From: "vchandra" <vchandra@a...> Date: Tue Mar 21, 2000 5:05 pm

Subject: FW: re- parishEchana manthram

Dear members, This is a post from Sri M.G.Vasudevan. adiyEn, chandrasekaran.

Subject: re- parishEchana manthram

Dear Chandrasekaran and other srivaishnava perunthagaiyer,

Sri Vijayaraghvan and manjula sriram have given good account of the parishEchana manthram and procedure. I give below the meaning of the mantras used in parishEchanam" which means "moistening" or "sprinkling with water" or "encircling or going round the food sprinkling water.

It is not pariseshaNam which means "special balance of something'. The wordsesha here means balance.

Since the procedure is dealt in detail I give below the meanings only. As already stated the parishEchanam is done is four parts over the annam served.

a. First with ordinary water prOkshanam to the food- with manthram "Om bhoor bhuvas suva:" also called the "vyaahridhi manthram" and nivEdhanam to the antharyaami bagavaan with gaayathri and moola manthram.

b. then first parishEchanam is done with argya theertham given by other person to the person eating and he does the first parishEchanam with the manthram "Om bhoor bhuvas suva:"

c. Then second parishEchanam with argya theertham given by other person to the person eating and he does the parishEchanam with the manthram "Sathyam thvarthEna parishinchaami.

d. Then the aapOsanam with the paadhya theertham and manthram "amruthOpasthraNamasi"

Now the meanings: Sathyam thvarthEna parishinchaami- the "vigraham" - splitting for this will be "sathyam + thu + ruthEna + parishinchaami" (the letter ru here is the ru in the series a aa e ee u uu ru and not kru or ru the declensions of letter r). (thu+ ruthEna == thvarthEna that is samskrit grammar here).

- means "I sprinkle water around the sathyam and right" (not right-urimai but

truth). The words sathyam and rutham has same meaning. please recollect anrutham means lie or untruth.

In the night it is said "rutham thva sathyEna parishinchaami' again meaning the same but position of words changed. Annam is considered here as sathyam the truth and also right. "aapOsanam"- to be split as aapasa:+ asanam - the meaning is the "hunger is quenched by water [aapa means water asanam is quenching]. So the paadhya theertham used in the ijyaa is consumed with the manthram "amruthOpastharaNamasi"- split as "amrutham+ upastharaNam + asi"- meaning the "you be the spreading nectar". Who else can do such an act except the lord hence it is to be understood as addressed to the lord and his paadhya theertham is the nectar. It is also said the ganges water came from his foot. So the paadhya theertham is the nectar.

Just for cross-reference the same word "aapOsanam" is also used in sandhyaavandhanam meaning encircling self with water in the "aapOhistaa" etc. After food is finished again the uththaraapOsanam is done with paadhya theertham and manthram "amruthaapiDhaanamasi". This manthram is split as "amrutham + apiDhaanam + asi"-meaning "be the covering nectar for the food". Trust this clarifies. For further elucidation if any I am at your service. Dasan Vasudevan

Subject: FW: REPARISHECHANA MANTHRAM- MGV2

Dear members, This is a post from Sri M.G.Vasudevan. adiyEn, chandrasekaran.

Subject: REPARISHECHANA MANTHRAM- MGV2

Dear Chandrasekaran and other srivaishnava perunthagaiyeer,

In continuation of yesterday's mail now let us see what thaithreeya upanishadsays on this. In the fourth part called naaraayaNa upanishad (refer Sri uththamoor Veera raaghavaacharyaswami's book page 175 sloka 122) which reads as "amrothOpastharaNamasi! Slokam 122

praaNE nivishtaamrutham juhOmi! PraaNaaya svaahaa!!

ApaanE nivishtaamrutham juhOmi! apaanaaya svaahaa!!

VyaanE nivishtaamrutham juhOmi! vyaanaaya svaahaa!!

udhaanE nivishtaamrutham juhOmi! Udhaanaaya svaahaa!!

samaanE nivishtaamrutham juhOmi! samaanaaya svaahaa!!

BrahmaNima aathmaa amruthathvaaya! Slokam 123 anu 33- 48 part

These are called praaNaahuthi manthraa-s. aahuthi is oblation. PraaNa is breath or air or life. As already known the air we breath is classified into five types

praaNa - life's breath or basic

apaana - another life wind

vyaana - third vital air

udhaana - breathing upwards

samaana - good air

meaning of the slokam: for praaNaaya svaahaa- I oblate a creature of amrutham the food to the breath (praaNan) with a high degree of satisfactionand with a resolution. Similarly substitute or replace the praanan to apaanan, vyaanan, udhaanan samaanan etc to get at the meaning of other parts.

The Chandokya upanishad also deals with same and it also gives by this pranaaya svaahaa which devadhai and which part of the body gets satisfied. That we will see in next post. Dasan Vasudevan M.G.

Date: Wed Mar 22, 2000 12:08 pm

Subject: RE PARISHECHANA MANTHRAM- 3

Dear Chandrasekaran and other srivaishnava perunthagaiyer,

In continuation now we will see chandhokyopanishad. Please refer Part 5- 19th part- page 674 and 675 of Sri Uththamoor Veera raaghavaachaaryaswami's book on upanishads -thathriya, chandhokya etc.

Thath yadh Bhakthan prathamamaagachchEth thadhDhomeeyam! Sa yaam prathamaam aahuthim juhuyaath praaNaaya svaahEthi! PraaNasthrupyathi! PraaNE thrupyathi chakshus thrupyathi! Chakshushi thrupyathyaath aadhithyas thrupyathi! AadhithyE thrupyathi dhyous thrupyathi! Dhivi thrupyanthyaam yath kincha dhousva aadhithyaschaath adhithishtatha: thaththrupyathi! Thasya anuthrupthim thrupyathi prajaya pasuBhir annaadhyEna

thEjasaa brahmavarchasEnEthi!

Meaning: One person while eating, makes the first offer of annam, and that first offer of annam becomes the oblatory instrument. That satisfies the praaNa. So the eating has to be done as a homam. When he does that at firstpraaNa gets satisfied. In the satisfaction of praaNa the eyes gets satisfied. When eyes gets satisfied the Sun gets satisfied. When sun is satisfied the heavens are satisfied. When heaven is satisfied all those in heaven gets satisfied. When all get satisfied like this the people and the cows etc get the tejas (halo?) and the power of brahma. May be in short the offer of food has to be as homam.

Atha yaam dhvitheeyaam juhuyaath thaam juhuyaath vyaanaaya svaahEthi! Vyaanas thrupyathi! vyaanE thrupyathi chandhramaathrupyathi! Chandhramasi thrupyathi dhisasthrupyanthi! dhikshu thrupyantheeshu yathkincha dhisas chandhramas chaadhithishtanthi thath thrupyathi! Thasyaanuthrupthim thrupyathi prajaya pasuBhirannaadhyEna thEjasaa brahmavarchasEnEthi! Atha yaam thrutheeyaam juhuyaath thaam juhuyaath apaanaaya svaahEthi! apaaNasthrupyathi! apaanE thrupyathi vaakthrupyathi! vachi thrupyanthyaam agnisthrupyathi! agnou thrupyathi pruthivee thrupyathi! Pruthivyaam thrupyanthyaam yath kincha pruthivee chaagnischaadhithishtatha: thath thrupyathi! Thasyaanuthrupthim thrupyathiprajaya pasuBhirannaadhyEna thEjasaa brahmavarchasEnEthi!

Atha yaam chathurtheem juhuyaath thaam juhuyaath samaanaaya svaahEthi! samaanasthrupyathi! samaanE thrupyathi manasthrupyathi! manasi thrupyathi parjanyasthrupyathi! parjanyE thrupyathi vidhyuth thrupyathi! Vidhyuthi thrupyanthyaam yath kincha vidhyuchcha parjanyaadhithishtatha: thath thrupyathi! Thasyaanuthrupthim thrupyathi prajaya pasuBhirannaadhyEna thEjasaa brahmavarchasEnEthi!

Atha yaam panchmee juhuyaath thaam juhuyaath udhaanaaya svaahEthi! udhaanasthrupyathi! udhaanE thrupyathi vaayusthrupyathi! vaayou thrupyathi aakaasasthrupyathi! AakaasE thrupyathi yath kincha vaayus chaakaasaschaadhithishtatha: thath thrupyathi! Thasyaanuthrupthim thrupyathi prajaya pasuBhirannaadhyEna thEjasaa brahmavarchasEnEthi!

