History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.825

v6.c81.825

The Dharmasindhu furnishes⁵²⁵ a long list of the observances on this *pratipad* day according to the several purāṇas and digests, viz. worship of Bali, illuminations, holiday for and worship of cows and bulls, worship of Govardhana, the tying of Mārgapālī (lit protectress of the road), wearing new clothes, dice-play, waving of lights before men by women (whose husbands are alive), and tying up an auspicious garland. In modern times only three out of these, viz worship of Bali, illuminations and gambling are observed and the rest are hardly observed anywhere. Therefore only brief references will be made to the rest Cows, calves and bulls are to be worshipped with two mantras (quoted in note) and decorated and cows are not to be milked and bulls are not to be made to carry burdens this day. This is to be done in the morning of Kārtika pratipad. If it be mixed up with⁵²⁶ the 2nd it should not be done on that day as that would lead to the death of one's sons, wife and loss of wealth, but this should be observed when pratipad is mixed with amāvāsyā. Devala prescribes this and remarks that by the worship of cows three prosper, viz people, cows and the king As regards Govardhana-pūjā, those who are in the vicinity of Govardhana (a hill near Mathurā) should go to it and worship in the morning, while others not near it should prepare a Govardhana with cowdung or with heaps of cooked food or draw it in a picture and worship it along with Gopāla (Kṛṣṇa) and offer all the 16 upacāras to Govardhana and Gopāla (Kṛṣṇa) with mantras which pointedly refer to Kṛṣṇa's giving protection to the settlement of cowherds (Gokula) against the heavy downpour of rain to the discomfiture of Indra. The sankalpa is given in the note.⁵²⁷ The naivedya is to be on a grand scale. Therefore, the Smṛtikaustubha (p. 174) states that Govardhana-pūjā⁵²⁸ is called Annakūṭa (heap or hill of food) in Padma-purāṇa. Vide Var. 164 for Govardhana and Annakūṭaparikrama The Dharmasindhu provides that a *homa* should be performed with the two verses 'ā gāvo agman' (Ṛg. VI. 28. 1) and 'praite vadantu' (Ṛg. X. 94. 1). Mukerji (pp 150-152) describes how Govardhana-pūjā is carried on in some out-of-the way rural tracts in United Provinces, though it has become altogether defunct elsewhere. Vide I. A. vol. 60 pp. 187-190 and vol. 61 pp. 1 ff and pp. 231 ff for description of the Gāyadānr festival observed in Bihar, Orissa and some other parts on Kārtika first of bright half in the afternoon in which cows gaily stamped with circular stains of red and blue on their skin and horns glistening with oil and red ochre chased a puny pig with their pointed horns and killed it.