to have constructed several kunds, all of which are believed to be holy.[460]
The Lasundra kund near Lasundra in the Kaira District[462] and the Tulsi-shyāma kund on Mount Girnār[463] contain hot waters. There is also a hot kund called Devki-unai, about thirty miles to the south of Surat.[462] There the waters remain hot throughout the whole of the year, except on the fifteenth day of the bright half of Chaitra. On this day, the waters cool, and people can bathe in the kund. Many pilgrims visit the place on this occasion, to offer money, cocoanuts, and red lac to the unai mātā, whose temple stands near the kund. It is said that King Rāma built this kund while performing a local sacrifice, and brought water up from the pātāl (nether regions) by shooting an arrow into the earth.[464]
Other holy kunds are: the Bhīm kund, the Gomukhi-gangā, and the Kamandalu kund on Mount Girnār near the temple of Bhimnāth Mahādeo; the Rādhā kund, the Lalita kund, and the Krishna-sarovar in Dwārkā; the Rāma-sarovar, the Sītā kund and the Devki-unai kund in Ayodhya (Oudh);[465] and the Suraj kund[466] and the Hanumāndhāra[467] kund on Mount Girnār.
Waterfalls are not very familiar to the people of Gujarāt. There is a belief, however, that barren couples obtain issue if they bathe in a waterfall, and offer a cocoanut.[468]
If a river source issues from an opening, in the shape of a go-mukh (cow’s-mouth), the stream is called dhodh, and is considered as sacred as the holy Ganges. A bath in such a dhodh has the same efficacy for absolving persons from their sins.[469]
When a person dies an accidental death and before the fulfilment of his worldly desires, his soul receives avagati (i.e., passes into a degraded or fallen condition), and it is not released from this state till Shrāddhas have been duly performed in its name, and the objects of its desire dedicated to it with proper ritual. The same fate befalls those souls which do not receive the funeral pindas with the proper obsequies. Such fallen souls become ghosts and goblins,[470] and are to be found where water is, i.e., near a well, a tank, or a river.[471]
Those who meet death by drowning become goblins, residing near the scene of their death, and are a source of danger to all who approach the water; for instance, in Monāpuri and Sāsai, there are two ghunas (mysterious watery pits) haunted by bhuts (ghosts) which take the lives of one or two buffaloes every year.[472] Mātās[473] and Shankhinis also haunt wells, springs, and tanks and either drown, or enter the persons of those who go near their resorts.
Persons who are possessed in this manner, can be freed by bhuvas,[473] who give them a magic thread to wear.[474]
There is a vāv called Nīlkanth vāv near Movaiya, in which a Pinjari (a female cotton-carder) is said to have been drowned, and to have been turned into a ghost, in which form she occasionally presents herself to the people.[475]
Another ghost haunts an old vāv, called Madhā, in Vadhwān and drowns one human being every third year as a victim. But a male spirit named Kshetrapāl resides in the kotha (or entrance) of the vāv, and saves those who fall near the entrance. A person is, however, sure to be drowned if he falls in any other part of the vāv.[476] A ghost also resides in the vāv at Hampar near Dhrāngadhrā and terrifies the people at times.[476]
The goddess Rainadevi resides in water, and is worshipped by virgins on the fifteenth day of the bright half of Āshādh, when they grow javārās (tender wheat-plants) in an earthen vessel and present them to her, remaining awake for the whole of the night to sing songs in her honour.[469]
Daryā-Pir, the patron of Luvānās (merchants) and Khārvās (sailors), resides in the sea; and vows are observed in his honour by these people on the second day of the bright half of every month, when they pass a little water through his sieve.[477]
It is well known that a drowning person clings fast to anyone who tries to save him, and endangers the lives of both himself and his saviour.[478] It is also believed by some people that the messengers of Varuna (the lord of all waters) seize those persons who bathe in a river earlier than the usual hour in the morning; and the act of saving a drowning person thus deprives Varuna of his victim, and brings down the wrath of that deity.[479]
Sometimes, for the sake of moksha, a person takes samādhi (i.e., drowns himself with a religious motive) in a holy river, such as the Ganges or the Jumnā. In such a case the relatives and other persons refrain from interference, and do not try to rescue the person.[478]
When a well is to be dug, an expert is first called to select a likely spot on which to dig. A Brahman is then consulted as to the auspicious hour on which the work of digging should be commenced.[480] For this purpose, Tuesdays and those days on which the earth sleeps are to be avoided. The earth is supposed to be asleep on the following six days in every month, namely: the 1st, the 7th, the 9th, the 10th, the 14th and the 24th days following a sankrānti (i.e., the day on which the sun crosses from one constellation to another). Excluding these days, a date is generally fixed on which the Chandra-graha (or the planet moon) is favourable to the constructor of the well.[481]
On the appointed day, the expert, the constructor of the well, the Brahman priest, and the labourers go to the place where the well is to be dug, and an image of the god Ganpati—the protector of all auspicious ceremonies—is first installed on the spot and worshipped with panchāmrit.[482][483] A green coloured piece of atlas (silk cloth), about two feet long, is then spread on the spot, and a pound and a quarter of wheat, a cocoanut, betels, dates and copper coin are placed on it. A copper bowl containing some silver or gold coins and filled with water, is also placed there; the mouth of the bowl is covered with the leaves of the Ashoka tree (Jinesia Asoka) and a cocoanut is placed over the leaves. After this, the priest recites sacred hymns and asks his host to perform the khāt[484] ceremonies.[485] Among favourite offerings to Ganpati and the earth in the course of worship and in the performance of the khāt ceremonies are: curds, milk, honey, molasses, cocoanuts, dhanā (a kind of spices), leaves of nāgarvel (a kind of creeper) and red lac.[480] The expert who is called to choose a proper site for the well offers frankincense and a cocoanut to the spot, and lights a lamp thereon. After the khāt[486] ceremonies are over, the host distributes sugar or molasses among the bystanders, and offers a sum of money to the expert, who usually refuses it, asking the host to spend it in charity. Those who accept money give away a part of it in alms to the poor.[480]
Sometimes, to secure the unobstructed completion of the work, the god Ganpati and the goddess Jaladevi are installed and worshipped daily, till water appears in the well.[481] Some people, however, install the goddess Jaladevi after the appearance of water, when a stone is taken out from the bottom of the well and is plastered with red-lead to represent the goddess and is ceremoniously worshipped. When the construction of the well is complete, vāstu, i.e., the ceremony in vogue after the completion of a new building, or jalotsava (the water-festival) is celebrated, Brahmans being entertained at a feast, with dakshinā given.[487]
The water of the Krukalas well in the island of Shankhodwār is believed to cure fever and diseases caused by morbid heat. A draught of the water of the Gomukhi-gangā near Girnār, makes one proof against an attack of cholera.[488]
The water of a gozarā well (i.e., a well which is polluted on account of a person bring drowned in it) cures children of bronchitis and cough.[489][490]
There is a well near Ramdorana, of which the water is effective against cough,[491] and the water of the Bhamaria well near Vasāwad possesses the same virtue.[492]
The water of the Mrigi kund near Junāgadh remedies leprosy.[491]
The Pipli well near Zālāwād and the Detroja-vāv near Kolki are well-known for the stimulative effect of their waters on the digestion.[493]
If a dark stone is found in the course of digging a well, the water of that well is believed to have medicinal properties.[494]
The birth of a child under the mul nakshatra endangers the life of its father: but the misfortune is averted if the child and its parents bathe in water drawn from one hundred and eight wells.[488] Such water, if swallowed, is said to cure sanipāt or delirium.[495]
In the island of Shial there is a vāv called Thān-vāv, where mothers, who cannot suckle their children for want of milk, wash their bodices. When they afterwards wear these bodices, these are believed to be able to cause the due secretion of milk.[496]
The most famous of the sacred lakes are Pampa[497], Bindu[498], Pushkar and Sāmbhar near Ajmere, Mān-sarovar near Bahucharāji, Nārāyan-sarovar in Cutch, Rāvanrhad in the Himālayas, and Rāmarhad. The following popular myth is related about Mān-sarovar.
Two kings once agreed that the two children that should first be born to them should marry each other. But it happened that both the kings had daughters. One of them, however, concealed the fact, and gave out that the child born to him was a son. So that when the children attained a marriageable age, they were married to each other according to the agreement.
