Joshi
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From The Tribes And Castes Of The Central Provinces Of India
By R. V. Russell
Of The Indian Civil Service
Superintendent Of Ethnography, Central Provinces
Assisted By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner
Macmillan And Co., Limited, London, 1916.
NOTE 1: The 'Central Provinces' have since been renamed Madhya Pradesh.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from the original book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot these footnotes gone astray might like to shift them to their correct place.
Joshi
Joshi, Jyotishi, Bhadri, Parsai
JOSHI
List of Paragraphs
1. The village priest and astrologer.
2. The apparent path of the sun. The ecliptic or zodiac.
3. Inclination of the ecliptic to the equator.
4. The orbits of the moon and planets.
5. The signs of the zodiac.
6. The Sankrants.
7. The nakshatras or constellations of the moon's path.
8. The revolution of the moon.
9. The days of the week.
10. The lunar year.
11. Intercalary months.
12. Superstitions about numbers.
13. The Hindu months.
14. The solar nakshatras.
15. Lunar fortnights and days.
16. Divisions of the day.
17. The Joshi's calculations.
18. Personal names.
19. Terminations of names.
20. Women's names.
21. Special names and bad names.
The village priest and astrologer
Joshi, Jyotishi, Bhadri, Parsai. - The caste of village priests and astrologers. They numbered about 6000 persons in 1911, being distributed over all Districts. The Joshis are nearly all Brahmans, but have now developed into a separate caste and marry among themselves. Their social customs resemble those of Brahmans, and need not be described in detail. The Joshi officiates at weddings in the village, selects auspicious names for children according to the nakshatra or constellation of the moon under which they were born, and points out the auspicious time or mahurat for all such ceremonies and for the commencement of agricultural operations. He is also sometimes in charge of the village temples. He is supported by the contributions from the villagers, and often has a plot of land rent-free from the proprietor. The social position of the Joshis is not very good, and, though Brahmans, they are considered to rank somewhat below the cultivating castes, the Kurmis and Kunbis, by whose patronage they are supported. [210]
The Bhadris are a class of Joshis who wander about and live by begging, telling fortunes and giving omens. They avert the evil influences of the planet Saturn and accept the gifts offered to this end, which are always black, as black blankets, charcoal, tilli or sesamum oil, the urad pulse, [211] and iron. People born on Saturday or being otherwise connected with the planet are especially subject to his malign influence. The Joshi ascertains who these unfortunate persons are from their horoscopes, and neutralises the evil influence of the planet by the acceptance of the gifts already mentioned, while he sometimes also receives a buffalo or a cow. He computes by astrological calculations the depth at which water will be found when a cultivator wishes to dig a well. He also practises palmistry, classifying the whorls of the fingers into two patterns, called the Shank or conch-shell and Chakra or discus of Vishnu. The Shank is considered to be unfortunate and the Chakra fortunate. The lines on the balls of the toes and on the forehead are similarly classified. When anything has been lost or stolen the Joshi can tell from the daily nakshatra or mansion of the moon in which the loss or theft occurred whether the property has gone to the north, south, east or west, and within what interval it is likely to be found. The people have not nowadays much faith in his prophetic powers, and they say, "If clouds come on Friday, and the sky is black on Saturday, then the Joshi foretells that it will rain on Sunday." The Joshi's calculations are all based on the rashis or signs of the zodiac through which the sun passes during the year, and the nakshatras or those which mark the monthly revolutions of the moon. These are given in all Hindu almanacs, and most Joshis simply work from the almanac, being quite ignorant of astronomy. Since the measurement of the sun's apparent path on the ecliptic, and the moon's orbit mapped out by the constellations are of some interest, and govern the arrangement of the Hindu calendar, it has been thought desirable to give some account of them. And in order to make this intelligible it is desirable first to recapitulate some elementary facts of astronomy.
The apparent path of the sun. The ecliptic or zodiac.
The universe may be conceived for the purpose of understanding the sun's path among the stars as if it were a huge ball, of which looking from the earth's surface we see part of the inside with the stars marked on it, as on the inside of a dome. This imaginary inside of a ball is called the celestial sphere, and the ancients believed that it actually existed, and also, in order to account for the varying distances of the stars, supposed that there were several of them, one inside the other, and each with a number of stars fixed to it. The sun and earth may be conceived as smaller solid balls suspended inside this large one. Then looking from the surface of the earth we see the sun outlined against the inner surface of the imaginary celestial sphere. And as the earth travels round the sun in its orbit, the appearance to us is that the sun moves over the surface of the celestial sphere. The following figure will make this clear. [212]
Thus when the earth is at A in its orbit the sun will appear to be at M, and as the earth travels from A to B the sun will appear to move from M to N on the line of the ecliptic. It will be seen that as the earth in a year makes a complete circuit round the sun, the sun will appear to have made a complete circuit among the stars, and have come back to its original position. This apparent movement is annual, and has nothing to do with the sun's apparent diurnal course over the sky, which is caused by the earth's daily rotation on its axis. The sun's annual path among the stars naturally cannot be observed during the day. Professor Newcomb says: "But the fact of the motion will be made very clear if, day after day, we watch some particular fixed star in the west. We shall find that it sets earlier and earlier every day; in other words, it is getting continually nearer and nearer the sun. More exactly, since the real direction of the star is unchanged, the sun seems to be approaching the star.
