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Achaman

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Prya

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Jai ShrimanNarayana!

Tell me please, why we do rituals before achaman? Why do we pronounce these three names of the Lord (Achyuta, Ananta, Govinda), not any, or other? What makes achaman? Are there any restrictions for women to achaman?

Thank you.


P.S. I 'm translate with an electronic translator, so if my text contains errors, please forgive me.
 
Jai ShrimanNarayana!

Tell me please, why we do rituals before achaman? Why do we pronounce these three names of the Lord (Achyuta, Ananta, Govinda), not any, or other? What makes achaman? Are there any restrictions for women to achaman?

Thank you.


P.S. I 'm translate with an electronic translator, so if my text contains errors, please forgive me.

'aacam' in sanskrit means 'to rinse the mouth'. aacaman means the act of rinsing the mouth. Though aacaman also may mean 'gargling', the water imbibed during aacaman is not spitted out but swallowed.

aacaman by itself has no special meaning or sifnificance except as part of the whole ritual of sipping 3 small spoonfuls of water and then touching different parts of the body uttering the names of god vishnu. This is the initial rite or step in almost all vedic rituals. In that sense, it possibly gives an auto-suggestion to the performer that he has commenced a certain ritual, and prods him on in the right course.
 
I'm very grateful for your reply! That is, I understand you, what if by accident, I forgot to do achaman achaman or hold a woman, during a special day, it will not be considered sinful? Mistake?
 
I'm very grateful for your reply! That is, I understand you, what if by accident, I forgot to do achaman achaman or hold a woman, during a special day, it will not be considered sinful? Mistake?

prya,

I am not sure what you intend to convey by saying, "what if by accident, I forgot to do achaman achaman or hold a woman, during a special day, it will not be considered sinful? Mistake?" .

Before we can have any meaningful discussion, will you kindly let us know as to how far you are a practising hindu and also, your gender?
 
Avatars on my photo. I am the Lord Sriman Narayana devotee. Ramanuja Dasi. Thank you for your support! Our Acharya has already responded to this question. He said that achaman is a mandatory part of the ritual and that achaman purifies our spiritual (internal) heart.
 
Acamanam is a ritual to purify one's speech/mind and a pre-requisite for the worship of the Lord, be it any gender.

To do so, one should hold a small cup of pure/clean water only from the kitchen (stored or faucet), and pour a little drop into the right palm and sip while chanting 'acyuta', then pour/sip another drop while chanting 'ananta' and the last one with ' gOvinda'. Then, wash the palm and gently clean .

Once a vaishnava sthree (woman) wakes up from bed and clean up, should do the 'achamanam' 2 times and chant 'Hari: Hari:' 7 times and chant pallAndu and Divya -prabhandham or other slokas. One should chant 'Harir Hari:' and take head-bath or sprinkle turmeric water. Then wear the sari, then do 'achamanam' 2 times and wear 'thiruman', then clean all the kitchen place and the thriuvArAdhana vessels and decorate the pooja altar (kOlam/vilakku), then wash hands and open the altar. Then, prepare food/thaligai (facing east/north) for the deities while chanting slokas. While cooking food, one should wash rice 4 times, not smell/taste anything, without touching any body parts (then hands should be cleaned). While the male of the house do 'ThiruvArAdanam', the sthree should be helpful, and prostrate (as many times) before Lord. Before consuming food/prasAdam, repeat 'achamanam' 2 times and after finishing the prasAdam, do 'achamanam' one more time.

Ref: vaishnava dinachariya
 
Thank you for your detailed answer! But if there are no men, a woman can do herself puja. In particular days, a woman can not touch things the Lord's service, you can not read Ashtakshari mantra. But, you can read any other mantra to Lord Hari. I'm talking about japa. Before japa should also take achaman. My question is - can a woman do in those days before achaman japa? It is considered it sinful? Or if achaman is also sacred, as well as items for the puja, then would not it be a mistake, if I read the mantra without taking achamana? I apologize for such a delicate issue at the moment I do not have anyone to ask.
 
Thank you for your detailed answer! But if there are no men, a woman can do herself puja. In particular days, a woman can not touch things the Lord's service, you can not read Ashtakshari mantra. But, you can read any other mantra to Lord Hari. I'm talking about japa. Before japa should also take achaman. My question is - can a woman do in those days before achaman japa? It is considered it sinful? Or if achaman is also sacred, as well as items for the puja, then would not it be a mistake, if I read the mantra without taking achamana? I apologize for such a delicate issue at the moment I do not have anyone to ask.

Just saying the names or meditating (Mind) on the form/names of the Lord is in itself a purification for our mind/speech. One can do that all the time. During those days, 'Achamanam' cannot be done and any form of external worship (Japa) is not justifiable too, IMU.
 
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