Indian Antiquary Vol 62

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 251

DECEMBER, 1933)
THE SUMERIAN SAOAEA AND ITS INDIAN FORM
233
THE SUMERIAN SACAEA AND ITS INDIAN FORM.
BY B. C. MAZUMDAR. As illustrating the historical significance of the two Hindu social customs noticed in the following paragraphs, I would refer particularly to Professor S. Langdon's paper on "The Babylonian and Persian Sacaea " in the January 1924 issue of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
I begin with a description of the highly interesting custom of yearly rejuvenating, cr rather of securing longevity to the Raja or the ruling prince by observing & magical ceremony, which obtains in the Chauhan ruling houses of Sonpur and Patna in western Orissa. How very ancient this custom is, and how deeply it is connected with what prevailed once in olden days in Persia, should be considered.
On the Dasahra day, which falls on the tenth lunar tithi of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Aévin at the end of the Devi Paja session of the season, a purohit or Brahman priest in the employment of the Raj family goes out riding a pony with a retinue of men selected for the purpose, declaring that he has become the ruler of the territory. The crowd in the streets hails him mockingly as the Raja, and the priest on the back of the pony, to demonstrate his ruling authority, imposes fines of some easily recoverable amount on this man and that man, according to a pre-arranged method. The mock Raja of the hour then returns to the Raj palace to doff his authority at a sacrificial altar, being jeered at by the crowd when thus returning; when the ceremony is over, the real Raja, or ruling prince, puts on his ceremonial dress and sits upon the Raj gaddi to accept tribute of honour from a large number of representative subjects of the State. That the purpose of this ceremony is to give a fresh lease of life to the ruler in a mysterious, magical way will, I anticipate, be very clear when the ceremony is compared with the old western Asiatic festival of Sacuca.
It may be noted here that the prehistoric Sumerians began their year in the autumn, when the festival of giving fresh life to the king bearing resemblance to the festival of the Chauhan rulers, had to be celebrated. Once in ancient India also the New Year commenced in the autumn. The term varsa meaning a year, is derived from the word tarça, rain and the New Year was once calculated as commencing with the asterism of Avini at the end of the season of rain. When the New Year began in the autumin, the first two months constituting that season were named Isa and Urja ; this calculation of the autumn scacchi by léa (Åsvin) and Orja (Kârtik) still prevails in India.
It was in autumn that the New Year festival was celebrated by the Sumerians, when there was a carnival of the Lord of Misrule,' and men and women were free to indulge in what may be said to be far from moral practices. At the end of this festival, lasting from five to six days, the king had to appear before the priest in a temple and after submitting to some mock blows from the priest, received from him his royal garments and other insignia, te reign over his kingdom afresh. During the five or six days of the festival a pseudo-king was set up; he moved about in the streets with a merry retinue, defying all rules of social decorum and decency. Professor Langdon gives us the report of Strabo and others that this pseudo-king, or 'King of Misrulo' was scourged and hanged on the final day of the festive session, and on the death of that scapegoat, who carried away the evils besetting the king, the latter, as I have mentioned, got a fresh lease of life to rule his kingdom. With a distinct object in view, I note here that I mentional many years ago in my paper on the goddess Durga, 1 that on the 3rd or navami day of the pije singing of obscene songs was once in vogue in Bengal.
Now it is very important to note that at a later period, many centuries before the Christian era, the time for the commencement of the New Year in Babylon and Assyrin was fixed at the commencement of the spring season. Even when this change in the calculation of the year was offected the old time reckoning of the year from the first day of the autumn
J.R.A.S., 1906, p. 355.