Shradhyan kriyate ya saa Shradh – the ritual performed with great devotion or shraddha is called shradh or abdeekam. The term ‘Shradh’ is completely linked with Maya (The Great Illusion) and Brahman (the Creator) through the bond of debts that need to be repaid to ancestors. When the threads of the give and take relationship that binds us, dissolve, then at that time the embodied soul gets liberated and only then it can acquire momentum to progress towards attaining Final liberation. Therefore, through the ritual of Shradh one can get rid of the bonding with ancestors and get liberated in this birth itself under observer stance of the followers of Vishnu. Hindu scriptures gave so much importance to Shradh that one is supposed to stop any karma to perform shraddha first. It is misgiving that shraddha can not be performed at home – in fact, it shall be performed at home unless there is some serious issue. And finally, at least once in a lifetime the pinda danam shall be performed in Kashi and Gaya.

In case aabdeekam dates fall during the rush period of functions like marriages or on important days like Maha Shivarathri etc , please book your time slot well in advance for purohits.

The term Aksharabyasam is a combination of two words “Akshara” meaning letters/alphabets and “Abhyasam” meaning practice. Stepping into the world of education through world of knowledge and wisdom is done by worshipping Goddess Saraswati. The function was traditionally performed around the age of five for the child. The entire ceremony is performed by the maternal uncle/Father/Paternal uncle wherein they keep the child in their lap, hold the child’s right-hand forefinger and make him/her write the auspicious symbol “OM” followed by the “Namah Shivaya”

Annaprasana means feeding food. This function is done in 5th month for baby girls and 6th month for baby boys. Annam prabrahma swarupam – food is face of God. This ritual is to first clean up the effects of what babies eat when inside mother’s garbham including their own excreta so that the food which is face of God can be given inside. The vedic chants invoke bhoomi, sun, dikpalakas etc to help get insect free and nutritious food which the baby can eat and also that baby when grown up can give everyone such food. The baby is then fed with paste of rice cooked with cow milk and jaggery after offering the food to God with a golden item by father.

The Barasala (is authentically called as Balasare) is usually celebrated on the 11th day, 16th day, 21st day, 3rd month or 29th month after the birth of a child. An auspicious time for the ceremony is selected. Prior to this function, the house is cleaned well to perform some pujas. On the day, the baby is given a bath, clothed and placed in a cradle. Women gather around the cradle to sing traditional songs. In the ritual, the mother is honored, and the child is blessed by the elders of the family and community. After Ganesh Puja and Vedic chants, the father whispers the baby’s name into its ear three times. The name is also written on rice spread on the floor or on a tray. The child’s maternal uncle takes a gold ring dipped in a mixture of cow milk & honey and puts it on the baby’s tongue. The elders then give blessings to the child that it may earn a good reputation, become a great person, and have a bright future.

Having a house is considered one of the most precious blessing of God on us. And one needs to take absolute care to ensure that the house is enjoyed for living with absolute peace, harmony, positiveness, and prosperity. Since the house construction involves quite a bit of violent acts on dhathus like mud, iron, wood, heat, bhoomi etc., it is essential to propitiate them with ritual.

To remove evil eyes, first a coconut or ash pumpkin is taken around the main entrance with veda manthras and broken at the entrance before the couple enter the house with purna kumbham and moorthis or photos of Gods – and with cow and calf – if possible.

Subsequently, Milk is boiled and given naivedya to kula daivam and partaken by all starting with couple. Vasthu puja, homam and sometimes abhishekam and Satyanarayana Vratham are performed.

Sankhu sthapana is laying the foundation stone in the vacant plot. In different places, this auspicious function has different names like Bhumi Pooja etc. According to our elders’ directions, we need to perform religious functions at the Bhoomi (Goddess Earth). The five elements viz., Vaayu, Jal, Prithvi, Aakash and Agni, the Panchabhoothas should be propitiated to give their benevolence. The earth is most respectable to all of us. Bhoomi is the mother of all. She is patience personified. When we want to raise a building or till the land for agriculture, we adapt means like digging with sharp objects etc that give pain to mother earth. We seek permission and forgiveness for our actions that disturb the equilibrium of mother earth. The Vedas have special sutras and hymns to appease the assorted energies residing in the space. We chant the Veda Sutras to nullify any bad effects and to bring peace and prosperity.

Punyahavachanam is a karma to make ourselves pure as well as the surroundings before making any vaidika karma. The aim of the ritual is to remove specifically defined uncleanliness prior to a particular type of activity, and especially prior to the worship of a deity. Uncleanliness is not identical with ordinary physical impurity, such as dirt stains; nevertheless, body fluids are generally considered ritually unclean. Cleanliness is considered as an important characteristic of religious life. Cleanliness is both external and internal. Seeing God (Darsanam), singing His praise, sprinkling the Holy Water (Prokshana) after worship (Punyaha Vachanam) and drinking the holy water are all said to clean the devotee both externally and internally.

Seemantham or “simatonnayana” (in Sanskrit) is third of the 16 samskaras of Hindu tradition to protect the foetus in garbham during last trimester of pregnancy. It is to ward of evil eyes by invoking Goddess Lakshmi. Yajnavalkya Smriti verse 3.79 asserts that the desires of the pregnant woman should be satisfied for healthy development of the baby, to prevent miscarriage and her health. According to the Parasara Gryha Sutra, at the beginning of the ceremony, the pregnant wife seats on a soft chair and with caressing attention, the husband himself parts her hairs upwards from the forehead three times, first with a bunch containing an even number of unripe udumbara fruits and three bunches of darbha grass, next with a porcupines quill (available plenty in Srisailam) having three white spots and finally with a stick of the Viratara wood and a full spindle, chanting each time three Mahavyahrtis (great mystical mantras), Bhur, Bhuvah and Svah.

Udaka Shanti is performed for peace and harmony in the house. It is generally performed before any function or ceremonies like Upanayanam, Gruha pravesham, Vivah etc. Water of river is always considered sacred and can be used directly without infusion for the purpose of purification of materials and objects.

This Shanti is performed by Purohits, starting with Ganapathi pooja and Varundeva and other Gods are invoked in the Kalash filled with water and the 1414 of Udakashanti mantras from yajurvedam are chanted. Performing Udakshanti brings harmony and good fortune, Purifies and spiritualizes the surrounding and environment of the home with holy vibes and helps overcome and removes any obstacles and hurdles one may come across in their life.

Upakarma means beginning or Arambham and it refers to the ritualistic beginning of learning Veda. Apart from learning Vedas on Upakarma day, Brahmins ritually change their Upanayana thread along with Shrauta rituals. Those who follow Yajurveda observe the Upakarma on the full moon day during Shravan month i.e. on Shravana Purnima day. Those who follow Rigveda observe the Upakarma on Shravana Nakshatra day in the month of Shravana.