Did Sita do Sandhyavandanam?

[shivakannan]

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Namaskaram. It has been a while since I posted. I normally post to clear up some misconceptions.

There is this view that Sita Devi did Sandhyavandanam in Ramayana. The shloka quoted is this

संध्या काल मनाः श्यामा ध्रुवम् एष्यति जानकी |

नदीम् च इमाम् शिव जलाम् संध्या अर्थे वर वर्णिनी ||

However, this shloka does not mention the words Sandhya Vandanam or Sandhya Upasana. It only mentions a rite to be done during the Sandhya Kala. Interestingly, women have a rite to do at this time : It is offering of arghya to surya devata (arghya pradanam). This is what is meant in this shloka. Dharmashastras clearly say there is no Vedic education for women. Manu is mentioned in the Ramayana along with other Rishis who have written this in their smritis, hence the fact that women do not undergo Vedic education was known at the time of Ramayana. Hence, this arghya pradanam is what Sita Devi would have performed and this is what Hanuman was waiting to see. Arghya pradanam in Sandhyavandanam which twice born males do is done saying the gayatri, while the mantras change in the case of those who just do arghya pradanam and not initiated with yajnopavitam.

Shri Rajagopala Ganapadigal explains in this video from 22:00 - 23:00 about all human beings having this arghya pradanam duty. He also clearly says that the mantras change.
.

In the following video, Shrimati Sinu Joseph also explains how in the Sthree Dharma Paddhati, this practice is there for women : .

I am not avdocating any belief here. I am only saying what the shastras say and what is meant in this verse in the Ramayana by Shri Valmiki Maharishi. SITA DID NOT DO SANDHYAVANDANAM.

 

[renuka]

Namaskaram. It has been a while since I posted. I normally post to clear up some misconceptions.

There is this view that Sita Devi did Sandhyavandanam in Ramayana. The shloka quoted is this

संध्या काल मनाः श्यामा ध्रुवम् एष्यति जानकी |

नदीम् च इमाम् शिव जलाम् संध्या अर्थे वर वर्णिनी ||

However, this shloka does not mention the words Sandhya Vandanam or Sandhya Upasana. It only mentions a rite to be done during the Sandhya Kala. Interestingly, women have a rite to do at this time : It is offering of arghya to surya devata (arghya pradanam). This is what is meant in this shloka. Dharmashastras clearly say there is no Vedic education for women. Manu is mentioned in the Ramayana along with other Rishis who have written this in their smritis, hence the fact that women do not undergo Vedic education was known at the time of Ramayana. Hence, this arghya pradanam is what Sita Devi would have performed and this is what Hanuman was waiting to see. Arghya pradanam in Sandhyavandanam which twice born males do is done saying the gayatri, while the mantras change in the case of those who just do arghya pradanam and not initiated with yajnopavitam.

Shri Rajagopala Ganapadigal explains in this video from 22:00 - 23:00 about all human beings having this arghya pradanam duty. He also clearly says that the mantras change.
.

In the following video, Shrimati Sinu Joseph also explains how in the Sthree Dharma Paddhati, this practice is there for women : .

I am not avdocating any belief here. I am only saying what the shastras say and what is meant in this verse in the Ramayana by Shri Valmiki Maharishi. SITA DID NOT DO SANDHYAVANDANAM.

I guess since Sita was capable of imparting Navanidhi and Asthasiddhi to Hanuman, may be She was way beyond the need to do Sandhyavandanam?..just wondering??

 

[shivakannan]

Firstly,
Sita Devi is sakshaat Mahalakshmi and definitely she is beyond duties assigned to Jeevatmas such as Sandhyavandanam.

When Mahalakshmi took the avatara of Sita, she incarnated into a woman, and hence performed the duties assigned to women in the Dharmashastras which did not include Sandhyavandanam.

