Tantra Tantra Rituals and Ceremonies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'avahana' in Tantric puja ceremony?
- The ritual invocation that invites the deity's living presence into the image or yantra (Correct answer)
- The closing ritual of worship
- The offering of light
- The presentation of food offerings
Correct answer: The ritual invocation that invites the deity's living presence into the image or yantra
Avahana is the formal invitation recited with specific mudras and mantras to summon the deity from its transcendent realm into the ritual image or yantra.
Question 2: What are 'shodashopachara' in Tantric puja?
- The sixteen traditional services offered to the deity during worship (Correct answer)
- Sixteen syllable mantras
- Sixteen sacred texts
- Sixteen days of continuous ritual
Correct answer: The sixteen traditional services offered to the deity during worship
The sixteen upacharas include services like welcoming, seating, bathing, clothing, adorning, incense, light, and food offerings that treat the deity as an honored guest.
Question 3: What is 'prasad' in the context of Tantric ritual?
- The sanctified food or offering returned as divine grace after being consecrated by the deity (Correct answer)
- A type of mantra for healing
- A specific hand gesture
- A preparatory fasting practice
Correct answer: The sanctified food or offering returned as divine grace after being consecrated by the deity
Prasad is the blessed remnant of offerings (food, flowers, etc.) that has been energized by the deity's contact and is consumed or distributed as divine grace.
Question 4: What is 'visarjana' in Tantric puja?
- The ritual dismissal of the deity's presence at the close of worship, returning the image to its symbolic state (Correct answer)
- The opening of the ritual
- The preparation of offerings
- The chanting of the deity's names
Correct answer: The ritual dismissal of the deity's presence at the close of worship, returning the image to its symbolic state
Visarjana respectfully releases the invoked deity at the ritual's end, acknowledging that the image returns to being a symbolic object until the next invocation.
Question 5: What is the purpose of 'tarpana' in Tantric ritual?
- Water libations offered to satisfy and honor deities, ancestors, and sages (Correct answer)
- A fire cleansing ritual
- A type of chanting practice
- A physical purification bath
Correct answer: Water libations offered to satisfy and honor deities, ancestors, and sages
Tarpana involves pouring water with mantras as an offering to satisfy three classes of beings: gods, ancestors (pitrs), and enlightened sages (rishis).
Question 6: What is the role of 'kalasha' (sacred water pot) in Tantric ceremony?
- A consecrated vessel representing the goddess and used to store and transmit sacred water during rituals (Correct answer)
- A musical instrument used in chanting
- A type of incense holder
- A container for fire during homa
Correct answer: A consecrated vessel representing the goddess and used to store and transmit sacred water during rituals
The kalasha is a pot filled with sacred water, topped with mango leaves and a coconut, representing the womb of the goddess and invoked as a reservoir of divine energy.
Tantra Tantra Rituals and Ceremonies 2
What is 'avahana' in Tantric puja ceremony?