[Advaita-l] On the Boundary of Dharma

[S Jayanarayanan]

Since others have raised queries on the letters that I had posted, I want to clarify what Suktams were covered and what the scholar's conclusions are:

1) Durga Suktam - the scholar NEVER says that this Suktam should not be used to worship Durga. In fact, I have personally observed him recite this Suktam during Durga-Abhisheka in the temple. His conclusion at the end should be evident, "What I object to is to brand the set of mantras as "durgaa suuktam.h" where only one mantra, as a freak, refers to durgaa."
--> This is a purely theoretical stance, where the practice of worshipping Durga using these Mantras is not objected to, only the naming or title of the Sukram.

2) Navagraha Mantras - the scholar does not seem to object to the worship or propitiation of the Nava-grahas using this Mantra. It looks like he is fine with people propitiating the Nava-grahas with the Suktams in a practical manner. However, he does claim that there is no mention of the Nava-grahas in the Vedas, and that the so-called "Nava-graha Mantras" themselves refer to Surya as a Nakshatra and not as a Graha (which presumably is what Jyotisha believes).

3) Surya Namaskara Mantras - the scholar does in this case say that neither is the set of Mantras rightly named, nor is the practice fully correct according to general principles of Mimamsa.

Hope that clarified,
Kartik