Dear Yagya Friends,
This newsletter features photos from the three week goddess yagya that was performed in September and October in Kanchipuram for Navaratri.
We began with a 10 day yagya for the Dasa Mahavidya - the 10 forms of the Divine Mother that are the focus of the Shakti tradition. We performed another 11 days of yagyas for Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati during traditional Navaratri.
Each day began at 8 AM with a Ganesha puja followed by the Abishekam (washing) ritual and recitation of the 700 verse Durga Saptashati mantra with additional recitations of vedic texts such as Sri Rudram and Chammakam, Sri Suktam, Purusha Suktam, Durga Suktam, Saraswati Suktam, and Pancha Shanti.
After a break around 10:30, the yagya fire was lit and the recitations were repeated along with various offerings into the yagya fire while Chandi Path (Durga Saptashati) was recited again. The yagya concluded around 1:30 daily.
The evening program from 6 PM to 8 PM was focused on the recitation of the Lalitha Sahasranam which consists of the 1,000 names (mantras) of the most beautiful and powerful form of the Divine Mother.
The last day of the yagyas included a havan (fire yagya) with bushels of traditional ingredients. The fire continued to burn for two days afterward!
This was the best, most elaborate yagya we've ever performed and we look forward to repeating this again next year.
If you like these photos, there are hundreds more on my Instagram (BenjaminCCollins) and many video clips of the rituals, Veda and Chandi Path chanting, not to mention the neighborhood cows who hung around listening to the mantras.
Our November program will focus on the Nine Planets (Navagraha) to take advantage of all the astrological changes that are about to take place. Signup will be available on Monday, Nov 4th.
Very best regards,
Ben Collins
