The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal: An Introductory

Study of Raghunandana’s Durgāpūjātattva with Text

and Translation of the Principal Rites1

BIHANI SARKAR

Part 1 Introduction

Preliminaries

The autumnal Durgā Pūjā, the ten-lunar-day worship of the goddess Durgā, also known
as Can.d.ı̄ or Can.d.ı̄kā, is one of the most important festivals in East India and Nepal.
Throughout villages and cities in Bengal, Orissa, Assam and the Kathmandu Valley
the occasion is marked by pomp and circumstance. In Bengal especially, this worship
is a reflection of a culture that has given goddesses a privileged position over male
deities from at least the time of the Pālas.2 However, despite the availability of material
from the eighteenth century to the present day, the worship of the goddess prior to
the colonial presence still remains to a great extent terra incognita. Sanskrit paddhatis
(ritual manuals) from the medieval era are among the few records available from Bengal
that shed light on the pedagogical and performative context of the rite. The purpose
of this article is to provide a synchronic sketch of the medieval ceremony based on
the influential and widely cited medieval manual, the Durgāpūjātattva (“The truth concerning
the rite of Durgā”, henceforth DPT) of Raghunandana Bhat.t.ācārya (1520–1575 ce)3
supported by parallel accounts of the rite contained in related literature. The sketch will be
used as a broad framework to illustrate the manner in which the ceremony was performed or
could have been performed in Bengal during the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries ce.
While the article presents a largely empirical study of a particular ritual text, it aims to show
that this work was not composed in a vacuum but within a broader historical context. In order
to understand properly and appreciate a text like the DPT, which at first sight misleadingly
strikes one as a pedantic work of little theoretical or historical value, it is important to study
in tandem: (i) the network of related texts and (ii) the ritual/performative history of which
it is a part and which it implicitly narrates. The broader tasks of uncovering this implicit

1 My sincere gratitude to Prof. Alexis Sanderson, my doctoral supervisor at the time I wrote this article, for
reading the Durgāpūjātattva with me, and illuminating various obscurities in the work.
2 The discussion of the Pāla kings’ great patronage of goddesses such as Carcikā, Gaurı̄, the Navadurgās etc., is
to be found in Sanderson 2009, pp. 108–114. For their patronage of the Buddhist Tārā see Sanderson 2009 p. 94,
n.173.
3 Rocher, 2002, p. 16 summarises scholarly arguments on Raghunandana’s dates as follows: “1520–1570 (Hazra
1950a: 182); probably born in 1490 or 1500; literary activity 1520–1575 (Chakrovorty 1965: 182); 1510–1580 (Kane
1975; 897)”.

JRAS, Series 3, 22, 2 (2012), pp. 325–390 !

C The Royal Asiatic Society 2012

doi:10.1017/S1356186312000181
326 Bihani Sarkar

history, presenting the literary and social milieux of the ritual and conceptualising how it
may have looked in performance, are undertaken in Parts 1 and 2. Regarding these matters,
I cannot claim to have been exhaustive. I have merely attempted to lay the groundwork for
a fuller cultural query. Before a more elaborate exposition is carried out, it is essential to
complete the basic task of preparing and presenting the material. With this aim, the article
presents in Part 3, an emended transcript accompanied by an annotated English translation
of the main rites of the DPT, previously only available in Sanskrit.
Given the paucity of descriptive documents on ancient India such as letters, biographies,
eye-witness accounts, diaries etc., prescriptive material forms one of the few detailed
historical records of religious praxis. It is not unreasonable to extract paradigms regarding
rituals from paddhatis for, as defined by the tradition, they are systematised distillations of their
more authoritative, but remote and at times lacunose, scriptural sources. These scriptures
ultimately guide all religious ceremonies within Brahmanism, a religion that, from its most
archaic manifestation in the Vedas, has privileged sacred text in sanctioning all matters of
doctrine and practice. According to the learned medieval exegete Bhat.t.a Rāmakan.t.ha:

For any scripture a Paddhati is a text which enables the performance of the rituals [of that
scripture] along with the Mantras [that accompany them] by succinctly arranging in the order
[of performance] (i) the [instructions] explicitly stated [in that scripture but] dispersed in various
places [throughout its length], and (ii) whatever [else] those explicit statements imply. An example
is the Yajñasūtra in the case of the [Kāt.haka] Yajurveda’.4

The paddhati therefore bears, a direct relationship to practice (prayoga). Although dryly
prescriptive in approach, the relevance of paddhati literature is by no means meagre. The
beauty of a work like the DPT lies in what it does not explicate: behind the pedantry,
prescriptions and ritual jargon, ranges, as backdrop, a whole un-inscribed world of ritual
performance, pageantry, utterance and gesture whose full impact, like theatre, can only occur
at the moment of its enactment. The paddhati is therefore the “script” for this grand theatre,
and though we will never see the action as it originally unfolded on stage, we can, with the
aid of this script, intelligently and, I think, correctly, imagine how, and even why, that drama
manifested in history. At the outset it must be acknowledged that the picture they present is,
at best, generalised. Much like dramatic scripts, these texts are to be understood as providing
only a guideline for they were inevitably supplemented by additional ritual details particular
to a lineage and household. Nevertheless they do form for the performer the binding essence
of the rite, the sacred “blueprint” underlying all customisations.
One can easily argue that there is a danger in this reliance on paddhatis, for like
scripture they may well reflect an ideal; and whether what they prescribed truly did
occur can be anybody’s guess. On the other hand, inscriptional evidence from South East
Asia unequivocally demonstrating the relevance of paddhatis in shaping praxis significantly
challenges this view.
The Khmer kingdom has left behind several inscriptions recording how prescriptive
literature from India guided the ceremonies performed for the state: the inscriptions of
Banteay Srei of 1306 and Jayavarman II (802–835 ce) being particularly revelatory of the use

4 Sarvatriśatikālottaravrttih, p. 45, ll. 6–7; Translation by Sanderson 2003–2004, pp. 356–357, n.19.: also see
. .
Sanderson 2003–2004, p. 353.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 327

of paddhatis in the domain of the court. The first inscription, for instance, is an ordinance
commanding the incumbents of Khnār Grāṅ to worship the deity following the verses
of a vrah. pāñjiy (Sacred Manual) dealing with worship at the sacred sites (ks.etropacāra);
the second reporting that, under the auspices of King Jayavarman II, the Brāhman.a
Hiran.yadāma performed a state-ritual founding the independent Khmer kingdom of Angkor
and developed the cult of Devarāja for Jayavarman’s court by extracting in a paddhati the core
elements of the Vin.āśikha scripture of the Vāmaśrotas doctrinal current of the Śaiva canon.5
Admittedly such precise evidence for the impact of the medieval paddhatis of the Durgā
Pūjā on actual practice is unknown, a rare exception being the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ of
Vidyāpati which, from the dedicatory verses to the Maithila King Dhı̄rasim . ha at the end,
demonstrates its influence over the Navarātra ceremony at the court of the Oinwar lineage of
Mithilā (discussed in greater detail later). But there is evidence of an indirect kind showing
that such literature did indeed shape the performance of the Durgā Pūjā: we have, for
instance, the testimony of current Durgā Pūjā rites such as those performed by the Bengali
brāhman.a clan of the Lahiris of Varanasi (studied by Rodrigues 2003) or those given in
the encyclopaedic Purohita Darpan.a6 , the manual currently most widely followed in Bengal.
These in most of their particulars conform very closely to the rubric described in the medieval
paddhatis, preserving the basic rituals and their order over the successivie tithis of the bright
first quarter of Āśvina and the same litany, still recited during modern performances. There
is therefore a continuity with the medieval ritual tradition. For instance, in rites such as
awakening the goddess in a bilva tree (bodhana), cutting the bilva branch, warding away ghosts
from the ritual space, installing the ancillary spells (aṅganyāsa), the summoning (āvāhana)
of the goddess, infusing the vital breaths (prān.apratis..thā), the meditation (dhyāna) verses and
others, the mantras chanted by the priest are to be traced in the DPT. Furthermore, it is
also important to note that the medieval paddhatis had a prolific afterlife, being diligently
copied and circulated up to the eighteenth century in a number of manuscripts (I have so far
encountered three complete manuscripts of the DPT and four of the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ not
used by the editors of the printed texts), demonstrating that the scribal tradition obviously
felt they needed to be preserved for use.
A break with the past only seems to have appeared in the growing brahmanisation
of the current rites. These tend to diminish the once-predominant Tantric element by
incorporating more Vedic verses; display Durgā primarily as a serene and benevolent
matriarch in an image accompanied by the gods Kārttikeya, Gan.eśa, Laks.mı̄ and Sarasvatı̄ who
are designated as her family (though her depictions throughout the early medieval literature
conceive of her in stark contrast as a potentially threatening deity attended by female acolytes,
rather than a family); show hesitation in animal sacrifice (where the previous rites enjoin
many buffaloes, goats, rams and even human heads, the present rite usually involves no
more than a goat);7 do away with the caste dissolving Festival of Śavaras (Śāvoratsava) once
performed at the end of the medieval rite; and diminish the presence of ferocious, ambivalent
forms of Durgā connected with Kālı̄.

5 The evidence of the Khmer Kingdom is from Sanderson 2003–2004, pp. 353; 355–357.
6 K.C. Smrtitı̄rtha 1922, pp. 222–280.
.
7 See Rodrigues 2003, p. 215 for an observant summary of present attititudes towards animal sacrifice in the
Durgā Pūjā.
328 Bihani Sarkar

Whatever concerns one may harbour about the dangers in drawing conclusions about real
practice from normative literature, it is important nevertheless to start placing this textual
corpora within a historical context, to unravel their ritual syntax, to understand what they
are trying to say and how that syntax was translated into gesture in the sphere of ritual.
The task of interpretation must be done, and the dangers risked. Indeed, the problems in
interpretation can be resolved by reading widely around a paddhati (for read in isolation it
yields little meaning), reading the literature with which the author has familiarity and being
aware of current practices that may preserve elements or modified elements of the tradition
referred to by the author. If approached with caution, good sense and an awareness of related
literature, prescriptive compositions can provide valuable and intriguing insights into how
deities were conceptualised in cults, how their relation to men was enacted in ritual practice,
what was necessary for the performance of their ritual, who was performing them and for
whom they were being performed. Taking into account these factors, I have sketched a
provisional paradigm in the analytical parts of the article that suggests rather than states,
attempting not to overstretch my interpretation.

The Social and Literary Contexts of the Durgāpūjātattva and the Medieval
Autumnal Rite

From the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, a significant number of manuals on the Durgā
Pūjā were composed in Mithilā and Bengal, indicating that during this period there was a rise
in demand for the pūjā. An already thriving tradition of goddess worship and a conservative
reaction to the ruling Muslim power may have added impetus to this growth. The writers of
these works were smārta brahmins – the predominant religious elite in Mithilā and Bengal –
codifiers and commentators of the vast body of secondary Brahminical literature known as
smr.ti.
Prior to the smārta compositions, the pedagogical history of the Durgā Pūjā remains
largely obscure, and it is difficult to know the form of the worship that was most widely
taught to ritual-specialists. Although Purān.ic passages on the festival of the goddess abound,
they are dispersed, patchy and difficult to date given that the Purān.as themselves are mostly
protean and composite texts that have mutated and grown over periods of time.8 Before it
was systematised by the smārta pan.d.itas, there were various versions of the rite. It probably
differed in detail from region to region and kingdom to kingdom. There must have been
private manuals and traditions in every kingdom customised to suit the particular needs
of courts and communities. Locally influential goddesses with individual personalities and
cults were worshipped as unique forms of Durgā with distinctive versions of the Navarātra,
which led to a great degree of diversity and autonomy in the rite. The codification and
intellectualisation (discussions on categorisation, time etc.) of the pūjā began in earnest from
the medieval period (twelfth century ce onwards) when, as we shall see, the smārtas began
a concerted effort to formulate a universal programme and a textual basis of authority for
the rite which remains largely intact even today. Before their appropriation of the ritual

8 Einoo 1999 has comprehensively tabulated all the passages known so far in Purānic literature on the Durgā
.
Pūjā. P.V. Kane 1994 is by far the most thorough treatment of the autumnal Navarātra, although his study is not
historicised in approach.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 329

within brahminical exegetical discourse in the twelfth century, the Durgā Pūjā had hardly
been commented upon by scholars writing in Sanskrit. For the purpose of this article, I
have therefore restricted my study of the rite to this period that marked the efflorescence of
learned literature on the Durgā Pūjā, and its attainment of a more uniform structure.
Of the two layers of Brahminical orthodoxy, the smārtas are the second and more catholic
layer. The first, known as the śrautas, are experts in the literature collectively called śruti,
the primary scriptures of the Brahmins consisting of the four Vedas. They are taught to
maintain the sacred fires throughout their lives by uninterrupted offerings of Vedic oblations.
The importance of the Vedic ritual is thus fundamental to the śrauta, deities being merely
nominal in worship and not the means of salvation. The smārtas are, in contrast, theistic in
their approach. For instance they include the worship of five gods from the Purān.as (Sūrya,
Śiva, Gan.eśa, Durgā, Vis.n.u) into the regular rituals, holding them in high regard while at
the same time avoiding sectarian partisanship to any one deity. Thus between the highest
strata of Brahminical orthodoxy and the various sects that give importance to specific gods,
theirs is the middle ground. They are considered experts on the smr.ti (hence smārta), the
secondary scriptures of the Brahmins comprising the Purān.as that contain ancient legends
on, among other topics, the deities of their regular worship, a complex and large body of
rituals not included in the Vedic texts, histories and genealogies. Apart from the Purān.as,
the smr.ti-texts also comprise the law books on which the ethical order of the Hindus are
based (dharmaśāstra). These as well as the epics, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyan.a, also fell
in the purview of smārta intellectual activity.
The smārta influence on orthodox religious practice is evidenced in that by the late
medieval period, they had overtaken the śrautas as the majority orthodox group, and while
the religion followed by the śrautas was by no means defunct, it did represent an older faith that
was rapidly being superceded by the expansion of the smr.ti literature and the faith promoted
therein. This Purān.ic and epic religious tradition incorporated local customs such as particular
sacred sites (tı̄rthas), local deities and their shrines, festivals and Tantricised rituals. It was eclec-
tic, unlike the śrauta faith which clung resiliently to the ancient Vedic sacrifice. Raghunandana
Bhat.t.ācārya, the author of the DPT, was himself an eminent and prolific scholar of this oeuvre.
Composed in a theistic and assimilative spirit, the DPT describes and codifies for Brahminical
use the ten-day autumnal worship of Durgā in Bengal, drawing primarily on the Purān.as
for scriptural authority but also referring, surprisingly, to a few Tantras9 in a demonstration
of its inclusive approach. It is the most elaborate of all the Bengali smārta manuals on the
Durgā Pūjā and, true to the spirit of a paddhati, is a “path” both through the thorny fields
of scripture (in its opening Pramān.a section) and the obscurities of ritual minutieae (in its
closing Prayoga section). For the reader it thus gives the richest and most comprehensive idea
of the medieval rite and this was the main reason why I examined the work for this article.
The political milieu of eastern India at the time was favourable for the composition of all
sorts of religious treatises. Mithilā– the region straddling the Bengal-Bihar border – flourished
as an independent Hindu kingdom. Bengal on the other hand was divided into many smaller
political units and had a strong and long tradition of local government, first under the

9 There are four references to a Durgātantra, two to the Śāradatilaka and one to a Gavāksatantra in the Pramāna
. .
section of the DPT.
330 Bihani Sarkar

Afghans and then under the Mughals from 1575 onwards. Twelve of these self-governing
territories were called bhuinyas. Owing to little control from the Centre, they enjoyed virtual
independence and often violently opposed overlordship.10 Besides the bhuinyas, a number
of smaller landlords (zamindārs), both Hindus and Muslims, also held power. They held
hereditary rights over their land and considered themselves independent rulers.
It was in this context of diverse regional powers that scholars of smr.ti literature
attained influence in various parts of Bengal and in the Mithilā court as formulators
of Hindu temporal and religious law. Raghunandana himself authored no fewer than
twenty-eight treatises he titled “Tattvas”, literally “Verities”, on a range of subjects with
bearing on legislature and proper Brahminical etiquette; while in the court of Mithilā,
the author Vidyāpati, in the footsteps of his ancestor Can.d.eśvara T.hakkura, wrote, as
resident scholar and minister, a number of similar tomes for the benefit of the state.
The broad and inclusive patronage network in both regions supported their work. Many
local rājās made large endowments to Sanskrit scholars. So highly regarded was the
smārta opinion on social norms, that in Bengal there is even evidence that a smārta was
patronised by a Muslim king, one Br.haspati Rāyamukut.a who belonged to the court
of the King Jalāl-ud-dı̄n (1418 ce–1431ce) and composed many smr.ti works under his
patronage.11 The main impact of the work of the smārtas affected the laws of inheritance –
an area of crucial interest for this body of kings and gentry. The Dāyatattva, a commentary
on Jı̄mūtavāhana’s influential legal treatise the Dāyabhāga, was, for instance, Raghunandana’s
contribution to medieval inheritance legislation. Besides inheritance, all manner of topics
were covered by the smārtas impacting the private life of an individual, such as pilgrimages,
the proper time for religious observances, ceremonial purification, marriage, post-mortuary
rites (śrāddha) and even the most personal actions such as when to copulate with one’s wife,
hygiene, ablutions, conduct while bathing etc. Framing their axioms in encyclopaedic works
called nibandhas (digests), the smārtas authorised an exhaustive programme of observances for
the Hindu householder to maintain in his life.
All the most important smārtas of the time had composed at least one work on
Durgā worship, drawing mainly from passages attributed to the Devı̄ Purān.a, Kālikā
Purān.a,Vis.n.udharmottara Purān.a, Bhavis.ya Purān.a, the Br.hannandikeśvara and/or Nandikeśvara
Purān.a(s) and other smārta-compositions to guide their ritual programmes.12 These
discussions on the goddess’s rite are often included as chapters in the very digests the
smārtas had authored to codify the legal and religious practices of Indian kingdoms. This
shows that the rite of the goddess was viewed as being essential to the calendrical ritual cycle
of a Hindu kingdom, for it was accorded status among the religious principles thought to
underlie Brahminical government.
As early as the twelfth century, a chapter quoting in verbatim the Mahānavamı̄ rites
from the Devı̄purān.a appeared in the Rājadharmakān.d.a (Chapter on the Duties of a King)

10 Ralph Fitch who visited Bengal in 1586 writes: “They be all hereabouts rebels against their Jalaluddin Akbar
for here are so many rivers and islands that they flee from one another whereby his horsemen cannot prevail against
them” (quoted in A.C. Roy 1968, p. 55).
11 B. Bhattacarya 1955, p. 29.
12 As the erudite Kane notes, “There is a voluminous literature on the Durgotsava. Every digest on vratas, tithis
and pūjā devotes considerable space on this subject. Moreover there are special treatises . . . ” (Kane 1994, p. 155 ff).
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 331

of the Kr.tyakalpataru of Laks.mı̄dhara, counsellor of King Govindacandra of the Gāhād.avāla

kingdom. It is in the east though, that the first elaborate ritual programmes, involving a
spectacular build-up over ten lunar days in the month of Āśvina ending in the Mahās.t.amı̄,
Navamı̄ and Daśamı̄ triad, appear. In Mithilā, Can.d.eśvara T.hakkura included in the
Kr.tyaratnākara (1314 ce –1324 ce),13 the most famous of his “Jewel Mines” or “Oceans”,
a lengthy 135 pages on goddess rites spread over the entire month of Āśvina, beginning
from the dark eighth and continuing up to the bright tenth.14 In Bengal, the earliest works
preceding and influencing Raghunandana were the chapter “Ascertaining the Rite of Durgā”
(Durgotsavanirn.a.ya) from the Kālaviveka of Jı̄mūtavāhana (1100 ce – 1150 ce)15 , indeed the
earliest smārta to proselytise the Durgā Pūjā, and the Durgotsavaviveka of Śūlapān.i (1375 ce –
1460 ce)16 , a treatise on the autumnal worship which quotes Jı̄mūtavāhana and thus was
later than him. In addition, Śūlapān.i also composed the Vāsantı̄viveka, a treatise on the three-
tithi spring worship of Durgā in Caitra. These are concise and learned treatises formed of,
according to the norm of paddhatis, sequential citations spread throughout scriptures selected
to add muscle to the programmes advocated by the authors, with elaboration provided in
between. In the interim between Śūlapān.i’s work and the DPT, further discussions on the
pūjā appeared in a chapter in the Kr.tyacintāman.i of Vācaspati Miśra (1425ce – 1480 ce).
Raghunandana’s teacher Śrı̄nātha Ācāryacūd.āman.i (1470 ce –1540 ce), who wrote the
Kr.tyatattvārn.ava,”An Ocean of Verities on Ritual Duties” was also the author of a Durgā
Pūjā treatise.17 The main purpose of all these works seems to have been formulating a
systematic programme based on Purān.ic authorities. Given, as we have seen, the pedigree
of the smārtas as legislators, their endorsement of the pūjā would have added considerably to
its brahmanical credibility and consequent popularity among brahmanical kings.
The smārta work to have most influence on the DPT, as it indeed did on others such
as Vācaspati Miśra,18 was the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ (“A River of Devotion to Durgā”) of
Vidyāpati (1375 ce – 1450 ce) a court treatise composed sometime in the fifteenth century
for the Oinwar lineage at Mithilā. Vidyāpati is chiefly famous for his poetic compositions in
the Maithilı̄ language, but he was at the same time actively engaged in composing śāstric
literature in Sanskrit. His Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ gives us a clear idea of how a courtly Durgā pūjā
may have been conducted in medieval East India. Roughly equalling the length of Raghu-
nandana’s work, it is one of the more elaborate Durgā pūjā manuals to have been written
in the period, for it not only gives citations (in the first part) like the former works but also
more detailed instructions to the reader (in the second). In addition to the rites mentioned
by Śūlapān.i, it includes Tantricised rituals of power – a first among the smārta manuals –
perhaps tailored specially for the ruling Maithila lineage. Thus it seems that in the interim
between Jı̄mūtavāhana’s and Vidyāpati’s works, the Durgā Pūjā may have developed its ritual
repertoire so that by the time Raghunandana’s DPT appeared sometime in the sixteenth
century, the autumnal worship was – in scale and importance – a notable event in Bengal.

13 For Candeśvara’s dates see Introduction to The Skanda Purān.a, 1998, p. 12; B. Bhattacarya 1955, p. 32.
..
14 Krtyaratnākara, pp. 238–375.
.
15 Date based on B. Bhattacarya 1955, p. 26.
..
16 Date based on B. Bhattacarya 1955, p. 28.
..
17 Durgāpūjāvivka, pp. 42–51.
18 He asks the reader to look for the method of the rite in Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ – pūjāvidhānam
.
durgābhaktitaraṅginyām
. sandhātavyam (Durgāpūjāviveka), p. 41.
332 Bihani Sarkar

The impact of the Gaud.ı̄ya-Durgāpūjā was felt even outside Bengal, for in discussions
of the Navarātra in other smārta works, the Gaud.as are frequently cited as authorities.
Kamalākara Bhat.t.a, who lived and worked in Varanasi, author of the Nirn.ayasindhu
and uncle of Gāgābhat.t.a the architect of Śivājı̄’s Vedic coronation19 , quotes profusely
from the “Gaud.anibandhas” in his chapter on the āśvinanavarātra, citing Purān.ic passages
sourced from Vidyāpati, Śrı̄nātha or Raghunandana, thereby teaching rites taken directly
from them. Some of the Durgā Pūjā rites codified in his work on the authority of
these Gaud.as are as follows: (i) the worship of the goddess between pratipat to pañcamı̄
(based on the Bhavis.ya Purān.a from the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄: atha pratipadādis.u viśes.o
durgābhaktitaraṅginyām . bhavis.ye); (ii) bodhana in a bilva tree on .sas..thı̄ (Devı̄ Purān.a from
the Gaud.anibandhas: gaud.anibandhe devı̄purān.e); (iii) patrikāpraveśana (based on Śrı̄nātha’s
Kr.tyatattvārn.ava: patrikāpūjā . . . iti kr.tyatattvārn.ave uktam); (iv) the mūrtisthāpana (based on the
Devı̄ Purān.a from the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ and the Kālikā Purān.a from the Kr.tyatattvārn.ava:
devı̄mūrtisthāpane viśes.o durgābhaktitaraṅginyām . devı̄purān.e and kr.tyatattvārn.ave kālikāpurān.e); (v)
homas on navamı̄ with the mantra beginning “Jayantı̄ Maṅgalā Kālı̄ etc.” (based on the
Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ and others: durgābhaktitaraṅgin.yādigaud.agranthes.v api navamyām . homa uktah.
and durgābhaktitaraṅginyām . tu tilair jayantı̄mantren.a ca homa uktah.) vi) visarjana on Vijaya Daśamı̄
(based on the Devı̄ Purān.a from the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄: daśamyām . devı̄m. visarjayet. tad uktam .
durgābhaktitaraṅginyām . devı̄purān. e); (vi) nı̄rājana of an army at the tail end of Daśamı̄ and
the auspicious sighting of a white wagtail (based on the Jyotis.a from the Bengali nibandhas:
gaud.anibandhe jyotis.e).20
There may have been several reasons why the smārtas chose to write so many Durgā Pūjā
treatises. First, Śāktism was well-entrenched in the religious traditions of Mithilā and Bengal,
and in the literature of the brahmanical authors of those places can be viewed a reflection of
the local Śākta current. Among the vast body of religious customs that were codified by the
Bengali and Maithila smārtas the only “deity-specific” works are indeed on Durgā [as opposed
to works on Śiva worship or Vis.n.u worship]. Given the prevalence of Śāktism in the region,
there must have existed a high demand for the rite of the goddess among rich, landed local
patrons who required manuals for their households. The treatises must have been written in
part to serve the interests of these local patrons. For, as Bhat.t.a Rāmakan.t.ha had observed,
paddhatis are only written for their practical application in ritual. Second, the Gaud.a smārtas
were the first to proselytise rites in the āśvinapūjā particular to Kāmarūpa, Bengal and Mithilā
that were not performed elsewhere in India, such as the south or the west, before their codifi-
cation by these authors. This suggests that the promotion and elevation of a ritual programme
indigenous to that region may have formed, consciously or unconsciously, a motive for the
composition of these works. As Hazra has demonstrated, verses on the rites preceding As.t.amı̄
beginning with the goddess’s adornment from the First (pratipat) to the Fifth (pañcamı̄), her
adhivāsana and bodhana in the bilva tree, her worship in nine leaves (patrikāpūjā), the tying
of the nine leaves with an aparājitā creeper, the visarjana in water and the performance of
the śāvarotsava are missing from the nibandhas authored in southern and western India, and

19 For historical analyses of Gāgābhatta’s role and the complete text of the coronation see Bendrey 1960.
..
20 Nirnayasindhu, p. 613 (pratipat to pañcamı̄); p. 617 (bodhana on .sas..thı̄); 623 (patrikāpraveśana); 627
.
(devı̄mūrtisthāpana); 655, 657 (homas on Navamı̄); 672 (visarjana); 679 (balanı̄rājana).
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 333

even in works from parts closer to Bengal such as Orissa.21 Hazra argues that the early smr.ti
writers of western and southern India had no knowledge of the verses describing these
rites while later authors discuss them on the authority of an East Indian source, such as
we find in the case of Kamalākara in his acknowledgement of the “Gaud.anibandhas” with
regard to the rites of the Pratipat–Pañcamı̄ sequence and the bodhana. Three of the Purān.as
cited as the sources for this tradition by the eastern authors – the Kālikā, the Nandikeśvara
and the Br.hannandikeśvara – were mostly popular in the East, being either unknown in the
West, or made known to western and southern authors by the Gaud.as. Out of these, the
Kālikā concerns the sacred geography of Kāmarūpa and thus indubitably betrays an Assamese
orientation. With regard to the mysterious and now lost Nandikeśvara and Br.hannandikeśvara
Purān.as, Hazra notes that the smr.ti writers of Bengal and Orissa were the first to recognise
and utilise their contents. Among them, only the Bengalis cited these Purān.as in connection
with the Durgā Pūjā. Citations from these Purān.as were used by the Gaud.as particularly
in relation to Durgā’s adhivāsana in a bilva tree on the evening of .sas..thı̄ and the worship of
the navapatrikā. Raghunandana himself quotes on six occasions from a Nandikeśvara Purān.a
and (though both may be the same work) a Br.hannandikeśvara in the Pramān.a section, most
importantly attributing the offering of the navapatrikā to these scriptures (nandikeśvarapurān.āt
bilvapatrādikam api deyam). It is for instance from the Br.hannandikeśvara that the verse naming
the nine leaves is cited in the Pramān.a part of the DPT:

atra br.hannandikeṡvarapurān.am:22

saptamyām. patrikā pūjyā rambhādinavabhir yutā |

rambhā kaccı̄ haridrā ca jayantı̄ bilvadād.imau "
aśoko mānakaś caiva dhānyañ ca nava patrikāh. |
mahı̄mayı̄ ca mūrtir me putrāyurdhanavr.ddhaye |

On this matter, the Br.hannandikśvara Purān.a [states]:

On Saptamı̄ a [nonet] of leaves must be worshipped accompanied by Rambhā etc.23 The Nine
Leaves are the plantain (rambhā), kaccı̄, turmeric (haridrā), barley (jayantı̄), Aegle marmelos (bilva),
pomegranate, aśoka, Arum indicum (mānaka) and rice. A clay image of myself [must] also [be
worshipped] for sons, long life and wealth.

