GOVERNMENT ORIENTAL SERIES

CLASS B, No. 6
 GOVERNMENT ORIENTAL SERIES
CLASS B, No. 6
PREPARED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE PUBLICATION
DEPARTMENT OF THE BHANDARKAR O&IENTAL
RESEARCH INSTITUTE
POONA

POONA
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona
1958
 SIvtr.tlttt.d ~ritutll cltrit. - I&IBls B, No. 6

,-
HISTORY OF DHARMASASTRA
(ANCIENT AND MEDIMV AL RELIGIOUS
AND CIVIL LAW IN INDIA)

BY
MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA PANDURANG VAMAN KANE.
M. A., LL. M., D. Litt. (Ail.)., M. P.
SENIOR ADVOCATE . SUPREME COORT OF INDIA, AND ADVOCATE,
HIGH COURT, BOMBAY; FELLOW 0»' THE BOMBAY ASIATIC
SOCIETY AND OF THB LONDON SCHOOL OF ORIBNTAL
AND AFRICAN STUDIES; AUTHOR OF
• HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POBTICS' ETC.

Vol. V. Pt. I
(VRAT.AS, U'Il3AV.AS AND KALA. ETC. )

, I

Bhandarkar eriental Rese areh Institute, Pooue

· 1958
 •
"
• It'"

Copies can be had direct fr~m the'Bllandarkar Oriental

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 Publisher's Note

The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute has great

pleasure in publishing the first part of the fifth and last volume
of Mahamahopadhyiiya Dr. P. V. Kane's monumental Histm'Y
C!f Dharmasastra. This part comprises two sections. The first
section deals at length with many important vratas and utsavas
such as Kr~J;lajanma~1aml, Durgotsava, Diwii"j.i, Sankranti,
Mahasivaratrl, Holika., and also includes brief notices of about
1100 vratas, piijiis and utsavas with references; the second
section deals with Kala (Time ), and its philosophic conceptions
from Vedic times downwards; Indian Astronomy and Astrology
and the theories of Western scholars about them; nak~atras and
astrology based on them; muhurtas and their employment in
religious rites; the Zodiacal signs; planets and week-days;
principleR laid down in Indian astrological works; calendar,
eras and intercalary month; Yuga, Manvantara and Kalpa;
Yoga and Karal,la; and reform of our calendar.
... ,.'

The second part of this volume will treat of such topics

as santis-Vedic and post-Vedic; PuraJ;las and their influence on
Dharmasastra, society and Buddhism; Tantras and Dharma-
sastra'; Purvamlm!msa. and other darsanas in relation to Dharma-
sastra; cosmology; the theory of punarjanma; the essential
characteristics of our culture through the ages; and future trends.

All prefatory matter, including list of abbreviations, brief

synopsis of the contents, list of works consulted, etc., as also
General Index for the whole volume, will be given in the second
part, which we hope ~o publish before long.

R. N. D.A.NDEKAR
lIonorary Secretary.
 SECTION I
VRATAS (Religious Vows) and UTSAVAS (Religious Festivals)

CHAPTER I
VRATA IN THE RGVEDA
Vmta is one of many Sanskrit words, the use and history of
which extend over several thousand years. The derivation and
semantic development of the word vrata have been the subject of
great controversies. These questions have been dealt with by
me at some length in the JBBRAS, vol. 29 (1954) pp. 1-28,
I shall here summarise the discussion contained therein.
1n the great St. Petersburg Dictionary the word vrata is
derived from the root' vr' (to choose) and the important senses
of the word given in that Dictionary are: (1) will, command, law,
prescribed order; (2) subservience, obedience, service; (3) domain;
(4) order, regulated succession, realm; (5) calling, office, custom-
ary activity, carrying on, custom; (6) religious duty, worship,
obligation; (7) any undertaking, religious or ascetic performance
or observance, vow, sacred work; (8) vow in general, fixed
pU1J>ose; (9) other specialized senses. Max Muller derived it
from vr 'to protect' and held that it meant originally what is
enclosed, protected, set a:part, then what is settled or determined,
law, ordinance and then' sway or power', Whitney, in a note
on this word in the Proceedings published in J. A. O. S, vol. XI
pp, 29-31, after setting out the treatment of the word in the St.
Petersburg Dictionary, brushed aside Max Muller's etymology
as unsatisfactory and as possessing little plausibility and declared
that he did not accept the derivation of the word from vr 'to
choose " that 'Yf ' did not signify willing or command, but only
choice or preferenoe, though he admitted that there is a relation-
ship between 'choose' and ' command " He objected that' ta' as
an affix (except in the formation of past passive participles) was
very rare and that the only analogous word he could think of
would be 'marta' from' mF ' to die. He preferred to derive the
word from' Vft' 'to proceed' and, though he admitted that the
form vrata from 'vft' with affix a would be exceptional, he
thought that the words' vraja • and' trada ' supported the deriva-
tion and put forward the ground that the word I vrata' occurs
2 HistorY oj Dltarmatastm [ Sec. I, Ch. I

frequently in the B,gveda with verbs of motion such as I ca1' "

• saic' or 'sac',
Prof. V. M. Apte oontributed a long article on vrata to the
3rd volume of the Bulletin of the Deocan College Research
Institute at Poona (pp. 407-488). Prof. Apte agreed with
Whitney in deriving the word vrata from 'v~t', boldly asserted
that the derivation of the word from 'Vf' to choose or 'v~· to
guard or enclose is impossible (p. 410), that there is not a single
vrala passage in the B,gveda which favours the meaning' will,
oommand, obedience or fixed purpose', that 'v~t' not only means
'to proceed' (as Whitney bolds) but also' to turn, to turn oneself,
turn round, revolve, move on' and that therefore 'nata' means
not only procedure, course of action, conduct, but also' circular
movement' and then' route or circular path' (pp. 411-4:12).
My own view is that .both Whitney and Prof. Apte are
wrong in deriving the word vrata from' vft '. I further hold that
passages in which 'vtt' occur:3 with npasargas such as ahhi, ii,
ni, pa1·i. pra or vi, would not be helpful in determining the
original meaning of 'v~t' by itself, since upasargas often totally
change the meaning of the root 1, that it is doubtful whether the
root' vrt' standing by itself means in the B,gveda 'to proceed'
(as Whitney thought) and I deny that' vet' occurring by itself
without upasargas in the Bgveda ever means 'to turn round,
move on' (as Prof. Apte asserts). In my opinion the root 'vrt'
by itself (a.nd not used in a causal or frequentative sense) means
simply 'to be, to remain, to abide '. - Occurrences of the root' vft '
without any upasarga 'before or after it are few in the B,gveda.
Some typical examples may be given. 'When, 0 Indra; thou
didst strike down the wiles of Svarbbanu (the demon Rahu) that
remai ned below the sky2' (B,g. V. 40. 6 ); 'the wheel does not
affect (jolt) your ohariot (0 Asvins I ) that is followed by songs
one after another and that remains possessed of food' ( :ago VIII. 5.
34); 'they (the dice) remain downwards (lie down on the board
or ground) but they throb or strike above (i. e. they shake or
terrify the hearts of gamblers); though they have no hands yet
they defeat those that are endowed with hands' (:ag. .x. 34. 9).
Vide also :ago X. 27.19, X. 107.11 for other verses where 'vrt'

i. ~ur 1:ft~ ~~ ~ I oflQI<IQIHiQI<llMfl!I<llQI'(fH,( II

2. ~R"t1 ~~;n<r( 3f1it ~ ~ ~ I '!R. V. 40. 6; ~
~mtll'", ~ ~liI ~li lJT1:ftt u '!R. VlII.5.H; ~m ~
~!§ <"""Q~I~ ~ ~ I 'lI1' X. 34. 9.
 Meaning of Vrata 3

occurs without an upasal'ga and means 'to remain or abide',

Even with an upasarga like' sam' 'V rt means simply 'to be or
to abide' and not' revolve or turn' or 'move on', Vide :ag, VI,
41. 2, X. 90. 14, X. 121. 1 and 7, X. 129. 4, in which' sam-vartatiim'
or 'samavartata' simply means 'let it remain' or 'it was or
existed " Simply because 'vrt' with 'aMi' means 'to turn
towards or attack' (as in :ago IV. 43. 5 or V. 31. 5) or with' ni '
means 'come down or return' (as in :ago X. 19. I, 3, 5, X. 95.17)
or with' pari' means' roam over or round' (as in :ago 1. 164. 11
and IV. 36.1 ), or with' pm' means' to proceed' (as in :ago V. 30.8
or X. 89. 12), or with 'Vi means' roll or revolve' ( as in :ago 1. 185.
1, V. 30. 8, V. 53. 7, VI. 9. 1) it does not at all follow that the
original sense of 'vrt' is, as Prof. Apte asserts (p. 411 end), 'to
revolve or roll on '. Besides, the last two senses are somewhat
contradictory.

Prof. Apte complains that scholars were content as to 'Vrata

with the meanings 'law, statute, command, sacrifice, vow, fixed
purpose, duty' and did not take enough notice of the important
part that the sense of 'route or circular path' plays in the Egveda.
He opines that the divine vratas often mentioned in the :agveda
rather mean 'the heavenly routes, the divine rounds, the periodi-
cal movements round the sky closely adhered to by the gods
themselves' rather than 'holy laws' laid down by a particular
deity. Adopting a suggestion of Tilak in 'Orion' (p. 154) that
the path of ~ta sometimes mentioned in the Egveda is the broad '
belt of the Zodiac which the luminaries never transgress, Prof.
Apte sets out to prove that the word '~ta' in the Egveda primarily
means the belt of the Zodiac (vide his paper in the Silver Jubilee
volume of the Annals of the B. O. R.I., pp. 55-56). This theory
has failed to appeal to eminent Vedic scholars. In my humble
way I endeavoured to show in the 4th vol. of the H. of Dh. (pp.2-5)
that '.rta' has three senses in the Egveda, one of which is 'the
course of nature or the regular general order in the cosmos'. 'The
path by which the group of Adityas reaches .rta' in Eg. 1.41. 4.3
or the statement in Eg. 1. 164. II 'the wheel of .rta, that has
twelve spokes (12 constellations or months), continually goes
round the sky without being worn out' are only illustrations of
the first meaning of ~ta. But this meaning of +ta by itself sheds
hardly any light on the meaning of vrata. Eta and vrata a.re

3, tI'!:1f?m ~~ 3fTfit<ln~ ~ ~I ~. 1.41. 4; ~ ~~

~((i ~ m: ~ I '!li. I. 164. 11.
 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. I

not synonyms and it is difficult to see bow, conceding for argu-

ment that 'rta' is the belt of the Zodiac, vrata means, as Prof.
Apte obviously thinks, the same thing. Eta is an Indo-European
word but so far as I know 'vrata' is not even shown to be Indo-
Iranian, much less Indo-European.
Prof. Apte advances the theory that there are two parallel
pbases of the semantic evolution of the word 'vrata' viz. a 'divine
phase' and a 'human' phase. I feel no hesitation in denying' the
existence of any such distinction in the meaning of the word
'vrata'. Prof. Apte arranges (pp. 414-415) the so-called divine
phase of the meaning of vrata into six groups, viz. (I) turning
round, passage, procedure, physical activity, (II) circular path,
settled or beaten route, (III) sphere or region of movement or
influence, (IV) routine, laws of movement; periodic appearance
or visit, oustomary activity, recurring march, (V) viotorious
advance or strength, (VI) ordinance, law, rule or code of conduct.
In the so-called 'human phai'\e' of semantic development he sets
out four groups of senses, viz. (I) physical activity (as disting-
uished from mental), duty, profession; (II) the sum total of those
peculiar ethical and religious duties and practices which made
up the culture pattern of the Aryans; (III) the specific social and
religious duties of the three classes of Aryan society; (IV) devo-
tion to duty in general on the part of men and women.
I have summarised Prof. Apte's long list of meanings in ten
groups. The very fact that Prof. Apte had to marshall over sixty
English equivalents for the meaning of the word 'vrata', which
occurs in the Egveda only about 22<Jtimes by itself or in com-
bination with other words is enough to make scholars suspicious
about the correctness of the entire scbeme. Though be had the
hardihood to assert in one place (p. 410)4 that no passage in the
Egveda. favours the meaning 'will or command' he admits (on
pp. 476-477) that in three passages (:ag. li38. 7, X. 10. 5, X. 33. 9)
the meaning of vrata as 'ordinances laid down by a divinity for
devotees or human beings' is quite aoceptable to him and further
that in about 25 passages (which come under groups II to IV of
the so-called human phase of Prof. Apte) vrata either means
'ethical or religious code of practices of the three classes of
Aryans' or 'beneficent sway or devotion'.

4. Hereafter up to note 23 wherever only pages are mentioned and

no work, the reference is to the pages of the 3rd vol. of the Bulletin of the
Deccan College Research Institute.
 Derivation of Vrala

1 shall now state my own views on the derivation and the

meanings of the word vrata in the B,gveda. I derive the word
from the root 'vr' (to choose). From this root comes the word
'vara' (bridegroom who is chosen from among several men by a
maiden or her guardian), which occurs in Eg. IX. 101. 14 and
X. 85. 8 and 9. Choosing involves willing or volition on the
part of the person choosing. Hence 'vr' also means 'to will'.
Therefore, when the word vrata is derived from 'v( with the
suffix 'ta', the meaning of vrata can be 'what is willed' or simply
'will'. The will of a person in power 01' authority is a command
or law unto others. Devotees believe that gods have laid down
certain commands to be followed by themselves as well as by all
beings. Thus comes the sense of 'law or ordinance'. A command
of a superior imposes and implies a corresponding duty to obey.
When commands are obeyed or duties are perfor~ed in the same
way for long, they become the patterns of obligations i. e. cus-
toms or practices. When persons believe or feel that they must
perform certain acts as ordained by gods, then arises the sense
of religious worship or duty. If a man imposes upon himself
certain restrictions as to his behaviour or food to win the favour
of gods that becomes a sacred vow or religious observance. Thus
the several meanings of the word' vrata', which I derive from the
root 'v(, are command or law, obedience or duty, religious or
moral practices, religious worship or observance, sacred or solemn
vow or undertaking, then any vow or pattern of conduct. It should
not be supposed that these several meanings followed one another
in a time sequence. Two or more meanings might have been
simultaneously in vogue such as 'ordinance, duty or obedience'.
These meanings of vrata set out by me are quite sufficient for
the interpretation of almost all Egveda passages in which the
word occurs.
When Whitney derived the word 'vrata' from 'vrt' with affix
'a', he could cite only two words 'vraja' and 'trada' as parallel.
But it is quite possible to argue that 'vraja' is not analogous to
vrata (if derived from 'vft'). Vraja (cowpen) occurs in the
Egveda in II. 38. 8, IV. 1. 15, IV. 16. 6, V. 6. 7, V. 33. 10, can very
well be derived from 'vraj' to go and PaI,lini III 3. 119 appears to
derive 5 it from 'vraj' in the sense of 'karat;la' or adhikaraI,la.
The root 'vraf occurs in the Egveda.6 If vraja is derived from
3. ~~'iI("'lfa,",.q,",~f.itTllf-!Cf' lIT. Ill. 3. 119 OD which fif. 1fil.
explaiDs'~~'.
6. ~ ~ ~'£: ~if:ot'''''': IfR "",,,~II~. III. 56. 4.
 History of DharmasG.stra [ Seo. I, db. i
the root 'vraj', it is not on all fours with vrata derived from 'v:rt'.
Whitney probably derived 'vraja' from 'v:rj'. But the meaning
of 'vraja' (cowpen) can hardly arise from the root 'vrj' (to give
up, abandon). The word 'tl'ada' occurs only once in the Egveda
(VIII. 45. 28)7 and is applied to Indra. It is difficult to say from
what root, if any, it is derived. Whitney probably derived it
from 'trd' to injure or pierce. The word 'trdila1,l' (crushing) is
applied to the stones (grava9a~) which crush soma stalks8 (Eg.
X 94:. 11). Whitney says he knows only one word 'marta'
derived from 'm( (to die) with the affix Ita' which is analogous
to vrata if the latter be derived from 'v~·. But Whitney failed
to notice other words with the affix Ita' (not past passive partici-
ples) such as 'karta' (deep hole, cavern) (in Eg.1121.13, II. 29.6,
IX. 73. 8 and 9) and 'garta' (cavity or seat in a war chariot) (in
Eg. II. 33. 11, V. 62. 5 and 8, VI. 20. 9, VII. 64:. 4:), vata (wind)
from 'va' (Eg. V. 31. 10, X. 168. 1 &c.), dhiirta and several
others.
Prof. Apte cites the word vartani (which means 'way' in
Eg.1. 23. 9, V. 61. 9, vn. 8. 16, VllI. 23. 19, VIII. 63. 8) as analog-
ous to vrata (from vrt). But that word lends very little help.
In 'vartani' there is gzqw (v~·t becomes vart); besides vartani
cannot be derived from 'v~-t' meaning 'turn round or revolve'
(which Prof. Apte gives as the original meaning), but from the
meaning 'to abide' or at the most 'to proceed' and further
'vartani' has practically only one meaning in the Egveda, while
vrata has to be paraphrased by sixty different words in English
by Prof. Apte.

Prof. Apte following Whitney relies on the fact (p. 4:09) that
'Vrata is frequently employed in the Egveda with verbs of motion
such as anu·i, anu-car, anu-ga, anu-vrt. But these roots take on
another meaning (viz. 'to follow or obsel"Ve') owing to the presence
of 'anu' and in almost all the passages where the forms of these roots
with anu occur there is no indication whatever of physical motion,
but only that of 'obeying or observing'. Besides, the root 'car'
itself is not used in the sense of physical motion in several
passages of the Egveda, but in the sense of 'performing' and

7. <R~ '"~;wrt ::ret ~ mmr:

I ~!! 11 ~'{II ;no VIII, 45. 28.
~:I ~;:r.t would mean '(Indra) who is the injurer of pine,' which
~ould be absurd. Indra sels free cows imprisoned by Vrtra.
 Meaning of Vrata '1
Iobserving t, Vide9 Rg. 1. 52. 6, m 54. 2, VI. 9.6, VII. 89. 5.
Moreover, in words like brahmacari (Rg. X. 109.5) a.nd
vratacliritla'/:l. (~g. vn. 103. 1) the meaning of a physical motion,
if it was the original one at ali, is totally absent and the mean-
ing 'performing' or' observing' is the only one possible. Some
occurrences of the roots 'sasc' and 'sac' in which the meaning of
physical motion is inapplicable but the meaning 'resort to,
accept or be united to' appears to be intended are found in Rg.
n. 1. 13, vn. 28.4 (for forms of 'sasc') and IV. 12.2., VII. 85.5,
VIII. 4.9, lX. 95.4 (for forms of 'sac' ).

It is now necessary to examine the contention of Prof. Apte

that vrala means in the Rgveda the tracks or routes that the
various luminaries trace in the heavens. Vratas are spoken of
not only in relation to Agni, Indra, Mitra, Soma, Usas, Savitr
and Adityas but also in relation to Varut;la (in Eg. I. 25.1, III.
54.18, V. 69.4, VII. 83.9), Brhaspati (in II. 23.6), Indra and
BrahmaJ;laspati (II. 24.12), Aditi (1144.12, VII. 87. 9), Parjanya
(V. 83.5) and Allvins (1. 183. 3). Conceding for a moment that
by some stretch of imagination or some linguistic acrobatics one
can speak of the vratas of Agni, Adityas, Mitra, Indra, Savitr
and Usas as referring to the tracks of luminaries in the heavens
the mid regions and on the earth, one should like to kno~
whether Aditi, Asvins, Varut;la, Brhaspati or Brahmar;Jaspati are
luminaries and what tracks they were supposed to trace in the
heavens or elsewhere. Scholars are not agreed as to the meaning
of Aditi or as to the physical or celestial phenomena VaruJ;la or
the Asvins were supposed to represent. Aditi is a riddle, bAing
identified with the heaven and the mid regions and also spoken
of as the father, mother or th{. son or as the mother of Dak$a and
also his daughter; vide Rg. 1. 89. 10, II. 27.1, X. 72. 4-5 and
Nirukta XI. 23 as to Aditi and Eg. II. 1. 11 where Agni is
identified with Aditi. Long before the times of the Nirukta
there was difference on the question of the nature of Asvins,
some identifying them with Heaven and Earth, or day and
night, or the Sun and the Moon or two meritorious kings
(Nirukta XII. 1), while some Western scholars hold them to be
the Morning and the Evening star or Castor and Pollux. The
endeavour of interpreters of the Egveda should be to assign such

9. qif '(Urf oqmt ffl~ ~ro FfT ~ ~~ I 'JR. I. 52. 6; ~

~ f.fit ~ ~ ~1__0 ~ ~'iJd~ ~I 'JR. III. 54. 2; ~ il';r;,~
~1oft: f,iil'~~~ ffi5 ~ ~ I '!If. VI. 9. 6.
8 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Ch. I

a derivation and meaning to the word vrata as would be appro-

priate in all cases where the word vrata is brought in relation to
some gods. In my opinion the only meanings that can be well
construed with all passages in which the vratas of the several
gods mentioned above are referred to is 'commands or ordin-
ances, religious or moral practices or worship or vows.' One does
not understand what Prof. Apte means when he remarks at
(p. 442) in a tone of ridicule that observing or obeying the 'ordin-
ances or religious worship of gods' is a soft job and looking after
the paths or the tracks of luminaries is a strenuous one. If
anything, the reverse of this should be true.
The word 'samraj' appears to be applied to a human king in
Eg.l0 Vll. 58.4 'the sovereign, protected by you, 0 Maruts I kills
the enemy', and in Eg. X. 85.46 the newly married girl has the
blessing 'be you a queen' (samrajfi.i). VaruI,la, Mitra, Indra,
Agni, Visve-deva1;L and Adityas are called kings (r ajan) and
emperors (samraj) in :i;{g. ll. 41. 6, 111 10. 1, III. 54. 10, V. 85. 1,
Vll. 38.4, VIII. 27.22, X. 63. 5. Varul?a (who is praised in about
12 hymns) is called samra} oftener than even Indra praised in
about 200 hymns. What is more natural than to suppose
that the gods called kings and emperors were believed to
have laid down commands or ordinances to be obeyed by all.
Though Rgvedic sages extol several gods they had already
arrived at the conception that there was only one Supreme
Being that was addressed under different names such as Indra,
Mitra, VaruI,la, Agni and assumed several forms (:B-g. 1. 164. 46,
VI. 47.18, X. 121. 1, X. 129. 1-2). - Vratas are spoken of as
dhruva (immutably fixed) as in II. 5. 4, III. 56. 1, V. 69. 4 and as
adabdila (unharmed, unassailable) as in I. 24. 10, n. 9. 1, llI.54.18,
VII. 66. 6 and dai ltya (divine) as in Eg.1. 70.1,1. 92. 12, VI1. 75. 3.
One must carefully remember these facts when ascertaining the
exact meaning of vrata mentioned in connection with almost all
the prominent gods of the Egveda. It is often stated in the
R,gveda that the vratas of the god whom the sage for the moment
praises are not violated by other gods. Some striking examplesll

10. ~ml'1l': ~ "'~ p '!{ ~ ~ ~ if~1 'fi'. vn. 58. 4,

11. 'if ~ ~ 'if filii' ~ 'if fif,,"~~: I "1(1(14~ii'l4 ~ '(it
if<i ~ ~'l: II ~ . II . 38. 9; ;r en ~ l'I~ 'if 1iIm iI<fI ~ 'SIQ1lT
l:lm6T I 'if ~f 3tlflfT 1mTr~ qia, ~ (1'~a': II 'fi'. III 56. 1; ~
~ fil~ ~ ~ ~: I amfRriit~ ~ mnt: ~';f
(Continued 0,. next page)
 Meaning of Vrata 9

may, be given here: B,g. m. 7. 7 'the gods observe the vratas of

gods' (deva devanam-anu hi vrata gu.l;l) ; II. 38. 9 'I invoke for my
welfare with salutations god Savitr whose vrata is not violated
by Indra, Varu~la, Mitra, Aryaman, or Rudra or by the (god's)
enemies'; III. 56. 1 'the primeval and immutably fixed vratas are
not destroyed by the wily (demons), nor by the wise (sages), nor by
the well!.disposed Heaven and Earth and the firmly fixed mount-
ains are not there for being bent down'; VIII. 42. 1 'the all-know-
ing and powerful (Varut;la) made Heaven firm, he measured
(created) the expanse of the earth; the great king sit s over (rules)
all the worlds; all these are the vratas of Varut;la'. Vide also
B,g. J. 101. 3, II. 24. 12, II. 38. 2, Ill. 30. 4, V. 69. 4.
The above mentioned passages clearly show that the Vedic
sages believed that not only did the several gods observe or carry
out the immutably fixed ordinances laid down by themselves or by
anyone of them but that even wily demons had to observe them and
that waters or rivers flow as ordained by gods. We have to take
into account along with these beliefs that the B,gveda often adverts
to the fact that human beings also break (or violate) the vrafas
of gods, are liable to be punished therefor and pray to the gods
to pity them and to withhold the punishment. For example,12
Eg. 1. 25. 1-2 'Whatever ordinance (vrata) of thine, 0 VarUl.la!
we may break day to day as people (subjects) do (i. e. break the
king's law) do not reduce us to death &c.'; X. 25. 3 '0 Soma I if
I transgress your perfect (lit. well-baked) vratas, then in thy
exhilaration (at our sacrifices) take pity on us as a father does
towards his son'. Vide also Vll. 89. 5, VIII. 48. 9.

( Continued from last page)

~ ill<I'lP-I1I VIII. 42 1; the word vrata occurs five times in II. 38 (verses
2,3 , 6, 7, 9) and should be construed accordin g to the general rul es of inter-
pretation in the same sense in all verses of the same hymn at least. Prof. Apte
admits (on p. 476) that the meanin g 'ordinances' would be appropriate in
~g. II. 38. 7 (;ffif;~ I{rf.'r ill<I'r it~~il~") and accepts that meaning
in that verse, but on II . 38 . 9 (po 468) his obsession about the original
meanin g being ' tracks' leads him to say "that in that verse the word vrata
means 'Savit(s fixed movements in the heavens ...
12. ~aN~lM!f~~ mt fir.f~ ~f 1fr '"~~
a
1~lilcWH:q fu1:l: f ~. I . 25. 1-2; "" ill<I'rf.f ~ rmi fi'Alfit q'('1.flfl' , 3NT ~
~ N ~ ~ 1l01ir;iT 3lM A~i{~~ II X. 25 .3. At the end of all verses in
X. 21 and X. 25 and in X . 24. 1-3 the word ~ occurs and is explained
as ~ ~ by m'1flJT. But this is unsatisfactory. N lfr ~ aDd ~ appear
to be refrains with some recondite meaning.
B. D. 2
10 History of Dharmaslistra [ Seo. I, Ch. I

It would have been noticed that in some of the passages

quoted above (in note 11) on vrata, verbal forms of the root 'mi'
or 'mI' occur. For the correct understanding of these passages
the exaot meaning of the root 'mi' is very important. The
Nigha9 tu (1I.19) includes' minati . among verbs meaning 'vadha'
(killing or harming). In the Dhatupatha the meaning of the
root 'ml' is himsa' (killing, annihilating, breaking). Vid~ PaJ;lini
VII. 3. 81. (mlnater-nigame). The forms of 'mi' or 'mi' with or
without the preposition 'a' or 'pra' occur more than 50 times in
the Egveda and often in connection with vrata. Whitney felt
that the occurrences of the forms of 'mi' or 'mI' presented some
difficulty about his theory of the derivation of nata and its
meanings, but Prof. Apte, who derived his in spiration from
Whitney, feels no suoh misgivings as Whitney felt. holds, relying
on his own interpretation of Eg. I. 124. 3, that 'mi' or 'mi' is a
verb of motion and has the primary sense of 'miss, deviate,
wander or stray from' (p. 411). Over a dozen verses at least will
olearly show that Prof. Apte has been led astray by his preconoeived
theory about vrata meaning 'tracks of luminaries' and that 'mi'
or 'mI' cannot at all be construed in the sense of 'miss' or 'deviate'
in the B,gveda. Eg. 1. 71. 10 'old age destroys me as (the dark or
clouded) sky destroys (distinctness of) forms' (nabho na riipam
jarima minati'); I. 124. 213 '(the dawn) which does not violate
divine laws but destroys the spans of human life'; I. 179. 1
(Lopam udra says to Agastya) 'old age destroys the beauty of
limbs' (minati sriyam jarima tanunam); VII. 84. 4. (VaruJ;la)
who is an Aditya, who destroys the false ones and who, the
valiant one, imparts immeasurable wealth'. Vide also Eg. 1. 92.11,
1. 117.3, Ill. 32.8, IV. 30.23., V. 7. 4, V. 82. 2 for other examples
where forms of 'mi ' or ' ml • occur. It is unnecessary to adduce
more examples about 'mi', It is impossible, if Prof. Apte is to
be followed, that old age misses or deviates from beauty or that
Asvins miss or deviate from the wiles of the demon or that
Varut,la misses falsehood (or false men). Prof. Apte relies (p. 411)

13. :m~r ~ amf.\' ll' ii't;:rcf\' ~ -glt@rl ~. I. 124.2; ll'1f

~ ~ ~i1I«II"il"1 ~ ~ ~f.ll VII. 84. 4. One may compare with
I . 124. 2, ~ ~ ¥I('l ... 4Ig: in '!iIt. I. 92. 10. The contrast between
~ ~ ~ and ~ ~ smf.t is most striking alld places the
aense of 'mi' in a clear light and beyond dispute.
 Meaning of Vrata it
on Eg. 1. 124. 3.14 as decisively establishing that originally 'mi'
was a verb of motion. In the first place, one verse cannot
demolish what many verses quoted above convey. Besides, there
is nothing in B,g. 1. 124. 3 that establishes what Prof. Apte thinks
it does. That verse says' Here this daughter of heaven wearing
a garment of light is seen in the east (by us) simultaneously;
she (Dal'n) well follows the path of ~'ta (cosmic order), she like
(a woman) knowing well does not annihilate the several
quarters '.
The sense of 'command or law' is quite appropriate in
more than half the Egvedic passages in which the word vrata
occurs. In some passages the sense of 'religious practices or
modes of sacred worship' is suitable. For example, Eg. X. 65. 11
says' (the Visve-devas) that are good donors make the sun rise in
heaven and spread about the Arya vratas over the earth '. Vide
also J;?,g. Vl H. 3.
There are several places in the B,gveda in which the words
'avrata' (11 times), 'apavrata' (in I;Ig. 1. 51. 9, V. 42.9, V. 40. 6),
, anyavrata' (in V. 20. 2, VIII. 70. 11, X. 22. 8) occur and in
almost all of which vmta must be taken to mean 'mode of
worship or ethical and religious practices of the Vedic worship-
pers '. Prof. Apte has to admit this (pp. 479, 483). It will not
do to ignore these passages in finding out the derivation and
meanings of the word vrata or to clap them in a separate group
(as Prof. Apte does on p. 413) and distinguish them from other
passages supposed to indicate the divine phase. There is nothing
to show that Vedic sages distinguished between divine vratas
and other vratas meant to be followed by Heaven and Earth,
rivers, mountains and human beings. Some of these passages
in which the word' avrata ' occurs strongly militate against · the
theory of Prof. Apte. For example,15 in Eg.1. 101. 2 Indra is

14. tro~<it!mn ~~ ~JWfI~;:rr ~I ~ q1'~

~ ~""'"' firm ~Tfflll ~. I. 124. 3. The meaning of the last quarter
is that U~as always rises in the east and that she does Dot annihilate the
separateness of the four quarters by sometimes rising in a direction other
tban tbe east. In this the dawn simply follows the law laid down for her
in the order or nature (rtasya pantham) . The idea about the confusion or
quarters is well expfessed in J;tg. V. 40. S. Vide also X. 32 . 7.
15. ~g . I. 101.2 is lJ) '6liti ~11"rvf;y lif~ lJ: ~ VT ~fif~;
while I. 101. 3 is ~ ~'iN;ft ~ ~~ ~ iii\ ~ ~~: I ~.j{~
~: ~..mt ri &c. ----
12 Riston) of Dharmasastra [ Sec. 1, Ch. 1

said to have killed Pipru who was avrata and in the very next
verse it is said that Varuna and Surya abide in the vrata of
Indra and the rivers also accept his vrata. Therefore, vrata in
this hymn must mean something akin to the meaning of vrata
in ali'r ata and not akin to 'tracks of luminaries '. Oompare IX.
73.5 and 8 where avrata occurs with 'rak~ati vratam' in lX.73.3
(both being verses about Soma). •
There are seven passages in the Bgveda where the word
, vivrata 'occurs. In six of them 'vivrata' is applied to the
horses of Indra. According to Prof. Apte, the only natural
meaning is 'moving 01' wandering along diverse paths' (p. 419).
But this is arguing in a circle. They can be explained if vrata
is taken to mean 'ordinance, duty or practice'; when applied to
horses' vivrata ' may be held to mean no more than this that two
horses are yoked on two sides of the chariot and obey the various
orders indicated through the pulling of the reins. The 7th
passage X. 55. 3 in which 'vivrata' occurs as an adjective of
• jyotil}.' is difficult to construe and Prof. Apte has not succeeded
in satisfactorily explaining it.
In several passages of the Egveda phrases like 'tava vrate'
occur. Whitney (p. 409) stated that the phrase should rather
mean ' in thy established or approved course, following thy lead
or example', than' under thy control or protection' or 'in thy
service' as some scholars hold. Prof. Apte thinks that
the translation of 'tava vrate' as 'abiding in thy ordinance'
(by Macdonell) misses the point and avers that the proper
meaning is 'dominion, authority, region or sphere'. Some of
the passages containing the words 'tava vrate' are Eg.
VI. 54. 9, lX. 102. 5, X. 36. 13, X. 57. 6. In my opinion 'tava
vrate' means 'while we abide by your ordinances '. In X 36. 13
the first hal:f16 is a relative clause without a verb and we have to
supply a form of the root 'as' (to be) or of 'bhii '. In some
verses such a form of ' as ' does occur with the words as in Eg.
1. 124. 15_17 Therefore wherever the words 'tava ,vrate' occur,
we should generally understand that the meaning is 'while
abiding by your ordinances'. This is further supported by the
fact that there are passages where the word 'vrata' and other words

16. ~ ~~il: ~~ f.f~ ~li 'iff ~ if'll: I it ~I~ 'fh:"~01q.u

~ 'fiiivt ~ II 'iH. X. 36.13.
17. aNI <fq1lf~ iA ('f~) ~ 'flI'll'I1 ;(f. I. 24.15, ;mI'. ~. 12.12,
s:r~ VII. 83 (88). 3.
 I'·· ..... Meaning of Vrata

like • sumati' in the locative are used with the forms of the root
• as' to be or of verbs meaning to abide or dwell. Vide ~g. 1. 83. 3
(' vrate te k$eti', 'abides in thy vrata'), II. 27. 13 ('ya adityilnam
bhavati praDltau " 'who is within or under the lead of Adityas);
x. 14. 6 18 'may we be in the good will of them (the pitTs) that
deserve to have sacrIfices offered to them and also in their
benefic~nt grace '. Vide also Rg. III. 1. 21 and ill. 59. 4, Vl. 47.
13, X. 131. 7 (tasya vayarh sumatau ... syama).
There are eight passages in the Rgveda in which the word
• sucivrata • occurs and is always applied to some god or gods.
In three passages VIII. 43. 16, VIII. 44. 21, X. 118. 1 'sucivrata'
is an attribute of Agni and Prof. Apte renders it as '(Agni) with
a blazing trail, track or sphere' (p. 421). He says' suci' is derived
from' suc' (to shine or flame up), that the word 'suci' can only
mean 'brilliant or flaming', that t11e meaning 'pure' is purely
figurative and secondary and is found only in about six or seven
out of a total of over a hundred or more in the Rgveda when it
is an epithet of 'mani~a, stoma, mali or uim~ '. These remarks
are mis-statements; , suci ' in the sense of 'pure' is not so rare as
Prof. Apte tries to make out (6 or 7 times out of 100). In one
verse alone addressed to the Maruts (Rg. VII. 56. 12) the word19
I suci ' occurs six times and should ordinarily be taken only in

one sense in those six and can only mean I pure', since 'suci'
is there applied to offerings (havya) and sacrifice. In VITI. 44.21
Agni is styled' sucir-vipra1;l' and 'sucil,l' and' kavil,l '. The
word' suci • occurs in that verse four times out of which 'suci'
as applied to 'vipra ' and' kavi' can only mean 'pure or holy',
Vide n. 27. 13, where the yajanzana (sacrificer) is called 'suci',
1. 142. 9 where the three goddesses Bbaratl, Ilil and SarasvatI are
said to be 'suci '. Conceding for argument that the root 'suc'
originally meant' to shine or blaze', the distinction of two mean-
ings (primary and secondary) in 'suci' had disappeared long
before the ~gvedic hymns were composed, as Eg. VII. 56. 12 and
other verses establish. Vide Eg. III. 62. 5 (where Brhaspati is
called suci), 1.181. 2 (where the horses of the A!;vins are styled
, suci '), 11. 33. 13 (where the herbs or drugs of Maruts are spoken
of as Buci), VI1. 49. 2 and 3 where waters are called 'suci' and

18. a1II't;r4' ~ ~;:n;ffif ~it ~(;f",~ ~'ffi{ I !ii. X. 14. 6.

19. ~;it ~r ~lI': W'i'r.rt
W~ ~'I''fm ~: I !ffit", fir<JtrifilIJ
3:r1'Q5gHlW+iI.,: ~: ~: II !ii. VII. 56, 12. The word thrice wRr
applied to the Maruts may mean • pure I or • brilliant.' :a:rm: ~~:
§J?q~: ~: ;nf.f; I ~r ~ 3:rTIl'I'I II VlII. 44. 21,
16 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. I

&c.) and of ' sru!?~im' (on p. 450) are passed over here. On VI.
70. 5 Prof. Apte remarks (p. 420, Sec. 17) that to take 'vrata' in
'madhuvrata' applied to the deities Heaven and Earth as mean-
ing 'law, duty or will' is almost absurd. One fails to see why
it would be absurd to hold, when heaven and earth are spoken
of as 'dropping 21 madhu ' (madhuscuta) and' yielding madhu'
(madhudughe), that the Vedic poet thinks that the laws of Heaven
and Earth as deities are sweet ( and not harsh).
We have next to turn to the word' dhrtavrata 'which occurs
eighteen times in the l;{gveda. Out of these Varu~a is certainly
called dhrtavrata in seven passages viz. in. I. 25.8 and 10, 1. 4:4.
14, 1. 141. 9, II. 1. 4,22 VIII. 27.3 and X. -66. 5. Both Mitra and
Varut?a are styled' dhrtavrata' in 1. 15.6, VIII. 25. 2 and 8 (and
also 'k!?atriya' in verse 8), Indra and Varuna are said to be
dhrtavrata in VI. 68. 10, Indra alone in VI. 19. 5 and VIII. 97. 11,
the Adityas in II. 29. 1, Visvedeva]f in X. 66. 8 (and also
'ksatriyal)_ , ), Agni in VIII. 4:4.25 and Savitr in IV. 53. 4. Prof.
Apte (p. 430 para 37) avers that Varut?a is pre-eminently called
dhrtavrata (this is not quite accurate as more than half the
passages in which the word 'dhrtavrata' occurs refer to gods
other than VaruIla), because he maintains intact the paths he
has excavated for the luminaries or he sees that the fixed laws
of the movements of luminaries are properly observed. Unless
one has made up one's mind that vrata signifies tracks of
luminaries or their fixed movements, these' dhrtavrata ' passages
are of no help in settling the original meanings of nata. They
can all be well construed by taking-' dhrtavrata' in the sense of
'one who upholds or supports his ordinanoes '. Supposing that
Prof. Apte is right in thinking that the epithet pre-eminently
applies to Varulla it is quite arguable that what is mainly
aimed at in calling Varut:J.a 'dhrtavrata' is the high moral level
Varul.la is held by the l;{gvedio sages to maintain by punishing
sinners, by looking into the truth and falsehood of men (VII. 4:9.
3 'satyanrte avapasyan jananam' ), by the faot that he is styled
'ksatriya', 'rajan' and ' samraj ' (who exacts obedience to his
laws) as shown above. Therefore, the view that vrata means
ordinances in conneotion with Varut;la is far more appropriate
than the theory about his seeing that the luminaries follow their
tracks. In this conneotion the word 'dhrtavrata' 23 in 1. 25. 6
21. ~;:it G~ ~iJllI'fflf ~~'!jtn m,JJif ~I !R. vr. 70 • .5. •
22. <~ mn IAvTt ~ ~ ~ ~ ,"I I '!If. II . 1. ••
23. fflq('ft¥1 jih1i4i ..il ~ if Sj ~: I ~ ",~ II 'Ii. I. 25 . 6.
 Meaning of Vrata 17

becomes very important. Almost all scholars hold that that verse
means' (Mitra and Varulfa) fond of the donor who observes the
laws of religious worship partake of the same offering (made by
the donor) and they are not heedless about it (or do not miss
it) '. Scholars hold that in this verse the word 'dh~tavrata'
applies to a human worshipper and not to a god as in all other
,passages. Prof. Apte (p. 430 para 37) explains that the words
'dhrtavrataya dasu~e " mean 'donor who makes a gift to
(VaruI,la) that is dhrtavrata.' This construction is objectionable
for several reasons. There are two deities referred to in the
principal sentence (the verb is ' as ate), while dhrtavrataya, being
singular, can only be construed with one deity. Prof. Apte
further relies on Vlll 94. 2 of which he gives an interpretation
which as shown above is wrong. Constructions parallel to
'dhrtavrataya dasu!?e' and containing an adjective of the word
, dasu~e' are found in other Rgveda passages. For example, in
1. 142. 1 we have 24 '0 Agni I spread the ancient thread (i. e.
sacrifice) for the worshipper who has extracted Soma juice '.
Here the words 'sutasomaya dasu~e' do not mean' to the wor-
shipper who gives offerings to the god who extracts soma '.
Similarly, in VIII. 5.6 the words' sudevaya dMu$e' mean' to or
for the worshipper (or donor) who worships god' (or for donor
to whom gods are beneficent). These several considerations
make it highly probable that 'dh~tavrataya' is an attribute of
a human being in I. 25. 6 and not necessarily of Varulfa. If
that be so, vrata in 'dh~tavrata' must mean' ordinances or mode
of religious worship' and not 'tracks of luminaries'. We have
the word 'dhrtadak$a' (who upholds strength i. e. who is strong
or constant) applied to a priest in X. 41. 3. Jt is worthy
of note that the Satapatha Br. in explaining 2S 'ni!?asada dhrta-
vrato Varul;lal;t' in Rg. 1. 25. 10 (= Vaj. S. X. 27) remarks that
the king and a brahmalfa deeply learned in the Veda are both
• dhrtavrata '. It is probable that even in the times of the
Rgveda people had come to assign the same meaning to the word
• dhrtavrata' that the . Sat. Br. ascribes to it. Conceding for
argument that dh~tavrataya in I. 25. 6 refers to VaruI,la, that
does not at all solve the problem of the derivation and meaning
of vrata. The word 'vratanll;t' occurs only once in E,gveda X.

24. ~ 3f{( 3ft ~ iPT 3tV ~ I tr.ii (f68'f ~ Ui1ml1l<l ~~ II

I. 142.1: t'IT~~~.(1 t~~'ifil6~11 VIII. 5.6.
25. ~~.-fct~a~ ...,:" ....
.m~~~~~1
~ V. 4.4.5: 1(T ~ _ ~ 'IIfI1'Vf~ "'IfJi1: I m.
~. ~. VIII. 1. .
B.D. S
i8 Histary of Dharmasastra [ Sec. 1, Ch. I

65. 6 and probably means' (the cow) that is the carrier of vrata l
i. e. of the milk 011 which a sacrificer has to subsist. In T. S.
Vl. 2. 5. 2-3 it is said that milk is the Brahma\la's vrata. On
p. 442 Prof. Apte refers to Surya being called 'vratapa' very
aptly. Vratapa occurs nine times in the Egveda, but the Sun is
called' vratapa' only once in I. 83. 5. Vratapa means nothing
more than vratapati, which word occurs in T. S. I. 6. 6. 326 , 1. 6. 7.
2 and Vaj. S. 1. 5 and is applied to Agni. In these passages
• vrata ' means a religious vow such as that of a Vedic student
who undertakes to study Veda after Upanayana. There is no
reason why the word 'vratapa' in the Egveda should not be
deemed to have been used in the sense in which 'vratapati' is
employed in the T. S. and Vaj. S. Similarly, in Eg. VII. 103. 127
it is said that the frogs lying silent for a year (in crevices), like
brahmat,Jas observing a vrata, send forth their croaking inspired
by the rains. Here' vrata 'has the meaning 'a sacred vow or
observance' which is the sense in which the word is used in
.medieval times and is so used even up to this day.
There is one more word viz. vp3avrata, which is analogous
to 'dhrtavrata' and which remains to be considered. That word
occurs only twice (i. e. in Eg. IX. 62. 11 28 and IX. 64. 1) and is an
attribute of Soma. Prof. Apte (p. 485, section 48) tries to fit this
word in his scheme by referring to the description of Soma as
bellowing like a bull, as a bull among cows and as brandishing
and sharpening his horns. One must not forget the twofold
character of Soma as a very pre-eminent deity (the whole of Eg.
IX. is a glorification of Soma) · and as a beverage produced
from the twigs and tendrils of the Soma plant and that
these two characters become mixed up. In the process
of producing Soma beverage, four sounding holes called
uparavas are employed 29 (vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 1154-55

26. ~( ~ a<t~~ 1f~ ~.rn ~G'll~ ~

~: I ~. ~. r. 6. 7. 2; am ~ a(;+HIIRq ~ ~ u(i't I ~.~. I. 6.6.3.
27. ~ ~ 1f!iPUl1 ad:q,RoI : I ~ q"'~(jAr'1=ildi JI' ~ ~:n
'!fro VII. 103.1. Vide ~ IX. 6 which explains this verse. Persons
engaged in solemn sacrifices like the Samvatsarikasattras had to observe
.certain strict rules such as not speaking with nOD-Aryans. subsisting on
milk &c. Vide a. 111. III. 3. 4 ('ll: ~ ri ~). m'Q'U1II'fIl'Uf XI. 5.1.1
and 3tT!Ol!f. ~l ~ XII. 8. 1,3.7.29. (or Uttara~atka VI).
28. ~11'f~:~~I~~1I IX . 62 . H ' ; I"I'T~
~ ~ .....r ~ "I1rCI'd: I nr
~ ~II IX. 64. 1 .
'0# Z9. Vide com. on ~~ VIII. 4.28 for the uparavas.
 Mean(ng of Vrata 19

for' uparavas ' ) : This is described as the bellowing of Soma,

when Soma is called a vr~a (bull) or v!-,!?abha. Most of the great
Vedic gods (Indra, Agni, Soma and others), their chariots, their
weapons and even the exhilaration on drinking Soma are spoken
of as bulls. 30 When Soma twigs are being pressed with stones
(gravan) the tendrils of Soma look like horns. All these descrip-
tions about bellowing &c. apply strictly to the soma plant and
are poetically transferred to the deity Soma. Prof. Apte translates
, v!-,savrata ' as ' whose behaviour or deportment is like that of a
bull '. On the other theory also we can easily explain the word
as meaning' (Soma) whose ordinances are powerful like a bull '.
V~'savrata is an attribute of god Soma and cannot be easily
construed with god Soma, if vrata primarily means some physical
activity and its implications are rather against Prof. Apte's
theory.
The result of this long discussion is that Prof. Apte's theory
of tlie derivation of vrata from the root 'v~-t' and his long scheme
of meanings is not proved and that the derivation from the root
'vj:" expressly stated by Yaska at least twenty-five centuries ago
and accepted by most scholars has not been at all shaken. Prof.
Apte probably did not anticipate that the meaning he assigned
to 'vj:'t' would be challenged, but I dispute that meaning also.
There are three passages of the Egveda in which the words
'v!-'ttam na cakram' (like a round wheel) occur, viz 1. 155. 6
(addressed to Visnu), IV. 31. 4, V. 36. 3 (both addressed to
Indra). Prof. Apte did not mention them and they have no bear-
ing on the derivation of vrata. At the most those might have
been relied upon for the meaning of the root 'vj:'t t. In this
discussion we have restricted ourselves to verbal forms or
present participles and omitted past passive participles which
sometimes depart very much from the root-meaning as in the
case of' krta' in Egveda X. 43. 5 (krtam na 9vaghnI vi cinoti
devane). 'Vj:'tta' cannot mean revolving even if v~t meant 'to
revolve', it is vartamona that might have that meaning if 'v~t'
originally meant' to revolve '. Besides, Eg. 1. 155. 6 is obscure. It
probably refers to the belt of the zodiac that goes round the sky.
It is necessary to clarify the meanings and mutual relations
of. the three words rla. vrala and dha1·man. The meanings {three)
30. Only one verse need be quoted to illustrate the above. ~g. II, 16.
6 ls ~ ~ q ~ ~ 11II'r We 'f1II'OTT ~ 11II'~r I 'P'ff ~ ~ "';'if
~~~'ill
~o History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. i, Ch. 1

of ' ~ta ' have been specified in H. of Dh. vo1. IV. pp. 2-5 and the
meanings of vrata have been discussed in what precedes (vide
pp.5-8). In the Rgveda the word is dharman and not dharma.
For a brief discussion of dharman vide H. of Dh. vol. 1. p. 1. In
the B,gveda sometimes dharman is masculine and often an
adjective, meaning' upholder or sustainer' as in Eg. I. 187. 1,
X . 92. 2. In X. 21. 3 (tve dharmat;la asate) the word is masculine.
In other cases it is obviously in the neuter gender as in I. 22. 18
(ato dharma.I,li dhii.rayan), V. 26. 6, IX. 64. 1. In these passageS
the meaning seems to be 'religious rites or sacrifices', thus
approaching vrata in one of its senses. In I. 164. 43 and 50
(= X. 90. 16) sacrifices are said to be the primeval dharmans.
Vide also 'prathama. dharma.' in Eg. III. 17. 1 and 'sanatii.
dharma.:I,J.i' in Eg. III. 3. 1. In some cases this sense of dharman
would not do, as in IV. 53. 3, V. 63. 7. where the meaning seems
to be 'fixed principles or rules of conduct '. In some cases
dharman appears to mean almost the same thing as 'vrata '. For
example, in VII. 89. 531 the sage says 'when we destroy (01'
violate) your dkarmans through heedlessness (or infatuation), do
not harm us, 0 VaruI,1a, on account of that sin', which is just
the same as Eg. I. 25. 1, where we have 'vratam' for dharma.t;li.
In VI. 70. 131 it is said' heaven and earth, never decaying and
endowed with plenty of seed, are held firmly apart by the
dharman of VaruJ;la '. In VIII. 42. 1 (cited above) making
the Heaven firmly fixed is described as one of the vratas of
VaruJ;la.
Though in this way in somlJ, passages even of the Egveda
the senses of 'vrata' and 'dharman' appear to have coalesced,
there are verses where all the three w01'ds or two of the three
occur. It may be noted that even in what are regarded by
Western scholars to be later portions of the Atharvaveda (e. g.
18.2.7,14.1. 51) the word is dharman. All three words occur in
Eg. V. 63. 7 33 '0 wise Mitra and Varu'I,J.a! You naturally (or
according to your fixed rule of conduct) guard your ordinances
with the wonderful power of an asura; you rule over ( or shine
over) the whole world according to the principle of cosmio order,
you establish in the heaven the Sun that is (like) a brilliant

31. ~ 1l'W!f 1:l1'Il ~ iff "~tHI1I"i\"'t1j ~ ~: I 111. VII. 89. '.

32. 1.l'ro'l1~ ~ ~ ~~'1ffl ~ ~ , '5If. VI. 70. 1.
33. ~ f;"IJI",ulI ~ nT ~ ~ m1f1Il' m R", ~
A~:~~fct~~~n1lf. V,63. 7.
 Meaning of Vrata 21
chariot '. Vrata and dharman occur in V. 72. 2 and VI. 70. 3 34 ;
:rta and vrata occur in I. 65. 2, II. 27. 8, III. 4. 7, X. 65. 8. Speak-
ing generally, • :rta' is the cosmic order that has been there from
the most ancient times. Vrata means the laws or ordinances
supposed to be laid down by all gods or by individual gods.
Dharman meant religious rites or sacrifices or fixed principles.
Gradually the conception • :rta' became faint and receded into
the background and • satya' took its place. Dharman became
an all-embracing conception and vrata came to be restricted to
sacred vows and rules of conduct to be observed by a person as
a. member of a community or as an individual.

34. II' ~ ~~: ~ tq4AAifVt ~ u VI. 70 . 3.

 CHAPTER 11
VRATA in Vedic Literature, Siitras and Smrtis:
definition and importance . of Vratas.

After dealing with the etymology and semantic development

of the word' vrata ' from the passages of the Egveda in which
the word occurs, it is now time to turn to the other Vedic
Samhitas and the BrahmaJ;las for finding out how that word is
dealt with in them. Some of the Egvedic verses occur in other
Vedic Samhitiis. In several such passages vrata appears to
mean • divine ordinances' or 'ethical patterns of conduct '. For
example, the verse 35 Eg. 1. 22.19 'Mark the deeds of VifjIfU, the
helpful friend of Indra, whereby he watches over his ordinances'
OCCurs also in T. S. I. 3. 6. 2, Atharva VII. 26. 6, Vaj. S. VI. 4: ;
Eg. VITI. 11. 136 '0 Agni I thou art a God that protects
ordinances among (gods and) men, thou art to be praised in
sacrifices' is also found in Atharva 19. 59. 1, Vaj. S. IV. 16, T. S.
I. 1. 14:. 4-5 and 1. 2. 3. 1; B,g. 1. 24. 15 is found in Vaj. S. XlI. 12
and Atharva VII. 83 (88) 3 and XVIll. 4. 69; Eg. X 191. 3 is
almost the same as Atharva3'7 VI. 64. 2, the latter substituting
the word 'vratam' for •mana};!.' in the former and thereby
indicating that 'vrata' means 'resolve to undertake a religious
observance'; Eg. VII. 103. 1, in which frogs that lie down silent
for a year and begin to croak at the advent of the rains are com-
pared to brahmaJ;las observing a religious vow, occurs in the
Atharvaveda IV. 15. 13; Eg. X. 12. 5 is the same as Atharva
XVIII. 1. 33; Eg. X. 2.4 is almost the same as Atharva XIX. 59.2:
Eg.1. 84. 12 is equal to Atharva XX. 109.3: in all of which the
words vralam and vmlani occur. Agni is frequently called
• vratapa~' in the Egveda (V. 2.8, VI. 8.2, VIII 11. 1, X. 32.6)
and also Surya is so called (Eg. I. 83. 5.). In the other Samhitas
Agni is styled 'vratapa' as well as 'vratapati' (protector or lord of
vratas). Atharva XX. 25. 5 (Saryo vratapa.) is the same as Eg. I.
83. 5, Atharva XIX. 59. 1 (tvam-Agne vratapa asi) is same as

35. ~:~~~aa'(r.r~I~~:~rlllllf.I. 22.19.

36. ~ aa'QT aim
~q 3if ~ I ~ ~~: IlIIf· VIII. 11.1. Tbe
~ reads ~:; but it is possible to read the word as it~ (meaning ~).

37. ~~:~~: ~~R~~'~I~VI.6+ .. 2.

 Vrata in other Sarhhilas 23

~g. VID. 11. 1 j Vaj. S. 1. S.38 says' 0 Agni, lord of vratas I I shall
undertake a religious observance (or obligation). May I be able
to carry it out, may that (undertaking) of mine succeed j here do
I approach truth from untruth '. The T. S. 1. 3. 4.3 also styles
Agni 'vratapati '. Here and there Vedic Samhitas other than
the ~gveda do employ the word' vrata' in the sense of 'ordin-
ances of a god or of gods' as in T. S. IV. 3. 11. 1, 2,3 or Atharva
VII. 40 (41). 1, VII. 68 (70). 1 ( 'Sarasvati vratesu te'). But in
many places in all the Salnhitas (other than the B,gveda) and
in the Brahmat:Jas and Upanisads generally the ordinary senses
of vrata are two, viz. (1) religious observance or vow, or restric-
tions as to food and behaviour when one has undertaken a reli-
gious vow, or (2) the special food, that is prescribed for susten-
ance when a person is engaged in a religious rite or undertaking,
such as cow's milk, ya vllg'ii (barley gruel) or the mixture of hot
milk and curds (called umikt?a). Both meanings of vrata are
given by Yaska in his Nirukta 39• A few passages from the
Samhitas and BrahmaI;las are cited below to illustrate both
meanings. For the first meaning, vide the following: T. S. II.
S. S. 6 'this40 is his vrata (vow) j he should not speak what is
untrue, should not eat flesh, should not approach a woman (for
sexual intercourse ), nor should his apparel be washed with water
impregnated with cleansing salt j for, all these things the gods
do not do' j T. S. V. 7.6. 141 'birds are indeed fire j when one who
has performed Agnicayana eats the (flesh of) birds, he would be
eating fire and would meet with disaster (or distress) j (therefore)
he should observe this vrata (not to eat bird's flesh) for a year,

38. acH:iQU4'1: ~ ~ ali' :;;ffi~ I ~ . ~. I. 6. 7. 2; wit ~

.n "<I'RC1fIfit ~ ~ ~1:~ I ~;nfI'I~l!~'it I rmr. ~. 1. 5; am
~ ai'ifi:q,fN ~ Cf1'itsU1:ficpnl 11' ~ ms~ I rmr· ~. II. 28; am
am;;i im"It ~m I~,~. I. 3 4.3; m <If ~ ~ ~~ ~;n
~ I 3Nli VII. 74 (78).4; vide ~ 1. 1. 1. 2 which quotes lm{. ~ . I. 5
and II. 28.

39. nfimr ~ FI~ ~rm mt: I ~(1(~ai1~i1~'"'' tutrnm;

mt: I ~ ~ I V'iffTJT"ria' ~ I FI~ II. 14.

40. ~~I ~ q~ ~ ~4t,,1I4'''R1f q~~mf:

~~ ir.o': ~ Of ~ I ~. ~ , II . 5,5.6 . .

41. ~ ,.fMqfliAC( ~~ ~'1"fi'Ulqlra'l~3C( ~ ri

._'(~ .. ~ ~ iffl..,.,f,{ I ~. ~. V. 7.6.1.
 History of Dharmasastra ,[ Sec. I, Cb. n

for vrata. does not extend beyond a year'. The Sankbayanai l

Br. VI. 6 prescribes 'He has to observe the vrata, viz. that he
should not see the rising sun nor the setting sun '. The Tai. A.
I. 26. 6 states 'this is the vrata for him (for him who has per-
formed Arul!aketuka-cayana), viz. he should not run while it is
raining, should not urinate or void ordure in water, should not
spit, should not bathe naked, should not step over lotus leaves or
gold, should not eat (the flesh) of a tortoise '.
Tbe Brhadaral!yakopani$ad (1. 5. 21-23) remarks "now
begins the consideration about vrata; Prajapati indeed created
the organs, which when created, vied with each other; speech
stood fast (by the view) 'I shall only speak' (and do nothing
else).' ... Therefore one should perform only one vrata, viz. one
should only breathe in and should emit breath, for fear that
otherwise (if one were to engage in the activities of the other
organs) wicked Death may seize him ".43 It is stated in the Tai.
Up. Ill. 7-10 'one should not speak ill of food; that is the vrata.
... one should not shun food, that is the vrata ... one should prepare
much food ... one should not refuse residence to a man whatever
(when he comes as a stranger seeking shelter), that is the vrataj
therefore one should secure plenty of food by some method or
other.'44 In the Chandogyopani$ad (adhyaya II, khal!~as 13-21)
the words 'tad vratam' occur several times in relation to the
injunctions when one is engaged in the upasanii of several
Samons not to complain about the hot sun, raining cloud,
seasons, lakas (worlds), domestic animals, brahmaJ;las and the
injunction not to eat marrow for a-year (or not to eat it at all).
A few passages from the Vedic Literature may be cited for
the second meaning of vrata (food for sustenance &c.) men-

42. ~ ifdt!)'N1~;i il~ lPlt ~I m. 1111'. VI. 6. ~. IV.!. 3 refers

to this text and sabara remarks tbat these are SI"'Nidaas, that they are
~u and not ~ and that tbis text lays down a restriction that one
should make a resolve not to see tbe rising or setting sun. &N. q . , . I. 11.31.
20 ('HI"<1J1e~~~~),~4.37.~'!l XII. 10-12 make
tbis and other rules applicable to all ~~s.
43. at'Qft'fr aa;ftJlI .. , I ~ai ~ ~ mf.i' 'U,yq,<i',~ I!tfcr-
Iql~4'1l,'itfit ~, ... d~"4<tii!lq ri ..nllll oQ'.4NI'QI!8 ~ ~ ~t1J.
~ I R . '3'1f. I. S. 21-23. This passage is the basis of ~iiI''<1'"'' III. 3. H.

H. mfifP-rrtrn(' t'lt:~1 ... 3fWq~~1 ... if~~

~I "t:1ft'I1(' ~lti1IT .. ~ q-.f~, ~.;r. III. (~).
7-10. ~
 Meaning of vrata 25
tioned above. The T. S. (VI. 2. 5. 1.) remarks 45 • he (dIk~ ita)
observes the vrata taking the milk from one udder, then from two
udders , then from three, then from four; this is called 'arurapavi
(razor-edge) vrata; barley gruel is the vrata of a ksatriya (when
dIk~ita), amiksa (hot milk and curds mixed) of a vaisya.' The
Satapatha Br. provides 46 that a dIksita (one who has under-
gone the consecration ceremony for a vedic sacrifice) should
Bubsist on milk. In another place the Satapatha says • for him
he heats vrata' (i. e. the food or milk). The Ait. Br. also provides 47
that the dlksita first takes (the milk) from four udders as vrata
on the Upasad days, then from three &c. Vide T. A. II. 8 48
• milk is the vrata of a brahmal!a ( sacrificer ); yavagu of a
ksatriya and iimiksa of a vaisya.

It appears that in the times of the Brahma:r;J.as the word

, vrata ' had come to have two secondary senses derived from the
sense of 'religious observance or obligation'; viz. 'a proper
course or pattern of conduct for a person', and' an upavasa' i. e.
the sacrificer's staying at night near Garhapatya fire or fasting.
As illustrative of the first may be cited a passage that occurs
towards the end of the Ait. Br. viz. 'this is the vrala for him
(for the king who has performed what is called • brahma:r;J.a};!.
parimara};!.') that he should not sit down before his enemy sits
down (but should do so after), if he thinks (from information
received) that his enemy is standing the king should also stand
up; he should not lie down before his enemy (does so); if the
king thinks that (the enemy) has sat down he may then himself
sit down; he should never sleep before his enemy sleeps; if he
thinks that the enemy is awake he should himself keep awake;

45. ~<t~ ~\l' ifI'f\l' ~'I.l" ~ ~ ~ 0fTl'I ;re ... ~ ~lI'

it<t ... ~ ~~,.ql ~ ... ~."«. VI.2 . 3.1-3. ~f.t occurs in
~ XII. 5. 20 and 55 .

46 . 3l'UTa': q.na<lilla I q~ <iIT~: ~ I ~\l' IX . 5. 1. 1; 3l'tl1~

!fit ~ ••• 3l'~!fit ~ I ~ HI . 2 2. 10 and 16.

47. ~nr ~.,\.a<l5a<Wt~et3 ... ~ ~ ~~~ ••• I it. 1I{l. I. 25.4.

For ~ vide H . of Dh. vol. II pp. 1151 - 52 . On the first day of upasad
in the evening the milk of all four udders is to be used by the sacrificer. of
three on the 2nd day in the morning, of two in the evening of 2nd day
and of one under on 3rd day morning.
48. Iflft ~ mt ~ '(1..,~q'Eqli'i'l'l1T ~ I ~ . 3l'T. II. 8. This
passage is the subject matter of Jaimini IV. 3. 8-9 and VI. 8.28. The
sentence preceding Ipl) mt &c. is 'if i!T'Ef~~ ~q .. 'qql","qql~liI~·
~ II. Compare~."«. VI. 2. 5. 2-3. '"
26 History of Dharma8ustra [ Sec. I, Ch. II

even if the enemy has his head as hard as a stone ( or has a stone
helmet on his head), he (the king who performs the parilf'lara)
quickly overthrows him '. 49
The other secondary meaning of vratu. seems to be upat'lisa
(i. e. Yajamana's passing the night in the Darsa-is~i and the
Piir]}amasa-is~i near the Garhapatya and other fires, or reducing
his intake of food or fasting): "that he performs upavasa in
Darsa and Purl)amasa is~is is so because the gods do not partake
of the offering made by one who has not undergone v1'ata; there-
fore he undergoes upavasa with the thought 'the gods may
partake of my offering' " ( A it. Br. VII. II) S~
Coming to the Srautasutras,S1 the two principal meanings
of vrata mentioned above often figure in them. For example,
the Ap. Sr. S. IV. 2. 5-7, IV. 16. 11, V. 7. 6 and 16, V. 8. 1, V. 25.
2-20, IX. 3. 15, XI. 1. 7 and IX. 18. 9, Asv. Sr. S. II. 2. 7, III. 13.
1-~, San. Sr. S. II. 3. 26 may be referred to for the first meaning
and Ap. Sr. S. X. 12. 4, X. 17.6, XI. 15.3 and 6 for the second
( viz. food or milk &c.). The Grhyasutras and Dharamasutras
also present the same meaning of vrata. For sample, the Asv.
Gr. ill. 10. 5-7 states : these are the vratas for him, viz. he should
not bathe at night, nor bathe naked, nor run while it is raining

49. ~ ~ I ;r fifllffl: 'l.~ ~fc{ 1~ ~ ~q ;r iir~: 'l.<l:

~~'ffii'r;f ;ry~ ;r ~: i_<f: sw.;~ :omr<'f J{O'iffl mf!rql~'Ii(q tr
'q'~~ ~;:11<l'frt Wq ~ ~~it I it. ;JfJ . VIII. 28 .
50. <1qIIiJ~il~I~41:qQil~f,f;r II ~ ~ ifqr ~'Rf;11f <1~I1'!Qil~cga
it ~ ~~ I {to lIlT· VII. 11 (or 32. 9 ) . The m. lIlT. III. 1 has th e
same words. The a.
~ 1. 6. 7. 3 appears to refer to both these significances
of upav asa • ~~ 'q'~~ ~ cmt~ 'q' ~ f.i~fT.I'6Q'tionrn ... '<Iq.f1'
~
~qil~'~<a~*q: ~q: P . ~r<lOT explai ns on {to lIlT. ''TT~~ 1ft 1iIT«:
~~: I 1:I'[f ~ ~ ~ ~ ~citacf\4'l~i!!l"~t· ... q ~: I ... ~
~~«I1TI ~: I ~flml',(oql~I"~ f;\;:r;t ~~. , 3101T!I.~ is
m. nom. sing . of 3101T1EI~ (one who has not eaten, on e who is fasting).
51. A few of these passages may be set out here: ~ilI.,'ijiloRt"'i1"'E~
~~~<t ;{~ \~ I 3{U ~ if" ~s;mfu'a 1II'T1f1Jf:' Iff!it il'<1"«f
:m?cr<'<I' ~ iflllOlt ~ a;; ~ ~~, 3{l1f. ~. IV. 3.1-2;
3N !fa 'if(f,f ;r ~smf.\' ;r ~ 'I'IR'l1TIlT ~~
m';:1jff ~~ I ~.
~~ ~ ~ t¢ ~ !fa ~ ;r ~~rffl "''''a~fd
I 3{l1f. ~. V. 7. 6
9i
and 16; 3«1' a;\.mr~<1,iiiJd"llqf ~ I :m~. i{'l. II. 2. 7; ~R
;m'1m ~"" ~;i'f<I1C{iO"!!III",ilI., ~ ~ I ~. ~. II. 3. 26.
'f !f
As to the secoed meanin g of i!{('(' (food , milk &c . ) vide 3ffQ' ~. X. 17. 6
~ ~~ a<t i{m ~~rm ~: Ii ~~;{ Q ~Pf ~
~. ~. XI. 15, 6.
 Meaning of vrala in sulras

&c.; the Par. Gr. II. 8 says that the snalaka has to follow for
three days after samiival'tana certain observances such as not
eating fle sh, not using earthen vessels for drinking water, not
seeing women, sudras, corpses and crows, not speaking with
sudras, not urinating nor voiding ordure nor spitting in front of
the sun, or he should simply speak the truth (instead of observing
the other requirements of this passage ). Gautama (VIII. 15 ),
Sankhayana-grhya (II. 11-12), Gobhila-grhya (III. 1. 26-31) and
others mention certain vmtas ( now obsolete) which every Vedic
student was to undergo. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 370-373 for
descriptions of these. The Ap. Dh. S. II. 1. 1. 1 if specifiess2 the
observances to be followed by the husband and wife from the day
of their marriage such as eating only twice in the day, not
eating to satiety, fasting on parvan days. Similarly, the Ap.
Dh. S. (I. 11. 30. 6, I. 11. 31 ) sets out the observances for snalakas
( atha snataka-vratani). Pa~lini has a special sutra vrate' (III. I

2. 80) for explaining the formation of words from 'Iwata with the
affix in ( nini) preceded by a substantive such as sthan~i1asayin ' I

and asriiddha-bhojI ' ( one who has taken the vow of not par-
I

taking of sraddha food). PaJ;lini (III. 1. 21 )53 also teaches the

formation of a denominative verb from vrata in the sense of
Idoing' ( vratayati vratam karnli). It is the Kas ika that adds
a vlirtika ( absent in the Mahabhasya) that the verb so derived
expresses both the eating of food and the eschewing of it.
As prilyascittas (expiations ) involved the observance of
several strict rules they came to be called vratas in Manu (XI. 117 ,
170,176,181), Yajaavalkya (III. 251,252,254,258), Sankha (17. 6,
22,42,61,62 ) and other smrtis. In the Mahabharata the word
vrata is ma inly u sed in the sense of a religious 'Undertaking or
vow in which one has to observe certain restrictions about food
or one's general behaviour. Vide Vanaparva 296.3, Udyoga 39.
71-72, Santi 35. 39, Anusilsana 103. 34. It was also applied in
the epic to a course or pattern of conduct or behaviour not
necessarily religious. For example, in the Sabhaparva 58. 16
Yudhi!?~hira says that it has been his constant vow that he would
not refuse dice-play when he was challenged to it.54 Apart from

52 qlfUlilijOilqN ~~~I <m~1 ~fi:r~1 ~qfrl'f'

~: I a:mr. 1::j'.~. II. 1.1-4.

53. ~lJ1'~r;ol('lqOla'''''''I!i''l'fil'?'!id'l.~'<i'l ~ I QT. III. 1. 21 ; ~­

::JI1'I4'f~""1 .rna~~~I~.
54. 3fI(t'Ift Of ~ CfiqIN'<Iql~ ~~ ~ iA q, ~ 58. 16.
28 History of DharmaSG.stra [ Sec. I, Ch. II

the secondary applications of the word vrata, its principal

meaning from at least the first centuries of the Christian era
onwards has been that of a religious undertaking or vow,
observed on a certain tithi, week day, month or other period, for
securing some desired object by the worship of a deity, usually
accompanied by restrictions as to food and behaviour. This is
the sense in which the word vraia will be used in this section.
Vratas may be expiatory (i. e. they will be prayascittas) or
obligatory ( such as the vratas of a brahmacarin or snataka or
householder) or they may be voluntary and self-imposed for
securing some specific end. Expiatory vratas have already been
dealt with in the 4th volume of the H. of Dh. under Prayascittas.
The vratas of a brahmacarin, of snataka and of the householder
have been treated of in volume II of the H. of Dh. Vratas or
vows that are more or less self-imposed will be discussed in this
section of the 5th volume.
Vows are found in all religions. The Old Testament and the
New Testament both bear witness to the sacredness of vows, vide
Isaiah 19.21, Job 22.27, Psalms 22.25, Acts 21. 23. The Jainas
have five great vows and the Buddhists have the panca-snas.
A great deal of discussion is found in the medieval digests
on a comprehensive definition of vrata. Sabarass on J ai. VI. 2.
20 arrives at the conclusion that by vrata is meant a mental
activity, which is a resolve in the form "I shall not do this It

and gives as an illustration the sentence 'one should not

see the rising or setting sun '. Medhatithi on Manu IV. 13 seems
to accept thie. The Agnipural!a!!6 provides 'a restrictive rule
declared by the sastras is called vrata, which is also regarded as
tapas ; restrain't of senses and other rules are but special incidents
of vrata; vrata is called tapas because it causes hardship to the
performer ( of the vrata) and it is also called niyama since there-
in one has to restrain the several organs of sense '. Manu II. 3

55. ~ 'ifa'CiI'fcI' ~ ~ffiaa'1'R ~I'f.{ I mrrnm- 'iii' ~~ ~

n ;r q:;~~rrn '1: ~p: I ~ ~ mr~ I ;r~rFct<-q;fflitil'rn I '1OUT ffif'lljfQj ;r
\Nfil a''UT ~r ~~ I ~~ OD ~. VI. 2. 20; ~;
'6'1TIfR: qrJ!'1: I ffi:'1
~ n~ I ~~~iirci ;m ~.~ '" ;r en;fe'1Im1(q~ I ihtro on "iJ
IV. 13 (~t'R1'f.{ Iim~) .

56. mfii'r~ ~ FI'l'fi 'if'; 'a'~ ~ ~ I fo'i'l'f"iI ~iI ~ ~: •

• " ~ <tl2~I'dIQI'M ~~ I Qr.i(q Q ,~(~tll'I1~lJotllWrtfiil II amr~ 175.
2-3. Tho fi rst verso is also i,n S(IUj I . 128 . 1.
 Definition of vmta 29

declaress7 'resolve is the root of desires, of sacrifices, of vratas

aHd the characteristics called yamas-all are known to spring
from resolve '. But every saitkalpa entertained by any person
whatever is not and cannot be called vrata. It may be noted that
the Amarakosa holds 58 that the words • n iyama ' and' vrata ' are
synonyms and that the latter consists of fast and the like that
produce merit ( pu ~lya ), while the Ap. Dh. S. 1. 2, 57 remarks that
the word tapas is applied to the rules of conduct prescribed for a
brahmacarin (' niyamesu tapal).Sabda}:l '). The Mitaks'ara 59 on
Yaj. 1. 129 appears to indicate that vrata is a mental resolve to
do something or refrain from doing something, both being
enjoined as duties. It is therefore that Srldatta (probably taking
his cue from Sabara and the Mit. ) in his Samaya-pradlpa defi nes
vrata as ' a definite resolve relating to a certain matter held as
obligatory ' and proceeds to lay down that it may be positive
(being in the form' I must do it ') or negative (. I must not do
this '). He further holds that a resolve 60 made with the addition
of a condition not enjoined by sastras is not a vrata: e. g. if a
man were to declare that he would observe a fast if his father
would not forbid it and that otherwise he would not, this
would not be a vrata and that, since sal'tkulpa is the principal
matter in a vrata, if a man of weak intellect or an ignorant
man observes a fast without sankalpa, it would be simply so

57. ~~: 'film ~~: ,,~~>ro: I iHITl~ ~1:l'.n~ "if ~:

~WfT: II;(~ II. 3 . ~. III. 312-313 mention t en yamas (~~, <I'll, ~,
1fl1 &c . ) a nd t en niyamas ( such as ~, ;(M,
~, ~ &c.), while the
~ mentions only five 'f;(S (3t11i*,H'l(q,f<lq~~~: 'tfln': ) and five
A~s (~~:ffi\m~iOn:wrTf.t A'tfln':). ;m IV. 204 and Atri
verse 47 provide that on e must observe yamas always (i e. th ey are para-
mount duties), while niyamas are not so. The ~ (16. 17-1 9) enumerates
a large nu mber of f.l;ms (and includes 3t~, ~ and ~.q under
th em). The t;Cfi~~ aft er quoting ;m II. 3 explains' af.r.f CfillIl1T nrnl!!
~ m1:-mt ~~ N: *,~·t'"tta q"1~ ~ <f~ ~
~~.q ~;i ~ ~ 'llW: ~*I+>ro: I'.
58. l';f~, it<fI'IW <I'~r~ l1;!Rf'fi-q;: I Wfviim.
59. Q;f ~mff.i 'fi~~r;fi ~~ ~"'1~ ~~­
rinnfit" f.i~m ;(1"1*'*' l· ... q«iq,1Or ~"1"dCflad'~ I ;r m\~· I iJrnr.
on ~. I. 129 .
~CflJ.ijiil",<n~: ~ ~I ,,'ifilt~ ~S~'l.ll
60.
~ n
~ 'Cfl~, ifCi ll'4'T ;r ~ql!f.trn I ~11{ folio 2 b; Q;f 'if NaT
qt;r ~ Oc(~ 'fiRrit -«
"~i'impr iI if<f¥{ I dqT ~~
~~: ~I Q;f'if ~ ~ ~iIi *'il...q.. tl~qfqmmn·
~ ~~I \'I"<ll4ifjq folio 3 b.
30 History of Dharmasastra ( Sec. I, Ch. IT
much physical hardship but no vrata. The K~tyaratnakara 61
mentions several definitions of vrata given by its predecessors,
one of which by Devesvara was that 'a vrata' is that which is
included in the vratakanda '. Tbis last is a desperate effort at
definition and leaves the i~quil'er hardly wiser tban before. That
sankalpa is closely connected with vrata cannot be gainsaid
and follows from a verse of Lagbu-Visnu 62 'tbe choosing of
rtviks is the starting point of a sacrifice, saitlcalpa that of
vrala and of a japa of mantras ( in bonour of a deity) '. Sulapa~i
defined vrata on alm.ost the same lines as Srldatta. Lak~mI­
dbara in his Krtyakalpataru on vrata does not define
vrata but begins his treatment of vrata with vrataprasamsa.
Prof. K. V. Rangaswami Aiyangar in his Introduction to the
Vrat akal)~a of the Krtyakalpataru remarks (p. XXIII) 'Raghu-
nandana in his Vrata-tattva also avoids any attempt to define
vrata '. Prof. Aiyangar did not notice that Raghunandana
discusses the question of the definition of vrata in his EkadasI-
tattva (Jiv. vol. II. p. 7) and therefore he did not repeat the
definition in the Vratatattva. Raghunandana mentions63 the
definitions of vrata given by Narayana and Srldatta, does not
agree that vrata is a sankalpa but holds that vrata means
various rites about which a resolve is made and also that vrata
is a ni1Jama (a restrictive rule) enjoined by the sastra, charac-
terised by upavasa and the like and not every niyama such as
'~tukalabhigaml syM' (Yaj. I. 79, Manu m. 45). The Vrata-
prakasa (a part of Vlramitrodaya) defines vrata as 'a special
sankalpa concerning what is well known to the learned as vrata,'
just as mantras are tbose tbat are ~ell-known among the learned
as mantras. 64 The Dharmasindhu (p. 9) defines vrata as a kind

61. ~~~ii ifdifiIOElqf(qfc5,1(!4~ 14diihl{1"f;:« I 'li. ~. p . 633.

The ~ (folio 1) appears to have held the same view.
62. ~;roTr ~ ~ R~: I ~1):I'r.i T~1 ~ q'{ifi'q'R-
f.irq,u ~~ q. by iIq . ItT. p. 423, ~~ p . 17. 14difiii'liilClifi p. 9.

63. cff&;nmt~'4d'\'l'i<tfdifiJ64dlifi&IQ~ffldfii4d~i'€'Qf<l"i.n ~ 'Rd-

~~I iI<fifi1('l~ (in) I. H. Q. vol. 17 No .4. p . 6; ,,7qifil&liJQl&Jt4:
~ ~'fu "'1(14o?tQI~<mrr-rt ~: I tlifiICj~'j'ld'" ({l.7) of ('i";:q;f; ~
~) .rn f1liiJ ~i4"iqd'\'li€li"" ~I tlihh,~?td'l~ p . 7; 'MJliiI~ffl f.{~
~f<f i1'!e ;aq"I~lfil&~im'llu: I (fUlW ~ ~ ~~' ilidifil&li~
~~~:I ~I<m p . 8.

64. ffif.rn;m:! ~N~Il~~iiI"i4: ~~: I 3J~llffir..r­

~'«( I a<l'lfifi'm folio 9 a; the ~~qi'J appears to borrow thi.
In ~11n~S;'ifillm'4ii1"i4"'''''t(' ({olio 75 b).
 Definition of vrala 31

of religious rite consisting of pu,ja and the like. Although at

the root of every vrata and as an urge for it, there m\lst be a
sankalpa it appears to me that Raghunandana and the Dharma-
sindhu properly represent the popular meaning of nata. A
nata comprehends several items such as snana (bath), the morn-
ing prayer (pratal,J.-sandbya), s01lk.alpa, homa, pftjil of the deity
or deities in whose honour or for securing whose favour the
vrata is undertaken, upavasa, feeding of brahmaI;las, maidens or
married women or tho poor an d helpless (according to the nature
of the vrata), gifts (of cows, money, apparel, sweetmeats &c.)
and the observance of certain rules of conduct during the period
of the vrata. Some of these mattors will be dealt with in detail
later on, but a few may be disposed off here. Some writers
relying on Satatapa said that before a nata was undertaken a
Vrddhi-sraddha must be performed. 65 The Agnipurana (175.12)
states66 that one who un dertakes a vrata must always take a
bath (every day), should subsist on a limited quantity of food,
should worship and honour h is guru, gods and brahmalfas and
should eschew ksara, k~audra, lavana, honey and meat. Devala
states67 'without partaking of food (the previous night), after
bathing and concentrating one's mind, one should, after invok-
ing the Sun and other deities to be present, commence a nata
in the morning '. The general tenden cy of medieval writers to
go on adding details to what was originally brief is seen at work
here also. The Vrat akalaviveka says that before sankalpa, there

65. irnfWRJi{ N~ m 'ffq~ ~~f<lq': I ;nr.tl!!l ij fit~ ~~

'!I &
Wif.i:l<tt¥il'ihl: I irnl;f; folio 6 b; ~ ifil(lS: I irn~f<f~ : ml~ ~ I
~"hf ~li1qli1""qtil¥it;fflq'Httlf<t Q,(: I ~i1 irn~~t U¥irortmq mUROT-
r.( lI.~ I ~ (~) 1. p. 6.
66. f.\tlf~flft fi'I<nm'(' ~~~ : I IIl'rt 1Il'' nf "'I' ~ ~P-f m<l_ II
smt 175.12 (q. by ~~~ p. 26 witb tbe remark tbat tbe 1[dl~lQlf
quotes it ). There is no agreement about the meaning of k~ra and lavana.
Vide H. of Db. vol. II. 304 note 723 for the several meanings and ~i.
175. 13-14; madhu aDd k .~ audra are oCten used as synonyms. Here k~audra
may be taken as ho oey collected from bee-hives and madbu as not so
collec ted .
67. 3l'ij;~«n~ ~l~~~:1 ~~I;lf.t3QA~aml~1I
~ q. by 'f_ ~. it. p. 65, f.l'. ~. p. 24, ifffiI'i!f p. 151, irn~ p. 7
wh ich explains':mr ~~~: ' and q u otes!f:'!~ in support
'Sffi'!: tt "t"Q il lill aqq ' tta d ~S I ~ 'i1 ;f\<ni fq,~ ~ t'l1 ~ II ;
'~ ~ .""qQ'~"" -~ ~ I ~ ~~lf: , 'llI'1il " ",~Q'('
r.mi ~"li1lfCs "If dv I &c . Th is is '1iitliM~,~qWt1 VII. 33 'E~,a " "lqQf
1'4' f.Wt t"''''f4ifi~8 I '
32 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. IT

should be remembrance of Naraya:t;la and namaskiira to him, as

laid down by Y ogiyajiiavalkya. There is difference of opinion
about the worship of Ga:t;lesa.68 The Vratakalaviveka quotes the
Padmapural;la for the order in which the several deities are to
be worshipped and honoured after 8wikalpa and refutes the idea
that the worship of Ga:t;lesa should always precede the worship
of other deities. Though the general rule is that69 the smikalpa
of a vrata is to be made in the morning, still there are some
passages to the contrary. Iror example, the Bhavi~yapura:t;la7o
(Uttara 11.6-8) provides that on the ovening of A.~a4ha Full
Moon one should declare a resolve as follows 'from tomorrow for
one month in Sraval;la, I shall take a bath, observe bmhmaca1'ya,
take one meal only after evening, sleep on the ground, will be
compassionate to all living beings'.
There is a difference between homa and piija. A homa with
Vedic mantras, according to ancient authorities, cannot be
performed by women and siidras. Though theoretically the three
'VarJ;las were entitled to perform hom a with Vedic mantras some
learned brahmanas held the view that in the Kalivuga no proper
ksatriyas and vaisyas existed. 71 Even as to Siidra 7Z some
writers like Kamalilkarabh a~~a went so far that a slidra could not
read and study even pura:J;lss but should only listen to their

68. ~~fit c'l1iii'4~dI '{'iffl~ tm~ 1 3n'firt'<i 'TUr-fTU "l ~ ~

~ 1 ;mr<l1'T ~§1'4i(0<1¥l~ '<i ~1f<IT: 1 ~~ ... 3n';ft ""'~ii::7i""
~~ I a'R I 'Sfilr("'fl:llq€flQ'U~~~i.hftmt. 1 ~~ p. 8. The ~
(1'. 1-' 2) quotes tbe verse 3n'fi{<ll' &c. and"remarks tbat ~~ comes first
where the worship of tbe sun is not concerned.

69. atl1lJQq~ql ~ ':;J mfua'aTql ~~ ~I{ 1 ~ ij f<{~ <11'ff-

'tl",'qdl<'E<I~ (~, "l'm lif"l'T~ a<i ~W 'I:TlW 1il~~if'T<'(-;r('ii',"­
~~ um ~~~ 1 ii. ~. pp . 55- 56.
70. 3fI1m~ ij ~~ ~~~ I ~l·I."Ql,.&lI~ll4i ~ ~:
1I~ I ~ lfiR~ f.f"l'm ~ ~ ~Jt I "f)~-qrj1:{ ~ ~ enR~
lIliVAt q<1T1{ I ~rn ~C11 ~ .mr '" ~~ 1 lif~ (ffl: ~: ~­
~1&lRi4~(f: I ~8?f (~11. 6-8) .

71. Vide tbe disoussion in the H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 380-382 about
the exi~tence of k~atriyas and vaisyas in modern times.
72. 3f'!f ~ 1 ~f.t€fl&l.WI ~"l', ~ ~~: ~: ... ~('<j'T'G': 1
~ 3f~ 1 Q'W 1 ';:rr":qa 6QiSl,, n ~ ij ~m' lff<t ~ ~~'fU"
~'l(lql'E<i(ql<t.1 m~ ~~., ~ '<il ~ ~ ;:rr,,~­
<f!1i~ifl ••. ~~~m., ~ €fl~ ~ ~~ lTiifc1ft·
f.t. ftf· p . 392. The ~8?f pa.ssage is in ~ 1. 71-7~ '~...
~~I
~~~;Ji~n '
 Meaning of homa, yaga, dana 33

recital by brahmaJ;las. The result was that most people per-

formed only puja and not homa in Agni. According to most
writers the homa was to be performed in honour of that deity
for whose favour the vrata was performed. According to Vardha-
mana and a few others the homa in a vrata may be in honour of
the deity of the vrata or may be a vyahrtihoma. 73 It is stated
by the Agnipural).a 74 that there is j apa , homa and also gifts at
the end of all vratas in general and the Vi$l).udharmottara
observes that those who perform upavasavrata should inaudibly
mutter the mantras of that deity, should meditate on that deity,
should listen to stories about that deity, should worship the
image of that deity, should take the names of that deity
and listen to others singing the names. Pl'irvamlmamsa.
writers made a distinction between kama, yliga and dana.
Sabara 75 on Jai. IV. 2. 28 puts the distinction in a nutshell by
saying that' giving up what belongs to one is common to all the
three, but ynga means simply giving up something intending it
for a deity and accompanying it with a mantra; in ftoma there
is in addition the throwing of a thing in fire; dana consists in
abandoning a thing that belongs to one and creating the owner-
ship of another in that thing.' In another place (on J ai. IX.
1. 6), Sabara refers to the argument that yaga is nothing but the
worship of a deity ( api ca yago nama devatapuja).
Manu II. 176 and Yaj. 1. 99, 100, 102 show that Devapujli is
different from 76 kama and was performed after the latter according
to Marlci and Harlta quoted in the Smrticandrika, Sm-rti-mukta-

73. Vide H . of Dh . vol. II. pp. 207-211 for the description of a model
homa and the order of the several parts in a homa. The four oblations
with the Vyahrtis would be ll.:~, ~: ~, ~: ~, 'l~: ~: ~ with
3i~ prefixed to each.

74. ~ ~'lil fll$1l~qadl~ 3fl1f~. 175 60; ~~ I ~­

V"'Wf ';{ I
~of \m d"'''fi'i~l'Wf!JTTf%~ I ~il' ';{
d''5f1lt<€~~~I(fq': I ;aq'llfl\idli:la ~:
~ "~N: II Fr. ~ . p . 24; if. 'fit. f,t. p. 11 quotes a si milar verse from
it~iUl'T ' dit\m ~~ ~~~ifi~ I ;a"qqR1<lid't, .• ;r;f)ii"r~: , II
75. d'Jiffi !I)1'101l'*'lQ'lRt(tfhii'll"iiTifi: I ~. IV. 2.28 , on which ~ remarks:
"'ilmqqlm~! ~: ~: I d"Sf q'ilRtCi'ldl~~~q'tffi&t~, ~'if~.
'If1i\r.n:, UII'd'll (fI,f~ : IR~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ irRt I ; vide ~ on ~.
VII. 1. 5 'l!'Ii';{~: ~o-q~~,,~or<~ I' . .

76. d"Sf lP~a: I ~ ~ ~~~ I ~ SI'~ 1fT ~sm

~SN 1fT 1Ilf{t1~ I fiM'q- ~ slldlii$1lq'lOfl(~ I ~ SI'~ 1fT rs.it 1fT
1lI'4N 1fT 1I~. 1. p. 198, ~. (~) p. 383.
B.D. 5
34 History of Dharmatastra [ Sec. I, Ch. n
phala and other digests. Certain matters connected with
devapuja such as the questions whether images of gods were
worshipped in the times of the B,gveda and the Samhitas, whether
the worship of images arose spontaneously among the Vedic
Aryans or whether it was derived from some other race or
sectarians or from siidras and Dravidian tribes, have already
been dealt with at some length in H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 705-712.
Similarly, descriptions of devapuja and the several items and
stages in the procedure of devapuja have been Bet out in H. of
Dh. vol. II. pp. 726-735. A few matters either not set out there
at all or briefly set out may be spoken of here. It should be
noted tb at ordinarily there are 16 upacarasn (items of showing
honour) in the procedure of devapuja, but they may be increased
to 36 or 38 or reduced to 14, 12, 10 or 5 and there is no complete
unanimity on the question of the names of the 16 upacaras
and their order. The BrahmavaivartapuraJ;la sets out what
the sixteen, twelve and fivG upacaras are. The Vratarka
quotes verses enumerating 38, 16, 10 or 5 upacaras. If a
person is unable to offer even five upacaras then he should
offer two, viz. sandalwood paste and flowers and if he
cannot do even that, then he may offer only devotion. So
says the Kalikapurana quoted in Varsakriya-kaumudI p.157.
From Sabara's bhawa on Jai. V. 1. .£ it follows that long
before his day (not later than 4th century A. D.) the order
( lerama) of the upacaras had been settled78 Medieval works
like the Vratarka (folio 23 b ff) and V. K. K. pp. 200-201

77 . For 38 ~s vide ~ p. 44. 36 ~s are enumerated in

(!'<fil~ p . 58 quotiog from 3.(tij;",R;tRlt..,fOt. They are oat set out here
{or reasons of space. The 16 ::Jq':;;m:s qnoted from lfQ''iImR by". f$. ~.
p . 156 and l!'. (f. p. 59 are: am;;f ~ 1fI1l"Oi~"m~ I ~q"'N"''E''''''
1'ffl"'ITm:.",~ "l' I ~~~ I ~1..,qq:J.,t<4t~.IJi ~ I
~~3.(fq1 ~ ~r-m ~U~~~I ~
~: ~q~<lftl ~~ il'''1''''''''ii ~I. The~. i$. ~.
'p. 157) proceeds: '3.«q.t't'~tifl'!lq:!~
~ ~ <iiT~~ 1 ... ~
~~t ~ ';Of~: I '. The~. f$. li\. p . 156 notes that there is
slight difference in the order in which som.e upacaras are offered' 3l'!II
~~ Ql'l~ ~ I ~'Rla"'IIi[~ ~~q,.,;ttj<ti"4t£ifl~ 1
"\I~""i"Ul 4"m'''<4t''il¥1;fl<4$1t ;nti: '. Vide 111~ (~) chap. 26.90-92
for ~s .

78.
..
1NT~~ ~t: ~-~ ~~: IJ}iq'oq ..... ~-
11itf.f, "iI·qo1'lii~C(j.<4: ~~ ~:, trt ~ ~~ 1 ~: ~ I
~ ;f ~Ulf ~ 'i(I"aT<i: llUlf pHoq ..... Ra.q';fl1it I ~ OD ~. V.I. 4.
 85
(qiloting N~simhapurana 62. 8-14) prescribe for all vratas in
general the recital of each of the sixteen verses of the Purusasu kta
(Eg. X. 90) with each of the sixteen upacaras in order (viz.
ivahana, asana, padya, arghya, acamaniyaka, snana, vastra,
yajiiopavita, anulepana (or gandha), pU$pa, dhupa, drpa, nai-
vedya, tiimbula, daksinii, pradak$ina); while some works associate
with each of these one or more Pauriillika mantras also. H
lihould not be supposed that these upaciiras (particularly pU$pa,
gandha, dhupa, dlpa and naivedya) were absent in the Vedic
age and came into prominence at a very late stage by being
borrowed from non-Aryan people. The Asvins are described as
wearing wreaths of blue lotuses (puskarasrajii) in Eg X. 184:. 2
and Atharva Ill. 22. 4:; the Maruts also are spoken of as wearing
wreaths (Eg. V. 53. 4: ). In numerous pa~sages the Egveda refers
to the casting of offerings (havya ) mixed with clarified butter
in Agni (e. g. Eg. III. 59. 1 and 5 ).19 The gods are even asked
to eat apupa, purodasa, dhiinii, milk, curds, honey &c. in Eg.
III. 53. 8, III. 52. 1-7, IV. 32.16, VIII. 91. 2, in Atharva XVlli. 4.
16-26. The underlying conception in these passages is the same
as that involved in offering naivedya to an image. In the
Satapatha Br. so the word upacara appears to have been used in
the sense of 'honour' or' mode of showing honour.' In the Tai.
A.. X. 40 81 occurs a mantra called 'Medha-janana' which was
recited in the ear of a child in the jatakarma 'may god Savitr,
goddess SarasvatI and the gods Ailvins wearing wreaths of blue
lotuses produce in you intelligence '. There is evidence that long
before the time of the grhyasutras several of the sixteen upaciiras
were well-known. The Nigha:t;l~u (lli. 14) enumerates 44: verbs
that have the sense of 'worship' among which 'pujayati' iii

79. ~ ,"",~ffl ... ~ If'1i "l""N\?!Qm II !R. III, 59. 1; ~~

wron ~~: ill{ itf'f '''iff ~ fif&r.'l.1I ~. III. 52. 7; ~r.om ':q "I") ..mr
~~'Jot":1 ~ III 22.3; <II 3i~~ tf''''~:m ;{'lf~r~l'f'I.itil~1I
'I'!'. IV. 36, 2. This last is a precursor of the idea of *'v, which word
should be derived from f.I~ (what is presented or offered) on the ana!oiY
of words like ~ and ~f.R' ( from ", +~");fi ). The §i"llof,n'l'" (ulliisa
17. 80) derives it in this way , f;fcr.r;fr~~,!ia~ d14hli'li( '.

80 . ~ ~ ~ ~: I ~'ll 1. 1. 1. 11 'from below as It were

(1. e. from a lower level) honour Is to be shown to one who Is superior'.
81 . ~~ ~ :om~1 iM ~~: ~ iNt ~ ~rl
inn ~ aff'1IO!fill ~ ~"'I"'~I :mSl<f, -q.I. 1.5. 3. This mantra II
Tal. A, X. 40. I.
 History of DharmaSastra [ Sec. I, Ch. II

included. The Nirukta in explaining the word ' supaI;lilf '

occurring in Eg. Ill. 33. 6 states that the word' palli' is 82 derived
from 'paI;l , to offer piija and supports this derivation by saying
that people worship gods by joining together their hands. It is
clear that the Nighan~u treated' pujayati' as a verb occurring in
the Vedas and that folding the hands (i. e. namaskara) was a
item of worship long before the Nirukta. While explaining the
word 'saparyan' occurring in Eg. III. 31. 1 the Nirukta offers
, pujayan' as a synonym. From Pallini 83 V. 3. 99 and the
Mahabhasya thereon it is clearly seen that in the days of the
former images of gods were made for sale and also for worship.
Patafijali expressly says that the rule applies to images which
were worshipped and which gave livelihood to the Pujaris of
those images and not to images made for sale. Vide also
Mahabha$ya on Pallini 1. 1. 25. The Aav. G~. 84 provides that
when ma.dhupar7ca is to be offered to a ~tvik, an aca.rya, a bride~
groom, a king or a snataka or a relative (like father~in~law,
paternal or maternal uncle), a seat, water for washing the feet,
arghya water, water for acamana, honey mixture, a cow are to
be announced to the guest three times in each case. In
another place, the same siitra 8S speaks of the presentation
of sandal~wood paste, flowers, incense, lamp and garment to
the brahmallas invited at a sraddha. In these two passages
alone nine of the 16 upacams are mentioned. The word puja
took on a secondary meaning, viz. (honour without use of gandha,
pU$pa &c.) even in the times of Dharmasiitras (vide Ap. Dh.
S. 1. ll. 14. 9, 'nitya. ca pilja yathopadesam'). Yaj. (1. 229 ff)
mentions in araddha o.vahana, ;;rghYa, gandha, malya, dhupa,
dipa &c. When the worship of images became common, the

82 lfliUr: IfOTrW: ~oy:, srur q'fOfr ~ ~~, l';\~ 11.26; it

may be noted that tbe Nigbazgu III. 5 enumerates ten verbs meaning
'paricara~a' (waiting upon) one oC wbich is mm,
wbile 44 verbs oC whicb
~a is one are separately enumerated as meaning I ~ffl',

83. ~~ ~, QT. V. 3. 99; ~~~~.r:~:,

\t~ YI ~ 1 m~: ~~ ~r~f'« \tfif1rtJffl' ~. The Mauryas
greedy of gold or wealth manufactured images of Siva, Skanda Cor sale;
tbose Images would be called 'Sivaka &c .' but tbose tbat were set up for
worsbip and became the mean~ of livelibood to pujlZr;s (priests) were called
, Siva: • Skanda' &c. On QT. I. 1. 25 the ~ says I ~~~.'
84. m: QICl.n4111"'C+'I;ftlt ~ .n~q(l .. 1 f!f~ ~ I 3ff"if. ~•
. I. 24. 7. Npte the word ~a- bere.
85. q~R+1""'lcl ~1Q''''''lq.II'''i 1fC(I'YIf(' 3ffollil. ;q. IV. 8.1. •
 · .
Origin of puja 87

upacaras that had been offered for showing honour and worship
to worthy men were by a natural analogy employed in it. In
my view the theory that pGja and the upacaras were borrowed
from the Dravidians or some non-Aryan people cannot be held
to be proved, is quite speculative and that 'pGja' of images of
gods was an indigenous development. Medieval writers were
careful to point out that there was no essential difference between
yaga (vedic or other sacrifice ) and pGja, as in both there was the
giving of some substance intending it for a deity. Prof. J.
Charpentier contributed a paper on 'the meaning and etymology
of pGja' to the Indian Antiquary vol. 56 . pp. 93- 99 and pp. 130 ff.
I demur to his conclusions. He points out that' pu' in Tamil
means' flower', that the word pilja is derived from Dravidian
'pilcu', ' pusu' to paint or daub ' (p. 133) and asks the question
why red colour is used in the worship of Gods; he himself answers
it by suggesting that it was a substitute for hlood. There is no
reason whatever for assuming that puja was derived from' pu'
and not from ' pUl?pa' (flower ) which was known to the Egveda
(II. 13. 7 'pul?piJ;li]f' and X. 97. 3 'puspavatrJ/). There is no sound
reason to assume that' pucu' (to paint) existed thousands 'of years
ago in Dravidian languages and was not a more recent acquisi-
tion, when the word puja Can be traced a thousand years before
any existing literary work in any Dravidian language.B6

Some works on vratas treat at great length the several

upacaras, particularly flowers that should be offered to the various
images worshipped, the consequences of offering those flowers, the
various kinds of fragrant Bubstances ( gandha ) to be offered or
the incense to be burnt, the nature of the foods &c. Vide for
example, Hemadri (on vrata) vol. I. pp. 49- 51, K.rtyaratnakara
pp. 70-71, 77-79, Var~akriyakaumudI pp. 156-181. For reasons
of space it is not possible to treat of these matters here. Besides,
H. of Dh. vol. II. (pp. 731-734) deals at some length with the
, unguents, the flowers, the lamps, the naivedya to be offered in
the ordinary devapuja. A few matters not mentioned there are
set out here for the sake of completeness of treatment. The Sm.
C. 1. p. 201 quotes the PadmapuraI?-a87 to the effect that sandal-
wood is holy among unguents (gandha), agaru (Agalochum)

86. ~ 1:m ;ml ~'H"la~(., <r''1 e'lI'IIi!¥1Ifi('qltll'l ttlf I 'l"'IIlIfiIi$( I p. I, {ollowing

iILbara quoted above on p. 33 note 75.
87. ~rq I ~~ l11"i ~~: I tiWIl'i<i~d: ~: !Pf~ f1
tm~" ~. I. p. 201.
 History of Dharmat'astra t Sec. i, dh. IT
is better than sandalwood, dark agaru is still better and saffron
is preferable to dark agaru. Hemadri (on nata vol. I.
pp. 43-44) quotes passages from several purallas defining88
catu~sama as tvak i. e. cinnamon, patraka (cassia leaf),
lavanga i. e. cloves, and saffron ( or two parts of musk, four of
sandalwood, three of saffron and one of camphor) and
sarvagandha as saffron, sandalwood, us ira (fragrant roots of a
plant), mustli, lamajja (root of fragrant grass), camphor and the
three perfumed things viz. tvak, cardamom and patraka and
Yak!?akardama as camphor, agllru, musk, sandalwood and
kakkola. The AgnipuraI?-a (chap. 202.1) first states that Had is
pleased by the offerings of flowers, perfumes, incense, lamps and
naivedya and then speJifies the flowers that are fit for offering to
the deities and that are unfit (verses 2-15). The Kalpataru on
vrata (pp. 180-181) quotes the Bhavi!?yapuralla (Brahmaparva
197.1-11) for stating the consequences of using various flowers
in worship, viz. worship with malatl flowers leads the worshipper
in the presence of god, worship with karavira flowers confers
health and incomparable prosperity, by the flowers of Mallika the
worshipper becomes endowed with all pleasures, with pUI,19,arlka
(lotuses) he secures bliss and lasting wealth, with flowers of the
fragrant kubjalca he secures highest prosperity, with lotuses
(white and blue) he secures spotless fame, with various mukurakas
( J asminium zambac) he is freed from disease, worship with.
Mandara flowers destroys all kinds of leprosy, and with bilva
flowers he obtains wealth, with arka flowers the Lord Sun confers
blessings, with a garland of bakula flowers the worshipper has a
beautiful daughter, the Sun worsh"'ipped with Kirhsuka £Iowen
does away with trouble, with Agastya flowers the deity gives
success and worship with lotuses gives a beautiful wife, with
vanamala the worshipper becomes free from tiredness; the
worshipper of the Sun with Asoka flowers makes no mistakes,
and the Sun worshipped with japa. (china rose) flowers frees
the worshipper from trouble. About dhUpa (incense burnt in
worship) a good deal is said in the digests. The Kalpataru

88. ~:r~ I ~ tilt ~ aUT ~("<lU"'.rn I ~~ ~~rf.t ~ ~

"ifGl~1I 1'J'W~ I ~~!fiT11T ~ ~ ~~ 'It I ~ '!IfV~:
~: ~:~II ~: I ~~A: ~ e .....,ifi41(¥(' ~ ~
~~: ~:I €Elitel4!11\~t"~~: ~t€~:11 .,~e!1<.cill ~~
~ ~ aUT I _n% 'It~: I;f~~: II iiIlfit on n vol. I. pp. 43~
44, ~ p. 16. ~ is cionamoo and ~ il Lll~"N' Qll";", ~ clovo.
 Dhupa in puja 39

(on vrata pp. 182-183)89 observes as follows: The Sun comes

near (i. e. favours) a worshipper who burns sandalwood and
confers desired objects when one burns agaru as dhupa; one who
desires health should burn guggulu .. the Sun is always pleased by
the use of pi~~anga ( i. e. silha1ca) and confers health, wealth and
the highest bliss; a man secures blessedness by using kundaka
(the exudation of sallaki) as dhiipa and trade beoomes fruitful
by using srlvasaka (sarala) as dhiipa and one gets wealth
by burning rasa (myrrh) and sarjarasa (resin of the sal tree).
Bal}a in the Kadambarl (piirvardha, para 56) refers to the
practice of burning guggulu in the temple of Candika. Kalpataru
( on vrata pp. 6-7), Hemadri (on vrata) vol. 1. pp. 50-51, Krtya-
ratnakara p. 78 quote several verses from the Bhavisyapurana
defining dhiipas called 'am'!.'ta', 'ananta', yak$iinga, mahiinga.
The Bhavi syapurii~a 90 remarks: the jati is the best among
flowers, kundaka is the best dhiipa, saffron is best among fragrant
substances, sandalwood among unguents; ghee is best for lighting
lamps and modaka sweets among naivedya foods. It may be
noted that the burning of guggulu and other substances had a
practical end in view, viz. the destruction of fleas and bees. 91

It is no doubt true that in most vratas brahma~as are to be

fed, but one should not run away with the idea that the blind, the
poor and the helpless were altogether forgotten. In the case of
many vratas it is expressly provided that food should be given
to the blind, the poor and the helpless. In describing the Aviyoga-
vrata, both the Kalpataru (on vrata p. 75) and Hemadri quote a
long passage from the Ka.likapura~a in which it is provided that
on the day of the vrata tasteful and well-flavoured food and drink
without stint should be distributed to the helpless, the blind and

89. ~ ~ ~ ~;f; ~ <NT1 WllfT1i' (l q;~ ~s~~: 11

~ 1lT~~ ~ a~1 ~ ~ ~ ~~1 ~rs mu::q.rot.
~'J<t lfiiU<il ~"11 l'ff.i1!1J q. by ~ (00 ern p. 6), ~. (on ern vol. 1.
p. 50).

90. ~1:I'Im~ ~ 9P'lJ~~: I 1F'1:ir-rl ~ Wg ~ ~ ~~II

~ ilf ~ ""'r.rnr'J<t ~ I 't1~.<jlll"ul (~i98. 19 q . by ~ on
Q p. 183).

91. ~Mli"llI1!qlfill lIi'lldq;fMi.. i.fi~ I ~ ~~ ~ ~: I

~~~~:II ~ 1.177.88-89.
40 History of Dharmasastra ( Bee. I, Ch. n

the deaf. 92 Vide also Ka1pataru (on vrata) p. 390 (on Hari-
nata), p. 391 (on Patravrata), p. 397 (Mahavrata), Hemadri
and Krtyaratnakara p. 481 on Sivaratrivrata, K~tyaratnakara
p. 461 (on Mitrasaptaml). The Bhavisya (Uttara, 22. 33-34 )93
recommends that one observing a vrata should provide food for
the blind, the distressed and the helpless according to his means.
As in the case 94 of sraddhas, particularly at Gaya, the PuraI,las
often enjoin lavish expenditure on vratas and condemn stinginess
or spending less on them than one is able to spend. Vide Matsya
100. 36. The Bhavisy ottara 95 on Ubhayadvadasivrata states' the
performer of Ubhayadvadaslvrata being solely devoted to K~!$J;la
should not be tricky ( spend less ) in spending wealth '. In respect
of Aviyogavrata the Kalika-purana provides' the performer free
from trickiness about wealth should give an equivalent to the
brahman as or the couple if he is unable (to give pearls and
precious stones )'. Vide also Padma VI. 39. 21, Matsya 62. 34,
93. 109, 95. 32, 98. 12.

There are certain virtues that the person undergoing a vrata

has to cultivate. The AgnipuraI,la speaks96 of ten virtues that

92. <tt~iiro;fRt~ EIIM,"Rtll'(l EIH."Q'f/ q"QI"; ~ ~~r!! ~r~:11

~ ( a;, 1. 443).~. '{. p. 455; '~lll",'f/0J;<t<41.mr.r'Jo{~: ~I enm-
m
'OJi"f::;t;t ~ lN~" 'fr;rr~Rt ~ WfllJTl'lf.l~ I it. (on alf) II.
p. 382 ( ~R ) from Wf'{~, ~FQ1W (a;,) p . 391 (rom EflirdEflll!'{IUI, 'I).
'{. p. 455.
93. ~lfffi~".;f ~ ~I"lt ~ ~, ~~ 'Q" ~~ '"
1ffii'1vn'l'(11 ~tfir (a;,) vol . II. p . 859 (fro1n f.i~~); <lA~:~ "<f
,,~~ lfI'f.t!11fur'l'(' Eflt"41lq"qr-J :ql i1l :q4:>3~if: II ~l!l1 (~ 22. 33).
94. Vide H. of Dh. vol. I V. p ~04 notes 908 a and 909 for the
emphasis on lavish expenditure on ~raddhas in general and particularly on
sraddhas at Gaya. crnfnn: ~r ~4T ~ 1f&rorI"f'.t' Of ~ ~ ~
~~:II ~100 .36.

95 . ~lNillq~i'l<il"l"'i1'~tftOIT Of~' f.re~ Of ~ tiudlEfl.'tltil.,ft: II

~ q. by ~. (a;,) 1. 1021 ; ~ ftl<g 'ditil:qI<l14 ~, ..ftt;ti Jffll'011'"'t
III ~JOfl"!~ '1l' ~r ~ qtllfl~~lId'iI~:' !fi1~EflIl!'{jUI q. by
~. (on~a;,)I. p .443; ~95.3 2 'Of~ ~ ~~m­
rot:' ~ f.r<t~~: ~tf,t SNrlTI<'I'(' ~mf! ~r ~ ~ ~TlIl
tm VI. 39. 21; ftJQjQI!<i ~iit ftl~, Of ~ fiI"1~lIcN" ~~~
~~t(' 'IU Iff ~ Ill..,.m f.l"1~ild'ilj(Qi'I<<l1:f:' ~ 62.34 (on ~).

96. ~ ~ 1f4T crr.t ~i~II?it(jr..'H!: 1 a14'l,",Ifi!!!q;j ~t~~~ • 1

ftCl~1:1l1:ftlt1F1ft~r ~: 1 ~.175.10-11 (reads o~~). These
verses are quoted as from ~~ by '6<!<l<tl<:'4i'iOj (~) p.~, ~ folio
( Continued. on ne~t page)
 Virtues required in all watas

must be cultivated as common to all vratas viz.' forbearance,

truthfulness, compassion, charity, purity (of body and mind),
curbing the organs of sense, worship of deities (or images),
offerings into fire, contentment, not depriving another of his
property. This ten-fold dharma is declared as common to all
vratas.' Devala prescribes: 'brahmacarya (celibacy), purity,
truthfulness and giving up of flesh-eating-these four are the
highest (virtues) in vratas. Brahmacarya is lost by looking at
( stranger) women, touching them and engaging in talk with
them, but not by sexual intercourse with one's wife during the
allowed days after her monthly illness '. The NaradIyapuraI?a
remarks9'7 'brabmacarya is prescribed for being observed in all
vratas and it is declared that generally sacrificial food is eaten '.
Havil1Ycmna is variously defined. Manu98 says' the food proper
for hermits (such as nivara), milk, juice of soma plant, flesh
that has not become putrid, and aksaralavaI?a (natural salt)-
these are declared to be (fit) sacrificial food by nature'. Though
flesh was offered in sraddhas in the times of the several early
sID-rtis such as that of Yaj. flesh must be excluded from the list
of proper foods in the case of vratas owing to the express provi-
sions contained in Devala-sm~·ti (cited above) and others. Vide
H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 149 n. 343 for havil'iYa food. The K-rtyaratna-
kara99 quotes a long passage from the Samayapradipa on what food
should be partaken in vratas viz.' first come yavas (barley), on
failure of them vrihi ( rice), on failure of this, other food except
ma$a (black beans), kodrava, gram, mas'ii:ra (a kind of pulse ),
Gina and kapittha '. There are somewhat conflicting passages
in the several PuraI?as about the foods that are acceptable or

( Continued from last page)

.. a, ~ (iffl) I. p, 330. W.~. p. 416. ~~ of ;;l'~ p. 454. The
~,~84.22is~ .. . ~:I~ff~~:~~~~III~11
~ <NT ~ ~1'Il~Ilf"J"1~ I a~~rf.f '<ImR "mn.frfit r.t'lfli: II '6fiurt
t1 l(I~~: ~~~ill' I r.t~ff lIf~'ij- if q~6~R'I: II q. by
~ p. 199, r.t. ~. p. 27; ~ explains 'a-rurt ~ ""~ <m~­
~ q'fflffl: ~~nu I q~li .rr~r.mTi~R'I: 8"( lIf~ if ~ I
~ ~;Wq,q"1T;'i ~'I'(')Tr:, '.

97. ~~ ~ fitu~1 'I'(~ iI ~ ~ ~II

~,~1l0.48. .

98. ~ qlf: ~!ii\'~ .a!JleNEii"'~1 ~~lJ!im~1I

~. III. 257 (~ explains ~<t i.~ ~) .
...
99. ~ I ~ ~~ ~~it ~i!,i):t"""GliM,,fq.Hl(­
.
'IfI"1~hl«::i¥1.qqcq'" W .~~ ~ <til. m'lt('rf<\' lf~ I 'Ii.';. p. 400.
B. D. 6
 History of DharmasQstra [ Sec. I, Ch. II

should be rejected. For example, the Agnipur!i.I,la1OO (in 175.

12 ) first states that ksara, lavalfa, honey and flesh should be
eschewed in vrata, then (in 175.13-14) includes among kf:lara
a.ll cereals in pods except sesame and mudga, and among corn
wheat and kodravas and several others are included in kf:lara
group (i. e. they are to be eschewed in vrata) and proceeds
(175. 14-15) • rice, sa$~ika (corn that ripens in sixty days from
the date of sowing), mudga, kalaya (peas ), sesame and yava,
syamaka (millet), nlvara (wild rice grains), wheat and others
are beneficial (i. e. allowed) in vratas, while one should give up
(in vrata) kii$mlLlf~a (pumpkin gourd), alabu (bottle gourd ),
vartii.ka (egg plant), palankI (a kind of vegetable) and piitikA.
The Padmapurii.1!a 101 provides that one who is observing nakta-
vrata must observe six things, viz. havisya meals, bath, truthful-
ness, small quantity of food, worship of Agni and sleeping on the
ground (not on a cot ). The Bhujabala 102 says: all should avoid
while observing vrata the use of bell metal (vessel), flesh, m!1sura,
gram, kodrava, vegetables, honey and the food cooked in
another's house. Harita lays 103 down what should be avoided on
the day of vrata: one should avoid on the fast day talk with one
guilty of heavy sins, heterodox sectarians and atheists and speak-
ing what is untrue and obscene. The Santiparva says • one
engaged in vrata should not converse with women, sudras and
patita '. The B~hadyogi.Yajfiavalkyasmrti 104 observes: one

100. amt~ 175. 12- 17 are stated by the f.t~. P. 26 to have been
quoted in the ~'CIri{,q~l the verses (14- 17) ~~r-!li ... ~fta1:{
are quoted from the ~ by,. (;:rn) I. p. 332.

101. ~ ~ fj<4J11111«'?IElili{ I ~1:T:~ ~')

~II ~. q . by ~. (;:rn) I. p. 333. which explains '~~ ~•
• 41IlfdJl~~(I"4~1J1: '. The verse is quoted from ~~ by It. ~. $t. p. 66.

102. ~ ~;f~ ':q ~ q;~ t'I'UT I m<fi ~ ~ ':q n

fl'ltl~"
~ (D. C. transcript p. 331). The same verse is quoted from ~OT by
1f. Ni. ;il. P. 62 (reads q'(11B 'if iil'ifJqqfj"l ~).

103. ~ " ... 4i r 4IQ QTfuf:1 ~S(;fi(,?lfctifit!q·

;mn~ ~ I R. !fi'T. fif. p. 10; ~ triffit..mq. ~~ ~~: I
~35 . 39.

101. ~~~~ q"j1ifU'Er;f ~ I ~ ;f ~ adril11lfa~$""

~ ",UIJlJ\q: 'E'lI'Slq'f4$ ~, ~~ ~ ~ AUW1.'l'li("
'l!ltcn17l41. VII. 147-148. The first is quoted in 1ft. tit. (~) p. 31~.
~ (collected by Aiyangar) bas a similar verse '~lf"'~ ... ~
~, .. , "'1 .. t?IJlI~1ti$ .117. 'IQcilfil41. VII. 148 fa q. by 'Ei~. 1. p. 1.50,
tro. "1'. I. p. 306, ~. fit. (3O'fIr~) p. 316, 'Ii, ~. p. 49.
 Praise of vratas 43

should not talk at the time of japa or vrata or homa and the like
to women, siidras, patita, sectarians, a woman in her monthly
illness; if there be a failure in the restraint of speech (with these)
in japa and the rest, he should recite a mantra addressed to
Vi~:r;lu or remember Vi~J;lu who is imperishable.

The PuraI;las extol, as in the case of pilgrimages, the

performance of vratas to the skies. Certain vratas like
those to be undergone by a Vedic student had ceased to be
in vogue and vratas associated with Vedic sacrifices also
had become rare in the centuries before the C'hristian era.
In the grhya and dharma siitras and in ancient smrtis like
those of Manu and Yajiiavalkya what were called vratas in the
Pura:r;las did not occupy any very prominent position. During
the early centuries of the Christian era Buddhism and Jainism
were influential rivals of the ancient sacrificial system. In order
to wean away common people from those two schisms it is very
probable that learned followers of the Vedic system hit upon the
glorification of vratas and promised heaven and otherworldly and
tlpiritual rewards to those who performed vratas that were com-
paratively easy and within reach of all instead of sacrifices and
also adopted some of the practices of common folks as vratas,
e. g. kukku~I-marka~I-vrata in Bhavi~yottara 46. 1-43, SIta}!-
vrata (Vratarka folio 111 b -113 b, N. S. p. 123). The Brahma-
pura:r;la1OS says' the reward that is secured by the worship of the
Sun for a single day cannot be secured by hundreds of Vedic
sacrifices or by brahman as to whom the fees stated in the texts
are paid '. The PadmapuraI;la106 extols Jayantlvrata by saying
that in the body of the man who performs it all holy places and
deities reside. The Garu<:!.apuraJ;la107 quoted by Hemadri states
that the Kaiicanapurlvrata described by H is more purifying
than even the Ganges, Kuruk!?etra, Kasl and Pu!?kara. The
Bhavi~ya-pura:r;la (Uttara 7. 1) provides that a man crosses easily
the deep ocean of hells by means of the boat of vratas, vpavasas

105. If~riit~,):~:~ ~I ~~ ~(",,~(~dqll

~ 2 9 .61 .

106. ~ ~ ~r.,. ~ ~ ~,: I !fi~m.q)- ~"r li'fClil ~ 'PII-

~ II qv III . 4. 27 ; ~ ~T~({ ~~~ "'!fi(ui<l,( I a'(f~fiI<j+1\11::t.a­
~ ~lIli~(~7.1).
107. if "'" if ~ if!fitm if .... ~ 1 ~ ~P\ ll'Q a~tr<1i4'(11
qq. q. by ~. (on n) II P. 869.
 History of DharmaS(istm [ Sec. I, Ch. ti

and niYamas. In the Mahabharata108 ( and the Padmapura:J;la VI.

53. 4--6 ) it is stated that the Vedic rites and rites prescribed by
Manu cannot be performed in Kaliyuga and that therefore it
declares to Yudhif?~hira something that would be an easy remedy,
requiring little wealth and causing little trouble but securing
great rewards and that would be the essence of Pura:J;las, viz. one
should not eat on the EkadasI of both fortnights; he who does
not eat food on EkadasI does not go to hell. About the Ubhaya-
dvadaslvrata described in the Bhavi!?yapura.:J;la it iE'. said that
Prabhasa,l09 Gaya, Puskara, VaranasI, Prayaga or holy places to
the east or west thereof, or to the north are not superior or equal
to the Kii.rtika vrata. The Anusasana-parva110 proclaims that
there is no higher tapas than upavasa (fasting) or even equal to
it and that poor men can secure the rewards of sacrifices by
resorting to the upava.sa described. Hemadri quotes two verses
on Arkavrata from the Bhavi!?yapura:J;la stating that if a man
observes for a year nakta on the 6th and 7th tithis in each fort-
night he obtains the merit secured by those who perform the
Vedic sacrifices called satiras or who observe the vow of speaking.
the truth.
In the Varahapura:J;la the question111 asked is 'how can a
poor man reach God' and the reply is that he can do so by vratas
108. ~ ~ ~t ~l.ai f!<fT ;m I ~1 Wr WI' ~ ~ ~ Ifi\l
"'U~II ~~~~ ~I ~fUl'1Olt ':q' ~"i ~l~ ~ all
~lri ;; ~:d'1(( ~l1'i'~'jq I •.• ~~ ;; ~~~;; ~ ~ ~ I tm
IV. 53. 4 if; these are quoted from ll'QllTrof by ~Ti1f (aa- I. p. 1089).
109 . l'IliR'f ;;r(it<fi Ql~ ;; tm ;; -::q ~'I'i~~ I <m:rumr;; «< ~ 1'I~
'if I tiNlffl ':q' (fa': 'i~ Ql~ffl ;;ril'~ I ~<hv~ ;aqSJ)~ 'Tcff";fr~nmf.?r ':q' I ;;
WtTf.{~) ~ ~~ ':q' I ~. (if(f) I. p. 1021 quoting lT~~.
110. ~ qrm m'li;;r~ ~~: I;; ~)~lT) <I'liT ;;r;;~11
IIfTit&p-q: qi: ~ qw-j fttlEr ~ ':q' I ~'l:lT (l~ <fQ': ~~ II ~
R~~ l'Im~~ I ~SJq tRT ffiNnlq"l~lCd,*"'(1I 31rl~ 106.65-67'
The first verse is quoted by ~ (aa-) I, p,317 from the mt'llTrof and the
2nd from Padmapura~a, The two mss. of~~ (on aa-) pp, 1-2 appear
to have had these verses, Cf~: Ql~ lffit ~~ li'l:lT I :a-q<fffirf.rnr"'( ~T
,,~tro'It"~1I ~m-;; 107, 41-42,
111, ~ <li~~: l'IfClia ~ i\- I ~~;; ':q' R;;r 'Cfr-i';rlii T~t{ ;; ~ "
amrt'liffiq (31'~1) ~iffl ~<f ~: ~: I ~ ~r iIf~ ~ ii<t ~ ,
...
~~ 39. 17-18; the reply is contained in lR'ffl' 39 . .23-24 '~
R'6 ~ ;;~ "~I '3'If!f~iii ~SJq [oqp~: I ~ mrm l'l'tInl ~
j 31'wmlffll1:t ~~"t ih) mft'lf~ I a~ffi~~r;;r;r~ 'IQ' ,
'lW\<Wl': II '
~~ lT~ 1{1((~ ;; ~~: I f.f~fll1<'~iI ~oq"1 iifi~ 1'l~ I \t~,
~16.12-14,
 EulogY oj vralas

and fasts. The Lingapura~.a (purvardha 83. 4) provides that one

who for a year observes nakta (eating only once in the evening)
and worship of Siva on the 14th and 8th tithis in each pak$a
(fortnight) secures the reward of all sacrifices and reaches the
highest goal. The Bhavisya asserts that brahmallas who have
no sacred fires (srauta or smarta) benefit in this way that gods
become pleased with them by (the observance of) vratas, fasts,
restrictive rules of conduct and various kinds of gifts, particularly
by a fast on special tithis.
The keynote struck by the Matsya, Brahma and other
Purallas is how to secure great rewards with little effort. The
Brahma-purana remarks that by merely taking in Kaliyuga the
name of Kesava a man obtains the same rewards that one got in
krta-yuga by deep meditation, in Treta by performing sacrifices
and in Dvapara by worship (of images). The Matsya says:
The great sages do not commend sacrifices which involve killing
(of animals); those whose wealth is tapas became firmly placed
in heaven by making gifts, according to their means, of particles
of grains (collected from fields &c. ), roots, fruits, vegetables and
water vessels and that tapas is superior for (several) reasons to
sacrifices. The Padmapurana reaches the peak of exaggeration
when it says' no one except Hari will be able to recount the
merit of him who offers a lamp on the day of Hari in Kartika
with devotion' or 'Vii?Iluvrata is the highest, a hundred solemn
Vedic sacrifices are not equal to it'. The Skandapuralla112 (quoted
by Hemadri on vrata vol. 1. pp. 318-321) contains a long eulogy
of vrata, one verse of which may be cited here 'Gods attained
their position through restrictive observances (vratas); they
shine forth as stars by virtue of the vratas (they performed) '.
There were certain differences between Vedic sacrifices and
vratas. The promised reward of most sacrifices was heaven,
while PuraJ?,as promised that most vratas would confer tangible
benefits in this very life. Further, vratas could be performed by
aU, including siidras, maidens, married women, widows, even
prostitutes.
There were vratas for the brahmacarin ( called Veda-vratas )
and for the snataka. These have been already dealt with in H.
of Dh. vol. n. pp. 370-374: and pp. 4:12-4:15 respectively. That

112. ~ %<m: smn f.%'UU~<lt1(~ I ,,~ ~~ f.f~~ ~ II

"''If q. by,. (Oil 1!fII') I. p. 320, •• Sf. folio 9 a.
 History of Dharmasastra tSec. 1, Ch. Ii
vratas ( in the medieval sense ) existed even in the first centuries
before and after the Christian era follows from the Ap. Dh. S. and
from the dramas of Kalidasa, from the M~cchaka~ika and the
Ratnavali. The Ap. Dh. S. II. 8. 18 prescribes a vrata for one year
which is equal. in its merit to brahmacarivrata for 48 years and
Ap. Dh. S. n. 8. 18-19 to Ap. Dh. S. n. 8. 20 prescribe two modes
of a vrata to be begun on Ti~ya ( Pu~ya) nak~atra to be observed
by a person desirous of prosperity. Vide S. B. E . vol. n. pp. 145-
148. Hemadri (vrata II. :p. 628 quotes Ap. Dh. S. n. 8. 20. 3-9 ),
explains the sutras and calls this Apastambokta Pu~yavrata.
In the Sakuntala (Act. II) the dowager queen (mother of
Dusyanta) sends a message that on the 4th day from the date of
the message her fast ( vrata) would end.ll3 The Vikramorvasiya
( III) appears to refer to a vrata called in later times RohiJ?I-
candrasayana-vrata (vide Hemadri vol. n. pp. 599-600). It
may be noted that in the above works royal ladies are described
as observing vratas. In the Raghuvamsa Kalidasa alludes to an
Asidbara-vrata (XliI. 67). The M~cchaka~ika (Act I) speaks of an
upavasa (a vrata) called Abhirupapati which appears to have
been somewhat like the J3hart~praptivrat~escribed by Hemadri
(vol. I. pp. 1199-1200 ). The Ratnavali ( Act I at end) describes
Madanamahotsava which reminds us of the same described in
Hemadri (vol. II. pp. 21-24). It appears, however, that the
number of vratas in the first centuries of the Christian era was
not very large. Gradually, however, the number of vratas
increased by leaps and bounds and their total number, as seen
from the list furnished at the end of this section, would be in the
region of one thousand. One of the earliest digests on tit his
and astrological matters in relation to Dharmasastra is the
RajamartaJ.?~a of king Bhoja (1st half of 11th c~ntury A. D.).
It mentions only a few vratas (about 24 ). The next important
extant work is the K~tyakalpataru of Lak~mldhara (1st half of
12th century A. D.) who mentions in the vratakaJ;l~a about 175.
A comparatively later work viz. the Vratakalaviveka of SulapaJ;li
(1375-1430 A. D.), which discusses the rules about the proper
times for observing vratas, mentions only 11 vratas. Hemiidri's
is the largest published work on vratas, containing as it does

113. 3WT@ff.t~~SlI~r i:I ~f lt~ &c.1 ~II

before the verse ~tr.r~,' ~~ ~~ ifil~i(t3li,qt lA-
~a:qtC("'tu;m ... ~ ~ ~m:.;r:, ~filr~ m"'~'lII ~~ ~i'I
~PlCJfic'iUI~ ~l1o?l~ql" r~' ~~r1f IlI.
 Works on vratas 47
about 2200 printed pages in the B. I. edition. It deals with about
700 vratas. This shows that towards the end of the thirteenth
century, when foreign invaders had seized the larger part of India
and were ruthlessly razing temples to the ground and converting
by force and fraud thousands to their faith, the men of the day,
both learned and ignorant, were expending vast intellectual
labour and huge sums of money on vratas, pilgrimages and
sraddhas, blissfully ignorant of and blind to the political and
religious dangers that engulfed them all.

The vratakosa edited by M. M. Gopinath Kaviraja ( in the

Sarasvattbhavana series in 1929) lists 1622 vratas, but that list
is unduly swollen and inflated for various reasons.114 For
example, the A~~aka-sraddhas and Anvas~aka-sraddhas are
included and have nine numbers assigned to them. There are
twelve numbers assigned to Anantavrata because it is performed
for twelve months from Margaslrsa, but Hemadri (on vrata vol. II.
pp. 667-671 ) treats it as one vrata. Upavasavrata is given four
numbers, the only reference given being Hemadri (vrata) II.
p. 509 (only 1 j lines from Matsya). Hemiidri (vrata II. pp.
748-52,757 and so on) describes Efca'Jhakta twelve times in each
month from Caitra to Phalguna and then on II. p. 863 refers to
him who performs Ekabhaktavrata for one year. The Vratakosa
gives 13 separate numbers (2 for Ekabhakta and 11 for Eka-
bhukta, for this latter form there being no authority of Hemiidri
who calls all the 13 Ekabhaktavrata). Grahasanti is given five
numbers. It is unnecessary to multiply examples. If properly
sifted the number would be much smaller than 1000.

When a person undertakes a vrata be must see to it that he

finishes it; for dire consequences are laid down for him who
gives it up through heedlessness. Chagaleya declaresl15 'when

114. It has to be remembered that several different vratas are men-

tioned under tbe same name, also that different names are given to the
aame vrata and that some &antis. utsavas and snanas also are described in
works on vratas.
115. 'ltl('liil('lI*i'U!~: 1 'fit ~ mf rillll"I",*,(i.filtlil~('I: 1 ~m
~ 'iCi: "ifl ~ ~ 11 i«{. qt. p. 784, if. ~. Til. p. 9, ;mm p. 153
(quotiog from SWf. ~), f.f . ~. p. 26 (quoting {rom Wcf;:m;{ aod reading
~ ri ~~ 'fit if ~). ~ (00 if('I) p. 4 has i!i
mf ~ ':q' ~ &c .
'lIiNltlltlICf'@~ 'If?flJit ~Fct' ~ if ~'lfffl' 61'iJ;f ~N I!fT 11 ~.
175. 40-41 q. by ~"'rcrr acc. to fit m. p.26. The verse occurs In
(Continued on next page)
48 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. II

a. person, having first undertaken a vrata, does not carry it out,

being led away by some desire, he while alive becomes ( i. e. is to
be treated as) a caJ;1~ala and after death becomes a dog '. In
Buch a case where through greed, infatuation or inadvertence a
man is guilty of breaking his vrata, he has to undergo three
days' fast and also shave his head and then begin the nata ( the
remainder acc. to NirJ;1ayasindhu, the whole of it acc. to SUla-
paJ;1i ). The VarahapuraJ;1a states 'that man who undertakes a
vrata on ekadasl day but does not, owing to foolishness, finish it,
reaches a very evil state '.
Death in the midst of a vrata did not deprive the performer
of the merit for which he began it. Angiras 116 provides' if a
person that has begun some religious act for some benefit dies
before the rite is finished, he secures the merit that is the reward
( of that act ) after his death; Manu so declared '.
Noone should undertake a vrata in the midst of asauca
(impurity on birth and death). But it is provided by the
Vi~J;1udharmasutra 117 (22. 49) that asauca does not affect the
king in doing his royal duties, nor those undergoing a vrata in the
carrying out of the vrata. Similarly, Laghu-Vi~J;1u observes: in
the case of vratas, sacrifices, marriages, in sraddha, homa, worship
( .of an image ), in japa, impurity does not affect after they are
begun, but it affects before they are begun ( i. e. is an obstacle to
beginning these after impurity). Yaj. III. 28-29 are similar
verses. It is laid down in the sastras 118 that danger (to the

( Continuea from last page)

tm:~1.1 28.19. '~':~~~w{Ti"qft;,wdad'~~~~-~<B1
!i<'l'T ~ rit ~~, ~~ i'ffl ~ ~:, ~iit ~
ad~ .. ~::iii ~~" f.t. m.
p. 26; ~ (pp. 152-153) has these verses (with
slight variations). a. !fiT. ~. p. 9 has these verses from ~tvT, reads
~,.WlIiI(lI+1,ql", ;:lQi!U~,,<i ~ ~ ~;fl:{. and. explains '~:
~ if;:r ~ ::q ~ '. 1ft ~ i'ffl ;f)Q'4ifmn?tr.r~~:' or Wfl'Q'~ ~
~: ~ ~ II tmlfo q . by Q'. ". p. 2.
116. ~ ~ :q('ilAA~+1ccq ~ ~ I ~ dtl!"ll'lit:5 ~ SlPfiftt +1Si<If~tt> II
~~~ q. by a. !fiT. f<t. p. 9,;mm p. 152, Q'. tf. p. 11.
117. or mri (i"'!fi~iill Of afir.rt III~ "' ~~ ~, ~ 22. 49;
~~m~t"'''l~(iI(' ~. 175.42; a<illijliTi",is ~~
~ I ~ ~ W{ <EllWtl<cot II 'i.~ II ~ q . by q. tn. p. 423, ~
p. 152.
118. ~~ nnW: smnr) @l4Iie"l( I amfmf.t ~ ~@f~: "
q. by ~ on ~ p. 5, t.
(on n) vol. I. p. 334, III.~. ~. p. 9, q. tI'.
pp. 8-9 (from ~).
 Matters not affecting vratas

observer of vrata) from all beings, disease, forgetfulness, the

command of one's gur~ do not break a vrata provided these occur
only once (during the period of the particular vrata). It is
provided by the Matsya-pura:r;la, Agni and Satyavrata 119 that in
~he case of women that have commenced a vrata of long duration
there is no stoppage of the vrata if they have monthly illness in
the midst of the vrata or they become pregnant or are delivered
of a child and that tbey should get the rites performed by another
as long as they are impure, but physical acts (such as fasting)
may be done by them. There are certain other matters that do
not affect the observance of a vrata, viz. (drinking)120 water,
( partaking of) roots, fruits and milk and sacrifi cial offering, the
desire ( or command) of a brahma:r;la, the order of one's guru and
medicine. Hemadri remarks that the drinking of milk and the
rest that follow do not affect vrata if the performer is a woman,
a child or one who is in extreme pain. A person observing
vrata 121 should eschew all this, viz. anointing the body or the
head with oil, chewing tambiila, applying sandalwood paste and
whatever else would increase physical strength or passion.

What actions do not detract from the observance of upavll.s80

will be discussed later.
A few words about homa may be said here. Women could
not offer homa with mantras (Manu IX. 18). Homa could be
performed for them through a priest. When no particular
substance is specified the ahuti (offering) into fire is to be of

119. ~ ~:-~~ "fTtrvrt ~r ~I ... ~ ~

~: !ti~ffl-~im~ ~~ I ~ il~ ~-3r.'tm
ij 'f-ifWrit 'l,",IA~~if <m~Fctra I f.t. ftf. p. 29; ~r ~'ia<m "l;l; ~ "" ~ I
~SRT <lCfriir-f ~ ~ ~ II i't(tq!1),,,ul q. by if. ifiT. Ft. p . 10, ~
p. 152; 3«11. (175 . 39-40) has the same verse but reads ~ fililrr: ~.
The printed I'ffi'li 62. 34 reads ~ ... !§l'RI lI'N Uii'toTr I ~ ... <mlr-
~~II. The~~I.128.18 is:~e-rvrt~ ... ifiTfWi~,,"II.
if. !til. Ft. explains 3l'~ i.'iflFct<fi <mlt:( I !fiTf'qttlijq,u\'Irfct<fi ~ p1IT
~,"~~I.

120. :m!1 "t~qa"",,"~ &1'1ft ;@ .m

~: I tfili'T1fIJf!fl(Tq1 "" ~­
~II ~ 39. 71-72, ~. 175. 43, ~ (ace, to t."'" I. p. 333)
and ~6\Y\f!~'l (ace. to t. ~ II. p. 771). '~:~~ ~flIm1S'I­
N'i'lq-lfCt'la~' ~. (""') I. p. 333; if. !fiT. ~. p. 10 ascribes it to
.f\\TIlr-!.
121. ~,,~~ ~ .... iMqif~ I a1ftQt ~ 'l'*I.qitt'$(iIlWl{"
Q. by t.(on n) vol. I. p. 1009, •• !fit. fit. p. 10 (Crom the fitm~).
B. D. 7
50 History oj Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. n
clarified butter (Karmapradlpa of Gobhila 1 .113 ).122 The number
of ahutis may be 108, 28 or 8 or as many as are expressly
specified. The Samayapradipa ( folio" b ) has a long discussion
about the fire in which hama is to be made. Oha who is an
ahitagni (who has established the sacred Vedi~ fires) should
employ the fire established by him when he was married, as laid
down by Yaj. (1. 97). According to some, the rule of Yaj. applies
only to grhya rites that are laid down in the Gl:'hyasutras and
that even an ahitagni should employ ordinary fire for his
vratas. One who has no smarta fire should also perform vrata
homas in ordinary fire by himself or through a priest.

122. ~ lflflf4'1'ii1IQI ~ ~ 1 Sl.l~~l,",,,, ..,. ~ ~.

~ Q. by ~ (acc. to Pr. fit p. 25).
 CHAPTER lIt
Persons entitled to engage in Vratas, objects
desired by means of V ratas, classifications
of Vratas and literature on Vratas,
times for Vratas
One important matter is that of vratadhikari:rJ_a_Q. (person!!
entitled to engage in a vrata ). Persons of all castes including
sumas are entitled to perform vratas. Devala states: 123 'there is
no dgubt that (men of) all var1Jas are released from sins by
observing vratas, fasts and restrictive rules of behaviour and by
mortification (lit. heating) of the body.' Women are also entitled
to perform vratas. In fact the pura:rJ_as and digests prescribe
several vratas .for women alone. Manu, Vi~ :rJ_u Dh. S. and
several pura:rJ_as provide that a woman cannot perform a separate
sacrifice, a separate vrata or a separate fast by herself, she is
honoured in heaven by waiting upon her husband. 124 Vis:rJ_U
Dh. S. ( 25. 16 ) 125 further provides that a woman who observes a
nata in which a fast enters while her husband is alive deprives
her husband of his life and herself goes to hell. Whatever act
of benefit in the other world a woman does without the consent
of her father, husband or son yields no fruit to her.126 The
medieval digests interpreted these verses as meaning that before
performing a vrata, a maiden has to secure the consent of her
father, a married woman of her husband and a widow of her son
and that with the consent of the persons specified a woman

. 123 . • al4q(~r..qit: ~~I~qr I ~I: ~N ~~~ ~~.q.", ~11: II

~ q. by~. (i11'I') I. p . 326, ~ folio 4a.

124. ;ry~ '5frort i~r", ri;ry~ 11f1~ ~ ltof ~ ~if~f1ffl1l

~ V. 155, R~'liI 25 . 15. The l'IIJioil'ls;«OI reads the 2nd hal! as '~
W~ ~fflIf.tr!f"( Jl'if~ ~,and ~~(Qf as 'qfti' ~~ lfr 'ij dOl' ~
J1iflftt II ' . Vide~. (on i11'I') I p. 326 and if. !fiT. fit. p. 11.
125. qtlj'' l ~~m lfl lfr~~ ifff ~ I ~: m ~ lfii;f<;t ~"'T"Ui<l1l
~ 25. 16. ~ folio S quotes it and explains' lfffl ~.I!!<i'''''; l'I'!!i~-
1('(1{' '. ~ ( v .40 ) is almost the same.

126. "Tft ""~""ii~mr ~ ~~ ~ lfI" m;('i ~:;;rffi'll ~I\~­

~~II:.II ~(i4<qa«O( q. by,. (on i11'I') I. p. 327, Tit.~. p . 22, nr. l'I. p. 113
( &acrihes to ~if)j ~ explains '~~ ~~ ~("lq~j('ll ultm
~·q4"iq(1( '.
 HistorY of iJizarma~astra [ Sec. i, ch. iIi
could perform an independent nata for herself. The digests are
Bupported in this view by the sutra of Sankha-Likhita 127 that it
is the rule for women that they should practise vratas, fasts,
restrictive observances and worship (or sacrifices) with the con-
lIent of their husbands. The LingapuraIfa 128 provides: with the
bidding (i. e. permission) of their husbands, women shol}.ld per-
formjapa, gifts, tapas and all else. Opinion was divided whether
a woman could get hama performed through another. About the
incapacity of women for mantras,129 vide Manu II. 66, lX. 18 and
Yaj. 1. 13. The Vyavabaramayukha following Parasara held
that a sudra could get the homa in adoption130 performed through
a brahmaJ;la and that the same rules apply to women and sudras
and therefore a woman could get a homa required in vrata per-
formed through a brahmaIfa. Rudradhara (author of Suddhi-
viveka) and Vacaspati held that a woman and a sudra have no
right to perform homa with Vedic mantras. The NirIfayasindhu131
Bupports the Vyavaharamayukha on the question of homa in a
vrata to be observed by a woman. But it appears that Nlla-
kaIf~ha, author of the Vyavaharamayukha, was of a different
opinion when composing the Prayascittamayukha.132 Vide H .
of Dh. vol. IV. p. 78 note 186 on this point. It is provided in the
Matsya that a woman who is pregnant or is recently delivered
of a child should only observe nakla instead of a fast and a

127. ii't rom ~ ;or"Ilf<li(q ~ ml~--1fi11'i ~ ml~­

l~t;(cf("(I1( ...r: ~ ;- ~rn- ~1 .. ~RIi'HI1(OT~ 1 ~"M:q. II. p . 291 I ~;f1I'­
srcfrq folio 5 b and Of. ~. ~. p . 67 (read M9'&t"'l1al.,II1'<jlf1:).
128 f<f<iltT~~ ~ ~ ij"'fI'i'(l1l: I ..,.q ~ (fq': fI<l+1'EEiii'Sii q:
~'q: I ~ (~hl) 84.16.

129. ~ .rrurt ~ ~mi1 uif~: 1 ~ IX. 18.

no, ~.Si""?1I1~ ~ (~) ~m m: 1 ~ ifii ~­
GlQl~<n~I~:~~~~"~-~MQ"(~:I~­
iR I. ~(ifiio is Q"(m< VI. 63-64. The Pol'. m.
(PP. 29-30) holds that in
Q"(m< there is no question of employing a brahma~a as an agent or substi.
tute, but all that Para Sara means is that a religious action when carried out
by brahma~as yields the fullest rewards.
131 . ll1I'iit ~ ~T(tI.qtew1 ~ ~f('T\~ fW<n*1' ~­
~~ adl~.iilll'~l iI~ ~R1tFct~ ~~: ~ I fit ~.
III ~P. 249 .
132 . .rrurt~~I!1!4'~ ~ ~ ~1 ~q"'~I ~""
fitq~fiiI ~ 1 ~r if<f ... d«f1<?Jl11id ~: I a.f ... ~ <lW1l! luI.l1qil-
~r: .n~~ ~ ~ ~ tftI ~1I SIN. if. p. 13 (ed. by
Gharpure ).
 53
maiden or other female who is impure (in monthly illness or
otherwise ) should get her . vrata performed through another, but,
whether pure or impure, she may perform bodily acts (such as a
fast) by herself (vide Tithitattva pp. 121-122).
If a person is unable owing to disease or accident or the like
to perform a vrata personally he could get it performed through
a pmtinidhi (a representati ve ). Certain rules were laid down
about this. It is stated in the Satyasa~hasrautas i1 tral33 'there is
no pratinidhi (representative or substitute) in the case of the
owner (the Yajamana), the wife, the son, the (proper) place and
time (for an act), the fire, the deity ( to be invoked such as Agni,
Indra), a rite and a text ( to be prescribed for being employed in
a rite) '. All religious acts are arranged in three classes, viz.
nitya (obligatory), naimittika (to be performed when a certain
nimitta or occasion arises or event happens ) and kamya (per-
formed out of a desire to secure some object). Vide H. of Dh.
vol. IV pp. 60-61 note 150 for further details. The Trikan~a­
maJ;l~ana134 has the following rules about pratinidhi in these three
kinds of acts. 'No pratinidhi ( substitute) is allowed in the case
of kamya rites, a substitute is allowable in the case of nitya
and naimittika rites; some recognized a substitute even in a
kiimya rite after it is once begun; there is no substitute for a
mantra or the deity or the fire (Garhapatya, Ahavaniya or
Dakf?iJ;lagni), a kriya (such as prayuja) or isvara (the svamin or
yajamana) ; some say that a substitute is not allowed in the case
of (a prescribed) place or time. An agnihotrin can substitute,
( if his wife is dead &c. ) an image of her made of gold or kusas
but a woman cannot proceed with a rite putting forward some

133 . ., ~~ ~ftn: ~ ~ ifi,~~q,{I<f~f1Il: ~Vf: ~ ....

~ I ~31", III. 1. Compare 3{1'I':f. ~. 24 . 4.1 and ~. VI. 3.
18-21 for similar rules, particularly VI. 3. 18 and 21 '''~~~rU'
nrtmr.' <NT~: \fi?H'Itl"'Ql<t q;~ ~~' .
134. ~ lliitf.f~ ~ ~~ ~ ~: I 'fil'~~\fI~~;~ Slnfi;.tif
~: II ., ~ Slmf.f~ it~ lfi1iuf(~ I ., .... ~f;tNl~Iifil~qm:~ II
.. . ~~I!(l~.s~:I ... ~:~~wfr ~ ~~II
f!fifilOCtlOCl~ II. 2-3 and 8. mr~ III. 10 states that when Rama
performed solemn sacrifices he had by his side tbe golden image of Sita,
Vide Apararka pp 114-115 and Sm. C. I. p. 167 for discussion whether an
image of gold or kUSaI can be a proper substitute for absent or dead wife.
fitm. p. 30 and ~ p. 13 quote the above verses of P.tllilO.tlOii~ some·
what ditIerentiy. The first verse is quoted by fit~ p. 71 (reads last
pada as' ~Alf44U~~:)'.
54 History of Dharmafiistra tSec. i, Ch. ill
substitute or effigy in place of the husband.' If a person is
unable, after undertaking a vrata, to carry it out, he should get
it done by a representative. Such representatives are: son, wife,
brother, husband, a sister, a pupil, purohita (for daksij)8.) and
a friend . Pai~hlnasi 135 states that a wife might carry on the
vrata undertaken by the husband and the husband may do so for
the wife; if both are unable a stranger may carry it out; in this
way there is no break of vrata. Katyayana136 says :-one who
observes a fast for the sake of his father Of mother, brother,
husband and particularly for his guru secures one hundred-fold
merit; if a person observes a fast on EkadasI in place of his
maternal grand-father and the like they and their representative
each obtain the full fruit thereof. These rules about pratinidhi
apply to men of all 'uar1Jas.137

It is somewhat remarkable that the Vratiirka quotes from

Hemadri138 a passage of the Devipuraj)a to the effect that even
mlecchas were authorized to perform vratas, if they had faith
in them. In the Santiparva (65. 13-25 ) Indra is made to say to
king Mandhiita that even Yavanas, Rira-tas, Gandharas, Clnas,
Sabaras, Barbaras, Sakas, Andhras and several others should
serve their parents, they could perform rites laid down in the
Veda, they could make offerings to their (deceased parents ),
may dig wells (for the use of an people) and may make gifts to
brahmaj)as. The Bhavisya-puriij)a139 states that the Haihayas,
Talajanghas, Turks, Yavanas and Sakas desiring to reach th&
status of brahmaj)as observed fastlil on the first tithi ( pratipad ).

135. Iifit~'ll ~ff ~(;m:r: I ~ ~ ~~'ll ~ I

~iI~ ~'l:fi an~ if ~ II f.t m. p. 29; <nT. f.t p. 262 quotes ~i'r-rRf.
136. <nT(lfrq'Pl': I ~~-lltg-~'" ~~l 1 '3'Qq'Ri ~: ~ ~
~ I ¥1lal¥1 i!! lq~1i l(ihlq~qU!q)l!rit I ~ 6 iI ~ ~r: wnr
~~: II "". f.t
pp. 262-263,
~
r..-. m. I. p.•29•; 3m~
,~ ~ •
mlW-f
•
;:ffl '" mlQl~U~ 1 ihl(~'4"qc~ Ifr
~.r.:. r'l " ~<o:.
'!fii 1fT fiI~;:~ I >11'1.,1 ~ ffilRi "t1f1IT 'f1"'''lIIql>l : 1~¥1I\!OqlaWlq~'HU!lql1q-
'l.~ I ~~ m '" ~17~ II !f(~ q . by lI'.~. ~. p. 58,
~ (on an) vol. I. p. 1004.

137. n;r~IFr.m.p· 29.

138. iIi~:+&"~("I¥1cqNifi1;:r ~ ~~(~ 1 ~~: ll!!f4~U.~: ~~.

~: I ~: ~~Rtis~¥l...a~..7t~~: 1 ~q ~~r@ "'~ W IInni
folio 4 a and b.

139. ~1f~~ii.'?Ji"" d'441~q;f: ~: 1 ~~ ~ ~: I

~ ~ W1ff ~ ~ ('Nt I ~,~ 16. 6Hi2. .
 Purpose of most vralas 55

Another remarkable matter is that the Mahabharata

provides that brahmaJ;las and k~atriyas should not engage in a
continuous fast for more than three days and that vaisyas and
lIudras can observe a continuous fast for two days only and a.
fast for three days is not laid down for these two classes by those
who know dhal·ma. Devala also has a similar provision. 140
The bulk of the vratas practised in medieval and modern
times are kamya i. e. performed for the purpose of securing some
object in this world or sometimes the next world or both. Most
of the vratas are really secular though under the garb of religion
and, though certain disciplines (!:mch as fast, worship and
celibacy, truthfulness) have to be observed, breathe a frankly
materialistic attitude; they are meant to appeal to the ordinary
human cravings that rule the whole world. The desired objects
are legion and it is impossible to set them out in detail. Some
idea about them may however be conveyed. The Agnipurat;Ja
mentions dharma (puJ;lya), progeny, wealth beauty or good
fortune, virtues, fame, learning, long life, wealth, purity,
enjoyment of pleasures, heaven and mok~a (release from the
round of births and deaths) as the objects to be sought by the
observance of vratas. The Kalpataru 141 on vrata says that
vrata is the highest means of securing the several takas ( such as
Brahmaloka, Sivaloka, VaikuJ;l~ha) and the enjoyment of
pleasures and triumph; that in Krta, Treta, Dvapara and Kali
ages respectively kings Sujaya, Rama, Dhanaiijaya and Vikrama
became lords of the whole world by means of vratas, that
Sankara declared to Hari in various treatises that vrala is the
one (supreme) observance for man, that though many observ-
a.nces are laid down in each yuga they do not come up even to

140. ~ ~ lJ fit~ ~~if I ~lf'ili~ ~~ ~:~ ~~ I

m~ ~fii~d ~;(~: II 3l~,,:a.,q~ 106.11 and 13; ~f: ~;rr'll ~
if ij
ailQtlq.u« ~ I mrot tf~;n <I"lit: ~ ~ II ~~ q. by 'l. ffi. <tt\. p. 67
which remarks: lifil': ~ I If,tif cnTl'~~ ~: I. This verse of ~ is
almost the same as ~ 106. 12 which reads' 0 l:I'~~ I ~'U'!i ;n 1~~r;t ;n
Wlr~~o '. if. II. folio 9 b reads ~I%: (which m eans lftt'5').
141. ~~rF.t~lWlfRl71<~ I ~~~<m'if §i ~
~ II 1:tA t~ I:t'f ~ffl' ~lW1i ~m~ I !firm
f1mt ~~ "f1'9:: ~ JfW "f ~~
~ l13l1lto 175 44 and 57. ~ trt ~"tlfi:a'('1:t;f +l'~1i:.1 ri~'l r i ~t'<l'­
~"f ifit ~ II ••• ~ 'I:tiI"f ~lftvrt if(f~ ~;n I ~f'ilir ~:
~ ~ ~ II ~ lf1l'j'q 'I{~) ~~ 'I:tiI~ ~'i't ~iT I <rUIN ~lf Cfi(lli' ""m~
~ II ~ ~'ll ~ lPl:ti~.r(r: I 'JIiIIrlf'll tfU ~~"t~\qt!q9( II
~ (on n) pp. 1-2, t. on if(!' r. p. 318 (for last verse).
56 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. m
the 16th part of the observance of vratas, that the virtuous
daughter of Vikrama named Vasundhara, residing in the country
of DasarJ;la, attained mok~a through vratas and that gods, sages,
siddhas and others attained highest perfection by means of
upavasas (fasts).
Classifi cation of vratas : As the vratas to be treated of in
this section are almost all self-imposed or voluntary, they may
be divided into three classes. The Padmapura.t;la 142 observes:
• ahhnsa (abstaining from causing injury), truthfulness, not
depriving a person of his property by wrongfully taking it,
brahmacarya ( continence), freedom from crookedness or hypo-
crisy- these are mental vratas that lead to the satisfaction (or
favour) of Had; eating once only in the day, nakta (eating only
once after sunset), fast (for the whole day), not begging (i. e.
subsisting on food that one gets without asking for it)-this is
physical vrata for human beings; study of the Veda, recounting-
(the name of) Vis.t;lu, speaking the truth, freedom from backbiting
these are vratas of speech.
Another classification can be based on the time for which
a vrata may last, i. e. only for a day or a fortnight (pak!?a), a
month, season, ayana (time of the stay of the Sun in the northern
or southern hemisphere), year, or years. A vrata may be for one
year or for more years than one or for a person's lifetime. In
speaking of vratas performed in a certain month, the question
of an intercalary month will have to be considered and will be
dealt with in the next section on Kala etc. Similarly, the matter
of tithis occupies a very large place in works on dharmasastra
and will have to be discussed. The subject of Kala and muhurta
will be dealt with in the next section. Though tithis properly
pertain to that section, they will be dealt with here, since tithis
are the most important topic in relation to the various observ-
ances that are to be performed throughout a year as their basis.
The largest number of vratas are tithi-vratas. It is therefore
that Hemadri begins his treatment of individual vratas with
tithi-vratas (from part I, p. 335 to part II p. 519) and passe~ on

142 ~ ~~ .8i4:l.f"Ifi?MII tmf.t "I .. ftl~cllitidl~ ~"

~~d'QT "'ifi@"lft"ClI~(1'(1 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~n ~'I'1t
tlinr.t
f,twr): ~'( I :A\\4Clillq ~ com ~ n IRI'IV. 84. 42-44,
~ 37. 4-6 (with slight variation) ; ~ (on n ) I. p. 321 quote. the fint
two verses froOl "<I~i'IOI and reads ~ for ~ and '3'QEilfll~~ ...-
"«l. in the 2nd verse. ~ is explained all ~ by the finn. OD 'fT.
III. 31~ and as ~ by ~.
 Classifications of watas

in order to viiravratae (part II pp. 520-592), naksatravratas

(part n pp. 593-706), Yogavratas (part II pp. 707-717 ), Karat;la.-
vratas (part ]J pp. 718-726), Sankrantivratas (part II pp. 727-
743), masavratas (part n pp. 800-857), J;tuvratas (part II pp.
858-861), samvatsaravratas (part II pp. 862-867 ), prakIrt;laka.
(miscellaneous) vratas (part II pp. 867-1002). The K~tyakalpa­
taru (on vrata) on the other hand begins with varavratas
(pp. 8-34), then deals with 'tithivratas (pp. 35-398), nak$atra-
vratas (pp. 399-417), masavratas (pp.418-430), sankrantivratas
(pp. 431-434), samvatsaravratas (pp. 434-451) and praklrI).a-
vratas (pp. 452-459). Most of the works on nata 142a after
dealing with some general matters begin their treatment of
vratas with tithivratas. The Samayapradlpa has a different
mode of treatment, viz. that it begins with GaI).esavratas (i. e.
vratas in which Ganesa is the deity), then with vratas in which
the Sun is the deity~ then Sivavratas, Vi$I).uvratas and so on.
Some vratas are performed not only on a certain tithi, but also
require the existence of a certain month or weekday or nak$atra
or all of these. Another classification may be based on the
persons competent to perform vratas; most vratas are meant for
all men and women; some like Haritalikii and Vatasavitrl
are meant for women alone, some are to be performed by
men alone; while there are others to be performed only by kings
or k$atriyas or by vaisyas.
There is an immense literature on vratas. There is no
topic of Dharmasastra except probably that of tIrthayatra and of
sraddha on which the Pural,las wax so eloquent as on vrata.
Some of the PuraI).as contain thousands of verses on vrata. For
example, the Briihmaparva of the BhavisyapuraI).a (in chapters
16-216) contains over 7500 verses and the Uttarakhal,l~a of the
same PuraI).a over five thousand verses on vratas; the Matsya-
puraI).a (chapters 54-92 and 95-101) has about 1230 verses on
vrata (most of which occur in the PadmapUrill,la V chap. 20 ff ),
the Varahapural,la (chap. 39-65) spends about 700 verses and the
Vi$I).uilharmottara about 1600 verses on vratas. On a modest
calculation the PuraI).as contain about twenty-five thousand
verses at least on vratas. It is difficult to draw a strict line
between vratas and utsavas; what are called utsava.s have a.lso
an element of religious rites and conversely ma.ny vratas have
some element of being a festival In this work I have included

142 a. 3N ~.n(1('Ii~ ~ SITlm: ~ ~ fih5r.rt

~ I ~ ~~~~(i;quli'_' lfit(fqg'ffifff'ff ~ I If. f1fi. ~. p. 2;
B.D. 8
58 HistanJ of Dharmasastra l Sec. I, Cb. ill
several observanoes which some people may regard as purely
utsavas and not vratas at all.
The topic of vratas is rather inextricably mixed up with
discussions on Kala and tithi. The nibandhas ( commentaries and
digests) on vratas are numerous. In this section I shall mention
works that deal with vratas alone or with vratas in relation to
tithis, but not works on kala in general and muhiirta. This is
rather an arbitrary arrangement and it is possible that there
would be some repetition and overlapping. A verse in the
Kii.laviveka of Jlmiitavahana names seven predecessors that
had expounded kala in relation to religious rites, viz. Jitendriya,
Sankhadhara, Andhuka, Sambhrama, Harivamsa and Yogloka.
Some of these writers must have been earlier than the first half
of the 11th century A. D. as in the Malamasatattva Raghu.
nandana states that AndhukabhaHa mentions in his work how
in salce 955 (1033-34 A. D.) there was on Amavasya Tula·
sankranti and the V~s cikasankranti on the pratipad and again
on Amavasya Dhanus-sa nkranti. This establishes that Andhiika-
bhaHa wrote his works about 1035 A. D. But the works of all
those seven writers on kala have not yet been discovered. Two
other works ascribed to king Bhoja of Dhara 143 dealt among
other matters with kala and vratas (in the 2nd quarter of the
11th century). One of them, the Rajamarta~~a, is available in
Mas and, besides expounding the astrological significance of
tithis, week days, nak~atras, Yogas, deals (in verses 1136-1292
and 1327-1405) with several vratas and the proper times for them
viz. EkadasI, Saptamyarkavrata, Agastyarghyadana, Sravat_la.
dvadasJ, Rohh,1ya~~amI, HaritalI-caturthI, Durgotsava, Kauja.
gara, Pretacaturdasl, Sukharatri, Bhratr-dvitlya, Dlpadana,
Kartikasnana, Mii.ghasnana, MaghasaptamJ, Bhi$mii$~amI,
PusyadvadasJ, Asoka$~amI, CaitravalJ, Savitrlvrata, Pa$a~aca·
turthJ, AraJ;lya$a$~hI, Dasabara, Sankranti. The RajamartaJ;l9.a
laas not so far as I know yet been published, though hundreds of
verses ·therefrom are quoted in the medieval digests. It is at
present the earliest extant work of a nibandha form treating of
vratas. Another work dealing with vratas and ascribed to Bhoja
is the one cited as Bhiipala-samuccaya or Bhiipala-k~tya..
samuccaya, or Krtyasamuccaya on vratas, danas &c. Thiil
143. Vide my paper on' King Bhoja and his worke on Dharmacastra
and Astrology' in the Journal of Oriental Research, Madras. vol. XXIII
pp. 94-127, where I deal with the Riijamarta'1-Qa 011 pp. 108-118 and with
Bbiipalakrtya.sall)uccaya on pp. 124-126.
 Wat'ks on V1·dta reiied on 59
last work has not yet been unearthed and is found quoted in
such medieval digests as the K~tyaratnakara.
Apart from the Vedic Literature, sutras, epics, PuraI;las and
Rajamarta1?~a, I mainly rely in this section on vratas on the
following works (those that I consulted in ms. form being
expressly indicated and the works being arranged in chrono-
logical order as far as possible): Krtyakalpataru (portion on
vratas) of Lak!?midhara; Kalaviveka of JImutavahana;
Hemadri's CaturvargacintamaJ;li (on vrata); Samayapradipa of
Srldatta (ms.); K~tyaratnakara of CaJ;l~esvara; Kaladarsa of
Adityasuri (ms.), KalanirJ;laya or Kala-madhava and Kala-
nirnayakarika; Tithiviveka, Vratakalaviveka and Durgotsava-
viv~ka of SulapaJ;li; N irJ;layam~ta of Alla~anatha; Varsakriya-
kaumudi of Govindananda; Kalasara of Gadadhara; the Tithi-
tattva, Ekadasitattva, J anmas ~amltattva, Durgarcanapaddhati,
Krtyatattva and Vratatattva of Raghunandana, Vrataprakasa
(part of Viramitrodaya) of Mitramisra (ms. from Anupa Sanskrit
Library) and Samayaprakiisa (part of Vlramitrodaya); Samaya-
mayukha or Kalamayukha of N illakaJ;l~ha; Vratarka of
Sankarabha~~a (ms.); Tithyarka of Divakara; DasanirJ;laya 144 of
Harita Venka~aniitha; Vratodyapana-kaumudI of Sankara-
bha~~a Ghare; Vrataraja of Visvanatha; Puru!?arthacintamaJ;li of
Vi!? J;lubha~~a; Ahalya-kamadhenu (ms. in Scindia Oriental Insti-
tute, 1767-1771 A. D. ); Dharmasindhu of Kaslnatha. Of these the
most important for vratas are Krtyakalpataru (from whioh even
Hemadri, and Krtyaratnakara borrow many passages), Hemadri
on vrata, KalanirJ;laya of Madhava, Krtyaratnakara, VarE!akriya-
kaumudI, the works of Raghunandana and the NirJ;laya-sindhu.
Works like Vratarka and Vrataraja, though exhaustive, borrow
ve7'batim long passages from Hemadri and others. The treatment
of vratas in several of the above-mentioned works is often
uneven; for example, the Var!?akriyakaumudI disposes of the
observances of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd tithis in two pages (28-30),
while it devotes twenty-two pages to EkadailI (pp. 42-64).
It must be emphasized here that this section is concerned
with the vratas described or mentioned in works on Dharmasastra.
Even so the number of vratas is extremely large. No attempt
ls made here to include all 'Vrata~ observed by women or by
144. This was edited in 1902 sam'f)at in Grantha characters at Mysore.
The ten ~8 are on ~tI(iOI"'4.if(, ",~m~, ~, sm:, ~,
RlcltJl!fI'41, ~11mfi, ~~1:f, ~, Q'~.
 ·, . I
History of Dharmaslistra t Sec. i, Ch. ill
primitive tribes or by the illiterate people all over India or con-
tained in works written in the several regional languages such
as Bengali, Hindi or Marathi. The inclusion of such observ-
ances would entail an enormous amount of labour, would expand
the work to huge proportions and would be beyond the proper scope
of the History of Dharmasastra. Further, to tabulate all the vratas
and festivals of all common people and to study the folk life of
villagers, forest-dwellers and mountain inhabitants in the States
of the continent of India would be beyond the capacity of a
single worker and would require the co-operative effort of a large
team of workers spread over years. When done, that work would
be a monumental one on the social anthropology of India. In
this connection I may mention Prof. B. K. Sarkar's work 'Folk
element in Hindu culture' and the paper on 'a study of vrata
rites in Bengal' contributed by Mr. S. R. Das l45 to 'Man in India •
(1952) vol. 32, pp. 207-245. Some writers have already published
works dealing with the observances of common people such as
Mrs. Stevenson's' Rites of the twice-born', Underhill's' Hindu
religious year', B. A. Gupte's 'Hindu holidays and ceremonials',
R. C. Mukerj's 'Ancient Indian fasts and feasts', Mr. Rigvedi's
Marathi work on 'History of Aryan festivals' (ed. of 1924). In
these books (except in the last and rarely in Underhill's) texts
from Dharmasastra are generally conspicuous by their absence.
Times for beginning Vratas: Apart from the vratas that
have to be performed on certain fixed tithis or times, elaborate
provisions are made that vratas in general and several other
religious rites are to be begun only at certain auspicious times
or in certain astrological conditions. A few of these are set out

145. It should not, however, be supposed that I agree with all the
propositions In the above two; for example, the meaning wbich Mr. S. R.
Das assigns to Lak~m i in ~g. X. 71. 2 (viz. beauty) is not acceptable to
me. I hold that • Lak~mi ' there also is the opposite of alak~mi as the word
• bbadra' applied to Lak~mi suggests and as in ~g. X. 155. 1 the idea of
alak~mj is clearly conveyed. I do not subscribe to the view that the idea of a
malignant spirit waB unknown to the poets of ~gveda times and that they
had to go to the aboriginal people for that idea. Note the verses 3nfl ~:
~~~ ~~ ~II "",.X. 71. 2; ~~ ~ fiIft
'f'IU ~ I ~p.,a~<I ~ ... ,it<lIJlm" lfi'. X. 155 1. The ~
"
(VI. 30) explains th is verse at length and states that Bhiradvija destroyed
Alak~mi and the Brhad.devati (VIII. 60) says that ~g. X. 71 removu
A1ak~mi.
 Proper times jor walas

here by way of sample. Gargya 146 says' when Jupiter and Venus
have set (i. e. are not observable owing to their being near
the Sun in the sky) or when they are in the stage of being
called Mla and vrddha and in an intercalary month one should
not begin a vrata nor perform its udyapana (the rite of closing
a vrata).' The childhood of Jupiter and Venus is a certain period
after they set and senility (v rddhalva or val'dhaka) is a certain
period preceding their setting. There is no unanimity on tbe
length of these periods and the periods differ in different countries
and also depend on whether there is a season of distress or
difficulty, but Varahamihira 147 states the longest provided should
be accepted. The RajamartaI;l9.a has several verses on this, one
of which may be set out here: Venus 148 is Mla for ten days
when it rises in the west, but is bula for three days after rising
in the east; Venus is v~ddha for one pak$a (15 days) when it
rises in the east, but is vrddha for five days before it seta in the
west. Gargya observes :149 Venus and Jupiter are (beld to be
bala) in the Vindhyas whether in the east or west for ten days,
but for seven days in the country of Avanti (of which Ujjayinl
was capital); in the country of Vanga (Bengal) and among
HUI,las (they are bala) respectively for six and five days. It is
further provided in the 150 DevlpuriiI,la that one should not under-
take any religious act when Jupiter or Venus is in the sign of the
Lion. Similarly, Lalla 151 remarks that all (religious) actions are

146. ~ ':q ~ ~ 1f~ R ~~ I ;-ro'14<lt!4,Vtt ~ ~ ~ II

~ q. by ~F.t (;;rn) vol. I . p. 2·15. f.t. m. p. 23 (~<f{~ tfT71f:),
~ p.2; compare '~~ ~N ~ ~ a'fll ~ (fQf ~ ~ rt
,,~ ':q II ifCf 1f'(;f ~ ':q iimt ~~<1"1:{ I ••• ~'fI ~lf ~ ~ ~ ~ II
q. by~ p. 135; mvrmRf~~ ~~ ~1 ~f.mT{\~
~ ~ II JfiPHl:&, •., q. by,. (on ire ) vol. I. p. 246. f,t m.
p. 16.

147. ~~: <fi'Im It lf~ emfifis'i'ff ':q I v~: ~ ~.

~ n ~~ q. by ~. (;;rn vol. I. p. 246), fit ~. p. 16.
148. 1IITM1 ~~: ~or 1{Ifor lfmT ~ ':q I ~ t.!for ~ ~
IfllinFf: ifill ~ §Jlfi: n (IJt¥lnt'liil (verse 1071. folio 67 b). This is ascribed
to 'Iiln! in ~ pp. 272-273 verse 1230.
149. ~~:~':q~':q~~-1t~~~1~~~
~ .. ifill ~ ':q ~ ~ qlTff II IfJ11i q. by t.
(;;rn 1. p. 24 6). f.r. 'At. p. 16
( as occurring in ~).

150. ~ ':q t¢ ~ ~vq ~, ~~~ quoted by m

folio 2 b.
151. uW.m~~:, ~:~~:~.Inim'
q. by~. 'f.
 History 0/ DharmaSastra t Sec. 1, Ch. II!
condemned when done in what is called Gurvaditya (that is when
the sun is in the house of Jupiter viz. sign of Pisces and when
Jupiter is in the house of the Sun, viz. Lion). The Vrataraja
remarks that pne is to avoid Jupiter in the Lion sign for religi-
ous acts only to the north of the Narmada and elsewhere only in
Simhamsa (i. e. the first quarter of the naksatra Piirva-phalguni).
The Ratnamala152 provides that Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday are ausp icious (confer success) in all (religious) acts;
but on Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday only such actions succeed
as are expressly prescribed for performance on those days.
Bhujabala remarks that Tuesday is unfavourable for all
auspicious acts but that it is commended for agriculture, study
(of the Samaveda) and for battles. 153
The philosophical discussions on Time and on its division
into year, ayana (the Sun's apparent motion in the two regions
of the celestial sphere), r lus (seasons), masa (month), pak$a
(half month,) week, days &c. will be taken up in the next section.
But the exact determination of the question as to the day on
which a tithivrata is to be performed when the tithi spreads over
two days occupies a very large space in works on dharmasastra.
The word tithi by itself does not occur in the B,gveda and
the other Vedic Sarhhitas. But the idea must have been there
even in the B,gveda. Amavasya is explained in later works as
being of two kinds, viz. SinivalI (day on which amavasyii is
mixed with the 14th tithi) and Kuhii (when amavasyii is mixed
with the first tithi of the next fortnight). Similarly, Paurl.1a-
masI is of two kinds, Anumati (mixed with the 14th tithi) and
Raka (mixed with the Pratipad of the next pak$a). In the
B,gveda Sinlvall is 154 raised to the position of a divinity, is
described as the sister of the gods, offerings are made to her and
she is implored to bestow progeny on the worshippers. The
Br. Up. VI. 4. 21 implores SinlviilI and the Asvins to implant an

152. ~r~~~"MH'<I: ~ ~ ~:, ~~ ...

~~ ~ ffll,"IfIK" ~~ III. 15 quoted by fit~. p. 23, ~ p. 4;
~ (p. 10) quotes from ~~ a similar verse, ~~J~ ~: m
~r: I ~~<mffiJ m<n': ~ ~ 11
153. ®",'f4.,,,,r..1!! ~ ~<fS1'il'?",tfl'Vt I ~qq"!i:is ~ ¥@I"Il!f":"
~p.209.

154. ~;O"I@ i~
~
~ 44i"I"'I~ ~ I ~ ~ 'If.3If ~ ~~~

;e': II 1Il6-rtJ': ~: W{l{r ...~ I m~ t~: ~~ ~~,,~. II. 32.

6-7: 3fri VII. 46. 1-2. The first is allo ~. ~. 34. 10.
 Sinivali, Kuhu, Raka, Anumali 63

embryo in the wife. Raka also 155 is similarly treated in the

Rgveda (II. 32. 4-5=Atharva VII. 48. 1-2). ~g. X. 59. 6 and
X. 167. 3 treat Anumati as a deity, prayers are offered to her
to enable the worshippers to see the Sun going up and to bestow
happiness and she is spoken of in the same breath with Soma,
Varu lfa and Brhaspati. The Vaj. S. prays 156 'May Anumati
approve to-day of our sacrifice'. It should be noted that the
Nirukta (XI. 29) holds 157 a discussion on Anumati and Raka, viz.
the Nairuktas (etymologistd) say that Anumati and Raka are
goddesses (wives of gods), while the Yajfiikas hold that they
are two kinds of PaurlfamasI; it is known (in Sruti) that the first
Paurlfamasl is Anumati and the later is Raka. Similarly, the
Nirukta holds a discussion on Sinlvalr and RuhU (XI. 31). The
Atharvaveda (VI. 11. 3) mentions Prajapati, Anumati and
Sinivall together. The word Ruhu occurs in the Atharvaveda
and is applied to a deity that is invoked to come to the sacrifice
and to bestow on the worshipper wealth and a heroic son. In
the Tai. S. I. 8. 8. 1 and Sat. Br. IX. 5. 1. 38 mention is made of
these four, viz. of .Anumati, Raka, SinlvaH and Kuhu, a~
recipients of caru (oblation of boiled rice). How these names
were coined in the distant past is an insoluble riddle. Anumati
can be derived from root man, but why the tithi of the Full Moon
mixed with the 14th tithi was so called is more than anyone
can say. Kuhu may be plausibly derived from lcuha 'where' (as
in B,g. I. 24. 10, X. 40. 2) as the day when the moon is invisible
and when primitive people asked in wonder the question 'where
does the moon go '. But Raka and SinlvalI defy attempts at
any plausible etymology. Eminent philologists, instead of

155. ~ ~ {J~ Ifit NOTm ;f: {Jlt1TT ~ m<IT I ~~: ~~­

~ lt~ ~ l!laqt<4Wf~~1I SR. II. 32.4 q. by ~ XI. 31; ~ ~;ff
~ i441"lqftt1I~~<4~ ~~ ",,"'lTf;fTTIl'1 ftl ;it ~ fif~ f.f ~ ~ m
l!1<1i~r<4Wft:<41l11 Si~ VII. 47. 1. The lirst half occurs in ~vnfti."<rr
IV . 12. 6 (reads ~ti' and ~) and the ~ XI. 33 quotes the whole of
the~verse .

. 156. ~ ;its~~ ~'itll t1~ I ~. ~. 34. 9; ~~ '" ~

~ '" ~N'" (t~;f) «1:t: 'If VT Sif1{/iii (tfR~: , !.fitO~,\'t 13. 16, quoted and
explained by the ~ (XI. 30 ).

157 ~: ~r ""' ~ "ftI' ~'ffi'r: i7t~t1I~ih "ftI' ~: I 1fT

~ ~ ftl ~:, 1fT ~ ftl ~Ail' 'lf1W ~lIlt 1 ~: ~ I
~ XI. 29 . It may be noted that the words 1Jf ~i ... ~ occur in the
a~~ IV. 3 • .5 and in the ~. Iff. 32. !I which latter is quoted ill
note 16.5.
64 History of Dha1'masastra [ Sec, I, Ch. m
admitting ignorance, are not wanting, who following the tradi.
tions of the very ancient etymologist Yaska (who says in
Nirnkta II,l 'na tveva na ni·rbruya.t), suggest that the word
Sinlvall is made up by combining the Babylonian-Akkadian
word ' sin' (meaning moon) with Dravidian 'vel' (white
light) 158, 'Amavasya ' (New Moon) is addressed as a deity by
itself in Atharva 159 VII. 79 (84) 1-4, the first of which calls upon
Amavasya to come to the sacrifice and bestow wealth and a
valiant son and the second of which hints at the derivation of
the word from 'ama ' (meaning 'together' or 'home') and ' vas'
(to dwell), The Sat, Br.160 remarks "this king Soma i, e. the
moon is the food of the gods; when he (the moon) is not seen on
this night either in the east or in the west, he comes to this
world (i. e, the earth) and enters the waters and the herbs here;
he is the wealth of the gods and their food; when he dwells on
this night together (with waters and herbs) it (that night) there-
fore is called 'Amavasya', The Ait. Br. (40. 5) states that on
amavasya the moon enters the sun. The Ap. Dh, S. also echoes
this idea that on the Amavasya night the Sun and the Moon
dwell together (are near each other). So amavasya is so called
either because the moon was supposed to dwell together with
waters and herbs on the earth that night or because the Moon
dwells in the Sun on that night. Darsa has the same sense as
amavasya and means 'the day on which the moon is seen by
the sun alone (and by no one else)'. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 1009
and note 2274. Names are sometimes given by contraries e. g. a
fool is called a wise man or a bra;ve person may be called 'timid '.
Amavasya. may have been called darsa because the moon is not

158, Vide 'Bharatakaumudi' (in honour of Prof. R . K. Mukerji) part

I. p. 208 for tbis etymology put forward by Dr. S. K. Cbatterji. Such
etymologies are based on certain assumptions for which there is
absolutely no evidence whatever, such as the wo rd • Vel' being used by the
Dravidians thousands of years ago, that the vedic Indians were aware of
both words 'Sin' (moon) and • Vel' used by different peoples and could
weld them together thousands of years ago and had no word of their ow'n
to denote what is meant by SinivaJi,
159. Slll"",~q'II'IHq,~ tfI;rr <ml~ ~;nflit, if'R ~~ ~ ~'1fT~­
::;'lmT: "01.'' ' 3-'' Wi" mr.i VII. 79 (84). 2.
~ ~ ...);iT mrr ~~~ ~: ... ~*'t ~ ;y ~1l:;Y 1f'Jrl1l:
160.
m tm(;t JtCfit1'.''4JRI ... ~~~ ~ ... l ~ ~ 'ir«ri ~ ~
"~~Q't1i ~ t1~iqt1t"H(jt <mf' ~ 1. 6. 4. 5. Vide also VI. 2, 2. 16.
~ t1it1t1tq'~(j1 ~'(j(f: ~':w<4'Ptl ~ 1«fI ~ ~" ~ m
quoted by K. ~ . p . 311.
 Tithis in Vedic Literature 65

seen that day (but would be visible the next day). Another tith'i
that is famous in the Vedic Literature is Astaka 161 (8th tithi after
the full moon in any month, but particularly in Magha) on which
offerings were made to the pit~s (departed ancestors). Even in
very remote times people could have easily marked the four main
phases of the moon, viz. Full Moon, half moon (8th day there-
after when half of the moon's orb shines), Moon's total absence
and 8th day thereafter; and after noting these phases it must
not have been very difficult to make close calculations about the
periods intervening between the Full moon and the half moon,
the New moon and half moon. As a matter of fact the Tai. Br.162
expressly says that the moon is worri away on the 15th and
becomes full on the 15th i. e. before the Tai. Br. it was well-
known that there were 30 lunar days (tithis) in a lunar month.
It is stated in the Sat. Br.163 'the joints of Prajiipati, while he
was engaged in creating beings, became loose (or collapsed); the
sariwatsara is indeed Prajiipati and the joints of it (of
sariwatsara) are the two junctions of day and night, Paur'Qamiisl,
Amiivasya and the beginnings (first days) of the seasons t. ' The
words Paur9amiisI and Amiivasya occnr very frequently 'i'ti1;he
Atharvaveda, the Tai. S. and other Vedic textB; ;~h6\lgb the 'two
words do not occur in the Egveda~ The Atharvaveda says 164 that
Paurl?amiisI was the first among days and nights and was worthy
of sacrifice. The Ait. Br. 165 has an interesting passage: "they

161. For A ~!aka. vide H. of Dh., vol. IV pp. 353-357.

162. ~m ~ q>&q1iT: I t!1If ~ q~~~ I qilrcf:l"U+lI\itffl t it. 1fT.
1. 5. 10. 5.
163. ~ ~ 'If:ifl: ~~tf ll'lfifUr ~~: t ~ ~ ~'fflR I!'lll"'lqta~~~­
lffTif qq~)~lWl'r: ~r q.)uf..-Rfr ~fl'!f1fRtfr ~Q~rf.t t ~Q'U 1. 6.3,35.
164. ~'ll~' ~~RffQ~t usflurfl'!m~~ t 3{~ Vll. 80 . 4.
165 . tr.frr~..-mlf~cmrm if I'l' qy ~ ~'IT ~o@cy ~­
~ i\ ~ ~;f!E~rn t i_<fl ~..-Rfll!;~fclrn :t~fi',,~ lfi""~ 10fT 1J.!ft
~~r ~t'11il'~m:r ~I ~Ilfir t ~r i"rnf1f~ ~, m~"'~ ~)m:r ~r ~: t ~t
q~{it~~~r.;-rn ~r fit{il: t it. 1fT. 32. 9. It may be remembered that
Siiyal)-a notes that this section (khal)-qa) and the next are not recited by some
and are not therefore explained by them. The last sentence probably means
that tbat is the tithi ( on which a specific religious act is to be performed)
with reference to which the sun sets or with reference to which it rises
i. e. these words embody in a somewhat obscure form . the same idea to
which Devala gives expression in the following two verses: 1ft fitftl ~llfC1l
~ lIlB ~: t ~, rni1l: ~ ~ ~"r.r.wr:.;mr'itll It 1ft taN ~ ~ti
~ ~: t ~r ffl~: ~r ~ ;n;m;qq.,,,,itu It quoted by am:~ p. 214.
tContinu,a on M~t pag,~
B.D. 9
66 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. ill

(wise men) say that when a sacrificer dwells near his saorificial
fire, that is due to his thought that the gods will partake of his
offerings, since they do not eat the offering of a sacrificer who
does not abide by certain observances '. The opinion of the sage
PaiJlgi is that the saorificer should stay near his sacrificial fires
(or fast) on the previous PaurJ;lamasl (i. e. PaurJ;lamasi mixed
with 14th), while the opinion of Kaul?Itaki is that he should do
so on the later one (i. e. the Paur:t:lamasI mixed with pratipad).
The previous Paur:t;lamasl is called Anumati, the later one is
called Raka, while the previous Amavasya is called Sinlvall and
the later one is called Kuhu. That is the tithi (on which a religi-
ous rite should be performed), it is the one, being associated with
which the sun sets and the sun rises." This passage shows that
differences of opinion had arisen long before the time of the Ait.
Br. as to on what day a particular rite associated with a certain
fixed tithi was to be performed when the tithi was spread over
two days. There are references in Tai. S. and the Brahma:t;la
literature which show that in those anoient days the duration
of tithis and therefore the actual position of the moon could not
sometimes be very accurately determined beforehand. A man
about to perform an il?~i on New Moon (darie~M does certain
acts that are done on the day previous to amavasya such as using
the sour curds from last night's milking for coagulating the sacri-
ficial food (i. e. milk), separating the calves from the cows in
the afternoon with a pa!aia twig; and taking some husked rice,
he thinks, owing to cloudy weather or through miscalculation,
that the moon would not be seen.. in the sky the next morning,
does not actually set apart a few handfuls of husked rice
(meant as nirvapa for the gods) or sets them apart, then the next
day the moon is seen in the sky (i. e. the next day is really 14th
tithi instead of amavasya:). It is then prescribed that he has to
perform an expiatory rite called Abhyuditel?~i. Vide Tai. S.
II. 5. 5. 1-2 and Sat. Br. XI. 1. 4. 1-2 quoted 166 below.
( Continued f,.om last page)
In 11'. f$. ;fi\. p. 15 and if. 'fiT. fit p. 233 the ~econd half of both verses is the
same viz. m ntfil: ... ~"1"41.,a"lf4s. The~. II. p . 351 reverses the
order and reads 1ft fim'.T ... ~ ~ ~ 1m .. · ~., .... qlf.ts and 1rt
fttftl ... ~ "l"Ifi\' ~: I ... ~ ~"<I"ifi.tti II. As observed by 11'. F.ti. ~.
Devala means that in ~, ~ and n the tithi at sunrise is to be preferred.
166. ~ ~ ¥\~I'.Iiii.i(ill ~ !tin' ~ ~ &c. , ~.~.
11.5.5.1-2; ~ d~ ~~'"~~ ~
11'
""'¥S~ ~~;f tm~ ~ ~ ~ 1I1t .. ~
tvfvint
 tV'ord titki in ancient Literature 67
The word tithi does not occur in the Sarilhitiis, but it occurs
in the Ait. Br. cited above and in the g~hya and dharma
su tras.
The Gobhilag~hyasutra 167 when prescribing a day for the
setting up of sacred fires mentions the coincidence of an auspici-
ous tithi and nak~atra and in another place refers to the worship
of the lord of the tithi and of the naksatra and of the tithi itself.
The Kau!:,lltaki-g!'hya (1. 25) speaks of offerings to the tithi on
which a child was born and prescribes that the dedication of
ponds, wells and tanks was to be made in the bright half of a
month a.nd on an auspicious tithi (V. 2).
The N irukta 168 while deriving the word atit hi applied to
Agni in Eg. V. 4. 5 gives two explanations, one of which is • one
who approaches the houses of others on special fithis'. PaI}ini
furnishes no sLitra relating to the word tit hi, but it is possible to
argue that the affix titha which he mentions in explaining words
like • bahutitha '169 was a relic of the word tithi. Patanjali
expressly mentioned PaurI}amasI tithi. Vide India Antiqua " I

the volume of studies presented to Dr. J. Ph. Vogel pp. 109-112

for Prof. Edgerton's paper on affix I titha '. From the above
discussion it would be clear that the ideas and divergences of
views about the proper tithis for certain religious acts existed in
the Vedic times (at least before Ait. Br. ) three thousand years

( Continued j,.om last page)

~\W<i "C§~Pcf l:I~~'i8~ !f~r.r. ~~~~a ,,~ !fOl~~Uf,l1
~: SIlfrn>fIiftm"lt ~"iif~~!f <mu ...,,:;ri't ~ ~"'rcJrm ~r;i ~ tm~iiflfT­
~'q) "Ii ~h( &c. I ~'q iIIl. XI.
1. 4. 1-2. These passages form the
subject of i~~~l~ VI. 5. 12-15. Vide my notes to OlI'q~ pp. 277-
279. The f;%lflq in the New Moon and F ull Moon rites is of four mustis
(handfuls) of rice or yavas. •.

167. a'1.1T fii~~.,.q4~"'Uq I tTr~ I. 1. 13; 3l'U ~rRt sr.of~ ~

~ ~!flTflI'r ,~ I ~""''iin!r fitlii ~ ':;f • I tTrN~ II . S. 12 and 20.
~

HiS. 3l'RtI'a: ~~: ~ ~ I ~m fc«~~ ~~ '{m ~ II ~,.,.

IV. 5. Here 3l' in 3l'f;fr'q is supposed to stand for the root 3l'<t, (or '{ 1).
Compare ~. Ill. 112 about affiI'f,}. The word im'il is derived {rom • tan' to
spread by many medieval writers. ~ ~ ijE"i'd('¥l''d~: ~: I
~'4ii'(ij'~i"lil{iil q. by ~ p. 9S, 1. ~. p. 32. The ~ says: ~
tifflt.<q{(1 ~ IIff'l'¥lTOlt ~ ~i'Jti.f\(ll.it"lI1f: ~: ~ ntfq:, q'r lfUl'Wi"ll'?qr
~ "Rt fitfit: I (p. 98 ).

169. "fitI'I"M~ fity~ , q-y. V. 2. 52. .

 .. . .
68 History of Dharmalastra [ Sec. It Ch. m

ago and that tbe word fifhi itself must be held to have been in
use about 800 B. C., if not earlier still.170

Tithi is defined as the time or period required by the moon to

gain twelve degrees on the sun. As the Siiryasiddhanta states
• tithi is the lunar day in which the moon leaving the sun (at the
last moment of Amavasya), traverses twelve degrees (bhagas)
towards the east every day.'171 The moon's motion is irregular
and therefore the moon traverses twelve degrees sometimes in
60 gha~ikas, sometimes in more (up to about 65) and sometimes
in less gha~ikii.s up to about 54. The result is that one unit day
may be co-terminous with one tithi, but often a unit day has
two tithis i. e. in the morning it may be the 6th tithi, but in the
afternoon, evening and night it may be the 7th. It is possible
that in a single civil day (from sunrise to sunrise) there may be
three tithis e. g. on Monday morning there may be only two
gha~ikas left of the 6th tithi, then the 7th tithi may be only 56
gha~ikas in duration and then the 8th may follow for the last
two gha~ikas of that unit day. Conversely, a single tithi may
touch three days. For example, the last two gha~ikas of Monday
may be the first two gha~ikas of the 6th tithi, then the 60
ghatikas of Tuesday may be occupied by the 6th tithi and two
more ·gha~ikas (the last) of the 6th tithi may spread on to
Wednesday morning. A unit day which spreads over .three
tithis is declared by the Rajamartan4.a to be very holy 172 (or
auspicious ); while on the other hand a tithi touching three days
is said to be inauspicious for marriage, for marching on an
invasion, for an auspicious religi{ms act or an act meant to

170. it4>1I~140~' ~ 2 (on QT. IV. 2.35) on which , ~ says

, ~"'~140~ ~1l: , ~ ~s~ m ~ ffl'~: ". It appears from
tbis that botb ~ and t«t~ are speaking of i~ months.

171 . sr.nh'lf.f:~:ri1lm~: miT' ~~ ~~

~" '!{lf~'liil"'" q . by~. f,fi. ~1. p. 2. fflimR~ p. 2; while ~ (p. 100)
quotes RI'liiI;<1milln'iit as 31<tif· .. mfi I ~~ ~~: II~­
.q t'NT mt~ ~fmf(~ I <H'i4c<l,ralltie~ ~~ 'qf' ~: ~
~, fflNim'~" ~ I. 72. 11-12 q. by ~ p. 101, ~
p. 2', i. ~. p. 32.

172. ~:, q~~'~lq" ~~<ri~1l(JT' ~~: ~~­

~ ~ " f<t. ~. p. 119; iJ'4ft~i1qq~~ ~~: ~:, ~~ ~
~~ ~ ~1'Il'f: II {r;;mmu. folio 81 a. verse 1431 q. by ~. p. 214:
a:A'OT'Ii(1l3fmr ~I'l. iI'~~r ~cti~ ~",I(' ~ 'JIf1l~~r smf~ m ~: lim " t.
on ~ p. 261 (quoting ~). . .
 ~Athi-vrddhi and tithi-k~aya explained 69

advance prosperity. t73 If a. tithi begins immediately before

sunrise or its beginning coincides with sunrise and ends after
the following sunrise the name of the tithi (as pratipad, dvitiya
or so on as the case may be) is coupled with both divas as (civil
days) involved, so that two tithis of the same denomina.tion
appear one after another. This is called vrddhi of the particular
tithi If a tithi begins sometime after sunrise on one morning
and ends before sunrise on the following day it cannot be
coupled with any day and is therefore deleted or omitted in the
pancanga (almanac) and there is tithi-kWlya. As a tithi is
normally shorter than the civil day k~aya occurs more frequently
than vrddhi.
From the words of the Gobhilag~hya ' quoted above it follows
that long before the days of that work the several tithis were
deemed to have certain deities as their lords (or presiding
deities). Among the earliest extant enumerations about
tithipatis (lords of tithis) is that in the Bfhatsarhhita of Varaha-
mihira (chap. 98. 1-2) which sets them 174 out as follows (the
t,ithis and their lords being mentioned in order) :-lst Brahma,
~ nd Brahma, 3rd Hari, 4th Yama, 5th the moon, 6th Rartikeya,
7th Indra, 8th VasuE!, 9th Nagas, 10th Dharma, 11th Siva, 12th
Savitf, 13th Madana, 14th Rali, 15th Visvedevas and of
Ama:vasya the pitrs. He further says that one should do on those
tithis the acts that are appropriate to the lords of those tithis. It
appears that other writers differed somewhat from Varahamihira,
e. g. the Ratnamala sets 175 out the lords of tithis according to
the PuraJ;las as follows :-lst Agni, 2nd Brahma, 3rd Girija.,. 4th
GaJ;lesa, 5th Naga, 6th Visa.kba (Skanda), 7th the Sun, 8th Siva,
9th Durga:, 10th Yama, 11th Vi!?I,lu,12th Hari, 13th Madana,
14th Siva, 15th the Moon. The SkandapuraJ;la (1. 1. 33. 78-82)

173. fit~~'I'f~reCfilf ~~ 'if lnr-q fif~~' ~ q . by

~.p. 212 . '.
] 74. Eti"(i)Gliih:nqIlRq"lIilllll"'~"'!IIII:t>"t\~:' ~ ~q.
• fit~:" ~~S¥1'lql~qlql (1~lflihll'll ~: iii;tn: ~f:" ~. 98. 1-.2
(99. 1-.2 in Kern'. ed.).
175. ~1Ir~ trit~: q;afr ~r f.t~:, ~ ~~­
~q~: IITIIlI ..fit ~: II . ~ II. q. by f;lu\ql'ld p . 30; ~. (on ilt'I)
II. p. 235 quotes from ~ 1. ,83. 22-24 '3fI'it-q~~-~'<t'
~: I ~-,,"-~'Il ~-!.fi1lI.~:" fm:~ ~ ~N­
~: '.; ,. (-on l6T(i)') p. 646 q Dotes from ~ the lords of tiWits somewhat
dUferentIy as Q'iRf, efr, ~, rrOm,;mr, ~, ~, Jlfi, ¥1'l<R:, ~,1Iffit,
~, ~, ~, ~ respectively of 1st to 15th, ~ being ~.
70 History 0/ DharmaAllstra tSec. I, Ch. ill
states what tithis are specially dear to what gods such as 8th
and 14th to Siva, 4th to GaI.lesa, 9th to CaJ;l~ika. The Garu~a
(1. 137. 16-19) and Narada-puraI.ls (1. 56. 133-135) specify
what deities are to be worshipped on the tithis from the first to
15th.
Varahamihira divides tithis into five 176 groups, viz. N anda,
Bhadra, Vijaya or Jaya, Rikta and Pi.i.rna and states that on
those tithis the acts that are appropriate or suited to the lords of
the tithis should be done and become crowned with success and
the fruits of actions done on these five classes of tithis yield
results simila; to their names. The same applies to kal'a'l'),a8
and muhu:rtas. The result is N anda tithis are 1st, 6th, 11 tb j
Bhadras are 2nd, 7th, 12th j Vijayas 3rd, 8th, 13th j Riktas are
4th, 9th and 14th j Pi.i.rI.las are 5th, 10th, 15th. This is also
brought out in the AtharvaI,la Jyoti!?a, which also prescribes
what should be done or not done on the tithis from the 1st to the
15th and provides that certain combinations of tithis and certain
weekdays yield success and all rewards, viz. N anda tithi on
Friday, Bhadra on Wednesday, Jaya on Tuesday, Rikta on
Saturday, and PurI,lii. on Thursday.
The Tithitattva (pp. 27-28) quotes a long passage specifying
the loss a man suffers by eating fifteen specified things from the
1st to the 15th tithi respectively. The Nir':layasindhu (p. 32)
quotes verses from Muhurta-dlpika. and BhUpala 177 (i. e. Bhoja)
which specify the edibles and certain actions that are respec-
tively to be given up on the tithis from the first to the 15th and
on amavasya. On the other hand, Bhavi!?yapura':la (Brahmaparva
16. 18-20) quoted by the Kalpataru on vrata p. 35 specially
recommends the eating of certain things on each of the 15 tithis
from pratipad (the first) viz. milk, flowers (on 2nd), anything

176. "lTcf1 l1<fT ~ R"il 1_UT~ ~ ~: I wm~ ;r",~ ~ fit~!

~ II Cfi<UIW~ ffi{ ~~ ~q,rln'~ II nmilm
98. 2-3; ;r.;rt lUff
fir-;r~-lifN ~: I iDlr~T: ~ Tq\~: II flV~'lIIT (of ~o) III. 1.
~ (II. 7-9) enumerates the actions that should be done on the five kinds
of m~s (;r.;p, lUfl &c . ). ~~ ~~~I'{!ffil~ ~ I
f.1 ui<lI4l'" p. 44;"'~ ~ ~";lr ~ltlft~ :orqt ~ 'I!f ~11_UTi ~
qqq"~~:~~I","~m , (~,12thverse).
177. ~:I~n6r ~~....w ~I ~ ~:~,"".
~'i~ .. I ~~t ~liiit ~ II fit fif. p. 32. 1:t11iT melns ~,
~:-~, ~~~, 3F!If-~, q ~r, ~=~. The
~ (pp. 27-28) details the results of what follows from eating the
forbidden fruits &c. on the respective tithis specified.
 Eatables and actions fit far tithis 71

except sa.lt (on Srd), sesame, milk, fruits, vegetables (on 7th a.nd
8th), flour, food uncooked by fire, ghee (on 11th), payasa (rice
boiled in milk), cow's urine, yavas, water in which lcusas have
been dipped. The VamanapuraJ;la 178 (14. 48-51) prescribes what
actions should not be done on the groups of tithis called Nanda
&c., on certain week days and on oertain nak$atras.
The method of reckoning time by tithis is a very early one
and is indigenous to India. Though Western scholars have from
time to time put forward various theories about the so-called
Greek influence on Indian astronomy and astrology and about
the Indian Naksatra system being borrowed from the Ohinese
(Biot) or from the Babylonians (Weber) or from the Arabs
(Sedillot), no western scholar has had the oourage, so far as I
know, of alleging that the system of tithis is not indigenous but
is borrowed from some non-Indian source. The theories about
Greek influence will be briefly dealt with in the next section.
Vedic (and Sm~ti) injunctions are of two kinds, (1) those
that urge a person to do a thing such as 'one should fast on
Eka.dasl in both pak$as', (2) those that dissuade a person from
doing something as in 'one should not eat food on EkadasI'.
Tithis are thus an aJiga of the two kinds of injunotions. Accord-
ing to Garga,l79 tithi, nak$atra and vara (week day) are a means
of pUtlya (merit) and papa (demerit, sin) by being subsidiary to
the principal rite prescribed, but they are not able to produce the
above result independently.lso
Tithi is of two kinds,181 pur'tla (complete or full) and
sakha1J.qa. When a single tithi covers the whole day from sun-
178. ~ ;rr.q'lf'5Qni'(~ ~~'if~~ ~ I 1J.'OTIt! .nj"q(QR<lJ-.fTqy
l1jfT5 ~iVr mmlfflll ';f,~ ';f 'if li.~~ ~ 'if ~5'll ~ 'if ~ 1~ 'if
'<{JIrt ';f ~ ~~ wniUt
~ ~rq: II R~ ~ >.Iu-ot 'if ~ ~ fitmvn-
~ ~ 1 ~ ~ ~ ltffi .n~~l1ql'ilRl'fi~'<'I<lti I ~111"111<lQI 14.48-51,
q. by ~ p. 3<43 and 'ii. <. p . 5.. 8.
179. ~~;f~:I~~l~';fiit~:1I
tJ'Ii q. by fi'tfmm' p ... (which explains lf1;f~ ~r ~), i, f-Q-.
p.33.
180. ~ ~, Ifi~ ffl' ~ ~~ ;r ~rvt ~ ,f.t I m'Al ~\~
n.~ ~nn:' aoitf'8 ~lI'iit 'if~m 1I': 'fi1{1jq~).. : m filN: I lI'Ur~r
lm1if tf<I' '" fit1V: , ~ p 3, whicb quotes irom 'fir. Pl. the passage i'r.f)Rt •••
fln';): ciled in Ibis note; tbe words ~ ~ .•. ~: occur in 11'«. Iff. p. 184 also.
181. Some works do not make this elaborate division of tithl found in
Dharmasindhu. The Nir~ayasindhu speaks of only Buddha and viddha; so
tbe Tilhyarka also speaks of only two ~ and..... ~ ~~­
~I ~'3q<l'4,qu..mf~: , ~ ~ ~ ~",,~<.,fl1dl: II ~ ~.
II. p. 357, ~ p. 3.
72 Histor'lj of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. ill

rise for sixty na~ikas (or gha~ikas) the tithi is piirJ;l.a, i. e. the
tithi begins exactly at sunrise and ends with the next sunrise
a.nd is exactly 60 gha~ikas in extent. All others than this are
sakhaJ;l.~a; these latter again are of two kinds suddha and vidq_hli.
(pierced by or intermixed with another}.181 A suddha tithi is one
that extends from sunrise to sunset or (in the case of some tithis
like sivariitri) up till midnight; other sakhaJ;l~a tithis are called
viddh'ii. Vedha is of two kinds, morning vedha and evening
vedha; the former generally occurs when after six gha~ikas from
sunrise a tithi touches or gets merged with the next tithi, while
the latter (evening vedha) generally occurs when a tithi touches
another tithi six gha~ikas before sunset. In the case of certain
tithis the period prescribed may exceed six gha~ikas.
When the tithi in question is 60 gha~ikas in extent and
begins with sunrise (i. e. when it is purJ;l.a) there is no difficulty
at all. When a tithi is 9uddha in the .sense given by the
Dharmasindhu then also there is generally no difficulty. Some
general rules have to be kept in mind. Sruti says 183 'forenoon
is for the gods, midday for men and afternoon for pit~s '. Manu
(IV. 152) says: one should carry out morning duties, decorating
the body, bath, brushing the teeth, applying collyrium to the
eyes and worship of gods in forenoon alone '. Therefore all
religious acts prescribed for being performed by day on certain
tithis for gods must be begun in the mornin!> e~en if the tithi is
mixed with another on that day, but -all vratas to be performed
in the evening or night have to be performed on the tithi exist-
ing in the evening or night even 184- though it may be mixed up
(viddha) with another tithi. Another matter to be noted is thas
in both halves of the month all tithis may affect the previous
tithi and following tithi by three muhiirtas (i. e. six na.~Is or
gha~ikas }.185 Some tithis produce vedha by a larger nUl~ber of

182. an~"tctli~m am:oq Q~~: I nt~ m l~ ~f ~~'1i'I'

~ Tmt: IIlfia ifi1~""~fq'~ I m ~ ~ ~ Pf "~<liU: I nt. ".
pp. 87-88; t{<4i~l1i1q~;J li~ ffR G lif milt: I iitlla m ~ ~~ ~~­
~ II "1rof(li 1. 56. 154.
183. nt ~ i(lrr'1t l1'\'liiiif;it I1GU<41 0 ilM<I,: ~ I ~ II. 4. 2. 8,
a
184. ~:tJ fitqq:1F1f: !.fii{~"'H~qp ~~litilumPr') ~M
~ q . by if. ffi. ~. p . 5, nt~~ p. 5.
185 . ~SNfit~ l'il ~~I~~~ ~s1j~:
~: II ~..... ~ q. in f.iI. Rt. p . 17; "'f11iT ~m'rill'~~'iInIm~ I "diaunl-
.,~ fttt~ II ffi.qg<IOI q, by (;!t.~. p. 18. In the system of
expressing numerals by words "I11f, ~f!, 'l@ represent five, ten and fourteeD
respectively. The verse .....m ... fitN1( is (i'ii'tlll'io. folio 70 a, verse 1130
( in ABOR I. vol. 36 p. 309 ).
 AU 1'eligious acts to be done at right lime ~A

ghatikas e. g. the 5th makes ~as~hi affected by twelve na4!s,

10th makes 11th viddha by 15 nadis, &c. Viddha tithis are in
some cases fit for performing religious acts, sometimes they are
not. All rites t86 of the srauta or smiirta type, vrata, daJ:.la and
every other act enjoined by the Veda do not yield proper
reward as long as there is no determination of the tithi proper
for it. That tithi which Covers up the time (such as morning),
noon, whole day &c. at which a religious act is prescribed to be
done is the proper one for 187 that act. The first principle to 188
remember is that Kala (the time prescribed for a rite) is not a
mere detail, but it is a nimitta (an occasion) on the happening of
which a rite is to be performed and that therefore what is done
at some time other than the prescribed one is practically as good
as not done. There is a text of the Tai. S. II. 2. 5. 4 which
indicates this principle about Kala. It says 'that man is cut
off from the heavenly world, who desiring to perform the darsa-
pt1!y;lamasa rites transgresses the time of full Moon or New
Moon'. Hemadri 189 strongly emphasizes the performance of rites

186. ~ ~ iI'it ~ q*'lI~'HifiJ ~,~ I 3@!of'iOfij ~ ~ fifi~

iFt ll~~(~ 29 . 2).

187. ~ ~ '<1': ~;q;I(l)8ql{q.fr fctN: I <Nr Ilfii{r~ ~ ~t::a"f

"~II fii~re. . q. byr.f.~. p. 18, ~p. 8; '<I'qr~~~sfft·
u~'<I'"'riTr;fr 3MAA~ ~hr~lIi7rofr ...~~') tIT ffif~lqrqfu~f\-lt ~.
lin'1-r..mr 1ImT "I,.qd(>IIE''<Ilfir.fr ~aq"fq "mt I fcftrT u~r iI'it 'tf:if ~ rnt1t
~l{l{ I ~®f'<I'llr'jTr;>q-~'<I' iI'it rir I ~ fii~""~"f*'Il ifiT. <f. ~. p . 10. This
...
last verse is q. from ~ by filN~ ( P. O . vol. VII p. 92) anc.1 the
iit;.~. p. 14 quotes it from~. ~o quoted in iiiT.
!I'. p. 141 r.\'.
has ~"" ~ ... ~ ~ II . ~ also has a similar verse.

188. Vide ~r.t VI. 2. 23 - 26 for the proposition that all rellglou.
acts such as agn ihotra must be performed at th e time prescribed . ~
on ~. VI. 2. 25 remarks ' ~ lI'i't'iT ~: I ~ ~~ I d~lq.lI$~­
fei~d(ql<tidt1Cq\ld ~ I '. The ~. -;r. passage which is employed as an
indication (linga) is 31<{ tIT t!'Ir ~ifiIiQiJ(j~ ~ q~ftu'+1I~ql""') ~"'+1I"I'E<l1
'" ~ EUmqlqqM' II. 2. 5. 4. Vlde;:fi{. qT. p. 184.

189. ~1~dl;jl~lq~ ;,nw.;: ~ mr~ ~:, ~ ~: ~ ~

~~: II ~ q. by it. (on ~ p. 923). ~ then proceeds (on ~
p. 924) ''<!''It S(6<1ifili?lfa",il f.imfih'i1<6I",1 ~~ ffil ~ ~-
~-J1oI:ii~M"I«IU "f4Iqd<6t:"l~.. <n1<?1*,(lii'fim~ I ;J4'fi1'e<6I<?,fdai~
~ @(O<lillQt1l>lI"'9!(oQiiil<?,fd",;il ~ m: ..,~~~ q:q"'''~"~D'
rn I<6I(1)lh,oi ~ m
Q
liB iI m ~ d~'(q«<I,ffl V10f ~ I, Vide
q . '{T. pp. 184 and 186 for similar views.
B, :0. 10
 History of Dharmaliistra [ Sec. I, Ch. ill

on the proper time and states that a gau~akala is resorted to

for escaping from the censure of si ~tas or for the solace of one's
mind or because there is no other alternative. If a tithi can be
had on two days and at the required time or if it does not exist
on both days at the time required or it extends only up to a part
of the. time for which it is required, then the decision is arrived
at, as a general rule, by what is called' yugmavakya' to be cited
below. 190 Suppose, for example, that a nata is to be performed
at noon on a certain tithi, then that tithi may exist at noon on two
days or suppose that the tithi begins one or two gha~ikas after
noon and ends on the next day one or two gha~ikas before noon,
then the decision as to which tithi (whether purva-viddha or
para-viddha) is proper for the act would have to be decided as a
general rule by the Yu gmavaktja. The Yu gmavakya may be
translated as follows: 'The pairs (or combinations) of the
following tithis lead to great reward, viz. of the 2nd and 3rd
tithis, of the 4th and 5th, of the 6th and 7th, of the 8th and 9th,
of the 11th and 12th, of the 14th with purJ;lima (Full moon tithi)
and of Amavasya. with the 1st: the reverse (i. e. combinations or
pairs of other tithis) results in great loss; such combinations
destroy all former (accumulated) merit.' In these verses there
are seven pairs and they are mutually applicable. · The question
may be asked: on what tithi a vrata prescribed for the 2nd tithi
should be performed if the 2nd is combined with the first on one
day (that is, it is purwviddha) and is also combined with the 3rd
on the next day (i. e. it is paraviddha). The reply is: as a general
rule the day on which the 2nd is. combined with the 3rd tithi
should be the proper one for the dvitlyavrata and not the day on
which 2nd tithi is combined with the first. Similarly, in the
case of a vrata to be performed on t~tIya, if the 3rd tithi occurs
on one civil day combined with the 2nd and on the next day it
is combined with the 4th, then the proper day as a general rule
for a t~tlya-vrata is the one on which the 2nd and 3rd tithis are
in combination and not the other day on which the 3rd and 4th
tithis combine. The result of this passage is that combinations
of 1st and 2nd tithi, of the 3rd and 4th, of 5th and 6th, of 7th
and 8th, of the 9th and 10th, of the 10th and 11th, of 12th and

190 . . 'qT WfiT m~~ ~ ~~tI"'Ws ~ if 1fT ~ Ifi1P

ft1(T
iifI¥tftJ81.,{il~ m $ ... " ... .,14" ~ '18NRIlIii( 1 If. (;t;.~. p. 3; ~
~ ~ ~~, ~, da",cnl.ql~ 1ft S'''''I"ql~''1 t'i~"i(I"'U
~~i(lqllll1 fit~ I ~ p. 8.
 Explanation of I yugmavllkya t 75
13th, of 13th and 14th, of Purr;lima with the first and of
Ama. vilsya with 14th are generally excluded as improper.l91
It may be stated here that the rules laid down in the above
verses ( of yugmavakya) are riddled with exceptions. Some say
t hat these rules apply only to tithis of the bright half and not to
those of the dark half. But many works such as Apararka
(p. 216), KalanirI.laya (p. 172), Vratakalaviveka (P. O. vol. VIl
p. 87), Nirpayasindhu (p. 18) hold that the passage applies to
tithis of the dark half also, since the express mention of
Amavasya in combination with pratipad is an indication in
that direction. It would be noticed that the yu gmavliltlJa (even
though held to be applicable to the dark half) does not refer to
the first tithi of the dark half, the 10th and 13th tithis of both
halves. Their combinations with the preceding or following
tithis will be governed by express texts where available and by
other considerations in other cases, such as the verse 'in the
bright half that tithi should be preferred which exists at the time
the sun rises and, in the dark half, that tithi should be preferred
which exists when the sun sets.' 192 Another important rule is
that where there are express texts prescribing a particular com-
bination of viddha tithis as more appropriate for a vrata or other

191. g'+l,rng'rwrrm ~~: I $ ~~r~ '<r i.~ II

"IIfffcmc"l+li'~,~q, f<h;lJl~ ~ 1 ~ ~ lfQIcf"tti ~ ia<i iU tl<fII II.
These are quoted by ~. (on ~ p . 67). In the system of expressi ng
numerals by words ~, &m, Wi, "l{ff, ~f.t, ~, ~ and ~ stand respectively
for 2, 3, 4, 5, 7,8,9, 11. These verses are ascribed to different sources in
the medieval digests, The~. II. p . 350 and Apariirka (pp. 214,216).
~. m. p. 18 call it nigama (vedic text); while ~~ p . 475, .... <fiT. R-
(p. 214). l'f.~.~. (p. 3) ascribe it to ~~ and f<l~ p. 3 calls it
both f.%11+l' and ~Rfm!. These verses are &rn~fOT 175. 36-37 and 'RiiJ
1.128.16-17. The ~ (folio 9 a) ascribes the verses to ilor~. They
are the same as ~~ folio 69 band 70 a, verses 1123-24 (ABO R I vol.
36 p. 309 ). The ~'(q (folio 7 b) explains these verses at great length
and remarks '&<t '<r W"'rfctfqN~ImmI\'lf~mT~;;n;{~Ol f<tNi~ ~fil ~
if~rq: I ~if1l:iTlqlqiit ~;rai} iil~"i.,"J1fctlfriitlff~N ~ffll 'QCff ~~ ~crit
f;!~<fin?(ll~: ~I '6~ tnR if iJ n:r~~!'R!JV{r«:m'ii -gn:tT'1!l~: 1 '. The tfi'T'(lll~
of ;;l'~ discusses these verses at great length (pp. 475-502) and
concludes ' ~ ~~~'Rl~-m f<t~fmi ~gft<'r') ~f.t: 1 <fln ;;n;{fM
?§ffcf ~m'Fi't if <fi~ II -<'!1ffln:tf<\'N(<<~!f I .•• ~~)f Ilm §1f iiI;qr
,(\\ ~(W"'fttiq~, ~~ iJ t~lXmn~'~i!1i: I , pp. 501-502.

192. (M '<r ~: I UJilf~ faN1fmr 'Wi{1'f~fct<f( '(fir: I ~ faN-

~ 1R'l,.. ~{ih')~: II q. by t.
(on ~) p. 93. <fil. fit. p. 231, !til. fcl. p. 501
(wbere it is said tbat ~ had quoted it).
 Hi8tory of Dharmasastra t Sec. I, Oh. m
religiou s rite, that express rule prevails and not the rule derived
from this yugmavakya.19J For example, it is laid down in the
very place (where the yugmavakya occurs) that the 6th tithi, 8th
tithi, amavasya and the 13th of the dark half are to be preferred
(for religious rites) when in combination with the following
tithis (i. e. 7th, 9th, 1st of bright half and 14th of dark half
respectively ) and others ( than those mentioned in the first half
such as the 7th, 9th) are to be preferred when oombined with
those preceding them. l94 The application of special oonsidera-
tions may be further illustrated by the following. The same
tithi may be preferred if pU7'wuiddMl in one vrata and as para-
viddba in other cases owing to the difference in the deities of the
vratas. For example, Skanda!?al?~hI is preferred as purvaviddha,
but Mand araf?as~hi is preferred as paraviddha (because the deity is
Mandara and not Skanda). Sometimes, although the devata is the
same, it will have to be purvaviddha and sumetimes paraviddha
as in the Vinayaka-vrata which requires mid-day as the proper
time. 1f the 4th exists at midday and then is mixed up with
Mh, but did not exist at midday the previous day, then 4th
mixed with 5th will be preferred; but if mixed with the 3rd
before noon and not mixed with 5th at time of midday, 4th
mixed with third will be preferred. Sometimes it depends on the
f act whether it is bright or dark fortnight. Sukla pratipad will
be preferred if purvaviddh:i , but kf!?lfa pl'atipad will be pre-
ferred as uttaraviddha. The rites for pitrs are not governed by
yugma-vakya. The g r hya-parisi s~a provides that the pitrs
attend on that tithi which exists at the time when the sun sets ;
that tithi and afternoon are assigned fQr the pit,·s by Brahma
himself.195 Sometimes even a combination not approved by
yugmavakya has to be accepted for the performance of a rite
e. g. when af?~ami with Rohilfl nakf?atra exists (in Kr!?l?ajanma-
vrata) the fast should be observed on that As~ami, though it may
be combined with 7th tithi (and not on ~th as yugmavakya

193. ~r ri'i~'Jrl ~ ~Iilm 1 .;~r~", ~ m~l;m n~­

~~ q. by 1!f. m;. ~ 249 . V. R. 248 Tbis verse expressly says tbat in the
case of Yugadi tithis. of the tithi of birth and 7th tithi which is related to
Durga. tbe til hi at sunrise is to be preferred whether it be mixed witb a
tithi mentioned in the Yugmavakya or not.

194. ~~I ~~ , 1!I'!J'n~~lfl ~I\{ '!!f11Rf~f , trm: ~I: FlIT:

Q'U: "~ IIlnT. ·fit. p. 476 . If. ~.
p . 4. rm.
195. ~ ~ 1ITTII' ill~(~lsql+ta 1 fioffU ~SQ'Uit ~ m <f",
~ n ~ q. by If. ~. ~. p. 16, it. <tit. f.t. p. 86, ftl~~ p. 232.
 Exoepti0n3 to yugmavakya
re(iuires ).196 Sometimes, even though a tithi be piirl;l&, it is
passed over in favour of a viddM one. l97 Suppose there is
EkadasI in the bright half from sunrise to sunrise on a certain
day and there is Ekadasl on the next day for two gha~ika.s, then
there is Dvada31 for 59 gha~ikiis in extent; thus trayodasI comm-
ences the day after just one gha~ikii. after sum·ise. According to
this verse of Pracetas there is to be no upavasa on the Ekiidasl,
though it is purl;lcl, but the fast will be observed on Dvadasl,
and the pi'iratlu in order to be celebrated on dvadasI will have to
be during the first gha~ikii. of the third day from ekii dasI or
earlier. But if the Dvadasl in this case be only for 55 ghatikiis,
trayodasi will begin three gha~ikas before sunrise; if paraf.'!u be
done at sunrise it will be on the 13th and not on the 12th. In
this latter case, according to Pracetas, the Upavasa will have to
be on the purl;llt Ebdasi in order that the piraI;la may be on
12th. It has to be further remembered that the positive prescrip-
tion about celebrating a vrata or the like on the fixed tithi is
governed by the yugmavakya, but the rules forbidding the
partaking of oil, meat or the like on the fixed tithi apply for the
whole of that dayl98 and that tithi, whether it is 65 gha~ikiis and
extends over three days or is only 55 gha~ikiis and extends
over two days only. For explaining the words ' ekii.-
dasyam niraharal,l' from Varaha-purlna ( 39. 32 ) the Ekadasl-
t attva (pp. 3- 4:) states that one is to fast not merely for
the time that the Eka dasI lasts on a week-day but for the wliole
of the week day on which Ek:i dasI falls and it applies the reason~
ing contained in Jai. VI. 2. 19-20 (called Kalaiijadhikarar}a).
1£ the vrata is such that some items in it are to be done by day
and some at night, then that vrata must be observed on that
tithi which exists by day as well as at night and in such a case

196. ~ iIi"~ ~~N ~ 1 lfUT l'r~.nt 1 <lirlf~ ~ ~

~~~r 1"'ril1tmt ~ &fil"l'r~ '" ~ 11 &r~l'r~ '" IfROl'filfit
~ u~oqeJ~QqHi~ 1 if. ~. fit. p . 89, If. fit. it p . 10.

197. ~ ~ ~ 3l'iit fit~: fI'fuwr:' lfUT ~: 1 tQr'ii~,*,lq~

~r ~ ~ ;f,t 1 Inwrt ~~ ~if q~ 11 if. <lit. ~. p. 90, If. f$.
!ti1. p. 13.

198. "4'11' lifil~ ~rnf: 1 ~ ~A i~~: 1 ~:

FVfiN'1 ;nr ~: tfiIW'I .. ifi 1 fihS'(;ri ~ ;n1{ tfilf~r<rcI'1 lr.fr 1 ~
"'1"<l1<"T ~~ 11 fitil:Rrfif p. 6, if. <lit. R. p. 234 , If. fit.~. p. 14 (first
verse only and ascribes to ~~), lifil. i'I . .~. p. 4. fiit~ explains
'~: ~,~~: ~ f' (P: 6). Tbe~c v~racs are quoted from
1JT"f in tfi1t'lfilJjq p. lO~.
 HistOfll 0/ DharmaAastra [ Sec. I, Cb.. m
the yugmavakya has no application. Vide p. 72 and note 184
above. In certa.in cases where the vrata has several items extend-
ing over the whole day or a large part of it, the tithi at the time
of sunrise even if it be only for a gha~ika is declared by Slome
texts to be salcata (p ur~a) for purposes of both gifts and
vratas. l99

The Kiilii.darsa. propounds the strange 200 theory based on

Gobhila's words that the shortening and lengthening of the tithis
is due to the piety and sinfulness of men and divides tithis into
lchan'a (of proper extent, 60 gha~ik3s), darpa (more extensive
than 60 gha~ikas) and hin,51'a or hiirlsa (of lesser extent than 60
gha~ikiis). The Rajam !j rtaI,l~a has the sa.me lO1 division and
remarks that when the tithi is either lchar'Va or darpa (and they
are viddha) then a rite is to be done on the later tithi (the proper
tithi joined to the next one) and in the case of the shorter tithi
(if it is viddhii.) one should prefer the former (i. e. the day on
which the proper tithi is joined to an earlier one).202 The Var~a-
,

199. ~ ~I~Ffuq d Of ~"~r ~cq.q'ihll<la , 3ffl ~

~: ,-qt TffFU ~;jdIlIC<l ~ ll'rffllffl'1fi~: 'm refil: ~~ ~r ~fOIC{~ II
Ifffli !lffi'l'rltf I '3'q'W'f ~~<Il -qt fflN sffi\1ma I m fdfil: ~ ~I qr;m~­
~ II ~~ ~~'fiT "lql ~ I m i'itN: ~I ~ finrq.jf ~~ II
Ifrn' 'fiT. f.t. p. 14 2 . ~r. f.f. p . 473 reads in the first verse ~f'"'fR<l~.
tnr. f<t. p . 473 and p. 485 quote the last two verses but ascribe them to ~Ill"'f
and 'lf~1r<l'. This is one of the cases where a tithi though khan cla according
to strict astronomical rule is to be regarded as full (or sakala) for Dharma-
sastra purposes.

200 . ~ 1'~ ~~n);!"t~ I ... ~ +r~ I ~ ~'Il'r

$~~fiN Tff~lIf'JIT{ I ~~'f Tff~1:1l ~ I Ifffl' lfi~ folio 5 a.
~. ~. p. 33 ascribes lW{1 &c. to orfr. The verse ~ ~ &c is ascribed to
VSanas by lfiT. fit. p. 144 and If. f.I:i, ~. pp. 21-22; ~. (on ~) p. 91 quotes
~~ '" i,<f'fiT~f from 'lf~~rur and ascribes to m~ the verse ~'fr ...
~ , ~~"f ~ ~ tim ib i"'flf<{ II . ~. (OD lfil'(l$) p. 109 says 'irn~
g';j~I<t<lil .. SI'....!d Of ~~, and ascribes to 'nfIif the verse ~i ... ~ I
~~ ... <ti~!ti(.
201. ~~ ~ m'1 mt i,'hr ~II ~ folio 70a, verse 1132
(ABORI. vol. 36 . p. 310).

202. ~'f ~ tim ~ nt~, ~.ro lfiT1l1 tim t'fr<t.J-

~ II q. from ~ by ~ p. sao, which explains: ~: ~ 1Rf:
Sf\l!"
~ ~ tR~ ';( ~ ~:, ~'(~: ~~S~~: I
~ 1Il1I': ~ ;t'151<tile~ ~'a: , . Vide If. fit. Ifil. p. 22 for the verse and
explanation. ~~Mufq p. 102 reads ''4Wif ... ~ I ~ ~
~ II , and ascribes it to 'Pi.
 Mahatilhis
kriya-kaumudI ascribes a similar verse to U sanas and remarks
that it is opposed to the dicta of many such sages as Devala and
must be restricted only to Dadasraddha forming as it does a
syntactical whole with certain verses of the C,b.andogaparisi~~a
(which it quotes).

A. general rule is stated in some works that when the full

moon which is in the lunar mansion that gives the name to a
month is in conjunction with Jupiter that tithi has the word
maha prefixed to it. For example, the Paurl!ima. of Kartika
would be called Mahikartiki if the Moon and Jupiter are
both in the KrttikiiS (Pleiades) on that tithi. The Riija-
martat;l~a and Bhavi~yapuraT;la provide that a bath on the
Mahacaitrl and (on the remaining eleven paurl!imas with
prefix mahli) in certain holy places yields great rewards,
viz. bath at Prayaga on Mahamaghl, on Mahiiphalgunl in the
N aimisa forest, on MahacaitrI at Sa.lagrama, on Maha vaisiikhI at
Mahadvara, on Mahajyais~hI at Puru~ottama, on Mahii ~a~hl at
Kanakhala, on Mahasra vaI;lI at Kedara, on MahabhadrI at
B.!l.darI, on Mahasvini at Kubjamra, on Mahakartikl at Pu~kara,
on Mahamargasir~I at Kiinyakubja, on Mahiipau!?l at
Ayodhya.203

There are long lists of actions forbidden on certain tithis.

A few passages may be cited here. Devala 204 says 'on the 15th,
the 14th and particularly on the 8th one should avoid oil, me!l.t,
sexual intercourse and the use of a razor: The Naradiya provides

203 . ~ "«fl ~~: ~~: 1 ~ 1lTra- ~m m filN#ri(

~II "'Ii?f4'4", p. 347 (quotes from ~) and ~~ q. by It.~• ..m.

_I
p. 77. This verse is quoted by ~. <'1'. p . 133 from ~NHilJUiii (folio 81 a,
verse 1388). ;mmq(
~: 1 ~ 'if
IflI'Pt ij ~~ q;~g;fr ~ 1 ~ ~1r(
~ ij ~~ 1 3{11Iftf(

~r 'IiflI'1 is ~ 'if ~;f{ 1 ~~ ~ !fi"I1!!1~ ~ ~ ~ 1

~ ~ ~ IJ{~
I{<'I'T:

8f<f~'1l11ri ~{ I{<'I'T: ~: U¥1jil'fli?I: 1 -wr.i ~ !fi<fsti ~: ~~: 11

~m:
(N'f 1

\I3I01laOC (olio 81 a, verses 1389-1392 (vide ABORI. vol. 36 p. 334).

Tbese verses are quoted (rom the If\fl'<I!i'IUI by ... ~. ~. p. 80 where
~ is read (or ~, ~~ (or ~. ~. ( on !fiT<?) p. 642 quotes
these verses.

204. q~ "'ilf.!4Ii.,a'<lI ~~: I mt ~ ~ 'Ii{ ~ .... ~ II

~ q . by •• \ . p. 547 ••• $i. tir. p. 86. Vide ~l@4\iui Ill. 11. 118-119 (or
IimUar provlsloDI aDd t"'''EliM verses "~58 (q. by •• \. p. 546).
 History 0/ Dharmasastm tSec. i, Ch. li!
tnat one should give up oil on the 6th tithi, meat on 8th, use of
razor on the 14th and sexual intercourse on the full moon and
amavasya (1. 156. 140-141). Certain vegetables, fruits and articles
such as sesame are to be eschewed on certain tithis; vide p. 70
above and note 177.
 CHAPTER IV
Individual vratas; Caitra Pratipad, Ramanavami,
Ak~ayya-trtiya, Parasuramajayanti, Dasahara,
Savitri-vrata.

The Mahabharata 20S prescribes how to set about a vrata.

ITaking in one's ha.nd a. copper vessel full of water and turning
one's face to the north one should undertake the upa'Va.~a, or
whatever else he resolves in his mind to undertake as a vrata.'
Devala 206 also says 'without taking food (the previous night),
after taking a bath and having performed acamana (ceremonial
sipping of water) and after baving declared before the Sun and
other devata.~ (his intent) a person should perform a vrata'. The
Variihapurii~a 207 sets out the formula of saitkaipa 'after passing
the 11th tithi without any food, I shall partake of food the next
day , 0 lotus-eyed one (Vif?nu), 0 Acyuta, be thou my refuge'.
The sankalpa is to be generally made in the case of a fast208 or
vrat a. in the morning; the first fifth part of a day comprising
three gha~ikii s is called morning. Even when a tithi does not

205. ~~ tmt qj~~~: I ~ il ~f ~1·("q'4~ tI': II

~ ~

~ q <1H'W:1 ~ ~ ~ m\-qm ,'it

I 3r.'lI''lfI il "l'lfl ;mIT: ~,~ ~("q q : II
~ q. b y ~<ii p. 456 and the first verse by ~ (on mI' p 4),
ti. ~. p. 54 . If· f$. it. p . 61. '<l'lrT ••• 'I1:f: is variously explained. The ti· ~.
states '~ ~:, ~ ~~ I tn~ ~~ ~ ~'l"I1 "'I ~ "' i1t
~~ I '. <nrn~ reads '~ ~~: ' . In the Sld~li~ ., q.r 126 . 20 the
verse is ~"lJ . . .'if~ ~: I ;a"Q' . .. .q, ~ll·("q'4il: ~" . fit 'if. p . 110
quotes Cro m <1'(1" %,101 '~.~. '<lTI ~ 'I:t~ II ' .

206. ~ I 3{ij'fCIfT ~ ~"I (q Hl¥q~: I ~ir'q' ~o!Q' ~

aMI'.i<t( I q. b y ~o ( on mY p . 4) ,~. Sf. (folio 1 b) . ti. '(. p. 54.

207. ~~Il{,141 ~ ~~ I ~'tnt ~~ ~~ 11

~ m ~ ~~~t( I <1(1,, %,1 1 39. 32 q. by <nrn~ 268 (Crom
0

~), llI'. lUi· ~ . pp. 60-61 , fit. ~. p. 110. Vide ~;fl"f I. 23. 15 Cor a very
similar verse.
208. ~ ~: ~: I ~ ,,<i)fii:m1l1l~~ W<1l,,,..filq4:
~, omt~ p. 33: ~q",.qlfihIRlqRct:qIl4S m~N ~
~: srtm ~: I Slf'if: ~ t("q il iilil .. qq ,~ai'lil~ - trfiit ¥I"N'I"iq ........ It('
~. (on f,i.U) p. 12: 3{'if: Slf'if:~ ~~it !atoq"'''cgq.. IM t l''l1: I
'~~~,~p . 3 .
JL D. 11
82 History of DharmaAastra [ Sec. I, Cb. IV

begin in the morning (but begins in the afternoon) the sailkalpa

has to be made in the morning provided a vrata is to be perform-
ed on that tithi though it be viddha. If no sankalpa is made
the person secures very little benefit from the vrata 209 and half
the merit is lost.

It is now time to turn to individual vratas on the several

tithis. First comes the pratipad-vrata.
It will be shown in the next section how in ancient and
medieval times the month in which the year began was
different at different times and in different countries. We shall
begin with the pratipad of the month of Caitra, shall take the
month as ending with amavasya (amlinta) and set out from
Caitra the important vratas and festivals in each month and the
tithis therein, and the rest will be entered in the list of vratas
appended to this section on vratas.
In those parts of India (such as the Deccan) where the year
begins with Caitra, the first tithi is observed with some pomp
and religious ceremony. Most of the medieval digests such as
Kalpataru (Naiyatakala pp. 377-382), Hemadri (on vrata vol. I.
pp. 360-365), Krtyaratnakara (pp. 103-110), Vrataraja (pp. 49-53)
quote from the Brahmapuralfa the rites of the beginning of the
year on the first tithi of Caitra bright half. That Puralfa 210
states that Brahma created the world on the first day of the
bright half of Caitra at sunrise, an d started the reckoning of
time. On that tithi a mahasanti (propitiatory rite) destroying
all untoward occurrences and sins should be offered and first
Brahma should be worshipped with the well-known upacliras and
then the other gods with mantras preceded by om and the word
7I.a7f'la~ (am nama Brahma1Je tubhyam), to all divisions of time
from the minutest to yugas and to daughters of Daksa and
lastly to Vif?IfU, then honour brahmalfas with food and fees, give
presents to relatives and servants, homa should be offered to
Agni called Yavif?~ha, special food should be prepared and a
great festival should be celebrated. The Bhavif?yapuralfa saYIl

209. ~1·",qICfi(Jt q;;:m~ ""'""If~ I ~ ~"" ~ ~

;n: I ~ ~h,.q .._;q'" ~ ~ ~ II ~ p. 424.
21 0. ~mm ~qrrmll"~~1 ~~illr.ff~~11
lI"~ ~ Iifi~ ~jq I ••• "!I"!II' IifiTtIl ~~: ~~;m'{r;f( I ~".
~ ~:~~tlWI' II &c. ~ (~. p. 377), t. (Ifl' I. p. 360).
"If. ~. p. 103.
 Caitraprati pad-vrata

that since it was declared by Brahma to be the best among tithis

and thus placed in the first place it is called Pratipad On Caitra
pratipad there is worship of the lord of the year, viz. the lord of
the week-day 211 on which pratipad falls, arches and banner!!
should be raised by each householder, one should anoint one's
body with oil and have a bath, one should eat leaves of the
njmba tree (that are bitter) and should hear from the reciter of
the calendar the name of the year (saka or sam vat), its lord
and the deities that would be the ministers for the year, the
governing deities of all corns and fluids &c. Even in these
days priests go about in the Deccan to the houses of their
patrons and read from the paficailga (almanac) the details about
the lord of the year &c. set out above, people raise a pole with silk
cloth at top covered with a silver or brass pot, offer worship to
the pole with sandalwood paste, flowers &c. and eat nimba
leaves. This latter is done even in Saura!!~ra, though the
people employ sainvat reckoning.
The rule is that the pratipad to be celebrated is that which
exists at the time of sunrise. If pratipad exists at sunrise on two
days, then the earlier of the two is to be chosen or if there be no
pratipad at sunrise on any day then the one which is piirva-
viddhl1 should be chosen. For example, if there is aml1vasyii. for
four gha~ikas after sunrise, then there is pratipad for 56 gha~ika!l
and one gha~ika more on the next day, then the pratipad though
affected by arnl1vl1syl1 will have to be chosen for the beginning
of the year and not the pratipad intermixed with second tithi
the next day. If Caitra be an intercalary month then 2U the
opinion of many writers is that the pratipad of the intercalary
month should be held to be the beginning of the year. The
Samayamayiikha holds that when Caitra is an intercalary month
the year and spring commence with it, but the ceremonial bath
with oil and listening to the recital of the saka year should

211. ~filfj14ldqf4 '4t "11:: ~ 'lQ'1 ~: I ~~ 1. .56. 1; f.NT;rt

~ ~ 'qIVl'T ~ 1:If~ q{ ~~ ~~ Illi1~, ~ 16.
H q . by~. (i{('I I. p. 336), I{. fit. ~. p. 28.
212. ~ ~ ~81''If~~ P 1tlf ~ 11fVN <It\C('H4It1t(1l
IIllil::KI\,1 ~ ('Itll!l1fltit'll( ~ IS fcl<l~~~' ~ ~I I ~
~ Ifiilnn ~ i1f;1n -lfIlf """~'J<tI8~ ~ ~, W. Jf. p. 13. The
,.~. p. 57 combat. this view. The .... fit. ~. p.227 readll ~ ~
~ ~ I i the verse ~, ISo occurs 'In ""'''I('I~O' and is q. by 'Iif. R.
p. lJ9 &. from ~:~.
 84 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. 1, Ch. IV

be done in the pure month. The 213 Dharmasindhu makes a

difference by saying that the ceremonial bath with oil
should be taken on the occasion of the commencement of
the new year and repeating the name of the new year
should be done on the first day of the intercalary month,
but the raising of the pole, eating of nimba leaves, listen-
ing to the recital of the almanac should be done in the pure
month. In popular belief caitra-suddhapratipad is one of the 3j
most important muhiirtas (auspicious days) of the year. The
Samrajya-lak!?mlpl~hika. (pp. 128-133) gives a very elaborate
description of the great festival on caitra-suddha first performed
by a king or a chieftain or a zamindar owning several villages.
The next important tithi in Oaitra is the 9th in the
bright half on which is observed the Ramanavamlvrata and the
celebration of the birth of Rama, 7th a'Vat7lra of Vi!?:rJu. The
principal works on which reliance is placed in Hemadri (on
vrata vol. 1. pp. 941-946), V. K. K. (pp. 523- 529), Tithitattva
(pp. 59-62), Nir:rJayasindhu (pp. 83-86) and other digests are the
Agastya-sarnhita and Ramiircanacandrika of Anandavanayati,
pupil of Mukundavanayati. It is somewhat remarkable that the
K~'tyakalpataru on vrata does not deal with this. The Rama
cult appears to have become popular later than the Kr!?:rJa
cult. Though the Amarakosa gives Vii?:rJu, Niiraya:rJa, Kr!?:rJa,
Vasudeva, Devaklnandana and Damodara as synonyms, it does
not mention Rama (Dasarathi), but mentions Rama only as a
synonym of Haladhara. Here only a brief treatment of Rama-
navami oan be attempted. The Ramarcanacandrikii and Vratarka
(folio 17380) expressly provide that 8011 persons including even
ca:rJ~alas oan observe Ramanavamivrata (they have adhiklira).
It is stated in the Agastyasamhita 2U that Rama was born
at noon on the 9th of the bright half of Oaitra, when Punarvasu
asterism Was occupied by the Moon and both the Moon and

213. ~1I' ~;rcmR1'~~~Jq{f·\1~·{"q"i1 ,!t't'1Qffi("'i1Ji\cr..,-

' VI~ll =;{ ~'~'Q~ '!§'lI'~~' SfQ \'If'jff(''fq1Jt fif;~ "(fl(,,,,q;~­
~~r~~",;m;r~~~'1ii~~~:' ~".
lil~ ~~ ~(itqil'~ftf ~ ~, ~ p. 38.
214. ~ ~ SfI~ ~ wit i"'~, ~ ~<mt: ~~ llnR I
~ 1.'lfiVr ~m ~ ~1li4 I ~<Rff<\1' ~1l1 ~~,{"qlql 4'(: 11~ I ,. (on n
I. p.941 quoting ~~). These astrological, details about the birth
of Rama are in line with those in some editions of the RamayaJ?a (except
those of Gorresio and some others). Vide my paper on this in the Journal
of the Oriental Institute, Baroda, vol. I. pp. 1-.5.
 RC!mctndvamtvrdict

Jupiter were in conjunotion and when five planets were in

their ucca (exaltation), when the zodiaoal sign rising on the
eastern horizon was Karka~aka (Cancer ), and when the Sun was
in the sign of Me~a (Aries). The Kalanir:t;laya of Madbava (pp. 229-
230) lays down the following. When navamI is spread over two
days, then, if there is navaml at noon only on the earlier of the
two days, the vrata should be performed on that day. If there
is navamI at noon on both days, or if there is no navaml at noon
on any day, then the nata should be perfor~ed on navamI
mixed with dasaml (and not on navaml mixed with a~~aml). 21S
If the 9th tithi is conjoined to Punarvasu aster ism that day,
that tithi is most holy. Even when there is conjunction of
as~amI, navamI and Punarvasu, still the nata should be on the
next day (i. e. on navaml with dasamI). There are further
minute rules and differences on this which are passed over here.
It is stated that the Ramanavamlvrata is nitya (obligatory)
for all, while others say that it is obligatory only for devotees of
Rama and kamya (optional) for those that desire special rewards
(such as removal of sin, mukti or release from sa1lzsara). The
Agastya-samhitii 216 remarks 'This (vrata) is a course prescribed
fox all and it is the sole means of worldly happiness and mukti.
Even a person who is impure or very sinful, having performed
this best of vratas, is honoured by all and he becomes as if he
were Rama himself. That wretched man who eats food on Rama-
navaml suffers torments in the terrible hells called Kumbhlpaka.
If a man fasts on a single RiimanavamI aU his objects are fulfilled
and he is released from all sins'. The Agastyasamhita further
prescribes 'on that day (on which Rama was born) nata in the
form of a fast should always be performed and on that day the
devotee intent on Rama worship should keep awake at night,
sitting on the ground'. The use of the word 'sada' (always)
shows that the vrata is obligatory. Others say that the teds
promise such rewards as removal of sin and therefore it is

215. omf} ~iQT <1l'Ff'IrI "'Uoyq<I'I~: I ~ ~ .. ~ oh

~"~itm q. by 1If. ~. it. 525, itt. ft. 60. f.t. fW. 83 ••. 1ftT. R. p. 16
(aacribei to ~ ), .... 'III4il41 p. 53.
216. "f-el"C'lr4 ~ I!If«W'ilMI<r-fI( I
~ 11:"1'1 ~ ~ 11111 ~
."r.. ii'<l ~: ~ n-
,,: 1 IRIS '(1 .......'11 iI ~""
1I<t\'Pfl I F~S '_;q ~ ""' ~: I ... ~ ~ ~ ,,~
flit I ' " ' " ~: E<lI~<fq~1 ~ •••I~'I"rnr q. by,. (n vol. I. 9-4-2).
~. TW. p. 84; ~ ftilI' ~ "'~.'46'1 ..."." nr I '"' ~ S'l\UiI •...t\ tR.
"i~""dl q. b7 t.( n I. p. 941). ~ (OD ~ p. 836).
 J1isWrll of hharmaJastra t Sec. i, Cb. t\t
kimya. The conclusion of many works (like the NirJ,layasindhu
and the Tithitattva) is that this vrata is both kamya and nitya
according to the MIrna-msa maxim of 'samyogap~thaktva' 217
( J ai. IV. 3. 5-7 ). In the section on ' Agnihotra' the Veda says
'he makes an offering of curds in the fire'; there is another
sentence in the same, viz. ' one who desires bodily vigour should
make an offering of curds in the fire '. The meaning is that
curds being separately mentioned in two different sentences
which are both independent, homa with dadhi is both nitya
and lcamya.
The procedure of Ramanavamivrata as set out in H. V. I.
pp. 941-946. N. S. pp. 83-86, T. T. pp. 59-62, K. T. V. pp, 96-98,
Vrataraja pp. 319-329, Vratarka (folios 172-182), may be
briefly described as follows :-'fhe devotee should take a bath
on the 8th tithi in the bright half of Caitra, perform his
sandhya prayer and should invite a brahmaJ,la learned in the
Veda and sastras and devoted to Rama worship and knowing the
procedure of Rama mantras, should honour him and make So
,request 'I shall make a gift of the image of Rama '. Then he
should give oil to the blahmaJ,la for anointing his body, make
him bathe, make him wear white garments and flowers, should
offer him a dinner containing sattvika food and should himself
partake of the same food and constantly think of Rama. On
that day he and the acarya honoured by him should go without
food at night, should listen to the stories of Rama the whole day
and should himself sleep and make the acarya sleep on the
,ground (not on a cot). The next morning he should get up,
bathe, perform his sandhlJa, should' construct a brilliant maJ,lc,lapa
with four doors and decked with arches, banners and flowers.
The eastern door should be decked with conch, wheel and (an
image of) Garuc,la, bow and arrows, the western one with mace,
sword and armlets and the north with lotuses, soostika signs and
blue stones and prepare a raised altar four cubits (in the
maJ,lq.apa) and should provide holy songs, music and dance
therein. He should have benedictions from brabma7;las. Then

217. ~ ~ *~I ~ ..m ~I "'.:'O4.... '('~. IV. 3.

