Punyahavachan (Svastivachan)

Punyahavachan (Svastivachan)

 

Punya-havachanam is the Vedic ritual of purification. Lord Varuna is invoked into a kumbha (water pot) and offerings are made. Then the kumbha (and the water within) is energized by reciting Vedic hymns while touching the kumbha with a bundle of darbha grass. The bless water is then sipped and sprinkled around for blessings. The home, office, or temple can be purified using this ritual. And it is important to purify people before and after major ceremonies like funeral, wedding, upanayanam etc.  

 

 Punyahavachanam

Shuddhikaran Poojan to purify the atmosphere of the house

Shuddhikaran Poojan is conducted to purify the environment of the house and clean the surroundings. This pooja is performed to destroy the negativity and evil forces that reside in the house. This pooja is performed before starting any new work and to retain positivity at home. This powerful Poojan is performed to protect newborn babies from evils eyes and other diseases. Performing this Pooja on the 11th day of a person’s death offers peace to the noble soul.

The auspicious ceremony of Shuddhikaran Poojan is organized for cleansing the house. This holy procedure of purification brings happiness and well-being in the family. In the procedure of purifying the house by performing Shuddhikaran Poojan, Ganesh Poojan, as well as Kalash Pooja, are performed. This Poojan is conducted on the 10th day after the child’s birth, the 11th day of a person’s death, and this pooja is also performed on the occasion when the girl arrives at her adolescence.

 

Benefits of puja

 

Important benefits of Shuddhikaran Poojan are mentioned as follow:

 

This Poojan blesses the house of devotees with happiness and prosperity.

 

It builds a peaceful and healthy relationship among the members of the family.

 

Shuddhikaran Poojan ushers abundance and strong immunity to a newborn baby.

 

This ceremony performed before starting any work brings success in that work.

 

This Pooja offers immense health and wealth to the person who offers this Poojan.

 

Performing this Poojan maintains peace and purity in the house.

 

This pooja should be conducted under the guidance of an expert Hindu Pandit and it should be performed with the proper rituals mentioned in the religious scriptures. The set up of the holy fire lab is organized in this Poojan. The necessary material like Kalash, mango leaves, coconuts, betel leaves, areca nuts, fresh flowers, rice, pure ghee, incense sticks, camphor Diya, and wicks is required to perform Shuddhikaran Poojan. Purnahuti is offered to the fire god and aarti is performed.

 

Important Facts

The sanity should be maintained in the house while performing Shuddhikaran Poojan. Lord Ganesha is worshipped at the beginning of this pooja and then the establishment of holy Kalasha is done in Shuddhikaran Poojan. One of the sacred mantras called the Punyahavachan mantra is chanted in this Poojan to invoke the power in the holy water.

 

After the chanting of this mantra, the holy water is sprinkled in each and every corner of this house. The holy recitation takes place in this pooja to invoke all the Gods and Goddess to seek divine blessings.

 

A. The objectives: ‘Punya (पुण्य) + aha (अह) + vachan (वाचन) = Punyahavachan (पुण्याहवाचन) which means getting the Brahmans to pronounce that the day of commencement of the ritual is an auspicious one. The day of commencing any auspicious ceremony is chosen after referring to the Hindu almanac (panchang). However the Brahmans proclaiming the day to be auspicious and blessing the host accordingly augments the benefits obtained from it.’(5)

 

B. The importance: Due to their utterance that day acquires energy.

 

C. The material required

 

1. Those used for usual ritualistic worship (puja)

 

2. Five foliages – branches of mango, fig (umbar), the holy fig tree (pimpal), jamun and banyan trees.

 

3. Nectar of five ingredients (panchamrut) – a mixture of milk, curds, clarified butter (ghee), honey and sugar.

 

4. Five gems – gold, silver, diamond, pearl (rajavarta) and coral.

 

D. Preparation: The wife should sit to the right of the host and the one on whom the sanskar (rite) is to be performed should be seated to her right. The aim behind sitting to the right of her husband is to generate more energy during the ritual. The right side corresponds to the Surya nadi (Sun channel).

 

E. The resolve (sankalpa): After uttering the name of the place and the time one declares the resolve by saying ‘कार्यांतर्गतं पुण्याहवाचनं करिष्ये ।’ which means ‘I am performing Punyahavachan for …. sanskar’.

