By: Smt.Meera Tadipatri
 |
| Jyoti Stambha Puje |
Audio: Puja Vidhana
List of things needed:
1. Peeta for puja, rangavalli, mirror
2. Mud Pratikas - 2
3. Arishina, kumkuma, akshate, gandha, flowers,vastra
4. 5 Blouse pieces
5. 2 deepas
6. Kalasha
7. Tambittu - 9 (made with rice flour,jaggery & milk) + batti soaked in ghee
8. Thread with 9 strands with 9 gantu dipped in turmeric/ 5 for young girls
9. Betel nuts/leaves
10. mangala items that are offered to the deity along with daxina like dry coconut cups/oNa-kobhari, rice, gud (jaggery), betel leaves and aDike, haldi-kumkum, bangles, bicholi, blouse piece, daxina coin.
11. Soaked channa
12. 2 small bowls made from wheat flour.
1. Ganesha puje:
List of things needed:
2. Mud Pratikas - 2
3. Arishina, kumkuma, akshate, gandha, flowers,vastra
4. 5 Blouse pieces
5. 2 deepas
6. Kalasha
7. Tambittu - 9 (made with rice flour,jaggery & milk) + batti soaked in ghee
8. Thread with 9 strands with 9 gantu dipped in turmeric/ 5 for young girls
9. Betel nuts/leaves
10. mangala items that are offered to the deity along with daxina like dry coconut cups/oNa-kobhari, rice, gud (jaggery), betel leaves and aDike, haldi-kumkum, bangles, bicholi, blouse piece, daxina coin.
11. Soaked channa
12. 2 small bowls made from wheat flour.
Puje Vidhaana:
1. One should know
the deity to be worshiped in any vrata.
2. The purpose,
dikshe and the adhikaari for this vrata.
3. Any incident that
is mentioned in agamas as to highlight the significance.
4. The pratima in
which it is to be worshiped.
5. The methodology
of doing the vrata.
As always the main
deity of any puja/yaaga/homa is our indweller, Shri Laxmi Naaraayana. He is
worshipped through the medium of various devatas as adhistaana.
This particular
vrata is to get the grace of Bhagavan by seeing/contemplating the
"Bheemeshvara" in the form of "Jyoti" as "tejomaya-amrutamaya-purushha"
so that these qualities get reflected in our life and removes the
darkness/ajnana/dukha/marana.
Thus this vrata goes by different names as "Bheemeshvara Vrata"
or "Jyotirbheemesha Vrata" or "Jyoti-stambha vrata",
"divasi gowri" "pati-puje/ganDana amaavaasya"
Though the
guna-chintane is for one and all, it is especially mandated for all ladies
including small girls. A vrata involves "dikshe" and here the dikshe
is that the indweller/antaryaami/bimbarupi Bheemeshvara is the only one who can
remove our sufferings by flashing the inner light of jnana that brightens our
life all around.
The story in the form of "pura-kalpa" [sampradaaya]
highlights that when completely surrendered to Bhagavan [with knowledge], He
bestows sampat for both the families -- the one in which we are born and the one
that we enter. In this story, a poor girl wedded to a prince does the vrata and
brings life to the entire kingdom.
As mentioned in Gita, [3.13], always a prior incident from puraana
is told by Rishhis in the form of a story to highlight the spirit of the vrata.
In this story, in the form of Suta-shaunaka narration, a good prince
Jayashekara, born to Vajrabaahu, the ruler of Sowrashtra, pre-maturely dies in
his youth and the minister tells the king that the last rites cannot be done to
an unmarried prince. Trusting his advice, the king offers half his kingdom to
any parent who is willing to sacrifice their daughter in marriage to a dead
prince so that last rites can be performed! A "learned brahmana"
who was reeling in utter poverty succumbs to greed and sacrifices his own
daughter in marriage.
