Vināyaka Snāna
Vināyaka Snāna · vināyaka-snāna, “the sacred bath for those afflicted by the Vināyakas”
The Vināyaka Snāna is the sacred bath given to one who is afflicted by the Vināyakas, the Vināyaka grahas that bring obstacles into every undertaking. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapter 266, where Pushkara says: “I will tell the snāna that grants every wish to those afflicted by the Vināyakas.” The afflicted person is anointed and bathed with the water of four kalaśas while the ācārya speaks three mantras of blessing; homa of mustard oil is offered to five names, bali is given at a crossroads to all the beings of the unseen worlds, and a prayer is made to Ambikā, the mother of Vināyaka. The rite is kept on the nakshatras Hasta, Pushya, Aśvinī, Mṛgaśiras and Śravaṇa, and it gives prosperity and the fruit of one’s karmas.
The Vināyakas and their signs
Pushkara tells that Brahmā, Vishṇu and Maheśvara made Vināyaka to place obstacles in karmas, and gave him lordship over the gaṇas. The signs of one afflicted by the Vināyakas are these:
- In dreams he sinks in deep water.
- He sees men with shaven heads.
- He rides flesh-eating animals.
- Wherever he walks, he feels that someone is coming behind him.
- Without cause his mind is troubled, and his efforts come to nothing.
- A maiden does not find a bridegroom, and a woman does not get children.
- A śrotriya (a brāhmaṇa learned in the Veda) does not gain the place of a teacher, and a student does not gain his study.
- A rich man gets no profit, a farmer no harvest, and a king does not gain his kingdom.
Such people are to be given the snāna. In the chapter before, Agni Deva teaches that for fever and similar suffering, and for affliction by the Vināyaka grahas, the sacred bath is given in a temple (Chapter 265).
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 265–266
The vidhi
- On Hasta, Pushya, Aśvinī, Mṛgaśiras or Śravaṇa nakshatra the afflicted person is seated on a bhadra-pīṭha (an auspicious seat).
- Mustard is ground, moistened with ghee and rubbed all over his body. On his head a paste of all fragrant substances with sarvaushadhi (all the healing herbs) is applied.
- Four kalaśas are filled with water and sarvaushadhi. Into the water are put five kinds of earth, brought from a horse stable, an elephant stable, an anthill, the meeting of rivers and a reservoir, with gorocana, sandal and guggulu.
- The ācārya takes the kalaśa in the east and bathes him, saying: “With water that has a thousand eyes and is purified by the maharshis, I bathe you. May this pure water purify you.”
- With the next mantra he says: “Sūrya of lotus hue, Bṛhaspati, Indra, Vāyu and the Saptarshis have done you good.”
- With the third he says: “May this water wholly remove the ill fortune in your hair, in the parting of your hair, on your head, forehead, ears and eyes.”
The homa and the bali
The guru places the kuśa held in his left hand on the head of the bathed man, and with a sruva (ladle) of udumbara wood offers mustard oil into the fire. With each offering he says the names Mita, Sammita, Śālakaṭaṅkaṭa, Kūshmāṇḍa and Rājaputra, each in the dative with svāhā at the end. With the caru left from the homa he gives bali to them, saying the same mantras with namaḥ.
Then a winnowing basket is spread all over with kuśa, and in it are placed cooked rice mixed with sesame ground with half-wet rice, flowers of many kinds, rice with meat, fish, three kinds of surā, radish, pūrīs, cakes, garlands, curd rice, pāyasa, flour cakes, laḍḍus and jaggery. All this is taken to a catushpatha, a crossroads where four ways meet, and offered to the devatās, Suparṇa, the sarpas, the grahas, the asuras, the yātudhānas, the piśācas, the nāgas, the mātṛs, the śākinīs, the yakshas, the vetālas, the yoginīs, the pūtanās and the rest.
The prayer to Ambikā
Then an añjali (the two hands joined and filled) of dūrvā blades, white mustard and flowers is offered to Ambikā, the mother of Vināyaka, with the prayer:
“O Devī, ever saubhāgyavatī (blessed with good fortune), give me beauty, fame, good fortune, a son, wealth and all my desires.”
Brāhmaṇas are fed, and the ācārya is given two cloths.
The phala
The Agni Purāṇa says that by worshipping Vināyaka and the grahas in this way one gains prosperity and the fruit of one’s karmas, and the snāna grants every wish to those afflicted by the Vināyakas.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 266
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 265–266