Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c10.s1.70

c10.s1.70

Removing the curtain, the worshipper should offer a part of the Naivedya to Viṣvaksena and to such Vaiṣṇava devotees as Bali, Bibhīṣaṇa, Kapila, Nārada, Arjuna, Prahlāda, Ambariṣa, Vasu, Hanūmat, Śiva, Uddhava, Akrūra, Sanaka, Śuka and others, famed in the Purāṇas. Having besmeared with cowdung the ground on which the Naivedya was offered, the worshipper should again place water for rinsing the mouth and a tooth-brush, Ācamanīya water for sipping and washing the hand, and a towel for rubbing the body. He should then rub the image, clothe it in a new garment, offer another seat and water for washing the feet (Pādya), and perfume the hands of the deity with paste of sandal and aloe, his mouth with Tulasi leaf and fragrant camphored betel. Again offering perfumes and unguents, he should besmear and paint Tilaka marks on the body of the image, offer regal dress, chowry, umbrella and footwear, and place a mirror before the deity. For the pleasure of the deity the worshipper should then have music, song and dance, preferably of the type introduced by the sage Bharata. The deity is then to be lustrated again with a light and with a conch-shell containing water, and honoured with the chanting of hymns derived from the sacred scriptures or composed by later poets. The worshipper should then prostrate himself before the deity like a log of wood (daṇḍavat) and offer homage with the proper Mudrā.