उत्सवाः
Utsavas (Festivals and Celebrations)
Navarātra, Dīvālī, Holikā, Makara Saṅkrānti, and the festival calendar.
107 paragraphs across 1 volumes
Volume V: Part I 107 paragraphs
Navarātra or Durgotsava
From the 1st of Āśvina bright half to the 9th is celebrated the Durgāpūjā festival, otherwise called Navarātra, observed all over India in some form or other. Some of the works
If a person is unable to celebrate the festival3 for nine days, he shou...
This pūjā is nitya as well as kāmya,9 it is the first because the Kālik...
This Durgāpūjā is very cosmopolitan in character It could be performed not only by persons belonging to the four varṇas, but even by those who were outside the pale of the caste system Durgā-pūjā has...
It has been stated above (pp 110-111, n 280) that the principal gods are deemed to go to sleep for four months on different tithis from the pratipad (1st) of Āṣāḍha-śukla to the 15th. Therein Durgā is...
He should offer worship to the bundle of nine plants and to the image (of Durgā) and make the Devī abide in the bilva tree with sandalwood (and other substances mentioned above). The rousing (bodhana)...
Then follow acts to be done on the 7th tithi. On the 7th tithi conjoint with mūla-nakṣatra or without it the performer after taking a bath approaches a bilva tree, worships it, folds his hands and say...
Then the performer should put a flower on his head, take flowers and rice grains in his hand and make an invocation (āvāhana) with two mantras to Durgā to be present in the bilva branch and establish...
Much has been written about the sacrifice of animals in Durgāpūjā Only a few points can be dealt with here. The Kālikā-purāṇa enumerates the following animals as fit for sacri-fice in honour of Durgā...
The *Kalikāpurāṇa* in a long passage42 provides gradually rising peri...
The convenient belief from very ancient times has been that a victim offered in sacrifice to gods and pitṛs went to heaveṇ Hemādri quotes verses saying that all the animals such as the buffalo that ar...
The foregoing is somewhat of a digression, as the bali is generally to be sacrificed on the 9th and as the rites of even of the 8th have not yet been describeḍ On the Mahāstami conjoined to Pūrvāsādhā...
On the day on which there is Mahāṣṭamīpūjā the performer observes a fast. But a householder
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On this 8th tithi the performer has to honour maidens, feed them and brāhmaṇas also. He may honour a maiden or maidens from the first to the 9th tithi, but he must do so at least on 8th. The Devīpurāṇ...
The Tithitattva (pp. 69–72), Nirṇayasindhu and other works provide that in the Navarātra the performer should hear the recitation of the Vedas (Vedapārāyaṇa) and that beginning with the first tithi up...
After each pūjā prescribed for the day, the family members, their friends and guests sit together and partake of the prasāda (which in the houses of the well-to-do comprises select delicacies). Former...
After the pūjā, homa is performed as indicated above; offerings are to be made in fire called ‘Balada’
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On the 10th tithi after bathing and sipping water he should offer worship with sixteen upacāras or with as many as possible, should praise Devī with these words ‘Om Durgam Śivāṁ’ &c. (on p 672 of Durg...
A few words must be said with reference to certain relevant matterṣ How Devi was to be contemplated upon can be seen from p 163, note 418 above. That shows that only the image of Devi with the lion an...
There is no unanimity about the arms of Devī. The Varāha-purāṇa (95.41) speaks of 20 arms of Devī and mentions the twenty weapons she carries (95. 42-43 ) In the Devībhāgavata V. 8. 44 she is said to...
There are varying views about the word ‘navarātra’. Some hold that navarātra means ‘nine days and nights’; it signifies only the time for a vrata (i. e. it is a gunavidhi ), not the name of a rite ( k...
The principal matters in Navarātra or Durgāpūjā, though it may be spread over three days ( from 7th tithi ) or nine days ( from 1st to 9th ), are four as laid down by the Lingapurāṇa. viz. snāpana
Then the question arises as to when pūjā is to be performeḍ Here there are varying viewṣ The Samaya-mayūkha
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One question on which there is difference of view is about the *tithi* on which Navarātra is to be begun when pratipad is mixed with amāvāsyā or dvitīyā. There are very lengthy discussions in the Nirṇ...
