By Swami Harshananda
Pratigāra literally means ‘response’.
A Vedic sacrifice involves several rites and minor rites including the chanting of certain classes of śastras. The hotṛ priest issues a called as āhāva to which the adhvaryu priest responds by loudly uttering the pratigāra.[1]
There are several āhāvas for which there are appropriate pratigāras also. For instance:
For the āhāva it is “Som 3 sāvo3m” which means “Let us both praise!”
The pratigāra for the above statement is
“Othamo daivā” or “Somsāmo daivā” which means “Let us praise the deity!”.
In course of time the two seem to have acquired a mystical significance. Several permutations and combinations were evolved because of this.
References[edit]
- ↑ Pratigāra means reply or response.
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore