Difference between revisions of "Category:Shodashopachara Puja in Sanskrit"

Puja:

Puja (Prayer) is the first step to impart training to the mind to concentrate and involve physically and mentally while performing worship of God. It is important to understand the meaning of “MANTRAS” and actions required to be performed to obtain the complete benefits of the prayers.

“^{Shodasa Upacahar}” is a complete process of performing the rituals of puja, the worship. Upachar means service; there are 16 upachars to be executed for worship. It is usually rendered with the vedic chantings. Alternately one should close the eyes and perform this offering mentally (manasa puja). All these “Shodasha upachara puja” is a standard practice in temples and also at home on special occasions.

All these 16 steps are symbolical representations of the various forms of expressing reverence like offering the deity a golden throne to be seated, washing his feet, washing his hands, offering him water to drink, ceremonial bathing with sacred waters, offering new clothes, anointing him with sandal paste and other perfumes, adorning of jewels, worshipping with flowers, offering of fragrant incense, lighting the lamp, offering food (Prasada), fruits and sweet drinks, chanting his praises, offering Arati and finally prostrating to him and seeking his blessings

Shodashopachara Puja:

Shodashopachara-puja means the Upachar/service Shodasa/sixteen-steps in the performance of PUJA, on special occasions.

In Hinduism^[1], upachara (Sanskrit: उपचार; service or courtesy) refers to the offerings and services made to a deity as part of worship.

Shodashopachara Puja is one of the widely performed Vedic^[2] rituals. It includes sixteen ritual services a devotee offers to the Deity being worshipped at the altar. It aims at raising your five senses, removing all the negative energies from your mind and body. In short, this puja is performed to completely purify your mind and body (include the five senses). Purification results in naturally positive thoughts and actions intended to bring in all good for you.

Gange cha Yamune chaiva Godavari Saraswati, Narmade Sindhu Kaveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru;

गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति ।

नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् संनिधिं कुरु ॥

Meaning:

O Holy Rivers Ganga and Yamuna, and also Godavari and Saraswati,

O Holy Rivers Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri; Please be Present in this Water (and make it Holy).

Benefits of Shodashopachara Puja:

• Negative thoughts are all removed, feelings of positivity and newness restored
• Spiritual strength increased
• Blessings of the Deity invoked and worshipped

References:

[2]

[3]

[4]

Sudhhi/suchihi mantram:Apavitraha pavitrova

oṃ apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṃ gato’pi vā .

yaḥ smaretpuṇḍarīkākṣaṃ sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ ..

ॐ अपवित्रः पवित्रो वा सर्वावस्थां गतोऽपि वा ।

यः स्मरेत्पुण्डरीकाक्षं स बाह्याभ्यन्तरः शुचिः ॥

Meaning: Om, if one is Apavitra (Impure) or Pavitra (Pure), or even in all other conditions, he who remembers Pundarikaksha (another name of Sri Vishnu, literally meaning with lotus-like eyes), he becomes pure outwardly as well as inwardly.

Mantras/Stotras of all God/Goddess ^[3]

“Mananaat traayate iti mantrah” – That which uplifts us by continuous repetition is a ‘Mantra’!

Mantras are extremely powerful – combined with both the sound elements and the essence of what is being recited, Mantras can transform individuals leading to power and strength. Chanting of Mantras can give us the power for attaining a blissful state and liberation.

A Mantra chanted correctly or incorrectly, knowingly or unknowingly, carefully or carelessly, is sure to bear the desired result for one’s well being. It is believed that the glory of Mantra chanting cannot be established through reasoning and intellect. It can only be experienced or realized through devotion, faith and constant repetition of the Mantra.

According to some scholars, Mantra chanting is Mantra Yoga. The basic yet powerful Mantra, Om or Aum harmonizes the physical forces with the emotional forces and the intellectual forces. When this happens, you start to feel like a complete being – mentally and physically. But this is an extremely slow process and requires a lot of patience and unfailing faith.

List:

The sixteen steps in servicing are listed below: Begin with:

Dhyanam-Dhyanam is reciting a short prayer specific to god that one worships and engage our mind into lotus feet of that god. In the Hindu scriptures, Lord Ganesha is always worshipped in the beginning of any ritual for his blessings to ensure that the whole procedure would move smoothly unhindered by any external obstacles at any stage. So, these upacharas are first done for Lord Ganesha and then all steps are repeated for the main deity.

