Offtrack: Dhundhivadhar; Sacred Chant for Peace

offtrack

India Today
October 26, 1998

DHUNDHIVADHAR
Sacred Chant for Peace

Vishnumahayagna comes alive for the first time after the battle of Mahabharat.

By Uday Mahurkar

Sacred Chant for peace As the sun sets on the horizon, the air in the tiny village of Dhundhivadhar in Rajkot district of Gujarat is filled with the sounds of sacred hymns and Vedic chants. The last time the Vishnumahayagna is said to have been performed was several thousand years ago when for the sake of peace after the battle of Mahabharat Lord Krishna had performed the yagna successfully.

There is not much difference today in the motivation behind the yagna. If in the days of yore it was an invocation to Lord Vishnu to save the earth from destruction, today it is a heartfelt cry for peace in the country. Chandrachetanyaji, a disciple of the revered yogi Swami Vigyanandji Saraswati from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, is the moving spirit behind its revival. "Our motherland is under siege on account of corruption, nepotism and anti-national activity. This yagna, which was last performed in true Vedic tradition by King Pandu and Lord Krishna separately, has the strength to save it from destruction," he says.

Sixteen young Brahmins from Varanasi, specially chosen by Chandrachetanyaji, have been reciting the holy scriptures at the site on the outskirts of this small Gujarat village for the past 11 months. They will continue to do so till the completion of a year -- exactly 15 days after Diwali. The religious fervour is evident as hundreds of people become one with the gods while reciting the aarti at dusk. As in the Vedic tradition, every day there is a new yajmaan (host) at the yagna to pour offerings into the havan kund (holy fire). Every one of these hosts contributes Rs 5,000. Despite the cost, there are a number of people who consider it an honour to be associated with such an event and queue up each day with their offering. Says Gobarbhai Vadodara, sarpanch of Dhundhivadhar, "The spiritual happiness we have been experiencing ever since the yagna started is beyond description. We feel as if we have been transported back to the age of gods and saints as described in the holy books."

Keeping the yagna going for the past 11 months has been quite an ordeal for Chandrachetanyaji. The daily cost of the yagna in terms of offerings and pandits' salary is Rs 8,000 (they get a monthly stipend of about Rs 4,000 each), of which Rs 5,000 comes from the yajmaan. His guru Vigyanandji, under whose guidance he took up the Vishnumahayagna, chips in with the remaining Rs 3,000. Since it began last year, Rs 24 lakh has already been spent on the yagna.

The discipline the young pandits have to follow is part of the iron-like code of conduct laid down by Chandrachetanyaji. If a pandit happens to come to the yagna site later than 5 a.m., he is turned back by the head acharya and has to surrender his day's salary. Atonement is then taken up for his lapse by resorting to a "vidhi" mentioned in the scriptures and his place is taken by another. The yogi insists the yagna bears fruit only when performed to perfection.

Interestingly, the four pandits appointed to recite the four Vedas are addressed not by their names but by the names of the Vedas -- Rigveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda and Yajurveda. The pandit who presides over the yagna is referred to as Brahmaji, after Lord Brahma. For 19-year-old Shyamsunder Mishra, being one of the chosen few to perform the Vishnumahayagna fills him with pride. "It is my fortune that I am virtually beginning my career as a pandit with this great yagna," he says.

Historical significance apart, today this yagna has literally become a source of social integration in the village of 1,500 people. Patels, Dalits and Rajputs -- all take pride in the fact that Chandrachetanyaji selected Dhundhivadhar. These communities have come together to assist the yogi in making the daily arrangements at the site. The sentiments of Nagin Parmar, a devotee from a neighbouring village who attends the Dhundhivadhar yagna regularly, sum up what thousands of others feel: "We only hope this yagna will ultimately help the country tide over the many problems it is facing." It just might. After all, faith is a powerful weapon against the forces of evil.

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