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Fwd: Adi AmmAvAsyA

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Unknown Sender • Sat Aug 07 1999 - 20:17:24 PDT 


Dear Bhagavatas
I am forwarding my response to the query by Sri Lakshminarasimhan on the 
subject. Hope this will be useful for other members also.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy

attached mail follows:

Dear Sri Lakshminarasimhan
You have observed -
 Solar eclipse will be seen in
India on the coming Aug 11 (next Wednesday). Also AmmavAsya
happens to coincide with that day.

Solar eclipse will always be on amAvAsya and Lunar eclipse on Pournami.

Your query is -
AdiyEn's question is that if we are not going to be seeing solar eclipse
here in the USA, can we perform the AmmAvAsya tharpanam on Aug 11,
Wednesday?

I will try to answer your query with reference to what is stated in the 
Annexure to the Ahnika Grantham of Prakritam H.H. Azhagiyasinghar.

He quotes Brahmavaivartha Vachanam as per Smriti RatnAkaram etc which goes 
thus-
"chandra sooryOparAge tu yAvat darsana gOcharah" 
- which means the "punyakAlam" extends from the time the start of the eclipse 
is 'sighted' to the time the end is 'sighted'. 

In other words, if we are not going to be seeing solar eclipse here in the 
USA, the "punyakAlam' requiring the grahana tharpaNam does not arise.
ADi amAvAsya tharpanam, however, will have to be performed on the day it 
occurs.

In cases where the 'amAvAsya' and the 'sighting' of the grahaNam as 
aforesaid, occur together, H.H. Azhagiyasinghar has held that 
grahaNatharpanam has to be done as it is 'aniyatham' and the amAvAsya 
tharpanam need not be done as it is 'niyatham'- also because in both the 
cases the same pitrrudevatAs are 'uddhesyam'- 
"aniyathasya baleeyatvAt". In other words, the "aniyatham" (that which occurs 
comparatively rarely) gets precedence over the "niyatham" (that which occurs 
comparatively regularly). Vide Page 26 and 27 ibid.
In doing grahaNa tharpaNam in such cases, one should take bath at the start 
of the eclipse, go ahead with dAnam, hOmam, archanai, mantrajapam etc., and 
finally tharpanam. This is only for those who observe the order as ordained. 

In practice, however, we may do snAnam at the start and perform tharpanam at 
the time of moksham and try to do dAnam, archanai and mantrajapam etc. in 
between to the extent possible.

This is only my surmise from a reading of the directions in the Ahnika 
grantham. Learned pundits may be able to clarify better.

Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy