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''Kumbhabhishekam'', also known as ''Samprokshanam'' is a
''Ashta'' means 8 in
''Kumbhabhishekam'', also known as ''Samprokshanam'' is a 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 ...
temple ritual that is believed to homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deity. It is part of the consecration ceremony of Hindu temples. ''Kumbha'' means the Head and denotes the ''Shikhara'' or Crown of the Temple (usually in the ''gopuram
A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Sout ...
'') and '' abhisekam'' or ''prokshanam'' is ritual bathing. Kumbhabhishekam is widely celebrated as a festival in South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
.
On the appointed day and at an auspicious time, the ''Kumbha'' is bathed with the charged and sanctified holy waters in the sacrificial pot and, by a mystic process, these pranic powers trickle down a silver wire and enter the deity installed inside the sanctum sanctorum
The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of t ...
of the temple. The deity, which was until then only a granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
sculptured stone image, is believed to transform into a vibrant and vivid living representation of the deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
with innate beatitude, grace and grandeur, conferring divine blessings on all devotees.
Ashtabandhanam
''Ashta'' means 8 in 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 ...
and ''Bandhanam'' means tying or fixing. ''Ashtabandhanam'' is the process of affixing an icon to its pedestal (''peetham'') with a clay-like paste made of 8 specific herbs mixed with wood lac, limestone powder, resin, red ochre, beeswax and butter. The paste is formed into long rolls about 2 cm thick and applied directly around the base of the icon, so that the cemented joints become watertight. This process is believed to keep the icon rejuvenated for a period of 12 years. When the ''Bandhanam'' is performed with gold (''Swarnabandhanam''), the rejuvenating power of the deity is believed to last for a period of 100 years.
The ''Ashtabandhanam paste is pliable like rubber. Through repeated interactions with ''abhishekha dravyams'' - materials used to bathe the icon during daily worship like water, milk, buttermilk, sandal paste and oils - and atmospheric oxidant
An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxi ...
s, the paste loses its flexibility, becomes rigid and gets riddled with a lot of fissures. Through these fissures, the ''abhisheka dravyams'' percolate and attack the ''Yantra
Yantra () (literally "machine, contraption") is a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions. Yantras are used for the worship of deities in temples or at home; as an aid in meditation; used for the benefit ...
'' embedded under the ''peetham'', obliterating the ''Bijaksharamantras'' -- mantra
A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...
s of sacred syllables ('' bija'') -- that are inscribed on the ''Yantra'', and this is believed to contribute to the lowering of the pranic spiritual power of the deity with the passage of time.
References