History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.723

v6.c81.723

The principal matters in Navarātra or Durgāpūjā, though it may be spread over three days (from 7th tithi) or nine days (from 1st to 9th), are four as laid down by the Liṅgapurāṇa viz. snapana⁴⁶² (bathing the image), pūjā, the offering of a victim (bali) and homa. For want of space snāpana has not been dwelt upon in the above. The Durgārcanapaddhati (p. 674), the Vratarāja (p. 340) and other digests state at length how the image of Durgā may be bathed with scented water, with milk, curds, ghee, *pañcagavya* of a *kapilā* cow, sugarcane juice and what rewards are reaped by particular kinds of baths. One example is given here for a sample.⁴⁶³ The man who even for a day bathes Caṇḍikā with pañcagavya to the accompaniment of Caṇḍīgāyatrī goes near Viṣṇu If the image is made of some material (like clay) that cannot bear a water bath, the bright sword placed near Devī's image may be bathed or a mirror, as stated by the Kālikāpurāṇa The other three out of the four principal items in Durgāpūjā have been dealt with above. Out of the four, pūjā is the most important and a fast is only an aṅga (ancillary matter).