Essay name: Samrajya Lakshmi Pithika (Study)
Author:
Artatrana Sarangi
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Department of Sanskrit and Prakrit Languages
This is a study in English of the Samrajya Lakshmi Pithika (written by Lolla Lakshmidhara) representing an encyclopedic manual for emperors. The Samrajyalaksmipithika encompasses about 3870 verses in addressing topics such as public festivals, governance, warfare (military strategy), and rituals associated with the Tantric worship for the deity Samrajya-Lakshmi.
Chapter 3 - General Ritual mentioned in Samrajya-lakshmi-pithika
162 (of 262)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
305
As a sequel to worship of goddess Laksmi are
now worshipped a number ladies whose husbands are alive
(Suvasin) and honoured with presentations alongwith
92 the performing priest. Other details of the ritual consist
of an offering of water (arghya) with fruits to the
goddess while to the moon is offered an arghya of milk.
93 Next the king ties a string (sudorakam) to his arm
and carries on his head the
sanctified grains of whole
rice, given by the priest and after a brief prayer,
he offers the handful of flowers (33-35).
Concluding Worship, gift of idol etc :
Such ritual worship
continues, as indicated
earlier, till the 8th of the black-fort-night. At the
n
strike of mid-bight on the concluding day or
at noon,
92.
93.
Worship of the moon while worshipping, Mahalaksmi
is indicative of their relationship in-as-much as
both are said to have originated together from a
common source, from the ocean of milk, at the time
of Samudra-manthan
a
In digest works like Nirnaya sindhu (153-154),
Smrtikaustubha (231-239) as quoted by Kane, HDS,
Vol. V.1, p.377 it is observed that such a string
has as many as sixteen knots signifting possibly,
the number of years the worship is to be performed.
