Balivaiśvadeva
Balivaiśvadeva · bali-vaiśvadeva, “the offering to all the devas”
Balivaiśvadeva is the daily fire rite of the gṛhastha (the householder). Offerings (havya) are made into the household fire for a long list of devatās. The rite closes with a prayer for the pushṭi (nourishment and well-being) of the household, and with food given to all beings, including crows, dogs and the destitute. The Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 216, gives the full sequence of mantras. The rite is part of the five mahāyajñas (pañcamahāyajña) that a householder must perform every day.
The Agni Purāṇa gives the rite in the teaching of Pushkara to Paraśurāma (Chapter 264): a homa of the first portion of all the food to Vāsudeva and the devatās, balis set out through the house and outside it every morning and evening, the balis to the crows, the dogs and the cow, and food for those who ask, the helpless and guests before the householder eats. It also counts bali-vaiśvadeva among the acts called ishṭa, which give svarga (Chapter 209).
The five mahāyajñas
Balivaiśvadeva is one of the five daily yajñas that every householder must perform:
- Brahma-yajña: study and teaching of the Veda
- Deva-yajña: fire offerings (the vaiśvadeva rite)
- Pitṛ-yajña: tarpaṇa and śrāddha
- Bhūta-yajña: offering to all living beings (bali)
- Manushya-yajña: hospitality to guests (atithi-pūjā)
Balivaiśvadeva holds both the deva-yajña and the bhūta-yajña.
The havya offerings and the mantra sequence
Each offering into the fire begins with Oṃ and ends with svāhā, as in the usual havana formula. The devatās are honoured in this order:
| Devatā | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Prajāpati | Master of creation; the first offering |
| Oshadhi-Vanaspati | Herbs and forest trees; the sustainers of life |
| Soma | The deva of the moon; master of plants and nectar |
| Gṛhya | The domestic deva of the household |
| Bṛhaspati | Teacher of the devas; master of sacred speech |
| Devadevatās | The devas of all devas |
| Agnihotra | The fire-yajña itself, as a deva |
| Indra | King of the devas; master of rain and strength |
| Indrāgni | Indra and Agni together, as a dual deva |
| Indra-Purusha | Indra as the cosmic person |
| Dyāvā-Pṛthivī | Svarga and Earth, as a divine pair |
| Yama | Master of dharma and of the ancestors |
| Viśvedeva | All the devas together |
| Yama-Purusha | Yama as the cosmic person |
| Sarvabhūta-divācāri | All beings that move by day |
| Brahman | The supreme Absolute |
| Āp | The waters |
| Vasudhā-pitṛ | The earth-devī, sustainer of the ancestors |
The prayer for pushṭi
After the havana sequence, a closing prayer is offered for the welfare and nourishment of the household and of all beings. The key mantra is:
Oṃ ye bhūtāḥ pracaranti…
This calls on all the bhūtas (beings) that move about in the world. It asks them to be satisfied and to protect the household.
The bali offerings
After the fire rite, cooked food (anna) is placed as bali (a scattered offering) in several places and for several beings:
- At the threshold (dvāra): for the Vāstu-purusha and the gṛha-devatā (the deva of the home).
- On the ground: for all bhūtas, insects and creatures that cannot come near the fire.
- For the crow (vāyasa): the crow is counted as a messenger of the pitṛs, so an offering to it also reaches the departed ancestors.
- For the dog: placed outside, for the dogs.
- For the caṇḍāla and the patita: those who are kept out of the ritual space by custom still receive their share. No being is left unfed.
This last act, the offering to the crow, the outcast and the destitute, shows that the householder’s duty reaches all of society and all living beings, and not only those inside the ritual circle.
Daily observance
The householder performs balivaiśvadeva every day, ideally at the time of cooking the main meal. The cooked food serves both as the material for the fire offering and as the material for the bali. A household where this rite is not performed has neglected the cosmic give and take by which food and prosperity are kept.
Per Agni Purāṇa
The homa to Vāsudeva and the devatās
In the Agni Purāṇa, Pushkara teaches Paraśurāma the pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the vaiśvadeva and the balis. On a vedi on the ground the householder sweeps and sprinkles the place, spreads kuśa on all four sides, kindles the fire and offers homa. Restraining mind and senses, he takes the first portion of all the foods and offers it to Vāsudeva and the rest, each name in the dative: Vāsudeva, deva, prabhu and avyaya (the deva, the master, the imperishable one), Agni, Soma, Mitra, Varuṇa, Indra, Mahābhāga, Indrāgni, Viśvedeva, Prajāpati, Anumati, Dhanvantari, Vāstoshpati, Devī and Svishṭakṛd Agni. After the homa he offers the balis.
The order of the balis
- Beginning from the south-east, bali is given to Taḍā, Upatakshā, Aśvā, Ūrjā, Nirundhī, Dhūmriṇīkā, Asvapantī and Meghapatnī, “the devatās who receive the bali”.
- Then, in the four directions from the east, to the four śaktis Nandinī, Subhāgyā, Sumaṅgalī and Bhadrakālī.
- On a peg or a pillar, to the vanaspatis (the trees), “Śrī Hiraṇyakeśī”.
- On the two sides of the door, to Dharmamaya and Adharmamaya; in the middle of the house, to Dhruva; outside the house, to Mṛtyu; at the water-place, to Varuṇa; and outside the house, the bali to the bhūtas.
- Inside the house, to Kubera; in the east to Indra and Indra’s attendants; in the south to Yama and Yama’s attendants; in the west to Varuṇa and his attendants; in the north to Soma and his attendants; in the middle of the house to Brahmā and his attendants; in the sky to the Viśvedevas; on the earth to all the devatās; by day to the beings that move by day, and at night to the beings that move by night.
Every day, in the evening and in the morning, bali should be offered outside the house. On a day when the piṇḍas of a śrāddha have been given, the evening bali is not given.
The five balis after the vaiśvadeva
From the cooked food, after the bali-vaiśvadeva, five balis should be given. The text names three, each with its mantra:
- To the crows (kāka-bali): “May the crows who dwell in the directions of Indra, Varuṇa, Vāyu, Yama and Nirṛti receive this piṇḍa that I give.”
- To the dogs (śvāna-bali): “The two dogs, the dark one and the spotted one, are born in the family of Vivasvān. I give the piṇḍa to both of them. May it always protect me on the road.”
- To the cow (go-grāsa): “The cows, mothers of the three worlds, daughters of Kāmadhenu, are purifying for all, holy and destroyers of pāpa. May they accept this fodder that I give.” Having given the fodder, he performs the svastyayana (the rite for welfare).
Then he gives alms (bhikshā) to those who ask, feeds helpless beings and guests, and only then does the householder himself eat. Offerings of food are also made into the fire with the mantras from oṃ bhūḥ svāhā to oṃ prajāpataye svāhā. Pushkara closes: “Thus I have told you of Vishṇu-pūjā, the vaiśvadeva and the balis.”
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 264
Rules and fruit
Agnideva teaches that the food left after the bali-vaiśvadeva is not to be placed in the bali-vaiśvadeva maṇḍala, and that if there is no fire, the homa is to be made into the right hand of a brāhmaṇa.
In his teaching on dāna to Vasishṭha Maharshi, Agnideva says that dāna is of two kinds, ishṭa and pūrta. Agnihotra, speaking the truth, svādhyāya (study of the Veda), honouring guests and bali-vaiśvadeva are called ishṭa, and ishṭa gives svarga.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 165, 209
Sources
- Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 216
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 165, 209, 264