Note 345 — Chapter I
Reading edition
On the Dasarā holiday, which is also known as Vijayādashmī, Hindus take special dishes, dress themselves in their best garments and go out of towns and villages to worship the earth-mother and the holy shami, with javālā stalks, a few of which are inserted in the folds of their head-dress as auspicious tokens. In towns, and big cities a procession is formed, conducted by some city magnate or a native chief riding an elephant. They go in state to the place of worship, and after the completion of the worship a goat or a he buffalo, preferably the latter, is killed, and a salvo of three to seven or more cannon is fired. People then return home and prostrate themselves before their elders, and receive from them a handful of candied sugar, a betel-nut and leaf, with blessings for long-life and prosperity. Such blessings are considered likely to prove effective.—K. D. Desai. ↑