A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s3.51
A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s3.51
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v1.c5.s3.51
Secondly, Khandoba is a vegetable deity. Under the name of *bhandar* he is identical with, and resident in, turmeric powder. The Vāghes, or males dedicated to him, carry turmeric in tiger-skin bags, which they apply to the foreheads of Khandoba's devotees.² Marāthās swear their most binding oath upon the *Bel-bhandar*, i.e. the leaves of the Bel tree (*Aegle marmelos*) and turmeric; and it was thus that Sumar Singh, the murderer of the Pēshwā Nārāyan Rāo, was made to take oath by Ānandībāi, the jealous aunt of the prince and wife of Raghunāth Rāo.¹