"-7; '~~ ~ ",";lIT Wtllf(iit I i"'''1'\~~ q'1Il~ I ..• ~
~~~iitiii\I' ~1t'li@OC'tt'li!~cr~' ;rN'~I~~;
~~ ~~~ ~ """IJ"si\~ ~ ~ yql'li ~
I5roIt t'lj=4"C<I\fIiit ~ I .......... IUt.' o.a ADOther .n.iflfq...
two Vedlo ......lIea '~~ ~11'; I IoGIl ' ........lii\. _it
.&ample of tbe application of tbe (l!4i'!I'I04i!"'W., ... il Aanibotra. W. !lP.
I,
 87
he should make a sankalpa •On the R§manavaml I shall observe
a fast for the whole day a.nd being intent on worshipping Rama.
shall make a golden image of R~ma and shall donate it for
pleasing Rama.' and then say • may Rama remo'Ve my numerous
heavy sins'. The image of Rama should be placed on a. pedestal,
have two hands and Janakl should be seated on the left thigh of
(Rima) image, which should be bathed with pancamrta,218 then
mulamantra 219 should be reoited and the usual nyasas should be
ma.de. The festival or puja is performed in the noon. Then at
night he should keep awake and listen to the divine stories about
Rima and be surrounded by devotees of R!lma, should sing
hymns about R9.ma. Then the next morning he should bathe,
perform sa.ndhya, should worship the image of Rama with sixteen
upacaras employing the 16 verses of Rg. X. 90 and with
Paural,lika verses, also perform the worship of the several limbs
of the image (SrI.Ramabhadraya nama:Q. padau pujayl1mi and so
on), offer homa on the altar or in a ku:rJ.Q.a with the mula mantra
and then in the ordinary fire offer 108 oblations of clarified butter
or pliyasa (rice cooked in milk with sugar), then he should honour
the acarya with gifts of ear-rings, finger rings, flowers, clothes &c.
and should recite the following mantra • 0 Rama I I shall today
donate this golden image of yours decked with ornaments and
clothes for securing your favour; lDay Rama favour me '. He
should give dak!?il,la (fee) to the Ilciirya and to other brahma'Qas
gold, cow, a pair of clothes, corn, according to his ability and
then have dinner along with the bra.hmaJ;las. By doing so he
becomes free from even mortal sins like brahmat;la-murder.
There is no need to say more. The man who performs this vrata
has mulcti in his hand (as it were) and he acquires the same
merit that one secures by the dana called Tulapuru!?a 220 in

218. Images of gods are bathed with 1f~ i. e. milk. curds. clarified
butter. boney and sugar.
219. Nyisa is mystical sanctification of the several limbs of tbe body
with Vedic mantras (such as the 16 verse. of ~gveda X. 90) or other
mantras. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 319-320, 739 and 900 The
Miilamantra is either of six letters, viz. t41(ltl(ltl(lilift or of thirteen letters,
viz. .r.(ltl"l'C(ltl;jj'l;W<l(lilftI. In these days the priest sometimes repeats
~g. X 3.3 al the Vedic miilamantTa • ~ ltlI'lO ~ ~ ~~)
~~ ~tIInl. I ~~~ '~lf.I~~N Mtl~"l. '. Here th.e word
(11f occ:ars. though in"a dill'efOnt Mn.e. W1'1lVI' explains • ~ ..,t ~ "": '.

220, ror ~b' M.~di. ~ne4 TvlipUfUf&I vld~ a. of 011. yol. II.
p. ij70,
 Hi3tary of DharmaA'ilstra [ Seo. It Ch. IV

Kuruk$etra on a solar eclipse. Hemadri is comparatively brief,

but the Tithitattva (pp. 614)2), NirI;layasindhu (p. 85), Vratarka
add further details from Agastyasarilhita. They say that images
of Bharata and Satrughna (by the side of Rama image) and of
Lak$malfa with a bow in his hand and of Dasaratha (to the right)
and of Kausalya. should also be made and worshipped with
appropriate Pauralfika mantras (the one for Kausalya. is quoted
in the note )221. The Ramarcanacandrika adds further details
about the worship of ten and five avara'{l.as to which even the
Nir:r;layasindhu refers by name alone.

RamanavamI is not to be celebrated in the intercalary

Caitra month (malamasa). The same rule applies to Janma$~aml
and other vratas.

In modern times not many people observe a. fast on Rama-

nava.mI and hardly one performs homa or donates images, but
the birth of Eama is celebrated in Rama temples by many at
noon with great ceremony. A Haridosa treats a gathering of
men and women assembled in the temple to a kirtan with music
and bhajan on the birth of Rama. At the end there is distribu-
tion of sweets or 'SuI;l~hava9.a' (dried ginger with sugar or
jaggery) in the Deccan. In some places such as Nasik, Tirupati,
Ayodhya and Ramesvara this festival is performed with great
pomp and thousands of people attend at these holy places. There
is no holy name other than that of Rama so constantly on
Hindu lips even in these days.

The important tithi in Vaisakha is the third of the bright

half. It is called Ak$ayya-t+tiya.. The earliest reference to it is
probably in the Vi$t:lu-dharmasutra where it is said that one
should fast on this tithit worship Vasudeva with whole grains
of rice, should offer them into fire and donate them; thereby
one becomes purified from all sins; whatever a man donates on
that day becomes inexhaustible. The Matsyapura.:r;la (chap. 65,
verses 1-7), NaradIya I. 112. 10 ff treat of this. The former states
that whatever is donated or sacrificed or muttered on this tithi
becomes inexhaustible (in reward), that a fast thereon yields
inexhaustible results, that if this t+tiya. has K+ttikli. asterism

221. ~~(iql"'''*ii I ~ ~ -.riW '1..'-"4"''' ~ I ~ t"''''' .. 11i'

t?l",.. ltI-I'oi\*ii it. ~ 1II\i'''I~fit t""lI~tlt tift': I . . ""IIi,ueq.llil(lill"t"'"
....,.. 1m I fill. tw. P. 8-'. fit. fl. p. 61. 'f. ft. 464 (~.. ~~f"I"'''')'
 Ak~ayydtrtiyfj

then it is specially commended. The Bhavi!!yottal'a-purit;la. 222

(chap. 30. 1-19) deals at some length with it. It !fays: 'this iitbi
is one of the Yugidi tithis because the Krta age began on it;
whatever is done on it, such as bath, gifts, muttering of saored
texts (japa), offerings into fire, Veda study, sat-iat-ing deceased
ancestors (with water }-a11 that becomes inexhaustible'. It
provides that gifts of jars of water and of umbrellas &nd at
footwear should be made (to brahmaJ;las) on this day and that
what is sacrificed or donated on this day never comes to &n end
and therefore this tithi is called ak$aya (inexhaustible) by the
sages. V. Dh. also refers to it 223. The Lar plates of Govinda-
candra of Kanauj recite that the king after bathing in the
Ganges on the occasion of the Ak$ayya-t~tiyi festival on
Monday in sainvat 1202 (i. e. 15th April 1146 A. D.) made the
grant of a village to one Srldhara Thakkura (E. I. voL vn p. 98).
The third is to be taken for these religious rites when it exigts
in the forenoon; but if it exists in the forenoon on two da.y's
the one that exists on the later day should be chosen for vrata..
Vide Hemadri on Kala p. 618 and on vrata vol. 1 pp. 500-502,
Vrataraja pp. 93- 96, Sm. K. p. 109 for further deta.ils. It is
provided in the Pura~as that sraddha performed on the tithis
called Yugiidi gives inexhaustible gratification to the pitrs. But
no piJ;l~as (rice-balls) are to be offered in Yugiidi-sriddha.
Ak$ayyat ~tlya is one of the 3 ~ days popularly believed to b.
most auspicious in the year (it is itself j ).
On the third of Vaisakha bright half is celebrll.ted
, ParasuramajayantI '.224 It is to be celebrated in the first prahara

222.
~l'tf~ I
~ if""
~ !{n:r: ~\'1Illf: .(q~ I 1I1(tlrt ~ ~ ~
'lli't!Vlt~hi !i'II",~" ~ I ~ fih?r ~ P "
3flif1
~ ~ • l!(;fr'i{: CfiTVat ~m II ~ 30. 2-3 and 19. Vide
H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 374 and note 841 for Yugidi-tithis and ". ~. pp •
.511-542 for divergence of views about Yugadis in the Puri~as. A late
work, the ~~, resolves the contradiction a8 follow.: ani'
~~ ~ ~Rtrt ... Q!lillll~: 'Ii~4"I"i*"iIllIPili ~
nmqr I (p. 87). Tbe (i\olllli,,, p. 36 givea the lame ellplanation.
223. qh""ttJ~'1I"I~~mw~"""~,,,,,".4i • • -....-r .. wi-
~li: tm l{~ I lfI( "'~~ ~iit "'''''''''lilmt I
~ 90.16-17, ...
224. The atory of ParaSurima and hll levetal exploitl luch al tbe
destruction of ~atriyaa twenty~ne time., donating the _rtb to KGyapa.
10., of ail proweaa wheD hI mIt Rima, relld.ace on Maheadra 111.08.....
aDd making the W ..tera oceaD recede occur frequentl,. in the Mabi8bir...
(COltli,.,,1tI _ ,..., illl' )
at 1),18
 History of bltarmasastra t Sec. I, ab. tv
('watch) of the night (" surylistottaram trimuhurta1;!. pradof,la1;!.'
Dharmasindhu p. 9 ). It is stated in the Skanda 225 and Bhavisya
pura~as that Vif,l~u was born from Re~uk!i. on the third of the
bright half of Vais!i.kha when the nakf,latra was Punarvasu and
in the first watch of the night and when six planets were ucca
(in !lxaltation) and R!i.hu was in the zodiacal sign Mithuna
(Gemini). The image of Parasurama is to be worshipped and
arghya is to be offered to it with the mantra quoted below.226 If
the third tithi is suddhii ( i. e. not mixed with another tithi) the
vrata ( i. e. fast) is to be performed that day; but if on two days
there is third tithi in the evening first watch even partially, then
the later one is to be the day of the fast; otherwise (if the third
is viddM, but does not extend up to the first watch of the night)
the fast should be observed on the first of the two days. There
are some temples erected in honour of Parasurama, particularly in
the KODka~a such as the one near Chiplun in which Parasurama-
jayanti is celebrated with great ceremony. Vide N. S. p. 95,
Sm. K. p. 112, P. C. 89 for further details. H. V. I. p. 117 gives
directions as to the image or painting of Para.surama. But
farasurama-jayantl is not observed in several parts of India
~uch as Sauraf,l~ra), though observed in South India.

In the month of Jye~~ha there is a vrata called Dasahara on

the 10th tithi of the bright half. The Brahmapura~a (63. 15)
states that the 10th of Jye~~ha bright half is called Dasahara,
because it destroys ten sins 227. Ten sins (divided into three
-----------------------------------------------
(Continued jroln l ..§t page)
e. g. in:ml~ 2. 3 fI, 130. 62, ~ 14.2. ""' 116. 14,117 9. ::niflT 178. 62,
1(1vT 70, ~ 42 . 3-9. ~ 49 . 7- 10. The PuraJ?as a lso de"ote much space
to legends about him. Vide 1If1f 213. 113-123, ~ 91. 67- 86, ~ III.
21-47 and 57-58 ({or saving lTI<lioT and ~<Ii), ~~ 1. 35 fI. Some
of these legenda musl be over 2000 years old. The ~~ (VI. 42 , XI. 64-91)
refera to some of the Parasurama legends.

'ffi'\~'1 =
22.5. ~ • \1('(<1("""
• ';fi("'4"'"~"
~ ~\ffi{~I: -" I ~ -~ "'.--..&
l'ttl'l '4111 iIl'l~I~1
~ I l'itm1ll: Sf~ ~ ~l1fR.'1i: ~ tR:11 ~m'il: ,,(IIh;;,; fif~ «(!i~~ I
~~ 1jt lIlt~G1ll(R::~" ~rn I f.lI . p. 95.m.
226. ~~) ~"f{ 1Il~1 Sflit I ~ lflI'T 'if'" 1i1f1iI ~~ •
tfi\ I~~ p. 46.
227. ti~ ~r ~ ~~: I ,~ q~iqiq(~ d~(<<~(l!«( ~I(
....,163 1.5 (mentioned in connection with ~~); ~ WfljqW<i1 ~
~ ~ 1i~ I ~ ~.-r ~iq(qll«( fi;iQ: " «( ..... (~UIS folio 8la, verse
1400 (vide A.BORl, vol. 36 p. 336). Thia verse ia quoted as from ~
~1 ". fii· ~. p. :a80.
 DaAaharll 91
classes, of the body, of speech and of the mind) are enumerated
in Manu XII. 5-7.228 The Rajamarta~9a (verses 1397-1405)
speaks of this vrata. The N. S. (p. 98) and some other digests
put forward another basis, viz. 229 Jye$~ha suo 10 on Tuesday
(acc. to Varaha) or Wednesday (ace. to Skanda), on Hast~
nak$atra, Vyatipata, Gara (karatl(L), Ananda-yoga, the moon
and sun being in Virgo and Taurus respectively-when all these
concur or when most of them concur, a person should bathe in
the Ganges and then become free from all sins. Wednesday and
Hasta constitute Anandayoga. It was supposed that the Ganges
came to the earth on this tithi, on Tuesday and on Hasta.
aster ism and therefore originally it appears to have been a vrata.
of So bath in the Ganges at Dasasvamedha, of worship and gifts.
Then it was extended to a bath in any big river and offering of
arohYrL, ser:ame and water. Vide Kasikhanda, Tristhall-setu, K. T.
431, Vrataraja pp. 352- 355, P. C. pp. 144-145 for further details;
At present in towns and villages on the big rivers sucb as Kr!!l,la.,
GodavarI, Narmada and the Ganges, a festival of the Ganges
is celebrated. At such places as Banaras, Prayaga, Haridvara,
N3sik the utsava is celebrated on a large scale. If there be an
intercalary Jye$~ha, this nata was to be performed in that
month,
On the Full moon day of Jye$tha women whose husbands
are living perform even now in many parts of India the SavitrI-
vrata or Va~asavitrivrata. The story of SavitrI whose momory
has been cherished for ages by all Indian women as an ideal of a
pativrata, of wifely devotion to the husband unto dEath (and
even thereafter) is very popular and is described at great length
in the Mahabbarata (Vanaparva ohap. 293-299) and in the
Pura~ as (suoh as in Matsya, ohap. 208-214, Skandapural?a,
PrabhasakhaI.l~a chap. 166, Vi$~udharmottara, II chap. 36-41). It

228. Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 173 for the ten sins from Manu . The
RajalDartal).~a has the same three verses (1401-1403). Vide ABORI, vol. ~6
p. 336 for the three.

229. ~ 1 ~ ~ II ~;m%!Pt~ I ~ tm: .... ,'i'4~'"'••

~Rtu I ~ ~rf.t ~~ ~m 1 ••• !NT fli~ 1 1ft ~rot sn'ttJ
';f~ fdt?lql!fli( 1 ~ ~: ~: ~ tlI!NI"l.fflq~: d "', ~ p. 98. V~4e
~ and fctfutI""PP, 62-64. The~. If. p. 056 quotes' "~I~I'~ ... ~
~' from ~Tc(.
9.2 History of DharmaflZstra [ Seo. I, Oh. IV

ts narratedDl that she married Satyavat whose death at the end of

one year was predicted by the sage Narada and that three days
before the time indicated by Narada she undertook. a fast,
aCQpmpanied her hU!3band into the forest where he had gone to
oollect firewood, flowers and fruits as his blind father had lost his
kingdom and that she had an argument with Yama the God of
Death, who became so pleased with her that he gave her several
boons and ultimately lter husband that had died as predicted was
restored to life. The Bhavi!'?yapurat;la account of the story of
SavitrI is cited at great length in Krtyaratnakara (pp. 264-278).
Hemadri (on vrata II pp. 258-272) sets out a vrata . called
Brahma-Savitrlvrata from Bhavisyottara which contains the
story; of SavitTI 80S in the Mahabharata and Matsya and also (vol.
II pp. 272-279) a Va."ta.savitrivrata from Skanda. But the first
wa.a performed fOl' three days from the 13th tithi to Full Moon in
Bhadrapada month and not in Jye!,?~ha, while the 2nd was to be
perf-ormed on Jye~~ha Full Moon by a woman whose husband was
living or even by a. sonless widow. This last js oalled Maha-
savitrlvrata. by the Vratakalaviveka (p. 20 of 1. H. Q. vol. 17
No. 4. supplement).
The Nirt;layasindhu refers to the vrata in Bhadrapada
mentioned by Hemadri and remarks 231 that it was not in vogue
in its day. The Vrataprakiisa describes (folios 169-170) the
J)rahPlasii vitrIvrata..
But the Va.~a.savitrlvrata. that is now in vogue must also
have been performed long before the 10th century A. D. The
Agnipurat;la (194. 5-8) briefly deS'Cribes 232 a vrata that in

230. ~ ~ir ~f ~ ~fI I "il8~~~1WI ~f ~~m

wt I ..=if; ~• smr
~~~ ~it I ~~rmt ~("q~ ~ ~~ I
'"" 208. 17-18; ~I~ ':Of1l1CfN ~~,"iI~, t P ~~I1tRf ~...
qr "'~ I lf~ 214. 14-15. Tbe ~ 296. 3 bas ~a'flf~ lffftll'i'l1'il ~1j'
~I rifW!II6~~q'~'!It~1t

231. ~lqt.. t~qtq'Rq(~ ~~ l11~lt I ~ "El ~'ql ,,~ ~

qrrir I ~~f ....~ ~N'~ 1.~ I ... ~~~"tW(v"Rf~S lfll('q1l'-
tfitqtqt6~ '"! q~ ~R\ I fi\f. m.
p 100.

232. q'~ m ~ e'l.~ ~I~ I i!rU.I'I'1mf1 ~ ~~:

~ I srW: ~~... ~ !J~~: I ~~ ~ai~: Ifln'rii I~:"m
~ ~ ~ ~ ~I • 11m ~~ ~ ~~~~l
~ .
stmrt _ttt ~rnrrft~"""'~"' ~flr~. 19i. 5-8 .
 Va~s~vitrivrata 9S
essentials is the same as the modern Vatasivitrlvrata. The
Rajamartat;l9-a says 'on the 14th 233 of the b;ight half of Jye~~ha
women full of faith perform the Savitrlvrata for being free from
widowhood '. This is followed by people in the Deocan. The
Nirt;layamrta following the Bhavi~ya held that this vrata was to
be performed on Amavasya. while the Krtyatattva (p. 430 ), and
T. T. p. 121 say that Savitrlvrata is to be observed on dark Hth
after the Full Moon of Jye~~ha.
If the PaurJ;lima is spread over two days, then the vrata is
to be performed on CaturdasI (14th tithi) mixed up with
PaurI,lima. The three days for which the vrata is to last may
have to be begun on the 12th or 13th. But if oaturdasI is of the
extent of 18 gha~ikas and then Paur:t:lima supervenes, then
caturdasI is to be given up (K. N. p. 301).
The worship of the V a~a tree comes in probably because
Satyavat when the moment of death approached took shelter
under the shade of the Va~a tree and supported himself by a
branch of it and spoke in a choked voice to SavitrI that he had
pain in the head. 234 The procedure of this vrata as set out in
the Vratarka (folios 312-320) and other late medieval works is
briefly as follows :- The woman should make a sankalpa in the
form 'I shall perform Savitrlvrata for securing long life and
health to my husband and my sons and for securing freedom
from widowhood in this and subsequent lives '. She should then
sprinkle water at the root of the Va~a tree and surround it with
cotton threads and should perform its worship with the upac7iras
and then offer worship to SavitrI (with image or mentally) from
her feet upwards and pray to her to bestow on her beauty, good
name, prosperity, and freedom from widowhood. Then she should
worship Yama and Niirada and give presents ( vuyana) to the
priest and break her fast next day. In Bengal the mode of
performing SiivitrI-vrata is different from the above. In Bengal
there is no Va~asiivitrlvrata. but there is SavitrlJaturdasI on the
14th of the dark half of Jye!?~ha to secure blessed wifehood in
later lives. It is continued for 14 years.

233 . ~ ~ti.liql!ql ftt'iii .... tif!'MI(' ~'lIT1f ~ ~: ~­

~: ,,~~ folio 81 a, verse 1394 q. by 'li ~ p. 192, •. fit.em.p. 260,
$Rl~ p. 121 (quotes ~~. with variations). Vide ABORt. vol. 36 p. 335
for this verse.

23<4. .~m.l1fqAf WN(1?III1' "Ilfl(' m~ If~ ~ q'" "t ~ I

ll'm~ q. br
~. (on ~ vol. II. f. ~6' ).
 94 History of DharmaSlistra [SeD. I, Ch. IV

If a woman was unable to fast for three days, she was

allowed to have nakta on the 13th, to eat on the 14th whatever
came to her without her asking for it and fast on the 15th.23s
In J AOS. vol. 21 part 2 pp. 53-66 Allen has compared the
Savitrlvrata as described in the Mababhiirata and the puralfas
a.nd in Hemiidri and Vratiirka.
I have not generally tried to speculate about the remote
origins, if any, of even the most important vratas. But some
scholars endowed with a lively imagination and imbued with the
theories underlying Frazer's 'Golden Bough' have tried their
hands at the origins of some vratas. The late Mr. B. A. Gupte
endeavoured to explain 'the symbolism of the Siivitrlvrata' in
I. A. vol. 35 (for 1906) pp. 116-119. He bases his article on the
forty figures that his wife drew with sandalwood paste in
celebrating the Siivitri-vrata. He holds that the story of SavitrI
is based on a Nature Myth and that the first impression produced
on him by the pictures drawn by his wife is that it is a marriage
scene. What mainly vitiates all his imaginative explanations
is that the SiivitrI-vrata is not mentioned anywhere in any work
that can be said to be even two thousand years old and that he
thinks his wife's figures or pictures represent the general way of
celebrating that vrata in the whole of India throughout the
centuries. The Siivitrlvrata is observed throughout India, but I
ha.ve not been able to find that women all over India depict the
scene as was done by Mr. Gupte's wife (who probably was a well-
educated lady and had an artistic training in some big city and
turned her skill to lend charm and picturesqueness to that vra.ta,
by adding her own artistic ideas to those of millions of unedu-
cated simple women in small towns and villages ).

235. Amr ~ §ql$q"I.. ~q ~: I ~ ."4(",,,ql ,qf"~"*

fi'Jrfn I ~ ~ ~OI"I~qlti"l .. oli( I lf~ q. by,. (00 n vol. 11 •
p.269). For -.n:rr~, vide ,. II . 269-272 in wbich Sivitri, the wiCe of
Brabmi, was to be worllpjpped at Vcdamiti aod .aholdiog Il lute aneil
book in her balld I, . . ..
 CHAPTER V
- 1-
EKADASI

The most important tithi in the month of A~ii~ha is

Ekiidasi. A voluminous literature has grown round EkiidasI in
the PuriiJ?,as and medieval digests. There are separate treatises
on Ekiidasi written by medieval writers, such as the Ekiidasi~
viveka of Sulapiini and the Ekadasltattva of Haghunandana'
Besides, such medieval digests as ' Kiilaviveka (pp. 425-451),
Hemiidri on Kiila pp. 145-288, KiilanirJ?,aya of Madbava (pp.
233-275), Vrataraja pp. 361- 475, Kala~tattvavivecana (pp. 98-172)
devote hundreds of pages to discussions on EkiidasI. Endeavour
would be made to write about most of the numerous matters
relating to Ekiidas!, but everything would have to be compressed
in as small a space as possible.

If one were to examine the numerous passages of the

PuriiJ?,as and the like one would notice that some simply prohibit
the partaking of food ( on EkiidasI), while others lay down the
observance of Ekadasivrata. A few specimens of the first kind
may be cited. The Niiradiya states 236 " all sins whatever and sins
equal to briihmaJ?,a~murder take resort to food on the day of Hari ;
one who partakes offood on EkiidasI incurs those sins; the PuriiJ?,as
again and again loudly proclaim 'one should not eat food, one
should not eat food, when the day of Had comes '." In this case
the observance of Ekiidasi consists in simply not eating for the
whole day anything that is cooked. Those passages which
contain the word vrala are not to be looked upon as merely
prohibiting (the eating of food) but are to be construed as
prescribing something positive as in the case of Prajiipativrata
'one should not see the rising sun't which is interpreted by

236. lI'@I 1.fi1T'if .. IfT1frr.t .iPll(ql~"Ir.t "IiI" I ~M~ ~(i« ~m

m~ II ft'@r IfT1fplfririit l1"fi'r tR~m~ I ~cf{t ~rurrf;t "l.lf( lI,lf( ~~ I ;r
lt~ ;r "'~"' ~m tRcm< II ~(lf q . by t. (I.fim) p. 153, !.fif. f.t p. 235.
Vide ~~ (Uttara) 24. 4 and 23 . 24 for almost tbe same words and
compare ~, ~~, cbap . 26. 23 'W'f ~{ar IfT1ffiit ~~
.. I ~tit~MN "''IWI.d''I~'t MI. ~ (p. 16) ascribes tbe verse
~o to~. Tbe verae '~ I.fiffir ... ~~ I i. ~C1f ~ 23. II
~ read, """ ~ ~) q. by t. (OD n) I, pp"
 l1istory of Dharma~astra t Sec. I, Ch. V
Jaimini IV. 1. 3.-6 and VI. 2. 20. Vide n. 42 above. For
example, it is said by the Matsya and Bhavil?ya 'When a man
fasts on the 11th and partakes of food on the 12th, whether in the
bright or dark half, that is a great vrata in honour of Vil?I,lU '.
Those passages that contain the word 'upavasa' and those that
prescribe rewards (of observing ekadasI) must be construed
as laying down the observance of a vrata and not as merely
prohibiting anything. Those passages also which condemn
eating food on ekadasI may be construed as merely intended to
commend the vrata and not to contain a prohibition, following
the Mlmamsa 237 maxim 'condemnation is not indulged in
(merely) for the sake of condemnation of that which is condemned,
but for the purpose of commending the performance of the
opposite of what is censured '. The passages that lay down a
vrata are again two-fold, viz. those that make the observance of
Ekadasl obligatory (nitya)238 and those that lay down the observ-
ance for securing some desired object (kamya). Narada lays
down an obligatory rule' men who are devoted to Vil?l,1U and who
look upon Vil?l,1U as their highest goal should always fast on
ekadasl in each pakfia (fortnight)'. A passage laying down a
kamya-vidhi about Ekadasl is contained in 239 Katyayana' a
person who looks on Vi$l,1u as highest goal and who desires to
cross the ocean of samsara or to secure prosperity, offspring,
heaven, mok~a or whatever else, should not partake of food on
ekadasi in both fortnights.' The result is that ekadasl is both
nitya and kamya and the maxim of saimJoga-pr?haktva cited above
(p. 86) under RamanavamI applies. Ekadaslvrata on the ekadasis
of both fortnig~ts is ntlya only for "persons other than house-
holders; the vrata is obligatory for householders (grhastha) only
on the ekadasl of the bright half, but not on the ekadasl of the
dark half, since Devala says 'one should not eat (cooked)
food on ekadasI in both pakl!1s (fortnights); this is the rule of
conduct for forest hermits and ascetics, but a householder should

237. The i'1JN is: "'~ ~iCfT ~ ~{'~ii ~ 3!'~ is )q~ ~"ta;1{ (vide
~~ on~. 1.2.7, p.1l5). ~ is more explicit: "'it ~ ~~Ii
~~ I fifi "Ii I f1!I~~ ~~ijl{, I ~ "' i1lI~ SI~r fIV1riit iifi
~ ~t\t: I ~ on ~. II .... 21.
238. "ifro(: I fimt ",Rt;MiS~~~~: I ~ q. II ~r­
~~ u ~~ f"~ ~~: I t.
(~) p. 159, f". ftf. 37.

239. 441f1i(41iry(i"i(lTt'4~'04(i"OI: I ~ ~ ~ ~ '" 1I'V~ i

~ " . . . ~ 1 ~ q. b:r t. (1Im'1) p. 162, 'lIT. fI'.
p. ~61 1(••• a8.
 Adhikfira for EkCidaSivrata

always observe only the EkadasI of the bright half '. 240 There are
conflicting texts on this subject. The Padma says 241 'a house-
holder should observe a fast on only the dark ekadasls between
Sayanl (A.!?a9-ha suo 11) and Bodhinl (Kartika. suo 11) and on no
other ekadasi of the dark half '. There is a precept of NArada 242
, a householder having a son should not observe a fast on a
Sailkriinti day, on the day of ekadasl in the dark half and on
eclipses of the sun and the moon '. The best construction of these
passages appears to be that a fast only on the ekadasl of the
bright half is obligatory for a householder, but he may observe
(Kamyavrata) a fast on the ekadasts occurring in the dark half
between Sayani and BodhinI, but if he has a son he should not
observe a fast even on those ekadasis that occur between Sayanl
and Bodhini. A widow 243 is to be treated on the same level as
a yati and a woman whose husband is living should fast only on
the ekadasi of the bright half. It has to be further noted that
these restrictions244 do not apply to professed devotees of Vi!?J).u
(technically called Vai~J).ava). To them the verse quoted in
note 238 above applies aud they have to observe a fast on all
ekadasls. Hemiidri (on vrata vol. 1. p. 999) held the view that
all persous have adhikara for fasting on eklJ.dasis in both pak~aB.
On pp. 43-45 above the exaggerated importance attached to
vratas in general has already been dealt with. Upavasa as a
priiyascitta (expiation for sins) has been described in vol. IV.

Q'Cfi~~ ~ 5~1" q~li(~\l1l~ I ~tl'lI'rihf;{(1( !1Ji~~ nr ~(n

2~0.
~ q. by~ . i~. 36, ~lI1lCfim p. 62, !fir. ~. p. 426 (from ~i~l~r), i.
(~) p. 150. I!'. 'ff. p. 36 (ascribes to tJ~N~); ....if~ IV. 26 . 38 'Ufjr~ a
~~ 1l~I1(( ~G"Til~r: I ~ ~II"T'~~ Cfm~ ~! "'rot II .'
241. ~(Ii{Rr.f~\illlJr WG~CfiICf~e l'f~ I ~ilQ'(IIlJr 'I,I~q.;f ",(";lJr ~lI"ft
\liifl"lf"' II i1f~~ IV. 26. 39 q . by '!IiI· iii. p. 259, lif. m. p. 36, ~SICfiT~
p.63 (all say from ~).

242. ~~m .. ~rCf~ I "'.Jt'(~Il' ~ " '§lr.~11l. "lie II

'1m( q. by ~. (on '!lim) p. 183, ~. ~. 36, ~¥1"II"'I'1 63, •. f1I;. ~. p, 46.
If.~. (P. 37) quotes a verse from ~(11( to the same effect.

243. ~ l~~ qqiriit ~, •.. lft • ~ ~••Yllifll'rlm·

~: I ~1Ilfim p. 65; l'f~~fif' ~~ '" 1I~fl'r ~\l1l")~iit I
~r • ",lfr • n~. nr d'r" ~~, I 1fff( ~r ~ q'1{ 1f~~ I
'fiT. ~ . p. 257.
244 . ~~~~~:PTT~~­
'!I!I .... ~I.I''' .....Il(' !I'VVf' 1nJT pr
fM.-un 1f1rr purr ~r' ~"~
~ W ~ ~(~ I Q'. 'I. p. 38, t.(OD 1Iim p. 181) quote. thi. verse from
~.

B,_ D, 13
 History of .bharma~astra t Seo. i, db. -tt
pp. 52-54. Extremely exaggerated praise of the efficacy of
fasting on EkadasI has been indulged in by many Pural).as
and digests. In the Narada-pural).a there is a long passage on
the greatness (mahatmya) of Ekadasi (quoted in Hemadri on
Kala p. 146 and Kalanirz:laya pp. 273-274). A few of the verses
may be cited here; 'by the fire arising from (the observance of)
ekadasI, fuel in the form of sins committed in hundreds of past
lives is reduced to ashes. Thousands of Asvamedha sacrifices
and hundreds of Vajapeya sacrifices do not reach even up to the
16th part (of the merit) of the fast on ekadasi. This ekadasi
bestows heaven and ma/aj(], confers a kingdom and sons (on a
man) and a good spouse and the health of the body. The Ganges,
Gaya, KasI, Puskara, Kuruksetra, the Narmada, the Devika, the
Yamuna, the Candrabhaga are none of them el'}ual to the day of
Hari'. Similar verses ooour in the Padmapuraz:l.a.24s The Anu-
sasanaparva 246 pronounces on Upavasa an exaggerated eulogy.
The Padma 217 declares 'on hearing the word ekadasi, the mes-
sengers of Yama become afraid; having fasted on ekadasi whioh
is the best among all vratas, one should keep awake (in the night)
for propitiating Visz:l.u and should sumptuously decorate (the
temple or ma'rlc/apa of) Vil$z:l.u. The man who worships Hari with
basil leaves secures by each single leaf the reward of a crore of
sacrifices '.248 The Varil.hapuraz:la (chap. 30) declares that Brahma
gave Ekil.dasi to Kubera (the lord of wealth) and that to the person
who controls himself, who is pure and eats only what is not
cooked by fire, Kubera, being pleased, gives everything. The
Padma narrates the story of a womanJ who was always l'}uarrel-
some and who thought of her lover, was therefore censured by
her husband and beaten, and who in anger went without food
and died at night and who on acoount of her fast 249 (not under-
24 5. 3I"lffii~tiOT ~"'"l~ttor;;(1 l!::n'Cf~Ifif~ qmt Of~~1! "f.~'( II
~!f,f$l'~CfI ~I m;~IUt~r~.,'1 1 'ij~lf<fr ~t -:;fr<tI~lf<frRr<!( II Of trW" Of
'T1n' '1.'< Of lfimr "' "Of lI~,( 1 Of "Ofr(q ~I( " ij~ ~Rjit;)Of "Of II ~"" ~~tttt
"' ~~ 1fR~;)Of ij 1 3IOfllmf0f ~Ofr'51 lIr~ ~CJf~ 1fCf'( II lW (31rr.r{lfI7~ 31 . 157.
160,1 6 1,162 ).
246 ~m-~, ~ 1!f~Ilf: ~~$I'(I ~if~(!fl{~'t:r ~E'I~IiI"~1
... ~~ tr1<f' ~('~CJf~", ~~1JU~~: 1 3I!nm'fOf 107.136, ,37, 139.
247. ~ "~~;wI" lfI'f[lftlq ~it=cH:" n'firi ~. ~~ ~ ~r
tJ~l~ I ;:;cf~~ ~riill1lil: ~'i-. ~~ ~~ n il~~~ ~ ~~ ~pt ~imf
I ~ I 1!f~~~ ~~ !fir~~i't ii:~ II 1f'I", .Il~, 15.2-4.
248. ~lf~OfIirq"fim-, 'Ill ~ftmr: §~: I ~'fr;q "''''If{ t~: ~
1:ilf"l.Uiit" 'f~1lf 30 6, q. by IWir. ~. 4S1 (reads ~ Iflf"Uiit).

2.9. f.I~~ ... ~ ~ ""11.4 t I ~, . . . ., 13 . S3.

 Rules far obse1'vers of Ekadasi 99

taken cheerfully and willingly, but out of anger) became pure.

The Garug.apuralfa declares: 25O (if one places) on one side (in one
pan) the gift of the whole world and on the other side (in
anotber pan) tbe day of Hati, this ekadasI is more holy and
superior. The ekadasi in A~agha sukla is called maha·ekfidasI
and also SayanL
General rules a.bout those who have the adhik ~ ra to under·
take vratas have already been dealt with above. But some rules
meant specially for the observers of ekadasl will be set out here.
Narada 2SOa provides 'A human being who is more than eight
years old and is less than eighty years in age incurs sin if he
eats food on ekadasl through foolishness.' Katyayana has a
similar verse. Theee two establish that every human being of
whatever caste or aSra7nrL can observe ekii dasi provided he fulfils
the conditions as to age laid down in the verses.
Knowing the weakness of human beings, sages relaxed the
rule of an absolute fast on ek~ dast. The Naradapura:t:J,a 251 says
'roots, fruits, milk and water may be partaken of (on ekiidasi )
by great sages, but no sages have said that on ekadasi cooked food
may be taken '. The Vayupura:t:J,a 252 provided ' partaking of
havisya food at night, food other than boiled rice, fruits, sesame,
milk, water, ghee, panca·gavya, air-each succeeding one is here
(i. e. in ekadasi) more commendable (than each preceding one) '.
Baudhayana 253 declares that those who are unable to observe a

250. t!'fi\'I: 1[~;fiq-~r ~R"f{R: 1 ri(~( ~(~~!Ii~~( ~111

'1~ I . 127. 12.
250 a. S{'Sf '"fro{: 1 3f1!!~IC{R1~( ff~lf' tut.J{r~l'i1~(f1f'"f: 1 ~ .q( "('"fit
~~t ~ ~ 11 'fiit, !fi~(N 1 3f1!!~(Nqi1 ff(1f)"mlmr.1{~: 1
t%1<r.!<l16q<l~( q~l.qr~·~<mNII !fiT fit p.257. I! ". p. 35 . In~. (on ~ )
p. 172 and ~~ p. 61 ~ is quoted differently '3f1!!~'I{@r.f;r lICIi'i
~mt;f ~ vfta 1 'lfl ~~ ll~ ~~ fiill'liTl~'fPf q(q'li1( 1 ~ ~ !.f\"If1Jot i(OC'l1Jot i'ir.f~
'iti
~:~i\I"
251. ~ q;-"s tf1m'~liI"ti '01{~~: 1 '"f (;f!I(~;\' ~~!fi~ Sli(~1
'Ofl"f~or (~ 24 . 7-8 ).
252. ..-;t ~~.. ql"ll.;I1{'l ~ ~ ~r: ~~~ .(;J~ 1 1IlQ''JI1Tnt 'lfl~ lIT
~'n'!:!;: ~I~ .11 ~~or q . by ~. f.l. p. 261. ~. 1(. p . 431 ,
~. ilf; . .it. p. 57 (ascribes to "~I""\lOI), ~ p. 16. ~ indicates' an
absolute fast' (not drinking even water). One may resort to one of tbe
several options contained in this verse according to one's physical ability.

253. ~~ ... "",lilliI"ftq".':«fI'ij'.,Ii( 1~'* ~~ ~ "fit: II

q. by l' (on ~ p . 176),~. iif. p. 261.
100 History 0/ Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Cb. V

complete fast (on ekadasl) or who are over 80 years of age should
resort to ekabha7cta and the other (alternatives). The Matsya
provides 25. that those who are unable to fast (on eki dael)
should prefer to take food by the nakta method and if
a. person is ill, he should make his son and others to undertake
the fast (on his behalf). Who can act as pratinidhis in the case of
a vrata has already been described above ( pp. 53-54).
It is said by MarkaI.l~eya2S5 that one may observe the
methods of ekabhakta, nakta, ayacita, complete fast and dana,
but should not deprive oneself of the benefits of the observance
of dvadasl (with ekadasi). Here certain alternatives ,are allowed
in place of an absolute fast and they have to be explained.
But before doing so, attention has to be drawn to the rule
propounded by Manu'56 viz. if a person, being master of (i. e.
quite able to carry out) the main provisions for a rite, resorts to
alternatives provided (by texts) he would not, foolish as he is,
secure the otherworldly rewards (of that rite ). Therefore,
ekabhakta, nakta and ayacita are to be employed only if one is
unable to observe a strict fast. Ekabhakta means eating only
once a day after the middle of the day. Madhyahna means the
3rd part of the day divided into five parts (i. e. from the 13th
gha~i after sunrise up to the 18th of a day of 30 gha~is). Hemadri
(on kala p. 109) holds that madhyahna is the middle part of the
day divided into three parts and according to him the proper
time for ekabhakta is the time immediately after midday, since
the Skanda employs the words 'after the middle of the day is
passed' (dinardhasamayestite),257 whUe the gaUI.la~kiila is up to
254. ~~l'It '1:;$ ~1'3I.,ilIeq6 I ~'1f ~,~~ ~r.<m~
~ II ffi~ q. by If. i$. !fi1. p. 69.
255. ~'I{~~'" "tt.I~it., .. I '1Q'!f~ i{~'" .,. ~'i{~( If'1I~''
illiloiq!i'IUI q. by,. on!li~ p. 176, , . on n p. 1010, !fit. l'it. p. 261,!fiT. N.
p. ~30 (reads ~ ~~); tbe ~lur I. 136. 2-3 has ~~ ... I
~m... ~lfilvr ~!flm~ ~n.
256. 1I'!l: SlllOl!fleoQtq m~ ~ I .,. ~,qufl1!f; ~ Jfi'~m ~ II
~ XI. 30 .. ~~ 165.17. Manu XI. 28 has the same rule in other words.
257. ~Slf(~ ~ ~m~1 ~!Ii~~ Ji'I'Wi""~«<t~~1I
~ q. by ,. (on !lim) p. 108, ~ p. 14, l!'. 11'. p.92 , i'~' p. 43.
~~ has tbe same verse except that tbe last quarter is '3;;f D'mw1tur iI. The
word ~.,. refers to tbe observance of celibacy aDd the like. Acc. to a well
known verse 3'11!\ 11m1 '151 ... ~ ~fu,", ~~: II (q. by 31N.
W. ~ II. 4. 9-13). the person observiDg ~'I{~ should not eat more
tbaD 32 or 28 morsels even if he i. a householder. ~: ~"I'I'If1l~~1lr
il""'It(f~"", Q\'1!TI') fl": !lim:, "I'~"'I~N''''rur: '#t...NwIf)rstim I ,itt
~,~1 '.(on~p.l09).
 Ekabhakta 101
sunset. Works like the Nir.t;layamrta, Smrtikaustubha (pp. 9- 10)
approve of the division into five parts, and hold that ekabhakta
means taking food at sometime between the 13th and 18th ghatl
of the day (of 30 gha~ls).2S8 When ekabhakta is merely an
alternative to strict upavasa on ekadasI, food must be taken on
the tithi on which the fast would have been observed if the
performer were able t o undergo it. The same 259 rule applies to
nakla as a substitute for upavasa.

Ekabhakta is also a vrata independently performed (without

reference to ek!idasI). The Anus3sanaparva (chap. 106 verses
17-30) declares the rewards secured by observing ekabhakta in
each month from M argasir~a to Kartika and Anusasanaparva
(chap. 107. 13-126) dilates upon the fruits of observing ekabhakta
on each of the thirty days of a month. The K~tyakalpataru on
vrata (pp. 457-468) sets out practically the whole of Anusasana-
parva chap. 107 (which the editor appears not to have noticed)
and Hemadri on vrata vol. n. pp. 930-931 does the same. The
Krtyakalpataru (on vrata pp. 419- 421), the Krtyiuatniikara
(pp. 4:06-7 and later on) and Hemadri on vrata (vol. II pp. 748- 798)
quote Anusasana 106.17-30 about ekabhakta in different months
at different places.
Na7cta-Two verses about nakta oocurring in the Linga,
Narada : 6D and other pura.lfas are : alms oollected by begging are
superior to fasting, food obtained without requesting anyone for
it (i. e. ayiicita ) is superior to alms, nakta is superior to ayacita,
therefore one should subsist by nakta method; eating havi~ya
food, bath, truthfulness, small intake of food, offering oblations

258 . ~ ~\~;rm ,.'lIntT ~ lff1T: 1 ... qt !IIlf~i ~i'fiT­

~"1lm~ tf~ lfm( ~~~ m.'lf~:, n~~ ~it 'l'Cfi~
1Ii~~ 1 ~ pp. 14-15; the 1· ..... p. "13 says ; 3f!II ftt~ ~~-
1f1~: lfi1(IS: •

259. ~ ~ ~ lI's'lfi"'5i(~ "'1iiitftt ~~.q'''''I'4Ii~

IfiT'ill'!r{ if ii ~ ~ ;n{\I'd(ijOtllq.~Iq~I~ ~ ~ ~.... r-
qa~lI:iI'wil: 1 11'. ~. p. 93.

260. ;!IqI.,.. ,tqt ~ ~~ 1 ~q,~tm" ~ 1II"Wi ti~"''''~~

~~'ll(f_1I ",,~~~ .. e'li11_1(,,'3\.,i(' ~~:~ ~ ~II
~cvr <l"W 83. 10. 12-13), """,,,,,0,
<'"") 43.11-1 2, reads ~ for ,...
aDd ~ q ~ q. by 'lie<iiil(Ol4ti4 on n p. 3 (quotes from ~ and
reads~) I ~. (on n I. p. 333) quotes ~o {rom 1AJ and ~,~.
P. 11 quotes from ~. afI1riiltii means 'offering oblations of ghee into fire
with the ~iitl . ' Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 301 Dote 713 for ~Ilt•.
 102 History 0/ Dharmasasfra [ Sec. I, Cb. V

into fire, and sleeping on the ground, these six should always be
observed by one who takes a meal only at nakta. There is
divergence of views about the time that should be called nakta.
Hemadri 261 (on Kala pp. 112- 115) discusse" at length what is
naktakilla. The first rule is that in a naktavrata tl;le tithi ( if
viddha.) to be accepted is the one that exists at the time of
prado~a. Pradosa is the period of six gha~ikas after sunset (acc.
to Skandapural1a), while Visvadarsa holds that it is a period of
three gha~ikas after sunset. P. C. (p. 46) explains the latter
quotation as meaning that three gha~ikas after sunset is com-
mended as the most proper time of pradosa. The Bhavi~ya­
pural1a states :262 some men desire that nakta should be the time
when the stars begin to appear, some wise men say that nakta is
the time when only one muhiirta (two ghatikas) of the day
remains, while I hold that nakta is the time when the stars begin
to appear. From this it, appears 263 that the proper time (mukhYQ
kula ) for nakta is after the stars are seen, other times being
gaUl1a. N ~kta has two meanings, one primary viz. period of
time and the other figurative or secondary viz. taking food at
nakta time.
There is a special naktavl'ata apart from upavasa. Vide list
for a brief description.
Aylicita means 'subsisting on food not obtained by
begging or requesting anyone '. The sankalpa in this case 264 is
, during this day and night I shall not eat food obtained by
begging or requesting anyone '. No particular time can be
specified about ayacitavrata, sincejood may be brought by some
one at any time. But when suoh food is brought he has to
partake of it only once. I n the word' ayacita ' not only26S is there

26 1. filI~: ~""': ~11fl1m<f ~ '«f<I' ~ q . by ~. (lfffil5 p. 112);

~"iil<rih-~~It"~ 'q~~1'!II"5~1I t · (~Wi p. 11 2).
262. ,;!~!i14~'''1'';%; ifif.;:r~~~:, ~i;j {if;i if;1~(1I"4~ tr.f~: I
"'~",q~'''I'''ifi+11t ~ ~rfiN I ~1!1i. q by 'li~o (on 11(1' p. 3), 'Ii. ~. P 57.
2(3. ';!~~ ~~: ~:, 3f( ~~" ~I~).wrr:
,"+1'<Ioi!I~lq"4~II<l:. I i. (on lfffil5) p. 114.

264. 3m Q'If ~'3{~ . . i't(l!l1f~ ""ll~-1T' ~~:~: I

!fit, lit,
p. 138.
265. .., ~ ~~ <'14 <IIA" I( , ~ ~~'f~ ~
fimit
mn ~'" 3{~ji$
'IT ...
~~~lil ..,. ql~l1.ql('
..,. ~ tro€"'~~SN (I ~,o#fIq+1ii1
... 3{('1: ~ ~~$~r Q'If ~
l?I'iI"5ql!'(~ ~ l?I"if\TIt ~'U , ~. on lfI. III. 318.
 AyCicita. e/cabhalcta. na/eta

a prohibition against begging for food belonging to another, bu~

one is prohibited from requesting his wife or servant to serve
food belonging to himself. Therefore, if a man's wife or servant
without being directed by him bring cooked food to him he may
partake of it, but not otherwise.
These terms ekabhakta, nalcla, aylicita were used in ancient
times in connection with prayascittas like K~'cchra and were
taken over into the lore of fasts when the latter became common
in the times of the Pura!1as. Vide Ap. Dh. S. I. 9. 27. 7, Gaut.
26. 1-5, Yaj. III. 318 and H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 132 under Krcchra.
Padma (UttarakhaI)~a, chap. 36) gives a fanciful story of the
birth of ekadasl..
Leaving aside the exaggerations and bizzare statements of
some of the PuraI)as the underlying conception of a fast on
ekadasi is spiritual; it is a discipline of the mind, the idea
heing that fasting undertaken cheerfully purges man's spirit
of the lower animal passions and brings him to a mental
level at which he becomes fit to receive God's grace. The
Bbagavadgita 266 emphasizes that in the case of a man who takes
no food the objects of sense may leave him for the time being but
that the relish for those still remains and vanishes only when he
bas a vision of the Highest. The Br. Up. states 261 that
Ibrahma!}as desire to know that Great Soul by the study of the
Veda, by sacrifices, by gifts and by austerities consisting of
abstention from food'. This idea of the efficacy of fasting under-
taken cheerfully is common to several religions. For example,
Matthew VI. 16-18 says I Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad, countenance ...... but thou, when thon fastest,
anoint thine head and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto
men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly',
The fast on ekadasi is of two kinds; one 268 consists in carry-
ing out (or adhering to) the prohibition of eating cooked food;

266. ~~ ~ ~11 lt~: I ~~ ~~lf tri: nr ~"

~
~1<fT II. 59,

267. ~ ~ I!" "tfiWf ~ ... ~ q~ -TIfOTr ~~ "''''' ~~

~1~Of~ I " . 'l"If. IV. 4. 22.
268. ~!fIlq~!iq'mt1 r.n ~q'itqIW1l&l..n ~.. I ft'!OV: I ,,+
~rti Of ~~ I ~ " ~'<IfRI ~~....-nt """~"MIt4~:
... I
( Con';nuH on fI.xI page)
 ,.

104 History of DharmaAastra t Sec. i, Oh. V

the other is of the nature of a vrata. As regards the first all
persons including householders having a son have adhikara to
observe it even in the dark half; but as regards the second
(upavasa of the nature of vrata) householders that bave progeny
should not observe it on the ekadasls of the dark half; they
should not make a sankalpa, they should simply give up cooked
food but should observe the niyamas of celibacy and the like. As
to ekadasis of the dark half between the SayanI and BodhinI
even householders with sons have the right to perform the vrata.
Similarly, those who desire to secure absorption into Vi!?J;lu,
long life and sons may perform a kamyavrata on ekadasis of
both pakfias. Vai!?l?ava householders should always fast even on
ekadasls of the dark half. The ekadasIvrata is obligatory on all
including devotees of Siva, Vi!?J;lu and the Sun. Upaviisa in the
nature of vrat a is again of two kinds, nitya and kCimya. These
are briefly the rules laid down in the NirJ;layasindhu and
Dharmasindhu (p.16). The main difference between mere upavasa
and upavasavrata is that in the former there is no sankalpa that
the person is undertaking an upavasavrata and he simply
abstains from taking food because the slstra says that on
ekadasi one should not eat cooked food, while in the latter there
is sankalpa and there are also several other matters to be
observed.

It would now be proper to give a comparatively early but

brief description of ekadaslvrata. The NiiradapuraJ;la (Purvardha
chap. 23 verses 12 ff.) describes the flrocedure doS follows :-on the
10th tithi the man who has to observe the vrata should after
getting up brush his teeth, take a bath, bathe a Vi!?:t;lu image in
pa1f.camrta and offer worship (of several upacCiras) to it. On the
11th, after bathing, he should bathe the image with pancamrta
and worship Vi!?:t;lu with sandalwood paste, fl owers and the like

( CO'Jti,~uld from !ast page )

... ~ qiitd I 1I(~ l!R~it ~~f1f \it-q;t fit'm I ~~lf~m~ Sf§1lT~
~~ iffll{1I tnt I ri 'I( ~mr~m-~ir.,Q"~.r §1i~f'
~- ..m~~:1 _ ) ~ ~., ~~~~~II tm
~'(!1'luli.1
~. m.
p. 3.5. Vide also ,. (on Ifim) PP 172-173 for almost the same words.
p and ~ do not bere mean tortclse and boar. but they are certalll
bulbous roots respectively called in Marathi 'fiVfIr( and ~. The vene
1f +0 t.
I.s quoted from. aDd ~ by (n) I. p 993. It oceun
•
In 1fro(. (~, chap, 24. 3-4 aDd 25.12).
 105
and repeat the mantra 269 'after remaining without food on the
ekadasI I shall, 0 lotus-eyed one, on the next da.y partake of
cooked food; be you, 0 Acyuta, my refuge '. He should take no
food, should curb his senses, should lie down in front of the Vil?lfU
image, keep awake engaged in songs, music and danoes relating
to Vi~lfU and listen to stories about Vil?I;lU contained in the
Pura:t:las. On the 12th tithi, he should after a bath for himself,
bathe the image with milk and then address the following
prayer 270 '0 Kesava I May you by reason of this vrata favour
(me) who am blinded by the darkness of ignorance, may you
turn your benignant face (towards me) and bestow on me the
sight of knowledge '. Then he should feed brahmaI;las and give
them dak~ i :t:la (gifts or fees) according to his ability. After that
he should perform his daily five sacrifices (brahmayajiia,
pitrtarpa:t:la, vaisvadeva, bali and atithi-pujana) and should
himself take his meal along with his relatives and should observe
restraint of speech when eating. While engaged in the upaviisa-
vrata, a person should never look at ca.:t:l~alas , persons guilty of
grave sins, atheists, those that have violated the rules of proper
conduct, those who engage in vituperations or back-biting; he
should not speak with the husband of a v~!1alI, with one who acts
as a priest for those who are unfit for performing sacrifices, with
one who worships images in temples for money, with one who
subsists by practising the profession of singing or .medicine
( for money), with one who is a bard or one who is opposed
to gods and brahma:t:las or those who are fond of eating at
others' houses and adulterers. One who is engaged in upavasa-
vrata should be pure (in body and mind), should control himself
and should be intent on doing good to all. For the meaning of
v~f?alI, vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 104 note 236 and p. 394 note 881.
Manu ilr. 152 provides that physicians and priests doing worship
in temples for money are unfit to be invited at sraddha.

269. ~ ~~: ~ "IfTi ~S1f{if1 ~'si ~~ ~ iI'

~1I",",'If(i,23.1S)q . by'. (on n)I . p. 1000 (reads~iI'), the
SIlme verse occurs In ~ 39.32 (reada ~~) and Is quoted {rom
~. by ~. ~. p. 456, ". iii. .m.p. 60; ~. Pt. p. 268 quotes It (rom ~
( probably meaning ~) and adds '~ am ~pn~, .•.
( on~) p. 196 quote. tbe verae from ~ and read.'~ ~'.

270. ~ ~ _, • a..n ~ "i"'~I14'r \lC

~ (t 23. 20) q. by ~ p . 20, ,. (n) Vol. I. p. 1007. It ia poulble
tbat tbe original words were "~IIIi""'~' The lilt. (it. p 269 quote. an
almo.t identical mantra from ~ 'aqnIf ... _ , l1~i'""" 1Q'ff .. , lfIf n,'

B. D. 14
1M HistOry 0/ .bitarmatastra t Sec. i, db. V
. It 'will be noticed that the main matters in the vrata are
upaviisa, worship of Vi!?I,lu image, jagara 271 at night with songs
and music, paraI,la. on 12th and certain restrictions about looking
at some persons or.speaking to them and restraint of the senses.
The Brahrna-vaivarta (IV. 26. 1-93) also contains the procedure of
ekadasi-vrata. It will be noticed·72 that in the procedure of eka.dasi
there is no hama, though in some other vratas there is a boma.
Accretions gathered round this simple procedure. It was
laid down early enough that one engaged in upaviisavrata should
miss four meals in three days, i. e. he should eat only once on
the 10th in the noon, fast 273 both times on 11th and on the 12th
he should miss one meal. The general rule is that the sankalpa
for vratas is to be made in the morning, but as regards ekadasl-
vrata exceptions have been made in the digests. For example,
it is said that the sankalpa 274 about niyamas is to be made on
the night of the 10th tithi. If ekiidasl is mixed up with 10th,
then sankalpa about fas~ is to be made at night ;275 if dasami
271. ~. (on~) I. pp. 984-85,1007, q. <'I. p. 58 lay great emphasis on
:3ff11~. One or two verses may be quoted here. 'Jffl'{lut 1 I?~~-qt ;ri'( ~iJ
~ ;;f~ OR: I ~~Uf~: i'llIfaf~: 'l'l.t~: II ~ 1ffrn ~1I1Jf;{ ~r<ii 1i mcrt 'Ff
f;lrl!~i'lII ' ,. (iffl) I. p. 984; ~lf fifi1mllm '6m ~if ~ I !fi'l.tmr a'TrfffinT
~1IO~fif~~:1 ~~: qi:~OR)~~:1 q . bY ~.( iffl )
p . 1007, tl'. <'t. P. 58. The ~~ (folio 83 b) quotes a passage from the
Skanda that states tbat there are 26 items in Jigara: ilr<i!fRt ..... ~ ~
~rorqo;; <N1' I ~ ~1Ti ~ ~ ll~: 1 ~1ilf ..... ~ <t~tj'­
~: I ~lf~ fiff.r.f ..... 5Cf1'9:'" i$ln~ I ~~ El';;I'I~~nt (~~ ~if
~R~ 7 ) ({~r~~ I sn(~~'" ~~1.fi('{l!;'{:~ 1 ';('kI'3l"~"I$'li'·
"~'Ff ~ I 1frlt ~ "ifflim §lf~<f('{~~ ( ~: ) 1 1If~~~ Sifiil""q~t
U ;;f(1('{~ I If: ~r" .ru ll'ftlfl .., 1l~ 'ij~ II.
272. 3«'1 ~ l{!filit~{i{<'rTi~lJ ~;o~ ~~OI'iI'(I'lit'1 :;if I ~
(folio 10 b).
~(lfl1m;<tlf),{'I'(: ~f1f Sml'lcll1\'lfl{ I ~~q;ili il~'*srwr;fi'iil'\i'IlI1l."
273 .
1fiT. lor. p.
264 (ascribes to ~), 1\'. <'t. p. 29 (ascribes to ~li~iI' and reads
itt:«(q~), <fiT itt. p. 498 (has the first half and fl."ads the 2nd as 'I::fTll'ilflfrif
!lim "\lifi1lldl!!q~). All these works say that the word • siiyam ' is not to
be takeD literally but is only indicative and what is really intended is the
K3vin g up of four meals in three days. .
274! tr.{'Ff~ <t~nrt ~f1fr fii~ ~I i'fJ'" .II'~I Slm t~~ilr
~tj'~llf ~ ~'i\'t 1 l(~tj'~q SI§'q'~Pt~ .~" .ilii I 1fiT. f1lI. p . 267.
275 . ~~""ClUq,"~ ~ ~p: I ft'l.tf ~ ~~i1t I ~mri ~~ ~
tlf<fl'{f ~'fi<'t: I u~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ <'r<t~ II "m I ,",~nrIJlfR
l(~ ~lit~'i'( ~ ,",ql,~,,')qR wptt: I ""' .. ~~:, ~1fI: l'I'f'l(~
"'Ii~j'lIf~ is I ~) ~A. "I'(IIC4,orC .. oil: n'
I .ntl Iftf. fifo p. 268; vide
•. (on 1fi1~) p. 197 for tbe verse ~:.; it reads the first verso as 4 ~
~(~1)$11~ ... ~~.,.
 Time far sankalpa 107
extends beyond midnight and the ek9.dasI becomes mixed with
it, sankalpa is to be made the next day after noon. Hemii dri
(on vrata vol. 1. p. 1006) and R§lanirI?aya (p. 26B) provide .that
the image of Vil$:r;Ju should ~e worshipped in a tnatuja pa decorated
charmingly with flowers of various kinds. It is provided in the
Skanda 276 that when a person breaks his fast on the 12th he
should partake of the nai'vedya mixed with Tulasi (basil) leaves,
since that destroys (the sina of) orores of murders.
Numerous medieval digests set out the procedure of ek i dasI-
vrata. It is impossible for reasons of space to refer to them. For
the sake of comparison with the NaradapUril,1a procedure, I shall
set out the procedure of Ekidaslvrata from the Dharmasindhu
(p. 19), almost the latest authoritative work on Dbarmas§stra.
Now (is set out) the procedure of (ek~dasI) vrata. On the
day previous to the fast, the person, after performing all his
daily duties in the morning, should make a saitka!pa in the form
'beginning from the 10th tithi,O god Resava, lord of gods, I
shall perform for three days your vrata; make it free from
obstacles '. Then at midday (of 10th) he should eat by the
ekabhakta method. The restrictions to be observed about
ekabhakta are: he should avoid taking food in a vessel of bell
metal, avoid flesh, masura pulse, sleeping by day, over-eating,
drinking too much water, eating food again (after the midday
meal), sexual intercourse, telling falsehood, boney, gram,
kodrava, vegetables, the food belonging to otbers, gambling, oil,
sesame cakes, tambftla (betel leaves and nut &c.); if he has to
cleanse his teeth after ekabhakta he should do so with twigs.
At night he should sleep on a bed spread on the ground. In the
morning of eka-dasI he should cleanse his teeth with the leaves
of a tree and not with twigs. After performing bath and other
daily duties, he should put on his finger a p~ vitra (loop) made of
darbha grass, turn his face to the north, take a copper vessel full
of water and make a sankalpa as follows: • after remaining with-
out food on the ekadasI I shall, 0 lotus-eyed one, on the next day
partake of cooked food; 0 Acyuta, be you my refuge '. Or he
may offer a handful of flowers to Hari with this mantra. In the
Case of him who is unable to observe a total fast, necessary
ohanges may be made in the sentence of sankalpa according to

276. qq IfroIt ,-riJfw !J'l'~ I ~~ I 'P1 ~~ II

""~ m~~ I ~~~" ~~~" ,fit I ,. (Jnt) I. p. 1008,
~, fit. p. 273.
108 Hiltary of Dharmasaslra [ Seo. I, Ch. V

his ability viz. Ion ekadasI I shall subsist on water or milk or on

fruits or I shall take food at the time of nakta '. Saivas should
make the sankalpa with Rudra GiyatrI; Tn Sun-worshippers
should make the sankalpa with 'the usual GayatrI (:ag. III. 62.10
, tatsavitur' &0.) or by taking the name of the Sun. This
sankalpa should be made by smartas on the night of the ekadasl
tithi, if there is 10th tithi after sunrise (mixed up with ekad'asi);
if 10th tithi exists beyond midnight on dasaml day all (whether
sml.rtas or vai~l?avas) should make the eailkalpa after midday.
He should drink the water used for sailkalpa. On making the
sankalpa he should pronounce over it thrice the mantra of eight
syllables (such as 'om namo NarayaIfiya '). Then after erecting
a ma7)Q,apa decorated with flowers (garlands &c.) he should offer
worship to Hari (image) aocording to prescribed rules in that
ma1)q.apa with flowers, fragrant substanoes, incense, best
naivedya, with various divine hymns of prail:;e, charming songs
and music, with straight prostrations on the ground like a
staff, with best announcements with the word 'jaya' and at
night he should keep awake.
The cult of ekadasl went on growing apace, so much so that
for the 24 ekidasis of the twelve months of the lunar year and for
the two ekadasYs of the intercalary month separate names were
invented. It is not possible to say with certainty when these
names were given, but some of them must be about two thousand
years old.
The twenty-four names beginning with caitra sukla ekadasY
and ending with phalguna dark half ekadasI are given in the
note below.278 There is some divergence about the names, but

277. The ~~r is: "'<!l~I1f ~""( "~.f1f "fr"~ I "' ...) ~lf: 'lI:;{fifll«f.1I
:.. ~. 11.9.
278. The 24 names from ~!II§ltri " in order are lti(Jl1{l, ~~;ff. ,"~1Il,
1Wro, ~, ~rl~' ~1fiT or ~I, ~'lfl, 3Nl'Tj q~;fl: '(~j
~, ~, ~)flf;ft (or ~), ~ j ~, ~ j 1f'JII'IfT, ~iffionj ;JflfI,
~j s:r~r (or ~~), ~~I. The~~ (VI. chapters 41-65)
contains over a thousand verse. on these and the legends connected with
them. The Ahalyakimadhenu (Ma. in Scindia Oriental Institute at Ujjain)
is probably the largest work on vratas having 1206 folios therein. It deals
with these names on folios 696 to 799. As regards the two ekidasis in an
iDtercalary month. Padma VI. 64 and 65 say that ~ and lti""lfl are tbe
Dames of dark and bright hllf ~~., while the ~l'~ (foliol 807-
(Co",."".d Oft " . ., p"g. )
 Names 0/ Ekadasis 109
for want of space no notice is taken of it here. One cause of
divergence appears to be that in some PuraJ;las the month is
pUl'I)imanta, while in others the month is ama,nta and what is
Bbadrakr!?J;la in PilrI:Jimanta reckoning is Srava:t:la-kr!?~a in
Amanta reckoning.

The ekadasl on Jyestha bright half is called ni'ljara because

the vrata consists in not using or drinking water except at the
I,ime of bathing or at acamana. It is described by Hemadri
(on vrata vol. I. pp. 1089-1091) who quotes the Mahabharata for
it and by N. S. pp. 99- 100. In the summer month of Jye!?tha it
must have been a great trial to go without water for a day
and therefore it was specially commended. Vis:t;Ju was supposed
to sleep for four months from Asadha bright ekadasY at night. and
to rise from his sleep on Kartika bright ekadasl.by day and henoe
these two ekadasIs are respeotively called SayanI (oonnected
with the sayana i. e. sleeping of Vi!?z:lu) and Prabhodhini 279 or
PrabodhanL (oonneoted with the pra'Jodha i. e. awakening of
Vi~nu). What the legend of VisJ;lu's sleeping from A!?a9ha
{mkla eleven for four months was really meant to illustrate or
s~ mbolize it is difficult to say. As these four months were the
months of the rainy season in many parts of India all move-
ments from one place to another distant place came almost to a
stand-still in anoient times; so probably mythology became
busy and suggested that Vifgm himself gave up all aotivity. It
is possible that this legend of four months' sleep may have some
connection with the state of things when the ancestors of the
Vedic Aryans lived in northern latitudes, when for four months
the sun was either not seen or emitted only faint light. This
legend from whatever cause it may have arisen is worked up in
various ways. It was said that Vi!?J;lu not only slept on his
snake couch but he also turned in his sleep from one side "to the
other (as human beings do) 011 Bhadrapada sukla eleven. And
therefore that ekadasI in Bhadrapada was called ParivartinI.
This matter was still further elaborated and it was asserted that

( Continr,.a /"0"' last page)

813 ) gives tbe names as ~~q( and ~q( Cor ~81IT and D 'f~
'''~SN~~ "~~nnir ~, ~lfl ~~lfl if1lI' ~~r ~ I , ~. ~. \l.
(folio 809 a); '~"(Iif~" "Rf" PT( .~4f1 11"" ~lrRf ~r
wlfiq.fi\ ~1(1f11l ~. 'fir· \to folio 811 a). Both are said to be taken from
~.
279. Vide Variba, cbap. 211, for ~~1f.
110 History of Dharmasast'ra [ Sec. I, Ch. V

all the grea.t gods and goddesses went to sleep like Vi!?I)u on
different dates, as stated in the Rajamartal)da quoted below. 280
Then , further differences arose, some works saying Vi!?l)u went
to sleep on the 11th, some that Visl)u slept on 12th, while a
third set said th3t Visl)u slept on the 15th of Xsiiq.ha bright half.
The Vanaparva (203. 12) declares that Visl)u sleeps on the
hoods of Sesa. Kiilidiisa in the Meghad uta refers to both the
sleeping of Visnu on his snake couch and his rising from it
( sapanto me bhujagasayaniid utthite sal'ngapaI,lau). Most
scholars hold that Kalidasa flourished between 350- 4:50 A, D. In
the Gangadhar Stone Inscription of Visvavarman in the Krta
year 4:80 there is a clear reference to the rising from sleep of
Vi!?I,lu in Kartika (vide Gupta Inscriptions ed, by Fleet No. 17
at pp. 72,75,79), Krta is held to be the same as Vikrama year by
most scholars. So the legend about VislfU'S sayana on a snake bed
and getting up from it may be about 2000 years old, if not more.
The question as to the tithi on which the gods ( and parti-
cularly Visl)u) went to sleep very much exercised the minds of
the authors of Pural!as and of the digests. For example, the
Vamanapural)a (16.6- 16) contains verses 281 some of which may
- - - - - - - ----.-- --- ---
«(",.·uJog, ~ fflil"ffi;it f,tG~~m", ~~, g-~~ "",nt
280. 1l'UT
~1Tt "' ~" aUT ~q llfflqqn~If~~~ ~ ~qr.,t ~~
l'il1lUT~1l'f ~1l;,' 1l'ur' I{~: ~!fi;'lf~~ tTUrQ'~~) ~) tml: If;ffl-
~ !fW'Itfr aM~: ~:, ill'i'm ~ ~"<l'(r 1:f00000re: ~r ~ '3'Rt!«Qij;.,T
~ fii'!1:l'T: ~ ~ ~ ~r:" 'f. fif;. q;"}. pp . 285-286. The original IDS. of
(~ (D. C. No. 34 2 of 1f,79-188 0) has some variant readings. The
2nd half of the fir st verse quoted is 'g-f~r ~~qr"'~ ~r "'
q:jJ(0f1l;,'
and in th e 2nd verse the ms. reads 'Jfr~~r~ lJ~q;~ ~if: Q'~ o and ;qrr 1fT!!-
~: sr~f(;ii rem ~ "iitRm·. The reference to If~~r. arises in
thi s way. The lJiiflllf says that Vi ~ 1'_Iu sleeps in tbe first quart er of ~1JUl:fr,
turns on another sid e in the middle of Srava1'_la nak~atra and wakes up in
th e last quarter of Revali. ~1'llQ'r~ ~!fmfif f,tG~"{.s!Jflq;{"it IfRlifcfit .... '
.mvr~ ....
lJ(~ifl ~~ ~~, lJ~IIlf q . by ~. on q;r~ p. 897
(ascrihes to ~'"I'). !fiT. fit. p. 175. I{. fif;. ~r. p. 285. refi:«r-;~ p. 112 , Tbis
is ~~ verse 1175 (folio 72a). Vide ABORI vol. 36 p, 314 , The (FiI"(~""
says tbat tbis restriction as to the quarters of ","S need not be observed.
Tbe two verses quoted above in the beginning of this note are ~R
1179 (folio 72a), 1175. The !i~~r.rIlf;1:f also bas the verse .(1'. (1532).
281 , ~ 'f~IVf"{q1 ••• ~ '3'f"~~;; IfR~~' ~~­
~t PT ~~1l'~, ... ~ 1If~lfta''1~ ~: ~:I ~
t{?1IT;~ ~ffilf f.hrt ~~, &c. All verses of If(if., 16. 6-16 are q by _. (.
pp. 206-207; while some of tbem are quoted by If. Ri. tt;"}. p. 286, ~
436. Tbe printed 'fTifOI' reads '~!fTtiT ~ IfR~' and 'mr;~: ~~
fiJnrt ~ '. These would chaoge the ~ense a good deal.
 Sayana-tilhis 0/ gods Hi
be summarised here; 'a person should arrange a couoh in the
form of the hoods of the snake Se~a for the lord of the world
(Visnu) on the 11th tithi of A!?adha and offer worship; he should,
being himself pure, seek on the 12th permission from brahmal}as
invited, and should bring to sleep the Lord that wears yellow
clothes '. Then the pural?a proceeds to narrate how Kama (God
of Love) sleeps on 13th of Asac:lha on a bed of kadamba flowers,
the Yakl/as on 14th, Siva on the 15th (i. e. Purnima) on a bed of
tiger-skin, then Brahma, Visvakarma, Parvati, Ganesa, Yama,
Skanda.. the Sun, Katyayani, Lak!?mi, Lord of snakes, Sadhyas
respectively go to sleep on the tithis of the dark half from 1st to
11th. The K. V. (p. 225) and Hem~dri (on Kala pp. 888-889)
quote certain verses according to which Kubera, Laksmi,
Bhavani, Ganesa, Soma, Guha, Bhaskara, Durga, the Matrs,
Viisuki, sages, Visl}u, Ksma, Siva are the lords of tithis from
1st to 14th for pavitraropal?a (i. e. giving the sacred upavlta to
the gods) and for sayana.
One important rule has to be remembered,282 viz. whatever
nak~alm or whatever ii/hi has a certain deity as its lord, the
sleeping, turning from one side to another and the rest (i. e.
~etting up &c.) take place on that tithi or nakf?atra. Some
celebrate the sayana of a god relying on the tithi, others rely on
the nak!?atra. But the trouble is that one tithi has several lords,
according to various authorities. For example, pratipad has
three lords, Agni, Brahmii. and Kubera (Garu~a 1. 116. 3-8). For
reasons of space it is not possible to refer to the texts on which
different tithis are assigned for the sayana of Vil?l?u. The
Samayamayiikha (p.79), K. T. V. p.172 and Vrataprakasa283 (part
of Vlramitrodaya) espouse the view of .A.!?§~ha eleventh (of
bright half) relying on the Brahmapuriil?a. Many digests
favour the 12th as the tithi of sayana and prabodha of
Vi'!J)u relying on the several verses in the Varaha, Vi!?J)u-
dbarmottara and other Pura:t;las. Vide Kiilaviveka p. 175 (ff),
V. K. K. 286-288, KJ;tyatattva p. 436, K. R p. 209. In an

282 . ");;; ~l'Qt I ~ 'Wi lJ ~~ ~ fiiRl"'f lJll ~11' ~~-­

flil~ ~~~~n ~r..~N~WI" ~~~~iI' ~~ m'iI'T~~~~ I
( . (on lI'i'm) p. 904. Tbe verse is q. by lfir ~. p. 225 (ascribes to qv~rvt),
~ . II. p . .58 .

283 . lt~~1If II DrlJ~mi ""~~,,: I tl3If'$''l~ ~ 1fIf( "moT~""~ I

qr ~il\1n lfi(1ff "it?,"u'~S"(I ... ~ II D!1ri ~ lftm ~ I
1I~"~ ~~iiIRr: I If. iiIi. -a.
P. 287. ~. ~. 224; ~~ (mI.)
remark, (folio 104 b) '~~~~If _,"""lll't '.
112 Hi8l0t·y of Dharmasaslra t Sec. I, Ch. V
inscription referred to in 1. A. vol. 25 p. 290 we have the words
'PUl?yii utthanadviidasi' (the holy 12th tithi on which Vi$Ilu
gets up from his couch), the inscription being dated in sake 14,62
(1540 A. D.). In some works A$i.i.~ha Full moon is advocated for
the sayana of Vi$Ilu. 284 Vide K. R. p. 208, K. V. p. 188, Krtya-
tattvllo p. 4:36. These works provide how sayana and prabodha
are to be celebrated. On the sayani day, the devotee prepares a
couch in the evening with a piece of cloth or with flowers,
worships Vi$l?u (image) at night, repeats the mantra' om namo
Narayallaya' and then puts Vi$Ilu to sleep and repeats two
verses, one of which is quoted below. 28s On the day of prabodha
the image of Visl?U is given an elaborate bath and a full worship
is done and several mantras from Variiha-puralla are recited and
a Vedic verse (idam vi$Ilur, Eg. 1. 22. 17) also is recited.
Persons having adhildira for ekadasi-vrata may be divided
into two classes, viz. Vai$l?avas and Smiirtas. The word vais:r;tava
is defined in some of the PULiinas 286 such as the Padma m.
1.21-32, IV. 10. 65-66, VI. 252. 74, VI. 69, Vi$Ilu m. 7. 20-33,
III. 8. 9- 19, the Bhiigavata and in some of the digests. A
Vai~Il ava is really one who has received dik$ii (initiation)
according to the Vai$l;lava Cigamas of the Vaikhiinasa, Pancariitl'a
and other schools. The Skanda defines a Vai$Ilava.: that man
is a Vai$Ilava. who does not forsake (fast on) ekadasi, whether he

284. iif~f~ ;f~lf:' 3{"'~VW'fllfr.i\' ~~<r-i:' l-r"tfi'r~I'WI')

;rrqt Wr~17f~ I ~i'ti) "l(l~ ~I~~ifiif q;rra'tfrll ... "~r lfR: I ~Rrntr
~~~ ~1:"'rl ~iii~~: I 1~:rt ~ ~'f1rt 'ifIlI~<{ ~f II :wi' "<{
;firns~ ~q ~~: I em. ~. p 188; It''~ (folio 104 b) says: lJfr.r<r~
~~ll~~~~ t?t~~ f~(~~~~~: .
285. '68' C'lffit ~ ~~ ~~;fJ{ I lfd' ~ ~Va- ,",If<~ "<{~~ I
~ ... i~if.1 1i<1I"~ pp. 436-437. Vide 1:fJfRr.!i p . 53 for ~r.~ and
pp. 111-11 2 for ~ and for.~. p.102 and p. 205 respectively for the
same two. 'fRt~ ~ ~ f.nrt ~ I ~ .f<'lf~JfI~"' ~r.~ ~;r<Jflf1( II
is the last mantra q. by 1(, T. p. 454, N. S p. 205.

286. 1tcIri ~ ~ 1"'~: ~"'"': I ~ ~~ '« ~'hN ~II: II

tm IV. 10. 66; fi:~ ~ smIfi ~~ ~ I ~t"QiTl1J~·flI1'f~ ffff-
~rll tm VI. 252.74; ~-q~~~~~ ~rn)_:' ~ ~II
~Vt ~~~~~ I Q(IW,Qq4Uq ...) " ' " qq~ I ~lfi~i ~
lR1f;fnln~~1I ~ ~ ~~~:I ~Ndl~(IS'~I,:,«f{
~~ ~ II ~, ;fif f.t p. 244: ~ ft ~r ~r ~I ~: I quoted
by Proi. De in his work • Vai~l;lava faith &c.' p. 365; ~~~ I 1f.1'Sfit
~ 11: ,-,IlOIffl(jt+lUlliqttlll.' "~,,. ~~: ~~
R~u Jilt I 'fiT••fit p. :.tH. This is ~"OlllI. 7. 20.
 Characteristics of a Vai~a'Va 113

be reduced to the direct misery or whether great bliss might ha.ve

oome to him, who ha.s been given the dik1?a of a Vai1?I;laVa, who
behaves equally towards all living beings, who does not swerve
from the duties of his class (varI,la), who is equal to his own
friends of his class (varI,la), who is equal to his own friends or
his enemies, who, being high (in principles), does not deprive
anyone (of his possessions) or does not injure anyone, and whose
mind is pure. Vide Prof. S. K. De's 'Vai1?I,lava faith and move-
ment' pp. 364-366 and p. 413 where the author gives an analysis
of the characteristics of the Vai1?I,lava devotee drawn from the
Haribhaktivil!i.sa of Gopalabha ~~a (for followers of Caitanya ).
Though the PuraI,las give these definitions, some of which
a.re very general and may apply even to persons not popularly
called VaisI,lavas, still in all parts of India and by all sil!~as it is
admitted that those are Vai1?.t;lavas who are traditionally 287
known by that appellation. The question on what tithi upavasa
should be practised when ekadasI is mixed up with the tenth tithi
and twelfth has to be often answered in different ways according
as the person who is to observe the fast is a Vai1?.t;lava or a
Smarta. The answer depends on the rules about vedha which
are rather complicated. It is not possible within the space at
my disposal to go into details. Those who want to make a deep
study of this matter may consult Hemadri on Kala pp. 206-288,
Kalanir.t;laya pp. 233-256, Tithitattva pp. 104-108, Samaya-
praka.sa pp. 66-74, Nir.t;layasindbu pp. 37-44, Sm~timuktaphala
( on Kala) pp. 839-844), Dharmasindhu (pp. 16-19).
Ekada.sI, like all other tithis, is of two kinds, viz. sampur.t;l!i.
and viddha or khalf~a. The general definition 28S of the sampur.t;lii.
tithi is that when a tithi has the extent of 60 gha~ikas
commencing from the time of sunrise it is called sampurlfa. To
this ekida!;I was stated by the Skandapuriilfa 289 to be an excep-
tion. In the case of EkAdasl the Garu~apura.t;la 290 and Bhavi1?ya
287. ~m~~lI'~~fI~~­
~~~.~Qf:If.t.nt.p.40.
288. ~U~t'(h,q"t?IIII"'IV1f ~mt I 1ft fltN: m II ~i lfi'iim
~: n ifl'<i''Ii\IOi q. by i'. (on ~ p. 206), ~T. <'T. fit. p. 3, ~. <'T. 41 (2nd
bal{ is different). •
289. ~: ~ "'tI'IIC't411il!1~: I ~ tilt ~1't'TT '1R"I~(.. fi1ft'l1: Ii
~. q. by t. (on ~) p. 206, q. <'T. p. 41.
290. in •• "IGI ~ ~I ",,,lIlt14I'lIql fitsn WI1I4Stlll~­
~'"" ..a"'q. ~, ~. -qR-IIti\IGlI ~IRct""4""t?IIII:
~ a WpT ~ qfW1flltit q . by,. 11
~ 6l«aIlI~tlt ,'
1IfiTt?) p. 206, ~. <'T. p. 41.
(00 '
II. D. 15
114 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. V

lay down that ekMas! is sampurt:lii only when it exists also two
muhUrtas (i. e. 4 gha~ikas) before sunrise of the day on which it
exists for the whole civil day.
The Narada and other puraI,las condemn fast on ekadain
mixed with dasamI. Naradapural;la (purvardha, chap. 29. 39-40)
says' the sixth tithi mixed with the 5th, the seventh mixed with
the 9th and ekadas! mixed with dasami-a fast should never be
observed on these; all should accept (for fast) ekadasI free from
dasamI; dasami joined to ekadasl destroys spiritual merit
acquired in three past lives '. This aversion to dasamI was
probably due to the fact that dasamI finds no place in the famous
yugma{;akya and the pair that is commended is that of ekadasl
and dvadasI (and not of ekiidasi and dasaml). One well-known
verse is: GandhiirI observed a fast on ekii dasi mixed with
dasamlj her one hundred sons (the Kaurava.s) perished (in the
Bhiirata war); therefore one should give up that kind of ekiidasl
for a fast. 291 The Ni1radapuriiI,la (purvardha, chap. 29) devotes
15 verses to the discussion of EkiidasI and DvadaSI.
In the Brahmavaivartapuriil;la quoted at great length by
Hemadri on Kala (pp. 255-259) four kinds of vedhas of ekadasl
by dasami (viz. aruI,lodaya-vedha, ativedha, mahavedha and
Yoga) are mentioned, but they are passed over here. In the case
of Vai~I,lavas, if dasamI extends on a civil day beyond 56
gha~ika8 from sunrise, then ekadasI follows and continues for the
whole of the next civil day, there is then what is called
AruI,lodayavedha and Vai~I,lavas cannot observe a fast on such
an ekli dasI which is preceded by - AruI,lodayavedha. The same
result follows if dasam! extends up to 3, 2 or one gha~ikii before
sunrise or dasamI persists till the exact time when the sun rises
and then ekadasl starts (when there is what is called suryodaya-
vedha). A Vai~ J;la va. in deciding on what tithi to fast is affected
by both arut:lodayavedha and suryodayavedha i. e. even if
ekadasI exists for fu1l60 gha~Is after sunrise on a civil day when
dasaml precedes it by four gha~ls, or by three, two or one gha~I
or when dasamI exists for one moment at sunrise and then
ekadasl follows at once, still the Vai~I,lava cannot observe a f88~
on the ekadasI of 60 gha~Is but only on the next i. e. the 12th.
If dViidasl touches three civil days, then the fast for Vai~J;lav88

291. 1n1JiI~lq~~.,., IfP1:TT1li ~m-r' fRtn: ~ q ~ 11ft-

~!l" IIQ' I . 12~. 2, q. by 'i. ~. p. 63~ (who regards this ai merel,
a liie;q'I!I'I''')' ~I,","';U' {olio 71, verse 1154 (vid~ ABORI vol, 36 p. 312).
 115
is on the day which is wholly covered by dViidasI and the p ira~ a
is on the next day when dviidasl ends. In any cases other than
those specified above ekiidasl is the fast day and dvadasI is the
piira.~a day. Naradapurii~a (p iirvardha, chap. 29 verse 45) pre-
scribes that if there are two ekadasls, whether in the bright half
or da.rk half, a householder should fast on the earlier of the two
and ascetics (yatis) on the later. Sannyasins and widows are
governed by the rules for Vai~~avas. Smartas (all those who are
not Vai~~avas) are not affected by the doctrine of a1'utlodayavedha
but only by suryodayavedha i. e. if there is dasamI before sunrise
and an ekadasI follows from sunrise, smiirtas have to observ:e a
fast on the ekadasi. There are many texts that are apparently in
conflict, but the KalanirJ;laya (pp. 251-256) and Nirt;layasindhu
(pp. 37-44) introduce order by showing that some texts refer to
Vai~I.laVaS alone, some to Smartas alone and some to both.
The Ekadasltattva (p. 55 ) brings together many of the conclu-
sions about the fast tithi and the plra:t;liitithi.
There are cases where the texts sometimes allow fast on
ekadasI even though mixed with dasamI. This occurs when
dvadasI does not exist even for a short · time on the 13th tithi
But this is allowable only to Smiirtas and not to Vai!?J;lavas.
Certain restrictions as to food and physical and mental activities
had to be observed from the time saDkalpa was made to the final
ceremonies (pa1'atla) in ekadaslvrata. 291 It may be noted that
even when a person is in mourning he has to observe ekadasI-
vrata.:m Certain observances were laid down as common to all
vratas (including ekadasI) viz. forbearanoe, truthfulness,
compassion, oharity, purity, restraint of senses, worship of god,
homa, contentment and not misappropriating another's wealth.291
There were separate rules to be observed on dssamI, ekadasI and
dViidasi (10th tithi to 12th). They are somewhat overlapping.
The observances prescribed for dasamI are: vegetables, flesh,
maeiira pulse, eating again (after ekabhakta), sexual intercourse,

292. Itt ~~1'{¥1l' qroJTlTcf ~ r.r~ il'<i ~ I ~. (on no I.

p. 1008).
293. ~ ~ '(MUqliljjil ~~I '"' ~''d\'Eql ~~
~~~I ~~ ~ift'll"l'rim~n tfi\'1 ,. (on~)p.192,
294. Itlln ~ ~ ~ ~(ilPilqf.ltlll: 1 it"Plta,,,,., ~"': ~qilj:;i"i( I '
~ 1:1'i: ~ 'flN'T ~:I ll~ q. by ~. (on 0) p. 5,
~.~. ~. p. 66, !fit. A. p. 454, "on 0 I. p. 1008 (from ~~, with
variations); compare _~ (~) 84. 22. This verse is ii"i<iOI I. 128.
8009.
116 History of Dharmattistra t Sec. I, db. V
dice-play, drinking much water-a devotee of Vi~l;lU should avoid
these.195 The MatsyapUral;la296 provides: (vessels of) bell-metal,
flesh, wine, honey, oil, telling an untruth, physical exercises
journey, sleeping by day, earning (wealth), oil-cakes, masura
pulse-one should omit these twelve (on dasamt).
The restrictions on the day of fast are many, but a few are
stated here: Harlta lays ~7 down: one should on a day of fasting
avoid speaking with persons guilty of grave sins, heretical
persons, atheists and the like and also falsehood, gambling and
the like. The Kurmapural;la provides: on the day of vrata. one
should not touch nor speak nor look at persons that are antyajas
(untouchables) and have to live outside the village, a woman
recently delivered, one guilty of grave sins and a woman in her
monthly illness. Devala provides :298 A fast perishes (i. e. all
rewards of observing it are lost) by sleep in the day, by play
with dice and by sexual intercourse; but in case of great pain
(or danger) a fast is not affected by drinking water (frequently).
The Rajama.rtaJ;l9.a lays down: a man fasting on an Ekii.dasI
should not be guilty of telling a lie, gambling, sleeping by day
and sexual intercourse. Hemadri (on vrata vol. 1. p. 331) quoting
Matsya forbids a bath with oil on ekadasl. A fast is vitiated by
drinking water often, by eating tambiLla, by sleep in day time
and by sexual intercourse. When Vyasa299 says that flowers,
295. ~ ~ ~4i lI"'~!f.t I "6MI14''; 'f{ ~ ~i"~~$t«: I
q. by i. (on lfi'I'(lS p. 193), !fit. Ft. p. 265, '"IT.
' ",. p. 56 (reads 1't"', probably
a Bengali copyist's mistake).
. 296. "'t'Eq!1<'c111 <fifttt """' 'U'd ~- ~ finN~ I ~ .... ~ ..
~~-q:_1 ~~~~""ii,q~\'t'~~1 '. on<fil~ p . 193,~.&.
"". pp. 63-64, IT. d'. p. 56 (reads 3I'~ collyrium for ~. whicb reading i.
better), ,. (on .."') I. p. 1008 (reads s{:Fr); these are q'Q' r. 136.3-4.
297.
tilt I q. by,. ( on 0) 1. p.
.
~: I mm~.1tt'ia""j\"'J+!, .. oiti[ttGt'i'F.tq;;64"''''f4'' ~ I
...
1008, !fit. fit. p. 265 (reads ~.
fq)j .. ~JIi1'iN:rt'i'(~~"~1 Of~~~"
~ q. by 1t'iT. f,%. p. 265.
298. ~) ~ ~"i~t.".p~: I amr1t ~ ~: ~n
~ q . by ~. (0 p. 4), 1J. ~ . p. 57, 1t'iT.~. p. 452. Vide 'IQ I. 128.
7-8. ~ tnt ~ .. ~ I ~ Of pm
:;S4 .. ,,,,q(l ~: I
'"
~""i1'~o. verse 1167 (folio 71 b); vide ABORI vol. 36 p. 313 for it : this
occurs in 1t'iT, fit. p. 452.
299. ~ .<1'' ...... 4 i'q'(lJt'«~ ~I ~ " P
~~II ('IQ 1.128. 67) ~~~I ~. on ~ p.201.
' .....tttM4 (q. by~. 011 n p. 5 and ~: on 1m vol. I. p. 331 ) read. tlIl
vei.e as """"(lJt"".,,1it iiqi1i(IJ'.~. .
 RestricUons jar ekadaii and dvildaii 117
ornaments, (rich) clothes, fragrant substances, incense, sandal-
wood paste, brushing the teeth and collyrium (in the eyes) would
not vitiate a fast, he is referring to the fast observed by women
whose husbands are alive.
On the 12th the person has to offer worship to Vi!$~u and has
to avoid sleeping by day, the food belonging to another person,
eating again after the midday meal (on 12th), sexual intercourse,
honey, bell·metal vessel, meat, oil. 3OO The passage in the note
below is practically the same as the one cited from Brahma~4a­
pura~a by Hemadri (on Kala p. 203) as containing the restric-
tions about dvadasI.
The result of the insistence by Vai!?I,lavas on observing a
fast on ekadasI mixed with dvadasI was often this that in order
~o be able to observe para~a on dvadasI before it ended, they had
to get up very early before dawn, take their bath and compress
all their morning and midday duties into a short period before
sunrise. In modern times many orthodox Vai!?l;HLVaS do this
and rely on the authority of the Narada OOl and Skanda pura~as
Gluoted below. A smrti 302 text goes so far as to prescribe 'on
soeing that dvadasI exists only for half a kala after niSitha, a
(V ai!$~ava) person should perform all acts proper to be performed
up till midday following, because Sankara has so ordered'.
Kal'il as a measure of time has been variously defined. Matsya
(142.4) and Vayn (100.217-218) say that 30 kala.!! are equal to a
muhurta (i. e. two gha~ikiis); on the other hand, the Amarakosa
holds that 360 kalas constitute a muhurta and the Kalanir~aya

300. ,,,~fiM~ I ~ ~ ;f !6-'~!i-' I ~ lfil~q,f?l~ ~

114~qli1e ~II t. (on~) p. 203.
301. aJifi' ~ I ~U ~ Ilq~qli1Ojoi'lqq I ~"I .... f$ql:..wn
4'IiI{im~: I qd~I~i(Ulifiq: ~ ~I""I""~E( 1 fq'3flcful~!i'" ~.1fT
"Iif~11 ~~~I1'f4T ~qtfl"I('q1 ~qIIl(UIi~~1 "":m"~
Ilittoii,qlfl41 ~ 11 iIiT. r..-. p. 242, ,. (on Ifi'm) pp. 280-281.
302. Iffi'IS11:fiwnriIT.1fT ~"I ~: Am:~:~:
~ij41i~"IE(" ~ quotes by fit. tf. p. 111. It explains ~'41~ as '~­
~, i. e. after 3~ praharaa of the night. But ~ ordinarily means
~ and therefore ~ would mean any time after midnight. ~
is also explained as '~ i' ~ lI(j.q,qi1'1Ii1~:'. ~ is defined al
the two praharaB of the night (excluding the lBt and 4th or last). Vide
t. on Ifi'm p. 708, 1IfiT. R. 343,
~. two 130 for aeveral definitions of ~.
~ (~. p.370) says that ~ is the period of eight ghafikis
after the first half prahara of Di,ht. '~~ lfl'fl ~ I ,
~. ~~ p. 216, quotiu, ~'~ ~ lI11n ~ fIT: ~ 1 ~
i1c4l""Oj'~ a U'lf 11,,"""I4( A'. .
118 History oj DharmaSastra [ Sao. I, Db. V

accepts this last. As the astronomers themselves were at

variance as to the length of a tithi in question, a plain straight-
forward rule was proposed that the fast in case of doubt should
be observed on dvadasI and the para:t;la should be observed on the
13th.~ The rank and file of Vai~:t;lavas are very exclusive and
bigoted and treat with some contempt everything connected
with Siva and some of them eat sumptuous food on Sivaratri,
instead of observing a fast. Many of the smii.rtas generally
observe a fast both on the EkadasI and the Sivaratri (particularly
the Mahasivaratri i. e. on Magha dark 14th). There have been
great wrangles and hatreds among Vai~:t;lavas and Saivas.
The Brahmapurana expressly 304 states that in the holy
Puru~ottamak~etr~ a temple of Siva was erected in order to put
a stop to the wranglings between Saivas and Bhagavatas
(devotees of Vi~l,lU). The higher Hindu thought including even
the Pura:t;la excursions in philosophy always held that there305 is
only one God, that the one Brahma that is all Intelligence, that
is incapable of being thoroughly comprehended, that is without
parts and without body, is imagined to have different visible forms
for securing the purposes of devotees and that deities deemed to
have visible forms are imagined as male or female or as portions
(of the one brahma). The Mahabharata and some of the Pura:t;l8.8
emphasize that God is one and that there is no d~fference
between Siva and Vi!?:r;JU. 306 Vide Vanaparva 39. 76-77,
303. ~fii{~ W~If) ~if VCfn alCfW 1I !tqr Jl'mrr ri~ 1I
~II ~~~~I ~ ~It~(~~" •.
on lfiWS pp. 210-211. The first verse is quoted from ~~ by !If. ~. ~.
p . 43.
304 . ~t""~~<fi~1 ~wlt~ ~I
~~ ~ ;nUt~ ~ ~ I lII'If~lVT 56. 64-65.
r;qWl'FEqjllil~ ~U<fi8'E<llfllfmvrll ;a q H'Ii.fi 1.,1 1fi111Hi qrui'r ~-
305 .
1fi{llr.lT II ~ q. by If. <1'. p . 58 which explains ~f as '~r-rt itct'n'll1
~~~~P . The ~'ir.J of ~Q'1~,('E4tit quotes tbis vene
(without name) after introducing it with the words 'q;i ~ ~tw·
~~: ~r: if(llfufr~..,~: I ~ "f1H'EQiplll'ti'lS
1!1~ €~~ ~1?JJm~rn~" pp. 91-92 on 8th verso of
tbe ~r (Govt. Oriental Series, Poona).
306. ~fitU,&(4:IHq ~lII1Tit ~I II'~ ~ ~ "","
'fifO 39. 76-77; 1R<'!Ii itRr ~;rt .~ ~ ~ 1'I1lQI1 1I'N'f~"!ri ~ it
~~tlfll mt~343 . 131; ~mmm'if: ~1mfrR!f:1 ~192 .
51 a!ld ~'@1'<IUI V. 18 . 50; qrr~: ~~ IlIfi ~ f'N1"lIlt1 ... ~
"Pf ~~: I ~i.fi1"16qlfil(I~RtI1rri ~" qmrar 130
10-11; 'l) lW ~~ 1f<ffGTt ~ I ~ ~ JW'RI" ri"' I(4WII'CC"Ui.'
~ 70.27; ~~: ~ IlIfi i1T: I ~ (1,1fuf) 2. 32.
 Eight kinds of Dvadaiis .119

BrahmapurA~a 130. 10-11, 192. 51-53, Vamana 67. 27-28,

Varaha 70. 27, Vif?-9upurat;la V. 18. 50, Brahmat;l~a III. 4:3. 4:7-51,
Naradlya I. 2. 32. Some puraJ?as'm put forward the notion that
health is secured from (the worship of God as) the Sun, wealth
from Agni, (true) knowledge from Sankara, and moklja from
Vi~~u.

Some of the purat;las (such as Brahmavaivarta) specially

mention eight kinds of dvadasls viz. UnmIlanI, VanjulJ,
Trisprs1i., Pakf?avardhinI, Jaya, Vijaya, Jayantl and PapanaSinl.
Vide Hemadri on Kala pp. 260-263, H. (on vrata) vol. 1. p. 1214:,
N. S. 4:3, Sm. K 250-254:. Detailed descriptions of these are passed
over here. Jaya ,~ Vijayii, Jayantl and PiipanasinI are dVAdasIs
respectively having Punarvasu, SravaJ?a, RohiJ?I, Pu~ya
naksatras. Trisp~sa is 309 dvadasi which spreads over three days
i. e. it exists before sunrise on a certain day, then on the whole
of the next day from stmrise and for some time (however short)
after the latter. On these fast should be observed by those
desirous of destruction of sins and attainment of mokt!a.
It would not be out of place to bring together in one place
tbe different items that constitute EkadasIvrata.
On the ' 10th the performer has a meal at midday (eka.-
bhakta), then he cleans his teeth (not with a twig) but with
leaves or by rinsing the mouth twelve times with water. Then
on the night of 10th he gives up his evening meal and begins to
observe the restrictions indicated above (pp.1l5-116). Then on the
11th after getting up he cleanses the body as well as the mind and
makes a saitkalpa in the morning as described above (pp.105-106).
The sankalpa has to be made at night or in the noon if ekadasl
is viddha.. Then he recites thrice the mantra of eight syllables
(om namo Naraya7)aya) on the water in the copper vessel in his
hands and drinks water therefrom. On the 11th he prepares a

.
307.
~Il ~vr
am"rni ~lra'O", ..iJI"'O,&(lIWllill
~
~pf"" ~
68. 45 q . by Q'. '1'. p. 58; the same verse is quoted from
~~ by,. .( on n) vol. I. p. 767 (reads "iii for p) I ~o (on
\11Fft) reads 'i~~ (folio 24a) '. It occurs in 'If~~ 52. 39 also.
308. The fit ~. p . 48 associates nak~atras with these that are different
from those mentioned by Hemidri (on vrata) vol. I . p. 1214. It says '~
~,,~ fit-:Im " ...,&StH ~( ~~ QI4.,lll1o(f'. Vide lIlT. fit. p. 4.5'
qQoting ~ for yet different nak~atras Cor tbe same.
309. ~ 3QVJ~~( ~~I ~~q, .. IiI+i'Ii~
,,: fillll. ~ q. by t.
on III"itIS p. 261.
1%0 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Cb. V

mart4apa of flowe.rs, worships the Vi~~u image therein and o:iera

the several upacaras. He fasts that day. He recites hymns
of praise to Vil!IfU and falls prostrate on the ground in saluta-
tion. He then keeps awake at night. On the 12th he takes a
bath in the morning, o:iers worship to Hari and dedicates his
fast to the God, recites the mantra (Ajfianatimirandhasya' &c.
cited above p. 105) and performs the paraI;la.. This is the
general outline of kamya ekadasIvrata. In the case of the
obligatory fast, the performer should abstain from food the whole
day and also keep the several restrictions to be observed on
ekadasI (as described above such as not drinking water more
than once, not sleeping by day &c). The rules for the followers
of Caitanya about ekadasI as summarised from the Haribhakti-
vilasa by Prof. S. K. De in 'Vaii?Ifava faith and Movement' on
pp. 371-375 do not di:ier much 'from those stated above.
A vrata comes to an end by a rite called udyapana (carrying
out) or paraI;la or paral,la. The word paraI;la or paraIfa is derived by
some from the root 'para' meaning 310 'to finish an action or rite',
The word ocCUrs in the drama Sakuntala referred to above on
p. 46 and in Raghuvamsa n. 70 'pratar-yathoktavrata-paral,lante'.
Vide for paraI,la also Raghuvamsa n. 39 and 55. According to the
Kiirma-pUraIfQ, one should fast on the ekadasi and paraI;la is to
be on the 12th but paraI,la should not be done on 13th tithi, since
that would destroy (the merit) of twelve dViidasls.311 In spite of
this, paraIfa on the 13th312 tithi had to be allowed under certain
circumstances e. g. if ekadasI is mixed with dasam! on a prior
day and with dvadasi on the next-day, then the fast is to be on
dvadasI but if no dvadasI at all exists on the day after fast, then
paraI,la may be on the 13th tithi. The Vii:wudharmottara,313

l10. ql<tft",4~0iIm-.(q~I"infIlCZi1lq,, : ~:, ~ ~OiIITlOiI!l'

,~ tNliI!l'4"I~~Oilal'il.. ~tit: sm.n(qt""ll~41'4"W'I'M1 ~: I
fI'n • viI'I\I4...nq"I~~q ~ I !fiT. fiI'. p. 225; 3nJ ~(:
q~~~u~ ~ ~I tNT .. ~!fi~~OiIt"i'iltq~q
'ltm ~ ~, t. (011 ~ p. 127); compare Iif. f$'. ~. p. 62.
ll1. "~, q!fi14.qlf!l(l~~ .~ QWIt ~~I '!f~ ""'I.
~ 114\111441\111<1111:" t. (Oll~) p. 280.
~~ ~'lfTl'Wqr ",ci'l",<lI4(fij ~ sin{1!fiT. fit. p. 273;
312.
qt .II~~~ ~ S~!filq\fI dc(l'd(lfit(lCq ~~~
~ lllIi,.. filoPI ",ci'llliil.. IOioflllt , 11'. ft'. p. 55.
313. ~ri ~~~I ~ n~~~~.
R. p. 463, t. (011 !fi''I{I5) p. 294, lIIil. fit. p. 226 ( ...rib"
~....;N( q. by lIlT.
to "'~t""IOI).
 The Para'{l.Cl 121
presoribes • a vrata ends with paral)a and at the end of a vrata,
brahmal)as are to be fed; before one vrata is finished one should
not commence another '. The general rule is that in all vratas3U
the para~a is ' in the morning. One should perform the udyapana
as laid down in the texts providing for the vrata concerned; a
vrata becomes fruitless if the udyapana be not performed. If no
form of udyapana is prescribed by the texts, the performer should
perform a rite in consonanoe with the 315 vrata. He should make
gifts in proportion to his wealth when no form of udyapana is
mentioned in the texts on a vrata. For making the vrata
complete he should donate cows and gold. If none of these can
be given and nothing can be done as laid down in the texts, the
words of a brahmal)a alone are suffioient to complete a vrata;
but if a man reoeives the blessed words of brahmal.las without
giving a dakf?i~a (though able), he goes to hell !
A diffioulty may arise owing to the rules that no fresh vrata
is to be undertaken till one (prior) vrata is finished and that
vrata includes its paral)ii. Suppose, a man has undertaken
year£l ago to observe two vratas, then he may have to observe
a fast on ekadasI and also on dvadasl owing to Imother vrata
already undertaken. Paral)a involves bhoJana (taking food).
But this is impossible if one has to undergo two fasts sucoe!l-
sively. The remedy is that at the end of the first vrata the
performer (who has to undergo two fasts) should sip water. The
Veda says that when a man partakes of water it is neither
eating nor non-eating.316

314. ~:I ~~ ~ Ifro1t ~I ~ II ~N~'

rifit II R. p. 22, 1fiT. f'I. p. 226 ( first half).
"IT. fl.

315. Vide~. ftr. p. 2.5 quoting VCAfl"JfIqll for these propositions

about~.

316• • 1I'roIt ~ Iitfl,,"q"I\I~II ~ ~ I ~ II qroJfJl.

~I ... ~ IIIINI",t'It q"toI'''I\lljifl'Gt III"""liI.llla) ...m I
... ~~ ~ ~ " ~~ &c. 1fiT. fit. p. 276. ~
meanl 'huDgr,.'. The pAlsage ,~ ... ~, occun In~.~. I. 6. 7... ,
II. D. 16
 CHAPTER VI

CATURMASYA
On A!?ac;lha-sukla ekadasi or dvadasI or paur:J;l.ima 311 or on the
day when the Sun enters the Zodiacal sign Cancer, caturmiisya-
vrata is to be observed. Whenever it may be begun it is to be
finished on Kartika-sukla 12. The performer should observe a
a fast that day, worship Vi!?llu (image) and pray as follows:
(Garu~apuraJ;l a 1. 121. 2-3) '0 God ! I have underta.ken this vrata
in yom presence; may it succeed without obstacles if you
become favourable to me ; after I undertake this vrata if I die
when it is half-finished, may it become completely fulfilled
through your favour' I The vrata may be begun even when
Jupiter or Venus has become invisible and the like. The per.
former has to give up some edible during the four months, viz.
vegetables in SriiVaJ;la, curds in Bhadrapada, milk in Asvina and
pulses in Kartika. According to some authorities, he has to
give up some or all vegetables for all the four months. The
performer is asked to give up many other things also such as
sleeping on a cot, meat, honey &c. When the nata is finished ,
he invites brahma:J;l.as, announces to them what restrictions he
had undertaken, feeds them, gives them dak!?i:J;l.ii, and recites the
prayer '0 Lord I this vrata WIlS undertaken by me in order to
please you; 0 J anardana I may it become complete through your
favour, whatever defect there may be I' This vrata is even
now observed, particularly by women. The Krtyatattva (p. 435),
Vratilrka, Vrataprakasa (folio 10580) and other medieval digests
quote long passages from the Matsya, Bhavi!?yottara (1. 6-9)
and other pura ~as about the results of giving up certain things
in the Caturmasyavrata. A few passages are set out for sample:
• a man secures a sweet voice by giving up jaggery, has charm-
ing limbs by giving up oil, by giving up ghee he secures bea.uty,
by giving up fruits he becomes intelligent and has many sons,
by giving up vegetables and leaves he secures well-cooked

• 317. ~~lfiflltlIlIlUl 1fi1i'l"'afW( I ~tff ~ UT ~

~ "fi~~" I "fif.~. p. 332, ,. (00 n ) II. p. 806, fit~ P. 111
(quotiog ~)j ~ I . 121 1 meotions 1fI'i~ and ~"'~ ~ fOf
"'~'Iliitl.
 caturmasya 123

dishes, by gIvmg up curds and milk he goes to the world

of cows '.318
In the Vedic period there were sacrifices called Caturmasya!
(seasonal sacrifices) that were performed on the Full Moon days
of Phii.lguna (or Caitra), of A~a~ha and Kartika and were
respectively called Vaisvadeva, Varut:J,apraghasa and Sakamedha
(the fourth called Sunaslriya need not detain us). Vide H. of
Dh. vol. II. pp. 1091-1106. It was expressly stated by Apastamba
Srauta VIII. 4. 13 that Vaisvadeva ( parvan of Caturmasya) was
to be offered in vasanta and Varut:J,apraghasa in the rainy
season. It may be noted that the sacrificer in these seasonal
sacrifices had to keep certain observances such as sleeping on
the ground,319 avoiding meat, honey, salt, sexual intercourse and
bodily decora.tions, which closely resemble the restrictions laid
on the person observing Ekadaslvrata. The Yajiiavalkya.-sm~ti 320
(1. 125) makes it obligatory on a person of means to offer a
Soma sacrifice every year, a pasubandha in each ayana, the
Agraya1.Je~~i (performed when new crops are ready) and the
calurmasyas. The caturmasyas meant here are the Vedic ones
mHntioned above and not the PauraI,lika vratas of caturmasya.
The Yajiiavalkya-sm~·ti employs the word vrata in the sense
of prayascitta in III 251, 252, 254, 266, 269, 282, 298, 300, in the
sense of 'brahmacarya' in III. 15, and in the sense of the food
to be subsisted upon in III. 289, but hardly ever in the sense of
a rite to be observed on a tithi or week day or nak~atra as in the
puraI,las. This at least indicates that the vratas mentioned in
the purii.t:Jas had not attained prominence in the time of the
Ya.jiiavalkya-sm~ti, which, in spite of its containing over 1000
verses, hardly ever refers to any vrata in the sense of the
puraI,las.

318. ~~~I~)~.mW!'~1
~ ~~ ~: ~ I Efi!l~8q«<'lI'i1i( ~'!iI"'~'I1'1't:Uq'i( I m~­
~, ~: ~ I i\'I(q,i"<\i8''I uq ~ fVnt ~ I ifi('i)<'lI'i1'li1 ~
~: ~I ~iI!fiqSl'WI('lI'i1i( ~).m ~I ... ~~rm!ft
~ ~: I ~~ (olio 105a quotiog li~j ~~ p. 435 quotes
almost the same verses from ~, fit ~. p. 106 quotes similar verses from
~.
319. i?of"i~~6Ii .... lP'~q.d''9.(Pili( I 4i~"~'H~41d I \~iVr ~ I
~ I ~I+I(?"'U,~q"~"""If.\ ~l :an...,. ,,"t. '" II. 16.22-27; tWf
st\f:
q.(i!I"'(I(?di~ I 'If 11I+1I1f1"I~ I 'If ~ I ~ ~ ~ I ~ I ~­
~I ~~I :an...,. .n. ._. VIII. 4. 4-10.
320. IIIl1,"E+I~~: qJl ~ ~ I lfifthiliiqGlfe.. • 14I1'~'~ ~~"
~~. 1.125.
 CHAPtER VII
Vratas called Nagapaiicami, Manasiipiija,
Rak~abandhana, Kr~~ajanma~taml

In the month of Sravat_la there are several important vratas,

one of which is NagapaiicamI on the 5th of the bright half of
Sraval;la. The NagapaiicamI is observed in different ways in all
parts of India. Some hold that, instead of AkE?ayyatrt1yil,
NagapaiicamI is the one half auspicious day out of 3j most
auspicious days in the year. The BhaviE?yapurat_la, Brahma-
parva (chapter 32 verses 1-39), expatiates on Nagapaiicaml.
Krtyakalpataru (on vrata) pp. 87-90 and Hemadri (on vrata
vol. 1. pp. 557-560l quote several verses from the BhaviE?ya-
pura:t;la. Briefly, the Bhavisya 321 says: when men on the 5th
bathe with milk the nagas called Viisuki, TakE?aka, Kaliya, Mat_li-
bhadra, Airiivata, DhrtariiE?~ra, Karko~aka and Dhanaiijaya, these
give abhaya (freedom from danger) to their families. A legend
is told (in Bhavi~ya 1. 32) that Kadru, mother of niigas, laid a
bet with her sister Vinata about the colour of the tail of Indra's
horse called Uccail)-sravas, Kadru asserting that the tail was
black though the horse was white and Vinatii saying that the
body and tail were white and when the nagas refused to practise
the deceit whereby they were to become the dark hair in the
horse's tail, Kadru cursed them that fire would burn them (in the
sa'rpasattra of J anamejaya). Persons should make golden, silver
or clay images of nagas, should worship them with KaravIra and
Jatl flowers and incense etc., feed briihma:t;las with ghee, payasa
etc. and should bathe nagas with milk. The result would be that
nltgas would bestow on the worshippers safety (from snake-bite).
The Bhavi~yottarapuri:t;la (ohap. 36) contains another method.
On Srava:t;la 5th (bright half) a person should draw on both sides

321. ".u~('ftlff'.li~ ~ ~:I ~ ~ ~~I

~slf4f ~ It1'(iit;rt juo.:ai)~"'i( I ~ 32. 2-3 (with alight variations)
q. by !fiT••~. p. 413. In other puraI?-as twelve nagas are named e. g. ~
p. 437 and flt~p. 33 quote from ~'~ ~ qlAt ~.I
~~'f11t~""~1 ~~...-fi't~~. ~.
~"'''i'i11i( ~ ~ ~ ,",
~ 36. 48-49 and Bhavi,ya I. 32. 50-51
alao set out twelve names of Nagas, each one being the object of worlhip
tn each of the twelve month. of the year.
 NlJgapaflcami

of his door with cowdung figures of serpents which should be

worshipped with curdtl, diirva tendrils, kusas and sandalwood
paste, flowers and presents of food. They would have no danger
from snakes. Vide Hemadri on Kala p. 621, K. V. p. 4:13, K. R.
p. 234. In Saura~~ra Nagapaacaml is observed in Sraval:la dark
half.
It appears that in Bengal and south India (but not in
Mahiira~~ra) there is worship of Manasadevl in one's own court-
yard on a branch of the snuhI plant on the 5th of Sraval:la dark
half. The Rajamartal:l~a has four verses, one of which is quoted
below. Samayapradipa and Krtyaratnakara refer to the worship
of Manasadevl. The Tithitattva322 (p. 33) contains the dhyana
of ManasadevI taken from Padmapural:la. First, there is a
sailkalpa 323 about the worship of ManasadeVI in order to get rid
of the danger from snake-bite, then one offers gandha, flowers,
incense, lamp and naivedya and then Ananta and other nagas
are offered worship, the principal item being naivedya of milk
and ghee. Nimba leaves are placed inside the house and the
performer eats them and also makes brahmal:las eat them. The
Brahmavaivartapural:la (II) devotes two chapters (4:5-4:6) to the
birth of ManasadevI, her puja and stotra (praise) &c. Dr.
Sukumar Sen has edited in the B. 1. series Viprad6sa's
, ManasiLvijaya '.

In the Deccan on Sraval:la bright half 5th figures of snaklls

are drawn with red l!Iandalwood paste on wooden boards, or clay
images of snakes ooloured yellow or black are purchased and
worshipped and given milk and snake charmers go about with
snakes of all sorts, to which people offer milk and Bome money is
paid to the snake oharmers.

322. uif ~'PI'N~~I '{::if~~~ ~iq4~ttl~

~~ ~ ~~1 ~..m;t ~~ wr-rpTftmit ~"
~W~ _ ~:I ~ pp.33-34 , ~ p. 537.IfIT.R.
p. 414. _ is a plant from the bark of which oozes a aticky substance.
Its botanical name is Eulorbia n.rilolia, according to Prof. Golokendranath
Bhattacharya of Berhampore KfliI10anatb College In West Bengal. llilfl"IfIQ.,I.
~~: qd lIT III ~ ~ ~ ~ ~II ",,"flIM, folio
72b verse 1191 (vide ABORI vol. 36 p. 316). ~ (folio 36a) add.
I '"' ~ Pur ~410Ifll"(~.'
323. The WP' ia aftI ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~: tft-
~'''''''IfIi4' ~"11Ii1lll1;(t ""'EiI__ tft"illi4. ~ tfil ~ _,. pit.
~"'_IIQI ~p.437 .
 History of .Dha1'maSClstra ( Sec, I, Oh, vn
If paficaml is mixed with the 4:th and 6th tithis, that mixed
with the 6th is to be preferred. The Vratakalaviveka 3l' speaks
of Manasavrata on Jye~~ha-sukla 10th with Hasta-nak~atra or
without it and remarks that when this vrata is performed
Manasa goddess protects a man from the danger of poisonous
snakes.
How and when serpent worship arose in India is a difficult
problem. The Egveda contains no reference to snake worship.
On the contrary the Vedic god Indra is said to be the killer of
ahi (a serpent) in Eg. n. 30. 1, II. 19. 3 and the slaughter of ahi
is frequently mentioned as in Eg. I. 165. 6, III. 4:7 4:. That ahi
meant a. serpent with a hood is clear from Eg. VI. 75. 14
(ahiriva bhogai1;l paryeti bahum). In B+. Up. IV. 4:.7 and Prasna
IV. 5 there are references to the cast-off slough of serpents
(mentioned as 'padodara' whosa feet are inside its body)
and in Eg. IX. 86. 4:4 (ahir na jurl).amati sarpati tvacam)
also. But in many passages of the Egveda (such as I. 32. 11)
ahi appears to have a metaphorical sense and refers to a demon
like V+tra that prevented waters from flowing down. In the
Tai. S. IV. 2. 8. 3. and Vaj. S. (Xlll. 6-8) thera are three verses
that contain salutations to serpents. In the Atharvaveda (VIII.
14:. 13-15) there is a reference to serpents some of which like
Tak~aka and Dh~tara~~ra are named. The Ka~haka S. V. 6
enumerates the pit+s, sarpas, gandharvas, waters and herbs as
paficajana, and the Ait. Br. XIII. 7 asserts that gods, men,
gandharvas, apsarases, snakes and pitrs were paacajana. This
cannot be the meaning of 'paaeajanal;l ' in Eg. X 53. 4. The
above passages show that sarpas had come to be a clan like
gandharvas in late vedic times.
In the A,sv. g+. II. 1. 1-15, the Paraskara-grhya n. 14: and
other grhya sutras a rite called' sarpabali' (offering to serpents)
was performed on the Full Moon day of Sraval).a. Vide H. of
Dh. vol. D. pp. 821-823 for a description. The n§gas figura
frequently in the Mahabharata. Vide Adi. chap. 35 enumerat-
ing the names of many n§gas beginning with Se~a and chap.
123.71, Udyoga 103.9-16 (naming numerous nagas). Arjuna
while engaged in his twelve years' vow of brahmacarya came to

324. 1M 'it~ wm:r:' :)488lt44i'ill tI ~ ... ~uft«

iii'l.N'.....fI' ~ ~ ~ ~, ~ ~ d d ~:, ....."'", ....
om
1I11'It1Jf ~'1 .. tltcI(;" ... 'f(lt'(..", "Stl,,,... 1 i"'ill1tit<il1 ~. 'lIie,,,... ,iiIft...·
q(1Jf' aa"'ie~~iii (in t. H. Q. vol. 17 No.4 supplement p. 16).
 Nagas in ' EpiC and Purli1)as i27

the country of the Nagas (probably a tribe that had nag a as

their emblem) and took as his wife UlupI, a Naga princess who
was smitten by love. Babhruvahana, son of Citrangada, fought
with Arjuna who had come to MaJ?ipura for protecting the
Asvamedha horse, was killed by Babhruvahana and restored to
life with the help of a Safijlvana jewel (Asvamedhikaparva
chap. 79-81). Serpents came to be associated with both ViEi:t;lu
snd Siva. Vi EiJ?u is said to sleep on the hoods of SeEia-naga
(Vanaparva 203.12 and 272. 38-39) 'and Siva wears serpents on
his body like yajfiopavlta (Anusasana 14. 55).325 In the
Bhagavadglta X. 28-29 Lord KrE1J?a identifies himself with
Vasuki among serpents and Ananta among nagas. What
difference is made between 'sarpa' and 'naga' is not clear.
Probably 'sarpa' means all creeping things, while naga means
'the cobra '. The Pura~as are full of stories about nagas.
Vide J. Ph. Vogel's painstaking work (Indian Serpent Lore, 1926)
based on the Mahabharata, the PuraJ?as and the RajatarangiJ;ll.
It appears that serpent worship arose gradually from the fear of
serpents that must have taken a heavy toll of life, particularly at
the beginning of the rainy season. Even in these days about 10000
people die of snake-bite every year in India, while persons killed
by all wild animals are hardly 3000. Why the tithi was changed
from Full Moon (for Sarpabali in the g~hya sutras) to the 5th of
the bright half is not clear. It may be due to the slight change
in the time of the onset of rains owing to the precession of
the equinoxes. Vide Fergusson's 'Tree and Serpent worship'
pp. 1-75 and Plate XV which reproduces the sculptures on the
eastern gateway of Sanchi, where occurs the figure of five-headed
Naga. Stone images of serpents under sacred trees like pippala
are common in the Dravi~a country and a few temples dedicated
to nagas exist such as the one at Battis Shiralen in Satara
District and at .Bhom-paranden in Hydera.bad.
On the Full Moon of Srava.:t;Ia there is in the afternoon a
ceremony called RakEiabandhana (tying the protective amulet).
It is described by Hemadri on vrata, vol. II. pp. 190-195, N. S.
p. 121, P.C. 284-285, Vratarka (folio 335a-336a). One should at.
sunrise on Full Moon of SravaJ?a and after offering tarpaJ?a to
gods, sages and pitrs, get prepared a protective packet (or
amulet) containing whole rice grains and mustard and deco-
128 History of Dharma~a8tra [ Beo. I, Ch. vn

rated with gold (thread) and strung together with variously

ooloured threads and have such an amulet tied In the oase of a
king, a jar should be placed on a square raised in the palace and
the king should occupy his seat together with his ministers, he
should be surrounded by courtesans and musio and benedictory
words should go forth; gods, bra.hma~as and arms should be first
honoured, then the royal 3.16 priest should tie the amulet to the
acoompaniment of the mantra. 'I tie on you that whereby Bali,
the very powerful king of demons, was bound; 0 protective
(amulet), don't slip off, don't slip off: All including sudras and
other human beings should get the amulet tied after honouring
priests according to ability. When this is done, a man lives on
happily for a year. Hema.dri quotes Bhavi!?yottara for the story
that Indra.~l tied on the right hand of Indra a protective amulet
whereby he was enabled to vanquish the asuras. This tying
should not be done when paur~ima. is mixed up with either 14th
or the following pratipad. It may, in order to avoid these two,
be done even at night.
This ceremony of tying an amulet on the right wrist is still
in vogue and priests go about tying these amulets and receive
some fee for doing so. Mukerji (p. 81) is unduly harsh on the
poor brahmal!8S when he says that it is a day of blackmail by
the priests. Women in Gujarat and some other places tie silken
amulets round the wrists of their brothers and give and receive
presents.
On the Full Moon day of SravaJ;la it is usual on the sea
coast of western India (particularly in Konkan and Malabar) not
only for Hindus, but also for Moslems and Pars is of the
merchant olass to go to the sea and offer flowers and a oocoanut
to the sea. The sea becomes less rough and the violence of the
monsoon winds abates after the Full Moon of Srava~a and the
oocoanut is offered to the sea god (Varu~a) in order that he may
make sea voyage for vessels of merchandise safe.
In Srli:va:J;la on the 8th of the dark half is celebrated the
Kr!?:J;lajanmA!?~amI or Janmi!?~aml vrata and festival, whioh is
probably the most important vrata and utsava celebrakd
\hroughout the whole of India.

326. '''Ii'iliiftl''\6i ~: ~ ~ i "" m ~ wi

~~111t1'I~~~ ~~:I it1f ~ W "'.
m _ n ~ 137. 19-20. q. by ~. on n ·vol. II. p. 1S15 (with lOme
variation. which are probably copy'st'. mistak.s).
 Antiquity of Kr~a worshi.p 129

In some Pura:t;la passages it is declared that J anma!?tamI

is celebrated on the 8th of the dark half of Bh1i.drapada. The
explanation is that in those passages the months are Pur:t;limanta
and the dark half is in these months the first pak!?a.3Z7 The
Padma (Ill 13), Matsya 56, Agni 183 contain numerous verses
on the greatness (maha.tmya) of Kr~:t;lajanma~tamI.
It would not be out of place to say a few words about Kr~:t;la
and about the antiquity of K~~:t;la worship. There is a reference
in the Chandogya-upani~ad (ill. 17. 6) to K~~:t;la Devaklputra
receiving instruction from Ghora A:ilgirasa. There was a Vedic
poet named K~~:t;la who calls upon the Asvins to listen to his
invocation in ltg. vrn. 85. 3 and the Anukrama:t;li assigns :ago
VIII. 86-87 to K~~:t;la A:ilgirasa. Jain tradition regards K~~:t;la
as contemporaneous with Nemi, the 22nd Tirtha:ilkara, and from
tbe account of the 63 great men of Jain pre-history about one
third are shown as associated with KF~:t;la. The life of KF~.J;la
as gathered from the Mahabharata is a composite one. In some
passages he is depicted as a Yadava prince, the staunohest friend
of the Pa:t;l9-avas328 (and particularly of Arjuna), as a great
warrior, statesman and philosopher. In other passages he is
identified with the Supreme Lord of the worlds and as Vi~:t;lu
Himself (Santi 47.28, Dro.J;la 146.67-68, Kar:t;la 87.74, Vanaparva
49. 20, BhI~ma 21. 13-15). There are most sublime praises of
Kr~J:?a put in the mouths of Yudhi~thira (Dro.J;la 149.16-33),
Draupadi (Vanaparva 263.8-16) and BhI~ma when about to die
(Anusasana 167. 37-45). We have further information about
him from the Harivamsa, the Vi~:t;lupura:t;la, Vayu (98.100-102),
the Bhagavata and Brahmavaivarta that deal with Krl?t;la's
romantic Career among cowherds, which is wanting in the
Mahii.bharata.

327. ~I ~~ 1(i'IIU1T ~ .. u.q~eJ\11 ~:

~ lr,fT ~({ II n ~ 3I1T.rN: ~lft ttmi"iR: I aJlq'lq .. i!(\ifiI(l) ~
~n tfitl ~'FIINlln"ii"I\1~"1Im ~ ~I ~~­
~ ~ ~ I 'qif. til. p. 216; ~:IfI(1i'r;:f ~ ~
~si6'1.t"l\'l'l' ~Pi\'IIr lmftn 6(4'1'."'4 111 ~ I ~ p. 41; vide
~lIijlllfi'" p. 47 also.

328. iI' it ~ iI' finnlVr ~ iI' <;if ~: I ~: fimR: ~i1I1-

~+lIi!"I!( I ... ~ t1W \1' ...t t1W ~ -.P.l \1' 1'ITq II 1('l1li 79. 26-27 and 33.
Vide Udyoga 91. 28 ~ 11& \1' ...t ..fa lR!flil'!J \1' ~fli ~...t 'Itt ~

~~""
B.D. 11
130 History of Dharmatiistra [ Seo. I, Oh. vn
It appears from Pa:t;l ini (IV. 3. 98) 329 that there were people
in his day described as Vasudevaka and Arjunaka that were
devoted to Vasudeva and .A.rjuna. Pataiijali in his Mababhaf?ya
mentions several persons and incidents connected with ~!?:t;la.
On Vartika 6 to Pa.:t;l. m. 1. 26 the Maha.bha.1?ya gives two
examples 'Kamsam ghatayati' (meaning 'he tells the story of the
slaughter of Kamsa • ) and 'Balim bhandhayati' (meaning' he
narrates the story of the imprisonment of Bali'). In Va.rtika 2 to
Pa.:t;l. III. 1.138 the word 'Govinda' is derived (from go +vinda). On
Vartika 2 to Pa~. m. 2.111 Pataiijali gives the example 'Jaghana.
Kamsam kila Vasudeva]_].' (Vasudeva, they say, killed Kamsa) and
implies that the incident occurred long ago which the speaker
eould not have seen but was popularly known. 330 This is a
quarter of an Upendravajra or Upaja.tI verse. Pataiijali names
SatyabMma with its shortened form BMma (Kielhorn. voL I.
p.ll1), the words 'Viisudevavargya.l_].' and 'AkriiravargyaJ/ occur
(on Vartika 11 on Pii:t;l. IV. 2. 104). On Pa.:t;l. IV. 1.114 (~1?yandhaka.­
v~f?l.li-kurubhyas-ca) under viirtika 7 Pataiijali mentions
Ugrasena as a scion of the Andhakas and Vasudeva and
Bala.deva. of the V~l?l\lis. Pataiijali quotes half of an Anu1?~ubh
verse 'Sankar1?al.la-dvitlyasya balam K~1?l.lasya vardhatam'
(Kielhorn's ed. vol. I. p. 426). Pataiijali is regarded by most
modern scholars as having flourished in the 2nd century B. O.
(about 150 B. C.). Therefore it follows that some poetic work or
works that referred to incidents. of K~1?:t;la's career (s,'Uch as
Kamsavadha) had been composed some centuries before the
Christian era. Vide 1. A. vol.. III. pp. 14-16 for allusions to
K~1?l.la in the MaMbhal?ya and 1. A. vol. XIV pp. 326 :II, for verse
quotations in the Mahabhaf?ya collected by Kielhorn. In the
Adiparva (chap. 1. 256)331 and in Sabha. 33. 10-11 K\'f?l.la is
identified with Vasudeva and is said to be the Highest Brahma'
329.ElIt.W"<I,~.".-qf"9A I itt. IV. 3. 98 on which the ~'l'fJI!1f remarks
'~UlI1 ~ ~~1fjVql mr '.
'"'~: ~!f: ~: (~:) ~ ~ ~:. It
may be noted that the compound word "'ti'4q'~"I.qi occurs in ~ 4.31.
330. The passage about the killing of Kamsa is interesting: n if
!tiU~~~ ~1If~~~ ~~ .. ~,(~
ed . .by Kielhorn l vol. II. p. 36). This shows that in the time of the ~
the killing of Kamsa (by Kr~a) was supposed to have taken place In hoary
antiquity. Pataiijali states further on that Kamsavadha was represented
dramatically, that pictures were painted about it and lastly that works had
been composed narrating that event.
331. \ji,IIj'MI'\AII" ~S1f ~:I ~~~. ~ ~ .. I
~~ "If ~. I s:n11" chap. I, 2'6.
 Antiquity of Krlf'.!ti. worship 131

and the source of the universe. The Ghosundi inscription of

2nd or 1st century B. C. mentions the hall of worship of Sankar-
sana and Vasudeva (E. 1. 16 pp. 25-27, E. 1. 22 p. 198, 1. A. vol.
Sl·p. 203) addressed as 'Bhagavat' and' sarvesvara'. Nanaghat
cave inscriptions of about 200' B. C. mention both (A. S. W. I.
vol. V pp. 60-74). The Besnagar column (Garu~a-dhvaja)
Vai$~ava inscription 332 where the Bhligavata Heliodorus, son
of Diya, hailing from Tak$asila and Yavana ambassador of
king Antalikita (Antalkidas) to king Bhagabhadra mentions
Vasudeva as ' devadeva '. The precediDg items of evidence
indicate that the worship of Vasudeva was prevalent in northern
and central India from at least 500 B. C.. if not earlier. Vide
R. G. Bhandarkar's 'Vai$J.!.avism, Saivism &c.' pp. 1-45 for the
various phases of the Kr$lfa cult and its antiquity.
It is rather surprising that the passages quoted in the
medieval works on Kr$lfajanmii.$~ami are mostly borrowed from
the Bhavi$ya, Bhavi$yottara, Skanda, Vi$J.!.udharmottara,
Naradiya and Brahmavaivarta pura~a8, but hardly ever from
the Bhagavata-puraJ;la which is the Veda of the Vai$t;lavas
of later medieval and modern times. The description of Kr$~a.'8
birth in the Bhagavata is vague and commonplace. All that 333
is said there is that the time when Kr$lfa was born was endowed
with all good characteristics and was very charming, that the
quarters looked very clear and the sky was lit up by bright stars,
that tha wind that blew was very pleasing to the skin and laden
with .tine fragrance and that when J anardana was born of
DevakI it was midnight and darkness had enveloped everything.
In the Bhavi$yottara (44. 1-69) Kr$:t;J a himself is represented
as narrating to Yudhi$~hira the ·incJdents of Janmii.$~amI-vrata:
' I was born of Vasudeva and DevakI on the 8th of Bhadrapada
dark half at midnight when the Sun was in Lion (Leo), when the

332. For Besnagara Inscription. vide JRAS 1909 pp. 1053-.56, 1087-
1092, and JBBRAS vol. 23 pp. 104-106.

333. 3I'\t ~JW'ntld: !fi1ilI: ~~:, fl8l'<l'J1.,..,..i1q1 ~"

~: ~ Mtfffi",U?U('li(' ... ~~:~: ~: ~: I ... ~q
tm ~ ~ ~ I ~ ~"..iQofll ~~: ~~t!Il'~ifl:" ~ X. 3. 1- 2,
4, 8. ~ II rather unusual; Of ~t\' ~: '"'"' ~ ~ SWfif: (~,
who is alao called ~: or ~:) and ~ seems to be taken to
lXlean whose ~ 18 ~ of which ~ (SWfif) is the presiding deity.
Verses 2 aDd .. appear to echo the words of ~ III. 14 • ""': ~
~~~ -
 History of Dharma~astra [ Sec. i, Ch. vii

Moon was in the sign of the Bull (Taurus) and there was RohiJ;ll
nak~atra' (verses 74-75), when on the 8th of the dark half of
Sravana there is RohiI;ll-nak~atra, the tithi is called Jayantl; if
a man observes a fast on that tithi, that destroys his sins
committed in childhood, youth, old age and many previous
lives.' The result is that if there be no RohiJ;lI nak~atra on
Sravana dark half 8th, it is simply Janmii~~aml, but when
RohiI;ll is joined to dark 8th of SriivaJ;la it is J ayant!. The
RajamartaJ;l4a has two verses on this.334
The important question is whether the JanmaE?~aml-vrata
and Jayantl-vrata are really only one vrata or whether they are
two separate vratas. The KalanirJ;laya,335 after a long discus-
sion in which Mlmarnsa principles contained in Jai. II 2. 23 and
IV. 1. 22-24 are relied upon, arrives at the conclusion that the
two are separate vratas on the grounds that the two names are
different (viz. JanmaE?~aml-vrata and Jayantivrata), their occa-
sions (nimitta) are different (the first depends only on dark
A~~aml, while the latter exists only if there is RohiJ;li on 8th of
dark half of SravaJ;la) and their characteristics are different in
that in J anmiiE?~amlvrata sastra requires only a fast, while in
Jayantlvrata the sastra requires a fast and also gifts and the
like. Besides, JanmiE?tamivrata is obligatory (nitya), since the
texts only speak of the incurring of sin if it be not performed,
while Jayantlvrata is both nitya and kamya in that the siistras
connect it with special rewards in addition to the incurring of
sin by its non-observance. F'ljrther, the two are separately

334. ~!If 1ICrT pit t{ll{S~ fFr~ I ~ ;:n1t m 1I'lit;r ~

~fi): I 'Ill( III'Tt'tr "Ql ~ ~~ ~ <f'U I .. tl"'~t1'liti qN I{T~ ~ ~: I
~~~ q. by~. (on ~ p. 12'1) and~. (on irn vol. I. p. 911). IU"'Nc~~
~ ~r iJ ~r ~ I ~ ~ ~T iJ ~<iqNstollf~T;fr I Gt'1t S'"i .. ~
~ ~ m~: II ~Q, q . by~. on ~ p. 130; ~ IV. 8. 52 is Gt'1t l'"l
.~~ir.f*tm' ~r~u~r-~I ~~
~r ;:n1t ~T wm
I ",Q'cQI5'l EU'Ei iJ Ii"'" ll'HQI~'4~ I ~ ~. . . qN
~S~: II ~~ folio 74b verses 1231-32 (vide ABORI vol. 30 at
p. 320 ). These are quoted as from 'q~ by !j'. m;. ~. p. 299.

335. illqe..;)qql~" (f~ "'~ ~ I ,*''''Wltldl<4lq'''''ft iI'11f~:"

.."a-I ~I~ 55. 20; ~~~~"' ~ I 11ft( Illil~.I~
"'1'I<Olql"lfqi!fit1iJfd8~, ~~;mtl 3{~:~: .!l'E4{jcil.e"~'~1
~ a: IUtqdSqqlMl!I(1( I ~... ~ iJ "1"1~~~d ~: ~I ~­
q QS ~~I1ml.' lfT.~ I t'NT.
dni ~ 'q~ ~iit II lfir. f,t
~ ~1,.ai<l"tfl4"", n4{ I
p. 209; ~r~ quoto. tb.
lirat half.
 J ayanti and j anma~~mi . ·133
mentioned in the same verses. ~36 Hemadri, Madanaratna, the
Nir:t;layasindhu (p. 126) and severa.l works hold the view that the
two are different. But the N. S. notes 337 that in its day people
observed only Jan~a!?~aml-vrata and not JayantI-vrata. On
the other hand the J ayantlnirJ?aya (p. 25) states that people
generally celebrate Jayanti only (and not Janma!?~amI). This
variance is probably due to the fact that the two works (N. S.
and J. N.) belong to the north and south of India. The Samaya-
mayukha 338 and Puru!?iirthacintamaJ?i (p. 117 ) very severely
criticize the views of Madhava set out above from the Kala-
nir:t;laya, one of the principal arguments ' in these last being that
the Mlmarnsii rules relied upon by Miidhava apply to rites, but
JayalltI is the name of a tithi i. e. the 8th of da.rk half when
conjoined to RohiI_ll. The JayantinirI_laya of Harita Venkata,-
natha holds that the two are different and that both are nitya as
well as kamya (pp. 4:-5 and p. 30). It further points out (p. 19)
that in J anmii.!?~amivrata tithi is the principal matter while in
Jayanti it is the nak~atra (RohiJ?I) that is principal
Two discordant notes are struck by the Varaha-puraJ?a and
by the Hari varnea. The former says 339 that Kr!?J?a was born on
12th of Al1ii<;lha bright half. According to the Harivamsa q. by
Hemadri and Jimutaviihana, the nak!?atra was Abhijit when
Kr~I;la was born and the muhilrta was vijaya 340. It is quite

336. ~ir.fSJct ~ ~~ I ~If( ~~( 'if ~1"<li"I~~ .... I

i~ dnn ~ 'if ~II ~ I ifiT. f.f. p. 212.
337. ~a~a<fir.f: I ~ ~millfliJrnwRr ~-~ lfT ~
~ <Q~uR~I'i.m!lfr I ~ pJTr ~~ ~ ~'h~ ~ I ~ ;f ~
if~ a ~ l:!lfl{-i('m ilNlITlt i!fl~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~II
~. ~. p. 126; "'<R~ a<f f.mt ~ ~iff ~~ I ~. (on ~ p. 144).
338. ~~~ ~ ~: I if «~mccr: diffil fik a ~')­
~~: I~ . iI. p. 51.

339. ~ ~ ~ <rrf( ~ +r I \3'Q'~'it ~ ~ lIif

~II ... qm .... ~r IftlI1 ~ ~: I i1i Ps~ ~ 'P'fR'1i' ~ ..
iit4 (f'QT II ~ 46. 12 and 14.

340. ~ ~ ~r mil ~~rl 5[11'( ~) mil ' " :mal ~;f: I

~~: pt 11"!( p n ; f €ntm I ~ q. by,. (on ~ p. 135),!fiT.~.
p. 494. 1fiT. R. recommends that ~ is to be taken in its root meaning
(from ~ to conquer) '~m«rgj I!'lf ~: ti6uiOAAi .. t1li(~<i ~;n<?~Jl"<i­
~: ~ ~S1'q "'<i(<id.n.iiql~~lfiI'3t<i.,ti1til1 ~., The verse
3if'~ ... ~: is ~ II (~) oJ. 16-17. An earlier verse (13-14)
saY8~ .... ~-cmArt~ ~I ~~~ma~~i
u:i~ snit ~ ~ i. It will be noted tbat no month is mentioned
in thi. p.....p. The vene ~t'iNt"o ocean in IIR'S 96. 201 alIo.
 History of Dharmasastra [ Seo. i, Ch. Vi:1
possible that these two represent some older traditions about the
date of the birth of Kr!?J;la.. .
Another important point very much canvassed in the
medieval digests is about the exact tithi and time when the
Ja.nma!?~amlvrata is to be celebrated. The K. N. (pp. 215-224),
K+tyatattva pp. 438-444, Tithitattva pp. 47-51, Samaya-
mayukha p.50-51, N. S. pp. 128-130 and several other digests
state certain conclusions about this.
It is clear from almost all Pura.:t;las and other works on
J anma!?~aml that the principal time for the celebration of the
birth of Kr!?J;la is the midnight 341 of the 8th of Sra.vaJ;la dark
half (Bhadrapada dark, if the month is pur:t;lima.nta). This
tithi is of two kinds viz. (1) without RohiJ;ll nak!?atra and
(2) with RohiJ;l1 nak~atra. In each of these two, the KalanirJ;laya
of Miidhava (pp. 218-224), the NirJ;layasindhu (pp. 128-130), the
Dharmasindhu (pp. 64-67) and other digests set out several
possible alternative combinations. The N irJ;laya.mrta (pp. 56-
.58) mentions as many as 18 kinds, eight of the suddha tithi, 8 of
the viddha tithi and two more, one being the one where RohiJ;ll-
nak~a.tra is there at midnight and the other being NavamI
joined to RohiJ;lI and having either Wednesday or Monday. .A
discussion of these would be somewhat complicated and hardly
otherwise than of academical interest to modern readers. There-
fore, all these alternatives are not set out here. Instead, the
brief conclusions put forth by the Tithitattva are given 342 by
way of sample. These are: If J ayantI (A~~amI with Rob iJ;lI)
exists only a single day, the fast'"'must be observed on that very
day; if it spreads over two days, then the fast is on the later of
the two; if there is no J ayantl, then the fast is to be observed
on A~~aml joined with R<>h~, if two days have .A.~~amI joined to
RohiJ;ll, then fast is on the later of the two; if there is no RohiJ;1l
nak~atra then fast is to be observed on the A~~amI that exists at
midnight or if al?~aml exists on two days at midnight or j.f it
be not existent at midnight then on the later day.

3nh:~ 5\'Sqcnl(l)(4Urffi qil4l!l~atll'"¥( I s:r&1U ~~ ~

341.
em 1ffit I ~ ..ftt ~-qRmf5r '"fllfr ~: ~II .-Til I cnr.~. p. 215; pr
~ ~\~ I \iG1JI'11I'JlIi is ~~ ~: I ..ftt ~ ... I rn~ p. 42;
sn!1'{r <fii~;t;l ~m -qiir ~'lt I ~ q'!r ~1fi1'(l)q " .. ~Ilf: ~~ tR:. ~
IV. 8 . .51. !Ii means ~, who is the lord of ~f.
342. ~ ~~:,~ ~ ~I '"'''i'N(iJI~
... (l~uft9>""ii!'<n~1 ~ .~~~ ~~, (lfilG"(iJi~ ~ ~~­
~I ~ fi't'fil"fl ... 'i.t~"'~1 fit~p. 54.
 Items in Janmat#amivrata 135

If J ayantI fa.st ocours on Wednesday or Monday there are

far greater results and such a fast is superior to crores of other
vratas and the man who observes a fast on JayantI conjoined
to Wednesday or Monday would not be born again. 343
The main items in JanmaE!~amivrata are fast, worship of
Kr~I,la ,
jagara (keeping awake at night, listening to and repeat~
ing hymns of praise and stories about Kr~lfa's exploits), pii.ralfa.
The medieval digests suoh as Tithitattva (pp. 42-47), the
Sarnayamayilkha (pp.52-57), Ka:latattvaviveca.na (pp. 52-56),
Vrataraja (pp. 274-277), Dharmasindhu (pp. 68-69) contain a
lengthy procedure of J anma~~amlvrata based principally on
Bhavi~yottara chap. 55. A brief summary from the first two
works (which agree in the main in most respects) is set out
below.
On the day of the fast in the morning the devotee should invoke
the presence of the Sun, Moon, Yama, Time, the two twilights,
the (five) elements, Day and Night, Wind, the lord of the quarters,
the earth, the sky, the denizens of aerial regions and gods.344
He should hold in his hand a copper vessel filled with water,
some fruits, flowers and whole rice-grains, refer to the month &c.
and make a sankalpa ' I shall perform the KrE!lfii.$~amI-vrata, for
securing a certain reward or for the removal of my sins '. He
then repeats four mantras addressed to Vasudeva, one of which
is quoted below.345 After repeating the mantras he should dis-
charge the water in the vessel. He should construct a delivery
Lall for Devakl having auspicious jars full of water and mango
leaves, garlands of flowers, fragrant with burnt agu1'U and

343. <f5i' ~~r.r.t ~ ~~)<IT ~mn ~

~fttl ... ~re{rft I ~ ~ ~r ~ qr I ~ 6A~lIi<i) ffli
~~r\l: I 'liT, ~. pp. 224-225; ~~ ~;:;;r ~ ~ I if
~'i1~ '<l <f5i' 'PIT R rirl ~ IV. 8. 61-62; ~ ~ '<l
~ ~ ~~ I ~ 91e"ilfaiii6~q," ... ~ ~ ffli
~m~'i\J: I tAr Ill. 13. 3 and 61. Kr~a belonged to the Somavamlla and
Budha is deemed in legend and astrology to be the son of the Moon. Vide
~ 1. 25. 43-45 lor the legend. It is probably due to this that Wednes-
day and Monday are deemed to heighten the importance of Janma~tami.
344. ~: ~ 1l1': 'fi'n'lI: ~'11' ~: ~ 1 ~ F.tfi'4",~I('!fi"i
~:1111T1f ~~ ~ ~I q. by~. Il'. p.52 (reads
1iI'iro ;m:), fit. ". p. 4.5.
345. .. ........ Rl(ui "'''''wt4,~~1
q. in ~. Il'. p • .52, fit. ft. p. 42, ~ p. 68.
"tiio""., ~ • ~ n
136 History of Dharmasastra [ Seo. I, Ch. vn
decked with auspioious things and ~a~~hl~devI. Round about
the room or the walls (of the room) he should paint gods and
gandharvas with folded hands, Vasudeva with a drawn sword,
DevakI, N anda, Yasod!, gopis, Kamsa's guards, the river
Yamuna and the snake Kaliya therein and other incidents of
Gokula as far as he could. He should place in the delivery hall
a bed surrounded by screens. He should take a bath with
sesame in the noon in the water of a river or the like and at
midnight make the sankalpa, 'I shall perform the worship of
K~~I;la with his attendants'j he should make an image of K~~I;la
of gold or silver &c., touch the cheeks of the image and vitalize
the image (prii.I;l8t-prati ~~ha ) with mantras. He should contem~
plate upon Devaki (with a mantra) and on Srik~~I;la lying as an
infant on the bed and offer worship to Lak~mI, to Vasudeva and
Devaki, N anda and Yasoda, Baladeva and CaI;l9-ika with
appropriate mantras for bath, for incense, naivedya &c. j he then
briefly performs symbolically the ceremonies of Jatakarma,
cutting the navel chord, ~a~~hIpiija and namakaraI;la. Then at
time of moonrise (at or a little after midnight) he should offer
arghya on an altar or to (image of) the moon with RohiI;ll with
water from a conch mixed with flowers, kusas and sandalwood
paste with a mantra, should bow to the moon and prostrate346
himself with several verses containing the different names of
Vasudeva and at the end address prayers to him. Then he
should keep awake the whole night in listening to the hymns
of praise to K~~I;la, to the stories in the PuraI;las and in songs,
music and dances. Next day after performing all usual acts
to be performed in the morning and again offering worship to
the image of God Kr~I;la, he should feed brahmaI;las and donate
to them gold, cow, clothes with the words' May Kr~I;la be pleased
with me'. He should then repeat the mantra 347 'salutation to
him who is Brahma, who is Vasudeva of blessed birth and
beneficent to cows and brahmaI;las and whom Devakl gave birth

346. One of the Mantras at the time of {ailing prostrate is: mot 'Ii SIIIitt
~qitl ~~~~~"~.;f. p, 54 and fi't. e'. p. 45.
Two of the ~;'!fS are: '!iITii ;ti ~:~ ii'lmq)'O'qi"i~ 1 S,flli."qi! ~
it ~ ~~~ ~ 1 ~)st ~fclJi'6"~ m ~~~ 1 ~ ~
~~~I ibid.

3+7. It ~ ~ ~ "U"qiq";~ 1 ~ 1IfIf1Jfr sa~ ~a ~ tonI': ,

tf5i"'''iU~''iq wn.i8l0i~t"q., ~ ~ ~ ~ H ~.
~ 55.60-61, quoted by ~. ;f. p. 55, fit. ". 43 (which explain.
~ as ~~:). The first verse is quoted from ..... by IIt'. fiI;. ~.
p.313,
 ProcedU1'6 of Janmal!tami vrata 137
from Vasudeva for the protection of Vedas spread over the earth.
Let there be peace I Let there be bliss I He should then take out
the image of K+E,l:t;la, donate it to a brahma:t;la and bring the vrata
to a close after performing para:t;la.
The procedure in the Dharmasindhu (pp.68-69) is more
elaborate than the above, though no essential difference' axists.
It makes use of Vedic mantras (from Eg. X. 90. 1-16) along with
Paura:t;lika mantras, while in the Samaya-mayukha and Tithi·
tattva no Vedic mantra is expressly mentioned. As regards
jagara the Dharmasindhu provides that the stories 348 about
K~~J!.a may be made striking by reciting poems composed in
regional languages, that Vedic hymns may have at th9ir end
Paurii.:t;lika stories recited, that visual representations (such as
dances) may be resorted to, that this is a procedure meant for the
three higher var:t;las, but in the case of sudras it is not proper to
follow the same procedure; they should omit Vedic hymns but
may engage in music and Paura:t;lika recitations.
One question often raised in eome of the medieval digests on
Dharmasastra is: what is the principal matter in Janma~~aml­
vrata. Some held that both fast (upavasa) and worship (puja)
are principal and they rely on a Bhavi$yapural!a 349 passage
'when at midnight on the 8th of the dark half there is Rohi:t;ll,
worship of K~~l!a destroys sins committed in three Jives; a man
observing a fast then and performing worship of Hari does not
sink '. The Samayamayukha, after an elaborate discussion in
which Mimiimsii. doctrines such as those in J ai. I. 4. 1-3 are
employed, arrives at the conclusion that the fast is only an
auxiliary (anga), while worship (pujii) is the principal thing.
On the other hand the Tithitattva3SO relying on the verse of the

348, tNT .... ~!fiq;'ifi!fi'(OI<i\'EiifiU\{~II!: ctl(lcitrnijl\1'{i:l~,", eTI<1;z<'I@I·

~1iI1€fi1.'III!!(.<t<i\~ ~ f.lsUfit"JjSi'l~'I ~ I ~~ 1f<'I'TnI-
~ fiN1dl1«J''I('qI<t:' q::q.,j.'.i'(uj iJ q;'ifijf4d~<1~~ qol::qdl!'I-
~ ~ I ~ pp. 70-71. The word ':wr~, is used because
In those days Siidras were not entitled to study and recite Vedic Mantras.
349. ~ d ~ 1fC(T ~ ~I ~~ ~ IfI'Ii
~n~~:Fi ~n~~1 ~. q. by ~.lt.p , 46,by
"on!fi'1(;5 p. 131 (quoting from ~ and ~~).
350. an( l-mqqj\1.n: lNt"~"j€fij •• jfii(iih, ...... il ~ W'j('ijl1qIlQ
~
~I ~ .. ll_j"ql!jj\1~1i ~-~/iI'Il1t'i1W'lfiil ~ m
m;q . . '1~ I ~ p. 44. The ~~ (55.19) opens the description of
the vrata with the verse '~ ~ ~ ,,""Eijq.,{lqii(1 ~ ~
~~:., q. by fit. ". on p. 42,~. f$. wm. p. 309. '
II. D. 18
 History of DharmaBast"a [ Sec. 1, Oh. VU

Bhavi!;lYa. opening the description of the vrata 'On that day one
should accept the restrictions of upavasa' and also Mlmamsi
doctrines holds that upavasa is the principal matter and pi.i.ja is
an anga (auxiliary matter). The Jayantlnir:J;laya contained in
the Dasanir:J;layl of Harlta Venka~anatha discusses at length the
two (pp. 3 if). This subject need not be pursued much further.
It has already been stated above that every vrata requires a
para:J;la as the last item, that para:J;la takes place the day after
the day of the fast and that it is generally performed in the
morning. There are certain special rules about the para:J;la of
Janma!;l~aml fast and Jayantl fast. ·A few dicta of the puri:J;las
may be first noted. The Brahmavaivarta 351 states 'one should
never perform para:J;la while a!;l~aml tithi is running or Rohi:J;lI
nak!;latra is still there on the A!;l~aml j (if one does so) one destroys
what he has done previously and the fruits acquired by the fast.
A tithi destroys eight-fold, while a nak!;latra does so fourfold i
therefore one should perform the para:J;la (of J anma!;l~aml) . at the
end of the tithi and nak!;latra', The NaradapuraJ;la 352 remarks
'when a fast has to be observed on the conjunction of a tithi and
nakeya.tra, para:J;la should not be done until at least one of the two
has ended i when a vrata falls on a conjunction (of tithi and
nak!;latra), para:J;la should be done only when one of the two is '
separated (i. e. ends)'. The Vahni-puraJ;la provides 'para:J;la iii
commended at the end of the nak!;latra or at the end of the tithi'.
Both the Tithitattva and the K~tyatattva3S3 arrive on interpret.
ing these and other verses at th_2 following conclusions. 'Para:J;l a
is to be observed on the day after the fast, but after the end of
the tithi (a!?~aml) and the nak!?atra (RohiJ;ll) j but when one of

351. ~~"'~~~~~~~,~~
';f!§q'i(qI ..ui~IIt''1I(i(i'll" ri",q'Mifltt ~II ~~~t;(
~, "~I(II'1("": ~ .. ~ II wnr'
lI'iT. fit. p. 226; ,. (OD
'lim) p. 137 quotes these verses and seems to hold a different view. ThO,
are q. by A. d. p. 51 and are interpreted as noted below. lJ means",".
352. ~~ ~ 'qT ~, Ifro7f iI " lfi!int '11 .. alfi'E'I~: I
~Rsrrit' 1f~s~~'m~ut~~~I:1I ~q.b1
'liT. fi\'. p. 227, m.!f. p . 52; ~ ~ lIT 'ilq;\ftlllfi .. ul ~ ..rtP
~'~~m't'i\11(!f~II.-fiI1 ~. (on 'lim p. 137).
353. ",qijifN ..fi\iI fiilfiI.,"' .. ii(I .... fll~ ~, 'qT l'I "ltlfVt,nql: ~
~qlijfll.,i(, ~ illtlfVt,nql ~ lIT "'Ifi",I"fll~ ~I 'q1 ~"Icn.
1I\Iq~"'\tni)tflijl~ 1IT!f: ~ ~ I ~ p. 54, ~ p. 441; riftPI
p. 67 (for limilar rules). ~ is various11 delined. Vide p. 117, Dot_ 302
abOve.
 Pllrdtta of J anma~~arni fa8t iS9
the two ends before 'mahanisa and ,the other during mahanisa
or after it, para:t;la should be observed at the end of one of
the two; when both exist during the period of mahanisa then
ODe should perform para:t;la in the morning at the end of the
festival'. At the end of the para:t;la the performer repeats the
mantra I salutations to Govinda, who is Being, who is the ruler
of (all) beings, who is the lord of (all) beings and who is the
source of all b'e ings ',354 The above statement shows that ill
certain cases the para:t;la of J anma$~amlvrata may be a.t night,355
particularly for vai$:t;lavas who perform the vrata as a duty and
Dot for any reward.
There is a difference of meaning between udyapana and
piira:t;la. Some vratas like EkiidasI and J anma$~aml are per-
formed throughout a man's life; in suoh cases there is only
piira:r;Ja after the fast on every occasion that B fast is observed.
If a man undertakes a vrata only once and fin ishes it, then the
concluding rites of the vrata are called u dya:pana.
Besides the items mentioned above, it is the practice, parti-
cularly of boys and common people in Mahara$tra, to hang up
pots full of curds a.nd buttermilk on the day after the birth of
,Kr$:t;la is celebrated, to play underneath the pot, sing songs and
then pierce the pot and get drenched by curds and buttermilk
running out from the holes made. This is probably due to the
legends associated with ~$:t;la's boyhood among cowherds. The
Bhiigavata 356 expressly says that the cowherds sprinkled each
other on K;r$:r;J.a's birth with curds, milk, ghee, and smeared eaoh
other with these. This is called I Gopalakala in Maharif?~ra.
But this is not observed in other parts of India such as
Saural?~ra. Surprisingly enough the Kr$:t;lajanma$~a.rnl festival
does not, like the Ramanavaml festival, figure in the Krtya-
ke.lpataru on vrata. One cannot account for this omission.

354. qt(Uli.,iId( H-3iT 'i_m~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "": ..

~ 1ft ~-1'ftt I ~, l'I. pp. 441-442.

. 35', anf: ~ ~ qi(Oiil"+i'i(~" I Cl'llt"ildt.q~~diql:;

~ ~ .. ~t f.!Iqdtm.,ti( I ~ ~ ~ is ~on.
~pp,35-36.

356. ii\!!'Ii?tt431iii1i1(?t~ .. "Jtt'Ei( WI ~ '(\~: ~ ~ ,

~I ~.m ~ ~ 1f1"iijd"""~., ft'n ~~,
.~S1"f 4111"iA41 cilql(i)"'i~", ~ ~ it \nfit I ~ p. 71. The
nno of the 1f1iiq (X . .5. 14) is: ciI1n: ~ ~ ~II ~
~~~n.
 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. vn
But in the N aiyatak:ala section 3S7 of the same work, a brief
procedure of K+!?1;lajanma~~aml (which is word for word the
same in the K+tyaratnakara) different from the one specified
.above from the Tithitattva and other works, is set out. It is as
follows: On the 8th of the dark half of Bhadrapada was born
in Kaliyuga in the 28th (kalpa?), K+~lfa, son of Devakl, for
removing the burden (of the earth) and the reduction of k~atriyas.
He (his image) should therefore be worshipped on that day, as
also (of) Devakl and Yasoda with sandalwood paste, flowers,
incense, various fruits and foods and dishes prepared from
barley and wheat together with cow's milk. At night the
devotee should keep awake with songs and dances. Then on
the 9th about the time of al'u'(!odaya (4 gha~ikas before
sunrise) women dressed in red clothes and decked with garlands
of flowers should carry tbe images of these (K+~lfa, Devakl and
.Y asoda) to a holy rivet bank or to a charming and unfrequented
lake, wherein they sbould themselves take their bath and also
bathe the images; then returning home they should eat a meal
of barley together with jaggery, boney, ghee and black pepper.
Before closing this account of Janma~~aml reference must
be made to a paper read in 1867 before the Berlin Akademie der
Wissenschaften by the renowned German scholar, Prof. A. Weber.
The subject of the paper was 'An investigation into the origin
of the festival of K+~lfa.janma!?~ami' and the paper was divided
into four parts; the first dealt with the sources (an English
translation of it by E. Rehatsek was published in Indian
Antiquary vol. VI. pp. 161-180 and pp. 281-301), the 2nd dealt
.with ritual, the 3rd part was the-most important and was con-
cerned with a novel theory, viz. the ritual of K+!?lfa~~aml festival
was something transferred from outside of India, that the
description in the ritual of K+!?J;la's image as suckling at the
.mother's (Devaki's) breast was the keystone of the theory of this
ritual as of foreign origin and that it was suggested by pictorial
representations of the Madonna with a suckling child (Christ)

357. 3N ~ ~ ti~ ~ ~ I :rfIel~lid~~: ~~. 'Plfrm

WI':II .•• ~"!r.f ~ ~r ~r <Nfl ~ ~II
~~I ~1J.il ~~I mrl ~I <fiT1I1"~(1Mi!9i?):1 ~.
~ ~ '<f "": ~:, ~'{<Ill ~: !l"4+1h.•'a'~'ii(1i: I ~~ ut ~
, ~:, ~~~-4',~f.im1;lfi'mt~11 ~lf'j";f~~~.
~: I ~: ~ '<f ~ ~ 11:Q .. <fI: I !lififi!ru~1J.il iMN'l+lR.a: f t I
~. (~) pp . 395-396. 'Ii' ,. p. 257 (ascribes to 1IJIi'TVf). The
_. ,. ' (p. ,258) remarks ,,,~~ ,,'0111\1"'''' " ~
~I ... ~~ iI~lII.w,~q~ ~~ a{iuficnlfitlihp.
 Weber's theory about Janm.a~~ami

&0. An English translation of this part appeared in Indian

Antiquary, vol m. pp. 21-25 and pp. 47-52. This papa!", though
it is a monument of learning and patient industry (for thai
period when very few Sanskrit books had been printed), gave
rise to severe criticism owing to its fantastic and perverse
conclusion about Kr$I;lajanmastaml ritual being borrowed from
Christian representations of Christ and his mother Mary. In
1. A. vol. m. p. 300 Growse attacked it very severely. In spite
of all criticisms the tenacious German scholar stuck to his guns
and launched an attack against his critics, particularly agains.
Dr. Rajendralal Mitra, in I. A. vol. IX. pp. 226-229. As hardly
any SanskrH scholar in these days would espouse the theory
put forward by Weber, I do not think that I should waste much
time over a refutation thereof. Most European scholars, nurtured
on the vaunted intellectual eminence of the ancient Greeks and
on the intolerant attitude of christianity towards other faiths,
when they became acquainted with things Indian and studied
Sanskrit, were obsessed (though not very obviously expressed)
by two notions, viz. much in India that resembled what prevailed
in the West must have been borrowed from the West and
fw·ther, that Indians, who had allowed themselves to be invaded
oy outsiders and governed by foreigners for centuries, must not
have been good at anything. These two notions gave rise to
many untenable theories such as the following: the RamayaI;la
was borrowed from Homer's Iliad, the art of writing was un-
known to PaI;lini, the Brahml script was based on Phoenician or
Aramaic script, that the Glta was based on the Bible, that the
very ancient Indian nakf?atra system was borrowed either from
the Chinese, the Babylonians or Arabs. Most of such theories
were the result of little knowledge and the non-recognition of
certain common sense rules and have now been consigned to the
limbo of deserved oblivion. The common sense rule is that when
a thing or a state of things has existed for centuries in a certain
country or among a certain people, the burden of proving that
it was borrowed by that country or people from outside is very
heavy on those who assert such borrowing; mere similarities
can never he held to amount to any evidence of borrowing at
all; scholars should be very chary of confidently asserting
borrowing and should put forward their conclusions very oauti·
ously. It would not be irrelevant to point out the main oircum-
stances on whioh Weber, often a champion of lost causes, r~lied
for his theory.
 t Sec. it Oh. VII
The first is that in the ritual of K~~:t;lA~~aml contained in
lome digests (that said that they borrowed the passage from
Bhavi!?yottara) the image of Kr~:t;la was to be shown ass as suckl-
ing at the breast of Devakl, that this is a unique direction, that
in the RamanavamI festival which is similar to Janma.~~a.ml the
image of Rama is not required to be suckling at the breast of
Kausalya, that this detail was copied from the representation of
~he Madonna Lactans. Weber relied (vide 1. A. vol. ill p. 51) on
one De Bossi who said that pictures of infant Christ at the breast
existed in 2nd century A. D. Weber brushed aside the testimony
of other scholars that the Madonna with the child was a subject
little known to the early christian centuries and the opinion of
other scholars that the representations of the Madonna Lactana
are extremely rare in Byzantine and Russian art (1. A. vol. m
p. 48) and almost always of very late date. Weber makes a
mountain of a molehill. The image of Rama is also described as
lying on the lap of the mother Kausalya.3S9 Further, all puraI,laa
,do not provide that the image of ~!?:t;la was to be suckling at the
breast. Hemadri, in describing the J ayantlvrata from the
Pura:t;las, shows that the image was to be on the lap of the mother
Devakl.360 Was the Hindu imagination so poor that when they
could describe the image of Rama or Kr~I,la as lying on the
mother's lap they could not also imagine that it could be shown
as suckling at the breast and had to run to the West to copy
that detail from representations of the Madonna and the child
~housands of miles away?

The 2nd point made much~f by Weber was that Narada is

represented as having brought from Sveta-dvlpa ( white land) the
doctrine of salvation by faith. Weber holds that SvetadvJpa
was Alexandria, while Lassen holds that it was Parthia. If we
read the desoription of Svetadvlpa in the Santiparva ( chapters

3.58. "",..-I m "ifl"N ~ uti ~ ~~~I ~:~~.

l'l4i?4UNl( II' ~ ~E\1n'1ll"t 'PfT' f.iN.m p. 46; the half verse lit ...
~ occurs in f.t. ffl. p. 131; ~ p. 68 says I~ SlU~.qll ~
~ ~1UlSI1~ r.nm-.'
The~. Ai. fIil. p. 308 quoting from ~
m
reads ~ ~ lilt ~ ~~.' This verse is ~ .5.5. 30.

359. i1ili'rM \ii1~'l(41I?'fti1S1~' G.i,W"'''I_ ~ ~I' ~.

ftr. p. 8.5.
360. __ (IiIIf ~ l:::JIflli'lfiw qpml I ~~ ~
"I"~WI{" t. (OD n vol. I. p. 813).
 Weber's theory about Janm(j~f.ami 143

336..339) and in such Pur!i.I;las 961 as Vamana (~hap. 25.16 and 60.
56) and Karma (1 49) it would be clear that Svetadvlpa was an
imaginary or mythical place where everything was white, where
Visnu and the gods dwelt and that it had no earthly existenoe
at i~ast in the minds of the authors who wrote the above works.
The third important point according to Weber was that
certain incidents in Kr!?I;la's life such as Ka,liya-mardana are
similar to those in Christianity . Weber himself says that victory
over Kaliya is a travesty of the christian tradition of the serpent.
n appears to me that there is nothing common between the two
eJcept the word serpent.

361. ~ ~~: ~ ~: I ~. 'ft1'm1t "I,{I'IOjq(i'lOIl: 1

n PIT ~ 'I'T1I1 ... cl"iI~tll: I ~'lf ;m fimt ~ ~'®'Itlrtl: I
1I"I'1"ft
~ ~ 11'.' ... "'(1'10' .... ': ~ "',{''IO,q(,tjOll:' ... ~ ttm
1IIr ~ """""t' ~~ ~I .rt I ~ 1'ItIrt ... qT-
'III1mrf1 ,*, ~"""iill"l "r..!!:!!!.!!!fl , po I. 4P. "0-47.
 CHAPTER VIII

Vratas of Haritalika, Ga~esacaturthi,

~~ipaiicami, AnantacaturdaSi.

On the 3rd tithi of the bright half of Bhadrapada occurs

the Haritalilcavrata for women alone. This vrata is not found
in the K!-,tyakalpataru on vrata or in Hemadri. It is described
only in the later medieval digests like the Nir:t:layasindhu
(p.133), Vratarka (folios 4:4: b-4:9 b ), Vrataraja (pp. 103-110) and
Ahalyakamadhenu (folios 282-295). It may, however, be noted that
the Rajamarta:t:l~a of Bhoja (first half of 11th century A.D.) devotes
four verses to Haritallcaturthl on Bhadrapada 4th of bright
half and says it is dear to ParvatI (two of them are quoted below
in note}.362 It is very much in vogue among Mahara!?~ra women.
The following is a brief description. The woman should take
an oil and myrobalan paste bath and wear fine silken clothes.
After referring to the tithi &c. the woman should make sankalpa
as noted below.363 She should bow to Uma and Siva i she should
offer worship to Uma by means of the 16 upacaras with
appropriate mantras such as avahana (invoking to be present),
lillana (seat), padya, arghya &c. After offering flowers the per-
former should carry out worship O'f the limbs of Uma from the
feet in the form' bow to Uma, I worship her feet' to the head.
Then she should offer incense, lamp, naivedya, iicamaniya,
fragrant substances like camphor and sandalwood for rubbing on
the hands, betelnut, tambula, dak!?i:t;la, ornaments, ni1"ajana
(waving of a lamp). She should then offer worship to the severa.l
names of Uma (such as GaurI, Parvati &c.) and tbe several
names of Siva (such as Hara, Mahadeva, Sambhu &c.) and present
a. ha.ndful of flowers, and gO round (pradak!?i:t:la) the images of
Uma and Mahesvara, make with an appropriate mantra in each

362. treff.l:f~ lJ ~ ~ ~I ~ fifr'il: ~ ~

~II ~~iTqlfit~~~ 1 ~~~~ fcNl"IS",,"~1I
(i::i!tm;Oil {olio 75 b. verses 1257- 1258; vide ABORI vol. 36 p. 323.

363 . 1Uf M(idqlQiI1q'l<i'M1(1::i! .... (i,,<lR"lTlid«t~m ~~

I(RttlreilfililM4 ~ I tnmi\ ttocqfiti>il'; ilfiRwit I ~ p. 103 .
 Haritatikavrata 145
•
oase an obeisance 364 and a prayer and donate presents placed
in vessels of wickerwork together with auspicious substances.
This vrata is not prevalent in Bengal nor in Gujarat.
It is provided by Madhava that 365 if the third is mixed up
with the 2nd tithi and the 4th tithi, the vrata is to be performed
on the later day, provided the third tithi exists at least for a
muhurta (two gha~ikas) and then 4th tithi follows.
In modern times women purchase coloured clay images of
ParvatI, of Sivalinga and a friend of Parvat! and worship them.
It is difficult to say why the vrata is called Haritalika. The
Vrataraja366 (p. 108) says it is vratariija (the prince among
vratas) and was so called because Piirvati was taken away (from
home) by her friends.
The Vratariija contains a story said to have been narrated
by Siva himself to Piirvati about the vrata by performing which
she secured him as her husband and also the position of being
half of Siva's body. The Variihapurii:t;la (chap. 22) contains a long
narrative about the marriage of Gaur! with Siva.
On the 4th of the bright half of Bhadrapada is observed
the festival of Ga:t;lesacaturth! in many parts of India (though
not in Bengal or Gujarat). According to the Samayamayukha,367
GaJ;lesacaturthI is also called VaradacaturthI. The proper time
for the performance is mid.day. as said by B~haspati 368 quoted
in the KalanirI;laya. When Caturthl-tithi is mixed up with the

364. The~~is '~~~~~;ml~

~ ~"ifR" '. The lIT'i~ is '11~ ~ 'I;fW\' ~ ~ ~ tJ'Ifi\ I Wlrt""
~'J.t ~~ ~~ ~~ it", (Give me sons, wealth, blessed wifehood and
all other desires &c.). The ~ is '~hl11'~.ql.f\l"lq «1~«1"'~'l'4q ,
a
~~(i~ldl!!'>JU IfIlr.i 4(W'q~I('" (I make this present for pleasing Gauri
and Siva in order that I may secure happy wifehood, health, the abundance
of all kinds of wealth &c. ).
365. 6~"I9I«1 ..~ill f,f.f 111m ~ I 1ifiT. fit ~i flm"" ~~.
~~ ~ q'(~"ldllll!lPa' ann ~ q'(~"«I~q¥( I lWiT. fit p. 176.
366. ~\'IT q~I'ij~i«(1T 1t~i(al.f\l I lII'l'm'iI' p. 108. It is possiblo
to 8uggest-that the image of Piirvati was coloured yellow by means of ~
(orpiment) and so it was called l!~ire"'l.
367. ~~ ~<I'it, «1'.... p. 39.

368. '""'~: I ~ 'iOI"i~~ ~ ~ I ..... ql'.qi~oft ~

~ ~.mt~" '"", lWiT, fi\. P. 181, fi\. ~. 133.
B. D.19
 History oj Dharmasastra [ Seo. I, Ch. vm
•
3rd tithi and also with 5th, then, if at midday there is caturthI,
the one mixed with the 3rd is to be preferred. If at midday
there is no caturthI, but on the next day there is caturthI at
midday mixed with paiicami, then paraviddhli (t e. mixed with
the following 5th) is to be preferred.369 Briefly, the procedure is
as follows. In modern times a clay image of Gat;lesa beautifully
painted is brought, and pra!r:w,pratiflthfl is effected and worship is
offered to Vinayaka with 16 upacaras; two dilrvli tendrils with
sandalwood paste are offered with each of ten names 370 quoted
below (t e. in all 20 durva tendrils) and after reciting all the
ten names together the remaining one durva (21st) is offered.
21 modakas are got ready and placed before the image; one is
offered as naivedya, ten are donated t o brahmat;las, ten are eaten
by the performer himself (or his family).3?1 The P. C. p. 94: and
Vrataraja (pp. 144-151) give a more elaborate procedure. If
Bbadrapada 4th of bright half falls on a Sunday or Tuesday this
caturthl is called great 372 (mahati ). The important vedic mantra
in the worship of Gat;lesa is Eg. II. 23. 1 = Tai. S. II. 3. 14. 3
(GaIfanam tva Gat;lapatim havamahe) which is really addressed to
Brahmat;laspati, but in medieval and modern conceptions Gat;lesa
takes over the characteristics of that Vedic god. The number
21 is important in Gat;lesacaturthl.
The form of GaJ;)esa to be contemplated upon is described
as follows: 373 ' one should contemplate on God Siddhi·
vinayaka who has only one tusk j whose ears are wide like a
winnowing basket, who has nliga (snake) worn in the way of
yajnopavita and wields in his han-ds a snare and goad'
In medieval times and also in modern times the popular
belief was and is that if one happens to see the moon on GaIfesa-

369. ~ ~Il~:l'.~ f6N~ (l(Jf~~lf MtI ....'~I<t~·

~:a('I&H1'f11"1'a1' ~ 1I'mf 'I <rrrit ~ QUl: ~ iI\~'ftr.lft ~ <~ I
~~ ~ m<rl'J"lf~"t t'I1(f ~~~sitt SI~1,",if\ld~1I{OI ~
1R1IT I iflT. f.t. p. 181.
370, The ten names (with dative) are tTOr~, '3<1111)>11<1, 3HI~141~lq,
fii~lqlfilq, ~, ~<lffi~qlq, ~, ~!I1f'!fr1l', ~;wr, ~.
371. .-fit ~~ rt ~*q\ .. illeITtIfiI ti~~: ~ I
~ ~1';'(."SIT<i' ~ ~ ~ 'fI"~ I ~~ p. 72. m:
372. ~~1fT~'Il~1 ~~ 1ii;~'4I"i\~i~lft
~. iI. p. 39, f.lr. ~. p. 133, ~. ~. p. 94 quoting '1(111,,101 from f¥t~41I''''

373. '"' ~ ~I ~ ~ "1.itqilq(\fiI~1 ~

__t '<liil~~Iii"i4l4i¥(1I ,fiI" ~.~. p. 133,~. 210.
 Ga1JSia-caturthi 147
caturthl evening one is falsely charged with the commission of
a theft or the like. If one sees the moon on that date by mistake,
in order to escape the consequence of a false charge, one should
repeat the PauriiI.lika verse addressed by a child's nurse to it • A
lion killed Prasenajit, the lion was killed by Jiimbavat; don't
cry, 0 Sukumaraka (or tender boy) 1 this is your Syamantaka
jewel '.374 The story is referred to in Mausalaparva 3. 23 and is
narrated in several PuraI.las. Vide Vayu 96. 20-52, Agni 175.
40-44, Matsya chap. 45, Vi~I.lu-pura.I.la IV. 13. 3-18, Bhiigavata
X Uttariirdha, Padma V.13. 78-93 and VI. 276. 56,5-37, Brahma
16. 12-45. The Sun is said to have given to Prasena's brother,
Satra.jit, the highly refulgent Syamantaka jewel that produced
eight bbii.ras of gold every day (Bbagavata X. 56. 11 ); ,K~~I.la
hankered after it but could not secure it. Prasena decked with
the jewel went hunting and was killed by a lion, the latter in
its turn was killed by the bear leader Jambavat, who took the
jewel and entered his own lair with it. Satra.jit and the Ya.davas
suspected KreyJ;la as having brought about the death of Prasena
for the sake of the jewel. KrsI.la, unable to bear the calumny,
ultimately traced the corpses of Prasena and of the lion and
entered the cave of Ja.mbavat on hearing the above verse
addresaed by the nurse from inside the cave. K~!?I.la fought
inside the cave a duel with Jambavat and when K~!? l!a did not
come out for days the Yiidava followers of K~f?I.la returned to
Dvaraka. and reported that KF!?I.la was killed. Jambavat was
defeated after 21 days (28 aco. to Bha.gavata X. 58. 24), made
peace with Kr!?I.la by giving in marriage his daughter Jambavatl
to K~!?I.la and the Syamantaka jewel as a dowry. Kr!?I.la on
returning to Dva.raka handed over the jewel to Satra.jit, brother
of Prasena, and oleared himself of the false charge. Some
PuraI.las like Vayu 96. 52 and Matsya 375 45. 34 state that whoa

374. ~ "".:qqi1~ q !fi~e1ft{ 1 31<{ QlI'[;;r ~if 1 ~ oW

q~ ::qiJ:jq~',,'( 1 fm<r~ §1I'~"<'I~I(q:jq .. (f (flfI1 rfi' I ~a~i1t I
~~""'iI~rll U ~~1 ~ ~~ ~ t'I\f'"
... ~~ ~ ~I ~ftit ~~u ~"'~~~I~~ ~
ffm ~r ~: I t1!P1~ Jll Uf~ ~ ~!" ~ I t. on n vol. I.
pp. 529-530; vide also ~. on !fiWS p. 681. The verse is In HarivamSa 1.38 36,
~IV.13. 42. Vayu 96.42 (reads ~: ~.), Padma VI.
276. 19. Brahma 16. 36. ~ may be the proper name of the boy or may
be only a term of endearment.
375 • .,n ~~ 1it q' P'flq'll~tlli(l", ~~ ~S'lf
~.~. 45.34; pt ~ ... PR't, '"'N~rI(l q~: ~
':ltf\:r~1ffit ~ I lIlTS 96. '2. .
 us HistorY of Dharma~astra [ Sec. I, Oh. viIi
ever knows this story about the clearance of Kr~:t;la from a false
charge would not be li~ble to have a false charge made against
him by anyone. The Tithitattva ~6 provides that if a man
inadvertently sees the moon on the night of the 4th in Bha.dra
(sukla) he should repeat the verse of the nurse quoted above over
some water, drink it and should listen to the story of the
Syamantaka jewel.
When GaJ;lesa is worshipped on Bbadra 4th of bright half,
that tithi is called, acoording to Bhavisya, Siva, when Ga:t;lesa is
honoured on Magha-sukla 4 it is called Santa, and when on the
4th of the bright half the weekday is Tuesday that caturthl is
called Sukha. The three 371 are respectively described in Hemadri
(vrata) vol I pp. 512-513, pp. 513-514 and pp. 515-519.
In modern times the worship of Ga:t;lesa lasts for one day
and a balf, for two days, 5 days, " days or till AnantacaturdaSl
(14th of bright half of BMdra), according to the usages of the
people, their inclinations and their tastes. The image is then
immersed in a well, tank or in the sea in a great procession. In
certain parts of the Deccan and among common people it is
customary to perform Gauripuja on 7th and 8th of Bhadrapada-
iukla and immerse Gauri (represented by a sheaf of plants) and
GaJ;lesa image on the same day and at the same time on 9th.
GaI?esa is the most popular god in these days and it is the
praotice to invoke him at the beginning of every important
undertaking or rite. He is the God of wisdom, the presiding
deity of literature, the bestower of success and the destroyer of
obstacles.
About the antiquity of Ga1;lesa worship and of images of
Ga1;lesa a good deal has been said in H. of Dh. vol. n. pp. 213-216
and 725. A few matters not mentioned there may be set ou'
bere. The Brahmavaivarta-pura.:t;la has a section called Ga:t;lesa-
kha:t;l~a (in 46 chapters), wherein several legends about GaJ;lesa
are dwelt upon. The GaJ;lapatyatharvaslrl?a 378, imitating ij}e
376. mt:~ .. ·~:1 ~~@m~ ~~'lIk"I(I<l~.
qy~""~1 ~p . 32.
377. fucn ~ ~ mr.r. ~ firiiNt l1cfI' ~ ~ mil ~am
.~ 1 ~ vri iM ~1fJ") ~, ~ ~ 4fllqll(fibil) W1f.
~, ~ 31. 1 and 6-10 for m;m and UlIff, q . by ~. (on Jnf vol. I.
pp. 512-513 ).
378. 3il~~f ~~~f ~~~, .~
~ I ~ ... ~ f ~ ~l .~ qnf«, l't ~.lqlfi4IRt f1n~' Tb.
opening words of 'jVcqttlii~4ftif (Anand. ed.) .
 l1a~Ja-caturthivrata U9

I!Ityle of such ancient Upani!?ads as the TaittirIya, B~hada,..

rat;lyaka and Chandogya, identifies Gal,lapati with the Highest
Brahma. The Ahalyakamadhenu quotes passages from
Bhavi!?yottara-purat;la on Gal,lesacaturthI. In 1. A. vol. 35 p. 60
an archaeological and mystic explanation is offered about the
mouse Being the conveyance of Gat;lesa and his elephant head,
which is fantastic and hardly convincing. Several legends are
told about Gat;lesa, his elephant head, his single tusk. Vide
Mukerji p. 9. One of the most fantastic is the one in the Varaha.-
purat;la (chap. 23) where it is said that from the laugh of Siva
sprang a very handsome boy whom Parvatl looked at with
admiring eyes when Siva's jealousy was roused a.nd he cursed the
boy to be elepha.nt-headed and pot-bellied and then be relented
and made him the chief of aU Vinayakas.

The K~tykalpataru (on vrata) PP: 84-87 quotes a passage

from the Narasirilha-pural,la 379 (chap. 26. 2-20) about Gat;lesa.-
oaturthI-vrata, which also occurs among several vratas about
Gat;lesa set out in Hemadri (on vrata vol I pp. 510-512). It
differs considerably from the celebration of Gal,lesacaturtbI
desoribed above. A few important points are stated here. Gat;lesa
is described as having one, two or four tusks and as having four
arms. It is further stated that Gat;lesa causes obstacles (vighna)
if not worshipped at the beginning of every undertaking.
Gat;lesa assumed the form of an elephant for effecting the
purposes of gods and thereby frightened all dana vas.

On the 5th tithi of the bright half of Bhadrapada occurs the

n~ipaiicam1-vrata. It was meant for men of aU varJ.1as but is
now mostly practised by women. Hemadri (on vrata, vol. 1.
pp. 568-572) describes the vrata at length quoting from the
BrahmaJ.1q.a.-puril,la. One should, after bathing in a river or the
like and after performing his daily duties, repair to his agnihotra
shed, should bathe with Paiica.m~ta the images of the seven sages
and, anointing them with sandalwood paste and camphor, worship
them with flowers, fragrant substances, incense, lamp, white
clothes and yajiiopavltas and sumptuous naivedya and offer

379. ~ ~ .. ~ "iiI1I~1 ~~~ .. ~~II

••• ~~:~~~, ... t'III~~~~lfilq~'1i1'
~ ~ 1II'1flrm: ~'II ~i. 26.6, 8, 13 q . by ~. (n
t.
pp. 8'-86), (II'! ) vol. I . pp. 511-512.
 150 Histor1j of Dharmasastra [Sec. I, Ch. Vni:
them arghya 300 with the mantra noted below. One should, when
engaged in this vrata, subsist on vegetables alone and observe
celibacy. The result is freedom from all sins and from troubles
of three kinds 381 and the increase of one's good fortune. If a
woman performs this vrata she enjoys happiness, becomes
endowed with good bodily form, beauty and sons and grandsons.
Later medieval digests like the Vratarka (folio 90),
Vrataraja (pp. 200-206) add details and a stOry from Bhavil?Yo-
ttara narrated to Yudhil?thira by Krl?1;la. The sin of
Brahmahatya (brahma1;la-murder), of which Indra. became guilty
by killing Vrtra., son of Tval?tr. was distributed in four places
viz. in Agni (the first flames mixed with smoke), rivers (turbid
in the rains), mountains (on which trees exuding sticky gum
grow) and among women (in their monthly illness). Therefore
this vrata should be performed particularly by women for getting
rid of tIte sin of contact during their monthly illness.
The sankalpa is given below.381a Another detail is that the
seven sages together with Arundhati are to be worshipped. It is
further provided that one should subsist on vegetables 382 or
nivaras or syama.ka grains or bulbous roots or fruits and should
not eat anything produced by ploughing the land. Even in
these days those who perform this vrata do not eat corn produced
by employing oxen. In modern times if men perform the vrata.
the priest invokes for them seven sages with Vedic mantras viz.
-ag. IX. 114. 2 (for Kasyapa), ag. V. 78. 4 (for .Atri), -ag. VI. 25.9

380. ~:I ~~rit ~~u _ : 1 ~~'Iil ~

~:~:, ~ ~ ~ iJ1!!T ~ ~ ~ 1 q. by,. (on iTII', vol. I p.571).
~. 217, ~ p. 200. The !iiffi·it<l1 of <mif (13. 5-<i) recounts the
seven sages (beginning from the east) as m'iRf, ~,~,~, ~,
~, ifiiI and 13.6 says ~'" ~1:ftf( is near ~.
381. The tbree J:~s are :m1:~~, ~f.r.f; and ~.
I ~ql~Cfill'4 ~ ~ ~ ~: I ,m"'~I"'~I.q: lITIfI(qltq~1ii ~ n,
~~ VI. 5. 1. :m\~ troubles are physical (diseases &c . ) and mental
(sorrow, jealousy &c.), ~ (caused by birds, beasts, mea, goblins
&c.); ~ troubles are those caused by snowfall, wind, rain &c .
381 a. ~I ~r~ 1fT ~~ tid(iQ4I",f.\aq1 .. qRr!"l'q~
q~ lfiR~ irftt· ~ ~ ~"'A. ~ I ErcI'Tii folio 89a.
382. t/1I'filijl"d ~~: ~qll'1<'ti€l'QT 1 ~ q;~i~(t"5~...,. ll~ I
~ q. by if<m::if p. 203. Vide ~ folio 92 b that has the verse
. 'iS1I<tiilUHiJ~: ~1JTlIT!film ~ 1fT I ~ftt ~ ~...,. ~ n ~~
means'ripe.a ing after ploughing '. Vide IJTiUrf.\ III. 1. 114 for it (p~.
~~:1~.~.).
 l.l ~paf£cam i-vrata 151

(for Bharadvlja), 'ltg. X. 167. 4 (for Visvamitra), 'ltg. l. 78. 1

(for Gotama), ij,g. TIl. 62. 18 (for Jamadagni), 'ltg. VIT. 33. 11 (for
Vasi!?~ha). The mantra for ArundhatI is quoted below. 383 In
this nata the number seven is important. The nata is to be
performed for seven years, there are to be seven jars, seven
brabmaJ;las were to be invited to whom finally the images (made
of gold or silver) of the seven sages were to be donated. If all
the images were placed in one kalaSa, then the jar with the
images was to be donated to one brahmalfa and the others were
to be given kalasaa with clothes and dak!?i:t;la.
1f pancamI is mixed up with the 4th tithi and the 6th tithi,
one must perform the ij,!?ipancamI vrata on the 5th mixed with
the 4th (piirvaviddha) and not on 5th mixed with 6th, in accord-
ance with the Yugmavakya quoted above (n. 191). Besides, Harita
expressly 384 prohibita the acceptanoe of the 5th mixed with the
6th in the words (5th tithi mixed with the 4th should be accepted
and not the 5th joined to the 6th, both in the bright and dark
halves and in rites for the gods and pitTS). But there is the most
important rule laid down by HarIta himself that in all vratas
comprising worship the tithi to be selected is the one that covers
mid-day.38S Supposing that the 5th tithi does not cover mid-day
when joined with 4th, but oovers mid-day when joined with 6th,
the latter (paraviddha) would have to be chosen. HemadrI would
hold this latter view, while Ma.dhava holds that everywhere 5th
whioh is piirvaviddha is to be accepted Hence there is diver-
genoe of view among the grea.t writers.
It appears that originally the Rsipancami-vrata was meant
for the removal of sins for all, but later on it came to be specially
provided for women; but it is not observed in Saura!?~ra.
On the 14th of the bright half of Bhadrapada is celebrated
the AnantaoaturdasI-vrata. It does not appear in the Krtya-
kalpataru (on vrata).
It consists chiefly in the worship of Hari as Ananta and in
wearing on the the right hand in the case of men and on the left
383. ~~ ~~l!ItqICq1l .. tr.fi1 ~~ 1NT ~ ~'llT ~
llci~ II. This is the JP!f for the ~ of ~.
~~~~ ,.. • • '" :!b
38+. q"ltl .. ~I""'I"'I: tllIl!j~""I€( I 'ifiI~r ~ q>8Jl1lRlll ';f ij' q ..
~ ~ .. ~ ~~" .-Ftt I !liT. f.t. p. 186.
385. m(~R)~1iqllJ.qlfq.'" 1I'mT1 ~~ ... f.m:l:-1"f<I' ~it
~: I ~iit ~ ~ ~ I ... ~ i,'ff, t,.hfIJPr ~: I
~ltql"Qfqtil~: I ~ri ~ ~: I (;t. m. p. 134, !fiT. f.t.
(p. 132 ) has the verse ' ~ tilfS mql".qliQ;fr fiitN: I'.
 /

152 History 01 DharmaAastra [ &0. I, Oh. VIII

in the case of women a holy strap of thread dyed with saffron

made of cotton or silk twisted into fourteen knots. It is an
individual pilja. and not a festival of a socia-religious character.
The AgnipuraJ;la (cha.p. 192, verses 7-10) gives a brief description
as follows. On the 14th of the bright half one should worship
the image of Ananta (Hari) which is made of darbha grass
placed in a vessel for water (a jar). He should get ready flour of
a prastha of paddy and make cakes from that, half of which
should be donated to a brahmaJ;la and the remaining half he
should use for himself. One should perform this vrata on the
bank of a river and listen to stories about Ha.ri a.nd (pray to
Hari) as follows :386 0 Vasudeva J save (people) sunk in the great
and endless ocean of samslira and make them apply themselves
to the contemplation of the form of Ananta; salutation to thee
that hast numerous forms! Having worshipped (Hari) with this
mantra and having tied on one's arm or round one's neck a
string of threads over which a mantra has been uttered, the
person who performs the Anantavrata becomes happy. If Hari
is Ananta, then fourteen knots may be deemed to symbolize the
fourteen worlds created by Hari
Hemadri (on vrata vol. n. pp. 26-36) has an elaborate
description of Anantavrata together with the story of Kaur;J<}Jnya
and his wife Sila told by K~~J;la to Yudhi~~hira. K+!?Qa states
that Ananta is one of his forms and identifies himself with Kala
(Time) that is called Ananta. Ananta should be worshipped
with the upacliras of sandalwood paste, incense, flowers,
naivedya.
In front of (the image of) Ananta should be placed a doraka
dyed with saffron and having fourteen knots. The ma.ntra.
(quoted in note) should be recited and the doraka should be
tied on one's arm, one should then dine with an easy mind
after contemplating on NarayaI;la as Ananta. In the story it is
narrated how because the husband KaUl;l~inya from youthful
rashness and pride cut the Ananta thread tied round his wife's
hand he lost everything, then repented and was taken into
favour by Ananta. The V. K. K. (pp. 324-339) describes at great
length the procedure of Anantapuja together with stories taken

386. 3j;ifO(iflfil(lflllfig4 1fi/1i'fiIfJti'il( ~, ~ AAci'I""C(tit~­

~.mt ~" ~ 192.9, quoted as i""ci'l«ilfnf by 'Ii, ~. p. 294 and fW. fl.
p.123, which remarks '~~~, ~O,: It!s Dot clear
from the adtf~ what month is intended. The verses immediately precediDi
re{erto~.
 AnantacaturdaSi vrata 153

from the Bhavi~yottara, and the Tithitattva also (p. 123)

quotes portions from the Bhavi!?yottara. The KalanirJ;laya
(p. 279) expressly states that the Anantavrata is desoribed in the
Bhavi~yottara and disousses a few verses therefrom. The
Vratarka (folio 27780-28580) desoribes this vrata at great length.
Briefly it is this: first sankalpa, then making a sarvato-bhadra
maT,ltj.ala and plaoing a jar thereon, on whioh is placed a naga
with seven hoods made of darbhas and in front of it a doraka
with 14 knots, worshipping the doraka on the jar with 16 upa--
caras with the Puru~asiikta (Rg. X. 90) and Paura~ik:a mantras;
14 devatas of the knots from Vi~J;lu to Vasus are invoked, then
there is worship of the limbs from the feet upwards in such
mantras as 'Anantaya nama1;t padau piijayami,' then a handful
of flowers with the mantras of Vi~I;lU, prayer to Ananta, tying
the doraka with a mantra, casting away the old doraka after
offering it worship. Salt is forbidden in this vrata. It waf!!8'
believed that if this vrata was performed for fourteen years,
one reaohed the world of Vi~1,lu.
There is a variance in the views of eminent writers about
the exaot time and the tithi for the vrata when 14th is mixed
with other tithis (13th or PaurI;lima.). Madhava 388 holds that
mid-day is not the karmakGla in this vrata, but that tithi which
exists at sunrise for three muhurtas is the most suitable one for
Ananta--vrata. The Nirt;Jayasindhu holds 389 that Madhava was
mistaken beoause he relied for his decision on a general rule that
the prinoipal tithi to be aocepted is the one that covers mid-day,
that the Anantavrata is not mentioned in other purat;las and also
in other digests and that the passages of the Bhavi!1ya and
Skanda quoted by others are baseless and unauthoritative.
There are even in these days many persons who engage in
the AnantaoaturdasI-vrata, but their numbers are rapidly
diminishing.

387. 'l\(IIIIi1't1E1i1 ~"<I':l .. "qfiVT Q'9I' .... ' wmr ~ti+li1..a .. ~ qIOIi1~4" "
~.., ¥roJt sntl1 rrm~lfi~:' ~. (on a't'I vol. II. p. 35).
388. ~ ~a-'<l'il~I.wi1ai1 l'If.fu<i'l=t«S~ n ~ ~
In' ",ql,i<llffl;fl 'II'I'1ffit ~:, ... am) WI' i!'\'lJTJ": ~: I C'NT ~ ~
~ 1I11lf-t'm ~ $"'~II'6i,ra\1l'l<ilc:q6<11(i{;fI 1I1Wt' ~ .. 1li~
~ ~: ~: I fi616(<l4if1(,'q: I ltiT. fit p. 279.
389. ~ iJ ... ~ ~r '" "1iql •• qliii'~'q" ~ I ~ ~1'1jiq"l"ql~Ji<i
~ lifI1'ft' ~,,¥(1i!Uft<1 ~~~~
q1f I m
f"'ti'j~fill
~. ftJ. p.142.
B. D. 20
 CHAPTER IX
Navaratra or Durgotsava
From the 1st of Asvina bright half to the 9th is celebrated
the Durgapuja festival, otherwise called Navarli.tra, observed all
over India in some form or other. Some of the works 390 provide
that Durgotsava must be celebrated in both Sarad (Asvina-sukla)
and Vasanta (in Caitra-sukla.). But it is the Durgotsava391 of
ASvina that is celebrated in a grand style, particularly in
Bengal, Bihar and Kamarupa.
If a. person is unable to celebrate the festival391 for nine
days, he should do so for three days beginning from the 7th tithi
of Asvina-sukla. In fact, the Tithitattva 393 puts forward several
·alternative periods for Durgapuja. as follows: (1) from the 9th
tithi of the preceding dark half of P ur.J;limanta A.svina. to the
9th tithi of Asvina-sukla; (2) from the first tithi of Asvina
Sukla to 9th; (3) from the 6th to the 9th; (4) from the 7th to
the 9th; (5) from the Maha!?~amI to the 9th, (6) only on the
Mahii.!?~mI; (7) only on the Mahanavam1. Most of these
alternatives find support in the Killika and other PuraI;las.

390. ~i'<ii~ifi<il~I."f4 q<f J1T~:m:'

MUlf4i(a p. 56. ~. 'f. p. 15.
391. ~q ~ f,I:;tfct llT 'if ~, "ii\cihS;. 89.11 q. by fit flr.
p. 80, ~. If. P 15 ~r means ~r. In tbe ~ (pp. 64-65)
~ interprets ~ as an adj ec tive of ~ meaniog yearly; but
~g in bis com . 00 ~r (~ 89.11) explains ~ ~
~,ir.f ,,*!iI~"!4fdq""i(.q ~ ~: (folio 50a of tbe ma. in the
Bombay University Library described in Prof. Devastbali's Cat No. 1358).
392. 3tTT~ ~ ~~ Q dnt .,"(I"Cfi,(' Sjfiitq"il1tsM~ trmr ;mft ~ •
furi lOfit ~ ~ ~n tffll ~ q. by t. on if(( vol. I, pp. 907-
cr. ~. p. 271 .
908, by !I. ~. p . 60, ifiT.
393. ~ 'ifcr~ ~d'da"*"Ic:t: tldOi.,".qlfci-"!jMqqil'4..... hil1t~a.ql~
"""i1llie.qii'44i"I?"llie~4i"(?lIlii.,"~ F"W": ~ rittn:, $. ". p. 67:
"""'5I.fl~trmt ,,*Cfi<l!ilCfif{ I ri ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Il ~. ftr.
p.173,quoting''T~~'. Asto~and~ the~-
, '" .~ _--l>. 0..... '
~ says :mJ~ Q ~ ""'lII1 ~~"I Inl~: i ",ue~m m ~~:
~r tro II am
iJ omlr liT ~ ~ ~ II cbap. 62.2-3: vide also
~ q. by t. (on act vol. I. p. 900). ~ ti'Ojq<tf~~ p~ ~ I
~~~:~:II ~62.17, q.bY~.~.p.'ll (from
~.""tf\!1"OI), tI'. ~. p. 362. This ,upports tbe first alternative: $"l?iitfl~"(IJ­
.... ~ont"Qi .. i' lfiifelfii!1(i!!f{' q~Ifi~'1i"~i!AjI ~ ~~: I t",ill",1 (ltlt)
~tfon"Nil?liqi'(. tnt' It'- ff. p. 88.
 .Durgotsavci

There is a voluminous literature on Durgotsava. Every

digest on vratas, tithis and piija devotes considerable space to
this subject. Moreover, there are special treatises on Durgotsava
or N avaratra, such as the Durgotsavaviveka of SiilapaJ;li, the
Durgapiija-prayogatattva (published by the Sanskrit Sahity
Parishad, 1924) of which the Durgarcanapaddhati of Raghu-
nandana (published by Jivananda, vol. II) is a part, Durgabhakti-
tarangiJ;l1 of Vidyapati,394 the N avarii.tra-pradlpa of Vinayaka
alias Nanda-pal?4-ita, the Durgotsavapaddhati by Udayasirhha
(2nd half of 15th century A. D. ).395 Besides these, the
Markat;l4-eyapurii:r;la (chapters 78-90 in Venk. Press ed. and
81-93 in Banerji's) contains what is called Devlmahatmya 3'J6
(or SaptasatI or Cat;l4-I) in which are described the appearance
of DevI from the accumulated tejas of Vi!?l;lU, Sankara, Agni
and other gods, her getting different weapons from the several
gods such as the trident from Siva, discus from Vi!?I;lU,
Vajra from Indra, her victory over and slaughter of the
39.. For tbe opening lines of tbis work, vide I. A. vol. 14 p. 192; It
was published at Darbbanga in 1900 A. D. in Devanagari script . Reference i.
made to the pages of this edition in the following.
39'. Vide I. H . Q. vol. 21. pp. 227-231 for remarks on this work.
396. Modern scholars generally hold that the Devimahatmya, of which
the oldest known ma. is dated in 998 A. D. (as stated In Wlnternltz'a
' History of Indian Literature, English Translation, 1927, p. 565 note 2)
was later Inserted in the Markal;tqeyapural;ta. Tbougb tbe Devimabatmya ia
called SaptaSati (collection of 700 verses), the total number of verses there-
in is only aboot 573 to 590 In different mss. and editions . Tbe Venk, press
edition in cbap. 78-90 has 589 and K. M. Banerjea's in chap. 81-93 bas 573.
Nagojibbaga in his com. on ~ remarks (folio 55 b) '31e\4aQl"EI(loll
~~~I slr;9i ~~"!i tt«1allldti,~r"" The number 700 ia
made up by looking upon words like ~ as ~s and hall verses as full
verses and so on. Tbe 13 chapters are divided into three parts, cbap. I
m,
being IhHI ... chap. 2-. being ~,,~ and 5-13 being ~~. Tbe
77 or 78 verses of tbe 1st cbapter (~) are made into 104 mantras viz,
.... 1... 11 .... 1: 14, ~: 24 , ~;"!iJT: 66. The ~~ is treated as if it were
a Vedic bymn or verse with ~, metres, ~,and ~ ({or ~)
'~~~~~~ ~:I.((<l5!1fibi.iae' ~l
~- ~i~""ill~~ - '{tcJl.".Oi!l6"i(iti~Jj!iJ'on~·
~:~: 1. Besides, some verses are described as ~ (armour),
others al ~ ( bolt for fastening) and still otbers as ~~ (pin, the inner
.yllables of a mantra); ~ ~ ~"l _ ~ d'UT I Gltlt(1Qllltff'l!Pfi
_~~:"'. Tbese three (lifi'lf"i!(,. and~) are outside tbe~
~. The "~"lti("1f in "(1,,,,101 chap. 95 is to some extent different
froll! the delCriptiOD in the other Puril;tas. It appears to be the earlielt
Pa~ika version of tbe slaughter of Mabi~~ura.
 155 Hi8tory of DharmaSastra [ Sea. r, Oh. IX

great demon Mahi!?ii.sura, and of the demons Cat;l~a and MUI)~a,

Sumbha and Nisumbba. The Kii.likiipural;la, the Brhan-nandike-
,svara-purii.t;la397 and the Devlpurat;la also devote oonsiderable
space to Durga and her puja.. I have used, though not muoh, the
English work on Durga-puja by Pratapachandra Ghosh published
110 far back as 1871. My endeavour will be to give as briefly as
possible an aocount of all the salient features of this great reli-
gious worship and festival from the Sanskrit texts themselves.
This pujii. is nitya as well as kamya ;398 it is the first because
the KiilikapuraJ;la (63. 12-13) prescribes that whoever, through
laziness, hypocrisy, hatred or stupidity, does not celebrate the
great festival of Durga. has all his desires frustrated by the angry
Dev!; it is also kii.mya because rewards are promised when one
celebrates Durgotsava 'all should always perform the worship of
DevI in order to secure incomparable eminence which confers the
puru!?ii.rthas, viz. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Mok!?a' and 'one
should worship Bhavani for pleasing her, for happiness in that
year, for the destruotion of evil spirits and goblins and for
·delight' (Tithitattva p~ 65). The original purposes and objects
of this festival were high and noble as stated in the DevI-
puraJ;la 399 "This is a great and holy vrata conferring great
siddhis, vanquishing all enemies, conferring benefits on all people,
especiallY in great floods; this should be performed by brahmat;las
for solemn sacrifices a.nd by ksatriya.s for the protection of the
people, by vaisyas for cattle wealth, by sudras desirous of SODS and
"happiness, by women for blessed wifehood and by rich men who
hanker for more wealth; this was performed by Sankara a.nd
'others ". But in course of time, the objects wenl brought down to
the ordinary level as stated in the Devimahii.tmya400 'by listening

397. I could not secure a copy of the ~~andike5varapuriL,?a. The Devi-

pura,?a was published in the Vangavasi series in Calcutta in Saxa 1832
.( 2nd ed . ).
398. ;rrof(.q ~~ f.hWil ..q,U SffcN~ I ~;:n: ~ 1ft ~
~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ 'if ~II '<I'tnt1'f~~~
fi\C<I<riI.qdll ",q(ISC14cf\Q p . 36.
, 399. ~~ ~ ~~ I 'tf4('51ifllQ<riI(IU ~r;riawrq I
~ (~1)~.q ~~~ I ~U fimT Ifflf~: 'S!iI\!lA1(;l(ij: I
~ tiro <ri14'mM.q ~~~fl:r: I ~ ~ tlli"I€l<a~('j"'1 ~
. q. by ~. on iA vol. I. p. 901, 'D. ~. p. 359, J. li. <t. p. 16, fit <t. p. 67.
• 0400. ~ ~ ~ 111 'if ~ I ~ l1~a."nSI(¥<i flllfT liAr-
~: I ~ 1iirlill.q"tlP<ld:' ~ I1N"14'" lif~1I1I'fiit '" mI.
~ chap. 89. 11-12.
 Durgotsava 157
with devotion to my greatness in the great annual puja per-
formed in autumn, a man becomes free from all troubles and
beoomes endowed with wealth and agricultural produce by my
favour '. The exaggerated importance of this Durga-pftj!i. will be
olear from one verse of the Bhavi~ya I rites like Agnihotra,
solemn sacrifices described in the Vedas and completed with
dak!?it;li are not equal even to one hundred-thousandth part of
the worship of Cat;l9.ika.'401
•
This Durgipftjii. is very cosmopolitan in character. It could
be performed not only by persons belonging to the four var:r;>.as,
but even by those who were outside the pale of the caste system.
Durga-puja has a congregational character and is not purely
religious, but has also a social element in it (sucb as inviting
friends and treating them &c.). The Bhavif?yapuraI;la 4D2 says
• Devl . should be worshipped (in her shrine) on Vindhya
mountain, in all places, cities, houses, villages and forests by
·brahma:r;>.as, ksatriyas, kings, vaisyas, sudras, who are full of
devotion, who have taken a bath and who are cheerful and jolly,
by mlecchas and other men (such as pratilomas) and by women',
In another place the Bhavi!?ya states 4D3 Durga is worshipped by
I

various groups of mlecchas, by all dasyus (thievish tribes or

outcaste Hindus), by people from Anga, Vanga and Kalinga, by
kinnaras, Barbaras (non-Aryans) and Sakas '. Later medieval
writers were careful to point out that mlecchas bad no adhikara
to perform japa or horna or puja with mantras through a
brihma't;J,a as sudras had, but they could only mentally resolve
to offer in honour of Devi animals as offerings and wine 40i also
and do BO.

401. <l4fil{hlll'aifi~~: ~R:' ~ifil ::q~-a.,~~ ~ on

~:" ~ q. by i .... "jifil$1 p . 309.
402. ~ 'it ~q"I~#ql .,c"I!(lqill\id:' ... p;t11Jf ~ ~~ m ~
~, oft d ~~ 1I'Tit .r.r ~ , ~: ~fi\~(illli5i"': m~~:' .. ,
~:
~F.ti!~,a~(i'~fcl m~:' 'tilflffcl !!i1i~lIit'5 ~ mIll ~ q . by
(. on n t. p. 910, ill. ~. p . 68, f.t ~. p. 164, ~. p. 201, 'fi'I'. ~. fif. p . 267.
403. ~ "I.t14'6il~: ~~: , 3l,:qf<6~:f.q ~: ~: n
.. fit ...h,( q . by~.~. p. 357, f.t Rf. p. 114, m.~. p. 68, ~~o (~qdifil~4i)
p. 410.
404. am 440111\.,1 1'1' ~ "tIllOli"tiQ ~ ~ \i¥1ht'4l{... tql ~:
~ ~'tIJq""i(tOI' U(j~q't(~~''iIi1' tj~~" .,.,«tt+i.~"I,. ~""
~~I~.p.29 1.
 History of Dharmaslistra

It is stated in the Skanda and Bhavi!?ya 4Q5 pural?as that the

worship of Cal?~ika in autumn (Asvina) is of a threefold
oharacter; viz. sattvikI, rajas! and tamasI; the sattvikI worship
is effected by japa, by offering naivedya in which there is no
meat; and japa consists in reciting the texts of the pura.:J;las in
whioh the greatness of DevI is described; rajasI worship is
effeoted by offering a bali and with naivadya whioh oontains
flesh; that is tamasI worship whioh is effeoted by the offerings
of wine and meat and from whioh japa is absent and whioh is
without mantras; this last is approved among Kiratas (i. e. forest
tribes and the like). Raghunandana adds '06 in his Prii.yasoitta-
tattva that the offering of wine in Durgii.piijii relates to ages
other than the Kali age (i. e. other than the present age).
It has been stated above (pp.1l0-1U, n. 280) that the principal
gods are deemed to go to sleep for four months on different tithis
from the pratipad (1st) of A!?ii.4ha-sukla to the 15th. Therein
Durga is said to go to sleep on the 8th of the bright half of Af?i.~a.
Therefore, in ASvina she would be asleep. Hence the texts provide
for the rousing (bodhana ) of Devi from sleep. AJ3 usual there are
Conflicting views. The TithUattva 407 notices the views of some
that if the DevI is to be worshipped as having 18 arms she was
to be roused on the 9th of the dark half preceding Asvina brigM
half, but that if she was to be worshipped as possessing ten arms
then the bodhana was to be on the 6th (of the bright half of
Asvina). Raghunandana does not accept this and holds that the
bodhana of DevI with ten arms was to be either on the 9th (of the
preceding dark half) or on the 6th (of the bright half of Asvina).
If the performer begins on the 9th of the darls': half the sankalpa
will be as noted below. 408 He may, however, begin on the .first

405. ~:I ~ "iI~EI""i"'" Rrf.M ~I ml~

~~~~<rt\JroI~~~~.q~:1 ~~­
~"li\,u"f4~ ctl~ I ~ ~: ~: ~: Mr I ~r .. f?;",<\.,
~: ~~ I tJ"'iitt'(NQi\Jqq~fi;n iJ 1lT I R9I1 Oi~a~II¥i«r \q,Rc:n<It""'"
'Of ~" ftt. 'a'. p. 68. 'fit. ~. N. pp . 269-270.
406. q<i '" F'~ q;;¥iiQq,.,U'* ~~, srrqr~ p. 520 (Jiv.
vol. I.)
407. aN chliPJ""g(lcit I ~ ",,)1:j"+ie'''~'$iI,q,:, ~ ",,!vir q~'ijJtlq,
~~ ~ RI ... !'IftihU'$iI,ql ~ ~ '" "'~,
fit. fro p. 71.
408 .. ~Q~ ~~~~~,~_
.mr. ~ ~~: ~1H'~<tJ.lilitt"'ltiI J'f~ '" ~­
'I<tEfll~""-Jin¥iiUi:ot'i1~ ~ I Jin=i014'lift p. 660.
 Durgotsava 159
tithi of Aevina bright half and then the bodhana will be on the
6th of the bright half. If he begins on the pratipad the sailkalpa
will be as noted below. 409 Then he should recite :ago VIl16. 11
• God uo Dravi:I;lOdas specially desires your ladle :filled (with
offering); may you pour out (Soma) or fill (the vessel with Soma);
the god then immediately comes down '. Then he should establish
a gha!a * (a jar with a peculiar shape, the central portion bulging
out, the neck narrow and the brim being broad and open), fill
it with water, place twigs of mango and other sacred trees there-
on and worship Durga. with the 16 or 5 upacaras. Then he should
offer materials such as sandal-wood paste, myrobalan for purify-
ing the hair and also a comb. m On the 2nd tithi he should
offer a silken ribbon for keeping the hair in position, on the
third alaktaka (red lac) dye for reddening the feet, vermilion for
putting it on the head, a mirror for observing the face; on the
4th tithi he should offer madhupa1'ka (to the goddess), a silver
piece having the shape of a titaka (for the forehead) and col-
lyrium as decoration for the eyes; on the 5th tithi he should
offer sandalwood paste, unguents and ornaments according to
his means.

409. mm~mm U~ I11~~~~~

~s«~ ~~il~~­
~ rr~q) I!fl' qll"Cfi*('ifi~·8{IJll~~ '-fiftrit I
This follows from lf~~ q . by t. If. <1'. p. 21
!.~.J.,q"itfd p. 663 .
'~ ~ ~~;ff ~ 01'{: I ~~qq(ql~il"; (I ~ ~ ~ II ~­
~;rt~~"~1 ~~iWi~~II.'
410. irf) III) :cr~: {VTf fii4!'4IRt:q¥{ I ~T ~~~ ~f ~~ ~
~" ~. VII. 16.11. Vide ~ VIII. 1-3 for a discu$sion about :cr~,
whether he il Indra or Agni. No vedic mantra could be rec ited according to
Dbarmasaatra works by a siidra, who was simply to utter 'namal,l' (salu-
tation) after contemplating on tbe deity (here Durga); vide m.X . .60
'~Wf ~ il'i1f:' and 'q"f. I. 121 '.,q~KOI iP~ Q''iII ~ ~~ '.

• God may be worshipped without an image by means of the gha~a

alone.

411. ~'4I~Mill(iI.qlyal IIqcmllfflq~?cf.t I q~i{tel"{ (irmll) ~ ~­

~.II ~ .. ~ m1:'I~'dIifi tNT' ~~ ~r (I ~ "'!II....
.,~ I
Q''ilIl,ql"t'<IC, .. 'fI,,(q'~t(uIiM .... I ~ ~~~ ~ ~'1fI't!; ~ II
~ lI1lm~ fl1"\~ ~I ~ &c .... ~ q . by)'. If.~.
p. 20. The Ifilmlfili(IOI summarises the acts to be performed from the 4th
tithi to the 9th as follows:~ "IiIQt.'1if Q i\'~~ifii: I ~ Q Q''iF<It
~ ~II ~ 4'A'~ ~ ~~ I l'"fT ~1't(Ui' ~ ~
~:" 62,18- 20.
160 History of Dharmatiistra [ Seo. I, Ch. IX

If he starts Durgiipujii-utsava from the 6th tithi either

conjoint with Jye$tba-nak$atra or without it he should go in
the morning near a bitva tree, should utter the sankalpa noted
below,412 repeat ~g. VII. 16. 11, establish a gha~a, should worship
the bilva tree as Durgii. If he has already started the utsava
on pratipad, then he should go near a bilva tree in the evening
conjoint with Jyestba or without it (and even if $a$~hl has
expired before evening, then in the evening without $al?~b1 ) and
rouse DevI with the mantra 413 'for the destruction of Rava'Qa
and in order to favour Rama, Brahma, 0 goddess, in former
times roused you at an unusual time; therefore, I also awaken
you in the evening of the 6th tithi of Asvina.' After thus
awakening Dev! he should invite the bilva tree with the words
"0 bilva tree I born on the top of Srlsaila' and the abode of
Lak$mI, I have to take you; come, you are to be worshipped as
Durga.' Then he should, after taking each of the substances
mentioned below and aocompanying each with a mantra, place
them on the bUva tree and make it an auspicious dwelling place
for Durga. The substances for making a holy 414 residence for
DevI are; earth or clay, sandalwood paste, pebbles, coriander,
durva grass, flowers, fruits, ourds, ghee, svastika, vermilion,
conch-shell, collyrium, rocana (yellow pigment), mustard seeds,

412. silsmam~~u~~~ "'1jq~111l lfI'«{~,

~:.. . (as in note 409 above) ~~-J'j'it'.11¥1~ ~ I
~c p.663.
~~ .- _. ~ .... ut ~
413 • 3f1't'1"11q~I'" ~ j"<?iI~Ii(q~ ltiT~ I <I'm li'lf'!1<1 I tt ~
~ <Il'1~Cl t~!l i!tCl "<f I ~ ifiIf'OTT ~ ~'Clt&4iq 'f;a-: ~ I ~~
~~~: I ~~ :;mf ~"t<i;i'l ~ I ~S1lt q1ff~
i~ l'lr~@4d: I ~. on aa vol. I . pp. 906-907 , t. 11. a. pp . 69-70. The
J11l.J.,Q<4fd
(p . 664) has the passage {rom '~ ... ~: I but adds before
the verse ,~~, one verse viz. i\\l'1~4(~i'lH1I'iMfquW( ma
I :mft:
~'f~ arilf¥i(<f)jClj: ~ ftI~: II I. T he ~. reft;rs to the legend that
Devi brought about tbe war between Rama and Rav3.l?a for seven days and
that Rava,?a was killed on tbe 9th tithi of Asvi na-sukla (chap. 62.28). Vide
I. 11·~· pp. 19-20 {or a passage {rom ~ similar to the one from
~'W·ll<IUI.
414. "<I" JJf'i ~ (f~ IfI'lf!i'i In' Q'~ :wm ~ 3Q!nrf ~
~: '§l~-fI'(41i4,,' ~~~{{I n :if~1 atfr~:
fui'lT 1:W<i {'ff ~ ~ 4'N I i<f ~~-m~~ qifi""'i'l<l ....,.I: I ~: 'fIl~
~~~tl'1<qq~il(' <iN: ~ "<f ~it I !.,hi.,q"itfll p. 664.
Svastlka IS explalDed by Mr. Ghosh in his note on p. XLVI • I t is made of
?ough of rice. It is moulded by brabma,?a ladies and painted yellow. It
IS supposed to represent the generative principle of the deity. It is .baped
like a triangle. ' •
 Durgotsava 161

gold, silver, copper, whisk, mirror, lamp, prasastipCitra (a broad-

plate ). Then he should repair to the panda1 erected for Dtlrgi-
pflj!, perform acamana, should bind together with Aparajitl
. creeper twigs or leaves of nine plants 415 so as to form one bundle
or sheaf, viz. plantain, pomegranate, coriander, turmeric, Arum
Indicum, Arum colocacia, bilva, asoka and jayantI. Each of
these substances is aocompanied by an appropriate separate
mantra.
He should offer worship to the bundle of nine plants and
to the image ( of Durga) and make the DevI abide in the bilva
tree with sandalwood (and other substances mentioned above).
The rousing (bodhana) of the DevI and the invitation to the
bilva tree are separate and are done with separate mantras
(Tithitattva pp. 75-76). The two may be done at the same time
if 6th tithi exists in the evening; but if it does not exist in the
evening then bodhana may be done on the 6th and invitation
on the 7th or bodhana may be done in the morning and invita-
tion in the evening. The olay image of Durga together with
the twig of bilva is to be entered in the house and worshipped.
The details of the complicated discussion are not set out here.
Then follow acts to be done on the 7th tithi. On the 7th
tithi conjoint with mula-nakf?atra or without it the performer
after taking a bath approaches a bUva tree, worships it, folds
his hands and says '0 blessed bilva tree' you are always dear
~o Sailkara; after taking from you a branch I shall-perform
Durga worship; 0 Lord' you should not feel pain due to the
cutting of a branch; 0 bilva' prinoe among trees, salutation
to you" After saying this he should out off from the bilva
tree a branch other than one in the south-west or north-west
and endowed with a couple of fruits (or without fruit) with
the mantra noted below. u6 Then he should take the branoh,
oome to the place of worship (the ma~~apa or the like) and place
it on a pI~ha (a sea.t). Then taking white mustard grains he
H5. ~ ~ \Wtt ~fUrt ~ lfi!I:' ~~ ~ ,.. ~
"iN","'I:' fit. '«. p. 77 and ~o p. 664: ~;~ ~ ~ ,.. ~ ~.
~, ~ ~"1Jof ~ .,,,qp'!<l'il: , fifo Rf. p. 173 quoting 'IINdill1ui'''j
the same is quoted from ~'"f by If. m;. <1'11. p. 372 (reads ~nn ~...
~~), J. If. ft · p. 31 '~ ~ 1:fJ1'ltl(rorl"'I""'~:' ~~
~ .. ~ 'it'(~: •..,

416. 3if fUfi\t ~ q 1M{ i lfiit ~-~ ~. ~o p. 665,

~. filii. wm. p. 401.
B. D. 21
162 History 0/ Dharmasastra [Sec. 1, Ch. IX

throws them with two mantras and effeots the driving away of
goblins, evil spirits, rak!?asas, Viniyakas that cause obstacles,
takes up an offering of boiled rice and ma~a pulse and requests
Kiill who is surrounded by goblins to aocept that bali for proteo- .
tion against the evil spirits and prays her to confer upon him-
self all his objects in return for the offering of the bali. He
then establishes the bundle of (the leaves and twigs) of nine
plants tied together with Aparijita creeper and the bilva branch.
He worships the latter with' salutation to the bilva branch' and
honours Camu:z:l9-a on the bilva branch and the clay image with
the- words 'this is plidya (water for washing the feet), salutation to
eamu:Q~ii' and addresses the bilva branch with the mantra quoted
in n, 4.13 above, Then he utters the mantra' 0 Camu:z:l~a. ' I move,
move, make others move, enter my house quickly and go to the
place of worship, svaha', Then he establishes the ghata, worships
the nine plants and five devatis, establishes the image on a seat
and the bundle of nine plants to its right to the accompaniment
of songs and instrumental music and places the bilva branch in
a copper vessel near the (image of) DevI and performs the pra:Qa-
prati~~ha m (vivifying or endowing with life) of the image of the
DevI and of Ga:z:lesa and other deities in the manner provided in
the Durgarcanapaddhati (p. 666) and Tithitattva (pp. 77-78).
Thim he should, after taking in his hand husked rice--grains and
flowers, contemplate upon the form of DevI. Then the
Durgarcanapaddhati (pp. 666-667) quotes a long but finely
worded passage from the Matsya; the corresponding passage
from the Kalikapurii:Qa may be briefly r dered as follows: fla

"17. The ~ on slIu'lllda. is quoted in the f.t. m.

P. 338. ~
in his ,"lIfii1l!1'd'f!l (pp, 506-507) describes at length sUU'II~I!I' of gods in
images, basing himseIC on the 23rd ~ of ~ii(4'~l'Sq). Vide my Dote.
(p. 112) to the edition of the eq"Qi(¥1,{(!I where a long passage Crom ~.
~isquoted.

418. Gi2,,~¥1,gifi'iltt"JtI(1~M(''( I ~"qfjsifil qrihJ+lUn.,ifP(.

~~lrl wmm
~I"(I i1q~!I"'+Ia:q .. 1 ~I U'"" .. 4i .. I
~ ~ I ~'~~Ii1~tQ''''i +1~ .. ,t\(¥1fii;;fli( I ~
(~1)~+t'~,'i4".'I+I+1~ I ~~ ~ ~ . , aiRnN: I "'*
~ ~ ~
.'I+lf·S ~ I _ ~ 'If ~ ~.
~: I 'f.Pat ':;f tRV ~ 1fT~5lf: ~~ I ~ ~ 1!i.1i~"tMi
~ I ~~ ~ 1(~ .,q,!a'''i( I tnt ~ ~ fa ..... " ......
~. ~ ... ('Ifi~tiRa!tiG,'(1 ~ ~ ~'ftcasl ..".1
ftq'fI'.'ili1tfti1 ~ ... rhn I ~ ... itnrr: fit ~~ ~ ~
,..~ ~~I ~ (pt) ~ ~ ~I ifii~"Ii'o
{Continued on n'~t pag, ,...
 . ! . -

Durgostava 163
Devl possesses a mass of hair, her head ornament is the crescent
of the moon, she has three eyes, her face resembles a lotus and
(full) moon, her complexion is like molten gold, she is well
formed and has charming eyes, she is endowed with blooming
youth, decked with all kinds of ornaments, has charming teeth,
looks keen and has full and upraised breasts, her posture is such
that she is bent at three places, she has crushed the demon
Mahi~a, she has ten arms long and soft like lotus stalks, she
holds a trident in the right hand and a sword and discus below
that (trident) in order, a sharp arrow and Bakti (missile) in the
group of her arms, a shield, a fully bent bow, a noose, a goad
(held in order) from above and a bell and axe should be held in
the left hand from below; under her one should show a headless
buffalo from which rises a demon with a sword in his hand, who
is pierced in the region of the heart by the trident (of Devl), who
(demon) possesses teeth set awry, whose body is dyed red with
blood, whose eyes are bloodshot and distended, who is encircled
by a noose of snakes, whose face is rendered fearful by his curved
eyebrows, whose hair is seized by Durga with the left hand hold-
ing a noose, whose mouth emits blood; one should exhibit DevI's
lion; the right foot of DevI (should be shown) as rasting evenly on
the lion's back and her left foot toe (resting) a little hiiher on
the demon.
Then the performer should put a flower on his head, take
flowers and rice grains in his hand and make an invocation
(avahana) with two mantras to Durga. to be present in the bilva
branch and establish her with the prayer to bestow long life.
health and prosperity. He offers to the DevI the several
upaciras of asana, padya, arghya &c. Then he should gO near
the sheaf of nine plants and repeat the mantra "0 blessed Durgil
come, enter into the (sheaf of) plants; this is your place in the
mortal world; I throw myself on your mercy "1 SO saying he
Ihould worship DevI in the gha?a (jar) with ten or five upaca.ras
( Continu.d from last page)
61, 11-20. The tltEq!i<IuI (260. 56-66) has almost the same verses (with
a few variations) that are quoted by J. ~. tf. pp. 4-5 and 75-76, I{. iii. ~.
pp. 413-414, ~o pp. 666-67, and by !fit. tf. A. p. 285. For~, ~
reads ~ and ~o reads ~; ~ and !fiT. if.~. read p ~
~ I ~ and sm o read f.I,fq; .. ~~ for ~o . ~probabl1
refers to ~ which was held to be a sign of beauty among women or it
meaDS that the figure of Devi shOUld be shown as bent in three parts of the
body. J. 'If. tf. (pp. 5-6) quotes ~~ also for de!ICription of ~
with 16 arm •• OD p. 6 (J. ~. tf. ) ~ is described as Ali!ljt'l1t1i<1'(1~t'"
164: History 0/ .1JharmaAlistra [ Seo. I, Oh. IX

or with flowers and sandalwood paste with separate mantras for

each of the nine plants (mentioned in note 415) in the form
'Hrlm, om, kadallsthayai brahmiil;lyai nama1;l.' and so on
(Durgarcanapaddhati 419 p. 669). Then he should worship
Durga with padya and other upacaras 420 and offer a kid or the
'like as an offering. The kid or he-buffalo should be dark a.nd
should be at least five years old. 421
Much has been written about the saorifice of animals in
Durgapuja. Only a few points can be dealt with here. The
Kalika.-puraI)a enumerates the following animals as fit for sacri-
fice in honour of Durga and Bhairava 422 'birds, tortoises, oroco-
diles, fish, deer of nine kinds, buffalo, gavaya (Gayal), bull, goat,
mangoose, boar, rhinoceros, black antelope, sarabha. (a fabulous
animal), lion, tiger, a human being and blood from one's own
(i. e. the 1>erformer's) body; but the females of the speoies
specified above were not to be offered as bali and the
person whe did so would go to hell. This was probably a con-
tessioll to placate DevI who might have a soft corner for a bali

419. The procedure iii the Durgarcana-paddhati is very elaborate ; for

reasons of space I have not reproduced the whole; but have mentioned only
the salient features.
420. The sixteen upacara5 in the worship of Durga are slightly different
from the usual upacaras noted above. (p. 34 note 77); ~ililq~I(I"'I'
"'I@Cfili<IUlI~~'«trc'I')~~I~~qi~UI::q""ZlI
~ ~'lf cfl'4''lf ~~:~ I ~f'«lf"'~ a lI<fiitlUI"'tlt\lid: t ~,,~ ~
fiti. Cfit p. 383. The CfilffiCfilSl'IUI (chapters 72 and 73 )
" q"lI(Iil-rCfil:;t" Ill'.
contains a long dissertation on the 16 upacaras .. There are special provisIons
about the fragrant substances, incense etc. to be used in the worship of
Devi. ~!luUT I 'fl(i ~'lf ~lfif~"I~qZlI ::q~q""WiCfii( "IW ~ lft ~n
iti'~Cfi'SI',UlI 'P'T1Wi': ~CfiI{~: ~~) ~~l: t ~!Jjtl'U'llCfitita::qfJlo:rM:
~~:' 1'P1:l:lfh~ifnrrrrm:~ ~II' !. li. (f.P.llj ~ ~
!'fro~: fitli: II ~( ~ ~ sf~: II 'OfMII<I!i<IUI q. by J. li. tf.
p.13; the , . li. (t. (p. 95-99) describes at length the various kinds of naivedya
to be offered to Diirga.
 1>urgotsava 1~5

of her own sex. The bali should have no defect and should not
be one whose tail or ears were cut off. Though the above list of
victims that may be offered is long, usually only goats and
he-buffaloes were sacrificed. It is said 423 'the DevI that resides
on Vindhya is not so wen plea.sed with the offerings of flowers,
incense, and unguents and of other animals as she is pleased
with offerings of rams and he-buffaloes'. The Var~a-kriyii­
kaumudi424 quotes "one should never offer to the great DevI a
horse or elephant j if a brilhma~a offers a lion, a tiger or a human
being (as bali) he would go to hell and even in this world he would
have a short life and would be devoid of happiness and prosperity j
if (a briihma~a) offers his own blood, he would be guilty of
suioide. If a brii.hma~a offered wine he would lose his status as
.80 brii.hma~a. When wine is laid down as a necessary offering
he should offer cocoanut water in a vessel of bell-metal or honey
in a copper vessel" But there were texts that contradict this. For
example, it is said in the Kii.likiipurii~a ' goat, he-buffalo, human
being are deolared to be bali, mahabali and atibali, respectively.' 425
It has to be remembered that though an animal is killed still
what is offered to the DevI is generally blood and the head of
the victim. The Kii.likiipurii.~a 426 says 'blood purified by the
recitation of mantras over it and the head (of a victim) are said
to be nectar j in the worship (of DavI) the adept worshipper

423. ;r (NT Ijre"I~'" ~: I lNT ~~ i'I~¥fii~~flo~ I

.q. by,. on im vol. 1 p. 909.
424. ;r Iflql~N1\Hl'~ q4C1I'ittj~ I ~itl<lUI"'(I,,\ ~ 1II'T1fVil ~
~ , ~~ ~~:~:, ~!I1l'I~<l"mammn<lIOlql"ilqli("
q~~.1810tjli\q ~''''~ ~ ~ ~:,~­
to 71.46-051 q. by If. fili. ~., p. 397. The latter adds before 'if~' the
verse • ~~ mt'<i l1;if (f!I' (f!{ ii::if: !1":' ~ ~ mi 1fT ~'"
which is ~ 71.112-113.

4205. 1fl1~1fl1!l'IU'I'~""~~;r(~ '<j'~' 1j~A11"~~~

~: II I. \t. 1I. p. 053.
426. ~ ~ f;t ~""" ~li.."I6"'<ld , ~ ~~: ~if "f ~,
~~ .... ~~:6I"<1'l~:I~~~~~:lfi~'~
a~ ~ t'MI~1I !fi1~!fi'i('U, 71.20-22 q.byfit.;{. p.82, which remarks
'~ 'Pn (~) ~~ and '~ qUE('d'{~i.fI(..... ~~4'l4~~1(1 and quotes
the ,(I"'"I~'" verse in support viz . '~q{d'f11'?i=A i'illtfi ~ q.... ullll'(iMOIe¥ql-
'l4"I\4~qt'l~ ~ ~iII'¥lrt ~, ifT9fNI~!fi'NijOl'~'4iM~ ~ ~
~ ~ .... ~ ~ ~ II; vide ABORI vol. 36 p.327. This last ~erse
is q . by lin. R. p. 515 as ltiI'm~., by fit· ". p. 86 (from ",.,01\(,,,. ),
J. ". ft. p. 22 (from ~: ); J' \t. 1I. p.53 quotea the verse '~ ... ~
.... ~, .
 . . ~ "
i6s History of Dharm<d'{J.stra ( Seo. I, Oh. IX

should offer flesh rarely (if at all) except blood and the head,
which (two) become nectar." The Kiilikapurii.~a further states
that Siva (Durgii) partakes of the head as well as the flesh of the
victim, that one should offer in pujii. the blood and head of t.he
victim, but the wise ( devotee) should employ flesh in edibles and
in homa. The Durgiircanapaddhati (pp. 669-671) prescribes an
elaborate ritual about killing the bali and offering its blood
and head and thE: rites and mantras slightly differ according as
the bali is a goat, a buffalo or the performer's own blood.
The 427 bali is made to face the east, the sadhaka (devotee)
faces the north and repeats certain mantras one of whioh is Va.j.
S. 23. 17 'Agni was the animal to be saorifioed. They saorificed
with him, he conquered this world (the earth) on which Agni
exists; that will be your world, you will conquer that world,
drink this water. Vii.yu (wind God) was the animal &c.; the Sun
was the animal &c: Another mantra is Manu V. 39 (= Vi~~u­
dharmasiitra 51. 61 = Kiilikii. 71.39) viz. 'animals were created by
Brahms. himself for serving the purpose of sacrifice, for the
well-bein~ of sacrifice and of all; therefore killing (an animal) in
a sacrifioe is no killing (does not cause the sin or blame of
ordinary killing )', He should place on the head of the bali
a flower with a mantra; then he sprinkles water with kusas over
·t.he bali and then worships the sword with the mantra 'you
.are the tongue of Ca~~ikii. and you accomplish heaven (for the
worshipper); HrIm, Srlm, 0 sword I'. The performer contemplates
on the sword as descri1ed in Tithitattva (p. 81) and Durgarcana.-
paddhati (p. 670), honours it with sandalwood paste and the rest
and repeats eight names of the sword, bows·to it, takes it up
with the words' Am, HrIm, Pha~' and with one stroke cuts off
the viotim facing the east (while the performer faces the north)
or facing the north (while the performer faces the east). Then
he collects blood in a vessel of clay or other material, places it
before the DevI and offers it with the words' thie is the blood of
the goat; Om, 0 J ayantI I' and says 'Aim, Hrim, SrIm, 0
KausikI I May she be pleased by the blood.' Then he offers ilie
head of the bali (goat or the like) placing on the head a. lamp
with a flaming wick. He then takes blood from the sword (with
 Durgotsava 167
whioh the animal's neck was cut) and makes a tilaka mark with
it on his forehead with two mantras. It was supposed that the
tilaka of blood would make all persons amenable to the person
who had that blood mark on the forehead as the mantra quoted
below expresses. When the bali is a buffalo, the mantras
repeated over a goat are omitted and two others are substituted
viz. 'as you hate a horse and as you carry CaI;lq.ik§., so kill my
enemies and bring happiness, 0 buffalo; you are the vehicle of
Yama, you possess excellent form, you who are deathless; bestow
on me long life, wealth, fame, a bow to you who are a buffalo'.
The fruit of offering buffalo's blood to DevI was deemed to be her
gratification and favour for a hundred years. Then he performs
japa of a mantra (quoted in note )428 and also certain verses of
laudation and asks for certain benefits (Durgarcana. p. 672).429
The KalikapuraI;la in a long passage 01 provides gradually
rising periods of times for which Durga. becomes gratified by
the offering of the blood of various animals. A few might be
cit-ed here: Thugs. secures satisfaction for one month by the
(offering of the) blood of fishes and tortoises, and for two months
by (the blood of) crooodiles; by the blood of the black antelope
and of the boar DevI is pleased for twelve years and by the blood
of buffalo and rhinoceros for a hundred years; by the blood of
the lion, the sarabha and from the performer's body DevI is
gratified for a thousand years and by a human being as a bali
for a thousand years." There was a revulsion of feeling against
blood saorifices in some hearts and so even the Kalika provides m
that the offerings of kiif?maI;l~a (pumpkin-gourd) and sugarcane
stalks, intoxicants and lisavas (spirits distilled from molasses,
flowers or herbs) are like (animal) victims and gratification

428. Vide ~o p.671 '~ ~-a« .q 'ti ~

qf(if 'It 'ti ~ ~ 1 ~ ~" _~ llliI 'q'll{ ~ ~ II sit ~ it 3lT
Mc<l!'W. ~ ~ ,fit ~«~<It1;~OI ~ ~ ~~ I; I. l'f. if. p. 56
cites: U3n '" ~r '"
i1IljT '" lf~: 1 ~ ~ ~ lf1f.!tf ~~: II
tm 3it ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ !!SITMUlCI·ncir ~ ~~ ~I
~"~ (.fItIl~lqll1:~ ~II {ilf::;flt ~ 1
429. 1NT IfIi ~ lie 1NT ~ 'Elfi'lenl¥{1 ftm' t11f ~ ~ §}\{ 1ft
~n ~'""'t'It iI ~I ~~ ~~:l ~ ",llT~~1I
Cfin~ 71.57-58 q. by _. iifi'. enl p. 443. J'T~o p. 671.
430. Vide ~~ 71. 6-18, ?,f.~.~. pp. 395-6. it{. if. p. 83 for
the period ••
431. ~ .. """I~ .. iI" ",I ~~: ~ ~r:
W1T. ~ 71. 23-24 q. by f . l'f. ft, p. 55.
168 Histary of DharmaSl1stra [ Sec. I, Ch. IX

(to the DevI) is the same as by the offering of a goat. But even
in these days oastes deemed higher, even inoluding brahma.~a.s,
offer goats and rarely buffaloes to Durga, if that is the custom of
the caste or family. I understand that many families of learned
brahmanas such as the Bha"lj"ljaoa.r yas of Bhatpara in West
Bengal ~aorifioe fruits and vegetables in lieu of animals. The
Ahalyakama-dhenu 432 says that Bome Vaif!~avas regard the nighi
when victims are killed as horrible and do not eat food or even
drink water on that night and that among brahma1;la castes the
offering (bali) should be in the form of kiif!ma~~a and the like
or flour images of animals or simple ghee should be offered. As
to other castes also it has been declared that Kiif!ma~ga, bilva
fruit, sugarcane stalks may be cut into pieces.
The convenient belief from very ancient times has been that
a victim offered in sacrifice to gods and pitrs went to heaven.
~g. I 162.21 433 (= Vaj. S. 23. 16) and Manu V. 42 say so.
Hemadri quotes verses saying that aU the animals such as the
buffalo that are employed for (gratifying) Devi go to heaven
and those that kill them incur no sin.434
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 S,h have not yet been described. On the Mahaf!~amI con-
joined to Piirvaf!a~ha-nakf!atra or without it, the devotee after
taking a bath and sipping water, should face the east or north,
sit on a seat of darbhas, perform purifioation of himself and the
body which is made up of five elements by repeating separately
the mystic letters • yam, ram, lam, vam' in the manner set ou,
on p. 673 of Durgarcanapaddhati; then he performs pra:1;Layama,
and then nylisa on the several parts of the body from the heart
and head to the feet. He sprinkles over himself and the
materialS of worship water contained in a vessel of conch-shell

432. 'lf5J-mi)"i~: ~ffllit<m: I wm Ne01~qffQ ~ i'If ~ I

"1i'&~offGti~i~~: I O1QIq;~'($l;g ~ ~~ at ~ ~~II ~
... ~ .,~: ~mcqlfc(q"""rf.l Efiq{J).I!JIulI~4uulqta .. q "<f I !NT ~~
at ~ .,"llThcqtflN ~rn!J tlU01luelfcHI ,,~ "rn 1 lIJ'ii ~
~-q- I ~ ~ (l'!{rtt ~: $if: I 'lit'!IT ~ mt ~ nmt "f
~1 aroi lff ,,~ ~ '-l~1I ~. !tit. folio 543b and 5Ha.
The~o (p. 671)alsosays'~~~'.
433. ~ lff \? ~ ~ Rlnl'm ~ ~ Q1'ilN: wnii: 1 ~. I. 162. 21-
1fl'jI'. ~.
23. 16. This is addressed to the horse sacrificed in ~aqiN.
434. m ~ toqg",q·i1 SfnVt;ft ~: I ~ ~ ~ ~
'"
r.nrt ~~
fitW II ,. on if!f vol. I . p. 909.
 Durgotsava

and the like and over whioh he mutters eight times the mantra.
• Hrlm, Om DurgAyai namal}.', he contemplates on Durgi a8~
described on p. 163 and note 418 above, places a flower on his '
head, mentally offers upacaras (to DevI), again contemplates on '
DevI's form and then offers the upacaras from asana (seat) "
to J'
praI;lama (as indicated in note 420 above) with appropriate
brief mantras. Then he offers worship to several goddesses to
the right side, front side and left side of DevI with brief mantras
and to the Matrs~ (64.are enumerated in Durg3.rcanao. pp. 676-
677, or 32, or 16 or 8) according to .one's abili~y with. five '
upaclLras or with sandalwood paste and flowers and to the ~igM '
miltrs Brahmani &0. Then there is angapilja (worship of DevI',
limbs) from heart and head to the feet. Then worship is offered "
to her weapons such as trident, sword, discus, sharp arrow, shield,~
fully strung bow, the noose, goad, bell; and then her lion-seat is
honoured and also armour, whisk, umbrella, flag and flag-sta1f, .
drum, conch. Separate mantras are recited in connection with
the puja of each of these, as laid down in Durgarcanapaddhati
pp.678-681, in the Nir:Qayasindhu pp. 179-181 (which quote• .
them from Vi~:Qudharmottara) and other works. They are all,
passed over here for saving space. Then he goes near the sheaf
of nine plants and worships it with five upacaras or with sandal·'
wood paste and flowers offered to each separately. Then he
makes an offering of mlil}a pulse and boiled rice.
On the day on which there is Maha!?~amlpiija the performer
observes a fast. But a householder436 who has a son should not,
observe a fast on the Ma.hA!;l~aml. He should follow one of the'
alternatives specified above in note 252 (naktam havil;lYannam'
&c). Whatever procedure about food he may follow, he, keeping"
himself pure and observing the rules of conduct for vrata, should"
worship DevI; he should offer worship on the Maha!?~aml and on. .
ij}e 9th with baiis; he should ta.ke leave (of Devl) on the 10th with.

435. The ~ are eight. qnufi, ~~, ~,~, ~, t"l('I1Ift,

~,~. Vide ~o p. 677. J. \t. ". p. 46 givell the namellOme-
what differently. Thl. whole procedure of the 8th tithi is very lengthy and
tiresome to read . It baa been very much shortened In tbe above.
436. ~q1WRri~~1 1M ~ 1,tmI'l ri\' ~~I
~~~ ~I ~ ~ iI~ ~tI_(lcfl:I~­
mit~\ltit~~1(T~1 mrr~ ~~~'l\f:I~~.
16-19, q. by I, \t. fl. pp. 37-38 (first two verses). fit. 'f. p.<88 ••. &i. Ifil. 379~'
J. \t: fl. p. 32 ·quote. ~ I ~ ~ _ ..... "~.. if1itft I ."'t+'
~~IIi\""'fC~:~I~~~d~~I(~~'" , ,. ,
Jr. D, ~,
1;0 Histm"y of Dlun'mailist7'a [ Sec. It Oh. ]X

9ravana-naksatra after performing the SAhara festival. When

the la~tf quar~r of Sravay;la (nak~atra) is mnning then he should
give a send-off to DevI on the 10th tithi. The TithitattvaU1
J>'<)sitively asserts that a fast is to be observed on the same day
on which Maha!?~amI-pilia is performed.
l

" On this 8th tithi the performer has to honour maidens, feed
them and bl'ibmal;las also. He may honour a maiden or maidens
from the first to the 9th tithi, hut he must do so at least on 8th.
The ]i)evlpuriy;la ~ says "Durga. is not so much gratified by
koma, gifts and japa as she is gratified (becomes favourable) by
honouring maidens." And he has to give them dakl?il;la also.
liemadri (on vrata vol I 903-906) quotes a long passage from
t)ie Skanda-puraJ;la on this subject. Skanda provides that the
performer should feed maidens from the first tithi of N avaratra on
a' rising scale, viz. one maiden on the first tithi, two on the 2nd
and so on up to nine on the 9th. If he feeds nine virgins every
day (bf the Navaratra) he secures land; if he feeds double the
number on each succeeding day he gets prosperity. He should not
honour a maiden who is one year old (or less), for, such a girl has
~o\ developed at that age liking for fruits, fJowers and sandal·
wood paste. Therefore, he should honour maidens who are from
two to ten years old, and not those that are beyond ten years. The
DevlpuraJ;la provides that if n..o virgin is available, one may
honour even a married girl who has had no menstruation.439 The
Skanda provides that maidens from two years to ten should be
honoured under the following names respecti ely, viz. Kumiriki
(two years old), Trimurli (three years old), Kalyay;lI, Rohi!?I.
~lI, CaJ;l~ika, SambhavI, Durga, Subhadr&. The Skanda
provides special piij1i. mantras for ea-ch of the nine kinds of
maidens and different rewards are provided for honouring each
of the nine classes. These are passed over here. The general
lJvahanamantra for all in the morning after the performer has

437. q!f "f 1I1~ fif.t 41Il,elfit'ii' af(q~., ~ I 1f II ~ I

... ~ ~ ... ~-w'~ ~ q'Ir 'iq'1Ii4all(lII~C'IIIl." t_mm1f: PI"'
~ I fit. a. p. 88. For ~ ~ ... ~, vide Dote 436.

4',8. 'If " ' ~ ~ ,i"",.,:aN,,,,..,1 , ..,t\i."H~"''''"<r'tl ~ ~ •

~ q. by W. t1. p. 22, ~. $i. W. p. 447 (read.. ~), t""'li4i'+1
p. 328, I. )J. fr. p. 51.

439. "•• iM'~ I ~ t ..... ,.. ,"«...t "'''''''"..,'''''' t &""'*''''

,""~1f~. W.t1.,. 22.
 bur,gostava
tabn a ceremonial bath with oil is noiad belowj~ In Ulis 'Way
he is to honour virgins with bodice, olothes,..sandalwood pasie,
tlowers and alcl/(ltas~ with different kinds of edibles and dishes
and feed them with payasa (rice boiled in milk and sugar). One
should not honour a maiden that has a limb more or less, that
suffers from leprosy, or that has varicose veins or has 8 broken
head or has limbs from whioh blood or pus oozes or has ulcers.
that is blind from birth. is squint-eyed or blind of one eye Dr ia
ugly or has little hair or much hair or is diseased or is born of a
slave woman. A man should honour a bra.lunat;la maiden in all
aots. a ~atriya maiden for victory, one belonging to untouch-
able oastes in acts of terrible nature. After the maidens are
fed, brahmaJ;las also should be fed (Durgarcana. pp. 681),
The Tithitattva (pp. 69-72), NirJ;layasindhu and other worb
provide that in the Navarltra the performer should hear the
recitation of the Vedas (VedaplrayaJ;la) and that beginnin~
with the first tithi up to the 9th he should himself mutter
Car;l~Ipii~ha (reoitation of DevImlhatmya) or -engage a perso~
to do so, reciting it once on the first, twice on 2nd titbf
and so on up to nine times on 9th tithi The DevIpuriina
provides for piija, japa and homa and the mantras therefore by
saying that the worship of DevI is to be performed by casting
into the fire sesame and with curds, milk and ghee. The Devl..
mantra is either what ie called the Jayantlmantra.u (quoted in
note) or the mantra of nine syllables ( quoted in the note). 'The
DvaitanirJ;laya-siddhlntasailgraha states that the mantra is
either one that a man's guru has taught him, or the Vedic verse
• Jiitavedase sunavama' (J;tg. 1 99.1) or one with nine letters or
the one • namo devyai mahiidevyai' or the slokas in the
SaptasatLW The Tithitattva quotes (pp. 69-71) a long p~~e

'140. J1'ill$'II-« ~ ~ ~I~~I '"'1"~ ~tt: "''41'11...,·

'""'~" ~. 00 n vol. I. p. 90", l';f. ffi'. p. 168, ". il'. p. 22.

HI. """,...qi(lwJI"'''1 ~ I ~~I~ 1J~I~){1 ,._.n.

~--::.-........
~.'1'''ItG ...."'.., .... I'l1'l\fOlT1J, ~I'" ~ lfiTi'lr'" ~"""'" ~"'"
.. I.fi'InH?." I " ' ~ ""
.-nit ""'" ~ wnU~ 8 n ~~ II ~ ~1il'1 illfiff~ , l'ih~ p. 93 : vide
I. If. ". p. 9 (or th. eame ~; '" (t:m) "If ~il'. ""~ .-r IfiT1fll
tip ~ ~I ~~ ~Uf ~~I<TilI1ft~-"
~ ... G ~, tfil'1 1iff J1f J'f U~ "~iI'1fI~: I ~.~. p. 167; ~i.d •
. If. II. p. 9 {or this refereDc.. Vide ~r 63. 38-39' ~~
q"iI~.n: • ~ ~ ~ 'qIfirJT 1fi'In~'l~1 1"1 ~ ¥lri 101Tfr
.. . . ~II'.

442. ~~ ~1fiI'~~~,~~ ~~
",~~~"'''~~f:'i. ~.fW.~.p. 7 ,. I
 H'8torll oj Dharmaili8tra [ Sec. 1, Oh. Dt
from the Varahl-tantra about the result of reciting DevImlMwya
several time~. .A few verses are cited for sample. "When some
;great danger threatens, one sbould recite (Devlmihatmya) seven
:times; if repeated twelve times one secures fulfilment of one's
:desires and the destruction of enmity; if repeated 14 times, an
enemy would be subdued and a woman would be brought under
one's control; repeating a bundred times results in increase of
'one's kingdom ; if repeated a thousand times Lak~ml comes to a
man of ber own accord. As Asvamedha is the prince among
'saorifices, as Hari ( is superior) among gods, so the laud called
SaptasatI is tbe highest among all lauds.443 " The Tithitattva
'further provides that ,one should recite4# before the reading of
the 'pratha.roacarita' the :rl?i (sage), the metre &c. of it and also
when repeating the Madhyamacarila and tbe Utlamcarita. Very
peat importance was attached in ancient and medieval times \0
'the recitation of mantras and even modern men brought up in
:English'schools, colleges and Universities often implicitly believe
in their efficacy, even if one may not understand tbeir meaning.
;The qualities of the sounds of mantras or of parts of mantras
:Csuch as 'hrIm') and their potentialities, tbe various devices
'employed when using them are deemed of far greater importance
than the meaning. The Glta. (X. 25) itself puts J apa--yajiia as
'he highest among yajiias such ,as those of drawa (materials or
, money), tapoyajiia ( Gita IV. 28). Mantras are supposed to have
a.tremendous effect on the sub-conscious mind and it may perhaps
00 so if one concentrates one's mind thereon to tbe exclusion of all
else. A person could himself recite the SaptasatI or engage a
person to read it to him who was called pa!)1,aka or vacalra as in
,T. T, p. 72, Durgarcana. p. 661. Some very ortbodox writers went
110 far as to lay down that a siidra could only listen to the
Mahabharata or Saptasatl but could not read it himself. Raghu-
nandana44S like Kamal3,kara appears to have beld this view. One
""3. lfUT~: ~ ~ 'if lI'1lr Il ff: I ~iif ~ atn ~: I
a11IIIT "'';'~., ~ ~ I ~: "al t'MloI!f.~: ~ ~: II q. b)'
.fit. s. p. 70.
'444. mr.. ~lii"'''!1<11If1''4lti1"ua<jQ,a~",41 ~~4(J'ql"'" ~ I Mrtn·
1!1I~"~!ltq qr 1If~~ ~ 1JA1i'r 1J'li:, ~ ~:, (iii q iihCfii ~­
~ i1ill"'IJlstrclf~ ~ ~)tyll IfiQi1'41Rdtq ~~~ ~
"",i ~~t ~ ~ "ili~1l1N ~ ft~: I ~
q ~ ~ ~ illCuriiu'cit ~ *ii,.
fI ~ ~ fI«4f1~"a
eN ~: I ~. !t. p. 72. For ltll....ftw &c. vide Dote 396 above.
445. *",1f(j~I"I~"«~"~:, ~ qra .."olt(t: ~ . . .~II
fit. ft'.
p. '10: vide H. o.f Dh. vel. II. PP. 1.5"-U6Iot the vleft 'of Kamalib....
llha... aDd other, 011 this point.
 ,'II .. " J ...

· should stop reading at the end of a chapter and not· in its

'. middle; but if for some reason one ha.d to stop in 'the middle
of a chapter, when one again commenced reading or reoiting
· Saptasatl, one should not proceed from where 'One left off in the
middle of a chapter, but begin with the first verse of the ohapter
half read or recited. Provision was made that the reader engaged
for reading Saptasatl should be handsomely requited for his labour
by gifts of gold, silver, cows with bell-metal pails for milking.
Mr. Ghosh notes (p. 39) that besides the reader of DevImAhMmya
· a separate priest is seleoted to repeat the miilamantra a hundred
thousand times and is called Japaka. The NirJ;layasindhu
(pp. 185:-186) gives elaborate descriptions of SataCaJ;l~I-pa.~ha
and SahasracaJ;l~. In the first, ten well-conducted brahmaJ;l,as
including the aciirya are ohosen. They are to recite together
Saptasatl once on the 1st day. twice on the 2nd. thrice on the Srd
and four times on the 4th; in this way Sa.ptasatl would be repeated
one hundred times. In SahasracaJ;l~i: one hundred brahmaJ;las are
to be chosen and they are to repeat Saptasatl for four days as in
SatacaJ;l~I-pa.~ha. A thousand brahmaJ;las are to be fed and one
hundred cows are to be donated. The NirJ;layasindhu Jlotes that
these two are not included in the great digests but there is
popular usage to this effect.
After eaoh pilja prescribed for the day, the family ,members
. I
theu friends and guests sit together and partake of the prasada
(whioh in the houses of the well-te-do comprises seleot delioacies).
Formerly, the persons sitting together would have sometimes
. numbered hundreds, but in the days of rationing and control.
this would not happen. Mukerji (p. 124) notes that guests made
offerings to the goddess (usually cash which belobgs to the
owner and not to the priest. )
After the pilja. homa is performed as indi~ated above:
, offerings are to be made in fire oalled 'Balada '446 with the word
•mhl' at the end to the accompaniment of a mantra preceded
. by 'om '. The Durga.rcan~paddhati notes (p. 681 ) that after the
special rites on thll Maha.~~aml described above (viz. Piijl,
honouring ma.idens. homa &0. ) are finished the rest of the' tithi
should be spent by the devotee in dance. songsf47 and music
.. .. • I

. 446. Vide m.".

p. 99 tor the names of tile fires employed in religioua
ritea: I ' " 'C S,hi:iI"lEq caf8qjqjQCOCIt( ~ "t'SIIi"lillftlRiit I' fit. ~. p. 99,.
447 • ... "tNi.. t. ~-"' ~I ~ ~ ~ "'1(~"'I1t.
~61. ·88.
 .. • I •
HistOT1l of .Dharmaiastra. [ Sec. 1, Oh. IX

( jagara ). It appears that in the DevI and Kiliki puraJ,l&8 it is

:provided that even on the 8th at midnight an animal suoh as a
.goat or he-buffalo should be sacrificed and that on the 9th tiUli
many balis were to be sacrificed. 'When the Sun is in the
sign of Kanya (Virgin or Virgo) and in the month of I~a
( ASvina ) one should offer pujs. on the 9th titbi of the bright
rhalf; one should observe a fast ( on that tithi) and at midnight
should begin puja of DevI with great expenditure and parapher-
nalia when the nakl?atra is Miila or Purva~aq.ha j an animal
.should be killed and a he-buffalo and a goat should be sacrifiQed';"'
A short period of time, viz. the last gha#ika t49 of Mahl~tamt
and the first ghatiki of navaml, was called 'sa.ndhi '. During
that period of two ghatikas a piija of Devl together with Yoginls
is to be performed which is deemed to be the holiest piijl
( Ghoah p. 120). This piija is to be performed like the pilja. on
::Mah8.f?1amI, but the bali is to be offered at and after the Mahi-
navamI begins ~ and not during the last ghatika of Mahal?tamJ.
Now the rites of the Mahanavaml ha.ve to be described. On
the 9th tithi conjoined to Uttaral?ag.hi nak!?atra or without it,
piija is to be performed on the lines of the one of Mabal?tamI.
This day's piija is ~1 only a repetition of that on the 8th, the
448. ~ ~~ ~llleJqi ~tt.1 ~) f.mNiJ "",iiI~: I
1:Srt ~ w¥'"~~~ '" I ~: ~) 'l"i?,,""'El~'!T II ~ q. by
~. ~. p. 35. I. 11. ~. p. 34. ". ~. ~. p. 373, fit.~. pp. 85-86; ~ ~M'"
~: ~:l i""qli31I«~~: ~n ~ 63 . 14-1.5. q . by
. fit. 1f. p. 86 .
....P. ~8af1"",m~ ..~ ~ q ~ I n F'lf . P i'I~~'IOI.tS8I'
. • ,fiM'"(IO' q. by fit. 1f. p. 86 ; ~: ~4If ~: '(If Q'If . ' ""' '11 ~
I:'IT ~ ~ ~ N q. by nt.~. p. 86 from ~1"4l!\Q1.,f.111Ji'tl. The ~r.
are said to the eigbt (viz. ~ and otber. named in ~~ 61 •• 1 or >,
llizty-foar or a crore In ~ 62. 50-51 ''''i( ...... lia~l: l"q'etij,i1 ~l
.-m' ~4If oq:~ ~ 4t"lrhlfil;:ft: , ""J'fl't1f1lr i.'f'lf ~: ~l
tFm ",, vide 1: ~.~. p. 39 for the1le verses. Vide Archaeological SlttVey 01
India, vol. XIII pp.132-136 lor a temple of 6i Yoglni. at Khajurahoud
Orilsa Hi.torlcal Researcb Journal, vol. II. pp. 23-40 for ano.t her temple
0/64 yogioi. at Hirapur about three mile. to the ea.t of Bhubaoo,war.
450. arq ~, tnIj' ~m.rcr.~I1MI""'i84~r ~I ~
"".4\''''''''1( ~ pt ~, ."I.,,,,.,fi,,,Oj '" UllllallJM",.; ., 11 ~..at I
II~"IQ'I(it p. 681.
- 451. i"'11pt~ ~ ~I ~ .. ....t~~~
~I
~ ~ 11
lI(ililJfe4:J ~II
~ R~I ,Qlli.4ISi31I
~
~ rt~ ~I
62.8-10; vide allO ~Rt 61.36"-
IIJta"liI'l'I ~ ~ I """,,,,,,,t .. .""......,",....
~
...as ~.....n
I.,,,,,a.j.n ~ ~'1~~~11.1
,,1(
 Durgotsavd

only diffilrence being that a larger number of balis (goats etc.)'

may be sacrificed on it than on the 8th tithi. A bali is to 1>&
offered as it is obligatory to do so on the 9th.t52 Then the wor-
shipper should perform boma, if able to do so. If he be unable to
perform homa on both days, he should perfonn it on MahA~~I.
The offerings in the fire are to be 108. If a person cannot
perform a homa in person be should choose a brahmaI;la to do it,
while a sudra must always get the homa performed through a
brahmaI;la. Lamps should be waved before the Devl (nlrajana)452a'
from her head down to her feet. Dak~iI;la (fee) to the priest for
the whole of the autumnal piija is to be gi ven on the 9th tithi
and Raghunandana expressly 453 says that the Durga-bhakti-
tarangiI;l1 is wrong in saying that dak~iI;la is to be paid after
taking leave (visarjana) of DevI. The sailkalpa at the time of
giving dak~iI;la is given in the note.4M If no dak~iIfa be paid,
the whole rite becomes fruit1ess. Then he should pray that' all
defects in the piija may be remedied, that whatever he has
offered with a devout heart, whether leaves or flowers, fruits or
water, whatever naivedya he has offered, may be graciously
accepted by DevI and that if any mistake has OCCUlTed by his
missing some letter or mantra Devl should forgive all that.' He
should wash the feet of a brahmaJ;la maiden and give her sum-
ptuous dinner and ask ber to place with her hand on his head
aklfatas and devoutly follow her a few steps. He should feed
brahmaI;las. It is the practice in many families to embrace
eaoh other and sing the praise of Durga while drums are beaten.
Then in a large procession they visit the houses of such relatives
and neighbours as have performed the piija. Then the united

4.52. ~ "~\lq~q'Milj i'( .. @Jerdiq: I fit. ~. p. 8'1.

