SrI Ranganatha Temple BrahmOthsavam : Part IV ---- GhantA (Sacred , consecrated Bell) sEvai

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SrI:

 

kamapyAham Gurum vandhE Kamalaagruha-mEdhinam

pravakthA chandhasAm vakthaa PaancharAthrasya yassvayam

 

Dear Vaideekaas and BrahmOthsava sEvA abhimAnis :

 

On behalf of the Board of Sri Ranganathaa Temple ,

adiyEn invites you all to have the BhAgyam of

enjoying Lord RanganAthan's BrahmOthsavam .

The activities for the individual days are at:

 

http://www.Ranganatha.org

 

In this posting adiyEn will focus on

the right places and ways to ring

the sacred bell in Bhagavath sannidhAnam

to ward off all inauspiciousness .

 

Both for house AarAdhanam and Temple AarAdhanam ,

GhantA Sevai during the different stages of AarAdhanam

is absolutely essential .Without this ringing of the bell ,

the AarAdhanam is incomplete .House holders can start

AarAdhanam after Pancha SamskAram . This is

the Householder's Dheekshaa for performing AarAdhanam

at Home . The householder does not need Prapatthi

( BharanyAsam ) for performing daily AarAdhanam .

Ditto for ArchakAs involved in PaacharAtra worship.

 

For Vigraha AarAdhanam at the temple , the dheeksha

is of a different kind known as "CharAbhja MaNDala

Dheekshaa" or Paanacha Raathra Dheekshaa in contrast

to Householders doing AarAdhanam for Aatthu PerumAL .

 

VaikAnasa archakaas have the tradition that

their pancha SamskAram is done , when they stay

in the womb itself by Viganasa Guru and hence they

do not have any need for dheekshaa thereafter .

You have to be born in a VaikAnasa archakaa family

to do AarAdhanam at Temples following VaikAnasa Aagama

( Thirumala , Oppiliappan Sannidhi , Thiruvaheendhrapuram et al) .

 

Those with Paacha Raathra Dheeksha can not however

perfrom AarAdhanam at VaikAnasa Temple . If some one from

VaikAnasa tradition consecrates the Murthy according to

VaikAnasa reethi , then subsequent AarAdhanam has

to be done by VaikAnasa Vithi . One can not switch

that Aaradhanam with those having Paancha Raathra

Dheeksha . This happens in some U.S Temples

and is overlooked for number of operational reasons .

At Pomona Sri Ranganatha Temple , archakAs perform

AarAdhanam with Paancha Raathra Dheeksha since

Paancha Raathra Jayaakhya Samhitha ( as at Lord

VaradrAja Temple at Kaanchi) was used during the time of

SamprOkshaNam ( consecration ) .

 

Knowledge of Sanskrit would be helpful for ArchakAs

to offer the UpachArams to the DevathAs and the Dhivya

Dampathis . Full time study at one of the Aagamic Schools in

Thirumala , Kaanchi , MadhurAnthakam , Srirangam

and Melkote is needed and it will take 2 to 3 years

to get the authentic training .Many ArchakAs have crash

courses to keep up their livelihood and remember PrayOgams

by rote learning . SampradhAya Parisuddhi is attainable only

through many years of practise . BrahmOthsavam is a complicated ,

with many steps just like PavithrOthsavam . Full training and experience

is needed for authentic execution . Monographs like those of

KoothappAkkam RaghavAcchAr Swamy ( Archakar ThuNaivan)

released by HH Srimath SrimushNam Andavan are very valuable

as reference sources for practising ArchakAs .

 

Let us now revert to Ghantaa SEvai coverage

during Bhagavath AarAdhanam and Vaideeka KarmAs

at the Temple .

 

The PramANam for GaNDaa Sevai comes from

SrI VaasudEva Samhithai ( Fourth Chapter).

The key slOkams identified for us by KootthapAkkam

swamy are :

 

kavADOdhaddhaDanE homE poojanE Bali karmaNi

argyE snapana AachAmE VivAhE dhoopa dheepayO:

 

thADyEth yEka PaarsvEna taTaa Aavaahana karmaNi

neerAjane yavanikaa samuddhADE nivEdhanE

 

PaarsvAbhyAm thADanam kuryAth upachAntharEshu cha

 

This in essence is the way to ring the bell with its

tongue touching one or both sides of the inner walls

of the consecrated bell .

 

A. Ringing of the Tongue on one side of the Bell

************************************************************

1. Before opening the door of Koil AazhwAr at Home

2. During the occasion of the performance of Homams

3.During the time of performance of AarAdhanams

4. Presentation (SamarpaNam) of Bali

5. Arghya SamarpaNam

6. Aachmana SamarpaNam

7. During the time , when Thirumanjanam takes place

8. During the conductance of KalyANOthsavam

9. DhUpa SamarpaNam

10. Dheepa SamarpaNam

 

B. Ringing of the Tongue on both sides of the Bell

**************************************************************

1. During the Aavaahanam of the Lord for AarAdhanam

2. During the upachAram offering of Camphor, GaDa

dheepam , adukku Aaratthi ( Multilayer dheepam)

3. Opening of curtain after yEkAntha Aaradhanam

and Thirumanjana alankAram

4. During the time of NaivEdhya ( nivEdhanam)

samarpaNam .

5. During the time of VaasudEva PuNyAha PrOkshaNam

6. During the travel from temple to the ThEr ( RaTam).

 

In the next posting adiyEn will cover the BhEri TaaDanam

and the DEvathAs and others invited for attending

the BrahmOthsavam , Nava Sandhi Geetha-TaaLa

Nruthyams .

 

NamO SrI RanganAthAya ,

V.Sadagopan