ISKCON VAISHNAVA ACHAMANA

ACHAMANA (RITUAL SIPPING OF WATER)
Definition:
Achamana means literally to sip. As a ritual of purification it means to sip water three times from the right hand while saying mantra, and then to touch various sense organs and parts of the body with water while saying more mantras. This form of purification has been practiced since time immemorial. In that place Srila Vyasa Deva, in his own ashrama, which was surrounded by berry trees, sat down to meditate after touching water for purification (acamana). SB 1.7.3.

Purpose: Water is profusely glorified in the Vedas and is used in Vedic rituals for sipping, touching to parts of the body, sprinkling over the body, and for bathing the body. Taking pure, cool water internally is purifying and invigorating, both physically and mentally; and, when this is accompanied by utterance of the names of Vishnu, one becomes filled with spiritual qualities. Acamana is a standard form of purification, prerequisite for meditation, puja, homa and other sacred activities. Types: Achamana may be of different types, arising from different scriptures (e.g.. vaidika, srauta, smarta, pauranic, tantric), according to the ceremony and the line of teaching one is following. The difference in these achamanas lies mainly in the mantras recited.

Occasion: Always perform acamana before entering the deity room to worship the Lord. One should perform achamana before any sacred ceremony such as worship of the deity, sacrifice, japa, study of scripture, sandhya rites (chanting gayatri mantra) One should perform achamanas after eating, drinking, rising from bed, passing stool, urine or semen, bathing, dressing, touching the lips, spitting, coughing, telling a lie, returning home from outside, visiting a crematorium or a place where four roads meet, seeing impure things. Often achamana is performed twice, as at the beginning of homa or after contacting impure items. Yajnavalkya says that one should perform acamana twice after bathing, drinking, coughing, sleeping, eating, coming from a road or crematorium or putting on cloth.

Dress: One should in most cases have trikaccha dhoti or kaupina. One should wear the sacred thread (upavita). One should have sikha tied. One should not have the head or throat covered. One should not have shoes on. Hands and feet should be clean. Posture: One should sit on an asana facing east, in padma or svastika asana. Knees and feet should not be protruding. If the place does not allow sitting one may squat. One should not be standing. (Exception: one may perform acamana while standing if one is in water which is above the knees but below the navel.)

Place: Sit on a proper sitting place (asana). (If there is no asana, kneel with your right knee touching the floor and your left foot flat on the floor.)
The place should be clean: free from hair, charcoals, bones, ash or any impure items. Water: The water used for sipping should be pure, and cool, without foam or stagnation bubbles, without foul odor or bad taste, untouched by fingernails or hair, or any impure item. Hand Configuration: The right hand should be held so that the forefinger, middle finger and ring finger are together and slightly bent upwards, while the little finger and the thumb are separated from the other three fingers. Brahma Tirtha: The hand is divided into five parts for offering water to different types of living entities: the tips of the fingers are called deva tirtha, for offering tarpana water to Vishnu; the space between the thumb and forefinger is called pitri tirtha, for offering water to the ancestors; the part of the hand at the base of the little finger is called kaya tirtha, for offering water to mankind; the center of the palm is called agni tirtha, for proksana (sprinkling water oneself); the part of the hand at the base of the thumb is called brahma tirtha, for sipping water for purification.
Qualification: A brahmana becomes purified in performing acamana if the water penetrates to the heart (i.e. by swallowing the water completely). A kshatriya becomes purified in performing acamana if the water reaches his throat. A vaishya becomes purified if the water reaches his palate (inside his mouth). A shudra or woman becomes purified if the water touches his or her lips.