Besides the higher-grade deities, whose worship is enjoined and treated of in the Shāstras and Purānas, numerous other minor deities, none of whom however find a place in the Scriptures, are worshipped by the lower classes. The principle underlying the whole fabric of the worship of these minor deities, who for the most part are the spirits of dead ancestors or heroes, has more in it of fear for their power of harming than of love for their divine nature. All untoward occurrences in domestic affairs, all bodily ailments and unusual natural phenomena, inexplicable to the simple mind of the villager, are attributed to the malignant action of these nameless and numerous spirits, hovering over and haunting the habitations of men.1 The latent dread of receiving injuries from these evil spirits results in the worship by the low-class people of a number of devas and mātās, as they are called. The poor villager, surrounded on all sides by hosts of hovering spirits, ready to take offence, or even to possess him, on the smallest pretext, requires some tangible protector to save him from such malign influences.1 He sets up and enshrines the spirit that he believes to have been beneficent to him, and so deserving of worship, and makes vows in its honour, often becoming himself the officiating priest. Each such deity has its own particular thānak (sthāna) or locality. Thus there is hardly a village which has not a particular deity of its own. But in addition to this deity, others in far off villages are generally held in high esteem.1

There are a number of ways in which these lower-class deities can be installed. Their images are made either of wood, stone, or metal.2 No temples or shrines are erected in their honour.3 An ordinary way of representing them is by drawing a trident, (trishūl, a weapon peculiar to god Shiva) in red-lead and oil on an upright slab of stone on a public road, on any dead wall, on the confines of a village, or a mountain side, or a hill top, in an underground cellar, or on the bank of a stream.4 Some people paint tridents in their own houses. The trishūl, or trident, may also be made of wood, in which case its three points are plastered with red-lead and oil and covered with a thin coating of tin.5 Sometimes carved wooden images in human shape, daubed over with red-lead and oil, are placed in a small wooden chariot or in a recess about a foot square. In some shrines two brooms or whisks of peacock’s feathers are placed on either side of the image.6 A slight difficulty overcome or a disease remedied by a vow in honour of any of these deities offers the occasion for an installation, and in all future emergencies of the same kind similar vows are observed. A mātā installed to protect a fortress or a street is called a Gadheri Mātā, and the worshippers of a fortress, or street, mother are known as Pothias.7 At the time of installation flags are hoisted near the dedicated places. A troop of dancers with jingling anklets recite holy verses, while the bhuva, exorcist-priest, performs the ceremonies. Generally installations are frequent during the Navarātra8 holidays when, if no human-shaped image is set up, a trishūl at least is drawn in red-lead and oil.9 Some of these evil deities require, at the time of their installation, the balidān (sacrifice or oblation) of a goat or a he-buffalo. Also, when a spirit is to be exorcised, the symbol of the familiar spirit of the exorcist is set up and invoked by him.9 After the installation, no systematic form of worship is followed in connection with them.10 Regular forms are prescribed for the real gods of the Purānas. But upon these the low-caste people are not authorised to attend.

Still, in practice there are two forms of worship: ordinary or sāmānya-pūjā and special or vishesha-pūjā.11 Ordinary worship is performed by bathing the deity—which can be done by sprinkling a few drops of water over it—burning a ghi, or an oil, lamp before it, and by offering a cocoanut and a pice or a half-anna piece. The last is taken away by the bhuva, or priest, who returns generally half or three-quarters of the cocoanut as a prasād of the god.

There are no particular days prescribed for such worship, but Sundays and Tuesdays would seem to be the most favoured.12 On such days, offerings are made for the fulfilment of a vow recorded in order to avoid a bādhā, or impending evil. In the observance of this vow the devotee abstains from certain things, such as ghi, butter, milk, rice, juvar, betelnut till the period of the vow expires. When a vow is thus discharged, the devotee offers flowers, garlands, incense, food or drink according to the terms of his vow.12 The dhūpa, i.e., burning incense of gūgal (balsamodendron) is one of the commonest methods of worship.

The days for special worship are the Navarātra holidays, the second day of the bright half of Āshādh, the ninth month of the Hindu Calendar,13 Divāsā14 or the fifteenth day of the dark half of Āshādh, and Kālī-chaudas15 or the fourteenth day of the dark half of Āshvin, the last month; besides other extraordinary occasions when a spirit has to be exorcised out of a sick person.