But the wife found out the secret when she went to stay with her supposed husband, and disclosed it to her parents, who invited the counterfeit son-in-law to their house with the object of ascertaining the truth. The alleged son, however, suspected the design and fled, with a mare and a bitch. On arriving near Mān-sarovar, the animals went into the lake in order to refresh themselves, when there was an immediate transformation; and the bitch and the mare came out a horse and a dog. On observing this miracle, their mistress followed their example and was also turned into a male. The story is still sung by girls in a garabi (song) during the Navarātra holidays.[499]
There is a belief that the ancient golden city of Dwārkā, the capital of god Krishna, still exists in the sea, although it is invisible to the eyes of mortals.[494] A story is told of a man named Pipo Bhagat, who, once perceiving a golden bowl floating in the sea, plunged into the water and saw the golden palaces of Dwārkā and god Krishna resting therein. It is said that he returned with the tide and related his experience to several people.[500]
Similarly, the golden Lanka of Rāvan is still believed to exist under the sea, ruled over by Bibhishan, the brother of Rāvan, and visible only to the eyes of saints and holy persons.[501] It is a common belief that the nether regions are inhabited by a species of semi-divine beings, half men and half serpents, called Nāgs, who possess magnificent palaces under the water.[502] The story of Kāliya Nāg, who resided at the bottom of the Jumnā and was driven from that place by Krishna, is well known.[503] There are a number of mythological traditions in the Purānas of kings and princes having visited these palaces in watery regions, and of their having brought back beautiful Nāgakanyās (daughters of Nāgs) therefrom.[504] For instance, Arjuna married a Nāgakanyā named Ulupi when he was living in exile with his brothers. He also stayed for some time with the Nāgs.
Ghosts and demons sometimes inhabit palaces under the water. Deep waters, unfrequented by men, are the favourite resorts of such beings.[505]
The god Varuna resides in the waters, and is said to have once carried off Nand (the adoptive father of Krishna) to his watery abode, for having bathed in the Jumnā before dawn.[503]
Kālindi, the daughter of the king of the Kalingas, practised religious austerities in a palace under the waters of the Jumnā with the object of securing a suitable husband. Krishna, on being informed of this by Arjuna, went to the place and married her.[506]
There is a story in the Purānas that a king, named Nandrāj, used to bury his treasures in the sea with the assistance of a mani (jewel) which furnished a safe passage through the water. The mani was in the end burnt by the queen of Nandrāj and the treasure still lies hidden in the waters of the sea.[507]
It is narrated in the fourth chapter of Bhāgvat-purān that the ten thousand sons of Prachetas used to reside in palaces built under water.[508]
Mountains are held to be sacred in a variety of circumstances; thus, some are valued for possessing medicinal drugs: some are revered as the birthplaces of the gods, or as the residences of saints: some for possessing many tīrthas (holy spots): some because they were visited by Rāma or the Pāndavas: some serve as guardians of the four quarters: and some contain the sources of holy rivers.
Both the important ranges of the Presidency, the Sahyādri and the Sātpuda, are subjects of veneration in the popular mind. The Himālayas, the Vindhyā Mountains, and the Nilgiris command special respect. Other sacred mountains are Girnār and Shetrunja in Kāthiāwār, Mount Ābu, Pāvāgad near Baroda, Brahmagiri Ārāsur, Tryambak near Nasik, Koyalo, Govardhan near Mathurā, Revatāchal near Dwārkā, and Hinglaj in Sind.
It is said that in ancient times there were deep miry ditches where Girnār and Ābu stand at present. One day a cow belonging to the sage Vasishtha fell into one of them and was found by Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, after a long search. When the incident was brought to the notice of Vasishtha, he requested Meru (a mythical mountain) to send his two sons Girnār and Ābu to occupy and fill the ditches. Girnār required sixty-eight tīrthas to accompany him; and the boon was granted by the gods.[509]
Girnār is one of the seven great mountains which once possessed wings.[510][511] It is also known as the place where the sage Dattātraya performed religious austerities.[512] The place is so holy that any person dying within a radius of twelve gaus[513] from it is believed to attain moksha.[514] A visit to the temples on Girnār absolves one from all sins; and taking a turn round Girnār and Shetrunja is said to bring good fortune.[515] Bhagwān manifests himself to those who ascend the Bhairavajaya summit on Girnār. There is a rock on this mountain of which it is said that those who cast themselves from it directly attain heaven.[516]
Pāvāgad is known for the temple of Mahākāli Mātā. It is said that King Patai once propitiated her by austerities, and on being desired to demand a boon, asked the goddess to accompany him to his palace. The goddess was highly incensed at this request, and promptly destroyed him.[516]
Hanūmān, the monkey-god, once promised to take the Mountain Govardhan to meet Rāma. It is well known how the monkey allies of Rāma constructed a bridge of rocks across the sea to Laṅkā, and how Hanūmān supplied the requisite material by fetching huge mountains. Whilst engaged on this work, he was one day carrying the Govardhan mountain to the site of the bridge, when Rāma issued an order that all monkeys who were fetching mountains should deposit their burdens at the spot where they stood at the moment of the order. Hanūmān could not disobey the order of his lord, and he had accordingly to drop the Govardhan mountain near Mathurā. In order to fulfil Hanūmān’s promise, however, Vishnu held the mountain over his head for seven days, at the time of his Krishna incarnation.[516]
It is said that the inhabitants of the districts round Govardhan formerly revered and adored Indra. But Krishna condemned this custom, and introduced the worship of Govardhan. Indra was exasperated at this conduct, and poured tremendous rains on Gokal in order to drown Krishna and his followers. But Krishna held up the Govardhan mountain on his little finger and sheltered all his people under its cover. The mountain was supported in this manner for seven days, by the end of which the rains subsided and Indra confessed himself vanquished. Even now Vaishnavas form an image of Govardhan out of mud and worship it on the Janmāshtamī day (i.e., the eighth day of the dark half of Shrāvan).[517]
The Oshama Hill near Pātanvāv (in the jurisdiction of Gondal) is noted for the beautiful temples of Tapakeshwar Mahādev, and Mātari Mātā. It is said that Bhīma[518] the second of the five Pāndavas, first met the giantess Hidimbā, on this hill.[519] The charcoal-like stones which are dug out in numbers from this hill are believed by the people to have been blackened by the blood of the giant Hidimb, the brother of Hidimbā who was killed by Bhīma.[520]
Mount Shetrunja (or Shatruñjaya) possesses numerous Jain shrines and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year. The hearts of all pilgrims are believed to be purified from the moment they come within six miles of the mountain.[521]
Mount Ābu possesses the temple of Ambā Mātā where Krishna’s hair was clipped for the first time.[522] Tryambak is known for the temple of Tryambakeshwar and the source of the holy Godāvari.[523] About Revatāchal, it is said that the mountain was golden in ancient times.[524] In the Vindhya Mountains is situated the famous temple of Omkār Mandhātā.[525] The hermitage of Kākbhushundi in the Nilgiris was visited by Rāma when he listened to the religious stories read out by that sage. The sage Agatsya also is said to have resided in these mountains.[526]
The temple of Hinglaj stands on a hill, which is situated at a distance of eighteen days’ journey by road from Karachi. The Mātā is ministered to by a Musalman and the place is mostly visited by Atits, Bāvās, Khatris, Chhipās, Mochis, and other low-caste Hindus. On occasions the doors of the temple spontaneously open, and after the devotees have visited the Mātā, they again shut in the same mysterious manner.[525]
As the abode of Shiva and as containing the sources of the holiest of rivers, the Himālayas are the most sacred of all mountains, and possess many holy places of pilgrimage, such as Badrinārāyan, Kedārnāth, Hardwār, etc. Badrinārāyan is the favourite resort of those who have relinquished the world and who only wish to meditate on the Divine Being. The sages Nara and Nārāyan are said to have performed religious austerities in this place, and eighty-eight thousand rishis (sages) are believed to be similarly occupied there to-day. Owing to the excessive cold, the place is extremely difficult to reach. Pilgrims carry burning hearths with them to protect themselves against cold. Besides, it is necessary to cross the Pathar-nadi (or stony river), of which the water, if touched, turns one into stone. The method of crossing this river is to suspend sikāns or slings above its water and to swing from one sling to another.[527]
A hill called Swargārohan is believed to be twenty miles to the north of Badrikedārnāth and is said to lead to heaven. In ancient times the Pāndavas had repaired to this place in order to do penance for the sin of having killed their kinsmen in the Great War. But when they tried to ascend to heaven by the Swargārohan Hill, only Yudhishthir and his faithful dog were able to reach their goal: the rest were frozen in the snow.[527]
Mount Kailāsa, the abode of Shiva, is supposed to be situated in the northern part of the Himālayas. The mountain is described as always covered with verdure and full of beautiful gardens and of palaces made of jewels, with roads paved with golden dust and sphatika-mani (crystal stone).[527] It is said that Rāvan, the king of Lankā, once uprooted this mountain and held it on the palm of his hand, in order to display his prowess. The demon Bhasmāsur, who was enamoured of the goddess Pārvati, is said to have performed the same feat in order to frighten Shiva.[523]
Another mythical mountain is Meru, which is supposed to occupy the centre of the earth.[528] The sun, the moon, and all the planets revolve round this mountain, and it therefore plays an important part in the causation of day and night. For night falls on one side of the earth when the sun goes to the other side of Meru; and the day begins when the sun emerges from that side of the mountain. Meru is sixty-eight thousand yojans[529] in height, and penetrates the earth to the depth of sixteen thousand yojans. Its eastern side appears white, the southern is yellow, the western is black, and the northern red. The mountain is also believed to consist of gold and gems. The Ganges, in her fall from the heavens, is said to have descended first on the top of this mountain and then to have flowed in four streams in four directions. The southern stream is known as the Ganges; the northern, in Tartary, is called Bhadrasoma; the eastern is the same as the Sitā; and the western is named Chax or the Oxus. The top of this mountain is believed to be inhabited by gods, gandharvas (celestial musicians) and rishis (sages).[530] According to the Yoga-vāsishtha, there is a kalpa-vriksha[531] on the Lalmani summit of Meru, where a rishi named Bhushundkāk is engaged in devotional prayers since time immemorial.[532] The Purānas declare that Vaivaswat Manu, the first man, resided near Meru, and that his descendants migrated to Ayodhyā to found there a kingdom which was afterwards ruled over by Rāma.[530]
It is believed by some people that mountain-tops are inhabited by a class of recluses, called Aghori-bāvās, who devour human beings.[533] The Kālikā hill near Girnār is believed to be frequented by Joganis (female harpies) who take the lives of visitors to the hill, and it is said that none who visits the place is ever known to return.[534] Persons who visit the temple of Kālikāmātā on Mount Girnār always lose one of their party, who falls a victim to the goddess.[535]
The changes in the seasons are attributed by some to Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesha (Shiva), the gods of the Hindu Trinity. Brahma sends down the rains and produces corn, grass, etc., Vishnu protects and nourishes the harvests in winter, and Shiva causes the heat of the summer.[536] There is also a belief that these three gods go down in turns to the pātāl (nether regions) and stay there for four months. Vishnu descends on the eleventh day of the bright half of Āshādh, and on that day the rainy season begins. When Vishnu comes up and Shiva takes his place, people experience the cold of winter: but as this god always keeps a dhuni[537] burning near him, the waters under the surface of the earth, such as those in the wells, remain hot during this period. Such waters are cooled when Shiva returns and Brahma goes down to the pātāl: but the return of Shiva causes summer on the earth.[538]
According to another belief, the sequence of the seasons is controlled by the sun-god.[539] There are six ritus or seasons: and the changes in the ritus depend upon the position of the sun in the twelve rāshis or signs of the Zodiac.[540] Each ritu lasts for a period of two months, during which time the sun travels through two rāshis. Vasant-ritu is the period which the sun takes to pass through the Min (Pisces) and Mesha (Aries) rāshis. Grishma-ritu corresponds to the time during which the sun passes through Vrishabha (Taurus) and Mithun (Gemini). During Varshā-ritu the sun moves through the signs Karka (Cancer) and Sinha (Leo), and during Sharad-ritu through Kanyā (Virgo) and Tulā (Libra). Hemant-ritu is the time which the sun takes to travel through Vrishchika (Scorpio) and Dhanu (Sagittarius). Shishir-ritu occurs when the sun stands in the Makar (Capricornus) and Kumbha (Aquarius) rāshis.[541]
Indra (the god of rain), Varuna (the lord of all waters), Vāyu (the god of wind), Agni (the god of fire), and the moon-god are also believed by some to have power over the seasons.[542]
The belief is as old as the Vedas that demons sometimes obstruct the fall of rain, and confine the waters of the clouds. It is Indra who fights with them and breaks through their castles by means of his thunderbolt, sending down showers of rain for the benefit of his worshippers. So, whenever there is an unusual drought, people still invoke the aid of this god, and celebrate a festival in his honour, called Ujjani or Indramahotsava. Homas[543] are performed to propitiate the god, and Brahmans are entertained at a feast. Sometimes the festival is celebrated outside the village, where people go in large parties to dine together. The usual dish on such an occasion is Meghlādu or sweet balls of wheat-flour fried in ghi.
Another favourite ceremony supposed to cause rain to fall is the submersion of the image of Shiva in water, by blocking up the khāl or passage in the Shiva-linga by which water poured over the image usually runs off.[542] This ceremony is known as Jala-jātrā. Rudrābhisheka, or the ceremony of pouring water in a constant stream over the image of Shiva for eleven consecutive days and nights, is sometimes performed with the same object.[544]
Sometimes the assistance of Shringhi rishi is invoked to bring about a fall of rain. The rishi is installed in water, mantras are recited, and prayers are offered before a sacrificial fire. This ceremony, called Parjanya-shānti, is said to have been performed within recent years in Bombay, and to have been successful in bringing rain.[545]
It is also said that rainfall can be caused by singing a song or a sacred hymn to the malār tune. There is a tradition that the well-known saint Narsinha Mehta once sang this tune on the occasion of the celebration of the first pregnancy of his daughter, and the performance was immediately followed by a shower of rain. Rain, which is brought down in this manner, can be put a stop to by singing to a different tune.[546]
Low-caste women have recourse to the following expedient to bring rain. Five or six of them place a quantity of muddy earth on a wooden stool, which is carried by one of them. The lump of mud is covered with leaves of the Gidotān or Tindotān creeper, and is called mehulo or meghalo. The whole party then sing songs, and visit every house in the village. A bowl of water is poured over the mehulo and the women receive some corn for their trouble.[547]
Some believe that when the worship of the village-gods is neglected and when the people grow corrupt, ill-treat the saints and are given to the killing of cows and Brahmans, Yama, the God of Death, directs his colleagues, Indra and Varuna, to threaten the world with a drought. The rainfall returns only when the people revert to righteous ways, and after Indra and Varuna have been conciliated by offerings.
The lower classes of the people believe a prolonged cessation of rain to be due to the wrath of local minor deities, aroused by the neglect of their worship. In such a contingency, therefore, they prepare bāklan[548] of uḍad (lentils), lāpsi,[549] vadān[550] and other dishes, and offer them to the local gods for their propitiation.[551]
To stop an incessant fall of rain, people often observe the Āladrā vow. The patel or headman issues a proclamation that on a particular day none should cook, or churn whey, or fetch water, or wash clothes, or attend to any of the multifarious household duties; but that all should pass the day in prayer. A complete cessation from toil in favour of earnest devotion to divine powers are the peculiar features of this vow. People do not abstain from food: but food must be prepared on the previous day. If the rains do not cease in spite of this vow, but threaten the village with inundation, the headman leads a procession to the confines of the village and makes an offering to the waters.[552]
In some places a spinning wheel, sometimes specially constructed of human bones,[553] is turned by a naked person in the reverse direction to the usual one, with the object of causing the cessation of immoderate rainfall.[554]
A cessation of rains is also believed to be brought about by offering an oblation to the god Kasatia, and by the observance of the vow called Kasatia gānth (or tying the knot of Kasatia). The vow lasts for three weeks, and those who observe it do not partake of anything except rice[555] (or, according to others, jirān, a kind of spice[556]).