"If we could see the stars in the daytime all round the sun, the case would be yet clearer. We should see that if the sun and a star were together in the morning, the sun would, during the day, gradually work past the star in an easterly direction. Between the rising and setting it would move nearly its own diameter, relative to the star. Next morning we should see that it had got quite away from the star, being nearly two diameters distant from it. This motion would continue month after month. At the end of the year the sun would have made a complete circuit relative to the star, and we should see the two once more together. This apparent motion of the sun in one year round the celestial sphere was noticed by the ancients, who took much trouble to map it out. They imagined a line passing round the celestial sphere, which the sun always followed in its annual course, and which was called the ecliptic. They noticed that the planets followed nearly the same course as the sun among the stars. A belt extending on each side of the ecliptic, and broad enough to contain all the known planets, as well as the sun, was called the zodiac. It was divided into twelve signs, each marked by a constellation. The sun went through each sign in a month, and through all twelve signs in a year. Thus arose the familiar signs of the zodiac, which bore the same names as the constellations among which they are situated. This is not the case at present, owing to the precession of the equinoxes." It was by observing the paths of the sun and moon round the celestial sphere along the zodiac that the ancients came to be able to measure the solar and lunar months and years.
Inclination of the ecliptic to the equator.
As is well known, the celestial sphere is imagined to be spanned by an imaginary line called the celestial equator, which is in the same plane as the earth's equator, and as it were, a vast concentric circle. The points in the celestial sphere opposite the north and south terrestrial poles are called the north and south celestial poles, and the celestial equator is midway between these. Owing to the special form of the earth the north celestial pole is visible to us in the northern hemisphere, and marked very nearly by the pole-star, its height above the horizon being equal to the latitude of the place where the observer stands. Owing to the daily rotation of the earth the whole celestial sphere seems to revolve daily on the axis of the north and south celestial poles, carrying the sun, moon and stars with it. To this the apparent daily course of the sun and moon is due. Their course seems to us oblique, as we are north of the equator.
If the earth's axis were set vertically to the plane of its orbit round the sun, then it would follow that the plane of the equator would pass through the centre of the sun, and that the line drawn by the sun in its apparent revolution against the background of the celestial sphere would be in the same plane. That is, the sun would seem to move round a circle in the heavens in the same plane as the earth's equator, or round the celestial equator. But the earth's axis is inclined at 23 1/2° to the plane of its orbit, and therefore the apparent path traced by the sun in the celestial sphere, which is the same path as the earth would really follow to an observer on the surface of the sun, is inclined at 23 1/2° to the celestial equator. This is the ecliptic, and is really the line of the plane of the earth's orbit extended to cut the celestial sphere.
The orbits of the moon and planets.
All the planets move round the sun in orbits whose planes are slightly inclined to that of the earth, the plane of Mercury having the greatest inclination of 6°. The plane of the moon's orbit round the earth is also inclined at 5° 9' to the ecliptic. The orbits of the moon and all the planets must necessarily intersect the plane of the earth's orbit on the ecliptic at two points, and these are called the nodes of the moon and each planet respectively. In consequence of the inclination being so slight, though the course of the moon and planets is not actually on the ecliptic, they are all so close to it that they are included in the belt of the zodiac. Thus the moon and all the planets follow almost the same apparent course on the zodiac or belt round the ecliptic in the changes of position resulting from their own and the earth's orbital movements with reference to what are called the fixed stars.
The signs of the zodiac.
As the sun completes his circuit of the ecliptic or zodiac in the course of a year, it followed that if his course could be measured and divided into periods, these periods would form divisions of time for the year. This was what the ancients did, and it is probable that the measurement and division of time was the primary object of the science of astronomy, as apart from the natural curiosity to ascertain the movements of the sun, moon and planets, when they were looked upon as divine beings controlling the world. They divided the zodiac or the path of the sun into twelve parts, and gave to each part the name of the principal constellation situated on, or adjacent to, that section of the line of the ecliptic. When they had done this and observed the dates of the sun's entry into each sign or rashi, as it is called in Hindi, they had divided the year into twelve solar months. The following are the Hindu names and meanings of the signs of the zodiac:
1. Aries. The ram. Mesha.
2. Taurus. The bull. Vrisha.
3. Gemini. The twins. Mithuna.
4. Cancer. The crab. Karkati.
5. Leo. The lion. Sinha.
6. Virgo. The virgin. Kanya.
7. Libra. The balance. Tula.
8. Scorpio. The scorpion. Vrischika.
9. Sagittarius. The archer. Dhanus or Chapa.
10. Capricornus. The goat. Makara (said to mean a
sea-monster).
