Nakshatras - from the veda

There is a vedic ritual called agnyadhanam wherein a newly married householder kindles the shrautagni for the first time marking the commencement of his religious life as a householder. While prescribing the auspicious timing for this ritual, the following features of some of the nakshatras are mentioned. ( Ref: Taithireeya brahmanam, Shatapatha brahmanam and Baudhayana shrauta sutram )

1. Krittika - There are two opinions here. Krittika being Agni's nakashatram it is suitable for agnyadhanam. This is also because Krittiaka is the मुखम् of the nakshatras.मुखम् वा एतन्नक्षत्राणाम् (T.B.). Nakshatras from Krittika to Vishakha are called Deva nakshatras and Krittika is the first among them. One who does agnyadhanam during Krittika becomes a ब्रह्मवर्चसी  (ब्रह्म - mantra वर्चस् - strength).

Some others are not in favour of this. They say by doing agnyadhanam during Krittika the yajamana's house itself will burn गृहान् ह दाहुको भवति.

There is another version in Shatapatha brhmanam. Krittikas used to be the wives of Saptarshis, but the Saptarshis were  denied physical union by them. That is why still the Saptarshis rise in the north and the Krittikas in the east. By doing agnyadhanam during Krittika, there is fear of deprivation of physical union for the yajamana.

Others say that Agni and Krittika make a pair, hence their union will lead to abundance.अग्निर्वाऽएतासां मिथुनमग्निनैता मिथुनेन समृद्धास्तस्नादैव दधीत​.

2.Rohini - प्रजापती रोहिण्यामग्निमसृजत​  Prajapati created Agni during Rohini nakshatram. रोहन्त्यस्यामिति रोहिणी. The nature of Rohini is growth and rise. The Devas did agnyadhanam during Rohini and thereby attained all heights. सर्वान्रोहानरोहन्. One who does agnyadhanam during Rohini progresses. ऋध्नोत्येव​.

3. Mrigashirsha - This is the head of Prajapati. Among men, one who is the most important is called 'Head'. He is the possessor of prosperity. Hence one desirous of being 'Head' should perform agnyadhanam on Mrigashirsha nakshatram.श्रियं ह गच्छति य एवं विद्वान्मृगशीर्ष​ऽआधत्ते.

4. Punarvasu - Once abundance and wealth deserted the Devas. By performance of agnyadhanam during Punarvasu nakshatra they regained wealth and prosperity. पुनरुपावृत्तं वस्वनयोरिति पुनर्वसू.

5. Purva phalguni - One who desires that his sons should become charitable ( दानकामा मे प्रजास्स्युरिति) should perform during Purva phalguni. The lord of this nakshatram is Aryama.अरीन् यमयति अर्यमा. One who suppresses foes.

6. Uttara phalguni - यः कामयेत भगी स्यामिति स उत्तरयोःफल्गुन्योरग्निमादधीत​. One who wants to be भगी ( prosperous ) should perform on Uttara phalguni. What is bhaga ?

ऐश्वर्यस्य समग्रस्य वीर्यस्य यशसश्श्रियः

ज्ञानवैराग्ययोश्चैव षण्णां भग इतीरणा

7. Hasta - हस्त​ means hand. Hand provides. This nakshatram is the provider of all desires.

8. Chitra - The asuras called Kalakanjas wanted to ascend the heaven. They began to prepare for agnyadhanam. They started building up the vedi. Each one brought a brick and started building. Indra did not want this. He came disguised as a brahmin and placed one brick. Just before the time for keeping the Agni came, he pulled out his brick ( which was at the base ) saying " this is mine".The whole vedi collapsed. The asuras could not perform yajna. This happened during Chitra nakshatram. Indra became victorious on Chitra nakshatram. Hence one with foes ( भ्रातृव्यवान् ) should perform during Chitra nakshatram.हन्ति सपत्नान्हन्ति द्विषन्तं भ्रातृव्यं य एवं विद्वांश्चित्रायामाधत्ते.

