2/3/2018 HTCC Priest Req

Priest Requirements:
HTCC is looking for a Smartha hailing from South India who has studied vedas and apastamba purva-apara prayoga in the traditional
way. He should have served in a temple (or matha) for a few years, and have some grasp over Sanskrit, Jyotisha (muhurtha shastra) and
dharma shastra. He should be able to converse fluently in English, and wish to be an ambassador of Hinduism.

Upbringing
Origin req Of South Indian origin: i.e.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra
Nature req Works well with members of all vaidika paramparas.
Will perform shiva-vishnu puja, panchayatana puja etc
Sutra req Apastamba/Bodhayana/Ashvalayana/Drahyayana etc

Languages
English req Fluency in spoken english
Sanskrit req Ability to read basic puja vidhanam books
Fluency in sanskrit is a bonus
South Indian req Fluency in at least one south indian language
Fluency in additional languages a bonus
Hindi Fluency in Hindi or a north indian language

Temple
Experience req Has 2 years or more experience in a south indian temple
Nitya Devalaya req Conduct nitya puja at all sannidhis (broadly: vishnu
Puja parivara, shiva parivara & navagraha)
Naivedya req Can cook anna-prasada for nitya naivedya
Naimittika Puja req Conduct appropriate karmas during / after eclipses etc
Utsava Puja req Conduct utsava pujas with book as necessary for all
(festivals) major festivals. For example: rama-navami, ganesha-
chaturthi, shivaratri, navaratri, krishna jayanti,
kalyanotsavas (Srinivasa, Shiva etc.)
Knowledge of north Indian festivals is a bonus
Archanas req Perform ashtottara / sahasranama archanas
Any ashtottara memorized is a bonus
Agama req Some knowledge of temple rituals required.
In depth knowledge of agama shastra a bonus
Alankara req Some knowledge of murti alankara required.
In depth alankara skills a bonus.
Vishesha Puja req Can perform a moderately elaborate puja / abhisheka
program (~1.5 hours) without referring to books
Suktas req Following suktas / mantras completely memorized:
· Five of the following (or similar): Brahma, Vishnu,
Rudra(namaka), Chamaka, Purusha, Narayana,
Shri, Bhuu
· Punyahavacana Mantras
· Laghunyasam, Rudram, Chamakam
Suktas req Ability to chant one or more of the following: Taittiriya
Upanishad, Mahanyasam, Udakashanti, Arunaprashnam
Veda Can perform veda parayana (or krama, ghana etc)
Gotra Have some knowledge of gotra-pravara
Panchanga Can set temple programs as per local panchanga

Griha
Experience req Has 2 or more years experience performing grihya
samskaras
Samskaras (purva) req Can perform all purva prayoga samskaras
https://www.htccwa.org/Community/SIndianPriestReq.htm 1/2
2/3/2018 HTCC Priest Req

Samskaras (apara) req Can perform hiranya-shraddham

Common pujas Can perform the following (with book if req’d)
· Satyanarayana puja
· Griha pravesha
· etc.
Agni mukha req Basic homa procedure memorized:
agni mukha, jayadi homa etc
Homas req Can perform ganapathi homa, mrityunjaya homa,
ayushya homa, Sudarshana homa, navagraha shanti etc.
Regional pujas Can perform 1 or more regional pujas: eg. bhagavati
seva, ayyappa puja etc.
Jyotisha Can guide grihasthas with basic selection of muhurthas
Conduct Guide Can answer basic questions on achara. i.e. there has
been a birth in the family. what must I do?

Ambassador
Q&A req Can provide answers about Hinduism to kids and adults
belonging to the Hindu tradition
Knowledge of other faiths is a bonus
Discourses req Can give quick 10-15 minute talks on the importance of
rituals, and the import of all festivals
Acharya Can teach some aspects: eg. sloka recitation, mantra
recitation, puja vidhanam etc.

https://www.htccwa.org/Community/SIndianPriestReq.htm 2/2