11. Aquarius. The water-bearer. Kumbha (a water-pot).
12. Pisces. The fishes. Mina.
The signs of the zodiac were nearly the same among the Greeks,
Egyptians, Persians, Babylonians and Indians. They are supposed
to have originated in Chaldea or Babylonia, and the fact that the
constellations are indicated by nearly the same symbols renders their
common origin probable. It seems likely that the existing Hindu zodiac
may have been adopted from the Greeks.
The Sankrants.
The solar year begins with the entrance of the sun into Mesha or Aries. [213] The day on which the sun passes into a new sign is called Sankrant, and is to some extent observed as a holy day. But the Til Sankrant or entry of the sun into Makara or Capricorn, which falls about the 15th January, is a special festival, because it marks approximately the commencement of the sun's northern progress and the lengthening of the days, as Christmas roughly does with us. On this day every Hindu who is able bathes in a sacred river at the hour indicated by the Joshis of the sun's entrance into the sign. Presents of til or sesamum are given to the Joshi, owing to which the day is called Til Sankrant. People also sometimes give presents to each other.
The nakshatras or constellations of the moon's path.
The Sankrants do not mark the commencement of the Hindu months, which are still lunar and are adjusted to the solar year by intercalation. It is probable that long before they were able to measure the sun's progress along the ecliptic the ancients had observed that of the moon, which it was much easier to do, as she is seen among the stars at night. Similarly there is little reason to doubt that the first division of time was the lunar month, which can be remarked by every one. Ancient astronomers measured the progress of the moon's path along the ecliptic and divided it into twenty-seven sections, each of which represented roughly a day's march. Each section was distinguished by a group of stars either on the ecliptic or so near it, either in the northern or southern hemisphere, as to be occultated by the moon or capable of being in conjunction with it or the planets. These constellations are called nakshatras. Naturally, some of these constellations are the same as those subsequently chosen to mark the sun's path or the signs of the zodiac. In some cases a zodiacal constellation is divided into two nakshatras. Like the signs, the nakshatras were held to represent animals or natural objects. The following is a list of them with their corresponding stars, and the object which each was supposed to represent: [214]
Nakshatra. Constellation. Object. Corresponding zodiacal sign.
1. Aswini. b and g Arietis. A horse's Aries. head.
2. Bharani. 35, 39 and 41 Pudendum Aries. Arietis. muliebre.
3. Krittika. Pleiades. A knife. Part of Taurus.
4. Rohini. a, g, d, e, th A wheeled Taurus. Tauri carriage or a (Aldebaran). temple.
5. Mrigasiras. l, ph1, ph2, A deer's Orionis (Orion's head. head).
6. Ardra. Betelgeux or a A gem. Orionis (one of Orion's arms).
7. Punarvasu. Gemini or Castor A house. Gemini. and Pollux.
8. Pushya. g, d and th An arrow. Cancer. Cancri.
9. Aslesha. d, e, ê, r and s A wheel. Hydrae.
10. Magha. a, g, e, z, ê and A house. Leo.
m Leonis.
11. Purva d and th Leonis. A couch. Leo. Phalguni.
12. Uttara b and 93 Leonis. A bed. Leo. Phalguni.
13. Hasta. a, b, g, d and e A hand. Corvi.
14. Chitra. Spica (a A pearl. Virgo. Virginis).
15. Swati. Arcturus (a A coral bead. Boötis).
16. Visacha. a, b, g and i A garland. Libra. Librae.
17. Anuradha. b, A sacrifice or Scorpio. d and p offering. Scorpionis.
18. Jyestha. a, s and t An earring. Scorpio. Scorpionis.
19. Mula. e, z, ê, th, i, A lion's Scorpio. k, l, m, y tail. Scorpionis. 20. Purva d and e A couch or an Sagittarius. Ashadha. Sagittarii. elephant's tusk.
21. Uttara z and s An elephant's Sagittarius. Ashadha. Sagittarii. tusk or the singara nut.
22. Sravana. a, b and g The footprint Aquilae. of Vishnu.
23. Dhanishtha. a, b, g and d A drum. Delphinis.
24. Sata-bhishaj. l Aquarii. A circular Aquarius. jewel or a circle.
25. Purva a and b Pegasi. A two-faced Bhadrapada. image.
26. Uttara g Pegasi and a A two-faced Bhadrapada. Andromedae. image or a couch.
27. Revati. z Piscium. A tabor. Pisces.
The revolution of the moon.
