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Significance of
Pranaprathishta, Kumbhabhishekam
and
other Rituals
(from the web site:
Hindu Society of Central Florida)
Our scriptures recommend the building of a temple and
participating in its rituals as one of the highest of Hindu dharmas.
The
glory of the Lord is seen and the vibration of the Super Power is felt
everywhere in the temple. Combined prayers in temple are believed to be very
powerful and benefit the entire community.
The holy presence of divinity (saannidhyam)
in the temples will be felt when the temple is built according to the
sastras and the deities are properly installed by the priests and sthapathis.
The divinity of temples are further secured and enhanced by continuous
worship and periodic festivals in the temple.
Accordingly, our new temple is
built under the guidance of world-renowned Padmashri Muthiah Sthapathi and
initial festivals are planned by the priests Sri Varadaraja Bhattar and Sri
Narayana Bhattar.
This article briefly explains the significance of Pranaprathishta,
Kumbhabhishekam and outline salient features of some important rituals that
are planned to be performed during the upcoming celebrations. Please see the
invitation for complete listing of the events.
The invocation of the Divine presence in the vigraham (murthi) occurs upon
completion of the Pranaprathishta ceremony. The Pranaprathishta and Kumbhabhishekam rituals are generally performed for
four or five days with several rites as prescribed in the agama sastras. The
phenomena of nature is well represented in these rites – starting with plant
kingdom in the beginning phase and animal kingdom (presence of cows and
calves) in the last phase of the program.
The program will start with Sri Ganapathi homam and Vishwaksena pooja to
propitiate Sri Ganesha and Sri Vishwaksenar. The preparatory rituals include
- Punyaha Vachanam (purification of the site and location); Acharya Varanam
(assignment of duties to the invited priests performing the rituals and
offering of special garments to them);
- Kalasa Sthapanam (invocation of the
power of the divinities in the waters kept in pots); Agni Prathishta
(establishing the fire for performing the homams);
- Vastu Pooja / Homam
(worship of the Vastu Purusha) and Ankuraarpanam (seeding of the soil - the
growth of plants from these seeds symbolizes the prosperity of the temple).
The Adhivasams, where the vigrahams are kept in dhaanyam (grains of paddy),
jalam (water), pushpams (flowers), and ratnam (precious stones and metals).
The final Adhivasam called Sayyadhivasam is performed by resting of the
images in new clothes on beds under blankets.
A good number of homams including
- Moola Mantra homam,
- Pariwara homam,
- Vishnu Parishada Devata homam,
- Sri Rama Gayathri Taraka Mahamantra homam,
- Hanuman Gayathri homam,
- Vimanaadhi Devata homam,
- Aalaya Pariwara homam,
- Jeevadhi
Tatwa homam,
- Ruthra homam and Chandi homam
will be performed to invoke the
specific divine power. Some of the homas are performed for several days.
The Nadi Sandana ritual transfers the power from the homams to the vigrahams
and transforms them into living form.
The Netronmeelanam is another important ritual in which the sthapathi and
the priests open the eyes of the vigrahams.
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These rituals endowed with divine powers and aim at giving the vigrahams
energy and attributes for worship. They are accomplished by the power of the
Veda mantras recited by a team of priests with the conduct of the rituals as
per the agama sastras.
The yantram, which is a geometric representation of the power of the deity,
is installed in the place where the vigraham is installed subsequently.
Along with the yantra, precious metals, precious stones, etc. are also
placed as per the desires of the devotees.
This is followed by elaborate abhishekams with the sanctified waters from
the Kalasams, along with the recitation of appropriate mantras.
Ashtabhandhanam is performed by
- the sthapathi and it involves fixing the
vigraham to its pedestal (Peetam) using a special adhesive paste and
developing a bond between the two.
- Due to corrosive effect of the abhisheka
draviyams such as milk, yocurd, lemon etc which are acidic, the bond tend
erode over the period of time.
- Therefore, this procedure should be repeated
regularly at 12-year intervals to restore the bonding thus infusing the
deity with divine power.
- When this procedure is performed with gold (Swarnam),
the bond and thus the blessing power of the Deity lasts for a period of 100
years.
The benefits of doing Ashtabhandhanam at regular intervals are manifold.
This can be explained with the quote,
"sarva yageshu yatpunyam
sarvathirtheshu yatphalam sarva daneshu yatpunyam tatsarvam bhandnad bhavem".
Meaning:
Whatever punyam (merit) is obtained by performing a yaga, whatever
punyam is earned by bath in all sacred rivers, whatever punyam is gained
through charity, the same punyam could be obtained through performing
Ashtabhandhanam.
The Ashtabhandhanam helps to remove all afflictions and
bestows all kinds of good fortune on the participants. This important ritual
is scheduled for the evening of June 18,2005.
The process of homogenizing, synergizing and uniting the mystique powers
with the Vigraham of the Lord constitutes Kumbhabhishekam.
- Kumbha means the
head and denotes the crown of the temple. On an auspicious day and time, the
Kumbha is bathed with the charged and sanctified holy waters in the
sacrificial pots (Kalasams) and by a mystique process, these pranic powers
trickle and enter the Deity installed inside the sanctum of the temple.
- The
Deity, which was till then a granite or marble sculptured image is
transformed into a vibrant and vivid living form of the Lord with innate
beauty, grace and grandeur, conferring His divine blessings (Anugraham) on
all those Devotees, who surrender themselves absolutely and take shelter in
Him.
- It is very important the regular rituals such as abhishekam, homam,
alankaram, archana, etc. and daily poojas are performed routinely after
these installation ceremonies.
We are blessed with the opportunity to take part in these rare rituals/
ceremonies in June 2005 at our temple.
We invite your active participation
with your families and friends in all the events and help with the programs.
There are several opportunities for sponsorships, perform homams and special
poojas and offer annadhanam during this program.
Please contact Kumbhabhishekam organizing committee members, if you require any additional
information.
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