The Navarātra days are said to be the most auspicious days for devī-worship. People believing in the power of the mātās observe fast on these days. Most of them at least fast on the eighth day of the Navarātra known as Mātā-ashtamī, taking only a light meal which consists of roots, as a rule, especially the suran (Amorphophallus campanulatus), and of dates and milk.16 On the Navarātra days red-lead and oil are applied to the images of the devis, and a number of oblations, such as loaves, cooked rice, lāpsi17, vadān18 and bāklā19 are offered.20 The utmost ceremonial cleanliness is observed in the preparation of these viands. The corn is sifted, cleaned, ground or pounded, cooked, treated with frankincense, offered to the gods and lastly partaken of before sunset, and all these operations must be performed on the same day; for the offerings must not see lamp-light.21 Girls are not allowed to partake of these offerings. All ceremonies should be conducted with much earnestness and reverence; otherwise the offerings will fail to prove acceptable to the mātās or devis.21

On Mātā-ashtamī and Kālī-chaudas devotees sometimes offer rams, goats or buffaloes as victims to the devis or devas in addition to the usual offerings of lāpsi, vadān and bāklā.21 The night of Kālī-chaudas is believed to be so favourable for the efficacious recitation (sādhana) of certain mantras, mysterious incantations possessing sway over spirits, that bhuvas (exorcists) leave the village and sit up performing certain rites in cemeteries, on burning-ghats, and in other equally suitable places where spirits are supposed to congregate.22

On Divāsā, the last day of Āshādh, the ninth month, low-caste people bathe their gods with water and milk, besmear them with red-lead and oil, and make offerings of cocoanuts, lāpsi, bāklā of adād (Phaseoleus radiatus) or kansār23. Particular offerings are believed to be favoured by particular deities: for instance, khichdo (rice and pulse boiled together) and oil, or tavo (flat unleavened loaves) are favoured by the goddess Meldi, boiled rice by Shikotar and lāpsi by the goddess Gātrād.24

On these holidays, as well as on the second day of the bright half of Āshādh the devotees hoist flags in honour of the spirits, and play on certain musical instruments producing discordant sounds. Meanwhile bhuvas, believed to be interpreters of the wills of evil spirits, undergo self-torture, with the firm conviction that the spirits have entered their persons. Sometimes they lash themselves with iron chains or cotton braided scourges.25 At times a bhuva places a pan-full of sweet oil over a fire till it boils. He then fries cakes in it, and takes them out with his unprotected hands, sprinkling the boiling oil over his hair. He further dips thick cotton wicks into the oil, lights them and puts them into his mouth and throws red-hot bullets into his mouth, seemingly without any injury.26 This process secures the confidence of the sevakas or followers, and is very often used by bhuvas when exorcising spirits from persons whose confidence the bhuvas wish to gain. A bowl-full of water is then passed round the head of the ailing person (or animal) to be charmed, and the contents are swallowed by the exorcist to show that he has swallowed in the water all the ills the flesh of the patient is heir to.26

In the cure of certain diseases by exorcising the process known as utār is sometimes gone through. An utār is a sacrificial offering of the nature of a scapegoat, and consists of a black earthen vessel, open and broad at the top, and containing lāpsi, vadān, bāklā, a yard of atlas (dark-red silk fabric), one rupee and four annas in cash, pieces of charcoal, red-lead, sorro (or surmo-lead ore used as eye-powder), an iron-nail and three cocoanuts.26 Very often a trident is drawn in red-lead and oil on the outer sides of the black earthen vessel.27 The bhuva carries the utār in his hands with a drawn sword in a procession, to the noise of the jingling of the anklets of his companions, the beating of drums and the rattling of cymbals. After placing the utār in the cemetery the procession returns with tumultuous shouts of joy and much jingling of anklets.28

Sometimes bhuvas are summoned for two or three nights preceding the day of the utār ceremony, and a ceremony known as Dānklān-beswān or the installation of the dānklā29 is performed. (A dānklā30 is a special spirit instrument in the shape of a small kettle-drum producing, when beaten by a stick, a most discordant, and, by long association, a melancholy, gruesome and ghastly sound—K. B. Fazlullah).

