Māgha

Māgha is identified in the book’s additional notes as the month of a festival held on the fifth lunar day of its bright half, an observance that joins worship of Lakshmi with the honoring of books and writing implements. The note places the festival in February and describes a day on which scholarship is revered partly by suspending the ordinary act of writing.

Calendar and Festival

The festival falls on the fifth day of the waxing half of Māgha, which the note associates with February. It describes Lakshmi as identified on this occasion with Sarasvati, the consort of Brahmá and goddess of learning. The calendar date thus frames the festival not only as worship of a divinity but also as a dedicated observance of learning and its instruments.

Offerings and Ritual Observance

Citing Raghunandana’s treatise on festivals, the note says Lakshmi is to be worshipped in the forenoon with flowers, perfumes, rice, and water. The inkstand and writing-reed also receive honor. In Wilson’s account, pens and inkstands are cleaned, while books, when manageable in number and size, are wrapped in new cloth and arranged on a platform or sheet with flowers and young barley blades. Only white flowers are offered in this version of the observance. After the rites, family members assemble and prostrate themselves before the displayed books and writing materials.

The Day Without Writing

Writing is suspended for the festival, giving the tools and texts associated with learning a ritual holiday of their own. The prohibition has a practical exception: if an urgent written communication is required, it may be made with chalk or charcoal on a black or white board. The custom therefore distinguishes ordinary writing from necessary communication while marking the day through both worship and the temporary setting aside of pens, ink, and books.