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.
` \/(aSm? h/VyEnRm?saep/s*?, im/< de/v< im?/xey?< nae AStu, A/nU/ra/xan! h/iv;a? v/xRy?Nt>, z/t< jIve?m z/rd>/
svI?ra>,
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.
` kezvay Svaha,

` naray[ay Svaha,

` maxvay Svaha,

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:
zua<brxr< iv:[u< zizv[ ctuuRj<, svdn< Xyayet! svR ivaepzaNtye.
Agjann pak gjannmhinRz<, Anekd< t< ana< @kdNt< %paSmhe.
vtu<f mhakay kaeiqsUyRsm, inivR< k me dev svRkayeR;u svRda.
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.

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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:
` nmae gvte vasudevay,

` nmiZzvay,

` g< g[ptye nm>,

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
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 Sani. 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 Sani.
` mmaepa smSt irt]yara I prmer ITywRm! I znEr sad is(wRm! A* zuidne zumuteR I
zin haemkmR ywazi kir:ye,
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.

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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.
v<
Now read the following and think that auspicious essence of various rivers of the world is
entering the water in the tumbler.
g<ge c ymune cEv gaedavir srSvit,
nmRde isNxu kaveir jle=iSmn! siix< k.
Am&t< vtu

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).
` [e nm>,
` ymay nm>,

` saemay nm>,
` ay nm>,
` iv:[ve nm>,
` #Nay nm>,

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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:
` UuRvSsuvraem!
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.
/Vyad?m/i< ih?[aeim /r< y/mra}ae gCDtu irva/h>,
#/hEvayimt?rae ja/tveda de/ve_yae h/Vy< v?htu ja/nn!,
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.
` UuRv/Ssuv/> Svaha,
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

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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.
Aid/te=nu?mNySv, Anu?m/te=nu?mNySv, sr?Sv/te=nu?mNySv, dev siv/t> su?v,
Figure 2

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

c/Tvair/ z&<ga/yae? ASy/ pada/ e zI/;eR s/hSta?sae A/Sy,
ixa? b/ae v&?;/ae raer?vIit m/hae de/vae mTyaR/ Aaiv?vez,
@/; ih de/v> /idzae nu/ svaR/> pUvaeR? ih ja/t> s %/ geR? A/Nt>,

s iv/jay?man> s jin/:yma?[> Ty/'muoaiStit iv/tae?muo>,

a'muoae dev, he Ae, mmaimuoae v,
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,

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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:
` #Nay nm>, ` Aye nm>, ` ymay nm>, ` in\Rtye nm>, ` v[ay nm>, ` vayve nm>, `
saemay nm>, ` $zanay nm>, ` [e nm>, ` ze;ay nm>, ` Aye nm>, ` AaTmne nm>,
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.
` japtye Svaha, japty #d< n mm,
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.
` #Nay Svaha, #Nayed< n mm,
Offer a little ghee to Agni (fire god) in the middle of the fire with the following mantra:
` Aye Svaha, Ay #d< n mm,
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:
` saemay Svaha, saemayed< n mm,
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:
Aar<&it @tT][pyRNt< mXye s<aivt smSt dae; ayiaw svR ayi< hae:yaim, ` URuv/Ssuv/>
Svaha, japty #d< n mm,

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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.
Quick Homam for Mahaganapathi

Before calling the main deity of homam (Sani) 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.
` g< g[ptye nm>, Asu?nI te/ pun?r/Smasu/ c]u>/ pun?> a/[im/h nae? deih/ aeg<?, JyaeKp?Zyem/ sUyR?m/ur?Nt/mnu?mte
m&/ya? n> Sv/iSt, ` I mhag[pit a[zyE nm>, A AagCD, Aavaihtae v, Swaiptae v, siihtae
v, siae v, Avk<iQtae v, sId sId,
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.
l< p&iwVyaTmne nm>, gNx< smpRyaim,
Say the following and offer a flower (or a flower petal) to Mahaganapathi in the fire.
h< AakazaTmne nm>, pu:p< smpRyaim,
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.
y< vaYvaTmne nm>, xUp< Aaapyaim,
Say the following and show the deepam (light/lamp) to Mahaganapathi in the fire.
r< AGNyaTmne nm>, dIp< dzRyaim,
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 Sani and use something else for Mahaganapathi. You can offer just a raisin
or a little sugar also.

