Homam in Tantragni Homam in Tantragni ??????????? ?????

Performing homam in vaid

ika agni requires us to adhere to strict rules regarding purity of the location,
time, and the person performing the homam This may be difficult to follow these
days Tantragni provides greater flexibility in this regard It can be performed
anywhere - even outside India, at any time, and by anyone However, the performer
and observers should not be ritually impure at the time the homam is being perf
ormed Rules of impurity apply in case of birth or death among relatives in the p
ast few (usually 10) days (see http://www.celextel.org/mantrasandrituals/samkshe
padharmashastra.html?page=4 for details) They also apply to ladies four days in
a month Background 2 Homams can be performed in either vaidika style or tantric
style We describe homam in tantragni, but use vaidika tradition for other aspect
s, as far as possible For example, the tantric style usually includes lots of bi
jaksharas which we don t chant in vaidika style The invocation of agni in the tant
ric style is simpler and requires less restrictions, and so we use that style to
invoke agni While a homa can be quite elaborate, we describe a simple procedure
Homam Styles Homa kundam
a container for holding the fire A small plate in whic
h to bring agni A little sand, to place in the agni kundam 16 Darbhas A samit (t
wigs of certain trees) or darbha Two pieces of samit Ghee (clarified butter) and
a container to hold it Two dharvis (ladles) to offer ghee into the fire Akshata
raw rice with turmeric powder mixed in it Water in a small container (pancha/ku
la patram) Flowers Coconut, dried fruits, and cloth for purnahuti Required Mater
ial The following convention is used to express mantras in English (obvious ones
are not given below) Transliteration Scheme i: as i in bit ee: as ee in feet u: as u
in put e: as a in late ai: as i in bite au: as ou in doubt R: it is pronounced as ri
some and ru by others Example: RShi (rishi) H: visarga ( : in devanagari script) A co
nsonant followed by h denotes aspiration Example: bh as in bhakti Capitalized letters
are retroflex T: as t in tiger D: as d in dog N: as n in vishnu S: as s in vishnu jna
nasalized gnya -like sound, as jn in jnana The visarga (H) is pronounced in differen
t manners depending on the context. Pronunciation Tips If it is at the end of a
sentence and preceded by a or aa , then it is pronounced as ha
namaH at the end of a s
ence is pronounced namaha If it precedes sh , then it is pronounced as sh namaH shivaay
is pronounced namash-shivaaya If it precedes s , then it is pronounced as s
bhuuH svaah
a is pronounced bhuus-svaahaa If it precedes p , then it is pronounced as f
puShpaiH p
ayaami is pronounced puShpaif-puujayaami Each deity has a mula mantra which is chan
ted at specific times in the homam Ganapati: om gam gaNapataye namaH Durga: om d
um durgaayai namaH Sharavanabhava: om hreem vreem sharavaNabhavaaya namaH Krishn
a: om kleem kRShNaaya namaH Rama: om ram raamaaya namaH Lakshmi: om shreem mahal
akShmyai namaH Hanuman: om rudraatmakaaya hanumate namaH Sarasvati: om aim saras
vatyai namaH Mula Mantra Ganapati: ? ??? ?????? ??? Durga: ? ???? ???????? ??? S
haravanabhava: ? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??? Krishna: ? ?????? ??????? ??? Rama:
? ??? ????? ??? Lakshmi: ? ?????? ???????????? ??? Hanuman: ? ???????????? ?????
