Page:Shivaji and His Times.djvu/269

1674] These latter were auspicious tokens according to Hindu ideas.

As Shivaji mounted the throne, small lotuses of gold set with jewels, and various other flowers made of gold and silver were showered among the assembled throng. Sixteen Brahman married women again performed the auspicious waving of lamps round the newly enthroned monarch. The Brahmans lifted up their voices in chanting holy verses and blessing the king, who bowed to them in return. The crowd set up deafening shouts of "Victory, victory unto Shiva-raj ! ' ' All the instruments began to play and the musicians to sing at once. By previous arrangement the artillery of every fort in the kingdom fired salvoes of all their guns exactly at this time. The arch-pontiff Gaga Bhatta advanced, held the royal sun-shade of cloth of gold fringed with pearls over his head, and hailed him as Shiva Chhatrapati, or Shiva the paramount sovereign !

The Brahmans stepped forward and poured their blessings on his head. The Rajah gave away vast sums of money and gifts of every kind to them and to the assembled beggars and general public. "He performed the sixteen varieties of great alms-giving (maha-dan) prescribed in the sacred books of the Hindus. Then the ministers advanced to the throne and made their obeisance, and received from his hands robes of honour, letters of appointment, and large gifts of money, horses, elephants, jewels, cloth, and arms. Sanskrit titles were ordered to be