76 
E. T. Atkinson — Notes on the history 
[No. 1, 
dipping it in cow-dung tonches each of the figures which represent the 
Mdtris. Then the argha-sthapana, prdndydma and sankalpa as in the 
preceding ceremony are gone through with the formula as to place, time, 
caste of celebrant and object, &c., of the ceremony which is addressed to 
Ganesha and Gauri and the other Mdtris. 
Pratishthd. —Then the Matris are praised in certain verses* known as 
the pratishthd., then again in the dhydna or meditation, and again by 
name whilst presenting a flower to each :—“ Oyi ganapataye namah,^ 
followed by Gauri, Padma, S'achi, Medha, Devasena, Svadha, Svaha, 
Matri, Lokmatri, Dhriti, Pushti, Tushti, and the household female deities. 
The formulse connected with the invitation, &c., in the preceding cere¬ 
mony are then gone through, viz. : — avdhana, dsana, pddya, argha, S7idna^ 
dchamana, vastra, gandha, akshata, pushpa^ dhupa, d'lpa, naivedya and 
gifts. 
Vasordhdrd. —Next comes the vasordJidrd, which is performed by 
taking a mixture of clarified butter and a little sugar and having warmed 
it in the argha, letting it stream down the board some three, five or 
seven times whilst repeating a mantra. The celebrant then receives a 
piece of money from the person for whose benefit the ceremony is perfor¬ 
med, and dipping it in the clarified butter {ghi) impresses a mark on 
the forehead and throat of the person from whom he receives it and keeps 
the coin. Then comes the rdrdjana or waving of a lamp before the 
figures as in the preceding ceremony. Next follows the offering of flowers 
in the upturned palms of the hands (pushpdnjali), winding up with 
a hymn in honour of the sixteen Mdtris and gifts to the celebrant, who 
in return places flowers from the offerings on the head of the giver. 
The worship of the Mdtris or divine mothers is another very in¬ 
teresting observance of other than Brahmanical origin. They are rever¬ 
enced as separate entities in the Mdtri-pujd, Pwdra-mdtri-pujd and 
Jwa-mdtri-pujd and here have no apparent connection with the worship 
of the female energy or consort of the great divinities. They are found 
under various names amongst the beings worshipped by the aboriginal 
and non-Aryan tribes throughout the whole of India and in the Bauddha 
system of Nepal and Tibet, and have come from that d^emonism which 
has had such influence on both Buddhism and Shaivism and which found 
its development in the Tantras of both sects. Enough has not yet been 
recorded to satisfactorily assign to them their exact place in the cycle of 
evolution, but there is no doubt that the conceptions known as divine 
mothers have held a high position and an important influence on the 
* Rice is here taken and sprinkled over each figure whilst the pratishthd is 
spoken and during the dhydna the hands are clasped reverently in front of the 
breast and the head lowered and eyes closed. 
