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RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
of the Makara Saptamí, Bhishmáshtamí, Bhaimyekádaśí, Shat-tila dánam, Yugádyá, and Śákáshtamí, all occurring within this interval. Now the spirit of the time is precisely that which marked a great part of the month of February among the Romans, and the name of the month itself is said to have been derived from its dedication by Numa to Februus, the god of lustrations, for in that month it was necessary to purify the city and pay to the Dii Manes the oblations that were their due: “Nomen habet a Februo deo lustrationum cui a Numa erat dicatus. Lustrari autem eo mense civitatem necesse erat; quo statuit ut justa Diis manibus solverentur?.” According to some, the name is derived from the verb “februor”, to be cleansed or purified. The connexion between lustrations and obsequial rites is another analogy, and consonantly with this opinion, the Feralia, or worship of the manes were celebrated for several days in February, ending with the 17th, or according to some with the 23rd. The month was thence called also the Feralis Mensis. This similarity of time and of purposes can scarcely have been accidental, and there can be no reasonable doubt that the Feralia of the Romans and the Sraddha of the Hindus, the worship of the Pitíis and of the Manes, have a common character and had a common origin.
SivARÁTRI. — Fourteenth of the lunar month Phál
Macrobius, Saturn. I, 13.
