Sandhyavandanam

Sandhyavandana (Sanskrit: संध्यावन्दन, sandhyāvandana) is a mandatory religious ritual performed, traditionally, by Dvija communities of Hindus, particularly those initiated through the sacred thread ceremony referred to as the Upanayanam and instructed in its execution by a Guru, in this case one qualified to teach Vedic ritual. The Sandhyavandanam consists of recitation from the Vedas, accompanied by ritual. These rituals are performed three times a day- at morning (prātaḥsaṃdhyā), noon (mādhyāhnika) and evening (sāyaṃsaṃdhyā).

The Sandhyavandanam is the oldest extant liturgy in world religion. As a practice, it may be descended from the much older daily Agnihotra ritual.

Sandhyavandanam literally means "salutation to Sandhya". Sandhya, in turn, has traditionally been interpreted either as "the transition moments of the day" (namely the two twilights dawn and dusk), or as "the solar noon". Thus, Sandhyavandanam may be defined as the ritual "salutation to twilight or the solar noon".

The term sandhyā, when used by itself in the sense of "daily practice", may also refer to the performance of these rituals at the opening and closing of the day.

The steps in the Sandhyavandan always include the following essential components:

In addition to the above Vedic components of the Sandhyavandanam, many include the following Tantric component:

The steps in the Rigveda Sandhyavandan are twenty-eight in number. The emerging need to perform the Sandhyaavandanam daily is increasing .

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