Folk Lore Notes. Vol. I—Gujarat

by A. M. T. Jackson

When any ceremony is to be performed on the earth’s surface, as much of the spot as is required for the ceremony is cleansed by watering it and plastering it with cow-dung. A betel-nut and a pice are then placed on it as the Chādā or rent of the spot.[353]

On those occasions when dakshina is given to Brāhmans outside the village limits, worship of the earth-mother is performed by pouring milk on the ground, and by placing seven betel-nuts and seven single copper-pieces thereon.[354]

Some ambitious Brāhmans dig earth from near the roots of a banyan tree after offering prayer to the earth, and out of it, make an image of Parthishwar—Lord of the Earth—hoping thereby to obtain wealth. The same ceremony, if observed near the roots of a pipal tree (ficus religiosa), is believed to confer wealth and male issue.[348]

When Vishnu killed the demons Madhur and Kaitabha, the earth was strewn with their flesh and marrow (meda). Therefore the earth is called medini, and for the same reason is unclean, and no holy objects are allowed to touch it.[355] Another explanation is that the earth was rendered unclean because blood was shed on its surface in the combat of the demon Vritrāsur with the god Indra.[356]

The things polluted by a contact with the earth are either objects which are to be dedicated to gods, such as sandal-wood ointment, panchāmrit,[357] the leaves of the bel tree (Aegle marmelos), tulsi leaves (leaves of the holy or sweet basil plant), betel-leaves and flowers;[358] or objects which are sacred because of their having been dedicated to the gods, including tīrtha[359] or water used in bathing the images of gods[360]; or things which are by nature so holy that it is improper to place them on the bare earth; for instance, images of deities, water of the sacred Ganges or the Jumna,[361] any holy writ,[362] a conch-shell and even gold.[363] Cooked food also deserves respect, as it supports the lives of men, and it is sinful in a Hindu to let it lie on the bare ground. Any irregular conduct in this respect arouses the wrath of the Annadeva (or the food deity).[364]

It is, however, maintained by some that the reason why certain things, such as materials of worship, are not allowed to touch the earth, is that the earth itself being a deity, such things would be dedicated to this deity by a contact with the earth and would thus become incapable of any further use, as things that are dedicated to one deity cannot again be offered to another.[365]

During the course of the recitation of mantras (holy hymns) in honour of Vishnu and Mahādeva; on the occasion of offering prayers to the grahas (planets) for their propitiation; and on occasions like Vishnuyāga,[366] Mahārudra,[366] Shatachandi[366], Gāyatri-purashcharan[367] and Brāhmana-varana[368] the devotee or the sacrificer and the priest sleep on darbha grass or on clean woollen blankets, spread on the bare ground.[358]

Other occasions for sleeping on the floor are the days of the observance of certain vrats or vows; such as, the Divāsa or the 15th day of the dark half of Āshādh (the ninth month), the Janmāshtami or the 8th day of the dark half of Shrāvana (the tenth month), the days of Goatrad, a vrat lasting from the 11th day to the 15th day of the bright half of Bhādrapad, Mahāshivarātri or the 14th day of the dark half of Māgh, the Ekādashi day or the 11th day of both the bright and dark halves of a month,[362] the Navrātra days or the first nine days of Āshvin, eclipse days, and the day of Jāgran or the 15th day of the bright half of Āshādh,[364] besides, sometimes, the whole of the months of Shrāvana and the Purushottam or intercalary month; and the chāturmās, i.e., the four months of the rainy season.[369]

A Brāhman in his brahmacharya (or the period of his life which, according to the Shāstras, should be devoted to the acquirement of learning, and which commences from the date of his being invested with the sacred thread and terminates at the age of twenty-three) and a widow are not allowed by the Shāstras to sleep elsewhere than on beds made on the ground.[362]

Women, while in menstruation, sleep on the floor for four days.[359] Some women, when they are separated from their husbands, also sleep in this fashion.[369]