THE INDIAN SPRING FESTIVAL (VASANTOTSAVA): ONE OR MANY ?

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

THE INDIAN SPRING FESTIVAL (VASANTOTSAVA): ONE OR MANY ?Author(s): Leona AndersonSource: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 69, No. 1/4 (1988), pp. 63-76Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41693758 .

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THE INDIAN SPRING FESTIVAL ( VASANTOTSAVA): ONE OR MANY ?

BY

LEONA ANDERSON

The Indian calendar is marked by a series of festivals. Among these festivals is the Vasantotsava which is celebrated in the spring. Although this festival is not celebrated today in its original form, the Vasantotsava was a major event in ancient and medieval times. This is evidenced by the lengthy descriptions of it in Indian literature. Despite its pivotal position within the Indian religious year, however, Sanskrit texts describing it are not unani- mous as to precisely when in the spring season it was to be celebrated. Nor are they consistent in their descriptions of what actually occurred. Confusion is due, in part, to the number of similar festivals which appear to cluster around the vernal equinox. The texts themselves sometimes refer to a Vasantotsava without sufficient specificity. This is particularly true when the focus of a text is not festivals as such, that is, when a festival is merely mentioned in the context of some ether event in a story. In these cases, rarely is a date mentioned even though the name of (he festival and a description of it may occur.

Festivals which are to be celebrated at this time include the Vasantot- sava, Holãkã ( Holí ), Phãlgunotsava, Caìtrotsava, Phaggu, Madhütsava, Madanamahotsava, Madanatrayodašl, Anangotsava, Madanadvãdail , and Kãmotsava. The Spring Festival is called the Yãtrãmahotsava of Madana in the Šrňgárarnánjaríkatha, the Kãmamahotsava in the Kavyaviveka, the festival of Madana in the Ratnãvalí and the Bhavisya Purãna, and Madana -

trayodail in the Nllamata Purãna.1 In the Bhãvaprakãia it is called the Madanotsava of Vasanta.2 In the Dãyabhãga and the Kãthaka Grhya Sütra it is referred to as Holí or Holãkã. 8 According to the Desínõmamãlã it is called simply Phaggu ( Spring Festival ) ; In the Ratnãvalí it is also called

1 B. N. Sharma, Festivals of India ( New Delhi : Abhinav Publications, 1978 ), p. 17. 3 Sãradatanaya, Bhãvaprakãsa, ed. B. Bbattacbaryya ( Baroda : GOS, 1930 ),

111.99. 18. * Jimütavähana, Dãyabhãga, trans. H. T. Colebrooke ( Calcutta : Sreenauth Banerjee

and Bros., 1868 ) and Kãthaka Grhya Sa tra, ed. Dr. W. Caland ( Lahore : D. A, Y. College, 1925 ), 73. 1.



64 Annals BORI LXIX ( 1988 )

Caitroîsava : and in the Gathasaptašati and the Bhavisya Purãna it is called Phalgunotsava and Madanamahotsava*

The problem of whether or not all of these names refer to one festival could be * solved ' in a number of ways. The first way is to assume that all the other terms are in fact synonyms of the Vasantotsava and that there is only one Spring Festival. In fact this seems to be true for many of the terms in the list. Thus the Kãmotsava , Anaňgotsava, Madanamahotsava , Madanatrayodašly and the Madanadvadaš! are probably all the same festivals, festivals in which Kama, the God of Love, is worshipped. Ananga, Madana, and Kama all are names of the God of Love. Similarly, the Madhütsava and the Caitrotsava would seem to be synonymous with the terra Vasantotsava. Vasanta and Madhu are both words for spring, and the month of Caitra is also called Madhu, From these various titles only three potentially distinct festivals or groups of festivals appear to emerge. These are the festivals designated simply as spring festivals, the festivals of Kama, and those called Hol!. As to the relationship between these three groups, the simplest hypothesis is to assume that the Vasantotsava is the closest to a generic festival and covers the widest variety of observances with some struc- tural similarity but many regional variants. There would appear to be no one normative Vasantotsava , then, but a variety of Vasantotsavas , sometimes designated by the general term, " Spring Festival" or " Vasantotsava ,# but at other times given a more specific designation such as " Kãmotsava '• or " Holi'' The Kãmotsava refers specifically to the worship of Käma while Holl refers to the throwing of colored powder.

