NAMPOOTHIRIES17 Dear friends, These are all information collected from websiteNampothiri.com at least a decade back. These are prepared by eminent persons fromnampoothiri community, they too refer, some earlier write-ups where necessary. Those interested can read it. There is no purpose in responding telling thereare better and authentic versions by member Sri Rajarm Krishnamurthy. He himself can write rather than adversally commentingon my postings in threatening language. Responding to Mr Rajaram Krishnamurthy spoils myday. I hope hewill understand. I request him to prepareand post his own subjects. Iwillbe glad to read his own postings in the groups Mr RajaramKrishnamurthy may note- There are manymembers who like my posting. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 18-09-21 43 CREMATION Ceremony Article prepared by: P.Vinod Bhattathiripad andK.D.Nambudripad with inputs from P.M.Narayanan Namboodiri, Perangalloor Mana,Ongallur, Pattambi, Palakkad dt. Ritualsafter death: Several rituals are to be performed for the peaceful and satisfactory send-off of the inner soul(Aatmaavu) of the person who dies and to integrate the inner soul with Lord Vishnu. These are to be done mainly by sons and grandsons(one each of each daughter) of the dead person. These rituals are describedbelow: 1. Cremation: Namboothiris believe in cremating the dead body, which should be done as early aspossible after death. Even arrival of sons and daughters need not beawaited, as the dead body disintegrates fast. Just before death, the body hasto be laid on the floor which has been, carpeted with sand and Dharbha Pullu (avariety of grass). Spiritualhymns (Cheviyilothu) are to be recited in the ear of the dying person in order to mesmerizeor spiritualise him/her at the time of death. It is believed that this process may lead to accepting death withpeace and tranquility. Water (preferably Kaasi Theertham) has to bepoured in the mouth of the person by kith and kin. Oncedeath is confirmed, kith and kin are to walk around the body (circumambulate,Pradakshinam Vekkal) and do “Namaskaaram” (men in prostrate position andwomen in folded knee position). After bathing, the Seshakriyakkaar (thoseperforming rituals) have to clean the body, in the step-by-step ritual as givenin the respective reference manual (“Chadangu Pusthakam”) as per the family’sVedic sub-division. Othikkan(Vedic expert) of the family has to be consulted in case of doubts. 2. The bodyis then covered using a longunbleached cloth, properly tied on to a specially made bed of bamboo, andcarried away by the sons. Female members do not comeout of the house. Some classes of Namboothiris have certain ritualsto perform on the way to the funeral pyre while some others have some Manthramsto chant and rituals to perform by laying the body on the western side of thefuneral pyre. Several rituals are to be performed after keepingthe body on the pyre. 3. Thefuneral pyre is arranged in the north-south direction. The body is then laid on the pyre made ofmango tree logs with headtowards south and legs to north. The body is covered with more logs. The Sruvam(long wooden spoon) which was used during marriage and the subsequent “Oupaasanam” of the dead person,has to be kept on the nose of the dead body. SeveralManthrams and rituals are then to be done before and after lighting the pyre,the process taking at least two hours. After cremation, Udakakriya (described below) hasto be performed. The participating persons then take bath. Food should not be taken by anybody in that family, once theyhear of the death until after bathing following cremation. 4. Sons,daughters and grandsons (daughters’ sons) of the dead person and those who have to do further rituals are called“Sheshakriyakkaar”. They have to do some/all further rituals like Udakakriya, Bali, Pindam,Deeksha, Sapindi and Sraadham. Those who have “Pula” (pollution) can now becomeclean by performing “Punyaaham”, (Click here for ‘Punyaaham’ details) which is the traditional step by stepprocess of cleansing themselves (after bathing), performed by five otherNamboothiris. Pula (Pollution, defilement): The first ten daysare observed as “Pula” for all family members of the dead person. Other families having same ancestorship as that ofthis family, also observe “Pula”. Marrieddaughters have “Pula” only on the first three days. Ifthe dead person is a married lady, then her original family members have threedays’ Pula. During Pula, family members should not touch waterwells, deity, or enter kitchen, temple, etc. Also, they have several other don’ts. Hence cooking has to be done by other Namboothirifamilies, not having Pula relationship with this family. Pulassudham:Pulassudham is to be observed by allthe family members throughout these days, which is part of keeping theneatness. As