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v< Am&taTmne nm>, nEve*< smpRyaim,

Say the following and offer some akshatas to Mahaganapathi in the fire. This mantra means that
we are offering all services to Him.
s< svaRTmne nm>, svaeRpcaran! smpRyaim,
Now say the following offer ghee (or other allowed materials mentioned at the beginning) into
fire for Mahaganapathi. Repeat that 4 or 8 or 12 times.
` g< g[ptye nm> Svaha,
Praana Pratishthaapanaa (invocation of main deity)
Now we have to invoke the deity in the idol and the fire. If you know how to do anganyaasam
and karanyaasam, do it while saying the following. Otherwise, just read the following.
ASy I a[itapn m<Sy iv:[u mhera \;y> \GyjuSsamawvaRi[ DNdais I znErae devta, za<
bIj<, zI zi>, zaE< kIlk<, za< A<gua_ya< nm>, zI tjRnI_ya< nm>, zU< mXyma_ya< nm>, zE< Anaimka_ya<
nm>, zaE< kinika_ya< nm>, z> krtl krp&a_ya< nm>, za< dyay nm>, zI izrse Svaha, zU< izoayE
v;q, zE< kvcay <, zaE< neyay vaE;q, z> Aay )q, URuvSsuvraeimit idGb<x>,
Xyan< - znEray zaNtay svaRI daiyne, zr{yay vre{yay sveRzay nmae nm>.
Now invoke the deity in the fire and the idol with the following mantra. While saying it, imagine
that Sani who is in your own heart is entering the fire and the idol.
` za< zI zaE< y< r< l< v< z< ;< s< h< < ]<, ` h<s> sae=h< sae=h< h<s>, I znErSy a[ #h a[>, jIv #h
iSwt>, sveRiNyai[ va'mnSTvk c]u> ae ijaa[ a[apanVyanaedansmana> #hEvagTy suo< icr< itNtu
Svaha, saiXy< kvRNtu Svaha, Asu?nI te/ pun?r/Smasu/ c]u>/ pun?> a/[im/h nae? deih/ aeg<?, JyaeKp?Zyem/
sUyR?mu/r?Nt/mnu?mte m&/ya? n> Sv/iSt, za< zI zaE<, ` I znEr a[zyE nm>, A AagCD,
Now read the following and make the aavaahani, samsthaapani, sannidhaapani, sannirodhini and
avakunthana mudras with your hands if you know them. If not, dont worry and just read.

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Aavaihtae v, Swaiptae v, siihtae v, siae v, Avk<iQtae v, dev sId sId,

yavaemavsankm!, tavv< Iitaven mUtaER AaE c siix< k,
While saying this, pray to Lord Sani in your mind and ask him to stay in the fire and the idol till
the end of the homam. Now, till the end of the homam, you should firmly believe that Sani is in
the fire and treat him with respect and love.
Panchopachaara Pooja (worship of god)
Now, we have to offer worship with several servies to Sani in the fire and idol. There are several
options. One can do a panchopachaara pooja with 5 services or a shodasopachara pooja with 16
services or a chatusshashtyupachara pooja with 64 services. For simplicity, a panchopachara
pooja is recommended in a homam. Those who have a lot of time and want to perform a
shodasopachara pooja may refer to Appendix B and use that procedure instead of what is given
in this section.
Say the following and offer sandalwood powder/paste to Sani in the fire and the idol. You can
also offer turmeric powder and kumkum.
l< p&iwVyaTmne nm>, gNx< smpRyaim,
Say the following and offer a flower (or a flower petal) to Sani in the fire and the idol.
h< AakazaTmne nm>, pu:p< smpRyaim,
Say the following and offer dhoopam (incense) to Sani 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.
y< vaYvaTmne nm>, xUp< Aaapyaim,
Say the following and show the deepam (light/lamp) to Sani in the fire and the idol.
r< AGNyaTmne nm>, dIp< dzRyaim,
Say the following and offer some food to Sani in the fire and the idol. You can use cooked food
or a fruit or jaggery or sugar. Show it to the fire and idol and offer a little bit into the fire.