Some persons attribute a heavy fall of rain to the wrath of Indra, and offer ceremonious prayers to appease that god.[557] In some places people engage the services of magicians to restrain the fall of rain.[558] Farmers sometimes brand the rain by casting burning sparks upon it in order to stop an incessant fall.[559] Vows in honour of samudra (the ocean) are also observed with the same object.[553]
In the changing circumstances of life, women more readily have recourse to religious vows for the fulfilment of their wishes than men. This fondness of women for vows has brought into vogue a number of vrats or religious observances which are practised by women only. Gangigor or Ganāgor, Vat-Sāvitri, Molākat, Goutrāt, Alavana or Alunda, Eva-vrat, Tulsi-vrat, Umā masheshwar-vrat, and Surya-vrat are instances of such vows.[551] The Molākat-vrat is observed by virgins from the eleventh to the fifteenth day of the bright half of Āshādh.[560] The Goutrāt-vrat is believed to secure male progeny, as well as long life to the husband. It is observed on the fourth day of the dark half of Shrāvana, on which day women fast till the evening, and then take food after worshipping a cow.[561] The object of the Eva-vrat (or Jiva-vrat) is to secure eternal exemption from widowhood, the day for this vow being the last day of Āshādh. It is then necessary to observe a fast till the evening; and the only food allowed is a preparation of wheat, taken at nightfall.[562]
On the fourth day of the dark half of Shrāvan, women observe a vrat called Bolchoth. In the morning the woman worships a cow and her calf (which must both be of the same colour), applies a little cotton to the horns of the cow, and makes an auspicious mark on the foreheads of both with red lac. She then places an offering of betel and rice before the cow, takes four turns round the pair, and whispers in the ears of the cow the words tārun satya mārun vritya (your truth and my devotion). A Brāhman then recites the legend of the vrat.[563]
After narrating this story, the Brahman takes the betel and other things placed before the cow. The woman then returns home and takes food for the first time during that day, the meal consisting of loaves of bājrā-flour and some preparation of mag (phaseolus mungo). Some women take ghi and khir: but any preparation of cow’s milk is strictly forbidden. Similarly, there is a prohibition against using things which have been cut by a knife or scissors.[564]
The worship of the goddess Rāndal is a favourite vrat with Gujarati women. A bower is erected for the installation of the goddess, and a bājat or a wooden stool is placed therein. A piece of fine cloth is spread on the bājat, and a figure is drawn in seeds of corn. A kalasio or bowl, with a cocoanut on it, is placed over the figure. The cocoanut has two eyes painted on it in black collyrium and a nose in red lac, and is decorated with rich clothes and ornaments to represent the goddess Rāndal. Ghi lamps are kept constantly burning before the goddess for three consecutive days and nights. An invitation is sent to the neighbouring women, who bring offerings of ghi to the goddess, and dance in a group at night to the accompaniment of melodious garabis (songs).[565] Sometimes, if a child is ill, or some misfortune is apprehended, gorānis, i.e., a certain number of unmarried girls and unwidowed women, are invited to a feast in honour of Rāndal.
On the Nāgapanchami day, i.e., the 5th day of the bright half of Shrāvan,[566] women draw an image of a nāg (cobra), and worship it with sprouts of bājrā. In some places it is the custom to avoid all food but khichedi[567] on this day.
The wad (the banyan tree) is worshipped on the first day of the dark half of Shrāvan. On that day the woman wears a necklace of fifteen leaves of this tree and prepares a dish called navamuthium.[568] A dorā or piece of string is also worn on the person to ward off evil.[569]
Rishi-panchami,[570] Gauri-pujan, Shitalāi-pujan, Shili-sātem are holidays observed only by women. On the Rishi-panchami day only niar[571] rice is allowed to those who observe the vrat.[572]
Besides the observance of vrats, there are other ceremonies, auspicious as well as inauspicious, in which women alone can take part. Only women are concerned with all those ceremonies which are gone through on the birth of a child. On the twelfth day after birth, a name is given to the child by its aunt. The ceremony of making an auspicious mark on the throne of a king is performed by an unwidowed woman or an unmarried girl.[573]
At the time of a marriage, women make the auspicious mark on the forehead of the bridegroom and carry a lāman-divo[574] to fetch ukardi.[574] For nine days preceding the date of marriage the bride and the bridegroom are besmeared with pithi or yellow turmeric powder, when auspicious songs are recited by a party of women invited to witness the ceremony. When the bridegroom reaches the entrance of the marriage bower, he is welcomed there by his mother-in-law, who carries him on her hip to his seat in the marriage booth.[575]
It is necessary to make certain marks on the corpse of a woman, and these marks are made by women only.[576] Similarly, women alone take part in the ceremony of getting a widow’s hair shaved on the ninth day after her husband’s death.[577]
The Shāstras have enjoined the worship of certain higher-grade deities, and have prescribed certain ceremonials for the purpose. But women are not authorised to make use of these ceremonies. The reason is that the Shāstras regard women as inferior to men and do not grant them the privileges given to the latter. They are not allowed to learn the Vedas nor can the Gāyatri-mantra be taught to them. The result is that women are not qualified to perform the ceremonial worship of such higher-grade deities as Vishnu, Shiva, Durgā, Ganpati, and Hanumān;[578] similarly the sacrificial rites of Vishnuyāg, Shaktiyāg, Ashvamedha, Rāja-yajna, and Gāyatri-purashcharan can only be performed by men.[579]
It is the duty of men only to worship the shami tree (prosopis spicegera) on the Dasarā day, and the Hutāshani fire on the day of Holi.[579]
Women are not allowed to worship the god Kārtikey, who is said to shun women, and to have pronounced a curse against all who visit his image.[579]
The fifteenth day of the bright half of Chaitra is the anniversary of the birth of Hanumān, and a vrat called Hanumān-jayanti is observed on this day. This vrat,[580] as well as the Ganesh-chaturthi-vrat[581] are meant only for men.
The ceremonies of Shrāddha[582] and the Baleva[583] ceremonies can be performed by men only. The duty of giving agni-sanskār[575] to corpses, i.e., of performing the necessary rites at a funeral, is also laid on men.
People who practise the art of attaining mastery over spirits and fiends, usually remain naked while they are engaged in the performance of their mysterious rites. There are many branches of this black art: for instance, Māran,[584] Uchchātan,[585] Lamban, Vashīkaran,[586] Mohan,[587] Stambhan,[588] etc., and although the meli vidyā (sacrilegious art) is not held in respect by high-class Hindus, it is popular among the lower classes. There is a belief that knowledge of this art dooms a person to hell; but it secures to those who master it a position of much importance, and therefore finds many followers. The art consists in the knowledge of certain mysterious incantations, which enable a person to influence the spirits and to bring about certain results through their agency. Not only has every person when learning this art, to remain naked, but all those who make prayogas or experiments in it afterwards must observe the same precaution. The night of Kāli-chaudas or the 14th day of the dark half of Ashvin, is considered to be the most favourable time for the sādhan or accomplishment of this secret art of remaining naked.[589] On this day, it is the custom of those who exercise the art, to go stripped to a cemetery in the dead of night, and to cook food in a human skull as an offering to the spirits residing in the neighbourhood. On the same night, some sorcerers, after stripping themselves, are said to ride round the village on some mysterious conveyance.[590]
A practice is noted among low-class people of performing a sādhana before the goddess Jhāmpadi for the sake of progeny. The man who performs the sādhana, has first to go naked to a cemetery on a Sunday night, and to fetch therefrom the ashes of a corpse. At the time of the sādhana, the man takes his seat on a corpse, fills a madaliun or hollow bracelet with the ashes brought from the cemetery, and puts it on his arm above the elbow.[591]
Dhobis, Mālis, Vālands and other low-caste people remain naked while worshipping Bhairav.[592] In the performance of the anushthān (propitiation) of such deities as Kāl-Bhairav,[593] Batuk,[593] Mani,[594] Griva,[594] etc., the devotees keep their persons uncovered. The worshippers of the goddess Jakshani also remain naked when they attend upon her.[595]
Persons who practise the art of curing men from the effects of serpent-bites by means of incantations, have to sit naked under water in order to gain efficacy for their mantras.[592]
Followers of the Devi-panth, Shakti-panth and Aghori-panth sects remain naked while worshipping or offering victims to their gods.[596] Vāma-mārgis worship a nude image of the goddess Digambarā.[591]
The hook-shaped instrument, known as ganeshio, which is used by thieves in boring a hole through the walls of a house, is sometimes prepared by a blacksmith and his wife on the night of Kāli-chaudas, both being naked at the time. Instruments prepared in this fashion are believed to secure success for the thief, who scrupulously sets aside the first booty acquired by the help of the ganeshio for the blacksmith as a reward for his services. He does not grudge the reward however large the booty may be.[590]
In making dice according to the directions of Ramalashāstra, the workers should remain naked.[595]
There is a belief that granulations in the eyes of a child are cured if the maternal uncle fetches naked the beads of the Arani tree, and puts a circlet of them round the neck of the child.[597]
