GRUHA PRAVESHA - HIRIADKA

MARCH 2013

HIRIADAKA.

Gruha Pravesha is a ceremony performed on the occasion of one's first entry into a new house. Once the house is ready, the family moves in on an auspicious day that is determined by the astrological charts. Purity of panchang (almanac) and auspicious time (muhurat) must be considered during the gruha pravesh.
Dinesha, resident of Bommar Bettu, Hiriadaka, Udupi District, constructs a modern  house close to their old house and performs elaborate house warming ceremony on 22nd Feb 2013, inviting all friends and relatives. The ceremony is over two days, one in the evening and the next day with Gana Homa and Sri Satyanarayana Pooja, followed by grand lunch, for all well wishers, friends and relatives. It's celebration of happiness and prosperity.

Ritual follows that a cow and calf is brought into the house, performed pooja, given food and then taken back to its shed.

Apart from observing an auspicious date, the house-warming ceremony is another vital aspect and it is compulsory before moving into a house, whether rented or owned. In India, the house-warming ritual is regarded as second in importance only to the wedding ceremony.

Vasthu Sastra says that all dwelling spaces are alive with unseen entities and prayers are necessary to purify the space from negative energy and to allow the flow of positive energy into the property. It is believed that unholy vibrations may have resided in the vacant space, which is why prayers are conducted asking the unseen forces to leave before new, protective energies are invited to occupy the space. It is recommended that a priest perform the house-warming ceremony because it involves several levels of cleansing.

Those who follow different faiths can conduct the ceremony differently to invoke the blessings of the Almighty, elders or well-wishers. In the Indian tradition, the sacred rites are performed to bestow good health, wealth, peace and prosperity to the house owner. The function begins with a pooja (a rite of worship) for Lord Ganesha, the main deity, and the breaking of a coconut to clear all obstacles in the way of the auspicious event.

5 March 2013