What is a puja?
Not a ritual. A conversation with the divine.
Customs & Rituals
The sacred bath of the deity, and what it washes in you.
3 min read · Customs & Rituals
The sacred bath of the deity, and what it washes in you.
Abhishekam means a sacred bath. The stone or
metal image of the deity is bathed in a
sequence of substances, each with its own
meaning, while Vedic mantras are chanted.
The typical sequence in a Kerala temple abhishekam:
Panchamrita - the five nectars: milk, curd,
ghee, honey, and sugar.
Rose water - cooling, fragrant, associated
with the heart.
Coconut water - particularly prominent in
Kerala's coastal tradition.
Sandalwood paste - cooling, sacred, fragrant.
Turmeric water - purifying, protective.
Tender coconut water and flowers - the close.
The bathing of the murti is, in the Tantric
understanding, also the bathing of the
devotee's consciousness. You watch these
sacred substances flow over the form of
the deity, and something in you is also
washed. The ritual is not only happening
to the stone.
When you book an abhishekam through Prarthana,
your family's name is spoken aloud by the
Tantri at the moment of the principal offering.
The deity receives it. You are present,
even from twelve thousand miles away, in the
oldest possible sense: your name was said
in a sacred space.
Let the idea move immediately into prayer or temple ritual.
The Mahishasura Mardini Stotram is traditionally recited during abhishekam at Bhagavathi temples. Learn this prayer before booking the ceremony and you will understand what the Tantri is singing.
Keep the context connected rather than isolated.
Not a ritual. A conversation with the divine.
Food the deity receives first changes how you receive it.