Hari Aum.
The Purusha sukta is a famous Vedic hymn to God- perhaps one of the most well-known. I confess that I have been more interested in the Narayana sukta and Shri sukta than in this hymn. Recently I was wondering what hymn may be good to recite to ensure a healthy pregnancy (in addition to my usual daily japa). It may sound odd but the spate of funny dreams continues - I woke up recently after dreaming of some chanting and the words 'yagnaya' and 'yagyapataye' playing in my mind. I googled these words to try and figure out which prayer, if any, these were from and came up with the Purusha suktam (these words form part of the shanti/peace mantras that one chants before reciting the hymn).
As I said, I never used to read or hear the Purusha sukta as I liked the Narayana/Shri suktas much more. After this dream, out of curiosity, I read about the Purusha sukta and then discovered that doing a homam with this mantra is a good prayer to avoid complications in pregnancy.
While it is true that one must face whatever karma (negative or positive) one has to face, there is no harm in invoking divine protection to either lessen the negative karma or give one the strength to bear it. In fact, this is advised by yogis such as my Guru, Sivananda. I have no idea how this pregnancy will go but thought I might as well arrange for a priest to perform the Purusha sukta homam as a prayer to Vishnu to seek His blessings.
My mother, husband and I therefore went to a beautiful local South Indian temple today where a very kind Sri Lankan Tamil priest performed the homam for us. On my way to the temple, I felt very unwell and nauseous, probably due to morning sickness. I have also been dealing with some stressful news regarding the health of my father in the past couple of days which probably contributed to the nausea.
On arrival at the temple, I prayed to Vishnu to ensure that my health permitted me to sit through the homam without having to rush to the bathroom to throw up. Fortunately, the homam passed uneventfully and I felt much better both physically and mentally afterwards. In fact, I felt so peaceful afterwards that I did not want to leave the temple at all. My appetite (which had vanished due to the nausea) returned and I managed to eat some breakfast.
Afterwards, I said to my mother and husband that I feel that temples and homams are wonderful ways of seeking refuge from the daily stresses of life (both from the strain of physical health problems and from mental stress). Temples (and other places of worship) are wonderful places where people recharge their minds, bodies and souls. They are a very valuable part of society and it is good to do what one can to support them.
Anyway, I plan to continue to listen to the Purusha sukta from time to time during this pregnancy. I have written this post for other pregnant women in particular- you may find it soothing and beneficial to listen to the Vedic chanting.
Please see below for a link to a rendition of the Purusha sukta by the famous Challakere brothers who are regarded as experts in Vedic chanting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ikKPiCK53s
This is an explanation of the meaning of the Purusha sukta by Swami Krishnananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda:
https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_pura.html
A simple translation of the Purusha sukta by Stephen Knapp with the shanti mantra:
https://www.stephen-knapp.com/purusha_sukta.htm
In a nutshell, the Purusha sukta praises God as the Supreme Being, whose body includes all bodies (hence He is described as having thousands of heads, eyes, feet etc as all the parts of the multitude of creatures He has made belong to Him alone). It describes God as being the source of the past, present and future, the source of all things, the immortal One.
Please note that Vedic hymns such as the Purusha sukta require significant training to be able to recite perfectly with correct intonation and pronunciation. These hymns are said to have wonderful, spiritual and material beneficial effects when one hears or chants them correctly. However, the reverse negative effects may be experienced if chanted incorrectly. If one is not confident in chanting these correctly, it may be best to just listen to another chanting which also gives the spiritual benefits. I have not learnt to chant this yet, so simply enjoy listening to the Challakere brothers chanting.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
The Purusha sukta is a famous Vedic hymn to God- perhaps one of the most well-known. I confess that I have been more interested in the Narayana sukta and Shri sukta than in this hymn. Recently I was wondering what hymn may be good to recite to ensure a healthy pregnancy (in addition to my usual daily japa). It may sound odd but the spate of funny dreams continues - I woke up recently after dreaming of some chanting and the words 'yagnaya' and 'yagyapataye' playing in my mind. I googled these words to try and figure out which prayer, if any, these were from and came up with the Purusha suktam (these words form part of the shanti/peace mantras that one chants before reciting the hymn).
As I said, I never used to read or hear the Purusha sukta as I liked the Narayana/Shri suktas much more. After this dream, out of curiosity, I read about the Purusha sukta and then discovered that doing a homam with this mantra is a good prayer to avoid complications in pregnancy.
