Chapter IV · WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AND SAINTS.

Of all the days of the sharādian the 13th, 14th and 15th are considered to be of special importance.

The death anniversary of a pitriya is called samvatsari, valgo samachari or chhamachhari, when a shrāddha is performed and Brāhmans are feasted.

The pitriyas are also worshipped on auspicious occasions such as marriages, by the performance of a shrāddha called nāndi, when pinds (balls) of molasses are offered instead of rice. It is considered an act of merit to perform shrāddha in honour of the pitriyas on the banks of a river or tank at midday on the 8th day of the dark half of a month.

From the 13th to the 15th day of the dark half of Shrāvan, after their morning ablutions, orthodox people pour water over the Pipal, the Bābul, the Ber (Zizyphus jujube) and durvā grass, and on those places where cows are known to congregate, in the belief that by so doing the thirst of the spirits of the deceased is quenched. It is also believed that if feasts are given to the relatives of the deceased and to Brāhmans the pitriyas are satisfied.

On the Shrāddha days Brāhmans and relatives of the deceased are feasted, and oblations called Vāsh, consisting of rice and sweets, are offered to crows.

The spirits of those who die with strong attachment to the objects of this world are said to enter the state known as asur gati or the path of demons. In this condition the spirit of the deceased possesses the person of one of his relatives and torments the family in which he lived. The members of the family, when worried by his persecutions, engage the services of a bhuvā or exorcist, who sets up a wooden image of the tormenting spirit in a niche in a wall of the house. A lamp fed with ghi is lighted daily before this image, and in times of trouble, a cocoanut is offered to it in the belief that the spirit can protect the offerers from injuries.

Every sect of Hindus has a Mahārāja or spiritual head, and it is considered meritorious to entertain and worship him on certain special occasions. The Mahārāja or Guru is received with great éclat. His followers form a procession and carry him in a palanquin or a carriage and pair accompanied with music. At the house of the person who invites him, the floor is covered with rich cloth, over which the Mahārāja is led to a raised seat specially arranged for the purpose. He is then worshipped by the host with the same details as the image of a god. His feet are washed by panchāmrita (five nectars), that is a mixture of ghi, milk, honey, sugar and water, which is sipped by the worshipper and distributed among the followers of the Mahārāja. Very often the feet of the Mahārāja are washed in water, which is considered as purifying as the panchāmrita. Great festivity and rejoicings are observed on this day at the house of the Mahārāja’s host, where crowds of the Mahārāja’s followers assemble eager for a sight of him. After spending about half an hour in the house, the Mahārāja departs, first receiving valuable presents from the host.

Spiritual guides who claim the power of working miracles are held in high esteem by the people. Some of these guides are said to have control over spiritual beings or to possess their favour. These spirits are supposed to endow them with the power of preparing mystic threads, which, when worn round the waist, neck or arm, cure various diseases.

In the Kadavāsan woods, near the village of Daldi, there lives a bāvā called Bhimputi, who is believed to possess miraculous powers. He surprises visitors by his wonderful feats and commands vows from the afflicted by mitigating their sufferings. Every day, before breakfast, the bāvā visits seven villages to collect sugar and flour, which he throws in handfuls over every anthill which he meets on his way. This act of charity has established him as a saint, and most of his prophecies are believed to be fulfilled.

Great men of antiquity often command worship as gods. A fast is observed by Hindus on the 9th day of the bright half of Chaitra, the birth day of Rāma, whose birth anniversary is celebrated at noon on that day in his temple. On this occasion, all visitors to the temple offer a pice or two to his image and receive his Prasād, that is, consecrated food, which consists of a mixture of curdled milk and sugar. The birth of Krishna is celebrated at mid-night on the eighth day of the dark half of Shrāvan, when people keep awake for the whole of the night.

If the souls of the departed ones are condemned to become ghosts, shrāddha ceremonies performed by their descendants are said to be efficacious in freeing them from their ghostly existence and relegating them to some other form of life.

Bhuts and pishāchas are believed by some people to be immortal, because they are supposed to belong to the order of demi-gods. In the Amarkosha—the well-known Sanskrit lexicon—they are classed with divinities, such as guhyaks, and sidhas. The bhut is defined as a deity that troubles infants and the pishācha as a deity that lives on flesh. Bhuts and pishāchas are the ganas or attendants of Shiva, one of the gods of the Hindu Trinity. They are supposed to be upadevas or demi-gods.

The span of life of the bhuts and pretas is very long, but those whose descendants offer them the usual oblations gain their emancipation sooner. There is a kund or spring called Zilānand in the vicinity of Jhinjhuvādā, on the banks of which is a temple of Zilakeshwar Mahādev. The performance of the pitri shrāddha by the side of this spring is believed to expedite the emancipation of the spirits of the deceased from ghostly life. Every year, on the Bhādarvā amāvāsya, that is, the new moon day of the month Bhādarvā, a great fair is held on this spot, when people from long distances visit the place to get their relatives exorcised by the bhuvās or exorcists.