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If you made only one food item, it is a good idea to offer it at the end of the homam. There will
be a naivedyam (food offering) again. Offer something else for now. The offering at the end is
the main one.
v< Am&taTmne nm>, nEve*< smpRyaim,
Say the following and offer some akshatas to Sani in the fire and the idol. This mantra means
that we are offering all services to Him.
s< svaRTmne nm>, svaeRpcaran! smpRyaim,
Parivaara Devata Aahutis (offerings to associates)
Make an offering of ghee whenever you encounter svaahaa (Svaha). Make 4 offerings each to
Sanis mother, his adhidevata (ruling deity) and pratyadhidevata (co-ruling deity).
` DayadeVyE Svaha, ` DayadeVyE Svaha, ` DayadeVyE Svaha, ` DayadeVyE Svaha,
` ym xmR rajay Svaha, ` ym xmR rajay Svaha, ` ym xmR rajay Svaha, ` ym xmR rajay Svaha,
` japtye Svaha, ` japtye Svaha, ` japtye Svaha, ` japtye Svaha,
Pradhaana Homam (main part)
Now, you can offer any mantras of Sani you want. Suggested count for each mantra is 4 or 8 or
12 or 16 or 21 or 28 or 108 or 1008. Pick a count with each mantra and try to meet that count. At
the end of the mantra, you have to add the following (if it is not already present as a part of the
mantra itself) and then make an offering in the fire.
Svaha
When making the last offering with a mantra (i.e. you are going to stop that mantra after this
offering and switch to a different mantra), you add the following instead of the above:
vaE;q
The offering can be a drop of ghee or sesame seeds or murmura/mamra (puffed white rice) or
havan samagri or small dry coconut pieces or small pieces of darbha. If you are doing homam on
a big scale with a big fire, you can even put banana slices, full coconuts, various fruits, nuts
(cashews, almonds etc), dates, raisins, sugar cane pieces, several sweets and snacks etc. But, if
you are doing on a small scale with a small fire, stick to sesame seeds, dry coconut pieces, puffed

20

white rice and ghee drops. At any cost, avoid spicy substances like any kind of pepper,
cinnamon, cloves etc and products containing eggs, meat etc. In general, sweet substances are
better. Just offering ghee when you do not have any other substances is also fine.
For Saturn, sesame seeds (especially black ones) are the best offering. Make sure that you offer
sesame seeds as a considerable part of your offerings. White sesame seeds are good for spiritual
progress and black sesame seeds are good for help with physical ailments.
The following mantras of Sani may be used. But you can really use any mantra you like. Read a
mantra several times before moving on to a different mantra. Actually, it is advisable to pick any
one mantra you like the most and repeat it as many times as you can, instead of doing a little bit
of several mantras. If one wants water, one should dig deep in one place instead of digging a
little in ten places. Several options are being given so that people can pick one based on their
taste and mental conditioning from previous karmic debts. All of them are good and powerful.
Please pick the one you are attracted to the most.
The following mantra from Atharva veda in Gayatri chhandas was recommended by Maharshi
Parasara for relief from problems given by Sani, in the chapter on graha shaanti in Brihat
Paaraasara Horaa Saastram:
` zae? de/vIr/i?y Aapae? vNtu pI/tye, z<yaer/i?vNtu n>, Svaha,
The following mantra from Rigveda in Ushnik chhandas is popular in some parts of India:
` zm/ir/ii>? kr/CD< n?Stptu/ sUyR>?, z< vatae vaTvr/pa Ap/ix>?, Svaha,
Maharshi Veda Vyasa taught a mantra for Sani in his nava graha stotram. For those
uncomfortable with the intonations of veda mantras, this is the best bet. It is as powerful as veda
mantras and can be chanted anyway without worrying about intonation:
` nIla<jn smaas< rivpu< ymaj<, DayamataR{f s<Ut< t< nmaim znEr<, Svaha,
The shodasa naama stotra (16-name prayer) of Sani is very powerful. It can used too:
` kae[> znErae mNd> DayadynNdn>, mataR{fj> twa saEir> pat<ig> hnayk>, Svaha,
Aa[> rkmaR nIl va<jn *uit>, k:[ae xmaRnuj> zaNt> zu:kaedr> vrd>, Svaha,
The same shodasa naama stotra (16-name prayer) can be offered in fire as a shodasa naamaavali
(16 names) with 16 offerings:

