[Advaita-l] Question/Clarification on Chanting Vaidika mantras

Raghav Kumar Dwivedula raghavkumar00 at gmail.com
Fri Nov 3 09:29:42 EDT 2017


A small follow-up...I am aware of Rudra prashna chanting being enjoined
even for yatis. But is chanting of the other common sUktas without any
particular context efficacious or even permissible ?

On 03-Nov-2017 6:44 PM, "Raghav Kumar Dwivedula" <raghavkumar00 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste Rama ji
>  Thank you for your inputs. You have researched this topic deeply and I am
> taking the liberty of asking a few doubts on chanting.
>
> Regarding meaning being changed by change in svara - I have a doubt. Are
> there other examples other than the stock example of indrashatrurvardhate?
>
> I remember being told that the above indrashatru logic is extendable to
> other cases of a word being interpreted either as a bahuvrIhi or tatpuruSha
> based on accents. Based on pANinIya shikShA? But don't recollect the
> details.
>
> Also are there any details in shikShA about what other places a svara
> change effects a meaning change?
>
> And the other side of the question - and I can see that this is slippery
> slope so will not press the point- where the svara change does not effect a
> meaning change (are there any rules to assert this ?)- what are we to make
> of such (unchaste) chanting. Will it still be efficacious ?
>
> One last question - its a common practice (I do so quite often) to chant a
> few assorted suktas after the morning sandhya . Such chanting has
> discernible dRShTa phala in the form of cittanaiscalyam. My question is  -
> since there is no particular vidhi from a brAhmaNa being followed in such
> chanting (afaik), is there any adRShTa at all which accrues from such
> chanting after sandhya or on some other occasions like say on a visit to a
> temple?
>
> One last question - if a mistake occurs while chanting a line from a
> sUkta, can it be corrected by 're-chanting' that particular line or phrase
> or is the chanting thereby irretrievably blemished.
>
>
> Om
> Raghav
>
>
>
>
>
> On 01-Nov-2017 3:42 PM, "Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan via Advaita-l" <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
>> People have been quoting from the ChAndogya bhAShya, etc., which I have in
>> fact quoted decades prior on this list. I am aware of all these references
>> and more. I reiterate - knowing meanings is next to irrelevant for most
>> people. Unless the correct procedure is known or the Veda is chanted
>> perfectly, thinking about the meaning, etc., is just completely useless.
>> In
>> real life I see out of a 1000 who chant, may be a handful chanting
>> properly. This is even in India unless it’s a congregation of paNDitas.
>> But
>> 100% are ready to bloviate with references from Upanishads, bhAShas, inner
>> meanings and what have you.
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 30, 2017 at 10:32 AM S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <
>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>
>> >  Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan rama.balasubramanian at gmail.com wrote:
>> >
>> > > This is from the pANinIya shikShA and repeated in many other
>> shikShA-s. A
>> > > commentary I have read on one of the other shikShA-s (forget which one
>> > now,
>> > > might be the vyAsa) is perceptive. He says that the artha here refers
>> to
>> > > the accents, udAtta, anudAtta, etc., since these are crucial to the
>> > > meaning. Understanding the actual meaning is secondary.
>> > >
>> >
>> > Yes, so far as the effect of performing a ritual is concerned, knowing
>> the
>> > meaning
>> > of Mantras is certainly secondary to chanting accurately.
>> >
>> > > In fact, understanding the meanings in Vedic mantra-s is secondary to
>> the
>> > > point of almost irrelevance. Correct chanting is paramount.
>> > >
>> >
>> > That's taking it to the "extreme" level! Knowing the meanings of
>> Mantras is
>> > very good. One should add that knowing the *correct* meaning - not just
>> > the literal
>> > meaning - is excellent.
>> >
>> > Besides, the Veda doesn't consist of Mantras alone, but also Vidhis
>> > (Brahmanas).
>> > One can ask the question: "Which is more important - Mantras or
>> > Vidhis/Brahmanas?"
>> > Of course, the answer is that both are equally important, but some would
>> > say
>> > that the balance is 51-49 in favor of the Vidhis, since even to know
>> which
>> > Mantra
>> > to recite comes from the Vidhis. Hence knowing the meanings of the
>> Vidhis
>> > is the
>> > foundation of Dharma
>>
>>
>> No. As per the mImAmsA shAstra, vidhi is like 99%. As a matter of fact,
>> the
>> true meaning of the mantra can be gained only from the vidhi. The mantras
>> are ALMOST irrelevant.
>>
>> Rama
>>
>>
>>
>> > > Rama
>> > >
>> >
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>> >
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>> >
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