sAma-vrata-sampler

Source: TW

A sampler of vratas to keep while learning certain samavedic mantras.

The upanayana ceremony confers basic eligibility to start learning the veda. The student keeps the usual austerities while living with teacher - moderation in food, fasting, obeying teacher, Sleeping on the floor. This list is long and well documented in dharma shastras regarding the rules of veda-vrata.

Now, certain higher mantras require even higher austerities. For e.g. performance of āditya-vrata makes the student eligible to learn shukriya mantras. Nothing should come between the sun and the student during the day. The student wears a single cloth. He doesn’t enter the water more than knee-deep. After one year, he can learn the shukriyas.

The mahanamni vrata is even more severe. It lasts 12 years but even 1 year is allowed, as long as 3 generations have learned the mahanamnis. Gobhila quotes a statement from rauruki shakha that when mothers nurse their babies, they say “may you grow up to become successful performers of mahanamni vrata”.(5) The student wears dark clothes and eat food dark in color. He stands during the day and sits during the night. During rainfall, he lets himself get drenched and doesn’t seek cover. After 1/3rd of the duration the teacher teaches first stotriya of mahanamni. Similarly after 2/3rd, and full term next one-third portion is taught. The mantras are taught when the eyes of the student are covered with a cloth.

Finally story time. Decades back, I had a colleague who was a samavedin. He hadn’t learned any sAmans but otherwise pious v1, performing sandhya at the minimum. I made him come to my yajurveda teacher to learn few suktas. Feeling that Samaveda being his svaveda, he should at least learn few basic gAnas. I took him to a Samavedic shrotriya in the neighborhood. The shrotriya essentially asked us to get lost. The anushThAnas required to learn it is beyond the reach of my colleague and the age had elapsed to withstand the austerities. We saluted him and bid our way.