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Vighnesh Poonal Invite
Vighnesh Poonal Invite
It gives us great pleasure to invite you to the Upanayanam of Vighnesh, our second son. The function is to be
held at our ancestral home in our village of Sedanipuram, in what is now called Tiruvarur District and which was
earlier a part of Tanjore.
The village is situated on the road running between Kumbakonam and Nannilam and is about 18 kms from
Kumbakonam, which is the nearest railhead. It is located on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Cauvery
and has all the attributes of a traditional village in Tamil Nadu including a river, a pond and Shiva, Vishnu and
Ganesh temples, all in good upkeep.
Our ancestral home was built more than 100 years ago by Venkats great grandfather has been recently restored.
Without changing the basic architecture and functional intent, modern touches which we think are integral to a
comfortable urban lifestyle have been provided. We are all very happy with the way the ancestral home looks
now after the restoration.
As a forerunner to the Upanayanam, there will be a Grihapravesam or house warming ceremony on June 2,
2009. On the day prior to the Upanayanam i.e. on June 3, 2009, we have the ceremony of Nandishrardham and
on June 4, 2009, Vighneshs Upanayanam ceremony will be conducted. We have tried to give a flavour below of
what the ceremonies on June 3 & 4 entail and the intent behind the same.
June 3, 2009- Nandishrardham
This is a ceremony conducted to obtain the blessings of our ancestors (pitrus). It begins with the ceremony of
Udakashanti. Udakashanti involves invoking the presence of Varuna, the God of rain and water, and the other
devas and the holy rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, Cauvery, in the water
kept in the kumbham (pot) through the chanting of mantras from the Vedas and doing abhisheka (pouring over
the head) with that water to Vighnesh. Through this ceremony Nature in the form of holy rivers is worshipped
and its blessings are sought to protect the child and one prays for long life, health and happiness.
After Udakashanti is Paalikai, in which navadhanyas i.e. seeds of nine cereals and pulses are soaked in milk and
sown into 5 pre-prepared pots or paalikai kinnams by 5 sumangalis (married ladies). Colloquially it is called
paalikai thalikal. Typically the lady of the house first sows the seeds into paalikai, followed by the married
daughters and thereafter other elderly ladies present at the function will do the same. The sown seeds need to be
watered for 3 or 5 days by which time they sprout and grow to a good height. This symbolizes long life and
prosperity. After 5 days, the sprouts will be immersed in the village tank or our own well in the backyard.
Next is the kangandharan. A thread sanctified by mantras, is tied to the boys right wrist to ward off all obstacles
and give him long life and prosperity. It is believed that once the kangandharan is done, the proceedings of the
function cannot be stopped.
The nandishrardham differs from a regular shrardham which is performed annually on the thithi or date of
death of the ancestor. Unlike a regular shrardham in which the mood is somber, in a nandishrardham the mood is
festive due to the happy events that are going to follow on the next day. Another difference is that there is no
Agni sesham (offering of food to Agni-the God of Fire). But like the regular shrardham the spirits of the 3
generations of ancestors of our family are invoked. Usually 7/9 Brahmins who are believed to represent the
ancestors, 2 Viswadeva and 1 Mahavishnuswarupa are invited and fed.