Nilamata Purana

Nīlamata Purāṇa

by Dr. Ved Kumari | 31,992 words

Om auspiciousness. Salutation to the auspicious Ganes'a. Salutation to the venerable Vasudeva Om....

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Verses 401-500

401. One should feast in the company of friends and should play to one's contents. One should sleep that night, and afterwards, on the next one.

402-6. People - with all parts of their bodies smeared with mud; besmearing their friends here and there with mud; speaking, for the sake of love, various beautiful utterances concerning persons having sexual intercourse and the women fit for cohabitation, instigating sex-instinct; saying indecent words and crying aloud - should play. On that day, in the morning, the Pisacas of dreadful sight - the followers of Nikumbha - enter all the human beings. In the evening, they leave the body of one who does so and is bathed and enter that of another, cursing him, who does not do so. Then the bathed persons should worship Kes'ava.

407-8. With their bodies anointed and well-adorned, they should worship the Brahmanas and feast themselves in the company of friends, servants, wives and children. Since then, the human beings, especially the Brahmanas, should keep the fire kindled in their houses, at night, for a period of six months.

409-10. A lamp should be placed outside the home, at night, for one month. Till the full-moon night of Karttika, this Kaumudi - the giver of bliss - should be celebrated. Then after the passing away of that fortnight, there should be the celebration of "Sleep with happiness" (Sukha Suptika).

411. O Brahmana, listen to me who am saying as to how is that to-be celebrated on the fifteenth. None except the sick and the children should take meals on that day.

412-13. After sun-set, one should worship Laksmi and then lamp-trees should be placed in the temples of the gods, crossings of the roads, cremation grounds, rivers, hills, houses, bases of trees, cow-pens, court-yards and shops.

414-15. O twice-born, all the shops should be decorated with clothes. After that, in the place surrounded by rows of earthen lamps, O lord of the twice-born, a person, well adorned and dressed in new, should eat in the company of friends, relatives, the Brahmanas and servants.

416. Next day, the persons - well anointed and well decorated should gamble and listen to vocal and instrumental music.

417. They should also feast in the company of the persons mentioned above. For him who wins in that gambling, the year is auspicious.

418-19. During that night, the place where the beds are placed, should be well-decorated with perfumes, clothes, incense and jewels. It should also be surrounded by lines of lamps and perfumed with incense. That night should be spent by them in the company of wives.

420. O Candradeva, the friends, the relatives made by marriage and the maternal relatives should be honoured with new clothes and so also the Brahmanas and the servants in the proper manner.

421. On the eleventh night of the bright half of the month, the man observing fast should wake up God Hari with songs and dances.

422-23. In the month of Asadha, Kes'ava's statue, sleeping on the couch in the form of S'esa, should be made of stone, clay, gold, wood, copper, brass, silver or He may be painted in a picture. His feet should be shown in the lap of Laksmi.

424. O excellent sage, know from me the way in which that (deity) is to be awakened at the end of the bright half of Karttika.

425-27. During the night of the eleventh, vigil should be observed with songs, dances, instrumental music, Brahmaghosa, the sounds of Vina and Pataha, recitation of the Puranas, hearing of the Puranic stories, singing of devotional hymns, presentation of dramatic performances, charities, earth decorations, offerings of flowers and incenses, various sorts of eatable offerings, trees of lamps, and various sorts of fire-worships.

428-431. Having worshipped the image at night, with eatables like cakes, vegtables, rice boiled in milk, fruits, preparations of sugar-cane, honey, grapes, pomegranate, holy basil, and salt; with brush, red thread, red and white sand lewood, Alaktaka paint, seeds and fragrant saffron, the wise should wash the auspicious image after taking bath in the holy water of a river.

432-34. That awakened image made of the above-mentioned materials - if the figure be painted in a picture - ... should be carried on an altar and the wise should bathe that (image) placed on the seat, in the proper manner, in accordance with the rules of the Pancaratra and according to one's means firstly with clarified butter, oil, honey; then with curd and milk, and then with the five preparations of cow's milk.