Given the celebrity of the Nandikeśvara/Br.hannandikeśvara, primarily in the East, the worship
of the nine leaves was clearly a custom prevalent in that region (the nine must have been
connected in some way to the nine nights of the Navarātra). Hazra perceptively notes that
western authors betrayed their unfamiliarity with the navapatrikā:

In treating of the navapatrikāpūjā Kamalākara quotes this verse [see above] . . . but reads ‘kavi’
for ‘kaccı̄’ and ‘māna-vr.ks.aś ca’ [for ‘mānaka’] clearly showing that neither Kamalākara nor his
countrymen were familiar with kaccı̄ and māna. The learned editor of the Nirn.ayasindhu frankly
admits that he did not understand what objects were meant by the words ‘māna’ and ‘kavi’

21 Hazra 1963, pp. 2–15.

22 The use of Nandikeśvarafor Br.hannandikeśvara in this part of the DPT also appears in manuscripts, hence it is
probable that both might be the same work.
23 I am aware of the problems with the Sanskrit, but this is what the intended meaning appears to be.
334 Bihani Sarkar

occuring in the text of the Nirn.ayasindhu. Now the word ‘kaccı̄’ . . . has been used in the above
verse to mean the ‘kacu’ plant so well known in Bengal, Mithilā and Kāmarūpa its peculiar spelling
‘cc’ is common in the Bengal Nibandhas . . . The mānaka (popularly called ‘māna’ or mānakacu in
Bengal) is one of the varieties of arum. As neither kaccı̄ nor mānaka is mentioned in the Amarakos.a
or any other famous lexicon, Kamalākara and his countrymen as well as the learned editor of
the printed text of the Nirn.ayasindhu totally failed to understand their meaning and made the
mistakes mentioned above.24

Hazra even suspected that certain verses used by the Gaud.as were spurious and although
the harvest rites were practiced as local custom, an authoritative source had to be invented
where none could be found in scripture. He goes as far as to suggest that the authors of the
East Indian manuals doctored verses from the Bhavis.ya and Liṅga Purān.as and used them as
genuine citations:
We can reasonably presume therefore that chapters consisting of verses on the methods of the
Durgā Pūjā as followed in Bengal were written by scholars of this province and inserted into the
texts of the Bhavis.ya and the Liṅga Purān.a current among them so that these methods though
determined mostly by local customs of Bengal might be regarded as based on authoritative śāstric
injunctions.25

That the Southern smr.ti-authors were unaware of these passages from the version of those
Purān.as available to them serves to emphasise this point. Most western works composed
after Raghunandana, such as the Purus.ārthacintāman.i by the western Vis.n.ubhat.t.a (whose
clan hailed from Patan in Gujarat), do not discuss the Pratipat–Pañcamı̄ adornment rites, the
śāvarotsava and the visarjana in water at all, leading to the strong possibility that such rites were
not popular outside Bengal after their codification by the Gaud.as. Their variable presence in
later literature from the western regions of India confirms the eastern provenance of these,
rituals that in some mode or form venerate the goddess as the essence of creative energy
pervading the natural world (see Part 2). The western tradition, as we shall see later, did not
emphasise this harvest aspect of the Durgā Pūjā in contrast to the eastern custom.
It could also have been the case that separate recensions of these Purān.as were available
to the Gaud.as.26 Since different versions of the Purān.as were customarily used by different
authors, the smārtas were very careful to identify which version they were using in their
citations. One finds these identifications made often before verse-citations in such forms as
hemādrau skānde (the Skanda Purān.a from Hemādri) or a tithitattve laiṅge (the Liṅga Purān.a
from [Raghunandana’s] Tithitattva). These were not gratuitous comments but evidence of
exegetical precision where many canons proliferated. What seems the likelier possibility
is that the rites described above were always associated with the Navarātra of the eastern
regions, at least from the time of their documentation in their source Purān.as, but were
unknown outside these parts (or rather the sections in the Purān.as containing them were
unknown), until their codification from the twelfth century onwards by the eastern smārtas
beginning with the earliest, Jı̄mūtavāhana.

24 Ibid, pp. 10–11.

25 Hazra, 1963, p. 14.
26 Only a careful studyof the manuscript transmissions of these Purān.as will succeed in throwing more light on
this mystery. For the time being both Hazra’s contention and mine are hypotheses awaiting greater clarity.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 335

The eastern rites of the Navarātra and a chronology of their codification

by the SMĀRTAs:

< = drawing on

1125–1150 CE: Worship of goddess in a bilva tree (possibly Eastern, see below): Jı̄mūtavāhana < =
Liṅga Purān.a
1125–1150 CE: Śāvarotsava on Daśamı̄: Jı̄mūtavāhana < = Kālikā Purān.a
1314–1324 CE: Worship of the nine Durgās in a diagram: Can.d.eśvara < = source not stated, possibly
a version of the Agni Purān.a < = Skandayāmala (see below)
1314–1460 CE: Worship of the nine leaves on Saptamı̄: Can.d.eśvara < = source not identified;
Vidyāpati < = Br.hannandikeśvara; Śūlapān.i < = Br.hannandikeśvara
1375–1460 CE: Rites of adornment from Pratipat to Pañcamı̄: Śūlapān.i < = Bhavis.y.a Purān.a.;
Vidyāpati < = Bhavis.y.a Purān.a
1375–1460 CE: The goddess’s Visarjana in water: Vidyāpati < = Kālikā Purān.a; Śūlapān.i < =
Br.hannandikeśvara

Among these rites, only the bodhana in a bilva tree is possibly eastern. This is because, though
generally absent in early western and southern treatises, the ritual is discussed on a rare
occasion in the twelfth-century Caturvargacintāman.i of Hemādri of Devagiri,27 indicating
that the custom was known among a few outside Bengal during Jı̄mūtavāhana’s time. Hazra,
refuting this possibility, was of the opinion that this western author probably sourced the rite
from an east Indian work28 (op. cit., p. 4, n. 13). More evidence on this ritual is needed.
As for the set of nine leaves, though eastern, they appear to be a fairly new entrant to the
scheme of the Bengali rite. Jı̄mūtavāhana, the earliest writer on the eastern rite, understood
the nine leaves differently: for he interprets “patrikā” in the phrase saptamyām . patrikāpūjā (leaf
worship on the seventh) to mean a bilva leaf: patrikā bilvaśākhā (Durgāpūjāviveka, p. 31), rather
than the nine crops cited by the other Gaud.as. This means that prior to the publication of
the Br.hannandikeśvara verse by Vidyāpati and Śūlapān.i (authors later than Jı̄mūtavāhana),
either the worship of leaves on Saptamı̄ was centred on the bilva alone (and given the strong
Śākta-Śaivite association of the bel, this would not be surprising), or the nine leaves formed
an undocumented local custom prevalent in Bengali villages.
Though unnoticed by Hazra, the worship of nine forms of Durgā on Mahās.t.amı̄ in a
drawn diagram, beginning with Rudracan.d.ā in the east, is also a tradition particular to the
east, originating in the literature of Mithilā. Can.d.eśvara T.hakkura is the first to discuss it at
length, stipulating the drawing of the goddesses in a circuit (man.d.alākāren.a) or in a straight line
(r.jupaṅktyā).29 Without identifying the source, he cites a verse remarkably similar to an Agni
Purān.a passage (see below in Part 3) and this mysterious passage attributes the tradition of the
man.d.alic nine Durgās to a Skandayāmala, a work unknown to me. The cited line where this
attribution is made states sthāpyā vr.ttena paṅktyā vā ity uktam
. skandayāmale (The [goddesses]
must be installed in a circle or a line – such is taught in the Skandayāmala. This work was
obviously Tantric, for Can.d.eśvara understands it to mean “a particular āgama” (skandayāmala
āgamaviśes.o). It must have been under the auspices of Can.d.eśvara that the Nava Durgās were

27 Caturvargacintāmani, vol. 2.1 (Vratakhanda), pp. 900–921.

. ..
28 Hazra, 1963, p. 4, n. 13.
29 Krtyaratnākara, pp. 362–363, p. 363.
.
336 Bihani Sarkar

introduced into Nepal (where they form a dynamic theatrical ceremony even today), for
he made frequent trips to that kingdom, performing a tulāpurus.a rite on the banks of the
Vāgmatı̄ in 1314 ce and eventually settling there with the exiled court of his patron Harisena
when Ghiyās-ud-din Tughlaq, the sultan of Delhi, laid seige to Mithilā.30 Thereafter
the tradition is more elaborately described in the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ of Can.d.eśvara’s
descendant Vidyāpati, indicating that, even later than half a century after Can.d.eśvara, the
nine Durgās remained an important fixture of the Mithilā rite. The first Gaud.a to refer to
the Navadurgāpūjā is Raghunandana, and thus the worship appears to have filtered during
the sixteenth century through Mithilā into Bengal, where it has now ossified into the rite of
the lotus-shaped sarvatobhadraman.d.ala, still performed in most Bengali Durgā Pūjās. But it
never percolated to the west, perhaps on account of its Tantric overtone, for none of the
western authors, even after Raghunandana discuss it.
Finally, the Śāvarotsava formed an ancient and exclusively eastern tradition celebrating
Vijayadaśamı̄ as it is never associated with western and southern rites, even by the later
western smārtas after Raghunandana.31 Instead, the more militarised tradition attributed to
the Gopathabrāhman.a outside Bengal, represented by such authors as Hemādri32 , Kamalākara,
Vis.n.ubhat.t.a Āt.havale and southern treatises such as Sāmrājyalaks.mı̄pı̄t.hikā of anonymous
authorship, celebrated this auspicious tithi with the worship of a śamı̄ tree on the outskirts
of the town and the worship of Aparājitā, goddess of victory and her attendants Jayā and
Vijayā. Like the śāvarotsava, the śamı̄pūjā was a civic rite involving all citizens, but unlike the
egalitarianism of its eastern counterpart where all men temporarily became equal and casteless
for a day, the śamı̄pūjā could only be performed by a royal personage in his representative
capacity while leading the community and the troops.33 Aparājitā-worship for protection and
victory on the eve of battle survived in the Maithila Navarātra but never appeared in Bengal.
On the whole it would seem that the east had or developed a strong tradition of harvest
rites centred in the six days between the First (pratipat) to the Seventh (saptamı̄) honouring
the goddess as an embodiment of fecundity, coupled with Tantricised rituals preceding

30 Vivādaratnākara, pp. 670–671. śrı̄krtyadānavyavahāraśuddhipūjāvivādesu grhasthakrtye | ratnākarā dharmabhuvo

. . . .
nibandhāh. kr.tās tulāpurus.adena sapta | rasagun.abhujacandraih. sammite śākavars.e sahasi dhavalapaks.e vāgmatı̄sindhutı̄re
| adita tulitam uccair ātmanā svarn.arāśim
. nidhir akhilagun.ānām uttarah. somanāthah. | [cited in Introduction to The
Skandapurān.a, Vol I, p. 12 cited in Introduction to The Skandapurān.a, Vol I, Dānaratnākara in Jayaswal’s Introduction
to Rājanı̄tiratnākara, p. k.]
31 Indeed Hazra, op. cit., pp. 10–11 in a further perspicuous observation notes:
“In two verses of which one is derived from Kamalākara from the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ and the other from the Kālikā
Purān.a, the reading ‘sāravotsavaih.’ is given in place of ‘śāvarotsavaih.’. This wrong reading shows that Kamalākara
and his countrymen were not familiar with the Śāvarotsava which is mentioned in the Bengal Nibandhas dealing
with Durgotsava.”
32 śamı̄mantras tu hemādrau gopathabrāhmane Nirnayasindhu, 673.
. .
33 Vide Purusārthacintāmani 186–187; Nirnayasindhu 675–680; Sāmrājyalaksmı̄pı̄thikā 355–359. A king accompanied
. . . . .
by his citizens, having gone to a śamı̄ tree on the eastern border of the capital, would worship the guardians of the ten
quarters and perform a vāstupūjā on the tree. This was because, as far as the conventional nirukti in the hymn suggests,
a śamı̄ tree was meant to bring an end (śamanı̄m . ) to inauspicious elements and evil deeds: mantravaidikapaurān.a..ih.
pūjayec ca śamı̄tarum. amaṅgalānām
. śamanı̄m
. śamanı̄m
. dus.kr.tasya ca. duh.khapraśamanı̄m
. etc. Purus.ārthacintāman.i p. 186.
Then, having sung benedictory verses, the king would stride (kramet) to the east, in a gesture symbolic of his
mastery over the Earth, make an image of his enemy, contemplate it in his mind and then strike the opponent’s
heart with an arrow. The same procedure was followed for each of the directions, followed by a lavish and ornate
procession of the king’s horses, elephants, foot soldiers and various colourful spectacles. Next, the king was to
worship the goddess Aparājitā (she who is unconquered) with her attendants Jayā and Vijayā in the north-eastern
corner of a village. The rite was performed for the goddess’s protection and the bestowal of victory.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 337

and complementing the warrior rites of Mahās.t.amı̄-Mahānavamı̄. With the unprecedented

efflorescence in smārta literature on the topic, many of these rites (with the exception
of the śāvarotsava and the navadurgāpūjā) were circulated among smārtas outside Bengal,
Mithilā and Kāmarūpa and added to the established curriculum of autumnal goddess
worship.
Side by side with the fecundity of the goddess, a key feature highlighted in these Eastern
ritual texts – particularly in early writers like Can.d.eśvara, Jı̄mūtavāhana and Vidyāpati and to
a lesser extent even in Raghunandana’s work – is Durgā’s role as a granter and legitimiser of
royal power. Her ritual worship was connected to augmenting the power of a ruler and his
kingdom. A parallel can be found in early medieval Śaivism– as demonstrated by Sanderson,
Śaivism created ties with the state by developing Śaiva rituals that enhanced the power of
the king.34
As the lineage goddess of many kings, Durgā or a goddess assimilated with Durgā,
contributed to their distinction, was spiritually linked to the successes of their clans and
publicly worshipped during the autumnal festival during which time kings would renew
their ties with the state by inaugurating the military year with splendid court ceremonies
honouring the goddess.35 Indeed scholars such as Gupta and Gombrich have remarked on
the interplay between the martial Devı̄, kings and power.36 Such a role is not without
attestation in scriptural and secular literature composed in the medieval era, particular in
the Purān.as, where Durgā is held to be of particular importance for the attainment and
preservation of kingship, the favours granted by her to the mythical rulers Suratha, Rāma
and the Pān.d.avas being a few examples in legend and the epics portraying this regal role.37
Although the scriptures emphasise that the worship of Durgā is “democratic”, so that all the
four castes (the Śūdra is also included in the DPT, see 3. i), and even those deemed outsiders
or reprehensible, are able, at least in theory, to perform her pūjā,38 in practice it had, from
the eighth to the fourteenth centuries ce, tended to benefit one the most – the warrior
(ks.atriya), especially a sovereign. We know, for instance, from the ending to Vidyāpati’s
influential Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄, that it was composed for his patron King Dhı̄rasim . ha of the
39
Oinwar lineage who ruled Mithilā from 1326 to 1526 ce.
This ancient connection between the goddess and the king’s “kingship” underlies the
Durgā Pūjā paddhatis written in medieval east India where, particularly in the early strata

34 “[The Śaivas] were prepared to consolidate their position in the world [ . . . ] by tying themselves to the
monarch and the monarch to them, in particular by giving Śaiva initiation to the king, promoting this as a key
element in the ceremonies that legitimated his office and added to his regal lustre” Sanderson (forthcoming) p. 2.
35 The connection between goddess worship and the Hindu kingdoms of medieval Orissa has been explored
by Kulke 1995 and Eschmann 1978.
36 Gupta and Gombrich, 1986.
37 This forms the subject of my D.Phil dissertation (Sarkar 2011). The evidence substantiating this claim will be
found there.
38 brāhmanaih ksatriyair vaiśyaih śūdrair anyaiś ca sevakaih |
. . . . .
evam . nānāmlecchagan.aih. pūjyate sarvadasyubhih. " [Bhavis.y.a Purān.a quoted in Śūlapān.i, Durgotsavaviveka, p. 2]; kartavyam
.
brāhman.ādyais tu ks.atriyair bhūmipālakaih. |
godhanārtham . viśair vatsa śudraih. putrasukhārthibhih. " Devı̄ Purān.a 22.5
39 bhūpaśrı̄bhavasimhavamśatı̄lakaśrı̄darpanārāyānasyā-
. . .
-ātmanandananandanaks.itipatih. śrı̄dhı̄rasim . hah. kr.tı̄ |
śatruśrı̄h. sahabhūr upendramahimah. śrı̄bhairavah. ks.māpatih.
durgābhakitaraṅginı̄ kr.tir iyam . tasyāstu sam
. prı̄taye " [Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ p.211, verse 2]
338 Bihani Sarkar

exemplified by the paddhatis of Jı̄mūtavāhana, Can.d.eśvara and Vidyāpati, the goddess’s

worship was primarily performed as a rite of royal power by one who sought to obtain
control of all domains (sarvavaśyatā) and sanctify his sovereign status. Conventionally, the
festival would initiate the new military year. Kings in princely states of Rajasthan, such as
Mewar, the Vijayanagara Empire in the south, the Marāt.ha kingdom in the west, and closer
to the east, in Mithilā and Cooch-Behar, celebrated and ritually constituted their power
with grand Navarātra festivals before they started off on their campaigns (yātrā).40
However, as we shall see below, the royal aspect greatly diminished in the medieval rite
of the east that was to succeed the one in Vidyāpati. In later sources such as in the DPT,
and indeed in all the Gaud.a manuals, harvest rites and motifs such as the bilva and the
navapatrikā overshadow war rituals, suggesting that the community in which the worship
was offered was agricultural, and concerns over fertility were paramount. Indeed in 1959
D.P. Chattopadhyaya pointed out the agricultural basis of the Bengali rite, finding allusions
to female genitalia and pregnancy in the lotus motif of the sarvatobhadraman.d.ala and the
anthropomorphic figure painted on the pūrn.aghat.a used during the rite, and, though his final
comment that the pūjā “is just agricultural magic” is rather reductive, he does indeed mark
a particular trend which I examine further below.41
The agricultural augmentations to the Durgā Pūjā may be connected to the fact that, in
Bengal, the goddess and her various forms were historically sacred to particular villages
as grāmadevı̄s (village goddesses). The association between the goddess and the village
community is still in evidence in many pı̄t.has (sacred sites associated with the goddess)
in the district of Birbhum in West Bengal, where, as the Śaiva legend holds, Satı̄’s body parts
fell. The community surrounding the pı̄t.ha honours the goddess with annual performances
of the Durgā Pūjā and her presence is held accountable for a good harvest and the sustenance
of the whole village.42
An investigation of her Purān.ic myths reveals that the goddess’s archaic virginal-martial
character altered in the medieval period as she was syncretised with the fertility cults of
mother goddesses (māt..rs, mātr.kā) popular at regional levels. As shown by Yokochi, to whose
research our knowledge of the early history of the goddess is greatly indebted, the virgin-
warrior “prototype” fully appears in the sixth–seventh century ce Skanda Purān.a, Chapters
34, 53–69,43 in which the goddess’s symbolism of motherhood and fertility is not understood
to be a chief facet of her nature. It is rather her warrior properties that are central. But
sometime in the eighth century ce, the virgin-warrior became cognate with Pārvatı̄, the
archetypical consort and mother, and this assimilation is reflected in Bān.a’s Can.d.ı̄śataka, 102
verses in praise of the buffalo-slaying Purān.ic goddess composed sometime in that period,
which eulogises her frequently as Gaurı̄. However this connection is made even more overt

40 Vidyāpati mentions that the military campaign begins after the pūjā following the lustration of the troops and
the consecration of metallic weapons (lauhābhikārika yajña): nı̄rājane turaṅge kr.te lauhābhikārikeyajñe abhis.ikte rājāśve
tato nr.pān.ām
. bhaved yātrā | [Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄, p. 110].
41 D.P. Chattopadhyaya 1959, pp. 294–296.
42 For more on the pı̄thas in Bengal, See Sircar, 1973. However his work is out of date. Nothing valuable on
.
this subject has been written since that time.
43 In Yokochi 2004, pp. 197–334. The edition of these chapters from the Skanda Purāna is based on the earliest
.
part of the text contained in a Nepalese manuscript of 810 ce, along with its later rescensions the Revākhan.da and
the Ambikākhan.d.a (Yokochi 2004, p. 200).
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 339

in the later eastern Purān.as – where she is homologised with indigenous mother-goddesses –
and where she is lavishly described and lauded, in no uncertain terms, as a fertility icon and
an embodiment of sexual desire. For instance, in the Kālikā, a Purān.a promoting the shrine
of Kāmākhyā in Assam, the warrior Durgā is identified with the mother-goddess Kāmākhyā
(Sanskrit “She who is called Sexual Desire”) who is held to energise the pı̄t.ha in Kāmarūpa
(modern day Assam) where Satı̄’s reproductive organs are said to have fallen, and who grants
sexual fulfillment. The relevant lines where this assimilation occurs are as follows:

pus.pam āropya kāmākhyām. śāradām āhvayen muhuh. |

ehy ehi parameśāni sānnidhyam iha kalpaya "
pūjābhāgam
. gr.hān.emam
. makham . raks.a namo’stu te |
durge durge ihāgaccha sarvaih. parikaraih. saha "
pūjābhāgam
. gr.hān.emam
. makham . raks.a namo’stu te | Kālikā Purān.a 65.30–32ab

“Placing a flower, he must repeatedly summon Kāmākhyā-Śāradā: “Arrive, arrive O Supreme

Goddess, make your presence here. Accept this portion of the worship. Protect the sacrifice.
Homage to you. O Durgā, Durgā, come here with all your attendants. Accept this portion
of the worship. Protect the sacrifice. Homage to you”.
The next two verses instruct the worshipper to invoke Kāmākhyā with the Durgā-Gāyatrı̄
mantra, further sealing the homology between the two deities in the course of worship.44
The melange between the two yields a paradox. Kāmākhyā has a dual aspect, an erotic and
a fierce one: when she wishes to make love she holds a garland; at other times she carries a
sword, as indicated in the verse:

khad.gam. tyaktvā kāmakāle sā gr.hnāti srajam . svayam |

yadā tu tyaktakāmā sā tadā syād asidhārin.ı̄ " Kālikā Purān.a 58. 57.

Leaving her sword aside before making love, she takes a garland. When she has finished
making love, she becomes [once again] a Sword-Bearer.
As a martial embodiment, not only does Kāmākhyā protect during the performance
. ), in prison (kārāgāre nibaddho) or during raids by enemies
of an apotropaic rite (śāntikam
(paracakrāgame) dressed in the trappings of a warrior deity, but, as an embodiment of sexual
properties, she also enhances erotic pleasure during love-making. So the Kālikā instructs that
a man must always meditate on Can.d.ikā (here of course also implying Kāmākhyā) before
copulating with his wife.

pativratāyām
. bhāryāyām
. sadaiva .rtusam . gamah. |
kriyate can.d.ikām
. dhyātvā tadā kāryo vibhūtaye " Kālikā Purān.a 58.9

“Copulation at the fertile period must always be performed with a devoted wife having
contemplated Can.d.ikā for the sake of prosperity”.
Hence Kāmākhyā-Can.d.ikā is described as kāmadā (pleasure giving) or kāmeśvarı̄ (goddess
of pleasure) at the same time as she augments military prowess. For the worshipper, this

44 nārāyanyai vidmahe tvām candikāyai tu dhı̄mahi "

. . ..
śes.abhāge tu gāyatryās tan naś can.d.ı̄ pracodayāt | Kālikā Purān.a 65. 30–33a
340 Bihani Sarkar

paradox is believed to be a more potent manifestation of the “Great Goddess” and her ability
to fluidly invest all forms, however opposed.
Nevertheless, despite the growing eroticisation of Can.d.ikā in the east, the old idea of her
martial nature was still coveted. Thus writers of ritual works in medieval east India frequently
referred to this association between Durgā and royal power in the ancient scriptures to
advance the benefits of the Pūjā to new clients who no doubt were eager to possess the
glitter of royalty. Thus Śūlapān.i begins his treatise on the Durgā Pūjā citing the Devı̄ Purān.a
and the Bhavis.ya Purān.a, in which rewards attractive for a man of power and prestige are
emphasised:

O King, when Durgā is pleased, the benefit in half the blinking of an eye
Not even Śiva is able to describe in a hundred years!

and

There is no famine nor sorrow in that land

Nor does someone suffer an untimely death where Can.d.ikā is worshipped
The man who pleases the Goddess with this rite
The Goddess nurtures as if he were Skanda in every misfortune.
There is no limit to his sons, wives, wealth and prosperity.
Having enjoyed supreme pleasures in this world he becomes the Goddess’s attendant after
dying.45

Śūlapān.i was singling out a specific sort of patron– one who like a king held a public
function, owned land, was concerned with mundane goals, rather than liberation, and
had wealth. It is evident from the DPT that the range of rites from the opening bodhana
to the closing visarjana, the animals needed for bali and the rich offerings spread over a
period of ten days would have amounted to a great expense. It was not a regular worship
but a lavish one (viśes.apūjā), as indeed it still remains to the present day. Given these
conditions, which social category formed the principal clients of the pūjā in medieval
Bengal?
The growing emphasis on the fecund property of the goddess in the culture of the times
encouraged the rise of a new sort of patron in late medieval Bengal, one who, if not
strictly a king, was desirous of the royal sheen and prestige associated in lore with Durgā-
worship, while simultaneously, being closely tied to a rural setting, esteemed the earth and
her yield. One indication of the slip in social patronage from king to commoner (or rather
an aristocratic “commoner”) is a gloss Jimūtavāhana makes on the phrase nr.patir api while

45 devı̄purānam |
.
tus..tāyām
. nr.pa durgāyām
. nimes.ārdhena yat phalam |
na tad vaktum . maheśo’pi śakto vars.aśatair api "

bhavis.ye
na tatra deśe durbhiks.am . na ca duh.kham . pravartate |
nākāle mriyate kaścit pūjyate yatra can.d.ikā "
anena vidhinā yas tu devı̄m . prı̄n.ayate narah. |
skandavat pālayet tam . tu devı̄ sarvāpadi sthitam. "
putradāradhanarddhı̄nām . sam. khyā tasya na vidyate |
bhuktveha paramān bhogān pretya devı̄gan.o bhavet " [Durgosavaviveka, pp. 1–2].
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 341

citing a source on the nı̄rājana – the ritual lustration of the king’s army – in his chapter on
the autumnal worship in the Kālaviveka. The source discusses the benefits of the nı̄rājana
(and the auspicious sighting of a bird thereafter) during the Durgā Pūjā with regard to a
king (nr.pati). The api used after the word nr.pati in the source is obviously viewed as open to
interpretation by Jı̄mūtavāhana. In his commentary Jı̄mūtavāhana writes: “By the word api
even a non-king (anr.patir api) must be implied.”46 Jı̄mūtavāhana’s pushing the word to make
nr.pati also mean a commoner (anr.pati) implies that a range of patrons existed for the Durgā
Pūjā who were not strictly kings.
Raghunandana does not mention who his patrons were. Nevertheless it is possible to
unravel the social position of the intended patron via clues provided in the DPT. The
first set appears in the sam . kalpa, the Formal Declaration of Intent. The sam . kalpa is taken
before the initiation of any component rite of the worship. During its taking, the patron
defines himself through epithets conveying what he seeks to achieve through the ritual
while swearing an oath to fulfil his ritual obligations to their completion. From these
epithets, the goals and status of the patron for whom the work was written can be
inferred. The epithets used for the patron throughout the course of worship are as follows:
‘śrı̄amukadevaśarman’, ‘atulavibhūtikāmah.’ (2), ‘sam . vatsarasukhakāmah.’ (2), ‘śrı̄durgāprāptikāmah.’/
‘śrı̄durgāprı̄tikāmah.’ (4), ‘sarvabādhānirmuktatvadhanadhānyasutānvitatvakāmah.’, ‘sarvakāmasiddhi
kāmah.’, ‘[viśis..taphaloddeśe] dhanakāmah., putrakāmah.’, ‘skandavatpālanāsam . khyātaputradārādh
anardhimadaihikaparamabhogalābhapūrvakāmutradevabhavana-kāmah.’, ‘mahābalabhavanakāmah.’,
‘daśavars.ānavachinnaśrı̄durgāprı̄tikāmah.’.47 There are two variations given in case the patron
requires specific benefits (viśis..taphaloddeśe) such as wealth (dhanakāmah.) and sons (putrakāmah.).
He mainly desires the following: (i) either incomparable wealth (atulavibhūtikāmah.) or (in case
he chooses not to select this phrase) happiness for the new year (sam . vatsarasukhakāmah.) or
simply to either please or be united with Durgā (śrı̄durgāprı̄tikāmah./śrı̄durgāprāptikāmah.); (ii)
freedom from all obstacles (sarvabādhanirmuktatva) and being endowed with (-anvita) wealth
(dhana), crops (dhānya) and sons (suta); (iii) to accomplish all desires (sarvakāmasiddhikāmah.);
(iv) [to be] nurtured like Skanda [by the Goddess] (skandavatpālana-), [to have] countless
sons, wives, wealth and prosperity (asam . khyātaputradārādhanarddhi-) along with (-mad-)
supreme bliss in this world (aihaikaparamabhogalābha-) followed by heaven in the next world
(pūrvakāmutradevabhavana); (v) to become extremely powerful (mahābalabhavanakāmah.); (vi)
Durgā’s affection for ten years (daśavars.ānavachinnaśrı̄durgāprı̄tikāmah.). Lastly his name is given
as being (such-and-such-a) Devaśarman. Of these (ii) and (iv) overlap – the desire to beget
sons and secure wealth being the most common concern.
From the beginning of the pūjā to the very end, what characterises the ritualised goals
of the patron is desire for the enhancement of land, sons, wealth and power. Soteriological