If a person uncovers himself on hearing the screech of an owl, and then ties and unties seven knots in a piece of string, repeating the process twenty-one times, the piece of string is believed to possess the virtue of curing Taria Tāv or periodical fever.[598] Another remedy for the same ailment is to go to a distance of three miles from the village and there to eat food which has been cooked in a state of nudity.[589]
In the preparation of Nargudikalpa[599] or Gujakalpa[599], some drugs have to be procured by a naked person.[600]
It is considered meritorious by some persons to rise early in the morning and to bathe naked on the Makar Sankrānti day.[601]
A Brahman boy must be naked at the time of the performance of his thread investiture ceremony. After the ceremony, the maternal uncle of the boy presents garments to him, which he thereupon puts on.[602]
In Gujarat, for the most part, the people seem to be unacquainted with the belief that certain stones possess the virtue of influencing the rain. Some persons however attribute this quality to the stones on such sacred mounts as Girnār, Ābu, and Pāvāgadh.[603] There is a point called Tonk, on mount Girnār, of which it is said that rain is certain to fall whenever anyone succeeds in climbing it.[604] There is also a common belief that arasi marble if heated has influence over rain.[605]
It is a common practice to submerge the image[606] of Shiva in water with the object of bringing rain. Similarly the image[606] of the goddess Harshadh is sometimes bathed when rain is desired.[607] The bhuva or the bhui, i.e., the male and the female attendants of the goddess are at the same time given a bath, and an offering of Khir[608] is made to the goddess.[607]
There are two goals which a pious Hindu tries to attain by leading a life of purity and virtue, viz., (i) moksha or final emancipation, merging into the Eternal Spirit, and (ii) swarga (heaven or paradise) where meritorious persons enjoy pure pleasures unalloyed by earthly cares. The stars are the spirits of so many righteous persons who are translated to swarga for their good actions, and are endowed with a lustre proportionate to their individual merits. But every moment of enjoyment in swarga diminishes the store of merit: and those whose whole merit is thus exhausted, on receiving their proportionate share of pleasures, must resume their worldly existence. The Bhagavad-gītā says: “क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति” i.e., “they enter the mortal world when their merit is expended.” Meteors are believed to be spirits of this description who fall from their position as stars, to live again on this earth.[609]
Another explanation of meteors is that they are the sparks produced when the vimāns (or vehicles) of celestial people clash against each other.[610]
Meteors are also held to be the agār or charak (i.e., excreta) dropped either by a curious water-bird,[600] or by Garud, the favourite eagle, and vehicle of Vishnu,[611] or by a fabulous bird Anal.[612] The latter is said to fly at an immeasurable height from the surface of the earth, and to take food only once a day.[612] It is almost impossible to catch the charak when it falls to earth: but if ever it can be secured, the application of it to the eyes of a blind man will restore his eyesight. It also furnishes an effective remedy for leprosy, and gives a golden lustre to the body of a person suffering from that disease.[611]
Some declare that meteors are stars which fall owing to the curse of Indra, and subsequently assume the highest human form on earth.[613]
It is also said that the stars descend to earth in human form when sins accumulate in the celestial world.[614]
The influence of meteors on human affairs is treated at length in the Varāhasanhitā.[615] The phenomenon is popularly regarded as an evil omen: it is supposed to portend devastation by fire, an earthquake, a famine, an epidemic, danger from thieves, and storms at sea.[616] The appearance of a bright shooting star is supposed to foretell the death of some great man;[617] and on beholding one, it is customary to repeat the words ‘Rām Rām’[618] several times.[619] A shower of meteors is believed to presage some civil commotion or a change in the ruling dynasties.
Some persons, however, regard the appearance of meteors as auspicious or baneful, according to the mandal or group of stars, from which they are seen to fall. Meteors from the Vāyu-mandal, (or the group of stars known by the name of Vāyu) portend the breaking out of an epidemic: those from Varuna-mandal, are believed to be favourable to human happiness; if they fall from Indra-mandal, they forebode danger to all kings; those from Agni-mandal, threaten war between nations.[620]
During the monsoons, rain is believed to fall in that direction in which a meteor is seen to shoot.[621] A meteor in the west is ominous to kings, and if it falls into the sea, it forebodes evil to the dwellers on earth.[622]
The appearance of a comet is believed to portend some dire calamity to the king and the nation.[622] It is said that if a heavenly body is seen, chhogālo,[623] chhogālā kings (i.e., great and celebrated kings) are in danger of their lives.[624] A comet is also believed to threaten all tailed animals with destruction.[624]
[1] Khan Bahadur Fazlullah and Mr. K. D. Desai. [↑]
[2] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[3] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[4] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[5] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[6] Mr. M. D. Vyas, Shastri, Bhayavadur. [↑]
[7] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Schoolmaster, Limbdi. [↑]
[8] The first nine days of Āshvin, the last month of the Gujarat Hindu Calendar, known otherwise as Mātānā dāhadā-mātā’s days. The influence of the mātās is very strong in these days. [↑]
[10] Mr. M. D. Vayas, Shastri, Bhayavadur. [↑]
[11] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[13] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[14] Mr. B. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[15] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[17] Lāpsi is coarse wheat-flour fried in ghi and sweetened with molasses or sugar. [↑]
[18] Vadān-bean flour—generally of gram or peas—is allowed to remain in water with spices until the paste acquires a sufficient degree of consistence, when it is rolled into small biscuit-sized balls and fried in oil. [↑]
[19] Bāklā are small round flat cakes of dry boiled beans. [↑]
[20] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[21] Mr. N. M. Dave, Schoolmaster, Sānkā. [↑]
[22] Mr. N. M. Dave, Schoolmaster, Sanka. [↑]
[23] Kansār is coarse wheat-flour cooked in three times as much water, sweetened with molasses or sugar, and taken with ghi.—B. L. Dave, Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[24] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[25] Mr. G. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Sultanpore. [↑]
[26] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[27] Mr. B. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[28] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[29] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[30] A dānklā is otherwise known by the name of dūg-dudioon. [↑]
[31] Mr. Jagannath Hirji, Schoolmaster, Chok. [↑]
[32] Mr. Jethabhai Mangaldas, Schoolmaster, Gondal. [↑]
[33] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Schoolmaster, Chhatrāsā. [↑]
[34] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[35] Mr. H. R. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Khirasarā. [↑]
[36] Mr. L. G. Travadi, Schoolmaster, Upleta. [↑]
[37] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[38] Mr. H. R. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Khirasarā. [↑]
[39] Mr. L. G. Travadi, Schoolmaster, Upleta. [↑]
[40] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[41] Two pieces of cloth, a shouldercloth and a scarf are cast over the bridegroom and the bride, and they are tied together by a knot. It is the unloosing of this tie which is here referred to.—Mr. K. D. Desai. [↑]
[42] Mr. N. M. Dave, Schoolmaster, Sānkā. [↑]
[43] Mr. N. M. Dave, Schoolmaster, Sānkā. [↑]
[44] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[45] The tendency to fraternise as much in belief as in nationality is a notable feature of Indian life. The saying goes:—Hindu Musalmān ék Rām bijó Rehmān. The Hindu and Musalman are not far apart; one is the follower of Rām, the other of Rehmān (the most compassionate—a Kuranic name of Allah). Again says another proverb: The Hindu and Musalmān are as closely connected as the breast and the skirt of a garment (Hindu né Musalmān moli dāman jo vehevār). The Hindu pays homage to the Pīr, the Muslim repays the compliment by holding some of his Hindu brother’s lower class deities, such as Vaital and Kāli and Ambā, in awe. The Hindu worships and breaks cocoanuts before the Moharram taazias—the Musalman responds by showing a sneaking sort of a regard for the Holi, whom he believes to have been a daughter of the patriarch Abraham. This reciprocal good fellowship in times of political agitation, like those of the Indian Mutiny, results in the “chapati”, or unleavened bread loaf, being considered a symbol to be honoured both by Muslim and Hindu; and in more recent times, as during the plague troubles in Allahabad and Cawnpore, shows itself in the Muslim garlanding the Hindu on a holiday, and the Hindus setting up sherbat-stalls for Musalmans on an Id day.—Khan Bahadur Fazlullah. [↑]
[46] Mr. J. N. Patel, Schoolmaster, Jasdan. [↑]
[47] Mr. Jaggannath Hirji, Schoolmaster, Chok. [↑]
[48] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Schoolmaster, Chhatrāsā. [↑]
[49] Mr. O. A. Mehta, Schoolmaster, Lakhapadar. [↑]
[50] Mr. N. J. Bhatt, Moti Marad. [↑]
[51] Mr. J. D. Khandhar, Sayala. [↑]
[52] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[53] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[54] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[55] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[56] Mr. G. K. Dave, Sultanpore. [↑]
[58] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[60] Mr. M. D. Vyas, Schoolmaster, Bhayavadur. [↑]
[61] Cf. Alláho núr-us-samáwátiwal ard, mathalo nurihi-ka miskatin bihá nusbáh—Koran.
