THE PEOPLE

CUSTOMS

THE MAJOR PART OF THE CUSTOMS OF THE HINDUS CONSISTS of ritualistic practices related to various religious ceremonies known as samskaras (sacraments). These ceremonies which principally consist of purifying rites are conducted under the directions, according to orthodox practice, of a Brahman priest. Regarding the exact number of these samskaras there is a great divergence of views among the smrti writers. According to some, sixteen samskaras, as they are nitya (usual) must be performed, and the rest twenty-four as they are naimittika (special) ones are left to choice. They are observed by almost all castes above those that were traditionally considered to be the lowest. The chief of these customary rituals are those at birth, thread-girding, marriage, pregnancy and death. The garbhadhana (girl-wife's coming of age) ceremony, which used to be once performed separately and with great pomp as then girls were married at, an early age, has now become a part of the marriage rite and receives scant attention.

Pregnancy and Birth.

The prospect of child birth is watched with anxiety and eagerness  by the family and in her first pregnancy the young wife is treated with great care and tenderness both at her parent's and at her husband's. Her dohale (longings), as they are believed to foreshadow and influence the characteristics and sex of the child, are fondly noticed and promptly satisfied by the family elders. She has to observe a number of taboos. Birthmarks and congenital defects in the child are often ascribed to the neglect of the dohale (longings) and the non-observance of taboos. Because of her delicate condition she is considered particularly open to attacks of evil spirits and following the current folklore she complies with a number of ' do's' and ' don'ts'. The grhyasutras prescribe for the benefit of the pregnant woman a number of observances of magico-religious nature such as pumsavana, anavalobhana or garbharaksana, Simantonnayana and visnubali and believers in the efficacy of vedic samskaras follow them to a varying extent.

For her first confinement the young wife generally goes to her 'parent's house. At the inception of labour pains she takes to the lying-in room which has been swept clean and kept warm, dim-lighted and free from draught. A midwife generally known to the family and engaged beforehand is called in and she attends on the girl from then onwards for ten or more days.

On the occasion of a birth neighbours and relations come uninvited and' are given sugar and betelnut. After delivery, the position of the woman is not changed for some time. If the child is a boy, the midwife beats a metal pot and the joyful news is carried to friends and kinsfolk with distribution of packets of sugar. After a while the midwife ties the child's umbilical cord with a cotton thread a few inches away from the navel and severs it with a knife, touches the wound with ashes and lays the child in a supa (winnowing fan). She then rubs the mother and child with turmeric and oil, bathes them in hot water, and swathes the child in cloth bandages. The afterbirth is put in an earthen pot with a pice, a little turmeric and red-powder and buried in a hole in the mother's room. The mother is given butter and myrrh pills, and the child is dosed with a few drops of castor oil and honey. Myrrh-incense is burnt and waved all over and the mother is purified by burning Vavding, Ova and Balantasopa in the room. She, with her child beside her, is laid on the cot under which a small fire of live coal is set. Near the door of the room an earthen pot of cow's urine is set with a Nim branch floating on it. That no evil spirit may come in with them, all viators sprinkle a few drops of cow's urine on their feet before entering the room. During the first three days the child is nursed by giving it the end of a rag to suck, the other end of which rests in a saucer of rice-broth and molasses. The mother is given saltless rice-porridge and molasses for the first three days. On the fourth day the mother and child are given a special bath in warm water after rubbing them with cocoanut oil. The mother is fed with rice, curry, and khir or sweet gruel made of rice, cocoanut milk and molasses, and vegetables. From this day she begins to suckle the babe. For a month or more, as may be the regional custom, the mother and the infant are rubbed daily with oil, and bathed and every day the mother is given a decoction of pepper, dry ginger, cloves and other spices.

Sasthi-pujana.

On the night of the sixth day neighbours and kinsmen are asked to sup upon a dish of khicadi made of rice, split green gram, cocoa kernel, molasses and ghee. The sasthi ceremony is performed by worshipping a small copper pot full of water on which leaves float and whose opening is fixed by cocoanut daubed with kunku and turmeric powder. Some plantains and betelnuts, and a wild red flower called patkuli, are placed by the side of the copper pot which represents Brahma who is believed to come in the guise of an old dame to write on the child's forehead its destiny. A blank sheet of paper, a reed pen, an inkstand, and a penknife are also kept near the offering, and the elderly people in the house keep awake the whole night lest any evil should happen. Next day before four o'clock in the morning the offerings are taken by the midwife to her house. [On the night of the fifth or sixth day after birth, a ceremony known as the worship of Pancavi (Mother fifth) and Sasthi (Mother Sixth) is observed among all communities. It is not a vedic samskara and as such the configuration worshipped and offerings made differ according to region, community and family. But a common belief exists that those nights are full of danger to the new born child. Only by worshipping Mother Fifth and Sixth can the child be saved from convulsive seizures and most other forms of deseases which are the work of evil spirits lurking in the lying-in-room to attack the child.]

The mother is held impure for ten days and no one except the midwife touches her. The family observes suher (ceremonial impurity) for the period. On the eleventh the mother and the child are given a purificatory bath, their clothes washed and the whole house is cleaned. The walls and the ground of the lying-in-room are smeared with a mixture of cowdung and water, the bathing place is washed and turmeric, red powder, flowers and a lighted lamp are laid near it. The midwife is presented with a lugade and coli and money. The mother is cleaned from impurity by a sprinkle of pancagavya or tulsi water and men change their sacred threads. [With the spread of education, the practice of sending women to nursing, homes and lying-in hospitals is becoming more and more popular and many of the old customs which used to be observed at home are not observed. The woman stays in the hospital for ten days, is looked after by qualified doctors and nurses and is generally discharged on the tenth or eleventh day.].

Naming Ceremony.

On the evening of the twelfth is celebrated the barase or naming ceremony. The karnavedha (piercing of the ear-lobes) ceremony may take place in the morning that day or it may be postponed to the sixth or twelfth month. If a boy is subject to a vow, his right nostril is bored and a gold ring put into it. Women neighbours, friends and kinswomen are invited to attend the naming. They drop in, each with some present for the mother and the child. In the women's hall, a cradle is hung to the ceiling and a carpet is spread under it. A small oblong granite stone is rubbed with oil and laid in the cradle, and the mother taking the babe in her hand stands on one side of the cradle and says to a woman who stands on the other side, ' Take Govinda and give Gopala'. Then the woman receives the stone and the child is laid in the cradle by the mother or by some matron who takes the child in her arms from the mother. The mother then whispers in the child's ear its name which on common consultation has been settled beforehand. The guests then gently swing the cradle and sing a palana (cradle song) lulling the child to sleep. The ceremony closes with the distribution of boiled gram and packets of sweetmeat to the guests. On a particular day, between the naming ceremony and the thirtieth day after the birth, the mother goes to the well, and waving lighted lamps drops into the well two betel leaves and one nut. This is called the worship of the Jaldevata (water-goddess).

Caula.

The caula or cudakarma (the first cutting of the hair on the child's head) ceremony has a place in the Hindu samskaras. It is also customary with many backward communities to give ceremonial attention to the first shaving or cutting of hair (javala) of the child. At present among Brahmans the rite is usually gone through in the case of boys at the time of upanayana (thread-girding). Before performing the ceremony, Ganapati, Varuna and Matrkas are worshipped and a homa, offering performed.

Thread-girding.

The thread-girding ceremony or munja as it is popularly known is prescribed for all Hindus claiming a place in the first three varnas (caste groups). In essence it is a purificatory rite initiating a boy to brahmacaryasrama (stage of student-hood). In Ratnagiri the castes besides Brahmans which are supposed to gird their boys with sacred thread are Prabhus and Sonars. Recently the ceremony is found to have been observed by Vanis. Marathas are not known to perform the ceremony but some wear the sacred thread renewing it yearly in the month of Sravana.

A kumara (boy) is usually girt with the sacred thread some time between the age of eight and twelve. The muhurtas (proper time) for thread-girding occur in the fair season, Magha, Phalguna, Caitra, Vaisakha and Jyestha. The time chosen is at any hour between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. which the priest declares to be fortunate.

Preparations.

Preparations begin a few days before the thread-girding day. Drummers and pipers to play at the ceremony are engaged. The house is cleaned and white-washed. A booth is raised in front of the house, and its posts are ornamented with plantain trees, mango twigs and flowers. On the western side of the booth an altar known as bahule is raised facing east. Invitation letters marked with Kunku are sent to friends and kinspeople.

About a fortnight before the thread-girding the parents of the boy inform their friends and relations who ask the boy to dinner and present him with clothes and money. This preliminary ceremony is called kelavana (entertainment).

Aksat.

A day or two before the thread-girding, an elder of the family accompanied by some women, the priest and musicians start with aksat (invitation) giving. They may first visit the local temple of Ganapati and pray the deity to be present at the thread ceremony with his two consorts Riddhi and Siddhi; they then move from door to door of select friends and relatives and give them personal invitation. The family priest on behalf of the boy's parents asks the people of the house to attend the ceremony, mentioning the time fixed for the celebration, and from a silver cup dropping into the hands of the eldest male a little aksat (vermilion coloured rice).

Ghana.

Early morning of the lucky day musicians start playing on the drum and pipe and one of the priests comes and sets up the ghatika (water clock). They then proceed with the ghana ceremony. Two musals (pestles) are tied together with a new bodice cloth and a basket filled with wheat is set before the boy and his parents. Not less than five suvasinis take the pestles in their hands, set them upright in the basket, and move them up and down as if to pound the wheat in the basket. They sing songs while music plays. A suvasini takes a handful of corn and grinds it in a hand-mill to the handle of which a bodice-cloth is tied.

Propitiatory riles.

Prior to the ceremony of upanayana proper, the usual propitiatory rites are gone through with the same procedural details as before the performance of an auspicious samskara. Ganapati, and the Matrkas (Mothers) are worshipped, and punyahvacana (the holy-day blessing) ceremony is performed. This is the time for near relations to give presents to the boy and his parents. After this, twenty-seven betelnuts representing the Nandis (joy-bringing guardians) and six betelnuts representing the booth-guardians (mandapa-devatas) are placed in a winnowing fan and worshipped with flowers and kunku. The winnowing fan is carried into the house and laid in the family god-room. The ceremony of caula (shaving the boy's head) if it was not performed in childhood then follows. The father takes a razor and in a corner of the booth scrapes some hair from the boy's head. These hair with sacred grass, sami leaves, is laid in the mother's hand who puts them on a lump of bullock dung. The barber then sits in front of the boy and shaves his head except some locks and the top-knot. The barber retires with a present of a new turban or a kerchief, rice, betel and cocoanut. The boy is then bathed and taken to the dining hall. Boys called batus, girt with the sacred thread but not married, are seated in a row and served with food. They eat, and the boy's mother sitting in front of the boys and setting her son on her lap feeds him and herself eating from the same plate. This is called matrbhojana (the mother's meal). It is the last time when the boy and his mother eat from the same plate. As soon as the mother's meal is over the  boy is taken to the barber who shaves all the locks that were left on his head except the top-knot. The boy is bathed and made ready for the upanayana ceremony.

Mangalastakas.

As the lucky moment draws near, the friends and kinspeople asked to the ceremony meet at the house and take their seats in the booth. The father sits on a pat placed on the vedi with his face to the east, while the boy stands before him facing west, and the priests hold between them a curtain marked with a vermilion svastika (lucky cross). The boy's sister stands behind the boy with a lighted lamp and a cocoanut in her hands. The priests recite the manglastakas (lucky verses) and guests throw akstas (rice mixed with kunku) at the boy and his father. At the proper muhurta (lucky moment), the priests stop chanting, the musicians redouble their noise, the curtain is pulled to the north and the boy lays his head on his father's feet. The father blesses him and seats him on his right. Pan, perfume and rose-water are distributed among the guests who then withdraw usually receiving a present of a cocoanut each. It is now getting customary for the guests to make some present to the batu (boy) on this occasion.

Upanayana.

The upanayana ritual now begins. The priest and other Brahmans throw aksata over the boy's head and seat him on a pat to the father's right. A sthandila (earthen altar) is traced in front of the father, blades of darbha (sacred grass) are spread over it and a homa (sacrificial fire) is kindled on it. The priest daubs a cotton string in oil and turmeric, ties it round the boy's waist and gives him a langoti (loincloth) to wear. He then rolls a yellow panca (short waist-cloth) round his waist and a white one round his shoulders. Another cotton string daubed with oil and turmeric and a bit of deer skin passed into it is hung on the left shoulder of the boy in the manner of a sacred thread. Offerings of ajya (ghee), sesamum, and seven kinds of samidhas (sacred fuel sticks) are made on the sacrificial fire. The boy is made to pass between the sacrificial fire and his father, sips three acamanas and repeats texts. He then goes back between the fire and his father and takes his seat.

The kumar (boy) now with folded hands approaches the acarya (preceptor-priest) and makes a request to initiate him into brahma-caryasrama (stage of studenthood). The acarya grants his request, hands over to him a consecrated yajnopavita (sacred thread) and a danda (staff) of palas and gives him general instructions as to how to acquire knowledge. The acarya then takes the kumar out to see the sun and makes him repeat a prayer to the sun.

The principal sacrifice of the ceremony is then gone through. The acarya makes four offerings of samidha (sacred fuel sticks) to the fire and then the kumar makes an offering of one samidha and then wipes off his face thrice with words purporting " I anoint myself with lustre and may Agni and Indra bestow on me insight, offspring and vigour." The acarya concludes the sacrifice with the final oblations, and sprinkles sacred water over the head of the kumar and towards all directions. The acarya and the kumar both then stand and offer prayer to Yajnadevata (sacrificial god). The kumar bends his knees, embraces the teacher's feet and requests him to recite the Gayatri (sacred verse) and the acarya recites pada (syllable) by pada the Gayatri verse and makes the "kumar repeat it syllable by syllable. The acarya then advises the student how to behave in his career of studentship, and tells him of the rules and observances to be followed by a bramhacari (student).

Money presents are made to the priests, who then bless the " student" and the father.

In the evening the bhiksavala (begging procession) goes to the temple of Ganapati. The boy who is attended by his priest bows before the god, and the procession returns home with music and company. On returning home the boy is seated near the altar, the priest sits near him, and places a rovali (bamboo basket) or a sup (winnowing fan) before him. The mother of the boy comes and stands before him near the altar. The boy says to her in Sanskrit, " Bhavati bhiksam dehi (Lady, give me alms)," and holds the bamboo basket before her. The mother blesses him and puts sweet balls, rice, and cocoa-kernel into the basket. Other married women follow her example; the boy repeats the same words to each and each presents him with sweet balls or money. The contents of the bamboo basket go to the priest who gives part of the sweetmeats to the boy and keeps the rest for himself.

The last rite of the upanayana ceremony is medha-janana. A small square earthen mound is raised and a palas branch is planted in it. The kumar pours water round the plant, prays medha, the goddess of mind, to give him knowledge and wealth.

The upanayana ceremony which formerly came to a close on the fourth day, now-a-days ends on the same day. The "betelnut Ganapati" and the " metal pot Varuna " are, as at beginning of the ceremony, invoked and then bowed out and the back of the sup (winnowing fan) is beaten with a stick to show that the ceremony is over, and it is time for friends and kinsfolk to leave. The boy is now a bramhacari (an unwed religious student) and from now on for some years should learn the vedas at the feet of his guru and completing his study undergo the samavartana (return) ceremony, But, according to the present custom the samavartana or the soda munj ceremony, as it is called, follows immediately after the upa-nayana. The boy discards the munj (triple sacred-grass waistcord) and his langoti (loincloth), puts on a silk-bordered waistcloth, a coat, a shoulder cloth, a jari cap, and a pair of shoes, takes an umbrella, and sets out as if on a journey to Benares. The priest or the boy's maternal uncle as may be the custom meets him on the way and promises to give him his daughter in marriage so that the boy may marry and become a grhastha (householder).

Marriage.

Hindus consider vivaha (marriage) as one of the sarirasamskaras (sacraments sanctifying the body) through which every man and woman must pass at the proper age and time, and as such they think it is obligatory on every person to marry. As a sacrament a marriage can be established only after going through certain rites and ceremonies. The present-day customs and ceremonial practices observed by Hindus regarding it fall in three broad classes, viz., (1) The traditional form generally used by professional priests for conducting marriage ceremonies of Brahmans and allied classes. It is maily based on rites prescribed in the grhyasutras and in it Vedic mantras are freely used. (2) The pauranika form which is essentially the same as (1) but in it pauranika mantras instead of Vedic ones are used. (3) Modern forms which are variants of (1) and (2) and are preached by sponsors of movements of reformism or revivalism among the people. Even when the ceremony is celebrated in the traditional way, the general tendency now-a-days is towards curtailing details to the extent of winding up the ceremony in a day or two and thereby aligning it with the modern form. The following description pertains to that of the traditional form generally observed by higher classes.

According to the orthodox way of life there exist a number of restrictions on a marriage selection. Rules of endogamy (i.e. rules requiring marriage within a certain large community) prohibit marriage outside the varna or jati (caste or sub-caste); rules of exogamy which operate within the endogamous group prohibit marriage between sapindas (blood relations), sagotras and sapravaras (same eponymous groups). Brahmans generally claim gotras and pravaras and abide by gotra and pravara exogamy. Non-Brahman communities have kuli (stock), devak (totem) and surnames as exogamous divisions. The restriction on sapindas is extended to seven degrees on the father's side and five degrees on the mother's side, but the prohibited degrees of kindred for marriage beyond the agnates (related on the father's side) vary according to the custom of the community. Except among Chitpavans, marriage with the daughter of one's maternal uncle is allowed among many castes. A Desastha may marry his sister's daughter, but those of the Madhyandina sakhd do not marry a girl whose father's gotra is the same as the gotra of the bridegroom's maternal grandfather.

A marriage alliance is arranged or settled generally by the parents or guardians of the groom and the bride concerned. And, kanya-dana or giving daughter in marriage being considered a great merit, it is always the bride's parents or relatives that take the initiative in the match-making ventures. [ Social conditions, however, among advanced classes have now changed a great deal. Among them a practice of letting the would be couple to go for walking and be togeher to know each other is found. But this is rather an exception than the rule and not the people's custom.] Before a match is finalised due care and consideration is given to the age, social status, economic stability, cultural standard, appearance, up-bringing, health and lineage of the groom. Such information is gathered well in advance by the girl's father who then privately proposes the match to the boy's parents and sends over his daughter's horoscope to them for comparing it with that of their son. Some may hold that considerations of dowry or good looks are more important than the agreement of stars. Monetary consideration is almost invariably the condition at a marriage settlement. But regarding it no uniform rule prevails. Some castes put a price on the bride, others on the bridegroom and there are some who do not put a price on either of the two. Conforming with the brahma form of marriage, generally among higher castes a hunda (dowry-property which a woman brings to her husband) is paid by the bride's parents to the bridegroom. Among castes not in the first flight the bride's parents usually take deja. (bride-price) thereby conforming with the asura form. [ In Hindu religious books are described eight forms of marriage of which in modern times two forms are in vogue—the brahma and asura. In the brahma form it is a gift pure and simple; in the asura form it is like the sale of the bride for money or money's worth received by her father or other guardian for his benefit.] It may be noted here that the dowry demanded from the bride's father is under the guise of vara daksina-money the donee receives from the donor to fulfil the purpose of a dana (gift). In some communities, especially among the middle class educated families of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmanas in the district, dowry forms an important consideration in a marriage settlement. Education only lends ' appreciation' to the boy's value in the matrimonial market, and scarcity of suitable grooms enforces spinsterhood on a large number of eligible brides whose parents find it beyond their moderate means to pay the stipulated amount or items of dowry.

