This is festival season. Janmashtami is already over but many more to follow in coming days. For each festival, we perform some kind of Puja. Each Puja is different, but there are few steps which are common for every Puja. In this article, we are going to know about "Shodasa Upachara" which is also called as 16 step worship. All of us perform these steps during Puja but obviously most of us do not know its meaning or what does it talk about. Let us explore more.....
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| By Saravana Raja R (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
The puja process is very similar to inviting a guest to our house. When we want a guest to come home, we formally invite them first. Then, when they visit, we allow them to refresh, then offer beverages and food. In olden days, these methods were even more elaborate. Similarly, during Puja, in these 16 steps, we invoke the deity and offer him various Upacharas. Take a look....
I am not including any mantras here because, for each puja, there will be variations in mantras even though these steps are common.
1. Dhyanam :
This is the first step. Each Puja has a different deity. By telling the respective sloka, we meditate upon the deity with its full form.
2. Aawaahanam :
In this step, we formally invite the deity for the puja, by chanting the respective verse. If the deity is a male God, then we say "Devesa" ; for a female Goddess, we say "Devesi".
2.a. Praana Prathishta :
We all have idols for puja. In this step, we are giving life to that idol enrgizing). We can say that we are merging the formless God in the physical idol.
3. Aasanam :
The invited guest is here. So what do we do first ? We given them a seat right? That's what we do here. By chanting the mantras, we offer a seat (Aasana) to the deity.
4. Paadhyam :
In our tradition, we always say "Aditi Devo Bhava", which means we treat guests as God. Hence, in olden days, we used to wash the guest's feet with water. Similarly, here, by chanting the sloka, we wash the feet of deity with water.
5. Arghyam :
In this step, by chanting the respective sloka, we offer water to the deity for washing hands.
5.a. Aachamaneeyam :
We always offer water for guests to drink. Likewise, after giving water for washing feet and hands, now we offer water for the deity to drink.
6. Snaanam :
We give the deity a bath by chanting the corresponding mantra. This is a kind of Abisheka and we do it with many things (according to the availability of supplies) like, milk, curd, honey, panchamritha , water, etc.
7. Vasthra :
After a bath, we give the deity clothes (vasthra) to wear. We also offer various ornaments (as per convenience and availability)
8. Yagnopaveetham :
This is when we offer the sacred thread (Poonal) to the deity by chanting the respective sloka.
9. Gandham :
This step involves applying chandan paste to the idol.
10. Pushpam :
We offer various flowers and garlands to the deity. All these are done for decorating the deity.
11. Dhoopam :
We light the incense sticks and show the same to the deity
12. Deepam :
Usually, God resides in Garbhagraha, a dark place in temples. Hence to make the deity visible to the devotees, deeparathana is done. Similarly, here, after giving the deity a bath, clothes, ornaments, flowers and fragrances to wear and decorate, we highlight the deity by showing deepa to the idol.
13. Naivedhyam :
By chanting mantras, we offer various prasatha that are made specifically for the puja. Typically, we are offering food for the deity (guest) to eat.
14. Thamboolam :
After food, we always offer betel leaves and nuts to guests. This is generally referred as thamboolam. Though it has a lot of spiritual significance, the basic idea is to aid in better digestion. Similarly, after feeding the deity, we offer thamboolam by chanting slokas.
15. Neeraajanam :
This is nothing but Aarthi. We light camphor and show it to the deity with utmost devotion and thereby get the blessings. After this, we do Pradakshina and Namaskar, just to imply that we are surrendering ourselves to the deity.
16. Mantra Pushpam :
Fianlly, we say this famous Vedic chanting called "Mantra pushpam". For the detailed meaning and text, click the following link. To get a quick idea, watch this youtube clip.
All Five Senses Activated During Puja :
All our five senses are actively engaged during a Puja. Hearing is activated by mantras, slokas and by ringing the puja bell. Smell is activated by incense sticks, flowers, sandal etc. Touch is activated by applying various substances to the idol. Sight is activated by deeparaathana and aarthi. Taste is activated by the food we prepared as prashad. All our five senses are blended together towards one concentrated point. Imagine how fantastic and peaceful, the puja experience will be, if we perform it with full realization of what we are doing... Have a great Puja year ahead.
