Daily Observances of Orthodox Sri Vaishnava Brahmans.
Every Sri Vaishnava Brahman should bear in mind that the end and aim of a man’s life is to attain moksha. During one’s life one must devote most of one’s time to the service of God. Every moment one should be thinking of his entire dependence on God.
This dependence of a human being on God and God’s condescension on the human being are referred to by the use of the terms “Sesha and Seshi” bhāvams. To be able to worship God one should be pure in body and in mind. This can be attained only by the performance of certain rites. To get purified the daily rites such as sandhyavandanam. snanam, etc., ought to be performed regularly by one.
A day is usually divided into five periods by an orthodox person and during each period the rites fixed for that period are carried out. Full details are given in “Pancha kāla prakāśikā " and “Ahnikams” published by various people. But of all these the [[०५४]]
[[४९]] one called “Nityam” written by Ramanuja is the oldest. Most of the details about the observances are taken from Nityam. The following account is based entirely upon Nityam of Śrī Bhashyakara, edited by Śrīman Mahamahopadhyaya Setlur Narasimhacharyaswami now living at Purasawakam, Madras.
A day is usually divided into the five following divisions for the performance of the various rites. They are -१. Abhigamanam, २. Upādānam, ३ Ijyai, ४. Svādhyayam and ५. Yogam.
The abhigamanam period of the day is intended for bathing and for performance of the sandhyavandanam. A prayer to God to enable the person to carry out the duties during this period successfully is also included. The next period of time is called the Upādānakālam and it is one in which the materials for the worship of God is secured.
The securing of the materials such as flowers, sandal paste, the securing of peace of mind and goodness of mind by means of Kalakshēpams (spending the time by reading or hearing others about God) are also included under this heading. Ijyai is the period of the day devoted to the mādhyāhnikam and the Bhagavadārādhanam (worshipping God).
The next period is Svādhyāya during which period Vedas, Itihasapurānas, prabandhams and dwaya mantras are read and understood, with a view to increase the knowledge of God and His bhakti (or devotion) daily. Then sayamabhigamana or sandhyavandana for the evening and prayer to God are performed Yoga, the last item of the daily performance, is the thought of God’s good actions and his glories until he gets sleep.
When he goes to sleep he is expected to imagine that his head is lying at the feet of his Lord.