Upaakarma
Kaamokaarsheet Expiation Homa Ritual is for
All
(Compilation
for a discourse by N.R. Srinivasan, Brentwood TN, USA, August
2014)
Upaakarma is conducted once a year during the Sraavana or Dhaniṣṭhaa Nakṣatra of the Hindu calendar month of Sraavana. Male Brahmins as well as twice born Dwijas
ritually change their sacred thread accompanied by relevant Srauta rituals—offering oblations to the
sages (Navkaanda rishi tarpana and homa) whom Hindus believe
composed the Vedic mantras. At present
this is only confined to Brahmin male boys and adults, some Vaisya communities
and Saurashtra communities as mandated by religious heads (Mathaadhipatis). The
day is celebrated as Sraavana Poornima
in other parts of India, which usually occurs the day after the Sravana nakṣatra, which also marks the Onam festival
of Kerala. We have discussed at length about Sraavana Poornima Rituals and
Celebrations in August 2013. Different sects as well as different followers of Vedas
observe Upaakarma on different days. The present discourse confines to
Kamokaarsheet Japa and Homa connected with Upaakarma rituals.
Puranas have their story to tell about the importance of this
day. Upaakarma is usually held on the full moon day of the month of
Sravana. On this day Lord Vishnu took the form of a
horse headed human incarnation and restored the Veda that was stolen from Lord
Brahma by the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. As lord Vishnu took the form of a
horse, this incarnation is called Hayagriva or "horse-head". Lord Vishnu created Lord Brahma and taught
him the all eternal Vedas. Lord Brahma
once paraded that he was the only entity that had the
knowledge of the all eternal and holy Vedas after mastering the Vedas. Lord
Vishnu in order to teach a lesson to Brahma created demons Madhu and Kaitabha
from two water drops on the lotus that he mounts. He then instructed them to
steal the Vedas from Lord Brahma and hide it. Thus, Lord Brahma was in a fix
that he was not able to save the Vedas
from theft and prayed to Lord Vishnu to restore Vedas to him. Lord Vishnu took
the form of Hayagriva or Hayavadana and restored the eternal Vedas to humanity
thus curbing the pride of Brahma. Therefore the day of Upaakarma is also
celebrated as Hayagriva’s Birthday. Upaakarma ritual is observed on this day to
commemorate the restoration of Vedas retrieved from the demons Madhu and
Kaitabha.
In this incarnation, the head is
of a horse while the rest of the body is of a human, possessing four hands.
This incarnation is worshipped by those who are keen on acquiring proficiency
in knowledge—both secular and spiritual. He is said to be the benefactor of
even Dakshinaamoorti, Brihaspati and Vyaasa, known for their profound
knowledge.
“Jnaanaanandamayam
devam nirmala sphatikaakritim
Aadhaaram sarva vidyaanaam Hayagrievam upaasmahe”-- (Vedaanta
Desika)
“We meditate upon Lord Hayagrieva, who is the personification of
knowledge and bliss, whose form is like a flawless crystal and who is the
support of all branches of learning”.
In earlier days, the study of the
Vedas was practiced during the period of Tamil calendar months of Aaavani to
Thai (from mid-August to mid-January). Therefore one is supposed to perform an
“utsarjanam” ceremony, a closing ceremony of the learning of the Vedas for the
academic year. Just like Upaakarma (beginning) ceremony in Aaavani, this Utsarjana
(closing) ceremony was observed in Thai. The period between Januarys to Augusts
was then devoted to the learning of other branches of the Sanaatana Dharma
Saasstras (scriptures). Thus a cycle of
Upaakarma and Utsarjana with regard to Vedic studies was established. However,
this method took 12 or more years to learn just one Veda. Slowly this practice was
given up as impractical and Vedic studies continued throughout the year.
