Ankurarpana ritual to mark beginning of Tirumala Brahmotsavams
Tirumala, Sept 13 (TNT): The sacred Ankurarpana ceremony, marking the ceremonial prelude to the nine-day annual Brahmotsavams at Tirumala, will be performed between 1900 and 2000 hours on Monday, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) said on Sunday.
According to the Vaikhanasa Agama tradition, Ankurarpana is a sacred seed-sowing ceremony performed in the Yagasala, in which nine types of cereals (Nava Dhanyalu) are sown in earthen pots known as Palikas.
Also described as Beejavapanam in the Vaikhanasa Agama, the ritual is performed seeking divine intervention for the welfare and well-being of humanity.
The sprouting of the seeds is regarded as an auspicious indication of the smooth and successful conduct of the Brahmotsavams.
The seeds symbolise life, fertility, growth and abundance, while their sprouting represents the flourishing of the festival and the welfare of devotees.
Ankurarpana is generally performed at night as the Moon (Chandra) is regarded in tradition as Sasyakaraka, the significator and controller of vegetation.
The Shastras prescribe that the ritual should ideally be performed nine days before the main festival, though it may also be conducted seven, five, three or at least one day before the utsavam, depending on circumstances.
The nine grains sown during the ceremony also symbolically represent the nine celestial planets (Nava Grahas). Wheat represents the Sun, rice the Moon, red gram Mars, green gram Mercury, chickpeas Jupiter, cowpeas Venus, sesame Saturn, black gram Rahu and horse gram Ketu.
Senadhipati Utsavam, Medini Puja and Mritsangrahanam are also observed as part of the pre-Brahmotsavam rituals.
TNT LE
