Pranam Pithru loka
1 An interesting story is told about the legendary physician Dhanwantri When he died, his disciples wanted to hold his Shradham. He had told them not to do so, but to eat his flesh so that they could become like him. As the disciples were preparing for that, Yama, the god of death appeared, and, fearing losing their souls, forbade them from eating the body. He cunningly told them to throw away the flesh that they had already cut out. 2 This, the disciples did, and three other living beings ate it: the ants, the crows, and a woman from the so-called cobbler caste, named Cheta. All three were blessed with longevity. Incidentally, even today, Vaidyas begin their prescription with the word “Cheta” to assure long life for their patients. 3 The Pitris remain in heaven, Pitri Loka or Chandra Loka, for a very long period. The enjoyments in heaven and the peace of the departed soul are enhanced by the performance of the Shraddha ceremony. Likewise, the sufferings of the departed soul in worlds other than heaven are mitigated by the performance of the Shraddha ceremony by his sons. Thus, in both cases, the performance of Shraddha is a great help. And even if the individual takes another birth immediately after his death, as happens in rare cases, the performance of Shraddha adds to his happiness in his new birth. ( Sivananda Saraswati) 4 As per Hindu traditions, the south celestial sphere <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_sphere>(Dakshinayanam) is consecrated to the ancestors (pitru). Hence, the moment when the Sun transits from the north to the south celestial sphere is considered to begin a *day of the ancestors*. This moment is considered sacred, necessitating the performance of special religious rites. Most years, this transit occurs during Bhadrapada masa Krishna paksha (as per the amanta tradition) / Ashvina masa Krishna paksha (as per the purnimanta tradition). Hence this paksha has been designated as Pitru paksha and Hindus perform special religious rites during this entire period. Surya Siddhanta defines “a day of the pitrus” as beginning with the autumnal equinox and ending with the vernal equinox. During this period the sun is overhead the southern hemisphere. A “day of the gods” is defined as the inverse of the “day of the pitrus”. 5 These time periods are defined based on the solstices <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice> (Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: अयन; and equinoxes <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox> (Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: विषुवत्; The time taken by the sun to move from the winter solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice> to the summer solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice> is designated as *uttarāyaṇa (*Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: उत्तरायण*)*. The time taken by the sun to move from the summer solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice> to the winter solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice> is designed as *dakṣiṇāyana (*Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: दक्षिणायन*)*. In Sanskrit, uttarāyaṇa and dakṣiṇāyana mean northward and southward movement respectively. Due to the axial tilt <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_tilt> of the earth, the sun appears to move towards the north from the Tropic of Capricorn <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Capricorn> (Makaram) to the Tropic of Cancer <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Cancer> (Katakam) during uttarāyaṇa, and towards the south from the tropic of Cancer to the tropic of Capricorn during dakṣiṇāyana. Hence the names. uttarāyaṇa and dakṣiṇāyana correspond to the concept of *half a year. *The time take by the sun to move from the spring equinox <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_equinox> (ecliptic longitude <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic_coordinate_system> 0°) to the autumnal equinox <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_equinox> (ecliptic longitude 180°) is designated as *devayāna (*Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: देवयान*)*. {uttrayana when dies there is no rebirth it is believed ,hence Bhishma waited)}. The time taken by the sun to move from the autumnal equinox <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_equinox> to the spring equinox <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_equinox> is designated as *pitṛyāṇa (* Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: पितृयाण*)*. { Many would die during summer only chittirai due to unbearable heat; hence rebirth is certain; and to quench the thirst, the water and food for hunger are offered; therefore the path of the pithru and south direction were shown as that of Shiva the destruction and that of Yama}. Due to the axial tilt of the earth, the sun appears to be in the north celestial sphere during devayāna and the south celestial sphere during pitṛyāṇa. In Hindu tradition, the north celestial sphere <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_sphere> is consecrated to the gods and the south celestial sphere is consecrated to the ancestors. Hence the names. devayāna and pitṛyāṇa too correspond to the concept of half a year. devayāna and pitṛyāṇa are not in active calendric use any longer but form the basis for pitṛpakṣa <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_basis_of_the_Hindu_calendar#pitrpaksha> . 