Essentials of Hinduism - Pavamana Kanda

Essentials of Hinduism

Pavamana Kanda

Kanda 49 to 69 is devoted mostly to Pavamana and is known as Pavamana Kanda. The word Pavamana means that which has been Purified or Strained. This indicates that this part is concerned with the straining of the soma juice. All the Mantras of this part are addressed to Soma.

“O Soma! Your juice destroys evil sinners and brings Happiness to the Faithful. The Mantras of the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda are being chanted. The Gods come to drink the juice which has been extracted according to the superior methods. The juice is mixed with Water and Milk. The sacred soma juice increases one’s Wisdom.

The soma juice is extracted by crushing with wooden planks. Green is the soma juice. It is as radiant as the Surya. Soma juice will grant us Happiness and Prosperity. Soma is the child of the Mountains. Soma banishes evil thoughts and gives us the Happiness. The priests who offer oblations sing Rig, Yajur and Sama Hymns in praise of the Soma. Soma juice grants us Intelligence.

The soma juice will be offered to the Gods. It is the soma juice which makes the Surya Radiant. Countless are the numbers who praise the soma juice. Countless are the numbers whom soma juice nourishes. O Soma! Grant us the Riches. Let soma juice reach the Gods. Soma juice grants us Prosperity. Let soma juice Grace our Sacrifice. Soma juice is praised by the Priests. It increases the Power of the Gods. O Soma! Keep ill-health away from us. Soma is the Lord of the Learning.

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Soma – You flow as a River. Let the Devas, the Maruts and Vayu drink soma juice. O Pavamana! You see Everything. You are described as a clear Sky after pouring rains. O Soma! You satisfy all our desires and give what we want. You are our friend. You are known as Pavamana Soma. You multiply our Riches. You are equivalent to Angirasa Rishi. You bring happiness to the Devas. You are Handsome. You bring Happiness. O Soma! You reflect in the lake of Manasarovar. You bring strength to Indra. You bring light to Surya and Chandra. You speak very Intelligently. O Soma! Please give us the Riches. Chant Sama Gaana for Soma!

Kanda 63 goes into the in-depth description of Purusha – the Supreme Paramatma! First line of Sahasra Sirusha Purushaha - He has 1000 heads, 1000 eyes, 1000 feet. He is everywhere. He is spread on the Earth. With Sat, Chit, Ananda He becomes Big. Those who are devoted to His feet becomes Jnanis. He is in the food we have eaten and in the food we have not eaten. He is whatever existed until now, and yet to exist. Vamana Avatara is stated here. He is the Food. Annamaya, Pranamaya Jagat - He is One who is eating, He is the One who is being eaten – Upanishad. He becomes the huge Virat Purusha and from Him the Devas and the Humans appear. He creates the Universe!

Sama Veda description is inserted in this 64 th Kanda of Purvachika section – Sama Veda consists of Sama Gaana on the Devatas who take care of us, the Humans. Here, Indra is an important Devata; Next in importance is Agni; And then important is Vayu; And then important is Varuna – we can continue with this list. The Veda Rishis offered the soma juice to all these Devatas and made them Happy – mostly to Indra!. Here on the Earth we perform the Yajna and invite different Devatas. First to be invited is the Devaendra. The oblations are offered during the Yajna by calling individual Devata name and chanting “Swaha”. In the entire Sama Veda, Indra is the Primary Devata. Soma juice is meant for Him.

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Indra Vyakarana – This is the Grammar exclusively prepared by Indra; He is the Leader of all the Devatas; Of the eight Dik Balakas assigned by the Paramatma, Indra is in charge of the East Direction; We see an unbelieveable Statement here that the Mountains had wings and moved; Indra cut their wings – stated in the Purana Stories; He is the one who is very anxious to drink the soma juice – all these are the descriptions for Indra. A King is the Leader among men known as Rajendra; and Elephant is known as Gajendra; and thus, the Leader of the Devas came to be known as Devaendra. For the Vedas and Puranas, Indra did the Vyakarana and came to be known as Indra Vyakarana. Thus the Vedas give credit to Indra for preparing the Vyakarana for the Speech (Vak). The Sastras insist that learning of Vyakarana is essential. The Yajur Veda states that the Devas gave the most Vyakarana responsibility to Indra.

Vak Devata - There is another Truth - several Vak Devata exist – Medavi, Saraswati, and Indrani (Indra’s Wife). Vak Devata have important Prominence. Multiple Veda Mantras exist for them and they are considered as the Mother of Vedas. We invite the Vak Devata during the Yajnas and each Devata is individually identified in the Yajna and oblations are offered. Vyakarana plays a big part in the Yajna, because, the Veda Mantras should be perfectly chanted with correct Vyakarana. Slight mistake may convey a totally different meaning. A Good Example is the Sri Suktha Mantra – Correct Pronounciation is Alakshmi and not Lakshmi. There is a good possibility to make mistake in the chanting of Sri Sukta.”

ARANYA KANDA

Indra is the Lord of Animals and Men. He is the Lord of all objects on the Earth. Great indeed is Indra’s Generosity; it is famous in Heaven and Earth. We pray to Varuna, the son of Aditi. Protect us from sin and destruction. “O pure Soma! Let us observe the prescribed Rites in the Righteous Fashion. Surya is associated with Usha and Surya is the Chief God. Surya is the one who blazes. The clouds are heavy with rain. They thunder. The subjects of Earth are nourished with Foodgrains. O Vayu! This bright soma juice is prepared for You. Come to our Home. The Supreme God Paramesvara resides in the best of places. May the Supreme Godhead grant me Energy, Fame and the Milk that is used for the Sacrifices. O Agni! You reside at the place of the Sacrifice and make the Sacrifice a Success. I bow down to you. The Woman who is the Night (Ratri) has come to us. She is the one who makes us thrive. She makes us Prosper. Let Brihaspati make me famous.”

This article is a snippet from the Book Essentials of Hinduism, Authored by G.S Nilakantan. Hinduism for All is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.