Āhāva

By Swami Harshananda

Āhāva literally means ‘calling’.

Derived from the root ‘hve’ (‘to call’), āhāva is the technical name of a formula of summons pronounced loudly by the hotṛ (chief of the priests representing the Rgveda) in a Soma sacrifice before starting the śastra (laudatory recitation). It is usually in the form of śom 3*^[1] sāvom or śoṃsāvo 3^[1] (a corrupt form of śarṃsāva).

Soma juice is extracted (savana) three times during the day :

Morning - prātasavana
Noon - mādhyandinasavana
Evening - tṛtīyasavana

During all these three savanas āhāva is done 4 times in the first, 5 times in the second and again 4 times in the third.

References[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 The numeral 3 indicates that the syllable is to be chanted for 3 unites of time, called a 'pluta' as against 1 unit of time ('hrasva') or 2 units of time (dīrgha').

The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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[three-1] 1.0 ^1.1 The numeral 3 indicates that the syllable is to be chanted for 3 unites of time, called a 'pluta' as against 1 unit of time ('hrasva') or 2 units of time (dīrgha').

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