Annadaan
Every question on the site tagged Annadaan, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
Donating food grains — touching 5 types of grain, or 1.25 kg, with a Sankalpa before giving it to a Brahmin or temple — performed before breaking a fast such as the Navratri Parana.
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Parana after Navratri: annadaan, bhog and prasad before the Kalash leaves
The speaker says that before parana one must do annadaan: five kinds of grain, or as one can afford about a sava kilo (1.25 kg) of grain — the sidha of flour, rice and so on — touched by hand with the sankalpa "I am donating this to a Brahmin", then set aside and sent to a Brahmin, a pandit or a temple. Then whatever food is cooked is offered as bhog to Ma first; one eats Bhagavati's prasad first, then the bhog — khichdi, or puri-sabzi made on Dashami. Only after the parana, and once the Akhand Jyot has fully cooled, is the Kalash taken out of the house; immersing the Kalash and then coming back to eat is a mistake.
Can donation and japa at the Kumbh be performed for absent loved ones?
Yes. Donate there with one's own hand to a suitable person; and for a relative living abroad or otherwise unable to come, take a Sankalpa in their name, perform five or ten malas for them and surrender the fruit — a sixth share of the merit is said to reach them.
May a grihastha eat at the anna kshetras and shivirs?
If you are going into shivirs and other kshetras and accepting anna there, then as a grihastha you should keep in mind that you have your maryada. You may eat, there is no harm in eating — the mahaprasad season at the anna kshetras will run and will begin from the 8th or 10th. If you are going to do kalpavas there, or even for one or two days, you may absolutely eat anna; but as a grihastha it is your duty-dharma that you should never take anyone's anna in that manner. Some value for it should be given.
Will anyone ask your caste at the Mahakumbh?
Very few will be found there who take anything, he says; there will also be places where nothing will be taken, or a place made where whoever wishes may give or not give, and no one will say anything. Nor will your caste be asked there — that you are high so sit, you are low so do not sit; nothing of that kind is going to happen at the Kumbh, at the Mahakumbh. And prasad will run, three times a day; some may run it twenty-four hours, and twelve hours they will certainly run.
What should one do after accepting mahaprasad at an anna kshetra?
Whenever you accept prasad or mahaprasad, or go to an anna kshetra, then according to your capacity give as much daan there as seems proper to you — saying that today, Prabhu, we have received prasad, and this is from our side. Give it to some person, or offer it at whatever main place has been made, so that it is taken again into the service of anna. It is not to be eaten in that way, he says, otherwise whatever tirtha-fruit you have will be deducted from it, minus, with 28% GST.
What naivedya may be offered if you have kept the Ekadashi vrat?
If you do the seva and puja of Bhagavati, then brother, you have kept the Ekadashi vrat — so you will offer only fruit and the like as naivedya. If anna is being cooked, then anna will be offered, but rice will not be offered. Rice is simply not to be eaten that day; keep this in mind. The bhog of rice will not be offered.
What should be done with a sadhak's old and torn clothes?
Asked what a sadhak should do with old torn clothes, when it is not possible to make an asan or bedding in such quantity — they cannot be burnt, they must not be burnt, he says. A sadhak should wash the old clothes and, if they are to be given away, then do your daan and the like of them.
Daan in the Kartik month
The speaker says he is not asking for charity every day; instead, one may pick a single day of the week to always give on, with annadaan or helping someone with whatever they specifically need counted as the best forms of it.
What should be done at a gaushala or for cows in these five days?
If there is a gaushala nearby or at home, light lamps there, make the sound of guggul and perform gau pujan. If there is no gaushala or cow nearby, then at the very least whatever gau mata you find nearby should be fed, according to your capacity, absolutely fresh naivedya made in your house during these five days; and at the main door, if possible, dhwani should be done on a cow-dung upla — in the morning and in the evening.
What should be done for the pitrs since Diwali falls on Amavasya?
Since it is the parva of Amavasya, on that day one should at the least perform panchbali for the sake of the pitrs, according to capacity, and whatever naivedya there is should be fed to animals and birds, and something should be given in daan.
Why must panchbali not be missed?
