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CHAPTER IV. WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS AND SAINTS.
The spirits of a deceased father, grand this fortnight, shraddha is performed in father, great grand father, and of a mother, honour of the deceased on the day correspondgrand mother, and great grand mother, i, e., ing to the day of his death, when Brāhmans all the male and female ascendants up to the are feasted. Thus, a person dying on the 5th third degree, receive systematic worship when day of Kartik has his shraddha performed the Shraddha or funeral ceremonies are on the 5th day of the sharàdian. On this performed either on the anniversary of the occasion, water is poured at the root of the death of any of them or on the day when the Pipal, tarpan or offerings of water are made. Narayan bali is performed in such holy and pinds or balls of rice are offered to the places as Gayà, Sidadhapur or Prabhas Pàtan. deceased, The spirits of those who meet heroic deaths Of all the days of the sharàdian the 13th, on fields of battle are called Suropuros, and 14th and 15th are considered to be of special piliars are erected in their memory on the importance, spot where they breathed their last. They The death anniversary of a pitriya is called receive only occasional worship.1
samvatsari, valgo samachari or chhamachhari, The purvajas or spirits of deceased ances- when a shraddha is performed and Brāhmans tors receive worship on the thirteenth or are feasted. fourteenth day of the dark half of Shravan The pitriyas are also worshipped on auspi(the tenth month of the Gujarat Hindu year), cious occasions such as marriages, by the on the fourteenth of the dark half of Ashvin, performance of a shraddha called nåndi, when on the death anniversaries and on days on pinds (balls) of molasses are offered instead which the Shraddhas, tripindis or nil parna- of rice. It is considered an act of merit to vari ceremonies are performed. On these perform shraddha in honour of the pitriyas occasions, the pitriyas (deceased ancestors) are on the banks of a river or tank at midday on represented by twisted braids of the durvà the 8th day of the dark half of a month. grass (cynodon dactylon)?
From the 13th to the 15th day of the dark Purvajas or ancestral spirits descend to the half of Shravan, after their morning ablutions, level of ghosts when they are strongly orthodox people pour water over the Pipal, attached to worldly objects. Such spirits the Babul, the Ber (Zizyphus jujube) and, often possess the bodies of their descendants. I durvá grass, and on those places where cows though the necessary Shraddhas are per- are known to congregate, in the belief that formed for their release. The 13th, 14th and by so doing the thirst of the spirits of the 15th days of the bright half of the months of deceased is quenched. It is also believed Kartik and Chaitra are the special days for that if feasts are given to the relatives of the propitiation of departed spirits by their deceased and to Brahmans the pitriyas are relatives either at home or in holy places, while satisfied. the whole of the dark half of the month of According to some, the Sharddian lasts Bhadarmà is devoted to this purpose. During from the full-moon day of the month of
• The School Master of Kotda Sangani.
1 The School Master of Dhank. • This period of 15 days is called Sharadian,