Therefore, the first thing to do
before the Upaakarma ceremony is to do atonement (Praayaschittam) for having
studied the Veda during the prohibited period. Specifically, one atones for not
having performed the Utsarjana (closing ceremony) in the month of Thai. For this they resorted to the Vedic mantras
from MNU. That may be the reason why Upaakarma begins with the “Kaamoekaarsheet Japam”. The Sankalpa
(religious resolution) of Upaakarma includes: “to atone for not doing
utsarjana” (adhyayana utsarjanaakaarana
prayaschittartham…) and the Sankalpa continues as “…ashtoettara sahasra sankhyayaa kaamoekaarsheet manyurakarsheet
mahaamantra Japam karishye” (I will now recite 1008 times the grand mantra
of Kaamoekarsheet for not having performed the Vedic studies). On this day, a Praayaschittam
(expiation) is performed on two counts - to pardon the sin of learning Vedas in
the prohibited period of the year and a general request to pardon all the sins
committed by them during the year. I do
not know who conceived this prohibition period for studying Vedas and why? Taittareeya Upanishad in its Sikshaavalli does
not talk about this.
‘Kaamoekaarsheet’ in Sanskrit
means ‘those acts that are out of desire’. ‘Manyurakaarsheet’ means “those acts that are committed out of
anger”. The general practice of uttering ‘namoh
namah’ after this mantra appears to be not appropriate as this Japam is
done with a sense of contrition according to some. However if one goes back to
the full Mantra as given in Mahanarayana Upanishad it will be clear why adding
“Namoh Namah” is stipulated. Some- times
it is not advisable to resort to word-by-word meaning of mantras. Also full Mantra chanting makes sense and
enhances spiritual value which runs as follows:
“Kamoe-akarsheen
namoh namah | Kamo-akarsheet-kaamah karoti naaham karomi kaamah kartaa naaham
kartaa kaamah kaarayitaa naaham kaarayitaa eshaa te kaama kaamaaya swaahaa
||
Manyu-rakaarsheer-nnamo namah | manyu-rakaarsheen-manyuh
karoti naaham karomi manyuh karta naaham kartaa manyuh kaarayitaa naaham
kaarayitaa eshaa te manyoe manyave Swaaha || (61—62, Mantrapushpam, Narayanopanishad, Ramakrishna Math).
The
translation of the mantras runs as follows:
Salutations
are to the Gods. Desire performed the
act. Desire did the act. Desire is doing the act, not I (Self). Desire is the
agent not I. Desire causes the doer to act not I. O Desire, fascinating in
form, let this oblation be offered to thee, Hail!
Salutations are to the Gods. Anger performed
the act. Anger did the act. Anger is doing the act; not I. Anger is the agent;
not I. Anger causes the doer to act; not I. O Anger, let this oblation be
offered to thee. Hail!
We
do not have the authority to alter the mantras of Vedas for our convenience or
condense them. It is therefore essential
we chant the full mantra 108 or 1008 times as per convenience. Since the word Swaahaa comes at the end of these
mantras, these are mantras meant for Homa (sacrifice) for annual self-atonement
like the one we recite in daily prayers for self-atonement (prayaschittaa)—“Sooryascha maamanyuscha…..paapebhyo rakshantaam” and “Agnischa maamanyuscha….paapebhyo rakshantam”. Unfortunately
Sandhyavandana mantras are also made exclusive to Brahmin males only where the dwijas pray
for atonement of their sins committed during the day. Does it mean others do
not commit sins or they do not need
atonement every day?
Lord
Narayana, to whom this apology is submitted, is sure to bear the acts of our
omissions and commissions with regard to Saastras.
Kamokaarsheet
Mantras appear in the Andhra version of Mahanarayana Upanishad (MNU) in section
61 and 62. Prior to them section 61
contains a mantra as follows:
“Yadvo devaaschakrima jihvayaa guru manaso vaa prayutee devahedanam |
araavaa yoe noe abhi ducchunaayate tasmin tadenoe vasavoe nidhetana swaahaa ||
O
Gods, O Vasus, that serious god-offending sin which we committed by our
tongues, by our understanding, and by our actions, place that in those who come
near and act in an evil way towards us (provoke us). Hail (Swaahaa)!