46 nrpatir api śubham śubhapradeśe

. .
khagam avalokya mahı̄tale nidadhyāt |
surabhikusumadhūpayutam arghyam .
śubham abhinanditam evam eti vr.ddhim "
nr.patir api ity api śabdena anr.patir api syād iti darśitam | [Kālaviveka compiled in Durgāpūjāvaviveka, p. 36]
47 The samkalpa taken during the initiation of the modern Durgā Pūjā continues to use similar terminology:
.
Rodrigues 2003, p. 82.
342 Bihani Sarkar

concerns are marginal as indicated in (iv), for the desired other-worldly reward is simply
rebirth in heaven, not liberation from transmigratory existence. No supernatural powers are
demanded, thus distinguishing the pūjā in this respect from a rite for magical siddhis. The
fundamental aim of the ritual, as indicated in the sam . kalpa, is to please Durgā for material
needs. We thus find the archaic terminology suggestive of royalty and monarchical aspirations
still deeply embedded within a relatively new ritual structure that, on the whole, privileged
symbols of fecundity and the earth. A striking feature of the patron is that he is not a
warrior (ks.atriya) by caste, while conventionally the ks.atriya caste is usually associated with
the demand for warrior-centric rites such as the nı̄rājana. This is indicated by the patron
being called Devaśarman – a Brahmin name – which means that Raghunandana’s text was
primarily intended for a rich brahmin, a lay worshipper rather than an ascetic or a devoted
initiated practitioner. In all probability he was an independent feudal lord, such was common
in Bengal at the time, who owned land, ran a household, saw himself and his lineage as
being responsible for the welfare and protection of those working on his estate. He would
sponsor the Durgā Pūjā to celebrate the goddess to safeguard his possessions, gain a good
harvest and show his rivals that he was a person of standing, rather than to secure military
success and ward off danger, which were largely secondary benefits.
Evidence of Brahmin landlords who celebrated the Durgā Pūjā is scarce, but some
sources attribute the performance of the first rite to a local king and bhuiyān, the Rājā
Kam . sanārāyan.a of Tāhirapura in Varendra, a Brahmin of the Rāya lineage, sometime in
1583.48 Kam . sanārāyan.a was famous for assisting Todar Mal and Munim Khan, Akbar’s
deputies, in dislodging the Afghan Daud Karrani from power and consolidating Mughal
rule in Bengal. After being thwarted by the Akbari government in furthering his political
ambitions, Kam . sanārāyan.a returned to Tāhirapura, having refused the post of the Diwan
(finance minister) in the Mughal government in Bengal. Back in his private estate, his
ambitions nipped in the bud, he experienced an urge to become a rule-abiding and dharmic
leader. He asked his priest to suggest the names of religious sacrifices he could sponsor in
order to regain his fading power. Eliminating the rājasūya and aśvamedha, the priests selected
the Durgā Pūjā. Kam . sanārāyan.a commissioned his chaplain (rājapurohita) the Tantric Rameśa
Śarman to compose a treatise on the autumnal Durgā Pūjā, and performed a pūjā so grand
it aroused the jealousy of his rivals. They were quick to follow suit. Other sources attribute
importance to the zamindār Laks.mı̄ Kānta, a Brahmin of the Sāvarn.i lineage, and the Rājā
Vasanta Rāya of Raigarh as the joint-promulgators of the first autumnal rite in Bengal in the
year 1585.49 The success of this rite, which was public and attended by many people, meant
that it soon attracted other patrons among the landlord class. Whatever the truth of these
claims, they nevertheless point to the fact that the Mughal invasion marked a watershed in
history for the Bengali autumnal rite, along with the growing assertion and confidence of
the zamindāri class. Landlords in the mould of Kam . sanārāyan.a, Laks.mı̄ Kānta and Vasanta
Rāya possibly exemplify the kind of patrons Raghunandana’s pūjā may have attracted; and
the spread of the Durgā-rite, suggestive as it was of traditional regality, was inextricably
linked to their demonstration and ritual constitution of political splendour and might.

48 M. Bandopadhyaya, 1975, 2002, pp. 348–352; Fell McDermott, 1995 in Rodrigues, 2003, p. 19.
49 Roy, 1990, p. 198 in Rodrigues, 2003, p. 19.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 343

A further example may be found in an account of the Mughal invasion of Bengal in the
poem entitled Annadāmaṅġal by the eighteenth-century Bengali poet Bhāratacandra. In the
third book, Bhāratacandra describes the fortunes of a local chieftain, Bhavānanda Majumdār
of Baguyan – ‘nām khub huśiyār bāṅgālı̄ bāmon’ (a Bengali Brahmin of great valour) who
is said to have begun the worship of the goddess after his campaign against the Muslims.
The story therefore adapts as its central motif an old Śākta theme of goddess worship by
kings before and during battles whose pedigree stretches back to such ancient sources as the
seventh-century Prakrit Gaud.avaho of Bappaı̄ and modifies it to suit the temper of the times.
In contrast to her martial character in early literature, the goddess in the Annadāmaṅgal, like
the Assamese Kāmākhyā-Can.d.ikā, is perceived as the fecund force of the cosmos, associated
with new life and food. She is also depicted as the saviour of the pious Brahmin against
the Muslims. However, here the character of the deity is different from the early sources
in which the theme of worshipping the goddess before battles is presented– the goddess
of Bhavānanda’s Durgā Pūjā, like the Assamese Kāmākhyā-Can.d.ikā, is conceived as having
mainly fecund, nurturing qualities.
The book, opening with the Mughal deputy Mānsim . ha’s arrival in Bengal to fight King
Pratāpāditya of Vardhamāna, narrates that the Rajput enlisted the support of Bhavānanda in
his war. Bhavānanda was a fervent devotee of Annapūrn.ā, an agricultural form of the Purān.ic
Durgā held in high regard in Bengal as the giver of crops and nourishment to the human
world. But in a testament to the Bengali trend of assimilating fertility goddesses with Durgā,
prevalent, as we have seen, even in Assam, Annapūrn.ā is also described in verses of homage
as a warrior goddess herself, capable of great massacre and victory in war. For instance in the
Purān.ic Mahis.amardinı̄, she is called the slayer of Mahis.a and asked to grant prosperity to
the king and good fortune to the kingdom (rājār maṅgal kara rājyer kuśal), thus indicating her
close ties with kingship, or in this case feudal lordship. Evoking her name which means “She
who makes replete with victuals”, the poem emphasises her power to nourish through crops
and food. In order to rouse the Rajput King’s awareness of her mahimā (power), Annapūrn.ā
created a great storm that destroyed his provisions, livestock, animals and troops. Through
her grace and nutritive powers, Bhavānanda provided Mānsim . ha with an abundant supply of
food and grain for a week, and thus kept him and his troops alive. On Mānsim . ha enquiring
about the cause of this apparent magic, Bhavānanda revealed the presence of the goddess in
his life and described her ritual procedure to him. Thus enlightened by his ally, Mānsim . ha
worshipped Annapūrn.ā and, pleased by his devotion, she ended the storm. Thereafter,
Mānsim . ha conquered Pratāpāditya of Vardhamāna in a formidable battle, and attributed
his success to Annapūrn.ā’s nurturing of Bhavānanda. In gratitude he asked Bhavānanda to
accompany him to the Delhi durbar and promised a kingdom and riches from the emperor.
Before they embarked on their victorious procession northwards, Bhavānanda worshipped
Annapūrn.ā in order to secure her blessings before the campaign (yātrā).
On his arrival in Delhi, Mānsim . ha praised Bhavānanda’s conduct and Annapūrn.ā’s majesty
to Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, and requested him to reward the Brahmin with a kingdom.
However Jahangir spurned his request, casting scorn on Annapūrn.ā as a satanic demoness
and clapping Bhavānanda behind bars. In prison, Bhavānanda sang a hymn to Annapūrn.ā
in despair. She travelled to Delhi with her companions Jayā and Vijayā, granted him abhaya
(fearlessness) and in her wrath, switching into her wild aspect, commanded her hordes of
344 Bihani Sarkar

yoginı̄s, d.ākinı̄s, bhūtas, guhyakas and bhairavas to lay seige to Delhi in scenes highly evocative of
Durgā and her fury in such Sanskrit sources as the Kathāsaritsāgara 15.1 and the battle scenes
of the Purān.as. But in the case of the Annadāmaṅgala the poet replaces Purān.ic demons with
the Muslims, and the ghost hordes of myth invade the homes of Mughal Delhi instead of
the battlefields of heaven, gleefully terrorising the women of the zenana in a pastiche of their
onslaught on the gods. Then Annapūrn.ā proceeded to rob the city of all its provisions. Note
again how it is the ability to nurture and provide victuals that is emphasised as the goddess’s
ultimate power over the cosmos. Punishment is conceptualised as the threat of the goddess
to cut all nutritive cords and it is only by this threat of starvation that the emperor is brought
to his senses. He then begged Bhavānanda’s pardon. In the prison the goddess manifested, in
divine visions, her māyāprapañca, her paradoxical abilities to pervade and sustain the world
in a bewildering array of ultimately delusory forms.The emperor was surrounded on all sides
by scenes of the goddess’s legend from the Devı̄māhātmya, where again Annapūrn.ā’s identity
merges with the Purān.ic warrior Durgā. In some places he witnessed her slaying of the
demons Madhu and Kait.abha, the buffalo demon Mahis.a; in others he saw the messenger’s
account of the goddess to Śumbha-Niśumbha, the slaying of the demon Dhūmralocana, the
deaths of Raktabı̄ja, Can.d.a and Mun.d.a by Cāmun.d.ā, Śumbha and Niśumbha’s deaths, the
appearance of the goddess before the merchant Samādhi and the king Suratha, the central
human characters in the Devı̄māhātmya myth and so on. Astonished and overcome, he wished
to worship the goddess and encouraged the rest of the Muslim populace to become Śāktas.
What follows now appears conventional in a goddess story: pleased by the Mughal king’s
worship, her anger abated and Annapurn.ā granted him her vision. On his triumphant return
from Delhi to his estate, Bhavānanda with a great fanfare began an annual Spring worship
to Annapūrn.ā in Caitra.50 This is also described by the smārtas as Durgā’s Vernal Rite, the
Vāsantı̄pūjā.51
The Annadāmaṅgala illuminates a particular moment in Bengali devotional history,
marking, perhaps for the first time, in sophisticated, bold and witty verse, the rise of the
cult of the agricultural Durgā in the domain of the aristocratic feudal home, whose presence
pervades the medieval Bengali Durgā Pūjā. Durgā in various local manifestations symbolic
of the nurturing “mother”, rather than the “Demon-Slayer” (though this still remained a
shadowy trace in the background), was worshipped during the medieval period in Bengal –
both through the autumnal and the spring rites by zamindārs of influence who regarded her
as the reason for their success. For just as Annadā was a cornucopia of food, so was she
believed to overflow with glory, gifts and wealth.
As demonstrated in both the Annadāmaṅgala and in the case of Kam . sanārāyan.a, these
zamindārs were mainly small but proud chieftains whose political fortunes were on the rise.
Their impact on the genesis of an urban Bengali culture and lifestyle was significant: they
were sophisticated and erudite patrons of the arts, setting standards in their domains that
were to be copied all over Bengal in other well-to-do homes, often well versed in Sanskrit,
Bengali and Persian. In their spiritual lives some (such as the zamindār Cakradhara Bhuyān,

50 Śūlapāni, Vāsantı̄viveka; Vācaspatı̄ Miśra, Vāsantı̄pūjāprakaran.a from the Kr.tyacintāman.i.

.
51 Annadāmaṅgala, Book III, pp. 292–344.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 345

feudatory of Mānsingh)52 believed they held a private relationship with Durgā, and by virtue
of this personal affinity, regarded themselves to be superior to more established kings and the
Muslim superpowers, evidenced in Bhavānanda’s own defiance of the Mughals. In fact, the
rise of the cult of the agricultural Durgā among the aristocracy of Bengal was tied up with
the reinvigoration of Bengali Brahmin identity that sought to preserve its religious purity
against the dominance of the Muslims. The Śākta zamindārs believed that in all actions in life
they were favoured by this goddess’s grace, a belief that encouraged their independence and
feats of heroism. For what set Durgā apart from a salvific male god who could grant power
but ultimately remained at an impersonal distance from mortals was the view in the literature
and culture of the age that her relationship with select worshippers was private, intense and
palpable, marked by fits, trances, possession. She appears to the elect in dream visions (as in
the Kathāsaritsāgara 7.3 or 7.8.57–59) or in person (as in Bhavānanda’s tale) or in the form of a
young girl (such as the boatmen’s encounter with the runaway bride in the poem Īśvarı̄ Pāt.nı̄
from the Annadāmaṅgal) when exhorted. These appearances, highly charged and visceral,
are rare and consequently greatly valued by the worshipper. In literature we find that those
to whom she appears profit immeasurably in the fruition of their ambitions. She appears to
them not once but many times in their lives, during moments of crisis or change, such as
when Bhavānanda is imprisoned in Delhi or when he returns home to Bengal, a successful
man after his travels. And the goddess herself profits in equal measure, being vaunted, feted
and paid lavish tribute by her grateful votary. To ensure the continuance of this mutually
profitable relationship, the compact between chieftain and goddess is carefully maintained
in his family, generation after generation, biannually celebrated during the beginning of the
harvest in Spring and the military year in Autumn.
Let us now consider the particulars of the feudal pūjā. One thing is clear about the worship
prescribed in the DPT: it was not a court rite. Earlier pūjās of Durgā tended mainly to be
court events that secured the interests of the entire kingdom. The Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄ is
one of the earliest medieval east Indian sources for the court rite. The pūjā in that work
was obviously envisaged on a much grander scale than Raghunandana’s. Lists of offerings
to the goddess include many kinds of cloth, ornaments such as jewels, crowns, gold vessels,
parasols with gold and copper handles, chowries with gold and jewelled handles, appointed
beds, canopies, horses, cows, white buffaloes, slave girls, three kinds of crested banners, land
grants, crops and so forth gifts that only a well-endowed and opulent court could muster.53
Raghunandana’s text in contrast gives a comparatively restrained inventory, followed usually
by the option yathāśakti/yathālābham
. (according to one’s means; as he is able to procure)
indicating a more modest backdrop for the ritual and that the performer was not as wealthy
as a king. Furthermore, had his patrons been kings, Raghunandana would surely have
included a dedicatory verse, standard in most texts commissioned by royalty.
A key ritual of kingship during the Durgā Pūjā was the lustration of the king’s army
(nı̄rājana). Towards the end of the goddess’s festival, a monarch would lustrate his army and
his possessions before setting off on his campaign. Many Purān.as discuss the nı̄rājana of a

52 In 1604 Cakradhara built a temple to the goddess Sarvamaṅgalā in Medinipur, Bengal who reportedly
commanded him to do so. The accompanying inscription says that the shrine was completed “in obedience to the
command of Śrı̄ Maṅgalā T.hākurān.ı̄”, A.K. Bhattacharya 1982, p. 61.
53 Durgābhaktitaraṅginı̄, pp. 170–186.
.
346 Bihani Sarkar

king’s army during the Durgā Pūjā in some detail. A myth from the Kālikā Purān.a says that
Indra performed the nı̄rājana after Durgā’s battle with Mahis.a to ward off evil and to bring
prosperity to the army of the gods and the kingdom of heaven.54 So Jı̄mūtavāhana underlines
the necessity of the lustration for kings during the goddess’s festival by citing the passage:
On the Twelfth, Eighth or Fifteenth of the bright half of Kārttika
Conjoined with Aśva a king must perform the apotropaic [rite] known as the Nı̄rājana.
When the nı̄rājana is completed, in that direction where he sees
A wagtail depart, the king having gone acquires immediate power over enemies.55

The nı̄rājana followed by the king’s yātrā (military campaign) is commonplace in most
of the smārta paddhatis. Vidyāpati, for instance, devotes a substantial portion of his
work to this, citing as one of his authorities Bhojarāja, King of Dhāra. A royal
gateway (toran.a) measuring ten cubits (daśahastam ucchritam . ) in length and eight cubits
in width (vistāre’s..tau) is to be erected facing the east (prāṅmukham . ), decorated with
crested banners and garlands (dhvajamālāvibhūs.itam . ) and well protected with medicinal herbs
(suraks.itam. caus.ad.hibhih.). After being bathed and purified, the king’s horses are led by
armoured soldiers (sam . nāhikapurah.sarāh.) with the chanting of hymns (brahmaghos.aih.) and
musical accompaniment (gı̄tavāditranih.svanaih.) eulogised by bards, panegyrists and musicians
(sūtamāgadhagandharvaih. stūyamānas) and protected by weapon-bearing soldiers and grooms
(śastrahastaiś ca purus.ais tathaivāśvopajı̄vibhih. . . . raks.yamān.āś) to the gateway. The officiant
lights a fire near the southern pillar and, having offered an oblation in the fire, he blesses
the king. In the north and south of the gate stand eight able-bodied men (as..tau man.us.yā
avyaṅgā ulkāhastādvidhā sthitāh.) bearing blazing torches in each hand in order to protect the
horses from fire-fearing raks.asas. The fire is passed around from torch to torch. The horses
are sprinkled with the remaining oblation or offered ‘pin.d.as’ (rice balls) with an invocation.
The oblation is fed to the horses and they are consecrated with verses recited into their right
ear. They are then sprinkled with water from kuśa grass and led by the king and his ministers
through the gateway with cries of “Jaya” (Victory). It is quite apparent that the nı̄rājana was
envisaged as a state rite that would protect the army and ensure its success in forthcoming
campaigns.56
However, in the case of the DPT the nı̄rājana is no longer performed on an army and there
is no mention of the king’s yātrā following it. The nı̄rājana is now performed only for the
goddess’s image. Metaphors of kingship are retained in the worship, such as the ringing of the
bell which is described as the “sound of victory”, the chowrie (cāmara), the parasol (chatra),
the crested banner (dhvaja) – the three emblems of sovereignty, the worship of weapons
(astrapūjā/śastrapūjā) and the obligatory animal sacrifice whereby the patron would become
a mahābala, kinglike in his powers. But in the absence of an army, these have now become
domesticated rites of state power that are merely symbolic in their function.

54 śakro’pi devasenāyā nı̄rājanam athākarot |

śāntyartham . surasainyānām . devarājyasya vr.ddhaye " [Kālikā Purān.a 60.33]
55 dvādaśyām astamyām kārttikaśuklasya pañcadaśamyām vā |
.. . .
āśvayuje vā kuryān nı̄rājanasam . jñitām
. śāntim "
nı̄rājane nivr.tte yayā diśā khañjanam . nr.po yāntam |
paśyet tayā gatasya ks.ipram arātir vaśam upaiti " [Durgotsavaviveka, p. 36]
56 Durgābhaktitaraṅginı̄, p. 125.
.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 347

A further rite performed in the court pūjā was the ritual entrance of the horses in the king’s
stable. Its importance lay in empowering warhorses for battle. It was performed on the bright
second lunar day of the worship and continued up to the ninth. In the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄
the rite is perfomed to the deities Revanta and Uccaih.śravas to ward off malignant forces
from the horses.57 In the DPT this rite is not taught at all. Clearly the patron of the
DPT did not require such an obviously military component of the worship and, indeed,
all martial rites are supplanted by agricultural rites from the first phase of the pūjā up to
the night of the seventh (Saptamı̄) lunar day. The warrior rites are now concentrated in the
antepenultimate and penultimate days [see Table of the Main Rites], a move that, I strongly
suspect, reveals they may be completely phased out in due course from the ritual sequence.
The structure of the pūjā had changed in the DPT so that a clear division between the two
sets of agricultural and warrior rites became discernible. In the court rite of Vidyāpati this
division was not maintained and warrior rites frequently overlapped with agricultural rites.
This harvest–warrior schism in the ritual structure appeared in the Bengali rite even before
Raghunandana, in the works Jı̄mūtavāhana, Śūlapān.i and Śrı̄nātha and he thus represents a
mature phase of this development.
All these factors indicate that the pūjā was being performed in the domain of private
Bengali households rather than in the royal courts.58 It had thus adapted from being a rite
of state empowerment to a rite that empowered a wealthy household. Hence rites that
prepared the state for armed conflict are either completely eschewed or kept only in name,
while rites that brought a good harvest or added the qualities of kingship to the patron
and his household are maintained. This transition was no doubt encouraged by a particular
phenomenon in Bengali history when, as previously noted, there was an upsurge of local
landlords. They maintained lavish homes in lieu of courts, so complex in organisation that
they formed small kingdoms unto themselves. Bhavānanda’s administration, for instance, is
vividly described by Bhāratacandra in the following way:

An overjoyed Bhavānanda Majumdār, having bathed and worshipped his deity, stepped out of the
inner quarters of his house. The clock-man made the clock ring out the hour and the baton-man
stood in front with his stick. The king’s secretary who looks after the collection of taxes (dewān),
the officer for the measurement of land (āmı̄n), the official who drafts letters on behalf of the king
(baks.ı̄), the officials who take care of papers and files (munshı̄, daptarı̄) and the treasurer (khājāñcı̄)
were all duly appointed after great deliberation. The draftsman and the assistant started doing the
accounts. The representative of the king (nāyeb) wrote out the edict (farmān) in accordance with
his command and despatched it to the suburban areas (maphasval). All the subdivisions (pargan.ā)
were brought under his rule. All subjects, village headsmen and revenue collectors came to see
the new ruler. They brought gifts of different kinds (śiropā) and also monetary offerings (selāmı̄)
which were four times the gifts that were offered. In this way, gradually, all formalities of a royal
state (rājatva) were started and maintained. (Bhavānanda) coming to know that the month of
Agrahāyana (now considered the eighth month of the Bengali year) is the beginning of the year,
decided that the collection of revenue should start on the auspicious day. Having joyfully passed

57 Durgābhaktitaraṅginı̄, pp. 111–116.

.
58 From the eighteenth century to the
beginning of the twentieth century, the majority of Durgā Pūjās held in
Bengal were conducted in such households.
348 Bihani Sarkar

the months of Paus.a, Māgha and Phālguna, (Bhavānanda) started worshipping Goddess Annadā
in the month of Caitra.59

Households modelled on royal courts such as this were the likely settings for goddess
worship throughout Bengal. Zamindārs like Bhavānanda emulated the mannerisms and
customs of larger kings, describing their domains as “rājatvas” (kingdom), using the
administrative divisions and titles of the more powerful Islamic court such as dewans, munshis,
nayabs and so forth and including in their life-style the use of rituals conventionally associated
with Hindu kingship, although they would not have necessarily initiated military campaigns.
This was because zamindārs were primarily keepers of land and not soldiers. Nevertheless
they were eager to sponsor the worship of the goddess for prestige and sanctification, and
also to assert their religious identity against the Islamic government that held power.
Be it in the court or in the large household, the fundamental context for the rite
remained the same. The worship of Durgā was attached to bastions of privilege and power.
What is significant in this movement from court to household is that the rite diffused from
centres of state power to localised levels of power represented by the landed gentry. In
tandem with this development, the martial character of the deity, once sacred to the old
warrior races that ran kingdoms and waged wars, also diminished as she came increasingly
to be viewed as a pacific deity with power over the harvest on which the Bengali feudal
household depended. With the demise of monarchies and fiefdoms, rituals associated with
the empowerment of state and household naturally grew redundant. Thus in the modern
pūjā, the role of the zamindāri patron, his family and the feudal home has been taken over
by the civic community. The majority of modern Bengali Durgā Pūjās are collective and
funded by urban organisations through subscriptions.

