Origins of The Deepavali Padayal Offering

Every year, just before Dīpāvalī, many Malaysian Hindu families observe a practice known as paṭaiyal (படையல்) offering. Families prepare food, light lamps and offer their respects to deceased parents, grandparents and other ancestors.

You can find Malaysian and Singaporean Hindus placing the photos of their deceased with a banana leaf filled with food offerings. 

And every year, we somehow end up having the same debate.

Should the offering be strictly vegetarian? Some insist that non-vegetarian offerings are against Hinduism, while others maintain that their ancestors have been receiving such offerings for generations.

But what do our scriptures actually say?

Why Do we Clap Our Hands in Front of Chandesha?

Clapping Before Caṇḍeśa: What Do the Scriptures Actually Say?

You would have been taught to clap the hands or show your empty palms before Caṇḍeśa when leaving a Śiva temple. The explanation usually given is that we are assuring Him that we have not taken anything belonging to Śiva.

Sonadrinatha Ashtakam - A Lost Gem of Shaiva Tradition

शोणाद्रिनाथाष्टकम्

ŚOṆĀDRINĀTHĀṢṬAKAM

Śoṇādri means “the Red Mountain” and is an ancient name of Arunācala. Śoṇādrinātha therefore means “the Lord of Śoṇādri,” referring to Śiva as Arunācaleśvara.

The hymn praises Śiva in several aspects: as Rudra and Maheśvara, as Ardhanārīśvara, as the cosmic Lord with the Sun, Moon and Fire as His eyes, and especially as Tripurāntaka, the destroyer of the three cities.

This is a very rare hymn which is barely known or recited today. My ācārya Somaśekhara śivācārya stressed this a lot on us and we ensured that it was chanted during almost every ritual. Somaśekhara śivācārya says that this hymn is unique and non-comparable to other compositions as it is from the śaiva āgama-s, and hence, from the Lord directly.

Tying A God: How Does It Actually Happen?

As Malaysians, we are very familiar with this hearsay:

Person X: “The temple is no longer how it used to be lah. Cannot feel Ammaṉ as before.”

Person Y: “Of course lah! The cāmi (deity) there already ikat (tied). The new management lah…”

History of Munnadiyan

Bhairava is referred to as Kṣetra (territory) Pāla (guardian). This refers to His role as the protector of a territory.

In ancient folk cultures, the Kṣetrapāla is referred to as 'muṉṉaḍiyāṉ' (in Tamiḻ). Muṉṉaḍiyāṉ comes from muṉṉaḍi ("ahead of" or "front"), because the muṉṉaḍiyāṉ are placed at the entrance of the shrine, typically facing the presiding deity.

How to Offer Incense Smoke As Per Shaiva Agama

In Śaiva Āgamic worship, dhūpa ( incense smoke ) is an important upacāra ( ritual ) offered to the deity. It is not merely the act of showing incense, but a ritual offering of fragrant smoke, performed with proper substance, sequence, distance, mudrā, and bell-sound.

Shiva Puranam of Thiruvasagam: Word to Word Meaning and Commentary

Prelude:

Māṇikkavācakar was born as Vātavūrar and later served as a minister to the Pāṇḍya king. The king once entrusted him with wealth to purchase horses for the royal army. However, during the journey, Vātavūrar encountered Lord Śiva in the form of a guru at Tirupperunturai. Overwhelmed by divine grace, he used the king’s wealth to build a temple for Śiva instead of buying horses.

When the king demanded the horses, Śiva performed a miracle by transforming wild jackals into horses. Later, when the horses returned to their original form, the king misunderstood Māṇikkavācakar and punished him. Eventually, through further divine acts, the king realised the saint’s greatness. From then on, Vātavūrar became known as Māṇikkavācakar — “the one whose words are like gems.”

Māṇikkavācakar later travelled from shrine to shrine, singing hymns filled with intense devotion, surrender, and longing for Śiva. 

Māṇikkavācakar was at Tillai Cidambaram, when Lord Śiva came in the form of a scribe to his house and asked him to recite his hymns. As Māṇikkavācakar narrated the Tiruvācakam, Śiva Himself wrote it down on palm leaves. At the end, He signed it as:

“Tirucciṟṟampalam uṭaiyār”

meaning, “The Lord of the sacred Cidambaram.”

The manuscript was later found inside the sanctum of Tillai Naṭarāja, bearing the divine signature. 

The original palm-leaf manuscript is still preserved at the Tillai Naṭarāja Temple, and it is said to be shown to the public only during Mahāśivarātri.

Click here to read on the detailed life-story of Māṇikkavācakar 

Chamakam: Word to Word Meaning and Commentary

Introduction to Vedas

The entire Universe is reverberating. When there is reverberation, there is sound. In other words, the entire cosmos is simply a manifestation of sound energy. The ancient Vedic sages through penance, could download cosmic data directly. They received cosmic truths in the form of sounds which they envisioned. These truths were recited as received, and passed on generations after generations.

Various truths downloaded by various ṛṣi-s gave rise to the ocean of Vedas. Veda Vyāsa later compiled these Vedas and classified them. This is how the 4 Vedas came to existence. Each of these Vedas had many branches. Each branch had 4 components :

(1) saṃhitā

(2) brāhmaṇa

(3) āraṇyaka

(4) upaniṣad

Camakam is from the Taittirīya Saṁhitā, Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, 4th Kāṇḍa, 7th Prāpaṭhaka

Brahma or Bramha: Sanskrit Pronunciation Decoded

The Pāṇini sūtras declare:

अकुहविसर्जनीयानां कण्ठः
akuha-visarjanīyānāṃ kaṇṭhaḥ

Word-to-word meaning:

akuha — a and the ku-varga letters (ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa)
visarjanīyānām — of the visarga (ḥ) sound
kaṇṭhaḥ — the throat ( is the place of articulation)

Meaning:

“The throat is the place of articulation for a, the ku-varga, and the visarga (ḥ).”

Why I Always Choose to Work Alone

 I will narrate an incident which occurred a few years back.

Watch the video above.