________________
THE FOLKLORE OF GUJARAT
93
as guhyaks, and sidhas. The bhut is defined as a deity that troubles infants and the pishācha as e deity that lives on flesh. Bhuts and pishachas are the ganas or attendants of Shiva, one of the gods of the Hindu Trinity. They are supposed to be upadevas or demi-gods,
Preta is the spirit of a person that dies a suddeg or unnatural death with many of his desires unfulfilled. His soul attains erpancipation by the performance of a saptàh, that is a recitation of the Bhàgvat on seven consecutive days. It is described in the Bhàgvat that Dhundhumari the brother of Gokarn, who had become a preta, was released from his preta existence by the performance of . saptah which his brother caused to be made. The Garudpuran mentions that King Babruvahan emancipated a preta by the performance of a shraddha. The mukti or salvation of a preta is in itself its death. This would prove pretas to be mortal.1
The span of life of the bhuts and pretas is very long, but those whose descendants offer them the usual oblations gain their emancipation sooner. There is a kund or spring called Zilànand in the vicinity of Jhinjhuvadà, on the banks of which is a temple of Zilakeshwar Mahadev. The performance of the pitri shraddha by the side of this spring is believed to expedite the emancipation of the spirits of the deceased from ghostly life. Every year, on the Bhàdarvà amavasya, that is, the new moon day of the month Bhàdarva, a great fair is held on this spot, when people from long distances visit the place to get their relatives exorcised by the bhuvås or exorcists,
It is believed, that though bhuts, prelas and pishachas are immortal, they are scared
away by the sound of a European band and of other musical instruments. It is said that all drums and other weird instruments whether European or Indian, have the power of scaring away evil spirits.
An evil spirit called Bàbaro bad entered the person of the uncle of Màlder the king of Jhalavad much to the king's annoyance. Maldev offered a stubborn fight to Bàbaro, who, unable to cope with Màlder, promised to extend his kingdom over those villages in which he would hang up bunting in one night. It is said that the present extent of the Jàhlwad territories was due to king Målder's enterprise in hanging up bunting over these territories as asked by Bàbaro.3
Though at the time of a man's death the faculties may hardly be sound, yet the vàrsand--the impressions-left on his mind by his past actions are in themselves good or bad enough to impress him so as to make his departing spirit assume a new form of life in keeping with them. For instance, a man following a particular profession becomes subject to dreams bearing on that profession. When the impression created by his actions in daily life is so deep as to induce dreams, his mind, even after death, leaves to his departing soul an inclination to be engaged in the subject of his mind's last activities. This is vàsana.*
It is a popular saying among Hindus that children inherit the nature of their parents. It is for this reason that high caste Hindus do not utter the names of their eldest sons. There is a further belief that the Pitriyas departed from the world with certain desires unfulfilled reappear as descendants of their children to have these desires satisfied.
As the saying goes Pità putrena jayate, that is a father is born in the form of the
Shastri Bhayavadar Pathshala.
The School Master of To di à. 3 The School Master of Jodià.
1 The School Master of Kotda Sangani. • A vasand is the outcome of a person's good or bad actions. It is not the last desire of a man as supposed by some, but the result of his good or bad actions or rather of the workings of his mind during life. It is believed that, if at the moment of death, a man's mind is fit on the strong attachment he feels for his children, he is born as a descendant of his offspring The School Master of Dank.