59 Translation by Paulami Sengupta kindly given to me in a personal communication and not previously
published. The original passage runs thus:

param ānande bhavānanda majundār |

snān pūjā kariya bāhire dilā bār "
ghad.iyāl .thon .thon bājāiche ghad.i |
copdār samukhe dāṅd.āy laye chad.i "
dewān āmı̄n baks.ı̄ munsı̄ daptarı̄ |
khājāñcı̄ niyukta kailā vivecanā kari "
sahabatı̄ hisāb nikāś bāje daphā |
muhrir rākhila hisāb kari raphā "
pharmānmat sab sanad likhiyā |
maphasvale nāyeb dilen pāt.hāiyā "
pargan.ā pargan.ā hoilo āmal |
dekhā kaila jata prajā gomastā man.d.al "
śiraphā dilen sabe vividha prakār |
selāmı̄ dilek sabe caturgun.a tār "
ei rūp rājatver je kichu niyam |
krame krame karilā jatek upakram "
hāyaner agra agrahāyan jāniyā |
śubha dine pun.yāha karilā vicāriyā "
paus.a māgh phālgun vañciyā sukhasār |
caitra māse pūjā ārambhilā annadār " (Annadāmaṅgal, Book III, ‘Majundārer Rājya’, p. 338)
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 349

Part 2. An Overview of the Ritual Procedure of the Durgāpūjātattva:

All forms of Can.d.ı̄-worship were construed by mainstream Brahminical religion as

antinomian to some degree: bloodshed in the presence of the deity during the animal
sacrifice, the visible offering of the blood and Tantric worship, essential to goddess worship
at least in Bengal, were viewed with suspicion by most Vaidikas, on account of their inherent
impurity.60 This may explain why, for instance, they do not appear in the Navarātra rites in
more orthodox regions such as Tanjore. Their performance in the open during the public
rites of the Durgā Pūjā – an event attended by large numbers of people – required additional
support. The challenge for Raghunandana, a strict orthodox Brahmin, would have been
to prepare a form of worship that occupied the middle ground – one that worshipped the
goddess properly, that is to say with blood and Tantric rituals – while at the same time not
being seen to cause impurity in the eyes of brahminical orthodoxy. Therefore the rites in the
DPT are a blend of Tantricised and orthodox Brahminical elements. While the orthodox
elements gave the rites the legitimate basis sought after by the feudal lord, the Tantric rites
would have made the power-bestowing element of the pūjā more effective, and would have
been seen to propitiate the wrathful nature of the goddess.
Immediately recognisable Tantricised rites in the DPT are the bhūtaśuddhi (purification
of gross matter), nyāsa (installation of mantras on the body) and the worship of the Mother
goddesses (mātr.s). Contemplative Tantric rites of visualisation and self-identification with the
deity are also common features of the worship Raghunandana advocates. Indeed a striking
feature of the DPT is the strong emphasis laid on Tantric meditation, unaccounted, to
my knowledge, in any of the other smārta works. Animal sacrifice is elaborately described,
indicating that though orthodox, Raghunandana was certainly not squeamish in this matter.
However, every rite in the DPT operates within the framework of Brahminical purity
(śauca) – offerings of the cleansing ācamana (sipping) water are made to the goddess at
all times; a verse is recited during the animal sacrifice that justifies “the killing as not a
killing” (yajñe vadho’vadhah.) thereby incurring no sin; an option to replace animal sacrifice
by vegetable offerings is included; and though flesh is acceptable, alcohol is not.
Like all the smārtas, Raghunandana held that the rite was both nitya (obligatory) and kāmya
(optional): that is, it was to be performed calendrically as a matter of rule, and at the same time
because it fulfilled a specific need (kāma).61 It should be noted that the smārtas were the first to

60 “In the Vedic animal sacrifice, the sacrificial animal is slain by suffocation. No blood is allowed to be spilt
(Schwab 1886, pp. 88–107; Minkowski 1991, pp. 39–64).” During the Vedic paśubandha, the animal is tied to a post
in front of the āhāvanı̄ya fire, and consecrated in various ways, especially with apotropaic verses from the R . gveda
and a firebrand lit from the āhāvanı̄ya pit. It is led away, to a spot called the śāmitra on the boundary of the enclosure
(note the separation of ritual slaughter from the locus of ritual sacrifice) and suffocated. Once dead, the animal is
cut open and the relevant pieces removed. While the animal is being stifled, the sacrificer and the priests, apart
from those directly involved, turn their back. This action strikes me as a gesture indicative of the shame caused by
the associated impurity attached to the killing. See Minkowski 1991, p. 40, where he notes “the Maitrāvarun.a’s
duties are very closely tied to containment, as it were, of the inauspiciousness inherent in the animal’s death”. By
turning their backs the “R . gveda priests are ritually dissociated from the moment of the animal’s death” (p. 51). I
am grateful to Professor Minkowski for indicating the passages in Schwab.
61 athāśvinadurgāpūjā nityā kāmyā ca | [DPT, Prayoga].
In the Pramān.a section Raghunandananana justifies this claim with “tatah. sam . yogapr.thaktvanyāyād ubhayarūpeyam”,
referring to “ekasya tūbhayatve sam . yogapr.thaktvam’ Mı̄mām
. sāsūtra, 4,3.5 – The rule of ‘Sam . yogapr.thaktvam” occurs
when when one [ritual] is applicable in both cases [i.e. it can be performed as a kāmya and a nitya ritual]. Also see
Kane 1994, p. 156.
350 Bihani Sarkar

apply the nomenclature of orthodox ritual to make the pūjā fit the standardised Brahminical
scheme. The performance of the rituals is guided by the orthodox prescription that an
appropriate time is required for the rite to be fruitful.62 Unless the moment is propitious,
the rite will yield no benefit for the patron. Thus each rite during the autumnal festival
takes place at a certain time (astronomically determined) on a certain tithi, a lunar day, in the
month of Āśvina. Conventionally, the Durgā Pūjā rites in Āśvina span ten lunar days, with
most of the major rituals taking place in the bright phase, as Durgā is closely associated with
light (tejas) in the Purān.as. During these days, the goddess is considered to manifest herself
on earth to slay evildoers and provide blessings and prosperity to all deserving humankind.
The time of the Durgā Pūjā is calculated according to the Brahminical lunar calendar
which is divided, according to the phases (paks.as) of the moon, into a bright (śukla/sita)
phase and a dark (kr..sn.a/ asita) phase. Each phase consists of fifteen tithis. According to
this lunar calendar, Raghunandana stipulates seven ritual sequences (kalpas) determining
the start of the pūjā: i) navamyādikalpah.63 : beginning on the dark ninth (navamı̄) of Āśvina
continuing till the tenth (daśamı̄) in the bright phase of Āśvina, in the event that the lunar
month is calculated from a New Moon64 ; ii) pratipadādikalpah.65 : beginning on the bright
first (pratipat) lasting until the bright Daśamı̄ in the event that the calendar is counted
from the full moon (as is presently the custom in Bengal) iii) .sas..thyādikalpah.66 : beginning
from the Bright Sixth (s.as..thı̄) till Daśamı̄ iv) saptamyādikalpah.67 : beginning on the bright

62 nimittam kālam āśritya vrttir vidhi-nisedhayoh | iti Vrddhagārgyavacane kālasya nimittatvapratı̄teh atrāpi śaratkāle iti
. . . . . .
nimittatvena śruteh. śaratkālı̄neti durgāpūjāyā viśes.an.atvenollikhyate | [DPT, Pramān.a]
63 DPT, pp. 47–49.
64 In the Pramāna Raghunandana says while glossing a verse from the Devı̄ Purāna, teaching the initiation of
. .
the Navarātra from the Dark Ninth of Āśvina till the Bright Sixth:
tatra devı̄purān.am –

“is.e māsy asite paks.e kanyārāśigate ravau |

navamyām . bodhayed devı̄m . krı̄d.ākautukamaṅgalaih. "
jyes..thānaks.atrayuktāyām
. .sas..thyām
. bilvābhimantran.am |”
tatrāśvinamāsı̄yāyām
. kr..sn.anavamyām
. bodhanam uktvā tadı̄yāsu śuklas.as..thyāditithis.u kr.tyābhidhānād āśvinasya
kr..sn.āditvam
. pratı̄yate
On this subject the Devı̄purān.a says, “In the dark quarter of Is.a (āśvina), when the sun is in Virgo, one should
awaken the goddess on the ninth with games, marvellous spectacles and benedictory verses. The Invitation
(abhimantran.a) of the goddess is on the sixth conjoined with the constellation Jyes.t.hā.

Here, since, having said that the awakening is on the dark navamı̄ in the month of Āśvina, [the verse] declares
that the rites are [to continue] up to the sixth bright lunar day of that very month, it is understood that Āśvina
begins with a dark quarter.

This suggests that the Devı̄ purān.a passage followed a Purn.imānta (beginning with a new moon, ending in a full
moon) calendrical system for the Navarātra, while the post-Sena calendar in Bengal, converting to the Amānta
system (beginning with a Full Moon, ending with a New Moon), obviously necessitated changes in the initiation
tithi of the Bengali Durgā-rite.
The present rite in Bengal interprets the kalpa beginning on Navamı̄ to mean the dark ninth of Bhādra, the
month prior to Āśvina, a development first mentioned by Jı̄mūtavāhana in the Kālaviveka (Durgāpūjāviveka, p. 30).
It is possible that this change developed with the switch to the Amānta calendrical system under the Senas.
Raghunandana obviously recollected the pre-Sena system referred to in the Devı̄ Purān.a and it could have been
the case that there were still parts in the east where this system continued to be followed at the time.
65 DPT, pp. 49.
66 Ibid, pp. 49–50
67 Ibid, pp. 50–58.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 351

seventh (saptamı̄) till Daśamı̄ v) mahās..tamyādikalpah.68 : beginning with the bright “special
eighth” (as..tamı̄) continuing till Daśamı̄ vi) kevalamahās..tamı̄kalpa: worship solely on the bright
“special eighth” vii) kevalamahānavamı̄kalpah.69 : worship only on the bright “special ninth”.
The traditional customs of the household of the patron dictate which sequence will be
followed. This seven-fold kalpa division is still maintained in the present Bengali rite.70 The
earliest reference to this system is to be found in Śūlapān.i.71
A hundred (śatāvr.tti) or fifteen (pañcādaśa) recitations from the Purān.ic Devı̄māhātmya, the
principle scripture of the brahminical worshippers of the goddess, must be performed until
Mahānavamı̄, a feature introduced for the first time in the DPT for it does not appear in the
older Gaud.ı̄ya treatises. In this scripture, the goddess’s triumph over various Asuras, notably
the buffalo demon Mahis.a, and her restitution of universal order are celebrated in three
histories (carita) of her deeds.72 This recitation, a eulogy and evocation of the Supreme
Goddess’s actions as the sole substrate pervading the cosmos, forms the hymnal backdrop
to the worship of the goddess and continues to form an important part of the present rite.
During the worship, the goddess undergoes stages of transformation ultimately maturing into
the omnipotent “goddess”. In the first stage, after the officiant rids the pūjā space of obstacle
causers, she is ritually installed and worshipped in a tree and in a womb-shaped receptacle
(ghat.a)73 which strongly evoke allusions to the earth and reproduction. In addition to the
goddess, the nine planets, the Sun, Gan.eśa, Śiva and Vis.n.u are worshipped in the water of
the ghat.a with flowers, perfume, lights and incense offerings. Then a chalice with the arghya
water is ritually installed, its waters are induced to turn to divine nectar through the officiant’s
enactment of the dhenu mūdrā and the water is offered to a bilva tree along with the five-fold
offerings (pañcopacāra), flowers or incense. The officiant then repeats the process of filling
the arghya chalice with water (with unhusked barley, flowers, etc.) and turning it into nectar,
repeats the mantra Jayantı̄ etc. eight times, he sprinkles himself and the pūjā implements with
the nectarised water, he contemplates himself as the deity, places a flower on his head with
the dhyāna verses (described below), meditatively worships himself as Durgā with mental
offerings (mānasopacāraih.), and summons the deity to be present in the bilva tree. Then

68 Ibid, pp. 58–65.

69 DPT, p. 66.
70 Purohita Darpana, p. 222.
.
71 evam ca tatraiva vaks.yamān.atadvacanād gaun.āśvinamāsı̄yakr..sn.anavamyāditattacchuklapratipadādis.as..thyādisapta
.
myādimahās..tamyādikevalamahās..tamı̄kevalamahānavamı̄pūjārūpā saptakalpā unneyāh. | Durgotsavaviveka, pp. 3–4.
72 DPT, p. 47.
73 A rite worshipping Brahmā in a kalaśa that at first sight seems similar to Raghanandana’s ghatapūjā appears in
.
the Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄, pp. 51–52; p.127. But Raghunandana unequivocally differentiates his rite from Vidyāpati’s
in the following commentary in the Pramān.a and goes as far as to impute inappropriateness to it:

atra kalpe pratipadi kalaśasthāpanam . yajamānasya snānārtham. Durgābhaktitaraṅginyām . yad uktam . tan na yuktam |
tasya devı̄pūjanāṅgatvena tatra tadvidhānasyāyuktatvāt, matsyapurān.e jalāśayotsargādāv uktatvā ca | yad api

“agnir brahmā bhavānı̄ ca gajavaktro mahoragah. |

skando bhānur mmātr.gan.o dikpālaś ca navagrahāh. "
es.ām
. ghat.es.u pratyekam
. pūjayitvā yathāvidhih. |
mūrttim. pavitram ekaikam . dadyād evam . samāhitah. |”
iti kālikāpurān.ı̄yena pratipadi brahmapūjanam uktam . tad api na yuktam | brahmapūjanavad agnyādipūjanasyāpi
tadvacanenoktatvena tadabhidhānasyāpi
yuktatvāt | kin tu tadvacanam . sāmānyapūjāvidhāyakam iti boddhavyam.
352 Bihani Sarkar

offerings are made to Durgā in the bilva tree. During this period between Pratipat and
Pañcamı̄ (the first and the fifth lunar days), decorative gifts one would give a young girl
on the cusp of womanhood, mainly cosmetics, accessories such as a string and a comb for
tying the hair (a gesture marking a girl’s coming of age), red-lac, unguents and jewellery
are made to the deity’s youthful presence in the ghat.a and the bilva tree, suggesting, it would
seem, her seductive and erotic potential. In the evening of the Sixth (or alternatively at
dawn on the dark Ninth)74 she is awoken in the bilva tree, with mantra recitations said to
be from the Liṅga Purān.a,75 in a rite called the Bodhana.76 The bel tree, which is sacred as
it is described as the being of Durgā (pūjyo [ . . . ] durgāsvarūpatah.) is ritually invited to the
site of worship. Then, a branch from the sacred tree is cut off and installed in the pūjā room
with the appropriate mantras.
On the Seventh, the goddess transforms from the ghat.a and the bilva tree spirit
into her embodied form (mūrti) by being installed (pratis..thitā) in a clay image.
The officiant infuses the image with life in a rite known as the Conferral of
Breath” (prān.apratis..thā). From the verses of visualisation (dhyāna) said to be from the
Matsya Purān.a., it is evident that the clay image was that of the Purān.ic ten-armed
buffalo-slaying form of the goddess, the most commonplace iconographic depiction of
Durgā in the medieval period. She is now worshipped as a magnificent royal figure who

74 The timing of this ritual seems to have been an extremely important topic for the practitioners, and the
nibandhakāras (digest writers) are careful to note the tithi and the part of the day appropriate for the rite as the
scriptures characteristically give conflicting information. The general consensus is that the Bodhana is either on
the dark navamı̄ at dawn, or on the bright S.as.t.hı̄ in the evening. Śūlapān.i favours the ninth as the first choice with
the sixth as the second – “navamyām . bodhanāsamarthye .sas..thyām
. bodhanam. ”. The conjunctions of the constellations
Ārdrā with Navamı̄ and Jyes.t.hā with S.as.t.hı̄ are deemed highly auspicious by the nibandhakāras.
A difference of opinion appears to have existed between the smārtas and the Vais.n.avas. In contrast to
Raghunandana who prescribes the Bodhana either on the dark navamı̄ or on the bright sixth and keeps
the conjunction with Ārdrā (in the case of navamı̄) and Jyes.t.hā (in the case of S.as..thı̄) optional, the Kālı̄vilāsa
Tantra, a later east Indian Śākta text with strong Vais.n.ava overtones takes it as compulsory that the Bodhana
should take place on the dark navamı̄ conjoined with Ārdrā:

yā nityā navamı̄ kr..sn.ā brahmavis.n.uśivārcitā |

ārdrā laks.mı̄r iti khyātā nityā śrı̄vis.n.uvallabhā |
ārdrā .rks.en.a sam
. yuktā yad dine navamı̄ bhavet "
tad dine bodhanam . putra praśastam . kalisammatam |
navamı̄ sahitā cārdrā yadi syāt rātriyogatah. |
prātah.kāle samiddhāyām . bodhanam . tatra bhairava |
śrı̄bhairava uvāca |

ārdraks.am . yah. parityajya navamyām . bodhanañ caret |

sa .rn.ı̄ kamalādevyā bhūtvā yāti paratra ca "
ārdraks.am . yah. parityajya durgādevı̄m . prapūjayet |
viphalā tasya sā pūjā kadācin na phalapradā " (30.7a-12)

The Kālı̄vilāsa Tantra also appears to favour the morning as the best time for the Bodhana. It is unclear to me why
this Tantra is inflexible about this matter in contrast to the smārta opinion, and can only suggest with reference to
7a and 8a that the dark ninth and Ārdrā are of particular importance to Vais.n.avas since Ārdrā is homologised with
Laks.mı̄ and navamı̄ with Nityā, the beloved of Vis.n.u (śrı̄vis.n.uvallabhā).
75 Caturvargacintāmani II i, pp. 906–907
.
76 Similar rituals may have been performed for tree-dwelling female spirits (yāksı̄s) in early medieval India. In
.
the Kathāsaritsāgara 5.3.204–215, a dvija named Devadatta worships a female spirit who dwelt in a tree at night
with rice mixed with milk and balis made to the different directions for the accomplishment of siddhis. When the
goddess is pleased, she appears from the tree and grants him boons.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 353

kills demons, invoked as “a summation of godly essences” since she is, according to myth,
formed, as a proper ruler is, through the light of the gods. Through the litany of the dhyāna,
the goddess is given shape and body, internally in the imagination of the worshipper. She
is visualised as a beautiful and youthful woman, radiant with a moon diadem in her hair
matted on her head, three-eyed, bejewelled and triumphant over the bloodied corpse of
the buffalo demon. Having thus erected the form of the goddess in his heart and in the
ritual space through the vivifying utterance of the mantra, the worshipper identifies his own
nature with the deity, and places a flower on his head (ātmapūjā), thereby becoming the Devı̄.
Summoning the deity to infuse, not just himself but all parts of the pūjā site, in the next stage
the goddess is invited to enter the leaves of nine crops collectively called the “Navapatrikā”.
These are described as her dwelling place in the mortal world (tava martye śaran.am . ). The
leaves are from rice, turmeric, Arum indicum (māna), barley, pomegranate, kacu, bel and the
aśoka, all important crops in Bengal. Nine forms of the goddess (unconnected to the Nine
Durgās worshipped later in the navadurgāpūjā) are summoned and worshipped in each of
the leaves. They are Brahmān.ı̄ (in the plantain), Raktadantikā (in the pomegranate, perhaps
because of the analogy between the small red seeds of the fruit and the imagery of red
fangs suggested by the name of this goddess, which means “She whose teeth are bloodied”),
Laks.mı̄ (in the rice leaf), Durgā (in the turmeric leaf), Cāmun.d.ā (in the mānaka), Kālikā (in
the kacu), Śivā (in the bilva leaf), Śokarahitā (in the aśoka leaf, probably on account of the
analogy between their names, both of which mean “devoid of sorrow”) and Kārttikı̄ in the
barley leaf. The nine leaves, the bel branch and the clay image are considered the receptacles
of the goddess’s energy during the remainder of the rite. Among these the first two form
the specifically Bengali elements. With the goddess’s entrance into the nine leaves the sacred
triad is fully animated with the potency of the deity. She, who is thus “created composed
of all the elements” (sarvabhūtamayodbhūtā), is believed now to fully inform (sthāpitā) earth,
leaf and tree, and thereby to make her presence (sānnidhyam) close to the world of men.
Thus end the rites of the Durgā Pūjā that honour plants. The worship of plants in the first
part of the medieval Pūjā demonstrates a close relationship between the Bengali Durgā and
the harvest. She is addressed as pallave sam . sthitā (figured in a leaf) in the litany. Her identity
with the Śrı̄phala (crab apple) and Śrı̄, the goddess of bounty is heightened. These modes of
address paying homage to the plant-dwelling Goddess ensured that she granted the seeker
of power a rich yield from his land. It is important to note that out of the ten tithis, it is
only in the last three that the goddess is embodied in conventional human imagery from the
Purān.as. For the greater duration of the eastern Navarātra she is symbolised through plants,
the bilva and leaves from the nine crops, which are widely grown in the region. In this way
the harvest rites of the Durgā Pūjā in the DPT evoke the fecund aspect prominent, as we
have seen, in the scriptures of the east, via her connection with the natural world.
From the evening of the Seventh, after the first animal is sacrificed, the rites of power
commence. From now on Durgā begins to transform from a pacific deity of the harvest
to a deity of war and allusions to her violence and demon-slaying Purān.ic role are made
overt, particularly in the unveiling of the mūrti that depicts the goddess in this mode. During
the final three days, a range of warrior rites (bali, nı̄rājana, astrapūjā, śastrapūjā) is perfomed
that conventionally granted boons useful for a king. On the benefts of Navamı̄ for instance,
Śrı̄nātha, Raghunandana’s teacher, cites the Bhavis.ya Purān.a:
354 Bihani Sarkar

O Hero, in the bright half of Āśvina, on the ninth

The meritorious fruits of one who worships the Trident-Bearing Goddess – Hear.
A thousand Aśvamedha and a hundred Vājapeya sacrifices
The merits thereof a man gains surrounded in heaven by many gods.77

While Durgā is in her warrior mode, the rites are Tantricised and she is increasingly
homologised with the wild goddess Kālı̄ thus demonstrating the privileged position of this
deity in the Bengali medieval rite. Cāmūn.d.ā, Kāleśvarı̄, Vajreśvarı̄, Lauhadan.d.ā, Vajrin.ı̄ –
epithets for Kālı̄ – are frequently used to invoke the goddess. Like Kālı̄, she is worshipped
in a circuit (āvaran.a) of ferocious female deities. Sacrifices are made to appease each of the
directions where these deities hover. The identity of the goddess transforms at this stage of
the rite, so that her willful and untameable properties start to take over.
An important rite during this period is the worship of the Nine Durgās, well documented
in cultural studies of Bhaktapur and the Kathmandu Valley.78 The Navadurgāpūjā is at present
more important in Nepal than in Bengal, but its centrality in both the medieval Bengali and
in the Mithilā rite of Vidyāpati shows that it may trace its history to the eastern Gangetic
plains. The present Nepali worship involves participants from the Gāthā community who
take on the identity of the Nine Durgās. They wear elaborate masks depicting each of the
deities and become possessed by the goddesses. They then act as their conduit during the rite
and through daily processions and dancing fill the civic space of Bhaktapur with their sacred
presence. The medieval Bengali rite79 does not have the element of possession so important
to the Nepali rite. Instead, the goddesses are imagined and the worship is man.d.alic, the
sacred space (which in Nepal is the town itself) being diagrammatically represented in an
image of a lotus before the clay image of Durgā. Nine wild forms of the goddess, who
represent her corporate identity, are contemplated, with the central being the wildest. They
are called Rudracan.d.ā, Pracan.d.ā, Can.d.ogrā, Can.d.anāyikā, Can.d.ā, Can.d.avatı̄, Can.d.arūpā,
Atican.d.ikā and Ugracan.d.ā. They are the presiding deities of the warrior part of the pūjā. The
eight-petalled lotus is a yantra, a potent symbol containing the mantra essences of the deities
forming the very heart and soul of the goddess. This diagram appears to be what is now
called the sarvatobhadraman.d.ala (where sarvatobhadra refers to the shape which is symmetrical
from all angles), and worship of the Navadurgās on Mahās.at.amı̄ in this man.d.ala survives
among the Lahiris of Varanasi.80
In this, her most dangerous form(s), cognate with Kālı̄, the goddess holds the greatest
power and is believed to grant the worshipper any boon he desires. Hence the rites post
As.t.amı̄ are especially potent for the power seeker desiring victory over rivals. On Navamı̄ the
regalia of kingship such as weapons and the patron’s possessions are blessed with verses from
the Vis.n.udharmottara that exhort their eternal success in war. A hundred and eight oblations

77 māsi cāśvayuje vı̄ra śuklapakse trisūlinı̄m |

.
navamyām . pūjayed yas tu tasya pun.yaphalam . śr.n.u "
aśvamedhasahasrasya vājapeyaśatasya ca |
yat phalam . labhate martyo divi devagan.air vr.tah. || [Durgotsavaviveka, p. 52]
[nārı̄ ed.] martyo Conj. Péter D. Szántó].
78 Vide Levy [and Rājopadhyāya] 1990.
79 For Raghunandana’s descriiption, see “The Worship of the Nine Durgās” in Part Viii of “Text and Translation
of the Principal Rites”.
80 Rodrigues 2003, pp. 57–58.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 355

of sesame seeds, bilva leaves or a garland of moist blossoms of the Emblic Mylobalan are
made into a fire called balada (might giving) with the “Jayantı̄, Maṅgalā” mantra.81 Animal
sacrifice (paśubali) is a regular feature of these days. Indeed it is one of the hallmarks of goddess
worship and forms the apex of the medieval Durgā Pūjā. In performing the sacrifice, the
sacrificer symbolically enacts the goddess’s legendary destruction of demons. The sword, the
instrument of sacrifice, is described as Can.d.ikā’s tongue (rasanā) in the litany of worship.
Her power as pāpanāśinı̄ (slayer of evils) is emphasised and propitiated with hymns, thereby
averting potential crises. The texts suggest that three sacrifices have to be made: one on
Saptamı̄, a second on Mahās.t.amı̄, the great eighth lunar day and and a third at midnight
on the arrival of Mahānavamı̄, the great ninth. The aims of the sacrifice, declared in the
sam . kalpa and in the hymn for boons, are to passify the fiery Can.d.ikā, her ravenous hordes of
crisis-causing mātr.s, yoginı̄s, demons and ghosts and to transform the sacrificer into a powerful
warrior (mahābala). She is addressed as Kālı̄, Mahākālı̄, Kauśikı̄ and “She who is surrounded
by ghosts” (sarvabhūtasamāvr.tā) throughout the litany, epithets honouring the occultic identity
she has attained in this phase, and the worshipper requests her, while holding up the chalice
containing the blood, to be continually nourished with his offering (rudhiren.a āpyāyatām).
Blood is the most potent offering one may give to the goddess in order to propitiate her
wild, dangerous aspect as the controller of beings of crises. It is not only rājasika, composed
of rajas, the quality believed to dominate in a virile warrior, but also the substrate of life and
creation. Thus satisfying her and her hungry ghost hordes with blood, the worshipper asks
continual protection from danger.
A significant innovation of the sacrifice taught by Raghunandana alone is the visualisation
of the sacrificial animal with Śiva by the sacrificer prior to its beheading (see notes to
Paśubali). I am inclined to think that the source of this innovation may lie in the Bengali
pronunciation of sarvarūpin.am . (“embodiment of all”), a term used to describe the paśu in
the mantra of sacrifice. Sarva and Śarva (Śiva) sound the same in Bengali (śarba) and by this
confusion the paśu’s epithet in the mantra becomes “śarvarūpin.am . ” (“embodiment of Śiva”).
This may have led Raghunandana to stipulate the meditation of the paśu as Śiva. Whatever
the origins of the visualisation, it achieves in underlining the strong Tantricised context
of the DPT’s paśubali, a first again among the Gaud.ı̄ya treatises, being richly suggestive of
Śākta imagery where the goddess surmounts the corpse of Śiva. It accords well with the
Śaiva tradition prevalent in Tamil myth, and the Kālikā Purān.a where Mahis.a and Śiva are
identified with each other (see n. 100). Indeed in the south, Can.d.ı̄ is thought to become
Śiva’s consort when she slays Mahis.a.82
For the more orthodox, Raghunandana provides the default option of using certain
vegetables as substitutes such as the pumpkin and the sugar cane along with spirits, the
offering of which is said to be as fruitful as the offering of a goat.83 Towards the end of
the sacrifice, the worshipper draws a tilaka on his forehead with the offered blood and

81 atha navamı̄krtyam | tato homam kuryāt | taddine homāsāmarthye mahāstmyām homam kuryāt | śaktas tu
. . .. . .
ubhayadine kuryāt | tatra svagr.hyoktavidhinā baladanāmāgnim . sam . sthāpya bilvapatrasahitais tilair dvādaśaparvvapūrikayā
ārdrāmalakamālayā vā uttānakaren.a devatı̄rthena om . jayantı̄tyādisvāhāntamantren.a as..tottaraśatakr.tvo juhuyāt | DPT. For the
balada fire also see Kane 1994 (5.1), p. 173, n. 446.
82 Shulman, 1976.
83 kusmāndam iksudandañ ca madyam āsavam eva ca |
. .. . ..
ete balisamā jñeyās tr.ptau chāgasamāh. smr.tāh. " [DPT, Pramān.a, Durgotsavaviveka p. 19].
356 Bihani Sarkar

recites a mantra granting him control over all beings (sarvavaśyamantra), thereby climactically
underlining the power-bestowing element of the Durgā Pūjā.
On the tenth, the day the myths describe as the goddess’s victory over demons, the Pūjā
ends with a rite of dismissal wherein the clay image, the bel branch and the nine leaves are
immersed in water and farewell is symbolically expressed. Having thus completed the cycle
of her transformation, the officiant returns Devı̄ to the elements whence he had awoken her.
He coaxes her to depart into the flowing current, to go to her true abode and to return the
following year. The Bengali pūjā thereby enacts a cyclical process of creation from Nature,
followed by an assimilation with Nature at the end, with the promise of return. This may
have suggested the rejuvenation of the entire cosmos. Her relinquishment to the elements
was celebrated by a splendid civic festival called the “Śāvarotsava”, a further specifically
eastern element of the Pūjā, which was evidently a time when all social constraints were
let loose and caste heirarchies dissolved. The text enjoins tribal behaviour (hence the name
Śāvarotsava or Festival of Tribals), persuading one to delight in sexual jokes, games, singing,
dancing and spectacles, clearly indicating that the worship of the goddess was an ecstatic
celebration for all, when the strict order of the Hindu domain was allowed temporary respite.
The Śāvarotsava, though absent in the treatises of the west, is mentioned by eastern writers
such as Jı̄mūtavāhana, Śūlapān.i, and Vidyāpati and derives from the Assamese Kālikā Purān.a,
where mention of such a rite is made in 61.21–23a. The verse states:
dhūlikardamaviks.epaih. krı̄d.ākautukamaṅgalaih. |
bhagaliṅgābhidhānaiś ca bhagaliṅgapragı̄takaih. "
bhagaliṅgādiśabdaiś ca krı̄d.eyur alam
. janāh. |
parair nāks.ipyate yas tu yah. parān nāks.iped yadi "
kruddhā bhagavati tasya śāpam . dadyāt sudārun.am |

Flinging dust and mud, with games, spectacles and hymns, naming the penis and the
pudenda, singing songs about the penis and the pudenda.
And with words such as the penis and the pudenda – Men must fully enjoy themselves.
But on him who is not abused by others, nor abuses others,
The goddess being angry casts a terrible curse.