This
is a Homa mantra for self-purification as it ends with the sacrificial term
“Swaha” a term used in offering oblations to fire. The next two mantras
described above as Kamokarsheet
manyurakarsheet mantras
only elaborate what is mentioned in section 61. Therefore the above mantras are all meant for
Homa which are also employed for Japa (repeated recitation) during Upakarma. Probably Grihyasutras later adopted these
Vedic mantras condensing them while prescribing Upaakarma ritual procedures. It
is therefore advisable to use the full Vedic mantras instead of condensing them
to hurry up the Japas. Their full version is convenient for Japa and is not too
long. It is therefore fitting and proper to chant kamokarsheet manyurakarsheet mantras contained in sections 61 and
62 in full as given above and not what is given in Upaakarma ritual manuals.
Saayana,
brilliant commentator of Vijayanagara Samrajya has gone deep into the meaning of
these Vedic mantras which clearly indicates these mantras are meant for all and
not restricted to Dwijas restricting too males alone and tailor made to Upaakarma
rituals. Desire is personified as a deity in Vedas. Nasadeeyasookta announces
that Kaama or God’s will in the form of desire to create the world existed at a
time when this universe did not come into being. Yadyaddi
kurute jantuh tattat kaamasya cheshtitam || says Manusmriti II.4--whatever activity is found in a
creature it is all due to the movement of desire. Bhagavadgeetaa says Desire, Aversion,
Pleasure, Pain, Body, Intelligence and Patience constitute Kshetra or field of
the divine (Kshetrajna)—Icchaa dveshah
sukham dukham sanghaataschetanaa dhritih | etat kshetram samaasena
savikaaramudaahritam ||
Spiritual
codes declare that the five universal elements and resident deities and one’s
own heart witness the thoughts and actions of a man even though they are
concealed from others. Worshipper here is
represented as offering repeated obeisance to the gods who witness the inside
of all men and arraign them to the bar of divine justice. He pleads not guilty
and deposes that he, the Self in man, did not do any act or it is an agent.
Desire, charming to all in appearance, is the agent that did acts and doing
them. Therefore, in order to propitiate
the Deity of Desire, so that the worshiper may be left in his pure nature, as a
resent of all the withdrawal of all harmful desires, an oblation is offered
into the consecrated fire. You therefore see why it is necessary to chant mantra
in full and not just “Kamokarsheet namo namah”. We worship Lord Ganesha as Lord
of Obstacles, Vighneswara based on similar thoughts to remove all obstacles
coming in our way. Saayana says that Kaama in this context means Iswara-kaama
or the desire of the Lord. Hence we pay our obeisance. Lakshmi was born along with Alakshmi from the
Ocean of Milk and Hindus propitiate both.
According
to Saayan Manyu is not rage in the negative value sense but rage towards the
internal and external enemy. Vedas often refer to manyu as longing fervor and not anger or rage in the negative
sense. In Taittareeya Brahmana manyu
is eulogized as Bhaga and Varuna and also supplicated not to damage penance by
intrusion. Here Manyu appears with Kaama or desire. It is therefore anger
personified. Obstructed desire is source of anger. Thus anger
is another trait of the physical and psychological equipment of man from
which his true Self stands aloof. Therefore the mantra says Anger is
responsible and not the Self in him.
It
is worth recalling here following slokas from Bhagavadgeetaa chapter II:
Krodhaad
bhavati sammohah sammohaatsmritivibhramah |
Smritirbhrmsaad
buddhinaaso buddhinaasaat pranasyati || 63 ||
Tasmaadyasya mahaabaaho nigriheetaani sarvasah |
Indriyaaneenindriyaarthe
abhyastasya prajnaa pratishthitaa || 68 ||
From
attachment arises desire, from desire results anger, from anger results
delusion, from delusion results confusion of memory, from confusion of memory
results destruction of Intelligence and from destruction of intelligence he
perishes. Therefore, mighty armed one, he whose senses are well controlled from
their objects has steady wisdom.
