Navāvaraṇa pūjā - Ginger and Arghyas - Amritananda Śrī Vidyā Online Forum

Navāvaraṇa pūjā - Ginger and Arghyas

VenkateshRaman

Namaste.

Can anyone please let me know in Navavaran pooja vishesha Argya consecration process why Ginger is used.

Ans secondly ..do we need to have separate 2 vessel for vishesha Argya..one as Karna kalsa and another for Vishesha Argya. Or only onefor Vishesha Argya

admin

VenkateshRaman

Namaste!

Per Guruji's instructions for the navāvaraṇa pūjā two vessels are prepared: Sāmānyārghya and Viśeṣārghya. Sāmānyārghya is needed to draw the maṇḍala on on which Viśeṣārghya will sit.

During the navāvaraṇa pūjā when we say pūjayāmi we place the flower on a particular place in the yantra and when we say tarpayāmi we dip the piece of ginger into viśeṣārghya and place a drop in the same place where flowers are offered.

The symbolisms:

The Viśeṣārghya is a symbol of madhya (liquor) which represents the nectar, an intoxicated state of bhakti toward Divine, and
Ginger is a symbol of māmsa (meat) which represents a tongue, control of speech or a khechari mudra of placing one's tongue on the uvula to extract the nectar.

VenkateshRaman

Namaste !

Thank you very much for valuable and precise reply. can you please let me know what all will be added in Visesarghya and also any particular reason for choosing only Ginger not other substance,

and also please let me know when transfer milk to Visesarghya patra should we recite A to Ksha aksharas and also in reverse order using Tattava Mudra?

admin

VenkateshRaman

Namaste!

Can you please clarify, if you have you been initiated into Pañcadaśi and Śri Cakra Pūjā?

The worship of Kāmakalā, you are alluding to, is done after the invocation of Agni, Sūrya and Candra kalās in Viśeṣārghya in the Śrī Krama of Śrī Cakra Pūjā. As part of the process the akṣaras are drawn in the viśeṣārghya.

I am personally not sure as to why specifically ginger is used.

For anyone who wants to go deeper in to the intricacies of Śrī Cakra Pūjā I would recommend reading Guruji's "Understanding of Śrī Cakra Pūjā"

The updated version of this book is available as part of Michael Bowden's "Gifts from the Goddess"

Yatish

admin

If I can step on the thread for a second here…..

Each of the Panchama's have a substitute. Ginger is the substitute for fish. Radish can be used for meat (some people use jaggery here) , milk for alcohol etc. In more left leaning practices, tarpana is done with alcohol using a piece of fish. Ginger is the substitute for this practice. A small spoon (utarani) is also used for this. That being said, I do not recommend practicing in this way.

admin

Yatish

Thank you for your input.

I was basing my notes (i.e. that ginger was the substitute for the 2^nd M [meat]) on the following reasoning.

The classic set of 5M’s appears to be:

Madya (wine)
Māṃsa (meat)
Matsya (fish)
Mudrā (parched grain)
Maithuna (union)

In the light of that, if we proceed to Śyāmā Krama in Paraśurāma Kalpa Sūtra, we will find the following instructions:

PKS 6.22

The worship of all the deities of the yantra should be done with drops of the 1^st M from the viśeṣārghya by holding a piece of the 2^nd M by pressing together the ringing finger and thumb of the left hand [and] with flowers and unbroken rice (akṣatas) with the right hand.

Furthermore, if we look at Kulārṇava Tantra, we will find the following:

KT 5.55

By offering libations with Māṁsa equal to even a Tila (Sesamum Indicum) and a drop of wine equal to half of a Tila, one gets the fruit of all the sacrifices.

KT 5.79

Surā [wine] is Śakti and Māṃsa [meat] is Śiva.

KT 5.109/110

…who merges his Citta into the Supreme Spirit is the real partaker of Māṃsa.

Yatish

admin

Thanks for this. I dont have the reference handy, but I think the Nitytotsava describes what I am talking about ( meat= radish ginger = fish reference) in the Ganapathy Krama.

admin

Yatish

I might have figured out the confusion.

Point 1: Offering of Viśeṣārghya.

It’s been established that the tarpaṇa is performed with 2^nd M [i.e. meat].

To bolster this point, in the Parā Krama of Parasurama Kalpa Sutra (8.16) we find the description of the Goddess of Nectar (Sudhā Devi) which says that she holds in her two hands a pot of nectar and a piece of meat.

Point 2: Substitute for the 2^nd M

As you pointed out, Nityotsava, quoting multiple sources, lays out some of the substitutes for the:

2^nd M [i.e. meat]: radish; banana; and
3^rd M [i.e. fish]: salt; fresh ginger; oil cakes; dry ginger; wheat; māṣa beans and garlic.

Per PKS both of these have to be present in the viśeṣārghya but only the 2^nd M is used for the tarpaṇam.

Bringing it all together:

In our tradition ginger is used to perform the tarpaṇam which automatically makes it a substitute for the 2^nd M, even though, as you rightfully pointed out, Nityotsava lists it as one of many substitutes for the 3^rd M.

Yatish

Yes. Thats the reference Thanks for finding and pulling it all together beautifully in one place.