? ??? Sarasvati: ? ??? ????????? ??? Mula Mantras in Devanagari 8 Alternatively,
we can use the following mula mantras om namaH shivaaya for homam to Shiva family
? ???????? Shiva, Ganapati, Durga, Sharavanabhava om namo naaraayaNaaya for homam t
o Vishnu family ? ??? ???????? Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Lakshmi, Hanuman Mula Mantra
Alternative Place some sand in the homa kundam. Sit on the ground or on a mat o
r on a wooden plank, to the West of the kundam, facing East. Place all the remai
ning material close to you, so that you can reach them easily. Setup East You Ho
ma kundam Chant gaNanam tva
. Step 1 Chant the mula mantra while looking at the ho
ma kundam Do prokshanam (sprinkle water) to the homa kundam and say phaT ( ??? ) at th
e end, hitting the fingers of the right hand against the left palm while saying
it Hit the homa kundam with a set of 16 darbhas, while chanting the mula mantra
These darbhas can be reused if we live in a place where they are difficult to ob
tain Avakuntanam Say hum ( ???? ) while snapping fingers of both your hands Keep fore
fingers of both hands together, fingertips facing down, East of the homa kundam
and draw a circle around the homa kundam in the air with these fingers, as shown
in the next slide This invokes divine powers in the area enclosed by the circle
Step 2 Drawing a Circle for Avakuntanam East You Homa kundam Left hand Right ha
nd Start here Draw three lines in the sand in the homa kundam with a samit or da
rbha as follows (see next slide for details) Draw three lines from west to east,

each line to the north of the previous line Draw three lines from south to nort
h, each line to the east of the previous line Then sprinkle akshata at the middl
e of each line chanting mantras shown later, one mantra for each line, in the or
der in which they are drawn Step 3 The arrows should not be drawn; they are just
meant to show the direction in which the lines should be drawn The numbers shou
ld not be written; they are just meant to show the order in which the lines are
to be drawn Figure for the Lines 4 5 3 6 2 1 East om brahmaNe namaH ? ???????? ?
?? om yamaaya namaH ? ???? ??? om somaaya namaH ? ????? ??? om rudraaya namaH ?
??????? ??? om viShNave namaH ???????? ??? om indraaya namaH ? ???????? ??? Mant
ras for Akshata Chant each of the following mantras while performing the specifi
ed action with your right hand fingers om sahasraarchiShe hRdayaaya namaH ? ????
???????? ?????? ??? Touch the center of the chest, at the height of the heart, w
ith the tips of the fingers excluding the thumb om svasti puurNaaya shirase svaa
haa ? ??????? ???????????? ?????? Touch the front of the head, just above the fo
rehead, with the tips of the fingers excluding the thumb om uttiShTha puruShaaya
shikhaayai vaShaT ? ???????? ????????????? ???? Touch the back of the head, two
inches above the neck, with the thumb Step 4: Shadanga Nyasa -- 1 om dhuumavyaa
pine kavachaaya hum ? ??????????? ????? ???? Touch the left soulder with right p
alm and right shoulder with the left palm. The left hand should be over the righ
t hand. Both elbows should face the ground. om sapta jihvaaya netra trayaaya vau
ShaT ? ??????????? ????? ?????? ????? Touch the top of the left eye lid with the
tip of the ring finger, top of the right eye lid with the tip of the thumb, and
middle of the forehead with the middle finger. om dhanurdharaaya astraaya phaT
? ????????? ???????? ??? Snap the fingers of your right hand and move your palm
in a clockwise direction around the head (along a horizontal plane). Shadanga Ny
asa -- 2 Sprinkle akshata in the homa kundam edges at the locations specified on
the next page for each mantra. om sahasraarchiShe hRdayaaya namaH ? ???????????
? ?????? ??? om svasti puurnaaya shirase svaahaa ? ??????? ???????????? ?????? o
m uttiShTha puruShaaya shikhaayai vaShaT ? ???????? ????????????? ???? om dhuuma
vyaapine kavachaaya hum ? ??????????? ????? ???? om sapta jihvaaya netra trayaay
a vauShaT ? ??????????? ????? ?????? ????? om dhanurdharaaya astraaya phaT ? ???
