Shlokas on Annapurani This is the first verse from Annapurnashtakam: 1- Nithyaanandakaree varaabhayakaree soundarya rathnaakaree Nirdhoothaakhila ghorapaavana karee prathyaksha mahaes(h)varee Praalaeyaachala vams(h)a paavanakaree kaas(h)eepuradees(h)varee Bikshaam daehi kr(u)paa valambanakaree maathaa(a)nnapurnaeshvaree நித்யானந்த(3)கரீ வராப(4)யகரீ ஸௌந்த(3)ர்யரத்னாகரீ நிர்தூ(4)தாகில கோ(4)ரபாவனகரீ ப்ரத்யக்ஷ மாஹேச்(H)வரீ ப்ராளேயாசல வம்ச(H) பாவனகரீ காசீ(H)புராதீ(3)ச்(H)வரீ பி(4)க்ஷாம் தே(3)ஹி க்ருபாவலம்ப(3)னகரீ மாதா(அ)ன்னபூர்ணேச்(H)வரீ 2- Annapurnae sadaapurnae s(h)ankara praana vallabhae Jnaanavairaagya siddhyartham bikshaam daehi cha paarvathee அன்னபூர்ணே ஸதா(3)பூர்ணே ச(H)ங்கரப்ராண வல்லபே(4) ஞானவைராக்(3)ய ஸித்(3)த்(4)யர்த்தம் பி(4)க்ஷாம் தே(3)ஹி ச பார்வதீ 3- Annadae daehi devyannam pas(h)oom puthran yas(h)as(h)riyam Aayuraarogyam ais(h)varyam daehi daevi namo(a)sthuthae அன்னதே(3) தே(3)ஹி தே(3)வ்யன்னம் பசூ(H)ம் புத்ரன் யச(H)ஸ்ரீயம் ஆயூராரோக்(3)யம் ஐச்(H)வர்யம் தே(3)ஹி தே(3)வி நமோ(அ)ஸ்துதே 4 - ANNAPURNAA ANNADHAATHRI ANNARAASI KRUTHAALAYA ANNADHAA ANNA ROOPAESCHA ANNA DHAATHA RADHOTH SAVA அன்னபூர்ணா அன்னதா(4)த்ரி அன்னராசி(H) க்ருதாலய அன்னதா அன்ன ரூபேச்(H)ச அன்ன தா(4)தா ரதோ(4)த் ஸவ Chanting this sloka 10 times in the morning, showers us with the blessing of Goddess Annapurani, in the form of availability of food and water without any disturbance, till the end of our lives. we can also chant for the welfare of our brothers and sisters worldwide Love & regards, Chithra.
Some more pestering ... Thank you very very much dear Chithra, for such a clear & honest reply. An elderly manni in our family, used to keep some water in a copper panchapathram beside her while doing her prayers -- right from 'shuklam baradharam...' uptil 'manthrapushpam...' , she wouldn't touch it. After completion & namaskarams, she would distribute that water as 'jabicha theertham' to everyone in the house ; for the menfolk who are at office, she would keep aside till evening when they return. She said that water absorbs all the good vibes / energy from the mantrams /slogams and thus, the blessings pass on even to those who don't utter them. Is this really true ?? Can I also follow this simple daily practise ; I'm no way as orthodox as they were.... wearing 'madi' thuni & all that ?? In Indian temples, should we offer prayers at navagraham right at the very end after finishing prayers to all other Gods, then not go to any other sannadhi, just exit the temple ? Or can we do it alongwith the other deities also ? Should the rounding of the temple [walking throughout the prahaarams] be in odd or even nos. , like 1 or 3 suthus is good, or should we make min. of 4 suthus ? And why is it that we are forbidden to step on the main vaasal padi , [the big , slightly high one at the main entrance to the temple ] & asked to step across it ? And is it correct that we mustn't walk across the main deity & His vaahanam statue kept outside --- like we must round the nandi also rather than walking in front of the nandi ? And which direction should we face while offering namaskaram near the 'dhwajasthambam' --- should the dhwajasthambam be to our right or left ? As always awaiting your valued answers,
KK, as far as i know ! 1 - yes, the water is supposed to absorb the energy. Another thing you would have seen - in olden days men & women used to keep vibhuthi in a small pouch called sanji around their waist. They used to be chanting some japa or other throughout the day. So the vibhuthi gets energised & usually if somebody falls sick, they will immediately give that as prasadam. In fact my mother continuously chants vishnu sahasranamam & I stitched & gave her a tiny pouch for this to keep on her body around the waist, right through the day. 2-In each temple, navagraham is in a different place. Wherever it is, you should go round either once or 9 times. There is no rule that you should worship there last. 3-We avoid walking on the high main padi because it is considered a place of worship - crores of bhakthas have crossed over it to worship the deity inside & hence it is supposed to be a punyasthalam !In fact many people, " irandu kaiyal thottu kannil othippargal". It is very common in the north. 4 - Pradakshinams for: Vinayaka - 1 Sivan - 3 Ambal - 3 Vishnu - 4 Navagraham - 1 or 9 5 - Yes, crossing in between swami & vahanam, sivan & nandi etc is usually avoided. Some even avoid walking between husband & wife , if they are seated nearby. 6 - You must do namaskaram outside the praharam, near the dvajasthambam in such a way that the main deity is on your right hand side. That is the general rule. Love & regards, Chithra.