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` kae[ay Svaha, ` znEray Svaha, ` mNday Svaha, ` DayadynNdnay Svaha, ` mataR{fjay

Svaha, ` saErye Svaha, ` pat<gye Svaha, ` hnaykay Svaha, ` Aa[ay Svaha, ` rkmR[e
Svaha, ` nIl va<jn *utye Svaha, ` k:[ay Svaha, ` xmaRnujay Svaha, ` zaNtay Svaha, `
zu:kaedray Svaha, ` vrday Svaha,
Those who like the ashtottara shara naama stotra (108-name prayer) of Sani can make 21
offerings each time it is read:
` znEray zaNtay svaRIdaiyne, zr{yay vre{yay sveRzay nmae nm>, Svaha,
saEMyay surv<*ay surlaek ivhair[e, suoasnaepivay suNdray nmae nm>, Svaha,
"nay "npay "nar[ xair[e, "nsar ivlepay o*aetay nmae nm>, Svaha,
mNday mNd ceay mhnIy gu[aTmne, mTyR pavn paday mhezay nmae nm>, Svaha,

Dayapuay zvaRy zr tU[Ir xair[e, cr iSwr Svavay c<clay nmae nm>, Svaha,
nIlv[aRy inTyay nIl<jninay c, nIlaMbr ivU;ay inlay nmae nm>, Svaha,
ve*ay ivixpay ivraexaxarUmye, vedaSpd Svavay vdehay te nm>, Svaha,

vEraGyday vIray vItraeg yay c, ivpTpr<prezay iv vN*ay te nm>, Svaha,

g&vahay gUFay kmagay kip[e, kiTstay gu[aF(ay gaecray nmae nm>, Svaha,

Aiv*a mUl nazay iv*aiv*a Svip[e, Aayu:y kar[ayapeR c nmae nm>, Svaha,
iv:[uay vizne ivivxagmveidne, ivixStuTyay vN*ay ivpa]ay te nm>, Svaha,
viray giray va<kz xray c, vrday hStay vamnay nmae nm>, Svaha,

JyeapIsmetay eayaimt ai;[e, kaE" nazkayayR puiday nmae nm>, Svaha,

StuTyay StaegMyay ivZyay anve, anupuay Vyay pavnay nmae nm>, Svaha,
xnumR{fl s<Sway xnday xnu:mte, tnukaz dehay tamsay nmae nm>, Svaha,
Aze; jn vN*ay ivze; )l daiyne, vzIkt jnezay pzUna< ptye nm>, Svaha,

oecray ogezay "n nIlaMbray c, kaiQNy mansayayR g[ StuTyay te nm>, Svaha,

nIlCDay inTyay inguR[ay gu[aTmne, inramyay inN*ay vNdnIyay te nm>, Svaha,
xIray idVydehay dInaitR hr[ay c, dENy naz krayayR jn g{yay te nm>, Svaha,
ray rceay kam aex kray c, k pu zuTv kar[ay nmae nm>, Svaha,
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pirpaei;t ay vr Iit hray c, s<" mnae=I )lday nmae nm>, Svaha,

