Page:The Sundhya, or, the Daily Prayers of the Brahmins.djvu/33

PLATE 16.

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POOJA OF MAHADEO (MAHADEVA).

In the worship of this Deity the devotee requests grandeur and wealth. The horn of the deer is blown in this Pooja: offerings of fruit and sweetmeats are laid upon the Nundee; also the leaves of the bale-fruit tree, white flowers, a few blades of the dhoop-ghas (hay). The jeneo (brahmin-thread) is rolled up with areeka-nut and betel-leaves. The sign worn in this Pooja of Mahadeo is this , drawn with yellow sandal. The head, neck, and wrist are adorned with strings of the Roodrakh (the dried berries of the Eleocarpus).

Translation of the Version in the Pooja of Mahadeo.

1st verse. "O Earth! all the created beings who inhabit thee! and Devee, whom Vishnoo hath brought up from below! I likewise am thy inhabitant: sanctify me."

(Here the devotee takes up water in the palm of his right hand. After repeating the foregoing lines he sprinkles it under the mat upon which he is seated, puts some drops into his mouth, and, filling his half-closed palm with fresh water, says)—

2d verse. "O Shiu! fulfil the object of this my worship to thee. Give unto me all that my heart desireth, and deliver me from evil."

(He here pours out the water from his hand).

Muntra.

"Om Hrang, Hring, Hrong, Shivaya-nama."

(Then raising his joined hands to his head reverentially to the Deity, he spreads out his hands and fingers, which he slides down his whole figure from head to foot, and then makes the signs of the Kurna-nyas, after which the signs of the Hridayadi-nyas; then closing his eyes and folding his arms he proceeds to an inward contemplation of the gods, saying)—

1st verse. "I worship thee, Shiu! Thou art perpetually in my thoughts. Thou shinest like polished silver; and refulgent as the moon are thine ear-rings, and thy form appears resplendent with bright and precious jewels. In one hand thou bearest an axe, and in the other the skin of the deer. Thou sittest, with thy feet under thee, upon thy throne; and all the gods praise thee.

2d verse. "Thy covering is of the lion's skin; and thou art the first Male. Thou art the type of the world; and thou deliverest mankind from fear and danger. Thou hast five faces. Such art thou, Shiu. Reverence be unto thee.

3d verse. "Thou art light as the purest camphor. Thy mercies are infinite. The first and the last in the universe. Thy necklace is of entwined serpents. Such is Shiu: the Shiu who has Parbutee seated beside him. Reverence be to him."

(The devotee here makes a rough image, of mud, of Mahadeo, and places it upon the singhasun; then throws over it some grains of raw rice, and white flowers of dhatoora, saying)—

4th verse. "O Soopan, approach! O Pinakadhur, be thou seated here!"

(Then putting in the urgha some raw rice, flowers, and sandal, and holding it between his hands, he stands up before the idol).

5th verse. "From three dreadful diseases thou art the deliverer; and thou bestowest happiness on mankind. Receive my offerings, and preserve me from these three afflictions. Be merciful to my sons and daughters; and may they find grace before thee, O Bhooswamin."