Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 176

SUPERSTITIOUS PREDICTIONS
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them on points like these and it is not the common
people only on whom this superstition has such a strong
hold, for princes and persons of the highest rank believe
There is no one
in it even more firmly, if that be possible.
in high position who has not one or more official purohitas
and these men act, so to speak, like
living in his palace
They go every morning and with
rulers of the universe.
ludicrous gravity announce to the prince, to his state
elephant, and to his idols, each in their turn, all that is
written in the almanac relating to that particular day.
Should the prince wish to hunt, walk, or receive visits from
strangers, and the perspicacity of the purohita discovers in
his infallible book that this is an unpropitious moment, the
In large temples
chase, the walk, or the visit is postponed.
a purohita is specially retained to read to the idols every
morning the predictions for that day contained in the
almanac \
The Hindu calendar is known by the name of the pan-
changam, which means the five members, because it con-
tains five leading subjects
to wit, the age of the moon
the constellation near which the moon is
in the month
the day of the week
situated on each particular day
the eclipses
and the positions of the planets. Lucky and
unlucky days are also indicated those, for instance, on
which a person may travel towards one of the four cardinal
points
for any one who could safely travel to-day towards
the north would probably be overtaken by misfortune if
he attempted to journey to the south. There are number-
less other predictions of a similar nature in the almanac,
which it would be tedious to give in detail.
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The panchangam Brahmin is one who, by studying the almanac, is
He gets his livelihood
able to state propitious or unpropitious times.
by going certain rounds, day by day, from house to house, declaring
the condition of things, as per the almanac, and receiving in return
a dole consisting, usually, of grain.
He is not held in much respect by
He
his own caste people, but he is much looked up to by other castes.
is consulted by his constituents, from time to time, when they wish to
know the propitious period for any undertaking, as starting on a journey,
making an important purchase, putting on new clothes or new jewels,
or when about to take up a new appointment, or when any other im-
that is, he
portant event is contemplated. He is a Smartha by sect
is really a worshipper of Siva and wears the marks of that god, but at
Padfield.
the same time he respects and worships Vishnu.
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