SrI:
Dear Vaidhikaas & AnushtAthaas
:
Yesterday , the Saama Vedins
completed their
Upaakarmaa .One of
the highlights of their
Upaakarmaa is the most comprehensive
Deva Rishi Pithru TarpaNam for
AdhyAyOthsarjana
Karmaa . It will take almost three
hours to observe
Saama Upaakarmaa , where bulk of the
time is
spent on performing the many
TarpaNams .
Saama Veda
TARPAnAMS
********************************
There are 264 Deva Rishi TarpaNams
and 12 Pithru
TarpaNam for those who do not have
living parents .
We discharge our debts to Devaas by
performing
Yaj~nams . They recieve Havis in
these Yaagams
and are satisfied with us
.
For the Rishis , we absolve
ourselves of our debts
by adhyayanam of Vedams .That VEda
adhyayanam
pleases them and they bless us as
MantradhrashtAs .
We discharge our debts to Pithrus
with male progeny
to please them through tarpaNams and
Sraardhams .
Saama Veda Upaakarmaa is
comprehensive to cover
TarpaNams for all the three
categories (Deva, Rishi
and Pithrus) of supernal beings to
whom we owe
the three kinds of debts .
Saama Vedam Highlights & The
First TarpaNam to Agni
*********************************************************************
Before we describe the details on
the Unique TarpaNams
in Saama Upaakarmaa , let us
briefly summarize some
basic facts about Saama Vedam
:
1. It is considered as " the
earliest divine Music of ecstasy " .
2. Saama Veda has 1875 Saamans (
verses put into musical
chants .
These Saamans are divided into PurvArchika ,
UttarArchika ,
MahaanAmni-Archika and AraNya .
3. Agni , Indra , VishNu and other
DevAs are invoked
in Saama Vedam .
The Deva TarpaNams are to these
DEvaas and the very First TarpaNam is to Agni .
The First of the
1875 Saamans Saaman is an invitation
(invocation) for
Agni to come and be
seated :
Agna Aa yAhi
veethayE gruNAnO havyadhAtayE
ni hOtaa satsi
Barhishi -- Saaman 1 , Rg Vedam VI.16.10
(meaning): Having been eulogized by
us , Come Oh adorable
Supreme Being to confer Your
blessings on this dedicated
worshipper with prosperity . Oh
Generous One ! May Thou
be seated in our innermost
chamber of the heart (
specially
decorated chair) ! Be our hOta
( the preist of our invocation)
and be seated in this elegantly
decorated chair that has been
specially created for You
.
Similar to the Saama Vedam starting
with salutations to Agni
( the Deva PurOhitha) , the
First Rg Veda mantram also starts
with the
eulogy to Agni
:
AgnimeeDE purOhitham Yajn~yasya
dEvamruthvijam
hOthAram rathnadhAthamam
(Meaning) We salute the most
adorable Lord (Agni) ,
the supreme priest of cosmic
activities , the divine
Lord , " who works through the
eternal laws , and who
feeds and sustains all that is
divine and luminous".
The salutations and the prayers
for protection to Agni Devan
are many in Saama Vedam
:
" mithramiva priyam sthushE " --
Passage from the 5th Saaman
(Meaning): Agni is dear to me as a
close friend and
hence I adore Him
.
The passage in the 47th Saaman
salutes Agni as
" Gaathuvitthama: " ( Knower of all
of Our Paths ,
Sarvaj~nan) .
The 61st Saaman seeks Agni's
protection from every
amangaLam and adresses Him as our
Lord of the House
(Gruha Pathi) ,our invoker (hOthru)
and protector(pOthru):
ThavamagnE Gruhapathistavagum hOthAnO adhvarE Thvam pOthaa visvavaara prachEthaa
yakshi yAsi
cha vaaryam---61st
Saaman
(meaning) : " Oh Fire -divine , You
are the head of
the Family (Gruhapathi) , You are
the invoker of
our benovolent actions( hOthaa) ; Oh
Lord of all
boons !You are the preserver and all
knowing .
May You convey the oblations to
other bounties
and also enjoy Yourself
".
The above are examples of Saamans
from
the AagnEya ( Belonging to Agni)
KaanDa of
PurvArchika Saamans
.
Such a reverence to Agni as a Deva
is displayed as
the First of the 81 Deva
TarpaNams among the 264
TarpaNams is for AGNI devan in
the adhyAya
uthsarjana Karmaa (Saama Upaakarmaa)
:
" Agni: thrupyathu
"
TarpaNam for Indra (7th of the 264
TarpaNams)
*********************************************************
We will continue with the tarpaNam
for Indra ,
another celebrated deva in Saama
Vedam .
It is the 7th in order of TarpaNams
after
the TarpaNams for (2) Brahma ( the
Creator
ordained by Bhagavaan) ,(3) Soma: (
Chandran
and Soma Rasam) , (4) Siva: ,
(5)PrajApathi: ,
and (6) Savithaa .
The 7th TarpaNam following that of
Savithaa
is for Indhran among the
Devaas:
" Indhra: thrupyathu"
.
The Saamans 115 to 585
are dedicated to Indra
as the Supreme Reality and this
section is known
therfore as " Aindra Parvaa". The
antharyAmi Brahman
inside Indra , the Satha Krathu (
the performer of hundred
Yaj~nAs ) is addressed here.
( To Be
continued)
NamO Veda Purushaaya ,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil
V.Sadagopan
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