Guest guest Posted September 16, 2003 Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 , "Srinath Ram" <srinath_atreya> wrote: Lord Agni is described in his dhyaana mantra as: ||……………swaahaanthu dhakshiNE paarShwE dhEveem vaamE swDhaam thaThaa……..|| According to this, Swaahaa and SwaDhaa are his two wives (shakthis); the former being seated on the right lap of Agni and the latter on his left. It is said that Swaahaa dhEvi assists Agni in the havans conducted for Gods (daivika) and SwaDhaa dhEvi assists in the havans conducted for departed souls/ancestors (paithrmedhika). While doing havan, it should be considered (imagined) that Lord Agni himself is present in the havan fire in the form described in the Dhyaana mantra. The middle part of the fire is said to be Agni's mouth. The left and right sides just next to the middle is said to be his eyes.[observe "utthara poorvadhEshE agnayE swaaha" & "dhakShiNa poorvadhEshE sOmaaya swaaha". This is called "chaakShushee homa"]. Accordingly, the seven-forked tongue of Agni are spread in different directions [inside the havan kund]: 1. HiraNyaa (North-East) 2. kanakaa (East) 3. rakthaa (South – East) 4. krShNaa (South – West) 5. supraBhaa (West) 6. athirakthaa (North – West) 7. bahuroopaa (Centre) It is at the centre that one has to offer the "havis" mainly. In Shree Vidyaa homams, the Shree Chakra itself is imagined at the centre. The havis (Ghee or other materials) should fall at the centre only when the terminal word "swaha-ha" is muttered. It is said that just only when "swaha-ha" is muttered, Agni opens up his mouth wide and consumes the havis. This word actually contains 4 letters: "sa", "va", "ha" & "aa". The following adverse results are obtained when the havis is offered for: 1. "sa" – soothaka – death 2. "va" – shathru vrddhi – increase of enemies 3. "ha" – vyaadhi peedaa – disease, ailments Hence "sa", "va" & "ha" should be clearly pronounced and the dheerGha- swara "aa" should be added to them before offering the havis. And if the havis is offered just before or after "swaha-ha", the havan becomes an entirely futile exercise. If the mantra originally contains "Om" & "swaaha" at the beginning and at the end, then an extra "Om" and "swaaha-ha" should be added to the mantra at the beginning and at the end respectively while doing havan: "sarva manthra prayOgEShu Omithyaadhau prayugyathE | thEna samparipoorNaani yaThOkthaani Bhavanthi hi ||" (yOga yaajnavalkya) "manthraanthE yaa vanhijaayaa saa thu manthra swaroopiNee | thadhanthEenyaam prayunjeetha saa hOmaangathayaa smrthaa ||" (NithyOthsava) Personally, I don't think there is much difference in the ritual aspect between "Vaidik" and "Tantrik" homams. If one deeply studies the "kaarikaa" of both, this becomes evident. I feel that with the passage of time, many details have been left out and eventually forgotten in the "Vaidik" sampradaay. One can find the details of "Yajna viDhi" in the following texts and scriptures: 1. Shree SauBhaagya rathnaakara. 2. Shree VidyaarNava Tantra. 3. ParaShuraama Kalpa Soothra. 4. Shree LalithOpaaKhyaana – Homa Khanda. 5. Gauthama Dharma soothra. 6. Manu Dharma Shaasthra. 7. AapasthamBha grhya soothra. 8. Aashwalaayana grhya soothra. 9. bODhaayana grhya soothra. 10. nirNaya sinDhu. 11. Tanthra saara sangraha . 12. agni puraaNam 12. BhaviShya mahaa puraaNam. 13. saprayOga poortha chandrikaa. 14. krama dheepikaa. 15. kriyaasaara. 16. kulaarNava thanthram. 17. NithyOthsava. 18. Yaajnavalkya smrthi. 19. VasiSTa sanhitha. 20. Vishwaamithra sanhitha. 21. Shaaradhaa thilaka thanthram and many other texts. , "Prasad Balasubramanian" <besprasad@l...> wrote: > namasthe, > > I've read once that when we give havis/ghee into > the Homa kundam, they have to be given to Agni > (put into/placed in Agni) Bhagwan only after > telling "swAhA" after the Mantra. There will > be dhoshams/shortcomings if we give it to Agni > Bhagawan either before swAhA or a little late > after swAhA. > > Can someone point out the right scriptures from > which we can get similar insights about the Homams > (both vaidhik and tantrik) ? > > namasthe > Prasad > > PraNaam. In homams involving Vedic manthras, one needs to chant them fairly loudly. Vedic hymns are characterized by chandas, swara, maathraa, bhaava, shrthi, laya etc. If the priest's voice is not clear then there are ample chances that the mantras are distorted, resulting in adverse effects. Here, by "loud" I mean the voice being clear, the intonations perfect and appropriate speed. It is also laid down that while chanting the Vedas one should essentially contemplate on the meaning of the mantras. When chanted correctly, Vedic mantras are a joy to listen; they help us to transcend our minds to higher realms of spirituality and we can surely experience divinity. Shree Sanandana Maharshi explains to Naarada Maharshi the fruits of correct chanting of the Vedas: "samyak varNa prayOgEna brahma lOkE maheeyathE" [one who chants the Veda properly attains the "brahma loka"] Hence great amount of care should be taken while chanting the Vedic mantras. In this background we can conclude that one must chant the Veda mantras loudly. But halt !!! It is also laid out that the Veda mantras should not be chanted loud (should be chanted in a very low voice so that only the reciter hears it) or should not be chanted at all under certain conditions like: 1. In the presence of people who live against the rules prescribed by the Vedas ( Veda baahira ), 2. In places regarded as unholy and non-sacred or when the reciter himself is not pure in terms of body and mind, 3. when lightning, thunder, and rain (are observed together), or when large fiery meteors fall on all sides, the recitation must be interrupted until the same hour (on the next day, counting from the occurrence of the event). There are infact a list of don'ts which you can find in the "Manu Dharma Shastra" and other "grhya soothras". One has to be judicious while chanting the Vedas. Please learn more about this from a learned scholar of the Vedas. In case of "PurashcaraNa homam", the moola mantra for which the homam is conducted should be chanted mentally. In fact, the sadhaka should never utter the mantra loudly, even while doing the japa. It is said that, if the moola mantra which the sadhaka has obtained from his Guru is chanted loud then a certain portion of the mantra's power (along with punya) gets transferred to the listener and in some cases, the "mantra devata" (deity of the mantra) may abandon the sadhak for ever. In Gaayathri/Shree Vidya parampara, the sadhaka is forbidden from even discussing about the mantra and his experiences with a person who is not iniated into this Vidya. He can do so with his Guru without any hinderance. The more one maintains secrecy of the mantra, the better for himself in all respects. I am grateful to you for providing an opportunity for myself to learn more about this topic. PraNaams again. , "Prasad" <besprasad@l...> wrote: > > When we do Homam, Must we chant the mantra > loud with swAhA and then give Havis to Agni Bhagawan or > we can also chant it silently inside including > swAhA (like japam) and give Havis to Agni Bhagwan. > > For Purascharanam, is this silently chanting > the mantra with swAhA for Homam correct ? > __________ > Get advanced SPAM filtering on Webmail or POP Mail ... Get Lycos Mail! > http://login.mail.lycos.com/r/referral?aid=27005 --- End forwarded message --- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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