Scholars are in general agreement that there may be separate compo- nents to the spring festivals, or separate festivals that cluster around the spring season, though often their statements reflect some confusion about the general nature and names of the spring festivals and they do not agree amongst each other as to the exact nature and number of the festivals. For example, Raghavan lists the Vasantotsava ( Madanotsava or Madanatrayo - daši or Anaňgotsava ) and Holl as separate festivals and describes the Madanotsava as only a part of the Vasantotsava .5 Hence under the heading of the Vasantotsava Raghavan says I

4 Hemacandra, Desinom amãlõ ed. R. Pischel (Bombay: The Department of Public Instruction, 1938 ), VI. 82 ; Srí Harsa, Ratnavali, trans. C. R. Devadhar and N. G . Suru, ( Poona : Shri. D. K. Gondhalekar of the Poona Oriental Book House, 1954 ) Act I ff; Häla, Gathasaptasatï , ed., Intro, trans. R. Basac ( Calcutta : Asiatic Society 1971 ), 4. 69; Bhavisya Purãna ( Bombay : Nirnaya Sagara Press, 1959 ) chapters 132, m

6 V. Raghavan, Festivals , Sports, and Pastimes of India ( Ahmedabad : B. J Institute of Learning and Research, 1979), pp. 86-88, 193-203.

1



ANDERSON ! Indian Spring Festival : One or Many ? 65

This is the Spring festival proper, for celebrating the advent of Spring, the most pleasant of the seasons- People drink and rejoice in the company of women, throw water through syringes, and coloured powder, on each other, (p. 86)

Under the heading of Madanotsava or Madanatrayodaší , Raghavan says :

This is the worship of the God of Love and comes off on the 13th of the bright half of the Caitra-Šukla-Trayodaší and is hence called Madana-trayodaši. Manmatha and his spouse Rati, as also their friend and aid, the Spring, Vasanta , are worshipped on this day by ladies. ( p. 86 )

An excellent picture of this festival is in the same play Ratnãvalí ( Act 1 ) where the Queen performs this worship. It is part of the Spring festival and the series of happy celebrations. ( p. 87 )

Under the heading of Holí Raghavan remarks :

We may notice lastly a festival which completes the cycle of the year and brings us back to the Spring festival of the God of Love with which we began. In the month of Phälguna the signs of the coming Spring are already seen. The chief festival which occurs at this time on the full moon day is the Holi ... ( p. 193 )

He goes on to describe the destruction of the demoness Holãkã as outlined in the Bhavisya Purãna and the general powder throwing characteristic of this festival. Then he remarks :

In much later times, the earlier phase of the anti-child demoness and her killing recede completely. The worship of the God of Love, which follows on the next day becomes prominent, and Hoi î and its bon-fire coalesces with the story of the God of Love being burnt in áiva's third eye. ( p. 201 )

There is some confusion in these statements. The worship of Kama by Raghavan's own admission is on the thirteenth day of Caitra, not on the day after Holí ( i. e. , not on the day following the full moon in the month of Phälguna ). Jf we take the worship of Kama to mark the beginning of spring then what is the distinction between the Madanotsava and the Vasantotsava ?

Again, Raghavan describes both Holí and Vasantotsava as festivals of general merriment and powder throwing popular among women. If it is not possible to distinguish these festivals in terms of time or content, how, then, are they to be distinguished ?

9 [Annals BORI I



66 Annals BORI, LXIX ( 1988 )

Sharma also makes a distinction between the Vasantotsava and Hall. At the same time he identifies the Vasantotsava with the Rtütsava which is described in the Raghuvamša by Kãlidãsa ( fifth century A. D. ), the Yãtrãmahot - sava of Madana as described by King Bhoja in the Srñgar aman jar ikathã ( eleventh century A. D. ), and the Kãmamahotsava as described by Jimüta- vãhana.6 Thomas describes the Spring Fesitival as Holi and omits any reference to the Vasantotsava or the Kãmotsava..1 A. Chattopadhyaya, in "Spring Festival and Festival of Indra in the Kathãsaritsãgara argues that Holl and Vasantotsava are different festivals.8

It is clear from the above that, in addition to a tendency among scholars to differentiate between various spring festivals, there is also a tendency to equate some of these festivals. Raghavan, as noted above, seems to equate the Vasantotsava and the Madanatrayodaši or Madanotsava or Anañ- gotsava. Sharma clearly equates the Vasantotsava , the R tütsuva, the Yãtrã - mahotsava and the Kâmamahotsava. Basham in The Wonder That Was India equates Holi and the Vasantotsava of ancient times.9 What follows is an attempt to assess these conclusions in the light of more extensive textual evidence than has been used by previous scholars.

