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Re. Rama Navami

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Vijay_Srinivasan • March 24, 1999 


Dear Mani:

I have appended my answers(to the extent I know) below.

Vijayaraghavan





Mani Varadarajan  on 03/24/99 01:52:29 PM






Dear Astikas,

As you all know tomorrow (25th-26th) is Sri Rama Navami.
In the U.S., we will observe it on the 25th.  It is recorded
that Chakravarti Thirumagan Sri Rama appeared on this earth
during kaTaka lagnam on Chaitra Sukla Navami, during Punarvasu
nakshatra.  This corresponds to approximately midday on the
Navami day.  We perform ArAdhanam to Sri Rama at this time
to celebrate his birth.

I have a couple of questions as I prepare for observing
tomorrow's pandigai.

  1) According to Sri Gopala Desikan (the originator of the
     munitraya sampradAya), one should observe complete
     fasting (uposhaNa, not phalAhAra) on Navami and
     break the fast (pAraNa) on Dasami. This is from
     Sri Agastya Samhita, a Pancaratra text.

     My question is this: what happens to the prasAdam
     that is offered to Sri Rama on Navami? Food naturally
     is cooked and offered to Perumal on this day, and one
     is counselled to eat fresh food everyday, barring sweets.

     If we are to eat on Dasami the next morning, is the
     the Navami prasAdam wasted? I am wondering how much we
     should cook and offer to Sri Rama on Navami.

Yes.  We have to observe complete upavasam.  I have the mantra which I
shall send it to you from home.  The food is generally given to the
children.  You have to again prepare fresh food on Dasami, offer it to
Perumal.  I generally break it like a Dwadasi paranai.

  2) A question on the viSesha ArAdhanam:

     I understand we are to offer an arghyam to Perumal with
     the following slokas:

        daSAnana-vadhArthAya dharma-samsthApanAya ca |
        rAkshasAnAm vinASAya daityAnAm nidhanAya ca  ||

        paritrANAya sAdhUnAm jAto rAma: svayam hari: |
     gRhANArghyam mayA dattam bhrAtRbhi: sahito 'nagha ||

     In which part of the ArAdhanam is this arghyam to be
     offered? Is this said at the conclusion of the worship,
     when one gives one last arghyam during paryankAsanam?

The order is - Paryankasana samarpanam - Karpoora Aarati - Achamanam -
Satveeka Tyagam  - Visvaksena Aradhanam - Acharya Aradhanam - Arghyam (with
the above slokas) - Aparadha Kshamanam - Jitante Stotram - Theertha
Prasanam

Vijayaraghavan