Tilācala Prayer
Tilācala Prārthanā, “the prayer to the mountain of sesame”
The Tilācala Prayer is the pair of verses with which the giver invites the Tilācala, a mountain made of sesame, before he gives it to a brāhmaṇa. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa gives it to Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, together with the account of how sesame arose.
How sesame arose
Śrī Kṛshṇa says sesame is most pure and purifies even the pure, for it arose from the body of Vishṇu. Madhu and Kaiṭabha were sons of Diti. Bhagavān Vishṇu fought the daitya Madhu without pause, and still the dānava did not die. Then, in the fierceness of that battle, drops of sweat fell from Bhagavān Vishṇu’s body to the earth, and from them arose sesame, urad (māsha) and kuśa. Bhagavān Vishṇu slew Madhu, mightiest of the mighty, and the whole earth was dyed with his meda (fat); so the earth came to be named Medinī.
The devas praised him: “Deva, you alone bear the world and created it. Madhusūdana, this whole world dissolves at the end in you alone. For the good of the world this sesame has arisen from your own limbs. Deveśa, protect us all.” Bhagavān Vishṇu said: “This sesame protects the three lokas. In the śukla paksha tilodaka is to be given to the devas, and in the kṛshṇa paksha to the pitṛs; by seven or eight añjalis of it they are satisfied. A thing defiled by dogs, crows and patitas becomes pure when sprinkled with sesame.”
The rite
The gift of one who gives the Tilaśaila to a brāhmaṇa becomes akshaya. Ten droṇas of sesame make the best, five the middle and three the least. The Vishkambha mountains are set in its four directions and all the rest is done as before. Then the giver invites it with the prayer.
The prayer
The meaning of the two verses, as the print renders them:
“Since at the slaying of the daitya Madhu sesame, kuśa and urad arose from the drops of sweat of Bhagavān Vishṇu‘s body, bring good to us all in this world. Śailendra Tilācala, since in the havya of the devas and the kavya of the pitṛs the abhimantraṇa is done with sesame, lift me from the ocean of bhava. Namaskāra to you.”
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 198–199
The phala
One who, having so invited it, gives the excellent Tilācala reaches Vishṇupada, from which there is no return. In this world he gains long life and rejoices with sons and grandsons, and at the end, honoured by the devas, gandharvas and pitṛs, goes to svarga. By hearing the māhātmya of this gift one gains the puṇya of the gift of a kapilā cow.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 198–199
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 198–199