?????? ???????? ??? Step 5 Locations for Placing Akshata East You 1 6 5 4 3 2 6
6 6 Chant the mantra once, while placing akshata in four places, for mantra #6 D
raw agnichakra in the sand of the homa kundam using a samit or a darbha It consi
sts of the following figures, drawn over each other; details are given in the ne
an 8-cornered figure consisting of two squares Shatkona
xt few slides Ashtakona
a 6-cornered figure consisting of two triangles Triangle Step 6: Draw Agnichakra
Ashtakona 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 The numbers should not be written; they are just mean
t to show the locations for some offerings East Shatkona 1 2 3 4 5 6 The numbers
should not be written; they are just meant to show the locations for some offer
ings East Triangle 9 The number should not be written; it is just meant to show
the location for an offering East Agnichakra First draw the ashtakona. Then draw
the shatkona inside it. Finally draw the triangle inside the shatkona. East Dra
w an imaginary agnichakra in the air while reciting the mula mantra Take your ri
ght hand near your nose and check which nostril gives more air; keep the corresp
onding palm below the other palm, both palms facing down, and use the ring finge
r of the lower palm to draw the agnichakra Assume that there is a square around
the triangle in the agnichakra (don t actually draw this square) as shown below Ch
ant the mantras given on the next page, and for each, place akshata in the locat
ion mentioned in the figure Step 7 East 6 7 9 2 8 4 5 3 1 This is called peeTa s
hakti This figure shows relationship of the peeTa shakti to the triangle om peet
aayai namaH ? ?????? ??? om shvetaayai namaH ? ???????? ??? om aruNaayai namaH ?
??????? ??? om kRShNaayai namaH ? ???????? ??? om dhuumraayai namaH ? ????????
??? om teevraayai namaH ? ???????? ??? om sphulinginyai namaH ? ?????????????? ?
?? om ruchiraayai namaH ? ???????? ??? om jvaalinyai namaH ? ?????????? ??? Mant
ras for Step 7 Place akshata at location 9 of the agnichakra triangle, with each
of the following mantras om tam tamase namaH ? ??? ???? ??? om ram rajase namaH
? ??? ???? ??? om sam satvaaya namaH ? ??? ?????? ??? om aam aatmane namaH ? ??
? ?????? ??? om am antaraatmane namaH ? ??? ??????????? ??? om pam paramaatmane
namaH ? ??? ????????? ??? om hreem jnanaatmane namaH ? ?????? ??????????? ??? St

ep 8 Bring agni (fire) in a small plate and place it, along with the plate, in t
he southeast corner of the homa kundam Burn the tip of a darbha or samit in agni
, say phat ( ??? ), and discard it in the southwest direction, in order to remove any
negative energy from agni Look at agni and chant the mula mantra Sprinkle water
on agni and say phat ( ??? ) or astraaya phat ( ???????? ??? ) while hitting the homa kun
with the darbha set This removes defects Say hum ( ???? ) and snap fingers Step 9: Sa
mskara Chaturthyam Chant the following mantra om ram vaishvaanara jaataveda ihaa
vaha lohitaakSha sarva karmaani saadhaya svaahaa ? ??? ???????? ?????? ????? ???
?????? ??????????????? ?????? Imagine the divine agni going up through all the c
hakras of the spline, then coming out through the forehead, and joining the phys
ical agni in the agni plate Place agni, along with the plate, on the agnichakra
Step 10 Say kavachaaya hum ( ????? ???? ) and place two samits in agni Stand and medit
ate on agni chanting the mantra: om agnim prajvalitam vande jaatavedam hutaashan
am. svarNa varNam amalam samiddham vishvato mukham ? ?????? ?????????? ????? ???
???? ????????? ?????????????? ??????????????? ?????? Sit and chant the following
mantras om uttiShTha puruSha harita pingala lohitaakSha sarva karmaani saadhaya
me dehi taapaya svaahaa ? ???????? ????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????????????
?? ???????? ?????? om chitpingala hana hana daha daha pacha pacha sarvajna aajna
apaya svaahaa ??????????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ?????? Step 12 Move
agni in a clockwise direction around the homa kundam three times, chanting hreem ( ?
????? ) once each time Step 13 Place akshata on agni with each mantras on the next
page In the namakaranam step, name the agni after the deity to whom homam will
be performed For example, Ganapati iti namakaranam kalpayami for Ganapati Ganapati r
eplaces
mentioned on the next page After the samskaras are over, sprinkle water i
n a clockwise direction around the outside of the homa kundam, chanting the mula
mantra Do this three times Step 14 Samskaras om garbhaadaanam kalpayamee om pum
savanam kalpayamee om seemantonnayanam kalpayamee om jaatakarmam kalpayamee om i
ti naamakaraNam kalpayamee om annapraashanam kalpayamee om chaulam kalpayamee om
upanayanam kalpayamee om godaanam kalpayamee om vivaahaadi karmaaNi kalpayamee
Mantras for Samskaras ? ????????? ???????? ? ???????? ???????? ? ????????????? ?
??????? ? ???????? ???????? ? ?????????? ???????? ? ??????????? ???????? ? ????
???????? ? ?????? ???????? ? ?????? ???????? ???????????????????????? Samskara M
antras in Devanagari Meditate on agni while chanting the following triNayanam ar
uNaa baddha maulim ????????????? ???? ?????? sushuklaam ?????????? shukam aruNam
anekaakalpam ?????????????????? ambhoja samstham ?????? ????????? abhimata vara
shaktim ????? ????????? svastikaabheeti hastam ??????????????????? namata kanaka
maalaa ??? ??? ???? alankRtaam sam KRshanum ????????? ?? ???????? Step 15 Add a
skhata (a couple of grains each time) with the following mantras, in the locatio
ns specified on the ashtakona of the agnichakra om jaatavedase namaH ? ????????
??? om saptajihvaaya namaH ? ??????????? ??? om havya vaahanaaya namaH ? ???? ??
???? ??? om ashva udraaya namaH ? ???? ?????? ??? om vaishvaanaraaya namaH ? ???
??????? ??? om kaumaaratejase namaH ? ?????????? ??? om vishva mukhaaya namaH ??
????????? ??? om teva mukhaaya namaH ? ??? ????? ??? Step 16 Add askhata with th
e following mantras, in the locations specified on the shatkona of the agnichakr
a om sahasraarchiShe hRdayaaya namaH om svasti puurNaaya shirase svaahaa om utti
ShTha purushaaya shikhaayai vaShaT om dhuumavyaapine kavachaaya hum om sapta jih
vaaya netra trayaaya vauShaT om dhanurdharaaya astraaya phaT Step 17 ? ?????????
??? ?????? ??? ? ??????????????????? ?????? ? ???????? ????????????? ???? ? ????
??????? ????? ???? ? ??????????? ????? ?????? ????? ? ????????? ???????? ??? Ste
p 17 Mantras in Devanagari Place akshata in location 9 of the triangle of the ag
nichakra while chanting the following. om vaishvaanara jaataveda ihaavaha lohita
akSha sarva karmaani saadhaya svaahaa ? ???????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????????
??????? ?????? Step 18 Cover the utensil containing ghee with the right hand and
chant the mula mantra eight times. Step 19: Ajya Samskaram Purify the dharvis (
ladles) by showing them over agni Sprinkle water on the dharvis Offer ghee to ag
ni using the smaller dharvi (known as shruk ) while chanting the mantras on the nex
t page, in the locations specified below inside the homa kundam This substep is
called agni jihva (tongue) The numbers are not actually written in the homa kund
am Step 20 East 6 7 2 4 5 3 1 om hiraNyaayai namaH svaahaa, hiraNyaayaa idam nam
ama om kanakaayai namaH svaahaa, kanakaayaa idam namama om raktaayai namaH svaah

aa, raktaayaa idam namama om kRShNaayai namaH svaahaa, kriShNayaa idam namama om
suprabhaayai namaH svaahaa, suprabhaayaa idam namama om atiraktaayai namaH svaa
haa, atiraktaayaa idam namama om bahuruupaayai namaH svaahaa, bahuruupaayaa idam
namama Agni Jihva Mantras ?????????? ??? ??????,????????? ??? ??? ? ?????? ???
??????, ?????? ??? ??? ? ??????? ??? ??????, ??????? ??? ??? ? ???????? ??? ????
?? , ???????? ??? ??? ? ????????? ??? ??????, ????????? ??? ??? ? ?????????? ???