435-39. Thereafter, should be applied to the image, the unguents, namely the ground seeds of Phaseolus Radiatus (masacurnam), the ground seeds of Ipomoea Turpethum (masuracurnam ), ( ground ) fruits of Emblic Myrobalan (amalakani), Symplocos Recemosa ( rodhram), Curcuma xanthorrhiza (kaleyakam), powder of Tabernaemontana coronaria (tagaram), the pericarp of a lotus (karnakam), the white mustard (siddharthakam), Pamcum Italicum (priyangu), fruits of citron (bijapurakam), all the medicinal herbs, all scents, all seeds, gold, auspicious things as far as these may be available, jewels, Kusa grass, water, clay dug out by means of elephant's tooth and bull's horn from the bank of a river, cow-pen, ant hill, confluence (of rivers), water-tank, the place of Indra ( king), the lake, and the peak of the mountain. Having given bath to the king of the gods with all these, one should give the auspicious yellow pigment called gorocana.

440. Then should be given, as far as the means may allow, pitchers made of gold, well decorated and full of the leaves of Jati flowers and fruits.

441-42. Having bathed Govinda amidst announcements of good day, recitation of Veda, tunes of Vina and Venu, the sounds of Sutas, Magadhas and Vandis, that well anointed, well decorated and well-dressed (Govinda) should be worshipped with Jati flowers along with buds.

443. Incense should be given along with pollen of flowers and beautiful earthen lamp. Then the god should be worshipped with rice boiled in milk.

444-45. Then the Bhagavatas should be honoured with gifts of grains and jewels. Thereafter should be performed fire-sacrifice and after that should be worshipped the Brahmanas, according to one's means, with clothes, ornaments, jewels, cows, horses, elephants and cash-money. One should take meals afterwards.

446. On the thirteenth should be honoured, as the means may allow, the persons whose means of livelihood is stage i.e. wrestlers, panegyrists etc.

447. On the fourteenth, either nothing should be taken or milk only may be taken and on the fifteenth should be worshipped Janardana, the god of the gods.

448-51. On Paurnamasi, nothing should be eaten during the day time. After the rising of the moon, Krttikas, Karttikeya, Khadga and Varuna along with Hutasana should be worshipped with garlands, scents, incenses, eatables of various kinds like the rice boiied in milk, vegetables, preparations of sugarcane, half ripe barley, cakes of sugar covered with seeds, beautiful trees of lamps and worship of the twice-born.

452-53. After performing worship thus, one should put the earthen lamp, which was placed at the outer side of the house for a month, in a basket and taking in the vicinity of water, make that flow along with some eatables. The bottom of the lamp should be painted with sandlewood.

454. Having made a fish of sand, one should fill it with milk, provide it with eyes of jewels, and then give it to a Brahmana.

455-56. Then a nice white bull - clothed, endowed with all scents and bearing all sorts of grains should be given to a twice-born according to one's means. He waits (for the donor) in the Kantara i.e. the path of the god of Death. By means of that (bull) the wise men, verily, cross the way of the god of Death.

457. The givers of the bull enjoy themselves in the heaven, for as many years as there are hair on the body of the bull.

458. After worshipping Visnu with red garlands, one should take milk etc. and then go to sleep.

459-60. Thus, the Awakening of the God should be observed for five days. The wise men should sleep on bare earth for five days and take bath daily in the cool water of the river.

461. The god Hari, the Brahmanas and the Fire should be worshipped. O descendant of Kasyapa, the eating of meat should be avoided even with great effort.

462. The meat-eaters, namely, the Danavas, the Yaksas, the Daityas, and the Pisacas along with the Raksasas avoid meat for these five days.

463. Having worshipped thus the lord of the gods, possessed of (the fulfilment of) all desires, one, having reached the end of life, is honoured in the world of Visnu.

464. It is in accordance with one's means that all this, may be even little, should be performed. One gets (by this) the whole merit. Dishonesty in money-matters should be avoided.

465-66. Formerly, Kasmira was constructed by the high- souled Kasyapa, on the first day after the passing away of the (full-moon day of) Karttika, so a festival should be cdebrated there on that day by all human beings - well-fed, well anointed, possessed of happy minds and surrounded by good people.

467. Vocal and instrumental music should be listened to and auspicious things should be resorted to. New clothes should be worn, and those who are given to drinking should drink.

468. The sun along with his ganas is pleased with him.

469. The same procedure should be followed on the seventh of Magha and also on the seventh of Asadha, by those who desire victory and renown.

