Pittsburgh Patrika January 2022

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol. 27 No 2, January 2022
During Vijayadasami (the 10th and the concluding day of the Navaratri
in October 2021), the Pittsburgh Chinmaya Mission organized the traditional
aksharabhyasam, initiating the 4 to 6 year-olds to their long journey
— 20 or more years — in studies and education. Pandit Dharmateja
Nagalingam at the Mission is helping parents with children on their laps
to write Om Vaagdevyai namah or Om Namasshivaya or Om Narayanaya
on slates using chalk pieces while reciting Sanskrit hymns. •
Typical Aksharabhyasam ceremony
at the famous Mookambika
Temple where the presiding
Devi is worshipped as Saraswati,
Lakshmi and Parashakti. The
temple is situated close to Mangaluru
in Karnataka, India. Here
parents or family elders initiate
their kids to writing on rice paddy
spread on brass plates using turmeric
root as pencils. A detailed
article here:
www.tinyurl.com/aksharabhyasam-MookambikeTmpl
•
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