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sadagopan.org • • • Sri.B.Senthil For AssemblingTheE-Book For Images For CompilingSourceDocument NedumtheruSri.Mukund Srinivasan :

Sincere Thanks ToTheFollowing: www..org Smt.JayashreeMuralidharan : Dr. Smt. Kala Lakshminarayanan Dr.Smt.KalaLakshminarayanan : SiLkhiaaihnSihr n Sri.LakshminarasimhanSridhar and Smt.Krishnapriya :

Pavithrothsavam YagnaandYaga Homam, Havis Mahasamprokshanam: Hindu Samskaras

C ONTES Why wedohomams?

34 30 21 1

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and haveleftgreatahnika granthAs. thecurre the 25th,26th,27th, 42ndand gain maximumseenand unseenbenefits extensively onthesesamskArAs andthe ApasthampA, Yaj~navalkyAandothe of SamskArAstobeobserved bymenandwomen vary.,Gautama, to asSamskArAs.Theyarerooted in thes The lifeoftheHindurotatesaround time recommendedbytheSAsthrAs. periods(k sAsthrAs giveus"substitute are thegreatest. Outofcompassion that isfollowed,itbelieved that There isa properageand timeinhuma Veda mantrAsforpunyAvAchanamandUdakasAnthirites. SamskArAs arelikethesanctificationof detergents. Theunseen aspect, acco new object byremoving dirtandgrimefromatarnished object with mind in"seen andunseenways."Theseen the areritesperformedtohelp These Hindu"s life. final momentatHisLeelAvibuthi. SAMSKARAS forour spiritualwelfare fr reach theLord'sabode. We flutterlike"the candle Every religionhasits ritesandritualsto HINDU SAMSKARAS HINDU SAMSKARAS HINDU SAMSKARAS inthewind" duringourst ïImte ramanujaynm> ïImte the effects (benefits) ofthesamskArAs These granthAs are known asSadAchaara These granthAsareknown ïI> ïI> the eternalVedAs.Theminimumnumber form thecoreofa These samskArAs has amostbeautifulsetofFORTY 1 n life to perform these samskArAs. If If n lifetoperformthesesamskArAs. . GreatAchAryAsof Ahobilamutt like rding tooneAchAryAisthatthe aalAs)", if one misses the appropriate ifonemissestheappropriate aalAs)", r sutrakaarAs havewritten r kalpasutrakaarAs human being topurify their bodyand helpusonealong proper procedure toperformthem for us, the laggards, our merciful for us,thelaggards,ourmerciful e seriesoflifecycleritualsreferred thewaterby"charging"itwith nt Jeeyars havewrittenextensively aspectisthecreation ofashining thetime ofconception to the ay onthisearthuntilwe

the journeyoflife.

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org 1. The namesoftheeightaathmaguNAsar AATHMA GUNAAS THE EIGHT men andmatterconstitutesHisbody". elaboration oftheconcept that"theLo anubhavam anddisso states ofmanifestation "the grossandsubtleformsofthesentie celebrates the"Oneness" ofthe supreme supreme experience exemplifiedbythe the guNAs helpsapersontoattain A steadypracticeofthesamskArAsle these guNAshaveanimpactonthesoul help toremovethesamsAricillscaus eigh The practiceofSamskArAsdevelop AATMAGUNAAS &THE SAMSKAARA qualifies apersonfor spiritualupliftment. motion bytheobservanceofSamskArA athing means "betterment"(Sams)of swerve from thecorrect path.Accord establishes firmtracksinthememory onthememory".Steadypr impression According totheTarkasAsthrAs, SAMSKAARAA ? WHAT ISA adiiyEn willnowwriteaboutthe anddwellatgreatlength NirNayam DAYAA extolledbyAzhwArsandAcharyA or universal and universal compassion or SamskArAs inthissection. lution of theuniverse".lution of The state ofakhandaaathmaanubhavam,the on thenityAandnaimmitthikakarmAs. 2 love foralllivingbeings ed bythesensory attachments.Since , they are described as Aathma GuNAs. , theyaredescribedasAathmaGuNAs. ading to the acquisitionoftheaathma the ading to (kaaram). The cleansing process set in (kaaram). Thecleansingprocesssetin s leadstothebettermentoflifeand ing toanotherdefinition,SamskArA e worthyofbeingcommentedupon: e tenets of Sri VisishTaadvaitham that tenets ofSriVisishTaadvaitham rd is the soul and that the world of theworldof rd isthesoulandthat sothatthepractitionerdoesnot t auspicious guNAs(attributes)that t auspicious nt and insentient entities, at the two nt andinsentiententities,atthe word SamskArA is defined as "an definedas"an word SamskArAis being (),whoisqualifiedby actise ofscripturalinjunctions s intheirgranthamsisthe akhandAthama 8. 7. 6. RELATIONSHIP WITHOTHERS has tobeconducted onceamonth. Maasa andSthAlipAkA --havetobepr Yaj~nAs --havetobe pe A number ofsamskArAs--OupAsanA,AgnihOthrA andthepancha MahA body ofYaj~naVarAhaMurthy, ingredie as extensivetimefor thecollection ofthe required utensilsrepresenting the samskArAs aredoneathome,whereasthe elaborate andrequirecontinuousperfor Some ofthesamskArAsarenottime PLACE ANDTIMEFORSAMSKAARAAS astheultimateoffering. body toAgni samskArAs. Evencremation isconsidered the entire spanofone'slife. is isanindispen ghaat (smasaanam).Agni (conception) oftheembryo(nishEkam)to The samskArAscoverthelifespanof NISHEKAATHI SMASAANAANTHASAMSKAARAAS 5. 4. 3. 2. ASPRUHAM AKAARPANYAM MANGALAM ANAAYASAM SAUCHAM ANUSUYAI KSHAANTHI or bodycleanliness orfreedom fromjealousyorrancor or detached state of mind arising from a dispassionate nature or detachedstateofmindarisingfromadispassionate or inner happinessradiatin ortoleranceofill-wishers or relaxed state characterized by EASE byEASE characterized relaxedstate or or generosityofspiritandtime rformed daily.Twoother therefore saluted as a witness to the thereforesaluted asawitness tothe sable part of the samskArAs that cover thatcover sable partofthesamskArAs 3 acticed twice a month. ParvaNi srArdhA acticed twiceamonth. ParvaNisrArdhA Rest of the samskArAs havetobe Rest ofthesamskArAs nts (saamagris) andhelpers(rthviks). nts (saamagris) a Hindufromtheti mance overmanydays.Someofthe thetimeofcremationinburning as an offering oftheghee-smeared asanoffering consuming, whereas the others are consuming, whereas theothersare g asharmoniousconduct others needaspacioussiteaswell samskArAs -- Darsa PoorNa PoorNa --Darsa samskArAs me of formation me offormation IN IN

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org . AnothergroupofsevenSomaYaj~nAs 6. AgroupofsevenHavir Yaj~nAs 5. AsetofsevenPaakaYaj~nAs 4. AgroupoffiveYaj~nAsknownasPanchaMahA Yaj~nAs 3. AnothersetofsevenstartingfromUpanayanA toVivAhA 2. asetofsevenstartingfr 1. canbesplitThe fortysamskaaraas CLASSIFICATIONS OFTHESAMSKAARAAS performed onceayearoratle PUrNAhUti -variousrituals involve agni om GarbhadhAnAtoChudakramaa ast onceinone'slifetime. into thefollowingsixcategories: 4

important tohavequick this karmaa,whether onewantstohave east, Themantramto besaidis:" she isseatedonthewest That essenceshouldbesqueezedintoth agraniteammian become rajaswalaa,on picked at the sproutThe leaves from level. the peepal This(Pumsuvanam andSeemanthOnnayanam)ar tree from should a branch be growing crushedSeemanthOnnayanam andisdoneby eastward or by north a maiden, is naama who has notThe AapasthambhaSoothramsays" the embryo. fourth monthofpregnancy,whichismuch SAMSKAARAA: Hastham,Chitthirai Satayam, Uttaram, and SvAthi. when inascendanceareauspicious whenthefollowingstars thedays, by SriSevA hepointsoutthat SwamigaL, Sr such asDhruvA.Inhisoutstanding KatAksham way, theycanconceive achild state ofmindtamedandpurifiedbyth life cycleritualsoftheHindu begins.Th womb isknownasGarbhAdhAnam.From GARBHADHAANAM: knowledge. Theseare: behalf of thechild, sinceithasno areperformedbytheparentson Upanayanaa priorto All thesevensamskArAs BEFORE UPANAYANAA " of NaarAyaNaa helps towards the birthof greatdevotees helpstowardsthe " ofSrimanNaarAyaNaa ". This Pumsavanam isperf ". ThisPumsavanam Theplacementoftheseedbyhusband inthewife's delivery withoutpain ( ern sideofsacredfire.He Thisistobeperfor with auspicious qualities.The" Pumsuvanamasi for garbhAdhAnam: Asvini, UtthirAdam, for garbhAdhAnam:Asvini, PumAn yEnasooyathE tath pumsavanam t reachedthestageofdiscriminating 5 e VedicritesofSaanthiKalyANam.This i DesikaDarsanaPanchAngamreleased e pregnant woman’srightnostril,while e married couple have to conceive in a d theessenceis filteredthrua cloth. themomentembryoforms, a boy or a girl. This Karmaa is also also a boyorgirl.This Karmaais beforequickening e intended for the First pregnancy. e intendedfortheFirstpregnancy. one seekingamalechild.Both ormed onemonthbeforethe Kshipram suvanam ". It is essential to perform toperform ". Itisessential med during thethirdor med during r headshouldbetilted of thegrowth ). There are ). There Jaayamaana Jaayamaana