Similarly the meanings for others Vyaana- the hearing power. The moon, the dhik (directions north south east west)- the earth. Samaana- manas- the

mind- parjanya- the rain- vidhyuth- the lightning Udhaana- vaayu- air- aakaasam- space. Thus the food offered to the body the whole panchaboothaas get satisfied. So the eating is also a sacrifice and we get tejas and brahmaa's power, by eating in the proper way.

Please read the following- annEna praaNa:, praaNir balam, balEna thapas, thapasa: sradhdha, sradhdhayaa mEdha, medhayaa maneesha, maneeshayaa manO, manasaa saanthi: saanthayaa chiththam, chiththEna smruthi, smruthyaa smaaram, smaarENa vignaanam vignaanEth aathmaanam vEdhayathi! Thasmaath annam dhadhan sarvaaNyE thaani dhadhaathi!! NaaraayanOpanishath- Slokam 144 page 195 of same book. Perhaps one can understand the easyness and effectiveness of the anna dhaanam. Of course the parishEchanam question lead to the annadhaanam. Dasan Vasudevan M.G.

Bhojana kramam - Pariseshanam, prANAhoothi et al - Part 1 of 2

All of you may know about this, I'll share what I've been taught. Please

add/modify if I missed any.

1) Wash your feet and palms and perform aachamanam.

2) After the rice and ghee are served, sprinkle little water on the food

while chanting the following mantra, inorder to do nivedhanam to

Bhagawan who resides in you as an antharyAmi.

Om antharyAmiNE nama:

3) In your right palm, have some water, and put it around your leaf(or plate)

in clockwise direction and chant the following mantra.

Om bhurbhuvassuva:

4) Do the following nyasam.

prANAgnihotramanthrasya bhrahmA rushi: (touch top of the head)

anushtup cchandha: (touch the tip of the nose)

vaishvAnarAgnirdevathA (touch the heart)

prANAgnihotrE viniyOgha: (both the palms together do the

semicircular motion starting from outside towards you)

5) In your right palm, have some water, and put it around your leaf(or plate) in

clockwise direction and chant the following mantra.

sathyam thvarthEna parishinchAmi (during the day)

rutham thvA sathyEna parishinchAmi (during the night)

6) Then partially lift the top left corner of the leaf or you could touch the

plate.

Use only the thumb, index finger and middle finger of the left hand. You can

skip

this step if perumAL theertham is self-served.

7) Request for the perumAL theertham to be served. First, sprinkle the

theertham

onto the food. Second, hold the perumal theertham(pAdhyam). Don't have yet,

wait until the theertham is served for all.

8) Chant the following manthra and then have the theertham without noise.

amruthOpastharaNamasi

9) Then perform the following prANAhoothi. Use only the thumb, index finger

and middle finger of the right hand and take a very little amount of the rice

and ghee

mixed and swallow it without touching the teeth.

Om prANAya svAhA (east)

Om apAnAya svAhA (south)

Om vyAnAya svAhA (west)

Om udhAnAya svAhA (north)

Om samAnAya svAhA (center)

Om bhrahmaNE svAhA (center)

Om bhrahmaNi mama AthmamruthathvAya (center)

SriGovindhAya nama:

10) Now, switch the one you are holding with left hand to right hand. Request

to

serve water to purify your left hand at that corner.

11) Until you come to this point don't have anything other than what you had

during parisEshanam.

12) Have thrupthi bhOjanam.

13) Have what you need to (food, fruits, water etc) before the utthara

bhojanam.

14) utthara bhojanam. Request for the perumAL theertham to be served. Hold the

perumal theertham(pAdhyam). Don't have yet, wait until the theertham is served

for all.

Chant the following manthra and then have half what was served.

amruthApidhAnamasi

15) And pour the rest around the leaf while chanting the following.

rauravE apuNyanilayE padmarbudha nivAsinAm |

arththinAmudhakam dhaththam akshayyamupathishtathu ||

16) Then, gargle 16 times, wash your feet and perform the Achmanam twice.

There is actually philosophical significance to

the parisecana and prANAhuti mantras.

1) Parisecana

-------------

As Sri Vijayaraghavan has explained, after we sit down

for our meal, we say the mantra:

satyam tvartena parishincAmi

(O Food! You are True. I encircle you with

divine righteousness.)

and we circumambulate our food with a sprinkling of water.

