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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
Bhishma, the uncle of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, was an incarnation of one of the Ashtavasus and was the son of king Shantanu by Ganga. The stories about Bhishma are chiefly derived from the Mahablarat, and need not be repeated here. He is not regarded as a god and does not receive systematic worship.1
A fast is observed on the eighth day of Magh, the anniversary of the death of Bhishma. A dora (a knotted piece of string) tied in the name of Bhishma is believed to cure fever. The Yantra (a mystical formula or diagram) of Bhishma is sometimes drawn on a piece of paper, water is poured over it, and the water is offered to women in labour to drink, as likely to expedite delivery. Bhishma-worship is supposed to facilitate the observance of the Brahmacharya-vrat (the vow of celibacy) and to bestow heroism and learning, Bhishma is credited with having composed the well-known poem, Bhishmastavaraj, which recites the glory of Krishna and shows the way to attain salvation,
There is a large temple of Ganpati near the eastern gates of Dhhank. It is said that this Ganpati informed a goldsmith, by appearing in a dream, that he was buried in a particular spot, and promised that a son would be born to him if he raised a temple in honour of the god. The goldsmith satisfied the wishes of the god and was soon relieved from the repeated taunt of the vansiāpanā (ie., the barrenness of his wife)."
The following tradition is connected with a place, about a mile from Dhhank, called Dhhank-ni Fui, Dhhank was in ancient times a great city and was known as Preh Patant. Once a bāvā (recluse), named
1 Mr. K. D. Desai.
The Schoolmaster of Rajpara.
The Schoolmaster of Dhhank.
Dhundhalimal, came to reside with his chela (disciple) in a cave on a neighbouring hill. Every day the chela went about the city. begging alms for himself and his guru; but nobody except a poor kumbhāran (a potterwoman) ever gave him anything. So the chela was obliged to cut and sell fuel in order to obtain means of subsistence, although he did not mention this fact to his guru, One day the guru noticed the growing baldness of his disciple and on being questioned about it, the latter had to admit his difficulties in earning a livelihood. The next day the bāvā decided to test the charity of the neighbourhood, and went on a begging round in person. He moved about the city from door to door, crying aloud ülek ülek, but nobody except the kumbhar woman offered him so much as a handful of flour. He then addressed the latter thus:-"Girl, this city is sinful and will shortly meet with destruction. Fly, therefore, instantly with your family and never turn your face towards the city in your flight". Having thus warned the only righteous person in the city, the bāvā returned to his cave where, after reciting an incantation in high exasperation, he pronounced a terrible curse for the destruction of the city 'Let Patan be buried and let mayat be reduced to māti (dust). A whirlwind at once arose and destroyed the whole city. The kumbhāran had already fled with her children; but she unfortunately happened to look back in her flight, in spite of the warning, and she and her children were all turned into stones. In this form she can be seen even to-day, with two of her children on her shoulders and leading the other two.
The Shastri of Jetpur Päthäshälä. The Schoolmaster of Charadwa.
* The Vasus are a class of deities, eight in number, and are often collectively called Ashtavasus.
t Vide Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. VIII, page 414.
Maya, in philosophy, means the illusion, by virtue of which, one considers the unreal universe as existent and distinct from the supreme spirit. Here it means the effect of maya, the unreal splendour of the world, in fact phenomena opposed to the noumenon.