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org These two arepurificatory rites sancti as isbeingdonethese days.These One should notcombine thePumsavana Pumsuvanam. seemanthOnnayanam duringthefourth eighth monthofpregnancy. Saasth pregnant mother)hastobeperformed SIMANTHONAYANA SAMSKAARAA: Pumsuvanam ofsukhaprasavam. flower) is placedontheheadof sikhA (whichhasleaves likeBamboo an branch ofmedicinalplantknownasDhU flowing river isplacedatthefootof placenta ( addition also asetofsevenmantrasfor pumsavanam -thepeepalleafessenceissqu jaraayu ) notreleasingitselfquickly the pregnant woman du samskArAs are abandonedthesesamskArAs days. 6 rAs recommendtheperformance of eezed intothe pregnant pregnant ladybythehusbandfor with theSimanthOnayana samskaaram, ryanthi orShOshyanthiPushpithaagni d flowersinmiddaywithafieryred month of pregnancy, amonthafter This samskArA(hairpartingofthe oned bytheVedAs for theproper either inthesixthmonthor is doneduringPushyaNakshathram. al protectionagainstthedangersof afterbirth.Waterfroma ring Pumsuvanam; a ring Pumsuvanam; woman’srightnostril

praTamE garbhE chathurTEmaasi praTamE garbhE is:" soothram Aapasthambhar’s this onetimesamskAram. seemanthOnnayanam). Itisdoneoncean defined as" knownas Partingis (Seemantham). That Seemantham istocreateaparting shouldnotbeabandoned.samskArAs growth ofthefetusinsidewomb porcupine is constructed andusedinpart Kuntam. Abunch ofthreedharbhams, bu the husband.yasthvaa Next,to the grabhiNiblessings arereceived.Next The daybefore,NaandhiSraardham(Bra is seated on the west side of the

Aajya bhAgam etc).DuringtheseAahUthis,thepr Yasmin KarmaNi garbhiNyA:seemanthaunneeyathE" KarmaNi Yasmin . PradhAnaAahUthiwith8mantrams( seemantham -partingof hair day, Homam isdonefrom day, Homam " 7 on thehair ofthepregnantwoman d future pregnancies are taken careof d futurepregnanciesaretaken ing thehairinanupward mannerwith ofthemother. Therefore,these hmaNa bhOjanam)isdoneandtheir nch ofpEtthiplan Vahidu amaitthal in Tamil. It is inTamil.Itis Vahiduamaitthal egnant wifeshouldbetouching agni roopasandhAnam SeemanthOnnayanam dhAthaa dhathAthu dhAthaa t andthequiltof (that

,

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org forehead (Mantram: abhimantraNam asminnaham keeps thechildonhislap(Mantram: the child(Mantram: ThefathertouchesJaathakarmaa. mantrams toberecitedduringthe Soothram coversindetailthe Aapasthasthambha Gruhya The 15 done foramalechildonly. long lifeforthenewlyborn.Itis manthrAs seeking protection and accompaniment ofappropriateVedic is touchedthricewithgheetothe birth. Thetongueofthenewly-born performed soonafterthechild's JAATHA KARMAA: in moderndaycitylife. until thetimeofutteranceVyAh boththehusband commentators saythat while touchingayoungcalfandreciting time, thehusbandShouldaccompanyhis and thegarbhiNishouldkeepsilentunti The string of germinated Yava grains is bound to the hair of the garbhiNi now there isanothermantramtoberecitedbytheVeeNaaPlayer. houses ofBrahmins," yenee ivEthaa thrENi three vyAhrudhis ( the recitation ofthetwomantras( th ) andperforms khaNdamof , smelling the Bhur bhuva:suva: aSmaa bhava ). AfterthatVeeNaa ghAnam yEvanO sOma dhivaspari This is ) ) raakahamaham ) forthreetimes( " is played in the VeeNA. For VaisyAs, " isplayedintheVeeNA.ForVaisyAs, 8 the VyAhruthis by the husband. Some theVyAhruthisbyhusband.Some rudhis. Thesewillnotbeeasytofollow l the appearance of the stars. At this l theappearanceofstars.At wife ina northerndirectionwalk, and wife havetomaintainmounam and wife abhimantraNam , yaasthE raakE is to be heard. In the thrishu pradhEsEshu thrishu pradhEsEshu ) withthe NAAMAKARANAA infections fromoutside. Thishomam intothe firewithoutmantra saamagriyai birth. Eachwith " timewith amixtureofmustardandricehusk anyonerudhathi goes intochild isnowtouched withthea from:" withthetwomantramsstarting accompaniment oftheMantram:" lap andshowsherrightbreasttothech place wherethecowsdrink(Thotti).Ne vyAhrudhis. Restofthemixture isbl thvaa andcurdispreparedth sUryO bhrAjOdhadaathu mixture thricewiththeacco (prAsanam) withthat lips aretouched mixed andthechild’s honey and gheeare equal mixture of ear ofthechild.An whispered intothe birth ofthe childis withthe associated Nakshathram name ofthe mEdhAm tE right ear(Mantram: and Japaminthe " are recitedandprAsanamisdo " are ayam kalim ---payArdhvam svAhaa ayam kalim---payArdhvam ". A pot filled with water is placed near the head and homam is done ). The : Thisfifth samskArA dealswith ). SnAnamfollows.Inabronzevessel, the mixture of mpaniment ofthemantram ( ccompaniment ofthemantram:" ayam kumara: e 5mantramsstartingwith" is donefortendaysafter birth. the birthroomshouldplace homa 9 ended with water and poured into the ended withwaterandpouredintothe ". This samskAram is done soon after xt, theMotherplaces the child inher ms forprotectionofthebabyagainst ild forthenourishmentofmilkto (tavidu) with the 8 mantrams starting the8mantramsstarting with (tavidu) ne withtheaccompanimentof ". Thechild isnowplacedonthe yadhbhUmEr hrudhayam thenamingof child on thvayi mEdhAm— naamayathi na KshEthriyai KshEthriyai ". The

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org sabhdam is preferredto beaddedinth sabhdam is Formales,“Su” KamalEkshaNaa). Kamalaa, odd numberofletters(Bharathi, parents utterthennameofthechild. kumbham andagniusedduringthefirst husband namethechild.Onthatutth On thetenthday,mothergets AjaamiLOpAkhyANam. great AchAryAsshouldbechosen forth auspicious namesassociatedwithSr of theday,whenchildisborn for thenewlybornbasedonconstellati inhisThirumozhi).There NaamakaraNam its eleventh dayofits birth(vide: Pe child . Mantrams arerecited forthemalechild

Over paddy grain bed Over paddy riyAzhwAr's celebrationofSriKrishNA's iman andMahALakshmior NaarAyaNA 10 up andhasherbath . As PeriyAzhwArhasinstructedus, The daughtershouldhavenameswith e front(Sudarsanam, ten days following prasavam). Both the ten daysfollowingprasavam).Both e babywith thelessons learnedfrom . One mantramisusedfor thefemale are strictrulesinchoosingthename Anam isdone(removalofudhaka on atthetimeofbirthor andsheher SulOchana:). Five

of eight,itpossesses a schooling atth A childnormallystarts UPANAYANAM dhAnam prescribed. ANNAPRAASANAM and theone done for thegirl ischUdAkarma.Atthe16 child, itisdonewithoutmantrams.Th This samskAraisdoneon sanyAsi isfreefromtheobservance the since Thisisallowedforthisasramamam, entering sanyAsAsramam. only thesanyAsihasnosikhA,sinceheha the sikhA,nowaterfromtuftcan orancestors.Without sikhOdhakA orthewaterfromhistufttopithrus The householder hastoringhissikh twigs tothefireasapartofdailyobservance. performance ofVedicritessuchasSami vibrations. SikhAwill alsoqualifytheBrahmachAri orcelibate for the center onthetopof abandon. Thepurpose oftheSikhAisto protect themostsensitivenerve samkalpA totheLordandhence,should for amalechild,whentuftorsikhAis CHUDAKARMAA cooked riceisgivento thechild. fed andblessingsreceived On the sixthmonthofbirth, AnnaPrAsa the child.Itisabeautifulsighttoob generally atthelocaltemple.Thepare time with solid food at the age of six months. This samskArA is performed : Thelastofthepre-upanay : Thisdealswiththefeedin head knownasBrahmarant grip onthelanguage andtherefore isconsidered the third year ofbirthwi the thirdyear fromthem.Amixtureof

ofofferingsforhisancestor. serve this ritual at GuruvAyoor temple. serve thisritualatGuruvAyoortemple. 11 e onedonefor thebo e ageoffive.When it reachesthe age A after his bath every day tooffer A afterhisbatheveryday created.ThesikhAiscreatedwiththe nts recitemanthrAs,whiletheyfeed be offered. IntheHindu wayoflife, dhAdhAnA ortheofferingofpalaasa notberemoved impulsivelyor with s to shave his hair at thetimeofhis s toshavehishairat nam isdone. Brahmanaashavetobe ana samskArA is chudaKarmaa ana samskArAis g of thebabyforfirst th mantram. For the girl th mantram.Forthe hram fromanyabnormal curd,honey,gheeand th year, thereisaghO y ischouLakarma

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org The child withoutupanayanam isnot this aasramA. the VedAswithswarAs(properintonations) Brahmacharya isthefirstoffour education. Healsopracticescelibacy totheguruand and performsservices stays inthehouseofguruandobserves theancientpractiseofgurukulA thelearning to complete takes 12years the child intoVedavidyA. meansbringingoneclosetoth " instruction beginswiththeproper gu initiation intoreciting thesacred GayathriManthram.Next,hisVedic thefath Upanayanam isperformedby eligible for receivingVedicInstruction. yEna AchAryakulamupaneeyathE kumar upanayana ceremony -kumbham and palasadandam The boylearns oneVedAwi The (Brahmacharyam) during these 12 years. these12years. (Brahmacharyam) during 12 aasramAs for aHindu.Therecitationof aasramAs for ru. The definition for upanayanam is: is: ru. Thedefinitionforupanayanam Asacredthreadceremonyknownas ofoneVedawith er andtheboyisblessedwith eligible toperform any Sroudhaor a: tathupanayanamnaamakarma his family in return for receiving his his familyinreturnforreceiving e guruortheteacher,whoinitiates from a qualified is the goal of th itslimbs(angAs).It its angAs. The boy angAs.The its ".

