The Ashtavinayak Vidhan — Eight Ganpatis in Eight Directions, Their Pujan, and the Havan

Opening the video, the speaker states that the sadhana of the ashta-vinayaka is capable of removing every kind of kasht and every kind of dukh in life. He then gives the condition for taking it up: where sankat of any kind are coming repeatedly, again and again, then you should do the Ashtavinayak sadhana in your life. The rest of the video, he says, demonstrates the pujan and havan by which it is done.

For the Ashtavinayak sadhana, the speaker shows the arrangement on camera. Eight PaanThe betel leaf offered in pujan, often paired with supari. leaves have been set out in the form of an ashtadal kamal, and lamps have been arranged on them. All the lamps face toward the swaroop of Ganpati. A photograph of the ashta-vinayaka is also present. Along with this, over yellow AkshatUnbroken raw rice grains, held in hand along with water and flowers while taking a Sankalpa., a SupariAreca nut, used as a stand-in for the deity in sankalpa and offered in pujan. with 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. wound around it has been installed as the swaroop of Ganpati. Each of the eight positions on the leaves is then given to one of the eight Ganpatis, in the directions he lays out next.

The speaker points out that here eight Ganpatis stand in eight directions. The first Ganpati is Mayuresh Ganpati, in the east. Chintamani Ganpati is in the agni kona, which on screen is the side of the agnikund. Then in the south is Maha Ganapati. In the NairityaThe south-west corner, one of the four intermediate directions used to place a deity or rite. kona is Siddhi Vinayak Ganpati. Vighneshwar is in the west. Girija Atmaj is in the VayavyaThe north-west corner, governed by Vayu. kona; in the north is Ballaleshwar Ganpati; and in the IshanThe North-East corner of a home in Vastu Shastra, considered the abode of the deities and the correct location for the household shrine. kona is Varad Vinayak Ganpati. In this manner, he says, eight Ganpatis are present in eight directions, and this is how their sthapana is to be done. The pujan that follows goes round them in this same order, beginning from Mayuresh in the east.

The speaker begins the pujan with Mayuresh Ganpati in the east and says the pujan of all eight Ganpatis will be the same: first AvahanThe invocation that calls a deity to be present in the image or yantra before worship begins., then their snan, then flower and bilva patra, then naivedya. He starts with the mantra "श्री गौरी सुताय मयूरेशाय आवाहयामि आवाहनार्थे पुष्पम् समर्पयामि" and offers a flower. Then "हस्तौ अर्घ्यम् आचमनीयम् च स्नानार्थे जलम् समर्पयामि", offering water three times while reciting it; later in the video he explains the three waters as one for washing the hands, one for achaman and one for snan. Then Durva GrassA sacred grass offered to deities — especially Ganesha — and included among the items used to formally invite a deity before moving to a new location.: "दुर्वांकुरान् समर्पयामि". Then BilvaThe sacred Bael tree associated with Lord Shiva — sadhana is undertaken beneath it, its wood is used as fuel for Havan offerings of ghee and sesame seeds during a release ritual, and its trifoliate leaf (Bilvapatra) is the offering proper to Him. patra and flower: "बिल्वपत्रम् च पुष्पम् समर्पयामि". While worshipping Mahaganapati he adds that the order of these three — bilva, flower, durva — can go before or after one another, there is no problem. Then NaivedyaThe food offering (Bhog) presented to a deity during worship, accompanied by water offerings and dedicatory mantras.: "नैवेद्यम् निवेदयामि", with one LadduThe round sweet offered as naivedya, especially to Ganpati and Hanuman. offered. On the laddu one clove and one cardamom must be placed. There will be eight laddus for the eight Ganpatis, and on every laddu one clove and one cardamom. He repeats at Siddhi Vinayak that the naivedya of every Ganpati is offered separately; keep this in mind. After the naivedya, water is offered three times with "नैवेद्य उपरान्तम् आचमनीयम् जलम् समर्पयामि", and the Ganpati is closed with "प्रसन्न भवतु". With that the first Ganpati's puja is complete, and the same is done for the other seven in turn round the directions. He says he has tried to keep the order the same for all and completely simple, so that everyone can do the pujan comfortably, and all the mantras are written on screen so they can be copied out in one place. On the first chaturthi the pujan will feel like a little effort, he says, but after doing it two or three times everything will be by heart and the Ganpati pujan will come easily.

