Panchamrita (Devanagari:पञ्चामृत, from Sanskrit: pañcāmṛta) is a mixture of five foods used in Hindu worship and puja,[1] usually honey, sugar, milk, yoghurt, and ghee.[2][3]
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Etymology
Pañcāmṛta is a Sanskrit compound of two words:
- Pañca, 'five'.[4]
- Amṛta, lit. 'immortal', "nectar of immortality, ambrosia, beverage of the gods".[5]
Preparation
Equal quantities of Milk (preferably cow milk), Yoghurt, Honey, Sugar and Ghee are mixed together.[2][3] However, there may be certain regional variations in ingredients. Most south Indians add ripe banana[6] instead of sugar.Keralites may also include tender coconut. Some recipes also include grapes[7].
Usage
In Hevajra tantra
Beer (2004: pp.327-332) contrasts the Panchamrita of the Dakshinachara and the Vāmācāra and identifies that the "Left-Hand Path" (Sanskrit: Vāmamārga) of the Hevajra Tantra (and of the Anuttarayoga Tantras in general) worship with a different enumeration of the Panchamrita: human faeces, marrow, semen, blood and urine.[8]
Notes
- ^ For definition of पञ्चामृत (IAST: pañcāmṛta ) as "the collection of five sweet things used in worshipping deities" see: Apte 1965, p. 578,
- ^ a b Bryant, Edwin (2007). The Krishna Sourcebook. Oxford University Press. pp. 529. ISBN 9780195148916. http://books.google.com/books?id=HVDqCkW1WpUC&pg=PA529.
- ^ a b Sarkar, Benoy Kumar (2004). The Folk Element in Hindu Culture. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 236. ISBN 9780766186576. http://books.google.com/books?id=Eth4NKlHCeMC&pg=PA236.
- ^ Apte notes that as the first member of a compound, the word पञ्चन् ("five") drops its final न्; nominative form is पञ्च. See: Apte, p. 578.
- ^ Apte 1965, p. 138
- ^ Karigoudar, Ishwaran. "A populistic community and modernization in India". Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=nNYUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA30. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ Nair, K.K.. "Sages Through Ages, Proof of divinity given". Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=ocKK64IZHakC&pg=PA111. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ Beer, Robert (2004). The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs. Second Edition. Shambhala; pp.327-332. Source: [1] (accessed: Wednesday June 24, 2009)
References
- Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965), written at Delhi, The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (Fourth revised and enlarged ed.), Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, ISBN 81-208-0567-4
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