He vowed,
now that his mother had been insulted, and his father killed, not to
leave one on the face of the earth. He destroyed them all twenty-one
times, the women with child producing a new race each time. [W. H.
S.] The legend is not narrated quite correctly.
7. Rama Chandra, son of Dasaratha.
8. When Ram set out with his army for Ceylon, he is supposed to have
worshipped the little tree called 'cheonkul', which stood near his
capital of Ajodhya. It is a wretched little thing, between a shrub
and a tree; but I have seen a procession of more than seventy
thousand persons attend their prince to the worship of it on the
festival of the Dasahara, which is held in celebration of this
expedition to Ceylon. [W. H. S.] 'As Arjuna and his brothers
worshipped the shumee-tree, the _Acacia suma_, and hung up their arms
upon it, so the Hindus go forth to worship that tree on the festival
of the Dasahara. They address the tree under the name of Aparajita,
the invincible goddess, sprinkle it with five ambrosial liquids, the
'panchamrit', a mixture of milk, curds, sugar, clarified butter, and
honey, wash it with water, and hang garments upon it.
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