One important matter was not stressed above. On the first day of Navarātra one has to establish a *kalaśa* or *ghaṭa*. A full *kalasa* has been a symbol of holiness and prosperity from early Vedic tim...
Hemādri (on Vrata, vol I. p 906) quotes Devīpurāṇa for honouring horseṣ88
The Kṛtyakalpataru on Vrata does contain a vrata called Durgāṣṭamīvrata derived from the Devīpurāṇa (pp. 225-233), but it has nothing to do with the exploits of Durgā.
Hemādri also (on vrata, vol. I. pp. 856-862) contains the same vrata with a few variationṣ That vrata is entirely different from the Durgotsava described in the Kālikāpurāṇa. In the first place there...
About the antiquity of the worship of Durgā, vide H. of Dh. vol. II pp. 738-739. A few matters that were not and that could not be mentioned there are noted here. Ambikā is said to be the sister of Śi...
Why two Navarātras were recognized (in Caitra and Āśvina) is a matter of conjecture. It is possible that these two pūjās arose from the fact that spring crops and autumn crops became ready at these tw...
In the Indian Historical Quarterly vol. 21 (pp 227–231 ) Mr. N. G. Banerjee refers to the Durgotsava-paddhati of Udaya- simha which begins with the Mahānavami and a sankalpa for victory and ends with...
Vijayādaśamī and Divālī
The 10th tithi of Aśvina-śukla is called Vijayā-daśamī. It is elaborately described in Hemādri (on vrata, vol. 1 pp. 970-973), Nirṇayasindhu (pp 69-70), Puruṣārtha-cintāmaṇi (pp. 145-148), Vratarāja (...
The Vijayādaśamī is one of the three most auspicious days In the year (the other two being Caitra-śukla first tithi and Kārtika-śukla 1st). Therefore in India children begin to learn the alphabet on t...
On this day the principal acts are the worship of Aparājita, the worship of Śamī, Sīmollanghana (crossing the boundary of one's village), returning home and having a lamp waved before oneself by the w...
Dasaṛā or Vijayādaśamī is a great day for people of all castes, but it is specially a day for the kṣatriyas, the nobles and kingṣ
The procedure of the worship of Aparājita (invincible) Devī is briefly as follows (from Dharmasindhu p 96) In the after-noon one should go to the north-east of one's village, smear the earth (with cow...
In modern times on Vijayadaśamī there is śamīpūjā in many parts of India. But śāmi is a rare tree. In Mahārāṣṭra and Konkaṇa, twigs of a tree called Āptā are brought from the forest and arranged in th...
In some parts of Northern India Rāmalīlā celebrations go on for ten days and culminate on the 10th of Aśvina in the burning of a tall hollow paper and wickerwork structure conceal- ing crackers repres...
There are several other local customs and usages such as worship of weapons of war and implements of one's trade or avocation associated with Dasarā or Vijayādaśamī which are passed over here for reas...
*Dipālī*: This festival of lights, illuminations and fireworks is the most joyful of all festivals and is most widely observed throughout India. Observances, however, differ in detail and number from...
Taken all in all Dīpāvalī spreads over about five dayṣ The whole festival comprises five principal items spread over five days, viz. worship of wealth, the celebration of Viṣṇu's victory over Narakāsu...
The Bhaviṣyottara contains a lengthy description of the four days of the Divālī festival from the 14th. I shall take that chapter as basis and add, where necessary, other passages from other textṣ
On the 14th of the dark half of Āśvina20 (or of Kārtika in the pūrṇim...
The Tithitattva notes that there is a usage of eating fourteen kinds of vegetables on this day in order to correspond with the 14th tithi, enumerates them from Nirṇayāmṛta and recommends that this sho...
The mediæval texts prescribe on 14th of Āśvina29 dark half the perfor...
On all the three days, viz. 14th of dark half of Āśvina, amāvāsyā, and the first of Kārtika-śukla an oil bath in the morning is prescribed for him who desires wealth and prosperity.
