Introduction to Karmkanda

There are many types of Pujas which are recorded in a manual called karmkanda.

1. Daily worship which involve pujas made daily at home or temple.
2. Festival related worships. Pujas which are made on special occasios like birthday, Shivratri, Divali etc
3. Sanskara related worships which are made in the life of an individual from birth to death
4. Antyeshti- Death rituals at the time of death of an individual and afterwards
5. Havan-Occasional havan performed by the family or by societies as a public event.

1. Daily worship

These involve recitations from Vedas and other religious scriptures with or without a brief puja rituals and jaap

2. Festival related worships called Pujas

Elaborate worship of chosen deity or deities is carried on special festivals with a prescribed format. Pujas like Janam Din Puja, Shivratri Puja Pann Puja, Sankrati Puja are some of the Kashmiri traditions.

3. Sanskara

The life cycle of a Hindu, from birth to death, goes through sixteen religious ceremonies called samaskaras (sacrament). Karmkanda is a guide book for performance of these rituals. For Kashmiri Hindus the number of sanskaras that are being still observed are just three excluding Antyeshti (death ritual):

• Kahne’ther- Purification ceremony after birth of a child
• Upanyana( or Mekhal)- A Vedic tradition, originally for Initiating a boy into the study of Vedas and performance sanskaras, but now just a ritual full of fun
• Vivah- Marriage of a boy or girl

All Vedic sanskaras involve homa/ havan along with Puja.Homa involves offering of materials to deities in the burning fire pot called Agnikund.

Besides homa a few additional pujas called angas are required to be performed depending upon the nature of the Sanskara. These are:

a. Establishing KalashPresence of Varuna deva (the water deity) is essential in all homas In some sanskaras additional puja is held for establishing Pradhan Kalash.

b. Worship of Universal Mothers This involves any one of following:

• Sptgrit Matrikas- worship of 7 divine Mothers (Divich Ksir Puja is a Kashmiri variant)

• Shodash Matrikas-worship of 16 divine Mothers

• Yognis- worship of 64 divine mothers

c. Khetrpal Puja- worship of deities associated with agricultural produce

d. Navgreh Mandal Puja- worship of nine planets( grehas) It is a very long ritual performed as a part of the homa or as a separate homa

e. Nand Mukha Shraddha ( also known as Abhyadaya)It involves seeking blessings of ancestors performed by ladies

f. Vaishvdev Bali( also known as Bhut Yagnya) Offerings made to certain tutelary gods, household divinities spirits, ancestors, birds and insects like ants. It is usually performed on the 11 day of the dead person and also in Shivratri puja by some.

4. Anteyeshti and Shraddha

These are religious rituals at the time of death and on death anniversaries.

5. Havan

There are many types of havan which Hindus perform either on special occasions or just to seek fulfillment of their desires. Kashmiris perform havan as a social event also. Some of the common havans are:

• Aayashya homa for removal of evil influences of a new born child
• Mryanjaya homa to ward off threatening situations like accidents
• Gayatri homa  for success in learning
• Mrtyanjay homa for recovery from ailments
• Navgreh homa for removal of greh doshas
• Ganesh homa for success in any venture
• Rudra homa for removal of  negative forces
• Durga homa for gaining power and energy(Shakti)

The number of homas is as large as the human needs. Kashmiri Hindus perform havans regularly as a social event. Usually five deities namely Ganesh, Durga, Shiv,Vishnu and Surya receive worship. These are called five sahkars. 

The performance of puja and homa has three stages:

1. Pratham Bhaga - It involves recitation of mantras along with actions which are meant to prepare performer both physically and mentally for the ritual.
2. Madhyam / Prdhan Bhaga - It represents the main purpose of ritual that is going to be performed. Apprioriate deity who grants this boon is worshipped.
3. Uttra Bhaga - This is the concluding part in which deities are thanked for being present during the performance of the ritual and seeking forgiveness for any omissions or mistakes during the performance of the ritual.

Part 1 (Pradhan Bhaga) and Part 3 (Uttra Bhaga) of a Puja/homa remain same in all Pujas. Part 2 (Madhyam/Pradhan Bhaga) changes with the type of Puja/homa.