This sprinkling of water is known as "parisecana".

At night, this mantra is 'Rtam tvA satyena parishincAmi',

transposing the 'Rtam' and 'satyam'.

I am not sure of the exact philosophical details as to

why Vaidikas do this particular part, but I can surmise one

meaning from the mantra. "Satya" means that which is real

or true. "Rta" is a notion of the Divine Law or moral principle.

The term "Rta" is often found in the Rg Veda, and it is

from this that the idea of "dharma" later evolved.

>From this we can gather that the parisecana mantra is sort of a

formulaic "protection" for the food we are about to eat.

Practically, it does also serve to ward off insects, etc.,

and perhaps this is another reason why the ritual developed

in this particular form.

2) prANAhuti -- the offering to the vital breaths

-------------------------------------------------

The next step is the part of greater philosophical significance.

Recall that in the Vedic tradition, every act eventually becomes

an act of worship, an act of recognition of the pervasiveness of

the Supreme Brahman and Its power.

When we eat, we nourish our bodies. Food is therefore essential

for bodily sustenance. Within our body is the "ana" or

vital breath. The "ana" has five activities or "prANa-s".

The five prANa-s represent the various bodily functions that are

critical for survival. They are considered a manifestation

of the power of the Supreme in the bodily plane.

[ It is almost a universal cultural idiom to recognize breath

as the vital force behind life. In English, when someone dies

they are said to have "breathed their last". In Tamil,

the word "ushir" or "uyir" can mean both breath or life. ]

The idea is that by first making an offering to the prANa-s,

we pay homage to their life-giving power by virtue of their

performing the bodily activities that are crucial to our

survival. In this way, this ritual recognizes that not

only is food important to survival, but the very bodily

functions that we take for granted are essential, and we

owe all of this to the Supreme, who sits as the superintending

power behind all bodily activity, no matter how mundane.

The vital breaths or "prANa-s" are five in number. The latter

four are derived from the first. They are:

prANa -- the principal breath

apAna -- responsible for excretory activity

samAna -- responsible for digestive activity

vyAna -- responsible for circulatory activity

udAna -- respiratory activity

This act of thanksgiving to God who through these bodily

functions sustains life is done by saying the following

mantras, and eating a little bit of rice and ney (ghee)

without chewing it (because, after all, the food is an

offering, not meant for personal consumption):

om prANAya svAhA

om apAnAya svAhA

om vyAnAya svAhA

om udAnAya svAhA

om samAnAya svAhA

om brahmaNi ma AtmA-amRtatvAya

The last line means, "May my self be united

in Brahman (the Supreme), so that I may attain

immortality."

Eating, then, is a profound act of worship which

sustains the body so that we may further worship

Brahman. There is also an implication that the

swallowing of tasty food symbolizes the oblation

of the individual self to God, so that God may,

in a sense "eat" and "enjoy" us.

Before and after eating the meal, water is sipped,

once again with a mantra. The rishis of yore found

this aspect of the ritual so important that they

mention it in both of the largest Upanishads, the

Brhadaranyaka and the Chhandogya, in virtually

identical terms:

Realized people, while eating, do as follows: before and

after their meal, they "dress up" the prANa with water.

The prANa receives clothing in this manner, and

is does not remain naked.

-- Chhandogya 5.2.2 & Brhadaranyaka 6.1.15

I am not quite sure why "clothing the prANa" with

water is so important, but both Sankaracharya and

Ramanujacharya write that meditation on prANa having

water as its garments is very important.

It does make some sense, however, from other angles.

Water is a purifier, and drinking water before and

after (Acamanam) is a purifier and sustainer of

the body. Furthermore, the yoga shastras recommend

that we eat food to fill only half our stomach;

one half of the rest, i.e., one quarter of the

stomach we should fill by drinking water. The rest

should be air. This is supposed to be the ideal

proportions for spiritual and bodily health.

The mantras recited when sipping water before and

after imply this as well:

amRtopastaraNam asi -- Oh water! You are the seat

of immortality.

Since water is drunk before and after the food,

perhaps this is a suggestion that to approach

immortality, one should drink water to fill the

stomach 1/4 way. But this is just a guess.