History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.755

v6.c81.755

The 10th tithi of Āśvina-śukla is called Vijayā-daśamī. It is elaborately described in Hemādri (on vrata, vol. I. pp. 970-973), Nirṇayasindhu (pp 69-70), Puruṣārtha-cintāmaṇi (pp. 145-148), Vratarāja (pp 359-361) and Kālatattva-vivecana (pp. 309-312), Dharmasindhu (p 96) As Daśamī (10th tithi) is not mentioned in the *Yugmavākya* the Kālanirṇaya relies on a verse that in the bright half that tithi which exists at sunrise should be accepted for performance of rites and in the dark half the one that exists at sunset⁴⁸² Hemādri proposed (on vrata vol. I. p 973) two simple rules (when 10th is *viddhā*) that that tithi on which Śravaṇa-nakṣatra exists should be accepted and in all other cases 10th mixed with 9th be accepted. But the other digests introduce many other considerations and complicated rules follow. A few of them are given below If the 10th tithi is mixed up with 9th and 11th, the day on which it is mixed with 9th should be accepted provided there is no Śravaṇa-nakṣatra on the next. The Skanda says: Aparājitā-devī should be worshipped by men on the 10th towards the north-east and in the afternoon, when the 10th is mixed with 9th. Aparājitā should be worshipped on that day for welfare and victory. Another verse482a is 'A person should offer worship on the 10th tithi in Āśvina bright half and should not perform the worship of Aparājitā on Ekādaśī' It must be remembered that the proper time for Vijayā-daśamī rites is aparāhna (afternoon) and pradoṣa482b is gauṇakāla (secondary time). If 10th extends over aparāhna on two days, the first (i. e 10th mixed with 9th) should be accepted. If the 10th exists at pradoṣa time (but not at aparāhna) on two days, then the later (viz. 10th mixed with 11th) should be accepted; Śravaṇa is not decisive just as Rohiṇī in Janmāṣṭamī is not. If on both days the tenth tithi does not exist at the time of aparāhna then the first (10th mixed with 9th) is to be accepted; but in this case if on the 2nd day Śravaṇa-nakṣatra exists at the time of aparāhna then the latter (10th mixed with 11th) is to be accepted. These are the conclusions of N. S. The P. C. (p. 148) disputes the last proposition. Hemādri and following him Nirṇayasindhu (p. 189) quote Kaśyapa⁴⁸³ to the following effect: ‘if daśamī exists for some time at sunrise and if there is then ekādaśī for the rest of that day and there is Śravaṇa-nakṣatra at aparāhna on that day, that tithi is called Vijayā; since Rāma started on his invasion (against Rāvaṇa) on Śravaṇa-nakṣatra, men should celebrate the crossing of the limits of their village on that day and nakṣatra’. The Nirṇayasindhu and other works quote a verse⁴⁸⁴ ‘That time (on 10th tithi in Āśvina) which is slightly later than evening twilight and when the stars have just begun to appear is to be known as Vijaya and tends to the success of all undertakings.’ Bhṛgu says ‘the⁴⁸⁵ 11th muhūrta (on a day of 15 muhūrtas) is called Vijaya; all desirous of victory should march out at that time.’ These verses explain why this tithi is called Vijayā-daśamī. These two verses show that the time called Vijaya is of two kinds.