36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
I salute the bringer of day, red as the Java flower:
Radiant son of Kashyapa,
Enemy of Darkness,
Destroyer of all sins.
At other times Didima[1] l used to hold a Haribasar[2] festival, and the whole night there was Katha and Kirtan[3] the noise of which would not let us sleep.
She used to look after the whole household, and do much of the work with her own hands. Owing to her skill in housekeeping, all domestic concerns worked smoothly under her guidance. After everybody had taken their meals, she would eat food cooked by herself; I too had a share in her havishyanna[4] And this prasad[5] of hers was more to my taste than the food prepared for myself. She was as lovely in appearance as she was skilled in her work, and steadfast in her religious faith. But she had no liking for the frequent visits of the Ma-Gosain.[6] There was a certain freedom of mind in her, together with her blind faith in religion. I used to accompany her to our old family house to see Gopinath Thakur.[7] But I did not like to leave her and go to the outer apartments. I would sit in her
- ↑ Grandmother.
- ↑ A Vaishnavite festival, in which a whole day and night is spent in adoration of God.
- ↑ Recitations and religious songs.
- ↑ A simple diet of rice and vegetables, boiled together in one pot and eaten with clarified butter and salt. This is prescribed for those who intend to live a spiritual life.
- ↑ Food, sanctified by having been previously offered to the gods or some venerated person.
- ↑ Priestess of the Vaishnavites.
- ↑ The family idol.
