Tantrokta Deepdan Vidhi for Kuldevi and Mahashaktis on Diwali

The speaker says that in the auspicious month of Kartik, and especially during Diwali's Mahanisha KaalThe "great night" period around midnight, reckoned as the most potent window for tantrik worship on nights such as Diwali and Kali Chaudas. or during the swadosh period (evening time), one should perform a DeepdanA ritual lamp offering performed on specific occasions, such as Ganga Dussehra worship of Kaal Bhairav or Batuk Bhairav. for the major devi-devatas together with the deities and shaktis of one's own kul (family lineage), using a coconut-shell lamp fitted with 108 wicks. He says this deepdan destroys countless sins and wards off many kinds of misfortune, protects against Akala Mrityu (untimely death), and removes the many sorrows and the poverty (dukh-daridra) that afflict a household. He adds that this vidhi should be performed every year, on the evening or night of Diwali.

The speaker says the first step is to light a single lamp that serves as the karma-sakshi (witness to the ritual act), placed upon flowers. After that, he says to arrange five leaves decorated with flowers, and to place the coconut-shell lamp among them. To make the lamp, a dried coconut kernel (gari) is cut carefully down the middle with a good, sharp knife, taking care not to cut one's hand. He says this cutting is best done by a man of the household — a coconut cut by a man is considered more auspicious.

The speaker demonstrates how to make the multi-strand wick for the coconut lamp using KalavaThe red-and-yellow sacred thread (also called moli) tied at the wrist or used to twist lamp wicks; sold in strands that are wound to a counted number. (a red-and-yellow moli thread), which has three threads twisted together, so that 36 windings of the thread give 108 wicks. He winds the thread around a support 18 times, keeping it a little long, and then folds it in half, doubling it to 36 strands. When this bundle is fully braided together, it becomes one long wick equal to 108 individual wicks. He then cuts it down the middle and trims the edges even, which yields two separate 108-wick wicks — enough for two lamps. He cautions that the thread used must always be cotton, and one should never use a silk thread for this.

The speaker explains that the coconut shell is used as the lamp specifically because it is Diwali — a dry, oil-rich substance (like the coconut kernel) burning together with oil is said to release a particular kind of positive energy into the environment. He says using the coconut shell as the lamp increases Shri TattvaThe principle of auspicious abundance and prosperity, invoked as the element a rite is meant to draw into the household. (the element of prosperity and auspiciousness), satisfies and strengthens the household devi-devatas, and is capable of checking many kinds of abhichar tantra (hostile magical workings) and negative energies. He shows that he has used sesame (til) oil for the lamp, and notes that pure ghee can also be used instead.

The speaker says that once the lamps are prepared, the next step is to take SankalpaA formal ritual resolution spoken aloud before an offering or observance, declaring its intent and dedicating its merit. (a formal ritual resolve). Flowers and water are held in the hand, and the sankalp is spoken in whatever language the practitioner knows the vidhi in — Sanskrit if one knows Sanskrit, otherwise Hindi — resolving to perform this deepdan for the happiness and satisfaction of one's own kul devi-devatas together with all the deities being honoured.

The speaker says that once sankalp is taken, a flower named for the intended deity is offered beside the lamp meant for that deity. He lists five lamps in order: the first for Lakshmi-Ganesh, the second for Lakshmi-Narayan, the third for one's own kuldevi together with the kul bhairav, the fourth for whichever shakti-peeth is nearest to one's home, and the fifth and final lamp for the Shiv parivar (the family of Shiva). He then says DhoopIncense offered during worship; its smoke is treated as an offering in its own right within the sequence of upacharas. (incense) is shown separately to each of the same five, in the same order: first to Lakshmi-Ganesh, then to Lakshmi-Narayan, then to one's kuldevi and kul bhairav, then to the nearest shakti-peeth, and finally to the Shiv parivar.

The speaker says all five lamps are lit from the karma-sakshi lamp. He says while lighting each lamp, one may simply keep repeating the name of the deity it is dedicated to, or recite a deep-prajwalan (lamp-lighting) mantra. He says one may also recite a sooktam, specifically the Tantrokta Devi Sooktam, or sing an auspicious sukta or stuti of whichever devi-devata the lamp is for. He says whichever deity's lamp is being lit, that deity should be meditated on and remembered while lighting it. All five lamps are lit one by one, in the same order as before: Lakshmi-Ganesh, then Lakshmi-Narayan, then one's kuldevi and kul bhairav, then the nearest shakti-peeth, and finally the Shiv parivar.

The speaker says that once all the lamps are lit, a small pushpanjali (flower offering) is placed behind each lamp, followed by water offered three times using an achamani spoon. He says this is done for every lamp in turn, taking the relevant deity's name with a mantra such as "kul devi namah, kul devataya namah, pushpanjali samarpayami, tadupharant achamanyam jalam samarpayami" — or, he says, the same offering can simply be made in plain Hindi, naming each deity and offering flowers and the threefold water.

The speaker says that when this deepdan is performed for the major devi-devatas together with the deities of one's own kul during Diwali's especially auspicious time, it protects against many kinds of ArishtaAn impending calamity or ill-omened affliction, including the class of signs read as foretelling untimely death. and anishta (calamity and misfortune). He says the kul shaktis become pusht (nourished) and santusht (satisfied) through this offering, and that they bring welfare (kalyan) in every way in return.