Folk Lore Notes. Vol. I—Gujarat

by A. M. T. Jackson

A vow is observed by women, in honour of the Ganges, for the first ten days of the month of Jyeshtha. On these days they rise early in the morning and bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges.[431]

Sometimes ghi lamps are placed upon the waters of the Ganges or the Jumna, and vessels of metal, pice, and cocoanuts are cast into the stream. At such a time, when many people are standing on the banks offering prayers with folded hands, or engaged in the arati,[432] the river presents a very picturesque scene, the numerous lights being reflected in the water.[433]

The Jamuna or Yamuna is the daughter of the Sun, and the sister of Yama, the god of Death. The banks of the Jumna are well known as the scene of the amorous sports of God Krishna.[434] The story of the defeat of the demon Kāliya Nāg who was ejected from the Jumna by Krishna is well-known.

It is said that those who have bathed in the Jumnā or have once tasted its water, need not be afraid of Yama, the god of Death.[435] It is considered meritorious among the Hindus to bathe the image of god Shiva in water from the holy Jumnā or the Ganges or the Godāvari.[436] There is a popular shloka in honour of the Jumnā which runs:—“Victory to thee! Oh Yamunā, flowing through the Madhu-vana (the Madhu woods), the bearer of shining waters, the companion of Jāhnavi, the daughter of Sindhu, the ornament of the enemy of Madhu (viz., Krishna), the appeaser of Mādhava, the dispeller of the danger of Gokal, the destroyer of the sins of the world, the giver of intellect, the scene of the amorous sports of Keshava. Victory to thee! O remover of difficulties, purify me.”[437]

The banks of the Godāvari are known as the site of the hermitage of Gautama. When the planet Brihaspati (Jupiter) enters the Sinha-rāshi (the constellation Leo)[438] the holy Ganges goes to the Godāvari, and remains there for one year. During that year, all the gods are believed to bathe in this river. Thousands of pilgrims visit Nasik to offer prayers to the Godāvari, and after bathing in the river, give alms to Brahmans. Similarly, on the Kapilāshashti day, on which six jogs or conjunctive incidents occur simultaneously, the virtue of all tīrthas or holy places is believed to be concentrated in the Godāvari at Nasik.[437]

The mere sight of the Narbadā has the same effect as a bath in the Ganges or the Jumnā.[439] It is said that the Narbadā is the image of Shiva, and that fragments of the stony bow of Shiva are to be found in its bed.[440] The stones in the bed of this river have the same sanctity as the images of god Shiva.[441] Shāligram stones, which are worshipped as the images of Vishnu, are found in this river.[441] It is an act of high merit among Hindus to take a pradakshinā round the Narbadā, i.e., to travel along the banks of the river, inhabited as the region is by many Sādhus and other holy persons.[442] Ashvatthāmā, the immortal son of Drona, is believed to reside on the banks of this river and to pay occasional visits to the Bhils in the neighbourhood.[442] The Shukla-tīrtha, situated on the Narbadā, is visited by numerous pilgrims, and a fair is held there on every sixtieth year.[442]

The sage Kapila instructed his mother Devahūti with divine knowledge on the banks of the Saraswati. Since then, the river is held sacred and funeral ceremonies—Shrāddhas—are performed on its banks in honour of departed female ancestors.[440] Similarly Shrāddhas in honour of male ancestors are performed at the confluence of the Ganges, the Jumnā, and the Saraswati at Allahabad.[443][444]

Of the Gandaki it is said that it contains as many shankars (images of Shiva) as there are sankars (stones). The shāligram stone is found in this river also. The Saryu is sacred as the scene of the childish sports of Rāmachandra, the hero of the Rāmāyana. On the banks of the Phalaku or Phalgu, Rāmachandra performed Shrāddha ceremonies in honour of his father Dasharath.[440]

A bath in the waters of a holy river washes away the sins of the bather.[445] It is also meritorious to repeat the names of the several holy rivers.[446] The performance of Shrāddha ceremonies on the banks of a holy river secures the felicity of deceased ancestors in heaven.[445] At the time of performing Shrāddhas at a holy place, Hindus shave their moustaches, bathe in the sacred waters, and then go through the necessary ceremonies, in the course of which pindas are offered to the Pitars (spirits of dead ancestors). Brahmans are feasted after the ceremonies, and dakshinā is given to them.[447] Tarpan or an offering of water with flowers, ointment, red lac, cocoanuts, and betel, is frequently made to the river on the banks of which the ceremonies are performed.[448] The bones of a deceased person, left unburnt after cremation of the body, are gathered together and thrown into holy rivers such as the Ganges, the Jumnā, and the Godāvari, for the purification of his soul.[449]

When heavy floods threaten a village or a city with serious injury, the king or the headman should go in procession to propitiate the river with flowers, cocoanuts, and other offerings in order that the floods may subside.[450] A story is related of the occurrence of heavy floods in a village in the Jatalpur taluka, when a certain lady placed an earthen vessel (ordinarily used for curdling milk), containing a ghi lamp, afloat on the floods, whereupon the waters were at once seen to recede.[451]