Dipavali Mantras

 

नरकचतुर्दशी

१. अभ्यङ्गस्नानम्

नरकभीरुभिः तिलतैलेनाभ्यङ्गस्नानं कर्तव्यम्।

मन्त्रः-
सीतालोष्टसमायुक्त सकण्तकदलान्वित।

हर पापमपामार्ग भ्राम्यमाणः पुनः पुनः॥

१.  कार्तिकस्नानम्

तिलकं कृत्वा कार्तिकस्नानं कार्यम्।

विष्णुं स्मृत्वा देशकालौ संकीर्त्य

मन्त्र for अर्घ्य before bath:
नमः कमलनाभाय नमस्ते जलशायिने।

नमस्तेऽस्तु हृषीकेश गृहाणार्घ्यं नमोऽस्तु ते॥

 

Mantra for snana:

कार्तिकेऽहं करिष्यामि प्रातःस्नानं जनार्दन।

प्रीत्यर्थं तव देवेश दामोदर मया सह॥

ध्यात्वाहं त्वां च देवेश जलेऽस्मिन् स्नातुनुद्यतः।

तव प्रसादात् पापं मे दामोदर विनश्यतु॥

 

Mantra for arghya after bath:
arghya 1:

नित्ये नैमित्तिके कृष्ण कार्तिके पापनाशने।
गृहाणार्घ्यं मया दत्तं राधया सहितो हरे॥

Arghya 2:

व्रतिनः कार्तिके मासि स्नातस्य विधिवन् मम।

गृहाणार्घ्यं मया दत्तं राधया सहितो हरे॥

 

२. यमतर्पणम्

कार्तिकस्नानानन्तरं यमतर्पणं कार्यम्।
तिलमिश्रान् त्रीन् अञ्जलीन् सव्येन अपसव्येन वा देवतीर्थेन पितृतीर्थेन वा दक्षिणमुखो दद्यात्।

Mantras:

यमाय नमः यमं तर्पयामि।

धर्मराजाय नमः धर्मराजं तर्पयामि।

मृत्यवे नमः मृत्युं तर्पयामि।
अन्तकाय नमः अन्तकं तर्पयामि।

वैवस्वताय नमः वैवस्वतं तर्पयामि।
कालाय नमः कालं तर्पयामि।
सर्वभूतक्षयाय नमः सर्वभूतक्षयं तर्पवामि।
औदुम्बराय नमः औदुम्बरं तर्पयामि।
दघ्नाय नमः दघ्नं तर्पयामि।

नीलाय नमः नीलं तर्पयामि।

परमेष्ठिने नमः परमेष्ठिनं तर्पयामि।

वृकोदराय नमः वृकोदरं तर्पयामि।

चित्राय नमः चित्रं तर्पयामि।
चित्रगुप्ताय नमः चित्रगुप्तं तर्पयामि।

 

यमाय धर्मराजाय मृत्यवे चान्तकाय च।

वैवस्वताय कालाय सर्वभूतक्षयाय च॥
औदुम्बराय दघ्नाय नीलाय परमेष्ठिने।

वृकोदराय चित्राय चित्रगुप्ताय ते नमः॥

जीवत्पितृकस्तु यवैः देवतीर्थेन सव्येन कुर्यात्।

 

4. उल्कादानं दीपप्रज्वालनं च।

Offering of Crackers (उल्कादान) and offering of lamp (दीपप्रज्वालन) is enjoined during the night of Deepavali – both on Chaturdashi and Amavasaya.



तुलासंस्थे सहस्रांशौ प्रदोषे भूतदर्शयोः।

उल्काहस्ता नराः कुर्युः पितृणां मार्गदर्शनम्॥

During the first part of the night of Chaturdashi and Amavasya when the Sun is in Tula Rashi, people should hold cracker in their hands and show path to the ancestors.

 

The following Mantra should be chanted while offering cracker:

अग्निदग्धाश्च ये जीवा येऽप्यदग्धाः कुले मम।

उज्वलज्योतिषा दग्धास्ते यान्तु परमां गतिम्॥

यमलोकं परित्यज्य आगता ये महालये।

उज्वलज्योतिषा वर्त्म प्रपश्यन्तु व्रजन्तु ते॥

There may be jivas in my family who were cremated by fire. There may be some others who are not cremated. May they be Illumined by the bright light and attain the ultimate goal.

There are ancestors who came from the yama-loka during Mahalaya. May they see the path (to their loka) with the bright light and return (to their loka).