Many sects have special deities of their own, attended upon by a bhuva of the same order.31 The bhuva holds a high position in the society of his caste-fellows. He believes himself to be possessed by the devi or mātā whose attendant he is, and declares, while possessed by her, the will of the mātā, replying for her to such questions as may be put to him.32 The devis are supposed to appear in specially favoured bhuvas and to endow them with prophetic powers.33

The following is a list of some of the inferior local deities of Gujarat and Kathiawar:—

(1) Suro-pūro.—This is generally the spirit of some brave ancestor who died a heroic death, and is worshipped by his descendants as a family-god at his birthplace as well as at the scene of his death, where a pillar (pālio) is erected to his memory.34

(2) Vachhro, otherwise known by the name of Dādā (sire).—This is said to have been a Rajput, killed in rescuing the cowherds of some Chārans, who invoked his aid, from a party of free-booters.35 He is considered to be the family-god of the Ahirs of Solanki descent, and is the sole village-deity in Okha and Baradi Districts.36 Other places dedicated to this god are Padānā, Aniālā, Taluka Mengani,37 Khajurdi, Khirasarā and Anida.38 He is represented by a stone horse, and Chārans perform priestly duties in front of him.39 Submission to, and vows in honour of, this god, are believed to cure rabid-dog-bites.40

(3) Sarmālio commands worship in Gondal, Khokhāri and many other places. Newly-married couples of many castes loosen the knots tied in their marriage-scarves as a mark of respect for him.41 Persons bitten by a snake wear round their necks a piece of thread dedicated to this god.40

(4) Shitalā is a goddess known for the cure of small-pox.—Persons attacked by this disease observe vows in her honour. Kālāvad and Syādlā are places dedicated to her.40

(5) Ganāgor.—Virgins who are anxious to secure suitable husbands and comfortable establishments worship this goddess and observe vows in her honour.40

(6) Todāliā.—She has neither an idol nor a temple set up in her honour, but is represented by a heap of stones lying on the village boundary—Pādal or Jāmpā. All marriage processions, before entering the village (Sānkā) or passing by the heap, pay homage to this deity and offer a cocoanut, failure to do which is believed to arouse her wrath. She does not command daily adoration, but on occasions the attendant, who is a Chumvāliā Koli, and who appropriates all the presents to this deity, burns frankincense of gugal (balsamodendron) and lights a lamp before her.42

(7) Buttāya also is represented by a heap of stones on a hillock in the vicinity of Sānkā. Her worshipper is a Talabdia Koli. A long season of drought leads to her propitiation by feasting Brāhmans, for which purpose four pounds of corn are taken in her name from each threshing floor in the village.42

(8) Surdhan.—This seems to have been some brave Kshatriya warrior who died on a battlefield. A temple is erected to his memory, containing an image of Shiva. The attending priest is an Atit.42

(9) Ghogho.—This is a cobra-god worshipped in the village of Bikhijada having a Bajana (tumbler) for his attending priest.42

(10) Pir.—This is a Musalman saint, in whose honour no tomb is erected, the special site alone being worshipped by a devotee.42

(11) Raneki is represented by a heap of stones, and is attended upon by chamārs (tanners). Her favourite resort is near the Dhedvādā (i.e., a quarter inhabited by sweepers). A childless Girasia is said to have observed a vow in her honour for a son, and a son being born to him, he dedicated certain lands to her; but they are no longer in the possession of the attendants.43

(12) Hanuman.—On a mound of earth there is an old worn-out image of this god. People sometimes light a lamp there, offer cocoanuts and plaster the image with red-lead and oil. A sādhu of the Māragi sect, a Koli by birth, acts as pujari.43

(13) Shaktā (or shakti).—This is a Girasia goddess attended upon by a Chumvāliā Koli. On the Navarātra days, as well as on the following day, Girasias worship this goddess, and if necessary observe vows in her name.43