Licensed impropriety (behaving like a Śavara; fraternising with everyone), gaiety and
abandonment are what the twelfth-century Jı̄mūtavāhana understood the Śāvarotsava to
convey, and he frankly (and without śaṅkā) writes “Covered in leaves etc. like one who is
of the colouring of a Śavara, his body caked in mud, after engaging in unrestrained dancing
and singing with all and sundry. As for the games, spectacle and benedictory verses [stated
in the verse] it means exactly the same”.84 But the sexual overtones of the festival evidently
produced mixed reactions among the smārtas. On the one hand there is Śūlapān.i who clearly
and unabashedly writes: “During [this festival] the naming of the penis and the pudenda,
dancing and singing are compulsory”,85 on the other there is Vidyāpati who seems to ‘censor’
any sexual reference from his version of the festival. He simply (and circumspectly) notes

84 śavaravarna iva parn.ādyāvr.tah. kardamāliptaśarı̄ro nānāvidhāsambaddhavalgitanr.tyagı̄tādiparo bhūtveti

.
śāvarotsavapadārthah.. krı̄d.ākautakamaṅgalaih. ity asyāpy ayam evārthah.. Durgāpūjāviveka, p. 33.
85 atra bhagaliṅgābhidhānanrtyagı̄tādikam kartavyam | Durgotsavaviveka, p. 24.
. .
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 357

that the goddess must be attended by “singing, dancing, music, shouting, games, amazing
spectacles and hymns”.86 Among the eastern smārtas it is only Raghunandana who gives
his reader a full picture of this rite, summarising the whole Kālikā Purān.a passage in a long
compound without expurgations. Perhaps, it is tempting to conjecture, his Tantric leanings
evidenced in the DPT underlay his liberal spirit.
It seems to me that the Bengali rite progressively develops a paradox, balancing metaphors
of harvest and birth with metaphors of sacrifice and death. Through this balancing, a clear
sequence of transformation emerges centred on the theme of maturation: from embryonic
essence in the bilva and the water of the ghat.a, the Devı̄ develops into a maiden, an idea
clearly implied and honoured in the rites of adornment, then revealed in her fully matured
woman’s form in the splendidly attired and accoutred mūrti, transformed into a wild deity
with occult properties, and finally returned to essence in water. In the course of being
transformed, the saumya (benevolent) and the ugra (fierce) dimensions overlap in her identity,
demonstrating that to the practioner of the Bengali tradition there was no essential difference
between the two aspects, that they were concieved of as different layers in a persona that was
fully integrative. Indeed this was evidently the heart of her powers in the Bengali ritual. At
every stage, as Durgā progresses from spirit to form (mūrti), from harvest to war deity, she
is believed to manifest her paradoxical nature and to yield specific rewards to the seeker of
both martial power and the bounty of the land. At the end of this transformation, the seeker
is fully empowered at all levels in the yield of crops, sons to continue his lineage and victory
in his endeavours.
From Raghunandana’s text it is evident that the officiant can control this movement to
a certain degree – and here a simile is necessary – as if he were a magician casting spells.
That the worship may well have been an orthodox model of a Tantric power-ritual – where
there are similar rites of subjugating the deity, forcing it to comply to the officiant’s will and
releasing it thereafter – is clear in the structure of the Durgā pūjā: in the first part the deity
is controlled in her spirit form, in the second she is worshipped in receptacles that contain
her spirit, offered blood sacrifice and released in the end by the officiant during the visarjana
when all powers have been claimed.

Goddess of the Harvest

First to the fifth (Pratipat to Pañcamı̄) Rites of adornment – coiffure, maquillage etc; goddess is
worshipped in a womb-shaped vessel (kumbha/kalaśa/ghat.a)
and a bilva/bel tree
Sixth (S.as.t.hı̄) [evening] 1. Awakening in the bilva/bel tree (bodhana) [this may also be
performed at dawn on the dark ninth] 2. Invitation to the
bel tree (āmantran.a) 3. Preparatory rite of bestowing fitness
on the tree (adhivāsana) 4. Installation (sthāpana) of clay
image, bel branch and the navapatrikā in the site of worship
Seventh (Saptamı̄) 1.Conferral of Breath (prān.apratis..thā) 2. Entry into the Nine
Leaves (patrikāpraveśanavidhi) 3. Animal sacrifice (paśu-bali)

Table: The main rites during the bright phase of Āśvina according to the DPT:

86 gı̄tanrtyavādyabrahmaghosakrı̄dākautukamaṅgalapurahsarah
. . . . . Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄, p. 207.
358 Bihani Sarkar

Goddess of War
Eighth (As..tamı̄) 1. Worship at midnight (ardharātrapūjā): fasting, night vigil, paśu-bali
2. Tantricised rites – (i) Purification of the gross elements (bhūtaśuddhi) (ii)
Installation of the Aṅga mantras (aṅganyāsa) (iii) Worship of mātr.s
(āvaran.apūjā), (iv) Worship of the goddess with the aṅgamantras (aṅgapūjā),(v)
Worship of the Nine Durgās (navadurgāpūjā)
3. Warrior rites: (i) offerings, (ii) worship of weapons (astrapūjā, śastrapūjā)
4. Bali to placate the deities in the various directions
Ninth (Navamı̄) 1. Paśu-bali at the juncture (sandhipūjā)
2. Lustration (nı̄rājana)
3. Rite of Atonement (prāyaścittavidhi)
4. Worship of young girls (kumārı̄pūjā)
5. Feeding brahmins
6. Singing and dancing
Tenth (Daśamı̄) 1. Dismissal of the Goddess (Visarjana)
2. Śāvarotsava 3. Payment to brahmins (Daks.in.ā)

Part III. Text and Translation of the Principal Rites:87

(i) The Bodhana (Awakening) of the Goddess in a Bilva Tree:

atha bodhanam | bilvavr.ks.asamı̄pam . gatvā ācānto darbhayuktāsane upaviśya śvetasars.apam ādāya
om. vetālāś ca piśācāś ca rāks.asāś ca sarı̄sr.pāh.
apasarpantu te sarve ye cānye vighnakārakāh. "
om. vināyakā vighnakarā mahogrā yajñadvis.o ye piśitāśanāś ca |
siddhārthakair vajrasamānakalpair mayā nirastā vidiśah. prayāntu |

iti mantrābhyām . śvetasars.apapraks.epaih. vighnakarān apasārya gāyatryā ghat.asthāpanam . kr.tvā

ghat.ādisthajale om . sūryāya namah. ity anena pūjayet | evam . somāya maṅgalāya budhāya br.haspataye
śukrāya śanaiścarāya rāhave ketubhyah. iti grahān sampūjya pañcadevatāh. sampūjayet | es.a gandhah. om .
sūryāya namah. iti pañcopacāraih. gandhapus.pābhyām . vā pūjayet | evam. gan.eśam . durgām . śivam. vis.n.uñ ca
sampūjya arghyasthāpanam . kuryāt | śaṅkhādipātre dūrvāks.atadadhipus.pān.i dattvā yathālābham. vā ‘vam. ’ iti
dhenumudrayā amr.tı̄kr.tya om . bilvavr.ks.āya namah. ity as..tadhā japtvā tenodakena ātmānam . pūjopakaran.añ
cābhyuks.ya bilvavr.ks.e etat pādyam. om . bilvavr.ks.āya namah. | sāmagānām idam arghyam anyes.ām es.o’rghah.
| evam ācamanı̄yādikam . dadyāt | pañcopacārair gandhapus.pābhyām . vā pūjayet | sambhave etad vastram .

87 I have followed the Samskrta Sāhitya Parisad 1922 edition in the Bengali script (see DPT in the Bibliography
. . .
for details) as this is the best edition so far. The earlier edition prepared by Jı̄vānanda Vidyāsāgara in 1895 in the
Devanāgarı̄ script is a partial text. Manuscript sources and variant readings are not noted. Furthermore, this edition
only gives the first part of the DPT. Generally the DPT has been circulated in two separate parts. The first called
“the Pramān.a” (literally ‘evidence’) cites sources; the second called “the Prayoga” (‘method’) is the manual proper.
The 1922 edition is the only one to give both sections. From the Introduction (in Bengali) we find that the edition
was prepared on the basis of the following sources:
(i) ms. transcribed by a certain Bhavānanda Bhat.t.ācārya in 1722 Śakābda, 1209 Vaṅgābda, 1800 CE and found in
the village of Vāsudevapura in the district of Medinı̄pura (Medinipore) in modern West Bengal.
(ii) ms. given as a donation to the Rājaśāhı̄ Varendra Anusandhāna Samiti by the household of Nalinı̄kānta
Bhat.t.ācārya in the village of Cāmpuriyā, in the Muktāgāchā subdivision (thānā) of the district of Mymensingh
in modern Bangladesh. The ms. variants noted at the end of the printed text are all from the second manuscript
(henceforth referred to as Mym), whereas the edition is entirely based on the first ms alone (henceforth called
Med). Corruptions in Med are preserved in the edition. The reason for this, writes the editor, is to show the
reader linguistic variations between the southern Med and the northern Mym.
(iii) The Prayoga part is based on the editor’s personal copy of the text as the former mss are only of the Pramān.a.
I have removed doubled consonants after ‘r’ in my transcription.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 359

br.haspatidaivatam . bilvavr.ks.āya namah. iti dadyāt | tato bilvavr.ks.e durgām

. om . pūjayet | yathā śaṅkhādipātram
.
purato nidhāya tribhāgam . jalenāpūrya tatrāks.atapus.pādı̄ni dattvā yathālābham. vā vam. iti dhenumudrayā
amr.tı̄kr.tya
om . jayantı̄ maṅgalā kālı̄ bhadrakālı̄ kapālinı̄ |
durgā śivā ks.amā dhātrı̄ svāhā svadhā namo’stu te "
hrı̄m . om . durgāyai namah. | ity as..tadhā japtvā tenodakena ātmānam . pūjopakaran.añ ca abhyuks.ya om .
jat.ājūt.etyādinā dhyātvā svaśirasi pus.pam
. dattvā mānasopacāraih. sampūjya arghyāntaram . sthāpayitvā punar
dhyātvā om . bhūr bhuvah. svar bhagavati durge ihāgaccha ihāgaccha iha tis..tha ity uktvā etat pādyam . om .
jayantı̄tyādi uktvā hrı̄m . om. durgāyai namah. evam arghyādibhih. pañcopacārair vā pūjayet | sambhave vastram .
punar ācamanı̄yañ ca dadyāt | tato vādyapurah.saram añjalim . badhvā pat.het
om . is.e māsy asite paks.e navamyām ārdrayogatah. |
śrı̄vr.ks.e bodhayāmi tvām . yāvat pūjām . karomy aham "
om . aim . rāvan.asya vadhārthāya rāmasyānugrahāya ca |
akāle brahman.ā bodho devyās tvayi kr.tah. purā "88
iti mantrābhyām . devı̄m. bodhayet | śūdras tu pran.avavyāhr.tisthāne namah. ity uccārya pūjayet | tatah.
śuklanavamı̄paryantam . yathāśakti durgām . pūjayet |

Now [on the topic of the goddess’s] Awakening. Approaching a bilva tree, sitting on a seat
of darbha grass having performed the Ācamana rite and taking white mustard seeds [in his
hands, he utters the following two verses]:
Om
. . Spirits, flesh-eating ogres, monsters, serpents –

88 Paurānika convention holds that the year is divided into two periods (ayana) according to the northern and
.
southern procession of the Sun, which respectively form the day and the night of the gods (Mārkan.d.eya Purān.a
43.3–44; Kr.tyatattvārn.ava, p. 5). The southern ayana (daks.in.āyana) is the period between the summer solstice and the
winter solstice. As Āśvina falls in the daks.in.āyana, the ‘awakening’ of Durgā in this month is regarded as “untimely”
(akāle bodhanam), since it forms the time of Durgā’s sleep. Hence the eastern āśvinanavarātra includes as an opening
rite the rousing of Durgā from her slumber, the Bodhana (Awakening). On this subject Raghunandana writes in
the Pramān.a section of the DPT:
rātrāv eva mahāmāyā brahman.ā bodhitā purā |
tathaiva ca narāh. kuryuh. pratisam . vatsaram . nr.pa "
iti rātrāv eva bodhanam iti vācyam | tatra rātripadena devasambandhitvena daks.in.āyanasyoktatvāt |tathā ca śrutih. tapāś
ca tapasyaś ca śaiśirāv .rtū, madhuś ca mādhavaś ca vāsantikāv .rtū, śukraś ca śuciś ca grais.māv .rtū, athaitad udagayanam .
devānām . dinam. , nabhāś ca nabhasyaś ca vārs.ikāv .rtū, is.aś ca ūrjaś ca śāradāv .rtū, sahaś ca sahasyaś ca haimantikāv .rtū,
athaitad daks.in.āyanam . devānām. rātrih. iti |
It was at night that Brahmā awoke Mahāmāyā long ago.
Year by year must men perform the very same O King.

In the verse, it is the ritual of the Awakening which is indicated [as being held] “only at night”, because the
word ‘night’ therein indicates the Southern Procession (daks.in.āyana), since it is related to the [night of the]
gods. As the scripture states, Tapas and Tapasya [month between winter and spring, and Phālguna] are the months
of late winter; Madhu and Mādhava [Caitra and Vaiśākha] are the months of spring; Śukra and Śuci [Jyes..thā
and Ās.ād.ha] are the months of summer. Thus this [period] of the Northern Procession, (udagayana) [forms]
the daytime of the gods. Nabhas and Nabhasya [Śrāvan.a and Bhādra] are the months of the monsoon; Īśa and
Ūrja [Śarat and Kārttika] are the months of autumn; Saha and Sahasya [Mārgaśı̄rs.a and Paus.a] are the months of
early winter. Thus this [period] of the Southern Procession (daks.in.āyana) forms the night time of the gods.’

Eastern versions of the Rāmāyan.a, such as Kr.ttivāsa’s (Kr.ttivāsı̄-Rāmāyan., “Laṅkākān.d.a, pp. 382–389) and some
Purān.as (Kālikā Purān.a, 60. 25–30), also mention that she was awakened in the bright half of Āśvina in order to
aid Rāma in his battle against Rāvan.a. This is the standard reason used by exegetes to explain why the Pūjā is
celebrated in autumn.
In contrast, Durgā’s spring festival in Caitra is often considered to be the ‘proper’ festival given that it falls
within the period conventionally held to be the time that gods are awake and active. There is thus no bodhana rite
performed for the spring festival.
360 Bihani Sarkar

May they disperse, and all others who cause obstacles!

“Om . . May impediments, producers of impediments and terrifying flesh-eaters who are enemies
of the sacrifice scatter in all directions, banished by me with white mustard [whose power] is the
same as the thunderbolt.89

After removing obstacle causers by scattering white mustard seeds while [reciting] the
two mantras, installing the pot while [reciting] the Gāyatrı̄ mantra, he must worship [the
Sun] in the water inside the pot etc. with this [mantra] “Om . . Homage to the Sun”. After
worshipping the planets in the same manner with [their respective mantras] as follows –
‘[Homage] to the Moon’, ‘to Mars’, ‘to Mercury’, ‘to Jupiter’ (br.haspataye), ‘to Venus’, ‘to
Saturn’, ‘to Rāhu’ and ‘to Ketu’ (ketubhyah.)90 – he must worship the Five Gods.
“Here is the perfume. Om . homage to the sun ”: [with this formula] he must worship [the Five
Gods] with the Five Upācāras91 or [optionally with offerings of] perfumed powders and flowers.
Thus having worshipped Gan.eśa, Durgā, Śiva and Vis.n.u, he must ritually establish the guest water.

After placing dūrvā grass, unhusked barley, yoghurt and flowers or whatever is in his
means in a shell or other chalice, [ritually] transforming the water into nectar with the
Dhenu gesture [while reciting the mantra] “Vam . ”, reciting [the mantra] “Om
. . Homage to
the Bilva Tree” eight times and sprinkling himself and the ritual implements with that water
[he chants] to the bilva tree, “This is the water for washing your feet. Om . Homage to the bilva
tree”. For chanters of the Sāma veda [the mantra is] “This is the guest water”. For others,
[it is] “Here is the guest water”.92 He must worship [the bilva tree] with the five upacāras
or with perfume and flowers. If he can afford it he must offer [garments with the mantra]
“This is the garment, whose presiding deity is Br.haspati. Om . Homage to the bilva tree”.
Then he must worship Durgā in the bilva tree as follows: after placing the chalice of
shell or another substance before him, filling it three-quarters with water, placing unhusked
barley, flowers etc. therein, or whatever he can procure and ritually transforming [the water
in the chalice] into nectar with the Dhenu gesture [while reciting the seed syllable] “Vam . ”,
[he recites the following verse]:
‘Om . Jayantı̄, Maṅgalā, Kālı̄, Bhadrakālı̄, Kapālinı̄
Durgā, Śivā, Ks.amā, Dhātr., Svāhā, Svadhā – Homage to thee.
Hrı̄m. Om. Homage to Durgā’

89 My translation is a little forced, as the reading given in the edition is tautological (samāna and kalpair, having
the same meaning). It had probably been kept by the editors for the sake of the metre (upajāti). The problem is
with ‘kalpair’ at the end of the compound as we must then translate the whole word as something like ‘the same
in resemblance to a vajra’, which is redundant. However ‘vajrasamāna-’ coupled with other nouns does occur (for
example, Mbh 1.180.15b: vajrasamānavı̄rya; Mbh 8.65.13d [1040–10], Rāmāyan.a 6.57.87a: vajrasamānavega; Monier
Williams: vajrasamānasāra). All these examples in a plural instrumental would fit the metre, and would also be
appropriate in the context it is used in the verse.
90 This is possibly a corruption in the edition, and does not make sense unless the names of the planets were
compounded together as ‘somamaṅgalabudhabr.haspatiśukraśanaiścararāhuketubhyah.’. For the time being I am translating
it as if it were in the single dative (ketave).
91 The five preliminary oblations ‘upacāras’ are offerings of incense (dhūpa), flowers (puspa), fruit (phala), light
.
(dı̄pa) and cooked food (naivedya).
92 These two lines imply that the officiants using Raghunandana’s text were mainly Sāmavedı̄ brahmins. Most
brahmins in Bengal at this time were specialists of the Sāma Veda, while the rest specialised in the White Yajur Veda
and the R . g [B.Bhat.t.ācāryā 1955, p. 12]. Three of Raghunandana’s works are specifically written for the Sāmavedı̄
and the Yajurvedı̄ brahmin – the Chandogavr..sotsargatattva, the Yajurvedivr..sotsargatattva and the Yajurvediśrāddhatattva.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 361

After reciting [this] eighteen times, sprinkling himself and the ritual implements with that
water, visualising [himself as the deity] and beginning with “Om . . She with the coils of matted
hair”, then placing the flower on his head, worshipping internally with mental offerings,
placing another chalice and revisualising [himself as the deity], reciting [the mantra] “Om ..
Earth, middle earth, heaven O Goddess Durgā, Come here! Come here! Stay here! Stay
here!”, then reciting [the mantra beginning with] “This is the water for washing the feet.
Om . Jayantı̄ . . . ” [while offering the water for the feet and after completing the recitation
with] “Hrı̄m . Om . Homage to Durgā”, he must worship in the same way with the guest
water and other [offerings] or with the five upacāras. If he can afford it, he must offer a
garment and the sipping water afterwards. Then, folding his hands after offering music, he
must recite:

Om . , In the dark half-month during Āśvina, on the ninth conjoined with Ārdra,
In the bilva tree I awaken you, so that I can perform your worship
Om . aim . To slay Rāvan.a and to favour Rāma
Did Brahmā unseasonably perform the goddess’s Awakening in your case.93

He must awaken the goddess with these two mantras. But the Śūdra must worship after
saying ‘Homage’ instead of saying ‘Om . ’. Then he must worship Durgā up to the ninth in
the bright phase according to his means.
(ii) The Rites of Adornment from Pratipat to Pañcamı̄:.

atha pratipadādikalpah.| . . . iti saṅkalpya om . devo vah. ityādi sūktam. pat.hitvā ghat.am
. sam . sthāpya pūrvavad
durgām. sampūjya gandhāmalakyādikeśasam . skāradravyam. kañkatikāñ ca dadyāt | evam . dvitı̄yāyām
.
keśasam. yamanahetukam . pat..tad.orakam . tr.tı̄yāyām
. caran.arāgārtham alaktakam . śirasi dhāran.ārtham. sindūram.
mukhavilokanārtham . darpan.am . caturthyām . madhuparkam . tilakākāram
. rajatādikam . netraman.d.anam .
kajjalam . pañcamyām
. candanam anulepanam . yathāśakti alaṅkārañ ca dadyāt |

Now, [on the topic of] the rites beginning on the first [of the bright phase] . . . .
After thus declaring the Sam . kalpa [the formal Declaration of Intent], reciting the verse
“Om . Devo vah.”, setting up the pot and worshipping Durgā as before, he must offer
substances for coiffuring the hair, such as perfume, the fruit of the Emlic myrobalan and a
comb. In the same way, on the second [he must offer] a silken cord for tying the hair, on the
third red lac dye to redden her feet, vermillion to wear on [the middle parting of] her hair, a
mirror to view [her] face, on the fourth a mixture of milk and honey, silver etc. for shaping
the ‘tı̄laka’ mark, collyrium to anoint [her] eyes; on the fifth he must offer sandalwood,
unguents and ornaments according to his means.

93 If the Bodhana is performed on the evening of S.as.t.hı̄, the appropriate invocation given in the DPT is:

Om . Aim . To slay Rāvan.a and to favour Rāma (rāvan.asya vadhārthāya rāmasyānugrahāya ca)
Did Brahmā unseasonably wake the goddess inside you long ago. (akāle brahman.ā bodho devyās tvayi kr.tah. purā)
Thus too shall I awaken [her] on the eve of the sixth in Āśvina. (aham api āśvine .sas..thyām . sāyāhne bodhayāmy
atah.). The same verses for the bodhana appear in such early Western writers as Bhojarāja and Hemādri. In
the former, (Rājamārtan.d.a., fol. 79 a in Hazra 1963, p. 3, n. 13) it is quoted anonymously and the variant lines
are: line.2cd: devyās tvam
. priyakr.t purā. line 3ab: aham apy āśvine tadvaj jyes..thāyām
. bodhayāmi te. In the latter
(Caturvargacintāman.i, II i, pp. 906–7 in Hazra op. cit) the same verse as in Raghunandana’s work appears,
attributed to the Liṅga Purān.a.
362 Bihani Sarkar

(iii) The Āmantran.a (Invitation) and the Sthāpana (Installation):

devı̄m . bodhayitvā bilvatarum āmantrayet | yadi tu patrı̄praveśapūrvadine sāyam . .sas..thyalābhas tadā pūrvadine
sāyam . bodhayitvā paradine āmantrayet, yadi ubhayadine sāyam . .sas..thyalābhas tadā sāyam . vinā .sas..thyām
.
bodhayitvā sāyam āmantrayet | yathā
om . merumandārakailāśahimavacchikare girau |
jātah. śrı̄phalavr.ks.a tvam ambikāyāh. sadā priyah. |
śrı̄śailaśikhare jātah. śrı̄phalah. śrı̄niketanah. |
netavyo’si mayāgaccha pūjyo durgāsvarūpatah. |

tato gandham . gr.hı̄tvā om

. gandhadvārām . durādhars.ām . karı̄s.in.ı̄m |
. nityapus..tām
ı̄śvarı̄m
. sarvabhūtānām . tām ihopahvaye śriyam "
anena gandhena amus.yā bhagavtyā durgādevyāh. śubhādhivāsanam astu, tato mahı̄m . gr.hı̄tvā tattan mantram
.
gāyatrı̄m . vā pat.hitvā anayā mahyā amus.yā bhagavatyā durgādevyāh. śubhādhivāsanam astu ityādinā
bilvavr.ks.e’dhivāsayet | punar gandhena | tatra dravyān.i –
mahı̄ gandhah. śilā dhānyam . durvā pus.pam . phalam . dadhi |
ghr.tam . svastikam . sindūram . śaṅkhakajjalarocanāh. |
siddhārthah. kāñcanam . rūpyam. tāmracāmaradarpan.am . |
dı̄pah. praśastipātrañ ca vijñeyam adhivāsane |

tata ācārāt pūjāman.d.apam

. gatvā ācamya –
kadalı̄ dād.imı̄ dhānyam . kacuh. |
. haridrā mānakam
bilvo’śoko jayantı̄ ca vijñeyā navapatrikā "

ity uktanavapatrikām
. pratimāñ ca sampūjya gandhādinā adhivāsayet | . . .

atha saptamı̄kr.tyam | tatra saptyamyām . mūlānaks.atrayuktāyām . śe vā

. vā kr.tasnānādih. kanyālagne carām
sthāpanāya bilvatarusamı̄pam . gatvā tam abhyarcya kr.tāñjalih.
om . bilvavr.ks.a mahābhāga sadā tvam . śaṅkarapriya |
gr.hı̄tvā tava śākhāñ ca durgāpūjām
. karomy aham "
śākhācchedodbhavam . duh.kham . na ca kāryam . tvayā prabho |
ks.amyatām bilvavr.ks.eśa vr.ks.arāja namo’stu te "

ity uktvā bilvavr.ks.ād vāyavyanairr.tyetarasthām . phalayugalaśālinı̄m

. kevalām
. vā śākhām om. chindhi chindhi
phat. phat. hum . phat. svāhā ity anena cchedayet | tatas tām . śākhām . gr.hı̄tvā pūjālayam āgatya pı̄t.hopari
sthāpayet | tatah. śvetasars.apam ādāya
om. vetālāś ca piśācāś ca rāks.asāś ca sarı̄sr.pāh. |
apasarpantu te sarve ye cānye vighnakārakāh. |
vināyakā vighnakarā mahogrā yajñadvis.o ye piśitāśanāś ca |
siddhārthakair vajrasamānakalpair mayā nirastā vidiśah. prayāntu |

ity etābhyām . śvetasars.apapraks.epair vighnakarān apasārya māsabhaktabalim . gr.hı̄tvā es.a māsabhaktabalih.

om. jaya tvam . kāli sarveśe sarvvabhūtagan āvr
. . te |
raks.a mām . nijabhūtebhyo balim . gr.hna namo’stu te |
om. kālyai namah. | om . mātar mātar vare durge sarvakāmārthasādhini |
anena balidānena sarvān kāmān prayaccha me "
iti prārthayet | tata ācārād aparājitālatābaddhām . navapatrikām
. bilvaśākhāñ ca sthāpayitvā om . bilvaśākhāyai
namah. iti sampūjya bilvaśākhāyām . .mr nmayapratimāyāñ ca etat pādyam . . om cāmun d
.. āyai namah. iti
cāmun.d.ām . sampūjya
om. śrı̄śailaśikhare jātah. śrı̄phalah. śrı̄niketanah. |
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 363

netavyo’si mayāgaccha pūjyo durgāsvarūpatah. "94

cāmun.de cala cala cālaya cālaya śı̄ghram
. mama mandiram
. praviśa pūjālayam
. gaccha svāhā | iti vadet |

tato ghat.am . sam . sthāpya navagrahapañcadevatāh. sampūjya mr.nmayapratimām . taddaks.in.e navapatrikāñ ca

gı̄tavādyādibhih. pı̄t.hopari sthāpayitvā bhūtaśuddhyādikam
. vidhāya . sthāpayitvā devı̄samı̄pe
sāmānyārghyam
tāmrādipātre bilvaśākhām
. sthāpayitvā

om. āropitāsi durge tvam

. mr.nmaye śrı̄phale’pi ca |
sthirātyantam . hi no bhūtvā gr.he kāmapradā bhava "

om
. sthām
. sthı̄m
. sthirā bhava iti

Having thus awoken the goddess, he must [formally] invite the bilva tree . . . in the following
way:

Om. . On a mountain, on the crests of Meru, Mandāra, Kailāśa and Himavat,

Were you, O Śrı̄phala Tree, born, eternally adored by Ambikā.
Born on the peak of the Śrı̄śaila, the Śrı̄phala tree, abode of Śrı̄ –
Let me take you. Come! I will worship you as Durgā.

Then, taking the perfume [he recites the verse]:

Om. . Karı̄s.in.ı̄, perceptible through perfume, invincible and eternally abundant

The Empress of all creatures – She who is glorious I invite herein.

May the Adhivāsana of this goddess Durgā with this perfume be auspicious.
Then, taking earth, after reciting this and that mantra or the Gāyatrı̄, he must ritually
bestow fitness on the bilva tree with [the declaration] “May the Adhivāsana of this goddess
Durgā with this earth be auspicious”. And again [he repeats the same] with the perfume.
The substances in this [ritual] are:

Know that earth, perfume, red arsenic, rice, durvvā grass, flowers, fruits, yoghurt,
Clarified butter, the Svastika mark, vermillion, conch shell, collyrium and Rocana,
White mustard, gold, silver, copper, a whisk, a mirror.
Lamp and a Praśastipātra (?) are [to be used] in the Adhivāsana.

Know that the nine leaves are [from] the plantain, the pomegranate, rice, turmeric, Arum
indicum, the kacu, bilva, aśoka and barley –

94 In the Durgābhaktitaraṅginı̄ the bel branch must also be visualised as Cāmundā with the following verses before
. ..
the officiant enters the pūjā room:

om . nı̄lotpaladalaśyāmā caturbāhusamanvitā |
khat.vāṅgacandrahāsañ ca vibhratı̄ daks.in.e kare "
vāme carma ca pāśañ ca ūrddhādhobhāgatah. punah. |
dadhatı̄ dı̄rghadam . .s.tro ca atidı̄rghātibhı̄s.an.ā |
lolajihvā nimnaraktanayanā rāvabhı̄s.an.ā "
kabandhavāhanāsı̄nā vistāraśravan.ānā |
es.ā kālı̄ samākhyātā cāmun.d.eti ca kathyate "
iti cāmun.d.ārūpatayā dhyātvā bilvaśākhām . gr.hı̄tvā om
. cāmun.d.e cala cala iti cālayitvā mr.nmayapratimāsahitām
.
gı̄tavādyādinā gr.ham . praviśya . . . arcayed | [p. 129].
364 Bihani Sarkar

Having worshipped the image and the nine leaves thus mentioned, he must ritually bestow fitness
[to the leaves] with perfume etc . . .

