Gauri

“ In some parts of India the harvest-goddess Gauri is represented at once by an unmarried girl and by a bundle of wild balsam plants, which is made up into the figure of a woman and dressed as such with mask, garments, and ornaments. ”

“ A very favourite deity is Gauri, in honour of whom many of the rites hereafter noticed are performed. These ceremonies give a vivid idea of the hopes and fears, the aspirations, and the forebodings of Hindu womanhood. The following ceremonies are practised by girls after betrothal, and before union with their husbands: —
Atlataddi. — On the third day after the full moon,an early meal before sunrise, the worship of Gauri in the afternoon, and the presentation of ten cakes to ten matrons upon the dismissal of the deity invoked. The object is to secure a young agreeable husband. ”

“ With these words she rose up, and in her grief went in front of the image of Gaurí and made a noose with her outer garment, fastening it to an aśoka-tree.
In the meanwhile Mṛigánkadatta, with his companions, entered that garden and fastened his horse to a tree in front of the temple and sanctuary of Gaurí. Then Mṛigánkadatta’s minister Vimalabuddhi, seeing the princess near, said of his own accord to the prince, “Look prince, here is some lovely girl trying to hang herself; now, who can she be?” When the prince heard that, he looked at her and said, “Dear me! who can this girl be? ”

“ Become now emperor over all the Vidyádharas, and let all the most transcendent sciences be immediately revealed to thee ! By my favour thou shalt become invincible by thy enemies, and, as thou shalt be proof against cut or thrust, thou shalt slay all thy foes. And when thou appearest, the sciences of thy enemies shall be of no avail against thee. So go forth: even the science of Gaurí shall be subject to thee." When Śiva and Gaurí had bestowed these boons on Naraváhanadatta, the god also gave him a great imperial chariot, in the form of a lotus, made by Brahmá. ”

“ He stands on a lotus pedestal with the right leg straight and the left slightly bent. The image is represented as embracing the goddess Gaurī, consoling and assuring her that his affections would not be transferred to the river goddess. [46] One right arm holds up a lock of his hair, on which is seen the goddess Gangā. A left arm holds the antelope. The goddess Gaurī with a dejected face (virahitānanā) is represented in the samabhanga posture with her left leg placed straight on the pedestal and the right leg slightly bent. Her right hand stretches down or is sometimes held ”

“ O princess, what can it be?
Malayavatí.
Girl, I know it well. To-day in a dream, as I was playing this very lute, I was thus addressed by the revered Gaurí,—"Child Malayavatí, I am well pleased with your perfect knowledge of the lute, and with your excessive devotion towards me, which is hard for a young girl; therefore before long a sovereign of the Vidyádharas shall be your husband."
Girl (with delight) .
If it is so, why do you call it a dream? Has not the goddess given you the very desire of your heart? ”

“ People of the upper castes frequent it, but do their own pūja, the Māla standing aside for the time.28
It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that the chief object of worship by the Balijas is Gauri, their caste deity. “It is said that the Mālas are the hereditary custodians of the idol of Gauri and her jewels, which the Balijas get from them whenever they want to worship her. The following story is told to account for this. The Kāpus and the Balijas, molested by the Muhammadan invaders on the north of the river Pennār, migrated to the south when the Pennār was in full flood. ”

“ The Gavaras or Gauras are said to be so called because, by following the caste goddess Kanyakamma into the fire-pits, they maintained the gauravam or social status of the caste. According to another version, they are so called because they revere Gauri (Parvati) , the consort of Siva, whose incarnation was the goddess Kanyakamma. The Kalinga Kōmatis are those who live in the old Kalinga or Kling country, which extended roughly from Vizagapatam to Orissa. They are forbidden to settle beyond Rāmatīrtham, a place of pilgrimage close to Vizianagram. ”

“ The last Act opens with the anxiety of the parents of Jīmūtavāhana, to whom and his wife is borne a jewel fallen from his crown; Çan̄khacūḍa, also, emerged from the temple, finds the sacrifice made and reveals to Garuḍa his crime. It is too late; the hero expires as his parents arrive. Garuḍa is ashamed, and Gaurī appears to cut the knot, revive the prince, and re-establish him in his realm, in order to keep faith with Malayavatī; by a shower of ambrosia the snakes slain by Garuḍa revive, and he promises to forego his cruel revenge. ”