4.52 a. This ~ is mentioned in ~o ' ~ ~ ~:

'4~
q'~1 ~~lI!r"I"<'>,'iI" U' 88.9.

453. ~:pl1lT~"~1rn1 ~ ~I ~~
~ "(fa~4Udi I ~ ~ ""' ~ ~ I 1f tl 4f{l1W"'~"i"''d~
~ ~d(ifoos'dl ~ I fit. tt. p. 101 : J. l'I'. ~. (p. 126) says: WIlT-,
~ij . . e'i.ql ~ .~d4U«(lfli~"J.ii'(,"jSli'ft8,1li\ifiifi~~df1(o04"'~ ~­
~ If1IIvrA ~ ~ ~ l..m~ 1I'mt I
454. ~ I *'" am~ _ • W "'1.....04' fW$il5",4hr. ~...."1fIWi
WhiIAilfi'4RNI.Ji,iao"tJl1ifi¥tol: ~ CI~Ojifi\ .. ""... ""-" ~ R~
:J:Q4I1ih.... . . . .~ IttFfflf iP~ «I ~o p. ~; , 4fiWUtt'f1~ "
p. IQ.
" . ......... ~: I ,. l'I'. ~ .
 History 01 Dharmaiastra [ Beo. It Ch. IX

procession visits other houses and the parties return the visits to
each .other by turns and wish happiness and good luok to each
ot1;ler !,nd offer sweets. Rajanltiprak&sa (pp. 439-44:4:) quotes
a long passage from the DevI-pura~a about the worship of DevI
op 9th of Asv. suo
On the 10th tithi after bathing and sipping water he should
oft'er worship with sixteen upacaras or with as many as '
possible, should praise Devi with these words 'Om Durgam
Sivam' &0. (on p. 672 of Durgaroanapaddbati), should prostrate
himself before her and make request to DevI with the mantra
'Mabi!?aghni mahamaye &0: (ibid. p. 672) and with the verse
quoted 454 a below take a flower and cast it on the image with
the words 'forgive '. Then after repeating two verses he should
raise the image ( of DevI), the bUva twig and the sheaf of nine
plants from their places and keep them in another pla.ce a.nd
wave lamps made of 4541> flour before them. He should go near
the water of a river with dance, song, music, Vedic recitations and
auspicious sports and pastimes and immerse the image in a tank
or in a river after the prayer 4540 '0 Durga., mother of the world.
go to your place in order to come back after the lapse of a year.'
Then he should perform the saoorotsava. This last means that
actions usually associated with the sabaras (i. e. aboriginal
tribes like the Bhils &0.) should be indulged in (to express
ecstacy of the Durgapiljii.) on the 10th tithi after the immersion

454 a. ~""ifi?ilii'(iq ~ ~~ I ~ ~ 1iTft ~ ~

~t~88.9 q. by~op. 682 ; in ~ VII. 30.66 ~ is
said to be a & on WfI...t.
454 b. fM~: t ... 3f~('?)~ ~ ~ ..... lIifl ~ I ~
~ ~nn ~ ~1Ii1(l('(i.: 1 ~ P qOrit.litdCflci"Ii~~Q!$'~ ~­
~""'4qf€:o'CI«~<I'({'M,'U,~q(l ~ rffl !$Ii .. (lc~ ..qql'd: 1 1fiT. ~. p. 514. The
J. \t. W. p. 21, 'If. fit. ;fit. p. 377 quote the verse as from ~liU'If but the
latter roads \"i("'('(i~: probably because it could not make out what \"iI(lCWIt
meant or did not like the idea, but the former explains ',,, .. .a~: "iI(I~w­
~""i"i",cj.,,~q."f4(it: I.'

454 c. ~ (P. 126) quotes ~ aa follow. '!if ~

~: ~ 'T"O ~ I ~ -nnffi\ iJ """°1..."., ~ I " " ~ II"CfT ~ 1l1n-
.NNtqq,~CI''t I wN tit ~ n .-Etil.,tN..'( I , tnt q ~ I fit tW.
p.. 189. The same occur in ~o p. 683. In the famout Victoria Ma..-
IUD ill Calcutta, their is a painting of the 'fIi.ar;a~ 91 Dpr,i JJI • boat
,pade bl Thom~. Daniel In P80 .... D,
 Durgotsava 177

of the image of DevI.'ss The K~laviveka quotes Satya to the

effect that leave is taken of DevI on the last pada of Srava~e.­
nak!?atra in the day and sabarotsava is celebrated on the 10th,
and explains that what is meant is that like men of the Sabara
tribe, people wear leaves of trees, their bodies are besmeared
with mire, they make incoherent prancing movements and are
engaged in dances, songs and music. The Kiilika.puri~a dwells
on this at great length. It says: "the visarjana ( sending away)
of Devl should be made with festivals in the manner of sabaras,
viz. people may make merry to their heart's content by throwing
dust and mud, with auspicious sports and revelry, with indulg-
ence in words and 80ngs referring to male and female organs
and with words expressive of the sexual act. The DevI becomes
angry with him who does not abuse another and whom others do
not abuse and pronounces on him a terrible curse." This pro-
vision that every one, how high soever, was to join in the
siibarotsava was probably made for emphasizing that before the
Devl the highest and the lowest were of equal status and every
one must join in the frolics on the 10th tithi to show that all
men were equal at least one day in the year. After the immer-
sion friends visit friends and partake of sweets. It appears that
this last practice is now not in vogue.

A few words must be said with reference to certain relevant

matters. 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 and the demon Mahii$isura was to be constructed.
In the Mark. pura~a4S6 it is stated that Devi strode over the great
demon's throat, struck him with her trident and with her heavy
sword cut off his head and made him fall down on the ground.
But in modern times the image of Devi ' is placed in a structure
of wickerwork and there are images of Lak!?mI and GaJ;lesa on

455. ~ ~ tI ~ ~~: I !~1Iicftl~: 'liiCI~'lf'i!'J'~: I

~Icl ~~: I ~i!f>ql~j;t. ~~ Gf'Il': I ~t1Iit
~ 11': If( ~ I ~ ~ i'R1I' ~ qt.llctiCI\OIO(" 1Ii1M1Ii1¥\IOj q. by J.
pp. 21-22, by ~. " . p. 75 (except last one verse and a halO, If. fit. ~.
If. ft.
pp. 377-378 ( except the first half), "Ii . ~ . p. 362 (does not mention source ).
"". ~. p. 514, which remarks '~~:' weQEqlqfl'jjQ: (~II .. (hf(":).
"'CIIfI'lu"'tlp: occurs in ~ 62.20 and 43. Vide ~ 62.31 for
"I. (I~: •
456. ~ ~ ~ ft' ~ I qli(.",,,.q ~ 'If ,~ .. tlfllilll{ I
"·fi"'I1~~~~;II~o80. 38 and 40.
B. D.23
178 History ~f Dharmasastra [ Seo. I, Ch. IX

the right side and of SarasvatI and KArtikeya on the leftAS1.

Raghunandana does not make muoh of these additional deities,
though he speaks of the pra.:t:J,aprati~~ha. of Ga:t:J,esa and others.
On p. 14,6 of 'Cave temples of India' by Fergusson and Burgess
reference is made to a tableau at Mahavalli-puram of the strife
between Mahi!?iisura and Dev! (with eight arms), whioh the
learned authors assign to the period 650-700 A. D. The image
may be made of gold or silver, clay. metal, stone or there may
only be a picture of Devi. For Durgapiija. it is not absolutely
necessary that there should be an image. DevI may be wor-
shipped458 in a linya, on an altar or in a book, in her paaukas
(wooden or stone feet), in image, in a picture or a trident or
sword or in water. Some of the pura.:t;laB lib Garuq.a and
Bhavi!?ya459 state that on the 7th or 8th tithi nine wooden houses
or only one with four comers may be constructed, that in the
midst of it a platform or altar of four cubits in length and
breadth should be maae on which a throne of silk, woollen oloth
and deer-skin should be prepared, whereon Durga. ( image) made
of gold, silver, olay or wood was to be established having four or
ten arms, possessing a complexion like heated gold, three eyes
and the moon as a head ornament.
There is no unanimity about the arms of DevI. 'fhe Varaha-
pura.:t;la ( 95. 41) speaks of 20 arms of DevI and mentions the
twenty weapons she oarries ( 95. 42-4:3). In the Devlbbagavata
V. 8. 44 she is said to have 18 arms. Hemadri (on vrata, vol.
1 pp. 923-924 ) quotes verses in which Devi is said to have eight
arms and ten arms respectively. Vidyapati460 uotes passages for
457 The !fifFft,'ii'al~d.:::c ( edited by Arthur Avalon, 1917) 19th ~ has
, ~ ':q ~ t<il ~ ~'lt" verse 6. On p. 666 of F1'i:J.,q,,~
( Jiv. II ) ~S"rc{<f merely says ' ~~ JTCIt~I'rtTl( I ,
458. m~ut 'I.GI<ia~ 'S~ut,,~ .... 1 ~~jVemut ~ QIJifllllfflqlU
'<I' 1 ~ .... iSl'rm=.t ~ ~t.tt "'fI'fit ~~ I EfiTff?<nr 60. 31-22 q. by EfiT. ~.
p. 513,ia . ~ . p. 78. ~.fifi.~1 . p. 372 . ~.~. p. 174.
459. ~~~~liiitittl~~~ ~'<I'II!lff,"
~~ 1JiR~~if: I J1l<~ ~'q~ ~ I ~ ~ ~
~~~I~~~ tfi .... elf}j., .. @I¥{1 ~ rff 1j'(~ d-
m OH1gdl'(' ~~~~rwt) filW~Tl(' ~R'Ui!ifl4olhrt ~~ _1~~1"'(li(1
fit· t~f. p. 173. ~ 9icf ~~ ~r;t1t~ '" I m~ ~ann
mnllfq 411 ~ ~ ~ 41 ~ '" ~ ~ I ~uvr I. 133. 8-9, compar.
~ ,J6
J. li. (1'. p. 5 ' ~T~I~ I sm:trt ... ~ '<I' 1 ~~ '" ~ tfil\ihU\\t'l1i1 • '.
....~!luOt I co'tfilc<iI<i.<iF
460.
1fIf~ II!" "i!I'l1!~
~
~ ~;a croij3lt
~ " ::.
I ~. li. fr. p .... :
(f1ff
" ~~ ~~ 1 ~. li. 8. p. 7; "lbi(?;r.,lcqrr.::e""'q"'e~ -q_
"'IMPlim I ~ ~ .... iihffl"t cr~ ~ I ~ ~ 'If ~ 'If 3iW~:
~: I ... t{IIIT cnnfr ~f1(~<i'dl~" ~ ~ I !. li. ff. pp. e-7.
 Durgotscivci 179
both. ten arms and eight arms. It appears that different numbers
of arms were associated with differ nt forms and names of Dev!.
For example, Vidyapati in describing the form of Kal! or CamuJ;lgA
speaks of her as having four arms. 1n the Vira~aparva (chap. 6)
where Yudhi~~hira praises Durga, she is described (in verse 8 )
as having four arms,
There are varying views about the word' navaratra '. Some
hold that navaratra means 'nine days and nights'; it signifies
only the time for a vrata ( i. e. it is a guJ;lavidhi ), not the name
of a rite ( karma ), while others contend that navaratra is the
name of a rite or vrata, which may last for eight days ( if there
is t,thik~ya) or ten days (if there is v.rddhi of a tithi from the
first tithi to the 9th ). The first view is held by works like the
Kala.tattvavivecana (pp. 270-272), while the 2nd is held by the
NirJ;layasindhu 461 ( p. 165 ), the Puru!larthacintamal?i (p. 61) and
others. As the discussion is scholastic and ha.rdly Qf any
practical importance it is passed over here.
The principal matters in N avaratra or Durgapiija, 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 Lingapurii.I;la
viz. snapana (62 (bathing the image), piiji, the offering of a
victim (bali) and · homa. For want of space snapana has not
been dwelt upon in the above. The Durgarcanapaddhati (p. 674),
the Vrataraja (p. 340) and other digests state at length how the
image of Durga. may be bathed with scented water, with milk,
curds, ghee, pafl.cagavya of a kapita cow, sugarcane juice and
what rewards are reaped by particular kinds of baths. One
example is given here for a sample. 463 The man who even for

461. ~ ~ ~s~~, s:{R;~r "'~R:i1 ifIro~­

~ II ~ q. byf.t ~. p. 165, !fiT. ('1'. ~. p. 272.
462. t'm~ ~~t&tifr,f'l:SIl Qi!fiq::q.,' ..... M<i~~ -~­
~"qlt~~1f ~, ~ ~, '"!Q:~r ~ I m fi{.m~ ~­
~~: I ~ ~"iUUT~ '"!Q:~~~;:r ~~ ~­
t;;f.,""~41.,ittl((q1 I fit "!I. p. 65, lfiT. {'I'. ~ p. 270. fct~ reCers to tbe
alternative of r"Fn for three days from 7th. ~i iJ "if~q: tiI<flN:Wdl-
~: , 1. \to "!I. p. 18.
463. ~'it ... VI JlTr q~"'~~1 "NqhQq~lIid ~~.
~"" ~oihllqlq, I fl'r"C I ~ ';{ ~ ... jYlgi!fi~ .... 1:fuf~ I q~')
1f'If~ I ~ p. 340. 1".....
The 0 p. 674 mentions· tbis' ",(i)tllqlq n
1rT1fW ~, ~, ~ ... 'lintlfli'( I iT 3ii rrf1l om: - wilt
;sf1l;;fl(ql~""'lq
WNiht I '. This.,....~ imitates the famous ~11" ifCfI'iim:' &c. ~g.
III, 62.l0.
180 History of iJ/ujrmaiastra [ Sec. 1, Oh.1X

a day bathes Ca1;l~ika with panoagavya to the aooompaniment

of CaJ;l~IgayatrI goes near Vi~J;lu. If the image is ma.de of some
material (like olay) that cannot bear a water bath, the bright
sword plaoed near DevI's image may be bathed or a mirror, as
·stated by the Kalikapura1;la. The other three out of the four
prinoipal items in Durgapuja have been dealt with above. Out
of the four, puja is the most important and a fast is only an
anga (anoillary matter).
Then the question arises as to when pujii is to be performed.
Here there are varying views. The Samaya-mayukha 4M ( p. 14)
quoting Devi-pUraJ;la appears to hold that the puja should be in
the morning, while the Nir1;layasindhu (p. 165) holds that it
should be at night. It appear!! from the DevI-purii.1;la and Kiilikii.-
puraJ;la that puja in the morning, mid~ay and at night is
intended 465. • When the sun is in sign Virgo, the devotee should
follow the method of ayacita or nakla or take food only once or
subsist only on water beginning from the nandika tithi of ~he
bright half, should bathe in the morning, should rise superior to
the opposites (of heat and cold, happiness and pa.in &0.) and
should worship (Siva and) Siva three times a day.' The Kala.-
tattvaviveoana 466 resolves this conflict by saying that morning
and midday pujas are brief, the prinoipal and elaborate piijli.
is at night only. There is some confusion caused by the texts
laying down the nak~atras, tithis or both on whioh the different
items in the Durgii.pujii. were to be performed. The Kalaviveka
quotes Vyas8. as follows: 'one should awaken Devl on .!rdr'-
nak~atra, make her enter (the devotee's house) on M ula, and

464. ~ ~ ~ 1fT .. ~ I m lfii<if" q'njit,qj Of ~

sn«'IT I if"T~ q . by ~. ;r. p. 1 5, ~. a. R. p. 277 ( {rom ~~~
It appears): ~ ~ ~11fi~ I :m~ mm
i:ttfJrct Olffl"it\(Olfc1.,~ I ~
~C1l1 ~lqqi\1If4Cfi: ~ I ~ ~~R{ I fif. flr. p. 165. Tbis verse it
q. by lfiJ. l'f. R. p. 279.
465. ~ ~ \UljiWi(.q ~ I 3l(n~di~O
W ~ or.mn '"
~:'(hTnqq:)lllm:VT1Jl ~~~:llfiT~ 62.6 q. by
".fi\\. ~. p . 365'1'. "t.a. 16,~.;r. p. 16. (read.~), fif. ftr. 164,
(reads~:), 'IJ. (. p. 3.59 (reads ~ 'l'llr.{:). Tbe reading ~: adopted
by J. "t. W. would mean ~:. Tbese are quoted as {rom ~ by 1tiT· R.
.513 (reads ~ ...."cq;f14"':), by ~. ;r., f.\'. m.
~ is here sml~ ace. to
~ writers, 6th acc. to iIhr writers (says fo". -Rtr. p. 164). Titbil first , sixth
eleventh are called Nandi or Nandiki; vide p. 70 note 176 above.
466. 1lVA '<it ~ ~~ ~-~ ~ ",Qtt1'l ... Q,I .. ui:-
wfit ~ ~IF): \t~q""'''I'' R~ a~ ~ ~,
... tf. R. p. 280.
 DurgotBava 181
having worshipped her on Uttar!~a.q.M should ta.ke lea.ve of her
on Srava:t;la '. 41>7 Most digests refer only to the tithis. For
example, we saw above ( p. 159 note 411) that on the 7th tithi the
bilva branch is to be brought to the house, on the 8th fast, piija. and
j'iigara are to be observed, the bali is offered on 9th, and on the
10th nirajana and discharging the DevI take place. Some
texts oombine the tithi and nak~atra for the several parts of
Durgipiija.. For example, the Ra.jamarta:t;l~a verse (q. in n. 426
above) says • one should, after propitiating with faith (Devl) by
the head, flesh and blood of several kinds of animals, take leave
of her on Srava:t;la-qak!;!atra and 10th tithi '. The Devlpurat;la
provides 41>8 • The bilva tree should be addressed with a mantra
on 6th tithi joined to Jye!?~ba., (the sheaf of) plants should be
brought into the house on the 7th joined to Mula., fast, puja and
homo take place on the 8th joined to Piirva~a.~i, on the 9th
joined to Uttari~a~hA one should worship Durga. with animal
saorifices and after prostrating oneself before her leave should
be taken of her on 10th tithi joined to Srava:t;la '. It often
happened that the tithi and nak~atra. provided for an item did
not tally and some rules were evolved. The first rule is: if both
tithi and nak!?atra as provided tallied then that led to very good
results, as said in the Liilgapura,l,la • even if there be no Mula-
nak!?atra, one should enter the bilva branch in the house on the
seventh i the same rule applies to other tithis, but if the nak!'1atras
exist on the tithis specified there is increase of the results or

467. SQ "I'M: 1 ~~~il~l ~~Gii."~~

~, 1fiT. R. P. ~ll, If. fit. 'fit. P. 375 (ascribes to ~~~ and
reads ttif'tt(i.ql ~~) . The ~1J1~,~ (30. 6) has '~ ~ 1@-
~ ~ I v:..m.\I.ql ~ ~ ~I". The ~ on amri refers to
the 9th tithl of the dark hal( preceding the navaritra, Mula refers to the 7th
tlthl wben tbe biltJa twig was to be brought to the house; Uttari~qbi and
srav~a would correspond to the 9th and 10 tithis respectively.

468. ~-'!IIs,,"ql ~ ~I ~ i:8SWilql ~:

~I v:.._f..... Sdle.ql pt{tI'lICloilIflGI,(1 ~ ~ II ~: ~1~ I
.... ~t 1I ~q~, '" ~q. by~. l'I.~. pp. 268 and 273,
~. ".1111. p. 267 (first verse), ~. 'If. p. 23 (first hal!); J. If. tt'. P. 22 quotes
"':III1IN '~~ IItlI'IQ"'16 qft!m ~ I ~ ~ ~I~
qrd ~ I ~ ~ ~Jf1 ~: ~ m It'Jft ~
.~ftd~~: ~ ~ II.' q1ft Is, ~. 'q1fr~ miT ~ ~ ~~: I
~ <c«~""n ~ ~ ~ lf~w.." !. If. 'I. 24.
182 History of .Dharmaili8tra [ Seo. I, Oh. IX

rewards.' The second rule was that tithi was superior'69 and
therefore even if the nak~atra did not exist on the tithi specified,
one should follow the tithi laid down for the several items in
Durgapiija. Davalo. and Lalla 470 laid this down.
One question on which there is difference of view is about
the tithi on which N avaratra is to be begun when pratipad is
mixed with amavasya or dvitiya.. There are very lengthy
discussions in the NirJ;layasindhu, Kalatattvavivecana,
Puru ~artha-cintamaJ;li and other works. Some quote passages
from the DeVl and other puraJ;las condemning the beginning of
navaratra on pratipad mixed with amaviisya. DevI is made m
to say' in my worship pratipad which is joined to amava.syl
should not be accepted j pratipad existing only for a muhiirta
( two gha~ikiis) at sunrise and then joined to the 2nd tithi should
be accepted (for commenJing Navariitra festival) '. On the
other hand there 471a are texts like the following: if one were to
accept for the (beginning of the) worship of CaJ;l~ika. pratipad
joined to part of 2nd tithi through ignorance or through another's
advice, that leads to the death of that person's son. The Sarna-
yamayiikha says that both classes of texts are baseless or if they
are authoritative they leave the matter undecided as they are
opposed to each other. The decision has to be arrived at in a
different manner. 'If pratipad is mixed with amiiviisya but
does not exist the next day, then it must be accepted for starting
Navaratra as there is no other alternative. Therefore, even a
pratipad mixed with amavasya has to be accepted in such a case
in spite of texts to the contrary. If pratipad starts with sunrise
and spreads over the next day for less than three muhiirtas,

469. J. l{. 8 . p. 23 says' ffiir 1Ii1~i~"~: ~~:, ~ ~

1Il1T i!<liiWftq: ~'f1lT1f: I ~~ ~ "' ~ ~:
~ , ~ ~:mi .m: I m~: ~at ... ~ ~ "'~:l ...
ltili?lCqhJ I ~~i1 ~qj'(illaql~1 ~l1A f,tNlfum~: 'l....,.,tti"~11I
~ SjRtil«d .qt'il'n(l~1~~ ~ ~ ~ q;(?Tl~1 t'IUl .....
i?J"!1(I OI4( I ~~ ~ ~ ~ I tNT fiilt:qf(f< ..~qil~ ij~:"
fit. 8. p. 74, If. ~ . <ti1. p. 368, <nT. t'I. ~. p. 374.
470. ~ 'f<ml: ~ fi'tM!f ;mot nfNI smrot fi'tffl«~' q. by f.\'. f«
p. 163. Vide n . 469 above.
471 . ~ ~ "'If ~: 1 ~ "' ~ SjRiq(C(41~ 1m' I
udA.,.. ~ ~~ I ~. 'ffi. p. 162,
i. RI. p. 62, A. ftf. ~. i.
p.2.
471a i1if11ll ~ .. \1~'\fiIIU'ilq!ll(qIfl'.~ I
q. by W. ~. p. 15.
 Durgotsava 183
then the full pratipad has to be aocepted for beginning nava-
ratra. If at first there is a.mli.viisya. for one muhurta, then
pratipad follows and then spreads over the next day up to less
than three muhiirtas, then this latter, that is, pratipad mixed
with dvitIya. has to be accepted as the beginning. For want of
space all possible alternatives are not dealt with here.
One important matter was not stressed above. On the first
day of Navaratra one has to establish a kalasa or gha~a. A full
kalasa has been a symbol of holiness and prosperity from early
Vedic times (compare :ago III. 32. 15 'apur:t;lo asya kalasa1;l , ).
This is a rite which is performed in the Deccan, Gujarat and
Saura~~ra even though the elaborate Durgapiija. of Bengal finds
no place there. The procedure given in Durgabhaktitarangi:t;ll
p. 3. Nir~ ayasi ndhu (p. 767), Vrataraja (pp. 62-66), Puru~artha­
ointima:t;li (pp. 66-67) and other works is elaborate. Gha~a­
sthapana is spoken of in Durga.rcanapaddhati (p. 663) and has
to be performed by day and no\ at night. One should make 471
an altar with holy clay and sow yava and wheat grains thereon
with :ago X 97. 22, and establish a jar there of gold, silver,
copper or clay with :ago IX. 17. 4, fiU the jar with water with
Eg. X 75. 5 (imam me Gange &c.), and cast in the jar sandal-
wood paste, sarvauqadhi,473 diirva. grass, leaves of five trees
(mango &c.), cla.y from seveR places, fruit, five jewels and gold
with appropriate mantras, surround it with a piece of cloth with
Eg. m 8. 4, plaoe a pur:t;la-piitra (a cup filled with rice grains) on
the jar and worship VaruI,la thereon, contemplate on Durga. (as
described in note 4:18) and invoke Durga to come and be present
in the jar along with aU groups of gods and offer the upacaras
from padua onwards, fold his hands, offer a prayer and boiled
rice with maqa pulse or a kii~mii:t;l~a &c. In the Deocan the
main items in the Na.varatra are the establishment of gha~a,
offering a garland of flowers on every tithi up to the 9th, a strict

472. ~~.qi<tii\, ~ ~ ~~~ I 'q;I~lI~'iii"~1h gr-

~~ I ~itiW .... ~ '*l8'iilital~~~lat{ I f.f~1"\'R I~: <ne-
~ ~~""': I -q:~n'l(q(i)qi ~ iI ~ ~ I I. li. ('f. p. 3. '~
~ J is a ~ in Imr.lt. VllI. 42, ~. ~ VII. 1. 6.6.
473. ~ pp. 64-65, on '<IT. I. 277 gives two lists of ~"'1fI'ils. UU ~
~P~~~I ~~oqCfi~ .... ~~: ~:II ~ .... ~:I
~ 'ii1t'~ ~ P ~ ~ ~m I "I'I~~"~ .... ~r~ ll'iT II. It explains
lome of these. ~. on lA vol. I p. 49 gives a somewhat different list 'p~
~.~ ~e"""""i('~~~':if~~~~:"
 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. IX

code of conduct (suoh as not shaving oneself) to be observed by

the performer. If on the pratipad day on which the jar is to be
established there is oitra-nak!;latra 474 and the astrologioa.l con-
junction called Vaidhrti, it is to be done at the end of these, but
if these two exist the whole of the day, then the rite should be
performed in the latter part of these two. The S. M. held that
these texts were baseless. According to Ghosh (p. 76), in Bengal
nine jars are established in a figure (sarmtobhadra) fi11ed with
coloured powders at prescribed places and these are deoorated
with nine differently coloured flags. But in some parts of India
only one gha~a is established.
Rema.dri (on Vrata, vol 1. p. 906) quotes DevlpurfioI;la for
honouring horses. m The Durgiipiija. was meant for all Kings
and suoh men as kept horses were advised to honour horses in
Navaratra from the 2nd tithi in conjunction with Svati-nakl?atra
up to 9th tithi. The Durga.bhaktitarangiI;ll devotes several
pages to this nlrajana of horses from Salihotra, Bhoja, VarAha-
mihira and other authorities (pp. 56-63 and 67-(9). Kings were
advised to perform Loba.bhisarika. rite about horses from Kevin-
sukla first to Mahinavaml (R. V. 1. 910-916, N. S. 178, R. N. P.
414-416). For Lohabhiha.rika or Nlrajana rite, vide H. of Dh.
Vol ill p. 230 notes 309-311 and p. 910 note 1773.
Although the Krtyakalpataru (on' vrata) does not speak of
Durgotsava on the lines stated above, the Naiyatakalika section
of that work (pp. 408-410) quotes a long passage from the
Bhavi~yapuraI;la. 416 which states that Mahi~a was killed by
CaI;l~ika and therefore she should be worshipped on navami, all
var~as should worship her, kings should fast on it and gifts
should be made; the Devl is pleased by the offering of the

474. ~~lIfflq'!ll"OiCfiI"""'1 ~ ~ Cfii?'4l1tOqul fWlI

~ q. by
j . f.t t« ~. p. 3. ~ is the 1P<IT of ..... "',.,,,"'. wn~ RIft trir
~~"liii~!j<fl:I~~~~~II~.q ibiap . ...
.. 475. 3nf"'"~~~~1"'3f~~~~1~_
'6'1f:1Iro"''fl{ 1I\tlf l~ II ~S~ ~ ~ q1JT 1 ~. n
~ ~~" n i. (n) I p. 906,~. tWo p. 169; J. lJ.~. p. 29 quote.
qr~ '.3i~~ (l~~1 ~:lJm",", JnPt ",qil''''",.
~~'t~~~II"
. 476. ~R6<l!l\lfII' \Wd4lql. I om1Jf ~Mlg'Wil~: ~: ~ I 1IJ1IPI'
~"~~~:I ~~ wi -.r~ '!I'll' ~ '"'
~ ~ ..Jinrr ~: II !\4"lfIl~lfI-~O pp. "08-409. The whole of the
pasaage in the ~o (~o ) also occ:urslJl _. ~. pp. ".56-357.
 Durgotsava 185
devotee's own blood and :flesh and of he-buffaloes, goats and •
rams. It speoifies the periods for whioh gratification is felt by
the DevI by the offering of various balis and avers that all
dasyus and various mleccha tribes, the Angas, Vangas, Kalingas,
Kinnaras, Barbaras and Sakaa worship her.
The Krtyakalpataru on Vrata does contain a nata called
Durga!?tamlvrata derived from the Devlpura:Q.a (pp. 225-233),
but it has nothing to do with the exploits of Durga.
Hemidri also (on vrata, vol. I. pp. 856-862) contains the
same nata with a few variations. That vrata ie entirely
different from the Durgotsava described in the KalikapUri:t;lB.
In the first place there is no reference in it to the killing of
MahisB.sura. In the next place, that nata is described as
begin~ing from the 8th of SravaJ;l.a-.sukla and going on for one
year in each succeeding month on the 8th of the bright half.
Feeding virgins and brahma:t;las is mentioned in it also, but in
each month the food offered to DevI and to the virgins is
generally different. .
About the antiquity of the worship of Durga, 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. Ambikii. is said to be
the sister of Siva in Tai. m S., but in the times of the Tat A:r. X.
18 Siva is said to be the husband of Ambika or Uma. In the
Vanaparva chap. 6 (where there is a long laud of Durga 478 by
Yudhi!?thira), she is described as the daughter of Yasoda. and
Nanda and as the sister of Vasudeva, is addressed as KaU t
MahikaU and Durga, in verses 10-11 the weapons carried by her
in her hands are mentioned and in verse 15 she is said to have
destroyed Mahi!?asura. When Arjuna (in BhI!!ma 23) offers a
Durga,stotra at the bidding of Kr!?:t;la, he gives her several names,
among whioh are Kumarl, KaU, KapaII, Kapila., Bhadrakill t
MahakaU, Oa:t;lc;lI, Katyayanl, KausikI, Uma. But as the dates
of these passages in the Maha.bharata are far from oertain no
chronological conolusion oan be stated. Literary works and
477 . ~ ~.~" ~ ~ \tTIT: m \'tI",,'iiliIfiQI ,,~ I ~. ~. I .
B, 6. I, (~ explailla ~); vide ~. 1fT. I. 6. 10...
,",r
tIqT ~~.ltliti"t ~ "1fr CT It1f ~ . ~. 3{J. X. 18 ia ' ~(oq"'t,'it~· •
~S~l!fitQttq ~ ~, '"': I ,
478. J.n"tll(q~Ff rtf
m{ (!( ~ ~: ,~ 6. 20. Pi~llll (IV. 1.• 9 )
melltiolll Bhavilli the wife of Bhava (i. e. Rudra). Why ~ Is called
~ i8 atated ill ~ chap. 82. 43 I ~\cn141tC4't1~ql: ~ fiI':¢tt'' ' ' ' '
..aftlllft~ ~ m mq.n~ 1\ '
II. D. "
186 Hi,<llory of Dharmasasfra [ Sec. I, Ch, IX

coins supply some firm data about the antiquity of the Dtuga
cult. In the Raghuvalilsa chap. II a lion is said to have been
appointed a guard to protect a rlaat/uru (pine) tree planted by
ParvatI. P1irvatl is called Gauri in Raghu. D. 26 and in Kumara-
sambhava. VlI. 95 and Bhaviini in Kumarao (VII. 84), Cal)~l in
Meghadtlta (1. 33). Similarly, in the Kumarasambhava the
Ardhaniirisvara form of Siva is mentioned. 479 The matrs are
referred to in the same work (VlI. 30, 38) and also Kiilr with
skulls as ornaments (ibid. VII. 39). In the Malati-miidhava
(Act V) the offering of human victims to Camul1~la in the city of
Padmiivati is mentioned. In the Mrcchakatika VI. 27 the
legend of the killing of Sumbha and Nisumhha hy Durgii occurs.
If we hold that Kalidiisa flourished between 350-450 A D., the
above evidence makes it quito prohable that the worship of
Durga may go back some centuries before 300 A. D. The evid-
ence of coins londs support to this conclusion. A 8ilillial'?i/tini
goddess is seen on the reverse of the coins of Candra6'11pta I of
tho Gupta4BO dynasty (about 305-325 A. D.) .. On a coin of the late
Kusiina king Kaneshko the reverse shows the figure of a goddess
with a lun~r crescent seated 'full face on a lion crouching left
and the godddess appears to have a noose and sceptre.481 The
lion as vehicle and the noose indicate that the goddess should be
Durgii and not Laksmi. This would take us to the first or 2nd
century A. D.
Why two Navariitras were recognized (in Caitra and
.Asvina) is a matter of conjecture. It is possible that these
two ptljas arose from the fact that spring crops and autumn
crops beoame ready at these two times. The worship of Durga
was very much influenced by Sakta doctrines and practices.
Ghosh in his work on 'Durgapllj.i' (p. XVI ff.) tries to establish
that the Vedic idea of Dawn (U sas) spreading over the sky was
changed by the PurilI)aS and Tantras into the terrific goddess
Durga. I am not propared to accept this oxplanation at all,
as the links betweon the Vedic goddess Dawn and the terrible
goddess of the Kiilikii-purana are altogether wanting and as
thero is a gap of many centuries between the disappearance of
U sas from the ancient pantheon and popular worship and the
emergence of Durg'l. There may be some astrological conneo-
-----.~ ~ -'---~'-----------

479. (I'1I'T i! ~r{m'{h:ll1m Q''AfT<W<f[: ~'1:I"';:jIRI'>iijq I ~~Oli!f VII. 28.

480. Vide • Gupta gold coins of the Bayana Hoa.rd· by Dr. A. S.
Alteka.r pp. XLIV-V and Allan's catalogue of Gupta coins LXXXIII.
481. Vide J. A. S. B. for 1933 (Numismatic Supplement) pp. 7-8.
 Durgotsaca 187

tion between Durga ( Virgo) riding a lion (Leo). But this also
cannot be clearly made out.
In the Indian Historical Quarterly vol. 21 (pp. 227-231 )
Mr. N. G. Banerjee refers to the Durgotsava-paddhati of Udaya-
sirnha which begins with the Mah5.navami and a sankalpa for
victory and ends with the description of horses marching on
dasami to victory and avers that this work indicates that
Durg5.pllj5. was originally a military rite and was later on trans-
formed into a religious festival. He relies upon the description
in the Raghuvall1sa (IV. 24-25) how the advent of Sarad
( autumn) season impelled Raglm to march on an invasion and
to perform the santi rite for horses called ASvanir5.jana and also
on the Brhatsarilhita. chap. 44 (Kern's ed.) where occurs an
elaborate description of the njriijana of horses, elephants and
fighters on the 8th, 12th, or 15th of the bright half of Asvina or
Kartika. There are serious ohjections against accepting this
theory. It is not unknown that unconnected celelJrations may
be joined together on the same tithi or tithis. 1<'or example, in
many parts of North India the Ramalila festival for ten days is
associated with N avariitra days. But N avaratra and Ramalila
are independent of each other and in some parts even of North
India, only one or the other is popular and celebrated and not
both. There is nothing improbable in there heing two occasions
for nlrajana, one in Durgotsava and another on the occasion of
a king's march on an invasion. Besides, a work of the 15th
century can hardly be relied upon as evidence for explaining
the origin of a festival that was in vogue for about a thousand
years at least before that work. Moreover, if it was the usage
. to celebrate the marching on an invasion in Asvina with
nlrajana (lustration), that rite might have been borrowed from
that in Durgotsava by analogy instead of the utsava having
adopted the military usage. The Kalikii-purana which describes
at length Durgotsava also speaks of the nlr5.jana in Asvina-
sukla on the 8th and the worship of a noble handsome horse for
seven days with sandalwood paste, flowers &c. and requires the
observation of the horse's movements for drawing prognostica-
tions (chap. 88.15-75). There is nothing to show that the details
of Durgotsava described in the Kalika and other pura~as did not
exist in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries A. D. when Kiilidiisa and
Varahamihira flourished and mentioned the lustration of horses.
The theory of Mr. N. G. Banerjee appears to be unwarranted
by the evidence 80 far available and cannot be accepted.
 Cl-JAPTER X

Vijayadasami and Diva~i

The 10th tithi of Asvina-sukla is called Vijaya-dasamI.

It is elaborately described in Hemadri (on vrata, vol, 1. pp.
970-973), Nir:Qayasindhu (pp, 69-70), Puru!?artha-cintiimaIfi (pp.
145- 148), Vrataraja (pp. 359-361) and Kalatattva-vivecana (pp,
309-312), Dharmasindhu (p, 96), As Dasami (10th tithi) is not
mentioned in the YU(jma'l;(lkya the Kalanirnaya relies on a verse
that in the bright half that tithi which exists at sunrise
should be accepted for performance of rites and in the dark half
the one that exists at sunset,482 Hemadri proposed (on vrata vol, 1.
p. 973) two simple rules (when 10th is vidclhu.} that that tithi on
which Srava1!a-nak!?atra exists should be accepted and in all
other cases 10th mixed with 9th be accepted. But the other
digests introduce many other considerations and complicated
rules follow. A few of them are given below, If the 10th
tithi is mixed up with 9th and 11th, the day on which it is
mixed with 9th should be accepted provided there is no Srava:t;la-
nak!?atra on the next. The Skanda says; Aparajita-devi should
be worshipped by men on the 10th towards the north-east and
in the afternoon, when the 10th is mixed with 9th. Aparajitii
should be worshipped on that day for welfare and victory.
Another verse 482a is 'A person should offeL worship on the 10th
tithi in Asvina bright half and should not perform the worship
of Aparajita on Ekadasl.' It must be remembered that the
proper time for Vijaya-dasamI rites is aparah!}.a (afternoon) and
prado~a 4821> is gau1!akala (secondary time). If 10th extends over
aparah!}.a on two days, the first (i, e, 10th mixed with 9th) should
be accepted. If the 10th exists at prado~a time (but not at
aparah:Qa) on two days , then the later (viz. 10th mixed with 11th)
should be accepted; Srava!}.a is not decisive just as Rohi!}.! in

482 , am ~ l'Iliu~: I ~~ fciiinr'mr ~Tl'I~~~ ~iil : I 'ii1l'OfQ"~ fih'q·

• <aQI'H:i1I1'1(1) m: I J<'fi{ I ·"ffi1I.~~:;l(<i1~~I'<i1: q~~ I~'H ~ I
q;r. A. pp, 231-233.
482 a, sm~ ~ 1I ~ ~...{: I Q''II'~ Of~ t:;r.r '<IIQ(IM<'II( II
~. (on a1l vol. I p, 973 ) quoting ~\IUlflt!'4Q, f'\'. ffi, p , 189.
482 b, ~<Ir~<fl'<lt fif~~: I ~~ p, 9.
 T7ijayadasami 189
Janma$~amI is not. If on both days the tenth tithi does not exist
at the time of aparahna then the first (10th mixed with 9th) is to be
accepted; but in this case if on the 2nd day SravaI.la-nak$atra
exists at the time of aparahI_la then the latter (10th mixed with
11th) is to be accepted. These are the conclusions of N. S. The
P. O. (p. 14.8) disputes the last proposition. Hemadri and follow-
ing him NirIlayasindhu (p. 189) quote Kasyapa 483 to the follow-
ing effect: 'if dasamI exists for some time at sunrise and if
there is then ekadasI for the rest of that day and there is
Sravana-nak!?atra at aparahI_la on that day, that tithi is called
Vijaya; since Riima started on his invasio n (against Riivana) on
Sravana-naksatra, men should celebrate the crossing of the
limits of their village on that day and naksatra '. The Nir naya-
sindhu and other works quote a verse4S1 'That time (on 10th tithi
in Asvina) which is slightly later than evening twilight and when
the stars have just begun to appear is to be known as Vijaya
and tends to the success of all undertakings.' Bhrgu says' the 485
11th muhurta (on a day of 15 mUhurtas) is called Vijaya; all
desirous of victory should march out at that time.' These verses
explain why this tithi is called Vijaya-daSamI. These two verses
show that the time called Vijaya is of two kinds.
The Vijayii.dasaml is one of the three most auspicious day~
in the year (the other two being Oaitra-sukla first tithi and
Ka.rtika-sukla 1st). Therefore in India children begin to
learn the alphabet on this day (i. e. perform Sarasvatipujana),
people start new undertakings on this day, even when the moon
and the like are not astrologically favourable 486 and if the

483 . . ~ q;~(f;:{ I ~ croJfl fcI1R1'fI"'idj~r SJ:RI7T~ qr ~ m

lI'f.f I
~'1N1 I SJ:RI7T~ i1 rrvrfqt ~~~: ~~m{T 1f<I: I ~~: ~~ m~ll
mI) om: II ~. (on ao) vol. I p 973, r.r. m.p . 189. The 5th, 10th and 15th
tithis are called 'Ion; vide note 176 above,

484. ~~. <mq: 1 ~"'<ftHql¥1rn~: ~li?i;''''I'if\: I ~ ifTJf

~s1i ~<rT~ I f.t f{;. p. 189, ~. if. p. 69; R."'I¥1 U IIClN I am~
~ Q'~ cro~ m~ I ~ q;rffi ~~ ~: ~~~ II ~. if. p. 69.
485. q;nmiT 5~ ~<r: ..ronl'fiffl: I "'~ ~<rT <mit ~­
!Ii~lll: II ~ q. by~. i{ . p. ~9. The 11th ~ would ordinarily be 21st and
8f
22nd ~s from sunrise.
486. 31. tjj . qj'Q if\;{h'ar ~~ ~1f.rr~~l{l~Cqaaq,," I ~~
~~1'tIf~fijdlf.l i1 ~-~~CfT1lrn~"'tf.I ";i §<1m:
I ~~ p . 96-97;
~mf f{m if~ ~r §'Ii~ m~fr ~r ' '1<fUT~<I'r -wm §1l1c1T
~ 'Til ~ II tl>1"Y'iI'd 1¥1 fiJI II XI. 74 .
192 History of Dharma8astra [ Sec. I, Ch. X

late medieval works add some verses about Sam! and other
details.492 'Sam! destroys sin, BamY has reddish thorns, it held
(concealed) the arrows of Arjuna and it appealed lovingly to
Rama. 0 Sami worshipped by Riima I May you remove obstacles
on the march that I am to undertake according to my convenience
and ease '. If a Saml tree is not available, then the asmantaka
tree 493 should be worshipped with a mantra (given in note below).
Taking up a little wet clay from the root of the SamI tree
together with alcllatas one should bring it to one's house to the
accompaniment of songs and loud instrumental music; then the
person should wear new apparel and ornaments along with his
relatives and lights should be waved before him as an auspicious
rite by chaste young women. 494
In modern times on VijayadasamI there ii; samlpujii in
many parts of India. But saml is a rare tree. In Mah5.ra~~ra
and Konkal,1a, twigs of a tree called Ap~a are brought from the
forest and arranged in the form of a bush near a temple and in
the afternoon the people of a town or village engage in a sort of
mock scramble for taking away twigs of Ap~a and distribute the
leaves among their neighbours, friends and relatives saying 'take
this gold '. In Saurii.s~ra and in several other places there is no
such distribution of leaves. The Dharmasindhu notes that common
people (in M ahara~~ra) cut off twigs of saml and take them to
their houses but that this has no sastra basis.495 In some places
a he-buffalo or a goat was formerly sacrificed on this day. In
the former princely States of India such as Baroda and Mysore

492 . <I'm >l'fcirit I ¢Ie ~ tnq ~Jfi ~~r I 1:7rRoq~","ul.,i ~?4

fillfllli<t~ I cn~II1i~f1rt ?4'I.Tfcnn;5 tl,\lf wn 1 (fSf fi1I'iW<n:ff «t >l'!f ~~~ 1
~ I fi1I. m. m.
p. 190 , ll. fif· p. 147,1:7 p . 96. In ~ chap. 5 it is stated
that when tbe Pal)- c! avas resolved to remain incognito {or a year In the
capital of Vira~a tbey concealed their arms (such as the famous Gal)-diva
bow and swords) on a big, sami tree growing on a hill near a cemetery.
' &'I.Tf'~~II~~!§M ~~ ~N~: I ~I'!t ~ <ih: ~ A~I1' ~
5. 28 . It is also supposed th at Rama started on bis invasion of Lakni on
the tentb litbi when tbere was s raval)-a nak~atra .
493 . ~ il1!'ltlll il1!'Tif(qr~ ( ir'!'IOfi '1f~ ~ ~art '" ~t{ 1
~ ~ I 1iI1fm~ P. 96, ll. R. p. 147.
494 . ~m ~11Il<rn:miT ~Jfi~ 1l'R I 1T'hf'fTftt'Jf~~rOf~ ~ I
m ~~ 'Im~: m I ;fRF'~: ~rr~.mtN: W'~ ( ffl. m.
p. 190, i. fif· 14 7, ~~ 96.
495. ~r:~rorri~u~lf~I~46.
 Vijayadaiami

durbars were held on Vijayiidasami (or Dasara, as it is called) and

acrand processions with richly caparisoned elephants and pranc-
ing horses were taken out on the streets of the capital The
kings in ancient and medieval times performed the Nlrajana
oeremony of horses and elephants, soldiers and the king himself.
Klilidasa mentions that when sarad came Raghu performed the
santi rite called vajiniriijana (Raghuvamsa IV. 2~-25). In his
B~hatsamhita (chap. 44. ed by Kern) Varaha describes at length
lustration rites for horses, elephants and men The Nirnaya-
sindhu sets out the mantras at the time of nlrajana of the army
•0 goddess, ruling over gods' may my army divided into four
sections (elephants, chariots, horsemen and foot-soldiers) attain
to the position of having no enemy left in this world and may
victory come to me everywhere through your favour.' The Tithi-
tattva provides that the king after performing nirajana for vigour
to his army should see the fine khaffjana bird in the vicinity of
water or cowpens and address it with the mantra 4% • 0 khaiija.-
rI1>abird I you have come to the earth, you have a blue and auspi-
cious neck and you bestow all desires; salutation to you" The
Tithitattva then (p. 103) descants upon the conclusions about the
future to be drawn from the several places where the khaiijarl~a
(wagtail) is seen'and from the direc~ions in which it is seen.
The B~hatsamhita has a chapter (45) on the auguries to be drawn
from the sight of the khafijana bird, almost the whole of which
is quoted by the Krtyaratnakara (pp. 366-373) and a few verses
of which are t}uoted by Var$akriyakaumudI pp. 450-51. In
Manu V. 14 and Yaj. 1. 174 among the birds whose flesh is for-
bidden for eating is khafijari~a (probably because it was such a
valuable bird for prognostications).
In some parts of Northern India Ramailia celebrations go
on fpr ten days and culminate on the lOth of Asvina in the
burning of a tall hollow paper and wickerwork structure conceal-
ing crackers representing RciVaI}a and his hosts.
There are several other local customs and .usages such a.
worship of weapons of war and implements of one's trade or
avocaUon associated with Dasara or Vijayadasaml which are
passed over here for reasons of space. •

496. pn';f~ mil 1II(lS~ ~ I ~)l1ct ~'r-f ~~ltttm;"~ I

a
~lf 8~ fI.i.fiI+N, t?.:r.t I 'll'iieq l¥l""luifm \<r'llRI~ <!iI~ 1 fit. ~. p. 10',
~. ftr. 190 ( first verse) , 11'. ~. ~. p. 450 (quotes from ~"ffi,q q"(Q" the vera.
~etc.) .

B.D. 25
.194 History of Dharmaslistra l Seo. I, Ch. X
There are many conjectures about the origin of the
Dasara festival. Some, relying on the usages of some parts of
lndia to offer to gods ears of new corn, of hanging on the
doors of the house the ears of green or unripe paddy and of
putting in the turban young sprouts of wheat and the like, hold
that it is more or less an agricultural festival. Others hold
that as, about Dasar'il monsoon rains stop, swollen rivers abate
and crops are near being garnered, it is the most suitable
time for marching on an expedition and that therefore the
origin is due to military exigencies. I incline to the latter
view. In ancient countries other than India, there was a fixed
ieason when kings went to battle. For example, we read in
II Sa-muel chap. 11. 1 'And it came to pass, after the year was
expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that, David
i ent Joab.' The cult of Saml is very ancient. Two logs of wood
( ara1J.is ) from an Asvattha tree growing inside a Sam! were
employed in producing fire by attrition for Vedic sacrifices.
Fire symbolizes vigour and valour and logs of Saml are helpful
in producing fire and samI wood is very hard. In the Atharva-
veda (VII. 11.1) we have the words 'the Asvattha tree rides
Saml '. The Tai. Br. 1. 2. 1. 16 refers to Agni being produced
from Asvattha that is 'Samigarbha ' and Tai. Br. I. 2. 1. 7 c()n-
nects SamI with santi (the removal of adverse signs). In the
Tai. A. (VI. 9.2.) we read '0 Samll remove from us (destroy)
sins and enmities' (samI samayasmad-agha dvesamsi). It had
l ome affinity with N avariitra also, as the latter celebrates the
military exploit of DevI against Mahif;l asura, and was therefore
oelebrated immediately after N avaratra. The word' Dasarli • is
derived from ' dasa • meaning 10 and' ahan' (a day).

Diva?i: 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 age to age and from province to province. It ii
not a single festival in honour of a single god or goddess as the
Krf;l:r;J.ajanma13~aml or the Navara.tra is. It is spread over four or
five days and contains several independent items. The daya of
Dlpaval! properly so called are three. It is called DlpavalI (row
of lamps) in many works, but also DIpalika. (in colophon to
ohap. 140 of Bhavil?yottara). When emphasis is laid only on
one item in this festival of several days it is also designated
'S ukharatrl in RijamartaJ:)g.a (verses 1346-1348, vide ABORI vo13?
 195
p. 329) and in Kalaviveka (pp. 232,403-4), Yak~aratrj'I Q7 in VMsya-
yana's K~masi'itra, SUkhasuptika (in Vrataprakasa, folio 204 and
Hemadri on Vrata vol. II. pp. 348-349). In a scholarly paper
contributed to the Journal of the Ganganath Jhalnstitute (vol. Ill.
pp. 205-216) Prof. P. K. Gode traces the antiquity of this festival .
The Bhavisyottara contains a charming verse with a double
entendre 498 'May this auspicious day of lights remove your sins
like RamayaI;la in which the thunder of clouds is stopped (or in
which Meghanada i. e. Indrajit, son of Ravat,la, is described as
killed), in which the tips of wicks are burning ( or in which
Ravana became infuriated) and in which young women find
delight (or with which Rama is pleased). Some works like the
N. S. and Kalatattvavivecana (p. 315) hold that the three days
viz. 14th, amaviisya and Kartika first, constitute the Kaumud!
festival. 499
Taken all in all DipavalI spreads over about five days. The
whole festival comprises five principal items spread over five
days, viz. worship of wealth, the celebration of Vi~:t;Ju's victory
over Narakii sura, worship of LaksmI, victory of Vi~t;lu over Bali
and dice-play and the exchange of brotherly and sisterly
affection. There are illuminations and the discharge of crackers
on almost all the five days from the 13th of the dark half of
Asvina. This last is called in Gujarat and Saura~tra 'Dhantera!!'.
Before and on this day houses are painted and decorated, the
courtyards of houses are cleaned, and metal vessels are polished
and illuminations begin. The Padmapurana VI. 124. 4 refers
to illuminations on the 13th of the dark half of Kii rtika (by the
piirt,limanta reckoning). Skanda quoted by Nirt;layamrta providel
for lighting lamps at the adven.t of night on Kiirtika dark
497 . 1J~ along with ~~ and otbers is included among 'port s'
(mr:) that are to be engaged in by several people , The commentary ~~r
on '"~ (I . 4.42) calls it ~iSr and explains' n IIflml ~ vtmfun '.
The~(p.451)and!!fir.",fit, (p , 319) quote a verse; smm qr
mr'l ~u~m '<ffl~~11 i..,.rI1JT ~r ~..nr~tIl tl~~T~~" ..firr !l"'<fWl'1(l.. Here
~ on W'fr<fRtIl is called ~TT~r.
498 , ",q~Ir;r"'&l1iIi11~ 1l"~®"'cHni1'; ~~ I u;rr1JOT~ tll{ir ~"
~ '" Jfut~ II ~ 140. 71. The first half contain. three pbr8le.
applicable both to C{~" and UifI1lVf.~: ~tflOlt Wl11fI: 1J~ (with
if"rlf~), ~Imf: ~~: ~~ (wilh ~); II~ ~ <{f!rofr-rl
~~:mrnVr ~ (witb~). ~: C{~: m'UT: ~ (with
mIT1JOT), Uim: um: ~: 1JT1;!~ ( with C{1lfT'1JiJ), mnr:
UR: l1if (with UJI'T11UT),
499 r"'lm" ... aq~<lIr;r;JI(I1ifiil'Qlq(il1 ~ ~ Im"'~ ~ ~ ~ I
!!jil(F(i(IJII +Ot'l'lll ~~~ I "1(1C:w~nl q. by fitr.~. p.197. 1fiT. n. R.
JI. 31S, ~ p. S65,
1t6 History of Dharma$7istra { Sec. I, Ch. X

13th outside the house in honour of Yarna in order to a.vojd

accidental death. soo
The Bhavisyottara contains a lengthy description of the
four days of the Divap festival from the 14th. I shall take
that chapter as basis and add , where necessary, other passagea
from other texts.
On the 14th of the dark half of Asvina SOl (or of Kiirtika in
the pGrl1imanta reckoning) perSOIlS afraid of Hell should take an
oil bath at the time of daybreak, should whirl over their head.
the twigs of Aplmarga tree together with clods of ploughed land
and the thorns (of the twigs). The mantra to be repeated is noted
below.so2 Then the purii.na provides for tarpaJ;la ( satiation with
anjalis of water &c. mixed with sesame ) to Yama and mentions
seven names of Yama.S03 Then the pural1a provides that a lamp
should be lit for Naraka (i. e. for the avoidance of Naraka) and
that in the evening illumination with charming lamps should be
provided in the temples of Brahma, Visnu, Siva and others, in
mathas (monastories), in rooms for implements, on caitYas
(mounds on which sacred trees grow), in assembly halls, on
rivers, and ramparts, in parks, wells, principal roads and in the
women's apartments, in shrines of siddhas, Arhats (Jaina saints),
Buddha, CamuI;l~a, Bhairava, in isolated stables for horses and
elephants (verses 15-17). Other texts provide that on this day

500 . tfiTffl~rffiit qlit ~~~ ~1'5~ I <I'~r<t ~1D1C;Q ~(!!f<i "'l!ql'd I

JI~-~"" ~<I't ~ :rll'rwn ~" I ~~ Cf'hlqlm~: lfr<m iritfit I

~ q . in f.\'. m.
p . 196 frOID f;Johrrlla . T hese ve rses occur in ~ VI. 124.
4- 5 with some variations. 'fif. l'I' ~ . p. 323 quotes these two,
.501. m~ ii«1Jf~ ':q' ':q'ijif~~ &;frq~ I sm<rRlf <n<lo'ii~;i wrofilf.~fif: II
-.n~~ 140.7; R. m· (p. 196) reads ~·ir.iTCf'lr and explains' ....:
'I'Plf: '. ~ VI. 124. 6. reads ~"iCf~ fo r ~q1t . If· m;. ~ . p. 459 quotes it
from fillv~'1Jf .
502. ~ QIQ~ql'II'1 tl~: !!;r: !!;r: I ~ iiii~ ':q'rN ~ ~: I
~"'~ m'R +fI'I ~ I ~~ 140.9. ~ (literally, that washes
away or removes) is a plant called Achyranthis Aspera (in Marathi smmn)
used in incantations , medicine etc. It is frequently mentioned in ~ IV.
17,6- 8, IV. 18. 7-8, VII. 6.5. 1-2; vide also~ . ~. 35. 11 ~ fifif@l"lwt-
'Iil'l11flit ~: I ~ (!f~q ~ ~lf II
.503 . The names are differently quoted by +l'lf. ql. 296 from W:.lfl'!I a.
'II'+fT"I' ~J"OI'Tlr ~ ~1fiT<r ';f I ~~r<r Ifi~r<r ~~~r<r • I ~1f
COlT'I' ~ lf~fB'~ I ~''q' Am<r m!!m<l'
~ ~: II " These are quoted by
m.
It. ftf;. lfit p. 459 , f.\'. p. 199. These are tm VI. 124. 13- 14. It may be
Doted that these are 14 nalIles of ~ corresponding to the tith! belDg
14th. The verse ~f1l "· IIf<l'r<r. Is~. 140. 10. The verae. meD tio.
Jling 14 Dames of <1'''' are quoted by t . (on iffl vol. II p. 352 ).
 in the midst of the bath one should whirl over one's body twig!!
and leaves of apamarga or of gourd or of prapunnMa (called
Ta.lqa in Marathi) for the removal of hell and that one should
light a lamp with four wicks in memory of N arakasura. It was
believed50l that LaksmI came to dwell in oil and the Ganges
came to all waters on the 14th in Dipavali and he who would
take an oil bath on this morning would not see the world of
Yama. In modern times, people in the Deccan after their bath
on 14th crush under their foot a bitter fruit called Karit, which
probably represents N arakiisura. The oil bath was to be taken
about the time of aru~odaya, but if for some reason it could not
be done then it may be taken even after sunrise.5Os The
Dharmasindhu says that even Yatis (ascetics) should undergo the
oil bath on this day. It appears probable that originally the
14th was called Narakacaturdasi because Yama was to be
propitiated for fear of Hell. Later on the legend about the
killing by Krs~a of N arakasura, king of Pragjyoti~a city
(Kiimarllpa), said to have been born of the Earth when it came in
contact with the Varaha incarnation of Vi!;l:t;lu, was pressed into
service. People now-adays remember only Narakasura on this
day and hardly anyone performs Yamatarpana. 506 The depreda-
tions of Narakasura are narrated in the Vis~upuraI;la V. 29 and
in the Bhagavata X. (uttarardha) chap. 59. He deprived Aditi,
the mother of gods, of her ear ornaments, VaruJ;la of his umbrella,
Mandara of a peak called Mal)iparvata and kidnapped 16100
girls of gods, siddhas and kings and imprisoned them in hi!!
palace. S07 Krsna killed him and if Pural)8 descriptions are to be
treated as historical Krsl)a's actions were prompted by great pity

504. ~ ~~~ ~ it~~ I lfTl'I':Vl;f iJ If: !!i4itl"'C?l~"

~" Q1If VI. 124. q. by f.f. ~. p. 127. by 1. N. pp. 242-243 (from
IIISI'!IUOI'); ~ ... cilq'I!I(;1fntrt ~ I ~,~~~,~." ..."(tt II "'"~­
~ q. by lfiT. iI'. fifo p. 315.
505. ~~ ,!~i'iiq,~""tt I it;Ofr.... ,..M~~sf~
'l{'ii• .,)"H"~:~: '1· R. p 241; vide ~~ p. 104 for the same.
506. The ~ is to be In the {arm 'If''fflj' WfI:f: If;i ~ , and tben
torning to the south one offers three arljal is of water mi:l:ed with S8aarne
with the sacred cord in the savya or apasavya form according as the
person'. father is living or is de&d.

507. ~'ll~~'R~~I ••. t!'-fil~~:~'fmi~­

flit I ~rw iif~~~ ~ \Pi,,: I ,,1Emi~.vt ~ mS~1 ~
W ~ ~ ~lf": n ~uvt V. 29. 1.5-18. The ~ X. $P. H
Itates th.t the women were 16000. .;..
198 History of Dharmafllstra [ Seo. 1, Ch. X

and he raised the sta.tU! of these unfortunate women by marry·

ing them all.
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 Nirnayfimrta and
recommends that this should be followed. 50S
Several works such as the Var~akriya-kaumudi and the
Dharm asindhu prescribe that S09 on the evenings of the 14th of
t,be dark half and amava.sya of Asvina men with firebrands in
t.h eir hands should show the way to their pitrs (deceased
ancestors) with the mantra 'May those men in my family who
were cremated and those who had no cremation performed for
them and those that were burnt only by resplendent fire (without
religious rites ?), reach the highest state (or goal); may those
(pitrs) who, leaving the world of Yama, came for the Mah7llaya
irilrldhas (in the dark half of Bhadrapada or Asvina · acc. to
piirl.limanta reckoning) find their way by the brilliant light (of
the firebrands) and reach (their own worlds).
The medieval texts prescribe on 14th of Asvina S10 dark
half the performance of the following acts, viz. oil bath, tarpapa
of Yama, lighting lamp for Naraka, illuminations at night,
holding firebrands, worship of Siva, worship of Mahii r~tri, taking
food at night only. Out of these only three (viz. oil bath,
lighting a lamp for N araka and night illumination) are
now-adays generally performed and the rest are omitted. After
the bath people put on new clothes and ornaments and take a
repast of sweets and the like and in the noon there is 8
sumptous feast. There is a good deal of discussion in the
N irI?ayasindhu (p. 197), P. C. (p. 241), Dharmasindhu (p. 104)
about the time when oil bath is to be taken, if the 14th is mixed
up with tbe 13tb and amavasya. That is passed over bere.

SOB. 3l<lI'<lI<I!IIdJ~ I~II,*,~"If~ I ~~~I ~ ~ .

!I1wfi ... ~ ~ ~~ film II iifTiI<f"" p. 124 and ~ pp. 4.50-451.
. 509. ~ ~ sr.AA ~: I '3&'*'111 «11 om: ~: ~ ~-
~1i::11 ~1~1 ~4f~~I~:~ m:l 1 ;a'n~.lf~
11PlI Q'(ll't ~ II ~ q~flWl 3l11m ~ ~ J ~M"tfrTh,,, ~ ~""r
~"It 1'(. ~. !fif. p. 47 0-471 . \T. flr. 104-105, 11. Rr. p. 253, ~.~. p. 11 7 .
( first verse only); '111' means 14 th IIthl here.
~10. ...ti~l!ql+l.q'~ I "q+lM~Uj~-""' .. frqqioi\"lql"-~~ '
i~ ~ Ill. ""· p. 243 . ..
 199
N arakaoaturdast is also called BhUtacaturdasl in K~tyatattva.
(p. 450).
On all the three days, viz. 14th of dark half of Asvina, am!i.-
viisya, and the first of Kartika-sukla an oil bath in the morning is
prescribed for him who desires wealth and prosperity.
Asvina amaviisyil. is a very important day. One should
take an oil bath in the morning Sll and perform the worship of
Laksml for the removal of alakt!mi (bad luck, penury). Some
texts add that the barks of five trees 512 should be boiled in
water for the bath and the person should have lights waved
befoN him by women. The Bhavif?yottara (in chap. 140, verses
14-29) describes the celebrations on amavasya at some length.
Briefly it comes to this. In the morning one should take (an
oil) bath, worship gods and pitrs and perform the parvaJ;la
sraddha with curds, milk, ghee and feed brahma~ as with various
edibles. Then in the afternoon the king should proclaim in his
capital 'today is the sovereignty of Bali; 0 people I enjoy
yourselves '. People also in their houses should make merry with
dance and music, should offer tii.mbli.la to each other and anoint
their bodies with saffron powder, dress themselves in silken
robes and wear gold and jewels, young women move about in
groups wearing brilliant clothes, the houses should be full of
rows of lamps, handsome maidens should cast rice grains about
and the waving of lamps ( nIrii.jana) should be resorted to which
confers victory. Towards midnight the king should move about
in the capital on foot to see the fun and charm of the festival
and then return to his palace. When midnight is past and
people's eyes are heavy with approaching sleep, the women in
the city should create great noise by beating winnowing basketi
and drums and should drive out aZaktimi (ill luck) from the court-
yards of their houses. Hemadri ( on nata vol. II. pp. 348-349 )
quotes from Bhavif?ya certain additional items : 'no one except
children or ailing persons should take a meal by day, one should
worship Lakf?ml in the evening and should illuminate with
treelike rows of lights shrines of gods, squares where four roads
meet, cemeteries, rivers, mountains. houses, bottoms of trees,
cowpens, caves. They should decorate shops where merchandise
is bought and sold with white cloth and flowers, then feed

. 511 . "Wt .. crif"Ifi1_.m~l~~ro~~ ~1

"i'q~ictu q. by i. ~. p. 241; f.t m . p. 199 has the first half.
.51~ . The,Ave treel are ~~, ~, W, -mf, .....
 wo History of DharmaS'iistra [ Sec. I, Oh. X

br!i.hmat:las and hungry persons in places surrounded by lamps and

take dinner dressed in white garments and decked with ornaments-
The NIlamata-puriiJ;la calls this amiiviisya night' Sukb-suptika •
and describes it (verses 505-510) in the same way as Hemadri's
Quotation does.513 In Bengal Kall is worshipped on this day,
who it is said is both Laksmi and SarasvatI. In modern times
this is a day specially for merchants and traders. On this day
they worship their books of account, invite friends, customers
and other traders and give them tambula and some sweets. Old
accounts are closed and new ones opened. There is a popular
legend that Brahma gave to brahmaI?as rala{abandhana ( Sravana
Full Moon day) as their festival, Dasara to ksatriyas, DivalI t()
traders and Holika to Sudras. The night of the worship of
Laksm1 514 is called Sukharatri, since Laksmi gives up her sleep
on the amiivasya when the sun is in Libra ( or Balance) and it is
provided in some works that at the dawn of Sukharatri when the
house is illuminated by lamps one should honour one's relatives
with words of complimentary queries and worship Laksmi, that
removes the taint of ill luck, with auspicious flowers, sandal-
wood paste, curds, yellow pigment and fruits. The K~tyatattva
quotes a verse" when there is 14th tithi in a portion of the day
and there is amavasya on the night of that day LaksmI
should be worshipped and (that night) should be known as
Sukbariitrika" and then gives an elaborate procedure of the
worship of LaksmI. Some works such as the Varsakriya-
kaumudr, Krtyatattva (p. 452) and Dharmasindhu (p. 107)

nrern
513. fI'UT qil'r 1I 'lianrr '6W«~ I q~ >:fur ~ flur iI tTq'fI: ~ I
~trt fifqr"", ~ ~~ R"'ff I ~~'ltm Frlrm 'Ii(ljiijun~ I '(Ilf'illl'r·
\ffiIT ~ ~>:f"~~ ~ 1···<t"'l~f1ffi~ ~ ffif"I""~~ I ~~6iI' l{~ ~
'"'1tTmf( I t!lfI~~: ~,q ~[l{6iI'r~~rrRri~: II ;f~rur 505-510 page 42.
'Ii~r appears to mean here image of ~~r made with dried cowdung cakes.
Vide the l'l<;f used in the worship of ~.{r viz. ~ ~r r.t~1!!'t
....
~~lt «~~~mtl'~11 q . by q. nt. 'f1'1. p. 476. The
if
If. f.t;. p . 468 quotes a passage from the JII'j;f~Of which is similar to the
Doe cited above from Bhavj~ya by Hemadri a nd explains FJlT~ as the
room where the ploughshare and other implements are kept.

514. Vide Gupte's • Hindu holidays and ceremonies' pp. 3.5-36 and
Underhill p. 63. ~nr ;{'(lIiltlf: I 3mr"'~ ~q ~~~:qt r,m'j)rn I ,,~U
WCIT~G\!!l~~lqll'lU 'i~;f;I"·&'I.l~"'t<~~~~~~~~~: I
~ ~~ I 310f f.f~ 3~:~ri I ~~:!fir& ~(q(#~~ I \J§~:
~~~: I ~~~SJ.l IfNr !P'II~ql..J4i( I ~ flUr ~~fl'l.
~ilWilijl.n~, 1'IiT. ~. pp. 403-404. The verse' 3ml'llWrt' is q . by •. Af.
~\ p.468 aDd two halves {rom the two verse.~: &c. on p. 469 from~ .
 biva?i-Balipralipadii ~o1

provides that on this Sukharatri not only Lak$mI but also

Kubera 515 is to be worshipped.
The first of Kartika-sukla is regarded BS one of the three
most auspicious days of the year. The Dharmasindhu 516
remarks that though the three days from the 14th tithi are
designated Djpavall yet that day which has Svati-naksatra is
most commended. It may be stated that Balipratipada. is often
conjoined to Svati-nak$atra. On this day also an oil bath is
obligatory. The most important item on this tithi is the
worship of Bali. The Bhavi$yottara (140.47-73) describes this
worship of Bali as follows: The king should at night draw the
figure of Bali having two arms on a circle made on the ground
with five coloured powders; the image should have all ornaments
and should have Vindhyavali (Bali's queen) near him, should
be surrounded by asuras like Kusmanda, Bana, Mura and others,
should wear a crown and ear ornaments; the king should himself
offer worship in the midst of his palace together with his brothers
and ministers with several kinds of lotuses and offer sandalwood
paste, incense and naiIJedya of food including wine and meat
and employ the following mantra 517 • salutation to you, 0 king
Bali, son of Virocana, enemy of gods and the future Indra,
accept this worship.' Having thus worshipped he should keep
awake at night by arranging for dramatic spectacles presented
by actors based on stories about k$atriyas. Ordinary people
also should establish inside their houses on a couch the image of
king Bali made with white rice grains and worship it with
flowers and fruits. Whatever gifts,518 large or small, are made

515. ~1~~%!'lf"T1l~~~~lq. fiI;.~. p. 469; 'p"~

~ it' ifl"it ~i\ ~jq In'lnfitT'if: ~ I ~!f p. 452.
516. "ij~l!tjtiil~"!IIitjq tilql'lrMt~~ 'Q 'inilti)('!ItRi"lII .. :qt.t~'H" ~1f
IIt't~ .. tlti,t .. : I ~~ p. 106.
517. The;rv:;r is : ~~ 'iI~ m~ 1Il{T I ~ ~ ~
1I~lltfill1il'<f~ 140.54, Q'1l VI. 134.53. In the Q'1I' the Jtnr is' ~ •••
l('Iq'''''''Mf!{' ~s;mm 1<i8~~'11~~~ ~ II' as q. by ~ p. 453,
m.
,'ii. 201. In the ilt~ I. 126. 25 it is said that Bali would be Indra
in tbe Savarl1'i-manvantara (8tb out of 14 ) .
.518. ~'!f~~~I1l1f.f~luql!i~"l,;j~~II
~tm~~~'~~~~sWffltti~l~
140.57 (first verse). The first is quoted by fwt. m.
p. 201 and the 2nd by
~ p. 453, tw. <t. p. 27.~. on ~ p. 616 quotes from ~ a similar
vene' ~ ... ",.tjq"f<iJi I qrur) fi {iPrr f.\tlt ~ q~'iifflil. ~
I. 18.21 hal the verse I'Itli'"ll twNR1t otc ..
B. D. 26
202 History of Dharmasastra l Sec. I, Ch, X
oli this day become inexhaustible and bring delight to Vi~I:lu.
The Krtyatattva (p. 453) provides .that three a1i,jalis of flowers
should be offered to Bali. The Bhavisyottara adds 'this tithi
increases the dominion of Bali; baths and gifts made on this
tithi in Kiirtika yield a hundredfold reward.'
If the pratipad iil mixed with amiivasyii or dvitiya, the
worship of Bali, the proper time of which is night, should be
performed on pratipad mixed with amavasya, since Hemadri
quotes from Padma 'Sivaratri and Bali's day should be observed
on the day when the tithi is mixed with the preceding tithi ' and
un account of the YIl(}rrtu-'l'ukya. Madhava also is of the same 519
opinion.
Bali was the son of Virocana and grandson of Prahlada, a
great devotee of VjsI;lU. In the Vanaparva (28. 2) Bali asks his
grandfather Prahla.da the question' which is better, lct/amli. (for-
bearance ) or teJas' (vigorous action). In the Santiparva 225. 13
it is said that Bali felt jealous of brahmaI:las. The story of Bali
who had become very powerful and made gods lose th eir tejas is
narrated in Brahmapurar:Ja 73, Kurma 1. 17, Vamana chap. 77
and 92, Matsya chap. 245-246 and Bhavisyottara 140. Bali
began an Asvamedha. VisI:lu assumed the form of a dwarf
brahmana student and begged for land that would be measured
by his three steps. Though warned by SUkra that the dwarf was
really ViSI;lU, Bali promised to give land equal to three steps.
Then the dwarf grew larger and larger and covered heaven and
earth in two steps. When Viimana asked Bali where to p1ant
the third step Bali told him to plant it on his back and thus Bali
was thrust into the nether regions. Vi~nu being 520 pleased with

.519 , -q'U'hnfq~,~m Ti~rmr !fi<tnr: I ~"'(ffi'~ ;!fiP'~ <fllr.I-

!1~tVr >rf.{u~rlt ':qtrQ'~: I ;U'if lWf:m tm'ITfcr<li 'lfilfi{rlt ~~ I ~ m
'!I!fiiril 'lI~ "'if ~I I ~ I 'Ij'~;q smron<f~ ~ Of ij 'lIi<mr., rrmfif ~I~­
~~'tif '!Iiffqcr: ~T~ ,!<'I'T~ ~\!f ltiI~1l.' ltiI. -p.,. p. 126. Tho
teference in th e words ~ o is to p. 123 (lIiT. tit,) wbere Madbavac arya quotes
a text tbat ~~ for a fast or vrata must be made in the morning thougll
just a t tbe tim e of ~ the titbi may be amavasya while tbe vrata is for
pratipad, which follows some time after, and quotes ~ in support' 111 ntitf
~I'{a~;u~ 'qf"iHi;"Tlfi~: I fflN: m ~ ~ ql.,"4jq"~~II' i;'1<t I ~
... r.m'll~~I~-~~~ 1Ifi;fu lflff ~ ~I'
ifiT. fifop. 123 .
.520 . ~ i1 ~1Cf!~ ~~: sIItf: ~~~ I ~~ • >rTiif ~
-p: I qr~ 73 . .54-.5"; ~ ~ tmmt ~ 1'I~1 ~ ~~ 1f1fT-
..,q~l(llq~1I1'1~ H6. 7' .
 Divll?i-Balipratipadli 203

Bali's adherence to his plighted word conferred on Bali th e

overlordship of plil.ala and the position of the future Indra. This
story is an anoient one. The Mahabhasya 521 on P al} ini III 1.
26 states that when a person recites the story of Bali's imprison-
ment (in patala by Visnu) or represents it on the stage people
use such phraseology as' Balim bandhayati' (he imprisons Bali).
ihough Bali was imprisoned a long time ago. This makes it
certain that the story was embodied in dram as and poems more
than two thousand years ago.

The Balipl'atipada appears to be called Virapratipada 522

in the Vamana-puraI;la. It is also called Dyutapratipad
(Krtyatatt va p.452). The pural}as 523 say that on that day
Siva was defeated in dice-play by P arvatT, that Sankara became
sad, while Gauri rema ined happy. Therefore, on this day in the
morning men should resort to gambling. Whoever succeeded
on this day in gambling would find that the whole year there-
after was beneficial to him but if he suffered defeat in gambling
that day he would lose his wealth that year. In Ellora cave No.
21 Sankara and P arvati are shown as playing with dice; vide
plate 38 in 'Ellora' by Ba1asaheb Pant-Pratinidhi of Aundh. In
many parts of India people engage on this day in gambling and
fortunes are often lost or made on this day. Even in a com-
paratively small country like Nepal gambling stakes soared up
to three million rupees in 1955 on the Balipratipad day.

.521 . On 'fT'fii<fi 6 of Iff. III. 1. 26 the ;JlPlfI~V says • <f;~~~ li;~

~ "'fi??1r~ ....~ ~ '; then on ~ 15. the ;J,"~I1I1f says'" II
<fiU Elmlfm'lt'IT '. Vide not e 330 for this sentence .• sr-srriit ~'lfiT 1 lfiqq:_ 1 it
~ mlif''fIfiT '"'~ 1«1f~ ~ t:H'IVT?! l«V~ "f 'f~ 'f01;ftJ;:ff1ffl1 ' . ~~IfiT:
means actors in a dramatic representation.

522 . lfTl1wt~(1it 'frn srrn RI~ '3CfRlI lfi~~ ~ ;,q lfI'{T ~,~: I
lrii <'tt ,,~~ am 'l'!T: ~T: I 111!q~ ~,.f~~vfi(f~: I q . by~. on
!fiT<') p. 617, "Ii, '{. p. 412, 1fiT. ". ~. p. 321 (with slight variations ). fit. 1'1.
p. 27. The printed ~ (chap. 92. 56- 57) reads • ~,,~ t'I'!T miff
~: I ... !!"q4iqIH;IZl., 'etc. It is likely that the true reading is ff'{ SlRJq;J
SlTtlf as in 1fiT. ('I. ~. p. 321 ( lfi'{ being addressed to ~) •

.5 23. lIfR'{TQT 11fiTT~ ~ ij ~ ~I m'll ~ ;;tV ~i{

... Iff~cii I mSlf oq:U 1:-00 m~ f;mj~\Cih~ I ~ '!" SIIfi<f"nj Slmit ~ ~: I

~ l1it;:;f'tll ~1f fR1l ~: ~~: I: qmrV! ~~"" (lJ'N,",l~1fiU ~"<l: 1 q. by

~. (on ~ p. 616), 'J'~' p. 411-12. l~. Tij. P. 202 (from ~;niir ), fit. tI'.
p. 27: vide ~~ I . 1 • .34 for dice plaS between fW.r and m<i[,
 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. X

On this day also there should be illuminations. It is sa.id

'by lightingSl4 lamps during (the day of) Bali's domination
Laksml becomes stable; this is called Dipavali because there is
waving of lights in this festival. Having reaohed (the day of)
Bali's domination how will lamps be burning in the houses of
those who do not observe the festival of the rows of lamps? '
The Dharmasindhu furnishes 5lS a long list of the observances
on this pratipad day according to the several puriiI,las and
digests, viz. worship of Bali, illuminations, holiday for and
worship of cows and bulls, worship of Govardhana, the tying of
MiirgapiilI (lit. protectress of the road), wearing new clothes,
dice-play, waving of lights before men by women (whose
husbands are alive), and tying up an auspicious garland. In
modern times only three out of these, viz. worship of Bali, illu.
minations and gambling are observed and the rest are
hardly observed anywhere. Therefore only brief references will
be made to the rest. Cows, calves and bulls are to be worshipped
with two mantras (quoted in note) and decorated and cows
are not to be milked and bulls are not to be made to carry burdens
this day. This is to be done in the morning of Kartika pratipad.
If it be mixed up with 526 the 2nd it should not be done on that
day as that would lead to the death of one's sons, wife and loss of
wealth, but this should be observed when pratipad is mixed with
amiiviisyii. Devala prescribes this and remarks that by the wor-
ship of cows three prosper, viz. people, cows and the king. As
regards Govardhana-puja, those who are in the vicinity of Govar-

524. ~ ~')q41"I<fiql i'5~ : ~ ~I iflil.,7uJti!I4=i ~ ;f11fTlfc:fi

~1F'1II1f1~~ ~11l 1M;f~ 'PI I rn ~ l'fiiI 'fro ~~ ~"
um1f~ p. 106, !l. ~. pp. 243-244. 111"~ extends over three days irom the
14th. l!U tll¥t.,~UI ~ ~ I ~fl< ~ qlC'llW'lIR'l"1( I
~ 4'<l<i64'<1l'1ilu"'~1f"l4" I q. by l'fil. ". Til. p. 315. The printed ~
(140. 1- 2) reads '~~ ,(I~'" ~(<lq,,,,t~I'1?t(I'!i i~ II '.
525, ~"!fI~ ~ ~~ ~ tT~ 1'11.'iqlJlii4'~~­
m iI<fEt~~~
... ...
m
~;f~ ~~ :;4,qq¥tlqltit"IJ~ I
~ p. 106. ~nn ~""ql(J)I .. 1 ~ ~~ I tz<\ ~ lI1fTit ;m q"lq
~ II snrn: ~;:a ~ trm
trJ'lit ~ Wi! ~: I IfTlit ~ ~ WiJ i'J"!Ii ¥t\~ lfm-nl-
~lItmVI.1 24.3 1-33.q . by~~ p. 107, fot. ftJ. p. 202. For praise
of cows and gomati-vidya, vide H. of Dh. IV , p . 108 and Agnipural,la 292.
14-20. and Vi ~udba rmottara II chap. 42.
526. IIfdq«"iT~';li\ ~"iJ1TIri mrI( I ~ 11: !91f~<J:I"<JT ft:
~'" "II"!r 1fT: ~ I ~ 'iriVr ~ sm 1JTlit ~: II ..fit 4"t?"""'' 'tt; I
~. " . ~. 321, ~. Rf' ll' 20 ( takin!! 2Qd verae from r.tu'ql'~ ).
 Divali-observances on pratipad 205

dhana (a. hill nea.r Msthura) should go to it and worship in the

morning, while others not near it should prepare a Govardhana
with caw dung or with heaps of cooked food or draw it in a
picture and worship it along with Gopala (Kr!?na ) and offer all
the 16 upaciiras to Govardhana and G0pila (Krs~1a ) with
mantras which pointedly refer to K~!?Ila's giving protection to
the settlement of cowherds (Gokula) against the heavy down-
pour of rain to the discomfiture of Indra. The sankalpa is
given in the note. S77 The naivedya is to be on a grand soale.
Therefore, the Smrtikaustubha (p. 174) states that Govardhana-
puja 528 is oalled Annaku~a (beap or hill of food) in Padma-
pural)a. Vide Var. 164 for Govardhana and Annakutaparikrama.
The Dharmasindbu provides that a homa should be performed
with the two verses 'a gavo agman' (Eg. VI. 28. 1) and' praite
vadantu' (Eg. X. 94. 1). Mukerji (pp. 150-152) desoribes how
Govardhana-puja is carried on in some out-of-the way rural
tracts in United Provinces, though it has become altogether
defunct elsewhere. Vide I. A. vol. 60 pp. 187-190 and vol. 61
pp. 1 ff and pp. 231 ff for description of the Gayadan~ festival
observed in Bihar, Orissa and some other parts on Kiirtika first
of bright half in the afternoon in which cows gaily stamped
with circular stains of red and blue on their skin and horns
glistening with oil and red ochre chased a puny pig .with their
pointed horns and killed it.
In the afternoon of the pratipad (Kartika-sukla) the tying
of Margapali takes place.s29 A rope of kusas or kiisas (Saccha-
mm spontaneum) should be made according to the usage of
one's family and tied to a tall pole and a tree in the east; one
should bow to it and offer a prayer to it with the mantra (quoted
in the note 529) and all including the king and brahmal)as
accompanied by cows, elephants and the like should pass by the

527 . ~tiuols\'l<q~ ~t-Sl<l·nqIWl'il.,j(+lE1i' ~ lfi1~rit-iffit ~Fq 1

~p.107 .
528. For Govardhana, vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. pp. 691 and 754. The
story of I{r~a having lifted lip on his little finger Govardhana for seven
days to protect cowherds and tbeir cattle against the heavy rains sen t
down by Indra is narrated in Vi'l?upural?a V. 11. 15-25. Varaba 164.
529. The lfIlt~ 140. 46-47 are-~ SI"n-;:ff~~1l Q'11(lt 1

!!i4Iif1141+ll?i ~ ~ "Illf~ ... +lI"'HJl,,8-;'N ~ ~ "": 1 ~T~­

~JJot 'II"I1fVlT: ~: 1 ~ ~um4f,q ~: ~ ~ mrr I. The same
occurin qvVI.124.44-45.~~S~~~~di!~:~'~ :~
~ ~ I q . by fif. Rf. p. 202, ~ p. 108. ~ho tir" half is q VI. 12 ... H,
206 Hi.gtory of Dharmaillstra [ Sec. I, Cb. X

way underneath the rope. In the sa.me way a strong rope of

kasas or the like should be made and a tug of war should ensue,
the rope being frequently pulled on one side by the princes and
on the other by persons of lower castse. The pulling of the
rope should be done in front of a temple or the palace or .where
four roads meet and an equal number of strong men should be
selected for each side. A line should be drawn behind each side.
If the persons of lower castes succeed in drawing the other side
towards them then it should be held that the king will be
victorious thereafter for one year.S30 The Nlriijana ceremony by
women should be performed in the morning (if the pratipad is
mixed with dvitIya) and the Mangalamalika ( a series of ausp-
icious rites or auspicious garlands ) should be performed in the
evening on the 2nd tithi (if pratipad exists only for a short time
and is followed by dvitiya ).531
As shown above, the three days from Asvina-krsJ;la 14th are
spoken of as days of Kanmudimahotsava. S32 The Bhavisyottara
and Padma derive the word KaumudI from' ku' (earth) and the
root' mud' to be delighted, the meaning being' in which peop16
find delight on the earth among themselves' and then another
etymology is suggested, viz. k1.1mudas (white water lilies) al'e
offered to :Bali in this festival.
In the Vedic period and for ~ome centuries thereafter
certain rites were performed in the month of AEivina or in
Sarad such as the Asvayuji and AgrayaJ;la 01' Navasasyest i.
The first is one of the seven pakayajiias mentioned by Gautama-
ilbarmastttra (VIII. 19 ). The first was performed on the Full
Moon day of Asvina. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 827 for a
description of Asvayuji and pp. 827-29 for Agrayal?a. But it is
not possible to trace the DivalI fostival to these rites. How the
Divii11 rites first arose cannot be stated with any approach to

530. $W'." I~I"'<f'i !§<l'ililleifii '6W ;rq'T~ I t'TTmnID ~r-;T~ i'A'l'JTh<T'I.lT~; I

'ri1<lfT ~ 'litmm ~!!i: I ~S'Sl' 1{i;wmfi;ri ~ u~ ~~ I ~<'lillU17T
q . by f.J .",. p . 202; vide '!I';m:iI' p. 74 whic h furnishes more details.
531. ~~i!~~ffil.I~lffil:m~~11
3{'Q ~~FQl ~m~ ~ I ii<f\"lT'li "'fT if..mt. m1i' ... ~T~~ I
IT~ q. by~ . (00 q;m p. 615). r... m. p . 202. 'fiT, <T. f,t. p.32 2.
( first verse) .
532. ~ ~ 'iro rir ri<m: ~I 1:fflri)~'Irl ~ ln~ ~II
'fi"'t ~~ ~ 'li~1:It ;rr~: ~: I ~: 6(ql<l""I~~"'r ~ ~ I
~it .. ~q~lfilq<dS{'li ~~ I srol~ IfN ~ ,. if~r ~ ~"T"
~ 140. 61-6'1. 1lit VI. 12" . 61-6'1.
 207

plausibility. In the Anusasana parva it is said that the donor of

lamps shines in the heavens like a row of lights (dipaprada.Q_
svarga-Ioke dipamaleva rajate, 98. 51 ). Some writers regard
these as a reference to the DivalI. But it is not so clear as to
place the matter beyond doubt. In 1. A. vol. 32 pp. 237-239 Mr.
B. A. Gupte contributed a paper on 'Diva").i folklore'. He refers
to the several legends and characteristics connected with the
DivalI, viz. the killing of N arakasura, depriving Bali of his
empire, the crowning of Rama and Vikrama in these days of
Diva~i and illuminations and says that the origin must be
sought in the movement of the earth round the sun, the change
of season, the end of the rice crop and the manuring of soil foJ'
the second crop. The connection he traces is rather remote and
domewhat fantastic and I am afraid that his theory of origintl
\\' ill appeal to very few in these days.

On the 2nd of the bright half of Kiirtika occurs a very

fll1e festival called Bhratrdvitiya or Yamadvitlya. The Bhavisya
states: 533 ' on the 2nd tithi of Kartika bright half Yama was
treated by Yamuna to a dinner in her house; therefore this tithi be-
came declared in the world as Yamadvitiya; wise men should not
take mid-day meal in their own houses but they should take
food from the hands of the sist er through affection, as doing so
increases one's welfare or prosperity. Gifts should be made to
sistors ; all sisters should be honoured with golden ornaments,
clothes, reception and meals; but if there be no sister, one should
honour a woman whom he regards as sister (uncle's or aunt's
daughter or a friend's sister ).' The digests add further details.
One should534 do worship to Yama and Yamuna and to Citragupta,
and hrothers and sisters should offer arUhya (water in token of
respectful reception) to Yama. The procedure is briefly this.
In the morning the sister should invite the brother, make him

.533. ~ ~~ ii'a'1ITtrt ~~ I 1I'ltf 1l'6;f1ll i~ ~: ~ ~ I

••. ffi!T ll1'I~.q.q
SIT'ifiT \'5T~ ~~ I ~'Iri ~ IiTU ;r m~) ~: I
~;r l1Iir.I'ffl~~'l'ifini ~~ I ~;rriil' .. ~" l1I'iT;finr) ~<'I: I ~OTr­
i'5~m: i"'I~ft!fIl(~: I wiT ~: ~ 3f~ S!fiNRmT: I l'f~&1l~
14.18-23. Almost the same verses occur In ~ VI. 124. 88-93 and In ~
acc . to !i' f.iJ. p. 82.
534. ~ 'if lffl;'iIt ~ fiir~ 'Ii( ~ I amtJJ.mr snrmnit ~ ~: II
q . hy if. (on n vol. I. pp. 384-385). !fiT. fit· p. 405 , 'Ii. (. 413, If. ffti. ~.
rot
pp. 477-478. fifo 'f. p. 29 , ilJ. p. 203. ~ p. 453. All these contain
almost the same versel with some variationl. fit 'f. p. :Iii) qaot .. 10m. o'
thele from ~.
208 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Ch. X

take at mid-day a bath with scented w~ter and unguents rubbed

on his body; she along with the brother should worship Yama
and Yamuna. with arghya and offer handfuls of flowers. The
arghya mantra iS53S 'Come, come, 0 Yama, son of the Sun; you
that carry in your hand a !,loose; accept this worship offered on
Bhratrdvitjya. and also arghya; salutation to you" Then two
more mantras may be addressed. 536 '0 Dharmaraja, salutation
to you, the elder brother of Yamuna.; 0 son of the Sun, protect
me along with your servants; salutation to you. Salutation to
you, 0 Yamuna, sister of Yama and honoured by people; always
confer on me favours, 0 daughter of the Sun, salutation to you "
After this she serves food to her brother with the verse' Brother'
I was born after you; partake of this pure food for pleasing
Yama, particularly Yamuna.', If the sister be older than the
brother she should say' I was born before you '. Then after the
brother finishes his meal she should deck him with sandalwood
paste and then herself partake of the food. Some works like the
Vrataraja (pp. 78-91) present a far more elaborate procedure,
which is passed over here but two matters provided for by it
may be mentioned. The first is that a person before going to
his sister's house should mutter ten names of Yama (quoted in
note 537 ). The second is that the sister is to worship images of
Y ama and of eight mythological personages (M arkaI,l~eya,
Bali and others) supposed to be immortal for the increase of her
brother's life. 538 In modern times hardly any religious cere-
mony is performed except that residents of places near or on the
banks of the Yamuna river (Jumna) bathe in the Jumna and
there is a mela on the river on this day. The only thing
generally done is the brother's visiting his sister, dining at her
house, light being waved before him and his making some
presents to the sister.

535 . mtf~ I ~ ~ ~~l ~,,'Ttft·

"4'19:,,,1 "'li'f11'1 ~ l{~ II
~ p. 453, fiI'. ftl. 203,
536. ~r-of "'~s~ ~ ~ I trrii m~: ~ ~~ "'~~ ~ II
1:J1'I~;t~s~ ~ ~~tSI1t I !RCfT ~ i\ ~ ~ "'~S~
it II q. by If. f*,
lIit. p, 478. 'li<~ 453.
537. 1l"Iit~t ~ ~ CfOif~~ ~:I~"'<1ti(ilfRIl~
~ ({d~~I"(I'II~ I ~ pp. 79-80.
538. ~~ l1'fit<1,~ ~ I~: ~ ~'i iihnlla': I
~ ~"i~Rft ~q ~: I 'i'it ~: ~ ~s~ r.<:silRII: I
~~ ~H'I"'l:'q(I'('(~1 ~~1Nt\'llt~ ~ i\ lmri ~Il ~
p. 81.
 Diva?i-Bhratrdvitiya

This festival of Bhriitrdvitlya is really an independent one,

but it was probably tacked on to the three festive days of Diva~l
in order to lengthen out the days of fun and joy. Sisters, when
after their marriage they leave their brother's home, may not
meet for years and further the sister may have become rich and
the brother a poor man or vice ?'ersa. Our ancient writers evinced
a keen appreciation of the bonds of disinterested affeotion
between brothers and sisters and set apart a day in the year for
their meeting to enable them to go over their sweet memories
of childhood and to re-live for a day at least their early life
which had gone forever. A religious tinge was added to the
festival by recalling the two mythical personalities of Yama and
YamI, that figure in the famous Yama-Y amI hymn (Eg. X. 10 ).
I should like to digress a little and strongly protest against the
conclusion drawn by certain Western Sanskrit scholars that the
hymn is an indication of the prevalence of the usage of the
marriage of a brother and a sister among ancient Aryans. The
hymn is a purely imaginative effort 'which bodies forth the
forms of things unknown', as in the case of Eg. X 119 where
the poet imagines what Indra must have felt when treated to
huge portions of Soma beverage. In Eg. X. 10.10 S39 the sage
makes it clear that in futur e ages something like what was
delineated in his fantasy might occur (namely, sisters might do
unsisterly acts). Macdonell in his' Vedic Mythology' (pp. 172-
173) indulges in some facile assumptions. Y ama may be an
Indo-Iranian divinity, but YamI does not occur in the Avesta.
at all, as he himself admits, but only in later Parsi writings.
Therefore, what is stated in these later writings should not be
foisted upon the sages of the Egveda. He supposes that the
sage in Eg. X 10 indulges in propaganda for exonerating Yama.
from incest. Propaganda is well-known to Western countries
in the 19th and 20th centuries A. D. The Egveda nowhere
states that the human race was produced from Yama and Yami.
There is no warrant for saying that YamI is Indo-Iranian and
consequently the myth of the human race being born from a
brother and sister is not Indo-Iranian. Pargiter in AIHT
( p. 70 ) follows the ball ·set rolling by Macdonell and others and
boldly asserts that, when the Vayu ( in 93.12) says that Nahu~a
had six sons born of pit~kanya, Viraja, the 'word pit~kanya
means' sister and N ahu$a married his 'sister or half sister
I I

539. 3:n' lU i'IT 'j'<31d'i1(j ~ ~ ~: tiUj" .. ", jill I 'JR. X. 10. 10 .

• Those later ages might come when sisters might do what is not aister-liko .·
B. D.27
210 History of Dharmcdastra [ Sec. I, Ch. X

and that union between brother and sister was not unknown as
Egveda x. 10 abou~ Yama and YamI shows. One suspects the
motives of a writer like Pargiter who held high judicial offioe
in India, when he does not explain why 'pitrkanya' was used and
not' svasr " when he pays no heed to the fact that in many places
in Vayu ( 72. 5, 73. 1-2, 26, 36, 40, 45, 77. 74- ) Mena, Acchoda,
Plvarl, Gau]:J., Yasoda, Viraja herself, Narmada and Gandhakall
are spoken of as 'pitrnam manaSl kanya', that Vayu (72),
Matsya ( 13.2-9 ) and other PuraIlas speak of seven groups of
pItrs and set out how from the mind-born daughters of pitre
several scions were born. Viraja (described as pitrkanya in
Vayu 93. 12 which Pargiter naively renders as father's daughter
i. e. sister) is spoken of in the same Purana (Vayu 73.45) as
the 'mind-born daughter ' of these . ( i. e. of Pitrs) in the plural
and not as 'of the father '. Writers like Pargiter sometimes
create more riddles by their so-called research than they can be
said to have solved.
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 enemies. Both
Bhavi!?yottara and Padma state' He who eats a meal prepared
by his sister's hand on the day on which king Yama was served
in this world a meal by Yamuna through affection secures
wealth and the best of foods '.

In Vedic times and in early sm~tis like those of Manu

(II. 11 ) and y aj. (1. 53) it was difficult for a brotherless maiden
to get married (vide H. of Dh. vol. II p. 435). But from this i\
is a far cry to say that the Bhratrdvitlya. owes its origin \0 \hi,
idea or practice.
 CHAPTER XI

Makarasankranti and Mahasivaratri

Malcarar-Sailkrunli. 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 almanacs then current, but now it falls.
owing to the precession of the equinoxes, on the 13th or the 14th
of January in the month of Pausa. Sankranti means 'the
(apparent) passage of the sun from one raid (sign of the Zodiac)
to the next following' and hence the rasi in which the Sun
enters is designated as the Sankranti of that name. S40 When
the Sun leaves the rasi called Dhanus and enters the Makara-
raid that is called Makarasankranti. The rasis are twelve and
the 8ankranti names with their western equivalents are given
in the note. 541 There are only twelve sankrantis even if there
be an intercalary month in some year. Everyone of the twelve
sankr1i.ntis was regarded as a holy day. The Matsya-pur1i.na
( chap. 98) deals with the completion of 8ankranti-vrata.
Briefly, it provides that on the day previous a person, whether
male or female, should take food only once in the noon and on
the 8ankr1i.nti day should brush his teeth and then take a bath
with water mixed with sesame. S42 The person should offer to a
self-restrained brahma~a householder three vessels containing
edibles together with a cow intending them to be for Yama.
Rudra and Dharma and repeat four verses one of which is as
follows: "As I do not make any difference between Siva.
Vi~~u, the Sun and Brahma, may Sankara ( Siva) who pervades

540. ~: ~ ~~ ~.r.t I ~1'''41''i14:''''I:atil''Ii'4~ ~II

mlt
..~ q. by ~. OD 'iiWS p, 410; ~ ~~U~~ ~ ~iirof: ~~
t<I~1:q1~1~'i'I«1~ ~ ~:~: I ~<Ha:qI~I"I"~:~ m ~ni­
~ I !i\1. fit p. 331.
541. ~ (Aries, Ram), Tll'li (Taurus, Bull), fil'Y" (Gemini. Twins) •
• (Cancer. Crab). ~ (Leo. Lion). !f.01IT (Virgo. Virgin). lim (Libra,
Balance). ~ (Scorpio. SC:Jrpion). \1!J: (Sagittarius. Archer), ~
(Capricornus. Goat). ~ ( Aquarius. water-carrier). ~ (Pisces, Fishes).
More details will be given in the next sectioD.
542. The whole of chap. 98 of ~ is quoted in tic4llfiiNd1i (on n
pp. 432-435 ).
 Hi8tory of Dharma8llstra [ Seo. I, Ch. Xl

the Universe be always a bestower of welfare on me I'. S4l The

person should make, if able, further gifts of ornaments, a bed-
stead and golden jars ( two) to the brahrnaJ,'la; but, if poor,
should offer only fruits to the brahmaI;la. Then he should take
his meal but without oil and should feed others according to his
ability. Women also should perform this vrata. Great merit
was attached to a bath in the Ga~ges on a sankranti, on an
eclipse and on New and Full moon, as such a man reached the
world of Brahma.544 A bath with ordinary water (not heated)
was obligatory (nitya) on every sankranti, since the Dev!-
puraJ,'la declared: 545 "the man who would not ·take a bath on
the holy day of Sankranti would be for seven lives diseased
and poor j whatever offerings are made to gods and pit~s by
men on sankranti are returned to them. by the Sun again in
several future lives ".
It may be stated that in ancient texts the entrance of the
Sun alone in a raid is not regarded as holy time, but the
entrance of all planets in a nak!?atra or rasi was deemed to be a
holy time. 546 Hemadri (on Kala p. 437) and the KalanirJ,'laya
(p. 345) quote three verses 547 specifying the holy times (pU1)ya-
kala) of the passage of the Sun and planets as follows: in the
~ase of the Sun the pUJ;lya-kala is 16 gha"tikas before and after
the moment of the Sankranti; for the moon it is one gha.~1
and thirteen patas on both sides, for Mars four gha~ikas and one
pala, for Mercury three gha~ikas and 14: palas, for Jupiter S48 four

543 . 1NT lrct ~ ~rm ~UOqJN"NII""1 <I'm ;m~ fit"<mm~:~:

~II ~ 98.17. The 2nd word ~ means ~ ~~.
544. ~ ~~ mrot ...."i~.r41 : I ~ ~: ~ JIlItVT: ~
ri<r_n ~11'1 q. by Iif. fit. ~. p. 514.
545. I(~ ~ ~ ~'<W:Hij ~: I fla .........nJ ~ ~~ I
~ ~ ~?f ~~ ~: I mf.t f.mf ~: ~.,,;.....M ~n
~ q. by tIiT. lit. p.3 80, tIiT. fir. p.333 ( ascri bes to ~), if. a..
til.
(pp. 214, 212) quotes the first verse from " ...... 'Joil. Both verses occur in
~. ¥'IT. folio 81 b verses 1406-7; vide Annals of BORl, vol. XXXV!., p. 336.

546. "' a=.,,<'S ... ,rc <q~-aq ~ .....

,qZl ~ : f<t ii ~ 1tt1"'rt ~~
~ ~ ~ I tIiT. p. 345. f-t.
547. ,. on ~ p. 437 quotes the verses from ~, while CfiT. f;t. quot..
from simply ~ :~.
54 8. There is a unique grant on Jupiter's entrance into V~bhli
(Taurus) in the Lucknow Musenm plate of Kirtipala in Vikrama year 1167
(11th February 1111 A. D.) in E, I. VII. p . 93. There are many grant.
( Continu,cl on nflxt pflgfl )
 PutIYakUJa of sankrantis 213

gha~ikas and 37 palas, for Venus ,four gha~ikiiB and one pala,
for Saturn 82 gha~ikas and 7 palas.
Though the planets also have sankrantis, later writers hold
that the word sankr(inti by itself means only Ravi-sankranti, as
.tated by the Sm~ti-kaustubha p. 531. 549
The twelve Sankrantis in the year are grouped into four
classes, viz. there are two ayana sankrantis (that is Makara-
sankranti from which udagayarta starts and Karka~a.sankriinti
from which Dak!?iI;layana starts ), two Vi suva sankriintis (that
is, Mesa and Tula sankrantis when the day and night are equal
in length ), the four sankrantis called i?a~asj ti or $adaslti-mukha
( i. e. Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanus and Mlna) and Vi!?nupadI or
Vi!?!?-upada (that is, Vfsabha, Simha, Vrscika and Kumbha) 550
Sankranti gradually came to be deified and the DevlpuraJ;la
identified it with Durga herself. The DevipuraI;la. says • Devi is
( Continued f,.om last page)
made on the Sun's sankrantis. For example, vide E. I. vol. VII. p . 85
(Kahla plate of Kalacuri Soclhadeva. grant being made on 24 th December
1077 A. D.). E. I. XII p . 142 (Nil gunda plates of western Calukya king
Vlkramadilya VI in 1087 A. D.). both on ,H"I4jUI~!filfVffj E. I. XIV. p.324
(grant of village in honour oC Buddha on Vi~uva sankranti to a brahmal).a by
Mahipala I king of Bengal ).

549. ~ ~1~q;a'H1"ifi"Or1f!1~;fuq ~~-~: !,plI'-

lfir~ 1If~~: q;(?T:-~ ~~ ~f.l~ifi"UI"I~1 ~. p.531.
'~ ... q;(?TI' is a verse of ~ (q . by 1\'. {. p. 614, If. fif;. ~. p. 9'.
from~).
550 . q>i~'itIPaq;1 III. 23-24 (p. 9) defines these • ~ ~
-mtffii'~ ~f,JlJrit~ I ~~~: ~fcf'mT 1tS1f~: ~: II GjEi~~R15"'cj !fi;Tl1T-
~s1!!'T;rit ';{ ~y~ I ~ ~ ~~ ifil~ II '. lIm~:
~ 1l(lSt'f,t: ~ I if""",, om<tm ~ 0i1'll'1'f.f it W I ~~ 0fTlf ~~
\NT II ~~ ';{ ~ '<f w1t i '{T~I~ I ~~~ ~ qfVff ,,"f;:nq•
..rOiilt~ ~~~I ~lf~~"l'l ~~"';:f ~ ~ ~ eq..,a?@~ l
~II ~ q. by ~. on ~ p. 407. Some words require expl anation.
~ -~, tit == 'I1If~, ~ == ~, .."r = !finn, "'ifN "" ~:, ~­
~ = mifi', ~ ..q .. q;i = ~, lftl'1I' = if~OfTlI'if (lfJl is the lord of the
south ), ~ = ~, ~ = it1If, ~ (one holding a balance) = ~. Similar
verses are quoted by~. (on ~ p . 408) Cram lfRnr, which are quoted aa
from ~ by ifil. f.\'. p. 332. Some of these verses oC IfRnr are the sam .
in ~ as quoted by '1'. fif;. !fit. p. 204. The ~ (Annals BORI,
vol. XXXVI, p. 338 verse 275) defines ~'it and ~. For
mention of Sadasitimukha-sankranti in an epigraphic record, vide Callarea.
Ins. of Devigi;i Yadava king Mahideva in "ake 1185 (- Sunday ~7th May
1263 A. D.) in I. A. vol. 25 p. 346.
 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch . .xi

all-pervading on account of the division into very small and

large parts in the form of year, ayana, season, month, fortnight,
day and the like. Devl bestows rewards in accordance with the
divisions into meritorious and sinful ( actions ).551 Even one act
done at that time ( of Sankranti ) yields results multiplied crores
of times. From dharma ( righteous acts) increase life, kingdom,
progeny, happiness and the like, from adharma (unrighteous
conduct) spring diseases, sorrows and the like; whatever is
donated and whatever japa is performed near (i. e. at the time
of) Vi~uva (Mesa and Tula ) sankrantis and at the ayana
( Makara and Karka~a sankrantis) becomes inexhaustible; the
Bame holds good about V iSJ;}upada and $a~aslti-mukha '.
The exact moment of time when the sun leaves one ras i
and enters the next following rasi is impossible of being marked
by the eyes of flesh (ordinary human eyes). Therefore thirty
gha~ikas before and after the moment of Sankranti are said to
be the time. 552
In order to convey how infinitesimally small is the time of
~he Sun's entrance into a rasi after leaving another the DevI-
purliJ;}a has 553 the following: "thirtieth part of the time taken
by the throb of the eye of a man sitting happily at ease is called
• tatpara '; one hundredth part of 'tatpara' is called ' tru~i '; one
hundredth part of ' tru~i' is the ( duration of) time of the sun's

551. ~"q"~'I11I~~ffll~ 0; I ~'l..~fiorriA ~r ~ iiflit I ...

~ ~ ~<ft ~ I ~ w<i <ffi~reif>lRgoi ~ 1 ~~
11lll_ ~ ~"q": I ~ 8~ fi~~m';J!:lt I f<f~ 'if ~t\'.
~ l1<frn
""~~ I tr<f f<f~~ ~ ~~~ 'if II ~9.~rur q. by ~. (on 'ii18
pp. 418-419), W . ~. pp.614-615. 1li"<lftIit'tl"o (~o' ) quotes all verses from
~ on P. 361 and the first verse on p. 362. '
552. ~~: I 'Ei"fi1l';'a\1t14 : ~ ~: ~; I l'I::1I'ilqc4tt.lJiln~
T~: ~: II iffitl ~~~: '1~~~\;it ~:~.
uffr m~ lI'mI'T EriI(J)~~;ft'ij«mt ~ ~ ~r ~~ ~r .. hRe"4i
J~'tI': I 3«US~ 6(.4fl"fiif.l1Erif8T~~ ~IPl'l(1fOOl~~i i,<if~.1111 I
!fiT.fit p. 333; ~. (on Eri1(l$ P. 417) attributes this verse to ~ and
explains 1!i'l1~liN: in two ways '3{l:f.lJil i!i''I1¥~; 3i1iii "f i?m"Iiil'I: ~EriT8: I
1fI1 ~'1I"liN : 'i'<t q~ q.lJilm;r.ritfit ~ I'.
553. ~i:I ~ ~ 41'i~Q.qra ~I ~ ~ lfPRa'm:: qR-
~: I mq~r lfI1l?iI~~~~ I ~: ~~) ~: ~ EriT8) ~~ II
~ q , by ~o (~o) p. 365,~ , (on EriT8) p. 416. qjr. fit. p. 382,
11'. #*. ~. p.
205. lli({EriT(J)~ (1. H. Q. vol. 17 No 4 Supplement p. 23) q uote.
FI '" ~ and remarks: N'di'EiI4'1iPaqjl(J)'E<m'd'l..~~ 'filii.,ql'l'li tI~ilitr
~CIS~~ I
 Proper time for rites on sankrlinti U5

passage ( from one ras i into another). As it is not possible to

perform on suoh an infinitesimally small point of {pime the rites
prescribed for performance on sankranti, one has to acoept
periods of time near this moment. as the proper time. The first
rule is that the nearerS51 the gha~ikas are to the time of actual
entrance the holier they are. Therefore it is laid down that in
sankrantis the punyatama-kala (holiest time) is sevenfold SS5
viz. three, four, five, seven, eight, nine or twelve gha~ikils;
during those periods real merit is accumulated. If one cannot
perform the prescribed rites within these limits thirty gha~ikas
are permitted as the highest limit in the texts for the pu,7J.!laldila
( holy time) for all sankrantis except ~adaslti (in which the
maximum punyakala is 60 gha~ikas) and Vil?t:1upadI (where it
is 16 gha~ikas before and after ). SS6
Each of these twelve sankrantis 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 naksatras. The seven names 557 are: Manda, MandakinI,
Dhvankl?l, Ghora, Mahodarl, :Ra~$asl, and Misrita. A sankranti
( such as Mesa or Karka or Makara) is called Ghora if it occurs
on Sunday, Dhvanksl on Monday, MahodarI on Tuesday, Manda.-
kin I on Wednesday, Manda on Thursday, Misrita on Friday and
Rak$asl on Saturday. Again, a sankranti (like Me$a or Karka
and so on) is called respectively Manda, MandiikinI, Dhvank$I
Ghora, Mahodarl, Rak$asl, Misrita according as it commenoes
respectively on nak$atras called dhruva, m~du, ksipra, ugra,

554. 'lIl'lll~i'fT~;~:wm:1 ~q. by~. 00 Qi~

p. 420. <nT. Fr. p. 334 (ascribes to ~), fit a· p. 144 (ascribes to ~)j
~. lI'. p.137 (~).

555. ~:q"tlale01"~lq~1 Q'EI' ':q' ~ ~<nT l'fldl'E\1<ao q ~II

~~ q. by ~. 00 ~ p. 409, W. ~ . p. 613 . <nT.
p. 341 (reads ~:o l,
fifo
fit· <fit. p. 208 j ffi~ means <f1~ -guir
I!I'. and ~<n means' undoubtedly'
or ~ ~ as 'iF~o explains in ~ p. 360.

556. ~M fif~01' ~®n~f'iI'RfI'~ fff~<nT: ~~­

.qil*,lq~ I ~~ ffifu'q ~~~ ,~: 1 'iiffirromil<ftlli q'~
ifTlm:I~1 ~t ~~~ Q'EI'Til'I ~ ~':q'1lT'(! q~
...~ I ~ I lfiT. f.t p. 334.

557. ~ m ij III'~ ~~ ll'UT \Iro IlI'Y,fr ~r \~r 'Elm ~

~rl~ ~r ~ ~~: ~ ~I ~.qromfl\mfl~
~ I sit~;fi i'fTlI' w.rr ~ I fi'tT'ifflr ~ ~rir ':q' ~~ I
~ q. by ~. (on ~) p. 408-409, <nT. (it. pp. 340-341 (only the first
Ii verses). ~. ;f. p . 137; ~o (~o ) p. 360 quotes the first q verses.
21& History of Dharmalastra [Seo. I, Ch. XI

oara, krilra, misrita. Vide note below S58 for the nak~atra.
falling under these 7 groups. It is further provided that the
ghatikas from two ( or three) to twelve said to be the holiest
times (in note 555 above) are to be taken as respectively
referring to the seven kinds of sankranti i. e. two or three
ghatikas is the holiest time in Manda sankranti, four ghatikas
in MandakinI sankranti and so on. It is laid down that Mandl
sankranti is beneficial to brahman as , Mandakinl to k~atriyas,
Dhvank~I to vaisyas, Ghora to sildras, MahodarI to thieves,
Rak~asl brings success to vendors of liquor and Misrita increases
the ( profit of the) avocations of Calf~ala8, Pukkasas, of those
whose business is of a terrible nature and of all craftsmen (vide
Hemadri on Kala pp. 409-410 and Varsakriyii-kaumudl p. 210
quoting DevipuraJ;la ).

There is some conflict on the question of the general rule

about the extent of pU1Jyalcala on a sankranti. Satatapa,559
Jabala and Marlci prescribe the sixteen ghatikas before and
after the moment of Sankranti as the pUJ;lyakala for the perfor-
mance of the religious acts prescribed on Sankranti. On the
other hand, the Devipuralfa 560 and V asi~tha lay down fifteen
ghatikiis each before and after sankranti as the pUJ;lyakala. This
conflict is removed in various ways. One is to hold that the
DevlpuraJ;la is not restrictive but what it means is only this that
lesser limits are meant to indicate that greater merit results by

558 . The 27 or 28 ",~s are arranged in 7 groups as follows:-

l:l'!f (or ~ )-'3'<1<1'''d!;ft, '3'<1(ltIIl<:I,~,~; 'IlJ-~, ~,
~
~, ~~; ~ (or M!i)-~, mllq;ft,~, m"ll~; \3'1l-1{!fI't\{"~"I,~,
t..-a. •
~, ~, ifIOl'r; ~.-~~, mIlT, ufoll!l1, ~,~~; ~ (or~)-
~, ~, 3ffi{r, m~; ii'if,""
(or i¥')~ or ~)~, ~.
Vide 'l~~ 98 . 6-11 (Kern's ed.) for these lists and ~~ (~o)
p. 361,~. on ~ p. 409, <fiT. ~. p. 341-34 2 ,~. l'I. p . 137; ~~ 98.9 and
~ o (~o) do no t mention ~ among ~~ group.
559 . ~: I aro'l!
~ ~ ~: 1i'liJT'il ~ I~: ~S<t~"'I.a­
~:~ : II~: I ~ ~oq~I<'5~ tll'r.mTl'fl«'I': ~: I~: ' ~:
~ ~ ~ifil."'(q(OI 'GT: , (It!'lq~i.,'''I~~; ~: II 1fo<lT~o (~o )
pp. 361-362, 365 , ~. (on ~ p . 417), <fiT. fif. p. 382 (ascribes the last verse
to ~Erem), q. f,\;. !fi'l p . 207 (omits the last verse).
560. ~'"H'') .rrm
~: 1iw.nr ~: , ~!lUIIT q. by ~o
(~1l<fo) p . 360, ~ . (on ~) p . 418, ~. l'I. p. 137. lim is explained by ~. as
'~"'tl'1 ~ ~ ~fOIi1'~~ m~: ~ lim:' observance
of bath and gifts prescribed for being done on tbe occasion of Sankranti
and not engaging in Vedic study which is forbidden; ~o explains \fPn
as~:.
 MaktLrasankranti 217

their observance. Another explanation was to hold that the

limit of 16 gha~ikas applied to sailkrantis called Vi~l;lUpadI.
A sailkrli.nti may take place by day or at night. If
Sailkranti occurs by day that whole day is pUJ;lyakala. If
Sankranti occurs by night, lengthy and complicated discussions
oocur in Hemadri, Madhava and others. One rule evolved is that
in ten sailkrAntis excluding Makara and Karka~a sailkrantis the
pUt;Jyakiila is by day when those sankrantis occur by night.
Several exceptions are engrafted on tbe general rule about
15 or 16 gha~ikiis before and after a sankranti being the
pUJ;lyakala. Therefore, several works like the Tithitattva ( pp.
144:-145) and Dharmasindhu (pp. 2-3) give brief final conclu-
sions on this topic. I summarize 560" the conclusions of the latter
work. On the Sun's passage in Mesa and Tula the pUJ;lyakala is
fifteen gha~ikiis before and after S ( some say ten ghatikiis) j in
Vrsabha, Simha, Yplcika, Kumbha S, P is sixteen gh. bofore Sj
in Mithuna S, Kanya, Dhanus and MIna S, P is 16 gh. after S j
in Karka~a S, P is thirty gh. after S j in Makara S, P is forty
gh. after S. If Sailkranti occurs by day when a period of two
ghatikas or less only remains before the close of the day then in
the case of Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanus, MIna and also Makara
sankrantis P is before S for the gh. specified above against
each j if S OCCurs in the morning at a period of two gh. or less
from sunrise then in V~~abha, Simha, Vp3cika, Kumbha and
also Karkata S, P is after S for the period specified above. If S
occurs at night but before midnight, P is latter half of the day-
time before the S; if S occurs at midnight or later than midnight
but in the night, P is on two days viz. the latter half of the
daytime before S and the first half of the day after S j this
applies to all S except Makara and Karkata. When UttarayaJ;la
begins in Makara in the night P is the day after S and if S
begins in Karka ~a at night P is the day prior j if Makara S
occurs at evening twilight (i. e. during three gha~ikas after
sunset) then P is on the previous day j if Karka S oocurs in
morning twilight ( i. e. during three gh. before sunrise) then P
is on the day following the S.
This discussion about the pUI.Jyakala 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

560 a. In this summary S. stands for Sankranti or Sailkrantis, gh. for

gha!ikas. P. for pUl?yakala .
B. D. 28
218 History of Dhm'maS"fiSl1'a [ Sec. I, Ch. XI

bath is not to be taken and a gift is not to be made at night.

Parasara 561 says ' a bath by day purified by the rays of the Sun
is commended; bathing at night is not commended except on
seeing an eclipse '. The Vii?nudharmasutra says the same. But
several exceptions were recognized. The Bhavi syapura~a 562
provides' one should not t ake a bath at night and particularly
should not make a gift at night, but a bath and a gift may be
made at night on proper occasions. A gift at night is commended
in an eclipse, marriage, sankranti, pilgrimage, on death, on the
birth of a child a nd at (before sitting down for) hearing itilt'iisa
(M ahabharat a) '. GobhilaS63 provides ' people may bathe and make
gifts at night in eclipses, sankrantis, marriage, in distress ( or
death) a nd all the birth of a child and in vratas undertaken
for a desired object '. A bath is therefore obligatory on every
sankranti and particularly in Makal'a-sankranti. There are
special recommendat ions about gifts in Hemadri on Kala
( pp. 414-419) which are t aken by him from Visvamitra and
which are borrowed by Nirl;layasindhu (pp. 4-5), Samaya-
mayukha (pp. 143-144) and others and which are as follows :
gift of ram on Mesa, of cows on V~l'!abh a, of clothes, food and
drinks on Mithuna, of gh~tadhenuS64 on Kal'ka~a, of a conveyance
with some gold on Sirnha, of clothes and cows on Kanyii, of
different kinds of grains and seeds on Tula, on Vrscika of clothes
and houses, on Dhanus of clothes and conveyances, on Makara

56 1 . ~~~:![<i ~ ~ ~ I :wm~ ,",f~qirr-i ~ 1I <riI'"il.

~ XII. 20 q. by ~fcr:q. I. p. 120 wh ic h remarks; ~ '!l'~-~$IRqla­
{itt ~r~1 <I !il q~''1",JiI(I ~~4. 6.
"mft
562. ma
'9fr-f '1' ~a'Cfl;j ~ ~: I ~ '<f ~ ~ Cflri '<f ~ II
!l'~~rii'if~:m~~ '<f I ~ ~~ mrl Gr-i ~~~ II llfittsll'-
<~ q. by ~. on CiiWS p. 433 , <!'iT, f.t p . 339, wbich adds one more verse
, ~ f.l~ ~'Sft<rt a'Ul !!Wfi"lI"'IZlI ql'1 I~'4<'IIM ~ ~-:if ~ "'Ill II'.

563, wm~ : I ~'1~i'fIlf.'aTh~~~ I ~'1'Cfl'1'l~<i; ~f.m'

i.flIJqa?t~ '<fll ~. on CiiWS p. 433 , fif.~. p.7; this is ascribed to ~ in
~R. 1. p. 120, ii. {. pp. 61 6, 625, il'. fii;. cii). pp 93 , 210 ; it is strange that
i.fll. fifo( p. 339 ) ascri bes it to ~Ftfq, but it is not found in the printed
41~"'ii"fq'W&; probably <!'iT. f.f. had in view a very similar verse of~­
~ll' ' lltlUflQ~II-;a41'i1tidll~~ '<f I '9fl;7r ~r;rl%ifi ~~ ~I'riit <f~ 11'
q . by ~. I. p. 120 .

564. For' ghrtadheou " vide H. of Db. vol. II p. 880. As regards gift
00 Sunha there are various readings; N . S. reads ' gift of cbatra' (umbrella).
while S. M. reads' gift of patra' (vessel). For' tiladbenu' vide H . of Dh.
vol. II p. 880.
 Recommended gifts on sankrantis 219

of wood and fire, on Kumbha of cows, water and grass, on Mina

of fresh flowers. Special gifts are required to be made on
Makarasankranti. The Skanda S6S says 'He who donates fila-
dhenu on Uttarayana ( i. e. Makarasankranti) secures all objects
and obtains the highest happiness.' The Vi~ l:lUdharmottara
provides 'the gift of garments on Uttaraya~a y ields great
reward (merit). A man becomes free from diseases by donating
sesame and a draught bull '. The Sivarahasya declares that Siva
after he performed the Gosava sacrifice created sesame on
Makara-sankrfil1ti for the gratification of all men and provides
'men should bathe in water in which sesame are mixed and one
should rub one's body with sesame; farpa1Ja of gods and pitrs
should be made with water in which sesame have been put;
sesame should be given to brl hma~as on Uttariiya~a sankranti;
one should eat sesame and perform lloma with them; those who
perform homa with sesame and honour briihmanas shine in the
heaven (as stars ) like those who donate a thousand cows;
auspicious lamps fed with oil of sesame should be lighted in
Siva temples and a brahmaI,la should worship God ( Siva) with
grains of rice and sesame '. The Kiilika-puraI,la (q. by Hemadri
on Kala p. 413 and K~tyakalpao, Naiyata, pp. 366-67) provides:
'one should place on the top of (the linga emblem of) God (Siva) the
five jewels viz. gold, diamond, sapphire, ruby and pearl ; but if a
man has none of these he may place in UttarayaI,la on the top of
the linga gold one S66 km'$a or half karsa in weight; he should
worship with plenty of ghee prepared from cow's milk and should
donate ghee and a blanket aft9r washing and pressing it; he
should give condiments and a dinner to brahmaI,las and ascetics
and honour them with dak~ il)a '.

565. ~I i:'t1i ~ U~<l: ~m~ I ~.T<l: i'flil1i'1i1ililiit f.l~

~ ~Il f.lcs~fm I ~ ~iI fifll'l ~ mrrllii'5~ I ~~~~ 'if'lf(
~:~I ~1 ~1;J~"{~lfiMll ~~ lT~~1 m1'm!(Q iqQiI1Hi ~
~~fT{ I ;w:ffmlrt rn~: ~I;f i'fllif ':q\I~of ~a: I ~ffAt ~1Ilt -:q ~~~
l~: I firnr ~tIT'lcl fifitJ'If: ~~'f~f1r!it I ffi;;rt'lcl li~'~ ~nrl'lcl "'Ill fit?r: I
~t fth~1 ~im 1is~~ fPI'tfJ{f<l:_1 RlI~~ aN~ IT'tm-~ : I firn-
~ Cfm'lcl~: ~ ~lil: I *If<l~~o§~~i{ ~~ ~: I ~. on Efi1t'S
pp. 415-416 q . by A. m. p. 218. ~ was one of the 16 Mah.iid.iinas. Vide
H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 869 and 874. With ~ ~ mNf~, compare '!l1. X.
107.2 ';nn fcr'(?{ Cf~ ~Wf ~"ifq'r *lif a ~ 1'.
566. Kar~a is a weight of gold or silver equal to 16 m.ii~as:z80 raktik.ii,
l. e. about 176 grains.
 History of Dharmcttiistra [ Sec. I, Ch. Xi

A person should also observe a fast for three days or one

day in honour of Makara-sankranti 567. 'A man who fasts for
three days and after a bath offers worship to the Sun on ayana
( i. e. start of Sun's apparent passage to the north or south ), on
Visuva day and on the eclipse of the sun or the moon seCUres
the fulfilment of all his desires '. Apastamba says '.A man who
a.fter a bath fasts the whole day on ayana, Vi~uva and an eclipse
of the sun or moon becomes free from aU sins. But a house-
holder that has a son living waB not to observe a fast on a
Sunday, on sankranti and on the Sun's and Moon's eclipse '.
The great merit collected by gifts on sankrantis is set forth
by the Rajamartat;l~a 568 in two verses' The reward (of gifts) on
ayana-sankranti is a crore of times ( as much as of the same gift
on an ordinary day) and on Vi~nupadl a hundred thousand
times ; it is declared to be 86000 times on ~a~aslti. Gift on the
eclipse of the moon is a hundredfold ( in merit) and a thousand-
fold on sun's eclipse, one hundred thousand times on Visuva
days, and of endless duration on the Full Moon days of Asa~ha,
Kartika, Magha and Vaisakha. The Bhavi~ya highly praises
a bath in the Ganges on ayana and Vio$uva sankrantis. 'He
who bathes in the waters of the Ganges on ayana and Vi~uva
secures the fruit of bathing in the Ganges for half a year '. Vide
Vi. Db. III. 319. 38-45 about the gifts to be made on the several
sankrantis and the rewards of such gifts (q. by Dana-sagara
pp. 646-1)47) and O. 1. I. vol. lV. Nos. 28, 23, 22 for grants on
Me!?a, Karka and Tula sankrantis.

567. ~imf: 1:wf.I ~ ~ ~(,:i\~lyq\'l: ~l{R.I~;mqr '"S~ +mi~­

q;~ l?~ I ~l'If: 1:wf.I ~~ ~ ~ cq'i!~Ji«j: I 3l1il(I::(Iyq,,; ~:
~~: ~ 'I!<m ~~ I 34Tf.t~.qsif.t ~ ~ ~­
~ : I ~ i{~1 m~ ~T <tUTIl 1fI~ ~ ~~ <t~'~1
~. on q;J(1 p. 41 2 ; <T. f,f;. 'ii'). p. 91 quotes here a verse of ~ very similar
to the one of ~.

568. ~1;wmTi{ (1"1 .. ,JoEl I ~ ~iUm m fif~l~ I

~~n6T d~;rq: I ~fir.~ ';fl<i' m il ~ I ~ ~­
l{'i.fi'''I~ikI''ffl4\1( II <T. f.fi. <it. p. 214. Vide ABORI vol. XXXVI p. 388
verses 277-278; the last verse is quoted in q;J. ~. p. 382. ~ is somewhat
startling. 34T is 3IT1IW, q;J""~' ~=l{fqand ~=~ and they are meant to
convey the full moon days in these months. ~ quoted by q;J.~. p. 3H is
similar: 3n<;f tffiR')tn1 ~ ~-W f.I~ ~ I ~ ~ ij ~ {ifls!gq;fs .... 11.
q;J. fit. p, 381 quotes a similar verse: :wf.I ~ ~ 11: t<I,~,,,",,.tft;;j~ I

i'fW"''Itq ~ ifi(?"'c:Jq'~1I ~ q. by~. Rfi.~. p. 214.

 &raddha on sanh'iinti ~21

Some prescribe that sraddha should be performed on

Sankranti. The VisJ;ludharmasutra 569 provides: • the passage of
the sun ( from one rasi into another), the two Visuva days, and
specially the ayana days, Vyatlpata (yoga), the naksatra of
one's birth and auspicious occasions (such as a marriage, birth
of a son); Prajapati declares that these are times for sraddha
that are kamya (i. e. they fulfil the desires one may entertain
and are optional); sraddha performed on these days tends to
produce inexhaustible gratification (to the pitrs ) '. Here again
there was conflict. Sulapa1!i held that the sraddha on sankranti
included pi,(l(jarWna while the Nir1!ayasindhu (p. 6) holds that the
sraddha should be of the parva'(la type but without pi7)q.as. Just
as some acts such as a bath, fast and gifts were specially
commended, so certain acts were forbidden on the days of
sankrantis. The Vis1!upura1!a 570 provides: The 14th tithi, 8th
tithi, amavasya and pur1!ima and the Sun's passage (from one
rasi to another), these are called parvan. The man who has
sexual intercourse and partakes of oil and flesh on these parvan
days goes to a hell called 'Vi1!mutra-bhojana' (where the food
is excreta and urine). The Brahmapurana 571 also says • one
should give up sexual intercourse, oil and meat on the 8th tithi,
the last tithis of the two fortnights, on the day of the sun's
sankranti and on the penultimate day (14th tithi) in each
pak!!a (half of a month) '.

Hemadri (on Vrata, vol. I1. pp. 727-74:3) mentions fifteen

sankranti vratas such as the Sujanmavapti-vrata from Vi$:Q.u-
dharmottara, Devlpura.I;la and Skandapura.:t;la, which would be
mentioned in the list of vratas added later on.
In modern times Makarasankranti is more a social festival
than a religious one. No fast is observed and hardly anyone
performs sraddha, though many people bathe in the sea or in
tirthas like the Ganges at Prayaga and elsewhere. Sesame are
very much in evidence, particularly in the Deccan and people

569. 311v.."H14j.tioj ~ filiIQoIlQi1il'i ~ ~~ I ~

~

'fI"llfil('ll:t; ~ lfil*QIi1IQ ~:, <AFifl<1$ ~ "41"1#('11'4 ~" ~

77. 1-2.
570. ~~ ~ ~'U ~ I ~tf.t ~ «(il(14i1Pii« '<1'1
~ ~ ~ ~, ~~""" !AT1<t i1'(lfi ll": I fjl.'U!1<I OI
III. 11. 118-119 q. by 'ii. (. p. 547, It. fif;.~. p. 216.
571. ~~(fiI~\iflII~ql~1 ~~tj~~'<I'~1I
~ q. by 'f, fit. ~. p. 216.
222 History of DharmaS'iistra I Sec. I, Cb. XI
greet each other by giving articles from simpls sesame and
jaggery to artistic sugared preparations of sesame coloured with
saffron and go about saying' take these sesame and jaggery and
speak sweet words' ( in Marathi ).
The importance of tilas (sesame) is brought out in the
following: A person 572 who uses sesame in six ways does not
sink ( is not unsuccessful or unlucky) i. e. who rubs his body
with sesame, who bathes with sesame, who is pure and always
offers water mixed with sesame (to his deceased ancestors), and
who offers sesame into fire, who makes a gift of sesame and who
eats sesame.
Gifts are made in these days on Makarasankranti, but
mostly by women. They honour priests by donating vessels
(of clay, copper or brass) containing several things such as
betelnuts and coins and also invite their women friends and
distribute among them earthen vessels containing red powder,
pieces of turmeric, betelnut and also separately several other
things such as sugarcane stalks. In south India there is a
festival called Pongal 57j which corresponds with the Makara-
sankranti observed in Northern and Western India, Pongal
being the first day of the Tamil year. This South Indian
fostivallasts for three days.
According to the modern aGtronomical calculations, the
winter soletice occurs on 21st December and on that day com-
mences the Sun's apparent march towards the north. But in
India people who follow the almanacs based on the ancient
methods and data think that the Sun's march towards the north
takes place on the 14th of January. They are thus about twenty
three days behind the correct Makarasankranti owing to the
precesion of the equinoxes. This fact was recognized even in
the medieval Dharmasastra works. ]'or example, Hemadri ~74

572. ~1l~' ~ ~1'l'<t'!1 iflm ~"'~l"'~~

~~ II m(lfflq' Q. by <tiT. f.r. p. 344, ",. ~. p. 540 (without name), If. fifi'.
'lit. p. 560 ( reads ~. ftiI~~: I ~ ~l'fl'\liT ).
573. The word' l'ongaJ' is derived from a Tamil word meaDiDg • Is
it boiling or is it beiDg cooked 1 •
222 History of DharmaS'iistra I Sec. I, Cb. XI
greet each other by giving articles from simpls sesame and
jaggery to artistic sugared preparations of sesame coloured with
saffron and go about saying' take these sesame and jaggery and
speak sweet words' ( in Marathi ).
The importance of tilas (sesame) is brought out in the
following: A person 572 who uses sesame in six ways does not
sink ( is not unsuccessful or unlucky) i. e. who rubs his body
with sesame, who bathes with sesame, who is pure and always
offers water mixed with sesame (to his deceased ancestors), and
who offers sesame into fire, who makes a gift of sesame and who
eats sesame.
Gifts are made in these days on Makarasankranti, but
mostly by women. They honour priests by donating vessels
(of clay, copper or brass) containing several things such as
betelnuts and coins and also invite their women friends and
distribute among them earthen vessels containing red powder,
pieces of turmeric, betelnut and also separately several other
things such as sugarcane stalks. In south India there is a
festival called Pongal 57j which corresponds with the Makara-
sankranti observed in Northern and Western India, Pongal
being the first day of the Tamil year. This South Indian
fostivallasts for three days.
According to the modern aGtronomical calculations, the
winter soletice occurs on 21st December and on that day com-
mences the Sun's apparent march towards the north. But in
India people who follow the almanacs based on the ancient
methods and data think that the Sun's march towards the north
takes place on the 14th of January. They are thus about twenty
three days behind the correct Makarasankranti owing to the
precesion of the equinoxes. This fact was recognized even in
the medieval Dharmasastra works. ]'or example, Hemadri ~74

572. ~1l~' ~ ~1'l'<t'!1 iflm ~"'~l"'~~

f.r. p. 344, ",. ~. p. 540 (without name), If. fifi'.
~~ II m(lfflq' Q. by <tiT.
'lit. p. 560 ( reads ~. ftiI~~: I ~ ~l'fl'\liT ).
573. The word' l'ongaJ' is derived from a Tamil word meaDiDg • Is
it boiling or is it beiDg cooked 1 •
574. 3N"f~~ ~~ ~ ~<t.1 itT!fi'lfi\~ 'f{if 'll11'.q~ ~ I
fliJt ~~: ~~ N~: II ~.J: I ... ~~~~ <Il!fm
~~ ~"~T f<f~~;nr;ri ~~+fqffl ffif~ ~~"~f{~.,..g;~,
n~: ~ifi"1talq~if~q~ ~l'1?' ~fif ~ mnn~",i1re ~
( Continued. on next page)
 Sank1'onli day and precession 223

says that twelve days before the (popular) day of a sankranti, the
real punyakala 9ccurs an d therefore gifts and the like prescribed
on the occasion of sailkr.1 nti should also be performed on the
day twelve days prior to the popular sailkranti day.
The origin of the observancos of Makarasaokranti cannot
be very ancient. The Sun's apparent northward march for six
months has been mentioned in Br5.hmana an d Upanisad texts at
least a thousand years before Christ. For example, the Sata-
patha 575 Br. states 'That half moon which increases represents
the gods a.nd that which decreases represents the fathers. The
day represents the gods and the night represents the fathers.
And further, the forenoon represents the gods and the afternoon
the fathers .... Now when he (the sun) moves northwards then
he is among the gods, then he guards the gods; and when he
moves southwards thea he is among the fathers, then he guards
the fathers.' The Chandogya-Upanisad 576 contains a reference
to the Sun's passage to the north during six months in the words
'from light to day, from day to the bright half of the month,
from the bright half of the month to the six months during which
the sun goes towards the north, fr'om the months to the year, from
the year to the Sun &c.' But here the word udag-auana is not
expressly employed. The word 'ayana' occurs in the B,gveda III
33. 7 (iiyannapo ayanam-icchamiiniil).) , the waters seeking a pass-
age went rushing.' Here ' ayana' has the etymological sense of
, passage' or 'place.' But in the grhyasutras the word 'udaga-
yana' in the sense of the sun'E northward passage occurs. The

( Continued from last page )

~I~ I if.
on '1m? pp. 436- 437. From f;t. m. p.5 it appears that
Apararka also said in his comment on ya j . I . 21 7 after quo ti ng V i ~nudharma.
sutra 77. 1-2 that the difference between the real Makarasaokra nti day and
popular Makarasankranti day was twelve days . B ut those words as qu oted by
N. S . from Apararka are not found in the printed Apararka at p. 426
( A nand a~rama ed. ).

575. 'q' cr~S1:hlT~: ~ ~qr ~SQ'~~ ~ iit<Rr~ ~ UT~ : iit<R: ~"R1;;

~ ~qr~;~: I ... ~ "q'm,plI" J~ ~"iI~ <ffi! l1<ffil ~f+l' tirqrma I
<rn '"~ ~~ <f~ ~ ... I ~ <I~~ m;1~1 3{Tt;1:fi<f I ~\t II. 1. 3.
The q;"\~ffiiifi-~OT 19. 3 also has a striking passage '~~l'

..
1,3 and 4.
~ fiIiiI' ifl~ulI 'l~~lI5Iqil
..." ~
~ ~~~~ <I~<I;rrarI: ' •

576. ~rs~~ ~~I-;q-~<i4fJ.m ~ ;.rrW"q':

~ ~E(ffi<lql~<<i ... f m. ;;. IV. 15.5 and V. 10. 1-2.
224 HistorlJ of DharmasCistra [ Sec. I, Ch. XI

Asvala:yana-g~ hye. sn prescribes the auspicious times for certain

domestic rites as follows: 'in the northward passage of the sun,
in the bright half of a month and on an auspicious nak$atra,
caula ( child's tonsure), upanayana, godlina and marriage may
be celebrated; according to some teachers a marriage may be
celebrated at all times ( not necessarily in northward passage of
the sun &c. ) '. But here no rasi name appears. In J aimini
VI. 8. 23 it is provided that rites for gods are to be performed in
the northward passage of the Sun, some day in the bright half
of the month and on an auspicious day. As a matter of fact,
none of the ancient Srauta, Grhya or Dharmasiitras mentions any
railis or prescribes any auspicious or inauspicious times concerned
with railis but only times in relation to naksatras. Some people
try to interpret the words' susthe indau' (when the moon is well
placed i. e. auspicious) in Yaj. 1. 80 as referring to rasis, but
they forget or ignore the fact that the earliest extant com-
mentator of Yajnavalkya, Visvarupa, explains those words as
referring to naksatras and not to rasis. The subjeot about the
introduction of rasis will be briefly discussed in the next section
on Kala and Muhurta. A\ udagayana had already been
regarded for many centuries as an auspicious period, naturally
Makarasankranti from which the northward passage of the Sun
starts became a very sacred day, when the rasi system was
introduced. Why so much importance was attached to sesame
on this Makarasankranti day it is difficult to say. Probably in
view of the cold prevailing at the time of the beginning of
uttarayana an oily substance like sesame easily available and of
great food value was selected. In any case the observanoes and
festival of Makarasankranti do not appear to be much older than
the beginning of the Christian era.
In modern pancAngas, Makarasankranti, being deemed to be
a deity, several curious matters are added, viz. sankranti rides
on some viihana (principal vehicle or draught animal such as an
elephant) and an upavahana ( as ancillary vehicle ), she wears a
garment either dark, white or red or of some other colour, she
is supposed to carry a weapon (such as a bow or javelin),

577. ~ 31fC(4'1,O'Q'1lf ~ "'~ ~~IQ",q"'"i",~: I ~­

~ ~I 3ITsoa.~. I. 4. 1-2. The ~ 1.5. is almost the same
'~::.I'i4'1'OIQ~ ~ ~ QT{iir dfll'Tm~~"'~­
~:~~ ~~~I ~. VI. 8.23. The3lTQ'.~.I.1. 2
is almost the same' '3ii(.tq",'(Jqo:mr:~ ~' .
 226 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XI

to a. forest for hunting with his dog. He bagged no animal and

being oppressed by hunger and thirst he remained awake the
whole night on the bank of a tank in a thicket of trees. Under~
neath a bilva tree there was a Sivalinga and in an effort to keep
his body at ease he threw down leaves of the bilva tree which
fell on the top of the linga without his knowing it In order to
put down dust he ( took water from the tank and) splashed it so
that it fell on the linga and one of his arrows fell down from his
hands on the linga through inadvertence which he took from the
linga by falling on his knees before the lioga. In this way he
unconsciously bathed the linga, touched it, worshipped it (with
bilva leaves) and kept awake the whole night. In the morning
he came back to his house and partook of food given by his
wife. When he died in course of time he was seized by the
myrmidons of Yama, when Siva's attendants fought with
them a.nd liberated him and he became a sinless attendant of
Siva together with his dog. In this way he collected merit
without knowing it; if a person does with 579 full know ledge
(what the ni~ada did without knowing) the merit is inexhaus-
tible. The AgnipuraJ;la expressly mentions the hunter Sundara.~
, senaka sao. The whole chapter of Garu~a is quoted in the
Var~akriya-kaumudI pp. 512-513. The story in the Skanda is
more elaborate. There it is a wicked Ki1'ala named Oa~~a who
killed fish by catching them in his nets and killed also many
animals and birds. He had a wife who matched him in his
cruelty. Thus passed many years. One day he ascended a
bilva tree taking water in a quiver desirous of killing a wild boar
and passed the whole night without sleep keeping a watch and
cast down many bilva leaves which fell on a linga at the bottom
of the bilva tree, He also rinsed his mouth with water from the
quiver, that fell on the linga. In this way he worshipped Siva
in all ways, viz. he bathed (snapana) the linga with water, he
worshipped linga with numberless bilva leaves and he kept
awake the whole night and was without food that day. He
alighted from the tree and began, after reaching the tank, to
catch fish. Because he did not return home that night, his
wife went without food and water and passed that night in
anxiety. ]n the morning she came to that forest with some
food for her husband and seeing her husband on the other side
of a river, she placed the food on the river bank and began to

579. I!q;j~'''iI : ~ ~1"'{I!0q;j~ I ~ I. 124.11,

580. ~: stltlql"!fl q Q11ft U'q«4.,,,,; II ~. 193. 6.
 A Kira{a and 8ivarlUri 227

cross the river. They both bathed in the river, but before the
kiriita could reach th~ food a dog came there and ate all the
food. When the wife wanted to kill the dog the kiriita whose
heart was softened persuaded his wife to desist from killing the
dog. By that time it was 1100n (on amiivAsyii) and Siva's
attendants came there to take both the husband and wife as he
had worshipped (though unknowingly) the linga and as both
had fasted on 14th. The kirlita and his wife reached Sivaloka.
The PadmapuraJ?a ( VI. 240. 32 ff) weaves, as the Skanda does,
its story round a nif$iida.
There is a conflict of views about what the chief thing is in
Sivaratri is. The Tithitattva holds that a fast is the principal
thing in Sivariitri and relies on the words of Sankara. •On that
tithi ( Sivariitri ) I am not so pleased with bath (of the linga) nor
with clothes (offered to the linga ) nor with incense nor by
worship nor with the offering of flowers as I am pleased by a
fast '.581 On the other hand, Hemadri and Miidhava hold that
Sivariitri means fast, worship and jayam'IJa 582 and all the three
are apprehended as principal and quote passages from the
SkandapuraJ?a and Na garakhan~a in support.S83 • That man
who observes a fast on Sivariitri for twelve years and who keeps
awake (in dance and music) before me the whole night would
reach heaven. That man, who worships Siva and performs
jiigara on the 14th, would not thereafter taste milk at mother's
breast (i. e. would not be born again); the nisiida, unknowingly
worshipping a self-existent linga, observing a fast and jagara,
became free from sin and attained the position of the attendant
of Siva',

581. 3H<lIgQi4HI: l:f~ I Of ~Of Of q~ar Of ~ Of ~ I 'iJ~ Of ~'UT

~'UT a.nQE(I~a: II if{il ~~~: I ffl . a. p . 125 .

.582. ~aTIS~~~,~~l(m '<TI •• • ~o;n.

Foi. pp. 290-291. Vide ~. on !Im"5
,,(~VtQlfI"'.lIq., ~ (\i4I'l1lde4: I 'fiT.
p.302 '~~rif.:f l:fr.w4fi1t44~i4 Q1lf:' and ll. ~. p. 253. ~~T
Ocours In umilnr IV. 11-23, which forms the basis of ~ I. 2. 24-32 .

.583. <T'IlT ~ ~~ I ~ Fcro E(1lf'ifOr fficRli?igQltflifl; I ~ ;IT ::;rr~

<rf!t ~,.,.: ~~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~f1Tfil ~
~ I ifTij: lflf"'h:rmt .,
~~~II~I~~: ~:I~~
~ 'IOnrt I!((: II t . (on !Im"5) pp. 309-310. The verse '~~ ... ~,
la q. by 1fil. f.t p. 289, ~ . ~. p. 101.
 History of Dharmasiistra l Sec. 1, Ch. xi
In the KalanirJ?aya S84 there is a lengthy discussion on the
question whether the word' Sivaratri ' is used in a conventional
sense ( viz. a particular tithi ) or in an etymological sense ( every
night on which some observance relating to Siva is performed),
or a metaphorical sense ( viz. a vrata, though the word expresses
a tithi) or a yogaruQ.ha sense i. e. etymological cum conventional
like the word paidcoja (a lotus ). The conclusion established is
that the word Sivaratri is yogarudha like the word pankaja
( lotus), which does spring from mud (so far the sense is
etymological) but which is confined to only one thing viz. lotus
(so far there is ru~hi or convention) and does not apply to a frog.
Sivaratrivrata is both nillla (obligatory) and ldlmya
( optional). It is nitya because there are passages which lay
down that sin follows if a man does not perform it 585; 'the being
that does not worship with devotion Rudra who is the lord of
three worlds wanders through thousands of future lives.' Besides,
there are verses which lay down that the vrata should be per-
formed every586 year: '0 great goddess I a man and a chaste
woman should every year worship Mabadeva with devotion on
Sivaratri '. This vrata is optional because the texts provide the
rewards of performing this vrata. For example, vide p. 85 above
and p. 86 above for tbe maxim of sa7il1/oga-prthaktva.
This vrata according to the !sanasamhita 587 can be per-
formed by all human beings. The Sivaratrivrata destroys all
I

584 . <I'~ ~-qa' ~'It ~'!{rT~) ~:, f.k <n -q1men:, '"" ~T~:,
8l'tm .~.')~ wffi , ~ ~, ~ W1~' §tI': I faRIlW~ m<rol~~ ~­
m ~<t.' ;nt. f.t. p. 280; al'<l ~ ~l'I: I ~ ~ ~1'1(Ii)~I*q:, ...
1im q~ ~t<ffi wffi <Wi ~ir~ i:r~eqiff~ ~~~ifii<Qr f<l~
"iicr~rN '"ll~t "'I' enT~W:' ;nt. f.f. p. 287. ~<rF.t is taken as a
~~ '~ {I~~ .rn' iT'a' ~1~~¥1I~"I 'Ill"": ~iqr ~I ~
~, ;nt. f.t p. 288, .

585. "'I' ~ff ~ ~ ~~ I :;f~tJi""'~tla~ ~ ifI:i ~II

~"" q. by ;nt. f<l. p. 288.
586. ~i(~~.m;m:r ~l ~~~~ ~JI1l~1I
~ q. by "fiT. f;:f. p. 288, tao It. p. 125 (from q;;r).

587 . P.\(~ifil"N\Q':~I'ttj,:(~ ~Rifit<ltil~II'1~~dl~16'ffi'( I ~­

ri ifm ~JQIQllDli~'( ' al",,,UElI('l¥1du'l,uri ~ro.6Rt"lql'lifi'( II <liT. fif. p. 290;
lit. flJ. p, 225, ~. ;t. p. 101; ~ <n ~ <nfq ~ <n ~~I,*~'l'{""ifi: ' ~ ~
~ ~lq(If5r.II'?~\liI: II from i"<R~ q. by ~Riijl'Cill« j vide m. It. p . 125,
~p.461.
 Fruits of Bivaratrivrata 229

sins and confers enjoyment of happiness and mok!?a (final

liberation) on all human beings including caJ;l~alas',
The !sanasarilhita provides: a devotee of Vi~l)u or Siva or
of another god, if he gives up Sivaratri, destroys all the fruits
of his worship ( of the deity to whom be is devoted). Everyone588
who performs this nata has to observe certain restrictions, viE.
non-injury, truthfulness, freedom from anger, celibacy, compas-
sion, forbearance and he has to be calm in mind, devoid of fits
of passion and has to perform austerities and he should be free
from malice; knowledge of this nata should be imparted to such
a one provided he follows his preceptor; if one imparts it other-
wise, one goes to hell.
The proper time for this nata is night, since, as stated in
the Skanda 589 'goblins, the Saktis and Siva (who wields the
trident) move about at night and therefore these are to be
worshipped at that time on caturdasI.' The Skanda 590 provides
, A fast should be observed on that caturdasi of the dark half
that is joined to nisltha (i. e. that exists at that time) ; that
tithi is the best and leads to companionship with Siva "
Hemadri quotes NagarakhaJ;l~a591 as follows: on the 14th of the
dark half of Magha I shall go in the Kaliyuga on the surface of
the earth at night and not by day, I shall undoubtedly transfer
myself to allliilgas, whether movable or permanently fixed, for
the removal of the sins committed in the (preceding) year I
therefore the man who offers worship to me at night with these
mantras will be free from srn '. In the rsanasarilhita it is said
'The first God ( Siva) appeared in the form of Sivaliilga, whose
refulgence was equal to that of a crore of suns, on the 14th of
Magha dark half, The tithi to be accepted for the Sivaratri

588. ~ ~~m ~ <J1l111P'1T 1 ~mn '!fi~'Ji{ <m<fr 1;]Ol~'fi:ll

~ ~ ~f.r !!i~sqI4Iil'i'l ~ 1
Wll"1lr.qr ~ ~ mrr oroi; ~ 11 lifil, f.t.
p,290.

589. m It'Ef ~~ ~~;l; ~~11 f.I-fu ~ ~

~:~llm:l~t~~~~l~.on ~ p. 304; vide
1fiT. f.t. 298 •

.590. ~~r 1ft iI ~~ "'lm1 1 ;oql'"l1 m r'itii): ~ 1l1"~ll1.,q·

~II ~ 1.1. 33. 82. Vide note 302 for r.mT1l and It'fl1~ •
.591. "IEj"I~\q pvrrqt ~ ~~ 1 :sJt ml1Tfil ~ ~ ~ ~
mlll~h'llf~~!\~~"iill ~~~WII
fI~"url!ll1 ~ il ~ "Ii: cm~ ~; 1 ~: ~~S ~ ~ ~gqf<t 11
~ q. by~, ( OD 'fi~ p. 304),
230 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xi

nata should be one that covers that time. .A. man should
perform this vrata on that tithi when the 14th covers the time
before and after midnight.' 592 Hemadri also quotes a verse like
this 'The 14th tithi called Sivar5.tri that covers pradofla should
be accepted (for vrata); one should observe a fast on that tithi
Bince there has to be a jagara (in that vrata) at night.' 593
Owing to the above somewhat conflicting dicta there is a
great deal of discussion on the proper day and time for the vrata
in Hemadri on Kala (pp. 298-308), Kalanir~1aya (pp. 297 ff),
Tithitattva (pp. 125-126), Nir~ayasindhu (pp. 222-224),
Puru!?arthacintamani (pp. 248-253) and other works. Some
works like the Nirnayiim~ta594 put emphasis on the word prariofla
( in note 593) above, while others emphasize the word niiitha
and ardbaratra. The conclusions drawn by Madhava (the
prince of nirJ;1ayakaras) are stated here. If caturdasI covers
both prado!?a and nisltha, then the vrata should be observed on
that day. If caturdasI spreads over two days (i. e. it is mixed
with 13th and also with amaviisya) and 14th exists at the time
bf nisltha on both days, or if it does not so exist on any of the
two days, then covering prado!?a is the determining factor;
where 14th covers pradosa on two days or does not cover pradosa
on any of the two days, then existing at nisltha is the determin-
lng factor; if caturdasl having extended over two days covers
only one out of the two (prado!?a and nisltha) on each day then
conjunction with J aya ( i. e. 13th tithi) is the decisive factor.595
A brief description of how Sivaratrivrata was performed in
ancient times may be gathered from Garudapuriina 1.124. 11-23.
After honouring Siva on tbe 13th tithi th~ man ~ho is to under-
take the vrata should resolve to observe certain restrictions. He
should declare' 0 God I shall keep awake the whole night on the
592. ~ ii~<htjl"'I~," ~~ 1 ~li"'~; <n~lfl'f; 1
t1«f\I~.tjl(il.,'f 1fTlIl1 ~lq<lf?4aa f<I~ ; 1 ~mq'1:t~i ~ 'tl''5!' ~ I nrrat
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ri OR; 1 ~~<fT q. by f<itmm m.
p . 125, lit.
p . 322.
593. Sl;fltij6tjl(il;1) lfIWf m<mfill~ I ~~r ~f1RUt 'tl'~ ~ q '
~II ~. on ~ 307. Vide ~. fQ;. <fit. p. 74 for explanation of tbis vers ••
For S«ittII'. vide note 261 above.
594. ~~ ~~: Sl<jltijotllfil;lN, 3ftI<ISiql'ftjtlit ~~<n4tjl~"
ilqlCh'iI'l<nloil~ I f.t . m. p.233.
595. ~~ ~ ~ tq ~'iti1ttjl(;t'fi11 ~ ~
q;iltijitjlhl ~ "l ~.qlfili1ltjl(;tqrr I ~~ ftf.f ~'fi.tjtm ~
~: 11fiT. fi\'. p. ~97.
 Description of Sivaratrivrata 231

14th tithi. I shall make according to my ability worship, gifts,

austerities and hama. 0 Sambhu! on 14th I shall take no food
and shall take food on the next day. Oh Lord I be thou my
refuge for securing enjoyment of happiness and moksa.' The
person observing the vrata should approach a teacher and should
bathe (the linga) with paficaual'ya and with pai'icam~ta. He
should repeat the mantra 'Om namal;!. Sivaya.' He should
worship Siva with the upacaras beginning with sandalwood
paste and he should offer into fire sesame, grains of rice and
boiled rice mixed with ghee. After this homa he should offer
purr/ahuti (an offering made with a full ladle) and listen to
music and good stories (about Siva). He should again offer
offerings at midnight, in the 3rd quarter of the night and in the
4th quarter. Having inaudibly repeated the mulamantra (am
nama~ Sira1la) he should pray to Siva about daybreak to forgive
his sins with the words' 0 God I 1 have worshipped in this vrata
without obstacles through your favour; 0 Lord of the worlds I
o Siva I pardon me. Whatever merit I have won this day and
whatever has been offered by me to Siva I have finished this
vrata to-day through your favour; 0 bountiful one I be pleased
with me, and go to your abode; there is no doubt that I have
become pure by merely seeing you.' He should feed persons who
are devoted to contemplating ( on Siva) and should give to them
garments, umbrellas and the like; '0 Lord of Gods! lord of all
things I that bestoweth favour on people; may my lord be
gratified by what I have given with faith.' Having thus prayed
for forgiveness, the person undertaking this vrata may carry it
on for twelve years. After obtaining fame, wealth, sons and
kingdom he may repair to the city of Siva; he should perform
jagara (on 14th) in all the 12 months of the year; the man
undertaking the vrata after feeding twelve brlihma:t_las and
donating lamps may secure heaven.
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 4th. The mantras in the four
watches are respectively 'hrIm, !sanaya namal;!.," hrIm Agho-
ray a namal;!.,' 'hrim Vamadevaya namal;l' and 'hrIm Sadyojatliya
nama.i;l.' The mantra at the time of offering arghya is also
different in each of the four watches. It is fUrther provided
that there should be songs and dances in the first watch of the
232 Histor'lJ of Dhm'maiastra [ Sec. I, Ch. Xl

night. The Varf?akriyakaumudI (p. 513) provides that in the

2nd, 3rd and 4th watches also the person undergoing vrata has
t o perform worship, arghya, japa and listening to stories ( about
Siva), to offer hymns of praise and make prostrations and at
day-break he should pray for forgiveness with arghya water.
If Magha-kp~na 14th falls on a Sunday or Tuesday, that is most
commendable for this vrata. 596
Later medieval digests such as the Tithitattva ( pp. 126 ff),
the Kalatattvavivecana (pp. 197-203), Purusarthacintamal)i
(pp. 255-258), Dharmasindhu (p. 127) provide an elaborate
description of the procedure of Sivaratri vrata. The K. T. V.
remarks 597 that the procedure of Sivaratri-vrata is different in
the several pural1as. For comparison with the one in the
Garuda quoted above a summary of it from the Dharmasindbu
is given here. On the 13th tithi the performer should take only
one meal in the noon, on the 14th after finishing his usual
morning duties and rites, he should make a sankalpa in the
morning with a mantra' I shall perform this Sivaratrivrata that
yields great rewards; a Lord of the world! may it be without
obstacles through your favour. On the 14th I shall be without
food and shall take my meal on the next day for enjoyment of
pleasures and malala, a Lord! be you my refuge: If the per-
former be a brahmana, he should recite the two ric verses59S
• ratrlm prapadye' and cast water. In the evening (of 14th)
he should take a bath with black sesame, should apply the
tripu'rulm mark 599 with ashes to his forehead and also hold a
rosary of rud1'ak[Ja (berry of Elaeocarpus Ganitrus), should go
to a temple of Siva at the beginning of night, should wash his
feet, should take acamana (should sip water) and should make
a sankalpa 'I shall perform the puja of the first watch on
Sivaratri' ; if he intends to perform separate pujas on all the four
watches or if he wants to perform a puja only once he should say
• I shall perform the worship of Siva on Sivaratl'i for securing
the favour of Siva.' Then he should repeat the sage (Vamadeva)
596. JIT'CI 'lluoi"4ll.hqi~) ll~ I ~ ;o(q ~ ~ ad~:<U'11( I
~ q . by li.~. pp. 252-253 , <lit. R. p. 299 ,~. if. p. 104 .
597. l~'HI1"'adiijl!!'~;;m:'!iI' ~ ~itf.,. ~ "urN ~­
~ m~nro",wl'~~~ I <lit. (I.~. p. 167.
598. The +r-"Sis are verses 3 and 4 of th e ~m, which is a ~
after ~ X. 127, viz. um ~ ~ o and ~;ff ~o.
599. T"i/>I~1!t!ra-is triple sectarian mark consisting of three lines 0D;
the forehead .
 Prooedu're of 8ivaratrivrata %33

of the Siva mantra of five letters (8ivGya llama~), the metre

( Anu~~up ), the Devata ( Sadasiva) and it is to be employed for
nyasa, pujli and japa. Then he should bow to the sage, metre
and Sadasiva and perform nyasa on the several parts of the
body from the heart with appropriate mystic letters and mantras
(such as 'am namas-tat-purusaya namal;l hrdaye ' to the last 'om
yam ast1'u'Ya phat ) ; then he should worship the jar (kalaSa) and
contemplate on Siva as portrayed 600 in the verse quoted below.
He should then establish a linga by performing the priitza·
pratil$~hii and touch it and should invoke 601 Siva. with four
mantras and pray Siva to be present in the linga till the end of
the piija. Then he should offer an anjali of flowers. If the
linga is already permanently fixed or if the linga, though not
fixed, has already been established with the necessary sarilskaras,
he should omit the details from pralfaprati~~ha to avahana.
Then he should perform the remainjng upacaras (out of 16)
from ilsana to the last. As regards snana it is provided that
the linga is to be bathed with paficamrta (vide note 218), with
the m'iilamantra (Sivaya namal;l ) and the mantras I iipyayasva'
( Eg. 1. 91. 16 ff) and should wash it with pure water with
the three verses ' apo hi s~ha ' (Eg. X. 9. 1-3). Then he should
perform abhifJeka (bathing of the deity) with water made
fragrant with sandalwood, saffron and camphor to the accom·
paniment of the Rudra mantras602 recited once or repeated eleven
times and of the Puru~asllkta ( Eg. X. 90). At the end of snana
( of the linga ) the performer should give ilea mana water ( to the
. linga ) and perform tarpalfa with water mixed with aksatas for
Siva with eight names (Bhava 603 &c.) and the wives of these
eight. After flowers the perfol'!Iler should offer 1008 or 108

600. .q,<H~~<i ~ (""",fitRPI>f '<Il1; .... ·4'qcifi (1"'ifiO'.n;S""'i?'f' ~.

~ ~ ~ «IN1"~,,, .... (.~,.ql'£f~ ~ ~"iii'd iit~
I
~ q~ iWi~1I q. by ~ p. 127.

601. 3ii 'Ii ~ fl''"lfl4'~'HlIq,~q,iiI, &r ~: ~ ... ~, ail~: ~ ...

1'lTfi:l, ail ~:~: ... ?1TiR I ~ p. 127.
602. Rudra means the eleven anutJ;'kas of the Tat. 5, IV. 5. 1-11
beginning with' namas· te Rudra Manyave '.
603. The eight names are Bhava, Sarva , isana, Pasupati , Ugra, Rudra,
Bhima, Mah;'deva. The form will be 'om Bhavam devam tarpay;,mi ' &c.
And I i to the wives, ' Bhavasya devasya patnim tarpayami '. For eight
names of Rudra almost identical with these, vide Sailkhyayana BrahmaP,a
VI. 2-9.
B. D. 30
 234: History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XI

bilva leaves with the thousand nallles of Siva 604 or with mula-
mantra. After naivedya he should offer acamana and fruits with
mu/amantra. After Uimbula he should wave a lamp ( before the
linga) with the mulamantra and Vedic mantras, offer mantra-
pUi}pa with the mantra 'am namal). Sivaya' and offer eight
namaskaras to the eight names 'Bhava' &c. (quoted in note
603 ) and to their wives. Then he should offer twelve afijalis of
< flowers with the twelve names 605 ( noted below), perform pradak-
l!itza and namaskara8 with mlilamantra, repeat inaudibly the
mulamantra 108 times, should pray for forgiveness and should
declare ( before linga) 'May Samba Sadasiva be pleased with
this puja '.
If a man undertook a vrata to observe Sivaratri for 24 or
14: years or 12 years he has to perform the udyapana thereof at
. the end of that period. 606 An elaborate procedure is prescribed
in some works such as the Puru$arthacintamal}i (pp. 258-259),
Vrataraja pp. 586-587. It is passed over here.
As regards the para1,1a on a single Sivaratri on Magha-
kf!?I,la the texts, as noted by Nirl)ayasindhu, are in conflict.
Two of them from the Skanda may be set out here 607. 'KrsI)a..
s~ami, Skanda$as~hI and Sivaratri, when these are mixed with the
preceding and following tithis, the one mixed with the preceding
tithi should be accepted for the prescribed rite and the paraI)a
should be performed at the end of the tithi prescribed; fast on
14th and paraI)a on the 14th itself - such an occurrence may
be had only if one has lakhs of good deeds to one's credit "
The conclusions established by the Dharmasindhu p. 126 are i

604. 3f!J~ (17.31-153) gives the 1008 names of Siva and ~

(285. 74 II) mentions most of the 1008 names.
605. The 12 names are m'f,
~, q~f<l, ;fW;:nv~, ~"<r~, ,"1:~, ~.
~,~~i'.fi, ~~,~, l'I'1<~~.
606. Ifi ~ ~Or ~n'1;(~~: I <it m~ Ul~ ~: ~~.hm)~i{ II
. ~ q. by ~. (on tnrn p. 309 ); ~'ffil~<f iftt ~a': I "ifijF.f~'ff'f1tliUr
~ tlI4t;I'Hft<t{ I ~~ ~. ~~TQOi iFfr I ~~T ill<f~ ~ ~~
Sl:t: 1'1. by li. f';:.f. p. 358; "i!l!1~tllI~4 ~ fu'ffi~ ~.rt{. I q;n+f'i'l; ~
"i!l"fl~':i~lIfOTt{ I q. by ~ p. 586.
607. ~~~:I~~ijfil~'ltql'fqrf.i~I~I~­
~ ~ fw.rof'~ I 1!i'I1: ift~: ~~,,~ mot ~ I ... m~~
1ffi1lf~~I~~~ ij ~1~:~'JiI ~~ "!
1!11 <f 1!I11 tit m. p 224; the first is q. by~. (00 ~ p. 298), the. 2nd is Q. by
~p.126.
 Para'Qa on 8ivaratrivrata 235
'Jf caturdasi tithi ends before three watches of the night end,
then the para~a should be at the erd of the (14th) tithi: if
caturdasi ( tithi ) extends beyond the three watches of the night,
then at daybreak tbe parana takes place in the 1 • dst of the
14th; these are the v iews of Madhava and others; the opinion
of the Nirnayasindhu is that even when the caturdasi tithi ends
before the three watches of the night the para~ a must bf:l observed
in the midst of the caturdasi and not at the end of caturdasi.

In modern times very few, if at all, go through the pro-

cedure prescribed even in the Dharmasindhu. A fast is observed
and Siva is worshipped and people may listen to stories of Siva's
exploits. Common people in some parts drink a beverage called
bhang prepared by pouring water 011 Clushed hemp leaves with
the addition of almonds, rose leaves, opium seeds &c. It is
supposed to be dear to Sankara. In many temples of Siva, water
is made to drip on the linga incessantly.

Mr. Gupte (pp. 208-215) after detailing the story of a

hunter and a doe, her mate buck and two young ones connects
the Sivaratri observances with the constellation of Mrgaslrsa
together with Sirius (the Hunter), but he is at a loss to explain
why the 14th of Magha-kr$p.a should have been selected for a
fast. Mr. Mukerji (pp. 33-37) contents himself by referring
to the Sivaratrimahatmya in Santiparva. The constellation
of M!-,gaslr$a and the brightest star Sirius had attracted the
minds of ancient Indians. The Ait. Br. (XIII. 9)608 narrates
how Prajapati seeking his own daughter for intercourse sinned,
how he assumed the form of an antelope alJd how the gods
brought together their terrible forms, which became Rudra whom
they asked to pierce the antelope. When Rudra pierced the
antelope, the latter fled up into the sky. People call it Mrga
( M!-'gasirsa ) and Rudra became the hunter ( Mrgavyadha ), the
daughter became Rohip.i and the arrow (with its three parts)
became the three arrow-like stars.
In the Lingapura~a as quoted in the Vratal'aja (pp. 573-
586 ) there is the story of a hunter (ni$ada) who when
bent on killing a doe, her mate and children unknowingly
performed all the characteristic actions of Sivaratrivrata and

608. " +lJ'M('Hf<i ..~ ~ '3i\~ ;r.fJl1«1<t.~ V'I ~~'3'!fl' ~llNi

" '3' lllI' ~ 'Ill ~'h'i~1 ~~1 ~r q~lI~~' ~r q~!I'«~ ' q. Jl'1. XIII. 9.
 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. Xl

who and the family of the buck ultimately became transformed

into the Mrgaslr~a nak~atra with the star of the hunter (Sirius)
behindfIYJ
For deliled treatment of Sivaratrivrata in the medieval
digests, H. V. II. 71-122, V. R. R. 72-77, T. T.124-133, SmK.
481-512, P. C. 248-281, G. K. 158-167 may be consulted.
There are other Sivaratrivratas as in H. V. II. 71-87 (which
lI.re different from the one described in Skanda I. 1. 33 ), or in H.V.
II. 87-92, or in H. V. II. 114-122, or in H. V. II. 122-130 (from
Bhav. U.). These are all passed over for want of space.

609. ~ij~~'q~'qfl ~ ~ ","~i ~:I

eRufld<ltl4;f 'lsm ~. I mm~l1<1~g"" ~ ~ I 'ffi?<fiiit<r4 .nr
~ ~ ~ I 'l'8l'~ ~ 'l'I:/iI~'E<I ~r.rm I ~ ~sm ~ ~­
~ I ~~TVf q. by a1m'3r p. 585. I could not trace this passage in the
Veilkalesvara press edition of the Liilga-pural!-a. " . ;' ~. ~
 CHAPTER XII

Holikii and Graha~a (eclipse)

H olika. Holi or Holika is a festival of unmixed gaiety
and frolics througbout India, though all parts do not observe it
in the same way. One element, viz. bonfire, is present almost
everywhere except in Bengal. Swinging of K~' sl)a image on
Phalguna Full Moon is done in Bengal, but it is not observed
in several other parts of India. The number of days during
which thiil festival is observed also varies from province to
province. Another item which is common to many parts of
India is the sprinkling of friends with coloured water from
bamboo or metal syringes or with red powder and this merriment
is indulged in even now by persons in high places. In the
Konkan men dressed as women accompanied by several persons
go about with songs ( often obscene) and music and dance. The
only religious element is the worship of K+~Ifa in Bengal and
in some provinces where bonfires are made a priest is engaged
to perform puja before the bonfire, people go round the fire
throwing cocoanuts in the burning wood and grass, taking
them out half-burnt and distributing the singed kernel among
the people present as prasada. In some parts people produce
liIounds by beating their mouths with the backs of their hands.
It is not possible nor necessary to set out in this notice all the
varying details of this festival throughout the whole of India.
This festival is very ancient. Originally the form of the
word was Holaka. and from references in the bhasya of Sabara
on the PiirvamImamsa-siitra (1. 3. 15-23 )610 it appears that it
was in ancient times a usage very prevalent in the eastern
parts of Bharata. But Jaimini and Sabara appear to hold that

(l10. SlaOlI",oqq'E'ClI"'I't'Iefi!l;'i1i SIll1Ut ~ I sWt "" ~: ~ql"d ... qltl(ql·

~ I ~. I . 3.15-16; on tbese ~ puts fortb tbe purvapak~ and reply
as follows: ~ 1iT~: SIT"O~ ~: 3lIGfl"S"'l<f~ ~ ~f'II'll-'
~ ~ l... s:riit itf<t ~lfu: ll!'t~: ~: ~ l. Vide H. of
Db. vol. III, pp. 851-853 and note 1648. Tbe jlM.t1q;t'lIqOlI(?lfiI~!I( on tbis
explains • q\1f1tO$a(t ",I'(?TIfil. ' Tbis topic Is called ~~ because tbe
first example In Sabara'a bha~YI r~fers to tbe practice of Holaki.
238 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, On . .xn

Holaka should be observed by all Aryas. In the Ka~hakag~hya

73.1 there 611 is the sfltra • Raka Holake' which is explained
by the commentator Devapala as follows' Hola is a special rite
performed for the saubhagya of women and in that rite Raka
(Full Moon) is the deity'. Other commentators interpret it
differently. Among the twenty krirjas found in the whole of
Bharata and also restricted to certain provinces only and
mentioned by Vatsyayana in his Kamasutra 612 (1. 4. 42) is
Holaka which is explained by the comment.ary Jayamangala as
comprising the sprinkling of each other by people on Pbalguna
Full Moon with coloured water discharged from a horn or the
like and throwing perfumed powder. Hemadri on Kala ( p. 106 )
quotes a verse from Brhadyama 613 in which Holika-pilrJ;lima is
called • HutasanI' (as in modern times ). Hemadri further
quotes a verse from Lingapurana 614 "the Phalguna Full-moon day
is said to be known as • Phalgunika', as f1111 of boyish pranks
and tending to the prosperity of people" and another verse
from VarahapuraJ;l a where it is qualified as' pa~avasavilasinI'
( i. e. containing pranks with powder). Hemadri ( on vrata, II.
184-190) quotes a long passage from the Bhav. U. (chap. 132.
1-51) in which Yudbis~hira is represented as asking Kr$J;la
why in each village and town a festival is held on Pha. Full
moon, why boys become boisterous in each house and kindle
Holaka, what god is worshipped therein, who introduced the
festival and what is done therein and why it is called • .A~a~a. '
Kr$J;la tells him a legend about king Raghu whom the citizens
approached with the complaint that a certain raksasI (ogress)

611. tlenT ~ifi' ~\;r 73.1 on which ~'1q,~ comments '\;)m~·

ii{~: ~'I1THlT~ tarOTt suo~r~' a-;r iI~Iifi ,{IifiT ~<tal I ~~ uifi 5il"~ ~n~'
( Dr. Caland '5 ed . )

612. <r1l'Rm.: ~~:,~: ... il~I~'f: i;Im!fil <rr«fT1Joi ;m~r.qf

~<rl1Joi ~ ~niT f,fful!~gRRt ~<r 'filsr: , ~ 1.4.42, on which
;;(<rilwm comments '~ ~~ ~ 5~ flfi~n~~·
,{f1l~ qwffl!RUT ~'il: ~~'1Cr '.

613. ~i;;a;r: , ~ ~,f;{'1lfr '['ff ~q §"~"r ' i.fr~ ij ~ ~~I~·

~1J." ... §al~;ft itw,i'.'fir-'lrdrm , ~. on 'lir<? p. 106.

614. 1~~' ~~ qitinmft ::q ~r ...'<?1~II~ on I ~ ",~f;%q;r m ...

~ ~~" ~rGT I q;r~~ ~t a- ~1fR'Iii1~' ~ m ~
<?"fcfi q;r<rf <?l,*,*1~::s:il " ~. on l.firn p. 642; the first is q . by 'iiI. fir. p. 352
( explains ~..rom~(-.N: ).
 Holika on Phalguna Full Moon 239

called I?holf~ha troubled boys by day and night. The king

consulted his pUTohita who told him that she was a raksasY,
daughter of Malin, who got from Siva a boon that she would not
be liable to be killed by gods or men nor suffer from arms nor
from cold, heat or rain. The priest further told the king that
Siva said that she would be in danger from boys going about
crazily. The priest added that on Phalguna 15th season of
cold vanishes and summer starts, that people may laugh and
enjoy themselves, that boys with bits of wood in their hands may
go out of houses in great glee, collect a heap of wood and grass,
set it on fire with Rii.k~ogl1lla mantras, clap their hands, go
round the fire thrice, laugh, sing and utter obscene words in
the popular language and by that noise and loud peals of
laughter on the part of boys and by the homa 615 the ogress would
die. When the king got all this done, the rak~asi expired and
the day came to be called 'Adacla' and H olikii.. Then it is
further stated that on the next day which is the first tithi of
the month of Caitra ( on the pllrnimanta reckoning) people
should salute the ashes of the bonfire with the mantra quoted
below,616 then worship of Kama should be made on a square in
the house yard in the midst of which square a seat should be
arranged and in front a jar covered with leaves containing
aksatas and smeared with white sandalwood paste should be
placed. The image of Kama should have sandalwood paste
applied to it by a beautiful woman and thereafter the priest
should make the performer partake of mango blossoms mixed
with sandalwood paste. Then donations should be made to
learned brahmal!as, bards &c. according to one's ability with the
words' May the God of Love be pleased with me.' The purii.lfa
winds up with the verse' When the season of frost ends on the
15th of the bright half and the time of spring approaches in the
morning, that man who partakes of mango blossoms with sandal-
wood paste lives in happiness.'

Instead of the gay and saturnalia-like practices prevalent

in many parts of India about Holika, Bengal celebrates it by
the Dolayatra. Siilapalfi oomposed thereon a short work called

615. ~~t~: ~'ffiT1~: I ~~t ~: qN ~ m tih~

JIm II llfci~ 132.31 q. by ~. on ii11'{ at p . 187. This derives ~<fiT from liTJI.

616. ~ ~ 1II"fJI'UTT ~ -:q I ~ tm"i ;fr ~ f.I~ w'ffifr

i. Rr. p. 81.
If!f" ,. on om p. 188,
 History of Dharmasastra ( Sec. I, Ch. XII

Dolayatra-viveka. 617 The festival should be carried on for five

or three days. Before the Full moon of Phalguna, on the 14th
at the beginning of night an utsava in honour of Agni is to be
celebrated to the east of the mar:uJapa. Then an image of
Govinda is to be made, it is established in a structure with 16
pillars on a vedikCi (raised platform) and it is to be bathed with
paficamrta and various items of worship are to be offered and
seven times the swing on which the image is placed has to be
rocked to and fro. Fire kindled on the first day is to be preserved
till the days of the festival end. At the end the swing is to be
rocked 21 times. It is narrated that king Indradyurnna started
this swing festival in Vrndavana. By means of this utsava a
man becomes free from all sins. Then SulapaJ;l.i discusses at
some length the exact tithi, prahara and nak$atra on which the
Dolayatra is to be performed. Briefly, the conclusion is that
Dolayatra must be performed when the Full Moon tithi is runn-
ing, whether there is Uttara-phalgunl-nak$atra or not.618
The Kalatattvavivecana very Buccinctly puts down the
characteristics of Holikotsava as set forth in the Bhavisyottara. 619
The N irl}ayasindbu (227), Smrti-kaustubha (516-519), Puru~­
artha-cintamal;l i (308-319) and other late medieval works dis-
course on this festival, but for reasons of space their discuBsions
are not set out here.
As Holaka is mentioned by Jaimini and the Ka~hakagrhya,
it follows that it prevailed at least some centuries before Christ.
The Kamasiitra and Bhavisyottara connect it with spring and it
was performed at the end of the year-(on purl;limiinta reokoning).
Therefore, the bonfire represents the expiry of the season of
frost and cold and heralds the warmth and love-making of spring.
The ribald songs, dance and music are further accretions due to
the joy felt on the advent of spring. The sprinkling of coloured

617. It is edited by Shri Sureshchandra Baoerji in the volume of

papers presented to the author at pp. 56-62.
618. ~{ar quotes a verse of tfi1"'i'5MiiI~~ (00 p . 61): ~~ ~
~ "<Ij("ogWt4't~ ~ ~~;:~~I",~ ~ ~
fiiN~ ~J1l'a ~~ ~ ~: 1I1§!!;fl~;:il4~: II
619 . 1f'Jol 4)lI.,s.,ci'laf+iH4i ~ ~U"''''la",(\~~ ~,~~ftr;n ~
ftfiai%{l)ldla~l'4iJtti~: m~ ~:~~"l'l~'t"ll'1~st lffit{-
~ sm:wri tmtr( 411i("W!!~"i'l<ilrl«N*'Ii'd(1l1~ tq - ~ ... ~
mf" -tla- ~ llT\l:tltQI.,iid{ ~?cI'i{~~~ilQ('ll'<t">l ~.
lwO ~~ ~ ~ 1flWl' SU14,q:41« II!fiT.~. fit. p.327.
 HoMa 241

water and powder is an additional item in the celebration of the

delights of spring. In some provinces this sprinkling is done
on the very day of the Holika, while in the Deccan it is indulged
in on the 5th day (popularly called Ranga-paiicamI) after Holika
bonfire. Though the HoUb festiva.l is composite in several
parts of India and is celebrated all more days than one, in origin
it is no more than a spring festival. In tlome parts mud is 620
thrown by people at each other on the day after bonfire. That is
probably an extension of the idea of applying ashes of the bon-
fire to one's forehead and the body on the day after it. The
usage in some parts of creating noise by striking the back of
one's hand against one's mouth accompanied by an obscene
reference to sex is a further perversion due to welcoming the
advent of spring which is traditionally the season of love-mak-
ing. Mr. Gupte in 'Hindu holid ays and ceremonies' tries hard
to show that the Holika festival was 'imported from Egypt or
Greece' (p. 92). This theory is very fantastic and does not
deserve to be taken seriously. He had not read, it appears,
the ancient works mentioned abovo and is not himself sure
whether the origin is to be found in Egypt or in Greece.
Gra ha~la (eclipse, solar and lunar). Great importance was
attached from very ancient times to eclipses. An extensive
literature has accumulated on this subject. Vide among others
Hemadri on Kala 379-394, Kiilaviveka 521-543, Krtyaratnakara
625-631, K5lanirnaya 346-358, VarsakriyakaumudI 90-117,
Tithitattva 150-162, Krtyatattva 432-434, Nir.l,1ayasindhu 61-76,
SmK 69-80, Dharmasindhu 32-35, Gadadharapaddhati (Kalasara)
588-599. A total eclipse of the Sun is referred to even in the
Rgveda V. 40.5,6, 8 '0 Sun! when Svarbhiinu, the son of an
asura, struck you with darkness. 0 Indra I when you struck
down the wiles of Svarbhiinu that existed below the heaven,
Atri secured the Sun which had been concealed by darkness that
deviated from the usual rule (or law) by means of the highest
(or 4th) prayer' &C. 621 It is stated in the SankMyana BrahmaJ;la

620. ~,~~on p. 301 quotes the following verses 'I1o:rrn~ ~mf'

~;j '<f <iiR~ I Wi!E '<f~ '<f ~ ~ I ~: ~~~~ ~lf­
~ ~ I tfia- ~ '<f ~ '<r ~~~-wm~ I 'lIf!i;ft?r; ~~':i;): ~~~~
~~: I ~~ ll~~' ~ "IT "I\m!'" ~I I 1iil<'5<l1: m: 1lTcIO<i ~<ri "<l
~".'
621. ~~.q ~~+I~Wi~~lW: I .. . ~~ ~ 1fl"IT f.(IfTsro
~T ~ I TIt; ~~ a;HMAail' ij~1t<r! ~~: II 1fT01'iT ~ ~iI':
( Continued on next page)
B. D. 31
242 Histon} of Dharmasilstra [ Sec. I, Ch. :xn

(24.3) that the Atris performed the Saptadasa-stoma three day.

before Visuvat and thereby smote the demon Svarbbanu that
had pierced the sun with darkness i. e. the solar eclipse (in Eg.
V. 40.5 ff.) took place three days before the autumnal Vi!$uvat
(equinox).
It appears from the Brhat-sari1hita that the real cause of
eclipses was known to Indian astronomers several centuries
before Varahamihira (1st half of 6th century A. D. ) who
remarksm 'In a lunar eclipse the moon enters into the shadow
of the earth and in a solar eclipse the moon enters tho Sun (i. e.
comes between the sun and the earth), that this cause of eclipse!i
was found by (former) acaryas who had a divine insight; that
Rahu is not the cause (of eclipses) ; this is the true state that the
sastra (of astronomy) declares (or this is the real intent of
sastra)'. In spite of this correct theory of eclipses, common
people and even learned men (not astronomers) then believed
and do believe up to the present day that Rahu is the cause of
eclipses and regard an eclipse as a special occasion for bath,
gifts, Japa, sraddha and the like. Varahamihira makes an effort623
to square Sruti, Smrti, popular belief and real astronomical
doctrine by the remark that there was an Asura on whom a
boon was conferred by Brahma ' You will be gratified by a por-
tion of the gifts and offerings made on an eclipse " that Asura
remains present to receive his portion and that therefore it is
metaphorically (poetically) said that he is Rabu. Rationalism
and popular traditions and superstition cannot go together.
Some difference was made between an eclipse of the Sun and
(Continued from last page)
~ ~ a~liQf"~Ql~~ I 3tfu: ~~ ~fif ~UIm{ ~-m- ~
~'!jl\fil" 'iil'.
V. 40 .5 .6,8 . It is dilIicult to say wha t tbe words o;~ilOT ~
exactly mean; the 4 th verse (i!~<i 1IfW) (rom the 5th appears to say tbat Atd
prepared to extract Soma, offered worship with a bymn of praise an d prostrated
bimself before the gods and that thereby Atri restored tbe eye of the
Heavens viz. the orb of tbe sun to its usual splendour and (with tbe favour
of Indra and Varllz:ta) dispelled the wil es of Svarbbanu. It is probable tbat
Atri aDd his family assured tbe common people ~bat the sun would in a
short time appear in all his glory. 'llfm!J!f~:wfcttlt rmmfih'l1"'~I~­
~ !lCf ~rn 51llf ~~~'1l. '31fl.q~~ 1'fffifT",;r)INf~:" ml"lf"f-
~ 24.3.

622. \l~ro ~ ~~tdlf~ Sf~: I •.• ir<~€fiI(UI!!>'illt'il<i fitnr-

~~: I ~OT>lR.. ",~"fi: ~~:II ~~. V. 8 and 13.
623. 'liT~u ~ ~ 'iI1f5rOTTSl'(~: , ~~ril4"'ii"I~1i1 ~
lffiim II ~ m ~\~ a~q'4~'" tl1': , ~~. V. 14-15.
 Eclipses of the Sun and the Moon

that of the moon. Vyasa says: 624 ' an eclipse of the moon is onEl
hundred thousand times (more meritorious than an ordinary
day) and an eclipse of the Sun ten times more so than the
preceding and if the waters of the Ganges are near (for a bath)
then a moon eclipse is one crore of times (more meritorious) and
a sun's eclipse is ten times more so than the preceding '.
The first duty of a person on seeing an eclipse is to bathe.
It is said 'on625 seeing Rahu (i. e. eclipse) men of all IJuqla8
become impure. They should first bathe and then do their usual
duties and should give up food already cooked (before the
eclipse)'. Peculiar sanctity was deemed to attach to the time
of grahal!a. If a man 626 does not take a bath at the time of
eclipse, at the passage (of the sun) from one l'USI to another.
there is no doubt that he would suffer from leprosy for seven
future lives and sorrow would be his lot.' He should take a bath
in cold water and in as holy a place as pOBsible. The holiest
bath is the one in the Ganges or GodavarI or at Prayiiga, then
in anyone 627 of the big rivers such as the six rivers connected
with Himavat mountain and the six south of the Vindhya,
mentioned in the Brahmapural!a, then in any other water, since
at the time of eclipse all water becomes holy like Ganges water.
A bath with hot water was allowed only to children, old men
and persons that were ill. One had 628 to take a bath when the

624. o?ffi1: I r<f~ lfro; ~~~ ~~ I ~~ (I ~llTa ~: !fillt

'{~~~ II ~. (00 !fil<'l') 384. !fiT. f<i. 521. Tii. m. 64.
625. ~",i'tq 'lViAt~;f; u~~~ I ~(;fr !fiiiiUT ~ttt~ ~ m~1I1II'it­
~ q. by !fiT. Pt. 533; it. (on !fiT(ll' ~ p. 390 reads ~il'i!rT ... ~~~* I ~ ij
~r-i ~ 'if q~" 3l1?it Pt~ ~ ::'H;«:qll ~ \'NT I ~,~,,: ~
~~: ~'iI' II Ram; q. by it. (on!fiffi) 383. q. m,. ~. 91 (ascribes to
~),!fiT . Pt. 388 (ascribes to ~iiJ).

626. ~ ~ ~q " ~(I ill"": I ~l1tJ §i'r ~ J:~'m .,.

~:,,~. 130; ~ 'IT ~ 'IT ~~s£ ~ l'f1fl1l'~ I 3l'1If'i!fiTmr W~ ~
l'f. II
~: II ~-ql!;o q. by~. (OD!fiT(ll') p. 38'1.
627. ~ fl~ ~ Wi ct<~r T~: I ~ im:nt 'frof ~ ~tit:"
~ p . 348. q . f,f; . ~. Ill, !fiT. Ff. 34 8, ~. l'f. 130 (from ~ ). flleJ"'{f
~~df aw>r.rr 'if ~ I <WfT IfIftcrofr iir.\'Wi <fT~!! If<i'mtml'' lW1'~m ~
~'" 'if ~~m I Pt~ 'if ~ 'if 1~<tf'hm'ifflT: " ~ "ffl': W1ffl1tr
~\l~: I ~ 70. 33-35.
628. lm'l'f~ ~~r-i ~ ~ ~ I '5~rit ~ '5~~"" ~~ II
~ P. 347 verse 1513 , q. by K. N. 353 . i . 00 ffiT(ll' 390; lfif-
~ ~r-i' l'flo-lt iiTl'f: ~ 1In~ 'if I ~~ erA '5~ ~~I~ It'il'l': I ...
~ ~~<"{UI~I,.;..t1'ii'Il~''''''''~ifiq'Jllf!firt ~~, .tl~~ "''i'l«'l\''w
~~) ,.,-q I!'!f !iiri: I 1:1. m. 32-35 .
 Hist0111 of Dharmasastm [ Sec. I, Ch. xIi

eclipse began, to perform homa, worship of gods and sraddha

while the eclipse was in progress, to make gifts when the eclipse
was about to end, and to take a bath again when the sun or
moon became free from eclipse. Even a person who is impure
owing to a birth or death has to take a bath on an eclipse but
he is not to make a gift or to perform sraddha (according to GauC).&
writers), but the Madanaratna and the Nirpayasindbu refute this
view and hold that in an eclipse even one who is in asauca can
take a bath, perform sraddha and purascarana.629 In the pural.las
and medieval digests some distinction as regards merit or holiness
was made between eclipses in certain months and baths in certain
rivera or holy places. The Kalanirnaya (p. 350) especially
commends the Godavari for a bath in a lunar eclipse and one in
the Narmada for a solar eclipse. The Krtyakalpataru (N aiyata-
kala), Hemadri on Kala and the Kalaviveka quote 630 a long
passage from the Devipurana, some versos of which may be
rendered here: 'an eclipse in Kartika is the highest (in merit)
at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna, in M a rgas1r~a on
Devika, in Pau~a Narmada is holy, in Magha Sannihita is holy'
&c. On the occasion of the partial eclipse of the sun on 20th
June 1955 about four hundred thousand people took a bath at
Kuruksetra and Sanyahet (Sannihita of ancient times).
The general rule is that one should not take a bath, make a
gift or perform a sraddha at night. Apastamba 631 says ' let him
·avoid a bath at night '. Manu says' one should not perform a
sraddha at night, she (night) is declared to be a r5ksasl
( a demon) and also at both twilights and when the sun has just
risen'. But eclipses were an exception as regards bath, gift and
sraddha. Yajiiavalkya enumerates 632 eclipses among the proper
times for sr<lddha.
629 . <f;JI ~<r.fI'l~I7T~~;mfTq ~Of'of <fillo-q ~Tof ~ ""l", tfi~"l!~1 'li. <f. p.
'133; 3t;JImr-qlt\-lt!q ~Sj1"~lf q;,.q~ I ~<f<ii ll"ifi ~ "' 'f~l ~ I ~
l'I";\"§'~'!Ji~;f E~~" wffi 1'lN<I''t R'lm-s-r~ I •.. ~-q ""l ~~~~­
lfrlNl~~\liRl7Tr~rn~iilq""l!T I ~.,«~~~ I R. m. G6.
630. tnTRtcfi lllfOf ~ If~",~~ I I'lrif li mloT si't'ii; ~m;f"l!t ~T!Jit II
q1~ li Of~r ll.tI"lJT I'l'~ ~~.mt, ~l'I1l ~<fl~f1'T q . by 'li("l!tfi~ o (;l"l!<f) 370-71, ~.
(00 Ifffi'l) 385-8G , tnT fii. ~24. Vide H. of Db. vol. IV p. 560 o. 1260 for
the passage {rom ~~UI7T.
631. ~im~~ ~ I ~iiffi ""l ~A1l.1 mq. u. ~. 1. 11. 32.8;
~rit ~~ "' #,rn ~
;i'nffifl ~ ~ I ~~~~ ~ ~~ 11 illJ
III. 280 .
63 2. nfflma, ,,~~ ~ ""l~.q-q,: I ~ ~rn ~~a ~tfilm:
~:1I~. I.218. -
 Great value of g:fts &c. in eclipse

It is stated by Sat3.tapa 633 that gifts, baths, {apn sand

sraddha at the time of eclipses yield inexhaustible (rewards or
merit); the night is a raksasi elsewhere (at times other than
those of eclipses); therefore one should avoid it (in other
matters ). A passage is quoted from the Mahabha rata 634 ' on
ayana and Vi,~u/}a days and on the occasion of the eclipses of
the sun and the moon, one should make a gift of land together
with daksina to a deserving bl'ahm ana '. Yajilavalkya succin-
ctly observes • not by learning alone nor by tapa s alone (does
one become a deservin g person ); that is declared a deserving
person (palm ) in whom these two ( l'irlyu. and t aj)(l ,~ ) and
actions ( appropriate to these ) are found.' Numerous inscrip-
tions published so far bear witness to the fact that over the
whole of India ancient and medieval kings and well-to-do people
carried out to the letter this recommend ation of making gifts of
land on eclipses. Some inscriptions are mentioned here by way of
illustration. Vide for gifts on solar eclipses the following: IA. VI
pp.72-75 (in sake 534 expired) the grant of a village to a brahmana
of Tagara by the great king Satyasraya Pulikesi ll on Bhti.drapada
amaviisya ; E. I. VoL III. pp. 1-7 the Pa Hadakal pillar inscrip-
tion of Western Calukya Klrtivarman II recording a grant of
fields on a total eclipse of the sun in Sriivana (Fleet calculates
that it was 25th June 754 A. D. ), E. I. Vol. III. pp.103-110
Paithan Plates of Riistrakuta Govindaraja (III) recording the
grant of a village after the king bathed in the GodavarI on a
total solar eclipse in Vaisakha of saka year 716 (4th May 794
A. D. ); E. 1. VII. pp. 202-208 Sirur inscription of the time of
Ras~raku~a Amoghavar~a I on a solar eclipse in Jyestba, of
saka year 788 ( expired) on a Sunday (16th June 866 A. D. ) ;
E. 1. IX. pp. 98-102 grant of a village by Western Ciilukya king
Vikramaditya] on a solar eclipse in Sraval}a in his 6tb regnal
year (Monday, 13th July 660 A. D. acc. t o Kielborn ), E. 1. Vol.
XIV. pp. 156-163 the N aibati grant of the Bengal king
Ballalasena of a village as a daksina on the gift of a golden
horse on the occasion of a solar eclipse by the king's mother.
As to lunar eclipses vide J. B. B. R. A. S. vol. 20 pp. 131 ff
Naus!irT plate of the Gujarat Riis~rakilta king Karka I in sake

633. ~'tN:l~qr-ttN:IR~~1 ~ m~ ~
~<'l. II ~. (on ""~) p. 387, <fiT. fit. 527 (ascribes to 1l'Jl ). ~~. 71
(~) .
634. ~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ :;'hft1>~<if: I ~rq {ifqrq 'i.fi\ ~­
~II <fiT. f.\'. p. 354. ~~. 72.
 Hist01iJ of DharmasG.stra [ Sec. 1, Ch. xIi:

738 Magha piirJ;l ima, E. I. vol. I. p. 338 Pa~y;Jllnscription of the

time of Yadava Siilghal1a in sake 1128 (rather 1129), 9th
August (1 209 A. D.) Sravanapii rnima. for en dowing a college
( matb a ) to teach Bbaskaracarya's astronomical works; I. A. vol.
8 p. 96 grant of a village to 31 brahmanas on Full Moon day
of Mahamagha ( $omagrahane ) in the first half of 7th century
A. D. by Pulikesi ; E. I. vol. XIX. p. 41, E. I. vol. XX. p. 725 ( of
Vikrama 1108), O. I. 1. IV. No. 13,25,31 for grants on solaz
eclipses and No. 21 on lunar eclipse. Even now poor people
create a pandemonium in towns and cities clamouring for
clothes and cash.
As regards sraddha, it is often difficult t o perform it at the
time of an eclipse for two reasons. Most eclipses are partial
and the time is short. Besides, there is a prohibition to eat food
during an eclipse. A prajapatya expiation is prescribed for
partaking of food during an eclipse. 635 It is therefore provided
in some smrtis and digests that the sraddha performed should
be the amasraddha 01' hemasraddha 636. Though the person
performing sraddha in an eclipse is deemed to reap great
merit, the person partaking of sraddha dinner is liable
to undergo an expiation and is generally looked down upon.
The Mitiiksara on Y1lj. 1. 217-218 quotes the first quarter of a
verse ' one should not ea.t during a solar or lunar eclipse '.637
Therefore a good briihmay;Ja cannot be easily secured and the
performance of sriiddha with details is well-nigh impossible,
even though Siitatapa and others state that it is obligatory:
, on seeing Rahu (i. e. an eclipse) one should perform a sraddha
even at the cost of all his wealth; one who does not perform
sraddba then sinks like a cow in mud.' The order of the several
acts on an eclipse is : first bath in Ganges or other water, prii:J;lii-

p.382.
636. ~f't~i1I~~~I~~~~q~lliR"~1I
~ q. by cnf. fifo 526, ii. ~ . 625 , fit. <f. p. 154, fit. p. 65 (reads m.
, i1tRWf<mq~ , ); ~Tm<N: I ~~ a'rif;q ~m <f'UT1 ~Tl'~~ ~ ~m­
"'~r ;ra~ ffl II ~ I ~ ~ I 3W'I~ ~<f ~;r~­
;r~ liT I ~. on tnT?i p. 387. Vide H . of Dh. vol. IV. pp . 514-515.
637. " '<l'mq • cq;oliu:.tll ~ omm{' ifl'it ~ ~~'UT'{q ~:,
~~: I' -rnm. on ~.I, 217-218. The verse is ~~ ~'lffif'l~­
'if ij;ri: I ~~'UT~ ~1IiT ~Slff.t II q. by <nT . f.t. 537 (ascribes to
...
1fi'I);~, (on cn~) P. 379 ascribes the same (with slight variations) to
~ur.
 Order of acts on an eclipse 247
yama, tarpana, japa of GiiyatrI, homa in fire with sesame
with the vyiihrtis and the mantras for the planets as in Yiij.
1. 300-301, then amasriiddha, gifts of gold, food, cows and land
In these days most people except very sophis ticated ones
still t ake a bath on eclipses an d make some gifts also, but do
not proceed further in the matter of eclipses. An eclipse is the
best time for japa and for diksa (initiation ) and perfection in the
mantras peculiar to various deities: 'one638 should engage in japa
and the like while an eclipse of the sun or moon is in progress;
one should not bathe nor eat food during that time, but when
the sun and the moon are free from eclipse one should bathe and
partake of food: one may engage in the japa of the Gayatrl
mantra (Rg. III. 62.10) and it is laid down that if one does not
engage in japa on an eclipse one becomes sinful. For dik ~ii a!5
to mantras seven days from eclipse are allowed. Solar eclipse
is the best time for d\kf;l8,.
The Punyakala (the holy period) in the case of eclipses
lasts only as long as the eclipse is visible to the eye. J iibiili
says 639 'In the case of sankranti the punyakiila is 16 kalas on
both sides thereof, but in the case of a lunar or solar eclipse it
lasts only so long as the eclipse is visible " This leads on to a
question that is very much discussed in the several medieval
works and on which there is great divergence of views. Much
emphasis is laid on the words 'yavad~darsana.go-caral;t' and
'rahudarsane' occurring in several verses (quoted in the notes,
633, 639 &c.). The Krtyakalpataru (Naiyatakala ) argues
that in those passages 'da.rsana' (being visible) is declared
to be the cause or occasion of the several acts (snana, dana
&0. ) t o be performed in an eclipse, that an eclipse is an
occasion only when it is known that it has occurred, and
that knowledge must be derived from the eye and that

638. ~Iin~~~~~~~' Of ~ "1 ~~ffl 'ijff<llT ~'!Iill'l

~, : II ml;~ q. by~. ( on ~ p. 389 ) . Vide m.
l'I. p. 156 for tbe
~ '31~ ~~ ~ ~:J; >A)~!ffiili ~1fflT'lll ~.
~.,-;;r~<fiT~) J1mT~"; ~li .mll'fl ifttl'N~t>.l' <I'm~ ;;itq ' l'Il'I: SlTl'I:
~, ... ~~~ ij ~1~ fctcfl~ ~rn ~:". ~!f~l'I~ ~T'
<lI1l'<<re: I ~ ~.~ Ji1ffl: ~1' ~~~ 11 ;m~~-smil: ~~II
~'Iit. 75 (from p ).
~ ~fct;fq.q;o;t {I~f1TtTmfl~ ~~.
~~t ~ I ~i~~ ~~ ~OT ~'l~: I ~rfif ~1t !fi1~:
r.r.
'thU'i{"ICfl'ij II ~m I "'3l''!11' q:~IIQolil" ~ I ~. 67.
639. ~ ~~ mml1'ffl: ~: I ~~ltn:m ij <l1'~e:'il.,.rr~(: II
~ q . by ~ o (ifVl'Io) 368, ~. (on ~) 388, ti. ~. 625, ~<it. 69.
248 History of Dharmasastr'a [ Sec. I, Ch. XII

therefore when the sun or moon is screened from view by

clouds one need not enter upon a bath and the like prescribed
in the case of an eclipse.640 Hemadri on Kala quotes this
view and criticizes it in several ways. He first relies on
Manu IV. 37 that prescribes that one should never see the
sun when it is rising or setting or when it is eclipsed or is
reflected in water or when it is in mid-sky. If actual seeing
were necessary, th at is an impossible condition as Manu has
prohibited it and the rosult would be that one need not bathe
when an eclipse is really on. He further says that s i f?~as do
observe bath &c. even if they do not actually see the eclipse.
Therefore, be proposes that punyabla exists so long as the
eclipse is deduced to last from the sustra ( of astronomy). The
Krtyaratnakara (011 (pp, 625-26) discusses the question, remarks
that snUDa and the other prescribed actions should be performed
during that period in which the eclipse can be seen. It was
argued by some that an eclipse by itself (and not seeing it) is
the occasion on which bath, gift &c. must be observed; to this
the Ki.i.laviveka 612 gave the reply that, if mere existence of an
eclipse were an occasion for bath, then thE> unaccoptable con-
clusion would be that even if the moon were to be eclipsed (in
some other country) according to astronomical calculations
a person in a different country would have to undergo a bath
by day for a lunar eclipse in a distant land. The Smrti-
kaustubha and Samayaprakfisa 613 therefore lay down that what
is meant by , darsalla-gOcara.l_1' is that when one knows from
the astronomical scienco that the eclipse is capable of being seen
with the eye in a particular country one should at the respective
tim es perform bath and the like (even th ough one may not
actually see it). The Sal1watsara-pradjpa is quite explicit 'that
is said to be an eclipse which can be u/) se/'L'ed by the eye; one

640 ::;rrsrn~:'~: ... ~;;,ITi:q{: 1\ f<ffl' vlf~~fumF( ~fil""(q­

m~ql~'OI1<'{ ~,#q:q i-'lf;;~,,"<'{ ~>!,~ lHB '~;;'~:' ~rn ,{~~,
~~~;;r :qy~~'ii'1~~il'q f;n-"i'I',HlT 1 :qy!;;!~ m~ ~ , awr
;;' i'ililn~ ~;;',~ tIi~ , W«rcfiFllO (~'q(Io ) 368.
6'11, ~'~~rl~ ~ q~if m<I~~~ ~'it mm ' 'Co. {. p . 526,
642 , ~n:l,~tJT f.ff;'re~ ~<rr ~~~ U~l ~IOIQUI~q fiT~~ :'
'fiT, f<l. 529 .
643. :qy!;;!~~T <:~I., .n::q(~>:W'<I<ff!m~ ~~
(lS~..=if, ~,~). 70; ~I'!A ~ :qy~~~ m~"'r ~ ~
wr-i §'lfu., ~>!~~ 126 ; llm :q ~I"'ilq. 1 ~, ~ m;fu'( ~-
6~ff 1 lni <nmiVT wffn 7JUATilP-im ;;' i:J II q . by iff. ll. 155.
 PU7J.yakala of an eclipse 249

should perform religious acts on such an eclipse, but not on

mere calculation.'
If a solar eclipse occurs on a Sunday and a lunar one on
Monday, such a oonjunction was called Cu~amani and it was
laid down that a Cudamalfi eclipse yields one crore of times as
much merit as an eclipse on other week days.w
Some held that on the day previous to an eclipse one should
observe a fast j but Hemadri provided that a fast was to be
observed on the day of the eclipse.615 A householder however
who had a son living was not to observe a fast as laid down in
a text. 646
About partaking of food before, during and after an eclipse
elaborate rules were laid down from comparatively early times.
The VisJ;mdharmasL1tra 617 provides: 'one must not eat during
an eclipse of the moon or sun j he should eat, after having
previously t aken a bath, when the eclipse is at an end j if the
sun or moon have set before the eclipse was over he must bathe
and on the next day be may eat again after having seen the
sun rise '. This is elaborated in two verses quoted in several
works: 'One should not take food before a solar eclipse and
also in the evening of the day of a lunar eclipse; and one should
not eat when the eclipse is in progress; but when the sun or
moon is free from eclipse one may, after a bath, partake of food;
when the moon is free from eclipse one may take food ( even at
night thereafter) provided it is not ma!ti1nisi]; when the sun or
moon sets before being free from eclipse, one should see them
rising the next day, bathe an d then partake of food'.
644. ~.qlf;:: ~~~ ~ ~~\fT I ~~ «j'I~"'I.,.n"".; ~ I
lf~~~ ~ lfi;Vr '<fr:r~: I ~ lfin~!1iOlt; vrit ~l1llit ~ II <nT. ~.
523 (from ~~) , <nT. f.t 351, iff. it. 154, ~l 70 (from nrm).
645 . 3l1i4c<Hl1';iIIu;r m;Vr '<f f.im~ (it: ? ) I ::!IQillfllqillmrn m~'
~\I ~ . on if<IlI . 917 ({rom ~~m).
646. it\fT'<f ~fiI~: I 3l~~ lf~ m;Vr 1«l ....Jpii: I tm'Il ~ ~
q'~~~')II~. (on<nT~)p .382 , q . ~ . <iT.p.102.
647. 'if~:tiIi.fi'fq<lil ~T'R'1m~~Hti",,<ili.fil ~"'" ~5~ II ~~
68.1-3, q . by ~. on ~ 396, <nT. ~. 537, '!i. <. 626; q. ~.~. p. 102 . quotes
a verse of ~ to the same effect; ~~~11I~ ~ 'ilmil Pl 1(( I ~m
'if ~~ ~r: II 5~ ~mil ~~ 1lfct ~ ,,;:n~ I ~I<'(T
~~ ~~~: II q . by ~o (~o ) 309-310, 'fiT. ~. 537
(ascribes to ~,,), t. (on ~ y 380 (ascribes to fifG\!J~lIdl(it(t), 'Ii. ~.
626-27,~.~ . ~. 104 (says that these were ascribed to ~~ in lfiT1'Iq).
The first verse occurs in ~ p. 346, The two verses are ~~, ~
19. 15-16.
H, V.32
250 History of Dharmafastra [.Sec. I, Ch. XII

It was further prescribed that not only was one not to eat
during an eclipse, but in the case of a lunar eclipse one was not
to eat for three prahara~ (9 hours or 22~ gha~ikas) before the
eclipse started and for four prahams before a solar eclipse starts,
but this does not apply to children, old men and women. 648 This
period of three or four praharas before an eclipse was called and
even now is called' vedha '. The Krtyatattva (p. 434) collects
together in one place all the above propositions about taking
food. Although these rules are not generally observed in these
days by people in cities and by educated people, in the author's
boyhood they were strictly observed by almost all adults
educated or illiterate.
Certain astrological results were deemed to follow from
eclipses. One or two are cited here for illustration.
The VisllUdharmottara 649 states that if in one and the same
month there is first an eclipse of the moon and then of the sun,
that occurrence would tend to create disputes between brahmaI:las
and ksatriyas, but if the opposite was the case, then there would
be prosperity. The same puraI:la says that persons born on the
nak~atra on which there is an eclipse of the sun or moon suffer
troubles unless they perform santi rites (to avert the evil results).
Hemadri (on Kala pp. 392-93) quotes several verSes from Garga
about the prognostications derived from eclipses of the sun and
moon when they are in certain naksatras. Atri provides :650
'When the moon and the sun are eclipsed in the nak~atra of a
man's birth, that forebodes disease, long journeys, death and
great danger from the king ( of the country)'.

648. m~: II ,~ iI ~~ ~ 1l'nr:qij1!~ I ~!I'~ iI 1fTlli~

IfWlHld~iq"lli t. (on ~) p. 381, ~!fil p. 76.
649 . Q!fi~,qfC ~ ~'Q'T~ ~ ... ·4'{q<il: I ifIW!If~ ~ R~ II
~I. 85 . .56 . '~urm~1 ~~ tt
wm: ~IIPfl .. ~ftr: II ibid I. 8.5. 33-34.
6.50. ~"III'fit:I'Ql1i ~if~ ~ ~ I ~~ ~~
mrth ~lIlfiT. ~. 543.
 CHAPTER XII!
List of Abbreviations used in the followiDg
List of Vratas
AK = Ahalyakamadhenu ( ms ).
BB = Bhujabalanibandha of Bhoja (ms).
BHP = Bhagavatapurana.
BRAV = Bhavisyapurana.
BRA VU = BhavisyottarapUraI.lB.
BR = Brahma11<.ia-pura 11a.
BRAH = Brahmapurana.
BRV = Brahmavaivarta.
BJ;.S. = Brhat-samhita. of Varabamibira.
DE = DevlpuraI.la.
DNS = DvaitanirI;laya-siddhanta-sangraha.
DB = Dharmasindhu.
DT = Durgotsavatattva.
DV = Durgotsavaviveka of Sulapa:t;li
ET = Ekadasltattva.
GAR = Garu~apuraI.la.
GK = Gadadharapaddbati ( Ka.lasiira portion ).
HK = Remadri's Oaturvarga-cintamani on Kala.
HV = Remadri's VratakhaI.l9.a vol. I and II.
KAL = KalikiipuriiI.la.
KKN = Naiyatkalika Kanda of Krtyakalpatartt.
KKV = Vratakal?~a of Krtyakalpataru.
KN = Kiilanirnaya of Madhava.
kNK = Kiilanirl_)aya-kArikii.
KR = Krtyaratnakara.
KSS = Krtyasiira-samuccaya.
1CT = Krtyatattva of Raghunandana.
lrTV = Kalatattva-vivecana..
KUR = Kurmapurana.
KV = Kalaviveka of Jlmutavahana.
LIN = LiiJ.gapuraI.lB.
MAR = MarkaI.l9.eya-puraI.la.
·5. History oj bharmaSastra 1Sec. 1, Ch. xut
MAT = MatsyapuraJ;la.
MB = Mahabharata.
M.Bh. = Mahabhasya.
NA = NirJ;layarnrta.
Nar = NaradapuraI,la.
NM = NilarnatapuraI,la.
Nre = N rsirilha-purana.
NS = NirI,layasindhu.
Pad = Padrnapurana.
PC = Purusartha-cintarnaJ;li.
RM = RajarnllrtaI,lda of Bhoja ( rns ).
RNP = Rajanltiprakasa ( part of Virarnitrodaya ).
SM = Sarnayamayukha.
SMK or SmK= Srnrtikaustubha (on Tithi and Sarhvatsara).
SP = SarnayaprakiiSa, part of Virarnitrodaya.
SPR or SPr = Samayapradlpa of Srldatta (rns)
TT = Tithitattva.
TV == Tithiviveka of S6.1apaJ;li.
VI = ViimanapuraJ;la.
Var == VarahapuraJ;la.
Vayu = Vayupura~la.
V.Dh. = Vi~J;lu-dharmaButra.
ViDh. = VisIfudharmottara-puraJ;l80.
Vi~ == VisnupuraJ;la.
VK = Vrata-kosa.
VKD == V ar~akrtya-dlpaka.
VKK ~ V ar~akriya-kaurnudl.
VKR = V 8or~akrtya of Rudradhara.
VKV = Vratakalaviveka.
VP = Vrataprakasa ( part of Vlramitrodaya ) mI.
VR = Vrataraja.
VRK == Vratodyapana-kaumudl.
VT = Vratatattva.

.. '.,. ,"
 LIST OF VRAT AS AND UTSAV AS
The following list of vratas and utsavas does Dot claim to
be thoroughly exhaustive. But it is far more exhaustive and
informative than any similar list so far prepared in English by
anyone or contained in any work in English. The line of
demarcation between vratas and utsavas is very thin. Many
vratas contain an element of festivities and many utsavas have
more or less a religious element also and were religious in the
beginning though later on they became secular, like the Olympic
games of Greece. It may be pointed out that in the Asiatic
Researches, vol. III, Sir William Jones published a list of Hindu
festival days based on the Tithitattva (pp. 257-293) and Prof.
Kielhorn also inserted a list of festival days based mainly on
the Dharmasindhu in 1. A. vol. 26 pp. 177-187. Both these are
meagre. The Indian Ephemeris (vol. I part 1 pp. 55-69) has a
long descriptive list and a brief but accurate account of Indian
festivals in relation to tithis and vice versa. Yet it is not as
exhaustive as this list will be and it refers hardly to any autho-
ritative texts. Very recently in the Report (1953) of the Calendar
Reform Committee presided over by the late Dr. M. N. Saha there
is a list of lunar festivals ( from Caitra onward) and solar festi-
vals and of some important tithis (pp. 101-108) and an
alphabet iced list of festivals (pp. 111-115 ), which is exhaustive
but its great defect is that no texts are cited or referred to and
hardly any details are given except month, paksa and tithi.
There are a few works on vratas written in Bengali a nd other
regional languages of India, but I could not include most of
them in this volume as I do not know most of those languages,
though I have referred to some of them. Apart from vratas
and utsavas certain matters and technical terms that occur
frequently in works on vratas have been included. The list is
arranged in the Sanskrit alphabetical order, though everything
is transliterated into the English alphabet for the convenience of
printing. For saving space abbreviations have been very
largely employed and a list of the most important abbreviations
is given in the preceding pages. As regards each vrata the time
when it begins, whether it is a tithivrata or varavrata,
sarilvatsara-vrata or a nakl?atravrata or a praklrpaka vrata is
generally indicated ( except where from its very title or descrip-
tion its nature is clear), the deity to be worshipped is pointed
 History of DharmaAastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XlI!

out where possible or necessary, some details are added in certain

cases, and some of the works in which it is described are
mentioned. The rewards promised are not generally set out, as
most of them are included in the rewards mentioned on p. 55-56
above, and as they are often too numerous to specify and also
for reasons of space. Similarly, tithis that are Yugadi or
Yugantya or Manvadi or Kalpadi have not all been noted as
they are too many but they are enumerated in one place under
the words Yugadi &c. I have made great efforts to trace tite
Pauranic quotations to their sources, but I regret that I have
not been quite SUCCQssful owing to several causes such as the
vast extent of Puranas, owing to several recensions of the same
purii;l?a and owing to my inadvertence or sheer weariness. One
feels that tracing a verse to its origin is often as difficult as
finding a pin in a haystack. The author or authors of Pural?as
often wrote like modern advertisers of medicines, toilet articles
&c. Most of the vratas are said to have heen declared by divi·
nities like Siva to Parvatl, by Krsna to Yudhis~hira, by great
sages like Markandeya, Narada, Dhaumya, Yajiiavalkya,
Vasi~~ha and it is often added that the Vrata is a great secret
not narrated or known even to gods and goddesses e. g. Siva·
ratrivrata ( in HV II. 88).

It may not be out of place to point out here what should be

done about the numerous vratas and utsavas, described so far
and to be mentioned in the long list that follows. Many of the
vrataa and utsavas once observed have already gone out of vogue
owing to various causes. But it would not do to recommend
the abolition of all vratas and utsavas even in the latter half of
the 20th century. Some seasonal Vl'atas and festivals should be
kept up as in the case of Divali and Holika, but they should be
shorn of extravagances like gambling on Balipratipada or the
obscenities and dirt.throwing indulged in by some people in
Holika. Other vratas and utsavas like the Ramanavaml, Vijayii...
dasaml, K~st:la-janmas~aml should also be celebrated in order to
remind the present generation or the great heroes and avatiiras
of the past and the supreme values they exemplified in their
lives and a few new ones such as the Jayantls of Shivaji, Guru·
Govindsingh, Tagore, Tilsk and Gandhi may be added. Besides,
such vrstas as Va~s-savitrl and Haritalika. may still be empha.
sized for observance by women and lastly such nice observances
redolent of disinterested regard and affection as Rakl?ii.bandhana
and Bhril.t~dvitlya deserve to be preserved.
 List of watas 255
It should be remembered that several vratas depend oon-
jointly upon month, tithi and naksatra together. It is difficult
to classify such vratas and my classification may in some cases
appear to be arbitrary. For saving space the details mentioned
above will not generally be conveyed in regular sentences, but
in catch-words onlY. The figures after the abbreviated name of
a work represent pages and Roman figures refer to volumes or
parts; and double Arabic figures with a dot between represent
chapter and verses respectively. As most vratas are tithivratas,
the word tithi is not mentioned where the vrata has reference to
a tithi alone and to no other particular (such as month or
week-day &c.). The word vrata has been generally omitted after
the names, except where I felt that doubt or confusion is likely
to be caused. The word' purana ' is not added to the names of
puraJ;las such as Agni, Vamana &c. Except in the case of puriil}as
references to medieval digests and commentaries are generally
arranged in ohronological order. The following abbreviations
are used for months and half months: Oai. = Oaitra, Vai.
= Va,isakba, Jy. = Jye!?~ha, As. = Asiidha, Sr. = SriiVal)a, Bh.
= Bbiidrapada, Asv. = Asvina, K. = Kiirtika, Marg. :::: MArgasTrsa,
P. = Pau!?a, M. = Miigha, PM. = Phalguna; Sn.or su.:::: Sukla,
Kf. or kr. = Kr!?l)a (paksa).
Ak~a yacaturthi-OaturthI with Tuesday yields special rewards
for vratas like upavasa. GK 72.
A lapyaphalllvlipti- Val. suo 3; tithi; Visl}uplija. HV 1. 499
( special merit if Krttikii occurs on that tithi ); NS 92-94.
AkliUYYatrtiya-Vide p. 88-89 above.
Ala!ayyanavami-K. Suo 9; tithi; a daitlla called Ku smal)4a was
killed by Vi!?J;lu this day: VR 347. Vide yugadi.
A kha,(ujadvlidasi- (l) As. suo 11 (beginning); (fast on that day)
and on 12th Visnupuja ; tithi-vrata for one year; what is
incomplete in rites becomes complete; KKV 344-347 and
HV 1 1103-1105; (2) Marg. suo 12; removes 'caikalya in
yajfia, upavasa and vrata; HV,1. 1117- 1124 (from Vi. Dh.),
Va. 17. 11-25; Agni ( chap. 190); Gar. 1. 118, Bhav U. 79.
Aga,~t1JadarSana-pi1jane (seeing the star Agastya when the Sun
is in the middle of Zodiacal sign Virgo and worship at
night ): N. M. pp. 76-77 verses 934-939.
Agastyarghyadlina-(offering arghya to Agastya, Oanopus, a star
of the first magnitude). Mat. chap. 61 for Agastyotpatti;
G~r. I. 119. l ~ i KV. 290-292. (Agastya rises and sets a~
256 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIIl

different tim es in different countries ); Agni. 206. 1-2

( arghya to be offered three days and 20 ghatikas before Sun
enters Virgo ) ; vide RM . ( verses 1206-1 228 in ABORI. vol.
36 pp. 317-320), KKN 448-451, HV II. 893-904, KR 294-299,
VKK 340-343; RM ( verses 1219-20) quote Eg. I. 179. 6 as
mantra for argbya by (h 'ija~ and for others the mantra' kiisa-
puspapratlkasa vahnim arutasambhava I Mitravarunayo};l
putra Kumbbayone nam ostu te' cited in Mat. 61. 50, Gar. 1.
119. 5. SPr (folio 40 b) remarks that there are two modes,
one based on Brah (where arghya is main thing), the other
based on Mat ( where worship is main); KSS 12 provides
ar!lhyarlana for tbree days from Rh. SU 13 ; vide TT 146
an d KT 443. For belief that the rise of Agastya made
turbid waters clear, vide Raghu IV. 21.
Agni-fires kindled in several religious rites are addressed by
different names, e. g. kitchen fi re is Piivaka, that in Garbb~ ­
dhana is Maruta; vide TT 99 quoting Grhyasangraha
(I. 2-12 ).
Agniv'/'a/a- Phii. Kr. 4 (fast); one year; Vasudevapuja ; Vi. Dh.
III. 143. 1-7 q. by HV I. 506 ( a caturmurtivrata).
AghoTacaturda'i- Bh. K~. 14 (fast that day); Siva ; vide GK
157, VKK 315, TT 122 ; KT 443.
A nu[i,/,(!ku-caluI'Ud- 4 th tithi on a Tuesday ; eight times or four
times or for life ; puja of Mars ; mantra is 'Agnirm urdha. '
( Eg. VIIl. 44. 16) and for su dras only to remember Mars.
Mat 72. 1-45 (17 of which q. by KKV 77- 79, HV I. 508- 509),
Pad. V. 24. 20- 63 , Bhav U. 31. L-62; VKK 32-33; VR
188-191 ; KKV (80-81) and H V I. 518-519 ( quote from
Bhav. ), tbe latter calling it Sukhavrata. The dhyana in
A. K. (folio 354" ) is 'Avantl-samuttham sume~as anastham
dharanandanam raktavastram sam l~e '.
A1i,(j uraka-('alu?'llas i- G K 610; if there be 4th tithi or 14th on a
Tuesday that y ields more results than a hundred sun
eclipses.
A itUi1'u-'l'rata- dark 10th, one year ; worship of ten gods named;
Vi. Db. IIf. 177. 1-3.
A caW aptcw li- M. suo 7; worship of the sun; ekabhakta on 6th,
on 7th upavasa, at end of night on 7th standing water to be
stirred after placing a lamp on one's head; HV I. 643-048
(from Bhav U. ) where Kr~I;l a tells Yudhis~hira the story :of
So penitent prostitute Indumatl who performed it, Vratarka
 List of vratas 257

folio 120b-122 a , VR. 253-255, N A. 53 (says it is also called

Jayanti); Bhaskaradhyana on this day.
Acz)ulavrata-P. KJ: 1; tithi; Acyutapuja and homa with sesame
and ghee with' Om namo Vasudevaya '; thirty brahmaI;las
with their wives to be fed; AK. folio 230.
Ativijayaikadasi-on sukla Ekiidasi with Punarvasu-nakf!a.tra. ,
for a year ( gift of a prastlia of sesame ); Hari; HV. I. 114:7
(from Vi. Dh. )
Ada1·idTya-.~at}thi-On sasthi (either fast or ekabhakta &c.);
for one year; Bhaskarapujii.; HV 1. 626-627 (quotes four
verses of Skanda ) ; the performer omits oil and salt and
feeds bri hmal1a on rice boiled with milk and sugar; no one
in family is born poor or becomes poor.
Adhimasa-( intercalary month); its tliTtla!la and k'1'tya; HK
26-66, KV 113-168, NS 9-15, SmK 520-529, PC 12-31,
VKK 231-236, KR 536-539.
Adu ~kha-navami-for all, but specially for women; Bh. suo 9;
Parvati; VR 332-337 (from Skanda). In Bengal women
perform this for auaidhmriJa.
Anagha~tami- Marg. dark 8; tithi; worship of Anagha and AnaghI
image made with darbhas to be identified with Vasudeva
and LaksmI with' ato deva' (Eg. 1. 22. 16) or namaskara
by sudras; Bhav U. 58. 1 ff (q. by HV 1. 813-14: and AK
folio 54:7b ).
Anangatrallodasi-( 1 ) Miirg. suo 13; tithi; one year; Sambbu~
pujii and bath with paficamrta; every month Ananga
( identified with Sambhu ) to be worshipped under a different
name ( such as Smara in Magha) and with different flowers
and naivedYa; HV II. 1-8 (from Bhav U), KN 278, GK
] 53; piirvaviddha to be taken; occurs in Gar. 1. 117; (2)
Cai. or Bh. suo 13; tithi; once or every month in a year;
worship of picture of Kama. on cloth under twelve different
names; HV II. 8-9 ( from Kalottara ), PC 223, NS 88.
Anangadanavrata-Sunday with Hasta, Puf!ya or Punarvasu;
for Vesyas ; worship of ViSI;lU and Kama ( God of love);
thirteen months; Vesya to offer herself to a brahmaI;la. on
Sunday who repeats mantra' lea idam kasma. ada.t Kama},\
&c. '. Vide Atharva Ill. 29. 7, Tai. Br. II. 2. 5. 5-6, Ap. Sr.
=
V. 13 for Kamastuti; Mat. chap. 70 Pa.d. V. 23. 74:-146 (with
some additions); KKV 27-31 (calls it Vesyadityiingadana-
B. D. 33
258 History of Dharmasastra ( Sec. I, Ch. XIII

vrata ), HV II. 544-548 (from Pad.); KR 60~~08 (from

Mat. )
A nartga- pauil1·arOpa1Ja-Sr. suo 13; HV II. 442, PC 238.
Anantacaturdasi-See above pp. 151-153.
Anantatrti?Ja-Su. 3 of Bh., Vai. or Marg.; one year; worship of
Gaur! with different flowers each month ; Mat. 62. 1-39 =
Pad. V. 22. 61-104, Bhav U.26. 1-41, KKV 60~6 ( quotes
Mat. ), HV 1. 422-426 (from Pad.), KR 265-270.
AnantadvUdaSi-Bh. suo 12; tithi; for one year; Hari-puja. Vi.
Dh. III. 219.1-5, HV 1.1200-1 201 (from Vi~l! urahasya ).
Anantapaiicami-Pha. suo 5; tithi; no deity mentioned; HV 1.
564 (from Skanda, PrabhiiSakhal!4a ).
Anantaphalasaptami-Bh. suo7 ; tithi; one year; worship of Sun;
, HV 1. 741 (from Bhav. Brahmaparva 110.1-8), KKV 148-149.
Anantaratrtiya-vrata-vide Anantarya-vrata below.
Anantavrata-( 1 ) Begin on Marg. on that day that has Mrga-
s!r~a-naksatra; one year; in each month different naksatra
( in P. Pusya, in M. Magha and so on ); Visnupujii ; HV. II.
pp. 667~71 ( from Vi. Dh. 1. 173. 1-30). It is putrada. ( 2 )
Vi. Dh. III. 150. 1-5; Another t;ariety from 2nd tithi; one
year; worship of Ananta ( as Vi~ l!u ); a caturmurtivrata.
Ananda-nauami-Pha. suo9; tithi; one year; Devipuja; KKV
299-301 ( calls it Ananda.), HV 1. 948-950.
Anaraka-l1rata-begins Marg. suo 1; rtuvrata; for two seasons,
hemanta and sisira: Kesavapiijii; 108 times japa of 'Om
nama};t Kesaviiya'; dvadasl has special rites; HV II. pp.
839-42 (from Vi~J;lu-rahasya ).
Annaku?otsava-See Govardhana-pujii. Vide Var. 164 and SMK
374.
Anodanusaplami-Begin with fast on Cai. suo 6 and worship
Sun on 7th; tithi; HV 1. 702-705 (from Bhav.), KKV 205-208,
KR 121-123. Odana comprises bhak~ya, bhojya and lehya
(to be licked), but water is not odana and may be drunk
that day.
Annadana-mahlitmya-See ' Sadavarta '.
Aparlijita-saptami-Bh. suo7; tithi; one year; Sun worship;
KKV 132-135, HV 1 667~68 (from Bhav., Brahma 98.
1-19 ), PC 104; Bh. suo 7 is called Aparajita. Begin ekabhakta
on 4th, have nakta. on 5th, fast on 6th and piiraJ;lii. on 7th.
 List of vratas 259

Aparajita-dasami-Asv. Su. 1-10; specially for a king; tithi; once

a year; Devipuja ; HV 1. pp. 968-973 (quoting Gopatha Br.,
Skanda and others); K R 365-366 ( says it is based on
sis~acara); PC 145-146, SMK 352; HV and SMK say that
Rama started on invasion this day when there was .Sravana-
naksatra. .
Aparadha-sata-uTata-Begin from Marg. 12th. amiivasya or 8th
of bright or dark half; one year; Had worship; 100 aparadhas
enumerated in Bhav U. 146. 6-21; all these sins are destroyed
by this vrata. Thirty-two aparadhas are enumerated in
Var.117.
Apupasa1ilC1'llnti- umla-begins on a sankriinti; a year; Sun is
devata; white sesame to be offered; HV II. 739-740.
AbhirflpaJYlti-m'ata-A fast is so called, whereby is secured a
husband that is learned or handsome; m. in the drama
Mrcchakatika I ( prelude) and Clrudatta p. 4 (TSS. 1914).
Abh1~tatrtiya-begins Marg. suo 3; tithi; Gaur} worshipped;
Skanda, Kasi-kha~q.a83. 1-18.
Abhi~tasaplami-7th tithi of any month; worship of the oceans,
continents ( dvlpa), piit!ilas and the earth; HV 1. 791 (from
Vi. Dh. only one verse ).
Amllvilsya-derivat£on of, HK 311-315; HK 643-644, KV 343-44,
TT 163, bhasya on Gobhila-grhya 1. 5. 5, PC 314-345;
VKK 9-10 quote passages from MB and Pura~as stating
that Amaviisya falling on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday is
specially holy, so also if it occurs on certain nak!?atras such
as Anuriidha, Vis~kha, SvatI; HV II 246-257. Vide KN
309 ff for several derivations of the word and legends
connected therewith from the Brahma~as and Pura~as.
Amaviisya mixed with 1st tithi to he preferred to one mixed
with 14th except in Siivitrivrata. Vide Vratarka. folios
334a-356 b for amiivasyii-vratas.
Amavasya..7crlya-Vide SMK 281, KSS 21-23, VKK 81-82.
Amilvilsya..nir'{laya-KR 622-624, Dh. S 23, KN 301-307.
Amavasyapayovrata-suhsisting on milk alone on each am!'lviisya;
tithi; one year; Vi~l?upuja; HV II. 254 (from Pad.).
Amavasyavrata-(l) HV II. 257 (from Kilr.); offering something
to a brahmaI;la intending it for Sailkara; (2) HV II. 257
260 History of Dharmaslislra [ Sec. I, Cb.. xm
(one verse from Kur.). honouring three brahmaI?-as intending
to please Brahm!.
Amavas?Ji]...vratuni-HV n. 246-257, TT 162 £f, Vratiirka (folios
344a-356 b ).
Amulctubha7'a1Jil-saptami-Bh. suo 7; worship of Sankara and
Umii; HV 1. pp. 632-638, SMK 222-228 (almost same
passages as in HV). Vide Niir. 1. 116. 32-33.
Ambuvuci-the time in solar ASii4ha when the Sun is in the first
quarter of Ardrii-naksatra; VKK 283 quoting RM (catvarim-
sat-liptii &c. ), KT 434 ( three days and 20 aha?is from the
week day on which the Sun enters sign of Gemini, during
which no sowing of seeds, nor Vedic study to be done).
Mother earth and rivers are deemed unclean during these
days in Bengal (in Jy. or As. K~. 10 to 13th). Vide
HK 701, 703.
Ayanav7'atas-Ayana depends on the motion ( apparent) of the
Sun. There are two Ayanas. Daki:? il1ayana begins when
the Sun enters Zodiacal sign Karka1!aka ( Cancer). KNK 14
says: ' Daki:? iJ;la and Uttara ayanas respectively are appro-
priate to fierce and quiet rites and its com. (VivaraJ;la)
provides that images of the Matrs, Bhairava, Varaha,
N arasirilha, Vamana and Durga are to be established in
Dak!?iJ;liiyana. KR 218, HK 16, SM 173, SP 13.
AYiicilavrata-subsisting on food not obtained by begging from
another. KN 138-139, NA 19, KTV 214-218, PO 49.
Aravya-dvadasi-begun by bath on morning of Marg. suo 11 or in
K., M., Oai. or Sr.; tithi; for one year; Govinda deity;
sumptuous feast on 12th in a forest to 12 dvijas, Valis or
householders and their wives; HV J. 1091-1094 (from Bhav
U. ) ; some mss. read' Apara-dvadasi. '
Aratlya /la/lthi-Jy. suo6; RM verse 1396 states that women with
fans and arrows (v. 1. 'with fans alone in one hand' ) wander
in forests. GK p. 83 says it is same as Skanda!?a!?~hl; tithi-
vrata; Vindhyavasinl and Skanda worshipped; KR 185
(quotes RM ), VKK 279, K. T. 430-431; observers subsist on
lotus stalks, bulbous roots and fruits hoping for the health of
their children.
.A.randhanu~~ami-Vide VK, No. 470 .
.A.rutlodaYa-The last half quarter (prahara) of night. HK 259,
272 i KN 241 (quoting Skanda and Naradiya) says 'four
gha~ikas before sunrise. '
 List of vratas 261

Ar1lndhativrata-for women only; for freedom from widowhood,

for sons &c. ; fast for three nights; 3rd tithi in the beginning
of Vasanta ( spring) ; worship of ArundbatI; HV II. 312-
315, VR 89-93.
Arkavrata-eating at night alone on 6th and 7th (1'.l. 7th & 8th)
in both fortnights; tithivrata ; for a year; Arka (Sun)
worshipped; KKV 387, HV II. 509.
Arkasaptami-tithi ; for two yeal'S; deity Sun; one is to drink
from a cup made of the leaves of aTka plant; HV 1. 788-789
(from Brah.). Vide Pad. V. 75. 86-106 which state that
nata to be begun in Uttarayana on a Sund ay in sukla
paksa; on 5th ekal)haklu, on 6th nakta, on 7th fast and on
8th parana.
Arkasamputasaptami- Begin on Pha. suo 7; tithi; for a year;
Sun worshipped; Bhav. I. 210. 2-81 ( q. by KKV 191-198,
HV 1. 690-696 ).
.A.1·ka~tami-On Sunday on 8th su.; worship of Uma and Siva in
whose eye the Sun rests; HV 1. 835-837.
Arghya-See H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 318, 543. Later medieval
digests made it elaborate. VKK 142 says 'arghya for all
deities consists of sandalwood paste, flowers, whole grains
of yava, tips of kusa grass, sesame, mustard and diirva.'
Vide HV I. 48, KR 296, VR 16 (for eight ingredients of).
Ardhasravarti7ca-vmta-begin on 1st of Sr. su.; one month;
worship of Parvati called Ardbasra vaJ;l I; worshipper to
observe ekabhalcta or nalcta for one month; at end to offer
dinner to maidens and brahma:t;las; HV II. 753-754 (from
Br.), VP (folios 106-107 ).
Ardhodaya-vrata-This is a vrata of rare occurrence and is said
t o be equal in holiness to a crore of Sun eclipses. Later
medieval digests (e. g. TT 187, KSS 30, NS 211, SmK.
442-445, P. C. 316) quote a verse from Mahabharata 'when
in the month of Paui?a or Magha there is amaviisya
with SravaT)a-naki?atra and Vyatlpata-yoga, that is called
Ardbodaya and Vratiirka (folios 348a- 350 b ) states that
according to Prayaga-setu of Bhat~a NarAyana it takes place
in Pausa when amanta reckoning is used and in Magha
when P iirJ;limanta reckoning is used. HV (II. pp. 246-252 )
quotes from Skanda and adds Sunday to the above require-
ments and BB (pp. 364-365) adds that the Sun must be in
Makara (Capricorn). The TT 187, Vratarka folio 348" and
262 History of DharmaSastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
PC 316 read a half verse' this yoga is commended only if
it occurs by day and not so if at night.' K SS 30 provides
that if one out of the several requirements (Pausa or Magha
Amavasya, Vyatlpata, Sraval)a-naksatra, Sunday) is absent,
it becomes Mahodaya-parva. In Ardhodaya a bath at
Prayiiga in tbe morning is most meritorious, but it is pro-
vided that all rivers become like the Ganges at Ardhodaya.
The devatas of tbe vrata are three viz. Brahma, Visl)u and
Mahesvara and they are worshipped in the same order;
offerings (of ghee) are made in fire with Paural)ika mantras,
and also with three Vedic mantras viz.' Prajapate ' ( Eg.
X. 121. 10) for Brabma, 'Idam Visnur' (Eg. I 22. 17) for
Visnu, 'Tryambakam yajiimahe' (Eg. VII. 59. 12) for
Mahesvara. At the end gifts of cow or money are made.
In I. A. vol. 25 p. 345 there is mention of Ardhodaya in sake
1352, Pausa, which corresponds to 14th January (Sunday)
1431 A. D. The reference to the distribution of all his
wealth by Emperor Har~avardbana at Prayaga once in five
years made by the Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang (vide 7
I. A. 196 at p. 198) is not to Ardhodaya at all, as some
suppose. If Bears B. R. W. W. vol. I. pp. 214 and 233 be
carefully read this will be clear.
Alak~miniisalca-snilna-0n full moon of P. when there is Pu~ya
nakf?atra, persons should bathe after anointing their bodies
with wbite mustard and drive off alak:jmi (misfortune or
poverty) and worship . images of Nariiyal)a, Indra, Moon,
Brhaspati and Pusya by bathing them with water in which
sarvau~adhis are put and with horna. Vide SMK 344-345,
PC 307, GK 178.
Alava1J.atrtiyil-0n suo 3 of any month, specially of Vai., Bh. or
M.; women alone to perform; fast on 2nd and food on 3rd
without salt; GaurI worshipped; it may be for life; KKV
48-51, HV I. 474-477, S. Pro folio 32{'. Vide Bhav., Brahma-
parva 21. 1-22 for this.
A'I'(llil1'as-Tithis of the appearance of (they are called Jayantls),
cited in NS 81-82 and KSS 13 as follows: Matsya-0ai. suo3;
Kurma-Vai. piirl)ima; Varaba-Bh. suo 3; Narasimha-Vai. suo
14; Vamana-Bh. suo 12, Paraimrama-Vai. suo 3; Rama
Cai. suo 9; Balarama-Bh. suo 2; K~f?l)a-Sr. k~. 8; Buddha-Jy.
suo 2. Some works say Kalkin is yet to appear while others
give Sr. BU 6 as KalkijayantI. Some works differ 8S to the
tit his e. g. some say Matsya appeared on Ca.i. Su. 5 (and
 List of vratas 263

not 3). Vide Sri B. Bhattacharya's paper on 'the ten

avataras and their birth dates' in volume of studies
presented to Dr. F. W. Thomas pp. 31-33 quoted from
Sakti-sangamatantl'a J. See under Vaisakba. The Eran
Inscription of Toraman a refers to Varahavatara ( Gupta
Inscriptions p. 159). Val'. 48. 20-22 (q. by both KKV 333
and HV. I 1039) state which avatar!)' out of the well-known
ten (including Buddha and Kalkin as separate) is wor-
shipped for what object.
A vamadina-a week day on which two tithis end is so called.
NS 153 quoting Hatnamala (" y atraika~ sprsate tithidvaya-
vasanam varas-ced-avamadinam taduktam-aryail;l"). This
is to be avoided when beginning a vrata for the first time,
as there is k~aya of a tithi here.
A t Jig hna'villiJ:.I}aka or Avighna'vrata-(l) begin on Pha. 4th; tithi;
four months; Ga~es a worshipped. HV I 524-525, KKV
82-83, both quoting from Varaha 59.1-10; (2) 4th tithi on
both fortnights; three years; Ga~esa deity; N A 43 ( from
Bhav U).
At'iyogadvadasi-Bh. suo 12; tithi; worship of Siva and GaurI,
Brahma and SavitrI, Vis~u and Laksml, the sun and his
consort Nik~ubhii. HV 1. 1177-1180.
A viyogavrata or A viyogatrtiya-For women; begin on Marg. sUo2
with partaking rice boiled in milk and sugar on 3rd; worship
of GaurI and Sambhu; for a year; worship of images of both
made from rice flour under different names in each of twelve
months with different flowers ; KKV 70-75, HV I 439-444:,
KR 452-455. Vide Bhav U. 22 for this.
Avaidha'IJI) aslllclaikadasi-Cai. suo 11; HV 1. 1151 (only one
verse from Vi. Dh. ).
A'IJI)angasaptami-Sr. suo 7; tithi; to be performed every year·
, AVY ANG A' to be offered to the sun ; 'Avya nga' i ~
explained in KKV 150 as a hollow strip made of fine white
cotton thread, resembling a serpent's slough, 122 finger-
breadths long (the best), or 120 (middling) or 108 (the
shortest). It seems to have been like the K usti worn by
modern Pars is. Vide Bhav. (Brahma-parva) 111. 1-8 q_
by KKV 149-151 and HV 1. 741-743, also V. P (folio 116,
which mentions the story of Samba in Bhav.). The printed
Bhav. uses the word 'abhyanga '. In Bhav. (Brahma)
142. 1-29 we have the legend of Avyangotpatti. In verse
264 History of Dharmaiastra [ Seo. I, Ch. xnr
18 occurs the word 'sarasanal;l' which reminds one of
'Saracen '. Vide Nar. I. 116. 29-31 for AVYANGAKHYA-
VRAT A, the 7th tithi being destroyer of sins if it is conjo-
ined to Hasta-naksatra. Avyanga appars to be a Sanskrit
adaptation of the Avestan 'Aivyanghans' (meaning 'girdle').
In the 16 slokas addressed to the prince Jadi Ra~a by the
Parsis emigrating to India occurs this 'who put on the waist
a woollen kushli which is fastened on the sadra (garment),
each end of which is like the mouth of a serpent, which is
tied into knots at equal distances' (vide M. M. Murzban's
, Parsis in India 'vol. I at p. 93). It seems probable that
this particular form of Sun-worship was imported from Iran
or was borrowed from Parsi practices. The Br. S. (59. 19 )
states that the priests of Savit~ should be Magas i. e. Maga
or Sa.kadvlplya brahmanas for whom vide I. A. vol. vm.
328 and Weber's edition of Magavyakti of Krishnadas
Mishra.
Asunyasayanavmla 01' As'u nyasayanadvitiyu-on dark 2nd tithi
of four months from Sr,; tithi ; Laksml and Hari worshipped;
occurs in Vi, Dh I. 145. 6-20 and III. 132. 1-12, Va. 16.
16-29, Agni 177. 3-12, Bhav. I. 20, 4-28, KKV 41-44
(q, from Bhav U) and 44-46 (from Mat. 71. 2-20 =Piid.
V. 24, 1-19). The Matsya contains a somewhat different
mode; HV 1. 366-371 (from Bhav,) and 371-377 (from
Bhav U); KR 225-228 ( quotes Bhav I. 20.4-28 ). This
vrata secured avaidhauya to women and aviyo(la (absence of
the loss of wife) to men. Vide S. Pro (folio 22b ) and SmK
146-148. One of the mantras tbat occur in both KKV 43
and HV 1. 373 is 'Laksmya na siinyari.1 varada yatba te
sayanam sada I sayya mamapyasiinyastu tathatra Madhu-
siidana ' II. KR ( p. 228 ) remarks that when it is said that
the vrata begins in Sr. Kr., the month is pU1"(timiinla
according to the usage. Mentioned in 'Oorpus of Inscrip-
tions in the Telingana Districts of Nizam's Dominions' by
Dr. Srinivasachar No. 50 pp. 140-142 of sake 1198 Magha
suo 10 ( 1276 A. D. ) where Kuppambika wife of a KakatIya
General is said to have performed it.
Asunycwrala-on dark 2nd tithi of four months from Sr, , in
which arOhya with curds, whole grains of rice and fruits are
offered to the moon; if the second tithi is mixed with (viddha)
the third tithi on a certain day the vrata should be performed
on that day j P 0 83.
 List of vratas 265
Asokakalilclibhak,~a1Ja-Vide Asokas~amI.

