The term ‘Mha Puja’ comprises two Newari words, ‘mha’ and ‘puja’, the former signifying the body, while the latter refers to an act of worship, administered to gain spirituality. As such, this ritual in which the worshipped is the worshipper emphasizes on self-realization.
Mha Puja is usually conducted in the evening but never before the afternoon. This is done to make sure that Mha Puja of Aagan Dya (the family goddess) and Goddess Taleju at the three old royal palaces in Bhaktapur, Basantpur and Patan have been completed by high ranking Newar priests.
These Mha Puja ceremonies of the goddesses are little known about as the general public cannot access these rituals like a host of other rituals in the Newar pantheon. Legend has it that during the reign of Malla kings, the priests and few elite Newars could verbally communicate with the goddess via Tantric means, and they helped perform the puja.
A typical Mha Puja is performed on the floor of the dining area in a house, and one can see how the chronological steps of the puja stresses strength, longevity, brightness, health and all things prosperous. The details are symbolic, to say the least, and The Week in this issue brings you some of the mainstream interpretations.
To begin with is the floor which is purified by sprinkling holy water. A mandala (sacred symbol with concentric structures), an essential part of the ritual, is then carefully prepared on the purified floor. There is one mandala prepared for each family member and arranged in accordance with the hierarchy of family members.
Besides the individual mandalas, there are two additional mandalas placed at right angles to the main row of the mandalas, which signify the omnipresent Jama Raj and Yama Raj, the deities representing birth and death. The mandala at the top of the row, which is usually smaller in size and separate from the rest, is reserved for the house god.
The various steps through which the puja is initiated and concluded are an elaborate display of ancient wisdom, and suggest the passage from state to state, from the material to the spiritual. The mandala plays a centre role in this ritual, with its centre suggesting eternity, its concentric structures signifying the passages, and its periphery the perfection.
Each family member worships one’s own mandala, which is regarded as one’s medium to the self. Dhun and dhupayen (special local incenses) are lit and put on each of the five paddy/rice lump of each mandalas, creating a refreshing atmosphere brought about by the fragrance. This fragrance, the Newars believe, guarantees a successful life.
The offer of incense is followed by an important offer of the evening – the light. The Nakin (eldest female member of the family who administers the ritual) offers two pieces of ‘itaan’ (hand-woven cotton strands soaked in mustard oil) which are about two and a half feet long, lit at each end to the worshipper who accepts it by chanting a certain shloka (verses) in Sanskrit. The worshipper then ensures that the itaan in the mandala keeps burning until the ritual concludes, and signifies one’s energy within. The practice of chanting in Sanskrit is however rare in recent times.
Different fruits, nuts and sweets are then offered for a fruitful and resourceful life with each fruit on offer signifying a unique trait – walnut, which is tough outside but carries a tasty nut inside, ‘singhali’ (local chestnut), which is also hard outside but tasty inside, and similarly, sugarcane. Offering of different sweets, shaped like the moon and starts, then follows, signifying the relationship of humans with nature.
Jama Raj and Yama Raj are then believed to keep away because of the physical and spiritual energy gained through these various offerings. Newars also believe that Yama Raj, the deity associated with death, cannot even touch a person who has performed the year’s Mha Puja, unless and until the walnut shell that was offered rots, a condition which is very unlikely.
The Nakin then administers the final purification of the soul, with a shower of a mixture consisting of paddy, flowers, and pieces of fruits, vermillion powder, hand-milled rice and ‘taye’ in a container over the heads of the worshipped worshippers. After three showers each on all the family members, the Nakin drags a broom from the top row of the mandala down to Jama Raj’s mandala and concludes the ritual that is Mha Puja.
This year, Mha Puja and the Nepal Sambat 1130 fall on Sunday, November 18.
Editor’s note: The interpretations of this ritual may vary from place to place and should not be considered definitive.
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