Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies

Front matter

HINDU FEASTS FASTS AND CEREMONIES

Pt. S. M. NATESA SASTRI

HINDU FEASTS FASTS AND CEREMONIES

Chapter 1 : The Ardra.

Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies

l. The Ardra

THE followers of the Saiva religion deem five places in Southern India most holy, and, they are:—Conjeeveram, where Siva is worshipped in the shape of Prithvi-linga or as the representative of the element earth; Tiruvanaikovil, near Trichinopoly, where he is worshipped in the shape of water-linga; Sri Kalahasti, the shrine containing the air-linga; Tiruvannamalai, the seat of the fire-linga; and Chidambaram, the abode of the ether-linga. The several forms of the god Siva in these sacred shrines are considered to be the bodies or casements of the soul whose natural bases are the five elements—-earth, water, fire, air and ether. The apprehension of God in the last of these five as ether is, according to the Saiva school of philosophy, the highest form of worship, for, it is not the worship of God in a tangible form, but the worship of what, to ordinary minds, is vacuum, which nevertheless leads to the attainment of a knowledge of the all-pervading without physical accessories in the shape of any linga, which is, after all, an emblem. That this is the case at Chidambaram is known to every Hindu, for if he ever asks the priests to show him the God in the temple he is pointed to an empty space in the most holy of the holies, which has been termed the Akasa, or ether-linga. In this hes the so-called Chidambara-rahasya—the secret of worship in the sacred city of Chidambaram. When any devotee has reached the stage of worshipping God in this manner, he is, according to the Saiva doctrine, deemed to be exempt from all future births and is supposed to secure absorption in the supreme essence of God. It is on account of this high nature of worship that the main hall of the Siva temple in this town is termed the chit-sabha—the hall in which the true devotee acquires illimitable and supernatural powers which could be obtained only by concentrated devotion to God and which when once acquired could be exercised at pleasure. Including the chit-sabha—the hall of supreme vision and wisdom, there are five chief halls in the Chidambaram shrine, which are called the kanaka-sabha—the golden hall; the chitra-sabha—ornamental hall; the deva-sabha—the divine hall; and the nritta-sabha—the hall of dancing. The special deity worshipped in the temple is called Natesa—the lord of dancers. His other names are Nataraja—the king of dancers; Sabhesa—the lord of the several sacred halls; and Sabhapati—the president of these sacred halls. The prominent idea underlying the Sthala Purana of Chidambaram is that the great God having perceived his own Self in Himself is illuminated with wisdom and dances with very joy on account thereof; and that the devotee who visits the temple and witnesses this dance becomes himself absorbed in God. The Chidambaram shrine has thus from time immemorial been a visible symbol of a philosophic phase of the Hindu religion. It is the place where, according to Hindu beliefs, nersons even of the lowest caste have attained oneness-with God by sincere devotion and faith. Nanda—a Paraiya saint—attained eternal felicity by his devotions at Chidambaram. The most orthodox of the orthodox Brahmans will never stint the reputation of this greatest of Saiva saints, who after all was only a Paraiya by birth. It is the only place in the whole of India where no attempt has been made to import conventional ideas of Godhead into the purely philosophic basis of the Hindu religion. In keeping with this fame, Chidambaram is now the seat of several Sudra monasteries, where several hundreds of Sudra mendicants are taught Sanskrit. A Brahman visitor to this sacred town will be surprised to see the number of Sudras repeating the Upanishads in the early morning in these monasteries. To add to his wonder he will find that they have not only got by heart these sacred writings but that they understand their meaning and possess a perfect knowledge of the subject-matter which is a rare thing even with Brahmans.

