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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[AUGUST, 1895.
being added, till on the sixth day -- the great day, the day of the fall moon - the idol is placed on the great car and dragged down to the tank. Before the great car is started, cocoannts in large numbers are broken on the wheels by the principal personages present, the cost of these cocoanuts being defrayed from the temple funds. It is then dragged down to the tank, drums and other instruments being played before it, and camphor burnt in front of it. It is next dragged back and the idol reinstated in its place in the temple. The next day a quantity of red color is prepared in a large vessel, which is kept for the purpose in front of the temple, and a great deal of horse-play ensues, the liquid being thrown over each other by the assembled people. With this the játrú, or religious fair proper, closes.
About 2,500 is the average annual attendance at the fair, which lasts for about a fortnight. The people do not come from any great distance - sixty to seventy miles at the outside. Many come from below the Ghâțs, the bulk of the pilgrims being goldsmiths and Havig Brâhmans. From the sixth day before the full moon, that is, the day of the commencement of the játrá, during the time that the car is being dragged, all the Brahmans present are fed at the temple expense : and on the great day-the day of the full moon- a regular feast consisting of sweetmeats, etc., is given, and on this day the attendance of Brahmans is asually very large. Many people merely go to the fair to amuse themselves, but there is also a moderate attendance of bona fide pilgrims, who come with offerings of jewellery, money, etc. These offerings are usually intended to propitiate the god and gain his good offices in prospering their business or in securing the recovery of relations and friends from severe illness: they are also sometimes thank-offerings. Nearly all who come offer something at the shrine, however trivial it may be : small pieces of money, or fruit, such as plantains, cocoanate, etc.
There are two tanks at Mañjgani: a large one in front of the temple and a smaller one on one side of it. The tank to the side is called the Kothil Tank, and it is supposed to be particularly holy. Any one bathing in it is considered to have done as meritorious an action as if he had bathed a karôs of times in sacred springs. There is, however, but little water in it now, and so not much use of it is made by the pilgrims. There is plenty of water in the great tank, which has some twenty or twenty-five steps in it, by which people may descend or ascend. Near the great tank is a temple sacred to Hanuman and containing an image of that god.
A certain amount of trading goes on during the fair. Little business is done during the days that the car is being dragged, but afterwards, that is, from the day of the full moon, trading commences in earnest, and it usually lasts on till the day of the next new moon. The principal articles offered for sale are brass and copper vessels, cloth, cocoannts, sweetmeats, spices, and sugar.
The Manjguni-Puråņa. Sûta conversing with Vyasa said: - "O! all-knowing and deeply learned Vyasa, you bave told me many notable stories. You have told me even about the origin of the Sahyadri Mountains, but I am most anxious to hear what you have not yet told me of, and that is the story of holy Venkatesa, which is contained in the sacred history of god Vishnu. Be good enough therefore to relete it to me."
Vyåsa, in reply, said: -“ Listen to me, O Súta ! He who hears the story of the most holy actions of the glorious Vishnu, as well as he who relates them to others will be successful and happy. Sri Vishņu, after he had been kicked by Bhrigu Rishi, left Vaikuntha and came down to Venkatadri, where, on account of its resemblance to Vaikuntha, he settled. The place abounded with tanks of pure water and various trees, plants, creepers, and flowers, such as the Asoka, the Punnaga, etc. The demons, who resided in the place, being terrified by the presence
1 Kothf, granary, store-bouse also & ocmmon term for a square in a mith-agar, i. e., for salt-pan The term kochi applies to either the Koueri or the Dhénu Tirtha. I incline however to identify it with the Dhenu-Tirtha. A large tank might be the Könéri- Tirtha of the Purina, as it is square in shape and has steps on all four sides of it.