At the conclusion of the samskArAs asso At theconclusionof the samskArAs khAndams (Yajur,Rg andSaamaUpAkar rishi tarpaNamisconnected withour tobe thathave two GodhAna and MahAupanishad asMahAnAmni, known samskArAs VedA hasasetoffour ofth ofeach observes thesamskArAs During thecompletion ofeach complete thefourkhAndAsofPrAjApa instance, acelibatereceivinginstru completion ofeachthefourkhAndAs receiving Vedicinstruction.Thesefo The BrahmachAriobservesfour addition KshathriyAs andtheVaisyAs. for upanayanamBrahmins.Ghreeshm are doneattheagesof11and12resp KshathriyAsandVaisyAs of conceptionforBrahmins.Theupanayanamthe isdoneon SmArtha .ThesamskAram Upananyanam bringsone closetothe guru 13 brahmachAri the fourkhAndhAs, ction inKrishNaYajurVedAhasto performed bythest thya, Soumya, AagnEya and VaisvadEva. andVaisvadEva. AagnEya thya, Soumya, ectively. VasanathaKaalamisthetime mAs intheSundaraSimham series). ur samskArAsarelinkedwiththe e abovefourkhAndAs.Similarly,Rg a ruthu and Saradh ruthu areforthe a ruthuandSaradh (sections) oftheindividualVedA.For ciated withthefinal khAndhAofthe thanks givingtotherishisof al samskArAs during thisperiodof al samskArAsduring the eighth year including the time theeighthyearincludingtime udent. TheKhanda

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org RanganAtha Mahimavol-Iavailable intheebook#20-Sri VivAham connectedwithAanDAL'sVaraNamAiyram puNyakaalam.adiyEnhasco that boththeVivAhamandUpanayanam Hence, VivAhamiscalledSahadharmiNi she participatesinall theYaj~nAswi VivAhA forwomenisequivalenttoth of garbhAdhAnamassociated samskArA BrahmacharyA foroneyearandthereafter, heis qualifiedtoperformthe AfterVi witnessed sevensamskArAs. known asGrihasthA(house-holder).From marriage orVivAham.Heisnowread pilgrimage toKaasikshEthramandonreturnfromthatjourneyis ready for known asSnAtakA,whohascompleted end ofhisstudies.Hetakesaritualba whichli knownassamAvartanA, samskArA successfully. Heoffershishomagetohi asha VedA, thebachelorisadjudged under http://www.ahobilavalli.org/ vivaham e Upanayanamceremo 14 th her husband as th calledSnAnA andisthereafter heis y to enter into the second aasramam y toenterintothesecondaasramam with theconception ofachild. with ving completedhisVedic instructions ving s guruandreturnshometoperforma SamprayOgam. It may be pointed out SamprayOgam. Itmaybepointedout vAhA, heisexpected toobserve vered the individual stagesofVedic vered theindividual UpanayanA toVivaahA,wehavethus terally meansreturntohomeatthe should be conducted during the shouldbeconductedduring his vaasam. He goes on his gurukulavaasam.Hegoeson sahadharmachAriNi. sahadharmachAriNi. ny. AfterVivAham,

great detail. andGrih here. Thevariouskalpa the threesubsets.Briefdescriptions sOma Havirand Paaka, distinct subsets: sofa We havedescribed19samskArAs of humanfamily. than humanbeings.Offerings aremadeto 5. respect, dischargesoneofhisdebtstothecommunity. 4. offering of pindAsduring thetarpaNAs asoblations. 3. Gods. 2. powers. throughtheirspiritual collected theVedasamhithAs and helpstodischargethedebtVe 1. These pancha MahAYaj~nAsare: his debtstoDevAs,ancestorsandalllivingbeings. The performance ofthesefivesamskArA areknownasthefive daily andthey In themarriedstate,householder We havesofarcovered14samskArAsfo P ANCHA BhUta Yaj~nA Maanushya Yaj~nA Pithru Yaj~nAs Yaj~nA Yaj~nam M AH A Y :whichrequirestheperforma : This samskArAconsistsoff AJ : The debtto one's ancestor : which is performed through therecitationofVedAs :whichisperformedthrough ~ N : Theathithi sathkAramorfe A S

great yaj~nAs(panchamahAyaj~nAs). 15 of these21yaj~nAswillbepresented dic rishis or manthra drashtAs. They dic rishisormanthradrashtAs. Yaj~nAs. Thereareaseven ofeach of has toobservefivemore samskArAs yAsUtrAs describetheseYaj~nAsin yAsUtrAs s helpsthehouseholder todischarge r. Theremaining21fallintothree r the period leading up to VivAham. r theperiodleadinguptoVivAham. them as they are an extended set themastheyareanextendedset eeding theliving entitiesother nce ofpujAsandYaj~nAsfor s isdischargedthroughthe eding ofone'sguestwith

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org 1) Briefly, details ontheperformance ofthese yaj~nAs here. husband andwifeperformtheirdailyOu Most of them are done at home7. aswayuji. in Grih ChaitriorEesAnabaliand 6. 5. agrahAyaNi sarpabali paarvaNisrArdhAor 4. 3. anvashtakai 2. ashtakai 1. sthAlipAkA These aresmallyaj~nAs. S the Uthsargam (discontinuation) is the Uthsargam (discontinuation) month. This should4) be done every year. . Maasi month It startstarpaNam andisdoneinthe8th on SrAvaNa isaPith and thenextday(navami).It PourNami and(2-3) precedes manyYajn~ams. (literally acquired bydoingsthAlipaakam by doingOupAsanamtwiceaday.Itis gruhasthan fromVivAhaaAgnistartedat EVEN PaarvaNi SrarddhamorSarpaBali: Ashtakai andAnvashatakai P AAKA SthAlipAka Y AJ ~ N A isthefirstofPaakaYaj~nams,whichdonebya S

The names oftheseare: go together and are performed on Ashtami go togetherandareperformedonAshtami 16 done on Prathamai days. Agni Suddhi is AgniSuddhiis onPrathamaidays. done the 9thdaysofKrishNaPaksham during Maarghazhi PourNami. Daily during Maarghazhi PourNami. meanscookinginavessel).Thiskarma yAgni, whichis theAgniinwhich ru srArddhamintheformofaTila the time of marriage andmaintained thetimeofmarriage pAsanam. Wewillnotgointothe This isdoneduringtheSravaNa be pointed outthattheSmArthaandSr thelatterderiveth sOma Yaj~nAs),since SmArtha karmAs.Theseare belonging toSmrithis.Hence, thes The procedure for the paakaYaj~nAsaredescribedinGrihyasUtrAs Iyppasi. 1. Agni aadhAnA than paakayaj~nAs.Theirnames are: These arealsoseveninnu H 7) restriction likeSarpa Bali. Chitthirai. ThisisdoneinUthtarAy 6) svaahaa ( the is PourNami.SthAlipAkam is Maarghazhi balls5) madeperformed toconclude. sunset,sthAlipAkamis toMaarghazhiPourNamAsaiandafter PourNamAsai ofKonRai flowersareofferedtothesacred itoffered withthemantram " are followed byupastharaNa,avadhAna used of AahUthis(AajyaPaaka (offeringofBali)isstoppe BaliharaNam to make four kinds of AahUthis IndhrAgnibhyAm Svaahaa AVIR AgrahAyaNi: Chaitri orEesAna Bali: Aswayuji: Aswayuji: Y and AJ ~ N dhyAvaa-priTveebhyAm svaahaa A This is also done once ayear This isalsodone S

This isdoneoncea yearoronce and MukhAhUthI)aremadeto and mber andarealittlemore , Agni-indhrAbhyAm svaahaa Agni-indhrAbhyAm SrAvaNyai PourNamAsyaiSvAhaa SrAvaNyai This is done once a year during the month of thus distinct from Srautha karmAs (Havir and fromSrauthakarmAs(Havirand thus distinct e PaakaYaj~nAsarereferredtoas 17 aNam SuklaPaksham.Ithasnotime abhikAraNams and the aahUthis are abhikAraNams andthe d. Like all PaarvaNa homams, Twokinds d. LikeallPaarvaNahomams, autha karmAsareequalinimportance. done with newly harvested rice and donewithnewlyharvestedrice fire. ThisiscontinuedfromSravaNa eir authorityfromSruthis.Itmust ). during themonthofTulaaor during inone’slifetime.Thetiming elaborate inperformance , ViSvEbhyO dEvObhya thefireandtheyare " and Palaasa or " andPalaasaor

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org flour isused.This also doneon PishtaPasuBhandhaminvolv and today, 6) rainy season.Thegruhasthandoesit to theChAthurmsyaVrathamofaSanyAs 5) is therecommendedtime. 4) 3) 2) SroudhAgni usedfor performingAg GruhyAgni fordoingdailyOupAsanam(d fire thesacred ceremony. Atthattime, 1) three sroudhAgnisreveredasgArhapat construction oftheYaj~nakundAsand sUtrAsintheirtrEthAgnikh Aapasthampa These yaj~nAs are performed inSroudhAg 7. SouthrAmaNi. NiruDapasubhandhaand 6. 5. ChaathurmAsyaa 4. AgrAyANaa maasa darsapUrNa 3. 2. AgnihOthrA AgnihOthram AgrAyANaa: ChAthurmAsyam NirooDa PasuBhandham: Agni AadhAna: Darsa PoorNaMaasa It is done once a year or once in a life time. Iyppasi PoorNimai is donedailyusinggheeormilk. is anagniKarmaafor agruhas is This isdoneonceinali is donetwiceamonth(eachPraTamai). In the olden times, animal wasinvolved sacrifice In theoldentimes,animal ce ayearoronce nihOthram andotherrelated Yajn~ams. once ayearorinlifetime. 18 hyam, dakshiNAgni andaahavaneeyam. hyam, dakshiNAgni ing theimageof animalmadein the maintenanceoftrEtAgnisor used inVivAhamisdividedintotwo: erived fromtheword UpsanA)and Andham (section)gi i although botharedoneduringthe i although ni, whichisalsoknownasTrEtAgni. fe time after the marriage fe timeafterthemarriage inalifetime. than andhasnorelationship ve thedetailsof

KeraLaa performthem eventoday, wh Soma Yaagamsareelaborate andveryfo 7. abhthOryAmA AthirAtrA and 6. 5. VaajabhEyA 4. ShOdasi 3. UkthyA 2. AthyagnishtOmA AgnishtOmAorJyOthishtOmA 1. The individual namesofthesesevenYaj~nAs are: following seven sOmaYaj~nAs: KhandhA) providethesamariksordash KhAndA,AindraKhAndA Vedam (AgnEya " is centraltothesesevenYaj~nAs. Yaj~nAs, butmoreeulogiesorsthuthis These are alsoseveninnumber. Th S RaamAnujAcchAr Swamy. Veeravalli SaThakOpaacchArSwamyand the monographs" Elaborate detailsonSrouthaKarmaashave uses SuraatopleasetheKshudhradE 7) VedAnAm SaamavedOsmi OMA SouthrAmaNi: Y AJ ~ N A S

Aapasthambha GruhyaSoothram This is done once a year or once in a life time as well and " byGeethAchAryan.ThefourKhandAsofSaama vathAs (insignificantdEvathAs). 19 ere arefewer hOmAsinthesesOma Saama Vedamhasbeenidentified as (sAma ghAnam). SaamaVedic recitation (sAmaghAnam). ere Somarasamis filtered andthe tis (collection of ten verses) for the tis (collectionoftenverses)forthe , PaavamAna khAndhA and aaraNyaka , PaavamAnakhAndhAandaaraNyaka rmal. TheNambhUdhri Brahminsof the oneonSroutham bySriV.K. been provided in greatdetailby beenprovidedin " by GhanapAdi VaduvUr " byGhanapAdiVaduvUr

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org the seven(agnishthOmA)shouldbe sevenYaj~nAs,ithas do allofthese One whocompletesasOmayaj~nAishail with SrimanNaarAyaNA'skrupA. abilitie our liveswithinthelimitsof knowledge oftheseancientsamskArAs,it separate aasramAscannotbeabandoned this earthofourLord.ThesamskArA . Theyprotectthemfromthetime guards thepractitionersfromswerving sanAtana .Theyfrom thecore The importanceofthesamskArAscan C bush isplantedoverthesite. riversideorneara BrindhAvanams bythe For sanyAsins,therearenosamskArA S http://www.Ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives.nov2000/0040.html http://namboothri.com/articles/yaagam-photos.htm details : performance ofmanyYajn~amsPleasere TaatAchAr Swamyinto CDs;SriAgnihO will bebringing out alotof manuscriptsofAgnihOthram Sri RaamAnuja adiyEnispleasedtomantrams. learn effusion is offered toIndhranandot ANY ONCLUSION A SINS

performedinone'slifetime. 20 that mydearfriendSriKrishNaPrasad her DevathAsusing been recommended thatatleastoneof s andhelpothers keep upthetradition s prescribedforthefoursuccessive/ ed asasOmayAji.Evenifone can not not beunderestimatedintheHindu fer alsotothefollowingtwoURLfor thram Swamyisanauthorityinthe intopathsnotsanctionedbythe of theHindulifecycle ritualsand of conceptiontothelastmomenton until one's last breath. Through the until one'slastbreath.Throughthe holy spot. ApeepalsaplingorTuLasi holy spot. is our hope toincorporate theminto is ourhope of cremation. Theyareburiedin and Rg andSaamaVeda

example PurushaSooktham, whichdescribe Let usreflectonwhy wedo Homams On thesecond day,theLord's residence ofthePerumAL and ThAy performed dailyfortheconsecration of SaanthiHomam, Agni prathishtai,and performed Homams are samprOkshaNam The Mostimportantitemsduringany Homams on thesubsequent days. Homams on and rightafterthatAgniKunDaHomam MAHA SAMPROKSHANAM MAHA SAMPROKSHANAM MAHA SAMPROKSHANAM ashtothra satha kalasa thirumanjanam (Courtesy:Sri.B.Senthil) eyes areceremonially open( ar atthedifferent Sannidhis. 21 Nithya Homamsand PoorNAhUthisare Vaidhika KarmAlikePerumAL's MahA (yaj~nams/Yaagams) by takingasan - - the Templeasaplacesacredfor - WHYWEDOHOMAMS WHYWEDOHOMAMS WHYWEDOHOMAMS is donetosetinmotiontheother s thegreatestofYaagams doneby in consecrated YaagasAlai. After in consecratedYaagasAlai. NethrOnmeeLanam

)

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org 974: without failthistype ofYaj~nA atbothdawn and duskofeveryday". of thosewhoareunabletoobserve theda The LordHimselfbecomes theperformer 973: the fruitsofthatYaj~namperfor whoappearedbeforeChat VaradarAjA, performed theYaj~namtoplease As theLordofYaj~nam,Hegive 972: Yaj~nam. attain Hissacredfeet. Through ja those,whodonothavethe UpAyam for The LordisidentifiedhereastheYa 971 : PrAsara Bhattar'sBhAshyam Yaj~nams basedonProfessorA.Sriniv Let uscoverthebriefmeaningsofth SahasranAmams. www.ahobilavalli.org/ e-books29to33 end oftheSahasra Naamam(Nam Homam. Thereferences arein SriVish and the Lord'sSarvahuth Yaagam,letusstudytherefe role in it asstudy ofthePurushaSookthamas a doer, he through theinvocationofParama Sooris)andRish SaadhyA DEvAs(Nithya : (PraNavam)Yaj~nyaNama: (PraNavam)Yaj~ngAya nama: (PraNavam)YajvanEnama: (PraNavam) Yaj~napathayEnama:

med onHasthigiriatKaanchi.

pa Yaj~nam, He Himself becomes the pa Yaj~nam,HeHimselfbecomesthe 22

Nu Sahasra Naamam almost at the very atthe Nu SahasraNaamamalmost Purushan, SrimanNaarAyanan.Priorto ese 12NaamamsrelatingtoHomams/ j~nam or Sacrifice. He serves as the j~nam orSacrifice.Heservesasthe lper andenjoyerofthefruits ofthe for detailedcommentariesonthe SrI Asa Raghavan's translation of Swamy Asa Raghavan'stranslationofSwamy Him. ASupremeexampleis Lord hur MukhaBrahmAtoblesshimwith primordial HomaminaYaagamcalled primordial s theYaj~naphalantothose,who spiritual rigor/Tapasandyetwishto es 971-982).Please seehttp:// rences tothemysteriesofYaj~nam ily rites.Hesays:"IMyselfam doing of the Yaj~namforthepurification is for the creation of the Cosmos is forthecreationofCosmos 977: final sacrificialofferingstageknownasPoorNAhUthi. of theHomamtothinkHim(Krish He outofHisKaaruNyam, as aresult, Even ifthe Homamisimperfectly perf 976: adhikAram, faithandaccessories He assiststhosewhoperformtheHomams byblessingthemwithsakthi, 975: NaarAyanan. Seshi, BhagavaanSriman day. TheseYaj~nams becomesEsham become auxiliariestotheYaj~namthat There arecapableadhikAris, whoperf 981: performance oftheHomams/Yaj~nams. He standsasthegatewaytoDhiv 980: Homams &Yaj~nams. He istheultimateenjoyerofall 979: He istheYajamAnan(Master)fo 978: Universe (JagathHitham). He istheCreatorofHomaman (PraNavam)Yaj~nEnama: (PraNavam) Yaj~nAntha-kruthE nama: (PraNavam) Yaj~na-kruthayEnama: (PraNavam) Yaj~nabhruthayE nama: (PraNavam) Yaj~na-VAhanAyanama: (PraNavam) Yaj~naSaadhanAyanama: (PraNavam) Yaj~naBhujEnama:

r whomalltheHomamsaredone. tocompletetheirYaj~nams.