“ These anthropological explanations are very amusing, no doubt; their only drawback is that most of them can neither be proved nor disproved.
At present the four stations of life in India seem to possess an archaeological interest only, they are no longer of any practical importance. In the case of Gaurî-samkara it was no doubt his love of the ancient customs of his country, combined with a true desire for rest at the end of a most laborious and most successful career, that made him think of reviving in his own case the old custom, though even then 255in a milder form only. ”

“ II, Introduction, p. 33, footnote i ↑ The Silparatna and the Kāsyapa-Silpa state that more often Gauri is seen on the right side of the god. ↑ The illustrations given show two and four hands respectively for Siva, who standing with his legs crossed and leaning against the back of the bull, has the kūrpara of his right hand placed on the head of the bull. A fine image from Ceylon figured as No. 29 in Part II of Visvakarma is evidently one of Vrishārūdha as described in the Mayamata. The trident in the right lower hand, the bull and the goddess are missing. ”

“ The caste bury their dead with the feet to the south, like the Hindus. The principal business of the Gaurias is to catch and exhibit snakes, and they carry a damru or rattle in the shape of an hour-glass, which is considered to be a distinctive badge of the caste. If a Gauria saw an Ojha snake-charmer carrying a damru he would consider himself entitled to take it from the Ojha forcibly if he could. A Gauria is forbidden to exhibit monkeys under penalty of being put out of caste. Their principal festival is the Nāg-Panchmi, when the cobra is worshipped. ”

“ Still life was a thread connecting us with the Giver of Life. But now, with an impious hand, in blasphemous rage ye have rent asunder that last frail tie.” And so forth.
“Welcome! thrice welcome! this latest and most admirable development of human wisdom,” wrote the sage Jayasthalians against the sage Gaurians, “which has assigned to man his proper state and status and station in the magnificent scale of being. We have not created the facts which we have investigated, and which we now proudly publish. ”

“ Gauria.1—A small caste of snake-charmers and jugglers who are an offshoot of the Gond tribe. They number about 500 persons and are found only in Chhattīsgarh. They have the same exogamous septs as the Gonds, as Markām, Marai, Netām, Chhedaiha, Jagat, Purteti, Chichura and others. But they are no doubt of very mixed origin, as is shown by the fact that they do not eat together at their feasts, but the guests all cook their own food and eat it separately. And after a daughter has been married her own family even will not take food from her hand because they are doubtful of her husband’s status. ”

“ GAUM, GONG, s. A village, H. gāon, from Skt. grāma.
1519.—"In every one of the said villages, which they call guãoos."—Goa Proclam. in Arch. Port. Orient., fasc. 5, 38. Gāonwār occurs in the same vol. (p. 75) , under the forms gancare and guancare, for the village heads in Port. India. GAURIAN, adj. This is a convenient name which has been adopted of late years as a generic name for the existing Aryan languages of India, i.e. those which are radically sprung from, or cognate to, the Sanskrit. The name (according to Mr. E. L. Brandreth) was given by Prof. Hoernle ”

“ On the north-eastern side of India, Gaur was for several centuries one of the most important building centres of Hindustan. In the sixteenth century it was reckoned by the Portuguese as one of the greatest of Indian cities, its population being estimated at over a million. Its early history as the capital of the Hindu kingdom of Gaur, when it was known under the name of Lakhnauti, goes back to many centuries before Christ. ”

“ DESCRIPTION.—Very like the gaur at first sight, but more clumsy looking; similarly coloured, but with a small dewlap; the legs are white as in the last species. In the skull the forehead is not concave as in the gaur, but flat, and if anything rather convex. The back has a dorsal ridge similar to that of the gaur.
The gayal is of a much milder disposition than the gaur, and is extensively domesticated, and on the frontiers of Assam is considered a valuable property by the people. The milk is rich and the flesh good. ”

