Essay name: Vasudevahindi (cultural history)
Author:
A. P. Jamkhedkar
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute Pune
This essay is an English study of the Vasudevahindi reflecting cultural history and traditions of the life of people in ancient and medieval India during the 6th century. The Vasudevahimdi is a romantic and religious tale that revolves around the wanderings of Vasudeva (a former Jain monk) and religious teachings in the guise of love stories, a common theme of poetry in Jainism.
Chapter 3 - Social Conditions
204 (of 228)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
351
Festivals :
One of the popular festivals in ancient times
was the celebration of the spring (vasamtasiri, Vasantamasa).
To enjoy the beauty of the spring season
(vasamtam膩samuvajivium)- king Abhayaghosa went to the
garden outside the city with the host of his
queens, and heaps of flowers. These flowers were probably
utilised in the sport of hitting one another with flowers.
King Vajjauha similarly went out to a garden in the
company of his queens and indulged in water sports with
them in a big well (vavi) in the garden虏.
The Vh(M), however, refers to two important
festivals associated with two seasons, viz. Mahakomudi
and Vasamtajatta and describes them in details.
The Mahakomudi festival was celebrated on the
full moon day of the autumn (sarada).
1. Vh(P), 329-30.
This
2. Ibid.; 334, One of the favourite festivals of the Gupta
age. See for the literary evidence (e.g. Raghu. IX.46),
Saletore, R.N.; Life in the Gupta Age, p. 163.
3. Reference to Mahakaumudimahotsava in the Mudrarak峁sam
(Act III). See Saletore, R.N., op. cit., p. 161.
