Religion:Pranahuti (Pre-meal ritual)
Pranahuti (Sanskrit: प्राणाहुति, romanized: Prāṇāhuti) is a ritual of reciting a mantra (hymn), offering food that is about to be consumed, to the five pranas. It is mostly practiced by orthodox Brahmins before consuming their meal.[1] It is also performed at the time of Śrāddha, a ritual of homage to one's ancestors.[2]
Description
The prescribed manner of recitation of the Pranahuti is explained in the Mahanarayana Upanishad. The first step of this recitation includes this mantra:[3][4]
śraddhāyāṁ prāṇe niviṣṭo'mṛtaṁ juhomi
śraddhāyāmapāne niviṣṭo'mṛtaṁ juhomi
śraddhāyāṁ vyāne niviṣṭo'mṛtaṁ juhomi
śraddhāyāmudāne niviṣṭo'mṛtaṁ juhomi
śraddhāyāɱ samāne niviṣṭo'mṛtaṁ juhomi
brahmaṇi ma ātmāmṛtatvāya
Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia into Prana with reverence: O Prana, increase the power of my in-breath by this food! Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia into Apana with reverence: O Apana, increase the power of my out-breath with this food! Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia into Vyana with reverence: O Vyana, increase the power of my diffused breath with this food! Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia into Udana with reverence: O Udana, increase the power of my up-breath with this food! Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia into Samana with reverence: O Samana, increase the power of my middle breath with this food!
According to the author's commentary, this mantra is repeated and a small quantity of water is sipped before an adherent starts eating. Anything that the devotee considers precious or valuable is placed in a container and covered. A small quantity of water taken in is supposed to be an upastarana (seat), on which subsequent morsels are placed. After sipping the water, oblations are offered.
References
- ↑ (in en) Mahanarayana Upanisad. Sri Ramakrishna Math. 1968. pp. 292. ISBN 978-0-87481-492-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=OdhHAAAAMAAJ.
- ↑ "Brahman Bhojan, Agnoukaran & Pindapujan Ritual". https://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/knowledge/article/brahman-bhojan-agnoukaran-pindapujan-ritual.html.
- ↑ La Mahā Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad. pp. 120.
- ↑ https://vedantastudents.com+(2017).+Vedanta Students. pp. 133. http://archive.org/details/vedanta-students.
![]() | Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranahuti (Pre-meal ritual).
Read more |