Om Sri MahaaGanapathaye Namah

Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah

Om Rishibhyo Namah

Chandi Homam
Laghu Paddhati (Short Procedure)
By P.V.R. Narasimha Rao (www.VedicAstrologer.org)
Date of current version: 2009 April 29
A Word from the author
My spiritual master Dr Manish Pandit hails from Pune, India and lives in Manchester, UK. The
idea of spreading homam in the world was revealed to him in a dream a few years ago. He saw
eight elevated beings in a dream. They transported him across blue skies to Chennai, India,
where he was shown the big fire that was to be lighted in future. They told him to start the work.
They assured him that homam as a spiritual sadhana was very appropriate in Kali yuga. As
spiritually inclined people have fewer and fewer hours to spend on spiritual sadhana everyday
with the progressing Kali yuga, sadhanas that work fast are more relevant. Homam works much
faster than japam and other spiritual sadhanas. They told him that the practice of homam would
transform into a movement that would reach across caste, class and race barriers.
Later, when we were performing a Shata Chandi Homam in the first week of March 2006 at the
Kalikambal temple in Chennai, he had a darshan of Divine Mother on a Friday and was
reassured by Her about the right course of events regarding spreading homam. A Mahaganapathi
homam manual was published later and several people are performing it daily or weekly or
monthly.
Our goal is to create a community of people who regularly perform a quick homam for the deity
that they are attracted to. We intend to make manuals available for simplified homam procedures
for several deities.
What is Homam
Homam is a fire ritual of sacrifice. It is also known as homa or havan or yajna (yagya) or yajana.
In homam, divine presence is invoked into fire using specific procedures. Then materials are
sacrificed into fire, along with sacred chants (mantras). The sacrifices are supposed to reach
gods. It is interesting to note that fire ritual is an ancient practice and several religions taught
worshipping gods in fire.
Why Homam
Homam is a very powerful tool for spiritual progress. Chanting mantras in front of fire while
offering material substances into fire has a great cleansing and calming influence on ones mind
and gives great level of mental focus, peace, calmness and bliss. This practice has been extolled
in many scriptures such as Yajurveda and Bhagavad Gita. Vedic seers practiced it regularly.
Several people are experiencing the benefits of homam even today. The proof of the pudding is
1

in eating it. If one performs homam regularly for a few months, one will surely see the difference
in ones mental state.
Word of Caution
Chandi is a very fierce and powerful deity She is the primordial energy that is responsible for
the creation, sustenance and destruction of this entire universe. She is the sum total of the
energies of all beings of this universe. Chandi homam is unquestionably a very powerful
sadhana.
This ritual can be used for getting wealth and health, for success in various wordly matters and
for destroying enemies. However, one performing Chandi homam for such a specific purpose
needs to meet some exacting demands, such as perfect pronunciation, perfect procedure and
perfect materials for the purpose, and have some accumulated spiritual energy to pull off the feat.
Neither is the author an expert in performing homam with such an attitude nor does he teach that.
This document is strictly for one who performs Chandi homam for spiritual upliftment and looks
at the Divine Mother as a mother and looks at oneself as a helpless child who desperately wants
to improve. This document is strictly for one who is willing to undergo whatever ones mother
wants one to undergo, for the sake of spiritual upliftment.
However, it is not necessary that She should take away ones material success and prosperity in
order to give spiritual upliftment. In fact, many people who perform Chandi homam everyday or
every week using this document may experience continued or even increased material success
(and yet be able to remain detached from it and progress spiritually). However, in some cases,
She may decide to give a shock or two in worldly matters if something is badly blocking ones
spiritual progress and a setback is needed. The path towards self-realization is different for each
person. She knows the best for each person. Unless one is willing to surrender to Her completely
and accept whatever comes ones way good or bad as Her blessings and unless one does not
expect any specific material benefit from this homam, one should not use this document to
perform Chandi homam.
Again, as emphasized in the Mahaganapathi homam manual, regularity is the key. Performing a
homam once in a while is insufficient. One should repeat the sadhana daily or weekly. If one
performs Chandi homam once everyday, it is almost sure to transform ones attitude and
outlook and put ones spiritual evolution on the fast track.
What Homam Does
Hinduism teaches that gods come into fire and receive the prayers of spiritual aspirants. Even
when one meditates without an external fire, gods being meditated on come into the internal fire
of the aspirant and receive the mantras via that fire. However, the internal fire is quite weaker
than an external fire for most people and hence it is beneficial to perform worship using an
external fire. That practice eventually strengthens the internal fire also.

We all see and feel our sthoola sareera (gross body), which is made up of gross matter. But, we
also have a sookshma sareera (subtle body) made up of subtle matter. It cannot be perceived by
the senses attached to the gross body (eyes, ears, nose etc). It contains thousands of naadis,
which are essentially subtle channels of energy flow. A fire called bhootaagni (existential fire)
burns in this subtle body. It is the subtle basis of ones entire existence. It manifests in the gross
body in the form of various fires. Examples are the fire in the stomach that helps one digest the
food eaten and the fire in the brain that helps one digest and understand various sense
experiences.
This bhootaagni is vital to ones existence. In most people, it is quite weak. Due to impurities
and obstructions in the naadis of the subtle body, this fire cannot burn strongly to energize the
entire existence. When it burns low, the divine presence that can enter it is quite limited in
magnitude.
If one overcomes the internal weaknesses such as desire, anger, greed, false prestige, wantonness
and jealousy, develops compassion, one-pointed devotion, detachment, and sheds one layer of
ego and delusion after another, eventually the impurities in the naadis will be cleared and
bhootaagni will burn strong. However, this is a very difficult and time-consuming process.
One can take advantage of an external fire in that regard. As the deity of homam enters the
external fire on a regular basis, the nearby divine presence burns the impurities in the naadis, by
burning various karmas (actions from the past, which will get corresponding reactions in the
future) in the kaarana sareera (causal body). This eventually leads to the strengthening of
bhootaagni.
After one performs homam for a long enough time, ones naadis are cleared of the obstructions
and ones bhootaagni burns brightly. At that juncture, all sadhanas performed by one, including
regular meditation, become much more effective. If bhootaagni can accommodate divine
presence to a larger degree, the meditation becomes more effective.
The goal of all spiritual sadhana, whether one thinks in those terms or not, is actually to cleanse
oneself of all the internal impurities. Various karmas from previous lives hang on to the kaarana
sareera (causal body), making it heavy. These in turn manifest in the sookshma sareera (subtle
body) as various impurities in various nadis (subtle energy channels) that block the free flow of
energy. These in turn manifest in the sthoola sareera (gross body) as various problems of the
body and mind. These also cause dense conditioning of ones mind to sink ones consciousness
in an ocean of delusion. This conditioning of the consciousness due to previous karmas is also
known as maayaa. When one is sunk in maayaa, one is beaten down by the six enemies kaama
(desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (wantonness) and maatsarya
(jealosy). As one makes spiritual progress, ones karmas drop off the kaarana sareera, the
impurities in the nadis are cleansed, ones mental conditioning becomes weaker and one can
resist the internal enemies. All these are inter-related and happen simultaneously. When one
burns all of ones major karmas, one becomes karmically very light. Nadis in the sookshma
sareera are all clear and energy can freely flow anywhere. One is untouched by the internal
enemies then. When one sees all as god, nothing can make one angry or jealous or deluded.
When mental conditioning drops, nothing excites one and nothing saddens one. One stays in a

state of bliss always. Despite the changing nature of the external work and appearance, one is in
the same state internally.
The goal of all spiritual sadhana is to reach that state. Whether through jnaana (knowledge and
wisdom) or through bhakti (devotion and surrender) or both, one has to burn the karmas and
impurities blocking one from reaching that state. The goal of all sadhana is to let ego (the sense
of I-ness) go completely and merge (have yoga) with divinity. If a vacuum can be created
within oneself, then divine presence can fill the vacuum. As long as one has egotism and various
kinds of conditioning (vasanas) of mind, such a vacuum cannot be created. When all those cease
and the mental conditioning is weakened, the mind become extremely calm and a vacuum is
created within. Then divine presence fills one and the result is indescribable bliss.
Homam facilitates this process quickly by burning various karmas that are creating various
layers of conditioning and obstructing spiritual progress.
A lot of Hindu rituals involve invoking divine presence in an idol or a water pot (kalasha) and
offering worship to the idol/pot. Unfortunately, we are living in Kali yuga in which the elements
of earth, water and air are not pure. If the idol has any impurities on account of the time when it
was made, how it was made, the thoughts of the person who made it etc, the impurities heavily
restrict how much divine presence the idol can accommodate.
The only elements that cannot be polluted are space/ether (aakaasa) and fire (agni). It is very
difficult to do spiritual sadhana via the medium of space. So the best medium for sadhana is fire.
One of the Sanskrit words for fire is paavaka, which means the one that purifies. Fire is by
definition pure and purifies everything that it comes in touch with. The wood or coconut used to
sustain fire may have impurities, but fire itself is very pure and accommodates a divine presence
of the highest degree. For a ritual using the earth or water elements as the medium to be
successful, the sadhaka must be quite pure and the sadhakas bhootagni must be reasonably
strong. On the other hand, a ritual using the fire element as the medium can be successful
irrespective of the stature and purity of the sadhaka. For this reason, homam is the most apt
sadhana for most spiritual aspitants in this yuga, especially as the Kali deepens. Unfortunately,
many people have unfounded fears of making mistakes and being punished for them and hence
do not take advantage of the fantastic practice of homam.
Apart from the personal benefits, there are universal benefits of homam. The offerings in the fire
finally reach Sun, who feeds the entire earth. The gross material body of the burnt offerings
reaches the gross material body of Sun. The subtle body of the burnt offerings reaches the subtle
body of Sun. It is the subtle body of Sun that feeds the subtle bodies of all beings on earth. Thus,
feeding it is very important for the smooth running of life on earth. As we enter the Ghora Kali
(terrible age of strife and disorderliness) phase, adharma (un-righteous activities) will be on the
rise in the world and as such the subtle body of Sun will become weaker. If more and more
people perform homam and strengthen the subtle body of Sun, it will balance the adharma and
keep the world away from a total collapse.