Allah! He is the light of the Heavens and the Earth. The likeness of His Light being similar to a lamp in a glass.—Fazlullah Latfullah. [↑]
[62] Mr. Jethabai Mangaldas, Schoolmaster, Gondal; and Damodar Karsonji, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[63] Mr. B. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[64] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[65] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[66] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[67] A similar custom is observed in Gujarat. Unfortunate parents, who have lost many children, vow to grow the hair of their little children, if such are preserved to them, observing all the time a votive abstinence from a particular dish or betelnut or the like. When the children are 3 or 5 or 7 years old, the vow is fulfilled by taking them to a sacred place, like the temple of Ranchhodji at Dakor, to have their hair cut for the first time. This vow is known as bābari in Southern Gujarat—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[68] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[69] Mr. Jethabhai Mangaldas, Gondal. [↑]
[71] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[72] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[73] Mr. M. M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. [↑]
[74] Mr. G. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Sultanpore. [↑]
[75] Mrs. Raju Ramjee Kanjee, 2nd Assistant, Girls’ School, Gondal. [↑]
[76] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[77] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[78] Mr. Girijashankar Karmeashankar, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[79] The Hindus use the tender sprigs of the Nim or Babul trees for tooth-brushes. After they have done duty as brushes they are cloven into two and the tenderest part is used as a tongue-scraper.—Khan Bahadur Fazlullah. [↑]
[80] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[81] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[82] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[84] Mr. Jethalal Anūpram, Schoolmaster, Aman. [↑]
[85] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[87] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[89] Mr. M. D. Vyas, Shastri, Bhayavadur. [↑]
[90] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi, and L. D. Mehta, Mota Devalia. [↑]
[91] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara, and Mr. B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[92] Mr. B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[93] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Schoolmaster, Chhatrāsā. [↑]
[94] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Schoolmaster, Limbdi. [↑]
[95] Mr. G. K. Bhatt, Songadh. [↑]
[96] Mr. B. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[97] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[98] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Schoolmaster, Chhatrasa. [↑]
[99] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[100] Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadavah. [↑]
[101] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[102] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[104] Mr. G. K. Bhatt, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[105] Mr. N. J. Bhatt, Moti-Murad. [↑]
[106] Mr. Ranchhodji Becher Pandya, Shastri, Jelpur, Sanskrit Pāthashālā. [↑]
[107] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[108] Wheat flour fried in ghi with molasses. [↑]
[110] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[112] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[113] The names are: 1 Āditya, 2 Divākar, 3 Bhāskar, 4 Prabhākar, 5 Sahasrānshu, 6 Trilochan, 7 Haritāshva, 8 Vibhāvasu, 9 Divākrit, 10 Divādarshātmaka, 11 Trimūrti, 12 Sūrya. [↑]
[114] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[115] Mr. G. K. Dave, Sultanpur. [↑]
[116] Mr. H. M. Bhatt, Schoolmaster, Ganod. [↑]
[117] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[118] Mr. H. M. Bhatt, Schoolmaster, Ganod. [↑]
[119] Mr. Chhaganlal Motiram, Wala Taluka. [↑]
[120] Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit School. [↑]
[121] Mrs. Raju Ramjee Kanjee, Girls’ School, Ganod. [↑]
[122] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[123] Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit School. [↑]
[124] Mr. J. D. Khandhar, Sayala. [↑]
[125] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[126] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[127] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[128] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[129] Milk and sugar ball. [↑]
[131] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[132] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[133] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[134] Mr. P. L. Mehta, Schoolmaster, Luvaria. [↑]
[135] Mr. Jeram Vasaram, Schoolmaster, Jodia. [↑]
[136] Mr. M. H. Raval, Ganod. [↑]
[137] Mr. H. M. Bhatt, Ganod. [↑]
[138] See figure above. A shows Shiva’s image: the arrow-head, the jalādhari which a person is not to cross. He is to return from the point B in his first round and from the point C in his half turn. Thus B C remains uncrossed. The circle round A shows the Khāl, place wherein god Shiva is installed—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[139] Mr. G. K. Dave, Sultanpore. [↑]
[140] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[141] Hindus believe that a soul has to go through a lakh and eighty-four thousand transmigrations before it attains final emancipation. The cycle of 1,84,000 births is called the pherā of lakh-choryasi,—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[142] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[143] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster. Dhhank. [↑]
[144] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[145] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[146] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[147] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[148] Mr. Jethalal Anupram, Schoolmaster, Ainan. [↑]
[149] Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit School. [↑]
[150] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[151] Mr. N. J. Bhatt, Moti-Murād. [↑]
[152] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[153] Mr. D. K. Shah, Schoolmaster, Charadwa. [↑]
[154] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Schoolmaster, Limbdi. [↑]
[155] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Schoolmaster, Chhatrāsa. [↑]
[156] Mr. Chhaganlal Motiram, Schoolmaster, Wala Talu. [↑]
[157] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Goholwad. [↑]
[158] Mr. B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani, and the Schoolmaster, Movaiyam. [↑]
[160] Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit School. [↑]
[161] Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwa. [↑]
[163] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[164] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[165] Mr. N. J. Bhatt, Schoolmaster, Moti-Murād. [↑]
[166] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Schoolmaster, Limbdi. [↑]
[167] Mr. H. R. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Khirasarā. [↑]
[168] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[169] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[170] Mr. H. R. Pandya, Khirasarā. [↑]
[171] Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwa. [↑]
[172] The Schoolmaster, Chank, Kolaba. [↑]
[173] Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwa. [↑]
[174] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[175] The Schoolmaster, Pendhur, Ratnagiri. [↑]
[176] The Schoolmaster, Anjār. [↑]
[177] Mr. Jethabhai Mangaldas, Schoolmaster, Gondal. [↑]
[178] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Schoolmaster, Songadh. [↑]
[179] Mr. L. D. Mehta, Motā Devāliā. [↑]
[180] The Schoolmaster, Ganod. [↑]
[181] The Schoolmaster, Agashi and Arnālā. [↑]
[182] Mr. T. D. Khāndhār, Schoolmaster, Sayala. [↑]
[183] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Songadh. [↑]
[184] The Schoolmaster, Mith-bāo, Ratnagiri. [↑]
[185] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. [↑]
[186] Mr. Jethalal Anupram, Schoolmaster, Aman. [↑]
[187] Mr. M. H. Raval, Vanod. [↑]
[188] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[189] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Songadh. [↑]
[191] Mr. Girijashankar Karunashankar, Songadh. [↑]
[192] The Swastika is found at Pompeii and in the Greek ‘key’ pattern. It is also found on Persian and Assyrian coins and in the Catacombs at Rome. It is to be seen on the tomb of the Duke of Clarence, who was drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, at Tewkesbury, and occurs in Winchester Cathedral, where it is described as the fyle-foot.—R. E. E. [↑]
[193] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Schoolmaster, Dhhank. Compare a similar idea in the Kurān in the chapter An Nur (the Lights): “Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. The semblance of his light is the nyche wherein there is a light.”—K. B. Fazlullah. [↑]
[194] Mr. J. A. Jani, Schoolmaster, Aman. [↑]
[195] Mr. N. D. Vora, Schoolmaster, Rajpara; and Mr. B. K. Dave, Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[196] Kansār is coarse wheat flour sweetened with molasses and cooked in water until the whole quantity of water is absorbed and taken with ghi. [↑]
[197] Puris are cakes of fine wheat flour, fried in ghi. [↑]
[198] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[200] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[201] The Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[202] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[203] Mr. G. K. Bhatt, Songadh. [↑]
[204] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi, and B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[205] All observers of the Chaturthi-vrat worship the god Ganpati on this day, and offer him one thousand trifoliate sprouts of dūrva (cynodon dactylon). The dish specially prepared for the occasion is Golanalādu—sweet-balls of wheat flour fried in ghi and mixed with molasses.—Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[206] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[207] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Gohelwad. [↑]
[209] The Schoolmaster, Vanod. [↑]
[210] The original is—
Poshi Poshi Punemadi,
Āgāshe rāndhi khichadi,
jame bhāini benādi.
