Āchamanam (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: , ') is part of any
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
in the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
tradition and is done in the starting. It is a purification ritual that is believed to cure all physical and mental impurities.
Types of Āchamanam
There are three types of Āchamanam,
namely, Śrautācamanam (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ), Smṛtyācamanam (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ) and Purāṇācamanam (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ).
However, in
Sandhyavandana, there exists fourth version of āchamana, known as
mantrācamana.
Śrautācamanam
In śrautācamanam, water is sipped thrice accompanied by the recitation of the three padas of Gayatri in succession. Then, 21 parts of the body are touched while the 21 mantras are recited the nine Abliṅgas and the seven Vyahritis i.e. names of the seven worlds preceded by
pranava
''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Ved ...
, the sacred syllable OM and the 3 padas of Gayatri siras. It is defined in ''ṣatkarma candrikā'' as
[Kanva Sandhya Vyakshya, p. 15, Bhagavatula Lakshmipathi Sastri, Manjuvani Press, Ellore, 1914.]
Smṛtyācamanam
Smṛtyācamanam can be viewed as an abridged version of śrautācamanam. Water is sipped thrice accompanied by uttering svāhā. Then, 9 parts of the body are touched by recitation of the sutras that instruct this achamana.
Purāṇācamanam
Purāṇācamanam is done with the
24 names of Vishnu starting with keśava, etc. The water is poured on the right hand palm, which made as gokurna sipped thrice with the first three names and both hands are washed with the next two names. For the remaining 19 names different parts of body are ritually cleansed.
References
Notes
Rituals in Hindu worship
Water and Hinduism
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