Common Mis-conceptions
(1) Misconception: Homam is very difficult to perform. It is for experts only.
Comment: Not really. Several people who did not know anything about how to do any kind of
worship conducted homam by themselves by reading this document. It is a simple practice.
(2) Misconception: One must either do a perfect homam or not do any homam at all. A perfect
homam takes a very long time.
Comment: Though one may eat a sumptuous meal on an important festival day, one does not
necessarily get a lot of energy from it. One gets most of ones energy from the regular dal
(lentils) and rice that one eats everyday.
Though there are complicated versions of homam, it is better to do a simple homam on a regular
basis than to do a complicated version very rarely. A small half-hour or one-hour homam done
on a daily basis is far better for spiritual sadhana than a big annual or half-yearly homam.
(3) Misconception: If mistakes happen in a homam, the consequences will be bad.
Comment: If a homam is performed with a saattwik spirit for saattwik purposes, there are no
risks.
If you act nice with your parents because you want their money, you have to understand their
thinking well, take the advice of people who know them well and act very carefully to get money
from them. Mistakes can be costly and spoil your goal.
But, if you act nice with your parents simply because you love them and want to show your love,
you do not need to be careful. You just show your love in whatever way you know. There is no
need to follow anybodys advice strictly and there are no risks.
Similarly, you have to be careful if you perform a homam for certain material goals (such as
getting money, attracting someone, destroying someone etc). If you perform a homam just to
show your love to god, cleanse yourself spiritually and make yourself worthy of divine
communion, then there are no risks. The procedure taught in this document is based on the
teachings of rishis and it is safe for anybody to use. Small mistakes will not result in any
punishment.
In fact, it is expected that everybody who uses this document is interested in only the second
kind of goal, i.e. spiritual cleansing and upliftment.
(4) Misconception: One not initiated by a guru (master) cannot perform homam or recite certain
mantras.
Comment: If one receives a mantra or a procedure from the mouth of a master, it is analogous to
a millionaire opening a bank account in his sons name with a high starting balance. The son is

lucky, as he is starting off with a big balance. Similarly, some of the siddhi (attainment) the
master has in the mantra or procedure is transferred to the disciple even as (s)he starts out.
If one does not receive a mantra or a procedure from the mouth of a master, it is analogous to
starting off with a zero bank balance. While it is useful to start off with a positive balance, it is
neither necessary nor sufficient. There are sons of millionaires who used up the millions earned
by parents and reduced them to zero, while there are some self-made men who made millions
purely with self-effort. Similarly, one taught by the greatest guru can fall while one not taught by
a guru can reach the ultimate. While it is desirable to have a guru, it is by no means compulsory.
If one is the kind who needs to have a guru figure behind every mantra or procedure, one can
think of the author and/or his spiritual master, Dr Manish Pandit from Pune, India (currently
residing in Manchester, UK) as the guru for this homam procedure.
(5) Misconception: Those who are not learned in Veda cannot recite Veda mantras and perform
homam based on Veda mantras.
Comment: Jnaneshwar was a 12th century master. He was a great Krishna devotee. When he was
asked to not recite Veda by a council of erudite scholars, as he was not formally qualified, he
replied that every being had a right to recite Veda. When he started reciting, they tried to shut his
mouth. Then, a buffalo standing next to him recited Veda! The scholars begged his pardon and
corrected their narrow-minded attitude.
Many great souls like him taught that Veda could be recited by anyone. One engaged in tantric
practices that serve specific purposes and give specific siddhis (attainments) need to be afraid of
side effects and punishments for mistakes, but mantras from Veda were taught by great rishis for
the highest purpose of self-realization. One reciting them need not be afraid of any side effects.
Veda mantras are saattwik, self-correcting and ultimately leading to self-realization.
Those who have an affinity to tantric practices should not be discouraged from learning and
using them, but those who appreciate the teachings of rishis must be encouraged to recite Veda
mantras and perform homam based on Veda mantras. The key is to have an attitude of
submission and a desire for nothing other than self-realization and to do homam without any
expectations whatsoever. Then there are no risks.
The procedure taught in this document contains just a few Veda mantras, which are not very
difficult to pronounce.
(6) Misconception: Those who are not born in a Brahmin family cannot perform homam.
Comment: Ones varna (caste) is not to be determined solely from the family one is born in.
There are examples of men born to parents belonging to various castes performing tapascharya
and becoming rishis. Maharshi Viswamitra, who taught the Savitru Gayatri mantra, was a
kshatriya by birth. Maharshi Valmiki, who taught Brahma Jnana to Maharshi Bharadwaja, was a
shoodra by birth.