23 NAnusmaraNam) and reach therebythe andreach NAnusmaraNam) ya Jn~Anamthatleadsonetothe ormed and has deficiencies (Vikalasam) ormed andhasdeficiencies(Vikalasam) rectifies itandbl d Yaj~namfortheKshEmamof orm theseYaj~nams.ThoseYaj~nams

to theOneperformedbySarva to sacred offeringsassociatedwiththe

He does at dawn and dusk of every every duskof He doesatdawnand

esses the performer esses theperformer

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org offerings (Havis and PoorNAhUthi) made offerings (Havisand PoorNAhUthi) naamam is:"Though isnotin translationofSwamyParA Raaghavan's He is thesecret ofthe Homam 982: fruit oftheHOmam. Knowledge aboutHimasShAdguNyaSa He providesthefruit oftheHomams.What (PraNavam) Yaj~naGuhyAyanama: SrI nrusimhaswamyingarudavahanam (Courtesy:www.ranganatha.org) shadgunya sampoorna bhagavan 24 and Yaj~nams. ProfessorA.SrinivAsa

wants (NirapEkshan), He acceptsthe wants(NirapEkshan), sara Bhattar'scommentary forthis mpoorna BhagavANisthatsupreme in a sacrifice (HOmam/Yaj~nam) as inasacrifice(HOmam/Yaj~nam) is that Fruit? Attainment of True

(all encompassing Yaj~nam of Yaj~na adiyEn willcoverthe FirstHomam/Ya specially constructed AgniKuntams. will beperformingtheseancientHomams elaborated bySagesSounakar,Aapast Homams andtheways ofperformingthemtopleasetheLord hasbeen consecrated templewherever a MahA Please comeandwitnesstheHomams alsosatisfie satisfied and though He has long been expecting them and enjoys them". Thus, He feels secret of the Yaj~nam/Homam". secret oftheYaj~nam/Homam". about theinjunctions, mean is understood by the wise and not by Kumbham processionduring the200 Sri Ranganatha temple New York s thosewhoperformtheHoma (Courtesy:www.ranganatha.org) s andfruitsofsacrifices 25 j~nam knownasthe Sarvahuth Yaj~nam hampar andBhOdhAyanar.The Rthviks those, whohavesuperficialknowledge samprOkshaNam takes place.These samprOkshaNam takes ms) that is described inPurusha ms) thatisdescribed 1 samprokshana mahotsavamat for PrathishtaioftheLordinHis at the Temple in YaagasAlA with attheTempleinYaagasAlAwith . Hence, thename: "the ms to please Him. This

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org all Yaagams/Homams similartotheSarv the Yaj~nam). AftertheSarvahuthYaj~na BrahamA sacrificedhimselfasthePoor offerings) andParamaPurushanserved Samith (sacredsticksforkindlingth that Yaj~nam,theSpringTimewas Indhriyams, theDevAs,servedasRt this Yaj~namusinghisVirAtSarIramgi This Yaj~namisanAarAdhanamforth Prapancham wascreatedfromthatMaanasaYaj~nam. BrahmA forthecreationofCosmos The SarvahuthYaagam(theofferingsof "The VedAs".Pleaserefertothat www..org/) maintainedby Sri Purusha Sooktham,whichisarchivedin Jeeyar orSriRanganAthaMuni.V.Sundar hasanelaboratepostingon the greatestVedicScholarsofVijaya commentaries forPurushaSooktham.Oneof Two greatBhAshyakArAls(Commentators) all Sruthis(Vedams). Sooktham findingitshouseinall theFo forPurushOtthaman,Sr AarAdhanam The SarvahuthYaagamdescribedinPuru (3-12-13); SaamaVedam(4-3) Samhithai(31-1-16); VaajasanEya variations (RgVedam:Tenthmandalam, Sooktham thatdescribesitishoused prapancham. Inviewoftheimportance Sooktham. ThisYaj~namcreatedthefo and AtharvanaVedam(19-6-3). outstanding essaybySriV.Sundar. 26 e Fire),AutumnwastheHavis(sacred of this Aadhi Homam/Yaj~nam, Purusha ofthisAadhiHomam/Yaj~nam, Nagaram Empire andtheotherisPeriya Nagaram Empire the Sri VaishNavA Homepages (http:// theSriVaishNavAHomepages the Ghee(aahUthi), Summerwasthe e Parama Purushan. Brahmaperformed e ParamaPurushan. NAhUthi (FinalOfferingattheendof ur VedAsisconsideredtheessence of ven bythePurushO ahuth Yaagam,where onesacrificesall Mani VaradarAjanunder thesection, ur VedAs and theentire Naama-Roopa Yajur Vedam TaittirIya AraNyakam YajurVedamTaittirIya sha Sooktham is about the MaanasIka sha SookthamisabouttheMaanasIka Nintieth Sooktham;SuklaYajurVeda inalltheFourVedAswithsome anditsbeings.ChEthana-AchEthana astheAgnireceivingthatHavis. hviks officiating at the Yaj~nam. In hviks officiatingattheYaj~nam.In iman NaarAyaNan. This Purusha iman NaarAyaNan.ThisPurusha m, Brahmainstructed ustoperform All) istheAadhiYaagamdoneby have blessed us with detailed themisSaayana,whowasoneof tthaman. BrahmA's Bhagavadh-AradhanE YOGYATHAA SIDDHYARTHAM BhUtha Suddhim YOGYATHAA SIDDHYARTHAM Bhagavadh-AradhanE " BhUtha Suddhiis: co performance ofBhagavathArAdhanam) BhUtha Suddhi(Cleanisingof this context,animportantstepin or thesamprOkshaNamaredone Homams at DayALu. anugraham ofourAchAryAs)fromthemostmercifulLord, theParama (ego, possessionsknownasMadhIyam)an In ourMahAsamprOkshaNamforLordRa as Phalan(SarvAbhIshtaSiddhifrom including themselvesatthefeetof Sri Bhagavath-Aj~nyayaa Sriman NaarAyaNa Preethyartham NaarAyaNa Sriman Sri Bhagavath-Aj~nyayaa Mahasamprokshanam for SriRangantha TempleatNewYork (Courtesy: www.ranganatha.org) One'sPrakruthic body toqualifyoneself forthe the MaanasIka AarAdhanam knownas theMaanasIkaAarAdhanam theBoongivingVaradharAjan). 27 Lord and end up gaining alltheywished Lord andendupgaining d regainall(apunarAvrutthiwiththe mes to my mind. The sankalpam for mes tomymind.Thesankalpamfor nganAthan, wehavetosacrificeall shouldbedoneinthisspirit.In

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org na Vedha:"ithyAthi vadhanathi kOattha:Vedhaka vEttha yOasisOasi", SthOthumas manasAdhitha-Vaibhavam, asEsha kOcharam, - Sarva- Svathruptham,JyOthirmayam, apramEyam, leelA-vilAsinim, SvAthmArAmam, vivarjitha Vigraham,SvAdhIna-nikhila vrutthi-kshaya -- SarvAdhAram SarvAnukoolam, SarvaJ~nam, Sampoornam, ( one: MaNdalam andtherestofthreepa the gloriesofthisPurushOtthaman, Purushan salutedbythePurushaSook theconsecrationofHo Homams for part ofsuchannual consecrations. restore theSannidhyam,PavithrOthsavam andtheSanni blemishes inAarAdhanam Svaroopam. Duringthecourseofye joyous toentersuchTemplesconsecra BhUtha Suddhi.AalayaSuddhiarises (BhAhyArAdhanam). Weperform theHo essential partisconsideredfarsu This HruthYaagam(MaanasaAarAdhan lots ofstepsinperformingBhUthaSu engagementin divine sarIramfitfor sacred GangAwatersthatflowsoutof reduced toashesthruappropriatemant with Prakruthiandthe24tattvamsassoci In BhUtha Suddhi,theblemishesofth KarishyE achinthya VibhavOdhathim,anantha " ). MahA SamprOkshaNamhasmanysuch the Bhagavath AarAdhanam. Thereare theBhagavathAarAdhanam. ddhi thatwewillnotgetintohere. 28 chEshtam,Jagath-udaya-vibhava-laya- form these Homams. PerumALfeels theseHomams. form tham. PeriyaJeeyar'scommentaryon ar, our RajO and TamO guNamscreate ar, ourRajOandTamO ted byHomamsinHisSuddhaSathva e bodyarisingfromthe sambhandham perior to the external AarAdhana perior totheexternalAarAdhana me fortheLord,ThripAdhUrthva akthA: Sruthaya:"ThvamEvathvAm ihapravOchEth,sO the Lord'ssacredfeettoproducea hrams andthatashissoakedinthe rts inParamaPadhamisamarvelous sakthim,SarvEsvaram, SarvAnandha SarvAnandha sakthim,SarvEsvaram, with onepartbelowinPrakruthi am) ofwhichBhUtha Suddhi isan dhyam of the Lord is affected.To dhyam oftheLordis ated withitaredriedandburnt is doneandHomamsareanessential jagadhEka-kaaraNam, Vaangh- mams in aspiritreminiscentof mams in angaVedhayathi Him forresidenceinthete enter intoourHrudhayAkAsamandoccupy We salutethisThripAthudhaithPurush His Vaibhavam. Some timeseventheywonderwhether of thisnatureorthatnature.They Purushan andsaysthatVe Here, Periya Jeeyarextolstheanan We beseechHimtoenterintoourHrdayam (Courtesy: www.ranganatha.org) dhams stumbleintheireffo mples consecratedforHim. say that He alone knows about Himself. say thatHealoneknowsaboutHimself. 29

an in our Homams He Himselffullyknows theextentof tha-klayAna GunamsoftheParama theseatsthatweadoringlyprepare rts todescribeHimas and beseechHimto