Asokat1'il'litm-For three nights from the 13th tithi of Jy" Bh,

or Marg. SUi for one year; Asoka tree of silver to be worshipped
and image of Brahm5. and Savitr! on first day, of Uma and
Mahesvara on 2nd and of Laksmi and Narayana on third
and then images donated; th is vrata removes sins and
diseases and confers long life, fame, wealth and prosperity
on sons and grandsons ; HV II 279-283, VP (folio 102h ),
Vratarka folio 261b-264:; mostly for women, but men desirous
of prosperity of sons may also perform it.
Asokarl'6 1rlasi-same as Visokadviidasi. Begin in Asv.; for
a year; on 10th take light meal, on 11 th fast and on 12th
parana ; worship of Kesava; results are health, beauty and
freedom from sorrow; Mat. 81. 1-28 ,82. 26-30 quoted in
KKV 360-363; HV 1. 1075-1078 (qu otes almost same verses
from P ad. )
As o lcapi1 r~2i ma-On PM. purr;dma ; tithi; for a year; the earth
is to be called Asokii. in first four months and also in the
next four month s ; worship of Earth and arghya to the Moon;
in the first 4: months worship earth as Dharanf, in the next
four as Medinr and in last four as Vasundhara, Kesava is
to be worshipped at the end of each group of 4 months; Agni
194. 1, HV II. 162-164.
A.sokapmtiparl-Asv. suo 1; tithi; worship of Asoka tree or its
golden or silver image or its picture; only for women; HV
1.351-52 (from Bhav U. chap. 9 ).
As(}ka~a.~ tltl-Vide VK No. 52.
A solca- smi/a'linli-Vratarka folio 388b-389a; to be performed on
ayanasankranti or Visuvasankriinti when there is Vyatlpata;
ekabhakta; Sun to be worshipped; gifts of sesame.
AsoJc(1.~tami-( 1) Cai. suo 8 and if there be Wednesday and
Punarvasu-nak$atra then special merit; worship of Durga
with Asolea flowers; one should drink water mixed with
eight Asoka buds, worship of Asoka tree with the mantra
, tvam-asoka ha.rabhis~am madhumii.sa-samudbhavam,
pibami sokasantapto mam- asokam sada kuru', KV 422
(quotes mantra from Linga ), HK 626 (from Vi$!.?u), HV I
862-63 ( from Linga ) and 875-76 (from KdityapuraI;l a but
no mantra ); KR 126-127; R. M ( 1379- 80) has the mantra
'tvam-asoka harii.bhi s~a ' and the verse 'Asoka-kalikas-
cii.f!tau ' and BB 1734-35, both of which veJ'ses are Gar, I
B, D, 34
266 History of Dharmasustra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIII

133. 1-2; PO 109; SMK 94. Vide JRAS for 1900 pp. 545,
791 and for 1901 p. 127 for some remarks. (2) KV 422, KR.
126, KT 463 and other digests state that all t!rthas and rivers
come to the Brahmaputra on Cai. suo 8 and a bath in it on
that day yields the same rewards as V5.japeya, when it falls
on Wednesday and on Punarvasu.
Asolciki1~~ami'-Worship of Uma. NM p. 74 (verses 905-907 )
states that Asoka plant is DevY herself.
Asvatthavrala-Vratarka (folio 406b-408a) from Adbhutasiigara
following Atharvat;J.asakhii; worship of Asvattha in case of
evil portents, invasions, epidemics, diseases like leprosy.
Asuadik~a-When the moon is in Sviiti in Asv. su., worship
Uccaih-sravas and one's own horses may be honoured if there
be 9th 'tithi; Santi rites and threads coloured in four colours
to be tied round horses' necks; NM p. 77 verses 943-947.
As'Vap'Uja-0n Asv. suo 1 to 9; see below under Asvina.
Asuavrala-a Sarhvatsaravrata; Indra is the deity; Mat. 101. 71
q. by KKV 449, HV II. 911 (quotes same It verses from Pad).
A~~ami'V1'alas-There are about 30 A~~amI-vratas, which will be
entered at the proper places. General rule is that in the
bright half As~aml mixed with N avam! is to be preferred
and in dark half as~aml mixed with saptami is preferred.
Vide TT 40, DS 15. For A s~amlvratas vide HV I. 811-886,
KN 194-228, KKV 225-272, VR 256-319, VKK 38-40, PO.
109-139. There are a few exceptions to above two rules,
some of which may be noted at the proper places.
Asidharaumla-begin on As. suo 15; five de:'ys or ten days after As.
15, K.l5 or for 4 months from As., or one year or 12 years; one
has to sleep on bare ground, to bathe outside house, eat food
only "in the night, to remain celibate even though sleeping
in wife's embrace, curb anger and be devoted to japa and
hama to Hari. Different rewards acc. to length of time, the
greatest being that after twelve years of this vrata the
observer may secure the rulership of the world an d on death
become one with J an~rdana. Vi. Dh. III. 218. 1-25 q. by
HV n. 825-827. The word means the vrata is as sharp or
difficult as treading on the edge of a sword. The RaghuvarhiJa
13. 67 in referring to Bharata's abstention from enjoying
regal splendour out of regard for the exiled R iLma calls it
ugm ' iyanti var~ii~ i taya. sahogram-abhyasyativa vratam-
asidharam "
 List of vralas

AlLan-a day. There are several views about the divisions of

the day, viz. into two, three, four, five, eight, or fifteen parts.
The two are purvahlfa and aparahlJ,a ( as in Manu III. 278 );
for three vide notes 257-258 above. Four parts described by
Gobhila ( q. by KN p. 110) are plirvahlJ,a (for q. prahara ),
madhyahna for ODe prahara, aparahna up to the end of the
3rd prahara and thereafter sayahna till end of day. For
names of five divisions vide H. of Dh. vol. IV p. 376. In
Eg. V. 76 . 3 (utayatam sangave pratarahno) three of the five
parts of a day viz. 'lJ1"utah, saiLgava and marfhIJandina are
expressly mentioned. Eight divisions of the day are men-
tioned by Kautilya (I. 19), Daksa (chap. 2) and KAtyayana.
Kalidasa in Vikramorviisiya II. 1 ( sas~he bhiige) appears to
know this. There are fifteen muhurtas of the day and fifteen
of the night. Vide Brhadyogayatra VI. ;l-4 for 15 mubilrtas.
As the day and night become long or short at different
places (except on the equator) each of the muhurtas will
vary in length to some extent even in the same place in
different seasons of the year. Similarly, purvahna or
prata1}.kala will be of 7i muhiirtas if day is divided only in
two parts, if into five parts purvahJ;la or prata1;l will comprise
only three muhurtas. The KN (p. 112) remarks that the
division into five parts being observed in many Vedic and
Smrti texts as the principal division, that division, is the one
resorted to in the sastric passages about positive and
negative injunctions. Vide HK 325-329, VKK 18-19, KTV
6, 367.
Ahililsavrala-not to eat flesh for a year and then donate a cow
and a golden deer; sari1Vatsaravrata; KKV 444, HV II. 865
( quoting Pad. = Mat. 101. 35 ).
Ahirb1·adhnasnana-HV II. pp. 654--£55 (from Vi. Dh. ). On a
day on which there is Purvabhadrapadl-naksatra performer
to bathe in water from two jars in which are put udumbara
leaves, paiicagaVYa, water with kusas, sandalwood paste &c;
worship of Ahirbradhna, the Sun, Varul)a, the moon, Rudra,
and VislJ.u. Ahirbudhnya was the presiding deity of
Uttariibhadrapada acc. to Br. S. 97. 5, Bhav U. q. by HV II
p. 596, KR 560. Vide H. of Dh. II. p. 247, note 563 for the
devatas of all nak~atra8. This secured thousands of cows
and highest prosperity. Ahirbudhnya is the correct and
ancient form. In about ten passages of the J;tgveda
'Ahirbudhnya:Q.' appears to be some deity (probably Agni).
 History of Dharmai1istra [ Sec. I, Ch. XITr

vide. Eg I. 186. 5, II. 31. 6, V. 41,16, VI. 49. 14, VI. 50. 14:;
VII. 34.17, VII. 35. 13, VII. 38. 5, &c. and Nir. X. 44.
Aka6wlipa-Lighting lamps fed with ghee or oil in K. intending
them for some deity or in a temple or where four roads meet.
Apararka 370-372 (for d!pad5.na), Manu IV. 29, RM 1351-57
( vide BORl vol. 36 p. 330 ), NS. 195 .
.ifgneyavrala-once on any 9th tithi; worship VindhyavasinI
with flowers &c. (five upaciiras), HV I 958-59 (quoting
Bhav U.)
Ajfi'j],~atjkr(infi-A Sankriintivrata; begin on a holy sankranti
day; Sun deity; at end gift of golden image of Sun with
Arul).a, chariot and seven horses; reward unquestioned sway
e\·erywhere; HV II. 738 ( quoting Skanda ).
Ajya7cam!mla-1'idhi-Dne of the 14: y1itriis of Bhuvanesvara;
when Sun enters Makara-riisi; GK 191.
Adityavura-has various names ( 12 in all) when conjoined with
certain tithis, nak~atras and months; it is Nanda in M. suo
6, when nakta and anointing Sun image with ghee and
offering flowers of Agasti tree and white sandalwood paste
and (j'Urmu!u-rihupa and naivedya of apllpa; HV II 522-23,
KKV 10-12; it is Bhadra when Bh. suo has Sunday; one
may observe nakta or fast on that day, offer in the noon
malatI flowers, white candana paste, vijaya incense; HV
II 523-24, KKV 12-13; in the same way Saumya (Sunday
with Rohi n i naksatra ); Kamada ( Sunday on Marg. suo 6);
Jaya (Sunday in Daksinayana); J ayanta (Sunday in
Uttarayana ); Vijaya (Sunday on - suo 7 with Rohinl);
Putrada (Sunday with Rohini or Hasta, fast and sraddha
with pindas ); Adityabhimukha (Sunday on Magha dark 7,
ekabhakta, japa of Mahasveta mantra from morning till
sunset); Hrdaya ( Sunday with sallkrinti when observance
of nakta, facing the Sun in a Sun temple and japa of
Adityahrdaya mantra 108 times); Rogaha (Sunday on
PurviipbaigunI, worship with arka flowers collected in a bowl
of arka. leaves); MahiisV'otapriya ( Sunday and solar eclipse,
fast, japa of Mahasvetii ); Mahiisvetii mantra is 'hrim hrIm
sa iti' ( vide HV II. 521). For tho last ten, vide KKV 12-23,
HV II. 524-528 ( with variations in both works ).
Adityarna1Jq.a!(l-l'idhi-D1l a circlo made with red sandalwood
paste or saffron, place pastry made with white wheat or
barley flour mixed with jaggery and ghee (from cow milk)
 Li8t of vralas 269

and worship of; Sun thereon with red flowers; HV I. 753-754-

( quoting Bhav U 44. 1-9 ) A K ( folio 462b ff).
A dilya vara-naklauTa!a-observe ekabhakta on Sunday, nakta on
following Sunday or on Sunday with Hasta llaksatra ;
Varavrata; SUll deity; aIle year; Mat. 97. 2-19 q. by KKV
31-34, HV II. 538-541, KR 608-~nO .
.ifdltyarura ~'ra t(!-fr om Marg.; worsbip of the Sun; for one year;
each month different name of Sun taken and different fruits
offered such as Mitra and cocoanut in Mi rg., in P. Visnu
and fruit ii I) I/iU' .. 1 and so on. Vrat:lrka, folios 3751- 377a.
It removes all diseases including leprosy.
)f.,lityal'ilral>1'Cllani-HV II. 520-577, KKV 8 ff, Vrati rka folios
3754b-3794b.
)I ditYalJrata-( 1) for men and specially for women ; begin on
Asv. Sunday; for one year; Sun deity; Vratiirka (folio
378a) narrates from Skanda how Si mba was cursed by
Krsna to become a leper and was cured of leprosy by this
vrata; (2) Sunday and 14th tithi and Revati, or Sunday,
8th tithi and Magha; worship of Siva; sesame to be eaten;
HV II. 589.
A clityasaljana-On 7th tithi with Sunday and Hasta-naksatra or
when there is Sankriinti of the Sun on 7th with Sunday;
worship of the images of Uma and Siva (the Sun is non-
different from Siva); salutations to Sun identifying his
various limbs from the feet with naksatras from Hasta
onwards; gift of splendid bed with five coverlets and pillows
and of a cow; Mat. 55. 2-33 q. by KKV 404-408 and Pad.
V. 24. 64-96 ( q. by HV II. 680-684 ).
JIdityasCinfi IJrala-Sunday with Hasta; worship of Sun image
with fuel sticks of at'ka plant ( 108 or 28 in number); homa
of sticks with honey and ghee or curds and ghee; 7 times;
HV II. 537-38 (from Bhav.)
AcIityahrrlaya'Vidhi-Adityab~daya is a mantra to be repeated 108
times in a Sun temple on Sunday when there is sailkrilnti
and observe nakta; HV II. 526 (from Bhav.). In the
Ramiiya:t;la (Yuddhaka:t;l~a 107) Agastya comes to Rama
and advises bim to mutter a sublime praise of the Sun
( called Adityahrdaya) in verse to secure victory in the
final stage of the battle with Rava:t;la; KKV (19-20)
mentions this but holds that jf there is sankranti on a
Sunday I the latter is called Hrdaya or Adityahrdaya.
270 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XII!

Adilyliilhimulchavidhi-Vide KKV 18-19, HV II. pp. 525-26, KR

494- 495 ( last two quoting from Bhav.); after morning bath
one should stan d with face towards the sun till sunset, repeat
rGclining against a pillar the Mahasveta an d worship the
sun with gandha, flowers &0. ; t o give daksiIla and then t ake
his meal.
Anantar!}aIJrala-begin on Marg. suo 3; nakta on 2nd and fast
on 3rd of each fortnight; for a year; Uma worshipped under
different names on each 3rd, the naivedya is different and
the performer is to subsist on different foods for nakta;
specially recommended to women; it is so called because it
prevents antam ( separation) from one's sons, friends and
relatives. HV 1. 405-413.
Ananrlanal1ami-begin on Pha. suo 9; for one year; ekabhakta
on 5th, nakta on 6th, ayiicita on 7th, fast on 8th and 9th j
worship of Dev!; year divided into three parts ; flowers,
naivedya, the name of Devi &c. differ in each period of four
months; KKV 299-301, HV 1. 948-950 ( reads' ananda ').
Anandapmtcallli-5th tithi is dear to Nagas; worship of Dagas
( images ) by bathing them with milk; they bestow freedom
from fear; HV I pp. 557-560; for names of nagas vide under
NagapancamI p. 124 and note 321.
Ananda'I'Tata-For four months from Oai. distribute wat er
without being requested for it; at end of vrata, gift of a jar
filled with water, along with food, clothes, vessel full of
sesame aDd gold; KKV 443, HV I pp. 742-43 ( from Mat. ),
VKK 520, KR 85, Mat. 101. 31-32 .
.A:nandasaphalasaptami-On Bh. 1m. 7; for one year; fast; Bhav.
(I. 110. 1-8), KKV148-149, HV 1. 741. In some mss. written
as ' Anantaphala '.
.4ndolaka-mahotsam-in Vasanta; Bhav U. 133. 24 .
..Anc/olanaumla-on Oai. suo 3; worship of Parvati and Siva
( images) and swinging them in a dala.. HV II. 745-748,
SmK. 90-91, PO 85; HV prescribes Eg. X. 81. 3 ( Visvatas-
caksur-uta ) as the mantra.
AmarrlakllTata-0n 12th suo of any month, speoially of Pha.;
Amardak! = DhAtrI (myrobalan ); one year; 12th with
various naksatras is given various names e. g. Vijaya (with
SravaIla), J~yant1 (with Rohit;ll), Papanasanl (with Pu~ya);
fast on this last is equal t o one thousand Ekadasls; one
 List of walas 271

should perform y"fignra (keeping awake) in Vist:1u worship

under Amardaki tree; story of birth of Amardaka tree; HV
1. 1214-1222.
Amnlakyeldiriasi-Dn Pha. suo 11; worship of Had at the root of
ll malaka tree, in which he and LaksmI are deemed to reside;
Pad. VI. 4.7. 33 ff. and HV I. 1155-56 (from Skanda,
Prabhasakban~a), SMK 516. SmK (364-366) gives an
elaborate description of the worship of Damodara and Radha
under the AmalakI tree on K. purl.1ima or any day in K.
Ammp1l,~ pabhak~aWl-Oai . Su. I; eating the blossom of mango
trees as part of Madana worship; SMK 519, VVK 516-517.
Alju rllu.wm ta-( 1) for four months from Sr. ; worship of conch,
wheel, mace and lotus (identified with Vasudeva,
Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha ); Vi. Dh. III. 148.
1-6 q. by HV II 831; (2) Vi. Dh. ill. 155.1-7.
A utlr-!'1'ata-( 1) Applying sandalwood paste to Sambhu and
Kesava; for one year; at end gift of cow with jar of water;
KKV 442 ( 12th among sa~~ivratas ); (2) on Full Moon day;
worship of Lak~mI and Vi~ nu; fast and gifts to brahmanas
and to young married ladies; HV II. 227-229 (from Gar ).
Ayn ~saidcrantivrata-Dn Sankrii.nti day; worship of the Sun;
gifts of bell-metal vessel, milk, ghee and gold; udyapana as
in Dhanyasankranti; HV II 737, Vratarka ( folio 389 ).
.ifTa~lyaka.~s ~hi-Vide AraJ;lyasas~hI
above.
Aropyaduitiy ll-begin on P . suo 2; for a year on each suo 2;
worship of moon's orescent; on Marg. suo 2 after worship of
crescent gifts of two garments, gold and a jar of liquid; HV
I. 389-91 quoting Vi. Dh. II. 58; result is health and
prosperity.
Al'ogyapratipad-begin on first tithi at the end of a year; one
year; worship of printed image of Sun on every pratipad ;
reward same as above. HV I. 341-42 (quoting Vi. Dh.),
Vratarka ( folio 28), VR 53.
Arogya vrata-( 1) from pratipad after Bh. Full Moon up to Asv.
Full Moon; worship of Aniruddha by day with lotuses and
jiiU flowers; homa, fast of three days before end; secures
health, beauty, prosperity; Vi. Dh. Ill. 205.1-7 (q. by HV
IT 761); (2) It is a dasamlvrata; fast on 9th and worship
of Lakl?ml and Hari on 10th; HV I 963-965 ( from Gar ).
272 History of Dhm'masasfra [Sec. I, Cb. xm
Aro(l yasaptami-On M. suo 7; fast on each saptami for one year j
worship of Sun ; Var. 62. 1-5, q. by KKV 223- 224 and HV
1747; TT. 36, KT 460; secures health and wealth.
Ard1'ar/urS(l na or A7'd r(JNti~lca-on full moon of Marg. j people

flock for darsana of Nataraja (the dancing Siva) and at

Ohidambaram in south India a great festival is held for this.
_Anlrilnrwrlalmri-trfi!Jil-begin on Su. 3 when it has either
Uttarasu.dhli naksatra, PilrVa$ldha or Abhijit or Hasta or
MilIa; for one year divided into three periods ; worship of
Bhavlini and Siva; salutations to the foet and other limbs
of Devi up to her muku~a; Mat. 64. 1-28 (same as P ad. q. by
BV I. 471-474), KKV 51-55, BhavU. 27.
/flekhyasal'papr/l1rami-Bh. suo5 ; tithi-vrata ; Ntigas drawn with
coloured powders and worshipped; result-no danger from
snakes; Dhav. (Brihmaparva 37. 1-3) q. by KKV 94-95,
B V 1. 567, S. Pro folio 26a.
):fsa'/as(l nli-begin on any suo 10th tithi; period 6 months, a year,
two years; draw in one's own court figures of the ten quarters
to be worshipped; all one's desires are fulfilled (usu means
, directions ' and also' hope' or 'desire '); BV I. 977-981, VR
356-7; if 'I:iddhil, perform on that day when dasami exists in
the forenoon.
Asilriilya- I!rala-Begin on a Sunday in Asv,; for one year;
worship of Sun with 12 different names; HV II. 533-37
(from Skanda), Vratarka folio 379b; Simba became free from
leprosy by means of this.
) fsI'wl/a- I'mla-beg in on Oai. Suo 4; for a year divided into
three p~riods of four months ; Vasudeva, Sankar$aI_la,
Pradyumna and Aniruddha to be worshipped one after
another in each period. Vi. Dh. III. 142. 1-7 q. by BV I 505,
VP ( folio 59 ).
) isl'i7lakrt?/II-Vide KR 301-397, VKK 343-458, NS 144-192,
SMK 287-373, KT 444-447. This month has numerous
observances and festivals. The important ones will be
separately entered in the list. A few lesser ones are noted
bere. V. Dh. ( 90. 24-25 ) provides that by donating ghee
everyday in this month, a man pleases Asvins and becomes
handsome and by feeding brahmaJ;las with cow's milk
( and its produots ) he seoures a kingdom. On suo 1 there is
mother's father's sraddha by a grandson whose father is alive
( vide H. of Dh. vol. IV p. 533) j on that da.y also begins
 List of vratas 273

N avaratra; on suo 4 worship of Sati (Parvati who threw

herself in a lake on that date) with arghya, flowers &c. and
honour is to be paid to chaste women, mother, sister and
other women whose husbands are alive ( KKN 404, KR 348 );
on suo 5 nagas made of kusa grass a nd IndraJ;JI are to be
worshipped (NA 47, KR 348); in bright half on a tithi with
an auspicious naksatra and muhurta going to field having
ripe crops with music and dance, one should offer homa and
should eat the new corn with curds as also new grapes
( KKN 405 , KR 303 ); in SUkla pak$a when there is naksatra
Svati Uccail;lsravas (Sun's horse) first carried the Sun and
hence he and one's horses should be honoured by an owner
of horses ( KKN 4007, KR 347); in suopaksa on Mula one
should invite SarasvatI, establish her on P u rvasii~ha in
books, offer oblations to her on Uttarasa1ha and take leave
of her on SravaJ;Ja and one should not read, teach or write
during these days ( NS 171, SmK 352, PC 73). In Tamil
lands SarasvatI-pClja in books on Asv. suo 9; Tulamasa.
( Asv. ) is sacred for bath in KaverI river; and on Amavasya.
there is a special bath in Kavert river.
JUliq_ha-krlya-KR 196-218, KT 434-437, VKK 283-292, NS
101-109; SMK 137-148. Some of the smaller observances
of Asadha are mentioned here. Ekabhakta vrata for whole
month ( SMK 137, KR 196 ); gift of sandals, umbrella, salt
and myrobalans (v.I. 'new kambala ') to a brahmapa for
securing favour of Vamana (avatara) on the first or on
some convenient day of A$a~ha; on suo 2. if there is Pusya
nak~atra, Rathotsava of KrsJ;la, Balarama and Subhadrii.
( TT 29, NS 101, SMK 137 ); on su o 7 (fast on 6th and)
worship of Sun called Vivasvat who appeared on Plirvasa~M
that day ( KKN 390, SmK 138); on 8th image of DevY that
killed Mahisasura should be bathed with turmerio water and
camphor and sandalwood paste, and feast to brlihmaJ;las and
maidens full of sweet dishes and tasty liquids and lamps
lighted; N A 56, SmK 138; as to 9th see under Ubhaya-
navamY; on tenth Varalak$mIvrata (very important in Tamil
country) and worship on a kalasa.. as to 11 th and 12th vide
under these words; Full Moon is very holy and gifts must
be made (RlimayaIfa q. by KR 214 ); if there be Uttara!:!ii.~ha.
nak$atra on PiirJ;limii. worship of ten Visve-devas (KKN
393, KR 213 and H. of Dh. vol. IV p. 457); gift of food on
Piir:r;lima gives inexhaustible merit (V. Dh.); on PiirJ;lima.
B. P. 3:1
274 History of Dharmaslisl1'a [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
ascetics to shave and perform VyasapG.ja (NS 109, SMK
144-146) ; on dark 8 Vinayakapuja ( KKN 390, KR 198);
AS. Kr. 8 is Manvadi tithi.
Induvrata-58th of the 60 sariwatsara-vratas m. in KKV 451
( one verse which is Mat. 101. 80 and is quoted from Pad. by
HV II. 883). One has to honour a householder and his wife
three times a day and give a cow at end of the year.
11lclradhvajotthilnotsaoa- (festival of the raising of Indra's banner).
On Bh. suo 8 the pole for the banner was to be brought or
made of sugarcane and was to be worshipped with attendant
deities and was to be taken down and cast in deep water. It
was raised on Sravapa, Dhanil?~ha or Uttarasa~ha nakl?atra
and taken down on Bharani at night. It is elaborately
described in Varaha's Brhatsamhita, chap. 43, Kiilikapurapa
( 90 ), R M verses 1260-1292 (vide BORI. vol. 36 pp. 323-327),
HV II 401-419, TT. 115-117, VKK 32:l,-323, KV 294-299 ,
KR 292-293. It was recommended for observance by king.
It is mentioned in Buddhacarita (SBE 49 part 1. p. 113),
Raghuvarrlsa IV 3, tMrcchaka~ika X. 7, in the 1st book of
Malfimekhalai and 5th of Silappadhikaram, and in a n
inscription published in E. I. Xli. 320 (dated in 461 of
Malava era i. e. 404- 5 A. D. ). It is described in Kalika-
purapa 90, in Krtyakalpataru (on Rajadharma) pp 184-190
( from Devlpuralfa ), in RNP pp 421-423, and is mentioned
in Nagiinan da 1. Vide H. of Dh. II pp.825-826 for descrip-
tion. RNP ( pp 430-433) quotes several PauraIJ ika aslrvada
mantras and prarthaniimantras from the Visnudharmottara.
Ind'J'(wmta-47th of the 60 Sariwatsara-vratas described in KKV
p. 449. One has to sleep in the open in the rainy season,
and make a gift of a milch cow. It is Mat. 101. 69.
Indrap(l1l1"IJ.amasi-HV II. 196 (one verse from BhavU). Fast
on Bh. Full Moon an d honouring thirty householders with
their wives with orn aments; secures m ok.~a. Vide GK 176.
Db. III. 200. 1-5; begin in Cai. and in
ll:i?aj1ifya ui'ipfi-Vi.
K.; worship Hari with Eg. X. 90 1-16 a nd the 16 upaciiras
and at end gift of a cow.
[Silnavmta-Fast on suo 14 and on FuU Moon day when it is a
Thursday ; worship of Lings with Vi$tl.u to the left a.nd
Khakholka (the Sun) to the right; five years; gift of one cow
at end of 1st year, of 2 at end of 2nd, of 3 at end of 3rd, of
 List of I)ratas 275
4 at the end of 4th and five at the end of 5th; KKV 383-385,
HV II. 179-180 (from Kalika ).
lSl'araga'IJa gauril'rata-18 days fr om Cai. Kr.;l to Cai. suo 3; this
is meant only for women whose husbands are alive; worship
of Ga.uri and Siva; well-known in Malava (Malwa); AK
folio 237.
1scara-l'rala-Dn dark 14th; worship of Siva; HV II. 148 (from
Bhav. , 4j verses ).
Ugra-na1cl')atTas-are the three PClrvas (Purva~iidha , Piirva-
bhadrapada, Purvaphalgun!), Magba and Bharat;lI. Vide
under Naksatra and B~. S. 97. 8.
Uttamahharlrprupli-on 12th of suo of Vasanta; Vis~u is deity ;
Var. 54. 1-19.
Uttaraya~a-Gifts are recommended at the beginning of each
aymw ( vide Satatapa in KV 536 and VKK 292 ) and gifts
made at the beginning of an auana yield a crorefold of merit,
while a gift on Amavasya gives only 100 times (RM q. by
KV. 381, VKK 214 ). Vide 1. A. vol. 20 pp. 104-106 for a
grant of Eastern Ollukya king Mango-yuvarii.ja on the
occasion of Uttarii.ya~a~sankranti.
Utthapanaiklidasi-on K. suo 11; G K 188, KSS 42 (has three
mantras for Vi~I,liitthapana ).
Utpattyelclldasi-Vide VK No. 694.
Utsarjana-Vide H. of Dh. vol. II 815-818, NS 120-121, SmK
164-167.
Utsavas-Numerous utsavaa are mentioned in the Puriinas and
works on vrata. Some of these such as Holikii., Durgotsava
have already been described at some length above. A few
more will be briefly dealt with at appropriate places in the
list. The word' utsava ' occurs in Eg. 1. 100. 8 and 1. 102. 1
and is derived from the root su in the sense of 'urging or
inspiring' by Sl yaI,la. Vide 'India Antiqua' (a volume
presented to Dr. J . Ph. Vogel) pp 146-153 where Prof. Gonda
derives it from root' au ' (rather unconvincingly ).
Udalcasaptami-drinking only a handful of water on 7th tithi
gives happiness; KKV 184, HV 1. 726 ( from Bhav ).
Udasevilcu-same as Bhiitami:i.t~-utsava. This utsa.va followed
immediately after the Indradhvaja was taken down (i. e. it
took place on Bh. Su. 13). It somewhat resembled the wild
276 History of Dhafmasiistra [ Sec. I, Ch. XI1I
and mystic noman Bacchanalia. In HV II 359-365, KKN
413-421 and KR 387-395 this festival is described a t length
from the Shnda. The origin is traced to Bhairava and a
girl called Udasevika ( whose body was smeared with mud)
sprung from the mind of Siva and Parvati respectively.
They became husband and wife. All people become on this
day vociferous about sexual matters. Men and women go
out like crazy persons, ride asses, bulls and dogs, smear
themselves with ashes and mud, even men 100 years old act
like boys, become void of shame, utter obacene songs, dress
like cowherds, rlombas. barbers and also went about naked.
It is remarkable that Skanda averred that gods and pitTs did
not accept the offerings of a man who did not take part
in this festival and remained aloof. There was difference
of views about the time when the utsava was t o be celebrated.
Vide HV II p. 368, and VP ( folios 91-92 ), which place it in
Jy. kr. 1 to 15 ( by p urI,limant a reckoning ).
UddaLalcavTCLfa-Vide Vas. Dh. S. XI. 76-77; it was prescribed
for one who was patitasavitrlka. See H . of Dh. vol. II pp.
376-377. In HV II p. 932 ( from Brah.), it is described as
subsisting on amiksa an d boiled milk for two months each,
eight days on curds, 'three days on ghee and total fast for
one day.
Udyapana-Vide pp. 120-21 above. It is said in KTV 95 that
in some vratas like K~~I,lajanmastaml to be obaerved
throughout one's life there is no udyapan a.
Unmilanivmla-EkadasI mixed with dvadasI. Vide p. 119 above:
Pad. Vl. 37-29 ff. and SmK 250-2.
Upacaras-( items in worship of images ). Vide pp. 34-37 above.
Upauasa'umta-See under EklLdasi pp. 97-100; vide Vi. Dh. 1. 59.
3-5 for rewards of fast on week-days from Monday, ibid
1. i9. 6- 15 for fasts on naksatras and 1. 59. 15-20 for fasts
on tithis from 1 to 15. No upavasa beyond a month was
allowed. Vide S. Pro folio 300, HV II. 776-783.
UpiJkanna-Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 807-815.
Upfi/tgalalilU-Asv. suo 5: tithi; Lalitadevl (i. e. ParvatI);
prevalent in the Deccan; story of briihmaI,la Gautama from
Broach, KTV 218 (ff); SmK 343-352, PC 99, VR 206-219
( from Bkanda ).
Ubhayadvudasi-Begin on Marg. Kr. 12, then P. suo 12 and so
on for one year on all 24 dvadasls ; tithi; the 24 forms of
 lAst of 'lJI'atas 277

Vil?PU viz. Kesava, Narayana and others are to be

worshipped; HV I. 1013-1021.
Ubhayanacami- Begin on P. suo9; one year; Oii.mundii worship;
each month different material for making image of Devi and
different name; buffalo flesh offered on some days and
performer to observe nakta and feed maidens on each navamL
KKV 274-282, HV I. 921-928, KR 203-4, 445-446, 517 (all
from Bhav. ), VP. folio 66a.
Ubhayasaptami-begin on suo 7; tithi ; one year in each paksa ;
Sun deity; KKV 159-160, HV I. 748-753 (both from Bhav.
I. 165. 1-45); (2) begin on M. suo7; for one year; every
month a different name of the SUll to be worshipped; Bhav,
U. 47. 1-25.
Ubha!Jaikildasi-Begin on 11th in Marg.; tithi; ODe year (in
each paksa ); Vispu; different names (such as Kesava,
Niirayal?a ) in dark half and other names of K~'s lla in suo
pak~a. Vra~iirka folios 233b-237a. It notes that among
Gurjaras it is called • Ubbaya • simply.
Umucaturthi-M. SUo 4; Uthi; Uma; KKN 437-438, SPr (folio
47b), KR 503; Men and specially women should worship
with kunda flowers and should observe fast.
Umamahesmravrata-( 1 ) Begin on Bh. purpima; sankalpa on
14th; tithi; worship of golden or silver images of Uma. and
Si va; Vratii.rka folios 336a-343b ( from Sivarahasya ); well-
known in Kar:t:J.ii~aka; ( 2) begin on purl).ima, amivasya,
14th or 8th tithi; one year; Uma and Siva to be worshipped;
ruLlcta with havi f/!Junna on those tithis; HV II. 395 (from
Sivadharma ); (3) on 8th and 14th tithis; one is to fast
for one year on those two tithis ; HV II. 396 ( from Sivadhar-
mottara; (4) begin on first tithi of Ma.rg. ; tithi; one year;
same deities ; Linga, purvardha 84. 23-72; (5) Begin on
Marg. suo 3; tithi; one year; same deities as above; Bhav
U. 23. 1-28, Linga, piirvardha 84; (6) HV. II. 691-693
( from Devlpurana ), KKV 414-416.
Umadipiljfl-Dai. suo 2; tithi; worship of Umii., Siva. and Agni j
SmK 8, PC 83.
Ulkanavami-9tb tithi of A.sv. su.; tithi; one year; worship of
Mahi ~asuramardinl with mantra 'Mahisaghni Mahamaye •
HV I. 895 ( from Bhav U. ). Another variety is; HV r. 897-9
and VP folio 187a (from Saurapurii.l?a);
278 History of DharmaSastra [ Sec. I, Cb. XIII

mantra is the same as in first variety. The vrata is so called

because the man appears to his enemies like ulka (fire-
brand) and the woman performer to her co-wives just like
ulka.
U.~u~kU.ta-The period of five gha~Is before sunrise, or 55 gha~js
after the preceding sunrise is so called 'Paiica-paiica
usa]fkiila]f saptapaiici runodaya/;ll a~~apaiica bhavet pratal;l
se!?al;l suryodayo mata]f II ' KSS 52 ( from Devibhagavata ).
~tu l)ratali-I:IV II. 858-861 ; mentions five seasonal vratas which
are entered at the proper places in this list; vide also
VKK 237-240, SmK pp. 548-552 .
.8,~'ipaficami-Vide pp. 149-151 above.
Eklinmi(lupuja-on K. suo 4th, 8th, 9th or 14th j on the last
women worship Ekananga under a tree bearing fruit and
ask a hawk or other bird to carry to Bhagavati the excellent
morsel of food that they offer and on this day the wife takes
her food first and serves it to her husband afterwards j KR
413-414 ( from Brah ).
Ais'"aryatrlill11-on 3rd tithi worship Brabma, ViSI;lU or Siva and
the three worlds with mantras addressed to them separately;
secures great prosperity ; HV 1. 498 (from Vi. Dh. ).
Kajjali- Bh. Kr. 3 (by p ur~1im iinta reckoning); tithi; ViSI;lU-
puja; NS 123, AK (folio 274a, says it is on Sr. Kr. 3). NS
says it is well-known in Madhyadesa.
Ka~adunots(wa.-This festival was performed on Bh. suo11 and
12 or 15 when Visnu was supposed to change the side on
which he slept for two months; HV II. 813, SmK 153.
Kwialil'rala- on 14th of Bh. su.; tithi; plantain plant to be
worshipped for health, beauty, progeny & 0. ; H V II 132- 133
( from Bhav U. ). Vratarka says that among Gurjaras it is
performed on the Full moon of K, M or Vai. and all
upaciiras are offered with PauraI;lic mantras and Udyapana
is performed on the same tithis in those months or in any
sacred month. If no kadall available, worship golden image
( folio 292a-296a ). Vide also AK (folio 6Ua ).
Kapa:rdi sl'(l'/'a- Vinuyalcavrata-4th tithi of Sr. su.; tithi; worship
of Ganesa; Vratarka folios 78b-84a (from Skanda), VR
160- 168; both refer to Vikramarkapura and say Vikrama-
ditya performed it.
 List of vratas 279

Kapil11l$<ll'}thi-z'1'nfa-on Bh.
K!'. (by amanta reckoning) or
Asvina kr by (purnimanta) 6th ; conjoined to Tuesday, VyatT-
pata-yoga, Rohini-naksatra acc. to HV I 578 (Pros~ha­
padasite pakse sasthi Bhaumena sarnyuta I VyatTpatena
Rohinya sa sasthi kapila smrta II). If in addition to the
above the Sun is in Hasta naksatra then the results are
greater still; worship of Bbaskara; gift of a kapil5. cow. HV
I 577-78 (from Skanda), NS 152, PC 102, VR 221-231.
Some works refer it to Asv.; but when Bh. is mentioned it
must be taken to be amanta as the concurrence of Rohirfi
is possible on that supposition alone. The conjunction of so
many items is rare, generally found once in 60 years. For
reference to Kapila sas~hj, vide I. A.. vol. 25 p. 345 where
a Canarese inscription of Vijayanagar king Krsnaraya (in
Bb. K!,.6 of sake 1435 corresponding to Tuesday, 20-9-1513)
refers to it.
Kamaiai$ai$thi- Marg. suo5- 7; tithi; one year; Brahma is devata;
begin niyamas on 5th, fast on 6th and gift of lotus made of
gold and sugar to a brahmana ; on 7th morning honouring
brabmana and feeding him ksira; 12 different names of
Brahma in 12 months; Bhav U. 39.
Kamalasapfami-begin on Cai. suo 7; tithi; one year; Divakara
( Sun) is devata ; Mat. 78. 1-11 (fl. by KKV 217-219) = Pad.
V. 21. 281-290 ( HV I 640-641 quotes these and a few more
as from Pad.), KR 119-121. Vide also Bbav U. 50.1-11;
VP (folio 61b) quotes from Pad. the verse 'BMskaraya
vidmahe saptasvaya dbimahi I tan me bhilnu}:J. pracodayat II'
in imitation of the famous Gayatri ( B,g. III. 62. 10 ).
Karakacalurthi-for women only; on K. Kr. 4; titbi; worsbip
of picture of Gaurl accompanied by Siva, Gal1esa and
Skanda drawn under a vata tree with all upacaras; gift of
ten karakas ( vessels) to brilhmal1as and arghya to Moon
after moonrise. NS 196, Vratiirka folio 840.-860., VR 17 2 ff
( mentions month as Asv. by amanta reckoning ), SmK. 367
( quoting Va), PC 95 ( which says it is same as Dasaratha-
caturthI ).
Karakai$~ami-8th of K. K!'.; worship of GaurT at night, gift of
nine jars filled with scented water and surrounded with
garlands; he should take food after feeding nine maidens;
AK folio 5470. (remarks it is well-known in Mahlr/l.f?~ra).
280 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIII

Kararzav1'atfini-The karaJ;las will be described in the next section.

Vide Br. S. chap. \)9, Vi. Dh. I. 83. 24 tI, HV TI 718-726
( quoting Brahmil:rJ~a and other puralfas ), SmK 564-565.
KarapiTOpTatipru/-l'rrda-on 1st of Jy. su.; tithi; worship of
Karavira plant growing in a temple garden; HV I 353 ( from
Bhav U. 10 ), SmK 117. The mantra is 'a krsnena' (Eg.
I. 35. 2). It is observed in Tamil country but on VaL suo 1.
Kari'l"rata-m iscellaneous vrata ( prakIrnaka ); Brahma devata;
KKV 449 (quoting Mat. 101. 72), HV II. 911 (from Pad. ,
same verses); a fast and gift of golden chariot with two
elephants.
Kalasa-a jar or jars are used as auspicious in marriage, esta-
blishment of an idol, marching on an expedition, coronation
&c. ; up to 108 may be employed; their circumference should
be from 15 to 50 finger-breadths, height 16 migulas, base
12 angulas and mouth 8 angulas. HV ( I. 608 ) derives the
word (' Kalam kalarn g~bltva ca devanam Visvakarmana,
nirmitoyarh surair yasmat-kalasastena ucyate II); vide HV
I. 65-66 for kalasotpatti and its measurements. A piirJ?,a
kalasa is mentioned in Eg. TIL 32. 15.
Kallcidvadasi-12th of Bh. su.; tithi; Kalkin devata; Var. 48·
1-24, some of which are q. by KKV 332-333 and HV r.
1038-39. Vide' avataras ' above.
Kalpal)rk~a-vrata-Sari1Vatsarvrata; one of the f!a!?~ivratas in
Mat. 101, q. by KKV 446; HV II. 910-911 (quotes from Pad.
same verses ).
Kalpudi-seven tithis are mentioned as the beginnings of
Kalpas in Mat. viz. Vai. suo3, Pha. K~·. 3, Cai. su 5, Cai. Kr. 5
(or amavasyii ? ), M. SU13, K. SUo7, Marg. su 9. Vide HK 670-1.
NS 82, SmK. 5-6 and H. of Dh. IV. 374. They are sra-ddha
tithis. Hema-dri mentions 30 tithis as Kalpadi from
Nagarakhan~a. The Mat. (chap. 290. 3- 11) names thirty
Kalpas somewhat difierent from those in the Nagarakha.lf~a.
Kalpanfa-See Vi. Dh. I. 77 for description.
KalyiJ.~1asaptami-begin on suo 7th tithi on a Sunday. That tithi
is called KalyiilfinI or Vijayii; one year; Sun worship; in
13th month gift of 13 cows. Mat. 74. 5-20 (q. by KKV
208-211 ) and Bhav U. 48. 1-16; HV L 638-640 (quotes
almost same verses from Pad. Sr!?1ii-khaJ?,~a. 21. 216-235 ).
 List of vratas 281

Kliffcanagau1·i-Bh. suo 3; tithi; Gauripiijii; NA 39, GK 72.

KaficanapuTim'ata-A miscellaneous vrata (praklrI;laka); on
Su. 3, K~. 11, Purnima, Amavasyii, 8th tithi or Sankranti;
gift of golden purT ( town) with walls of gold, silver or lead,
pillars of gold, silver &c.; in most of the manufactured town,
images of ViSI;lU and LaksmI; HV 11. 868-876 (from Gar. ),
Bhav U. 147; practised by Gaurl and Siva, Rama and Slta,
Damayanti and N ala, Krspa and PiiI.l9.svas. Confers
everything and frees from all sins.
Katyuyanivrata-Bhiigavata X. 22. 1-7. The story is that
maidens in N andavraja worshipped in Miirgaslrsa the image
of Kiityiiyanl for a month for securing K~f?lta as husband.
Kantaradipl1.danam:dhi-lighting eight lamps on a post of
sacrificial tree for one month from Asv. PurJ;limii to K.
Purnima, or on three nights (Allv. purnima, Ailv. amavasyii
and K. piirl1imii ) or only on K. p6rJ;l ima, acc. to one's ability;
deities Dharma, Rudra, Damodara; KKN 452-456 (from
Mat. ), KR 382-386 ( quoting some verses from Brah. ); KR
382-386; 'kantaro durgaml1.m vartma' KR 386. This rite
was principally meant for the benefit of pretas ( disembodied
spirits ) and pitrs ( manes ).
Kuntiv-rata-( 1 ) K. suo 2; tithi; for a year; worship of Balarama
and Kesava and of the crescent of the moon; hom a with
sesame for 4 months from K. and with ghee for four months
from Asa~ha; at end of year gift of a silver image of Moon
toabrahmana; KKV47-48 (from Var. 57.1-18); HV I.
378-379 (from Var.); ( 2) in Vai.; SalTIVatsaravrata;
giving up in whole of Vai. salt and flowers, KKV 445.
Kamatray odl1.si-on 13th; tithi; worship of Kama (god of love);
HV II. 25 ( from Bhav. ), VKK 70.
Kamatrivrata-worship of several goddesses such as Umll, Medha,
BhadrakalI, KatyayanI, Anasuyll, Varuna-patnl; result is
accomplishment of desired objects; HV I 575-576 (from
Vi. Dh.).
Kamadavidhi-worship of Sun on the Sunday that occurs on
Marg. su 6 with Karavira flowers smeared with red sandal-
wood paste; KKV 14.
Kamadasaptami-7th of Pha. su.; tithi; for a year; worship of
SW'ya (sun); in each group of four months from PM.
worship with different flowers, different dhupa and different
H. D. 36
282 Hisl01'Y of Dharmasastm [ Sec. I, Ch. xm

naivedya; KKV 169-172, HV 1. 728-731 (both quote from

Bhav. 1. 105. 1-29 ).
Kiimadevapujii-on Cai. suo 12; tithi; worE!hip of Love-god drawn
on a piece of cloth with various flowers and keeping in front
of the picture a jar of cool water covered with flowers; wives
are to be honoured by tbe busbands on this day; KKN 384.
Kiimadevalffala-begin on Vai. suo 13 ; tithi; for one year;
worship of Kamadeva; Vi. Db. III. 183 q. by HV II. 18, VP
( folio 86a ).
K iimadhenu'I)rata-ior five days from K. Kr. 11; tithi; SrI and
Visnu devata; lighting lamps at night in the house, cowpen,
caityas, temples of gods, roads, cemeteries, tanks; dice play
at nigbt with wife and relatives; fast on EkadasI and bathing
Visl.1u image witb cow's milk or ghee, for four days; giving
of a diina called Kamadhenu; HV II. 344-348 (from Vahni -
puraJ;la). This serves also as a prayascitta for all sins.
Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp 874-875 for description of
Kamadhenu dana.
Klimade-oatrayodasi-( or Madana-trayodasI ) Cai. su. 13; tithi;
worship of Damana plant as identical with Madana; GK
152-153 (quoting Bhav.) and KT 465; vide Ananga-
trayodasI.
Kunuuievudn(idasi-begin on Marg. S11. 12; on each 12th tbere-
after for one year; worship of Kamadeva; SmK 114 ( quoting
Vi. Db. 1. 158 ).
K uma7l1ali.otsn:v(/'--on 14th of Cai. su. ; tithi; establishment of
Madana and Rati on the night of 13tli in a park and worship
on 14th; the festival is to be celebrated with obscene words,
with songs and music; next morning play with mud for a
pmham (tbree hours); VKK 529-532 which quotes two
verses ( on p. 530 ) from RM. This is also called 'CaitravalI'
and 'Madanabhaiijl' in Sa ivagama. Vide KV 190
'Caitravihita- A soka~ ~amI- Mad anatrayodasl - Caitravall-
Madanabhaiijika-GaturdasI-prabhrtln 'and RM. (folio 81a
verses 1381-1384 ABORI 36 p. 333-34), KR 137-138.
Kurn aIJrala-( 1) for women alone, KKV 421-424, HV II.
821-824 ( both quote from Bhav. ); begin in K.; Masavrata j
one year ; worsbip of Sun; Hemadri calls it strI-putra-
kamavaptivrata; (2) begin on 13th of P. su.; observe nakta
on each 13th and in Cai. donate a golden Asoka tree and
sugarcane stalks ten finger-breadths in length with the words
 List of vratas 283

, May Pradyumna be pleased'; KKV 440, HV U 25( quoting

Pad. ); (3) on 7th tithi of any month; tithi; worship of
Suvarcal!i., the Sun's wife; secures all desired objects; HV I.
790 ( quoting Vi. Dh. one verse only) ; (4) begin on 5th
of P. su.; tithi; worship of Visnu in the form of Kartikeya;
nakta on 5th, on 6th only one fruit to be eaten; on 7th
paraJ;1ii; one year; gift of golden image of Kiirtikeya and
two garments to a brahman a ; in this very life all the desires
of the performer are fulfilled. Var. 61. 1-12 q. by KKV 98-99
and HV I. 615-ti16. HV calls it ' Kam~as~hl '.
Ki1ma~al?thi-Vide the immediately preceding vrata (4).
KlimaL'liptivrata-on Kr. 14; tithi ; worship of Mah akala ( Siva );
secures desired objects. HV II. 155 ( one verse from Vi. Db. )
Kumikuvrata-Marg. Kr. 2; titbi; golden or silver image with
cakra ( discus) to be worshipped and donated. AK (folio
251a ).
KCirtika-For vratas in K., vide HV II 769-784, KR 397-442,
VKK 453-481, NS 192-208, KSS 20-26, SmK 358-427, GK
24-32. It is said to be a very holy month, holier than all
tirthas and all solemn sacrifices. For its mlihiltmya, vide
Shnda, VaisJ;1avakhalf~a. chap. 9, Nar. (uttarardha) chap.
22, Pad. VI. 92.
Kartika,~n(j,nall'/'ata-Forthe whole month of K a person, taking
bath early morning outside the house in a river, being
engaged in japa of G5.yatrI and partaking only once in the
day of sacrificial ( havisya ) food, becomes free from all sins
committed in the year; V. Dh. 89. 1-4 q. by KKV 418, HV
n. 76 2. Vide also RM folio 80a, 1358-1362 (vide ABORI
36 pp. 330-31). Pad. VI. 91 and 119. 12-13, KV 324, NS
192-194, SmK 358, GK 27-29.
Among the many things to be given up in Kis flesh. S. Pro
(folio 46) and KR (397-399) quote MB to the effect that
giving up flesh-eating in Kartika (particularly in the bright
half) is equal to the performance of severe austerities ( tapas )
for a hundred years and that great ancient kings like Yayati.
Rama and Nala did not eat flesh in K and therefore went to
heaven. Nar. (uttarardha ) 22. 58 avers that a man becomes a
caI,l~ala by eating flesh in K Vide under Bakapaiicaka.
Lighting lamps an d making illuminations in K. in the
temples of Siva, CaI,l~I, the Sun a.nd other gods is highly
284 History of Dharma~astra [ Sec. I. Ch. XD.i

eulogised. Vide Pad. III. 3. 13 ff. HV. II. 763-768. KR 403-404.

KV 326. SmK. 358- 59; worship of Kesava with flowers called
muni ( i. e. Agastya) for the whole month of K. excluding other
flowers secures reward of Asvamedha; TT. 147.
Kartika su o 1. Vide above under Divali for the rites on
this titbi ; on suo2 worship of Yama (NS 203 . PO 83. SmK (377)
and Bhratrdvitlya ( vide pp. 207-208 above ) ; on suo 3 worship of
Satldevl ( AK folio 295-296 ); suo4 Nagacaturth! ( G K 81 ) j suo 6
is called Mahasa!:,l~h i on which there is Vahn imahotsava ( SmK
378. PO 102 ); special importance if it falls on Tuesday j suo 8
worship of Bhagavatl ( KKN 424-425, KR 413 ) ; suo 9 is yugadi
tithi ( sraddha without pilfdas may be performed) and Bhagavati-
puja ( KKN 424-25. KR 413 ); suo 10 partake of curds and eat
only in the evening (KV 425. KR 420 ) ; suo 11 is Bodhan! or
Prabodhinl or utthana-EkadasI when ViSlfU rises from sleep
( KKN 392. NS 205 ); this is specially sacred to SrI-Vai!:,llfavas ;
on this tithi there is the marriage of Tulasl to ViSlfU (SmK 366.
378. VR 384-86). vide also Bhlsma-paficaka vrata j there is
Tulaslvivaha in Tamil and some other lands on 12th tithi; some
observe Bodhana also on the 12th ( KR 426); vide under
Yogesvara-dvadasI; there is worship of Varaha avatar a (Var. 123.
8-11 q. by KKN 426 ) on this tithi ; suo13, vide Lingarcanavrata;
suo14. on this there is Vaiku lf~ha-caturdasI, which see; on K. 14
the Brah. says that the mistress of the bouse in former ages took
a tasty morsel of food. offered it to a hawk, and asked it to take
it to Durga and that she in the present age is to eat firs t on this
day and then the husband has to offer honour to his wife (KKN
425 quoting Brah. and KR 413-14); Kartika Purnima was
called Maha.-KartikI. if the Moon and Jupiter on that tithi are
both in the Krttika (Pleiades) nak!:,latra or there is Rohilfi
naksatra on it ; KKN 372. VKK 481, SmK 406; HV II. 181
( quotes Bhav U ) to the effect that if in addition to the above
the pllrlfima falls on a Monday it is a very holy day. which
occurs rarely (ldp'l l bahubhir var!:,lair bahupulfyena labbyate );
In the Sunao plates of Sangama-sirnha (in 292 of the Kalaciiri
era i. e. 541 A. D.) there is mention of a grant to several
brahmal;lUs of Bharukaccha ( modern Broach) made on this day
(E.1. X. p. 72). also O. I. 1. Vol. IV Nos. 9. 11. 16, 17. 30 (five
grants made on Kiirtikl P iirnima ) ; vide HK 641, KR 430-431
NS 207 (for MahiikartikI); o~ K. Full Moon also some celebrat~
Tulasl-vivaha (vide SmK 366); on K. Piirlfima the Rathayi'itra of
Brahmii. was celebrated (Pa.d. V. 17. 217-:253); on the Full moon
 List oJ vralas 285

Bhav. prescribes the letting loose of a bull (SmR 390-406) i on

this purI;limii was celeprated Tripurotsava in the evening when
illuminations were made with lamps in temples (NS 207, SmK
427)i R. Kr. 4 vide Karaka-caturth1i R. Rr. 8 see Karakiis~amji
K. R~. 12 worship of cows (HV I. 1180- 1190, NS 196, SmK
367-368 ) i on lq. 13 offering a lighted lamp to Yam a outside the
house i K~. 14 and amiivil.syii (by the purnimiinta reckoning)
vide under N arakacaturdasl and Laksml-pujana above pp. 198-200
and KKV 423-424. On K. amiivasya one who had not performed
or could not perform parvana-sriiddha in pitr-pak!?a (Bh. dark
fortnight) could perform it on R. amaviisya.
Ki'irtikavrata-HV II. 762-763 (from Vahni-purana ); offer
food full of ghee and honey to gods, pitrs and men; worship
of Hari and lighting lamps there remove sins and the per-
former goes to heaven.
Kflrtiki-p'ilr'lJ:imal'7'ala- K. suo 15 i tithi i the full Moon
tithis in Vai., K., M. were highly honoured, and one should not
allow them to pass without bath and donations i bath at holy
places on those days is commended and gifts also according
to monetary ability. The pre-eminent tlrtha on R. Full
Moon is Pu!?kara, in Vai. Ujjayinl and in M. Vara~asI.
Gifts were to be made on these days not only to brahma~as,
but also to one's sister, sister's son, father's sister's son,
maternal uncle and to poor relatives. In the Ramaya~a
Bharata took a sapatha ( oath ) before Kausalya "if my elder
brother went to the forest with my consent, may the Full
Moon tithis of Vai., K., M., honoured even by gods, pass in
my case without gifts"i HV II. 137-171 (quoting Bhav U)
contains (on p. 170) this oath of Bharata. This verse
about Full Moon of Vai. &c. does not occur in several
editions of the Ramaya1?a though several other verses end-
ing in 'Yasyaryonumate gata.l;l.' occur in Ayodhyaka~qa 75.
Kartilceya-vrata-6th tithi i Kartikeya is devatii i HV I. 605-606
(from Bhav. ), Vratakala-viveka p. 24.
Karti ke'IJa-~a~~lti-on Marg. suo 6; tithi; worship of golden,
silver, clay or wooden image of Kiirtikeya; HV I. 596-600
( from Bhav U. 42.1-29 ).
Katabhairava/Jtami-Miirg. kr. 8; tithi; Ralabhairava is deity;
VK 316-317, VRD 106.
Kalaratrivrala-on Asv. suo 8; palc~ vrata; for all var1?as but
not for those beyond the pale of caste system; fast for 7 or
286 History of Dharmafiistra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIIi
3 days or one day according to physical ability; first pilja.
of Ganesa, Matrs, Skanda and Siva and then homa which
was to be in a kuJ;l9.a by a briihmaJ;la who had taken initia-
tion as a Saiva or by persons belonging to uvyaitga (Maga
brahma:r;Jas or Parsi ?) families; eight maidens to be fed
and eight brahrnaJ.)as to be invited; HV lI. 326- 332
( from KiilikiipuriiJ;la ).
KaUiI$~ami'Vrala-on Bh. kr. 8 with M~gasiras naksatra; tithi-
vrata; one year; Va. 16. 30- 66 q. by KKV 258-263 and by
HV 1. 849-853, KN 196; Siva is supposed to stay in lingas
on this day unaccompanied by bull or Ganesa. The per-
former bathes with different things, offers different flowers
and employs different names of Sankara in each month.
Kulivrala-The same as Kiilariitrivrata above. So called in
KKV 263-269. The editor of KKV ( G. O. S. ) did not notice
that this was identical with the vrata in HV Il. 326-332.
Kimiccliakavmta-Miirka:r;Jdeya- pUriiI)a 122.8,17, 20 (Venk. ed. ).
It consists in asking an alitlti what he wants and in offering
what he wants. There is the story of Aviksit, son of
Karandhama, whose mother had undertaken this vrata and
who had made a promise to his mother to carry out her
nata. He proclaimed ' s~I)vantu merthinal;l sarve pratijii-
atam maya tada I kimicchatha dadii.mye~a kriyama:r;Je
kimicchake ' II ( Mark. 122.20 )
Kirtivrala-SaJi.watsaravrata; the performer salutes Asvattha
tree, the Sun and the Ganges, stays in one place restraining
his senses, eats only once in the neon; he does so for one
year; at end of nata honours a brahmaJ.)a and his wife with
gifts of three cows and a golden tree. It yields fame and
land to performer. KKV 442, HV II. 863-864 (from Pad. ).
The verses are also Mat. 101.23-24. It is the 13th ~as~ivrata .
Kirlisait/cranlim'ala-on the day of a sankranti, the disk of the
Sun to be drawn on ground, an image of the Sun to be
placed in the midst of the figure and worshipped; for one
year ; HV II. 738-739 (from Skanda ). Reward is great
fame, long life, kingdom and health.
Kukkuti-tnarka~iv'Tata-on Bh. suo 7; tithi; for one year on each
saptaml, whether of bright or dark half; on 8th dinner to
brahmaJ;las consisting of sesame cake and rice and jaggery;
worship of Siva with .Ambika drawn jn a ojrcle; described
 List of vra/as 287

at length in Bhav U. 36. 1-43; TT 37 (calls it Kukku~t­

vrata); the performer has to wear for life a doraka (band
of thread s with filigree of gold or silver) on his arm; the
story of a queen and the wife of her husband's purohita who
became a marka~i ( the monkey) and kukku~i (hen) because
they forgot to we ar the doraka is narrated by Krfil_1a to
Yudhis~h ira ; VKK 319 ( quoting Bhav. ), GK 85.

/(unriachatul'lhi-on M. suo 4; tithi; Devipllja; gift of flowers

of kunda plant, vegetables, salt, sugar made from jaggery,
jiraks &c. to maidens; fast on 4th ; KKV 283-284, HV 1.
525-526 ( from Devipur5.11 a ), S. Pr 27b, VP (folio 284b). It
is also called Gauricaturthi; chief matter is fast on 4th and
the g ifts only confer saubhilgyCl.
J(u/Jeml'mla- on 3rd tithi ; worship of Kubera; HV 1. 478-479
(from Bhav. ), KN 176.
Kumlira~t!~hi-begin on Cai. suo6 ; tithi ; for one year; worship
of clay image of Skanda with twelve arms; HV I. 588- 590
(from Kalottara ); VP ( folio 61a ).
Kumaripuja-in Navaratra. Vide pp. 170-171 abo'Ve a nd SM 22.
Kumbha parva-It ocCUrs once in twelve years. The Sun and
Moon should be in Makara ras i, Jupiter in Taurus (Vrfiabha),
there is amavasya; this is called Kumbhayoga. Bath at
Prayaga on this yoga is deemed to be more meritorious than
a thousand Asvamedhas, a hundred Vajapeyas and a lakh of
pradaksit;lc'iS round the earth. Bath at Prayaga and the
large concourse of sCldh1:s are the two predominant objects
of those who gather there in thousands and sometimes
millions. It is in three parts, first is Makarasankranti, the
2nd ( the chief one and called P urt;lakumbh a ) is amuvasya
and 3rd is VasantapancamI. In 1954 A. D. the three dates
were 14th J anu ary, 3rd February and 7th February. Some
hold that the three days are Makarasankranti, Pausa
PurJ.;lima and Amavasya. There are other Kumbha-yogas
viz. at H aridvara when J upiter is in Kumbharasi and Sun
enters Mefia , at Nasik when Jupiter is in Simha and Sun
and Moon in Karka~a, at Ujjain when Sun is in Tula and
Jupiter in Vrscika.
K umbhi kalJl'ata-on K. Su. 11 ; tithi ; Vist;lu deity; HV 1. 11 05-8,
VP ( folio 211 ); both quote Skanda.
Kurmadvildasi-on P. Su.12; tithi; NarayaJ;la ; KKV 317-319,
BV 1. 1026-27 ( quoting 9 verses from Vat., chap. 40), KR
288 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Oh. xm
482-484. On a copper vessel full of ghee the image of
tortoise with mandara mountain is to be placed and donated.
Kusmlll1da-dasami-on Asv. suo 10 up to the 4th tithi following;
'tithi'; worship of Siva, Dasaratha, Laksmi with ku!?maJ;l~a
flowers; arghya to Moon; GK pp. 125-126 (from Sambapural;la).
Krcchravrala-Gn Marg. Su. 4; tithi ; four years; Ganesa deity;
HV I 501-504 ( from Skanda); in the first year he subsists
by ekabhakta on 4th, in the 2nd by nakta, on 3rd by
ayacita way and in 4th he fasts on 4th tithi.
K rcchraoratiini-several k~cchras, such as Somayana, Tapta-
krochra, krcchratikrcchra, Santapana (that are really
prfiyascittas ) are described as vratas by HV II. 931 ff.; vide
also HV II 769- 71 for these. Sudra had no adhilciira for
these. Some of the other krcchras are described here;
Paitamaha k~cchra from K. k~. 7 ( on four days partake only
of water, milk, curds and ghee respectively ), on 11th fast
and worship Hari; Vaisnava-krccbra consists in partaking
of mnnyanna ( such as nlvaras) for three days, yavaka for
three days and fast for three days.
K rttikll'/'mta-begin on Maba-kartikT as defined above or on any
K. Full Moon; bath in some holy place like Kuruk!?etra,
Prayaga, Puskara, N aimisa, M ulasthana, GokarJ;la or in any
city or village j six krttika images made of gold, silver,
jewels, butter, flour and decked with sandalwood paste and
alaktaka dye, saffron &c. and worshipped with J ati flowers
and to be donated to brahma\las. HV II. 191- 193 (from
Bhav U.).
Krtlikasnana-fast on BharaJ;lI-nak~atra j on K~ttika snupana of
performer and his wife by purohita with water from jars of
gold or clay filled with all plants and holy water j worship
of Agni, Skanda, Moon, sword, Varu:t;la; HV II 597- 598
(from Vi. Dh. ).
K r.~lJ.acatlirdasi-( 1) on Pha. kr. 14; tithi; Siva is devata; 14
names of Siva to be repeated; for 14 years; HV n. 65- 71
( from Kalottara ); ( 2) for women alone; fast on kr. 14.
tithi ; Siva; for one year; HV II. 154; ( 3 ) on 14th of M. Kr ;
worship of Siva with bilva leaves; HV. n. 156 (from Saurs-
pura~a ... ( 4) on 14 of Kr. burning guggulu before Siva
image; HV 156 ( from Saura ).
Kr~ajanma~tami-Vide pp. 128-140 above.
 List of vralas 289

Kr.'rI:tadolotsava-on 11th of Cai. suo 11; tithi: the image of

K~sna (with that of Laksmi) to be placed in a swing,
worshipped with damanaka leaves and jagara at night;
SMK 101.
Kr~1fadvadasi-on 12th of As. kr.; tithi; fast on 12th and
worship of Vasudeva : HV I. 1036-37 (quoting Var. 46. 1- 7
and calling it Vasudeva-dvada!;! ), KKV 329-331. Vide Var.
46. 1-15.
KT~a/)rala-on 11th; tithi; Krsl!a ; KKV 447 (quoting Mat.
101. 58 ), HV I. 1161 (quoting same verse from Pad. ).
Kr~~la~lltit h i-(
1) Marg. kr. 6; tithi ; one year; Sun worship
with a different name in each month; KKV 101- 103, HV
I. 624- 626 (from Bhav U.), KR 447-448 (from Bhav.);
( 2 ) on each 6th of both paksas for one y ear; nakta on it
and arghya to Kartikeya; Bhav. Brahmaparva, 39. 1- 13
and Agni 18l. 2.
KTIJ~l(j~ta11th'1'ata-( 1) on Marg. kr. 8; tithi ; one year; Siva
deity; KKV 241-245, HV I. 823-826 (both from Devl-
purana ); different namea of Siva in each month and different
food to be eaten in each month; (2) begin on Marg. kr. 8;
tithi; one year ; Siva deity ; Bhav U. 57. 1-22 q. by KKV
245- 248, HV 1. 816-817; (3) SivapLija from Marg. to K.
under twelve different names; K KV 248-250 quoting Mat.
56.1- 117, KR 450-452 ( from (Bhav.), VR 317- 319 (from
Adityapurana ) ; (4) for a year from Bh. Kr. 8 to Sr.; Siva
is deity ; KKV 250-252, BV I. 821-823 ( both from Bhav. ) ;
( 5 ) on Jy. kr. 8; titbi; Siva worshipped; KK V 252-254,
HV 1. 840-841 (calls it Tindukastaml ) ; (6) begin Cai.
kr. 8; tithi; one year; K~sl)a deity; BV I. 819-821 (from
Vi. Dh.) for progeny; (7) begin on 8th of dark half of
Allv. or M. or CaL or Sr.; deity is Mangala Devi; ekabhakta,
nakta, ayacita and upavasa from 8th to 11th and following
days in the same rotation. KKV 233-235; japa of 17 names
of Devl to be performed.
Kr~ikaaasi-on PhiL kr 11; tithi; Can~i devata; HV 1. 150,
Vratarka ( folios 232-33 ).
Keda1'agaurivrata-on K. amavasya ; tithi; worship of Gaurl
and Kedara: AK (folios 1062b-1067b). AK says it is weIl-
known among dakf?inatyas; AK quotes a atory from Padma.
H. D.37
290 History of DharmaSastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
Kokillivrala-Mostly for women. On the Full moon of Af). in
the evening a sankalpa ; for one month after A!;la~ha FUn
Moon ( in purJ;limanta reckoning ); worship of Gaurl in the
form of Kokila image made of gold or sesame cake;
nakta for one month; at end of one month gift of image
placed in a copper vessel with precious stones for eyes and
with feet and beak of silver; HV D. 755-57 (quoting Bhav.
U. chap. 11), NS 108-109. Tho Vratarka (folios 329- 334)
notes that in Gurjara country this vrata is performed in the
intercalary Asadha by usage but there is no sastra autho-
rity. It is said that Gaur! was cursed to be kokila by
Siva after he destroyed Daksa's sacrifice. A golden image
of female cuckoo with feet of silver and pearls for eyes is
worshipped with 16 upacaras. It is performed for saubhagya
and prosperity. In Tamil calendars it is shown on Jy.
( Mithuna ) 14.
Ko~iltoma-Mat. (93. 5-6) says that the Navagrahahoma is
called Ayutahoma since the ahutis therein number ten
thousand, another variety being Lak€)ahoma and a third
being Ko~ihoma. Navagraha-makha is a santi for averting
evil omens or planetary influences. Mat. 93. describes all
the three. Vide N~sirhha-pural1a 35, B~. S. 45. 6 (which
prescribes Ko~ihoma against dit;ya utpatas ) and Har~acarita
V. where it is referred to as being performed when Prabha-
karavardhana was on his death-bed.
Ko~isl.'ar'i,/)l'ala-on
Bh. su o3: tithi ; for four years; fast on that
day; one lakh of rice-grains or sesajl1e should be cast into
milk and with the thick paste image of DevI ( Parvati ) to be
made and worshipped; result no poverty, eight sons, eminent
husband; also called Laksesvarl; HV 1. 459-461 (from
Skanda), Vratarka (folios 52b-53b), VP ( folio 124 ).
Kojugara or Kaumurii-mahotsa·/I(J.-on Asv. Purt:lima; tithi;
worship of Lak!;lmI and Indra riding Airavata; lighting of
lamps fed with ghee or sesame oil on a large scale ( one lakb
to 100 ) at night on the capital roads, in temples, parks and
private houses: dice play; bath next morning and worilhip
of Indra, sumptuous dinner to brahmaJ;las; Linga-pural1a
states that beneficent Lak~mI moves about at midnight in
the world saying • who is awake' and people should drink
the water in the cocoanut fruit and play with numerals
(i. e. dice marked with numerals); KV 403, VKK 453-54
 List of 'Vratas 291

(both quote same two verses from Linga), TT 135-137,

KT 445-447, NS 191, PC 302-303; words ' ko jagarti • try to
explain the name Kojagara. This is also called KaulUudI
(Skanda q. by Vratarka) and Kojagara is probably an
abbreviation of Kaumudl-jagara. For Kaumud!-mahotsava
vide KJ,'tyakalpataru ( on Rajadharma) pp. 182-183 (from
Skanda) and RNP p. 419-421.
Kallmudi-lJl'ata-Begin on Asv. Su. 11 with a fast and jagara;
on 12 th worship of Vasudeva with various kinds of lotuses;
Yatrotsava on 13th by Vaisnavas; fast on 14th and on
purI,lima worship of Vasudeva and japa of mantra • om namo
Vasudevaya' ; HV II 760, KV 223, SmK 355, Agni chap.
207. HV says th at this may be continued till the awakening
of Vis:t;lU in K.
Kal,ttllka-Nine things are so called, viz Durvii, barley sprouts,
'I'(i/aka, mango leaves, two kinds of haridrii. (turmerio),
mustard, peacock feathers, serpent's slough; they are to be
tied on kankana in marriage &c. HV 1. 49, VR 16. The
Raghuvamsa VIII. 1 mentions vivahakautuka.
Kmmapilju-KR 141-144 (quoting Dev!- puriiI,la) deals with
worship of Durgii in months from Cai. on particular tithis
and nak!jatras and the rewards thereof.
KfJimdhlb'livrata-on the 1st and 5th tithis of two months one
should subsist only on milk ; secures the reward of
Asvamedha; Lin, 83. 6.
K~irapratipad-on 1st of Vai. or K. ; tithi ; one year; Brahma
deity; performer to offer milk according to ability with
words' May Brahmii be pleased with me . ; ,HV 1. 336-338.
KKV 36-38; japa of several holy texts such as those in
Vasi~~ha-dbarma.sutra 28. 10-15, SankhasmJ,'ti chap. V.
K~emavrata-worship of Yak!jas and riiksasas on 14th; tithi ;
HV n. 154 (one verse only from Vi. Dh. ).
Khanjanadadana-( seeing the Khailijana bird). See above
p. 193.
Khaq,gadharli-vrata-See Asidhiirii-vrata p. 266 and Vi. Dh.
III. 218. 23-25.
Gangasaptami-on Vai. suo 7; worship of Ganges; SmK 112
(quoting Brah.), VR 237. Sage Jahnu angrily drank Ganges
and then let it off through his right ear on this day.
292 History of Dha1·maS(J.stra [ Sec . .I, Ch. XIIi
Gajacchuyu-A combination of Asv. kr. 13, of Magha-naksatra,
sun in Hasta. Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV p. 371 n. It is a time
for sraddha. Vide Yaj. I. 218 and Manu III. 274. Satatapa
( q. by HK 386 ) says when there is a solar eclipse, that is
also Gajacchaya and sraddha at that time becomes
inexhaustible.
Gujanir(ijanu'I 'id hi-( waving lamps before elephants). On Asv.
Full Moon tithi in the afternoon; HV II. 226-227 (from
Gopatha BrahmaI,la ).
Gajapiijilt;idhi-On Full Moon of As. ; by those who desire pros-
perity or wealth. HV ll. 222-225.
Ga1J,(L(fauriIiTalfl-on Cai. suo 3; tithi; worship of Gauri to be
performed particularly by women whose husbands are alive;
Some call it Giri- Gaurlvrata; AK (folio 257 ); well-known
in Madhyadesa.
Ga1J,apaficalu1·thi-on 4th tithi; for two months; no food by day
for performer on that day and he feeds brahmanas on sesame
food and himself eats it at night; HV I 519-520 (two
verses from Bhav. ).
Ga'l)eSacaturlhi-Vide pp, 145-149 above.
Ga'l)esacatu1·thivrafa-Begin Bh. suo4; tithi; for one year; worship
of GaI,lesa; KKV 84-87, HV 1. 510- 512 (both quote Narasirhha-
purana 26. 2-20 ) ; (2) HV 1. 510 ( from Bhav.) on 4th;
worship of GaJ;lesa ; procedure like Vaisvanarapratipad-vrata.
Gandhavrata-begin on Full Moon day; for one year ; fast on
Full Moon day; at the end of year an image covered with
all fragrant substances to be offered to a brahmaI,la.
HV II. 241.
Gandhatltulca-mixture of eight fragrant substances slightly
varying according to the deities (such as Sakti, Vi~I.lu,
Siva, Ganesa) to whom they are to be offered. The eight for
Sakti worship are sandalwood, agallochum, camphor, saffron,
Tocanu, J a~amansI ( valerian), cora and kapi (last two are
some kinds of grass ); AK (folio 9880 ).
Galatikurm!a-pouring a. stream of water on the image of Siva.
in summer from jars full of holy water; secures Brahmapada;
HV II. 861 ( only one verse ).
GuYat1'i'l'rata-on suo 14th; worship of Sun; japa of Gaya.trl
(Eg. III. 62. 10) for 100, 1000, 10000 times j removes
 List of 'walas 293

various diseases; HV II, 62-1i3 ( quoting Gar. ). Vide H. of

Dh. vol. II pp 303-304 for eulogy of Gayatrr and its
sacredness.
GiTif.anayilc1'aia-begin on Bb. or Vai. or Marg. suo 3; one year;
worship of Gaur! or Lalitii ; different flowers and different
names of Gauri in each of 12 months; Mat. 62, Pad. V.
22. 61-104, q. by HV I. 422-426 ( from Pad, ).
Gu~at rtiua-on Bh. suo 3; tithi; Piirvati offerings of cakes (p llpa)
with guda (jaggery ) or piyasa; HV I. 497-98 ( from Bhav. ),
VP (folio 125 a ).
G1.l1JeJicu-y[i!6J,-Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. pp 700 -701. On As, SU,
2 with or without Pusya-naksatra; G K 186.
GU~l[i, ,(ipti'I 'Tata-begin on PhiL suo 1; for one year; Siva; on
four days worship of images of Aditya, Agni, Varuna and
the moon ( as forms of Siva ) in order, the first two being the
fierce forms and the last two the mild forms of Siva and
sniina ( bath) on these days with different substances; also
homa on four days with wheat, sesame, corn and barley;
to subsist on milk; Vi. Dh. III. 137. 1-13 ( quoted by HV II.
499-500 ).
GUl'uvrata- Begin on a Thursday with Anuradhii naksatra;
worship of golden image of planet Jupiter in a. golden vessel;
seven naktas observed; HV II. 579 (quoting 4 ~ verses
from Bhav. U. ).
GuhyalcadlJadasi-on 12th ; one should fast on it and worship
Guhyakas ( Yaksas ) with aksatas and ground sesame and
donate gold to a brahma1),a; removes all sins; HV I. 1204
(from Bhav. U. )
Gurva~~ami·wata-Bh. suo8 with Thursday; worship of golden
or silver images of G1WU (planet Jupiter); HV I. 882-886
(from Bhav.)
Grhapaiicami-on 5th; worship of Brahma and gift of grinding
stones, mortar, stone, winnowing basket and cooking pot
( as the 5th home gear) and a jar of water ; HV I 574, KR
98 (provides seven, by adding a culli ( oven ) and containing
jar of water. )
Grhadevi-puja-vide NM p. 79 verses 961-1i2. Offerings at the
beginning of the year in one's own house and not on a tree.
Go-upacam-A cow is honoured on the tithis called Yugiidi and
Yugantya, f?aq.aslti-mukha., U tta.rayat;la, Da.k~ it;layana,
294 History of Dharmasastra l Sec. I, Ch. xm
( first day of ) two Vif?uva days (of eQual day and night),
all sankriintis, purj1irna, the 14th, 5th and 9th in every
month, eclipses of Sun and Moon: KR 433-434, SmK
275-276.
Got1'irutmtvrata-( 1) Begin on Asv. kr. 13; for three days;
Govinda deity; in a cowpen or a cottage prepare a 'c edi on
which in a ma7J4ala the image of K~f?J1 a to be placed with
four queens on right and four on left; homa on 4th day;
arghya and pujii to cows; HV II. 288-293 (from Skanda ).
This conduces to increase of progeny. (2) begin on Bh. suo
12 or K. suo 13; fast for three days; worship of Lak!,!ml,
Narayana and Kama-dhenu, for sau,bhup)a and wealth; HV
ll. 293-303, VP (folios 158-160); (3) begin on Bh. suo 13;
three days; worship of Kama-dhenu and Lakf?ml-Narayaj1a:
HV Il. 303-308 ( from Bhav. U. ), V P ( folio 161 ).

Godhuma-production of - on 9th tithi in K~ta-yuga by Janar·

dana (Vif?j1u), Durga, Kubera, Varuna and Vanaspati; these
five to be worshipped with food made from wheat; KR 285
(from Brah.) and 286 (from Vi. Dh ).
Gopadatri1'uim or Go~padat1'iriltm-Begin on Bh. suo 3 or 4 or
in K. ; worship of cows and of Lak!'!ml-Niiriiyaj1a for three
days; vrata to be accepted at sunrise and fast on that day,
anointing horns and tails of cows with curds and ghee; one
should eat uncooked food and abstain from oil and salt;
HV ll. 323-326 (from Bhav. U. 19. 1-16); Hemadri quotes
the verse I Matii rudriij1iim ' (Eg. Vlll101. 15 ).
Gopadmov1'ata-Begin on Full Moon of As. or 8th, 11th or 12th
of Af? and carryon for 4 months till that tithi of K. on
which it was begun in As. It is meant for all but mostly
for young married women; draw figure of cow's foot in the
house or cowpen or in temple of Vif?J1U or Siva or near
Tulas! plant; 33 figures to be drawn every day; five years;
Vif?j1u is devata; then udyiipana ; gift of cow at end; SmK.
418-424, VR 604-1>08.
Gopapujil-Smk 386
Gopalanavami-on 9th; bath in a river falling into the Bea;
worship of K~!?j1a; HV 1. 939-941 (from Gar.), Smk 418. 423.
Gopa~~ami-on 8th of K. su.; worship of cows; N A 77 (from
Kurma).
 List of vratas 295

Gopuja-mantras of, in HV I, 593-594, II. 324.

Gomaylidisaptami-on 7th of Cai. su.; tithi: one year ; the Sun;
worship of sun under different names in each month; the
performer subsists on Gomaya (cow-dung), Yavaka or
fallen leaves or on milk &c; KKV 135-136, HV I. 724-25
(quoting Bhav. Brahmaparva 209. 1-14).
Goyugma'vrata-on RohiI;lI or Mrgaslrsa naksatra ; a young bull
and a cow are decorated and donated after worship of Siva
and Uma; KKV 410, HV II. 694--695 (both quote 4~ verses
from Devlpurana ). The performer never loses his wife or
son.
Goratnav1'Gta-KKV 410-411, HV 11 694-95 (both quote same
two verses). HV splits the two verses in two vratas,
Goyugma and Goratna, but also says that it may be that
the versa ( yo va ratnasamayuktam ) i~ an alternative
method of Goyugma-vrata.
6ovatsadvadasi-( 1) on 12th of K, k~', ; one year; Hari j different
names of Had in each month; performed for securing a son;
K. lq, 12 is called Govatsa ( acc. to V KD ): HV I. 1083- 1084
(from Bhav. ), VKD 278-279; ( 2 ) another variety in HV
I. 1180- 1190 (from Bhav. U. ).
Govardhanap'iljli- Vide p, 205 above and Harivarilsa II. 17.
Govindadvadasi-on 12th of Pha. su.; one year ; every month
on the 12th feed cows and subsist on food mixed with milk,
curds or ghee in an earthen vessel and avoid k,~lim and
lava'IJa; H V I. 1096-97 ( from VisJ;lurahasya ) : KV 468 ( adds
that there should be Pusya-naksatra on 12th) ; GK 607
(from Gar,), VKK 514, TT 117.
Govindaprabodha-on 11th of K, su. ; in some the 12th is said
to be the tithi; HV II. 814-817 for PauraJ;lika mantras and
, idam Vi~I;lur' (Eg. I. 22. 17).
Govindasayanat:1'flta-on 11th of As. su.; image of Vispu placed
on a bed; some niyamas obseIved for four mon ths; caturmiisya
vratas begin on this; after this for four months all auspicious
rites such as upanayana, marriage, Cu~a, first entrance
into a house are stopped. Vide pp. 109-112 above and HV
II. 801- 813.
Go~padatriratra-Vide Gopadatririitra above.
296 Hi story oj Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
GOI'i~hafjtami-K. suo8; worship of cows, giving grass to them,
goi ng round them and following them; TT 55 (quoting a
verse from Bhima-parakrama); VKK 478 -479, GK 115.
Gaw'i(Ia'lJesacalnrlhi-on any 4th tithi worship of Gaurl and
Ganesa; secures saubhagya and success. GK 73
( from Linga ).
Gau1'icrztul'thi-on 4th of M. suo Gaur! to be worshipped by all,
specially by women, with kunda flowers; learned brahmanas,
women and widows to be honoured. HV 1. 531 (from Brah.),
KN 184, VR 175.
Gau ritap()1;Tata-for women only; on Marg. amavasya; Mahadeva
to be worshipped at midday in a Siva temple and P arvatl
also ; for 16 years ; then udyapana on Marg. pur:t;lima;
Vratarka ( folios 344a- 346a ) : also called Mahavrata.
GauTi- trti!Ju-vmla-on 3rd of Cai. su, Bh. suoor M. suo; worship
of Gaur! and Siva; her eight names are P arvat!, Lalita,
Gaurl, Gayatrl, SankarI, Siva, Umil, SatT. SM 36, PC 85;
observed in Deccan but not in North India.
Gauri vi'{iJha-on 3rd, 4th or 5th of Cai; images of Gauri and
Siva to be made of gold, silver or sapphire for the rich or of
sandal-wood, arka plant or asoka or madhuka and marriage
of them to be performe d; KR 108-110 (from Devi-puraI;la ).
GaurilTala-( 1 ) for fou r months from As., one should not par-
take of milk, curds, ghee and sugarcane juice and should
donate vessels full of these with the words 'May GaurI be
pleased with me '; KR 219; ( 2 ) Another variety in KR 85
( from Mat. ), I-: K V 440; (3) for women alone ; on 3rd of
suo and kr. from Cai.; for one year; different names of
Gaur! ( in all 24 ) on each Srd; different foods also; HV 1
450- 452; Mat. 101- 8, VP ( folios 56b ff.); (4) for women
on 3rd; Bhav. 1. 21.1 ff: they should give up salt and fast
on that day ; specially holy in Vai., Bh., M.; for life; D. S.
13; (5) on 4th of Jyes~ha; worship of Uma, as she was
born on that day; PC 91 ( from Brah. )
Graha?Jaua-Vide Navagrahayaga in the section on Santi below;
HV II. 590- 592 where it collects together the different conjunc-
tions of planets with reference to tithis and nak!?atras and
provides for yayas in honour of the planets and gods,
whereby at small expense great merit may be collected.
One example may be given: when the 6th tithi occurs on a
 List of 'watas 197
Sunday and in conjunction with Pu$ya naksatra then
Skandayaga should be performed, which leads to the fulfil-
ment of all desires. About a dozen yiigas are mentioned in
HV. Vide SmK 455-479 for three kinds of Grahayajfias
that are different from those in HV II. 590-592.
Gha~m:t/t(ipanauidhi-Vide above pp. 183-184 under Durgiipiijii
and VR 62-67.
Ghrtakambala-on 14th of M. suo fast and on 15th a thick
blanket-like plaster of ghee on Sivalioga up to the Vedikii
and then gift of fine pairs of dark bulls. Result - the per-
former lives in Sivaloka for numberless years; HV U
239-240, Vratarka (folio 390b). It is also a santi, where
performer is wrapped with cloth and is sprinkled with ghee.
Vide AtharvaJ;la-parisi$~a xxxm pp. 204-212 and RNP
pp. 459-464.
Ghrtabh'iljana-l'rata-On Full Moon day: Sivaliogapiija; dinner
to brahmaJ;las with ghee and honey, gift of one prastha ( = i
of an a1haka) of sesame and two prasthas of husked rice
HV II. 240-241.
Ghrtasnapana-vidhi-on Visuvn day, on eclipse or on holy days,
, in Pau$a; Siva; continuous stream of ghee on Sivalinga
the whole day and night; jaaara with songs and dance; HV
1. 911-12.
Ghrt'i1vek~avaL'idhi-Prakjrl1aka(miscellaneous). HV II. 192-93
(from Gopathabrahma:t,:la). It is a silnti for king's victory.
Vide AtharvaI;la-parisi$~a No. VIII.
Ghotakapaiicami-Dn Asv. k~. 5; tithi; it is prescribed for
kings j it is a santi for the increase (or good health) of
horses; GK 50 (from Devlpurat;la)
Cak.,urvrata-Same as Netravrata; 2nd tithi of Oai. su; worship
of Allvins ( divine physicians popularly identified with Sun
and Moon) for one year or 12 years j performer to subsist on
that date on curds and ghee; performer has good eyes and
if performed for 12 years he becomes a king; VI. Dh. III. 130.
1-7 q. by HV 1. 392-393.
Car;utikilwata-on 8th and 9th tithis of both fortnights j tithi ;
one year j worship of Oan9.ikii.; no food to be eaten; KKV
388, HV II. 510 (from Bhav. U.)
CaTJ4ip~ha-Vide under Durgotsava above pp. 171-173
H. D. 38
298 History of DltarmaSlistra [Sec. I, Ch. xm
Caturthi-vratas-vide KKV 77-87, HV 1. 501-536, KN 177-186,
VKK 30-34, PC 91-95, VR 120-191. Except in Gal?esa-
caturthl, GaurI 4th, Naga 4th, Kunda 4th and Bahula 4th,
the tithi mixed with 5th is to be accepted; about 25 vratas
on caturthl; Yam a says if the 4th tithi occurs on Saturday
with BharaI;lI-nak~atra, bath and gifts yield inexhaustible
merit (HK 620); Agni 179 mentions a few. Caturthl is of
three kinds, viz. Siva, Santa and Sukha. Vide Bhav. 1. 31·
1-10; they are respectively on suo of Bh., M. and 4th with
a Tuesday; vide HV 1. 514, VKK 3].
Calurdasijagara7}{l-vmta-on K. suo 14; tithi ; for five or
twelve years; worship of Siva by bathing ling a with ghee
and the like from a number of kalasa s up to one hundred
and with other upaciiras and jiigara; performer enjoys divine
pleasures and secures moksa j HV II. 149-151 (from Kiilikii ).
CaturdaSivratas-Vide Agni 192, KKV 370- 378, HV II. 27-159,
KN 278-280, VKK 76-77, PC 231-251. The digests speak
individually of about thirty Caturdasl vratas. KKV speaks
of one only viz. Siva-caturdasl.
Caturdasya fi {ami-on 14th and 8th of both fortnights; only
eating by nakta method; for one year; Sivapujii ; Lin. 83. 4
and HV II. 158-159 (from Bhav U. ).
Caturmurtivratas-Vi. Dh. III chap. 137-151 contain fifteen
of these, some of which are described in HV 1. 505 ff.
Caturyugavrata--on first four days of Cai. and of the following
months worship of the four yugas, .KI:ta, Treta, Dvapara
and Tisya ( Kali)j one year j subsist on milk alone. HV
n. 503-504 quoting some verses from Vi. Dh. III. 144.1-7.
Catus-sarna-vide p. 38 n 88 above.
Candradaria1UL-ni~dha-See under GaJ;lesa-caturthI pp. 147-148
above.
Candm1ULlcfiatra-vrata-on Cai. piirl?ima with Monday; vara-
vrata; worship of Moon; on 7th day from beginning placing
a silver image of Moon in vessel of bell metal, homa in
na.me of Moon with ghee a.nd sesame with 28 or 108 fuel
stioks of paliisa; HV lL 557-58 (from Bhav. U.).
CandrarohitliGayana-Vide Rohi~-candra-sayana; HV IT 175-179
( from Pad. ).
 List oj vratas 299
Candravrata-( 1) on amiiviisya ; for one year; worship of
images of Sun and Moon on two lotuses; HV II p. 256 (Vi.
Dh. m. 191. 1-5); (2) begin from Marg. purt;lima.; for one
year; fast on each purt;lima; worship of Moon: HV II. 236
( from Vi. Dh. III. 194. 1-2 ); (3) on PurI;limil.; for 15 years ;
nalcta--bhojana on that day ; gets the reward of 1000
Asvamedhas and one hundred Rajasuyas; HV II. 244-245
(from Var ); (4) performance of cii.ndrayaJ;la and the gift
of golden image of Moon; HV II. 884 (one verse from
Pad. = Mat. 101. 75 ), KKV 450 (from Mat. ).
Candra~'!~!ti-on 6th of Bh. kr.; same as Kapila.~as~hl aocording
to some; fast on it; N A 50, NS 153. Acc. to AK folio 41l~
it is wrong to identify it with Kapilii.sa~~hl.
Candrl.i.rghyadana-when there is RohiI;l1 in conjunction with
the Moon's crescent on the 1st tithi specially of K. offering
of arghya to the Moon yields great reward; G K 602
(from Agni ).
Campalcacatu1'dasi-14th of su., when the Sun is in the sign
Vr~abha (Taurus or Bull); worship of Siva; KR 192, quoting
RM (folio 81a, v. 1393 ABORI. vol. 36 p. 335 ).
Campakadvadafi-on Jy. suo12 ; tithi ; worship of Govinda with
Campaka flowers; GK 147.
Campa'!a.5thi-6th tithi on Bh. su.; 6th when joined to Vaidhrti"'
yoga, Tuesday and Visakha-naksatra is called Campa; fasu
on it, Sun deity; HV I. 590-596, NS 209, SmK 221- 22,
VR 233-236 (provides another date in Marg. Su. 6th with
Sunday and Vaidhrtiyoga). SmK 430 and AK (folio 425 b)
give both dates and add that accord ing to Madanaratna it
oCCurs on Marg. suo 6, Sunday, when the moon is in
Satabhi~ak nak~atra. It occurs once in about thirty years
with Vaidhrti, Tuesday and Visakha and the digests provide
that one should see Visvesvara on this or at least some
SivaliJ;jga. NS (p. 209 ) says that Marg. su. 6th is known as
Campii.eyaey~hI in Mahii.ra ~~ra.

CiindraYatlavrata-begin on purI;lima; for a month; tarpa1:ta.

koma every day; HV II. 787-789 (from Brah.). Vide H.
of Dh. vol. IV pp. 134-138 for ca.ndrayaI;la as prii.yascitta.
Citrahhanupadadvayavrata-Ayanavrata from the beginning to
end of UttarayaI;la; worship of Sun; Bhav., Brahmaparva
107.7-25, KK.Y 431-432.
300 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm

Cliturmasya-vrala-Vide above pp. 122-123 and SM. 150-152;

various rliyamas (restrictions on conduct and food) are
undertaken such as giving up the use of oil and pungent
substances, tambula, of jaggery &c, giving up flesh, honey
(or intoxicants). Vide HV II 800-861 (there are some
vratas here that are not exactly vratas of Oaturmasya in the
popular sense ).
CiindraoTala-begin on Marg. suo 1 with M iilan ak~atra; nyasa
of the naksatras on the various limbs of the moon image;
Anusasana 110.
Oitrabhanuvraia-on 7th of Em.; tithi; worship of Sun with red
fragrant flowers, with streams of ghee &c. ; reward of health:
HV I. 787 ( Bhav. ).
Ou(lilma1J.i-Vide p. 249 and note 64:4 above.
Caitra-f.or k~tyas in, vide KR 83-144, KT 462-474, NS 81-90;
special vratas are separately noted. Oaitra suo I-vide
pp. 82-84 above for beginning of year, Navaratra beginning
pp. 154, 186 above; worship of Damanaka plant ( HK 617 );
au: 1 is katl)udi (SmK 87); Jaladilna for four months (KR
85 ); touching a 5mpaca ( a caJ;l~ala ) and then bath (KKN
423, S. Pro folio 5080 from Pad. ) ; on suo 2, worship of Uma,
Siva and Agni ; suo 3 is Manvadi-tithi and Matsya-jayanti
( NS 80-81 ); suo 4, worship of GaJ;lesa with LzQ.Q.ukas
( PO 91 ); suo 5 worship of Lak!:jmi ( KR 127, SmK 92) and
nilgas (SmK 93); su.6, see Skanda-~a~thI; suo 7, worship
of Sun with damanaka (SmK 94 ); suo 8 BhavanI-yatrii.
(SmK 94) and bath in Brahmaputra-river (KR 126); su.9
Bhadrakii.li-puja (KR 127 ); suo 10 Dharmarii.japiijii. with
dam an aka (Smk 101); su.ll Dolotsava of K~ ~ J;la and worship
of sages with damanaka (KS 86, SmK 101); women
worship RukmiJ;lI, wife of K~~J;la, and throw paiu:aga'IJI}a in
all directions in the evening; KR 129 (from Brah. ); suo 12,
Damanakotsava (SmK 101-103); suo 13 worship of Love god
made with Oampaka flowers or sandalwood paste (HK 637,
KV 469); suo 14 N~simhadolotsava, worship of Ekavlrii. and
Bhairava and of Siva with daman aka (SmK 104); PurJ;lima-
Manvadi and Hanumaj-jayantI and Vais ~khaBnanarambha
(SmK 106 ); kr. 13 VaruJ;lIyoga (KT 463, NS 89, SmK 107):
If Oai. kr. 13 falls on Saturday and has Satabhi~ak nak~atra
it is called Ma.havaruJ;lI; NS 89, KSS 2-3.
Caitravali-See p. 282 under Kamamahotsa.va.
 List of vratas 301

Cait1'l-pur~ima-vide Cintra prasasti of Sarangadhara (20-1-

1287, A. D. ) in E. I. ( Vol. 1. p. 271 at p. 279) for provision
for the pavitra to be made by merchants.
ChandodevaplljlJ.-on the Ekadasl after Pha. Full Moon, i. e.
Cai. kr. by purl,l imanta reckoning; women ( not men) were
to worship the deity called Chandodeva with flesh of aquatic
a nimals, with tasty edibles and fragrant saffron &c.; NM
p. 55 verses 670-674.
Janmatithi-krlya- one should worship after bath every year on
the tithi of birth Guru, gods, Agni, brahmal,las, parents and
Prajapati and the naksatra of birth; he should honour also
Asvatthiiman, Bali, Vyasa, Han flmat, Bibh!sa1,la, Krpa,
Parasurii ma, Markantleya ( all deemed ("irnjivi.na~ ) and
pray to M arkan~eya 'Miirakandeya mababhiiga saptakal-
pantajlvana I ciraj!vI yath ii tvam bho bhavisyami tathii
mune II ' ; one should eat sweet food, avoid flesh, be celibate
that day and drink water mixed with sesame. KKN 447,
SPr. folio 50 b, KR 540-4:1 ( quoting Brah.), VKK 553-564,
TT 20-26, SM 175.
Jan1ltiit}~ami-V ide K~~I,lajanma~~amI pp. 128-143 above.
Jaya-term applied to Itihasa, Purii:t:las, Mahiibhiirata, Riimiiya:t:la
&c. Vide KR 30 ( quoting Bhav. ), TT 71, SmK 300. These
are called J aya because by following their teachings a man
rises superior to sa1i/sara (jayaty-anena samsaram, as TT
says on p. 71 ).
Jayadii 'aptami-Jaya. or Vijaya is suo 7 on a Sunday; Sun to be
worshipped with flowers and various fruits ; fast, nakta or
ekabhakta or ayacita that day; H V 1. 717-720 (from
Bhav. U).
J ayantavidhi-on Uttarayat;la Sunday; worship of Sun; KKV
16-17, HV II. 525 (from Bhav. U). Hemadri reads • Jaya.nta
uttarark~e adityaga:t;Ja', while KKV reads 'Jayantetyuttare
jiieyo ayane ga:r;J.a- '.
Jayiidr;(idasi-Pba. suo 12th with Pu~ya nakf,latra is so called;
gifts and tapas on it yield merit crores of times; KKV 349,
HV 11146 (from Adityapurii:t;Ja ).
J ayantavrata-worship of J ayanta, Bon of Indra, makes one
happy; HV 1. 792 (from Vi. Dh. only a half verse).
Jayanti-Vide p. 132 above and under • Avataras' in this list.
302 History of DharmaAastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
Jayantidvadasi-When on su. 12 there is Rohil;'Ji nak!)atra.
GK 143.
Jayanti'nrata-( 1) Vide K~!):t;lajanmaf?~ami vrata; (2) on M.
suo 7; one year; Sun; months arranged in four groups, in
each of which different flowers, unguents, dhflpa and
naivedya are employed. HV 1. 664-667 (from Bhav. ),
KR 505-508.
J ayantisaptami-Same as J ayantlvrata (2).
J ayantya.~tami-on P. 8th with BharaJ;lI naksatra ; bath, gift,
japa, homa, tarpana; this yields a crore of times of merit;
HK 627, PC 138-139.
Jayapaurr,u;Lmasi-on each Full Moon for a year; worship of the
Moon drawn along with nakf?atras; HV II. 160-162 (from
Bhav. U).
J ayavidhi-on Daksipayana Sunday; Varavrata ; fast, nakta.
ekabhakta on this day yields merit a hundred times more j
KKV 16, HV II 525 ( from Bhav. ).
Jayavrala-HV II. 155 quotes one verse from Vi. Dh. that
worship of five gandharvas gives victory.
Jayatithi-3 rd, 8th and 13th are so called; NA 39 (quoting
Ratnamilla) says undertakings useful in battle and in
giving strength become successful on these.
Jayapancami-HV I. 543-546 (from Bhav. U.). Vi!!pu worshipped;
no details about tithi or month.
J ayaparvalitrala-begin on As. su. 1~ and finish on 3rd tithi ;
worship of Urna and Mahesvara ; 20 years; no salt to be
used for first five years; for five years subsist on rice but
no product of sugarcane juice to be eaten; well-known among
Gurjaras; Vratarka, folios 251-253.
Jaya'IJapti-After Aev. Full Moon from 1st tithi up to K. Full
Moon and particularly the three days ending with K. Full
Moon; worship of Vi!)pu; obtains success in legal actions,
gambling, disputes, love affairs; HV II. 768, VP folio 196,
both quoting Vi. Dh. ill 213 (1- 5); Purilpa reads' dadyad-
uk!)a:t;laID ' for I dadyild-bhakf?apaill ' of HV.
JaY'ilsaptami-(l) when on Su. 7 there is a nak!)atra with five stars
( i. e. RohipI, Asle!)a, Maghit and Hasta ); worship of Sun;
for one year; the months being arranged in three groups
with different flowers, dhupllo. naivedya in each group j KKV
 List oj uratas 303

124-127, HV I. 660-663 (from Bhav.); (2) suo 7 with

Sunday; fast; Sun; VKK 35.
JayaikiidaSi-V ide VK No. 910 p. 205.
Jalakrcchra-vrata-on K. Iq. 14; a Iqcchra-vrata; worship of
Vi~J;lu and fast on that day while remaining in water;
reward is Vi~:t;l uloka; HV II. 769 (from Visr.1Urahasya ).
Ja!asayanal'rata-said to have been performed by Kuppiimbika,
wife of a Kakatlya general. Vide No. 50. pp. 140-142 dated
sake 1198 Magha suo 10 ( 1276 A. D. ) in • Corpus of Inscrip-
tions in the Telingana Districts of Nizam's dominions '.
It is probable that this vrata is the same as the J alakrochra..
Jagrad-Gaul'ipQ11cami-on 5th of Sr. su.; keep awake at night
for fear of snakes; Gaurl is deity; GK 78.
Jiititririlt1'a-vrata-three days from 13th of Jy. Su. ; ekabhakta on
12th and fast for three days from 13th; worship of images of
Brahmli, Vi~:t;lu, Siva and their consorts with flowers, fruits;
homa of yavas mixed with sesame and rice; Anasuy~ per-
formed it and so three gods were born as her sons; HV II.
320-22 (from Bhav. U. ); VP folio 99.
Jamadagnyadvadasi-on 12 of Vai. su.; tithi; worship of golden
image of Visnu in the form of Jamadagnya (i. e. Parasu-
rama,); the mantra is 'prlyatam madhusudano Jamadagnya-
rupl'; king Vlrasena got N ala by this vrata; Var. 44. 1-21
of which about 17 verses q. by KKV. 325-327 and HV.1.
1032-34:.
Jitii~~ami-Vide VK No. 469 p.l11.
Ji'Vat-putrikaf!~mi-on 8th of Asv.kr.; worship of Jlmu tavahana,
son of king Salivahana, by women for securing sons and
saubhagya ( blessed wifehood); KSS 19 (from Bhav. ).
Jivantikavrata-oD amlivasyfi. of K. worship of JlvantikiidevI
drawn on a wall with saffron, chiefly by women; AK folio
1062.
Jfl/inaviiptivrata-for one month after Cai. pur:t;limfi.; every day
worship of Nrsirilhe. and homa with mustard every day and
dinner consisting of honey, ghee and sugar to brahma:t;las :
fast for three days before Vai. purJ;lims and on Full moon
gifts of gold; this increases intelligence; HV n. 749-50
(from Vi. Db.).
304 Hist01"y of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIII

JyeEjtha-krtya-Vide HV II. 750-51, KR 179-195, VKK 259-283,

NS 98-101, SmK 117-137, PC 6, GK 23. Jy. suo l-Karavlra-
pratipad-vrata (see p. 280), beginning of Dasahara-snana (AK
folio 153 a ); suo 3 Rambhavrata (which see); suo 4 worship of
Uma by women for sauhhiJ.gya ( KKN 389-90, KR 185); suo
8 worship of SukladevI (KKN 390, KR 186, KN 198); suo
9-worship of Uma, fast-that day or nakta, dinner to maiden);
suo10-Ganges came down to earth on Tuesday and when
Sun in Hasta (SmK 119-120); vide Dasahara pp. 90-91
above; on pu r~ ima if on Jyes~ha-naksatra gift of umbrella
and sandals to a br5.hma~a (V. Dh. 90. 14); for Jy. Puqlima-
vrata see Pad. V. 7. 111-28; called Mahajyes~hI if there is
Jyes~ha-nak$atra and also Jupiter and the Sun is in Rohi~I
(HK 641, KV 348-49, V KK 78, NS 161); J y. purI;1ima is
Manvadi; worship of Vedas on Full Moon as they appeared
in the world on this day (KKN 390, KR 192); vide
Va~asiivitr!vrata pp. 91-94 above: K,r. 8 worship of Siva
(N A 56); kr. 14 worship of RevatI with dark flowers (KKN
389, KR 184); on amavlisyli Bome observe Va~aslivitrl
(KKS 6) and circumambulate the Va~a tree.
Jye.~rh7ivrata-( 1) on Bh. suo 8 if it is in conjunction with
Jye$~ha nak$atra; nak$atravrata; worship of Jye$~ha
(identified with Lak$mI and Uma) for removal of ala/a}mi
(poverty or ill-luck); also called NI1ajye$~ha if there is
Sunday in addition to above; HV II. 630-638, NS 135-136,
Smk 230-231 , PC 132-134, VR 292-296; ( 2 ) on the tithi in
Bh. suo when there is Jyefl~ba naksatra ; every year for
12 years or for life; worship of image of Jye$~ha-devI and
jagara; H V II. 638-640 (by a woman whose children are
dead or who has only one child and by a poor man) from
Bhav. U.
I?hu7JQi7'aja-puja-on M. suo 4:; the performer should offer
naivedya of sesame laQrj,us to Ga~esa and should himself eat
them and horna with sesame and ghee; vide Skanda,
Kaslkha~~a 57. 33 for derivation of the word l)hUl?-q,hi and
PC 95; vide Tila-caturthI.
Tapas-Tbis word is applied to such expiatory rites as KJ;'ccbra
and candraya:t;la and also to restrictive rules of conduct for
brahma-carins and others. Vide Ap. Dh. S. I. 2. 5. 1
(niyame$u tapas-sabdal;l). Manu Xl. 233-244, V. Db. 95., Vi.
Dh. Ill. 266 contain long eulogies of tapas. Devala (in KR 16)
 List of walas 305

defines tapas as mortification (lit. heating and burning )

of the body by vratas, fasts and restrictive rules. The
Anusasanaparva 103. 3 says that there is no higher tapas
than fasting. Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV pp. 42-43 for further
details.
Tapascara'(l(wrata-begin on 7th of Marg. Kr.; titbi; for a year ;
Sun; HV I. 630-63 2 (from Bbav. U. )
Tap01 1'ata-on 7tb of M.; tithi; performer to wear only a short
1

garment at night and to donate a cow; HV 1. 788 ( one

verse from Pad.).
Taptamud'/'adlt a1'a~la-Making on the body on the lLth of As. suo
or K. suo marks of conch, discus (which are held by Visr;lU )
with heated copper or the like by Vaisnavas of Madhva and
other sects. SM (pp. 86-37) says the practice is witbout
textual authority; but NS 107- 108, DS 55 say that one's
family custom sbould be followed.
Tamuula-sanlcranli-for women only; for one year; performer
makes brahmanas eat tambu la every day and at end of year
donates golden lotus and all utensils for tambula to a
brabmana and bis wife a nd gives a sumptuous dinner;
secures sall hhag?la and lives happily with busband and sons,
&c.; HV II. 740-4,1 (from Skanda ); VratArka folio 388a
and b.
TiimldidL'iidaSi-beg in on Marg. suo 12tb for a year; tbe Sun and
stars; in each montb brahmanas to be fed on different kinds
of foods; argbya to stars; removes all sins; story of a king
who killed a (upasa by mistaking bim for a de~r and who
became in twelve birtbs a different animal; HV I. 1084-1089
(from Bbav. U.).
Tlira,tr'iratt'a'l'mta-on 14tb of M. kr.; titbi ; Hari and stars to be
worshipped . KR 496-497 (from Brab. ).
Talanacami-on 9th of Bh. su; worship of Durga ; VKK 320.
Tithiyngalavmta-on the t wo as~amls and two caturdasls of a
month, on amavasya and paur ~amasi, the two saptamls and
two dvadasls of each month one should not eat at all; for
one year; HV II. 397 ( from Yamasmrti ); KKV 387 (from
Atri ) is sligbtly different.
Tinduka~tami-8th kr. from Jy. ; one year; worship of Hari with
lotuB~s for 4 mo~thB from Jy., with dhatiirii. flowers from
B. D. 39
306 History of Dhannasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XllI

Asv. to P. ; with satapatras ( day lotuses) from M. to Vai.;

HV 1. 840-41 (from Bhav. ).
Tiiokapl'aia-on 1st of Cai. su.; tithi; one year; worship of
Sallwatsara drawn with perfumed powder; the performer
has to apply on his forehead a lilaka with white sandalwood
paste; HV 1. 348-350 (from Bhav. U. 8. 1-25), SP 11, VR
54-56, PC 9.
TilacatuTlhi-on M. suo 4; this is same as Kundacaturthi; NS
219, DS 124, VKD 110-111 and 287 (it is the same as
J?huntLirajacaturthi ); nakta vrata, worship of phu l)<:iiraja
wi th naivedya of sesame lach/us.
Tdarillhi lJraiu-on P. kr. 11th; tithi; ViSlJU deity; fast on that
day and hom a to be performed with dried cowdung mixed
with sesame collected on Pusya-nak$atra; gives beauty,
fulfils all objects; HV 1. 1131-35 ( from Skanda ).
Tilarl liudasi-( 1 ) on 12th tithi of kr. after Full Moon of M. when
joined with Sravaoa-naksatra; bath with sesame, homa with
sesame, naivedya of sesame with sweets, lamps fed with
sesame oil, giving water mixed with sesame and gifts of
sesame to brahma:t;las; Vasudeva worshipped with Eg. I. 22 .
20 and Puru$asukta ( Eg. X. 90 ) or with two mantras of 12
syllables; HV 1. 1149-50 (quoting Vi. Dh. 1. 163. 1-13), KV
466-7 (quotes the verse 'tilodvarti... sattil! papanasani);
(2) on M. kr. 12 when joined to As. or M ulanaksatra; tithi ;
K+$Qa: KKN 436, HK 635-36 ; HV J. 1108-10 (from Vi. Dh.),
KR 496.
Ti.~!/al '1'(tla-beginon Tisya (Pusya) l'laksatra in bright half
and Udagayana; for one year every month on each Ti$ya;
fast on the first Tisya only; Vaisravana (Kubera) t o be
worshipped; for pU$ti (prosperity ) ; Ap. Dh. S. II. 8. 20. 3-9.
Ti'Vl'a'l'mla- to stay in Kas! after shattering one's feet, so that
one cannot go elsewhere. HV II. 917.
Tnm 9 a,~ apt(lml.-on Cai. suo 7; tithi; fast and worship of the
Sun, Aru~1a, Nikumbha, Yama, Yamuna, Saturn, and Sun's
queen Chi1ya, seven metres, Dbata, Aryama and other deities;
gift of horse at end of vrata; HV 1. 777-778 (from Vi. Dh. )
Tutoyal}a-From Anusiisana 103. 34 it appears that BhagIratha
performed it for 30 years. P!i:t;lini V. 1. 72 has 'ParayaI;la-
turayaI.1a - ciindrayaI_lam vartayati'; SK. explains Tura-
yaJ.1& as some Yajiia. Ap. Sr. S. IT 14 dilates on Turaya-
 List of V1'alas 307

~es~i and Manu VI. 10 refers to it as a vedic is~i along with

Ciiturm iisya and Agraya~a.
Tulasitrirlitm- begin on K. suo 9 ; vrata for three days, thereafter
worship of Visnu and L aksmi in a garden of Tulasl plants ;
P ad. VI. 26. Tulaslmahiitmya - vide Pad., P at:iliikbal?ua,
94.4-11.
Tutas i-lak$a-pujii-offering in worship one hundred thousand
tulasi leaves ; in K or M. every day one thousand Tulasl
leaves to be offered ; Udyiipana in Vai., M. or K.; SmK 408,
VKD 404-408; even bilva leaves, durva grass, campaka
flowers are so offered.
Tul asi-'I'i'calia-on K. su, 12; on 9th performer prepares golden
image of Hari and Tulas! and worships for three days and
then marries them; he secures the pUL.Jya of kanyiidiina;
NS 204, VR 347-352, SlUK 366. In the courtyard of every
Hindu house, there is a ?·rndiimna. (a raised structure of
bricks or stone on which Tulas! plant grows and women
worship tulas! every evening with water, lamp, &c, Vrndii,
wife of J iilandhara, became Tulasi. Padma VI. ( chap, 3-19 )
contains a lengthy story (of about 1050 verses) about
Jalandhara and Vrndii.
TUf/tip1'ap tivm la-on 3rd tithi of Sr. Kr. (by pllr~imiinta reckon-
ing) with Sravana naki?atra; worship of Govinda with
mantras beginning with om and ending with 1Ianta~; highest
satisfaction is reward; HV 1. 499 ( from Vi. Dh. )
Trliyu-'p'l'atas- Agni 178, HV I. 394- 500 ( about 30 are named),
KKV 48-77 ( only 8), KK 172-176, KR 153-157, VKK
29-30, TT 30-31, VR 82-120, PC 85; if the 3rd is mixed
with 2nd and 4th tithi the rule is that in the case of all
vratas except Rambhiivrata 3rd mixed with 4th is to be
accepted (KN 174, TT 30-31, PC 84-85. )
l'ejal),salikrilnti -vmta- on each Sailkriinti day; for a year; Sun
worshipped; HV II. 734-35.
Tmyodasapa dilrt lt a varjana-8apla7lli-begin vrata after the end
of UttariiyaI;la on a Sunday in the bright half of a month
with 7th and a naksatra with masculine name ( viz. Hasta,
Pusya, Mrgastr~a, Punarvasu, Mula, SravaI;la (but vide H.
of Dh. vol. II. p. 219 n. 512 for different views ); one year j
worsbip of Sun j omitting thirteen things such as vrthi,
yava, wheat, sesame, ma!?a, mudga &c. and subsisting on
308 Histary of DharmaSastra [ Sec. I, Ch. Xill

mere grain and the like (except the 13); HV 1. 756 (from
Bhav. U. 45. 1- 5 ).
Tmyodasi-vra/as--Agni 191, HV II. 1- 25 (about 14), KKV 369
(only one), KN 277, KV 469, VKK 70, SM 95-96, PO 222-31.
Tray odusi-vratu-on 13th of any month; performer to place a
lump of cow's butter as big as a kapittha fruit in a vessel of
gold, silver. copper or clay and make with flowers or ak~atas
and prepare a lotus thereon with heaps of flowers and invoke
VisJ,lu and L ak!:!1l11 thereon and divide the lump of butter in
two parts an d pronounce separate mantras over the two
parts and give the parts to wife, first the portion over which
Vi ~J,lu was invoked and then the other; result birth of many
sons; HV II. 19- 21 (from Var.); on OaL suo 13 worship of
image of Kamadeva with Rati drawn on a jar, or white
cloth and decked with Asoka flowers and worship with
darnanaka; KV 469 (quoting Devlpurana).
TriUalisaplami-begin on PhiL suo 7; one year; worship of the
Sun under the name Heli (Greek ' Helios ' the Sun); in Pha.
to Jy. Sun to be worshipped as Harnsa, in As. to Asv. as
Martal,)~a, and in K. t o M. as Bhaskara; secures lordship of
the earth and enjoys overlordship over earth, the pleasures
of Indraloka and residence in Suryaloka (these are three
oatis); Bhav., Brahmaparva 104.2-24 q. by KKV 141-145.
HV 1. 736-38, KR 524-526); the 2nd verse is 'japan heliti
devasya nama bhaktya puna1;l puna1;l:
Tl'itayapraduna-saplund-on 7th of M. suo with Hasta naksatra;
tithi vrata acc. to KKV and masavrata acc. to HV; one
year; Sun; performer to make gifts each month of ghee,
paddy, yava, gold and eight other things respectively and
subsist on corn ( of different kinds) and partake respectively
every month of cow's urine, water and ten other things; he
secures three, viz. birth in a good family. health and wealth;
KKV 151-153, HV 1. 744- 45 (both quoting Bhav. Brahma
11 2. 10-16), KR 458-460. HV calla it Nayanapradasaptam1.
Tl'idinasPTk- where one tithi touches three week days, it is
so called. HK 677, NS 154.
rripumsudana-'lIrala-on Sunday with Uttara naki;latra.: worship
of Sun image to be bathed with ghee, milk, sugarcane juice
and application of saffron as unguent; HV n. 525 (from
Bhav. U.).
 List of vratas 309

Tripurotsava-on the evening of Full Moon of K.; lamps should

be lighted in temple of Siva; NS 207, SmK 427.
Trimadhura-Honey, ghee and sugar aro so called. Vi. Dh. III.
127. 10 and III. 136. 2-3, HV J. 43 and II. 750.
Trimurtil'rata-on Jy. suo 3; tithi; three years; worship of
VisI_lu as Vayu, Moon, Sun; Vi. Dh. III 136.
Trirafmvrata-periormed by Savitri. Vide Vanaparva 296. 3 fr.
Vide pp. 92-94 above.
Triloc(1na-y(1lru-( 1) on 3rd of Vai. 1m.; worship of Sivalinga;
SM. 36 ( quoting Kasikhanda ); (2) visiting on 13th at
pradosa Kamesa in Kasi, particularly on Saturday, hath ill
KamakuI_lda; PC 230.
1'l'isu!lanrlha-is formed by Im!.- (cinnamon), cardamom and
patraka in equal quantities; HV 1. 44.
TrisPTsti-one of the 8 kinds of Dvadasis when Ek5.dasi exists
for a short time at a1'U(wrflL!lll, then follows dvadasi and
towards the end of that day before the next morning there
is trayodasI, that is trispp'la ( HK 261). Vide Pad. VI. 35.
rrivikrallia-fril'u'{ravmfa-begin on 9th of Marg. su.; every
month two triratravratas;' in four years and two intercalary
months i. e. in all 50 months one hundred tririitras would be
finished; Vasudeva to be worshipped; ekabhakta on 8th and
thereafter fast for three days and nights; end of vrata in K.;
HV II. 318-320.
TripikmmaITti!Ja-( 1 ) begin on 3rd of suo of any month; three
years or 12 years; worship of Trivikrama and Laksml;
homa with mantra Eg. I. 22. 20, or 'Trivikramaya narna~ ,
for women and slldras; HV I. 453-54: (from Vi. Dh. III. 133.
1-13); (2) begin on 3rd of Jy. su; fast on ~nd and on
morning of 3rd worship of Agni and of Sun in evening and
then nakta on that day and of VisI_l.u's three steps; for one
year; HV 1455-456 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 134. 1-12); (3)
begin on Jy. suo 3; one year; worship of the earth, mid
regions and heaven in each period of three months; Vi. Dh.
m.135.
Trioikramwrrata-1rom K. for three months or for three years;
worship of Vasudeva; performer becomes free from sins; HV
II. 854-855 (from Vi. Dh. ) = KKV 429-430.
Trivrt-mil.k:, curds and ghee in equal parts are 80 called (vaikba-
nasa-ama.rte.-sutra III. 10 ).
:310 History of Dharmasiistra [ Sec. I, Ch. XlII

Tri sama- cloves and cinnamon bark and patmka are so called
HV 1.43.
Try(Lhn~-81)rlc---Vi. Dh. 1. 60. 14; when three tithis are touched
in one day and night that day is so called and is very sacred.
Vide p. 68 above and note 172.
7'raiyaml1alca 01' TT1Jamba lw.-v1'at(,-on 14th of each month taking
food in nakta way and at end of year donating a cow, one
reaches Siva-pada; HV II. 147 ( one verse from Pad. ) =KKV
449. The verse is Mat. 101. 67.
Datli.itruua-janma-on Marg. paur~lamasi; Atri's wi fe Anas uya
called him Datta (because god gave himself up to
him as son) and as he was Atri's son he is called Datttltreya ;
NS 210, SmK 430, VKD 107-108; Dattabhakti is prevalent
mostly in Maharas~ra and places associated with Datta viz.
Audumbara, Ganagapura, N arsoba-wa.di aro in Mahii.ra s~ra ;
Dattatreya conferred boons on Kartavirya (Vanaparva 115,
12, Brah. 13. 160-185, Mat. 43. 15-16), was an avatara of
Visnu and propounded Yoga to Alarka (Brah. 213.106-112,
Markandeya 16. 14 ff, Br. Ill. 8. 84); he resided in valleys
of Sahya, was called Avadhilta, was given to wine and
liked female company; Pad. n. 103. 110-112 and MarkaJ;l-
4eya 16. 132-34:. From Tamil calendars it appears that
Dattatreya-jayantI is celebrated in Tamil land also.
Dadltivmta-on 12th of Sr. su.; NS 111; one has to give up
curds on this day.
Dadltisankruntil'm la---begin on Uttarayana-sankranti and carry
on at each Sankranti for one yertr; worship of image of
Narayana with Lak~ml by bathing it with curds, the mantra
being either Eg. 1. 22. 20 or ' om namo Narayal1.5.ya '; VKK
218-222.
DaJllanakapuja---on 13th of Cai. suo worship of Kama, as dams-
naka plant is Madana himself; TT 120-121; VKK 529-531.
Damanobhaflj7---14th of Cai. suo is so-called; puja of Kama with
all parts (roots, trunk and foliage) of damanaka plant
( Artimisia Indika ); KV 4:69, VKK 531. Vide E. 1. vol. 23
p. 186 for the erection of a shrine to Vindhyesvara Siva on
DamanakacaturdasI in sarnvat 1294 (Thursday, 12th March
1237 ).
Damanakamailotsava-on 14th of Cai. su.; tithi; pilja of Vi~J;lu
with Damanaka; SmK 101-103; Pad. VI 86.14; 'tatpuru-
 List of 'Vl'atas 311

saya vidmahe Kamadevaya dhimahi I tannosnanga}_l praco-

dayat II' is Kamagayatri )_
Dal1lanak(Jtscwa-on 14th of Cai. suo worship of damanaka plant
in a garden; invocation of Siva ( who is Time himself) at
the root of Asoka tree; see r sanagurudevapaddhati, 22nd
patala (T. S. S.) which gives a long story how the fire fr om
Siva's 3rd eye appeared as Bhairava, how Siva called him
Damanaka, but Parvati cursed him to be a plant on the
earth and Siva gave him a boon that if people offered
worship to him alone with Vasanta and Madana they would
secure all their objects. The Ananga-giiyatri to be recited
in this is ' am clim Manmathaya vidmahe Kamadev5ya
dhlmahi I tan-no gandharva}_l pracodayat \I'; HV n. 453-55 ,
VP (folio 72b), Skanda 1.2. 9. 23, PC 237.
Damanaklil'opa'IJ'L-From 1st tithi to 15th of Cai.; worship of
different deities with the damanaka plant in order from 1st
to 15th viz. Uma, Siva and Agni on 1st, on 2nd Brahma, ou
3rd Devi aud Sankara, from 4th to 15th respectively Ganesa,
Nagas, Skanda, Bbaskara, Matrs, Mahisamardini, Dharma,
Rsis, VisJ;lu, Kama, Siva, Indra with Sa.Cl; HV II. 453-55,
KR 31-95, SM 84-86.
Dasami vraias-Vide HV 1. 963-983, KN 230-233, PC 142-148,
VR 352-361. Hemadri deseribes eleven, while KKV 309
only one viz. Sarvabhaumavrata.
Dasaralhacalul'thi-ou 4th of K. kr.; image of king Dasaratha
placed in an earthen vessel and Durga to be worshipped;
PC 94-95 ( says it is also called Karaka-caturthi ), NS 196.
Dasamlhalalilli-vrata-on 10th of Aiv. su. ; tithi; ten days ; puja
of golden image of Lalita-devi with silver images of Moon
and RohinY in front of Devi and image of Siva to the right
and of GaIlesa to the left; Dasaratha and Kausalyii. performed
it; different flowers on each of ten days ; HV II. 570-574
(from Skan da ).
Dasahara-see pp. 90-91 above.
DasiiditYa'Vl'ala-on 10th of suowith Sunday; pil ja. of Bbaskara
( Sun) in the form of a doraka with ten kn ots ; rem oves
d~Lrdaiu.(distress, ill-luck) caused by ten acts; worship of
image of Durdasa in ten forms and of Lak~mi in ten form s;
HV II. 549-552 (from Br.)
312 Histary of Doormasaslra [ Sec. I, Ch. XlII

Dasaphalallrata-on 8th of Sr. kr. ( amanta reckoning); for ten

years; Gopalalqsna is devata; thread with 10 strands to be
placed before Krsl/a image, which thread was to be tied on
one's hand; worship with ten Tulasi leaves the names of
Hari; 10 puris to each of 10 brahmal/as; Vratarka (folios
12980-13280 from Bhavisyottara), VR 265-269.
DasamlUmdina-Vide under' Avatara-dina' above pp. 262-63·
Daslim'll'/'allrata-( 1) begin on 12th of Marg. Su; Vi$DU
appeared as Matsya that day; on every suo 12th up to Bh.
worship of Vis~1U in the ten avataras in each month in order;
HV 11158-1161 (from ViSl/upllral/a); (2) begin on Bh.
suo 10; on same tithi and month for every year for ten
years; each year different food to be offered (e. g. apupa in
first year, ghrtapiiraka in 2nd and so on); ten parts of food
pI epared for god, t en to brahman a and ton for himself; ten
costly images of avatiiras including Bhargava, Rama, Krsna,
Bauddha and Kalkin; VR 358-359 ( from Bhav. ), SmK 239.
Da,~toddhamlJa-p(/ficami or nagad(J~to-on 5th of Bh. su.; for
relative ( such as son, brother, daughter) of one dying from
snake bite was to be performed; worship of golden, silver,
wooden or clay image of snake having five hoods with
fragrant flowers, incense &c.; in each month different Naga
out of twelve to be named; reward that man dying from snake-
bite was freed from lower regions where he was supposed to
go and to have become a non-poisonous snake, and went to
heaven; KKV 90-93, HV 1. 560-562 (from Bhav. 1. 32,41-58),
KR 273-275. For the names of twelve nagas, vide p, 124
note 321 above, Garuq.a 1. 129 describes this,
Dana-gifts. Vide H. of Dh. vol, II. pp. 837-888 for detailed
treatment, After that volume was published two more
extensive digests on dana have been published viz. the
K.rtyakalpataru (dana-kanq.a in 1941 ) and the Danasagara
of Ballalasena composed in sake 1019 (1169 A. D. ) in the
B. 1. series (ed, by Mr. Bhahatosh Bhattacharya) in three
parts ). What danas are to be made on the several nak$atras
from Krttika to Bharal,lI are described in Anusasana 64
which the Danasagara pp. 628-638 and KR (549-555) quote.
KR 95-102 sets out the rewards of danas on the several
tithis. The Vi. Dh. m. 317 also speaks of the results of
danas on seasons, months, week-days and nakf?atras.
 List of watas 313

Danaphalavrata-f.rom the last day of As",. suo up to 7th of M.

suo ; worship of Naraya:t;Ja; for five years; in each year gift
of rice, wheat, salt, sesame, masas measuring five prasthas
in the order specified; Vratarka (folios 362b-365a, from
Shnda).
Dampatyal1~am7-0n 8th of K. k~.; tithi; for one year divided
into four periods; worship of Uma and Mahesvara images
made with darbhas; the flowers, naivedya, dhupa and the
names of the deities differ in eaoh month; at end of the year
a brahmana and his wife to be treated to a dinner,
garments dyed red, two golden cows as dak~ i:t;Ja to be donated;
gets son, learning, goes to Sivaloka and even mok~a if
desired. KKV 254-258, HV I. 841-844 (from Bhav.).
Dlil'idryaharal1al1thi-on 6th of all months for a year; worship of
Guha ( Skanda ); AK ( folio 429-430 ) from Skanda.-pura.:t;Ja,
DinalClJaya-where on one and the same week-day two tithis end
there is dinaksaya; HK p. 676 (quoting Pad. ), while KN
260 ( quoting Vasi~~ha ) remarks where on one and the same
civil day three tithis are touched there is dinak~aya, on
which a fast is forbidden, though it is said that gifts and the
like made thereon yield a thousand-fold reward.
Divakaravrata-begin on a Sunday with Hasta nak~atra; this
to be on seven Sundays; ' viiravrata; Sun to be worshipped
in a lotus with twelve petals drawn on the ground and
twelve Adityas are to be assigned separately to each of 12
petals in order viz. Surya, Divakara, Vivasvat, Bhaga,
Varu:t;Ja, Indra, Aditya, Savit~, Arka, Marta:t;J~s, Ravi,
Bhaskara, and Vedic and other mantras to be repeated; KKV
23-25, HV II. 523-533 ( from Bhav. )
Dipadanavrata-To light lamps fed with ghee or sesame oil at
every pu:t;Jyakala ( such as) Sankranti, eclipse, ekadasl and
particularly for one month from Asvina paur:t;Jamasl to K.
paUrI,lamiisI with Vedic mantras (like Eg. Vill. 11.7, V4j.
S. 26. 6 and 33. 92 ) in temples, rivers, wells, trees, cowpens,
roads, where four roads meet, in houses; yields great merit.
Vide Anusii.sana 98. 45-54, Agni 200, Apara.rka pp. 370-372,
HV Il 476-482 (from Bhsv. U), KR 403-405 and Dana.-
sagsra pp. 458-462.
Dipalak~tla-B~. S. (83.1-2) deals with the prognosticatione
from the flames of lamps.
li. D. 40
 314 Hist01Y of Dharmasastm [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
· Dipavrala-Begin on Ekadasl of Marg, su.; worship of LakE?ml
and Narayal!a with bath of Paiicamrta and Vedic mantras
and salutations; lamp to be lighted before images of the two;
Pad, VI. 31. 1-122.
Dipap1'a.tifjthavTata-M. in Br. III, 47-61 as declared by Vi!?l!u
and performed by the earth.
DipanvitCimat:asya-KT 451; same as the amavasya in Dlpavall.
Diptiwala- Every evening for a year; performer avoids use of
oil and donates at end of year lamps, golden disc and trident
and a pair of garments; becomes brilliant here and goes to
Rudraloka; it is a sariwatsaravrata; KKV 445 = HV II.
866 ( from Pad. ).
Dugdltrlllrata-on 12th tithi of Bh. omitting milk altogether;
NS 141 discusses several views whether payasa or curds
should be taken though milk was to be avoided; vide VKD
77, SmK 254.
DU1'gandha-dllrbhagyani1sana-t1'GyodaSi-on Jy. suo 13; worship
of three trees, viz. white mandara or a1'ka plant, red karavlra
and nimba, that are favourites of the Sun; every year;
removes bad odours of the body and ill-luck; HV II. 14-16.
D1lrganavami-begin on 9th of Asv, ; for a year; the flowers, the
incense, 1lai'IJedya an d the name of the goddess are different
in each group of four months from Asv. ; Durga ( also called
Mangalya and Ca I;ldika ); HV I. 937-939 (from Bhav.); (2)
another variety on any 9th; HV 1. 956-957, from (Bhav.),
VKK 41; (3) on all 9th tithis, as on that day Bhadrakali
was made mistress over all Y oginls; PC 140.
DU1'!]apilja-Vide pp, 154- 187 above.
D1t1'gli vrala-begin on 8th of Sr. suo ; one year; different names
of DevI employed in the twelve months; performer covers
himself with mud from different places in 12 months; the
naivedya is different ( including flesh of deer and goat on
Asv. 8); HV 1. 856-862; KR 238-244 (both quote DevI-
pura:t;ta ); same in KKV 225-233 ( but called Durga.!?~amI).
· DurOufj tami-Vide the preoeding entry.
Dm'g otsava- Vide above pp. 154-187 and TT 64-103.
DUTva-8th of Bh. suo is so oalled; NA 61, SM 56-57.
· DUTvuga'!lapativrala-( 1) on 4th of Sr. or K. suo for two years or
three; worship of Ga.:t;t.esa. image with red flowers a.nd with
 List oj vralas S15
leaves of bilva, apamarga, sami, durva and tulasl and
other upaCaras; mantra containing ten n ames of Ga~l apati;
HV 1. 520-523, VR 127-129 (from Saurapurana, where Siva
tells Skanda that ParvatI performed it II ); (2) begin on
any 4th suo falling on Sunday; for six months; sis ~as
practise it from Sr. suo4 to M. suo 4,; worship of Ga{)apati;
VR 141-143 (from Skanda), Vratarka (folios 66-67); (3)
worship of Ga:IJapati for 21 days from Sr. suo 5 to Sr. kr. 10
with 16 upaciiras and 21 kinds of leaves such as diirvii,
bilva , apamarga &c.; VR 129-14l.
Durv(il1'i1'otravTata-for women; begin on Bh. suo 13; three days
up to Full Moon; fast on all three days; worship of image
of Uma and Mahesvara, Dharma, Savitrl placed among
diirvas; jagara with dance and music; recital of SiivitrI's
story; homa on 1st with sesame, ghee, and fuel sticks;
confers happiness, wealth and sons; HV II. 315-318 (from
Pad. ) ; diirvii. is said to have sprung from Vi~ I;lU's hair and
some drops of amrta fell on it.
DU1"va~tami-( 1 ) fast on 7th of Bh. su; worship of Sailkara on
8th with gandha, puspa, dhUpa &c. and specially with diirvii
and samI; HV 1.873-875, KKV 239-241 (both from Bhav. ),
HK 107 ( not to be performed after Agastya becomes visible
or when Sun is in Kanyii.-riisi; VKV 15, PC 120; (2) In
this variety, Diirvii. alone is worshipped as if it were a deity
with flowers, fruits, &c. and two mantras one of which is
, 0 Durva I you are immortal, honoured by gods and a SIl1"aS ,
give me saubhag1}a, progeny and all happiness'; dinner to
brahma:IJas, relatives and friends of ground sesame and
preparations of wbeat flour; this is specially obligatory on
women and one should not perform it, if Jyes ~ha or Mula
nak~atra occurs on 8th of Bh. suo nor when the Sun is in the
sign of Virgo ( Kanya) nor when Agastya bas risen; Bhav.
U. 56, PC 127-129, SmK 228-230.
DrcJha'vrata-giving up application of sandalwood paste in Cai. ;
gift of a conch shell full of unguents and two garments i
Mat. 101. 44 q. by KKV 445, KR 183 ; Ilame verses in Pad.
V. 20. 91-9 2.
Devamurtivrata-From 1st of Cai. su.; worship of four images,
viz. of Siva, Agni, Virupak~a and Vii.yu, on four days in
order in every month for a year and homo. with curds,
sesame, yavas and ghee; this is a Caturmiirtivrataj HV U.
504-505 (from Vi. Dh. ).
316 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. 1, Ch. xru

Devay'iLtrotsava-Vide NM pp. 83-84 verses 1013-1017. In the

temples of gods the Yatrotsava should be performed on
certain tithis viz. on 4th in Vinayaka temple, on 6th in
Skanda's, on 7th in Sun's, on 9th in Durga's, on 5th in
Lak$mI's, on 8th or 14th in Siva's, on 5th, 12th or Full moon
in temples of all Nagas, and on sukla 15th in temples of all
gods; the RNP pp. 416-419 ( quoting Brab. ) provides for
this for six: months every year from Vaisakha in the temples
of gods, viz. on 1st for Brabma, on 2nd for gods, on 3rd for
Ganges and so on.
Devavrata-(l) When on 14th tithi there is conjunction of Magha·
naksatra and Jupiter one should fast on it and worship
Mahesvara; increases life, wealth and fame; HV II. 64 (from
Klliottara); (2) N akta for eight days, gift of a cow, golden
discus and trident and two garments with the words' May
Siva and Kesava be pleased' ; Sariwatsara vrata ; removes
even grave sins; HV II. 862 (from Pad. ); (3) worship of
Egveda (gotra Atreya and presiding deity Moon), of Y ajur~
veda (gotra Kasyapa and deity Rudra who is terrific), of
Samaveda (gotra Bharadvaja, deity Indra); then their
physiognomy is described and also of Atharvaveda; HV II.
915-16 (from DevlpuraJ;la). Is it Vedavrata?
bevaiayanotth'i1na-mahotsava or vidhi-HV II. 800-817 ; vide
above pp. 109-110 for the days on which Vi$J;lu is supposed
to sleep and to rise.
lJevipuja-on Asv. suo 9; every year; RNP 439-44 (from Devl-
puraJ;la). Vide pp. 160 iI. above. •
Dev ivrata-( 1) in K; performer to subsist on milk and take
vegetables alone at night; worship of Devi (Durga ); hom a
with sesame; japa of the mantra 'JayantI Mangala Kail
Bhadrakall KapalinI I Durga Ksama Siva DhatrI Sva dha
Svaha namostu te II'; reward freedom from all sins, diseases
and fears; HV II 775-776 (from Devipurapa ); (2) Miscell-
aneous V1'ata (praklrI_lska ); worship of images of GaurI and
Sambhu, Janardana and LaksmI, the Sun with his queen;
gifts of dhilpa, bell and lamp after honouring with · white
flowers; gives a divine body; HV II. 884 (from Bhav. U.);
( 3 ) on 15th ( i. e. pilrJ;lima ) of any month; person su beisting
on milk alone and then donating a cow go es to the world of
La.k$ml; HV II. 239 (from Pad), KKV 447- 448 (quoting
what is Mat. 101. 59 ).
 List of vratas 311
De'l!7fandolana-on Cai. suo 3; worship of image of Uma and
Sankara with saffron and the like and specially with
damana plant; swinging the images in a swing and jagara ;
PC 85.
Deu!Ja~.7'athayab·a-on 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th or 3rd tithis or on
days of Siva and Ganesa, king to prepare a structure of
bricks or stones and establish DevI image there; he should
prepare a chariot decorated with golden threads and ivory
staves, bells &c. and place the DevI therein and then take
the image back to his residence in a procession of men and
women; the city, streets, houses and gates should be deco-
rated and illuminated; reward happiness, glory, prosperity
and sons; HV n. 420-4:24 (from DevIpurana ).
Dolayat1'a-Vide p. 240 above under Holika; TT 140, PC 308,
GK 179.
DolCiyatra-same as above; G K 189-190.
DoLotsava-This was celebrated on different dates for different
deities. Vide Pad. (IV. 80. 45-50) which says that in
Kaliyuga Dolotsava on Pha. 14th at the 8th prrthara or at
the conjunction of pur:t;lima and 1st is prescribed for three
or five days and on seeing once Krs:t;la facing the south in a
swing people become free from the load of sins; Pad. VI. 85
contains eulogy and procedure of the Dolotsava of Vis:t;lu.
On Cai. suo3 was Dolotsava of Gaurl (PC 85, VR 84 ) and
of Rama ( SM 35 ); Dolotsava of K~s:t;la on Cai. suo11 ( Pad.
VI. 85) and the mantra repeated as Gayatrl was 'Om
dolar udhaya vidmabe Madhavaya ca dhlmahi I tan-no
deva:Q. pracodayat II ~bid. verse 5). At Mathura-Vrndavana,
Ayodhya, Dvaraka, Dakor and a few other places the
Dolotsava of K~sna is still celebrated.
Dauhitrapmlipad-Asv. suo 1; VR 61. This is a sraddha. Vide
H. of Dh., vol. IV p. 533.
J)yutapmtipad-on K. suo 1; vide above 'Balipratipad' under
, Divali '.
Drakliahhakt;a~la-( partaking of first grapes). In Asv.; KR
(p. 303-304) quotes Brah. that when the ocean was
churned by gods a beautiful woman rose up from the milky
ocean and she became transformed into a charming creeper
and the gods said 'who is this? we shall gladly see her'
(hanta drak~yamahe vayam) and gave the creeper the name
, driik~a. ' (popular etymology); worship of the plant when
318 History of Dharma8astra [ Seo. I, Oh. :xm
grapes a.re ripe with flowers, incense, food &0. and then two
boys and two old men to be honoured and then singing and
dancing.
DI;udasamasa1'k$avrata-begin vrata on the Full Moon of K.
when it falls on krttikii; worship of N arasimha, gift of
sandalwood and tagara flowers to a briihma~a; on Marg.
Full Moon with Mrgasiras-naksatra worship of Riima; on
P. Full Moon with Pusya worship of Balarama; on Maghl
and Maghii. Varaha to be worshipped. On Phalgunl and
Phiilgunls ( nakl:!atras ) Nara and Niiraya~a and so on up to
SriivaJ;la Full Moon; Vi. Dh. III. 214. 1-26.
Dvadasa- saplamivTatas-begin on Cai. suo7; for twelve months
on each 7th tithi of suo worship of the Sun under a different
name; with the six letter mantra 'om nama.l;l sftryaya ';
freedom from various diseases (like leprosy, dropsy,
dysentery ) and secures health; HV I. 792-804 (from
Aditya-pural;la ).
Dvadasudilya-vrata-begin on 12th of Marg. su.; worship of 12
Adityas (DM ta, Mitra, Aryaman, Piisan, Sakra, Varuna,
Bhaga, Tvas~r , Vivasvat, Savitr and Vis1.1U); at end gift of
gold; reaches world of Savitr; HV I. 1173, A K ( folio 851 ),
both quoting Vi. Dh. III. 182. 1-3, which call it Kiima-
devavrata.
Dvadasuhayoj11a-phalUvilpti-trfiya-on each 3rd tithi (of suo ? )
for one year; worship of the 12 semi-divin e beings called
Slldhyas ( names mentioned); HV I. 498 (froID Vi. Db. rIT.
181); (2) Anusasana 109 provides for fast beginning from
12th of Marg. (su. ?), worship of Vil:!J;lu under different
names, viz. Kesavs, Narayana, Madhava &c.; the per-
former secures the same reward ss an Asvamedha, V!i.japeya
and other solemn vedic sacrifices confer.
D vuciasiihasaplami-begin on 7th of M. Su.; for one year; fast
on 7th and Sun to be worshipped under different names on
each 7tb, VaruJ;la in M., Tapana in PM., Vedii.msu in
Cai., in Vai. Dhil.tr and so on; brahmaJ;las to be fed on
following 8th; on 7th of dark half also fast &0.; HV 1
720-724 ( from Bhav. ).
DvlidaSivmtas- For reward of fast on Dvii.dasIs of suo pak/i!(l
from Marg, vide Vi. Dh. 1 159. 1-21 and on lq. DvadasI
vide Vi. Dh. 1160. There are about 50 Dvadasl vratas. Vide
KKV 310-369 (desoribes 26 dvadaslvratas), HV 1 1162-
 List of vralas S19

1222; HK 289-298, KN 275-277, TT 114-117, SM 92-95,

PC 213-222, VR 475-495. The Var., chapters 39-49 deal
with ten dvadasls named after ten avataras from Matsya to
Kalkin and also Padmanabha-dvadasI. Most of these
would be dealt with under their proper names. Agni 188
mentions many Dvadaslvratas. Eight kinds of DvadasIs
from Brahrnavaivarta have been mentioned by HK 260-263;
vide p. 119 above. The rewards of making gifts on dvadasls
of the twelve months in conjunction with certain naksatras
are treated in HK 634-637, KR 129-131. Dvadasi mixed
with ekadasi is to be preferred acc. to Yugmavakya (KN
275 ).
DvadaSivrala-begin from Marg. su.; one year or for life; fast on
11th and worship of Vasudeva on 12th with the upacaras
from flowers &c.; if performed for one year, one becomes
purified from sins; if for life he reaches Svetadvlpa; if he
performs vrata on dvadasls both in suo and kr. he secures
heaven, and if for life he goes to Vis:t;luloka. V. Dh. 49·
1-8, q. by KKV 310; Anusasana chap. 109 dwells on worship
of Vil?:t;lU on dvadasls from Marg.
Dvitiyavratas-Vide Agni 177. 1-20, KKV 40-48, HV 1. 366-393,
KN 169-172, TT 29-30, PC 82-84, VR 78-81. The KKV
describes only three viz. Puspadvitlya, ASl"myasayana ( two
varieties), Kantivrata, while HV speaks of eleven. NA
speaks of only two viz. Asunyasayana and Yamadvitlya and
remarks that no vrata on the 2nd tithis of other months is
well-known. These will be found in their places in this list.
The four dvitlyas of Sr., Bh. ,Asv. and K. are respectively
called Kalusa, Nirmala, Pretasaficara and Yamt. The
general rule is that the second tithi of suo mixed with third
is to be preferred as the Yugmavakya indicates; KTV 30.
Dvidalavrata-in K.; avoid taking any kind of doidala dhanya
such as tur. rajika, mii.~a, mudga, mssiira, gram, kulittha;
NS 104-105.
. Dvitiyubhadrat'rala-This is a vrata on the Kara:t;la called Vis~i ;
begin on Marg. suo 4; for a year; worship of Bhadra-devl
and repeat the mantra 'Bhadre bhadraya bhadram hi
caril?ye vratam-eva te I Nirvighnam kuru me devi kiirya-
siddbim ca bhavaya U'; honour a brahma:t;la; he should not
partake of food while Bhadra kara1]a is on; at the end an
iron or stone or wooden or painted image of Bhadra should
820 History oj Dharrna.Sastt·a [ Sec. I, Ch. xm

be established and worshipped; the reward is that the man's

undortakings even when begun in Bhadra succeed. HV n.
724-726 ( from Bhav. U. ), PC 52. Bhadrii or Visti is looked
upon in most cases as a horror and inauspicious; vide SmK
565-566 .
. f),>iriil</L4lw- Visnu is deemed to sleep on As. 9. 11 ; if two
amf.LvasyaB end during the period when the Sun is in the
sign of Mithuna, then there are two Asadba (lunar) months ,
there is an adhimasa and Visnu goes to sleep only a.ftor the
2nd amnviisya (i. e. in Karkata or Sr.); KV 169-173, NS
]92, Sm 83.
Dri]lw'raJ(l-bog in on Cai. suoand for seven days in each month,
ono should worship in order the soven dvlpas v iz. J ambu,
Sfika, KUBa, Kraunca, Salmali, Gomeda and Puskara for
one year; one should sleep on the ground (not on a cot)
und donate a\ tbe year's end silver, fruits; reaches heaven;
BV II. 465-466 (from Vi. Dh. ).
Dhallrz/.'ruyodasi-13th of Asv. kr. Vide p. 195 above under 'Divali'.
DI/(mru/(/])ujii-( worship of Kubera) on the pmdo.'!<l of Asv.
purt;lim!l.; TT 136-137.
J)/tanacial'ratn-begin on 11th of MArg. ilu. with nakta; for one
yoar; Kubera; vrata y ields wealth ; KKV 310, BV I. 1161-
1162 (both quote Var. ).
PM. 1m. 13th with a fast ; one year; worship
j)/uII/(lI'm/(l-begin on
of KuboTl\ (called Mabli.raja) with the upacaras from
gandha, pu ~pa &c. ; at end of year gift of gold to brahmana;
Vi. Db. Ill. 184. 1-3 q. hy HV II. 18-19 (but called
N un davrata ).
n ltalul.wuikriin/i-ITaJa-begin on a day of Sankranti; Sankr!l.nti-
vrata; one yeo.r; Sun as deity; every month a jar full of
water with a gold piece inside to be donated with the words
'May the Sun be pleased'; at end gift of golden lotus and
a oow; tbe performer is endow d with health, wealth and
long lif for numerous lives; HV II. 736-737 (from Slcanda).
Sr.
nhall'[lI,uplll'1·ata-( 1 ) begin on 1st tithi after ptU'l;Jim!l.; for a
month; w ship of Vi1;lt;lu and Sankarsa~a with blue lotuses,
gb ,naivedya of be t food, fast for three days before Bh.
PtU'Qim ; gift of cow at nd of vrata; HV U 759 (from Vi.
Db. III. 210 1-5); (2) worship of VaiSJ'avaJ;la. (Kubera.) for
a year; re ard plentiful wealth; BV 155 (from. Vi Db.);
 List 0/ t'raia..'t 321

(3 ) begin on Cai. Su. 1; worship of images of VisDu, the

Earth, the sky and Brahma respectiV'ely on 1st tithi to -lth;
for one year; secures wealth, beauty, happiness; HV U
501-502 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 139.1-5). This is a Caturmlirti-
vrata.
Dhanya''1"ala or Dhallyapralipad-l'rala-M6.rg. suo 1; nakta on
that day and worship of Visnu image ( identified with Agni)
on night; huma in a h.1l11tla placed before it; then partake
of Yavaka and food with ghee; the same in dark half also;
for eight months from CaL; at end of vrata a golden image
of Agni dunated; even an unlucky man becomos blessed with
happiness, wealth and food and free from sin; KKV 38-40
(calls it Dhanyapratipad), HV 1. 355-56, both quoting Vsr.
56.1-16.
Dhara~il'rat!l-begin fast on K. suo 11; worship of image of
Nar5yaI;la; place before the image four jars with some
jewols inside and covered with copper vessels containing
gold and sesame, which ( jars) are to bo deemed as the four
oceans; the golden image is to be esliablished in their midst;
jtl.gara that night; five br:ihmal.las were to be invited on the
next morning, dinner and daksinil to them; ihis vrata was
performed by Praj!lpati, by many famous kings and by the
Earth itself and it is so called for that reason; HV 1. 1041-44
(from Var. 50. 1-29), KR 426-430 (calls it Yogisvara-
dvada!:;! ).
Dhar(l1'rIlta-for the whole of Uttariiyana subsist on milk; make
a gift of golden image of the earth over 20 Jlalftc~ in weight;
Rudra devat!l; goes to Hudraloka; Mat. 101. 52 q. by KKV
446, HV ll. 906 ( same verses from Pad. ); KKV says it is a
samvatsaranata, while HV puts it under miscellaneous.
Dharmaghata-dana-From Cai. Su. 1 for four months one
desirous of storing merit should make every day gift to a
brahmana of a jar covered with a piece of cloth containing
cool, pure water; PC 57-58; SmK 89-90.
Dharmaprlipfi-1'7'ata-begin on 1st tithi afterk? Full Moon;
worship of Visnu in the form of Dharma; for a month; fast
for three days including the Full Moon day at ond of month
and gift of gold; Vi. Dh. Ill. 209.1-3.
DharmariljapUjil-Worship of Dharma with damanaka. Vide
Damanakapiijavidhi above and SmK 101.
B. D. (1
322 HistorY of Dharmasastra [ Sec. 1, Ch. xm
Dharma1'1'ala-begin on 10th of Marg. suo; fast on that day and
worship of Dharma; homa with ghee; even in dark half;
for one year; at end gift of a milch cow; vrata confers
health, long life, fame and destroys sins ; HV 1. 967-968
quoting Vi. Dh. III. 178. 1-8.
Dharma!la.~thi-on Ailv. lq. 6; worship of Dharmaraja; AK
419a.
Dharmiil'iipli'/'rala-begin on first tithi after As. Full Moon; for
ono month; worsh ip of Had in the form of Dharma; it
secures all ohjects; HV n. 758 (from Vi. Db.).
Dhill'l'imtla- bath on EkfL das! in botb fortnights with DhatrI
( Amalaka ) fruit ; Pad. V. 58. 1- 11. Dhiitrl fruit is dear to
Viisudova; hy eating it man becomes free from all sins.
Dh'iln!lll-(gramya i. e. cultivated in a village)-Dhanyas are said
to be ten in Br. Up. Vi. 3. 13 and 17 or 18 in later works.
1 )i~u1'a day; for
DhiinY(/./lllilkrZinii-/waia-begin on <ll/ana. day or
a year ; draw a lotus of eight petals with saffron; on each
potal worsh ip Sun from the east onwards under eight different
no.mes ; he should donate one prastli.a of corn to a brabmana
( hence called Dh!'lnyasa nkranti); every month this to be
repeated; HV n. 730-32 (from Skanda ).
Dhanya.qaplaka-Seven kinds of corn are; yava, wheat, dhanya
(coriander), sesame, kallgu (Panic seed ). syam!ika and
clnaka (Pa nicum Miliacum); HV 1. 48 (from $at-trim san-
muta); KR 70 (notos that some read' devadhanya' in place
of' c!lU\ka).' Gobhilasmrti 3.107 names the seven somewhat
differantly; Visl:m purana I. 6. 21-22. Vayu 8. 150-152 and
M rkat;ldeya 46. 67-69 (Ve nk. ed. ) name 17 dhanyas and
VR p. 17 names 18.
D huflyailaplam i-on Suo 7 worship the Sun. follow nakta method
and donate seven dl1!nyas, household utensils and salt; he
sa,es himself and seven ancestors; HV 1. 787-788 (from
Bhav. ).
Dhalllctil'il'ulr(l"l'rala-HV n. 322 quoting P ad; the same as
Dbllmavl'ata below.
Dhumat>rala-on the Full Moon of PhiL one should donate a fine
hous after fast for three days; he reaches the world of the
Sun; Mat. 101. 79' q. by KKV 450- 51. HV n. 322. The Sun
is the deity here i dh6.man means a 'house '. Vide Gar.
I. 137. 3.
 List of t'Tatas 323

Dhiira1J1lpara1J1l-trratodyapalla-begin 00 11th in Oiiturmil.sya or

in the first month thereof or in the last month; upavasa
( dhiirana) in one month and paral)a (bhojana) in the next;
worship of images of Laksml and Narayal)a placed on a jar
full of water at night with paiiciimrta, flowers, Tulas!
leaves, japa of mantra ' 0m namo Niiriiyan5.ya' 108 times;
arghya; ll ama of boiled sesame and rice with Eg. X. 112. 9
and of boiled rice and ghee with Eg. X. 155. 1; SmK 414-
416, Vratarka 365a-366b.
Dhilravrata-From beginning of OaL while drinking water one
should let fall a stream of water (in the mouth? ); for one
year ; at end donate a new water vessel. This vrata removes
all despondency, provides charm and blessedness ; HV II.
853 (from Bhav. U.).
Dh iipa-incense (the burning of which is one of the upacliras);
HV (1. 50-51) quotes from Bhav. the names of several mix-
tures of incense such as Amrta, Ananta, Yaksadhupa,
Vijayadhilpa, Praji patya, while it speaks also of a dhUpa of
ttlO parts. KKV 13 gives the eight ingredients of a dhupa
called Vijaya. Bhav. I. 68. 28-29 state that Vijaya is the best
of dh upas, jat! the best of fl owers, saffron tho best of scents,
red sandalwood paste is the best of unguents, modaka the best
of sweetmeats. These are quoted by KKV 182-183. Vide Gar.
I. 177. 88-89 for dhupa destroying flies and fleas; KR 77-78,
Sm. O. I. 203 and II. 435 for description of dhli pas.
Kadambarl of Bana (first part . para 52) mentions that in
the temple of Oandika dhllpa consisting of plentiful gu ggulu
was being burnt.
Dhulivandalla-bowing before the ashes tbe morning after the
Holika bonfire; PO 81, SmK !'i18 and p. 241 above.
Dhrtivrata-bathing image ( or linga) of Siva with pancllmrta
( curds, milk, ghee, honey and Bugarcane or its juice) every
day for a year; at end of year gift of a cow with pai'ioamrta
and of oonch-sbell; samvatsaravrata; Siva deity; reache.
the place of Sankara; Mat. 101. 33-34 q. by XXV 44~, flY
II. 865 (from Vil?l)upur!i.~a ) which makes a change in
reading viz. bathing of the image of ( Vi!glU or Siva. ).
Dhenuvrata-gift with lot of gold of a cow that is on the point
of being delivered of a oalf; the performer who subsists only
on milk that day reaches the highest world and is not born
again. MallOl. ~9 q. by KKV 446.
 History of Dharmasllstra [Sec. I, Ch. xm
Dhvojana11(J,mi-P. BU, 9; this tithi is called Sambarl ( SabarI ? ) ;
worship of Canclika, who rides a lion, and is a ,kumarI,
with hanners, ruiilati flowers and other upacfiras and sacrifice
of animals; the king should raise a banner in a temple of
Devl, should feed maidens, should obsorve a fast or eka-
bhakta; HV 1. 891-894 (from Bhav. U.).
Dh1'ajat'ral{/-Garu~a ( eagle), Tala tree (from which intoxica-
ting liquor is made, Balarama being fond of wine is called
Tiihnka in Amarakosa), Makara (a mythical animal like
crocodile), and deer are the banners respectively of Vasudeva,
8ankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha; tho colours of
their garments and flags are respoctiYoly yellow, bluo, white
and red; in Cai., Vai., Jy., and As. every day in each month
worship respectively of Garuda &c. with appropriately
coloured garments, flowers; at end of four months brf,hmaI;lBs
to he honoured and appropriately coloured garments to be
donated; throo turns of four months in the same way;
different worlds are reached acc. to tho length of time; if
performed for twelvo years tho performer attains sliyujlla
with ViSI;lU; this is a Caturmurtivrata in Vi. Dh. III. 146.
1-14 and HV II pp. 829-831.
NaktafYllnrtlii-begin on Marg. Su. 4; Viniiyaka deity; performer
to Bubsist on nakta food and parana with food mixed with
.,(!'~arl/t'; one year; HV 1. 522-536 (from Skanda ).

Naklw'rala-This is a dil'urulrirralll and thorofore has to be

performed on a tithi that cover8 both day and night (N A
16-17). For the meaning of 1/(/1.'1(/ vide pp.101-102 above.
It consists in eating nothing by day and taking food only
at night. Naktavrata may extend over a month, or four
months or a year. Vide KR pp. 222, 255, 301-303, 406,
445, 477, 491-492 for N Llkt,Lyrata ou the months from Sr. to
M; Linga ( 1. 83, 3-54 ) fur nu,ktavrata for one year. Vide
ulso Nar. II. 43. 11-23.
N(lk~(a"<l/jlhi-l'a,.a.qraha-Y()!la-I'1'allinl-HV
11 588-590 (from
Ktilottara) deals summarily with certain (abont 16) special
piijtl.8 to he performed on the conjunction of certain naksatras
with certain tithis and week-days. A few examples are
given hore: when on a Sunday there is 14th tithi and
Re ....atI naksatra or when As~amI and Magh5.-naksatra are
joined, one should worship Siva and partake of sesame food
and this is A.dityavrata tha\ yields health ~ the performer
 List of vraJas 325
and his sons and relatives. When tbere is conjunction of
Rohi n! and the Moon on 14th tithi, or of Astam! and the
Moon, that is Candravrat a in which Siva may be worshipped
and n ail 'eri'!/a of milk and curds be offered and one may
subsist on milk a nd secure fame, health and prosperity.
When Revati, Thursday and 14th tithi or Astaml a nd
Pusya are joined, that is Guruvrata, on whi ch one should
subsist on the milk of a ''-([]lila cow mixed with the fluid
extracted from Bri bm! plants ; the person becomes ma>:ter of
speech. T he Visnudbarmas utra (chap. 90. I - I S ) deals with
what is to be done whon the llull MOOll days of Marg. to K.
are in conjullcti on with the naksatra wh ich gives the name
to the month a nd tho reward s of the ohservances theroon;
vide Dii nasigara pp. 622-626, where V. Dh. is quoted and
explained.
Naks(llrapllrll.'~arrata-begin in Cai.; worship of tb e im age of
Vasudeva; several n ak~atras su ch as Mllla, Rohi nl, Asvint
are to be honoured in connection with the feet, tho legs, the
knees respectively ( and so on with the naksatras and limbs
specified). The ten avatiiras and their limbs are t o be res-
pectively associated with Asle~ii, Jye~thii, Srava na, Pusya,
SViitl a nd so on ; at end of vrata golden im age of H ari
placed in a jar filled with jaggery is to be donated to a
worthy brihmana as also bed-stead a nd its gear; he should
pray for the continuous life of his wife and on all the days
should partake of food without 0:1 and salt. Mat. 54.3- 30 q.
by KKV 400- 404, BV II. 699-703, KR 87-91; vido Br. S.
chap. 104.
Nak~rn-puJ(i..1 'idhj-worsb ip of gods as lords of naksatras with
the fruite reaped, suoh as of Asvins, Yama, Agni ( as lords
of Asvin l, Bharanl , Krttikli in order), that leads respeotively
to long life, freedom from accidental doatb, prosperity: Va.
80. 1-39, HV II. 594- :197 (from Bhav.) = KR 557-560.
These relate the lords of naksatras to the fl owers or sub-
stances with which they are to be worshipped and the
rewards thereof. Vide H. of Dh. vol. n. p. 247 n. 563 for the
lords of Naksatras in Vedio times and Vi. Dh. 1 83. 13-21.
NaklfCl/;rat 'Sette padjjrthat'iSef/(l-nilJedha~-( prohibition of doing
certain things on certain naksatras). A few examples may
be given here. VKK 87-88. TT 28 quote a verse' one should
give up the use of sesame oil on the n~tras CitrA, Hasta,
326 History of 1Jharmasast1'a [ Seo. I, Ch. XII!

and SravaJ;la, shaving on Visiikhii a nd Abhijit, flesh on

Mula, Mrgasiro.s and Bhiidrapadii, sexual interoourse on
Magba, Krttikii and Uttara '. This is Va. 14. 50-51 (with
some var iations ).

Nakfl(ltral-idhi-I'rata-begin on Mrgas iras; worship of ParvatI,

identifying her feet with M ula, her lap with RohinI, AsvinI
with her knees and so on with other limbs ; on each naksatra
he fasts and at end of that naksa tra there is paraJ;lii; he
offers different food to the brahmanas on each naksatra; the
flowers and naivedya offered to the deity are different on
each naksatra; tho roward is beauty and mubhagya ; KK V
411- 4.14, HV n. 696-£98 ( from Devlpurii I1 a).

Nak .~alr!l "ral (ill i- Agni

196, KKV 399-417, HV II. 593-706. KKV
deals witb only ton, while HV speaks of 33. Vratas
connectod with the n ak~a tras from Asvinl onwards are
sot out in HV. HK 126-128 and KN 327-328, NA 18 deal
with question as to what should be done when a fast is to be
observed in a vrata which is con cerned with both titbi a nd
naksatra. Tho role is that the naksatra for fast must be
ex isting o.t the time of sunset or at the time when there is a
conjunction of the Moon with midnight (i. e. there is the
required no.ksatra at midnight). The first of these t wo is
the principal matter, the 2nd is only next best ( anukalpa ).
Vide Vi. Dh. I. 60. 26-27 for thi s rule q. by KN 327, HK 126,
VKK 8.
Nak.'!OlmlwlIIlll'idhi-HV (11684-£88 ) quotes Garga in prose
for the procedure of offering worship an d h ()m a to 27
Ilo.k ~atrasfrom Ailv in l to Revat l detailing how many days
all illness or danger will last, the deity to be worshipped,
tho fl owers, naivedya , db iipa, the tree of which fuel sticks
are to be offered to Agni , the p uja mantra, the main
material to be offered into fire . One illustrative example is
given hero. In the case of RohiJ;ll, eight days, Praja.pati is
devata, the naivedya is rice boiled in milk, lotus flowers,
dbupa is the one xtracted from the Sarala tree (a kind of
pine ), the pllj mantra is • namo brahmaJ;le ' (TaL AI. IL
13, quoted ill H. of Dh. II. p. 703 n. 681 ); all dhanyas may
be offered in fire. The lihutis are to be 108 ; the reward is
arogya ( health ).
Nak:ptrar,hat'1'ata-same as Nak!?atravidhi-vrata above.
 List of vratas 327

Naditriratrctl'rata-Wben a river is full of flood in As., a person

should collect the water in a dark jar, take it home, then
next maming he should bathe in the river and worship the
jar, observe fast for three days or one or only ekabhakta,
keep a lamp continuously burning, take the name of the
river and Varuna, offer arghya, fruits, naivedya &c. and
pray to Govinda; this vrata for three years; then donate
cow etc. ; he secures progeny and saubbiigya. Pad. VI. 71.
Nar/ivrala-( 1) begin on Ciii. su.; for seven days he should
subsist in the nakta method and worship the seven rivers
Hradin! ( or Nalinl, v. 1.), Hliidin!, Pavanl, S!ta, Ibu,
Sindhu, Bhagirathl; this to be continued for seven days in
every month for a year; offer milk in water and make gifts
of water pots filled with milk; at end of year donate to
brabmanas one } I(l[a of silver in PM.; HV. II. 462 quoting
Vi. Dh. m. 163.1-7; vide Mat. 121. 40-41, Viiyu 47 . 38-39
for the seven streams of the Ganges; ( 2 ) HV 1. 792
(quoting one verse from Vi. Dh.); by worshipping Sarasvatl
one secures seven kinds of knowledge.
Nadisnana-for the effects of baths in holy rivers, vide H. of Dh.
IV p. 560, under Dasabara above pp. 90-91 and TT 62-64.
PC 1H-145, GK 609.
Nandal'rata-Vi. Dh, Ill. 184. 1-3 q. by HV II. pp. 18-19. Same
as Dhanavrata above p. 320.
Nandu- ( tithis ) 1st, 6th and 11th tithis are so called.
Nand&diloirlhi-Sunday has twelve names viz. Nanda, Bhadra
&c.; the Sunday that falJ s on 6th of M. suo is called N anda;
observe nakta that day and bathe Sun im age in ghee and
offer Agasti fl owers; feast to briibmaoa with wheat apupa;
KKV 10-12, BV n. 522-23 (both quote Bhav.).
Nanriiiriil'rntal'idh.i-worship of Sun always on a Sunday; one
should on the day of solar eclipse fast and mutter Mahli svetli.
mantra and then give a dinner to briihmanas; the reward of
bath, gifts and japa on the day of solar eclipse is endless;
HV n. 527-28 (from Bhav. U.) = KKV 21-23.
Nandunat,amil'rata-the 9th of Bh. kr. 9 ( aco. to KKV ) and Bu. 9
( aoc. to HV ) is oalled N anda.. Worship of Durgll. for a year
in three periods; ekabhakta on 7th, fast on 8th and worship
of Siva with JlI.tl and Kadamba flowers and Durga.·s image
to be placed on diirvAs; Jo.gara and various dramatic
328 History of DharmaiG.stra l Sec. I, Ch. xm
representations a nd japa 108 times of N anm mantra (om
Nandayai nama):! ) ; on morning of 9th worsh ip of Candika
and dinner to maidens; KKV 303-305, HV II. 952-954
( from Bhav. ).
Nnnr/(lprulur/mya-I'ralu.-wor ship of golden pUr/1llclis of Durga
with mango leaves, durvil, aksatiis, bilva leaves ; for a
month; g ift of 7 Ju( II ~M18 t o a devotee of Dev! or to maidens;
ho }Jocom(Js free from all sins ; KKV 42 9, HV II. 885-86
( from Pad. ).
N(J.1t"[iI ' m/a-ho~jn in Sr. on 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th or
plI r nimtl; for one yoar; perform er to subsist by nakta method;
worship of Devi with difforon t fl owers and naivedya under
twolvo difToront names in the twelve months; jrt])(L of
mantra (' 0m Nando Nandini sarvi rth asildhini namah') 100
or 1000 times; performer is freed from sins and becomes a
king; KKV 424-42B, HV II. 832-836 (from Devlpurilna ),
KIt 288-2D 3.
N(lntlii.~rIJllalllj- Bogin
on 7th of Marg. su. ; tithivrata; for a year:
worfl hip of Sun in throo periods of 4 months with different
flowo rs, lluivodya, dhllpa and names ; okabhakta on 5th,
nakta on 6th and fast n seventh; KKV 136- 137, HV 1.
669-671 (from Bhav. Bri hmaparva, 100. 1-16 ).
NanC/illilllll 'alllil'1'a/a-on 9th of Miirg. su.; tithi; worship of Durgil;
ono yeur divided into two parts; b.~i for three days; in each
p ~riod of six months different flowors, difforent names;
porformer gODS io hoaven and returns as a poworful king;
KKV:.I02-303. Vielo Tritayaprad i nasaptaml above p. 308.
]\'rU'{lkam/llrr/rlsi-V id e abovo p. 196-198.
on overy Full Moon or on Fun moon of
j\r(lI'llI"(/)''ii''~lIl1!li-beg in
M:irg.; ollO yoar; he should b st that day and worsh ip Visnu
and repeat his nllm e or he should ropeut in order the twelve
Ilumos Kesava to D" moda.ra in the twelve months from
Marg.; should donate overy month water jar with daksinii.
and sandals, umbrella and u pair of garme nts or, if unable,
at, th o ond of the year; be sooures happiness and remembers
] Inri'R nome at time of death and goes to heaven; HV U
166- 167 (froID . i. Dh. ).
/w('(//lIrriclsi-on 14th of ai. su.; tithi; if there be Svii.~t
'arll.," ;li
naksatra, Saturday , iddhi Yoga and Va~ ija-karana the
reward is a crore of times; N arasirnha (avatara) is deity;
 Li,st of "'''f alas 329

flV Il 41-49 (from N arasirn hapurana ); PC 237-238 (It is

called Nrsimhajayant! by SM 98, PC and others); SmK 114.
If it is mixed with 13th or 15th, the day on which 14th exists
at sunset should be accepted; VKD ( pp. 145-152 ) gives a
long procedure of p uji ; it occurs in Tamil Paficatig:ls also.
Nrsirnha appeared on Vai. suo 14 in the evening when there
was Svatinak~atra.
Narasiliill(ltmyndasi-on Thursday falling on 13th tithi; one
should bathe and worship N arasirnha in the afternoon and
fast on that day; KKV 369, HV II. 14 (from Narasimha-
puriina ).
Nara:miillaril'udasi-on 12th of PM. kr.; fast on that day and
worsh ip of N arasiti1ha image; a jar covered with white
cloth is to be established and on it a golden or wooden
or bamboo image was to he placed; gift of the image to a
briihmat;la on that day; HV I. 1029-30 (qu oting Var. 42.
1-7 and 14-16 ). The printed Var. provides that the vrata is
to be performed in sukla-pak~a , whereas in HV 1. 10~9 the
krsl1apaksa is men tioned.
]\''l,.a.~irizhul!tami
or Narasilillial'r((.ta-King or prince or a person
des irous of destroying enemy should perform this; on 8th
tithi he should make a lotus figure of eight leaves with rice-
grains or fl owers and place an im age of Narllsimha thereon
and worsh ip it and also worship Sr!vrk!?a (Bilva or
Asvattbll ? ); HV I. 876-880 ( from Gar. ).
Namnaklia'r'aSfinti-a propitiatory rite a nd worship of nine
naksatras; the naksatra of a man's birth is called Janan.a-
naksatra, the 4th, 10th, 16th, 20th, 23rd are respectively
called Miinasa , Karma, Sanghiitika, Samudaya and
Vain!isika; an ordinary man has to consider these six
naksatras, while a king has to consider three moro, viz. the
naksatra of coronation, tho naksatra that rules over his
country and the naksatra of his varna; if these naksatras
are affected by evil influences of planets &c. evil results
follow in the matters denoted by these six or nine, e. g. if
janana-naksatra is affected he may lose his life and wealth,
if the coronation naksatra is affected the king may lose his
kingdom; appropriate rites and worship may avert or lessen
evil effects e. g. in case of janana.-naksatra he should ba\be
with water in which kusas are dipped and in which the dung
and urine of a white bull and white cow's milk are mixed;
B. D. .2
330 Histary of DharmaSastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
HV n. 688~91 (from Vi. Dh. ); it may be noted that the
VaikhAnasa-grhya-sutra IV 14, Vi. Dh.: n. 166, NAr. l56.
358-59 and Yogayatra of Vara.hamihira 9. 1-2 differ about
what naksatras from birth bear the above na.mes.
Na,;anitudhenudana-on K. amavasya; worship of Brahm! and
Savitrl ; gift of dhenu of butter with various fruits, gold and
garments; PC 315. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 883 for
Na.vanlta-dhenu and Dhenus of other materials.
Navamirathavrata-fast on Asv. kr. 9th and worship of DurgA;
worship of the car ( of Devl ) decked with cloth, banners,
choUJrie8. mirrors, garlands, and paintings of lions ; place
in the car a golden image of Thugs. with her trident on the
demon Mahisa; taking the car by the public road bring it
to the Durga. temple; jagara with torches, theatricals,
dancers; the next morning bathe the image and dinner to
devotees of Davl; rewards of offering to Durg! bedstead,
a bull, a cow &c; KR 314- 315 ( from Bhav. ).
Nal'amivratas-KKV 273-308, HV 1. 887-962, KN 229-230, TT
59-103, PC 139-142, VR 319-352; Navaml mixed with 8th
is to be preferred, TT 59, DS 15. On Cai. Su. 9 Bhadrak&ll
was crowned queen over all Yoginls; therefore on all
navamls one should fast and worship her; KKN 383, KR
127-128. ~

Nm>arny1i.di-upavasaurata-1ast on 8th, 9th, 14th and purJ;limll.;

the person becomes lord of Siva's gaJ;las; HV n. 509
( from Mat. ).
Navarlltrallrata-Vide above under Durg!l.piij!l..
Nal'avyilharama-observe fast on any 11th of su. or of A!1. or Ph!.
or on a sankr!nti or eclipse and offer a saorifice to Vi!1J;lu
after oonstructing a nl(7)Qapa. on a plot of land inolined
towards north-east; maQ~apa to have doors and in its midsi
the figure of a lotus; the eight weapons of the lords of eight
quarters to be drawn viz. vajra, sakti, olub (of Yama), sword,
noose (of Varu:t;la), banner, mace (of Kubera), sula (of
Siva); drawings of VAsudeva, Sankar!1a:t;la, N&r!yal,la,
Vfl.mana that are the forms (vyiihas of Vi!1J;lu); homa; HV
1. 1125-1131 (from Vi. Db. ).
Nat1linllabltak ~tIC1---( partaking of the fresh crops) in M&rg.
before the Sun reaches the 14th degree of the zodioal sign
Scorpion; K 27; the NM (p. 72, varses 880-988) dee-
 List of trratas

tribes the ceremony; song and music were employed and

Vedic texts loudly recited and Brahma., Ananta (snake),
guardians of quarters were worshipped.
Nligacaturthi-on K. Su. 4; PC 95.
Nagada.~toddhara7Jm·rala-same as Dastoddhara~avrata p. 31:J
above.
Nugapa1icami-Vide pp. 124 ff above.
Niigapujli-{ worship of snakes) on Marg. suo 5; SmK 429 (says
it is well-known among dil.ksinatyas ).
NagamaitripaiIcami-one should give up ("alII pungent or
bitter) and sour things and should bathe Naga images with
milk; he thus makes friends with niigas. Pad. V. 26. 56-57
q. by KKV 96, HV 1. 566 (same verses from Bhav. ).
Naga1rrata-{ 1 ) on 4th of K. su.; fast on this; worship of Sesa,
Sankhapala and other 71iiUClS with flowers, sandalwood pasta
and satiating them with milk in the morning and noon;
result-snakes do not haml him; HV. 1 530 (from Kurma ),
KN 184-185, PC 95; (2) worship of Naga image on 5th tithi
on lotus leaves with mantras, flowers &c. and streams of
ghee, milk, curds, honey; homa; freedom from poison and
secures son, wife and prosperity; HV 1. 572 (from Bhav. ).
Niimatrtiyii-begin on Marg. Su. 3; tithivrata; one year; every
month worsbip of Gaurl with one of twelve names, viz.
Gaurl, Kall, Uma, Bhadra., Durga, Kanti, Sarasvatl,Mangala.
Vais~avl, Laksml, Siva, Narayal,ll; he would go to heaven;
or worship the Ardhanarlsvara form of M ahesvara ; he would
suffer no separation from his wife; or worship an imago of
Harihara with one name each month out of the twelve from
Kesava to Dimodara; HV 1477-478 (from Bhav.), XKV
55-56.
Niimadv!ida'i-begin on Miirg. BU. 12; fast on that day; tithl.
vrata; he should take one of the twelve names of ViSl;lU, viz.
Nf.rAy~a in M!.rg. and P. , M&dhava in M. and 80 on up to
Da.modara in K.; donate at year's end a cow with calf,
sandals, garments &c. to twelve brihmal,las; goes to Visnu-
loka; HV 11097-1101, KKV 347 (in prose and less elaborate),
Nilmanammi-begin on ,Ailv. Su. 9; for a year; worship of Durgi
under diiferent names, differen' flowers in each month;
Br&hmal,la maidens to be feasted; a.t end, gif\ of cow and
392 History of Dharmaiiistra [ Sec . .I, Ch. XIIi
sumptuous dinner to brahman a devotees of Dttrga: becomes
free from all sins, reaches Dttrga-Ioka; KKV 283-298, HV
I. 928-933 (from Bhav. ).
Nama saptumi- ( 1 ) on 7th tithi a devotee should contemplate
on thb Su n and observe eertain restricti ons viz., not touching
oil, not wearin g dark-blue garment, no bath with amalaka
fruit, nor quarrel with anyone, not to drink wine, not to
speak with a cindiila, nor with a woman in her monthly
illness, not to gamble, not to shed tears, nor to eat kanda,
mula, fruits, flowers and leaves; ( 2 ) from Cai. suo 7:
worship sun for a yoar under different names in each month
( Bucb as Dbatii, Aryaman, Mitra in CaL, Vai., Jy.); feed
on eacb 7th Bbojakas (M agas ) witb gbee and donate red
clotbes; in KKV 121-123, lIV 1. 726-728 ; KR 124-126 (all
from Bhav., Bri hmaparva 65. 1- 7 and 19-34 ).
Nlira?i or Niiro?ipu7'7)imu-on Sriivana suo 15. Vide above p. 128.
Nilsalyap'Ujiicakl$ltr-vmla- Vide' N etravrata '.
NilcumhlwpuJil- ( 1 ) on Cai. suo 14 fast and on p urnimii worship
of Hari; Nikumbha goes out to fight witb pislicas; a clay
or grass effigy should be made and worship should be
offered to pisacas in the noon in each house with flowers,
naivedya &c. and with drums and lutes; worship again
at moonrise; and then dismiss; the performer should
observe a great festival witb song and music and the din
of people; people should play witb a s~rpent made of grass
surrounded by sticks and it should be cut up into pieces
after threo or four days and pieces kept for one year ; HV
n. 241-242 (from Aditya-purana); NM (p. 64 verses 781-
790) ca.lls tbis 'Caitrapisuca-varnanati1'; (2) on Asv.
p ll rnimli; peoplo (except women, children or old men) should
not take food by day and keep Agni near the house door
and worship it an d so also ]full Moon, Rudra an d Um~ ,
Skanda, Nand!svara, Revanta.; worship of Nikurnbba with
sesame, ric grains and mli~as; brf.lhma~as to be fed at night
und people should take food (but no meat); music, dance
and songs that night; next day they should take easy and
in the morning after that they should besmear themselves
with mud and play like pisacas without feeling shame,
sIDoar their friends with mud and employ lasoivious words
and pro.ttle obscene words; in the afternoon they should
ba'he; if a person doe no~ indulge in this eaturnalia he it
 List of t,'T"alas sss
affected by pisiicas; KKN 411-413. KR 375-378 (both quote
Brah. ); (3) on Cai. kr. 14; worship of Samhhu and
Nikumbha who is accompanied by pisiicas; on that night
people to protect their children from pisiicas and to soo the
dance of resyas ; KKN 446. KR 534-536.
Nik~ubhurkacatu~tayal'T"ata-Ni~kubhii. is wife of the Sun; fast
on kr. 7th; tithivrata; for a year; worship of image of Sun
and his wife; woman observer would go to Stlryaloka and
secures a king as husband; male also goes to Sun's world;
a reader of MahiibhUrata should be engaged for a year and
honoured at the end with gift of the golden image of Sun
and N ib"UbM and with ornaments (for reader's wife) and
garments &c.; KKV 156-159. HV 1. 676-679 (from Bhav. ).
NiklfltbhUrkasapfami-begin on 6th or 7th tithi or on Sallkriinti
or on Sunday; one year; golden or silver or wooden image
of Sun and Niksubhii (Sun's wife) to be bathed with gilee
&c.; fast and homo.; dinner to devotoos of Sun and Bhojakas ;
reward is that performer secures all desired objects. goes to
Suryaloka and various other worlds; KKV 153-156. HV I,
674-676 (from Bhav. Brahmaparva 166); AK (folio 45711.-
459b) notes that there are several varieties of this vrata;
( 1 ) from SaurasalTlhiti; for one year from M. suo 7; (2)
from Bbav. ; (3) from M. kr. 7 ; ( 4: ) from Bhavisyottara.
Nimba.~aJ!f(lmi-begin on 7th tithi of Vai. su.; for one year;
worship of Sun; draw a figure of lotus and Sun called
Khakholka to be established thereon; the M ulamantra. is
• am Khakholkaya. nama~ '; twelve Adityas. J aya. V ijaya,
Sesa, Vasuki. Viniiyaka. Mahasveta and queen Suvarcalii.
to be placed in front of Sun image and also several other
deities; eating of nimba leaves on 7th and sleeping before
Sun image; on 8th again worship Sun; performer frood
from all diseases; KKV 198-203, HV 1. 697-701 (from
Bhav.). NA 52.
Nirjalaikudaii-on Jy. suo 11; fast from morning of one day to
next day morning; no water to be drunk the whole day
except what one may take in for obligatory acamlma (such
as in Bandhya adoration); next day donate jar full of watar
and sugar and Borne gold and break the fast; reaps reward
of twelve dViidasls and reaches \. iSI;luloka; HV 1. 1089-91
(from M. B.); BmK 122-123, and p.109 above.
334 History of Dharma.$iistra [ Sec. 1, Ch. xm
Ni~ddha-Forbidden matters and actions on certain months,
tithis, week-days, Sank rllntis and· vratas are numberless.
KV (pp. 333-3405) sets out a very long list, but ultimately
( on p. 345) has to say 'Actions forbidden by those who
know the Vedas, smrtis and pur~nas at several times and
occasions are innumerable; how can I, a single man, speak
about all of them unless I live a thousand years; therefore
I have said what I understood from a few texts in authorita-
tive works and contained in digests; others will write about
the rest. '
Niriijana-dvudaii-on K. Su. 12; to be performed at beginning
of night when Vi s~u rises from sleep ; waving lamps
before image of Vis~u and several deities such as Sun, Siva,
Gaurl, one's parents, cows, horses, elephants; the king
should also worship all symbols of royalty collected in the
court of his palace; a chaste woman or IJ. handsome vesya
should wave lamps thrice over the king's head; this is a
great Mnti (propitiatory rite) and drives diseases and
brings in plenty; it was first introduced by king Ajapala
and should be performed every year; H V 1 1190-1194
(from Bhav. U. ).
Niriijanana'l1ami-on kr. 9th tithi ( of AM. ? ) ; worship of Durga
and of arms at night; next day at sunrise this nirlljana-
Bllnti be performed, NM (p. 76 verses 931-933 ).
NiriljanQ1>idhi-From K. kr. 12 to K. BU. 1 (by p i1r~imii.nta
reokoning ); performed in the case of a king; the king to
ereot ~o the north-east of the oapital a large pavilion with
banners &0. and three tora~as (arohed gates ); worship of
deities and homo.; the rites begin when the Sun passes from
Citrll-nak!;latra to SvitI and continue till Sun is in Svatl;
jars full of water and deoked with leaves and threads of
five ooloUTt!!; to the west of tora~a elephants were to be
bathed to the accompaniment of mantras and horses also,
and food to be offered to elephant by the purohita; if
elephant joyfully aooepted it, it foretold victory; if he
rejeoted it great danger foreboded; various forebodings from
other aotions of the elephant; worship of arms and royal
symbols suoh as umbrella and banner; till Sun is in SvAtl,
horses and elephants should be honoured; no harsh words
to be addressed to them nor should they be beaten; the
pavilion to be guarded by armed men and the astrologer,
purohita and the chief veterinary doctor and elephant
 List of vrata3 335

doctor should always be in the pavilion; on the day when

the sun leaves SvM! and enters ViiJAkhli, horses and
elephants to be decked and on them, on sword, umbrella,
drum &c. mantras to be recited; the king to ride his horse
first and then mount his elepbant and should come out from
under the toraI;la and accompanied by his army and citizens
march to the palace, honour tbe people and take leave of
them; this rite is a santi and sbould be performed by kings
for prosperity and welfare of horses and elephants; HV IT.
675- 680 (from Vi. Db. II. 159). Vide H. of Db. voL m.
pp. 230-231 for further details gathered from Kautilya, Br.
S. cbap. 44, Agni 268. 16-31 and other sources and also RM
(folio 79a and verses 1333-1335 in ABORI vol. 36 p. 328 ),
KR 333- 336, SmK 334-341 . N]r5.jana is a santi; vide
RNP pp. 433-437 ( quoting VisI;ludharmottara ).
Nilajye.~th(i-on 8th of Sr. when there is Sunday and Jyel!lthA
naksatra; sun deity; here the weekday is the most import-
ant thing, next comes naksatra; KN 198 (quoting Skanda).
Nila1'r!!a -dana-on Full Moon in K. or ASv. Vide H. of Dh. vol.
IV pp. 539-542 for the letting loose of a n]la bull; Anu-
sasanaparva 125. 73-74, V. Dh. 85. 67, Mat. 207. 40, VAyu
83. 11-12, Vi. Dh. L 144. 3 and 1. 146. 58, PC 305 if,
SmK 405--406.
Nilaurata-eating only by nakta method on every other day for
a year; samvatsaravrata; at end donate a golden blue lotus
with a. vessel full of sugar and a bull; performer reaohes the
world of Vil!lI;lU ; Mat. 101. 5 q. by KKV 440 ( 3rd ~8.f! tivrata),
HV II. 865 (same verses from Pad. V. 20. 47--48). Mat.
calls it LllAvrata.
Nrsifnha-jayanti-Vide Narasimba-caturdast above and GK 155.
Nrsi7hha-dvadaii-Same as Narasimha-dv!daill.
Nrsiinhavrata-on su. 8th, KN 196; vide Narasiri1hli~tamt above.
N.traurata-on 2nd tithi of Cai. su. ; same as Cak~r-vrata
above.
Pak ~-the two halves of a month, respeotively called lIukla and
~J;la and also piirva and apara. The general rule is tha i
~e sukla. pak.!!a is recommended for rites in honour of gods
and rites for prosperity; while the dark half is recommended
for rites for deceased ances~rs and for magic rUes meant
for a malevolent purpose. VKK 236-237 (quoting Manu
336 HistO'ilJ of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
m. 278-9). 8M 145, PC 31-32. Furtber details will be
added in tbe next section on ' Kala '.
Pa/,[!avanlhini-ek(irlasi-wben p urnima or am5.vasya extends
over the following pratipad, it is paksavardhinl ; similarly
11th tithi is 80 called when it extends over (on to 12th tithi) ;
worship of golden Visou image; ]uyara with dance and
music; Pad. VI. 38.
T'a!c.1a8rtnrlhil 'ra/a-( lit. vrata on the joint between two paksas) ;
(1) subs isting by eknbhakta method on praliparl .. for Olle
year; at end of year donate a kapilU. cow; reaobes world of
Vai svii llara; HV I. 355-57; Mat. 101. 82 calls it Sikhivrata
and VKK 29 quotes Mat. ; ( 2 ) eat ing food served on bare
earth on 1 st titbi; reaps reward of Tririitra sacrifice; HV
1. 357 ( from Pad. ).
I 'nfl.('(LI /I/(/ ta-JI ilr\li 111 (i-warsh ip of image of pllrnima.-<.ltlvl; on five
Full Moon days follow ekabbakta; at end donate five jars
respoctivoly filled with milk, curds. gheo. hOlley and white
sugar; be secures all desired objects; HV II. 195-96 ( quoting
Bbav. U. ).
Pal1capirrrJi kil-(/(/1/ri era/a-on Bb. su. 3; fast on that day; at
o.dvent of night four images of Gaur! to be made of wet clay
and an additional one witb five lumps of clay; at eaoh
In'rlha1'l.l worship of the images with a mantra. dhlipa,
camphor. lamp fed with ghee. flowers and naivedya and
o.rghya; in the following three praharas difforent mantras.
dhllpu. naivedya. f1owors &c.; next morning honour a
hr5.hlllana and his wife; and tbe four images of Gaur! are
carriod on tho back of a sbo.elepbant or a mars. cast into a
rivor. tank or well; HV 1. 485- 497 (from Pad. Nagara-
kho.nda ).
/'m1mMl/lliparlala-tbe leaves of the five trees. mango. asvattha.
vuta. plaksa. and udumbara (KrtyakaJpataru on Santi,
folio 7a).
Pal1 roIlHLhapupa ll usaTiarl/,iidosi-1n tho beginning of Sr. ; on 12th
a.nd on Full Moon of Sr. one should perform worship of
twelve forms of Krsna (such as Jagannutha, Devaklsuta)
and on o.mnv sya offer a meal of sesame. TIIt/(/oa. jaggery
and rir.o; five 1'a!lIaS ( see below) to be donated; one becomes
free from tbe results of five grave sins. as 1ndra. Ahalya,
Soma and Bali became free; HV 11201-1202 from (Bhav.),
 List of vralas

Paflcamahabhiifa-rrala-begin on Oai. Su. 5; fast and worship of

Hari in the form of the five bhiitas viz. the earth, water, fire,
wind and iikusa; one year; at year's end gifts of garments;
HV 1. 552-553 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 152, 1-11 ).
Fa'iicamirrata-on Marg. fm. 5th at sunrise undertake the restric-
tions about vrata; an image of Laksm! made of gold, silver,
brass, copper or wood prepared or Laksm! be painted on strip
of cloth; worship with flowers &c. from feet to head of
Laksm!, honour women (whose husbands are alive) with
flowers, saffron and sweot dishes; donate a prastha of rice
and vessel full of ghee with' may the heart of Sri be pleased ;'
for a year with different names of Laksm! in each month;
donate the image to brahmana; Bhav. U. 37. 38-58.
Pwicamilwatag-KKV 87-97 (7 vratas), HV 1. 537-576 (28
vratas), KN 186-188, TT 32-34, PC 95-100, VR 192-220.
The fifth mixed with 4th tithi is to be preferred for all
paiicam! upaviisas and vratas except Nn.gapaiicaml and
Skanda-upavasa j KN 188, NA 4:4-45, PC 96.
ratlcamurti1'1'ata.~~beginon 5th tithi of Cai. suo ; fast on that day
and worship of conch, discus, mace, lotus and the earth
drawn in a circle with sandalwood paste; homa; for a year
on 5th every month; five garments of different colours \0 be
donated at year's end; same reward as Rajasilya; HV Il
466~7 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 155, 1-7 ).

Paiicarafna,~-acc. to KKN 366, HK 413 and KR 493 (all

quoting KAlika ) the five jewels are gold, diamond (himka),
sapphire, !'admar(iga (ruby), and pearl; while HV 1. 47
quoting Adityapuriina says they are gold, silver, pearl, coral
and rajavarta ( Lapis Lazuli ).
PafIca-lUngala-l'rafa-mentioned in the plate of SilAMra king
Gan~araditya (dated sake 1032, 1110 A. D, ) made on Moon
eclipse in Vaisakha; JBBRAS vol 13. p. 33. Mat. chap. 283
deecribes it at length; on a holy tithi or eclipse or yug!di
tithi gift of land along with five ploughs made of hard wood
and five golden ploughs and ten bulls-all these are to be
donated.
Patral'l"ala-Sariwatsaravrata; for a year a woman should give
every day betel leaf with betel-nu~ and lime to a woman or
a man; at year's eud gift of a golden or silver betel leaf and
B. D. ,3
338 History of DharmaSastm [ Sec. I, Ch. .xm
lime of pearls; she never has ill-luck or evil mouth odour.
HV II. 864 (from Bhav. U. ).
Palrikapiljfi-Vide above under Durgiipuja. p. 161.
l'adadvayavrata-Vide Nandiipadadvayavrata above p. 328.
Padartha'l 'rala-begin on 10th of Marg. su,; fast on that day and
worship of the ten quarters and guardians; one year; at end
donate a cow; secures desired object; HV 1. 967 (from
Vi. Dh. ).
Fadmaka!l()(/a-( 1) if Sunday falls on 6th tithi mixed with 7th,
it is Padrnakayoga equal to one thousand solar eclipses; PC
105, VR 249; ( 2 ) when the Sun is in Visiikha-naksatra and
the Moon is in Krttikii, that is Padrnakayoga; HK 679
(from Sankha), KV 390 (from Pad. and VisJ;jupurana), KR
430, SmK 400 ; KV explains that Sun must be in third pli.da
of Visli.kbli and Moon in first pada of K~ttika.
Padmanu.""ad"'ii.r1as i-on 12th of Asv. eu; a jar should be
ostablished in which a golden image of Padmanabha (ViSI;lU)
should be cast; worship of that image with sandalwood
paste, flowers &c.; donate next day to bril.hmat:la; KKV
333-335, HV 1. 1039-41; KR 373-375 ( all quote Var. 49. 1-8
and a few more verses ).
Faym'7'ala-( 1) subsisting on milk alone for a dlksita. Vide
Satapatha Br. lX. 5. 1. 1; (2) on each amliviisyii subsist on
milk; for one year; at year's end perform sraddha and
donate five cows, garments and jars of water; HV II. 254
(from Pad. ); (3) from PM. suo 1 to 12 subsist on milk for
pleasing Govinda; SmK 513-514 quoting Bhiigavata vm.
16.22-62.
l'arnsllriimajallanli-Vide under Aksayya-trtlya above pp.88-89
and PC 89.
Parasuriimillu.~~amj-on As. suo 8; one of the 14 ylitrAs at
Pum~ottama-k~etra; G K 193.
Parl'll/ii.,tmlli-t'rata-\vorship on 9th the mountains Himavat,
HemakCl~a, Nisadhs, Nlla, Sveta, Srngavat, Mem, MAlya-
vat, Gandhaml'idana and also the t)ar~s of Kimpuru~a,
Uttara·kum; fast on 9th from Cai su.; for a year; gift of
silver at year's end; Vi. Db. III 174. 1-7.
Parl'O.lIaktavraia-observe nskta method on eaoh 15lli of a
month for one year; miscellaneous vrata i Siva deity; at
 List of vralas 339

year's end give dinner to Siva devotees with the words 'May
the Lord be pleased'; reaches Siva-loka and never again
becomes a human being; HV II. pp. 905-6 (from Bhav.).
For purvan, vide H. of Dh. vol. III. p. 737 n. H25.
ParvabhilbhCijana-vrala-one should take his food served on bare
earth on parva days; Siva deity; reaps the fruit of Atiratra~
sacrifice; HV II. 906 ( one verse from Pad. ).
Pallavas-the five auspicious pallavas are those of mango,
asvattha, va~a, plak~a and udumbara, acc. to Durgabhakti-
tarangiI,11 p. 27; HV 1.47 (quoting Bhav. ) says they are
also called' paiicabhangal,\'.
Pavanavrata-( one of tb e $astjvratas) on 8tl! of M. one should
wear wet garments whole day and donate a cow; goes to
beaven for a kalpa and then becomes a king. KKV 450
( from Mat. 101. 78). Magha is a very cold month.
Pavitraropa~a-vrata-( investing the image of a deity with a
sacred cord ), HV II. 440-453, HK 881-890; fsanasivaguru-
devapaddhati, 21st pa~al a , SM 81-90, PC 235-239 deal at
great length with this. Pavitriiropana is supposed to make
good all defects and mistakes comm itted in all pujiis and he
who does not perform this every year does not secure what
he desires and meets with obstacles; tho putting on of
pat'itra in the case of the several gods is done on difIeren~
tithis. In the caso of Vasudeva it may be done 011 the 12th
of Sr. suo when the Sun is in Karkataka (Crab sign) or on
the 12th when the Sun is in Sirilha (Leo ) or Kanyil (Virgo)
but not when Sun is in Tula (Libra or Balance). The
several tithis for Pavitrilropal1ll. in the case of gods are: 1st
for Kubera, 2nd-three gods, 3rd Bhaviinl, 4th ganesa, 5th
Moon, 6th Kiirtikeya, 7th Sun, 8th Durga, 9th Matrs. 10th
Vlisuki, 11th sages, 12th Visnu, 13th Kiimadeva, 14th Siva,
15th (pUrz:limll.) Brahma; vide HV II. p. 442 and PC p. 238.
If one puts on a pavitra on Siva every day, it may be made
of the leaves of certain trees or flowers or kuilas but the
fu:.ed yearly pavitra for Siva is on the 8th or 14th of any
of the pak~as of A!? (the best), Sr. (middling ), Bh. (lowest).
bu' only those who desire moksa should do this in dark
fortnight, others only in bright one. The pavUra may be
made of gold. silver, copper or silk, of lotus threads or with
kuaas or cotton; the threads should be spun and cut by
br!hm~a maidens (best), or ki?atriya or vaiSya maidens
340 History of DharmaBlistra [ Sec. I, Oh. XIiI
( middling), or by sudra ones (lowest). The pavitra should
have from 100 knots (best) up to eight. Pavitra means
Yaji'iopavlta and is applied to any string or garland like
it put on images of gods. In Mahilrastra it is called
• Pori1vatem '.
PlitiUa1Jratll-begin on CaL kr. 1; for a year; worship of seven
Piitiilas ( nether regions ) in order one after another; taking
food by nakta method; at en d of year light lamps in
briihmana houses and donate white garments; HV II. 506-
507 ( quoting Vi. Dh. III. 158. 1-7 ).
Plitra'l'1·ula-M. suo ] 1 and 15; fast un 11th ; on 15th place in
a pure spot a golden vessel full of ghee on which a pair of
new garments is put; ju.Wlra with music and song; take
tho vessel to a Visnu temple in the morning; bathe VisJ;lu
image with milk &c., worship tho image, offer the vessel
and utter' may Visnu be pleased', ofTer substanti al naive-
dya, return home and gratify the licu./'1Ja ; sumptuous dinner
to ti.cil.rya, the blind and poor; KKV 390-91, HV II. 381-82
(from Narasiri1hapuraJ;l a ).
Plldodakas-nana-fast on Uttarii.sadha-naksatra, bathe the feet of
the image of Had on Sravana-naksatra and prepare four
jars of gold, silver, copper or clay; similarly bathe the feet
of the images of BankarsaI;la, Pradyumna and Aniruddha ;
repeat mantras over the four jars filled with water from a
well, a spring, a tank, a river and bathe with it ; removes
ill-luck, all obstacles, diseases and gives fame and progeny;
HV II 650- 653 ( from Vi. Dh. ).
Papanusini-dl'adasi-When suo 12th has PUl/ya-nak~atra, it is
very holy and is so called; G K 14.3.
11lprl1latirli- sapfami-whsn su. 7th falls on the Hasta nakl?atra,
~ha.t is a very holy saptam!; worship the Sun on that day;
performer is freed from all sins and goes to Devaloka; KKV
145- 146, HV 1. UO-~l quoting Bhav., Brii.hmaparva 106.
~-1 4,. This yoya occurs in Sr. dark half ( says HV. ).
Pllpallusiny kudas i-in PM. when ekadaSl has Pu ~a na.kl?ab'a
and Jupiter a.nd when Sun is in Kumbha or Mlna or when
ek daSl is oonjoined with Pusya-nakl/atra, that mhi is
plpan &l inl; GK 607 ( quoting Vlyu and Var. ).
PlJpamoca11~-l'rata---i)ne
who stays under a BUva tree for twelve
days without food is freed from the sin of bht\iJ;lahatyi
 List of vratas 841
Siva deity; HV n. 396 ( from Saurapurana ). For
bhrliQahatya, vide H . of Dh. vol. II p. 148, D. 334 aod vol
m. p. 61 2 n. 1161.
Piira1)u or Piira~II.-Vide above pp.120-121.
Pu.licaturdas i-vrafa-on 14th tithi of Bh. su.; tithi ; Varu na is
the deity; draw picture of Varu na in a ma ndala; all varoas
and women may offer arghya, worship with fruits, flowers,
all corns, curds &c. in the noon; performer becomes free
from all sins and secures prosperity; HV II. 130-132 ( from
Bhav. U.).
rasa-is 12th tithi; VKK 242 , SmK 114.
PiiSuplltavratu-( 1 ) Beg in on Cai., make a smalllin.gn. and bathe
it with sandalwood water ; mako a golden lotus and place
the li nga thereon and worship with bilva leaves; lotus
flowers ( white, red, blue) and other upacaras; thi s Sivali nga-
vrata t o be observed in all months from Cai.; but in months
from Vai. li ngas may be respectively made of diamond ,
emerald, pearl, sapphire, ruby, gomeda ( a gem brought from
the Himalaya and Indus), coral (in K. and Mlirg. ),
Sliryakanta (Sun-stone), crystal: at end of year gift of a cow
and the letting loose of a bull; or it may be performed only
for a month, if performer poor; many verses (pp. 202-211 in
HV) ending with' sa me piipam vyapohatu • or 'vyapohantu
malam mama' or ' Devi piipamii.su vyapohatu' (may he or
she rem ove my sin ), addressed to several forms of Siva,
Skanda and others; HV II. 197-212 ( from Linga ); ( 2 ) on
Cai. Full Moon; on preced ing 13th honour a worthy liciirya,
make a sankalpa about P asupatavrata for life, 12 years, 6,
3 or one year or for one month or 12 days ; homa with ghee
and fuel sticks; fast on 14th; on 15th homa; then apply
holy ashes to body with six mantras "Agniriti bhasma ..
&C. (Atharvasiras Up. 5 ) ; HV n. 212-222 (from Vliyu-
sarilhiti ); (3) on 12th of kr. the performer subsists by
ekabhakia method, on 13th by Uljilci.ta method, on 14th by
nakta and on ami v1isya fast , gift of golden bull on 1st tithi
after amavasyli ; HV n. 455-457 (from Vahnipurlil;la ).
po. atlllooiurdaSi-on su. 14 when 'he Sun is in Scorpion
( Zodiacal sign); Gaurl to be propitiat.ed by taking as food
after evening lumps of flour resembling stones; KV 470,
VKK 48S, TT 124 ( from Bhav. ).
PiJ,hori Amavailla-Sr. kr. 30.
342 History of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. I. Ch. xtn

Pitrvrata-( 1 ) on each amavasyii for a year; performer subsists

on milk alone. performs at end of year sraddba and donates
five cows or garments with jars full of water ; saves 100
ancestors and goes to Vi~:t;luloka; KKV 443 ( 16th $as~ivrata
from Mat. 101. 29-30); ( 2) from Oai. kr. pratipad; for
seven days worship of seven groups of pitrs called
Agni~viitta, Barhisada~ &c.; for a year or 12 years;
HV ll. 505- 506 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 157. 1-7. which
is a Saptamurtivrata ); (3) Vi. Dh. m. 189. 1-5;
( 4 ) from Oai. kr. 15; fast and sriiddha of seven groups
of pitl,'s ; for a year; HV ll. 255 from Vi 9~upurii~a ); (5) on
amAviisya offering to pitrs of sesame and water in which kusas
are dipped and fast for performer; HV II. 253 (from Var. ) ;
(6) worship of pitl,'s with pindas; homa with streams of
ghee and fuel-sticks and curds, milk, food &c.; pitrs confer
progeny. wealth. long life &c. ; HV n. 254 (from Bhav.).
Pipitaka-dvudas J-on Vai. su. 12; image of Resava should be
bathed in cold water and worship with upacaras of gandha,
flowers &c.; gift of four jars filled with water in the first
year, of eight jars in the 2nd, of 12 jars in the 3rd year and
of 16 jars in the 4th; dak~ i~ii of gold; so named after a
br hma~a called PipItaka; VKV 19- 20, VKK 252-258,
TT 114.
P£.~acacatllrda$i-on Oai. kl,'. 14th; worship of Sankara and
tLt.~ava at night; Nikumbha worships SaIikara on that day.
therefore Nikumbha should be honoured and bali ( offering )
should be mado to pi91icas in cowpens, rivers, roads, peaks
&c.; NM 55-56, verses 674- 681.
}'isuca-m()calln- ( 1 ) on Marg. suo 14, bath near KapardIsvara
in K sl and worship; distribution of food there; every
year; performer becomes free from liability to become a
pis cs; PO 247-48. (2) SmK 108; on bathing in the
G nges and giving dinner to briihmat;las on Oai. Su. 14th,
when it falls on Tuesday; person is freed from being a pisaca.
Pi .~~uSallat'l'ata-on
every 9th tithi to subsist only on flom;
begin on Mahanavaml; for nine years; Gaurl deity; secures
aU desires; TT 59, VKK 40--41.
PuttQariko!Jaj1taprupfi-worship Varuna, lord of w tere, on 12th;
he secure fruit of PuI;l~arlka sacrifice; HV 1 1204 (only
one verse). V nap TVa SO. 117 shows it was eo great yajda
 List of walas 343

like Asvamedha and Rajasuya. Vide Asvalliyana. Srauta-

siltra ( uttara~ atka IV. 4 ) for Pu~~arlkaYAga.
PUmJakal'rata-described in Harivamsa II. 77-79, Brahmavai-
varta III. chap. 3 and 4; begin on M. Su. 13; for one year :
worship of Hari.
P ufrakiimavmta-(l) on Bh. ptirnimli; a sonless man should after
performing putres~i sacrifice in his house enter a cavern
where Rudra is supposed to have dwelt, should offer llama to
Rudra, Parvat!, NandI and worship and observe fast; feed
his helpers and then himself and his wife, and circumam,
bulate the cave and make his wife listen to divine legends
( about Rudra), should make his wife subsist for three days
on rice and milk; even a barren wife may then get a son; he
should then prepare a golden, silver or iron image of Siva,
about a pradesa in length (the distance between the thumb
and forefinger fully stretched), worship it, heat it in fire, place
it in vessel and perform abhi .~eka over it with a prasfha of
milk and make his wife drink that milk; KKV 374-376
( from Brah. ), HV II. 171-72 ( same verses from Pad. ); (2)
on Jy. paur~amAsI; tithivrata; a jar filled with white rice
grains, covered with white cloth, marked with white sandal·
wood paste and with gold inside should be established; on it
a copper vessel with jaggery should be placed; on the vessel
image of Brabma and Savitrl should be placed and wor-
shipped with yandha &c. ; next morning donate the jar to a
brAhmaI;la; brlihmanas should be fed and he himself may
take food bu~ without salt; this should be done every
month for a year; in the 13th month donate ghrladhenu
with bedstead and golden and silver images of Brahm! and
SAvitrl respectively; homa with white sesame and repeat
names of Brahma ; the performer ( man or woman) becomes
free from sins, secures excellent eone; KKV 376-378 ( calls
it Putrakll.mya vrata), HV II. 173-74 (same verses from
Padro a ), KR 193- 195 (from Pad.). For ghrtadhenu, vide
H. of Db. vol. II. p. 880.
P utradavidhi-Sunday when it falls on Rohi~l or Hasta
naksatra is called Putrada; fast on that day; worship of the
Sun with flowers &0.; performer to sleep in front of Sun's
image; he should mutter Mah1i.svetJi. mantra. (Hrim Krim
8a1}); next day he should offer argbya with karav1ra flowers
and red candana to the Sun and to Sunday and perform
pat'VQ1la sl'iddha and should eat the middle pi~ga (out of
 History of Dha.rmasiistra [ Sec. I, Ch. :xm
three); KKV 15-16, HV n. 524 (calls it Pura-putrada.-vidhi).
In HV it is not so elaborate as in KKV.
Putraprllptivt'ata-(a) on 6th of Vai. suo worship of Skanda after
fast on 5th ; tithi; for a year; Skanda has four forms ( or
names ) viz. Skanda, Kumara, Visiikha and Guha; one
desirous of son, wealth or health secures his desire; HV
1. 628 (from Vi. Dh. ) ; (2) on Sr. PLm;Jimii; tithi; Siinkarl
( Durgli) is devatii; one desirous of sons, learning, kingdom,
fame should perform this ; manufacture a sword or pudukas
or im age of Devl of gold or silver and on an auspicious
naksatra place it on a vedl ( altar) on which barley shoots
have grown and homa has been performed; various fruits
a nd fl owers be offered to her; Vidyiimantra set out in HV
n. 232; HV II. 230-233 ( from Devlpurii~a).
Putml'rata- (l) same as 'Putra-kamavrata ' (1); HV n. 171-72;
(2) after bath in the morning twilight, touch a pillpaLa tree
and donate a vessel full of sesame; destroys all si ns; HV II.
883 (from Bhav. U.)
J'ufrasaptami-( 1) on 7th of M. su. and kr.; worship of the Sun
on both saptamls after fast on 6th and homo.; one year;
secures son, wealth, fame and health; KKV 166-{)7, HV L
738- 739 (both quote Adityapurana), VR 255; ( 2 ) on Bh.
suo and kr. 7 ; salikalpa on 6th and fast on 7th; worship of
Vi!? t:1u with mantras containing name of Visr;lU; on 8th
worship of Visnu with Gopala mantras and homa with
sesame; one year; at year's en d donate a pair of dark cows;
secures son a nd froedom from all sins; KKV 224-225, HV
1. 724-25 ( same verses from Var. 63. 1-7'").
PutriyaNula-o n 8th tithi of kr. after Bh. Full Moon ; fast on
that day; bathe image of Govinda in one prastlla of ghee,
then with honey, curds, milk one after another and bathe it
with water mixed with .~(Ir"alL Lrlhi; then apply to the image
unguents such as sandalwood paste, saffron, camphor; wor-
ship image with flowers and other ILpacuras; homa with
Puru!?asukta ( Eg. X. 90 ) ; then one who wants a son or a
daughter should make a meal of fruits denoted hy words in
the masculine or feminine gender respectively; for one
year; performer secures all objects; HV 1 844-45 (from Vi
Db. II. 55. 1-12).
PutriYa-saptami-on 7th of M~rg. su.; worship of Sun; he should
subsist on hat';~!Ja food that day; on ned day worship Sun
 List of 1:ralas 345

with upaCii.ras from gandila and follow nakta that day ; for
one year; HV 1. 789-90 (from Vi. Dh.). Putrlya means
, that confers a son '.
Pulr i ylin anfacrafa-beg i n in Marg.; for a year in each month
on the naksatra which g iyes a. name to the month, the per-
former should fast and worship Visnu, specially his twelve
limbs one after another in twelve months e. g. left knee in
Marg., left side of waist in P . and so on; in each group of
four months flowers of different colours and bath with oow
urine, milk an d curd s in the three periods of four months
from Marg. ; japa of the name of Ananta in all months
and same name in homa ; at end dinner aud daksinii to
brahmana; he secures his desire such as for son, wealtb,
means of subsistence &c.; Vi. Dh. 1. 173.
Plltr(lfpatfil'rata-T his is a naksatra nata; bath in Yamuna all
each Sravana-naksatra for a year ; this co nfers a son as
P arasara, son of Bakti and grandson of Vasisth a , got; KKV
409 ( from Brah. ), HV n. 649- 50 ( same verses from
Ad ityapuriina ).
Purascara~a-sapfami -'on M. im. 7, when there is Sunday and
the Sun is in Makara ( Capricorn); worship of Sun's image
with red fl owers, arghya an d gandha &c. ; drinking of
paiicagavya; for one year; in each month, flowers, dh ii pa
and naivedya different; he beoomes free from the effe cts of
all sins; HV 1. 805-810 (from Skanda, Niigarakha n<!a ).
Purascaral1 a con tains five eleme nts, viz. japa, worship and
homa, t arpat:Ja ( satiating with water), abhiseka (sp rinkling
or pouring water) and honouring brii.hmat:Jas; vide Smk 74.
Purii1:lasrava~la. vidhi-HV II. 997-1002,
Puru ,~ ottamayafri1-The twelve ylifrlLq of Purusottama at
Jagannlthapurl are desoribed in GK pp. 183-190, viz .
SMna, GundiCii., Harisayana, Daksillii.y ana, P lirsvapari-
vartana, Utthii.panaiklidasl, P ravaranotsava, PusylibhiE?eka ,
Utta.rii.ya~a, Dolayli.tra, Damanakacaturda.SI, A.la?ayyat rt IYIi.

Pulika-bandhana-Pu skara fair on K. BU. 15 ; KSB 7.

Pu~padvit iya-Begin on 2nd tithi of K. au; tithivrata; for a
year; Asvins are deity; one should subsist on flowers fit for
divine worship on each 2nd au. tithi; at end donate flowers
mads of gold and a cow; performer enjoys happiness with
B. D. «
 Hist ory of DharmaBostra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
wife and Bans ; KKV 40-41, HV 1. 381-82 (both quote
Bhav. 1. 19. 81-89 ).
PUlipli .• iami-on 8th of Sr. su.; tithivrata; Siva deity; for a
year; in each month different fl owers, different naivedya
and different names of Siva; KKV 235-238, HV 1. 837-839
(both from Bhav ).
l'u liyaprala- It is a nakso.travrata ; in the northern passage of
th e Sun in a hright fortnight a person des iring prosperity
should fast at least one night and should cook a sth1iliplika
( dish of harley or rice cooked in milk) and worship Kubora
( th o god of rich es ) a nd should give a dinn er to a brahmana
from the remnants of th e boiled food mixed with clarified
hutter a nd should induce the brahmana to pronounce a
benodicti on • May there be prosperity'; this should be
repoated every day till the next coming of the pu ~ya­
naksatra: he should feed two, three and fuur brahmaIJ as on
the 2nd, 3rd a nd 4th coming of Pusya; this increase (in the
numher of brllhman as to be fed in each month) should bo
carried on for a year; the performer should fast on the first
Pusya and not on every recurring Pusya; the result is that
the performer is endowed with great prosperity; Ap. Dh. S.
II. 8. 20. 3- 9 and su tras 10-22 lay down certain restrictive
rulos of conduct. This is q. and explained by KKV 399-400,
BY n. 628.
PII..~y(Ls71 iina- i s a Mnti describod in HV II. 600-628, Br. S. 47.
1-87, Ka1ikaptrr!i.no. 89. The Ratnamala ( VI. 70 ) says 'A.s
tho lion is the most powerful among quadrupeds, so is Pusya
most powerful of all naksatro.s and all undertakings begun
on it succeed oven thou gh tbe moon be unfavourable.
J'us!/adl'lidaSi-·Wh en Pusya naksatra occurs 011 Dvadasl, the
moon and Jupiter a re in conjunction and the Sun is in the
sign of Kumbha ( Aquarius ), one sbould offer worship to
Brahm ,Hari and Siva or Vasudeva alone. RM verses
1375- 1377, folio BOb ( vide ABORI vol. 36 p. 333 for these ).
l'tIlYliibhi~('ka- is
one of the twelve ytitras of Puru!?ottama per-
formed evory yoar when in P. the :Full Moon tithi has
Pusya naksatra; GK 189.
PII~ylirkn"l'iidasi-wbell the un is ill Pu!?ya-nak!?atra on a
dvlidasl, worship Jalliirdana; th is removes all sins; even if
Pusya-naksatrll is not there 0 11 12th tithi, the prooedure
should bo followed; fas' on 11 th and donate a vessel full
 List of vratas

of ghee on 12th; KKV 3;)1, HV 1. 1176-77, S. Pr folio 22a

( all quote Devipu r a~a ).
Piin.liihuti- to be offered standing (and never sitting) with the
mantra' Murdhanam divo' ( J,lg. VI. 701, V. S. 7.24, Tai. S.
I. 4. 13. 1). Vide TT 100 and Krtyakalpataru (on SAntika,
folio 8a ).
Pujli-vide above pp. 34-36 for the upaciiras; in most vratas five
upaciiras are enjoined viz. gandha, puspa, dh ll pa, dtpa and
naivedya. There are ma ny rulos about certain flowers &0.
not being employed in th e worsh ip of certai n gods a nd
goddesses such as no dllr vi in worsh ip of Durga , no bilva
leaves for the Sun. In mahibhiseka water should be poured
with a conch except in the worship of Siva and Surya. Yor
goneral pujividhi common to all vratas, vide VR 47 - 49.
Pilr~lI: miil'Tata-(
1) all ptlrnim5s should be honoured with
fl owers, sandalwood paste, dh tipa &c. a nd the house-wife
should take a meal only at night; if unable to observe the
vrata on all purnim iis, it should be done at least on K. suo
15th: U~ a to be worshipped ; HV II. 24.3 (from Vi. Db. ) :
( 2 ) on Sr. Full Moon one should fast, control senses an d
go through a hundred priniiyiimas: one bocomos free from
all sins; H V II. 244 ; (3) on K. Full Moon a woman should
draw on the house or park wall Umii and Siva; worsh ip of
these two with rJ(l11clha &c. and offer particularly sugarcane
or products of sugarcane juice; she should eat in nakta way
without sesame oil; she would enjoY sauldlii(l1JIl ; HV II. 244
(from V i s~udharma ). ' Pur nima' is derived by Ksl-
rasvamin as 'puraJ}am p u r n i~, pur nim mimlte pCt r l? ima. ·
Vide H K 311 quoting Mat. and Br. for derivation.
Pil1'1)imul'raias-Vide under Paurnama.slvratall,
Pun;ah~-Vide p. 267 under' ahan' for what should be done on
it and Manu IV. 152, Anusasana 104. 23 (almost same all
Manu), VislfupurAI;la III. 11. 22.
Prthil'iv1'ala-worahip of Earth as goddess; HV. 1. 574 ( only one
verse ).
Paurandaravrata-on 5th a person should make the figure of an
elephant from s same cake, deck i~ with gold and also a
rider wish a goad, cover elephant wit.h red garments and
NBS Us rusk on a copper vessel or ku t:l~a and donate it to a
briUunat;18 and his wife with garlandB and ornaments, ear-
348 . History of Dharmasastra [Sec. I, Ch. XliI

rings and unsullied garments; the person would long dwell

in Indraloka; HV 567-568 (from Bhav. U. ).
Pa1.tru ~praf ipar/-1 'rafa-beginon Cai. suo 1st tithi; tithi-VTata;
\he performer standing in holy water should contemplate on
Visnu, should offer worship with qandha and the rest and
recite Purusasllkta (Eg. X. 90. 1- 16); for a year on both
palcl!a ~ ; HV 1. 344 (from Vi. Db. Ill. 128.1-7).

Paurt/a11lu.8i- Many grants on the Full Moon days of M., K.,

Jy., and As ; vide E. 1. vol. VlI, Appendix Nos. 26-28,30,
32, 33, 36 from sake 608 to 635 (686 to 723 A . D. ). The
word' paur l}amasl ' is derived as 'p urno mal,l (' mas' means
• moon') p lir l} amal,l, t atra bhava paurnamas! (tithil,l)' or
'p urno mileo vartate asy iim-iti paurl~am iis l'; HV II. 160
says 'purnamaso bhaved yasyiim pi.lrl}amiisI tatal;! sm~tii'
(quoting Bbav. U . ). V ido above p. 66 (p urnamasad-al) &c.).
When the Moon and Jupiter are see n tog6ther ( in the same
nak!?atra) on a li'nll Moon day, that Paur l}amiisi is called
great (M aha ), gifts a nd fasts on such a paUrl}amiisl yield
inexhaustible merit (V. Dh. 49. 9-10 q. by KR pp. 430- 431
and KKN 373); vide KV 346- 347, HK 640, VKK 77 a nd
Vi. Dh. 1. 60. 21 for a similar verse. Such a paur namiisl is
called maM-caitrl, mahii.-kiirtikI, mahii-pau!?1&c. Vide Cintra
prasasti of 8iira ngadeva ( of 20- 1- 1287 A. D.) for provision
made for festival of Caitra full Moon and Bhiidrapada ]full
Moon, in E. 1. vol. 1. p. 271 a t p. 279. When PaurnamiisI
or Amaviisy ii. is ridtlhii the tithi mixed with 1st tithi is to
be accepted except in case of Va~asii.vitri; KN 300-301,
KTV 59-61, PC 28 l.
J 'allrt!lIl1li'isi-krf!JIl-V ide KN 300-307, VKK 77-81, TT 133, SM
104- 116, SmK 270 - 71.
PalirtlamiLsi- /'/,rzlas-Vide Agni 194, KKV 374 -385 ( only five ),
BV 11.160-245 (about 38), SmK 432 - 439, PC 211-314, VR
587- 645. orne unimportant matters about Full Moon tithi
are mentioned bere. On As. p ll rI;l imii, ascetics (yalis ) are
to shave their beads an d not to shave during c{Uunniisya,
they tue to stay in one place for four or two months from
A !?li.dhl and perform Vyli.se.puja (PC 284); on Sr. piirI;limli
Upukarma; on Bh. Full Moon sriiddha to be performed for
NilTidi III II kha pitrs; on M. pu r~ imli donate sesame; in Phll
thef~ of firewood allowed to boy from Su. 5th to 15th and
fire is to be set to such wood on 15th (PC 309); V. Db. (90.
 List of vrat.as 34'9

3-5) provides that if on Full Moon of P. there is PusY'a-

nak!?atra and a man bathes Vasudeva image in ghee and
himself applies white mustard paste to his body and bathes
with water mixed with sa/'lJalJ.fj(1.dhi and fragrant things a nd
worships the image with mantras of Visnu, Indra and
Brhaspati he prospers (q. by KR 484 ).
Paul!al'ratas-KR 474-486, VKK 487-490, NS 211-12, SmK
432-439; some matters are briefly mentioned here. Stream of
clarified butter in P. on Siva (li riga) from a vessel with
song, dance and instrum ental music a nd with illuminations
makes the performer free from all sin s and takes him
to Sivaloka (KR 478); on P . su o8th with Wednesday, bath,
japa, boma, feeding brahmanas in worship of Siva yields
merit thousands of times (NS 211 ); fast on P. 9th of both
pak ~as and worship of Durga thrice in the day, nakta for
whole month and bathing Durga im age in gboe, feeding
eight maidens and worship of Durga image made of flour,
lead a man to Durga-Ioka (KR 477 from Bhav. ).
Puul!tdca-Br. S. 2 enumerates among the qualifications of the
sariwatsara ( astrologer) that he should be well-versed in the
santika and pau s~ ike rites. The difference between the two
is: Paustika rites are homa and the like performed for longe-
vity, while Santika rites are hom a and the like performed
for averting threatened evil influence of planets and danger
foreboded by unusual occurrences like comets, meteor showers
&c.: N A 48. KKN 254 states that Santi means the removal
of worldly calamities by means of acts in aocordance with
Dharma ( or Dharmasastra ).
Prakir~aka-(miscellaneous) vratas-Vide KKV 45 2-468,H Y ll.
868-1002, KR 540-593, KN 326-358, VK K 533-564. Most of
these will be dealt with separately.
Prakrti}Jurufj(l.-L'1 ·ala-on Cai. Su. 1 fast, on 2nd worship of Agni
with Purusasukta (Eg. X. 90) with gandlla &0.; Purusa and
Prakrti are identical with Agni and Soma and the same are
Vasudeva and Lak~ml; worship Laksml with Srlsukta; gifts
of gold, silver and copper; performer to subsist on milk and
ghee: for a year; secures all desires and the road to
m04ai HV 1 pp. 391-92 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 129. 1-6).
Prajapalivrata-in the Sankhiyana Br. VI. 6 it is said • he
should no~ soo the Sun rising or setting '. Tbese rules are
called PrajApativrata by Sabara on Jai IV. 1 3 and he
350 History of DharmaSl1stra [ Sec. i, Ch. XIti
declares that tbey are 'purusartba' and not 'kratvartha ';
( 2 ) In the Praim opanisad 1 13 and 15 it is said 'day is the
praI1a and the night the food of Prajipati and those who have
sexual intercourse by day attack prana while those that have
it by night are observing brahmacarya; tbat those wb o
obsorve the Praji pati-vrata produce children (a son and a
daughter).' In P rasna 1. 15 Prajapativrata means indulgin g
in sexual intorcourso only at night; this meaning is different
from that given by Sabara.
j'mtiIJwl-ilm/as- Agni ] 76 ( only two vratas ), KKV 35-40,
HV 1.335-365; KN 140-149, PC 56-8 1, vn 49- 78, HK 614
(quoting Bhav.) say the 1st tithis of Cai., K. and Allv. are
the holiest ( also HV II. 350). If Pratipad is 'riddhCl all
dlinas should bo porformed on 1st mixed with 2nd (KN 140).
l'ralillttL(;-l"IL/u- bogin on 14th of K. im; tithi; for one year; Umii.
and Siva deities ; images should be made of rice flour;
hundreds of lighted lamps, saffron to be applied to the
im ages, dh iipa to be fluor/ltln; 108 offerings of milk and
ghee; HV 11. 57-58 ( from Kalottara).
1 )1'al hwll u.~tallli-Thi s is the first of tho 14 yiitriis of Bhuvane.
Bvara; on Marg. kr. 8; for increase of tbe life of the first
ch ild; Gauesa and VaruI;la are worshipped and then bowing
to Bhuvanesvara; GK 115-116, 191.
I'mC/i/l/unnl1(lmi--on 9th of Allv. su.; tithivrata; for a year;
worship Devl with mantra of 16 syllables (om maba-
bhugavatyai Mahisiisuramardinyai bum pha~) and worsh ip
Siva by offering in fire a lump of guggulu; one should take
on that day as mu ch food as can be eaten while a grass fire-
brand, only one cubit in length held between the thumb and
forefi nger being lighted, does not go out j HV 1. 899-900
(from Devlpurii na ).
l 'radu~a-Vide p. 102 above on Nakta.
Pmc/ol!al'rala-in the first quarter of the night of 13th tithi, he
who sees ( image of) Siva with an offering (or present)
becomes free from all sins. HV II. 19 (from Bhav; one
verse ).
Pfapii.({Clna-begin on Cal. Su. 1; distribute to all for four
months wawr; pitrs become satiated; PC 57, SmK 89
( quoting Aparli.rka).
Prahodha-rieing of Vi!?t;lu and other gods from sleep in 1(.
Vide pp. 109-111 above.
 List of t'ra/,CUl 351

Pra}lhll-rrata-Gne who fasts for a half month and then donates

two Kapila oows goes to Brahmaloka and is honoured by
gods; Mat. 101. 54 q. by KKV 447, HV II. 884-85
(from Pad.). T his is 33rd $astivrata in KKV.
{'rLifa ~-sni1l!a-( bath in early morning) B B ( p. 350 verse 1530 )
and RM (verse 1361, ABORT vol. 36 p. 33) stato that one
should always bathe early morning when the Sun is in Tul5.
(Balance), Makara (Capricorn) and Mesa (Ra m). Thi s
is quoted by KR 149 from RM and by VKK ~40 (from
Bhav.); V. Dh. 64.8 directs th at one who undertakes priita}.l-
snana must bathe when he sees eastern quarter suff"u sod with
the ray s of Arut;la.
Pn7jlipatyaNafa-one who at the end of Krochra penanoe donates
a cow and feeds briihmanas aoc. to ability goes t o the place
of Sankara; Mat. 101. 66 q. by KKV 448, H V lI. 883 (from
Pad.). This is 44th $a!? ~ivrata in K K V.
rrupfil'rala-one who follows ekabhakta way for a year and
then donates a jar full of water and food goes to Sivaloka
for the period of a Kalpa; Mat. 101. 55 q. by KKV 4-17 (34th
$astivrata ); HV II 866 (from Pad. ).
l'rumm!Ullja1}i/ti-on Marg. su o 6, one should offer to gods and
brahman as some thing (such as a blanket) as protection
against cold; G K 84.
Pruramrwfsava-one of the twelvo yiitriis of Puru sottama on
M lirg. suo 6 j GK 189.
Prifi , .mfa-ono who omits taking oil bath for four months from
Asa~ha and thon dona tes food with condiments goes to
Vi!?I?ulokaj Mat. 101. 6 q. by KKV 40.
Pretacatftrdasi-on ] 4 of K. kr., the vrata is begun to be por-
formed at night j if in addition there is Tuesday and Citra.
naksatra, the merit is far greater j Siva is deity; if 14th is
viddha, the day on which 14th e-a:ists at nigbt is to be
preferred j fast on 14th and worship of Siva and dinner to
devotees of Siva and gifts; by bath in GangeR all this tithi,
one becomes free from all sins j one should whirl over one's
head a twig of apamarga plant and engage in tarpaI?a of
Yama uttering his names ( 14 in all); one should light rows
of lamps on a river, in temples of Brabmi , Vi ~I?u and Siva,
houses where four roads mee'; the performor reaches Siva-
lob 'agether with 21 generations of his family j on 'his tithi
352 Hi8tory of Dharmaiastra [ Seo. I, Ch. Xl11

firebrands are lighted for persons of the fam ily that died by
wounds from arms and for others on amavasya; the perfor-
mer listens to tbe story called Pretopakhyana ( of five pretas
which a brahmana met in a desert) set ou t from Sariwat-
sarapradipa (in V K K 461-467) which was narrated by
Bhlsma to Yudhisthira about the actions by which a man
is reduced to the condition of a preta ( a disembodied spirit,
a ghost), and tbe actions which relieve him from that
condition; the performer should also partake of 14 vegetables
that are enumerated in Krtyacintamani set out in Introduc-
tion (p. XIII) to Vivada-cintamani (G. O. S. ); RM 1338-
]345, ABOm vol. 36 pp. 328-329, VKK 459-467 (which
quotes on p. 460 two verses viz. 1343-]344 from RM), KT
474, 8M 100, SmK 371, PC 242-243, TT p. 124 and KT 45,
set out the fourteen vegetables. This was probably named
Pretacaturdasl because Pretopiikhyana was to be recited
on it.
PhcLlatrti1lu-begin on 3rd tithi of su .; for one year; Devi
( Thugli ) is deity: for all, but mostly for women; donate
fruits, while performer gives up fruits and follows nakta
method and mostly partakes of wheat a nd several kinds of
pulse ( such as gram, lIludya, masa, &c. ); result no lack of
wealth and foodgrains and no ill-luck, H V 1. 500 (from
Pad. Prabbiisakhancla ).
l'halatljurta-'rratu- Begin in Marg. suo on 3rd, 8th, 12th, or 14th
titbi for a year; Siva deity; performer to avoid tak ing all
fruits a year except 18 dbiinyas; should prepare golden
image of Rudra with his bull and Qf Dharmo.riija; should
make golden replicas of 16 kinds of fruits ( such as
ktl smtinua, mango, badara , banana), 16 silver ones of other
smaller onos ( such as limalaka, udumbara, cardamom); 16
copper ones of other fruits (such as tamarind, inguda);
shou ld place on a heap of dhunYIl two jars full of water
covered with cloth and prepare a bed-stead; all these together
with a cow should be donated to a brahmal.1a and his wife at
year's end; if unable to give all he may donate only the
metal fruits, the jars and golden images of Siva and Dharma;
performer remains in Rudraloka for thousands of yugas;
Mat. 96. 1-25 ( q. by HV II. 906-909, KKV 436-439. )
PhalclI'mta-{ 1) give up partaking of big fruits (like jack
fruit and ku!?m l.1~a ) for four months from .A.!? and dona~e
in K. s me fruits made of gold with a pa ir of cows i SUD
 List of w alas 353
deity; performer is honoured in the world of Sun ; Mat 101.
62 (one of the ~a~tivratas) q. by KKV 448, HV II. 818
( from P ad., one half verse being different from Mat. ); (2)
KN 140 quotes Brah. ( 2~ , erses ); on Bh. suo1 the performer
observing silenoe should oook three kinds of fruits (16 in
ell.oh group) and offer them ~o god and donate to a
brahmana.
Phala~a~th i l'1'a l a-beg in
observing niyamas on 5th of Marg. su.;
on 6th prepare a golden lotus and one golden fruit; on 6th
at midday he should plaoe th e lotus and fruit with sugar
on a vessel of clay or oopper and offer worship with flowers
&0. and observe fast; on 7th all these should be donated
with the words 'May the Sun be pIe ed with me'; he
should give up on e frui t till the next 5th of dark half. this
should be repeated for a yoar ( viz. g ift of golden lotus and
fruit and g iving up one fruit till kr. 5th); in eaoh month
on 7th ono of tw Ivo names of the Sun to be repea.ted; per-
former is freed from all sins and is honoured in Sun's world;
HV 1. 602-604 (from Bhav. U. 39. 1-12).
Phalasmikr'ilnl il.'m tu- oll a sankranti day worship after bath the
Sun with fl owers &0. and donate t o a br§.hmal}a a ves8e1
filled with sugar and eight fruits; then worship a golden
image of the Sun plaoed on a jar with flowers &c.; HV n.
736 (from Skanda ).
Phalasaplami-{ 1 ) on Bh. su o7th fast and worship of the Sun;
on 8th morning worship the Sun and donate to brllhmat;las
dates, cocoanu t fruits and lIIufulll7iyu fruits and say 'May
the sun be pleased '; performer to eat ( on 8th) one small
fruit with the mantra ' May all my desires be fulfilled' and
he may eat only fruits to his heart's content but nothing
else ; this to be done for a year; the vrata endows performer
with sons and grandsons; KKV 204-205, HV 1. 701- 702
(both quote Bhav. 1. 215. 24-27); (2) on Bh. 1m. 4th, 5th
and 6th the perfonner should respectively observe ayAoita,
ekabhakta and fast, worship Sun with gandha &c. and
should sleep at night in front of the altar on which sun
image is placed; on 7th after sun worship offer naivedya of
fruits, feed brAhmanas and eat food himself; if unable to
procure fruits he should cook flour of rice or wheat mixed
witb ghee and jaggery and nutmeg bark and nllgakesara as
naivedya; this to be carried on for a year; at end he may,
aD, 45
354 Histary of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XllI

if able, donate golden fruits, a cow with calf, a field, a

a mansion, clothes, copper vessel and coral j if poor feed
brahmaJ)as on fruits and powdered sesame and donate silver
fruits ; performer is freed from poverty and hardship and
goes to world of SUD; KKV 117-121, HV 1. 731-734 (from
Bhav. I. 64. 36-(il j (3) on Marg. suo 5 observe niyamas, on
6th fast, donate a golden lotus and a fruit with sugar with
! may the Sun be pleased with me 'j on 7th feed brahmaI;las
on meal with milk j he should give one kind of fruit from
this day to kr. 5th j do this for a year using different names
of Sun in each month j at year's end honour a brabmana and
his wife with clothes, jar, sugar, golden lotus and fruit j
performer becomes free from sins and goes to suryaloka; Mat.
76.1-13 q. in KKV 2t3-214 (without Dame), HV I. 743- 44
( from Pad. V. 21. 249-262).
J>halilhilraha1·ipTiyal''I·ala-Vi. Dh. III. 149. 1-10 (This is a
caturm urtivrata); begin fast for three days on Visuva day
in Vasanta and worship Vasudeva; for three months Vasu-
devap uja evory day j then for three months subsist on fru its j
then in sarad Visuva fast for three months, and Pradyumna
worship j subsist on ya vakil.; at end of year gifts to brah-
maJ)as; goes to Visl:Juloka.
J'h'fllf/lI11O.-kr1ya-HV II. 797- 799, KR 515-531 j VKK 506-517;
NS 222-229; SmK 513-519.
It may be noted that generally all the grand annual festivals
in big and small temples in South India are celebrated in
Phtilguna.
A few minor matters are noted here; On Phil. im. 8 worship
of Lak~mt and Sltn with gandha &0. (KKN 441-443, KR 527,
quoting Brah.) On Ph!i.. pur t:J imfi if there be Phalgunt-nak!?atra
one should donate a bedstead with good coverlets and thereby
one secures a beautiful wife that brings a fortune (V. Dh. 90.);
as Aryaman was born of Aditi and Kasyapa and the Moon from
Atri and Anasuya on PM. purt;1ima, both the Sun and Moon
should be worshipped at moonrise and songs, dance and music
should be indulged in; KR 530, quoting Brah. and KKN 443;
on this purI;lima a temple festival is held in outh India oalled
Uttir
PhlUglLnaSraL'(lllO.ddjdasi-when DvAdaill has sravaJ)a-na~atra,
fast and worship Had i NM p. 52, verses 626-627.
 lAst of vratas ~55

Bakapaflcaka-The five days from K. Su. 11 when Visnu rises

from sleep up to K. purnimii are so called and it is stated
that even a crane would not eat a fish in these days; there-
fore men should abstain from meat-eating during these days i
KV 338, KR 425, VKK 479, KT 4.54. .
Bakuliimu('asya.-on P. amiivii.syii, the pitrs are to be satiated
with bakllla fl owers and milk boiled with rice grains and
sugar ; G K 446.
Balipra/ipad-vide pp. 201-204. above. The Junagad Inscription
of Skanda-gupta refers to ViSllU'S bringing back Laksmi for
Indra from Bali (vide Gupta Inscriptions pp. 59,62).
Ba2ipratipad-rathnyi1!ru.-rra/tj-on K. suo 1 i fast on preceding
amiiviisyii, Agni and Brahmii are the deities; on a ratha
( car) Agni should be worshipped, the ratha should be
drawn by learned briihmanas at the instance of a briihmana
performer and should be taken round the town i to the right
side of Brahm§. image of Siv itrli car sh ould be stopped at
different places and waving of lights should be done i all
those who take part in this yii.trii, who draw the car, who
light lamps, who look at it with devotion-all reach the
highest place i K. suo1 is Balipratipad and so this rathayatrli
is so called i HV 1. 34.5-347 ( from Bhav. )
Bastatri7'utra-urata-In Cai. offer to the sun for three days three
white lotuses on each day a nd observe nakta every day for
three days i donate five milk-yielding she-goats wi th Borne
gold to a br.lhmaI;la i this removes all diseases and the per·
former is not born again i HV IT 323 ( from Bhav. U.).
Bahul1i-Bh. k,,-. 4 is so called in Central India; cows to be
honoured and one should partake of cooked yavas; NS 123,
VKD 67.
Blilallmla-giving a bull and k usmiiI.l~a, gold and garment;
Pad, ill. 5. 14 and 31-32 i man or woman that killed a child
in a former life or did not save a child though able becomes
childless and should donate a k u~mlil?da with garments and
a bull with gold.
BlUenduvrala or Bdlendudvitiyo.-urafa-on Cai. su. 2 i bath in
evening in a river, draw a figure to represent the moon's
crescent, worship it with white flowers and naivedya of best
food and produots of sugaroane juice; after worship performer
himself to eat food; he should give up food fried in oU; ODe
SSG History of Dharrnaiastra [ Seo. It Cb. nIl

year ; he secures blessedness and goes to heaven; H V 1

380-82 ( quoting Vi. Dh. Ill. 131. 1-7 ), SmK 90.
Bilvalrirulra vrala-on Jy. purnima with J yes\ha-naksatra one
should bathe with water mixed with mustard seeds, then
sprinkle water on bilva tree and worship it with uandha &c. ;
for one year one should subsist by ekabhakta way; at year's
end one should approach bilva tree with bamboo vessel full
of sand or full of barley, rice, sesame &c. and worship
images of Umii. and Mahesvara with flowers &c. , address
bilva tree with a mantra praying for absence of widowhood
and for wealth, health, sons &c.; homa with a thousand
bilva leaves; make a bilva tree of si lver with golden fruits;
jagara for three days from 13th to p Llr~1 im a with fast; bath
nex t morning and honouring the acurya with garments,
ornaments &c. and foeding 16, 8 or 4, householders with their
wives; by this vrata Um3, Laksml, Sacl, Savitr! and SIta
respectively secured as husbands Siva, Kr~ na, Indra, Brahma
and Rama; HV II. 308-312 ( from Skanda), SmK 123-124
( simply copies HV ).
Bilvaro!aka-vrata-see Ro~akavrata.

Bilvalak.'iClvrala-a man or a woman may begin in Sr. , Val.,

M. or K. and burn every day three thousand bilva wicks
( wioks of ootton thread spun by the woman herself and
dipped in gbee or sesame oil ) placed in a copper vessel in
honour of Siva in a temple or on the Ganges or in cowpen
or near a brahm ana; a laklt or crore of wicks may be
prepared; all may be burnt in a single day if possible;
UdyupallQ on a pll!nim u ; VKD 398-403.
Bilvasakhiljluja-on Asv. suo 7; SM 23 and VR 248; vide p. 160
under Durgots V!l..
nuddhajcllllllamahnt sa'l'a-on Vai. suo whon tho Moon is in Pu$Ya.-
uaksatra an image should be established with texts uttered
by S. kya and the temple should be wh ite-washed; for three
days nail'edya and gifts to poor people ; NM pp. 66-67, verses
809-81 6. lt should be noted that in NM also Buddha is
declared to be an avatars of isnu in Kaliyuga. Buddha's
ParinirVii.t:1a took place in Knrtika aocording Sarvastiva-
dins und in VaiSlikba aocording to Ceylonese tradition.
Vide Bajaur casket insoription of Menander's reign in E. 1
vol 24 p. 6.
 lA'st of vraias 357

Buddhnd1'i1dasi-in Sr. suo 12; tithi; worship of golden image of

Buddha with gandha &c; donate it to a brahma na;
Suddhodana did this vrata and so Visnu himself was born
to him as Buddha; KKV 331-332, HV 1. 1037- 1038 (as a
DharaI,ll-vrata from Var. ), KR 247-248. The printed Var.
(47 . 1-24) which contains only the first half verse occurring
in KKV and HV narrates the story of .~ rga. In Var. 55. 37
reference is made to avataras from N rsi ll1 ha to Ruma and
it proceeds 'namostu te Buddha Kalkin vare; 1l. '. Vide
BuddhapGr nim i VaL suo 15 and Br. S. 57. 44 for directions
as to image of Buddha.
Budhalrra!a-When plan et Budha (Mercury) comes to Visakbii
nak!;latra one should observe for seve n days nak ta way; a
golden image of Budha should be placed in a bell metal
vessel with white garlands and !/alLdha &c. and donated to
a brahma na ; Budha sharpens intellect and conveys real
knowledge; HV II. 578 (from Bha • . U. )
Budha~tami-Begin when tbere is Wednesday on su o8; follow
ekabhakta way and donate on eight astam!s respeotively
eight jars full of water with a gold pieoe inside and with
different edibles at each astaml ; then at end donate a golden
image of Budha; HV 1. 866-873 ( from Bha v. U. 54. 1- 59);
stories of Aila Pururavas and of Mith i and his daughter
Urmilii. were to be heard at the time of each as ~am1. VKK
( 39-40 ) quotes three verses from RM on this vrata which
are also quoted in Vratatattva p. 151. VR ( 256-265) deals
with this vrata and its udyapana.
Buddhyavu]Jti-begin on the day after Cai. p i:ir I,l imu ; one month;
worship of Nrsirnha; homa with mustard every day; dinner
to brahmanas oonhining IrirnaJhuru and gift of gold on Vai.
pUxJ;limii.; Vi. Dh. III. 206. 1-5.
Brhatlapo-'L'm ta-begin on Marg. su. 1 called Brhattapil; Siva
deity; for one year or 16 years; des~ ro YB Bi n even of
brlihmana murder; HK 105-106, PC 80; vide Bhav. U. 12
for details.
Brhad-gaurit'rata-on Bh. kr. 3 (amiinta reckon ing) to be per-
formed when moon rises; only for women; a plant called
Dodi or RingaI,ll (in Marathi) should be brought together
with its roots, water should be sprinkled over it when placed
on an altar of sand; on seeing the moon rise the woman
performer should bathe, should worship VarllI;la in a jar and
358 History of Dharma8listra [ Sec. I , Ch XU1

then Gaur! with various upadiras ; a thread should be put

round one's neck in the name of GaurY; five years; VR
111- 114 (from Bhav. U.), Vra tiirka folio 53b-56a (from
Bhavisyottara. Both say it is well-known in KarJ;l a~aka.
Ura hmakilrcavrala-( 1) on K. kr. 14; fast and drink paiic~
gavya, the fi ve ingredients of wh ich (urin e, dung, milk,
curds, ghee ) are to be taken from cows of different colours ;
on next day worship gods and brahmanas and then take
food; all sins destroyed ; H V II. 147 (from Bhav. U. );
( 2 ) fast on 14th and drink on piir nima paiicagavya and
then subsist on h a ll l .~lIa food ; for a year every month; HV
II. 238 (from Vi. Dh. ) ; (3) the same as No. 2 but twice
every month on amiivi'isyii. a nd p ur l) ima; HV II. 937 ( from
Brah. ).
lJra h mauayalri-carulraroh,r.ti-vrata- KKV 417. HV II. 694 ( from
Pad. ). No details.
lJrahmarlradaSi-b egin from P. su o 12 when there is Jye s~hii.­
naksatra ; tithi; Vist;lU deity ; for oce y ear every month
worship Visnu and observe fast on that day ; in each month
gift of different things such as ghee, rioe a nd barley. Vi.
Dh. III. 220. 1~ .
Bralt maJ1u t ra.~niiTlI.l-bathin the Brahmaputra river (also called
L auh itya ) on Cai. suo8 ; removes all sins, as, on that day
all holy r ivers a nd the sea are supposed to be present in that
river. VKK 522 ( qu oting K iilikli and Bhav. U. 77 . 58-59. )
J]rahmal.'l'I.lla-( 1) on any auspicious day; it is praklrnaka;
make a golden im age of the hra h miJ~1(J(1 (universe) ; for
three days one should donate sesame; worship Agni and
make a g ift of the image and sesame to a householder and
h is wife; performer reaches the world of Brahma and is not
born again ; K KV 445-446 ( 27tb ~astivrata) = HV II. 886
( from Pad. ). Mat. 10l. 46-48 has tbe same verses; (2) on
2nd honour Vedio student (brabmacarin) with a dinner;
make an image of Brahma and plaoe it on a lotus leaf and
offer worship with galldha &0.; homa with ghee and fuel-
st ioks; HV I. 377 ( from Bhav. ).
BrultmCl-,911vitri- uraia-on Bb. Su. 13th one should make a resolve
kJ observe fast for three days; if unable, observe nakta on
13tb, Clylicifa on 14th and fast on Paurl;lamasl; worship
golden, silver or olay imag of Brahm' and vitrl ; j(Jgara
nd utsava Q~ night on pur l?ima ; dona\e next mor ning
 List of vralas 359

images with daksinii of gold; HV n. 258-272 (from Bhav.U.);

it is just like the Vatasavitrlvrata except the date and the
story of Savitri is set out at length here in HV.
Rra/zllllicapti-begin on 10th of su. in any month; tithivrata ;
fast on it and worship of ten gods (named) called Ailgirasa]:l:
for a year; HV 1. 966 ( from Vi. Dh. ).
R,.(jhma~l!Japrjjpti-begin on 1st to 4th tithis of Cai. su.; worship
in order of tithis images of four gods, Indra, Yama, Varuna
and Kubera who are four forms of Viisudeva with galldha
&c.; homa; the garments to be offered on the four days
should be red, yellow, dark and white; one year; perform r
securt3s heaven till end of world; HV II. 500- 501 (from
Vi. Dh. ). It is a caturm/i.,.ti vrata.
Brilhma'IJuu.cilpii-on Jy. paurnamasl give dinn r to hrahmana
and his wife and donate garments and honour them with
gandha &c.; performer secures birth in brahmana-varna for
seven lives; HV II. 245 (from Prabhasakha~(.la); KR
278-279.
Brahmipratipad- lllblia-'!.'rata-beg in on Cai. suo 1; fast thereon ;
make a lotus of eight petals with coloured powders; on
pericarp worship image of Brahma ; on the four main
quarters from the east place the B,gveda and the other Vedas;
on the four intermediate points from south-east place the
Angas, Dharma-sastras, Puranas and Nyayavistara; he
should worsh ip these on 1st tithi of every month for a year
and donate at end a cow; perfc·rmer would be learned in
Veda and if he performs for 12 years he would reach Brahma-
loka; Vi. Dh. III. 126. 1-12 of which verses 6-12 are q. by
HV 1. p. 343. The arrangement of works reminds one of
Yaj.l3.
Bhadra1clUill<ll'allli-tast on Cai. suo 9 and worsbip Bhadrakall
with flowers &0., or on all 9th tithis of all months Bhadraklill
may be worshipped; NM 63, verses 762-ii3.
Bha1mkliiipuja-prescribed in RNP p. 438 for a king; the same
as Bhadraklillvrata (2).
Bhadrakliiicrala-( 1 ) begin on 9~h of K. Su.; fast on ~hat day ;
BhadrakliU ( or BhaviinI ) deity; worship her every month
on 9th for a year; at year's end donate ,wo garments to a
brahmat;la; performer obtains what he desires such as
freedom from disease, BOns, fame; HV I. 960 (from Vi. Dh.
360 History of Dharma~astra [ Sec. 1. Ch. xm

111. 175. 1-5 ); (2) on 9th of Asv. su.; draw Bhadrakall

on the wall of a man sion or on a piece of cloth; worship her
and her weapons and shield; observe fast on 9th and war·
sh ip Bbadrakall ; one secures great prosperity and success;
HV 1. 960-62 (from Vi. Dh. II. 158. 1-8). KR 350, VR
337- 338. Vide Brah. 181. 46-53 for Bbadrakali and offer-
ings of wine a nd meat to her.
B ltadmr-allll$trtYrllTala-there are four Bhadras viz. three months
( called Tripuskara or Tripuspa) from 2nd of PM. su .•
three months (called Tri-puspaka ) from 2nd of Jy. BU .
three months from Bh. suo ( called Trirama ) and three from
l At of Miirg. BU. ( called Visnupada ) ; on fi rst tithi he should
eat by nakto. way, on 2nd he should after bath offer tarpaI.la
to gods, pitre and human beings and should not laugh nor
talk till tho moon rises and repeat the names K rsna. Acyuta.
Ananta, Hrslkesa on the four tithis rospectively from
2nd to 5th; in evoning offer arghya to moon. take his
meal on hare ground or on a ston e ; for one year for all
varlfas and women also; the performer secures fame, success
and remembers his former births (j uli smara ): HV II. 383-
39 2 (from Bhav. U. 13. 1-100).
Bhadml'i dhi-Sunday if on Bh. suo 6th is called Bhadra; observe
nakta on that tithi or fast; malatl fl owers to be offered and
white sandal-wood, Vijaya-dhupa. and payasa as nai uedya
in worship of the Sun at noon; it is a viiravrata; then
daksinA to briihmana; perform er goes to BM nu-loka; KKV
] 2-13, HV II. 523- 524 (calls it Bhadravidhi from Bhav.),
KR 278.
Hhadriirrata-o n 3rd of K. BU. a person should subsist by nak/a
method after taking in cow urine and yavaka (food prepar-
d from barley); this should be continued for a year every
mouth; at end donate a cow; he will dwell in world of Gaurl
for a knl jla ; HV I. 483 ( from Pad.. ), KN 330.
nh(!(lru.~ rami-G K 116.

J?ha d,. ;],saplallli- whell on 7th Su. there is Hasta-nak!?atra, that

tithi becomes Bhadrn.; t ithivrata; Sun deity; a person
should follow from 4th to 7th tithis respectively ekabhak~.
nakta, ayiicita and fast; one should bathe the image with
ghee, milk and sugaroane juice and offer upacaras and
arrange near image various preciouB stones in the several
direcLions; hlle performer goes to Sun's world and \hen to
 List of vrata3 361
the world of Brahma; KKV 138-141, flV 1. 671~73 (from
Bhav. ), flK 625, PO 105.
BhaciropavusalJrata-the same as Bhadra-oatustayavrata.
Bhartrdt·u.dasivmla-on Oai. Su. 12; fast on 11th and worship of
Visnu on 12; every month different name of Vi~I;lU out of
12 from Kesava to Damodara to be taken; one year; KR
131-134 (from Var. ), KKV 339-340.
Bharf rpl'upti-rra1a-Niira.da told this to a bevy of Apsarases
who desired Narayana should be their husband; on 12th of
Vasanta su.; fast thereon and worship of Hari and Laksml;
silver images of both and II!JU8Q of the god of love under
different names on the several limbs of the image; next day
gift of the images to briihmaI!a: HV 1. 1198-1200 (from
Bhav. ).
Bhal ,li,niyiilru-on Oai. suo8; 108 pradaksinas; ;'li.(lara; next day
worship of Bhaviinl; SmK 94, PO 109, VKD 43.
Bhavanil'rala-( 1 ) on 3rd a person should apply unguents in
Piirvatl temple to the image of Piirvatl; for a year; at end
donate a cow; HV ]. 483 (from Pad. ); (2) when for a year
a man ( or woman) observes a fast on each paurI!amti.sl and
amaviisya and at year's end donates an image of PlirvatI
with all fragrant things, he secures the world of Bhavlilll;
HV ll. 397 (from Lin. ); (3) nakta in temple of Parvatl on
3rd; for a year; at end gift of cow; KKV 450 (from Mat.
101. 77). Mat. reads' vitanakam ' ( canopy).
Bhagyarlu~adl'ildasj-on 12th tithi with P u rvaphalgunl-nak~atra
a man should worship image of Harihara, half of the image
represents Hara ( Siva) and the other half Had; the result is
same even if the tithi is dviidasl or saptarnl and naksatra
may be Purviiphalguni, Revatl or Dhani ~ ~bA; he secures
sons, kingdom &c.; KKV 352-354, HV I. 1175-76 (from
DevlpuriiI;la ); P urviiphalgunl is called Bhti.gya, as Bhaga is
its presiding deity; , rk ~a ' means ' nak ~atra '.
Bhadrapada-kr:tua-NM 71, verses 868-874 (about 1m. only ),
KR 254-301, VKK 298-343, NS 123-144, KT 438-444,
SmK 201-287, GK 24.
Bhanuvrata-oogin on 7th tithi : subsist by nakta tha~ day; Sun
deity; for ODe year; at end donate cow and gold; goes to
suryaloka; KKV 448 (quoting Mat. 101. 60), HV I, 786
( same verse from Pad. ).
B. D. 46
362 History of DharmaSastra t Sec. I, Ch. :xm
.8hlinusaptami-when 7th tithi falls on a Sunday it is so called;
GK 610.
Bhlirahhutesvara-l/iit1''ii-on .A~. pilrpima ; worship of Bharabhute-
Bvars in Kas!; PC 284.
Bhuskarapilj o-It is said that the sun should be worshipped as a
form of Visnu and that the sun is the right eye of Vis ~u,
that the sun should be worshipped in a ma n~ ala resembling
a chariot wheel and that the fl owers offered to a sun image
and later removed should not be worn by a person on his
own body; TT 36, PC 104; Br. S. (57. 31- 57 ) gives direc-
tions as to how the images of certain gods were to be made
and verses 46-48 describe the image of Surya, one chara-
cteristic being that the body from the feet to chest ehould
not be shown but oovered with a jaoket.
Bhuskarapriy u- saptami- when the sun passes from one Zodiacal
sign into another on suo 7, then it is call!;!d mahlijaya, is
very dear to the Sun and bath, gifts, tapas, homa, worship
of gods and pitra performed on that tithi yield merit a
crore of times; KV 416, VKK 35 (from Bhav.), TT 145
( from Brah. ).
Bhilskaravrata-fa st on 6th ( of kr. ? ) and on 7th srliddha with
the words' may the Sun be pleased'; tithivrata ; SUD deity;
performer freed from diseases and goes to heaven; HV 1. 788
(from Bhav. ).
Bhimadvildaii- ( 1) It was first imparted to Bhlma, one of the
PlL ~9avas , by Vasudeva and came to be known by h is name;
this was formerly oalled Kalyapinl. It is elaborately
described in Mat. 69. 19-65 (whioh also oocur in Pad. V. 23),
most of which are q. by KKV 354-359 (from Mat.) and
HV I. 1044- 1049 ( from Pad. ); on 10th of M. suo bath with
gbee applied to the body and worship of Vi!ipu with the
words (nama Nlir4yat;lli.ya), the various limbs of Vi!i~u
being honoured with different names (Krst,Ja, Damodara
&0.), worship of Garu9a, of Siva, Ga pesa: total fast
on 11th; on 12th bathe in a river and raise mllp~apa
in front of house; hang a jar full of water from a tora~
with a small hole at the bottom and take the drops on one's
hand the whole night; homa through four priests learned in
Rgveda. Rudra- j p by four Yajurvedins and amallS ~ be
Bung by Siroavedins; these twelve priests to be honoured
wit.h ringa. garments 0.; on !;lad mhi donat;e 13 cows;
 List of '1Jratas 36S

after priests go he should say • May Kesavs be pleased, and

ViSI;lU is the heart of Siva and Siva is the hear t of Visnu ' ;
should listen to lfihll"a and ]Jurii'tUl; vide Gar. 1. 127 for
this; (2) on M. suo 12; this was imparted by Pulastya to
Bhlma. king of Vidarbha and father of Damayant! wife of
N ala: arrangements as in the preceding; performer freed
from all sins; this vrata is superior to Vajapeya and
Atiratra &c. HV. 1049-1056 (from Bhav. U. ).
BhirnaL'rata-one who having fasted for a month donates at end
a fine cow reaches the world of Visnu; Mat. 101. 51 q. by
KKV 446. HV II. 884 ( from Pad. ).
Bhimaikliriasi-M. Su. 11th joined with Pusya or without it is
very sacred and doar to Vi:;; ~u. Dhaumya describes to
Bhlma in Pad. VI. 239. 28 if.
Bhismapaiicaka-For five days from 11th tithi of K. BU.; per-
former bathes three times applying panciilI4'ta. paiicagavya
and water mixed with sandalwood paste; tarpa~a of pitrs
with yava, rice and sesame; 108 times repeat the mantra
• am nama Vasudevaya • at worship and when performing
boma offer sesame, yava and rice mixed with ghee with
mantra of aix letters' am nama Visnave ' ; this procedure
to be followed for five days; on the 1st to 5th day the feet ,
knees. navel. shoulders and head of Hari should respectively
be worshipped with lotuses. bilva leaves. bh~ogaraka, ( on
4th day) bi1(la. bilm and Jaya. Malat!; on 11th to 14th
he should respectively partake of cow-dung, cow urine,
milk and cu rds for purifying the body; then on 5th day
performer to feast brahmanas and give gifts; the performer's
sins are all wiped out; HV II. 336-341 (from Nar. and Bhav.
U .• the first saying that Bh!sma learnt it from Krsna, while
the latter makes K!!? ~a declare that he learnt it from Bhlsme.
when the veteran hero was lying on his ued of arrows):
Bhav. U. allows the performer to eat vegetables and the food
of ascetics. KV 324 cites the last verse occurring in HV
U 34 from Bbav. U. Later medieval works like NB 204,
BM 158-159, SmK 386 add (from Pad.) tha~ arghya and
water should be offered to Bh!!?ma by men of all varQaB and
the tarpSJ;lS mantra is note-worthy • VaiyiighrlVpadya-
gotriiya SaOlq1YBpravariya oal Ga ngii-putrllya Bhlsml1ya
pradllsyeham tilodBkam II aputrlYB dadAmyetat 8alilam
Bb1!?mav rmBt:!el'. These occur in BB p. 364 versesl71~15
and the verse • VaiyAgbra' occurs i.n RM (vide ABORI
 History of lJharma$astra [ 8ec. I, Ch. xm
vol. 3.6 p. 332) and in HK 628. By doing this a man
becomes free from sins. Vide Agni 205. 1-9, Gar. I. 123.
3-11, Pad. VI. 125. 29-82 tbat contain a very elabora.te
description of this vrata.
Bhil!mu.~ t(lmi-on M. suo 8; offer water and sraddha every year
to Bhlsma who died a bachelor ; he who does so becomes free
from sins committed in one year and secures progeny; HK
628-2 9, VKK 503, TT 58, NS 221, SM 61. One whose father
is alive also can offer water to Bhlsma (SM 61). This
tithi is probably based on AnusaSanapllrVa 167.28 (Magho-
yam samanuprapto ... tribhagasesalf paksoyam suklo bhavi~
tumarhati). With great respect to Prof. P. C. SenGupta I
must say that bis interpretati on of ' samanuprapta' as
• samanupravista' is quite wrong and unwarranted and
it is not possible to accept bis conclusion that Bhlsma died
on 8th of dark half of Magba and not on 8th of bright half.
Vide his paper in JASB vol. XX No. 1 (Letters ) pp. 39-41
( 1954). The Bhujabalanibandba p. 364 has two verses,
which are quoted in TT, NS and other works . m ~i $I
iil~ ~~ <'ftl>Ollll ~ ;jf~ 1 ~crctH'liCi qTq rHf.iUT~ O!~'a 11 ~~IT~l"q~­
~lj tlfllifu5lCfUll' :q I
~llj q~~(f~ iTl>OI<lllQ) 11 '. Even
brlLhmanas were called upon to offer water to the noble
ksatriya warrior Bhlsma.
Bhtl'lXlnesoara-yilt1'Us-The fourteen yul rus of Bhuvanesvara are
enumerated and described ( such as Prathamas~aml, Prava-
ra~as ~hl, Pu syasnii.na, Ajyakambala) in GK 190-194.

