Śaṃ No Devīḥ
Śaṃ No Devīḥ · śaṃ no devīḥ, “may the divine waters be auspicious to us”
Grammar: the opening words of a Vedic mantra: śam (auspicious, well-being), naḥ (to us) and devīḥ (the divine ones, the waters). Its first line, as the Agni Purāṇa prints it, is “Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye”, “may the divine waters be auspicious to us, for our desire”.
Meaning: the Vedic mantra to the divine waters, recited when water is poured, sprinkled or offered: in mārjana (sprinkling oneself), in the arghya of śrāddha, in the bath of the mūrti, and in homa for śānti.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa names the mantra in some nine chapters.
In mārjana. In the rules of ācāra, Pushkara teaches that after dipping in the water, washing away the dirt of the body and doing ācamana, one should do mārjana with the three ṛks beginning “Hiraṇyavarṇāḥ”, the mantra “Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye”, the three mantras beginning “Āpo hi shṭhā“, and the mantra beginning “Idam āpaḥ” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 155).
In the building of a temple. In the laying of the stones, the many stones and bricks are wetted with the water-filled kalaśas while the three ṛks beginning “Āpo hi shṭhā”, “Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye”, “Taratsamandaḥ”, the Pāvamānī ṛks and “Ud uttamaṃ varuṇa” are recited (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 41).
In the bath of the mūrti. In the snapana (the bathing of the mūrti), with “Śaṃ no devī” and the Gāyatrī mantra a bath with hot water is given (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 58). In the installation of wells and tanks, the image of Varuṇa is anointed with ghee and washed with “śaṃ no devī”, then bathed with pure water (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 64).
In śrāddha. In the Śrāddha-kalpa, water is poured into the arghya vessel that holds a pavitra (a ring of kuśa) with the mantra “Śaṃ no devī…”, and yava is put in with “Yavo’si…”; for the pitṛs, water is poured into their arghya vessel with “Śaṃ no devī…” and tila is put in (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 117). In the daiva part of the śrāddha, in a vessel with a pavitra, yava is scattered and water is poured with “śaṃ no devīḥ”; then arghya is given into the hand with “yā divyā āpaḥ” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 163).
In the homa of the grahas. In the navagraha-homa, the homa for the nine grahas, each graha has its mantra, and the mantra of Śani is “Śaṃ no devī…” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 164).
The giver of śānti. In the Yajur-vidhāna, Pushkara tells Paraśurāma that “Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye” is the supreme giver of śānti, and that one who offers palāśa fruits with “śaṃ no devī” obtains health, Lakshmī (prosperity) and long life (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 260).
Related terms: Āpo Hi Shṭhā · Mārjana · Arghya · Śrāddha · Śānti · Śani
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 41, 58, 64, 117, 155, 163–164, 260