Panchbali will certainly take place, the speaker says, and it should not be dropped under any circumstances for sadhaks. As soon as you give food to living creatures from your own body — when you feed gau mata, the dog, the crow, the ant and man — the many known and unknown sins and doshas committed by your body are immediately destroyed, and the fruit of your mantra japa also begins to be obtained by you.
How is naivedya offered when it is placed at a single spot?
Offer cashew and raisins, or cardamom seeds, or whatever food substances and dry fruits you offer, with your bhava. Put neither tulsi patra nor bilva patra in it at first — put nothing at first. After the pujan is done, take water from the separate drinking water given to Mai, circle it around the naivedya with the achamani and offer it five times.
Where do the tulsi patra and the bilva patra go?
After the five offerings, put one tulsi patra in it and offer it to Narayan as well. If the bhava arises in you that it has become Mai's jootha, then keep a separate naivedya for Narayan with the tulsi patra in it from the start, and let the naivedya for Bhagavati and her anga parivar — Bhairav ji, Shiva ji — be separate, with bilva patra in it.
What extra offerings are made during a Bhairav anushthan at home?
Suppose you are doing a 41-day anushthan at home of Bhairav ji's Ashtottara Shatanama, or of some mantra or some stotra such as the Mahabhairav. Then a separate lamp and a separate naivedya must be offered for Bhairav ji for as long as the pujan runs, forty days. Once the pujan is complete and you are back to daily nitya karma pujan, no separate naivedya, dhoop or lamp is needed — worship him within the collective panchayatana.
What is offered daily in the 41-day sadhana?
In the 41-day sadhana offer naivedya at both times, morning and evening. If possible certainly offer the naivedya of boondi ke laddu at home. And in a vessel crush ginger, mix water and jaggery into it, and keep it as a drink — it is the sattvik madira for Bhairav ji. When the pujan is over, pour it at the root of some divine tree. Two cloves and cardamom may be added if you wish.
May the offered madira be taken as prasad, and what is swan seva?
Anyone may accept as prasad the naivedya that has been offered there, but never accept the madira — the madira should be poured out for Bhairav ji alone. And while the forty-day Bhairav seva is running, swan seva, that is the service of dogs, must particularly be done: as far as possible feed dogs before you eat yourself.
What does the Kalika Purana prescribe for Mahabhairav?
According to the special shastrokta mat written in the Kalika Purana, if you do the pujan of Mahabhairav on the Chaturdashi of the Shukla Paksha of Chaitra, then whatever matter you carry before them and whatever purpose you pray for is addressed. In its shastrokta mat, alongside fruit, flowers and sweets in the naivedya there are also the karan patra and the mans patra; the bali anna of that day is entirely of pure meat.
How many paths of the Mahabhairav Stotra are done in the second mandal?
At least 21 paths are to be done daily, and if you have the capacity and can sit, then 21 and 21 morning and evening would be wonderful. Through this mandal too you are offering naivedya to the Bhagavan in the temple itself, lighting dhoop and deep there and doing everything there. The third mandal takes both of these together.
What are sakhya bhava and atmasamarpan?
Sakhya bhava is: whatever is happening, mangal or amangal, good or bad, no matter — we are taking it all as good; whatever you are doing, it is happening by your will. Atmasamarpan is that if Bhagavan gives us a crore, out of that crore we give back to him 99 lakh 99 thousand 999 rupees, and one rupee upon ourselves. But the speaker says this does not mean building temples and decorating Bhagavan day and night — it means jeev seva, spending what Bhagavan gave wherever there is need for the uplift of sanatan and for the welfare of sanatani jeevs.
How important is kumari pujan in any anushthan of Bhagavati?
The speaker says kumari pujan has its own importance: without the pujan of a kumari, success is not obtained in Navratri or in any kind of anushthan of Bhagavati whatsoever. In every svaroop of Bhagavati this work has to be done by us.
What is kuttu ka atta and when is it eaten?
Explaining for those who do not know, he says that in Navratra the flour of kuttu is what all the vrat food is made from — things are made from it and eaten, and those who keep the observance eat it; it is called kuttu. He notes that someone who did not know it took it to be dog flour. Kuttu is a flour that is eaten in a vrat, in the Ekadashi vrat.
