Homam in Tantragni Homam in Tantragni Performing homam in vaidika agni requires us to adhere to strict rules

regarding purity of the location, time, and the person performing the homam This may be difficult to follow these days Tantragni
provides greater flexibility in this regard It can be performed anywhere even outside India, at any time, and by anyone However,
the performer and observers should not be ritually impure at the time the homam is being performed Rules of impurity apply in case
of birth or death among relatives in the past few (usually 10) days (see
http://www.celextel.org/mantrasandrituals/samkshepadharmashastra.html?page=4 for details) They also apply to ladies four days in
a month Background 2 Homams can be performed in either vaidika style or tantric style We describe homam in tantragni, but use
vaidika tradition for other aspects, as far as possible For example, the tantric style usually includes lots of bijaksharas which we
dont chant in vaidika style The invocation of agni in the tantric style is simpler and requires less restrictions, and so we use that
style to invoke agni While a homa can be quite elaborate, we describe a simple procedure Homam Styles Homa kundam a
container for holding the fire A small plate in which to bring agni A little sand, to place in the agni kundam 16 Darbhas A samit (twigs
of certain trees) or darbha Two pieces of samit Ghee (clarified butter) and a container to hold it Two dharvis (ladles) to offer ghee
into the fire Akshata raw rice with turmeric powder mixed in it Water in a small container (pancha/kula patram) Flowers Coconut,
dried fruits, and cloth for purnahuti Required Material The following convention is used to express mantras in English (obvious ones
are not given below) Transliteration Scheme i: as i in bit ee: as ee in feet u: as u in put e: as a in late ai: as i in bite au: as ou in
doubt R: it is pronounced as ri by some and ru by others Example: RShi (rishi) H: visarga (: in devanagari script) A consonant
followed by h denotes aspiration Example: bh as in bhakti Capitalized letters are retroflex T: as t in tiger D: as d in dog N: as n
in vishnu S: as s in vishnu jna: a nasalized gnya-like sound, as jn in jnana The visarga (H) is pronounced in different manners
depending on the context. Pronunciation Tips If it is at the end of a sentence and preceded by a or aa, then it is pronounced as
ha namaH at the end of a sentence is pronounced namaha If it precedes sh, then it is pronounced as sh namaH shivaaya is
pronounced namash-shivaaya If it precedes s, then it is pronounced as s bhuuH svaahaa is pronounced bhuus-svaahaa If it
precedes p, then it is pronounced as f puShpaiH puujayaami is pronounced puShpaif-puujayaami Each deity has a mula mantra
which is chanted at specific times in the homam Ganapati: om gam gaNapataye namaH Durga: om dum durgaayai namaH
Sharavanabhava: om hreem vreem sharavaNabhavaaya namaH Krishna: om kleem kRShNaaya namaH Rama: om ram raamaaya
namaH Lakshmi: om shreem mahalakShmyai namaH Hanuman: om rudraatmakaaya hanumate namaH Sarasvati: om aim
sarasvatyai namaH Mula Mantra Ganapati: Durga: Sharavanabhava:
Krishna: Rama: Lakshmi: Hanuman:
Sarasvati: Mula Mantras in Devanagari 8 Alternatively, we can use the following mula mantras om namaH
shivaaya for homam to Shiva family Shiva, Ganapati, Durga, Sharavanabhava om namo naaraayaNaaya for homam
to Vishnu family Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Lakshmi, Hanuman Mula Mantra Alternative Place some sand in the
homa kundam. Sit on the ground or on a mat or on a wooden plank, to the West of the kundam, facing East. Place all the remaining
material close to you, so that you can reach them easily. Setup East You Homa kundam Chant gaNanam tva . Step 1 Chant the
mula mantra while looking at the homa kundam Do prokshanam (sprinkle water) to the homa kundam and say phaT ( ) at the
end, hitting the fingers of the right hand against the left palm while saying it Hit the homa kundam with a set of 16 darbhas, while