The Vasantotsava and the Worship of Kama

As has been noted just above, many scholars equate the Vasantotsava and the festival of Kama. Under the title of ť festival of Kama ' we may include the Madanamahotsva9 Madanatrayodaši , Madanadvãdaii , Anaňgotsava and the Kãmotsava . Both Raghavan and Chattopadhyaya describe the festival of Kama as associated with the Vasantotsava . Raghavan ( p. 87 ) assumes the Madana festival to have been part of a larger festival, for which he retains the title Vasantotsava . Chattopadhyaya sees the two as essentially the same. He describes the Vasantotsava as a festival of love with the worship of Kama as its main distinguishing feature ( Kãmotsava ). Now the Madanadvadaši is to be celebrated on the twelfth day of Caitra, the Madanatrayodaši on the thirteenth. Neither of these dates agrees with the dates given for the Vasant- otsava by Raghavan ( Caitra 1 ) or Chattopadhyaya ( Caitra 30 ).

6 B. N. Sharma, Festivals of India , pp. 14, 12. 7 P. Thomas, Festivals and Holidays of India ( Bombay : D. B. Taraporevala Sons

and Co. Private Ltd., 1971 ), p. 7. 8 Chattopadhyaya, " Spring Festival and Festival of Indra in the Kathãsaritsãgara "»

p. 139. 9 A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India (New York: Grove Press, Inc.,

1959 ), p. 207.



ANDERSON : Indian Spring Festival : One or Many ? 67

A possible solution to this problem is that the Vasantotsava is a festival which is celebrated over a long period of time. Some texts, in fact, describe the Spring Festival as lasting for more than one day. The Ratnãvali of Harsa which dates in the seventh century A. D. contains an important description of this festival. It is a romantic play describing a festival which appears to last for at least three consecutive days.10 The Ratnãvali is very often cited by scholars as containing an exhaustive description of Vasantotsava .n In this text the festival is specifically called the Vasantotsava , Madanamaha ( Madana's festival ), Madanamahotsava , and simply Madhu , lending support to the interpretation cited above that equates the festival to Kama with the Vasantotsava .12 This text is not explicit regarding the date of the Spring Festival but seems to give us yet another date in Caitra for its commence- ment. C. R. Devadhar and N. G. Suru, in their introduction to the text, tell us that the festival probably commences on the thirteenth day of the bright half of Caitra and lasts through the full moon day. The entire drama comprises five or six days.13 In the Ratnãvali there is no transition from one festival to another and no procedural distinction is made between the celebrations described. The festivities in the Ratnãvali under the rubric of the Vasantotsava include what are described elsewhere as separate festivals.14 So we can see that the Madanatrayodašl or the day set aside for the worship of Madana (Kama ) is described in the Ratnãvali as part of the Vasantotsava15 while the overall festival is called either the Vasantotsava or the Madamina - hotsava.

Other texts also equate these festivals outright, or indicate their close link. Among these we may include the Kämasütra which indicates that the Madanamahotsava is the Vasantotsava, 16 The Kathãsaritsãgara describes a festival very similar to that of the Ratnãvali which it identifies as either Madhütsava or simply ť Madhu '17 The Jain Kathakoša is a compilation of

10 Sri Harsa, Ratnavali , 11 For example, Raghavan, Chattopadhyaya. Sharma, and Thomas cite this text in

reference to the Spring Festival. 12 Ratnavali , pp. 4, 8, 10, 12 respectively. 18 Ratnavali , p. 15, 21. 14 That is to say that festivals like the Madanadvàdasi as described in texts like the

Matsya Parana ( 154 ) are aot specifically described as part of the Vasantotsava . Rather, they are mentioned without reference to it. See also the Nïlamata Purãna which describes Madanatrayodasi without reference to the Vasantotsava . Ntlamata Purãna , trans. Dr. Ved Kumari, 2 vols. ( Srinagar : J. and K. Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. 1973 Ì. 11. verse 679.

16 Ratnavali , Act 1, p. 4. 16 Vàtsyãyana, Kamasutra , Chowkhambha Sanskrit Series ( Benares : Vidya Vilas Press, 1929 ), 1. IV. 42.



68 Annals BORI , LXIX ( MS )

Jain folklore and contains a story of Sanatkumara which describes à festival called the Vasantotsavv. In the last lines this text equates at least the details of this festival ( earlier referred to as the Vasantotsava ) with those of the Madanotsava of spring. The last line of the text reads18 2

ãpãnakellh šakrarca vasantamadanotsavãh /

( The festivities of the Vasantotsava and the Madanotsava involve drinking and the worship of Indra. )

The Bhavisya Purãna calls a similar celebration Madanamahotsava.19 Other texts refer to the spring celebration simply as Caitramahotsava but similarly show its connection with the worship of Kãma. In this category we may include the Pãrijãta-Manjarí which is a play transcribed from an inscription dating in the twelfth century.20 It describes the festival variously as the Vasantotsava or Caitrotsava. The festival consists simply of the worship of Madana.21 In Rajasthan during Cauhan rule, one of the most important festivals was the Vasantotsava or Spring Festival, celebrated in honour of Madana or Kama.22

We see thus that ancient authors in dealing with a Spring Festival ( Vasantotsava , Caitrotsava) stress the worship of Kama, often explicitly calling the Spring Festival the festival of Kama.

Complicating further the present discussion is the existence of yet another festival, the Srîpa?icami9 which is usually associated with the worship ofLaksmi.. However, according to the description of it in the Varsakrtya - d I pak a , it is the Vasantotsava .23 The Šrlpaňcarní is described here as the day set aside for worshipping Kãmadeva and his consort Rati and is to take place on the bright half, fifth day of Mãgha. The text reads as follows ;

maghe šukla-pancami šr f panca mï / asyãrít ratikãmayoh pujanã - dinã vasantamahotsavah kãryah /

17 Kathãsaritsãgara% XXXV. 6, IV. 35, X. 87, 88, 98, LXXIX. 6. 18 Kathãkosa ( Lahore : Pt. Jagdish Lai Sastri, n. d. ) 23. 11 ( page, line ). This story

may also be found in Kathãkosa , tr. C. H. Tawney ( Delhi : Oriental Books Reprint Corp., 1975 ), pp. 31-32.

18 Bhavisya Purãna ( Bombay : Nirnaya Sagara Press, 1959 ), chapter 135. 20 Rãja-Guru Madana alias Bäla-Sarasvatl, Parijata-Manjart alias Vijayasrt, ed.#

trans. S. K. Dikshit ( Bhopal : S. K. Dikshit, 1963 ). 21 The description of the festival begins 1. 3, 13. For the dating of the play see the

introduction to the Pãrijãta-Manjarí alias Vijayasrt, p. vii. 28 D. Sharma, Early Cauhan Dynasties , p. 266, as cited by Chattopadhyaya, " Spring

Festival of Indra, " pp. 138-9. V arsakrtyadipaka , p. 288. Raghavan in Festivals , Sports , and Pastimes in Ancient India, p. 187, also notes the equation in this text.



ANDERSON : Indian Spring Festival i One or Many 1 69

( On the fifth day of the bright half of Mãgha is the Sripancaml. On this day the great festival of spring ( Vasantotsava ] is to be performed by worshipping Rati and Kama and other activities. )

The Haribhaktivilãsa also describes the Srípañcami.24,

167. mãghasya Èulkapancamyãm mahãpTijãm samãcaret / navaih pravãlaih kusumair anulepair višesatah //

170. krtvã vasantapancamyãm Érikrsnãrcantosavam / syãd vasanta iva preyavanavihãrinah //

(On the bright fifth of Mãgha one should perform an elaborate worship ceremony with new shoots, flowers, and unguents. Having performed this worship of the image of Krsna on the spring fifth, one becomes beloved of that one sporting in Vrndãvana, just as the spring is beloved of him. )

This is a Vaisnavaite text written before the middle of the sixteenth century and describes the festival as a festival of spring.25 It is celebrated on the fifth

day of spring, and Krsna is the object of devotion. Kama does not appear in this version.

To summarize the above, what we have then is a festival to Kama which is sometimes included as part of the above Vasantotsava and sometimes equated with Vasntotsava . In addition, in at least one instance the Madana- dvadaši is transformed into a sectarian festival where Krsna, worshipped as lover ( Madanagopãla), assumes the function of Kama. Finally a festival called Sripancaml is also associated with the Vasantotsava ,26 Even according to the Haribhaktivilãsa , in which the Sripancaml does not focus on Kama or Laksmï, it is still a festival celebrated on the fifth of spring ( Vasantotsava ). It is thus clear that the identification of the Vasantotsava and the Madanotsava has support from the ancient texts ; even in those cases where one cannot assert the absolute identity of these two festivals it is clear from the texts that the worship of Kãma was very intimately linked to the celebration of spring.

Holl and Vasantotsava

Many modern scholars who accept the equation of the Vasantotsava and the Madanadvadaší , including Chattopadhyaya and Raghavan, refuse to

24 Gopala Bhatta, Haribhaktivilãsa ( Bengali script [ Transliteration provided forme by Dr. P. GranofF ] ), p. 733.

25 S. K. De, Early History of the Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal ( Calcutta : Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1961 ), p. 139.