When primary negotiations are complete the formal ceremonies of vadhu pariksa and sakharpuda are gone through. The inspection of the bride (vadhu pariksa) is a regular incipient feature of a marriage. It is a small show. There is no separate interview of the would-be-groom. On an auspicious day a select party on the boy's side arrange to visit the girl's house with due notice and take some ornament and new cloth (saris etc.). There they interview the girl, have a feast or a tea-party and as a mark of their approval present the girl with the ornament, sari etc., distribute sweets among the assembled and celebrate the sakharpuda (betrothal). The fathers of the bride and the bridegroom now settle the dowry (vara daksina) and the presents (varopacara) to be given to the bridegroom by the bride's father; the ornaments and dresses the bridegroom's father gives to the bride; also the gift in clothes or money the bride's father presents to the bridegroom's sister, mother and other relatives. These items may be entered into an agreement and its copies marked with kunku and exchanged between the two fathers. Both parties are now bound to carry out the wedding. The muhurta, auspicious day and hour for the wedding, is then determined and fixed giving due consideration to tarabala and candrabala (i.e. the happy and powerful influence of the birth-stars) of the wedding couple, and the convenience of both the parties. The friends and relations of the bride and the bridegroom now start giving each kelvan (congratulatory) feasts. Both the parties initiate the purchases of clothes and sundry articles for the ceremony always starting with an auspicious item, and then procure and preserve materials and provisions for the regular feasts of the wedding camps. With the help of the neighbours and kinswomen the ladies of the house start preparing sweetmeats and special dishes for the wedding such as sandage, papad, kuravadya, etc., taking care to begin the grain and pulse grinding and baking on a lucky day. The last but not least important part of the marriage preparations is to keep ready such articles as mangala-sutra (lucky necklace), jodvya-virolya (toe-rings) for the bride, and basing-mundavalya (marriage coronet and chaplets) for the couple.

Two or three days before the wedding, erection of the lagna-mandapas (marriage pandals) starts at both the houses. At an auspicious time the priest orders a hole to be dug outside the front door and repeating mantras directs the host to worship the muhurta-medha which forms the chief post of the mandap. A piece of cloth with a turmeric root, betelnut and rice is tied along with a mango-sprig to the post and an unhusked cocoanut and some mango sprigs are tied at its top. Among non-Brahmans articles representing their totem (devak) are tied to this sakun-khamb. In the pandal at the bride's house is constructed a bahule (raised platform). Measured by the bride's arm the bahule should be three cubits long, three broad, and one high, but the orthodox rule may not be strictly observed. The platform faces east and has a wall constructed at the west piled in graduated tiers, the top tier being decorated with a kalasa (dome). The whole is white-washed and a set of earthen pots white-washed and marked with red, green and yellow lines is piled four or five high at each corner of the platform. However, in cases of exigency instead of constructing a bahule the back-ground of a decorative drawing in turmeric and red-powder on a wall can serve the purpose.

On the same day of the mandap is generally performed the ghana ceremony. A couple of hand-mills are cleaned and five suvasinis (whose fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law are alive) touch the mills with lime at five places and tie to their handles mango leaves and a turmeric root, some wheat and a betel-nut tied in a piece of new cloth. The ladies then grind some rice, a little wheat and udid pulse in the mills. Two wooded pestles are then tied together with a piece of new cloth containing turmeric root, and a betel-nut and a little wheat. The ladies also pound some wheat put into a bamboo basket With these pestles. The provisions for the marriage are to be prepared after this ceremony has been performed, but in practice this rule is not observed. Nowadays the ceremony is perfunctorily performed on the marriage day.

Invitations.

Invitations to marriage are effected in three different ways, viz. (1) the parents or their nearest kinsmen or friends headed by their family priest with aksata (rice tinctured with kunku) visit the houses of their castemen and other families of repute or good  acquaintance and give an oral and personal invitation to attend the marriage ceremony and the feast thereafter. (2) The next one is to engage a priest who would officiate at the marriage and go round with such oral invitatons. (3) The last one is through the medium of printed invitation letters or cards and distributing or posting them. There is always a typical form of such invitations, and their text also is stereotyped. They begin with the invocation of the blessing of the family deity. Then the text runs mentioning the names of the wedding pair and requesting the pleasure of company with family and friends of the invited to the function which is to take place at the specified place and town at the muhurta mentioned technically according to Hindu calendar in praharas, ghatikas and palas of tithi and miti, etc., its equivalent in standard time also being given. Divided or undivided a family invitation is issued in the name of the eldest brother or senior-most member of the family, other members finding their due place in the list thereafter. Now-a-days we find a growing list of names of some rich or high connections or important relatives of either families lending their names and best compliments to the invitation. Perhaps, the latest fashion in invitation in cards is to send them in the name of the bride and bridegroom and to request the invites to be present either at the actual wedding or at the reception held thereafter.

A formal invitation ceremony and procession known as aksat may take place a day or two before the marriage. An offering of cocoanut, betel leaves and nut is made to the family-god and aksatas are placed before the image asking the deity to be present at the wedding. Then the party offers prayers at the shrine of the grama-devata and other temples and thence calls at the houses of local friends and kinsfolk to give the formal invitation or the reminder thereof.

On the marriage eve the bridegroom and his party arrive at the bride's village and halt at the local temple. The bride's father meets them at the place with music and a band of friends and both the fathers present each other with cocoanuts. The party is then taken to the house of some friend of the bride's father and there the guests are welcomed with simantpujan. The bridegroom is worshipped by the bride's father attended by his priest with sandal-paste, flowers, sweetmeats and clothes; the guests are treated to betel, flowers and perfume and the ladies pay special honour to the bridegroom's mother, sister and other closer female relatives. Where the payment of dowry is the condition of the marriage settlement the amount or a part of it is usually paid by the bride's father at this time. The bride's party then escorts the bridegroom and his party to some house (janosghar) in the neigh-bourhood of the bride's place and returns home.

Phulasadi.

By night time a present called phulasadi [ The custom is perhaps found only among the Saraswat Brahmans of South Ratnagiri.] consisting of ladus (sweet balls) as big as cocoanuts, a rich sari and khan (bodice piece) and an ornament goes in a procession from the bridegroom to the bride. Generally the present is carried by servants and bhavins and displayed at the bride's place in the light of candrajyoti (flash light) for the bride's mother and other people to see.

Early on the wedding day as a prelude to the vivah (wedding) ceremony a number of propitiatory rites are gone through both at the bride's and the bridegroom's.

