Shuddhi

In order to assure ourselves that any and all evil tendencies are removed from the worship room, we start with a prayer to Shiva whose very invocation is believed to clear out any troubling vibrations.

Om namah pranavaarththaaya
shuddha jnuanaika moorthaye
nirmalanya prashaunthanya
dakshinua moorthaye namaha

I salute the Lord of the Southern direction
who is the very embodiment
of the sacred symbol Om and of pure
knowledge and eternal peace

At this point someone familiar with the proper intonations of that powerful bhajan Brahmamuraarisuraarchita lingam, could lead the assembled.

Next we need to invoke and invite the sacred rivers to fill the metallic vessel. This water is used to cleanse and offer throughout the worship. Start pouring water from one vessel into the smaller one as you chant

gangecha yamunechaiva godaavari saraswati
narmadua sindhu kaaveri jalehsmin sannidhim kuru
Oh Ganga, Yamuna, Godaavari, Saraswati,
Narmada, Sindhu and Kaaveri waters, please present yourselves
in this holy place

Now that we have received the sacred waters, it is time to symbolically cleanse your hands by offering a spoonful (uddharane) of water into the hands of the principals by wiping the hands with reverence, and chanting

apavitrah pavitrovaa sarvauvasthaam gatopivaa
yahsmareth pundareekoaksham bahynabhyantarah
shuchihi

May anything unholy become holy, may all lower
tendencies depart cleansing both inside and out as
we remember the Lotus-eyed

.

The above are excerpts from the booklet How to Conduct Puja to SriRamachandra, by Dr. A. V. Srinivasan, published by http://www.periplusbooks.com/.

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