Significance of purnakumbha.

Purnakumbha literally means a "full pitcher" (Purna = full, Kumbha = pitcher). The Purnakumbha is a pitcher full of water, with fresh leaves of the mango tree and a coconut (Sriphala) placed on the top. The pitcher may be made of mud, brass, copper or silver. Sometimes the pot is decorated with designs like Ashtalakshmis or a Swasthika.

Purnam means completion and the significance is that the endeavour undertaken must be successfully completed. It is a main part of all Hindu rituals. It is used in Grahapravesha ( house warming ceremony ), weddings and all auspicious functions.
When used for pujas, white or red thread is tied around the pitcher in beautiful, intricate, geometrical patterns. Very often the deity is invoked in the purnakumbha.
During pujas, mantras are chanted which charge the water with divine power and the water is used for “ abhisheka” or as prasadam to the devotees.

Learned men and saints have identified the Absolute Truth. So we acknowledge their greatness and pay them our respect by offering Purnakumbha at the entrance. In some places it is also used to welcome dignitaries in the Hindu way.

The pot symbolizes Mother Earth, water is the life-giver, the green leaves stand for life and coconut is the “ shriphala”, the divine consciousness. The pot symbolizes Mother Earth. The water symbolizes the primordial water from which the entire creation emerged. It is the divine essence and gives life to all. It is the soul filled with love and compassion, abundance and hospitality. Creation is represented by the leaves and coconut is the symbol of God-head.

Thus the purnakumbha has come to be considered as an object symbolizing God in Hindu culture.



An imaginative kalasham in Golu doll:
Pavi-kalasam.jpg

Dear Mami,

Very informative......especially the info on what the PurnaKumba represents.
Thanks a lot for sharing this with us.

Dear Chitra,
A very informative post. You have given the detailed about the " Purna kumbham" that plays an important
place in Hinduism.All the items used in the Purna Kumbha signify life in its bloom and plenty. It also indicates that human beings are part of nature and when nature thrives human beings too flourish. One instance of the Purnakumbha itself used as an object of worship is the Satyanarayana Puja or the worship of Lord Satyanarayana.
with love
pad

Dear C

Thanks for this informative post on PurnaKhumba. The kolu bomai is so cute - Our Pillayar is one God who can be imagined in any form and still look very very pretty.

I have seen Shastrigals bringing pots tied with white or red thread during various homams or ceremonies. Do you do that at home too?

-Gayathri.

Dear Chitra mami,

that was a nice informative post on Purnakumban. As with your other threads, this also details on minute things which many of us were unaware of. Thanks.

Radhi

Dear Chitvish ,
This is my first post on your threads, was going through the last posts also, very informative and useful, Staying in a place not with parents it’s difficult to learn something of your own, Thanks for the informative post...remember few things that I read in the other site about the Kumba not sure if its associated with the topic thou …
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Pots play a role in many different myths. This reflects the different aspects of the pot as a symbol expressing various meanings. Perhaps the most profound myth in which a pot plays a central role is the myth of the Samudra Manthana, the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean. The climax of this myth is the appearance of Lord Dhanvantari, the God from whom Ayurveda, the traditional Vedic science of healing originates. He rises from the Cosmic Ocean holding the pot with Amrita, the Divine Drink of Immortality in his hand. For this it was that the Devas and Asuras churned the Ocean of Milk.

Another important pot from mythology is the Kumbha holding the amrita and the seed of creation. In Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu the entire landscape is sanctified by this myth of the pot carrying the Drink of Immortality and the Seed of Creation through the pralaya, the cosmic flood which ended the previous yuga. Various places and temples in and around Kumbakonam are associated with aspects of this cosmic pot. Finally Lord Shiva Kumbheshvara, the Lord of the Pot, pierced the pot with an arrow and the amrita and the cosmic seed spilled out, regenerating the cosmic cycle of creation. Today the place where the amrita flowed out of the pot is the Mahamagha Tirtha, a large and sacred water reservoir. Once in twelve years the water becomes once again the amrita, the divine nectar, the source of all life, and over a million people will come to bath on the auspicious time.
The essence of the pot is of course that it can contain something. A full and complete pot is called purnakumbha. It represents abundance, completeness, wealth and prosperity.But in the Vedic tradition the kumbha also performs the function of embodying the murti or form of the deity during a yajña, a Vedic fire sacrifice
The various features of the kumbha reflect the following meanings in a symbolic way:
The pot itself is the Ishva deha, the body of the deity. It can be fashioned from clay, but also from silver, gold or other metal.
The kumbha is decorated with a cloth, this is the vastra, the garment, it represents the skin of the body.
The coconut placed on the mouth of the pot, adorning to top of the pot, represents the head.The mango leaves placed around the coconut represent the hair.
A kumbha can be covered with red sand, signifying the blood.
Sand can be placed in the pot, signifying the flesh.
The water with which the pot is filled is the fat, marrow and lymph.
The darbha grass placed inside the pot represents the bones.
The threads winded around the pot represent the nadis or veins. They are wind first in one direction, and consecutively in the opposite direction, creating a net-like wire-frame around the pot.
All the precious stones and gold inside is the Shukila Makavan.
The nyasa mantras and the prana-prathishtha confer life.

Under the kumbha the seeds for Ishvara, all the stages of the dhanya, are placed in ritual order to make the pedestal, the altar where the Lord is seated.

This is followed by the performance of the fire sacrifice. The essence or energy of the substances sacrificed into the Agni, the ritual fire, together with the mantras, is transformed into sukshma, subtle, and consequently transferred into the water in the kumbha by way of the ritual and the chanting.
And finally this water will be poured on the murti or on the person for whom the ceremony has been performed. This transmits the energy to where it is required. There it will perform its function
Thanks once again
Regards,
Meena

hi mam
its very informative
mam i have a doubt regarding kolu
is keeping kolu for last 3 days of navaratri correct.
pls reply mam

Originally Posted by Chitvish

]

hi mam
its very informative
but i have a doubt
while making kalasam(purnakumbam) the coconut should touch the water or not?
pls reply mam

Dear Srisakthi, Padmini, Radhikrish, Meenasri,
Thanks for your comments & sorry for thelate acknowledgement.
Love,
Chithra.

Gayathri, Thanks.
No, I do n' know how to do it. There is perhaps a special method, looking difficult & tricky! But they do it so fast!
Love,
Chithra.

Originally Posted by gayathriar

-Gayathri.