 

F. Touching the earth (bhumisparshan): Chanting the mantra, first the earth (ground) on the right hand side (since the host performing the religious ceremony is facing the east, the hand touching the ground is in the southern direction) and then the earth on the left hand side, in front of oneself (that is the northern direction) should be touched. Energies from the south are distressing. To prevent them from causing distress, one offers obeisance to them by touching the earth. The energies from the north are however saluted as they are pleasant.

 

G. Installation of the pot (kalashsthapana): Two small heaps of rice should be made on the ground amidst chanting of a mantra. Later, chanting the mantra two pots of either gold, silver, copper or unbroken earthen pots should be placed on these two heaps. [The varying ability of various metals to absorb pleasant energy is given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Chapter 7 – Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyoga)’.]

 

1. Holy water (tirthodak): Clean water either from rivers like the Ganga or elsewhere should be filled in both the pots. They should then be worshipped with sandalwood paste (gandha), a sacred grass (durva), five foliages, fruits such as the coconut, five gems, offering of money (dakshina) and the ritual of tying of a thread (sutraveshtan). A pot filled with water represents a fulfilled life.

 

2. The water vessels (purnapatra): One betelnut should be placed in each of the two vessels filled with rice. These vessels should be placed over the two pots as their lids. One of the pots symbolises the right side of Lord Varun and the other the left. After saying, ‘कलशे वरूणं सांगं सपरिवारं सायुधं सशक्तिकं आवाहयामि ।’ which means ‘The deity of rain Varun, please come along with Your entire family, all Your weapons and might’, consecrated rice (akshata) should be sprinkled on the betelnut. Then Lord Varun should be worshipped with five substances namely sandalwood paste, consecrated rice, flowers, incense and a lit lamp.

 

Prayer made to the pot: Lord Vishnu is at the mouth, Lord Rudra at the neck and Lord Brahma at the bottom of the pot. In the middle are the assistants of the Matruka deities, etc. Then consecrated unbroken rice should be put in the pot facing the north.

 

After paying obeisance to everyone (‘मातापितृभ्यां नम: । इष्ट देवताभ्यो नम: । …….. सर्वेभ्यो देवेभ्यो नमो नम: ।’ that is obeisance to the mother deity, father deity, the benevolent deity and all other deities) one should sit with knees touching the ground. 

Then cupping the hands in the shape of a lotus, one should carry the pot facing the north and touch it to one’s forehead, that of one’s wife and that of the priest, thrice. This is obeisance offered to the pot so as to be able to absorb the energy generated in it. Then the priest should say ‘May this day be an auspicious one’. 

Chanting the Niranjan mantra, married women (suvasinis) wave a lit lamp in a circular motion in front of the host and hostess of the religious ceremony and the one on whom the sanskar (rite) is being performed. Then lifting the right pot with the right hand and the left pot with the left the water from it should be poured into a vessel in a continuous stream. (Variation : The right hand should be used to lift the pot on the left and the opposite hand for the pot on the right.) Then the hostess should sit to the left of her husband and the priest should stand facing the north and should sprinkle water (abhishek) on the host and hostess of the ceremony and the one on whom the sanskar is being performed with five types of foliages and a sacred grass (durva), amidst chanting of mantras. Consequently, the energy generated in the pot is transmitted to all. Finally the host should sip water from the palm twice (achaman). This marks the end of the ritual.

 

Namakarana (Naming the child):

This is a simple ceremony in which the child is given a name. The ceremony of naming a child. Nama literally means 'name' and karana means 'to make, to effect'.

 

 As the primary means of identification and social interaction, the naming of a child developed into a religious ritual believed to be the root of the child's destiny. This ceremony takes place after the 10-day 'impure' postnatal period (See Jatakarma).

 

Then the house is cleaned and purified, and the child and mother ceremonially bathed. Friends and relatives are invited to see the child and participate in the celebration. The puja involves, other than the child and priest, the father, mother, and sometimes the paternal grandmother. First the mother covers the child in a new cloth. She wets the child's head with water, symbolically bathing him, and then gives the child either to the father or the paternal grandmother. Next, the priest invokes the blessings of Agni, the planetary bodies, and other gods.

 

The Grihyasutras do not specify a Namakarana procedure for the actual naming of the child. The Paddhatis (Sampradayas), however, say that the father should lean towards the child's right ear. Holding a betel leaf near the ear, he should whisper four names to the child. Then Brahmins, specially invited for the occasion, bless the child. Finally, gifts are given to the relatives and Brahmins present.