One who has affinity to knowledge is a Brahmin (scholar). One who has affinity to power and
authority is a kshatriya (warrior). One who has affinity to money is a vaisya (trader). One who
has affinity to carnal pleasures is a shoodra (worker). If a person born in a Brahmin family is
after money, he becomes a vaisya and not a Brahmin. On the other hand, if a person born in a
vaisya family desires nothing but knowledge and self-realization, he automatically becomes a
Brahmin and very fit to perform homam.
Irrespective of the caste of birth, one who is interested in knowledge (especially knowledge of
self) and one whose interest in power, money and pleasures is decaying is fit to perform homam.
(7) Misconception: Women cannot perform homam.
Comment: There is a big difference between men and women when it comes to the gross body.
But, at the level of subtle body or causal body, there is no difference based on gender. All
spiritual practices operate mainly at the subtle and causal level. So, it makes no sense to have a
total ban on women performing homam.
However, there are some practical reasons behind the biases of tradition. Though there are no
differences based on gender in the subtle body, the differences at the gross body level can come
into play in the initial stages. Women interested in performing homam may carefully consider
the following factors and make their decision.
Any spiritual practice performed well over a period of time eventually results in a Kundalini
awakening and rise. Kundalini is nothing but ones self-identification. It is a microcosmic
representation of the Divine Mother within oneself. It defines how one identifies oneself. Though
everything in the universe is just Brahman, each being forms a separate self-identity and that
self-identity is reinforced quite strongly with time. When one identifies completely with the body
without any kind of questioning, Kundalini is asleep. As kundalini wakes up and rises, one starts
to wonder who am I and ones awareness of self becomes more and more refined. As kundalini
reaches higher chakras, one realizes ones true nature. When Kundalini reaches Sahasrara
chakra, one realizes ones truest nature, i.e. one realizes that one is the formless Brahman.
If Kundalini gets stuck at swadhishthana chakra, ones sexual drive increases and one is tested in
that matter. In this matter, women and men are very different. This phase can be very difficult for
women. This is not to say that this phase is easy for men.
More importantly, some spiritual experiences in a pregnant lady can even kill a fetus, if the soul
in it is not spiritually elevated. On the positive side, if an elevated soul is in the fetus at the time
of such experiences, a siddha may be born.
There is a negative for every positive and it is a matter of balancing the factors and making an
individual decision. Women interested in homam should consider the above factors and decide
whether they want to perform homam or not. If any women are interested, they should be
encouraged to perform homam.

(8) Misconception: Homam is just like meditation. It is not any better. It does not really make
any difference.
Comment: The proof of the pudding is in eating it. If one tries performing a homam to the best of
ones ability on a daily basis for a few months, one will know what homam can do! After doing
homam for several months, one will find that all other sadhanas one does become more effective
as a result of homam.
(9) Misconception: One should get a priest to do homam and not do it oneself.
Comment: Let us revisit a previous analogy. If one wants to be nice to ones parents to get their
money, one may engage someone who will act on ones behalf to get the money of parents. But,
if ones sole purpose is to just love ones parents and show that love, it is better to do it directly
than to engage other people.
(10) Misconception: Before doing homam with any mantra, one must do japam of that mantra by
a count that is ten times the homam count. For example, one must do japam by a count of 10,000
before one does homam by a count of 1,000.
Comment: This convention is not without reason. The true meaning of this convention is that
homam is ten times more powerful than japam. If one does a mantra 1,000 in a homam, it is
equivalent to doing the mantra 10,000 in japam. If one wants, one can offer the mantra entirely in
external fire and there is no need to do any japam before doing homam.
All thumb rules and conventions have exceptions. If a rishi with a very strong bhootaagni does
japam, it is equivalent to a homam and the ten times rule does not apply. However, for most
normal people, homam is ten times more powerful than japam. The bottomline is that the
strength and the purity of the medium that accommodates the presence of the deity who receives
the mantra will decide the effectiveness of the mantra.
About This Document
This document describes a short procedure for Chandi homam. Of course, even a short version of
Chandi homam may take 1.5 hours to 3 hours based on how fluent one is with the long text. To
perform Chandi homam, one will need the following in addition to this document:
(1) Sree Durgaa Saptashati (in any script) from Gita Press, Gorakhpur (www.gitapress.org) or
any other publisher. This contains 700 verses in praise of the Divine Mother, known as Durga
saptashati or Chandi saptashati or saptashati or Chandipath or Devi mahatmyam. Some
associated prayers known as kavacha, argala, keelaka are also there in most books. One should
familiarize oneself with this text and become reasonably comfortable in reading it, before
undertaking a Chandi homam. If one can read the Devanagari script of Sanskrit, one may try
downloading it from http://www.gitapress.org/books/paath/118/Durga_Saptashati.pdf.
One should consult ones elders and gurus and decide whether one is allowed to perform a
homam or not. If one thinks one is allowed to do homam and is interested in doing homam on a
regular basis but does not know how to do it, then one can use this document to learn one way to