The musicians begin to play and the ghana ceremony is gone through if not previously performed. The bride and bridegroom are then rubbed with turmeric paste and bathed in warm water. Generally when the boy's bath is over what remains of the turmeric and oil mixture after being used for him (usti-halad) is ceremonially taken with a sadi and bodice-cloth by five married women to the bride's place. There the ceremony of applying turmeric paste and giving bath as at the boy's is repeated for the girl. The boy's sister then fills the girl's lap, presents her the sadi and bodice-cloth and does similar honours to the girl's mother and sister. The priests then make four heaps of rice and worship Ganapati or the evil-averting god, by laying on one of the heaps a cocoanut representing Ganapati and two betelnuts and two betel leaves representing the consorts of Ganapati, Riddhi and Siddhi. On two of the remaining rice heaps are set each a copper pot full of water, a betelnut, a silver coin, some mango leaves and a cocoanut resting on its brim, and two betelnuts and betel leaves and several more cocoanuts and two silver coins laid close beside it. Varuna and deities presiding over all sacred waters are invoked in the two pots and worshipped. The fourth heap of rice is laid in a flat basket. On the top of the heap are set twenty-eight betelnuts representing the matrkas, one cocoanut, two betel leaves, two glass bangles, a wooden comb, three small cups with kunku, turmeric powder and black eye-salve and a khan (bodice cloth). These are worshipped to gain the goodwill of the female divinities or matrkas. Then, to gain the goodwill of the spirits of the hall or the mandapa devatas (which are six in number) some mango leaves are tied with a cotton thread in cigar-like forms round rumbad and other twigs, laid in the flat basket by the side of the matrka heap, and worshipped. Similarly, to win the influence of the evil eye a new earthen jar painted white and containing aksta, turmeric root and betelnuts, and covered with an earthen dish and a thread wound round the whole is worshipped as avighnakalasa (evil-averting jar). Lighted lamps are then waved round the rice heaps, and those in the basket are taken in the house and kept in the god-room. The other heaps, with the articles placed on them are laid in a basket and taken into the sanctuary of the family god, a small quantity of rice being strewn under the basket. Then the influence of the spirits of the dead ancestors is conciliated by offerings of food and by feeding Brahmans in their honour which is called nandi-sraddha. Then the influence of the planets is made friendly by performing the grhamakha rite.

Next comes the ceremony of vagdana or van-niscaya (settling the marriage) or the ritualistic betrothal. The boy's father goes to the girl's house with musicians, kinsfolk, the family priest and servants carrying salvers, filled with articles of dress, ornaments, etc. There he sits facing west and opposite him facing east sits the girl's father with his daughter. Then the girl's father worships Ganapati and Varuna, and repeating his gotra, pravara, the names of his forefathers for three generations says thrice to the boy's father, " I shall give my daughter in marriage to your son," and thereupon the boy's father following the same procedure thrice responds, " I accept". Then each of them takes five betelnuts and five turmeric roots, and ties them to the hem of the other's waistcloth. The priest then brings the bundles of turmeric roots and betelnuts together, rubs them with sandal and sprinkles them with water from the Varuna pot, and then mixing them with more turmeric roots and betelnuts distributes them among the assembled guests. The boy's father then after worshipping Ganapati and Varuna offers worship to the girl and presents her with ornaments, sadi-coli, khana, cocoanut, etc. The girl then worships Saci (Indra's wife) and dons the new clothes and ornaments. The boy's mother or some one on her behalf then washes the girl's feet, rubs turmeric paste on her hands and face, applies kunku to her brow and sticks rice grains over it, and then telling the house people that she is filling the girl's lap drops into her lap a handful of rice, a cocoanut, a vida, and some sweetmeat balls.

The ceremony of van-niscaya which was formerly performed before simanta pujan now-a-days follows it. It is performed by way of a religious rite and differs from that of sakharpuda which is a social ceremony and as such in some communities is not observed.

When the muhurta for the wedding draws near, the girl's father accompanied by his priest goes to the boy's house and laying a cocoa-nut in the boy's and his priest's hands gives them the formal invitation to his house to hold the marriage and then returns home. The time now comes for the bridegroom to start for the marriage hall and he dresses in the marriage dress presented to him by the girl's father. Before the varaprasthana (starting for marriage) may take place the ceremony of telaphala in which suvasinis from the groom's side go in a procession to the bride's and present her sweet-meats, scented oil, and other auspicious articles of toilet, lap-filling and dress. Similarly from the bride's side a rukhavat (repast consisting of several nirlepa, i.e. waterless dishes) is taken to the bridegroom's and served. After partaking of the repast the bridegroom dressed in his marriage suit, his cheeks touched with lampblack and kunku and his brows decorated with marriage chaplets, is led by the family priest to the god-room. On bowing low before the house god and then before the family elders he is led to the front door. There curds are thrice laid on his right palm and thrice he sips the curds and then wipes his hand. He then rides a horse or is seated in a car and his friends and relations form a procession to escort him to the girl's place. In the procession, behind the bridegroom, walk his mother carrying in her hand a lamp of five wicks which has been kept burning before the household god from the beginning of the ceremony, and his sister with an earthen jar filled with water and covered with mango leaves and a cocoanut. On reaching the bride's house suvasinis pour water on the hoofs of the horse on which the bridegroom has come. The bridegroom then dismounts. The bride's mother meets him at the entrance of the pandal with a dish holding wheat flour lamps, waves small rice balls and wheat flour lamps round him, throws the rice balls to one side and lays the wheat flour lamps at his feet. Another suvasini pours dish-full of water mixed with lime and turmeric on his feet. Then the bride's father holding the bridegroom by the right hand leads him to a place near the bahule where he is seated on a high stool, his feet washed by the girl's father with water poured from a pot by the girl's mother. The father then worships the bridegroom and pours madhuparka (honey and curds mixed together) over his hand to sip and presents him with a suit of rich clothes. The elder son-in-law is also similarly worshipped and honoured by the bride's father at this time. The paper on which the auspicious time for the marriage is written is worshipped by the two fathers. Meanwhile the bride who may be clad in the orthodox fashion in yellow sari known as astaputri or vadhuvastra and a short-sleeved, backless bodice, sits before Gaurihar (the marriage god which is an image of Siva and his consort Gauri) in the house, throws a few grains of rice and sesamum over the image, and prays with the words, " Gauri, Gauri, grant me a happy wifehood and long life to him who is coming to my door."

Two pats are now arranged near the marriage altar on each pat there being a small heap of rice. The bridegroom takes off his turban and coat but keeps the mundavalis (marriage chaplets) on his brows and stands on one heap facing west. An antarpat (curtain) marked with swastika is stretched before him north-west between the two rice heaps. As the auspicious moment draws near the bride decorated with flowers and ornaments and her brows covered with mundavalis (marriage chaplets) is led by her maternal uncle and made to stand on the other heap facing west. The bridegroom's sister stands behind the bridegroom and the bride's sister stands behind the bride as the maids of the pair, each with a lighted lamp and a kara, a copper water jug filled with water and covered with mango leaves and a cocoanut. The bride and bridegroom are each given a garland of flowers to hold and they are told to look at the lucky cross on the curtain and pray to their family gods. Mangalak-satas (red rice) are distributed among the guests and the priests standing on either side of the curtain start chanting mangalastakas (auspicious verses) and all throw the aksatas (red rice) at the bridal pair at the end of each lucky verse. When the auspicious moment comes, at a sign from the priests the musicians raise a great din and the curtain is withdrawn to the north. The eyes of the boy and the girl meet and the bride first puts the garland in her hand round the neck of the groom and then the groom round the bride's. Their eyes are touched with water from the kara by their maids standing behind them. The priest tells them to think of their family deities and asks them to sit. The assembled guests are then entertained. Each is given a flower bouquet, a sprinkle of rose-water, a smear of attar, pan-supari and in some cases a pair of cocoanuts one from the bride's side and the other from the groom's. They are then regaled with spiced milk or sweet drinks. The Brahmans assisting in the ceremony are paid daksina to make the happy event.