Again, instead of trying to do a little of each, pick one mantra for the pradhaana homam and do
it as many times as you can. That discipline will help you get the most from your homam.
Punah Pooja (worship again)
After all the offerings with mantras, we offer a quick worship again to Sani in the fire.
Say the following and offer some food to Sani in the fire and the idol.
` z< znEray nm>, nEve*< smpRyaim,
Light a small camphor piece in a plate and show it to the fire while saying the following. At the
end, you can throw the camphor piece into fire.
` z< znEray nm>, nIrajn< smpRyaim,
If one has time, a panchopachara pooja can also be done as the punah pooja. But the above two
things will suffice.
Now get up and do pradakshinas to the homa kundam. If someone stands on the roof (or in the
sky) and looks down at you, it should look like you are going around the homa kundam in the
clockwise direction. Do one or three rounds and then sit down again in front of fire.
Uttaraangam (vote of thanks)2
Now, offer one drop of ghee to Prajapati, then the controllers of the three worlds (bhuh fire
god, bhuvah wind god, who controls space too, suvah sun god for all the non-material
spiritual realms), to Agni who processes the food for gods and makes it consumable and finally
Prajapati again. Read the following and offer a drop of ghee at each swaahaa.
` ja?pte/ n Tvde/taNy/Nyae iva? ja/tain/ pir/ ta b?Uv, yTka?maSte ju/mStae? AStu v?y Sya?m/ pt?yae
ryI/[am!, Svaha, japty #d< n mm.
` U> Svaha, Ay #d< n mm.
` uv>/ Svaha, vayv #d< n mm.
` suv>/ Svaha, sUyaRyed< n mm.
2

Skip this and go to the next section to find a shorter procedure for uttaraangam.

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yd?Sy/ kmR/[ae=TyrI?irc</ ya/NyU?nim/hak?rm!, Ai/t! iSv?/kian! sv iSv?</ su?t< kraetu/ Svaha, Aye
iSvkt #d< n mm.
` UuRv/Ssuv>/ Svaha, japty #d< n mm.
Now do pranaayaamam again. The procedure of pranaayaamam is explained earlier.
Now, make three offerings to the fire god, asking for forgiveness for any mistakes committed
knowingly or unknowingly, while using fire as the medium. Read the following and offer a drop
of the ghee in the fire at each swaahaa.
Ana}at< yda}a?t< y/}Sy i/yte/ imwu?, Ae td?Sy k/Lp/y/ Tv ih veTw? y/wa/twm!, Svaha, Ay #d< n mm.
pu?;s<imtae y/}ae y/}> pu?;s<imt>, Ae td?Sy k/Lp/y/ Tv ih veTw? ywa/twm!, Svaha, Ay #d< n mm.

yTpa?k/a mnsa dI/nd?]a/ n, y/}Sy? m/Nvte? mtaR?s>, Ai/aeta /t/uivi?ja/nn!, yij?ae de/van! \/tu/zae y?jait/,
Svaha, Ay #d< n mm.
Next, three offerings are made to the fire god, wind god and sun god, the controllers of the three
worlds. Read the following and offer a drop of the ghee in the fire at each swaahaa.
` U> Svaha, Ay #d< n mm.
` uv>/ Svaha, vayv #d< n mm.
` suv>/ Svaha, sUyaRyed< n mm.

One final offering to Prajapati is made to beg for forgiveness for various mistakes made in the
homam, with respect to pronunciation, actions, procedure, devotion, materials used etc. Read the
following and offer of drop of ghee.
AiSmn! haemkmRi[ mXye s<aivt smSt m<laep t<laep iyalaep ilaep alaep inymlaep inalaep
Vylaepaid smSt dae; ayiaw svR ayiait< hae:yaim, ` UuRv/Ssuv>/ Svaha, japty #d< n mm.
An offering to Vishnu and an offering to Rudra must be made. Read the following two lines and
offer a drop of ghee for each line. Think of Vishnu and Shiva.
` I iv:[?ve/ Svaha, iv:[ve prmaTmn #d< n mm.
` nmae /ay? pzu/pt?ye/ Svaha, ay pzupty #d< n mm.