All the zodiacal constellations are thus included in the nakshatras except Capricorn, for which Aquila and Delphinis are substituted. These, as well as Hydra, are a considerable distance from the ecliptic, but may perhaps be nearer the moon's path, which, as already seen, slightly diverges from it. But this point has not been ascertained by me. The moon completes the circuit of the heavens in its orbit round the earth in a little less than a lunar month or 27 days 8 hours. As twenty-seven nakshatras were demarcated, it seems clear that a nakshatra was meant to represent the distance travelled by the moon in a day. Subsequently a twenty-eighth small nakshatra was formed called Abhijit, out of Uttarashadha and Sravana, and this may have been meant to represent the fractional part of the day. The days of the lunar month have each, as a matter of fact, a nakshatra allotted to them, which is recorded in all Hindu almanacs, and enters largely into the Joshi's astrological calculations. It may have been the case that prior to the naming of the days of the week, the days of the lunar month were distinguished by the names of their nakshatras, but this could only have been among the learned. For though there was a nakshatra for every day of the moon's path round the ecliptic, the same days in successive months could not have the same nakshatras on account of what is called the synodical revolution of the moon. The light of the moon comes from the sun, and we see only that part of it which is illuminated by the sun. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, the light hemisphere is invisible to us, and there is no moon. When the moon is on the opposite side of the earth to the sun we see the whole of the illuminated hemisphere, and it is full moon. Thus in the time between one new moon and the next, the moon must proceed from its position between the earth and the sun to the same position again, and to do this it has to go somewhat more than once round the ecliptic, as is shown by the following figure. [215]
The days of the week.
As during the moon's circuit of the earth, the earth is also travelling on its orbit, the moon will not be between the earth and the sun again on completion of its orbit, but will have to traverse the further arc shown in the figure to come between the earth and the sun. When the moon has completed the circle of the ecliptic from the position ME, its position relative to the earth has become as NF and it has not yet come between the earth and the sun. Hence while the moon completes the circuit of the ecliptic [216] in 27 days 8 hours, the time from one new moon to another is 29 days 13 hours. Hence the nakshatras will not fall on the same days in successive lunar months, and would not be suitable as names for the days. It seems that, recognising this, the ancient astronomers had to find other names. They had the lunar fortnights of 14 or 15 days from new to full and full to new moon. Hence apparently they hit on the plan of dividing these into half and regulating the influence which the sun, moon and planets were believed to exercise over events in the world by allotting one day to each of them. They knew of five planets besides the sun and moon, and by giving a day to each of them the seven-day week was formed. The term planet signifies a wanderer, and it thus perhaps seemed suitable that they should give their names to the days which would revolve endlessly in a cycle, as they themselves did in the heavens. The names of the days are:
Etwar or Raviwar. Sunday. (Ravi - the sun.)
Somwar. Monday. (Soma - the moon.)
Mangalwar. Tuesday. (Mangal or Bhauma - Mars.)
Budhwar. Wednesday. (Buddha - Mercury.)
Brihaspatwar or Guru. Thursday. (Brihaspat or Guru - Jupiter.)
Shukurwar. Friday. (Shukra - Venus.)
Saniwar or Sanichara. Saturday. (Sani - Saturn.)
The termination vara means a day. The weekdays were similarly named in
Rome and other countries speaking Aryan languages, and they are readily
recognised in French. In English three days are named after the sun,
moon and Saturn, but four, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,
are called after Scandinavian deities, the last three being Woden or
Odin, Thor and Freya. I do not know whether these were identified with
the planets. It is supposed that the Hindus obtained the seven-day
week from the Greeks. [217]
The lunar year.
Four seven-day weeks were within a day and a fraction of the lunar month, which was the nearest that could be got. The first method of measuring the year would be by twelve lunar months, which would bring it back nearly to the same period. But as the lunar month is 29 days 13 hours, twelve months would be 354 days 12 hours, or nearly eleven days less than the tropical solar year. Hence if the lunar year was retained the months would move back round the year by about eleven days annually. This is what actually happens in the Muhammadan calendar where the twelve lunar months have been retained and the Muharram and other festivals come earlier every year by about eleven days.
Intercalary months.
In order to reconcile the lunar and solar years the Hindus hit upon an ingenious device. It was ordained that any month in which the sun did not enter a new sign of the zodiac would not count and would be followed by another month of the same name. Thus in the month of Chait the sun must enter the sign Mesha or Aries. If he does not enter it during the lunar month there will be an intercalary Chait, followed by the proper month of the same name during which the sun will enter Mesha. [218] Such an intercalary month is called Adhika. An intercalary month, obtained by having two successive lunar months of the same name, occurs approximately once in three years, and by this means the reckoning by twelve lunar months is adjusted to the solar year. On the other hand, the sun very occasionally passes two Sankrants or enters into two fresh signs during the lunar month. This is rendered possible by the fact that the time occupied by the sun in passing through different signs of the zodiac varies to some extent. It is said that the zodiac was divided into twelve equal signs of 30° each or 1° for each day, as at this period it was considered that the year was 360 days. [219] Possibly in adjusting the signs to 365 odd days some alterations may have been made in their length, or errors discovered. At any rate, whatever may be the reason, the length of the sun's periods in the signs, or of the solar months, varies from 31 days 14 hours to 29 days 8 hours. Three of the months are less than the lunar month, and hence it is possible that two Sankrants or passages of the sun into a fresh sign may occasionally occur in the same lunar month. When this happens, following the same rule as before, the month to which the second Sankrant properly belongs, that is the one following that in which two Sankrants occur, is called a Kshaya or eliminated month and is omitted from the calendar. Intercalary months occur generally in the 3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 16th and 18th years of a cycle of nineteen years, or seven times in nineteen years. It is found that in each successive cycle only one or two months are changed, so that the same month remains intercalary for several cycles of nineteen years and then gives way generally to one of the months preceding and rarely to the following month. Suppressed months occur at intervals varying from 19 to 141 years, and in a year when a suppressed month occurs there must always be one intercalary month and not infrequently there are two. [220]
This method of adjusting the solar and lunar years, though clumsy, is so far scientific that the solar and lunar years are made to agree without any artificial intercalation of days. It has, however, the great disadvantages of the frequent intercalary month, and also of the fact that the lunar months begin on different dates in the English solar calendar, varying by nearly twenty days.