6 A *ṛtu* (Sanskrit <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_language>: ऋतु) is the time taken by the sun to move sixty degrees on its orbit around the earth. ṛtu corresponds to the concept of a season. The time taken by the sun to move sixty degrees on its orbit starting from the winter solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice> is designated *śiśira ṛtu* (cold season). The time taken to move a further sixty degrees is designated *vasanta ṛtu* (spring). The time taken to move a further sixty degrees is designated *grīṣma ṛtu* (summer). At the end of grīṣma ṛtu the sun is at the summer solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice>. The time taken by the sun to move sixty degrees on its orbit starting from the summer solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice> is designated *varṣā ṛtu* (monsoon). The time taken to move a further sixty degrees is designated *śarad ṛtu* (autumn). The time taken to move a further sixty degrees is designated *hemanta ṛtu* (winter). At the end of hemanta ṛtu the sun is at the winter solstice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice>. Thus the seasons were divided. 7 Why all these presented here; where is that pitr loka?. ALL ARE WITHIN YOURSELF. Samskaras and the charity are basis of the sanathana dharma. The laws of the dharma are universal and thus the sanathana vedic dharma is said to be applicable to all the species born all over the multiverses. Hence the outcome of the dharma samskaras are universal. If so, 90% of the earth does not perform these samskaras; then will all of them and 99% of the Indians go only to hell?. Dharma is the way of life of satvika gunas as advocated to every born on this earth. The rest is making your mental discipline. 8 Atma and the mind are certain or else a just 6-year-old kid cannot recite like the matured adults or beat the drums or sing prayers so fluently. Other than all these, the body perishes and reborn as another for the same soul and the mind that accompanies the soul, to continue from where it was left; if so, good we do we reap the good; karma is that; the time is cyclic; space is infinite; Brahmam is ADI BHAGAVAN ; advaitham unites all the Maya perceived; hence thriving to understand all these takes one to the equanimity. 9 ALL THE DONE AND UNDONE DOES NOT MATTER; WHAT DOES MATTER IS ARE YOU DHARMIC?; EVERY ACT OF KAMYA KARMA RISES ONE ABOVE THE EARTH; THE CONQUEST OF THE DESIRE LEADS ONE TO THE NISHKAMYA KARMA; WHAT IS DETESTED BY EVERYONE (BUT DOING CLANDESTINELY IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE) AS BAD, IS ADHARMA; IF ONE CAN FORSAKE THEM, HE IS ON THE TRACK OF DHARMA; THEN ALL THE RITUALS AND SAMSKARAS ARE NO MORE REQUIRED; SANYASIS HAVE THAT; BUT NO ONE HAD ASKED THAT SANYASI HOW YOU ARE DIFFERENT FROM ME SO FAR?; BUT STARTED THE JAYA JAYA SANKARA . 10 All these are paths of righteousness, the deva yana; otherwise, the pitruyana path alone is certain. SUN 1/2 year is the travel period to attain the non-birth or rebirth. Rebirth is not you but the soul which was within you going into another cycle with the OLD-QUALITIES-OF-THE YESTER-BODY CONTINUING the effects of the suffering as rewards. Soul belongs to HIM; mind belongs to the quality you generated; Mukthi and the rebirth are the outcome of the dharma as advocated by the world as one did which one followed or failed to follow. 11 Hence it was said (ulagathodu otta ozhugal pala katrum, KALLAAN arivilladhavan; (One might have read many and called himself a pundit and a scholar; but when he does not know the world advocated the good and the bad, there is no use of that learning atall) ; Mazhitallum neetalum vendavaam Yakkaikku ulagam pazhithadhu ozhithuvidin ( why grow beard and tonsure your head as doing the samskaras, if you cannot rid of the world accounted the bad or adharma?) There are no such lokas anywhere. The long years are given only to change oneself into the right terms which are universal. 12 SO DO NOT GROPE FOR THE BLACK CAT IN THE DARK ROMM WHICH IS NOT THERE. This is not atheism or charwaka vadham, but Adi Sankara Philosophy for the universe Viveka choodamani. KR IRS 241221 On Fri, 24 Dec 2021 at 05:42, 'gopala krishnan' via Thatha_Patty < [email protected]> wrote: > > > QUES ANSW DIVINE 84 > > Dear friends, > > These are information posted by members compiled as QA by me in > 1998’s-2004’s and stored in my computer. At this date I have no information > of the members posted. > > BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. > > Sincerely, > > *R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, Former AGM Telecom Trivandrum dated 24-12-2021* > Q1 How many human days are equal to a pithru day? > > A1 In the world of the departed souls - the pitrus-here, a *human month > equals the length of a day.