Āśvina amāvāsyā is a very important day. One should take an oil bath in the morning
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The first of Kārtika-śukla is regarded as one of the three most auspicious days of the year. The Dharmasindhu
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If the pratipad is mixed with amāvasyā or dvitiya, the worship of Bali, the proper time of which is night, should be performed on pratipad mixed with amāvasyā, since Hemādri quotes from Padma ‘Śivarāt...
Bali was the son of Virocana and grandson of Prahlāda, a great devotee of Viṣṇu. In the Vanaparva (28 2) Bali asks his grandfather Prahlāda the question ‘which is better, kṣamā (for- bearance) or teja...
The Balipratipadā appears to be called Virapratipadā41 in the Vāmana-...
In the afternoon of the pratipad (Kārtika-śukla) the tying of Mārgapālī takes place.
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As shown above, the three days from Aśvina-kṛṣṇa 14th are spoken of as days of Kaumudīmahotasava.
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In the Vedic period and for some centuries thereafter certain rites were performed in the month of Aśvina or in Śarad such as the Aśvayujī and Āgrayaṇa or Navasasyestī. The first is one of the seven p...
On the 2nd of the bright half of Kārtika occurs a very fine festival called Bhrātradvitīyā or Yamadvitīyā. The Bhavisya states:
The Padma asserts that those who please their married sisters with presents of clothes and the like are not subject to any quarrel for a year, nor to danger from enemieṣ Both Bhāviṣyottara and Padma s...
In Vedic times and in early smṛtis like those of Manu (II. 11) and Yāj. (I 53) it was difficult for a brotherless maiden to get married (vide H of Dh vol II p 435 ). But from this it is a far cry to s...
Makara-Sankrānti. This is a very important religious observance and festival. About 70 years ago (in the author's boyhood) it occurred on the 12th or 13th January according to the several Indian alman...
It may be stated that in ancient texts the entrance of the Sun alone in a rāśi is not regarded as holy time, but the entrance of all planets in a nakṣatra or rāśi was deemed to be a holy time.
Though the planets also have sańkrāntis, later writers hold that the word *sańkrānti* by itself means only Ravi-sańkrānti, as stated by the Smṛti-kaustubha p. 531.
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The twelve Sańkrāntis in the year are grouped into four classes, viz. there are two *ayana* sańkrāntis (that is Makara- sańkrānti from which *udagayana* starts and *Karkaṭa*-sańkrānti from which *Dakṣ...
Sańkrānti gradually came to be deified and the Devipurāṇa identified it with Durgā herself. The Devipurāṇa says ‘Devi is
( Continued from last page ) made on the Sun's sańkrāntiṣ For example, vide E. I vol. VII. p. 85 (Kahlā plate of Kalacuri Sodhadeva, grant being made on 24th December 1077 A. D.), E. I. XII p. 142 (Ni...
The exact moment of time when the sun leaves one rāśi and enters the next following rāśi is impossible of being marked by the eyes of flesh (ordinary human eyes). Therefore thirty ghațikās before and...
In order to convey how infinitesimally small is the time of the Sun’s entrance into a rāśi after leaving another the Devi-purāṇa has
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Each of these twelve saṅkrāntis in the year is seven-fold (i. e. has seven different names) according as it occurs on a particular week day or in conjunction with certain classes of nakṣatraṣ The seve...
There is some conflict on the question of the general rule about the extent of puṇyakāla on a saṅkrānti. Śātātapa,
A saṅkrānti may take place by day or at night. If Saṅkrānti occurs by day that whole day is puṇyakāla. If Saṅkrānti occurs by night, lengthy and complicated discussions occur in Hemādri, Mādhava and o...
Several exceptions are engrafted on the general rule about 15 or 16 ghaṭikās before and after a saṅkrānti being the puṇyakāla. Therefore, several works like the Tithitattva (pp. 144–145) and Dharmasin...
This discussion about the puṇyakāla is necessary because a bath is to be taken and gifts are to be made during that time in order to secure the full merit thereof. The general rule is that a bath is n...
Gifts are made in these days on Makarasankrānti, but mostly by womeṇ They honour priests by donating vessels (of clay, copper or brass) containing several things such as betelnuts and coins and also i...