Such is the merit of Chidambaram. Special meritoriousness is attached by the Saivites to the Ardra festival which takes place in this town on the full-moon day of the month of Margasira, according to the Hindu year,—corresponding to the latter half of December and the first half of January. As the Hindu deity Rama is supposed to have been born on a Navami day and Krishna on an Ashtami day, so Siva in his incarnation of Natesa is considered by the Saivites to have been born on the full-moon day of the month of Margasira and in the constellation of Ardra—the sixth lunar mansion. On the night previous to the feast the bathing of the image of the god Natesa takes place ona grand scale. Of the Hindu trinity Siva is supposed to be fond of baths and Vishnu of ornaments. The Siva god of Chidambaram—lord Natesa—is bathed only six times in a year, and the. bath on the night previous to the Ardra feast is conducted on the grandest scale. Pilgrims and devotees flock to the hall where this bathing is performed. Pots full of milk, honey, lemon-juice, pomegranate juice, cocoanut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offerings to the deity, pour in from all parts to be used on the occasion. This ceremony commences at about midnight and lasts till late in the morning. When the bathing is over the image is choicely decorated; and the Brahman priests of Chidambaram are considered to be adepts at showing off the image to.its best advantage. The decoration is done behind screens and when the screens are raised the whole hall rings with the hymns of praise chanted by the thousands of pilgrims and devotees who have assembled there to worship God. The choicest temple jewels in-southern India, made of the finest of precious stones, are to be seen only in two shrines—Srirangam and Chidambaram. Natesa on the Ardra festival day is most superbly decorated and at about evening time is taken round on a grand procession. 'This.is the most impressive scene of the Ardra festival and the Anandatandavam—the dance in ecstatic joy—takes place on this occasion. The bearers of the image have a mode of marching slowly, so as to give the image the appearance of dancing. The most holy of holies—the Garbhagriha of the temple—is reached after a slow march of three or four hours; and this completes the Ardra feast.

There is a queer story in connection with this feast which obtains credence with the mass of the worshippers, but which is not to be found in any of the Hindu Puranas. It is that the god Siva left his inner apartments one night and returned,home early next morning. The goddess Parvati grew jealous on this account and denied him admission. Hot words were exchanged and soon after reconciliation followed. In keeping with this legend the temple doors are shut just as the god enters at the close of the procession on the Ardra day, and questions and replies take place between two priests who represent the god and goddess. After the supposed reconciliation the doors are opened. This, as has been said already, is entirely a popular belief, having no Puranic foundation.

The places in Southern India most sacred to this feast are Chidambaram in the South Arcot District, Tiruvalur in the Tanjore District, Lalgudi in the Trichinopoly District, and Perur in the Coimbatore District. The great Saiva philosopher—Manikkavasakar—passed his latter days in Chidambaram and worshipped Natesa. A small festival in honour of the memory of this philosopher takes place on this occasion in the temple.

Chapter 2 : Avani Avittam.

2. Avani Avittam

UPAKARMA, or Avani Avittam, as it is called in Tamil, is a holy day with the twice-born castes, especially the Brahmans. It always falls on the day when the moon is in the asterism of Sravishtha in the fifth lunar month of Avani—July and August. It is the day of the annual renewal of the sacred thread of the twice-born castes,—Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas. ‘The daily rites of a Brahman are several and every Brahman must, properly speaking, go through every one of these rites, though the rule now is more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The rites are as follows:—

A Brahman, as soon as he rises from his bed, must clean his teeth with the twig of the Ficus Racemosa (fig tree) or mango leaf. He must then rinse his mouth twelve times with water. He must then proceed to bathe in a river or in other water and pray before bathing. After bathing the Brahman has put on his clean apparel. He must then wash his hands and feet and sip water thrice in the name of Maha Vishnu. He must perform his morning worship—pratah sandhya—with arghya—oblations of water—and gayatri—meditation on the Sun-god. After this-the Brahman must proceed to study the Vedas under his preceptor—guru. A portion of this sacred lore is got up by heart every day. The guru—teacher—sits facing the east and recites the text and the student sits facing the west and repeats the same. This practice must be gone through daily till the whole of the Vedas is learnt by heart. This continues till midday. The Vedas, Upanishads, codes of law and other branches of sacred literature must be gone through thus and acquired by the Brahman.

