Mahanyasam ..general outline

Mahanyasam ..general outline

Mahanyasam is the ceremonial invocation of lord shiva and his devatas with vedic mantras ..

the lord is invoked in kumbhas or pitchers filled with sacred water etc and also on some mandalas or cluster of materials suitable for invocation of the divine couple shiva and uma .

. In addition the person who chants rudram and chamakam worshipfully invokes the lord and all other gods in various parts of his own body through various nyasa mantrams

This nyasam alone makes him pure and eligible for chanting Sri Rudram.

Namaskaram to the divine couple uma and shankara is offered.

The lords of cardinal points ashtadigpalakas are invoked in the appropriate direction in waterpots or mandalas etc.

The detailed procedure is prescribed by Bodhayana.

The mantras would consume about one and half hours.

If it is not possible to perform mahanyasam a shortened version Laghunyasam is followed.

Nyasam..the word means reverentially and pointedly placing deities..around the main deity in kumbham .

The chanting of rudram is then done honouring the deity invoked in that kumbham.

In addition the deities are placed or invoked in various parts of the body of the one who chants Sri Rudram through anganyasam karanyasam etc.

For nyasa of each deity elaborate vedic mantras and often tantric beeja mantras are chanted.

This is a general outline.

The subject is too vast.

And the procedure can have minor variation according to local practices.

In our nitya pooja with rudram we perform only laghunyasam