Shree Mangalchandika Prapatti - Sankranti

 
The upasana of Mata Chandika has the strength and capacity to destroy them all, evil occurrences and evil things.

‘The Shree Chandika Prapatti’. Although fully spiritual in itself, this will make of every man and every woman, a valiant soldier, a valiant human being, a valiants piritual person. For the women it is going to be ‘The Shreemangalchandika Prapatti’.

The word ‘Prapatti’ simply means ‘surrender that relievesof disaster or calamity.’ There are five aspects to it.

The first aspect is the Chandika Mahishasurmardini. She is the Mother of the Paramatma and therefore the Paramatma is forever in a state of surrender unto Her and so it follows that I too must be in surrender unto Her.

The second aspect and principle is to harbour and also repeatedly express the unshakable belief anchored firm in the heart that the Chandika Herself and through Her dear Son as well, will definitely protect me. Not only should you hold on to the belief but root it firmly in your heart and express overtly that the Chandika and Her Son, Trivikram will protect us and take care of us -the shraddhaavaan-. Hold this belief in your heart and speak it out in so many words.

The third one is accepting with love and faith as our refuge, the Son of the Chandika - the paramatma, whom we call Mahavishnu, Sai, Ram, Krishna or the Paramshiva; willingly choosing to live in this refuge and shelter, recalling Him to the mind with love, observing His instruction at all times and at all costs, having unconditional, singular and whole-hearted faith that He and He alone is my support my one and only support in life. This is one of the important aspects of the prapatti.

The fourth principle is praying that the Chandika hold us close in Her arms and hand us over in the charge of the paramatma. Praying to Her with love to say, ‘O Mother Chandika, hold me in Your arms, hold me close and hand me over to the paramatma’.

The fifth aspect is to offer yourself in loving surrender to the Chandika so that you keep enhancing and intensifying your bhakti and so that with Her grace you attain success and fulfillment both at the worldly and at the spiritual levels. Living the sentiment expressed in the words ‘You and You alone aremy support, my one and only support’, ‘I offer myself in unconditional, whole-hearted and singularly focused faith,I turn to you with love, please accept me’. ‘Complete, total honesty’, is actually surrendering unto Her.

The Shreemangalchandika prapatti and the Shreerannachandika prapatti are both to be performed imbibing all of these five principles as values of life. How does one actually offer these regularly? Accept with love and unshakable faith, the Gurukshetram mantra and recite it regularly and consistently. This is the ‘nityaprapatti’. What we have to understand now, is the ‘naimittik prapatti’ or the prapatti to be offered in a prescribed form and on a certain occasion.
Women will offer the Shreemangalchandika prapatti on the day of Sankranti (the 14th or the 15th of January). Why this day? That is because that was the day mata Mahishasurmardini with the purpose of destroying Mahishasur, first set foot on earth, in the Kataraaj ashram of rishi Kardam and Devahuti. Women will offer the ‘Shreemangalchandika naimittik prapatti’ after sunset on the day of Sankranti. This again because it was after sunset that the mahishasurmardini set foot in the Kataraaj ashram. If She were to come during the day, no man would have been able to bear her radiance and so She came after sunset, when it was dark.
Women will offer the prapatti on the day of the Sankranti, after sunset and outdoors in open space. Offering the prapatti on the day of Sankranti makes out of every woman, the protective soldier of her family on the one hand and the bodyguard of each of her family members on the other. Irrespective of whether she is a mother, a sister or a wife, she definitely becomes the protector of the family. How do we go about the prapatti? You cannot hire a hall as the prapatti has to be offered in open space and not within the four walls of any enclosed space. You can offer the prapatti on the beach, banks of a river, in the verandah, in the balcony of your home, in the open space between two chawls. The more the women doing it together, the better it is. Any woman above the age of sixteen can offer the prapatti. Besides it is not compulsory that the prapatti be done every consecutive year. However, if you wish to ensure the well being and welfare of your family, you ought to offer it every single year. Detailed information with the diagram will be made available to you. As part of the procedure, a representation of the site of the Katraaj ashram, the site of Her (Mata Chandika) father’s ashram will be symbolically recreated.
The detailed procedure is as follows:
Place a large ‘Paraat’ (a sort of large round metal tray) on a ‘Chaurang’ (wooden seat/stool) with some wheat grains in it.Then place a ‘kalash’ (कलश) or a ‘kalashi’ (कळशी/a vessel usually of copper or brass normally used to store water) with rice grains in it. Place a small platter (ताम्हण) on top of the kalash (or the kalashi) and mark or draw the two feet of the devi in it – Her right foot in vermillion (Kumkum) and the left in turmeric (Haldi). In the large tray that holds the kalash, place the photograph of Trivikram against the kalash. Women can surely offer the prapatti even if they are in their menstrual cycle. All that they have to do is place a little udi on the tongue and on the navel before beginning the prapatti. They need not worry about anything. The prapatti has to be offered only after a bath. The material needed for the prapatti poojan, will be placed in a platter that they will hold in the hand. Apart from the material for the poojan, the platter will also hold the अभिचारनाशक पुरचुंडी (Abhicharnashak Purchundi) or the‘abhichaarnashak sachet’. The ‘abhichaar’ is all wrong or vile deeds like ‘Karni’ (some refer to it as a sort of black magic) and the पुरचुंडी (Purchundi) is a tiny pouch or packet. This tiny sachet will contain salt, poppy seeds and camphor wrapped in the betel leaf to form a small sachet that is held together with a string. This tiny sachet is the abhichaarnashak sachet (अभिचारनाशक पुरचुंडी).
With the small platter (carrying the material for thepoojan) the women will sing the aarti and the eldest among the group will actually do the aarti. We all are familiar with the aarti – ‘Maatey Gayatri sinhaarudha bhagavati…. Ude,ude….’
Holding the small platter in the hand, go round the symbolic representation of the Chandika, i.e. around the site of the Katraaj ashram nine times reciting in a loud voice all along, the Gurukshetram mantra. Then to perform ‘drushta’ (नजर उतारना) with the abhichaarnashak pouch and pray to the Trivikram saying, ‘My dear paramatma, With the help of Your Mother, please avert and destroy evil thought, intention or any evil power that may come my family’s way and please bless.’ Now offer this pouch in the sacred fire that will be created by lighting camphor and little twigs in a large tray or even in a pit. The fire created in this way is the Mahishasurmardini’s aura of radiant energy. By way of this gesture what you are accomplishing is, you hand over all responsibility to the Trivikram; It is in fact a prayer that says, “Please rid us of all that stands in the way of well being, welfare and all that is appropriate.” The Gurukshetram mantra will have already transformed the sacred fire into the aura of radiant energy. All that is evil, all ill will having gone into this aura, your household will have welfare and well being.
After completion of the poojan procedure, recite the mantra “Om Aeem Hreem Kleem Chamundayaee Vichche” 9 times and offer the akshataa (whole rice grains coated with kumkum) at the Feet of the Chandika, offer fragrant flowers to the Trivikram and put out (quench) the fire with Neem leaves. Apply the kumkum of the Chandika’s Feet to the forehead and if not, to the throat. Do it there and then. The kumkum cannot be carried home for family members. Only those present can apply it.
Now for the material required for the poojan. Drumsticks, bananas, cucumber or sweet gourd, coconut, carrots, radish or tondlee (tendli/तोंडली/the Indian ivy gourd), udid daal, sesame oil, curds, turmeric, ginger, Jaggery, tamarind, sugarcane and fragrant flowers. Out of these, the fragrant flowers will be offered to the Trivikram, the banana is to be offered to the Chandika mata. All the bananas may be put together to make a common Prasad but must be eaten there and then. Please do not get a dozen bananas each. If ten women come together to offer the prapatti, these will add up to ten dozen bananas and so much Prasad eaten there will make it impossible to walk home, leave alone doing the nine pradakshina. The curds however, may be taken home and given to the men of the family. The women are not supposed to eat the curds. If the men at home are away or for some reason not available, offer it at the root of any tree. The sugarcane is to be carried home and eaten by all the women at home. The sugarcane does not mandatorily have to be eaten on the same day, it may be eaten later but do eat at least a little bit on the day of the prapatti. The rest of the prapatti poojan material (all except bananas, curds, sugarcane and fragrant flowers) may be used to make sambar and eaten with chapattis or rice
by men and women alike. You may add the masala of your choice but do make it a point to add curry leaves for the sake of health and taste of course. But mind you no other vegetable (bhaji) will be prepared on that day. Chapatis and rice will both be eaten with this sambar. Is that clear?
All of this was the ‘Mangalchandika prapatti’ for women. Women who offer this prapatti become the soldiers of the Chandika and become able to protect their family and household and all their dear ones. Her son comes back late from school and the woman is worried, Her son falls in love with a worthless girl, she is worried, her daughter elopes with the wrong person, she is worried. The woman will be able to protect her family and home in such conditions. She will do it, she will no more be helpless, she will not be vulnerable. She will be strong and capable of protecting her household. She will accomplish all of this provided however, that she recites the Gurukshetram mantra regularly and she offers this prapatti on the day of the Sankranti.

