Determination of Lunar Days

Determining the Lunar Day 15 According to the Skanda [Purana], the ninth day Navami should be observed even if it overlaps with the following day. Even if the three periods of twilight trisandhya do not align, the conclusion is that the ritual should still be performed on the subsequent day. Regarding the Bright Ninth of the month of Ashvin the Great Ninth or Mahanavami, if it lasts for even a single auspicious hour muhurta, it is considered sufficient for the recitation of prayers and other rites. That lunar day is known as "Complete," according to the text The Seventh Day of the Victory of Lakshmi.

There is a specific detail in the Madanaratna a 15th-century legal digest: In the Saura Purana, it says that if the sun rises while the previous day's influence remains, the ritual offering bali-dana original: "bali dānaṃ"; refers here to the symbolic or animal sacrifice offered to the Goddess must be performed there, for that place brings auspiciousness. According to the Devi Purana, performing this offering leads to the long life of one’s sons and grandsons. In the Madanaratna, it is stated that for the offering, one should use the later period, but for the fast upavasa, one should use the earlier period.

However, in the Nirnaya-dipa, it is argued: if the Great Ninth overlaps with the following day, and if that day is waning, one should act accordingly. Otherwise, the earlier day is preferred. This is a matter of great deliberation regarding the "Ninth of the Tooth" original: "radana-navami"; a technical term for a specific overlapping of lunar days. Regarding the offering on the Ninth, the Eighth day Ashtami is actually praised as the best time. One should avoid the Tenth day Dashami for this, as it causes enmity and failure. In the Madanaratna, it is noted that this refers to the prohibition of the "Radhika" period.

Some suggest that the fire-oblation homa should be performed internally, and the breaking of the fast parana should be done on the Tenth. This is the procedure for those following the sequence from the first day onwards until the Ninth. When the primary worship is joined with the fast as a subordinate part, this instruction applies. Even if the lunar day is "lost" an astrological calculation where a day is skipped, it is still considered the Ninth.

It is said that "Breaking the fast on the Tenth day truly destroys the lineage." Therefore, the wise should break the fast on the Ninth, after the worship of the "King of Sages" referring to a specific form of the deity or the ritual conclusion. This is also the time for the Lohabhisarika ritual a traditional ceremony involving the consecration of weapons, horses, and tools of state.

Rama 15 Some authorities who have analyzed the "Two-Day Rule" conclude that if the Ninth exists on two days, the fast should be on the second day, but the breaking of the fast must occur within the Ninth itself. Some say that if ritual impurity sutaka impurity due to birth or death occurs on the day of breaking the fast, one should wait until it passes. This is not the case here. As the Madhaviya states: "In times of impurity, one may perform a desired vow kamya-vrata but should avoid the act of giving gifts."

In the Kurma Purana: "If one begins on the Tenth, the vow is lost." Similarly, for rituals like the Ancestral Invocation Nandimukha, marriages, and the first cooking of grain, [impurity affects the timing]. In the Rudra-yamala [it is said]: "During impurity, one should break the fast on the Ninth after the fire-oblation. After that, one should feed the priests and give gifts according to one's ability." This feeding should happen after the impurity ends. Even for women who begin their menstrual cycle, the breaking of the fast is done in this way.

The rule for women is: "A woman should fast for four nights, and after bathing, she should perform the breaking of the fast." Under all circumstances, one should perform the immersion of the Goddess Visarjana the ritual of sending the Goddess away, usually by placing the image in water on the Tenth day. After worshipping her in the morning of the Tenth according to the rules, she should be sent away with songs and musical instruments.

The Prayer of Departure:

"Give me form, give me fame, give me fortune, O Mother! Give me sons, give me wealth, and fulfill all my desires."

Having prayed thus, the wise person should move the Goddess:

"Rise up, O Goddess Chandi, and having accepted my worship, grant me well-being? along with your eight powers shaktis. Go now to the supreme place, the abode of the Self, O Goddess Chandika. May you go to the water with ease."

Thus, she is moved into the water.

"O Goddess Durga, Mother of the Universe, go to your own place, O Worshipped One. Come again after a year has passed for the sake of the Vedas Rama and for the sake of our return."

In this way, the Goddess is honored as prescribed by one's specific branch shakha of tradition. For the sake of protection, she is taken to her supreme place and then submerged in the flow of water. This same sequence? applies when the Ninth lasts for two days. If there is no conjunction with the constellation Shravana on the second day, the first day is preferred.

According to Hemadri: "The Goddess worshipped on the Tenth day, when the Ninth still lingers, increases victory." This is the settled meaning: Because the time for the ritual of the Aparajita a form of the Goddess "The Unconquered" worship is at dusk, that time should be chosen. If the Ninth overlaps with the Tenth at dusk, the ritual is performed at night. If dusk occurs on two days...