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After making an offering to Rudra, wash the hand once. You can simply sprinkle a little bit of
water on the right palm for that purpose.
Uttaraangam shorter version (vote of thanks)
When you are in a hurry, you can perform uttaraanham in a brief form by saying the following
and making an offering of ghee with each line.
` U> Svaha, Ay #d< n mm.
` uv>/ Svaha, vayv #d< n mm.
` suv>/ Svaha, sUyaRyed< n mm.

` UuRv/Ssuv>/ Svaha, japty #d< n mm.

` I iv:[?ve/ Svaha, iv:[ve prmaTmn #d< n mm.

` nmae /ay? pzu/pt?ye/ Svaha, ay pzupty #d< n mm.

Suddhaanna Bali (sacrifice of pure rice)
Now, we have to offer bali (sacrifice to other associated beings). Get the cooked white rice (or
banana slices or some other fruit slices or raisins). Just place a small token amount as bali. You
need to place bali in six different places outside the homa kundam. First, place it on the east of
the homa kundam. Then on the west, then on the north, then on the south and finally two more
on the east (a little north to the previous bali(s) placed in the east). The order and positions can
be found in Figure 3. While offering balis in six places, the following sentence can be said:
` pa;Rde_yae nm>, bil< smpRyaim,
Figure 3

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The rice remaining after offering balis should be thrown away and not consumed. If cooked rice
is not available, small banana slices or some other fruit slices can be used. Again, any fruit pieces
left over after bali should be thrown away and not consumed.
Vasordhaaraa (stream of excellence)
Take a little ghee into the ladle and pour it slowly on the burning dry coconut pieces in the homa
kundam while reading the third verse from Rudra Chamakam. It is given below.
Dont pour too much ghee if you dont want much smoke. Just take one teaspoonful of ghee in
the wooden ladle and manage with it slowly. This ghee should be just enough to make the pieces
burn well so that poornaahuti (about to be offered) burns well.
` z< c? me/ my? me i/y< c? me=nuka/m? me/ kam? me saEmn/s? me /< c? me/ ey? me/ vSy? me/ yz? me/ g?
me/ iv?[< c me y/Nta c? me x/taR c? me/ ]em? me/ x&it? me/ iv<? c me/ mh? me s</iv? me/ }a<? c me/ sU? me /sU? me/
sIr<? c me l/y? m\/t< c? me/=m&t<? c me=y/m< c/ me=na?my me jI/vatu? me dI"aRy/uTv< c? me=nim/< c/ me=?y< c
me su/g< c? me/ zy?n< c me sU/;a c? me su/idn<? c me.
Poornaahuti
Now, we have to prepare a package for poornaahuti (complete offering). The normal
procedure is to place a full dry coconut, some metal coins, some turmeric, some sandalwood,
some kumkum, some akshatas, samples of some of the materials used in homam as offerings in a
cloth and tie the cloth.
For a simple homam with a small fire, you may take a dry coconut half and place a few akshatas,
one coin, little sandalwood powder, turmeric powder, kumkum powder and samples of materials
offered earlier in it. If you do a small homam everyday in a western country and need to
minimize the smoke, you may put just a small coconut piece as poornaahuti. If you are doing
homam in a big firepit that is dug in ground, you may want to experiment with a regular full
coconut that has little water. It is a more accurate representation of the ego of a normal person.
Place the poornaahuti on the wooden ladle, say the mantra below and then place the poornaahuti
in fire carefully with hand (if you drop it on a small fire from the wooden ladle, it can extinguish
the fire and also loose materials can spill everywhere in the homa kundam).
` pU/[aR/itmu?/ma< ju?haeit, sv/ vE pU [aR/it>, svR?m/evaae?it, Awae? #/y< vE pU [aR/it>, A/Syame/v it?itit,
` pU[R/md>/ pU[R/imd</ pU[aR/TpU[R/mud/Cyte, pU[R/Sy pU[/Rmada/y pU[R/mevaviz/:yte.
` z< znEray pU[aRit< smpRyaim,