It was a new moon
day in the month of Ashada. Due to heavy rain, the last rites remain incomplete
and abandoned by everyone including her own "learned" parents, the
girl was literally in the dark and in great pain with absolutely nothing around
her. She realizes that the indweller is ALWAYS with her and never parts with
her and hence worthy of surrendering completely to Him alone. With this
awakening, she was able to hear the inner voice of Uma-maheshwara[ the deity of
the mind and intellect, Rudra ] telling her to do the Bheemeshvara Vrata.
Immediately she does
the vrata with things that were available to her right there by improvising
whatever she had with mind focused on Him. Rudra himself appears along with Uma
and revive the life of the prince; upon hearing this news the whole kingdom
receives her and the prince with honor.
As always in any
such puranik stories the spirit has to be grasped and here the key is
"mano-bhAvana" and NOT the mere materials used for worship. Rudra
gives the "mano-bhaavana" the unwavering bhakti that flows towards
God, and Uma gives expression to what is conceived in the mind in the form of
speech. Thus "manas and vaak" should remain and flow together
as single pointed towards God. This "wedlock" should always remain in
our life forever for acquiring the real sampat.
Needless to say that
they bless us with long married life, health and wealth as well.
Bhagavata declares
"vidyaa-kAmastu Girisham", so the adhistaana/medium for this vrata is
"Uma-maheshwara", and in them, we worship the Lord Bheemeshavara.
In the story, the girl uses for puja the available
materials:
1. mud which represents
the five material principles that Uma-Maheswara used to create the world and
this very body. Hence his presence and controller-ship is thought of in both.
2. The icon as a
pair is made in the form of "deepa-stambha" using the mud. Residing
in this deha, Rudra together with Uma, give the light of knowledge about
Bhagavan and thus this aspect of Uma-maheswara is represented by making a pair
of small hillock shape about 3-inch-tall with mud representing "deepa
stambha".
3. To give the light
of jnana, Uma-Maheshwara has to instigate the "sattva" part of our
mind and this is represented by decorating the "mud stambha" with
white dots of "sunna".
4. In tune with
mind, Umadevi instigates and executes the action using the sense organs/indriyas.
This is represented by "red dots" made from "kemmaNNu/red soil
[representing raajasa ahankaara shrushti by uma-maheswara].
5. Upanishads
compare the body to the tree. Thus, she uses symbolically the soft strands of
the tree as wick and lights this with jnana as deepa.
6. The soft strands of the tree are symbolically used as "daara" and tied
with 9 knots representing 9 openings protected by 9 rupas of uma-maheswara.
7. She uses the
leaves of the banyan tree as "beetle leaves".
8. She uses 9 mud
balls as naivedya as the food basically comes from "soil".
Even today, we use
the same methodology by offering whatever is given by Bhagavan for His puja.
Methodology:
This puje is observed on Ashada amaavaasya day by all girls in the family, and mandated and continued for 9 years in a row after wedding as "vrata" and, later, it is continued as a puje as the very concept of performing this becomes a nitya anushtaana [hence it is called divasi gowri] with vishesha during this day of amaavaasya!
This puje is observed on Ashada amaavaasya day by all girls in the family, and mandated and continued for 9 years in a row after wedding as "vrata" and, later, it is continued as a puje as the very concept of performing this becomes a nitya anushtaana [hence it is called divasi gowri] with vishesha during this day of amaavaasya!
Hence in many
families, they don't use "daara" and "mud deepa stambha" after
9 years.
Before hand, keep the following ready:
1. a pair of mud pratika that resembles deepa stambha. Every
girl should have her own "pair" of this Uma-Maheswara pratima.
2. For arati, if
possible make 9 hurana or tambittu cups [ balls made of rice flour, ghee,
gud mixed with little milk] representing 9 rupas of umadevi. In this, keep the
huu-batti dipped in ghee for arati in such a way 9 are placed together. In some
sampradaya, instead of 9, 10 +2 are used by placing 10 together and the two are
kept one on each side in the arathi plate.
3. For every girl, 9
strands of string put together as one. For kids 5 strands kept together as one.
4. Naivdeya items --
10 kadubu. some use 9 to correspond with 9 strands, 9 arati deepa, 9 knots.
5. UDi thumbodu -
mangala items that are offered to the deity along with daxina like dry coconut
cups/oNa-kobhari, rice, gud (jaggery), betel leaves and aDike, haldi-kumkum,
bangles, bicholi, blouse piece, daxina coin.
6. Bhandaara - make 2 cups out of chappati flour and keep soaked chana in one
along with coin/daxina and cover with the other. This symbolizes the wealth
that Rudra gives to our siblings/mother’s side and makes them rich with sampat.
After doing the basic cleaning, decorating the house with
rangavalli , and nitya japa,
1. peeta is placed on the floor decorated with basic rangavalli
and a blouse piece is spread on top of it. On the sides, 2 blouse pieces are placed
in the form of a triangle. Totally 4 plus the one blouse on the peeta. The
triangle represents the jyoti rupa Surya, Chandra and Agni who are again
controlled by Uma-Maheshwara. The five blouse pieces represent the pancha-mukha
Uma-maheswara and his in-dweller 5 rupi.
2. A heap of rice is
poured in the middle and on this rice heap, the mud icon of Uma-maheswara. If
one has the silver mangala gowri, then that is also placed in front of it.
Behind this, place a mirror so that, this gowri-maheswara is reflected in that
to signify that they are pratibimbas.
3. Next to the
mirror, keep the kalasha with water for aavahana of the indweller. If you have,
keep 2 beetle leaf [this represents Bhagirathi with the sannidana of Shri Hari,
who is our in-dweller.]
4. On the sides,
keep 6 betel leaves 6 aDike on the right side and 5 on the left side. This
represents ekadasha rudra who control our 11 indriyas as per the orders of
Uma-maheswara.
5. In front of
Uma-maheswara, place the vigraha of Ganesha -- a metal figure or one made with
haldi as a small hillock or simply a "aDike" on a pair of betel leaf.
6. In front of the peeta, keep the pair of deepa-stambha decorated with lines
of sunna and KemaNNu [white and red lines signifying manas and vaak] and light
the lamp.
7. Keep the
"uDi-thumbo" mangala vastu to the right side of Gowri or just in
front.
8. Keep the strand
of daara soaked in haldi in the plate.
PUJE:
By offering argya in the form of pouring a few drops of water in the arhya
paatra symbolic of offering water for washing the hands, feet and then offering
madhuparka, followed with water to wash hands, snana by sprinkling few drops
with flower/garike. Then using few drops of water as vastra, followed by haldi,
kumkum, pushpa,mantraxate.
2. Offer haldi,
kumkum to deepa stambha that is lit and kept as lamp in front.
3. Do nitya Tulasi
puje.
4. Avahana in the
kalasha by invoking the indweller in it and doing puje as before.
5. Uma-maheswara
puje to the mud icon and mangala gowri vigraha [ if you have] with argya,
paadya, madhuparka, snana, vastra, asana, haldi, kumkum, kaaDige, yajnopavitra,
mangala-sutra, pushpa, axate, karnabharana, dhupa, deepa, gandha. Offer the
daara first to mangala Gowri. Then place the daara on a plate before her and
knot it 9 times by chanting the nine rupas of Uma maheswara along with haldi,
kumkum, pushpa as follows:
1. Shivayai
namaha
2. bhavaani devyai ...
3. rudraani devyai...
4. girijayai...
5. kaantaayai ..
6. hara-kaantaayai ..
7. simha-vaahanaayai ...
8. ambikaayai ...
9. paarvatyai ...
While doing this
think of the story as to how Uma-maheswara [ and His antaryaami Bheemeshvara]
alone is the protector in us so nothing in life even the worst behavior from
our own kith and kin shouldn't bother us. Let such strength of mind backed by
His knowledge in the form of light as "tejomaya=amrutamaya-purushha"
protect all our entrance to this mind, deha, house or any dwelling unit. Place
it at her feet as symbolic of her ashraya/support.
6. Next do naivedya
to the in-dweller.
7. Offering of
mangala vastu -- uDi-tumbodu by offering it with a few drops of water. later it
can be given to any sumangalis.
8. Mangalarati with
10+2 hu-battis symbolic of His ananta rupa anugraha in the rupa of sampat to
both the families symbolized by the two kept on either side of 10.
9. pradaxina,
namaskaara, prarthana.
10. With Ashirvaada
from elders, receive the daara by wearing it.
11. This is worn at
least till naaga panchami, and on that day remove it and place it on a plate
and soak it in milk and bury it in the ground.
This
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Hare Srinivasa! Namaskara, Thanks for all the details. Would you please also explain how to do the chintane of Bheemeshwara rupa? Since this vrata falls in chaturmaasa all the naivedya/food for this vrata is chaturmasa based right? Please confirm/advise.
ReplyDeleteNote: In some book for example "Ugadhi to Ugadhi" it is mentioned to use fruits as Naivedya. As no vegetables/fruits etc come in shaka vrata (probably mango for some mutts) not sure why they mentioned it. Some of the elders say that this has to be done as habba we should do naivedya with regular food items. Please clarify advise. As also on the same day Adhikaaris has to give tarpanaas to fore fathers (Ashada Amavasai) is that not shreshta for the Adhikaaris to eat shaka vrata based food if possible. Please advise. Sorry for too many questions. Naham Kartha Hari Kartha!
Namaskara and thank you for your comments.
DeleteThe guna chintana of "Bheemesha" is -- "bhi" means purna or perfect ["bhruta" MBTN 12.55] and "maa" means jnana. Thus "bheema" refers to Vaayudeva and His Lord is Bheemesha. He is worshipped in the form of "jyoti" as antaryaami.
Here, next to Vaayudevaru, Rudra also has perfect jnana of Bhagavan and thus Vaayu antargata Laxmi Narasimha is worshipped in the pratika of Gowri-Maheshwara.
Thus, Rudra when prayed removes our fears right away [as in this story]and gives jnana as he is Vidya devata. He in turn gets this power from His antaryaami.
The rupa chintana of Rudra is as given in Tantra saara: He is visualized along with Paarvati with sphaTika like clear white color having 5 face. [8th phase of] chandra shines in his jaTa and sarpa-raaja is his ornament indicating the control over his indriyas [kundalini jaya].
As for food, it is always what one is fit to consume during that season -- i.e., chaturmaasya anushtaana.
"yadannaH puruSho bhavati tadannAstasya devatAH"
The vrata is for us to observe and naturally the food that is kept as naivedya should be in line with our acharane. Even those who don't follow vrata, atleast on special days they have to follow what is prescribed during chaaturmaasya.
Yes, as it is also amaavaasya, vrata food alone to be consumed by the adhikaaris.
As for the books, generally all these vrata details have either nirnaya sindhu or dharma sindhu as source [compiled by Advaitins] and strictly speaking their acharane differs so we have to take it carefully.
Regards,
Meera Tadipatri
Thank you Smt. Meera avare. We had a good pooja at home with our two girls for Ashada amavasya. Your posting was very detailed and namaskara to you both.
ReplyDeleteSmt. & Sri. Guru Raghavendra Rao, Jagannathan/Vidhya enquired you both during our trip to Tirukkampuliyur.
Hare Srinivasa,
Usha & Venkatesh
Thank you Usha and Venkatesh
Deletethere is a song particularly for this varta which start as shasivadaneyaalla
ReplyDeleteThank you Meera for such a detailed puja vidhi and with precise meaning . You gave us the blessing to do this puja knowing the meaning of what we are doing.
ReplyDeleteGood to know do much information about this
ReplyDeleteHare Srinivasa 🙏🙏
ReplyDeletePranamas Meera avare 🙏🙏
Do we need to do any specific sankalpa before performing Bheemana amavasya pooje, can you kindly share. 🙏
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ReplyDelete