ALUVA: The banks of Periyar in Aluva have been spruced up for the Agnishtoma Somayagam which begins on Saturday. The seven-day series of rituals will conclude on May 1.
The Yagasala, spread over 432 x 216 metres, is now ready. A onemetre- wide footpath around the Yagasala will help devotees witness the rituals being performed in the Yagasala.
A huge pandal has been erected near the Yagasala for people to meditate and pray. A separate centre has been arranged for the Vedic scholars to rest and relax.
An exhibition centre for display/ staging of temple arts and an auditorium for scholars to deliver discourses, besides an enclave for serving holy meals (Annadanam), have also been arranged near the Yagasala. There will also be a spacious parking are a fo r vehicl e s on the Manalpuram.
About 120 Vedic scholars will perform the rituals as enjoined by the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas in the Yagasala. The Yagam consists of many Vedic activities performed by pundits in these Vedas.
The main offering in a Somayagam is Somarasa, the nectar of Soma herbs which grow in the high altitudes of the Himalayas.
The Yagam is a major ritual performed by a group of Veda pundits with the aim of “filling the environment with positive energy”.
It is meant to cure the many ills of modern society which has lost moral, ethical ad spiritual values. Vedas say that Yagams can bring about lasting solutions to problems that the humanity currently faces. Yagams purge the environment of negative energy and deliver the much-needed positive ‘charge’.
With the Yagasala now set up on the banks of the river, Vedic scholars have started arriving at the venue since Friday noon. Soorya Narayana Sharma will be the Yaga Raksha Purushan. Kurusayoor Narayanan Namboodiripad will be the Yajamanan of the yagam.
Vaideekan Idamana Narayanan Potti and Kaimukku Sreedharan Namboodiri will be chief vedic adviser and chief Vaideekan respectively. Kanyakulangara Subramanian Potti will be chief aide to the Vaideeka.
The Nanni Pavana Achamana Punyaha ritual was held in the evening under the supervision of Kurusayoor Narayanan Namboodiripad and Yajamana Pathni (wife). The ritual of Arani Kadayal (churning fire) would held later in the evening. The rituals proper will formally begin at 6 a.m. on Saturday.
Somayagam was last performed 222 years ago. The king of erstwhile Travancore, Sree Vanchi Kulashekara Balarama Varma Perumal, was the Yaga Raksha Purushan for the Yagam held in 1787.