Dharma Saasrtra sangraham : Part III

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear AasthikAs :

 

Some 200 years ago , there was a scholar by

name Brahma SrI VaidhyanAtha Dheekshithar .

He was a Saastra sampanna . He blessed

the community of AasthikAs with a six part

book on Dharma Saasthrams entitled

Sri Smruthimukthaa Phalam. It is also

known as VaidhyanAtha dheekshitheeyam .

The six chapters of this book are:

 

1) VarNAsrama dharma KaaNDam dealing with

the dharmams prescribed by the 4 VarNams

2) Ahneeka KaaNDam : Daily Dharmams

3) AaSoucha KaaNDam : Theettu and its limits

4) SrArddha KaaNDam : Pithru Kaaryams

5) Tithi NirNaya KaaNDam : determination of

Tithis , the topic of importance to PanchAngam

constructors .

6) PrAyaschittha KaaNDam : Big Chapter dealing with

various atonements for dhOsha ParihArams .

 

Somewhere around 1917 , Brahma SrI Keezhavedayal

R. Mutthuswamy Iyer published a clearly written and

valuable summary of Smruthi Muktha Phalam to help

even layman understand the significance of various

Hundu Dharmams and SamskArams from conception to

anthima prayANam . It is known as Dharma Saastra

Sangraham .

 

These Hindu SamskArAs are fourty in Number .

These are different for different AasramAs and

VarNAs . They also vary from Yugam to Yugam . In Kali

Yugam , there are dharmams that are nishiddham ( not

recommended/forbidden ) .

 

adiyEn has written a brief summary of these SamskArams

in 1997 that you can browse at Bhakthi archives:

 

http://www.Ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/sep97/0035.html

http://www.Ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/sep97/0036.html

 

Hindu SamskAras are for the purification of one's body

and mind in seen and unseen ways . The cleansing process

set in motion by the observance of the SamskArAs leads to

the betterment of one's life and qualities of a person for

spiritual upliftment . It develops the 8 auspicious guNAs

-- Dayaa , KshAnthi , anasooyA , Soucham , anAyAsam ,

MangaLam , KaarpaNyam and aspruham --that chase away

the ills of SamsAram . Thus the performance of the smruthi

sanctioned samskAraas with the utternace of appropriate

Veda MantrAs results in the full blossoming of one's

full spitirtual potential and helps attain Veda PrAyam to

observe various prescribed dharmams .

 

Sri Vaishnava Kendram DeevaLur Sri NVS Swamy

is a practising Bruhaspathy of the highest order

wished to share the wealth of information assembled

in Brahma SrI Mutthuswamy Iyer with all of us .

Towards that extent , SrI NVS Swamy is releasing

one page each day excerpts from Sri Iyer's book

without commentary or annotation . Sri NVS

Swamy has introduced a numberign scheme to

navigate easily thru this vast array of subjects

covered . It is a great kaimkaryam . adiyEn

offered to translate these Tamil pages into

English to have a wider reach by AasthikAs

spread all over the globe .

 

The individual chapters of Dharma Saastra

Sangraham of Sri MutthusAmi Iyer have condensed

information from Dheekshitheeyam . There are still

a lot of areas to cover under each of the Six chapters .

Her is a table of content of the First Chapter ( VarNAsrama

Dharma KaanDam) to give us an idea of the range even

under one chapter :

 

1. The Divisions of the VedAs & the Soothrams

2. VarNam

3. YugAs

4. Kali Yuga Nishiddha Dharmams

5. Dhig Niyamam ( About the Directions)

6. BhrAmaNa Dharmam

7. AgnihOthram

8. Anya VedAdhyayanam

9. UpAkarmaa

10. Adhyayanam

11. BhrAhmaNa Vrutthi

12. BhrAhmaNa SamskArams

13. Ruthu times

14. Pumsavanam

15. Seemantham & other samskArams

16. SamskArams upto Upanayanam

17. When Pathni is a rajasvalai

18. Times not to perform SouLAdhi KarmAs

19. Those who are fit for Upanayanam

20. Jaathakarma Vidhi for YamaLOthbhavar

21.Those who are not fit for NamaskArams

22 KanyA LakshaNam for VivAham

23. KanyakAdhAna KarthA

24. Things to be done during auspicious occasions

 

As you can see , there are some very important

dos and don'ts prescribed by Dharma Saasthrams .

 

May we all beneficiaries of these rules intended

to guide us along the right path to get rid of our

Karmic load !

 

NamO Veda PurushAya ,

Daasan , V.Sadagopan

 

 

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