(14) Harsidh.—Gāndhavi in Bardā and Ujjain are the places dedicated to this goddess. There is a tradition connected with her that her image stood in a place of worship facing the sea on Mount Koyalo in Gandhavi. She was believed to sink or swallow all the vessels that sailed by. A Bania named Jagadusā, knowing this, propitiated her by the performance of religious austerities. On being asked what boon he wanted from her, he requested her to descend from her mountain-seat. She agreed on the Bania promising to offer a living victim for every footstep she took in descending. Thus he sacrificed one victim after another until the number of victims he had brought was exhausted. He then first offered his four or five children, then his wife and lastly himself. In reward for his self-devotion the goddess faced towards Miani and no mishaps are believed to take place in the village.44

(15) Hinglaj.—This goddess has a place of worship a hundred and fifty miles from Karachi in Sind, to which her devotees and believers make pilgrimage.44

In the village of Jāsdān, in Kathiawar, there is an ancient shrine of Kālu-Pīr in whose memory there are two sepulchres covered with costly fabrics, and a large flag floats over the building. Both Hindus and Musalmans believe45 in this saint, and offer cocoanuts, sweetmeats and money to his soul. A part of the offering being passed through the smoke of frankincense, burning in a brazier near the saint’s grave in the shrine, the rest is returned to the offerer. Every morning and evening a big kettle-drum is beaten in the Pīr’s honour.46

Other minor deities are Shikotār, believed by sailors to be able to protect them from the dangers of the deep;47 Charmathvati, the goddess of the Rabarīs;48 Macho, the god of the shepherds;48 Meldi, in whom Vaghries (bird-catchers) believe;49 Pithād, the favourite god of Dheds;50 Dhavdi, who is worshipped by a hajām (barber);51 Khodiar;52 Géla,52 Dādamo,52 Kshetrapāl,52 Chāvad,53 Mongal,53 Avad,53 Pālan,53 Vir Vaital,54 Jālio,54 Gadio,54 Paino,54 Parolio,54 Sevalio,54 Andhario,54 Fulio,54 Bhoravo,54 Ragantio,54 Chod,55 Gātrad,55 Mammai and Verai.56 There are frequent additions to the number, as any new disease or unusual and untoward incident may bring a new spirit into existence. The installation of such deities is not a costly concern,57 and thus there is no serious check on their recognition.

The sun, the beneficent night-dispelling, light-bestowing great luminary, is believed to be the visible manifestation of the Almighty God,58 and inspires the human mind with a feeling of grateful reverence which finds expression in titles like Savitā, Life-Producer, the nourisher and generator of all life and activity59.

He is the chief rain-sender60; there is a couplet used in Gujarat illustrative of this belief. It runs:—“Oblations are cast into the Fire: the smoke carries the prayers to the sun; the Divine Luminary, propitiated, responds in sending down gentle showers.” “The sacred smoke, rising from the sacrificial offerings, ascends through the ethereal regions to the Sun. He transforms it into the rain-giving clouds, the rains produce food, and food produces the powers of generation and multiplication and plenty. Thus, the sun, as the propagator of animal life, is believed to be the highest deity.60”

It is pretty generally believed that vows in honour of the sun are highly efficacious in curing eye-diseases and strengthening the eyesight. Mr. Damodar Karsonji Pandya quotes from the Bhagvadgītā the saying of Krishna:

“I am the very light of the sun and the moon.61” Being the embodiment or the fountain of light, the sun imparts his lustre either to the bodies or to the eyes of his devotees. It is said that a Rajput woman of Gomātā in Gondal and a Brahman of Rajkot were cured of white leprosy by vows in honour of the sun.62 Similar vows are made to this day for the cure of the same disease. Persons in Kathiawar suffering from ophthalmic disorders, venereal affections, leucoderma and white leprosy are known to observe vows in honour of the sun.63

The Parmār Rajputs believe in the efficacy of vows in honour of the sun deity of Māndavrāj, in curing hydrophobia.64

Women believe that a vow or a vrat made to the sun is the sure means of attaining their desires. Chiefly their vows are made with the object of securing a son. On the fulfilment of this desire, in gratitude to the Great Luminary, the child is often called after him, and given such a name as Suraj-Rām, Bhānu-Shankar, Ravi-Shankar, Adit-Rām.65

