Āchamanam (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: , ') 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 ...

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 (

: ), Smṛtyācamanam (

: ) and Purāṇācamanam (

: ). However, in

Sandhyavandana Sandhyavandanam (Sanskrit: , ', lit. 'salutation to (Goddess) Twilight' or 'salutation during the twilight') is a mandatory religious ritual centring around the recitation of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally supposed to be performed three times ...

, 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'' asKanva 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 {{Hinduism-stub