26 For example, the Varsakrtyadïpaka above.



70 Annals BORI, LXIX ( 1988 )

accept the equation between Holi and Vasantotsava. One of Chattopadhyaya's arguments for ihis is that the two celebrations are a month apart ( Holi is celebrated on Pbãlguna 30, Vasantotsava onCaitra30). This time lapse, however, did not deter him from equating the Kãmotsava and the Vasanto- tsava which are anywhere from thirteen to seventeen days apart. Raghavan's argument for the same position ( i. e. Holi and Vasantotsava are different festivals ) is that the Holi celebrates the end of the year and the Vasantotsava celebrates the beginning of the new year. Hence Holi is celebrated on Phãlguna 30; Vasantotsava on Caitra 1. Again, ' Raghavan's position, based on a difference of dating, is not entirely consistent ; a time difference did not deter him from identifying the Madanamahotsava and the Vasantotsava as the same festival. Let us again consult the texts regarding the relationship of Holi and Vasantotsava.

First, a large number of texts specifically equate all or several of these festivals named above. As previously noted, texts as early as the Kämasütra21 equate the following : Holãkã, Vasantotsava ( or suvasantaka ), Madana- mahotsava, Caitrotsava, and Phãlgunotsava. Often texts simply equate Holãkã with the Vasantotsava. According to Somanatha's commentary on the Mimãmsaka text, the Sãstradipikã, the Vasantotsava is Holãkã, 28 Hence :

holãketi / vasantotsava holãkã /

( Holãkã is a Spring Festival [ Vasantotsava ]. )

Another Mimãmsaka text, the Nyãyamãlãvistara specifically describes Holãkã

( the modern Holi ) as the Vasantotsava ,29 Hence :

holãkãdayah prãcyair èva kriyante / vasantotsava holãkã /

( [ Festivals ] like Holãkã are performed only by easterners. Holãkã is a Spring Festival [ Vasantotsava ]. )

One might consider also the section in the Bhavi§ya Puräna entitled Phãlguno- tsava.30 This text tells us that the Phãlgunotsava ( or Holíka ) takes place on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the bright fortnight in Phãlguna ( i. e., the full moon of Phãlguna and the day following the full moon : Caitra 1 ). It refers to the Phãlgunotsava as Phãlgu.31 In addition, the Deíinãmamãlõ,

Kamasutra , 1. IV. 42. , 28 Sãstradipikã , Commentary entitled Mayukhamãltka by aomanatna ̂ üq. ari

Dharmadaltasürí, Bombay : N. S. P., 1915, p. 41 ), 1. 3. 8. Jaiminíyanyãyamâla, Nyãyamãlãvistarat ed. A. Samskrta ( np., 1946 ), 35. lv-lo. Bhavisya P urana , 132.

81 Ibid., 132.32.



ANDERSON j Indian Spring Festival ! One or Many ? 71

a lexicon compiled in the eleventh century, also speaks of a festival called Phaggu.Bi The scholar Deshpande has commented that the description given of lhe festival indicates that it is a counterpart of the Spring Festival described in the Rat nãval t.M Holl is to be celebrated according to the Nãradiya Purãpa 84 on the last day of Phälguna; and Holí, Phãlguna, and Vasantotsava are thus cognate festivals. Finally, when the Varsakrtyadipaka and the Vasantotsavanirnaya describe the Vasantotsava, which occurs on the first day of the dark half of Caitra, they both cite, the Bhavisya Parana as the evidence for its performance. The section of the Bhavisya Parana which they cite is the section describing the destruction of Holãkã.35 Many texts, then, equate the two festivals and the Spring Festival of ancient and medieval times survives» thematically, as the mordern Holi. Significantly, among the Spring Festiva described in ancient texts, Holi is one of the only ones to have survived.

Unfortunately, however, to regard Holãkã simply as a synonym for the Vasantotsava occurring in other texts is not sufficient. There are texts that at first seem to imply that Holãkã is not the ' Vasantotsava ' but rather simply a ' Vasantotsava ' ( Spring Festival ). Some texts indicate that the festiva] was local and confined to the East where it was called Holãkã ( e. g. , Nyãyamãlãvistara ).88 In any case, howevar, the festival ( Holãkã or the Vasantotsava ) is given general authority and is said to be enjoined for all Hindus. In conclusion, it is difficult to maintain a strict distinction between these two festivals as they are described in the Sanskrit sources. We may conclude that the Vasantotsava is, in fact, a festival which, depending on the appropriate region takes a variety of forms : Holãkã would be one such form which, according to the above texts, was largely confined to the east. This seems to hold true today where Holi is celebrated primarily in north and northeast India. That is to say that Holi is the Vasantotsava of north-east India.