Now [for] the ritual obligations on the seventh. In this case, on the seventh either
conjoined with Mūla or not 95 a man having bathed etc. and having gone to the bilva tree
to ritually install it during the lagna of Virgo or at Carām
. śa and having paid homage to the
tree, with folded hands [he must recite]:
Om. . Bilva tree, of great fortune, eternally adored are you by Śaṅkara,
Having taken your branch shall I perform the worship of Durgā.
Feel no pain from the tearing of your branch O Lord,
Forgive me Lord of the bilva tree, King of Trees, Homage to thee!

Declaring thus, he must tear a branch with or without two fruits located [in a part] other
than the north-west and the south-west with this [mantra]: “Om . Tear! Tear! Phat. phat. hum
.
svāhā.” Then taking that branch, he must place it on the pı̄t.ha after entering the ritual room.
Then, having taken white mustard seeds [he must recite]:
Om . . Spirits, flesh-eating ogres, monsters, serpents –
May they disperse, and all others who cause obstacles!
“Om . . May impediments, producers of impediments and terrifying flesh-eaters who are enemies of the sacrifice
scatter in all directions, banished by me with white mustard [whose power] is the same as the thunderbolt.

After removing obstacle-causers by scattering white mustard seeds with these two [verses]
and having taken an offering of rice mixed with lentils, [he must recite]:
Here is the offering of rice with lentils.
Om. . Be triumphant Kālı̄, Queen of All, encompassed by all the ghost hordes,
Protect me from your ghosts, accept the offering – homage to you.
Om. Homage to Kālı̄.
Om. Mother, Mother, Beauteous Durgā, accomplisher of all desired objects,
With this bali offering, grant me all that I desire.

He must ask thus.

Then, placing the nine leaves bound in an aparājitā vine and the bilva branch according to
custom [he must recite]: “Om. . Homage to the bilva branch”. Thus having worshipped, [he
must offer the water for washing the feet] to the bilva branch and the clay image [saying],
“This is the water for washing the feet. Om . Homage to Cāmun.d.ā.” Thus worshipping
Cāmun.d.ā, he must say:
Born on the peak of the Śrı̄śaila, the Śrı̄phala tree, abode of Śrı̄ –
Let me take you. Come! I will worship you as Durgā.
O Cāmun.d.ā, Come, come, shake, shake, Swiftly enter my temple, Go to the pūjā room. Svāhā.

Then, having installed the pot, having worshipped the nine planets and the five gods,
having installed the clay image) and the nine leaves on its right side on the pı̄t.ha with songs,
music etc., having performed the rites such as the Purification of the Gross Elements, having

95 Understand ‘kevalāyām
. vā’.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 365

set up the chalice common to all the deities and having placed the bilva branch in a copper
receptacle before the clay image [he must recite]:

Om. . Infused are you O Durgā in the clay and also in the bilva.
Having become perfectly fixed for our sake, grant our desires in our abode
Om. . Be still, be fixed, be motionless.

(iv) The Prān.apratis..thā (Conferral of Breaths), Dhyāna (Visualisation) and Āhūti

(Summoning):96

iti sthirı̄kr.tya prān.apratis..thām

. kuryāt | yathā pratimāyāś caks.us.i kajjalam . dattvā kapolau spr..s.tvā om . kāli
kāli svāhā hr.dayāya namah. | om . kāli vajrin.i śirase svāhā | om
. kāli kāleśvari śikhāyai vas.at. | om
. kāli kāli
vajreśvari kavacāya hum . | om . kāli vajreśvari lauhadan.d.āyai netratrayāya vaus.at. | om . kāli lauhadan.d.āyai
astrāya phat. | om . jayantı̄tyādi pat.hitvā hr.daye aṅgus..tham . dattvā
om. asyai prān.āh. pratis..thantu asyai prān.āh. ks.arantu ca |
asyai devatvasam . khyāyai svāhā |

punah. om . kāli kāli svāhā hr.dayāya namah. ityādi sarvam

. om
. jayantı̄tyādi ca pat.hitvā
om . manojyotir jus.atām ājyasya
br.haspatir yajñam imam . tanotu |
aris..tam
. yajñam
. sam imam . dadhātu
viśve devāsa iha mādayantām om pratis..tha "

ity etaih. kālikāpurān.oktamantrair iti | athavā āgamoktamantraih. prān.apratis..thā yathā hr.daye hastam . dattvā
om . ām. hrı̄m . krom. yam . ram. lam . vam. śam. .sam
. sam. haum . ham . sah. bhagavatyā durgāyāh. prān.āh. iha prān.āh.
punar api durgāyāh. ity antam uktvā jı̄va iha sthitah. punah. durgāyāh. ity antam uktvā iha sarvendriyān.i
punah. durgāyāh. ity antam uktvā vāṅmanaścaks.uh.śrotraghrān.aprān.ā ihāgatya sukham . ciram . tis..thantu svāhā
ity | evam anyes.ām . gan.eśādı̄nām | tatah. sapus.pāks.atam ādāya devı̄m
. dhyāyed yathā
om . jat.ājūt.asamāyuktām ardhendukr.taśekharām |
locanatrayasam . yuktām . pūrn.endusadr.śānanām "
atası̄pus.pavarn.ābhām . supratis..thām
. sulocanām |
navayauvanasampannām . sarvābharan.abhus.itām |
sucārudaśanām . devı̄m . pı̄nonnatapayodharām |
tribhaṅgasthānasam . sthānām. mahis.āsuramardinı̄m "
triśūlam. daks.in.e haste khad.gam . cakram . kramād adhah. |
tı̄ks.n.abān.am . tathā śaktim. vāmato’pi nibodhata "
khet.akam . pūrn.acāpañ ca pāśam aṅkuśam eva ca |
ghan.tām . vā paraśum . vāpi vāmatah. sam . niveśayet "
adhastān mahis.am . tadvad viśiraskam . pradarśayet |
śiraschedodbhavam . tadvad dānavam . khad.gapān.inam "
hr.di śūlena nirbhin.n.am . niryadantravibhūs.itam |
raktaraktı̄kr.tāṅgañ ca raktavisphuriteks.an.am "
ves..titam. nāgapāśena bhrūkut.ı̄bhı̄s.an.ānanam |
sapāśavāmahastena dhr.takeśañ ca durgayā |
vamadrudhiravaktrañ ca devyāh. sim . ham . pradarśayet |

96 Vidyāpati does not mention either the prānapratisthā or the use of a clay image during the Durgā Pūjā. After
. ..
the bodhana, it appears that all the rites are centred solely on the bel branch followed by the patrikāpraveśana rite
[Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄, pp.127–132].
366 Bihani Sarkar

devyās tu daks.in.am . pādam . samam . sim

. hopari sthitam "
kiñcid ūrddhvam . tathāvāmam aṅgus..tham. mahis.opari |
stūyamānañ ca tad rūpam amaraih. sanniveśayet "
. . . idam . matsyapurān.ı̄yam . dhyātvā svaśirasi pus.pam. dattvā so’ham iti vicintya sapus.pāks.atam ādāya
āvāhayet |
om. sarvabhūtamayodbhūte sarvāsuravimardini |
anukampaya mām . devi pūjāsthānam. vrajasva me "
om. āvāhayāmy aham . devı̄m . mr.nmaye śrı̄phale’pi ca |
kailāśaśikharād devi vindhyādrer himaparvatāt |
āgatya bilvaśākhāyām. can.d.ike kuru sannidhim |
om. bhūr bhuvah. svar bhagavati durge ihāgaccha ihāgaccha ity āvāhya
om. sthāpitāsi mayā devi mr.nmaye śrı̄phale’pi ca |
āyur ārogyam aiśvaryam . dehi devi namo’stu te "

om. bhagavati durge iha tis..tha iha tis..tha iti sthāpayitvā kr.tāñjalih.
om. durge durgasvarūpāsi suratejomahābale |
sadānandakare devi prası̄da mama siddhaye |
om. ehy ehi bhagavty amba śatruks.ayajayaprade |
bhaktitah. pūjayāmi tvām . navadurge surārcite |
pallavaiś ca phalopetaih. pus.paiś ca sumanoharaih. |
pallave sam . sthite devi pūjaye tvām. prası̄da me "
om. durge devi samāgaccha sānnidhyam iha kalpaya |
yajñabhāgān gr.hān.a tvam. yoginı̄kot. . saha |
ibhih
ehy ehi parameśāni sānnidhyam iha kalpaya |
pūjābhāgam. gr.hān.emam. durge devi namo’stu te |
durge devi samāgaccha gan.aih. parikaraih. saha |
pūjābhāgam. gr.hān.emam. makham . raks.a namo’stu te |

Thus making [her] still, he must perform the Conferral of the Vital Breaths, in the following
manner:

Having lined the eyes of the image with collyrium, after touching her cheeks [he installs
the following mantras]: “Om . kāli kāli svāhā hr.dayāya namah.. Om . kāli vajrin.i śirase svāhā. Om
.
kāli kāleśvari śikhāyai vas.at.. Om. kāli kāli vajreśvari kavacāya hum
. . Om. kāli vajreśvari lauhadan.d.āyai
netratrayāya vaus.at..Om . kāli lauhadan.d.āyai astrāya phat.”. Having recited the verse beginning with
“Om . Jayantı̄ . . . ”, after placing his thumb on his heart [he must say]:

Om . May the vital breaths be conferred on her and may the vital breaths flow for her sake
Svāhā to Her, Summation of Godly Essences.

Once again after reciting “Om . Kāli Kāli, Hr.dayāya Namah.” and the whole passage
beginning with “Om. Jayantı̄ . . . ” [he must say]

Om. Let the mind take delight in the light of ghee

Let Br.haspati extend this [sacrifice].
Let him put together this sacrifice [so that it is] unharmed
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 367

97
Let the All Gods rejoice here. Om
. . Step forward.

The Conferral of Vital Breaths is either with these mantras stated in the Kālikā Purān.a or
with the mantras stated in the Āgamas which are as follows:

After placing his hand on his heart, [he says] “Om . ām
. hrı̄m
. krom
. yam
. ram
. lam . śam
. vam . .sam
. sam .
haum. ham. sah. The Goddess Durgā’s Vital Breaths, herein the Breaths”; and again repeating from
‘Durgā’s ’ till the end of the verse [he says], “The Soul is present here”; and again repeating
‘Durgā’s’ till the end he says: “Here are all the sense objects”, again repeating ‘Durgā’s’ till the
end, he then says: “May Speech, Mind, Sight, Hearing, Smell and the Vital Breaths remain in
eternal bliss having entered herein, Svāhā”. The same [is done] for Gan.eśa etc.

Then, having taken unhusked barley with flowers he must visualise the goddess as follows:

Om . [Think of] Her with coils of matted hair, with the moon’s crescent as a crown,
With three eyes, with a face like the full moon
With a complexion like the atası̄ blossom, charmingly positioned, with charming eyes,
Endowed with fresh youth, adorned with all ornaments,
With lovely teeth, with full and uplifted breasts
Positioned in the ‘tribhaṅga posture’, slaying the buffalo demon,
A trident in her right hand, a sword, and discus in the bottom and top hands,
And know that in her left hands are a pointed arrow and a lance,
A shield, a bow fully bent, a noose and an elephant goad,
A bell or an axe must he place in the left hands.
Furthermore, he must show a headless buffalo below
And a demon holding a sword arising from where the head was torn
Pierced in the chest by the trident, adorned with spilling entrails,
His limbs daubed in blood, his eyes bloodshot and bulging
Encircled by a snake noose, his face terrible with furrowed brows,
His hair grasped by Durgā with the left hand that holds the noose.
Disgorging blood and entrails must one show the goddess’s lion
The goddess’s right foot is placed evenly on the lion
And the toe of her left foot slightly elevated is on the buffalo
He must affix her form in his mind while it is eulogised by the gods

. . . Having visualised [the goddess] in this verse from the Matsya Purān.a, having placed the
flower on his head, having contemplated that the deity is himself and having taken unhusked
barley with flowers, he must summon her:

Om. O Lady born as the embodiment of all elements, slayer of all asuras
Have compassion on me, goddess. Come to my place of worship
Om. I summon the goddess in the clay idol and the bilva
Having entered the bilva branch, Can.d.ikā, make your presence nearby
Om. Earth, middle Earth, heaven, O Goddess Durgā come here come here

Thus summoning (ityāvāhya), [he must say]:

97 A translation by Dr Elizabeth Tucker kindly given to me in a personal communication and not previously
published.
368 Bihani Sarkar

Om. I have embedded you O goddess in the clay idol and the bilva
Grant me long life, health and wealth, goddess. Homage to you.

Having installed her with [the verse] “Om

. O Goddess Durgā stay here, stay here”, [he
must say] with his hands folded:
Om. O Durgā, whose nature is hard to comprehend, who is mighty with celestial effervescence
Who produces eternal bliss, O goddess, grant me grace for my success
Come, come Amba who grants death to enemies and victory,
With devotion I worship you, the Nine Durgās, honoured by the gods
With leaves, fruits and exquisite blossoms.
O goddess infused in a leaf, I worship you, grant me grace
Om. . Goddess Durgā, come together. Make your presence herein
Accept the portion of the sacrifice with [your] crores of Yoginı̄s
Come, come Supreme One, make your presence herein
Accept this portion of the worship Durgā. Homage to you, goddess
Goddess Durgā come together with attendant hordes
Accept this portion of the worship. Protect the sacrifice. Homage to you.

(v) The Patrikāpraveśanavidhi (Entrance into the Nine Leaves):

tato navapatrikāsamı̄pam
. gatvā
om. ehi durge mahābhāge patrikārohan.am
. kuru |
tava sthānam idam. martye śaran am
. . tvām
. vrajāmy aham "

ity uktvā ghat.e hrı̄m . om . kadalı̄sthāyai brahmān.yai namah. iti kramen.a daśopacāraih. pañcopacārair
gandhapus.pābhyām . vā pūjayet | evam . dād.imasthām. raktadantikām . dhānyasthām. laks.mı̄m. haridrāsthām.
durgām. mānasthām. cāmun d
.. .ām kacusthām. kālikām
. bilvasthām
. śivām
. aśokasthām
. śokarahitām. jayantı̄sthām
.
kārtikı̄ñ ca pūjayet | evam. gan.eśādı̄nām api yathāśakti pūjā |

Then, having gone near the nine leaves [he must say]:
Om. . Come Durgā of great fortune, descend into these leaves
This is your home in the mortal world. I go to you for refuge.

Saying thus, he must worship [the leaves] in the pot in sequence with either the ten
Upacāras, the five Upacāras or perfume and flowers, [chanting first] “Hrı̄m . Om . Homage
to Brahmān.ı̄ in the plantain leaf”. And in the same way Raktadantikā in the pomegranate
leaf, Laks.mı̄ in the rice leaf, Durgā in the turmeric leaf, Cāmun.d.ā in the leaf of the Arum
Indicum, Kālikā in the kacu leaf, Śivā in the bilva leaf, Śokarahitā in the aśoka leaf and Kārttikı̄
in the barley leaf. Gan.eśa etc. are also worshipped in the same manner according to one’s
means.
(vi) The Bali (Sacrifice):98

98 In Purānas and the Durgābhaktitaraṅginı̄, the king is said to obtain victory in battle and vanquish his enemies
. .
as rewards for offering bali.Vidyāpati singles out the third sacrifice held at midnight on Mahās.t.amı̄ as being
especially effective for the king wishing for success in battle: atha mahās..tamyām ardharātre vijayakāmasya nr.pasya
devı̄pūjāpūrvakabalidānam
. | [Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄, p. 196].
In a courtly context, the bali is often heavily tantricised as the assumption is that the Tantrik bali is more effective
in procuring victory. Kālı̄ is a strong presence in this part. There is also mention of the sacrifice of a dough effigy
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 369

99
tato devı̄m . pādyādibhih. sampūjya chāgādibalim . dadyāt | yathā svayam uttarāmukhah. snātam .
pūrvābhimukham . balim . kr.tvā om. astrāya phat. ity avalokya om . agnih. paśur āsı̄t tenāyajanta sa etam . lokam
ajayad yasminn agnih. sa te loko bhavis.yati tam . jes.yasi pibaitā apah. | om . vāyuh. paśur āsı̄t tenāyajanta
sa etam . lokam ajayad yasmin vāyuh. sa te loko bhavis
. yati tam jes
. . yasi pibaitā apah. | om . sūryah. paśur
āsı̄t tenāyajanta sa etam . lokam ajayad yasmin sūryah. sa te loko bhavis . yati tam
. .jes yasi pibaitā apah. | iti
kuśodakaih. samproks.ya om . chāgapaśave namah . iti gandhādibhir abhyarcya
om. chāga tvam . balirūpen.a mama bhāgyād upasthitah. |
pran.amāmi tatah. sarvarūpin.am . balirūpin.am "
can.d.ikāprı̄tidānena dātur āpadvināśana |
cāmun.d.ābalirūpāya bale tubhyam . namo’stu te "
yajñārthe paśavah. sr..s.tāh. svayam eva svayambhuvā |
atas tvām . ghātayāmy adya tasmād yajñe vadho’vadhah. "
100
ity uccārya aim . śrı̄m
. hrı̄m . iti mantren.a balim . śivarūpin.am . dhyātvā tasya mūrdhni pus.pam . nyaset |
om. adyetyādi mahābalabhavanakāmo durgāprı̄tikāmo vā imam . chāgapaśum . vahnidaivatam . bhagavatyai
durgādevyai tubhyam aham . ghātayis.ye iti jalam
. dadyāt | tatah.
om. kr..sn.am. pin.ākapān.iñ ca kālarātrisvarūpin.am |
ugram . raktāsyanayanam . raktamālyānulepanam "
atraiva balidānaprakārah. –
bhagavān uvāca
snāpayitvā balim . tatra pus.pacandanavandanaih. |
pūjayet sādhako devı̄m . mūlamantrair muhur muhuh. "
uttarābhimukho bhūtvā balim . pūrvamukham . tathā |
nirı̄ks.ya sādhakah. paścād imam . mantram udı̄rayet "
nara tvam . balirūpen
. a mama bhāgyād upasthitah . |
pran.amāmi tatah. sarvarūpin.am . balirūpin.am "
can.d.ikāprı̄tidānena dātur āpadvināśana |
cāmun.d.ābalirūpāya bale tubhyam . namo’stu te "
yajñārthe balayah. sr..s.tāh.svayam eva svayambhuvā |
atas tvām . ghātayāmy adya tasmād yajñe vadho vadhah. "
aim. hrı̄m
. śrı̄m iti mantren.a tam . balim. matsvarūpin.am |
cintayitvā nyaset pus.pam . mūrddhni tasya tu bhairava "
tato devı̄m . samuddiśya kāmam uddiśya cātmanah . |
abhis.icya balim . paścāt karatā[vā]lan tu pūjayet "
rasanārtham . can.d.ikāyāh. suralokaprasādhakah. |
ām
. aim . hr.ı̄m. khad.geti mantren.a dhyātvā khad.gañ ca pūjayet "
matsvarūpin.am
. śivasvarūpam | [DPT, Pramān.a]
of the king’s enemy to the warrior deities Skanda-Viśākha (Garud.a Purān.a 1.133.3–134.7; Devı̄ Purān.a 22.4–24;
Agni Purān.a 185.3–15; Kālikā Purān.a 60.33–54; Durgābhakitaraṅginı̄ p. 197).
99 Vidyāpati includes, in addition to the animals mentioned over here, the offering of a human head (naraśirah
.
pradāna). Durgābhaktitaran.ginı̄, p. 189.
100 The identification of the sacrificial animal with Śiva appears to be unique to the bali in the DPT. As evidence,
Raghunanandana cites the following passage from the Kālikā Purān.a, where Śiva describes the sacrificial animal as
embodying himself (matsvarūpin.am . ).
In the Kālikā Purān.a 60.146 a legend appears where Śiva (girı̄śa) is described as being incarnated as Mahis.a in the
womb of a female buffalo. In brief, the background to this event is as follows. Mahis.a’s father Rambha is a devout
follower of Śiva. Pleased with his worship, Śiva grants him a boon that he himself will be born as Rambha’s son.
On his way home, Rambha falls madly in love with a young and pleasing she-buffalo, whom he impregnates. Śiva
imbues the foetus in the buffalo’s womb with a portion from his body. Similar myths where Mahis.āsura is depicted
in a sympathetic light as a Śiva devotee and a ‘portion descendant’ (am . śāvatāra) of Śiva also appear in Tamil texts
from the period such as the Arun.ācalapurān.a, a study of which appears in Shulman 1976, pp. 122–123. There is no
mention of Śiva being the sacrificial animal in texts from the early medieval period which leads me to believe that
it is a medieval development.
370 Bihani Sarkar

raktāmbaradharañ caiva pāśahastam

. kut.umbinam |
pibamānañ ca rudhiram. bhuñjānam. kravyasam
. hatim |

evam. khad.gam . dhyātvā

om. rasanā tvam. can.d.ikāyāh. suralokaprasādhakah. |

ity abhimantrya hrı̄m . śrı̄m

. khad.gāya namah. iti gandādibhih. sampūjya
om . asir viśasanah. khad.gas tı̄ks.n.adhāro durāsadah. |
śrı̄garbho vijayaś caiva dharmapāla namo’s tu te |
ity as..tau tava nāmāni svayam uktāni vedhasā |
naks.atram . kr.ttikā tubhyam . gurur devo maheśvarah. "

hiran.yañ ca śarı̄ram. te dhātā devo janārddanah. |

pitā pitāmaho devas tvam . mām. pālaya sarvvadā "
nı̄lajı̄mūtasaṁkāśas tı̄ks.n.adam. .s.trah. kr.śodarah. |
bhāvaśuddho’mars.an.aś ca atitejās tathaiva ca |
iyam . yena dhr.tā ks.aun.ı̄ hataś ca mahis.āsurah. |
tı̄ks.n.adhārāya śuddhāya tasmai khad.gāya te namah. "

iti pus.pam . dadyāt | ām . hrı̄m . phat. iti khad.gām ādāya om . kāli kāli vajreśvari lauhadan.d.āyai
namah. iti japtvā pūrvābhimukham . balim . svayam uttarābhimukhah . , balim . uttarābhimukham . svayam .
pūrvābhimukho vā sakr.c chindyāt | tato mr.nmayādipātre rudhiram ādāya devı̄sammukhe sthāpayitvā om .
adyetyādi daśavars.āvacchinnaśrı̄durgāprı̄tikāma imam . chāgapaśurudhirabalim . dāsyāmi iti sam . kalpya es.a
chāgapaśurudhirabalih. om . jayantı̄tyādy uccārya dadyāt | tatah.
om . kāli kāli mahākāli kālike pāpanāśini |
śon.itañ ca balim gr
. . hna varade vāmalocane "
aim . hrı̄m
. śrı̄m
. kauśiki rudhiren . āpyāyatām iti vadet | tataś chāgaśirasi jvaladdaśām . dattvā om .
adyetyādi daśavars.āvachinnaśrı̄durgāprı̄tikāma imam . sapradı̄pacchāgapaśuśı̄rs
. abalim
. dāsyāmi iti sam. kalpya
es.a sapradı̄pacchāgapaśuśı̄rs.abalih. om . jayantı̄tyādy uccārya dadyāt | tatah.
om . jaya tvam . sarvabhūteśe sarvabhūtasamāvr . te |
raks.a mām . nijabhūtebhyo balim. bhuṅks . va namo’stu te "

ity uktvā khad.garudhiram ādāya –

om. yam. yam. spr.śāmi pādena yam. yam. paśyāmi caks.us.ā |
sa sa me vaśyatām. yātu yadi śakrasamo bhavet "
om. aim
. hrı̄m
. śrı̄m
. nityaklinne madadrave svāhā iti sarvavaśyamantren.a svı̄yalalāt.e tilakam
. kuryāt |

mahis.otsarge tu mahis.asyāran.yapaśutvenāgastyaproks.itatvāt taddāne agnih. paśur āsı̄d ityādimantraih.

proks.an.am. nāsti | tataś ca etat pāt.hyam
om. yathā vāham. bhavān dves..ti yathā vahasi can.d.ikām |
tathā mama ripūn him . sa śubham. vaha lulāpaka "
yamasya vāhanas tvan tu vararūpadharāvyaya |
āyur vittam. yaśo dehi kāsarāya namo’stu te "

om. mahis.apaśave namah. iti gandādibhih. sampūjya chāga ity atra paśo ity ūhena vadet | rudhiradāne tu
phalam . śatavars.āvacchinnadurgāprı̄tih. | pūrvavad anyat sarvam | mes.aghāte tu mes.a ity ūhena prayoktavyam |
rudhiradāne tu ekavars.āvacchinnadurgāprı̄tih. phalam | anyat sarvam . pūrvavat | svadeharudhiradāne tu es.a
svagātrarudhirabalih.
om. mahāmāye jaganmātah. sarvakāmapradāyini |
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 371

dadāmi deharudhiram
. prası̄da varadā bhava |

ity uktvā om . jayantı̄tyādinā dadyāt | prabhūtabalidāne dvau vā trı̄n vā agratah. kr.tvā samproks.ya
tattatpaśubhyo namah. ity sampūjya chāga tvam iti bahuvacanānūhena prayogah. | paśvantare’py evam | vākye
tu mahābalabhavanakāmo’tulavibhūtikāmo durgāprı̄tikāmo vā etān paśūn ghātayis.ye | rudhiradāne tu ‘es.a
paśurudhirabalih. om . jayantı̄tyādy uccārya hrı̄m
. om. durgāyai namah. | paśuśı̄rs.adāne sapradı̄papaśuśı̄rs.abalih.
pūrvavat | kus.mān.d.eks.ubalim. dadyāt | tata om . jayantı̄tyādimantram
. yathāśakti japtvā

om . gr.hān.āsmatkr.tam
. guhyātiguhyagoptrı̄ tvam . japam |
siddhir bhavatu me devi tvat prasādān maheśvari |

iti japam . samarpayet | tatah. stavam . pat.hed yathā

om . durgām
. śivām. śāntikarı̄m . brahmān . ı̄m
. brahman.ah. priyām |
sarvalokapran.etrı̄ñ ca pran.amāmi sadāśivām |
maṅgalām . śobhanām . śuddhām . nis.kalām . paramām . kalām |
viśveśvarı̄m
. viśvamātām can
. .. . d ikām pran. amāmy aham |
sarvadevamayı̄m . devı̄m. sarvalokabhayāpahām |
brahmeśavis.n.unamitām . pran.amāmi sadāśivām |
vindhyasthām . vindhyanilayām . divyasthānanivāsinı̄m |
yoginı̄m . yogamātāñ ca can. . . pran.amāmy aham |
dikām
ı̄śānamātaram . devı̄m ı̄śvarı̄m ı̄śvarapriyām |
pran.ato’smi sadā durgām . . sārārn.avatārin.ı̄m "
sam
ya idam . .pat het stotram . śr.n.uyād vāpi yo narah. |
sa muktah. sarvapāpebhyo modate durgayā saha |

atha varaprārthanam

om. mahis.aghni mahāmāye cāmun.d.e mun.d.amālini |

āyur ārogyavijayam . dehi devi namo’stu te |
bhūtapretapiśācebhyo raks.obhyah. parameśvari |
bhayebhyo mānus.ebhyaś ca devebhyo raks.a mām . sadā |
sarvamaṅgalamaṅgalye śive sarvārthasādhike |
ume brahmān.i kaumāri viśvarūpe prası̄da me |
rūpam. dehi yaśo dehi bhāgyam . bhagavati dehi me |
putrān dehi dhanam . dehi sarvān kāmām. ś ca dehi me |
candanena samālabdhe kum . kumena vilepite |
bilvapatrakr.tāpı̄d.e durge tvām
. śaran am
. . gatah . "

ity uccārya mūlamantren.a pus.pāñjalitrayam . dadyāt | tato yathākālam annavyañjanāpūpapāyasādikam

upānı̄ya pūrvoktamantren.a dattvā pānārtham
. vāsitajalam ācamanı̄yam
. tāmbūlañ ca dadyāt | gı̄tavādyādibhih.
śes.akālam
. nayet |

Then, having worshipped the goddess with such offerings as the foot water etc., he must
offer [an animal such as] a goat etc. as sacrifice in the following manner: having faced the
north after washing the sacrifice, then making it face the east and gazing [at the sacrificial
weapon while chanting] “Om . Phat. to the Weapon” and [having chanted]: “Om . . Fire was
the sacrifice. They sacrificed with him. He conquered this world. [There] where Fire dwells
the world will be born for his sake. You will conquer it. Drink these waters. Om. The wind
was the sacrifice. They sacrificed with him. He conquered this world. There where Wind
372 Bihani Sarkar

dwells, the world will be born for his sake. You will conquer it. Drink these waters. Om .
The Sun was the sacrifice. They sacrificed with him. He conquered this world. There where
Fire dwells, the world will be born for his sake. You will conquer it. Drink these waters”.101
Then, having consecrated [the animal] by sprinkling water with Kuśa grass and having
paid homage [to the sacrifice] with perfumed powders etc. [while chanting] “Om . Homage
to the goat sacrifice” and having recited :

Om. . O Goat, you have arrived by my good fortune in the form of the sacrificial offering
Therefore I bow down to the Embodiment of All 102 , the Embodiment of Sacrifice
O You, who quell the misfortunes of your bestower through the bestowal of Can.d.ikā’s pleasure,
Who are the Bali for Cāmun.d.ā’s sacrifice – Homage to you.
Animals were created for the sake of the sacrifice by Self-Born Brahmā himself
Therefore I slay you now. Therefore the killing in the Sacrifice is not a killing

Thus reciting, having visualised the the sacrificial offering as Śiva with the mantra “Aim .
hrı̄m
. śrı̄m
. ”, he must place a flower on its head.
He must give the water [while declaring the Resolution]: “ Om . Today etc. I who desire
to become powerful – or [he can say] who desire to please Durgā – slay this goat sacrifice
whose presiding deity is Fire for you Goddess Durgā”.
Then –

Om . . Dark, Trident-Bearer, Embodiment of the Night of Destruction

Fierce, red faced and eyed, garlanded and anointed with red
Clothed in red, Noose-Bearer, Kut.umbin103
Drinking blood, feasting on a mound of carrion.