that was informative chitra chitra..HARI OM...that was informative..i had no idea of the specific no of pradakshinas for each diety..thanks...maybe u could also share the "yaani kaani cha paapaani..." sloka which could be chanted when doing pradakshina. actually isnt it wonderful how our forefathers combined the concept of a now "much talked about form of exercise" ...ie..walking..... with a religious aspect..the pradakshinas at the temple....so as we communicate with GOD ,our bodies also get exercised..and the barefoot walking is supposed to activate "acupressure points"..a large number being in the soles of our feet. thanks also for the guidelines on namaskarams at the dwajasthambham...its a simple and effective one..LETS KEEP GOD ON OUR "RIGHT". and yes as "kute kiddo" posted ...water ...has the power of absorbing and retaining energies/vibrations(a big tool in pranic healing)..as does vibhuti..like u mentioned ...and manjal too..i used to wonder why in pujas at home the priest always asked for manjal at the beginning ,for making the "VINAYAKA"...as against using a VINAYAKA diety/picture already being used at home...i reason out that it may be because 1)manjal is a wellknown purifier..so we start the pooja with "THE OBSTACLE REMOVER DIETY VINAYAKA" made from a purifier material..and also maybe 2)its good to start with something made fresh..and manjal as an item is always available at home. IS MY REASONING RIGHT CHITRA or is it because of some other reason....would love to know from you. love devika
Beautiful description. Dear Mrs CV, That was a beautiful explanation. It felt divine while reading your steps. Well said do things with love and not out of compulsion. I have always wondered what is the difference between being religious and being philosophical. No body could answer this. If it is not too much can you start elaborating on this subject. It might help me. My dad had his eye surgery today and everything went well. Thanks for your slokams and I am still chanting them. Love, Anjana.
Very enlightening! Dear Mrs.Chithra, Good to see the saraswathi and annapoornai slokams.I have been reading through your explanations and it has really opened my eyes to a lot of things which we follow without ever really understand the meaning. Regarding the navagraham,I have heard that the last two "suthu" has to be done in the anti-clockwise directions?.Any truths to it? Why do elders ask us to tie a knot to the hair while doing swami karyam as opposed to free hair?Not doing it now but in my young age my mom always said "Nuniya mudi"! Is there a right way of doing namaskaram?I have heard that ur right padham shud cross over the left padham?My SIL used to cross over and lift the feet very slightly off the floor. Atlast no more confusions about which direction to do the final namaskaram.I always thoght as long as ur back is not facing any diety its fine. Love Suba.
A doubt! Mrs.Chithra, Just wondering why is that we are not s'posed to keep vilakku on kolam?Don't they do that for Karthigai's? Love, Suba.
Dear Friends, as far as I know....... Devika, Manjal is always used for the antiseptic qualities mainly. Also it is considered auspicious to be used in the beginning. Even when we make a list for buying monthly provisions, my mother used to say to start with manjal & kumkum. Except for puja, we don't use kumkum much now adays is besides the point! Anjana, Gradually if we incorporate love & only love as our language in our interactions starting with God to humanity, you will see a change in yourself. Doing even a mundane job makes you happy, however insignificant it may be. That is all what Gita is all about ! This is how religion & philosophy are beautifully combined in our culture. Suba, My guru says, that last 2 suthu done apradakshinam is all recent theory. Let us follow the rules made by our forefathers. If you let your hair lose, strands of hair are likely to fall & get mixed with everything - it is as simple as that. My personal explanation is also that lose, wet strands of hair falling all over your neck for a long time can cause synusitis, neck pain, spondulosis etc. The best way is to dry the hair, plait or tie it & then go ahead with puja, cooking etc so that we follow shasthram & also do not " pollute" the food with our strands of hair. Normal usual namaskaram is good enough ! It is called " panchanga " namaskaram - 5 parts of our body touching the ground. Never show your back ( leg) to the deity when doing namaskarams. Also avoid namaskarams facing south which is the Yama direction ! Vilakku should be kept atleast on a banana leaf on the kolam if not on a plate.You can keep it on a palakai or plank of wood on which kolam is drawn. Never keep it on the ground directly. My mother used to say ( for fun, may be !) - all the benefit will go to Bhooma Devi & you will not get any punyam ! Friends, please remember that I have limitations & will help you with what I know. There may be, rather, there are many things that I too follow more out of habit without knowing the reason. Please do not think that I know answers for all your questions ! Not at all. As you all now know me, " katrathu kaiman alavu, kallaathathu ulagalavu". Love & regards, Chithra.
Mikka Nandri. A whole bunch of thanks to you Chithra, all my age-old doubts are finally being cleared ; now instead of blindly following the practices, I can comfortably follow the procedures with understanding too ! Your responses give so much meaning & practicality to the deep-rooted customs & traditions, which has become so important in today's world, yet ironically which has been treated like dust in places where it is needed the most ! Love,
Dear Chitra, I have been following this now, and like KK and others was not sure of a lot og practices that we have...but thanks really for taking time and answering patiently...a lot of them make sense and are practical too. And this will make it easy to remember and pass on to the next generation too! and i fully agree that when u put your mind completely in doing something be it cooking or praying, it turns out to be a happy experience for us and everyone around us,and i feel this way of reciting even a one-liner keeps our minds and energies concentrated on that work and not only do we succeed in that work,but we give it a positive energy ,truly! And of late thanks to you i have actually experienced it in various aspects of my life and i can vouch that it actually works and is true! I think all this sharig we do isalso infectious and we all seem to be cnnected through this common thread or let's say positive energy, with you as our main pole! Keep it going strong....and thax for the Annapoorni slokams too!