* The brighter half of a Lunar month > constitutes the pitru's daytime and the darker half their night. > > Q2 How many human days are equal to a Deva day? > A2 In the realm of the Devas or the Gods, *a human year constitutes a > single day*. > > *The brighter half of the year Uttarayanam* makes up the day time hours > of the Devas while the darker half Dakshinayanam makes up the nighttime > hours. > > Q3 What is kalpa? > > A3 measure of time is Kalpa. The puranas are named after kalpas; thus we > have the matsya kalpa, koorma kalpa, lakshmi kalpa, sweta varaaha kalpa, > shiva kalpa, bhrahma kalpa, vishnu kalpa and so on. *Each Bhrahma's term > lasts for a period of 7 kalpas.* > *The current period in time is said to belong to the sweta varaaha kalpam, > which is in the second half of the life of Bhrahma.* > > A kalpam or an epoch is made up of 14 manvantaras and each manvantara > spans 71 caturyugas > > Q4 What is mahalayapaksha? > > *A4 The brahmothsava that is being celebrated in pithru lokas is called > the malayapaksha*. Just like our kumb mela it is celebrated with great > enthusiasm by devas and pithrus in “malayabooshitha loka”. This malaya > bhooshithaloka is the loka that is born out of the sankamam of suryagraha > or athithya mandala and chandra graha or soma mandala. *It is also known > as somathiya mandalam.* > > In this loka the amavasai devas and pithrus gather to celebrate the > festival *just like mahamaham festival. Their lord is sree narayana* > > This start from the first day after the poornima and end on the amavasai > day , which is called malaya paksha amavasai. It is the day on which the > somathiya mandala is created. In this mandala the jeevasakthis of pithrus > are kept in a kalasa and worshipped. > > Just like by using the jeeva sakthi of jeevas from the kumbha , srishti is > done in the same way. Pithrus jeevasakthi originates from the amutha kalasa > lying in this malaya booshitha loka. > > *It is said that on the malayapaksha days the maharishis, the other jeevas > ,the devas, the pithrus , all come to booloka ( our mother earth) and > assemble along the sacred river beds, the sea shores.,* in Gaya, > Rameswara, and rivers like Bhavani. Kaveri, Allahabad, thriveni sankamam, > and like places of punya nathi threethas and they do the tharpana poojas. *So > the vasus,rudhras,athihtya,and pithrudevas, all do tharpana on this day , *one > need not express then how sacred and important day it is for all. > > Our forefathers/ancestors cannot come to this world whenever they think > except on amavasai, sraddha day and the starting day of every month and > during malaya paksha. > > *So they all come in "sookshma" (means not visible to naked eyes) dehas* > and if we offer them the til and water they accept that, and bless us > directly > > In normal days “ swaha devi” the wife of agni bhaghavan carries the > tharpana water from us to the worlds where our ancestors are. *On malaya > paksha day as they all gather in somathithya mandala *she sees all of > them in one place and her job becomes easy and the result is more fruitful > as it immediately reaches our ancestors ,the effect of it is felt by the > forefathers even if they have taken rebirths and helps them in the present > births also. > > *This tharpanam can be done by all without caste or creed on malayapaksha* > . > > As we don’t properly do the tharpanam as per dharma sastra on the > specified days pithrus suffer a lot in the lokas where ever they are. > Atleast if one does tharpana on this malayapaksha , amavasai or during > malaya their sufferings ar e reduced . And they will bless us. > > *This malaya paksha is considered as pithrupaksha and so the food that is > offered by us reaches them*. As this malaya paksha is considered as the > brahmothsava of the amavasai graha mandala the benefits/good result of the > tharpana or annadhana turns manifold. > > We are the decendants of great maharishis which fact we have forgotten > today. *Although the tharpana pooja is done for the sake of fore fathers > etc, it is we who get more benefit out of this karma in the form of > blessings from them.* > > > *It is the duty of the wife to insist her husband to do tharpana without > fail and help them to the maximum extent possible by doing all required > arrangements*. > > The water with “ellu” or gingley seeds “ when poured from in between the > pointer (the finger of guru) and thumb (the finger of sukra) it drains > through the pithru boomya rekahs ,and .it goes up by its power working > against the gravitational pull of the earth and it reaches the world of > pithrus who are crores and crores of miles away > > One new fact which we may not be aware is that, pithrus like snake guard > “pudalangai in tamil” because it acts as medicine . In the “pitla marga”. Cow > milk curd is also considered as very sacred and it also pleases the pithrus. > So it goes without saying that we can use these while cooking > > So let us all do the tharpanam during this malayapaksha period and on > malayapaksha day and also do anna dhanam and other dhanams according to > ones capacity and let us be relieved of our dhoshams if any we have done > either knowingly or un knowingly. > > Q5 What are the importance of Jayaathi Homam, Pravesa Homam& Sesha Homam ? > > A5 *The Jayaathi Homam is performed to propitiate the Gandharvas and > other deities. * > > Pravesa Homam is done to solemnise the bride's entry into the husband's > home. > > The sacrificial fire is brought along by the bride. Sesha Homam is a Fire > oblation with the residual ghee, a little of which is sprinkled on the > bride's