जलम् , गंगाजलं - Holy Water and Water of Holy River Ganga - Gangajal !

             

Gangajal in "Arghi" & "Panchapatra" made of copper

                        Water is the most essential thing in a Hindu worship. Its use starts even before the worship of God. Holiness (Called Shuchita or Pavitrta in Hindi or Sanskrit) is the most important in Hindu worship and it is attained by cleaning things and taking bath with water. The place of worship and pots & utensils of worship are cleaned with water.                

Holy dip in River Ganga at Sultanganj, Bihar

                The devotee takes a dip in the river, pond or pours water drawn from a well before preparing for worship. But the most desired water body is the Holy River Ganga. Even the clothes he wears are washed in water and dried beforehand. Be it a "Panchopachar Puja" or "Shodashopachar Puja", pure water is taken in "Panchpatra" from which water is taken out with a spoon like thing called "Araghi" to give the God a bath (Snanam-स्नानं). If available the devotee prefers "Gangajal" for this purpose. 
               Before the worship of "Satyanarayana Swami" the God represented by "Shaligram" stone is given a bath and this water is collected and distributed as "Charanamrit" after worship. "Satyanarayana Swami" or Vishnu and His avatars are given a bath once and after His worship, devotees get only "darshan" in the temples but in Shiva's worship, it is a continuous process. Whenever a devotee comes he pours as much water or "Gangajal" on Shivalinga to start the worship because Shiva likes water-pouring and if the water is "Gangajal" He is even more pleased. In "Rudrabhishek" the pure water or Ganga water is poured continuously till the "Rudraashtadhyayi" chanting by Pundits goes on. For this uninterrupted water pouring a horn-shaped vessel made of brass or copper is used which is called "Singhi". In Hindi "Singh" means horn so due to horn shape it got its name as "Singhi". It is held in hand with wider end up and thinner end down. The thinner end has a small hole from which the water comes out as a stream when it is filled. During "Rudrabhishek" this continuous stream is made to fall on "Shivalinga". After "Rudrabhishek" flowers of worship and things that Shiva likes are offered on Shivalinga.
                    Importance of water increases in the worship of Shiva in Savan Month and the "Rudrabhishek" in Savan Month is the most fruitful. People bring Ganga water on their shoulders from Sultanganj and pour it over to "Baidyanath Jyotirlinga" at Deoghar and "Nagesh Jyotirlinga" at "Basukinathdham" in the month of Savan. (Though there is a more famous "Nagesh Jyotirlinga" near Dwarika, Gujarat).
                  Even in daily worship the devotee makes himself "Pavitra" by sprinkling water over himself and chanting the following mantra:-

Aum Apavitro Pavitro Va Sarvawastham Gatopi Va

yah Smaret Pundariyakasham Sa Vahyabhyantarah Shuchih

aum pundariyakashah punatu!

aum pundariyakashah punatu!

aum pundariyakashah punatu!

                    Water is also used for "Achaman" when a few drops of water is taken on the palm and thrown in self-mouth three times chanting thus:-

Aum Keshawaya Namah !

Aum Narayanaya Namah !

Aum Madhawaya Namah !

                       At the start of worship Gods are requested to come, means "Aawahanam", then "Pratishthapanam, Aasanam, Padyam and Arghyam". Next, the water is also offered to Gods for "Achamanam and Snanam (Bath)". For each step, 'Mantras' are there for different gods. For example mantra for Ganesha is as follows,

For "Achamanam"

Sarva Ttirth Samayuktam Sugandhi Nirmalam Jalam|

Aachamyatam  Mayadattam  Grihan Vighneshwar !

For "Snanam (Bath)"

Mandakinyastu yadwari   sarvapapharam shubham |

Tadidam kalpitam dev ! snanartham pratigrihyatam||

                After the first bath gods are given different kinds of the bath like "Panchamrit Snanam", milk bath, curd bath, ghee bath, honey bath and cane juice bath. These different kinds of bath make sticky so again the second bath is given by water which is called "Shuddhodak Snanam" and again "Achamanam" water is offered. Next gods are decorated with different things of worship. When decoration is complete He/She is offered fruits and sweets as "Naivedyam" to eat. As one needs water to drink after taking food similarly "Achaman Jal" is also offered to gods after offering "Naivedyam" saying thus 'Idam Achamane Jalam Samarpyami'. There are also 'Mantras' for offering this "Achaman Jal" to different gods. For example, Ganesha is offered "Achaman Jal" with following 'Mantra',

Ganadhip!        Namastubhyam    Gaurisut    Gajanana |

Grihan Aaachamaniyam Twam Sarvasiddhi Pradayakam ||

A view of morning 'Arghyam' for Chhath Puja
near a water body at Ranchi, Jharkhand

                 Similarly for "Arghyam" water is used. Anybody who is familiar with "Chhath Puja" which is celebrated with much devotion in Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern UP knows well that the two times "Arghyam" offered to Sun God is done near a water body like a river, pond, lake or sea. If not available people do it near their house in an open water tank or even in a big open-mouthed pot. For "Arghyam" water is taken in a small pot and poured towards Sun, down in the water body.
                 Even after the completion of worship, the used worship materials are disposed of (Visarjanam) in a water body.
                   As water is the basis of all life forms, same is the case with Hindu worship. Water is essential for all types of Puja and Hindu rituals. 
            For those who can not bring Gangajal from the holy river, it is also available at online site Amazon at This Link.

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