Kaama
esha krodha esha rajogunasamudbhavah |
Anicchinnapi
vaarshneya balaadiva niyojitah | |3-36||
Evam
buddheh param buddhvaa samstabhyaatmanaatmanaa |
Jahi satrum mahaabaaho kaamaroopam duraasadam
|| 3 _43 ||
This
is desire, this is anger, born as the constituent of nature called Rajas—of
inordinate appetite and most sinful. Know it to be an enemy here. Thus knowing that which is beyond the
intellect, and controlling the self (mind), kill, O mighty Arjuna, the enemy in
the form of desire, which is difficult to conquer.
Please
therefore understand the full meaning of the Veda Mantras Kamokarsheet and Manyyurkarsheet
and chant them fully at least 108 times if not 1008 times on Upaakarma day at
least. You can chant and meditate daily also. It is also fitting and proper to perform these
expiation Homas like Viraja Homas as
prescribed in MNU for the benefit all drawn from different traditions and not make it restrictive to Male
Brahmins or Dwijas (twice born) only. To them also it makes no sense to-day to
observe this ritual as prescribed in Grihyasootras as practically no Dwija who claims his
status by birth, studies Vedas in modern life barring insignificant few. This
should be easily implementable for Hindu Americans who celebrate Mother’s day,
Father’s Day and January 1 as special religious events day which are not
mentioned in Grihyasootras. This is more logical approach for Hindus in India
too where narrow minded and
conservative religious authorities often bend Veda mantras to their self-assertions
and interpretations without going deep into their meaning explained by
enlightened Vedic scholars. If you
dispassionately look at Sandhyavandana mantras made exclusive to Male Dwijas
they are all from Vedas adopted by Dwijas and mandated by Grihyasuitras and
orthodoxy denying the others the opportunity of Nityakarmas as mandated by
Vedas. Is it not strange that our
American Hindu Temples prescribe investiture of sacred thread to a bridegroom of Western culture where the bride is a Hindu
Brahmin by birth? It is worth earmarking a day for observing
expiation Kamokarsheet ritual for all
just to bring home the importance of atonement for the sins accumulated in
daily acts.
Epilogue on Kamokarsheet-Manyurakarsheet Expiation Ritual
Upakarma
Ritual begins with Sankalpa (religious resolution) and Kamokarsheeth Japa for
atonement of those desires and anger
which results in greed and hatred.
Sections 61-62 of Andhra Version of Mahanarayana Upanishad contains Kamokaarsheet-Manyurakarsheet mantras
which are Homa mantras intended for all
as expiation mantras atoning for desire and anger which lead to greed, jealousy
and hatred. There are also other expiation mantras included in this Upanishad.
In fact the expiation mantras contained in our daily prayers of Sandhyavandana
are also from this Upanishad intended for all.
These
mantras contained in Upanishads have been tailor made to suit the needs of
Upanayana Samskara and Upakarma ritual and made restrictive for the exclusive
use of Brahmin boys and male adults by birth who are made to enter Braahamchrya
and Grihastasrama Dharmas with suitable introductory Sankalpas (religious
resolution). Hindu religious monasteries (Maths) and orthodoxy prohibit even Brahmin
girls as well as married woman and widows from
reciting Gayatree Mantra, Om, Kamokarsheet mantras as
well as Sandhyavandana mantras in Hindu religious practices in India which is
not the intention of Vedas. Probably
these restrictions are of later origin and dictated by Grihyasootras due to
large scale misuse and abuse of these mantras. In Ramayana, neither Rama
undergoes sacred thread investiture ceremony nor Sita Mangalya Dhaarana in the
elaborate description of Seetaa Kalyaana which shows these practices are of
later origin, and not based on citation from Vedas.
It
is unfortunate that Grihya sootras simply add the words Namo namah to the heading Kamokarsheet
manyurakarsheet to make it a mantra for repeated chanting—Japa mantra (Kamokarsheet manyurakarsheet namo namah) keeping one wondering why we pay our
obeisance to desire and anger? Word by
word translation of this makes no sense to the devoted and inquiring mind. It
therefore makes sense to chant the full mantra given in MNU with understanding
108 times at least if not 1008 times. These mantras are also not too long to
repeat fully once a year that too on a day declared as a holiday by Government of India as well as
State governments if one is religious.