part of Pulassudham, common family articles touched by thosehaving Pula, are to be cleansed properly. Other Namboothiris (male and female),if accidently touched by Seshakriyakkaar, are to undergo “Punyaaham” (describedabove), after taking bath. If touched by other Pula members, Namboothiris (menand women) need only a traditional bathing. Udakakriya: During those 10 days, after performing the daily ritualslike Sandhyaavandanam (silently performed during this period), maleShesahakriyakkaar and others having Pula have to do “Udakakriya”. Since Udakakriya needs more than one bathing, itis usually conducted on the bank of bathing pond or river. After Udakakriya and the bathing, “Kottubali” (orPatta Naatti Kriya) has to be performed in the “Nadumittam” (central quadrangleinside the house) using “Kavyam”. Kavyam is the cookedraw rice to be offered to the inner soul of the dead person. All these steps need several other items andutensils like Darbha (a type of long grass), Pavithram (pointed finger ringmade of Darbha), Cheroola (leaves of a special herb), Ellu (sesame), Manjal(turmeric), Thulasi (sacred basil for Ganapathi Homam) etc. Food: The Seshakriyakkaar eat only once a dayduring those 10 days, and that too without using salt. Rice, banana, curd, ginger, coconut and “Avil”(flattened rice) are the allowed food items. Pindam (and Bali by daughters): On the 11thday, sons and sons of daughters performPindam, while Bali is performed by daughters. Both Pindam and Bali have standard, algorithmic,long processes, that require atleast 3 hours. Several other Namboothiris are to be fed. This process also varies depending upon the type ofeach of the Seshakriyakkaar. For example, sons follow the prescribed rituals ofthe dead person. Daughters (and their sons) follow methods prescribed for theirhusband’s (father’s) family. Some of the steps are to be done by daughters ofthe dead person, also. Other than the items used for Udakakriya, this processneeds “Anjanam”, curd, sandalwood paste, “Then” (honey), etc. Deeksha: Deeksha (penitential discipline, penance) period is flexible. Each Seshakriyakkaaran (participant) may opt for 12 days, 41 days or 1 year. DuringDeeksha period, Seshakriyakkaaran has to do “Nithya Sraadham” (daily“Sraadham”), which is another ritual to be carried out with several Manthramsand processes. Strict Brahmacharyam has to beobserved. Sexual relationship, shaving and haircut are not allowed duringDeeksha. One outside Namboothiri (on behalf of the deadperson’s inner soul) has to be fed, once in a day, in algorithmic andtraditional manner (Kaalukazhukichoottal). On the monthly death-day during Deeksha, two outsideNamboothiris are to be fed in the same manner. Strictly, only lunch and dinnerare allowed. Uluva, Kaayam, milk, Ulli (onion), red chilly,Muthira and Pappadam are prohibited. Only coconut oil made in the family orpure ghee is to be used. Sapindi: Sapindi is the process of integrating the inner soul (Aatman or Aatmaavu) to GodVishnu’s abode (Vaikunttham). Sapindi of father has to be done first before doing it formother. Hence, if the mother dies first, the process ofSapindi for mother is usually delayed till father’s death. Deeksha Veedal (Release): Veedal is the process ofclosing the chapter of these rituals at the end of Deeksha. Sraadham: Sraadham is another step by step process to be performed by Seshakriyakkaar, onthe death anniversary day, every year. It also has several Manthrams andprocesses. A Namboothiri usually has to perform all the aboverituals for his father, mother, grandparents, bachelor or married uncles(brothers of father) having no sons in the same caste, person who was hisAachaaryan during his Upanayanam, etc. Summary of Manthrams: As mentioned in the begining, Manthrams are to be drawn from theprescribed book meant for the respectiveclass of Namboothiri. However, summary of all these cremation Manthrams is moreor less the same. Thus, for Aaswalaayanans the eldest son recitesManthrams, some of which are his own requests, while some others are on behalfof the inner soul and the dead body. Several Manthrams are chanted to show to the innersoul a safe path to Vaikuntam, to make it immortal in Vaikuntam, for cleansingthe funeral pyre by sending off previous souls present there,etc. There are Manthrams to God to help burning the body so as to enable the participants to take out bones later. Reference: 1. “Aaswalaayana Grihya Manthram” written byPorakkudinjam, Published by P.G.N.Bhattathiripad,Choolissery - 680 548, Kerala (1987,Kairali Press, M G Road, Thrissur-1, Kerala.) 2. “Ente Smaranakal” by Kanippayyoor SankaranNambudiripad, 2nd edition, 1171 (1995), published by PanchamgamPress, Kunnamkulam, Thrissur dt. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/946765803.930304.1631932007010%40mail.yahoo.com.
