One of the most prevalent daily practices at temples and shrines is abhiseka, or consecration, during which the image or murti of a deity is ritually cleansed.
The ceremonial consecrating of a temple might vary from a
modest washing of a deity in water or milk to the ritual consecrating of an
entire building.
This temple abhiseka, also known as kumbhabhiseka, is
carried out every twelve years by temples that can afford to renovate or
restore their structures.
The abhiseka is then said to rejuvenate the deities'
strength inside.
The deity may be ritually washed with a number of things ranging
from turmeric water, which is said to be cooling and cleansing, to honey,
fruit, and curds in the more complicated abhiseka rites done in bigger
temples.
It's rare to discover written texts that explain why
different substances are employed, although a little brochure in one temple in
Tamil Nadu said that sugar cane juice is presented for health, sandalwood oil
may bring happiness, and rice-flour powder may be offered to remove debt
(Foulston 2002: 125–26).
The amount of components utilized in an abhiseka ritual is
determined by what is provided by worshippers or the temple's budget.
The abhiseka rites in Tamil Nadu tend to be more elaborate
at the bigger temples, where flowers, turmeric, and sandal paste appear to be
more widely accessible and less expensive.
Showering a god with flowers, water, or milk, on the other
hand, is a profoundly intimate gesture that strengthens the link between deity
and devotee.
The abhiseka ceremony is usually followed by arti and the
deity's adornment.
In South India, this usually entails transforming a simple
black stone picture into a feast for the eyes and nose using deep yellow sandal
paste, flowers, and highly embellished silk clothes.
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See also:
Artı; Deities; Image worship; Mandir; Temple worship
References And Further Reading:
- Foulston, Lynn. 2002. At the Feet of the Goddess: The Divine Feminine in Local Hindu Religion. Brighton and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press.