Superstitions about numbers.
It seems not improbable that the unlucky character of the number thirteen may have arisen from its being the number of the intercalary month. Though the special superstition against sitting down thirteen to a meal is, no doubt, associated particularly with the Last Supper, the number is generally unlucky as a date and in other connections. And this is not only the case in Europe, but the Hindus, Persians and Parsis also consider thirteen an unlucky number; and the Muhammadans account for a similar superstition by saying that Muhammad was ill for the first thirteen days of the month Safar. Twelve, as being the number of the months in the lunar and solar years, is an auspicious number; thirteen would be one extra, and as being the intercalary month would be here this year and missing next year. Hence it might be supposed that one of thirteen persons met together would be gone at their next meeting like the month. Similarly, the auspicious character of the number seven may be due to its being the total of the sun, moon and five planets, and of the days of the week named after them. And the number three may have been invested with mystic significance as representing the sun, moon and earth. In the Hindu Trinity Vishnu and Siva are the sun and moon, and Brahma, who created the earth, and has since remained quiescent, may have been the personified representative of the earth itself.
The Hindu months.
The names of the Hindu months were selected from among those of the nakshatras, every second or third being taken and the most important constellations apparently chosen. The following statement shows the current names for the months, the nakshatras from which they are derived, and the constellations they represent:
Month. Nakshatra. Constellation.
1. Chait. Chitra. Virgo.
2. Baisakh. Visacha. Libra.
3. Jeth. Jyestha. Scorpio.
4. Asarh. Purva Ashadha. Sagittarius.
Uttara Ashadha.
5. Shrawan. Sravana. Aquila.
6. Bhadon. Purva (E) Bhadrapada. Pegasus. Uttara (N) Bhadrapada.
7. Kunwar or Aswini. Aries. Aswin.
8. Kartik. Krittika. Pleiades (Part of Taurus).
9. Aghan or Mrigasiras. Orion. Margashir.
10. Pus. Pushya. Cancer.
11. Magh. Magha. Leo.
12. Phagun. Purva (E) Phalguni. Leo. Uttara (N) Phalguni.
Thus if the Pleiades are reckoned as part of Taurus, [221] eight
zodiacal signs give their names to months as well as Orion, Pegasus
and Aquila, while two months are included in Leo. It appears that
in former times the year began with Pus or December, as the month
Margashir was also called Aghan or Agrahana, or 'That which went
before,' that is the month before the new year. But the renewal
of vegetation in the spring has exercised a very powerful effect
on the primitive mind, being marked by the Holi festival in India,
corresponding to the Carnival in Europe. The vernal equinox was thus
perhaps selected as the most important occasion and the best date
for beginning the new year, which now commences in northern India
with the new moon of Chait, immediately following the Holi festival,
when the sun is in the sign of Mesha or Aries. At first the months
appear to have travelled round the year, but subsequently they were
fixed by ordaining that the month of Chait should begin with the new
moon during the course of which the sun entered the sign Aries. [222]
The constellation Chitra, from which the sign is named, is nearly
opposite to this in the zodiac, as shown by the above figure. [223]
Consequently, the full moon, being nearly opposite the sun on the ecliptic, would be in the sign Chitra or near it. In southern India the months begin with the full moon, but in northern India with the new moon; it seems possible that the months were called after the nakshatra, of the full moon to distinguish them from the solar months which would be called after the sign of the zodiac in which the sun was. But no authoritative explanation seems to be available. Similarly, the nakshatras after which the other months are named, fall nearly opposite to them at the new moon, while the full moon would be in or near them.
The solar nakshatras.
The periods during which the sun passes through each nakshatra are also recorded, and they are of course constant in date like the solar months. As there are twenty-seven nakshatras, the average time spent by the sun in each is about 13 1/2 days. These periods are well known to the people as they have the advantage of not varying in date like the lunar months, while over most of India the solar months are not used. The commencement of the various agricultural operations is dated by the solar nakshatras, and there are several proverbs about them in connection with the crops. The following are some examples: "If it does not rain in Pushya and Punarvasu Nakshatras the children of Nimar will go without food." 'Rain in Magha Nakshatra (end of August) is like food given by a mother,' because it is so beneficial. "If there is no wind in Mrigasiras (beginning of June), and no heat in Rohini (end of May), sell your plough-cattle and go and look for work." 'If it rains during Uttara (end of September) dogs will turn up their noses at grain,' because the harvest will be so abundant. "If it rains during Aslesha (first half of August) the wheat-stalks will be as stout as drum-sticks" (because the land will be well ploughed). 'If rain falls in Chitra or Swati Nakshatras (October) there won't be enough cotton for lamp-wicks.'
