Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/104

88 hearing it. The sage at once recommended to Suvedi, a pilgrimage to Panchavati and the worship of Durga there, during the Navaratri days. The queen with Suketu reached Panchavati and worshipped the goddess Durga very devoutly. First Suketu was restored to perfect health; then she gave birth to a son whom Angiras named Suryapratapa. This prince in due course became very powerful. He defeated his enemies and got back his kingdom and reinstated his father in it. The current belief is that every one will attain his object by the Sarasvati puja, as Suvedi did by the observance of this puja.

By the non-Brahmans, this puja is called the Ayudha puja—the worship of the implements by the artisans—or the tool-feast. Thus the Brahman worships his books and the artisan his tools.