History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c37.84

v3.c37.84

In the Pūjāprakāśa (pp. 97-149) and other digests the methods of devapūjā according to Śaunaka, Gṛhyapariśiṣṭa, Ṛgvidhāna, Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, Bhāgavatapurāṇa, the Narasiṁhapurāṇa are set out in detail. But for want of space they are all passed over. It will have been noticed from the passages of the Viṣṇu Dh. S. and of Baudhāyana cited above that devapūjā contains certain items and stages in the whole procedure. These are called *upacāras* (ways of service). They are usually stated to be sixteen. They are: āvāhana, āsana, pādya, arghya, ācamanīya, snāna, vastra, yajñopavīta, anulepana or gandha, puṣpa, dhūpa, dīpa, naivedya (or upahāra), namaskāra, pradakṣiṇā and visarjana or udvāsana. In different works, the items differ. Some add bhūṣaṇa (ornament) after yajñopavīta and tāmbūla (or mukhavāsa) after pradakṣiṇā or naivedya (Vṛddha-Hārīta VI. 31-32 and Pūjāprakāśa, p. 98). Therefore some speak of 18 upacāras.¹⁷³⁶ Some omit āvāhana, add svāgata (welcome) after āsana, madhuparka after ācamanīya, and some have *stotra* (hymn of praise) and praṇāma (bow) as distinct *upacāras*, while others hold that these latter two are one and that pradakṣiṇā is part of visarjana (vide Pūjāprakāśa p. 98). If a person cannot afford to offer vastra (garment) and alaṁkāra (ornament), he could perform only ten out of these 16 upacāras viz. from pādya to naivedya; if he cannot afford to offer even ten he may offer only five (pañcopacāra-pūjā) viz. from gandha to naivedya; if he has nothing he may perform with flowers alone all the 16 upacāras. When the image is immovably fixed on a pedestal there is no āvāhana and visarjana and so the items become 14 or one may offer in their place only a handful of flowers with mantras.¹⁷³⁷ Those who can repeat the Puruṣasūkta (Ṛg. X. 90) should repeat one of its verses before offering each of the 16 upacāras (see Nṛsiṁhapurāṇa 62. 9-13). Those who cannot repeat that hymn and women and śūdras should simply say 'Śivāya namaḥ' or 'Viṣṇave namaḥ' (adoration to Śiva or Viṣṇu). Vṛddha-Hārīta (XI. 81) specially recommends the worship of the child Kṛṣṇa to women and of Hari to widows (XI. 208).¹⁷³⁸ After each of snāna, vastra, yajñopavīta and naivedya, ācamana is to be offered as part of that upacāra¹⁷³⁹ (*vide* Nṛsiṁhapurāṇa 62. 14). The names of some of these upacāras occur even in the Āśv. gṛ. (IV. 7. 10 and IV. 8. 1) in relation to the brāhmaṇas invited at śrāddha such as āsana, arghya, gandha, mālya (flowers), dhūpa, dīpa and ācchādana (i. e. vastra). Farquhar is not right when he says in his 'Outlines of the Religious literature of India' p. 51 that the sixteen upacāras 'are so distinct in character from the sacrificial cult as to betray alien origin.' When image-worship became general items offered to invited brāhmaṇas were also offered to the image of gods. It was a case of extension and not of borrowing from an alien cult.