New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
Custom Had Its Origin
in Old Hindu
Mythology

out asking his consents and Dak,h.
tired to explain and patch th;nye rn
between Shiwa and Sati. Shin.
finally relented and consented >.
turn Satl into cuckoo. When Shiw.
had come to this decision Brahu.
. intervened for his gramIdauyb+e,
and Shiwa, becoming merciful. said
to Sati the cuckoo:
Beloved Sati, after the lapse ~
900 years of the gods you shall h.
released from the curse and then vo,
shall be able to join me again. And
| give you a special boon. All roe,
and women shall henceforward wo,-
ship you as the Cuckoo Goddess and
in the year in which there falls g.
additional month of Ashadha sns-
clal festival shall be held in vour
honor and it shall last from the 18th
Of the bright half of Ashadha to the
18th of the bright half of Shrayana
Those women who shall observe th;s
vrata shall not become widows. But
those who neglect to observe this
vrata shall lose their husbands and
also all the punya merit they may
have attained"
Having thus done everything that
was asked of him. Shiwa then de-
manded return for his generosity.
Shiwa Makes Bargain
"Pll cage up Virabhadra in the
mountain again, provided you take
me into the Vedic heaven on equal
terms with the best gods in your out
fit" he said.
Brahma at once consented, and
thus it was that the Hindu Trinity
was established, and as both Brahma
and Vishnu were afraid of Shiwa.
Shiwa soon became the leader of the
Trinity and took, and holds to this
day, the first place in Hindu wor-
ship.
In the ritual of the Cuckoo Fes-
tival small image of a cuckoo is
made of pure gold with feet of sill
yer and eyes of ruby or pearls. The
golden cuckoo is mounted in a mango
tree of silver. If the worshiper
cannot afford gold the cuckoo can be
made of -four of sessamum seeds.
The worshiper gets up early and
goes to the river, seashore or tank
and bathes IN the holy water, repeat
ing the names of the Ganges, Sara
swat and other holy rivers. Three
libations of holy water are poured
out to the Sun God and three to the
Cuckoo Goddess. The clothes are
changed and the worshiper puts
sandal paste on the head, if man,
or, if a woman, marks the forehead
with a red powder called kunku,
A Vow to the Goddess
The worshiper next goes to the
nearest Hindu temple and worships
the temple deity with flowers. in
cense, etc, and lights lamp of CHI
before the deity and returns home,
where the image of the Cuckoo God
dess is worshiped This water Is
taken in the right hand and vow
or samkalpa is made to observe the
ceremony in honor of the Cuckoo
Goddess for one month. The wor-
shipper says: From this day vow
to observe the vrata of the Cuckoo
Goddess, who is an incarnation Of
the Goddess Sati. | shall eat only
once, in the evening before the sun
sets. shall sleep on the ground and
be merciful to all living creatures.
May the Cuckoo Goddess be pleased
with me-"
Water is poured on the ground
and the image is worshiped with
flowers, sandal paste, turmeric, red
powder and rice. Incense is burned
and a lamp of clarified butter IS
lighted and offerings of sessamum
and sweetmeats are made to the
image while the worshiper bows be-
fore it. In the evening the worshipef
eats, but before the meal he must bow
to living cuckoo and hear its song.
Any day he does not hear the voice