In Hinduism, upachara (Sanskrit: उपचार; service or courtesy)[1] refers to the offerings and services made to a deity as part of worship.
Although the upcharas differ according to the form of the prayer, a typical list of 16, which parallels the process of welcoming an honoured guest, is as follows:[2][3]
- Ahvahana: Invocation of the deity
- Asana: Offering a seat to the deity
- Padya: Offering water to wash the feet
- Arghya: Offering water to wash hands
- Achamaniya: Offering water to drink
- Snana or abhisekha: Bathing
- Vastra: Clothing or offering a garment
- Yagnopavit or Mangalsutra: Putting on the sacred thread
- Anulepana or gandha: Sprinkling with perfume
- Pushpa: Offering flowers
- Dhupa: Burning incense
- Dipa or Aarti: Waving of an oil lamp in front of the deity
- Naivedya: Offering food
- Namaskara or pranama: Reverential prostration or salutation
- Parikrama or Pradakshina. Circumambulation
- Visarjana: Taking leave.
5 Upacharas
Panchopacharas are the five services offered in a simple puja.
10 Upacharas
Dasopacharas are the ten services offered in a puja.
References
- ↑ Apte, Vaman Shivram (1957). "उपचारः". The practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Poona: Prasad Prakashan.
- ↑ Fuller, C. J. (2004), The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, p. 67, ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5
- ↑ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. Rosen Publishing Group. p. 720. ISBN 9780823931804.
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