Then the midday bathing and prayers succeed, followed by the worship of the Manes. Water with sesamum seeds is offered as an oblation to the Manes, from the hollow of both hands joined. After the propitiation of the Manes, the propitiation of the deities commences, which consists of oblations of fire with prayers addressed to several gods. After finishing this the Brahman goes to his midday meal. Before, however, sitting down for his dinner he is ordained to see whether any guests are waiting at his door; and if so, he must receive them, present them with planks to sit on, give them water for ablution, and offer them honey mixed with other food for refreshment. He must then take them into his house and feed them sumptuously. The evening closes with bath and prayers as in the morning. These, then, form the daily routine of a Brahman. But few observe them regularly, and those too are to be found in remote villages. Even they become liable to lapses from the daily routine.

Upakarma or Avani Avittam was instituted at a very distant epoch of time for those that had not attended regularly to the performance of these rites and for those who, though regular, had deviated on certain occasions during the year. Thus the day of Upakarma is the annual renewal day of the sacred thread—the symbol of the obligations of the twice-born—of the Brahmans and other twice-born castes. Early in the morning of this day every Brahman who is invested with the holy thread bathes and offers his usual morning prayers. After these are over, and as a preparatory rite to the Avani Avittam or Sravani ceremony, he repeats the Kamokarshit prayer. This prayer affirms that for each individual who recites it, all his sins of omission, commission and deviation originated from anger or passion, and that his. soul which is by nature pure is not responsible: for them. This prayer he repeats a hundred and eight times. This is the morning ceremony on the Sravani day. The ceremony proper commences at about midday. At that time all the Brahmans assemble and go in a body to the river or sacred tank of the village or town in which they live. The priest dictates to them a Sankalpa praying that the effect of all the sins that they have committed either consciously or unconsciously may perish with their plunge in the holy water; and consecrating the water each performs his bathing. This ceremony takes from an hour to an hour and a half. After bath the new sacred thread is worn and the old one is removed and cast away. This means that the Brahman commences his religious life anew from the Sravani day. All the ceremonies connected with the investiture of the sacred thread—upanayana—are performed on a small scale on this day. A commencement is made of the study of the Vedas, Upanishads, codes of law and other departments of knowledge. Each lore is in turn taken up and finished. The first sentence and the last sentence of an Upanishad are repeated, and this act performed on the Sravani day means that the subject to which the sentences refer has been commenced and finished. The propitiation of the Manes by the offerings of water and sesamum and of the gods by oblations of ghee in the fire finish the Sravani ceremony. A good and sumptuous afternoon dinner follows and closes the ceremonies of the day.

Thus with the renewal of his sacred thread, the Brahman renews his sacred studies also. All his deviations from established rules having been rightly traced to either passion or anger, he confesses in a general way his sins, promises to cast them off from the Sravani day, recommences all the various departments of the study of Sanskrit lore, commences and finishes the Vedas themselves and becomes in every sehse, as the ceremony at least declares him to be, a pure Brahman again. On this special account the Sravani is also termed the Upakarma—the commencement of the study of the Vedas. This Sravani ceremony is a most ancient one and is coeval with the civilisation of the Brahmans. The Rigveda Brahmans perhaps instituted it and the Yajurveda Brahmans followed it. It is not a Puranic rite but a rite sanctioned by the Vedas themselves. It is therefore one of the oldest rites of the Brahmans.

The gayatri day is a day of prayer performed on the day next to the Sravani day. The Gayatri is a sacred verse repeated by every Brahman at his morning, midday and evening devotions and on other occasions also. Great sins are believed to be expiated by a pious repetition of this verse. The general meaning of the verse is as follows:—"Let us contemplate the divine splendour of the Sun-God, the donor of bliss to all, that he may give us all kinds of happiness in all the worlds.”’

Every Brahman is required to repeat the gayatri at least thirty-two times each time—morning, midday and evening. This makes it obligatory on every religious Brahman to meditate on the gayatri at least ninety-six times every day. But there might have been days in the year on which a Brahman was not able to observe this. To make amends for all the shortcomings, the gayatri is repeated 1,008 times on the day succeeding the Sravani day, and hence the day next to the Sravani is called the day of the gayatri japa. It takes generally four to five hours to pronounce the incantation 1,008 times and this number must be reached before midday.

The Brahmans, as a class, attach the greatest importance to these two—the Sravani and the Gayatri—days.