अमावस्या

अथाश्विनामावस्यायां प्रातरभ्यङ्गः प्रदोषे दीपदानलक्ष्मीपूजनादि विहितम्।

अत्र दर्शे बालवृद्धादिभिन्नैः दिवा न भोक्तव्यम्।

कार्तिकशुक्लप्रतिपत्

 

अभ्यङ्गः आवश्यकः।

 

बलिपूजा

बलिराज नमस्तुभ्यं विरोचनसुत प्रभो।

भविष्येन्द्र सुराराते पूजेयं प्रतिगृह्यताम्॥

 

गोपूजा

लक्ष्मीर्या लोकपालानां धेनुरूपेण संस्थिता।

घृतं वहति यज्ञार्थे मम पापं व्यपोहतु॥

अग्रतः सन्तु में गावो गावो मे सन्तु पृष्ठतः।

गावो में हृदये सन्तु गवां मध्ये वसाम्यहम्॥

इति मन्त्राभ्यां गवां सवत्सानां बलीवर्दानां च पूजनं विभूषणं च कृत्वा दोहनभारवाहनादिकं वर्जयेत्।

एवं चतुर्दश्यादिदिनत्रये अभ्यङ्गाद्युत्सवस्य अकरणे नरकादिदोषश्रवणात् करणे लक्ष्मीप्राप्ति-अलक्ष्मीपरिहारादिफलश्रवणाच्च नित्यकाम्योभयरूपत्वम्।

 

 

 

 

 

Dharma and Conscience

 

Dharma and Conscience

Some modern and popular intellectuals try to make Dharma appealing to the modern world. They try to define Dharma based on some universally acceptable norms. According to them conscience – the universal understanding of right and wrong that is inherent in human mind – is the basis of distinction between virtue and vice. The objective of this article is to express a disagreement with the above understanding of Dharma and to uphold the traditional definition and source of Dharma.

Dharma From a Traditional Perspective:

The Vedic tradition accepts Vedas as the basic Pramana (source of knowledge) for Dharma. Dharma refers to any means to a desirable goal that is revealed by the Vedas.  (वेदप्रतिपाद्यः प्रयोजनवद् अर्थो धर्मः) From this definition one can easily presume that Vedas are the pramana for Dharma.

The following verses of Manusmrti resonates the same idea:

वेदोऽखिलो धर्ममूलं स्मृतिशीले च तद्विदाम्।

आचारश्चैव साधूनामात्मनस्तुष्टिरेव च॥

(Manusmrti 2.6)

वेदः स्मृतिः सदाचारः स्वस्य च प्रियमात्मनः।

एतच्चतुर्विधं प्राहुः साक्षाद् धर्मस्य लक्षणम्॥

(Manusmrti 2.12)

आर्षं धर्मोपदेशं च वेदशास्त्राविरोधिना।

यस्तर्केणानुसंधत्ते स धर्मं वेद नेतरः॥

(Manusmrti 12. 106)

Vedas are the primary source of Dharma. If one cannot decipher Dharma from the Vedas directly, one should refer to the smrtis that are based on Dharma. The conduct and actions of the knowers of Shruti also serve as testimony to Dharma, because they are based on Vedas.

Why Conscience Cannot Determine Dharma

Conscience is understood as the inbuilt sense of right and wrong. One gets a sense of right or wrong about an action or behaviour without being prompted by an external source. It cannot be the basis of right or wrong on account of the following reasons

1.                        Conscience might vary depending on culture and training. An individual brought up in Islamic islamic does not feel guilty of eating halal meat, whereas an individual brought up as a vegetarian Hindu cannot even think of killing innocent animals to satisfy his taste buds. A man brought up in a cannibal tribe does not think there is anything wrong in killing other human beings. Hence there does not seem any valid reason to believe that there is a universal conscience.

2.                        Conscience can be Delusive

Emotional impulses, weakness and delusion can be misunderstood as the voice of conscience. There does not seem to be a clear way to filter out conscience from emotional weakness and temptation. Hence Dharma will become absolutely subjective.

3.                        Conscience is not a Pramana

There are certain valid sources of Jnana (Knowledge) like Pratyaksha, anumana etc. Conscience is a thought that arises in our mind at a given situation. The validity of any thought depends on a valid means of knowledge. The thought in itself cannot be considered as the basis of its validity. For example, I see a fruit on a tree. Then I get a thought: “the fruit is sweet”. This thought can be valid only if it is based on a valid Pramana. If the thought has risen after tasting the fruit, it is based on direct perception (Pratyakasha). Sometimes it can be based on inference also. I may not have tasted the particular fruit. Yet I have eaten a similar fruit. Hence, I can conclude that the fruit is as sweet as the other one. It is inference (anumana). It can also be based on Shabda Pramana – the words of a trustworthy person. If I have not arrived at the conclusion based on any of these pramanas, then it is just my imagination.

       On account of the above three reasons, conscience cannot be accepted as a valid basis for Dharma. Therefore, we should rely on a valid basis to determine the virtues and vices. The time-tested and most ancient means to determine Dharma are the Vedas and literature based on the Vedas. Hence, one should trust and rely on the Vedas as the ultimate means to understand the values and duties of Dharma.