shodasha upachara puja

What is shodasha upachAra? 

To understand the purpose of shodasha upachaara, it is important to understand the meaning of the word itself.  shOdasha means 16 or "consisting of 16" or "having 16"! upachAra means "Treating someone", "honoring", "solicitate", "performing a ceremony", "offering reverence", "service" etc.  

A special guest to one's home is offered a special treatment. Most festivals would have these 16 steps as a way to greet, meet and treat the Lord through ceremonial solicitation. These steps are symbolic  in nature to express gratitude and reverence by subjecting the deity through the purification process through bathing, offering clothes, scents, flowers, food etc. These steps are concluded by a complete prostration to seek His blessings.

 

Here are the 16 upachArAs: 

1. prathama upachAra - dhyana - aavahana – meditation offered as reverence to the Lord. This is usually an invocation prayer, typically in the Gayatri chandas but a mAnasika (mental) dhyAna with closed eye to express gratitude is done. Through the dhyAnam one extends an invitation to the particular deity, to inhabit the image or the kalasha on the altar table. We need to make ourselves ready to receive the special guest so a purification process (physical with water, mental with praNayAma and spiritual with the names of the Lord) is followed before the dhyAna and aavAhana to prepare onself to invite the special guest. The performer has to purify his own aasana first and settle by invoking earth as support, driving away of distractions (bhutotsadāna), and removing the odor (mAnushyagandha) 
   
   
2. dwitiya upachAra - aasana – The invited deity is offered a "throne" to sit on - ratna simhAsana (throne made of jewels or golden seat)! Here the deity is pleaded to sit in comfort, pleasure, undisturbed, and satisfied.
    
3. tritIya upachAra - pAdya - a special guest is always offered a bowl of water to wash the feet, and the deity is also offered the water to cleanse the feet (to help relax). Typically, the yajamAna would wash the feet with devotion and take a sip of that water (pAdodaka). 
   
   
4. chaturta upachAra - arghya - once the feet are washed, the deity is offered water for washing the hands as the special guest will be offered food and drinks as part of the special treatment. 
   
   
5. panchama upachAra - aachamana - pure water is offered to the guest to refresh and to prepare oneself for a special meal. 
   
   
6. shashtama upachAra - snAna - a ceremonial shower is offered to the deities with milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, sugar, coconut water, fruit juice, followed by purified water - panchAmruta snAna and shuddhOdaka snAna. Milk, Curd, Ghee, Honey, Sugar are considered the 5 amruthAs that result in healthy life, and those are given to us by the Lord and the way to pay gratitude is offering it back to Him. The shuddhOdaka snAna at the end is to cleanse the deity of the panchAmruta smeared on the body. 
   
   
7. saptama upachAra - vastrAbharana - after the ceremonial bathing, the deities are offered freshly washed clothes, or gejje vasta - a cotton decorative clothing. This can be replaced with akshate.  
   
   
8. ashtama upachAra - yajnOpaviIa - along with the vastra, the Lord is offered the sacred thread as a way to remind Him of his responsibility towards his created beings. Also, He makes us eligible for the vEdAdhyayana through the yajnOpavIta which makes one purified and it bestows strength and vigor to the one who sports it with devotion and purpose. 
   
   
9. navama upachAra - gandha (haridra and kumkuma choorNa) - after offering the sacred thread, the Lord is again treated as a special guest by offering a scented paste made of sandalwood to help one cool down (scent has a calming effect) and also for decorative purposes. A devotee relishes and rejoices by decorating the Lord. haridra (turmeric) is representative of Laxmi dEvi (the Goddess of fortune, who bestows health and wealth to her devotees) and kuMkumam (vermillion) is saffron or lime added to haridra and symbolically His blessing to us. 
   
   
10. dashama upachAra - pushpam – offering flowers to the Lord, again as a scent and for decorative purposes. Offering flowers is known as pleasantry exchange with someone special. "pushpa" is also a representative of our dhyAnam, our gratitude to the Lord.  
    
    
11. ekAdasha upachAra - dhoopam – incense is another scent made of special herbs, and this is also a way to create a meditative and a festive environment, and creates auspiciousness. 
    
    
12. dwAdasha upachAra - deepam - there are many reasons this is offered - once the Lord is decorated, the light from the lamp is used to show the various parts of the Lord, after the above upachArAs. Light also symbolizes knowledge and wisdom, and we receive it from Him, so offer it back to Him as a gratitude.  
    
    
13. trayodasha upachAra - naivedyam – food is offered to the Lord as He provides to us. Food that is offered is not to be tasted. and cooked after taking shower. 
    
    
14. pachAdasha upachAra - tAmboolam and suvarNa dakShiNa– towards the end, the deity is offered betel leaves and nuts, a practice that is followed by most - having tamboolam after a heavy meal. This is also followed by coconut and a gold coin or some form of "dakshiNa". 
    
    
15. chaturdasha upachAra - mangaLa neerajanam – the offering of camphor is a beautiful conclusion to the whole ceremony as camphor symbolizes the mortal body. 
    
    
16. shodasha upachAra - pradakshiNa namaskAra - one circumambulates (around the deity or self) and sAshtAnga namaskAra (prostration) as a way to offer one's self to the Lord. through all activities performed through the kAya (body), vAcha (words), manas (mind), indriya (senses), buddhi (intellect), atma (self), prakruti (instincts), svabhAva (true form). 

At the end of the shOdasha upachAra, the Lord is pleaded to be satisfied from the offerings, and a request is made to forgive one for unknown or unknown mistakes.