History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.655

v6.c81.655

Then follow acts to be done on the 7th tithi. On the 7th tithi conjoint with mūla-nakṣatra or without it the performer after taking a bath approaches a bilva tree, worships it, folds his hands and says 'O blessed bilva tree! you are always dear to Śaṅkara; after taking from you a branch I shall perform Durgā worship; O Lord! you should not feel pain due to the cutting of a branch; O bilva! prince among trees, salutation to you!' After saying this he should cut off from the bilva tree a branch other than one in the south-west or north-west and endowed with a couple of fruits (or without fruit) with the mantra noted below.⁴¹⁶ Then he should take the branch, come to the place of worship (the maṇḍapa or the like) and place it on a pīṭha (a seat). Then taking white mustard grains he throws them with two mantras and effects the driving away of goblins, evil spirits, rākṣasas, Vināyakas that cause obstacles, takes up an offering of boiled rice and māṣa pulse and requests Kālī who is surrounded by goblins to accept that *bali* for protection against the evil spirits and prays her to confer upon himself all his objects in return for the offering of the *bali*. He then establishes the bundle of (the leaves and twigs) of nine plants tied together with Aparājitā creeper and the bilva branch. He worships the latter with 'salutation to the bilva branch' and honours Cāmuṇḍā on the bilva branch and the clay image with the words 'this is pādya (water for washing the feet), salutation to Cāmuṇḍā' and addresses the bilva branch with the mantra quoted in n. 413 above. Then he utters the mantra 'O Cāmuṇḍā'! move, move, make others move, enter my house quickly and go to the place of worship, *svāhā*'. Then he establishes the *ghaṭa*, worships the nine plants and five devatās, establishes the image on a seat and the bundle of nine plants to its right to the accompaniment of songs and instrumental music and places the bilva branch in a copper vessel near the (image of) Devī and performs the prāṇapratiṣṭhā⁴¹⁷ (vivifying or endowing with life) of the image of the Devī and of Gaṇeśa and other deities in the manner provided in the Durgārcanapaddhati (p 666) and Tithitattva (*pp.* 77-78). Then he should, after taking in his hand husked rice-grains and flowers, contemplate upon the form of Devī Then the Durgārcanapaddhati (pp. 666-667) quotes a long but finely worded passage from the *Matsya*, the corresponding passage from the Kālikāpurāṇa may be briefly rendered as follows⁴¹⁸