Kanyadana.

The kanya-dana (giving away of the maiden) ceremony is now proceeded with. A suvasini applies red-powder to the brows of the priest, the bride's parents, the bride and the bridegroom. All then stand, the priest holding a plate in his hand, and the bride, the bridegroom and the bride's parents standing round the plate. The bride holds her anjali (hands joined and hollowed as for holding water) over the plate and the bridegroom lays his hands similarly over those of the bride. Over their hands the bride's father holds his open right palm slanting and on it the bride's mother pours a libation of water which falls in the anjali of the bride and the groom and thence dribbles into the plate. This rite symbolising the giving away (dana) of the daughter is followed by that of acceptance (pratigraha) on the part of the bridegroom who then recites the kama-sukta (hymn to love). Thereupon the father exhorts the bridegroom not to fail the girl in his pursuit of dharma, artha and kama, and the groom replies three times that he shall never fail her in these. The bride and bridegroom then shower on each other's head ardraksta (wet unbroken rice grains) and the priests chanting benedictory verses sprinkle water over their heads. This is followed by the rites of sutravestana and kankanabandhana: The officiating priests wind cotton yarn in a double circle or figure of eight several times round the necks and wrists of the bride and bridegroom, reciting Vedic verses. When the figure eight is formed the yarn is cut at the points where the threads cross. The upper half is drawn over the necks of the pair and the lower half is drawn over their feet. These threads are afterwards twisted into separate cords, and pieces of turmeric are tied to both ends. The upper half is bound round the left wrist of the bride and the lower half round the right wrist of the bridegroom.

Next comes the vivaha-homa rite which is followed by the rites of pani-grahana, laja-homa, agni-parinayana, asmarohana and saptapadi. These rites which form the essence of the vivaha samskara are generally performed on the bahule (raised platform). As prescribed by grhya sutras the vivaha-homa rite requires that, having placed a mill-stone to the west of the fire (which is kindled symbolically as a divine witness and sanctifier of the samskara) and having deposited a water-pot to the north-east of the fire, the bridegroom has to offer oblations, the bride participating in the offering by grasping the hand (of the groom) that makes the offering. This is followed by the panigrahana (holding the hand) rite: Here the bridegroom stands facing the west, while the bride sits in front of him with her face to the east, and seizing her hand he recites the Vedic mantra purporting to say that he takes her hand in his as gods Bhaga, Aryama, Savita, and Purandhi have given over her to him so that together they may fulfil their dharma as householders. This is followed by the laja-homa rite in which the bride offers the sacrifice (homa) of fried grain poured in her hands by her brother to the gods so that they may be pleased to release her from their bonds. After this the rite of agni-parinayana (walking around the sacred nuptial fire) follows: Here three times the bridegroom leads the bride round the nuptial fire and waterpot, keeping their right sides towards both of them; at the end of each round the bride with the helping hand of the groom treads on a flat stone following the rite of asmarohana (mounting the stone). Thereafter the groom loosens two locks of the bride's hair. Then follows the most important rite in the whole samskara, viz., the saptapadi (taking seven steps together): Seven heaps of rice are arranged by the priest in a row to the north of the sacrifical fire and as the groom leads the bride in the north-eastern direction she puts her right foot on the rice heaps one by one the priest chanting mantra (for the bridegroom to recite) at each of her step. At the end, the bride stands on the flat stone and the bridegroom leads her once round the fire. They then take their seats on the pats and feed the fire with ghee and parched grain. The couple is then taken outside of the house and the priest points out to them Dhruvarundhati, the pole star and Arundhati.

With the performance of the rites of kanyadana, panigrahana, vivaha-homa and saptapadi, the Hindu marriage is considered to be final and irrevocable. The concluding ceremonies that now follow are varat, i.e. the homeward return of the bridegroom with the bride in a procession, and grhapravesa, i.e. the ceremonial home-entering of the newly wed. Till this house-warming ceremony takes place the bridegroom stays at the father-in-law's and during this period of leisure from rites and rituals it is an old practice for the newly wed to regale themselves by playing at dice, etc. together and get to know each other informally and intimately. [ In former times when the bridegroom's stay at the father-in-law's, used to extend over four days the time was spent in holding feasts and merry-making. The couple were made to play games such as, 'odds and evens' (eki-beki), ring-picking, betelnut game, vidya-todne (biting off a folded betel leaf or a piece of copra held tightly with teeth) and splashing each other with coloured water, giving much amusement to the family people. This practice is now rarely followed.] In the evening a rich dinner known as kanyadana samaradhana (usually at the joint expense of both the parties) is served to all intimate relations and friends. At this dinner it is customary for the 'wife' to serve her 'husband' a select dish and request of him for a ghas (morsel) addressing him by his name in an ukhana (rhymed riddle).

Before holding this feast or immediately after, a peculiar ceremony known as astavarga (honouring the eight) is observed among the Gaud Saraswat Brahmans: The bridegroom's father chooses eight men of his family stock who headed by the bridegroom sit in a row. The bride then lays a plantain leaf before each, serves in it sweetmeats and fruits and starting from the bridegroom's dish pours in an unbroken line a jet of liquid ghee over all the dishes. Each of the eight men then partakes of the sweetmeats and puts his gift or money present in the arati waved round his face by the bride. This ceremony is known as astavarga, i.e. hospitality to eight members of the family stock or gotracate, i.e. admitting (the bride) in the family stock.

The time now approaches for the "married daughter' to take leave of her parents and accompany her husband to her new home. Some ceremonies to mark the farewell take place. An airani or zal which is a wicker-work basket containing several gifts such as cocoanuts, betelnuts, fruits, cooked food and water jars filled with water and coins is presented by the bride's father to the bridegroom's mother and other relatives. The basket is held on the head of the person to be honoured, and while some water is poured on it, the priest on behalf of the bride's parents, repeats a verse in Sanskrit meaning, 'We have cared for our child till now, and now we give her to your son. We pray you to treat her with a mother's kindness.' This may be followed by the ceremony of sunmukha in which the bride's father makes the bride sit on the lap of the bridegroom's father, and her mother makes her sit on the lap of the bridegroom's mother's lap, and the bride then receives a gift of sadi and bodice-piece from her parents-in-law.

