NITHYA PUJA AT KANCHI MUTT - On star birthday of 19th July 2012
On 19th July the date of birth of my 60thbirthday we decided to conduct the Nithya puja (Udya asthamana Puja) at Kanchi madam.
This puja is for Chandramoulishwar (Lord Shiva) the deity of the place. This puja is one of the oldest puja done in these parts. It has been conducted for many thousands of year’s different pidis of Sankarachayas themselves following all puja vidhis.
This puja was conducted by the present running Bala periava Sankaracharya – Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi.
The puja is conducted in the main mandapam where the deity is kept both morning and late evening. Each time the puja goes on for three hrs. where the Sankarachrya is helped by 3 to 4 assistants . The puja neivedyam is prepared only in wood stove carefully by the puja cooks. The milk used for abishekam is from a black cow kept in the premises itself. No electric lighting is used in the place where puja is conducted both in the evening and morning.
Two pada pujas were also conducted, one pada puja of Mahaperiava and other of Adi Sankara.
We were asked to take sankalpa before the puja starts and allowed to witness the entire proceeding in close quarters. To participate in such a puja Privilege of one’s life time I felt and getting a glimpse of our puja tradition and heritage.
I and appa left on 18th evening itself to Kanchipuram by road. We were given a decent accommodation. After taking bath we participated in the evening Chadramouliswar puja of the evening. Next day morning we got ready by 5.30 am to participate in darisanam of Pudiya periava-Sri Jayendra Saraswathi. He came out of his abode. We showed arathi and took his blessing and then he went on a pradkshanam of Maha periava Samadhi when people assembled there, about 20 to 25 of us and we went around singing namavali `Jaya Jaya Sankara’and followed him.
Later we went to Kamakshi temple nearby where we could participate in Lalitashahranam homam and recital happening there.
We returned to the matham in time to participate in Go (Cow) puja and Gaja ( elephant)puja when one good sized white cow with the calf and an elephant are brought in to the temple mandapam and puja is done to them telling the mantras. It was around 11.00 am by the time these pujas got over. Then soon the main puja was started by Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi. It took more than 3 hrs for the puja. As I mentioned it was an elaborate on with many chanting and abisheka to the lingam. In between the people assembled there were given chance to sing songs or recite mantras. Simultaneously in the Samadhi of maha periava padapuja and other pujas were conducted by Sri Jayendra Saraswathi.
All proceedings got over by 3,00 pm and we were given Prasad of number of rudraksha malas and silver coins of Kamakshi devi along with flowers and kumkum etc. We had our food, the Prasad at about 3.30 pm- the first food of the day ( however one of our friend one Raji Viswanath brought for us morning tea and later some kanchi form her house knowing the food will be delayed)
We then got and audition to talk with the Acharya Sri Vijayedndra Saraswathi. He was very open and pleasant to talk with. We were told he has keen ear and good memory. He asked about the family and the work we are involved with. We told him about the Veda patasala, appa’s Saraswathi project and Acupuncture of self. He was interested to get some books for the Vridashram which I promised to send.
We took leave of the mutt by 5.00 pm and back home by late evening. The star birthday taking place under fold of Sankara Mutt.
