An eight-day long Viswa Maha Yagnam, a ceremony for the ‘welfare of humanity,’ concluded at the Pashupatinath temple, in Nepal on Sunday last.
Organised by the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam (Kanchipuram), with the support of Nepal’s Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), Vedic priests from across India performed rituals.
Sixth yagnam
“Two homams were held,” S. Balasubramaniam, coordinator of the programme, told The Hindu . “One was Kamyaartha homam, for the fulfilment of desires and wishes. The other was Rigveda Samhitahomam, a prayer for the welfare of all creations on earth, including plants and animals, without expecting anything in return.”
Vedic priests from Gokarnam in Karnataka, Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, Varanasi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, performed the homams. This is the sixth such yagnam with the previous five held in Jammu and Kashmir.
Balasubramaniam said that the event was held in Nepal to deepen the links between the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and Nepal. “Sri Jayendra Saraswati of the Kanchi Math felt Nepal was an important link. Besides Kashmir, Adi Sankara had left his footprints here. Epics such as Ramayana and Mahabaratha speak of Nepal. Goddess Sita was born here. The Pandavas spent part of the exile in Biratnagar. The aim of the endeavour was to arouse what has been in slumber and revive traditional links.”
On Saturday last, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, Ashok Singhal, attended the event, which also saw Nepali devotees gather in large numbers.