The bridegroom's party now get ready for the varat (the homeward return of the bridegroom with the bride in a procession) ceremony. The ends of the bride's and bridegroom's robes are knotted together and the pair entering the house bow to the gods and then to the parents of the bride and receive their blessings. On this, with the bride's friends and relatives and the bridegroom's people, they go in procession to the bridegroom's house. On arriving at the bridegroom's the party stands close to the front door. The bridegroom's mother enters the house and returns bringing in her hands a metal cup full of water and a tray which contains a lamana-diva (five-wicked hanging lamp) and four rice-flour lamps. She first waves the water round the faces of the couple and throws it in the courtyard, and next, after waving the lighted rice-flour lamps round their faces, places the hanging lamp in the bride's right hand. Then the bridegroom, followed by the bride, walks into the house, care being taken that the bride does not tread on the threshold and that she steps into the house with her right foot first. On entering the reception hall the bride hangs the lamp to a hook which has been placed there to receive it. The bride and bridegroom then sit on two pats and the bridegroom taking a metal tray spread with rice writes on it a name. This, which is the bride's married name is read aloud and the letters in which it is traced are worshipped. The couple then visits the god's room to bow to the gods. The ends of their robes which were knotted together are untied. The bridegroom takes off his marriage cornet which is separated from the cord and tied to the main post of his house; the cord is divided into three parts one of which is given to some married woman, the second is worn by the bride in her hair and a third is kept carefully in some safe place. A ritualistic closure to the marriage ceremony is now put with the rites of devakotthapana and mandapodvasana, whereby the deities that had been invited before the ceremony began are taken leave of and the marriage booth is dismantled.

When the ceremony is over, generally two big feasts follow: one given by the bride's father to the bridegroom's party and the other by the bridegroom's father to the bride's party. During the first year after marriage the bridegroom goes to his father-in-law on all great holidays and receives presents.

Widow marriage.

Though legally permissible, widow marriages are not at all in vogue in 'higher' communities. But in a few lower castes, widows get married or rather there are no social restrictions on such marriages if they take place. But such cases are not so very frequent or fashionable. Even when a remarriage is accepted or admitted the widow has to be a child-widow, i.e. she should not have had the 'bed ceremony' (garbhadhana) with her first spouse. Marriage with the younger brother's widow is allowed in such castes. But there again that widow should have had no issue nor she should have cohabited with her husband. Widow with children is rarely acceptable for remarriage. As Hindu scriptures do not prescribe any rites for a widow marriage its ceremonial varies according to the customary practices of the community concerned.

Among Bhandaris in Ratnagiri district, where the caste is most numerous, remarriage of widow is permitted with the sanction of the caste panch. A widow is not allowed to marry her father's sister's or mother's sister's son, or a member of her late husband's or father's section. Generally widow remarriage is not looked upon with favour by the community. Unwidowed women are not allowed to attend the ceremony, and the remarried widow is not allowed to cook or be present on auspicious occasions. As a rule a bachelor is not allowed to marry a widow. The ceremony is performed at night in an unoccupied out-house. The details vary in the different localities according to local usages. The ceremony of ovalani (waving a platter containing lighted wicks, a pice, a cocoanut, rice grains, and a cock) is first performed by a bhagat (exorcist) in order to free the widow from the dominion of the spirit of her deceased husband, who is supposed to haunt her. Thus freed the widow is presented to her new husband by another widow who acts as her bride's-maid. She applies paste made of flour of udid (black gram) to the left knee of the bride to whom the new husband then presents new dress and ornaments which she puts on in the presence of the assembly. This completes the ceremony. A dinner is then held, and a money present is made to the caste panch who sanctioned the marriage. On the following morning before day-break the widow's new husband, accompanied by his friends and followed by her, leaves the house to return home. The widow takes a cock under her arm. When the procession reaches the boundary of the village the cock is immolated, and its head together with a lock of hair from the widow's head and a bit of the new robe worn by her are buried under a rock. The bhagat who accompanies the couple till they reach home takes away rest of the cock for his use, and says that he has quietened the spirit of the deceased husband who was believed to have been very jealous of the second husband.

Death and Funeral.

When a person is on the point of death the nearest kin sits close to the dying man and comforts him, assuring him that his family will be well cared for. Gifts are made to the family priest and other Brahmans as an atonement for the sins of the dying man. Just before death a small piece of gold is laid in his mouth and a few drops of Ganga water are poured into it, and the lips, ears, nostrils and eyes are touched with clarified butter. The names of Rama, Narayana are uttered in his right ear so that the dying man may repeat them. When life is extinct the body is removed from the bed and laid with the head to the north on ground previously washed with cowdung, strewn with sacred grass and covered with a woollen cloth. The chief mourner (the son or next kin of the deceased) bathes in cold water and is expected to shave his face and his head except the top-knot. After shaving, he again bathes in cold water and sets a new earthen vessel at the feet of the corpse, in which, with the help of the family priest, he kindles grhyagni (household fire). [ According to the rule of his religion a Brahman is expected to keep alive in the house a sacred fire all his life.] If the deceased leaves a widow she parts with her mangal- sutra and glass bangles for being cremated with the dead body. A bamboo bier is made ready, and a white cloth is brought to serve as a shroud. The body is bathed in warm water and dressed in a new cloth. If the deceased is a married woman who has died before her husband, she is seated and decked with flowers, rubbed with turmeric paste and kunku mark are put on her brow, and rice, cocoanut, betel leaves and betelnuts are laid in her lap. These honours are not shown to a widow. Under instructions from the priest the body is wound in the shroud by friends and kinspeople, laid on the bier and fastened to it by a strong rope. A copper coin is tied to the end of the shroud at the feet. Bamboo batons are tied together by coir rope in the shape of a triangle, and on this an earthen jar with a burning cowdung cake and some live charoal (from the grhyagni) is placed. This frame the chief mourner carries  in his right hand hung from coir ropes as he walks in front of the bier, which is carried on the shoulders of four men of the caste. The priest walks behind with the friends and relations of the deceased carrying in his hand some of the materials required for the funeral ceremonies. On approaching the burning ground the bier is set on the ground for a short time, when the bearers change places and the coir in the end of the shroud is untied and laid on the ground. On reaching the burning ground, the bier is set down and a spot is chosen for the fire and sprinkled with cowdung water and three lines are drawn on the earth with an iron nail. The earth is then worshipped and a hole is dug and filled with water and blades of sacred grass. Then close to the hole the chief mourner empties the burning cowdung cake and live charcoal he has brought in the earthen vessel and prepares a fire known as mantragni, the priest chanting the required mantras. Meanwhile logs of wood are heaped together in a cita (funeral pile) and the body is untied from the bier, stripped off the shroud which is taken by a Mahar, and laid on the funeral pile with the head to the north. The waistband of the garment is then loosened and five balls of unbaked wheat-flour are laid, one on the brow, one on the mouth, two on the shoulders and one on the chest. If death happened at an unlucky hour an effigy is made of wheat-flour and placed near the body. The chief mourner lights the pile with the mantragni (consecrated fire) at the head if it is a man and at the feet if it is a woman, and then at each of the corners, fanning the fire with the end of his shoulder-cloth. He then takes some water in a metal cup from the hole that was made close by and walks once round the pile spilling the water in an unbroken stream. When the circle is complete a layer or two of heavy logs are heaped on the body each mourner adding a piece to it. The bier is pulled to pieces and thrown in the burning pile. After a while when the skull bursts, the chief mourner fills with water the pot in which he carried the fire, and setting it on his left shoulder picks up a small stone which is called asma or life-stone. Holding the asma in his right hand he walks round the pile, beginning his round from the left of the head if the deceased is a man and from the left of the feet if a woman, and making a hole with the stone in the bottom of the pot allows a jet of water to trickle. When the first round is completed the hole is enlarged by a second blow of the life-stone, when the second round is finished it is further enlarged in the same way and at the end of the third round the chief mourner throws the pot backward over his shoulder spilling the water over the ashes, and strikes his hand on his mouth and cries aloud. He, then, to cool the spirit of the dead which has been heated by the fire pours water mixed with sesamum in the ashes, and to quench the spirit's thirst pours water over the asma. The rest of mourners following the chief mourner pour water on the asma, which is then wrapped in sacred grass and carried home. The party returns when the body is completely consumed.