To conclude this discussion, then, it would appear that the term " Vasantotsava " is used in the sources as an umbrella term, a general term

32 Hemacandra, Desinam amala, vi, 82. 88 Deshpande, " Some Observances ( Vratas ) and Festivals ( Utsavas ) mentioned in

the Desínãmamãlã Al OC XVII. 1955 ( Annamalai University, Proceedings and Transactions , 1958 ), pp. 483ff. The translation of the relevant passage is :

Oh shameless one ! Why are you wieldirg like a shield that twig of a cotton bush, that you have held in your hand ? For in the vernal festival when cree- pers abound, the arrows, which are discharged by love, do not miss their aim.

84 Naradïya Pnrana , 1. 124. 81, cited by Raghavan, Festivals, Sports , and Pastimes , p. 199.

85 Varsakrtyadtpaka , p. 117; Bhavisya Pur ana , 132. vs. 36, 37» •J N y ay am alavi stara, 35. 10-18.



72 Annals BORI , LA7JT ( 1988 )

for festivals occurring in the spring season. Often these festivals include the worship of Kama, at certain times history and in certain places, the Vasant - otsava is a Kãmoísava or contains a Kãmotsava. Given the prominence of the worship of Kama in the Spring Festiaval described in the Ratnãvalí , we might suggest here that the Kãmotsava , represents a Central Indian version of this festival.87 Tn other times and places the Vasantotsava is Holi, a festival in the Bhavisya Purãna ( Ch. 132 ) associated with the burning of a demoness. In all cases the term Vasantotsava is applicable to such local festivals. Iu no case is it strictly definable as one limited term.

With the problems of the number and nature of the festivals of spring and their interrelationship, an additional question is their antiquity. The name Holãkã is found, in fact, in the Atharvaveda Parišistas .38 The Parišistas are early ritual texts which follow the Šrauta and Grhya sütras. Parišistas means 4 addenda '39 This seems to indicate that Holãkã is an old celebration and not simply a modern outgrowth of the ancient Vasantotsava . In conclusion, then, there is evidence from the texts to regard the Madanotsava and/ or Holi as Vasantotsava or spring festivals. There is likewise some indication that the celebration of a spring Festival belongs with the earliest ritual observances of Hinduism.

Regional Characteristics of the Vasantotsava and The Question of Scriptural Authority

One further possibility which we might entertain and which might dispel some of the confusion surrounding this festival is the possibility touched on above, that the Vasantotsava was largely a regional celebration and was therefore strongly colored by local customs. This would, at least in part, account for the variety of descriptions and names of this festival. There is, in fact, no simple way to prove or disprove this hypothesis. Some texts seem to tell us that the festival was a local festival confined to certain regions of the subcontinent. In other places we read that it is to be considered an all-India celebration imbued with generalized authority. Texts including the éãstra- dipikã indeed suggest both of these - that the Vasantotsava was in practice a local event and that it was supported by scriptural authority valid for people

87 The Ratnãvalí hails from Central India. We might suggest further that a southern version of the spring Festival is the Pakkuni festival. This festival is described by P. Younger in ' Ten Days of Wandering and Romance" in Modern Asian Studies and F. Clothey in " Paakuni Uttiram : A Festival of Marriage."

88 Atharvaveda Parišistas ( The Parisistas of the Atharvaveda) ( Varanasi : Chaukhambha Orientalia, 1976 ) and Raghavan, Festivals . S ports, and Pastimes , 194.

89 M. Winternitz, A History of Jndian Literature, 2 vols. (Reissue; New York: Russell and Russell, 1972), 1. p. 281.



ANDERSON : Indian Spring Festival ' One or Many ? 73

living in all parts of the country. The Sãstradípikã tells us that Holãkã is not performed by everyone but only by those in the East ( prãcya ).40 Hence l

Holãkãdayo hi kaišcideva prãcyãdyabhimãnibhir anusthiyante na sarvaih / ( Festivals like Holäkä are performed by those who consider themselves coming from the east and not by everyone. )

However, in another section of the Šastradípika there is a discussion on the question of the scriptural basis for festivals like the Holãkã or Vasantotsava .41 This portion begins with a pürvapaksa, an objection stating that because the Vasantotsava is not recorded in Manu or in the Vedic texts, there is no basis for observing it. The reply is given that though it is not recorded in the Veda, it is observed by people accepted as ši§tas , i. e. , those who, in the matter of their conduct, strictly adhere to Vedic injunctions. Hence, because it is observed by šistas, it is to be inferred that it has Vedic sanction. The fact that it is not mentioned specifically in Manu is here considerd to be irrelevant ; Manu did not write everything down, for then the text would have been overwhelmingly long ! The next natural question is to whom thi scriptural injunction applies. The Sãstradípikã finally declares that the Spring Festival is to be sanctioned by Vedic authority and that, in another section of his Bhãsya on the Pürvamimamsä-Sütra, Šabara declares that this Vedic authority is a genernal one, applicable to all people even though actual performance of Holãkã is limited to certain regions in the country.42 To summarize Sahara's arguments, Šabara says that in fact we observe only Easterners performing Holãkã . Now the question arises, what is the scriptural basis for the Spring Festival ? Šabara answers that it must be some Vedic text. Further on he treats the problem of what kind of scriptural injunction we may infer. Since only Easterner practise Holãkã9 are we to assume an injunction that is specific to Easterners ? The pürvapaksa says, this is the case; Šabara replies that this is impossible since we see that it is impossible to define the term 4 Easterners ' Does it mean people living in the East ? Well, not all people living in the East do Holãkã. Some are immigrants from the South, for example, and they do not observe Holãkã . Does it mean people born in the East ? Well, in that case think of Easterners who moved away generations back and are now living in the North. Their grand- children, though born in the North still do Holãkã . Therefore there is no