The above could be specific to agnyadhanam, but looking at the nature of these nakshatrams whether it can be applied in similar situations is worth consideration.

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How to enkindle Agni during homa / yajna

न पाणिना न शूर्पेण न च मेध्याजिनादिभिः ।
मुखेनोपधमेदग्निं मुखादेव व्यजायत ॥ ( देवीभागवतम् )

न कुर्यादग्निधमनं कदाचित् व्यजनादिना ।
मुखेनैव धमेदग्निं धमन्या वेणुजातया ॥ ( आपस्तम्बः )

Agni during homa / havan / yajna should be enkindled by blowing using a bamboo reed with mouth only. Use of hand, fan, winnow or other objects to blow air is prohibited.

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Vedic nuggets

सर्वो वा एष जग्धपाप्मा यस्यान्नमश्नन्ति (अ.वे.९.६)


One who eats food provided by another is eating the sin of the provider.

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Non cooperation of 'Speech' with Prajapati

Once a dispute arose between vak ( Speech ) and manah ( Mind ) as to who is superior between them. Mind said that I am superior as thoughts originate in me. Speech said I am the one who makes thoughts aware to the outer world. Without me nobody would know about them.

They both approached Prajapati to settle the dispute. Prajapati, after contemplation said that it is the Mind which is superior as Speech is only a follower of the Mind. Upon hearing this, Speech thought that injustice has been done to her and refused any further cooperation with Prajapati in yajnas.

Therafter, any offering made to Prajapati in yajna is done silently.

Brahma the ' creator '

In fact, to call Brahma 'creator' is a misnomer. He is not different from the creation. It is not that he has created something like how a sculpture is made out of clay. Brahma has transformed himself into creation.

He transforms himself into the creation,stays that way for sometime and goes back to the state of unmanifest equilibrium. A police officer wears his uniform and transforms himself  into the police officer from an ordinary citizen. On completion of duty, he removes the uniform and becomes an ordinary human again. The state of creation and the state of dissolution are just two states of Brahma. The manifest and the unmanifest like being awake and being asleep.

A perfect equilibrium of the three gunas - rajas, satva and tamas is the unmanifest state. The three gunas in a state of imbalance  is the state of creation.

The dissolution is the state when all the creation is withdrawn unto Brahma himself. He goes back into the unmanifest state. This is when Brahma sleeps.

Brahma's day consists of 4320000000 solar years. This is when the universe is manifest. At the end of it, he goes to sleep. This is called kalpanta pralaya or naimittika pralaya.Then for the next 4320000000 the universe is unmanifest. On his waking up, the universe is manifest again.

In this manner, Brahma lives for 100 years at the end of which there is a mahapralaya. During kalpanta pralaya,the upper four lokas ie:- Maharaloka, Janaloka, Tapaloka and Satyaloka are not dissolved. However during Mahapralaya which occurs at the end of 311,040,000,000,000 solar years even these four worlds become non existent.

At the end of Brahma's life, a new Brahma is ' born '.  We do not know how many Brahmas have lived so far.

It has been ( in 2013 - 14 A.D.) 1972949114 years  since the present Brahma woke up for the day.

There are different opinions about the age of the present Brahma. Some say he is past fifty while some say he is eight and a half years old.

It is the agitation of the gunas which results in creation. The gunas are personified as Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. The gunas are mutually attached, dependent and never separate from each other. Since Brahma himself is the three gunas and he has them under his control and they themselves transform into creation, whatever Brahma desires happens or is created.

Plea bargain & Vedic remedies

In the justice system in countries such as USA and UK, there is something  called ‘Plea bargain’. The offender admits his guilt and in return gets a lenient sentence. Vedic remedies also work in a similar way. The points to be noted here are –

If you are in trouble, your own past karma alone is responsible. It may be from the present birth or past births.