chanting the mula mantra These darbhas can be reused if we live in a place where they are difficult to obtain Avakuntanam Say
hum () while snapping fingers of both your hands Keep fore fingers of both hands together, fingertips facing down, East of the
homa kundam and draw a circle around the homa kundam in the air with these fingers, as shown in the next slide This invokes
divine powers in the area enclosed by the circle Step 2 Drawing a Circle for Avakuntanam East You Homa kundam Left hand Right
hand Start here Draw three lines in the sand in the homa kundam with a samit or darbha as follows (see next slide for details) Draw
three lines from west to east, each line to the north of the previous line Draw three lines from south to north, each line to the east of
the previous line Then sprinkle akshata at the middle of each line chanting mantras shown later, one mantra for each line, in the
order in which they are drawn Step 3 The arrows should not be drawn; they are just meant to show the direction in which the lines
should be drawn The numbers should not be written; they are just meant to show the order in which the lines are to be drawn Figure
for the Lines 4 5 3 6 2 1 East om brahmaNe namaH om yamaaya namaH om somaaya namaH
om rudraaya namaH om viShNave namaH om indraaya namaH Mantras for Akshata
Chant each of the following mantras while performing the specified action with your right hand fingers om sahasraarchiShe
hRdayaaya namaH Touch the center of the chest, at the height of the heart, with the tips of the fingers
excluding the thumb om svasti puurNaaya shirase svaahaa Touch the front of the head, just above the
forehead, with the tips of the fingers excluding the thumb om uttiShTha puruShaaya shikhaayai vaShaT
Touch the back of the head, two inches above the neck, with the thumb Step 4: Shadanga Nyasa -- 1 om dhuumavyaapine
kavachaaya hum Touch the left soulder with right palm and right shoulder with the left palm. The left hand
should be over the right hand. Both elbows should face the ground. om sapta jihvaaya netra trayaaya vauShaT
Touch the top of the left eye lid with the tip of the ring finger, top of the right eye lid with the tip of the thumb, and middle
of the forehead with the middle finger. om dhanurdharaaya astraaya phaT Snap the fingers of your right
hand and move your palm in a clockwise direction around the head (along a horizontal plane). Shadanga Nyasa -- 2 Sprinkle
akshata in the homa kundam edges at the locations specified on the next page for each mantra. om sahasraarchiShe hRdayaaya
namaH om svasti puurnaaya shirase svaahaa om uttiShTha puruShaaya
shikhaayai vaShaT om dhuumavyaapine kavachaaya hum om sapta jihvaaya
netra trayaaya vauShaT om dhanurdharaaya astraaya phaT Step 5 Locations
for Placing Akshata East You 1 6 5 4 3 2 6 6 6 Chant the mantra once, while placing akshata in four places, for mantra #6 Draw
agnichakra in the sand of the homa kundam using a samit or a darbha It consists of the following figures, drawn over each other;

details are given in the next few slides Ashtakona an 8-cornered figure consisting of two squares Shatkona a 6-cornered figure
consisting of two triangles Triangle Step 6: Draw Agnichakra Ashtakona 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 The numbers should not be written; they are
just meant to show the locations for some offerings East Shatkona 1 2 3 4 5 6 The numbers should not be written; they are just
meant to show the locations for some offerings East Triangle 9 The number should not be written; it is just meant to show the
location for an offering East Agnichakra First draw the ashtakona. Then draw the shatkona inside it. Finally draw the triangle inside
the shatkona. East Draw an imaginary agnichakra in the air while reciting the mula mantra Take your right hand near your nose and
check which nostril gives more air; keep the corresponding palm below the other palm, both palms facing down, and use the ring
finger of the lower palm to draw the agnichakra Assume that there is a square around the triangle in the agnichakra (dont actually
draw this square) as shown below Chant the mantras given on the next page, and for each, place akshata in the location mentioned
in the figure Step 7 East 6 7 9 2 8 4 5 3 1 This is called peeTa shakti This figure shows relationship of the peeTa shakti to the
triangle om peetaayai namaH om shvetaayai namaH om aruNaayai namaH om
kRShNaayai namaH om dhuumraayai namaH om teevraayai namaH om sphulinginyai
namaH om ruchiraayai namaH om jvaalinyai namaH Mantras for Step 7 Place
akshata at location 9 of the agnichakra triangle, with each of the following mantras om tam tamase namaH om ram
rajase namaH om sam satvaaya namaH om aam aatmane namaH om am
antaraatmane namaH om pam paramaatmane namaH om hreem jnanaatmane namaH
Step 8 Bring agni (fire) in a small plate and place it, along with the plate, in the southeast corner of the homa
kundam Burn the tip of a darbha or samit in agni, say phat ( ), and discard it in the southwest direction, in order to remove any
negative energy from agni Look at agni and chant the mula mantra Sprinkle water on agni and say phat ( ) or astraaya phat
( ) while hitting the homa kundam with the darbha set This removes defects Say hum () and snap fingers Step 9:
Samskara Chaturthyam Chant the following mantra om ram vaishvaanara jaataveda ihaavaha lohitaakSha sarva karmaani
saadhaya svaahaa Imagine the divine agni going up through all the
chakras of the spline, then coming out through the forehead, and joining the physical agni in the agni plate Place agni, along with
the plate, on the agnichakra Step 10 Say kavachaaya hum ( ) and place two samits in agni Stand and meditate on agni
chanting the mantra: om agnim prajvalitam vande jaatavedam hutaashanam. svarNa varNam amalam samiddham vishvato
mukham Sit and chant the following mantras om uttiShTha
puruSha harita pingala lohitaakSha sarva karmaani saadhaya me dehi taapaya svaahaa
om chitpingala hana hana daha daha pacha pacha sarvajna aajnaapaya svaahaa
Step 12 Move agni in a clockwise direction around the homa kundam three times, chanting
hreem () once each time Step 13 Place akshata on agni with each mantras on the next page In the namakaranam step, name
the agni after the deity to whom homam will be performed For example, Ganapati iti namakaranam kalpayami for Ganapati
Ganapati replaces mentioned on the next page After the samskaras are over, sprinkle water in a clockwise direction around the
outside of the homa kundam, chanting the mula mantra Do this three times Step 14 Samskaras om garbhaadaanam kalpayamee
om pumsavanam kalpayamee om seemantonnayanam kalpayamee om jaatakarmam kalpayamee om iti naamakaraNam
kalpayamee om annapraashanam kalpayamee om chaulam kalpayamee om upanayanam kalpayamee om godaanam kalpayamee
om vivaahaadi karmaaNi kalpayamee Mantras for Samskaras

Samskara Mantras in Devanagari Meditate on agni while chanting the following triNayanam aruNaa
baddha maulim sushuklaam shukam aruNam anekaakalpam ambhoja
samstham abhimata varashaktim svastikaabheeti hastam namata kanaka
maalaa alankRtaam sam KRshanum Step 15 Add askhata (a couple of grains each time) with
the following mantras, in the locations specified on the ashtakona of the agnichakra om jaatavedase namaH om
saptajihvaaya namaH om havya vaahanaaya namaH om ashva udraaya namaH
om vaishvaanaraaya namaH om kaumaaratejase namaH om vishva mukhaaya
namaH om teva mukhaaya namaH Step 16 Add askhata with the following mantras, in the
locations specified on the shatkona of the agnichakra om sahasraarchiShe hRdayaaya namaH om svasti puurNaaya shirase
svaahaa om uttiShTha purushaaya shikhaayai vaShaT om dhuumavyaapine kavachaaya hum om sapta jihvaaya netra trayaaya
vauShaT om dhanurdharaaya astraaya phaT Step 17
Step 17 Mantras in Devanagari Place akshata in
