Hindus: What are the occassions that one should tie his angavastram at his waist & why?

9 Answers

• C. Sri Vidya Rajagopalan

  9 days ago

  This is lokachara and sadachara and applicable only to those places!

  1) Upper garment at waist:

  Sachsaritrasuthanidhi:

  ‘pradakshine praname cha devata–guru sannidhau

  vastra nishpetene snana upasthane apivadane

  dharyam katyam uthariyam pitrukarye suralaye’

  ‘The upper garment is to be at waist;

  In temple and in front of God, with acharyan (guru, teacher), during pradakshinam (circumambulation), during pranamam (respectful salutation), during bath, vastra nishpetenam (after bath, water is removed from the soiled cloth with mantra once and without mantra once later), during during apivadanam (after namaskaram or before), upastanam, pitrukaryam (ritual for ancestors).’

  Reference:

  Sri Vaishnava sadachara nirnaya, Sri Krishnamacharya (present H.H. Ahobila Mutt 45th Jeer Swamigal), Published year 1990, Page 414, Total Pages 668 +176 + 16 + xviii + 68

  2) Pancharatra Pradipa:

  Pancharatra Pradipa gives the following guide to cloth during temple worship:

  A devotee should not wear dirty cloth, especially when cooking or worshiping the Deity. Used cloth that has not been washed and dried again is considered unclean. Cloth worn while sleeping, passing urine or stool, or having sex is unclean. Cloth that touches anything impure, such as wine, meat, blood, a dead body, or a woman in her menstrual period, is also contaminated. Cloth

  washed by a public laundry service and cloth that, though washed, has become stale are also unclean and therefore unfit to wear during Deity worship.

  While worshiping the Deity, you should not wear the following types of cloth: brightly-colored cloth (for men), damp cloth, cloth that is too long or too short to be worn properly, STITCHED OR SEWN CLOTH (FOR MEN), torn cloth, oil- or dirt-stained cloth, soiled cloth, burnt cloth, or cloth chewed by animals or insects. However, you may wear silk many times before washing it, provided it has not contacted anything impure or been worn in impure places.

  Unbleached, raw matka (ahimsa) silk is the best for pooja. Sheep’s wool is said to be always pure, but still, you should not wear ordinary woolen cloth when worshiping the Deity, because wool particles may fall on the Deity’s paraphernalia. However, you may wear wool cloth if it is very fine (nonshedding wool) in which case you should reserve these items only for pooja. Synthetic cloth should not be worn when worshiping the Deity.

  3) Picture Gallery:

  Vedaparayanam and Prabantam chanting:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vaduvur_Veda_Par…

  http://www.pbase.com/image/32167218

  http://www.pbase.com/image/43683161

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• Williams

  5 days ago

  2

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• Flute

  9 days ago

  Good question. Let me answer with reference to the Indian tradition.

  It is more appropriate to call this vastra (garment) as waist garment (iduppu thundu). In the Indian tradition, a gruhastha (married man) has to compulsorily wear a pancha-kachcha veshti (dhoti with five tying points) and a separate waist garment all the time, except while sleeping and bathing. For other than gruhasthas, such a requirement is not compulsory.

  The angavastram for the gruhastha has the following usages.

  1. While going out this will be worn as an upper garment to decently cover the upper portion of the body.

  2. While doing japa, it serves as a garment falling from the shoulder covering the hand counting the japas.

  3. While doing poojas, it should be worn around the waist.

  4. While receiving theertha (holy water at the temples/home) one tip of it is placed under the hand receiving theertha, so that the theertha does not fall on the ground.

  5. While using the toilet, the vastram is draped around the head.

  6. Wearing two pieces of cloth, (apart from the loin cloth) is considered as an indication that the man is already married.

  7. When the gruhastha falls at the feet of the sanyaasins, the mantraakshathai (blessing-yellow-rice) has to be received in Angavastram.

  There appers no particular spiritual reasons for this.

  @@Edit: @ ‘Behenji’

  ‘Angavastram’ literally means, ‘body (covering) cloth’. This is used to cover the upper portion of the body of men. ‘Angavastram’ is not a Tamil word, but a Sanskrit word, also used in khadi-boli Hindi. It is in usage all over India, not restricted to Tamils. Being a well known word in Hindi and Sanskrit and beingin usage all over India really no room for the complaint, ‘all Indians are not Tamilians’!

  @@ General:

  Yes, it also exhibits humility if worn around the waist. Even though it can also be used as a belt, the intended uasage is not as’belt’, as the traditional way suggested by elders is, to tie it around the waist, four fingers’ width above the tying point of vesht, thusi leaving a gap between veshti and angavastram!!

  @@ “Nandi”

  Thanks for narrating that anecdote!

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• charyl

  4 days ago

  Angavastram

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• Raj Kish

  9 days ago

  While I do not know about the occasions and traditions about this part of the gents’apparel,but as I understand ,tying around the waist is to show ones humility and respect.Keeping it on the shoulder shows superiority and even arrogance.There doesn’t seem to be any spiritual significance to this tradition.

  Have a Humble Day.

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• 6000 YEAR IMMORTAL & YOUNG TAMIL

  9 days ago

  I endorse both Flute’s spiritual(hitherto unknown information) and Raj kish’s literal(known information) answers.

  I would like to add more to Raj kish’s list.

  Angavastram on one’s head:

  It is called thallapakattu (turban).

  It can be worn by a person himself to show his supremacy,readiness to go for a fist fight or silambam fight etc:

  It can be worn by a priest on a person’s head as a mark of respect.

  Angavastram on one’s waist:

  It is useful like a belt to hold a dhoti in place for those who are not used to it.

  Rajini’s cinematic style of throwing Angavastram in air and catching it again or shaking it in air with a reverberating back-ground music and finally placing it anywhere on his body brings his fans to a state of frenzy.

  Rajini uses same angavastram either as a boomerang at his enemies or throws it,wraps it around heroine’s waist standing at a distance to pull sensationally towards him.

  I have heard that this angavastram can also be used an effective weapon by whirling it against a few lethal weapons to protect self.

  Rajini’s movies are the only proof to corroborate my claim.

  Same angavastram can also be used as a mask to cover one’s face from being recognized.

  During 1970s one minister stayed in a guest house during his tour of a district in TN.

  Before becoming a minister he had an illicit affair with a woman in that district.

  He went to her place incognito during wee hours without informing security guards.

  On return he tried to climb the wall with his face covered with an angavastram.

  But an alert security caught him red-handed and to his shock it was the minister.

  So angavastram is a multi-purpose apparel in a Tamilian dress code.

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• ?

  9 days ago

  ekavastram is not accepted because in olden days all people used to take bath in river so it is not proper conduct many people will start looking and it has the ability to affect one physically and mentally so that to avoid that wearing one cloth or ekavastram is not accepted.

  during festival(grahapravesh,marriage,upanayanam,avani avitam etc) and during aaradhana(offering food to god) it is worn around the waist.

  it is worn around waist even during tharpana,and yearly ceremony to dead people.

  it is placed around waist and during sandhyavandhana japam used to cover the hands from being seen by others.

  there is no any spiritual reason it is just to cover the body from being seen by others.every action performed by humans affect other and ones self so to prevent unnecessary conflict it is used.

  they serve lot of purpose.

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• Priyanka

  9 days ago

  according to puranas

  men are not supposed to put on shirt

  and have cleanly shaved head or a poni always

  while performing pujas (all pujas)they are not allowed to put on shirt

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• odampully

  9 days ago

  It is to show respect and humility. But, over humility is dangerous. Another use is it acts as a belt.

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