________________
THE FOLKLORE OF GUJARAT
23
is over, alms are freely given to them in the bodies sectns to be that they are the souls of shape of such costly articles as fine clothes, virtuous and saintly persons, translated to gold, cattle and the like,
the heavens for their good deeds and endow. After an eclipse Hindus may not breaked with a lustre proportionate to their their fast till they have again seen the full merits. And this idea is illustrated in the disc of the released sun or the moon. It traditions that are current about some of the sometimes happens that the sun or the moon stars. The seven bright stars of the consets gherāyalā (while still eclipsed), and stellation Saptarski (or the Great Bear) people have then to fast for the whole of are said to be the seven sages, Kashyapa, the night or the day after, until the sun or Atri, Bharadwaj, Vishwamitra, Gautama, the moon is again fully visible.
Jamadagni and Vasishtha, who had mastered There is a shloka in the Jyotish Shastra several parts of the Vedas, and were consito the effect that Rähu would surely devour dered specialists in the branches studied by Chandra if the nakshatra, or constellation cach, and were invested with divine houours of the second day of the dark half of a in reward for their proficiency. Another preceding month, were to recur on the story relates how a certain hunter and his Purnima (full-moon day) of the succeeding family, who had unconsciously achieved month. Similarly, in solar eclipses, a great religious merit, were installed as the siinilar catastrophe would occur if the constellation Saptarshi* (or the Great Bear), constellation of the second day of the bright A hunter, it is narrated in the Shivaratri. half of a month were to recur on the mahatmya, was arrested for debt on a Amäväsya (the last day) of that month.3 Shivratrit day, and while in jail heard by The year in which many eclipses occur is chance the words 'Shiva, Shiva' repeated by believed to prove a bad year for epidemic some devotees. Without understanding their diseases.
meaning, he also began to repeat the same The Jains do not believe in the Hindu words, even after he was released in the theory of grahana (or the eclipse)." Musal- evening. He had received no food during mans do not perform the special cere- the day, and had thus observed a compulsory monies beyond the recital of special prayers; fast. In order to obtain food for himself and even these are held to be supercro- and his family, h: stationed himself gatory.
behind a Belt tree, hoping to shoot a deer With the exception that some people be- or some other animal that might come to lieve that the stars are the abodes of the quench its thirst at a neighbouring tank. gods, 7 the popular belief about the heavenly While adjusting an arrow to his bowstring,
Mr. D. K. Pandya, Dhhank.
? Mr. K. D. De ai. * Mr D.K. Shah, Charadwab.
Mr. T. D. Khandhar. Sayala. * The Schoolmaster, Jodia.
& Khan Bahadur Fazlullab. 1 Mr. M.M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. • Mr. Nandlal Kalidas, Chhatrasa, and Mr M. M. Rana, Barton Female Training College, Rajkot. • Mr. Motichand Vasanji Dosbi, Kaluwad.
. I believe the name of the constellation is wrongly given : it ought to be Mriga. One of the stars in this group, known as 'Sirius', in Western astronomy, is often called Vyadha (i e., the hunter). --Mr. K. T. Gupta
The Mrig constellation is also said to represent the goddess Saraswati, who had assumed the form of a gazelle in order to escape the amorous grasp of Brahma, her father. While the deer in the Mrig constellation is Saraswati, the Ardra constellation is Mahadev who had followed to chastise Brahms, who also is seen as the Brahma constellation. - Mr. N. M. Dave, Sanka.
+ The thirteenth day of both the bright and dark halves of a month, sacred to the worship of gol Shira
The three-leaf-clusters of this tree are loved by the god Shiva il put upon his image.-Mr. K. D. Desai.