While (or after) placing the poornaahuti in the fire, say the following mantra.
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` apR[< hivr aaE [a t<, Ev ten gNtVy< kmR smaixna.

Imagine that you are completely surrendering yourself to Sani. Poornaahuti basically means
complete surrender. The full (or half) coconut used in the poornaahuti is a symbol of ones
head, i.e. ego (I-ness), which is to be sacrificed (surrendered) to Sani. Think of Sani as a
manifestation of the Supreme Cosmic Being who fills the whole universe and who is the true
owner of your body, mind, existence, thoughts, knowledge and actions. Surrender to Him fully.
Without that inner sense of complete surrender, an elaborate poornaahuti ritual with pristine
materials has no meaning. Most Vedic rituals are symbolic of certain inner changes that you
bring about within yourself, to remove obstacles within your sookshma sareera that are blocking
self-knowledge. The purpose of Veda is the knowledge of self (Aatman) and all rituals are
ultimately for that purpose. Doing rituals blindly is a good starting point, but at some stage, one
has to wonder about the inner meaning.
Winding Up and Meditation
The fire god (Agni) has carried all our offerings to various gods. So the final offering is to him.
Read the following and offer a drop of ghee in the fire.
s/ te? Ae s/imx>? s/ij/a> s \;?ySs/> xam? i/yai[?, s/ haea s/ xaTva? y/j/iNt/s/yaenI/rap&?[Sva "&/t/en/
Svaha, Aye svt #d< n mm.
Take some water in a spoon and sprinkle it around the homa kumdam as shown in Figure 2. This
is similar to what we did at the beginning, but the mantras to say are slightly different. Instead of
the four mantras used earlier, use the following four mantras when sprinkling water along the
four arrows marked as 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Figure 2:
Aid/te=Nv?m<Swa>, Anu?m/te=Nv?m<Swa>, sr?Sv/te=Nv?m<Swa>, dev? sivt>/ asa?vI>,
The ritual of homam cleanses one internally. The powerful divine presence in the fire has a great
ability to cleanse one. Especially, a sincerely offered poornaahuti creates a lot of positive energy
as it burns. One can take advantage of it by meditating in front of the fire as the poornaahuti
burns. The time when the poornaahuti burns is the best time to meditate.
Sit still with a straight back in front of the fire and meditate. Make sure that the back is erect and
yet not too tight. Make sure that the neck and head are also erect. Close the eyes, imagine your
favorite deity in a form you like and meditate on that form with your favorite mantra. You can
meditate on Sani also. It can be the mantra with which you did homam or any other mantra of
any deity. Try to forget about the your body and what you are doing and get into the mantra
fully. Think that the deity you are imagining is a manifestation of Supreme Cosmic Being and
think that all beings and all objects of this world are expressions of the play of that deity. Think
that that deity is the true Doer of all actions by all beings of this world. Your chances of losing
consciousness of your body and immersing in the mantra fully are the maximum at this point of
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time than any other (while the poornaahuti is burning)! Take advantage and meditate for atleast
5-10 minutes with maximum focus now. Consider this an essential part of the homam.
Rakshaa
Now, take the darbhas placed at the beginning outside the homa kundam on the western side (or
new darbhas, if you did not place any darbhas along the boundaries due to lack of darbhas),
apply a little ghee to them and place the tips in fire. When they catch fire, remove them from the
fire, place them in a container and let the whole darbhas burn. The black ash you get is called
rakshaa (protection). At the end of the homam, you can apply a little rakshaa to the forehead of
the idol and then a little to your own forehead and the foreheads of others. This is believed to
protect from evil forces. You can store the rakshaa for future use on important occasions.
If your fire is too small and does not last till this point, you may consider taking rakshaa before
meditation.
It is not necessary to take raksha. One can skip this step. Alternately, one can skip now and later
mix the ashes of the materials burnt in the homa kundam with ghee and use that as rakshaa.
Udvaasana (good bye)
Take a couple of darbhas in your right hand and a couple more darbhas with your left hand. Take
some flowers or akshatas also if available. Hold the darbhas with the tips facing away from you
and the bases in your hands. Now touch the two sides of the homakundam with the darbhas in
the two hands. Then touch the idol with those darbhas and leave the akshatas and flowers on the
god. Imagine that the energy from the homakundam has been transferred into the idol. To
simplify this, you can also place your fists containing a few akshatas on top of the northern and
southern sides of homa kundam and then deposit the akshatas in those fists at the feet of the idol.
Say the following and show your heart with your hands. Imagine that Sri Mahaganapathi has
exited the fire and came back into your heart.
ASmade> Imhag[pit< ywaSwan< itapyaim,
Say the following and show your heart with your hands. Imagine that Sani has exited the fire and
the idol and came back into your heart.
ASmaNmUteR Ae znEr< ywaSwan< itapyaim,
Now, we have to say goodbye to the fire god too. Say the following and bow to the fire god.
Ae/ ny? supwa? ra/ye A/Sman! ivain? dev v/yuna?in iv/an!, yu/yaeXy?Smu?ra/[menae/ Uiya<? te/ nm? %i< ivxem,
Aye nm>.
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Conclusion
Say the following three verses. Think of Krishna and imagine that you are not the doer and
Krishna is the doer who is acting through you. While you do it, place a few akshatas on the tips
of the ring and middle fingers of the right hand, place the palm on the small deposit bowl and
wash it such that the water and akshatas are deposited in the deposit bowl.
m<hIn< iyahIn< ihIn< tazn, yt< tu mya dev pirpU[ tdStu te.
ayiaNyze;ai[ tp> kmaRTmkain vE, yain te;amze;a[a< I k:[Smr[< pr<. I k:[ k:[ k:[,