 

The word nama meaning 'name' is common in early Sanskrit literature and occurs in the Rig Veda Although initially no Vedic mantras were recited during the naming ritual, it developed into a Samskaras because of its social importance.

 

Many of the early texts prescribe more than one name for an individual. The Smritis, on the basis of astrological works further developed the system of naming. According to the Rig-Veda (see Vedas), a child of either sex should be given four names: The Nakshatra name: This is given according to the constellation, or Nakshatra, (see Panchangam ) the child is born under. Each constellation has a name, and several letters of the Sanskrit alphabet are also assigned to it. The Nakshatra name could therefore be the name of the constellation itself, or begin with any of the letters assigned to that constellation.

 

The Baudhayana Dharmasutra connects the constellation with the child's future. This is a secret name, which some give during Jatakarman.

 

The name of the deity of the month: Each month of the Hindu calendar is associated with a particular deity, which usually has several names. The child's second name is one of the names of the deity of the month in which it is born.

 

The name of the family deity: Every Namakarana family has one deity who has been worshipped for generations. The name of this deity is given to protect the child from evil.

The popular name: This is the name that the child is known by. It depends on the culture and education of the family, and should be auspicious. The former is known to the Grihya-sutras, which speak of a popular name in addition. The practice of naming children after favorite deities began in the Puranic times. The rise of the Bhakti cult made this practice so popular, that by naming children after gods, we are deemed to gain several opportunities for uttering Gods name whenever we call the child. The story of Ajamila is pointed out for the effectiveness of this method. Shortening of the names of children deprives us of this opportunity.

 

According to the Grihya sutras , there are five requisites to naming a child:

the name should be easy to pronounce and sound pleasant;

it should contain a specified number of syllables and vowels;

it should indicate the sex of the child;

it should signify fame, wealth, or power; and

it should be suggestive of the caste of the family.

For example a Brahmin child should have an auspicious name, a Kshatriya child should have a name that suggests power, a Vaishya child should have a name that suggests wealth, and a Shudra child should have a name that indicates his service.

 

A priest making a child's horoscope during the naming ceremony.

 

Namakarana meanings in the belief that this will frighten away diseases, and evil spirits and influences Nowadays, this ceremony usually takes place on the twelfth day after birth. It is not a formal ceremony, but more of an opportunity to invite family and friends to celebrate the baby's arrival.

 

There is usually a havan, and then the child's name is announced to the gathering. Usually only a Nakshatra name and a popular name are given. The priest makes an astrological calculation according to the time and date on which the child is born. On this basis, he prescribes a letter of the alphabet with which the child's Nakshatra name should begin. If the family is agreeable, this name doubles as the popular name as well. Usually, however, the nakshatra name is not used, and the child is given another name by which he is commonly known

 

According to Aswalayana, the names of boys should have an even number of syllables. A two-syllabled name will bring material fame and four-syllabled, religious fame. The girls name should have an odd number of syllables and end in I or aa. It should be easy to pronounce, pleasing to the ear and auspicious. It should not contain awkward suggestions. There are practices like choosing the name after the Nakshatras of birth and also after the ancestors.

 

This ceremony is performed, normally, on the tenth or twelfth day after birth. If there are inconveniences it is taken to the end of the first year. The appropriate day for this function is the 10th, 12th or 16th day of the childs birth. Failing to perform it on any of these days, an auspicious day, say the Vedas should be chosen for the purpose after the 16th day of the childs birth.

 

After preliminaries the parent gives the offering to gods, touches the breath of the child symbolizing the awakening of its consciousness and says in its ear: Your name is.. thrice. The Brahmins and elders are asked to follow, calling the child by that name and blessing it. A personality is sought to be given. It follows that Namakarana should not be postponed to the day of marriage or Upanayan.

 

 

Pooja Samagri Kit for Punyahavachanam

 

S.NO.  COMMODITY           QTY

1          PASUPU         100 GMS

2          KUMKUM      50 GMS

3          DHOOP          1

4          CAMPHOR     1

5          SANDAL POWDER   1

6          BEETUL NUTS           50 GMS

9          JAGGERY       100 GMS

11        COW GHEE    20 GMS

12        HONEY          1 bottle

13        SUGAR           100 GMS

15        WICKS           1

20        TOWEL BIG   1

21        BLOUSE PIECES       1

22        THREAD REEL           1

23        RAGI KALASAM       1

46        GANGAJAL    1

47        ASTAMULIKA OIL SMALL 1

48        RICE   1 KG