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[Full title: Means of worship (1) Natural Objects]

Worship is to be offered to the goddess directly. Since in is beyond the human capacity to do so, worship is offered to the different goddesses forms. Here the term 'forms' does not mean manifestation of the goddesses but means the various places or objects in which the goddess is said to be present. The Mahalakshmi Ratnakosa 5 lists the folowing objects on which the goddess is invoked for worship - idol, cakra, pot, salagrama stone, mirror and a virgin girl. The Puranas like the Tantras believe that the chosen deity can be represented by an image, Yoni, Yantra, Book, Sthandila, Paduka, Fire, Water and the Orb of the sun. The goddess is also worshipped on a Sword, a Trident, a circle enclosing a drawing of a lotus in it, the cloth on which the image of goddess is painted, a knife, an arrow, a bow etc... These objects are otherwise unfit if Pranapratistha is not done. The goddess accepts worship through the via-medium of these forms. On the basis of study the different mediums can be classified as (i) Natural objects (ii) Man-made objects and (iii) human substitutes. 4 For a detailed list of the sixtyfour Upacaras see Appendix- III. 5 Mahalakshmi Ratnakosa XIV.107 6 Kali-purana ch. 60.31, 32, 1, 47; ch.78. 2,3. Devibhagavata-purana ch. 42. 14; ch. 46.18; ch. 51.1; ch. 123.20; ch. 145.22,23 and 151.17. 7 8 Devibhagavata-purana ch III. 21, 22,26; VII. 38,39; Kali-purana 91. 10,11,12

(i) Natural objects - 307 The different forms which are naturally available and or as such deemed suitable for worship of the goddesses are - a piece of mineral, a precious stone, a stone dabbed with mineral colours, pebbles collected from rivers, tanks etc... and also other similar places associated with water. The most primitive form is the stone. Stones play an important role in the belief-system of the people. Investing divinity in the stone is the most popular form of worship. Stones are selected over the other mediums because they are easily available. Another important reason for choosing stones is that, according to popular belief stones possess maximum grasping and retention powers. One can be sure of the presence of the invoked divinity on a stone for a long time in comparison to the other mediums. After stones, comes the Svarnamukhi mineral. These minerals are naturally formed fragments and are used in the traditional Pancayatanapuja as representing the goddess. Sometimes a ruby or pearl is established as the representative of the goddess and worship is offered to it as such. Worship is also offered to certain trees like the Neem, the Bilva, the Asvattha etc... or to certain plants such as the Tulasi. In southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh etc... the neem is considered as the form of the goddess Mariamma or Kaliamma. Its leaves are said to have miraculous as well as medicinal powers and are used profusely in the ritual and worship of the goddesses. The profuse use of neem is seen during the outbreak of the chickenpox. The disease is known locally as 'amman' in the south and 'devi' in Maharastra. Tulasi or the holy basil is the form of the goddess Mahalaksmi. It is worshipped by the people especially by the women folk. An important festival of the goddess tulasi is the Vrndavana dvadasi or the

tulasi dvadasi. This falls on the twelfth day of the bright fortnight in the Hindu calendar month of Karttika. On this day the tulasi plant, planted in ones courtyard is married to lord Visnu in the form of sugarcane or a twig of the amala tree. The pipal tree or Asvattha according to traditional belief is considered to be the residence to both the goddess Laksmi and her sister Jyestalaksmi. Worship to goddess Laksmi residing on the tree is offered on the mornings of Tuesday and Thursday with the offering of parched rice and jaggery is prescribed traditionally. The concept of rivers as the form of goddess is as old as the Rigveda⁹ which has entire sukta in honour of the river goddess Sarasvati. In the Mahabharata10 the rivers are considered as the form of the goddesses and to them worship was as such offered. Of all the rivers seven rivers were considered to be specially sacred, they were the Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Sindhu, Sarasvati, Godavari and the Kaveri. It is noticed that on the river bank, a sculpted form of the river in the form of mask is present on the river steps and to it worship is offered. The rivers are offered worship at a particular time of the year when they are stated to be especially active and boonbestowing. During this period two things are specially undertaken by the people as a part of the 'river festival' or the 'nadimaha.' First people light lamps and the lighted lamp is floated in the river along with floral offerings. Secondly the extent of worship at certain rivers is well developed such that a sari spanning across the entire breadth of the river is offered to the river goddess as the goddess incarnate. This is particularly done for the rivers. This is particularly done for the rivers Narmada and for Ganga. The 9 Rigveda X.75. Mbh Vanaparva 212.243.

following table will quickly list the different methods in whichthe rivers are worshipped. Festive month Location Offering River Kaveri Tula Tamil Nadu Floating lamps, (Nov.-Dec.) offering variety of eatables. Ganga -NaVaranasi Yellow coloured saree. (locally known as Piyari) Narmada KartikaGujarat, Floating lamps, Purnima& Madhya offering saree Somavati Pradesh spanning the length Amavasya. of the river. The natural object type need not necessarily be ritually consecrated. They are associated with the quality of divinity and miraculous powers are attributed to them. They are the objects of reverence and adoration by the masses which has been imbibed to them from generation to generation as custom and tradition.