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Chapter 3 : The Mahalaya Amavasa.

3. The Mahalaya Amavasa

AMAVASA, or the day of the conjunction of the sun and the moon, occurs once every month and it is a day considered by the Hindus to be specially set apart for the offering of oblations and the performance of religious ceremonies to the Pitris or the spirits of departed ancestors. Such being the general belief, what is the reason for the Hindus paying greater attention to the Mahalaya Amavasa, or the new moon day of the month of Kanya (Tamil Purattasi) when the sun is in the sign Virgo? The Itihasa, a great authority on the religious rites of the Hindus, says that the moment the sun enters the sign Virgo (Kanya) the departed Manes, leaving their abode in the world of Yama, the Destroyer, come down to the world of man and occupy the houses of their descendants in this world or as it is said in Sanskrit, Kanya yate yatha surye pitaras tishtanti sve grihe. ‘Therefore the fortnight preceding the new moon of the month of Kanya is considered as the fortnight which is specially sacred to the propitiation of the Manes or departed spirits. Dine dine gaya tulyam—The ceremonies in honour of the Manes performed during each day of this fortnight are considered to be equal to the ceremonies performed in the sacred city of Gaya. But instead of performing these rites on each of the days or the fortnight, most Hindus do so only on one of the days. Orthodox Hindus, however, perform ceremonies on every one of the days of this fortnight. These ceremonies terminate on the Mahalaya Amavasa day, which is therefore observed with greater sanctity than other new moon days. If, through unavoidable causes, any Hindu is not able to perform his Mahalaya rites during the course of the fortnight preceding the Mahalaya Amavasa, he is allowed as a concession to perform the same in the fortnight succeeding this new moon, because it is said that the Manes continue to linger in his house, expecting him to perform the ceremonies, till the sun enters the sign Scorpio (Vichchhika), i. e., till about the next full moon day. If even by that time a Hindu has not performed these ceremonies to the Manes they are said to become disgusted with him and return to the world of Yama after cursing their descendants in this world. Vrichchhika darsanat yanti nirasa pitaro gatah.

Such is the belief about the Mahalaya Amavasa and the two lunar fortnights which precede and succeed it. The month of Kanya is thus reserved for the worship of departed spirits and the most propitious portion of the month for such worship is the fortnight preceding the Mahalaya Amavasa. Generally speaking, every Hindu strictly observes his Mahalaya. If he is careless about it, he will find it difficult to have a peaceful time with the old ladies in his house.

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Chapter 4 : The Bhogi and the Pongal.

4. The Bhogi and the Pongal

THE Tamil month of Margali (Sans. Mrigasira), corresponding mostly with December and running on to the 11th January, is considered by the Hindus to be a most unhealthy month. It is the month in which all kinds of epidemics—cholera, fever and small-pox are supposed to occur. Accordingly, the last day of this Tamil month is observed as a festive day by the Hindus in Southern India in thank. fulness to the higher powers that the worst month has ended. The feast is called the Bhogi-Pandigai or feast in honour of Indra, the king of heavens, the lord of the clouds, rain, seasons and everything that is the source of happiness and plenty. The word Bhoga comes from the Sanskrit root Bhuj, to enjoy. So Bhogi-Pandigai is a feast of enjoyment on account of deliverance from the calamitous month of Mrigasira.

Pongal or Sankramana or Sankranti is a festival which is observed on the first day of the Tamil month of Tai (Sans. Makara). It is a New Year’s day astronomically, and commences approximately on the 12th January every year. It is observed by the Hindus by offering boiled rice in milk to propitiate the Sun-god. Hence the feast is called the Pongal, which in Tamil means boiled rice. This feast is also called the Uttarayana feast, as the sun commences his journey towards the North on this day. Sankranti or Sankramana, which is the Aryan name for the Pongal, means the entrance of the sun into the sign Capricorn.