Bhulamlllrdasi-Same as Pretacaturdasl pp. 351-52 above; vide

KT 450-451. -
Bhidamahotsam-The same as U dasev ik1i pp. 275-76 above;
HV II. 359- 365 ( from Skande. ).
Bhillamiltryulsam-From 1st to pllr t;l imn of Jy. ; HV n . 365-370.
Same as Udasevikli. The Sarasvatlkanthll bharana of Bhoja
(V. 94) on Poetics mentions it among k:l' iq.ulJ. Bhr1itrbhfi:t;l~l,
Bblltamiitii. and Udasevikli are three names of one utl!ava
( HV II. 367 ).
Bli u/1/'(ljallal'ralu-It is a 8!i.riwatsare. vrata; the man who fot
one year takes his food on bare ground ( not in a plate or on
B leaf like that of plantain) after presenting it to pitrs
becomes sole ruler of earth; HV U 687 (from Pad ).
Bhfj,mil'1'ala-on Su. 14th; worship of Sun aco. to procedure of
Liilgavrata and fast in honour of Siva; offer saffron,
 List 0/ vratas 865
flowers, payasa with ghee and gifts of land to a devotee of
Siva; performer secures position of king; this vrata should
be performed by a king; HV U 63-64 ( from Kiilottara ).
Bhrgu1)rata-begin on Marg. kr. 12; tithi; worship of twelve
gods called Bhrgus to whom yajlla is offered (names set out
are somewhat peculiar and unusual); for one year ( a ll each
la. 12); at end donate a cow; Vi. Dh. ill 180. 1- 5 q. by
HV 11172.
Bhui mi-ekudasi-when on M. Su. 11 there is Moon in Mrgas!rsQ-
naksatra, one should observe fust and a ll 12th the performer
should be .'!O-tlili i. e. be should bathe with water mixed with
sesame, rub sesame paste all his body, offer sesame in fire,
drink water mixed with sesame, make gift of sesame and
eat them; if a person fasts on Lhis ekadas! called • Bblma-
tithi' he reaches VisI;luloka; Ekii das!tattva p. 101, TT
113-114, VKK 504.
Bhairal'ajayallti-K. kr. 8 is known as Kiilii!?~aml; fast on that
tithi and jii gara; worship of Bhairava for four praharas of
the night and jiigara in listening to and narrating legends
about Siva; the performer becomes free from sins and
becomes a good devotee of Siva; this is obligatory on persons
dwelling in Kasl; SM 60-61, SM K 427-429, PC 138.
Bhogasa likru.1tlivrata-o n Saokrii.nti day call together women
and give them saffron, lampblack collyrium, vermilion,
flowers, scents, /umbii.la and camphor, fruits and also to their
husbands ; feed them and present pa ir of garments; on each
saOkrii.nti for one yeur, at end worship the Sun and donat.e
a cow to briihmaDa who has a wife; performer secures
happiness; HV U 733 ( from Skanda ).
BhogaraptivTata-worship Hari for three days from the 1st tithi
after Jy. purJ,1 imii. and donate a bedstead; performer enjoys
pleasures and goes to heaven; Vi. Dh. III. 212. 1-3 q. by
HV U 752.
BhaumaL'aravrala-Mars is the son of the Earth and fine in
appearance; on each Tuesday one should donate a copper
vessel filled with jaggery for one year; at end donato a cow;
performer secures beauty and wealth; HV II. 567.
Bhaumam'ala-( 1) when Tuesday baa 8vAtI-na~atra a man
should ea~ by nak:ta way; this is to be repeated seven times;
he should place in a copper vessel golden image of Mars covered
366 History of Dharmaio.stra [ Sec. It Ch. Xl1l

with red cloth and saffron used as unguent; offer flowers and
naivedya and donate to a brahmalla householder with a
mantra • though you are Kujanmu still the wise call you
Ma ogala '. There is a pun on Kujanma. that has two senses
( 1 ) • born on an inauspicious day', ( 2 ) , born of the earth '.
As Mars is red in appearance, copper, red cloth and saffron
are used to match his colour; HV II. 567 (from Bbav. U.);
( 2) worship Mars on Tuesday; repeat in the morning tbe
several names of Mars ( 21 in all, such as Mangala, Kuja,
Lohita, favouring Sa.mavedins, Yama); draw a triangular
figure with a hole in the middle and draw tbree names ( Ara,
Vakra, Kuja) with saffron and red sandalwood paste on each
angle; Mars was born in Ujjayinl in a Bbaradvaja fa.mily
and rides a ra.m; if a man performs this vrata throughout
life he becomes prosperous, has sons and grandsons and
reaches the world of the planets; HV II. 568-574 (from Pad.);
VKD 443- 451 has a far more elaborate procedure of
Bhaumavara-vratapiijii..
B lt r'filrd'" fiyu-on K. suo 2; it is also called Yamadvitlyii. because .-
in ancient times Yamuna treated her brother Yama to a
dinner on this day; some works like KT 453, Vratii.rka, VR
98-101 combine the two viz. worship of Yama and dining
at one's sister's house. Vide pp. 209- 210 above for t he latter.
Afa7i[lala- Acc. to Atharva nap aris i s~a q. by HV II. 626 brahma l)a,
cow, fire, land, mustard, clarified butter, saml, gra ins of rice
and barley are eight auspicious things. DrO Ilaparva 127. 14
speaks of eight ma ngalas ; Drona 82, 20-2 2 con tains a
much longer list. Vii. H . 36- 37 enumerate several things
as auspicious which should be touched when going out of
one's houso viz. di'i rva, clarified butter, curds, jar full of
water, cow with calf, bull, gold, clay, cowdu ng, svastika.,
aksata grains, oil, houey, brii.hmana maideus, white flowers,
saml, fire, Sun's disc, sandalwood aud asvattha tree (q. by
Sm. C. 1. p. 168) Vide Pariisa ra XIl. 47, Visnudharmottara
n. 163. 18 ff. for other lists of maogala objects.
Ma1i(Jala-('Cl!lf/-iklil)fi.jii-VKK (552-558 ) gives an elaborate
prooedure; Ma ngalaoal)~ika is called Lalitakiintll j the
mantra ( i. e. Lalitii.-giiyatrI) for her worship is : NiiriiyaI;lyai
vidma.he tvAm CaIl~ ik yai tu dhlmahi I tan-no Lalita-
k nLeti tata~ paso t pracodayat II); worship on 8th and 9th
tithis j she may be worshipped on a piece of oloth or as an
 List of walas 367

image or on a jar; whoever worships her on Tuesday secures

desired objects. Vide TT 41 also.
Mmigalacar:uJi-on Tuesday ; worsh ip of Calldt who was first
worshipped by Siva, then by Mars, by king Maogala and by
beautiful women on Tuesday s nd then by all men desirin g
good fortune; Brahmavaivarta, Pralq- ti-kha~)9 a 44. 1-41
( specially 32, 37-38 ).
ilfwiyaiarrat{j- begin on Iq. 8th of Asv., M., Cai., or Sr. and
carry it on till next suo 8th; on 8th ekabhakta, dinner to
maidens and devotees of Davl, nakta on 9th, ayiicita on
10th, fast a ll 11th; repeat this ; every day gifts, homa, japa,
pii ja and dinner to maidens; sacrifioing a PQ5IJ ; jilgara with
dance and drama; japa of 18 names of her; HV II. 332-335
( from Devl-purat;la ).
Ma1igatu.gallri/Tata-on all Tu esdays in Sr. by married girls for
five years after marriage; prevalent in Muhiiriistra ; the
worshipping women take noon dinner silently; 16 kinds of
flowers; 16 suvii.sints are required ; nirujalla of Davt with 16
lamps ; jaf/ ara; Gaurl is deity ; prayer to Maogalli. for
freedom from widowhood, for sons and for fulfilment af all
desires; leave is taken of Gaurl next mornning; VR 787- 795
( from Bhav. )
MU /i gali1$taka-The eight substances to be distributed to women
when invited in a vrata like Saubbiigyasund arl are saffron,
salt, jaggery, coooanut, ttimb li la leaf, dl"irva, vermillion,
collyrium; VR p. 119.
MaiiyailJa.qaptami or Mali galya -1Tala-on 7th; on square malltlala
Hari and Laksml should be invoked an d worshipped with
flowers &c., four vessels of clay, copper, silver a nd gold
should be got ready and four clay jars covored with cloth
and full of salt, sesame, turmeric pow der ; eight young chaste
women whose husbands aro ali ve and who have SO D S should
he honoured an d given daksit;lii and in their prese nce per-
former should pray to Hari for ' mangalya' (auspicious
life); the n the women should bo dism issed; on the 8th
again worship Hari and pilra~ with honouring eigh t
young women and feeding brllbm anas ; every one, male or
female, prince or peasant, seCUres his desired objects ; HV 1.
768-770 ( from Gar. ).
Malsyajayallti-on Cai. Su. 5; image of V i s ~u in the Fish avallira
to be worshipped; AK folio 360 b. It is also called Haya-
palloami.
368 History of Dharmai astra [ Sec. 1, Ch. X11I

Matsl/a-mansa-bhakfiClTJIL-nifl€dha-Vide above under Kartika and

Bakapaiicaka. and TT 146, GK 32
Matsyaddldasi-o n Marg. suo 10 take up the niyamas, on 11th
fast, on 12th he should bring some clay with a mantra,
present it to Aditya, apply it to his body and bathe; tithi
vrata; worship Niirayana; four jars filled with water and
flowers and oovered over with plates of sesame to be looked
on as four oceans; make a golden image of ViSI;lU as Fish
and offer worship; jayara; donate the four jars to brah.
manaa; even grave sins are destroyed; KKV 311-317, HV
1. 1022-26 (both from Var. chap. 39. 26-77), KR 46 2-466
( same verses from Brah. )
Matlt1Lrll-pradalc~i~l(i- (
oircumambulating Mathura, one of the
seven boly cities of Bbarata i-on K. suo 9; SmK 378
( from Var. ).
Madanr.a!nrdasi-also called Madanabhanjl-on Cai. su. 14;
tithi; worship of Madana (god of love ) with songs and
musio and utteranoe of lasoivious words for pleasing him.
KT 466, TT 133.
Madanatrayodas i-vide Anangatrayodasl and Kamadevatrayo-
das! above pp. 257, 282. KR 137 quotes Brah. tbat on all
13th tithis Kama should be worsh ipped by people.
Marianac/('ur/asi-on Cai. suo 12; tithivrata; draw on a copper
plate full of jaggery and edibles and gold placed on a jar
oontaining water witb white rice grains and fruits, the
figure of Kama and Rati his wife, place food in front of
them and sing songs and love music; bathe image of Had
calling it Klima and worsh ip it; donate the jar next
morning and feed briibmaI;las and performer should take
f ad without salt and utter after giving daksiI;l8. the mantra
• May god Jan1irdana in the form of Kama who is the joy
in the hea.rts of all be pleased '; fast OIl 13th titbi and war·
ship ViSI.1U and sleep on bare ground after eating a single
fruit on 12th; go on for a year; at end donate a cow and
garments and perform homo. with white sesame; performer
becomes free from sins, gets sons a.nd prosperity and b&-
com s one with Hari; KKV 367-368, HV L 1194-98 (from
Mat. ), KR 135-136.
Madaflapujli.-Vide AOBngBtr yodaSl p. 257 above.
MadaMbhailji-&me as Damanabhaiijl p. 310 above.
 [Mt of walas 369

Madanamahotsa l'a....-on Oai. su. 13; tithivrata; worsh ip image or

painting of God of love at mid-day with the mantra' nama.l,l
Kamaya devaya devadeviiya murtaye \ Brahma-Visl~U­
suresiinam mana);l-ksobha-kariiya vai II '; sweet edibles to
be placed before the figure of Karna; donate a pair of oows;
wife shou ld worship her husband thinking 'this ( husband )
is Kama '; at night jligara and danoe festivals, illuminat iolls
and theatricals ; this to he repeated every year ; the per-
former beoomes free from sorrow and disease and secures
welfare, fame and wealth; HV Il 21-24 (from Bhav. U.
which contains the story of the burning of Mo.dana by Siva
and his re-birtb on this titbi. ).
Madanof sam- is called Suvasantaka in Kiimasutra 1. 4. 42.
Madhllsrava-Sr. suo 3 ; NS Ill, VR 96 (both Bay it is well-
known in Gurjaradesa ).
Madll1lsriiva1J i- KSS p. 10. Sr. suo 3 is so called.
Ahdhl: sudanap uj(i- on Vai. suo12 ; worship of VisDu; performer
secures the fruit of Agnistoma and goes to Moon's world;
SmK 114.
Madhllralraya-( three things called ' Madhura ') -Vide
Trima.dhura (p. 309) ; VR 16 says that ghoo, milk and honey
are called' Madhuratraya '.
M adhfllcar rala- on Pha. suo 3; fast by women on that day and
next day worship of Gaurl on Madh uka tree and prayer
to her to confer sau/,/i iJ.gya., sons, freedom from widowhood;
honour brahm an a women whose husbands are alive with
flowers, fragran~ substances, garments and edibles; confers
health, beauty ; HV 1. 413-415 (from Bhav. U. ). The
printed Bhav. U. ( 16. 1- 16) calls it Madb ukatrtlyA, plaoes
it on 3rd of dark balf of Pha. and is somewhat different in
details, though some verses are identical with those in HV.
Madh uka is a tree from the blossoms and seeds of whioh an
intoxioa.ting drink is distilled.
J.lanasaL'1"Cll a-on Jy. suo 9 with Hasta naksatra or on even 10th
without Hasta; Manasadevl is to be worshipped on a twig of
snilhi plant; vide above p. 125 for worship of Maoasl io Sr.
( KR 233 and KT 437). HK 621 ( quotes Bhav. ) says that
Manas! is to be worshipped on .As. kr. 5. Vide A.. C. Ben's
• Bengali Language and Literature' pp. 257-276 for story
of Manas!devl and Manas'l-mangala, Manas! being
worshipped on 11th tiYli of dark half of Srava~a.
R. D. '7
370 Hi8tory of Dharmai(istra [Sec. 1, Cb. .xm
ManO'ralhalrtiya-on Cat suo 3rd; worship of GaurY as possessing
twenty arms; for one year; the performer has to use the
twigs of cartain trees only (like jambu, apl marga, khadira)
for brushing the teeth, to employ certain unguents only or
yakqakarrlma, certain flowers (such as Mallika, Karav!ra.
Ketakl) and the naivedya 80190 a.s specified; at end he
donates a bedstead with pillows, mirror &c. to the aCArya;
four boys and twelve maidens are to be honoured and fed;
a person secures whatever object he longs for; Skanda.
Kaslkhalfda 80.1-73 q. by VR 84 -88.
Mannralharh 'ar/as i-iast on Pha. su. 11, then on 12th worship
Hari, homa to H ari an d then prayer 'May Vasudeva yield
my desires' ; one year divided into three periods of four
months; in each period different fl owers, different kinds of
incenses, different naivedya; daksina. to be given every
month; at end golden image of Visnu to he donated, twelve
brahmanas to be feasted, twelve jars to be gi ven; HV I.
1072-1075 ( from Pad. ).
Mano1"(Ltha.d,lll!Ju-on su.2nd; worship of Vasudeva by day,
argbya to Moon's crescent and partaking of food by nakta
method before the moon sets; VKK 14, TT 29.
Mannrathap"Un:zimli-begin on K. purnimii. : for a year on each
puroim!i. worsh ip the rising Moon and subsist by nak1a way;
the Moon should be worshipped oD a circle made of salt
(from a mine or lake); in K. the Full Moon must be in
conjunction with K rUik - and Rohinl; in Marg. with Mrga-
siras and ArdrA and so on (but in Pha., Sr. and Bh. the
Moon to be in conjunction with orm or more of three);
honour women whose husbands are living; at end of yea.r
donate seats coloured with kusumbha ( safflower); performer
secures beauty, blessedness, wealth and goes to heaven i HV
II. 233-235 ( from Vi. Dh. ).
Manorathasali.1.rilnli-on each Sa nkriinti day for a year donate
a jar full of water with jaggery and garments to a house-
holder; the Sun is deity; the performer secures his desired
objeots, becomes free from sillS and goes to Suryaloka;
HV n. 731 ( from Skanda ).
Mmlilliina~a thi-on Bh. Su. 6; vide VK No. 397.
M(l1\da,.a~ll~hi-on6th of M. su.; on 5th the performer takes a
ligM meal; on 6th be fasts and makes a prayer to the
Mand ra tree; ned day he should apply safhon to Mandira
 List oj vraia

t the coral tree) and prepare a lotus of eight petals on a

Copper vessel with dark sesame, and worship the sun with
Mandara flowers in the eight directions from the east under
different names and worship Hari in the pericarp; for a
year in each month on 7th suo same procedure; at end
donate a jar on which a golden image is placed; HV 1.
606-608 (from Bhav. U. 40. 1-15). Mandiira is one of the
five trees of paradise, the others being Parijitaka, Santana.
Kalpavrksa and Haricandana.
Mandiirasaptami-on 7th of M. su.; on 5th light meal, on 6th
fast; on night eat MandaTa fl owers; next day make
brahman as partake of eight Mandara flowers ; S UIl deity:
the feet as in the preceding vrata; HV 1 650-652 (from
Pad. V. 21. 292-306 ), KKV 219-221; Mat. 79. 1-15 ate the
!lame as Pad.
Manrlldi-there are fourteen Manvantaras; the four Yuga!l make
one Mahlyuga of 4320000 years; ono thousand Mahayugas
are equal to a /culpa whioh is a day of Brabmii and the
night of Brahmi is also of tbe same duration. As there are
14 Manvantaras in a Kalpa, oacb Manvantara is a little
over 71 Mahayugas; Visnupu riit;la III. 2. 50-51, Mat. 144,
102-3, 145. 1, Brab. ohap. 5; Nilr. (156.149-152) seta out the
tithis on wbich each Manvantara started and that are
therefore called Manvadi-tithis; these tithis are sacred and
sriiddhas are to be offered on them. Vide H of Dh. vol. IV.
p. 375 for tbe Manvadi titbis and Vi. Dh. 1. cbap. 176-189
for names and descriptions of the 14 Manvantaras.
Mari(ma ]1tami-on Cai. suo 7 worsbip the Sun, feed brlibmat;lall
and make them partake of 100 maricns (pepper) with the
mantra • am khakholkaya sViihii '; tbe performer bas not to
undergo separation from those dear to 11 im; Rdma and Stt ,
Nala and DamayantI performed this vrata; HV 1. 696 (from
Bhav.I. 214. 40-47.)
Manul-vratu-on Cai. suo 7; fMt on 6th, worship of soa ons on
7th; performer should a rrange seven rows, eaoh row to ha\'e
seven mat;)dalas drawn with sandalwood paste; in the fire'
row he should put down seven names from Ekajyoti};l to
Sap~jyoti};l; different names in each of the seven rows; 49
lamps to be ligMed; homa of gheo and feeding of bralunat;l
for one year; at end gift of new garment and cow; this
vrata gives health, wealth. SODS, learning and heaven; HV
su History of Dharma§1istra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
1. 775-777 from Vi. Db. ( HI. 166. 1-22 ). The Maruts are
said to be seven or seven times seven. Vide Eg. V. 52. 17
( sapta me sapta siikina ), TaL S. II. 2. 11. 1 (saptaga~~ vai
maruta.l,l ).
Malam asakrlva-fot actions to be done in intercalary month
and forbidden therein, vide 'adhimasa ' and the next
section on Kala &c.
Malludl1arlasi-on Marg. suo 12; on the banks of Yamuna. Krana
sported at the foot of Bhiintllravata on Govardhana hill in
tbe midst of cowherds (wh o were wrestlers ) and Gopls; the
wrestlers worshipped him with flowers, with milk, curds and
edibles ; for one year on oach 12th; the mantra is 'may Krsna
be pleased with me'; this was also called Aranya.dviidast
since cowherds and wrestlers gave edibles to each other in a
forest ; reward is health, strength, prosperity and Visnuloka;
HV 1.1115- 1117 from Bbav. U.
MulW'rimaholsava-on Marg. suo 6 ; the wife of Mallari is
Mhii.lasii ( prohably a corrupt form of M adalasa. ) ; in worship
of Mallari the principal ingredient is turm eric powder,
which is called Bharu/lir'U. in Maharastra; the worah ip is
either on each Sunday or Saturday or on each 6th .. the
procedure of the worship is taken from Brahmiil)ua,
Malla.ri-mahAtmya of K!?e trakha~J <J.a; AK folio 421.
Maltallamal'rata-on Bll. suo 1; tithi ; worship of golden or silver
image of Siva with three eyes, matted hair and five faces by
placing it on a jar ; bathing it with paiical11rta, offering
flowers &c.; performer to observe silelloe; 16 fruits to be
offered: at end gift of cow; performer secures long life,
kingdom &c. ; SmK p. 201 ( quoting Skanda from Madana-
ratlla); NA calls i~ Maunvrata, but that is wrong.
Muhakartiki- See p. 2 4 under Kartika. Vide I. A. vol. 111. 305
and vol. VI. 363 (insoription of the 12th year of Clllukya
king Ma ogalesvara in . 'ake 500, 578 A. D.) that mention
that tho king made aMah nga dh upa described in KKV
172, HV I 730 (quoting Bhav. I. 105) and to be employed in
h mad - sapt mt; Mahlida'la to brahmaI;la.s on Mahikiirtika--
paurl,lam st.
MahllootILrthi-Bh. Su. 4 falling on a Sunday or Tuesday is 10
c lied; by worshipping ~es on i\, man seoures his
d alr ; SmK 210.
 List of ttt'alas

MahllcJiiri~ai, P ur nima with Jupiter in conjunction with

Moon and Citra- naksatra ; PC 313, GK 599,
Afahlijaylisap/alll i - When the Sun enters a Zodiacal sign on su.
7th that tithi is called Mahii.jayasaptam!; bath, japa, homa,
worl:lhip of gods and Manes y ield rewards a crore of times;
if the image of the sun is bathed on that tithi with ghee ur
milk, the man goes to Suryaloka ; if a ma.n faats all it he
goes to heaven; KKV 135 - 136 = HV I. 669 (from Bhav.
1. 199, 1-7). KKV is, a.s often, silent ahout the SOUrce.
HK 414 quotes all these from Brah. ; TT H 5 does the same.
Mahlljyai/ithi-If Jy. P ur nimii has Jyes~hii.-nak sa tra and the
Moon and Jupiter are in conjunction and the SUIl is in
Rohinl it is so called and duna , japa &c, yield great reward;
PC 313, GK 600,
Mu!tli/apo'vraliini- numerou s little actions are dealt with under
this head in several works on vratas. Th oy are not soparately
entered in this list. Vide KKV 45 3- 469, HV II. 917-931,
KR 540 ff, VKK 533 ff.
Mahuir/iyu-on 3rd tithi in M. or Oai.; Gaurl is deity: one
should offer gnrjarlhl'nu a nd h imaelf abstai n from eating
jaggery: it causes great happiness a nd leads to Gaurl -lokai
HV I. 484 ( from Pad. ). For a detailed description of Gu~a­
dhenu, vide Mat. 82 and H. of Dh. vol II. 880.
Mahuc/",llc/"s i-the 12th tithi of Bh. suo with Sravana-naksatra
is so called ; fast on it and worship of ViSllU leads to great
rewards ; KR 286-287. Vide Vi. Db. 1. 161. 1- 8 in one verse
of wh ich it is stated that if Bh. su. 12 falls on a Wednosday
and has Srava I;l a nak!?atra, it is 'atyanta-mahat!' ( greater
than great). Vi. Dh. 1. 162 (1- 71) dilates upon the
muMtmlja of Sraval.la-dvadaSl. Besides this there are eigh t
very holy dvadasls for which see p. 119 above.
J.fahunalld7ill.auami-- 9th of M. suo is called MahAnanda; tithl.
vrata; for a year ; Durga is deity; year divided in~ threo
periods of four months; in each period flowers , dhupa.
naivedya and the names of tho goddess are different; per-
former secures all desires and Brahma-lok ; KKV 306-307,
BV 1. 9j 5-56 (from Bhav. ).
Mahlinavami-( 1) This i the ssme as Durgaplijli.-utsava, for
whioh see pp. 174-175 above aDd Krtya-kalpataru (on Raja-
dharma) pp. 191-195 and RNP pp.439-«4 (both quoUng
 History of DharmaAlistm ( Sec. I, db.. xiIt

Devlpurana), HV 1. 903-920, NS 1Gl-185, KR 349-364 ;

( 2 ) begin on 9th of Asv. su. or K. suo or Marg. su.; tithi-
vrata; Durgii deity; for one year; fl owers, dh li pa, material
for bath different in several montbs; dinn er to maidens ;
performer goes to Deviloka; K KV 296-299, HV 1. 937-939
(calls it Durganavaml and quotes Bhav.), PC 134; HK
p. 107 quotes Skanda, Prabhiiskhal14a, that Mabanavaml is
8th tithi in Asv. suo with Mulanaksatra or the same t ithi
with Mliia when the Sun is in the sign of Kanya (Virgo )
and Gar. I. ch ap. 133. 3- 18 and cbap. 134; Kil.likapuriiI;la
( chap. 62) speaks of Mahanavaml and pfljil. thereof; and
also Gar. 1. 133. 3-18 and chap. 134; E . I. p. 260 mentions a
grant by Pulake3i Mabaraja of 800 nivartanas of land on
Kiirtika-Mahanavaml on Thursday.
MahallifiJ.-Vide p. 117 n. 302 above for the meaning.
Mahli.paur7:uwtu/i i , rata-on
all paur namilsltl with the prefix
Maha; woraldp Hari for a year; even a small gift on it
yields great reward j HV II. 196-197 (from Bhav. ).
Muhiipa'll!}i-GK 600. Vide explanation of Mabakil.rtikI under
K!'t rtika.
MaltCiJlh(lladI)Jd(ls i- On P. k r. 11th with ViS5.khii.-naksatra;
Vi!;lnu deity; for a year j use certain things for purification
of the body in the several months and donate on dlJur/asi
eaoh month one out of the several things in order, such as
gh~e, sesame, rice; on death reaohes Vi ~I;luloka j HV I.
1095-96 ( from Visnurahasya).
Mu hu,ill(t{(ll'rat(l-for a p.,k!!G , four months -or a year; the per-
former has to subsist on certain things only from the first
to the 1:lLh tithi in the following order; milk, flowers, all
food except sit, sesamo, milk, flowers, vegetables, bilva fruit,
flour, unoooked food, fast, gbee, milk boiled with rice grains
and sugar, yal'as, oow's urine and water in which kusas are
dipped. On all these days a oertain procedure has to be
followed; on day previous to vrata tbree times bath, fast,
japa of edic hymns and of Giiyatrl &c. j various rewards
l)romised and ultimately he goes to Surya-iok ; HV II .
392-394 ( from Bhav. ).
Mahiipilula-saptallli-When on Sunday there is 7th tithi and
Revatl-naksatra worship Durg- wi~h Asoka buds and ea\
the 1 tter i PC 105.
 List of t;ralas 375

Mah"aphliloulLi-Vide rule under Kii.rtika about prefix ing "MaM ';

GK 599, PO 314 .
•~{ahlibha'lri1 ~ tami-P. suo 8 when falling on Wednesday is called
Mahabhadra and is very holy; Siva deity; SmK 438, GK
605-606, P O 138.
JfaMlbnlidri-Vide under Kartika for rule about Mabii "
I

Mahamli flhi-Wh en the Sun is in Sravat:la naksatra and the

Moon in Magha it is called Mabnmaghl, aco. to R. M.
1366 (vide ABORT. vol. 36 p. 331 for three verses on
Maghlsnalla ) and it adds that in Mligha waters exclaim
when tbe Sun is just risen I what great sinner, whether a
drinker of su ra or murderer of a briihman a, shall we purify '.
This verse is q. by VKK 490 from Bbay. and by Sm K 439
( from Pad. ) ; PO ( 313-314 ) says that when Saturn is in
Mesa ( Ram ). tbe Moon and Jupiter in Silil ha ( Lion) and
the Sun is in Sravana-naksatra then it is Mahamiighl.
Vide NS 221 for other views. This verse emphasill:es tho
importanoe of Maghasnana at Prayii.ga and other holy rivers
and in holy tanks in early morning for the removal of sins.
Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV p. 617 for Mii ghasnii.na. In Tam il
oountry I Makha ' is an annual temple festiv al and Mah -
makha occurs onoe in twelve yearo3, when a great I// C'lii is
held at Kumbhakonam for a bath in a tank there called mabil-
magba tank, the mel a bein g comparable to tbo Kumbh amelli.
at Prayiiga. This festival is popularly known as
I Marnangam ' and t akes place when the ll'ull Moon is in
Maghanaksatra and Jupiter is in Maghii or in tbe sign of
Lion. It fell on 2j th February in 1955 accordin g to south
Indian Almanacs. It is reported that about a million people
took a bath this year in eight to ten hou rs from 2 A. M.
in the Mah'imakham tank at Kumbhako nam from which
muddy water was pumped out and in which fresh water
from the Kaver! river was made to flow.
It is surprising that hardly any medieval digest refer s
either to the MahAmakham festival or the Kumbha-
me~a. The great emperor Harsa used to hold once
every five years a. great mela at Prayaga on the great sandy
plain to the west of the saligam on the site where the
KumbhamelA is beld in modern times and distributed the
accumulations in his treasury.
Mahamargaiir~V ide above under Kartika for prefixing 'Ma.M '.
376 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Ch, XIll

Mahilrilja IJrata-When 14th tithi ( of suo or kr. ) falls on Ardra-

naksatra or when it is joined to P urviibhiidrapadii. and
Uttarii.bhadrapad§. or both, that tithi gives pleasure to Siva;
sankalpa on preceding 13th, on 14th bath one after another
with sesame, cow's urine and dung, clay, paficagavya. and
then with pure water; then Japa 1000 times of
Sivasankalpa mantra ( , Yaj-jii.grato duram', Sivasankalpo.
panisad, 8) for three varnas and 'am nama~ Siviiya' for
Bll dras ; bath of im ages of Siva and U rna with paficamrta,
pafioagavya, sugarcan e juice and applying to the images
unguents like musk, saffron &c.; rows of lamps; lLoma
with thousands of bilva leaves while repeating Sivasankalpa
or the mantra 'Tryambakam yaj iimabe' (:ag. VIII. 59. 12,
T. S. I. 8. 6 2 ); arghya to Siva with ma ntras (set out);
jagara whole night; gift of five or two cows or one; after
partaking of pafic agavya the performer should dine in
silence; all obstacles are rem ove d and he reaohes highest
goal; HV ll. 1039-1047 (from Skanda).
Mahlllal.:l$mipiJ_jll-Th ere are varying views about this nata.
KSS p. 19 and A. K (folio 535b-539b) say- begin on Bh.
su. 8 and finish on As. kr. 8 (by P li r nim iinta reckoning) and
that it is t o last for 16 days, on (:loch of which MabAlaksm!
was to be worshipped and stories about her were t o be
listened t o. Vide N. S. pp. 153- 154, where a similar period is
proscribed but it is said that one should, if beginning this
vro.ta for the first time, avoid [our c/osas , viz. there should
not bo ava madina, the tithi should not be tryahasprk, should
not be mixed with 9th tithi, nor should the SUIl be in the
half of Husttl. nakso.tra. In Mabarastra the puji of
Mahiilo.ksm! is performed on As. suo8th by young married
women at noon a nd a t night all married women join in
worsh ip and hold big empty jars in their hands, breathe into
thorn and bend their bodies in various ways; P.e. (pp . l ~ 9-13 2 )
has a long discuss ion on this. According to it, this vrata
is for both me n and women .
.Mnliiij llksllliITala- begin on Bh. suo 8 before the Sun passes into
Knnyli. sign ( Virgo) the worship of Mahii.laksml and finish
it on 8th tithi (following) while the Sun is in the first half
of Knnyli (i. e. in 16 days); begin if possible when the
Moon is in Jyes ~bii-na.ksatra; for 16 years; for men and
women number 16 is predom inant here as to flowers and
fruits c. ; the performer should wear on bis right hand a
 List 0/ vralas 877

doraka with 16 threads and 16 knots; LaksmI never leaves

the performer for three lives, he secures long life, health &0. ;
HV II. 495-499, NS 153- 154, SmK 23 1-239, P C 129-132,
VR 300-315.
MahiUaya-Iatter half ( dark half) of Bh. is so calld and piirvana
sriiddha is to be performed a ll all or one of these tithis ;
TT 166, VKD 80 ; vide H. of Dh. IV p. 532.
ltfahiicaisilkhi-Vide under Kartika for rule about Mahii being
I I

prefixed t o a tithi. The Khanapur plate of Miidhavavarman

records the grant of villagos in Satam District on
Mahii.vaisiikhl; vide KI. vol. 27 p. 312 ( Prof. Mirash i infers
that it was between 510-jG O A.D. ).
Mahi'lI'Ta/a-( 1) In M. or Cai. a person may dona te gllcJ.adhenu
and sbould subsist only on jaggery on 3rd titbi; he reaches
y% l.. a ; Ma t. 101. 53 q. by KKV 446 (3 2nd ~as t ivr a La ),
KR 118; for GIlcJ.adheTLl/ v ide Mat. 82 an d H. of Dh. II. 880;
( 2 ) begin with fast 0 11 14th or 8th su. , when in conjunc-
ti on with Sravana-naksatra; ti thivratn.; Siva deity; to be
performed by kings ; HV I. ~64-865 (from Kii lottara);
( 3) on K. am:iviisyii. or ptu nimii a person should take up
niyamas , eat by nali/a way piiyasa with ghee, use sandalwood
and sugarcane juice; on folluwing pm! i pari he sbould fas'
and invite eight or sixteen Saiva briihmanas (for dinner) ;
SiYa deity; sbould ba Lhe Siva ima ge with pai'icagavy a, ghee
boney and other things an d lastly with warm waLer;•
offer naivedya, donaLe to iicarya and briih ma l1as with their
wives gold , garments &c.; Lhis vrata to be performed for
16 years with some different arra ngoments of nakta and
upaviisas on different tithis acc. to Lhe year; it confers long
life, beauty, saubhiigya 0 11 male or female porformer; HV
IT. 377- 391 (from Kiilikii-pur:ina ); ( 4 ) fast on each
paurJ;lamiisl and worsh ip Huri as sakata Brahma and on
amiiviisyii as ni.~kala (partless ) Brahma; for ono year; all
sins are destroyed and he reach os beaven; if performed for
12 years, reaches Visnuloka; Vi. Dh. ill. 198. 1- 7, q. by HV
n. 461 ; , Sakala ' moans savayava . (with pa rts ) i. e. in an
I

anthropomorphic form (such as Vis l1 u with four arms ),

while' niskala ' Brahma would be without parts as described
in Mun4akopanisad II. 2. 9; ( 5) on 8th or 14th tithi in
both fortnights observe nakta way and worahip Siva ; ODe
year; te ohes the highes\ goal ; H V II. 398 ( from Li D. ) .
B. D. 48
 History of Dhal'masastra [Sec. I, Ch. xni
Mahasvet'ilpriya vidhi-on a Sunday if there is a solar eclipse,
one should worship Mahasveta (and the Sun) after obser-
ving ekabhakta or nakta or fast; he reaches the highest
place; KKV 21-23, HV II. 527-528. Mahasveta is the
mantra' Hrlm Hrlm sal;l , ( KKV 9 and HV II. 521. )
Mahli .'!fl .~thi-When
on K. suo 6 the Sun is in Vfscika (Scorpion)
and there is Tuesday that is called MahiisasthI; a person
should fast the previous day, worship Agni on 6th and
celebrate maholsam of Agni and feed brahrna~as; all sins
are destroyed; SrnK 378, PC 102.
Mahu s(.wni-Asv. su. 8 in Navariitra is so called; vide VKK p.
428 if, NS 178, SM 59 .
Mahilsaptami-on M. suo 5 ekabhakta, on 6th nakta and on 7th
fast; worship Sun with Karavlra flowera and red sandal-
wood paste; for one year divided into three groups of four
months from Miigha; in each group flowers of different
colours, different naivedya, different d!l.iJ,paj at end gift of a
chariot; HV I. 659-660 (from Bhav. 1. 51. 1- 16 ).
Mahitp.{jhnip ujil- on As. suo8; tithi: Durgii. deity; bathe the
image of Durgii that killed Mahisasura with water mixed
with turmeric powder, apply sandalwood paste and camphor.
feed maidens and brahma~as and give daksina; illumina-
tions; all one's desires are fulfilled; PC 109-110, SmK 138.
Mahendm-krcchm- from K. suo6 subsisting on milk alone and
worship of DiLmodara j HV 11. 769-770.
Mahesvaral'l'ata- ( 1 ) begin on PhiL. BU. 14 j fast on that day and
worship of Siva; at end of vrata donate a cow; if carried on
for a year he gets tbo fruit of Pau~~arlka sacrifice; if he
performs for a year this vrata on the two caturdasls of
every month, he secures all desires j HV II. 152 : ( 2) one
should offer to Daks i~li-miirtl every day for a year payasa
and ghee; at end a fast,j agam, gift of land, cow and bedstead;
performer attains the position of Nandin (the Bull of
. iva.)i HV 1867 (from Skanda). Dak~iI;l !im iirti is a form
of Siva and there is a Da.k~ i~i-miirtistotra ascribed to
Sankarlioarya in 19 verses.
Mahe$"arii~tami-begin from MArg. BU. 8. j worship Siva in
Linga form or image or on lotus and bathe it with ghee and
milk j give cow at end; if done for a year he secures Ute
same rewards as an Asvamedha and goes to Sivaloka; HV
1 747-748 (from Vi. Dh. ).
 List of vratas 379

Mahotsava l'Ta/a - on 14th of Cai. suoevery year worship Siva by

bathing image with milk &c. and applying unguents, offer-
ing damanaka, bUva leaves ; wave before image li ghted
lamps made of rice flour; nail'edya of various edibles j drum s
to be beaten j rathayatra of Siva j performer should say 'may
Siva be pleased' and observe naktaj HV 11 148-149 (from
Skanda ).
.Mahodadhi-amavosYii-by bathing anywhere in the sea on Miirg.
amiivasya mixed with 14th one reaps rewards of Asva-
medha j G K 603.
Mlikari.saptami-7th tithi, while sun is in the Makara-rasi ;
VKK 5(,0-501, VK p. 203, No. 902.
M(lgha-krt?la-KR 487-514, VKK 490-514, NS 213-221 , SmK
439-513, GK 37-41. There are several important vratas in
Mii.gh~ such as Tilacaturthl, Rathasaptaml, Bhlsmii.[i tarnl
which would be separately mentioned in this list. A few
small matters may be briefly disposed off here. M. Su. 4 is
oalled Umiicaturtbl because Gaud is to be worshipped by
men and specially by women with Kunda and other flowers,
with offerings of jaggery, salt, yu,.aka and one should
honour women who are not widows, brahmanas and cows
( KKN 437-38, KR 503 ) j on M. kr. 12th Yarna produced
sesame and Dasaratha brought them to tho earth and sowed
them and Visnu was nmde lord of sesame hy the gods, hence
one should fast on that day and worship Had with sesame,
offer hom a with sesame, donate them and eat them (V. Dh.
90. 19, KKN 435-£, KR 495-96 ) j on M. amavAsyn, if it is
present on Monday morning, men and particularly women
in Tamil country circumbulate the asmllha treo and make
gifts.
Mligha,~aptam i-on M. suo 7 j one should bathe at artl"(l()daya in a
river or other running water after placing on his head seven
leaves of the Il(ldara tree and seven of the arka plant; then
offer arghya to the Sun with water mixed with seven badara
fruit, arka leaves, rice, sesame, dlirvli, ak~'llas and sandal.
wood, bow to Saptaml as DevI, then to the Sun. Some held
that this sDAna and Maghasnlina were not separato, while
others held that Lhe two were quito separate ; KR 509, VKK
499-502, KT 459, RM (ABORI vol. 36 p. 332, three verses).
Maghasnlina-bath in MAgha in the Ganges or in any other
fine stream in the early morning is highly eulogised from
380 Iiistor1l of Dharmafa ..?lra [ Sec . .I, Ch. xm
early times. The best time is dawn \vhen the naksatras
are still visible, next best is the time when stars are visible
but the Sun is not actually risen and the inferior time is
after the Sun rises. The beg inning for the month's bathing
should be made on the 11th of P. suo or on P . p url? imli
( according to the piirniman ta reckoning ) and the vrata
( for one month ) is to be finished on the 12th of M. BU. or
pllrnima; some bring it in lin e with the Sa llra reckon-
ing hy providin g that bath wb en the Sun is in Makara
( Capricorn) in Miigba in the morni ng leads Binners to
heaven ( VKK 491 quoting Pad.); all men and women are
entitled to engage in it. The most meritorious Miigba-
snana is at the confluence of tho Ganga and Yamuna. Vide
for details, Pad. VI ( in which about 2800 verses are devoted
from chap. 2] 9 to 250 to the mahiitm ya of Maghasnana),
H VII. 789-794 , VK K 490-91, RM 1368 (A BORI vol. 36 p.
332 ), NS 213-216, SmK 439-441 an d H. of Dh . vol. IV. 617;
Pad. VI. 237. 49-59 and KT 455-57 describe the procedure of
the gifts and n illanlCls . V. Dh. 90 last verse eulogises morn-
ing bath in M. and PM. Vide I. A. vol. XI p. 88 on 'M Agha-
me\II.'.
M ul rvrata-( 1 ) on 8th; tithi; Matrs ( mother goddesses) are the
deity; olle should fast on t,h is day and ask their pardon
with devotion; they hestow welfare an d health; HV I. 876
(from Vai. ); ( 2 ) on Asv. 9th a king a nd members of all
castes should worship the Matt'S (m any enumerated) and
attain success ; a woman whose chi ldren don't live or who
has a single cbild is blessed with progeny; flV 1. 951-52.
Ml1r gapilli-bandhana-on K. BU. 1 ; vide p. 205 above.
M{irgasi,..~(/krt1Ja -VideKR 442-474, VKK 482-487, NS 209-211,
SmK 427- 432. The whole of the month is held sacred in
t he Tamil country and hhajan parties go round the whole
morning; the Glta ( X. 35) avers that Marg. is the best
among months and identifies it with Lord Krsna. Some of tbe
I ss important matters may be nolod here. In Krtayuga the
gods bogan the year on the fir ~ t tith i of Marg. and the sage
Kasyapa crea.ted the beautiful KasmIra country ; therefore
oelebration should be beld on it ( KR 452 ); Marg. Su. 12-
a person should fast on the 12th Uthi on each dvadasl for
a year from Mi rg. to K. and should on eaoh dvadasl dwell
on one of the twelve n mes of Vi!?I;lU from Kesava \0
Dlmodar and offer worship; he becomes j lJtismara (one
 List of t'ralas 381
who recollects aotions of previous lives ) and reaches that
place from whioh there is no return t o this mortal world
(Anu sasana, ohap. 109, Br. S. 10~.14-16) ; on Marg. pll rnimti
the Moon should be specially worsh ipped as the Moon was
sprinkled with nectar on that day , cows should be giYen salt,
one's mother, sister, daughter a nd female relat ives in one's
family should be honoured wi th a pair of ' new garments,
a festival with dance a nd songs should be held, t hoSG wh o
drink wine should t aste fresh wine that day ; KKN 43 2-33,
KR 471-7 2. For Da ttatreyajaya ntl on Marg. lo'ull Mooll ,
vide above p. 310.
Milrfa~g. 1sapfClm i-beg in on P . suo7 ; fast on that day, worsh ip
of the Sun a nd muttering the word 'Martanda ' ; perform or
to partake for purify ing himself of cow's uri ne or du ng or
curd s or milk ; on next day worsh ip of the Sun u nder th
name ' Ravi ' ; in th is way for a year be should prooeed for
two days eaoh month and g ive grass a nd the like for feedin g
a oow one day ; he reaches the world of the Sun; Bbav.
I. 109. 1-13 q. by HV 1. 754-55 , KKN 147- 148.
Afilsaumfa-durin g the 12 month s from Marg. t o K. the per-
former should respect ivoly donate the following ; salt, gh ee ,
sesame, seven dhii nyas , coloured or charmin g garment!:;,
wheat, jar full of wa ter, sandalwood paste with camphor ,
butter, umbrella, /a\/(/lI kas enriched with sugar or jagge ry,
lamps; a t end of year donate a cow a nd worship DlITgil,
Brahma, the Sun, or VisDu ; HV II. 853-54 (from Devl-
pura t:Ja ), KR 442-443.
Milsal'Talilni-V i de Agni 198, KKV 418-432, HV 11. 74 4- 799 ,
Dllnasagara 589-{)21.
Jfilsopauasa r r ala-T h i s is the g reatest am ong all vra tas.This
is a very ancient vrata. Inscriptions in Nanoghiit mention
that queen Nayan ika ( Nilgan ikil ) in the 2n d centu ry B. C.
had performed it; vide ASWI. vo1. V p. 60. Th is is doscribed
by Agni ( 204. 1- 18 ), Gar. (1.1 22. 1- 7 ), Pad. Vl. 121. 15-54.
Agni being the briefest is summa rised hore. The perform er
should have performed all Vaiso ava vratas ( such a s
dvadasl ), t ake the permiss ion of his gw Il ; consider ing his
own st'rength should begin on 11 th of Aliv. Su. and make
a salikal pa to carry it on for 30 days : a forest herm it or a
yali. o:r a widow should enter upon it (but not a householder);
he should offe:r worship ~ Vifi I;lU thrice in the day with
flowers &0. ; should sing hymns of pra ise of V i~J;lu and
382 History of Dharmalllstra ( Sec. I, Ch. xm
contemplate on Vis ~lU, should avoid all idle talk, give up
desire for wealth, should not touch anyone who does not
obs&rve ni?Jama,~ ; he should stay in a temple for 30 days;
on the 12th after 30 days he should feed brahman as, give
them daksil)a. and perform plira~a by inviting thirteen
brAhmanas, donate pa irs of garments, asana ( seat), vessels,
umbrella, pair of sandals, worsh ip golden image of Vi s~u
on a bed and his own image should be given garments &c. ;
donate the bedstead to his guru ; the spot where the performer
stays becomes holy; he t akes himself and members of his
family to Visnuloka; if the performer faints during the
n ata, he should be made to drink milk, clarified butter
and fruit juice; the partaking of these with the consent of
bra.hmal)as does not nullify the nata; vide HV II. 776-783
(from Vi~ l.:lUrahasya).
~Ii1sa'rbapau:r~Ulmasi-l'1'ala-Beg in on K. im. 15th; performer
to subsist by nak/a way; on a circle made with salt and
pasted with sandalwood paste , he should worship the Moon
along with ten naksatras i. e. in K. when combined with
Krttikii. and Rohi l,lY, in Miirg. with Mrgas iras and Ardra.
and so on up to Asv. ; women whose husbands are alive
should be honoured by giving them jaggery, rich food, ghee,
milk &c.; then he should himself eat h aci .~ua food ; at end
be should donate garment coloured with gold ; Vi. Db. III
19 2. 1- 15, NM p. 47 ( verses 573-579 ).
,\fitm.~(lpla/1li-the 7th of M5.rg. flU. is so called; tithivrata;
Mitra ( Su n) deity; on 6th image of Mitra should be bathed
in the way in which Visnu is bathed. on K. suo11th ; fast
on 7th ( fruits may be eaten ) : jiigara at night; worship of
Sun with various flowers, edibles of flour; feed brahma~as ,
the poor and helpless ; on 8th distribute money among
dancers and actors; NM pp. 46-47 (verses 564-569), KR
460- 461, KKN 43 2, VKK 483, PC 104.
}'[lt kl'i1bhara1}al'rata-on Bh. suo 7th; tithivrata; Siva and Umll
deities ; place a doraka ( string of threads ) before Siva
image; worship Siva with 16 upacaras from livAhana; the
seat is to be of gold studded with pearls and precious stones;
after upao!lras tie tbe doraka on the wrist; donate 1100
mauc.lnk s (Marathi 'ma~~e' ) and ve!?~kas (Marathi
..:.Jjlebi'); secures long-lived sons ; NS 134, VR 241-247.
saplami-When 7th tithi has Hada nak~tra on it
nak!?atra, this n ata should be undertaken; he
 lAst of vralas 33

should brush his teeth with a twig of Arka. plant with

'salutation to Arka '; offer homa; draw in his courtyard
swept with cowdung with red sandalwood paste a lotus with
16 petals on each of which be should assign sever I deities
from the eastern one onwards; then engage in the upacl m s
from avahana onwards ; be should fast on that day ; be
should partake only one of the six m sas (sweet, salt, sour,
pungent, astringent, and bitter) for two months in rotation
for one year; in the 13th month there is to be parana and
he should donate a ka pilii. cow; this leads on to III V"'~ ;
HV II. 780-86.
Mllkha7'rala-giving up tlimbUla (mukhaviisa ) for a year; at
year's end donate a cow; he becomes lord of Yak sns ; HV IL
865 ( from Pad. )
M ula gaur ivrata-on CaL im. 3; bath with sesame and water;
worship of Siva and GaurI with gold en fruits and from
feet to head; different flowers t o be offered in the twolve
months; different substances to be drunk or eaten by per-
former in the twelve months and different names of GaurI
also ; he should give up one fruit; donate at end bedstead,
a golden bull and cow; Siva married Gaur I on CaL suo 3 ;
Agni 178.1-20.
Mr{JaSingwrala-on Srava!1a kr. 1 Siva pieroed the tbroe mouths
of the yajfl.'..I. that had assumed the form of a deer hy an
arrow with three prongs; the performer should prepare a
clay MrgasIrsa in the form of the deer and should worship
it with different kinds of nail'edya of vegetables and of flour
mixed with linseed. HV 1. 358- 59, SmK 146.
Me()hapulilrl iyii-Dn Asv. suo 3 men and women should worship
the creeper called Meghapalt, tbat has leaves like betelnut
plant and that grows in gardens, bills and rural paths, with
fruits of various kinds and the sprouts of seven dMil1ya.~ ;
destroys all sins, particularly of traders with false weights
and measures; HV 1. 416-417 (from Bhav. U. 17. 1-14).
Muunat'raia-( 1) after Sravana ends (acc. to purI;limnnta
reckoning) from Bh. 1st for 16 days; performer should take
Di1rva tendrils made into 16 knots and place on the right
hand ( on left band of women); on 16th day s ilence to be
observed in bringing water, grinding wheat, preparing
naivedya therefrom and at time of eating; worship of Siva
by bathing image or iiilga with water, milk, curds, "hee and
 HistoilJ of Dharma8astra l Sec. I, Ch. xm
honey, sugar; then offer flowers &c. and say 'May Siva
be pleased '; bestows progeny and all desires; HV II. 482-
49 2, NA 26-27; (2) to be practised for 8, 6 or 3 months
or for one month, for half a month or for 12, 6 or 3 days or
one day; the vow of silenoe is said to be capable of secur-
ing all objects ( , maunam sarviirthasiidhakarn ' p. 880 ); the
performer should not even make the sound 'hum' while
eating, he should give up hi1il8U in thought, word and deed;
wh en the vrata ends he should make a linga of sandalwood
and offer worship to it with [/anJ/ia and other upacaras and
offer golden bell and bell-metal bells in different directions
of tbe temple; offer rich food to devotees of Siva and briih-
rn a~as ; placing on his head a copper vessel in which the
li nga is deposited he should silently go by the public road
to Siva temple and place the lioga to the right of the temple
image and worship it again and again; the performer
reaches Sivaloka; HV II. 879- 883 ( from Sivadbarma ).
Yak~akardama-( an unguent dear to yak.~as ) is constituted by
five fragrant substances; vide p. 38, note 88 above.
YaJl1asaplal1li-on suo 7th when there is an eolipse and specially
when there is saokrantl, the performer should eat once
hal'i.~lIa food, how to Varuna, should lie down on a bed of
dm'blia grass on the ground; in the morning next day he
should in the beginning as well as at the end sacrifioe to
Varuna. An elaborate procedure is prescribed; on M. 7th
the sacrifice is addressed to Vam na, on Pha. 7th to Surya,
on Cai. 7th to Aln Sumii.lin (a name of. tbe Sun) and so on
under different names of the Sun till Pausa; at end of a
year a golden charlot to which seven horses are yoked and
in tbe midst of which a golden image of the Sun is placed
and is surrounded by twelve brahman as representing the
twelve names of tbe Sun in the twelve months is to be
honoured and present of the chariot and a cow to be given
to u('u rya; a poor man should make a copper chariot; the
performer becomes a king of wide regions; KKV 107- 112,
H 1. 757-760 (from Bhav. I. 50.1-42). HV explains that
V arUl~a menns the Sun here.
l'umac(lllu·thi-Worship Yama on 4th tithi falling on Saturday
aud Bhara.~t no.k!?atra.; frees from sins of seven lives i HV
I. 523- 24, PC 95 (from K urma). Yam is the lord of
Bhara.I!l-na.kf!atra.
 List of vratll3 385

Yamalarpa~a-offering aflj(/lis ( handfuls) of water mixed with

sesame thrice to each of the names of Yama ( such as Yama,
Dharmartlja, Antaka); sin committed in one year is destro-
yed at once.
Yamariipadul!a-on 13th of K. kr., lighting lamps outside the
house at night.fall; this prevents accidental death i PC 231,
SmK 368.
Yamarhifiyli-Vide ahove pp. 207-208.

Yamarll'ili!lli!Jufru-one of the 14 Ytltriis of Bhuvanesvara i

GK 193.
Yamal'rata-( 1 ) He who fasts on 5th, 6th, 8th or Hth of Su.
and gives dinner to brahmanas becomes froe from disease
and secures handsome form; KKV 389 = HV II. 377 ( from
MB. ); (2) fasting on 14th tithi of kr. one may give seven
aiijalis of water mixed with sesame to each of tho names of
Yams (viz. Yama, Dharmaraja, Mrtyu, Antaka, Vaivasva-
ta, Kala and Sarvabhutaksaya ); one is freed from all sins;
HV II. 151 (from Ktlrma ); (3) bath on 14th of dark half
of K, and fa/'p:17}/l to Yama; offer aiijalis of water to Yama's
names (given under 2 ) with the addition of a few more
(such as Citra, Citragupta) and donate a vessel full of
sesame and gold to a brahman a ; the performer would not
have to lament over death; HV II. 151; (4) If king Yama
is worshipped on 10th tithi, that removes all diseases i HV
1. 982 (from Bhav. ); ( 5) when the 4th tithi falla on
Saturday and is joined to Bharr..nl-naksatra, donate a he-
buffalo and gold for securing Yama's favour; AK folio 357
(from Kiirma).
Yamildarsana-traynriaSi-on 13th of Mli.rg. when it falla on an
auspicious weekday ( except Sunday and Tuesday) in the
forenoon thirteen bra.hmanas were to he invited, and given
sesame oil to rub their bodies with and bathed with warm
water and treated to a sumptuous dinner; this should be
done for a year every month; performer never sees the face
of Yama; HV 11 9-14 (from Bhav. U.), AK folio 864.
Yamunli.'tnillla-tarpa!la-with three handfuls of water mixed
with sesame tarpa!lll of Yama under difTerenL names sLand-
ing in the waters of the Yamuna. ; G K 601.
YiUra (fest'I.¥! pro08ssian or festil.oaJ )-Vide under DolayA.trA and
RathaYllrA. YlnAs of gods were famous from anoient times.
B. », 49
386 History of Dharmaifistra l Bee. I, Ch. XllI
The Mahavlracarita of Bhavabhuti was brought on the stage
on the occasion of the Yatra of Ka.lapriyana.tha. Vide
• Yatratattva ' ascribed to Raghunandana, published in the
Sanskrit Sahitya Parishat series ( in Bengali script) which
describes the twelve festivals of Vil?nu. The Anargha-
rilghava of Murari was presented on the stage in the yatra.
of Purusottama (Act. I prastavana). Vide KaramdaIl~a
Inscription of the time of Kumilragupta in Gupta salnvat
117 (436 A.D.) for reference to DevadroIll (image procession)
of Mahadeva Prthvlsvara in E. 1. vol. X p. 70. Vide Krtya.
kalpataru (on Rijadbarma) pp. 178-181 (from Brahma-
purana ) on Devayatra-vidhi which was to be celebrated
every year in the six months from Vaisakha and on the
titbis from 1st to 15th different gods such as Brahma ( lords
of the tithis ) were to be worshipped; RNP pp. 416 -419.
Yu(/uditithis-Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 374 note 841 and Nar.
I. 56. 147- 148, HK 649-655, TT 187, NS 94-95, PO 86-89.
VisIlupuraIla Ill. 14:. 12-13 are borrowed by BB p. 42.
Yugadivrata-The four yugas Krta, Treta, Dvapara and Kali
started respectively on Vai. su. 3, K. suo9, Bh. kr. 13 and M.
amavasya; fast, gifts, tapas, japa and homa on these pro-
duoes results a crore of times more than ordinarily; on Vai.
BU. 3 worsh ip NilrAyaI;la and Laksml and donate lal'atla-
dhenu; on K. suo 9th worship Siva and Uma and liladhenu
be donated ; on Bh. k~. 13 honour the pitTS; on M. amiivasyii.
worship Brahmii. with Gayatrl and donate namnita-dhenu j
all one's sins in thought, word and geed are rendered nuga_
tory; H V II. 514:-517 ( from Bhav. U.).

YU[Juntya - srildclha- is to be performed on these days; the four

yugas respeotively end on the following; Krta in the sun's
passage in sign Simha (Lion), Tretil ends in Vrscika
sailkranti, Dvapara ends in Vrsa sailkranti and Kaliyuga
in Kumbha-sailkr nti. HK 656, KR 542-543, KKN 372.
YII(luvatilrat>rata-on Bh. kr. 13th when Dvapara-yuga began, one
shoud apply oow's urine, oow dung, dilrva and clay to his
body and bathe in a deep sheet of water or a tank; he had as
if performed srll ddha at GaYA; he should bathe an image of
V isnu with gbee, milk and pure water j he goes to the world
of Vi!?t;lu; HV II 518-519 (from Bhav.) Some say tha'
TreUyuga began on that day.
 Lst of vratas 3 "I

¥ ogaurala-The Yogas like Vi!?kambha. Vyatlpii ta will be

described in the next section on Kala; vide HV II. 707-717 .
SmK 563-564. P C 52.
Yogescarm.)rata or Y ogesL'arad61dasi-on K. suo 11 fast; four
jars full of water having minas inside and marked with
white sandalwood paste and having round them white cloth
should be covered with copper vessels full of sesame and
gold. they being deemed to be four oceans; in the midst of
that vessel an image of Hari ( who is Y ogesvara ) should be
placed and worshipped; ju.aal'a; next day the four jars
should be donated to four brahman as and the golden image
to a 5th brahmana and they should be fed and dak~ in !i be
paid; this is called also Dhara~lvrata; he is freed from sins
and goes to the world of Vis nu; KKV 336-339 = HV I.
1041-44 (from Var. 50. 4-29 ), KR 427- 430.
Raktasaptami-oD MArg, kr. 7; tithi ; worship of Sun with red
lotuses or of an image of Sun with white flowers and red
sandalwood paste and with round cake of pulse ( l'ataka.
Marathi v(l(ja ) and kreara (dish of rice, peas and spices)
and donate at end a pair of red garments; Vi. Dh. ill.
170. 1-3.
Raktiiipancami-on Bh. Kr. 5; draw figures of snakes with dark
colours and worship; snakes are pleased and then there is
no fear to his descendants ; GK 78-79.
Rak/!"libandhalla-on Sr. paurt:Jamiisl; vide pp. 127-128 above.
Ra/Igapatlcami-on Ph. kr. 5. See above p. 241.
Ra!-anti·caturdasi-on M. kr. 14; tithi; Yama; one should bathe
while it is a'/'u1fodaya and offer tarpa~1a to Yama under
fourteen names (m. in KT (50); VKK 497. KT 457, GK
157- 158; vide PretacaturdasI above pp. 351- 52.
Ratna~ 1!~hi-m. in Mrcchaka~ika Act III and in C! tudatta .Act
ill p. 65 (attributed to BUsa) where we have the words
'nanu ~a~~hlm·upvasii.mi '. Bu~ it is difficul~ to say whetber
it is Ratna~a~~hl or any other.
Ratnani-{ jewels or precious things }-for five ratnas vide under
'paiicaratnas' p. 337 above. VR15 (quoting Vi. Dh.) mentions
nine viz. pearls. gold, vaidiirya ( eat's eye gem ). padmaraga
(ruby), pU1?paraga (topaz). gomeda (gem brought from
Himalaya ). sapphire, girutmat.a ( emerald) a.nd cora.l.
388 History of Dharmafastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XD1

Rathanavami-on 9th tithi of Asv. suo (acc. to KKV) or Iq.

( acc. to HV ); tithi; Durga; fast on that day and worship
of Durga; on a car decked with mirrors, choW7'ies, clothes,
umbrella, garlands from flagstaffs place a golden image of
Durgii seated on a buffalo; the car to be drawn over the
public road and taken to a temple of Durga; illuminations;
jaoam with dance and drama; next morning the image is
to be bathed and the ca.r to be presented to Dev!; rewards
of presenting a fine bedstead, a bull, a cow about to deliver;
KKV 294-298 = HV 1. 946-948 ( from Bhav. ).
RathalJU/rll-{ car procession of a deity )-HV n. 420-424 (quot.-
ing Dev!purfi Da ) describes the Rathayatrii of Durga accom-
panied by crowds of men and women; KR (259 - 264)
describes the same from a different source; Bhav. (I. 18. 3-17)
deals with the Rathayatrii of Brahma which is quoted by
KR 438-439 and P ujaprakasa 293-307; the twelve ratha-
yatriis of Puro ~ottama and fourteen of Bhuvanesvara are
respectively described in GK pp. 183-190 and 190-194; HV
n. 424-440 ( quoting Bhav.) describe at length the ralha-
yutrotsava of the Sun and state (p. (25) that the latter is
equal to Indradhvajotsava and that both the festivals are
carried on every year in several countries for averting evil
( sllntihet o~ ), for the happiness and health of the people and
that it should be begun on Marg. suo Vide Var. 177. 55-56
for Rathayfi trii of Siimbapuradeva in Mathurii.. In Bhav.
U. 134. 40- 71 there is a description as to how a car is to be
made, how procession is to be arranged and how images are
to be placed on the car.
RathasGptmni- on M. suo 7; tithi; Sun is deity; on night of
6th sail.kalpa and submitting to niyamas; on 7th fast; per·
former to prepare a golden or silver Car with horses and
charioteer; to recite a hymn to the Sun, and at midday he
should place that car in a lIIa'tl<ia]J<l surrounded by ( or made
of) cloth, worship the car with saffron, flowers &c. and place
in the car an image (golden or otherwise) of the SUD;
worship the Sun together ~ith the car and charioteer and
address mantras to the Sun and in his prayer state the
desired object: j gara at night with songs and music, and
performer should not close his eyes that night; after bath
t.he next morning he should make gifts, donate the oar to
ihe y iLru; HV 1. 652-658 ( quoting Bhav. U.). Here K~J;la
tells Yudhil?\hira the story of king Yasodharma of Kambhoja
 List of "'alas S89
country that had in his old age a son suffering from all
diseases who became free from all diseases and a c.1kral'(lrfi n
( emperor) by performing thi s vrata. KV 101 and HK 624
quote Mat. to the effect that as on this tithi in the beginn-
ing of Man van tara Sun secured a chariot this tithi is called
RathasaptamI. The same quotation from Mat. in HK 624
shows that it was also called MahiisaptnmI. Vide TT 39,
PC 104-10j , VR 249-253. Vide 1. A. vol. XI. at p. 112 the
Si mangad plate of Riistrakuta king Dantidurga dated sake
67 5 (753-54 A. D. ) wbere the phrase 'Miighamasa-ratba-
saptamlm' occurs. For Rathasaptaml-miibiitmya, vide
Bbav. 1. 50.
Ralhuli.kasaptami-on 6th of M. su. fast and worship of Sun with
gandhn , fl owers &c.; sleep before sun image that day; on 7th
worsh ip the Sun and give briihmal)as a sumptuous meal;
carry this on in all months and at end of year have car
procession of the Sun : H V I. 656 (from Bhav. ); HV I.
pp. 657-658 dilate upon n variation of the above procedure.
This is called Rathasaptaml by KKV 114- 117 an d also in
Bhav. 1. 59. 1-26.
Rathungasapfami-on M. su. 5th, 6tb and 7tb observe respectively
ekabbakta, nakta, and fast; some hold that fast on 6tb and
piiraIla. on 7th ; this is called Mahiisaptam l (for whicb see
above ) by HV 1. 659-660 and the printed Bbav. (1. 51. 1-16 )
also calls it so.
Rathotsam-on 2nd of As. su.; when it is joined to Pusya, car
festival of K rsna, Balara.ma and Subhadrii; tbe utsava
should be performed even if there is no Pusya n ak~atra;
TT 29, NS 107, SmK 137.
Rambhlilrtiyu-( 1 ) on J y. su. 3rd; one was to sit facing ~be east
in tbe midst of five fires viz. Ga.rhapatya, Daksil)agni,
Sabbya and Ahavanlya and tbe Sun above; face Bra.hmli
and Devl identified witb Mabiikall, Mahiilak!?ml, Mabamayli.,
Sarasvatl; boma in all directions by brii.hmanas; worsbip of
DevI and eigbt substances called Saubbagylis~aka be placed
before Devl; in the evening Rudriil)l should be addressed
with prayer for a cbarming home; then performer (male or
female) should honour a bouseholder and his wife and
naivedya placed in 8urpa (winnowing basket) should be
presented to women whose busbands are alive: HV I. 426-430
(from Bhav. U. 18. 1-36 ), KN 176, TT 30- 31; this vrata is
meant moeUy for women; (2) This Was so oalled because
S90 History of DharmaAostra [ Sec. I, Ch. xnt
Rambha. formerly performed it for blessed womanhood; on
Mil.rg. suo 3rd; tithi; Pa.rvatl deity; for a year; every month
DevI to be worshipped under a different name (e. g. Pil.rvatJ
in Marg. , Girijii in P. &c.) and different gifts to be made,
different substances to be eaten; HV 1. pp. 430-435 (from
Bhav. U. 24. 1-36 ); Gar. 1. 120 also describe s this vrata.
If 3rd is mixed with 2n d and 4th tithis, this vrata has to be
performed on 3rd mixed with 2nd (KN 174 ); vide under
, T~tly iivratas ' above p. 307.
RamiJhatriTulm-I"rala-begin on Jy. suo 13th; tithi i for three
days; first after bath a woman should pour plenty of water
at the root of plantain plant and surround it with threads,
make a silver image of the plant with golden fruit and
worship it; observe nakta on 13th, aya6 fa on 14th and fast
on 15th; water the same plant for a year; worship also Uma.
and Siva and Krsn a and RukmiI;ll; hom a with 13, 14, 15
Ahutis respectively on the three days from 13th; this vrata
confers sons, beauty, freedom from widowhood &c.; HV II.
283-288 (from Skanda), VKK 11; Rambha also means
Ikadall • ( plantain plant) and hence the name.
Raui1 laravmfa-naktB or fast on Sunday, japa of Aditya~daya
or Mahasvetii mantra; they secure their desires; Vil.ravrata;
Sun deity; SmK 556-557, VKD (423-436) gives a very
elaborate procedure.
Ral'i'1'7'afa-( 1) worship of the Sun thrice a day in M. ; secures
merit (puI;lya ) of six months in one month; HV II. 796;
( 2 ) begin on Sunday in M. an d worship SUIl on every
Sunday for a year and subsist on certain specified things
in order or abstain from partaking of certain things i
VKK 37- 38,
Raoi~al!~"i-fast on 6th and worship Sun on 7th ; performer
secures wealth and freedom from disease; KN 190 (from
Linga ).
Rasalcalyatlilti-begin on M. au. 3; tithi; Durga deity; bathe
image of Dl1rg with honey and sandalwood paste and
worship the right side of the image first and then left side;
salute h r limbs from feet to her orown, assooiating eaoh
with a different name; worship Davl with a different name
( out of 12, suoh as Kumudi, Mlidbavl, Gaurl) respeotively
in 12 month from M.; from M. to K. each month the per·
former should abstain from on out of 12 things in order
 LAst of vraias 391
viz. salt, jaggery, tavarAja (milk ?), honey, piina.ka (spicy
beverage), j!raka, milk, curds, ghee, marjikii. (Rasaln or
Sikharir;l!), dhlinyaka (coriander), sugar ; at end of each
month donate a vessel full of the thing left off in that month
snd one of the edibles specified ; at end of year donate a
golden image of Gaur! ( as big as the thumb) studded with
ratnaR; reward is freedom from sins and sorrow a nd disease;
KKV 66-69, HV n.461-465 (from Pad. V. 22.105-135),
KR 499-503 (same verses from Mat. 63. 1-29 ). Rasa/li was
prepared from curds an d was somewhat like' srlkhanda ' of
modern M ahar as~ra ( from the quotations in KR 501 ).
Rlikhi-pu1"lJimu-on Sr. suo15. See above pp. 127-1 28 on raksA-
bandballa.
Ruyhamd7'lldasi-on Jy. su. 12th; golden images of Rama and
Laksma r;la to be worshipped; worsh ip of limbs from feet to
bead with different names in each case (e. g. om nam as-
Trivikramayeti ka~im ); a jar filled with gbee to be donated
in the morning after worship of Rama and Laksmana:
performer dwells in heaven for ages, his sins being destroyed
and if he has no desires, he secures mok."fl; KKV 127-129,
HV 1. 1034-35, KR 190- 191 (all quote Var. 45. 1-10).
Rlijarlijesvara'L'1'uta-fast on 8th tithi when it has Sviitl naksa.tra
and falls on Wednesd ay; worship of Siva with many edibles
full of sweet-meats as naivedya; donate before image of
Siva t o the aCiirya neck ornament, crown, girdle, ear-ring,
two finger rings, an elephant or horse; performer attains
the position of Kubera for countless years; HV 1. 864 ( from
Kalottara ); Rajaraja means Kubera, the friend of Siva and
Rajarajesvara may mean Siva or Kubera who is himself lord
(of YukI/as).
Rajfl.isnapana-on Cai. kr. 8; tbe land of KMmlra is deemed to
be ra ';asl·a!U for three days from Cai. kr. 5th; it is wa.shed
by women ( whose husbands a.re living) in each home with
flowers and sandalwood paste and then by brahmal')as with
water in which sartau/fCldhis are put; then people should
listen to music of lutes; the earth is the queen of the Sun;
therefore this vrata is so called: KR 532-533 ( from Brah. );
NM p. 54 (verses 651-660) pU~B it down for PM. lq. 5th to
8Lh ( probably the amlinla reckoning ).
RiJjl/adviidaii-vrata-on MArg. Su. 10 make aankalpa; on 11 th
fast and worship Vi~:t;lu; homa with best food, the manU'a
392 History of Dharmai"jjstra [ Sec. I, Ch. .xm

being ( , tad-Vi!:i ~o]:J. paramam ' E.g. 1. 22. 20) for dvijas and
for su dras the mantra of twel ve syllables (' om namo
bhagavate Vasudevaya' ); jagara, song and dance; this
should be done for a year; on all dvadasls silence should be
completely observed; the same procedure to be followed on
dvadasls of dar k half except that worship of god is to be
done after wearing red garments, lamps to be fed with oil
( a nd not ghee ); this nata would make the performer a
king in a mountain valley; in three y ears a Mandalesvara
( provincial governor) and in 12 years a king; HV 1. 1060-
1063 (from Vi. Dh. )
Rlijya'1'r(lla- on Jy. suo 3 one sbould worship the three viz. Vayu,
the Sun and the Moon; in early morning worship Vayu on
a pure spot, a t midd ay worship Sun in fire a nd at sunset
worship Moon in water; for one year; he secures heaven;
if performed for three years, perform er stays in heaven for
five thousand years; if performed for twelve years, then he
goes to heaven for a lakh of years; HV I. 457-479 (from
Vi. Db.).
Riljyiipl idasam i-begin on K. suo 10; worship of Kesa va in the
form of the ten Visve-devas (viz. Kratu, Daksa &c.) in
maT;l<;lalas or im ages (of gold or silver); at end ( of year)
donate gold; be secures the world of Vi s~u and then becomes
a king or best of briihm 8.~as; HV 1. 965- 66 (from Vi. Db. ).
For the names of the ten Visve-deva,s, vide H . of Db. vol. IV
p. 457 note 1018.
RlidhCi,~~al1li-on Bb. 8 in both fortnights; Wi. dba was born on
Bb. suo 7; worship of Riidhii. on 8tb destroys many grave
sins; Pad. III. 4. 43, III. 7, 21-23. -
Rumacandmdo[n/sam-on Cai. suo 3; the image of Ramacandra
should be put in a swing on this day and rocked for a
month; those who see the image being swung become free
from a thousand sins ; mK 91.
Rilmcma l1am; or Rii mlljaYQllli-Vide pp. 84-88 above.
Rllmal1iimalekhana-''rala-th i s should be begun on Ramanavaml
or at any time; Rama's name should be written a lakh of
times or a crore of times; even a single letter of Rama-
n§.m a destroys mabfipMaka. (ekaikam-ak:?aram purilsam
mah§.p!i.taka-nasanam ); worship of Raman§.ma willi 16
upa.cti.ras; VR 330-332. Magic virtue came to be attached
to Rllman§.ma and 108 names and one thousand names of
RAma came to be coined.
 List of vratas 393

Rasivrata-to be performed on each paur namiis! in months from

Kartika; on K. plIII;lima one should observe nakta way and
donate a golden ram; on Marg. purI;lim ii he should see the
king and donate a pair ( of bulls ?) and at the end donate
a female slave; this vrata destroys the ev il influence of
planets, fulfills all desires and leads to Somaloka; HV II.
238- 239 ( from Bhav. ).

Ru.kmi~lyal"!~al/li - on
Margo kr. 8th; in the first year the performer
( a woman) should prepare a house of clay with one door ill
which she should cast all household gear, paddy, ghee and
should make toy im ages of Krsna, Rukmi n!, Balarii.ma and
his wife, Pradyumna and his wife, Aninlddba and Usll ,
Devak! and Vasudeva; worship these images and at sunrise
offer ar(!hyCL to the moon; next morning donate that house
to a maiden ; in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years performer sbould
construct additional wings and donate them to maidens;
in the 5tb year a bouse with five doors and in 6th year a
house with six doors should be donated to a maiden; in 7th
year a house be built with seven doors and white-washed, con-
t aining bedstead, sandals, mirror, mortar and pestle, vessels
&c. and one should worship golden images of Krsl_1 a, Rukminl
and Pradyumna with fast and jagara and next morning
donate the last house and a cow to a brii.hmana and his
wife; after this vrata. a male performer would know no
sorrow and a woman would know no grief for a son; HV
1. 853- 855 ( from Skanda ).
Rudralak~a"art i-'/ 'rata-offerin g a lakh of lamps with cotton
wicks dipped in ghee from cow's milk before a Sivalinga;
before the vrata is begun li nga is to be worshipped with
16 upaciiras ; vrata is to be begun in K. or M., Va!. or Sr.
and finished in the same months ; the performer gets wealth,
sons and whatever he or she desires ; SmK 411-414.
Rudral'r ata-{ 1 ) on Jy. 8th and 14th Uthis of both paloj(1. ~ ( i. e.
in all 4 days) one should perform tapa.~ with five fires and
donate on the 4th day in the evening golden cow; Rudra
deity; HV n. 39J ( from Pad. ), KKV 450 ( reads 'on 6th an d
13th'); this is Mat. 101. 76. For fi ve fires, vide H. of Dh. vol.
n. p. 679; (2) one should subsist by ekabhakta method for a
year and donate at end a golden bull and tiladhenu; it is a
8a1iroatsara.-vraia; Sailkara deity; t.his destroys sins and
sorrow and performer reaches Sivaloka; HV n. 866 ( from
B. D. 50
 History of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
Pad. ) = KKV 439; this is Mat. 101. 4; (3) begin from K.
Su. 3rd; subsist for one year on cow urine and y'iiraka by
nakta way; salDvatsara vrata; Gaurl and Rudra deities;
at year's end donate a cow; stays in Gauri-Ioka for a Kalpa;
KKV 445 ( two verses which are Mat. 101. 42-43 ).
Rupznammi-begin on Marg. 9th; tithivrata; Cat;l~ika deity:
~he performer should observe a fast or nakta or ekabhakta
on 9th, make a trident of flour and a silver lotus with a
golden pericarp and present them to Durga, who destroys all
sins; in P. and the following months different artifiJial
animals are prepared and placed in different vessels and
presented ( such as a golden elephant with four tusks placed
in a golden vessel, golden ram in a golden vessel) to Sviiha ;
he stays in Candraloka for numberless years and then
becomes a handsome king; KKV 288-294 = HV 1. 933-937
( from Bhav.). Rtlpa means' manufactured article or figure
resemhling an animal.' The deities mentioned are either
forms of Durgii or of Mitrs.
Rupas(dtkrunfi-on the day of Sankrlinti the performer takes oil
bath, places in a golden vessel ghee along with some gold
and presents it to a brllbmat;la, observes ek(lbhakla that day;
a sankrAntivrata; reward is the same as a thousand Asva-
medhas and beauty, youth, long life, health and wealth,
heaven; HV II. 734 (from Skanda).
Rilpa.~altm-on 8th of the dark half after Phi. purt;limii. when
joined with Mula nak8atra one should begin the vrata;
worship naksatra, its lord, Varuna and the Moon and Vist;lu;
homa; honour guru; next day fast;' he should worship
Kosilva Ilnd Ilssign to the several limbs of Kesava from the
foet upwards to the head and hair thereon different naksatras;
the iiattra iii finiiihed I\t the end of Cai. su.; at end of vrata
woriihip ViSI.lU with flowers, (IItlljla &c.; boma with mantra
( ~g. 1. 22. 20 ); gift to guru; dinner to brii.hmallas; goes to
heaven and when he returns becomes a king &c.; HV Ii
671-675 (from Vi. Dh.); vide Br. S. 10·t 6-13 for sarne
vrata on Cai. kr.~, with fast and worship of NiirAyal)a and
nak~atra.

Ru})i1I'upt,-( 1 ) by worshipping the ten Visve-devas on 5th titbi

olle reaches heaven; HV 1. 57 -1-75 (from Vi. Db.); fOf ~n
VisvedevaB, vide H. of Db. vol IV p. 457 note 1018; (2)
This is a MAsanll\a; from the ls\ ti~i af\er PhA. pUfx;limA
 List of vratas 395

up to Cai. piirnimii; one sh~)Uld worship the image of Kesav

reclining on the hoods of Sesa, subsist by ekabhakta way,
sleep on the ground ( not on a cot); fast for three days and
then perform worship on Cai. pl!ll;lima and donate silver and
a pair of garments; this confers beauty ( rlipa); HV II. 744
(from Vi. Dh. III. 20Z. 1-5 ).
R ogamu kti-by worshipping the attendants of Skanda, Rudra
and Yama one secures freedom from disease; HV I. 628
(from Vi. Dh. ),
Rogahal>idhi-when on Sunday there is P Li rviiphalgunI-naksatra
worship Sun image; the performer becomes free from
diseases and reaches suryaloka; at night worship the sun
with flowers of arka plant, eat arka fl owers and piiIJasa; lies
at night on the ground; becomes free from all diseases and
goes to suryaloka; this is a viiravrata ; sun deity; KKV
20-21, HV II. 525-527 ( from Bhav. U. ), KR 600- 601.
Roca-name of several vratas such as Miisopavasa, Brahma-
roca, Kiilaroca ; to be begun on Cai. Su. 1 and continued for
a month or a year; Vi. Dh. ( III. 222-223) describes them;
chap. 22 4 dilates upon the uncertain character of women,
but winds up 'women are the root of evils and also the
means of securing dharma, artlta and klima; one should not
trust them, but they should be guarded like a gem' (verses
25-26 ).
Ro0ka-begin on first Monday in Sr. su. ; for 3l months ; fast
on 14th of K. and worship with bilva leaves ; five ro~akaB
( wheat bread or cake toasted on an iron or earthen dish )
to be made, one for naivedya, two for briibmana and two
for performer; worsbip of Siva; perform for five years; on
finishing vrata two ro~akas of gold or siver to be don ated;
Vratiirka, folios 30b-32b. AIda called Bilvarotaka-vrata.
R ohitlicandrcWavana-Mat. 57 describes it at great length
(verses 1-28) and Pad. (IV. 24.101-130) has also almost
the same verses; bere Vi s ~lU is worshipped under the names
of the moon; when on a plirt;limil. there is Monday or on
piirnimll there is Robit;ll-naksatra, one should batbe with
paiicagavya and mustard and should recite 108 times the
mantra • apyiiyasva ' ( E.g. 1. 91. 16 addressed to Soma) and
a sadra should say' bow to Soma, bow to Vist;lu ' ; he should
worship Vi~ t;lu with flowers and fruits and recite the names
of Soma and address Rohit;ll, dear wife of Soma ; he should
396 H istory of Dhar masClstm [ Sec. I, Ch. XllI

drink cow's urine, take food but no flesh , take 28 morsels

and offer var ious flowers to the moon i this should be done
for a year ; at end donate a bedstead and golden images of
Roh inl and the moon i should pray '0 Krsna I just as
Rohin! does not go away , leaving you that are Soma, so let
me not be sGparated from prosperity '; this confers beauty,
health, long life an d performer reaches candraloka; KKV
378-382 ( quoting Mat. ), HV II. 175-179 ( same verses from
Pad. v. 24. 101- 130) ; KKV and HV call it candrarohiI;ll-
sayana. Bhav. U. ( 20[i. 1- 30) also describes it just like
Mat.
Rohi'l)iiloui/nsi-on 11 th of Sr. kr. people ( male or female) pre-
pare a manuala with oowdung near a tank or the like and
draw a pi cture of the Moon and Rohini and worship them,
offer 'ltllil'cd!Ja a nd give it to a brahmana, then enter reser-
voir of water and contemplate upon Oandra and Rohin! and
while still in water eat one hundred pellets of powdered
mii ~ a and five m()ria/ms with ghee, then coming out give
dinner and clothes to a brahmal}a ; this should be done
every year; HV 1.1113- 14 (from Bhav. U. ).
Ru lii'l)tl.'mta- A naksatravrata ; one should establish a copper or
golden image of RohiI,l! decked with five ratnas and worship
it with two garments, flowers, fruits and naivedya i pe~­
former to Bubsist by nakta way that day; next day donate
image to a learned brahmal)a housebolder. Robil}! is the
naksatra. of birth of Lord K~ ~ l}a; H V II. 59 8-99 ( from
Bkanda ).
Rohi'IJisnana-a naksatravrata; performer a nd his priest to fast
on Krttikii and on Rohin! the perfonner is to be bathed with
fi ve jars of wa ter while standing on a heap of rice decked
with sprigs of trees exuding milky juice, white flowers,
Ji1'ilja1i flU and sandalwood paste ; be should worship Vi f3 nu,
Moon, Varul} a, Rohi n! and P rajapati ; homa to all these
deities with ghee and all seeds; he should wear a precious
stone set in a horn in three parts made of clay , horse's hair
and its hoof ; secures sons, prosperity and fame; HV n.
599- 600 (from Vi. Dh. )
Rohi~lyali{ami-the 8th of Bh. ~. when joined to Rohit;ll.
naksa.tra is called JayantI ; when 8th tithi extends at
least a kala before and after midnight thai is the most holy
t ime on whioh Lord Had himself was born ; fast on Jayantl
 List oj vratas

and worship of Hari destroy the performer's sins for a

bundred past lives; this Rob il.l !vrata is superior to a hundred
Ekadas!vratas; RM 123l-1255 (ABORI vol. 36 pp. 320-322),
KR 258, VKK 298-304.
Raudra vinliyakayaga-When on Thursday there is ekiidas! and
Pu~ya-naksatra or when Saturday occurs on ekadasl witl.l
RohinI, this yiiga should be performed and it yields sons and
blessedness; HV. U. 591.
Lala!CI.namaskur-al'rala-sGJikalpa-on 11 th of As. suo to offer ono
bundred thousand namaskaras to Vi~ 11U; to be finished on
K. pur nima; worship of image of Visnu by the hymn ato I

deva ' (B,g 1. 22. 16-21 ), Sm K 407- 408.

Lakfiaprarlak::}i~Iu. 1
rata ( one hundred thousand circuma mbula-
tions }-begin on the start of ciiturmiisya and finish 011 K.
purl,1ima j ViSI}U deity j SmK 406- 407.
Lak~a/)arti 'L"rala-beginin K. , Vai., M. , the best montb being
Vai. and finish in three months on a pur~imii; every day
waving lights before Vi~nu and Laksml, Brahmii. and
Savitr!, Siva and Umii with a thousand wicks; SmK 410-411,
Vratarka, folios 399- 403b (from Viiyu ).
Lakfiahoma-is a santi, for which see tho section on santi;
Nrsimhapural,1a, chap. 35, SmK 475-479.
Lala;a1J.1irdru()raia-Wben on Bb. kr. 8th there is Ardrii-naksatra,
begin this ; worship of golden image of Uma and Siva. by
bathing it with paiiciimrta, thor. with gandha, flowers etc.,
with mantras mentioning several names of both j arghya,
dhiipa, naivedya with 3Z edibles of wheat flour marked with
figures of fish &c. containing five rasas (curds, milk, ghee,
honey and sugar) and modakas; donate the golden images
and edibles to a learned brAhmal,1a; secures removal of sins,
charm, wealth, long life, fame j HV 1 8Z6-829 ( from Mat. ).
Lak~svari-1!rat(l-samo as K (l ¢isL'(lrivrata above.
La"~mipujana-in Di vaF-Vide pp.19 9-200 above and VKK
472-476, TT 186-87, NS 200.
Lak~miniiraya'Qavrata-on Phi. Piir~ima j tithi ; worship of
Narayat;la and Lak!?mi, for one year, divided into three
periods of four months each on every piin;timd ; in four
mon~hs from A!? employ the name Srldhara and Sri and in
4 months from K. the Dame Kesave. and Bhiiti j at nigM
398 History of Dharmaiastra [Sec. I, Ch. xm
offer arghya to Moon on each 15th; different substance in
each period for purification of the body viz. pancagavya,
water with kusas, water heated with Sun's rays; HV II.
664-666 (from Vi. Dh. ).
Lalc~mipradauTat(J.-It is one of the Krcchravratas in HV II.
769-771; on K. kr. 7th tithi to ] Oth one should subsist
respeotively on milk, bilva leaves, lotuses, and morsels of
lotus fibres and on 11 th fast; worship Kesava on these days;
secures Vir~muloka; HV II. 770.
L akfimiurata-( 1) on every 5th tithi observe fast and worship
LaksmI j one year; at end donate a golden lotus and a cow ;
be secures wealth in each life and reaches Visl,1uloka; HV
1. 568 ( from Yamapural,1a), KR 118 ; (2) on Cai. suo 3
subsist on ghee and boiled rice, on 4th bathe outside the
house in a tank having lotuses and worship LaksmI in a
lotus and offer on 5th lotus with the hymn to SrI; on 5th
bathe the same and donate gold; one year; Vi. Dh.
ill 154.1-15.
Lalitakantlidevi-m'ata-the same as Mangala-cal,1dika above.
TT p. 41 quotes Kiilikapural,1a to the effect that Ma ogala-
cal,1~ika is called LalitakantadevI, that has two arms, is fair,
is seated on a red lotus and so on.
LalitavTata-on M. suo 3rd; bath in a river at midday with
sesame and amata/ca, worship DevI with flowers &c. ; a copper
vesseloontaining water, a piece of gold and aksatas should
be placed before a brahmal,1a who should.sprinkle water from
it on the performer with a mantra; the woman performer
should donate the gold and drink water in whioh l."1lSaS are
dipped and pass night sleeping on the ground and con-
template Devl; on 2nd day honour brahmal,1as and a woman
whose husband is alive; this vrata is for a year, in each
month of whioh twelve different names of DevI were to be
employed in worship {suoh as reanl in 1st, Lalita in 8th
nnd Gaurl in 12thD and in the 12 months she fasts on su.
Srd and subsists on one of twelve things in order, viz. water
made holy with kUBas, milk, ghee &0.; at end honour
brii.hmaJ;la and his wife; she secures sons, beauty I health
and freedom from widowhood; HV I. 418-421 (from Bhav.
U.). Agni (178. 1-2) speake of Lali~trtIYi a.nd remarks
that on Cai. Su. 3 Gaurl was married by Siva. Mat. 60.
1'-15 say the same and Mat. 60. 11 says that Sat1 is oalled
 List of vratas 399

Lalita because she is supreme in all worlds and excels them

in beauty. At the end of BrahmiiIl~a.puraI;la there is a
section of 44 ohapters on the Lalita cult.
Lalitii~al!~hi-mostly for women; on Bh. suo 6 collect sand of a
river in a new bamboo vessel, make five balls of that sand
and worship LalitadevI thereon with 28 or 108 flowers of
various kinds and fruits and naivedya of several edibles;
ja.gara on that night with female friends without closing the
eyes: on 7th give all naivedya to a brahmal;la and feed
maidens and five or ten brahmalla house-wives and dismiss
them with the words' May Lalita be pleased with me'; HV
1.6 17-620 (from Bhav. U. 41. 1-18), VR 220-21 (remarks
that it is well-known in Gurjaradesa ).
LaliWsaplami-m. in VKV 13 (Saptaml mixed with ~a~~bI to
be preferred ).
Lava1)(ldann.-on Marg. purIlima when it has Mrgas iras-
naksatra, donate at moonrise to a briihmalJa one prastha of
ground salt in a vessel with a golden centre; secures beauty
and sauVha.gya; V. Dh. 90. 1-2 q. by SmK 430 and PC 306.
LaOO'lJasaitkrCintitl1'ata-on day of Sankrallti after bath draw with
saffron paste a lotus with eight petals and pericarp ;
worship of the picture of Sun, place in front of it a vessel
full of salt and jaggery and donate the vessel; this to be
carried on for a year; at eod make a golden image of Sun
and donate it with the vessel of salt &c. and cow; this is
a sankrantivrata; HV II 732-33 ( from Skanda ).
LCiva'IJ!Jagaurim'ata-on CaL suo5; observed by Tamil people as
shown in the pancanga ( almanac ).
Lii.vat;Yavrata-From the 1st tithi after K. pUrl.lima, worship
picture of Pradyumna on a piece of cloth or as an image,
observe nakta way; when Marg. begins observe three days'
fast, worship Pradyumna, offer homa in fire with ghee;
dinner to brii.hrnaJ;las with salt prominent; donate a prastba
of powdered salt, two garments, gold, bell-metal veesel; for
a month; this is a mii.sa-vrata; confers beauty and beaven ;
HV. U 785 (from Vi. Db. m. 203. 1-7 ).
L~vatlyavaptivrata-HV n. 785 calls it so;
same as above.
LiilgavraJas-in all these begin from K. Su. 14; worship Siva ;
subsist by nakta way; make a lioge. with flour of rice grains
as high as a ralni (distance from elbow io end of closed
400 History of Dharmasustra [ Seo. I, Ch. :xm
fist): oast over Linga a prastha of sesame; on Marg. BU. 14
smear li nga with saffron paste; in this way every month
for a year different substance for smearing, different dhupa,
naivedya &c.; even one guilty of grave sins reaches Rudrs.-
loka; HV II. 50- 56 (from Kiilottara). A linga may be
made with holy ashes, dry cowdung balls, from sand or
crystal, the best being from clay on the mountains whenoe
N armada. flows.

Lii"{lu/'('anwrrala-o n K. su o 13 with Saturday; one bundred

names of Siva to be repeated; bath of linga with pancamrta
a nd worship of Siva in the form of lings. at the time of
}J/'adoliG-; Skanda (1. 17. 59-91) describes this; verses 75-89
lIet out tbe one hundred names.
Lililv1'ata-Same as Nllavrata above p. 335.
Lokal)1'afa-Begin from Cai. suo and subsist for seven days there-
from respectively on cow's urine, cow's dung, milk, curds,
ghee and water ill which kusas are dipped and fast (on 7th);
hom a of sesame aocompanied by maha-vyuhrtis (bhu};l,
bbuva}:!, sva}:! &0. ); at end of year donate garment, bell-
metal, oows; he becomes a.n emperor; HV II. 463 (quoting
Vi. Dh. III. 16 2. 1-7 ).
Loh{jbhi.~ilrikakrflla-a.180 written as Lohabhiharika or Lauhabhi-
sarika-From Asv. suo 1st to 8th tithi a. king desirous of
conquest should perform this rite; NS 178-179, SmK 332-336 ,
RNP 444-446, Sm 28-32, PC 59, 70-72. A golden, silver or
clay image of Durga is to be worshipped, so also the weapons
and symbols of royalty with mantras; there is a legend that
there was Il demon Ilamed Loha who was shattered into
pieces by the gods and all the iron and steel in the world is
produoed from his limbs. Lohiibhisiira means putting forth
or brandishing iron or steel weapons ( • Lohabhihlirostrabhr-
t!im riiji'iiim nlrAja.no vidhil;i' Amarakosa ). When a king
started on all invasion the ceremony of sprinkling saored
wa ter OIl him or waving lights before bim was performed
and that was oalled LohD.bhis rika-karma. In U dyogaparva
160. 93 we read • Lohlibhis ro nirvrttal;l' &c. Nl1akat,l~ha
explains that it oomprises waving of lights before weapons
nd invoking deities.
Lo"ityasnlIna-( b ~h in waters of Brahmaputra river). Vide
under • Brabmaputrasn nn' 358 above.
 List of tlratas 401

Vanjulil~ra/.a-Vanjull is one of the eight great dviidas!s enume-

rated above on p. 119; Vanjuli is dvadas! that exists tbe
whole of one civil day (from sunrise to sunrise ) a nd extends
over the next day , so tha t it is possible to fast on dviidas!
and perform piiraJ;lii not on the next tithi but 011 dvadas!
itself; worship of golden image of Narayana ; in merit it is
superior to thousands of Riijasu ya sacrifices; NS 43, SmK
252- 253.
Va~asi1 vitri /)"a/a-Vide above pp. 91-94.
Vatsarudhipapfiju.-( worship of tho lord of the year). The
week-day on which the year begins in Cai. determines the
lord of the year; vide p. 1:)3 above a nd SmK 87, PC 56.
Vatsadl,u.da$i- K. kr. 12th is so called; deck a cow ( with calf)
with sandAlwood paste and honour it with garlands, with
argbya in a copper vessel at its feet and with naivedya of
circular cakes made of 1Il ,{i.~a; on that day he should abstain
from food cooked with oil or in a cooking pan and from
cow's milk, ghee, curds and buttermilk: SM 91-92.
Va racallll'llti-begin on Miirg. suo 4th; tithivrata; every month
worship GaJ;lesa and observe ekahhakta on that day but
without kSiira and lava9a; continue for 4 years, but with
nakla in 2nd year, ayu.cila in 3rd and fast in 4th; HV 1.
530-31 ( from Skanda), K R 50,1 (in M. ), KV 190 (in M. ),
VKK 498.
Varadacatu l'lhi-on M. suo 4th; tithivrata; worship of Varada
( i. e. Viniiyaka ) on 4th an d on 5th worship with kun cla
flowers; S. Pr, ( folio 47 b ), while KR 50'! and V KK 498 say
that Varacaturthl is confined to 4th and worship on 5th
with kunda flowers is Srlpaiicaml and that 'vara' means
I Vin!i.yaka '.
Varadlica!ul'/ hi-on M. suo 4th; tithi; Gaurl deity; specially for
women; GK 77; HV 1. 531 has Gaurl-caturthi (from Brah. )
which appears to be the same. NS 133 says Bh. suo 4 is
Varadacaturth!, while PC 95 says that Marg. suo 4th is BO
called.
Varana vami-on each 9th ti thi subsiet for nine years on flour;
tithi ; Devl is deity; all desires fulfilled; if performer sub-
sists on food not. cooked on fire for life on each navaml he
reaps here and in next world endless rewards; KKV 296 =
HV 1 937 (from Bhav. ), latter calling it ' Varavrata '.
B. D. 51
402 History qf Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIII

Varalak.~miurala-on Sr. Purnimii, when Venus shines in the

east; erect a mandapa t o the north-east of one's house,
establish a kalasa therein, on which Varalaksml should be
invoked and worshipped to the accompaniment of Srlsukta;
vide pp. 147- 14.9 of the transcript of Siimriijyalaksmlpl~hikii.
( transcript No 43 of 1925- 26 in B. O. R. 1. Poona ).
Varltl'1'ata-(l) Vide' Varanavaml' above; (2) one fasting for
seven days and donating a jar of ghee to a briihmat,la
reaches Brahmaloka; Samvatsara·vrata; Brahma. deity;
KKV 449 ( Mat. 101. 68 calling it Ghrta-vrata), HV n. 886
( from Pad. ).
V(lri1tl kli.~aplami-on any 7th tithi; a person should subsist on
only such food as he can purchase with three varii~ikiis
( cowries ), whether it is proper for him to eat it or not; Sun
deity; reward not stated; KKV 18l, HV 1. 726 (from Bhav.).
Vw·[i.ltac!t·adasi-on M. suo12: tithivrata: Varaha form of Vi!? t,lu
is deity ; sa nkalpa and worship on 11 th; golden image of
Varaha to be placed on a jar in which pieces of gold, silver
or copper and all seed had been cast and worship thereof
and jligara in maz/(japa of flowers; nex t morning dona te the
image to a learned and well-conducted brahmat,la; reward
is saubharl1ln , wealth, beauty, honour and sons in this very
life; KKV 319-321, HV 1. 1027-29 (both quoting Var. 41.
1-10), GK pp. 151-152.
Varu1Jaurata-If a man standing a whole night in water donates
a oow the next morning, he secures VaruI;la- loka; KKV 450
( 52nd $as~ivrata ), HV II. 905 (from Pad. ); the verse is
Mat. 101. 74) ; ( 2 ) Vi. Dh. (III. 195.1-3) is somewhat
different; worship of Varu na from the beginning of Bh. to
the .Full Moon thereof; at end donate jaladhenu together
with umbrella, sandals and two garments. The word
jaladhenu oocurs in Anusasana 71. 41 and in Mat. 53. 13;
vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 880.
VanIGL'raia-Thi s is a Caturm urtivra ta extending over four
months from Cai. su.; in Cai., Vai., Jy. , Af,l. , the performer
observes a fast and worships Vasudeva, Sankarf,l aJ;la,
Pradyumna and Aniruddha and donates respeotively
materials useful for saorifice by a brihmal;la, war materials
to a k!?atriya, merohandise to a vaisya and materials for
manual work to a siidra; performel' secures Indraloka; HV
Il 828 (from Vi. Db.).
 List of vratas 403

Vardhapanavidhi-{procedure of birthday ceremony Ilnd festiva}).

In the case of a child this was done every month on the tHhi
of birtb and in the case of a king it was done every year;
sixteen goddesses (such as Kumuda, MiidhavI, Gaur!,
RudranI, PiirvatI) should be drawn wi~h indigo or saffron
with the Sun in the middle of a circle, Vedic verses should
be loudly recited and a festival held with loud music and
the goddesses should be worshipped after bathing the child
and 16 vessels of wicker-work filled with rich materials,
edibles, flowers, fruits &c. should be donated in honour of
each of the sixteen goddesses and gifts should be made to
brahmanas and women whose husbands are alive with the
prayer' May the goddesses Kumuda and others confer on
my child health, happiness and increase his life', The
parents may then have dinner along with their relatives;
in the case of a king an offering ( hal'is ) was made to indra
and the L okapuias and Vedic verses such as :ago VI. 47. 11,
X. 161. 4 were recited; HV II. 889-892 (from AtbarvaI;la-
gopathabrahrnat;la and Skanda ).
V(lr ~'lJT'at~-beginon 9th of Cai. su. ; tithivrata; worship of the
great mountains Himavat, Hema.ku~a, Srngavat, Meru,
Miilyavat, Gandhamadana.; fast on that day; at end gift of
a silver model of Jambudvlpa; secures all desires and
heaven; HV 1. 959 (from Vi. Dh. ). Himavat, Hemaku~a
and others are styled varsaparvatas in Brah. 18. 16, Mat.
113. 10-12, Vii.yu 1.85.
VallaMotsam-festival in honour of the great Vail? Qava teacher
Vallabha said to have been born in 1497 A. D., who wrote
many works, emphatically taught a non-ascetic view of
religion and rested his doctrinea on the Bhiigavata. It is
held on Cai. kr. 11.
Vasantapllicami-on 5th tithi of M. Su. ; tithivrata; worship of
Vi~t;lu; VR 220.
Vasantotl!a1'a-{ festival of spring). There is a poetic and
detailed description of the advent of spring in VA. 6. 10-21 i
the Miilaviklignimitra and Ratnl1val! were both brought on
the stage in Vasantotsava as expressly stated in the
prastlioonli to both; the third Act of the former drama
shows that in this festival presents of red Asoka flowers
were sent to one's dear ones and wives in high families used
to be seated on a swing with their husbands. NS 229 puts
404 History of Dharmaiastra [ See. I, Ch. xm
it on Cai. k~. 1 ( by p ilr t:l imanta reckoning ), while PC 100
places it on M. suo 5 (following N A). The first Act of a
drama Piiriiatamafijari-n ii.~ikii. is called Vasantotsava in
Caitra-parva; vide E. 1. vol. VIII pp. 96 ff where two Acts of
the drama by Madana, upa dhyiiya of Arjunavarman of
Dhiiri1, are published from a stone.
Va ,m nr/liarui/eui/)raia-m, in Asvagho$a-nandimukha-avadiinam.
Vide JRAS vol. VIII ( new series ) pp. 13-14.
Va,~ nl'r(jla-( 1) worship of the eight Vasus that are really
form s of Vasudeva on the 8th tithi with fast from Cai. suo
drawn in a circle or as images ; at end donate a cow; secures
wealth and crops and Vasuloka. The eight Vasus are
Dhara, Dhruva, Soma, ApaQ, Anila, A.nala, PratYllsa and
Prabbiisa. Vide Anusasana 150. 16- 17, Mat. 5. 21,
Brahmii l1 da III. 3. 21 for thesa. HV 1. 848- 49 (from Vi.
Dh. ) j ( 2 ) gift of a cow together with l)lenty of gold when
it is about to be delivered and subsisting on milk alone
tha t day; performer reaches the high est goal and is not
born again; HV II. 885 ( from Pad. ) For the high impor-
t ance of the g ift of a cow in that condition ( and called
• ubhayatomukbl ' ) vide H. of Dh. vol. n.
p. 879.
Vrlslatrirlilm-see • Bastatririitra ' above p. 355.
Valmiurata-{ 1 ) by worship of Agni one secures tho reward of
Agni~1:oma; HV 1. 791 from Vi. Dh. ; ( 2 ) begin on Am!i-
vllsyli of Cai.; tithivrata; worship of Ago i and homa with
sesame on every amavnsyii for a year; at end donate gold;
HV II. 255-256; this is Vi. Dh. III. 190 1- 3, but HV quotes
same verses from VisnupuraI;l a.
r umjYrtliJlihuvm/u-fast on M ilIa nak!?a.tra and on Piirv!i!?ii~bfi ;
the performer with face t o ea.st is to be bathed with water
from four fresh jars in whioh conch-shell, pearl, roots of reed
plants and gold are cast and then he is to worship Vi ~J.lu,
Varuna and the moon in his court-yard; homa with ghee
ill bonour of tbese deities; gifts of blue garments;
sandalwood, wine, white flowers ; by this the trader secures
success and does not fail in sea voyage and agriculture;
HV II. 648-649 (from Vi. Dh. )
ViilllanajalJanli-on Bh. suo12th ; Viimana ( avata.ra of Vi~t;lu)
is said to have been born at mid-day on this tithi when there
wa Sravat;la-nak!1atra; f t on this day; removes all sins;
G pp. 147-1 8, Vrat!rka folio 24480 to 24.7a (from Bhav.
 List 0/ t.,.atas ~()5

U.). Vide Bhagavata VITI. chapters 17-23. In chap. 18.

5-6 it is said that Vamana appeared in month of Sr. on 12th
tithi when the naksatra was Srava~a, the 1I/1Ihiirta was
Abhijit and this tithi is called Vijayfui-t'ariasi. Vide HV I.
pp. 1138-1145 (from Bhavi~yottara) much of which is
quoted by Vratiirka.
iidasi-Dn Cai. 12; tithivrata; Vi!?lfU deity; fast on
Vumanadl>
that day; worship of the limbs from the feet to the head
connecting each with a different name ( such as • Viimana-
yeti vai p:i dam '); establish a golden image of Vamana in a
jar with white yajlio]>a rit ll , umbrella, sandals, rosary near it
and donate them next morning with the words ' May Visnu
in the form of a dwarf be pleased' after taking the twelve
names ( Kesava, Nara ya~a &c. ) with the months respecti-
vely from Marg.; result-E'o nless man has a son, one desiring
wealth gets wealth; Var. 43. 1-16 q. by K KV 323-325
and HV I. 1030-1032, VKK 320-21 , NS 140-141, SmK
249-250; Borne authorities say that Vamana appeared on
11th; others say that was OD 12th. Vide NS. 1'0 for these
views.
Vuyuvrala-( 1 ) by worship of Vdyu, performer secures the
highest goal; HV I. 791 ( half a verse); ( 2 ) begin on 14th
tithi of Jy. su. ; tithivra.ta; VAyu deity; for a year ; fast on
each suo 14th; at end of vrata gift of two garments ; HV II.
152 (from Vi. Db. ill. 185. }-3).
Va1"aI'1"atas-Agni chap. 195, KKV 8-34, DanasAgara pp. 568-
570, HV II. 520-592, HK 517-521, KR 5934>10, SmK 549-
588. Some works like Vrat!irka deal with vratas on Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday alone.
Vu.ralak~m it'rala-on a Friday nearest to Sr. pllr ~ im li or on 14th
of Sr. Su. ; varavrata; Lak~ml deity; Vratiirka 358b-36 2b,
from Bhav. U.
Vurim·a.ta-a mliaavrata; Brahmil seems to be the deity; one
should subsist in ayacila way in the four months of Cai., Jy.,
A!? and M. or P. ; at end of vrata donate a pitcher covered
wnh garments, food, vessel containing sesame and gold;
he reaches Brahmaloka.; HV 11. 857 ( from Pad. ).
J7arutli- The 13t.h of Cai. lq. if it falls on Satabhisak
nak~ana (of whioh V &rUt;la is the presiding deUy) is
called Vam J:lt and is equal to a crore of solar eoUpses; if in
 History of Dharma8astra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm

addition it falls on Saturday it is called Maha-ViinII_)i; if in .

addition to all these there is a subha-yoga, then it is maha-
maha-Vii.nIl!!; VKK 518-519, KT 463, SmK 107, GK 611
(from Skanda ), KTV 189-190.
Vii.~lldel!a'/,>(l(lasi-on
As. suo 12; tithi; Vasudeva is deity; wor-
ship of the limbs of Vasudeva from feet to head with
different names of Vasudeva and his v!lilhas; a golden image
of Vasudeva to be worshipped which is to be placed in a
water jar, covered with two garments and donated; it is
worthy of note that this vrata is said to have been imparted
hy Narada to Vasudeva and Devakl; the performer gets a
son or kingdom if he has lost it and his sins are destroyed;
HV 1. 1036-37 ( several verses are the same as in Var. 46 ).
ViUhna-vinu.yalca-·/,rata- For four months from Pha; AK folio
356.
Vijaya-( 1 ) on 10th of A.sv. suo a little after sunset when the
stars are just appearing, being most auspicious time for
aocomplishing all objects; SmK 353; (2) it is also the
name of the 11th muhllrta of the day divided into 15 muhur-
tas ; SmK 353.
Vijaya-dhfipa-described in HV II. 51 ( from Bhav. I. 68. 3-4 ).
ViJayadvildasi-( 1 ) Saidcalpa on 11th; fast on dViidasl on which
there is Sraval!a-nak!;latra; a golden image of Visnu clad in
yellow robes to be made and to be worshipped with arflhya;
Jliyara1)a o.t night; next day at sunrise donate image;
dViidas! with Srava.I)a when the Sun is 'n Lion and the
Moon in Srava'9a is not possible except in Bh.; HV 1. 1136-
38 ( from AgIli ), KR 287-288; (2) same in HV I. 1138-
1140; ( 3 ) Pha. BU. 11th or 12th if joined to Pusya-nak!;latra
is called Vijaya; (4) Bh. su_ or kr. 11th or 12th if joined to
Wednesda.y and Sraval!a-nak!;latra is called Vijaya; vrata
in suo leads to heaven a nd ill kr. to destnIction of sios;
Vi!;l t:Ju deity; HV I. 1152-1155 (from Brahmavaivarta ).
Some of these occur in KKV 348-50 (from AdityapuraI,la).
Vija!lCLI'idhi-a varavrata; on Sunday falling on Su. 7 with
Prajapatya ( Rohi t;ll. ) nak~atra; Sun deity; KKV 17-18.
Vi';ayal'1·ala.- worship of ( image) of Airavata (lndra's elephant)
with a strap in his mouth and Ucoail;lsr vas (horse of lndrB);
secures viotory; HV 1. 576 (from Vi. Dh. ).
 List 0/ t~ral.as 407

VijayiL-the name is given to several tithis e. g. suo 7 falling on

Sunday is so called (Bhav. U. 43. 2, VKK 9, HK 625 , PC
105 ); vide also entry Vijayavidbi; the Ganlda (1. 136. 1-2 )
notes that dvadasI or ekadasi joined to Srava~a-naksatra
is so oalled; KKV 349, KR 287-291. Vijaya-saptaml oocurs
in E. I. TIl. 53-56 and 1. A vol. 25 p. 345, Torkbecie grant of
Rastraku~a king Govinda, dated in sake 735 current
(813 AD. ) Pausa. VKK 36 states that if Vijaya.-saptaml has
the Sun in Hasta it is called 'maha-mabii.·; suo Ekadas!
when it has Punarvasu naksatra is oalled Vijayfi; H K 633
quoting Vi. Dh.
JTijl/!/lisaplami-{ 1) on 7th of suo with Sunday; titbi-vrata;
Sun deity; KKV 127-129 = HV 1. 663~4 (both quote 11
few verses from Bhav. U. 43. 1-30 ); ( 2 ) on M. suo 7th; tithi ;
Sun deity; fast on that day and repeating one thousand
names of the Sun ( set out in HV 1. pp. 707-716); for a.
year; reward -freedom from diseases and sins; HV I. 705-717 ;
( 3 ) Garuda ( 1. 130. 7-8) notioes another variety of this
vrata performed on seven saptam!s by fasting and foregoing
wheat, ma$a, yava, sa!!tika, bell-metal vessel, food ground on
stones, honey, sexual intercourse, meat, wine, oil bath,
oollyrium and sesame.
Vijallayajliasaplami-on M. suo7; tithi; Sun deity ; for one year,
different name of the Sun being employed in each month;
12 brahman as to be honoured; at end donate a golden image
of the Sun with a golden car and charioteer to the aclll'!Ja;
HV 1. 757-760 (from Bhav. ).
Vilastapujil-At the end of Bh. from the 10th of suo for seven
days one should see, bathe iu, drink water of, worship and
contemplate on the river Vitastti (Hydaspes of the Greeks,
modern Jbelum), that is an incarnation of Sat! (Piirvat!);
special worship at confluence of Vitastii and Sindhu; festival
in honour of the river wherein actors and dancers should
be honoured; KR 286 ( quoting Brah. ).
Viciyupratlpad-vrata-on the first tithi of a month, person desir-
ing learning and wealth should worship images of Vi!jI?u
and Lak$mI on a square figure made with husked rice grains
with full blown lotuses (1000 or less in number) and with
milk or payasa, and of Sarasvatl placed by their side, and of
the Moon and honour his guru and fast that day and on 2nd
worship Vi!jI;lU, offer gold to his deary-a and then dine; HV
L 338-3ilO (from Garu~a ).
408 Histary of Dlta'f"ma;aslm, l Sec. I, Ch. XllI
Vidyllvilptim'ul£l-from 1st tithi of M. after P. purnimii. for one
month; worship of Hayagrlva with sesame, homo. with
sesame and fast for first three days; this is masavrata;
performer becomes learned; HV II. 7~6-97 (from Vi. Dh.
Ill. 207. 1-5).
Viriyullru/a-o n 2nd tithi of a month, draw square figure with
white rice grains and in its midst a figure of a lotus with
eight petals on the pericarp of which draw Laksmi with
lotus in her hand and the latter's eight snk/is ( such as
Sarasvatl, Rati, Maitrl, Vidya). these to be placed on the
petals; salutations to these latter in the form 'am So.rasvatyai
nama.l,l '; draw several deities (named ) as lords of four
quarters and four intermediate quarters; place four (Vyasa,
Kratu, Manu, Daksa ) as gurus and Vasis~ha a nd others
on the maJ:ldala ; worship all these with various flowers;
repeat Srlsukta (one of the Khilasuktas beginning with
, Hiranyavarnam harinlm '), the PUru!;las llkta ( l,{g. X. 90 )
and hymns to Visou; donate a cow a nd a bull and a jar of
wllter to the priests and also fi ve vessels filled with fried rice,
se3ame and ( by a woman performer) turmeric powder, gold
to a house-holder and food to the hungry; the pupil should
pray to the ficii rya to impart learning and the ficarya
should impart it in the presence of images; HV I. 386-389
( from Gar. ).
Vidhllnrz-rll ,lldasa-.Qa1J/ami-0bservance of vrata on the 7th tithi
in the twelve months from CaL described at length; they
are also given separate names such as Marica-saptam!,
Phala-saptaml, Anodano.-saptaml; in aU-these Sun is deity;
mantra is 'om nama}:! Sluyiiya'; HV I. 792- 804 ( from
Aditya-purfina ).
V1dhilrw..,aptami-titb i vrata; Sun deity; a man should begin
on M. suo7 and subsist on one of the tweJve things alone in
order on the 7th tithis of the twelve months from M. viz. the
tips of arka flower, pure CQwdung, marica, water, fruit,
mula (r dish), nakta way, fast, ekabhakta, milk, taking in
air, ghee; KV 419, VKK 37 -38, TT 36-37, KT 459-460;
VKK 38 distinguishes this from Ravivrata (whioh is to be
observed on Sunday beginning from the first Sunday in M. ).
J'i1luyakc".' all£rtlti-{ 1) Vide GaJ;lesa-oaturthl above pp. 145-}49 ;
( 2 ) on eaoh 4th tithi the performer donates sesame food
and himself partakes of sesame and water at night i for two
 List of vratas 409

years; KKV 79 (quoting Bhav. I 22. 1-2), HV I. 519-520

( quotes same verses and calls it Ga ~ apati-caturthl ).
Vinayakavl'ata-begin on Phil. Su. 4; tithi; Ga~esa deity; four
months, on every su. 4 the performer observes nakta, makes
hom a with sesame, donates sesame; at end in the 5th month
donates a golden image of Ganesa with four copper vessels
filled with payasa and a 5th one with sesame; freedom from
all obstacles; Bhav. U. 33. 1- 13.
VinayakasnClpana-catnrthi-in Bhav. U. 32. 1-30 (reproducing
several verses of Yii j. 1. 271- 294). This is really a Santi
and not a vrata and may be dealt with under the section
on Santi.
Vibhfiti-dl'ai!asi-o n 10th of suo in K., Vai., Marg., Pha. or A!? .
performer should undertake the niyamas (restrictions) of
this vrata; fast on 11th and worship Janiirdana ( image);
he should offer worship to the several limbs from the feet
( of Vis\lu ) to the head in such form s as • vibhll tide nama~
padau vikosayeti jiinunI '; he should place in front of Visl,1u
image a golden fish in a jar of water ; jiigara with stories
( about VisDu ) and donate next morning the golden image
and jar with prayer • just as Visnu is never bereft of his
great manifestation s, may you free me from the mire of all
the sorrows of l'a lil'l(i1'a '; he should donate every month the
im age of each of ten al'at a J'a.~ of Visnu and of Dattiitreya.
and Vyasa, together with a blue lotus on dViidasl ; after
finish ing twelve dViidasls he should donate to the guru or
iicarya a lavanacala, a bedstead with all appurtenanoes, a.
cow, a village ( by kingly performer) or a field (the viIlage
chief) and to other brahma naB cows and garments; this
procedure may be followed for three years ; be becomes free
from sins, saves a hundred pil rs &0.; KKV 364-367, HV
L 1057-1060; both quote from Mat. 100. 1-37 (some verses
are different), which are also found in Pad_ V. 20. 4-42.
For the gift oalled Lava~iicala. vide H. of Dh. n. p. 882,
Mat. 84. 1-9.
Virupak~vrala-begin on 14th of P . su.; worship of Siva for
one year; at end donate all materials to a bri.hma~a and
donate a camel; becomes free from fear of ril/ata3a.,. from
diseases and seoures all objects; BV IT 153 ( from Vi. Db.
III 186. 1-3 ).
.
B. D. 51
 History of Dharmasii,~tra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm

Vi;okadt;urlasi-sai:lkalpa on 10th night of Asv. suo 'I shall fast

on 11th, worship Kesava and shall partake of food the ned
day (on 1tth)'; worship of Kesava from feet to head; a
mandala should be made and thereon a four-cornered altar;
phce on altar a winnowing basket in which an image of
Laksml called Visokli. (that frees from sarrow) is kept and
the prayer' May Visokli. destroy sorrow, confer wealth and
all success'; on all nights worshipper to drink water in which
darbhas are dipped; dance and song all night; honour pairs
of hrnhmanas; this procedure every month; at end donate
bedstead and (ln~Ja,lhenll and the surpa (basket) together
with Laksml image; KKV 360-364, HV 1. 1075-1078 (from
Pad. V. 21. 22-80. ); Mat. 81 describes this and 82 describes
Gucladhenu which ia only a subsidiary part (a1i(I(l) in this
vrata. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 880-81 for [JurJarlhPnll.
Tlis()k(l/!(lI~t"i-on
M. Su. 5th bath with black sesame and partake
food made up of rice and sesame; then on 6th make a golden
lotuB and worship i~ as Sun with red karavlra flowers and
two red garments and pray for freedom from sorrow.( s()lm ) i
should drink cow's urine and then sleep; on 7th donations
to guru and brn.hmanas and partake of food without oil and
salt, observe silence and listen to Purana works; this should
be done in both fortnights for one year; at end on M. suo
7th donate a jar containing a golden lotus, a furnished bed-
stead and a kapila cow; HV 1. 600·602 (from Bhav. U. 38.
1-7 ); KKV ( 211-212 ) gives these very verses as Visoka-
saptaml.
l'i;nl."(lIlfl7ikriinfi-When on an Ayana day or Vi~uva day there
is Vyatlpii.tayoga the performer should bathe in water mixed
with frill!! and observe ekahhakta; he should bathe a golden
image of the Sun with pancagavya and offer flandha and
flowers, clothe it in two red garments and place it in a
copper vessel and worship the Sun (image) from feet to
head with different names of Sun, and offer argbya; one
year; at end worship Sun, otTer boma with mantras addres-
sed to the Sun, donate twelve kapilii cows or one cow if
poor i secures long life, hea.lth a.nd proElperity i this is a
sankrll.nti vrata; HV II. 742-743 (from Skanda).
Yi8ok'l,Qapfami-HV 1. 746-17 quotas from Bhav. thirieen versos
on this whioh are the same as Mat. 75. 1-12 ( =Pad. V. 21.
235-248) and which are Ule same as the verses under
Visokal?~(.hl.
 .List oj vrald.$ 411

Visvarupavrala-on suo 8th or 14th when it falls on Saturday

and RevatI naksatra: Siva is deity; the linga should be
bathed in mahasnana ; camphor as unguent, white lotuses
and many ornaments to be plaoed on linga, burn camphor
as inoense, naivedya of pay as a. and ghee; gift to aoiirya of
a horse or elephant; performer gets whatever he desires
( son, kingdom, pleasures &c. ), hence vrata is called Visva,
r ii pa ( lit. having all form s ); drink at night water mixed
with kusas and observe jii.gara; HV 1. 865-866 (from
Kalottara ).
Vis v(/'l'rala-( 1 ) Ekn.bhakta on 10th of every month; tithivrata:
for a year ; at end donate ten cows and golden or silver
images of the ten directions with a trougb full of sesa.me;
performer becomes an emperor and all his sins are destroy-
ed; KKV 451, H V 1. 983 (from Pad. ); Mat. 101. 83
mentions this; ( 2 ) Visvedevas to be worshipped on ekiidasl;
images of them to be placed on lotus petals; tithivrata;
ViSvedevas deity; offer stream of ghee and fuel sticka,
curds, milk, honey; HV 1. 1148 (from Bhav.). This vrata
is like Vaisva.nara- pratipad.
Visvede-va-dasami-pilja-from K. suo 10; tithi; ten Visvedevas
enumerated in Vi. Dh. III. 176. 1 that are manifestations of
Kesava are deity; worship them in maJ;ldalas or as images i
one year; at end donate gold; reaches Visvedevaloka. Vi.
Dh. III. 176. 1-5.
Vi ~tivmla or Vi~~ibha(Mi-The kara11as will be described in the
section on Kala. They are of two classes, eara ( moveable)
and sl hi1'C.l ( fixed). The first are seven of whioh Vi s ~i is
one. Vide Br. S. ~9. 1. Vis~i is half of a tithi. The works
on astrology raised it to the status of an ill-formed malignant
demo ness. Vi~ ~i comprised 30 gha ~ikii.8 which were distribu-
ted unevenly in ber mouth, throat, heart, na.vel, waist and
tail (respectively 5, 1,11,4,6, 3 gha~ikas); HV 11.719-724
(from Bhav. U.), K L~ 330, SmK 565- 566 desorib ber as the
daugMer of the Sun and sister of Saturn, she has the mouth
of an ass, three feet &0. Vi~\i was generally destructive and
was to be avoided for any auspicious undertaking. but i'
was a favourable time for destroying enemies or poisoning
them ( B~. S. 99. 4); fast on the day that has V~~i; but if
Vi!1~i OCCUrs at night then ekabhakta may be resorted to on
~wo days; worship gods and pitre and then image of Vi!1~i
made of darbhas with flowers &c. ; naivedya is of kr;ara
412 Hi8tory of Dharmasii8tra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIII

( dish of rice and pea.s and spices, Maralhi lchicag.i ); gift of

dark garment, dark cow and dark blanket. Vis~i and
Bhadra mean the same thing. Vide HV II. 719- 724, KN
330, SmK 565-566.
Vi'~'llU-Vi. Dh. lII. 123 lays down what names of ViSl;lU should
be taken on certain occasions, such as crossing a river
(when one is to remember Matsya, Kurma and Varaha) ,
or when the planets or nakf?atras are unfavourable or when
one is in danger from robbers and tigers &c. ( remember
name Nrsirhha); Vi. Dh. III. 124 sets out the names of
Visl;lU to be uttered in months from Cai., or on weekdays,
naksatras, tithis; chap. 125 deals with the names to be ta.ken
when visiting certain holy places, countries &c.
Vi .1\1utri murtivrala-Visnu has three forms or manifestations
viz. Vii.yu, the Moon and the Sun; these protect all the three
worlds ; they are also inside the bodies of JUen as 'nUJa, pilla
( bile) and kapha (phlegm); in this way ViSlf U has three
palpable forms; worship Him on J y. suo3 observing a fast;
in early morning worsh ip Vii.yu, offer at midday homa in
Agni with yavas and sesame, at sunset worship the Moon
in water ; for a year ( on each 3rd of suo ); worshipper reaches
heaven; if he performs for three years, he is in heaven for
5000 years; Vi. Dh. III. 136.1-26.
ViEltlu.triTUJ.ra IJrala- on K. suo9th; make a golden image of Hari
and of Tulllsl and worship for three days and celebrate
marriage of Tulasl with Hari; NS 204.
ViEl'lmderakiL'1'ala-begin on 1st tithi of K.; jar a year; bathe
with pancagavya and partake of it; worship of Vasudeva
with bii.l,la flowers, sandalwood paste and sumptuous naive-
dya; resolve to abstain for a mon~h from harming any living
baing ( even animal), from telling an untruth, from theft,
flesh and honey; engage in constant thought on Vif?:t;lu; no
reviling of siistra, sacrifice or de l'alli..~; partake of naivedya
with silence every day; same prooedure in Marg., P . and M.
and other months except that flowers, incense and naivedya
are different; HV 11636-638 (from Vi. Dh. ). It is worthy
of note that this nata was imparted to DevakI, mother of
K!'~:t;la, who wanted a good son and she was asked to worship
Vlisudeva who is no other than her own son.
ViqtUJ.pal1caka-the last five days of K. are so oalled; worship
Hari and Ridhi during those five days with five upaoi.raa
 lA8t of vralas

viz. gandha &c.; all sins being destroyed he goes to Vist:\u.

loka j various ways of service are described viz. worship on
11th. drinking cow's urine on 12th, milk on 13th, curds 011
14th. worship Kesava on 15th and drink pancagavya in
evening, or worship Had with Tulas! leaves; Pad. III.
23.1-33.
Vi.~rzupada or J7i~upadi-name of the four zodiacal signs of
Vrsabha, Silriha, Vrscika and Kumbhaj vide KN 332 and
under Sankranti above p. :na.
Vi~u}Jada/)rata-begin on Pllrviisiidhii.-naksatra in ASlldha;
worship the three steps of Visnu placed in milk or ghee;
performer to subsist on sacrificial food (hal'islj(l) at night
alone; in Sriivat:\a on Uttar5siidhii. worship of Govinda and
Visnu's three steps, gift and food being different; in Bh. on
Piirvasadhii, in Phil. on PlITViiphalgunl and in Cai. on
Uttariiphalgunl similar worship; performer secures health,
prosperity and goes to Vis~uloka; HV II. 665-667 (from
Vi. Dh.).
Villrzupra[Jodha-Rising of ViSl.1U from sleep in K. Vide pp. 109-
110 above and HK 903--4, KR 421-·425.
VioWupraptil'rala-fast on dviidasI, argbya to tbe Sun with tbe
words • Namo Niiriiyat:\aya 'j worship of Vist:\u image with
white flowers with the mantra • 0, best among gods I 0
support of earth I baving accepted with a gracious mind
these flowers may the Lord ViSI;lU be pleased with me '; lae
should subsist on syiimii.ka ( millet) or corn that ripens in
sixty days from sowing with condiments, rice or barley or
nil'ura ( wild rice): then parana; performer reaches Vi!;l7;lu-
loka; KKV 343-344, HV L 1203--4 (from Bhav. ).
Vi~Q'tla"'lIa1'artivrala-cleanse cotton of dust and pieces of grass
&c. on an auspicious tithi and lllfl1lU and spin Lhreads there-
from four finger-breadths in lengtb and five such threads
would make a wick j one hundred thousand of such wicks
immersed in ghee placed in a vessel of silver or bell-me\al
should be kindled before Vist:\u image; the proper time for
kindling is either K., M., or Vai., the last being the best;
every day a thousand or two thousand lighted wicks should
be waved before ViSDU; finish the vrata on piir~imA of one
of the above thl'8e months; then udyapana; nowadays thu
~r" Ja done in \he Deccan by women only; VKD 383-398.
 History of Dharmatiistra [ Sec. I, Ch. .xm
Vil1'IJuvrala-( 1) worship of Vi s~lU image drawn on a lotus;
this vrata has the same procedure as Vaiil vii.naravrata i HV
1. 1177 ( from Bhav. ); ( 2 ) fast on twelve dvadasis (in a
year) and g ift of cow, calf and gold; performer secu ree
highest goal i HV 1. 1202 (from Pad. ), VKK 70 i (3)
begin on 2nd tithi of P . suo i for a year divided into two
periods of sil: months each i the performer bathes on the four
days from 2nd tithi with water respectively mixed with
mustard, sesame, vaca (plant with aromatic root) and
sal''/'auljarlhis i the names to be worshipped on those four days
are respectively KrsIfa, Acyuta, Hrf!Ikesa and Kesava;
arghya to be offered to the crescent of the moon on the four
tithis respectively as Sa sin, Candra, Sasanka and Nisapati;
performer to eat once at night while moonlight lasts;
dak!jina to be given on 5th; this was performed by ancient
kings (Dillpa, Dusyanta), sages (Marlci, Cyavana) and
high- born ladies (DevakI, SavitrI, Subhadra) i result-removal
of sins and securing desired objects; Agni 177. 15-20, HV
II. 458-460 (from Vi. Dh. ) i (4) early morning bath
for four months from As., gift on K. pLir:t;l ima of a cow and
dinner to brahmanasi reaches Vi!j Duloka; KKV 444 (quot-
ing Mat. 101. 37 ), KR 219; (5) on Oai. suo 4th observe
fast and worship the several groups of four forms in which
Hari appears, viz. Nara, Narayana, Haya and Harrisa; or
as Mitra, VaruIla, Indra and Vi!jnu, the first two being
Sudhyas aud the latter two siddhas ; perform for twelve
years; he fi nds the way to m n k ,~ I and becomes equal to the
Highest; Vi. Dh. III. 151. 1- 8.
VI~~lUsaTikaral"rat(L-This is to follow the procedure of Umamahe-
svaravrata (p. 277 above). It ie to be performed in Bb.
or Asv. on M rgas iras, Ardra., P urvii.phalgunl, Anurii.dhii. or
Jye s ~bii.; the only differences are that garments for Vi!jt;lu
image should be yellow, the daksit;lii.s for Vist;lu and Saokare.
were respeotively to be gold and pearls; HV 11 593-594
(calls it Saokara-Nii.rliyaJ,1a-vrata). KR 282-283 (both
quote Devlpurllt;lB ).
Vi~llIt'lyaTloI 8alXl-Thefestival on the sleeping of Vi!it;lu either
on the 11th or 12th of A.l? su.; NS 102 ; vide above pp. 109-
110 for Vif!t;lUsaysnB. This is not to be performed in inter-
oalary month.
Vi {lusrlikilatu-yoga-when dvidasI is mixed up with ekadaSl
and dvadssl has also Sre.vat;ls.n~tr on it, it is oalled
 List of vralas 415
Vjs~uspikbala; by fast Ing thereon one's sins are wiped out
and one secures 8ayujya ( absorption) into Visr;lU; HV 295,
KV 464, PC 216-219.
Virapmliparlli-same as Balipratipada above p. 201-203.
ViraemIa-on 9th tithi a person should observe ekabhakta, treat
to dinner maidens and donate a golden jar, two garments
and gold; for a year ( on each 9th dinner to maidens); in
each life he becomes handsome and is not subdued by
enemies and reaches Siva's oapital; the deity appears to be
Siva or Umii or both; Mat. 101. 27-28 q. by KKV 443, HV
I. 958 (from Pad. ), VKK 41.
Virasana-a posture required in all Krcohras; HV 1. 322 (quot-
ing Gar. ) and II. 932 and also in Aghamarsanavrata
(Sankhasmrti 18. 2). It removes all sins. Vide H. of Dh. IV.
p. 148 note 342. For another meaning (in Yoga system ),
vide H . of Dh. vol. II. p. 957 note 2127a.
Vrk,!otsal'avidhi-Great importance was attaohed to the planting
of trees Mat. 59 (verses 1-20 same as Pad. V. 24. 192-211 )
contains the prooedure of tree festival. It is briefly as
follows:-trees in a garden should be sprinkled with 8arl'(jll.~adhi
water, decked with fragrant powder and flowers and cloth
should be wound round them; the trees should be pierced
with a golden needle ( imitati ng karna vedha) and collyrium
applied to them with a golden pencil; on the platforms of
trees seven or eight golden fruits should be plaoed, jars
oontaining pieoes of gold should be established under the
trees: homa to be offered to Indra, L okapiilas and Vanaspati ;
a milch cow covered with white cloth decked with gold
ornaments and having horns tipped with gold should be let
loose from the midst of trees; the performer ( owner of the
trees) should honour all priests with gifts of cows, golden
ohains, rings, clothes &c. aud feed brahmanas with a dinner
full of milk for four days; hOllla with yavas, black sesame
and mustard and paW,sa fuel sticks and festival on 4th day;
performer reaps all desires. Mat. 154. 512 states that a son
is equal to ten deep reservoirs of water and a tree planted is
equal to ten ilons. It is said by Var. (172.36-37) that just
as a good son saves his family, so a tree laden with flowers
and fruits saves its owner from falling into hell, and that
one who plants five mango trees does Dot go ~ Hell; Vi. Dh.
(m. 297. IS) remarks abou\ trees • a single tree nurtured by
416 History of Dharmasaatra [ Sec. 1, Cb.. .xm

a man performs what a son would do in that it gratifies

gods with its flowers, travellers with its shade, men with
its fruits; there is no fall in hell for the planter of a tree.'
Vrn({ilca-tyaua-vidhi-i ~ involves the abstention from eating
vrntiika ( fruit of egg-pla.nt) for a life-time or a year or six
or three months; fast on BharanI or Magbii naksatra for one
nigbt; invoke tbe presence of Yama, Kala, Citragupta,
Mrtyu and Prajapati on an altar and worsbip with aandha
&c.; boma with sesame and gbee witb svaba to Yama, NIla,
Nllakal)tha, Yamariija, Citragupta, Vaivasvata; 108 (ihntis ;
gift of a vrntaka made of gold, dark cow and bull, finger
rings, ear-rings, umbrella, sandals, a pair of dark garments
and dark blanket; dinner to brabmanas who pronounce
blessings; he who gives up vrntaka for life goes to ViSI,1U-
loka; one who performs this for a year or a month even
does not see the city of Yama; it is a ]J'rakir1]aka vrata;
HV II. 909-910 (from Bhav . U.).
Vrndlluanadl·Cldasi-on K. suo 12 observed in Tamil lands.
Vrl}auhaurata-( 1 ) fast on 7th su. ; on 8th gift of a bull covered
with two white garmonts and decked with ornaments
( bell &c. ) ; tithivrata; Siva deity; the performer reaches
Sivaloka and thereafter beoomes king; HV 1. 882 (from
Bhav. U.) i (2) worship of bulls on Jy. Amavasyii i manu-
factUre wooden bulls tbe previous day and establish them
in one's own house and worship with yandha &c.; prayer
to bulls oalling them Dharma. Dharma is often spoken of
=
as vff?a as in Manu VIII. 16 ( S§.ntiparva 90. 15.
Vr~(lI'1'a{a-( 1 ) the same as Visl)uvrata (~) above; KKV 448
quoting Mat. 101. 64; (3) on K. purnima. let loose a bull
and observe nakta ; tithi; Siva deity; performer reaches
Sivaloka; HV n. 24:2 ( from Pad. one verse ).
]'r·~(j/.~al'!la-(
letting loose a bull) on purr;lima of Cai. or K. onoe
in three years on Revat! nak~atra ; bull to be three years
old and aooompanied by four or eight oows three years old;
KR 432-433 ( from Brah. ). The most frequent letting loose
of a bull takes plaoe on the 11th day after the death of a
person. For trea.tment thereof, vide H. of Dh. IV. pp. 539-
542. The Bame Bubjeot is treated at length in HV II. 983-997,
mK 390-405.
v: davrala-This is a. Oaturmiirtivrata; from Oai. one should
worship Rgveda and should subsist by nakta way and listen
 List of vratas

to its recitation and on last day of Jy. donate two garments,

gold, cow, bell-metal vessel full of ghee; in As, Sr, Bh. he
should observe Yajurveda nata, in Asv, K. and Marg.
Samaveda vrata and in P., M, PM. for all vedas; this is
really worship of Vasudeva who is the soul of the Vedas;
perform for twelve years; becomes free from all trouble and
goes to Vist:Juloka; HV II. 827-28 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 141.
1-7 ).
Vesyul'rala-HV n. pp. 5U-548 (quoting Bhav. U.) deals with
this vrata and contains the startling story narrated hy
Krsna to Yudhisthira that the former cursed his 16000
wives, when he noticed their erotic emotion roused by the
charms of his son Samba, that after his death d(l.'~!lus would
kidnap them and the story of a prior curse pr0Ilounced by
sage Narada on Apsarases who proudly did not bow to him
that they would have Narayana as their husba.nd but that
ultimately they would be kidnapped by robbers and become
VesyaB ( prostitutes). The long and short of this story is
that they were advised to follow the profession in palaces
and temples, that they should not love any male who has
no wealth, but that they should have as their sale object
wealth, whether the man who approached them was hand-
some or ugly. It is further stated that they should make
gifts of cows, fields, gold to brtlhmallas, should bathe with
sar/'(Ju.~adhi water wben on a Sunday there is Hasta, l'usya
or Punarvasu naksatra and offer worBbip to KAmudeva
from the feet to the head, that they should worship Cupid
as ViSI.lU, honour a brtihmana learned in the Veda with gift
of a Jlra~(ha of husked rice grains and render their person
to him on Sunday as above for a year and in the 13th
month make a gift of bedstead, gold chain and an image of
Kamadeva; this is the vrata for all Vesyii.s; this is varavrata;
Ananga (god of love) is devatii; KKV (27-31) has this
vrata and calls it VesyadityavarAnangadina-vrat.a.
Vaiku~~"acalurdaSi-( 1) K. Su. 14 is called Vaikun\ha; if
worship of Visnu is to be done it should take place at night;
NS 206; ( 2) on K. Su. 14 in the cyclic year Hemalamba
at the time of Arunodaya and on Brahma mllhfjrfll Lord
Visvesvara himself is said to have bathed in Manikarnik!
at Banaras, performed PaSupatavrata aDd together wi'b
Umii. worshipped Visvesvara aud es~blished Visvesvara;
NS 206, SmK 388-389, PC 2~6-U7.
B. D. 53
418 History of DharmaSastra l Seo. I, Ch. xm
Vaitara~i/lmla--Marg. kr. 11th tithi is called Vaitaratll; one
should undertake ni?lama.s (restrictions) for this vrata on
that tithi; at night he should worship a dark cow from its
front foot to its tail; apply sandalwood paste to its body,
wash its feet and horns with water scented with sandalwood
paste and worship its limbs with Pauranika mantras; sinoe
one crosses the VaitaraIlI river of the nether world by means
of a cow, so this ekada!;! on which cow is honoured is so
called; this vrata is for one year in three periods of four
months, in which naivedya of boiled rice, of cooked barley
and of payasa is offered respectively in 4 months from
Marg., in four months from Cai. and in 4 months from
Sr. ; one third of each naivedya is to be given to the cow,
to the priest and to the performer; at end of one year gift
of bedstead and a golden cow to the priest and one dr()~UL of
iron; HV 1. 1110-1112 (from Bha v. U.), Vra tarka 230a-
231b ( notes that it is well-known in Gurjara.-desa). Pad.
(VI. 68. 28 ff) describes this but says that Marg. kr. 12th is
VaitaranT.
Vainli:yaka-vrala-on every 4th tithi practise nakta for a year;
at end of year donate an elepbant; tithivrata ; Ganesa
deity; leads to Sivaloka; Mat. 101. 61 quoted ( with varia.-
tions ) by KKV 448 and HV I. 532 ( from Pad. ).
Vai silkha-ler1ya- Vide HV II. 748- 750, KR 145-179, VKK 240-
259, KT 423- 430, NS 90 -97, SmK 108- 117, GK 15-23.
Some of tho vratas in Vaisiikha, such as Aksayyatrtlya.
have been separately mentioned. Other small matters are
briefly dealt with here. In this month morning bath,
particularly in holy rivers, is specially commended along
with baths when the Sun is in Tulii ( Balance) or Makara
(Capricorn ). Vide RM (ABORI vol. 36 p. 331 'Tula-
makara' &c.), KR 149 (quoting' Tulamakaramesestl prilta~­
sn!i.nam vidhlyate), KV 423-424, SmK 106, 108. The
p1·i."'ttahsnilna may be begun on Oaitra Full Moon or on the
ek.§.dasl or Full Moon of Vaisakha ( NS 90); for mahiitmya
of Vaisllkha-sna.na, vide Pad. IV. 85. 41-70 saying that
arly morning bath in Vai. is equal to Asvamedba; on suo 7
the worsh ip of the Ganges, as it was let off on this tithi from
his right ear by Jahnu who drank it up in anger (KKN
3 7, Pad. IV. 5. 41- 42, N 95, SmK 112 ); on Vai. suo 7
Buddha was born and his image should be worshipped for
three days from that tithi, especially when it has Pu~a
 List oj vratas 419

naksatra ( KKN 388, KR 160). On suo8 worship of Thuga

called Aparajit3. after bathing image with water containing
camphor a.nd Ja ~ii.mali1s ! and the performer himself should
bathe with the juice of mangoes (N A 56, SmK 113); on Vai.
purn imii., white and dark sesame were produced by Brahmii,
therefore one should bathe with water mixed with til ern ,
offer in fire sesame, donate sesame and iliad/III ( honey ) and
vessels full of sesame (KKN 388, HV II. 167- 171, KR 163-
164, SmK 115- 116, NS 97 ); vide V. Dh. 90. 10 for a similar
provision. The Vaisakha-p uja of Buddha was started iu-
Ceylon under Duttha-gamanl ( about 100-77 B. 0. ); vide
'Buddhism in Ceylon' by Walpola R:ihula (Colombo,
1956) p. 80.
Vaisl'ilnara-'l 'rata-( 1 ) On 1st tithi worsh ip Agni and offer into
fire gilee and all kinds of corn; Ag ni the lord of 1st should
be drawn in the midst of a lotus; the ma in mantras would
be' am Agnaye nam a.l,l , in worship and 'am Agnayo sViihii'
(in homa) with grains anointed with gilee and then with a
stream of ghee, fuel sticks &c.; HV I. 354-355 (from Bhav.) ;
( 2) to donate fuel sticks to a brahmana in tho four seasons
beginning from the rainy season and at end to donato gli r/a-
d hen1l is Vai svanaravrata destroying all sins; this is rfu.-
vrata; Mat. 101. 57 q. by KKV 447, HV II. 360 (from Pad.).

Vai .~1Ul'L)aL'1·ata-In
this a person takes an early morning bath
every day for four months from As. ; at end foeds a urah-
mana and donates a cow and a jar of ghee; mli.sarrala;
VisJ;lu deity; HV II. 818 ( from Pad. )
Vyatipatavrata-Vy at lpata is one of the 27 Yogas ( Viskambba,
Prlti &c. ) enumerated in Bhujabala p. 37 verses 136- 138.
It is variously defined. Vide H. of Dh. II. p. 852 note 2010
for one definition and VKK 242 for another. More will be
said under Kala.
For V yatlpatavratas, vide H V n. 708-717, Vratiirka
folios 391a- 395a. On Vyatlpata day one should bathe with
paiicaga.vya in a great river; a. golden figure of Vyatlpli.ta.
with 18 arms should be placed on a golden lotus and should be
worshipped with gandha &c.; fast on that day; one year; on
the 13th Vyatlpata udyu]Xl1la; hundred fi lm/is of ghee, milk
and sesame with fuel sticks of trees that exude milky juice
with the words • Vyatlplitaya sVflha '. Vyatlpata is said to
be the son of the Sun and Moon. Vide 1. A. vol. 23 p. 117
420 History of Dharrna8astm [ Sec. I, Ch. xIIi

No. 27 Inscription dated sake 1199 (1277 A. D.), where there

is a mention of 'Vyatipiita-punya' (language is Canarese).
Vide 1. A. ;W pp. 292-293 for several meanings of Vyat!pata.
Vyu lJapujii-on As. pllrnima; particularly by ascetics ( sannya-
sins); SmK 144-145, PC 284. In Tamil country it is done
on Jy. suo15 ( Mithuna ).
ryultrlil'TUla-beginning from Cai. suo 1st, one should, after a
bath outside the house ( in a river &c. ), respectively drink
and observe on the seven days cow's urine, cow's dung,
milk, curds, clarified butter, water with kusas dipped therein
and fast; every day homa of sesame to the accompaniment
of the Mah5.vy ah rtis ( bh il.l;l, bhuva.l;l, sva.l;l, maha.l;l, jana.l;l,
tapa.l;l , satya); every month this be done for a year; at end
donate daksina, unused garment, gold, bell-metal vessel,
milch cow; tbe performer becomes an emperor; Vi. Dh. III.
162.1-7. It'or Vyahrtis and Mahavyahrtis, vide H. of Dh.
vol. II. 301 note 713.
Vyumav1'ata-the sky should be made with white sandalwood
paste of the length of thumb joint and placed before the
Sun; worship of the Sun with Karavlra flowers; to the east,
south, west and north of the figure of sky apply saffron,
arturll, white sandalwood and ('atn~8allla respectively and
red sandalwood in the middle; the mantra is ' Khakholkaya
namal;l '; Sun deity; HV II. 904-5 (from Bhav. ).
Vyu/lla{la.,~hi-worship of the Sun in the sky ( and not of an
image) and also of the sky ( "yo/l!a ); offering to the Sun of
ghee and honey contained ill a vessel of the capacity of a
pmslha, one prastha of sesame and three prasthas of rice
grains; worship of the Sun in the evening of the tithi;
reaches Sllryaloka; HV 1. 616-17 ( from Bhav. ).
Vralarujalr1iIJul']'(Il.l-on su. 3rd tithi draw on two pieces of cloth
figures of [l Ill U and S~/'a with 1'Ocanil, camphor and indigo
and worship them with necklaces of gold and jewels and
utter two (Paurlit:lika) mantras separately addrei!sed to them;
born a ; this vrata leads to non-separation from husband,
son, brother &c., particularly for women; HV 1 484-85
( from DevlpurliI;la ).
V1·ata,';i(ll;l~/ti-Mat.
101 and Pad. V. 20. 43-144 set out 60 vratas
( almost in ideutical words) all of which find place in KKV
pp. 439-4.51.
 List of vratas 42i

§akradhva;"amahof sara-Same as Tndradbvajotthanotsava ahove

p. 274. Vide Vi. Dh. II. 154-157 for detailed descript ion.
Saras,at!kan thabharana of Bhoja (on Poetics ) V. 95
mentions Sakrarcii festival.
,~akra,.raf a-( 1) from Aav. Su. 5; BV 1. 1204; ( 2 ) on Asv.
pCm;lima fast and worship Indra, his wife Sac!, Airiivana,
Vajra (thunderbolt ), Matuli nga (Miitali ? ) with gandha
&c., for a year; at end donate gold ; reacbes Indra-l ka ; H V
II. 237 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 196. 1- 3 ) ; ( 3) one should eat food
in the open; for a year; a t end dona.te a cow ; reaches
Sakraloka ; HV II. 866 ( from Pad. ).
&l1lkara-Il Ii."ii!J(I~/a-l'ra!tl--same as Visl1u-Sankara-vratll above
p. 414 ; KKV 416-17, HV II. 693-94 (from Devlpurii[ja ).
&l1ikarurka l m fa-on 8th fa.lling on Sunday ; worsbip of the Sun
who is the right eye of Sao kara; in the half moon fi gure a
circula.r spot be made by applying saffron and red sandal-
wood paste and in the circular spot place a ruby fixed in
gold ; this would be eye ( Sun) of Saokara ; tithivrata ; Arka
(Sun) as Saokara's eye is deity; KKV 271- 72, HV 1. 831- 32
( from Kalika ). If no ruby available use gold.
Swi,karilcu.r?/ll-jnljanl i- on Cai. suo 5 in Southern India, but 011
Vai. suo10 in Mabiirii.~ tra.

8a.lalihi~i1sllcL1la-on Dhanistbii-naksatra fast for both performer

and his priest; performer seated on Bhadrasana was t o be
bathed with water from one hundred jars fi lled with conches
and pearls and after bath, he, wearing unused garment,
should worship K esava, Varu[ja, Candra, Satabh isak naksatra.
(the presiding deity of which is Varu na ) with gandha &0.;
donate to iicii.rya liquids, cow, jar and gold and daksinll. to
other brahmanas; he should wear a jewel surrounded uy
tbl'ee coverings of sam! and salmali ( silk-cotton) leaves
and tips of bamboo ; all diseases vanish; naksatra.vrata;
Vi~l;lu, Varu I1a. deities ; HV ll. 653-54 (from Vi. Dh.).

&drunii sana·vrala-wor sh ip Vasudeva with saffron, white flowers,

[Juggulu dhilpa, lamp fed with ghoe, red garment; homa;
na.k~atravrata; this destroys enemies ; HV ll. 597 (from
Vi. Dh.).
Saniprado~vrala-on su. 13th tithi if falling on Saturday in the
months £rom K; for one year; for progeny; wol'Sbip of Siva
 History of DharmaSastra LSec. I, Ch. xrn

and taking food after sunset; SmK 40-41, PC 225-229,

Vratarka, folios 265a-269b.
8ani'Varavrata-on each Saturday in Sravat;la bathe an iron
image of Saturn with paficam~"ta, offer flowers, fruits &c.
and recite the names of Saturn as • Kotlastha, Pingala,
Babhru, Krsna, Raudra, Antaka, Yama, Saud (son of the
Sun), Sanaiscara, Manda (reference to slow motion of
Saturn); naivedya on the four Saturdays of Sravana are
rice and miisa pulse boiled together, payasa, am/Jili (gruel
prepared with rice flour and but~er-milk ) and purikil (wheat
cake); SmK ~55-56 (contains a stotra of Sanaiscara
from Skanda ).
Banivrata-on Saturday take an oil-bath and donate oil to a
brAhmat;la; worship Saturn with dark flowers; for one year i
at end donate the iron image of Saturn placed in iron or
clay jar fil10d with oil and accompanied with a pair of dark
garments; the mantra for a briihmana performer is • san no
devlrahhis~aye' Hg. X. 9.4 and for others several Pauranika
mantras in praise of Sani ( called also Ko l1 a, probably f~om
a Greek word); this averts all troll hIe caused by Saturn;
HV n. 580-586 ( from Bhav. U. ), SmK 555.
8amipujana-worship of Saml tree. Vide Vijaya-dasamI above
pp. 188-194 and SmK 355.
8IlmIJhul'rala-person that burns in fire two thousand paIns of
ghee from buffalo milk for a year reaches the pmlition of
Nandi; samvatsaravrata i Siva deity i.. HV II. 866-67
(from Pad.).
&lyalla-sleeping of Vist;lu and other gods and goddes!!es. Vide
above pp. 109-111 and HK 897-915, KV 265-273.
~Ilyyiidilllll-gift
of bedstead, This is required in several vratas
as in Mailopavlisavrata, Sarkarii-saptaml. Vide Sm K 417 -418.
ILrkar(i.~aptami-on Cai. Su. 7th tithi morning ba~h with water
mixod with white sesame; draw on an altar a lotus and
pericarp with saffron and offer on it d!tuj,a and flowers with
words • nama~ Savitre '; place a jar containing a gold piece
covered with a plate containing sugar and offer worship
with Pauriil,lika mantra; drink paficagavya and lie on the
ground near the jar and recite inaudibly Saura bymn (ag.
1 50 ); on 8\h donate all the above materials and feed
 List of vratas ~23

brahmanas with sugar, ghee and payasa and himself par-

take of food without salt and oil ; every month this proce-
dure for a year; at year's end donate a furni shed bedstead
with sugar and gold, a cow and a house (if poss ible) and a
golden lotus made with one to 1000 lI iiikas ; when Sun drank
ll111r/a some drops fell down from which sprang rice, 1II11 r/!Ja
and sugarcane ( from which sugar is produced); tithiITata ;
Sun deity; this vrata removes sorrow and confers sons,
long life and health; Mat. 77. 1- 17 q. in KKV 214-217, HV
1. 64 2-43 (from Pad. V. 21. 263-279), KR 157-159 (from
Mat.); Bhav. U. 49. 1-18 has almost the same verses as Mat.
,~iJka-(vegetable) is said to be of ten forms viz. 'roots, leaves.
sprouts, blossom, fruits, stalks, corn that bas germinated,
bark, flower and mushroom; HV I. 47. NS 105 (both quot-
ing Kslrasvaml on A.marakosa ), VR 17.
Silkasap/ami-begin on K. im. 7th; every month for one year
divided into three periods of four months; on 5th ekabhakta,
on 6th nakta and fast on 7th; offer to brahrnanas food with
well spiced vegetables and should himself eat at night;
tithivrata; Sun deity; in each period of four months differ-
ent flowers ( Agasti, fragrant flowers, Karavlra), unguents
( saffron, white sandalwood, red sandalwood), dhilpas
( Apariijita, aguru, (j!lg{J71lll ), naivedyas (piiyasa, jaggery
cake, boiled rice-grains ); dinner to briihmanas at year's
end and listening to Purii.nas read by a reader; Bhav. I. 47.
47-72, q. by KKV 103- 107, HV 760- 763, KH, 417-419.
,~antli-catu1·thi-4th tithi of M. suo is called Sa nta. ; fast on it
and worship Ganesa; tithivrata; Ganesa; hom a.; naivedy a
of boiled rioe full of ghee and iaggery and salt; bath, gifts,
offerings made on this yield a thousand times more reward
than ordinarily; HV I. 513-514 (from Bhav. 1. 31. 6-10 ).
8anti .pa11cami-on 5th tithi of Bh. draw with black and other
powders figures of snakes and worship with (Jand ha &c.,
and on 5th tithi of MV. make figures of snakes with darbhas
and worship them and also Indral;l! ; snakes are pleased wi,b
performer: the mantra is • Kurukulle hum pha ~ sViiha ';
KKV 95 ( only the one on 5th of MV. ), HV 1. 563-64 ( from
Bhav, 1 37. 1-3 and 1. 38. 1-5 ).
E{alltivrata-{ 1) on 3rd tithi prepare an altar and make a
maJ;lgeJ.a. thereon with white rioe grains and invoke
424 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Cb. xm
N arasiffiha and establish an image showing all the features
of that avalUra and decked with numerous flowers of vdorious
kinds and bilva fruit and sesame &c.; worship image with
various upacaras, dance, songs and music; place in front of
image a jar full of water and eight other jars in eight
directions; elaborate procedure of boma with sesame, ghee
&c. and also la '''pa~UL and japa . Tbis vrata removes all
distr~ss , diseases and all sins; HV I. 465-..l71 ( from Gar. ) j
( 2 ) begin on 5th of K. su.: give up sour things for a year
and worship at night im age of Hari sleeping on Se~a and
with one foot on lap of Laksml; worship limbs from feet to
bead associating each limb with one of the eight na(laS
( Ananta &c. mentioned on p. 124 above ) and bathe niiuas
( images ) with m ilk; boma with sesame and milk; at end
donate golden snake, cow, and gold; tbis vrata makes fo r
freedom from danger of snake bite ; KV 96-97 and HV I.
556 -557 (both quote from Var. 60. 1-8).
,~i1 mbha !,i1!Ja~lil"rota-a nak~atravrata; Acyuta deity; for seven
years; twelve naksatras viz. Krttikii, Mrgasiras, Pusya and
so on give names to the twelve months of the year, viz.
Kiirtika, Miirgaslrsa, Pausa &c.; begin in K. and the
naivedya for four months from K. is krsara (M aratbi
Khi(';(lq.i), Samyava in four months from Pha.; and piiyasa
in four months from A!?; brlihmal1as are to be fed with the
same food that is offered as naivedya; a silver image of
the briihmal1! women Siimbharayan l ( who was asked by
Brbaspati about Illdra's predeoessors was to be established);
KrS l~ll. tells the story of this ven€fabl~ woman; HV II.
659-665 from Bhav. U. ).
,rf:ikhil>l'llta-on 1st tithi in both paklSa~ in each month subsist by
ekabhakta way; for ODe year ; a t end donate a kapilli cow j
reaches Vaisviinar aloka; Agn i 176. 6-7; VKK 29 ( quotes
same from Mat. 101. 92, which calls it Sivavrata as printed ).
8irrll'rata-m. in MUl,l dakopan i~ad Ill. 2. 10 and Vas. Dh. 26. 12.
Sankaraoarya explains that it consists of carrying fire on
the head.
:ilill'rnta-on 4th titbi a person should eat in ekabhakta way
aud donate once to a house owner and distribute among
seven houses salt, corian der. jlraka, maric80. asafoetida. dry
ginger and turmeric with mana1;lsila; this confers pros-
perity ; HV 1 531-32 (from Bhav. U. ), KR 97-98.
 List of vratas 425

8ivakT~a~tami-on 8th of Marg. kr.; tithivrata; Siva deity ;

worship of Sivalinga on every 8th tithi for one year; every
month different name of Siva, different substance to be eaten
up to K.; reward-freedom from all sins. Bhav. U. 75. 1-30 q.
by V P folios 141b-143a.
8iva~ttlrdaSi l'rata-on Marg. suo 13th (by amiinta reckoning)
observe ekabhakta and pray to Si va; fast on 14th; worship
Sankara and Umii with white lotuses, gandba &c. and from
feet upwards; the same to be done on kr. 14th also and on all
14th tithis; from Miirg. for 12 months the saluta.tion to
Sankara is under a different name ; he has to drink in each
month one of 12 substances viz. cow's urine, cow dung, milk,
curd~, ghee &c. and also offer in each month different kinds
of flowers, Mandara, Miilatl &c.: for a year or twelve yoars
in K; at end of year he has to let loose 8 nlla bull, donate
a bedstead with 0. jar to a learned and well-conducted
briihmana; reward same as that of a thousan d Asvamedhas
and all, even grave, sins are destroyed; Mat. 95. 5- 38, q. by
KKV 370-374 and HV II. 58-61, KR 466-471, N8 226; for
nilav fip vide H. of Dh. vol I V. p. 540 note 1215.
8iranakJalrrala-( 1) observe nakta on kr. 8th and 14th; secures
pleasures in this world and reaches Sivaloka; KKV 386,
HV II. 398 (from Bhav. ); (2) nakta on eaoh pana for a
year, and worship of Siva for a yea.r; KKV 386. For
parvan, vide H. of Dh. vol. III. p. 737 note 1425 ; (3) on
8th, 9th, 13th and 14th, performer takes only ekabhakta,
food being served on the ground; for a year; KKV 386-387.
8ivanak~ra-purut!a ~..,.ata-When there is Hasta nak~atra on
PM. su., then this vrata may be resolved upon by one
unable to fast; this is a nak~atravrata; Siva deity ; worship
of limbs of Siva from feet to head with different names of
Siva in connection with Hasta (on which vrata begins )
and the other 26 nak~atras; subsist by nakta. method but
without oil and salt and make gifts on each nakta day of a
prasfha of rice grains with a vessel full of ghee; in p!i.raI;la
donate golden images of Siva and Um!i. and a bedstead
wi,h all appurtenances: HV II. 703-706 (from Vi. Dh. )
SltJ(llJogayuklaSi1Xlr~trivrala-on M. kr. 14th willi Sivayoga;
tiiliivrata; Siva dei'Y; story of k.ing who ill a former life
a. D. ~
426 IIist ory of Dharmat7istra [ Sec. It Ch. XIII

was a morchant with thieving propensity; HV n. 87- 92

( from Skanda ).
Sil:amlhavmla-ekabhakt a in Hemanta ( Marg. and P.) and M .;
at end of M. make a chariot decked with variegated cloth
and baving four wbite bulls yoked; place in cbariot a li1iya
made with the flour of an ilcihaka of rice; drive chariot at
night on the public road and bring to a Siva temple; jagara
with illuminations and theatricals ; next morning dinner
to Siva devotees and to tbe blind, poor and distressed; this
is rt7l!.'1'ala; present the chariot to Siva ; HV II. 859-{)O
(from Vi. Db. ).
ff; mriltriv7'(lta- Vide above under Mahas ivariltri.
8il:aliil,rlal/rat u-apply white sandalwood paste to li nga, worship
with white full -blown lotuses and bow t o it; a small lioga
of the size of the thumb be placed in whit.e lotus filaments
near Daksinilmurti and worship it with biIva leaves ; offer
other upacaras of dh upa &c.; porformer is freed from all
sins and reaches Sivaloka ; HV II. 887-889 (from Siva-
dharmottara ).
jr.,~iwtn·al a-( 1) For four months from As. pur I? ima give up
paring of nails and egg-fruit; donate on K. p uroima a
golden jar filled with ghee and honey; Mat. 101. 11-12 q.
by KKV 440-441; (2) from Marg. to K. worsh ip Siva,
affer before Siva and donate in each month in order the
following things made of flour, viz. horse , elephant, chariot,
herd of eleven bulls, a mOOll-lit. ( or camphor) house with
slaves and slave girls and household gear, seven plates full
of paddy, two hundred fruits and {/U!IfI1i.lll , a mal,)dala with
offerings consisting of various edibles and pictures, a vehicle
made of flowers, guggulu dh upa and pine and bilva seeds
and ghee and aguru burnt throughout Bh. month, vessel
made of arka leaves filled with milk and ghee (for entire
month of Asv.), a vessel filled with sugarcane juice and
covered with cloth; at end of year treat Siva devotees to
fa d and drink and donate gold and clothes; HV II. 819-821
( from Kalottara); ( 3 ) on 14th or 8th of both pak ~as or on
pur nimli from month of P. to Marg. speoial worship to be
offered viz. as naiuedYIl a pmslha of yavaka., candid sugar
with milk and gbee, an image of kapila oow made of barley
flour of the height of one 'tlta ti with a bull and feed eleven
bra.hmaJ;laB, flour rhinoceros in M., ruddy goose in PM. f
 List of t'1"a/as

Siva image of flour in Cai. , and so on different articles made

of flour in the other months; one year; HV II. 398-400
(from Kalottara); ( 4) on 8th and 14th of both pa k.~:l s fast
and worship of Siva in afternoon; japa and homa ; honou r
guru; drink three ('Il{ul;as ( hollowed hand) of pa.ncagarya;
the next day subsist on ha l'i .~!la food; observe for whole of
life; three male ancestors dwell in Sivaloka; HV II. 343
(from Kalottara ); (5) beg in 0 11 P. and subsist by nakta
way on wheat, rice and milk only; on 8th of both ])(lklJ (I S
fast and sleep on the ground and batbe Rudra with gh e
and on pur nima ; this be carried on for a year up to Miirg.
with difforent fo J in eacb month and different offerin g to
Rudra ; Li ngapuriina 83. 13- 54; ( 6 ) from olle a!JlIJla to
another ( i. e. for six months ) give f1 uwers and gbee; at end
donate fl owers and feed brahm an a witl! paya.sa and gbee an d
donate gh l'tadhenu; confers wealth a nd health; KR 219
( from Agni ) ; ( 7 ) give up paring of nails from As. pLlrnima
to K. pllrl1ima and at and donate a jar of honey and ghee
with gold; performer goes to Rudraloka; KR 219-220,
VKK 292.
Siuacralefiu puj a-VR (pp. 57-61) gives the procedure of worship
in all piijas of Siva.
8i casakti mali.ot!la ra-crata-a great festival when a!? \am! and
navaml tithis are mixed up may be held in honour of Siva
and Sakti or in Sivaksetra such as Rail l or Srlsaila; KN 197.
8i vacaturthi-Bh. suo 4th tith i is called Siva ; bath, gifts, fast
and japa on that day yield a hundredfold reward ; tithivrata ;
Ga'l1esa deity; HV 1. 512- 513 ( from Bhav. 1. 31. 1- 5 ).
8ivopasanavrata-on 8th and 14th tithis of both Jlak~a~. one
should take no food and should worsh ip Siva ; for one year ;
he reaps the same merit as the performer of saUra does ;
KKV 385-386, HV II. 397 (calls it Saivopaviisavrata ).
For Sattra, vide H. of Dh. vul. II. p. 1239 .
8;,vapavilm u'1"aJa-onA£? PUrI;l jma worship of Siva, giving sacred
thread to Siva and dinner to Siva devotees; again on K.
piirI;lima worship Siva, give to ascetics garments and
dak~i'l1a ; HY n. 843 ( from Sivadharmottara ).
~alavrata-on Sr, kr. 'Zth establish ODO jar a.nd on it worship
• golden image of SItala and feed seven m~idens eight or less
4.28 History of Dharmailistra LSec. I, Ch. xm
years old; confers freedom from widowhood, removal of
poverty, happiness of Bons &c.; Vratarka folio 111-113,
AK folios 438b-440b. Some perform it on Sr. Su. 7. It is
for women alone. The naivedya is food mixed with ghee
and curds.
gilalUlitami-on Cai. kr. 8th; worship of SItala (popularly deemed
to be goddess of small-pox: ) for relief against smallpox ; offer
to Sltala eight lamps fed with ghee day and night and
sprinkle cow's milk and cold water made fragrant with uSira
( fragrant roots of a plant); donate an ass, broom, and
winnowing basket separately; KT 462 ; AK folio 558a-561a;
ass is the vahana of SItala, she is represented as naked, has
a broom and jar in her hands and a winnowing basket on
ber head. Vide Forbes Rasmala, vol. n. pp. 322-325 about
SItallidevI and A. C. Sen's • Bengali language and Literature'
for Sltalii-mangala (poems in honour of SIiala ) pp. 365-367.
8itaWsaplami-on 7th of Sr. kr.; VR 237-241.
Silavrala-( 1) Bame as Sivavrata (No.6); KKV 444-45 (quot-
ing Mat. 101. 38-39; ( 2 ) on 3rd eat food not cooked on or
in fire; (probably) for a year; tithivrata; Siva deity; at
end donate cow; the performer is not born again; KKV
449 = HV 1. 484 (from Pad. ); Mat. lOt. 70 calls it 8reyo-
vrata; Sllavrata, 8000. to Mat. 101. 38, is different.
SilUl,ilpli'/'rala- worship for a month after Agrahayan! purnima
( i. e. Marg. purIl ima ) of Varaha (inoarnation of VisJ;lu);
bathe the image of Varaha with ghee aqd offer ghee in Agni,
make ghee as naivedya and donate ghrta; on P. purJ;lima
and two days prior to it observe fast and honour a brahmaIfa
with gift of a vessel full of ghee and gold; performer secures
Sita ( charaoter, moral conduct); Vi. Dh. III. 208. 1-5 q. by
HV II. 786-787.
8ukral'1'ala-When Friday and Jye!?,M-naksatra coincide. one
should observe nakta; when 7th suoh Friday is reached. one
should place in a silver or bell-metal vessel golden image of
Venus and worship it with white garments and sandalwood
paste; place before image pCitJa'a and ghee and donate these
and image with a prayer that Venus may remove aU evil
planetary influence and confer health and long life ,·
vlirllvrata; Venus deity; HV II 579-80 (from Bhav. U. );
vide also Agni 195. 5.
 List oj v-ratas 429

8ucldhivrata-on last five days at the end of Sarad or on ekadasls

in the twelve months; tithivrata: Hari deity; when ooean was
churned five cows rose; from them sprang five holy things,
viz. cowdung, rocana (yellow pigment), milk, urine, curds and
gbee ; from cowdung was produced bilva tree named srlvrksa
as LaksmI dwells on it; from gorooana arose all auspicious
desires, guggulu from cow-urine, all strength in the world
from cow's milk, all auspicious things from curds, all
splendour from ghee; therefore bathe Hari with milk, curds
and ghee and worsbip with guggulu, lamps &c. and Agasti
flowers; performer reaches Visnuloka and even his pitrs
who might be in hell go to heaven; he should donate a cow
and the gifts called jaladhenu, ghrtadhenu, madbudbenu;
he is freed from all si ns; HV 1. 1156- 58 (from Vahnipural1a).
8uklad dir/asi-same as SUbhadvadasI immediately below.
b'u!Jhad liadasi-begin on 1st of Miirg. su., observe ekabhakta. from
1st to 9th tithi; on 10th after bath worship Kesava at mid-day;
on 12th of both paksas donate sesame and gold in four
months from Marg.; in 4 months from Cal. donate vessels
full of groats and gold; similarly worship Govinda in
Sriivana and following three months; on 12th of K. he
should prepare a golden model of the earth with seven
pCitli.las and mountains and place it before (image of) Hari;
worship Hari; jagara; next morning donate to each of 21
briihmal1as a cow, a buil, a pair of garments, ring, golden
wristlet and ear-ornament, a village ( for a royal performer)
and on kr. 12 a silver model of the earth and donate it i
performer secures all prosperity and Visnuloka i KKV
340-343, HV 1. 1101-1103 (quoting about twentyone verses
from Var. 55. 1-59).
8ltbhasaptami-on 7th of Asv. suo worship kapila cow and dona~e
a prastha of sesame contained in a copper vessel and a
golden bull with garments, flowers and jaggery wi\h t.he
words 'may Aryaman be pleased'; tithivrata; Aryarnan
deity; for a year do ~he same every month; Mat. 80. 1- 14 q,
by KKV 22t-223, HV 1. 648-650 (from Pad. V. 21. 307-321) I
same verses in Bhav. U. 51. 1-14.
SuLapradanavrata-fast on each amiivasyl for a year; tithivrata. ;
at year's end offer to Siva a pike made of flour and a golden
or silver lotus and place it on one's head and donate these:
he should observe the rules of ahiri18li, celibacy, sleeping on
ground &0. ; BV IT. 252-53 ( from Sivadharma. ).
430 Hisl01'Y of DhannaSaslra [Sec. !, Ch. XD1
SailaIJrala-( 1) worship of the mountain the performer desires;
becomes happy; HV I. 796 (from Vi. Dh. ) ; (2) for seven
days from Cai. suo 1 worship every day the seven /culaparralas
viz. Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Suktimat, Eksa, Vindhya
and P ii.riy atra; homa with yavas; subsist on barley food;
f or a year; at end donate twen ty prasthas of yavaj the
performer king conquers enemies and rules over the earth;
HV 1. 463-64 (quoting Vi. Dh. III. 161. 1-7). For seven
mountains, vide H. of Dh. voL IV. p. 560, note 1260.
Ra i /'(l llal(.~al rw 'm l a-begin when Hasta-naksa tra occurs in Phii.
Su.; subsist by nakta method but avoid oil and salt; worship
Siva associating each of his limbs from feet to head separa-
tely with the naksatras from Hasta in the form' Sivayeti ca
Hastena. piidau sampuj ayed-vibho~ 'j donate on all nakta
days a ]Jl'astha of rice grains with a vessel of gheej on
piiraI.l1i. donate images of Siva and Umii., a bedstead fully
furnished, a cow; naksatravrata; Siva deity; HV n. 703-706
(from Vi. Dh. ).
8ai oamahilomla-( 1) Begin from P. 8th; subsist in nakta way
throughout but on 8th of both paJ(.~a 8 fast; worship Siva
thrice in the day, offer homa, sleep on ground; on P.
p urIfima offer Mabii.pflja with ghee &c. ; offer dinner to eight
brahmanas and present a pair of cows and a kapila bull; in
M. and the following months he is to subsist by nakta on
different kinds of food in each month up to Marg.; mass.-
vrata; HV II. 843-848; (2) in K. subsist by nakta way;
at end of month offer oilcake with jaggery and ghee; fast
on 8th and 14th; in the months from Marg. different objects
connected with Siva. are to be presented to the image of Siva;
masavraia ; Siva deity; HV II. 848-853 ( from Sivadharma ).
Sm' ,'opaf'(i:;a'V l'ata-no food to be t aken for a year, on 8th and
14th of both fortnights of a month; Siva deity; HV II. 397
(from Bhav. ).
Satll'//a"I'afa-sankalpa on Asv. suo 7 I on 8th fast, on 9th eat
fl ur and worship Durg and give dinner to brihmat;l8s;
this prooedure to be followed for one year; tithi vrata; DurglL
deity; at end dinner to maidens and present them with
olothes &0. and pray • may DevI be pleased with me '; one
without learning becomes learned, a timid person becomes
valorous, one that had lost ~ kingdom reg ins it. Var. 64.
1-6 q. by KKV 273. HV 1 95(-5&. KR 36.-365.
 List 0/ t".aJas 431

8yamamahofsa l'a-vide p. 317 above under 'Draksa-bhaksana ' ;

HV II. 915 (from Adityapuriina ), KR 303-30·t
8yena(l1"lisall al'idhi-o n 4th, 8th, 9th, or 14th of K. su.; for
women; in Krta age women gave a morsel to a hawk with
the request to carry it to Dev!; but noW" no such thing is done
but women take food before the ir husbands on one of these
days and husbands dine afterwards; HV II. 641-43 (from
Adityapurii ~ a ).

,~"liddhal"1'nta-apply sandalwood paste to Si'\I\ im age in tho

presence of Kesava image and donate jaladhenu and gbrta-
dhenu; performer is fre ed from all sins and goes to Siva.-
loka; sariwatasaravrata; Siva deity; HV II. 063 (from Pad.).
8ral'a1:/(I.drlidasi-( 1) in Bh. suo 12 with 8ravana-naksatra;
fast on 11 tb ; donate on 12th an earthen vessel full of boiled
rioe a nd curds washed clean with water from the confluenoe
(of Ga nga a nd Yamuna ); KKV 348 (from Vii. ) ; ( 2 )
fast on dViidasi with sravalla-naksatra and worship of
Janardana; it is in its reward equal to twelve dvii dasls; if
srava:t:la-dVii.dasl falls on Wednesday, it is regarded as ex-
tremely great; tithivrata; Visnu deity ; HV I. 1l6 ~ -1l71
( from Vi. Dh. 1. 161. 1-8); Agni devotes fifteen verses to
it. Most digests deal with it at length; vide HK 28\}-298,
K V 459- 464, NS 137-140, SmK 240-249 ( elaborate proce-
dure). Vide Pad. VI. 70 for this, its miihiitmya and story.
Vide Gar. I chap. 136 also for this vrata.
8rlim~a -krIJJa -KKN 395-397,KR 21 8 -~ 54, VKK. 292, KT
437-438; NS 109-122, SmK 148-200, P C 215-22.
There are several important. vratas in Srti.vana such as
Nagapaficaml, Asunyasayanavrata, Krs najanm;,~~aml,
which have already .been described or have been included
separately in this list. A few small matters are briefly men-
tioned here. A notion prevailed that all rivers except those
that fall directly into the sea are ra)lLsmlll ( 'muddy' or with
a pun' in monthly course' ) when the Su n is in the middle
of the signs of Canoer and Lion and therefore one was not
to bathe in them for holiness and that streams that are not
1008 dhantLs in length are not to be called 'nadls ' ( rivers )
but they are merely holes or canals ( gartll ). Vide Gobhila-
smrti 1141-142 (MiiBadvayaln Sraval,lidl &0.), N8 109- 110;
vide H of Db. vol. IV. 590 note 1337 for the length of dhanu8
( as 4 hastas). In Sr. tbe several deities had on different
432 Hist01"lJ of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Cb.. xm
tithis the pal'itriJroparU1V1'ata (for which vide pp. 339-340
above); on Mondays in Sr. one should either fast or take
only one meal at night (SmK 139); on 9th of both fortnights
worsh ip Durga under the name of Kaumari (KR 244, SmK
200 ); on Sr. kr. 1 all Vaidika brahmanas have to engage
in japa of Gayatrl for 1008 times in Tamil lands as their
almanac shows. Srava~a amavasyii is called lcusotpatini as
kusas are gathered then (KR 316, SmK 252 ). On this
amiiviisya childless women or women whose children die in
infancy perform a vrata for getting a child viz. they
observe fast, establish eight kalasas (jars ) for images of
Brahmiit;li and other Mother Goddesses.
f:",.(1'Ua~lik(i1rat(l-on
8th and 14th of Marg. su.; after bath at
mid.day performer should invite several maidens or one
maiden ( if he be poor) or chaste brahmana sagotra women
and one learned and well-conducted brahmA.~a, wash the
latter's feet and give argltya and honour with gandha &c,
and a sumptuous dinner; he should place twelve water
vessels covered with threads and garlands bofore the mai-
dens and should place one vessel on his own head and
contemplate on Kesava and pray that ho may be freed from
all his debts to pil r:.~, gods and men; the ' women should
reply 'so be it '; tithivrata ; deities are goddesses called
Sriiva~ya}_l. who report to Brahmii. whatever good or evil a
man utters; HV II. 134-139 (from Bhav. U.).
Sripaflcami-( 1) on 5th of Marg. suo one should make a
golden, silver, copper, wooden or clay image of Lak!?ml or
draw her figure on a piece of cloth and worship it with
flowers and offer worship to the limbs from feet to head;
chaste married women should be honoured with saffron and
flowers and dinner an d salutations; donate a prastha of
rice grains with a vessel full of ghee with the words 'may
Lak!?mi be plessed with me '; this should be carried on
for a year taking a different name of Lak!?ml in eaoh
month; at end worship Laksmt image in a mat;l~apa and
donate it and a. oow and pray to SrI to give him success;
result-prosperity for 21 generations; HV 1. 537-543
(from Bhav. U. ohap. - 37. 1-58 with some vari ations);
( 2) Another vrata for suooess to be begun on suo 5th with
Sravana- nak!?a.tra or with Uttarii.phalgunl and Monday;
on 4th ekabhakta; next day worship of bilva tree, under
whioh eight kalams to be arranged in eight directions; holy
 List of t'Tatas

water, ratnas, dilrl'ii, white lotuses &c. should be cast in

those kalasas; Laksm! to be worshipped and prayed to;
invoke Narayana in the middle kalasa and worship
Narayana image: for one year or as long as success is not
effected; HV I. 546-552 (from Gar. ); (3) on M. suo 5,
worship Laksmi in jar full of water or on Silagriima stone
since she came to this world at Vi,:nu's command on that
day; Bhujabala-nibandha (p. 363 Ms.) says that worship Was
with kunda flowers i K T 457, 458 i PC 98 says Laksml Was
to be worshipped on M. su. 5, while Sill K 479 provides that
Kiima and Rati (Cupid's wife) were to be worshipped and a
great festival (called Vasantotsava was to be held; (4) on
Cai. suo 5 Laksml was to be worshipped; the performer
throughout his life is endowed with prosperity; NM p. 62
verses 766.768, SmK 92.
Sripri1pfirrala-( 1) HV I. ;)75 (quoting on~ verso from Vi. Dh.)
says he who worships Laksml (image) placod in a lotus
with flowers reaps the reward of a yajii.a; (2) begin on the
1st tithi after Vai. pClrnimi; worship of Narayana and
Laksmi every day for a month with flowers, fruits &c.;
homa with whole rice grains and lIilva (fruit); feed
brahmanas with milk and its products; fast for three days
in Jyes~ha; donate gold and two garments; HV II. 751
(quoting Vi. Dh. Ill. 211. 1-5).
&rivr!-;.'!<l-nacallli-oll Bh. su. 9 worship bUva tree seven times
when the SUIl bas just risen with sesame, food made with
flour, wheat and flowers &c.; pray to the tree and bow to it;
performer to eat that day Oil bare ground food not cooked
by fire (such as curd:!, fruits &c.) without oil and salt;
tithivrata; Bilva as the residence of Laksm! is deity; result
is freedom from pain and obtaining of we~lth; HV 1.
887-888 (quoting Bhav. U. 60.1-10).
Bri'lIrala-( 1) by worshipping LaksmI on Cai. suo 5tb t.ithi only
once one obtains all results that could be obtained in a year:
HV 1 575 (one verse from \' i. Dh. ); ( 2) on Cai. suo 3rd tithi
subsist on boiled rioe and ghee and sleep on t.he ground
that night; on 4t.h bat.he outside the house (in a river &c.);
on 5th worship of Laksm! on lotus whether natural or
artificial and with lamp fed wit.h ghee; homa in fire with
SrIsukta of lotus and its petals and bilva leaves; dinner to
brihmanas with plent.y of milk and. Shea; eat havilHJu food ;
B.D. 55
434 H istory of Dharmata.9tra [ Seo. I, Ch. xm
for a year; secures strength, beauty and health; HV ll.
466-468 (from Vi. Dh. Ill. 154. 1-15. )
Sat-lilil-r/i:i1r/'/8i-on Pha. kr. 12th when tbere is Sravana-
. . naksatra worship gods 'w ith sesame, perform born a ~ith
sel:lame, light lamps with sesame oil in temples, donate
sesame, offer water mixed with sesame to pitrs and eat
sesame; VisrJU is said to have observed fast on thi s tithi
and offered sesame and pi ndas to his anoestors; KR 519.
Sut·ti/i- one who fasts on 11th of M. suowhen the Moon is in
. . Mrgasiras naksatra and performs on 12th the six actions
relating to sesame becomes free from si ns ; VKK 505, TT
113-114, GK 151. The six actions are: rubbing sesame
on body, bath in water with sesame, boma with sesame,
gift of sesame, offering to pitrs water mixed with sesame
and eating sesame; compare KR 519.
$ru.bksara-mantm-Mahasvetii. mantra has six letters (HV II.
521 ); anoth er is ' Khakholkiiya nama]:l • KKV 9.
$a"(1mu'rtil'rala- Begin worship of six seasons on suo 6 of CaL;
Rtuvrata; seasons deities : the six rtus are to be honoured
respectively witb fruits and flowers, astringent things ( in
Gr1l?ma), sweet ones in (rains ), food and salt in Sarad,
bitter an d sour ( in Hemanta ), pungen t things in ( Sisira ) ;
on eacb suo 6th he fasts or subsists by nakta way and omits
five rasas (taking only one appropri ate to that season);
for one year; HV II. 858-859 (from Vi. Dh. III. 156. 1-7 ).
$, ' .~ti l: nI!a.~-Sixty
vratas occur in Mat. 101. 1-83 (q. by KKV
439- 451). All these are said to bave been narrated by Rudra
to bis spouse.
$u .~ t hirle ri-BRV II (chap. 43,3-72) says that $as~hl, Mangala-
can~l and Manasii are portions of Prakrti , that $al?~hl is the
presiding goddess over children, that she is called Devasena
among Matrs, she is wife of Skanda, protects children and
gives them long life and narrates a story about worship of
that goddess on the 6th day after birth in the lying-in
chamber. On the worsbip of Sutika~al?~hI , vide KT
471-475, where Bhoja in quoted on p. 473 .
. a~~il'rata-( 1 ) fast on 5th tithi; worship of the Sun on 6th or
7th; performer gets the Bame fruit as Asvamedha; HV 1
627 ( from Brab. ); ( 2 ) on 6th tithi of suowhen it falls on
Tuesday; perform vrata on different months; reaps inexha·
u tible merit; HV L 627-628 (from Vi. Dh.)
 List of vralas 435

$a~t"ivrafas-Bhav. J. 39-46, Bbav. U. chap. 38-42, KKV 9 -103

(only three ), HV I. 577-£29 (twenty-one vratas ), HK 62~-
624, KN 189-192, TT 34-35, SM 42-43, PC 100-103, VR
220-236.
When the sixth is mixed up witb 5th or 7th the general
rule is that in the case of vratas and fasts sixth mixed with
the 7th is to be chosen except in tbo case of Skandasas tbl
wbere sixth mixed witb 5th is to be preferred (EN 190,
N A 48, SM 42, PC 100- 101 ); the sixth tithi is dear \'0
Kartikeya ( or Skanda ) wbo was born on it and became the
commander-in-cbief of the gods 0 11 it; Bhav. I. 39. 1-13,
HK 622 ( quoting Brah. ), KKN 382-383.
One or two special matters may be noted. Skanda is tbe
lord of 6th tithi and is to be worshipped on every 6th titbi
with fragrant flowers, lamps, garments, crOWR as toy,;, hell,
chowries and mirror ; Kartikeya is specially to be always
worshipped by kings with campaka flowers and no other
god ( KR 276 ); 6th of Marg. suo is called Mahii.sas ~hl ( HK
623-£24). Vide Nar. 1. 45. 1-51 for f?as~hivrata in the
twelve months of the year.
SU1ilmtsaral'rala-begin on 5th of Cai. suo in the year called
Sariwatsara and go on for five days. Agni, the Sun, Soma,
Prajapati and Mahesvara are identified with tbe five y ears
of s Yuga viz. SalilVatsara, Parivatsara, Istiipll rta (Id.:i.vat-
sara? ), Anuvatsara and U dvstsara; they should be esta-
blished in a man4 ala each in order with blue, white, red,
white-yellow and dark flowers; worship and homa with
sesame, rice, barley, gbee, white mustard respectivoly; for
five days nakta; at end donate five suvarnas; tbis is s
paocam iirtivrata; HV II. 419 -420 (from Vi. Dh.). The
names of the five years that constitute a yuga are variously
named in vedic literature; vide Atharva VI. 55.3, Ta i. S. V.
5. 7. 2-3, Tai. Br. I. 4. 10. 1.
Sa1}rvalsaravrala.s-Vi. Dh. 1. 82.8-20 (gives the names of the
sixty years, Prabhava, Vibhava &c. ), KKV 435-451, HV II.
862-867.
Saltwatsarlirambha vidhi-HV I . 360- 365. Vide above under
Oa.itra-pratipad pp. 82-84.
Sailka ~acatttrthi-on Sr. lq-. 4th on moonrise (i. e. about eight
gha.,ikAs after sunset) worship Galfesa image, establish a
 I[istory of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIIt

jar, 16 upacara,s to be offered, modakas (1008, 108, 28 or 8 )

to be prepared; fast the whole day or no food to be taken
till moon-rise; for life or 21 years or one year; gift to
iiciirya, dinner to 21 brabmanas; SmK 171- 177, VR 120-127,
VKD 68, D. S. 74; the vrata may be observed throughout
life or for 21 y ears; it is narrated that even Siva did it
when he wan ted to vanquish dem on Tilraka.
Sa"d..a ~lahara-{/a1Japalim·ala-on M . kr. 4 ; titbivrat a at moonrise;
G~nes a deity; VR ( 176- 188) sets out a very elaborate
pro~edure, in which Rg. X. 63. 3, lV. 50. 6, the Purusasukta
(Eg. X. 90 ), Nar. and num erous Pauran ika mantras are
relied upon and 16 upaci ras offered; Ganesa is worshipped
with 21 names and the same number of rlli/'ril tendrils,
leaves of plants ( such as HhTli'! lw 'uja ,' bi lm, badar!, dhattura ,
sam! and flowers (red ) ; there is also worship with 108 names
of Gat;lapati; at end five m()(/akas to be offered to the priest
a nd daksi9ii ; it is sa id that Vyasa narrated this vrata to
Yudhif? ~hira.. Sankasta appears t o mean distress or cala-
mity. 'Kaf? ~a ' means 'klesa' and the prefixing of ' sam'
makes it a little more emphatic.
Sa7'dcrilnlip1'ala~-Vide
HV 727-743 (16 in all), HK 407- 438,
KR 613-6 21, KN 331-346, VKK 204-231, SmK 531-545 ,
VR 729-738, PO 357-366.
Sn.il.lcrli/~li.millla-Vide
under Sa nkriinti above pp. 211- 12 for
bath on a sa nkri nti and HV II. 728-730 (from Devlpuriina
for results of bathing on the t welve sa nkra ntis with certain
substances put in w at~r for bath.
Saliy/tl1talm-lIra!a- to be begun on K. suo1at; ekabhakta on that
day , fast on 2nd tithi and also on 3rd; pilra1Jli on 4th; tithi-
vrat a,; Siva deity; worship in this wo.y for 7! months if
performed only in each bright half, or 3~ months if in both
pak ~ as \Vh icb make up 7; two golden images of a male and
female to be placed on bedstead an d bathed with paficii.mrta
&c.: jii.uara, sleeping on ground; gift of images to licaMJa ;
the woman performer never suffers separation from husband
or son; Pilrvo.tI secured Siva as husband by this nata; HV
II. 370-375 (from Var. ).
Salkulal'ilpf i "rala-begin on Mirg. suo 1st; worship of Vi!?~u
with t,hree flowers of three different colours, three unguents;
offering of trimadhum, thr e lamps, homo. with yo.va and
 List of vrdla s 437

sesame; donate three metals (gold, silver, oopper); Vi. Dh

III. 201. 1-5.
SalYa-IIG.1·uya1Ja umJa-very popular in Bengal and M abii.riis~ra:
described in Bhavisya (Pratisargaparva) ohap. 24-'; 9; M. M.
Hara Prasad Shastri in oat. of mss in tbe Asiatio ooiety's
Library, Calcutta, vol. V. preface p. LXV says that the
worship of SatyanariiyarJa (ms. No. 3370) has a Maho-
meda n origin. It was originally ( a nd even now in many
places ) called ' Satyaplrer puji '. It occurs in the ReYii-
khan~a of the 8kandapurloa ( Vangavasl ed. ) but doe!
not occur ' in the Venk. Press edition. V ide also JBORS
vol. XY! at p. 328 where the same soholar says th at the
Mahomedan custom of offering ' Sirn i' to Satyaplr was
adopted by Bengal Hindus as worsh ip of Satyan5r5yana.
This is a vrata very popular am ong lower middle-class
people and wome n. Vide 1. A. vol. 3 pp. 83-85 for
stories current in Bengal about this vrata. It is said
that Nara da was told about this vra ta by Visnu himself.
On any day a man worships 8atyanariiyao8 and offers
naivedya of 1l quantity ( such as 1t SPI' or mau7Id ) of
plantains, ghee, milk a nd wheat fl our ( or rice flour),
jaggery or sugar; all these to be mixed up for na ivedya ;
performer should listen to the stories and partake of the
prasada: jagara with songs, music, dance; tben people gO
to their bouses; tbis yields all desired objects; stories about
a brahmana who performed this vrata every month, of a
vendor of wood, of a tra der named 8adh u with a ship full
of merchandise and costly things and bis daugh ter Kal vatl.
In these stories Satyanariiyana is represented as very
jealous and vindictive. The stories are said to bave been
taken from 8kandapurii1?a, Revii-kba~lua.
Sudilumta-otberwise called . annada.namiibiitmya '. HV II,
469- 475 <iuoting Bbav. U. wherein Krsl;la narrates to
Yudbii?~hira the importance of giving food to otbers and
refers to the words of Ra.ma to LaksmanG that they Buffered
exile in a forest beoause of not feeding bri.bmaI;la8, that king
Sveta suffered pangs of hunger even when in heaven and
was told by Brabma. that his plight was due to bis not
having fed bungry persons. The word literally means' vrata
( i. e. giving food) always', In modern times it is often
pronounced and written as '8adiivarta ' or '8adabarta ' or
'Sadavaraf; vide Murarji v. Nenhai 1. L. R 17. Born. 351 for
a bequest of rents for establishing a 'sadiivarat '. HV U
438 History of Dha1·maiilstra ( Sec. I, Ch. Xin

471 quotes a verse saying that 'food is the very life of

beings, it is their vigour, strength and happiness and there-
fore the donor of food is declared to be the giver of every
thing '. The importance of giving food is stressed in the
exordium' atithidevo bhava ' in Tai. Up. I. 11. 2; vide also
Atharva IX 6 ff and Ka~hopani!?a d I. 1. 7.
Suu/i1lw<irI1 1rala-tithivrata; he gives his or another's daughter in
marriage on K. Full Moon, observes a fast on the confluence
of ri vers, reaches a happy goal. HV IJ. 238 (from Bhav. U.).
Cai. k r. 8; tithivrata; Kr!? na and Devaki to be
8 rm/illlu!:}t.lllti-o n
worshipped; fast; for a year; at end of each period of four
months on kr. 8 bathe image of Krsna with ghee and donate
ghee; HV J. 846-47 (quoting ten verses out of Vi. Dh.
Ill. 217.1- 11 ).
Saw llt!Ju (twilight)-i s the period of three flhatilci78 ( 72 minutes)
before sunrise and after sunset and it was provided that one
should not engage in four actions in that period, viz. eating,
sexual intercourse, sleep, Vedic study; H K 694-97, PC 46 ;
Utpala on Brhaj-jiltaka VII. 1 quotes Varaha that it is the
time after half the sun's disc has gone down till appearance
of stars an d morning twilight is from the east having light
till half the sun's disc appears.
Sap/a dl'ijial'ra/a-begin on CaL suo1st and worship for seven
days in order the seve n dt'ipaK (continents ), viz. Jamb cl ,
Sfl ka ( of the Sakas), Kusa, Kraunca, Siilmali, Gomeda and
Pu ~ kara; 'willa with ghee a nd donate seven dhanyas; observe
no.kta an d sloep on the ground; one year; donate a figure
of dv!pas made of silver; goes to heaven till end of Kalpa;
Vi. Dh. 1lI. 159. 1 -7.
7th is mixed with 6th and 8th tithis a
S<LptU11l i -'niqw1/(I-lf
vrata for 7th tithi is to be performed on that day where 7th
is mixed with 6th, but if for any reason 7th mixed with 6th
canuot be aocepted, the 7th mixed with 8th may be acoep-
ted; KN 192-194, TT 35-36, PC 103- 104.
SaplamiLokal'rata-worship seven Loka s on 7th tithi; one would
secure great intellect and unequalled position. HV I. 792
( one verse from Vi. Dh. )
Saplami-ITalas-Mat. ohap. 74-80 = Pad. V. 21. 215-321, Bhav.
U. 43-53, Nlir. 1116. 1- 72, KKV 103-225 (sets out more
vratas of 7th tithi than of ny other tithi, 44 in all), HV 1
 List of 1'ratas 439

632-810 (about 62 vratas), VKK 35-38, TT 36- 40, VR

231-255. For eulogy of the worship of Saptam l, yida
Vi. Dh. 1lI. 169.1-7.
Saptamisnapana-Mat. ( 68. 1-42 ) describes this at length; BV
( 1. 763-768 ) quotes from Bhav. U. almost the same verses
as those in Mat. It is said to be an antidote against
disease, ill-luck or distress or the death of infants. It should
be performed in the 7th month after a child is born to a
woman who lost an infant child or on a 7th tithi ill im.,
but tithi of the birth should he avoided; offer to the Sun
and Rudra and the Miitrs specially oblations of rice with
milk, repeat hymn to the Sun (:ag. 1 50) and off r boma
to Rudra with :ag. 1 43; the fuel sti cks a.re to be of arka
and palasa and 108 iihuti s of !/f/1XI, dark sesame, and ghee;
four jars in four corner direct ions and a fifth in th eir 111 idst;
and various things (five minas, s(1.rt"aIl ,~:.zrfhis, clay from
several pla.ces llamed ) were to be cast in all jars; seven
married women should sprinkle .water over the woman
whose child died and invoke the Sun, Moon and the gods
to save the child that is born; golden im age of Yama to be
donated to iicli.rya (priest); worship of the Sun and the kapili
cow; performer to eat remnants of food offered to gods.
Saptalllurti-aa/(U;-Vide Vi. Dh. III. 157-166.

SaJitarl!i- n'uta-( 1) worship of seven sages makes one reach

them ~nd confers sagehood; I-l V 1 791 (from Vi. Dh. ) ;
( 2 ) begin from Cai. su. and for 7 days therefrom worsh ip
each of the seven sages viz. Marlci, Atri, Ang iras, Pulas tya ,
Pulaha, Kratu and Vasi ~tha , with fruits, fl owers and cow's
milk ; subsist in nakta wayan those days ; homa with
Besame and with MahiivYiihrtis; for one year ; at end donate
a black deer hide to an Agnihotrin ; porformer securos the
way to moksa; HV II. 508 (from Vi. Dh. III 165. 1-7 ).
SaplaP[ir~tTalas-(
vratas of the seven week-days); KKV 25-27 ,
BV II 520-592, KR 593-604.
Saplamyarka- v1·ata-RM (verses 1172-73 ; vide ABORI vol 36.
p. 314).
Saptasflptamikaipa-to be undertaken on a Sunday in bright half
after the Sun starts on his (apparent ) northward passage
and on a nakl?atra with male name; he should observe
celibaoy and subsist in nakta way on all the seven saptamls
440 History oj Dharmatastra [Sec. I. Ch. Xlll

called Arkasampu~a, Marica, Nimba, Phala. Anodana.

Vijaya, Kamik!; observe ekabhakta on 5th and avoid sexual
intercourse on 6th and give up honey and meat on that
tithi ; after writing the seven names on leaves he should
cast them in an unused jar and should ask a child ( who
does not know the meanings of the seven names) to take
out one and he observes that particular 7th accordin gly;
for a year; performer gets all his desired objects and reaches
SClryaloka; KKV 189-191, HV I. 687-689 quoting verses
(from Bhav. I. 208. 2-32). Male naksatras have been
stated above.
Sapfasafjara",'rafa or sapfa.~alnwlra-l'7'ala-begin from Oai. SUo
1st; worship Suprabha, Kaficanaksa, Vis51a, Manasodbhava,
Meghaniida, Suve~lU and Vimalodaka for seven days in
order; homa in their names of curds add dinner full of curds
to brahmaJ;las, and himself partake at night of Loiled rice and
ghee; for a year; donate seven garments to a brahmana at
a holy plaoe; this is also oalled Sarasvatavrata; HV II. 507
( from Vi. Dh. ). The above seven appear to be the names
or brancbes of river Sarasvat! and therefore Sarasvata
appears to be the proptlr name and not 'Saptasagaravrata '.
Vide Vi. Dh. IlI. 164:. 1-7 for these seven rivers and this
vrata being called Sarasvata.
SaplaslInrial'alca",'rala-worship of P llrvat! under seven names,
viz. Kumudii, Madhav! , Gaur!, Rhaviint, P iirvatI, Umii,
Ambiktl; dinner for seven days for seven maidens (about
8 years old); every day one of the 7 names to be used in the
form 'may goddess Kumud!i. be pleased' and so on for six
days ; on the 7th all seven to be invoked and honoured with
gandha &0. and timbula, vermilion and cocoanut; after
worship a mirror should be presented before each of the seven;
this secures beauty. saubh{lyYa and destroys sins; HV
II. 886-87 ( from Bhav. U.).
Sal1llLdra''I'1'ata-begin from ai. suo 1st; every day for seven
days; worship with salt. milk, ghee, whey, wine mixed with
water. sugaroane juice and sweet curds; performer to eat at
night havif/yn food; homa with gbee; for a year; at end
donate a miloh oow; king becomes supreme on the whole
earth; ono secures also health. wealth and heaven. HV II.
4:64:-65 (from Vi. Dh. m. 160. 1-7). The oceans are orne·
times said to be seven. as in V yu 49. 123. Kiirma I 45. 4.
 List of vratas

viz. of salt, sugarcane juice, wine, milk, ghee, curds and

fresh water.
Samudra-snana-one should bathe in tbe sea on llarml1 days
such as Full Moon and Am av!isyii , but not on Tuesday or
Friday; one should honour the sea and Asvattha tree, hut
not touch them; however on Saturday Asvattba may be
touched; there is no restriction 8S to time in taking a bath
at Setu ( Ramesvara ) ; D. S. 36.
Sampad-(lau7'i-ura/a-on M. suo 1st (mentioned in Tam il calol1-
dars) for all married women and maidens in Kumbbamlisa.
Sampad-m'a1a-on 5th tithi worship Lak!?m! and observe fast;
for one year; at year's end donate a golden jar with gold
in it ; performer becomos rich in eacb birth and goes to
VisDu-loka; this is a sasti-vrata; KKV 44 t -42 ( same as
Mat. 101. 19-20 ), VKK 34 ( quoting Mat. ).
Sam]Ju~asapta17li-Vide Arkasamputasaptaml above p. 261.
SampuY1Ja-'rrata-Thi s vrata renders perfect every vrata that is
rendered defective by some mistake or obstacle or Vighna.
vinayakas; one should prepare a golden or silver image of
the god worshipped in a vrata that is incomplete; one
month from the day on which the craftsman prepares the
image a briihmaI1a sbould batbe it with milk, curds, gbee,
fluids and water and worship witb flowers &c. and offer
ar(lhY(L in the name of that deity from a jar full of watsr
in which sandalwood paste is cast, and pray that the vrata
which was broken may become perfect and make the offering
with 'sviihii'; the officiating priest should say' your (broken)
nata has becomo perfect '. The purlina adds 'gods consent
to what brahmanas say, briihmsl1as have all the gods in
them; their word would not come out to be untrue'; HV. 1I.
876-879 (from Bhav. U. ).
Sampri1p1i-dtijdas i-on 12th of P. kr.; worship of Acyuta (Krs~a);
not to speak with atheists and the like ; two periods of six
months each; in the fil'st six months from P. worship 88
Put;l~arlkak~a, then as Mddhava, as Visvarupa (in PM. ).
Puru!?Qttama (in Cai.), Acyuta (in VaL) and as Jaya (in Jy.);
sesame to be employed a~ bath and dinner in the first six
months and in the six months from ~ii~ha pa.ncagavya;
wo:rship in the second half from ~. with Bame names as in
the fust half year; performer to observe fast on ek4daal and
to observe nakta or ekabhakta way on 12th; at year's end
B . D. 56
 Hist ory of Dharmatristra [ Bec. I, Ch. XIII

donate a cow, garment, gold, corn, food, seat and bedstead

with the words • May Kesava be pleased ' i the performer
secures all desired objects and so this vrata is called
• samprapti ' ( attainment); HV 1. 1094-95 ( from Vi. Dh. )
8alll/'/IO(!a-1'Tala-fast on the two first tithis and the two 5th
tithis ; one should concentrate his mind on the Sun, give
up love and enjoymen t though lying alongside his wife;
be would be deemed to have performed great tapas for
thousands of years ; KK V 388, HV II. 394 ( from Bhav. )
Sura.q·m lipu,jil-!'irlhi- in Asv. su o inv oke Sarasvatl on M illa-
naksatra , worship her every day and take leave of her on
Sravana (which is tbe 4th nak$atra from Mula), in all
four days generally from Asv. suo7th to 10th; VR 248- 249,
VKD 93 and 268- 269; both provide that during these days
one should not study nor teach nor write a Look.
f:)(£I'(LS I'(lli.~ tl/(jpwl.(l-o n
9th tithi of Asv. su, Sarasvati is esta-
blisbed on books. VKD 92-93 and 268-269. 1n Tamil lands
special Sarasvat!plljii is done by bringing together books and
mss. usod by elders and you ngsters, and girls and married
women hri ng togethor thoir music books and VIna , all of
which are worshipped as Sarasvatl. Among craftsmen and
manu allabourors on this 9th tithi ayudhapuja (worship of
the tools of their trade ) is done.
h'm'jd-llraln-worship the river one desires; one reaps merit; HV
I. 790 (from Vi. Dh. ), which groups it under Saptaml-
vratas.
should observe pa!Juvrata on 5th tithi and
Sa r paJl(lIi(:<llll i-o ne
donate a golden snake to a brii.lun a~a ; one would have no
danger from snakes; HV 1. 567 ( from Bhav. ).
0(Lr7Ja./I(J./i-Vide SmK 170- 171 and H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 821-824.
S" rpll/li/uj)C1l!a'1)(lnca11l i -on 5th of Sr. su. ; one should draw on
both sides ( of a door) with cowdung the figures of snakes ;
worship them with wheat, milk and fri ed grains, with curds
and dllrva tendrils and fl owers &c.; snakes become pleased
llnd he has 11 0 fear from snakes up to his 7th descendant;
BV I. 564- 565 ( from Skanda , Prabh!lsa-khat;l~a). KKV 94
mentions a • SarpAbhayapaii oaml' and cUes three verses
from Bhav. (1 32. 62-(4) two of whioh ocour in HV 1 564
along with others.
 List nf 1'raias

Sarl'akamal1raia-( 1) on M. kr. 14th tithi worship the grllUp

of pitre; the performer reaps the fruit of a yrljlil; HV
Il 155 (from Vi. Dh.); (2) on Marg. 11th fast. and
worship the Moon and also ele,en deities such as M 1ll'l1,
Sun, Nirrti ( goddess of death and calamity), tho lord of
rivers ( Varuna ), Agni, Rudra, 1.1 rtyu, Durgii; for one year;
at year's end donate a cow; he reaches Hudralokn; II \' ].
1151 (from Vi. Dh. ).
Sarmkullliil'ilpfil'rata-This has twel,e series from K.; fast on
Krttika falling on K. pllrnima and worship Narasimha with
uandha, flow6rs &c. for a year; at year's end donate a white
cow with a white calf and silYer; he would be free from
enemies; from Marg. onwards to Asv., one has to fa.st on tho
naksatra after which the ptirI?imiis aro named and worship
Krsna and his forms and amtul'(lq under different nanles
( such as Ananta in Marg., Baladeva in P., Varaha in M.
and so on ): the gifts made at year's end are different; theso
yield all desires, remove sins and lead to heaven; HV II.
655-659 (from Vi. Dh. ).
Sar/'a{7anrlha-( lit. all fragrant sUbstances). They are variously
enumeratod. HV I. 4:4 gives two proscriptions, viz. (a)
camphor, sandalwood, musk and saffrun ill oqual proportiuns
are sarvagandha, or ( b ) vide p. 38 and note S8 above.
Sarvaphalafyuua-begin on 3rd, 8th, 12th or 14th of Ma.rg. suo or
of other months; dinner of j1uyalm to briibmanllS; he should
give up ono out of 18 dh5.nyas and all fruits and hulbous
roots for a year except whon medicines aro requirod to be
taken; he should get made guIdon imagos of Hudra with his
buH and of Dharmar5.ja (Y ama ); he should make gulden,
silver and copper sixteen fib'1IreS, each group representing big
fruits ( like jack fruit &c.), smaller fruits (liko 1lI1umbara,
cocoanut) and bulbous roots ( like simma-kanda ); place two
jars full of water on a heap of grains, a bodstead should be
got ready; all these to be donated with a cow to a house-
holder bra.hmana.; he should pray • may I reap inexhaust.iblo
rewards'; Mat. 96.1-25.
Sarl'(lrnailyaJa-lrayor/{Jsi-every month on Su. 13toh one should
subsist by ekabhakta or nakta or observe a fast and worship
three vi~. Krsna, Balabbadra and Mangala ( Durga) goddesH
known as • Ankii.vanka. '; one overcomes all difficulties by
remembering these three or worshipping t.he images of t.hose
444 History of DharmaSastra l Sec. 1, Ch. xm
three and offering flowers, meat and wine; HV n. 16-17
(from Bhav. U.). KrsI_la is represented as telling Yudhis~hira
that when his aU1'1t Sandlpani asked him to restore to life
his dead son as the daksillii. for the learning imparted to him,
he contemplated on the goddess and restored life to the
dead son.
Sar/Ja-IJrala-worship Siva on the 13th tithi of suo falling on
Saturday and fast thereon; man becomes free from grave
sins ( like brahmalfa-murder ); HV II. 24.
SarlJupti-vmla-This is a Caturml1rtivrata; for a year divided
into three periods of 4 months; Vi!?l!U has four forms, vala
( strength), knowledge, aisl'a1"!Ja ( supremacy ) and s(lkti
( energy); Vasudeva, Sa i1 karsa~1a, Rudra and- Aniruddha
are the four faces in the east, south, west and north represent-
ing the four form s of strength, knowledge &c.; in the four
months from Cai. performer should worship the forms east
to north and the gifts respectively made to a brahmana are
things useful for domestic purposes in Cai., of warlike
materials in Vai., of materials useful for yoking (i. e.
agriculture) in Jy. and materials useful in sacrifices in As;
the same procedure in the other two periods of four months
from Sr. and Miirg.; he secures heaven and Indraloka and
Sal()/cYa with Km1a; HV II. 502-503 (from VI. Dh. Ill.
140.1-13 ).
SUl'vuplisuplami-on 7th of M. kr.; worship intently the Sun;
for a year; two divisions of the year; in the first six months
sesame are to be used at bath and dinner and the names
with which the Sun is to be invoked in the 6 months from
M. are M iirtat;l~a, Arka, Citrabhii.nu, Vibhavasu, Bhaga and
Hamsa; in the 2nd period of 6 months paiicagavya is to be
used at bath and meals ; performer to eat at night but
exclude oil and salt; he secures all desired objects; KKV
168-169, HV 1. 735-36 (from Bhav. 1. 108. 1-12).
Sa,.rall.~adhi-( all herbs )-They are; Mura, Mamal, vaca, ku!?~ha.
sailaja, two Haridras, Sut;l~hl (dry ginger). campaka and
mustii.; Agni 177. 17, Madanaratna (on Santi. folio 3a),
Krtyakalpao (on santika folio 7 b), VKK 212 ( ten); P. C.
307 and VR 16 also enumerate ten but slightly differently.
Vide p. 183, note 473.
Sa1"~JXlsaplllllli-tithi-vrata; Bun deity; on seven saptamJ tithis
the performer sitting facing the Sun should place pafI.rogavya
 List of vralas

or other liquids on his pa.lm and one, two up to seyen

mustard grains in order on first saptarul, 2nd saptami up to
seventh saptami, should look at it, bring to his mind some
desired object and drink at once without al1o~'ing the t(leth
to touch with a mantra addressed to the mustard; homa
and japa; secures sons, wealth and desires; HV I. 686- 7;
Bha-v. ( 1. 68. 29- 42) describes it; KKV 187-188.
8as!/otsal'a-( festival of ready crops )-to be performed in 511.
on an auspicious tithi, nak:3atra and muhi"irta by going to
tbe field with songs and music, making a fire und lloma
therein, carrying some ripe corn and offering it to gods alld
pit~s to the recitation of \' edic mantras ; tho perform er par-
takes of the ripe corn mixed with curds a nd should celebra.to
a festival. H V II. 914 ( from Brah. )
8ahasrahlwjanaridhi-( Procedure of giving dinner to ono
thousand brahmanas) SmK pp. 454 - 4.55 quoting Bnudhii-
yanasutra. It should be done in ono's own house or ill
a- temple; boma with cuoked food and subsidiary ii/lII,t.s
with clarified butter in twelve names Kesava, N ti rayana
&c. ; various g ifts.
Si1garavrala-This is a Caturm llrtivrata; m1i.savrata; for four
months from Sr.; worship of four jars filled with water as
symbols of the four oceans, that are Hari with his four
forms (God Vaeudeva, Sa nkarsana &c.); bath in a river
on all day s in those months ; boma every day; on last day
of K. honour brabmanas and donate S8same oil ; reaches
heaven; HV 11, 829 (from Vi. Dh. III. 145. 1-6).
SCldhanar/asulIli l'mta-performed on the 10th tithi in suoas well
as in k,r.; it is an a/iOa (subsidiary observance) of EkAdas l;
AK folio 640.
Stidhyamata-on Marg. su, 12th; tithivrata.; Sadhya.s deiti8:; ;
for a year; Sadhyas are a group of twelve semi-divine
beings; HV 1. 1173 (quoting Vi. Dh. III. 181. 1-3). Vi.
Db. names the twelve.
Stimavrala-It is a samvatsara.vrata; bathe images of Siva and
Kesava in a circle made with cowdung for a year; at end
donate a golden jar with tilar/henu to a briihma1,'la who
sings s(imalls; KKV 442-43 (from Mat.. 101. 25-26), HV II.
864 (almost Bame verses from Pad. ).
Siirast 1alavrata-(1) This is a Sariwatsaravrata described in Mat.
66.3-18 quoted by KKV 4.35-36, HV 1. 553-55; begin in Su.
446 History of DharmaACistra [Bec. I, db. XIIi
on a tithi which has one's favourite deity as the lord or on
5th, on a Sunday or any other auspicious week day; silence
to be observed at both twilights and while taking one's meal ;
worship of Sarasvat! and honour to suvlisinis ( women whose
husbands are living); the same verses occur in Pad. V. 22.
178- 194 and Bbav. U. 35. 3 -]9; (2) observe silence at
twilight every day for a year; at end of year donate a jar
full of ghee, two garments, sesame and a bell; goes to the
Sarasvata world; KKV 441, HV II. 862 (quoting Pad.); this
occurs in Mat. 101. 17-18; (3) begin from Cai. suo 1, go on
for seven days worshipping Suprabha, Kiificaniiksl, Visalii,
the Manasa lake, Trinadii., Suvel}u, Vimalodakii. (all branches
or names of Sarasvatl river); every day homa with curds,
dinner mixed with curds to brahma~as; he should take only
0110 meal at night of boiled rice with ghee; for one year;
at the end i. e. in kr. of Pha. he should donate ( from one to )
seven garments in order during last seven days; Vi. Dh.
III. 164. 1-7.
Suroabhawnaumtu-begin on 10th tithi of K. su., observe nakta
that day with curds and cooked food and offer worship to the
ten quarters with holy food; honour brahman as with flowers
of various colours and with edibles; for a year; the king
who performs this becomes victorious and an emperor; KKV
309, HV I. 992- 993 (both quoting Var.65. 1-6), KR 420,
Vi. Dh. III. 164. 1- 7.
Siivitriurala-V ide above pp. 91-94.
Silidl,astha-UllrtL- When Jupiter enters the sign Sirilha (Lion or
Leo) there is no marching against an e~my, no marriage,
no upanayana, DO ocoupying a house (for the first time ),
nu establishment of the images of gods and generally no
performa.nce of other auspicious acts; vide Malamiisahttva
p. 828 quoting two verses from BhImapariikrama which are
BB (p. 274) and Suddhi-kaumudI p. 222. It is believed
that all sacred plaoes oome to the river GodavarI when
Jupiter is in the sign Lion and therefore one should bathe
in the GodavarI when Jupiter is in Leo (which is for about
one year). There are diverse views about celebrating
marriage and upanayana in Sirilhastha-Guru; some hold
that marriage and other auspicious rites are prohibited only
when Jupiter is in Magha.-nak!?atra (i. e. first 13i
degrees of Leo. ). Others hold that in the countries
between the Ganges and God varl marriage and upanayana
 List of l:ratas J.l7

are prohibited through all the days when the Jupiter IS In

Leo; but other rites may be performed except when Jupiter
is in Maghii ; still others hold that there is no bar of
SiriJhastha -Guru during the time when the Sun is in Mesa
( sign Aries or Ram). Vide SmK pp. 5j 7-559 for discu-
ssion of these v iews. It is popularly believed that the jar
of nectar that rose from the ocean was placed by the gods
first at Haridva.ra, then at Praya.ga , then at Ujjain and then
at Trimbakesvara near N asik.
Si{tlsaptu /IIi-on 7th tithi of Marg. Sll. observe fast and worship
with lotuses and white fl owers the Sun or his image; a t end
donate white garments ; HV 1. 778-779 (from Vi. Dh. ).
Silusaplami-one of the 14 YUll-US at Bhuvanesvara; on M. suo
7 ; GK 191.
Siddha-Ftiday, 1st tithi, 6th, 11th and 13th and the naksatro.s,
Purva Phalgunl ( of which Bhaga is the presiding deity ),
Uttarasadhii., Hasta, SravaI,la and Rovat! are so called ; all
auspicious rites should be performed on theso ; N A 30.
Sidd harthakUdi.~aptu.m i-on M. or Marg. suo 7 or if one is ill
then on any 7th tithi of any month; brushing the teeth
half a pmhara ( about four ghatikiis ) before sunrise with
the twigs of certain trees, each of which is represented as
securing some object ( e. g. Madb llka gives sons, Arjuna
makes fortune firm, Nimba confers prosperity, Asvattba
gives fame &c. ); prognostications from the way in which
the used brush falls when thrown away; seven saptamIs to
be observed, first with mustard grains, 2nd with arka buds,
3rd to 7th respectively with ma riea, nimba, six fruits,
with food excluding boiled rice; japa, homa and wor·
ship of the Sun, sleeping before Sun image and recitation
( japa) of Gayatrl (-ag. Ill. 62. 10); divination from
several dreams when sleeping before Sun image; the different
rewards of worshipping the Sun with various flowers (e. g.
fame with lotuses, removal of all leprosy with mandara ,
success with Agastya flowers &c.), dinner and gifts to
brahmaJ;la8 of coloured garments, scents, flowers, IUlVi~!I!l
food, cow; KKV 172-180, HV 1679-685 (both from Bhav.
1193.2-21,194. 1-25) and KKV quotes also from Bhav.
197.1-10.
Siddhivinliyakat,rala-on suo 4th tithi worship GaJ?,eila 01' when
a devout impulse takes hold of a man; bath with water
 Hi story of Dharmasustra l Sec. I, Ch. XIII
mixed with sesame; worship of golden or silver image of
GaJ;lesa; bathe image with paiicam~t a and offer gandha,
flowers, incense, lamp and naivedya with the names GaJ;lii.-
dhyaksa, Vinayaka, Umasuta, Rudrapriya, Vighnanasana;
twenty-one durva tendrils to be offered and 21 modakas to
be placed before image, one to Ganesa, ten to the priest and
ten to be eaten by the performer ; leads to success ( siddhi )
in learning, wealth, war; HV 1. 525-529 (from Skanda),
SmK 210-216 , PC 95, VR 143-151. Vide above p. 147 for
story about Syamantaka jewel
8ins ( tt"It )- Vide pp. 90-91 above under Dasahara and KR 188
( quoting Bhav. ).
8itaLU.'!O-~t~i-on
M. su. 6 in Bengal ; Sltalasaptaml in Gujarat
on Sravana kr. 8; Sitalii.staml in North India on Pha. kr. 8.
Sitlipiijli- (I) Slta means 'cultivated land' as in Kau ~i1ya set
out in H. of Dh. vol. Ill. p. 147 n. 186. KR 518 (quoting
Brah. ) Bays the earth was measured on Pha. kr. 8th by the
Bons of Daksa urged by Narada; tberefore gods and pitrs
desire sraddha on that day with upilpas ; (2) worship of
Slta, wife of Rama, who was born on Pha. suo 8; KR 526-
528 and 518; vide above p. 354 under Phalgunakrtya.
Simnllmighalla-Vide under Vijayiidasaml p. 190 note 487 and
TT 103, PC 145-148.
Sukalalmp1'u]Jii'l !rata-for maidens, women with busbands living
and widows; naksatravrata; Narayana deity; a maiden
sbould worship J agannatbo. on three na.ksatras, viz. Uttara,
U ttar ii.~aclba and Uttara.-bhadrapada and should recite tbe
name ( Madbava ), sbould offer Priya?"tgu and red flowers
and use saffron as unguent ; homo. with honey and clarified
butter with the words 'salutation to Mii.dhava'; she secures
a fine husband. HV II. 6284i30 (from Vi. Dh.); Siva
informs P llrvat! about this vrata.
in Marg. on a day whioh is Tryaha-
SIl/,1Ilatrirah'aI 1raia- begin
sprk, fast for three do.ys, worship of Trivikrama. (Vi!?:r;lu )
with white, yellow and red flowers, three unguents and
inoense oonsisting of guggulu, kui,uka ( ? kai,uka ) and resin
( Pinus Longi/olio ) ; offer trimadhtlra. light three lamps,
homa. with barley, sesame an d mustard; donate trilolla ( i. e.
gold, silver and copper); HV U 322-323 quoting Vi Dh.
Vide pp. 309, 310 for trimadhura and Tryaha.},tsprk.
 List of vratas 449

Sukrla-frtiya-vrafa-on Sr. suo 3 with Hasta-naksatra; tithi-

vrata: worship of Narayat;la and Lak~ml; for three years ;
Mantras are • Vi!lDor nu kam ' ( Eg. 1. 15·t 1 ) and aktum-
I

iva' (Eg. X 71. 2); VR 101-103 (Kr!?t;la tells his proud

sister Subhadrii. to perform it).
StLkrtadvUdasi-tithivrata ; Vi~nu deity; fast on Phil. suo 11 and
worship of ViSlfu on 12th; repeat day and night on 11th the
words • namo Nii riiyat;liiya '; performer should give up anger,
jealousy, greed, deceit, &c.; should revolve in mind the idea
that SQlils(im is worthless; the same on 12th also; repeat
every month for a year; at end worship golden image of
Hari and don ate it with a cow; reward is tha t the performer
does not see Hell; HV 1. 1079-1081 ( from Vi. Dh. ).
Sukhara17'i or Sukharatriku-Laksmlp(ijana day ( Asv. am!!.-
viisya) in DivalI is called Sukharatrika; vide S. P rofolio 4lb,
KT 431, VKK 467-469, KV 403-4 and pp. 194-95 above.
Su khm-rata-( 1) fast on kr. 7th and nakta on kr. 8th; leads to
happiness in this world and heaven; HV II. 509 (from
Bhav. only one verse ), KKV 387 ( changes the tithis to 6th
and 7th); (2) on 14th worship of gods; the rest is not
clear ; HV II. 155 (from Vi. Dh.); (3) by worshipping
sages on 8th tithi ono secures happiness; HV 1. 628 (from
Vi. Db. balf verse ); (4) when on {m. 4 there is Tuesday,
observe nakta; to be observed on four caturthls; worship of
Mars, who if! supposed to be the son of Umli; place clay on
one's head, apply it to whole body and theD bathe; touch
durvii, asvattha, saml an d cow; boma to Mars with 108
ahutis; place image of Mars in vessel of gold or silver or
copper or of sarala wood or of pine or sandalwood and wor-
ship; HV I. 514-519 (from Bhav. ), PC 95; (5) a. !?as~i­
vrata ill Mat. 101. 73 ( ODe verse only q. by KKV 450 ); not
clear.
Sukhasupfikli.-Same as Sukbariitrl; HV II, 348-349 (from
AdityapuraI;la); KKN 421-42 2.
Sukhlicaturthi-wben the 4th titbi in Su. falls on a Tuesda.y it
is called Sukhacaturtbl or SukbadAcaturthl. Vide HV 1.
514 (quoting Bbav. 1. 31. 16 ), KR 271, VKK 31 (quoting
the same verse from Devlpuril~a ).
Sugatidviidasi-begin on PM. BU. 11th; titbivrata ; Kr~T,la
deity j fast on that day, worship of Kr~t:la and reciting the
B. D.57
450 Hi.~t ory of Dharmasastra [ Sec. It Ch. XlIl

name 'Kqma ' 108 times, for one year divided inio three
periods of four months each; in 4 months from Pha.. he
should recite the name Kr!?pa a nd cast three streams of
water on the feet (of the image ) of Kr!?na; in 2nd period
from As. to Asv. th e name to be repeated is Kesava t so that
at the time of death he remembers god Kesava; in the third
period he should recite the name 'Vi!?~ u '; secures divine
pleasurea an d VisZ:JUloka; HV 1. 1081-1083 (from Vi. Db.
III. 215. 4-22 ).
S1/.(ja""l)au .'!<lm(L~ ilatlfla
(paur l}amiisI? )-on P ha. suo 15th tithi;
tithivrata; Vi ~ ~ u deity ; performer to subsist by nakta way
giving up oil and salt ; for one year divided into three periods
of fou r months; worship of Kesava. accompanied by Laksml ;
on that day he is not to speak with heretics, atheists, those
guilty of grave sins and C!l.nd!i.las; Hari and Lak!?mI are
to be looked upon as the moon and night. Vide Vi. Dh. ill
216. 1-17.
Su(/nti'I'rata-( 1 ) by the worship of lord of gods one secures the
hest positi on ( or world); HV 1. 792 (from Vi. Db. o nly a
half verse); ( 2 ) ono should partake food by nakta method
on all 8tb titbis for a year and at end donate a cow and one
reaohes position of Indra; tithivrata; Indra deity; HV 1. 881
( from Pad. ) ; this is Mat. 101. 56; AK folio 561 b (calls it
Sugatyastaml ).
SlIj(WIII(£r/I'at/asi-begin on 12th of P. suo when it falls on
Jyesthii.-naksatrn.; tithivrata; Vi snu deity; worship Visnu
every month for a year with fast tbereon, donate each month
of tho year in order ghee, rice, barley, gold, boiled ya{'Qs ,
water, grain boiled, umbrella, puyast1, sugarcane juice,
sandalwood, garments and should in order partake of one of
the twelve things, viz. oow's urine, water, ghee, uncooked
vegetables, durvii, curds, rice, barley, sesame, water heated
hy the Sun's rays, water in which darbhas are dipped, milk ;
he beoomes free from disease, talented and happy and is
born in a family endowed with wealth and corn and
knowing no sorrow; HV 1. 1174-75 ( from Vi. Dh.).
a sankrantivrata; begin from the
SlIjallll/ i'i!,u.pli I'rata- This is
day when the Sun enters sign Me!?a (Ram) a.nd go on
through all the twelve sailkrantis in the year with fast on
each day of the sankranti, and respeotively worship the
images of the SUll, of BMrgava Rama (ParaSurtima), Kr!;!~ a,
Vi!?t;Ju, Varii.ha ( inoarnaUon), Narasirhba t Rama Di'l.sarathi.
 List of 'Vratas

Rama ( Balarama ), Matsya (incarnation of Visnu ); these

may also be painted on a piece of cloth for worship; humel
with appropriate name on each sa tikriinti; for a year; at
end gift of jaladhenu with umbrella and sandals and in each
month of gold and two garments; worship at night with
diparnula (rows of lights) ; reward - the performer is not
born among lower animals or Mlecchas . H'f II 727-728
(from Vi. Dh. ), PC 12; note that worship in Tuln and the
following two signs is not mentioned by HV. But in Vi.
Dh. III. 199 it is said that Vamana, Trivikrama and
Asvasiras ( Hayasiras ) are to be worsbipp&d when the su n
respectively enters Tula ( Balance ), V rscika ( Scorpion) and
Dbanus ( Archer ).
S llda,.salla$(l.~thi- A king or ksatriya was to perform this; fast
on 6th after draw ing a man~ala with a lotus on the navo of
a wheel, establish Sudarsano. (discus of Vi:mu) on t ho
pericarp and the weapons of l()kul)i1/(L ~ on tho petals and tho
performer's own arms ill front and worship with red sandal-
wood paste, mustard, red lotus, red garmonts &c. and offer
naiL'ecl!/1l of food mixed with jaggery and of cakes a nd fruits
and address mantras to Sudarsana for dostroying ono's
enemies, for success in war an d fo!' protection of his army;
worship of Visnu's bow ( Sar nga), maco &c. and of Garuda
( Vh,mu's vehicle); king to be placed on throne and a young
woman t o wave lights before him; th e same prucodure when
an evil omen arises or on the naksatra of one's birth; HV
1. 620-324 (from Garuua-purana ).
Suciesajanmii1'iipti-practically so.me as Sujanmaviiptivrata; Vi.
Dh. TIL 199. 1-10.
SI'namad'vudus i-begin on 12th tithi of Ma.rg. su. ; ekabhakta on
10th; fast on 11th and worship Sun first and then Visl)u;
tithivrata; Vh?J;lU deity; performer to be pure in thought,
word and deed; place a new jar full of water in which
sapphire, pearls and precious stones are cast and covered
with cloth and worship Kesava's golden image therein; the
same procedure to be repeated on the dl'adatis of P., M. ,
and the following months with different names of Visnu
such as NAriiyal)a, Madha va and so on; for a year; donate
the twelve jars with images therein to brahmal)88 and twelve
cows, garments or ( if poor ) one cow snd a vessel with some
gold i HV 11063-l072 (from Vahnipurit;H~ ); Agni 18B. 11
refers to Nima.dvidailt
452 Ristary of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. I, Ch. XIII

SU7'upadvudaSi-in P. kr. 12th if it has Pu~ya nak~atra; on 11 th

fast and on 12th worship a golden or silver image of Hari
cast in a full jar over which a vessel full of tilas is placed;
the nrl i uedya is to be food mixed with sesame; offering of
sesame in fire with mantras from Purusasiikta ( Eg. X 90 );
Vai!?~ava sriiddha after homa; jiigara on that night; donate
jar and image; reward is freedom from ugliness; HV I.
1205- 1213 (Siva imparts this to Umii and states how
Satyabhiimii benefited from it ); Vratiirka, folio 247 a (says
it is practised among Gurjaras ).
Su m'ala-From CaL suo 8th worship the eight Vasus (named)
that are forms of Vasudeva with gandha, flowers &c.; for a
year; at end donate a cow; secures all objects and goes to
Vasuloka; Vi. Dh. III. 172.1-7.
B-1t7yallakta ur ala-This is a vuravral a; Sun deity; one should
always practise nakta on Sunday; ekabhakta when Sunday
has Hasta nak!?atra and from that day nakta on every
Sunday; draw a lotus with twelve petals on sunset with red
sandalwood paste and make a nyusa in eight directions from
the east with different names ( such as Surya, Divakara);
nyusa of sun's horses to the east of pericarp; arghya with
the first verses of Eg. and Siimaveda and the first four words
of TaL S.; for one year; performer is freed from diseases,
has progeny, wealth and goes to Suryaloka; HV. II. 538-541
( from Mat. ).
Sfi.7·yap ;u.jilprasalilsil-vide Vi. Dh. Ill. 171. 1-7 that narrate what
rewards are secured by worshipping the Sun on all 7th
tithIs for a year or by observing nakta on Sunday for a year
or by worshipping the Sun always at sunrise. Verses 8-14
of Bhav. I. 68 specify the flowers that are desirable in the
worship of Slirya and what rewards follow by offering them.
f:>/il'Ya n Llhayilt1·(i-m uhiltlllya- Bhav. I . 58.
The car procession of
the Sun takes plaoe in M. If no procession is held every
year then it should be held in the 12th year from the time
when it was last held; it should Dot be held after short
breaks in the continuity; a siidra was not to climb upon the
oar of the Sun. The punti mi1.s of As., K., and M. are the
holiest times for this yii.trl.i.. It may also be held on the 6th
or 7th tithi falling on a Sunday.
SU111a'l'ra.la - ( 1 ) fast on 6th tithi and worship of the Sun on 7th
with the words 'may Bh skara be pleased'; beoomes free
 List of vrata..<l 453
from all diseases; KKV 388- 389; (2) bath at dawn in M.
and honouring a householder and his wife with flowers,
garments, ornaments and dinner; attains sall/lhu !J!/!1 an d
health; HV II. 794 (from Pad.), KKV 444 (which is M t~t.
101. 36-37); ( 3) Begin in Asv. if there is 14th titbi in suo
and Sunday; tithinata: Siva deity; special bath for
Sivali nga, 'r aea l/u being applied to it as unguent and worship
with red flowers; na ivedya of milk and gbee of kapi/a cow;
gift t o a br~hm al;1a devotee of Siva; the former should have
dinner mixed with saffron; reward-sons are horn to him;
HV II. 64-65 (from K iilottara ); (4) on Sunday the per-
former shaves himself and worships the Hun with cakes
mixed with jaggery and salt and observes nakta that day:
all des ires are fulfilled and be goes to Sury aloka; HV 1.
779- 780 (from Vi. Dh. ); (5 ) fast on CaL su, 6th and on 7th
tithi worsh ip the SUll; an altar be ma de with whitish olay
and a lotus with eight petals be drawn thereon with coloured
powders; plaoe SUll'S image on the perioarp and draw in the
eight quarters from the eastern petal certain demigods,
goddesses and sa.ges, two each being assigned to the six
seasons from spring; homa with 108 u.hutis of ghea to the
Sun, and eight to eacb of the others; for one year ; at end
gift of a oow and some gold; he goes to Su ryaloka; if per.
formed for twelve years the performer secures I1UYllj!/(I,' HV
I. 770-774 (from Vi. Dh, III. 167, 11-15, 168. 1-30; (6)
begin in Miirg. on a Sunday ( ? ) and proceed for 12 months i
draw a lotus with twelve petals with pericarp on a copper
vessel with red sandalwood paste and worship the Sun
thereon; in the several months tho names of the god
worshipped (such as Mitra in Marg. , Vi~ ~lU in P. , Varut;la
in M. &c. ), the ILClil 't>dya and the special article to bo oaten
by the performer are different i it destroys sins and secures
all desired objects; HV ll. 552- 557 ( frum Sauradbarma);
This is a varavrata; ( 7 ) nakta throughout month of P. and
fast on both 7th tithis; worship of Sun and of Agni thrice
a day in tbe month of P. i KR 475- 76 (from Bbav. )

Suryal/(Jli~h i-begin
ekabhakta in Bh. suo from 1 to 5th and on
6th fast and worship of Suo's image; for a year; in each
month different name of Aditya; at end elaborate udyupana
is described; HV 1. 608-615 ( from Bhav. U. ), NS 134.

8uryali~mi-Vida A.rki~~l p. 261 above.

 History of Dharma8listra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm
Somaval,i-amii:oasllli-A.maviisYii on Monday is very holy; vide
KV 492 (from Bhav.); HK 643, VKK 9; on this day persons
( specially women in the Deccan) go to a asvattha tree,
worship VisI?u and circumambulate the tree 103 times;
Vratiirka folios 350b-356, DS. 23, the former remarking that
this is not mentioned in the great religious digests
( nibandhas ) but is based upon usage.
So ma/'[i,'w 1'ala8-HV II. 557-566 ( only two), Vratiirka folio
379b-382b, SmK 149, VKD 437-443. General rule is; begin
on the first Monday of Sr., VaL, K., or Marg.; worship of
Siva and total fast or nakta on that day; VKD gives an
elaborate procedure of Somavaravrata and its udyapana.
The Mondays in Sr. are regarded specially holy even now.
,')u1I!w'rala-( 1 ) when the 8th in any pak$a falls on a Monday
one should worship Siva, the right side of the idol represont-
ing Siva and left side Hari and the Moon; bathe the lii/I/ C!
with paficamrta, apply sandalwood and camphor to righ t
side and to the left saffron, ay l/.)'", lIsira; niriijrma witb 2::>
lights of the God and the Devi; dinner to urabmanas with
their wives; for a. year or five yoars; KKV 269-271, HV 1.
829- 831 ( from Kiilikii ); ( 2 ) on Vai. pur'I?iroa fill a copper
vessel with wat~r, put image of Sankara therein and cover
it with cloth and worsh ip with Uandha aud flowers and
donate with the words • may Mahil deva, lord of the world,
who assumes the form of the MOOIl, be pleased with me';
KKV 353, HV II. 174-175, KR 166-l6 i (all quoting Bhav.) ;
( 3) on suo 2nd tithi one should donate_vessel containing
salt to a brahmalla; for a year; at end donate a cow; goes
to Sivaloka; KKV 451 ( 59th ~a~~ivrata from Mat. 101. 81),
HV 1. 389 (from Pad.); (4) when 8th tithi falls on
Rohi!.!1 nak$atra, perform this; bathe Siva with paficii.m~ta
and a.pply ca.mphor or sandalwood paste to the ti1iga or
image and worship with white flowers; offer naivedya of jar
of milk mixed with white ground sugar; juyara ; yields long
life, fame etc.; HV 1. 863 ( from Ka.lottara ); ( 5 ) fast on M.
suo 14th and on 15th apply (to the lii/,ya) a blanket of ghee
from top to the vedi; donate a. p . ¢ dark cows; jiigara
with songs and dance; HV Il 239-240 (from Bhav.);
( 6) on the firat Monday in Marg. su. , or Oa.i. or on any
Monday when an intense impulse to worship arises; worship
Siva with white flowers ( like MAlat I, Kunda &c.), apply
 List of t'1'atas 455

sandalwood paste (to im age or Ii riga ), off'er naivedya; homa;

rewards of perform a nce of nakta on Monday in the months
from Marg. described; HV II. 558-566 (from Skanda );
(7) on each Monday eight br:ihmanas to be treated to dinnor
for a year; at end a silver image of Siva to be made and
donated; worship of Siva and Uma with mantra. 'tllt-
purusaya vidmahe ' (Maitri. S. II. 9. I , Tai. Ar. X. 46);
Pad. IV. 108. 82-90.
S(l1llil!1ana''1'1'atu- for a month; consists in subsisting on tbe milk
of all four udders of a cow for seven days ; for soven dllYs on
m ilk of three udders, then seven days more on m ilk of one
udder and fast for the next three days ; destroys all sins.
Miirkat:lueya q. by Mit. on Yiij. III. 324.
Snl)/ii~t(lllli/'/'(/ia-tithivrata; Siva and Uma. are deities; on 9th
tithi with Monday worship of Siva and Umn at night;
bathing image with parlcagavya; worship Siva under the
names Vamadev80 and others ; apply sandalwood paste and
camphor to the right side of image and saffron and Turuska
( nli{xl1lum ) to the left ; place sapphire on Devl's hea d and
pearl on Siva's head a nd worship with white and rod flowers ;
homa of sesame with tho name Sadyojiita ; HV 1. t!3 3-~ 35
( from Ska nda ). Bllav. U. 59 describes this vrata almost
in the same word s ( 1-:!3 ); Viimadeva, Sadyojiita , Aghora,
TatpUTU!?a, l8una are tho five faces ( or furms ) of Siva.
Vide Tai. Ar. X. 43-47.
Srtllkhya l'rala-o n 8th or l1t1- or 14th of M. ohserve okahhllkta
a nd donate wh ite garments, sandals, blunko t, umbrolla,
water and a cup to ono who is in wa nt of those; 11 V It 440
(from Bbav. ).
Sall gandhyar rata-thi s is a rtuvra ta; Siva a nd Kesava deities ;
give up use of fl owers in H emanta and SiiJ ira. and of three
kinds of pattras ( fragrant substa nces ) on Phil. p urJ;l imii and
donate some gold with tbe words 'May Siva and Kesava
be pleased ' ; HV II. 860.
Sallbhiiyyal rliyacrata-( 1 ) on 3rd titbi of PM. suoobserve nakta
and worship Hari with Lakl?ml or Rudra with Umit (a.s both
are declared in sastras aDd pura J;laS to be the same); homa
with honey and ghee and sesame; for a year divided into
three periods; in mon~hB from PM. to Jy., performer should
ol\t food made from wheat without salt or ghoe (or oil) on bare
456 Histor1j of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. I, Ch. xm

ground; in months from K. to M. he should eat cooked barley

food; on M. suo3 he should make golden images of Rudra
and Gaur! or of Hari and SrI and donate these with six
vessels containing boney, ghee, sesame oil, jaggery, salt,
oow's milk; be becomes fortunate and handsome . for seven
births; Var. 58.1-19 q. in KKV 75-77, HV 1. 479-80, KR
52 3-52t
SaublilJ.{I!!aumta- ( 1 ) on K. purl? ima worship the Moon's image
on the peri carp of a lotus drawn with 16 petals; on the
filaments of the lotus worship 28 naksatras (including
Abhijit) and on the leaves worship the tithis and their loros
( set out by name); at end of vrata donate two garments i
fast or nakta on this day; confers blessedness, beauty, sexual
pleasures ; HV II. 235 -36 (from Vi. Dh. ); (2) give up use
of salt on 3rd tithi of Phil. and of following months for a
year; at end donate a bedstead and house with all para-
phernalia and honour a brahmat:Ja and his wife with the
words ' May Parvatl be pleased '; he becomes a denizen of
Gaurlloka; tithivrata; Gaur! deity; KKV 441 (which is
Mat. 101. 15-16), HV I. 483 (from Gar.), VKK 29- 30
( reada ' sayanam ' for' laval?am '). Agni ( 178. 24-25) has
almost the same verses; (3) worshipper of the Moon on
5th tithi secures long life, wealth and fame; HV 1. 574
( from Vi. Dh. ).
SalLb!tawasayana- urala-on Cai. suo3rd tithi worship Gaurl and
Siva images (as Gaur! was married on tbat day) after
bathing the imagea with paiicagavya and scented water;
salutations to the limbs of Devl and Siva from feet to head
and hair i place in front of the images Sao.bhiigyii.~ taka; next
morning the golden images to be donated; on each 3rd this
procedure for a year; different substance to be partaken of
and different mantra. to be repeated in each month from Cai.
and different names of Devl also; special flowers employed
in each month; performer to give up eating one fruit for a
year; at end donate a bedstead with paraphernalia and
golden cow and bull; secures saubltagya, health, bea.uty,
long life; Mat. 60 1- 49; KKV 56-ii0 (quotes only Mat. 60.
14-48 ), HV 1. 444-!49 ( quotes Mat. 60. 1-48), KR 113- 118
( quotes Mat. 60. 1 9). The same verses occur in Pad. V.
24. 222-2i8 and also in Bhav. U. 25. 1-42.
Sau.bhligyasarlk7·unti-This is a sBookrAntivrata; on the Ayana
or Vi!?uva day having Vyatlplta or on a sankranU day one
 List of tJrcUas 457

should follow ekabhakta, worship the sun and donate two

garments and saubhagya!?~aka to a brahmana and his wife;
for one year; dinner to brahmaI;las and donate lavat:Ja-
parvata, golden lotus and golden sun image; HV D. 735-36
(from Skanda ); for gift of substances called parvatadii nas,
vide H. of Dh. vol. II. 882.
SatLbhagyaSllndari-on the 3rd tithi of Marg. or M. kr. ; tithi-
vrata; Uma deity; fast that day; for a year; in each month
different name of Umii is used; flowers, fmits and naivedya
to be offered are different and also the substance to be eaten
by the performer; Vratiirka folios 56a-£Ob, VR 114- 120
( quoting Bhav. U.). It is to be performed on 3rd mixed with
4th ( and not on 3rd mixed with 2nd ).
SalLbhagyal'apli'l'rala-T his is a mi.i.savrata.; Krsna deity; begin
on the 1st tithi after Magha pllrnim a. (by piirnimiinta
reckoning); worship image of Krsna or his picture on a
strip of cloth; performer to bathe with water scented with
pl'iyatigu ( panic seed or Italian millet), offer caru ( boiled
rice) mixed with priyangu and homa with the same; for
a month; on PM. purnimii after three days' fast donate two
garments dyed with saffron, a vessel full of honey &c. ; this
confers sanbha[Jlja and beauty; HV II. 799 (from Vl Db.
III. 204. 1-5 ).
Saubhagyastaka-Mat. ( 60. 8-9) provides th at eigbt tbings are
so called, viz. sugarcane, mercury, nispii. va ( wheat prepara-
tion in which milk and ghee are used), ajuj i ( cumin seed ),
dhanyaka ( coriander ), curds from cow's milk. safDower and
salt. This is quoted by HV I. 48-49, KR 115, VR 16 (with
variant and corrupt readings ). KR reads • tavarAja~ •
( white ground sugar) and VR reads • taruraja~ . (palmyra);
Pad. V. 24. 251 enumerates somewhat differently, reads
• taruraja. kusuma. ( v. 1. kustumburu ) and jlraka' (paniclLm
miliaceum ); vide Bhav. U. 25. 9 also for the eight things.
Saumyavidhi-Wben Sunday has RohiJ;l l naksatra., it is called
Saumya; bath, gifts, japa. homa, tarpa1;la of pitrs and gods
on this day become inexhaustible; observe nakta and
worship the sun on this day with red lotuses, red sandal-
wood paste, t!ugandha dhilpa and piyasa (as naivedya);
performer is frood from sins; KKV 13-14, HV II. 524.
Saumyavrala-Give up flowers in Hemanta and Sisira seasons
and on Phi. piirl,limi donate Lhree flowers of gold in the
B. D. 58
458 Hislary of Dharnza&aslra [ Sec. 1, Ch. xm
afternoon with the words' May Siva and Kesava be pleased';
Mat. 101. 13-14 (quoted in KKV 441 ).
Suurairittlaama-vi ala-This is a masavrata; Sun deity; for
three months or three years; in month of K. worship Jagan-
natha or the Sun and observe ekabhakta and donate the
second meal to a brahmaJ;la; same procedure in Miirg. and
P. and Sun to be worshipped as Vibhakara and Divakara ;
sins committed in youth and middle age and even grave
sins are destroyed; it is called 'Trivikrama' because the
three names ( of the su n) relieve a man in three months or
three years; HV 11. 856 ( from Bhav. U. ).
Sau1'Imahla-vral(/.- This is a varavrata; Sun deity; to be per-
formed on Sunday with Hasta naksatra; honour briihmaIlas
on it ; performer is freed from diseases; HV II. 521 (from
N!'sirrihapuraIla ).
Sa717'a'I'mta-This is Mat. 101. 63 ( a sas ~ivrata ) which occurs in
K KV 448, HV 1. 787 (from Pad. ); fast on 7th tithi; Sun
deity; for one year; at end donate a golden lotus, cows
along with some gold and a jar full of food ; leads to
Suryaloka.
Skanda.'!f1.~thi-6th titbi in As. su. is so called; worship Kumara
( Kiirtikeya) on it after observing a fast the previous day ;
NA 49, PC 101. SmK 138. NA adds that on seeing (the
idol of) Kii rtikeya in Daksinapatha on Bh. su.6 one becomes
free from even grave sins like briihma!1a murder; vide also
KR ~ 75 - 277. In Tamil lands Skanda i? a s~hI is important,
is shown in tho calendar as in (solar) VrScika-m.!isa (K. suo 6)
and celebrated in temples and also in some houses; HK 622,
KR 119 quote some verses from Brah. saying that Skanda
~as produced from Agni on amiivlisya and appeared on Cai.
Suo 6, was made Commander-in-Ohief of gods and
vanquished demon Taraka. hence he was to be worshipped
with lamps, garments, decoration, cooks (as a plaything)
&c., or he may be worshipped on all suo 6th tithia by those
that desire health for their children. Vide TT 35 ( saying
that 6th of Oai. is called Skande.sa~~hY), SmK 93.
S k(/'lIda.~a,~thi/'rata-onK. suo 6 subsist on fruits, turning to the
south give arghya. to Kartikeya and offer curds, ghee, water
and flowers and a mantra; the performer should take his
meal at night from food placed on the bare earth; he seoures
suooess, prosperity , long life, health, and lost kingdom i one
 List of vralas

should not partake of oil on 6th (either in suo or In. ) j Bh l.w.

1. 39.1-13 q. by KK V 99 -101, HV 1. 604-605, KR 415-,116.
Vide under •$asthivratas' for proposition that Skandasas thl
mixed with fifth is to be preferred . G K (83-84) speaks of
Skanda~as~hi on Cai. kr.
Stripulm'(amu ciipli I'ra'a-tbis is a masan ata ; un deity; th e
woman passing K. by ekabhakta and observing the rulos of
conduct such as alii/i,.,·u, who offers to the sun IIlil't'd!l1l of
boiled rice mixed with jaggery and fasts on 6th or 7th t ith i,
in both fortnights, reaches suryaloka and when she returns
to the world she secures a king or other desired person as
husband; special rules about the months from Marg. ; RV
U 821-824 (from Bba v. ), KR 406.
Snapanasnptalllil'1'ala - f or a woman wh ose ch ild or children die
in infancy; Bhav. U. 52. 1- 40.
Srlllhi-uitrl])e manasu-p'iiia- on Sr. hr. 5th worsh ip Manasii-dovi
that removes (da nger of) snake poison on a twig of Snulll
plant in one's court-yard; TT 33. Vide above p. 125.
8nehavrala-Tbis is a miisavrata; God ( Visnu?) deity; person
should give up oil bath for four months from As, he should
eubsist 011 piiyasa and ghee; a t end he should donate a jar
full of sesame oil; this secures people's affection (.~lI t' h(l ); HV
II. 818 (from P ad. ).
Syamantaka. (.jt'wel )-story in Harivamsa 1. 38 ; vide pp. 147- 148
above under Ganesacaturthl. The verse ' simha~ Prase nam·
avadhlt' is H arivalnsa 1. 38.36.
Svar'lJ,ag!2ur itm' a-on Bh. su . 3; tithivrata; Gaur] deity ; for
women only; Gauri is worsh ipped with tho 16 upaci rall ;
prayer to Devl to bestow sons, health, saublHgya; on Il r/1Iiip<J.ll a
16 wickerwork vessels are filled with sixteen ediblos and
covered with cloth and donated to brahmana householders
and their wives; Vratiirka 41a-44b, \' R 96-97 (notes that
it is prevalent in Kar~ii~aka country and is based on usage).
Svastikaurala-from A~. 11 th or 15th for " months; for both
men and women; said to be well-known in KarI;l ~aka:
draw svastikas in five colours ( blue &c. ), and they are to be
presented to ViSI;Ill; worship of Visn u in temple or on land;
Vratarka folios 356b-358 from Bhav. U (questions its
authoritativeness)
Hamsavrata-bathe with recitation of Puru~asiikta; ~arpa t;Ja
and japa with same: worship Jan4rdana called Hamsa in
4GO History of Dhamta8astra [ Seo. I, Ch. :xm

midst of a picture of a lotus having eight petals with flowers

&c. to the accompaniment of ltg. X. 90, then hom a ; donate
a cow; for a year; he secures aU desires; Vi. Dh. m. 225.
1-9.
Hanumal -jayanti-on Cai. suo 15.
Hayapancami or H uyapujl1v-rala-on CaL 5th Uccai~sravaB
( Indra's horse) rose from the ocean and so he should be
worshipped along with gandharvas (such as Citraratha,
Citrasena) who are its bandhus with songs, sweetmeats,
polikas (M arathi , poli ), curds, jaggery, milk, rice flour;
reward-strength, long life, health non -defeat in battle;
HV 1. 573 (quoting Siilihotra), SmK. 92. This is also
called MatsyajayantI; AK folio 360b.
HarakaLi,t ;rata-on M. suo 3; tithivrata; DevI is deity; for
women ; performer should pass the whole night contemplat-
ing Um!i. on green barley sprouts; next day bath and
worship of Devl and then dinner; in each of 12 months
different names of Devl to be taken and 12 different sub-
stances to be partaken of; at year's end honour a brahmat;la
and his wife; reward-freedom from disease, no widowhood
for seven births, son, beauty &c.; Sankara asks Parvatl
what vrata she performed to secure the position of sharing
half his body.
Hamtrtiya-'Ilrala-on M. suo 3; tithi vrata; U mil and Mahesvara
deity; in a mantiapa draw a lotus with eight leaves; in
eight directions nyl1sa of the eight names of Umil viz.
Gaurl, Lalita, Umii, Svadhii, Vamaaevl &c.; place Uma-
Mahesvara in the mi ddle ; worship with gandha and flowers;
place a jar filled with rioe grains; hom a with four iihutis of
ghee and one hundred of sesame; in each of the eight
praltaras perform bath and homa; next day honour a
brllhmat;la and his wife; this to be followed for four years;
then udyapana; golden image of Uma and Mahesvara to
be donated to acarya; gives saubhligya and health; HV 1
~80 -482.