While it is true that one must face whatever karma (negative or positive) one has to face, there is no harm in invoking divine protection to either lessen the negative karma or give one the strength to bear it. In fact, this is advised by yogis such as my Guru, Sivananda. I have no idea how this pregnancy will go but thought I might as well arrange for a priest to perform the Purusha sukta homam as a prayer to Vishnu to seek His blessings.
My mother, husband and I therefore went to a beautiful local South Indian temple today where a very kind Sri Lankan Tamil priest performed the homam for us. On my way to the temple, I felt very unwell and nauseous, probably due to morning sickness. I have also been dealing with some stressful news regarding the health of my father in the past couple of days which probably contributed to the nausea.
On arrival at the temple, I prayed to Vishnu to ensure that my health permitted me to sit through the homam without having to rush to the bathroom to throw up. Fortunately, the homam passed uneventfully and I felt much better both physically and mentally afterwards. In fact, I felt so peaceful afterwards that I did not want to leave the temple at all. My appetite (which had vanished due to the nausea) returned and I managed to eat some breakfast.
Afterwards, I said to my mother and husband that I feel that temples and homams are wonderful ways of seeking refuge from the daily stresses of life (both from the strain of physical health problems and from mental stress). Temples (and other places of worship) are wonderful places where people recharge their minds, bodies and souls. They are a very valuable part of society and it is good to do what one can to support them.
Anyway, I plan to continue to listen to the Purusha sukta from time to time during this pregnancy. I have written this post for other pregnant women in particular- you may find it soothing and beneficial to listen to the Vedic chanting.
Please see below for a link to a rendition of the Purusha sukta by the famous Challakere brothers who are regarded as experts in Vedic chanting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ikKPiCK53s
This is an explanation of the meaning of the Purusha sukta by Swami Krishnananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda:
https://www.swami-krishnananda.org/invoc/in_pura.html
A simple translation of the Purusha sukta by Stephen Knapp with the shanti mantra:
https://www.stephen-knapp.com/purusha_sukta.htm
In a nutshell, the Purusha sukta praises God as the Supreme Being, whose body includes all bodies (hence He is described as having thousands of heads, eyes, feet etc as all the parts of the multitude of creatures He has made belong to Him alone). It describes God as being the source of the past, present and future, the source of all things, the immortal One.
Please note that Vedic hymns such as the Purusha sukta require significant training to be able to recite perfectly with correct intonation and pronunciation. These hymns are said to have wonderful, spiritual and material beneficial effects when one hears or chants them correctly. However, the reverse negative effects may be experienced if chanted incorrectly. If one is not confident in chanting these correctly, it may be best to just listen to another chanting which also gives the spiritual benefits. I have not learnt to chant this yet, so simply enjoy listening to the Challakere brothers chanting.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
Namaste.. Thanks again for your kindness and effort in posting.
ReplyDeleteI accidentally came across this post while searching for the meaning of Purusha Sukta.
An esteemed Astrologer had advised me to recite it a few hundred times for Progeny( which seems to be difficult as per mine and my spouses chart) along with Gayathri.
After reading the meaning, I realise it’s possible that these are interpretations of Sri Sayana.
I totally agree that whatever Karma we have done is to be faced. In my case, It’s a really tough thing to swallow pride/ego and accept a few major events in life may not go as per plan. This only makes me believe that one is less in control of ones destiny and the leave everything to be Sarvam Sri KrishnarpaNa.
Namaste,
DeleteI'm glad that you found this post useful. Gayatri japa is certainly wonderul and confers many benefits, both material and spiritual.
In my Guru's book, Japa Yoga, at the very end he mentions mantras for specific purposes including for being blessed with a child.
He advises recitation of this mantra:
"Om Devaki-suta Govinda, Vasudeva Jagatpataye,
Dehi me thanayam Krishna, Tvam-aham sharanam gatah"
(Note: if recited by a woman, the last word is 'gataa').
He advises reciting this mantra at least 1 lakh times (ideally 32 lakhs if one can, or at least 1 lakh).
After completing the japa, he writes that one should seek the help of a priest and perform a havan. Finally he recommends performing charitable deeds such as arranging for feeding of the needy and sadhus, and donating clothes etc for their welfare.
This mantra may be helpful to recite at least a few times daily (e.g. 27 times) along with Gayatri. You may wish to also consider performing an extended japa practice with it.
May God bless you with success, both material and spiritual.