kayen vaca mnseiNyEvaR bu(aTmna va kte> Svavat!, kraeim y*t! skl< prSmE naray[ayeit smpRyaim.
Say the following finally. Imagine that Sri Sani became pleased with your homam. Surrender
the doership of the homam to Krishna and pray for peace.
Anen idVy m<g haemen gvan! znEr> Iytam!, ` tTst!,
svRm! I k:[apR[mStu, ` zaiNt> zaiNt> zaiNt>,
After this, you should not think of yourself as the doer of the homam just finished, for you have
surrendered the doership to Krishna!
The naivedyam (food) you offered can be eaten now and served to others. The rakshaa (holy ash)
can be mixed with a drop of ghee and applied on the forehead as a dot or a line.
If you used a kalasam (water pot) in addition to an idol to invoke the god, you can take a bath
with the water in the kalasam. Pour the water on yourself after you finish your bath, while saying
a mantra of Sani. After pouring that water on yourself, dont pour any more regular water. The
water from kalasam should be the last water you pour on yourself in the bath. In other words,
you should absorb the energy in that water for a while.
It is possible to put a kalasam and use it everyday without changing water. One may change the
water every weekend or on every Ashtami or Ekadasi day and take bath with the old water.
:: Sarvam Sri Krishnarapanamastu ::

:: Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ::

Appendix A: Super-short Homam (minimum mantras)

For those who are uncomfortable with Sanskrita and yet want to perform homam, the procedure
given in this document may still be difficult. For such people, I can recommend a much shorter
procedure. It is hoped that those who start with this super-short homam will eventually make an
effort to switch to the main procedure given in this document, after they get some practice and
become comfortable with mantras in Sanskrita.

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