Panchagavyam

What is more important about the cow dung is that more than being an external purifying agent, it acts as an internal purifying agent in the Vaidhic way. Sasthras have laid down that the cow dung is to be added to the panchagavyam which is to be taken for internal purification.

What is Panchagavyam? Gavyam’ is what is connected with the cow (go). Three of these are milk and milk products namely, curd and ghee. The remaining two – it is here the opposites come – are the cow’s urine and its dung. These fived mixed together make the panchagavyam. ‘Kshiram, dadhi, thatha sajyam, muthram, gomayam evacha’, it is said.

When punyahavachanam is performed to remove the ritual impurity caused by any reason, panchagavyam is given and it should be taken in. The use of panchagavyam is not merely to remove the external ritual impurity, but to remove the internal impurity and previous sins. This is not a simple matter. The sinful acts are the cause of our birth and suffering.

If these are destroyed, is it not a big thing? If the cow gives the five things required for this, it there anyone more helpful than the cow. Sasthras say that when taking the panchagavyam, one has to say, ‘just as fire reduces wood to ashes, may this panchagavyam which I take reduce to ashes the sins that have spread from the skin to the bones’.

Yath thvak asthi gatham papam dhehe thishtathi mamake
Prasanam panchagavyasya dhahathvagnirivendhanam

யத் த்வக் - ேகதி கதம் பாபம் லதல திப தி மாமலக | ப்ராசனம் பஞ்சகவ்யகய த த்வாக்நிலவந்தனம் ||

‘Indhanam’ means firewood. The meaning of ‘dhahadh agnih eva indhanam’ is ‘just as fire burns out the wood, let this panchagavyam burn the sins’. Four great qualities of milk, curd, buttermilk, butter and ghee are: they are tasty, nutritious, not only serve as food but act as medicine and are useful for Vaidhic purposes and remove the sins and save the athma.