Preparing for Bhagavathy Seva

 

Bhagavathy Seva is done to please Goddess Shanti Durga Parameswari. It is conducted in the evening and Lalitha Sahasranamam archana is done.

We usually conduct this pooja on the same evening of the day we conduct Ganapathy Homam. So many of the pooja items we use are carry forwards from the morning. By that I mean the chanadana thiri , camphor, til oil and things like that.

Prasadam at home is - Sharkara payasam , panchamritham, vadai, boiled milk and chundal.

My mother, Mrs.Rajalakshmi (Radha) Parameswaran, who has been doing this pooja every month for the past 25 years , does not make 'chundal'.

The list of items to buy, the way of doing the arrangements before the pooja and making of the prasadam for the pooja are all done as my mother would do.

Please decide on the Dinner menu. And add to the list. Usually, dinner is served to the priest. And it is never rice. Always Tiffin. Only no onion, no garlic food is served.
Like Sevai, Adai, Idly, Kozhakkattai, Poori.

In the 'things to buy' list , I have erred on the side of more...than less. All the items can be used after the pooja in daily life. And I have not added things like salt, green chilli and ginger (used to make vadai and chundal) in the list as I think they are readily available in every home.

Please do NOT reuse any oil while making prasadam (example, the oil in which vadam / pappadam has been fried, must not be used to make vadai). Always use fresh oil.

Things to Buy:
Honey - 200 ml
Turmeric powder - 200 gms
Rice flour (coarsely ground / puttu podi) - 1/2 kg
Incense stick - 1 packet
Sambrani - 1 packet
Vilakku thiri / wick for lamp - 1 packet
Banana - small yellow variety - a bunch (12 +)
Banana leaf / vazha illai - 6 large leaves
Betel leaf / vettilai - 24
Pakku / arecanut - 12
Sharkara / Jaggery - 2 kg
Camphor - 2 packet
Sandal wood powder - 1 small tin
Kumkumam - as the priest if he plans to do archana with this. If yes, buy big packet.
                     Otherwise, a small packet will do.
Til oil / gingelly oil - 2 litres
Chunnambu / white lime - 2 packets
Ghee - 500 ml
Nurukku ari / kaikuthu ari / payasam brown rice - 1/2 kg
Cashew - 100 gms
Raisins - 100 gms
Kalkandom / sugar cube - 1 small packet
Cardamom - 100 gms
White kadala / Channa - 1/2 kg (For Chundal)
Coconut - 1
Milk - 1/2 litre
Urad dal / Uzhundu (or) Kadala parippu / Channa dal - 1/2 kg (for Vadai)
Oil - for deep frying vadai

Pooja Vessels:
Vilakku / Lamps - 3 numbers - 1 Big brass, 1 medium brass and 1 medium silver
Pacharathi / five wick lamp -1
Ottarathi / single wick lamp -1
Dhooparathi / for dhoopam -1
Pancha pathrum + Rudrani -1
Small Kodam / kooja -1
Bela - 6
Thambalam - 4
Large plate - 3
Mani -1
Shangu - 1
Stand for incense stick - 1
Mat / palakai for vadhyar to sit - 1

Flowers:
Lotus - 12 to 24
Jasmine garland - 12 mozham
Assorted flowers - 2 kg
Tulasi - 1/4 kg

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Preparation:

Wash and soak the urad dal / Uzhundu or channa dal for vadai and keep aside.
Similarly, soak the Channa dal in water and keep aside...if you are making Chundal.

Have a bath and start preparations for the Bhagavathy Seva.

Keep the 1 cup of payasam rice in the cooker with 4 cups of water and pressure cook for 6 whistles.

Make akshadai by mixing 1 tsp turmeric powder with 3 tbsp rice and adding about 3-4 drops of water.

Melt ghee and keep in a vessel with spoon for the priest to use.

Powder 3 Cardamoms with 1 tsp sugar and keep in a silver bela vessel. Vadhyar will add water to this while doing pooja and the theertham will be sweet.

Keep chandanam, kumkumam on all the lamps, pancharathi, ottarathi. shangu and mani.
Prepare the wicks for the lamps.

Clean the flowers.

In a large vessel, into which one's hand can enter, keep rice flour.
In another vessel, keep Turmeric powder.
On a large plate, add 5 tbsp turmeric powder and mix 1 tsp wet chunnambu / lime to it. Mix well. Rub it in circular motion. The turmeric will turn deep red.

Vadhyaar / priest will arrive with this....

And with this, he will draw a beautiful kalam...

Prepare Panchamritam using Pazham (2no:s), Sharkara (2 tbsp), honey (1 tbsp), ghee (1 tsp) and Kalkandam (15 small squares).

The rice for the payasam would be cooked and pressure would have reduced from the cooker.

Melt 3/4 kg Sharkara / Jaggery in water and strain to remove impurities.

Add the cooked rice to this and start making the payasam.

Vadhyaar would have drawn another kolam by now and placed the lamps....ready for pooja..

Grind the channa dal with salt, curry leaf and red chilli into a coarse paste for vada  and add 1 tsp ghee to this.

The payasam would be boiling away on the stove...

If you are making Chundal, follow this recipe....

The pooja room is all organised and the pooja is about to start...

Keep stirring the payasam often and once it almost dries; add ghee. Cook till it leaves the sides of the vessel.
The payasam is ready....Time to add fried Cashewnuts and raisins....

The first offering made to the Goddess is this Payasam. Bring it in 2 different vessels.

Heat oil and fry the vadai in batches...
Boil milk...Add sugar, pinch of cardamom powder and keep covered.

Time to join the priest while he chants Lalitha Sahasranamam and does archana.

After the Archanai, is the test of your thigh muscles and cardio; as it is a marathon namaskaram session; while the priest chants different mantras.

After the archanai and namaskarams... Vadai, milk and chundal are served.
Then comes deeparadhana.

After the Deeparadhana, the priest removes all the evil eye / kannu from the family members...
Then we must go around the lamps and do a final namaskaram.

This is followed by dinner.

The payasam and Vadai taste excellent (the next day!!).