do it. If ones gurus have taught one a different procedure, one may use the procedure taught by
ones gurus. This document is for the benefit of those who do not know any procedure and want
to learn some procedure to do homam. Those who learnt a slightly different procedure from the
previous versions of this document need not worry and either follow what they have already
learnt or switch to the procedure in this document.
Excessive Movement of Body and Mind
Some people move a lot when they meditate. As it was mentioned earlier, the goal of all sadhana
is to calm the mind down and create a vacuum within oneself, so that the deity of the sadhana
can come and occupy the space. One should lose awareness of the body. When meditating, it is a
good idea to keep the back straight without making it too tense. It is a good idea to not move. If
it is not possible to stay still for extended periods, one should at least try to stay still over short
periods of time. It is also a good idea to close the eyes. One can focus ones mind on either a
deity or on the sound of the mantra.
Similarly, when performing homam also, it is a good idea to keep the back straight and minimize
the movement, especially of the back. It is ideal if one keeps the back and head erect and
manages with a minimal movement of just one arm.
If body is stationary, there is some chance that mind too will become stationary for a while in the
middle. That is the goal after all.
Correct Attitude
While it is good to follow the procedure faithfully, it is even more important to surrender oneself
to god, leave ego and identify ones self with the deity in the fire when performing the homam. If
that is there, all other minor errors will have no negative effect. If that is not there, even an
impeccably performed homam will not have any tangible effect. Like mentioned earlier, the goal
is to melt ego (I-ness or sense of self) and create a vacuum within oneself, so that the deity can
fill it. Complete devotion, single-minded focus on deity/mantra/procedure and minimization of
the activity of body and mind can help one achieve that eventually.
If one has an over-active mind, doing pranayama before homam can be useful. The time around
sunrise in the morning is a particularly conducive to a pleasant homam.
Materials Needed
Must have

One homa kundam1 (a copper container with preferably a square shaped base). If a homa
kundam is not available, one can dig a square shaped pit in the ground (with 1-2 foot sides
and half to one foot deep) and arrange a few layers of bricks around the pit.
Dry coconut halves (available in Indian stores) or wood (for burning)

If in India, search for Havan Kund on http://shopping.rediff.com. If in US, search for Kund on
http://indousplaza.com.

Ghee (clarified butter) from cows milk. It is available in Indian stores. If unable to find, just
get some butter and melt it in low heat. After it melts, some black stuff will separate from the
melted liquid. Filter out the black deposit and use the liquid. It will solidify after a time.
Before the homam, melt it again and use it.
A wooden spoon/ladle to put ghee into the fire
Some akshatas. Those can be made by mixing raw (uncooked) white (or brown) rice grains
with a drop of sesame oil (or some other oil) and a pinch of turmeric powder. Instead of
turmeric powder, one can also use vermilion (kumkum) powder used for the dot on the
forehead.
A small lamp, consisting of a wick that can be lit in sesame oil/ghee. A candle can also be
used as an alternative, though it is better to burn ghee or sesame oil than wax.
A match box to light fire
One tumbler or cup to store water. It should preferably be made of silver or copper or clay. If
unavailable, you may use steel or glass.
One spoon (preferably silver or copper)
Some water

