About homa kundams

Dear Members:

One of our members had raised this query to me, and I am publishing the query and my response to that as this could be a guidance for many persons with similar doubts....

Query: Namaste Pandit ji - On this Vinayaka Chathurthi, there was Ganapati modaka homam done in our apts. The priests used a loha kundam (looked like iron made) for the homam and when I asked if it is better to use copper kundam or loha kundam for homam, they mentioned that copper vessels for ghee, etc have to be used and a loha kundam has to be used. They are from one of the Shankara mutts.
Can you please give your take on the homa kundam that has to be used ?

My response:

Homam kundams are preferably of Copper and not loha (Iron). Iron is "varjita" - prohibited in Deva kaaryas and pitru kaaryas.

But, maybe, the homam kundam was not loha - but just copper that has become dark with frequent usage (homam fire is of a very high temperature and can darken the homa kundam; the insides of my homa kundam also look dark - though the kunadam is a pyramid shaped one made of copper.

If they really insisted that loha kundam is the one to be used (as you claim they said so openly), I pity their ignorance and it is a sad state of affairs when people from Sankara mutts themselves are like this after learning vedas from reputed patasalas. People of Sankara mutt (priests of that tradition) are known for their excellent diction in veda mantras, and generally knowledgeable....so, I am not sure why they were confused in this matter. But, in all probability, it was probably YOU who mistook the metal that the homa kundam was made of....it might well have been a copper homa kundam only that was dark due to frequent homam smokes and ghee soot darkening the metal making it appear as Iron.

It is best to use homa kundams made of fresh clay, or bricks, or copper - and definitely Loha - Iron is prohibited in use for most normal homams; it is used only in certain ugra rituals. That is the shastraic position of this.

For some homams on Lord Ganesha, it is permissible to use even the coconut kernels as homa kundam - and kernels do get reduced to ash at the end of the homam. There are certain other natural articles also used as homa kundams in mantraic usages - but those are exceptions. Iron as homa kundam is not permissible for most vedic homams/ saatwik Fire worships.

Pt. R DAKSHINAMOORTHI.
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