other women. Stories narrated include, among others, those related to Ka ̄rtik,
Tulsi, the Ganges, and Krishna, all of which are of central importance in the
pu ̄ja ̄itself.
Participants in Ka ̄rtik pu ̄ja ̄consider Krishna to be in child form for the first
half of the month. During this period, when the daily pu ̄ja ̄comes to an end, par-
ticipants gather together all the clay icons in the cloth on which the pu ̄ja ̄is per-
formed. They then swing the baby Krishna, along with all the other deities
involved in the pu ̄ja ̄, offering Krishna milk and singing a special swinging song
to pacify him. After this, the clay icons, cloth, and all items offered during the
pu ̄ja ̄are immersed in the Ganges River. Most participants remain and sing several
otherbhajansbefore dispersing. The final end of thepu ̄ja ̄is marked with a dec-
laration about the auspicious fruits of Ka ̄rtik bathing, chanted in chorus:
Ram-ji told us to bathe in Ka ̄ rtik. So we bathe in Ka ̄ rtik. Why? For food (ann), for
wealth (dhan), for an ever-filled food storage room (bharal bhan.d.a ̄r), for marital hap-
piness (suha ̄g), for going to Heaven (Vaikunth).This basic rhythm defines the course of the pu ̄ja ̄for approximately the first 20
days of the month.
On the fifth or eighth of Ka ̄rtik’s light fortnight, however, there is a shift. Pu ̄ja ̄
participants have a priest come to their pu ̄ja ̄circle to perform Krishna’s janeu ̄, the
ceremony marking his investiture with the sacred thread, which designates
Krishna’s transformation from child to young man. For this occasion, as for the
marriage itself, a brass mu ̄rti(icon) is used in place of the usual clay one. Pu ̄ja ̄
participants lovingly bathe Krishna in Ganges water and turmeric, dress him in
finery, and sing janeu ̄songs in order to prepare Krishna for his janeu ̄.The priest
is then called to utter the mantrasappropriate to the occasion.
In some pu ̄ja ̄circles, the swinging song is no longer sung after this point, since
Krishna is no longer thought to be a child, and there is bawdy joking and
dancing on this day as women begin to look forward to the impending marriage.
In the pu ̄ja ̄circle that my friend and research assistant, Sunita Singh, attended
in 1997, Krishna’s transition to manhood after the janeu ̄was marked by the
reworking of the clay Krishna mu ̄rtifrom a reclining position to a seated one that
explicitly displayed his newly mature male features, accompanied, apparently,
by a good deal of laughter and off-color joking.
For several days following the janeu ̄, women sing marriage songs in the pu ̄ja ̄
circle before beginning the pu ̄ja ̄itself, marking the impending marriage. During
the intervening days, pu ̄ja ̄ participants assume the roles of family members
on both bride’s and groom’s sides, discussing wedding arrangements, arguing
about dowry, and so forth. Designated participants gather money from the entire
pu ̄ja ̄circle to purchase gifts and other necessary items for the wedding as well.
A special ritual is then performed on the ninth of Ka ̄rtik’s light fortnight, a
specialvratday known as Aks.aya Navamı ̄, “indestructible ninth.”
In Benares, women execute a special pu ̄ja ̄on Aks.aya Navamı ̄, which Ka ̄rtik
pu ̄ja ̄participants do right after they have finished the Ka ̄rtik pu ̄ja ̄.Facing the river
the month of ka ̄rtik and women’s ritual devotions 335