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org . Advharyu(officiating ), 1. with expertiseinVedic Injunctions (Vidhis)suchas: a largescale(Vaajabheyam,Poundarikam, YAGA is generally associated with elabor MurthyortheSa Daiwatam orUpasana Herereferenceisto various . declaresth Gita,Bhagavan In Bhagavad 5. who visitone. 4. commonly calledHOMA. through oblationsofferedinfirewith 3. decesed ancestors. 2. whom weshare thisearth. 1. Grahasthas areexpectedtoobse offering made generallyinfire. inthebroadestsense onthese provide additionaldetails willcomment(Agni). adiyEn fortherecord Sacrificial/sacred actwithoffering andYagaarecl Yajna Homam, Havis, Brahma Yajna: Manushya Yajna: Deva Yajna: Pitru Yajna: Bhootha Yajna HOMAM, HAVISYAGNAANDYAGA HOMAM, HAVISYAGNAANDYAGA HOMAM, HAVISYAGNAANDYAGA Obesquial offerings intheform Sacrifice to Sudarsana,Laks , anoblationorofferingto Teaching andrecitationoftheVedas Athiti Satkaaram or hospitality to guests or strangers, toguestsorstrangers, Athiti Satkaaramorhospitality has beendefined asasacrificialriteor spiritual rve thefollowingdaily Yajnas: terms andtheirVedicSignificance. 30 cred AshtaaksharaMahamantram. to GodsthroughthemediumofFire Veda or Bijaksharams. ThisisVeda MantrasorBijaksharams. theMantraJapamofone'sIshta at HeisoftheJapaYajnaamong osely relatedtermsdealingwitha ate performance offire sacrificeson ontheirindividualconnotationsand Aswamedham etal).Specialpriests all of the created beings with all ofthecreatedbeingswith hmi ,andothers of libationswatertothe

HOMAM cangoashigh16in are involvedinthesuccessfulconducta Brahman(Presidingpriest,oftenemployedat a SomaYaga) 4. passagereciter)and Vedic Udgaata(Sama 3. Hotr(forRgVedicRecitation), 2. Gods or the Sacred passages associated with the Vedas or Bhagavan. theVedasorBhagavan. associatedwith Gods ortheSacredpassages Gita Homam.Agniisinvolvedandsacrif Homam. ExamplesofsuchHomamsare people. Sometimesthesc to Yagas,whichtakeplace is generally a small scale "Yaga"an isgenerallyasmallscale in apublicplacewithatte riptural passages arereci riptural passages complicatedsacrifices(Yagas). homam 31 the PurushaSuktaHomamandBhagavat icial offerings are made to propitiate icial offeringsaremadetopropitiate nce oftheseYagas.TheNumber d is performed at at d isperformed ndance ofalargegroup ted intheformatofa home asopposed

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org The Namaa"YajnaGuhyam" isveryelab previous sectionon"why wedohomam?" byProfessorSrin translated Bhattar and Sriman .TheNaamasandthe me The VishnuSahasraNamas(971-982) (the vesselstobeused,thedifferent gointogreatdetailaboutthe variousaspects SutrasofJaimini Purvamimamsa and . Havis tothedifferent Gods. offering. Itcanbeclarified butteralso tossed withreverence intotheFire.Havi HAVIS istheterm usedfortheoblati Narasimha homam at Sri Ranganatha temple, NewYork Agni carries theHavistodifferent Gods (Courtesy: www.ranganatha.org) Havyapaaka Havyapaaka priests,etal)oftheYaagas. 32 . Agniisthemedium,whichcarries orately commenteduponbyParasara deal with the Yajna swaroopam of of deal withtheYajnaswaroopam ons offeredtotheGod,whichare ivasaraghavan werediscussedinthe ivasaraghavan - istheoblationcookedwithbutter s generallyisanoblation ofburnt anings asinterpreted byParasara

Lord . understanding thesignifican Blessed indeedare those, whocando without theaffiliationofSomaCreeper (Latha). and Suklam.ThetotalviewoftheYajn Abthoryaamam) astakingthepartsofSk Ukthyam,Shodas Atyagnishtomam, descri Murthy.Bhagavathamalso the stomachof Lord,Praachityam(B and alltheHavis.Inthisdescription, the Lordas madeupofthevarious uten The thirdCantoofBhagavat Bhagavatham. The relationbetweenBhag Y them. Thus,Hefeelssatisfie made ina sacrificeasth Bhattar thisway:"ThoughBhagavan is -All areSriKrishna,thesonofDevaki." of theWorlds,threefi "All theshining luminariesintheworld, ." correctly inthisway,maybeconsider areSriKrishna. and allworship--All "All theVedas andallthathastobele Hence thenameofHIM asth fruit ofsacrifices, butnotbythosewh is understoodonlybythewise,whokn AJNA V ARAHA M URTHY

AND ough He hasbeen long expectingthem andenjoys res andthefiveofferings ce ofthemandtheir inti ham intheverses 13to35describethebodyof d and also satisfies those, d andalsosatisfies avan andtheYajnasis e Secretof theSacrifice." S RIMAD the HavisknownasPurodasamisseen 33 B not inwants,Heacceptstheofferings OKings!Those,whoknowKrishna arnt, all the Sastras and all sacrifices, arnt, alltheSastrasandsacrifices, ow theinjunctions,meansand thethreeworldsandguardians ed tohavecompletedsuccessfullyall sils usedintheYajnas,ceremonies bes the7 Soma Yajnas(Agnishtomam, HAGAVATHAM rahma's havis)asthemouthofYajna Homam inoneform or other,while a VarahaMurthyisthatofYajna in, Flesh, Metas, Bones, Majjai, Blood Majjai,Blood in, Flesh,Metas,Bones, o haveonly asuperficialknowledge. i, Vaajabehyam,Atiraathram, in themand alltheGods- mate relationship to the mate relationshipto the describedbySrimad

whodo sacrifices. This

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org where thearchakar praysforforgiv This isaphysicalcleaning act. Pavi BhogaSrinivasan.Na for theMoolavarand period oftime,thispasteiswipedcl and otherspecialingredientsareappl cleaned thoroughly andapasteconsisting ofKumkumam(vermillion), from thesanctumsanctorumandplaced Uthsavamoorthys KAT atThirumala,the onlyonce isperformed Pavithrothsavam an yearatthesanctum sanctorum different fromtheannualpavithrothsa (KAT)isquite (garbha graham)knownas"KoilAzhwaarThirumanjanam" another purificatoryceremonyperf Before wediscusstheannualPavithrothsa used fordecorationofallthe October. Specialpavithramaalaiswere the PomonaSriRanganathartemple,it performedintheTamilmo is desam, it itisscheduled temple. AtThirumala, time fortheperformance ofthePavithro which canbeconducted from3-10days and thedayconcludeswithapoornahoot with speciallyconstructed yaagasaala.Thedecoration prepared necklacesconsisting ofhomaminfront of made of dyedperformance ofthe Aaraadhanamarere cotton thread(Aaraadhanam) oftheLordatHisco is carried outexpiate thecommissionsandomissi Annual Pavithrothsavamsarepurificato PAVITROTSAVAM PAVITROTSAVAM PAVITROTSAVAM deities intheeightsannidhis. throthsavam isawell prescribedritual, ean andalightabhish 34 ormed insidethesanctumsanctorum the UthsavaMoorthyataspecially nth ofIyppasi (October-November).Atnth ry ritualsrecommendedbyAagamasto vam. TheKAT isperformed fourtimes brought overfromSrirangamandwere ied totheinnerwalls.Afterashort depending on the temple tradition. The depending onthetempletradition. in August;atThiruvazhunthurdhivya andtheakandadh wascelebratedfor3daysduring in theante-chamber. The sanctum is eness for alllapses--conscious or ofalltheMoorthystemple a yearinalltemples.Onthedayof of ThirumalaSrinivasan'stemple. thsavam is different from temple to differentfromtemple thsavam is ivedhyam is offered and distributed. isofferedanddistributed. ivedhyam nsecrated temples.Lapsesinthe ons associated with daily worship withdailyworship ons associated cognized andadetailedceremony hi. This is an elaborate uthsavam, hi. Thisisanelaborateuthsavam, m, itisrelevant

eepam areremoved Ekam isperformed to point out that to pointout On themorning ofthesecondday,a ri auspiciousness) (5) in specialvessels)and (4) (3) consecrated water) with appropriatevedamanthrasandsprinklingoftheareasuthsavam (2) (1) praarthanai) isoffered;thisfollowedby: On theeveningbeforePavithrothsava otherwise-- inthedailyworshipofLord. -Yajamaana sankalpam Mrudh sankrahanam ankuraarpanam Vaasudeva Punyahavachanam Vaasudeva Vaasthu Saanthi Vaasthu (germinationofseedsin spec (prayers toVaasthuPuru (Collection ofearth) pavitram for pavitrotsavam (Courtesy:Sri.B.Senthil) (cleansing actbeforeanyritualatthetemple (vow to performth (vow to 35 tual known as theertha sangrahanam is knownastheerthasangrahanam tual m, a prayer to the Lord (Bhagavath totheLord(Bhagavath m, aprayer ial vessels in the earth housed ial vessels inthe earthhoused shan ofthetemple for e Pavithrothsavam)

