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RELIGION
| ...........Name of Ēkādaśī |
Total no. of grants |
| 1 |
Jyēshṭha śu. di. 11 (now called Nirjalā) |
.. |
.. |
One1 |
| 2 |
Bhādrapada va. di. 11 |
.. |
.. |
One2 |
| 3 |
Āśvina śu. di. 11 (now called Pāśāṅkuśa) |
.. |
.. |
One3 |
| 4 |
Kārttika śu. di. 11 (now called Prabōdhinī) |
.. |
.. |
Four4 |
| 5 |
Māgha va. di. 11 (now called Shaṭ-tilā) |
.. |
.. |
One 5 |
| 6 |
Phālguna śu. di. 11 (now called Āmalakī) |
.. |
.. |
One6 |
...This shows what importance that ēkādaśī-vrata had attained in that age. Again, even
among the ēkādaśīs, that called Prabōdhinī ēkādaśī was regarded as most sacred. It is
interesting to note that Kālidāsa also mentions this tithi in the Mēghadūta7 as the day of deli-
verance for the exiled Yaksha. It was believed that on that tithi the god Vishṇu rose from
his serpent couch after a sleep of four months.
...
one grant (No. 12) recorded on Jyēshṭha śu. di. 10 was made to a Brāhmaṇa who is
described as Vishuva-vāchanaka. It seems therefore to have been made on the occasion of
the Mēsha Sañkrānti. In the case of the two grants,8 no particular sacred tithi seems to have
been the occasion of the gifts. One grant (No. 14) was made on the occasion of tila-vāchanaka i.e. probably a śrāddha.
...The foregoing analysis reveals certain surprising facts. Most of the Vākāṭaka kings
were Paramamāheśvaras i.e. devout worshippers of Mahēśvara or Śiva. Still, apart from
No. 1 which may have recorded the construction of a temple of that god there is not a single
inscription which records a gift in honour of him. Similarly, there is no mention of any
gift having been made on a solar or a lunar eclipse. It may be noted in this connection
that eclipses and sañkrāntis were the usual occasions when land-grants were made to
Brāhmaṇas in later times, while gifts on completion of the ēkādaśī-vrata were very rare.
_______________________
1 No. 6.
2 No. 19.
3 No. 3.
4 Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 8.
5 No. 11.
6 No. 7.
7 Cf. शापान्तो मे भुजंगशयनादुत्थिते शाङ्गपाणौ। | v. 120.
8 Nos. 9 and 15. In the case of the former grant which was recorded on Vaiśākha va. di. 5 it is
possible to say that it was made on the preceding tithi saṅkashṭa-chaturthī, which is sacred to Gaṇapati,
but it is doubtful if that god had attained such importance in the Vākāṭaka age. There is generally
no obeisance to him in the beginning of early grants.
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