Some of the practices followed by the Hindus are erroneous.
1.Do not visit Temples for one year after Death in the family.
Almost all Hindus refrain from visiting the temples (at least th South Indian. especially from Tamil Nadu do) for one year from the date on which the death has occurred or from the date of performance of the Gruhayagna (Gregya)-கிரேக்கியம் ,the Thirteenth Day ceremony.
This is an erroneous interpretation of the Sastras, without an understanding the thirteenth day ceremony,Gruha Yagnya, also called as Subasweekaram.
The word ‘Gruhayagnam’ means the performance of Yagnas at Home.
Householders are not sanctioned to perform the Daily Karmas,Duties, for thirteen days from the date of death in the family.
This sanction excludes Sandhyavandan/Sandhyavandana.
On the thirteenth day. a Purification ceremony is performed at Home( Punyahavachanam)and people are asked to visit temples.
If one is purified to perform Yagnas(Gruhayagnas), it is illogical to proscribe a visit tot the Temples.
( one also finds, as I see a comedy in this, many people visit temples refraining during this period except those on Hill Tops;if one can visit a temple, why on earth should one not visit a Temple on the Hill tops?)
The other term, Subhasweekara means ,literally,’inviting the Auspicious’.
Once when you invite auspiciousness to visit you, you can visit temples as well.
People must remember that the Vedas do not mention visiting temples at all, though
Time that we understand the Karmas and act accordingly with out following some one blindly.
Punyahavachanam.
Hinduism
Various traditions within Hinduism follow different standards of ritual purity and purification; in Smartism, for example, the attitude to ritual purity is similar to that of Karaite Judaism. Within each tradition the more orthodox groups follow stricter rules, but the strictest rules are generally prescribed for brahmins, especially those engaged in the temple worship.
An important part of ritual purification in Hinduism is the bathing of the entire body, particularly in rivers considered holy such as the Ganges; it is considered auspicious to perform this form of purification before any festival, and it is also practised after the death of someone, in order to maintain purity. Although water pollution means that in modern times there is a need for care during bathing in such rivers, the physical impurities within the river do not diminish the attributed power they have to bring ritual purity. Lesser aspects of Hindu purification ritual include achamana – the touching and sipping of pure water while reciting specific mantras – and the application of a tilaka on the forehead.
Punyahavachanam is a ritual performed before any ceremony such as Marriage,Homa etc. Mantras are chanted and then water is sprinkled over all the people participating and the items used.
In the ritual known as abhisheka (Sanskrit, “sprinkling; ablution”), the deity’s murti or image is ritually bathed with water, curd, milk, honey, ghee, cane sugar, rosewater, etc. Abhisheka is also a special form of puja prescribed by Agamic injunction. The act is also performed in the inauguration of religious and political monarchs and for other special blessings.
There are various kinds of purificatory rituals associated with death ceremonies. After visiting a house where a death has recently occurred, Hindus are expected to take bath.
Women take a head bath after completing their 4 day menstrual period.”
“Punyahavachanam is a karma to make ourselves pure as well as the surroundings before making anyvaidika karma. For making this karma we need the following:1) brass plate of 15inches diameter 2)brass chembu3)two brass tumblers 3) sufficient rice to fill the brass plate 4)a little tour dall5)two bunches of mango leaves 6)panch patra 7) uddarini 8) side plate brass/copper 9) sambrani stand 10) karpuram plate 11)kumuma, akshata, gandham bowls 12) betelleaves with round betal nuts 13) sufficient flowers 13) a small piece of jaggery 14) 6 bananas 15) twococonutsTHINGS TO DO FIRST: 1) Apply gandham and kumkum to brass chembu, two brass tumblers on allfour sides. 2) apply haldi/pasupu to one coconut to place on the chembu and kumkum on all four sides3) clean the mango leaves in water for placement of one bunch in chembu and other two bunches to place in the tumblers. 4) fill the plate with raw rice to 2/3 height of brass plate and add some tour dhalinto it. and keep the same on earth cleaned decorated with maakolam 5) keep chembu filled with water 2/3rd level, keep mango leaves inside and place the coconut applied with haldi and kumkum on it and place the same on eastern side centre of plate filled with rice and place the two brass tumblers belowthe chembu so as to make the three a equilateral triangle. 5) have two sets of tambulams with one banana and keep the same next to tumblers (right side tumbler right side and left side tumbler leftside). 6)pour clean water to half level in two tumblers and keep the mango leaves in it. 7) make haldivinayaka in cone shape and keep the same in two betel nut leaves. 8) place the haldi vinayaka in westside of chembu placed in plate i.e. in between the two tumblers slightly below (not exactly in betweentumblers). apply gandam and kumkum to haldi vinayaka and keep some flowers on it. 9) make 2handful of akshatas i.e. select rice in full form not having the half ones apply haldi and two to threedrops of ghee and apply to rice so as to become yellow instead of white rice. 10) take a brass plate keepcoconut, banana, flowers for puja, 11) keep separately sambrani vatti and karpuram with match box.12) have one kuttu vilakku filled with til oil and keep single vatti and lit the deepam and apply gandamkumkum and flowers to it and place the kuttu vilakku in a plate duly filled with kolam. keep the kuttuvilakku to the right side of the round plate kept with kalasam and two tumblers. Have one more smallvilakku lit duly decorated and keep near the big vilakku. Caution: When lighting agarbatti or karpuram do not lit from the kuttu vilakku but to light from the match box only. 13) make seat for uand your wife either in a wooden plank or have kambal spread on earth and have a towel spread on it.your feet or any part of your legs should not touch the earth because the earth have such power whichwill attract the power generated through mantra into it. 14) Always wear the dhoti panchakachhamstyle for all vaidika kriyas and see your wife also wear the sari in kachham.”
Sources;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_purification.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/94274128/PUNYAHAVACHANAM
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