PANJAL(THRISSUR): The sleepy hamlet at Panjal, 5 km from Shoranur railway station, is waking up to the chanting of the mantras with the presence of the 20-odd vedic practitioners who have been camping there for the last two weeks as the countdown to the Panjal Athirathram 2011 has begun.
The yagashala is taking its final shape while the work for the temporary shelters for VVIPs, media, men and women is on in full swing.
The arrival of the specially-made ‘bricks’ to construct the altar of the Athirathram from Chittisseri in Thrissur symbolically marked the ountdown to the yagam which will be held for 12 days from April 4 to 15.
The bricks will be constructed in the shape of a ‘bird taking flight’ called ‘chithi’, a very specialised and time-consuming process.
The bricks were brought in a procession from Chittisseri and taken to major temples, including Vadakkunathan, Paramekkavu, Thiruvambadi and Uthralikkavu temples before reaching the Lakshminarayanan temple at Panjal.
Athirathram was performed last time at Panjal 35 years ago in 1975. All the earthen and wooden utensils, medicinal herbs and plants needed for the ritual have been kept ready for the D-Day.
“Only a few of us of the older generation are alive. The experts are all gone. But we have to continue the tradition,” Kaipra Sankaranarayanan Akkithirippad, the acharya of the yagam, said.
“Mantras will be recited from Rigveda, Samaveda and Yajurveda for 12 days. The scholars have been practising at Panjal and Shukapuram for the last few months. For the last two weeks all have been camping here for the final practice,” Thottam Krishnan, a Samaveda expert, said.
Panjal will also be the meeting point of several scholars from universities across the world and India.
Prof Frits Staal from Havard University, the man behind the conduct of the earlier yagam here, will be present during the event.
“We plan to do some experiments to study the changes in the environment, plants and animals before, during and after the yagam,” said V P N Nampoori, Professor Emeritus, Cochin University of Science and Technology. “The data collected during the earlier yagams haven’t been documented. We aim at analysing and putting the data in the public domain for everybody,” Manoj Jacob, Varthathe Trust, said.