470. O best among the twice-borns, this triad of the seventh days is compulsory. By following this procedure on all the seventh days, one is honoured in the world of the sun.

471-74. On the full-moon night of Margasirsa, one should take meals at night ( only), and worship the moon with white garland etc., grains, other types of food, gifts of lamps, fruits, gifts of salt, fire-worships, worship of the Brahmnas and worship of women (whose husbands and sons are alive). A pair of red clothes should be given to a Brahmana woman whose husband and sons are alive and also to a sister, father's sister and the wife of a friend. O best among the twice-born, this full-moon night should certainly be celebrated by the wise.

475-76 Others may be celebrated as the means allow or even may not be celebrated. By this, women get beautiful form and great prosperity. So the full-moon nights should be specially observed by women.

477. On the day on which falls the first snow, should be worshipped, O Brahmana, the Himalaya and the two seasons Hemanta and Sisira.

478 My worship should be performed and also that of the local Naga. Fruits and leaves growing on the Meru should be offered to the mountain.

479. Baka flowers (Grandiflora) should be offered and also the auspicious incense made of bdellium. O best among the twice-born, oblations of half ripe barley should also be made.

480. Food-preparations of half-ripe barley along with purified butter should be given to the Brahmanas, and a festival full of songs and dances should be celebrated.

481. On snow-fall, new wine should be drunk by those who are given to drinking. Special meals should be taken according to one's desire.

482. The goddess Syama should be worshipped with flowers, incense, paints, grains, food-preparations, fruits and roots by those who are well-anointed and well-decorated.

483-84. Clad in heavy cloaks and clothes, seated on the snow along with friends, servants, children and relatives, they should eat special food, listen to vocal and instrumental music, see dances of harlots and honour the ladies.

485-86. Sraddha should be performed with vegetables on the 8th of the dark-half of Pausa, with meat on the 8th of the dark-half of Magha, and with cakes of flour on the 8th of the bright-half of Phalguna, in the proper way, by a person intently devoted. On the 9th days of those very ( months and fortnights) should be performed Sraddhas for women.

487-88. After performing Sraddha one should pass the night, with effort, in celibacy. When the full-moon night of the Pausa be associated with Pusya, then a person, besmeared with the powder of white mustards, should anoint his body with purified butter.

489-92. Then shining greatly after taking bath from vessels full of all medicines, he should worship Narayana, Sakra, Soma, Pusya, Brhaspati, each one separately with water of honour, garlands, eatable offerings etc. Then, O twice-born, after performing sacrifice with Mantras belonging to the above-mentioned gods, he should worship the Brahmnas with wealth, and after touching auspicious things, he should eat preparation of purified butter and milk. A new silken cloth should be given to the officiating priest knowing (future) time.

493. Doing thus, a man obtains prosperity from the point of view of wealth and grains. So the bath of such type which destroys sins, should be performed.

494. When there is Uttarayana, one should bathe Madhusudana according to one's means. The devotee of Hara (should bathe) the god Hara.

495-96. After anointing the stone-images with purified butter, one should make similar images of purified butter. These images should be worshipped with purified butter, conscientiously, by the wise for a period of three months.

497. Fuel should be given to the Brahmanas and grass for the cows to the twice-borns, according to one's means.

498. One who does so, conquers well his enemies and obtains beauty born of the lustre of the fire of the body and also good resort (after death).

499-500. On the 12th of the dark half after the passing away of the full-moon night of Pausa, one, observing fast and bathed, should offer sesame and water. Having prepared the offering of sesame and having perforrned sacrifice with sesame, one should give sesame to the Brahmanas for the removal of all sins.

Other Purana Concepts:

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Discover the significance of concepts within the article: ‘Verses 401-500’. Further sources in the context of Purana might help you critically compare this page with similair documents:

Sexual intercourse, Human being, Observance of fast, Friends and relatives, Vocal and instrumental music, Observing fast, Full-moon night, Worship with flowers, Obtain prosperity, Company of friends, Worship the moon, Devotional hymns, Worship the Brahmanas, Well-adorned, Heavenly enjoyment, Avoidance of meat, Observe celibacy, Fifteenth night, Worship of the god, Performing Sraddha, Performance of Sraddha, Well decorated, Sraddha performed, Brahmanas and servants, Smeared with mud.

Concepts being referred within the main category of Hinduism context and sources.

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