Veda Dharma

Monday, April 27, 2009

Vaikhanasa Dharma : Nitya Aradhana

The following work by Sri Ramakrishna Deekshitulu of Tirumala temple and Sri Sathagopan of Oppilliappan koil is an excellent introduction to the Vaikhanasa Agama. When I was thinking of writing my next blog on the nitya aradhana of the Lord as mentioned in the agamas, I came across this excellent work which has mentioned the nitya aradhana of the Lord in good detail (page 67 onwards). Hence I am just providing a link to this book:
http://www.srihayagrivan.org/html/ebook031.htm
The direct pdf can be obtained here:
http://www.srihayagrivan.org/ebooks/031_sva_v1.pdf
This work also has other interesting stuff like the celebrated Atma Suktam (page 39) and pictures of different beras of the Supreme Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala. It also has a good list of temples that still follow the Vaikhanasa style of worship.
The exact number of upacharas to be performed might change here and there. For example, Bhrigu's Vasadhikara mentions the following number of upacharas for each asana:
1. Mantrasana - 13 upacharas
2.Snanasana - 36 upacharas
3.Alankarasana - 28 upacharas
4.Bhojyasana - 16 upacharas
5.Yatraasana - 5 upacharas
6.Paryankasana - 32 upacharas
The complete list of upacharas can be found from the agamic works in detail. The agamas also mention five different suddhis (purity) that are necessary for worshipping the Lord. They are deha suddhi,sthana suddhi, patra suddhi,atma suddhi and bimba suddhi that correspond to body, place,vessels, soul/self and the Lord's image.
The agamas also talk about the greatness of water from ganges and tulasi leaves for the worship of the Lord.
narayana smaranam