location 9 of the triangle of the agnichakra while chanting the following. om vaishvaanara jaataveda ihaavaha lohitaakSha sarva
karmaani saadhaya svaahaa Step 18 Cover the utensil containing ghee with
the right hand and chant the mula mantra eight times. Step 19: Ajya Samskaram Purify the dharvis (ladles) by showing them over
agni Sprinkle water on the dharvis Offer ghee to agni using the smaller dharvi (known as shruk) while chanting the mantras on the
next page, in the locations specified below inside the homa kundam This substep is called agni jihva (tongue) The numbers are not
actually written in the homa kundam Step 20 East 6 7 2 4 5 3 1 om hiraNyaayai namaH svaahaa, hiraNyaayaa idam namama om
kanakaayai namaH svaahaa, kanakaayaa idam namama om raktaayai namaH svaahaa, raktaayaa idam namama om kRShNaayai
namaH svaahaa, kriShNayaa idam namama om suprabhaayai namaH svaahaa, suprabhaayaa idam namama om atiraktaayai
namaH svaahaa, atiraktaayaa idam namama om bahuruupaayai namaH svaahaa, bahuruupaayaa idam namama Agni Jihva
Mantras , , ,
, , ,

, Agni Jihva Mantras in Devanagari Offer ghee to agni three times with each of the following mantras om
vaishvaanara jaataveda ihaavaha lohitaakSha sarvakarmaaNi saadhaya svaahaa, agnaya idam na mama om uttiShTha puruSha
harita pingala lohitaakSha sarva karmaani saadhaya me dehi taapaya svaahaa, agnaya idam na mama om chitpingala hana hana
daha daha pacha pacha sarvajna aajnaapaya svaahaa, agnaya idam na mama Step 21
, ,
, Step 21 Mantras in Devanagari Meditate on the deity for whom
homam is being performed Chant his mantra, such as gananam tva for Ganapati and prano devi for Sarasvati Exhale
(through the nose) on to a flower or akshata and place that in agni Step 22 Invoke the deity by chanting the following mantras om
lam prithivyaatmane gandham kalpayaamee om ham aakaashaatmane pushpaiH puujayaamee om yam vaayavaatmane dhuupam
kalpayaamee Om ram agnayaatmane deepam kalpayamee om vam amRtaatmane amRtam mahaanaivedyam kalpayaamee (offer
ghee to agni with this) om sam sarvaatmane sarvopachaaraan kalpayaamee Step 23: Panchopachara Puja

Step 23 Mantras in Devanagari Perform the main homam by offering ghee chanting
appropriate mantras for the deity with each offering and saying svaahaa () at the end of each, followed by the name of the
deity and idam na mama ( ) For example, gaNapataye idam na mama We can use either vedic mantras, puranic mantras,
bija mantra, or mula mantra Purusha suktam can be used for any deity We can sprinkle food with water while chanting the mula
mantra and offer it in agni Food has to meet the usual requirements for offering to agni, such as no onions, etc Others can also offer
ahuti, with ghee, now Step 24: Homam Sit and perform mahavyahriti homam using mantras of the 4th prashna of the
mahanarayana upanishad, offering ghee in agni with each mantra These mantras are in the last paragraph of vyahruti homa
mantras, page 40, of the Mantra Pushpam book by Ramakrishna Mutt Exclude svadhaa pitRbhya If you dont know the above
mantras, then at least offer ghee with the following mantras om bhuuH svaahaa om bhuvaH svaahaa om
suvaH svaahaa Offer all the ghee with om bhuur-bhuvas-suvas-svaahaa ( ) Step 26: Mahavyahruti
Homam Place dry coconut and dry fruits in a cloth Hold the above with the big dharvi (ladle) below and the small dharvi above
Chant the mula mantra or vedic mantra for the deity The mantra puurNamidam can be chanted, alternatively Offer the cloth,
including its contents, in agni, saying vauShaT ( ) Step 25: Purnahuti Chant the mula mantra or yajnena yajnam ayajanta
devaH sadhya santi devaH from the purusha suktam Transfer the divine energy from agni to the whole cosmos, or to yourself, or
to all who have come for the homam If you had invoked the deity separately in a kalasham, then you can transfer it to the water in
the kalasham. Meditate Chant some shanti mantras, such as tachchham yoraavriNeemahe or perform arati to bhagavan Give
prasadam to all Step 27: Samyojanam