Lunar fortnights and days.
The lunar month was divided into two fortnights called paksha or wing. The period of the waxing moon was known as sukla or sudi paksha, that is the light fortnight, and that of the waning moon as krishna or budi paksha, that is the dark fortnight.
Each lunar month was also divided into thirty equal periods, called tithis or lunar days. Since there are less than thirty days in the lunar month, a tithi does not correspond to an ordinary day, but begins and ends at odd hours of the day. Nevertheless the tithis are printed in all almanacs, and are used for the calculation of auspicious moments. [224]
Divisions of the day.
The day is divided for ordinary purposes of measuring time into eight pahars or watches, four of the day and four of the night; and into sixty gharis or periods of twenty-four minutes each. The pahars, however, are not of equal length. At the equinox the first and fourth pahar of the day and night each contain eight gharis, and the two middle ones seven gharis. In summer the first and fourth pahars of the day contain nine gharis each, and the two middle ones eight each, while the first and fourth pahars of the night contain seven and the two middle ones six each. Thus in summer the four day pahars contain 13 hours 36 minutes and the night ones 10 hours 24 minutes. And in winter the exact opposite is the case, the night pahars being lengthened and the day ones shortened in precisely the same manner. No more unsatisfactory measure of time could well be devised. The termination of the second watch or do pahar always corresponds with midday and midnight respectively.
The apparatus with which the hours were measured and announced consisted of a shallow metal pan, named from its office, gharial, and suspended so as to be easily struck with a wooden mallet by the ghariali. He measured the passing of a ghari by an empty thin brass cup or katori, perforated at the bottom, and placed on the surface of a large vessel filled with water, where nothing could disturb it; the water came through the small hole in the bottom of the cup and filled it, causing it to sink in the period of one ghari. At the expiration of each ghari the gharial struck its number from one to nine with a mallet on a brass plate, and at the end of each pahar he struck a gujar or eight strokes to announce the fact, followed by one to four hollow-sounding strokes to indicate the number of the pahar. This custom is still preserved in the method by which the police-guards of the public offices announce the hours on a gong and subsequently strike four, eight and twelve strokes to proclaim these hours of the day and night by our clock. Only rich men could afford to maintain a gharial, as four persons were required to attend to it during the day and four at night. [225]
The Joshi's calculations.
The Joshi calculates auspicious [226] seasons by a consideration of the sun's zodiacal sign, the moon's nakshatra or daily mansion, and other rules. From the monthly zodiacal signs and daily nakshatras in which children are born, as recorded in their horoscopes, he calculates whether their marriage will be auspicious. Thus the zodiacal signs are supposed to be divided among the four castes, Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio belonging to the Brahman; Aries, Leo and Sagittarius to the Kshatriya; Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn to the Vaishya; and Gemini, Libra and Aquarius to the Sudra. If the boy and girl were born under any of the three signs of the same caste it is a happy conjunction. If the boy's sign was of a caste superior to the girl's, it is suitable, but if the girl's sign is of a superior caste to the boy's it is an omen that she will rule the household; and though the marriage may take place, certain ceremonies should be performed to obviate this effect. There is also a division of the zodiacal signs according to their nature. Thus Virgo, Libra, Gemini, Aquarius and half of Sagittarius are considered to be of the nature of man, or formed by him; Aries, Taurus, half of Sagittarius and half of Capricorn are of the nature of animals; Cancer, Pisces and half of Capricorn are of a watery nature; Leo is of the desert or wild nature; and Scorpio is of the nature of insects. If the boy and girl were both born under signs of the same nature their marriage will be auspicious, but if they were born under signs of different natures, they will share only half the blessings and comforts of the marriage state, and may be visited by strife, enmity, misery or distress. As Leo and Scorpio are looked upon as being enemies, evil consequences are much dreaded from the marriage of a couple born under these signs. There are also numerous rules regarding the nakshatras or mansions of the moon and days of the week under which the boy and girl were born, but these need not be reproduced. If on the day of the wedding the sun or any of the planets passes from one zodiacal sign to another, the wedding must be delayed for a certain number of gharis or periods of twenty-four minutes, the number varying for each planet. The hours of the day are severally appointed to the seven planets and the twelve zodiacal signs, and the period of ascendancy of a sign is known as lagan; this name is also given to the paper specifying the day and hour which have been calculated as auspicious for the wedding. It is stated that no weddings should be celebrated during the period of occultation of the planets Jupiter and Venus, nor on the day before new moon, nor the Sankrant or day on which the sun passes from one zodiacal sign to another, nor in the Singhast year, when the planet Jupiter is in the constellation Leo. This takes place once in twelve years. Marriages are usually prohibited during the four months of the rainy season, and sometimes also in Pus, Jeth or other months.
