Śaṇa (hemp)
Śaṇa · śaṇa, “hemp”
Grammar: masculine noun; the name of a plant, hemp.
Meaning: hemp, one of the things forbidden at śrāddha, the rite for the pitṛs.
In the scriptures: in the Brahma Purāṇa, Vyāsa teaches the munis the rules of śrāddha. In the Vārāha śrāddha-kalpa, the rule of śrāddha that Vārāha saw, śaṇa is among the naraka-giving things: the yajamāna who offers them falls, together with his pitṛs, into the naraka called Pūyavaha. The list is kusumbha greens, jambīra, sigruka, kovidāra, piṇyāka (oil-cake), viprusha, masūra, guñjana, śaṇa, kodrava, kokilāksha, cakra, kambuka, padmaka, cakora, the hawk, tāḷinī and the palmyra fruit. Rather than offer and eat what this kalpa forbids, it is better to eat one’s own flesh. If they are offered or eaten by mistake, unknowingly, one performs prāyaścitta: for seven days one lives on fruits, roots, milk, curd, buttermilk, gomūtra (cow’s urine) and gruel, and the fault of eating forbidden food is removed (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 220).
Related terms: Śrāddha · Pitṛ · Pūyavaha · Kodrava · Kusumbha
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 220