Monday, January 2, 2017

Sandhyavanada - 3

Continued from the previous 2 posts:
Sandhyavanadana - Part - 2 
Sandhyavanadana - Part - 1
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[After the initial purification, we keep water in our palm and chant these prayers pleading deities to destroy the sins; which is an internal cleansing process]

ॐ सूर्यश्च मा मन्युश्च मन्युपतयश्च मन्युकृतेभ्यः पापेभ्यो रक्षन्ताम् । 
यद्रात्र्या पापमकार्षं मनसा वाचा हस्ताभ्यां पद्भया्मुदरेण शिश्ना रात्रिस्तदवलुम्पतु। 
यत्किञ्च दुरितं मयि इदमहं माममृतयोनौ सूर्ये ज्योतिषि जुहोमि स्वाहा ।।

Om! May Surya, pride, and the faculties that preside over emotions (i.e. "gods of emotions") protect (save, guard) me from "rage" (resentment, meanness, anger, distress, grief, wrath, passion, mood), and from the all the sins perpetrated out of "rage".

May rAtri/"night" (the presiding deities of darkness; "one of the forms of Brahma") crush (devour, swallow, suppress) whatever sins that I [may have] committed at night through mind (thoughts, will, intention, intelligence, temper), through speech (sound, language, voice, words), hands, legs, belly (stomach), genital organs.

Whatever minute wickedness (evil, sin, discomfort) that reside in me, this ego (conceit, pride, arrogance) and myself, I offer them as oblations in sacrifice into the effulgence of Surya.
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This is an important purification process. "paapa prajna" (guilt) can stop us from making progress. It will hold us back. So, it is important to cleanse the mind before proceeding further. Interesting to see how emotions are seen as a way to guard against emotions. 

Night is a great opportunity to reboot our system, to get rid of any disasters of the day. "Night" also represents ignorance, so a lot of the "sins" are committed due to ignorance, and ignorance can only save us from ignorance. So, in essence four level refuge is sought for relief from "sin": Surya (cleansing agent, energizer, that represents enlightenment and knowledge), emotions, emotional roots, and night. 
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<keshavAya swaha ... >

[As we sprinkle the water over us we need to realize that we invoke the pundarikAksha rupa or the paramapurusha who resides in the sanctified waters to purify us internally and externally, so "yaH smareth puNdareekAksham" is essential part of the process]

ॐ दधिक्रावण्णो अकारिषम् । जिष्णोरश्वस्य वाजिनः । सुरभि नो मुखाकरत् । प्राण आयूँषि तारिषत् । 

Om! I have sung the praise of dadhikrAvan [the swift strong horse] (or, Lord Hayagriva; Sun in the form of a horse born in the east from the mahodadhi, the curd ocean) | I thus sprinkle this potent (procreative, spirited) [water, in the name] of this 'horse' (ashva also refers to number seven, that represents the 7 reins of the Sun God) | May our faces be lightened (or, may this take us to the peak of excellence, may this help us excel in our speech and pronunciation) | May it also fulfill (save, rescue) our life and lifespan |

[I found in some old discussions on the topic that dadhikrAv is the agni devata or agni rupa purusha avatara of paramatma that presides over dadhi - curd. This deity is often invoked for purity in speech or vaak shuddhi and as such the following verse subrabhi no mukhAkarat. This is also probably why there is a practice of eating curd in some places before going for an exam or a presentation.]


ॐ आपो हि ष्ठा मयो भुवः । ता न उर्जे दधातन । महे रणाय चक्षसे । यो वश्शिवतमो रसः । तस्य भाजयतेह नः । उशतीरिव मातरः । तस्मा अरं गमाम वः । यस्य क्षयाय जिन्वथा । आपो जनयथा च नः ।

Om! Its on water (or pious action) alone that this world is sustained | That [water] preserves the vigor to make one refreshed (to be happy, to be powerful) | For the radiantly abundant pleasure (movement) | Oh water, you bestow the most auspicious essence (nectar) that gets distributed in this [body] of ours, just like a wishing mother [who sustains the child] |  We swiftly move towards (to partake) for the consumption of that rasa that you enable us to, and water helps us beget (reproduce, generate).

हिरण्यवर्णा शुचयः पावकाः यासु जातः कश्यपोयास्विन्द्रः | अग्नि आगर्भं दधिरेविरूपा स्तान अपःशग् स्योना भवन्तु ॥ 

[HiraNyavarNa literally means "golden colored" and it also means "a river". Interestingly it is used in context of a "paavaka" - typically "fire", which is also hiraNyavarNa. We need to remember that we are holding in hand a few drops of "purifying water". Some tests praise fire or heat or sun as the source of water. And, taking into considering the Rigveda texts such as 1.59.5 आ सूर्ये न रश्मयो धरुवासो वैश्वानरे दधिरे.अग्ना वसूनि in context .... syOna is a beautiful word that means several things such as tender, happiness, sun, delight, comfortable seat etc but given that it is in association with staana I am taking the last of the meanings listed. And, I also found somewhere that "hiranyavarnah" is nArAyaNa rupa udaka which is also of the form of agni, cleanses all sins, and thus He and His names alone is purifying - "hiraNyavarNaah suchayah"]. 

It is from the all purifying fires that Kashyapa Muni and Indra were born. May this water that was born of that fire be a comfortable seat to all the variegated purifying and sanctifying / auspicious qualities [or in simple words "may all the purifying and auspicious qualities come and reside in this water with delight"].

यासाग्ंराजा वरुणोऽयाति मध्ये सत्यानृते अवपश्यं जनानाम् । मधुःश्च्युतः श्युचयोयाः पावका स्तान अपःशग् स्योना भवन्तु ॥ 

In the middle, Varuna Deva, the adhipati (the presiding deity of water) of the sanctified water, enters as a witness to the truth and untruth of the human beings. May the all purifying Lord in the form of madhuschyuta (agni rupa paramAtma in the divine blissful form) take a comfortable seat in this water to sanctify and create auspiciousness.

..... To be continued ....

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