According to the modern astronomical calculations, the winter solstice occurs on 21st December and on that day commences the Sun's apparent march towards the north. But in India people who follow the...
The origin of the observances of Makarasankrānti cannot be very ancient. The Sun’s apparent northward march for six months has been mentioned in Brāhmaṇa and upaniṣad texts at least a thousand years b...
In modern pañcāngas, Makarasankrānti, being deemed to be a deity, several curious matters are added, viz. sankrānti rides on some vāhana (principal vehicle or draught animal such as an elephant) and a...
Mahāśivarātri: The 14th tithi of the dark half of a month is called Śivarātri, but the 14th of the dark half in Magha (or in Phālguna according to the pūrṇimānta reckoning) is the Śiva-rātri par excel...
The Garuḍapurāṇa I. 124, Skanda I. 1. 33, Padma VI. 240; Agni 193 contain the Māhātmya of the Śivarātri on the 14th of the dark half of Māgha. Though some details differ, in all these the main outline...
All these praise Śivarātri-vrata highly. When after 36
The story that illustrates this extremely exaggerated praise of Śivarātri in the Garuḍapurāṇa seems to be the older of the three and therefore it is briefly set out here. There was a king of niṣādas n...
There is a conflict of views about what the chief thing is in Śivarātri iṣ The Tithitattva holds that a fast is the principal thing in Śivarātri and relies on the words of Śaṅkara. ‘On that tithi ( Śi...
Śivarātrivrata is both *nitya* (obligatory) and *kāmya* (optional). It is *nitya* because there are passages which lay down that sin follows if a man does not perform it
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This vrata according to the *Īśānasaṁhitā*45 ca...
The Īśānasaṁhitā provides: a devotee of Viṣṇu or Śiva or of another god, if he gives up Śivarātri, destroys all the fruits of his worship (of the deity to whom he is devoted). Everyone
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Owing to the above somewhat conflicting dicta there is a great deal of discussion on the proper day and time for the vrata in Hemādri on Kāla (pp. 298-308), Kalanirṇaya (pp. 297 ff), Tithitattva (pp 1...
A brief description of how Śivarātrivrata was performed in ancient times may be gathered from Garuḍapurāṇa I 124 11-23. After honouring Śiva on the 13th tithi the man who is to under- take the vrata s...
The Tithitattva (p. 127) adds some details which are interesting. The linga is to be bathed with milk in the first watch of the night, with curds in the 2nd, with ghee in the 3rd and with honey in the...
Later medieval digests such as the Tithitattva (pp. 126 ff), the Kalatattvavivecana (pp 197–203), Puruṣārthacintāmaṇi (pp. 255–258), Dharmasindhu (p 127) provide an elaborate description of the proced...
Holikā and Grahaṇa (eclipse)
Holikā. Holi or Holikā is a festival of unmixed gaiety and frolics throughout India, though all parts do not observe it in the same way. One element, viz bonfire, is present almost everywhere except i...
This festival is very ancient. Originally the form of the word was Holikā and from references in the bhāṣya of Śabara on the Pūrvamīmāṁsā-sūtra (I. 3. 15-23)
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Instead of the gay and saturnalia-like practices prevalent in many parts of India about Holikā, Bengal celebrates it by the Dolayātrā. Śūlapāṇi composed thereon a short work called Dolayātrā-viveka
The Kālatattvavivecana very succinctly puts down the characteristics of Holīkotsava as set forth in the Bhavisyoṭṭara
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As Holākā is mentioned by Jaimini and the Kathakagṛhya, it follows that it prevailed at least some centuries before Christ. The Kāmasūtra and Bhaviṣyottara connect it with spring and it was performed...
Grahana (eclipse, solar and lunar). Great importance was attached from very ancient times to eclipseṣ An extensive literature has accumulated on this subject. Vide among others Hemādri on Kāla 379–394...
It appears from the Bṛhat-saṃhitā that the real cause of eclipses was known to Indian astronomers several centuries before Varāhamihira (1st half of 6th century A. D.) who remarks<...
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