Thus visualising the sword, [he must chant]:

“Om
. You are the tongue of Can.d.ikā who bestow the world of the gods”.

Thus empowering the sword with mantras, having worshipped it with perfumed powders
etc. [chanting] “Hrı̄m
. śrı̄m
. Homage to the Sword”, [he must chant]:

Om . Asi, Viśasana, Khad.ga, Tı̄ks.n.adhāra, Durāsada,

Śrı̄garbha, Vijaya and Dharmapāla – Homage to you
Thus the litany of your eight names, cited by none other than Brahmā
Your constellation the Pleaides, your guru the Lord Maheśvara
Your body is golden, your bearer the lord Janārdana
Your father is the lord Pitāmaha – protect me at all times.
Like a dark rain cloud, cruelly fanged and lean-waisted
Pure in intention, merciless and immensely powerful,
This sword by which the earth was held up and by whom Mahis.āsura was slain
Homage to that sword, pure, sharp-edged.

101 Vājasaneyin Samhitā, White Yajurveda, Mādh resc., 23.17; Taittarı̄ya Samhitā, 5.7.26.1.
. .
102 My translation is forced as the compound ‘sarvarūpinam’ does not make full sense in the context.
. .
103 I am unclear why this epithet is selected for the sword.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 373

Chanting this, he must offer a flower. Having held the sword chanting “Ām . hrı̄m. phat.”,
having uttered “Om . Kālı̄ Kālı̄, goddess of the thunder bolt, Homage to the goddess of the
Iron Stake, he must decapitate the animal with one stroke while it faces the east and he faces
the north, or the animal faces the north and he faces the east.
Then, having collected the blood in a chalice of such a substance as earth, having placed
it before the goddess and having declared the Resolution: “Om . Today etc. I who wish for
Durgā’s affection for a duration of ten years give this bali offering of goat’s blood and having
recited “Here is the bali offering of goat’s blood. Om . Jayantı̄ . . . ”, he must offer [the blood].
Then:

“ Om. Kālı̄, Kālı̄, Awesome Kālı̄, Kālikā, Queller of Sins,

Accept the offering of blood O Boon Bestower, Fair-Eyed One
Aim . śrı̄m
. hrı̄m . O Kauśikı̄. May you be nourished with blood.

Then, having placed a burning wick on the goat’s head [he must declare the Resolution]:
“Om . Today etc. I who wish for Durgā’s affection for a duration of ten years give this bali
offering of the goat’s head with a lamp.” Having thus resolved and having said, “Here is the
bali offering of the goat’s head with a lamp. Om
. Jayantı̄ . . . ”, he must offer [the head]. Then:
Om. Be victorious, goddess of all demons, surrounded by all demons
Protect me from your ghosts. Feast on the bali. Homage to you.

Having thus chanted and having taken the blood from the sword [he must recite]:

Om. Whosoever I touch with my foot, whosoever I see with my eye

May he fall in my power, [even] if he is as mighty as Śakra
Om
. aim . śrı̄m
. hrı̄m . O You who are eternally moist, flowing with passion, Svāhā

With this Mantra of Complete Subjugation he must draw a ‘tı̄laka’ mark on his forehead
[with the blood].
But for a buffalo sacrifice, he must not consecrate [the animal] with the mantras beginning
with “Fire was the sacrifice” while [making] this offering because Agastya has [already]
consecrated the buffalo since it is a forest animal. And thus the verse that must be recited is
this:

Om . By the truth that you dislike a mount (?), by the truth that you carry Can.d.ikā,
Injure my enemies, bear good Fortune O Buffalo.
You are the mount of Yama, Imperishable bearer of impeccable limbs
Grant me long life, wealth and fame. Homage to the buffalo
Om . Homage to the buffalo sacrifice.

Having thus worshipped with perfumes etc., he must say “O Animal” as a modification
here where ‘Goat’ [was used]. But when the blood is offered, the reward is Durgā’s affection
for a hundred years. Everything else is as before.
If a sheep is sacrificed, [the term] ‘Sheep’ is to be used as a modification. Everything else
is as [stated] before. But if he offers blood from his body [the modification is] “Here is the
bali offering of blood from my body:
374 Bihani Sarkar

Om . O Mahāmāyā, Mother of the Universe, Bestower of all desires

I give blood from my body. Grant me grace. Bestow boons.

Saying thus, he must offer [the blood] chanting “Om . Jayantı̄ . . . ”.

If there are many animal sacrifices, having grouped [them in] twos or threes before [the
goddess] and having consecrated them and having worshipped them with “Homage to this
and that animal” [he must sacrifice] using “O Goat You” without modification into the
plural. The same is done even in the case of other animals. But [the modification] in the
[sacrificer’s] utterance is: “I who wish to become powerful, who wish incomparable wealth
or [he may say] who wish to please Durgā shall slay these animals”. When offering blood
[the modification is] “Here is the bali offering of animal blood. Om . Jayantı̄ . . . ” Having
said this [he must chant] “Hrı̄m . Om. Homage to Durgā.” When offering the head of the
animal, [the modification is] “The bali offering of an animal head with a lamp” as before.
He may give a bali offering of a pumpkin and a sugar cane. Then having uttered the mantra
beginning with “Om . Jayantı̄” as many times as he can [he must pray]:
You are One who protects the secret and the supreme secret. Accept the prayer I have performed
May I have success goddess by your grace, O Maheśvarı̄.
Saying this he must offer the prayer.

Then, he must recite the hymn which is as follows:

Om . Before Durgā, the benevolent, who removes danger, Brahmān.ı̄ the beloved of Brahmā
Leader of all worlds, Sadāśivā – I prostrate myself
Before her who is auspicious, beautiful, pure, partless and the supreme power104
The Goddess of the Universe, Mother of the Universe, Can.d.ikā – I prostrate myself
Before the goddess who embodies all the gods, who removes fear from all men
One who is paid homage by Brahmā, Īśa and Vis.n.u, who is Sadāśivā – I prostrate myself
Before her who dwells in the Vindhyas, whose abode is the Vindhyas, who dwells in a celestial
place,
Yoginı̄, the Mother of Yoga, Can.d.ikā – I prostrate myself
Before the goddess who is Īśāna’s mother, Īśvarı̄, adored by Īśvara
Durgā, who enables us to cross sam . sāra’s ocean – I have prostrated myself for all time
The man who recites this hymn or listens to it
Rejoices with Durgā freed from all sins.

Now the Prayer for Boons:

Om. . Slayer of the buffalo, Mahāmāyā, Cāmun.d.ā, Garlanded with heads
Grant me long life, health and victory goddess. Homage to you
From demons, ghosts, flesh-eaters and Raks.ases O Supreme Goddess
From dangers, men and gods protect me eternally
O One auspicious with all good portents, benevolent, fully replete in wealth
Umā, Brahmān.ı̄, Kaumārı̄, Omniform, grant me grace
Bestow beauty, bestow fame, bestow good fortune on me O goddess

104 The pun is with kalā meaning part/form and a digit of the moon. Here a paradox is being expressed: the
goddess is both ‘nis.kalā’ that is partless and the ‘paramām
. kalām
. ’ the supreme form and also the highest kalā, the
sixteenth digit of the moon. Durgā and the moon are closely associated in ritual and astrology.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 375

Bestow sons, bestow wealth, bestow all my desires on me

O One Smeared with sandalwood, anointed with turmeric
With a chaplet of bilva leaves O Durgā, I have come to you for refuge.

Thus reciting, he must offer three cupped handfuls of flowers with the base mantra. Then,
having brought near [the goddess] rice, spiced dishes, cakes, pāyasa etc. at the appropriate
hour and having offered them with the aforementioned mantra, he must offer perfumed
water for drinking, water for sipping and purifying and betel nut. He must pass the time
remaining with songs, musical instruments etc.
(vii) Tantricised Rites – The Bhūtaśuddhi (Purification of Gross Elements), Aṅganyāsa
(Installation of Ancillary Mantras), Aṅgapūjā (Worship of the Ancillary Mantras), Āvaran.apūjā
(Worship of the Circuit of Goddesses), Bali (sacrifice) to the Directions:

atha mahās..tamı̄pūjā | tatra pūrvās.ād.hāyutās..tamyām . kevalāyām . vā kr.tasnānādir ācāntah. pūrvamukha

udaṅmukho vā darbhāsane upaviśya bhūtaśuddhim . kuryād yathā
so’ham iti mantren.a jı̄vātmānam . nābhito hr.disthe paramātmani sam . yojya pr.thivı̄m . jale jalam . tejasi tejo vāyau
vāyum ākāśe praveśya daks.in.āṅgus..thena daks.in.anāsāput.am . . dhr tvā yam . iti vāyubı̄jena .sod.aśadhājaptena
vāyūtkars.an.arūpapūrakasam . jñayā vāyavyā dhāran. ayā deham . . śos ayitvā nāsāput. āv aṅgus..thānāmikābhyām .
dhr.tvā ram. iti vahnibı̄jena catuh s as
. . ..t ı̄dhājaptena vāyustambhanarūpakumbhakasam . jñayā agnicintanarūpayā
āgneyyā dhāran.ayā deham . dāhayitvā lam . iti pr.thvı̄bı̄jena dvātrim . jjaptena daks.in.anāsāput.ena
vāyunih.saran.arūpayā recakasam . jñayā aindryā dhāran. ayā sthirı̄kr . tya vam . iti varun.abı̄jena vāyvādibhūtāni
vyomādibhyo bahih.kr.tvā ham sah
. . iti mantren . a paramātmato jı̄vam . nābhipadme nyaset |

tatah. prān.āyāmah. | daks.in.anāsāput.am. dhr.tvā om. jayantı̄tyādimantren.a śanair ekadhājaptena vāmanāsayā

vāyūttolanarūpam . pūrakam nāsike dhr
. tvā caturdhājaptena vāyudhāran.arūpam. kumbhakam vāmanāsām .
dhr.tvā daks.in.anāsayā dvidhā japtena vāyutyajanarūpam . recakam punar daks. . anāsayā pūrakam pūrvavat
in
tābhyām. kumbhakam vāmayā recakam punar vāmayā pūrakam ubhābhyām . kumbhakam daks.in.ayā recakam
iti |

tato’ṅganyāsah. | aṅgus..thahastāṅgulibhih. om . kāli kāli svāhā hr.dayāya namah. iti hr.di |

tarjanı̄madhyamābhyām om . kāli kāli vajrin.i śirase svāhā iti śirasi | adho’ṅgus..thamus..tikayā om. kāli kāleśvari
śikhāyai vas.at. iti śikhāyām | viparı̄taparyastakaratalābhyām . om . kāli kāli vajreśvari kavacāya hum. iti āśirah.
pādaparyantam | tarjanı̄madhyamānāmikābhih. om . kāli vajreśvari lauhadan.d.āyai netratrayāya vaus.at. iti
netrayoh. | om . kāli lauhadan.d.āyai astrāya phat. iti | evam . karanyāsam . nyasya ūrdhvoddhah. ūrdhvorddham .
tālatrayam. dattvā chot.ikābhih. daśa diśo badhnı̄yāt | . . .

athāvaran.apūjā | devyā daks.in.apārśve pañcopacāraih. gandhapus.pābhyām . vā hrı̄m

. om. jayantyai namah. |
evam . maṅgalāyai | kālyai | bhadrakālyai | kapālinyai | durgāyai | śivāyai | ks.amāyai | dhātryai |
svāhāyai | svadhāyai | devyāh. pūrvabhāge hrı̄m . om . ugracan.d.āyai namah. | evam . pracan.d.āyai | ugracan.d.āyai |
can.d.anāyikāyai | can.d.āyai | can.d.avatyai | can.d.arūpāyai | atican.d.ikāyai | tato devyā vāmadiśi tathaiva hrı̄m .
om . ugradam . .s.trāyai namah. | evam. mahādam . .s.trāyai | śubhadam . .s.trāyai | karālinyai | bhı̄manetrāyai |
viśālāks.yai | maṅgalāyai | vijayāyai | jayāyai | tato devı̄puratas tathaiva hrı̄m . om. maṅgalāyai namah. | evam .
nandinyai | bhadrāyai | laks.myai | kı̄rtyai | yaśasvinyai | pus..tyai | medhāyai | śivāyai | sādhvyai | yaśāyai |
śobhāyai | jayāyai | dhr.tyai | ānandāyai | sunandāyai |

tato devyā daks.in.e catuh..sas..timātarah. aśaktau .sod.aśa as..tau vā pañcopacārair gandhapus.pābhyām . vā pūjayet |
yathā om
. vijayāyai namah . | evam
. maṅgalāyai bhadrāyai dhr. tyai śāntyai śivāyai ks
. amāyai siddhyai tus..tyai
umāyai pus..tyai śriyai .rddhyai ratyai dı̄ptyai kāntyai yaśāyai laks.myai ı̄śvaryai vr.ddhyai śākryai jayāvatyai
376 Bihani Sarkar

brāhmyai jayantyai aparājitāyai ajitāyai mānasyai śvetāyai dityai māyāyai mahāmāyāyai mohinyai lālasāyai
tı̄vrāyai vimalāyai gauryai matyai durgāyai kriyāyai arundhatyai ghan..tāyai karn.āyai sakarn.āyai kapālinyai
raudryai kālyai māyūryai trinetrāyai surūpāyai bahurūpāyai ripuhāyai ambikāyai carcikāyai surapūjitāyai
vaivasvatyai kaumāryai māheśvaryai vais.n.avyai mahālaks.myai kārttikyai kauśikyai śivadūtyai śivāyai
cāmun.d.āyai |

atha mātarah. | om. brahmān.yai namah. | evam

. māheśvaryai | kaumāryai | vais.n.avyai | vārāhyai | indrān.yai |
cāmun.d.āyai | mahālaks.myai |

pūrvādidiks.u om. śivadūtyai namah. | madhye can.d.ikāyai | mātr.n.ām

. purobhāge om
. bhairavāya namah. | iti
pañcopacāraih. pūjayet | om. mahis
. āsurāya namah
. |

tato’ṅgapūjā | om . kāli kāli vajrin.i svāhā hr.dayāya namah. iti gandhapus.pābhyām . pūjayet | evam . om . kāli kāli
vajrin.i śirase svāhā namah. | om . kāli kāleśvari śikhāyai vas at
.. namah |
. . om kāli vajreśvari kavacāya hum . namah.
| āgneyyādidiks.u | om . kāli kāli vajreśvari lauhadan ..d āyai svāhā netratrayāya vaus at
.. namah . | devyagre |
om. kāli lauhadan d
.. āyai astrāya phat . namah . | iti pūrvādidiks . u pūjayet | devyāh. śikhām
. bhāvayan om. ı̄śānāya
namah. iti sampūjya mukham . bhāvayan om . kāli kāli tatpurus.āya namah. | hr.dayam . bhāvayan om . vajreśvari
aghorāya namah. | adho bhāvayan om . lauhadan.d.āyai vāmadevāya namah. | sarvāṅgam . bhāvayan om . svāhā
sadyojātāya namah. | . . .

tato mās.ānnamām
. sādyair deyo diks.u balir niśi |

tatra es.a mās.abhaktabalih. om . lokapālagrahanaks.atrasurāsuragan.agandharvayaks.arāks.asavidyādharagarud.amaho

ragakinnaragajendradevatāpsarobhūtapiśācakravyādamanus.yamātr.gan.ayoginı̄d.ākinı̄śākinı̄gan.ā imam.
nānādravyasahitabalim . . gr hnantu hum. phat
. svāhā om
. lokapālādibhyo namah
. iti dattvā
om . śivāh. kaṅkālavetālāh. pūtanā jambhakādayah. |
sarve te tr.ptim āyāntu balidānena tos.itāh. "
105
es.a mās.abhaktabalih. om . śivādibhyo namah. |

Now for the worship on the great eighth. In this [sequence], on the eighth lunar day
either conjoined with Pūrvās.ād.ha or not, after sitting down on a seat of Darbha grass facing
east or north, having bathed etc. and sipped the water for purification, a man must perform
the Purification of the Gross elements as follows:-
Having united the Individual Soul with the Supreme Soul in the heart [by drawing it up]
from the navel with the mantra “I am that one”and after introducing earth in water, water
in fire, fire in wind and wind in ether, having held the right nostril with the right thumb
and after dessicating the body by chanting the wind seed syllable ‘Yam . ’ sixteen times with
106
the Vāyavı̄ visualisation known as the Pūraka /Inhalation, whose nature is to increase [the
body] with wind and having held both nostrils with the thumb and the ring finger, having
burnt the body by chanting the fire seed syllable ‘Ram . ’ sixty-four times with the Āgneyı̄
visualisation, the contemplation of fire known as as the Kumbhaka/Pot107 whose nature is
to stop the breath, having made [the body] firm by chanting the earth seed syllable ‘Lam .’

105 A parallel to a similar apotropaic rite to Skanda, the grahas and the mātrs is found in the Atharvaveda Pariśista
. ..
20.2.9. It seems plausible that Durgā may have replaced Skanda, and yoginı̄s associated with that older worship have
been assimilated into her retinue with some nominal modifications recognisable to a smārta. However it is beyond
the scope of this paper to study this in depth.
106 The first stage of yogic breath control (prānāyāma) when the breath is inhaled.
.
107 The second stage of prānāyāma when the breath is held.
.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 377

thirty- two times [by expelling the air] through the right nostril with the Aindrı̄ visualisation
known as the ‘Recaka’108 /Exhalation, whose nature is to expel the breath and after having
expunged [from the body] the [gross] elements such as wind from ether etc. by chanting the
water seed syllable ‘Vam . ’, he must install the Soul in the lotus of the navel [drawing it] from
the Supreme Soul by chanting the mantra “Ham . sa”.
Next, Restraining the Breaths. Having held the right nostril, [he must complete] the
Pūraka, the inhalation of the breath through the left nostril by chanting once the mantra
beginning with “Om . Jayantı̄ . . . ” carefully, having held both nostrils, the Kumbhaka, the
holding of the breath by chanting [the same mantra] four times and having held the left
nostril, the Recaka, the expelling of the breath through the right nostril by chanting [the
mantra] twice. [He must complete] the Pūraka again through the right nostril, the Kumbhaka
with both as previously mentioned, the Recaka through the left, again repeating the Pūraka
through the left, the Kumbhaka through both and the Recaka through the right.
Next, the Installation of Ancillary Mantras. With the thumb and the fingers [he must
109
install the mantra] “Om . kāli kāli svāhā hr.dayāya namah.” on the heart; with the index and
110
middle fingers, “Om . kāli kāli vajrin.i śirase svāhā” on the head; with the fist with thumb
111
held down, “Om . kāli kāleśvari śikhāyai vas.at.” on the crest of the head; with the palms of
112
both hands crossed on opposite sides, “Om . kāli kāli vajreśvari kavacāya hum . from the head
to the feet; with the index, the middle and ring fingers, “Om . kāli vajreśvari lauhadan.d.āyai
113 114
netratrayāya vaus.at.” on the eyes; “Om . kāli lauhadan.d.āyai astrāya phat.” – thus installing,
he must close the ten directions by snapping his fingers after clapping thrice from top to
bottom and bottom to top . . .
Next, the Worship of Durgā’s Retinue. To the goddess’s right with either the
five upācāras or with perfume and flowers : [Jayantı̄] “Hrı̄m . Om . Jayantyai Namah.”. In
the same way : [Maṅgalā] “Maṅgalyai”; [Kālı̄] “Kālyai”; [Bhadrakālı̄] “Bhadrakālyai”;
[Kapālinı̄] “Kapālinyai”; [Durgā] “Durgāyai”; [Śivā] “Śivāyai”; [Ks.amā] “Ks.amāyai”; [Dhātrı̄]
“Dhātryai”; [Svāhā] “Svāhāyai”; [Svadhā] “Svadhāyai”.
To the goddess’s eastern quarter (devyāh. pūrvvabhāge): [Ugracan.d.ā] “Hrı̄m . Om . Ugracan.d.āyai
Namah.”. In the same way: [Pracan.d.ā] “Pracan.d.āyai”; [Can.d.ogrā] “Can.d.ogrāyai”115 ;
[Can.d.anāyikā] “Can.d.anāyikāyai”; [Can.d.ā] “Can.d.āyai”; [Can.d.avatı̄] “Can.d.avatyai”;
[Can.d.arūpā] “Can.d.arūpāyai”; [Atican.d.ikā] “Atican.d.ikāyai”.
In the same way to the goddess’s left: [Ugradam . s.t.rā] “Hrı̄m . Om . Ugradam . s.t.rāyai
Namah.”. Likewise : [Mahādam . s.t.rā] “Mahādam . s.t.rāyai”; [Śubhadam . s.t.rā] “Śubhadam . s.t.rāyai”;
[Karālinı̄] “Karālinyai”; [Bhı̄manetrā] “Bhı̄manetrāyai”; [Viśālāks.ı̄] “Viśālāks.yai”; [Maṅgalā]
“Maṅgalāyai”; [Vijayā] “Vijayāyai”; [Jayā] “Jayāyai”.
In the same way in front of the goddess: [Maṅgalā] “Hrı̄m . Om . Maṅgalāyai”. Likewise:
[Nadinı̄] “Nandinyai”; [Bhadrā] “Bhadrāyai”; [Laks.mı̄] “Laks.myai”; [Kı̄rtti] “Kı̄rttyai”;

108 The third stage of prānāyāma when the breath is exhaled.

.
109 O Kālı̄ Kālı̄ Svāhā Homage to the Heart.
110 O Kālı̄ Kālı̄ Thunderbolt Bearer, Svāhā to the Head.
111 O Kālı̄ Goddess of the Night of Destruction, Vasat to the crest.
.
112 O Kālı̄ Goddess of the Thunderbolt, Hum to the armour
.
113 O Kālı̄ Goddess of the Thunderbolt, Goddess of the Iron Stake, Vaus.at. to the three eyes.
114 O Kālı̄ Goddess of the Iron Stake, Phat to the Instrument.
.
115 candogrāyai] em. ugracandāyai] SSP.
.. ..
378 Bihani Sarkar

[Yaśasvinı̄] “Yaśasvinyai”; [Pus.t.i] “Pus.t.yai”; [Medhā] “Medhyai”; [Śivā] “Śivāyai”; [Sādhvı̄]

“Sādhvyai”; [Yaśā] “Yaśāyai”; [Śobhā] “Śobhāyai”; [Jayā] “Jayāyai”; [Dhr.ti] “Dhr.tyai”;
[Ānandā] “Ānandāyai”; [Sunandā] “Sunandāyai”.
Next to the Goddess’s right, the sixty-four mātr.s. If he cannot [invoke these],
then he must worship either sixteen or eight with the five upācāras or perfume and
flowers. In the following way: [Vijayā] “Om . Vijayāyai Namah.”. Likewise: [Maṅgalā]
“Maṅgalāyai”; [Bhadrā] “Bhadrāyai”; [Dhr.ti] “Dhr.tyai”; [Śānti] “Śāntya”; [Śivā] “Śivāyai”;
[Ks.amā] “Ks.amāyai”; [Siddhi] “Siddhyai”; [Tus.t.i] “Tus.t.yai”; [Umā] “Umāyai”; [Pus.t.i]
“Pus.t.yai”; [Śrı̄] “Śriyai”; [R . ddhi] “R . ddhyai”; [Rati] “Ratyai”; [Dı̄pti] “Dı̄ptyai”; [Kānti]
“Kāntyai”; [Yaśā] “Yaśāyai”; [Laks.mı̄] “Laks.myai”; [Īśvarı̄] “Īśvaryai”; [Vr.ddhi] “Vr.ddhyai”;
[Śākrı̄] “Śākryai”; [Jayāvatı̄] “Jayāvatyai”; [Brāhmı̄] “Brāhmyai”; [Jayantı̄] “Jayantyai”;
[Aparājitā] “Aparājityai”; [Ajitā] “Ajitāyai”; [Mānası̄] “Mānasyai”; [Śvetā] “Śvetāyai”; [Diti]
“Dityai”; [Māyā] “Māyāyai”; [Mahāmāyā] “Mahāmāyāyai”; [Mohinı̄] “Mohinyai”; 32.
[Lālasā] “Lālasāyai”; [Tı̄vrā] “Tı̄vrāyai”; [Vimalā] “Vimalāyai”; [Gaurı̄] “Gauryai”; [Mati]
“Matyai”; [Durgā] “Durgāyai”; [Kriyā] “Kriyāyai”; [Arundhatı̄] “Arundhatyai”; [Ghan.t.ā]
“Ghan.t.āyai”; [Karn.ā] “Karn.āyai”; [Sakarn.ā] “Sakarn.āyai”; [Kapālinı̄] “Kapālinyai”; [Raudrı̄]
“Raudryai”; [Kālı̄] “Kālyai”; [Māyūrı̄] “Māyūryai”; [Trinetrā] “Trinetrāyai”; [Surūpā]
“Surūpāyai”; [Bahurūpā] “Bahurūpāyai”; [Ripuhā] “Ripuhāyai”; [Ambikā] “Ambikāyai”;
[Carccikā] “Carccikāyai”; [Surapūjitā] “Surapūjitāyai”; [Vaivasvatı̄] “Vaivasvatyai”;
[Kaumārı̄] “Kaumāryai”; [Māheśvarı̄] “Māheśvaryai”; [Vais.n.avı̄] “Vais.n.avyai”; [Mahālaks.mı̄]
“Mahālaks.myai”; [Kārttikı̄] “Kārttikyai”; [Kauśikı̄] “Kauśikyai”; [Śivadūti] “Śivadūtyai”;
[Śivā] “Śivāyai”; [Cāmun.d.āyai] “Cāmun.d.āyai”. 64.
Next the mātr.s. [Brahmān.ı̄] “Om . Brahmān.yai Namah.”. Likewise: [Māheśvarı̄]
“Māheśvaryai”; [Kaumārı̄] “Kaumāryai”; [Vaiśn.avı̄] “Vaiśn.avyai”; [Vārāhı̄] “Vārāhyai”;
[Indrān.ı̄] “Indrān.yai”; [Cāmun.d.ā] “Cāmun.d.āyai”; [Mahālaks.mı̄] “Mahālaks.myai”.
To the directions beginning with the east: [Śivadūti] “Om . Śivadutyai Namah.”. In the
middle: [Can.d.ikā] “Can.d.ikāyai”. Before the mātr.s : “Om . Bhairavāya Namah.”. He must
worship them with the five upacāras. [Next the Asura Mahis.a] “Om . Mahis . āsurāya Namah.”.
Next the Worship with the Ancillary Mantras. “Om . Kāli Kāli Vajrin.i Svāhā Hr.dayāya
Namah.” he must worship with perfume or flowers. In the same way: “Om . Kāli Kāli Vajrin.i
Śirase Svāhā Namah.”. “Om . Kāli Kāleśvari Śikhāyai Vasat
.. Namah . . Om . Kāli Vajreśvari Kavacāya
Hum . Namah . ”. To the directions beginning with the Āgneya (south-east): “Om . Kāli Kāli
Vajreśvari Lauhadan.d.āyai Svāhā Netratrayāya Vaus.at. Namah.”. Before the goddess: “Om . Kāli
Kāli Vajreśvari Lauhadan.d.āyai Astrāya Phat. Namah.” – thus he must worship each direction
beginning with the east. Visualising the goddess’s topknot: “Om . Īśānāya Namah.”; having thus
worshipped “Om . Kāli Kāli Tatpurus. āya Namah . ” while visualising the face ; while visualising
the heart “Om . Vajreśvari Aghorāya Namah.; while visualising the back “Om . Lauhadan.d.āyai
Vāmadevāya Namah.”; and Visualising all the limbs “Om . Svāhā Sadyojātāya Namah.” . . .
[Worship of weapons, final worship of the nine leaves, animal sacrifice, further vegetarian offering
of rice mixed with lentils to Durgā’s retinue]

Then at night bali must be offered to the directions with rice mixed with lentils, flesh etc.
While [making this offering to the directions] [he must say]: “Here is the bali offering of
rice. Om
. . May the Guardians of the Worlds, planets, constellations, the hordes of gods and
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 379

non-gods, gandharvas, yaks.as, raks.ases, vidyādharas, Garud.a, great snakes, kinnaras, Airāvata,
the gods, apsarases, ghosts, piśācas, vultures, humans, the many mātr.s, the hordes of yoginı̄s,
d.ākinı̄s and śākinı̄s accept this bali with many kinds of substances. Hum . phat. Svāhā. Om
.
Homage to the deities beginning with the Guardians of the Worlds. Thus having made the
offering [he must recite] :
Om. May all jackals, skeletons, vetālas, Pūtanās, Crunchers and such
obtain satisfaction having been pleased by the bali offering.