Many cradles are received as presents at the temple of Māndavrāj, indicating that the barren women who had made vows to the deity have been satisfied in their desire for a son, the vows being fulfilled by the present of such toy-cradles to the sun. In the case of rich donors, these cradles are made of precious metal.66

At Mandvara, in the Muli District of Kathiawar, the Parmār Rajputs, as well as the Kāthis, bow to the image of the sun, on their marriage-day, in company with their newly-married brides.66 After the birth of a son to a Rajputani, the hair on the boy’s head is shaved for the first time in the presence of the Māndavrāj deity,67 and a suit of rich clothes is presented to the image by the maternal uncle of the child.68

The sun is सर्वसाक्षी the observer of all things and nothing can escape his notice.69 His eye is believed to possess the lustre of the three Vedic lores, viz., Rigveda, Yajurveda and Sāmaveda, and is therefore known by the name of वेदत्रयी. The attestation of a document in his name as Sūrya-Nārāyana-Sākshi is believed to be ample security for the sincerity and good faith of the parties.70 Oaths in the name of the sun are considered so binding that persons swearing in his name are held to be pledged to the strictest truth.71

Virgin girls observe a vrat, or vow, called the ‘tili-vrat’ in the sun’s honour, for attaining अखंड सौभाग्य—eternal exemption from widowhood. In making this vrat, or vow, the votary, having bathed and worshipped the sun, sprinkles wet red-lac drops before him.72

According to Forbes’s Rāsmālā, the sun revealed to the Kāthis the plan of regaining their lost kingdom, and thus commanded their devout worship and reverence. The temple named Suraj-deval, near Thān, was set up by the Kāthis in recognition of this favour. In it both the visible resplendent disc of the sun and his image are adored.73

People whose horoscopes declare them to have been born under the Sūrya-dashā, or solar influence, have from time to time to observe vows prescribed by Hindu astrology.74

Cultivators are said to observe vows in honour of the sun for the safety of their cattle.75

The following are some of the standard books on sun-worship:—

(1) Aditya-hridaya—literally, the Heart of the Sun. It treats of the glory of the sun and the mode of worshipping him.

(2) Brihadāranyakopanishad and Mandula-Brahmans—portions of Yajurveda recited by Vedic Brahmans with a view to tender symbolic as well as mental prayers to the sun.

(3) Bibhrād—the fourth chapter of the Rudri.

(4) A passage in Brāhman—a portion of the Vedas, beginning with the words स्वयंभूरसि Thou art self-existent—is entirely devoted to Sun-worship.76

(5) Sūrya-Purāna—A treatise relating a number of stories in glorification of the sun.

(6) Sūrya-kavacha.77

(7) Sūrya-gīta.

(8) Sūrya-Sahasranama—a list of one thousand names of Sūrya.78

It is customary among Hindus to cleanse their teeth every morning with a wooden stick, known as dātan79 and then to offer salutations to the sun in the form of a verse which means: “Oh God, the dātans are torn asunder and the sins disappear. Oh the penetrator of the innermost parts, forgive us our sins. Do good unto the benevolent and unto our neighbours.” This prayer is common in the mouths of the vulgar laity.80

Better educated people recite a shloka, which runs: “Bow unto Savitri, the sun, the observer of this world and its quarters, the eye of the universe, the inspirer of all energy, the holder of a three-fold personality (being an embodiment of the forms of the three gods of the Hindu Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvar)—the embodiment of the three Vedas, the giver of happiness and the abode of God.81

After his toilet a high-caste Hindu should take a bath and offer morning prayers and arghyas to the sun.82 The Trikāla-Sandhyā is enjoined by the Shāstras on every Brahman, i.e., every Brahman should perform the Sandhyā thrice during the day: in the morning, at mid-day and in the evening. The Sandhyā is the prayer a Brahman offers, sitting in divine meditation, when he offers three arghyas to the sun and recites the Gāyatrī mantra 108 times.83

The arghya is an offering of water in a spoon half filled with barley seeds, sesamum seeds, sandal ointment, rice, and white flowers. In offering the arghya the right foot is folded below the left, the spoon is lifted to the forehead and is emptied towards the sun after reciting the Gāyatrī mantra.84 If water is not available for offering the arghyas, sand may serve the purpose. But the sun must not be deprived of his arghyas.85

