By Swami Harshananda
Akṣayya literally means ‘imperishable’.
Performance of religious rites to appease or please the ancestors is an integral part. During such ceremonies called ‘śrāddha,’ appropriate mantras (incantations) are chanted. One of those mantras containing the wish that the offerings be imperishable, chanted by the performer of the rite, is known as ‘akṣayya’ or ‘akṣayyasthāna.’
The form of the mantra is as follows :
‘Om, adya amukagotrasya pituh amukaśarmaṇe datta-tadannapanādikam akṣayyamastu,’
‘May the food and drink given by (me) to so and so, of such and such gotra, on this day, become imperishable.’[1]
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore