[Advaita-l] pUrvajas' karma / pApa & our burden (satyanArAyaNa pUjA)

[Satish Arigela]

>After coming here I have noticed that a number of Tamil families among the
>diaspora have also adopted this. It seems to be a "family" thing
>mainly among Telugu smaartas.

The vrata is quite popular in Andhra. There is a satyanArAyaNa temple on 
ratnagiri(called Annavaram) in East Godavari district. The devata there is 
specifically addressed as vIra venkaTa satyanArAyaNa. It is a smArta shrine 
which is probably a couple of hundred yrs old.

One can see the pa~nchAyatana system being followed in the temple with viShNu as 
the main devata.

The main deity is like a giant shiva linga but spans out as three distinct icons 
of viShNu, shiva and lakShmI towards the top. One of the interesting features of 
this temple is the presence of something called "tripAdvibhUti vaikuNTha 
mahAnArAyaNa yantra"