??????, ?????????? ??? ??? ? ????????? ??? ??????, ????????? ??? ??? Agni Jihva
Mantras in Devanagari Offer ghee to agni three times with each of the following
mantras om vaishvaanara jaataveda ihaavaha lohitaakSha sarvakarmaaNi saadhaya s
vaahaa, agnaya idam na mama om uttiShTha puruSha harita pingala lohitaakSha sarv
a karmaani saadhaya me dehi taapaya svaahaa, agnaya idam na mama om chitpingala
hana hana daha daha pacha pacha sarvajna aajnaapaya svaahaa, agnaya idam na mama
Step 21 ? ???????? ?????? ????? ????????? ??????????????? ??????, ????? ??? ? ?
? ? ???????? ????? ?????????? ????????? ??????????????? ?? ???????? ??????, ????
? ??? ? ?? ??????????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????, ????? ??? ? ??
Step 21 Mantras in Devanagari Meditate on the deity for whom homam is being perf
ormed Chant his mantra, such as gananam tva
for Ganapati and prano devi
for Sarasvat
i Exhale (through the nose) on to a flower or akshata and place that in agni Ste
p 22 Invoke the deity by chanting the following mantras om lam prithivyaatmane g
andham kalpayaamee om ham aakaashaatmane pushpaiH puujayaamee om yam vaayavaatma
ne dhuupam kalpayaamee Om ram agnayaatmane deepam kalpayamee om vam amRtaatmane
amRtam mahaanaivedyam kalpayaamee (offer ghee to agni with this) om sam sarvaatm
ane sarvopachaaraan kalpayaamee Step 23: Panchopachara Puja ? ??????????????????
? ????? ???????? ? ??? ?????????? ??????? ??????? ? ??? ?????????? ???? ????????
? ????? ???????????? ???? ???????? ? ??? ?????????? ????? ??????????? ????????
? ??? ?????????? ???????????? ???????? Step 23 Mantras in Devanagari Perform the
main homam by offering ghee chanting appropriate mantras for the deity with eac
h offering and saying svaahaa ( ?????? ) at the end of each, followed by the name of t
he deity and idam na mama ( ??? ? ?? ) For example, gaNapataye idam na mama We can use e
ither vedic mantras, puranic mantras, bija mantra, or mula mantra Purusha suktam
can be used for any deity We can sprinkle food with water while chanting the mu
la mantra and offer it in agni Food has to meet the usual requirements for offer
ing to agni, such as no onions, etc Others can also offer ahuti, with ghee, now
Step 24: Homam Sit and perform mahavyahriti homam using mantras of the 4th prash
na of the mahanarayana upanishad, offering ghee in agni with each mantra These m
antras are in the last paragraph of vyahruti homa mantras, page 40, of the Mantr
a Pushpam book by Ramakrishna Mutt Exclude svadhaa pitRbhya
If you don t know the ab
ove mantras, then at least offer ghee with the following mantras om bhuuH svaaha
a ? ??? ?????? om bhuvaH svaahaa ? ???? ?????? om suvaH svaahaa ? ???? ?????? Of
fer all the ghee with om bhuur-bhuvas-suvas-svaahaa ( ? ???????????????????? ) Step 26
: Mahavyahruti Homam Place dry coconut and dry fruits in a cloth Hold the above
with the big dharvi (ladle) below and the small dharvi above Chant the mula mant
ra or vedic mantra for the deity The mantra puurNamidam
can be chanted, alternativ
ely Offer the cloth, including its contents, in agni, saying vauShaT ( ????? ) Step 25
: Purnahuti Chant the mula mantra or yajnena yajnam ayajanta devaH
sadhya santi d
evaH from the purusha suktam Transfer the divine energy from agni to the whole co
smos, or to yourself, or to all who have come for the homam If you had invoked t
he deity separately in a kalasham, then you can transfer it to the water in the
kalasham. Meditate Chant some shanti mantras, such as tachchham yoraavriNeemahe
or
perform arati to bhagavan Give prasadam to all Step 27: Samyojanam