A woman has come forward to break the myth that women cannot perform a funeral or other ‘sanskars’. Asha Rani Rai has been doing this from past 35 years. Chanting of Ved mantras, each mantra followed by ‘swaha’ has become an integral part of her life.

Rai said when she was young, she was curious to know why women are not allowed to perform `hawans’ and `sanskars’. “I read all the religious books including the four Vedas. None of the ‘Shastras’ say that women can’t perform funeral or sanskar. It is a taboo created by the society. “In a quest to debunk the myth, I started performing sanskars. It has been 35 years and I am doing this, but it hurts when the society still does not except women purohits,” she said.

Having the highest degree of ‘Dharmshastra’, Rai claims to be the only woman in the city, who performs the functions of a priest at religious ceremonies, including marriages.

“I perform sanskars. There are total 16 sanskars in Shastra. The first three sanskars are done before the birth of a child. In the present scenario no one does them. Sanskars like Naamkarma, Annaprashana, Vivaah and Antyeshti are most common. I regularly conduct these with a team of girls who voluntarily contribute in bringing the change in the society. The whole atmosphere filled with divine fragnance of ‘hawan samigri’ and chants give me immense peace of mind,” Rai, who is a member of Arya Samaj and a scholar of Sanskrit, said.

She said that it was not easy for her to take over as priest. “My journey of 35 years was not at all easy. People used to make fun of me. They used to tease, comment and mock at me. Once an acharya from Gorakhpur called me and asked me several questions to why I wear janeu. I clarified to him that nowhere in Vedas or Brahmin granths it is written that a woman cannot wear a janeu. Wearing janeu means that I am eligible to perform Sanskars and Yagyas. Just like a doctor wears white coat, a pure sole or rather a priest wears janeu,” she said.

Rai, who took the initiative of starting up a ‘vocational Sanskrit’ course at graduation level in Vidya Mandir years back, added saying that there is nothing wrong if women perform funeral ceremonies or take the chanting of mantras as profession.

“These Ved voices should be followed by humanity in which there is no hindrance in the development of the country. Once women start taking it up as profession, there will not be any need to look for suitable Purohit or a Brahmin to perform Yagyas and Havans,” she said.

Talking about ‘Shradh’ and ‘Tarpan’ she said that Shradh means to keep faith in elderly person of the house and Tarpan means taking care of father and mother while they are alive. She pointed out that once a person dies his soul immediately takes birth in some other body, therefore performing Shrad and Tarpas after death are not very relevant.

Sixteen sanskars are Grabhaadhan: Conception, Punsavana: Fetus protection, Simanta: Satisfying wishes of the pregnant Mother, Jaat-Karmaa: Child Birth, Naamkarma: Naming Child, Nishkramana: Taking the child outdoors, Annaprashana: Giving the child solid food, Mundan or Choula: Hair cutting, Karnavedh: Ear piercing, Yagyopaveet: Sacred thread, Vedarambh: Study of Vedas and Scriptures, Samaavartana: Completing education, Vivaah: Marriage, Sarvasanskaar: Preparing for Renouncing, Sanyas (Awasthadhyan): Renouncing, Antyeshti: Last rite, or funeral rites.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / September 23rd, 2014

Allahabad :

Amid the hustle and bustle of the city, lies a rare temple devoted to legendary warrior of Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah. This 50-year-old temple is visited by devotees from far-flung cities and small towns, with a wish for longer life and spreading brotherhood in the society. It is the only temple dedicated to Bhishma Pitamah in the country.

This rare temple, which is not known to many people, is located in Daraganj near a famous Nagvasuki temple. Built by J R Bhatt, a high court lawyer, the temple has a statue of the son of Ganga, Bhishma Pitamah, who is shown sleeping on the bed of arrows. The temple was completed in 1961. According to priest of the temple Shyam Dhar Tripathi, an old woman was staunch devotee of Ganga and used to daily come to take holy dip in the river. She requested Bhatt that she wished to see a temple dedicated to the son of Ganga. Thus came the idea of constructing this temple, which eventually came up on the side of famous Nagvasuki temple near the banks of Ganga.

The temple, which is dedicated to Pandit Veni Madav Ragunath Pathak, has a 12 feet long statue made of sandstone, showing Bhishma sleeping on the bed of arrows and waiting for leaving to the heavenly abode till Sun enters the northern hemisphere. “People come to this temple, especially during Pitra Paksha, to offer prayers to their ancestors, represent by none other then son of river Ganga Bhishma,” the priest said, whose family has been performing the duty of priest. All the devotees, who come to visit Nagvasuki and Beni Madhav temple also visits this temple and seek blessings for long life, he added.

“We come to this temple quite often. Many visitors of the country and abroad were surprised to know that a temple dedicated to Bhishma exists,” said Vibhu Gupta, a resident of Daraganj.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Rajeev Mani, TNN / September 19th, 2014