Going round the eight directions, the speaker speaks each Ganpati's name before every step of the same sequence. For Chintamani in the agni kona: "श्री गौरी सुताय चिंतामणि गणपते नमः, श्री चिंतामणि गणपते आवाहनार्थे पुष्पम् समर्पयामि", then "श्री चिंतामणि गणपते नमः हस्तौ अर्घ्यम् आचमनीयम् च स्नानार्थे जलम् समर्पयामि" with water three times, "श्री चिंतामणि गणपते नमः दुर्वांकुरान् समर्पयामि", "बिल्वपत्रम् समर्पयामि", "पुष्पम् समर्पयामि", "नैवेद्यम् निवेदयामि", and "नैवेद्य उपरान्तम् आचमनीयम् जलम् समर्पयामि, श्री चिंतामणि गणपते प्रसन्न भवतु". The same lines are then spoken with "श्री महागणपते नमः" in the south; "श्री सिद्धि विनायक गणपते नमः" in the NairityaThe south-west corner, one of the four intermediate directions used to place a deity or rite. kona; "श्री विघ्नेश्वराय गणपते नमः" in the west; "श्री गिरजा आत्मजाय गणपते नमः" in the VayavyaThe north-west corner, governed by Vayu. kona; "श्री बल्लालेश्वराय गणपते नमः" in the north; and "श्री वरद विनायकाय नमः" in the IshanThe North-East corner of a home in Vastu Shastra, considered the abode of the deities and the correct location for the household shrine. kona. For the first Ganpati, Mayuresh in the east, the avahan is "श्री गौरी सुताय मयूरेशाय आवाहयामि". He mentions small practical points on the way: the flowers should be arranged neatly, the clove and cardamom placed on the naivedya wherever there is room, and the water after naivedya offered near the naivedya. He says the mantras for every Ganpati are on the screen, so the viewer can write them out in one place and perform the pujan from that.

While worshipping the last Ganpati, the speaker says: keep in mind that in the Ashtavinayak he has not offered a janeu to any of them and has not carried out the janeu upakram. His reason is that he does not know whether the viewer is an adhikari to offer the janeu or not; that is why he has not put it in this video. His rule is: if you wear the YajnopavitaThe sacred thread ceremony marking initiation into Vedic rites (Janeu) — if lapsed across generations, expiation (Prayashchitta) for each known generation is required before it can be resumed., then certainly offer a janeu to all eight Vinayaks, to the Ashtavinayak. If you do not wear it, then do not. After explaining the Agni avahan, just before the havan begins, he returns to the point and says one janeu should be offered for Ganpati ji, and even if you do not wear one, just a single janeu should be dedicated. Both statements are his; he does not reconcile them in the video.

The speaker turns to how Agni Deva is invoked in the Havan kund. First of all, a piece of cow-dung UplaThe dried cow-dung cake burnt as the fire-base in havan and in outdoor prayogas. is placed in the kund, with a simple RangoliThe figure drawn in colour on the ground where a deity is to be seated. made. In the agni kona a lamp is kindled. From it, to its south, the deep prajvalan of Agni Deva is done first; the flame is then taken out from there into the agnikund, and the AvahanThe invocation that calls a deity to be present in the image or yantra before worship begins. of Agni Deva takes place again, in the southern direction. From there a new wick is taken, Agni Deva is kindled from it again, and it is circled three times over the havan kund. Then Agni Deva is invoked in the middle, at the exact centre of the kund. This, he says, is a brief, simple and correct way of invoking Agni Deva. He adds two points. Even leaving aside every mantra, if one performs only this much karma, the avahan of Agni Deva still takes place. And Agni Deva is never invoked after first arranging the wood in the middle; one should invoke Agni by this vidhi vidhan, and the wood comes after.

After the Agni avahan the speaker begins the Havan by reciting: ओम श्री गजाननं भूतगणादिसेवितं कपित्थजम्बूफलचारुभक्षणं उमासुतं शोकविनाशकारकं नमामि विघ्नेश्वरपादपंकजम्. Then: श्री अष्टविनायक नमो नमः. The Ahuti then go to the eight Ganpatis one after another, in the same order as the pujan. "श्री मयूरेश्वराय गणपतये स्वाहा" five times (the first with नमः before स्वाहा); "श्री चिंतामणि गणपतये स्वाहा" five times; "श्री महागणपतये स्वाहा" five times; "श्री सिद्धिविनायक गणपतये स्वाहा" five times; "श्री विघ्नेश्वराय गणपतये स्वाहा" five times; "श्री गिरिजात्मजाय गणपतये स्वाहा" (four are heard in the recording); "श्री बल्लालेश्वराय गणपतये स्वाहा" five times; "श्री वरदविनायकाय गणपतये स्वाहा" five times. The series closes with one oblation to all eight together: श्री अष्टविनायक गणपतये स्वाहा. The speaker states no count aloud; the fives are what he performs on camera.

After the ahutis, the speaker performs TarpanaA libation offering of water or other substances made to a deity or ancestor, typically performed alongside Havan and Marjan. and then Marjana for each of the eight in turn, each Ganpati getting one tarpan line and one marjan line before moving to the next. श्री मयूरेश्वराय गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री मयूरेश्वराय गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः; श्री चिंतामणि गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री चिंतामणि गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः; श्री महागणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री महागणपतये मार्जयामि नमः; श्री सिद्धिविनायक गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री सिद्धिविनायक गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः. श्री विघ्नेश्वराय गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री विघ्नेश्वराय गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः; श्री गिरिजात्मजाय गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री गिरिजात्मजाय गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः; श्री बल्लालेश्वराय गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री बल्लालेश्वराय गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः; श्री वरदविनायकाय गणपतये तर्पयामि नमः, श्री वरदविनायकाय गणपतये मार्जयामि नमः. The video ends here; the speaker gives no further closing steps.