Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 422

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In fact, according to the Hindus,
is that relating to birth.
the future lot of men is supposed to depend on the sign of
the Zodiac and the star under which they are born.
This
It is supposed that each of the
is what they call lagnam.
twelve signs prevails over daily occurrences during a fixed
Thus, for instance, the sign Aries (the
interval of time.
Ram) prevails for two hours Taurus (the Bull) for two
Gemini (the Twins) for two hours
hours and a quarter
and a half and so on. Again, the sign which corresponds
to the moment of birth is termed Janma-lagnam
and by
combining it with the planet and the star of the day, they
ascertain beyond a doubt whether the child is born to be
;
;
;
;
happy
or unhappy.
Of the seven days of the week, three are held to be
unlucky, namely, Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday. On
these days no important business ought to be undertaken,
no journey begun.
Of the twenty -seven stars of each lunar month, seven
and everything
are reputed to be more or less unlucky
undertaken on the days on which these appear is attended
with disastrous results.
The rest of the science is based on similar considerations.
;
Magic.
Magic, that art which gives shrewd people such influence
over fools, seems to have found a favourite abode in the
Peninsula of India. Certainty, in this respect, India has
no reason to be envious of the ancient Thessaly or of the
city of Colchis, famous for the enchantments of Circe and
Medea. True, I am not aware that Hindu sorcerers have
retained the power of causing the moon, whether willing
or not, to come down from the height of the firmament
but short of this, there is nothing which Hindu magicians
are incapable of doing.
Thus there is not a single Hindu
who does not, during the whole course of his life, dream
about sorcery and witchcraft. Nothing in this country
happens by chance or from natural causes. Obstacles of
every kind, disappointments, unlucky incidents, diseases,
premature deaths, barrenness of women, miscarriages,
diseases among cattle
in fine, all the scourges to which
human beings are exposed are attributed to the occult and
;
;