The Hindus being element worshippers naturally hold in reverence certain rivers, ponds, etc. In the Ratnágiri District the spring at Rájápur, called the Rájápurchi Ganga is considered very sacred. It flows from the roots of a Banyan tree. There are fifteen Kundas or ponds, and the principal Kunda always remains filled with water. On occasions a big játra fair is held and people from distant places come to bathe and worship at the spring.[154] Some people believe that many of the lakes, springs, etc., situated in the Kolhápur State are sacred.[155] A spring or rivulet that flows to the east is considered specially sacred. It is called a Surya-Vansi spring, and it is considered meritorious to bathe in it.[156] In the village of Kunkauli in the Ratnágiri District if a person is bitten by a snake or other poisonous reptile, no medicine is administered to him, but holy water brought from the temple of the village goddess is given to him to drink, and it is said that the patient is thus cured.[157] The water fall at Maral near Devarkuha, where the river Bán takes its rise, is held sacred.[158] At Shivam in the Ratnágiri District the people use the tirtha of a deity as medicine for diseases due to poison. They say that it is the sole remedy they apply in such cases.[159] There are ponds at Manora in the Goa State, and Vetore in the Sávantwádi State, the water of which is used as medicine for the cure of persons suffering from the poison of snakes, mice, spiders, and scorpions.[160] When a well is dug, the people call a Bráhman priest to consecrate it. The Bráhman takes cow’s urine, milk, curds, ghi, sandal paste, flowers, basil leaves, and rice, and mixes them with water, and after repeating sacred mantras over the water, throws the mixture into the well. After this ceremony, the people are at liberty to drink water from the well.[161]
Before a well is dug, an expert is consulted to ascertain the place where a spring flows. A well is then dug, after offering a sacrifice to the spirits and deities that happen to dwell at that spot. A dinner is given to Bráhmans after the well is built.[162] A golden cow is often thrown into a newly built well as an offering to the water deities.[163] There is a well at Mandangad, the water of which serves as medicine to cure the poison of snakes and other reptiles.[164]
It is believed that there is a class of wicked water nymphs called Asará who generally dwell in wells, ponds, or rivers, far from the habitation of men. Whenever these nymphs come across a lonely man or woman entering a well, pond, etc., they carry that person under water. The village of Mithbáv in the Ratnágiri District is a well-known resort of these Asarás, and many instances are given by the villagers of persons being drowned and carried off in the river by these wicked nymphs. A tank in the village of Hindalem in the same district has a similar reputation.[165] The people of the Konkan believe that water nymphs are sometimes seen in the form of women near wells, rivers, and ponds.[166] Some say that the water nymphs and water spirits confer objects desired by worshippers if they are propitiated by prayers.[167]
There are seven kundas, ponds, at Nirmal in the Thána District, forming a large lake. This lake is said to have been formed from the blood of the demon Vimalásur. At Sháhápur there is a holy spring of hot water under a Pipal tree. It is called Ganga.[168] There are kundas, pools, of hot water in the Vaitarna river in the Thána District, in which people bathe on the 13th day of the dark half of Chaitra.[169] There are also springs of hot water on the bank of the Surya river at Vajreshvari and at Koknere, in the Thána District.[170] A handful of corn, if thrown into the hot water kundas at Tungar, is said to be boiled at once.[171] It is held holy to bathe in the kundas of hot water that are situated in the rivers Tánsa and Bánganga in the Thána District.[172] The water of a well which is drawn without touching the earth or without being placed upon the ground is given as medicine for indigestion. Similarly the water of seven tanks, or at least of one pond, in which lotuses grow is said to check the virulence of measles, small-pox, etc.[173] A bath in a certain tank in the Mahim taluka is said to cure persons suffering from the itch, and water purified by repeating incantations over it is also said to be a good remedy for the same disease.[174]
The water of a tank or a well is supposed to be wholesome to a person of indifferent health, if given to him to drink without placing it upon the ground.[175] Some people believe that the water of the Ganges is so holy and powerful that if bows are thrown into it they are instantly reduced to powder.[176] The repair of lakes, caravanserais, temples, etc., is held more meritorious than their actual erection.[177] It is enjoined upon a man to perform a certain rite if he wishes to relinquish his right of ownership over a well or tank, and after this rite is performed, it can be utilized for public purposes. But no ceremony is required to be performed if a well is dug for the benefit of the public.[178]
The people of the Thána District believe that water nymphs reside in every reservoir of water.[179] Some people, however, believe that the water nymphs dwell in those lakes in which lotuses grow. These nymphs are said to do harm to children and young women, especially when they set out for a walk accompanied by their brother Gavala. They are unusually dangerous.[180] The people worship the images of the following seven water nymphs or apsaras, viz., Machhi, Kurmi, Karkati, Darduri, Jatupi, Somapa and Makari.[181]
The following places are said to be inhabited by water spirits:—the channel of Kalamba, the tanks of Sopara and Utaratal and the lake called Tambra-tirtha at Bassein[182]. Water nymphs are supposed to drown a person who tries to save another fallen into water.[183] A species of small men named Uda, otherwise called water-spirits, are said to dwell in water and subsist on fishes.[184] The spirits called Khais and Mhashya are supposed to reside in water.[185]
The river Sávitri in the Kolába District takes its rise near Mahábaleshwar and is considered very sacred. The following traditionary account is given of its origin. The god Brahma had two wives, Sávitri and Gáyatri. A dispute having arisen between them, they both jumped over a precipice. Sávitri assumed the form of a river and fell into the sea near Bánkot. Gáyatri, on the other hand, concealed herself in the river Sávitri and manifested herself as a spring near Harihareshwar in the Janjira State.[186] A man is said to be released from re-birth if he takes a bath in the kund (pond) named Katkale-tirtha near Násik.[187] Bows are said to be reduced to powder if thrown into a certain kund at Uddhar-Rámeshwar in the Sudhagad taluka.[188] Kupotsarga is defined to be the digging of a well for the benefit of the public and abandoning one’s right of ownership over it.[189]
A pond near Khopoli in the Kolába District is held very sacred. The following story is related in connection with it. The villagers say that the water nymphs in the pond used to provide pots for marriage festivities if a written application were made to them a day previous to the wedding. The pots were, however, required to be returned within a limited time. But one man having failed to comply with this condition, they have ceased to lend pots. Another interesting story is associated with the same pond. It is as follows. A man had fallen into the pond and was taken to the abode of the nymphs. He was, however, returned by them after a few days on the understanding that he would be recalled if he spoke of what he had seen there. One day he communicated to the people the good things that he enjoyed there, and to the surprise of all he was found dead immediately after.[190] Water nymphs are said to reside in a pond at Varsai in the Kolába District. Consequently persons that are held unclean, e.g., women in their monthly course, etc., are not allowed to touch it. The nymphs of the same lake were once said to lend pots on festive occasions.[191] It is said that the water nymphs used to provide ornaments for marriage and other ceremonies, if returned within a prescribed period. But some people having failed to return them, they ceased to lend them.[192]
A spirit called Girha is supposed to reside in water. It is said to make mischief with man in a variety of ways by enticing him into deep water.[193] The Jakrin is said to be a deity residing in water.[194] Persons drowned in water are believed to become water-spirits, and to trouble innocent passers-by.[195]