R a,/'utri1'lit7'at'rata-one fasting for three days at the root of

a lJilva tree and reciting a leJrh of times the name of Hara
destroys the sin even of bhrut;labatyii; HV n. 312 (from
SaurapUriit;la). Vide H. of Dh. vol. n. p. 148n and voL ill.
p. 612 note 1161 for explanations of bhrut;la.
 List of vraLas '61

Haravrata-o n 8th tithi draw an image of lotus leaf and

worship Ha.ra and perform homa with streams of ghee and
fuel-sticks; HV 1. 881 ( from Bhav. ).
Ha7'ikaLivrata-on 3rd tithi of Bh. suo worship of KAII on the
sprouts of seven dhiinyas sown in a winnowing basket ; it
is carried at night by women whose husbauds are alive to
a reservoir of water and discharged therein; HV 1 435-439
(from Bbav. U. 20. 1-28). The story is that RaIl was
daughter of Daki?a, was giveu in marriage to Mahilde\'a
and was dark in complexion. Once in an assembly of gods
Mabiideva called ber as dark as collyrium. She was angered,
left her complexion on a grassy plot and threw herself into
fire. She was born again as Gaurl and became Mahiideva's
wife. The dark complexion laid aside by Kill! became
Kiityiiyanl, who helped gods in their undertakings. Tbo
gods bestowed on ber tho boon that those men or women
who would worship Kiill existing in green grass would have
happiness, long life and salluhu.gya. The printed HV labels
it Harikall, but no question about Hari (meaning Visnu )
arises here. Hari here probably simply means tawny' (i. e.
I

Kal! who was once brown or tawny and not fair ).

Hm'ikriQlisavana or HUl'ikriQliyana-on K. or Vai. 12th; tithi-
VIata; Hari deity ; plaoe in a copper vessel filled with honey
a golden image of Nrsimha with four arms, with rubies for
arms, coral for nails and other precious stonos on the cbest,
ears, eyes and head, and fill the vessel with water; worship
and jagara; the performer has 110 danger in a forest or
battle, secures wealth and long life ; KKV 392-393, HY 11.
376- 377 ( from N rsirilhapuriilJa).
Hal'itaiika:vl'aLa-Vide above pp.144-45.
Harinakla-see NS 21.
Haritithi-is 12th, acc. to Sm K. 29.
Hariprahodhotsal:a- celebrating the supposed awakening of
VifglU in K. Vide pp. 109-111 above.
Harivasara-The day of Hari. There is a divergence of views
on this point; VKK 14 holds that EkAdaill is really the day
of Hari and not dviidast. Gar. 1. 127. 12 and Nli.radapuriilJs
n.24. 6 and 9 call Ekadaill Harivasara; KBB 43 quo~s Mat.
ta the effect that if !.~. Su. 12~h falls on Wednesday and
has Anuradha ne.kl?atra and if Bh. Su. 12 falls on Wedn.
462 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. I, Ch. xi1I

day and has Sravana naksatra and if K. suo 12 falls on

Wednesday and has Revatt naksatra, these are called
Harivasara. SmK 29 balds that Dvada!;! is Haritithi.
Hurivrata-( 1) a person should practise ekabhakta on P ur~lim ii
and Amiiviisyii; he does not go to H ell ; on those tithis he
should worship Hari with ' pUI,lyahaviicana' and words like
• jaya ': be should feed one briihmat;la, bow to him and feed
other brahmanas and the blind, helpless and distressed
persons; HV II. 373 (from N arasirbhapuriina), KKV 389-
390; for punyahavacana, vide H. of Dh. vol. 1I. p. 216; (2) a
person who gives up food on 12th tithi goes to heaven; HV
I. 117 2 (from Var. ).
Harisayana- the sleeping of Vi!?nu in As.; vide above
pp. 109-111.
Halu l/al$thi-Bb. kl'. 6 is so called ; NS 123.
H U'l'i l$ya-sacrificial substances that can be partaken of on
certain vratas; KR 400, 1'T 109, NS 106 and H of Dh. vol.
IV. p. 149 note 334.
Hasta{la1l1'il'l'ala-on Bh. suo3; told by Krsna to Kunt! for
recovering a kingdom endowed with wealth and grain.
Vratiirka, folios 50b-5 ~ b, AK 280b; contemplation of Gaur!,
Hara and Heramba ( Ganesa ) for 13 years and udyiipana in
14tb year.
Hrmapujil-worship tbe Moon, th e left eye of Vi!?pu on Pur·
nima. with flowers, llui"edya of milk, give salt to cows,
bonour one's mother, sister and daughter with new red
garments; if one is near Himalaya, than one shou ld offer to
pitrs ice mixed with honey, sesame and gbee and where there
is 110 ice he should repeat the words ' ice, ice' an d should
feed brahmal!as with mass food full of gbee; festival with
songs and dance should be beld an d Syama-dev! worshipped,
fresh wine sbould be drunk by those used to drinking ; KR
4.71-72 (from Brah.)
JIrd(lllnl'idhi -Vide KKV 19- 20 , HV II. 526 ; vide above p. 268
under • Adityaviira '.
H Cllllal 'irlhi-For procedure of homa in the G!,hyasutras, vide
H. of Db. 01. II, pp. 207-210 and for homa in medieval
times, vide HV 1. 309-310.
Holiku-Vide above pp. 327-341.
 SECTION II
KALA , MUHURT A, the influence of Astrology Oft

DHARMASASTRA and CALENDAR

CHA PTER XIV
Conception of Kala

Among the first of the great problems of philosophy is that

of the n ature of Space ( rlik ) an d Tim e ( k(ila ).
The questions that arise are: Are Spuce fl.lld T ime ultimately
real? Is the world we apprehend spaceless and limoless or has
the universe a beginning i n time; a re Space and Timu them-
selves things or real, a ttributes or rela tions of t hings. Great
divergence of views has prevailed on these problems from
ancient tim es to this day. It is therefore advisable to indioate
briefly the speculations on Time contained principally in
Sanskrit works.
The word Kala occurs only once in tbe Egvoda 6SI 'a8 a
gambler collects the !.rIa ( highest sta.ke ) at the (proper) time'
(Eg. X. 42. 9, 'Krtam yac svaghn l yicinoti kale '). The
Atb arvaveda contains two hymns (XLX. 53. 1- 10 a nd XlX.54.
1-5 ) embodyiog a most sublime conceptioll of Kida. A few
striking verses tS2 are translated he ro: . K:lla (Timo) carries ( as )
a horse with seven reins, thousand-oyed, agelosR, ondowod witll
------ - ----
6.5 1. Compare 'l"i' Ol ~r ~"ifil ~ I ~,X 4).5 ( s:rui. XX.
17,5 ) witb 'Il'. X. 42,9 ( = aftri, VII. 50.6 and XX, 89,9 'lilfiillf "it:;fi tii~)r'it
~); \'ide also · ~R..rr m~~"'rG<l:''lIi 111 24; 1\1;. X 43 . .5 i.
explained by C ban, l'p I V. 1. 4 'll"Ur ~ f.t~~: ~~ . ' (AS tbe
lower tbrows o{ dice all go to tbe highest tbrow, to the winner',
652 ~r ~"Jr!Orlif ~~R: ~R~( 3r.I'ir 'iit{'!rr: I "1m ~"r." ~f
~~~ ~ ~""'rf;t ~"Jr II ~ 'l''{ ~ ~'.fOfPlI1>mt ~ 'l'-t ;t ~"rPl q1flt I R1fr
~ ~ ~"'ii:: ;q~~ ihT: II q;'~ 1'IOl: q;'~ ~rar: q;'~ Olrl'l ffI'I~""'I: I
~Ol ~Il~ Ol"F~ rtmOl inrI {"'I: II "ti1'i'5: o:nrl ~ "ti1;;'1 ~ir 'I;';lNI'il'l:, I ~l~:
~: q;'1"?l,,,,q: ~~rtmll~. XIX, 53 1, 4 . 7 . 10; ~') ~ ~ "l1.q "" 'Iir
~ I lfil"?lm'~: ~~: ~rtm II ,-it ~ ;:;tl.i; ~ ~ ~~ 1l""ltq
~r!fir.{ N\f1frq !1'"fr: I ~{ig~r;q>mt'V -tuJTI lfir?;: " ~Q''' ·mit is ~~:" ~.
XIX. 54 , 5. ~ is styled a ~ in lIf. I X. 114,2 aDd ia III later mythology
the husband of 3lf.f~ wbo is called mother. {at ber and Ion in~. I, 89. 10:
so probably ~ here is the ume 110$ lnIl<mI. In~. Vili. ~ 14 ~
i& said to bave created the amlliet jewel • ,MjqqmrifqJlIt ~ "~' .
~ probably means here' boundar-ie. separating tbe "arId,'.
 464 Histo'ry of Dharmaliistra [ Sec. 11, Cb. XIV

plentiful seed (power); the wise poets mount him (as one
mounts a chariot); all worlds are his wheels ( 53. 1 ); he ( Kala)
himself brought together the worlds and he himself went round
( all) worlds together; being the father, he became the son of
them (worlds); there is indeed no other brillianoe that is higher
(or beyond) him (53. 4); in Time is mind, in Time is breath;
in Time is placed name; all these beings are glad by time when
it arrives (53. 7); Time created beings; in the beginning Kala
(created) Prajllpatij the self-existent Kasyapa sprang from Kala
and (so did) tapas spring from Kala (53. 10) j Kala, the son,
created past and the future, from Time arose the .rk (verses) and
the yajus (sacrificial formulas) were born from time (54. 3);
this world and the highest world, holy worlds and holy vidhrtis
having completely conquered these worlds by the brahman Time
goes on ( abides) as the highest god' (54. 5 ).
From these passages it appears that the word Kala was
used even in very early Vedic times in two senses, viz. time in
general ( as in modern Sanskrit and modern Indian languages)
and Time as identical with the Supreme Being or the source of
oreation. This latter sense, it will be shown a little later on, is
also emphasized in many Sanskrit works (including the
Purat;las ).
In the Sa.tapatha-brahmat;la the word Kala is often used in
the sense of • time' or' proper time '653 e. g. he (Rudra angry I

because he was excluded from a share in offerings) flew up

towards the north at the time when sl 'i ~!akrt offering was to be
made' ( 1. 7. 3. 3 ); Prajapati ( when cattle approached him) said
Iwhenever you may get anything at the (proper) time or at an
improper time you may eat it' ( II. 4:. 2. 4: ).
A few passages from some of the Upanisads regarded as
ancient by most scholars may be cited here; the Chan. Up. II.65{
31. 1 ( while speaking of Vamadevya Saman and its parts) uses
tile word Kala as equal to end' or • finish '. The Br.655 Up.l 2.4
I

633. ~ ~~l'I ~a- 'q IfIf fW!~: q;~: I mi. "T. I. 7 . 33;
~~ 'l.-q ~ "if ;;>l\illillli% ~ 1'lWTTq;~s~fiilll 11.4 . 2 .4.
654. m ~rn l'I~ qrt "~ffll'l~0!i'mi::~4 ~g~ ~ I Uf. \nf •
II. 13 .1.
6'5. ~)SlliT1'tnf iFI'hir~ &r.;ff ;;frintm"'",~' fnf: ~ &m ~
lfilWf~\i: I "f~~: I l'I~Pffl: ~ ~~ I tt. \nf. I. 2.4, lht 11U
lWiTimt 1IIVTI ~ I ... ~ 11U ltirtWi~fiill fl. II. 1. 20 and 21; lit QIf
~ 0IWl ~ 11U IfiItJ)I«t¥i'hrilRl' "'wn
Iflf m iIm' sr-m 11U 1fi1('51tl1tfi<lil I ~.
\nf. IV. 12 and 13.
 Kala in the Upani!$<1ds 465

says" He desired 'would that a second self of me were produced'

... He bore him for a time as long as a year; after th at long time
he brought him forth ". In the di alogue between Giirgya and
king Ajatasatru in the same Upani ~ ad Gargya put forward several
objects whioh he reverenced ( upasana) as In'ahma when the king
replied as to those oases in these words' Pra(1a ( breath) does not
leave him before the time' and 'death does not come to him
before time', Here the word 'Kala' is used in the sense of
'proper or appointed time '. In the passage of the Kau sltaki Br,
that corresponds to Br, Up, II, 1. 10 and 12 the words are 'neither
he himself nor his progeny pass into unconsciousness before the
time' and' neither he nor his progeny dies 'before .the time '. In
some passages of the Svetasvatara Up. some thinkers are stated
to have put forward Kala as the cause or source of creation e, g,
, what is the oause ? 656 Is it Brahma? Whence are we born?
Whereby do we live? On what are we established ( or where
are we going?) ... Time or inherent nature or neoessity or
chance or elements or y oni (pralcrti) or the person, it is to be
oonsidered (whether one of these is oause)'; 'Some sages dis-
course upon inherent nature (as the cause) while other deluded
persons speak of Time ( as the cause ).' Here Kala is represented
as the cause of creation, which is the 2nd meaning of the word
Kala set out from the Atharvaveda, In another passage 657 of
the same Up. Kala is said to have been generated by Him who is
intelligent and omnisoient. The first mea ning of Kala ( time in
general) is also found in Svetiisvatara Up, 'He (God) is the
beginning, the efficient cause of ( all ) combinations, He is
beyond the three times and is also without parts', The Man~ii­
kyopani~ad avers that Orokara is beyond the threefold time viz.
past, present and future.
Tbe MaitrI Upanisad 658 bas a long but somewbat rambling
disquisition on time ( VI. 14-16). It first says "Then it bas been
656, f;i; 'fi~ "Ifj;l §CI: ~Jt ~,-:illIlJt ~ <Ji -:q ~~imr,: I .. , tnn:5: ~~
~'E'(JI ~R <rn-';: ~ wrn ~~I 1. 1-2 ; ~~~* 'filI<il q~
.:a.;Jq.
~ ~ m~: I ~. ;Jq. VI . 1. The ~~I of!ffl~ appears to refer
to this last when it says ( in 1. 7 ) ''fir?s 'fillUTit~ n~~"'q'( q'( ;;m: <n+l '.
657, ~ Rcqrq ~ ~~: 'fi~m ~ ~iim: I ~. VI. 2; ~:
;Jq,
~ ~I'lfir~: Q'{~,"r<?rilt ~e: I ~. ;JQ', VI. 5; compare ~~fq o
'''l,if ~~~fit~)1fR ~~ I ~t~7<t ~I~ It!' I',
6.58. ~~.r.-mt '" ~lf ~ <r'lf.t: 'fiIMI!qAl'{ll ~'f ~: ~ I
••• t!Ii IJft , ~~ \@rA ~ A ~ '" I ~ ~ f.l<rOqJiYfI lfiril
( Con~'nuecl on next page)
B. D, 59
466 History of Dharmascistm [ Sec. II, Ch. XIV

said elsewhere Food is indeed the source of this whole world,

I

and time of food; the Sun is the source of time '. Then a little
later on it proceeds II Thus one has said I From Time flow beings,
from Time they reach growth, and in Time they come to dis-
appear; Time is a form (i. e. bas definite shape or limits) and
is ( also ) formless ". Then it propounds There are indeed two I

form s of brahma, Time and Timeless. That which is prior to

the Sun is Timeless (form of Brahma) and it is without parts.
But that which begins with the Sun is Time that has parts; year
is the form of the Time that has parts. All these beings are
produced from the year, through the year these beings when
born grow, and they disappear in the year. Therefore the year
is Prajapati, is time, is food, is Brahma nest (or abode) and is
Atman. And it has been said Time cooks ( ripens or digests)
I

all beings in the Great Self; that man knows the ( real import
of) Veda who knows that in which Time is cooked n. Here the
Maitrl Up. speaks of Time in its two senses, contains the germ
of the later conception of the experience of Time as due ·to the
action s or movements of the Sun, and refers to Time in the same
terms in which the Tai. Up. (III. 1) speaks of hrahma. It is
unnecessary to set out passages from other Upanisads such as
the Mahiinariiyal!a ( Xl. 14 aham-eva kala naham kiilasya)
where Kala is identified with God ( Nariiyal}a ).659
The Mahabharata recurs to the theme of Kala time and
again. In the Adiparva it is said Kala creates beings and
I

Kala destroys people; Kala extinguishes Kala that is engaged in

destroying people; Kala brings about good or evil states (or
things); Kala reduces all people and aaain sends them forth j
Kala is (the only one) awake when all are asleep (i. e. dead or

( ContitJlied from last page)

JI.~~"'~A. II it 1!(rt lIf~lJfr
~ lfil!'5~r<1iI<'S~11.1 ~: Itf1Trf.tf1i~rSlfiT'i'$rSlfi<'S)soq "l
3'I~mfl: ~ lfiT'i'$: ~: ~~tl 'l'I t!m~: WR~I~~: sr.,,: ~
~If ~ ~I~T ~i\ ~m It~ "lP.a ~~IffliU ~~: lfil<'SIS1Ii~­
"I~I ~;i lU~ I lfiT'i'$: tr-<f~ ,{<,If.!' ~lr" ~mff.f , "lR~ij q''I!W lfiTi'll ~ ihf
~ ~<f~ 1I ih;fr. VI . 14-15. With lfiI81<w<lPa etc. and ~~~: etc.
compare ' ~r lfI ~ff.l ~~ ~~ 'it" ~ ;;l11!(~ "l(lItl;:cqN~ II ~­
~~lI~~I' ~.'3"1f.1II.1.
659. "'It'S: ~:sf~ ~r~ lfilt'S: ~~ 1I~(: I ~~'" ~r: lfi~ lfiT'i'$: ~
11"': II lfimr " ~"I! ltm<1:. ~~r~ Til'flal1'~ II "'18: ~~q-it ~i{i: ~I ~:i<l11"': II
lfiWl: ~ ~fi lfiml ~ ~~: I ,,~ 1. 248-250; 1fi1!'5: q'~ ~ lfiWl:
~~ ~(: I ~r<"S: WI! ~f1T'" lfimr it ~fifm''': " ~( 2.24 . The words Ifilt'Sr •••
""": occur In~. 221. 41 and ~ I. 10S.7.
 Kaza in Mczhlibliarata 467

liberated) : for Kala is invincible '. The StrIparva has the

following' Kala cooks all beings and Kala destroys people; Kala
is invincible '. The Santiparva 660 in chapters 22! and 227
contains a long disquisition on the formidable influence of Kala
on all including gods like Indra. In the Santiparva it is
asserted 'beyond the mind is the Great Intelligence and beyond
the latter, is the Great Time; beyond Time is the adorable
Vispu to whom belongs the whole world '. In another plaCe the
Santiparva, after detailing nineteen gll~IItS the last being dlJlZndoQ-
y oga (pairs of opposites such as pleasure and pain ), remarks that
the 20th YU1)a beyond the nineteenth is Kala and that one
should know these twenty to be the source and end of all beings.
The iisvamedhika-parva describes (chap. 45 ) the wheel of Time
in an elaborate metaphorical way (verses 1- 9) an d rem nks that
the man who well knows the action of Kala and its sublation
is never deluded and reaches the highest goal. In Vanaparva
K~~l)a is identified with Brahma, Rudra, the SUll, the Moon,
Dharma, Yama, Kala &c. Vide for further references Santiparva
25. 5 ii, 224-225.
In the Bhagavadgita the word kala is used in the sense of
, time in general or proper time' in several passages ( such as
IV. 2, VIII. 7 and 27, VIII. 23, XVII. 20) and Kala is identified
with Kr~na as Supreme Lord in one of his super-eminent
manifestations in X. 30 and 33 (I am Kala among those that
seize and I am Kala that is imperishable) and XI. 32 (I am
Kala, that has increased (in strength) and that brings about
the destruction of the worlds).
Papini employ s the word kala in his sutrae many times.
but in the sense of time in general or the divisions of time or
proper time. Pataiijali on Papini 1lI. 3. 167 ( Kalasamayavelasu
tumun) quotes a half verse about Kala, which is the same a8
the one quoted above from the Mahabharata (in note 659) and
which appears to have been cited by Patafijali as a well-known
verse. In another place Pataiijali while explaining Vartika 2
on Papini (II. 2. 5) states a very important theory about Kala.

660. mmr ;f~!f'( S~~: lfi~r ~R, ~i1f: I Cfil~q ~ l'fTftR, ~~'tf ~­
~ ~n m~~ 206.13. ( = cr. ed . 199.11); 3i~ ~~~fIf! <firnr iI1lf!-
qU@'T: I .,.mt ~ ~ ~ ~I ~!I'. 320.108-109; ~.Ii ~
~ ~mT: ~;I((tf , qr! ~~'l'of 'f{'l'l'of um lll<f! ~rs~: I !fT?#~!fUit~: <firn:
.. ~1iT~: I ~ 12.21-22; !fiWJ: ~(;ftR I ml'!!X. 30 (here the word
!fiWJ is derived from the root lfi'ilt 10th conj . to compote, to grasp).
468 History oj Dharmasaslra [ Sec. II, Ch. XlV

He says 661 "People speak of that as Kala whereby the increases

(or growths) and decreases in solid bodies are observed and the
same (time) is called day and night when conjoined with some
activity. What is that activity? (the reply is ): the motion of
the Sun. When that (motion of the Sun) is repeated again and
again there is a month and a year '. This means that Kala
does not exist except as a convenient name or word for the
manner of measuring change or becoming in what we observe
by comparing one series of changes with another.
In the Manusml.'ti the Supreme 662 L ord is said to have
created time and its divisions (1. 24 Kalam kiilavibhaktlsca )
and to have, after He produced the universe, disappeared in
himself again and again, squeezing one period of time by means
of another period (I. 51 ).
Coming to the philosophical systems, it may be noted that
the Sankbya system does not include Kala as a separate {alt'/Ja
in its twenty-five ta ttvas. But Kala was not altogether
forgotten in that system. The Sankhyakarika 663 states that the
lcw'Q'T,IuS are thirteen, three being (iiJ hyantam (internal i. e.
inside the body) and ten being W;'ya ; the latter are concerned
with the present, while the former are concerned with the three
times (past, present and future).
The Vaisesika-su tra treats 661 Kala as included in the nine
dravyas ( substances, 1. 5) and states that the indications of the
- - - - - -_ .._--_._- - - - - - - - - -- - - -
661 . 1)-'1 J@1iI15tp;{lfr~r~~ ('lli.. .,it"'Ii~~: I ~'" ~ ~'.filflfT
~~,~ :q li<liff Ul~~r~ :q I q;l/T ~'lT'lT( I 37rr.r?ll'lTt'lTr I (f~fl~1 ;mr-
Wit{ lim -«'.nm ~I<\' :q I illflli[G'lT on ':nf<f"fi 2 on qrfCr{~ 11. 2 . 5 'q;f('ll: qRlnMiIl'
(Kielborn's ed. vol. 1. p. 409. ). -
'lim
662 . 37T<il;lMfc{il 'l:'<: q;IW! qlil~" il;J> 1. 51. Tbe idea is tbat
creation is d es troyed by tbe time of pralaya, as }{ulllika says '~
~('lll"fiffiYl iIffi~· ,
663 . 3l"~:~ fi(rlnt <r~~r "'~ ';l1R'lJ iiitif'lT,~,'lT~ I ~11'1fcl"fin:5 omU i!i'<f\1('S-
I1TJlMf~ ~" mWiIlilRlfiT 133. Tile m~~r of ~rn explains '37';:(f:-
~ ~~ s~qR( Jfi! !riff I ~fr~Inr.i'f{",m1<fr<r«f:'Ii{tIT~ I ... <r=f ~-
1IfOlfT('l"r-qiti! <fi1'i~lIriUr illf'll~ t1jrqT~!T( I ' ( Nirn. ed. 19 40) p. 372.
664. ~lI' is one of tbe seven (in ancient times six) ~T.uS . If<fTQ
means any obj ec t tbat can be named and is known and not merely tilings tbat
are physically apprehended. 37~RI'Rif~ ~I\lrt ~!H~ffl q;1('lrwnill 'i(nrel·
f.{~ <m!iIl
'!1iRi1:lrn ""i~ I M<~~l{mq~~ lirmq;~ lfi~~ I ~
~~ II. 2 6-9. ~ comments in bis lfI~lI as follows: • lfif('l: ~....mt­
lIil(~"QGlc(I'fQ'il'~I(~~~"~ I' p. 26 and • lfif('l~: (Q(!I tQ(toIcn:)
( COtl#flUllIl on next page )
 Kala in Vaisel!ika system

existence of Kala are the apprehensions of a thing as po stedor

or prior, the apprehension of simultaneity of certain things, the
apprehension of a thing as lasting long or as being momentary,
that it is nitya, one and the ( efficient ) cause of all things that
are created. Prasastapada gives the instance of an old man
and a young man being seen hy a person in one place and
direction or in different directions, who apprehends after looking
at a young man that another man called old differs from a
young man as regards a grown-up mousta.che or beard, wrinkles on
the body and baldness and so apprehends th a t the old man is
remote from the young man and therefore apprehends him as
beyond ( para) while he thinks of the young man as near,
posterior and so apara.
There were certain philosophers who held tha t Time is
either past or future and denied that there is prese nt time
(vartamana ). The Nyayas utra refutes this v iew an d holds tha t
time is either past, present or future (II. 1. ;.19-43). From
Pataiijali's 6, 5 Mababhasya it appears that even in his day
there were philosophers that beld that there was no time called
present a nd that those people quoted certain verses in support.
The NyiiyamaiijarI 666 of J ayantabhaHa (K. S. S. 1936) has
a long discussion on Kala. It first set'.l out the views of those
who deny the very existence of Kala as a separate entity. These
latter say that Kala is not perceptible like a jar &c. and that

( COlltinued from lal t page)

!fi~ I ~Rr-'fF.ti~R1«ff.t~~rg~'U~) ~1'f8~~~~·
~~\-lt ~~ <f~"l""lit~~ llii'fl ~'Ui1t~ Pf!Vli1!!T !~~~qlQ1\ I a'(~~(nRqll"q ~tJT
ttiTM~~ ~)1TI<r_ q~~R<tRf: p pp. 77-78. Tbe ;lfT"ll'qrnron on ;-qTlf~ II . 1.
36 (p. 255) r em ark s 'lf~'fi~~:=J: 1I~~ &~'fi~lf;qil<fI!!i1tq~'ll1'1rit ron ~
marn tlClflfT \l'q~" ~'fi: <n!i'l: <n~QiRtJTiii'~"I1t~: q~r!f(r~r;Jllflf~il~fii I {f!{(1lf-
qrfif": ttiTM: I , •

665. ~ 3ffiI ~~: ttiTM ~m I &N '<rr;r ~r<nrrs<f~mr I ... ~

3ffiI I sffil'I~; Qili'l ~m I 3tTf.t<~.n'«?~ I R~\l'TUlf on IUn;Qi 4 (m
'<r ~\l'rttT: I on qr. Ill. 2 123 ~,,,",,if ).
666. &;r '<r~iVa I m ~ ~Qiwil R-1lfJi. I ~ !f!{ iJ ~<f:, a'<f~
q;~ <ffl~f,Nlm ~ I ~ ~ _ ttiTM: If(Q'1Ifoy ~~ I ~~­
aiNTfil ifi~T;r~: II "'1l1'l:~ (lI~~,"q: ifi!i'lr <f11lmloU Rl'!: I &<fl",n.Rl.,tf¢·
lrcfnrqf,t: l§l'I: 1\ ~~ ~, If(Q'~il.<l''Ii'lq ~~ mo;ii\ I fa~ltijOI<'l<ll~­
~~ ~~r<r_1I ;:nitot ~qqy~~~1f~: I ~ "l''4q;",q;fl IfIlqRI!liIiiI-
~: II ~ trf ttiTM: I 3fIIC1i~or Of ~ ~ ~ I ~~.
~:~lJl'I({.1I ~ !Vlq"l~i<l!{I!li(~d:~: I 11~14"'1,qq lfil'i'5: ~
~~II~~(K . S 5., 1936)pp. 123-J27.
470 History of Dharmaiaslm l Sec. il, Ch. XIV
the ideas of quickness or slowness depend merely on the observed
effects. The same theorists raise the further objection that if
Kala is a tirlll'lja (substance) that is all-pervading and per-
manent, as the Vaisesikas assert, then how is it that Kala is
spoken of as past, present and future. To these objections some
reply: Kala is directly perceived, since it appears to the mind
as distinguishing the various perceptions of effects, that the
several experiences such as 'these matters happened simultan-
eously, this happened after long, this happened quickly' cannot
be perfectly explained if one denies the existence of Kala and
holds that these experiences depend solely on the perceived
objects or actions. Others hold that Kala is really inferred and
not directly perceived. They argue: merely because Kala is not
directly perceived it does not follow that it does not exist; to
infer that Kala exists is proper as it is proper to infer that the
other side of the moon exists though we see only that face of
the moon that is below the earth; therefore Kala exists as a
separate entity to which is due the common experience of simul-
taneity, quickness or slowness &c. The differing observations
about persons being young or old cannot be well explained with-
out admitting the existence of Kala, which like aklisa is one,
all-pervading and permanent. To the ohjection how, if Kala is
one, all pervading and nitya, it is spoken of as having three
divisions, the reply is: in reality there are no divisions in Kala,
but divisions are imagined in Kala. on account of the upacllti
( a limiting or restrictive adjunct) viz. kriya ( activity). When
we speak of a man as cooking rice in the present (odanam
Jlacati ), that is due to the distinguishing nature of the result
(boiled rice) which is brought about by several activities
( kTiyas ) beginning with the placing of the cooking pot on the
fire up to its heing taken down on the ground. Then we use the
word' present '. But when we bear in mind the series of activi-
ties that produced the boiled rice we 'use the expression 'he
cooked' ( in the past tense) for the activities that have ended.
In this way we speak of time also as past on account of the dis-
tinguishing characteristic of the activities that have ended.
Jt may be noted that Raghunatha on 'Padartha-niriipa~a'
( a work of N avyanyiiya school) heid the view that Space, Time
and God are all one and the same thing and not separate sub-
stances. 6b7

667. Vide Prof. Iogalls' 'Materials for the .tudy of Navyaayaya'

( Harvard) p. 38 D. 36.
 K'llla in Yogasulmbhlil/ya 471

In the Yogasutrabbii.!?ya on III. 51 there is a brief but very

interesting and abstruse disquisition on Kala. The sutra runs 667a
'by constraint (Salilyama) upon moments (k$ana) and their
sequence ( or succession) ( arises) knowledge due to discrimina-
tion '. The bha!?ya explains: just as an atom is substance or
matter ( dral'ya ) reaching the limit of minuteness, so a k~a1Ja
(moment) is time that reaches the highest limit of minuteness, or
a ksal?a (moment) is time taken by an atom in leaving the posi-
tion in space it occupies or the time taken in reaching the next
point in space; krama ( sequence) is the non-cessation of the
flow of moments; moments and their succession do not form a
collection (or combination) of actual (or perceptible) things.
Muhurta (30th part of day and night), day and night and
others are combinations made by the mind (or by mental con-
ceptions ). This time, though devoid of being a real thing
by itself, is indeed only a creation of mental conceptions and
results from knowledge derived from words ( alone) and appears
as if it were an actual object to ordinary people whose doct-
rines are divergent ( or confused ). But ksana (moment) falling
among ( i. e. being mixed up with) real perceptible things
appears (to the human mind) as dependent on or constituting
sequence ( or succession). Krama ( sequence) is of the nature
of uninterrupted succession. This sequence is called Kala by
Yogins who know ( the real nature of) time. For, two ksaI;las
cannot exist together (simultaneouly). It is impossible that
there should be a sequence of two moments that exist simultane-
ously. When a later moment comes after an earlier one without
interruption, that is called krama . In the present there is only
one moment and there are no earlier and later moments in the
present. Therefore there can be no oombination of two moments
( in reality). But those moments that have passed away and
those that are yet to come are to be interpreted or described as
- - _ - - - - - - - _ -- -
667a. ~l'l1lf: ~~iir~ ~ I ~~'i II1.5 2; lfTlIli on this is: ~'UT
3lqif\~q';d ;:rt4 ~~ ~~""': 'filM: IIfOTf tmrifr!IT ~ :q~: ~,!!:
~ :m:rfJ"ur~<f ~~: &f11l': <f<J1~~ ifi~: ~~f;trffil ~­
~ ~rn I "s~nm:~ ~!~R~: I ~ ~'i-q if\"~r ~~rS;q s~f.li{Yvr:
'W'<;~I"'lijqi(1f ~f.l;~T 'IDt~T'1T ~ ~~ I ~~:
~"r I "!f»JlIQ IIfOTrifflflTrmr it if\"~~ ifl"f(lS ~~ Tit,'it..,: I .., :q it 1Il"T1
~ l1<I1'f: I ifii{lIQ .., ~r: ~~l1'tlq_ ~~~ ~ ~~T'1~ ~
~"ifiJ{: I ~T'1~: 1Il'IT: .., ~1Il'IT' : ~ftf l'I~ ~~: I :q II
W'~: 1IfOTrfc\' ml1l'~r .~~:q~~.., 1I'f1iT.., 'li~) ~: lfRonl'lltiJmliW
~: ~~ ~ l:P'I~: ~tifil'l1l): ~q~: m~l~ ",,1Jof m~
~ ~ II. m",
in tbe ~"!If means lftirn~,,~.
472 Histor'/J of Dharmasastra 1Sec. II, Ch. XIV
connected with the ( constant) flux of changes ( in the world ).
Therefore the whole world experiences change in each single
moment. So all these ( external) aspects of the world are de-
penden& on one moment ( in the present ).
This disquisition shows that the Yogasutra and its bhasya
held that time was not a r/1'UI!/a and not a tangible reality, but
that it was merely a word, a mental concept inseparable from
the perception or experience of physical objects as a characteri-
stic ( visesat:Ja or upadhi ), that it attaches itself to the changing
realities, that we measure it according to the movements of or
changes in things and th at it was not merely like a hare's horn.
1 have confined myself to Sanskrit works and particularly
to works of the Vedic school type. 168 Buddhist and Jaina
thinkers bad to say a good deal on Kala. For example, the
Pramana66Lvartika-bbasya or Vartikalankara of Prajii.akaTa-
gupta (about 700 A. D.) combats the view of the Vaisesikasutra
and Prasastapada ( quoted above) and holds that there is no
separate entity like Kala, that it is not possible to have the ideas
of distant time and near time if Kala be without beginning and
be endless, that the ideas of being distant or near or quiok are not
distinct from the activities about which they are predicated.
This Buddhist view practically amounts to saying that time is
not a thing, but only an idea, only a subjective condition of
human sensorial experiences and intuitions and is non-existent
in itself, apart from the subject. On the other hand J aina 670
writers hold that there are six ]Jada/'Iha~ viz. jlva, dharma,
adharma, akasa, pud!lafa and kala i. e . Time has separate
existence.
668. It is surpri sing that in th e two volumes of ' the H istory of pbilo-
sophy, Eastern and Wes tern .' published under the auspices of th e Govt. of
India (London, 195 2 ), and compiled by an Editor ial Board presided over
by such a world -faruous philosopher as Dr. S. Radhakrisbnan, not a word is
said abnut tbe conception of Time in tbe Vedic Literature a nd in the
Vai se~ika and other systems an d only a meagre account is given of the
Buddb ist and Jain ideas on the subject (vol I. pp . 159, 175- 76 and p. 144).
669 . :ar.m~~ '1lffili?INiU &:lIHl4S'il4: I ~~fi;~t 1I1lU: ~
~I~ II verse 35 ; f.;:r~IG4'tfIt ~~ ~"'( Ill'rn~~: I f.;:r~ wa-rmfl,u ~ fiRI-
~~ : II 40, pp, 476-497 o£ If;flUT~ll'~ ed . by R~bula Sankrtyiiyana
( 1953 ).
670. Sf~' ~i\l",Nil:mnilST; I :im"l I !fffilr"l I ~r~: I ~
of ~ ed. with 'fRr of 5lnfJTA'fl,R ( 1949, Benares) in tbe J iiinapi~h&
Jain-gran t hamala.
 Kala in the PUt'atlas '73
Some of the Puranas contain disquisitions on K ala, The
nboture of Time is described in the KurmapuraJ;la as follows:
This adorable 671 Kala is without beginning and without end, it
is ageless and immortal; it is a great Lord because it is all-em-
braoing, it is independent and is the self of all; there may be
many Brahmas, Rudras and Niirayallas and other gods. It is
deolared that the divine Lord is one and is omniscient and is
Kala; they ( the gods) are created by Kala, which again swa-
llows (or makes them disappear); the gods Brahma, Nii.rayal,1a
and Isa ( Siva) are said to undergo p,'ukrta disappearance by
the power of Kala and also spring again therefrom as highest
Brahma, the elements, Vasudeva and Sankara. Therefore the
whole world has its soul in Kala. He alone is the highest Lord.'
The VisJ;ludbarmottara 672 has a similar long disquisition on
Kala the gist of a few verses of which may be set out here' Kala
is without beginning and without end, it is Rudra that seizes
all ( or it is Sankarl?al,1a ); it is called Ka.la because it carries off
or drives all beings. Kala is great and the highest Lord, because
it is beginningless and endless; it is more subtile than the wink-
ing of one's eye, very much more subtile than the subtilest.
Its 'subtilenel?s cannot be understood even by Yogins. When
a thousand lotus leaves are pierced by a needle ignorant people
think that the piercing of all leaves is at the same time, but
really the leaves are pierced at separate units of time. This is
the subtileness of Kala. But though Kala is very very subtile,
it is also great and measurement of it can be computed because
of the motions of planets.' The Vayu and Kurma both say
, Time creates beings and again destroys them ; all are under
the rule of Time, while Time is not under the dominance of

em. ~~ ~s.,...ms~sm: I ~~ ~<t. ~.

~"'R : I qr!Vit qcil'mrr w1i ;jfU1fOTl~1f: I I!'tif ~ ~m : !fi~: lfiT~ ~: I
~q "f ~.a ~ ll'lI' ~ i"J: I ~"'<'<lcil~lI .. t ~tvri ~ ;>J<l': I ~it
lfiT<'J1f"fi't;f ~ "'f W>Ilf: I 1rt ~ '" ~ ~~stif~: I ~ ~ ~~
~ qlf ~"'R: I q. by ~, on lfiTt'S p. 6 {rom p~ . These are p
I. chap. 5
but tbe order of verses is different. For ~ vide ~~ I . 2.25.
672, 3J~ : ~ ~: ~~ : ~ : I ~rn: ~ ~ lfiT<'J:
~n;.,: 'ar.nfctf.l~;j ~ lfIfA: ~"'R: I ~ftt ~~ ~~
.nit I ~ ~~ ~ ~: I Ff~nn ;ml{1'1T ~iftif ~'" I
q"q!llflUt 1I ~ ~ ~<m I ~ 1I (f~ ~~: I ifi.;>J.,ilul ~
~ ~ ~ ~ I ~ ~~~~ (fum
~~:, ¥I •., ff(lS<l I ~ q-
~tI: n q , by,. on lfiT<'J pp. 6- 7 {rom fq~~ I . 72. 1-7 ; lfi1('J : ~
~ Ifffilr: ~~ SNff: I ~~ ~r ~ !fi~; IM<lRrililli
32. 29-30 (reads ~ ~ 1P"~) .
r
II. J. 16; -CS

B. D. 60
 History of Dharmatlistra [Sec. II, Ch. XIV

anyone.' The VisJ;JUpura"Da 673 holds that Brahma which is one,

unborn, permanent, ageless appears in the form of Kala, which
is without beginning or end. The Bhagavatapurana 674 also regards
Kala as inferred in regard to its minuteness and its grossness is
all-pervading, and holds that it is supposed to have units from
the subtlest ( atom) to the highest.
Among astronomical works the Suryasiddhanta states 675
'Kala is the destroyer of worlds; another ( kind of time) is of the
nature of calculation; Kala is of two kinds, gross and subtile,
which are also called mUTfa (physically apprehensible) and
amur/a (not so apprehended); (the divisions of) time called
prana (respiration) and the like are mlirta, while t nl~i and the
like are amuTla.' The Caraka-sarilhita676 includes Kala among
nine dravyas and holds that it is acetana (non-sentient). Thus
it agrees with the Vaisesika view. In the Susrutasarhhita it is
declared' Kala is indeed self-existent, without beginning, middle
or end; the poverty or richness of substancos thaL have ( one or
more of the six ) flavours ( rasas) and the life and death of human
beings are dependent on Kala. It is called Kala because it does
not remain sticking to even the smallest division or because it
heaps together (beings by leading beings to death) or drives
them together. Of that adorable Kala which assumes the
character of year, the divine Sun produces by his special move-
ments the divisions called twinkling of the eye, ka~~ba &c.
-------------------------------------------------
673. ~ IfiJI" m r.mrn~~'lJ"q1{ I " ' $ ~~~ 'lfi'lil'<l 'ififH'\Il .. ", I
,"\l11!~ lfi~ ':q Rmflt II tmlJ ;!!~ ~ ~: 1I~ ~ I oqmr~lJ"i'f;
~ ~ 'Ii1~UNt1{ II .. ·~~f.I"I·ifiIJf ;rr.;f~ fi":;r foim I r~I!IJI1A~rOl I. 2.
13-15.26.
674. ~ ifill'?lC<lill~i'I : ~"rit ~~ ':q ~;J , m\l1;r~"'lJT ~'ltir
llJi'IiijiT.f~: I ~!fffi?: Q"(;JJ1!l;111) ij~ 'R~ I ""ISI~~ ~!fffi?; Q"(;J)
;nnot I ~ ~ 't<l 1<'51 +t(\g(iil11: ~l'I : I "l101<t\<ti;<lil'li'I: ...qil'llilqi'l~ I ~­
~ ~ lJ: !fffi?: ~~g : ~'ll'I: 1 ~~ il1:l': ~lm:ij 0'1':~ : I Ff)fqTT~
if"q 3lWfIlffit:j'lJ: 1lfOl: I ll"ftTlffl III. 11.3-7.
67 5. 0)~~: lfiTi'iT;v: ffi"('5<!T<O!lfi: I ~ ~ ~'~li'Hi.~~~
","Tfflll !lJUI'1'ffl': !fi~ ~~,i'ls~~: I q:r'il: lIrtitfil;mft ~~
~ ~ I ~ ij ;:n;'5Iilifl(ls. ~~ II ~~;c{ I, 10- 11.
676. wril;lJTmt It;r: ~ ~q SfHI+ti('III!: I ':q(lfi, ~m;r 1. 480; r i ~
;mt ~,,~\~: I 3t'Jf~.qlq<+t.q"<1l ~ot':q ililUQlollillQ\11 ~~~m­
mit !fi0t ;r ~lJl'Ilfi1\' !fffi?: ~-qfit !fiT0lJ~ 1fT '{l'IT~ 'Ii10: I l'T~ ~q<+t(INI")
~~ .mt~~!ITf.i'""' '''le l '''016(i'lI~~~~<+t<$lq~
~"Iftt
~ ~.s~: , q'~"': !fiTS'1T'i~'!lfim: ~
I

~~ 8P:
!fi0~q P.lW5(Jillitmt Q"'nlllfl""ltvl ~: I Uti" II.
3-5.
 Kala in g1'ammatical works

Similarly, philosophical grammarians like Bhart~hari 6n ( author

of the Vakyapadiya) holds that Kala is a substance (dravya),
all- pervading an d permanent apart from activities, that it is the
efficient cause of all created things, that it is divided into years,
seasons &c. on account of the different activities, just as the
same man may be called a carpenter or a blacksm ith &c. ( on
account of his different activities). For reasons of space it is
not advisable to pursue the subject of the nature of time from
other Sanskrit works of medieval and modern times. For those
who desire to make a furth er study of this subject I would
recommend the' Kalasiddhanta-darsinj' composed and published
by Shri Haranchandra BhaHacarya of Calcutta in 1941, which
exhaustively deals with the philosophical conceptions about
Kala held by different sects, schools and Sanskrit writers.
There is a great temptation to oompare Indian ancient and
medieval conceptions about Time arrived at more than a thousand
years ago with similar or corresponding conceptions on the same
subject in modern Western philosophical works suoh as Kant's
'Critique of pure reason', Prof. S. Alexander's' Space, Time and
Deity' (1927, London, two volumes), 'Time and Western Man'
by Wyndham Lewis (London, 1927), Pierre Burgelin's • L '
Homme et Le Temps' (1945), Bergson's 'Time and Freewill',
S. G. F. Brandon's 'Time and Mankind' (1953). But as this
volume has already grown to large proportions, comparisons
with Western philosophical views have to be given up.
From very ancient times minute divisions of time have
been mentioned. The Viij. S. states 678 'that all winkings of the
eye (and similar units of time) were produced from the (supreme).
Person that is brilliant (like lightning) '. This half verse occurs
in the MahiinarayaI:J,a Upani~ad also. It is stated in the Br. Up.679
that under the dominion of this imperishable brahma the Sun
Bnd the Moon are held apart, as also nime~as, mu!tilrlas, days,
and nights, half months, months, seasons, and years stand apart

677. "l1ql('Il;a~ ~ifi ~ I ~ fitll if"i ~f1lT ~II

~ .... T~~ fit~ ~ "~I P-fnreIfiIM¥1!1IIi~~~ .. lttl"l ~II ~1ft­
\\~~ ~.m~ I ~~Cfi~"iNliQl<l~ II ..~,
IIt#I\ofCfiCfi loil, 1fiT~, verses 1,3,32.
678, ~r.tJm:onSft iiI~(1: ~iQ I ~. ~. 32. 2, tllfl.,'(i<jo'-\N. 1. 8.

679. ~!IT ~ ~ 1TT~ ~~ ii~ m ; I "'Q<R1f 1fT

~m' ~ mfiT~, ~ ~:mhtmt ;mn ~: *"<~ ~ ii'il'T-
~ I ~. ;no III. 8. 9.
 History of DharmaJastra [ Seo. II, Ch. XIV

The Mabanarayana Upanif;lad' ( 1. 8-9) mentions as units of

time' Nimef;l as, Kala, muhurta, kas~ha, ahoratra, half months,
months, ~tus, year.' Manu 1. 64 provides that 18 nimef;las are
equal to kaf;l~ha, 30 kaf;l~has to kala, 30 kalas to muhurta,
30 muhurtas are equal to one day and night. Early and very
exhaustive enumeration of the several units of time from subtlest
to the highest are contained in Brhat-sarhhita of Val'aha and
in the bhaf;l ya of Prasastapada on Vaisesikasutra 6BO viz. 'Kala
is the cause of the popular usage about the units being
lcl$atul, lava , nime/?as, lcii /?tfili, leala, muhurta, yama (prahara or
-Hh of a day), ahoratra (day and night), ardhamasa (half month),
mas a ( month ), rtu ( season), ayana, sariwatsara (year), yuga,
manvantara, kalpa, pralaya and mahapralaya. The PuraJ;las also
dilate upon the units of time from nimesa to pralaya or kalpa.
Vide Brahma 231. 6-12, K urma 1. 5. 6- 14, Padma V. 3. 4-20, Vayu
57. 6- 35. Nime~ a (lit. winking of the eye) is defined by the Vayu
and Vis ~udharm ottal'a as the time required for pronouncing a short
letter and the latter adds that a smaller unit than it cannot be
( physically) apprehended. There is great divergence of views
about the number and names of the minute units of time and
their mutual relations. A few examples alone can be cited.
Manu (1. 64) furnishes the following table: 18 nimesas =kas~ha,
30 ka.f;I ~has = =
kala, 30 kalas muhurta, 30 muhurtas aboratra =
( day and night). The Arthasastra 681 of Kau~ilya provides :
=
2 tru~as (i ?) = lava, 2 lavas nime~a, five nimef;las kaf;l~hii, 30 =
kaf;l~hii.s =kala, 40 kalas =na4.ika, 2 na9.ikas muhurta, 30 =
muhurtas = ahoratra. Some of the puraJ;las contain the same 682
verse on the names and relations of srpall units of time viz.

680. (~~:) ~(l$Iff.~:~IIt"~ll!rN'i<'iT-6{aql"'I~"I'!II"hH~-"'I~\'!l"q,,~q(\1~­

~' ~-I'P!I'~-~.~-~~: I ~~u~ on ~~ n. 2. 6
p. 27 (Kashi S. series. 1923);!t!f Q~ ~)~Qfa«l(&ifl .... q-~ rS'
~~ ~~lWi~~-"h'rls"ol ~'re:JC!illtlqqElIf4ifitq ~
~ "" ~1I!'1t. ~. II. p. 22; f.\)I .. ifili.'ld<"Q ~ m:.~ .... "lC{ 1 ~. 57.6.;
~T m-m ~: ~~: I 3ffl: ~~: !Iirnt ~nr) ~ 11 ~.
~I . 73.1 q. by~ . (on ifili.'l) p . 7.
681 . ~m! 3i~i~ ' ~).ro~: 'fim ifi<'iT qnliifil ~: ~
~ uRI: ~ llm ~ ~ ~~fit ifiT<'il: I i\ ~~: ''it ~ ~,
If"~: 'fim I ll~lNilal: lIi<'iT , ;m~: ~, "'fI'11ftlfil !II:li: 1
q-"q~16[M~ m$Jil ~ ~~ ....m "If l'flf!f: 1 ~ II. chap. 20 ( 41
from beginning), pp. 107-108 (of Sbamsbastrj's edition. ).
682. <tim ~ ~ If.. ~ ~ 'fim 'fOTit"~: , ~.
~'6P\\'ltn.~H'I1 ~~11 q 50. 169-~ -',. 'I - ~ H2 ... . RiQ"o\
n. 8. 59 • . . , . II. 29.6. ~ 232. 12.
 Units of Kala 477
15 nime~as = kas~ba, 30 ka~~bas = kala, 40 kalas = nadika,
2 na~ikas = muhurta, 30 muhurtas = day and night together.
It should be noticed that here the relation of nimesas to kas~h!i
is different from that in Manu and Kau~ilya . The Arthaslistra 683
of Kau~ilya does not stand alone in speaking of l1'lda ( 'I i) as the
smallest unit of time. The Suryasinddbanta (quoted above)
provides that tru~i is the smallest unit of time, that it is amurta
( not apprehended physically), that the pral_)a is the first murla
( physically apprehended) unit of time, that 6 praJ;las are equal
to a vina~I, that 60 vina~Is are equal to a n a~ ika , 60 nadls are
equal to an ahoratra. Utpala 681 on Br. S. quotes verses from
Paulisa-siddhanta and Brahmasphu ~a-siddh anta to the effect that
six prapas are equal to a vinadika, 60 vinauikas are equal to 8.
n a~ ika or gha~ika and 60 gha~ ikas are equal to a day ( i. e.
ahoratra). A sm~ti quoted in the Tithitattva states that two
tru~is make a lava, 2 lavas make a nimesa, so that truti is equal
to i th of nimesa. Hemadri on Kala ( p. 7 ) quotes a verse that
tru~i is equal to two nime~as and 10 tru~is are equal to pral)a.
The Amarakosa follows Manu as to eighteen nime~as being
equal to ka~~ha, but it introduces a unit called kfKl~za between
kala and muhurta, so that its scheme is: 18 nimesas = ka~~bii,
30 kas~has = kala, 30 kalas = k$apa, 12 ksapas = muhurta,
30 muhUrtas = ahoratra. The Bhagavata-puriiJ.la (III. 11. 3-10 )
puts forward a far more elaborate scheme: two atoms (of
Time) = aJ.lu, 3 anus = trasareJ.lu, 3 trasareJ.lus = tru~i, 100
tru~is = = =
vedha, 3 vedhas lava, 3 lavas nimesa, 3 nime$as =
k~aJ.la, 5 k$aJ.las = kas~bii , 15 ka$~has = laghu, 15 laghus =
na~ika, 2 na~ikas = muhurta, 30 muhiirtas = ahoratra. In the
.A.tharvaJ.la-jyoti~a the table is: 12 nime~as =lava, 30 lavas =kala,
30 kalas = tru~i, 30 tru~is = muhiirta. This agrees with none.
Further units of time from ahoriitra to pmlaya will be dwelt upon
a little later.
Before proceeding further clarification is requ ired on certain
points. At least several centuries before Christ Jyoti~a had
attained the position of being one of the six ahgas (auxiliary

683 . ~ f.I~ ~ IfI'!IH ~~: ~:II ~cmil ~~: ",w..~~

Inn II fii~ I . 73.2-3 q . by ~. (00 ~) P. 7.

684. tNT "!if ~, " (1II Uiltil i1Anfr ~ Ofrliltit f(;t ~ I ~

",,",~I," HH~if~: II ~ on ~. ~. II. p. 24 . lfI'mr (III. 11 . ')
remarks that ~ is visible (while ~ and ~ are not) aDd Is the
speck that is seen floating in the air when a peDcil of the sun ' s rays come.
through a window (""(l)I~,"*q"'ltI; "~"l dqtl •• IICt.>.
478 History of DharmaJlistra [ Sec. II, Ch. XlV
studies) of the Veda. The MUl;l<:iakopani!?ad 68S states that the
apara vidya (inferior exoteric knowledge) comprises Egveda,
Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, Siksa (Phoneties), Kalpa
( ritual texts ), Vyakara~a (grammar), Nirukta (Etymology),
Chandas ( metrlcs) and Jyotisa ( astronomy and mathematics ).
The Apastamba-dharmasutra enumerates the same six aogas of
the Veda. In the PaI?-inlya Sik~a 686 the science of the move-
ments of heavenly bodies is said to be the eye of the Veda. The
Jyoti ~a which is Vedanga (of the Egveda and Yajurveda) was
concerned with purely astronomical matters. In the Vedanga-
Jyoti!,!a 687 it is remarked:' the Vedas arose for the purpose of
( use in ) sacrifices; sacrifices are enjoined according to the order
of times; therefore he who knows Jyotisa which is the science
laying down the ( proper) times knows sacrifices. Just as a tuft
of hair stands on the head of pef.\cocks or a jewel (in the heads)
of cobras, SCI ya'(lita ( astronomical calculations) stand at the head
of all the sciences that are (spoken of as) Vedangas '. This shows
that the words Jyotisa and gaT,lila are used as synonyms in
the Vedanga-jyoti!,!a. The V ~ddha-vasis~hasiddha nta ( Benares S.
Series) says 'this sastra is indeed the eye of the Veda; therefore,
among the aityas (limbs, subsidiary lores of Veda) it has got pre-
eminence; a man endowed with all other limbs and therefore
appearing to be perfect is worth nothing, if he is devoid of eyes. '
Gradually, however, Jyotisa came to include three distinct bran-
ches ( skandhas) viz. the determination of the motions of planets
by means of calculations which was called Tantra, the second
called hora that deals with horoscopes and (was also called j?itaka)
and the third called Sakhs. which was an e~tensive branch and
included many topics of divination which are summarised

685, i f<ii1lt~;r 1fl7t '" Q'U ~1Wm ~, nml !ft~f ~~: ~

s~: mlllr ~ ~ ~ '€mrf ;;tiffil~ , 3i'l:l Q'U 11"11 l'rlImm~ I
~~. I. 1. 4- 5; ~ ~~:, iF<r:~f tl1r<n~ ~)~ ~;t ~'!I1T urtf)·
~mRrn' 3fl1f. 1,l. 'l, II. 4.8 , 11. u7cf:q;~!f mean s ~~riVr and wq)f.{i~lff
mean s the science of metres.

686. u;r<f: ~ ij ~ ~ !M!ffS'I:I ~, ,,<ilfdiif''''<lil ~~ Ij{~.

~ I mlllT iirGr iI ~ ~ 'I1l'~ ~ I ~~~1'Iil1ffl1l
ffilllT verses 41-42.

687. ~~T it 1f1fI..m.~: tfi'<'5'?J9,6<l1 ~.IJilllW: , ~~.

~ ~ :JtInll'IIt ~ q q
~, 1i'I:IT ~T ~ ifPrT;rt ~OTlif 1NT I "",,If'"
~ort lliUm ~';l ~~ II ~'{i':J<i'lilliif' ( of ~) verses 3,4 . ,.. verses 35. 36
of (~~) in Pandit Siddhesvara Dwivedi's ed. ( 1906, Prabhi-
kari Press ).
 Branches oj Jyoti.~

in BJ;". S. chap. II A work embodying complete presentation

of the three branches was called smilhitci 688 and he who well
knew the three branches, viz. Ganita, H ora and Si kha was
called, as Garga says, 'Samhitaparaga' (master of samhita).
Varahamihira 689 himself tells us in the Brhaj- jataka, that, for
the benefit of astrologers, he compiled a comprehensive work on
Jyotisa in its three branches. The word Samhita appears to
have been used in two senses, the first 690 (a wider sense) referring
to a complete presentation of GaIJita, Hora and Siikha, while the
second ( a narrower sense) refers only to the Sakha. part. Why
the third branch was called sakha is not satisfactorily explain-
ed anywhere. It was so called probably because it had to deal
with numerous circumstances, such as the fruits of the simple
and retrograde movements of planets; the movements of
Agastya ( Canopus) and saptarEjis (Ursa Major), the conjunc-
tions and oppositions of planets, haloes, meteors. earthquakes,
lore about the movements and cries of birds, nirlijana, removal
of the evil effects of 'Utpatas. In this sense samhita was what is
called nat'Uml astrology. Hora again had three sub-sections, viz.
F J.taka or jalt71la ( judicial astrology, predictions from the situa-
tions of the zodiacal signs and planets at a person's birth),
Yatra or Yatrika ( Brhaj-jataka 28.4-5 ) that dealt with progno-
stications on starting on a journey or on a king's marching

6 88 . ~:~~ ~'1l~ ~~ ;mt ~fll:

~~ m'im , ~~s~~;r III ~~<!fIT"ihfr~ 1im«rr~Rf;to!ollfllol
!fif'~: ~ms~: II ~. ~. 1. 9; 11'iUri%;;mf~ ~t ~ i{l~ ~:, RI-
~ m~: ~TQ'T~IIol~: II ~ q . by ~ on fl' ~' I. 9 j ~ '<I!B:
~ ~~?lNl;m~~ m'~11 3{P!;1f: Q'T~'{"f~IIol!B~: i"T Of ~~ II
~~~ I. 8 ; vid e i'll::~W<1~i(ll'lrar of lffiCfj~ ( I . ) for a similar
ve rse .

689 . fiiElhNi@ ~ ~ ~ ~ l'!1~11m "f ~RlfT , ~~~­

~s.q lfQ'T 'lil'!! ~ ~r-q II ij!~<1<fi
28.6. i'if<4 iQ6fl i1'5 refers to his wor k
called mtlfQ'1!I'5, !il~"1' to th e q~T~ and ~t to his "~mlm . ~
means sect ion or chapter of a work (as in tb e ~~Q'Tl'if~ or 3{fq' . q . 'li.!I ).
~~ifii€'1I'1<ilC;(jitH€'1t(tUQloTi ~ mr~t: ' IiRmtl ~1Iol ~ (jt"t ~~t~:
~ ~'fi1{.II~.~. I. 10.

690. Vide (n . 688 ) the verse ·3~fit:~I. o etc.; for the second sense, vide
t he qualifications of th e Sam vat sara (the king 's astrologer in ~~ cbap.I1
prose), one of which was' who had mastered the works on the computation s
of planetary movements, Sambita and Hora' (~rar.m~~)
and .also chap. II verse 21 '~ ~TOfIT1t mf1'lfVrlmill'!t: , 3{~: If
~ ~ ~i1tvn Ii '. .
 Histo'ry of Dharma.astra l Beo. D, Oh. XlV
against an enemy derived from the tithi, nak~atra, the week-day,
the muburta, the moon's position, dreams, throbbing of limbs,
the cries of birds, and vivliha i. e. examining the horoscopes of
the parties to a marriage ( called Viva,hakala or Viva.hapa~ala).
The usual practice of the Grhyasiitras and Dharmasa,stra
works was to take their astronomical requirements and know-
ledge from astronomers. The Gobhi1a-g~hyasutra691 provides: 'the
work on this point is separate; one should study it or should
obtain information about ( the exact time of) the parvan (New
moon and Full moon) from those who know it.' Tbe astronomical
knowledge of ancient and medieval India has been a subject
riddled with acute controversies. Somewhat reluctantly I have
come to the conclusion that discussions about the theories and
practice of astronomy in ancient and medieval India should be
omitted from the History of Dharmasiistra. An adequate treat-
ment of ancient and medieval Indian astronomy and dis-
oussion of the theories advanced by Western scholars ( some of
them quite unwarranted) would require a large volume by itself.
Here and there I may have to refer to pure astronomical matters
for certain purposes. But the two other branches of Jyotii?a,
viz. Hora ( astrology) and Sakha have exerted a vast influence
on Dharmasiistra and will have to be discussed within limits.
Though Dharmasiistra writers took their astronomy from astro-
nomers, they did not hold that astronomers had the last word,
but they rather held that if there was some conflict or contra-
diction between strict astronomical theory and Dharmasa,stra,
the latter was to prevail. An example may be eited for illu-
strating this: Suppose that a man has resolved to undertake
'ekabhakta-vrata' on 7th tithi. The sank'h.lpa for a vrata is as
a general rule to be made in the morning. Suppose that 7th is
mixed with 6th and 8th tithis an d that 7th commences about
10 A. M. on a certain week-day; then according to Yugma.viikya
(vide p. 75 note 191 above) 7th mixed with 6th is to be preferred
for the vrata and the sankalpa would have to be repeated in the
morning when according to correct astronomical calculation the
titbi might be only the 6th at that time. Devala. declares that a
tithi is, for the purposes of religious bath, gifts and vratas, to be
regarded as covering the whole day if the Sun sets during the

691 , ~ ~~r ~, ri~ If! ftfRi{nf) If! iii ~~,

~ 1. .5 . 13 , m'1im 1li'U: ~:~111~:; ,. on ~ p. 378 quotes
~.
 Western Scholars on Indian Ast1'onom!J 481

period 692 of that tithi. V ide K~tyaratnii.kara p. 299 and Smrti-

kaustubha ( on tithi p. 12) for other examples.
About Astronomy and Astrology as developed in India
Western scholars such as Weber, Whitney, Thibaut have pro-
pounded many sweeping and unwarranted theories based on
flimsy data. Here and there I may have to refer to them. But
I must say in one place how and why their conclusions are
often unacceptable. In the first place, they do not attach
due importance to the fact that a vast literature in Sanskrit
has perished beyond recovery (as it is admitted was the
case in Greece after Ptolemy composed his Almagest) 693 and
what we now have is a mere fraction of what once existed.
In the second place, they forget or ignore that much of the
literature that survives is religious and not intended to be a
historical and full treatment of any topic i. e. most of the
referencos to astronomical matters found in the Vedas and
BrahmaJ;las are not made of set purpose but are incidental or
casual. They hardly Beem to be aware of the rule of caution
and common sense that in ancient literature what is expressly
stated may be used for drawing inferences, but the non·mention
of certain matters cannot necessarily be a valid reason for arriv-
ing at the conclusion of non-existence, unless tho subject matter
was such that if something connected with it existed it should
ordinarily have been mentioned. Further, and most important
of all, mere similarities in institutions, usages and other matters
should not be regarded as evidence of borrowing by one people
from another people. Human mind is the same everywhere, its
environment and the needs of human beings are often the Bame
and no peoplo, ancient or modern, can be regarded as having
had the monopoly of great intellectual powers. Most of those
who wrote on lndian literature and subjects in the 19th century
were nurtured on the literature of the Greeks and Romans and
on the vaunted superiority of the ancient Greeks in Philosophy,
Mathematics, arts and other matters and of Egypt. But as
ancient cuneiform tablets in Babylonia and the Middle East
countries came to be deciphered, things began to be seen in
--------------------- ~~~"-.-

692. lf~lifr.rt ~if~il-lIT1'I: ~~q{ihll!lq"ln:;a;m~-~rn ~ lillf:-

m ~"':~I€ijllfil4tul1l'fff~rm, ~ m~ ~w,plci~T'nf;:m>m'1.f1ff<M~­
....... lql ... ill'jff~llflll :!!Tl'I':~ ~ <I'i"''Q: I !I. ~. p. 53; m1:-3Nl1I lfr~ ~t
~.wt~~: -i;"~I>rt ;;~:~"')1lll'~ ~~ ~ ~ WJl-
~~~~'Q'm~1"Ii.;-;-299. --
093, Vide Prof. Neugebauer in 'Exact Sciences in Antiquity' (1~'1) p . .56,
B. D. 6l
482 Hist<Y1'Y of Dharmasastra [ Sec. II, Ch. XIV

proper perspective. Modern scholars have, it is refreshing to

note, outgrown the stage when all arts were traced to Greek ( Bee
'Sumerians' by Sir Leonard Woolley, 1928 p. 193, Glanville in
'Legacy of Egypt' p. 160 for the debt the Greeks owed to
Egypt). Sir Thomas Heath was obliged to admit that the debt
of the Greeks to the Babylonians was much greater than had
been imagined.694 Sarton in 'a History of Science' (London, 1953)
has to say that it is childish to assume that science began in
Greek (Preface p. IX ). It has been found that the Greek s were
inferior to the Babylonians in several respects, that their vaunted
geometric lore was not as great intellectually as supposed, that
out of 200 propositions in Euclid's twelve books only about
a dozen are necessary as a preparation for modern mathematics
and that the Greeks much developed geometry because they
could not easily employ ordinary arithmetical methods owing to
their dependence on the abacua 695 It was further found that the
sexagesimal system of degrees, minutes and seconds used by
Ptolemy was of Babylonian origin and according to Herodotus
(II. 109) the Greeks derived two kinds of Sun-dials and the
division of the day into 12 parts from the Babylonians. 696 At
present such nations as England, France, Germany, U. S. S. R.
and U. S. A. are the foremost nations in Science, Technology
and Industry but they clung for about 1400 years to the Alma-
gest of Ptolemy as their astronomical Bible, were ignorant of
the decimal place value system and the use of a sign for zero till
the so-called 'Arabic numerals' (borrowed from India) were

694 . Vide' Greek Astronomy' (193 2 ) by Sir Thomas L. Heath

Intro. p. LIV. In 'Children of the Sun' by W. J ~ Perry (first published in
1923 ) 00 p. 428 (chap. 26) the author, alter discussiog the possible origin of
the archaic civilization of North America. China and India, had the ha rdi-
hood to say that no good reason could be found for believing that It
developed In any of those areas •.. and that it is in Egypt that the archaic
civilization came into being, though he generously concedes that every
element was not necessarily invented by the Egyptians, but he holds that It
took shape in Egypt and was propag ated thence.

69.5. Vide Prof. L. Hogben in his paper on 'Mathematics in Antiquity'

in ' Antiquity' vol. 9, pp . 193-194 and Cajori's 'Historyof Elementary Mathe.
matics' ( London, 1896) p. 39 for the difficulties of using the abacus for
division.
696 . See Heath, ibid . Intro p. XVII, about the sexagesimal system,
sun-dials and twelve parts of the day, Cajori in 'History of Elementary
Mathematics' pp. 28, 84 about Greece horrowing Babylonian sexageslmal
sylttem and Sarton In J AOS, vol . 7S No.3 at p, 168.
 Galileo and European priestshood 483

introduced into Europe. 691 The intolerance of ignorant and

bigoted priests in Europe went so far as to condemn Galileo, one
of the greatest intellects in mechanics and astronomy, to per-
petual imprisonment at the age of 70 for no greater offence than
holding fast to the Copernican theory. Hardly any parallel to
such an attempt to suppress honest difference of opinion as
'regards heavenly bodies can be found in any non-European
country claiming to have a civilization.
There are controversies about the relation of astronomy and
astrology. The marvellous spectacle of the sky at night con-
taining thousands of stars of different brightness all apparently
in motion~round the earth, the Sun's annual northward and south-
ward passage in the sky, Full Moon and its disappearance for
one day and its phases, eclipses of the Sun and the Moon,
comets and falling stars-all these must have struck even the
most primitive men with wonder and also with fear and fore-
bodings. In course of time arose astronomy and astrology. In
ancient times both words had the same meaning. The Cambridge
Ancient History (1925, vol. III. pp. 238-239 ) holds that the
whole science of astronomy is due to astrology. On the other
hand Prof. Neugebauer and Mr. Peter Doig see no evidence for
this theory.69B In my humble opinion if we restrict ourselves
to existing literatures of different peoples and eschew mere con-
jectures and speculation, both astronomy a.nd astrology are
equally ancient and must have acted and reacted on one another
in very ancient times In the following pages some evidence
will be given from Vedic literature of the simultaneous cultiva-
tion in India of both astronomy and astrology (particularly
natural). To a modern scientist, the lucubrations of astrologers
in their available works appear to be sheer nonsense. But the
fundamental principle assumed by astrology that heavenly bodies
697. Vide' Arabic tbougbt and its place in world History' by De Lacy
OLeary (London, 1922) pp. 108-109 for an Indian bringing to Baghdad a
treatise on Arithmetic and Astronomy and for the introduction of Indian
numerals and their being passed on as Arabic numerals; also • a history of
Elementary Matbematics' by Dr. Cajorl (pp. 11-13) for tbe discovery of the
principle of position by tbe Hindus, tbe Invention and adoption of the zero
and for the introduction of the Hindu notation In Europe in the 12tb
century by the Arabs. Vide Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. IX p, 119
for tbe statement tbat • Sintlhintl' (i. e. Siddbinta) was translated Into
Arabic In tbe reign of Mansur (754-775 A. D.) .
698, Vide 'Exact Sciences in Antiquity' (1951) p. 161 by Prol. Neuge.
bauer and • Concile history of Astronomy' by Mr. Peter Doig (London,
1950) p. 2.
 History of Dharmasastm [Sec. 11, Ch. XIV

exert predictable influence on terrestrial things and persons is

not different from the principles of astronomy or meteorology
whereby one can predict tides, eclipses, storms, torrential rains,
and the like which affect the world and human beings.
Whether the stars and planets exert some influence on
earthly things is not the real question. Probably they do, but
the really important question is whether astrological works and
astrologers have discovered correct methods and reached correct
knowledge about the influence of planets on the human mind
and on the day-today activities of human beings.
The astronomical and astrological literature in Sanskrit
falls into three slightly overlapping periods. The first period is
that of the Vedic Sarnhitis and the Br5.hmal)as from tho mists
of a ntiquity to about 800 B. O. The Recond is represented by
the Vedangajyoti$a, the Srauta, Grbya and Dharmas utras , Manu
and Yii.jfiavalkya, Garga and Jain works like the Silryaprajfiapti
and ended about the 3rd century A. D. The third period begins
at the commencement of the Ohristian era and is represented by
the works called Siddhiinta and gave rise to the works of Arya-
bha~a (born 476 A. D.), of Var5.hamihira (about 475 to 550
A. D. ), Brahmagupta (born in 598 A. D.) and so on. Those
who want to make a deep study of the History of Hindu Astro-
nomy should carefully read the work in Marathi written by
Shankar Balkrishna Dixit in 1896 ( 2nd edition in 1931 by
his son). Even Thibaut who is generally chary of pra ising
any Indian achievement in astronomy was constrained to
observe that Dikshit's work is the richest source of Indian astro-
nomical material and that his treatmeI!,t from Brahmagupta
onwards is particularly detailed ( Grundriss, p. 3). Dikshit held
that the scientific system of Indian astronomy is essentially
independent and rests on Indian observations. In my humble
opinion this view is far sounder than the view that the scienti-
fic astronomy of India was derived from or was greatly influen-
ced by Greek astronomy. I have decided (as stated above p. 480)
not to enter into detailed discussions about astronomical matters.
Therefore, I shall rest content with mentioning some of the
important works and contributions that should be studied by
those desirous of intimate knowledge of the History of Indian
Astronomy. Davis on 'Astronomical computations of the Hindus'
in Asiatic Researches, vol. III. pp. 209-277; Bentley's • Histo-
rical view of Hindu Astronomy' in Asiatic Researches, vol. Vl.
pp. 537-588 ; Colebrooke's Miscellaneous Essays (1837) voL U
 ~}!;1Ig1ish and other works on Hindu Astronomy 485

pp. 321-373 (on Hindu and Arabic divisions of the Zod iac),
pp. 374-416 (on equinoxes), pp. 417-450 (on Hindu Algebra );
Warren's' Kala-sankalita ( deals with South Indian astronomi.
cal calculations and calendars ) ; 'Indian Metrology' by J . B·
Jervis; Kern's Introduction to his edition of the Brhat-san1h itii ;
the Suryasiddhilnta translated by Burgess and Whi tney and
with notes by Whitney and a reply by Burgess in JAOS.
vol. VI pp. 141-498 and Whitney's criticism of the views of
Biot, Weber and Max Mil lIer in J AOS vol. VIII pp. 1-94; the
Paficasiddhiintika of Varahamihira edi ted by Dr. G. Thibaut and
Pandit MahamahopadhYiya Sudhakar Dvivedi with text (from
two Mss. ) and amended text with Sanskrit Commentary by tho
Pandit and translation by ThiLaut (1 889, reprint in 1930 by
Motilal Ba narsidas ); Prof. Weber's ' Uber den Vedakalendar,
Namens Jyotisham ' (Berlin, 186 2 ), Max Mtiller's Introduction
to the 4th volume ( of his four volume edition of the l,{gveda)
particularly pp. XXXVIII-LXVI; notes of Burgess on Hindu
Astronomy in JRAS for 1893 pp. 717-761; B. G. Tilak's ' Orion'
and ' Arctic Home in the Vedas'; Thibo.ut on the Baby Ionian
origin of the lunar Zodiac of the Hindus, Arabs and Chinese in
JASB (1894, Part I pp. 744- 63, refutes the theory of that origin);
S. B. Dikshit's 'History of Indian Astronomy' (in Marath i);
Thibaut on 'Indian Astronomy, Astrology and Mathematics' in
the Encyclopaedia of Indo-Aryan Research (referred to in this
book as Grundriss), Alberuni's 'India ' tran slated by Dr. Sacbau;
1. A. vol. XXIII pp. 154:- 159 (Jacobi on date of B,gvoda), pp.
238-~49 (BubIer on Jacobi and Tilak's Orion), I. A. vol. 24
pp. 85-100 ( Thibaut on the antiquity of the Vedic civilization);
Memoir No. 18 of tbe Archaeological Survey of India on Hindu
Astronomy by G. R. Kaye (19 24 ); Indian Historical Quarterly,
vol. IV for 1928 pp. 68-77, Indian H istorical Quarterly vol. V
pp. 479-512 on 'Scope and development of GaTlita'; C. O·
S. Menon's ' Ancient Astronomy an d Cosmogony' (1931 ); 'History
of Hindu Mathematics' by B. Datta and A. N. Singb; Dr. K. L.
Daftari's 'Bhiiratiya-jyotrQ.-sii.stra.n irlksana' (N agpur, 1929 )
in Maratbi ; Prof. P. C. Sen-Gupta's paper 'Aryabha~a, t he
fatber of Indian Epicyclic Astronomy' (in tbe Journal of the
Department of Letters, Calcutta University, vol. XVIII pp. I-56,
a scbolarly piece of work); Dr. Mrs. Bina Chatterjee's paper on
• motion of the Sun, Moon, and five planets as found in Ptolemy
and Hindu Astronomical works' (a learned , systematic and
bala.nced piece of work) in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Benga~ Science, part I voL XV, 1949 pp. 41-89.
 CHAPTER XV
Units of Kiila
We shall now turn to the units of time from ?/uoa back-
wards to muhurta, leaving aside Manvantam , Kalpa and Pralaya
for the moment.
The word' yuga ' occurs at least 33 times in the :agveda and
appears to have been used in several senses. Vide H. of Dh. vol.
IlI. p. 886-890. Two senses stand out as prominent, viz. a short
period or a very long period. For the first sense we may cite
Eg. I. 158. 6 ('Dlrgbatamas, the son of Mamata, became old in
the 10th Yuga, he became brahma high priest and leader of the
waters flowing to their goal'.699 Here yuga cannot mean a period
of more than ten years and probably means a period of five
years; in :ago Ill. 26.3 we read 'like a neighing horse by its mother,
Vaisvanara ( Agni ) is kindled by the Kusikas in each yuga'; vide
:ag.llI.55.18. 700 In the Vedi ngajyotif?a 701 ( verses 1 and 5 ) yuga
is said to comprise five years . There is nothing to prevent us from
taking this sense in the two passages cited from the :agveda.
In :ago III. 55.18 it is possible to recognize a recondite refer-
ence to five year units of time each divided into six seasons. In
the Egveda saliwalsaTa means a year in several passages such
as I. 110.4, 1. 140. 2, 1. 161. 13, 1.164.44, Vll. 103.1,7,9, X.
190.2. In Eg. X. 87. 17 we have the derivative form' Samvat-
sarIl!a '702 from SalTIVatsara '0 Agni that observest what men do 1
May the demon possessing magic devices not partake of the
cow's milk that springs after a year'. In :ago X. 62. 2 we have

699. ~ ifllffil(t ~01f~ ~ I ~il"tfflrrrt ~l ~ffl ~'~~: "

"Ii. I. 158.6 ; 3t"ilr " ~'lWf.n'il: ~(ih;lfit ~"ilr-'f{: !91~i?nr"lt!iit ~it I 'fi'. III. 26. 3;
~rq1!f explains' ~'as Sl'm~~" . Vide ~l IV. 24tI for the story of
;ft~~.
700. q'j'{~!J ~smi' ~: SI'!J ~RtII1 ~~ ~"l: I ")~l ?!'IiI: Il'ilfl.l''ifl ~
" ~~~~,, ~. Ill. 55 . 18. Here ~ refers to Indra,and th e 2nd
half means 'groups of five years bring him in six ways' i. e. groups of five
years (~) each divided Into six seasons
701. t( ... ~<I <'t1<"' .q~<r~ ~I ~l~~, verse 1; "lq~~
q1~tluotal1tiQ., : , ~ tr~ ~ JRf~" ibid. verse 5.
70 2. ~fVl Q'lf mql<lI~'Wl ~fii1:1R) ~: I "Ii. X. 87. 17.
( = 3t~ VIII. 3. 17). Probably there is do"ble entendre here, one meaning
being 'May no magician prevent us from having all cows ' milk that would
be ours {or a year (after the cow is calved )'; the other is 'may not a demon
( Continul4 on "'~t pag, )
 .f!,gveda meaning of '!fUga 487
the word parivatsam 'those ancestors that shattered Vala by
righteousness and forced out the wealth consisting of cows' a.nd
in:ago VII. 103.8 the word 'parivatsarlna '. Samvatsa.ra and
Parivatsara are two of the five names bestowed on the five years
of a yuga in the other samhitas. Just as the word yuga was
used in several senses even in the B,gveda it is quite possible
that the words 'samvatsara' and 'parivatsara' meant simply year
and also successive years of a oycle of five years. In the Tai. S.
( V. 5. 7. 1-3 ) nama ~kal'Ct (salutation ) is offered to Rudra with
Saliwatsara, to his bow towards the right with Parivatsara, to
his bow behind with Idavatsara, to the bow towards the north
with Iduvatsara and to the bow above with Vatsara. The Vaj.
S. ( 27. 45) names these five separately with Idavatsara in place
of Iduvatsara ; similarly, in Atharva VI. 55.3 salutation is offered
to Idavatsara, Parivatsara and SarrlVatsara. In Tai. Br. ( I. 4.
10.1 703 ) Agni, Aditya, Can dramas and Vayu are identified with
Sarnvatsara, Parivatsara, Idavatsara and Anuvatsara and it
should be noticed that the four names of years are brought in
close relation to the four caturmasyas, viz. VaiSvadeva, Varu~a.
praghiisa, Sakamedha and Sunaslriya. Thus even in the Samhi-
tas names (generally five) are mentioned in a certain fixed
order. There is no reason why this should be so unless they
formed a fixed series in a cycle. Thibaut in his Grundriss (p. 9 )
hammers on the fact that sometimes only two or three or four
out of the five are mentioned and argues (rather obstinately)
that knowledge of the five year yuga cannot be assumed for the
Vedic times. It should be noted that Kautilya speaks of the
yuga of five sarnvatsaras and of the insertion of two intercalary
months, one at the end of 2~ years and the other at the end of
five years. 704

(Continued /1'0111 'ast page)

hold up the water t hat falls down after a year'."m'll means a cow and may
also mean a cloud. Vide '!R'. III. 55. 13 where a cloud is referred to as cow
or Its udder . 1fTiUrf.t (V. 1.91-92) has two sutras to ex plain ~1Jf and
qfu~ '''<'fl(I'"d'''O~~ I ~·fflf '<f I ' .
703. ~ ~(: I ~ : If~: I ~"r ~: I ~:~
~: I .q~ m I ~ ~i'I'~Wl1ilid I tf{I'I'it~ ~I ~" ",,~orl
"'~A'~"WlIi,q'~"~111 ~ljili~~"'d I ~~ I1I11R"ffl(~ I .. . 11tmlfi-
~ ""·iI"{f"'" !'Ifit4W{f(AllIlfd I ... qRllqqil.,m~ !'Iq",,,,q(it I 3f~
~ ~~~~ I ~~~ m ~!f (1qtPf{f("'j(1fiI'1
", "Iff. I. 4.10.1-3.
704, q""~"({f(l~I .•• ~~I~~:'{f
IJ~. ,"~" ~ II , chap. 20 ( il~IIfIIAAlij) p. 109.
488 History of Dharmaiiistra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV

The Mahabbarata knows of the yuga of five years 70S (in

Sabhaparva 11. 38). The Pitamahasiddbanta,7;6 which is not
extant now, stated, according to the Paiicasiddhii.ntika of
Varahamih ira, that yuga means five years of the Sun and
the Moon and that an intercalary month was added after thirty
months.

The next question is ; what was the extent of the year in the
Vedic age. Some Ek. verses may be cited in this connection.
, The whee1 7(fJ of ria has twelve spokes; it revolves round the
heavens; it does never wear out. 0 Agni! in this ( wheel) seven
hundred and twenty sons in pairs abide. Some say that the
father (Sun) who sends down water has five feet and twelve
forms and remains endowed with fulness in the distant half (part)
of heavens while others say that he ( the Sun ), the all .seeing, is
placed in a lower ( place) that has seven wheels and six spokes;
all the worlds abide in the revolving wheol with five spokes; one
wheel and twelve rims (of the wheel) and three na \Yes-who is
there that knew these ( thoroughly); in that (wheel i. e. year)
are placod together three hundred and sixty very unstable nails'
( Eg. 1. 164. 11-13 and 48). In these passages the sage poses a
riddle or puzzle in very metaphorical and mystic language about
a year divided into three, five or six seasons, twelve months,
360 days and 720 days and nights ( when calculated separately).
It is possible to hold that the wheel of rta means the zodiacal belt

705. llllITT WfT ~':If fitmTl~ih '<r I ~':If mID':If ~: q''{. '<r li~ II
~: q~'I"h:l~SJctlPii"l: I ~\illl. 37-38 ,

706 . ~iit~iwiT: Q'\B ~IT ~iUr fitcrr~rf.ll 3I'f~~~~~1

ffi'q'I'!"l1T iJ II Q'~. XII, I , Ace. to ~lll. tbe ~qfu:.i:1.<'1 employed sake 2
(80 A.D.) as its epoch i. e , a new yuga bega n with Saka year 2 (elapsed) . It
is therefore probable that it was composed about 80 A.D.
707. ~R: Of~ <'f;;;r~l'q ;p.fiil u m
'lI~ I 31'1 l!"lrT am
~gOfm') 3l'1f m'
~If.r f<mrn\fi ~g: II Q'\81f1~ ~ ir~fIli'la ~ 311(: trt
m.t ~I~ I ""m'I ~
~ f<{~f!IT ~ q'oo~ 3{~ II q'Dl~...m; Q'~«<l;:f1~ ~I ~,~
~""I ... " ' ir~ ~~'Jili,;ihi ~"rrar Ofnrrr~ q; "<'I~<ll <'ff~m-Ii; fim<n "
~~smn: Ilf~ ~~: n ';;Ii 1.164 , 11.12,1 3,48. The whole bymn ~g.
1, 164 is full of ridd les. In B-g. I. 164. 2 it Is said tbat seven horses are
yoked to a chariot ( tbe Sun) that has only one wheel but three naves , T h.
wheel means the year. three naves would be three season s , summer. rains,
winter. Tbe wheel is also said in verses 12 and 13 to have six spoke. or
five spokes; the twelve spokes or rims of wheel ( pradbi ) represent mon th • •
Vide f.I~ IV. 27 for explanations of these verses; compare &«~ 3. 60 for
a verse similar to ~g , I. 164 , 11-13 .
 Sg ueda references to year and its e:r:tent 489

divided into twelve parts ( dvadasara). But it is a very difficult

matter to keep in view the twelve divisions correctly. In Eg.
I. 164. 15 it is said' They say that the 7th of those that are born
together is born of one; there are only six twin sages born of the
gods '. Here there is a reference to seasons, six of whioh have
two months each, the 7th has only one ( viz. 13th or intercalary
month) and that the 13th month is not fit for religious rites.
The Atharvaveda V. 35. 4 708 also states that sariwatsara bas
twelve spokes and the months have 30 spokes. This explains
Eg.1. 164. 11-13 and 48. In the Brahmalfas also the year is said
to have 360 days and 720 days an d nights together; Satapatha
IX. 1. 1. 43, Ait. Br. VII. 7 also say the 7(1) same. We have also
to recognize that the Vedic sarrlhitas and Brahmanas speak of a
13th month that was intercalated. About Varulfa the Egveda
says 710 'He knows the twelve months with their progeny (the
days) a.nd also the month that is added.' The Tai. S. (IV. 6. 7.
1-2) refers to a year of twelve months and also of 13 months.
The Kausitaki Br. 19. 2 speaks of the 13th month. The Tai. S.
( 1. 14. 4, VI. 5. 3. 4 ) expressly mentions the 13th month called
, Samsarpa or Amhaspatya '. It is called Amhasaspati in Vaj. S.
( Vil. 30 and XXII. 31) and Samsarpa in Maitrayal.1! S. Ill. 12.
13. The Kausltaki Briihmal.1a connects the 13th month with the
Sunaslrlya sacrifice. 711 The MaitrayaJ;11 Sarnhlta (I. 10. 8 )
draws a distinction between a ~tuyaj! and ciiturmasya-yajr, the
former being one who offers sacrifice thinkin g 'now Vasanta
has started, rainy season has started, sarad has started while the

708. ~rr;mn~mfU: ~r 'H4I1Qrn(fr~: I ~~ V. 35. 4.

709. ~ "f ~'" "~'lal~lfTf.I ~~1~ I :i'riUJ ~ ~ ~'la ~~­
~ I dl'''~~<e(:~ : If:;lllna: ~~: I ... m:! "f ~ ~'" ~q ~~­
~(f!O': I it. lIlT. VII. 7; ~rg: i:fi~~iit~ ~<mR~1fllr i:fid :#~­
P.f;q ~ tf<l I "re'la II: 'it ~nvr "f ~idl .. qd"Od~ ~'Il f!m;ru q'ill'!mct. I mit
lfTf.{ "jiq ~"riVr "f ~ ~ ~R[fTil (fI'fl'm.'IVqjiw"lIIfri6 I ~'Il ~
fffm!:.il~i"",~~q ~~ (~ dJ~<mil ~~~~m~ I
~ ~ Q;t~ ~~~I ;mf: ~ ~fffi' ffi~rmT ~ if lffVTT I m
~ q"~~iadl'''~ ~: I ~'Il IX. U ,43. Here th e addi tional month
is said to hav e been of 35days. This was probably anotber way of adjustiD g
the Silvana year of 360 days to the solar year of 365 days and about a
quarter more. In six such years about 6 days for each year appear to have
been calculated and added as a 13th mODth of 35 cl ays.

710. it«;mfl ~ ~ ~ : I ifcrl '1 ~ II ~. I. 25. 8.

711 . ~lfTqif41~~~'tWffl ~ ~r~ ~

m~~ri: ~3mlT~lIim. ~. V. 8,
B. D. 62
490 History of Dharmasastra l Sec. II, Cb. XV
Caturmiisya-yaji is one who offers sacrifice in view of the 13th
month '. 711" How and when the month was inserted in the
Rgveda times or the times of the Tai. S. is not clear. What is
clear is that one whole month was added. Therefore, Thibaut
overstates the case when he asserts emphatically ( Grundriss p. 7 )
that all Vedic texts agree that the year was exclusively of 360
days. A year in which one month was added ( i. e. of 390 days)
was also well-known to the B,gvedic Indiane. Therefore, in order
to explain the facts we have here probably to postulate two
calendars, one a purely sacrificial (or religious ) of 360 days
( 12 months of 30 days ) probably inherited by the Vedic Indians
from their ancestors about whom we know next to nothing, and
another calendar where a month was added in order to bring the
year in line with visible astronomical data. It is known that the
ancient Egyptians 712 had an official calendar of 360 days ( 12
months of 30 days each) plus five days added at end i. e. of
365 days only and no intercalary day was inserted in a year.
The result was that the opening day of this calendar would shift
back through the solar year until a whole cycle of that year had
been completed in 1456 or 1505 years. This calendar called
sliding calendar was in use for about 300 ~ years in Egypt from
proto-dynastic period until the Roman period. There was also
another calendar against which this sliding calendar moved. A
year of 360 days ( divided into 12 months of 30 days each) was
not peculiar to ancient Vedic Indi a nor to ancient Egypt, but
played an importan t role also in Mesopotamia, which had a
strictly lunar calendar. The co-existence of months of various

711a. ~r Ifr w-q''Jq1ijl'litlllll ...-q'~I, VI ~')~T'I6'lv.J~~ ~ ~

'll1~-q'U ~I~;m:t ~-;qrcprffi ;r-q),nr ~ ~ ~t~fl'I;;fr 1I1huvvfr-
m~CfT 1.10.8. Vide a very informing paper in Acta Orientalia, vol. IV (1 926)
pp.124-133 on 'th e 13th month.in ancient Hindu chronology' by B. Faddegon of
Amsterdam, In which tbe learn ed writer tries to explain Maitrayani Samhita
1.10. 8 and certain passages from the La~yayana-srauta-siitra ' and the
Nidanaslltra which appear to have puzzled Weber and Thibaut.
712. Vide 'Origins of Egyptian calendar' in Journal of Near Eastern
S tudies, vol. 1. p 396- 398 ( by Prof. Neugebauer); 'the Legacy of Egypt' by
S. R. l\. Glanville (Oxford, 194 2 ) pp. 2-5 ; 'Origin of ancient Egyptian
calendar' by H. E . Winlock in Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society, vol. 83 (1 940) pp. 447-463, particularly 460-463; 'Burden of
Egypt' by J . A. Wilson (Chicago) p . 30; , Calendars of ancient Egypt' by
R . A. Parker (Chicago, 1953), wbere p. 56 says that from about 2500 B. C.
Egyptians had three calendars all of which continued to be in use to thlt
very end of pagan Egypt,
 Length of months in Vedic times 491

lengths for later times is vouchsafed by the Arthasastra p. 108

( Sham Shastri's ed. of 1919). A year of 360 days was in later
times in India called a SaIJana one (from 'savana' meaning
extracting of soma juice in a sacrifice) and a month was added
after about 30 months to bring the lunar year (of 354 days) in
line with the solar year.

In the Satapatha BrahmaJ?,a (II. 1. 3. 2.) 713 the Sun's

apparent passage for six months in the north and for six months
in the south is referred to, though the word ayana is not employed
in this passage. The word ' ayana' occurs in the sense of
'motion or path' in the J;?,gveda (ayan-n-apo ayanam-icchamiil1a ~,
Eg. III. 33. 7). Utlaru.yaWI and Daklji7)uyana in later litera.ture
mean no more than the sun's ( apparent) motion or path in the
northern celestial sphere and in the southern sphere respectively.
The Sun's movement in the north for six months and in the south
for six months is mentioned in Br. Up. VI. 2. 15-16 also. Thibaut
( Grundriss p. 10 para 6 ) cites Kau!?Itaki Br. 19. 3 as stating
that the Sun stands still after it has gone for six months towards
the south in order to turn again to the north and then observes
that no one has a right to assume, from this statement in the
KausItaki 714 Br. that for six months the Sun goes north or south,
that the halves of the year are to be understood. What Thibaut
is driving at is not clear to me. We have in this passage six:
months passages of the Sun in the north and also in the south.
A year has ordinarily only twelve months. Therefore it must be
assumed that halves of a year are meant. Thibaut does not
explain what part of the year these l:lix months in the north and
south correspond to. Thibaut is probably swayed by the fact
that in the Satapatha and elsewhere Vasanta, Grisma and Varsa.
are lumped together as the seasons ( rtus ) for the gods but
UttarayaJ?,a does not exactly correspond with these three rtus.
That may be so, but the rule or maxim is that names are given
on the basis of what is principal or eminent (priidhiinyena
vyapadesii bha'Vanti). Vasanta and Gr!f?ma are important parts

713. ~ 'n:ilqillE4~ ~! mi ~I '''1fSI ~~ fiin l'Ifi ~"' I

~II. 3. 2.3.

714. ~ ~ "IEi.,ql"IE4I"<lI<lIt!'lE4~Qi'HfG.~~ ~ I ... ~~­

.r
~~ fimlt I ~~UIlE4~q'dqi'l '""~ E4SE4Jiil .. ICtiII ~'if; o 19.3 . This
sbows tbat tbe winter solstice, wben tbe sun is farthest from tbe equator
and appears to pause or rest before turning towards tbe nortb, occurred on
the amavasya of Magba.
492 History of DharmaSlistra [ Sec. li, Ch. xv
of UttarayaJ;la ; therefore, by association with these two and for
the sake of symmetry 'Va-r.~ii is also held to be a flu for the gods.
As regards the seasons, there are varying statements. In
Eg. I. 15 the word' rtuna.· occurs several times, but once we have
, ~t u n • also ' 0 Indra • drink Soma according to the seasons from
the wealth (i. e. the richly filled vessel) of the brahmaJ;la.' Eg.
II. 36 and 37 are styled Etavya hymns. The Egveda itself
names five seasons, viz. Vasanta ( X. 161. 4, X. 90. 6), Grifjma
( X. 90. 6 ), Pravrs ( VII. 103.3 and 9 ), Sarad ( over 25 times, as
in II. 12, 11, VII. 66. 11, X. 161. 4 ). Hemanta ( X. 161. 4 ), but the
Eg. does not expressly mention Sisira. Three seasons are meta-
phorically meant in Eg. T. 164. 48 and six in Rg. 1. 164. 15.
The Atharvaveda 714 a (VI. 55. 2 ) mentions all the six, but not in
the usual order. The Ait. Br. says that the year has five ~tus 715
by putting together Hemanta and Sisira. The MaitrayaJ;li Sam.
in I. 7. 3 speaks of Samvatsara as having five ~tus and again as
having six ~tus and the Sat. Br. (II. 1.3.16) says that sam-
vatsara comprises six rtus. In Satapatha XII. 8.2.33 the rtus
are said to be three viz. GrIfjma, Varfja and Hemanta and in the
'\rery next passage they are said to be six. There is mention of
seven ~tus in Atharvaveda VI. 61.2 . But one should not be
puzzled by this. The 7th ~tu is probably meant to represent the
13th intercalary month as it is expressly mentioned in Atharva.
( V. 6.4 ). Thibaut surprisingly asserts that the lists of the
names of the seasons are only priestly inventions and the Vedic
texts exhibit no practical use for them .( Grundriss p. 11 ).
Thibaut appears to be obsessed with the influence of priests and
offers no good reasons why the names should be regarded as
inventions and not as correctly registering what was current
in the then society. In TaL S.716 IV. 4.11.1 the six ~tus with
two months for each are m(mtioned. Vasanta is mentioned as
the first of ~· tus ( mukharn va. etad-rtunam yad-vasanta~ ) in Tai.
Br. 1. 1.2.6. The Satapatha 717 provides that Vasanta, GrIfjma

714 a. 1ftum ~;a: ~ ~: ~: ~~;iI' <{1m I ~. VI. 55 .2.

715 . q o : ~ qt1""'~i(4l : ~~"' I i( lIfT. I. 1., often quoted al
q,.m:".~.

716. ~*l ~*l !fml1!a'clirn. ~>s.t '§J~*l JlnrrR;nf*l ~*l~­

n"e.mf*l ~n nil ~~*l ~R. tN*l~'" ~R I ". ~.
IV. 4.11 .1. Pa~ini (IV. 3. 18-21) appears to have this passage in view.
717. ~"'t 'ifill", ~: I ~ ~ ~: I ~: ~ Mm ~ l!<O'('RtSli-
1I'm:~~1iI's~~~sm ~~:~:~: ~ ~ ~
~II ~ lfI1l!'~: I "'' rsrun ~ ~ I~ 11.1.3.1-5,
 V.ciic references to seasons 493
and VarsA are the seasons of gods, Sarad, Hemanta and Sisira
are seasons of the pit~s; similarly the bright half of a month,
the day and the forenoon of a day are the times for gods and
the dark half of a month, the night, the afternoon of a day are
the times for pitrs and it winds up with the prescription that a
brahma:t;la should consecrate the sacred fires in Vasanta, a
ksatriya in Grisma and a vaisya in Sarad. 718 At least as
early as the edicts of Asoka the words • varsa ' (which etymo-
logically means' rains' ) and' sariwatsara ' are both used in the
same sense viz. a year in the Brahmagiri inscription (vide C.
1. 1. 1. p. 175 ).
There are Western scholars that deny the knowledge of
the planets to the Vedic Indians. But Thibaut ( Grundriss p. 6 )
and Kaye ( p. 33 ) both concede that it is inconceivable that the
Vedic Indians did not observe and distinguish at least the
larger planets in early times, but they contend that the Vedic
passages cited as proving knowledge of the planets on the part
of Vedic Indians cannot be accepted as evidence of the record
of observations about planets and that the mere mention of the
number seven or five ( about .Adityas in Rg. X. 72. 8-9 or oxen)
cannot be relied upon. Both Thibaut and Kaye approach these
problems with a peculiar mentality. Their criticism is mainly
destructive and has a flavour of special pleading against things
and ideas Indian. They hardly ever propose their own explana-
tions of the disputed passages and when they rarely do they do
not show how their explanations are more satisfactory than the
ones they criticize. One typical case may be cited here. Almost all
scholars agree that K;'ttikiis are the same as Pleiades; but Kaye
( Archaeological survey memoir No. 18 p. 24 and 1. A. vol. 50,
p. 45 ) appears to doubt this, yet he has not the goodness to sa.y
positively what other cluster Krttikas stand for and why. The
principal reason for the paucity of references to planets probably

718. Vide Prof. Renou's article on ' Vedic rtus' in 'Indian Culture,'
vol. 15 pp. 21-26, where he endeavours to es tabli sh that r tu in the ~gveda
bas no restricted sense but means simply time or suitable time (or sacrifice
or sometimes' rule or usage' , and that' rtuna' or' rtubhll)' in the ~g.
means 'according to the division or distribution.' I demur to this conclusion.
In some passages the meaning of rtu would have to be 'season .' ; {or ex'
ample in ~g. 1.49.3 '0 fair U~as I ' winged bird s, two·looted ( beings) and
four-footed (animals) go forth accordin g the several seasons {rom the ends
of the sky for thee (to meet thee) ' (Ifq'~ If(t~r fa'q."4duqq,jr.. I ;;q':
ill("i{<a ~S &I.~.q~« II). Similarly, in Rg. 1. 95. 3 ' ~, would have no
connection with distribution or division.
 History of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. TI, Ch. XV

is that the cult of the worship of planets that we find well deve-
loped in Yaj. 1. 295-308 had not yet arisen in Vedic times.
At least Brhaspati (Jupiter) appears to be clearly meant
in two Vedic verses. 'Brahaspati, 719 first appearing in the highest
heaven of the great Luminary (the SUD), destroyed darkness
&c;' 'B rhaspati, when first appearing, rose in front of Ti~ya
( Pusya) constellation'. 'The seven 7l/J priests guard the dear
and fixed seat of the bird ( Agni ) along with the five adhvaryus;
oxen, going eat, ageless, delight in the east; the gods follow the ordi-
nances of gods' (ag. III. 7.7.). Here the (five) oxen are taken to be
the five planets. Similarly,' He (Indra) filled heaven and earth
and the mid-region; he superintends in various ways the five
gods, the 49 gods ( Maruts ) at the proper seasons together with
the thirty-four lights similar to his own but each accordiug to
the different ordinances governing each'721 ( ago X. 55. 3 ) ; 'these
five oxen that stand in the midst of the great heaven' ( Eg. I.
105.10). Vena 712 may betaken to be the brilliant Venus in Eg. X.

719. ~ffi: JMiI ~~) '3~: ~~ ~I ~al~q~~""rtI ~

~ ~~m II 'R'. IV. 50.4 = 3'f'tlE{ 20.88.4; ~: 'lI't11{ 'ffilf~11I
,,~ I ~! ~r-rl 'l"0lT6 ~: ~S~ w« 3'f\14 ,,) ~ II ~. 1ft. III.
1.1.5. mini is the same as lllRl and its presiding deity is ~<t in ~. 1ft.
III. 1 .1.5; even in such later works as mr~ III. 3.14 iWt means QWT
(~Rft ). f,faq occurs in '[{g. V. 54.13 ( Treasure that does not fail as mini
does not form th e heavens , ) and X. 64 . 8 I we invoke the three times seven
flowing rivers, the grea t waters, Krsanu, Ti~ya and Rudra'. m1f!lT paraphrases
the first as 3'f1~~ and the second as ,,~. Vide Fleet's interpretation of
'[{g. V. 54.13 in J RAS for 1911 at page 516 which differs.

720. ~~~: Q'>8fil: ~ fif'lll: ~'4 ~~~ f.l'i~ff qcf~ : I 'lI1>8! ~)

~ ~~;mm ~ R1'II ~: II 'R'. HI. 7.7. The expression ~'R mr:
occurs fre·
Quently in the 'R'. ; vide Ill. 31.5, IV 2. 15, VI 22 2.
721. 3'(f ~~ 3'fi'OTlCfrn m-q Q'>8 ~lf~ 'R'~: ~~ I "filfi~1 ~"lT fif -:d'
~ ~I ~ II 'R'. X. 55.3. The verse is rather enigmatic. It is in
praise of Indra. The five gods are the planets that do not appear all at
once but accordin g to their respeclive seasons ('lR'll~:). The 34 lights are the
Sun, Moon. the five planets and 27 nak~tras. Ludwig and Oldenber~
accept this interpretation . No other satisfactory explanation of 34 has been
given by anyone.

722. ~ :srt'(!!1f~ ~ f'i'~ ~ :~I ~~ ~ ~li:

~rq<lf~ ~~tiit ~ ~: II 'R'. X. 123 .5. In tbe first verse of this hymn Vena is
described as Fit~: i. e. surrounded by a sack of I1gbt as a foetus is
surround ed by a sack and as pushing ( towards eartb ) tbe waters that are' in
the bosom of the variegated one. Vena is called Randharva situated high in
tbe heaven. Gandharva appears to have meant' any bright heavenly body'o
( Conlinu.d on ""' jag, )
 Planets in IJgt;eda 495

123. 1 and 5 the latter of which may be translated as follows :

'The young lady ( U~as or lightning ), approaching with a smile
her lover, bears in the highest heaven Vena, the dear one, and
she moves about, in the places of the dear (Vena) and sits
down with him on a golden wing (a cloud) '. This would be
a fine description of Venus rising in the east at dawn.
About months a good deal would have to be said later on.
The word is either 'mils ' or 'milsa '. W e have ' mils ' in Eg. I.
25. 8, IV. 18_4, X. 52. 3 ' He ( Agni ) appears every day and every
month' and we have omasa' in Eg. III. 31. 9, V. 78. 9 (may the boy
lying in the womb of his mother for ten months come out alive
&c. ), X. 184. 3. ' Mils the measurer) also means the Moon,
I (

as in B,g. VllI. 94.2, X. 12.7 ('surye jyotir-adadbur.masyaktun, '

the gods placed light in the Sun and darkness in the
Moon), X. 64. 3, X. 68. 10, X 92.12. X. 93.5. The words 'mas'
( moon) and' masa' (month) are Indo-European, as variants of
the same occur in many languages of the so-called Aryan family
of languages.
N ak~atras have been a matter of serious discussions in
numerous works. The word .' Nak!?atra' has in all three senses
( 1) star in general; (2) 27 equal parts of the zodiac; (3)
aster ism in the zodiacal belt ( which may each consist of one or
more stars). In my opinion the first and the 3rd are the most
frequent meanings of the word in the Vedic sam hitas. It may be
that the zodiacal belt was divided into 27 equal parts called
nak!?atras, but the easier, more natural and probably the earlier
way was to mark some conspicuous star groups like Krttikiis,
Mrgasiras and to refer to them as naksatras. The word 'nak~atra'
occurs frequently in the Egveda and the other Samhitils and
Brahmat;las; 'the naksatras like thieves go away along with
( Continru.d j r')m last p age )
For eumple. in <mr~. IX. 7 'emtr '" Jr.I'[!IT if~'i : ~fil: I ff 3fUS~~'l!i·
~S~~; II' the ~s and the 27 (OI~S) arc separa tely mentioned .
In <mr. ~. 18.40 we have '~wr: ~~lf.IJJ~ ~~0I!l1'311oqce(~ ~1it
orJ1'I' which is explained in ~ IX.4 .l. 9. In 3'ld II. 2.5 the Apsarases
are called' wives of Gandharvas.· In ~ ~. Ill. 4. 7. 1-3ff ~ is meta·
phorically identified with~. ~,~, !fiTlf and so on and ~: are
identified with 'IfJ~, fiiaq, lNrT, 3'ITN respectively a nd so on . It is there·
fore rather difficult to say what ~ primarily meant in the early Vedic age,
but when 1r.I is called ~ and ~ is called ~~ in 1f!'. X. 123.5 it
would not he altogether wrong to hold that the morning star Venu s Is called
~ ~ and ~ is called ~.
496 History of Dharmarastm [ Sec. II, Oh. XV

nights (to make room) for the Sun that sees the world '723 (:ag.
I. 50. 2) ; 'May the earth, the heaven, the waters, the Sun along
with the nakf?atras and the wide sky listen to us ' (Eg. III 54. 19);
'he ( Varu~a ) urges on in two ways the big and high heaven
( the Sun) and nakf?atras and also spreads the earth' (Eg. VII.
86. 1 ) ; 'when he ( the Sun) comes up, nakf?atras are not seen in
the heavens, no one knows truly (how this happens)' :ago :x.
11!. 7; , The Adityas are strong through Soma, the earth is great
through Soma and then Soma is placed in the lap of these
nakf?atras ' ( :ago X 85. 2 ). In some passages like Eg. VII. 81. 2
and X. 88. 13, it is difficult to say what 'nakf?atram' stands for.
N aksatra in most of the above passages means a star in general.
But in Eg. X. 85. 2 and in X. 68. 11 (the pitrs adorned the heavens
with nakf?atras ) 723" naksatra appears to mean the 27 well·known
asterisms. So also when the Satapatha contrasts the Krttikas
( that do not swerve from the east) with other nak$atras (that
do swerve ), naksatra should be taken to mean asterisms in the
Zodiacal belt, the 27 ( or 28 ) constellations in the Zodiacal belt
in which the moon appears to move. Another word is ' str '
( that is an Indo-European word), which always occurs in the
instrumental plural in the :agveda ( as in 1. 68. 5, I. 87. 1, I. 166.
11, II. 2. 5, II. 34. 2, IV. 7. 3, VI. 49. 3 and 12) and is often con-
nected with decking the sky. The word 'fk$a' in the sense of
, star' occurs in Eg. 72 4 I. 24. 10 'these fk$aS that are established
high up (in the sky ) are seen at night, but where did they go
by day'. This refers to the constellation of the seven sages
( Ursa Major). In the Atharvaveda VI. 40. I, the constellation
of the seven sages is expressly mentioned: "May Heaven and
Earth confer on us freedom from da.nger here ; may the Sun and
the Moon do the same for us ; may the wide mid regions confer
on us freedom from danger and may there be abhaya for us on
account of the oblation offered to the Seven Sages". The Satapatha
states that the seven sages were formerly called ' ~·k$a.Q.' ( note
727 below). ]n Eg. V. 56. 3, VIII. 24. 27, VIII, 68. 15 the word
r!,:lfa means either 'bear' or something else. 1t has been pointed out
above p. 494 that in Eg. X.55.3 there is a reference to twenty-seven

723. ~ fit "r~ 17'Qr ~ lmlfflillt: I ~ ~"il~ II ~ . I. 50. 2.

'"
723a. Compare 3t~ WI" ~l'R:"ii WI"~i\r: iimU 1f~ II "!If. X. 68.
11 wilh ;ji. 1. 68. 5 ~;wi ~~: . '6~ appears to mean • pearl or mother
of pearl'.
724. amr ~ ~ f.tmrm::nlr Of;t ~'" ~ ~~: II "!If. I. 24. 10;
compare '1'if! ntiit ~cit ~ 3t~: ~,,~ I "!If. I . 107. 2.
 Nak~atras in Egveda 497

nak~a.tras. TJ5 Apart from that the agveda mentions the naksatras
Ti!:lya (as above) and Agha and Arjuni 726 ( in Eg. X 85. 13 )
which two latter correspond to Magha and Phalgunis according
to the Atharvaveda. It is possible to hold either that Agba. and
Magha were names for the same nak~atra in B,gvedic times or
that Agha was changed to Maghii. by the time of the Tai. S. and
the Atharvaveda hymns. If the latter alternative be aooepted
the change in the names of the two naksatras ( Agha and ArjunI )
could not have taken place in a short time, but would require at
least a hundred years between the time of ago X.85 on the one hand
and Tai. S. and Atharva 19. 7 on the other. This would strongly
militate against Max M i.dler's assignment of two hundred years
to the Sarhhitas which are purely hypothetical and the minimum
dates ( vide Intro p. XV to the 4th volume of his 4 volume ed. of
the agveda). Apart from Agha and Arjuni which it is agreed
are two of the 27 naksa.tra.s, it is probable that the B,gveda refers
to Mrgasiras, Punarvasu, Satabhisak and one or two more by
name. The Nak~atras are 27 or 28 (adding Abhijit after Uttara-

725. For a myth about tbe disappearance of Abhijit from the list of
nak~atras, vide Vanaparva 230 2-11 . There it is said tbat Abhijlt, the
younger sister of Rohini, co ve ted the position of eldership and went to a
forest for practising tapas. Skanda was approached by tb e wives of sages,
says Markal?~eya, and he said that he would cODsult Brahma. Tben Brabmi
arranged that time began with Dhani~th a and the Krttikis went to tbe
heavens. Tbis ha s been interpreted by modern writers on ancient Indian
Astronomy to mean that the vernal equ inox bappened to be in the Krttikis
before tbe time of Yudbi s!hira and that Abhijit wa~ accepted as one of tbe
nak~atras. Vide J. of Ganganatba Jha R. 1. vol. XIII at pp. 82-84 (by
Prof. T. Bha!!acbirya). With the greatest respect for the learned writer, I
cannot accept all thi s. Discussion of hi s theory has to be given up for
reasons of space.

726. ~;om: lJIlTr«n~ lfR'.fll!'il<l.l :w.f1tJ ~ mits~: ~ II

~. X. 85 .1 3 = 3{oq~ XIV . 1. 13 (~1f)ln""" l!'iI<l.l mmJ ~ rrTlI": ~
~ I). ~g. X. 85 is a marriage hymn, referring to the myth of the
marriage of Surya, daughter of Savitr, to Soma , In this verse reference is
made to tbe sending of presents (chiefly of cows, it seems) on A h i i. e.
Magba nak~tra and tbe taking away of th e bride after marriage on Arjuni
(i. e. pjjrvi or Vtlara Phalguni) tbe next day or after ooe day more. The
~ (II . 1. 2. 10-11) asserts tbat Phal gunyal;l is tbe recondite name oC
Arjunyal). 1f<1f~ in ~g. X. 85. 13 does not mean 'are killed' but 'are beaten '
or 'driven' (from the bouse oC Suryi's fa tber to the h ouse oC the
bridegroom). The Maratbi equivalent ' 8."fl1T' mean s ' to beat or drive '. Vide
~. ~. 1,3. 1-2 ' ~~ I ~nri ~I; ~ ~~
~~~0I~1.ft.~. 1.1. 20.
B. D. 63
498 History of DharmaSlistra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV

~a~ha and before Sravat;la in ancient authorities). In the Vedic

literature, Vedangajyoti~a and even in Yajiiavalkya-smrti they
are enumerated from Krttika to Apabhara:t;lI ( or Bhara:t;lI ) while
in works from the 3rd or 4th century A. D. and in modern times
they are enumerated from Asvinl to RevatI.
It is time now to set out in a list the names of naksatras,
deities governing them, their gender and the number of stars
in each. There is some divergence of views as regards the
names and the deities, which will also be pointed out in the
appended table: complete lists occur in Tai. S. IV. 4.10. 1-3, Tai.
Br.1. 5 and III. 1, Atharvaveda XIX. 7. 2- 5, KMhaka Salnhita
39.13, Maitraya:t;l! Samhita II. 13.20 and Vedanga-Jyotisa. For
European equivalents of the Indian naksatras, vide Cole brooke
in Asiatic Researches vol. IX chart opposite p. 322, Dikshit's
Marathi work (2nd ed. p. 459) and Burgess in J . R. A. S. for
1893 p. 756. It is not unlikely that there is a veiled reference to
RevatI, Punarvas u and Pu~ya nak~atras in Eg. X. 119. 1-3 728 ;
and Eg. X. 86.22 appears to refer 729, as Tilak says in ' Orion' p.
166 fr., to the Mrgasiras nak~atra; 'Vrsakapi 10 Indra I when you
dashing upwards came to the house, where was that Mrga guilty
of a good deal of sin, to whom did that Mrga, that confounds
people, go? Indra is superior to all'. From Eg. 1. 161.11 and 13
and IV. 33.7, Atharvaveda IV. 11.11 it appears that the dog-star
( Sirius) is referred to, and that twelve days were added at the
.end of the year during which the Ebhus slept or took rest or
enjoyed the hospitality of the Sun. 730 In Eg. I. 124.9 'satam te

727. 3{l1It ~~ ~ -rrs~-q ~: ~~dr"'l: iiOTlQ I 3{~ "'I)~~~

~'CI' ~l1It ;qS~ II ~ VI. 40,1.; ~ ,,<n l!dr ari't 'W'< ami:
~ l!' ~ ~ ~ll1l ~~ I ~'lJ II . 1. 2, 4, tfur: r efers to wm1fiTs.
728. f.?I·lfth:;i ma 'lidl\+=IiPfttlf'" WiT: I :w.ftitm l!""~ ~ 1:7~ ~~ II
~d'1 f.?I' ~1%r.l ~ 'l~ I rimr fit 1:7R~ fif2nJ "IT u1t: II 'R. X.
19.1
and 3 (addressed to cows or rain waters). Botb Grassmann and Geldner bold
tbat ~ refers to tbe constellation so called.
729. ~~ TiT~ ammr~ I ifi~~ ~~; ~'lIf"'l~)
fi"iWl'Tl~ ~: II ~X. 86. 22. It bas to be supposed that this is
addressed by some one else (Indr;,ni probably ). ~ XIII, 3. explains
thi s verse. Prajapati guilty of the sin of incest is said to have jumped up
as a deer in th e sky pursued by Rudra. Vide it. 'lIfT, XIII. 10 "~~ '3i~
;a4qqd"'~" ~ ~~i\ 11;:r l!" ll'T''!fN: ~ ;:r l!" ~: I "IT ~tm ~~o" I "
730 , ~affif ~l1I!HdqR"QJ(lI.il81l'fi A -.it 3{U1:«r.1 "iI'r-i smfT tihff4m~
rWn~ ~ ~ II !R. 1. 161. 13; ill<:'~ I!A. <lq.rltUt<lm.t..:q ~~:
...
~: I !R. IV. 33. 7. The first may be translated as follows: • 0 .l,Zbhus I
( Continulld on nIlxt page)
 Nakf/atms in l!-gveda 499

rfijan bhi!?aja_Q. sahasram • it is possible to see a reference to the

Satabhisak naksatra of which Varupa is said be the devatfi.
in the Tai. Br. III. 1, especially as in the following verse ( amI
ya rk!?ii. nihitii.sa uccii. ) there is a special reference to the Great
Bear or to nak!?atras in general.
Some remarks on the nak~atras in general and on individual
nak~atras would not be out of place. In the Atharvan a Nak~atraka lpa (the
first of the Atharvapari sh~as edited by Bolling and Negelein ) in chapter"
verses 1-8 tbe devatas (deities) of tb e nak~atras are given and chap, 2
states tbe number of stars in each nak~ tra. In some P uranas also sucb as
tbe Vi~nudbarrnottara (I. 83. 13-21) the presiding deities of nak~atras are
set out. In the BrhaHarnhita Varaharnibira (ch ap. 97. 4-5) specifies
tbe deities of the nak ~ atra s from Asvini to Revati (including Abbijit) as
noted below. The Brhat·sarnhit:i (96.1-3), tbe Atbarvana-nak~a tra-kalpa
(1. 2 ) and tbe Vi ~l) udharmottara (1. 88 4-7) specify tbe number of single
stars in each nak~atra (whicb are from one to six), tho se baving six stars
being Krttika , ASJe~ and Magba. Vide JA SB. vol. 62 part 1 p. 14 wbere
Hoernle gives a table, from a ms. of Pu~karas:iri 's work , of nak~atras, tlle
stars in each, the mtthii.rtas, the gotra, dC'CJat" of eacb. According to
Hoernle the work is very old. Some notes Bre added on individual nak~atra9
( mentioned in tbe Ved ic works). Krttika-The Tai. Br. III. 1. 4. 1 specifies
tbe names of seven Kptikas as Amba, Dula &c. Pa,?ini refers to l{rttika as
Babula (in IV. 3. 34). J . C. Hickey in 'Introducing tbe universe' (pp. 119-
120) says tbat persons of unusually keen 721 vision under favourable atm08-
pheric conditions can see even eleven. Mrga sir~a-Tai . Br. III. I, 4, 3
mentions both names viz. Mrgasir~ and Invaka. Punarvasu-In the Ka~haka
and Mai. S . this is masculine singular; Pat:lini states ( I. 2. 61) tbat In the
Veda the word ' Punarvasu' is employed optionally in tbe sin gular (i, e .

( Continued from last page)

after having slept you asked this' 0 Agobya (tbe Sun wbo cannot be con-
cealed by anyone)! who is bere tbat awakened us? The goat (the Sun )
replied that the dog was tbe awakener at tbe end of year and tbat this
was announced that day.' Tilak in • Or ion ' (pp. 168 ff) explains at great
length the meaning of tbese verses. Thougb one may not agree with every-
thing that he says, his main contentions seem to be probable,
731. ~rm7t ;j~"1'lf<i~'i.'F"&1 1 ~ {ff<I +il~iiijidil ;m:! 1mtI1'T on~,
Iff.IlI,1.4.3;~m!l",Jffi<<iIi1'ii.,I(IQl . 1. 2.61. Tbe~bas'll~­
~I ~;j~~~I.' ~f{n<?r~IIll. 1II .1 .1l6. Tbe!fiTi~NiTexplains
~~~~:I~~~m\'1l:I . ~~'::q;j,"1 Ill.
1. 2. 60; ~f explains <iI~ ~~ ~~:~:; ~ ii(~!fi1fT ~
~f: I . 3tf~·~-~;j~~m-~"l{-~F<t-~1f-m-fit<R:: 1 1l\P-I-~­
~-~~~-fmn.lJi II ~ pit~ ~~ "1f1 ~VI7r: 1
~rs~~: ~ ~"iltf ~II~. 97.4-5. If'' I'A stands for ~ tbe
presiding de it y of l("f"'~J"1 (in the ilC;I{l,,41fitq and 3tf'~~~ I, of ).
The ~~ differs from~, as to some of the regents of ~!lnfo.
500 History of Dhar maAastra l Sec. II, Ch. XV
sometimes in the dual, sometimes in the singular). }{alidasa emplo.ys the
dual Punarvasu in Ragh uvamSa XI . 36 ' gam ga tavi va dival;l P unarvasu. '
Ti ~ya-P~iniuses the word Ti ~ya in I. 2. 63 and 3. 34 and the word s
Pu ~ya and Sid bya in the sense of 'on which undertakings prosper or
succeed. '
Phalgu n i-PaI,li ni provid es that the words Phalgun'i and Pro~thapada as
nak~atras arc optionally used in th e dual Or plural.
NI~1ya-Mai. S. shows that thi s is neuter Si ngular. Ni~1ya in I,Zg . VI.
75.19, VIII. 1. 13 , X 133.5 a ppears to mean' outsider or outcaste ',

Viriakha-P aI,lini (I. 2. 62 ) provides that in the Veda 'Visakha' is

lometimes used in tbe sin gular, some tim es in tbe dual, while in his day it
was used in the dual.
Anuradha-The mantra in Tai. Br. III. 1. 2. 1 appears to u se it as
mascu lin e plural.
Rohini- JyeHh a is called Rohini' in Tai. S. and Tai, B r. (1. 5). Jye~!ha
Is styled Jye~!hag hni in Atharva VI. 110. 2. Vide note 753 below.
Mula-In Tai. 5 , Vicr tau is used for Mula. The Atharvaveda brings
togetber Vlcrtau and J ye~!haghni in VI. l10. 2- 3 and has 'Vicrtau nama
tarake ' in 11.8.1 and VI. 121. 3. In I,Zg. X . 87. 10 (tridha mulam yatudha-
naaya v[Sca ) Milia means 'root, foot' . The word ' Miilabarha.f:1a' occurs in
Atharva VI. l10. 2 and Miilabarhal).l in Tai. Br. 1. 5. 1. 4.
Abhljit-not mentioned in TaL S. and Ka1haka , though mentioned in
Tal . B r ., Atharva and MaL S. It is sometimes men tioned in lat er works
e. g. the Anu$asanaparva ( 64. 5-35) mentions the consequences of gifts to
brahmaI,las on 28 nak~atras fro m l{rttika to Bharal).i .
s rona-Atbarva calls it Srav8J?a and K a! haka speaks of it as Asvattha.
In PaI,lini IV. 2. 22 Asvattha is men tioned as a nak~atra, The word Srol).a in
~g . I, 112. 8 means . lame or cripple' .

ProHhapada-Atharvaveda speaks of • dv4ya Pro~!hapada '.

It would be noticed that some of the names of nak$atras

differ such as Invaka ( in Tai. Br. 1. 5.1 and Ka~haka ) for M~ga­
SIr$a, Bahii for Ardra ( in Tai. Br. I. 5.1, Ka~haka S. and Maitra.
yaI,11 S. ). Ti$ya for PU$ya, Ni$~ya for SvatI ( in Tai. Br.),
RohiI;lI ( in Tai. Br. 1. 5.4 and Tai. S.) for Jye$~ha , Vic~tau in
Tai. S. for Mula ( in other Vedic texts), Sro'I,1a. (in Tai. S., Tai.
Br. an d Mai. S.) and Asvattha in Ka~haka S. for SravaI;la (in
Atharva. ). Sravi$~ha. for (medieval and modern) DhBni$~a,
Apabhara'I,11 for BharaI,11 (in Atharva., Mai. S. and modern
times ). The deities also differ, the most striking being the
change of plaoe between Bhaga and Aryaman as presiding
deities of Asaq.hii.s in the Ka.~haka, Veda.ngajyoti$B, San g~.•
and Indra as deity of Citra in Tai. S. and Tva~~+ in Ta.i. Br.
 Comparative table of Nakllatras 501

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502 History of Dhannaiilstra [ Seo. n, Ch. xv

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 Nak~ms in Sar'nhitli.s and Brahma~UIs 505

and Kathaka S., Pitaral;l as deity for Mi:lla in Tai. S. but Nirrti
in almost all other texts; Indra as deity of Satabhisak in Tai. .S.
and Mai. S. but Varuna in Tai. Br. (III. 1.) and R iithaka.
Further, it was also specified whether a nak~atra ha d only one
star or had a cluster of two or three or more. Besides, the
importa nt point for consideration is; why does the Tai, S. differ
from the Tai. Br. and Tai. Br. I. 5 from Tai. Br. III. 1 in the
number of naksatras, in the names and the deiti es also of some
of them. No satisfactory explanation can be given except this
that the Tai. S. passage is earlier by some centuries than the
Tai. Br. section ( Ill. 1 ) or the Tai. S was composed in a country
far away from the place where the Ta i. Br. was composed. This
latter does not appear to be probable since one part of Tai. Br.
( I. 5) differs from another part (III. 1). The latter section
speaks of a nak~atra - isti in which oblations are offered to 28
naksatras ( including Abhijit ) and their deities (one naksatra
being dealt with on each day from Krttikiis) together with
pW'onu'('ci!,1/us ( invitatory verses) and ?llij!JuS (oblation verses)
which are different for each naksatra. The first fourteen naksa-
tras from K~'ttika (up to and including Visakhii) are called
Devanaksatras and the fourteen naksatras from Anuradhii. to
Apabhara~l or Bharan! are called Yamanaksatras. AHer
Visiikbii, the Tai. Br. (Nak satre s~i) insert s PaurnamasI with
appropriate puronuvakyii and yajyii verses and after apabbaran!
an offering to Amavasyii. with a puronuviikyii. (which is the
verse 'Nivesani sa ngamani vasllllam' Tai. S. UI. 5.1.1) and a y5jyii
( which is the verse 'yat te deva adadhur', Tai. S. III. 4. 1. 1 ).
Besides, it was laid down that the sacrificer had t o invoke gods
in the sacrifice by a name ( to be kept secret) derived from the
presiding deity of the naksatra on which he was 732 born ( i. e. if

732 , <IC1f'~~''H Wffi l!'"llm~'iVr I 1NfllT<l~ll' ~T5~" <I~ ~~ II

~tiTi~ verse 28. Western scbolars usua ll y ascribe tbe Vedaa ga J yo ti ~a to
abo ut 400 B. C. For example, 'L' ln de classiqu e' edited by Prof. L, Renoll
a nd otbers , Tome 11. para 1711 assigns , after say in g tbat th e date is undeter-
mined, 400 B. C. as it s prob able date. I sbould like to place it not later
than 8th century B.C, for several reasons. If tbe observation referred to above
(p.496) about krttikiis were made about 12th century B.C. (14th century B.C.
as some scbolars hold),aod if 400 or 300 B.C, was accept ed as the date of tb e
Vediiagajyoti~a, it would have to be supposed that the writer of it eitber did
not notice (or purposely ignored ) the fact tbat winter solstice had sh ifted
about 11 or 12 degrees {rorD the ori ginally observed position. Thi s is rather
difficult to believe A differenc e of four or five degrees may not be dwelt
( Continued 011 next page)
H. D.64
506 History of Dharmaflistra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV

born on Krttikii, then some name like Agnimitra &c., if on

Pusya, Brhaspatimitra &c. ).
If the naksatras ( 27 or 28 ) had been borrowed at one time
en hl(lc from a foreign source the divergences in the names of the
naksatras, in the presiding deities, and in the gender an d numbe r
should ordinarily not have arisen to the extent they do. But, if
they were an indi genous growth then differences of opinion
would naturally have been evolved in the passage of centuries.
The only asterisrrl.s first specialised and named in Greece and
Syria were the P leiades in Job. 38. 31, Homer and Hesiod;
Orion in Job. 39.31, H omer and Hesiod; Arcturus in J ob. 9.9 and
in 39.32, Homer and Hesiod; the great Bear in Homer and Hesiod,
Aldebaran in Homer and Hesiod and three more including Sirius
( vide 'Dawn of Astronomy' by Norman Lockyer, 1884 p. 33).
This is several centuries later ( if not thousands) than the early
Vedic texts wherein the whole scheme of nak~atras appears.
Further details contained in the Tai. Br. and Baudhayana
srauta·sutra ( 28. 3-4 ) are not set out here. The N aksatre~ ~i in
the Tai. Br. ( III. 1) has been competently dealt with by Prof.
Paul Emile Dumont in the Proceedings of the American Philoso-
phical Society, vol. 98, No.3 ( 1954 ) with text, English transla-
tion and notes. The naksatras had been closely observed and many
legends arose from imaginary resemblances of star groups to
certain familiar a nimals and also fanciful interpretations of the
constellations observed in the sky. The naksatras were closely
concerned not merely in a religious rite called Nak~atres~ i, but
they were of prime importance in the basic srauta rite, viz.
consecration of the sacred fires ( Agnyiidhiina ). In the Satapatba
BriihmaJ;la ( II. 1. 2 ) reference is made to several naksatras from
Krttikii onwards together with their presiding deities as being
fit for Agnyiidhiina ( viz. Krttikii, RohiJ;l!, Mrgasir~a, Purvii
Phalgun!, Uttari Phalguni, Hasta, Citra. ). The Tai. Br. recom-
mends spring, summer and sarad for Agnyiidheya in the case of

(Continued from last page)

upon. Besides, the {acts that th e Baudhayana-5rauta-siitra has a similar
passage , that Kautilya follows the five year cycle and says tbat there is an
intercalary mont h at tbe end of 2~ years and an other in tercalary month at
the end of the cycle of five years (II. 2 on p . 109) and the fact that the
Mah :ibharata ( Virii !aparva 52 . 3-5) speaks of adding two intercalary months
eve ry five years rather suggest an earli er dale for the Ved ; ilga·Jyoti~a . Vide
Swamikaunu P illai's 'Indian Ephemeris' vol. I part I . p. 448 fI for discussion
on th e probability of tb e a ntiquity of tb e ~1\1Ir .
 Nak~atras and Agnyadhe'lJa 507

briihmaJ;la, ki;latriya or vaisya sacrificer respectively. Tbe

Satapatba appears to condemn setting up of sacred fires in relation
to naksatra alone and recommends that Agnyiidheya should be
performed on the New Moon of Vaisiikha on which there is
RohiJ;l! naksatra; 732a but these rules did not apply when a perSOll
had resolved upon performing Soma sacrifice and he should not
in th at case stop to consider the season or naksatra.
Very interesting information an d legends are given in tIle
Vedic texts about some of the naksatras. About the Krttik:l s the
Satapatha Brahmana733 states ' other naksatras contai~ one star,
or two or three or four stars, but these K rttikiis are many; the
sacrificer reaches plenty; therefore one should set up sacred
fires on the Krttikas. These ( Krttikas) indeed do not swerve
from th., east, while all other naksatras do sworve from the
eastern direction.' The recondite allusion in Eg. J. 164. ;\3
( atra pita duhitur-garbham-adb5.t ) and X. 61. 7 ( pita yat sv5m
duhitaramadhiskan) are developed into a myth, a lengthy
account of which is given in the Ait. Br. XIII. 10 and Satapatha
1. 6. 2. 1-4 (Prajapati approached his daughter, some say the
heaven and others say it was Ui;las &c.) and about RoIliDJ,
Mrga, the Mrgavyadha ( Sirius) and the three stars in the belt
of Orion. Prajapati 734 is said to have had 33 daughters which
he gave in marriage to king Soma, who was fond of RohiI.ll
and on account of that Buffered from Riijayaksman (Ta i. S. II.
3. 5.1).
Why the naksatra lists begin with the Krttikiis in the Vedic
Literature and why with Asvinl in classical Sanskrit literature
can be explained only on astronomical considerations. The ver-

732 a. ~r'Of ""~ ~ I " ' ~ ~~m'n~m~ ~l'ffifq1<l ~r ~lfflo~l

~ I 3'lTmt ~ ~ ~ U~f I "'m"Q''U XI. 1.1.3 and 7.
733. qq\' il ~Ut ~rm ,n ~;~rf.r ""~~r q~ llftlm 'G'T ii1~rer;!J:
~l~ 1 (1t+ij(tiRlil'i'~ 1 Q'm" ~SI~ ~"" ~~ ~~~!.fI WlITI'1t
,,~ SlT'ttr fcro~l{i,t 1 ~(1'Q''U II . 1. 2. 2- 3. It sbould be noted th a t tbe
present ten se ( cyaVQllto ) is used bere, wbence it foll ows tbat tbis passage
was composed wben tb e position of tbe Krttikas on tbe equator was an
observed fact and tbeir declination was nil. From tbis S. B . Diksbit
deduced the date 3000 B. C (I . A. volume 24 pages 245-257). The tifflllirs
are said to be seven in Maitraya~ i 5 1. 6.9 and TaL Br I II 1 . 4 . 1.
734. 1I"" q-a-WlIAlW{ JI~~ 3'IT~ 1 <'IT: ~~'1l' ~llfS~ I mm ~~.
~1~. ~. II. 3. 5 . 1; ~l ~litl1l' u~ ~~lIfmiUr ~ U~01ITil!.fl­
~I ~. XI. 3. Tbe number 33 is arrived at by addiog 7 ~ifilS llod
the remaining 26 ",,~ s.
508 History of DhannaBlistra [ Sec. n, Ch. XV

nal equinox was in Krttikii about 2300 B. C. Instead of admit-

ting this as a probable date for the Vedic works, Fleet boldly
asserts that the liat of nakl'! atras beginning with K:rttikiis has
no basis in fact, but belongs entirely to ritual and astrology
( JRAS for 1916 p. 570). No detailed arguments are deemed
necessary. Fleet does not specify cogent evidence, nor does he
assign reasons why priests later on changed the beginning of
the list from K~'ttikii to AsvinI, nor does he vouchsafe how the
list of nakl'!atras in the Vedic age began in fact for ordinary
folk if the Krttika list was a pure priestly invention. Even
Thibaut ( in I. A. vol. 24 at p. 100) had to admit that the begin.
ning of the nakl'! atra series with Krttika instea d of with AsvinI
seriously affects Max M iiller's assignment of 1500 B. C. to 800
B. C. to the Vedic period. In the Tai. S. VII. 4. 8 there is a
discussion about the time for undergoing the dlksa in a Siimvat-
sara-satra'.735 It is proposed there that the dlksa may be performed
on the Full Moon in PbalgunI because that is tho beginning of
the year; then an objection is raised against this and it is pro.
posed that the diksii may be taken on Full Moon in Citra, because
that was the beginning of the year. If the year began with
the winter solstice in those days this reference would have to be
placed at 4000 or 6000 B. C. This passage probably embodies
traditions that the year began in different months in different
periods of antiquity.
Great controversies have raged over the question whether
the Indian nakl'!atras are indigenous or were borrowed from some
other people. The great French astronomer Biot held that Indians
borrowed the naksatra system from the Chinese and Whitney
followed Biot. There were others who held that Indians borrowed
them either from the Babylonians or the Arabs. I cannot enter
here into the merits of these discussions. The Arabs them-
selves admit that they borrowed their astronomy from Indian
Siddhiintas and there is hardly anything to show that they knew
the complete nakl'!atra system as early as at least 1500 B. c.
Therefore, we may leave the Arabs out of account altogether
( vide Thibaut in Grundriss p. 14). Great scholars are often
blinded by prejudices and shut their eyes to basic facts. The
Chinese system of Sieu had at first only 24 and then it became one

735. ~~~~~~~ 1l'~ofl[Vit1i61 ~ ~

.t'M(t1i\¥Q ~ I ~ P-tlli ~~\-V (~?) ~Q'vffl R.'lfIii"'t1i~
iffi)'~ ~ 1fT !!<'.w.r~ 'q'~~ ~" '1" ~~ ~~ I lRlf if
IfiT'<fil' f.\-qt ~ I ~. ~. VII . 4 .8. f.\1I'i appears to mean' defect "
 Nakl!atras indigenous or borrowed 509
of ( it is said) 28 at about 1100 B. C. ( as said by Thibaut in
Grundriss p. 13. ) There are no clear traces in the Vedic texts
that naksatras were held to be 24 during the times of those texts.
We should not accept at their face value the assumptions of the
antiquity oLastronomy in China that are sometimes advanced
(vide' East and West', Rome, vol. VI. p. 28 .) Besides, neither
in Babylonia nor in China were the asterisms thoroughly
integrated with the religious system. I n Vedic times one was
not entitled to perform solemn sacrifices unless he had already
set up sacred fires on certain naksatras. Further, the months
(Magha, Phalguna, Caitra &c.) were named after certain
naksatras and exist only in Sanskrit, not in Greek, Latin or
Chinese. The deities that were deemed to preside over the
naksatras from such ancient days as those of the Tai. S. and Tai.
Br. are almost all of them exclusively Vedic and have no counter-
parts in Babylonia or China. Besides, though thousands of
cuneiform tablets have been found in Babylonia no one has, so
far as I know, pointed to a single tablet where all the naksatras
appear in an orderly series of 27 or 28, as we find in Vedic
Sarnhitas. It is at least clear that long before the Taittirlya
Sari1hita the Vedic people had fixed the number of the naksatras
( at 27 or 28 ), their names and order and their presiding deities
and had made the naksatras a most integral part of their sacri-
ficial system. Furthermore, almost all of the Indian names of
nakl?atras are siginficant or have ancient legends connected with
them. For example, Ardra means' wet' and the naksatra was call-
ed Ardra. because when the sun was in it rains set in. Punarvasu
was probably so called because the grains of paddy or barley
sown in the ground sprout up as new wealth after being buried;
Pu!?ya, was so called because the young sprouts grow and become
nourished; .A.sresa or Aslesa, because the grown-up plants of paddy
or barley grow high enough to embrace each other; Magha, be-
cause the paddy or other plants are putting forth the standing
crop which is wealth in itself; Krttikn., because they ( being six
or seven), look like the skin of the spotted deer on which a
religious student was to sit for Vedic study. In these circum-
stances the burden to prove borrowing of the nakl?atra system
by Indians was very heavy on those who affirmed it. What is
the evidence? There is very little evidence except prejudice and
speculation. The main tangible evidence they can and do rely on
is that the Chinese or Babylonians had also 28 nakfilatras as the
Indians had. But these scholars, though very learned and far-
sooing in their own way, never stopped to consider how from
510 Hislo1'Y of Dharmasastra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV
China and Babylon the naksatras could reasonably be supposed
t o have been derived by Indians more than 3500 years ago ( on a
most modest estimate) and allowed to be the very centre and
basis of their religion of sacrifices, what were the means for the
communication of the thoughts and ideas underlying the
naksatra system and why one may not surmise that the real
state of things was the other way about (viz. the Babylonians
and Chinese derived the system from the ancestors of Indians)
or that all systems were derived from a common prehistoric
source. Another reason for discounting the theories ' of Biot,
Weber and Whitney may also be advanced viz. the resea,rches
of Tilak in his 'Orion' (particularly pp. 61-95) and of Prof.
J ::lcobi have at least made this clear that the K~· ttika series is
not the oldest arrangement of the naksatras known to Indians,
but that the Indians had once an older arrangement, which plac-
ed Mrgasirsa at the vernal equinox. Those who are interested in
these somewhat novel and rather barren controversies raised by
Biot, Weber and oihers may read Weber'::; 'der vedischen Nachri-
chten von den N aksatras " two volumes, 1. A. vol. 23 pp. 154-159
( Jacobi on the 'date of the B,gveda'), pp. 238-2-19 (Buhler's
note on Jacobi's theory and Tilak's Orion, 1. A. pp. 85-100
( Thibaut on 'a ntiquity of Vedic civilization' ) and pp. 361-369
(Whitney), 1. A. 48 pp. 95-97. The word' nak!?atra' is derived
by Yaska 736 from the root 'naks ' meani ng 'to go " while the
Satapatha Br. ( D. 1. 2. 17-18) and Tai. Br. 11. 7. 18 derive it as
from 'IlU plus kljU{'/'Cl and P anini (VI. 3. 75) accepts this derivatior.
The word 'naksatra' (m) is applied even to the Sun in Eg. VI.
67. 6. Tai. Br. teaches how one is to mark the naksatra
on which one has to perform a religious act, viz. he should mark
ahout dawn and before the first rays ligl'i.t the sky the part of
the l;;ky where the nak!?atra appears and when the sun appears
the naksatra would be to the west of the sun, at which time he
should perform what he has to do. It is stated that sage Matsya
estaulished into eminence Yajiiesu and Satadyumna by this
method ( Tai. Br. I. 5. 2. 1. ).
Even so early as the Ait. Br.737 Vedic Indians had arrived at
the conclusion that the Sun was one and never sets. 'This Sun
-------
736. ~: ~~:-trm 'O!~ I 'O!~6i ~~~ifi.tOI: I ~ lIl'Sfnvr-
i:'Jlt '<q 1IfTjJI0T1{. I f.\~ III. 20. The first derivation is supported by ~. 1If(. I .
5.2.10 '-qr lIT", 1l~ 3i1i ~r;fi or~".~ 'O!~~"
737 . ~lfl~or ~~ ~f<tl ri ~ if~S~ l!-t~.
~~ ~ ~l~~S': I 3N tm<n« q;i 1Ut1«(iH~ ~
( COtlUnlled on next page)
 The Sun and Ail. Br. 511

indeed never sets nor rises. When people think that he (the
Sun) sets what h appens is he reaches the end of the day,
reverses himself, creates night below a nd day above. When
people think that he rises in the morning, that means that
having reached the end of the night be reverses himself, ma kes
day below and night above. H e indeed never sets '. This is in
very interesting contrast to the J aina view in S uryapraji'iapti
of two suns and two mOOllS or tho view of Hera clitus in Greece
( li th century B. C. ) that a new sun was born and died every day
( Eisler p. 42. )
In the Brahmana period Indians had 737" found out the day
called Visuvat or Vi suva ( which is said to be in the middle of
the sacrificial year) when the day and night were of equal
length: 'As a person fasten s the two wings or sloping sidos of
a hall ( or shed) to the bamboo ridge or beam th at is ill the
middle ( of the shed ), so people use the Div5kirtya day for stret-
ching across the two si des ( half years ) '.
I have purposely devoted some space to the subjoct of the
astronomical knowledge of people in the Vedic age. S vera l
European scholars that have written on the astronomical
achievements of ancient and medievallndia, have indulged ill
very disparag ing and contemptuous statements about Indians

(COlltill1' cti f rail! la st page)

~~ ~il=I1:nS'lll<m~ fWQms~"mm§~ UT~ lR~flq I ~ Iff f!1!I' Of q;<rI'<fOf
~~i~ I it. ill'1. III, 44 . This id ea is tak en up by soma l' ura nas a lso. Fo r
exa mple, ~~!IT II. 8.15 says ~;r;;;;i~ "I1qq: ~~f m: 1 "3qtrl~"Iro-q
~ <r~Ofl<rWi ~~: I. ~!!tI in 1If~~f~ . Xl. 3 critic ises tbe J ai n view
" lfrr';f "'<fo;:q;um~~~ ~Of"'t;t '«l. 1 U'fl'!~rn!ffl'f ~ ~'r~f HiH',1qflit: "".
The q~@Htnf (XIII . 8 ) also refer s t;, t bis J aina view.
737a. 1!'fi~~qtrT~fii~"'~lI~~~imm"'I~ . 11ft. IV. 18 (184); ... 'Ill
~lTi'SPt ~ I'!~~ <iwn~l'<v.Jrn trl ~~~ ... q~ \cf!f~~r~
iITl1rl'lRuf.if I ft. iff. 1. 2. 3. m'fOl explains on ~ . 1If1. '1~ lIfI".wt I'!~ri
~~'«~ fI<ro11fre€rc<l~ 1 '. Th e flraG'lfill'~ (IV. G.3 - 13 an d IV .
7. 1 ) refers to fi~ day and prov id es th a t ~i!ilrq:~mt is to be SUDg th a t
day since the Gods remo ved by Divil kirtya th e darkness with whicb Svar-
bhanu , tbe SOD of an Asura , had pierced th e sun and tha t i'.i!r'«t. is tbe sou l of
the year and two wing s or two sides go round it. Vide 1I. of Dh vo l. II . page
124 0 for tbe arrangemeot of tbe 'Gaviim-aya na ', a s2mvata6arilca sa ttra aDd th e
position of the ~'it: day It should not be for gotten tb a t t he Equ inox itself
is more or less an astronomical fiction and ca nnot be accurately observed
without scieotific apparatus . As tbe sacri ficia l yea r had only 360 days a nd a
day called ~ was in the middl e that would come to 361 days while t he
solar year is 365l days nearly and th erefore ~~ would have been a day
of equal day and night only appro ximatel y.
512 History of Dharmafastra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV

not only in astronomy, but generally. To take only one or two

instances. Thibaut ( Grundriss p. 3 ) is pleased to observe that
what Indians knew before Greek influence is not much and is
of a primitive character. This is how Whitney, a learne d
American scholar of Sanskrit, unburdens himself; • there can be
no question that, from what we know in other respects of the
character and tendencies of the Hindu mind, we should not at
all look to find the Hindus in possession of an astronomical
science possessing so much of truth. They have been from the
beginning distinguished by a remarkable inaptitude and disin-
clination to observe, to collect facts, to record, to make inductive
investigati ons' (J. A. O. S. vol. VI p. 471). His coadjutor,
Mr. Burgess, differed from him even in regard to astronomy
( i/Jir/. pp. 477-480 ).
One is tempted to return Whitney's compliments to Indians
in the same coin by saying that for 1400 years from Ptolemy,
the ancestors of Whitney and other highbrows hardly ever made
any discovery of astronomical importance, stuck unthinkingly
and slavishly to the Almagest and were literally in the dark
about the true astronomical position during what are often
called the Dark Ages of Europe. Even Luther who rebelled
against the authority of the Pope denounced Copernicus as a
fool, charged the latter with turning upside down the science of
astronomy and relied upon the Bible, which, he said, declared
that Joshua commanded the Sun to stand still and not the
Earth ( Joshua 10. 12). This betrays the old mentality that if
there is a contradiction between the words of the Bible and
Nature, the believers in Scripture must correct their ideas of
Nature in accordance with the Bible. and not the Bible in
accordance with what is found to be Nature. This also reminds
one of the maxim of the Plirvamimamsa. that there is nothing too
heavy for a sacred text.
I should request all Western authors interested in Indology
and dazzled by some writings of a few Greeks to ponder deeply
over the following words of Sir Norman Lockyer in his 'Dawn
of Astronomy' (1894) ' An aximander told us that the earth was
cy lindrical in shape and every place that was then known was
situated on the flat end of the cylinder; and Plato, on the
ground that tbe cube was the most perfect geometrical figure,
imagined the earth to be a cube, the part of the earth known to
the Greeks being on the upper surface. In these matters the
va.unted Greek mind wa.s little in advance of the predecessora
 Unpardonable omissions by Western writers 513

of the Vedio priests' (p. 8). If the Greeks forged ahead in one
or two branohes, there were several other peoples in the world
that far surpassed them in other equally important matters. I
would also recommend to them to read oarefully what Sarton
says in his Preface (p. IX) to 'A history of Science' where he
oharges Western writers with unpardonable omissions viz.
ignoring the soien tifio efforts of Egypt, Mesopotamia and other
oountries and assuming ohildishly that soienoe began in Greeoe
and secondly hiding the superstitions which surrounded eminent
Greeks. Writers at least in the 19th and 20th centuries should
have no reason to run down one people and praise to the skies
another people, but their endeavour should be to arrive at well-
documented, well-balanced, impartial and cautious judgments
upon the achievements of ancient peoples of the world.
The chronology of the Vedic age is far from oertain. Jaoobi,
Dikshit, Tilak and some others would put the Vedic age back
to 4000 B. C. or even earlier. Winternitz puts it as far back
as 2500 B. C.; while Max: Muller and following him many
Western scholars would thrust all Vedic Literature between 1500
to 800 B. C. Even taking these latter timings the Vedio Litera.
ture shows a good deal of progress in astronomical matters
which Indians could not have owed to Greece. There is no
extant literature in Greece that can be placed earlier than about
900 or 800 B. C. with certainty. The Homeric poems and the
works of Hesiod a.re the oldest surviving literary writings in
Greek. Homer mentiODs the Sun, the Moon, the morning and
evening star, the Pleiades, Hyades, Orion, Great Bear, Sirius
(Orion's Dog ), Bootes (Arcturus ) and Hesiod mentions practi.
cally the same stars as Homer; Hesiod says that spring began
sixty days after winter solstice, puts down moon's period at
thirty days, but does not mention equinoxes. 738 It should be
noted that Vedic astronomy several centuries (if not. thousands
of years) earlier than Homer and Hesiod was at least as
advanced as that in the two Greek authors. The very anoient
peoples (besides Indians and Chinese) are the Egyptians, the
Babylonians, the Hittites and Chaldeans. About the Egyptians,
the Cambridge Ancient History (vol. 1I p. 218) states that there
is very little trace of the application of Mathematics to Astra-

738. Vide' Greek Astronomy' by T. L. Heath (1932) introduction

XI-XII and Sir Norman Lockyer'S • Dawn of Astronomy' (1894) p. 133 lor
the knowledge of only a few stars exhibited in the Book of Job a.nd by Homet
and Hesiod.
II. D.65
514 History of Dharma~astra { Seo. n, Ch. XV
nomy in Egypt and that, though the length of the solar year
had been fairly accurately determined, this was done by
observation of the heliacal rising of Sirius or Sothis whioh
happened to correspond rather closely with the first rise of the
Nile and involved no calculation whatsoever. About Hittites
and Chaldeans there is not much to be said as no one asserts that
naksatras were borrowed from them. Even about 800 B. C.
Homer's and Hesiod's knowledgE! of astronomy was meagre.
Even Hipparchus, regarded as the greatest astronomer of anti-
quity who completed his catalogue about 130 B. C., had aCcess to
a continuous series of observations made in Mesopotamia
reaching back to 747 B. C.73~" Ptolemy wrote about 150 A. D.;
his Almagest is based on the observations of Hipparchus, and
almost all that is known about the predecessors of Ptolemy is
derived from the latter's work, as, owing to the very excellence
of Ptolemy's work, all writings of his predecessors ceased to be
studied and have not been recovered. The theory of Greek influ-
ence in astrology will be dealt with a little later on, but a. few
words may be said bere about the supposed influence of Greek
astronomy on the Indian Siddhantas739 and later works. In the
738 a. Vide Rawlinson in ' Five monarchies of the Ancien t World,'
vol. II. p. 574; also Breasted in . Ancient Times' p. 214 for the passing of
the observations of Nabunassar and Kidinnu (who practically discovered
the Precession of th e Equinoxes) to the Greeks and for the Greek engineer
Meton taking the length of the year from the tables of Nab u. A continuous
record of dated obser vations began with the reign of Nabunassar (who
began to rule in 747 B. C. ) , from which date the observati ons continued till
P tolemy' s day; vide Hea tb 's ' Greek Astronomy' p. XIV and pp. 142-143.
Prof. Neugebauer has recently qu es tio ned the claims of Babylonian Kidinnu
to bave di s~o \'ered the precession of the equ inox es (in J AOS for 19'0,
vol. 70 pp. 1-8 ) and Morris Jastrow (Jr.) in - . H epatoscopy and Astrology '
cont~ibuted to Proceedings of American Phi lo sophical Society vol. XLVII at
p. 671 appears to have done the same before him . Sarton (in JAOS vol. 75
No . 3 p. 169) supports Prof. Neugebauer, though he admits that some of the
Babylonian observations made it easier for Hipparchus to discover precession
01 equinoxes.
739. ~m~Rmfh:-alflll'l1Ttl ~ffi: I Ifillnil' ifI1I'M1 ~'l
~~ II 1f1fmttm: ~pRit ~~ il~ifi: sir';!;: I ~: ~: Q1~
~filllit t 1f'D~~r 1. 3-4 . It is said here that tih~~ and ~ were
commented upon by ~, that th e Sliryasiddhiinta is most accurate.
PauliSa is accurate and Romaka approaches it in accuracy and that Vasi~~ba
and Pitamaba are far from accurate. Thibaut (in lntro. to If~
pp. XLIX-L) holds that PauliSa-siddbanta known to Utpala (about 966
A.D. ) was differen t from the one known to Varabamibira, that both Romaka
and PauliSa known to Varaha could not be placed later t han 400 A. D.
(lntro. p. XXXIII ).
 Greek influence and SiddhiJntas 515
first plaoe no Indian work of the Siddhanta class admits that any
Yavana knowledge was at the basis of the Indian astronomy nor
do these ancient Sanskrit works on astrono my set out any large
number of purely astronomical terms of Greek origin as Var3ha
does in astrology. The subjects to be dealt with in the Paficasid-
dhantikii are set out in chap. I. verses 5-7 and there is hardly
any word therein that can be said to be originally Greek.
Reliance is placed by Weber and others on the fact that two
of the five Siddhantas the characteristics of which are sum-
marised by Varahamihira in his Kara~Ja740 called Pancs..
lIiddhiintikii are designated Romaka anj Paulisa and it ill
argued that this clearly suggests Greek influence. One should
like to know the number of purely Greek astronomical words
employed in the Siddhantas (older than Varaha) and different
from the 36 or 37 Greek words said to have been employed in
Sanskrit astrology by Varaha and others. Conoeding for
argument that Romaka stands for the Alexandrian school that
does not prove Greek influence on the Siddhiintas. There is
hardly any evidence to show that any medieval work or calendar
in India followed or was based mainly upon the data of the
Romaka.741 The length of its year is 365 days, 5 hours, 55
minutes and 12 seconds which exactly agrees with the deter-
mination of the extent of the year given by Hipparchus and
aocepted by Ptolemy (Thibaut in Grundriss p. 42). The
rules set up by Varaha for aharqan'l according to Romaka give
results for the meridian of Yavanapura (and not for that of
UjjayinI ). It did not occur to any Western scholar so far that
the Romaka-siddhanta being in Sanskrit was most probably
composed by some Greek 742 settled in India familiar with
740. Difference Is made b etween a sidd hanta wo rk and a karat:la. The
latter is a compendious astronomical work which does not discuss aatrono-
mlcal theories at length (as the slddhantas do) and furni shes a set of
concise and approximately correct rul es for the quick performance of the
more Important astronomical computations .
741. Not only was the Romaka not followed, but a comparatively early
writer Brahmaguptn (born -'98 A. D . ) condemns It as beyond the pale oC
smrtis: ~"¥l""ffl(iji ...ql: ~r: ~: I ~ ~Iil it ~'lm.,Jl
\1¥l4i~~'i!. n 'lfl'1l~i!t~4tffl 1. 13 quoted by S. B. Dik shlt in I. A vol. 19 pp.
133-142, where Mr. Dikshit contends that the Romaka sum marised in the
Paiicasiddhantika is different Crom tbe Romaka oC sri;;e~a and that the
former was composed before 150 A D.
742. The pauliSa-siddhanta is supposed by Weber to have been
borrowed from Paulus Alexaudrinus (4th century A. D . ). Kern (preface
( Continued on n"t pat. )
 History of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. n, Ch. XV

Sanskrit as well as with the Greek or Alexandrian astronomy

that preceded Ptolemy and probably oven Hipparchus and that
therefore Varaha gave a summary of it in his karaTJ,a, just as in
his famous work on Astrology, the Brhajjataka, he mentions the
views of the Yavanas and frequently differs from them. Further
Varaha is generous in his appreciation of Greek astrology 7(3
• Yavanas are indeed Mlecchas and this sastra is well cultivated
(or established) among them; even they (the Yavanas) are
honoured as if they were sages. What need it be said about a
brii.hma:t:la well-versed in Astrology (he will be honoured
much more)'. The word ' sastra' in this verse when read
along with' daivavid' in the 2nd half must be taken in the sense
( Continued from last page )
to Br. S . p. 49) rebukes Weber for proceeding to this conclusion on the
slender ground of the id entity of name. but Kern himself feels th at Pauli"
was a Greek. D. E. Smith in • History of Mathematics' (ed. of 1922 , vol.
I. p, 145) avers th at Greek ~cholars settled in I ndia af ter Alexander ' s time.
In my paper on 'Yavan eSv ara and Utpala' contributed to the J. B. B,
R. A. S. vol. 30 parts 1 and 2 pp. 1-8 J refer to two extensive works on
astrology in several thousand s of fine Upajati and Indravajra verses com-
posed by Sphujidhvaja and Minaraja, both of whom claim to be the over-
lord s of Yavanas. The Besnagar column Vai ~~ava inscription on the
Garu~adhvajQ in honour of Vasudeva hy Heliodora, a devotee of Valiudeva
and son of Diya and hailing from Tak~asil a (Tllxila) who was a Yona
( Yllvana ) amhassador of king Antalikita (Antalkidas) to the court of king
Bh agabhadra shows how even high.placed Greeks hecame devotees of
Vasudeva, settled in India and got the inscription engraved not in Greek nor
In bilingual characters, but in the Indian language and lip •. Vide W . W. Tarn
In ' Greeks in Bactria and India' pp. 313-14, 380-81, 390-91 for Greeks
knowing Indi an languages, for many Greeks becoming Indian ized and
J. R. A. S. for 1909 pp.l053 - 1056, 1087-1'094 , J. B, B. R. A. S. vol.
23 p. 104 and 1. H. Q. vol . VIn (for 1932) p. 611 for the Besnagar
Inllcripti on,
743. ~r ~ ~~ ~tr~ ~ R~'( I ;niit~sfq ~ f.k~.
~~: II ~ffl\'l'r 1I. 1S .(Kern ). Alberuni (Sachau, vol. I.p. 23) refers to this
verse. In ~ IV. 1.49 tw elve words (~"'tr~ "+lld<?I"'I.tIUII"'I!J~)
are mentioned to most of which th e affix ~ is added in the sense of
, Wife', The word 'IlifOr is an exact reproduction of the word Ionia which
was originally a stri p of mountainous coast in Asia Mi nor about 20 to 30
miles broad . There is nothing to show , as Western writers are fond of saying,
that Pa~ini refers to Alexander and tbe Greeks that came with and after him.
Miletus was In tbe 6th century B. C. the riches t city in the Greek world,
In Pii~inl'5 days ~r;:ft meant the wife of a yavana while in Kityayana'.
days ~ meant only the yavana alphabet, Later on all Greeks came to
be called Ionians, Vide Will Durant in 'LiCe of Greece' (1939) p, 134,
Sarton in ' A History of Science' p, 162,
 Varaha and l'auana Astronomy 517
of 'hora-sastra '. But Varaha nowhere pays a similar compliment
to Yavanas about their proficiency in Astronomy and Mathe-
matics. This would suggest that in astronomy he did not
rate them high or did not thi nk they had anything special to
impart to Indians or at least he did not base his astronomical
theories on the works of Greek astronomers. He hardly ever
employs any Greek words that are not already employed in his
work on astrology.
Thibaut ( Grundriss, p. 42 ) holds that the name Pulisa has
decidedly a non-Indian appearance. One fails to understand
why these learned writ!lrs are so positive about a certain name
being non-Indian. We have in Sanskrit such ancient names
as Pulastya,744 Pulaha, Paulastya (for Kubera) which contain
most of the elements of the word Pulisa and are very similar to
it. Even in these days Hindus bear such names as N abobsingh.
The siddhil.ntas are called Paitamaha and Paulisa because
they were deemed to have been composed by Pitamaba and
Pulisa. Alberuni, Thibaut says, traces tbe name PuliSa to a
Greek author Paulus; but Alberuni who was familiar with both
Indian and Greek authors might have committed a mistake, as
even such a scholar as Weber, whose vast reading and pbeno-
menal industry are a marvel, was misled by mere similarity in
name and one recalls what was said in the drama Sakuntala by
the attendant of Sakuntala's little son that the child was misled
by the similarity of names. Thibaut himself admits that it
cannot be proved tbat the Paulisa siddhanta is related to the
work of the Greek astrologer Paulus. Paulisa-siddhanta appear8
to have restricted itself mostly to astronomical matters. We
have seen (p. 488) that the Paitamaha-siddbanta was composed
about 80 A. D. Therefore, that Siddhanta could not have borrowed
anything from Ptolemy ( 150 A. D. ). Prof. Neugebauer again
has 7i4a no doubt that the original impetus to scientific Hindu

744 . Pulastya is q lIoted about a dozen times by Apararka ( first halC of

12th century A. D .) and about three dozen times by the Smrticandrika ( fir.t
half of 13th century A. D.) as a writer on Smrti and Pulaha also is quoted al
a Smrti writer by the latter work. Manu I . 35 speaks of Pulastya and Pulaha
as two of the ten sons of Prajapati. Pulastya and Pulaha are two of tho
seven sages (in Br. S. 13. 11).
7'44 a . Vide' Journal of Near Eastern Studies' vol. IV. at p. 30 (ProC.
Neugebauer on • His tory of Ancient Astronomy') . Whitney &Iso (Siirya-
liddhanta in J . A. O. S. vol. VI. p. 47+-75) sllggested that it was pre-Ptolemaic
astronomy that was transmitted to India and ProC. Neugebauer, relyinl
( Continu,cl on nIXI pal' )
 Iiistory of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. IT. db. xV
astronomy came from Hellenistic astronomy, since he thinks
that the use of the eccentric-epicyclic model alone is sufficient
proof. But he is inclined to hold that the period of reception
lies between Hipparchus and Ptolemy and hopes that a
systematic study of Hindu astronomical works might reveal
information about pre-Ptolemaic Greek astronomy no longer
preserved in available Greek sources. It is doubtful whether
that hope will ever be fulfilled. If ancient Indians were capable
of analysing the elements of the Sanskrit language and raising
such a system as P5.J)ini's, if they could plumb the depths of the
hUman mind and create a mental discipline like the Yoga, if
they carefully noted centuries before Christ the parts of the
glottis and other organs in the mouth in the production of the
letters of their language and produced the Pratisakhyas and
Siks§. works, if they could create a fable literature and invent
the game of chess and make a gift of these two to the whole of
mankind, if their knowledge of Algebra was of a superior order
(vide Colebrooke's Essays, vol. II. at p. 446 and Cajori's 'a
History of Elementary Mathematics' pp. 93-101), if they invented
the decimal place value 714b system for numbers and propagated
it and the sign for a zero to Europe through the Arabs in the 12th
century A. D., thore is hardly any compelling reason for saying
that it would not have been possible for them to arrive at their
own eccentric and epicycle system (of which Prof. Neugebauer
makes 80 much) independently of any other people to explain the

( Continued from la&t page)

only on a few translated Sanskrit texts, probably repeats what Whitney
suggested wi thout any substantial evidence. Prof. Neugebauer in). A. O. S.
vol. 70 (1950) p . 7 admits that scholars are very (ar from a real insight into
th e development of Hellenistic astronomy before Ptolemy, In his review of
th e work on Indian studies by Professors Renou and Filliozat Prof.
Neugebauer seems to hold that the discussion of Greek influence on Hindu
astronomy and mathematics is of very little interest, since most of the Greek
material was well known in Mesopotamia in tbe middle of tbe 2nd millenium
B. C. and might have spread from Mesopotamia towards the east (vide
•Archives Internationales d' H istoire des Sciences' for April-June 1955
&t p. 170).

7044 b. Mesopotamians used 60 al their basic number instead of 10.

With th em each position counted fo r 60 and not for ten. 123 in our decim&l
place value system is equal to 1 X 101 + 2 x 10' plus 3. A Ilmllar notation
In Mesopotamia would give 60S + 2 x 60' plus 3 - 3723. For numbera
below 60 the notation was clumsy al a dividing line had to be used for the
toni and Intogera.
 Indian Astronom1j and Greek influence 519

supposed motions of the Sun, the Moon and the planets round
the earth.

One more observation must be made here. The Veda.nga-

JYoti!;la 745 says 'The sun and the moon "tart towards the
north in the month of Mii gba at the beginning of Sravis~hii. (i. e.
Dhani!;l~ha) and the Sun starts towards the south in the middle
of Asle!;lii. in the month of Sravana' i. e. winter solstioe was in
the beginning of Dhani s~hii.. In the Brhatsarhhita Varahamihira
tells us that in his day the two ayanas of the Sun took plaoe at
the beginning of Karka~aka and of Makara respeotively, that
indeed at some time in the past U ttaru.!JCl'1Ia began at the
beginning of Dhanis~hii. and du k.'ii ~layall a commenced in the
middle of Aillesa and that therefore it was so declared in
former sii.stras. This shows that, between about 505 A. D. when
Varaha planned and probably wrote his Paiica-siddhantika. and
the observation contained in the Vedanga-Jyoti!;la, the commen-
oement of Dak1?iqayana had shifted from the middle of As1e!;lli
to the last quarter of Punarvasu i. e. in all about 2;j degrees and
20 minutes. Varahamihira makes no effort to explain this. It is
therefore quite reasonable to argue that he was probably not
aware of the theory of the precession of the equinoxes. Autho-
rities are not in complete agreement as to the yearly extent of
precession. Taking it at 50·2 seconds per year, the total number of
years between Varaha and the date of the observation in Vedanga
Jyoti!;la would be about 1673 and deducting 505 years (the time
of Varaha's epoch for a siddhanta calculation) the observation
would refer itself to about 1168 B. C. If Varaha and his prede-
oessors bad borrowed scientific astronomy directly from the
Greeks, they should have been quite aware of the precession of

745. ~ ~ t«l'j::q.:qOlffl!q~, ff'Tlrii(~ 01'JlJ~: "rll

~"':11l')iiI''' ( of ~~ ), verse 6 ( and 7 of ~'F1t~1if ) j 3fT~ 1fl~­
~ ~r..~' ~ q;qlRlqlmil;iT;l; ~ti5" fimOltr.i ma: ~­
IfiRi ~~'!"f~ III. 1-2 , m means 3fT~, of which the
preSiding deity is serpents. ~,~ refers to a ql''''«I~'' and simila r
works. The q"~41M1"'1 (II. 21 p. 9) refera to thi s : 3fT~ifr
til",",,: ~lwT~' ~ lI'<J'Rf)mt~;i~: II. We find in the
.... wit. '«.1J a passage almost identical with ~rnt.r verse 7. viz. ~
viimT~ ~ ~ ~..')qr.t"",, {fit I (26.29 ). Tbe
words "", ... ~ form a balf ~ verse.
520 History of Dharmaiastra [ Seo. II, Ch. XV

equinoxes, since precession is said to have been discovered by

Hipparchus, and was adopted by Ptolemy.7&
This consideration has special force in view of the fact that
Varaha believed that the constellation of the Saptarsis (Ursa
Major) was in the MagMs at the time when Yudhi s~hira ruled,
that that star group remains for one hundred years in each of
the 27 naksatras and that therefore to complete one cycle
through all nak~atras the star group of Saptar~is required
2700 years.746
There are other serious difficulties also in holding that the
Sanskrit scientific astronomical treatises were acquainted with or
borrowed from Ptolemy's work. Numerous discrepancies in essen.
tial matters exist between Ptolemy's work and Hindu astronomical
works such as the assignment of different dimensions to the
epicycles of the planets by Ptolemy and by Hindu writers. There.
fore, it is altogether improbable that the Hindu works were
directly based on Ptolemy's work. Nor is there any direct evidence
to show that Hindu works were based on Hipparchus or the works

743 a. Vide' Greek Astronomy' by Heatb p . 611 and Prof. Neuge-

bauer in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. IV. p . 24. In tbe Poona
Orientalist vol. VIII . pp. 68-80 Mr. Raja Rao endeavours to prove that
ancient p ravargya legend is based on a knowledge of the precession of
the equinoxes . In the first place, too much has to be taken for granted
to make that thesis probable and in the 2nd place it would bave to be
admitted tbat precession, though known in the Vedic age, was forgotten
before the times of Varabamihira wbo is apparently not aware of it. Prof.
K. V. Abbyankar (in Dhru\'a commemoration vol. Ill. PP. 155-164 ) tries to
show that 'precession of the equinoxes' had been discovered in India in
ancient times. but his arguments are far·fetch ed J nd not at all convincing.
746. ~ !J;rIl': ~ VUfi ~~~ ~ I ~Qi11'm~:~­
~ ~'Jclll ~<fi~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ If'd1JfPl1I . Several puraI?as mention
tbat tbe Saptar~is were in Magbii at the time of Parik~it and tbat
they are in one nak~atra for a hundred years. Vide ~ 99. 421-23,
~1I 273. 42-44; on ,. ~ 13. 3-4. ~ quotes a verse of Vrddha Garga
who is earlier by some centuries than ,"11f~ "<fiT~ II ft~
~1i.1 ~ ~, : ~ ~ un: II." ~: are the deity of ~-qr. In tbe
~I'ffi1UVT IV. 33.34 it is said tbat at tbe time of king Parik~it the Saptar~i8
were in Maghi nak~tra. In fl~. 13 . 2 ~ promises tbat he would follow
the doctrInes of ~ about the motion of Saptar~is ( Ursa Major). Accord-
ing to tbe salyaparva of the Mabiibbiirata (cbap. 37. Ii-IS) Vrddba-Garga
was an adept In the computation of time and in auapiclous and inll.uspicioul
pbenomena and a holy place on tbe Sarasvati river was named Gargasrotaa,
wbicb Balarima is said to have visited. Tberefore, Vrddhagarga mult have
preceded Variha by many centuries.
 No proof of Greek influence 521
of other Greek writers. No suoh Greek works are now available
nor are even Greek elementary manuals of astronomers available
whioh oan be said to agree with Hindu soientifio works. That
an extensive Sanskrit literature on astronomy has perished is
clear from Varaha-mihira's works and Utpala's Quotation s in
his commentaries on the Br. S. and Brhaj-jataka. Modern
Western writers would do well to observe at least for the present
a non-oommittal attitude instead of repeating ad nallsefl In that
Hindu scientifio astronomy was derived from Greeks on slender
similarities between the two systems and on obsoure and ill·
understood passages and extracts in old astronomical works
(vide E. Burgess in J. A. O. S. vol. V] at p. 480 ).
After having briefly indicated the astronomioal knowledge
to be gathered from Vedic works, it is now necessary to show
that astrologioal knowledge is also found in the Vedic texts from
the oldest times. The human mind is very ourious to know the
future and is very prone to regard oertain days, times and
appearances as auspioious or favourable and others as inauspioi-
ous. Various means were adopted by ancient peoples to pry into
the future. The word astrology is now generally understood747 to
mean the predictions about what would befall an individual
based on the configurations of the Sun , the moon and the planets
at the time of his birth. But this was not the sense or at least
the only senso in which the word was used in very anoient times.
Astrology known to us from the ancient Assyrians was concerned
almost wholly with the interpretation of celestial phenomena
and planetary configurations and the predictions about the
immediate future in relation to the country, its people, its
government or king, in such matters as the crops, floods , storms,
invasions or other calamities. The events in the heavens, in the
sky and even on the earth were supposed to intimate the
thoughts of the gods, and to convey indications about impending
happenings. This may be called natural astrology. Horoscopio
astrology is a later development. Predictions wore also derived by
skilled diviners from various other happenings such as dreams,
the flight and cries of birds, and the interpretation of the
mysterious signs on the livers 7i8 of the sheep killed in saorifices
to gods in Babylon and Rome.
747. Vide Frankfort's 'Cylindrical seals' p. 157, Prof. Neugebauer In
E. S . A. p . 163.
748. Vide Breasted in 'Ancient Times' p. 175. Cambridge Ancient
History vol. I. p. 409. This lore called • Hepatoscopy ' does not appear to
( Continuea on tle~d page)
B . D. 66
522 History of Dhm'ma;llstra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV

The first thing that we notice is that even in the Egveda we

have frequent references to 'auspiciousness of days' (sudinatve
ahnam) in Eg. III. 8.5. III. 23.4. VII. 88.4, X. 70.1, (' sudinatvam.
ahnam' in Eg. II. 21. 6 and 'sudine!?vahnam' in Eg.IV. 37.1).
A few of these may be translated here. ' 0 Indra I establish
amongst us abundance of wealth. freedom from injury to our
bodies. sweetness of speech and luckiness of days' (Eg. II. 21.6 );
• (The sacrificial post) when planted on an auspicious day goes
prospering in the sacrifice attended by many men' ( Rg. III. 8.5 );

( Continued from last page)

have been developed in India. Vide' Hepatoscopy and Astrolo gy in
Babylonia and Assyria'. a paper in the Proceedings of the American Pbiloso·
phical Society, vol. XLVII, pp. 646-676. Divination is either voluntary or
involuntary. In the former marked arrows were used (apparentl y referred to
in Ezekiel 21. 21) or birds were sent out and tbe directions in which they flew
were noted and interpreted or such things as dipping bud s or flowers in water
and placing them at the feet of the images of gods in India and noting
whether the flowers on the righ t or left side fell down first. Involuntary
divination depends on all kinds of signs, phenomena and happenings that
force themselves on one's attention such as aspects of the sun, th e moon,
planets, lightnin g and cloud s , dreams , chirping of birds and falling of
li zards on one's body and the like. The Babylonian and Assyrian priests
attached to temples made very extensive collections of omens and porten ts,
but the interpretations almost exclusively concerned general welfare (viz,
crops, pestilence, war, famine, plenty &c.) and if an indi vidual was referred
to it was only the king. The theory underlying hepatoscopy was tbat tbe
animal offered was assimilated to the deity and tbe soul of tbe animal entered
into tbe inner being of the god, The seat of life and of th e soul was
supposed to be the liver. The chief parts of the liver were the right and left
lower lobel. Among the Romans the heart and lungs also were exami ned,
the right representin g the favourable side and left the un favourabl e side,
The priests did not hesita te to announce to the king unfavourable results and
applied their systems consistently. Astrology represented a comparativ.e ly
more scientific view of the universe. The planets came to be regarded as
gods even in the oldest astrolo gical texts in which the five planets were
identified with the chief gods of the Babylonian pan theon, viz. Jupiter with
Marduk, Venus with Ishtar, Saturn with Ninib, Mercury with Nebo and
Mars with Nergal, Jupiter (- Marduk p. 654) being always mentioned first.
I! was believed that throu gb the planets and stars one can see gods at work.
Prognostic ations varied according to the season or month of the year and the
day. Tbe Greek astrology offered a great contras t to the Babylonian, since
In the former the individual came to be all in all. The Greek astronomers
obtained from th e Babylonians the names for the constellations of tho
eclipitic, which are used even now in Europe. Vide Jastrow's 'Religion of
Babylon and Assyria' p . 370 for identification of Marduk, Ishtar and other
Babylonian gods with planets and p.371 for the fact that Ishtar (Venus)
figures most prominently amoDg the prese.r ved astrological texts a,nd
• Babylonian and Assyrian Religion' by S, H, Hooke pp. 24-30.
 l.lgveda references to auspicious days 523

• 0 Agni I I establish thee on the best place of the earth (the

uttaravedi ), the place of worship and for libation, securing lucki-
ness of day j may you shine opulently on the (river) Dr!!advatI,
on the concourse of people, on the river Apaya and on Sarasvatl
( ago m. 23.4 ),149,
There are several other passages in which a wish is expressed
that the days would be auspicious or lucky for sacrificers etc.
Vide :ago IV. 4. 7, V. 60.5, VII. 11. 2, VII. 18. 21, I. 124.2 (May
new dawns like the past ones shine for us with wealth and lucky
days), X. 39.12.749a
It has already been seen above (note 726) that in B,gvedic
times cows were driven (by way of dowry) to the bridegroom's
house on Aghiis (Maghiis) and the bride was carried in a chariot
to the bridegroom's house after the marriage on the Arjuni (or
Phalgunl) nak!!atra. In accordance with this the nak!!atras on
which marriage should be celebrated are enumerated in the
Baud. gr. as RohiI,l!, Mrgaslrsa, Uttara-Phalguni and Svatl.
It has already been shown above (on p. 506) how Agnyadheya
(the setting up of the sacred fires) was to be performed on
one of seven nak$atras or in spring, summer and autumn
according to the 'Vania (class ) of the performer (vide Kii~haka.
S. 8.1, Sat. Br. II. 1.2, Tai. Br.1. 1.2.6-7). But an exception was
recognized in the case of one performing a Soma sacrifice. It
was provided that whenever a man had a desire to perform a
Soma sacrifice he might establish the sacred fires in any season
and that would bring prosperity to him.7so.

In ancient Vedic passages no clear line of demarcation

a.ppears between what may be called natural astrology and

749. qw ~lurrnmi ""l.<rl ~r-i' lW't: 'Qfct;r~ II ~. II . 21, 6;

~:st1'tffl '5~;r~ ~ ~ 3ff r.~ ;NI'I~: I 'JI!'. Ill . 8. ~; ~ ~ eN ~ 3ff
iNnn t<'Sl"I'~ ~ 3f1if~ I ~m ~ 3ff'1f1nllT ~-qt ~a ~ •
'JI!'. HI. 23. 4.
749 a. Th e Greeks held the waxing moon lucky and the waning mood
unlucky. Hesiodic system ( which is at least several centuries lat er than tbe
~gveda) furnishes the earliest evidence for lucky and unlucky days, thou gh
Hesiod admits tha t there was divergence of opinion on tbat point. Heaiod
puts a special ban on the 5tb day of tb e month, wbile tbe 7tb day was sacred
.to Apollo in Greece and was held sacred in Babylon also . Vide L. R. arnell
in • Greece and Babylon' p. 29'.
750 . 3nitq~1'l1I'~ I ~I I a.~ I.l . 2.8; ..
~~~lfT~~w'lll!i~~~I~~ 8 1.
 History of Dharmasastra l Sec. II, Ch. XV
individual astrology. For example, in the Tai. Br.7S1 it is
provided that people plough their fields on Anurii.dhii
nak~atra, of which Mitra is the presiding deity. The
Pa.raksarag~hya prescribes in the same strain that a man
should put the ploughshare (in his field) on an auspicious day
or on Jyes~hii. naksatra of which Indra is the presiding deity
( and rains are in the hands of Indra). On the other hand, the
same Brahmana 752 (Taittirlya) provides that if a man desires
that his daughter should be dear to her husband be should
get her married when the moon is in Nis ~yii. ( Svatl) nak~atra
and that if he does so his daughter becomes dear to her husband
and never comes back to her father's house. The naksatras
from Krttika to Visii.khii. have been dl:lclared to be Devanak~atras
and whatever rites are performed on them are declared to have
been performed on a holy day ( p1l~1?/iihu). Even as early as the
Atharvaveda 753 it appears to have been believed that a boy
born on Jyes~hii. or on Vicrt (i. e. Mula naksatra) or on a day
called tiger-like ( on an evil or terrible nak ~atra) might himself
die or bring about the death of his father or mother. The two
verses may be translated as follows: '( the boy) is born on
Jye~~haghn! ( i. e. Jye ~~hii. ) or on Vicrt which belongs to Yam a ;
guard him against being uprooted; ma.y (Agni) take him
beyond all evil results in order that he may reach the long life
of a hundred autumns. This valiant son was Lorn on a tiger-like
day and nak~atra; may he not, while he grows, kill his father
or his mother that gave him birth.'
Thus it appears that some naksatras were called pur,tya
(auspicious or holy) as in Tai. Br. I. 5.2.1 or III. 1,2.8, while

75 1. ~~ ~ I '(to 1fT. I. 8. 1. 2; ~ ~~.q~ ;;~ ~'4~i!jt q~,

tm~{~ II. 13.

752. 1If ~ 1~ Tim tq'nliihrt ~ <rUt<{ ~ orm~ is

~fit , It. 1fT. 1. 5. 2. This very passage is quoted in tbe 3W<.~. 1. 3.
3·5 (vt q;yll~ ... ~ lfTlP'UTit-n fml: I 'IT""fiT~r,f't ~ ~~: ~)
aod io lt~ I . 12 .
753 . ~.....m iC"«a1~Jl~lI flfllllliuileq~ I 3l<lt;f ~ ~
~sotr ef\qig;N ''l ~11f1l ''lfIW~il1!!' tim ~ :ifT'If~: ~: , ~ 1ff
lf1:ft~ i!j~;no ;mrt: 11 ~~ II 3{~o VI. 110. 2-3. ~j('4i1'(ql'l
occurs in ~g. VII. 101 .6 aod X. 161. 2-3. ~): Is loc. dual of~ . Vide
~ lfIIi!j," ~ 1'ITJl mWi' ~~ 5~ QI416O*IJl¥(II3N(o II. 8.1 ;
compare also Ill. 7.4 and VI. 121. 3. Tbe Kauslkasiitra (46.25) presc ribes
3fdo (Vr. 110) as a hymD to be repellted io a Sinti rite for ooe borD OD
an evil Dak~atra.
 Naklialras auspicious or evil 525

some others (like Jyes~hii, Mula) were held to be papa (evil)

naksatras.
From a passage in the 7S4 Br, Up. it appears that certain
naksatras were called male .. if a man desires 'May I reach
greatness' he should observe milk diet for twelve days beginning
in the northward passage of the Sun, in the bright half of a
month and on a favourable day he offers into the fire on a male
nak$atra &c. "
From the above examples it will be apparent that prognos-
tications were based in very ear Iy Vedic times on the nak$atras
either of birth or on nak satras deemed auspicious or inauspicious.
Pusya appears to have been Legarded as a very auspicious
naksatra long before Panini, who mentions another name of it
as ' Sidhya " But in these early times it does not appear that
any rules had been arrived at about the influence of planets
(except perhaps of Jupiter in PU$ya) in certain nak$atras or
about horoscopes with planets in nak$atras or rUSts ( signs of
the zodiac) or in certain' houses '. In those days prognostica-
tions were confined mainly to nak$atras, days and natural
phenomena and bodily marks. For example, PaninI I. 4. 39
( , U\;it~<rT~ fcfSl~: ' ) provides a rule for a diviner con~idering the
good or bad luck of a person. The <fil~<fir explains 'r~i~l:T: SllJ.l:
r~~: I tf 'IiBr .FiR'! ~ ~m<l ['..a~Cl I ~q'~.'nl<r {lE<rRt tey~ qr ~ilIfffi;:
'l'l: tf'i, ~'m'I~~" q~i~:q<rfcll ' . In qr~f.I IV, 3. 73 . 6fI1Jrr~ilr~><l: •
it is provided that the affix 0lUl, ( and not ~) is applied in the
sense of • 07{ f:!q: ' or • Cl~<r 6'1:!r~<rTil: ' to the words in the ~rr<rttilOT,
which contains among others the words 3f1'~T, :a(Illa and fW\ffI~
( i. e. ~f~I1~'" and .:sl!(I:nro", would mean • one who expounds the
future consequences indicated by ~N1Cl i. e. earthquake &c. and
frtfi/'O throbbing &c.). Under q"W'" lII. 2.53 the "'l~I"'T gives the
examples ;:;{r'l:!1~il~~"':, qfCl~ofr qrfUR~ ( line on the palm ).

We find from certain verses of the B,gveda that the cries of

such birds as kapiiijala were deemed even in those ancient times

754. ~ 14: ~ lf~liiI~4'lqil ~ ~ ilI4>411IfijQIH,-

~ ~ ... im ~ ~ ~ ~ift I fl. ~. VI. 3.1; compare a similar
passage in UT.~. V. 2.4-9 and ~. ~. 11. 3. In later times there wae
some difference of opinion as to male nak~tras: ~ on ~ I .
l.5says'3t~~~~ If~: ~~~ ~~~,'
~. I. p. 17 quotes from ~ .~) 1{?l ~: i~6i'I~I(I~i:I'
while
~:I ~~8nniit~~"'
526 History of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. II, Oh. XV

to indicate coming events, auspicious or otherwise; 7SS '( the

bird) crying again and again and voicing (indicating) coming
event sends forth his speech as an oarsman propels a boat;
o bird I may you be auspicious to us and may no unfavourable
sign reach you from any quarter; 0 bird I may you that are
auspicious and whose cry forebodes good cry to the south of
( our) houses; may no thief master us nor may anyone declare
that we may meet danger.' Br. S, 98. 14 provides that birds
indicate to a person going on a journey the evil results of actions,
good or evil, done by him in former ' lives. The Yoga-yatra of
Varahamihira (chap. 14) and Adbhutasagara pp. 569-582 deal
at length with sakuna (prognostications from the sight, flight
or cries of birds and other animals). Y ogayatra (14. 2 and 26 )
provides that certain birds and animals when they are to the
right or so nlhe1"n side of a man starting on a journey indicate
auspicious results and that when a casa bird with something in
its mouth flies to the right side of a man that is an indication
of welfare.
The result of the dependence on ideas of lucky and unlucky
days and naki?atras was that some people began to make
observations and deduce conclusions and a lore called' naki?atra-
-vidya' arose. When Narada approached the great teacher
Sanatkumiira for knowledge, the latter questioned him as to
what he already knew and then Narada enumerated a long list
of lores (including 756 the four Vedas, Itihasa-purapa), one of
which is 'naksatravidya' (' the science of naksatras' i. e.
astronomy and astrology). It can be easily imagined how
credulous people in ancient times as even in these days con-
sulted those who professed to know what- the stars foretold and
were often deceived or felt frustrated. Hence arose even in
early times a prejudice against star-gazers, astrologers and the

755 . !fifot~ SI~ '!flriil "''''''¥IRiltI ~ I Ui'~>Jcl ~ ~

,"-m~m~ll~n 3{lf~~ ~ ~ mrmft ~I
¥IT 'I: ~""' ~ ~ fihfi)~: II 'SK. II. 42. 1 and 3. The first verse
II explained in the ~ IX. 4. The &T~. "l. III. 10. 9 prescribes tbat one
on bearing tbe unpleasant cries of birds should recite inaudibly the two
bymns J:Zg. II . 42 and 43 . The word ~ occurs only once in tbe ~;
compare' !:it 'It ~r'iim ;it sm~f;f)' fq~ t~ ~ llT I' :Mdo I. 20. 1,
V.3 .6 .

756. ~ ,""""q ~S\-1tfiI ~ ~ ~~ q"p

~ ini ... "'~ ~~""'''~'''~d''A'll(IS\iWill tn. '1. VII. 1. 2; also Uf. '1.
VII. 7. 1.
 Star-gazers in ancient Literatt'1"e 527

like. One of the earliest referenoes to this prejudice against star-

gazers in Sanskrit literature is found in the Tai. Br. III 4. 4 and
Vaj. S. 30. 10 and 20, where the 757 'nak!?atradarsa' (star-gazer) is
made over as a viotim to pmjn(i7la and tha 'ganaka' (caloulator
of the movements of stars and planets) is consigned to aquatic
animals along with the headman of the village. Among the long
list of brahmaI;las that should not be invited for religious rites in
honour of gods or in sraddhas. Manu ( Ill. 162 ) includes one who
maintains himself by the practice of astrology (naksatrair.
yasca jIvati) and in (VI. 50) Manu prohibits ascetics from
desiring to secure alms by foretelling the results of portents
(like earth-quakes) or of bodily 758 movements (such as the
throbbing of the eye or arm) or by llaksatravidya. ( astrology )
or angauidya ( palmistry) or by casuistry or by telling what the
sastra ordains on a (disputed) point. The ancient sutras of
Harlta and of Sankhalikhita deolare that a nak~atraji/)in (one
who lives by practising astrology) and a 'naksatradesavrtti'
( who makes his livelihood by conveying the message of nakss,.
tras) respectively are unfit to sit in a row with other brahmat;las
( q. by Krtyakalpataru on sraddha p. 88). Similarly. Sumantu
(in a prose passage q. on sraddha by Krtyakalpataru p. 91 )
states the same about a 'mulyasamvatsarika' (who praotises
astrology for money). The Vist;ludharma-sutra (chap. 82. 7)
includes those who maintain them selves by astrology (nak ~atra.­
jivina};t) among those who are not to be invited for sraddha
rites. Similarly, the Tevijjasutta (S. B. E. vol. XI. pp. 196-197)
and Mahasila in Dlghanika.ya (1. p. 68 ) condemn for Buddhist
monks maintenance by such low arts as guessing at the length
of a man's life or by forettllling future events ( such as eclipses,
falling meteors, victory and defeat &c.). But the mere study
of constellations is allowed by Buddha (in S. B. E. vol. XX.
pp. 292-294). Among obstacles to gain 759 Kau~ilya enumerates

757. ~ ~!IIc;~r.II~~ sn'Wf ~. ~. 30. 10 ; ~ ~

I
'Il'TWI'ir ~ &c . I ~. ~. 30. 20. In th e Purusamedha tbe star-
gazer is assigned to . praj iiina' (in order that he may collect thorou gh
knowledge) and the g~aka to aquatic animals (like shar ks or crocodiles),
758. ,,~f.\fJI~ ~ ~~~ I "'ilfl'Hi.,,,,'f'nri' r'iWt ~
!fi~ II ~ VI. 50 - ~ X. 21. In the 'rgayanidiga~a (1fT. IV.
3.73) the ~ enumerates ~.
m~: lfiTlt: ~: ~~ ... ~~",",~(1!?)Ml~ I~­
739.
~ ""i'SJlliUiflldn I 3N1~ Of"
f!f; ~ l'fmiJ: II ~I ~~
;m qM41~dil I 3f~: 1flf1i~ ~r: Ilfi1 l r-am
n SfUm., 9th~, 4th
chapter p. 331 (Sham shastri's ed . of 191 9).
528 Hist01'Y oj Dha1'ma;aslra [ Sec. 11, Ch. XV

many such matters as passion of love, anger, timidity and desire

to find out an auspicious tithi and nak!?atra' and winds up with
two fine verses characteristic of the great genius that placed
Candragupta Maurya on the throne of Magadha: • The desired
object ( or wealth) eludes that childish man that is excessively
in search of what the stars portend: for the desired object is
( itself) the star that governs (success) in securing it; what
will stars do? Men striving (to attain their ends) will secure
their objects after hundreds of efforts; wealth is caught by
wealth just as elephants are bound by other elephants ( opposed
to them ).' From the above it is quite clear that several centuries
before Christ an astrologer ( who maintained himself on money
acquired by the practice of astrology) was very much condemned,
What Kau~ilya regards as reprehen sible is extreme reliance
0 11 and pursuit of naksatra astrology, but it is not to be
supposed th at he ignored prognostications altogether. About
the king's purohi /a (priest) be lays down the following 760
• the king should appoint as priest a person whose family and
character are highly spoken of, who has well studied the Veda
together with the six ail.ga g , the divine and other portents and
the science of the government of people and who can prevent
divine and human calamities by means contained in the
Atharvaveda, the king should follow him as a pupil does his
teacher or a son his father or a servant his master.' Yaj. (J. 313),
who is later than Ka.u tilya. by some centuries, also lays down in
almost identical words that • the king should appoint as pnl'o/Zita
one who is proficient in astrology, endowed with all requirements
declared in Mstras, and is proficient in the science of govern-
ment and the propitiatory and magic rites of the Atharvaveda',
Anothl'r set of texts indioates another stage in the develop-
ment of astrology based on nak!?atras, which seems to have been
somewhat on the lines of the later horoscopic system of • houses' ,
Traces of . it exist though they are not very ancient. The
Vaikhiinasasmarta 761 sutra (IV. 14) refers to nak!?atras called
Janma, Karma, Sanghatika, Samudayika and Vainasika and
these terms are explained in the Yogayatra of Varaha and in the

760. ~~~~((:5 ~ ~ ~~j;\~~.IT~~

~~~q ~ ~ I ~ i~lI1I': f1m:!i1ffWll: ~f~
"fflP?m I ~ 1. 9. pp. 15- 16; compare~. ~~ I . 313 • ~~ srp'hr
~"ijIS~til~"1( , ~. ~"m II '
761. The date of the Vaikbanasasmartaslitra is a difficult problem, but
it lies probably between 200 B . C, to 200 A. D,
 Nakl/alm ASt1'oio(J'IJ

Vi~I:ludharmottara-puraI:la.762 The Yogayatra remarks 76! • the

nak!latra on whioh a man is born is called adya (first), the tenth
from it (from adyu ) is called k'.l rm a, the 16th naksatra from the
adya is called • singhatika ' (pertaining to a group or a collection
of human beings), the 18th (from adya ) is called Samudaya
( collection) a nd the 23rd (from adya) is called Va inas ika (lit.
pertaining to death or destruction), the 25th (from adya ) is
called mlina.~a (pertaining to the mind); in th is way all persons
are concerned with six naksatras (1 st, 10th, 16th, 18th, 23rd and
25 th); they say that the king is concerned with nine nak!la tras,
the three additional ones being those connected with his jill i
(caste), his cou ntry and with the naksatra on the day of his
coronat ion. The Yogayiitrii. and Vis ~udharmottara (I. 78.
14-16) further provide • when the naksatra of one's birth
is affected by evil ( st ar or aspect) the results are the
appearance of dieease, loss of money, and disputes;
if the naksatra called karma is affected the n one's under-
tall ings do not su cceed; if the Singhatika (16th) is affected
then there is treachery; when the Samudayika ( 18th) is affeoted
there is loss of accumulated wealth; when the Vainasika (23rd)
is affected, one's desired objects perish; when Manasa ( 25th) is
affected, t1lere is anxiety and unhappiness. The Narada-
puraJ;la,163a after defining the above, remarks that one should not
commence any auspicious act on these, When the ( six)
naksatras are not affected (by evil stars or aspects) a person is
healthy , enjoys happiness, hia body is well-nourished a nd he is
endowed with wealth; but if the six: naksatras are affeoted he

762, ~~ 'li'lfit'MIM~~ fil;<llttil<?;q"=4~ 1I~~!I.g­

l1~ • ~ ~ J: ~r nmrq: ~nV1f ~ :wrrm ~ ~rqr ~ .
~~ IV. 14 . ( cd. by Caland ).

763 , ~~u <roil" il !fil1 ~ ~ . anrtq~ ~

~H!41<l4~ ~;f; i1i'liMiHij<1I<l'( II ll'cq~ ~ ~li ffi{ q~ Q"t ~
~ ; . ~1lit~iVr ~~ ~~~: ~!Ilf.!r ~ II U~I.s~~
~~ ~ i ~~ q~: II ~ "''!I lfmlSl ~rlSl ri ~~ ~~" ~ II
(i'fI'<l"i"~'d"' 'II ,*,<?If I : Wfiiim ~if. ~ !fili " ll'mt !fi~iVr ~ ~
m",~' if'<l~<7I q~iH<l ~ri1fifi ~ ~ ~ .., l'Afit« ~~­
ri ~" ~"5" ~ Rmfll: W!f~ ~: I ~ ~
~1Sl ~~: • ~l1Tln IX . 1-3 and 10. These occur in ~Iftq {olio
50a verses 780-8 1, 84,85, nw"'\"rr<lnn IV.14 - 15 (MS . in Bhau Daji Collection)
are similar to 1f~ IX . 1-2.

763 a. ~l1m:~1t ~i ~l'rt'I~ il qlW"~1{ • anrr,,~ ~5lf.q ~

~. qmf ~~~ ~ V~~! fl' ,,~ I . ~6, 358- 359,
B. D. 67
530 History 0/ Dharma'listra [ Sec. Il, Ch. XV

perishes and the king also ( meets the same fate) if the six along
with the extra three are affected. When 764 the nak!?atra on
which a king was crowned is affected by evil planets or aspeots,
one should predict 108s of the kingdom, if the naksatra of the
country is affected trouble to the country and capital is indioated
and if the uaksatra of the king's caste is affected then one
should predict king's illness. The naksatras according to the
caste of the king are as follows 765: the three Purvas (Phalgun!,
Purva!?iidhil. and Purvabhadrapadii. ) and Krttikii. are nak!?atras
of the king of the brahmana class; the three Uttaras (Uttara
Phalgunl, Uttara~ii~ha. and Uttarabhadrapadii) and Pusya are
naksatras for a king of the ksatriya caste; Revatl, Anuradha,
Maghii and Rohin!, of agricultural class; Punarvasu, Hasta,
Abhijit and Asvin! are naksatras of the va'rlik (trader) class.
The countries governed by the naksatras are set out in chap. 14
of the Brhat-sarnhitii. Herein Varaha differs from Ptolemy in
two respects: (1) Varaha does not mention countries governed
by rasis, but countries governed by nak!?atras; (2) Varaha
confines himself to India, while Ptolemy in his Tetrabiblos ( 1I. 3
pp. 157-159, Loeb Classical Library) deals with all countries
then known. This is an important circumstanoe against the
theory that Varaha's astrology is borrowed from Ptolemy or later
Greek writers. If he had known Ptolemy's work he oould have
easily followed him even as to countries outside India. The
whole of India is divided into nine parts, the Madhyadesa and
the regions in the eight quarters from the East to the North-east,
each part being under groups of three nak!?atras from Krttika on-
wards. Vide also Vi!?l)udharmottara 1. 86. 1- 9. When the group
of three nak!?atras in each of nine divjsions is affected by the
Sun, Mars or Saturn, the countries falling under any of the three
nak!?atras of the group suffer calamities. The Markal)deya-
puriil)a (ohap. 58.10- 54 in B. 1. edition, chap. 55 in Venkatesvara
Press edition) also specifies the countries in the nine groups,
but the names differ to some extent. There is some divergenoe
764 . ~;;m~~~~~~lm ~ qm~'<f~
~" ~ ;;m'ir.!!Irif uilllf1fit ~f.lIq~T,( I ~~ I. !!7. 17-1 8.
765 . The ~itm (15. 28- 30 = vPnm;r I X. 5- 7) specifies tbe nak~atras
of bra hma~a, k~triya. agriculturists, traders &c. Two may be quoted here;
i_1Ii~ ~I~~t ~'" II !I~ ~~1Vr I ~c?t.ul i1~ ~ ... ~ii ...
,,«IIIt'l''''I('' sm~qtQl",,"'''i~ ~~~t'l­
l'J'Tf.Il
~ ~~: !:I~~: ,,; compare ~l~uvr 1. 87. 11- 14 for
verses similar to those in~. Vide also ~ p. 464 which quotes
"~m verses on :Jf~ and the other ~s.
 Astrology based on nak~t1"as 531

about the nomenclature also. According to Parasara nd the

VisI;lUdharmottara ( 1. 87. 7 ) the 4th naksatra from the naksatra
of birth is called Manasa. A naksatra 7~ is said to be affected
( upaltata ) when the Sun or Saturn occupies it or when Mars is
retrograde in it or occults it or an eclipse ( of the Sun or Moon )
occurs in it or a meteor strikes it or when the moon continuously
affects it ( by occulting or occupying its middle or goes to the
southern part of it). The Vi~nudharm ott ara (I. 89. 1-13),
Yogayatra IX. 13-18, an d P arasara ( (\uoted by the Adbhuta-
sagara pp. 271-274) prescribe certain santi rites for averting the
evil effects of the above noted nine naksatras being affected. 767
It should be noted that in the astrology depending on
twelve 1'(isis and twelve bMil'as (places or houses) ka1'7na is the
name given to the 10th house from the firat (just as in the case
of naksatra astrology) and mrtyu (i. e. viniisa ) is the name of
the 8th bltii:I'a.
The Mababha.rata and the Riimayana con tain numerous
passages where the planets in relation to certain nak!';l atras are
stated to indicate misfortunes to people in general, to warring
armies and to individuals. A few examples may be cited by
way of illustration. When in tbe sanguinary battle between
RavaJ.?a and Rama, the former seemed to be getting the better
of R§.ma, the Ramiiyana states 768 'Mercury stood covering the
RohiJ.?l nak!';l atra which is presided over by Prajapati and which
is the favourite of the moon and thereby indicated ev il fortune
to people '. Similarly, it is said 'Mars stood covering the
nak~atra Visakbii in the sky, which is presided over by Indra
and Agni and which is the naksatra of the Kosalas '. In the
Mahabhiirata numerous statements are made about the position
of the planets, the naksatras and tithis, which it is almost
766. ~iifwr~~ ~~iht"I.U:t\'1jq"'(1 ~~~ ~ ~
~~ ... q({ II '"]'l1n'Iiih% 1Rf1l'lll11'1\m ~qq'll~ lIT II ~ IX. 8-9
= 1fl'~ 15. 31 - 32.
767. In th e Malavikag nimitra of Kii lidasa th e Vidii ~ akl\ says to tbe kin!!
in tb e 4th Act 'a strologers declare that your na k~a tra is afflicted and
(therefore) you shnuld release all persons confined in jai ls '.
768. ~ ..... ~ ~~ : fihnl{ I ~1J 'I~ ~.
Il~:
II ~"'RrnAt... ;W~ nr'ifirni'J{l~iflfI{. I ~lTR~'~ Rmvfll'rq
~II~ ! ~ 103. 30 an d 33. The "I~ (5 . 5-6) state. tbat
the country of Kosala was si tu ated on th e Sarayii and Ayodhya was itl
capital. ~! the an ces tor oC tn?, is called ~)ri"if( in ~!rt~ I V. 70; vide
also ~ VII. 34. Acc. to wm~ 14 . 8-10 , ~~ is th e first country in tbe
looth-east, of which :m~! ~'IfT and '{'II are presidin g ;If"5.
532 Histary of DhlJ.1'malastra [ Sec, 11, Ch. XV

impossible to reconcile, Vide H, of Dh. vol. ill, pp. 903-923 for

consideration of the astronomical data in the Mahabharata,
Here we are concerned only with the beliefs about certain omens
and portents. In the Bhlsma-parva we read 769 'a white celestial
body stands traversing Citra naksatra ; one sees therein specially
the deetruction of the Kurus; a very frightful comet stands
covering Pu!!ya-naksatra; this great pmha will bring about
terrible evil to both armies. A white blazing ymha resembling
fire emitting smoke stands covering the bright Jyes ~ha-naksatra
whose presiding deity is Indra; a cruel comet standing between
Citra and Svat! afflicts Rohilf I and the Sun and the Moon '.
There are several statements about Mars that are more or less
irreconcilable.no ltor example, the Udyogaparva says 'Mars
having been retrograde in Jye!!thii seeks (to reach or afflict?)
Anuradhii presided over by Mitra, as if bringing death'; while
Bhlsma-parva remarks' Mars is retrogade in Magha and Jupiter
is in Sravalfa and Saturn afflicts the naksatra presided over by
Bhaga (i. e. Purvii Phalgun!). About Saturn several 771 statements
are made' a refulgent and malignant planet, Saturn, afflicts the
nakf?atra ( ruled over by Prajiipati i. e. RohilfI) and will afflict
people more '; 'Saturn stands afflicting Rohilfl'; 'Jupiter and
Saturn are near Visiikha',
One very remarkable feature of the Mahabhiirata passages
is that while they put forward dozens of times the positions of
the Sun, the Moon and planets in reference to naksatras, not a
single passage gives the position of the planets in relation to
"iiSis, the signs of the Zodiac, or week-days (such as Tuesday,
Sunday &c. ),
The Atharvalfa Jyoti!!a furnishes a somewhat different
Bcheme of naksatra astrology, It says;771 the 10th naksatra from
769, ~m v~ ~t ~iliffit;J'l rnl!!'~ I 3HiR l~ ~ ~ '"' ~ II
'i_ilif;tFf!ltil ..: ~ ~ fi1w~ 1 ~"l'~ ~ tliR~ ~: II ... ~ n:
s:mf'~: ~ (1( qfIIlfi : 1 ~ ~ .. ~ ~~lPll filwil\ II ~ .r~~-
5-Jt"'~~11 ~3 . 12,13,16,1 7.
770. lIil!l1 ~~ "j; ~"l'f illi~~ 1 ~ ~ m.
~:W'il'l"''' n
'"'~ 143 . 9; mIm~ '"Ii: ~1fIit • ~: I. lffl ~"ilIIfiJ'l ~
~1I~3.14.
771. 1IFiIN~ it ..~ ~~ ~mnt: 1 ~i\~ : ~ ~ ~s­
~II '"'~. H3. 8; ~~ ~'"~) "l;;r;{ ~tn: 1 ~ 2. 32;
~~~ ,.q') q~ieal!~1 R~: ~-mm ,q~fa~~.roll ~3, 27,
772 ,"AA~Alflq~nf: (fi~: 1) srm:: ~~ II ~ ~~. . ~ a.
~ 11" ~~, ~.~, verse .. ; it appears that these very names are
( Conlinu.tl on nul pag. )
 533

~he nak!?atra of a man's birth is called karma, the 19th (from

janma.-naksatra) is called garbhadhanaka (naksatra of concep-
tion), the 2nd, 11th and 20th constitute the group called
sampatkara (bringing about prosperity), the 3rd, 12th and 21st
(from janmanaksatra) constitute the group of 'l'ipal kara
(bringing about ill-luck or distress), the 4th, 13th and 22nd are
called kf$emya (causing prosperity), the 5th, 14th and 23rd are
called ' pratl!ara ( prafyari?)', 6th, 15th and 24th constitute (the
group called ) sadhaka (that accomplish), the 7th, 16th and 25th
are called naidlvmrt (relating to death), the 8th, 17th and 26th
are maitra (friendly), the 9th, 18th and 2 ith constitute a highly
friendly group. These are nine group3 (each made up of three
naksatras from among 27 naksatras and each one in each group
being separated by ~he number 9 from the next in the same
group ). These names make a furt her approach to the scheme of
twelve bhi1.r 'a~ m viz. janma (which corresponds in name and
import to farm or l([ (l nrl), M.mpaf ( corresponds to the 2nd bhava
called dlrana ), karma (is same as 10th bhava), naidhana (corresponds
to 8th bhava called vinasa or mrtyu), maitra (corresponds to the
4th bhava called SU itT!), kf$ell1ya (corresponds to the name of
the 11th bhava called ii.ya or labha). The Atharvana-Jyotisa
then provides at some length what should be done or not done on
these nine groups and their constituents. The above mentioned
words (vipatkara, ksemya &c.) occur also in Brhad-yogayatr!

(Continued from l«st page)

meotiooedio ~quoted by~ctl p. 203 '~~~ tlrqR:~)
1fI:f: I ~ ~ '<r ~'ff.I' ~: li;r: II lim: appears to be a misread in g for
tlrqR: the ~,~~"'@I" (10 . 1-11 ) pr:>vides what should be undertaken or
avoided on the iI'~;rS called ~, ~NA, m &c. Tbe 1iPr1fT'!irT II. 34
(MS in Bhau Daji Collection Bombay Asiatic Society . II. 3.5 in Mr.
Jagadish Lal's Edition) provides tbat the king should get himself shaved
on every fifth day but he should avoid tbe nak~atra of birth and the third.
fifth and seventh Ilak~atra fro m that of birth. ~: m
'nl~ Q'illi'lijr ","'h:~
~ ~fJ ~ lfT I ttmlfT 'I'm: m:NiII~' 1l~ ~ II ~TWT m" R
II. 34. ~ comments '~am ~'tlit: (or 1ft?), Q'ri ~ (1) ~
~ i.'{' tI~r ::;r.rRl'll"{r I Q'II'~rm~11fI ~{Tll' W1lT6 ~qlifi'{itf"«N~Tfit­
a;rm &c. ~ is probably JRtlR In 'I.' ~ IV . 12 is :SP"I"{1lI'~~: ~-
1I<lrR ~: '~m~m: ~ "lilQt~el: "
773 . The twelve names of tb e bbavas in a horoscope are enumerated in
~ I. 1S as follows: q--1:fl'r-~-~-Ul'-Ri~1ftS'"".\1,"lI'TlI
"111' ~ tm~~sd'QQM
 Histarll of Dharma.astra tSee. il, Ch. XV
(folio 5 h, IV. 17). in Vi~Iludharmottara II. 166 at end and in
the Tantrika work Saradatilaka 774.

It should be noted tbat tbe AtharvaIla-Jyotisa gives at least

five names that are the same as the corresponding bhavas in
extant JliIa/cu works. It is difficult to state the date when the
extant AtharvaT,la Jyotisa might have been composed. It
mentions week-days but does not enumerate the twelve zodiacal
signs, it refers to the doctrine of Bhrgu (9.1. ). Verses 1-4 of
Atharvana Jyotisa (chapter 13) are the same as Manu III. 46-49 ;
lIimilarly. Atharva l!a Jyotisa 12. 8-9 are almost the same as
Manu IV . 41- 42. It is quite possible that the present text is a
recast of an older work. In any case the present text of the
Atbarval!a Jyotisa cannot be placed earlier than the 2nd or 1st
century B.C. and may be a little later still. But it appears that the
present Atharvat;la Jyotisa only collects together the ideas tben
current and therefore the five names (jauma. sampat. uaidhana,
mitra and karma) could very well have been current centuries
before the present Atharval;la Jyotisa text. Similarly. it is
difficult to assign an exact date . to the Visl;lu-dharmottara-
purall a. It is in tbe nature of an encyclopaedia of the tben
knowledge of several lores and its present text may be assigned
to some period between tbe 4th and sixth century A. D.
}from the passage of the B~hadii.ra.t;lyka Upanisad (in note
754) it would be seen bow auspicious times were prescribed for
rites to be performed by an individual. The Brahmallas and
Kalpa.su tras prescribed tbe auspicious naksatras and seasons for
solemn Vedic sacrifices. The y rhya and dharma sutraa pre-
scribed for domestio rites uspicioulJ. times, which were either
the same or similar to those prescribed in the Brahma.t;las. Br .
Up. and the Kalpas utras. A few examples may be cited here.
The Asvalayana (I. 13. 1). Apastamba. (VI. 14.9). Baudhaya.na
(1.10. 1) and Paraskara (I. 14) and other grhya.siitras provide
that the rite of Pluil~al'(1lla (that would produce male issue) was
to be performed in the third month after oonception on Ti!!ya
( Pusya) nak!!atra. or on a. day on which the moon would be in

774. 1f~~~;Jp;I "'"' ~~ 1fl!1t !'I!'I ' ~~­

,,~", ~'f1ml.1 !'I'll ~Jfwf\t~'II~i! ~fiUr IfilffiUr ~ I ~ • I
~1W( II. 166 at end ( In prose); '5flI"il'( 'Ifl'IN'T )Ifi"~r~ ~
~: I ~~~t., tll'Qitfihl"lfn RVPAnrr Collo .5b. IV. 17 ;
JjN"'Aifiqt~" SWlRI m.,;r~ W: I til. ,""fiW • ;Jp;Infrfit iff: i": n "rq-f·
11. 1:15-1 26.
 Nak:,afm Astrology i n siib'a wor~ 535

a male nak!?atra. 174a The Bbaradvajagfhya expressly mentions

Tif?ya, Hasta, Anuriidhii., Uttara Bhadrapadii as tho proper
naksatras for pumsavana. As regards caula (tonsure)
Apastamba-grhya (VI. 16. 3) presoribes that it should be per-
formed in the third year after birth on Punarvasu naksatra..
The name of the na.k!?atra may be noted, which literally
means 'fresh wealth or new growth.' The KBusika.-sutra
mentions' piipanaksatra' (in 46. 25) and purimaksatra (luoky
naksatra) in 35. 2. There are varying provisions about
marriage. The Ap. gr. says that all seasons are proper for
marriage, excepting the two months of Sisira (viz. Magha and
Phiilguna) and excepting the last month (Asll.~ha) of summer,
and all nak$atras declared to be auspicious.ns The sutra also quotes
an ancient gathii stating that persons for choosing a girl should
be sent out on Invakiis (i e. M rgasYr~a) and then they are greeted
with success. As regards marriage the Gobhila-grhya provides
a simple rule that it should be performed on an auspicious
( pUT,lya) naksatra, while the P iiraskara n6 is more elaborate viz.
one should take a maiden's hand in marriage in the northward
passage of the sun, in the fortnight of the inoreasing moon,
on an auspicious day and on Uttarii PhalgunY, Hasta, CitrA,
UttariisMhii., Sravana, Dhanistha, Uttarii-bhadrapada, Revatl,
Asvinl, SviitY, Mrgasiras and R(lhi~Y naksatraa. The
Baudhiiyana-grhya m declares: all months are proper for
marriage; some (sages) say that the months of ASii~ba,
Miigha and Phalguna are to be avoided; the naksatras
for marriage are RohinY, MrgasYrsa, Uttarii. PhalgunY and
SviitY; while for other auspicious rites the naksatras are
774 a. ~ ~ itiuljofl«IRI!1IQI: ... I :mOil. 'l. 1. 13 . 1; SN ~ ...
~ fFiTit ~ ~ ~: lim if~ ~ ~lI'(I' i1 C1 t! 'Q" I~ qo ... I Q'r~ I.
1~ : SN~~mm~lfT~ 1ft ~iflfT ~~ 'lf1~: 1
~'l111. 21. Vide note 754 for male nak~atras.

775 . ~ ~ ~ ~;rrffi q-fm~ri '<I' ~1'iP{ I ~ ~

"~I ... ~: ~ tt Iro : 'lffit;f~: I~. 'l. I. 2. 12- 13 and 16.
The last iaa gatba quoted by tb e siitrakara as said by tbe commentator Hara-
datta . ~s are tb e stars resembling an arrow with which Rud ra pierced
the running Mrga in the heavens. In the legend the arrow succeeded in
piercing the Mrga.
776. ~~~A.~I m~II . 1.1 . ; ~ IfIy:iIfTCJfCf-'
1'"fTt pm: tnfiiT U}lI'n( Rrs fliI~rlQ ~~ ~Rf {ti\vlrt '" I ~­
ft7 I 4.
777. -wi( mm ~ I U~M~Q,q!l3'/i'I •.ri I ~ iil.Rof6yi~ ~
~ ~;or~ I ~"hl.~)~: murr ~ '{RI~I ~ . fl.
1. 1. 18-22.
 History of DharnuUaslra [ Sec. II, Ch. XV

Punarvasu, Ti~ya, Hasta, SroJ,la (SravaJ,l&) and Revatl. The

Asvalayana-grhya generalises the auspicious times for several
important 8rziflSkul'(ls as follows: 718 'the rites for call1a, upanayana.
godlina and marriage are to be performed in the northward
passage of the sun, in the fortnight of the waxing moon and on
an auspicious naksatra; some (sages) hold that marriage may
be performed at all times '. Asv. further provides that the
maiden after marriage was to observe silence and to begin
speaking after seeing the Polestar, Arundhatt and the constella-
tion of the Seven Sages. This generalisation is carried further
hy the Purvam!marnsa-sutra which provides Tl9 • all rites in
honour of the gods are to be performed in the northward passage
of the Bun, on a day in the bright half of the month and on an
auspicious day'.
It will he seen clearly from the above discussion that an
auspicious naksatra was the sin£' qU(l 1/011 in almost all Vedio
rites and also in ordinary domestic riteR in the times of the
Brahmanas and Stltras (several centuries before the Christian
era), the tithi was rarely mentioned, the week-day was not
mentioned nor the name of any rlisi (zodiacal sign) nor is there
any reference to the planets Jupiter and Venus in most sutra.s
even when prescribing proper times for upanayana or marriage.
This requirement of finding out an auspicious day or
nak!?atra for the celebration of a marriage or other domestic rite
or for engaging in any undertaking was said in medieval
Sanskrit works to be a search for an auspicious lII71lturta. It is
therefore necessary to hold a discussion on the meaning and
history of the word muhurla.

778. ~'q"I'I 3l'ft~,"orq" ~ " " ~i!fI&fiq"q".~: I ~­

lfmll~ ~I ~~ "l. 1. 4. 1-2. ,,~ is the same as Kdinta and was
performed in the 16th year for a brahmal?-a. in 22nd year for a k~atriya and
24th year lor a val~ya (Manu II. 65, Yij. I. 36); ~~PI'f; i"'Ifnrl"lfR'1l ri
,,~,,~ ~.fITVml .rr~, ~r on "Ill. I. 36; vide H. of Dh. \'01. n.
pp. 402-405 (or details.
779. '3q'lq"iiqillTf:~ ~ E,Ri((qr.qrUlf~~ I ~ ..... VI.
8.23. The ~ 1l. I. 1. 1-2 begins '3l'V "'&fioql'.mrv~ ~ I ~­
~:!f"I1t1 ~ I '. It would be noted that 3frq. 1l. and il!flqt~nt"
ule tb. sam. words for the aUlplcious times for rite.
 CHAPTER XVI

Muhurta
The word' muhurta' occurs twice in the Rg. In the dialogue
between the rivers and sage Visvi mitra that had come to the
confluence of the SutudrI (mod ern Sutlaj) and the Vip!!!
(modern Beas ) occurs the follow i ng 7~ , for the sake of my words
(of your praise) that will be followed by the offering of sOllla may
you, that follow the established order ( of nature ), stop from 781
flowing for a short wbile '. In another place t he Egveda Rays
• the opulent Indra, employ ing many tricks, often assumes
different forms from off his own body, since he, being invoked by
mantras addressed to him and upholder of the cosmic order and
drinking soma at (usual and even ) unusual times, comes thrice
from heaven for a short time.' In both these passages
• muhurta' means • a short time, a few moments '. This meaning
of mubUrta is found in the Sat. Br. 1. 8. 3. 17 (tan muhurtam
dhiirayitva) and 11. 3. 2. 5 ( atha pratai;l anasitva muhurtam
sabhayam-asitviipi) and in classical Sanskrit works like the
Raghuvamsa (V. 58).
There is another meaning of the word • muhurta' in Sat. Br.
X . 4. 2. 18 and XII. 3. 2. 5 where it is sai d t hat there are fifteen
muhurtas of the day and fifteen of the night (i. e. 30 in ah01'llIra)
and that in a year there are 10800 muhUrtas (30 X 360782).

780. tJflil R tf;:r~ ~~rtl '!I1l'~A'1f ~~: I SR'. 1lI. 33 . .5. This Is
paraphrased in tbe Nirukta ( II. 25) as follows : ~l'Id ~ !f::;nf ~1'Jllrll' ~rn.
~1fIil'~ SR'ffm.: SR'lm1l: ' ''Svjll:: ~~: ~: 3l~~ I 5P: 5 1: !lfiX: I 'lIf1l: m:
"m~mrr: I 51: ~: Jflf !I'i'rn: I ' . f!r:~ here means . for a sbort time , for a
moment '. Tho l'il~;t; derives it from 5 1[= and !lfll: (timo that passe.
Quickly) .
781. ~ m:m ...MIflt lJT1ll: ~~ q-'R ~ I m~: q'R ~.
~~(ltfT '!ft'IIm 11 !If. 11 I. 53 . 8. There are three savanas (soma
prel!ings in the day) viz . IIRf : ~r.I', lJT1ilI'PCf;f~r.I' and ~~;f. Vide H.
of Dh . vol. II . p. 981 for refe rences to the tbree sat/anas In the l_tgved a
Itlelf.
782. ~ q-~~r5') ~rull~~~) 5(li1~ i'S)!fi'TITf: q-'lq~ ~I~ ­
'Qtf~ lW'pg:ir: I ~ X .... 2. 18; ~$l if tf~r • ~ ~
6(1'1~~) 5P'IllI'I!f~1I q'~: $'lfnUt ~ ~ ft~ If~
qQir6t &:c I ~lN XII. 3. 2 . .5. ll~s &to 10. called becauae' they Itralabt-
way save ' .
B,D, 68
538 Histary of DharmaJastra 1Sec. II, Ch. XVI
Here the word muhurfa means 15th part of the day ( i. e. in a
general way about two naq. ikiis or gha~ikas). Bg. X. 189.3
appear!:l783 to contain a somewhat recondite allusion to thirty
parts of the day and night • by the rays of the sun thirty loca-
tions 0f the day (and night) shine forth i a laud is offered to
the bird ( the sun).' The fifteen names (viz. citra, ketu &c. ) of
the muhurtas of the day and 15 muhurtas of the night occur in
Tai. Br. IIl,784 10. 1. 1-3. The Vedanga- Jyoti sa states that two
naq.ikiis are equal to a muhurta (velse 7 of Veda nga-Jyoti$a of
Bg. ) and that there is a difference of six muhurtas ( i. e 12
gha~d,u.s ) between the longest and shortest day.7!15 Manu L 64,
Kau~ilya (quoted in note 681) and several puriloas ( quoted in
note 682) l:itate that day and night are together equal to tbirty
muhurtas Therefore, the second meaning of muburta from
ea.rly BrahmaJ;la times at least was 'a period of two gha~ikii.s '.
The K au ~ ltaki-upani ~ad 8t>eak!:l of muh urtas called Ye ~~ihas. 786
]t appears that some centuries before the Christian era the
15 muhurtas of the day had received names different from those
in the Tai. Br. The Baudhayana-dbarma-s utra (11. 10. 26),
Manu IV. 92 and Yaj. 1. 115 prescribe 787 that a householder
sbould get up from his bed in the Bri hma-muburta ( the last
half watch of the night). The Brabmamuh urta is mentioned in

783 . ~ R ~~Ri ,"lfrm~llf U:~ I qjit ~I~~ ,!I~: II ~. X. 189. 3.

Tbe same is 3I~'If VI. 31 9 with different readings '~1l'IT ~~iit
.Ilf!ft'llrl 3lmf'''lf<{ I trfit ~)'Uftlik II'. ~llfOT and Geidner take the word.
~~ as referrin g to 30 ~: of day and night.

78 ... ~:, ~: , lflWf., 3lN~, ~\l'r.{ , ;;1.llrntmf;t, ~~, 3Il'll"lr-l., ~,

SfT~ , ~: , ~~~A: , m~:. ~";~~,",:, ~lr(11f: I it 111'(. Ill. 10 1. These
are 15 WS of the day . The 1 S WS
of the night are: 'lfRII, Jf'Ifl'<IT, Sf"""l,
JI'~:, ~)lf: , Sf~, r.t~lf~ , ~n~,,:, ~~r.',,:, ~1.1t:, m\l'~, lfli~ , ~~~,
~:, W':.
785 . q~N{'lt lf~\l: ~lfli{~ 'Tcfnti'i1 I 'If~ar ,,1
fitlfq~~ 'fI1Hl1flf~ II n
.~I~ 7th of ''Il'iqcmr-;,tito and 8tb of 1l1~ Th e lon gest and shortest
days would be 3~ and 24 gha\ikas and tbi s would be approximately true for
the extreme North-West of India about 32 degrees of north latitude aDd
lOme miles north or north -west of Taxila.

786. ~ lr
~t'lIiti;Jq' . I 3.
If' Ifl'Tt1f qmr~~) n: I S{lff ttjqy: I fOro q l a &e.