The Pongal is observed as a day for the special worship of the sun throughout India by the Hindus. Everything sweet is supposed to please the sun-god. So rice with sugar and milk is cooked on this day in every Hindu household. The sun-god is worshipped in the courtyard of the house with diagrams in red mud describing the sun and the moon, and puja is performed on a large scale. The Pongal food, which consists of sugar-cane and sugar-candy forms the chief offering to the god. This also constitutes the first course in a Hindu dinner. Rich men regard this day as a meritorious one for making charitable donations, and every Hindu Raja gives away large sums in charity. An assembly of Pandits sits on this day in Baroda, and grants rewards to the Hindu scholars who have passed examinations in the several departments of the Vedas, Tarka, Vyakarana, etc., of the Sanskrit language. Other Native Courts also observe the same custom. The season for marriages in Hindu households also commences on this day and lasts for six months up to the end of the Uttarayana—the whole of the summer solstice. The brides for the year get their presents on the Sankranti day and these are called the Sankranti Siru. They consist generally of new cloths, one or two ornaments and vessels and also sugar-canes, molasses, oil, ghee, etc. The Sankranti is also the day of the year in which all the old earthen utensils of a Hindu household are replaced by new ones. The pongal—boiled rice—itself must be cooked in a new pot.

The day after the Pongal is called the Mattupongal feast, or the feast in honour of the cattle. On this day all the cows, bullocks, buffaloes and horses in a Hindu household are well washed and decorated. They are also worshipped, and cooked rice is given to them. Cows generally eat cooked rice freely but bullocks and horses will not as a rule. Towards evening festoons of aloe fibre and cloths containing coins are tied to the horns of bullocks and cows and the animals are driven through the streets with tom-tom and music. This ceremony is not much observed in populous towns or by the Brahmans. They merely worship the cow during the day time. But in the villages, especially in villages inhabited by the Kalla or robber tribes, the maiden chooses as her husband him who has safely untied and brought to her the cloth tied to the horn of the fiercest bull. The bullocks are let loose with their horns carrying valuables amidst the din of tom-tom and harsh music which terrify and bewilder them. They run madly about and are purposely excited by the crowd. A young Kalla will declare that he will run after such and such a bullock—and this is sometimes a risky pursuit—and recover the valuables tied to its horn, and he does so often in a dexterous manner. These tamashas take place on a grand scale in villages round about Madura and Tinnevelly where Kallas live in large numbers. Accidents are very common but they are not allowed to interfere with the festivities. Besides, the Kalla considers it a great disgrace to be injured while chasing a bull.

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Chapter 5 : The Dipavali.

5. The Dipavali

ON the day of the Dipavali feast every Hindu gets up at about 4 o'clock in the morning and bathes in oil before sunrise. From the baby to the oldest member in every Hindu household—every male and female-—has to go through this oil bath before sunrise—for the meritoriousness (punya) of the bath is supposed to be lost if it is not undergone before the appearance of the Lord of the day. What is the origin of this bath and why is so much sanctity attached to it? The Dipavali too is only of puranic sanction. The legend or legends which are quoted for the observance of this feast are to be found in the Bhagavata. At the time of Sri Krishna there was a mighty demon, named Narakasura, reigning over the country, called Pragjyotisha—the district lying to the east of Bengal, probably the western portion of Assam. According to a certain story Narakasura carried off the earnings of Aditi, the mother of the gods. The gods were power- less to recover the jewels and applied to Sri Krishna for help. Krishna fought with the demon, slew him and brought back the jewels. Another story says that Narakasura assumed the shape of an elephant and carried off the daughter of Visvakarma—the architect of the gods—and outraged her. He also seized the best daughters of the Gandharva (demi-gods) gods, and men and the divine nymphs themselves and made for himself a harem of 16,000 beautiful damsels. During his reign no woman considered herself secure, and so all joined together and petitioned Vishnu to destroy the demon and thus put an end to his atrocities. But with all his vices Narakasura had accumulated such a vast fund of meritoriousness by his penances and contemplation at the commencement of his career that Vishnu for a longtime condones his crimes, till at last, unable any more to bear his havocs, allowed Sri Krishna, to march to Pragjyotisha and slay him. In his last moments Narakasura came to his senses, praised the deity for his having come down in the incarnation of Sri Krishna to give him eternal felicity (moksha) and began to repent of his immoral life. As he was always a.gay person revelling in worldly pleasures, feasts, baths, women, display of fireworks, etc., he requested the great god that the day of his death (moksha) should be honoured by the Hindus in revels and festivities. "Let it be so” said Sri Krishna and transferred the 16,000 damsels collected by Narakasura from Pragjyotisha to his own harem at Dvaraka, where they, after a certain time, became Rishis or sages.