40 Šastradípika . 1. 3. 8. 41 Ibid . *2 Jaimim, Purvamimamsa-Sutra ( chapters 1-3 ), trans. Mahamahopadhyaya Ganga-

natha Jha ( New York : AMS Press Inc. 1974 ), III. VII, 1. 3. 15-23. JO [Annals BORI]



74 Annals BORI , LXIX ( 1988 )

satisfactory way to define a limited injunction and we must assume a general injunction, i. e. , one that says all people must do Holãkã. That they do not must be due to other causes. Šabara thus regards Holãkã as a Spring Festival and a local one, specific to the East. This implies the possibility of other spring festivals occurring elsewhere under other names.

It is necessary to evaluate the information provided by Šabara in the light of all of our many other texts. Šabara regards the Spring Festival as

equivalent to Holãkã and as a regional celebration which, though backed by a generalized Vedic injunction valid for everyone in the country, was in fact observed only by Easterners. It is interesting to note that Šabara is correct about Holãkã itself, for modern ethnographic information corroborates his statement that it is a festival of the East.43 But the other texts available and used for this study broaden greatly the regional base of the Vansantotsava and confirm the accuracy of Sahara's second presupposition : the Vasantotsava could indeed be celebrated by people all over the country. For example, the

Nãradiya Purãna and the Kathãsaritsãgara , both of which describe the Spring Festival as originated in Kashmir confirming the existence of a spring celebration there. The Ratnãvali hails from central India, while the Dolayãtrã -

viveka was written by a Bengali and the Virüpäksavasantotsavacampü concerns

Vijayanagar.*4 Thus texts record the practice of this festival all over India áabara's equation of Holãkã with the Vastantotsava and the fact that Holãkã is specific to the East led him to conclude wrongly that the Spring Festiva, was a purely regional phenomenon. The modern scholar would be morel accurate to conclude instead that the festival differed greatly from place to

place, a fact that led ancient scholars like Šabara to identify the observances with one purely local manifestation of the festival and fail to recognize the existenoe of related celebrations.

In addition texts indicate that the festival, for which Šabara was at such great pains to establish Vedic authority, was celebrated equally by non- Vedic religions, Jainism and Buddhism, and by those normally taken to fall outside the purview of Vedic injunctions, the lowest castes or Šudras. Hence, in Burlingame's Buddhist Legends we find Buddhists also play Holí.45 The festival is called Bãlanakkhatta ( Bãlanaksatra ) and is observed for seven days. During this time the lower castes smear their bodies with cow-dung

43 For example, Festivals of India ( Delhi : Publications Division, Ministry of In- formation and Broadcasting, Government of India, India, 1977), pp. 12, 20. Snlapani, Dolayotraviveka , cited by Kane, History of Dharma Sastra , V. 239f. and Ahobala, Virüpäksavasantotsavacampü ( Dharwar : Kannada Research Institute, 1953 >.

45 E. W. Burhngame, Buddhist Legends ( London : Luzac ana <_o., lyoy ), p. Jiu; ana in Raghavan, Festivals , Sports and Pastimes in Ancient India % p. 197,



ANDERSON : Indian Spring Festival : One or Many ? 75

and ash, engage in coarse talking and insults, and extract money from each other. According to this text it was so crowded that at bravasti the Buddha was unable to enter the city for seven days ( the duration of the festival ).

In Jain literature, as well, references to the Spring Festival are found. The Kathakoša contains a description of it.46 Sanatkumãra, the son of the king, goes into the forest on the occasion of the Spring Festival. And again, in the same text, King Sãgaracandra is described going to the Spring Festival adorned with royal splendour. Jains even today observe special fasts on the full moon of Caitra and, if possible, go on pilgrimages. Tradition has it that at Caitra Pürnimä ( the full moon of Caitra ) the chief disciple of Rsabhadeva, Pundarïka Ganadhara, obtained kaivalya along with fifty million monks. Jains also fast on Phälguna Pürnimä ( the full moon in Phälguna ) and decorate their temples. Jains celebrate Oli or Àmbella which occurs eight days before the full moon in Caitra. Great fairs are held at the chief places of pilgrimage and these are attended by Jains from all over India. At this time men and women take special vows as to what they will eat, promising, for instance, to eat only one kind of grain throughout the day and to drink only boiled water. Oli is the fast par excellence of women, for at this season a royal princess, Mayana-Sundarï, by worshipping the saint-wheel, won health and restoration to the kingdom for her husband, Šrípala, who had been a leper. Ever since the days of this princess, women who want a happy married life have been specially diligent in observing this fast, giving up ( for the time ) any food they particularly like, such as melted butter or molasses, and eating only one sort of dish.47

The Lokãyatikas and the Kãpãlikas , according to D. R. Shastri, observed a year which was full of festivals. They made it a rule to meet twice a year specifically for enjoying pleasure with full freedom. These were the Vasantotsava and the Kaumudimahotsava ,48

According to Raghavan, among the multiple elements of this day's sanctity are the Brãhmanic tradition of its being the birthday of one of the fourteen Manus and the Buddhist tradition of the Sun, Moon, Sumeru, and the Himalayas having been created on this day.49

Raghavan also suggests that the unbridled behaviour typical of the Vasantotsava underlines the fact that the festival has a special vogue among lower castes.50 Also, it is interesting that in some parts of the country there

46 Kathakosa, 30. 47 Margaret Stevenson, Jaina Festivals and Fasts, cited by Sharma, Festivals of

India , p. 142. *8 Dakshina Ranjan Shastri "The Lokãyatikas and the Kãpãlikas " in Indian Historic

cal Quarterly VII, ( 1931 ). 40 Raghavan, Festivals, Sports , and Pastimes of Ancient India , p. 200. 50 Ibid, p, 198.



16 Annals BORI ' LXIX ( 1988 J

was a practice of the higher castes ceremoniously touching the lower cástés and then bathing. The Vasartiotsava , it seems, was a festival celebrated all over the country and by all castes. According to Khare, The Hindu Hearth and Home , some popular Hindi books classify major festivals in terms of the varna classification. Here Holi is for ŠQdras, Diväll for Vatéyas.61

What emerges from the above is that the Vasantotsava was a festival composed of a wide variety of elements and differently described in the texts which sometimes equate the Vasantotsava with the Madanamahotsava , at other times identify the Vasantotsava with Holi. In addition, the texts make clear that the Vasantotsava was celebrated differenly in different regions of India. Depending upon the text one reads it also appears to have occurred at various times. It was a festival which in some texts overlaps both chronologically and in composition with other festivals. The two primary festivals with which the Vasantotsava overlaps are the Madanamahotsava and Holãkã , where these festivals are not specifically equated. There is, in fact, in the texts and amongst modern scholars much confusion as to what exactly makes up the Vasantotsava . Most modern scholars refer to the description of it in the Ratnãvali . This description in- cludes the Madanamahotsava . If we separate lhe Madanamahotsava from this text we are left with a description of general merriment and powder throwing ( i.e., the usual description of Holi ). In fact, there is a dearth of descriptions of the Vasantotsava that contain no reference to Kãma-worship or Holi. Given the wide discrepancies in descriptions it may be suggested that the Vasantot- sva was not, in fact, a specific Spring Festival composed of specific ritual practices to be celebrated at a specific time but, rather, that the term Vasant- otsava was a generic term meaning simply and literally ' Spring Festival ' That is, the Vasantotsava is a term which may include a larger number of festivals celebrated in the spring and it may or may not itself be treated as a festival separate from these other festivals. This would account for the the tendency of the authors of Sanskrit texts to combine a variety of festivals of different names under the term Vasantotsava . Once it is accepted that the VasantotsDva is a term to be understood in a generic sense then it is easy to reconcile the discrepancies in the descriptions of it. Some of these differences must clearly be regional differences - spring is celebrated differently in different regions. Others may be due to historical change in patterns of worship and sectarian differences. Often, if not always, there does occur a clear connection between Hindu mythology proper and the Spring Festival. Sometimes Kama and his destruction by Šiva are asscoiated with the Vasant- otsava , while Kj:sna and his destruction of Holãkã on other occasions are the event the Vasantotsava celebrates in other texts.

« R. S. Khare, The Hindu Hearth and Home ( New Delhi : Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1976 ), p. 147.



Documents

THE INDIAN SPRING FESTIVAL (VASANTOTSAVA): ONE OR MANY ?