________________
Andrea Luithle-Hardenberg, The “99fold" pilgrimage to Shatrunjaya
367
When I asked them about the hardest task of their first day they univocally explained that they suffered most from not being able to satisfy their thirst. In fact, navanu pilgrims must observe strict rules with regard to drinking. First of all, they cannot drink anything else than boiled water (garam pani). Secondly, they must abstain from drinking water until they have completed one pilgrimage. Thirdly, if they continue their pilgrimages on the same day, they may only take water two more times before returning to their hostel. Moreover, in accordance with the strict dietary restrictions the girls did neither eat nor drink anything after their evening meal of the previous day. As it took them as many as six hours to get down the hill after the first pilgrimage, they did not have water before twelve o'clock on the next day. In order to be able to understand their suffering one must also take into account that in this season of the year it starts getting very hot in Palitana at eight o'clock. Apart from their thirst they also complained about their paining feet which were swollen and pierced by thorns because they were not used to walk barefoot. Thus, during this early stage of navanu bodily strains were emphasized by the girls when describing their experiences. Compared to these sufferings spiritual progress was only a random topic. Even when the girls broached the issue of religious devotion, they immediately turned to a discussion about the physical stress they had experienced. For example, they expressed a deep regret that it had not been possible to have a proper darshan of Dada Adishvar in the main temple, because the masses of pilgrims had pushed from behind and prevented them from having a free sight for more than a few seconds.
They also complained that it was very hard to focus on meditative rituals, which are mandatory during every single pilgrimage. Thus, every navanu pilgrim must complete the chain of 108 prayer beads (ap) 10 times, while silently reciting the nokar mantra. Furthermore, they have to perform nine logassa in a standing meditation posture (ka’ussagg) and nine prostrations (khamasamana) for the worship of Shatrunjaya, which are accompanied by yet another liturgical recitation. If one of the girls diverted her attention and forgot a liturgy she was gently reminded by others to start the whole procedure all over again, something which happened to the girls several times because of their physical stress and exhaustion. When visiting the girls in their hostel during this first week I could observe that the tone of their reports stayed quite the same. Not the religious experiences, but the physical strains formed the center of all their discussions. So they daily complained about not getting sufficient sleep, of suffering from sore muscle, of having chapped feet, and of losing weight as they were allowed to eat only one meal per day. In the evenings our conversations often came to an end when a maid appeared and offered the girls to massage their legs for a small payment. The topics of their conversations also changed in another significant way. Bollywood stars or fashion were no longer of a concern for the girls and in accordance with the strict vow of celibacy the discussion