The Gāyatrī is the most sacred mantra in honour of the sun, containing, as it does, the highest laudations of him.85 A Brahman ought to recite this mantra 324 times every day. Otherwise he incurs a sin as great as the slaughter of a cow.86 Accordingly a Rudrākshmālā, or a rosary of 108 Rudrāksh beads, is used in connecting the number of Gāyatrīs recited.87 It is exclusively the right of the twice-born to recite the Gāyatrī. None else is authorised to recite or even to hear a word of it. Neither females nor Shūdras ought to catch an echo of even a single syllable of the Gāyatrī mantra88.

A ceremony, called Sūryopasthān, in which a man has to stand facing the sun with his hands stretched upwards at an angle towards the sun, is performed as a part of the sandhyā.89

Of the days of the week, Ravivar, or Sunday is the most suitable for Sun worship90. Persons wishing to secure wealth, good-health and a happy progeny, especially people suffering from disorders caused by heat and from diseases of the eyes, barren women, and men anxious for victory on the battlefield, weekly observe vows in honour of the sun, and the day on which the vow is to be kept is Sunday.91 It is left to the devotee to fix the number of Sundays on which he will observe the vrat, and he may choose to observe all the Sundays of the year.92 On such days the devotees undergo ceremonial purifications by means of baths and the putting on of clean garments, occupy a reserved clean seat, light a ghi-lamp and recite the Aditya-hridaya-pātha, which is the prescribed mantra for Sun worship.93 Then follows the Nyāsa, (न्यास) in the recitation of which the devotee has to make certain gestures (or to perform physical ceremonials). First the tips of all the four fingers are made to touch the thumb as is done in counting. Then the tips of the fingers are made to touch the palm of the other hand. Then one hand is laid over the other. Then the fingers are made to touch the heart, the head, the eyes, and the hair in regular order. The right hand is then put round the head and made to smite the left.93 An ashtadala or eight-cornered figure is drawn in gulal, (red powder) and frankincense, red ointment and red flowers are offered to the sun.94 Durvā grass is also commonly used in the process of Sun-worship.95

Sometimes a hexangular figure is drawn instead of the ashtadal, a copper disc is placed over it and the sun is worshipped by Panchopachar or the five-fold ceremonials.96 Of all ceremonials a namaskār is especially dear to the sun.97 It is said:—

A namaskār or bow is dear to the sun; a stream of water (pouring water in a small stream over Shiva’s idol) is dear to Shiva: benevolence to Vishnu and a good dinner to a Brahman.97

In observing vows in the sun’s honour on Sundays, the following special foods are prescribed in particular months:98—

(1) In Kārtika, the first month, the devotee is to take only three leaves of the Tulsi or the holy basil plant.

(2) In Mārgashīrsha, the devotee may only lick a few pieces of candied sugar.

(3) In Pausha, the devotee may chew three stalks of green darbha grass.

(4) In Māgha, a few seeds of sesamum and sugar mixed together may be swallowed.

(5) In Phālguna, a consecrated draught of curds and sugar may be drunk.

(6) In Chaitra, people should break their fasts with a little ghi and molasses.

(7) In Vaishākha, the only satisfaction allowed to those observing the vrat is to lick their own palms three times.

(8) In Jyeshtha, the fast is observed simply on three anjalis or palmfuls of pure water.

(9) In Ashādha, three chillies may be eaten.

(10) In Shrāvana, only cow-urine and molasses are tasted.

(11) In Bhādrapada, cow-dung and sugar are partaken of.

(12) In Āshvina, the application of chandan (sandal wood) either in the form of an ointment or of powder.