Personal names.
The Joshi names children according to the moon's daily nakshatra under which they were born, each nakshatra having a letter or certain syllables allotted to it with which the name must begin. Thus Magha has the syllables Ma, Mi, Mu and Me, with which the name should begin, as Mansaram, Mithu Lal, Mukund Singh, Meghnath; Purwa Phalguni has Mo and Te, as Moji Lal and Tegi Lal; Punarvasu has Ke, Ko, Ha and Hi, as Kesho Rao, Koshal Prasad, Hardyal and Hira Lal, and so on. The primitive idea connecting a name with the thing or person to which it belongs is that the name is actually a concrete part of the person or object, containing part of his life, just as the hair, nails and all the body are believed to contain part of the life, which is not at first localised in any part of the body nor conceived of as separate from it. The primitive mind could conceive no abstract idea, that is nothing that could not be seen or heard, and it could not think of a name as an abstract appellation. The name was thought of as part of that to which it was applied. Thus, if one knew a man's name, it was thought that one could use it to injure him, just as if one had a piece of his hair or nails he could be injured through them because they all contained part of his life; and if a part of the life was injured or destroyed the remainder would also suffer injury, just as the whole body might perish if a limb was cut off. For this reason savages often conceal their real names, so as to prevent an enemy from obtaining power to injure them through its knowledge. By a development of the same belief it was thought that the names of gods and saints contained part of the divine life and potency of the god or saint to whom they were applied. And even separated from the original owner the name retained that virtue which it had acquired in association; hence the power assigned to the names of gods and superhuman beings when used in spells and incantations. Similarly, if the name of a god or saint was given to a child it was thought that some part of the nature and virtue of the god might be conferred on the child. Thus Hindu children are most commonly named after gods and goddesses under the influence of this idea; and though the belief may now have decayed the practice continues. Similarly the common Muhammadan names are epithets of Allah or god or of the Prophet and his relations. Jewish children are named after the Jewish patriarchs. In European countries the most common male names are those of the Apostles, as John, Peter, James, Paul, Simon, Andrew and Thomas; and the names of the Evangelists were, until recently, also given. The most common girl's name in several European countries is Mary, and a generation or two ago other Biblical names, as Sarah, Hannah, Ruth, Rachel, and so on, were very usually given to girls. In England the names next in favour for boys and girls are those of kings and queens, and the same idea perhaps originally underlay the application of these names. The following are some of the best-known Hindu names, taken from those of gods: -
Names of Vishnu.
Narayan. Probably 'The abode of mortals,' or else 'He who dwelt on the waters (before creation)'; now applied to the sun. Waman. The dwarf, one of Vishnu's incarnations. Janardan. Said to mean protector of the people. Narsingh. The man-lion, one of Vishnu's incarnations. Hari. Yellow or gold-colour or green. Perhaps applied to the sun. Parashram. From Parasurama or Rama with the axe, one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Gadadhar. Wielder of the club or gada. Jagannath. Lord of the world. Dinkar. The sun, or he who makes the days (din karna). Bhagwan. The fortunate or illustrious. Anant. The infinite or eternal. Madhosudan. Destroyer of the demon Madho (Madho means honey or wine). Pandurang. Yellow-coloured.
Names of Rama, or Vishnu's Great Incarnation as King Rama of Ayodhia.
Ramchandra, the moon of Rama, and Rambaksh, the gift of Rama, are the commonest Hindu male names. Atmaram. Soul of Rama. Sitaram. Rama and Sita his wife. Ramcharan. The footprint of Rama. Sakharam. The friend of Rama. Sewaram. Servant of Rama.
Names of Krishna.
Krishna and its diminutive Kishen are very common names. Kanhaiya. A synonym for Krishna. Damodar. Because his mother tied him with a rope to a large tree to keep him quiet and he pulled up the tree, roots and all. Balkishen. The boy Krishna. Ghansiam. The dark-coloured or black one (like dark clouds); probably referring to the belief that Krishna belonged to the non-Aryan races. Madan Mohan. The enchanter of love. Manohar. The heart-stealer. Yeshwant. The glorious. Kesho. Having long, fine hair. A name of Krishna. Also the destroyer of the demon Keshi, who was covered with hair. It would appear that the epithet was first applied to Krishna himself and afterwards to a demon whom he was supposed to have destroyed. Balwant. Strong. An epithet of Krishna, used in conjunction with other names. Madhava. Honey-sweet or belonging to the spring, vernal. Girdhari. He who held up the mountain. Krishna held up the mountain Govardhan, balancing the peak on his finger to protect the people from the destructive rains sent by Indra. Shiamsundar. The dark and beautiful one. Nandkishore, Nandkumar. Child of Nand the cowherd, Krishna's foster-father.
Names of Siva.
Sadasheo. Siva the everlasting. Mahadeo. The great god. Trimbak. The three-eyed one (?). Gangadhar. The holder of the Ganges, because it flows from Siva's hair. Kashinath. The lord of Benares. Kedarnath. The lord of cedars (referring to the pine-forests of the Himalayas). Nilkanth. The blue-jay sacred to Siva. Name of Siva because his throat is bluish-black either from swallowing poison at the time of the churning of the ocean or from drinking large quantities of bhang. Shankar. He who gives happiness. Vishwanath. Lord of the universe. Sheo Prasad. Gift of Siva.
Names of Ganpati or Ganesh.
Ganpati is itself a very common name. Vidhyadhar. The lord of learning. Vinayak. The remover of difficulties. Ganesh Prasad. Gift of Ganesh. A child born on the fourth day of any month will often be given this name, as Ganesh was born on the 4th Bhadon (August).
Names of Hanuman.
Hanuman itself is a very common name. Maroti, son of Marut the god of the wind. Mahavira or Mahabir. The strong one.
Other common sacred names are: Amrit, the divine nectar, and Moreshwar,
lord of the peacock, perhaps an epithet of the god Kartikeya. Men
are also often named after jewels, as: Hira Lal, diamond; Panna Lal,
emerald; Ratan Lal, a jewel; Kundan Lal, fine gold. A child born
on the day of full moon may be called Puran Chand, which means full
moon. There are of course many other male names, but those here given
are the commonest. Children are also frequently named after the day
or month in which they were born.
19. Terminations of names.
Common terminations of male names are: Charan, footprint; Das, slave; Prasad, food offered to a god; Lal, dear; Datta, gift, commonly used by Maithil Brahmans; Din or Baksh, which also means gift; Nath, lord of; and Dulare, dear to. These are combined with the names of gods, as: Kalicharan, footprint of Kali; Ram Prasad or Kishen Prasad, an offering to Rama or Krishna; Bishen Lal, dear to Vishnu; Ganesh Datta, a gift from Ganesh; Ganga Din, a gift from the Ganges; Sheo Dulare, dear to Siva; Vishwanath, lord of the universe. Boys are sometimes given the names of goddesses with such terminations, as Lachmi or Janki Prasad, an offering to these goddesses. A child born on the 8th of light Chait (April) will be called Durga Prasad, as this day is sacred to the goddess Durga or Devi.
Women's names.
Women are also frequently named after goddesses, as: Parvati, the consort of Siva; Sita, the wife of Rama; Janki, apparently another name for Sita; Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, and the goddess of wealth; Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom; Radha, the beloved of Krishna; Dasoda, the foster-mother of Krishna; Dewaki, who is supposed to have been the real mother of Krishna; Durga, another name for Siva's consort; Devi, the same as Durga and the earth-goddess; Rukhmini, the bright or shining one, a consort of Vishnu; and Tulsi, the basil-plant, sacred to Vishnu.
Women are also named after the sacred rivers, as: Ganga, Jamni or Yamuni (Jumna); Gomti, the river on which Lucknow stands; Godha or Gautam, after the Godavari river; and Bhagirathi, another name for the Ganges. The river Nerbudda is commonly found as a man's name, especially in places situated on its banks. Other names of women are: Sona, gold; Puna, born at the full moon; Manohra, enchanting; Kamala, the lotus; Indumati, a moonlight night; Sumati, well-minded; Sushila, well-intentioned; Srimati, wealthy; Amrita, nectar; Phulwa, a flower; Imlia, the tamarind; Malta, jasmine; and so on.
If a girl is born after four sons she will be called Pancho or fifth, and one born in the unlucky Mul Nakshatra is called Mulia. When a girl is married and goes to her husband's house her name is always changed there. If two girls have been married into the household, they may be called Bari Bohu and Choti Bohu, or the elder and younger daughters-in-law; or a girl may be called after the place from which she comes, as Jabalpurwali, Raipurwali, and so on.
Special names and bad names.
The higher castes have two names, one given by the Joshi, which is called rashi-ka-nam or the ceremonial name, rashi meaning the Nakshatra or moon's daily mansion under which the child was born. This is kept secret and only used in marriage and other ceremonies, though the practice is now tending to decay. The other is the chaltu or current name, and may either be a second ordinary name, such as those already given, or it may be taken from some peculiarity of the child. Names of the latter class are: Bhura, brown; Putro, a doll, given to a pretty child; Dukali, born in famine-time; Mahinga, dear or expensive; Chhota, little; Babu, equivalent to little prince or noble; Papa, father; Kakku, born in the cucumber season; Lada, pet; Pattu, a somersault; Judawan, cooling, and so on. Bad names are also given to avert ill-luck and remove the enmity of the spirits hostile to children, if the mother's previous babies have been lost. Instances of these are Raisa, short in stature; Lula, having a maimed arm; Ghasita, dragged along on a board; Damru, bought for a farthing; Khairati, alms; Dukhi, pain; Kubra, hunch-back; Gudri, rag; Kana, one-eyed; Birla, thin or lean; Bisahu, bought or purchased; and Bulaki and Chedi, having a pierced nostril; these names are given to a boy whose nostril has been pierced to make him resemble a girl and thus decrease his value. [227] Further instances of such names have been given in other articles.