She imparted knowledge upon Hanuman. Just because one does not do Sandhyavandanam does not mean they do not have knowledge. Pativratas of the ancient times have acquired even greater powers than the Rishis. We all know when Ravana set Hanuman's tail on fire, Sita invoked her Pativratya to cool his tail so there is no doubt about her powers.

However, all I am saying is that she did not do Sandhyavandanam which many people are unable to accept. They want to propagate claims such as "women too have Upanayana and they did Sandhyavandanam before Mughals took over Northern India". Unfortunately for them, truth is truth and nothing can be done about it.

 

[prasad1]

I am posting this from a different site: https://groups.google.com/g/bvparishat/c/0n41vcuW9E0/m/YLBS0B7QDAAJ?pli=1

सन्ध्याकालमनाः श्यामा ध्रुवमेश्ः(Sh)यति जानकी । नदीं चेमां शूभजलां सन्ध्यार्थे वरवर्णीनी ॥ सु-१४-४९॥ गोरखपुर्.
This verse is interpreted to mean that Sita would visit the river in the evening for sandhyavandanam. One could construe that women during times Valmiki lived or wrote about, women did sandhyavandanam.

--- Vidvan GSS Murty

सन्ध्यार्थे does not mean ' for सन्ध्यावन्दनम् ’ - because nowhere in any authentic work it is stated that one should to to a नदी for सन्ध्यावन्दनम् ।

Rather , following the नमकमन्त्र - ’ गोपा अदृशन्नदृशन्नुदहार्यः ’ Sita went to fetch water as it is सन्ध्याकाल - one should not fetch water during night .
We have to check as to whether the commentator had had the knowledge of the above धर्मशास्त्रम् ।

Apastamba says - पाणिग्रहाणात् सहत्वं कर्मसु पुण्यफलेषु च ।

पत्नी would partake in the पुण्यफल ( never in पापफल) of पति । So राम performed सन्ध्यावन्दनम् and सीता need not .

Another fact is that --

पुरा कल्पेषु नारीणां मौञ्जीबन्धनमिष्यते ।
अध्यापनं च वेदानां सावित्रीवचनं तथा ॥

Patanjali gives some examples in स्त्रीप्रत्ययप्रकरणम्--

काशकृत्स्निना प्रोक्ता मीमांसा काशकृत्स्ना - that means काशकृत्स्ना was a Vedic scholar .

औदमेय्याः छात्राः औदमेयाः - there were good and great women scholers .

Note this मनुस्मृति --

अन्ये कृतयुगे धर्माः त्रेतायां द्वापरे युगे ।
अन्ये कलियुगे नृणां युगरूपानुसारतः ॥

क्रुते तु मानवा धर्माः त्रेतायां गौतमाः स्मृताः ॥
द्वापरे शङ्खलिखिताः कलौ पाराशराः स्मृताः ॥

even today we come across some ladies offering waters to आदित्य ।

अमन्त्रकम् it is okay.

According to पूर्वमीमांसा - स्त्रीशूद्रयोः वेदधिकारो नास्स्ति ।

Since many of the present day पुरोहितs are not good I taught - गणपतिपूजा , पुण्याहवाचनम् , मन्त्रपुष्पम् and पुरुषसूक्तम् to my son and daughter .
You have आपद्धर्मs in उद्योगपर्व of महाभारतम् ।

वेदो’खिलो धर्ममूलं ...... आत्मनस्तुष्तिरेव च ( भृगुः in मनुस्मृति)

धन्यो’स्मि







Dr.Korada Subrahmanyam
Professor of Sanskrit, CALTS,
University of Hyderabad,
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Two word constructions need our attention in the verse - सन्ध्याकालमनाः and सन्ध्यार्थे ।

• तिलककार explains the sloka as following:

What is सन्ध्या? दिनरात्र्योः सन्धिरूपानुष्ठानकालः ।
What has been meant by सन्ध्या-काल-मनाः ? दिनरात्र्योः सन्धिरूपानुष्ठानकालो यस्य कर्मणः तत्र मनो यस्याः, सा ।
What is सन्ध्यार्थे? सन्ध्याकालक्रियमाणस्नानाद्यर्थे ।

Further, tilakakaara elaborates - (सन्ध्याशब्देन अत्र प्रातःकालो विवक्षितः ।) तत्र कर्तव्यस्नानादौ च अस्त्येव स्त्रीणामप्यधिकार इति कथं स्त्रीणां सन्ध्यावन्दनमिति परास्तं वेदितव्यम् । Then what has been granted to the women in context of सन्ध्या? "सम्यग् भगवद्ध्यानस्यैव सन्ध्यापदार्थत्वेन अस्त्येव तत्र स्त्रिया अधिकारः ।

He ends the annotation by clarifying - गायत्रीमन्त्रेण तदर्थस्मरणपूर्वकध्याने तु द्विजस्यैवाधिकार इत्यन्यत् ।

• Siromani-kaara briefly comments on सन्ध्या-काल-मनाः-

सन्ध्याकालः समयो यस्य तस्मिन् स्नानजपादौ मनो यस्याः सा श्यामा...

The sandhyaa-vandana ritual, about which another thread is being discussed, had not been explicitly mentioned by the tiikA-kaaras. It also needs our focus on tilaka-kaara's comment on गायत्रीमन्त्र and द्विज ।

 

[prasad1]

The reason why sandhya vandana was not prescribed for girls is explained in Kanchi Shankaracharya's book - "Hindu Dharma". Relevant link below:

What about Women ? from the Chapter "Brahmacaryasrama", in Hindu Dharma

I said that the twice-born must perform sandhyavandana with the well-being of women and other jatis in mind I also explained why all samskaras are not prescribed for the fourth varna Now we must consider the question of women, why they do not have such rituals and samskaras Even though we...

www.kamakoti.org

We have to keep in mind that these rules (dharma) were formulated for a TRADITIONAL Hindu society where work was allotted to different castes, and men and women were given specific roles all for the purpose of making progress towards Moksha, the ultimate goal of life. The Rishis concluded that the easiest way for women to progress towards Moksha was to serve their families and that practice of rituals was not necessary for them.

However, we do not know what their prescription would be for the present-day society where there is no caste system and no specific roles allotted to men and women. Modern Hindu organizations like the Arya Samaj, Mata Amritanandamayi Math or Sri Ramakrishna Math do initiate women into brahmacharya and sannyasa and women do study scriptures unlike in traditional Hinduism.

 

[shivakannan]

Just because one interprets it that way does not mean it is true, especially when the dharmashastras written by all Rishis has prohibitted it. Especially since there is actually a rite to be done by women during the same time called arghya pradanam (with different mantras).

I also mentioned Manu and other Rishis were known during ramayana times meaning Rama and Sita being very pious would in no way have disobeyed these Dharmashastras.

There are instances of female Rishis putris & Rishi patnis in Vedas aquiring Brahmavidyam but are there any in an ordinary Brahmana family in any purana? No. Hence, for us ordinary humans who have not been elevated to the status of Rishis, it is not allowed.

Modern organizations can do anything. Just because a modern organization says murder is okay does not make it alright according to religion. No one has the right to change religion for any purpose. If one wants to change it, he can leave or start a new religion.

Of course, some will immediately raise their swords and shout, "murder is
causing harm, women doing gayatri japa is not!" First of all, is there any grantha / scripture in our religion which says "as long as you do not cause harm to anyone else, you can change the rules"? NO. The same way murder is prohibitted, gayatri japa is only presribed for TWICE BORN MALES.

Secondly, people doing things not prescribed for them themselves causes harm to society, as seen in many instances in itihasas and puranas.

Many "Hindus" can not come to terms with the fact that Women do not have upanayana. They want to offer some nonsense theories like "mughals ruined everything", "before Mughals women were educated and married late", "men took away gayatri from women"...

Also, Mahaperiyava did not just say stories from the past - he gave us facts to believe and instructions to follow NOW. He did not say, "these were rules in traditional Hindu society". He said clearly that women do not have this samskara. You can not start doing a samskara not prescribed for a person according to a religion on your own whims.

You want to think first people just had Vedas and then some people formulated these rules. In this religion Svayambhuva Manu was the first man, and his shastra itself saying Vivaha is the Upanayana of women concludes unambiguously that in the human race, women have never had Upanayana or Gayatri.

Additionally, can you tell me of ONE instance where a SAMSKARA presribed for a particular people is not performed anymore? None. How come this would be the case? And if so, Manu's Dharmashastra would have been wirtten much later, which contradicts the belief about SVayambhuva Manu's time and that would mean none of the Rishis had wirtten Dharmashastra's at this hypthetical time where women studied Vedas.

 

[prasad1]

Just because one interprets it that way does not mean it is true, especially when the dharmashastras written by all Rishis has prohibitted it. Especially since there is actually a rite to be done by women during the same time called arghya pradanam (with different mantras).

I also mentioned Manu and other Rishis were known during ramayana times meaning Rama and Sita being very pious would in no way have disobeyed these Dharmashastras.

There are instances of female Rishis putris & Rishi patnis in Vedas aquiring Brahmavidyam but are there any in an ordinary Brahmana family in any purana? No. Hence, for us ordinary humans who have not been elevated to the status of Rishis, it is not allowed.

Modern organizations can do anything. Just because a modern organization says murder is okay does not make it alright according to religion. No one has the right to change religion for any purpose. If one wants to change it, he can leave or start a new religion.

Of course, some will immediately raise their swords and shout, "murder is
causing harm, women doing gayatri japa is not!" First of all, is there any grantha / scripture in our religion which says "as long as you do not cause harm to anyone else, you can change the rules"? NO. The same way murder is prohibitted, gayatri japa is only presribed for TWICE BORN MALES.

Secondly, people doing things not prescribed for them themselves causes harm to society, as seen in many instances in itihasas and puranas.

Many "Hindus" can not come to terms with the fact that Women do not have upanayana. They want to offer some nonsense theories like "mughals ruined everything", "before Mughals women were educated and married late", "men took away gayatri from women"...

Also, Mahaperiyava did not just say stories from the past - he gave us facts to believe and instructions to follow NOW. He did not say, "these were rules in traditional Hindu society". He said clearly that women do not have this samskara. You can not start doing a samskara not prescribed for a person according to a religion on your own whims.

You want to think first people just had Vedas and then some people formulated these rules. In this religion Svayambhuva Manu was the first man, and his shastra itself saying Vivaha is the Upanayana of women concludes unambiguously that in the human race, women have never had Upanayana or Gayatri.

Additionally, can you tell me of ONE instance where a SAMSKARA presribed for a particular people is not performed anymore? None. How come this would be the case? And if so, Manu's Dharmashastra would have been wirtten much later, which contradicts the belief about SVayambhuva Manu's time and that would mean none of the Rishis had wirtten Dharmashastra's at this hypthetical time where women studied Vedas.

Sir,
Our observations are based on our biases. There is no concrete proof of the age of any of the rishis or their writings. All writings have been modified by later writers. So, we cannot say with any authority the authenticity of any scriptures. They are all subject to interpretation.

 

[renuka]

Actually if women are exempted from some rituals, its fine too...after all there is no compulsion in religion isnt it?


Having said this..I just attended a bhajan 4 hours ago where various gayatri mantras from Ganapati to Skanda to Narasimha to Gayatri mantra was recited and I joined it too and recited everything...felt good.
Anyway after a certain age we stop identifying ourselves with our gender.
Why limit ourselves to chromosomes as in XX or XY or any other combination.
XYY or XXY or XO.
We are not just the body.