787 . IN IIrjt 'Ii" ~ lfiT{l$ q'..- lfRHml{nt ~"iill If"t ~. ~. II. 10.26,
1f'Ii n" ~~ \Pth!i .~~itl( I ~ (V. 92; 1IITir '51(lf .)nfrq- ~~
fttrr1t'1fT1f 1. 11', ~oI'tl31. 17 (Vehk. ed.) . lim!. explain. 'IfrP stf ~
~~~~,.
 Hjteen muh'ii,rlas of da'V

Drot;laparva (80.23). In tbe Ragbuvamsa (V. 36) K Alid§.sa

says tbat Aja was born on the Brabma muhUrta ( i. e. Abhijit
of which Brahma is the presiding deity) and in the Kumara.
sambbava (VII. 6) he says that the female relatives of
P arvatl decked her in readiness for her marriage on Maitra
muhfuta and wben the Moon was in Uttarii.- Phalgunl. nak$atra.
tithi ( 5th). Bes ides, in several places auspicious titbis,
nak!?atras and muh ilrtas are mentioned in general ( e. g. Sabba
2. 15 and 25. 4, Vana 253. 28). The Atbarvana Jyoti!?a
(1. 6- 11) names tbe 15 muh ilrtas of the day as noted below. m
Tbe Muhilrtadarsana (or Vidyii.·ml dhavlya ) gives almost the
same 15 namea ( except Gandharva for ViSvii.vasu), inserts Sakra.
before Varuna and omits Saumya and states that seven of these
are auspicious viz.789 Abhijit, Vair5.ja, Sveta, Savitra, Maitra,
Bala and Vijaya. The Adiparva (1 23 6) states that Yudhi~ ~hira
was born when the moon was in the naksatra presided over by
lndra ( i. e. Jyes ~bii ), on the 8th muhilrta called Abhijit, when
the sun was on the meridian by day and on a tithi called
pilrl)a ( here the 5th). In the Udyogaparva it is stated that
a purohita was sent as a dilta of the PIiJ;l~avas on l'U!?ya-
yoga 790 and J aya muhilrta (here J aya is probably the
same as Vijaya). The Manu sm~ti says that naming the cbild
should be done on the 10th or 12th day (from birth) on an
auspicious ttthi. rrtuhilrla and llak~t'f'Q. ~ It would be proper
to assume that the auspicious muh urtas intended by Manu are
the same as the seven mentioned in the Vidyiimii.dhavlya. The

188. The 15 WS are ~tif, ~, ~~, ~~, mfif~, ~r-;r. R~r.u,

~ ("11l1S), ~1fflur, "(lS, ~, ~. ~, ~).1i, WT ; ~~1i)~
1. 6-11 .

789. ~~r: ~'.IiNm i'l1f: ~!mfur a~: 1 ~~: ~rfuf) «roSf"ITU 1'fP\f1: I
atT\fQ ~~Uf1IM1 ~:if1irvq) ~: ~Ilfi: 1 ~~'I~'''''I~i" ~r ~ utttr·
'ITlt II 3{T"'~r-;rq .;a;,: mfinr~~: 1 Uli'.li~~I~",'.Iir~ ~ 11",,"1
~ II ~~ chap. 4 pp 277- S0 . ;ncrn OD nm~'" 9S.3 Quote. a looa
prose passage from !R~ io which occur some or the Dames of U~.. lucb
aa ~. ~ .., ~~, ~~r ( tt!tur 1), ~rm~, ~. III'{'S, :if1i, 'f'\lli.
190. ~ ~ ~liA ~i'f !$\'lr.r • I 1fi~«ql'lIqINIW .a~~.
~6 . 11-1S.

791. ~~II~ .~1f ~ 1 ~ ~ tWt", "" ...

~.~1I . 30.
5(0 History of Dharmailistra l Sec. n Ch. XVI
t

VayupUrii!?a enumerates the names of the 15 muhurtas in the

day somewhat differently and also of the ni gh t. 79) The Matsya·
purii!?a (in chap. 22. 2) refers to two muhiirtas, Abhijit and
Rauhit:Ja and mentions eight muhiirtas as auspicious on which
to begin the construction of a new house. 793 It also speaks of
Kutapa as the 8th mubiirta ( 22. 84 ) and states that Kutapa and
tbe following four mubiirtas are the borne of svadhii (i. e.
sraddba must be begun on kutapa and completed before the 12th
mublirta ends). It would be see n from tb e above that the names
of muhiirtas were given at least twice, first in the Tai. Br. and
then in the Atbarva~a Jyoti sa and the Puranas. A fur~her
stage was probably reached when tb eir names receded into tbe
background and practically disappeared from such works as
those of Variihamihira and only the names of the deities presid·
ing over the 30 muhiirtas of day and night remained and the
muhiirtas came to be known by the nam es of the deities.
Though Varahamihira refers to the mubiirtas of day and night
in Brhat-samhitii 42. J 2 and 98. 3, he does not set out their
names in that work, but in his Brhad-Yogayiitra he sets out the
30 names of the deities presiding over the muhiirtas of day and
night as quoted in the note below. 794 Varaha remarks: what-

792 . ~'lf: ~~ (q7) ~'UT i\!i: ~ ({q,1ir 1 ) ~ If<' ..... I :me<rN ~~l{'lo1
"'TlTr m~~: I !I~1i~'UT ~~\t~llii~r~u! II'IT~'lo1lN~wrl \1f1!T'lo1~
(\w1i81n'if 1) l1r<lrfim: I qit ~~r'lo1 ~I<fitiitf;!t~m: I If!~ 66 . 40- 42. Tbo
text is corrupt and tb e names of devata s are used in most cases; e g. 'IIl1f
is :m';{~ as ~r i s tbe presid in g deity of :m>h~Q., ~ is probably
1;~ Q( a s !I:mlflft is tbe presiding deity of ii~oTl. Verses 43 - 44 of 'IT'!l 60 eDU-
merate tbe Dames of tbe 15 muh ii rt as of the night as ~unl'!\'fq-ta' Tn"
" 'q'Jl~T: I :m1t1i81rfit Tii~: !lr-mlf~~'!f ..... "'P ~P~un~ 'l'rt~~
~~ : I ~rA~lu "ur ~'!fTlIir If!'q'nr~iit ~; I q;nm~'JtlI'~ : ~; Qi1'l1'i1lT '"' q,. '0( I
But almost all these are names oC presidin g deities.
793 . ~m1 ( ~ 7) ~S\l ~~ 1Tr.'Uat1f1mtl!f ~~o, I "'UT ~~ u:if
~~1~ 253 . 8- 9.
794. fm~i1nri1tstr~r7i""~~: I RTfl.!f.I~l""l(d~"
~~ II \1fJ'3fr~t'~~: i'fr ~1filT'ihmT'rt: I ~~~~
~: ~ mil II~ : If~~ U • • W ....'« ~ I nll'ttM~ VI. 2- 4
(Ms in tbe Bbau Daji Collection in tb e Bombay Asiatic Socie ty). Vide also
~f'm1l'STVII . 1-2 . T hese are quoted by ~ In bls corn . on ~~ 42 . 12
and 98. 3 aDd in bis com. OD ~ II . 3-5 and V. 10. It abould be Doted
t bat the veues about tbe glis oC Dight in ItT!I (note 792) correspond to
tb eao ver:es of 1IfU,.The WIl'. II ... specifies the d evatas of the
15 muhiir tas of-the day and 1S cif tbe ni gh t. Alberuni (Sacbau, vol. l . pp.
338-342) discusses at length bow mubiirtas may be abort or 10Dg and alvei
tho dominaDt deities of tbe IS mubiirtaa of tbo day,
 What sllould be done on mtthurtas of dav 5U

ever has been stated as proper for being done on oertain nak!!a.
tras, may be done on tithis presided over by the deities of those
nak!',latras and also on k" lra1Jas and on muhiirtas i that leads to
success as the deity is the same. 79S For example, if a oertain
thing is recommen ded for being done on Ardra. naksatra, then
it may be done also on the muh urta of Siva ( i. e. the firs\
muhurta of the day) as th e dl'ra!(/ of both (the nak!',latra ArdrA
and the first muhurta) is the same (viz. Rudra). The A tharva~a
Jyot i!',la (2.1-11 ) and (3. 1- 6) dilates upon what should be done
on tbe 15 mub urtas of tbe day. Some examples may be cited
bere: on Raudra may be done whatever is of a terrific nature;
on Maitra should be done whatever is affectionate or frien dly; on
Siirabha~a black magio may be resorted to against enemies;
Abh ijit is proper for all desired objects and gives success in all
undertakings; Vijaya leads t o victory if one marches on it, one
may perform auspicious acts on it and SU I/ Ii rites; on BJaga.
muburta one should choose a brahmana maiden for marriage and
sucb a one married on Bhaga does not turn out unchaste. It
may be noticed tbat Pataiijali (on Vartika one on PaI;lini V. 1.
80 ) refers to the fact of a person being engaged for a month to
teach one muhurta every day. 796
After t he vernal equinox, days become gradually longer than
tbe night and after tbe autumnal equinox nights are gradually
longer and longer tban t he day. As tbere are only tbirty
muburtas from one sunrise to th e next sunrise it is proper to say
tbat a muhurta is equal to two gha~ikiis ( i. e. 48 minutes). But
it is also said that there are 15 muburtas of the da.y. The longest
da.y in India of the Ved iinga-jyoti!?a locality was of 36 gha~iku
and therefore if one insisted on tbe number 15 each muhllrta on
that day would be 212~ gba~ikii.S, while as the shortest day was
24 gha~ikii.s in length each muhurta of that day would be only
1i gha~ikiis. This difference in lengtb in the case of muhiirtaa
is noted by the Vi!?I;lUdharmottara (L 73. 6-8 ) and by the
Brahmii.I;l~apUrii.I;la (1. i. 21. 122-123). The Vi!,!I;ludharmottara
(1. 83. 67-73) sets out the names of the deities of the 30 muhurtas.
It appears that in ancient times it was understood that the long.
est day gained and was of 18 muhurtas, while the short night of

795. ~ ~ (f(iWittl RtNS ~ I ~~ itc'{ A\',~t~­

~1I~iim 98.3.
796. The lnt~ is ~(iia'm"~~~·ih~~CfiEi1 .. ,q~~ I (OD ft'mfl1r)
'Ji'I"(.lIt ~'ll m
Q'1 V. 1.80). OD which Iflf'll;a explain. '" ~~ I
Ri ftlt I flt:8tie,,,,.r..)
tiM ~ ~(fill '.
512 History of Dharmatlistra [Sec. II, Ch. XVI

that day had only 12 muhiirtas i. e. 6 muhurtas got at.tached

to t he day sometimes an d 6 muhurtas got attached to the
night sometimes when it was longest. Pataiijali 797 in his
bhasya on Vartika 2 of Panini II. 1. 29 mentions this. This
would be a matter of personal observation wbich need not
extend beyond a few years. But even bere Prof. Neugebauer
smells Mesopotamian influence (. Exact sciences in Antiqu ity'
p. 178). This is a cLaracteristic example of the jaundiced eyes
with which most Western writers look at thinlSs Indian. If the
writer of the Vedio ga JYotisa was a native of the extreme north-
west of India or had stayed th ere for some years he would have
easi ly noticed t.he difference between the longest day and tbe short-
est day as about twelve gha~iktIs, particularly as that very verse
of the Vediio ga-jyotisll. shows that water clocks were tben used·
Even illiterate people in the villages of Bombay State know
tbat the difference hetween the lrmgest and shortest day in tbeir
villages is about six gha~ikaa ( aa Bombay is a little over 18
degrees, N. Lat.). There is nothing to show tha t the writer of the
Vedanga-Jyotisa was not a person who was either born in the
extreme north- west of Iodia or stayed there. The North-west
of India was a centre of Sa.nskrit culture at least six centuries
preceding the Christian ora and Taksas ila (Taxila) was a great
University where princes came to learn (vide Rhys Davids in
'Buddhist India' p. 8 ). P in ini bailed from that part, it appears,
and teaches the formation of words like Saindhava, T iikfias ila and
Salii.turfya as meaning a person whose ancestors lived in or who
himself stayed in Sindhu or in Taksasilii. or in Salatura ( Pall.
IV. 3. 89- 90 and 93-94). Later writers call PiiI;lini Siilaturiya
(vide Bhamaha VI . 62-(3 ). T o su ppose that a learned Indian
who was writing a. work on Jyotisa haa to run all the way from
India to Mesopotamia a thousand or more miles for finding out
the difference between the longest and sbortest day in his own
country or for saying that the difference between the longest
and shortest day in Mesopotamia being 12 gha~ik i s the same
was the difference between them in India or for consulting
works written in the Cuneiform chara.cters for that purpose
almost borders on the absurd. Besides Prof Neugebauer is not
quito correct. The latitude of Babylon is 32°. 40 ' North and even
there the ra.tio would not be exactly as J to 2. Gindhii.ra is 31°. 40 '

797. ~Q;"RlIftrN ""It

1nIi1'lJl{ 1 ~r~l"'<rn: I ~ qrNl411.f..uf.'ll
~i'?i~ I ~ I ~!!r: ~rRrIT,": 1;'iill ~~ I mnrij'1lT~8R~ M
q~ll OD lfImlfi 2 OD tn. 11 . 1. 29.
 Meaning of ' Muhurta • 543

North Lat.; one who is to the north of Giindhara may quite naturally
say that the ratio is about 3 to 2. Vide C. R. C. Heport p. 22 j.
Further in Journal of Near E astern Studies. vol. 8 (pp. 6- 26). Prof.
Waerden points out (at p. 18 ) that even in Bahy Ion ia the great
omen series started from the primitive ratio 2: 1 and tbat it was
only later that the more accurate value 3: 2 became kn own.
It has been shown so far that th e word muhurta.· had two
I

meanings in the ancient Vedic times, viz. for a short time' and
I

'a part equal to two ghaqkas.' As some muh urtasof the day (of the
duration of two gha~ikas ) were declared to be auspicious, gradually
a third meaning came to be attached t o this word viz. time I

that is fit for the performal.ce of an auspicious act' 798. It would

be shown later on how the medieval Dharmasas tra works are
full of muhurtas in this sense.
In order to thoroughly understand the requirements about
muhurta in this third sense some knowledge of the planets.
the twelve bhulas (houses or places in a horoscope) and
the rliSi.s would be necessary. Before entering on a dit;cus~
sion of these latter matters reference must be made to the
change that came over even tho best minds of lndia from
about the 4th century B.C. It has been soen above (p. 527) how the
star-gazer and the !/al}.a/ca had come to be condemned and bow
one who was a professional astrologer (for money) had been
looked down upon as an unworthy bra.bmana. All the same
tbere was even abou t 500 or GuO B. C. a small secti on of people
who looked upon the astrologer as a ll important, particularly to
tbe king. The GautamadharmasL1 Lra 799 provides I the king
should choose as his p ur o /,lla (palaeo priest) a bra.hmana endowed
with learning, good family. eloquence. ha ndsomeness. (middle)
age ( neither too young nor t 00 old). chara,' ter, and who is
righteous in conduct and austere; the king should perform all
( religious) acts as directed by the priest; he should reapect
( i. e. follow and not discard) what those who have devoted

798. ~: ~\'I~lIT1I"'rnir 5~ ~~ lfit t iill l f11[~~iOf or n'l~N~r1l' I. 20 .

799. ~ ... ~)qdiff fiml~~ :~Q'lIf ~W'" ftll~ I
(I~: ... lfIrif ... ~«m1'I~l: ll1fg~ITlffi1fihf I ~q.;mrq.r~
lfilfllUr !§iffll
~~ ~~ Ilfl~li:!f XI. 12-13, 15-16. "For tb e various meanings of
~)tJ""" vide H of Db. vol III . pp . 588-589. Tbe IF"""' II. declare. tbat
4qfY4l!...,ifi is one wbo is a master of Sambit i (a~"rtf~rrta' ~:t~ifi) ~ I.
It may be noted tbat In Italy the court astrologer was an establis bed officer
at tbe begi nning of tbe 14tb century A. D . and from Italy be fouad bil ,.11.,
to tbe F rench court (vide' Star-crolsed Ren&I.I"nce ' by D. C . Allen .p. '1).
 History of Dharma~astra l Sec. TI, Ch. XVI
thought to astrology and the lore of omens and portents anno-
unce ( as required to be done ), because some acaryas (teachers)
assert that the welfare ( of the country or king) depends upon
that (upon doing what astrologers and experts in portents
declare).' This trend of thougbt gradually gathered greater
and greater strength till at last even the great smrtikiira
Yiijiiavalkya categorically800 declared in the first centuries of the
Christian era" one should sedulously worship that planet that is
badly affected ( ina person's horoscope). Brabma. conferred a.
boon on them (planets) • when worshipped you should bonour the
worshipper • ( with favours). The rise and fall of kings is depen-
dant on the planets, as also the emergence and the disappearance
of the world i therefore planets are to be worsbipped most It,

Yiijfiavalkya no doubt declares Bill that success in undertakings

I

is dependent upon dlli oa (luck) and human effort i out of these,

daiva is really human effort of previous lives made manifest
( in this life). Just as a cbariot cannot be set in motion un
one wheel, so luck does not succeed unless there is human effort
( also) '. Discussion of the relative importance of daiva ( luck
or destiny) and human effort are frequent in Dharmasiistra.
works, particularly in the Mahabhiirata, there being three

800 1Wl'q~"'lf<f' J :l'l: ~"~OI ~~ I If~r~r"hu 'Vf: 'l.~I: ~WlN"

~fo'I1 iI~.;;'Oil6"''i) 'Il' : q'ff0lrr.t "<ll
lfllffOl...ft "<l ;;rtl?I{lHI'I1<'l~m 1111"1: II ... ,~O
I 307-308 , ~~Im (I , 105.9-10) contains the latter bal! o( the Drst verse
and the whole c,f tbe 2nd. The word J :l'l: here is used in the sense of being
in evil nak ~ atras and being ~ wbich is explained in note 766 above. It
Is tbe exact opposite of ~'l ill yaj. J . 79 'lM' IT'i.U'{. ~ ~,~ O!£l(1i<'5 "<l
UI'Q<{ I ~~ R'r ~~!f'li l'l'~q ~lt'l1~11 '. ~tJ tP~t means when tbe moon
il well - placed in auspicious nak ~at ras. OI~;'s were divided Into three
groups lor various purposes. Some were to be avoided altogether as in-
au spicious, some were "ery auspicious and some neither auspicious nor in-
auspicious. yaj. says: if a ma.n desires to bave a son endowed with auspicl·
ous characteristics, at tb e time of sexual iotercourse be should avoid Magha
and Milia, and shou ld have intercourse when the moon is in on ausp iciOus
n:lk~atra and also avoid other nak~\tra, (besides Maghi and Miil .. ) , But if he
wonted only sexual plellsure and nothing more. tben he may cboose a day when
the moon is in BOY oak~atra except Magha and Miila. As stated in ~.
~ffm Quoted In tbe tf.1{1NTU com. on ~~~jOY V. 6 lf~ra~llU"
~, ~"'I; I ~n~~ ~~ U~" \1~ ~ii'I: I amlr-t ~i"Hf'l{I'llI'.:!§J'"
~'nf\P(1I '

801 . ~.~IfiT~" ~ilf~~l" ~-m~ til" ~~11

UT ~ oriivr ~~ ""ft\~ I ll~ ~~ tcOfT \Ii "fln...m. ~!1r. I .
.s.P,3,H.
 Daiva ( Fate) and P'lLrul!akara 5'5
Gendencies viz. ( firstly) daiva is all powerful, ( secondly) human
effort is superior, (thirdly) a golden mean between the two.
Vide H. of Dh. vol, HI. pp. 168-169 for discussion and for
passages supporting all the three views. The first chapter of Brhad-
yogayiitra (20 verses) and also of the Yogayiitra (22 verses )
deal with rlai I'Q (Luck, Fate) and Il1I rl/,~n.k'iira. In spite of this, from
the king to the lowliest man, alm ost everyone was firmly in the
grip of astrology and even now astrology has great influenoe over
some highly educated Indians. Astrology based on horoscopes
and dealing with individuals was called horuSllslra or jUfaka. By
the time of Varahamihim even learned men bad forgotten the
origin of th e word li 01·U. The Brhajjataka says 802 'according to
some the word hora is obtained 11'0111 alwrufm by dropping the
first and last sy 11aoles, that horiisiistra wellman ifests what Ule
fruiti on of acts, good or bad, done in previous livei! is going to
be', It should he noticed that tho B rhajjii taka insists on two
matters, Vhl, (1) it links up the horoscopic astrology to the
doctrines of kar/lla and jI 1111 (llja ll 1//(/ (re-incarnation to wipe out
karma) and (~) the s::tstm holds that the horoscope to be on ly
a map or plan, whi ch indicates future trends in a man's life
arising from what he had done in a previous life or in previous
lives. It does not here say that the planets in a man's horoscope
will compel him to do this or that, but it says that the horoscope
will only intim ate in what dirocti ons a mail's future might be
evolved. T hese principl e;; wore repoated evo n by late medieval
writers. For examplo, Raghunandana H03 in bis U dV5hatattva
( p. 125 ) agrees with the Dipik5 that the planets unly convey
that sins were comm itted in former lives , hut they do not them-
selves produce ovil results and qnotes the Matsyapurul!a in
support that ' ev il actions done in former lives hear fruit in the
present life in the furm of olisoases, distress and the death of
those dear to ono '. There was probably a third underlying
principle viz. the stars are the temples in which the gods reside,

802. iT{~r!I'~ili <fT?P.1~ i<fm!fO~tm{ I Ifi"rf~rn ~lf1l",iiI'

tfm-q Ql~ ~1lR~ II ~nI"1:fi I . 3; lIF~~~ ~lfl'§.J~ l'R1f Q;ii1J!:
Ql~ ' 1'11~ ~ trnTlf ~R1'fVr <fIll' ~ II ~ I. 3 Q . by 3'1Im 00

~f(fIfi 1. 3.

803. ~ t!<f <fr~1rl-lt lI'ill ~~~r :-iF'l'if" QTOrt ~­

TimI ";f is ~~, attl ':;J mtQ'~lVfll. '~l tiCln"f ~ ~~Ilr-fT: I
({lI~lh<4 \ii1~al ~«~ :;f I <fcilf!(fl1i lflf<4'1~ ~l ~ctiT'{~I{" a"~~
p,125.
II. D. 69
546 History of Dharmalastra [ Sec. n, Ch. XVI

as said in the Sat. Br. and Tai. Br.804 The Babylonians 8lS and
Assyrians based their astrology mainly on three assumptions
viz. (1) the stars are temples in which the gods reside; ( 2) the
stars reveal to men the intentions of the gods with regard to the
future; ( 3) human history is predetermined at a heavenly
council over which Marduk pre.:ddes. These, except the first,
are entirely different from the principles emphasized by Varaha·
mihira and those who came after him. The Babylonians and
Greeks had no (generally believed) doctrines of karma and pll nar -
ja'/l.lI!a. Therefore, they could not make astrology serve indirectly
a higher purpose , viz. of inducing people to lead a life of virtue
in the presen t. Instead of the somewhat childish and often
immoral legends of ancient times the cult of planetary influence
and worship seemed to many minds far more rational and con-
vincing.
The Saravall of Kalyiina-varman follows this and adds 806
that what is know n among the people as J ataka is called hora
in this sastra or the word (hora ) may indeed be taken to be
a synonym for ' consideration of wh at the destiny would be '.
The word' hora ' has two other meanings in Sanskrit astrology
viz. La!l lla ( that sign which is rising on the eastern hori zon at
a particular moment) an d half a "(isi ( Brhajjataka I . 9).
Extravagant claims were made for the importance and utility
of astrology and astrologers. The Sariivall declares : 807 there is
no one else except astrology that would serve as a helper of men
in acquiring wOJ.lth , as a boat in tho sea of calamities and as a
councillor when one starts on a journey or invasion. Var:iha-
mihira boasts SO!! ' Even those who have resorted to a forest ( i. e.
804 . "I1Il.~-q: ~~ I "IlIlmlOt il <t~ ~" I"I~~"I:;-~ ~'U X IV. 3.2. 12;
~,il ",~iilT I 1I t:rf ihf~!{ lim I il.•,. I . 2. 5. 1) . Vide Ma t s1ap ura~a
127. 14 - 15 fo r th e same idea.
805. Compare C. V. Mac lean on ' Babylonian As trology and i ts r elation
to th e old Testamen t' ( U nit ed C hurch Publishing House , Toronto) p. 10.
Ev en Ari slo tle beli eved tb at stars were di vine bei ngs endowed with inde·
pendent voli tions; vide Lewi s ' S urvey of Astron omy ' p. 313; J. L . S tocks on
' Time , Cause, E terni ty' p . 23,
806. 311'1'<1iiJii>sPni(IUmtl ~I~ ( v. 1. ~r:m{) I • .. ~<iilifffl ~
l!g~ ~~ ;tl<~ lfl~' I 31"Q<IT ~!(A"~'NlIfq: ~'f1i ~ :
U mu<l1'5t II. 2 aDd".
80 7. 31'l{r*-'!~ : ~roTl1'I~~ m:
I 1I1:ml>lit ~'''1H1<t1>1q fi lq~­
~ : u <t~~ ll . 5.
808. rr.l ~1T'i:rm itR f;\'mn f;\'G'Q'1'U11(l: ' 3lfif ~ qK~"OM1 ~ 1Tfit-
~)~~ U 31snfrqt 1IVT uAR;m~" 1IVT "'~: I tNt ~ mn ~~ ~ "
( Continued on nlXl page)
 Importance of astrologerlf

who ha va become forest hermits ), who are free from worldly

attachments an d are without property, ask questions of one who
knows the movements of heavenly lumin aries. As the night
without a lamp or the sky without the su n, so a king without
a n astrologer (with him) wanders about ( or wavers) as a
blind man on a road. If there be no astronomer and astrologer,
auspicious times, Iii hi s, nab:atras, seasons and the ayanas
( northward and sou thward passages of the sun ).-these would all
become confused. Vlhat a single astrologer knowing the country
and time can effect, that even a thousand elephants or four
thousand horsemen C(1nnot accomplish.'
The Rajamartt1nda provi uc.:; 809 'the pI/rolli/a (family or
paLwe priest ), an astronomer, a coun cillor and a n astrologer as
the fourth - theso must always he supported by the king even
with great trouble, as in the case of womon.'
It has, however to be noted that Varahamihira himself
frequently gives up the principle that the horoscope is only a
map showing tendencies and talks the language of certainty and
of the planets causing this or that state of things. To mention
OIlO or two examples. In Brhaj- jataka HIO he says 'the sages
declare that a perilon is born from a paramour for certain ( an d
not from his reputed father) if in his horoscope Jupiter has no
drsti ( aspect) either on tho faU na or on the moon or on the sun
and moon that are in conjunction (i n his horoscope) or when
t he moon is in conjunction with the sun and with a malefic planet
( Mars or Saturn) '. In VI. 11 Br. J . says 811 'the moon in conjun-
- - - - - -- - - - - - ------- --
( COlltinued frolll la st page )
~FiaRR~'I"<f'l.1T'1 ~ <1'<11 I ~;:ffv~?;fr~ ~ ~~U lTI~ II ~~''''IIT
II. 7-9. The last two verses a re q . by tJiWl'~ p. 4 (witbout name ).
" ;mmt tJiRort ~ <fT ~ I ~rre ~~~) ll~.;nr ~'t~1fi : II ~~T
Il . 20, whic h the lPf~ of . r') "f insert s witbout ack no wled geme nt as its
2nd verse,
B09. ~NI 1'f1JT'.fi) w;fr ~<f'1I''l.1 "'Iil.qq;: I 'l'l\ ~I ~I 1l1w1fl: ~Iiit £till!
ll~I II ~1'fT~"iJ verse 4 .
BI0 . "w.rrn;j 'i'l' ~1.(r!l'~ "
'" ~ ~!1TI W11tT!l1l.1 Wl'f1f!tiI~ ~~-
1{T ~ Q~ ~ '~I~ !;t'l.flml.1I ~l'flfi V. 6. ?;!PfTI''li IV. 4 is very si mil a r.
~~ has a similar vers!: ' ~ .. ~: ~m;i mi 'i'l' ~~ ~~ I ~
'" ~ "<Pit ~~: ~"' . It may he not ed tbat ~ found it neces
sary to qualify the doctrine and statement of Var ~ ha.
Bll. U!l .. q""<4I;cq8$l (.~~"~Tll ~~: I 'l!!WI~ltft!1!!1ia"i..j\<1~
~~l~~~,"n ~1fi VI. 11. ~ introduces a modification
( Continuea 0" ne%l pate)
548 HfSlo1"?1 of Dharma;ustm l Sec. II, Cb. XVI
ction with a malefic planet in the 1st, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 12th
house ( in a horoscope) causes death ( of the new-born child) if
it is not also in conjunction with powerful Venus, or Mercury or
Jupiter or if it is not in aspect with one of those powerful three.'
Again in Brhaj-jataka X lV. 1 it is said : If the sun is in con·
junction with another planet, he produces tho following results,
viz. with the moon a man who makes (lethal) machines or works
in stones; with Mars a man addicted to evil ways; with Mercury
a man who is skilful, intelligent, famous and happy; with
Jupiter, a cruel man or one intent on carrying out the objects of
others; with Venus a man who makes money by going on the
stage ( or in a ring for boxing &c. ) or hy the use of arms; with
Saturn a man clever in metals or difforont kinds of (m erchan-
dise or) vessels. The Siir.lvali very frequently says that such and
such a position produces (j (maya/i. lI/pli,/ayali ) or causes ( karoti
or lcuryCil &c. ) certain results. V'ide chap. 33 48-6l.
Before proceeding further I must point out that India was
not singular in its firm belief in Astrology. The case was the same
throughout Europe and among the Greeks after Alexander the
Great. It has been already seen (p. 521) how Babylonian astrologers
made reports to the king about the position of the Sun, the Moon
and the planets and what th ey portended for the country, the
king and the people. Vide for example, Nos. 9,15,16, 21,32, 33,
52,53,63,66,67,72,74,76,86,151,16 -1 from 'The Reports of
the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon' by R.
Campbell Thompson ( vol. 1 and II, Luzac and Co. London, 1900 ).
But horoscopic astrology was doveloped by them later. In the
Old Testament Isaiah (759- 710 B. C.) 47. 1 an d 5 apostrophize
Babylon as the daughter of the Cbaldoalts and in verse 13 we read
• let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognos-
ticators stand up and save thee from these things that shall come
upon thee '. In Daniel 4.7 it is said that on N ebuchadnezzar's order
• came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the
soothsayers.' Vide also Daniel 1.20 and 2.2 and 27. The Chaldeans
held that the five planets specially controlled men's destinies and
five Babylonian deities were identified with them. As Boucbe-
Leclercq observes (in ' L' Astrologie Grecque ',p. 572) 'Chaldean
astrology had lived on a fund of naive ideas, it began at a time
(Continued Irom lest page)
from Sarava!i X. 98 that the '1110011 must be k~~a (waning, i. e. from 8th of
dark half to the 8th of tbe follo wing fortni ght) for the applicatioa or
this rule.
 Chaldeans and Greek Science 549

when the heavens were deemed to be nothing but a cover of the

earth, when all the stars were ranged at small distances on the
vault and the planets were supposed to move in the midst of stars
like shepherds inspecting their flocks. Greek soience having ext-
ended the world, the influenoe of stars moved back at enormous
distances was not a postulate of common sonse' ( vido note U8
above). Herodotus 812 (n. 82 ) refers to :l. peculiar practice of the
Egyptians to regard eaoh month and day as sacred to some deity,
and says how from the day of a man's birth they determi ned hi s
fortune, character and the manner of his death. But this bas n0
reference to horoscopic Astrology. The Egyptians knew nothing
about the Zodiac before the Alexandrian age. There is no traco of
astrology in early Greek astronomical writers and it appears
that the Greeks got it from Babylon 813 after Alexan der conquered
Babylon, when teacbers of astrology began to arrive ;n Greece.
The Hellenistic mind was soon completely captivated by astro-
logy. Before the advent of astrology the Greeks tried to peep
into the futUre by oracles, interpretation of dreams and inspec.
tion of the entrails and livers of sacrificed animals, from tbe
flight and cries of birds and from prodigies an d unusual
occurrences such as eclipses, comets and meteors. Berossus 614,
a priest of tbe god Bel at Babylon, dedicated to his patron
Antiochus I Soter (280-261 B. C. ) an elaborate work on Baby-
lonian and Chaldean history and it was he who was instrumental
in spreading Babylonian astrology in Greece by first introducing
it in his school at Cos, an island not far from the south-western
oorner of Asia Minor. From Greece astrology spread to Romo
about the 2nd century B. C. The signs of the Zodiac became
bouse-hold words in Greece and Rome. Stoics like Posidonius
---- -- ----- --- --_ --
812. Vid e Prof. Ne ugebauer in ' Exact Sciences in Antiquity' p. 179.
813 . Vide E. J, Webb in ' The name, of tb e stars' (1952) p. 189 and in
Journal of Hellenistic Stud ies. vol. 48 p. 66; C. V. Maclean in 'Babylonian
astrology and its relation to the Old Testament' p. 7; in J. of Near Eastern
Studies vol, IV at p. 26 P rof. Neugebauer averred tbat tbe Mesopotamian
origin of the astrological omina cannot be doubted; but in 'E xact Sciences in
Antiquity' p. 164 be appears to modify his posit ion by saying tbat on Iy the
ori ginal impetus to boroscopic astrology in Greece came from Babylo n and
tbat its actual development must be con sidered as an important component of
Hellenistic Science. In the same journal at p. 15 he does not know how
horoscopic astrology in Greece ori ginated from the totally different omen type
astrology of tbe preceding millenium,

814 . Vide Cambridge Ancient History , vol. I. p. 150; Gregory io 'Nature

'Yol, 153 at p. 51~,
550 History of Dha"maS7ist"a [Sec.lI, Ch. XVI

helped it by defending it. Cato in 815 his work on agriculture

warns a farmer against consulting a Chaldean and in 139 B. C.
an Edict was passed for expelling Chaldeans from Italy.
Diodorus 816 Siculus (a contemporary of Augustus of Rome)
describes the theory and meth od of the Chaldeans in casting
horoscopes. Horaco 8!7 (died in 8 B. C. ) in his ode t o Maecenas
refers to the influence of the signs Libra, Scorpion and
Capricornus and of the protective power of Jove and about bale-
ful Saturn in his horoscope. Strabo,818 who died in 24 A. D.,
averred ( XVI. 1.6) that some Chaldeans were skilled in astro-
nomy and the casting of horoscopes. P etronius (1 st century
A. D. ) describes in his novel Satyricon a dinner in forty pages in
which a tray displayed the signs of the zodiac under each of which
was placed appropriate food ( vide Will Durant in "Caesar and
Christ" page 298, ( New York 1944 ). Juven al,819 who flourished
about the close of the 1st century A. D., strongly inveighs
against ladies who have great confidence in Cbaldean astrology .
It should not, however, be supposed that no dissenting voice was
raised against astrology in Rome and medieval Europe. Cicero
did not believe in astrology 8a:> as he said that the planets were
too far away ( Bouche Loclerq's work p. 572). St. Augustine
( 354- 430 A. D.) in his work 'City of God' calls astrology a
delusion.82! Th ere were some points of difference between Baby-
lonian astrology and Greek astrology, viz. Baby Ion ian astrology
originally at least was interested in the State and the royal
family, while Groek astrology was interested only in the indi-

815. Vide Co lson on 'Weekday' p. 66; Lewis' 'Hi storical S ur\'er y of the
Astronomy of the An cients' p. 298.
816. For Dioelorus of Sicily (i. e. SicLrius ), vi ele ProE. Farrington in
' Science and Politi cs in th e Ancient Wor ld' (193 9) pp. 20 1- ~ 0 :! ,
817. Vide C, E. J3ennett's Engli sh Tran slation of ' Odes ' Dook 11, 17 ,
lines 17-24.
818. See S trabo in Lo eb class ical Library Series , vol. VII . p. 203.
819. Vi de J uvenal' s S atires-E nglish translation by J. D. Lewis (1 873)
Satire VI. p . 81.
820. E. ]. Webb in 'Tbe names of tbe S tars' (1 952) p . 108 ; Tborndike 's
' A II istof y of magic and experime ntal Scienc e ,' vol. 1. pp. 272-214 for
Cicero's \'iews on astrol0I:Y a.nd Thorndike's criticisms. Du t Cicero appears
t o have conuemned the Chaldean form of a strology , thou gh he was so learned
in d ivin ation tbat be considered it to be giv en by God (vide ' S tar-crossed
Renaissance' by Don Cameron All en (Duke Unh'ersity Press, 194 1) p. "7 .
821. See 'De Civitate Dei'V. 5 pp. 183 -184 (translated by M. Dods,
1872), Thorn d ike' s work (mentioned in n. 820) pp. 513-52 1 for a statement
of the objections of Augustille asain st t\< (fology and criticism thereo!.
 Babylonian and Greek AstrologtJ 551
vidual and Babylonian astrology was a priestly business while
in Greece the astrologers were laymen. Astrology became a
study of international importance in Europe and was cultivated
in the Universities as a subject of real value throughout Europe
by the side of astronomy. Its great vogue among even well
educated people was due to its apparent scientific structure
with its houses, planets, twelve signs and so forth. Allen
(in • Star-crossed Renaissance' Preface p. VIn) says that
everybody in the Renaissance period in the West believed to,
some extent in astrology. In 'Stars above us' by Prof. E. Zinner,
Tyc110 Brahe is quoted as saying tbat he prepared every
year an astrological forecast for his king (p. 76). Even
Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler practised astrology
tbemselves or countenanced its practice. Bacon was
prepared to say that there was no fatal necessity in the stars,
hut they rather incline than compel. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos
reigned supreme for about 1400 years and is even now a work
of great authority for those who believe in astrology. It may
interest the reader to know that the great German poet,
dramatist and philosopher, Goethe 812 (1749-1832), begins his
Memoirs by mentioning the aspects of planets at his birth.

Two circumstances tended to weaken the intluence of astro-

logy in Europe, viz. the giving up of the geocentric thoory in
favour of the heliocentric theory and the vast additions to
astronomical knowledge made during the last two centuries.
But it should not be supposed that astrology has Lecome defunct
in tho \Vest or U. S. A. Tho immense strain and distress cauBed
by the two world wars provideG a powerful fillip for the spread
and influence of astrology. Even in papers the circulation
of which runs into millions there is a regular astrological feature
every day or every week, which tells poople what the star!:!
portend for twelve groups of the world's population in the wllek

822. 'Memoirs of Goethe' (London, 1824, vol. I) 'I was born under
fortunate auspices; the Sun was in tbe sign of the Virgin at the utmost
degree of elevation. The aspects of Jupiter and Venus were favourable to the
day. Mercury testified no signs of hostility; Saturn and Mars were neutraL
Tbe Moon, however, then near the full, was an important ob~tacle; and the
more so as the labDur which atte::lded my birth coincided with tbe bour of
her new phase. She retarded my entrance ioto the world until the moment
had elapsed'. Vide 'Stars above U8' by Prof. Zinner p.68 for Goethe· I
boroliCope.
55! History of Dharmatlist1'a [Bec. II, Ch. XVI

or on the day mentioned.823 What benefit the people derive from

these prognostications it is difficult to understand. Often the
prognostications are extremely vague and not of greater extent
than three or four short cryptic sentences. There must be millions
of people in each of the twelve groups (such as those born from
23rd September to October 23rd, those born from 24th October to
22 nd November and so on). It is said that in U.S.A. alone there
are about 25000 registered astrologers.
Those interested in astrology in general and Greek astrology
in particular and those who desire to know how astrology ·is
regarded by many modern scientific minds may read' L ' Astro-
logie Grecque ' by A. Bouche-Leclercq' (1899, a masterly work
in French on Greek Astrology) pp. 570-593 (for arguments
against astrology) ; 'The Royal Art of Astrology' by Robert
Eisler (London, 1946), which contains a reasoned and
sustained refutation, and Mr. J . C. Gregory's Article on
• Ancient Astrology' in Nature, vol. 153 pp. 512.515 ( a brief, but
instructive and detached survey of astrology from Chaldean
ti mes to this day). The number of books in favour of astro-
logy or expounding it is large and I do not propose to
mention them. One book arrested my attention, viz. Louis
de Wohl's • Secret service of the sky '. On p. 31 he- propounds
a doctrine very similar to what Varaha-mihira laid down af!
the scope of h01'(lSiislra viz. that Astrology has nothin g whatso-
ever to do with mere predictions, that it only indicates tenden-
cies and that human will is free. He began well, but he did not
ohserve his own precepts. On p. 235 he predicts 'I do not be-
lieve that Mahatma Gandhi will survive the first half of 1939. '
This prediction turned out to be untrue and it is well-known
that Mahatma Gandhi was killed on the 30th of January 1948.
The E nglish language itself bears witness to the great influ-
ence of astrology in E ngland: e. g. such words and expressions
as ' ill.starred expedition', • disastrous consequences', tempera-
ments being either jovial, merourial, or saturnine, • moon_ 814
- - - - - - ------- - -- - -- - - - - -
823. Tbe fo llowin g may be cited as a sa mple : Taurus (April 21-May 20)-
'Yo u reali ze Iha l a break in onc relationsbi p is probably inevitable. This
week you will see you r way to making it withou t undue loss. Harden your
heart where money is concerned and don't e.llow friendship to intedere
with business.'
824 . It is belleved that the moon (lulla). when full, incree.sed madness;
hence a mad man was called lunatic. Vide an article 'Lunar influence on
(Contifflwl on ,,"I Pili')
 Astrology and the English language 553

struck ( mad) lover '. The word influenoe (from fiuo \0 flow)
itself is due to astrological beliefs and words like 'aspeot',
, conjunction', • ascendant', • retrograde' are all due to the
language of astrology.
In support of Astrology Ptolemy (in Tetrabiblos, 1.2) puts
forward certain arguments. The Sun not only affects every-
thing on the earth by the change of season, but by its daily
revolutions furnishes heat, moisture, dryness and cold in regular
order. The Moon, the nearest heavenly body to the earth.
Causes the seas to change their tides with its own rising and
setting times, and plants and animals wholly or partly wax and
wane with the moon. The planets often signify hot, windy and
snowy conditions of the air and affect mundane things. The
changes of seasons and winds are understood even by very
ignorant men and by some dumb animals. Sailors know the
special signs of storms and winds that arise periodioally by
reason of the aspects of the sun, moon and planets. But beoause
sometimes sailors err, no one says that there is no science of
navigation. Therefore, a Bufficiently observant man wise
enough to know accurately the movements of the sun, moon and
planets can predict whether the weather will be warmer or B2S
wetter. Why can he not, with respect to an individual, perceive
the general quality of hie temperament from the surroundings at
the time of his birth, as for example that he would be such and
lIuch in body and mind? Ptolemy then condemns impostors
who do not study the science but deceive common and
trusting people and fill their pockets. He further points
out that the nativity alone is not the sole basis of
judging a person's future. that the oountry of birth, the

( Continued f,.om last page)

liv ing things ' by Prof. George Sarton in Isis vol. 30 (1939) pp. ~95-507;
where he examines the beliefs about the Moon's connection with lunacy,
tides, menstruation, terrestrial magnetism, says that these are matters for
npeliment, advises scientists to keep an open mind and hold. tbat lunar
Influence is unproved as to some of tbem.
82'. A short passage from Boucb~Leclercq (p. 574) may be aet out
here: 'how to justify tbe ridiculous associations of ideas attacbed to tb.
purely imaginary form s of tbe figures of tbe Zodiac and the reciprocal
In6uence of planets on the sigos and of tbe signs on the planets when the ••
are (one knows this since a long time) at • great distanc. from tbe can-
IteU.tlonl and do not appear to be placed there except by the efToc:t
of penpecUve ' 1
B. D. 70
 History of DharmaSG.stra {Sec. li, Ch. XV!

race to which he belongs, the customs of the people among

whom he is born, the way in which he is reared, the age in
which he lives have also to be considered, all which will contri-
bute materially to the proper prediction, other things being
equal. In IV.10 he points out that if one looks only at the
horoscope without paying attention to nationality, manners and
customs and the like he may call an Ethiopian fair 82Sa of
complexion and having straight hair and a German a dark-
skinned person and endowed with woolly hair or not knowing the
peculiar customs say that an Italian whose horoscope is being
examined may marry his sister (as ancient Egyptians did) or that
the man may marry his mother (as only Persians did). Vide
Tetrabiblos IV. 10 p. 439 (Loeb. c1. Library). In I. 3 Ptolemy
argues that astrology is not only possible but is beneficial,
because fore-warned is fore-armed. It is a very far cry to argue
from the undoubted influence of the Sun and the Moon on
mundane matters, such as heat and cold, rains, storms and
droughts that the particular positions and aspects of the Sun,
Moon and planets at the time of birth or conception ( as Borne
hold) are throughout an individual's life ( it may be for a day or
a hundred years) the dominating factor (if not the sole factor
as many astrologers say) governing his conduct, character,
family affairs and destiny. The reasoning of Ptolemy, though
very cleverly put and though with a slight scientific appearance,
is rather vague and not at all cogent or convincing. He distin-
guishes between universal or general astrology (treated of in
Books I-II) which relates to whole countries, races, cities and
large bodies of men and particular or genethlialogical astrology
treated of in books Ill-IV.

82' 11.. Utpala on Laghujataka IV. 1 states limilarly that one (the astro-
lager) should specify the form (or appearance) of a person after knowing hIs
caste, since $vapakas (cii~4alas) and ni~das are dark-skinned hy casto;
limilarly, he should consider in what family , whether of fair persons or
dark persons. the person (whose horoscope is bei ng examined) was born or
In wbat country, si nce all people from Kar~a!aka are dark, people from
Vldeha (I. e. Mlthlla, part of present Bibar S tate) are dark-brown and from
Kaahmir lair. ~~ IV. 1 is: ~ ~) Iff ~ 1I'~ 1I1\<fi(~1I~'
~:~IIf'~m. 1fT "'liil!§<?a~Ii,\1I ~ n\~ ~:, 111'1: ~­
~ ,","1m qlf 'F'1O' ~ , ~qt " ~ ~: II ,*,R¥I.!§~<i 'ii1Ti'it ~ ~
lIfT ~ 'ii1'R!:, 111'1: ~"": ~ I!lf pvrr: ~: ~: ~ mu:
I folio
.,b of commentary on ~I~ IV, 1 (MI. in Bbadkamkar collection theo'
Bombay University). For svapaka vide p. 97 of H. 01 Db. vol. II alllJ 'or
Di~da pp. 43, 46. 86-87 of tbe lame.
 Astrologers to cansider country, caste, family 555
Indian works also require the astrologer to consider the
customs of the country and of the people. The R:ijamartat;l~a 8l5b
says' First the usages of people must be considered; whatever is
firmly established in the several countries, that alone must be
followed; the learned give up what is hateful to the people;
therefore an astrologer should proceed along the people's way.
A learned man should never go against the inclinations of the
family (to whic'h the person belongs) and of the country'; a.nd
then he give.:> examples of the astrological requirements as regards
planets in the case of marriages in several countries. The general
astrology about calamities or occurrences that affect all people
spoken of by Ptolemy would fall under SllkhCl or Smilhitli in the
narrower sense ( vide notes 688 and 690). Some important and
interesting conclusions of Ptolemy ma.y be noted here.
Ptolemy speaks of beneficent and malefic planets ( 1. 5), of
ma.sculine and feminine planets (1.6), of diurnal and noctu·
rnal (in Sanskrit dinabali and lIislihali ) planets (I. 7),
(I. 12) masculine and feminine rasis ( signs ), the aspects of the
signs ( 1 13 ) viz. opposition ( 180 degrees ), trine (120°), quartile
( 90° ) and sextile ( 60·), of the houses ( svagrhas in Sanskrit) of
the planets. In Book II he divides the inhabited world into
quarters equal in number to the triangular formations of the
signs of the zodiac and after a disquisition which would be
regarded by modern men as casuistical and practically unintel-
ligible, Ptolemy sets forth a list of over seventy countries ( then
known ), assigning to each sign some countries. For example,
to Aries he assigns Britain, Gaul, Germania, Bastarnia, Syria,
Palestine, Judaea and one more; to Capricorn he assigns India,
Ariana, Gedrosia, Thrace, Macedonia, lllyria. The whole of
America, almost the whole of Africa ( except the northern part).
Indonesia and Australia and t~e other neighbouring lands are
not considered by Ptolemy at all, because these were unknown
then. He remarks at the end of II. 3 that as to metropolitan
cities they should be treated like individuals and their nativity
i8 to be cast by taking the time of the foundation 8:26 of the city
825b. ~~~~, ~~ ~~ 1Il ~1t&: ~" lfifllli ~""fP ~ft'
~ ~)SM ~1Vr ~II ~ ~mll ~'1~;; ~~ fif'"
~~ II ••• ~ 1f"Rmt~ ~"III~'IiU~ ij- ~1IfCI11l1n: I ~ RR ~
.mn ~ ~f ~~ ~I' 0..,.",;0, folio 25 b verses 399-401. The fint
two also occur in the lfi"I('S of ~ (PP. 34-35 verses 143- 144 ).
826. An interesting Indian example is furnisbed by tbe Mirat·j-Abmadi
IraDslat~4 1:>y C . N. Seddon wbicb gives (on pp. 248-253 supplelllent) the
(Continued on nu' pace)
556
, History of J)harmatastra [ Bec. n, Ch. XVI

instead of the times of birth, but where the exaot time of foun-
dation is not known then the nativity of the founder or of the
king is to be taken.
A few important points of agreement and disagreement
between Sanskrit astrologica.l works and Ptolemy will be set out
later on.
The literature on muhilrta ( auspicious time for undertaking
anything) is extensive. Almost all works on Kala mentioned
above such as Hemadri on Kala, the Kala-madhava, Kiilatattva-
vivecana, NirI;layasindhu are in a way works on muhiirta, since
they discuss the proper times for performing the samskaras and
religious rites. Among the works the names of which begin
with the word muhiirta are: Muhiirtakalpadruma (published by
Nirn. Press, Bombay) composed by ViHhala Dlksita in 1628 A.D.;
Muhiirta-gaI;lapati composed in 1685 A. D. by GaI;lapati Raval,
son of Harishankar; Muhiirta.-cintamani composed at Benares
in $alee 1522 (1601 A. D. ) by Rama, son of Ananta, with a com-
mentary called Plyiisa-dhiirii composed in sake 1525 ( 1604 A.D. )
by Govinda, son of NllakaI;l~ha elder brother of Rama (published
in 19'5 by the Nirn. press); Muhurtatattva by GaJ)esa, son of
Resava (ms. in Bhau Daji collection of Bombay Asiatic Society);
MuhUrtadarsana (also called Vidy~miidhavlya) by Vidy5.-
madhava with a commentary called Muhiirta-dlpika (about
1363 A. D. ) by his son Vif?I;lU, edited by Dr. Shamsastri (published
( Continued from last page)
date and horoscope of the foundation of the city of Ahmedabad in §ake 1314,
' Il,;wat IH9, Vai$akba su o 5, Thursday, 15 ell ads (gllatis) and 35 pals.
THE HOROSCOPE

In tbe Bulletin of the London School of Oriental Studies vol . 9 for

1935-37 there is a paper (pp. 125- 139 ) on some chronological data relating
to tbe Sassanian period in which reference is made to an Arabic book on
astrology composed about 275 of tbe Hejira (equal to 888-889 A. D.) by a
Persian astronomer and astrologer, the 2nd part of which describe. a
boroscope of the accession of Kbosrove to the throne 00 a date correspoodioi
to 18-8-53 1 A. D. (p. 129).
 Works on Muh'Urta 557
by Mysore University, 1923-1926, in three parts); Muhurta.-
dlpaka by Nagadeva (a short work in 9 folios, ms. in Bhau Daji
collection); the Muhiirta.-martat;lda, oomposed in sake 1493,
Magha. (1572 A. D.), by Naraya.I;la, son of Ananta, of 'fiipara
village to the north of the temple of Siva whioh is to the north
of Devagiri, with his own oommentary oalled Mii.rta!)~avallabhii.
(published by Nirn. Press, 1925); Muhiirtamala. by Raghunatha
(ms. in Bhau Daji collection); Muhiirta-muktavali (incomplete
ms. with only 45 verses in the same collection). Out of these,
three works alone are now available in print viz. Muhurta-
darsana, Muhiirta-cintamat;li and Muh urta-miirtat;l~a. The resi
are mss. ( in Bombay Asiatic Sooiety's Library). In this section
on muhiirtas reliance has been placed mainly on the three
printed works along with the Jyotisaratnamala. of SrTpati (about
1039 A. D. ), the Rajamartat;lda of Bhoja (ms in B. O. R. 1.,
Poona) and the other works on Kala. Among the works
described as especially dealing with muhiirtas, the most elabo-
rate are the Muhiirta-cintiima!)i (containing about 480 verses
with a very exhaustive commentary) and the Muhurtadarsana
(with about 600 verses) and also a very elaborate commentary.
It would not be possible to deal with all matters contained
in these works. The Muhiirtamartal?da (containing 161 verses)
follows a middle course. 'According to it the subjects dealt
with in it are briefly as follows :-what positions and aspects
of the planets, what yogG.q, what tithis, naksatras, months and
oonditions of the family and of the mind should be avoided in
the case of subha (auspicious) actions; the proper times for
samskiiras, such as garbhiJ.dhlina, pUinsamna,jiJ.takanna. piercing
the infant's ear, caula. upanayana. the end of the period of
Vedio study; topics connected with marriage (this takes up 55
verses i. e. a little over one-third of the entire work); times for
kindling sacred domestic fire ( grhyiigni ); times for oonstruction
of a house and for first entrance into it; the proper times for
starting on a journey or marohing against an enemy king;
auspicious and inauspicious sakunas (omens or prognostications);
times for king's coronation, for wearing of rich clothes and
ornaments and for agricultural operations, for sale and purchase
of animals (suoh as oattle, horses), for bath with sesame and
myrobalan, for finding lost articles, for constructing wells and
tanks: times when Vedic study should be stopped (anadhyaya)
for long or temporarily; the results of a lizard or chameleon
falling on one's body; what planet is inauspicious or auspicious
in whioh sign from the sign of one's birth; ~e pUI;lyakAla of
558 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. n, Ch. XVI
Sankrantis. It may be mentioned that many of the provisions
about auspicious aspects of planets, about upanayana and
marriage, construction of and first entrance into a house, sakunas
about the fall of lizards an d chameleons were observed in the
author's boyhood and are still observed by many, though there
is gradually an increasing looseness of observance in these
matters.
It should be noted that even as to sak:nnas Varaha-mihira
puts forward the principle that it is the fruition of actions, good
or evil, done in previous lives by men, that is manifested by
sakunas for those who start on a journey or invasion. 827
How people had become almost crazy with the idea of find-
ing out a muhurta for everything from shaving, wearing a new
garment to such solemn matters as marriage is well illustrated
by the provision of a muhUrta for a theft in the Muhiirta-
muktavali, viz. the act of thieving succeeds when done on the
nak!;latras Asle!;lii, Mrgasiras, Bharat;li, Svatt, Dhani!;l~ha, Citrll
and Anuradha, on a Saturday or a Tuesday and on a 7'i1cta tithi
( 4th, 9th and 14th). 828
Before entering on a discussion about individual acts or
rites, it is necessary, in order that the reader may understand
the prescriptions about muh urtas, to explain some simple details
of Jiltaka. To discuss in detail all the details of Jiitaka works is
much beyond the scope of this work and would necessitate the
writing of a volume by itself. A middle course has to be followed.
Besides nak!;latras, their lords and their classifications, one has
to bear in mind the ras is, the planets and the bhlluas ( houses or
places) in a horoscope. For these reliance will be mainly placed
on the B ~hatsam hitii and Brhaj-jafaka of Varahamihira, the
Sariiva.H, Jyotisaratnamala of SrJpatl, the Rajamartat;lq,a,
J atakillankara of Gat;lesa ( composed in sake 1535, 1613-4 A. D.).
The 27 or 28 nakflatras and their presiding deities have already
been enumerated above (pp. 499- 504 and note 731). It has to be
remembered that the devatii of a nak!;latra is often employed to
indicate the nak!;latra or the tithi itself also. Here the classifica-
tion of nak!?atras will be first discussed. From a passage of the

821. ~'¥I""('liri ~ !fili ~lPl. I ~ ~: q'1'if; ~"'

1I'QJlff1{" tQ,j)i,W.:iI. 23. 1.

828. m.Jt'i('ji!fi~ .tlf (\I'.q'ii"'i!fin ~~~ (it?)1 ~.~

( i\ t ) ~ ~~ ~-qfft I 6d6'Wi 1"~ verse 42 (ms. in tho ~omba7
,Asiatic Society).
 Classificatian of nak~rcu 559

B!,had!lraI;lyaka Upani~ad quoted above ( in note 75~ ), it is clear

that the nak!?atras had very early ( i. e. about 1000 B. C. at least)
been classified as pUTJya ( auspicious) and papa (inauspicious)
and into male and fem ale. The Vedangajyoti!?a (Yaju ~a) gives
a classification of nak~atras into ugl'a and kl'ura. 819 The
naksatras are further classified in the Brhat-samhita (chap. 97.
6-11 ) into dhruva ( or sthira = fixed ), tlk~t:Ja ( or d1irU9a ), ugra
( or krura), ksipra ( or laghu), mrdu (or maitra), mrdutlk~9a
( or sii.dharaI;la or misra ), cara ( or cala ). m
The Br. S. ( 97. 6-11 ) states that on Dhruva naksatras the
coronation of a king, santi (propitiatory rite for averting impen-
ding evil or calamity), planting of trees, foundation of a city,
charitable acts, sowing seeds, and other permanent acts should
be done; on tlk~t:Ja naksatras succeed attempts to harm, the
acquisition of mantra ( mystic verse or formula ), raising ghosts,
arrest (of a person), beating, separating (two friends or) relation-
ships; ugra nak~atras are to be used for success in extermination,
destruction of another's property, cheating, arrest, poisoning,
incendiarism, striking with a weapon, killing; k~ipra (or laghu)
nak~atras are declared as lead ing to success in sales, in making
love, in the acquisition of knowledge, decoration, arts, crafts
(sueh as carpentry), medicines, journeys; the mrdu naksatras
are beneficial in securing friends, sexual affairs, clothes, orna-
ments, auspicious ceremonies (marriage, upanayana &c. ) and
singing; the mrdu-t1ks9a (or sidharat:Ja) naksatras produce
mixed results ( on which mild or fierce acts may be done); the
cara nak~atras are beneficial in doing fleeting actions. The
Muhurta-marta I?~a provi des that wise men engage in actions
similar to the names of the groups of nak ~atras for attaining
success. It should be noticed that some works like the Jyoti!1a-
ratnamii.lii. ( ill. 9 ) and the Muhurta-cintamani (II. 2-8) hold
that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Saturday are respectively dhruva, cara, ugra, misra, laghu,
mrdu, and tlk ~~a and that actions that are appropriate for
nak~atras of those groups are appropriately performed on the
respective week days. 831
The B;-haj-jii.taka devotes fourteen verses for the oha.racteri-
sties of persons born on the 27 nak~atras from Asvint. Two
829. ~i .. mt;{ ~~ ~~ I amtOI' \I ~T ~ risr
~ ~ll ~11 ~If"<ilid,,, (~verse 42). ..
830. For classifications of na~lra l. vide nole '.58 abovo.
831. ~(ilill"'(Pft ui\)'f) iliA it ~ I 11. ~. II. 3.
560 History of Dharma4astra [ Bee. n, Ch. XVI
verses are translated for sample :832 a person born on AavinIs
is fond of ornaments, is handsome, has a prepossessing appear·
ance, is clever (in all things) and intelligent j one born on
Bharanls is of firm resolve, truthful, free from disease, clever
and free from worry j one born on Krttikas is a heavy eater,
fond of other's wives, impatient, famous j one born on Rohin!
is truthful, pure, of agreeable speech, of resolute intellect and
is handsome. The RajamartaJ?4a in verses 16-40 sets out
the synonyms of 27 naksatras which include the names of the
lords of the nak$atras and synonyms of the lords of nak$atras.
The Jyotisaratnamala, Bhujabala and M. C. 2. 22-23 divide 28
naksatras (including Abhijit) into four groups 833 of seven
each, called' an db!l.k $80 , (blind), 'mandAk$a' (of dim sight),
'madbyaksa' ( of medium sight) and 'svaksa' (of good sight) and
state that property stolen on 'andM.ksa' nak$atras may be recova.
red quickly, stolen on 'mandak$a' naksatras after effort, stolen on
'madhyak$a' (there is no recovery but) the owner may hear that
it bas been taken to a distant place by the thief; stolen on'svak$a'
or ' sulocana' the owner would not recover it nor even hear about
its whereabouts. The Brhat-sarilhita (chap. 14) has already
been referred to ( on p. 530) in connection with the pr(i)vinces of
India governed by nine groups of nak$atras (three nak$atras in
each group) and chapter 15 of the same (1-27) sets out wha~
substances are governed by the 27 nak$atras from KrttikA
to BharaI;lI.834 One verse is translated as a specimen: under
Krttikiis are white flowers, those who have consecrated the Vedic
fires, those who know Vedic mantras, sutras and bhii.~ya8'
( commentaries), officers over mines (or stores), barbers,
briihmaJ?as, purohila, astrologers, potters.
The B rhat-sarhhitii. (104.1-5) declares what nak$atras ( out
of 27) form part of Time looked upon all a purul1a (Person). This is

83 2. ~~:~: ti~ <rer5r~ ~-!ll ?ii'"l";r-!l?ffim~: u-m-

,,~ ~ II ~q(ql«t1~"'~ ~1fiTU ~fII: 1 w~ ~!ilT~: filli"q:
fttmmi: ~q II fl~ lt5. 1- 2. The ~ffllff (chap. 160) bas tbe same
verses as ~ 16.
83 3. The ~~ (pp . 253-254) arranges the 28 or"S counting Crom
~ into the {our groups (of seven each) and calls them W\l ~'f~
t (' , I
m.~ and ~ viz. U~, 1VT, 3l"11f1, lior~ are sP\t, ~~I1If, lWf'~,
~ respectively , tben ~,3l"I~, ~qr. ti'
are tbe same {our ~ &c.;
and so on .

834. 3l"!itit Rc('j!!iiji1I~I'I'm~~: I ~"iftl('jIi"''''''I,\",

~~tll"'OIil II ~. 1.5. 1.
 Nak~rus as limbs of Prn. ,apali 561

an extension of a very old conception. The Tai. Br. says:

'Prajapati has Hasta-naksatra as his hand, Citra as his head,
Nis~ya (i. e. Sviiti) as his heart, the two stars of Visak.ba as the
~hjghs, Anuradhas as his stability (or support ). This is indeed
Praji pati in the form of groups of naksatras ' 835.

From the above it would be noticed that a naksatra astro-

logy apart from the r is i astrology bad been thoroughly developed
in India while Ptolemy is hardly conce rned with the ml.k ~ u.tt!l.s ,
but concentrates only on riiS,s.

The twelve n/sis ar~ to be fuund in the Zodiacal belt (or

circle); each extends over 2{ naksatras i. e. Mesa extends over
Asvin!, Bharani and t of K rttiki, Vrsabha extends over ~ uf
Krttiki , whole of Rohin! a nd half of Mrga'lIrsa and so on. Th ese
twelve rasis from Mesa are identifiod rospectively with the
foll owing limbs of tho Ktllapurusa ,3Su viz. the head (M esa) ,
mouth ( V~s abha), chest, heart, stomach, waist, the abdomell
(betweeIl the navel and the privato parts ), the private parts, the
pair of thighs, the pair of knees, the two shank:>, the two feet.
Varaha adds that the words rilsi. k/'!i'lr ,l, flTllrl. r kl$ll . Ma and
bhf LI '(L/IrL are used as synonyms in J iitaka. The purpose of tlu:l
identification of Tu sis with the limus of K:da put forw ard hy
astrological works is that if a l1lalefie planet occupies in a
person's horoscope a certa in r:tsi, he i>l adversely a ffected in that
limb of his hody to which th e risi ('u rre~ p l) nd s among the lill1 b~
of Kala, but if a henefi co nt pla net uGcupies at hirth a rasi, th ell
the person prUij p e r ~ as t o the currespond ill g limb. This is
Bllccilltly put by the Siir.ival, (IlL. 5-6). Tho twolve r~s is with

835. ~ {f!{ff'l ~: I f.i{;fl 1m: I Al!"<ll ~ I 3i\Oi ~ I 1I11r!1 :wst_-

mfl: II!'lr ~ OI!lTRfll: SWfflfl<i: I it ~I. 1. 5. 2- 7; qlfVr~ I V. 4 . I'll (0I~1'l: tI: )
derives Vedic <f!ITf:lrll fro m OI!IT;f.
835a. !fil?i'Wn':i qntfRl<r.l~( illlfir.r" ,tfl~"1 ~R1f!.q'lll0l1i~~13ri <if •
!m1~ I ~(~IlUR( OI'f~{l7Tr'JHimml '(mtll '{r~~~¥~I';t l:(1{>r tit-
iT
1fiT~: II ¥ ~mi'fi 1. 4 . ~<G<'l on tbi s quotes similar verses from
l1fq{rtlI1r, a pred ecessor mentioned by .'{' ~"iR,," in ~~r 39. 1. The
~!i:;mflli I. 4 mentions th e sam e limbs and ra' is but in a sbo rter compass;
the .~fVl (chap. 5. 30-42) holds that Rudra assumed t he lorm of Kala
and identifies the rai is from Me?'1 ooward s wi th the head and other limb.
of Kala and the Markanqeyapural?-a (5 5 . 75-79 ) assigns ra ~; s lO tb e se ve ral
limbs of Narayal?-a. i'fil?i",mflflll{~~ ... rort ~~!q{("<1ir~ I ~~"lfVlf~"'rr,,·
'iW'P"'mrct..-rfih ~A<fr lll. 6.
B. D.71
 History of Dharmaitlstra [Sec. II, Ch. xv1
their English and Latin equivalents and their synonyms are set
out below :

English I Latin [sanskrit I --_

Synonyms
-- _
------ ----
I
Ram Aries .Mesa Aja, chaga, k"iYa
I
Bull Taurus IVrsabha Uksan, Vl'!?a, go, gopati, tii VU7'i
( or Ta'/l1l7'u )

Twin s Gemini MiLbuna Yugma, nryuga, jitullla, jul uma

or j i lma,
Crab I Cancer Karka Karkin, karka~a, lmlim

Lion Leo Siroha Hari, Mrgendra, leya

Virgin Virgo Kanya Aogana, yuvati, pram ada ,
kumarT, Plllh(Jna ( Plllhena ? )
Balance, Libra Tula Tauli, dhata, vaJ;lij, tulildhara,
Scales, juka

Scorpion Scorpio Vrscika Ali, kT~a, kau1'P1Ja or kaurpi

Archer Sagittflrius Dbanus Capa, karmuka, dhanvin,
hayaoga, Tauk~il,a ( or
Taulu!(l )

Goat Capricornus Makara Mrgasya, mrga, iIkalcem

WaLer- I Aquarius Kumbba Gha~aJ. kumbhadhara, !lTd-raga
carrier
Fishes Pisces Mlna Matsya, jbasa, animi!?a, Ittha
( or Cetl ha V)

The words in this list that a.re put in italics are mentioned
in a separate verse by Variiha ( Brhaj- jiitaka 1. 8 ),836

836, "tl" I !iRt~Qi1~r..~'"'tt1l'i~: 1 "'~ ~ rim"'-

-rlM~" ~ 1.8, The words ~ . .~ create a difficulty;
Utpala takes them to mean' and tbe last sign, in th is way', • Antyabhs •
Is a pure Sanskrit word and not Greek and there is on tbi s inte(pretation no
Greek word correspon d ing to Mina (Pisces), Another commentator GU'1i-
( Continu~d on "ut pate)
 Names 0/ "asis and their synonyms 563

It should be noted that the list of synonyms is not exhaustive '

other words with the same meaning are often employed. Fo;
example, for Simha, Mrgaraja may be used or for Mlna the word
prthu1"()man may be used. The words in italics are deemed by
Weber a nd many others as borrowings from or Sanskrit 3dapta.-
tiona of Greek words. It may be admitted that most of them
bear a striking resemblance to Greek names of ras is. p athona.
should be P iithena to correspond with the Greek word. There is
no reason why kullra should be regarded as a Greek word. Kern
( preface to Br. S. p. 29) thinks that it is a pure Sanskrit word.
There is no Greek word corresponding to Kullra. in Ptolemy.
The word Karka or Karkin appears t o mean' white' and occurs
a>; early as in Atharvaveda I V. 38. 6-7. All that the Brhaj-jatii.ka
( 1. 8) means is that there are other words like Ie"iya used for the
twelve raids in other works. Varaham ihira frequently refers
to the views of the Yavanas and sometimes differs from them.
It has been shown by me in my paper on 'Yavanesvara and
Utpala' ( in J. of Bombay Asiatic Society, vol. 30, pp. 1-8) that
thue is a Sanskrit work on astrology called Yavana- jataka of
about 4.000 verses composed by a king of the Yavanas called
Sphujidhvaja and another Vrddhayavanajataka also in several
thousand verses by Mlnaraja who styles himself the overlord of
Yavanas. I cannot agree with Prof. Sen-Gupta ('Ancient Indian
Chronology' p. 99) th at words like Mesa und Vrsabha in verses
like Eg. 1. 51.1 (sbbi tyam mesam) refer to ras is, when he him self
bad to concede that he could not find the otber ten in the Ug.

(Continu ed from last paCe )

kara says tbat the last rasi is call ed' cett ba ' (vide S ubra hmanya Sa stri' s
translation of Br ha jja taka p. 8) Tbe T. S . S. edi tio n of !1fliImlfi bas
I vitf(qu'i~; ~: ' i . e. th e last rasi is call ed' irtha sl '. The ~~ bal
~'IlT~ ! ~M ; fifi<j~q'"1.,*,"'d'lI : ~-q.: ~rmul nlTrm~"')f'lf'.fiT41 I!fifimT:
Qlt)I"I!fit\11'~:
I 1.9. P tolemy employs a Greek word for Pisces (Loeb Class ical
Library pp. 52, 314, 328 &c .), to whicb 'itt ba' or 'iktbasi' or 'irtbasi' would
correspond rather tban ' cettb a '. Th e S~ riival i (lIl. 7 ) reads ~ <I(l'i-
~~~~U'lF<1lT: ' Tb a t sbow s tha t it bad no Greek word for
, mina ' before it. It may be noted tb a t the Sii ra vali expressly says that a.
Variiba 's work is bri ef it (Saravali ) took essential matters from th e exten·
sive Sistras composed by Yavananarendra a nd otbers I have not been able
to find the word ittha or a similar Sanskrit adaptation for M ina in tb e
B!"bajjataka. Vide lndische Studien vol. H . pp,254-261 and JRAS for
1893 p. 747 {or the Greek and Latin eqnivalent. of tbe San.krit word. {or
the algns of the zodiac, planets &C.
564, Hi,~fory of Dharmllsustm [Sec. II, Cb. XVI

The appearance of the railis is briefly described by the

Brhajjataka t!37 1. 5 and explained by Utpala as follows: (The
sign Mina i. e. Pisces) appears as two fishes (each facing the
tail of the other), Kurnbha appears as a man carrying an empty
jar placed on his shoulder, the sign of Gemini is represented a.s
a man carrying a mace and a woman holding a lute, the sign of
Sagittarius is a man wi th a bow whose legs are like those of a.
horso, t.he sign Capricorn is a crocodile with tho face of a deer,
sign of Libra is a person holding scales, the sign Virgo is
represented by a maiden in a boat with an ear of corn in one
hand and fire in the other; the remaining signs are similar ( in
form) to the objects indicated by their names and all signs reside
in places appropriate to their nam es, For more detailed descrip.
tions, vide the twelve ver.:;es quoted from Yavanesvara by Utpala
which I have quoted and translated in my paper in the Journal
of the Bombay Asiatic Society vol. ;50 parts 1 and 2 pp. 1-7 and
which are found in the Yavana-jataka of Sphujidhvaja ( a palm-
leaf ms of which exists in the Nepal Durbar Library) and in the
Vrddhayavanajiitaka of M!naraja. Those verses also name the
special objects and places governed by the different ras is. Several
verses of Kiisyapa are quoted by UtJ1~ l a on Br. S, 40 that deal
with the materials or things t hat aro under the illfluence of tho
several railis. l"or example, Mesa is the lord of garments,
woollens, cloth made of the hair of a young goat, of Masura pulse,
wheat, reein, barley, gold and plants that grow on dry land. 838
The ViimanapuriinaK:I&, ( cllap. 5.45-60) describes the appearance
of the riisis and the places and objects they roside in or dominate
and the ver::les closely resemble the wording employed in the two
Yavanajatakas of ~phujidhvaja and Mlnariija. Some verses are
quoted below by way of illustration. From Varaha's description
it appears that Mesa, Vrsabhu., Karkata, Sirnha, Vrscika,
Ma kara and MInI]. are figures of animals (either four-footed or
837. ~,fIll 'efil ;;r~g;f ~,,~ ~froT ~1'fI ..-irs"ii~",) ~~) 1lJTW-I: I ,,'hfr
~';fl WflTI ~ lfi1l1Jr ~r: ~ifTlf~~: ~.IJcJ ~ II 'fW'IIf1'l'l'li I. 5; some
read ~'Al ~(all move in tbe sky) , 13ut tbis appears redundant and
meaningless.
838. q"l~lfi!§ll(lI')ql"'t ~~~~lfilro~ I 'tr.m~r"i tfi~ ..
~ mr:II ~1~' 40.2. If tbe reading be ~;rt it meave' hide drum .
for oil'
838a. ~~: ~ ~ ~~ I ffOfT1l'rv~ ~!Ff ~;t.,.
~ II fN!f 'lIl\m~ ~ \'lfT~ II I mY;\" ifTlf ~ri't-;;'~!fi:
~: II !fifi;_:_~~: ~~: ~: I iqmWl~.,~f;h",q~.... " ~.
~rvf !5. 49-!51.
 Rati names in India, China and elsewhere 565

insects) and the remaining five resemble human beings with

special characteristics in each case. These riisi names have
more or less thesarne meanings in Babylonia, 839 in Europe inclu-
ding Greece and in India. But it should n ot be supposed that
everywhere the several groups of stars were imagi ned to be
identical with the figures of the same animals or of human beings.
In China for instan ce, the twelve raids are rat, ox, tiger , hare,
dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, hen, dog and pig (Encyclo-
paedia Americana , vol. 29 under the word • zodiac' and New Fun k
and Wagnall's Encyclopaedia vol. 36 under' Zod iac ')839<.. It is
further stated that these are still fo und in some parts of Asia,
in Japan and also among the remains of the Aztec race in
America. There are many who deny that except for a few sig ns
(like the Scorpion ) thera is hardly any very striking similarity
hetween the twelve groups of oonstellations called Aries &0. and
the natural appearance of the objects denotecl hy the twelve
names.810 The origin of the names assigned to Zod iacal signs is
unknown. The zodiacal signs named Mesa, Vrsabha &. are
purely imaginary, are mere subjective oonfigurations of stars
which appear to be in one plane and which appear to certain
persons to possess somehow the outline of a scorpion or a
lion which are, as modern astronomy tells us, situated at
enormous distances (light years as they are called ) from each
other. The same constellation is often given different names;
e. g. the constellation called Great Bear was called hy Thales
• the wain' (waggon drawn hy horses ). The twelve Zodiacal
signs are clearly absent from tbe sacred astronomy of Egypt 841
and the Egyptians knew nothing of the Zodiac before the

839. Vide Campbell Thompson 's Inlro. 10 ' Reports o( th e Magicians

&".' (or a lable of lat e Babylonian, ".9syrian and modern Englis h names of
~i ll ns (pp. XX III- XX IV) and Expository Times, vol 30 ((or 1918) pp. 164- 168
on 'Assyro-Babylonian astrOlo gers and Iheir lor e' by T. G. Pinches. On p.167
the laller says tllat Europe is indebted to the [3abylonians for Ihe names of
Ihe signs of tbe Zod iac except Crab and Archer and sets out lb e Babylonian
names witb tbeir meanings aod modern names (Ram &c . ), Tbele two
tables do not agree. Babylonians called Capricorn goat. 6sh. Boucb~­
Leclercq (on p . 57 note 1) gives a list of tbe twelve Cbaldean zodiacal lig ol,
which differs from botb the above.
839a. Vide 'the Stars above us' by Frof. Zinner p . 35 and pl .. te 111
opposite p. 19 showing the Japanese animal sequence from Ra t to Pig.
840. Vide ' I ntroducing the universe' by J. C. Hickey p . 123,
841. 'Legacy of Egypt' (ed, by Glanville) p. 162; 'The oam .. of the
. tars' by E, J, W ebb p . 96.
566 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. II, Ch. XVI

Alexandrian age and very few Zodiacs are older than the Roman
times. Since Assyriologists began to reveal the aEtronomicll !
knowledge in the valley' of the Euphrates, tbe Babylonian
origin of the Zodiac has been taken for granted by almost
all scholars.8lZ The dissenting voice is that of E. J . Webb
in' Names of stars'S13 who very strenuously argues against the
Babylonian origin of the Zodiacal signs and holds that the Zodiac
as we know it is a Greek invention and that CleostratuB who
according to Pliny was concerned in forming it lived about 520
B. C. In spite of the vehemence of Webb's arguments, in my
humble opinion, he is far from convincing and for the present at
least the Babylonian origin of the Zodiacal signs has to be
accepted. The passage of Pliny on which W ebb relies is differently
understood by Prof. J. K. Forheringham.s'4 The latest work of
SInton on 'History of Science' (1953) holds that the Zodiac had
been distinguished by Babylonian astronomers a thousand years
hefore Cleostratus an d all that Cleostratus probably did was to
divide those constellations into twelve equal lengths of the
ecliptic i. e. the twelve signs of the Zodiac. A somewhat amusing
argument has been advanced by Hickey 845 that the fact that there
are in the sky no animals (figures) suggestive of Egypt or India
such as the hippopotamus and the elephant seems to rule out
those countries as sources. Is there any logical necessi ty that
certain animals must be introduced in a system of Zodiacal signs
if that system origin ated in a certain country that may be the
home of dozens of wild and t ame animals? Are all the principal
animals of Mesopotamia or of Greece included in the seven animals
that figure as aigns, if one of the above two was the origin

842. Vide nouch~.Lecleroq . p. 53 ( 'L' ' Astrologie Grecq ue ' ); p. XVI of

the lnno. to Heath's ' C reek Astronom y' ; Alexander Moret on 'The Nile and
Egypti nn civilization' ( 192 7) p. 453 (where he says tllat th e Creek Zod iac
was itself derived from Bab ylonian astronomy) .
843. Vide pp. 163- 175 and p. 189 of 'Names of Stars' by E. J. Webb.
844 . Vide Journal of Hell enistic Studies, vol. 39 pp. 164- 184 aud
vol. 45 pp. 78- 83 (both by Fotherin gham). ,:bid vol. 41 (pp. 70-85) 'Cleo-
stratus Red ivivus ' by E. J. Webb ( who bimself rema.rks on p. 70 tbat tbe
'lu cstion wben and by whom our constellations were in vented is never likely
to find its solution) and ibid. vol. 48 pp. 54-63 on' CleoSlratus and his work'
by E . J. Webb. Vide Prof. Neugehauer in •Exact Sciences in Antiquity' p. 67
( note) about the history of Zod iacal and planetary symbols being virtually
unknown . BUl in th e Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. IV at p. 28
Prof. Neugebauer asserts that tbe predomina.nt influence of Babylonian
concepts on the grouping of stars into pict ures must be maintained.
8'1.5, Vide 'Introduoing tbe universe' p. 103 by J. C. Hickey.
 Origin of Zodiacal sigm 5«)7
.
of the present Zodiacal signs? All the seven animals in the
Zodiac are found in abundance in India even now, while some
of them may not be found in the present day Greece or Baby-
lonia. At present I am only concerned to say that out of the
three ancient lands, viz. Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greoce,
Mesopotamia has the greatest claims to be regarded as the
source of the Zodiacal signs. The case of India will be dealt
with a little later on.
The astrological riisis are St6 variously classified as male
.ind female, t a ra (movable ) a nd ~I hila (fixed or lasting) a nd

Male eara I~
, ~ _~ saumya ~
~
~
Lord of or or .D .... ~ or ~ w ~
Female S thira I .~ 0 ~.~ krii ra ~: 0 .~
____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _'~
'O_ _ _C___!___ _ __'_ 0.: "If)

Mesa east male I cafa n. kr ura i p.

V rsabha south female sthira n. saumya I p.

Mitbuna west male dvisvabhava n. krilra s.

Karka north female I car a n. saumya p.

Simha east male stbira d. kru ra 8.

Kanyii I south female dvisvabhava d. ISaumya s.
Tul! west male cara d. i kr ura s.
I
V rscika north female stbira d. Isaum ya s.
Dhanus east male I dvis,aLJhuva n. ! krura p.

Makara south female I carn n. I saumya p.

Kumbha west male I sthira d. krilra 8.

Mina north female Idvisvabhiiva d. l
saumya b oth p.
and it
------~----~------~---
846 . 'I'');;m'i:iJq;fif;~!Fl: WI'" f.mRnn : ~lfT ~g",, : !fiRm!"" Il1f
~~ ~1IMl'.IJ ~~" ~1;:rn ~~>N<'I ; 'l~~11 lfi1:: ~lI': ~it
it "'"~: 1fr~"mT : ~ilt'H! g;lIlfiel : ~~lvrr : I ,~~ I . 10-11 .
Separate 'IRf'T~ : as "'iR + :wT (3Rf?i or ftq'() + m ( .. fi~) · i1r~
il the 5th or 9tb rasi from a specified ra,;l (Bfbaj-jataia 1. 11) . Tbere II ano -
th er meaning of ~ (whicb ~ calls ~.~)<rr ) in flPlIrllflfi 1. J 4 viz .
mt, ~, ~, 1P1n, \til:, ~,~ are fir~illTl of the Su n, Moon, Marl ,
Mercury, Jupiter , Venus and Saturn.
568 History of Dharmaillslra [ Sec. II, Cb. XVI

dvis.,;abhiiva ( of both characters ), as 8aumya (mild) and kru1"a

( fierce or malignant ), as dinabala (powerful by day), nislibala
( powerful by night ), as pr .~thoduya (rising from the hind part),
SiT !iodaya (rising by their head first) or ubhayodaya, and as
lords of the four main directions (east &c.). The above
table will show at a glance these classifications, in which n.
stands for nisabala, d. for dinabala, p. for p rs~hodaya and s. for
slrsodaya.
The B;-hajjataka compresses these details in 1. 10-11 and
Utpala explains the purpose of some of these technical terms.
Yatra (invasion) undertaken on slr ~odaya raids yields the
desired result but if undertaken on prs~hodaya rasis there is
failure and one's army is routed. Those born on krura signs
are of cruel nature and those born on saumya signs are mild by
nature, while those born on male signs are energetic and those
born on female signs ale mild. Those born on rara signs are
unsteady by nature, those born on sthira signs are of a fixed
nature and those born on dvisvabhava signs are of mixed chara-
cter. The knowledge of the signs as lords of quarters is useful
in finding out the direction where a person who stole something
on a particular sign could be found or the stolen article could
be found. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos I. 11 speaks of Taurus, Leo,
Scorpio and Aquarius as solid signs ( sthin L) a nd Gemini, Virgo'
Sagittarius, Pisces as bi-corporeal ( dviri,dla or rt"isl' Lhhi1.l'a), a nd
in 1. 12 there is agreement with Brhajjataka as to the masculine
and feminine signs uut there is disagreement as to rhn rnal
( dinahala ) and noctu'l'Turl signs ( nisabala ), since Ptolemy holds
t.hat Aries and other signs are alterna tely diurnal or nocturnal,
while Varaha holds Aries and the nart three and also Sagittarius
and Capricornus as nocturnal and the rest diurnal. It does not
appear that the Brhajjataka knows of the commanding and
obeying signs (Tetrabiblos 1. 14) and of signs widch behold
each uther or of disjunct signs ( Tetrabiblos 1. }5 and 16). Tho
B~·. J. (I. 20) and L aghujataka 1. 6 assign tbe following colours to
the twelve rasis from Mesa onwards viz. red, white, green (like
8 parrot's body), dark- red ( pink ), whitish like smoke, speckled,
dark, golden, yellowish, variegated, deep brown (like ichneu-
mon ), white. There is hardly any thing corresponding to this
in the Tetrabiblos. The railis are a.lso divided into four classes
viz. anthropomorphic ( Mitbun·a, Kanyu, Tula., DhanuB forepart,
Kumbha), quadruped (Mesa, V!,~ a, Sirriha, Dhauus latter
portion, Makara forepart), aquatic (Karka~a, Mlna, Makara
 Effects of Moon's position., 569

latter part), inseot ( Soorpion). Vide Tetrabiblos IV. 4 pp. 389

and 391 for slightly varying enumeration.
Br. J . (ohap. 17. 1-1 2) sets out the oharacter istics of persons
born when the Moon was in Mesa and the following raids and
remarks at the end ( in verse 13) that the results described will
come out fully if the moon, the rasi it occupies and the lord of
that rasi are powerful. In B r. J. 1. 19 it is said that two-footed
railis ( mithuna, kanyii, tuli, kumbha and forepart of dhanus ) are
powerful by day if they be in kendra; four .footed riis is (mesa,
vrsa, simha, makara forepart and dhanus latter part) are power-
ful at night in kendra position and the rest i. e. watery signs
and insect signs (kullra, vfscika, mYna and latter part of
makara) are powerful at twilight, when in kOIldra position. Br.
J . 18. 20 provides th at similar results (as in chap. 17 ) follow if
a person is horn when the {aulla at his birth is me!?a or anyone
of the other rasis.
Planets, their relations to the riii; is and their conjoint influ-
ence will now be briefly indicat,ed. We saw above (pp. 493- 495 )
that in the Vedic Samhitiis and Brahmanas express references to
planets other than Jupiter are almost absent, that in some Vedio
verses five planets and Venus ( as Vena) appear to be referred to.
S\'arbhanu, the son of an asura, is said to have struck the sun
with darkness ( i. e. caused an eclipse) in :ag. V. 40. 5,6, 8, 9.
In the Chiindogya Upani!?ad the soul that has acquired true
knowledge is said to shake off the hody after casting off all evil
like a horse ( that casts off du st by) sha king his hair (mane
and tail) or like the moon becoming free from the mouth of
Riihu. 8t7 The Maitri yanl Upani sad mentions Sani, Riihu
( ascending node) and Ketu ( descending node). 818 But hardly
anything is said about the astrological significance of planets
in the ancient Vedic Literature. In the Mahii.bbiirata there are
plenty of references to the evil influence of planets, but that is
restricted to naksatras. Both Riihu and Ketu are said in
Kar naparva to rise in the sky for ( i. e. portending) the des truc-
tion of the world. 849 Kautilya offers the curious information
that a foreknowledge of rainfall can be bad from tho position,
the motion and the yarbhiidhillla of Jupiter, from the rising,
setting and motion vf Venus and from the natural and unnatural
847. 3t"ill;'l ~ 1~'[tI qrq ~~~ ~ m)!);wril!~ '{ffl ml~ 'lil'I~r
1IfJ«'S~~\fIff~ I mr;i'rnifq. VllI . 13.

848. ~f.l(lil~ <1.('IW')-q~~~inl'Tqlirs~i<I' a'!fTllVf,"-;rq. VII . 6,

849. ~~ 1l'Q~ ';J~ ;;ram: ~ I ~ 87·92-
2, D. 7~
570 History of Dharmai'a8tra I Bec. II, Ch. XVI
aspects of the sun and that from the sun the sprouting of the
seed (can be predicted), from Jupiter the formation of abundant
sheaves of corn when the seeds are sown and from the
(movements) of Venus rainfall (can be predicted). 850 It will
be seen from the above that general or universal ( not individual
or horoscopic ) astrology like the reports made by royal priests
in Mesopotamia was prevalent in India many centuries before
Christ. The Brhajjitaka ( II. 2-3) enumerates the nine planets,
Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars. Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Rahu and
Ketu and furnishes some synonyms of all these.
Observations of planets by the Babylonians go back to
2nd millennium B. C. Venus was the first to be studied. Tables
about Venus based on observations are found from 1921-1901 851
B. C.; Jupiter and Mars were also ohserved. Jupiter was held to
be normally favourable when he shone brightly or followed the
moon, while Mars was the planet of ill·luck, but, if Mars shone
weakly or disappeared, its evil influenco disappeared. Saturn as
its name indioates ( 'firm standing one') was regarded mostly a
planet of good luck. Various favourable prognostications were
made about a child, according as the planets like the Moon, Venus
or Jupiter were rising or unfavourable prognostications were
made if Mars was rising or if Jupiter or Venus were setting.s5 !
Each planet received a variety of names in the astronomical
texts of Babylonia. The, teaching that every planet has
its exaltation i. e. the strongest pitch of its might and influence
when in a particular sign goes back to ancient Babylonia. 853
The arrangements of the order of planets differed at different
times. Planet comes from a Greek word meaning • a wanderer'
and the word was applied to the planets because as compared
with the stars they appeared to wander in different ways and at
850. ~q~{i\li,~rih ~~~)'q': ~$JqqlfC'l .. q"'I"(.q: ~
qifit~1'"l' I 'lVr~ ~r~: I ~: ~t fC'I'~r I ~ffl: ~ "
lM~ II. 24th :mi'q~ p. 116 (Sham shastri's ed. of 1919). For ~
as to rainfall, vide ,,«411"1 chapter 22. Aratus (270 B. C.) and Theopbrastul
( 322 B. C. ) say that tbe disappearance of the constellation corresponding
to our Pu~ya was reckoned by the ancients as a sure presage o{ rain. Vide
Dr. Fleet in J. R. A. S. for 1911 at p.516.
851. Vide Heath's 'Greek Astronomy', Introduction pp. XVII-XVIII,
Meissner's' Babylonien and Assyrien' ( 1925) vol. II pp. 254-Z.56; Sarton in
, A bistory of Science' p. 77.
8.52. M. Jaslrow in 'the Religion of Babylonia and Aaayria' ( 1898)
p.46O,
6.53, MeiUller, ibid. vol. II p. 406.
 Plane/s, thei7' names and a7Tangement 571
different times. SSt In modern times there are three more planeti,
viz. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto discovered respeotively in 1781,
1846 and 1930 A. D.IIS; Bouche Lecleroq mentions that modern
astrologers asserted that Chaldeans saw Uranus and Neptune
and three other planets (Juno, Vulcan and Pluto), when they had
good eyes (p. 573 note 2 of 'L' Astrologie Greoque).
The Br. J. (II. 2-3), Siiravall (lV. 10-11) and Riijamartal:Hla
(verses 8-15) set out the various names for the sun, th e moon
and the other seven planets. They ar(:! specified in the note ll56
854. C. 'I. Mac! can on 'Babylonian Astrology and its relation to the Old
Testament ' (United Church P ubli shing Hou se. Toronto) p. 27. Prof.
Neugebauer in E. S. A. p. 162 (for arrangements of planets in cuneiform
texts in Seleucid period and in Greek horoscopes ). In the Sele ucid period the
standard arrangement was) upiter-Venus-Mercury-Saturn-Mars. OrdinILr y
arrangement in Greek horoscopes is Sun, Moon. Saturn . jupite r, Mars, Venu>,
Mercury. For the planetary week til e arrangement in G reece is said to be
Saturn- jupiter-Mars- S un - \'cnus- Mercury-Moon . On p. 163 Prof. Neugebauer
thinks that Hindu arrangement of planets is obviously G reek in ori gin for
two reasons, as it is based on the arrangement accnrding to distance from the
earth and also on a div ision of days into 24 hours, whi c h is nOt Babylonian
but Hellenistic and ultimately of Egyptian origin. In this latter he can be said
to be wrong, as a similar arran gement of week days can be arrived at b y
rel ying on the 60 gha\ika syste m of India. We saw above that ho,'a ill
Indian astro logy has three meanings, vi z. jataka, inCtlu and half a si!1n, bu t
the very early Sanskrit astrological te,t s at least do not appear to emplOy th e
word hora in the sense of 'h our ' or ~'. th part of tbe whole day or r\ th part
of tbe day. Anyone wuo asserts that the arrangem e nt of week days is copi ed
from the Greeks must prove two thin gs, (I) the definite tim e wh en th e Greek ,
hi t upon the particular arrangeme nt of planets fo r purpo ses of week- days an d
(2) tb e borrowing people bad definitely not arri ved at the same arran gem ent
before tbe Greeks. Prof. Neugehauer, so far as I can see, offers hardly any evi ·
dence on any of these two matters beyond mere assertions and conjectures. J t
bas further to be remembered that Alberuni (Saohau, vol. I. p . 343) states that
nobody in India uses the bours exceot t he astrologers, for they speak of the
dominants of the hours. The 30 muh urtas of altol'citra are much older than
the Satapatha 13 r. and it was easy to divide a muhurta into two naq is or
gha!ikas as the Arthasastra does (L 19 p. 37 'Nalikabhirahara, \adha ratrim cn
vibhajet) and Pu rii ~as like Vi ~ l}u VI. 3. 6-9 do . There is hardly anything in
the vast Sanskrit Literature (of ancient or medieval times) to show th a t
common people or writers (not being astronomers or astrologers) employed
the method of 24 hours of the day,
855 . Vide Pro£. Van Pen Bergh in ' Uni verse in space and lime ' p 177
aDd D. S. Evans in 'Frontiers of astronomy ' p . 41 for tables and data about
planets from Mercury to Pluto aa regards distance from the Sun, period of
revolution, diameter, mass &c.
856. The SUD: ~J~' \fT!1, ..... ,~, ~~, ~~, ~, ~~~,
l'itnrtV, """" ~, SI~, ~, ~, mftq, ~, ~ J tf.ls.
( Continu,d on "ut pat. )
S72
•
History of DharmaJfistra [ Sec, II. Ch. :xvt

below and the names underlined are deemed by Western writers

to have been derived from Greek; but it should be noted that no
Greek name for the moon occurs in these or other wO!'ks and
I am not convinced that J!va is a Greek word or adaptation
of a Greek word. The word J!va occurs in the Egveda itself in
many places ( as in Eg. 1. 164.30, x.. 18.37) and means 'living
being, an individual' and in Chandogya Upanisad VI, 3.2 it
means' individual soul " When Brhaspati came t!o be regarded
as the most prominent of planets and was said to preside over
knowledge and happiness (as in Br. J. II. I. 'Jivo jfiana-sukham' )
he came to be regarded as the very life of beings and was called
J!va, The Saravall (X.U6) says that Brhaspati is the life of men
(Brlw.spatir-nqJiim j!va~). In Bhujabala it is said' what will all
the planets do to him in whose horoscope Jupiter is in kendra
position. A herd of wild elephan ts is killed by a single lion.' 857
The Br. J. and Siiravali provide that further synonyms may be
derived from popular usage.
In the following some characteristics of the planets (based
on Br. J. II. 5-7) are brought together, viz. the colour ruled by
each, the lords of each, the direction, element, Veda and clas.
(brahmaI,la, k!1atriya &c.) dominated by ea.ch and whether they
a.re beneficent or malefic.
(Contitlued from last page)
2 The moon·-~, lr-I, ~, ~~, ~"mt~, ~r;(, vrrrlf, f.i~r!fil,
~S'l'l, f"'~r;n'tl, it~O~ll', ~~,~, ~I"~, "'!&f;rQffl.
3 Mars- ~lf'r~'fi, ~'Sf, ~, "lrn'5f, ,",15", ~ll', ~~~, f'itrfflwr,
~~~,~~ll',m~, q~,~ •
._ 4 I\1crcLlry-'!'l', ~-;-.~., 'l'rlel"'!, ~Iel,~, ~NI'rsr, ~'rJ-q, ~, "Rr~",
i\~-q, ~~'~"' (or ~J;lf1).
5 JU(liter.-~~,-~, ~ ~~, ~~,~~,~r:qr.q, ~iit,
'M'lffl, ~m, ~, ~R, -:i'Pf.
6 Venus- 'g'lfi, oro, 'l~'" itm, lfnT!f, m, ~~, '4<qiflil;r~,
~qifiim, 3{~~, 'fil1V, 3{A$'~1\'
7 Saturn- ~~, -mr~, ~, ~~, 3{~, 3{~~, d , ~,
~~, n~V'Sf, onmi, ll'~,~, ~,_~":,,
8 l,abu- ~~, ~:, ~,~~, ~~, ffr~, iff1'~, UU~, ~,
~~,~'{,~.
9 Ketu- iIi3,
rm~, "IrlJi'I', ~. Vide Campbell Thompson',
'Reports or tbe magicians .xc.' vol. II. Introduction p. XXIII. ror tbe Baby-
lonian and Assyrian names ror Moon (Sin), Sun ( Shamash ) and so 011.
The SUII is called Helin in Devipura~a quoted by Hemadri on vratas. vol. II.
p.434 and rrequently in Bbavl~yapurat:la as in I. 104. 2 '~;11f ~ is
~~ l'lr-'!!f: I ~~ffl ~ "'IT>IlNm~: ~: Q'
857. Ai §~fitor ~r: ~ 1Wi in.oi\' ~iiI: I ~1fR1Jm'f'R': ~ ~ft II
~ p. 280 verle 1262.
 ,
Table of colours, direction &:c ruled by p!anet~ 573

....
..Q
'i
I:l
.~
0
0
ca
....
0
ca
(I)
(I) ~
a; ~ ~
'0-
, .....8 E o
0_
r:n
0

I=l
tj
I=l
._I:l (I)
~

0 !::-
~ (I) p.,

ca
(I) ~
0
..::10
~~
....I=l ....::l
::l
Cl)
..0
0
ca ._
bD
::l
0
<C
u-
ca al
(I)
(.)
<C
(I)
0
<C ca
(.)

Cl) (I)
~8 (I) Cl)

ca ~
I:l
=
Q)
I=l ca
._-- - - - - s S'"
a '" (I) Cl>
;;t ..0 ..0 E
cO
::l .
'"
0 ·
'" '" ..
cO
<Xl po, cO
rn
cO .;::
..... po,
.~
...,. S '"
E ~
<cd

'" '"'"
-;:; .... ..0 ..Q -::J .

'" ';e
",.
- UJ
v, · ,'...." 'C! o·

- - ---
~ :> ~
--
,:;1
' C/)
-- -- - - -
;::Q ;::Q ''0
-----

'"'"
cO

cO '" e;'"
Q)
t>-
cO
'"go ~
(I)
(I)

'" cO cO

,'a"
Cl)
..0
:> .~

~ ~ ~
--po,
-- --_ .. - r:f:l
- - - - - -........ --
§..o cO ~ J-4
........
...::l . tIl..o (I)

~a3~
Q)
S'"
Cl)~
.... .!::
~2
-- - ----
~
-_- -
'"
rxl
-
I<~~ ~
~
.~
....
0
.... :i ..c::....
'" ;::I
.,
.
..0
~ r:.:i
.... :;
til ...,..
z
Cl>
Cl)
.!:: '"
r:x:1 z C/)
0
Z
0
a:i ~
._ a:i
'" ....
S
0", .... '"
1>.
Q)
'2 cO
p.,
~
. 'I=l" '",,"::l.... ,,"....
;::I
..oCl)
13; ...... (I)
....
~
cO
.... ::l .
rJJ · ~ .~
po,i:!
..0 ~ ~
IIC
~
:; ..... .... 0..
-- ---
....13, po, "0
.s
0..0
"'''0
"0
a>
. '"
~~
.....o ccO
0
~
'".. :.a13;
(I)
.
Cl)
po,
c
a>
(I)

be
~
!3:
(I)
po,
bO
(I)
.;:
cO
l>
...Id
~
Q l>
'"
.... .. ..
. ..t'
Cl)
....a> ;::I I:l

-
I:l
C !Xl
::s r1l
;::I
ell 0 ;::I
'a c 8 cO
'il, Cl ...,
..0
,.., :>
(I) (I)
;::I
co )l ::a ::a ;::I cO
r:f:l p:;
 #
History of DharmaJastra [ Seo. iI, Ch. XV!

In the Yogayiitra VI. 1 a distinotion is made between the

gods that rule the eight direotions and the planets that rule
them. lndra, Agni, Yama, Nirrti, VaruI;la, Vayu, Yak~a
( Kubera ) and Siva are the lords of the eight direotions from
East to North-East, while the same directions are governed by
planets as in the above table.
The purpose for these classifications is explained as follows:
As regards colours ruled by planets, they are useful in indicat-
ing the colour of the thing lost by or stolen from a man and the
colour of the flowers with which the planets are to be worshipped;
the lords of the planets are to be worshipped along with the
planets in arahapuju; the direction in which a king should
maroh on an invasion is indicated by planets that rule the
directions; according as beneficent or malefic planets are power-
ful in the horoscope, the character of the person concerned is
indicated as good or bad. The Br. J . II. 7 further provides
that the Moon, the Sun and Jupiter are lords of sattV(l·gU1Ja,
Mercury and Venus of rajo-gu1Ja, Mars and saturn of tamogu1Ji1.
Utpala points out that Varaha differs from Yavanesvara, who
regards the Sun, Mars and Jupiter as Sattvika, the Moon and
Venus as full of rajoguna, Saturn as having tamoguna and
Mercury taking on the character of the planet with which it is
in conjunction. b58t• Rahu is the ascending node or the point where
tbe orbit of the moon intersects the ecliptic in passing northwards.
B~. J. (II. 8- 11) and Lagbujii.taka II. 13-19 describe the form and
appearance of the planets from the SUll to Saturn, giving full
rein to association of ideas, imagination and to personification
of tbem. For illustration, I translate sme verse ( 10) • Jupiter 859
has a large body, his hair and eyes are brownisb in colour,
he has eminent intellect and has a phlegmatic constitution;
Veuus is given to pleasures, has handsome body and pretty eyes,
has wind and phlegm in his constitution and blaok but curlinF.
hair on his head. ' Another table based on Br. J. II. '11, 12, 14
and Sii.ravall IV. 15- 16 about the parts of the human body

85801. ~'!Il"'lq~q ~...rtar n m!~ : 1 ~~ : ~_ ~ : , fl'm •

"IT~' ~~{~~)~: mTI .' ~w ~)
'!'ffll ~s~i\ ~II ~ 00 II . 7. The verse occurs 00 folio 6 of
Q"''''lI''ffI (Nepal IDS.)

859. ~: ~~:~:~: , 'i1!: ~ ~ \ :

~: fflq;Ir..t'SINll~"""''l'h!; M~ II. 10; compare the similar de.·
criptions in um. 8. 5'.
 Table of part,~ of hu man body and pla1Jet3 575

governed by the planets,860 about their habitat (slh fi na), about

the kinds of cloth they govern, about the metals, precious stonea
and the flavours they rule is given below.

Plaoet
bodily
part habitat cloth I meJewels
tals & I ..asa
(fla"ou r)

Sun bones I tem ple coa rse copper pu ngeot

'.\Ioon blood I watery place cloth fr esh jewels salt
from loom

Mars marrow fire-place burnt in a part go ld bi tter

Mercury ski n play-ground we t bron ze mix ed ( all
six toge ther )
JupI ter fat treas ur y , neither new nor sil ver sweet
much worn
Venu s se men bedroom strong pearl sour
Sa turn mUiCle, I d ust-b ole tattered iron astr in!:enl

It was said that if Jupiter was in his own house (i. e.

Dhanus or Mlna), then Jupiter also ruled over gold. 861 The
object of assigning these was practical, viz. the astrologer could
judge of the place of birth if the planet was powerful or of the
place of the thief or, if a question were put about the food which
one invited to a dinner may be served with, the powerful
planet would suggest the kind of food.
The Br. J . ( II. 5) states that the SUll, Mars and Jupiter are
masculine, the Moon and VEOnus feminine, while Mercury and
Saturn are neuter or common ( n:.J.pwilsaka ). Here Tetrabibl08
differs ( 1. 6 ), as it regards Saturn as masculine. Acc. to Br. J.
II. 21 the Moon, Mars and Saturn are nocturnal (powerful a~
night). the Sun, Jupiter and Venus are diurnal (powerful by
day) and Mercury is common (both diurnal an d nocturnal ).
The Tetrabiblos differs ( 1. 7 ) by making Venus nocturnal and
Saturn diurnal.

860. Vide T otrabiblos Ill. 12 pp. 319 and 321 for parts of tbe human
body governed by planets, wbicb description differs from that of the Br· J.

861. ~ \1lw .. iii"""~~ ~ ~I ~ ~ ~"

~ ~'if II ~ quoted by ~ on ~. n. 12. The relation between
plane ts and the chief metal s was, it seems, based on colour Similarity.
The theory that different plan ets governed different areas and 11mb. of the
bod,. led to the influence of astrolog y on medicine,
576 History oj Dhar maiiistra ( Sec. II, Ch. XVI

Certain railiB are declared to be the houseB (svag rha) of

planetB and certain other rasis as their ucc;J. (exaltation) and
certain parts or degrees of the u cca are declared to be paramucca;
the 7 th rii.si from the ucca is said to be nica i. e. depressed and
certain parts (or degrees) of the latter are said to be paramanica.
The Sun and the Moon have each only one ras i as svagrha, while
the other five planets have two each. The following diagram
will indicate all this at a glance:

Planet
j_ Svagrha sign of
Exaltation
I sign of
Depression

Bun I Siltlha Mesa Tula

I 10 10
Mool! Karka~a Vrsabha Vrscika
3 3
Mars Mesa and V rscika Makara Karka~a
28 28
Mercury Mithuna and Kanya Kanya MIna
L) 15
Jupiter Dhanus and Mina Karkata Makara
5 5
Venus V rsahha and Tula Mlna Kany a
27 27
Saturn I Makara and Kumbha Tulii.
20
Mesa
20

The figures under signs of exaltation and depression are the

(lIil.~ns
(degrees) respectively of para/JIucca and paramanica.
The explanation offered by Yavanajataka of Sphujidhvaja and
the Vrddhayavana,..jataka of Minaraja is that the sign of Leo
was assigned to the Sun as his house because it is the mos'
powerful sign and Cancer (a watery sign ) was assigned to the
Moon, and the Sun and the Moon each gave one sign out of the
remaining to the other five planets viz. Kanya, Tuln, V~soika,
Dhanus and Makara were given by the Sun to Meroury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn ( arranged according to distance) and
the Moon gave to the same five pla.nets one eaoh of the rlisis of
Mithuna, V~l?abha, Me~a, Mina and Kumbha (vide my paper
n 'Y~vanesvara and .Utt>ala' in J.l3. B. R. A. S. vo~ 30 on:p. ~
 Ptolemy on s1Jagrha.~ 57'1

for the verses of Minaraja and p. 7 for translation ). Tetrabiblo3

I. 17 practica.lly gives a similar explanation about houses
( svagrhas ) and I. 19 agrees with Br. J. I. 13 about the exaltatioll
and depression signs. Ptolemy does not give the degree" (of
paramocca and paramanica 1l6! ).

That rasi that is occupied by its own lord or bas an asll6ct

( dr~ti ) of its lord ur is occupied by Mercury ur Jupiter or hal:!
an aspect with them is powerful H6l if it be not occnpied by any
one or more uf the remaining planets or 11a8 no aspect with any
one of the rest. There is a further provision that Scorpion if it
is in the 7th house is powerful, the human signs (M ithuna,
Kanyii, Tula, the forepart of Dhanus and Kumbha) are powerful
in the lallI/II, the watery signs (Karkata, Mill!\, latter half
of Makara) are powerful if they occupy the 4th house and
the quadrupeds (Mesa, V~sa, Sirrlha, latter half of Dhanus,
and the forepart of Makara) are powerful in the 10th hUUdO
(Hr. J. I. 17.)

The natural powerfulness of planets is in the following

order: Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, the
Sun, each succeeding one is more powerful than each proceding
one; if the puwer of any two or moro is eqnal in oti.er respectti,
then one has to take into consideration this natural powerfulnetit:l
for determining which is more powerful. ~M

The astrological houses in a horoscope are twelve and each

is expressed by various synonyms, many of which indicate
what particular matters are ;,0 Le judged from tho state of that
house. They are enumerated ill Br. J. 1. 15-19, Laghujataka
I. 15-19, SiravalilII. 26-33.
- ------~--~--- ----- -- - - - - -
862. ~m llTiI ~~" ~ ~~" ~~ II qP"1ll I ~m T~~ ~R~
.. ~ 'lsi" q'Jl<f~ ~ II lf~ ~sl!,!ii (q~~) I ••• ~. ,it~, f~ I
~ :;;niif~l1~ ,,'hi fti-~ .... ,,",,~'Ii: I folio 4 of palm-leaf Nepal
Illi. oi'"lf'Fi';ll1t!fi of ~~1Wf q. by ;r~ with sliKht variations as from 1l'Iit"il~
on ~. 1. 13. Vide ~Rtfr III. 35-36 for ;r_, ~ftr, ~ and ~;ff •.

863. 3«~1 rir '" ~Rw'riir.r~ 'iiI uRI: I ~ lfm ~ lf1~ '~T
• ..-TN '" ~: II ~~ I. 14; vide also ,rr'1RTI1'lI'i I. 19.

864. ~-~~-~!lti1 'Ii\im "'~: I qiil!fi"p),,"_ 'I'lIS"

~~~II P)PIl"i II. 7. quoted hy;nQ'P) on ~r. 11.21, the laot
quarter of which is' 1i1"U;".~liJl .~) ~:'. where '4"",!".~ .taDd
for ~, 00 ( I{~ ), . , . , ~, Wl'i, ~ and ~.
B_D.73
578 History of Dltarmailistra [ Sec. li, Cb. XVI

1st house -horii, tanu, kalpa, sakti, murti, lagna, deha, aoga,
udaya, vapus, adya, vilagna.
2nd " -dhana, sva, ku~umba, artha, kosa.
3rd .. -sahottha, vikrama, paurusa, sahaja, duscikya.
4th ,,-handhu, grha, suhrt, patiila, hibllku, vesma, sukha,
caturasra, ambu, jab, amba, yana, vuhana.
5t11 ,,-suta, dhl, putra, pratibha, vidya, vak-sthan!.L,
t·riko1,la..
6th ,,-ari, ripu, ksata, vrana.
7th ,,-ja.ya. jlilllifru, dyurw, d!Julu, patn!, str!, cit.tuttha,
astabhavana, kama, sJUara, madana.
8th ,,-marana, randhra, mrtyu, viuasa, caturasra, chidra,
vivara, laya, yii.Olya.
91.11 ,,-subha, guru, dharma, pU~lya, tritrikona, triko~ia,
tapas.
101.11 " -aspada, JUana, karma, lIIe.~uru~, ajflli, kha, gagana,
tata, vyapura.
11th ,,-a.ya, bhava, lii.bha, agama, prapti.
12th ,,-vyaya, ri~pha ( or ril!pita ), antya, antima.
It should be noted that the appellations given to these
bhavas are of two classes, (1) tllOSO which are used as meru
designations, without indicating the special function of thu
house, such as hora, duscikya, mesllrat:Ja, ri}:!pha, caturasra; the
tlecond class of these appellation~ conveys the special functions
of the houses, such as funu (body), sva ( wea.lth) or ku~umba
(family), sahaja ( brothers ).

There are certain appellations that apply to a number of

houses. The 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses are all called kantaka,
kendra, catus~aY8, the houses beyond the kendra are called
pa1,la.pitara ( 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th), the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th
houses are called Ap()klima, 6th, 8th and 12th houses are called
trika; the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th houses are called upacaya and
the rest are called apacaya. Garga held that the 3rd, 6th, 10th
and 11th are oalled upacaya only if there is no aspect of them
with malefic planets or with the enemy of the lord of them.
Trikot:Ja is claimed to be a Greek word.

From the several names of the bhavas, it appears that the

following were to be predicted from the several bhavas; from
first bhiiva, health and the growth of the body; from 2nd the
 Prognosticationll b 'om /we[1Vl bh al'(l,-~ 579

wealth of one's family; from 3rd brothers (and sisters) and

valour; from 4th relatives friends, happiness, house and mother;
from 5th sons, intellect, learnit;lg; from 6th enemies and wounds;
from 7th wife, love affairs., marriage; from 8th death, one's
foibles and sins j from 9th dharma, elders (includin g parent!l ),
austerities j from 10th actions and dignities or poeition and
father j from 11th acquisition of good qualities and of wealth;
from 12th expenditure, debts.
Thibaut (in Grundriss p. 68) following Jacobi boldly asserts
that the doctrine of the twelve astrological houses which is a
chief point in the Indian system found developed in Variiha-
mihira does not occur among Western authorities earlier than
Firmicus Maternus (middle of 4th century A. D.) and that
Greek astrology entered into India only between Firmicus and
Variihamihira. One is regretfully constrained to say that this
is a case of one blind ma n following a nother. In th e first place
the conception of houses ( bhiivas ) is not totally absent even in
Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, as can be seen in II. 8 p. 191, Ill. 10
pp. 273-275 (Loeb Classical Library), where houses I, VII, IX, X
and XI are referred to, though Ptolemy does not pay much
attention to the system of {Jhu, a ~ . Probably this escaped the
attention of both J acobi and Thibaut. In the second place, the
E'ystem of bbavas does not occur for th e first time in VarahfL.
Varaha refers to a host of lndian writers before him as will be
shown below in whose works the systom appears in a fully
developed form . ]t is not poss ible to helieve that all this V88 \
literature was developed in a hundred yearR or AO after FimlicuR.
Besides, authors like Garga , Pariisara, who are placed hetween
the Vedii.ngajyotisa and th e !dddhii.ntas ( ahout 800 B. C. to 250
A.D.) knew this system a nd Garga is assigned t o 50 B. C. by Kern
(Preface to Br.8. p. 50). Thibaut, a grea t scholar, proposing to write
an encyclopaedic work on J yotisa is con tent to rely on Jacobi and
does not appear to have cared to see for himself even P tolemy and
examine works like the Atharvalla Jyotisa, the Vaikbanasasutra,
Visnudharmottara which teach astrology based on nak satras.
This, to say the least, is most surprising. Prof. Zinner ( in 'Stars
above us' ) p. 67 says that the twelve houses denote life, business,
brothers, father, BODS, health, wife, death, religion, gain, good
deeds, gaol In the 3rd place Thibaut takes no account of Sanskrit
works written by Yavanas settled in India, to whom Varaha
frequently refers, from whom he sometimes differs on vital
"POinb of doctrine and from whom Utpala quotes hundreds of verse!!,
580 Hi.'1tory of Dha1·muSa.stra l Sec. II, Ch. XVI
which are found in the ancient Yavanajiitaka of Sphujidhvaja. Fur~
ther, it has been show n above ( pp. 533-34) that extant references
to astrology based on naksatras actually exhibit the names of
at least five bhavas centuries before Firmicus. It is quite
possible to argue that Firmicus borrowed his aatrology from the
predeoessors of Varaha, who were Greeks and wrote in Sanskrit,
or that even Ptolemy did so as he knows of the bhiivas, but
furnishes only a dilett l'l.nte treatment. It may be further noted
that no adap tations of Greek words for all the bhavas from the
fitst to the twelfth are to be found in Sanskrit works. Such
words occur only for some viz. 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th and 12th
bhavas and for groups of a few bhiivas ( such as kendra, paJ;la-
phara and apoclima). Besides, the peculiar points to be deduced
from the several bhiivas as stated in Br. J do not all agree with
what Firmicus says. Varaha designates the 2nd bhiiva as
ku~umba and sva (family, wealth) while Firmicus calls it
'lucrum' (how one shall el:lrn one's living); the 11 th
bhiiva is called aya (income) and bhiiva by Varaha while
Firmicus calls it the house of good deeds; in Firmicus the
4th bhava is that of father or parents, while Varaha calls it
'bandhu' ( relatives) and g~ha in Br. J. and' suhrt ' ( friends)
in Laghujataka and some later Indian writers say that 4th and
10th bhavas are respectively of the mother and father. In
Firmicus the 6th and 12th bbavas are respectively wealth and
jail, while Varaha bolds them to be • enmity' and' expenditure '.
Certain technical words have yet to be explained. One
meaning of h,ara is half a 1·asi. In the case of the rii.sis of odd
numbers ( viz. I, 3, 5, 7,9, 11) the lord of the first half.is the
sun and that of the 2nd half is the rp.oon. while in the case of
rasis of even numbers ( 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 ) the lord of the 1st half
is the moon and of the 2nd half the sun (B r. J . 1. 11). The
purpose of this is that those born on sun's hora are energetic
( assertive) hy nature and those born on moon's hora are mild
by nature. Br. J. (1. 12) mentions the view of some 86S (Of
865. ifiT~ ,mlimit ~-q ~(lST~'l1i1 ifIIlOI~b'lI .. iit ~
\tIClq~!fIlq'1i(I~;fI1{.II~""" I. 12; ~ quotes on this Ii verse of ~i%~
, ~f i1 titu ~~ ~!fIl'i!I"1I ~",q"litfi'lll ~q~!fII<I~I(I~ ~'ifllol4iilll:

~~ II '. This verse occurs in the~!fI of '$'~ on folio 2.

It would be noticed that one ~ is the same in both n3llTo and '1""311",,,.
In the '1""""Ultf, of ~~ (Nepal ms.) the 24 boris of the 12 ntis are
described Ilt length in about 48 rather poetic verses and it winds up the
ciescription witb the words ' ~ ~ ~~~\'II(ttf'\\.ltmul~1ff (7) (II

(folio 9.) --
 Lords of horll$ 51
Yavanesvara, according to Utpala ) that the lord of the first hora
is the same as the lord of the raili and the lord of the second hora
is the lord of the 11 th house in the horoscope. The result of this
view would be that all planets can be lords of horas an d not the
sun and the moon alone as Varaha, Satya and others say. Each
rasi ( of 30 degrees ) is div ided into three parts, each of 10 degrees
called dre~kana or drekkaI;la or drkiina or drgiina ( in Br. J . m:
5, probably for the sake of the metre). The lords of the th reo
parts of each ras i are respectively the lord of the rasi itself ( of
the first part ), the lord of the 5th ras i ( of the 2nd part) and the
lord of the 9th ras i ( of the 3rd part). For example, in the case
of Vrsabha (of which the lord is Venus ), the lords of the 1st,
2nd an d 3rd parts are respectively Venus, Mercury (lord of 5th
from Vrsabba ) and Saturn (lord of 9th from Vrsabba). And 1'0
on for the other railis.
A few words must be said abou t dreskan s. Weber and
others think that it represents the Greek word' decanoi '. The
• dekans ' were a legacy from ancient Egypt, which 866 had origi-
nally no zodiacal signs. Bouche-Leclercq has discu ssed 867 the
question of decans at great length in his ' L' Astrologie Grecque '
pp. 215-240. The decanal system can he traced as far back as
the third dynasty of Egypt ( about 2800 B. C. ) and may be older
still. Originally, the decans were conspicuous stars or groups
of stars rising at particular hours of the night during 36
successive periods of ten days each th at constituted the year in
Egypt. The series began with Sirius and they were distributed
in a wide equatorial belt. The ancient Egyptians had a fixed
idea that each divi sion of time, large or small, must have its
protective tutelary deity. Therefore, the decans were originally
the divinities ( or genii) that presided over the 36 decades of the
Egyptian year. Each period of ten days was marked by the
rising of the next decan on the eastern horizon at sunset.
Bouche Leclercq points out that in the Egyptian language a
specific name (like the Greek word ' decanos .) is not met with
and that the decane are designated by a number of synonyms.
When the Zodiacal signs were introduced in Egypt by the

866. 'Legacy of Egypt' ed. by S. R. K. Gla nvill e (Oxford, 1 9~2,

p . 163 ).
867. 'L' Astrologie Grecque' p, 220 note 2. Vide' The royal art o(
Astrology' by Eisler p, 82 and plate VlI (acin g p. 81 for Egyp tian Oecan-atul
pn tbe lids of " IIal'cophagns or the 6th Dynast, .
582 Hi.~torlJ of Dharmatlistra [Sec. n, Ch. XVI

Greeks, tbe tutelary spirits slipped into or got intertwined with

tbe signs of the Zodiac (eacb sign of 30 degrees being divided
into decane of 10 degrees) and played an important part in
astrology. The original division referred to the equator. while
the later distribution of 36 decans among tbe twelve signs refers
to the 868 ecliptic. Bouche Leclercq avers (p. 53) that it has
heen proved heyond doubt that the Egyptian Zodiacs (they had
four. vi?:. 2 at Denderah. one at Esneh and one at Akhnum ) are
all of the Roman epoch and are imitations of tbe Greek Zodiac.
Tho Brhajjataka bas a special cbapter 27 (in 36 verses)
called dreskana dhyaya in which the 36 presiding deities of
dreskanas are described. This chapter appears to conserve the
ancient Egyptian conception of the decans as guardian 869 divi-
nities. The language must be regarded as ratber metapborical
or symbolic. It is parts of the Zodiac that are being described.
Nearly two-thirds of 36 are male and the rest are female. Some
eomposi te figures of males and females and quadrupeds or birds
or serpents occur. In verses 2. 19 and 21 ( of cbap. 27 ) Varaha
expressly says that he only sets out what the Yavanas have said.

868. Vide Webb in Journal (If Hellenistic S tudi es. vol. ~8 (1925) p . 56,
Prof. Neugebauer in E. S. A. PP. 8 1-83. The latter notes that with the
cxc~ption of Sirius and its neighbours decans have defied id ent ifIcation
with known constellations. Vide l'rof. Neugebauer's latest note on 'The
Egyptian Decans' in ' Vistas in Astronomy' (ecl.A. Beer, \'01 1. pp. ~7·51).

8 69 .Vide for 'Dre~ki.ina' Colebrooke's Miscellaneous essays, vol. lX. pp.

364 - 373. Colebrooke (o n pp. 370-71) states that Manilius employs the
word Dccania, th at Firmicu~ differs in the names and does not allow the
comple te degrees to each decanus. This wguld show that the Br. J. coul d
not have followed about cl re~kiina F irmicus in astrology as Jacobi suppo-
~ccl but some otber more ancient author . Nor can it be said that the Br J.
follow s Manilius. The description of th e middle dre~kiina of Me~a rath er
resembles th e rotllnd f,gure in P late 10 in Prof. Neugebauer's book ' Exact
Scie nces in Antiquity' p. 83. which plate reproduces tb6 representation of
the Decnn deities on tbc tomb of Scnmut (in Egy pt : . B. L . Van Der
Waerden in his paper' Babylonian Astronomy; thirty-six stars' in Journ al
of Ncar East S tudies, vol. \,111 (pp. 6-26 ) shows how thirty-six stars from
old Babyloni an times finally became mixed up with the twelve Zodiacal
sif;ns and 36 Egyptian decans. On p. 8 he gives lists or 36 constellation. ,
the so call ed' decans " which were found on coffin lid s of the middle king-
dom in Egypt and on ceiling5 of tombs belonging to kings of the New
J\ingdom. Tbe risings. culminations and settings of decan constellations
were supposed to determine not only the date but also the time of the nigbt.
On p. 20 he gives a table of Babylonian stars and their modern equiva-
lent stan and their time ••
 Description of dre~kutlas 583

Here I translate two verses ( 2 and 21) • the Yavanas have

declared the form of the middle dreskiit;lll of Mesa sign ( Aries)
vi2. she is a fema.le clad in red garments, intent on orna.ment!!
and food, has the mouth of a horse and has a jar-like ( i. c.
rotund) form, she is oppressed by thirst and is stall ding on one
leg '; • the Yavanas have declared the appearance of the last
dreska J;la of Tula (Scales) as a male having the form uf a monkey,
decked with ornaments, frightening deer in a forest, wearing
golden armour and quiver, and holding fruits and flesh (ill his
hands) '. There is nothing in the Tetrabiblos of Ptulemy correl:!-
ponding to this and Varaha probably refers to a Sanskrit work
by a Yavana writer mucb earlier than even Ptolemy and Mani-
lius. Manilius, author of Astronomica ', a didactic poem on
I

astrology, referred to the decans but he wrote about \) A. D. and

it appears that de cans had gone out of vogue in Greece by the
time of Ptolemy. Bouche-Leclercq notes (p. 219) t):mt the system
of decans is a characteristic of Manilius and that after him 011t!
does not hear it spukell of a ny longer. On p. t19 of his work
Bouche- Leclercq furnishes a figure of the Decans of Maniliuil,
which is entirely different from the descriptions of decans given
by Br. J . Manilius divides each sign into three parts, each of which
represents no deity but the signs themselves. For example, Aries
is divided into three parts and those three are the same as Aries,
Taurus and Gemini. The Siiriivall ll69.· in chap. 49 devutes
thirty.six. verses to the description of 36 dreskiinas, but the des-
cription differs from that of the Br. J . as the note bt!luw will
show. The Sii.raval! had probably before it a Sanskrit !Ill /Will
work different from the one relied upon by B;-. J .
Some other technical words may be mentioned and defined
here. The six items, viz. the rii.si of a planet, the horli, dreskiina,
naviimsa, dvii.dasiimsa a.nd trisA.rrl sa of the ras i a.re each called
the 'v arga or $aci-varga of that planet (Br. J . 1. 9). The first
nsviimsa of Mesa, Karki, TlHa and Makara ( that are mru signs )

869 a. Compare' ~~ ~~Rr~H !JjJmtimt~ ~'"' ~

til.-.m
Cf1?pi '!If ~,,\-it ~IIlfiIUI ....Q ~~ 'I' (p<nrr. 27. 2 ) wi tb I Rwt~
~ tfurfitq) ";f~'l ~<t.1 ",'lf~~~: .n~fiffl '!If.' ~ 49.
2; in tbe Nepal ms. of 1l~ tbe ~~11lir~ i8 described as follow.:
.m: qriT i(!i,*"OiliIT: ~r ql(U1d",qf{'li I ~ (! ) ~~ ~
~ u,el"~iI:e,.: II folio 9. Tbis indicates that tbe ~ifi had a tbird
tradition o.bout ~s. It is expressly stated that tbe three parts of a rai l
are known among tbe Yavanas a s d r e ~kii.,?as • ~nvrT (! ) ~'?'IflWTT
~~~ ~ I' folio 9 .
584 History of DharmaSlistra [Sec. n, Ch. XVI

is called Vargottama, so also the 5th navamsa of V~~abha, Simha,

Vr,?cika and Kumbha (that are slitim), and the 9th navam sa of
Mitbuna, Kanya, Dhanus, MIna (that are dvisrab/1alXl) are
called Vargottama (Br. J.1. 14) and they yield beneficent results. 870
The vargottama-navamsas of all rasis bear the same names as the
raids themselves. The Yoga called Sunapha occurs when some
planet other than the sun occupies the 2nd house from that
occupied by the Moon ; the Yoga Anapha occurs when some
vlanet other than the sun occupies the 12th house from that
o<;cupied by the Moon and Durudhara occurs when planets occupy
the 2nd and 12th houses from that occupied by the Moon. The
Yoga called Kema-druma occurs when the above three don't
(Jccur and the Moon is not in kendra position or if kendra is
not occupied by any of the planets (except the Sun). Br. J. 13.
4 notices that varieties of Anapbii and Sunapbii are 31 each and
the varieties of Durudhara are 180. Tbe Br. J. does not devote more
than 6 verses to all these four yogas but the Vrddba.Yavanajataka
of Mlnaraja has 30 verses on Anapbii., 30 verses on Sunapbii., 172
verses on Durudhara. The rasi which is 2nd from the rasi
occupied by the Sun in a horoscope is called' Vesi ' ( Br. J. 1. 20 ).
All the above five words are said to be Greek. The word' lipta '
meaning • 60th part of a degree' is also said to be Greek. The
word' harija • occurring in Br. J. V. 17 means' horizon' and Kern
says it is adapted from Greek (Preface to Br. S. p. 29 ) .870a
The Greek word is horo.~ (boundary). All the words
used by Varaha and supposed to be Greek by Weber, Kern
and others may be brought together in one place here (37 in all) ;
Kriya, Tavuri, Jituma, Kulira, Leya, Plithena, Juka, Kaurpya,
Tauksika, Akokera, H~' droga, lttha ( 1) j HeU, Ara, Himna, Jiva,
Asphujit, Ko~a; bora, dre~kaI.la, ken~ra, trikol.la, pal.laphara,
apoklima, mesural.la, duscikya, hibuka, jamitra, dy iina,
ri}:lpha., anapha., sunaphii, durudbara, kemadruma, vesi, lipta,
harija. I dispute the derivation of klLlim and trikol.la from
Greek and Kern agrees that they are pure Sanskrit words.
I also doubt whether Jiva is an adaptation of Zeus. Zeus

870. ~'~~!i i.~~ : §.l~' ,,~~,: 1 ~Ilt<fi 1.14;

~ expla.ins ~~ '""": 1 ... ~ . . 1f~~: 1 ill ~ ~ ~\lijIWn' ~
~I'I~ ~ .. 'III': I. This occurs in ~3fIW<I\ oC ~~!f'1if folio 4.

870 a. ~ on ~ V. 17 paraphrases trft;Jr as ;Tcf~' and quote s

0.Sallskrit haH verse defining it. '~~ WlfI ~ ~R ~~ ~
~~ 1 ';1'4f; "If 1 ~ ~ Wi"lifJI" mllit 1I~ 1 '. This II
probably a quotation from ~~ .
 G1'eek words adapted 'n Sanskrit 5 5

agrees with Sansluit Dyaus and not with J lva and Zeus is an
Indo-European word meaning Heaven' or sky '. The different
I I

forms of the word dreska na or . dljutam ' for dy unam' should

I

not be separately counted. The word hnrii is used in early Indian

astrology in three different sellses, none of which agrees with
the sense of hour. It is possible that even in Greek it i l\ word
borrowed from Egypt or Babylonia, since in th e definite se nse
of an hour, it is much lator and it is douJtful whether Hipparchus
( 140 B. C. ) uses it in that sense. If we exclude these fOllr words
only 33 words may at the most be argued to have been adapted
from Greek. Some of these words such as the 12 ll ames of riis is
and six of the planets, some names of the Mums like ht/ill f;u
jUlIlitra, dyu/,a and /;mdra have several sy nonym s ( sometimes by'
the dozen) in Sanskrit employed in Br. J. and so no emphasis
should be laid on them. They were mentiOlled by Br. J. because
they had been employed by anc ient Greek autllOrs who wrote in
Sanskri t a nd so Br. J . took cognisance of them for th e ~a.ke of
completeness of treatmellt. Even k('//.Ilra meaning 1st, 4th, 7th
and 10tb houses or !1/iU IYlS has two Sanskrit synonyms k al}~a ka '
I

and 'catus~aya', besi des the fact that its mean ing is different in San-
skrit astrology from the meaning of tho Groek word (1." '11 1rOil. spike).
Therefore, barely ton Greek word" like Anapha , f:)unaphi1 rornaill
which have a very minor role to play in lndia n u::Itrology and
it is a far cry to argue or assert from the occurrence of these few
words that the whole Indian astrology as developed ill Varaha-
mihira was borrowed from Greek works. It is extremely doubtful
whether any Indians excopt a few sages or gymnosophists evur
went to Greece or li ved long in Greece ur settled thero a nd
returned to India to spread Greek words and astrological know-
ledge in India; but we have ample evidence that Greek::! settled
in India, composed inscriptions in Sanskrit a nd wrote extens ivu
works on astrology in Sanskrit. Vide' L . Astrologie (Jrocque '
by Boucbe-Grecque p. XIX for the Greek. Latin, ].trench
names and astrolog ical symbols of the signs of the zodiac
and planets and G. R. Kaye in Memoir No. 18 of the Archaeo-
logical Survey of India pp. 39 - 40 ( for the Greek twelvo llames
of Zodiacal signs and nine other Greek words occurring in Br.
J . ) and p. 100 for Greek bhiivas ' and sy mbols for signs and
I

planets.
A good deal is sai d in Br. J. II. 15-17, Laghujiitaka D. ] 0-12.
Sii.riivall IV. 28-31, Muhu rta-cintiima~ i (VI. 27-28) and other
works about the planets being friends. enemies or indifferent
B. D. 74
586 History of Dharmafilstra [ Sec. II, Ch. XVI

among themselves. Friends and enemies are of two kinds,

natural and incidental (temporary). The following table will
show natural friends and enemies amog planets.

Planet Friend Enemy I, orIndifferent (udasina

madhya or sama)
I
Sun Moon. Mars, Venus, Saturn Mercury
Jupiter
Moon iSun, Mercury none Mars, Jupiter,
Venus, Saturn
Mars Sun, Moon, Mercury Venus, Saturn
Jupiter
Mercury Sun, Venus Moon Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn
Jupiter Isun, Moon, Mercury, Venus Saturn
Mars
Venus IMercury , Sun, Moon Mars, Jupiter
Saturn
Saturn IMercury,Venus Sun, Moon, Mars Jupiter
I I

It may be noticed that there is no reciprocity for these

relationships. For example, the Moon has Mercury as one of its
friends, while Mercury has the Moon as its enemy; the Moon
has no enemy but Venus has the Moon as its enemy. According
to the Yavanas no planet is sama (neither friend nor foe ) but
that planets are either friends or enemies. 871
As regards temporary friendships and enmities the following
nIles apply; when planets are in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th or 12th
places from each other they become friends for the occasion
( such as marriage, invasion or journey &c.), otherwise they
become enemies when in the same rasi or in 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th or

871. Vide ~ on !11"""Ii,..i II. 15 ' 3f'Jf '<f ~ ~llJqR Q'~)

~1~I"iq4lii!ll(~~~srit 8l"fiI"5fIVfiiit ~~~: I 'am ... ~"iR: I
(~~mI'~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I ... 1·4<.,!fi' ~ij"'4.,~q ~
tin: Sl~l: II ~JWq §$: ~~'" tmf ~ ~ '<f fih:mt I ~~­
~1If: ~ n'F'.,
~ 'QOTt ... ~ II . Tbese occur on folio 6 of Nepal mi.
of tR'"fmi'fi .
 Four kind8 of power of planets 5 7

~th from each other. There are differences of opinion here but
they are passed over.
The bula ( strength) of planets is of four kinds ( a rises in
four ways) viz. place, direction, activity ( CP$tCi ), time. A planet
is powerful in its position when it is in its own house or in
exaltation ( u.cea ) or in its friend's house or in its trt knWI or
navalnsa. This is sthlinabaLn. Mercury and Jupiter are powerful
in the east ( i. e. when they are in the l(lUlla) , the Sun and Mars
in the south (i. e. in the 10th bouse), Saturn in the West ( i. o.
7th house), the Moon and Venus are powerful in \he north ( i. e.
4th house). This is r/i(l/I(lla. The Sun and Moon are powerful
in the northern ayana 87~ ( i. e. in the six riis is from Capricorn);
the remaining planets are powi.lrful when they are retrograde or
in conjunction with the Moon or when there is a fight (between
planet;; other than the Sun and the Moon ), tho one to tbe north
being more powerful. Garga quoted in the Adbhutasiigara says
that (l1'a haY!lddh,( (fight of phmets) occurs when ODe planet
occults the other, or when it slightly covers, or when the light of
one throws into the background the light of another or when
one planet is to the left of the other slightly. This is cr.'jtilbala.
The Moon, Mars and Saturn are powerful at night, Mercury is
powerful both by day and night, and others are powerful by day;
krum and sa1l "Ilja planets are respectively powerful in the dark
half and bright balf of the month; a planet is powerful in the
year of which he is the lord, or on his own week-day or hora or in

872. ~ ~f.l~fl'W(('cIll'l~f'11'lIT' : Q1~: I ~ ~ -;il~­

..m1!<"I.nlla'U: m~~: II ,!i1~ II. 20. Tbis is explained by (be follo wing
verse of fit~: ~fl<h(U"Wlq : W'fJTll: ~'Ilm'lmOll1{,' ~t ~
~ffS.41.q!!1fiI"''tII q. by ~ on ,. ::;noII. 20 . Conjunction of planets is
of three kinds; wben any planet is in conjunction with tbe su n, tbat is
called astamaya (settin g), wben in conjunction witb tb e moon it i. called
satniigam a, when tbe otber planets, Mars &c. are in conjunction witb eacb
other that i~ called yuddl.a ( fig ht of t be planets); (in the calc of yuddba)
tbat planet wbich is to tbe north of the otber is called victorious or power-
f ul (except in tb e case of Venus that is powerlul wben to th e south of the
other ). ~: I mq.i in:fll :ir~ tI~$r "if , 3fQ"8cV 'QTurt 'If t;(lNI~-
5'111" II ~ p. 207. The 3{. m. (p. 208) quotes ~ as aaylng that
there is no real 6ght between planets, but a si gb t of them being togetber or
close indicates 10 people auspic ious or inauspicious bappenings. The 31'. m.
iI quoted in ~IIMlifl"(?('Ifi'~ (D. C. 1111. No. 306 of 1884-87) folio 81a.
588 Hi s/01'Y of Dhm'ma8listra [ Sec. n, Ch. X V!

the month of which he is the lord. This is kalabalu. Kl3 Yavane-

svara Rays ' for ten days from tbe 1st tithi of tbe bright half the
Moon is of middling power but in the next period of ten days
( from sukla 11th to krsn a ) 5th Moon's power is highest and in
tb e last ten days ( from kr!? I?a 6th to amu/u8!JL!) the M~on has
slight power; hut if Moon has an aspect with sa1l111.!Jrt planets
( Jupiter &c. ) he is always powerful.
A planet is said by Si ravali to bave nine vicissitudes, Kl4
dip/a ( blazing, when it is in exaltation), sws/!ta ( at ease when
it is in its svag!"ba), m1U/ila ( glad, when it is in a friend's
quiet, when it is in an auspicious 'lQ1' !IO ), sakta
s'/'a(lr!ta). siln/a (
( capable, when it is shining brightly), nil,i(li/a ( oppressed, when
it is overwh elmed by another planot ), II/lila (frightened, when it
is in depression), oi/errla ( impaired when its ligbt is lost is Sun's
light), khala (ev il, when it is in the midst of ev il company).
The Sariival! ( V. 5-13) describes at length the results of a planet
being in these nine conditions.
How even mythological accounts are pressed into service
by astrological works may be well illustrated by two verses from
the Yogay&tra of Varahamihira: 'The Sun was born in Ariga
(Bengal), the Moon among Yavanas, Mars in Aval1ti ( Ujjayinl ),
Mercury in Magadha, Jupiter in Sindhu, Venus in Bhojakata,
Saturn in Suriis~ra ( Kathiawar), K etu among Mlecchas and
Rahu in Kali riga; if these planets are affected, they cause distress
to the countries in which they were born: hence a king should
invade tbe respective countries wben anyone or more of the
planets are affected. fl7S
873. ~'Q<I~"iR: I ilrfl- II ~1<IQ(IPI'~: 'l,'f' ~~, il\~ ~ I '"it
iir,"~~~~ ~l'~~il tt'it 1II'i'5!fT~~ II T<tWl on ~~. II . 21. Tbis verse
occurs in the Nepal ms . of If!{;;~ folio 5; mU!I<f, has probably tbis verse
in view' 8qiilq~ iI\ill1rn: <I\'1~ ~ri: I !l)it fa'm~ii ~~'1a~l'lr­
~ "fll' V. 16.

874. 1f1~ : ~~,jt ~:~: ~..n f;\-q')f,fc,) ~.,: I ~~ : ~'1a q;~m

'I1fItlfiRf mn ~1Jf! II ~ Im V. 2.
875. 3ih ll..'lif 'q'~~ -:;:p;fl milf t:J'lI7I'q'j ~ ~q I ~ ~~lIii9.
~'if; : ~: ~1if 1""~ Wlll'f II ~~ ~q !IJJ: lfiT~~) ~S!'l': 1lRq1ri~ I
~~~;qf'~~;" ..m~lll~r: ~~: II ~ Ill. 19-20; compare
~1~J'r VII . 14- 15, wbere §'Jfi is said to have been born in ~ and botb
'01 nnd ~ in lfTl'ilf. Vide the Chammak plate of Pravarasen II. where tbe
village Carmanka is said to be in Bhojaka!ariijya ( Gupta Inscriptions , No. 55
p . 237). In BrabmapuriiJ?a 201.9 Bhojakata is said to be the capital of
( Con" n",cl on nut pat. )
 Doctrine of d!'~ti 589
A very important doctrine of Indian astrology is that of rlr.~ fi
(lit. glance, i. e. aspect ). The Br. J. II. 13, Laghujataka ll . 8,
Saraval! IV. 32-33, Muhurtadarsana 1. 27 lay down the following
rules. All planets 876 have a full aspect ( p ll rna . drs~i) on the 7th
bouse from the one whicb each occupies. Besides, Saturn has full
aspect on the 3rd a nd 10th ras i from the one wh ich it occupies
and on the planet which is 3rd or 10th from its own position.
Sim ilarly, Jupiter bas full aspect on the 5th a nd 9th ris i from the
one it occupies and also on the pla net that is 5th or 9th from
itself; Ma rs has full drsti on tho 4th a nd 8th riis is and the
planet i ll the same. So the Sun , Moon, Mercury a nd Venus have
full drsti only on the 7th riis i from the one each of them occupies
and on the pla.net that is 7th from them. Besid es, all planets
have 1/4th drsti on the 3rd and 10th, half drsti on 5th and
9th,: drsti on 4th and 9th. There is no aspect of any pla net,
OIl any riisi or slhlina except the seven expressly mentioned
( viz. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th an d 10th) a nd in the case of
partial drs t is the fruit also is partial (i. e. ~, i or ~ ). Tho
Tetrabiblos ( 1. 13 and 20) treata of four aspects viz. opposition
( 7th house of Varaha ), trine ( 5th and 9th houses ), quartile ( 4th
and 10th ), sex tile (difference of 60 degrees and two signs) and
does not distingu ish between fractions of drstis as Varaha does.
So in the matter of aspects a lso there il:l substantial differenoe
between Ptolemy and Varaha-mihira.
Another important doctrine is that of !/o('(tra. ]t means 876a
the consideration about the auspicious or inauspicious pus iti ons
of planets at any particular period in quost ion in places either
( Continued from last pac~ )
Rukmia , of Vidarbha. Sim il ar verses occu r in tb e ~!fiWflll'<n of I'I~
chap. II. 9- 10 (1. O. ms. folio 4b and Barod a ms. No . 9183 folio 4b). In t bo
~~~ (NO . 41.1. 3-5) on ~ , verses 3-6 are similar bu t there t he sun is
said to have beea born in ~li , Ve nu s is said to bave been bora in Jl'lJn:~, ~
on l'f<?'l', ~ru on iltRw:W. Vi de l ndische s tudien vo l. X p. 317. The 'flf~iitlfl bas
chap . 17 on ll'~. In verse 2 'l~~ says tbat the planets ",o ve oue abOt'c tia ~
other', but, on ac count of tb e great distances, to t he human eye t hey appear
leve l with each othe r. T he ~~I describe s a t le ngth the result s to
different countries and peopies of y udd iaa bet ween different plan ets. Tbe
~Rr~ ad ds '~~ iJ 11'1 :ifl?!: l{~: <f tTCfll ri ~~ ~ t111t \ffm
~~l(r l1 '
876. ~~~~fml:n~~~lliTll' ,,"Ofli\t'l~: 1 ~~;JIl-
~: ~ ':q ~ ~ "f'{r.;, ~ ~siUlfiT: 11 YIf"3ITll'~ II. 13 . This has been
variously in terpreted as testified by Utpala .
876 a . ~ ~R'm: l;h" f.I ~"iit'llr-"~ ~lff1I\tf.t~oi
't~~.Q 1 ~ com. o n 8. ~. IV. 1.
590 History of Dharmasastra [ Sec. II, Ch. XVI

declared auspicious or inauspicious judging from the rasi of birth.

The Muhurta-cintamaI,li in five verses (of chap. 4) deals with this
subject. I shall illustrate the application of the word by some
examples. If the Sun is in the 6th place from the rasi of birth
he is auspicious but if at the same time the 12th place from the
raid of birth is occupied by other planets ( except Saturn ), then,
though auspicious by himself, he becomes inauspicious. This
result does not arise in case one planet is the father or son of
the other ( as Saturn is the son of the Sun and Mercury is the
son of the Moon). Similarly, if Mercury is in 2nd place from
rasi of birth or in the 4th or 6th or 8th or 10th or 11th and other
planets ( except the Moon who is the father of Mercury) are
respectively in the 5th, 3rd, 9th, 1st, 8th or 12th, Mercury, though
originally auspicious, becomes inauspicious for the time being.
Kill'alca is another word to be explained. It is rather compli.
cated. Br. J. XXIJ and Si ravall 876b VI. and VII. deal with it.
As many planets as occupy their own r; rha or ucea or M,Ualri-
kor,ta a nd also are in the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th places ( in the
horoscope) they become Kuralcas of each other, while the planet
that is in the 10th place (in horoscope) is specially karaka.
Suppose the lagna is Karka and the moon occupies it (it is
moon's svagrha ) and Mars, Saturn, the Sun and Jupiter are in
their uccas ( i. e. in Makara, Tula, Mesa and Karka~a respec-
tively ), they are all karakas of each other. Many more ruleii
are given in this matter in Br. J. XXII. and Saravall VI. The
Siiraval! gives ( VII. 7-13) another meaning. Each planet is
specially concerned with, rules over or produces several matters
or persons &c. I shall quote two verses. The Moon is the lord of
poets, flowers, edibles, preoious stones, silver, conch, salt, waters,
clothes, ornaments, women, ghee, sesame, oils and sleep. Jupiter
is the lord of auspicious things, dhar ma, rites for prosperity,
greatness, education, orders, cities and nations, vehicles, seats,
beds, gold, oorn, dwelling house and sons.
Then there is the doctrine of daslis an d anlardasli' of the
seven planets. In the VimsottarI system man's maximum life
is supposed to be 120 years and in A !?~ttari it is supposed to be
108 and those are distributed among the planets in varying
numbers of years and it is said that dasas have further

876 b. ~~i1"'l(J)~"'1 0Iill: ~ ~ 3fTf'wn: t ~ ~ itS~!fiT:

~ "'" ~: II ~~ XXII. 1; ~ifTUr(<ill1~II·t?qOrrqtfis
~ I ~'I'I'~Titl(fIf8~: II "If't:~nw!fi~ilmrfi\'~'l­
~t ~~~.~~~: II~ VU. 8 and U.
 .Dasas and Antardasas 591
divisions of antardasas. This dootrine is elaborated in the 8th
chapter of the Brha.jjataka and Utpala quotes numerous verses
from Yavanesvara on this. The theory of As~akavllrga is set
out by Varaha in chapter 9 of the Brhajjataka viz. that the seven
planets and lagna are eight entities and they produce tbeir
fullest or auspicious results only when they are in particular
houses and at particular periods of a man's life. All tllis has
to be passed over for reasons of space.
In the Brhatsarilhita, the Brhaj-jataka, and the two works
on Yatra, Varahamihira mentions a bost of his predecessors
in astrology. In my paper on 'Varahamibira and Utpala '
( JBBRAS, N. S. vol. 24- 25, 1948-49, pp. 1-31 ) I brought together
the names of all the predecessors of Varahamihira and gave
extensive references to them in his works. That paper may not
be available to all readers of this volume of the History of
Dharmasastra and therefore I propose to givo a brief abstract of
it here for ready reference. Purely astronomical writ.ers or
works have been generally not included in the following list. :
Atri ( who acc. to Br. S. 45. 1 wrote a work on 1ttpiltas for which
Garga gave him instruction, or who was the disciple of Garga ) ;
Badariiyana 817 (named in Br. S. 39. 1) from whom about one
hundred verses are quoted by Utpala in his several commentaries,
in OI,e of which on Br J. VI. 2 tbe view of Yava nendra on tbe
premature death of a child is cited; Bhiiguri (B l·. S. 85. 1
mentions him as an ancient author on sakI/nus); Bhnradviija
( mentioned in Br. S. 85. 2 as an autbor on whose treatise king
Dravyavardhana of Ujjayinl based his own work on s(J,k1Lrla.~ );
Bhrgu (Br. S. 85. 43); Cyavana (B r. Y. 29. 3); Deval
( mentioned in Br. S. 7.15 for tbe four motions of Mercury sucb
as straight, retrograde and on Yogayatrii IX. 12 ); Devasvamin
( mentioned in Br. J. VII. 7 ); Dravyavardbana (mentioned as
king of UjjayinI and as an autbor on sakunas ); Garga 878 (over
three hundred verses of Garga are quoted by Utpa1a in his
commentary on Br. S. alone, a work called Mayuracitraka is
ascribed to him by Utpala on Br. S 35. 3 and on Br. S. 1. 5
Utpala quotes three verses of Garga about VedAngajyoti~a,
about his deriving astronomy from it and about other sages

877. ~m~:~~~?if.lm~1 ~'q ~~: ~iYfI

'fI .
lI .. Zl'l4r~ II ~ q. by ~ on ..,lri4i VI. 2.
878. iiI .. q"lc(i Twm ~1i\ 51": m~ ~~ i1!: I··· mI': 1Ifm'1-
~ mr-q: ~:" ~ on~. I . 11.
592 History of Dharma8astra l Sec. II, Ch. XVI
obtaining it from him ), Vrddhagarga 878a (twenty-five verses of
his are quoted by Utpala on Br. S. I. 11, in one of which the
ras is are expressly referred to); Gargi (usually styled 'bhagava.n'
by Utpala who quotes about 60 verses of his on Br. J. alone);
Gautarna ( in Br. Y. 29. 3); J!vasarman ( named in Br. J. VII. 9,
XI. 1 and Utpala on XIII. 3 quotes him for the words Sunapha,
Anapha, Durudhara and Kemadruma); Kasyapa (in Br. Y.
XlX. 1 ); Kasyapa 879 ( Utpala quotes about 260 Anustubh verses
from h im in his commentary on Br. S. , some of which show his
acquaintance with all the railis ) ; MaIldavya (named in Br. S.
103. 3 and quoted by Utpala several times on Br. J. VI. 6, XI. 3
and 5, XIII. 2 and XV. 4); Manittha (mentioned in Br. J. VII. 1
along with Maya, Yavana, and Parasara on uyur'diiya, and in
Br. J. XI. 9, while Utpala quotes 13 Aryas and 2 Anus1ubb verses
of his on Br.880 J. alone ) ; Maya (mentioned several times in Br.
S. 24:. 2, 55. 29, 56. 8, in Br. J . VlI. 1 with Yavana, Manittba
and ParMar a on the topic of length of life, on Br. J. VII. 13 an
iil'Yu. verse of Maya is quoted by Utpala and to Maya king of
dilnava s the science of Jyoti sa was imparted by the Sun, as stated
in the last chapter of the extant Suryasiddhanta and in a verse
quoted by Utpala on Br. S. 2.14 ); Narada (mentioned in Br. S.

878 a . Carga and Vrddha-C arga appear to be different authors and

flourisbed several centuries before Varilhamibira. Vide my pa pe r I Varilha-
mibira and Utpala' in JDSHA S , N . S . vol. 24- 25 pp. 6-8. Wh eth er
Gilrgi is another writer than the above tlVO or th~ same as Ga rga is di scu s-
sed in the same paper at p. 9. Vide Kern's Preface to Br . S. pp . 33 -40 ,
where he assi gns Garga to 50 l:l . C . It may be not ed that thou gh Ca rga
is no t expressly named in Br . J ., he is named 15 times in Sr. S. and Utpal a
on Hr. S . 16.4 1 cites a verse of Carga which clearly shows his acquaintance
witb ih e H:isi system; ~ ~ ~~, ~ii ~ I{I' ~mf: '§~a: ~
i~ qiUrlI~ '". I, ern states tb at the incomplete ms . of t(rtf'~~nr whicb
he had secured had almost the same titles for its chapters as Bf. S . has.

879. ;''Ul 'Of ~: 1~ ~~ ~~ l1f~m!it ~)~

~~II~onnm·40 . 2 .
880. From Utpala's corn. on Br. J. VII. 9. It appears th at Manittha in
his Horidastra refers to Pariiara ' ~ .. I{~ ~ l5'U~ ~illl't ~,'j~r.,,~-
~f;\' ~1~~ RV~ '. ~~ may be an Indian name also
like re~ which occurs in the 1'I{ll{11lll on ~ 5 on qn~ V.I . 11 9.
There were two MlU}itthas, one a contemporary of BerossuB, who wrote a
hi story of Egypt. the otber, author of Apotelesmata an astrological potlm
in Hexameters. The ~ whom ~ quotes composed bis work in SaDskrit
ver.es aDd Is probably aD Indian double. if at all, of the Greek Ma~ittha.
Vide Kern's Preface p. 52 for ~ .
 T'(l r Ci !ln lIIi I" r o's Jlredr'('(>ss(lr,~ 593

11.5 as holding the view that Ketu was one though aSBuming
various forms, Br. S. 24 ,2 mentions that Narada learnt from
Hrha!!pati on Mern the results of the oonjunctions of the Moon
with Rohit;ll on which he composed a work on which Br. ti. draws) ;
I'arasara ( a Parasarabantra j named in Br. S. VlI. 8 on Budha-
r i ra , Br. S.-XI. mentiollii ParaS ~Ha's treatment of A I III C(lra along
with that of Garga and of Asita- Devala, Hr. ' ,XVU. 3 mentions
T'arasara's disquisition on four kinds of yrahal/li ddlul, Br. S. XX1.2
Ill entions him on prognostications about rainfl:ill !llong with the
works of Garga, Kiisyapa and 'ita jm, Br. J. VlI . 1 refers to tho
work of Pariisara on lellgth of life along with those of Maya.
Ya val1a, Manitth a from whom Utpa.la on Br. J . VII.!) quotes a
yerse in which Parisarn. is na med, Br. J. XlI. 2 mentions
J'ariisara as having spoken of t 11'0 Yogas ca lled Srt\k and Sarpll);
l'aulisa ( vide pp. 515 -517 aboyc), alm os t all quotations ill Utpa la
a ro on pu rely as tronomica l nw ttel'R, except that on 131', J . 11. :W
lJt.pala quotes half an lir .'l(/ of ast rolo!{ical charactur; Pit! mahll
( reputed lIuthor of one of tho fi ve l"icl<1hK ntn:; , from Br. S. I , 4 it,
;' ppears that l'itamuha ro~a r d () d 'l'uotiday ati inauspicious); Ratna-
YJ.Jj (mentioned in Brhadyoga-y;i tra lJ. 1 ); U.siputra (Br. S. 48.
f;,) nam es him and then Br. S, quotes 15 ve rses from him. Utpala
quotes about 20 AnLl$tubha verties from him on different verseH
<I f Br. S. and a long prose paStiage 0 11 131', S. 85, 15 and several
Anus~ubh \Terses on Y ogay iHrii 1. 15, U[,e peculia rity being that
he qUOtfS the views of uver a dozen authors such 8 S Garga,
(rautama, Devala., Pariisara, Brha::l pati); Satya ( very frequently
named in Br. S. su ch as on Vll. 3, 9- 11,13, XII. 2, XX , 10, and
in Brhadyogayatra XL 3~, ahout 60 uryus being quoted by
Utpala on Br. J . alone, in Br. J. Yll. 11 Varaha refers to him aA
, Bhadatta' according to Utpala, which may be really
I Bhadanta )'; t:!ii.rasvata ( nall1 ed in Br. S. 53. 99 as a writer on
, daka1'yala " over 20 Anu s ~ubh verses being quoted by Utpala );
Siddhasena (Br. J . VII. 7 na mes him along with Devasvlimin
and Vi~nugupta on the length uf life ); U sanas ( named by VarAha
in Yogayii.trii. V. 3 for the view th at no ma rch should be made on
Sviiti or Maghii.); Vajra (named by Br. S. 21.2 along with Garga,
Pariisara a nd Kiisyapa about prognostications of rainfall and on
Kelucara in Br. S. XI. 1 with Garga, Pariisara a.nd Asita-Devala);
Vasi!!~ha. mentioned in Br. R. 51. 8, in Brhad- Yogayiitra II. 3,
VIII. 6 where his view is opposed to tha t of Satya, IX. 2 ( about
Hori and Drekkal,la ), XI. 9 (which mentions that V asi!?~ha and
Manittha held the same view ); V~l,lugupta ( mentioned in B t . J.
vn: 7 as holding the aaIDe view 8S Dev8svtm in and Siddbasena
II , D, 7S
about the length of life to be judged from a horoscopc. ill Br . J.
XXI. 3 where V i$l}ugupta is opposed to the v iews of Y a vallas
that tho K u rn blladva.dasam ~ a in the L a!jlLu il:! ina uspiciou s and
U tpalaq not.es two aryas from him, mentioned in Brhad-y()~a ~ iUrii
22.4, ",hot,ber identical with Ciil}akya discu l:!;:;ed in the pil pe r a ll
. Varnhamihira and rTtpala' p . 19 ); Yavana (generally m ellti o oed
1,y Varalm in the plural a s in Hr . J . VII. 1, \TIlL!J, Xl. I, XX I. 3,
XXVlJ. 19 and 21 , Laghujlitaka l X . G about Ves i, UtpaJa 011
VUI. ~ l refers to P ural}ayavana -rnata and i:)iiraval i 21. 11
ment.ions p Dr vaya vanendras; vide paper on • Variiham ihir a a nd
Utpala' pp. 1.9-2J au d on • YavaTJ osvar a a nd Utpala . .l}1AS, vol.
for 1957, pp. ] - 5)
The vaHt literature prORUPlJ U:4(.Jd by Lbeso num orou s :\l1lhl,r s
canll ot bo cOl11 prosseu 1:1.1'1 sa itl abov e within til", brief space of a
h undred yW.l .rK or so but re<luires t ho lap~e of sever a l cenlu rie;; .
It'rOili Garga , who is a Sf' igned to 50 IL U. hy Kern t o Varaha-
mihir a there is 1.1. period of ahout fivu centuries which mighl lIl'
held to suffice fo r tlw production of thii't VHi'tt ;I " t r()J o~il'al
Iitera l,ure. Gar ga himself knew t.hlJ r 'ls i syst em , th(1 ~ :v ~ t e lll (If
the exallation of planots ,mel of dr- I ji:\ a f' t.ho tju otat ion in not A
879 will sh ow. Ptolemy came a t, least two hundred YO , IT ': after
Gar ga. and F irm icli s fuur hundred yuars aft er him . Thereforo
there is nothing t o prove that tho r asl syst em in JlI rli :L was
borrowed f rom G r eek a utbor i' . The G reek s them f' el ve~ gut t hei r
inspira tion for h urOBcopic a strology from Baby Ion a1te r th o
invas ion of Alexandor ill 4th ccntury B. C. an d parti culRrl y after
B erossU!' .
Jt would bo !HlCei:\So.r y to say >iolll othilJg about tho ~ igll ,; (If
tlte Zod iac , The word Zodiac is aerived from a G retlk word
I Zodioll ' m eaning' little a nimals' a nd lIlea ns litera lly a . circle
of anim a ls '. In Herodotus 1. 70 it is used in the sellsa 01 • fign re
pain ted or car ved', It was then a pplied to Oll e of t.he figures
imagined as form ed by certaiu s ta r· groups in the belt of the
heavens. The Zodiac is a beH in the sky about 16 degrees broa d,
divided ill two by t be ecliptic, in which the Su n, M oon and
planets move. The expression' signs of the Zodiac' m ay be used
ill two se nse 8,x~1 vi~. ( 1 ) the 12 g roups of oonstellatiolls whioh
,'~ 1. \'id e ~l ci.s nc r in . Hnbyloni a n and Assyrian ' "01. II. p. 406,
\\ e Gb in Jou rnal of Ilell enist ic , s tudies, "01. 41 p. n . Sar to n in • n History
of Science' p . 17\1 note 2 . \Vcbb in • Names of stars' P. 166 points ou
tba l Crab an d Scale~ aro onl y 19 and 17~ d egrees in ex tent respect ively, while
Vir 0 a.nd F islle lU'e I ipectivcly 45 an J H cgrOQS in ut nt in the sky.
are found sown in the vicinity of the ecliptic (the path of the
Sun) irregular in position, unequal in extent a nn in brightlle ~ ;
( 2) the twelve equal art.iti('ial division,.; of the belt each extlllltiiut{
W 30 dej:tre(\s of longitunll . It i, ~ nerally ILl'ld UL(\t tlw fir~1
Illeaning alolle can he tho earlier of the kH ! two , Meiss ner po llli s
" ut that the most anci(\nt HaLy Ionian observatioll text behmglllg
lu the 37th year of Nehuchadn ezzar ( 567 B, C. ) know~ on ly th e
figures or pictures of the cOllst elln.liolls, while the tw Iy o oqu ,J I
divisions occur first of all ill a toxt of the roign of Darius Il
( about 418 B, C,), Nothing definitp i;: known !~bollt tho first
fo rmation of these pi c tnre-Ri~n R J1(..r i;; it known who gavo thell8
b nciful lH\l!Jes to star" Tb arr is hardly ally (lollLt. that L]1(j
picture Il FunO'; \\' (' re rhH1 10 popular fa nc y and IHIt tu IllOll uf
~ ('itl IlCO. Th e 1ll1lil OS wero proh ahly g iven at dift'o reni tim s .
\1eissJler slatrs that t he pic lllrH sig ns aro alroacly mentioned ill
part jn A Hitlite text of th e I :'\th cenlury B . C. aile] a re 111);0 to Ill'
luund on boundary :-iLOneS (I f til .. ~a m t' per ioo,
i::)chiaparelli in ' .A~tru llUlllY ill Ilw old T lJ~ tulll e lll' ( p. H~, )
ohserves tbat in Bahy lonia uprigh t s t o ll e~ were plaeed ill fi eld.;
ad boundary marks (Xu /1/ 1'1'11 ill BIJ,j,.v lon ia n ) or rather ItS lItlos
t)f property by wa.y of puhlic notko , of whi ch thirty ha ve heo ll
Sll far discovered 011 whieh figllro;. II r o drawll a nd on which
inscriptions are fuunn cuntaillinr, mosl tl'rrihlo (' ur>!8S 011 lho,;tl
\\'ho \\'ould romoye th e >;\.011 014. (In p. K(i he giv(.!s th o (lrawi ll g ' lil
a Babyloni an llH)I1Ulllellt of t hv ):!tlt l'('ntury H. C, ill whioh th e-
Moon, the tlull a nd \ 'P l1Ib Oc('upY Lho (~tl lltr ; d p< ,,, iliun and rtlllllcl
about them there is a ero\\'d ()f fi,.wrlls, of \\'lii('h 0 11 0 (':111 ('aliily
recognize the seol pion, ill(' ~~u. 11 wilh a li sh't; I II i! (( 'apri o() rJIu fI )
an ti the Archer ,H, l H ooke rcm:ub; t hat sP,'rrttl (' I1Rte ll ~~tiun t) aro

bS2. \, ill~ Wchi> in Journal 01 ll cllcntS l, r StuJi,'~ \01. 411 ( 1 ')~5 ) I'
59; and Journnl of l'\ear La,t Stlluic' \ 01. I) 1'1'. 6- 2(, I,,' \\':lerdcn on Hah, .
bninn Astronomy ( at p. ~5 ) in \\ hic h It" rcfer, t(l an obS<"n' ation le ,t fr o,u
tll h year of Darius JI (4"0 J ~. C.) co nlainlng .uc h Ma temenh I\~
J upiter nnd \ 'enus bcinf: at lite bc): innin g of (;cttlini and Lhe lik,. :lnd
emphasizes that B abylonian si!-:ns wcrc of e<Jllal len gt lt .
883. Tho same f'l{urc occu" in Ha\\'lin!tOn 's • Fi\'c grcat 1U0nard.io, ()t
.he a nci ent worlJ' (cd . of 1889) \01. II, p. 574 a nd that au thor thin l.>
that tbere are the Ham, th e Bull, lhe Scorpion, the Serpent, the OO!;, 11H'
\rrow. the cagle or \'ullu re. "i oe George Smith's 'A ~y ri an Di o,covl'ri , '
( London , 1875) pp, 235-~4 1 wbere hc gives a fi~ure 00 a boundary stoo~ 01
about 1370 B, C, wh ich records tbe gran t of land to one Merod cb HaladaD
nd a complete English transla tion of tbe inscription. Smitb thinks (p, 237 )
( Co" t i'IlIrd on flext pag~ )
596 R illtory of TJh(/1·/)/a sii.~tl'a r Soc. lI, eh. XVI

assigneq to Ea in the astrological teds, the two most frequently

mentioned being Pisces and Aquarius and that Ea's symbol M
reproseuted on boundary stones was either Ram's head or goat- 884
fish. It is stated by Frankfort 885 tbat of Zodiacal s igns in their
Babylonian forms only two, Cancer and Sagittarius, do not occur
un the seals of the first dy nasty of Bahy Ionia.

It is poss ible to a rgue tl U:l.t in two Ve rRes of the lJgveda (].

24.8 and 1. 164. 11) thero is a reference t o the Zodiacal belt.
• King Varuna made a wide path in ord er that the Sun may
follow it '; • the wheel of rta has twelve spokes a nd it again ann
aga.in revolves round th e sky, but it is n ot worn out'.886

The above references lo B abylonian boundary stones and

monuments are enough to show that in Baby Ionia some four or
five signs of the Zodiac had been distinguished before 1000 B. C.
But the compJete list of picture s ings of the Zodiac was know n
in Babylonia at least from about 6th cenLury B. C, as Meissnor
(referred to above ) say s.8b7 Sart on cau liously suggests lh e
probability of Babylonian influence on other Oriental peop le s
(Ira.nian, Indian and ChineRe ) but he gives up the discussion of
this question as a debat able 8~H one . Authorities are agreed th at
the oldest horoscopes are found in Mesopotamia and not in
Greece n or in Egypt. Sarton states tha t th e first know n horo-
soopo is a ouneiform tablet in the Bodlaian referring to tbe date
29th April .nO B. C., and that the second is another tab let in thtl

(Co"tiw,ed /ruII' {(I.lt />(1;,' )

that th e fil: ure contains th e symbols of th e Sun ancl ~I oon , a Scorpion . tlove,
winged lion. a ziggurat (tower). One ca n also detect therein a Imll and
u goat with fi shes ' tail. Wacrden in Jour7Jal of "ear Eastern S tu tlies. "01. !->
at p. 22 , hold s that symbols on bou ndary stone, arc of little help nnd that
the figure of 'corpi on might first be an oarthl y Scorpion considered as a
sy mbol of n !;OU or it mi ght be n zodi acal Scorpion.
88 4. S. H. Hooke in ' Babylon ian and Assyrian Reli gion ' (1 953 ) p. 28,
885 . Vi de' Cylind er seals' ( 1939 ) p. 156.
886. rt it ~r ~~~Il ~td~ qroqlW'~.r 3' I~. 1. 24, 8. ~.~. VII!
23, ~. ~. 1. 4. 45. 1. ; mm-t ~ ~ ~ ~ 11ft J1~ I ~. 1. 164.
11 , "\l~ IX. 9. 13 .
887 . M. Justrow in • Aspec ts of relil,'ious life and practice in Baby-
Ion ia ' (1911) pp. 230-23 1. wbere it is s,,\id that, besitles tbe Ram, Twin s.
Lion, ' rab . Scorpion, Archer. Fishes In Bo.bylonian and Assyrian astrology ,
in l'l:Ice of the Virgin we have a co nstellation desi nated . plant growth' and
in~l p,\, \ of the" bull .. 11 spear.

~S 8, ViJe' A History of Science' p, 7:1,

 Alltiquity of JrI'Rnp()/(/ 1/ i(/I/ h('rfls('('}J' >s 597
pierpont M organ Library r eferring !o April 263 B. C. ( in JAOS.
vol. 75, No.3 p. 17 2). F. C. Cmmer in' Aslrulcgy in R omall Law
an d Politics' ( Phila delphia, 1954) agrees with this a nd gi V(:IS
r eferences to horoscopes of 258 B. C., 235 13. C. a nd 14:2 B . C.
( pp. 5- 8). Prof. Neugebauer on Lhe oLher hand rellJarksH>9 that
onl y seven horoscopes Hr e f ound prp"erved frulll Mesopotall1iR,
a ll written in ::;eleu cid period, th o 6R rlies t being uf :2G:J H. ( ~.
C. V. Maclea n ref r s t o a h oroscope of :28th F ebruary U:! 13. C.
Sarton says t hat the very word 'hoToscopos ' \\'a,; coined \'ery
late in Greece, that it is used hy Manilit:s (first cenlury A. D.)
a nd Cleme nt of AIC'x alld rill ( 150 :2'!0 A . D . ) ann tha i its \1 80
cannot be found oarl ier. b91J Til t) earliest G r ilck horosco p e from
l!:gypt concerns the yea r 4 B . ( '. and p f<)f. Neugehauer say s thl\!
he knows about GO horoscopcs from .! B. C. to 500 A. D. T Lo
ea rlies t Demotic a nd Greek horoscopos were writte ll about thu
beginning of the Christian era and the earliest Dc III otic horu ·
scope refers to 13 A D .8~ 1 Prof. Nellgeh.111 r hold s that the ris ing
times of zodiacal signs me ntioned in Brhl\jj :ltak a (1. I!) ul'e
prec is&ly the same as the rising Lim os of zodil:l.('a.1 si).{ns in t ho
Babylonian sy stem (called A . ). Yide ,Ion rnul of Cunoiforlll
Stud ies, vol. 7 N J , 3 pp . 100- 102 .

It has bee n sec n above that notuul y was gUlleml a~ tr u l ogy

developed in early Ved ic times, buL individ ua l a"lrolog-y baRf'd
on naksa tras bad beglln to Le !;ludied ovon liS ca rly as th o
Atharvaveda. b92, ttat b eginnings uf a. I'pg ular terminology
resembling t he latAr l,Jt ,{ l'(l l1llm ollt'btllro had boo n mlltle arl!l
prognostications had been ba::;(,d all t he ll uba!.ra of birth Ilnd un
the na.ksatras a t certain dis ta nces from the 1 1lI" ~ li tra ()f birth .
Here we h ave the g erm s of tho ba,: ic a ssllmpliol.s uf oa rly and

&89. J ournal of :'\ear EnSkrn S t ud ies . " d. 1\' a t p. 16 . \ 'l(lt< :'I1u.clcnn· "
, Babylonian Astrology a nd its rclatio ~ to the old Tc~t " nwll t ' ". 7 no te 3 .
890. 'A Ilistory of Science' 1'. ·15J no te 7'1,
89 1. Prof. :-':eugcbauer in E. S. \ . 1'. ~5 a nd I II • J)1'1110 tll' 1I0rtl !ICOpe ~ '
in J. A. O . S. vol. 63 p p. 11 5- 1 ~ 4.
892 . Vid e abo\'e pp. 523-52 5 n(lt e, 75 1-75". II c m;:.Jri on . Ha ta'
(\'01, II . pp. 645-64 8) contaIns a d,alu" ue bt· t\\ccn t .arga ;lnt! I\hl1rgal·a.
wherein Garga says to th e tju(;, tillncr th :tt tl a chi ld 1)(; ho rn on !llllla fir 'l
quarter, it cause5 tb e father', tlca t h. If 111 cml '1""r t<'f m()th c r '~ death , if i ll
tbe 3rd quarter loss of propert y an tl lm th in the 4th 'I"aner b bencf"Hll an d
then provides t hat in case of hlrth in ht !JlIartel the child m:..y be pIerced an d
blood allowed to 80\\'. In lit e ~n.J 'I "al ter it mt\y be handeJ to a btrllngcl,
in tbe case of birth in t be other t\\'o q ua rters a Siint l rite ID y be performed
 598 n~/',,,U 'f D I,l/I'wt$Tisll'tJ r Sec. 11, Oh. XVI

medieval astrology, viz. that a person's future ' is determined at

the time of the birth and th at his destiny oan be inferred from
his boro"cope , It will he sbown immediately that India was in
contact with M esopotam ia and the countries of the N ear East
f rom very anciont tim es. T his cont act became ver y close aftir
Alexander'f! in vasion of In dia about 325 B, C. and in the 3r<l
('entnry n. C. H appear3 t o me probable that India ns who ha.d
alrearly the nak"a tra astrology saw th e signs of the Zod iac OIl
BallY Ion ian monumentg and bou nda ry stones a nd adapted them
Lv thoir own I:I.strologieal purposes just about the time when thll
C1 recks derived their i nspira tion fo r indi vidual astrology frolll
Bally lonians.

In' Gayii a nd I3 u ddha Gaya' (UalcuLta, 1934 ) Dr. B. M ,

Barna draws att ention ( pp. 90 - 92 a nd 1 21 of vol. 11 ) to the fa ct
tbat ono can detect on tbe ra ili ng pillars a t Buddba Oay11 som e
uf the motifs roprese nt ing the rasis or s igns of the Zodiao (vide
figu res 43 a to j, which resemble the sig ns frotU Vrsa to Tulii,
Dhanlls and Makar a) . T hese figures wero drawn in the 1:;1.
cen imy B. C. and would go at least some way t owa rds nega.tiviIl g
the viow of W eber and otbers that the raid syst em was borrowed
hy ]ndians from snch G reok writors as Fir01i clls and P aulus in th e
4th century A. D. These Buddha Gayil figure s closely resemhle the
figures drawn all monum ents an d boundary stones in Babyloni
( viele li ~u res opposi te ). All the ra iiin g pill ar;; a ro not prcservdrl.

A f(.w words ll1 ay be sai d ab .Jl1t the inte r c,)Ur~e betw een
lh\hykll and lndia. A. H. Sayee says~"l th at as 1'0. 1' baok as th e
:Ird millennium H C. there was cultural and possi bly rac ial
cunlin\lily h.1 \\' ('('11 11:\\)ylllll ll11d the p nnj ab and t he interconrse
was by land alld llt .t( "ll br Ll li'l'c' i ~ Ill) evid tli lee that it was by
::lea, )'o;l(',ul'ks, rk ' allel ] lldi:tn "a ncial\\'oud \vMe kn ow n ill
Palestill(J unrl ll r their Tamil na li es in the Hebrew ehron ielm; uf
Gon esis and Kin~ ~ . ~ ' 1 Th e Bogozkeui lnsor ipti n of about HU ll
B. C. recordi ng t reaties 'bat ween t.h e king of H itti t ~s 3-l1d t he
king of Mita,nni ghows the clynasts lIf the la tter people ha.d lh e

~'}3. 'On :\r)'an prohlem- flfty , ears la ter' in .\nti'luity "01. I ( 1927 )
1'1'. 2(14-2 15 , l'arlicui:1.rl) 1'.2 0G anc] 1' , ~ IO; o n p, ~04 he rebukes t he
EllrO} ICllll schulars, Iln el I.'.r~cially (~ermlln s for their fonciness for treati n!.;
nCt;at",(! (·,ilkncc aso f grea t ,'nille in r\l lli n~ funlanl theories IIhieh brol. e
lI own un furth e r ~c a rc h uci n!> made ,

894, Vide I Kings chap, X. 11-29 , 2 Cbronicles IX. 2 1 and' Earl)'

c om merce of 13:1UyIOD witb India ' JR AS for 1898 pp, 2~1-273,
 _1wil'tll ,?!lerr( l/rse belween Fabylon alld /111/" 1 :,!1

\ . edic gods Indra, Varl1118 Mitra and Nasatya in their pan-

t hoon. 8 '1> The a rch h-ed of Bogozkeu i contained a n eln.htlraL(>
t rea.tise on four tahlet;; on the tra ining of horses hy a <1Mt:l in
!\:ikkuli of the b nd of Mit.anni i n which a re fOlln o ('ertain
t('l' huical terms akin to San:;krit; and tlHl 1lers unaJ IHttllll ~ (If t 11(1
I; ingi! a nd nobles from Mitanni. Nuzi a nd ~rr i u.n d ll(,UI1l " llt~
k lLray a n Judo European N'!h orig in. T tl Uinlrll-jfltaka roftl r,"
I I toe trada by sea betwaen Uabylo[ : and l ndi aY '7 Grook I\lllha,.:=;
;t dorH,mclt as Megasthe nss from 8eleucll s to ea Ildragu pt:.l Mau ry J .

\)(limachus to Binduil.ira (so n of Ca nd mgupt"l I lurl hoen SOll t t"

Illelia and it i:; not too much to hold t hat th L' r d wa,.; rec iproei ty
fr OIl1 the ln el ian siLle and Indialls had gO ll e a " llll YOY3 to 1,lw
:-;Jloucid and Ptolemaie cuurLs nlany yo:.l r::1 lwfon. A SO k.L Sl' llt hi::;
: l ti 5s i o n ari tl,1.~ "; A,: oka',; edict No. 13 r llfer" ttl thoe kin g'~ of th u
\ea r .b:a.sL to wh'J I11 UuJdh i"L lIli d" iull ar iL',;; had h_'ll ll se llt , \' iz, to

1)\15. L , H , J ,,,",wi I l l Vll ) III '( ""CLL' ,.II d J :, . L,lioll ' I', 'Il', II lI11 crn.t. '"
I I"tor)' of S~.n , I, "'1 f .• ICI'olluIC \,\,1 , I. 1'1', .lUJ-ILll> ( 1' l1 gh,h tl "l an.l ' ,\ nll
'.II . I. e" of I raq' III' ";,cn ll \ ,lgc 1',Li I" ('''pcn h''h,'n, j '):lO I 1', (d5 ,
S'JU , \ ' ill e) , ,\ . I),~, 1'01. (, ; llor 1 )1:) PI', ':51-c,'> \ h I' Il l', I ', 1 , 1> 111110111,
' ,urney on 'Til" " illl lc,' ( i'dll'ln ","'I"') 1'1'. 10,1- 10';, ~,l1l,,".n i'

I flOlory of Science' 1', S5, li roill\ 1,'III.lll, rl'. plil" til e d a k al I "'<l I!. l'
.\. 11. Sayee in P a\ ry ::; OIllIll t,;lllU r .ll!t ' il \0J. lip. J'}'j-IU ": dra \\ ', ,lltl'J1tl(}l\ III
lb c fact tha t ll lttlt\' nUI1lt:rah lik e ;li h:L , t~'n', !':l.n:. ~ Ltl.l n':'&\\,L . l r t
S :\n~krit and abt) \\onb lIke aika \\ :lri \'l'1.l I tIne till n I '\:HI ('(lilt Illdl'" thn l
In Mesopotamia an ,1 r: a" ,\ ,ia :'11 111<'1 1" ... 1 III 1'1 11 ,'nilln I:, l', a pN'pl"
tl lat spoke S~n::,krl t. \ ' ide ' { 'ollljl.lr'_Lll' l' ( i ralllm:ll (II 111(' Illtllll' I .. l ll,..
IIlhe ' by E. JI. S tlirlel'Cnl .•n.l I !l a!Jn, I'l,f, I (1 1) 1. \,Li .. l 'II" <"r ', lt l
I'rcs~) p, oj para /; abollltlic In,llll',111 of Ih.: kit I n,han Itnl,l, Ih.H an' ljll"l('ri
ill t hc Uogy " ko y documenls, It I, ,I:llt'o] t h"re Ih:" Ih e ,'olb nn h')l,><',.
Ll llllpO!'CU 11 " h. ltkll iis pf \I ,t allnt (.tlnUld :..cn'r d tl'c hnl cJ.1 t ("1111, lIla'
"1~l u dc lo dian nllm er"!>, Ikll a t reat , I,,·t"cca Ill e Il illilC LlnJ.: ""l'r"llll"ll;l
<111<1 ;"vlalhi ,'aza or :'< fit.lnn. lOIlIo"," the nanll " ,11 ,e\ ,'ral ,'"clIL god", and
Ihat th ese fo rlll s arc clcari\' Irac,'s I)f II", 1a"~I),lhC "I In lhan ar> $ ln cr a~ ', i n
t ill' Illlrri an Slall' of :'<I ilann' ,
ti')7, ' J ::i ta kas' i r, [II' Fran l>:, ,l llo! :\t'Ji, l(1f. Ill. 1', hI (J"laka ;o.n ,
,; I'») abollt a croll' an d a peacock c arried .n a ~ illJl III !lalem, "IIl'rt, th,
I'eacock was thl' Bllddha .n " furmer I.fe,

i\'Jb, \ 'ide' I Iou"" 0 1 :oel!:ul'" 1l11, r I' .: .. I, .. I fe lie, all ( Lon

ellln 1 90~), Stral>o 1 15 . 1, 'I and I S, I, iJ) ,lo W 'S that an elulJaS!o.' from
a ki n g Pandio n ( l'iin el ya ) \\," rccei,,'d III Ihe w,.,t and that an I ndIan
e lnba ssy brought to Augustus II letter froUl its 1.'0;: i ll G reek IHlllen O il
parchment and a sophist from Baro~6a (? Baryga za or Uroacb ), T he J una
gadh lnscription of Rud rada:man (2n d century A, D .) mentions a yatlana
raja Tu~pl1Jl, a provincial go ver nor of . boka in Kathia war ( E. 1. vol. VIU
p. 36 ).
600 Rj',Qtol'Y of J)/i 'II'IIlIl(;ii,qtl'a [ Sec. II, Ch . XVI

Antiyoga (Antiochus of Syria), Turamay a (Ptolem y IT of

Egypt ), Alltik i na ( Antigonus of M acedo ni a ), Maga. ( Maga.s of
Oyrene) and Alikasnndara HJ? (of Ep irns ). T he G)spel of
Matth ew (chap, 2. 1-2) s lates tha t at tbe hi r th of Ch ris t in
Bethl ebem wi"e m en f rom the easL came t o Jeru ;;a lEml saying
I,hat they had seo n in the east the s t ar of the newly born child
and had com e t ') worship him , The life of Apollonius of T yana
written hy Philostratu 8 9(tO ( in Lhe fi r st qu a rter of the 3rd century
.\. D.) s tates that it wa.s lhmal in India t o show g reat hospita lity
to Babylonians a nd that th e In J ia n kin g, l a r chus. preso nted t o
Apollo ni us seven rings named af t er the seven planets. of which
ho was to wear nne on each week day .

The theory t haL itl so ught to be propounded here hl t bat the s igbt
of Lho si ~ n s of th o Zod iac on ;mcil pate nt uh,i3 cts at; 1ll0 nllme nts
a nti bou ndmy slonet! in th e 4th and 3 rd c antu r ie ~ H, C. ex.citecl th e
curiosity of Indians vL;itin g llLtbylon i[1., th at on kn o win l=( their
Hignilica nce th ey brough t Lho knowl ecl gtl hack t :) thei r co untr:,-
;,nll I-ilLsLl it lin 1.1) the naks ,ira a ~ tTLll ogy that a lraa rly ex i>l t ed ill
111I!iaunddeveloped thortis iu"trology in tlll; i!' uwn way . Vara b a-
III ibira express ly says a hou t dre<.; kallCl.S tbat he de,;r. ri hos them in
aC'col'd l1Jl ce wiih the views of Y uvanas, If the wbole Indian
a!'trology buu boen del'i ved from the Yaviluas ther e was nothing
to preve n t him fr o m say iug so. The verse' Mlecclll hi yavaniis
&c , ' ( in n c.. te 743 above ) illlplies that the Yavana astrolog ica l
trad ition ancllnd ian o ne were no t the same and th&ot the Yavanas
had composod San skrit wor ks on astr ology ( as the author's two
pa pers s how ). Varaha ex.pr essly differs from the Yavan as on

1)')'1. T he late,,1 date OIl II'hlch all tl~cse fl\'e kin g; \\u rc alive b ~ 5 H
jl, l ' . VIti " Corpu s In sc riptionlllU 111dicaru ll1 , \'01. 1. ( cd . by Huil zscb,1925 )
Pl', '11' , ~7 ,

\.IOU. Vide a sururna ry of lu,· 'indian tra\'eb of . \l'oll o n iu~ ' by ()smond
J Ie l.lcallvolr l'riaul x in J1\.i\S J MOO , pp. 70-105 ( p. 78 for Babylo nian .
lInd p, ~v fo r seven rings), Loeb Classical Library, vol. I p . 323. Some
bc holars hold tha t th e life is a fabrication and that .\pollonius ne\'or caOl e
10 I nd ia . Supposing for arguOl cnt that it is a fabrication , the fact remain "
that in the first quarter of th e 3rd century A. D. Philostratus knew that
ilab ylo nlnns were respected in Indi a, that se"en planets were known in
inclia and thaI plan ets were supposed to be propitiated by tbe wearing
,,( I inllS on appropriate week days. harpcnl ier wrote a booklet • Indian
Iravels of .\pollon ius of Tvann' (Leipzig, 19 I ) in whicb he stated
that be £elt convinced tbat Apollonius had been in India but did not go
further tbtLn tile altars of Alexander ( vide 'Indian Culture' vol. III , p . 241
for a rtlvlew o£ Charpentier 's booklet )
 Position of Venlltl _t·'lltilllJ.r 601
several substantial points. 'XlI About 200 B. C. the vernal equillox
was at the beginning of the divisional sign Aries, which yery
closely coincided with the picture sign Aries. The Indiall
astronomers, when they began to make use of the signs Mesa
and others, switched over from the reckoning with the K rttikiis as
the beginning of the series of naksatras on to the reckoning froIU
the naksatra Asvini, and counted A win! as tho first naksatra,
though the vernal equinoctial point has now receded owing to
precession to the Uttarabhtidrapadi naksatra group. It is
difficult to trace and describe the early efforts of Indian astro-
logers in the centuries preceding tile Christian era on tho system
of rii~is, since tho oxcellent work of Variha, tho Brhajjltaka,
or·lipsed all its predecessors and led to their gradual disappearance
just as the two works of Ptolemy, Syntaxis (or Almagest) and
Tetra hiblos, led to the gradual loss and disappearance of Greek
works on astronomy and astrology composed before Ptolemy.
Though all schular;; maintain that Groek horoscupic astrology
was influenced by Babylonian astronomy and a~trology, the
connecting links have snapped and become obliterated. 'Xl2 It is
likely that, as both India and Greece were influenced by the
Babylonian system of signs and Clstrulugy, buth show some
common characteristics. But it is too wide of the mark to assert
that India.n a.strology as developed in Varahamihira Was !llIrrowed
from Firmicus and Paulus Aloxllndrinus. Prof. Neugebauer,
while asserting that the Sllrya.-siddhlutu. i;; based on Greek
eccentric and epicyclic devices, holds that they were modified by
- - - - - - - ------_- -----
901. To mention only a few slriking matters of differences of opinion
between Varaba and Yavanas; (1) Yavanas favoured the view that all
planets could he lords of hora (half of a rasi ), while llf· J. said no to this
( I. 11-12); (2) Yavanas held that the moon was never a malefic planet,
Dr. J. (II. 5) said it was so in cerla:n cases; (3) Yavanas re"arded :lIars
as lIattvika, while Dr. J.(11. 7) held Mars to be talllasika; (4) Yavaoill held
that planets could only be friends or enemies among themlelves, while Dr. J.
(II. 15) held that they could abo be neither friends nor foes; (5) Yavolnal
and Varaha differed on the temporary friendship or enmity of planets ( Dr. J.
11.18); (G) Yavanas spoke of Vajrayoga, but Hr J. (XII_ 3 and 6) beld
that such a yoga was Impos5ible; (7) Yavanas held Ihat only tbe Kumbba-
dvadasawSa was inauspicious, the Dr- J. (XXI. 3 ) found fault with thi •.

902. Vide Prof. Neugebauer in E. S, A .• p. 93. Prof. Waerden ( In

Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 8 p. 76) remarks tbat Hellenistic
Astrology is a mixture of Chaldean, Egyptian and Greek clementI and that
there are more BabyloniiUI elements in tbis mbture tban II general)
.upposed.
B. I). 76
602 History of Dha7'mas(istm [ Sec. II, Ch. XVI

the Indians and that what he means is not that there was copying,
but an intelligent modification of the initial impetus (vide
'Archives Internationales D' Histoire des Sciences' for April-June
1955 ( at p. 171 and note 22). It has been shown above in note
869 that the Br. J. differs from Firmicus as to dreskaI.las and
about bhlivas (places in the horoscope). My hypothesis is that
Indian astrology about ras is and bhavas was developed before
even Ptolemy. I have pointed out the differences between
Ptolemy and Varaha in many places. 903
Horoscopes are cast not only for indi viduals, but also for
companies, ships, animals,903a foundation s of buildings, cities
and oountries. If a person comes to an astrologer for consulta-
tion on any matter, the astrologer notes the sign rising at th e
time the question is asked, calculates the positions of the planets
also for that day and time and then makes his prognostications. 904
For casting the horoscope of an individu al one must know the
year, month, day , hour or ghalilcil of hirth and the placo of
birth. Almanacs are prepared on the basis of the latitudes and
longitudes of cities like Bombay or Poona or Calcutta and they
furnish tables by following wbich one can find the sign rising
at tbe time of the birth of a person. But the almanacs being
based on the latitudes and longitudes of certain tOW(lS and
cities, if a person uses an almanac prepared in Poona for casting
tbe boroscope of a person born in Berar or Central India tbere is
likely to be some inacouracy in arriving at the proper lagna.

903. Vide e. g. pp. 568,575 , 583 ,589.

903 a . Aldous H uxley in bis novel. ' C ro me yello w' (Pboenix Library,
1929) satirizes society ladi es wb o spent tbeir days in casting tb e boroscopea
of borses on wbich tbey laid b eavy bets (p. 13 ).
904. There are two well-known works dealing with astrology connec.
ted with the time of questions , vi z. ~at- pa i'ica~ika of Pr tbuyaSa8, son of
Vari bamihira , and tbe Aryasap tati of Utpala (printed by Nirn . Press,
Bombay). Two verses (5 a nd 35 ) from th e first book may be quoted here:
~: ~: ~ ~'" rit ~ lfT ftrit;f I ~ lIV1'1!m' 1fi\'')ftI- ~ rio
Q'1Ilt'IT ~ liJ~q II {("MQl'1'>l;f ~~~ I ~iMh{ejuffl: ~­
'1'>1"; t!~~dllQl~1I ~ in verse 35 means th e lagna at the time the ques'
tion is asked. Verse 55 of the same is ~~ lfnt 4Uq;'~~«fi":~: I
~'tI': q;I<'lfit'41111 ~ :mfitq ~ II • material stolen is inferred {rom the
naviaula of the laglla at the time of tbe question, the :characteristic8 of the
thieves from d re~k a~ as of the lagoa (as described in Br. J. chap. 27), from
the riSis time, direction and locatIon are learnt and the age and caste of tho
thief from the lord of the laana '.
 Figures of horoscopes

Horoscopes are framed either in square figures or in circular

figures and even as to square horoscopes, there is some variance
jn the practice of placing the lagna (the sign rising on the
horizon at the time of birth). Supposing the lagns is Sirilha,
the square horoscope as usually drawn in MahAraS ~l'a would be
as follows where the figures 6, 2 and 4 would represent the
2nd, 10th and 12th bhll:uas (places), while a horoscope cast on
the modern European method would be like the one next to it
with the same lagna and employs symbols for the signs as for
Aries and for planets such as for Mars.

SDU'!'H

, /""-
4')(- 2
12

~;
t.; ~
~
~ 11
r.:1 ,_l

(j
-" 8
-y 10

7 9

NORTH
 CHAPTER XVII

MUHURTAS FOR RELIGIOUS RITES

We shall now turn to the muhtirtas for religious rites and
actions of individuals. Only a few of the rites and actions can
be briefly dealt with here.
A few genoral rules may however be first stated. The
Atharvana'Y.i Jyotisa says that a wise man should perform an
act or rite with the concurrence of all the four, viz. tithi,
1Iak.~atra. km'atw and lIIuhurta, if he wants success in it: if 8.
proper tithi cannot be secured then the othor three should be
availed of, if the first two are not available thon the next two,
if the first three are not available then secure muhllrta alone;
but if there be necessity to hurry and 110ne of the four can be
secured, then with the loud declaration by ( learned) br5.hmaI;las
that it is an auspicious day he should do the act and success is
secured. Certain religious acts have to be done at stated times
and in those cases, one should not consider the conditions of
Jupiter and Venus called //iilya and old age or tho fact of Jupiter
being in Lion sign, or of d(lk.~i~l(i!l(ma or thore being an inter,
calary month, Uli for example, in the rites from T)711ilsarmza up
to (lIULl1w(LSana. Tho Rijamiirtanua 'Xl6 states • the correct
astrological position of planets and days is not meant for times
of distress, all these (rules about auspicious positions) are to be
considerod when life is easy (matters are in good condition);
so says Bhrgu'. Monday, Wedll6ilday, Thursday and Friday
confer success in all actions ( begun on those days); only those
actions succeed on Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday, for which
those days are expressly laid down as proper. But the N5.rada-
purina says that Wednesday, Thursday and }i'riday are the
best, Sunday and Monday are middling and the other two, viz.
Tuesday and Saturday, are condemned for Upanayalla. 9J1

905. "fiI~: Im~ f{I~~ti'lfi;"II!IfUI: I ~~~If~ ~~: II

~ ~ i$'qT 'qf ~ ~ I fl3ji"q'l!cil~ol ~ ~~';~I{.II 3"~­
~ VII. 12 aDd 16.

,,,,,,..906. a'.....25a,'''~.1Ili\
,",,* folio IfIIPlllq~ 1 ~ ~ rit!wq{ilnll, ~W: H
verse 388.
907. ~i1J\.q!!OjW"'''I\i(l: ~ ~ ~: 1 ~~f.l1'm«l ~
~ q d ~t1l11t 11 (~iI1m'lt Ill, 15; ~, .... ,.h".q"lI~t ~,: mm:
~1jt: 1 ",it a. ~ ~ ~ ~ mti 11 wmltA~1Ul I. 56. 359-60.
 When do all Itllllf'rtakino.~ :mcceerl

The general rule is that all undertakings succeed when they

are begun while the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11 th places from the
laona are either in conjunction with or have an aspect with an
auspi cious planet and the lagn a is also in conjunction with the
two, when the 8th and 12th places are faultless and the Moon is
in the 3rd, 6th, 10th or 11th place. ~
It should be remembered that the usual tendency of our
medieval Dharmasastra writers is generally to heap details on
what were originally simple ceremonies.
Among the samskaras it is best to begin with J tltakarma
( rites at the birth of a child ). The Ratnamalii 'K1) provides that
the rites on the birth of a son should be performed on a //ITdll,
dhl'lIl 'a, kEjipra or a caru nak~atra and the good recommend the
giving of a name when Jupiter or Venus is in calnsta!l(l (i e. in
tbe 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th bhava in the infant's horosoope). As
regards birth some writers ( e. g. M. M. IV. 19) speak of
Gandanta wbich is inauspicious in birth, marriage a nd starting
on a journey or invasion, viz. the conjunction of 15th tithi with
pralipad for two !I /tatikils, simila.rly half a gbat ika when Canoer
and Lion or Scorpion and Archer or F ish a nd Ram join and the
four gha~ikiis of the junction of Revatt and Asv in t, Aslesa and
Magha, Jyestha and MitIa. Those Gandiin ta conju nctions
produce evil for the child's father or mother &c. Similar results
are predicted for birth on certain parts of Aslesa and M ilIa.
About naming a child Ma nu provides that it should be performed
on the lOth or 12th day from hirth or on an ausp icious tithi or
on a muhilrta or naksatra possessed of auspic ious characteris-
tics. 910 About canLu or cCldiikarma (tonsure) Asvaliiyaua-grhy a
(1. 17. 1) provides a simple rule that it should be performed in tho
third year after birth or according to family usage, while Manu
( II. ~5 ) provides tbat it may be performed in the first or third
year; the Asv. gr., however, bas provided for caula, upanayana,
godana and marriage the proper time of the northward passa.ge
of the sun, the fortuight of tJe waxing moon and an auspicious
naksatra. The Ap. gr. ( 16. 3) states tl.lat it may be performed

908. iqq lelihDQ<illI om1'I ~ I ~ ~"'('nllq('U ~'i~l{: 1I"""fit II

5. A . II. 44.
909. ~~ ~ ~~q ~ ;:;md I ~ >fq'\ I(jfq ~m lm:
st~.~II~~ Xlll.2 .

910. ~;n1nrt II iIi~ 1f1~1l ~,~ I ~ fit'f'\ ~ I(j " " I(j
~"q. Il.30 .
606 History of DharTJU:L8listra [Sec. il, Ch. XVII

in the 3rd year after birth on Punarvasu naksatra. But medieval

writers have added numerous astrological details. For example,
the Rajamarta nda. devotes thirty-two verses to c [uta (folios 16
to 18 ), one remarkable provision being that the Yavanas regarded
cu4ilk Irma in the Sun's northward passage as auspicious. 911
Vyasa quoted by Sm. C. says tonsure should be performed on
I

Asvinl, Sraval}a, Svatl, Citra, Pusya, Punarvasu, Dhanis~ha ,

Revatl, Jyes~hii. , Mrgaslrsa and Hast a and should not be per-
form ed on the person's naksatra of birth, nor on P urviibhiidrapadii,
Uttarabhiidrapadii and Krttikii; one should avoid for tonsure
the first tithi ( after amiiviisya ), rile/a tithi ( 4th, 9th and 14th ),
VI'.~!i . Sunday, Tuesday, Saturday and night. 912

Similar rules are laid down for ordinary shaving in the case
of grown-up men. 912a Some verses may be quoted here: the I

following nak!?atras are benefioial in the matter of shaving, viz.

tbe naksatras, Hasta, 913 Citra, SvatI, Mrgasiras, SravaJ,l8.,
Dh anis~M Satabbisak, Revat!, AsvinI , Jye!?~hii, Pusya and
Punarvasu or when any naksatra is at the time of its rise in
oonjunction with the moon provided there is also lilruhala (as
defined below). Shav ing is commended when the rising sign
is Makara, Dhanus, Kanya, Mithuna or Vrsa; observing this
produces prosperity, strength and growth of intelligence ; if
shaving is done when any of the other signs is rising, th at leads
t o disease and danger. Shaving is allowed OIl all naksatras
at the k ing's command, with a briihmaJ,la's consent, at the time
of marriage, on the a.dvent of impurity due to death, un the
releo.se uf an imprisoMd perSOIl and in rli k.~i1 (consecratiun
rites ) on a solemn Vedic sacrifice '.
We now turn to Upanayana, one of the two most important
A s valaya lla-g~h ya ( 1. 4. 1 ) as noted above (p. 605 )
Sfllizs IJ11·U,' .

9 11 , ~Nh~ ~~a-Il~ ;;f~: ~pt ~>fl : I {I. ;fl. folio 16b. verse
255. This proves th a t the Greek author had become thoroughly Hinduized.
912. nrr~: I 3lf~~,) ~ ~ mr !1crq~~ I ~I ~ ~ ll~
q;~ II ~ ~ iI !§& 'q~~m) ~: I 'Of ~: lfiril ~~~ ... \fA:"- II mr~
Slfit~~~~~I~~~~t ~","~. I. p.
23 . ~$ p. 29 on 'Ill. 1. 11-1 2.
9 12 11. A proverbi al line quoted as earl y as 1th century A. D . by
Ausoniu . ( 310- 393 A. D. ) in Eclogues p . 203 (vide Loeh Classical Library,
19 19 ) runs' cut nail s on Tue.d y. beard on Wednesday. hair on Friday. '
913 . ~'" " .: ~ .. ~~ ~~ .. I ~ l
~f1m~ .~ ~ ~ ~: " ~ ~ 'ii,"'Ni?P
( Continuul on ,,~t Pill. )
 MtJ,hfirta.q f or IlpmUllj(lna 607

laid down one simple rule for the proper time of four sarnskaras.
Ap. Dh. 914 S. laid down two further rules providing that the upan!\-
yana of a brahruaI.la, ksatriya or vaisya boy should be performed
respectively in spring, summer and autumn and the proper ages
for these three are respectively the 8th, 11th and 12th from
conception. The same ages are prescribed by Manu 11 36 and
Yaj. I. 14. I t may be noted that none of the sutras nor the
smrtis of Manu and Yiijnavalkya say 'a word about the position
of planets or rasis or weak-days or month. Gradually su ch niles
were heaped up. The Rajama rtanda devotes 70 verses (from 30;1
to 373 on folios 20a to 24a ) to upanaya na. It states that the
years were to be counted from conception or birth. To find
proper muh li rtas for upa nayana has hecome a very intricate
matter a nd such mUb tl rtas are few a nd far between. Only a few
Buch rules can be indi cated here. First as to months. One text
lays down' Upanayana is commended (for all) when perform ed
in the five months from Miigha ( i. e. from Mj gha to Jyestha );
while Vrddha-Gargya quoted ill Kiiladarsa provides tha t it may
be performed in the six months from Magna. 915 Another rule
provided ' that no auspicious rites (like upa nayana and marriage)
should be performed on the naksatra, month and week· day on
which the person concerned was born a nd no auspicious rite
for the eldest son or eldest daughter should be performed in the
month of Jyes~ha.' 916 The sages differed about the month of
birth. Vas i s ~ha said that only the day of birth was to be avoided,
Garga says only eight days of the month of birth were to be

( Contin ued f rom last pag, )

fPlfI~ f1l~ " -:q I ~ ~ ,!~;j -:q ~~ Uti ~ ~ .... II ~1fl
"~'" mr~~ ~~ -:q I ~ 1ii~ ~!R'1r .... ~~~ mri 'll~ltilf ~ II
(l"""'tOij
Colio 16b . 17b. 18a , verses 25 M, 27 2, 279 , ~ pp. 130- 13 1,
~r..g p. 30 (first verse). ~Iit"f. 1. p. 23 (last verse). Tbe last verse (~~
&c.) is ~f 98. 14 (Kern's ed. ).
914 . ~ "'&lUI!JQ"14Il'1 lfiei\ mFti m~ ~tt tNre~ IfT1lUf ~
{~~ ~~'q1f. \I . ~ . I. 1. 1. 19. Sabara io bis bbii"a 00
II 3fTQ' .
Jai mi ni VI. 1. 33 quotes tb e words ~ 1ffIrUT .. . ~... 1f. apparently as a Vedic
text. ~~iW ~ tfll'i~5elt ~ I ~r ~,,~ 'I{'( ~mu~! ~~ II
(1"", .. ,"00 verse 310.
915. !'NT .... ~:~1f.I~i1~~~'IIfr q:;q ~I ~ . I.
p . 27 , fit Rf. p . 262 (quotes it from ~ 00 Ifi~ p , 747) ; ~~.q : I
~i1~~~If.1r.Rf. p. 262.
9 16. ~ ~ .... ~\\ !'NT ~ ""'11I~,,«(ilIfiR~ I ~: 8!fttl
"' ~ ~ ~ """ll ~" ~ XVI. 5 of -frrllt q . by com. 00 QIi-
r....".. lV't V. 45.
This probibitioo about ]7~ ba hal 00 balta beyood tbe (~t
that the same word i. applied to tbe moo th aDd to the .Ide.t 1011 gr dallihtor.
608 Hi8tory of Dhannaiastra [Sec. II, Ch. XVll

avoided, Atri says ten days and Bhii.guri says the fortnight of
birth in the month was to be avoided. 917 No upanayana was to
be performed whon the moon was lost in the ra.ys of the sun,
when Venus bad set, when the sun was in th e first (lli/sa (degree)
of a rii.s i and on days which were declared to be unfit for vedic
study and on yala.rraha. 918 Certain titbis and tim es were called
galagraha ( as stated in the note ). 919 If Jupiter be in the 200 .
5th, 7th, 9th or 11th ras i from the r-ls i of birth, then Jupiter iii
very auspicious ; if Jupiter be in the 1st, 3rd, 6th or 10th rasi
from the riisi of birth he hecomes auspicious after a sunli rite;
if Jupiter be in the 4th, 8Lh or 12th riisi from birt.h he is
inauspicious. ?2~
One rather convenient doctrine of the astrologers was that
an evil planet may be mollified and the evil consequences of its
influence avoided, or, if not altogether avoided, suhstantially
reduced or abated by appropriate rites ( called siintis ) or by
wearing certain precious stones and metals and by various other
means enumerated in the Ratnamiilii 921 'one should wear coral
for appeasing Mars and the Sun, silver for Venus and the Moon,
gold for Mercury, pearl for Jupiter, iron for Saturn and rllju.uarta
( a kind of inferior gem ) for the other two (Rihu and Ketu) .
The Ratnamiilil provides that planets may not possibly afflict
a man if he engages in prostrations before images of gods and
be foro briihmanas, if he carries out the advice of eld ers, by
holding daily conversations with the good, by listening t o the

9 17. "I'"i W1{"lfa ?fmg') 'lTfl ~ ~~fT~: I "I'r~q q~

ml"l film
>lr~~'1c1 ~!: 'lfm<fI: ~ ~tfu "III ~~~ q. by A. fu. p. 263.
<J IR. ife "I~i\'reri't ~ A~ ~ >lIm I ~!~lf* ifr-n-q...q ~ II
qu o ted by 3'lq~ref; p . 32 and ~{I'iRf. I . P 27, ~n'i{ (on Qi!~) p. 751 (from
~~) .
9 19. ~ ~'R"R'~ '!iflf~r "Iiltm Ill~! ii'tfllff "I ~ ;nf1fFf: II
~'Q~~lIl1~ "If1tn( ~~~ ~;;!Ifq1{ I "IiI'Ul~ : llhti! arerifill ~1ftrt: II
~T~foli0 23a andb, verscs363 and 3G5; ~ (on!fi~)p.751for
~ "Ialli; "I ~iI~ &c .
9~O . ~!fi1'tmr~iI~m~!fiIvrI"ll'~mr'1: I ql ~: ~~1frO Flff~lf~
Ar~: II ~~ V. 46.
92 1 "l1~ lIW~ ~J1 >lTR>lfl'it ijt1i §~I" ~ I 5Ui! ~~'fulf!fii -
~lf ~~>lr,,: (~: ?)~: ~lf)Iol" ~f"ilr~ X 15 quoted in com.
~1 on 5 - RJ- IV . 11 ( urlt ~"I'm1fi ~~~iT:); ~.~"'q.f~~:­
~aql ~"I<IHq~ ~1,,!~~I~ fi~~:Qi~rq: I l'!''Pmf,,~'I[~-
1fflf1~r( Cfr-fflf.;-r ~ ~~~ ~~.. qr: qRr-fllll ~~ X. 29;
~~~~iIl'q ~r ~~f.r'lfqr~: ~~~­
'f~ II '"~~l1! 103 .48.
 Planet Jupiter and upanayana 609
loud reoitation of the Vedas and to the stories about the great,
by offering hama, by seeing the performanoe of Vedio saorifices,
by making the mind pure, by japa (inaudible repetition of
mantras), by making gifts. The Brhatsarnhitii. has a similar
verse. Ratnamala X. 16 and Muh iirtaointamani IV. 9 provide
that one should possess a golden ring divided into nine oompart.-
ments, one being in the middle in which there is to be a ruby for
placating the Sun, and in eight direotions from the east onwards
should be set in order: a diamond for plaoating Venus in the
east, a fine pearl for the moon (in S. E. ), ooral for Mars (South),
gameda for Rahu ( in S. W.), fine sapphire for Saturn (West ),
Vaid urya (cat's eye gem) for Ketu (N. W. ), pusyaraga (topaz)
for Jupiter ( North ), emerald for Meroury ( N. E.). Such rings
are worn even in these days by some people.
As in ancient times upanayana was meant for oonferring on
the boy the authority to study Veda and as the planet Jupiter
( Guru) was identified with Brhaspati, the guru of the gods and
the Lord of Speech, great importanoe was attaohed to the position
of Jupiter. But exceptions were introduoed even when Jupiter
was apparently not favourable. One exoeption was 'even if
Jupiter be in the 8th plaoe from the raid of birth or be in the
sign of Lion ( which is .the svagrha of the Sun) or in depression
( i. e. in Makara) or in the house of his enemy, upanayana
would be auspicious if performed in Cai tra when the Sun is in
Pisces ( which is the svagrha of Jupiter). This exception is due
to the faot that the prinoipal time for upanayana is the 8th year
from oonception or birth and other oonditions are of seoondary
importance, as the Dharmasindbu says. 922 Certain naksatras
a.lone were deolared to be auspioious for upanayana and sa mil-
V.'l1·/ana of dvijas viz. on the nak~atra.s Hasta, Citra, Svatl,
Pu~ya, Dhanistha, Revatl, Asvinl, Mrgasiras, Punarvasu and
Sravana; upanayana was to be performed on a oommended tithi
when the Moon is powerful ( i. e. from 5th of bright half to the
5th of the dark half ). 923
Very intrioate astrologioal rules are provided for marriage.
The Aev. gr. B. ( 1. 4. 1-2 ) laid down a very simple rule about

922. SlS""C4if4!!(oQ4'ltM ~ ~""I"d~@t." lIfT ~ lIfT ~l

MtQ4'lt?l~Q .. J'tqH'W( I ~~ p . 20 1.
ffirrifi'l il t!;<IIQ"'t?ltfit....: I
923 . lf~ ~~41 _~~~I ~ fiht1 ~
~ ~ ~ ~ n ~ OD Ifi1(l5 p. 749, U . lIT. ( folio 20 b ven.
'16) quoted by ~ p. 32 (",lthOllt Dame ).
B. D. 77
al0 Hiat011l of Dharmaiastra [Bee.lI, Ch. xvtt

the proper times for four samskAras which has been quoted above
( p. 536 note 778). The Baud. g~. (1. 1. 18-20) provides that
marriage may be celebrated in all months, that according to
some, the months of Asa~ha, Magha and Phalguna are to be
avoided and that the auspicious naksatras for marriage' are
Rohinl, Mrgaslrf?a, Uttara- Phaiguni and Svatl (vide notes 726
and 777 above). The Ap. gr. (1. 2. 12-13) is to the same effect
as to months ( vide note 775). The Kausikasutra 924 (75. 2-4 )
approaches medieval and modern practice all it prescribes that
marriage should be celebrated after the Full Moon of Kartika
up to the Full moon of Vaisakha or one may do as one likes but
one should avoid the month or half month of Caitra. In medieval
and modern times there was some difference of opinion. The
Riijamartanda ( that devotes over 150 verses to the treatment of
marriage) allowed all months for marriage except Caitra and
Paui?a. 925 But works like the Dharmasindhu say that the months
of Magha, Pbalguna, Vaisakha and Jye s~ha are auspicious,
Margaslri?a is middling and in some works Asa.~ha and Kli.rtika
are allowed and that usages of the country should be followed.
Then consideration is to be given to the naksatras, the week
days, the positions of the planets, particularly Jupiter, Venus,
Sun and Moon. But before doing so I would like to draw the
attention of modern sticklers for astrological requirements a.bout
the marriage of a girl to the practical advice and wise words
of the Raja.martat;l~a and Bhujabala composed in the first half
of the 11th century A. D. The Rajamli.rtaJ;l~a 926 sa.ys 'when

924.
75.2.......
3i\i!fl1la;rn:in~ : 1 ~ lit 1 ~ (l mer. 1 q,~~i"'t{"

92.5. ~ mtQ ~~ ,,(I ~;mn : stm~ .~,,~:"

~~q folio 29a verse 480 q. by ~ p. 124 , ,,<ilm~ .... P. 604, f;t ~.
p. 307. ~~, ~ays: 1I11m'II~ ~ ~) ~,~ if '<l ~ ~: 1
XVI. 3.
9 26. ~r V~S'UllT i i ~ ~ 1 wfW~ (l trT lP1f! ~~ m
snfl~ 1 s:n~ (1111 lP1f! if (l ~~;fr 1 ~§RT (l m~ (l);! ....4 .. ~~~1"
(lWlllful (folio 24b and verses 397-398) q . by ~ p. 124 (read. oms-
p1i snf't~ and ~~ lJ), ~. ~. p. 303 (reads ~~). ~ (verso
67) laid down that II girl was to be married before she reached puberty.
but the marriage of n girl when she is eight years old is to be commended.
Paraik.ra ( VII. 9 ) says that a brihm~a who marries a girl after sho hal
reached puberty becomes unfit to sit fo r dinner In a row of brihmaJ;lal and
he becomes tho husband of a v~li. (i""+1I~O. (folio 25a verse 391) is: ~
~ ~ "'lfi"1IlfiT 1 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ II. SO lOme lti,ma aUa-
( ContinlllNl on "u' pat.- )
 Auspicious times considered when 611

( an invading) king bas seized a country or when war is raging

or when the life of the parents is in danger, a maiden who is
very much grown up is not to wait for an (auspicious) time;
when a maiden is very much grown up, but does not act against
~he rules of dharma she should be given in marriage, even though
she is impure, without minding whether the Moon and the la [lnct
are powerful'. The Bhujabala 927 (or Bhujabalabhlma) provides
• the sages declare that in the case of maidens the auspiciousness
of planets and of the year, the month, ayana, season and days
is to be oonsidered only before maidens reach the age of ten
years '.
There is some difference of opinion about the auspicious
naksatras for marriage, but all are agreed as to Rohi~I.
Mrgasiras, Magh 5, Uttara- PhalgunI, UttaraI?Adh!, Uttarli.-
bhiidrapada, Hasta, Svatl, MilIa, Anuradbii., Revatl (vide Br.
S. 100. 1). Others like Haradatta add four more viz. AsvinI,
Citra, Sraval!a, Dhani!?~hii. But ~f any oue of these is iu
oonjunction with a malefic planet, it should be avoided. Among
weekdays, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are
auspicious, the other three are middling. Aooording to a verse
quoted in Jyotistattva weekJays have no force at night and
particularly Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.928 Among tithis
amiiv8.sya. is forbidden; riktiJ tithis ( 4th, 9th, 14th) yield little
good; the other tithis yield much good; the bright balf of a
montb is the best and the dark balf of a month upto 13th titbi
is middling.
Marriage 929 in the case of maidens should be performed in
even years after the 6th year if Jupiter is auspicious; in the case
of bridegrooms marriage is auspicious ( in uneven years) , if the
Sun is auspicious; marriagE; is auspicious to both if the Moon is
( C01ltinued from last paf..)
ches to the grown-up girl also. The ~ says '~ lfinll'
tl~ffl .. lltl'l tlt¥1I""~.!(»SllOlt ~ trliUnlit
If!I: II ' p. 152. Therefore the
,,,01
(1", .. employs the word~. Tbe 'fI"~ IOftens tbe rule by saying
t hat all tha.t should be considered is the moon and the laina. at the time of
the marriage of a grown-up girl.
927. 1I I!\I~ ... qU~ ~ ~i\"'''''If( I SRh q $",ij.cf1 6""f:
~~ lfi'i1l'fiJiI'Tf( II ~ q. by ~ P. 124. ;rq)il"~ p. 605.
928. $ltll.,.qWI"'(»'IlIi(I~~: ~ ~ ~ ~~ : I
"cfI~ttI'" p. 59~. .
929. U'1iIi\ .. ~., ~ ~! .... qifl"'lqKilt( I dilW~ij'4l1.goil ~
fll"'I)liI'J(R,,~WI ~; • s. ~. VI. 12.
6U History of Dharmaiastra [Sec. TI, Ch , XVII

beneficent. If Jupiter is in exaltation 930 or in its own house or

in the house of a fri~ndly planet then he confers full life, variou8
kinds of wealth and happiness, but if Jupiter is in the first or
8th or is depressed or in the house of an enemical plane~ or lost
in the brilliance of the Sun he produces widowhood and distrEiss
to the issue. As regards the lagna at the time of marriage the
Sun in the 3rd, 6th. 8th from it, the Moon in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th
place from it, Mars in the 3rd and 6th, Mercury and Jupiter
in the 8th and 12th are to be avoided. If Venus is in the /aYlla
or in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 9th or 10th place from it, Saturn, Rahu
and Ketu in 3rd, 6th and 8th from it and every planet in the
11 th place from lagna conduces to happiness in marriage. If
at the time of marria.ge Jupiter 931 is 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th
from the rasi of birth he is auspicious to the maiden; if in ) st,
3rd, 6th or 10th place therefrom, he becomes beneficent by
performing a santi rite; if he is 4th, 8th or 12th he is ina.uspi-
cious: but if Jupiter is (at the time of marriage) in Karka,
Dhanus or MIna, he ceases to be inauspicious even though he
may be in the 4th, 8th or 12th place ( from rasi of birth); in a
time of pressing difficulty Jupiter though in the 4th or 12th
becomes auspiciouil after performing two san tis (B ~haspati
homas ) and though in the 8th after three san tis. In the case of
the bridegroom the Sun in the 3rd, 6th, 10th or 11th rasi fr om
the bridegroom's rasi at birth is auspicious; if in other railis the
Sun beoomes auspicious after the performance of ahoma.
If a maiden 932 has attained the age of puberty then one
should not stop to consider whether Jupiter is auspicious; even
if Jupiter be 8th from the girl's ras i of birth marriage should be
brought about after three santis.
If Jupiter be in the house of the Sun (i. e. in Simha sign)
and the Sun is in the house of Jupiter ( i. e in MIna or Dhanus )
that is called Gurvaditya, whioh is condemned for all rites.

93 0, ~u: ~ ~m ~~: ~~~~')

~ lIT ~, ~sRrit [4i1ltfi(I""OI<l l ilmm ~ tre1~1!!"fii'S ~
~ ~~~II ".., .. In"l' folio 27a verse 434 .
931. fiq .. ~a~tfi l "~iNt~: ~T: ~lf:o ~<I" l!!q ~I"t'<Il~ 'fl'IT-
il...... tfit1I1"".H ~lf:, t;fij\l~~S ~ : ~"'" "ifiI\l~~ ~
Jl!: I ~ <qo1l~Nt fI" I("I!.. i«II1~ ,r..n~W1i"'<l I r.tt: ~:, ~ p.
248. tfit is the NCCa (exaJtation) of Jupiter and Dhanus and Mioa are hi'
Ivatrhas.

932. """,('), <11: ~ U'lIrt 1f ~, ~ ~ ~"III "'ijOii'• •

""l" q q. b)'~.~. p. 304.
 Gorajas mtthurta for marriage

A good deal is said in the medieval works on Sirhbastba

Guru and the rules laid down on this topic are even now observed
by most people. The Ra.jamartat;l~a devotes six verses to it. When
Jupiter is in the sign Lion several rites would become inauspioi-
ous such as marching on an invasion, marriage, ttpanayana. first
entrance in a newly built house, the establishment of the image of
a god. Certain modifications were introduced by sages. Parasara
provided that no marriage should be performed in the oountries
between the Ganges and the GodavarI, when Jupiter was in Lion
sign and that when Jupiter was in Magha nak!?atra (the first of
the 21 nak!?atras of Siillha) and when the Sun was in MIna no
marriage in all the countries (of India) should take place;
Vasi!?~ha said 'marriage and Upanayana are not bad in sifjl/tastha
Guru when performed in a country north of the Ganges and to
the south of the GodavarI. 933

On acoount of the complioated nature of the mubill'ta for

marriage, a short cut was hit upon called Godhilti or Goraja.~
(literally, dust raised by cows) muhurta. The Rajamartanda
devotes ten verses to it (folios 34b and 3580, verses 550-559 ).
Three of them are set out here. 934 'While the Sun, though
setting, appears like saffron or red sandalwood paste, while the
sta.rs in the sky are not seen to sparkle with their light, while
the sky is filled with the dust pounded by oows ( returning to
their pens) with the tips of their hoofs, tha.t time is deolared to be
Godhulikii., which gives rise to wealth and orops and prosperity.
In this muhurta the planets, the tithis, Vi s~i or stars or oonstel.
lations do not create an obstaole; this unimpeded 1/oga was