Obsequies.

At the house of mourning, the spot on which the dead breathed his last is smeared with cowdung and a lighted lamp is set on it. Leaning at the door is kept a sup (winnowing fan) containing some pepper. As the mourners return from the cremation ground, they cast a glance at the lamp, chew a pepper and go to their houses. The chief mourner bathes and lays in some safe place the waist-cloth and shoulder-cloth he wore at the funeral, the water-pot and cup, and the asma. As no fire is kindled in the house of the deceased that day, relations and caste-fellows send cooked food. The family of the deceased keeps in mourning for ten days during which the mourners take simplest food without milk, ghee or pulses and sleep on mats. The chief mourner is expected to take only one meal a day without using salt and abstain from all social intercourse up to the tenth day, the family gods being worshipped by a man who is not a kinsman. At the beginning of each meal the chief mourner offers a ball of rice to the lamp which is kept burning on the spot where the deceased died, and covers the lamp and the ball with a bamboo basket. The basket is taken off every day before the mourner eats, and again put on after offering a fresh ball and removing the old one. On the second day the chief mourner, accompanied by the priest, goes to the burning-ground if there is water near it, or to some convenient spot by the side of a spring or rivulet, with metal vessels, fire, rice and the asma and cooking the rice offers a ball with water to the asma.

Generally on the third day are performed the asthi-sancayana (bone-gathering) and other rites. The chief mourner accompanied by the priest goes to the burning ground taking with him the waist-cloth and the shoulder-cloth he wore at the cremation, the asma, and the water-pot and cup. There he washes the two clothes, spreads them to dry, takes a bath and then donning the fresh-washed clothes starts performing the rites. He sprinkles with pancagavya the ashes of the dead, gathers them into a three-cornered mound and spreads blades of darbha grass on the mound. Near the heap he lays five unripe cocoanuts with tops cut open, five wheat-flour balls each on a blade of sacred grass, three in a line and two at right angles. Near the cocoanuts, six small gadgi (earthen jars) are set along with rice-balls and sacred grass, and near them a ball of rice is laid and a number of small yellow flags are planted, and a second ball of rice and some water are offered to the asma which is kept close to the mound of ashes. The chief mourner sprinkles sesamum and pours water over each of the balls and touches them with lamp-black and butter. He dips the end of the shoulder-cloth into water, and lets a little water drop over each ball. The mourner, after asking the deceased to accpet the offerings, leaves the burning ground taking with him the asma, a few calcined bones gathered in a small jar, and the ashes in a vessel. This bone-gathering ceremony is performed on the third, fifth, seventh, or ninth day after death, but generally on the third. The ashes are thrown in a spring or river and the bones are kept carefully till an opportunity offers of taking them to Benares to be thrown into Ganga; otherwise they are thrown into the sea. From the fourth to the ninth day rice-balls are offered, with an additional ball of wheat-flour on the fifth, seventh, and ninth day and ceremonies performed in order that the deceased may gain a new body.

On the tenth day five unripe cocoanuts with five balls of unbaked wheat-flour and five blades of sacred grass, are offered in addition to the ball of rice which is daily given to the asma from the first to the tenth day. The stone is rubbed with sesame oil, rice balls are offered, frankincense burned, and lighted lamps waved before it. The crows are asked to take the balls away. If, even after much praying, the crows do not come, the mourner takes a blade of the sacred grass in his right hand and touches the right ball with it. He carries the asma to some pond or river, and standing with his face to the east throws it over his head so that it falls into the water. He then goes home and puts out the lamp, drawing the burning wick backwards till the flame is extinguished. On eleventh day the chief mourner and all the inmates of the house receive from the family priest pancagavya (five products of the cow) and the whole family is purified of the uncleanliness caused by the death. A sraddha ceremony is performed and various danas (gifts) are made to the family priest and other Brahmans. The sapindi sraddha (obsequial sacrifice and feast of the dead in honour of seven generations of ancestors) is performed on the morning of the twelfth day. This is a highly complex ritual by virtue of which the deceased who has been a preta (ghost) so far, changes into pitr (guardian spirit) and unites with the mourner's pitamaha (grandfather) and prapitamaha (great grandfather). All members and near relations of the family men, women and children draw near the ' configuration of three rice balls' worshipped that day, bow before it and ask for its blessings. On the morning of the thirteenth day, the mourner anoints himself with oil and bathes and a rite is performed to reintroduce him to the usual routine of life.

Sraddha ceremonies are also performed on the sixteenth and twenty-seventh day and on the death-day (the lunar day on which the person died) of every month for a year, when cooked rice and water are offered to the departed soul, and at least two Brahmans are feasted. Of these the one performed at the end of six months and the one known as bharani sraddha performed on the fifth of the dark half of Bhadrapada are considered essential. All the same these sraddhas are nowadays curtailed by making symbolic offering on the twelfth day. Ancestors are worshipped every year on the same date of the month on which the person died by performing a sraddha rite. They are also worshipped on the same date in the dark half of Bhadrapada the rite being called Mahalaya sraddha.

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