By Swami Harshananda
Sāmidhenī literally means ‘related to samidh or sacrificial fuel-stick’.
When the Darśapurṇamāsa sacrifice is being performed, at a particular stage, eleven or fifteen mantras from the Ṛgveda are chanted to kindle the fire. These are known as the sāmidhenī verses. They are:
- Ṛgveda 3.27.1
- Ṛgveda 6.16.10-12
- Ṛgveda 3.27.13- 15
- Ṛgveda 1.12.1
- Ṛgveda 3.27.4
- Ṛgveda 5.28.5-6
Though these are the eleven mantras, by repeating the first and the last verses twice each, the total becomes fifteen. All of them are addressed to the deity Agni requesting him to burn more brilliantly and carry the offerings to the Vedic gods. A samidh[1] is offered into the fire after each mantra.
References[edit]
- ↑ Samidh means fuel-stick.
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore