Akshadai

 Know Your Dharma

Content Courtesy – Ganesh Kalyan #ganeshamarkalam

 Akshadhai (Akshata)

Askshadai – commonly used in our rituals and pooja – is the humble yellow rice that is showered as a blessing at the end of a religious ceremony or on the God as an offering.

A modern hip-hop youngster might call it yellow-rice, the same name he gives to lemon rice. In Japan and in Italy rice showering has similar connotations like in our traditions.

The use of Akshadai in our celebrations is unique and portent with meaning. Use of Askshadhai is mentioned in all puranas. There is a story about a Rishi Vaisampayana who performed yagna daily and made sure King Janaka got Akshadhai prasad every day. Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhwa have all extoled the significance of Akshadhai as offerings to God.

First let us understand what is Akshadai. How is it prepared? You need unbroken raw rice. If we just use the rice we have for cooking, it is prudent to check its shape and ensure that they are full grains and not damaged. To that rice is added pure turmeric powder. (Kumkum Akshadhai is also made at times but make sure it is free of chemicals). The mixture has to remain dry and to ensure that a spot of ghee is added. The main reason Akshadhai is prepared is for offering during puja. This is one of the first things that is normally prepared while getting ready for a ceremony.

Akshadhai offered as prasad – must be received in your upper cloth (angavastram) and collected carefully and brought back home so it is added to the grain storage at home. Akshadai received from temples and from gurus as prashad must be handled reverentially.

Akshadhai strewn on floor should not be trampled upon. These must be collected not using a broom, but using a clean dry cloth and added to the grain storage.

Why do we use Akshadai as an offering or a blessing? It is believed Goddess Lakshmi arrives to reside in this substance. Consciousness or intelligence (and other deity principles) residing in cosmos reverberates all around us. In scientific terms these reverberations are present even now at a very low frequency. Akshadhai possesses the same natural frequency and is expected to be a conduit both as an offering and as a blessing.

If you know the tuning fork experiment one does in a physics lab; you will know what resonate means. By using the Akshadhai for blessing others in occasions such as marriages, upanayanam, seemandham etc., we are seeking Gods assistance for a better life full of wisdom and awareness for the people. We help channelize the cosmic reverberations into their human form and shape.

Not aware of this, those showered with Akshadhai promptly makes sure any sticking on hair or clothes is slapped off so they can look good for the photo opportunity. In marriages, the bride’s best woman, her college mate will remove these Akshadhai carefully so bride’s hairstyle, decked with rented jewellery from a beauty parlour is not disturbed. This is folly.

During marriages, Akshadhai used in Puja is distributed to all elders attending the function so they can use the same for blessing the couple. It is important to know the right moment to do this Akshadai aseervatham (Akshadai blessing). Most people attending do not know - they put Akshadhai either too soon or after things have settled.

Akshadhai blessing by elders must be done one at a time. Several people standing together should not collectively shower Akshadhai. There is nothing like mass blessing in Hindu culture. It appears we invented it for convenience because we do not wish the wedding couple to do namaskarams several times.

Anybody who has even once received Akshadhai prasadam from the hands of Mahaperiyava (the great seer of Kanchi Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Swamigal) is blessed indeed.