head four times. > > Q6 Who has to give he ceremonial first betel to the couple to chew? > > A6 The girl's brother gives the ceremonial first betel to the couple to > chew. > > Q7 What is the literal meaning of upananyanam?Who has to initiate a child > to Gayathri mantra? When he has to be initiated? > > A7 Literally, the word means, taking (NAYANAM) near (UPA). > > The father take his son near the Gayathri Mantra. > > One should be initiated to the Gayathri mantra before the onset of > adolescence or before the innate biological tendencies start expressing > themselves. > > Q8 Why Gayathri is so important to Brahmins? > > A8 Literally, Gayathri means that which protects him, who chants it. *All > the good things a Brahmin may do are of no avail, if he fails to perform > his Sandhyavandanam and Gayathri Japa regularly.* > > Q9 Is it correct to attach keys etc to upaveetham? > > A9 No. Any object, like a key or a coin, tied to the sacred thread, can > deplete the carefully accumulated spiritual power of the Gayathri. > > Q10 What is the very special told by Bhishma laying in the sarasayya about > Gayathri’s importance? > > A10 In the Mahabharata, Bhisma extols the greatness of the *Gayathri from > his bed of arrows saying that **Where the* *Gayathri is chanted, untimely > deaths, involving the performance of obsequies for children by their elders > will not occur.* > > Q11 What is the humourus Grahanam brought by Krishna? > > A11 To quote from Mahabharat to say Shri Krishna performed Amavasya on > Chaturdasi And some will say that Krishna was justified because first he > brought Surya and Chandra together. > > Q12 When Tharpanam has to be performed as per scripts? > > A12 Neither the amaavaasya or other tharpanams to the pthrus, nor the > shraaddham, should be performed until after the kartha has perfomed the > requisite > maadhyaanikam > > Q13 Do the Aditya refereed in Tharpanam is the sun god we refer in Sandhya > vandanam? > > A13 Yes. When you perform the pithru tharpanam, you do it for the > parent, grandparent and great-grandparent. You invoke them as Vasu, > Rudra, and Aadithya. *The highest state is Aadithya, for this rite*. You > invoke your great-grandparent as having reached this state. > > But who is the Aadithya to whom we perform the daily thri-kaala > sandhya-vandanam? The chief of the Navagrahas, Aadithya. To whom do we > do the first tharpanam. > > To Aadithya, then only to the other eight planets; and then we perform the > tharpanam to the Kesavaathi deities. > > The daily maadhyanikam is specially directed to Aadithya, the Sun. He > has to be honoured first, before the Vasu, the Rudran and the pithru > Aadithya. Not the other way round. > > Which is the first sandhya-vandanam every Brahmachaari has inculcated into > him immediately after he is elevated and transformed into a dvijan? The > maadhyaanikam. > > Q14 What is the importance of doing Tharpanam in time? > > A14 We have a saying that a rite performed out of time is like offering > aahuthi to a pit of ashes instead of to the bright fire of the homa-kundam. > Similarly, > a pithru-tharpanam offered at 6 am not only becomes a null rite, it > evokes the displeasure of both the pithrus and of the Navagraham, not least > their chief, the great Aadithya. > > Tharpanam is a Sraddham in a condensed form. This is to be done after > Madhyahnikam. > > Q15 Can we perform Tharpana in the early morning? > > A15 With our changed lifestyles and offices starting at 8 A.M., etc., when > we have to leave home before 6.30 or 7 AM, it has become mandatory for us > either to perform early or not perform at all. > > The Vadhyars have to cooperate with the Yajamanas and proceed > accordingly, as it is their bread and butter. Anyway, it is better to > feed the Pithrus at 6 AM than starving them. It has become more of a > matter of convenience. > > When we perform the Grahana tharpanams, we do necessarily have to perform > it at odd hours, and the Pithrus are receiving it, we hope. > > Q16 Why sraddaha is necessary and not poor feeding on the day? > > A16 There are many of the younger generation who do not believe in > Sraddhom at all. They think, "Why do we have to spend so much of money > in buying Veshtis, engaging a cook, and paying enormous amounts as > dakshinas to the Vadhyars? > > Instead of that, let us contribute that money to some Anadha-ashram and > ask them to feed some poor people." > > *If our parents come home and ask us to feed them, can we tell them that > we have already fed some poor people, and show them the door?* > > When man is born, he is born with three duties (indebtedness) or Runas > towards 1) Devas, 2) Rishis and 3) Pithrus. The duty towards the > Pithrus stands first, then only the others. > > On a Sraddhom day, one should perform Pooja to Gods only after performing > the Sraddham. > > This should not be confused with Sandhyavandanam and Madhya hnikam, > which are part of our Nitya-karmas or daily routine duties to be performed. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Thatha_Patty" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1795314092.803797.1640304781958%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1795314092.803797.1640304781958%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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