YETAPAKA(KHAMMAM DIST): The world's oldest surviving ritual, Athirathram, has drawn everybody's attention to Yetapaka village in Khammam district. It is said the yagam is being practised for the last 4000 years, which in itself is fascinating. Though it went into oblivion in most of the country, the Namboodiri Brahmins of Kerala have kept the srauta tradition alive till today.
Scholars say an early reference to the yagam can be found in Valmiki's Ramayana. In the 14th sarga of Balakanda, it is mentioned that King Dasaratha has performed the yagam. Now, Yetapaka, with a population of 4,000, near Bhadrachalam, is hosting Athirathram from April 21 to May 2. The previous Athirathram ritual was held in Kerala last year.
According to organisers, over one lakh people witnessed the yagam during the first three days. With the crowd increasing gradually, Saturday (the eighth day) alone saw over one lakh visiting the place.
Kesapragada Hariharanatha Sarma, a 62-year-old Vedic pandit who performed 16 somayagas along with his son Rajasekhara Sarma, has decided to perform Athirathram in Andhra Pradesh through his organisation Samatha Lok Seva Samithi, after witnessing the yagam at Panajal in Kerala last year.
Vedic rituals fall under two broad categories--grhya and srauta. The former is a personal rite while the latter is performed collectively for general good. There are only a handful of people in the country who could perform Athirathram, said Hariharanatha Sarma.
It is said Myoora Sarma, a king of Kadamba dynasty who ruled parts of Kerala for some time, encouraged some Brahmin families of coastal Andhra to move to Kerala and those families came to be known as Namboodiris.
Vedic scholar Naduvam Narayanan Somayaji, as yajamana, is responsible for the proper conduct of Athirathram 2012. Two other scholars, Krishnan Namboodiri and Kadaloor Sri Das Namboodiri, are taking care of the Rigvedic and Yajurvedic aspects of the yagam.
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