On thursday, 6th January 2011, Parampoojya Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Bapu clarified some of the common doubts that may arise while performing Shree Mangalchandika Prapatti. Read the same below.

1. Volunteers at Upasana Centres can help as well as guide lady Shraddhavans while doing the Prapatti.
2. Chappal stand may be kept but only Male volunteers should be there for this seva.
3. Prapatti can be performed at Upasana Centre, but not in a closed space (Hall).
4. Prapatti can be performed if the space around the Prapatti area is open though covered with a roof.
5. If required, Police permission may be obtained.
6. Males may be present but should not take part in Prapatti.
7. Ladies who are not P. P. Bapu’s devotees can also take part in Prapatti.
8. P.P. Bapu,Nandai and Suchit Dada’s photo frame can be placed behind Prapatti arrangement.
9. Banana tree trunk/ festoon of flowers can be used. The Prapatti Arrangement can be decorated.
10. There can be more than one Prapatti Arrangement if there are more ladies taking part in Prapatti.
11. Dhoop, Lamp and Incense-Stick may be used during Prapatti.
12. Paraat or Tamhan being used can be of any metal.
13. Either Kalashi or Kalash may be used for Poojan. However Kalashi would be more preferable.
14. Ramorajamani / Dhyanamantra / P.P. Bapu’s Jap can be chanted before Poojan
15. Fasting is not mandatory.
16. Ladies should take head bath in the morning. However it is not essential to take a bath again in the evening for those ladies who are office goers.
17. Each Shraddhavan lady doing Prapatti (though they belong to the same household) should have her own Tabak (plate) holding Prapatti Pooja Dravya.
18. Drumsticks and Bottle Gourd (cut into pieces) can be used. (This year Bapu told that you can use 'Wet Grams' if Drumsticks are not availbale)
19. One has to circumambulate (offer Pradakshina) a minimum of 9 times while reciting the Gurumantra. Old/Physically Challenged/Pregnant ladies may circumambulate around oneself once instead of 9 times.
20. Donations may be offered after the Prapatti is over. The same should however be submitted to the Sanstha after obtaining proper receipt.
21. Onions or Garlics can be used along with the spices for making Sambar at home.
22. Curds should not be eaten by women. It should only be eaten by male members of the house.
23. At least a bit of Sugarcane forming part of the Prasad should be eaten by lady Shraddhavans on the day of Prapatti and the same may be offered as Prasad only to ladies. It should not be given to any Male members. Only Banana Prasad can be given to the ladies who had not participated in Prapatti.
24. Ladies who had not participated in Prapatti can also be invited for Darshan. In case Haldi and Kumkum is to be applied, the same should not be used from Poojan Dravya used for Prapatti. You can however bring Haldi and Kumkum separately for this purpose.
25. Wearing of Uparane is not mandatory during Prapatti.
26. Ladies can wear sari of any color except fully black during Poojan. In the event of black sari being worn, the border of the sari should be of a different color or atleast a dot of Gandha should be applied on it. Punjabi dress can also be worn during the poojan.
27. Except Sambar, no other Bhaji (vegetable) is to be cooked. Sambar can be served with Rice / Chapati / Idli / Dosa.
28. Aarti can be performed any number of times and while doing the same, you may rejoice forming a circle around the Prapatti Arrangement.
29. Mosquito coil/ Odomos can be used as a protection measure against mosquitoes.
30. Tea/coffee/snacks may also be arranged.