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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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Panigrahana, mangalya-dharana, saptapadi and other rites are performed
on the day of the wedding. Aupasana begins with marriage and is
performed every day until one becomes a sannyasin or until one's death.
The sacred fire that is witness to the marriage is preserved throughout
and aupasana performed in it every day.
The sacred fire has an important place in the Vedic religion. The
studentbachelor
performs samidadhana twice a day offering samidhs (sticks of
the flame of the forest or palasa) in the fire. This rite is not
continued
after his marriage. When a person becomes a householder he has a
number of rites to perform in the sacred fire. In place of samidadhana
he
now has the aupasana. The latter word is derived from "upasana" which
term is used in the sense of puja, chanting of mantras, meditation, etc.
But, according to the Vedas, aupasana is a rite performed in the sacred
fire by all Hindus.
Though members of the fourth varna do not wear the sacred thread they
have the marriage samskara and, along with it, aupasana. Dharmasastras
like the Vaidyanatha-Diksitiyam describe how sudras are to go through
the jatakarma and namakarana ceremonies. The work deals with how the
fourth varna should perform puja, the sraddha ceremony and aparakarma
(obsequies). Reformers ignore all these and allege that members
of the fourth varna have no "right" to any rituals. Instead they must
try to
persuade people of this varna to perform the rites they are enjoined
upon. Aupasana is one of the "rights" of this caste and it is to be
conducted every day with the recitation of certain verses. |
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