musings on Sandhyavandanam morning, midday and evening

During every morning and evening as we do sandhya vandhanam

we close our accounts of mean and sinful activities offering the sins and ourselves as oblation to the sun the womb of Immortality, (in the morning) and the fire and truth..the wombs of immortality in the evening

with a prayer to sun(In the morning) and fire(in the evening) and the god of anger Manyu himself that we may be protected against the sins of commissions and omissions caused by Manyu representing anger and base feelings.

We list in our confession the misdeeds caused by

mind and words

by the hands and feet ,

by the stomach and the genitals,

and also recount all the accumulated bad karma..

Such a periodic confession with such precision and at the exact timeslots where day and night or night and day meet each other is ever conceived by any other race.

If we can do that with precision and faith there is no doubt that we can leave this world without any baggage of good or bad at any moment

(this is the vedic mantram

सूर्यश्च मा मन्युश्च / अग्निश्च मा मन्युश्च मन्युपतयश्च मन्युकृतेभ्यो पापेभ्यो रक्षन्ताम्॥ यद्रात्रिया /यदह्ना पापमकार्षं मनसा वाचा हस्ताभ्यां पद्भ्यां उदरेण शिश्ना। रात्रिः / अहः तदवलुंपतु। यत् किञ्च दुरितं मयि। इदमहं मां अमृतयोनौ सूर्ये / सत्ये ज्योतिषि जुहोमि स्वाहाः॥

sūryaśca mā manyuśca agniśca mā manyuśca manyupatayaśca manyukṛtebhyo pāpebhyo rakṣantām|| yadrātriyā yadahnā pāpamakārṣaṁ manasā vācā hastābhyāṁ padbhyāṁ udareṇa śiśnā| rātriḥ ahaḥ tadavaluṁpatu | yat kiñca duritaṁ mayi| idamahaṁ māṁ amṛtayonau ṣurye ṣātye jyotiśi juhomi svāhāḥ||)

Such a periodic confession with such precision and at the exact timeslots where day and night or night and day meet each other is ever conceived by any other race.

If we can do that with precision and faith there is no doubt that we can leave this world without any baggage of good or bad at any moment

Morning PrataH Sandhyaa

सूर्यश्च मा मन्युश्च मन्युपतयश्च मन्युकृतेभ्यो पापेभ्यो रक्षन्ताम्॥ यद्रात्रिया पापमकार्षं मनसा वाचा हस्ताभ्यां पद्भ्यां उदरेण शिश्ना। रात्रिः तदवलुंपतु। यत् किञ्च दुरितं मयि। इदमहं मां अमृतयोनौ सूर्ये ज्योतिषि जुहोमि स्वाहाः॥

sūryaśca mā manyuśca manyupatayaśca manyukṛtebhyo pāpebhyo rakṣantām|| yadrātriyā pāpamakārṣaṁ manasā vācā hastābhyāṁ padbhyāṁ udareṇa śiśnā| rātriḥ tadavaluṁpatu | yat kiñca duritaṁ mayi| idamahaṁ māṁ amṛtayonau ṣurye jyotiśi juhomi svāhāḥ||)

Evening Saayam Sandhyaa

अग्निश्च मा मन्युश्च मन्युपतयश्च मन्युकृतेभ्यो पापेभ्यो रक्षन्ताम्॥ यदह्ना पापमकार्षं मनसा वाचा हस्ताभ्यां पद्भ्यां उदरेण शिश्ना। अहः तदवलुंपतु। यत् किञ्च दुरितं मयि। इदमहं मां अमृतयोनौ सत्ये ज्योतिषि जुहोमि स्वाहाः॥

agniśca mā manyuśca manyupatayaśca manyukṛtebhyo pāpebhyo rakṣantām|| yadahnā pāpamakārṣaṁ manasā vācā hastābhyāṁ padbhyāṁ udareṇa śiśnā| ahaḥ tadavaluṁpatu | yat kiñca duritaṁ mayi| idamahaṁ māṁ amṛtayonau ṣātye jyotiśi juhomi svāhāḥ||)

May the Fire or Agni, and anger itself and the deities presiding over anger themselves protect me from sins which were committed on account of anger.. May whatever sins were committed by me during this day through use of mind, words, hands, feet, stomach and genitals be destroyed and obliterated by this day itself. May whatever accumulated sin is there in me be obliterated by the grace of these deities. Now (with the sipping of this water) I am offering myself as oblation to the eternal truth (in the form of Agni), who is the womb of immortality.

Note

It is believed that the powers of the Sun, when He sets in the evening upto the time he raises in the morning is deposited in Agni or Fire.. That is the reason we offer oblation to Agni in the evening. For the protection during night.

Mid day….Maadhyaahnikam

Refer to this Vedic Mantram we chant during Madhyaahnikam

आपः पुनन्तु पृथिवीं पृथिवी पूता पुनातु माम्। ब्रह्मणस्पतिर्ब्रह्मपूता पुनातु माम्।

यदुच्छिष्टमभिज्यं यद्वा दुश्चरितं मम सर्वं पुनन्तु मामापोऽसतां च प्रतिग्रहं स्वाहा॥

महानारायणोपनिषत् अनुवाकः २३

āpaḥ punantu pṛthivīṃ pṛthivī pūtā punātu mām। brahmaṇaspatirbrahmapūtā punātu mām।

yaducchiṣṭamabhijyaṃ yadvā duścaritaṃ mama sarvaṃ punantu māmāpo'satāṃ ca pratigrahaṃ svāhā॥

mahānārāyaṇopaniṣat Yajurveda taittireeya Aranayakam

We chant the above mantra during Madhyahnikam and sip the water held in our right palm, as a token of repentance. If you do Madhyahnikam you will know this. This mantram is common to all the Sakhas.

May the waters (consecrated by this mantra) purify the earth and the material that constitutes this worldly body of mine and thus purified earth and such material purify me too. May the brahmanasapati.. Prajapathi purify the holy Vedas (Brahma) and the mantras and so purified Veda and mantra purify me ( The Brahmanaspati can alos mean the one who is trained in Vedas, my Acharya, and the knowledge purified by him may purify me too. This is the alternate interpretation)

Whatever food that was left over or putrid, which is being consumed by me, whatever food that is prohibited for consumption has been ingested by me, whatever sinful activities have been indulged in by me, and whatever presents or materials I have received from evil minded persons from whom I am not permitted to receive anything, all these may be purified and condoned when I offer this consecrated water as aahuti or oblation to the divine energy within me,( and as a token I sip this water held on my palm )