The dharma sastras are all about proper conduct and consequences of one’s own action, good and bad.

Astrology helps in identifying the karma which is the cause for the present state.

Acceptance of the guilt and refraining from doing bad things in future is called prayaschitha.

There are agencies such as grahas who are delegated the responsibility of making you reap what you have sown, good or bad.

Vedic system  has elaborate procedures laid out in the form of yajnas to convey your 

earnestness to the divinities and seeking pardon / lenience.

The daivajna ( astrologer ) identifies this karmic link and the priests are your lawyers who properly put up your case before the judge ( the divinities ). He may accept or reject your plea.

If you are performing a remedy, do it only if you have faith and humility and not as “ let’s try this also.”

Jyotisha as a Vedanga

वेदास्तावद्यज्ञकर्मप्रवृत्ता यज्ञाः प्रोक्तास्ते तु कालाश्रयेण​ ।
शास्त्रादस्मात् कालबोधो यतस्याद्वेदाङत्वं ज्योतिषस्योक्तमस्मात् ॥


Vedas are meant for performance of yajnas. Proper performance of yajnas depends on selection of appropriate timing. The knowledge of this timing is obtained from Jyotisastra. Hence it has been accorded the status of a Vedanga.

Myth busted or "science" busted ?

Times of India published this article yesterday

U-turn-Butter-cheese-eggs-not-bad-for-heart

The article reads -

"Malhotra is an interventional cardiology specialist and registrar at Croydon University Hospital in London says scientific evidence shows that advice to reduce saturated fat intake “has paradoxically increased our cardiovascular risks.”

He says the government’s obsession with levels of total cholesterol “has led to the over-medication of millions of people with statins and has diverted our attention from the more egregious risk factor of atherogenic dyslipidaemia” (an unfavourable ratio of blood fats).

Saturated fat has been demonized since the 1970s when a landmark study concluded that there was a correlation between incidence of coronary heart disease and total cholesterol which was then correlated with the percentage of calories provided by saturated fat, Malhotra said.   World heart foundation website says "Fat
"Research makes it clear that abnormal blood lipid (fat) levels have a strong correlation with the risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and coronary death. In turn, abnormal blood lipids are related to what you eat.  A diet high in saturated fats (e.g. cheese) and trans fats (often used in cakes, cookies and fast food) leads to high levels of cholesterol.

Saturated fats are found in animal products.  Trans fats are oils that have been hydrogenated to turn them into semi-hard fats.  Hydrogenated fat is found in processed food like shop-bought cakes, biscuits, stock cubes and a range of other products you buy every day. Saturated and trans fats raise cholesterol levels in the blood, which in turn can lead to atherosclerosis.

Unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated are beneficial for heart health.  They are present in fish, nuts, seeds and vegetables."

Comment - Then we were sold dieticians, cholesterol tests, fat free oils, oats, cholesterol reducing fibers. We threw out ghee and natural oils from our diet. A lot of us ended up with dried up joints and intestines. Now it is time to start selling us packaged fats. Very scientific !!

Six angas of the Veda

छन्दः पादौ तु वेदस्य हस्तौ कल्पोऽथ पठ्यते ।
ज्योतिषामयनं चक्षुर्निरुक्तं श्रोत्रमुच्यते ॥
शिक्षा घ्राणं तु वेदस्य मुखं व्याकरणं स्मृतम् ।
तस्मात् साङ्गमधीत्यैव ब्रह्मलोके महीयते ॥

chhandas - legs - the branch dealing with meters in which mantras are composed.

kalpam - hands - deals with procedure of yajnas

jyotisham- eyes - helpful in identifying timings based on astronomical factors

niruktam - ears - deals with terminology and meanings

shiksha - nose - science of correct pronunciation

vyakaranam - mouth - grammar

Hence, one who learns the vedas with the angas alone attains brahmaloka

Ganapathy bhadra mandalam used in the worship of Lord Ganesha