“ It bears some resemblance, certainly, to the ridge described as existing in the Gayal; but the Gaur is said to be distinguished from that animal by the remarkable peculiarity of a total want of a dewlap. Neither the male nor female Gaur, at any age, has the [Pg 100] slightest trace of this appendage, which is found on every other known animal of this genus.
The colour of the Gaur is a very deep brownish black, almost approaching to blueish black, except a tuft of curling dirty white hair between the horns, and rings of the same colour just above the hoof. ”

“ The others sat behind these. The leader next made a hole in the ground, and dropping into it a pinch of the goor, raised his eyes to the sky, and, with clasped hands, devoutly prayed aloud:—"Great goddess! as thou didst vouchsafe one lakh and 62,000 rupees (£16,200) to Jora Naick and Koduk Bunwaree in their need, so, we pray thee, fulfil our desires!" These words were repeated by the entire assembly; after which the leader sprinkled a little water over the pit and the kussee, and placed some goor on the hand of every Thug seated on the blanket. ”

“ The Gaur is considered by the Indians as of a species totally distinct from either the Arna or the common Buffalo. The only animal with which it appears to have affinity is the Gayal, or Bos Gavæus, described by Mr. Colebrook, in the 'Asiatic Researches,' vol. viii. That animal is said to exist, both wild and domestic, in [Pg 98] the hilly countries of Upper India, and to have a high dorsal ridge, somewhat similar to what we shall immediately find in the Gaur ”

“ The rites begin when the sun enters the sign of the Ram, the opening of the Hindoo year. An image of the goddess Gouri is made of earth, and a smaller one of her husband Iswara, and the two are placed together. A small trench is next dug, barley is sown in it, and the ground watered and heated artificially till the grain sprouts, when the women dance round it hand in hand, invoking the blessing of Gouri on their husbands. After that the young corn is taken up and distributed by the women to the men, who wear it in their turbans. ”

“ On hearing this, Garur descended in alarm, and thought to himself, ‘I have eaten either a Brahman or a Kshatri; what is this I have done!’ After this, he said to the prince, ‘O man! tell me truly; why art thou giving up thy life?’ The prince replied, ‘O Garur! trees cast their shade over others; and while they themselves stand in the sun, blossom and bear fruit for the benefit of others. Such is the character of good men and trees. What is the advantage of this body if it do not come of use to others? ”

“ General Cunningham suggests that the country comprised in the present Gonda District round the old town of Sravāsti, was formerly known as Gauda, and was hence the origin of the caste name.1 The derivation from Gaur in Bengal is perhaps, however, more probable, as the name was best known in connection with this tract. The Gaur Rājpūts do not make much figure in history. “Repeated mention of them is found in the wars of Prithwi Rāj as leaders of considerable renown, one of whom founded a small state in the centre of India. ”

“ HABITAT.—Regarding this, I quote at length from Jerdon, whose inquiries were carefully made. He says: "The gaur is an inhabitant of all the large forests of India, from near Cape Comorin to the foot of the Himalayas. On the west coast of India it is abundant all along the Syhadr range on Western Ghâts, both in the forests at the foot of the hills, but more especially in the upland forests and the wooded country beyond the crest of the Ghâts. ”

“ The wharf is full of gharrys of every class seeking fares to the city. To the uninitiated the gharry is anything [Pg 163] but a tempting vehicle; but throughout India it is, with the palanquin (or, as it is better known, the “palky”) the only public conveyance to be had. The latter, from its name, can be imagined; but the gharry is quite a specialty—a square, black box, some five feet in every face, more or less suspended on very indifferent springs (less rather than more) , perched on four very questionable wheels which, when in motion, waddle about as if every turn would be their last. ”

“ The capital of this district, also called Guari, is situated in latitude 10° 54′ north, longitude 8° 1′ east; built partly on the north-east side of a hill, and partly in a narrow valley, through which a muddy stream runs that is dry in the summer months; this stream rises only a day’s journey in the mountains or hills south of Guari, runs through part of Zamfra, and divides in one part the states of Katongkora and Guari, and enters into the Kodonia in Nyffé. The city or town has two walls, the old and the new; the old in ruins ever since it was stormed by old Bello. ”