Arundhatyāvrata

This Hindu ritual text discusses the vidhi (procedure) and vrata (vow) performed in honor of Arundhatī, a Puranic figure and the wife of the sage Vasiṣṭha. According to traditional belief, she is associated with a star in the Ursa Major constellation and is linked to the tradition of the seven legendary sages (saptarṣis) in Vedic and later Hindu mythology. The vrata is observed by women seeking protection from widowhood and the blessing of sons. The text vividly describes the process of the pūjā (ritual worship). According to the colophon of the manuscript, this text is part of the Dvādaśamāsavrata, a subsection of the Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa. This Ms. is written in 9 lines per folio. Cover and back page is blank. Title present in colophon (f. 8b). Mistakes are blacked out. Some corrections and additions in the margins. According to the Penn. cataloguer, the Ms. is dated on the basis of Ms. Coll. 390; Items 2277 and 2292 which are written by the same scribe. Ms. Coll. 390; Items 2275, 2276, 2277, 2281, 2282, 2285, 2286, 2287, 2288, 2289, 2290, 2292, 2293 are also written by the same scribe (all accessible on the UPenn. site).