Translation:

Life, death, rebirth, we bow to the primordial life-force energy

Creation, preservation, dissolution, we bow to Earth’s foundations

Maid, Mother, Crone, we bow to the boundless

Sun, Moon, Fire, we bow to nature

Physical, emotional and psychical bodies, ready! Make pure!

Bless and purify, by the power of the seven sacred rivers, all the internal energies reflected in this external reality…at once, make them equal

By the power of lover and beloved, make it so

With these scented flowers and the power of creation, we offer obeisance to the twelve aspects of the sun

With these scented flowers and the power of preservation, we offer obeisance to the sixteen aspects of the moon

With these scented flowers and the power of dissolution, we offer obeisance to the ten aspects of fire

Witnessed by the power of my clan wave gathered, this water is now Shiva and Shakti, the nectar of immortality.

Listen to the mantra:

We teach samanyarghya, water purification, in its entirety during SHARANYA’s closed circles as part of the Daughters of Kali program, but we use many of these mantras in our public pujas too. For example, the seven rivers mantra is sung alone for our water blessing at the start of our ceremony (listen to it sung here.) We end the sequence by sprinkling water on all gathered and on our altars while speaking the last mantra, amritam kuru svaha. This is how we bless the space for our ritual work together. This can be done equally well in one’s home, office, or any other space you wish to cleanse.

Each verse, each mantra, is potent and can be utilized in your daily practice alone or in concert with the others. Flower offerings may be made using the mantras beginning ete gandhapuspe to seal prayers or spells. Place the flowers on your altar in gratitude to the energies that converge around your good intentions. This is also particularly effective for blessing protection charms and talismans. Should you wish to simplify the mantra, just say, ete gandhapuspe om am namah, replacing “am” with “um” and “mam” for the round of three verses that makes up the totality of AUM. Of course, with a bit of practice you will be able to do the entire series of mantras to full effect.

Water blessed in puja in this way is utilized throughout the worship and honoring of Maa. It is then shared with devotees; when you receive this water, take it in your cupped right hand, sip three times, and then draw your hand up over your face and head to receive the full benefit.

* NOTE: For additional information on samanyarghya, you may also wish to read the many books by Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda Saraswati that are readily available to help the spiritual seeker with puja.