Optional

A small idol of Divine Mother. If you have none, use a metallic coin or any metallic object.
Actually, you can do without any idol and just invoke Chandi in fire.
A mixture of various auspicious materials known as the havan samagri (available in India
stores), if possible.
Some sandalwood powder, turmeric powder and kumkum (vermilion) powder
Some flowers or flower petals
Some sesame seeds, some mamra/murmura (puffed white rice), some nuts, some mildly
popped corn and other materials that can be offered in fire. Small fruits are also fine. Honey
can also be used. All these are optional. The absolute minimum needed is coconut pieces and
ghee.
Some darbhas (dried blades of sacred grass). Check with a local temple priest to find out how
to procure them. If darbhas are unavailable, you may think of creative alternatives. For
example, find some other dry grass or dry leaves or just thin twigs and pray to your ishta
devata (favorite deity) before the homam to make them acceptable.
An incense stick (agarbatti) if available and a holder to stick it to (a banana can be used
instead)
Camphor and a container or plate for lighting camphor and offering haarati
Some food that you can offer to god. Eggs, meat and seafood should not be used in that food.
In fact, do not eat eggs, meat and seafood on the day of homam. Onion, garlic, strong spices
and too much of chillies should also be avoided in the food cooked for God. Fruits are also
fine. Just sugar or brown sugar or rock candy sugar or jaggery can be offered to god too.
When using sugar, please note that the normal white refined sugar used these days has bone
ash in it. Brown sugar, vegetarian sugar or jaggery are to be prefered.
Some milk, if available.

10

Preparation Before Homam

(1)

Instead of arranging homa kundam directly on the floor, place a wood plank or something
on the floor, wrapped with aluminum foil (or some such thing), and put 4 bricks of the
same height on it and place the homa kundam on the bricks. Thus, there is some air and a
wooden plank under the homa kundam and the floor does not get heated up.
(2) If you want easy cleaning, place some aluminum foils on the floor all around the plank
containing homa kundam. If ghee or something is spilled in that area, it is easy to clean.
(3) If you want, you can also cover the interior of homa kundam with some aluminum foils, so
that it is easy to clean.
(4) Make some food items to offer to god. You can just use rock sugar candy or raisins or dates
or fruits or jaggery also. Please see the notes in the previous section on this.
(5) Cook a little plain white rice. I put a few grains of rice and a little water in a small
container and put it in microwave oven before my homam and cooked rice is ready at the
end when I need it. If this is not possible, take a banana or apple or some other fruit and
make it into 6 slices.
(6) Fill water in the tumbler/cup and place the spoon in it.
(7) Make a seat for yourself in front of the homa kundam. Ideally you should be facing east,
i.e. homa kundam should be on the east from you. On the east of the homa kundam, place a
small plate or a wooden plank, make a pile of some rice grains on it and place the idol (or a
metal/clay object such as a coin) on it. You can decorate based on your ability and taste. An
idol is optional. You can worship Chandi directly in fire.
(8) From the middle of the western edge of the homam kundam, draw two parallel red lines
with kumkum (vermilion) powder towards your seat. They should go east-west and connect
homa kundam to your seat. Melt the ghee and place the bowl containing it on those lines.
(9) Cut dry coconuts into small pieces. Pieces of 1 inch x 1 inch size are useful.
(10) Important: Do not consume any food within 3-4 hours before the homam (atleast one hour).
Evacuate the bowels before homam and take bath. Stomach should be empty during a
homam for the best experience.

Homam Procedure
Anujnaa (Permission)
Before starting the homam, think in your mind of Mother Earth who is bearing you, Lord
Ganesha who removes obstacles, your ishta devata (favorite deity), your parents, the rishis of
your gothra (if you know them), all the rishis and all your gurus. Then say the following, while
mentally requesting all the gods to co-operate with your homam.

MA sl pl| hA lA hlA m C| Cmlm

AhB| hA a lB B|

11

If you have a pavitram (a ring made of darbha or a special ring made of metal), wear it now. If
you dont have a pavitram, take any ring that you have, pray to your ishta devata and wear it. It
should be worn on the right hand ring finger. If you dont have a ring, dont worry and move on.
Aachamanam (sipping water to purify)
Take a little water from the tumbler into your right hand with a spoon. Drink the water after
saying the first item below. Take more water with the spoon into your hand, say the second item
below and drink it. Take more water, say the third item below and drink it. Imagine that Vishnu
who is within you is getting that water.

