1884.] 
of Religion in the Himalaya. 
53 
it is observed by the Sauras only or occasionally old widows and others 
similarly situated who worship the sun on this day. The only noted 
festival in connection with it is that at the temple of the snn at Paban 
or Pabhain in Bel. The Achald saptamt or “ immoveable seventh,” so 
called because it is said to be always held sacred, is seldom observed 
here. It is also called the Jayanti-saptami or ‘ seventh of victory,’ and 
festivals are held on this day at the Kamaleswara temple in S'rinagar and 
the temple to Jayanti at Jayahot in Boraran. The BMshmdshtami seems 
to be altogether unobserved, if we except the entirely local ceremonies 
held in some few places and utterly unknown to the people at large. 
The eleventh is known as the BMma ehddasi, and this and the full moon 
are very seldom observed. 
Phdgun. 8'ivardtri. —The eleventh of the dark half of Phagun is 
called the Vijaya-eJcddasi or ‘ eleventh of victory.’ The fourteenth is 
everywhere sacred to S'iva. This is the day when all sins are expiated 
and exemption from metempsychosis is obtained. It is the anniversary of 
the apparition of the ling which descended from heaven to confound the 
rival disputants, Brahma and Vishnu, a scene which is described at length 
in the Lainga Purana.* The day preceding is devoted by the pious and 
educated to fasting, and all night long the deity is worshipped, and it is not 
until ablutions are performed next morning and offerings are made to the 
idol and the attendant priests, that the worshippers are allowed to eat. 
The day is then kept as a holiday. In the great S'aiva establishments the 
ceremonies are conducted with great splendour and are held to be espe¬ 
cially sacred on this day, more particularly in those which were estab¬ 
lished before the Muhammadan invasion of India. These temples as 
enumerated by the local pandits are as follows (I) Rameswara near 
Cape Komorin ; (I) Kedarnatha in Garhwal; (3) Mahakala in Ujjain ; 
(4) Somanatha in Gujrat; (5) Mallikarjuna in the Karnatic ; (6) Bhima 
Sankara near Puna ; (7) Omkaranatha on the Herbudda ; (8) Visvanatha 
in Benares ; (9) Bhuvaneswara in Orissa ; (10) Yaidyanatha in Bombay ; 
(II) Bageswara in Kumaon and (12) Jageswara in Kumaon. As a rule, 
however, there is only a single service in some temple or a ling is made 
of clay and worshipped at home. The elaborate ritual laid down in the 
VdrshiTca pustaJca, the authority in these hills is very seldom observed : the 
mass of the people neither now understand it nor have they the means to 
pay the fees of the hereditary expounders. The ordinary ceremonies in¬ 
clude the offering of rape-seed and uncooked rice with flowers and water, 
and then the mystical formula known as prdndydma which is explained 
hereafter. 
At the malidpujd on the S'ivaratri at Jageswara the idol is bathed in 
* Translated in Muir, IV., 388. 
