The Sankata Ceremony
The Gift of the Ascetic
A king married three wives that bore him no children. The townspeople believed that an omen had
been placed on him. One day a yogee came
to the palace with a drug for the king and his wives. He told the king that this drug would help
his wives bear children but he must give one child to him. The king told his wives to share the elixir equally,
but that did not happen. The first two
wives greedily took the elixir and left the last wife with a drop. Raged with jealousy she licked the vial until
it shone. The first two wives bore children and the last a conch.
She kept the shell, and for three nights it split into two
and a young man came from within. She
kept this to herself, not uttering a word to anyone. When the secret was found out, the young
prince would be tested by the yogee. His
mother called upon Sankata-Narayan for help. Sankata-Narayan promised the queen
that her son would return.
The prince went with the yogee and was told to never travel
south from the cottage where they would stay.
One day the prince wandered and found a young maiden who he would later
marry. The maiden told him that the
yogee sacrifices people for the goddess Kali and they both were to be the next
sacrifices for the Tantrik.
The Kula-Mangalbar Ceremony
The Sun’s Twin Sons
Jokai, a young woman with much piety was shown favor by the
king. He lavished her with gifts after
granting her the appearance of the sun.
In order for the sun to shown, Jokai gave promised herself to the sun
god and became his wife. She bore two
male children, Sukli and Akli. During the
day they were in liquid form and at night in human form. Jokai has her sons live in a tree, and when
they did so, they would scare people who would walk underneath the branch, for
they could not see the young boys.
The Dan-Sankranti Ceremony
The Consequences of Generosity
A very wealthy Brahman woman was friends with a poor milk
maid. She prayed upon Narayan, and was
blessed with great wealth. Her friend
asked if she could borrow the image of Narayan and too be blessed with great
riches. The Brahman agreed, and soon saw
her wealth diminish. She and her husband
were no longer recognizable, and were treated badly by those who were their former
tenants, friends, and even their own daughter.
The two were accused of stealing from those they stayed with, although
they had not committed the acts.
After a year passes, the Brahman received the picture of
Narayan back from her old friend, and began to praise the picture heavily. She regained her wealth and confronted those
who had done her wrong. They all shared
the same response, they has not recognized her and her husband they possessions
they believed to be stolen reappeared out of thin air.
The Brahman forgave them, for their acts and commenced with
festivities.
The Kalika Ceremony
The Brahman’s Ban
Indra, king of gods, was having a party and made the mistake
of throwing flowers from a dancer upon a Brahman. Out of disgust, the Brahman cursed Indra and
sent his spirit to live within a car for twelve years. Sachi, Indra’s wife, was away on a trip and
did not know what happened to her husband.
When she returned the other gods had told her, so she went to see the
Brahman in order to find her husband.
The Brahman could not reverse the curse, but told Sachi
where Indra could be found. He also told
her to call upon Kalika. Kalika could
not reverse the curse but with Sachi’s permission, she out her and Indra to
sleep until he became a man.
The Satya Pir Pujah
The Pir’s Power
A poor Brahman encounters a man who tells him about Satya
Pir. He tells the Brahman to pray to Pir
for riches since he is poor. The Brahman
refuses the idea and believes that it goes against his beliefs. He cannot pray to Pir when Narayan is the one
he has prayed to all of his life.
The Brahman gives in and prays to Pir and was blessed. He shared the pujah with his neighbor
Dhanapati. He was blessed with, and later a daughter by the name of Kalabati.
When she became older, his daughter married Sankhapati, a young merchant. When
Sankhapati and Dhanpati set to sail the seas, they went to the kingdom of Raja
Kalandhi. Here, they were sentenced to
prison because the king’s daughter’s necklace was stolen.
Kalabati and Lilabati, her mother, prayed to Pir and he sent
a vision to the king when he was sleep.
The king released the men. When
the men returned home, their riches had disappeared. Pir wanted to teach the men a lesson.
Dhanapati prayed to Pir and was forgiven.
He possessions were returned to him.
The Subachani Ceremony
The Gander-eater
A poor Brahman has a son by the name of Satybrata. After talking to his friends from school
about what they eat, he goes home and questions his mother. Not satisfied to hear they are poor and vegetables
are the only thing that she can afford, Sasybrata steals from the king. Knowing the bird that he brings home is
stolen, she does not question her son, but prepares it for dinner. The kinsmen locate
the feathers of the bird near the Brahmans house and imprison her son.
The Brahman encounters women who are worshipping
Subachani. They show her how to perform
a pujah, and she does so. She asks
Subachani to help free her son, and she does so. She visits the king in his dream and tells
him to free Satybrata, wed him and his daughter Sakuntla, and give Satybrata
half of his kingdom. The king follows
Subachani’s oders, and they all remain faithful to Subachani through worship.
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