A householder eating at a Kumbh camp should always leave money there
Ten rupees, a hundred, or a lakh — the amount is left open, but a householder eating the prasad or the Anna Kshetra food at a camp must leave money there. It is free for Sadhus and Sannyasis; the rule applies to householders.
Who should receive daan on Guru Purnima?
Apart from that, the speaker says, those who live around you and have pujan done for you in Navratri, or Ekadashi pujan, or pujan on other special parva kaal — whatever guidance you obtain from them, on the day of Guru Purnima give them daan as your strength allows.
Cleaning the Bhairav temple and its surroundings, and feeding the dogs outside
The speaker says the seva of such a Bhairava temple includes its cleanliness — cleaning that place, that temple and the surrounding area — and the seva of dogs: feeding them salted roti and sweet roti, and arranging water and food for them as much as possible. He says explicitly he is not telling anyone to bring a dog home and tie it up; the seva is done outside. Bhairav gives more than one can imagine, and whatever the affliction, serving him this way frees one of it.
What daan should be done across the five days?
For doing daan and punya in these five days, do panchbali: certainly have the cow fed, the dog, the ants; certainly have the crow fed; and for the sake of any human being — people come to ask — put out grain of food for them, and give it if anyone comes; you may give cooked food too, or if the wish is that we will give wealth, you may give them wealth as well. These five days you should do daan especially, he says, and you may do separate seva for the gau mata as well.
To whom should the pitr daan be given?
Give daan and the rest to a Brahmin, he says — make him rich, put property in some Brahmin's name. Because it comes into people's minds that by this Brahmins are becoming rich. If you keep such feelings, then do not listen to these subjects; otherwise do it, so that it may be your own. We come having given away our entire alaay-balaay — what you give to a Brahmin after making a sankalp, all its weight falls upon the Brahmins. He will manage it; that is not your subject. So for the sake of the pitr certainly do daan on the day of Amavasya.
Money for the ancestors is best given directly to a known Brahmin for Gau Seva — never publicly, which draws Drishti Dosha
Give privately, not publicly. Public giving does not prompt others to give; it circulates as screenshots and draws the evil eye (drishti-dosha) onto the giver. Better still, give directly to a known Brahmin — one of your own family line — for Gau seva on the ancestors' behalf.
The daily portion for the ancestors is still set aside on the Shraddha day — it and the Brahmin meal are separate obligations
Yes, it is still set aside. The daily portion for the ancestors goes to Gau Mata; the Shradh-day meal is what is served to a Brahmin — they are two different things and one does not replace the other.
Where should prasad be distributed if it is offered for the Devi?
You may distribute at a Hanuman temple — but if it is to be done for Bhagavati, do it at a Bhagavati temple; that will be much better. If Hanuman ji is himself the Kula deity, then you may do it there.
Daan and samarpan before the Navratri paran
The speaker says that after all this, on the last day and before the Paran, some grain and the like must be given in daan and Dakshina given, with a Sankalpa; and at the end comes the samarpan — that the whole Navratri Vrat one has kept is offered to Jagadamba. Only after that is the paran taken.
What is Panchbali at the Kuldevi worship, and why is it included?
The donation of grain to five kinds of creature — ants, the cow, the crow, the dog, and one person, feeding someone hungry. Through them the lineage's ancestors are satisfied and the deities are satisfied as well.
What should a household with ample means do on Saptami?
Worship at home, perform service of living creatures, and give to Brahmins, learned people, those you are devoted to, or a temple — with the whole purpose held as the Kuldevi's, that she should grant grace. Do according to your means.
What temple service pleases Rahu and Ketu?
Cleaning and serving at a temple; and where a temple's flag is torn, helping to have it replaced — paying for it, having one made. Offering the Chandani, the canopy stretched above the Goddess's place, pleases both as well.
Can the Kuldevi's worship be done by donating at a temple instead?
Yes — seven Shringar, seven kinds of sweet and seven kinds of fruit may be given in donation at a temple in the Kuldevi's name. The speaker is careful to say this is not offered as a workaround: it is a Vidhan by which her grace comes.
What should follow the completion of a one-day anushthan?
When you do it in a single day, you then keep a vrat that day, or after the anushthan is complete you make daan and only then accept food and grain. The importance of the act, he says, increases very greatly by this.
Dashami procedure: Aparajita pujan, Shami pujan, jvare, visarjan and daan before paran
The speaker says that on Dashami morning one first does the pujan of Aparajita Bhagavati, then Shami pujan, and offers all the grown jvare to Bhagavati. Then the Visarjan actions: the Kalash is first moved, and all of Bhagavati's shaktis and her whole retinue are sent to their proper places. Only after visarjan and samarpan are complete, he says, touch and set aside items for daan (grain, fruit, spices, oil, ghee, as one can afford) with a simple Sankalpa to Bhagavati that one will give these to Brahmins or the poor or both so that the vrat and anushthan succeed. The items may be delivered before the Paran or after it; either is fine. Done this way, he says, the Navratri vrat is complete.
Concluding the Ganpati sadhana: donating the written copy and feeding a small boy
The speaker says that on the Chaturdashi itself the copy in which the stotra was written eight times is taken to a temple that also has a Ganesh murti, a Shiv temple being one such, and donated to the Brahmins there with a Sankalpa, along with some anna and Dakshina. If possible, at least one small boy is also fed a meal or sweets by one's own hand. No varna is to be looked at in the boy; he need not be a brahmin, and a well-behaved boy is very good. The texts say a boy under twelve, but in today's conditions five, six, seven or eight years is best. With this the sadhana is complete.
What should the invited brahmin be fed, and who should not eat it?
They should be fed kheer, and it is better if they come to the house and cross the chaukhat rather than being fed at the temple. But knowledgeable people, the speaker says, do not eat kheer on that day, because in taking that meal their own punya will be spent. Those with no punya will simply come, spoil your matter and leave — and if such a person rubs khaini after eating, the pret gets it too.
What is the summary remedy for a dream of being asked for grain, akshat or water at the chaukhat?
If such a dream comes, the speaker says, call a brahmin to your own house and feed him kheer made of milk; or, if you have difficulty with that, then feed gau mata. This is the very first thing that should be done, and certainly should be done.
What should be done on Sarvapitri Amavasya?
Tomorrow is the last tithi of Pitru Paksha. Whether or not you do anything else, make puri and kheer and feed it to Gau Mata with your own hand. Do that much without fail — recite or not, worship or not, but certainly offer the Naivedya to Bhagavati Gau.
What should be done on Sarvapitri Amavasya if you are away and cannot cook?
Buy sweets made of milk — half a kilo, a quarter, whatever you are able — and place them on a leaf plate, so that if Gau Mata eats the plate too it does no harm. Not the foam or plastic kind. And say plainly: this is the capacity I have, this is my reverence; be pleased with this alone.
The demand for a written source comes from people who do not follow what is written anyway
Asked where it is written, he answers that they do not accept what is written in any case. It is written, he says, that one should rise before sunrise and complete sandhya while the stars are still visible — do you do it? It is written that if you earn ten thousand, three thousand of it should be put into service for your pitrs, for Gau Mata and for panchbali — do you do it?
Trouble given by a father or mother is better discharged as a rin than removed by tapa for parivartan
The speaker says his own opinion is a little different: he believes more in the rin and believes less in parivartan. If the father is giving us trouble, he would never want to remove that trouble by doing tapa for its removal — he would want that rin to be discharged. If the mother is giving trouble, he would want to become urin. If a brother gives trouble, he would want to become urin — because if today we make him favourable to us through some kind of prayoga, tomorrow it will come back multiplied many times over. But if, doing japa for his sake, doing tirtha for his sake, doing daan for his sake, we are pacifying them, and in reality they become favourable to us, and in fact our circumstances become favourable and they become supportive to us, then that is the most correct thing of all.
Guru Purnima pujan, dan and the wearing of the mala
The speaker says that on the day the sadhana completes, Guru Poornima, guru pujan is done of whoever has been accepted in the form of guru: cloth is kept for them, and a bhog of sweets and the like is given. After the pujan, the things for dan are touched and set apart: whatever Annadaan or other dan one wishes to give, along with some Dakshina, kept aside to give to the yachaks who come asking. After that the Mala is worn around the neck, taking it as the guru's blessing and as the guru's protection.
If someone insists on serving the poor with milk, what should they use?
If it is your wish to serve the poor, saying that you will see Narayan in man, and you have the capability, then at least do not give the toxic thing, the speaker says. Nowadays purified milk is available; give the poor that kind of milk if you have that much capability. But if you take a cow that goes out to graze, and after it returns from grazing you milk it and give that to the poor, then their loss will occur — you are not doing nar Narayan seva but somewhere giving them distress.
One course is a purashcharan as prayashchitta, followed by nivritti through daan
There are two courses here, he says. Either, for the sake of prayashchitta for the karma prayoga he performed, let him do a purashcharan — that is the first thing, let him do a purashcharan. And let him bring about its nivritti by daan and the like; then it is squared and removed for him too.
What is the remedy when a marakesh Shukra dasha is running and health is bad?
A listener says the Shukra dasha is running, that Shukra is the marakesh, and that health is very bad. He says: at the very least, give daan on the day of Friday. And if nothing else, do a bhandara. There will be no shortage of money for the bhandara — how much money is needed? Not much, brother, ten rupees. For ten rupees buy sugar boora, or bring a packet, a hundred grams of sugar, and every Friday take it to such a place and put it out for the ants, where they will be safe and nobody will crush them.
The more Fridays it is kept, the sooner health begins to right itself
Start doing this much, he says: the more you do this work on Fridays, the sooner, the very quickly, your health will begin to become right — if no such trouble has occurred. And even if trouble has occurred, there will still be a reduction in it.
What should be recited for one who is dying, and what should be donated?
Cloth should be washed and then donated, he says — clean, tidy cloth. The paath of Gita ji can also be recited to the person; but the Gajendra Moksha will be more effective.
What clears the rin dosha for a sadhana taken from someone?
Whenever and from wherever you do any sadhana, not only from this channel, the speaker says, then in the name of the person from whom you took the sadhana light at least five ghee lamps in a Shiva temple on the first day and the last day of the sadhana, so that rin dosha does not occur. The second thing: in that person's name feed at least sava kilo of grain, or anything at all to eat and drink, to living beings — feed a dog, a cat, a cow; feed a sheep or a goat; feed a human being. That much should be done, and by it rin dosha will never fall upon that person or upon you.
Who should daan never be given to?
The second thing, the speaker says, is that special care has to be taken at the time of giving daan. Never, ever give daan to an unworthy patra.
What should be donated when the kundali is not known?
While giving daan, keep in mind what object you are donating; if you have knowledge of the kundali, donate accordingly, and if you do not, do ordinary daan and not special daan. Special daan means donating gold, donating silver, or donating a very large amount directly in cash — and if greater loss follows afterwards, there is the difficulty.
What kind of daan lessens dhan abhav?
Daan of materials should be done, the speaker says — grain and the like, a blanket, or daan of clothes and cloth. If you give daan according to the kundali it is good, and dhan abhav is lessened by it.
What is the most prominent everyday cause of shortage of food and wealth?
The speaker says the most prominent thing that comes next is this: whatever food and drink you take, if you do not offer its bhog, then there is shortage of anna and shortage of Lakshmi.
How should the daily bhog be offered?
At least once in a day, the speaker says, whatever food you are eating — food that has been made entirely clean, not kept from the night before — should certainly be offered as bhog before your ishta and aradhya and surrendered to them, so that they are satisfied and there is increase in your anna.
In the organised anushthan the sankalp and paath are performed on behalf of all who join, and the divinity increases by that seva
Knowing beforehand how many people will come, it gets done well within that, the speaker says. We get the opportunity of seva, and in that seva the sankalp and paath and so on are performed on behalf of all of you, and by that the divinity increases further. The uplift of Sanatan, he says, is happening here through full cooperation.
A small mannat, innocence, and repentance with daan-punya should accompany the path
Along with it you should also make a small mannat, the speaker says — that whenever they are freed, O Hanuman ji. But they should be innocent. If there is any fault of theirs, any mistake, then tell them to do repentance there. And secondly, for the sake of their repentance you should do daan-punya and the like outside here as well. If they repent from the heart, their release will come sooner. And the seva-puja of Bhagavati Durga and Hanuman ji in a general way.
What should be done if the vigraha of Mata Kali has been burnt?
The vigraha will have burnt through your own carelessness, he says. First of all, do the abhishek of the Mata for at least nine days continuously — with panchgavya, with panchamrit and with pure Gangajal, daily, for nine days without a break, beginning today or from tomorrow. Do 108 japa daily for nine days of the whole mantra "या देवी सर्वभूतेषु क्षमा रूपेण संस्थिता ... नमस्तस्यै". Along with it let there certainly be jeev seva — feed a cow, a crow, a dog, whoever; let it go into their stomach before it goes into your own — and keep again and again the bhav of asking pardon: O Bhagavati, forgive the offence committed knowingly or unknowingly. On the last day do annadaan according to your strength.
What is offered to the cow, and does the chart matter?
Whatever food you serve out for Gau Mata should certainly include something connected with yellow substances — if you are making kheer and puri, put a little saffron in the kheer. And do not go looking at your birth chart to decide whether Guru is a favourable graha for you and whether this is a Daan.
Why does japa done only at home give a limited effect?
However much japa you do at home, you will get a very limited effect. If you have been performing sadhana a long time, only at home, and no effect is being obtained, it will not happen at home. Go to a temple, go to a tirtha kshetra, bathe and give Daan — at Prayag, at the Triveni, our strongest Prarabdha is cut at once.
What is done with the coconut and the purna patra after kalash sthapana?
When the visarjan takes place after a kalash sthapana, the visarjan of the coconut is to be done. The purna patra is either donated in that way, or you can also keep its rice in your own store room.
What is a mantra purushcarana, and what steps (angas) follow the required japa count?
Purushcarana is the formal process of completing a mantra's required japa count together with a defined sequence of accompanying rites — Homa (Havan, fire sacrifice), Tarpana (water libation), Marjana (purificatory sprinkling), and Bhojanam (feeding worthy people) — each calculated as one-tenth the count of the step before it.
How much tula daan should be done on a child's birth tithi?
Third is tula daan, as much as is possible. Suppose the child's weight is 40 kilos and you do not have the means for 40 kilos — then have even 4 kilos given in daan that day by the child's own hand. It will be very good, and shubh labh will be obtained in it for the whole year. That much at least should certainly be had done.
In daily gau daan, must one distinguish between a cow and other cattle?
You may feed anyone, the speaker says — anyone in the gau vansh. It is not necessary that you will feed only a cow and not Nandi ji. You may absolutely feed a bull or an ox; there is no need to make male and female distinctions. Feed the gau vansh — for now, even doing that much is a great deal.
A Shakambhari sadhak must never leave anyone hungry or thirsty, and why this pleases Bhagavati
The speaker says the sadhak of this mantra must, in any circumstance, help any person afflicted by hunger or by greatly risen thirst, even an enemy; one is never to see anyone hungry, and must help with anna to the limit of one's capacity, even a hungry animal, to whatever extent one's buddhi, body and finances allow. It is said that doing this pleases Bhagavati quickly, and he explains why: in the sadhana of Annapurna and Shakambhari Durga she takes the sadhak's examination through this very form, and when you satisfy someone's hunger it is Bhagavati herself who, satisfied, bestows Kripa.
Daan and japa by the lagna kundali, with a ratna, jadi or kavach paath
For that, the speaker says, have daan and japa done according to the lagna kundali; done for the sake of the grahas, shanti will certainly be formed. Now if Brihaspati is weak — is Brihaspati a friend of the lagnesh, or what is he? If he is weak, then give him strength. Look whether he is not in the 6th, 8th or 12th, and in which bhava he is. And after that, if he is in all that is auspicious and has fallen weak, then have a ratna or the like worn, or have a jadi worn, or tell someone to recite the kavach and the rest connected with him, or do it for his sake yourself. Only after seeing all this in full, he says, can it be told.
Last day of the Datt mala mantra anushthan: daan to a brahmin and feeding five children
The speaker says that on the last day of whatever sankalp was taken — eleven, twenty-one or twenty-seven days, or Purnima to Amavasya — the sadhak must go to a temple and give daan to a brahmin as he is able: Annadaan together with Dakshina. If possible at least five children must also be fed that day, sweet kheer if possible but in any case fed, whether at the temple or at home. Doing this much, he says, makes the mantra and its shakti extremely teekshna and siddh for the sadhak, so that whenever he uses it in prayog a good result comes.
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