Here is the bali offering of rice mixed with lentils. Homage to jackals and so forth.
(viii) The worship of the Nine Durgās (Navadurgāpūjā) (Worship of the Nine Durgās):116

116 The nine forms may be connected to the nine nights of the Navarātra, with each having special relevance
to a tithi. The connection appears to be made etymologically – the name of each of these deities is a modification
of the root ‘can.d.’ (to be angry) and Can.d.ı̄/Can.d.ikā is a common epithet for Durgā. Reference to the Navadurgās
is made in the Kālikā Purān.a where 59. 22–23 says: “One should always contemplate (satatam . cintayet) the goddess,
bestower of Dharma, sexual pleasure, wealth and liberation (dharmakāmārthamoks.adām), accompanied by these eight
Śaktis i.e. Ugracan.d.ā, Pracan.d.ā, Can.d.ogrā, Can.d.anāyikā, Can.d.ā, Can.d.avatı̄, Cāmun.d.ā and Can.d.ikā.” The original
verses are as follows:
ugracan.d.ā pracan.d.ā ca can.d.ogrā can.d.anāyikā |
can.d.ā can.d.avatı̄ caiva cāmun.d.ā can.d.ikā tathā "
ābhih. śaktibhir as..tābhih. satatam. parives..titām
. |
cintayet satatam . devı̄m . dharmakāmārthamoks.adām |
A more elaborate description is given in the Agni Purān.a which contains iconographical details, the mantra for
worship and the benefits obtained from the rite. The description says that nine forms of Durgā are worshipped in
either a site with a nine-[petalled] lotus (navapadmātmake sthāne), nine houses (navagehasthā) or in one (ekāgārasthitā).
The verses are as follows:
navapadmātmake sthāne pūjyā durgā svamūrtitah. //
ādau madhye tathendrādau navātattvātmabhih. kramāt /
as..tādaśabhujaikā tu daks.e mun.d.am . ca khet.akam . //
ādarśatarjanı̄cāpam. dhvajam . d.amarukam . tathā /
pāśam . vāme bibhratı̄ ca śaktimudgaraśūlakam . //
vajrakhad.gāṅkuśaśarān cakran devı̄ śalākayā /
etair evāyudhair yuktā śes.āh. .sod.aśabahukāh. //
d.amarum . tarjanı̄m
. tyaktvā rudracan.d.ādayo nava /
rudracan.d.ā pracan.d.ā ca can.d.ogrā can.d.anāyikā //
can.d.ā can.davatı̄ caiva can.d.arūpātican.d.ikā /
ugracan.d.ā ca madhyasthā rocanābhārun.āsitā //
nı̄lā śuklā dhūmrikā ca pı̄tā śvetā ca sim
. hagāh. /
mahis.otha pumān śastrı̄ tatkacagrahamus..tikāh. //
ālı̄d.hā nava durgāh. syuh. sthāpyāh. putrādivr.ddhaye /(Agni Purān.a 50.6–13ab)

For navatattvātmabhih. Can.d.eśvara reads navatattvāks.araih. (with the Nine-Truth syllables). He then glosses the latter as
“durge durge raks.an.i svāheti navatattvāks.arān.i”, The Nine-Truth Syllables are “O Durgā, Durgā, Protectoress! Svāhā”
(Kr.t.y.a.ratnākara, p.362). This reading of course yields greater sense in the ritual context where “navatattvātmabhih.”
is implausible.
The second passage on the Navadurgās is:
durgā tu navagehasthā ekāgārasthitāthavā //

pūjitās..tādaśabhujā śes.āh. .sod.aśamatkarāh. /

śes.āh. .sod.aśahastāh. syur añjanam

. d.amarun tathā //
rudracan.d.ā pracan.d.ā ca can.d.ogrā can.d.anāyikā /

can.d.ā can.d.avatı̄ pūjyā can.d.arūpātican.d.ikā //

380 Bihani Sarkar

tato devyāh. puratah. padmam . nirmāya prāgādidales.u karn.ikāyām . jale vā etat pādyam
. om . rudracan.d.āyai
namah. | abhāve pañcopacārair gandhapus.pābhyām . vā pūjayet | evam . pracan.d.āyai, can.d.ogrāyai,
can.d.anāyikāyai, can.d.āyai, can.d.avatyai, can.d.arūpāyai, atican.d.ikāyai, madhye ugracan.d.āyai | tatra om .
daks.ayajñavināśinyai mahāghorāyai yoginı̄kot.iparivr.tāyai bhadrakālyai hrı̄m . om . durgāyai namah. iti
pus.pāñjalitrayen.a pūjayet |117

Next, having drawn a lotus before the goddess [he must offer the foot water] on either the
petals starting from the east, the pericarp or in water [with]: “This is the foot water.
118
Om . Homage to Rudracan.d.ā”. In the absence of the foot water (abhāve) , he must
worship with either the five upācāras or with perfumed powders and flowers. Likewise
[he worships the remaining deities with] : “Pracan.d.āyai, Can.d.ogrāyai, Can.d.anāyikāyai,
Can.d.āyai, Can.d.avatyai, Can.d.arūpāyai, Atican.d.ikāyai.” In the middle: “Ugracan.d.āyai.” In
that position he must worship [Durgā as Bhadrakālı̄] with three cupped handfuls of flowers
[chanting]: “Om . To Bhadrakālı̄, the destroyer of Daks.a’s sacrifice, immensely terrifying,
surrounded by a crore of yoginı̄s – Hrı̄m . Om. Homage to Durgā.”

kramānmadhye cogracan.d.ā durgā mahis.amardinı̄ /

om
. durge durge raks.an.i svāhā daśāks.aro mantrah. //
dı̄rghākārādimantrādir navanetro namo ‘ntikah. /

.sad.bhih. padair namah.svadhāvas.at.kārahr.dādikam

. //
aṅgus..thādikanis..thāntam
. nyasyāṅgāni japec chivām
. /
etañ japati yo guhyam
. nāsau kenāpi bādhyate // (Agni Purān.a 185.3–8)
During the time of the Pālas, the Navadurgās formed a patronised cult. The Siyan Stone Inscription of Nayapāla
records the institution of a shrine to the Navacan.d.i.k.ās by the king. Epigraphia Indica 39.II.7
For a paddhati on Ugracan.d.ā see Ugracan.d.āpaddhati, cited in Sanderson 2009, p. 112, n. 237.
117 Raghunandananana says nothing on the appearance of the nine which suggests that they were not represented
diagramatically in the worship he advocates. However Vidyāpati states that they are painted on the ground and
gives us some details on their iconography. These conform to the description of the goddesses in the Agni Purān.a.
Eight are sixteen-armed. The left hands hold a skull, a shield, a bell, a mirror, a bow, a crested banner, a noose
and a lance. The right hands hold a mallet, a trident, a thunderbolt, a sword, an elephant goad, an arrow, a discus
and a dart. Each is represented consecutively from the east on eight petals drawn with turmeric. Brightly yellow
Rudracan.d.a stands on the eastern petal; flame-coloured Pracan.d.ā stands on the south-eastern petal; dark Can.d.ogrā
stands on the southern petal; blue-coloured Can.d.anāyikā on the south-western; fair-complexioned Can.d.ā on the
western; smoke-hued Can.d.avatı̄ on the north-western; yellow Can.d.arūpā on the northern; pale-hued Atican.d.ikā
on the north-eastern. In the centre of the pericarp stands the ninth – flame-coloured eighteen armed Ugracan.d.ā.
In her left hands she holds a skull, a shield, a bell, a mirror, showing the tarjanı̄ (threatening) gesture, a bow, a crested
banner, a d.amaru and a noose. In her right hands she carries a spear, a mallet, a trident, a thunderbolt, a sword,
an elephant goad, a discus and a dart. She is shown standing on a lion in the warrior pose with her right knee
advanced, firmly grasping in the fist of her bottom-right hand the coil of hair on a sword-bearing demon’s head,
seen emerging from the decapitated body of a buffalo. Her breasts and thighs are full and pleasing. The original
passage is as follows:
tatra kum . kumādinās..tādalapadmam ālikhya pūrvadale gorocanavarn.ām . rudracan.d.ā āgneye agnivarn.āpracan.d.ā yāmye
kr..sn.avarn.ā can.d.ogrā nairr.te nı̄lavarn.ā pracan.d.ā vārun.e śuklavarn.ā can.d.ā vāyavye dhūmravarn.ā can.d.avatı̄ saumye pı̄ta
varn.ā can.d.arūpā ı̄śāne pān.d.uravarn.ā atican.d.ikā | sarvāh. .sod.aśabhujā mūrdhajakhet.akaghan..tādarśadhanurdhvajapāśa
śaktiyutavāmahastā | mudgaraśūlavajrakhad.gāṅkuśaśaracakraśalākānvitadaks.in.akarā | padmamadhye agnivarn.ā ugracan.
d.ā as..tādaśabhujā mūrdhakakhet.akaghan..tādarśatarjanı̄dhanurdhvajad.amarupāśānvitavāmahastā | śaktimudgaraśūlava
jrakhad.gāṅkuśaśaracakraṡalākānvitadaks.in.abhujā ālı̄d.hasthā sim . hoparisthitā mahis.aśiraśchedodbhavakhad.gapān.idān
avakacagrahadr.d.hamus..tikā kāntapı̄nastanorukā | sarvatra evam eva dhyeyāh. sthāpyāh. pūjyāś ca | [Durgābhaktitaraṅgin.ı̄
p. 198]
118 This word is problematic.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 381

(ix) Warrior Rituals – The Offerings, the Nı̄rājana (Lustration), Astrapūjā, Śastrapūjā
(Worship of weapons):119
nūtanavāsasā jalam upanı̄ya120 idam ācamanı̄yam idam . vastram
om
. tantusantānasam . yuktam . rañjitam
. rāgavastunā |
durge devi bhaja prı̄tim. vāsas te paridhı̄yatām "
pūrvavad ācamanı̄yam | yathālābham idam . hemabhūs.an.am idam . rajatabhūs.an.am idam . śaṅkhabhūs.an.am
man.imuktādinā vicitrabhūs.an.am sindūrabhūs.an.am darpan.am pat..tasūtram vicitrabhūs.an.am |
yathālābham annapātropabhūs.an.am, jalapātropabhūs.an.am raityapātropabhūs.an.am tāmrapātropabhūs.an.am
hemapātropabhus.an.am rajatapātropabhūs.an.am chatropabhūs.an.am cāmaropabhūs.an.am dhvajopabhūs.an.am
tālavr.ntopabhūs.an.am ghan..topabhūs.an.am śas.yopabhūs.an.am | . . .
ghr.tatilatailasars.apatailādyanyatamopaskr.tam . yathālābham . vā dattvā om . jayadhvani mantramātah. svāhā iti
ghan..tām
. sampūjya vādayan devı̄m . nı̄rājayet | yathalābham . naivedyāni dadyāt | viśes.anāmnā cet tadā etad
ghr.tam idam . dadhi idam . dugdham ete cipit.akāh. ete lad.d.ukāh. ete lājāh. etāni kadalakāni etāni nārikelaphalāni
etāni jambı̄rān.i ete iks.udan.d.āh. etāni kus.mān.d.āni etāni sukhāśakāni ete modakāh. | idam ācamanı̄yam |
etāni tāmbūlāni jayantı̄tyādinā dadyāt | tato yathālābham . dravyam . dattvā yathāśakti jayantı̄ti mantram .
japtvā samarpya stutvā pran.amet | tato mahis.āsurasim . hagan.eśādı̄nām . yathāśakti pūjā kāryā | . . .
tato’strān.i pūjayet | devyā daks.in.abhāge om . triśūlāya namah. | evam . khad.gāya cakrāya tı̄ks.n.abān.āya
śaktaye vāmabhāge khet.akāya pūrn.acāpāya pāśāya aṅkuśāya ghan..tāyai | tatah. sim . hāsanapūjā om
.
vajranakhadam . .s.trāyudhāya sim
. hāsanāya hum . phat. namah. | . . .
atha śastrapūjā | tatrādau khad.gapūjā om . asir viśasanah. khad.ga iti pūrvoktam . pat.han om . khad.gāya namah.
iti sampūjya churikām . pūjayet |
om . sarvāyudhānām . prathamam . nirmitāsi pinākinā |
. śubham "
śūlāyudhād vinis.kr..sya kr.tvā mus..tigraham
can.d.ikāyāh. pradattāsi sarvadus..tanivarhin.ı̄ |
tayā nistāritā cāsi devānām. pratidevatā "
sarvasattvātmabhūtāsi sarvāśubhanivarhin.ı̄ "
churike raks.a mām . nityam . śāntim
. yaccha namo’stu te "
om
. churikāyai namah. | tatah. kat..tārakapūjā |
. raks.āṅgāni gajān raks.a raks.a vājibalāni ca |
om
mama deham . sadā raks.a kat..tāraka namo’stu te "
om
. kat..tārakāya namah. | atha dhanuh.pūjā |
om. sarvāyudhamahāmātra sarvadevārisūdana |
cāpa mām. samare raks.a sākam . śaragan.air iha "
dhr.tam kr s
. .. .n ena raks
. ārtham
. . hārāya haren.a ca |
sam
trayı̄mūrttigatam. devam . dhanurastram. namāmy aham "
om . dhanus.e namah. | atha kuntapūjā |
om . prāsa pātaya śatrum. s tvam anayā lokamāyayā |
. tes.ām
gr.hān.a jı̄vitam . mama sainyañ ca raks.atām "

119 The warrior rites from Astamı̄ onwards form the core of the whole worship. In fact in the event the
..
performer cannot carry out the full ten-day worship, Raghunandana gives the option of a condensed version
based on the rites after As.t.amı̄. This was deemed enough to satisfy the goddess and suggests how important the
As.t.amı̄-Navamı̄ rites were in the history of the Durgā Pūjā.
120 apanı̄ya ed.] upanı̄ya Conj. Sanderson.
382 Bihani Sarkar

om. kuntāya namah. | atha varmapūjā |

om. śarmapradas tvam . samare varman sainyayaśo’dya me |
. raks.an.ı̄yo’ham
raks.a mām . tāpaneya namo’stu te "

om
. varman.e namah. | atha cāmarapūjā |
om
. śaśāṅkakarasaṅkāśa himapin.d.ı̄rapān.d.ara |
protsāraya tvam. duritam . cāmarāmaravallabha "

om. cāmarāya namah. | atha chatrapūjā |

om. yathāmbudaś chādayate śivāyainām
. vasundharām |
tathā mām
. chādaya cchatra yuddhādhvani gatam . sadā "

om
. chatrāya namah. | atha dhvajapūjā |
om
. śakraketo mahāvı̄ryah. suparn.as tvām . samāśritah. |
paks.irājo vainateyas tathā nārāyan.adhvajah. "

kāśyapeyo’mr.tāhartā nāgārir vis.n.uvāhanah. |

aprameyo durādhars.o ran.e devārisūdanah. "
garutvān mārutagatis tvayi sannihitah. sthitah. |
sāśvavarmāyudhānāñ ca raks.āsmākam . ripūn daha "

om . dhvajāya namah. | atha patākāpūjā |

om . hutabhug vasavo rudrā vāyuh. somo mahars.ayah. |
nāgakinnaragandharvā yaks.abhūtamahoragāh. "
pramathāś ca sahādityair bhūteśo mātr.bhih. saha |
śakrasenāpatih. skando varun.aś cāśritas tvayi "
pratihantum . ripūn sarvān rājā vijayam .rcchatu |
yāni prayuktāny aribhir dūs.an.āni samagratah. "
nihatāni sadā tāni bhavantu tava tejasā |
kālanemivadhe yuddhe yuddhe tripuraghātane "
hiran.yakaśipor yuddhe yuddhe devāsure tathā |
śobhitāsi tathaivādya śobhasva samaram . smara "
nı̄lām
. raktām. sitām drs
. ... tvā naśyantv āśu mamārayah. |

om. patākāyai namah. | atha dundubhipūjā |

om. dundubhe tvam . sapatnānām . ghos.ād dhr.dayakampanah. |
bhava bhūmipasainyānām . tathā vijayavardhanah. "
yathā jı̄mūtaśabdena hr..syanti varavāran.āh. |
tathāstu tava śabdena hars.o’smākam . jayāvahah. "
yathā jı̄mūtaśabdena strı̄n.ām. trāso’bhijāyate |
tathātra tava śabdena trasyantv asmaddvis.o ran.e "

om. dundubhaye namah. | atha śaṅkhapūjā |

om. pun.yas tvam . śaṅkha pun.yānām. maṅgalānāñ ca maṅgalam |
. prayaccha me "
vis.n.unā vidhr.to nityam atah. śāntim

om. śaṅkhāya namah. | atha sim . hāsanapūjā |

om. vijayo jayado jetā ripughātı̄ priyaṅkarah. |
duh.khahā śarmmadah. śāntah. sarvāris..tavināśanah. "
ity as..tau tava nāmāni yasmāt sim . haparākramah. |
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 383

tena sim. hāsaneti tvam . nāmnā deves.u gı̄yate "

tvayi sthitah. śivah. sāks.āt tvayi śakrah. sureśvarah. |
tvayi sthito harir devas tvadartham . tapyate tapah. "
namas te sarvatobhadra śivo bhava mahı̄patau |
trailokyajayasarvasva sim . hāsana namo’stu te |

om
. sim
. hāsanāya namah. |

Next, having taken water along with new clothes [he must say]:

“This is the sipping water. This is the garment.

Om. Interlocked by a series of threads, dyed with a red substance [this garment],
O goddess Durgā be pleased. Wear your robe”.

Next] the sipping water as before.[With the following offerings] if he can afford them
[he must say]: “This is the gold ornament. This is the silver ornament. This is the shell
ornament. This is a variegated ornament of jewels and pearls etc. This is the ornament
[holding] vermillion, mirror, silk cords, a variegated ornament”.
If he can afford them, [then] a secondary gift of a rice vessel, a secondary water chalice
offering, a secondary brass vessel offering, a secondary copper vessel offering, a secondary
gold vessel offering, a secondary silver vessel offering, a secondary offering of a parasol,
a secondary offering of a yak tail whisk, a secondary offering of a standard, a secondary
offering of a palm-leaf fan, a secondary offering of a bell, a secondary offering of crops . . .

[Offerings of leaves, flowers, unguents, a garland and incense]

Having worshipped a bell furnished with one of such [offerings] as ghee, sesame seed oil, mustard
121
seed oil (ghr.tatilatailasars.apatailādyanyatamopaskr.tām
. ) or having taken whatever [other offerings]
he can afford with [the mantra] “Om . O Sound of Victory, Mother of Mantras – Svāhā”, he must
perform the Nı̄rājana for the goddess while ringing it. He must offer whatever cooked offerings
he can procure. If he [offers the items] with their individual names, then (tadā) [he must offer
them with]: “This is the ghee”; “this is the yoghurt”; “this is the milk’; “this is the flattened
rice”; “these are the laddoos”; “these are the parched grains”; these are the bananas”; “these are
the coconuts”; “these are the citrons”; “these are the sugar canes”; “these are the pumpkins”;
“these are the cucumbers”; “these are the sweets”; “this is the sipping water”; “these are the
betel nuts”. He must offer [these] with “Jayantı̄ etc.” Next, having offered whatever substances
he can afford, having uttered the ‘Jayantı̄’ mantra as many times as he can, having completed the
presentations and having sung a hymn, he must bow down before her. Next the worship of the
Asura Mahis.a, the lion, Gan.eśa etc. must be done to the best of his abilities.

[Āvaran.apūjā . . . ]

Next he must worship the weapons of the goddess. To the goddess’s right: [A trident] “Om .
Triśūlāya Namah.”. Likewise [a sword] “Khad.gāya”, [a discus] “Cakrāya”, [a pointed arrow]
“Tı̄ks.n.abān.āya” [a lance] “Śaktaye”. To the left: [a shield] “Khet.akāya”; [a fully drawn bow]
“Pūrn.acāpāya”; [a noose] “Pāśāya”; [an elephant goad] “Aṅkuśāya”, [a bell] “Ghan..tāyai”.

121 (opaskr.tām] Jı̄v, (opaskr.tam

. ] SSP.
384 Bihani Sarkar

Next the worship of the lion throne : “Om . Hum

. Phat. Homage to the lion throne with
claws unbreakable like diamonds and teeth like weapons”.
[Navadurgāpūjā . . . ]

Next the worship of the royal weapons [and insignia]. In this [ritual], the sword is
worshipped in the beginning. Having worshipped the sword while reciting the previously
mentioned verse beginning with “Om . Asi, Viśasana, Khad.ga” [ending with] “Om
. Homage
to the sword”, he must worship the churikā.
Om . You – who were first formed among all weapons by Pinākin
Having drawn you from his trident and having formed a beautiful hilt
The annihilator of all evils – were granted to Can.d.ikā
You the god corresponding to all the gods were liberated by her (tayā nistāritā cāsi devānām
.
pratidevatā122 "
You embody the nature of everything, destroyer of all bad things
O Churikā protect me at all times. Grant me protection from dangers. Homage to you

. Homage to the churikā.

Om

Next the worship of the dagger.

Om. , Protect the divisions of the army, protect elephants and cavalry
Protect my body at all times. Protect O dagger, homage to you

Om
. Homage to the dagger

Next the worship of the bow.

Om. . O Premier of all weapons, destroyer of all enemies of the gods
O Bow protect me in this battle together with many arrows

Held by Kr.s.n.a to protect [the worlds] and by Hara to destroy [the worlds]
The god of the bow who embodies the Three – I pay homage

Om
. Homage to the bow.

Next the worship of the lance.

Om. . O Lance, Fell enemies by means of this worldly magic
Take their life while you protect my soldiers

Om
. Homage to the lance.

Next the worship of the armour.

123
Om . . You bestow protection in battle O Armour and glory to my troops (sainyayaśo’dya )
Please protect me O Golden One. Homage to you.

Om
. Homage to the armour.

122 This phrase echoes Mun.d.aka Upanis.ad 3.2.7, where the same sense is conveyed.
123 sainyayaśo’dya] ed., sainyayaśoda conj. Sanderson.
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 385

Next the worship of the chowrie

[Luminous] as a moon beam, pale as a cuttle-fish bone,

Remove misfortune O chowrie loved by the gods

Om
. Homage to the chowrie.

Next the worship of the royal parasol

Om . . Just as a cloud covers this world for the welfare [of all]
Likewise always cover me O parasol when I am on the path to war

Om
. Homage to the parasol.

Next the worship of the crested banner.

Om. O Indra’s insignia, Suparn.a [Garud.a] of great valour lies on you

He is the king of birds, son of Vinatā and Vis.n.u’s insignia
Son of Kāśyapa, bringer of nectar, foe of snakes, Vis.n.u’s mount
He is immeasurable, unvanquished in battle, the destroyer of the enemies of the gods
Garud.a of the speed of the wind who is fixed on you
Protect my armour, weapons and horses [but] burn my enemies

Om
. Homage to the crested banner.

Next the worship of the flag

Fire, the Vasus, Rudras, Wind, Soma, the great Seers

Snakes, Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Yaks.as, ghosts and pythons
Pramathas with the Ādityas, Śiva with the mātr.s
Skanda Indra’s general and Varun.a are on you
To slay all rivals may the king proceed to victory
May each and every knavish trick employed by rivals
Be destroyed forever by means of your power
In the battle where Kālanemi was slain, where the Three Citadels were destroyed
In Hiran.yakaśipu’s battle, in the battle between gods and Asuras
You were splendid. Likewise shine forth today. Be mindful of this battle.
Having beheld the blue, red and white [flags] may my foes be slain at once.

Om
. Homage to the flag.

Next the worship of the kettle-drum.

Om. . O Kettle drum, May you make the hearts of foes quake with your battle cry
And be the cause of increased victory for the king’s army
As the best of elephants are delighted by a cloud’s thunder
Thus by your sound may we feel joy victory -roused
As terror is roused in women by a cloud’s thunder
Thus here in the battlefield may my enemy be terrified by your sound

Om
. Homage to the kettle-drum.
386 Bihani Sarkar

Next the worship of the conch.

Om. . O Conch, auspicious among auspicious things, lucky among lucky things
Eternally held by Vis.n.u – Thus grant me protection from danger

Om
. Homage to the conch.

Next the worship of the lion throne.

Om . Vijaya, Jayada, Jetr., Ripughātin, Priyam . karah.

Duh.khahā, Śarmada, Śānta, Sarvāris..tavināśana
These are your eight names. Since you have the power of a lion
You are extolled among the gods by the name ‘Lion Throne’
Śiva and Indra king of gods are present in you in person
The lord Hari is present in you – because of you austerities are performed
Homage to you who are good in all ways. Be favourable to the king
O Lion Throne who are the quintessence of victory over the three worlds – Homage to you.

Om
. Homage to the lion throne.

(x) The Visarjana (Dismissal):

om. uttis..tha devi cāmun.d.e śubhām

. pūjām
. pragr.hya ca |
kurus.va mama kalyān.am as..tābhih. śaktibhih. saha "
om. gaccha gaccha param . sthānam . svasthānam. devi can.d.ike |
vraja srotojale vr.ddhyai tis..tha gehe ca bhūtaye "

ityābhyām . pratimām . bilvaśākhāñ ca navapatrikāñ ca utthāpya sthānāntare nı̄tvā pūrvavat pis..tapradı̄pādibhir

nı̄rājayet | tato nr.tyagı̄tavādyabrahmaghos.akrı̄d.ākautukamaṅgalapurah.sarah. srotojalasamı̄pam . gatvā

om . durge devi jaganmātah. svasthānam . gaccha pūjite |

sam . vatsaravyatı̄te tu punar āgamanāya ca "
imām . pūjām
. mahādevi yathāśakti niveditām |
raks.ārthan tu samādāya vrajasva sthānam uttamam "
ityābhyām . srotasi majjayet | tato dhūlakardamaviks.epakrı̄d.ākautukamaṅgalabhagaliṅgābhidhānabhagaliṅgaprag
ı̄taparāks.iptaparāks.epakarūpam . śāvarotsavam. kuryāt | tato devyā alaṅkārādikam
. brāhman.ebhyo dadyāt |
tatah. śāntyāśis.o brāhman.ebhyo gr.hnı̄yāt |

Om. Rise Goddess Cāmun.d.ā and accept the splendid worship

Make my fortune with your eight śaktis
Om. Depart to the supreme place, your dwelling place Goddess Can.d.ikā
Go in flowing water while you stay in my home for prosperity and wealth

Having lifted the effigy, the bilva branches and the nine leaves with these verses and having
taken them elsewhere, he must lustrate them as before with pis..tapradı̄pa and so forth. Next,
having gone near flowing water dancing, singing, playing instruments, uttering prayers,
games, amazing spectacles and singing hymns, he must submerge [the three items] in the
flowing water with the following two verses:

Om . Goddess Durgā Mother of the Universe, go to your abode you who are worshipped
for your return when the year has ended
 The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal 387

This worship Great Goddess offered according to my means

Accept for the sake of my protection. Go to your best abode

Next he must perform the Śāvara festival by flinging dust and mud, with games, amazing
spectacles, hymns, naming the pudenda and the penis, singing songs about the pudenda and
the penis, being abused by others and abusing others.
Next he must give the goddess’s jewels etc. to brāhman.as. Next he must accept
benedictions for protection against dangers from brāhman.as.

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388 Bihani Sarkar

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