present day. In the Punjab it is considerd unlucky for a Hindu to marry for the third time. If he wishes to take unto himself a third wife, he is, first of all, married to a babul tree (Acacia arabica) or to an āk plant [Asclepias (calotropis) gigantea] so that the woman whom he afterwards marries is counted as his fourth wife. By the performance of this quaint rite, the evil results of marrying a third time are nullified. * Similarly, in the regions about the Lower Himalayas, if anybody is desirous of uniting himself in wedlock with a third wife, no matter whether his other wives may be alive or not he has, first of all, to marry an ak plant [Asclepias (calotropis) giganteu]. He erects an altar near the plant or fetches home a branch thereof which he places near that altar. The symbolical wedding ceremony is then gone through by winding a thread ten times round the plant to the accompaniment of the recital of suitable verses. The plant remains for four days at the spot where it is stuck into the earth. Then on the fifth day, the intending bridegroom is at liberty to go through the actual marriage-ceremony with his third wife. ** The same Hindu custom of marrying an arka plant or the swallow-wort before entering into wedlock with a third human wife is also prevalent in Southern India. † But a somewhat different practice appears to be in vogue in Western India where a person who has lost three wives must make his fourth marriage with this plant before he unites himself in matrimony with a fourth human wife. ‡ Then the leaves of the swallow-wort are extensively used by the Brahmans in Southern India in the worship of the Sun. On the Rathasaptami day, every Hindu in Southern India is enjoined to place upon his head and shoulders some leaves of the arka or swallow-wort as also a mixture of rice and sesamum * Punjab Notes and Queries, Vol. JI, p. 42. ** Vide Crooke's An Introduction to the Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India (Allahabad Edition of 1894), pages 259-260. + Vide the Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay, Vol. VII, page 91. Op. cit., Vol. II, page 211. and then to bathe by way of propitiating the Sun deity. In another religious ceremony-the Samavediupakrama-the representations of the rishis are made by placing handfuls of wet sand or mud on arka leaves. § In Western India, this plant is employed in the worship of the goddess Sati or Durga, the spouse of Siva, the Paurāṇik Rudra, who is believed to settle the destiny of new-born infants. Then again, it is customary for parturient women to invoke the assistance of the arka plant or swillow-wort for granting them easy delivery. A coin of small value and a viră (most likely a prepared packet of betel leaf, lime and spices) are offered to this plant whereof a leaf is plucked and placed upon the head of the woman praying to it for aid and then returned to its parent plant. # 'The swallow-wort also appears to be employed in the agricultural ceremonies of Western India, for it is stated that the "Calotropis is the kul or arbor generationis of the Bhandaris, the well-being of whose cocoannt trees depends so much upon a favourable condition of the elements." * This plant is also used in the agricultural ceremonies of Northern India. In the eastern districts of the Punjab, especially in Karnal, the winnowed grain is gathered into a heap with a good deal of precaution, for otherwise it is apprehended that the malignant spirits will rob the same. One man sits with his face towards the north and, sticking a ploughshare into the earth, places two round balls of cowdung on the ground on either side-of it. This plough-coulter is said to symbolize Shãod Mātā or "the goddess of fertility Then a branch of the ak or gigantic swallow-wort (Calotropis) and some shoots of the dub grass (cynodon dactylon) are offered to it. ‡ In the Etawah district of the $ Op. cit., Vol. II, page 91. * Op. cit., Vol. II, page 211. United Provinces the with some variation. 1 Karnal Settlement Report. By J. Wilson. Lahore, 1986, page 173. The cultivator places three spans off to the north of the heap of winnowed Igrain, a threshing floor rake, a bullock's muzzle, and a rope. Thereafter, in the space between these articles and the pile of grain he places a small offering, composed of some ears of grain, some leaves of the gigantic swallow wort and a few flowers. This offering is placed on a piece of cowdung cake. * 111,-The use of the swallow-worts in the sorcery of the Hindus. The swallow-wort is also used in the concoction of different kinds of charms and in the performance of various incantations as will appear from the following examples : (૧) प्रबेताकं दुग्धं कुल्माषतिलचूर्णसमन्वितं । व्यर्कपत्रेषु विन्यस्तं मूषिकान्तकरं एहे ॥ Translation. (1) If urid pulse (Phaseolus mungo) and powdered gingelly or sesame (Sesamum indicum) be mixed with the milk or juice of the white-flowered swallow-wort (Calotropis procera), and the mixture is plastered over the leaves of the same plant and then placed in a room, it will not be infested by rats and mice. (P) मघायां ब्रह्मार्क क्षेत्र स्थापयेन्मधुयष्टियुतम् । Translation. (2) If the roots of the white-flowered swallow-wort (Calotropis procera) be plucked up while the Magha asterism is in the ascendant, and placed with liquorice (Glycyrhiza glabra) in a field, the mouths of the insects and the rats will be shut up, that is to say, they will be unable to injure the crops. Crooke's An Introduction to the Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India. (Allahabad Edition of 1894.) Fages 385-6. (3) व्यर्क तुलमयीं वर्त्ति भावयेत्तावकेन च । दीपं तत्कटतैलेन निःशेषा यान्ति मत्कुणाः ॥ Translation. (3) If a wick be made of the cotton of the swallow-wort (Calotropis), placed in the acrid oil of the same plant, and then lit up, all the bed-bugs will be destroyed. (૪) गुड़श्रीबासभल्लातबिड़ङ्गचिफलायुतं । Translation. (4) If molasses, Sandalwood, wood of the bhela tree (Semecarpus anacardium), biḍanga (a kind of drug), trifalā on the chebulic myrobalan [haritaki (Terminalia chebula)], the beleric myrobalan [bayaḍā or bahera (Terminalia belerica)], and the emblic myrobalan [āmlaki (Phyllanthus emblica)], lac-dye, and the flowers of the swallow-wort be burnt, the smoke thereof will destroy scorpions and snakes. (U) घोड़शाङ्गलकं कोकं छत्तिकायां सितार्कजम् । शौण्डिकस्य गृहे क्षिप्त मदिरां नाशयत्यलम् ॥ Translation. If a rod, which is as long as the width of sixteen fingers, be made of the wood of the white-flowered swallow-wort (Calotropis procera) while the Krittiká asterism is in the ascendant, and then thrown into the shop of a wine-seller, all his wine will be destroyed. (६) काम्यसिद्धि प्रकरण । पुष्यार्क तु समाग्रामू व ताकै सम्भव' । गणेशबीजमाह । पश्चान्तकं व्य व्अन्तरीक्षाय स्वाहा । व्यनेन पूजयेत् । ततो भगवतौ बरदा व्यष्टगुण तामेकगुणं ददाति । Translation. (6) Incantation for the fulfiiment of one's desires. – On & Sunday when the Pushyā asterism is in the ascendant, you should take a root of the white-flowered swallow-wort (Calotropis procera), measuring one finger long, and paint on it an image of the deity Gaṇeśa measuring one thumb long. Then you should take a meal of boiled arwä rice and boiled vegetables only, and be pure in body and mind. Then you should, with great devotion, worship the said image of Gaṇeśa with offerings of red oleander flowers (Nerium odorum) and perfumes etc., to the accompaniment of the recital of the mantram पञ्चान्तकं त्र व्यन्तरीक्षाय स्वाहा. Then you should mix the red obander flowers with ghee (clarified butter) and honey and then offer the same to the sacrificial fire, |