Next comes the agni upasana.
While the sun is helping us indirectly the fire helps us directly in several ways. The physical fire that we see is influenced by its own Devata and is called Agni. The fire worship is of various forms. The basic form is aupasanam. The ritual itself takes about 5 min in the morning and the evening. Preparing this fire takes anywhere from 5 to 10 min. After the marriage through a ritual this worship is started. This fire is maintained continuously as long as one lives. It is in this agni that several rituals are performed later.
One might be hesitant as this which will inevitably produces smoke. But the sastras have defined which smoke is good and which is bad. Any smoke from ritual fires is good for health.
This upasana is not just for Brahmins. Others can also do with a small change in the mantra, namaha replacing swaha.
Generally, it is said that these rituals are to be performed by the males and female have no right. Here is one glaring exception. Up to 7 times (3 1/2 days) consecutively, the ladies can do this aupasana homam if the husband is away. It doesn't matter if the husband is not in the house . The Agni Devatha will remain alive in the physical fire. But if the wife is not in the house when the ritual is to be performed the devatha will not be present in the physical fire. One will have to do a small procedure again to make it alive.
ஓ. அப்படியா...
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for this post -due to paucity of time, now-a-days we are unable to perform this invaluable nithyakarmanushtanam. Is it recommended doing atleast Sthaaleebagam - ie. doing vichinna agni santhanam and aupasanam during the next day of amavaasai and pournami - atleast twice a month ? this will atleast remark a thanks giving to Agni bagawan. In that will we have to give havisu as boiled rice instead of akshatas in normal aupasanam, am not sure on this (If so, boiled rice is the correct option, then will it be a appropriate poorvam ritual). Since i dont want to miss doing this, Iam requesting your opinion.
ReplyDeletehari, yes. if one is unable to do it regularly one might try to do it like this: on 14th day vichchina agni snathaanam. next day aupasanam. on pratamai sthaaleepakam. repeat in the next cycle. this is better than not doing at all.
ReplyDeleteand yes, cooked rice is what is to be offered for sthaalipakam. the cooking is done in the aupasna agni itself.