[211] The Schoolmaster, Kotda-Sangani and The Schoolmaster, Jodia. [↑]
[212] Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit School. [↑]
[213] Mr. L. D. Mehta, Schoolmaster, Mota-Devalia. [↑]
[214] A Kundali is an astrological diagram of the position of planets at any particular time. The numbers in the diagram change their positions according to the position of planets at any given time.—Mr. D. Desai. [↑]
[215] Mr. Chhaganlal Motira, Wala Taluka. [↑]
[216] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[217] The Schoolmaster, Khāndhār. [↑]
[218] One ghadi is equal to 24 minutes and one pohor (prahara) lasts for three hours. [↑]
[219] Mr. M. P. Shah, Schoolmaster, Zinzuwada. [↑]
[220] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[221] Mr. M. P. Shah, Schoolmaster, Zinzuwada. [↑]
[222] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[223] The Schoolmasters of Dhhank, Rajpara and Limbdi. [↑]
[224] The Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[225] The Schoolmaster, Dadvi. [↑]
[226] The Schoolmaster, Lilapur. [↑]
[227] Throughout the Hindu Scriptures, Vishnu and his incarnations are described as being of Shyama-varna or dark complexion.—Mr. K. D. Desai. [↑]
[228] The Schoolmaster, Dadvi. [↑]
[229] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Halar. [↑]
[230] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[231] The Schoolmaster, Lilapur. [↑]
[232] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrasa. [↑]
[233] Mr. M. P. Shah, Zinzuwada. [↑]
[234] The Mistress of Rajkot Civil Station Girls’ School. [↑]
[235] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrasa. [↑]
[236] Rao Saheb Shelke and the Shastri of Bhayavadur. [↑]
[237] The Schoolmaster, Rajpara. [↑]
[238] The Schoolmaster, Dhhank. He refers to the books Vratarāj and Pathyapathya on this point. [↑]
[239] The Deputy Educational Inspector, Halar; and the Schoolmaster of Chauk, Kolaba. [↑]
[240] The Schoolmaster, Jodia. [↑]
[241] The Schoolmaster, Kolki. [↑]
[242] The Schoolmasters of Rajpara, Limbdi, and Ibhrampur. [↑]
[244] The Shastri of Jetpur, Pathashala. [↑]
[245] The following Sanskrit verse mentions all of them:—
लक्ष्मीः कौस्तुभपारिजातकसुरा धन्वंतरिश्चन्द्रमा ।
गावः कामदुहः सुरेश्वरगजो रम्भादिदेवाङ्गनाः ॥
अश्वः सप्तमुखो विषं हरिधनुः शंखोऽमृतं चांबुधेः ।
रत्नानीह चतुर्दश प्रतिदिनं कुर्वन्तु वो मंगलम् ॥ १ ॥
Rao Saheb P. B. Joshi. [↑]
[246] The Schoolmasters of Jodia, Dhhank, Songadh, Rajpara, and Limbdi. [↑]
[247] The Schoolmaster of Khirāsara. [↑]
[248] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[249] Mr. Laxmichand Hemji, Vasāwad. [↑]
[250] Mr. G. K. Bhatt, Songadh. [↑]
[251] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[252] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[254] Mr. Laxmichand Hemji, Vasāwad. [↑]
[255] A pohor or prahar is equal to three hours. [↑]
[256] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[257] Mr. Khan Bahadur Fazlullah. [↑]
[258] The Schoolmasters of Jodia and Songadh. [↑]
[260] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[261] Mr. G. K. Bhatt, Songadh. [↑]
[263] The Schoolmaster of Jodia. [↑]
[264] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[265] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[267] Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwah. [↑]
[268] Mr. T. D. Khandhar, Sayala. [↑]
[269] The Schoolmaster, Jodia. [↑]
[270] Khan Bahadur Fazlullah. [↑]
[271] Mr. M. M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. [↑]
[272] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrasa, and Mr. M. M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. [↑]
[273] Mr. Motichand Vasanji Doshi, Kāluwad. [↑]
[274] I believe the name of the constellation is wrongly given: it ought to be Mriga. One of the stars in this group, known as ‘Sirius’, in Western astronomy, is often called Vyādha (i.e., the hunter).—Mr. K. T. Gupte.
The Mrig constellation is also said to represent the goddess Saraswati, who had assumed the form of a gazelle in order to escape the amorous grasp of Brahmā, her father. While the deer in the Mrig constellation is Saraswati, the Ardra constellation is Mahādev who had followed to chastise Brahma, who also is seen as the Brahma constellation.—Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[275] The thirteenth day of both the bright and dark halves of a month, sacred to the worship of god Shiva. [↑]
[276] The three-leaf-clusters of this tree are loved by the god Shiva if put upon his image.—Mr. K. D. Desai. [↑]
[277] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[278] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[279] The nine grahas are, Ravi (the Sun), Chandra (the Moon), Mangal (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), and Rāhu and Ketu. [↑]
[280] The names of the twelve rāshis are:—1 Mesha (Aries), 2 Vrishabha (Taurus), 3 Mithun (Gemini), 4 Karka (Cancer), 5 Sinha (Leo), 6 Kanyā (Virgo), 7 Tulā (Libra), 3 Vrishchika (Scorpio), 9 Dhanu (Sagittarius), 10 Makara (Capricornus), 11 Kumbha (Aquarius), 12 Mina (Pisces). [↑]
[281] The following are the twenty-seven nakshatras:—1 Ashvini, 2 Bharani, 3 Kritikā, 4 Rohinī, 5 Mrig, 6 Ardra, 7 Punarvasu, 8 Pushya, 9 Āshlesha, 10 Magha, 11 Pūrvā-phālguni, 12 Uttara-phālguni, 13 Hasta, 14 Chitrā, 15 Swāti, 16 Vishākha, 17 Anurādha, 18 Jyeshthā, 19 Mūl, 20 Pūrvāshādha, 21 Uttarāshādha, 22 Shravana, 23 Dhanishtha, 24 Shatatārakā, 25 Pūrvābhādrapada, 26 Uttarābhadrapada, and 27 Revatī. [↑]
[282] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[283] One ghadi = 24 minutes. [↑]
[284] Mr. Motechand Vasanji Doshi, Kālāwad. [↑]
[285] The Schoolmaster, Dadvi. [↑]
[286] The Schoolmaster or Dadvi. [↑]
[290] N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[291] I.e., a handful of rice, ghi, cocoanuts, and some other objects are cast into the fire as an offering. [↑]
[292] Gangaram Tribhowandas, Lilapur. [↑]
[293] D. K. Pandya, Dhhānk. [↑]
[294] K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[295] R. B. Pandya, Jetpur Sanskrit Pathashālā. [↑]
[296] A superior kind of rice. [↑]
[297] The Schoolmaster of Khirasarā. [↑]
[298] Twisted braids of darbha grass. [↑]
[299] D. K. Pandya, Dhhānk, and N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[300] B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[301] Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[302] Arghya is an offering of water in a spoon filled with barley seeds, sesamum seeds, sandal ointment, rice, and flowers. [↑]
[303] Two varieties of sacred grass, used in thatching roofs. [↑]
[304] Kalyanji Bhaishankar, Kolki, and R. B. Pandya, Jetpur. [↑]
[305] G. K. Bhatt, Songadh. [↑]
[307] Odhowji Avichal, Lākhāpadar. [↑]
[308] Talakshi Dharamsi, Khandhar. [↑]
[309] The Deputy Educational Inspector of Gohelwad. [↑]
[311] Indra has full sway over the twelve meghas (or clouds), of which Shāmaghana is the greatest. Indra directs them to pour down waters in whatever regions he likes. At the time of the deluge he lets loose all the twelve meghas under the lead of Shāmaghana and thus brings about the destruction of this world.—N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[312] L. D. Mehta, Mota Devalia. [↑]
[313] Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrāsā. [↑]
[315] The Schoolmaster of Pālānvār. [↑]
[316] D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[317] K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[318] The Schoolmaster of Luvaria. [↑]
[319] Mr. Kalyanji Bhaishankar, Kolki. [↑]
[320] The Schoolmaster of Khandhar. [↑]
[321] Mr. R. B. Pandya, Jetpur. [↑]
[322] Mr. M. M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. [↑]
[323] Mr. D. K. Shah, Charadwah. [↑]
[324] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia, and B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[325] When a king desired to be Chakravarti—Sovereign of all India—he used to perform a horse-sacrifice, and a horse was let loose with a copper-plate fastened to its head with the name of the king engraved upon the plate. The horse moved in front followed by the king’s army. Those who were not willing to acknowledge the suzerainty of the king challenged his army by seizing the horse. Such a horse-sacrifice, if successfully completed, threatens the power of Indra, who is therefore said to be very jealous and to create obstacles to the performance of such sacrifices—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[326] Mr. Vallabh Ramji, Mendardā. [↑]
