Excerpt from Folk Lore Notes, Vol. 2: Konkan

The Swastika is considered as an emblem of peace and prosperity, and for this reason Brahman wormen draw a figure of the Swasi ika in front of their houses. 14 The custom of moving round such sacred obj ects as the Ban yan, the Pipal, the Tulsi or sweet basil plant, the Umbar, the Avala (phylanthws emblica), etc., is prevalent in the district of Kolhapur. There are no cases recorded in which women after child-birth are exposed to the Sun. But on the 12th day after her delivery, the mother puts on new bangles and new clothes, cocoa nuts, betel-nuts and leaves, grains of rice, plantains and grains of wheat are placed in her lap. She then comes out and bows to the Sun. Wealthy persons on this occasion perform a homa sacrifice in their houses by kindling the holy fire and feeding Brahmans. No one in this district believes that conception is caused, or is likely to be caused, by exposure to the rays of the Sun.

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