Shukla-Ambara-Dharam Vissnnum Shashi-Varnnam Catur-Bhujam |

Prasanna-Vadanam Dhyaayet Sarva-Vighno [a-U] pashaantaye ||

OM Ekadantaya Vidmahe Vakkratundaya Dheemahi, Tanno Danti Prachodayat

1. Avahanam- Inviting the worshipped God or Goddess to come into the place of worship or idol by chanting the Vedic verse as though you are inviting a loveable guest inside your home.

2. Asanam- Offering the worshipped God a seat. After inviting a guest to your house you would offer a comfortable seat for him to relax. In similar way by chanting the Vedic verse offer a seat to the chosen deity.

3. Paadyam- Wash the feet of God by pouring water at His feet. As per our tradition, the guest is offered water to wash his feet after he relaxed for adequate time. Imagine you are washing the delicate, lotus feet of Lord.

4. Arghyam-Water is offered to the deity to wash hands.

5. Achamanam- Water is offered to drink with the chanting of the relevant vedic mantra.

6. Snanam- Sprinkle water on God as if giving Him bath. In a detailed pooja, bath God with panchamrutham (Milk, Yoghurt, Ghee, Honey, Sugar, Coconut Water, Fruit Juice, Sandal Powder, Turmeric one at a time). This is followed by bath with fresh water

7. Yagnopavitham- offering the sacred thread,

8. Vastram- offering clothing,

9. Gandham- offering sandalwood paste,

10. Pushpam- offering flowers,

11. Dhoopam- offering insence as agar-bathis/doopam

12. Deepam- traditional oil lamp: bearing: ⊙-1-5-3 symbols,

13. Naivedyam- offering food,

14. Tamboolam- offering pan, supari with edible-camphor,

15. Neeranjanam- Mangala-harati, in clock-wise move and Namaskaram,

16. Visarjanam- Respectfully bidding farewell by immersion in water bodies;

Respectful discarding as seen in Ganapathi and Durga festivals. This means the idol served a limited purpose to begin with. Later on for various temples came up. Idols incorporated with principles of Iconography: ⊙-1-5-3 God have come to be preserved. All these 16 steps are symbolic forms of expressing formal reverence to the highest universal embodimrnt of power

In addition to Shodashopachara “Rajopachara” includes holding Umbrella for the Lord, waving hand fan to provide Lord a gentle breeze, singing a song to please him, dancing before him to give him entertainment, showing mirror to him, providing horse and elephant ride etc;.

*for Kasi-Visvanatha: akshata, Akshatal’ grains of rice, Vibhooti, darba, Bel-patra, datura;

Vishnu/avataras: flowers, tulasi leaves; Grains of unbroken raw rice mixed with ghee and turmerick powder;

As if to overcome any short coming or wrong understanding Hindus have devised the offering of five elements to God in the Panchopachara-Puja-mantra: (Vam refers to water offered for cleansing and the food offered as naivedyam). Offerings to God and distribution of Prasada symbolizes part-taking the ritual food with God. Seed letters represent/symbolize the elements implied along with numerical symbolism: O-1-5-3 as follows:

1. Lam Prithivi tatvatmikayai urdvapundram dharayami

2. Vam amrita tatvatmikayai argyam agrarpayami/naivedyam samrpayami

3. Ram agni tatvatmika yai deepam darsayami

4. Yam Vayu tatvtamika yai dhupam agrapayami

5. Ham akasa tatvatmikayai pushpam dharayami Antahkarana-chatushya, soft-ware, Aham/self, chitta/conscience, buddhi/intelligence, manas/mind;

Biologically, one apparent seed contains within both the male and female aspects in zygote:

They are not lost, but their identity is merged to emerge as Bija-a third force. This is the case with Bija-akshara mantra (Vam, Ham, Ram, Yam, Aum-Om etc). There is a saying that where science ends Philosophy begins and where Philosophy ends, Religion begins and Religion is based on faith.

1. ↑ Hinduism (/ˈhɪnduɪzəm/) is an Indian religion and dharma, or way of life. It is the world's third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit. ''the Eternal Dharma''), which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another, though less fitting, self-designation is Vaidika dharma, the 'dharma related to the Vedas.' Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life; namely, dharma (ethics/duties), artha (prosperity/work), kama (desires/passions) and moksha (liberation/freedom from the passions and the cycle of death and rebirth), as well as karma (action, intent and consequences) and saṃsāra (cycle of death and rebirth). Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (Ahiṃsā), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, virtue, and compassion, among others. Hindu practices include rituals such as puja (worship) and recitations, japa, meditation (dhyāna), family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Along with the practice of various yogas, some Hindus leave their social world and material possessions and engage in lifelong Sannyasa (monasticism) in order to achieve moksha.
2. ↑ [1]
3. ↑ Mantras and Stotras