So, the Dipavali goes by another name of the Narakachaturdasi, i.e., the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Tula (October—November) on which the demon Narakasura was put to death by Sri Krishna. And the Hindus consider the oil bath in the morning of that day before sunrise equal to a bath in the sacred waters of the holy Ganges. After the bath in the early morning every Hindu takes a small quantity of a special medicine which is prepared for the occasion, and which is mostly composed of ginger powder. Then every male who can afford the cost wears a pair of new dhoties. The females and children have also their saris and bach-kana cloths. A light refreshment of sweet- meats and fruits is then taken by every one and the children and youngsters go to fire crackers on a large scale. The elder members again bathe after 6 a.m. and proceed to the temple (if there is one near) to worship the God. Then relatives and friends living near are visited. Every Hindu who meets another asks him "Have you had the holy Ganges bath?” "Yes, Sir, by the favour of your blessing" is the reply. At the end of every visit to a house pan supari is distributed. At midday a sumptuous dinner closes the Dipavali festivities. The Dipavali is observed, in the Tamil, Telugu and Kanarese Districts of the Madras Presidency as a feast set apart for wearing new cloths. Men, women and children from the highest to the lowest wear new cloths on this day. But if any calamity, such as the death of a near or dear relative, has visited any family within a year, the observance of the Dipavali is given up that year in that family. Mourning in Hindu societies is observed for one year, and a house which is in mourning does not keep up festivities for that period. This is the universal rule. In such houses there would not be oil baths or wearing new apparel or exchange of visits, or congratulations for the holy Ganges baths. But even such houses freely give permission to their youngsters to indulge in crackers, for the mirth of children should not be curtailed. In Madras the wearing of the new apparel is done during the Kritttka feast by the non-Brahman population.

There is a certain Hindu saying to the effect that "toddy a thousand years old will be drained on the Dipavali.” This is too true with the low and poorer class of the Hindus, and especially the labourers. They make this the greatest drinking day of the year. Children enjoy the Dipavali feast the most. With them this feast is only for spending as much money as possible in harmless fireworks. The genius of European merchants has invented so many varieties of crackers and gay lights of fancy colours and these with the Chinese crackers are bought to a very large extent and lighted up or fired as the case may be. Even the poorest household spends a couple of rupees at least in providing these enjoyments to its youngsters. Rich men, not to speak of Zamindars, buy for hundreds and thousands and a very large amount of money which could be better utilised is wasted on this day—in smoke, as an ironical Tamil proverb very well puts it, Kasai Karwakkade banam vangi sudu—"Do not waste your money, buy crackers and fire them." Pipers and drummers visit every house which celebrates this feast at about 3 in the morning and play upon their instruments for a few minutes and go away. This is of course a convenient arrangement to awake the inmates in time. But they turn up again in the morning to demand presents; the peons, the house servants, the sweeper and the scavenger, where these exist, must have their bakshis on this day. These are minor indents on one’s purse which is, however, easily and gladly managed. But the major indents are the costly presents to the bride or bridegroom as the case may be. The bride’s parents invite the bridegroom or vice versa and in addition to presenting him with costly cloths according to the position and wealth of the party, they have also to give costly presents in the shape of jewels and vessels to which a large quantity of gingelly oil, fruits and other sundries are also added. This is generally done on the first Dipavali after the marriage, once by the bride’s family and a second time by that of the bridegroom, but the presentation of cloth or cloths continues as long as the relationship continues. In Northern India and among the Gujaratis of Madras, the Dipavali is the day of the closing of the annual accounts. From this day new accounts are opened in newly-bound account books, and this continues till the Dipavali of the next year, when fresh accounts are again opened.