Only a few very pious and enthusiastic devotees observe all Sundays in the above manner. In average cases, the devotee allows himself rice, ghi, sugar, milk, i.e., white food, the restriction being only as to colour.98

People observing vows in honour of the sun take food only once during the day, and that too in bājas or dishes made of khākhara (or palāsh) leaves. This is considered one of the conditions of worship, there being some mysterious relation between Sūrya and the khākhara.99

If the Pushya Nakshatra happens to fall on a Sunday, the worship of the sun on that day is believed to be most efficacious in fulfilling the desires of the devotees.100

Of the days of the month, the seventh day of both the bright and the dark halves of each month101 and the Amāvāsyā day, i.e., the last day of a Hindu calendar month,102 are set apart for Sun-worship. The ceremonies of the worship are the same as those on Sundays. In fact, in almost all the observances in connection with the sun the same ceremonials are to be gone through. Very often a Brahman recites the pātha directing his hosts or hostesses to perform certain ceremonial gestures. On the last of the number of days which the devotee has decided to observe, the vrat is celebrated and Brahmans are feasted. This celebration of the vrat is known as vratujavavun.103

The special occasions for Sun-worship are the Sankrānti days and the solar eclipses.

In each year there are twelve Sankrānti days on which the sun moves from one sign of the zodiac to another. Sun-worship is performed on all these Sankrāntis, but Makara-Sankrānti, which falls on the 12th or 13th of January, is considered the most important.104 The Uttarāyana-parvan falls on this day, i.e., the sun now crosses to his northern course from his southern, and the time of that Parvan is considered so holy that a person dying then directly attains salvation.105 On this day, many Hindus go on a pilgrimage to holy places, offer prayers and sacrifices to the sun, and give alms to Brahmans in the shape of sesamum seeds, gold, garments and cows.106 Much secret, as well as open, charity is dispensed,107 grass and cotton-seeds are given to cows, and lāpsi108 and loaves to dogs.107 Sweet balls of sesamum seeds and molasses are eaten as a prasād and given to Brahmans, and dainties such as lāpsi are partaken of by Hindu households, in company with a Brahman or two, who are given dakshinā after the meals.109

On solar eclipse days, most of the Hindu sects bathe and offer prayers to God. During the eclipse the sun is believed to be combating with the demon Rāhu, prayers being offered for the sun’s success. When the sun has freed himself from the grasp of the demon and sheds his full lustre on the earth, the people take ceremonial baths, offer prayers to God with a concentrated mind, and well-to-do people give in alms as much as they can afford of all kinds of grain.110

The Chāturmās-vrat, very common in Kathiawar, is a favourite one with Hindus. The devotee, in performing this vrat, abstains from food on those days during the monsoons on which, owing to cloudy weather, the sun is not visible. Even if the sun is concealed by the clouds for days together, the devout votary keeps fasting till he sees the deity again.111

Barren women, women whose children die, and especially those who lose their male children, women whose husbands suffer from diseases caused by heat, lepers, and persons suffering from ophthalmic ailments observe the vow of the sun in the following manner.112 The vows are kept on Sundays and Amāvāsyā days, and the number of such days is determined by the devotee in accordance with the behests of a learned Brahman. The woman observes a fast on such days, bathes herself at noon when the sun reaches the zenith, and dresses herself in clean garments. Facing the sun, she dips twelve red karan flowers in red or white sandal ointment and recites the twelve names of Sūrya as she presents one flower after another to the sun with a bow.113 On each day of the vrat, she takes food only once, in the shape of lāpsi, in bajas of khākharā or palāsh leaves; white food in the form of rice, or rice cooked in milk is sometimes allowed. She keeps a ghi-lamp burning day and night, offers frankincense, and sleeps at night on a bed made on the floor.114

People who are declared by the Brahmans to be under the evil influence (dashā) of Sūrya, observe vows in the sun’s honour and go through the prescribed rites on Sundays. Such persons take special kinds of food and engage the services of priests to recite holy texts in honour of the sun. If all goes well on Sunday, Brahmans, Sādhus and other pious persons are entertained at a feast. This feast is known as vrat-ujavavun. Some persons have the sun’s image (an ashtadal) engraved on a copper or a golden plate for daily or weekly worship.115

On the twelfth day after the delivery of a child, the sun is worshipped and the homa sacrifice is performed.116

If at a wedding the sun happens to be in an unfavourable position according to the bridegroom’s horoscope, an image of the sun is drawn on gold-leaf and given away in charity. Charity in any other form is also common on such an occasion.116

A Nāgar bride performs sun-worship for the seven days preceding her wedding.117

In Hindu funeral ceremonies three arghyas are offered to the sun, and the following mantra is chanted118:—