[327] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[328] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrasa. [↑]
[329] Mr. Jethalal Anupram, Aman. [↑]
[330] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[331] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[332] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[333] Mr. K. B. Fazlullah. [↑]
[334] Mr. G. K. Bhall, Songadh. [↑]
[335] Mr. Hirji Monji, Ganod. [↑]
[336] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[337] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[338] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[339] Mr. Talakshi Dharashi, Sayala. [↑]
[340] A mixture of milk, curds, ghi, honey and sugar. [↑]
[341] The Schoolmaster of Dadvi. [↑]
[342] Dūrvā is a kind of sacred grass. [↑]
[343] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[344] The Schoolmaster of Gondal Taluka. [↑]
[345] On the Dasarā holiday, which is also known as Vijayādashmī, Hindus take special dishes, dress themselves in their best garments and go out of towns and villages to worship the earth-mother and the holy shami, with javālā stalks, a few of which are inserted in the folds of their head-dress as auspicious tokens. In towns, and big cities a procession is formed, conducted by some city magnate or a native chief riding an elephant. They go in state to the place of worship, and after the completion of the worship a goat or a he buffalo, preferably the latter, is killed, and a salvo of three to seven or more cannon is fired. People then return home and prostrate themselves before their elders, and receive from them a handful of candied sugar, a betel-nut and leaf, with blessings for long-life and prosperity. Such blessings are considered likely to prove effective.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[346] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[347] Some Hindus, when intending to go on a journey, consult an astrologer as to the muhūrt or auspicious hour for setting out. If they do not happen to leave their place at the prescribed moment, they put a pastānā—some of the articles to be carried by them in their journey—such as a suit of clothes or a box, in a neighbour’s house as a token of their having set out at the stated time.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[348] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[349] Mr. H. M. Bhatt, Ganod. [↑]
[350] Mr. Talakshi Dharashi, Sayala. [↑]
[351] Mr. B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[352] Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrāsā, and the Schoolmaster of Jāsdān. [↑]
[353] The Schoolmaster of Pātanvāv. [↑]
[354] The Schoolmaster of Sultanpur. [↑]
[355] Mr. Laxmichand Hemji, Vasāvad. [↑]
[356] Mr. Madhowji Tulsiram, Movaiya. [↑]
[357] A mixture of milk, curds, ghi, honey, and sugar. [↑]
[358] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[359] The Schoolmaster of Lilapur. [↑]
[360] Such objects are taken in a plate and thrown over a tulsi (or sweet basil) plant.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[361] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[362] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[364] The Schoolmaster of Dadvi. [↑]
[365] The Schoolmaster of Gondal Taluka. [↑]
[366] Sacrifices in honour of Vishnu, Mahādev and the goddess Chandi, respectively.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[367] A form of devotion requiring the recitation of the Gāyatrī-mantra a hundred thousand times with certain symbolic ceremonies.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[368] The appointment of duly authorised Brāhmans to perform religious ceremonies.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[369] Mr. M. M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. [↑]
[370] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[371] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[372] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[373] Intending pilgrims sometimes impose such self-denials upon themselves, vowing abnegation from particular articles of food or wear till they have performed their pilgrimage. Some renounce the use of ghi, some of milk, others of betel-leaf or nut, others swear not to wear a turban or a dupatta—till they are given the merit of a pilgrimage.—Khan Bahadur Fazlullah. [↑]
[374] Mr. L. I. Joshi, Surela. [↑]
[375] This game, much resembling the English boys’ game of Tip cat, is also known as gilli-dānda. The gedi or gilli is a small piece of wood, two or three inches in length, an inch or less in diameter and sometimes tapering at both ends. The dānda is a small round stick, of the same thickness and a foot or more in length, by which the gedi is played. There are two sides to the game as in cricket, though not composed of a definite number of players. There are a number of ways in which the game can be played.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[376] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi. [↑]
[377] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara, or of Bhagwan, according to Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[378] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[379] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[380] The Shastri of Jetpur, Pathashala. [↑]
[381] The Schoolmaster of Pāolānvav. [↑]
[382] Mr. G. K. Dave, Sultanpur. [↑]
[383] The Schoolmaster of Rajkot Girls’ School. [↑]
[384] Mr. H. M. Bhatt, Ganod. [↑]
[386] The Schoolmasters of Dhhank, Sanka, Limbdi, and Sultanpur. [↑]
[387] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[388] The Schoolmaster of Lilapur. [↑]
[389] The Schoolmaster of Charadwa. [↑]
[390] The Schoolmaster of Surela. [↑]
[391] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka. [↑]
[392] Mr. N. D. Vora, Rajpara. [↑]
[393] The Schoolmaster of Kolki. [↑]
[394] The Schoolmaster of Gondal. [↑]
[395] i.e., the period for which the Rohini nakshatra lasts. [↑]
[396] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[397] Mr. B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[398] The Schoolmaster of Dadvi. [↑]
[399] The Hasta nakshatra generally commences at the end of Bhādrapad or the beginning of Ashvin and lasts for a fortnight. The rains during this period, which are required for the rabi crops, are so much esteemed that each drop of them is said to be worth a drop of ghi. People store the hathio-varshād or the rain water of Hasta in reservoirs for drinking purposes, believing it to be very pure and digestive.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[400] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[401] Mr. N. M. Dave, Sānkā. [↑]
[402] Mr. B. K. Dave, Kotda-Sangani. [↑]
[403] The Schoolmaster of Luvaria. [↑]
[404] The Schoolmaster of Dadvi. [↑]
[405] The Schoolmaster of Songadh. [↑]
[406] Talakshi, Dharashi, Sayala. [↑]
[407] Mr. L. H. Jadow, Vasāwad. [↑]
[408] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[409] Among the Hindus it is customary for those whose children do not live to keep their children unshaved for a certain number of years, after which the children are taken to a holy place and shaved there for the first time. The temple of Ranchhodji at Dākor is a favourite place for such ceremonies.—K. D. Desai. [↑]
[410] Mr. G. K. Dave, Sultanpur. [↑]
[411] The Schoolmaster of Charadwa. [↑]
[412] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[413] The seven nether worlds are Atāl, Vital, Sutal, Talātal, Mahātal, Rasātal, and Pātāl. [↑]
[414] In an ocean, as some say—D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[415] Mr. Jethalal Devji, Bantwā. [↑]
[416] Mr. G. K. Bhatt, Songadh. [↑]
[417] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank, and Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[418] The Deputy Educational Inspector of Gohelwad. [↑]
[419] Mr. Jairam Vasaram, Jodia. [↑]
[420] Mr. K. P. Joshi, Limbdi, and Mr. Raju Ramjee Kanjee Pathak, Girls’ School, Gondal. [↑]
[421] Mr. J. K. Upaddhyaya, Pātanvāo. [↑]
[422] Mr. Raju Ramjee Kanjee Pathak, Gondal. [↑]
[423] Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank. [↑]
[425] Mr. M. M. Rana, Rajkot. [↑]
[426] The river is, therefore, regarded as his daughter, and is called Jahnavi. [↑]