In the mantras of this ritual both
Desire (Kama) and Anger (Manyu) are raised to the status of Gods and worshiped
to atone for them. Even gods cannot operate without these qualities and
sometimes need them. The Creation started with a desire as learnt from
Nasadeeya sookta. You will therefore find in Hindu practice Ganesha is
worshiped as Vighnaraja, Lord of Obstacles to remove all obstacles. Parvati created Ganesha to obstruct the path
of even Siva if he is an intruder in her personal routines and so insisted on
his name being retained as Vighnaraja though Siva called him Gajanana, Elephant
headed. Vighnaraja takes back all our
harmful desires so that we are not affected when he is pleased. He is therefore
worshiped as Lord of Obstacles to get rid of obstacles that come on our way. Along with Laksahmi Alakshmi was born and
worshiped. With our prayers we turn Kama to Iswara-kama (Lord’s desire)
that will not result In Iswar-manyu (Lord’s rage) and sure to end as Iswara-anugraha or Lord's blessings.
Therefore lot of time has been spent
on preparing a discourse as above giving the full mantra from MNU and
explaining its deeper meaning based on the comments by learned Scholars like
Saayana and Ranga Ramanuja. MNU is glorified as Yajniki Upanishad (Upanishad of
Yajnas and Homas ) because of its
abundance in Vedic Mantras though Sankara did not live long to give an
elaborate critical review of this Upanishad being preoccupied apart from casual
reference. Kamokarsheet –Manyurakarsheet
Mantras are essentially Mantras for Vedic sacrifices as they end with words
Swaahaa repeatedly.
It
may not be possible for Hindus in India who seek conservative and parrot-trained
priestly guidance to perform Upaakarma ritual, to change the conventional
practices. American Hindus can certainly change the trend making it equally
applicable to all traditions and making it Vedic sacrifice on Upaakarma Day as per the
intent of full original Veda Mantras explained in this text. It is encouraging
to note American Hindus have successfully modified American Holidays of
Mother’s day, Father’s day and January 1 to make them Special Religious Events
Day in Hindu Temples. I do hope in due course they will add Labor Day as
Viswakarma Day, Guru Poornima day as Teacher’s day, Makara Sankranti as New
year’s day for all instead January 1 and
Vasanta Ritu Day for Valentine Day which would be pleasing all Hindus drawn
from different traditions. These have been discussed at length in my discourses
under suitable headings.
REFERENCES:
1)
Swami Vimalananda, Mahanarayana Upanishad, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India
2)
Swami Vireswarananda, Bhagavad-gita, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India
3)
Srinivasan Nadipuram, Sraavan Poornima Festivals, <nrsrini.blogspot.com>
August 2013
[This discourse material is a compilation from the reference
above as well as other sources for a
prepared lecture for delivering at Vedanta Class of Sri Ganeha Temple which is
gratefully acknowledged. Anybody is
free to download partly or fully this discourse, modify and redistribute this
as well as other discourses from the
blog Hindu Reflections <nrsrini.blogspot.com> for spreading the wisdom of
Vedas and scriptures further. These lectures are
posted on the blog for the benefit of those who are not able to attend
my lectures personally due to personal reasons or due to not living in
Nashville or able to go through the various sources as I have done.]
namaskaram srinivasan ji. you have given a detailed explanation of the great mantra. i was searching for a very long time. for the last one month i am regularly chanting 28/3 times during the sandhya vandanam.
ReplyDeletestaaaaaaaaay blesssssed. please continue your researh
Very good explanation and clarifications offered Sir on kamokarsheet manyurakarsheet mantras from MNU. It is pertinent to know the meaning and recite the mantra as it is in its full form as we do not have the authority to alter the veda mantras which have flown throughout the ages to us through Shruti. In daily Brahma yagnam, i use to chant the full mantra with its meaning in mind. I hope this explanation goes to the people at large, so as they realise the meaning and purpose of chanting the mantras in full. Sincere thanks and Namaskaram.
ReplyDelete