On account of the community of their feelings, habits and ideas in previous births, members of different families form different groups. The actions performed in this life keep them bound to one another either as recipients of the return of the obligations given in the past or as givers of fresh obligations. The members of a family stand thus to one another in the relation of debtors and creditors. It is for the discharge of these debts and recovery of dues that several individuals are united in a family. This naturally leads to the members of a family taking birth again in the same family for the proper discharge of debts.

When an atit or holy man or a recluse dies, his body is interred, and a platform rising waist high from the ground, or a small dome-shaped temple, is built over the spot. This is called a samādh. An image of the god Shiva is generally installed in the samādh; but sometimes pādukās i.e. the impressions on stone of the footsteps of the deceased, are installed instead. Instances of the latter are the pādukās of Dattātraya, Gorakha and Machchendra Nāth.

Kabars or tombs raised over the graves of Mahomedan saints or Pirs are held in equal reverence both by Mahomedans and Hindus. To these offerings are made, and fairs are held in their honour.

Some Samādhs and Kabars noted for miraculous powers are given below.

2. Kevaldās:—The Samādh of Kevaldās stands in Susavāv. It is told that, on one occasion, when a festival was being celebrated in honour of the Bāvā Kevaldās, a nimb tree (Azadirachta Indica) overhanging the Samādh was transformed into a mitho Limbdo (Ailantas excelsa).

4. Similarly, a bāvā in the religious house at Navānagar called Shāradā Matha has taken a Samādh during life, and his remains and the structure over them have become an object of worship.

8. Devalshā Pir:—The tomb of this Pir is situated at Amarān about seven miles from Todia. Many Hindus perform the first hair-cutting ceremony of their children at the shrine of this Pir with an offering of a sweet preparation of ghi, sugar or molasses, and wheat flour. The Muhammadans distribute cooked rice among the Fakirs about this shrine.

The worship of the following Muhammadan Pirs has been adopted by Hindus:—

(1) Dātār Pir in Junāgadh.

(2) Dātār in Rātaiya near Khirāsara.

(3) Gobalsha Pir:—This Pir is noted for curing boils.

The shrine of this Pir is situated in the village of Unāva in the Gāikwār’s territory in North Gujarāt. His Highness the late Gāikwār Khanderāo has fixed solid silver railings round the shrine of this Pir in gratitude for a cure effected by him.

(7) Hāji Karmāni near Dvārikhān.

(8) The Dāvalsha Pir near Amarān.

(9) The Lakad Pir and the Hussein Pir in the vicinity of Ganod.

(10) Mahābali Dāda Pir:—This Pir is to be found close to the village of Varai. Milk offered to him in his shrine in indās (egg-shaped pots) is said to remain fresh for a year. Similarly, the doors of his shrine open of themselves after the lapse of a year.

(11) Mangalio Pir:—This Pir is worshipped at Dadvi.

(12) Moto Pir:—Is worshipped at Khandorana.

(13) Hindva Pir:—This is the Pir of the Khojās in Pirāna near Ahmedābād. He is so called because he is worshipped by the Hindus also.

(14) Bhadiādaro Pir:—Is in the village of Bhādia near Dhorāli.

(15) Ingārāsha Pir and Bālamsha Pir.

There are various rural methods in vogue for the cure of barrenness.

Conception is also believed to be favoured by administering the gum of the bābul tree dissolved in milk for three days commencing from the third day of the monthly period.67

To secure conception, a bit of coral is also eaten, with the face turned towards the sun.67

Other preparations taken with the belief that they cause conception are:—

Offering bread to black dogs is also supposed to be a cure for barrenness.

Other methods practised for the cure of barrenness are as follows:

Some women collect the dust trodden on by a child-bearing woman in an earthen pot and eat it every day till it is exhausted.80

Others daub their foreheads with the blood emitted by a woman in menses.80

Many wear round their necks leaves called bhojapatras on which the mystical figure given below is drawn by an exorcist.

Pieces of paper on which the following jantra is written by an ascetic, woven in a string made of five kinds of silk, are also worn round the elbows:—

Swāhā aum rhin kling swāhā.

Eating cocoa-kernel and molasses sitting on the threshold of the house on the fourth day of the monthly period is also believed to be a remedy for the cure of barrenness.

Cutting off a lock of a child’s hair and keeping it in custody is also believed to satisfy the longing of a barren woman for a child. This result can also be obtained by securing a piece of a garment of a suckling child.

Some treat their children as beggars until they attain the age of five years, that is, they are dressed till that age in clothes obtained by begging. Some bore the nose of the child.98