933.'Ifm mm ~ "l ~ "l ~'I wtt~ lI'i'~ ~ om'q~

~I ~ 'U'tiit I ~ p. 275; ~ ~ ';f ~"III'IiGIlf(;lI114q6~!U
'6;lmp: I ~A folio 67a verse 1057; lRTm: I ~l'I'11fR\llm-a ..,~: ~
~ I ~ ~ '8m ;f~ ~ II lIOOr"lN I ~') ~,~ ~ ~nn ~
ill 'qT1f~ ~ '1'~ ~~ ('{'UTI mm~.tJ.l ffmit:;1l ';f ~ II fit.
flt.
p.305 .
934. ~lF("''''''''''A~~ lfret;(1 ~1"(rrvr1 ';f'q:~~ 11)
~ u~li: I mr'if~ ~~~ il'lf: Iri'UPi: m (m UOlUJTqt'fflr-
~ ~ ~~" "1~'1I 1'l 1 iI' fihl'q) ';f "if iiI~(l ~ ~ ~~ ~T 11
~1~:~iI;mm(~?)~ri%ll",IlJ~~~ ~:.
ml ~ i!1l~ iii~ ,"I{'~ ~ ~~ I ~ ~ ~ ..~
~~~~II('J1"i"oC{olio 34b and 35a, verses .5.51, .556, 559 ,
The last two are quoted by "ci'I",\(I+II ( wltbout name) pp. 610-611 (and one
more viz . .555). Compare~. 102 . 13 '~ ~ \!(!¢4rem lIT fl
llm{ij.,iwft ~ ~ ~~II 1I1~"'iI~ " . . . ,,~
~ ~ mi 1I1l"'m: ~: ~ ~ ~ SRtti'!1$1ti ~ "'
 History of Dharma~astra [ Sec. II, Ch. XVII

declared by Bbargava as time for marriage and for starting on

8n invasion. When no other auspicious lagna can be found then
sages direct that Godhiilika ( mUhiirta) is auspicious; but if a
lagna which is auspicious and powerful can be found the
Godhulika muh urta does not bring about auspicious results.
The Dharmasindhu (p. 254) simply quotes the Muhurta-m a rtaJ:)~a
IV. 38, which says that this muhUrta is intended for su dras, but
that in times of great difficulty when the girl has reached puberty
it may be auspicious also for brahmaJ:)as and persons of other
varJ;las. In these days also this Gorajas muhiirta is sometimes
resorted to by all var9as.
There are other complicated astrological matters for con~
sideration in marriage such as Dasayogacakra (R. M. folios
35b-36b), Saptasalakiicakra (R. M. folio 36b-37b), which are
passed over here. But there in one matter that is sometimes
gone into even now and that must be briefly alluded to, viz. the
calculation of the !/U~~S (marks ) on the comparison of eight
matters ooncerning the naksatra and rasi on whioh the intending
bride and bridegroom were born. This is designated . vadbii~
varamelakavicara ' or ' gha~itaguz:lavicara', The eight matters
( kii~as as they are oalled) are varJ;la, vasya., t ara, yoni.
grahamaitrl, ganamaitrl, ras iku~a and nii~ !, 935 varJ;la carrying
one mark, each succeeding one having one more mark ( in all 36 )
than the one immediately preceding. All of them are not
described even in the latest works; for example, the Dharmasindbu
deals only with the last four. Two of these, viz. gaJ:)a and
na~t are attaohed great importance even now among briihmaJ;la8
and other classes also. I have described these two in H. of Dh,
vol. II. p. 515, All these eight arEJ' described at length in
MuhiirtamartaJ:)~a (lV. l-1 2) and Muhiirta·cintama:t;li ( VI. 2 1 ~35).
Sarnskii.raprakasa (part of Vlramitrodaya ) pp, 773ff. and
Sarnskara-ratna·mala pp. 519ff. One 966 rule made matters easy
in some oases, viz. when the rasi of birth of both bride and
bridegroom was the same, but the nak!?atras of their birth were
different or where the nak!?atra was the same but the ra.sis were

935. quff~ mn mu~ .. IIl!a!ll~q I ~ ~ ... ..-ril ~ ~­

Ntfit: II ~ . N. VI. 2l.
936. ~~I"1J):~"~~ ' ~ ;ttllUl11ft
• ~ ~ ~ 1Jl': t'm'l • 8· . .. VI. 36. If, for example, the
bridegroom wa.s born during the nnt quarter of krttiki nal'l;atra and the
bride In the 4th quarter of the IILme their risis would b. different (via.
Me,a and Vr~bb.) but the nak~tr. would be the .. me.
 When gm.uz and na4i not considered &15

different, then no consideration need be paid to ga~a and nliqi

and the like and if the naksatra of both is one and the same it
would be auspicious if they were born on different quarters of the
same naksatra. Now that in most educated families the age
of the bride and bridegroom is twenty years and beyond and
there are also love marriages the rigours of this examin tion of
astrological details have been very much reduced, but they are
not completely gone even now. In the author's youth nearly
sixty years ago, even if the girl was quite eligible from all other
points of view, a marriage among the well-to-do classes was
almost impossible if this tallying of marks was not astrologically
favourable.
Great importance was attached to the favourable position
of Jupiter in the case of marriages. The Ratnam:ila 937 states
• Mercury that could be seen ( being a good deal away from the
Sun) and occupying the 1st, 4th or 10th place in the horoscope
removes one hundred astrological defects; Venus removes double
of such defects and the teacher of the gods (Jupiter) when
powerful certainly renders nugatory even one hundred thousand
defects "
In marrIages both candra1mla and taraoala were required.
As stated in note 772 above the 3rd, 5th and 7th naksatras from
the nak~atra of birth were called respectively' vipad ( calamity),
, pratyari ' ( facing enemy) and vadha ' ( destruction) and they
I

yielded results in consonance with their names; therefore they

were to be avoided in auspicious rites and:particularly in marriage.
The nak~atras from that of birth were arranged in three groups
of niue. In the 2nd group the evil ones would be 12th, 14th and
llilb and in the 3rd group 21st, 23rd and i5th. It was laid down
that, where the Moon 938 is powerful, the t(iri'ilJala noed not be
oonsidered, but where the Moon is weak ( as in the dark half ).
then the strength of taras is pre-eminent. Some authors rega.rded
even the nak~atra of birth as one to be avoided in certa.in rites,
though acceptable in others. The 'evil tiiriis called 'vipad',
, pratyari • and 'vadha' were to be placated respectively by
gifts to briihma:t;lBs of jaggery, salt, and gold with sesame.

937. cimvrt '11I!1'NII~~: it;~ a.,.Nlllq ~: I ~ Ibvr-

~ ~~: ~ ~_'>i,q,,_q'( II ~n:n XVI, 26.
938, ;sf~ ~ m.. ~~ ~.. I ",'IIIr.{"~fft ~ mt
'
~.;t: ~" II" q ~~ ~~: ~: lfi1'tn!~ ii mt ~:
~I "'0 ~ ~'i'I!I(I~.Ml~" ~ tll("'lql~ n I "·1frJITI1trV~...A1
' " ~ ~ f4Iifloltqi(1I ~ XI. 4,05,6,7; ..vt ~ mt vi' ~
~mft . fRIn~~ fittRl"'4dl(lfi. (I..,l1l1l ol folio 38b, vorlo 617.
 History of lJharmat~tra (Sec. IT, Ch. Xvll

In relation to marriage the Rajamartat;lda 939 says: tithi is

declared to have a single value while weekday is four times as
good, nak~atra is 16 times better, yoga has a hundredfold result,
the Sun is a thousandfold efficacious, while the Moon is effica-
cious one hundred thousand times; therefore leaving aside all
other balas (astrological strengths ) one should look to the
Iltrength of the Moon as ( the pre-eminent) strength.
Now that in most countries including India the kingly
office has been abolished, muhurtas for coronation are of purely
academic interest and therefore they are not set out here. Those
interested may refer to Ratnamala XIV. 1-8, Muh urtamartat;l~a
VIII. 1, Muhurta-cintiimaIfi X 1-4, RajanItiratnakara pp. 82-84
( ed. by K. P. Jayaswal ).
One very important astrological subject was Ylitra, which
has two meanings, viz. starting on a journey for going to tirthas
or for earning wealth and marching out for victory by king~.
The first kind of yiitra is common to persons of all varIfas, while
the second is concerned only with k!!atriyas or the king. 9tO It
appears that not only professed works on astrology but also the
Sm rtis, the Arthasastra of Kau~ ilya and PUriinas attached great
importance to this subject. The Asramava.sikaparva 941 7. 12-18,
Manu VII. 181- 212, Matsya 2~O-2~3, Agni 233-235, Vi!!t;lu-
dharmottara II. 175- 176, the Arthasa.stra in books IX (. the work
of one who wants to be an invader') and X (relating to war)
deal exhaustively with the subject of Ylina or YCitrli.. The
subjects of Yatra are summarised in the Brhat-samhita. as
follows 942 : Under Yatra are included knowledge of proper

930. fiilRnqmvTlllrnrr mall' "fij~ : I ~ ~71 ,(nGql'll'all' ~: II

~ ~~: 's:i)'i'FiIlcl~,) i'l~IIi: I ....t~ ~ ri ('I~'4"l'lj"i'li(II~·
~ foli o 39a, verse s 611 -612. Tbese are quoted in ",Qliil~"" p . .590 but
not fr om U . iff.
940 . ~~ ihli#(1('j";% ~ I m;if ~ ~q;m ~­
~'CfI'!lj'I,:wm ~<Il'!lj" I ' " ' ~~~ ~q"jOj(;hjl'l\lJtjM>1"'<I'3'I~"·
l'l1t! Il~" 111 <mrI m ~~Jtqj(.qjl "'<Il lfnmf;rN ~~~
If! fiil~~§I~'fitlI' <Il'!lll m ill .. l,qqj'!llj I ~ on 5. r..
XI. 1.
941. ~ 'j ..ods".') U3I1 ~ ~ I S'i'Fitl44jllijl'lj.ql .. ~(It"~\d'(fj "
n~~ ~ ~: I 3f~~ <Il'Cf~ ~ " ~.
~ 7.12-13.
..
942. tmmI't • ~~l'luci'j'~IItc4.q.,t11Ij~",q~, .. •
~Of1ITIT1'fif~1re1l~if'6~.,j14.jq~ejrcall"jwqlQjq"f'i'lj"P'4'S,,~·q·
~'4j'(t1~S~ ... \) ..... «(dli~"j.,1 ~ ~I ~tm, ~.
chap. II (p . 6 of Kern ', eel" p, 71 of Dvlvedl '. ed .).
 Topics falling under Yatra

tithis, week days, kam'{las, nak!?atras, muhurtas, the vilagna

( the lagna at the time of starting ), the ( different) yogas (con-
junctions of planets, nak!?atras, rosie &c.), the throbbings of the
limbs of the body, dreams, baths for victory, sacrifice to the
planets, worship of deities in groups (such as Guhyakas), the
indications drawn from fire-flames (at the time of homa), the
indicatioIls derived from the gestures of elephants and horses, the
talk of men in the army and its activities, the ( nine) planets,
the employment of six glttJas (sandhi, l1iyraha , y illla, US(lI/(I,
doaidhibhilva. asraya) according to the strength of planets,
auspicious and inauspicious things and sights, the four up :i ya~
( sarna, dana, dal,1da, bheda), sakllT/as ( omena), the ground for
army encampment, the colour of the flames of fire, the employ-
ment as time may require of ministers, ap ieil, enVOYR, furll:3t
triblls and means of securing the enemy's forts.

Varahamihira, besides devoting several chapters of the

Brhatsarilbita ( such as 43-50, 88-96) to Illatt(lrs falling undllr-
'Yiitra' composed three works on it, viz. tbe Brhadyogayiitrii,
the Yogayatrii and Tikkanikn.913 Apart frOIll the verses in the
Brhatsalnbita, Varahamillira devotes over 1100 verses to Yfitrli.
Y iitra is dealt with in several other works also such as the Ratna-
mala (XV. 1-74), Rajamnrtanda (folios 42a-500., verses 653-795),
the Muhii rtacintaman i ( Xl. 1-109). The reason why tho work if!

90. I have not been able to lind !loy printed edi ti on of B~h!ld-yoga.
ya tra, I have used a badly written ms. of it in tbe Bhau Daji coll ec tion of
th e Bombay Asiati c Society . Part of tbe Yo gayii trii (chapters 1-1)) was
puulislled by Kern in the Indi sc he Studien vol. X, pp, 161-212, vol. X IV
pp. 312-358 , vol. XV pp, 16 7- 184 (with translatioo In German). Mr.
Ja gadish Lal of Lahore publisbed the whole of it in 1941, but he bad a
defective ms. and th ere are many gaps in tbe text as printed . Tbere h a
rns , of the Yogayatra in the Bhall Daji collection of tbe Bombay Asia tic
Society with the commentary of Utpala. There are 16 chapters of th e
Yogayiitra with about 167 verses ( 17 chap. In the Lahore ed.) and tbe
Brhadyogayiitra ms. bas 3<1 chapters and about 520 verses I e. the latter Is
bli gh tly larger than the former . The ~ikkanlkii is a small work (In nine
chapters and !lOOut one bundred verses) recently publi shed by Mr. V. R. Pandit
( who devotes great Industry and acumen in arriving at a tol erable text) 10
the Journal of tbe Bombay University, vol. XX part 2 (for 195 1 ) pp . 10-63 .
Vide my paper on 'Varihamiblra and Utpala 'In J BBRAS vol. 21- 2'
(new serle. ) pp. 2-4 and 27. Tbe word Is variously written In the mIS, aDd
by Utpalll as ~ , fQrf1tr, ~ilt~ , ~1fi1mn .

B. D, 78
618 History 0/ .DlzarmaStistra [Seo. II, Ch. XV1J
called Y ogayii.trii. is as follows: When a war944 is impending, to
look out and wait for auspicious tithis, week-days, naksatras
would involve a great delay. Therefore, the conjunctions and
positions of certain planets in some fixed places (i. e. yoga ) is
looked upon as the principal astrological matter. The Y oga-
yii.trii. and Ratnamii.lii. say: 9i5 Just as even a poison may work
like nectar when mixed (with other substances like milk) or just
as even honey taken with ghee may act like poison , in the same
way a planet giving up its own peculiar power yields results
due to certain conjuDctions. Kings march out on con junctions,
thieves and bards act on sakunas, bril.hma~as act on the efficacy
of naksatras, others (than these ) secure their objects on the
strength of muh Li rtas.
In Brhaj-jataka (28. 3) Varaha declares that he will enume-
rate the topics concerning Yatra946 and verses 4-5 specify th
topic!!, which agree in the main as to names of titles and their
order with those in the Brhad-yogayatrii chapters II-XX and
not with those of the Y ogayiitra. All these works cover a very
wide field and deal with many subjects that are not strictly
astrological ( as the quotation from the Brhatsamhitii. cited above
in note 94:2 will show ). Even the purely astrological matarial
runs into hundreds of vorses and all that can be attempted here
is to indicate very briefly some of the material.
If a person's rising sign at birth (l agna) is not know n, then
the lagna at the time of asking a question about Yiitrii may be
used for astrological purposes. If such a lagn.i is either Mesa,
Karka, Tulii or Makara and is occupied by auspicious
- ---- - - - - --
944 . ~l11'trl ...T -a ~a\'rtmN~, I . ; quI ~I 'liT~ ~r~;n;f lIfG'-
~T;t qr~1l.1 i{~ ~~~T ~~~ I ~ ~1'!iII <fm:~m1fit;f) I
~ 9
qiW'lli'~~ n(i'<l"ldq4t1fq I "'31<1 I!!f ~ ~~I m-
~~~N ~ I ~"m) ~ fit><mt"'ron f;fl«H'UI~ I
~ COlD . on '11 ~ . X I. 54.
945. ~l ~ iiO~: ~~~",('<II(UI14q: I ~~cFmrtr: lIfVtefi'<lf
~ >ifoU'lill11i II ~'nn'I""II1" 8'5'l(q,",.,1 ~ ~ ~ mJ;,{T ~ ';{ fii~"t
"""" ~QT ~ II nItCl)'I~!ul~ ~ ~ 11''1: ~ ~ ~~ ~~.mni
~~~ II ~~ IV. 4-5; ~~"m''1t11qil ~'1l mom m
~T ~1l.1 fM ~ ~ w..m:
q;r5 ~~" ll)~q~" ~~ of
~ XV. 29; compnre '11. .. XI. 54 with TitrTllT~T IV. 4 .

946 . " WI titm ~1i; ''':JII~~~a"U .-r~ II Sl\l~f;lif~: ~tl

~) ~a ~'l <'l1l'\nf11 u~alt 'UII~'(f~) m'il,,~ ~ • II 3IlI':!fi
pwI ~ll ft"' : ~ : ~ : I ~ 1I'tTVTT'N filTamtllfilmll'lw: ~­
~l II '~III' :.18. 3-.5.
 Pr oglLOstica~ions fr ol1t qnestion time-logna 619

planets or has an auspicious aspect with any of them, then the

questioner becomes successful in his undertaking; but if
the lagna, whatever it may be, is oooupied by Mars and
the Moon or if the MOOD is aspeoted by Saturn or is in
the 7th or 8t.h plaoe and t.he Sun is in lagna or if a malefio
planet oocupies the lagna or the 4th, 7th or 8th plaoe, then in
all these cases the questioner would be defeated or destroyed
( by hiB enemies ).'M7 The week-days were regarded as not of
much importanoe in Yiitrii. The 6th, 8th, 12th tithi, Full Moon
tithi, amiiviisyii, riktl tithi (4 th, 9th, 14th) and the first of the
bright half were not commended for Yiitrii ( the rest were Com-
mended) and yatra was commended on nine nak~atras, viz. on
As,inl, Punarvasu, Anuriidhii, Mrgasiras, Pusya, RevatI ,
Hasta, Sravana aDd Dhani s ~ba. The Yogayiitrii IV, R l ja-
mii.rta~cl a (ver~es 695-752), Ratnamalii XV verses 1-74,
Muh urtacintiima ni XI. 55-74 furnish numerous conjunctions
that would make a king successful. A few are set out here by
way of sample. That king that has at the time of marohing on
an expedition Jupiter in the lfluna , Mercury and Venua respec-
tively in 4th and 5th places, Mars and Saturn in 6th, the Sun in
the 3rd and the Moon in the 10th secures the complete fruit of what
he desires 948; (the king is victorious) if Jupiter is in the lagna
and the otber planets are in the 2nd a nd 11th plaoes; 9t9 when at
the time of marohing the king has Ven us, Mercury a nd the SU Il
respectively in the 1st, 2n d an d 3rd plaoes his enemies fall into
the fire of ba ttle like moths ; 9SO when Venus occupies either the
4th, 3rd or 11th house, if he has a ;} aspect with Jupiter th at is
in a kmrlra (1 st, 4th , 7th or 10th house ) and the malefic planets
are in places other than the 7th, 8th or 9th place Buch a conjuno-
tion procures for the king heaps of wealth (and victory ).951
Certain other astrolog ical matters may be alluded to here.
Rainfall in the four months from Pau~a is called unseasonable;
947. Vide 6(J-t~itI~iUT Xl. 4- 5.
948. mr ~~~!I;tfi' I"'~~ qW !PfTtii~ ~ ~1t I -.r.rlll l7t1l
"",,it 'l-fm '111l'(IiT lWin"',"~~~ ~ II 1l'Pr..",1 IV. 6; compare 6. r..
Xl . .5.5.
949 . mr'fl'l:~!I~: I~: ~: 1I5.~.Xl. S8.
9.50. ~fi..,~ I'l '*s ~~: tiIlllh:q·4tidfill ... (~... q: I l7t1l ~lt ~
fRll' ~ ~ ~ : II ~ IV. 11; compare 6 . At. XI. 60 almost in tbe
same words
951. ~~( .. ",a. . q~ii''''~lilq\(l)'''m'l: I ~ it;~lfliQfiiU'
"U."('l'''!I5l:q -ciA: II S. , .. Xl. 67; ~ lV. 20 Is almo.t In the .&IIle
word •.
620 Hi st()ry of Dharmaiilstra [Sec. II, Ch. XVlI

nne should avoid vrata and yatra for seven days thereafter;
unseasonable rainfall does not create any defeots to a king
( starting on a n invasion) if the ground is not (so muddy as to
he) marked with the soiled footprints of men and beasts. 952 The
Muhurtaointamal!i says953 'one (the king) should not start as
long as the periods of upanayana rite, the establishment of an
imAge, marriage, festivals (like lt olika ) and impurity ( on birth
or death) have not come to an end and for seven days after
unsoasonable flashes of lightning, clouds, fall of rain or SIlOW'.
C'TOing out of tho house on the 9th tithi from the tithi of
Antrance, or ente ring a house 0 11 th e 9th tithi after the tithi 'of
leavi ng it a nd the 9th tithi itself are proh ibited and the Hame
applies to wetlk-day and nak!?atra also. 9S1
Olle should avoid starting in such a way as to face Venus.
This belief is very old as the Santiparva and Kiilidii sa refer
to iL.9>5 If the king or anyone olse has decided on a very
auspicious day and conjunction for marching oU t, but SOllle
unforeseen or urgent business prevl:lnts him from actu ally ~oing,
he should arra nge for what is oalled ]J7'aslli li IUI ( Rtarting, but
returning after going a very short dista.nce or s Olldin~ forward
sOlllethi ng on the auspicious day and starting within a certaill
number of days thereafter). A briihmana should?56 send out a
sacred thread, ( a ksatriya) a weapon, vaisya should send
honey and a slldra should send out a pure fruit ( like cocoanut)
or a nyone of whatever varna may se nd whatever is dear t,n his
hoart. Tho sages differed as to th o distanco on6 should proceed

95 2. ~~, TlmA_ ",';fit 'lm:lfi'l'Mm I a;; 'q1'Jilict-fi inl or;Itt~m'l­

""'u:( I ,,~: 'fium ~'" (f1'f'llT'fifi'lwwn ~~ I 'ql'l'll ~m
~m II n . JlI. folio s 23b aDd 24a, verses 368, 3 72, both Quot ecl iD ~~it5,i)
'f'Il" ..'{q~OTII 'l'II

p. 3 15.
95 3. cnf'II~~(f"i!f!1'fi'(qniTm~~m'fifm'lm'\' I .. 'fiGn'il ~~fi'l~~~­
""~I~~1il m'l'{f'lIllll ~. -r... XI. 76; ~'~T{ihw,~rn~)r~ ~~~ 'I1f-«~: I
3ft ~m''lO'~ ~~ ~Pl'II1~~~! ~ II ~r.mTl'l' XV . 59.
954 . ~~ ~ll: ~ .....it fih;'\ I ,,~ <lUI " I( ~ !!i'q'r"ti~~ II
5. RJ.XI. 79 .
955. ....m ,,~: ~Vf lffl: ~ ::5I'q: I i~ 'ii 3111'q ~ WI... m!!~ II
~~ 100. 20; ...it!'qqn; qi{.~ ~ lfi1JI; ~:~ lI1I11ir I ~~ Ill. 43 .
Vide 11 . of Dh . vol. Ill , p. 229 Dote 308 for further details.

956. smJ'" '"lIl"T~t ~~ I JI"""I'l"'i'llqil ~ t~ ... ,(o,~n

m. folio 49b , verse 771;
(I. ,,,,,,acq
,,~ ~~ ~1~ • I
~ .'''1il'''i?''11l ~ mt ~ ~ ~ ~ II S . r.. Xl. 89.
 R nles ahonl p rastliall a 621

for rn'(Lsfhiiw L and then return. Giirgya 957 said that he may
proceed from his own house to another house (thougb very near),
Bhrgu holds that one should leave the boundaries of one's village
and stay in another village, Bharadvaja provides that one may
go as far as a n arrow may be discharged and Vasi ~ ~ha says he
mu st go out of the city. The prasthiiltfl should be made in th e
direction in which one intended to proceed. 1£ the king resorts
to prasthana he ca nn ot stay in one place for ten days (i. e. he
Illay stay nine days ), a feudatory chief not for seven days and
any other ordinary person not for five days and if a person stays
beyond these limits he can only sta rt again on a fresh goo d
muh i:lrta. 958 Even in modern times some people rosort to this
method of J!I"(/slh ul/ a a nd generally it is a friendly neighbour'!,!
house wh ero th e bundle of substa nces ( some rico, betolnut,
turm eri c &c. ) is kept a nd taken away whe n actually starting on
a journey.

Tho Yogayatra XIII. 3 providos th at a kin g whon starting

on a n expedition should see, hear and touch IItwiyaills and enumer-
ates them in vorses 4- 6, 10- 15 at length. A few of them a re
noted here. Auspicious sounds are -those of th o rec itatiOlls of the
Veda a nd tli e auxiliary lores of tho Vo rla, of conches, drum s, of
words like 'pu nyaha ' (it is a holy day ) a nd of the l'uranaR ,
Dh arltl 8sastras , Arthasastras. the Ma habhiirata a nd the R UllI ii-
ya1,l a ; the auspicious chirpin gs of cra nes, cii'~' l , peacock!'! , swa ns
a nd jivajivik a (partridge ); crows sittin g on th e hacks (If
tortoii:les marked with l1lud ; auspicious ohjects a re th e bil va troe,
"hOIl 'l'il'S , sa ndalwood, ('ow wiLh calf, a g(lat, 7)ri !/llIi YI/ c reep~ r,
fried g ra in s, a cha riot fillen with men ; ha nners, .~IlI'l 'I (//.~lld"i ,
sm81ika sign, vessels fillod with preso nts; horso, undried g inge r,
cowdun g, mustard, mirror, a hull hound with ropes, meat, a jar
fnll of water , turba n, lute, umbrella , curds, honey, ghee, yellow
pigmellt, ma iden, fl agsta ff. gold, lotus, cOllch, white ox, fl owers ,
fi ne clothes, fi sh, well-dressed brii.hm anL\s , street walkers, a nd
da ncing girls, fire in fl a mes, elepha nts, wet earth, go!\d, woaponR;
various precious stones such as emerald, ruby, crystal; a you ng
woman accompa nied hy her son ; these sig ns a nd objects should
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----
957. >;!1fT«l~ rrrnI: ~r.I' : ~ 'fiJ: I m~~:r.iT """" "I'lm-
ifl't: I u · ;n. foiio
49 b ver se 769: 5 . N. Xl. 90 is almos t in tb e same word •.
958. m~<r~~m~n ...
JI~:1 If: ~: ~)fq ;or
q~ ~ 1fT'!I'1 cmI: 1f1ii.... n ~ XV, .56 ; vide fl . ~ . Xl 92 for a
aimllar ver ...
622 Hi.~tory of Dha1'Tllatli..qtra [ Sec. n, Ch. xv 1J

he arranged for or they may present themselves spontaneously.

The Agnipurana chap. 243, Ratnamala XV. 97-98, Muhiirta-
martanda VIr. 15-16, 20 and several others contain similar
long li~ts of auspicious matters on a king's y(il ·ra.. Long lists
of auspicious and inauspicious sights, persons, animals and
Hubstances are furni shed by the Br. S. chapters 86-96 (exprcsaly
h lsed upon tho work s of R sabha, Bhiiguri, Devala, Bharadv5.ja
a nd authors on y ntrii like Garga dealing with sakunas of all
kinds, including barking of dogs , chirping of bird s and crows ),
th e Brhadyogayatr5. chapters 21-28 doaling with omens derived
from the movements of elephants, horses, the cries of she-jackals,
crows &c, the Yogayatrii XIII. 14, Muh iirtacintamaI,l i XI.
99-100, MuhU rtamartand a VII. 17-19, Ri janltiprakasa pp. 335-
360 and other works. As an illustration only one verse from
the Yogayiltra is 959 translated here. The following are inauspi·
cious ( on Yiltra )- cotton, herbs and drugs, black corn, salt, an
lmpotent percon, hones, orpiment, fire, Eorpent , coals, poison,
serpent's slough , excreta, razor, diseased persons, one who has
v()mited or is mad or paralysed or blind, grass, hus k, a famished
person, huttor milk, an onomy, one whose head is completely
shaved, ono wh ose body is ano inted with oil, one with hair
dishevolled, a sinner, one wearing reddish garments.
The construction of a house ( 1:aslu ) is a very important
matter even in the grhya and dharma-slltras. Construction of a
house and the first entranoe into it have been described in the
H. of Dh. vol. II pp. 833-836 but the astrological requirements
were not illustrated th ere. The P ii raskara-grhya 960 simply
provides that the construotion of a house should be begun on an
auspioious day. The Hiranyakesigrl.!ya is more specifio and
says that a shed or house should be begun after kindling fire in
t,he northward passage of the Sun, in the fortnight of the waxing
moon, on the naksatras of Rohit;ll or the three Uttaras, viz.

969. ~~Wtf~~~:~­
'~1mI: I ~"<rn~~~!~~ !!om"f'ifit~!!itlifi~lQm"': ifiTln-
fiIvr~lfI: II ~lfI'!fI 27 6 , .q(1!lIT1fT Xlli. 14, qf.t~'!n 9 . 15 (variiUlt
readi ngs in all) q. by ql~ on ~. ~ XI. 99-100 (from ~~ r
These agree closely with th e inauspiciou s things and persons mentioned in
JlmJ~ chnp. 243. ] -8. Vide nlso ~ 29. 34, "'~m (~raT!fi S4 )
nnd under 'M a.il gnln' on p . 366 a.bove.
960 . ~: ~Ji I 1111lfTt ~t ~ I m~1llI1 Ill. 4. 1-2. ~
.,,,P!Cq"!iqi,q ii! 31ti.fw,UjQIi{ ~ ~ ..wl'll(",lllsQ\j'Ul:n'1f &c. I ~'(oq~~­
urI. 27,1.
 '1'l1l1eS for celnstr1lction of a hOlls(' 623
Uttarii Phalgu nI, Uttara siidhii and Uttariibhiidrapadii.. Tho
MatsypuriiJ.?a chap. 253, Ratnam ala chap. 17, Riijamnrtandu
verses 805-884 (folio 51b-S5b), Hem5. dri on Kal pp.8 l7-82·9,
Muhurtadarsana IX, Jyotistattva pp. 662-670, '\~uh\"trtacint!i. ­
mani XII. 1-29, NirJ.?ayasindhu p. 364 deal with th e construction
of a house. Matsya (252. 2-4) names eighteen teachers of
Vastusastr a. A few astrological detaila are set out here. Matsya
(253. 1-5) states the results of beginning the construotion of a
house in the twelve months from Caitra respectively as disease,
fine cows, death, good servants and plenty of cattle ( in Asaclha ),
servants, loss, wife's death, wealth and crops ( in Kiirtika), rice,
danger from thieves, various benefits, gold and son (in Phiilguna).
The auspicious naksatras for commencing a house are AsvinI,
Rohill1, Mula, the three Uttaras, Mrgasiras, Svatl , Hasta and
A.nuradhii. and all weekdays (except Sunday and Tu esday ) aru
auspicious (Matsya 253. 6-7). The Rijamirtn.ncla 910 1 puts
many of the astrological requirements in two verses as follows;
, the sages say that the auspicious work of (con structing) u
house should be begun on the auspicious nak satras of Punarvasu,
Pusya, R ohiJ!I, Mrgasiras, Citri, Dhanis thii, Uttari (three of
them), Revatl, Srav8na, Satabhisak, A.nuri dhi, Sviti endowed
with auspicious taris, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or
Friday, on an auspicious Yoga, on a tithi other than riklii ( i. e.
4th, 9th, 14th) and on 8 day when there is no Vi!? ~ i; when
benefillial planets occupy the kendra (1 st, 4th, 7th an d 10th
places ), the 8th and 12th places, when malefic planets oocupy
the third, 6th and 11th places, when Jupiter is in the la rl7l(1 or
/cenci1'U , or Venus occupies any of these latter and when the l'usi
of tb~ owner is auspicious, a.nd when any of the sthira naksa.tras
are rising, one should commence a house or make the first
entrance into it. The Ratnamllla says that the construction of
a house should not be begun on c Ira ras is. There are several
other complicated calculations and diagrams employed in finding
out a proper time for beginning the construction of a hO\l!!e
such as aya, 'l yaya and R{jhumukhar,~kr(l that are passed over
here.
----- -----
961. ~;-q~r~rmr~l~r ~ ~~: ri:
umn~: I ~~ ~$q Q'l"IRI1i\ ti'ti\ ~i(;tm~Jt ~~~ ~ ~
~1.fiTil ~\{1{ n rnr~~~l QI~~q8Iq1\Jit ~'" 8\m1 ~
~r I m~~ mn . . . q: -a~ lPI"~ ~q{lJ~ ~ ~
~~ 1111" (1"'''IJo. ( folios 5'b, S6a. "enes ~86- 87 I. the 6r. t q . by ~ .
~ p 666; compare~, XVII . 17-18 .
 History of Dharmalustra [ Sec. n, Cb. nn
It is stated in the RiijaIDartalfda verse 887 (quoted in no\e
961 ) that the same astrological conditions are required in the
case of the first entrance in a newly built house as in commen~
cing to build a house. Vide Riijamiirtalfda (folio 57 verses
900-908), R atna miilii. XVIII. 1- 11, Jy otistattva pp. 670-71,
Mub lirtacintiiman i XIII, NirI!ayasindhu p. 366 for rules about
grha-pravesa (first entrance into house). The Rajamarta I?~a
says that %2 first entrance into a newly built house should be
made on the naksatras Revatl, Dhanis~ha , Satabbisak, Rohin!,
the three Uttaras, on an auspicious week-day, when the moon is
nut weak, on a tithi other than l'iklli. H e should enter the
house on the floor of which plenty of flowers are strewn, which
bas good orn amental arches, which is adorned with jars filled
with water, in which the gods have been worshipped wiLh
sandal wood pasie, flowers and offerings a nd which rings with
the recitation of ( the Vedas by ) brahma I!as.
It may be stated here that some of tbe astrulug icbl requir~
menta abuut the constru ction of a house and the firsL entran ce
into a newly built house a re observed even now.
'l'lw proper times f ur the establishment of the images of gods
are specified in ma ny works such a.s Brha.tsal n hit~ 60. 20- 21,
MaLsya-puriina ( 2(4), Vis lludharmottara Ill. 96, R i jam5.rtu.I,lJu
( folios 57b- 59b, verses 909- 943), Hemadri on Kala pp. 830- 847,
Jyotistattva pp. 666-667 a nd 67 2-73, Nir l} ayasinubu pp. 334-335 ,
Dharmasindhu p. 31 8. The B~hatsal n bita %3 lays down the
general rules for the establishment of the images of all guds,
']n the northw ard pas:;age of the sun, in the brigbt half, wh eu
th e moon is ill the 1' l rflU of Jupiter, when the fur; na is a stbira
ras i an d the navami lnsa riis i of the la~ na is sthira a nd beneficent
pbnets occupy the kendra places or the 5th and 9th places in
the horoscope ( of the est ablisher ), when Lhe ma.lefic planets are
in the 3rd, 6th, 10th or II tll places, on na.ksatras called (1I, 1' 1l1l11
---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -
962. q'tutit \fA1!I'~!f'U ~~ ~lIf R11...mmu I ~~ ~~!
~'Il"'~ 1l~: II 'l.~!ft'il~ tit'll~ alqi"fCfl<'S~nq~ii'~ I ,,;\f!ilq"'{@;@t.
i'lm~ 1f'tpVT\~ ~f!~ II U,",lfmoa- (folio 57, verses 900 and 907 ). last
'I. by tf\~u on !!. Rr. Xll!. 7,
963. ~~~~~"~I.,m~ ~~~­
~: II <n~q .. q*~~1i~fillq .. 11l4~! I ~ ~~ ~t ~;i
~II .~ 60.20-2 1 (Kern's ed . and cbap. S9 in Dvivedi 's ed ition) .
If1f bas bee n de fined in Yl!r-NlmCfl I. 9; ~~ would be qu: or I'{(~ ~~, it.
I{I,{I,~. lUi, ~l'{lll1l , A~\fT1l, ",~lfT1T; ~~ would mean i"ll, ~ , ~.
 Muhflrta for esta1jlishment of i ma (l('.~ 625

or mrdu or on Srava~a, Pu!?ya or SvitI nak!?atra, on a favourable

week day ( other tban Tuesday) the establishment of the images
of gods is commended '. The Matsya states ( 264. 3-12) that
the establishmellt ( prati tlth il ) of the images of all gods leads to
beneficent results wben done in tbe months of Caitra, Vaisakba,
Jye!?~ba, Mii gba or Pbiilguna, in tbe bright fortnigbt after
daksiIfiiyana ends, on the titbis 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7tb, 10th, Full
moon, 13th (this is tbe best), on sixteen named naksatras
( excepting Bhara~1 i, K rttiki, Ardra, Punarvasu, Aslesa, Magb!i ,
Purva-pbalgunl, Citra, ViSiikb5., Dhan is~ha , Satataraka ), wben
the laana bas an aspect with the three beneficent planets
Mercury, Jupiter and Venus, on an auspicious YO(/ (I , when the
lagoa or naksatra ( of establisher) is free from malefic planets
and on· brahma muh urta.
Tbe Ratnamiili 961 provides different naksatras for the
establishment of the im ages of different gods, one interesting
provision being that the im ago of Buddha was to be established
on Sravana naksatra. I n the case of th e images of the Ma.trs,
Bhairava, the Varaha, Narasili1ha and Tri vikrama incarnations
and of Devi, the kill~ r of Mahisiisura , establishment may he
made even in Daksilfu yana. For the establishment of L inga
special rules are provided for wh ich Nirpayasindhu (pp. 335-
336 ) may be consulted.
The Rii jamartanda 965 provides that the 2nd , 3rd, 10th, 13th
and 15th tithis are always commended for establishment of
im ages of gods and even the 7th and 6th if the establisber likes.
In the Indian Antiqu ar y vol. VI. p. 363 we fin d an inscri-
tion of Cii,lukya king MangalIsa dated salce 500 (578- 79 A.. D.)
recording the gra nt of a village named Laii jlilvara on the
auspicious occasion of the establishment of an image of god
vis ~u . <;(fu

964. {~og'tl\c?!aoi\ .o,~~,,,,"~~~ ~ ~:

~ifttrrqil't{, I iln7f.ln<1ln~~~~~~: ~(~
1~ ~~" ~~~~ '{JVTt Jm~ 'if ~ I
rn-
~ {\'i" .. ,&;il ~ ~ f;\rr14I1¥1f& !'l,.,t ~ 'if ~S" ~ 20 . 2-3.
965. ~: m~-~-~~T-q'iiq~Aq!$i¥q : I !{!fI: q4'\fli~t:lq: ~
~anrN ~ mit U . "T. verse 912.
965 a. ~~II'ir-1'I: 1IlI~~~~m3~('~­
~""~~ qq "it! ... ~: ~iii¥l'II~elQ"i*$qqfilr'i'*l~ i'5'lil~ ,"l{
moo' 1 I. A. vol. 6 at p. 363.
B, D, 79
626 History of Dharma~astra [Sec. n, Ch. XVII

Auspicious times were prescribed for wearing new garments

for the first time. The Nirt_layasindhu quotes two verses 966
• It is desirable to put, on new garments for the first time on
naksatras of Asvinl, the three Uttaras, Punarvasu, Pusya, Revati ,
Dhanistha. The following are the consequences of wearing new
garments for the first time on the week days from Sunday
respectively, viz. becoming worn out, constantly wet with water,
sorrow, wealth, knowledge, meeting with one's dear ones,
becoming dirty; the woman who wears new garments or new
ornaments for the first time on Rohit_lI, Pusya, Punarvasu,
Uttara-Pbalgunl and takes a bath on Satatarakfi. naksatra does
not stay with ber husband ( i. e. she leaves him). If a woman
wears for the first time a garment dyed with Kn s1I mbha (safflower )
or ornaments of gold, precious stones, coral, glass, conch-shell
on Revati, AsvinI, Dhani s ~bii, Hasta, Citrii, Svat!, ViS5.kha,
Anura.dha, that leads to male prog'Qny, wealth and happiness,
but if sbe puts on theso on H.ohiI;ll, the thrie Uttara.s, Punarvasu
and Pusya, that leads to the unhappiness of the husband.
Muburtas are prescribed for beginning to take medicine in
Rnjamartat_lua ( folio 62a, verses 973 fI ), Jyotistattva pp. 678 fI,
Nirnayasindhu p. 362. Only one verse is cited %7 here; 'If one
begins to take medicine on the nak:$atras MUla, Anura.dba,
Mrgasiras, Pusya., Punarvasu, Revatl, AsvinI, Sravana, Jyesthii,
Haeta, Citra, Sv5.tl, and on Monday, Thursday or Itriday, that
would benefit the patient. Medieval works like the Rlijamartanda,
Bhujabala, Muh llrta·martat_lua, Jyotistattva, NirI;layasindhu
describe the muhi'l rtas and inauspicious times for all matters
under the sun ( not necessarily religious) such as for purchase
and sale of merchandise and animals: for agricultural operations,
for planting trees, for digging tanks and wells, for oil bath,
for baths with ground myrobalaus &c.
The foregoing discussion about the astrological requirements
in several religious and s3cular matters are enough to show how
astrology and omens have had a very firm hold on the minds
- ----------
966. u~ ~>lfim~~ ~ "'f ~ I ~ ~ ~ if ifClI1I".
~1I'1lit w
11 ::mai ~firo;ffir.cft ~R ~ '!I1if~~ il ~ I ~"q'
JI~fOr~filqt1'lf ... lq~~:q;ro~~1I~1fI~
'OI!I1ftl~ I m Of "«iHilqqi'lAlil triff ~~ ~sfit 1fI1I ~ q. by ~. m.
p. 357. Vid.~. p. 671 for otber vern. on tbe same subject.
967. 'l<'lla(i" iJOil f«'"q'~"~""OI$I.Ifi,!A. I ~~.
~~ ~ ~~iIlflt ftW ~(Of(1{ II .....~ quoted by1it. nt. p. 3e~,
 Firm hold of ast1'ology on Indian minds 627

of Indians for the last two thousand years or more. With regard
to favourable and unfavourable omens Varahamihira himself
says 'If all favourable and unfavourable signs 963 were on one
side and on the other side there is purity of heart, it is the -latter
that brings succes&' or ' on one side ~ll omens, 011 the other the
purity of the mind ( it is the mind that coun~ ); in a battle the
mind may be suddenly se iEed with fear a nd even the wind may
be the cause of victory or defeat '. The Matsyapuri l}a after
mentioning unusual occurre nces and omens in connection with
the march of a king on an invas ion winds up as follows; <169
, Auspicious planets are commended, particularly Jupiter (as
indicative of future success ). Belief in god, faith, honourin g
those that deserve honour-all these aro comm ended and whatever
else may be approved by one's conscience. In this matt~r
( of invasion) the peace of the mind.is the highest i ndication of
( coming) success, when all 0111ens a ro on one side a nd tho min d's
peace on the other '. A purely astrological ""ork like the Ratna-
mala 970 of Srlpati says the same thin g.
Owing to the alm ost universal belief In astrology, there was
always the temptation t o faston fan ciful horoscopos on ronownod
avataras and heroes. Some MBs. of the R 5.mayana em conta in
a few details of the horoscope of Ra ma, the principal ones being
tlla t tlle lagna was Karkata, in wh ich the Moon and Jupiter
were in conjuD ction a nd that fh 'e planets wero in exaltation
( 1/, ', ...1). A B the Mooll was in Cancer, that planet was not in
exaltation , since Taurus ( Bull) is exaltation of the Moon. As
Rama was born on Caitra bright half !Hh the Su n was ill Mesa
( Aries, R am), which is also the ueca of the HUll. Therllfuro,

968, ~liI ~IOT ,' ;tfjrenil ~: 1 ~ ;r.!: ~ I~m1Q;i 3F1n-

'"R 11 ,"",''llmO 14. 3; ~'Jil ~ ~lti?Icq~: ~: 11 ~5~
m~lIq ~ -.f'rmrnSlq ~'i1: 11 1I~1'l" S. IS. Jaglldilib Lal'. editloD
read s ~ !PHWl(ut lftl.
969. ~ Ql: mm: ~fitlu ~: 11 am~" ~~ 1M pqr.
~1'l$1 ..~wiidllo;~~~~:~l1¥1'1~~~qI'iC ~ ~~1
fllI;<f: ~~ ~~I n ~ 243. 25-2 7. The verse ~.···1Ififf1
occurs aleo in ~11T 11. 163. 32. :IfI'iti. 230 . 13 bas ~"I ··· ~I1.

970, r.t~~l 'l1;Ift ~\IfiI'I: I ani) ~ ~1l~ I

tr-nn(llT 1S. "8.
971. lnI'l ~ ~ ~ ~~ '~I .,"S~~ ~~ Iflq I
aQ w mt "".nnRoj." '" I sil'll~ ~'1 ~mM .. lftidq I ~~.
1I1(I1t ",iMtI,.4Stlq. ~ 18, 9-10.
628 Hi.'1tory of Dharma~astra [ Sec. n, Ch. xvn
Mercury must be either in conjunction with the Sun or in Taurus
or Pisces. None of these is the ueea of Mercury. Probably
Mercury should be taken to be with Venus as they are friends,
while if Mercury be placed i n Vrsabha (Taurus or Bull) he would
be in the house of an enemy. Tbe R i mayana does not mention
Rahu and Ketu at all. So the horoscope of Rima would be as
follows: '112

Vide Pillai's • Indian Ephemeris ' vol. I part 1 pp. 112- 123 for
discussion on Riima's horoscope. K5.lidasa in tho R aghuvarn sa
( Ill. 13) states that R aghu, the ancestor of R l ma, was born
whon five pla nets were in exaltation and were not setting ( i. e.
were a good many degrees away from the Sun). But he does
not furnish the laona nor even the month of his birth.
As regards ParaSurii.ma, the NirJ;l ayasindhu quotes tho
Bhiirgaviircanadlpikii'm to the effect that Visnu himself was
born as the son of Rel)ukii on Vaisalcha, bright half, 3rd tithi,
on Punarvasu naksatra in the first quarter of the night, wben
six planets were in exaltation and Rabu was in Mithuna
( Gemini, Twins ). The Moon being in Punarvasu, that is
either in Mithuna or Karka~a, none of which is Moon's !teea all the
remaining six planets must be beld to be in exaltation. There-
fore, Parasuriima's horoscope must be supposed to be somewhat
like this:

972. Vide my paper in the Journal of Oriental Institute, Baroda, vol.

I. pp . .5-7 about the boroscopes of Rima and his three brothers stated in
the RiimaYlma.
 .A ncienl horoscop<'s c.nzmi n.ed

/~
,
7
6 "
,
MOOD, , / "" 5
/' '" ....
u

/ / /"
~
8 2

9 /
, 10
/ Ma rs

974 . ffif""f ~ ;Rjsl'(B1l1 milt ~ ijl1<>.QillilU'IIQI nnfril lI~q .... q

~~ .•• ~ ~R\}~~~.
tcIl.,fi\JiI~ ultAfti~' cflt ~ 'ifni I ~ IV. --
P7,. Vide Journal of lDdlan HIIlory, vol ... p. 3P .
630 History of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. n CA. XVIi
Kalhal?a976 in the RajatarangiI;li says that king Harsa of
Kashmir( born 1059 A.D., ruled 1089-1101 A.D. ) was born on the
Karkata launa when Mars and Saturn were in the 5th house,
Jupiter and Mercury in the 6th, Venus and the Sun in tbe 7th
and the Moon in tbe 10th, th at like Duryodhana he caused
the extinction of his family as the astrological conjuction at his
birth indicated and as the authors of Sa7idtitlls declared that
Kauravas destroyed their families because in their horoscopes
the Moon, Venus and malefic planets were in the lOth, 7th and
5th houses. This horoscope may be true, as Kalhalfa wrote only
about fifty years after Harsa's death.
Some inscriptions show that kings rewarded men for astro-
logical devices. For example, the Kadaba plates of the
Ras~raku~a king PrabhGtavarsa Govindaraja III granted in saleI'
735 to a Jain Mimi the village of J alamangala for having warded
off the evil influence of Saturn from Vimalilditya, one of his
governors. 'TI7.
Some of the previous volumes of this His10ry of Dharma-
Slistra have been criticized in two different ways by critics.
Some said that the author should have stopped at describing
what transformations several of the topics dealt with underwent
in tho course of centuries and that no personal op inions should
bave been expressed about what changes should be made in the
present or in future. Another set of scholars complained that
the author should have expressed his perso ual views in many
matters on which he expresses no definite opinion or does not
advanoe a definite theory of his own. Bearing in mind these
oriticisms the author proposos to indicate his own personal views
on Indian Astrology in relation to Dharmasiistra.
Modern scientists, philosophers and theologians have gene-
rally ignored astrology. Some ridicule it, some have condemned
it as superstitious, as • a delusion and a snare '. In spi~e of
the oondemnation by eminent soientists astrology enjoys great
vogue among millions of people in the educated West. Many of
those who I!ondemned it in scathing terms appear to have done
so on a p7'iori arguments and do not appear to have studied
976. um ~ ~ ~ti~i'Uq(i'l~ I ~'i$jl!l(fli(li\., ~ : ~~"
~ ~~ ~ ~G1JT1t ~ 1 !'I.,QIM'!il'iillM!II<?tS ~Jf01': 11 ~­
~til",jCWfS ~~~ 1lit. 1 ~: u"'{i!'lI"'I~r: Ifi\w~ S "'WI(fl,,( II <'' '"'fiCin
VII. 1718-1720.
977. Vide E . I . vol. VI. pp 332-349 at p. 340.
 How A strology .~hould ha ve been attacked 631

astrologica.l works. The more effective me\hod would perha.ps

ha.ve been to study the horoscopes of well-known persons, to
examine them by the rules of the astrologers themselves , to show
that the application of their own rules leads t o contradictiom,
confusion and absurd results and lastly to exh ibit that the
principles on which they evolve their rules and make their
predictions have hardly any basis in fact and are imaginary.
The fundamental doctrine of astrology that the Sun, the
Moon and the planets exert some influence on terrestrial life a nd
tbings is scien tifi c. 'l78 The matter to be considered is whether
the principles la id down in su cb astrological works as th o
Brbajjataka can stand rational analysis and tests. The author
may state here that in his boyhood tbero wa.s an astrologer ca.llod
Maha<Jkar Jyotishi who never took money, wbo was employed
as a bailiff in a. civil court in the Bombay State and wbo cor-
rectly stated the [afllHL a nd the posit ions of the planets in tho
bor05copes of people by looking for a few minutos at their fnces,
eyes a nd hands. The percent:1.ge of bis mistakes in this respect
was very low, barely one to fivo porce nt. T his lod many eduoated
people to beliove in thoso days that astrological works may bo
rigbt so far that tho physicill featuros of a man may have some
relation to tbo planets and thoir positions at h is birth. But,
when he set about the businoss of stating important facts about
tbe lives of th e persons wh ose horoscopes ho correctly stated ho
often went wrong. One can not alRo ignoro tbo fact3 that somo
predictions turn out to he true. Unless one holds that theyaro
all mere inexplicablo co-in cidences, they require to be carefully
considered. ,There is an astrolog ical sanad ( grant) whioh
records most wonderful and dotailed prediot ions that came ou t
to be true. T ho grant \\'3S made in 1793 A. D. to one Chin to
Mahadeo Gole by Govind r3.o Gaikwad, a scion of the Ga ikwad
family that ruled in Guj urat at Baroda. It recites 979 that
Govindrao Gaikwad had to leave his inherita.nce at Baroda and
stayed near Poona for twonty-five years, that thereafter he con-
sulted Chinto who was 3. great astrologer, and it was agreed that
he should make a pred icti on after consulting sii.~tras as to when
Govindrao would be able t recover his inheritance and if the
prediction proved true GoYindrao agreed to donate to Chinto a
village yielding five thousand rupeoil yearly revenue. The grant
978. Compare hoC. Neugebaue r in E. S. A. p. 164; J. C. Gregory on
, Anci ent Astrology ' in 'l'Oature', vol. 1'3 pp . .512-.51.5.
979. Vide In dian Antlqc ary. vol . 16 P. il7.
632 History of Dharmaslistra [Sec. IT, Ch. XVIT

further recites that the astrologer gave to Govindrao a closed letter

which stated that the Peshwa at Poona would call Govindrao to
his presence in the first watch of Friday, 8th tithi, Margas1rl?a
dark half of sake 1714 (7th December 1792 A. D. ) when the sign
ascending would be Dhanus (Archer) and, after taking from
Govindrao an agreement to give certain cash and to cede some
territory, would restore him to his inheritance and honour him
by th e present of three SiTpe1ich (turban ornaments or spray
of gems ) containing 45 rubies a nd 14 diamonds (out of which
three would be large and eleven small), one pearl crest (con-
taining about 496 pearls), one elephant and one blue horse. It
is further recited in that sanad that the letter stated that even
after this Govindrao would have to stay for eleven months in
Poona out of which he would suffer for eight months great
calamities, that thereafter the Peshwa would return to Govindrao
the territ~ries he had agreed to cede, that he would then return
to Baroda in the month of Magha. The san ad in the end recites
that all this that was contained in the closed letter came to be
true to the very letter and therefore as agreed before the village
of Ayana was donated. It would be noticed in what details the
prediction entered. There is no reason to doubt the solemn
words of this grant that everytJbing as predicted came out to be
true. How ~he astrologer pointed out all these details is not at
all clear, as no astrological work that I know of, enters into such
detailed predictions or gives rules for that purpose.
Just as the Sun and the Moon influence terrestrial pheno-
mena such as the tides, the author feels from the instance of the
Mahadkar Jyotishi mentioned above and from the hundreds of
horoscopes that he has seen that it might be possible to state
the physical characteristics of the persons concerned from their
horoscopes. But no such efforts have been made by anybody
nor published if made. The author, however, feels also that
hardly anything can be said about the mental capacities of a
person or the fortunes and vicissitudes of his life from his horo-
scope. It would not be relevant to enter into further discussion
of this matter in this work.
What firm grip astrological considerations had on the minds
of people and writers on astrology is demonstrated by certain
rules in astrological works about a child's birth on Asle~a or
Jye~~ha nak~atra or on what is called GatlQt;l or Ga'{u/.anta and
how it was recommended that the innocent and helpless infant
born on these supposed very unlucky times should b~ aban(ionell
 Concerning child born an unluckY naki;atra 633

in spite of what love and pity should dictate. We have soon above
tha.t the roots of this belief go ba.ck to the Atharvaveda ( vide
note 753 above). Some verses are translated here. Garga
quoted in P rayogaparijata 900 prescribes 'a child born on
Gal?da.nta by day causes the father's death, one born in the
night on Gal?~anta causes the mother's death and one born at
twilight causes its own death ; no Ganda is safe (free from
danger). Abandonment of children bor~ 'on Ganda is la id down
or ( the fath er) should avoid seeing it or hearing' its cry for six
months '. Bhallii.~a ~ provides' a child born during the period
of the last ghatika of Jyesthii and the firs t two gha~ika.8 of M ula
should be aba.ndoned or the father should not see its face for
eight years; in the case of a child born on the first quarter (of
M ula ) the father dies, if born in the second quarter of MilIa the
mother dies, if born in the third quarter there is loss of wealth
and (birth in ) the 4th quarter ( of MilIa ) is auspicious; the sa.me
results follow in the case of birth on AsleSI1 but in the reverse
order from the last quarter of it.' The author knows the case of
his father's first cousin who \vas born to his father when the
latter was over forty years of age and when he had been long
and anxiously waiting for a son. that was born on an unlucky
quarter of Mil Ia naksatra. The astrologers recommended that
the child be abandoned a t the foot of a sacred tree. The father
a.bsolutely refused to accept the advice, say ing that he would
rather gladly die than abandon an innocent and anxiously
desired son. The auth or saw the father when he had lived
beyond 80, and the SOli also reached a pretty old age.
Ptolemy subscribed to the geocentric hypothesis and in order
to account for the puzzling movements of the planets a dopted
the theory of eccentric orbits and epicycles. Though h is theories
viewed in the light of modern astronomical science wore wrong,

980. 1I1(j'lqIR'3II<I lT1l:' ~ ~ '31"" ( IRi'3liMll ~, ~

W\~ ~......rc f.m;!1l : ' ~ 'IOC'3Ildl.,1 ~r ~ I ~ ~
¥mi ~,,~ ~ II ~1Ir.a"''''''I'''1( (D. C. No. 306 of 1884 - 1887) folio
28. The verse ~ "'~is q. by ~ also p. 244.
981. ~: I ~fi'di'l'<'l~+~ ~ ~ I ~ fihnflT ~ ~
~, ~~~ iim ~ ~, ~~ ~: V\fl1ft~ ,
IItf1QMQQn,!1: ~~ ~II ~~ ~:I"riV~"'" ~
..RlfiIIQ¥{ I 3Ql'dif{t'liileQ IIHr'!f;;m! m~ ~ II f.\ciiQ~'1I p. 244. T he great
Hindi poet aDd saiDt Tulsidas (barD iD sar!lt/a# 1589 1. e. 153:1 A.D. ) was an
al'~ c hild aDd was abaDdoDed by his pareDts aDd was trought up by a
,.4hu. Vide GriersoD in 1. A. vol. XXU at p. 265.
B. D. 80
 Jiiatory of Dharmasastra [ Sec. IT, Ch. xVIi

he and his followers could predict eclipses. That suggests that

correct inferences may be drawn in certain cases from premises
some of which may be wrong. Besides, no one appears to have
examined the theory of Varahamihira and his followers that a
horoscope is only like a sketch or plan that indicates only future
trends in a man's life depending on his actions in his previous
life or lives. It is not probable that this theory will ever be
tested and examined. There are weighty and practical reasons
for this. Millions of people are not at all interested in knowing
what they did in their past lives nor do many of them believe ill
metempsychosis or the theory of past and future lives of the
individual soul. They are mainly concerned with prediction!!
about their future. The theory of horoscopes being only sketches
or maps indicating future tendencies cuts the very ground
from under the feet of professional astrologers. They would, if they
persisted only in telling their clients mere future tendencies and
did not furnish positive predictions, find that their occupation
\Vas gone. In the minds of millions not only in India but in many
parts of the world astrology is a living faith and it appears that
neither scientists nor historians can possibly destroy such a
tenaciously held and deep-seated belief. But the belief that
planets cause persons to do certain things is likely to have
serious consequenoes. The sense of moral responsibility for all aots
done by a person will bs impaired by such a belief; and a person
guilty of a orime may plead (or may at least believe) that he
was helpless before the influence of the heavenly bodies.
Before closing this brief acoount of Indian astrology I must
in a few words advert to a work called B~gusarnhita. in Sanskrit
which is supposed to contain numberless horoscopes with
descriptions of persons horn on the twel ve raids from Me~a on~
wards, references to the deeds of such persons in previous lives,
the horoscope with the positions of the several planets, the
important happenings in each person's present life from the year
of his birth to his death. Persons who profess to have in their
possession the Bhrgusamhita are generally averse to showing
~he whole work to anyone, but read to those who oonsult them
verses from the work said to be in their possession and people
feel often amazed at the accounts about themselves whiQll are
read out to them. There is muoh of deoeption in this. I have
examined four MBS. in the Desai Colleotion of Sanskrit mas. in
the Bombay University oalled BhrgusamhitA said to have been
imparted to Sukra by his father Bhrgu on mount Gandham~·
 635
dana whioh oontain about 600 horosoopes eaoh of the four
lagnas, Mesa, Vrsabha, Mithuna and Karka, desoribing in 15 to
20 verses each of the horosoopes in the same lagna but with
different positions of the planets in eaoh oase. No Bhrgusarhhitll.
can be aooommodated even in a big library if it contains des-
oriptions of all possible horoscopes in 15 or 20 verses eaoh. There
are twelve rasis as lagnas, 9 planets ( including Rahu an d Ketu )
and twelve bh'i1ms. By permutations and combinations of these
there would be orores of possible horoscopes and if at least 15
verses were to be assigned io eaoh there would be millions on
millions of verses. Hence describing a horoscope by extracts
from Bbrgusamhita is often a fraud.
In Indian Astrology the most importan t matters are the
railis, the planets and the t welye bhii.vas (or places). Take the
railis first. What is the reason for naming oertain groups of stars
or constellations as Mesa or Vrsabha &c.? There are no Rams
and Bulls in the sky. Some observers on the earth imagined
that certain constellations presented to the eye the appearanoe of
certain animals, human figures and mythioal beings. As shown
above (p. 565) the Chinese and Japanese name them differently.
Therefore, there is a great element of arbitrariness and ima-
ginary analogies in naming the so-called r!i.8is. Onoe named,
the Tasis are clas£ified in various ways and prediotions are baaed
on the class to which a rMi belongs. All these classifications 8.1'6
based on ideas of symmetrical sequence and fancy. Why should
Me~a and Mithuna ( which is represen ted as 'twins' man and
woman) be called male, while V ~sabba and V~soika be olassed
as female? There is no explanation exoept this that the twelve
railis had to be classified in two groups, male and female, and
symmetry required that they bo alternately called male and
female. For the same reason of symmetrical order Me!?a and
Karka are grouped aa (XlTa ( mobile ), while Simha and Vrscika
are classified as ::;thira (firm immobile ). The Sun (the giver
of all light and support of the world) is called /crura or papa
( a malefic) planet along with Mars and Saturn, while Jupiter
and Venus a.re classed aa beneficent and the waning Moon is
also held to be malefic. H ere assooiation of ideas and analogy
playa great part. Jupiter and Venus are both brillia.nt a.nd
white or whitish, while Mars is red (ihe colour of blood). Be.
sides, the first two are supposed to be the preoeptors of the gods
and asura respectively. Therefore, they are benefioent and the
blood-red Mars is malefic. The Sun, Jupiter and Mars are said
636 History of Dhannaiaslm [ Bee. il, Oh. XVII

to be masculine, the Moon and Venus feminine and Mercury

and Saturn neuter for the same reason, viz. association of ideas
and analogy. The Moon and Venus are beautiful and mild,
therefore they are feminine, while the Sun (that has fierce heat),
Mars ( with blood red hue) and Jupiter (the acarya of the gods)
are masculine. Modern astronomy declares that the Moon is dry
and waterless and contains the remains of extinct volcanoes;
yet if the astrologers be followed we shall have to regard the
Moon as feminine. In classical Sanskrit the Moon is called
• Sail!lnka '. The Japanese Moon Goddess Gwaten is drawn
with a hare. Vide figure opposite p. 18 in Prof. Zinner's 'The
stars above us.' Then we may consider the doctrines of
81Jagrhas and uccas ( exaltations of planets). There are twelve
ra.sis and seven planets; five must be given two rasis as sva(lThas
a.nd the other two only one ra.id each as s1JagTha. The Br. J.
assigns only one ra.si as .~m(l Tha to the Sun and Moon, viz.
Siroha ( Lion) and Karka ( Crab) respectively, while two ra.s is
are assigned to each of the other five planets. There is absolu-
tely no logical or satisfactory explanation of this. Moreover,
in assigning two raids as S?'a9rhas the only principle that seems
to have been followed is that of sequence, viz. one raili beyond
Siroha and one beyond Karka i. e. Kanya. and Mithuna to
Mercury and in the same way to the remaining planets in the
order of distance. The result is that Vrsabha and Tula. (Scales)
are the svag:rhas of the beautiful and brilliant planet Venus and
Dhanus (Archer) and MIna (Fishes) are the svag:rhas of
Jupiter. If one turns to the doctrine of exaltation, no rational
or astronomical explanation is given why Aja (goat), V:rsabha
( Bull ), Makara, Kanya., Karka, Mlna and Tulii. should be the
!teras of the Sun, the Moon, Mars,- Mercury, Jupiter, Venus
and Saturn respectively. The naming and arrangement of the
twelve bMvas hardly follows any rational basis. One may at
the most concede that the first bhii.va in which the sign rising at
a person's birth is placed is plausibly called tanu (body) and
that rega.rding the 7th bhliva therefrom as the one on which love
and marriage may be considered has also some plausibility.
Birth and death are the two ends of a person's life. If the first
bMva is called tantl, the bhava about death should be the 12th,
the last, but in the Bfhaj- jataka and other works, it is the 8th
bMva that is ca.lled mrtyu ( death). Some of the bMvas have
too many matters crowded into them. For example, the 'th
bhiva is supposed to be the one on whioh a person's relatives,
friends, bouse, happiness and conveyance are to be considered.
 Matters depending on 6th bhliva 637

The fifth bhava is concerned with sons, intellect, learning,

speech. Supposing that that bhava is very favourably placed,
the prognostications would have to be that the person would
have many sons, he would be a learned man and a good speaker.
But all these very rarely go together. A man of grea.t intellect
has often no sons, while a very learned man is often not a good
speaker.
Then there is the question of frien dsh ips and enmities
among planets. There is no rhyme nor reason in this respect.
Why Venus, a beneficent planet in theory, should be the enomy
of the Sun, when Jupiter another beneficent pla net is a friend,
is something which it is difficult to understand or explain.
Besides, these relationships are not reciprooal. The Moon has
no enemy, but from the point of view of Venus. the Moon is the
enemy of Venus. Mercury (my thologically the son of the
Moon) is said t o be a friend of the Moon. but from the point of
view of Mercury the Moon is its enemy. There is a further
strange matter to be noticed. As men fight among themselves,
it has been supposed that the planets (excepting the Sun and
the Moon) fight among themselves 98l ( vide note 872 above).
Besides there are thousands of minor planets between Mars and
Jupiter and ancient and medieval horosoopes took no acoount
of Uranus. Neptune and Pluto among the planets nor of
the numerous satellites of Jupiter.
Another important doctrine in Indian astrology is tha.t of
dr!?~i
(glance. aspect) whi ch has been explained above (note
876). That doctrine had some plausibility when the distances
between the planets and the stars were not known. But in view
of modern astronomical knowledge tho doctrine of the df!?Hs of
planets has hardly any meaning. Every planet and star really

982. The idea of ~ is very old as tbe !'<fillnt cbap. 17 (1 -27

verses) deals with it at great length and aa it expressly atates that Pari' ra
and other sages of old had developed it long before It deals witb tbe
astrological results of ~s to specIfic countriel, kings. and people. Three
verses are quoted here. 341~ .. ",,,<it'IIJiil KijtIU"4"1~,q; I R ~ ;~~ qu-
"1(,~6f.lf~" 'if( ,felii"I$i! ~ : unt " "!!ii"MI"if I ~ ~ ~ ­
~; i'ilq '''<'<I,(n ~ ~ 1{'Ilrt ~1"\'I!"q"'''qi ; I R "iftt~ ~
nTf.t~" t , tflllnI 17 . 3-5 q . by ~ p. 208. \hr,~, ~
and ~ correspond to the words U1'1P, ~, I(~ and ~ of 'fIT
quoted above in note 872.
638 History of Dharmaiastra [Sec. II, Ch. XVII

faces every other planet and star in this vast Universe at all
times unless there happens to be another celestial object in the
line connecting any two of them and it is very difficult to
understand how one planet can look at another planet or star at
a quarter or a half or ~tbs aspect ( i. e. at various angles).

When an astrologer says that a planet (say Venus) I S In

its svagrha (own house) i. e. Vr!'?abha (Bull) with the Moon let
us understand what it mea.ns. The rasi Vf!,?a.bha is constituted by
many stars, the most brilliant of which is RohiJ;l1 (Aldebaran).
Light travels at 186000 miles a second and modern astronomy
finds that light takes 57 years to reach the earth from Aldebaran.
The position then is this that the observer on the earth sees the
Moon, Venus and Aldebaran very near each other. According
to modern astronomy the Moon is only about two hundred and
forty thousands miles from the earth, Ven us a few crOTes of
miles from it and Aldebaran billions of billionR of miles away.
They appear to be near only on account of the effect of perspec-
tive. This creates difficulties which the astrologers altogether
ignore. When an observer sees Aldebaran to-da.y the rays he
sees today started some 57 years ago, while the rays of Mars
are seen within a few minutes of their start and. of the Moon
almost immediately.

The principles of rAid astronomy were probably established

in India in the three centuries preceding the Christian era. The
predecessors of Varabamihira and Varahamihira himself saw
Me!,?a, Vff?abha and other ras il:l occupying certain definite sectors
of the Zodiac and propounded certain rules about the physical
and mental characteristics and profesaions of persons born when
the Moon was in Me!,?a and the other rii.S is (in chap. 17 of the
Bf. J. ) and also of persons born on Mesa and the other rasis,
when the Sun, Mars and the other planets occupied those signs
(ibid. ohap. 18). The zodiacal section where Vrsabha stood
about two thousand years ago is lloW occupied by the constel-
lations oomprising Me!,?a ( Ram) owing to preoession. How oan
the astrological consequences of being born on Taurus two
thousand years ago be the same now when Taurus does not ocoupy
the Zodiacal seotor whioh it oocupied then and when that
particular seotor is oooupied now by Aries ?

The above discussion is enough to show the flaws in the

teaohings of Indian astrology and would lead thoughtful pel'SODS
 Addition of astrological details in later works 6S9

to conolude that the rules of astrology should have very little

influenoe in determining the times of I.heir underta.kings. h
appears that astrological details whioh were conspicuous by their
absenoe in ancient Dharmasastra works have attained so muoh
growth during the last two thousand years that the fundamental
religious requirements have been smothered thereby. Those
who be-lieve that all events affecting men are neoessitated by the
planets and stars appear to go wrong in two ways. They thereby
deprive God of control and providence in human affairs and
they take away man's fre e will. The dilemma is that if astrologers
cannot stop or foil what the planets indicate, what is the use or
benefit of their prescience; if they can stop or frustra.te what is
deemed to be fat ed to happen how can they support the thesis
that planets compel events?

The question arises then how far religious matters, BUch as

tJpanayana and marriage , should be regulated by astrologica l
considerations. It has been already shown above (p. 606 and
p. 610) how the astrological requireme nts for Upanayana and
marriage were very few and simple in the times of the grhya-
sutras and the Manusmrti (i. e. severa.l centuries before the
christian era), how later writers went on adding one requ irement
after another and how even in the 11th century A. D. orthodox
works like th e Rajamiirtal;lda a.dvised neglect of all astrologioal
requirements in the case of girls whose marriages had to be
postponed very long for some reason or other. Therefore, in
respect of religi ous ceremonies like Upanayana and marriage
the author would advise, as a first step towards getting rid of
oppressive and meaningless astrological conditions, that people
should revert to the simple rules of the grhyasutras and Manu.
There are two views on the observance of the rules about the
details of religious rites. One is that a perRon963 need not go
beyond the provisions contained in the grhyasiitra of his own
Veda or Slikh ll and that when one observes those provisions he
would be deemed to have performed all that the Bastra requires
of him. The second view (held by a majority of medieval
writers of digests) was that one should include in a religious
rite detail s mentioned in works of other sakh1is, though not
mentioned in his own siikhii., provided the former details are not

983. qrt 1fT ~ lWl' ~ ~ I !Wi m{il ~Y!t ril Pt

~1I~q . by~p. 8 ,{~I. p . 5.
 Historll of Dharmaiastra [ Sec. n, Ch. xvIi
in direct conflict with the details in his own siikha.98' These
people follow what is called the' sarvasakha-pratyayanyaya' of
the Piirvamlmiiusa. Both these view-points bave been explained
at great length by the author in H. of Dh. vol. lIT p. 870 and
vol. IV pp. 852-855. In these times one may at most follow the
astrological rules provided by the siitras and Manu. Though
the author has pointed out great flaws in the whole structure of
Indian astrology, he does not think that it is his duty as a mere
historian of Dharmasiistra to advise people how far they should
accept or discard astrology in general.

984 . ~ \<11411(1111'11 Ql(lfq .. ~(fI'\t ~I iqT~t\1q!l6<l .. fillih.ll'~'" 1Nl"

~~I . 35q. by~p.8''"mton~p. 756, ~ of ~
folio 11.511 (of ma. D. C. No, 194 of 1884-87 ).
 CHAPTER XVIII
Calendar. eras, various reckonings about years,
months &c.
In order to be able to perform 'I".ala~ and celebrate 1If,~(LI ·(L.q
a t the proper times and in order to find out the appropriate
times for religious rites li ke sacrifices, upanayana and marriage
people require a calendar or almanac. A calendar is I.l methodi-
cal combination or book about days, months and years for tho
purpose of registering in advance religious festivals and astrLl-
nomical or astrological phenomena and for purposes of civil
life. In India about thirty c:tlondars are in use by Cbri stians,
Parsis, Moslems a nd Hindus. Confining oneself to Hindus th ero
is a bewildering variety of calendars in use at prosent. SOlll O
are based on the data of the Silryasiddhunta and some on tlwsu
of the Aryasiddhi nta, while others follow comparatively later
manuals like the Grahal j gha va; sOllie begin the year with
Caitra slIkLa jiralijia,/ (or jil'ufip<J. ./V. ), others with Kartika sukla
pratipad and there are small tracts like the Halar 985 WILlI! (in
Kathiawad) where the year begins with the 1st day of the
bright half of ASiuha. Gujarat and N or tit India except Bengal
use the Vikrama era, while the Doccan and South India geno-
rally employ the Saka year, but Kashmir foll ows tho Lallkil,n
reckoning. In some parts (North India an d TolaI)gana ) and
communities the months an p CIfl) imillta (i. e. end with Full
Moon), while other parts (Bongal, Mahnr.1s tra and south India)
follow the amanta (month ending with ami vii.syii) reckoning.
The result is that some fasts and celebratiolld universally
observed throughout India such as the EkAda<;1 and Sivariitri
fasts and the celebrations of the birth of Srlkrsna are observed on
two different days in different parts of the country and by different
sects and there is a difference of one month between tho days of
some observances i. e. while on the p urnimnnta reckoning a cer-
ta.in festival may be observod in Asvina dark half, the Bame month
- - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
985. Vide Mrs. Stevenson's • Rites of the twic e-horn' p. 30 1 n ; also
I. A. vol. 18 p. 93. where it is said that the IIalar! year used in Halar prant
of Kathiawad and also at Amrcli and J etpur begi ns on Auclha suk la
pratipad Instead of Kartika sukla and thero is also another h~ginoios on
amimIa ~4ha kr~~a 2.
B. D. 81
6(2 HislO1'Y of DhaTn'taiastm l Sec. lI, Ch. XVIII

may be called Bha drapada dark half ( by amanta reckoning) and

the same festival may be celebrated one month later. The con·
fusion is worse confounded in modern times by some calendars
being what are called Drlc or Drlcpratuaya based on the data of
the Nautical Almanac in order that such happenings as eclipses
predicted in the paficanga may be found to tally exactly with
what is actually seen by the people. It appears that in South
India there are rather too many pai'icangas (calendars ). In
Tamilnad there are two kinds of pai'icangas, one is based on
dr/c-ga'T).ila, the other is based on the Vakya method ( that follows
medieval calculations based on Aryabhata which produce less
accurate results ). There is the Pudukot~a i paficanga ( a Vakya
one) issued under the authority of th e riijas of the principality
of that name. The Sr!rangam paficinga ( a Vakya ono ) is used
by th e Srivaisl?avas, while followers of anoth er Vaisnava soct,
the Madhvas, have a paficanga of their own. The Kanjanur
paficanga is the moat common Viiky a paficanga used by the
smartas who do not use the drk-(la1]ita paficinga issued under
the authority of the Sankaracarya. The Telugus follow the
Siddbanta-candra 986 paficanga based on the Grahalaghava of
Ganesa composed in sake 144:2 (1520 A. D.). In Malabar the
people have a drk-paficiinga, but it is based on a revision of the
old Malabar system called Parahita and is not the d~k-paficanga
followed by the Tamils. The Teluglls follow the Candra reckon-
ing and begin their year called Yugiidi from Caitra sukla, while
the Tamils follow the Saura reckoning, start their Caitra with
Mesa Vi!?u, though , their vratas and religious ceremonies being
based on tilhis , they have to follow the Cllndra-lIluna. Bengalis
use solar months and lunar days with triennial adjustment by
the insertion of an intercalary month. -
There are three siddhantas in use, viz. the Sllryasiddhanta
( used throughout India on account of its accu racy ), the Arya-
siddhanta (relied on in Travancore, Malabar, and by the
Madhvas in KarI;l a~ka and in Tam il Districts of Madras State)
and the Brabma.siddhanta ( followed in Gujerat and Rajputana).
The last, however, is losing ground in favour of the first. In
the Siddbiintas calculations a.re made from the epooh of the
986. Warren 's Kalasankalita (pp. 65-68 ) publisbes a skeleto n of tb e
Siddbantacaodrllo pn iicao ga for tbe 4921tb luni-solnr year of tbe Kaliyugllo
current (i. e. mke 174 5, A. D . 1822) for the Meridian lind Latitude of
Madras which is mainly baaed 00 Telugu Paiicanga, but furobb .. TamiJ
data also.
 Si ddMin tas and Kara'{lQs 643

mahCiyu ga and are so el aborate that pai'iciingas can hardly be

made from them direct. Therefore, works called karal.1as based
on the Siddhiintas are used to prepare pafica ngas, such as
Makaranda in Bengal a nd the Grahalaghava of Ganesa ; the
tables of the latter called T ithicinti mani are used in the Deccan,
Central India and some other parts of India. Tbere are two
important points of difference between the Siddbiintas among
themselves viz. the length of the year ( but the differenoe is only
of a few 'I'ipal as ) and th e second is the number of revolutions of
the Moon and the planets in the Kalpa or Mahiiyuga or Yuga.
The Siddhiintasiromal} i ( 1 6) spocifies tho matters with whioh a
siddbiinta must deal, th very first of which is the enumeration of
the units of time from / 1' /1 ti up to the end of prc;[a ljI I.
It should not be S11ppose d that J ndia is singular in thiB
respect. Th e present ElITopean calr ndar is also very unsatis-
factory. Originally it was JUlill ~ Caesar who introduced a
revised calendar in 46 B. C. with tho provision that every 4th
year was to be a leap year. But his calculations were not very
accurate and the result was th at by 1582 A. D. the spring equinox
occurred on 10th March instead of on 21st M aroh. ope
Gregory Xlii declared that 4th October 1582 was to be followed
by 15th October (i, e. ten days were dropped) . He further
provided that century years were not to have a leap year unless
they could be divided by 400 ( so that years 1700, 1800, 1900 of
the christian era bave 11 0 additional day, but 2000 would have
one). Even so, there is still a slight error, but only after more
than 33 centuri es one day would have to be dropped. The
Gregorian year is longer hy 26 seconds than the correct length
of the year arrived at by modern astronomical calculations.
Protestant England did nc.,t follow Pope Gregory's reform till
1750 A. D. when Acts were passed whereby 2nd of September
175 2 was to be followed not by 3rd September hut by 14th
September (dropping eleven days). Vide ' the Calendar New
Style Act' 1750 (24 Geo. 2, chapter 23) and the Calendar Act
1751 (25 Gao. 2, chapter 30), which changed the year beginning
from 25th March to 1st January and embodied the reform! made
by Pope Gregory xm. The European calendar is still very
inconvenient. Under it a month may have from 28 to 31 days,
the quarters of a year consist of 90 to 92 days ; the two halves of
~he year (January to June and July to December) contain
respectively 181 (or 182) and 184 days, working days per month
vary from 24 to 27 days and years and months begin on different
644 History of Dhannasastra [Sec. II, Oh. xvm

week-days. Easter, the Queen of feasts, could fall even after

1751 on 35 di fferent dates from 22nd March to 25 th April, as
Easter is first Sunday after the Full Moon occurring on or after
21st March.
It has heen stated above (p. 480) that this work will not deal
with lJure astronomical questions; therefore, the author proposes to
avoid going into details of astronomical computations. But
something would have to be said about them as occasion requi res.
Those who are interested in ancient Indian astronomy and
its later ramifications may consult and study the following
works and articles; Warren's Kalasankalita; the Suryasiddb iinta
translated and annotated by Whitney; Indian Metrology by
J. B. J orvis, pp. 174-259; the Panca-siddbantika of V araha-
mihira ( text and translation by Thibaut and M. M. Suddhakar
Dwivedi ); S. B. Diksita's' Bhi ratiya Jyotisasastra' ( in Marathi
a masterly work); Sewell and Diksit's ' Indian Calendar' (1896);
Sewell's 'Indian Chronography' (1912); Sewell's ' Siddhantas
and Indian Calendar '; ' Vedic Chron ology and Vedinga-Jyoti~a '
by B. G. Tilak (19 25): Divan Bahadur Swamikannu P illai's
, Indian Ephemeris " 7 volumes ( vol. I part 1 being general and
th e rest being Tables ); V. B. Ket kar's Jyotirgal!itam, Ketakt.
Vaijayanti, Grahagal! ita and' Indian and foreign chronology'
(Extra Number LXXV-A of the JBBRAS); Jacobi's papers in
Epigraphia Indica vol. 1. pp. 403-460 ( on computation of
B indu dates ), vol. II. pp. 487- 498 ( tables for calculating Hindu
dates in true local time ), vol. XII. pp. 47 ff (for planetary tables),
XII pp. 158ft' ( special Tables fnr Hindu dates ); Sewell's papers
ill E. 1. vol. 14 pp. 1 ff, 24 ff , vol. 15 pp. 159 ff , vol. 16 pp. 100-
221 ( on Arya- siddbiinta and Tables ), vol. 17 pp. 17 ff (on first
Arya-siddhiinta), pp.173ff (on Brabma,siddhanta of Brabmagupta)
and pp. 205lI; Indian Historical Quarterly, vol. IV. pp. 483-511,
vol. X pp. 332-336 ( for Jain calendar ); Nau tical Almanac for
1935, explanations by J. K. Fotheringham pp. 754 ff; , Ancient
Indian chronology' by Prof. Sen-Gupta (1947, University of
Calcutta ); Karal;1a-kalpalatii. (in Sanskrit) and Bharat!ya-
Jyotil;d;iistra-nirlk~al!a ( in Marathi) of Dr. K. L. Daftari; Dr.
M. N. Sa.ba's paper on 'Reform of tb e India.n calenda.r' in
, Science and culture' (Caloutta), 1952 pp. 57-68, 109- 123 and
Report of the Calendar Reform Committee (published by the
Government of India 1955, a very exhaustive and useful work.)
Among all nations the fundamental periods of time are the
same, viz. the day , the month and the year (consisting of
 Fundament.aL periods 0/ time

seasons J. The years are the constituents of eras that are vi~a.l
for chronology and history. Though the fundamental periods of
time are the same, there are variations in the arrangement of
days to form months and years, about the sub-divisions of the
day, about the commencement of the day, about the divisions
of the year among seasons and months, about the number of
days in each month and in the year and about various kinds of
months. The great time measurers a.re the Sun and the Moon.
The day is due to the revolution of the earth round its axis.
The month is mainly a lunar phenomenon and the year is due
to tbe apparent motion of tbe Sun (but in reality it is due to
the revolution of the earth round the sun). The tropical year
is the time of the passage of the Sun from one vernal equinox
to the next. The latter is shorter than the sidereal year (i. e. the
time between the two successive ~rrivals of the Sun at the same
fixed star) by about 20 minutes as the vernal equinox point
shifts to the west at the rate of about 50 seconds per year. 987 A
modern calendar mentions the current year (by some era), the
month and the day of the month and generally the week-day.
besides several other matters of religious and social interest.
The eras and accurate knowledge of the length of the year and
the month came to man rather late. The synodic month is a
little over 29i days, while the tropical year is a little less than
3651 days. These are incommensurable periods. For ordinary
life and calendars whole days are required; besides, the starting
of the year and the mOllth must be properly defined and mUl!Jt
correspond to sea.sons and some era must be used. These are
the requirements of a caJendar which has to be used for civil and
religious purposes. The complexity of calendars is due mainly
to the incommensurability of the above two astronomical •
98 7. Besides the two motioos of the eartb (vi z. Its dally revolution
on its own axi s and its yearly revolution rouod th e su n) there is a third
motion which is not so well-known. The earth is not a sphere . its equa-
torial diameter bein g lon ger than its polar diameter. The result is tbat
tbere is a mass of matter bulging out at tbe equator whicb Is In excess of
wbat it would be if tbe earth were perfectly spherical. The eartb's axis
bas a slight cO!lical wobbling motion like tbat of a toy top and It describes
a cycle in about25800years , tbe yearly shift being about 50" ·2 seconds, due
to the pull of tbe sun and tbe moon on the equatorial bulge . This causes
the appearance of tbe fixed stars and even tb e pole-star cbanging th eir
positions from century to century or from period to period . Vide Sir
Norman Lockyer's' Dawn of astronomy' pp. 124-128, Van Pen Bergh in
, Universe in Space and Time' p. 82, Hlckey's 'Introducing tbe Universe'
p. 117
64:6 History of Dharmasastra l Sec. II, Ch. XVIII
periods. The Moslems solved it by ignoring the length of the
tropical year and holding fast by the Moon as the measurer of
time. They had a purely lunar year. The result was that the
Moslems' year was of 354 days and that in about 33 years all
their festivals travelled through all the months of the year. On
the other hand, the ancient Egyptians ignored the moon as the
measurer of time and their year was of 365 days (12 months of
30 days each plus five epagomenal, i. e. additional days ). Their
priests stuck to this system for 3000 years, they had no leap
years or intercalary months. Most ancient peoples including
Indians followed a luni-solar calendar and tried to adjust the
lunar months to the solar year by the system of intercalary
months. It has been seen above (p. 489 note 710) that even
the B,gveda speaks of an additional month (in 1. 25. 8) but how
it was arrived at and where in the scheme of months it was intro-
duced we do not know. We know that the Vedangajyotisa <JI!8
added two months in five years. The people of those ancient
times had to solve the problem of adjusting the reckoning of the
months by the moon and the years by the sun. People wanted
to know in advance when the Full Moon or New Moon on which
many ancient festivals were celebrated may be expected, when
t o expect monsoon or winter, when to prepare ground for sowing
and when to BOW. Sacrificos had to be in spring and other
seasons, as also on New Moon and Full Moon. The lunar year
of 354: days was less by about 11 days than the solar year.
Therefore, \11e seasons would shift back if the lun ar year alone
were observed. Hence intercalary months were introduced by
several nations. The Greeks had the • Octaeteris' (eight years
cycle ), that contained 99 months of which three were inter-
calary, viz. in the 3rd, 5th and 8th :1'ears. Then was introduced
the Metonic cycle of 19 years in which occurred seven inter-
calary months ( 19 X 12 plus 7 = 235). Olmstead ( in A.merican
Journal of Semitic Languages, vol. 55 for 1938) says at p. 116
tbat the cycle of intercalation in Babylon was of eight years and
that it was followed by the Greeks. Fotherigham ( in Journal of
Hellenistic studies, vol. 39 p. 179) says that intercalation in
Babylon was irregular till 528 B. C. a.nd in Greece it was un-
systematio in the 5th and 4th centuries B. C. Vide also C. R. C.
Report pp. 175-176.
988. Vide Lokamanya Tilak 's ' Vedic chronology' pp. 21-25 , Journal
of Gangannth Jha Research ln stitutc, vol. IV. pp . 23 9-248 for the Vedanga-
J yoti!J'l Calendar and its salient features and Pillai 's • Indian Ephemeris'
Vol . I . part 1 pp. 443-456.
 647
The use of eras in India for calendrical purposes is not muoh
older than about two thousan d years. Continuou s era reckoning
first began to be employed in the records of the Indo-Soythhm
k ings that ruled ov er modern Afgan ista n and North Western
India between about 100 B. C. and 100 A. D. This is not pocu-
liar to India; most of the ancient civilizations such as those of
Egypt, Babylon, Greece an d Rome did not employ a continu-
ously running era till la te in their careers. In the Jyotirvida-
bharana ( which is a later fabri cation, though it professes that it
was finished in [7atuku{i 3068 i. e. 33 years bofore tbo christi alJ
era) mentions the nalUes of six persons as the founders of oms
in Kaliyuga, v iz. Yud h i s~bi ra , Vikrama, Sili viha na, Vijayabhi-
nandan a, Niigiirjuna, K alkill ')S? and states t llat thoir eras
respectively last for 3044, 135, 18000, 10000, 400000, 821 YOMS.
In a ncient 990 countries no continuous era was used , but on ly
regnal years wore employed. In Ind ia also A~ O.;fl omp"loys only
regnal years in bis edicts ( e. g tbo 4th pillar edict a t Laurlya-
nandan a-garb and the 5th pilla r edi ct at R5.mpurvii, C. l .l. vol. I
pp. 14.7, 151, were engraved in the 26th year of his kingship ).
Kau~ilya 99 1 also, wh en setting forth tho business of the collector

989. ~t ~~ 'RltuOlT'U1 rl :iflTIPr.l'G": I ~ ~ ;ntT~­

~oftfl~: ~ 1'lJ <J: I ~ronr: q;i) II . Some read ~r ~ for ~: &c
Vid e Z . D. M. G . vol. 22 p. 717 verse 110 . Fleet iu )I{AS for 1911 p. 694
for variant read in gs in thi s verse , 1'oon a Orientalis t vol. \" I'p . 205-2 09 o n
')yotirvid iibiJarana a nd the .!'l ine J ewels ' oy K IIladhal'a l':r i ~ hlla ~a rma
for oth er reading s and date .
990 Vide Fotherin gham in Explanat ion to Nautica.l Almanac (o r 1935 at
p. 755 about Eg yp tians not usin!; a continuous era , but bcin g conteDt to
number tbe years of each reign ~epara t e ly.
99 1. ~~ l1ml: q~ iQW'lol .~ lf1'<ntl'1;;nfi1ll'lTort ~;1rq~R"T ~'":
Q1lll: 00: i_UTT: 'l'U1Tfu';!ffilfi ~ ;nmi: tArthasa s tra I I. 6 p. 60. Thib passagc
is variously interp r ete d by Fl ee t, Sham SaH ri and othe rs . Th e d ifficul ty is
due to t he word ' vyu~1a '. which lilcrally means 'daybreak or li!;ht ' and
here means ' the first day o( tb e year which is de cmed to be very auspIcious.'
Vide '~ '<f ~~ >:fil~ Wf'I'Q. I ~~fS"l_ I ' QP V. I 96-97. To th e author it
appears tba t tbi s passage means' t be royal (o r rc!;nal) year , month, fort-
ni gbt, d a y , tbe aus piciou s ( first day o( th e year ), the third llnd seventb
fort nigbts of tb e tb ree seasons viz . rain, winter. summer have one day leas
(t ba n thir ty ), th e Olber fortni ghts are full (i . e. mon ths bave f ull 30
day s eacb). an interc alary is a .eparat e (period of time) - tbese are tbe
times (tbe coll ec tor of revenue has to not e ). I n ancient time s , tb e year
bad six seasons, twelve months and 30 days in each month. Th e Artbaastra
bere says that there were six fort night! of 29 days C:lc b and so tbe (lunar
year was of 354 days. In ord er to brin g it in line witb t be solar year an
interCalary Olontb had to be resorted to .
648 History of Dharmafaslm l Sec. TIt Ch. XVIII

of revenue specifies the times with which the collector would be

conoerned as • the royal year, the month, the fortnight, the day
&0.' This praotice continued even under the Ku ~aI;1as and
Satavahanas; vide L iider's list in E. 1. X, No. 22, 32 for Kani~ka,
No. 1024 (Kanheri cave Inscription of Gotamiputa-sam i-Siriyaiia
Sa taka ~ i ) , No. 1100 and 1122 (Karle and Nasik cave inscrip-
tions of Vas i~hJputa Siri-Pulumavi ). The Kali oga king Khara·
vela (generally assigned to the 2nd century B. C.) uses only
regnal years and no era ( vide E. 1. vol. 20 p. 71 at pp. 79-80 ).
A variety of eras have bee n used in India for hundreds of
years ; this has created a great deal of confusion in chronolo~y
and history. For the lists of eras now in use or met with in
inscriptions and Sanskrit literature, vide Cunningham on lndian
eras, • Indian Ephemeris' by Swamikannu Pillai vol. I part 1
pp. 53- 55, V. B. Ketkar's 'Indian and foreign chronology' pp.
171-172; P. C. Sen-Gupta in ' Ancient Indian eras' (pp. 222- 238 )
and Dr. Saba's paper in 'Science and Culture' for 195 2 (Calcutta )
at p. 116 that gives a table of eras with the starting year of th e
eras, their current years, year beginnings ( solar and luni-solar ),
lunar month end, provenance &c. Vide also p. 258 of the C.R.C .
Report (Table 27) for a similar long list of eras. In this work
only a few eras of importance will be briefly dealt with. Alberuni
(Sachau vol. II. p. 5) names five eras, viz of Sri Harsha,
Vikramaditya, Saka, Valabba and Gupta. He gives two
different versions about tbe first and leaves the question
undecided.
Differing views were held even in ancient times, as to when
the Kaliyuga 992 started and what event the Kaliyuga era
commemorates. At present the Kaliyuga era is supposed to
have started in 3102 B. C. and a past Kaliyuga year is to be
arrived at by adding 3101 to the A. D. years. There are four
principal views about the starting point, viz. (1) the starting
point is when Yudhi ~~hira ascended the throne ; ( 2) it is 36

992. VideJRASfor1 911pp.479-96 and 675-698 (Dr. f lee t), H. of

Db. vol. III pp. 896-902 for discus.ions about tbe Kaliyuga beginning. In
, Ancient Indi an cbronology' Prof. Sen-Gupta after a lengthy and somewhat
veh ement argum ent concludes that the date of the Bharata battle is 2449
B. C. and that the year 3102 B . C. for it is wrong ( P. 1-5 9 ). Vide C.R.C.
Report PP. 252-254 for Knllyuga era. It may be noted that Janamejaya. son
of Parik~it. is mentioned as the performer of an Aavamedha sacrifice in Sat .
Br. XIII. 5. 4. Whether he is the sallie as th e Mahi bhi rata hero i. more
than one can say. but it Is Dot unlikely that be is the lame.
 B egill ni nl] of !(ali YlI ga era

years later when Yudhisthira crowned as kin g Pari k ~ i t, the

gra ndson of Arjuna; ( 3 ) according to the Pllranas em Ka jiYll ga
started when Kr~l}a passed away ( v ide Vis nupuriina IV. ~~. 108
to 113) ; (4) Accord,ing t o 993" t o V a riih a mih ira , 2426 years prior
to the starting of Saka-kala , Yudh i s~hira era started i. e. 653
years after the start of Kaliyuga accordin g to the 2nd view.
The Aihole in scripti on a ppears to follow the 2nd view, s in ce it
equates 994 556 saka y ear with 3735 Kaliyu ga y ear (past). One
of the earli est references t o th o Ka.li yu ga era is th a t hy
Aryabhata who sta tes th at he "" as twenty· threo yoars old who n
3600 years of Kaliyuga h ad expirod (i. (\. he was horn in 476
A. D. ).995 T here is a n early Cola record da tod 40·a of the
Kaliyuga era (i. e. 943 A. D. ). Vide JR AR for 1911 pp. 68 1 -
694 for sevoral in st a n ces of the omployment of Kaliy u g a
era in in scriptions. Medieval I ndia n astronomers belioved tha t
all planets (including th e sun and the 111 00n) wore tllget hor a t
sunrise on Sund ay of Caitra su kla pmtipad a t tho bog innin g of
Kaliyu ga a nd also of Ka ipa. 595" It is suggested by modern writers
like Burgess and Dr. Sah a that this epoch was arri ved a t hy
astronomical calculat ions carri ed buck-ward a t a lat e period a nd
is a mere ficti on (vide p. 253 of th o C. R. C. R epor t ). 1t is rather
difficult t o hold th at this was all puro im agina tion on the part

993. ~ 'CoIroTI ~:i llT<I~~ir~ ~ rt;l';l l !l rn~ m~'i\ slla: ~ lfq : 1I

~ X II 2 . 3 3 ; compare 1f~ 9J . 42 S- 429 , 1't"''Q 2 73.49 -50 , ~..J11 ' I V. 24.
110, ~ II I. 74 .2 4 I for similar verses .
993a. 3lm'I't'€lTl! ~i!'Q :"' w.n~'Q U~'lif II P~~ "I 13 .3 q uo ted in
note 746. Thi s is foll owed by !fiF!f"l in h is u:ll'({~ifvIT I. 5 1 ' ~io!t ~ ~ 1 \f1
~ ':q' ~ I <n?l.re~ "..1OTI1'I~ '!§.,QI06Q I: II
994. fli'~<~ ~ 'IIT(~1~: I "'Rl"f~"lif;~ m,~ qq II
q~ ~ ~ ~ q~flJ ':q' I ~ ;:rnFill'lflJ ~ft _~.pn'l: II E. I.
vol. VI at p . 7. Appa rently h ere!fi~ is cieemed to bave s tartod i mme-
diately a fter th e B barat a W a r. Later a s tronom ical works bold t hat th e ~ak a
era began when 317 9 yea rs of I\ali era bad exp ired; vide ' 1I'T1'O: qvw'I>O
~'" ~~<ll'~ri'ir:i-q "~I~OTI~'Ul ~!fi '1Q1:q l~ ~I: I ~-
" if -
~ I . 28 . "f<crr.f~: is eq ual to 3179 ( ..~ - 9 , 3fI'it - 7, " - 1,
!!Vf - 3 ).
99.5. ..e..,&ql.,1 ~ I'QIfufRil'Q";~ : I 5'Iflmm ~~fih.q l ~" 1f lfR
;;p;;.ft9fTm: Ii~ , ~ I Mfit;'lIQlq ve r se 10 (ed . Ke ro) .
99.50.. MI'I"f'IQi6crmJ ~lo?tffiE41 ~ lNR 1f~ I mit: ~ra.,l'tlW.q·
*i1i~q;I.,1 *""I. litre: II ~~, I't\~ verse I S (of ~ ); b -
~nI4.,qql~ llT.,Ii'4.,I'tIEl"tfl1'IIfli?H: I ~ri) ~lT"Ii lfJt II-rt'r ~ II -.rsr-
qlc:Rl'4 11ft 1. 4 .
B., D. 82
650 Hi.~t01Y of Dharmaifistra [ Sec. li, Ch. xvm
of the ancient Siddhanta writers; it is more probable that they
had a persistent tradition of long standing before them. 9951>,

In the Saidwlpa (declaratory formula) for every religious

ceremony the performer has to mention the grand divisions and
sub-divisions of time beginning with Svetavarahakalpa, such as
Vaivasvata manvantara, Kaliyuga and its first quarter together
with the geographical position of the place of performance in
Bharatavarsa , and the Zodiacal signs occupied by the Sun,
Jupiter and other planets, the era, name of year (Jovian), the
month, th e fortnight, the tithi, naksaira, Yoga and KaraJ;la. A
verse of Devala states that if a man performing a religious rite
does not mention the month, the fortnight, the tithi and the
occasion ( of the rite) he will not reap the merit of the rite. 996 ,
Th at is the importance of eras, years and its sub-divisions in
the religious life of our people. Therefore a calendar (panca ;Lga )
is absolutely necessary for every religious Hindu.

The origin and use of the Vikrama era are as much shrouded
in doubts an d mystery as is the case with the saka era. m Doubts
have been expressed as to whether there was any king called

995 b. Vide E. 1. vol. VIII p . 26 1. In E. 1. vol. 28 p . 63 there are

pla tes of Arkesvara- deva dated in >"'i),ibda 4 24 8 (i. e. in KaJiyu ga era),
corr espo nding to (th February 114 8 A. D. Vid e a l&o a paper contributed
to ' Annals of Sc ience'. vol. 8 No.3 (195 2 ) pp. 22 1-· 22 8 by Prof. Neuge-
bauer and Dr . 0. Schm idt on ' llindu Ast o nomy at Newm in ster in 1428 ', in
which reference is made to an anonymous treatise co mposed in E ngland at
Newrninster containing astronomical calculations for the year 142 8 and for
th e latitude of Newrnin ster. Tha t treatise '1uotes several Arabic au thorities,
among wh ich is one' Orner' ( or Umar , who died a bout 815 A. D. ) and the
tr c.. tise remarks that Alfonso beg .. n the yea r of th e Flood on February Hi,
3102 years before the Incarnation, a da te which is obviously id en tical with
the be ~ innin g of the KaJiyuga era (employed by I ndian astronomers ).

996. ~'lM: I 1I1~~"'t 'if f;'tii'lmorl 'if ~~ : I ~§lfTvn rr <Wl'

tn<'lml~~ II ~ I ~~ p . 2.

997. Ou Vikramaditya the readc r may consult tbe scholarly paper of

I)r . H. C . Hayacuaudburi ' Vikramaditya in His tory and Legend' in tbe
Vikrnmaditya Commemora tion volume (Ujjain, 1948) pp. 483-511. Vide
al so Journnl of Benares H. University vol. VIII pp. 163-205 {or Vikrama
and hi s era, Dbandarkar Commemo ration vol um e pp . 187-194 (D. R,
Dhandarknr). Vide Mr. S. K. D ikshit's paper on' The probl em of the
li:u ~a~as and the origin o{ tho Vikrama Samvat ' In A.D.O R.I. publilhed in
book form in 1958.
 Vikrama era, Krta era and Malallaga~u era 651

Vikramaditya about 57 B. C. the supposed starting point bei ng 'l'l8

Nov. 58 B. C. in Gujarat where the year hegins with Kirtika silk/a
pratipad and April 58 B. C. in Northern India where the year hegins
with Caitra kr$ll! pratipad. The expired Vikrama year is equal to
A. D. year plus 57. In certain rather early in!'1rriptions, years
are referred to as Krta. For example, in N andsa Y I-Ipa I n~rrip­
tion the Krta year 282 is mentioned and in throo Maukhari In-
scriptions on YUJlIIS (sacrificial posts) the year 2!15 K d,a is
found. em The Bijayagad pillar Inscription if! dated in Krtn. '£28,
the Mandasor Inscription in Krta 461 and the Gangadhar I nsrrip-
tion in Krta 480. 1000 Scholar~ are generally agreed that the Krta
era is a precursor of the Vikrama ora. But the name Krta
applied to the years has not boen satisfactorily explained. 1001

998. K. P. Jayaswal (I. A. vol. 47 p. 112 anc.l I. A 46 pp. 145-153)

holds that Vikrnrna was historical, cnded the rule of :-\ahapina-sakendra in
58 B. C , and belonged to the S:itavahana family.
999. Vide E. I. vol. 23 pp. 42-52 for three l\!:lllkhari Inscril'tinn!
dated the 5th day of I'halguna sUkla in grIll year 293 (i. e. 239 A. D.) by
Dr. A. S. Altekar. For Nandsa Ylipa Ins of Krta 232, vide E. I. vol. 27
PP. 252-267 ( ed. by Dr. A. S, Altekar)
1000, For the Gangadhar Inscription dated in 480 of the I'rta year
( i. e 423-424 A. D. ) and the Bijayaga(lh stone pillar Inscription of K,ta
year 428 (371-72 A. D. expired ), \'ide Gupta Inscriptions edited by Fleet
PP. 73-78 and pp. 252-2.54 respecth·cly.
1001. Vide Bombay University Journal vol. 17 PP. 19-25 where ProC,
K, B. Vyas puts forward the rather novel theory that tbe wonl /('_'lcJ In the
ancient Inscri ptions refers to the J\atha people and J. of Indian History vol.
24 ((or 1945) pp 105-109, where Prof. D. N. Mookerjee mentions nine
Inscriptions in tbe Kda or Miilava-f,at:ta era and contends that ",ta is the
era started by Kalkin who is supposed to have u.hcred in the I,rta-yuga in
the 5tb century B. C. The author does not agn'(' with both these views. Prof.
Sen-Gupta in 'Ancient Indian Chronology' pp. 238 If. hold. that the I{rta era
started in 63 B. C. His grounds are that certain Ma.habharata and Pauril-
I).ic passages set out in a prophetic vein the c;rcumstances when Krla-yuga
will start and he holds that those conditions were satis6ed about 63 )l C.
and therefore the era was called Krta In the 6nt place the pa"sa~cs refrr
to a future date. No one thought in ancient India that the start of the I{rtll
age was near. Besides, one of the passages on which he relic. is Maha-
bhiirata, Vanaparva 190. 90-91 (of the Bombay edition) and 188 87 (of
the critical BORI edition) and is differently read in the Siirada. rodex and
several h"asmir Mss. viz. as tI1fT "'IIiPjf.lJil' ~.q.lJil' !fur MUQ,"f4Iir I If'fiU;; ,,"n@I'f
~ <1if11i<I1l" and not ~ as he reads. Tberefore tbis verse il hardly
of use for chronological purposes. Besides Vayu 99. 413 also read. ekaritre
(001,. oDe Ma. reads' ekaraSau '). Some Puranas like Vi~nu IV. 24. 102,
( Continued on n"t pat' )
652 Hist OTY of DhaTmaBastm l Seo. II, Ch. XVIll
Some inscriptions are also dated in the era of the Millava-gaI;la
(M alava tribe), al:! e. g . the Mandasor 1002 Inscription of
N aravarm an. The Krta and Malava era are beld to be identical
and the inscriptions so far discoverved as dated in these two eras
are found in oastern Rajll.stban and Western Malva. It is further
to be noted that, whereas we have inscriptions in 282 and 295 of
the K rta year, no inscription of the Malava era has yet been
found that is dated so early. It is possible that K rta is the
earlier name and when the Malavas adopted the same era it came
t o be called' Malava-gaIl5.mniita ' or 'M illava· ga na-sthiti.' But
it may be rema rke d that if Krta and Malava both refer t o what
later hecame the Vikrama ora, they were both being used con-
currently for at least one nundred years, as we have the Krta era

(Co n t inued fr om las t page )

Drahmancla III 74. 22 5 no dou bt read (!~. Th e three Matsya-pura~a
ve rses be quotes arc not fr om th e same chapter. Th e fir st ver se simpl y says
tb a t Vis,?u created Ya v a s on 3rd titbi o f Vaisakba brigbt h a lf and tbat he
started l \ ~tayu ga on th a t tit h i. J t is im possibl e to draw a ny d efinite da te
[ro m thi s verse by it sel f. The o tb er two verses are Mat5ya 65. 2-3 . They
d escribe a vrata and fa st on 3rd ti t bi of th e bri g ht ha lf of VaiSa kha, wbich
yi eld ine xhaust ibl e fr uit s to I he per for mer , equal to all goo d d eeds. If on
th at tithi when joined to K!·tti ka one does spec ial wo rsh ip, wh a tever is donat-
ed o r offered in th e fire and what eve r man tras are recited becollle inexhaustible.
Th ese two verses con tain not a word abou t J\: ta yu ga and tb e first says
not hi ng abou t li::tti ka. It i ~ , to say tlH.: least, a s tra nge met hod to put to-
ge th er ver ses apar t from tb eir cont ex t and avcr t bat a particul a r date ha s
been established .
1002. Vide 1. A. vol. 42 (1 9 13) p. 161- 163 for Mandasor In scription
oC Naravnrm an wbicb is da ted tbe 5tb of tbe bri g ht balf of .A;svoj a of tbe
Ma lava year 46 1 ( 404 A, D . ) as tradi tio nall.y banded dow n by the Ma lava
tri be ( l\!;davagal)am na ta ). T he important verse is: ~fllffi~~~re ~ 'li'!'-
:m'sm' ~1!F<I"~!n 111\1' ~~~ II . In the Ma nd asor P ill;u Inscription
of Ya~dbarman oc cu r th e word s 'l'fffi1l'rrlJf~'Urn'f~Tn<fi~I"ifI'Q'~9;' (year
589 of Malava r.ra ) ; vide Gup ta In s. No. 35 a t p . 154) . On ~~,
vi de Prof. Sbembav nekar in J. I, H. vol. X pp, 143-155 , wb ere (on p, 145) be
bold5 tb a t ' ga~as thiti' is eq ual to ' gananapaddbati '. His arguments
tbou gh plausih le are not correct . Th ere sbo uld be contemporary authority
(of th e 5tb or 6tb ce ntury A. D. ) for' gana ' meaning' ganaua' , In tbe
I3 ija ygaclh s to ne In s. ( Gup ta I llS . No, 58 P. 25 1) we come ac ross tbe words
I ~~~ ~'::if'HI '{?~'~ : &c. '. Therefore' Malava -ga~a8tbitl '
sh ould really mean' t be usage of tbe Malavaga~a ' and ;ff"M~;rm: should
mean' a s tradi t ionally band ed down among tbe MalavagMa' . Besides a
I Miilava ga~a-v i ~aya ' mentioned in the Na ndsa Yupa inscription edited 10
E . I . , vol. 27 , p . 252 at p . 259 makes it almost certaio that' MiJavaga':!a '
means' MiiJa va trib e ' aod oothing else,
 The Vi kranza era 653
480 and also the Ma1ava era year 461 . The author does not think
it possible tha t the word Krta was applied to the era beoause it was
believed at its foundation that the Krta-yuga had started. It is
possible that Krta has the same mea ning as si dcllla (just as
k rt~nta means siddhanta ) aud it indicates that it was establi-
shed by agreement among certain people. The Vikram a era is
sp6cifically mentioned by name only from ahout 8th or 9th
cen tury A. D.l002a Besides, the V ikrama era has lJard ly eyer
been employed in Sanskrit astronomical works and it is generally
desiganted sa l;zm/ to distinguish it from the saka era. The
Yedarave Inscription of Cr.lukya Vikramiiditya VI shows that
that king superseded the saka eraand started a C:ilukya Vikrama
era. the first year of which was 1076-77 A. D. Vide Bombay
Gazetteer vol. 1 part 2 p. 4~7 and 477 (and I. A. VII pp. 61-56
for reference to 400 sakakala 1478 A. D. ).

Almost all astronomical works in Sanskr it from about 500

A. D. employ the Sab era. Why the Saka era is so called ,
whether it was to commemorate the corning of the famous
Kusat;la king Kaniska to the throne or when a nd where it came
to be first used are among the most difficult and unsolved
problems of Indian History and Chronology. ] n one of the
earliest inscriptions expressly dated in the Saka era, viz. th at of
Calukya king Mangalesvara in 500 saka (expired, i. e, 578 A.D. )
it. is cited as the era of the crowning of the Saka 1003 king.
Var:ihamihira speaks of it as Sakakala (in the Paiica-
siddhantika 100 1 and Brhat-salnhitii. 13.3) and as SakendrakAla

100 2 a. Vide I A. vol. 12 p 155 th e Dbioiki Gra nt of King Jaikadeva

of S au rii~tra of tbe Vikrama year 794 (737 A D . ) • ~?~~ ~

~~: "'~II <fiTm.n~ 31"~t ~lf'{"i~ ~1If.~'

GiOiQQj'O, &c.
1003. '~I",;aqfil(l ",q il>l~ "' t1 'm«.qfih'il.i\!i 4q ~ ~l"'I~~rn
&c . • io 1. A. \'01. III p. 305 aod VI. 363; Kielboro's list NO.3 in E I. VII.
Appendix,
1004. ~ ~<tiIM .. qlfq ~!I?JlI}l<ft I ~ ~ """~
~ .. f.lij*,IG II 4>111~'itIlJiil<ti1 1.8. which means ' deducting iaka year 427 (from
the !!aka year for which abargBJ?a is required) at the beglnnin!( of the bright
haH of caitra wbeo th e sun has balf set in Yavanapura at the begi nning of
Mon day. ' Since Variiba empl oys io bis several worles tbe word. ~,
~lih~ij<tiIM and ~1q;'l!t"'Ii?l as synonyms it CAO nOt be gainsaid tbat 10 him at
lea st Sakakala has some thing to do with &aka kings. One regret. that
(Continued on nut pille)
654 Hist ory of DharmaAaslra l Sec. II, Ch. xvin
or Sakabhiipakala (in Brhat-samhitii. VIII. 20-21). Utpala
( about 966 A. D. ) while commenting on Brhat-samhitii. (VIII.
20) remarks that the Saka era started from the time when the
Saka. king was killed by Vikramii.dHya. Its years b&gin with
Caitra for luni-solar reckoning and Mesa for solar reckoning.
Its years are generally expired ones and it begins with vernal
equinox of 78 A. D. The earliest inscription so far discovered
in which the aaka era is expressly mentioned is that of Cii.l.ukya
Vallabhesvara dated in 465 saka (i. e. 543 A. D. )1oos The ins-
criptions of the Ksatrapa kings that bear the number of the year
but no era are generally ascribed to the saka era, e. g. those of
Rudradaman in 52 and 72; of Rudrasimha in 103, of Rudrasena
in 122 ( Lader's list Nos. 965, 963, 962). Emperor Kaniska (of
the Kusa~a race) is also connacted by some with the foundation
of the saka era. 1OO6 One of the earliest date for the saka era in
literature is mentioned as saka 380 in the Jain work L oka-
V'ibbii.ga of Simhasiiri. 1007 As the Pancasiddhantika (XII. 2 )
t akes the 2nd year of the saka era as tIle epoch of the Pitamaha-
slddbanta, it is not t oo much to assume that the original
siddhanta of which a summary is given by Varii.hamihira was
composed according to him in the first quarter of the first

( Conti.wed from last page)

since independence some Indian scholars are bent upon not admitting
paten t fac ts of llistory and put forward novel theories. Th e verse ' 3f'~...
~~ , in note 746 does not stand by itself and bas to to be taken al on g with
the other verses in tbe same work (as in Dr. S. VIII. 20- 21) and ~1il;'''i4i tM
in t:f';lJtfi~liVi1i4il (vide note 1008); the vers e ' ~ &c. ' says that ola ka yearS
when added to by 2526 (or 2566) represent the time of Yudbi , tbira. The sug-
gest ion made by some that Sakakala simply means method of reckoning can Dot
be accepted in view of the words Sakendra kalll or Sakabb li pakala. One may
rai se a d ispu te as to wh ethe r tb e Saka era wasfotll1ded by a saka kitlg or
whether it was founded by at! Il1 diall kitlg who defeated the Sakas. But th e
central fact remains that Saka·kala ha s something to do with th e Sakas and
n Saka king.
100.5. Vi de E . I. vol. 27 pp. 4-8 . Vide E. I. vol. 16 p. 19 a t p. 23 for
Andhau Inscription of Rudradaman in tbe year 52' ~~ ~ If ~ '.
I
1006. Vide Prof. A. L . Basbam's interesting paper on ' Snka-K u~na'
In Dulletin of th e London scbool of Oriental aDd African Studies, vol. 15
pp. 80- 97 , where he brin gs togetherimuch that bas been written about SakaG,
Ku~ as , Vikramadltya &c.

1007. Vide Mysore Arch. Report for 1922 p. 23 quoted on p . .5 of E . I.

27 ~ il ~ !fiT.: ~: I ~~;nm;tt ( v. I. ~t) ~.
~II'.
 655

century of the saka era. 1~ In later medieval and modern times

( as also in the Jyotirvidabharana ) the saka era goes by the
name of Siilivahana. But the form Salivahana as that of the
era occurs only in the inscriptions of the 13th or 14th oentury
A. D. e. g. the two earliest inscriptions so far discovered men-
tioning the word Siiliviihana are those recorded in the plate of
Devagiri Yadava king Krsna da ted in Siliviihana era 1172 (1251
A. D. )1009 and the plate of Bukka I dated in saka 1276, ourrent
(1354 A. D. ). Vide No. 455 in Kielhorn's list in E. 1. VII. It is
possible that the name Sutavahana (mentioned in Harsa- oarita
as the composer of the Githusaptasat! ) was changed into
Siilavahana, then into Saliviibana a od this conjecture is support-
ed by the fact that in the Giith:i sa.ptasatl ( V. 67 ) king Si liiballa
( a Prakrit form of Si taviibana ) iil mentioned; ' only two k llow
bow to raise high distressed famil ies ( by slesa, the fam ily of
Aparpa ), viz. Siva beloved of the heart of Gaur! or the king
Saliibana (Siitaviihana ).' Vide C. H. C. Heport pp . :24 1-256 for
the saka. era an d Ludwig Bachhofer's paper on 'Greeks a nd
Sakas in India' in J . A. O. S. vol. 61 ( 1941 ) pp. 223-250, where
he attacks some of the downright an d very emphatic assertions
of Dr. W. W. Tarn in ' the Greeks in Ba.ctria and India. '
Another era, which is current even now in Kashmir, is the
Saptar~ iera, also called Lauk ika era. According to th e Haja-
tarangil}! tbe Luukika year 24 wail oqual to saku 1070
(expired ).HXl9 " J n the uso of that ora tho centuries are generally
omitted. It is a luni-solar era supposed to have begun in April
3076 B. C. on the first day of Caitra-sukla. Vide Cun nin gham 's
'Indian eras' pp. 6-17 and Stein's Introduction to translatio n of
the Rajataranginl pp. 58 ff. The Brhatsalnhita 1010 notes a
tradition that the Saptarsis (Ursa Major) occupy each naksatra
for a hundred years an d that they occup ied the constellation of
Magha when king Yudh i s ~h ira reigned. P robably this is the

1008. ~
<'1411'5.,"'1« II q~"",;m XII. 2.
~ .
... ~1~'l!ijiI M qiWl~1rlrq ~ltw/iol1 ¥(1 t'J'l'It JI~ ~ 1Q'l'It

1009. Vide Journal of O ri ental Research , Madras, vol. 17 pp. 92 -93

( Dr. Gai's paper),
1009 a. ~~.~ ~I!fI!fII?l~'" ~ I ~lflql .qt\t!t 1fT1t ~ qft-
~:" (IGlI1(ifI"'" 1.52 .

1010. ~1~""tjlti · "~1Jcl1l ~~~ ~ ~ i\ ~ ,"~I ~"T

13. 3--4 q. above i n note 746.
656 Hi.<:to111 of Dharmasasfra [Sec.li, Ch. XVIll

origin of the Kashmir era in cycles of one hundred years. For

Inscriptions dated in the Laukika era, vide Bhandarkar's list
No. 1431- 1443 in E. I. vol. 20 Appendix and No. 1444-45 for
Saptarsi era.
Several other eras sucb as tbe Vardbamana and Buddba-
nirval1a eras, Gupta, Cedi, Harsa, Laksamana-sena ( in Bengal),
Kollam or Parasurama era (prevelent in Malabar), most of
wbich were once in great vogue ( at least in civil life) but are
now practically unused, are passed over bere, as of only academic
interest in tbese days. lfor Vardbamana nirvana era, vide 1. A.
vol. 25 p. 346 where the year 2493 after the nirvana of Vardba-
mana is said to be equal t o Vikrama year 1888 and saka year
1752 ( 1830 A. D. ) and Buddba-nirvana era in JUAS for 1875 at
p. 358 ( a Ceylonese Inscription of Sahasa-malla's time about
1191 A. D. ), where mention is made that tbe king was crowned
1743 years, tbree months and 27 days after the 'lti1'l )a~1l of
Buddba. Great controversies have raged over the Gupta era
( wbioh Fleet holds began in 319 A. D.). There are some who
hold that it is really the Vikrama era ( J. 1. H. vol. 17 p. 293 ff
and J . 1. H. special number of Marcb and April 1941 pp. 71-84).
For Harsa era, vide E. 1. 19 p. 52 and Nos. 1385-1421 in
Bhandarkar's list in vol. 20 Appendix of E . 1. From Alberuni
(Sachau vol. II. p. 5) it appears that Harsa era started in 606 A.D.
There has been some connflict of views on this; vide JHQ vol. 27
pp. 321 ff, vol. 28 p. 280 ff (by R. C. Majumdar) and vol. 29 pp. 72-79
( Dr. D. C. Sirkar). The Kollam era is said to have started in
1176 B. C.
It has already been shown how h1 Vedic works the year was
denoted by several synonyms sucb as salTIVatsara, sami, varsa.
In the Narada-SalTIhiti 1011 it is said that there are nine kinds of

1011. II~ irt if~ '<f ~ ~ '<f ~r.f~ I '<l1r,r~!\f ~~T"ffl JIlOm~ ~
"'" 1~ 0: "'<f~ ... t nl'qlUS'li qill~: I itqi i'lji i'l~ lfirq. lf~~ etI'~: 11 ~
~l'Ilnl. 1-2. (Cbowkbamba S. Series). ~ (to be explained later) is
a day of Brahma (Sliryasiddh :;, nta I. 20 ) ; one buman year was supposed to
be a day of the gods (~'" ~~ ~"I"1It1(1 ~~: I it. 'III. III. 9. 22. 1); one
human month was held to be the a}lorut,.a of pitrs (l't'!I. I. 66). ~ is
~'" (m ixed ) because men employ four reckonings (mafia) . for differentpurpo-
ses as stated in tlie ~.~. J 30- 31 ( ~ ~8iil~;:l ~~~"1'~: II
~g;'ii~\I\"'* ~tu~'lT'" ~mW!i"'1Til. I ~t(IIij\~/ifiI~I1-
~ "m1lf"1~ 'tlf?!I;~~II). But the Rf.~. further on (1.32)
say. that computations about planets are to be made by buman reckonioi
(~m\~.;~).
 Nine kinds oj tillle reckoni"gs 657

reckonings of time, viz. Brihma ( of Brahm'~~), Daivn. ( of ilie

gods ), MAnusa. (human), pitrya ( of the Pitrs ), Saura, S:.ivana,
Candra, Naksatra and Barhaspatya, but that in ordinary wordly
matters only five of these are employed. The Ved:i nga-jyotisa
appears to refer to four when it says that in a !/ll!/(l ( of five years)
there are 61 sacana months, 6llunar months, 67 niksatra months.
Hemadri (on Kala, p. 9) dwells on only three of these year
reckonings, viz. candra, saura, and sivana, while Mid!uwa ( in
Kalanirl!-aya-k5.rikas 11-12 ) speaks uf two more, viz. N:i k~atra
and B5.rhaspatya.. The Vi~llUdharmottara speaks of four ( not
mentioning Birhaspatya). The three mentioned hy Hemidri
are thoEle most employed in religious and civil matters, and
dharruasastra works are specially concerned with them, while the
other two are rarely referred to in the latter. A c[mdra month lUU
is a time period from the end of one am'iv5.syi (New Moon) to
the next amavasya and twelve such months make the Mndra year
of 354 days. It is also called a lunation. The length of a c:-lndra
month varies from 29.246 to 29.817 duys owing to the eccentri-
city of the moon's orbit and other causes and its average period is
29.53059 days. A saura month is the time taken by the sun
to move through one sign of the zodiac; twelve such months COll-
stitute the solar year,1013 and the first day of a solar year is the

1012. ;mft~r ij ;n~1fTmi l:Io:IrT~ I lI'fi'lfmT~: ~IS1!ti~­

~'ill " ~imMr>l~q_ ~~ ~~ ~tr~ I l1,. m, I. 12-1 -: ~i'l ~7!(­
~ ~ ~I~ !I''ill ~'fimm..nrmt_ I f-!m~ ~om~i~(il~i-.fttur­
~ II ~ I, 20, 'fI"I~tuT 50. IH7-RR, Plll'!Nl'l~ I, 72. 1~-20 (q. hy f,
on !fiWl p. 10) and '3'<tf'?l on 'P7alIl'!!fi \·lli. 10 mention tile four reckonings
"ifPlf, ~h:, ~ and ;ry~" and their employment for certain purposes.
1013, The ~~...'fr.fq (which is in tlVO recensions, attached to Rgllerl.
and Yajurveda respectively) summarizes the se. eral itemR of the saura year
as follows :-~~ ~~: ~ ...."iltr~ I ;::om ~"'~ ~~r: ~gqvf
~" il~·~f"" lIerse 31 (Sham Shastri, ed.), The Vedanga-jyotha
holds that 366 days constitute a year. The modern Surya.-slddhanta
says that there are 365'258756 days in a year. The other siddh.ntaa slightly
vary from this, According to modern astronomy the year conaists
of 365'242196 days, Vide' Indi tn Culture' \·01 VIII. pp, 114-116
for a note on this (by N, C. Lahiri) and Preface p. VIII. and p, 240
of the (C, R, C. Report). For the length of jupiter's revolution
round the sun, vide' Frontiers of Astronomy' p, 47 by n. S. EvaDi.
The mean ing of the above verses is: a solar year con tain s 366 days, it bal
sl:l rtus (seasons) and two «yallas, twelve montbs; tbese mUltiplied five
tlm~s mike a yuga.' It does not profess to be a treatise on astronomy al tbeD
known. but its aim was a thoroughly practical One viz, to enable tbe Vedic
( Continued on flut pag. )
II. I)" 83
658 Hi st01'Y of Dha1'1naiaslra [Sec. II, Ch. XVDI

first day of the Saura month, Mesa. If the entry of the sun in-
to the sign is in the day time then that day is the first day of the
month. If the entry is in the night, the next day is the first
day of the month. The time of entry of the sun into a rasi differs
from almanac to almanac and the result is that the entry may be
before sunset in one almanac and after sunset in another .
Therefore, there may be the difference of one day as to the first
day of the month. Owing to the adoption of different ayanam-
sas and the difference in the length of the year, the Drk, Vakya
and SiddMnta almanacs may differ about the first day of the year,
about Pongal and other festivals. A Savana year is of 12
months of 30 days each, the day being counted from one sunrise
t o the next. A lliiksatra month is the time taken by the moon
t o pass through the 27 naksatras; the Biirhaspatya year is the
time taken by Jupiter to pass through one sign of the zodiac
( i. e. about 361 day s ). According to modern astronomy, Jupiter
takes 11. 86 years (for its revolution round the sun). All these
four or five divisions are not mention(:J d in early works and even
in later days all these four divisions do not appear to have
been fully utilised, though mentioned in astronomical and
dharmaMstra works. Kau~ilya provides that 1014 the month fOl
workmen is of thirty days and nights, the Saura month is one
half day larger i. e. (30 ~ days in a month), the lunar month a
half day less ( i. e. 2 9 ~ days ), the naksatra month is of '2 7 days,
the intercalary month is of 32 days ( or occurs in the 32nd
month? ), the month is of 3;:; days (for the wages ) of those who
tend horses and of 40 days for those who are keepers of elephants.
The month for workmen was of 30 days , but it need not have
coincided with Full Moon or New Moon, while lunar months
end with amiivasya or piiq1ima.. The Brahmasphu ~as iddhii.nta
quoted by Utpala on Brhat-samb itl1 II. 4 p. 40 provides that from
the saura reckoning one derives the extent of Yuga. the year,
Visuvat, Ayana, seasons, the increase and decrease in the length
of the day and night ; from the candra the details about tithis,

( Continu~d fro m ltut page)

priest havin g som e kno wledge of elementary arit hme tic but not knowing
astronomy to determine a req uired tithi (age of the moon) a nd the place
( nak~ tra) of the moon and the sun on a particular day in the yuga of
fiv e years.
1014. fictlI4itm:~: I~: ( ~:~: ?) I ~'JlPl(lml: I
ihliC'tIlfiloflll!lflmf: I '(TT~~~: I Q'~~: I ~1f('I"~"ltll'Ir: I
lM~ II. 20 p. 108. T he JitT~ 00 ~ 2 on q'f. IV. 2.21 mentions a
~ (month of hired service), which seems to be the lame as ~.
 What malla governs what purposes 659

lcara'IJas, intercalary month or k ,~ya month, all acts to be per-

formed at night; from siiunna reckoning sacrifices, the SUl 'e WaS
(the three soma libations ) the motions of planets, fasts,
impurities on birth and death, medical treatment, expiati ons
and other religious rites. Vide Vis r;JUdharmottara 1. 72. 26-27
for similar verses.
At present the year begin s either in caitra or k§.rtika in
different parts of India. But in ancient times it began in
different months in different countries a nd for different purposes.
Many Vedic 1015 passages show that the reckoning was p llll~ i­
manta, that the year began after the I"ull moon of Pb lilguna and
that Vasanta was the first season of the year. It is due to this
that Miidhava says in his Knla-n irnaya p. 63 ( Caloutta ed. )
that Sruti ( Veda) is in siste nt on the puroimAnta month
(llaurnamiisyantatve srutel;l katakso bhi.:1yiin) . The Sm. C.
( on sriiddha p. 377 ) notes t hat the (lllluniu reckoning is followed
in Deccan the ( Daksinii-pa tha ) a nd ptlTnimlin ta in North India
( Uttara-patha). Vide Munda khede plate of Sendraka Jayasakti
on 10th of Pbalguna dark half of year 602 (must be sake) for indi-
cating that in north Maharnstra there was amAnta reckoning then
( E. I. vol. 29 part V pp. 116-117). Tho VediingajyotisA 1016 says
that the first year of the cycle of five years began in Mligha-
sukla i. e. at the winter solstice. Alberuni ( Sachau II. pp. 8-9 )
mentions that the year began in Caitra, Bhli.drapada, Kllrtik:a,
Margaslre;a in different parts of India. Kautilya 1017 provided
that the year for work in the Government offi ce of Aocounts was
a. candra one a.nd end ed on t he Full Moon (Jf Aslidha. From
Vanaparva 1018 it appears tbat the year began in Caitra. It is
- -
101.5 . 0{ ~r : q,,-u.<lRiUl'flqUl<I , ~I ~ 7ifWlfl uRI: ~q ~ ~~ I
... ~~1il<l , tNI ~ lfmfl uf~ : ~~ ~ ""'!!"fI'
f!~ ~ ~~~1lT '
~ ~PlM'i{ , ~ . 111'1. I . 1. 2. 13; !l~ "I 1!"!It~!~ >m;n;!!'fl ~nfl
~{~ ~I em·
1ft. V. 1; ~Tl'II'~HqlqISqllfl <!iq • • ·1 II~"<'dqil ~ I
••• ~ 0{ <ft~~I~~1 ~~ ;;qmmfT~r'llt ~ ll1rT~ l{rm.
~ ... I ~"I'I<I".I. 19. 3; ~ <ft~~1 5llt 1fT ~«m-q -q~"'r ... I
'l{I~, ~~ Q'l'It~ qflJ!fll(dr"'flf ~ ~ ~U: I .. . ~
Ai!l(I'L'I'i"liI
11(~IMof" I~<lT cttm'
<11 0 4'1",,1.1110'1 V. 9. 7- 12. Vide~ . ~. VII. 4.8 for
aimilar words. For ~ vide p. 492 and note. 716-7 17 above.
1016. "'fEfO ... ~ ~ II ~ 1. 5 q. above.
1017. Am<i "ifiJ:q"l~r'GltiI(I'!f1Urt 'tl4""<fl ( ; I lI'JI'T1II'l~'1Il.'; ~ III
~1~~~'31..rortlll. 6 p. 63.
1018. ¥tUr sit II ~ ~ ~ ~: I ~1lT ... ~it ~ "iT"~: I
~~ ~~~~"1~"~1 ~~ : ~1ffuTt ~~:"
11m 130. 14-1 6 .
660 History 0/ DharmaS'a8tm l Sec. II, Ch. xvm
possible to suggest that the year began with Margas1rfja because
Anusiisana (1 06. 17-30) deals with the results of practising
e/ca1J1wkla n alll from MiirgaSJrsa to Kartika. The Krtya-
ratnakara (p. 452) quoting Brahmapurana says that the year
began with the 7JTIl 1il,arl of Margasirsa in Krtayuga. From
(tIta X. 35 (miisi nam margas!rsoham) it doel> not, I humby
think, follow that M argas irsa was the first month of the year, since
most of the vibhiitis with which Lord Kr$I;la identifies himself
are the best in that particular category and as even among PaI;l~a­
vas Arjuna is mentioned, not as first but as the best. Only a few
such as o1c !?hara or Dvandva are the first of their respective
categories. The Varsakriya-kaumud! and N irl!ayasindhu p. 79 say
that the Brahmapurana1019 generally accepts the piirrJ imanta recko-
ning and that it (N. S.) would deal with tithi-nirnaya by generally
following Brahmapurulla. The Bhavisyapurana when speaking
of H olika festival on Phalguna l"ull Moon states that it was the
end of Phalguna (Uttara-parva 132. 1). Matsya 159. 3-6 say that
Skanda and Visakha are said to have been horn on the 15th of
dark balf of caitra in a clump of reeds and it is added that the
two were made into one by Indra on the 5th of the bright half of
caitra and on 6th crowned as commander. It follows that
Matsya thinks the month to bave been piirl!imiinta.

Something must be said about the 60 year cycle called

Barhaspatya (Jovian ). The Vi!lIlU-dharmottaral020 says that the
first year called Prabhava of the sixty year cyole began on
Maghasukla when the sun and the moon occupied the nak!latra
Dhanistha and were in conjunction with Jupiter. In Brhat-
saJrlhita 8. 27-52 the p /ialas of the 60 years from Prabhava to
Ksaya are described, as also in AgnipuriiDa chap. 139, while
the Vie;l!udharmottara I. 82. 9 fI and Bhavisya quoted in
Jyotistattva pp. 692-697 enumerate all the 60 by name with
their phrzias. Each year of the Barhaspatya cyole has the word
, Sariwatsara ' adde d to it. As ?Ju ga means five years, the sixty
saliwatsaras of Jupiter are twelve times five and are so described
in B~. S. 8. 23- 26 and in Vi$I;ludharmottara 1. 92. 9 and later
writers suppose that the sariwatsaras are affiliated to the luna.r

101 9. q1ufillt'H:MI~'Z\i!I ~nl1' rn~ ~~ I ... ~. "".

p. '199.

1020. ~J1J "<I~ ~'ll ~ 'tIqf ~ ~~

lITlIllW
~: I fll;~\llifu'( 1. 82 . 8; S{m
'qr.m~) ~ 'tIqf ~ ~: I
tre"lltCf'11i: 11'11<1': ~ 0fTr.tT ~a ~«r.frGf: II ~~ 8. 27.
 J avian years 661
year alone 1021 • In the Deccan now ( and in older times also) it
appears that at the beginning of each year the J ov ian llalUe is
changed. But in northern India Vijaya is the first year instead
of P rabhava. The length of Jupi ter's year is 361. ~)26 i days
and is shorter than the sidereal year by 4. 23 days. The result
is that in 85 sidereal years there are 83 J ovian (or sariwatsara )
years and therefore there is the suppression (ksaya) of one year
after 85 years (which is done only in Northern India).
The Jovian cycle must be an ancient one: somo PuriiI:las
and Varahamihira speak of it as n.n estahlished institution.
Vide Cunningham's 'eras' pp.11-25 (60 year cyclo) and pp. 26- 30
(12 year cycle ), Warren's ' Kalasankalita ' (pp. 199-216 ), V. B.
Ke tkar's work on 'Indian and fure ign chronolugy' pp. 73-82,
1 A. vol. 18 pp. 193-209 (Kielhorn ) an d pp. 221-224 ( ]fleet )
and Gupta Inscriptions, Introduction pp. 169- 176 ( a note on 12
year cycle and 60 year cycle of Jupiter by 8h. B. Dikshit) for
origin and inform ation about the Barhaspatya cycle a nd tables.
In Malabar and Travancoro the Jovian cycle is of twelve years,
but it is passed over here for reasons of space.
The names of the 60 Bi rhaspatya years are (with !Jome
differences such as that Br. S. 8. 35 puts Nata after Subbli.nu
and then brings in Tarann. and omits Piirthiva ) :
1. Prabhava 116. Citrabhiinu 31. Hemalam- 46. Paridhiivin
bin
2. Vibhava 17. Subhiinu 32. Vilambin 47. Prrunadin
3. SUk}a j18. Taral1a 33. Viknrin 48. Ananda
4. Pramoda !19. Piirtbiva 34. Sarvnrin 49. Rllksasa
( or Sar)
5. Prajapati 20. Vyaya 35. Playa 150. Anala
6. Angiras 21. Sarvajit 36. Subbakrt 51. Pingala
7. Srimukha 22. Sarvadharin'37. Sobbakrt 52. F:a.layukta
I ( Sobhana ) .
8. Bhava 23. Virodhin 138. Krodhin 53. Slddh:i rtha
9. Yuvan 24. Vikrti 39 . Visvlivasu 1 5~. Raudra .
10. Dhatr 25. KhaTa 40. Parabhava 15;>. Durmatl
11. Isvara 26. Nandana 41. P lavanga 56. Dundubhi
12. Bahu- 27. Vijaya 42. Kllaka 57 . Rudhirodg!i.-
~ dhanya I rin
13. Pramiithin 28. Jaya 43. Saumya 58. Raku ksa
14. Vikrama 29. Manmatha 44. SAdharana 59. Krodhana
15. Vr!1an 30. Durmukha 145. Virodha.lqt ,60. K!1aya
 History of Dharma8astra [Sec. n, Ch. xvnl
The names of the Barhaspatya years OCcur rather early in
Inscriptions. Among the earliest references are two, one to
Siddhartha-sariwatsara in the 5th year of the reign of the
Calukya king Mangalese. ( I. A, 19 p. 1 if at p. 18) and the other
is to Saumya- samvatsara in the Alas plate of Ra~ trakuta king
Govinda in Salce 692 ( E. I. vol. VI p. 209 ). How the samvatsara
names were supposed to indicate different consequences for the
years concerned can be illustrated by citing two verses from the
Brhatsamhita ( 8. 28-29 ) , when the samvatsara Prabhava starts
there are drought, strong winds and destruction by fire and also
other calamities ' (like excessive rain, locusts &c.); there are
diseases due to phlegm, but still people are not distressed.' The
consequences in the next four samvatsaras are auspicious, viz.
the king rules over a kingdom which is full of paddy, sugarcane
and barley and other crops, which is free from dangers, in which
there are no hatreds, in which the people are joyous and free
from the evil results of kaliyuga (such as arlha1'lna, poverty,
accidental deaths &c. ).
The subject of months is one of the most complicated.
Indians followed the luni-solar calendar from very ancient
times like the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Jews and the Chinese.
All had therefore to resort to the device of intercalary months
( adhika-masa or malamasa ). But Indians had rarely a ksaya
month also which is absent in the systems of the other peoples.
This difference arose owing to the different ways of the calcula-
tions of the motions . and positions of the sun and moon, in
which I do not propose to enter for reasons already stated. But
a few words to indicate how an additional month arises may be
said here. The solar year exceeds tl.le lunRr year by a little
over eleven tithis. This excess amounts to one lunar month in
about 32 solar months. The Babylonians had a cycle of 19 solar
years in which there were 7 intercalary months (i. e. in all 235
lunar months. ) The same cycle was called Metonic cycle after
Meton, an Athenian, who introduced it in Greece. This cycle
is the foundation of the Jewish and Christian calendars, especi-
o.lly so far as Easter is concerned. From the Vedii.nga-Jyoti~a 1022
it appears that in a cycle of five years there were two intercalary

1022. " " ~ ~ ~ ~ I <l"l\<1'!lQ'.t1ilit ;n~~ ~­

~ II <l'i!J"~q,,... <i'I~"
verse 35 (ed. by Sudhakar Dwivedi, Prabhakarl
Press, Benares, 1906.); ~~ I ~~: ~
q~ .. qf~II ~ II. 20 p. 109, quoted in ~ p. 113 (rom
~:~.
 Months 663
months, one being a 2nd A~ii~ba at the end of 2~ years and tobe
other a second Pau\?a at the end of the YlLyU of five years.
Kau~ilya's Arthasastra merely echoes this. The PitAmaha-
siddhanta provided that an intercalary month was to be added
after thirty months. 10n In the Vira~aparva 1024 it is said that the
period of 13 years (1 2 years in exile and one year incog lil to )
was more than completed by the PaI;l~avas if the candra recko-
ning were followed, as two months were to be added in fiv e
years. The purii.~ as and other works give varying periods after
which an intercalary month occurs. A few examples may be
cited. Vi~ IJudharmottara 1025 states that the solar year has
eleven days more than the lunar one and that after two years
eight months, sixteen days and four ghatls a month has to be
added. This is not to be taken literally. otherwise it would have
to be held that after four gha~ ikas on 2nd tithi of the dark half
of a month an intercalary mon th has to be added. AU that the
passage of the Purana does is to indicate the number of days
in the lunar reckoning after wh ich an addit ional month is
possible. Similarly. a passage of the Kiithakagrhya 1016 says that
in the lunar month in whi ch there is no sali!,rcml j or there are
two sankrantis a month is added after thirty months have ex-
pired from a previous intercalary month. This too indicates
only a possibility and not a certainty. The Nirnayli.mrta 1077
declared that a month is added between thirty an d thirtysi
months. This too is only approximate. A more defin ite rule is
that the lunar month in which no sa nkranti occurs is called
adhika ( intercalary) and bears the same name as that of the
---------------------------------------------
1023. liii~~r"'l: Q' if Tf ~r~ mrni!~ rf.l I ~m~~
~ ij" Q'~~ XII . 1.
1024 . Q'~ Q'ifi'l ~ i ) JI~~: I ~l"liN!f;T JlmT: Q''iII ~ 1Illr"
~: I ~~i ~Ti\ iI m
Jlfit: " iii~lm 52. 3- 4.
1025. ~1·~t!'!H~Hql.iI JlTol", ~"' i} I ~fitR~ ~ ~'f "
~ ~ ~,,~ ~ I ~~ 1l17iI i} <ftJl~ I ~~lfil
sO;,;: !fill'l1~ "fief:IIl~ I . 72 . 21-23 q. by ~ ( QiTi'S pp. 7.7-28 ) ;
a similar verse is quoted fro m !fimf~ by ~n1f 00 QiTi'S p . 27 Il od by
~. (00 IMI. p . 371 )' 1Tffrn~;i14J11(H1! ~: q~'I1T I ~~lfiTIlt ~
tm(1fI~: I'.
1026. m q<{ ~~ I 'q~ 'f ~rii!t : ~~ 'fI ' ~ :
~ ~~ ~ ~ lt~ I ... " ';l ~r'ihlr~ iI II il\v~ I ~ . p • .52 1
( ~qffi'cfTtvrn ) , ~lt 00 (QiTi'S p . 28) refer s to it a Dd ~"';(. (00 ~ p. 370)
quotes it . ~srotil~ p. 140 reads' RjvT ;m:r: ~ 'lIl..mnr: " ,

1027. il~T'i,-;fTOlll~'{\~ ~~ 'lf1il~ mm ~ ~. 'qJf ,~

f.!tUr.II'lt;);j; f.If~ , ~~. p . 521 (~o ).
66( History of Dha1'masilstra l Sec, II, Ch. XVllI
next lunar month which is called suddli'l or mjlL or prilkrtu to
distinguish it from the intercalary month or if in one solar
month two am avasyas 1028 end .then there is an adhikamasa or
malam asa, '1 hat lun ar month in which two sa nkr:i ntis OCCUr
gets two names of wbich the firet is retain ed a nd the second is
suppressed (i. e, this second becomes a k~alj(L masa ), This
means that a ksaya masa occurs when there are t wo sankrilntis
in a mon th, That lunar month in which the Bun enters Me~a
sign is called Caitra, t hat in which he en ters Vrsabha is called
Vaisakha and so on, 1029
One or two points more about (llll/ilea an d ' '- i/;Ilja months
lll ay be mentioned. The seven months from Phillguna to
Asvina can become only a '/Iul.-a but never kS'IY'I. Kiirtika
and Miirgaslrsa may become both Adhika and 1(5aya, but
rarely; Mti gha can become adbika but it has never been
adhika or ksaya ( vide Ketkar's work p. 40). But the
Suddhikaumudl says that Magha was a ksaya month in sak e
1397 ; 103u and the Malamasat attva quotes a text to the effect
that Magha may be an intercalary month, but Pausa never.
About Pau ~a, Mr. V. B. Ketkar (in 'Indian and foreign
chronology' p. 40) says that Pausa has almost no chance of
becoming adhi ka , but has greater chance of becoming k ,~aya
than M argaslr~a' (but see a little below ). A ksaya month is
generally preceded and followed, though not immediately, by
an adhika month, so that there are two adhika mon ths when
a kl'!aya month occurs in some years. The Siddhanta, siroma1.1i
sta.tes that one out of the three months only viz. Kartika.,
Margaslrl'!a and Pausa can be ksayamiis8 and th at when a ksaya

102 8. t!<fiuffiR'tl~ ~~ ""fI ~ali lliIi'{. I ~llqEli.-qrn;ll'tl!'~ Clqt ~r~;:m:rEli: 11

lffl quot ed by ~ ~rfit 0 0 Elir~ p. 36; 'fI'~ll"lr'fi m p. 140 , which expla ins ~ a s
~T""i[<I ::J:. j ~~T~$Ntmr: ~: ~~ l~-..m~'I1m: l\1ll'1~: 1liGrR«t. I
Ill'll': m!fi"~'!if1t iW'lffl: ~ll" "'t;'1 ~1'I\-q$t'UI't'~tt ~ II ~-;1'l~rnt6T (tfiPtf<lrif
iI'b<rnrfUF.fiR verse 6) q . b y ~"'jf on EIi'~ p. 20, ~. !fil. p. 272 (r ead s WlIql),
f.t. f{{. p 5, 'fI' ~~ p. 1 42 ( ex plains ,~ : ~i!:I'tT";fl'rn:) . Vide ~~q­
Mm ver bC 23 p . 28 ' am~"''{Ift'fl'ii' rnt ~«'lfil'[: ~,~q U'l1Tilh:rr ~ I ~'lfil't: ffi-
~~ii:~ll':'fI'~~:""
1029. mrr,~"";'a: m~ '1'!if ~ I t!<i ~ Il"t~+i"'t~"'"
~~a q, by §l~~5<f' p . 255 , 'fI'~Il<nm 141 (explains '§l~~m~f1)OT
'IIltltft ii' it ~ ;'!l'5l'1t\1t ' <ltQlfj C!Tli'{.)j ~ is explai ned as ~ ~ ~ ~N
Sf;{ ~t~~ 1 1Ii~~ WiF~~"
1030.<filffl~it ~n; ~;f ~!f(ll'iil'!fi~~~~ I'I'~ Itltl ·
1'I'~iJ. I §l. ~. p . 272 . 'CWr-rt ~ SI'f1it;n~ ';f ~ I ;$f'lfi'lf
lllffit Of 00ll' !fii{~ II Of~'It ~I'5Rt\1 (tf 1( I ' ilal'll~i1"" p. 774 .
 Adhikamasa and Kll(lyamliw:z

mAs a occurs t her e is an adhikamasa before and after it within

three mont hs ( Grabagan ita, Madhyamiidhikii ra, verse 6,
expla na tion). T he curious r eader may consult pp . :2 ~6 - 251 of
the C. R. C. Report for light on the intercalary month s The
Siddh!lnta-s iromanjl031 mentions some saka years in which
k ~aya-miisa occurred or wuuld occur, viz . in saka year 974
( t- xpired) occurred a ksaya month and a k ayu month will occur
ill saka 111 5, aaka 1256, saka 1378 and a ksa Yfi 11l011Lh generally
occurs after 141 years and r a rely in 19 yeMS. In No. 1387 in
the list of lnscriptions by D. R. Bhanda rkar th ere is a r eference
to the 2nd tithi of the bright half of the fi r8L' )'2 Pau ~a ( dated
samvat 3~, probably uf Har ~a era); for a rt f eronca to 2nd
A~iiJba see Sohawal pl ate uf Saryan:i. tha in year ]91 (probably
Gupta) in E. 1. vol. 19 at p. 130; for 2nd Pau sa .Jesnr plnte of
SiJiiditya in :357 Yalabhi era in E. 1. \'01 ~2 p. 120 lIlay be seen.

The rules about w llat religious acti! should be dune or not

dune in an intercalary month will be doalt with u. little later.
The Santipar va refers to tho ksaya of salin'tltsaras, month~,
paksa s and divasus ( tithis )10:3. When thore is a ksaY8Ill ii,a. tho
adbikamasa before it is like all ordin ,ry m~ ~as 1. e t uera is no
proh ibition of doin g roligi ous acls ill it, but the adhikamn.a that
fullows a ksayamiisa is the one tb ut is dud r Ld un su itablo for
r eligious rites. AdhikRm ~ sa and Ie :lyall1:lsa l11:ly Le illustrated
by one example fur end) , Suppo;:;o tbat t he ro was Mtl : u
~anleriill ti on Caitra amiivii s) ii , t r:uL from t oo first tithi fullow iug
Lhe amiiviisyii to tho next am ii\'':l~\:l (whi(:h is Vai ':Lk ha ) theru

1 031. IT~ :,i\.... ~"l .:~;1.~ ~r"'1.fir 'I, (';l..s)~I'\Re"'''Q ''H rl r~'1'l: I rc."tllll'l.i'*
~'Ur J.1r .... ~I.:,'4 ~~~.JI+! : lI,q !lif?T1.r1l~'IQ !1 Iff r~ . In 7TM>!, ;n-.mrrll1f;"
verse 7) q. by ,i{. m. 10, ~1'!1I!1''fiT~ P 142.

1032, i'I1n'iit~~ ~N<f~ 'III III <mf: J.1i-Q-it "fl~: I ..l!lm. ~ ~P.l. iiiiiit!(s{\l -
1'!1~'lI : I q. by t"Iffi~. p. 52 2. Th is \'erse is quntcd by J!apudevasblhtn
(editor of ~r<1I'mirJ1fUr p , 49 note) as flom 1fJlr"li;'T;1I'. The 4th
p:ida lays down tbat if tbere are two ~ankriin tis in on c lunar month an inter'
Lalary month is required and tbat the intercalary is tb" Ja tt~r of the two .
There were two methods of namin,:: adlll Q:~"''l ; one 1'. as tv bil'C to tbe adhimisa
l he name of the next follo \ling month. the second li as to hi Ie to an adJ.im III
tbe name of the precedin g month . in these days it " the lir>t melhod that II
blloweu. The 1.im'l~rftq;T 18 Ga\,' • -:;mjrr~>irS~IIimI : '"~fit
'lfl,,~lI' ; ~. un lfilM p. 32 sa:'s ''''NJ1rmtir'"''l''lli;1,j''ll'~'~~r' ' Vide
App. to E. 1. vol. XIX-XXllI [or first l'au," .

1033 ~ ~~ ~ l'lmr-n "i'f ~~ INI I rt~lII'ti INT i:".T ~ •

~ IItfll R
'V qpif~ll ~ II<1mlm!VT It mmr 301 . 46-H
.. D.-14
 .History of Dharmasastra ( Seo . II. Ch. XVIII

ill no sankr!l.nti and tuen Vr~abha sankranti occurs on thl:) 1st

tilhi thereafter; the month that had no sankranti would l:.a
adhilca Vai3akha and the monlh on which Vqabha sankr5. !lti
takes place would b J t he suddba ( prop"r ) Vai sJ. k ba . Now a s t~
ktlaya miis.'l; supPJ~ e tb:lt ttere is K a nyii sank riinti on Bhadra ·
p3.da ama vilsya , t han thare is ac1lt ika Asvin a fullowed by
Suddha Asv ina., o n the first Util i vf \V Jkh there is T ula
sankrr nti, lhen on Ka rtik a-b kla 1st there is Vrscika sa nkrant i,
t han on ~: ar:; a31 r _ a 8ukb. pl'ati pad t bere is Dha1llts sankriin ti
and in the same manto on amaviisya t here is Ma kara sankral1ti.
Then that month Lav i l1g two s ~l nkralJtis (Dbanus an d Makara )
would be ca ll ed ksaY; lmasa an d so th ere would be one m on th
Pau ~a (cons tituted by two months , Miirg b lr~ a and Pau ~ a J.
Then on Magha ama'.'iisya th er e is KUl1lb~1 a sankrii nti, the n
Pbiilgun a would be adhika lIIu.· a and th ere would be Mlna-
saokran ti on suddha Ph.:ilgu na imkb pratipad. Thus in the y ear
in which t here is a k ~aya !lla s3 . there are sUll 13 months and tl lO
days of the y ear amount to some day s less t ban 390.

The four kin ds of m oniho, Oa ndra, Saura , Si vana and

Nak: alra 1034 have a lr2ady been J C::icrl bed (p. G57) when speaking
of the Oalldra and othEl!' years. As ob,;erved l,y the KrtyaraLna-
kara l p. 80 ) t he nalqCltra. m ont.h is not required in Dharma-
sAslra, but is kn own only in J y(JtjS:l-~iislr;l. Pafica ng as a r"
generally prepared for each y ear They cunt::du separa te I. J; a
pa.ges fur t he t wo pak ·a:! ( forlnig:.t:3 ) of oach of the iwdve
months ( or 13 mon ths if t hlro Lo un intorcalary mon th) . The
five import J nt part,; uf l11" IlldiJ.ll c,den da r ure1.a, /tI/,i , w<H:: k day,
nakllutra, Y0,;u '11)(1 ka/'tl!!ll. Tlle M ujlurtadarsana 1030 says th a t

1034. l1mno; ~("<I: u.~'kl;:rr~ i1(~T:J 1;,<:: 1<{ I q~{;if: 'liUrl1l;~1 QI :;n~t~~"1
f'i!l~'I111!: I ' ''~fl~1 ~ r~ : ~i<FHll ll~ ,,<ilid,~·~.)q, : II q;ml~ofl:l;nt~'ffi 16 - 17 ;
~t'l1tGlqQV Ofl~ e'll:I 'll :
1034a. T he a.ccompanyin g print ed page is from tht: reform ed calendar
pre par ed acco rding to t he KaranaknlpJ.l at:i and used by some people in Mahs-
ri~tra . It may be compJ.reJ with an extrac t of one fortnight from a paiicii ilga
a3 years earlier th J.n th e on e lor i " ke 1878. It will be found that the fun da-
men tal cont ents arc t he same in botu.

1035 . <I ~ ,'rl;>"<I~nl'lfTrm:lTr-r1 Q'lfTW'r;,,: qllff;rt Rolli lliC'fT " CF<f:qnfl

m~I~;qti"lr lIf~: !g,I ~(t'i~l'; i;ilt-;~llq:;;f<""~r~qf~j&!,,,~;y ~ ~;~t­
~, !.fi1(>;lifflQ' p. 33 1 .

1036 "~'miffUll; ~n';t ~)JIl: q~'1~ ~~ q;:~1\ I mnl'fi!I<l:I'

~"" 'ITir!I;fj~~l1'kf;il ~f",~' ~~ ~~: 115~<ll. 44.
 Fire ife 18 in a pa11c(j,iga

it may have six parts if the signs of the zodiac are givon nnd
seven if the posi tion s of the phmts DTa mention ed. \~li r6
( weekday) is the period of time bet"'ee n nnf' FU t.ri se and the
next and not mu ch will hay\' tn he said about it excf' pt abr ut the
origin of week da ys, A gn:,t :",!l hIs :1 1rcH dy h('( n !"u id ahout
titbis an o no.ks:.lt n s, What r lll.l i:·s to he F~tid ahout th ( ~e ,
if at all, and the treatment nf Yt1ra :lnd K il r 11 a will be drHl t
with later on. \Ve 111u"t T02Y,r t tn t il:) tOl'i ,f nak5ntras.
The nam es of th l' twe l '9 5)lar mont I s dj,..trihutcd two oueh
among six seasons uro very aTlciu, t. T11('y OC('ur in t he
Taittiriya-<alilliFll V 3 11.1.\ ·c~ .i:-i l '1 ,~ j , :lwyaro Mll.dbu ,
Miidhava, 5u Lra, Sud, N"J,lw~, ?\,dl! :l'Y:l, I 1, l',jll ~ub !lQ ,
Sabasya, Tapl.ls o'1d T ~lpa' Y :1' "I. 1n t ! 0 1 r ']lIl1:lllU:-i we ID eet
\\'ith month ", (lunar ) I~' '!1 >[1 f, r 'll 11 :' k aIr \~ r: i3 L'I tT, f" re tblt
s()me works Rpeak of rll" l fil' ,~, n~ 1 as of t 10 kin's , yjl\. Saura
a nd Cii ndra. 1'110 fOTlllc" ]I " ill ri !H r witll )\1 narns i or Meo' a-
r a~l , while the btler ~l r J l' :,llc' ( .Ii 1'\ Il lId Ull) r c!'\t.1J\~ The nHme
(If the nak sa tn i ~ Oftfll II rll ,Ii ILIo a del i\'uti\'t, aLd juined
tu th e word l'clU rlHU11flsl ,I'c, r , I II a~:.t nr An :i \, a"J ti and somotim es
the names of the mout bs such I'S 1'h:lI;;uTl<l. nn d Cll itrJ OCCllr
in the Brii hm ana.s (v ida nute 1015 aUO\'e ,10 10
PiiI;lini derh es tbo nallllS (A t:',> !l10liU1S liko ('uitra from
P aurDamas! I:l nd exr rLssly nU I'1, - tlw Agr..lhiiyal. l ( IV. 2. 22),
l:'bii.lgUlll, SravaI!ti, K iid.ikl ;l.ld C ,iLrl \ 1'-,2 2 i), • l'aurn am 81 .
itself is deri ved from P ur al1l:i~~l I y tile \'u rli kn ~ on P tln ini
l V. 2. 35. T ho Full Muoll Ut ili \\,~li0h has l'u;:y a nak oat ra iR
C'tl llt d P .llLl bv the siltras ( P ii n lY, 2. 3 d nd )\-.2 21). Thus
t here were thre e ;;t ages i fir st th l) ::. 7 n Jk :a tras W l.! r cl distingu ished
an d named in the very anc ien t Vodic sall,b ilus, th( n the Full
Moon day was oall ed Cs itrl P uu rnamiis! (an d so ( n) beoal1se
on t hat titbi tho Ml.on w a~ i n (;,l r! n ~j k ~al ra and so on; then

103 7. E! 1'!!~raT (c hap , 50, \'cr'C :02 ) enumerates t hese twelve months ,
The grbyas:,t ras employ th e Slur:! month names; \'ide p , 610 abo \'e about t be
months for marriage , They occu r in fn r,criptio ns a l~o as the month' Sahasya '
IInd'Tapasya' in the ilIandasor I nscrip'i on~ of 493 and 529 of the iQ.!II\·a era
( Gnpta Inscriptions p, 79 If ).

1038. ~"il i1lf "fiTif(; ~~lilI "frT,f :f, T; I ~"'rv( Wu 1'I~rvl ~ ..

ficwr: II ifil <'lf.l uiqifiIR~ IS,

1039 , ~Uf ~ : ~: I 1fT. IV, 2, 3 : mUm'qluflfflftilt I Ifl. IV. 2. 21 :

tuf~ , mifi 2 on 1fT. IV. 2. 35, The ~ explains' i,vfRTffi ~S ·
~m ~ fiiN:I.
 History of Dharmasasfra [Sec , II, Ch. XVlll

th e months were oalled Caitra, Vaisakha &c. because they had

Caltrt or Vaisiikhl Paurl!amasi in it. All thi~ occurred long
before P an ini. L ater the saura names Madhu , Madhava &c.
came to he ind entified with lunar months Caitra, V ai ~akha &c.
and becam e svnonyms. When this occurred it ii:l diffi cu lt to say.
But it is mu ch older than the Christian era. It mu st be long
before Kalidasa , who in his Meghaduta first speak::) of Asadha
and then refers to the next month Srav81!a as Nabhas . Often
on the Full Moon day tho M oon might not actually be in or
ver y near Citra or SravaJ;l a pak!?atra but that did not matter;
tho month would still be called Caitra or Sravan a as the caSEl
ma,y be.l " 4~

It has already been shown that in ancient Bra hma l?a time~
the month s en d'Jd with the Full Moon (i. e, were p urnimanta ).
When foreig ners like Kani~ ka and Huviska ruled over Northern
India they struck to tbe P im ;dmlinLa Indian months ill their
recordR, though here and there they employ Macedolli a n m onth
nam es. For example, the Greek month Gurpp iya i" u sed in
Huviska 's reign (28th year ) in the Mathura Bra h m! In , cription
and the Greek month 10 U Arlemisios also occurs. In the Zeda
In scription the month must be held to be pflTnima nta as the
nak ~ atra Uttarliphalgunl is there sa id to h3.v e (. c(;t.l.rred on the
20th day of Asa~ha.l01 2 The T ekkali plates of Develldravarma n
record a gra nt on the occ asion of a lunar eclips e o n the 30th day
of M!gh a. 10H Similarly, in the Lodhia plates of Sivaguptl\

I 040 . 1'll!fT~~ ~R<'I~ lj[ lit ~ : 1I. iiit I 'if17ifl'ln:IH'ITI~;cn'·~hm.H irl"~

~1l"I: II ~ til tTl qlufm>fi ~l ~r ~.tIl~~1 ~'l<'lr 1 t<i'GlRll~" 't(,'tr.! "~~~lI ""
f.ToTtT: II q , by 'l'~TI' on mrrn\tlfa'S! 16. J , who.cx pl ain s '~'.f m~;) ~R tTl
Wlfl.m'lfl 1'l1f>~ ,iV!fl'lit lfTr~ q,~m') ~r >j;f.orl >j;fllfoTlm 'if~tffll lOllfUlllTtRa
It!I1I m Ifll{i\" , ~I r. Tarake ~ \'ara B hat lnch"ryn In his paper on • History
of anci ent Indi an Astro nom y ' in J. of Ga ngana tha J hn Hesenrch Institute,
vol. XI - XII ( 19.53-55 ) a t P. 17 "luoles as from 3m~ffilf the \'erse • 1111'q~'ifi1
~~ ij ~ mil ;rf1';;r ~ ttillfr R1'flWr>.if~Cfirq~llli~ II '. It appears
l'Im-
tbat 1Ii'~l lfr does not accept thi s verse as the ori gin al verse of Amara, but
only as a variant read in g. Mr , Bhattacharya scems to be unaware of tbis.
The ~rSlf on 1lf~Cfi 5 on 1f1 IV. 2, 3 Sl\ys ' ~G1ffi;fl~ "'~I~ ,""m ~
i"itorrf.l ;''lrf~itiit I ,
1041. Vi de E . I . "01. n p. 56 a l p. 60 for lh e fi rst an d C. 1. 1. vol. II
p. 170 for the second writ len R' ' Artham isiya ' on th e \Vardak vase of the
year .51.
1042, E . 1. \'01 . 19 p. 1 at p. 15 = C . 1. I . "01. II. p. 145 'Sam 10 1
Aibadasa Masasa 20, Uttaraphal gul,le ..
1043 . I. H Q., vol. Xl p. 300 at 302 ,
 669
B~llirjuna of Kos ala ( i. e. Chhattisgarh region) publishecl in E.l.
'01. 27 p. 319 the date Sambatsare sapta pai'icasattame K~rtika­
I

pornamasyam ankEna s:uiwat 57 , KarLika-din8 30' (p. 325)

shows that the m onth was purnimanta. Tho Rujatarangi n! 10'\1
!lays that king Hariraja came to t t~ o throne at the bfg inning of
Asadba in the 4th year ( of t ll fl Lallkika er a) , who ruled only
fer twenty-two days arJd died on f<tb of the brigl:t half of Sllr!
( i e. Asadha) and thert:by shows that the month was pur~iml! nta
in Kashmir then as now.

T hough inscriptio s before the Christian era rarely

mentioned the names of months (Fuch I\!! Kiirtika 14th in the
K h aro s~hl Inscription of tl'e Greek king Mcnander . IJl5 2nd
(; €'ntury B. C. ), tho usu al modo is to mention the rtu (s ason).
t b en the num ber of tbe month (and not nan]()) in t he S(lsso n and
then divo.sa, e. g. vide tbe seve n inscriptions from 1~16 Matbur
~lI d the Sarnath Inscription of Mab ii r ja Kanisk a. 1017 In BOrn E'
i I1Rcriptions only the rl u ( season ), the num bl'r of t he pak: a and
t he day occur; vide Niigarjunikonda 10.S Ins. (3rd century A. D. ).
the Omgudu grant of Vijayaskundllyarm a n (E. 1. 15 p. 25 ::
, Hemant apakse trt \ye trayod asyiirn '), t ho Naga image ln9. 01
K:ln iska's time ( E. 1. 17. p. 11 ) in sn. ( Smiwu t ) 8, grl. 4, di
(divasa ) 5. Vide also Ludu 's li st No. \J ~2 nn d No .1 ~():3 (t he latt ~ r
of Ma~hariput a Purisaollta, samvacliharfl 20 , VUl:'iipakltam 8.
divasam 10). Sometimes the n ~ (,nth is melJ tiOl'C d Lui no pakf' !l
an d the days are counted ccntinl1 0tlsly from 1 to 30, e. g . Khoh
plat es of Maharaja J ayanal ha (in y eu r 177 and 22n d day of
Caitra) and Khoh plate of Sar,aniit ha in year 193 month Caitru
day 10th without the mentLm of t he fOl ln igh t ("idc Gupta
Inscriptions pp 121 nnel 125 ), E. 1. vol. 20 p. 59 a t p. 63 (sa",.
159, apparently of tile Gupta era, Mng ha dl. 7 ), E. 1. 19 p. 96
(the Mathur~ pedestal In s. of Ku shana year 14 in Pausamlsa
----_._--
1044 . ;f
- ----
"<TiJ,iJ1llfQ1iP1~'>n"i; t:l.~~rr J r' j~rr'l":i 'l'!lt:li>r~"'17~ltflli II
'"' iIIH~fct Rt;l''1';i l'I ~'~ l 'tlR :q ::i: • "1:, "I Ii ':i\{:;l'X:;1 1 ~f~~~renrf<t" JJ U'3I-
~ "r; VII ".,rses 1.'7 ani 1.1 1
1045 . \"I de r·.. I. \"01 2,11'1 ' 1-'. (n, Ih .. i':w",r r'\S~c l In SCription o(
Minadra.
1046 . E . I . vol. 19 p 6 5 (,c"en I n' . (-nm .Inl!'l:r.) al p. 66 ' J:t H 1;1
~ ~. '..
1047. E . !. vol. 8 at p. 176 . ' " . , ~ H' (Saroatb 10 . of
KaD I~a) .

tit flfiHI<!iA\14Mi fl. '.,

1048. E. I . vol. 20 p. 16
at p. 21 ~. ~ ~ , ... ,mtmi vt ~ ~~ q~.
{{If Ii '" It t ibid .
670 Ri.~lol7l of Dharmasastm [Sec. II, Ch. XVIII

divA S« 10 ), Gupta Tns. of Gupta year 129 in Jyestha-m asa di. 18

( Cu ptu Ins C'ript hm . ; p. 45 at p. 46 ). T he non-montion of the
rnk <; n, 11!1 t1 10 c )n till'..lO :l:' c u oUn'" of clays from 1 to 30 continuen
f>\'en j n tho 9th cmfury, " j oe Kota Inscription cf Siimanta
Dtl\'fl'l .t h ( 1. A. 11 . p. :351) of s(uill"ll 879 ( 923 A D .) Ma gh a
<:11 . 20. Jt may hy 110trd t haL ]lere t he m onth is p ll l' nim 'inta.
1n nwd cl'O tinJf's P C'O] 10 uso sueh al,llJ'l?viati ons as Sit ,:i or va n'i
01' 1'I1rlUrt. Th" first is ~l ],ri (l~()J fr om .sa"['l din !l ( or dil a sa) or
.<Wl.l//( I i l/(! and til " IJU r> r [r'o'lJ h dud ,-rlil7 l or diua q ( (I(l and ba
he'ing dten illt rc:!la ' f!,' ,l ,'e ). l'\ 1r' ba1mla " viele K 1. vol. 16,
p. 2% <IL p . 238 ( ill -clirti ,:1 of Rurlras na in the year 127 held
t, () h:J l'f th o "aka c~a) , n\l ,hld ~1ll1 n ' ;; JUllng ldh i nscri ption in
tb J year 72 : 150 A. n. ) of ~1 :r~ 1 ir3', \n 'mh-pra,tipad ( Ldder 's
li -t No. %5 nn I K J. y 1. Vlll p. :} '; nt p. ·10), Udayag iri cave
ill.;c:ript :I)n i ll (;npt., ]' t 11)G (.1 !5-2) A. D) 'babuladin e'
((;upla illserip l iu: 's p. ;2 j :;). F'Jr SI/ ',lr/, wide Gupta Ins crip tiom
p p. ~:i , ) O~, 114 ;II :U fur .<'11, /7/,,/. yj (b t ho Nasik cave in scription
jll tho: cal' ·12 uf t; hl r ui,;n of r a nHLt:l, ~(' n- in-law of Naba-
p'l nn, \dlCTu \\ l! 11 a \'0 'K:H ii; ,'; ud H1 ' (ill K r. VIII el t P 8'3) and
J'.Ll'di pLtl)8 (r D ,1\r,1 l ; ~ a i ll 1\d1:\('o ri yca r !207 (i. e. 455 - 56
A. D. ) in ( '. 1. 1. ' lll. ] V I' P 2~ , 24, (VaLid.;: h a- su ddlll:.l-trayo-
rhsy il m ) ; fur 8 11 rli, "j ,ll) Eo [. 17 p. 11 0 ( uf the V c11tl.bhi year
1Uo, 525-:26 A. D.). 1'\ r 'un (II ' yio ll J n DR. S (New Series )
V\ll. 1. p . GG ' Db' dr:lp:tda i,Q 13' in Vabbbi yo;,r 210 and E. I.
1\J p. 12G pluto of DI ru Ya' C' na ill VaJabb i y ( ar 210 J'1 hadra-
p dda ba eli !l). lt Illay 1.(1 not ed that ' su(h ' and • wrli' are
l rJ!l tcd as i ntl l) c Ji lla~ ,l cs (a '!lrI!/a) a nd in cluded in tbe 'svarn·
rli uan a' (' syur:idinipit:llnavyayam' Pall. 1.1. 37) hy later gram -
motiNd writerF. T ho IClsi k'l , how .Jver, d039 Il 'lt incbde thesA
!,wo in t he ' svu riidi·gol.Jt\' \\ h id l is an'Ukrfiualtfl and therefore
li able to bu ftd led t o. 'Vadya ' is in explicabb except 8S an
attempt to have some word with f,o me assonance of sound
parallel to s u ddha and related to H Z di. It i s not clear why
the word' pak sa ' is nut u sed in mllny inscriptions before a n d
after the Christian ra even th ougll the word pakfia occurs in
such ancient works as th e BraillnaI;las 104) and U panifiads. The
Challdogya- Up a ni ~ ad ( IV. 15 . 5 and V. 10. 1). the Brhad-
iira~yaka-Upanisad VI. 2 15-16 employ the words • Ap urya-
m aI;la-p8k~a ' ( also pilrvapak~a' and • aparapak~a' in Br Up.

1049 . ~l 'l'fq~ U,lfT ~m I ~~Gf V.9 14 : ft ~q'¥ 1iT-IJ~

. ll)'q'Iilll 16 I 'Ii !fir;{ ~ l'I Ifllll qliflfTii{;6 {fft~ 1fI;;f~(( I IfIcfl'ln;«ol ~Ia I l'I~·
~~)S1f~~ ~; " ~ . •'. 11, 2. 3,-1-;-
 Antiquity qf tIle Ulard I pa~ • 811

III. !. 5 ) and I apakslyamaI;1ap a k~a ' ( and also • aparap ksa' for
. bahula ' or • K+sI;la '). Pa j) ill i dLri ves th e werd • paksati •
(m ean ing the first tithi of a pak ·a) fro:ll tho.) worJ • p... k a· (V.
2. 25 'p a k~at· til;l · ).

In Sou lh In dia mOl: hs [HC' kn(,\~ :l by t l .2 ri , j 1l0m es ( u eh as

M ~ na-mii. sa , M esa-m i ::~t ). T llilt. pra d i C'l' l'r , y~d : cd in tho p ~ l) dya
cLUntry lon g ago Yi Ie 1:. 1. \ -, 1 ;2 ;; p. 3j WhJr Ll n soh r eclipse
is Eaid to ba\'e occurred i ll tlh 111O :.t1\ uf !I~ j l h u ll'" i n lLv l~ll '
Yl a r of a Pfl11dya ki ng ( :ltJU' l \)j 'J A D.)

The i ntercaln.ry mon lh is :l i b .l aJ :! i'Ili. ' l, m:d "n:15a, mali nl '

Iucn, sarn5arpa, a lnbu, p,lti or a : )"1 "';1' .' j I \lr t.~ I .u : III J arna~:·L .
T hese words require SOlll e I Ji ~ f l" 1'1.1. .•t L' II . 111 t: " lir"t I' bco, it
m a y be n (lted that h u n Y LTY: l\(:j,:. t t i,lll::; th e! ]:ltll I1Wll th wu~
c( nd emn ed. Fur (X l.lll p ~ o t ~:e :l it. 1'r, B.l YS l J::lL !l 1O g Odb
purch ased s ma plaJ. t fr,m t he' 13th Il Wll l:l :uJJ t b .ll one whu
sells soma plant i s siur u I, t: la l th Ll 1 j th 11 1(1 !I I h J" .>, Jl ut ( xi ::; t as a
favourable peri od. MJ In 'l',Li. S. L 'e' 1:l th I1l un l h i ~ called
' sam sarpa' a nd • an llia!' paL i' ( ] J 14 1. fill d \' 1. 5. 3. 4) .
• Amhas ' mea r s' s in' in the 13;~ \' \.:':, \. \'i lllJ If of I h. YOl. lV.
p. G. It is cuU" d a dhilll5. ::.t 1" c , U "O it b a li I ., 1 uL!dit ionu l
( adhika ) montil. It is nam ed II U]. (' 11 ~ t 1 (,.,, 1 Ll t: : i ~ tn uuth is
a~ it WEre t he di rt (Jr H ,lI-.' I f L Ill '. ' ~ I '. C' w( rJ I:III / .J/dilm is
found i n the A l l! r\",\\ ( eLl \ 1.1. C .: l ,l i - :J'I I: il ,; i ~ c1 1Iu l ,uu l.
It is als o fuld ld in tho h :,' 1 ••• 1 ;t l. 111] ,( r LtLralu J'(.'
• m alimluca.' mel ns 1 .J :J, l l.i t '. J IJ ,,\ .~ .• X l ;),j . ·~ ( . IlIUJlU YO
v ii. t ar !l ~ all a }.l p iS:.t l'g:i YIH' Jt u tl '. ::1 " '''6 ..; '''lli (f \" _ L lI US,U IU,
cover t hLm ~ l]l (. s with 1111 \. l i l ir: y ,:o r ,.;:. t hu \\ urd rmd

1050. ;i ,. ':~~Fl'If"l i",p ~iJin; ; ;. 'l':.;:-,' : "; ..... ;r 'l ~ ; \ '-;iT.~ iJ·
~ ~H- Q'1Q'j ~ ~ F ~ ", <;~I 1 i,. io1 , III I lj. I. 1 ;.~ ~.;h~ r). p;.u r. cd

'l:n>fI~ l;H~; ~'r1 1' !I'i '''' :;1"il:;'ll l;" '''' i < - f ," I:'~~ ~ .. I ",~ ~ fi ~-
~ ( 'Q'.u: I , an d m~01 C 'l :hin:., · : ~ ... ~~ : " I I I

105 1. ~ ",:~e;;T1;'Tal~vrl: .• ~ :.: , \ ,. , 11: 1 lu m. <,!'.II o n

<F1~f.t aTW.l~~1 18 .
1052 . ;:r,T, q ~ I;:~ ;r.P;PI ~IH 'f. m, ~j:,if. 'l ' ' I . ~: 1 ... ,p '1, ,q~1 'tl''fl'
I!~ ( v . 1. jiu: ) II ;;.l'll'l~~' ~ C] . by ~"J:-,ftr . (on Ii-i '. I J7 I ), i:. on If:1P, p. 28 .
§J q;'}. pp. 274. 278 , 'f.1 . n . r. l ~9.
1053. l1ffi~~1 0I r+n1~ ;; >iI~~:1 ~ . l'{ t;"li- 7;j ':"1r,' ;'{, 'F.0il'i . 38 . 14 ( 161) .
~lf p . 768 quotes ~'iUIt'('{ ' nOl " !f:TtI tl t;-.~;rl IT ~ a;-U;f0l I :urGi I; "
r~1I1 ii;f.ll: 1I'li"; til"; " nn J ,,: I , ·:r.fr :;;;. ~7,I"' P, 'T <:uf,f., J!ii~l'~ ' t~.
l1~~ ~ f: (ql~I ;:;" 'lUI"llq:;t"Q I d. 'lll. . \ '1. 12. 1.5, c~pl ai n ed In Lbe;
lltW1f as Il1~'ii"'\fj~~ ~rm<f=w.n~-.jl1ffil8~ I ,
672 Hi story of Dharmasl1stra (Sec. II. Ch. XVIII

appears to mean • soiled or dirty clothes '. The word' malimluca'

OCcurs i n Vi j. S. 22. 30, Siinkhuyana-2raut asu tra VI. 12.15.
The Mahm:iisata ttva derives the word as foll ows: being mali
( soilud ) it passes on', The words ' samsarpa ' and' a :nr.asaspati '
( ICCtU in Vij. S. 22. 30 and 31 1 51 respectiv€:ly, and • ambasa-
~ pati ' in Viij, S. 7. 31 after the mantras referring to the twe lve
8awa months, MadilU, Miidhaya &c. The T a L S. (1. 4,14 . 1 and
\ 1. 5, 3.4) has the formul a g,lIi sarpcsyaham-E:pataye tva '. lOSS
f

f Amha,spati ' literally mea liS ' the L l'd of s ins or evil' (i. e. a
e.llldcmncd month). L at('r medi eval writers !pul, e a distinction1 J56
b(,tween ' S:lITlS arpa ' and :l.lnlJa~pati' , \\' hen there a re in one
yoar tw o ad himasas and a /;,"(I .'lll masa the fil st of the two
lIdhirnasas is cal le d' alnsarpa ' and it is 110t condemned for all
r(' iigious melt· eri! out on ly for marriages, such sacrifices as
.i\gni s ~oma , festivab (th a t a ro nut ()lJ]ign tory) and auspicious
rites of chlldrcn ( such as ' IJii..nak:ml IHl.·). TIle n a me arhhlispati
is cO llfi ll~d to k ~aUll/llu,~a. Tl1e int(;rc..lh\l'Y month i:l called
Pu ru!:oitama-miisa ( V ionu b(J jng called PUfusottama ) in some
of tho Puriill.is as in Paum3 V 1. 6-1, probably with the purpose of
re lucillg tho opprobrium th ai attached to an interca.bry month.

In the Dharmasaslra Literal 1lI e cOllsideral,lc spac a is devoted

to the intolcalary month e. g. in the Agnipur;i~1 a 175. :!9-30, t he
R:i jamfll'tanda (folios 681-(i9, VOlses 1071:;-1] 15'. l\1i.lavjyeka
of Jimutav illl'il1:l pp. 113 -163 , Hemii dri on K "la pp. 26-66 ,
k Ilanirn:lya of Mad ilava. Macianapir jii la pp. 54:4-550,
Sllldh ikaul1ludi pp. 263-296, \fal 'llisatatlva (Jivananda ed.)
PI'. 736-856, S;lll1 il;,' :Ipr ,(l, :va pp, 14.0 -15 5 (ll:1rt of VlrJ m itrodaya),
Nill1uyasindllU pp. 9 17 , ~ ' llll ; I':lltS tllhba ( sarnvut s Hadldbiti)
pp. 520- 529 , Dharm :l ill.lhu pp. -i-7, PUlu sirthachtamal? i pp .
17-31. A brief tr~atll1 011 t b all tlnt can be attempted here.

1051, ;Jq'll\'l'l"ltnir '.~"';1n1«lt) m I l'\'NI'. ~ VII . 30; ;nN ,~T ~I1iIm

l'm"T'''1{1\t!IQ HilH~!:n1'1{ q H flr f I ifNI'. \to XXII, 31.

lOSS, ;J1lt!r+T'l.;,ci', pre:~I'IFl iit,'lIlQ I 3l~" '!I1i(q~") ~m I:'nrTif~ifq ~

,.tad~ I it,~, \'1, 5 , 3. 4,

105G. 'Q~:r:;'lrif., ~~L"' : rt!fi i ~~"'l'~" "fr I 'rt1'f1i:t(~"(~m~~!Q' ~~if1': II

q , :, ~l'll.-ql'ihi;'tl C]. by~. 0:1 0f.TC': p. 30. ~n1ili:nm P. 143. 3fff~Ir,rr~
iiI ~' ~rN 3l11411: I ~tmnil ~,{.r.r : ~ '<fh:r~q,~It'ni: II !fir. "". ~I~~r 19. The
<':l:ql cOlUments '~~':t.,,":l;ml': \rTP't~~ " lI:';:; "1i1t~: ff; tl m '1:';';; I I i
t he G}~!f~f!<f( rcmllrk s 'w.r 'P <Ji11<it W'l""i. ~I~ l'i'«~Rmtl inti ~1ri\' I 3fli
... flTa: ~""l1m . id'li~OT{{:n~~ If lf~;a II p. 271: q~~it.)f,M;~'!ilJt iWiilr'a-
l ~i1I~1r ~R'iI ( v. I . IIltlf\tlrll) I ;'I1"a'll'li !1iI'31il":«t lillfflr~!fft1i~r"",",I('~~ •
. by . ( on lfir.>5) p. 31. ~~;na~l p , 7:.2, ~~ :nr~ p. 144 ( reads ~mi ).
 A cts to be a voided in intercaLm'Y month 673

The Agnipurarlfl. provides : '057 one should avo id in an inter-

calary month the perform ance of the following aots, d z. of
consecration of Vedic fires, the establishment of images sacrifioes
religious gifts, vratas, the recitation of the Veda after undor~
taking it, observance of certain lIi!/.{/Il(l s !O uch as mabii nil m nl, the
letting loose of a bull ( after sapi ndana ), tonsure of a ohild,
npaooyana, rites su ch as the sari13karas of namakarana, in-
au guration of a kin g. Long lists of what may or may not be
done in an i r. tercalary month occur in mallY works such as in
H9m5.dr i on Kila pp. 36-66, Nir nayasindhu pp. 10- 15, Dh arm a-
sindbu pp. 5- 7. It would be enough if some ge neral provisions
are stated. The ge l' eral 1058 rule is that one should perform
obligatory acts and acts prescrihed on cerbin occasions evo n in
a n intercalary month. F'or example, ono must perform even in
a n intercalary month daily sandhy:i worshi p, th e fi ve daily
Mahayajiias ( su ch as Brahmayaj ii.a, Vaisvr\deva ), the offerin g
into fire ( as an flflu ilinl I'm ) a nd must take 1\ bath if there is a n
eclipse ( in adbim5.sa ), although this is 1I0i lllltftka; so also one
must perform ·the funerary rites after u relative's death even if
the death t akes place in a n ad himasa (this also is I/ t{i lllitl ikl{ ).
But an obli gatory r ite should not be perform ed in adhimiisa if
sastra allows its pORtponement , e. g. Soma sacrifice. T be general
rule is that no kumya r ite ( not obligatory , but to be performed
for securing some object or result) is to be perform ed in Ildhimfisa.
There are exceptions to t his also if a certa in religious rIte is
begun before an adhim ilsa falls ( such as a P rilj5.patya penance
for twelve days or a candrayaI;la pena nce fo r a month) it may
be continued even in a dh imasa. If there is drough t a nd one
desires t o perfo rm the l\"uri ,.i I .~t i for brin ging down rain, this
may be done even in adhim5.sa , since to wa it mi gh t defeat the

105 7. 3'lr.mitti ~&m "if ~Riflfrf.l "if I ~ifl{!lti~ , ~A~': I

~ "if ~it ~ II 3'Il1r!!, 175 . 29- 30 ( ren.ds ~ftl'I) q . by . it.
p. 283 (w ithout name ). Thi s is cited by ~ . ( 00 'lim) p. 40 a ~ oc c urri n!:
io Ri'3 . ~ , ~fu and ;;qffij:Q1:r~ a nd by !fir· R p . 129 and ~­
~ p. 149 from ~m: tro"m .

1058 . ~: I f.mr~ ~~ : ~ ~I ~ ~
il<I~ ~ "if" ~.a~ "if I ~m t;(ir~ ~'il1WIi !fur" it. on ~ pp.
45-46 . Tb e fi rst verse occurs io ~ p , 349 and i s q . by om.~. p. 110 ,
41('5t'lfldi'l p . 788 , fl .. tj qCflI ~1 p . 14 4. Fo r ~,trI vide H . of Db . vol. I V.
p. 371 n. T be ~~ explains t hat ~ here mea ns ~ performed in
the shadow of a n elepbant.
B. D. 85
 History of Dharmasastra l Sec. lI, Ch. XVIII

desired object. These provisions are neatly summa.rised in the

Kalanir~aya-kiirikas quoted below. 1059

Certain matters were to be done only in malamasa such as

the gift 1060 of 33 apu]Jas ( cakes ) every day to brahmanas or at
least once in the intercalary month; certain acts were not to 'be
done in adhimasa, but only in the sUddlta 106O<r month, such as
the sinking of wells, construction of tanks, solemn sacrifices,
the mahadanas a nd vratas. Certain matters can be done in
adhimiisa as well as in suddha-m iisa 1061 e. g. rites on a pregnancy
( such as puinsa'/lana ), taking interest on money lent, wages of
workmen for fixed periods, monthly sraddha (on amaviisya ),
daily gifts, bath at a holy place, japa (muttering mantras),
homa with barley grains or rice or sesame, rites on the birth of
a child, funeral rites, nrwa -s ,.i1r1rl" a ~, sraddha on 13tu tithi with
Maghii-naksatra, the sixteen sraddb as, bath and sraddha a nd
gifts and japa on lun ar or solar eclipse, obligatory and naimitti ka
acts; these may be done in malamasa also. A great deal of
discussion is beld on sraddhas in malam asa by Hemadri on Kala
(pp. 56-63), Malamasatattva (pp. 841-856), N irnayasindbu

1059 . lfilOtlWIl <I<Wlll~ >ri'illffi Til~ I am'i1d ~Tm1( 1l~ ~;j

~~ 0; m( I ~cq ~ttI' ~.na~~ II ~l1tt1' ~mi:ts.rq +I~
~~: , ll~j~ q;Tnt lI"<:f~n~ i1 II q;f(r~ 0: ~<q;r~>;f lff'TT~;I1-
~T1f.'f I q;r.q<l;T<"i~'II~~ ll<\r~j ~~ II ~"I'1<1TfcIq;i ~1<I'l~n~ if <1<mt, ,
~'{~ P-r?<i ~+l1<lml~ <t:;f~<t. 1I ~"~;nmq;l 21-24 . ~i~;n is de fi ned by
I'l. ;fl. ff'f' p. 788 a s 'm~if~'mmR;:r~.f~f;r1<+l~~~q;<f''!l'q;rqrfu?<frr.. rn,,"·
~ttVI\ I '. About ~fmrrtt, ~1l;n~ p 148 says' ~)+!lfl1l l irl'lfmr'!l'T(l'l~~mt­
~~;:r ~ ~~~l{J(~;n(~ 1I '.

1060. Tbe ~'iI~l{ (p . 52 4) q uol e.s ~ 'irl'll1ft ~ <'I~<t Rtr~

'fT"~ I &l~ Q ~llj~ ·~!iH1jq~'ffrf.l -:q I ~'i<m~ Gl~" ~~ f.f.t ,
m'U'l '
• " lfI!f1~ !'1~ fU;pTur 3l1!_'1'ttI' -:q ~.fmrmt1iT ~~ it~ II ~­
~ lfi~~ nr.r ~ I 2'~~~ qT;t 'lmuT ~"fw:T I ~t -:q fifg-
~~~-:ql ~~Tiii'[~~lllfq~~~-
1060 a. l't,tflti!fffil'rlJT1~s:rrm~;f -:q I ;:r §'fr";;!~~ 0; ~r-rrrnlfcf~ II
q. by ~. on ~ p . 41 and q;j. Til. p. 130. ~ s have bcen enumerated and
d escribed in H . of Dh . vol . II pp. 869-8 77 .

1061. ml': ' 1T..y~ ~tt ~iUt ;:rrf~, ~ftlvsrq;'{1it ~ ~

~;;fttQ. II ;(f~r-rR ::;r:iT ~t If<r.ll~fd~lI~fl{: II ;;n~~'iiUt 'it"l){ri <I~ -:q ,
+I'Efl~..n~lj;jr.i ~iii -:q 1'("'r5~ , ~~~~ ~~ sn~r.wrtm~ I ~
~rmq f'~ ;,rni~;f; <lUI I q. by ~. ( o n ~ p 52), ~m p. 145; 3m1I'-
~ ~~filvE!G(~~1f.I; for <f<t~ vi d e H . of Db . vol. IV.
pp. 262-263 an d 577 . 519- 5 20; fo r six teen sra ddhas, vi d e H. of Dh . vol. IV.
p p. 5 18-51 9.
 8raddha of persons dYi l1g in adhikamilsa 675

(Pp· 11- 15), Samayaprakiisa pp. 151-155. This is pa.ssed over

for reasons of space. For some remarks on the sriiddba. of a
person dying in an ihtercalary month, vide H. of Dh. vol. IV.
pp. 546- 547.
Just as the 13th month was to be discarded for religious
r ites, in W estern countries number 13 is sUPPoiled to be unlucky,
part icularly in the case of company a t a table.
One of the five aogas in the Indian paficaogas is the week-
day. A brief discussion on days and week-days has therefore
to be held. The interval between two sunri ses waS cons idered
as the most important unit of tim e. This is solar and is called
the civil day. But llihi is a lun ar division of tim e (as described
above) and begins and ends at various spaces in tile solar day.
The word 'day ' has two meanings, v iz. (1) from sunrise
to sunset a nd ( 2 ) from sunrise to sunrise. 106 2 In ltg.
the word ' aha.!). , is applied to both the dark part of it
( i. e. 'ratri' night) and t o the bright part. 1063 The word
l'all'i is not so frequently used in the Egveda as the word' allan'
and the word' dina' is very frequ ~ ntly use d in compou nds like
' sudinatva ', ' sudina' 'madhyandina '; 'ahor5tra' 1dny and
night) occurs only once in the Eg. X. 1\}O. 2. The word
I p Cirvahna' ( first part of the day or forenoo n) occurs in the
B,gveda X. 3!. 11. T hree parts of the day also occur in the
E,gveda viz prat ah , s(17iU(l/'a and madhyand ina 10(, ( (mid-day ).
These are three out of tl1e five parts of the day , the other two
being apa r a/tna and a::;(.l tllIUYU . rL.~ ta y til/WI(! or .~u!J(t.h It I, which
five are mentioned in the Sat.Lpatha Br. II. 3.2.9. Bot,h pri ta1.l ' I

( morning ) and ' sayall1' ( even in g ) occur in Rg. V. 77. 2 and

'sayam' alone in ~{g. VlIl. 2.20 , X. H G. 3 and 40. The day
and night were aldo di vided into eight parts by K au~ ilya (119 )
and by Daksa and Kiltyiiyana. The division of the day aDd
night each into 15 muhurtas has been already dealt with at
some length on pp. 537 - 541.
Great diverge nce prevailed about the beginning of the day.
The J ews placed the beginning of the cidl day in tho even ing (vide
Gilnesis 1. 5 'T he evening and the morning were the first da.y •
and also 1. 13.) The Egyptians divided the day from sunrise to
1062. Vide H. of Dh . vo l. I I. pp. 644-45 . vo l. Ill. p . 242 aDd vol. I V.
pp. 376-377 for th e d iffere nt ways of divi d in g the day.
1063. ~~ W"Oi&i i! <i!i<i -:q R ~ (:;r«r iiflrfi%: I ~. VI. 9. 1.
1C64. ;:m -qrn
~it srm~( i{\"'-f.ipI '3'[1far ~ I ~. V. 76.3 .
6~6 History of DharmaSastra
.
LSec. n, Ch. XVilI
.

sunset into twelve parts and thus obtained hours whose length
depended on the season, while the Babylonians 1065 began the
day with sunrise and divided day and ~ght into twelve parts,
each of which corresponded to two of the equinoctial hours. In
Athens and in Greece generally the day commenced in historic
times with the even ing for the purposes of the calendar(vide Heath's
IAristarchus of Samos', 1913, p. 284 ). In Rome the day began
with midnight. With Indian writers the day begins with sun-
rise (as in Briihmasphuta-siddhanta Xl. 33 ), but they were
not unaware of different beginnings of the day. The PaDca-
siddhantika 1066 rem arks that Aryabhata declared that the day
began at midnight in Lank5. and again he said that it began
with sunrise and that sunrise in Lanka coincides with sunset
in Siddhapura, with mid-day in Yamakoti and with midnight
in the Romaka country.
In modern times the civil day begins Fl.t midnight.
The seven day week is an artificial man-made arrangement.
It corresponds to no astronomical or celestial phenomenon. The
Mexicans had a week of fi'le days 1067 before the Spanish conquest.
The seven days week prevailed among Jews, Babylonians and
the Incas of South America. The Roman s had a week of eight
days in Republican times, while the Egyptia us and ancient
Athenians had a week of ten days. In the Old testament God
is said to have gone 011 with the work of creation for six days,
to have rested on the seventh and to bave blessed it and sanctified
1065 . Hasting s in E.l'.E. vol . XII. p. 50 say s so; but Prof. Neugebauer
in E. S . A. p . 10 1 says tb a t Uabylonian dal began in t be even ing and tbe
first day of the mon th was made to d epend upon a natural phenomenon.
nam ely . the visi ble crescen t of tb e Moon . Fotheringham in his Explana-
tions to Nautical Almanac 1935 (at p. 769) states that th e Babylonians
reckon ed day from midnigbt and men tions Pliny as sayin g tbat Hipparchu s
also did the same.
1066 . l'S MT'!ll'Wlit ~~~ ;;fI'lTc; ;:n.q\lC: I ~: ~ q~ ~~lffil{Wln'
l'Sl'~ II ~ VIl'S~IVt ~V: m~o;~ ~~ I j:f\'lfrW Vj:f<n~ ~fJ:f~~S­
~:~: II q'~. 15. 20 and 23. Laoka here is not Ceylon but an imaginary
island to the south of India. Tb e location of ~~ and 1ffl~ri'r is not
known; URlii seems to be Alexandria. In ~li€,v (JT~) the 13tb verse
is ~V, til ~ ms~: ~~i{ ~~ I ~\;~I 1ffl~ U;f~ttS~:
~1ffiI:. II This corresponds to q'~. 15.2 3. Vide ~~, li.~'li1Wf,
verses 38-40 for the four cities mentioned in tbe ~ bein g in tbe four
directions.
1067. Vide G. Schlaparelli's • Astronomy in tbe Old Testament '
( translated. Oxford. 190.5) p. 130.
 Week days 677
it ( Genesis 2.1- 3). In Exodus 20. 8-11, 23 .12-\4 and Deutero.
nomy 5. 12- 15 God is said to have oommanded the J ews to
labour for six days, t ake rest on the seventh and to observe it as
the Sabbath of the Lord God and to keep it saored. The J ews
gave no specbl n \mes t o the week d \ys exoept the Sahb Ith
whioh was the L.lst day of the week a nd whioh they observed on
S tturd ,y ( and not on SUlld JY ).
The Old Test:1ment conta.ins no tr,\ces of proper !l Imes
baving been given to week days . It H'ppe Irs tl.wt even ill the
New Test ament week d'IYs were i ndie Ited by numbers. Vide
M atthew 28. 1 'In the end of the sahll.lth as it hegan to dawn
towards tllc fir st day (If III ,' fC,', k came lIu r y Magdalen &e. ';
Mark 16. 9 . ]lTOII' wllt'll J r>S 'l/ S 1l't rs r i",' /I ,'tll'ly lh e firsl r/"y (!( IIII'
week he appeared first to Mary Magdalen &c.'; Luke 2J. 1
, Nml' ?i1)(,n th e fir st dWI of the 10(" k heing early in the morning
they came into the sepulchre '. Klcb of the seven d 'ys of tho
week is designated as the sabbath or holy day hy va riolls
nationalities and relig ioLls communitios i. e. Monday is tho
Greek Sabbath, Tuesday toe Porsian, Wodnesday the Assy ri a n,
Thursday the Egyptian, F riday the Moslom, Saturday tbe Jewish
and Sunday the Christian.
On the origin and development of the sevon - day cycl
the leading work is ]( H . Colson's 'the week ' (Cambridge
University Press, 1926). Some of his arguments may be brieOy
indicated. Dian Cassiuil (first quarter of 3rd celltury A.D. ) in bis
37th book says that Jerusalom was captured 11)67•• 11y Pompey in
63 B. C. owi ng to the revereLce of the Jews for Saturday (their
Sabbath day) and ho furth er makos tbe :ltatomen ts that planetary
week orig in ated in Egypt, tb a~ iL W .IS of recont growth a nd that
it was in gen eral use in bis uay ; vide Dio's 'l{oman History'
vol. III pp. 129 , 131 whera two traditional expla nations are g iv n
as t o how the week days wero named after pl a nets, the 2nd of
which is based 011 the ;: 4 houri) of the day a l, d nigh t. What
must be emphasized is that Dio is positi vo that week days did
not originate in Greece, but in Egypt and thoir introduction
was recent. Dio was a Roman and wrote bis History between
200 to 222 A. D. Therefore, the introduction of week days in
Greece could not have been earlier than the first century of the
1067 a. Vide Dio's' Roman History' (Loeb Claaaical Library) vol. II I
pp. 126-127 where it is said that Pompey captured tb e J ewesb defenders of
Palestine on the da y of Sabbath, because they d id not work on tbat day
a t aIL
678 History of Dhannas(istl'a [Sec. TI, Ch. xvni
Christian era. The names of six week days as we find them now
have been found scrawled on a wall in the city of Pompeii which
was engulfed in lava in 79 A. D. This points to the fact that
present weekday names were known in Italy before 79 A. D.
Colson find s it difficult to explain how the planetary week got
ascendancy in the Rom an Empire, since there is complete silence
as to official enforcement of the week among Romans or even as
to the recogni tion of the planetary week. He is perplexed hy
the week day names amon g the Teutonic nations such as
Wednesday and Thursday. Sarton ( in a 'History of
Science') thinks th at the Jewish Sabbath, the story of creation
with Egypti an hours and Chald ean astrology produced the
present week (pp. 76- 77). Sarton thus thinks that Greece had
nothing to do with the introdu ction of th e planetary week, but
only Egypt and Babylon developed it. The modern European
hours are derived from the Baby Ionian 11!j('ht/wllteron for their
equality and from the Egyptian Calendar for their number.
Sarton remark s that the gradual spread of the st3ven day
week throughout the world is the most remarkable instance
of cultural diffusion next to the decimal notation system,
since it was planned or enforced by nobody. As shown
above the continuuus seven day week with specific names for the
days was unknown to the New Testament, which does not name
the day of Christ's Crucifixion or Ascension. It is difficult
to point out any certain piece of evidence which can establish
that the names and arrangement of the present week days were
prevalent in Greece or any other European or Near East country
bf:lfore the 2nd century B. C. Ptolomy in his Tetrabiblos does
not appear to make any astrological-use of the week days. The
present order of week days appears to be planetary, but if we
look to the mere names the planets are arranged as Sun, Moon,
Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Ravivara is the
first day in the week for various reasons, one of which is that
creation is believed to have begun on that day (vide note 995a).
That order apparently takes no account of the distance of the
planets or of their mass, light or importance. Yaj. 1.295 arranges
tbe nine (J1'ahas as the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter,
Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. The Vis~lUpura J;la (1.12.92 )
has the same order. Tbe Viiyupurana says that the Sun is
beyond one lakh of yojanas from the earth and the moon is
beyond the sun by a thousand yojanas, the nak!?atras are 100000
yojanas beyond the Moon and each of the other planets are
beyond the nak!?atras, the order being Mercury, Venus, Mara,
 P lanets and week days 679

Jupiter and Saturn, each suoceeding one being heYOlld each

preoedin g one. If the planets be arr anged in the order of
distan ce from the earth they would stand as Saturn ( tbe most
distant pla net for a ncient times ), Jupiter, Mars, Sun , Vonus ,
Mercury, Moon. The same 1063 order is set out i n the A rya-
bha~iya . Suppose we start from Saturn, then the 4th from it (hut
including it ) would be the Sun and therefore Satur d::n - is followed
by Sunday. If we start from the Sun , then the ·Hh from" it, would be
the Moon a nd so Mo nday is the wee kday after :-;ulldav a nd thi s
may be further carried on. It is argued that the urder of week-
days was suggested by the Egyptian ~ y s tc m of ~4 parts for the
day, each part being ruled by one pla not in or der. On Sunday,
the first part is ruled by the Sun and after ::1 parts the 22nd is
again ruled by the SUll, 23rd by Venus, 2-lth by Mercury a nd
the next day ( 25th hour) would be Monday. If this arrange-
. ment of weekdays is due to the systom of ~ 4 Lours and ruler::! of
h ours, the same order ca n be arrived at but only in th e revorse
way if , instead of 24 parts, the day is dividod into 60 parts (the
ghatikas ). Suppose if we begi ll wiUt th e Moon, each ~l lla ~i
be ing assigned to one planet, 57th wuuld be tbe MO,)J1'S, 58th
Mercury's , 59th of Venus, 60th of th e Sun and so tho nex t day
after Monday w0uld be Tuesday.
It appears that the con tinuous seven d~y week did not form
part of the reli gious life of a ny nati on in :l.ntiqllity a nd even
now it is no part of tho religions lifo of ma ny peoples. Groat
controversies b ave raged rou nd tbo orig in a nd ~proa d of week-
days. It is said hy many scholars tha.t the illdian woekday s
are not indigenous, but havo b en borrowed from the Chaldeans
or the Greeks. 1069 An eITor t will fi rst ho mado tu prose nt the
Indian literary and inscriptional evidence to indicate how far
backwards the occurrence of the weekdays in Indi a ca n be
carried. The oldest inscri ptional ev id enco so far availablo is
that of the Eran stone Pillar I nscript ion of Budho.gupta in the

1068. ~1:f : ~~~~~~~Olfl : I ~rml'iol 'ifRllfflil'T lIf-

~,,~ II ~>i€I'i, ~H,?~ ljiql<t IS ; vid e al so ~~ ~"", c bap. on '{'il ~
verse 79.
1069 . F leet in j R AS for 1912 p. 1039 susges ts that the Je wisb
Cale ndar of week day s fou nd its way into In d ia aft er Euro pe rece ived it
i. e. in 3rd cen tury A.D. Jayaswa l (in I. A. vol. 47 P 11 2 ) says tba t if week -
days were received fro m outsid e In d ia , it mu st bave be en fro m Sy ri a d ir ec t
and no t via E urope . D iksb it in bi s monumen tal work appear s to bold t hal
India received weekdays {ro m th e Cb aldeans.
680 History of Dharmafastra [Sec. II, Ch. XVIII

Gupta year1070 165 (i. e. A. D. 484), whicb mentions Thursday and

the 12th tithi of the brigbt half of Asa-dba. Supposing for
argument that weekdays were originally borrowed from some
foreign country, at least a few hundred years would be necessary
before such a borrowed system could become general and could
be utilized even in Indian proclamations by a great Indian
imperial dynasty like the Guptas.
Let us now turn to the literary evidence. The Aryabha~iya
( Dasagitikii, verse 3) mentions Thursday. 1071 In Brhat-
salnhita 107. occurs this 'when Pitiimaha declared that the week.
day Tuesday does not lead to auspicious results or when
( 1 declare) that the day of the son of the earth is inauspicious,
what difference is there between (the siistra) composed by a
divine author and that by a human author ( like myself )?' It has
been seen above ( p.4 b8 ) that the Pancasiddhiintiktl tells us that a
five year cycle started according to Pitamaha in the second year
(expired ) of the Saka era. Therefore it appfJars that Pitiimaha
who probably
I
wrote about 80 A. D mentioned Tuesday. The
Paiicasiddhantika (in I. 8) mentions Monda.y in summarising
the features of the Romaka siddhunta (vide note 1004). The
Brhatsamhitii in chapter 103 (verses 61- 63) sets out what
actions are proper to be done on the weekdays from Sunday to
Saturday and Utpala quotes eighteen An",s ~nuh verses in all
from the ancient astronomer Garga on the same topic.1ona Kern
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------
1070. ~i{ q\l:l1l!~"<fNq, ~'i0Tt ~q<{) ,.. ~!:H!a 1 ~ (1IfIG!l'm-~-&~lIt ~~.
Wfl~~11 C upta Jo scr i p tio ~s ( ed . by F leet) No . 19 p. S9. Vide V. B.
l";e tkar's ' In d ian and Foreign chronology ' pp. 50-5 1 wher e he establishes
that tbis day corresponds to Jun e 2 1, A. D. 4 84.
"",,it
1071. cnltfl 1: >!;'l;'l'l ':i\C!
iWmr<-Cl'
"I >!~ ~'ll ,.. 1 ~i~l " ,.. ~­
~(I'l'~ II q~!rn'fiTQ'IG verse 3. The com. explains : ~,;;-q ~ffi ~,~.
is'mfr'ly;r.eql ~~'Hi'r +Tl ~~: 1 ll'f1:l'~"" l<(q.u: 1 "~11~ ~~
~f<t~lG'<f U;;~(~ .. i'!!;lll'~ "ffi wffi Ilffii~: I "~l~~ imq$r-
~~'lj 1TOl i'!;:<JICPI i;1;fmT: I. This ver se means' Tbere are 14 Manlls in a day
nf B rah rn:i and 72 yugas make up th e period of a Ma nu; since th e beginning
of this /wlp a up to th e Thursday of the I h:iral a ba ttle six Manus, 27 yugas,
3 yu gap:idas have elapsed.' 'filil': means ~ lIfWGl: 3lli: ~: j in tbe
system of 3f1~+T'a' l:' = 14 ; ~ = 72; ~ = 70 and VI' = 2 ; q_<n = 27 ( ~being
= 7 a nd 'lor <n = 20); " = 3 . arna- in iffi;1~~17cf XI. 11 - 12 criti·
cize~ 3flii+T'a' for his views mentioned in note 1066 abnve.

1072. ~~ Of -g+TW~ffl ilhul'lifIl~ 1 ~11~'~~ '"

m fef~1!I'f 'lI~~: (v. 1.~) II ,¥~o 1. 4.
The ~ X . 7. 5 says' ;;~rwr;\ m~ ~,., .. J1t';iPI'I{ I
10 72 a.
Ilufnoi +TlfflT ir.r ~ q
~~: "' Th is is said of 'l1i ( who is said in verse 7
to have been the ~ DC the Yad us).
 Week days 681
assigns Garga to the ht Century B. O. T h is would carry the
knowledge of weekdays in India to tbe fir st centmy before
Ohrist. Philostratus in his life of Apollon ius of Tyana (who
died in 98 A. D.) relates ( vide note 900 above) how wben
Apollonius travelled in India he received from Iarcbu9, the cbief
of the brahma~as , seven rings bearing names of seven planets,
each one of which Apollonius was to wear OIl each of the week-
days. As Philostratus wrote in the first quarter of the 3rd
century A. D., this would carry tIle knowledge of t he planetary
week in India a t least to the 1 st century of the Ohristian era.
The above references furnish a 1 (' l'Il1 i llll .~ ad Qllem for India's
knowledge of the planetary week days (viz. first oentury B. O.
to first century A D.). Th e I eI' ll/ill II I; t/ (I " n canllot be stated
with certa inty.
Now some other literary evidence about th e dates of which
there are l ikely to be doubts a nd disputes would ho set out. In
the Vaikhii"nasa-smiirta-s utra (I. 4) and Baudh5yanadharma-
siltTa ( II. 5. 23) /arpaWl (sat iation with water) is offorod to tho
Sun, the Moo n, Mars , Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and to
R ahu a nd Ketu an d the former mentiof ls Budhavira (Wednes-
day) in II 12. It has to be conceded tb at other stl tms such as
Asv. g r. lII. 4.1 - 5, the Kausltaki gr. (IV. ~)- 10) , th e Hir. gr. II.
19-20, Bhara dviija gr. Ill. 9-11 contain no /(/rp' III'1 to the week-
days or t heir deities. T he Atharvll.na- Vedii nga Jyoti sa has a
section on weekdays ( of eight verses) and poi nts ou t what
sh ould be done on each of the seven weekdays from Sunday to
Saturday ( t wo of wh ich are qu oted helow by war of sample107 ! ).
The Giithasaptasat! of H illa ( a /)I"(1/.. ,.il anthology) mentions
Tuesday a nd Vi s~ i ( III. ( 1). Tho Yi jfl avalkya-smrti (1. 29 6 )
enumerates the planets in the modern weekday order from
Su nday t o Satu rday and adds Rii.hu and Ketu as (I ruhll s a nd
prov ides for a sacrifice to nine grahas (1. 29 5-308). The
N aradapurana ( I . 51. 80) also Joes the same. T be Mataya
(chap. 93. 7 ff) provides for a more elaborate sacrifi ce to planets.
The Visnudharmasut ra ( 78. 1- 7) rafers to sriid dbas performed
on the ~~ven weekdays from Sunday to Saturday and the benefits
derived from such performance (vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 373- 374
for deta ils ). The P ural!as contain numerous references to the
10 73. ~~!ftWri 'lWI q;,..q~;i :;s I ~~ ~ ~­
P ~T~ ~ II ~~ :;s ~ '!f;ijT~1Jol t{'fl _~~ ~;f 'ill
~ "'~ ~ lTT ~JJ.R ~~.ilr.i ~~ 1\ 3{NqO'~ ii1 I'lf::oq~ , Cl~~
verses 2 and B.
B. D.86
682 Hist01'Y of Dharmafilstra l Sec. II, Ch. xvm
weekdays. The Naradiya provides that Mo nday 1074, Wednes.-
day, Thursday and Friday are auspiciouB for all rites and
actions, while the other weekdays yield the desired result only
in cruel or violent actions. The Matsya provides that all week-
days except Sunday and Tuesday are auspicious ( 253.7. ). The
KurmapuraI;la ( Uttarardha 20. 16- 17) provides that sr5. ddhas on
weekdays from Sunday to Saturday respectively yield the benefits
of health, happiness ( or prosperity), success, all desires, desired
learning, wealth an d long life. The Visnudharmottara (I. 142.
30-32 ) has similar provisions. The Brahmapuruna (118. 30 )
recommends touching an asvattba tree on Saturday. The
Vamana ( 14. 49- 50) forbids certain actions on weekdays ( such
as an oil bath on Sunday or Tuesday ). The Matsya s;>ecifically
refers to Sunday ( in chap. 55. 4, 65. 5, 70. 46), t o Mon day (in
i:l 7. 4 ), to Tuesday ( in 72. 27, 1\) 3. 8). Though the chronology
of all the above works is somewhat llncer~ a in, yet it cannot be
gainsaid that at least in the first two cent uries of the Christian
era planets had become objects of worship and the weekdays had
been nam ed and their order as it exists t oday had been settled.
The Mahabharata , in spite of its vast ex tent and copi ous des-
criptiolls of Dharmasastra matters, is entirely silent about the
llames of weekdays. The cumulative effect of all the eviden ce
adduced auove is to render it extremely probable, if not certain,
that the worship of the planets and knowledge of the weekdays
presided over by them was known to the In dians at least bet-
ween 100 B. C. to 100 A. D. One further circumstan ce is that
the names of weekdays in India are pUfl:lly Sanskrit and there is
hardly any reference to a weekday in Sanskrit works under any
Greek or other non- Indian name, wlrile in the case of the signs
of the zodiac frequent use is made of such foreign words as kl"Lya
or l" f/ a. Yotheringham (in explanations in Nautical Almanao
for 1935 at p. 769 ) states that the mean temporal hour with the
length that it bad at equinoxes is first found in Hipparchus
( 140 B. C. ), that Ptolemy in the Tables in the Almagest reckon-
ed the day from mean noon of Alexandria and divided the day
into sixty equal parts each of which was divided sexagesimally
and that Ptolemy in his manual Tables divides the whole day
into equinoctial hours reckoned from noon in Alexandria and
subdivided these sexagesimally. This shows that two systems
1074. r:'l~13flQ'1Y,*luli Q1~: ~~~ I q;'(l)<f~ ~ ifiWnr~: II
~tr 1. 56 . 16l. Compare W'fll'1WI III . 15 quoted above in note 152. ~1ll!'-
Jf!ff;J 'fl 1i:~~ ~{ '" §Iii u'i{~ '" Jim~ I ~li tr~ ~ .~ ~
~ ~II ~1iUUT 14. 49-50.
 Week days 683
of dividing the day into 60 parts and also into ~ 4 parts were
accepted by Ptolemy himself (who wrote only about 150 A. D. ).
Therefore, Indians could very well have used very early tho GO
divisions system for finding out tb e order of the weekdays instead
of 24 divisi,)DS system. The India ns did not calculate their day
from noon or night out from the morning. The .i\sva medhika-
parva 1075 expressly says t hat the day comes first and then night.
It is possible to advance several tbeories about the origin of
the seven day week in India. The five planets ( Mercury, Venu s,
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) were especi ally regarded by the ancient
Babylonians as the powers controlling the des tinies of men a nd
therefore five leading Babylonia n divinities were identified wiLh
the above five planets. In course of transmiss ion Babylonia n
names of di vinities assumed I~o m a n fu rms i. e. l shtar, goddetls of
love, became Venus, tbe great god Ma rduk became Jupi ter a nd so
on ( vide note 748 above). TIle five pla nets togetb r with the Sun
and tbe Moon made a group of seven beavonly bodies. In
Chaldean temple worsh ip whi ch spread to Syri a, it became the
custom to sing the praises of each god on a particular day. The
name of the god worshipped on a parti cula r day was tra nsferr d
to the day itself. Tho days which were sacred to the Sun a nd
the Moon were called Sunday a nd Mo nday. SOllle Norse words
like Wedn esday (Woden's day) a lld Thursday (Thor's day)
were introduced in En gh~nd . But weekdays in Europe are ulti.
mately derived from the Babylon ia n gods. It has already beon
shown (pp. 598-60 J above ) that I ndia and Babylon ia had close
commercial and other contacts from very a ncient tim es. Vide
the recent work 0 11 ' J1itt ites ' by O. n. Gurnoy (i n Pelican
Books, 1958 ), pp. 104 - 105 a nd 124 for techn it:ul Sauskrit words
in borRe bree ding Vedic gods and royal names ill Sanskr it in the
14th century B. C. It is possible to argue that see ing the tomples
of planetary gods in wh ich worship was perfo rmed on oertain
days some India ns got the suggestion of a planetary week, as it
has been suggested above that the ideas of the Zodiacal signs
were derived from Babyloni an bound ary stones a nd similar
monuments. There were Sun temples in ancient In dia 1076
10 75. 3iii: ~ ({<IT Ul~h1T: ~~ ; ~.n: I w~"Oi ~liOr ~:
~1~<14<l: II 3iT~iliU;r.q~ 44. 2.
1076. Vide Gupta In scri p tion s, No. 16 at p. 68 ( in 146 G u pta ora) an d
No.18 p,79 Cor templ es of the S un an d Dr.S . cb a p . 57 . Ma tsya , cbap. 25 7- 263,
Vimudbarmottara lli. 60-69 a nd 13 h av i ~ya I . 13 1 for temples a nd i mageB .
Br: ·S. 57 (verses 46- 48 ) describes t he appearance 01 t be S un image and
Vimudharmottara Ill. 67-6 9 give di rections as to bow im ages of tbe S UD,
th~ ' Moon and planets (Mars and otbers) are to be made .
 684 History of Dha1'maSlistra [Sec. II, Ch. XVIll

such as that of MartarJ4a. in Kashmir, that of M04hera in North

Gujerat and that of Kot:Jarka in Orissa. Even now in some
towns and villages there are temples of Saturn and Rahu
( as at RiihurI in the Ahmednagar District of the Bombay State,
which bears that name after Rahu). Kau~ilya mentions the
several divisions of time from 'tru~a' to yuoa and states that
two nui!iki1::; are equal to a muhu1'/a and an ahoratra (day and
night) has 30 muhurtas (vide note 681 above). From: this: it
follows that Kau~ilya knew only the division of the day into 60
nadls and that a nadI was the same as gba~t Th e Aryabba~lya
gives the following t able: 60 t;inarJi8 are equal to a nncj.i, 60
nadTs are equal to a day (Kalakriyapada, verse 1). Another way of
citing the measures of time is: Time taken for repeating ten long
letters is pr li1:I.a, 6 pranas are equal to pala, 60 palas are equal to
a danda, ghatl or ll iidl (SQryasiddhantaI.ll, Jyotist-attva p. 562).
Pat:Jini derives the word 'nacl indhama' 1077 from naJL NadI is a very
ancient word.1078 It occurs in the B,gveda and appears to mean
~ome cylindrical instrum ent like a flute . 1079 It appears that the
word nadI came to mean a period of time when a conch or a
trumpet or similar instrument was blown to announce the lapse
of one nadl ( 60th part of the day) as there were no clocks then.
Hence division into 60 nuells or ghatis (both words being men-
tioned by Patafijll.li who is generally held to have flourished
about 150 B. C. ) was the ancient mode of dividing the day in
India an d if any Sanskrit work (like the Silryasiddhiinta, chap
12.78-79) refers to 24 parts of the day , that work may be regarded
a.s one of later times, but the whole system of time measuring by
weekdays in India. canDot be said to have been borrowed from a
foreign source. Even Pata.iijali refers to the words nadi and gha~1
as long in use before his time. Thereiore, the division of the day

1077. ;mfi'!l;1!!"VIQ I Q'T. IIT . 2.3 0; on th e previous sutra there are two
v~rtikas and the ~~1111 state s ' ~(1:j ..~q~~ I ~l~·omft-~~-~-m~
~~ I "Imf<fiT I ~~: i!1~~: I ilTir I ~1'I:lff: i!~: I .. . ~ I
~:~~ : I '
1078. The word • n ~cl i' and • n~ d ik~' have several meanings. viz.
flute, tube or pipe, vein or artery, one half muhurta . • Ni dindhama '
means a goldsmith (beca use he makes th e fire flame up by blowing'on it from
a tube ). From l(~thakasa.n)hiti 23. 4 (S a i~ vanaspati~u v~g.vada ti ya
nacjyim ya tUl)ave) it appears that nacji was a musical inltrument that
produced sounds (a trumpet or the like) .
1079. ~ ~ ~~: tl1(~: II '!fr. X. 135.7; the meaning Is
I here is blown the lliitf.i for him (Yama) who is decked with songs of
praise. '
 Divisian of day into nails
into nadis or gha~rs must be held to be long anterior to 200 B. C.
On the whole it would not be far from the truth to say
that weekdays were not borrowed by ancient India en bloc from
elsewhere. It is arguable that usages in Babylon and Syria
might have suggested the arrangement of days into weeks, hut
there is hardly any cogent evidence beyond similarity and
prejudice to show that the origin of the nomenclature and the
method of arriving at the order of the weekdays were not indi-
genous. Vide Cunningham in 1. A. vol. 14 pp. 1 ff. in which he
shows by diagrams how the calculation by Indian gha~rs results
in the same order of weekdays as the European division. Sham
Shastri in Annal., of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,
vol. IV pp. 1-31 after mentioning some rather hazy and obscure
passages from the Vedic literature arrives at the conclusion that
• India was not indebted to the Greeks or Babylunians for week
days or for the discovery of planets. It may be mentioned that
Alberuni (tr. by Sachau, vol. I. chap. X[X pp. 214-215) illustrates
how week-days received names from planets, narrates (p. 215 )
that it was the custom with Hindus to enumerate the plan.ets in
the order of the weekdays and that the Hindus persisted in using
these in their astronomical books and declined to use any other
order or method even if it was more correot.
 CHAPTER XIX
Kalpa, Manvantara, Mahayuga , Yuga
After dealing with time measures from YUflll ( of five years )
down to weekdays and the day one must now briefly deal with
the other measures of time such as Yuga, Mahayuga, Manvan-
t ara and Kalpa. The word Kalpa has its germ in the B,gveda lOBO
X. 190. 3, where it is said that the Creator created the S:lll and
the Moon, th e heaven, the earth and mid- region as before. '
The earliest datable reference to Kalpa is found in Asoka's
edicts e. g. the 4th Rock edict 10Bl at Girnar and Kalsi have ' ava
savata kapa '( yavat sallwartakalpam ) and' iiva kapam ' i n the •
5th Rock Edict at Shahabazgarhi and M ansera. This establishes
that the theories about tho vast extent of Kalpa had been pro-
mulgated in India long before the third century B. C. The
Buddhists also took over the theory of Kalpas as is clear from
the Mahaparinibbanasutta III 53 'Vouchsafe, Lord, to remain
during the Kalpa. Live OIl, 0 Blessed One, through the Kalpa
for the good and happiness of the great multitudes &c. '.

The beliefs that in the dim past there was an ideally perfect
society followed by a gradual degeneracy and decline in standards
of morals, health'and ltll1gth of life and that the cycle of decline
would be followed in the far distant future by a golden age of
perfection in morals &c. have been dealt with in H. of Dh. vol.
III. pp. 885 ff. The word' ljU !la ' has been shown there as having
probably several meanings, viz. a short period of time (Eg. III.
26. 3 ), a cycle of five years and also a long period and a period
of thousands of years. Prof. Mankad in Poona Orientalist
( vol. VI. pp. 211-212) assigns as many as ten meanings to ·the
- ----- - - - - - - - -
1080. ~i'<Pif"'~ um -q~r\(ql'l"'<"qqi{ I ~ '<{ if~;ff ~R~ ~:"
"If. X. 190. 3.
1081. Vide Inscriptions of ASoka in C. I. I. vol. I . pp. 6, 30 (text of
1tb edict), nnd pp. 55. 74 ( text of 5tb edict). In the Vanaparva 188. 69 it is
said tbat fire called Samvartaka will assail the world while the Brahmapural?a
(23 2. 39) says tbat terrible clouds called 'Samvartaka' will rise, when fina l
dissolution (p rat aya) will follow. Therefore,' ava samvata kapa' means
, up to tbe end of Knlpa wben destructive fire called samvaqaka will arise'
(or when terrible clouds called sarOvartakn will ari se ). It may be noted
that the Amara-koSa r!lgards ~, ~,~, !If1f and ~ as synonyms.
 Meanings of yuga 087
word. One cannot agree with him in all th at be says. For
example, he appears to be wrong when he says that in Sikuntala
IV ( yugantaram ar i:l~ ha~ saviti ) yuga means itb of a. day;
yuga does not, so far as I know, mean ~ th anywhere, it means
, four ' in some cases. In Si kuntala ' yugant.'lra &c .• should be
taken to mean that' the sun has come up in th e sky as much as
the length of a yoke (from the eastern horizon)'. That is the sense
of 'yuga.' in B,g. X. 60. 8, X. 101. 3 and 4. ] n tbe Mabiobiirata,
in Manu and the Puranas th e th eory of 1/1/ !las, /IInlll·(/.It.'ara.~ and
kalp~l s has been elaborated at great length. The fou r yugas are
named Krta, Treta, Dviipara and Tisya or Kali a nd concern
only Bhiirata-varsa. 10SI " But it has heen shown (at pp. 886-890 of
the H. of Db. vol. III.) that orig inally tbese were the names of cer-
t ain throws of dice in gambling and tha t from tbe 4tI.J. century
B. C. (if not earlier) they came to be the designat ions of the ages of
man. The earJ.y Gupta inscriptions refo r to K I tayuga as a cycle
of great virtues {as in the Bilsad stone pillar J nscription of
Kum aragupta in Gupta Sariwat 96 in 'Gupta Inscriptions' p. 44,
the Chammak copperplate of Viik':ltaka Pravarasena 11 in 'Gupta
Inscriptions' p. 237, P atta n plates of Pravarasena II. in E. I. 23
p. 81. The theory of Yugas, Manva ntaras a nd Kalpas is
elaborated among ancient works in tho Mab5.bhirata ( Vana-
parva, chapters 149, J88 an d Sint iparva, chap. 69 an d 231-232),
Manu 1. 61-74, 79-86, Visnud harm as lltra chap. 20. ] -21 , Vi ~ rlU­
puril1a 1.3, 6.3,BrahmapUraD&5. 2~9 - 2J2 , Matsya 142-1 45, Viyu
chap. 21, 22, 57, 58, 100, K Ctrln o. 1. chap. 51 and 53, Brahman<;la
II. 6 and 31-36, III. 1, MiirkarJdeya 58 64, 66- 70, 71 -97 ( has tbe

10 81a. ~'( llH~ ~ !FITl~ ~~ f<tJ: I '[,<f ~r ~TQ'~ ':q mint ~tW
~ II 'fI!:l:;-~ 5 . lJ7 ( reads "i'P~f fo r ~~'Q'r and l'fiRl5.;a", ~),
37. 22; J{~ 14 2. 17-18' ':qt'fIT{ ~ iii ~ ~'Il'IS~ I ~ ~i" ~ ':q
~~ ~ II 'l~ ~ ~fR ""~Ir.Nf1ffi I if!1R~':q ~.$ ~ m-
~~ II ' .Vide ~ 27 . 64. Tradition gav e sl igb tly vary in g infor mation
about the end of th e Dvapara age. II is said that tbe war be twee n tb e Kau ra va
and Pa~ (l ava host s was fougbt in tbe peri od of san(lbya between Dvapara
and !{ali ( Ad i. 2. 13) . Similarl y , ~ GO. 25 ( lim l'fiT~ ~ ) , ~i 14\).
3 8 say tb at Kaliyu &:a was very near when th e Bbarata war was a bout to he
fought (~~ owm~~ ) . On tb e other hand, many of tb e
Pura~as say t bat f{aliyuga began th e very d ay J(r~na fini shed bi s avatara and
went to heaven; ~ 99. 4 28-29 .~IlI . 74 .24 1.~ 273 . 49-50, iit~
IV. 24. 110, mtT'ffl XII. 2. 33; Ifl;f 2 12 .8 has tb e same idea in differen t word s.
Vide note 993 for quotat ions fro m some of t bese Puranas. Tbe Mausala-
parva 1.13 and 2.20 state that l{r ~l)a passed away 36 years after tbe Bharata
war. In any case l:TlR came to an end immedi a tely or a few years after tbe
Bbarata war.
688 History of DharmaS'iistra [ Sec. II, Ch. XIX

longest account of Manvantaras), and by astronomical writers

and works such as Aryabha~a, Suryasiddhanta, Brahmagupta,
Siddhantasiroma)1i. None of these works enf,l,bles us to furnish a
satisfactory explanation about the rise of this system of Kalpas,
Msnvantaras and Yugas. Pargiter (in AIHT p. 175) thinks that
the divi::lion into four ages had a historical basis. That may
or may not be so. But what historical explanation can be
offered about manvantaras and kalpas is Dot stated anywhere.
The theory of yugas concerned only Bbaratavarsa as stated in
several Pura)1as. All these works contain the same general
features but there are many divergences in details. As the
Manusmrti contains one of the oldest accounts, a summary of
its remarks will be first set out. First, seven Manus are enume-
rated viz. Svayambbuva, Svarocj ~a, Uttama, Tamasa, Raivata,
Caksu~a and Vaivasvata. Then divisions of time from n i me.5a
are specified ( 18 nimesa == Kas~h a, 30 Kas~h as :::: Kala, 30 Kalas
= =
Mub urta, 30 Muburtas ahoratra ); it is then said that the
human month is the day and night of pi tt~ , the human year is
divine aho1·u{ra. Krta-yuga extends over 40 00 1081 years, sanrfhya
( twilight) before it is 400 years, sandhyarn sa after it is 400
years. The three other yugas Treta, Dvapara and Kali have
respectively 3000,2000, 1000 years and sandhyas and sandhya-
msas together of respectively 600, 400 and i OO years. The four
yugas thus come to 120UO years (4300 plus 3600 plus 2400 plus
1200 ); this is called the yuga of gods (i. e. this is the di'Vya
measure) and 1000 of these four come to one day of Brahma and
the same is the extent of the night of Brahma. Seventy-one
yugas of 12000 divine years each constitute a manvantara and
Manu (I. 80) winds up by saying. that manvantaras are
numberless 1083 and so are creations and dissolutions. It should

1082. Manu 1. 65-67 are the same as sa ntiparva 23l. 15-17, Manu I.
65-66 are th e sa me as Matsya 14 2. 5- 6 ( with sli ght variation s ). Manu I.
69-70 are th e sa me as Santi 231. 20-2 1, Va yu 57, 23-2 4 and Matsya 142.
19- 20, Manu I, 69 is same as Vanapan'a 188 . 22 · 23,

1083. It was said by Manu (1. 81- 82 ) that Kr ta was an age in which
Dharma wa s four-footed aDd perfect, that in the other ages dharma declin ed
successively by one foot. tha t theft, falsehood and fraud increase in propor-
tion. Th en Manu further avers (I, 83- 86 ) tbat the length of human life in
the four a ges is respectively 400, 300 . 200 and 100 years , tbat the set of
duti es differ in tbe {our ages, Dharma is said to be {our-footed because
Manu VIII. 16 identifies dbarma with vr~a (bull). Both Plato and Aristotle
believed thilt every art and science had many times developed to its apogee
and then deteriorate<\,
 Kulpas and ~~{al!vanla1"as 689
be noticed that the word Kalpa does not occur in this long enume-
ration. But in other works than the Manusm rti e.g. Visl;mpUraJ;ll\
(Vl. 3. 11-12) fourteen Ma nva ntaras are said to constitute a Kalps ,
which is a day of Brahma. As a day of the gods is equal to a human
year, the 12000 years that constitute a divine ca l nrljl/(/u, are equa.l
to 4320000 human years 1083., (12000 x 360) i. e. this is the human
( ma. ::usa ) measure of time.
When an d bow these huge numbers of years for th e
yugas were suggeste d remai ns somewhat enigmatic. It appears
that as early as the Satapatha-urahmal}a people had beoome
familiar with buge figures. The Satapatha 1084 says that there are
10800 muhurtas in a year (in one aho ratra 30 x 360), that
Prajapati arranged the B,gveda in such a way that the number
of syllables it contains is equ al t o 12000 Brhatls ( each Brhati
having 36 syllables ) i. e. 432000 syllables and it is further stated
that the l~gveda also contains 1081:0 panktis (each pankti baving
40 syllables i. e. the syllables :u e 10800 x 40 =432000. Pra jilpati is
said to have arranged the other two Vedas also and the three Vedas
amounted to ten thousand eight hundred eighties (that is 80 x 10 -00
= 864000 syllables), tha t IIInhlir/(/ by IIlIthul·ta he gained eighty
syllables (as there are 10800 llluhu1'las in a sacrificial year of
360 days ). Dr. Jean Filliozat, Professor at the Collese de France,
Paris, puts forward the theory in a recent article (in ·the Bulletin

10 83 a . Many a ncient a u tbors in almost a ll coun tries believed tba t tbere

were differen t ages with differing levels of vi rtu e and tbat th ey th em.elves
lived in t be worst age . Vid e H esiod 's ' Wor ks a nd days' pp. 11 - 17 (Loeb
Classical Li brary) where H esio d 's own age was sa id to be th e wor st of five
ages. The Babylonians made out 2160000 years for tb e duration of the
world and imagined t here were tbree ages , viz . golden . si lver and copper.
Vide pp. 33-34 of Maclean's ' Babylonian astrology in relation to tb e Old
T estament'. Sarton also tbinks tbat tbe Sumerians originated n golden age
of man and speak of hu ge numbers of yea rs , viz. 12,960 ,000 (PP. 69 and 118
of' a H is tory of Scien:e ' ). lle rossus gave a list of ten ante-deluvian kings
reigning in all for 43 2000 years (see Cambridge Ancien t History, 1923, vol.
I. page 150 ). Vide Hea th 's 'Greek astrono my ' ( Introduction , p. XIV)
re Egyptia ns' cl aim for possessi ng records of observation s of stars for
630,000 ye ars and a similar claip:l of Babylonians for 1,444, 000 years.
1084. ~ {!~~: I ~ 1fT!{ ~t ~ ~ t"a ~ fn;n-
m~w ~~ n ~ ;w;il-ni'\~ I ~ '1i,,'lfltl'C410~\1I'f(<il ~ 'q"(: 'Inn-
qf,HLeltdlfi~ ~ q,~""rna;" ill 11~~ ~sms-~ "t¥liI&~1"1Ifl,q
I
mI'liTS\t 11~~ : lNll~ ~rmf ~IS~ I 3{~1
'Wi
mrf.l .i\
~ I ... ~ ~'!fIir qr: I ~ '" ~0lfE!"l '" ~1"I.q~l'\tR"I"'~ ~ ~
61~"I~f6 ... t:;(l(( I ~ X. 4. 2.22 , 23 , 25,
H. D.87
690 HistOl Y of DharmaSlislm l Sec. II, Ch. XIX
of L'Ecole Francaise D'Extreme-Orient, Tome XLIV, Fas. 2,
pp. 538-546) that the number of years in Kaliyuga ( 432000 )
wae suggested by these figures in the Satapatha, that the high
figures in the ancient Indian literature are scientific and not
astrological, and that in the upinion of Heraclitus 10800 ordinary
human year8 were equal to oue ' great year', that Berussus held
that a great astronomical period was of 432000 years and that
as the Satapatha-brahmana is far more ancient than both
Heraclitus and Berossus, the borrowing, if it exists, must have
been by the Greeks from India. Vide' Ancient relations between
Indian and foreign astronomical systems' by Dr. J. Filliozat
in JOR, Madras, vol. XXV (for 1957) pp. 1-8; also Prof.
Zinner (in 'Stars above us' p. 59) for theories about the age
of the world held by Plato and Berossus. Ono day of Brahma is
equal to a Kalpa i. e. 4320000 x 1000 i. e. 432,000,000,0. In
order lOS; to find out the hUma'l years uf the one hundrod years
of Brahma's life we shall have to multiply 432,000,0000 by 2,
then by 360 and then by 100. That is, the day and night of
Brahma come to 8640000000 human yoars; the year of Brahma
would then bo equal to 3110400000000 human years (taking
360 days as a year); one hundred years of Brahm:l thus come
to 311040000000000 yoars. Alberuni ( Sachau, vol. I p. 332) also
mentions this colossal figure about tho life of Brahma.
Some said that the extent uf Brahll15,'s life was 108 years.
Bralullu is said tu have already livod 50 years and it is the
second half of his life that is running and at present it is the
Varaha. lQ86 Kalpa and Vaivasvata-manva.utara 10lJ7 (7th) that

1085. A ~"lI;oa'1{ would mean '~: ~:,' or ~~I'N'!fir~lslfI'1tqr as

~~Tifr explains. If 1000 ;;rQr~s are divided by 14, each >I;1f~ is equal
to 71 ~T'!!'IS plus a little more (i. e, six mahayugas divided by 14),
Therefore, the R~~1Uf says' "4d4'."",; ~'iffll ~~I ;it'limrm: I ~ ~;fr:
1ifil'1'l': ~~ilt • ~~ "'1. 3.18; vid,' also lIf~f1'El' II. 6,19 and II. 35.173. o:q~­
~~ q;t'~~;i\~: I fiR ll,45 49; ~~d~'lfff'lJrilr"r'(~""l.1I ~~­
~'!If il"'QqiJi~ ~~mill <nfi'i\ ~'1' ~'l'"lIfT1ir ~'1:I1~q;( '1'l''l': II {;t1l1!!'!. VI. 3. 11-12.
1086 1!"1'ill~'l' t-q;ft,,'l1 ~,iJ ~S"'~ I ~S~q;t"l: ttl~ W'~R~:II
qwh1ll(tt~ ~
fltftll\ll 1fIUI<..m
IFf I ~ INI'{: qR-'!fi~": II ~~
I. 3. 27-28.
1087. The word I ~, frequently occurs in the ~gveda and other
samhitas, Manu is often spoken of as the father of humanity and of the
sages and as laying down the proper path for mankind. Vide: .. rfot ~'I(Uffm"
finn ~ ~ .1l1lJl ~'l' !fI~1'{1I '!If. II. 33.13; I:fT "'1: IN: i'Q"ql'''I.,qlC;I'ij ~ ~
~: n lR. VlIl. 30. 3; lit it I{~ ~ ilfWi.¥'l': .tt 01'1 :.{''!If ~ 11''11 ~"
( Con#nfftld on _ I pagtl )
 Past Manus 691

are going on. The past six Manus are Svayambhuva, SViirocisa,
Utta.ma, Tamasa, Raivata, Ciik!?usa an d the present is Yaivasvata..
the 7th Manu (Brahms 5.4-5, Kfmna 151. 4-5 , Vi!iU:l u Ill.
1. 6-7). The remaining seven Manus are differently named in
several Pura~as e. g. Vi!?I;lU (III. 2. 14 ff ) and Nara.siIi1hapurii~a
24. 17-35 mention the future Manus as Siivarni, Daksa Siivarni,
Brahruasavar ni, Dharmasavarnika. Rudra-s.:1varl,li, Ruci and
Bhauma ; while Brahma ( 5. 5--6) mentions four of the future
seven as Siivarni, Raibhya, Raucya, Merusi varni. Kurma
(1 53. 30-31) names the future four in the same way as VisJ;lu
( only substitutin g Savarna for Siivar ni wherever it occurs and
the last two as Raucya and Bhautya). All the fourteen Manus
are enumerated in Niiradapurana 1. 40. 20-23. Alberuni (tr. by
Sachau, vol. I. chap. XLIV p. 387 ) gives the names of Manvan-
t aras according to the Vhmudharmottara, iSI;lupura.na an d other
Bources. Sivarnya 1088 Manu as a great benefactor and lea der
of some territory occurs in :ago
X. 62. 11. It is said that eaoh
Manvantara had a separate set of sages, sons of Manu, gods,
kings, smrtis, Iodra and guardians for the proper regulation of
dharma and for the protection of the people ( Brahma 5. 39 ,
Visnupuriina III. chapters 1-2 ). In the ViSl,lupu riil,la it is said that
some gods remain fo r four yugas, some for a manvantara and
some stay for a kalpa. lOS!!" The Vis ~lUdharmas Ct tra ( cbap.
XX. 1- 15 ) has tho same account of Manvantaras an d Kalpas as
Manu's but it adds one detail viz. that the whole age of Brahmii.
is equal to a day of l'urusa ( Visnu ) and the night of Purusa is
also as long. It is rem3.rkable that the same view is attributed
by Alberuni (Sachau vol. 1. p. 332) to the PullSasiddhanta.
It is not known whether those European scholars who regard
P uliSa to be Paulus Alexandrinus have shown that this detail
occurs in the work of the Greek Astrologer Paulus. In the
Vanaparva ( 188. 22-29 ) the same account as in Manu occurs
(Cont inu,d from last page )
I V . 54. 1;
';fi . -ql
~ '<l .. ij<<i4*':jl .. ..,"lI ~. ~. 11. 2 . )0. 2. Iii~. XI. S .
In tb e ~'IfII'1iFIT ( I. 8. 1. 1 ) occurs the (smous story o( Man u and the
delu ge. Ano th er story is t bat o( Manu and h is son Nabha n edi~!ha in ~.~ .
III. 1. 9.4-6 an d q. lIfT · 22 . 9. Vide H. o( Dh. vol. III. p . .543 .
1088. ~ mwRl1'I~ w.;;m: ~ ~ij ~rlfon I m~:
II f<tV«1'Sqw.,,~, ~111 <m!1'{" ';fi . X 62. 11. In ';fi. X.62 9 tbe giCt s
made by m<I~ are mentioned. Tbe l'fT1'mI'~ (XII . 7. 15) say, ' ~(
~: ~: ~"ii(: I Slfliq-l~'iJ If(: ~~" ,
1088 a. ~~\iid.i ~rt;;('¥l"''''< ~r: I fiitsF... ~ ~ Jf1Il • 1fi{IIf-
~~:,,~o 1.12.93.
692 History of Dharrru.Ulistra [ Sec. II, Ch. XIX

except this that 12000 years are called Y u,qa 1089 simply and not
caturyuga (as in Manu 1. 71). The Markandeya has a long
story about Svarocisa in chapters 58-65, devotes to Uttama
chap. 66- 70, chapter 71 to Tamasa, chap. 72 to Raivata, chap. 73
to Caksu!?a, chap. 74- 76 to Vaivasvata, chap. 77 to Savarni,
chap. 78-90 to DevI, chap. 91-95 to Raucya or Ruci, chap. 96-97
to Bhautya. The word' Vaivasvata • (son of Vivasvat. the Sun)
is applied to Yama in several pa.ssages of the Egvedn. (X. 14. 1,
X. 58. 1, X. 60. 10, X. 164. 2 ). The A.nukramani, however,
ascribes Ug. VItI. 27-31 to Vaivasvata Manu as the r.~i and in
one of the Valakhilya hymns ( 8,g. X. 52. 1 ) occurs the following
verse' 0 Indra I just as you drank the soma extracted in (the
sacrifice of) Manu Vivasvat, just as you frequently accept the
hymn of praise in ( sacrifice of) Trita, so may you simultaneously
delight in ( the soma a nd praise) of Ayu.' 1090 It may be noted
that the Manusmrti names only the seven Manus (1. 61-63 )
and states that each Manu during his own time (which extended
over thousands of years) created the moval,le and immovable
world and protected it, that Manvantaras are numberless
(Manusmrti 1. 80) and that the Great God (Paral11e~th in)
brought about the creation and destruction of the world during
the Manvantaras. Some of the PUranas such as Matsya (9.
37- 39, 142. 40, 144. 97-98), Vayu (59. 34). Agni ( 150. 21 ),
Visnu ( 1. 3 and VI. 3 ) state 10'JO" that Manu and the seven sages
in . ~ach Manvantara (i. e. where there is a change of Manu)
who are the s i!?~as that then exist are devoted to dharma, being
ordered by Brahma for the purpose of continuing the worlds,
declare the truth and promulgate the Vedas. Some modern
1089. mI~~~illtvOTT iq; I ufi ~~r.ffi ff~ifRT~1 'iAT: "
~~. 23. 31 a nd .tTl'fT Vlll. 17 . The word ~ is often used to denote the
12000 years of divine measure as in l:{~Q"~ 188. 38 'I:!'lrl l<~'fIT~ ~l
q~II '.
1090. lfUT ~l:!lII~
W'I'l .nil
W-fil~: W'l'l.' lfUT Rr~ urq ~ i!P~
~ w;:nll t;H . VIlI. 52 . 1 (4th ~~~'i!i).
1090 a. ~<fufAl'1ll'!T~ff ~;;.r ; Q"T~I: I .. . ~ ~S~ ~<ifit~!!-m11 ~:;:ro.
~ , ~1t fif.i"~ ~ qtUll m I ~ ~~r-ff f.I~~ ll": ll":' ~
9. 37-39; ;rom! ~ ~ "" m~ 1:t1#r!fil:' ~: mlf~ rllifi\lOdI.,Cfi I(OIli{'
~:u ~ "f ~1!l ~ lfNm,"1i Jf'<J~ I~. 59 . 34; !l'qilfmt ~Jj(f ~ \l1T~~:'
smt. 150.21; the ~llU'Il (142.29- 32) calculates the numbers of years in a
~ as follow s: ' lt1n <;'J"ij~ij~~; I ~~ 'fIT
¥l.;hi'('j(!!~i\" ifRI~ ~ij~ f.i"IIit'l:re 11!"CfiT~'<fUT~: ~ ~
~: " ~tlT WH'Itt'¥lIM ~ ~tf.l ~: , ~1fm{iit ij trmJ~ .. "
~_ ~;mn~ ~'~"""'(~Cj ~ ~~ ~!t1I1; \'i de
1IfIffVC ( II. 35, 164- 165) which differs slightly from this.
 Manu and Saptarttis &9a
writers (like Dr. Daftari ) think 1090b that in ancient times there
was an Indian institution of public functionaries called Manu
and the Saptarsis, whose function was to legislate and promul-
gate the Vedas. With great respect to the erudite scholar, I dis-
agree with him. The extant Pur:ina passages are less than :WOO
years old, while tbe present Vaivasvata Manvantara started
several millions of years ago and even Kaliyuga in which we are
deemed to li ve started in 3102 B. C. Besides, there is a dissolution
of the world at each day of Brahmii, if one is to rely on the Pauriil,lik
accounts. How could a tradition of the several Ma.nus survive
such pralaya? A rationalistic interpretation requires that all this
that is stated in the Pural,las is mere conjecture and imagination
and that one cannot sufely huild theories about tho governanoe
of society in ancient times on tho accounts contained ill PUr:illIlS.
The Manusmrti ( II. 19 ) appears to assign the function of the
regulation of the eonduct of all mon in the world to the learned
brahmanas born in Brahmarsidesa ( i. e. Kuruksetra, the countries
of Matsya, PailCala and Silrasena or Mathurii.) at least atter his
own code was promulgated.
Pessimistic and dismal accounts of what will happen in
Kaliyuga ( which extends according to the Purii.l,laS over 432000
years and of which only about 5057 years have gone by this time
in 1956) are set forth in tho Vanaparva, chap. 188,190, Sii.nti-
parva 69. 80-97, the Hariva.111sa (Bhavisyaparva, chap. 3-5 fT. ).
Brahillapuri.i.na chap. 229-'!30, Viiyu chap. 58 and 99 verses
391-..128, Matsya 14:4. 32-47, Kt:lTlna I. 30, Visnupurii.~1a VI. 1,
Bhiigavata Xil. 1· 2, Brahll1ii.~l~a 11. 31 and in Meveral other
puriiI,las. The description ill Vunaparva 188 is summarised in
H. of Dh. vol. III pp. 893-895. The names of 33 Kalpas are
given in V:iyu, chap. 21-:!3 and Hemadri on Kala ( pp. 670-671 )
sets out from Nagarakhunda. the names of 33 Kalpas and the
tithis on which they start; Mataya 290 enumerates thirty names
of Kalpas; the Brahmanda 11 31. 119 states that there are 35
Kalpas and neither more nor less.
In the puriinaa pr da!Ja is said to be of four sorts, 1091 viz.
nitYa ( the every day deaths of those that are born), IUlimiltika
1090 b, Vide • The rationalistic and realistic InterpretatioD of the
Upanishads' (pp. 2 and 3 ) published at Nagpur in 1958.
1091. ~~ ~ i~"'11 V: ll'l~ l7,ll': 1 ~l ~~mt '3I1l'lr-ri 1fT1Iit
~;it l7,ll': II :q~J?it ll'l'P: ~~: I ~-q 3fR1riift1it ~~:.
( Continu,d Oil nut pag. )
•
 History qf Dharmafllstra [ Sec. II, Ch. XIX

( when a day of Brahmii ends, then there is a dissolution of the

world), priikrtika ( when everything dissolves itself into prakrti,
primordial substance) and at yantika pralaya is Mokf$G, (liberation
of the soul due to correct knowledge of Reality and absorption into
the Supreme Spirit). Harrowing descriptions of the naimittika
and priikrtika pralayas are given in several purii~1as. A lengthy
description of the naimittika dissolution is ccmtained in Kiirma
II. 45 . 11- 59 of which a brief summary is given here. When the
one thousand Caturyugas end, there is the absenoe of rain for a
hundred years j the result is that living beings perish and are reduc-
ed to earth j the sun's rays become unbearable, and even the ocean is
dried up; the earth is burnt by the fierce heat of the sun together
with its mountains, forests and continents. As the sun's rays
fall burning up everything, the whole world presents the
appearance of one huge fire. Fire burns everything whether
mobile or immoveable. The animals in tb e big seas come out
and are reduced to asbes. Then tbe sariwartaka fire growing by
the force of the wind burns the wbole earth and its flames rise
up to a beight of tbousands of yujunas and the fIGIomes burn up
gandha1'/)as, goblins, yak .~a8 , serpents and raksasas and not only
the earth but the worlds called' bhuva}_l ' and ' maha}_l' are burnt j
then huge sariwartaka clouds resembling herds of elephants, lit
up by lightnin g, rise in the sky, some looking like blue lotuses,
Borne yellowish, some having the colour of smoke, some like
sealing wax and fill the whole sky and then extinguish the fires
by sending down heavy showers. When the fires are extingu-
ished, the clouds of destru ction cover th e whole world with floods;
mountains are concealed and the earth is plunged in waters and
all becomes Olle ocean of water and then god Brahma resorts to
Yuuic sleep. Vanaparva (ch ap. 27 2. 32-48) also contains a
brief description of nainllifika pra!aya.
The Kurma 1. 46 and Vis~u VI. 4. 12-49 furnish a descrip-
tion of the prak rtika pralaya which takes 8iinkhya term in ology
for granted,l09J and is briefly as follows: when all the worlds
( Continued t,.om last page)
~iirmf.i 11 3{llt 368 . 1 -2; ~: lilTofil~$rrttri7<!q;) fi):;;f l Mt"i'll ~r.ri
~~~: II ~ ~~~ ~if5-q ~: I smt~ l:lr~ ~ ~
~ vwr.r: tro'ItmA I Mttr:~!f
(ll'll'1( II ~1"14I!qiTl1q;: ~ 'I{m;rt ~) w.mn
~~ti. I fill1!lllo I. 7. 41-43 and VI. 3. 2 ff. where ~1l' is said to be
~; vid e 1# II. 45. 1-10 for similar explanations.
1092. For the ~s. vide ~~!'fiT 3 ' ~fffi:~~TUl:
1I\im~1l: m:f I ~!tilll ~ ... ~ fitifit: ~: II '. ~,~,~ and
( ContitJuea 0" ,,"I page)
 Description of priif..'ftika praiaya 695

including all the nether regions are destroyed by absence of

rains and all effects from mahal onwards are destroyed, waters
first absorb the gandha (the special quality of the earth) and
when gandha-tanmatra is destroyed, the earth is reduced to
w3ter; the special quality of waters, viz. msa-!anmil!ra is des-
troyed and nothing but fire remains and the whole world is filled
with flames, then Vayu absorbs fire and 7'upa-tanmlilra vanishes;
Vayu shakes all the ten quarters; akiisa absorbs the ~pa7"Sa-(l'IIJ:la
of Vayu and only akasa remains as a void and sailda-!anlitiit'l'a
is gone and in this way the seven prakrtis including malta! and
alud/.klira are absorbed in order; even Pralqti and Purusa are
dissolved in Paramatman ( named ViSlfU). The day of ViSlfU is
said to be two Parardbas of human years.
Some works like the Harivamsa (Bhavisyaparva chap. 10.
12-68) provide that at the end of Kalpa the sage Markalftleya alone
remain s a nd lies a t the time 'of ~ Lte pralaya ( or kalpa ) in the side
of Lord ViSlfU a nd then comes out of His ]]) outh. The Brahma·
puralfa ( 52. 1.-19 and 53. 55 ) says that Markalftleya sees a m!a
tree at the end of Kalpa and a jewelled bed on which he sees a
boy lying down ( i. e. Visnu him self ) and then he enters the sido
of that boy and later comes out. Vide also Matsya 167 (14- 66)
for the same story in almost the same words. The Bhagavadglta
( VIII. 18- 19) speaks of the recurrent absorption of all beings at
the advent of the night of Brahmii and reappearance of beings
when the day of Brahma starts.
The theory of yugas, manvantaras and kalpas with their
fabulous numbers of years and harrowing descripti ons of pralaya,
appears unreal, bizarre and called up by sheer fancy. But under-
lying it there is the idea of the timelessness of the universe,
though from time to time it evolves, gradually declines and
perishes, only to reappear in perfection after a cosmic night.
There is also the hankering after Reality and pursuit of different
ideals. It enshrines the ideas that humanity embarks on a
certain goal, pursues it with great efforts an d, after achiev-
ing some success, gives up that goal and the way that was
thought to lead to it and pursues some other goal for aeons in
the hope that at some distant date it will be able to evolve and

( Continu,d from last page)

q~s are of a double nature i. e. both J1'Lim and ~fit. The sixteen
(which are merely products and not causes) are five ~'lfs. five ~"
five mabiibhiitas (iN.q~Wlq l ""I"'I~I) and iI'iI: •
696 History of Dha1'lnaS'iiRtra LSeo. n, Ch. XIX

construot a perfect society. These ideas are at the bottom of

what Manu 1093 and others sa.y 'Tapas was the highest goal
( deemed to yield great results) in Krtayuga, knowledge ( of the
self) was the highest in Treta, yajfia (sacrifices to God) in DViipara,
charity alone in Kali'. This further implies that there are different
impelling motives in different ages and modern men should not
assess the actions and ideals of past ages by the same yardstick
that is applied to contemporary actions and ideals. It is im-
plicit in the words of Manu (XI .. 301 ) that the four ages are not
water-tight specific periods of time, but that the Ruler or Govern-
ment can produce conditions of Krta age in what is popularly
called Kali by appropriate conduct or measures and Medhatithi
expressly says so.l09Ja Prof. Mankad has a novel theory in a
paper on the manvantaras in 1. H. Q. vol XVIII, pp. 208-230,
where he states that the Caturyuga formula took 40 years for
a ruling unit and not for one king'!'! regnal period and that the
manvantara was tho regular method of calculating regnal periods
of different kings in a dynasty ( p. 2;~7). Hardly any scholar has
accepted this theory and for reasons of space and relevance, it is
not possihle to discuss it here.
In the details about the theory of yugas, manvantaras and
kalpas there are some divergences. A few may be pointed out.
Aryabha~a appears to hold that the extent of each of the four
yugas was the same and not in the traditional proportion of 4,
3, 2, 1, when he says that he was twenty-three years old when
three ?/uaapadas and 3600 years had elapsed (vide Kil.lakriYipida
10 quoted in note 995 above). Brahmagupta (1. 9) says 1094 that,
though Aryabha~a declared that the four padas of yugas, viz. Krta
1093 eN: qt 'fi~ ~-qf-';";~~~ I J:rq~ ~r.;~~t-~it II Ilil
I. 86 = ~ 23.28 = lfrri'iUO! 1>. 65-66, ~~ I. 23. qrg; reads 'lillioi
q~ ~ and <rr-f <fi~~ ~~. The ~ (II. 7. 59 ) says '~rif q~ ~
~'"llt lI1f ~'lffll li~ lfT<i~ ~ ~~ <fi~ ~ II. ,

1093 a. ''Iit'i ~'" 'Pl,.q am <fim~..q I ~I '1'<1lf.'i ~ um ~?!'I­

~1l1t 11' Il;J XI. 301; ' i { ..iji{ ~~-q U~I <tim""!=! <fi~f.i~q ~Im'f~: <fi'ql=lt
'1m
~'I"iiJ'ii ~r I"ffi';t :gmfit' ;r1:TTfiliV.
1094. '9;"4'iI''1,<l'RSJ.il(''HR ~~ ~~If.f I llqI~ ~ ~~
~~ II iIf,~fff. I 9. ~ er.f~nH,f mHfT+l,;:lf f~~' 3i1!!Rn
m .fIit ~) 'II'lrn'T'i{f1I. 11 ~'R~, <nTm'iti'll1n'f 8. This means '12000
divine years make a yuga of all the />laflets; 1008 times of planetary yugas
are equal to a day of Brahma.' It!l~ ?!'I~<tll.q~aE!1»ia~!'I; ~: I
!fil'JQ'«l~~~~11I1i11l~~I.12. The words '~: ...
~; 'pointedly refer to the Gitikapada verse q. above in note 1071.
 Aryabha¢a and Rrahmafl1tpta

and the others, were equal, not one of them was equal to what
the smrtis declare them to be. There is another discrepancy
also. Aryabhata in his Dasagitikii. verse 3 states that Manu is
a period of 72 yugas, while all the smrtis and purii.~as declare
that a manvantara is equal to 71 yugas. Aryabba~a appears
to have beld tbat the day of Brabmii. is equal to 1008 ('7//l.I"YI/I/l1.'1
and Brahmagupta ( I. 12) refers to this view. The celebrated
scientific astronomer Bbiiskaracarya 10-')5 (born in saka 1036,
1114 A. D. ) impatiently says' some say that half of the life of
Brahma ( i. e. 50 years) has passed away, while others say that
half plus eight years has passed away. Whatever the true tradi-
tion may be, it is of no use, since planetary positions are to be
established from the days that have passed in the <;mrrent day
of Brahma.'
As incidental to the colossal figures of the years of Kalpas
and Yugas, a few words on numerals, their antiquity and the
methods of writing numerals would not be out of place, In the
E.gveda numerals from 1 to 10 are frequently used. • Sahasra '
( thousand) and' ayuta' ( ten thousand) occur in Ug. IV. 26.1,
VIII. 1. 5, VIII. 21 18. One of these says10<J6 '0 wielder of
thunderbolt! 0 immensely rich ( Indra ) ! I shall not give thee
away even for a big price, not for a thousand, not for ten
thousand, nor for hundreds '. In gg. VIII. 46. 22 a poet says 'I
secured 60000 and several tens of thousands of horses, 20 hundreds
of camels, one thousand dark· coloured mares and ten thousands
of cows bright in three parts of their bodies.' In Ug. 1. 53. 9
lndra is said to have struck down sixty thousand and 9H enemies.
Vide Hg. 1. 126. 3 (for sixty thousand cows), V!I1 4. 20 and
VIII. 46. 29 for 60000 and VI. 63. 10 for one bundrod thousand
horses. In some of these the larger numbers are mentioned first
and the smaller ones next (as in E.g. 1. 53. 9, VllI. 46. 22)j in
others it is the reverse. No conclusion can therefore be drawn
that the smaller numbers come first in the Egvedic times. In
TaL S. IV. 4.11. 3-4 reference is made to bricks in numbers from
one, one hundred, thousand, ayuta (ten thousand), niyuta,
prayuta, arbuda, nyarbuda, samudra, madhya, anta and parardbe.,
while in Tal. S. vn. 2. 11-19 various numbers from one to one
109S. <'fUT .ffl~'Il ~~fi.l mi ~I~ ~": I ~~: ..nfit
~)'l-qlm ~ 'Id'l'''''!'H<'fit( ~\'1:Il: II ~. ~. I. 26.
1096. ~ ~"ffl+{~: !ffi ~~'Il ~ I ,,~ iI'f'!I'I~ .m.m ... ~
~ II ~. \'UI. 1. 5; Ilfre
~(~~mWl1!YIVIi ii~ ~ I ~ ~t
~~~~mt~n'R. VIII. 46. 22.

B. D. 88
700 History of Dharmaslistra [ Sec. n, Ch. XIX

~ions of man. There is a good deal of literature on this subject

which is passed over here as not material for our purpose. One
of the latest works on this system is ' From Zero to Infinity' by
Constance Reid (Routledge and Kegan Paul, L ondon, 1956). Zero
is the first of ten symbols with which one can represent an
infinitude of numbers and it is also the first of the numbers.
This work says that the zero escaped even the greatest Greeks,
Pythagoras, ' Euclid and Archimed es (p. 4). The Egy ptians 1102
had a decimal system of numerals but no sign for zero and
therefore no positional notation, which even the Greeks did not
know; ancient Bab:9lonians also had 110 definite symbol for zero
and there is no example of zero signs at the end of numbers even
in their latest astronomical writings. It is difficult to say when
exactly a symbol or word for zero was employed in Ind ia. But
it must nave been several centuries before th e beginning of the
Christian era. Pingala 's work on metres is a 1·('(liJ'Ii!la. Ping-ala's
slMa on metres makes use of 7.ero ( stmya) in VIII. 28-31.
Even the Satapatha Br. (XI. 4. 3. :W ) seems to be aware of
Vedangas. But it may be argued that there is nothing to show
that Piogala's work was known to it. It is most probably
1102. Vide' Legacy of Egy pt' ( Glanville p. 166) . E . S. A. by Neuge-
bauer p. 20, Sarton in ' a History ol Science' p. 69; Pro l. Neugeuauer in
JAOS. vol. 61 pp . 213-215 avers that stron g arguments ex ist for tbe assu mp-
tion that the Babylonili.n methods of calculation weot, toget her with Greek
Astronomy, to India, and that, sometime i<1 th e flrst cen turi es of tbe
Cbristian era, tbe correspondi ng deci mal place value notation in In d ia ,
which tbrou gh the Arabs gave rise to the moderu system of E urol'e. With
great respec t tbe author must demur to th ese assertions. Tbe learned writer
endeavours to show that a peculiar sign was used for zero in Mesopotamian
4

cuneiform texts. Th e importa nt questions that mus! be answered are; who

discovered tbe symbol {or zero now u sed almo st tlHou ghout the world,
whetber the so-called sign for zero wbich Prof. Neugebauer asserts he has
discovered In cuneifonn texts was ever used in E urope or for that matter any-
where in the world except in Mesopotamia, wba t direct relation exists
between the Indian zero symbo l and th e recently discovered zero symbol
(wbich no one had found so (ar ), whether the symbols lor 1 \0 9 in India
bear any resemblance to the Mesopotamian sym bols for th ese numbers,
whether the Greeks (who admittedly borrow ed many thin gs from Meso-
potamia) used the Mesopotamian zero sym bol and, if so, wben. The 19th
century was distinguisbed by the tbeories of Western Scholars claiming
that science, philosophy and arts bega n in Greece and that other nations
borrow ed th ese from the Greeks. Tbat bubbl e of Greek primacy in theEe
matters has now been pricked. Tbe twentinth century appears to be heading
(or giving to Mesopotamia the place once a ss igned to the Greeks. The
Mesopotamian bubble raised by some scbolars may he pricked in course of
t ime, particularly as regards otbers borrowing (rom them .
 Several methods of writing numerals 70i
mentioned as Chandoviciti in the Apastamba--dharmasutra. l103
Sabara 1104 (about 200 A. D. and not later than 400 A. D. )
speaks of Pingala's work as on the same level with P iill ini's
sutra. It is unnecessary to oft'er further proofs of the antiquity
of Pingala's sutra.
There were several methods of writing numerals. One was
the place value notati on, in which tbe same numeral ~ aE! different
values according to the place it occupies; for example, the figure
two may have the value of only two or twenty or two llUndred
and so on according as it occupies the units place or tens place
or hundreds place. Another way is that of employ ing words to
denote complete numbers. This was a yery reliable method when in
astronomy huge figures had to be employe d a nd works were not
printed but only copied by hand. In a ncient times, the writers
of mss. might often om it zeros or other figures, but if words with
a fixed meaning in relation to numbers were used, they would
not be so easily dropped and as many works were metrical, the
omission of a word, if a ny, might have been far more easily
detected. It is difficult to say when this system was introduced.
But its beginnings are ancient. For example, the word krt.a is
used in the Taittiriya llDS Br:ihma lla in the sense of 'four '.
Varahamihira (beginning of the 6th century A. D.) employs
these word num erals but in the place value system (vide H . of
Dh. vol. Ill. p. 897 n. 176 3.) The following is a list of some of the
very usual numbers with the corresponding words employed
to indicate them It should be noted that the list is not exhaus-
tive. Any number of synonyms n Ob may be employed to indicate
the same number. Vid ll the lists in Alberuni (Sachau, vol. 1.
pp. 174- 179) a nd BLihler's ' Indian Paleography' (1. A. vol. 33;
appendix pp. 83-86 ).
11 03. qgir ~: I WG:~r a~ :i'l1:h~ r.mf; m~T ~1~RlIiH~fii I
:mil'. 1:1 . ~. II. 4.8 . 10- 11 .
1104 . Of ~ 1fl~ 3I1lnlir.t.~ m~: ~ ~~!l1'P1l
1W!~ lfT I "tiT llenRarrrqjf'<WT OJ ~~~~: 'ff1'I'iihl ~wfit";f~~f'{~ ~ I
~'s ~ on ~~ 1. l. 5. p . 54.
1105 . It il "<l<m: ~: 'll<i "'I: I~ . .., . 1. 5. 1l. 1.
1106 Q Qll1'1i,a ,rq ~'hn : ~~: ~ ~ II ~ I. 26
(MS in Bbau Daji Collection of the Bombay Asiatic Society) . F or exampl e ,
it may be noted tbat the Amarakosa gives tw enty·five sy nonym s for in n
one place, besid es Of TTl and lfi~'l1' ment ioned elsewhere as divine beings.
This work (in I . 17- 25) gives Q li st of the impo rtant word numeral s as
follows ; ~ IfT'mfI trii{: II 17 ~ l{Jfl~ ~~: I ~: It\tUlrii<rii'
( Continued on nllzt J)/zge )
,
702 History u/ Dharmasastm l Sec. II, Cb.. XIX
Zero-siinya, kha, ambara ( sky), gagana, abhra, akii.sa, bindu,
p f:ir ~a.ll07

One-eka, bhiimi ( earth ), indu ( the moon ), r upa, adi, Vif?J;lu.

Two-dvi, akf?i or locana (eye), paksa. Asvin, dasra, dos or
do:;;an ( arm ), bhuja, yama or yamala (twins ).
Three-tri, krama (from three steps of ViSllU in Eg. 1. 22. 18 .
I. 155. 5 ), grama ( ill music ), Rama, pura ( cities burnt
by Rudra ), loka ( earth, heaven and hell ), gu~a ( sattva,
rajas, t amas ), agni (garhapatya, ahavaniya and
dak:;; i ~agni ).
Four-Catur, abdhi (ocean ), krta, yuga, veda, sruti, varna
( brahmaI)a etc. )
Five-pafican, isu or sara (arrows of Madana), vayu (praJ;la,
apana &c. ), bhiita (prlh ui , waters. teja ~ , air, ilkasa ),
aksa ( sense organ ), indriya, Pa ndava or Pa.Q~u· su ta.
Six-$a~, rasa (sweet, acid, salt &c.), anga (th e six auxiliary
sciences of the Veda), rtu (seasons ), tarka ( logical
categories from drau!la to slI.Iuall1!Ja ), darsana ( six
systems of philosopby ).
Seven- Saptan, r:;;i (lr muni ( the seven sages ), svara (nisada,
rsabha &0. in music), as va (seven' horses of the Sun,
who is called' sapt:lsva ' in Eg. V. 45. 9 ), giri, parvata
( Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya &c. ), dhat il (elements of
the body, viz. skin, blood &c. ).
Ejgbt-as~an, vasu, sal'pa (vide note 32l for eight nagas ),
mangala, matanga.ja ( elephants of eight quarters),
siddhi ( anima, laghimii &c. in yoga ).
( Cottti",,,d frolll [<1st pllge)
~~'!fi~nl'lf; II J 8 '.wm:lsiitl'5fit~I'f'li'H: q~~"Tlf": I ~r!lf) 1If<:;m~Cf<fir: ~:
~r: II 19 G~W'~rrt "i1'l'!<m~qil<l'W'fff: I .,..fi~lfl Ol~;URlij.rrS;nif>{SJ.RT: II 20
'HTmr: ~si ~~~I: I i:f~T<fii~~T f,t~ "'~~~ '<fQ~ II 2 1 ifA«f.
~ t"~ nh.'lf'5~ 1If15~ I 'Ii<?Tl~u:m'l.lT<lf~lfifT: ~ ~l!Cfr: II 22 3l1!!~~ ~lfit­
>.Ic1Tftil1cl~<iTOlf<f~fit: I f.t~fit: m: 'lifit<11.<ilW'l?'I'rs~fiffifit: II 23 q'lifcl~;H~qT­
~~~: I ftr.n; fi':Rn.os.ra~~il'f"wm~~; II 24 ~: ~~~>{'r>!
'i:Tf'1i~ ~T : I ~lfT'i~~ '3iifqi8mfct~ II 25.
1J07 . Vide Paiicasiddh::i ntika IV. 7 and 11. XVIII . 35 and 45 for
snnyn. and I V. 8 for • ambara ': Bhaskaracarya u ses . purna ' for zero in
say in g tbat he wa s born in' rasa-guna-piim a-rnahi ' saka ;ear. RfiPa de -
notin g one and rasa 6 occur in ancient Bak bsbali ms (v ide I. A , vol. 17
at p . 35) whicb throu ghout employs tbe decimal system of notation .
Ra"dhra (opening) means' nine' because there are nin e o pe nings in tbe
human body, viz . the mouth. tbe two eyes. two ea rs . two nostrils. organ of
generation and that of excretion; compare' ifqR ~ ~f ~if §~ Of ~,
.nm V. 13; ll~..-q~ AiT~IlmP~1 3{·difc( X. 8.48 .
 Numerals indicated hy words 703

N ine-navan, sankbya (from 1 to 9 ), N anda ( nine N anda kings ),

randhra or chidra, nidhi ( treasure, mah:ipadma, sa9 kha,
makara &c.), ailka ( numerals one to nine), go or graba
or nabhascara ( planets ).
Ten- dasan, paiikti, 1107,. asa. or disa. ( directions including urdhm
and adhara ), avatara, Rii.vana-siras.
Eleven-Ekiidasan, Mahesvara, Rud~a.
Twelve-dvadasan, aditya, arka. siirya, masa.
Thirt.een-trayodasan, Visve ( visve-deva};l ).
Fourteen-caturdasan, Manu, Indra, bhnvana ( worlds, bhllh &c.
seven, and seven pat5.las 1.
Fifteen-pancadasan, titlii.
Sixteen- soclasan, kali (digit.s of the Moon), nrpa or rajan 1108
( kings ), asti.
Seventeen saptadasan, atyasti.
Eigbteen-aS~5dasan, dbrti.
Nineteen-ekonavitilsati, at,idhl'ti.
Twenty-virilsati, krti, n.1.kba (Mils), anguli (fingers of the
hands and feet toget.her ).
Twentyone-ekavirilsati, prakrti, mtlrchanii. ( in music).
Twentytwo-dvflvirilsati, jiti, akrti.
Twentyfour-caturviITlsati, Jina or siddha (24 Jain tlrthailkaras).
Twentyfive-paIicavirilsati, fatt ,,,, (~5 Sii.nkhya principles, vide
note 1092).
Twentyseven-iiaptavitiu3ati, bha. naksatra.
Thirtytwo-dv5.tritnsat, dasaIla or dvija ( both meall I teeth' ).
Tbirtythree-trayastririlsat, sura ( gods ).
FOl'tynine-ekonapaIicasat, ki.na ( notes in music ).
The above method of employing particular significant
words to denote certain numhers even in decimal place
value system is largely employed hy \' ariihamihira in hiB
Paiicasiddbiintikii. (e. g. 1. 8 in note 100l above. Vili. 1)

59.
1108. Tbere is a. '1IJIC:iI(IJi,:tl~' section in lf~ chap. 55-71 (16
ancient kings named Marutta, Suhotra, l'aurava &c. I. As~i is a Vedic metre.
each of its four padas bavlng 16 letters as in ~{!l' 11. 22.1; Atya,!i is another
Vedic metre with 68 letters in four padas; Dhrti, Atidbrti. Krti. Prakrti. a.nd
Akrti ba.ve respectively 72, 7c', 80, 84. 88 letters in all padas. The HlI-
pritisakbya ( 16. 83-90) says ~-.mt'i!1JlQ IIJI~: I ,",'ls~IIJiit~: I ~: ~
m~: I ~~~"If<t: I 'eli!: wc,f.roif<ll'1'l'm: ~~ttT I q} .n~.
'elffi!~ ~"Ifi~... ~ n ~ftiif'loJ~nmmlrn~: I.... ed. by Mangal Den
Shastri, Allahabad (1931 ).
704 History of Dharmasii.'1tra I Sec. lit Oh. XIX
and in Brhat-samhita 8. 20 and by all later astronomical
writers. 1109 The particular matter to be noted is that the first
word in a group (denoting a number) is to be assigned to the
units place, the next to its left in the tens place, so that a word
like 'saptasvi~veda-8ankhyam' becomes 4'27 (by the rule
, ank<lnam vamato gatil,l , ).
Another method for expressing numbers is elaborated by
Aryabha~a in his Dasagitik5.pada 1110 ( verse 3) where the letters
from k ( ka also) to 1/1 have the values of 1 to 25, while 1/', nt, la,
va, sa, ~, sa and II(} stand for 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100
and so on towards more complicated matters.
The fourth mi(la in a pancanga is called YO(7a. There is no
direct astronomical phenomena corresponding to it. It is
calculated from the sum of the longitudes of the Sun and the
Moon (or it is t,he time during which the sun and the moon
together accomplish 13 degrees and 20 minutes of space). When
tbis amounts to degrees 13. 20 the first Yoga called Viskambba
ends; when it amounts to 26. 40 the 2nd Yoga Priti ends and
so on. The yogas are 27 ( that thus make 360 degrees) as stated
in the Ratnamal:l. IV. 1-3 and aro as follows : -
Name Deity
1. Viskambha - Yama. 15. Vajra- Varuna.
2. Prlti- Visnu. 16. Siddhi - Ganei:a.
3. Ayusmat - Candra. 17. Vyatlp1ita- Siva.
4. Saubh5.gya - Brahma. 18. Variyas - Ku bera.
5. Sobhana - Brbaspati. 19. Parigha- Visvakarman.
6. Atiga~l~a - Candra. 20. Siva - Mitra.
7. Sukarman - Illdra. 21. S'iddha - Kartikeya.
8. Dhrti - Apal_l. 22. Siidhya - S5. vi trl.
9. Slna - Sarpa. 23. Subha - Kamala.
10. Ga~l~a - Agni. 24. Sukla - Gaur!.
11. Vrddhi - Surya. 25. Brahman - Asvinau.
12. Dhru va - PrthvI. 26. Aindra - Pitrs.
13. Vyaghata- Pavana. 27. Vaidh!'ti - Aditi.
14. Har~al1a- Rudra.
~--------

1109. How neatly huge numbers can be indicated by words may be

illustrated by the ,~. ,~. I. 28 1!');fPlfit'lil'l#l''''~"1'I'~: '$1"'I~qlf#ll,": ~
qfil5m: m~~ ~~ ann: I '. These come to 1972947179 days.
IHO. The Daiagitiki verse 3 has been differently interpreted by
different scholars. Vide Fleet in JRAS in 1911 pp. 109-128 for Aryabha~a's
system and pp. 115-125 (or exphp,na.tion of the verse.
 Er;er-recurring yogas 705

These are nilya ( ever-recurring) Y ogas. The Ratnamala

states that they yield good or bad results in keeping with their
names. The Muhurtadarsana 1111 states that among these 27
yogas nine are condemned, viz. Parigba, Vyatlpata, Vajra,
Vyaghata, Vaidhrtj, Viskambha, Sula, Ga~dal112 a nd Atiga ~~a.
The Ratnamala provides th at \iyatlpiita and Vaidhrti are wholly
inauspicious, the first half of Parigha is so and only the first
quarter of those Yogas the names of which are odious; and that
one should avoid in all auspicious rites the fi rst three gha~ikiis
in Vi~kambha and Vajra, nine ghatls in Yyaghata, five in Sula,
six in GaI?da and AtigaI.J4a. The Agn ipur.1na 11 13 (1 27. 1- 2) has
similar verses. The Kalanirna,ya·k:lrika 1114 provides tbat when
a Yoga. spreads over two days, fasts and the li ke are to be observed
on the first of the two days provided that Yoga exists at sunset
on that day, aL d vratas and religious gifts are to be performed
on the latter ( of two days) provided the Yoga exists for three
muhurtas ( i. e. six gha~ls ) after sunrise and for sraddha the day
on which the Yoga extends over the time required for the sriiddha
rite should be accepted.
The system of Yogas must be held to be ancient. The Yiiji'ia-
valkyasmrti ( I. 218 ) when specifying the times for the perfor-
mance of sraddbas includes Vyatlpata among them. In the
Harsacarita of Bana it is said ( Ucchvasa IV) that Harsa was
horn on a day free from the taint of all defects such as Vyatlpata
( vyatlpa tadi-sarvt1do~a.bhi sanga-rahjteshani ). There would gene-
rally be 13 vyatlp:itas in a. year (sometimes 14) and, among
the 96 srii ddhas, sraddhas OIl these thirteen vyatlpa tas are

1111 . f;lr~ f;lrnrtrlitCF.t1~ Oflf !i1~q: ~11l'ffl~~) nmmit ~~o$J ~.

qi'(t<ll: ~~ : ' ~II. 16.
1112. ~~ ~ll II '<{ ~~!l'ff.\?:: ~ ~ 3{A7: , ~~ I1l'fittmI-
Wfic'llFf1!!': tlRFWl '<I'ltfll:" ~iJ -qlit lJ~ ~~ ~'El1~ "'I'f
;mfT
~~ '<{ ~ ;,,~: ~il~ q;1.qr~ IfR~: " wmTMT IV. 4-5 .
~, If,.
1113. ~"'it qiZ'Im~: ~ If'" ~ , ~ IlOis~ .. ~
11l'1'ElT~):" m'i:! '<{ ~rlflft ~ ~~ n ~~ ~ ~ ~fi~
~,,~~o 127 . 1-2 .
1114 . 'lft: ~~HII4c S",(I a<'I<f{;rq'(: 'lWT: ~ ~<nI<'SI1l'1~ lfRflr-
l'IT1{ II ifictJlfoiiil<l<hcRq;y 108-1 09 ; ~ ij <htqfa~''tq ~tI"I",.qIRl
st,q"... q;NI'~lqifijtJll~ .q li'ilIl'iClI , ~ 1IT1T: ~1oi~flu;qlii ~ mJ1~
mvt ~~, U"Jit ~ ~~::"'Ii1> I "'at'l~c'i""'''~11l;q'MI~ ~
"-q:,i(lil'a'ac(l1iq<l 6qlcfl JrI11:, ~ II ;m:i~I1l'I.ft-~ ~ 1 ~11-'S­
~ pp. 329- 330.
B. D. 89
706 Hi story of Dharma8aslra 1Sec. n. Ch. XIX
included ( vide H. of Dh. voL IV pp. 382-383 and note 861).
Besides these 27 Y ogas, there are others that oocur when there
are special conjunctions of weekdays with certain titbis and
nak~atras or when certain planets occupy certain rasis on
certain titbis and naksatras. For Kapila~as~hlyoga and Ardhcr-
daya, vide above pp. 279 and 261. Vyatlpata itself has two
technical senses apart from being 17th out of the 27 Yogas
mentioned above viz. (1) When amavasyii 1115 occurs on a Sunday
and the moon is in the first Quarter on anyone of the naksatras
Srav3l)a, AsvinI, Dbanis~ha, Ardra and Asle~a that is VyatYpiita ;
( 2 ) When on the 12th of the bright half Jupiter and Mars are
in the sign Lio n, the Sun is in Ram and when that tithi has
Hasta naksatra on it, it is Vyatfpata t 11 6 Yoga. These two are
sometimes called Mahavyatipiita. Gifts made on those oonjunc-
tions are very much commended ;1117 'gifts on amaviisya yield one
hundred-fold merit, on the suppression of a tithi a thousand-fold,
on Vi!3uva day ten thousand-fold, but on Vyatlp3.ta endless (merit).
By gifts of cows, land, gold and clothes made on this the donor
becomes free from si n aud secures godhead, the position of Indra,
health, the rulership of men. 1118 The Sllryasiddhiinta (XI.1-2 )
gives an explanation of Vyatlpata and V aidh ~ ta1119 (or Vaidh:rti)-
when the SUD and the moon are on the same side of either solstice
and when the sum of their longitudes being a oircle they are of
equal declination it is sty led Vaidhrti. When the moon and the
sun are on opposite sides of either solstice and their minutes of
declination are the same, it is Vyatipata, the sum of their

1115 . ~!{UT~~I!mf'i-"I'iQq""H<'I~ I <m'''l ti1t'fl~ Oll'amn: ~ ~ II

'l~ >ll:J q. by 3{qui p. 426, ~ (on q;rn) p. 'ri73 , ~~I~:q . II. 341 (without
name) , ~~ifl,fi 364 (no na mes). The ~IA. holds tbat ~q; means
lifl~~~, while ~J{ll'it and ~ilq; take it to mean th e fi rst quarter and
conn ect it with all the preceding na k ~a tras. 3{rn~ 209. 13 is a lmost the
s am ca s~ .

1116. q~~Jt ~fftl1~ ~ Uii: ~'Clfif li.JiIj'q~ I qrml~1:lRT ~~~

~~ m~lf1tm1 ~'hl: <Wi: Ii ~~~ q . by ~1'it on ~re p , 6 73, 1,fi~~1,fi
p . 364 .
1117. ~~~ iI ~I ~'t~nnftqffl~I,fi~1I
<'5~ 150 quoted as ~~' S by Sl'lRT;l; p. 29 2 and as ~~'s by ~
( on !fiT<'5 ) p. 672.
111 8. ~1ir lT~il\oqq"ql""' ~ lIiilfT~ Q'l~ I ~~~
JI~'4 <'l'~ Jlatr11: IIq . by ,. (on !fiT<'5) pp. 673 - 674.
111 9. I!'~arm~~i~~~tml ~a<it~ ~~~ ~1i'"­
fm:t: Ii iiq{t~~" ~~T; i ~ nmtmn ~ ~n
~~~~"lI' XI. 1-2.
 Vyatipilla and Va'idhrti 707

longitudes being a half circle. Why the times mentioned should

be looked upon as specially inauspicious or unfortunate is not
at all clear and no plausible reason bas been assigned. The 27th
Yoga called Vaidh~ti was just like VyatTpi ta in all respeots.
Bharadvaja says that the merit of gifts made on Vyatlpt'lta and
Vaidhrti is endless.
In the panci i'igas several Yogas (that have nothing to do
with the 27 yogas ) like Amrtasiddhi, Yamaghal!ta, Dagdbayoga,
M~tyuyoga, Gbabada are mentioned; they are purely astrological
and all of them except three are passed over here for reasons of
space. When 011 Sunday there is Hasta, on Mond y M+gas fr~a,
all Tuesday Asvinl, on Wednesd ay Anur5.dM , on Thursday Ti ~ya
( i. e. Pusya), on Friday Revat! and on Saturday RohiJ;lf, all
these are Amrtasiddhiyogas ( fortunate ones 1120). Avoid Anu-
riidba. on Sunday, Uttaru!?5dh5. on Monday, Satatl raka. on
Tuesday, Asvin! on W edllesday, M rgasirsa on Thursday, A.sle~ii.
on Friday and Hasta on Saturday-- these are seven M~tyuyoga8
( inauspicious ). If the weekdays from Sunday to Saturday
occur on the tithis, 12th, 11th, 10th, 3rd, 6th, ~n d, 7th respec-
tively, these are Dagdhayogas ( inauspicious yogas).
The fifth item in a paiici riga is Karana. Half of a tithi is
Karana and thus there are two Karanas in a tithi and 60 Karal!a.s
in a lunar month. Karanas are of two kinds, viz. cam ( moving)
and sthira ( immoveable). The seven cal'a karanas with their
presiding deities according to Brhatsamhiti, chap. 99. 1-2
are: 1. Bava-Indra; 2. Balava- Brahma; 3 Kaulava-Mitra;
4. Taitila- Aryaman; 5. Gara (or Garaja )-Earth; 6. VaJ.1ija-
SrI; 7. Vi s~i-Y ama. The four sthim karanas with their deities
are: 1. Sakuni - Kali; 2. Catuspada- Vrsa; 3. Naga - snake;
4. Kiri1stughna- Viiyu. Some works transpose the two, Catu!?pada
and Naga. This division of a tithi into two halves resembles
the division of a rasi into two horiis (B rhajj!itaka 1. 9). It is
likely that one was suggested by the other. The difficulty is to
decide which was the earlier. I believe it likely that the division
of tithis into two karal?as is the earlier of the two. The sthira
karsJ.18s occur only once in a month i. e. on the latter half of
1120. ~'h~ mN1: '"t ¥1'"~"I.· ~~sNofl ~ '« l'f'ml(NI I ~ nU
~..,q~ ~~~~Wnl" ~ vm . 8 (mi . );
~~~ ~~ 'Q ~ ~~iq ~ ~ "'f~;ft.., I ~~ ~
~ .., ~ mu!'ll1N ~ ~q -m:I II lFI'ffil~~ p. 31 verse 126;
~<<4''''41I !ln'il<~q~: • a{41~)it;{ ~ mUll: ~ II U""Ci'l)illlIJ'fl{
p. 28 verse 114.
 . ..
History oj Dharmaiastra [ Sec. n, Ch. XIX

14th tithi of dark half occurs Sakuni: Catuspada and Naga

occupy the two halves of amavasya and Kirnstughna occurs on
the first half of Pratipad i. e. if the 30 tithis of an ami nta month '
are divided into 60 halves, Sakuni, Catuspada and Naga occupy
the 58th, 59th and 60th parts and Kirnstughna occupies t he first
half of the pratipad of the next month. Bava occupies the second
half of sukla pratipad and the others follow one after another
and as they are only seven they are repeated eight times in a
month from the 2nd 11alf of pratipad to the first half of the 14th
tithi of a dark half, which would be 57th of the sixty halves of the
tithis of the month a nd would be occupied by Vi s ~i. In the
paficangas, two karanas should properly be shown under each
tithi, but in paficangas only that Karana is shown against a.
tithi whose ending moment is 30 ghatikas or less fr om sunrise.
The ending times of Karanas which are assigned to the 2nd
halves of tithis coincide with those of the tithiR themselves and
therefore tbere is no need for tbeir calculation. The ending
times of the first halves of tithis which correspond to certain
KaraJ;las are got in the manner described by Pillai in his' Indian
Ephemeris', vol. 1. part 1 p. 37, paragraphs 106-107.
The word KaraJ;la is derived from the root' kj.'· ( to do) an d
is said to have been so named because it divides a tithi in two
parts. lUI The names of most of the K aranas are somewhat
strange and inexplicable. The word' Taitila-kadril' occurs in
PaJ;lini VI. 2. 42 (with regard to accent) but the Kasikii. ex-
plains that Taitila means' a descendant or pupil or Titilin '.
If a mere conjecture were to be offered, the KaraJ;la Taitila
might have been first named after a mll'll so called. The Karanas
are only of astrological use and must have been named many
centuries before 4:00 A. D. The Nfl radapuraJ;la 1122 mentions both
kinds of KaraI;l 8.S. The B~hat-sarnbitii lays down what should
be done or not done on the several Karal)as 1123 as follows : one

11 21. fih~ ~ ~~ ~U~RT<l. ~"lrii q;~& ~ I

com. ~ on~ . 1{. 1. 41.
1122. ~.m ~1Il .;.~) m:: I <riiit:iTit l'I'~~: ~I I
'''!jPt;fi',-lIi '<fij~ ~~II ;m1{9;0 1. 54 . 126- 127.

1123.§lf~ ~~~~~q;r(;f U'iiihl~~~ "i{.~, ~m·

~~: ~~~ "i{ ~{it;lsm~ II ti~~~ '"
l'iI.q(UiIt'il "i{
~ 1iI.... ,qq{iI).g!l4: I "' ~ ~~Wir ~ ~~ If{1fmm-~~ f{f~1I
m ~ ~ ~ ~ 1il'Ifit1fifi1r ~ ta"'R1dli:~q ~
. ' ...'" ~, .. (q"uli(.l ~ ~r.q ..... /dq!ll ~ §l'Ifffi!SiW... (d, ~~
~: "'~ 99 . 3-5.
 What should be done on Kara~las 709

should perform on Bava all auspioious ( religious ) rites, all acts

that bring about physical health ; on Balava religious aots and
aots beneficial to brabmanas; on Kaulava aots lea ding to good
relations and friendship and ohoosing a bride; on Taitila acts
that lead to popularity with people, to securing the patronage ( of
some important person) and building a house: on Gara aotions
pertaining to ploughing, sowing seeds and those th at arise in
houses ; on VaJ)ija, acts of a permanent nature, trading, and
meeting with people; whatever is done on Vi s~i does not bring
about fortunate results; but actions as regards destruction of
enemies, poisoning and incendiari sm become succef!sful on it ;
on Sakuni one should do w11at leads to physical health and
medication, planting roots and eating th em and becoming suc-
cessful in mantras; on Catuspada actions relating to cows ( i. e.
gifts of them an d rearing them), actions regarding brahm anas
and one's ancestors a r: d king's business should he done; on
Naga, aots relating to immoveable property, oru el acts, depriv-
ing ( a man of his wealth or wife) and act" that lead to hatred
among people; on R irnstughn a, auspicious (religiouB) acts,
Vedic sacrifices ( called i8tis ) and acts leadillg to physioal
prosperity an d mangala acts (marriage &c. ) and other acts th at
bring success in these matters . .

One very noticeable feature is that the 7th mobile Karat;la

called Vi!?~i appears to have inspired grea.t terror ill the minds
of medieval writers on Dharmasastra. It will be noticed tha t
dividing the lunar month into 60 halves of tithis, and beginning
Bava on the secOlld half of the pratipad of an am li nta month,
the Karal!a Vi s~ i will 'Jccur eight times in ono month as the
following diagram of the sixty halves will show:

Bava 2 9 16 23 30 37 44 51
Balava 3 10 17 24 31 38 45 52
Kaulava 4 11 18 25 32 39 46 53
Taitila 5 12 19 26 33 40 47 54
Gara 6 13 20 27 34 41 48 55
VaI;lija 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56
Vi!!~i 8 15 22 29 36 43 50 57

The fixed Karat;las will be Sakuni 58, 59 Catu!?pada, 60 NAga,

1 ( pratipad first half of next month) Kitustughna.
 History oj Dharmatii.stra I Sec. II. Oh. XIX
In the dark half. 1124 Vif,l~i will occur in the latter half of the
third and 10th tithis and in the first half of the 7th and 14th
tithis; in the bright half Vif,l~i will occur in the latter half of the
4th and 11th tithis an d the first half of the 8th and 15th ( i. e.
Paurnamasi ) tithis. The RajamartaJ;l~a 1125 states ' Some regard
Vi!?ti as having the form of a cobra and as terrible; there is
danger in the mouth of a snake but not in its tail. The mouth,
neck. chest. navel reg ion, waist and tail of Vis~i are respectively
of five, one, eleven, four, six an d three gha~ikas . Great sages
declare that it ( Vis~i ) does not confer fortunate results, therefore
a good man should avoid these except the tail ' (on last three
gha~ikii.s of Vis~i auspicious acts may be performed ). Vis~i is
also euphemistically called Bhadra or KalyaJ;l.I (it is really
a/lliudril). The terrible nature of Vi s~i is described in two verses
of Bhlma-parakrama quoted in Bhujabala-niLandha p. 30 ( vide
pp. 95-96 of my paper on 'Bhoja and his works &c. ' in Journal
of Oriental Research, Madras, vol. XXIII for 1953-54) which
also occur in Rajamartal}lia., verses 1021-22.

The whole scheme of Karanas is itself fanciful. But to draw

a lurid picture of one of them, Vis~i (which occurs eight times
in a month ), and say that it is like a cobra or an ogress is the
height of imagination dominated by astrological considerations.

Having described at some length the five angas in a

pailcanga, a few words must be said about Hindu calendar s,
though it has been already declared above that purely astro-
nomical matters wHl not be elaborated in tllis work. In the

1124. ~1f!~~ a~rSJ.l i~: I 'lilllit ~~: T~ <fiRr~ ~~iil~ "

~rfil;nr q . by ~<i)!j;it P 207 ; a similar verse is quoted by fi%. p. 23 m.
'~ I ~silf~~~ ~~1:i: I ~ i{~'ll~~ ltlfT SIR!: Ql!'{"M: II. '
Vide !j;. fi;:r. 1. 43.

11 25. tm- ~r<liTU ~~~~ ~~~ I ~~~1I ~

~R{iI' II ~ ~ ~.mt 'F.fr~<fi1: Ifill ~ a'I<fi1 q~~'fil\f~ Rtr~T om~~-!il­
~: I ll~: ~Uit a'JT ~ tq 'i_q ~~~ ';J ~rm~ 1I
(1'.11'11 <10; q . by l!I~! p. 208. These are verses 10 l 5-16 of the ms. of
~~ described by me in J ournal of Oriental fQsearch, Madras, vol.
XXIII. (1 953 - 54) at pp. 108- 11 2. The com. on ~ta~aflt.vr 1. 44 quotes
a verse from ~~f~1n for the evil consequences of beginning an aus-
piciou s rite ( mailgala) on th e different parts of Vi~ri ( except its tail) :
~~ ~ ~Rt f.\:'{<fl'fJ I ",6lI~"I'1'd"1 ;fNt ~rn: ~ 1:M ~: II s:flf
'"
.. ~~ .,Rfi;rl ffl~ffli: 1 ~~ ~~ 1I ;'U1'S1c601 5(qlqlOfTlJ:rr-rt
~q~lcom .
 Numerous pa:flc{i1igas in India 711
continent of India. there are numerous pai'icangas in vogue and
there is something like anarchy in this sphere. Hardly any two
pancangas agree completely. Many educated l-ndians have
heen demanding that such matters as eclip3es, the times of which
can be noted by anyone, should bo accurately predicted by the
almanacs and that our ancient methods of calculating the
motions of heavenly bodies should be brought in line with
modern accurate calculations based upon observations. This is
just what scientific astronomers like Varahamihira would have
done if they were living in modern times. At the end of his two
works Varaha makes a very candid but solemn requestt t26
, whatever in this work comes to be unscientific while it is being
used or on account of defects in the mss, or whatever may have
been badly executed by me or insufficiently done or not done at
all, that should be corrected by learn ed men, Jeaving aside all
pas3ion ( jealousy), and after acquiring (knowledge) from the
lips of well-read men.' Some almanac-makers follow the Nautical
Almanac tables as to eclipses and the like and set out other
matters according to the . ld tables. As already stated there are
three main schools of astronomers in India, (1) the school that
follows the Surya-siddhtlnta ( and is called Saurapaksa ), ( 2 ) the
second follows the Brahrna-siddhiinta (and is called Briihma-
pak~a ), ( 3 ) the third follows the Aryasiddhiinta (and is styled
Aryapaksa). There are two main poin ts of difference between
these, viz. (1) the length of tho year, ( 2 ) the number of revolu-
tions of the sun, the moon and the pJanets in a certain period
such as a mab iiyuga. The difference in the length of the year
among the siddh5.ntas is very small viz. a few rip,II'ls ( a 'lJipalct
being ln th part of a i,ala, which again is / "th of a {lhatikil that
is equal to 24 minutes 1. The length of the year according to the
Sliryasid dhanta is 365 days 15 gba~ls, 31. 523 iHtirLs, while the
interval in time between two successive returns of the sun to the
vernal equinox (called the tropical year) is only 365 daya,
14 gha~ls and 31. 972 pa1as and the correct sideral (naksatra)
year is 365 days, 15 ghatis, 22 palas and 53 vipalas ( vide C. R. C.
Report p. 24\) in hours, minutes and seconds and Dikshit's
History ad. of 1931 pp. 159, 440). The result is that if one follows
the Suryasiddhanta, the starting poi nt of Hindu astronomers
is at present more than 23 degrees to the east of the oorreot
vernal equinox point. This difference is called the aYanlilnsa.

11 26. ~ ~(~~ ~~ ~ ,,!6l'l1~1~ I qT lf1fI

$'li(lii~,-ali('\lri Iff ~~~~ U1fIl.II ~I'IT lOS. S, ~ 28.8.
712 Hi8tory of Dharmafllstra [Sec. IT, Ch. XIX

As the longitudes of heavenly bodies reckoned from the equinox

inolude these a!Jllni11jlsa~ they are called sfiyana ( sa + ayana ).
The plaoes of heavenly bodies obtained by the methods of the
Suryasiddhllnta and medieval Sanskrit works are distinguished
by being called nimyar_ta (devoid of taking into account
precession ). At present accord ing to most almanaos that employ '
the Siiryasiddhanta values \If akarasankranti (Sun's entrance into
Capricorn) falls generally on Hth January, but according to the
most accurate modern calculations, it should fall on 21st
December; even in calendars that pride themselves on being
Buddha the Makarasankranti falls on 9th January i. e. our
Makarasankranti is celebrated 1121 about 23 or 18 days later
than it should be and the same happens to the vernal equinox,
autumnal equinox and the summer solstice and many
other observances. Asvinl is I:ltill reckoned as the first nak ~atra
( in which the vernal equinox is deemed to have occurred about
safca 444 ), although the vernal equinox poinL has receded to the
Uttara.-bhadrapad5: group of stars ( which sbould now be treated
as the first nakE?atra). Efforts have beEf,n made by those familiar
with the modern accurate calculations (such as the late Kero L.
Chatre) to introduce modrn calculations in our alm anacs ; but
they have met with little response. The late Lokamanya Tilak
(who was a great Vedic scholar and mathematician) held several
conferences of Indian astronomers and other interested people at
Bombay (1904), Poona (1917) and at Sangli (1919). At the
last conference several resolutions were passed which without
making tI. total break with the past were calculated to reform
our calendar and to prevent furthur deterioration. It is un-
necessary to set out all the resolutions, but the most impor-
tant were that the length of th e year should be that of the
Siiryasiddhiinta but subject to necessary corrections, the
rate of precession should be accepted at 50·2 'L'ilw.Ws a year (as
determined by modern astronomical observations), that the
Yogatarii. 11 28 of Revati (corresponding to Zeta Pisciurn of
modorn astronomers) should be deemed to be the beginning of the
11 27 . Vide note 574 above, w~ere the encyclopoedist scholar Hemadri
is Quoted as saying tbat tbe real Makarsailkranti takes place 12 days before
tbe sailkranti in the almanacs and that the holy time of Makarsankran ti is
really twelve days earlier thiln tbe on e on which people celebrate it and
religious gifts should really be made at tbat time.
. 1128. W'IlU1T'lT1'l'''~ (~UO 1 ) ij 11T lm"r ;ftm;reu I li\'~ m "Air
~ liU~: II quoted by >n1ftlS on W~ 24. 34 and by 31li,Hitil( p. H
( whlcb reads ij ~ 1fT illii¥t'tlI(I ).
 Resolutions passed at Sangli conference 713

Zodiaoal belt (rasicakrarambhast hli:na ) and that the ayana1hsas

calculated from the starting point by actual observation should
be accepted for the purpose of a new Kam~la (astronomical
manual) to be compiled according to the resolutions. Unfortu-
nately the resolutions did not state where exactly the star Zeta
Piscium was in a particular saka year. Dr. K. L. Daftari
prepared a Karana-grantha called Kara~akalpalata in Sanskrit
which was published in 1924. Almanacs based on its data have
been published and are sometimes known as Tilak Paiiciinga. '
I

But it must be confessed that our people in general are so much

custom-ridden that the popular response to the reformed
calendar is poor. People still follow the paiiciiogas based on the
old siddhiintas. According to the siistras every religious festival
is to be celebrated at the proper time i. e. in tbe right season and
on the proper tithi. The tithi depends upon the correct calcula-
tion of the movements of the moon, which are most diffioult to
reduce to rules that will give acourate results. Many people will
not observe the pkilda si fast if the eleventh tithi is mixed up
with the 10th tithi even for a few gha~ikiis. But what guarantee
is there that the 10th tithi has been accurately calculated? The
ending moments of tithis do not agree with those given by the
Nautical Almanac which are based on modern formula and are
verified by actual observation. If tithis be calculated aocording
to different Sanskrit astronomical treatises the moment of a
particular tithi may differ by as much as five hours and the same
festival (such as KrsJ;lajanmas~amI or Dussera) may be celebrated
on two sucoessive days in the same city.
Besides, it must not be forgotten that a paiicli riga prepared on
the basis of the latitude and longitude of Poona or Bombay will
be slightly wrong even at a distance of 30 or 40 miles to the west
or east or north. It would be a great mistake from the religious
point of view to employ a pafioanga prepared on the basis of the
longitude and latitude of Poona or Bombay in a place several
hundred miles away (such as in Hyderabad or Aurangabad).
From the religious point of view if aocuracy is to be preserved
there must be a separate paiiciinga for every town or every place
not more than 10 or 15 miles from places like Bombay or Poona
where pafioangas are at present prepared.
In November 1952 the Government of India appointed a
committee called the Calendar Reform Committee presided over
by Dr. Meghanad Saha to examine all existing calendars being
followed at present in India and to submit proposals for an
accurate and uniform calendar for the whole of India. That
B. D. 90
714 History of DharmaJlistra. {Sec. II, Ch. XIX

committee submitted a very exhaustive and valuable report in

November 1955. The final recommendations of the Committee
for a civil calendar and for a religious calendar are set out on
pp. 6-8 of the report. They are deserving of the most serious
consideration by all who feel that religious observances must ba
done at the proper time and that now at least in independent
India there should not only be one uniform civil calendar, but
also one uniform Hindu religious calendar. 1129 It appears that
unless Government makes great efforts for the introduction of a
correct calendar even for religious purposes, it would be futile to
assume that common people will spontaneously adopt a correct
paiicanga.
Some of the important recommendations of the Committee
may be set out here for the information of readers.
R ecommendations for civil calendar
( 1) The Saka era should be used in the unified national calendar.
The Saka year 1876 corresponds to 1954-55 A. D.
( 2) The year should start from the day following the vernal
equinox day.
( 3) Normal year is to consist of 355 days, while a leap year
would have 366 days. After adding 78 to the Saka era
year, if the sum is divisible by 4, then it would be a leap
year. But when the sum becomes a mUltiple of 100, it
would be a leap year only when it is divisible by 400 ;
otherwise it would be a common year.
( 4:) Caitra (or Chaitra as often written) should be the first
month of the year and the lengths of the different months
should be fixed as follows :-
Caitra - 30 days ( 31 days in a Allvi1'1a - 30 days.
leap year).
Vaisakha-31 days. Kartika - 30 days.
Jyef:!~ha-31 days. Margaslrf:!a - 30 days.
Af:!aq.ha- 31 days. Pauf:!a - 30 days.
Srava:r;Ja - 31 days. Magha - 30 da.ys.
Bhiidrapada - 31 days. Phalguna - 30 days.
1129. Those interested in Indian Calendar Reform should read the Marathi
Preface to Dr. K. L. Daftari's work in Sanskrit 'Kara9a- kalpalata', Mr. S. M.
Karamalkar's Marathi work '[(harem paflcu;tga kas8/il milel' (19.50), I. H .
Q. vol. IV. pp. 483-.511 on 'Hindu Calendar' by Sukumar Ranjan Dill,
Dr. Saha's papers on 'Reform of Indian calendar' in 'Science and Culture'
(Calcutta, 19.52), vol. XVII. pp • .57-68 and 109-123 and the Report of the
Calendar Reform Committee.
 Calendar Committee's Recommendations 715

The dates of the reformed Indian calendar would thus have

a permanent correspondence with the Gregorian 1130 calendar.
The corresponding dates would be :
Hindu Gregorian
Caitra 1- March 22 in a Asvina 1 - September 23.
common year an d
21 in a leap year.
Vaisakha 1- April 21. Kartika 1 - October 23.
Jyes~ha I-May 22. Miirgaslrsa 1- November 22.
A!?ii~ha 1 - June 22. Pausa 1- December 22.
Sravana I-July 23. Magha l-;-January 21.
Bhadrapada 1- August 23. PhalguDa 1 - February 20.
The Indian seasons would thus be permanently fixed with
respect to tlle reformed Calendar as follows:
Seasons:
Grl\?ma - Vaisakha and Hemanta - Kiirtika and
( summer) Jyestha. ( late autumn) Margaslrfila.
Var!?a - .K.sadha and 8i8ira - Pau ~a and Miigha.
( rains ) Sriiva~a. ( winter)
Sarad - Bhi drapada and Vasanta - Phalguna and
( Autumn) Asvina. ( Spring ) Caitra.

The States now having the solar calen dars for civil and
partly religious purposes which start the year from Vaisiikha
( April 14th ) will have to begin the year 23 days earlier, but the
first month will be Caitra.. The effect of this will be that in
Bengal, Orissa and Assa.m solar months start approximately
seven days later than now, and in Tamil-nad solar months start
approximately 23 days earlier than now, for the month oalled
Vaisakha (14th April to 14th May) in Bengal and Orissa is
called Chitttrai (or caitra) in Tamil-nad. Those who use the lunar
calendar beginning with Caitra also for civil purposes would
experience no great difficulty in adopting this unified oalendar

1130. It may be noted that under the Indian Limitation Act (Act I of
1908 ) section 25. all Instru ments shall. for th e purpones of t he Limitation
Act. be deamed to be made with reference to th e Gregorian Calendar . Thi s
rule is ahsolute and therefore even if a bond is made on a tlthl of a hinar
month in a certain ska year and Is made payable (our months after t be
!aka date, the period of limitation applicable to a suit brough t on the bond
runs from the expiration of four months after the date computed according
to the Gregorian Calendar.
716 History of Dharmat1Lstra [Seo.n, Cb. XIX

as they have at present the beginning of their year on various

dates from 15th March to 13th April and the first month is Caitra.
Recommendations for religious calendar.
( 5) The calculation for Saura (solar) mrmths necessary
for determining the lunar months of the same name will start
23 degrees and 15 minutes ( fixed ayanarnsa ) ahead of the vernal
equinox point. This tallies with the present practice of most
almanac-makers.
The months would thus commence at the moments when the
tropical longitude of the Bun attains the following values; viz.
Saura Vaisakha commences when the sun has the longitude of
23° 15', Saura Jyes~ha and the other Saura months upto Caitra
will commence when the sun has respectively the longitude of
53 1.5', 83° 1j/, 113° 15', 143° ] 5', 173 15', 203 15', 233 15',
0 0 0 0

0 0
263° 15', 293 15', 323 15',353 15'.
0

This recommendation is to be regarded only as a measure of

compromise, so that a violec.t break with the established practice
would be avoided. But this compromise would not make our
present seasons in the several months as they were ill' the days
of Kalidasa and Varahmihira. It is hoped that at not a distant
date, further reforms for locating the lunar and solar festivals
in the seasons in which they were originally observed will be
adopted.
( 6) As usual the lunar months for religious purposes
would commence from the moment of new moon and would be
named after the saura month in which the new moon falls. If
there be two new moons during the perjod of a Saura month the
lunar month beginning from the first new moon is the adhika or
mala masa and the lunar month beginning from the moment of
the second new moon is the tuddha or mja masa as usual.
( 7) The moment of the moon's exit from a nak~atra
division of 13° 20' each or sun's entry into it would be calculat-
ed with a variable ayanliinsa ( i. e. on the supposition that they
are fixed with respect to the stars). The value of this ayana1nsa
would amount to 23° 15' 0" on 21 March 1956. Thereafter it
would gradually increases with the annual rate, the mean value
of which is about 50.27".
These arrangements would ensure that the religious obser-
vances determined by the sun such as the Vi~va-sankrllnU,
Uttaraya:t;la-sankranti and Dak~i:t;layana-sankriinti would follow
 Oalendar Committee's R ecommendations 717
astronomically correct seasons, but those determined by the
lunar oalendar would continue to be observed in times oonform.
ing to the present praotice and the oorreotion introduoed by this
report in the length of the year would prevent their further shift
in relation to the seasolls.
The dates of festivals have already shifted by twenty- three
days from the seasons in whioh they were observed about 1400
years ago as a result of our almano- makers having ignored the
preoession of the equinoxes. A.lthough it might appear to some
desirable that the entire amount of shifting be wiped out at
once, the authors of the Report oonsider it expedient to maintain
this as oonstant differenoe and to stop its further inorease. As a
result there would at present be no deviation from the prevail·
ing custom in the observance of religious festivals.
In the caloulation of nab!atras, however, the Report haa
adopted a variable aYan'ii7ilsa, so that at the time of a partioular
nak!?atra the mOOD may be seen in the sky in the star or star-
group of that name. This praotice has been followed in our
oountry from Vedio times and is perfeotly scientifio.
( 8) The day should be reckoned from midnight to mid-
0
night of the central station ( 82t degrees E. Longitude and 23
11' North Latitude) for oivil purposes but for religious purposes
the local sunrise system may be followed.
( 9) For the purpose of all caloulations, the longitudes of
the sun and the moon should be obtained by applying the most
upto-date and complete equations of their motions, so that they
may tally with their actually observed values.
(10) Steps should be taken to oompile an • Indian Ephe-
meris and Nautical A.lmanac' by the Government of India,
showing in advanoe the positions of the sun, the moon, the
planets and other heavenly bodies. The Indian oalendar, both
oivil and religious, prepared acoording to the above reoommenda.-
tions should be included in that publication every year.
One Can only express the hope that the above mentioned
recommendations of the Committee of distinguished astronomers
and Sanskrit scholars will receive a wide and hearty response
from the Hindu people and that the present confusion and
anarohy in the matter of religious observances in our country
will come to an end as soon as possible. The Government of
India accepted the principal recommendations of the Committee
718 History of Dharmasastra [ Seo. il, Ch. XIX

by issuing a. Press Note on 23rd October 1956 which decided

that the Uniform National Calendar should be adopted with
effect from March 22, 1957 corresponding to (Solar) Chaitra. 1,
1879, Saka Era, for certain official purposes in conjunction with
the Gregorian Calendar and laid down the steps to be taken by
the Central Government and the States Governments for imple-
menting the decision. To avoid misunderstandings and to encou-
rage the use by the mass of the people of this Solar Calendar,
Government has decided to make use of both the Gregorian
Calendar and the New Indian Solar Calendar together in some
Government business, such as publishing ~he Indian Government
Gazette with both dates, the All India Radio Broadcasting news
every day announcing both dates at the beginning. But
Government is not going to give up as far as possible the
practice of declaring public holidays on religious festivals
according to the old Calendars. The Government will publish
translations of the Calendar Reform Committee's Report in the
principal languages of India. It must be said however that this
Calendar does not remove all the defects of the Gregorian
Calendar.1131 The years will still commence on different week days
and the number of days in each month still varies. It is feared
that this will add only one more calendar to the existing ones.

1131. The Gregorian calendar now in general use in Europe and other
parts of the world is irregular. unbalanced and inconvenient (vide pp.
643-44 above. ). For twenty-five years the World Calendar Association
founded by Miss Elisabeth Acbelis in New York has heen dedicatin g its
time and resources to the introdution of tbe World Calendar in many lands.
The outstanding features of tbi s world calendar are: Every year is tbe same
and begins on Sunday. 1st January and ends on Saturday: each of its four
quarters bas 91 days, 13 weeks or three months; January, April, July and
October have 31 days each and tbe other months have 30 days each; the
Calendar is stabilized and made perpetual by ending the year with a 365th
day followin g 30th December each year. This additional day Is named W
(it is a World Holiday) and equal to 31st December. In a leap year a day
is added at the end of the 2nd quarter, is named W, equals 31 June, called
Leap year day and is anotber World Holiday . The United Nations Organi-
zation bas not yet lent its support to the World Calendar. An Interesting
work is 'Time counts; the story of the Calendar ' by Harold Watkin.
( London, 1954.)
 U. A. S. BANGAlORE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.

2 8 MAR 1~llJ
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