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org rituals for thethirdday. rituals for Homam Nyaasa special homam withdeepritualisticsignificanceknownas" Srirangam. Avery 81 kalasamsasat for theLord with (Thirumanjanam) abhishekam evening are:the the thirdday special events for followed. The second dayis procedures ofthe sequence of third day,the the evening ofthe On themorningand day's rituals. poojaas.Nithya Mandala-Bhimbha-Agni performed firstandisfollowedby On theevening of thesecond day,Yaag laghu Saarrumuraiconcludes Uthsava andMoolabherams.Pradhaana specially constructedpavithramaalai Consecration oftheAgniforhoma performed. NextKumbha,Mandala, entertheyaagasaalai(p aagama rituals raksha onthewristsofLordandAc performed andisfollowedbyAcharya-B " isperformed.Saanthi homamandSaarrumuraiarethefinal the morning'sceremonies. 36 s areconsecratedandadornallthe Bhimbhapoojaasareconducted. homam andPoornaahuthiconcludethe a Saalai pravesam, Dhwaara Poojai are Poojai a Saalaipravesam,Dhwaara haryaas). Thespecialpriestsversedin ms (agniprathishtai)follows.Allthe homam and PoorNaahuthi followedby homam andPoorNaahuthi pavitrotsava homam Chathur-sthaana archanai,Kumbha- ravesam) and the dhwaara poojai is ravesam) andthedhwaarapoojai hagavan rakshabhandham (tyingof Shodasa Tatthva Shodasa Tatthva In theconsecratedtemple T dampathis. year ofworshipatthetempleto The PavithrOthsavamisconcludedthiswa toall. and distributed devotees, whotookpartintheghoshti then performed. ThePavithra maal over allcornersofthetemple. Abi The consecratedwatersfromthethre Kumbhayaathraadhaanam. 8. Kumbhayathaasthaanam,and 7. Mahaadhwaaradeva 6. 5. Mahaa Poornaahoothi, 4. nithya homam, chathursthaanaarchanai, 3. 2. dhwaara pooja, pravesam, Yaagasaalai 1. a conclusioninthefollowing sequence: On themorningoffourthday, the 2. NaimithikOthsavamn and NaimithikOthsavamn 2. 1. NithyOthsavam, kinds ofUthsavams: HE K INDS

OF U THSAVAMS thai yathaasthaanam,

AT s oftheLordSrImanN

THE V ISH g Saarrumurai and Mangala Aaratthi are g SaarrumuraiandMangalaAaratthi 37 N ceremonies ofPavithrOthsavamcometo ais are removed and distributed to to distributed areremovedand ais receive theblessings ofthedhivya and prasaadhamisofferedtotheLord U e daylongceremonies aresprinkled A y and the path is laid outforanother y andthepathislaid ALAYAMS aarAyaNa, therearethree (T EMPLES )

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org (NewMoonDay). AmAvasai 4. theTamilMonth(MaasaPiRappu), Firstdayof 3. TwoEkAdasis(Suklaand KrishNaPakshaEkAdasis), 2. PerumAl'sThirunakshathram(Revat 1. NithyOthsavams. ThesefiveNithyaUt Every monththerearePanchaParva N 3. KaamyOthsavam. ITHY Lord SrinivAsa), O THSAVAM : Pavitrotsavam atThirumalai hsavams during eachmonthare: hsavams during hi for SrIRanganAtha,SravaNam for Uthsavams that are recognizedas Uthsavams thatare

It is carried out during thetimeperi outduring It iscarried Saanidhyam fortheLord. Thisishenc blemishes, lapsesintheYear's aarAd This isaspecialannualUthsavamfor P festivals (GoldenRaTa UthsavamatOppiliappanSannidhi). Kaama andMoksham)fromtheLordthru seekanyoneof This Uthsavamisto K These aretheNaimitthikOthsavams. Failureofrainsintheland. 6. atSrIPerumbhUthUretal) Vigraham ANDAL Uthsava which wascorrected byone of theAzhagiya Singars,TheshiftinPeetam of the fractureofconsecrated 5. SwamyDesikan'sTimes), Dhivya Desamduring Epidemics andhorrible diseases(T 4. thefalling downofGopuram, 3. 2. graham(constellation)combinations (inauspicious) 1. The happens: misfortunes This isasamprOkshaNa(Consecratio N AVITHR AAMY AIMITTHIK Gathi BhEdhams O dhurbhiksham O THSAVAM THSAVAM O THSAVAM :

of theMoonandSun : (inauspiciousness) caused to the community by Asubha communitybyAsubha tothe (inauspiciousness) caused MaNtapams andtemplestructures MaNtapams od between AavaNi month and Kaarthikai andKaarthikai od betweenAavaNimonth the FourPurushArTams(Dharma,, e a Sarva DhOsha NivAraNa uthsavam. e aSarvaDhOshaNivAraNa images (ThiruveLLUr 's hand, (ThiruveLLUrMoolavar'shand, images

n) Uthsavam,whenany oneof these the purposes ofthebanishmentall hanams byArchakAsandtorestore he VishaJwaramatThirupputtkuzhi prayersandobservanceofdedicated

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org Pavithram meansSuddhamand W in thetempletankorriveristobedone. TheerthavAri (likeavabhruthaSnAnamattheendofconclusionaYaj~nam) must beperformedfor5days.Onthe This PavithrOthsavamcanhaveaduration toinitia Utthamam (mostauspicious) PavithrOthsavam onany preferred. FromSuklaPakshaPratham Mrughaseersham, ChithrA,SravaNa, (LordKrishNA's Birthstar),Pushyam, RohiNi Regarding Nakshathrams, start ofthisUthsavam. DhvAdasi,PourNami Dasami ThrayOdasi, Panchami,EkAdasi, Thrutheeyai, Prathamai, Uthsavam. DhOsha NivAraNa Paksham inthesemonths arepreferre month andisforthe preethiof VishNuandforchEthanam'sMoksham.Sukla Chathus-SthAnArchanam forperforming and PerumALshouldbe requestedtotake Saalai shouldbeconstructed. DhvAra SangarahaNam, VaasthuSaanthikarmAs as BhagavathPrArTanai, Sankalpam,PuNyAhavAchanam,Mrudh As anintegralpartofthePavithrOth wear these PavithraMaalais. al). PrANaprathishtaiisnextperforme et Kousthubham,VanaMaalai,Sudarsanam PeethAmbharam, Kireetam/Crown, Jewel and the dhivyaaabharaNams done tothesecoloredsilknecklaces (gar middle ofthethreads, thereare knots(g the necklaces fortheLord.Thereare HY

THE

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LINKED auspiciousness. Silkthre te thisuthsavamonsuchdays.

TO PoojA isperformed fortheYaagaSaalA PoojA savam, the traditional observances such savam, thetraditionalobservances

ai toPourNami,theperformanceof ai lands) thru invocationofthepower lands) thru ry oftheLord(SrIVasthram/ d fortheobservanceofthis Sarva d to make them fit for the Lord to d tomakethemfitfortheLord worship duringtheUthsavam days. day ofcompletionthisUthsavam, 5 differentcoloredthreads.Inthe Revathi, Asvini nakshathrams are Revathi, Asvininakshathramsare THIS His place in the Yaaga SaalA through HisplaceintheYaaga SaalAthrough ranthis). Prathishtai(Consecration)is of 5 or 7 or 9 days. At minimum, it Atminimum,it 7 or9days. of5or thithis aretobeselectedforthe should be done. The special Yaaga should bedone.ThespecialYaaga U THSAVAM are recommended.Itis ads areusedtocreate ?