MA O | MA mg | MA l |
Vighneswara Pooja (worshipping the remover of obstacles)
In order to not have any obstacles in the pooja, we have to pray to Ganesha in the beginning. Just
read the following verses:

OAslA A A VhYA| pmlmA lh TpAh||

CSYmm plA SYmmA| CmOlA hA sOmA JOlAhA Gq||
OhAf O Odps| nTA O l O l||
Pray within your mind to Ganesha to remove obstacles from your homam. If you have time,
energy and inclination (or when you are doing a longer version), you can even make a small
Ganesha idol with turmeric and water and do shodasopachaara pooja to the idol. But just reading
the above verses and praying to Ganesha in mind should suffice for a short homam that is
performed on a regular basis.
Praanaayaamam (restraining the life force)
Take some akshatas (see Materials Needed for a description of how to make them) in the the
left palm, place the left palm on the left lap, hold the nostrils with the right hand and do
praanaayaamam. Place the little finger and ring finger on the left nostril and thumb on the right
nostril. Close the left nostril, open the right nostril by releasing the thumb and say the Gayatri
mantra mentally while gently breathing in through the right nostril (without making any
breathing sound). If you dont know the Gayatri mantra, use one of the following mantras:

MA m sSh l|

MA m|

MA SA Sgph mB|

After saying the mantra once, close the right nostril with the thumb and say the mantra once
more while retaining the air previously breathed in. Then open the left nostril by relaxing the

12

little and ring fingers and say the mantra for the third time while breathing out through the left
nostril. When done, say the mantra once more, while breathing in through the left nostril. Then
close the left nostril with little and ring fingers and say the mantra for the fifth time while
retaining the air previously breathed in. Then release the thumb and say the mantra for the sixth
time while breathing out through the right nostril. While reading the mantra all the six times,
contemplate the formless supreme Brahman (supreme soul of the entire universe) that fills each
being of this universe and also the air being breathed in and out. If you want, you can imagine a
specific form (such as your ishta devata) also and imagine that your ishta devata fills the entire
universe. If you want, you can repeat the above sequence as many times as you comfortably can.
Sankalpam (taking the vow)
Now, declare your intention of doing a homam to please Chandi. Transfer the akshatas to the
right hand, place the open left palm (empty) on right lap, place the closed right palm containing
akshatas on the left palm. Then say the following, while mentally thinking that you are going to
do a homa to the best of your ability, to please Chandi.

MA qh lhl p phA O v
j pl lA Cl slm s VAf O kO
O|
Then leave the akshatas from your hand in front of the homa kundam or the idol and sprinkle a
little bit of water on the palms. Now light the ghee/oil lamp.
Kalasa Suddhi (water purification)
When you are doing a long version of the homam, you can establish a kalasam in the
northeastern side of the homa kundam and invoke Varuna in it and do shodasopachaara pooja to
Varuna and read Punyaaha Vaachanam (Pavamana Sooktam). For a short homam, you can just
do the following.
Place a few akshatas and a flower (if available) in the tumbler containing water. If you can, put
dhenu mudra (else, dont worry). Say the following syllable 11 times to purify the water.

A
Now read the following and think that auspicious essence of various rivers of the world is
entering the water in the tumbler.

SAS V m V Sl i |
ml Al O Yvm nlA O ||
13

ChA sh
Then take a little water from the tumbler with a flower or flower petal or spoon and sprinkle it on
yourself, on homa kundam, on the idol you are going to use and other materials to be used in
homam (like fruits, flowers and food).
Take a darbha (see Materials Needed for a description) and draw 6 lines with the darbha on the
base of the homakundam, in the same order as shown in Figure 1. The direction in which each
line is drawn is indicated by the direction of the arrow in the figure. Say the following six
mantras while drawing the six lines (respectively).

MA sg mB|
MA mB|
MA mB|
MA l mB|
MA mB|
MA EAl mB|
Figure 1

Agni Pratishthaapana (fire installation)

Take a darbha. Place it inside the homa kundam (on the base), with the tip of the darbha facing
east and the other end facing west. Take another darbha. Place it inside, with the tip of the darbha
facing north and the other end facing south.
Take a piece of camphor, light it from the lamp and place it in the middle of the homa kundam,
while saying:

14

MA s|
Place one or more dry coconut pieces (or a log/twig/piece of wood) above the burning camphor
and make sure that it catches fire. Next pray to the fire god using the following mantra from
RigVeda. It requests the fire god to keep an inauspicious form of fire called kravyaada and
carry the offerings to gods through the auspicious form of fire called jaatavedas.

OlSA pg lA Y SVh pB |
Eh Yhl ls A h pYmm |
Now we have to do samskara (refinement) to the fire. Pour 8 drops of ghee in the fire while
saying the following mantra 8 times.

MA sB |
Take 2 or more darbhas (or twigs). Place them outside the homa kundam, along the eastern
boundary. The tips should be facing north and the other end facing south. Then take another 2 or
more darbhas and place them on the southern boundary, with tips facing east and the other end
facing west. Then take 2 or more darbhas and place them on the western boundary, with tips
facing north. Then take 2 or more darbhas and place them on the northern boundary, with tips
facing east. If you do homam on a regular basis, you can leave these darbhas/twigs around the
homa kundam there is no need to do this step every time.
Take some water with the spoon and sprinkle it outside the homa kundam, on its four boundaries
while reading the following 4 mantras. The order and direction of sprinkling is shown in Figure
2. For example, first sprinkle water from the southwestern corner to the southeastern corner, as
shown by the arrow marked 1. Then follow other arrows marked as 2, 3 and 4.

Clhmm| Cmhmm| hmm| l hB p|

15

Figure 2

Now pray to Agni (fire god) with the following mantra:

Vh AS C qll p C |
il sl s i l SA D |
J lB pl m B p YhB G S CAhB |
YmB YngB phUPi hPB |
qUP l| CS| tP s|
Now think within your mind of Lord Ganesha, your ishta devata (favorite deity), rishis of your
gotra (if you know them), all rishis, your gurus, various gods and other beings of this universe.
Dikpaalaka Pooja (worshipping the rulers of directions)
Now, take some akshatas and also some flowers (if available) and offer them to the rulers of
directions. Starting with the eastern edge of the homa kundam, go clockwise (i.e. east, southeast,
south, southwest etc) and offer akshatas and flowers in the eight directions. You can place them
on the edges of the homa kundam. After the eight directions, offerings are made to Brahma (ruler
of the upward direction) in the middle of northeast and east and to Sesha (ruler of the downward
direction) in the middle of southwest and west.
Then offer akshatas and flowers to Agni in the middle of the homa kundam. Finally, touch your
heart and offer respect to the self (soul). For the 8+2+1+1=12 offerings, say the following 12
mantras:

16

MA EAl mB | MA CS mB| MA mB| MA nh mB| MA

g mB| MA mB| MA mB| MA Fm mB| MA sg
mB| MA mB| MA CS mB| MA Dhm mB|
Poorvaangam (preliminary offerings)
Now hold the wooden spoon/ladle pointing from northwest towards southeast and offer a ghee
drop in the fire for Prajapati (progenitor of all beings), with the following mantra.

MA pYph | pYph ElA m |

Now hold the wooden spoon/ladle pointing from southwest towards northeast and offer a ghee
drop in the fire for Indra (ruler of gods), with the following mantra.

MA EAl | EAllA m |
Offer a little ghee to Agni (fire god) in the middle of the fire with the following mantra:

MA CS | CS ElA m |
Then offer a little ghee to Soma (god of nourishment and well-being) in the upper half of the
northern side of the homa kundam with the following mantra:

MA | lA m |
Now, we have to offer a forgiveness offering to Prajapati again to request his forgiveness for
all the mistakes that happened in the homa upto this point, with the following mantra:

DAspsi Jhhg pAhA l Ash l qhA qhA

| MA sB | pYph ElA m |
After making an offering to the basic gods as shown above, one can invoke Ganesha in the fire.
After the above preliminary offerings and before invoking Ganesha, one can also make offerings
to rishis. One can, for example, make offerings to the rishis of ones lineage. It is optional.

17

Quick Homam for Mahaganapathi

Before calling the main deity of homam (Chandi) into fire, a quick pooja of Mahaganapathi in
fire needs to be done for the removal of obstacles. Mahaganapathi can be invoked in fire while
chanting the following.

MA SA Sgph mB| MA Sgpi qgO mB| Ch DSV| Dh s|

ph s| nh s| nl s| COAeh s| pl pl|
Now, we have to offer worship with several servies to Mahaganapathi in the fire. Say the
following and offer sandalwood powder/paste to Mahaganapathi in the fire. You can also offer
turmeric powder and kumkum.

vA pkhm mB| SAlA |

Say the following and offer a flower (or a flower petal) to Mahaganapathi in the fire.

A DOhm mB| pA |
Say the following and offer dhoopam (incense) to Mahaganapathi in the fire and the idol. Light
the tip of the incense stick, let the fire burn brightly and then extinguish the fire. There should be
no fire on the stick but smoke coming from the burning tip. Show the smoke to the fire in the
homa kundam. You can also offer the incense stick completely into fire.

A hm mB| lpA DTp|

Say the following and show the deepam (light/lamp) to Mahaganapathi in the fire.

A CShm mB| lpA l|

Say the following and offer some food to Mahaganapathi in the fire. You can use cooked food or
a fruit or jaggery or sugar. Show it to the fire and offer a little bit into the fire. If you cooked only
one item, keep it for Chandi and use something else for Mahaganapathi. You can offer just a
raisin or a little sugar also.

A Chhm mB| mlA |

Say the following and offer some akshatas to Mahaganapathi in the fire. This mantra means that
we are offering all services to Him.
18