Pūrṇamāsa

Pūrṇamāsa · pūrṇa-māsa, “the full moon”

Kuhū has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kuhū.

Grammar: masculine noun; pūrṇa (full) and māsa (the moon, the month): “the full moon”, and so the rite of the full moon.

Meaning: the Vedic ishṭi (offering rite) done on the pūrṇimā, the full-moon day. With the darśa, the ishṭi done on amāvāsyā, it is named among the regular Vedic yajñas.

In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa:

  • When Śrī Hari appeared at Daksha‘s resumed yajña, Agni, praising him, said that it is by Śrī Hari’s radiance alone that he blazes and carries to each devatā the havis the ṛtvijas offer; and that Śrī Hari, the form of the yajña, is himself in the form of the five yajñas: agnihotra, darśa, pūrṇamāsa, cāturmāsya and somayāga. With the five yajur-mantras the ṛtvijas worship him, the protector of the yajña (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 7).
  • King Bharata, son of Ṛshabha, undertook at their proper times, with śraddhā, the small and great yāgas, agnihotra, darśa, pūrṇamāsa, cāturmāsya, paśuyāga and somayāga, and so worshipped Śrī Hari, who is present in the form of yajña and kratu. The four kinds of ṛtvijas helped him, and he offered the fruit of every rite to Bhagavān Vāsudeva, whose form is Parabrahma (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 7).
  • Nārada tells Yudhishṭhira that pravṛtti karma is of two kinds, ishṭa and pūrta. The ishṭa rites are the agnihotra, the darśa (the ishṭi done on amāvāsyā), the pūrṇamāsa (the ishṭi done on pūrṇimā), the cāturmāsya, the paśu-yāga, the soma-yāga and the like; they involve hiṃsā, need many materials, and, being driven by desire, cause unrest. The pūrta works are the building of temples, rest-houses, wells, water-sheds and free food houses (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 15).
  • The four daughters of Aṅgiras and Śraddhā, Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā and Anumati, stand for the times that are chief for Vedic rites such as the darśa and the pūrṇamāsa (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapter 1).

Related terms: Pūrṇimā · Darśa · Agnihotra · Cāturmāsya · Ishṭi · Rākā

Sources

  • Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 4, Chapters 1, 7; Skandha 5, Chapter 7; Skandha 7, Chapter 15