5. ManthrAdhvA (MoolaManthram,M 4. KalAdhvA (64 Kalais), ofManthrams), (BheejAkAksharams VarNAdhvA 3. BhuvanAdhvA(the14universes startingfromPaataLa), 2. TathvAdhvA(JeevAdhiTatthvams), 1. in arealsosixadhvAs aksham). There Sudarsana MahAPurushanhasSudars is (Bhimbham) andLordSudarsana MaNDalam isBhagavAn'sChakraAayu M for dhanadhAnyaabhivrutthi. requested tobepresentandtheseth IntheKumbham,sacredwa AarAdhanam. Aniruddhan, Purushan,Sathyan,Anan threads) areestablishedtoinvoke Vedhikai,nineKu In theYaagasAlai K Lord. AgniarethefourSthAnams (Focussi 4. 3. Bhimbham and 2. MaNDalam, 1. Kumbham, T HE UMBHAM A F ND OUR ALAM S

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VaasudEvan, SankarshNan,Pradhyumnan, theMaNdalam(ShadadhvanNyAsam): 41 mbhams (Coppervesselsadornedwith eertha Svaroopa DevathAsareinvoked eertha Svaroopa than, Achyuthan and Sudarsanan for than, AchyuthanandSudarsananfor ana JwAla, Nemi, Aram, Naabhi and Naabhi JwAla,Nemi,Aram, ana invoked there. (In the MaNDalam, invoked there.(IntheMaNDalam, tes) forthearchanai(worship)of oorthy Manthram, Phala manthram, Manthram,Phala oorthy dham thatisdrawnasYanthram ters fromGanga,Cauveryetal.are

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org misfortunes inthelandandthat of misfortunes PerumAl isbrought to YaagaSaalAandinvokedforworship there.The B grace theBhakthAsandma auspiciousness. Heburnsawayallblem invoked inMaNDalamdirectly,Here (Vithi) arefoundespecially inPaanch (Garudan) aretobeinvokedandwors Sankham, ChaNDAdhiDevAs(dhwaaraPaak In thepetalsandalso PadhAdhvA(KesavAdhiupavyUhaMoorthys). 6. Nrusimha Manthram)and HIM B H A R A DHANAM

in theangles (kONamslikeAgnEyam),SrIvathsam, (Courtesy: www.ranganatha.org) BhagavAn's ChakraAayudham ke dhushtAspowerless. 42 arAthra Aagamam. WhenSudarsanaris arAthra Aagamam. hipped. This MaNDala AarAdhana rules hipped. ThisMaNDalaAarAdhana ishes. MaNDala aaraadhanam is doneto ishes. MaNDalaaaraadhanam moves allfears(Bheethi)andconfers the rulersareremoved throughthis akAs), VisvaksEnar, VynathEyar VisvaksEnar,VynathEyar akAs),

3. YouvanAgni. 3. YouvanAgni. 2. VruddhAgni and 1. BaalAgni, Categories: be donefortheAgni,InAagamAs,Agni used intheYaagaSaalaa, performed withPradhAnaManthr Homam is the Aagmams.BhagavAnisinvokedthere in The YaagAgniKuntamsareconstructed A Chathus-sTAna AarAdhanam. GNI A AR A DHANAM Bimbaaraadanam -SriLakshminarasimha PerumAL

SriRanganathaTemple, New York 43 Prathishtaiisclassifiedunder three and Jaathakarma ceremonieshaveto and Jaathakarma in the middle of Agni in the Kuntam. in themiddleofAgniKuntam. the Yaaga Saalai as instructed by asinstructed theYaagaSaalai ams. For consecrationoftheAgni ams. For

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org 7. Visvaroopa. 7. Visvaroopa. Sphulingini and 6. 5. DhUmrA, 4. lOhitha, 3. SumanA, 2. KarALI, 1. KaaLI, Agni hasseventongues (SapthaJihvA): Lord). present withAgnihOthrisoritisbrou against aholderandAgniischurnedout(maTanam).VruddhAgnithe used. BaalAgni suchasPavithrOthsavam, For Uthsavams is Dheekshaiandother For SamprOkshaNam, created by rubbing a special kind of wood (araNikkattai) agni aaraadanam 44 ght fromtheMadapalli(Kitchenof BrahmOthsavam, VruddhAgni is to be tobe is BrahmOthsavam, VruddhAgni Saanthi KarmAs, BaalAgni is used. used. BaalAgniis Saanthi KarmAs,

3. Akshara NyAsam 2. VyAhrudhi NyAsam 1. PraNava NyAsam T different MahATatthvams). Aa the Homam(All NyAsa BhUshaNa 5. AayudhaNyAsaHomamand 4. MoolaManthraHomam, 3. PrANaPrathishtAHomam, 2. NyAsam, DasaVaayu PrANAdhi 1. The firstTathvaHomaminvolves: S SaanthihOmamareperformed Homam and thedayandon times or7during isdonefortheday. end PoorNahUthi Manthram, PanchOpanishadPanchaVaaruNikamanthrams.Atthe In Yaj~na Kuntam,PerumALisinvoke the Yaj~namisVishNuMayam. VedAs declarethattheLordisinfo DevathAs thatultimatelyreachesth dhOsha Nivrutthi,onlyofferings thruAg VaaruNa dhig,West,North,VaayuDh middle, KarALeeisin Poorvadhigandtheothers arein theAagnEyadhig, Each of them have a specific location in the Agni Kuntam. KaaLI is in the HE H O 16(S DASA H T O ATHVA DASA N ) N Y Y A A SA SAMS H OMAM

ARE :

45 d andhomamisperf eir antharyAmi, SrIman NaarAyaNan. NaarAyaNan. eir antharyAmi,SrIman thelastdayShOdasaTathtvaNyAsa rm of Agni (Yaj~nO vai VishNu:). Even Even VishNu:). vai (Yaj~nO Agni rm of yudhams and AabharaNams represent yudhams andAabharaNams These homamsaredonethrice,five ig, and North East (IsAnyam). For For ig, andNorthEast(IsAnyam). ni orwaterhastobemadeother to concludethePavithrOthsavam. ormed withMoola

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org are usedtotheaccompaniment ofVish Stomach, Faceandthe SirasoftheLo fromthisSaanthiHomamisapplied fromthesacredSampAdham feet, performed108timeswith homam are Chathur VyAhruthi Manthra(BhUSvAhA, S Siras (head). Kuntam is collected and applied to the Lord's limbs from the sacred feet up to Each ofthesehomamsaredoneandth 16. Shad GuNaNyAsam. 15. Sakthi NyAsamand NyAsam 14. Moorthy NyAsam 13. GuNa NyAsam 12. Krathu 11. VairAjan NyAsam NyAsam 10. DevathA 9. Nigama NyAsam 8. ThOya NyAsam BrAhmaNAdhiVarNaNyAsam 7. 6. Kaala NyAsam 5. Gruha NyAsam 4. Nakshathra NyAsam AANTHI H OMAM

46 NU Gaayathri (108 times) and oblations NU Gaayathri(108times) andoblations e residue(samphAdham)fromtheAgni rd. Thereafter, Jaggery, Honey,Ghee honey, milk,Curdandghee.The Bhuva: Sva: BhUrbuhva: SvAhA) Sva:BhUrbuhva: SvAhA) Bhuva: returns, hereachesVishNu Pa su When Archakaisblessed toperform the Saannidhyamof the Lordtogrow The Archakan, whousestheprescribed narakam. of stone,metalorwood.Thosewhoco ArchA imagesoftheLordasSaakshAth they seealion.Archakaandthedevot him like ahumanbeing confronting aCobr heiscalledanamanthrakaar aarAdhanam, tothe devotees.When grant soubhAgyams anticipating anygains(AathmarthaAa of theLordatTemples.Arch ArchakA's ManthraBhalamkeepstheSa Temples. atVishNu PavithrOthsavam Festival SatAri, GhoshtiViniyOgamofBhagavad IthihAsams andDhivyaPrabhandhams. and isfollowedbythegrandSaa by thearchakAs.AtMoolavarSanni TheerthavAri iscarriedoutandChakratth All saanidhisaresprinkled (prOkshaNa upachArams. KumbhaSakthiisnowtran theKumbhamistakeninproc dhAnam and toKumbham. ManDalam istransferred reverent their homes (yathAsTAnam)with the KuntamisreturnedtoyathAsTAnam Kumbamand tothe Kuntamistransferred manthrams. TheSakthifromthe Homa PrANAhUthi follows;PrAyascchittha limbs oftheLord. are offered;attheendSamphAdham dham at the endofhislife dham atthe 47 akA has to serve the Lord without akA hastoservetheLordwithout in theConsecratedBhimbhams ofHim. ees havetorecognizetheconsecrated rAdhanam). Such an AarAdhanam will SuchanAarAdhanam rAdhanam). PrasAdamispresented. , sferred to Moolavar (Dhruva bhEram). bhEram). sferred toMoolavar(Dhruva RRumuRai withVedam, , ch AarAdhanamwithout expectingany ch It is followed by Kumbha YaadhrA BhagavAn and not as some image made BhagavAn andnotassome imagemade nsider thatwaywillsurelysufferin AarAdhanaManthramsdailycauses m) withthewaterfromKumbham. a andtheanimalsofforest, when nnidhyam oftheconsecrated Images . DhvAraDevathaisaresentbackto dhi, JithanTEsthOthram isrecited from thisHomamisappliedtoallthe chakan and the Lord runs away from chakan andtheLordrunsaway the Archaka is not performingsuch theArchakaisnot ession to Moolavar sannidhi with all ession toMoolavarsannidhiwithall PrasAdhamconclude thisannual ial prayers.Then,the Sakthiinthe AzhwAr isimmersedinthe waters m isdonewithPanchOpanishad onthisearth.Thisis

sadagopan.org sadagopan.org Let usenjoytheupcomingPavithrOthsava according totheprescribedaagamicrules. consecrated imagesattheVishNu Aala PavithrOthsavam banishesanydimmuitio the archakaresultsinSaanidhyam(prese what PaancharAthraAagamamtextsstat Oppiliappan kOilSri.VaradAchAriSaThakOpan dAsan and appreciatethesignifican namO vEdapurushAya ce oftheseancient rites. 48 e. The Manthra Veeryam (potency) of e. TheManthra Veeryam(potency) yams due to lapses in AarAdhanams nce) oftheLordatHissannidhisand ms attheTemplesdu n intheLord'spresence inHis

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