The document discusses various forms of Lord Shiva, their significance, and associated myths, highlighting the teachings of different deities such as Dakshinamurti, Chandrashekharar, Kiratar, and Gangadharar. It elaborates on the importance of temple worship and proper conduct therein, emphasizing the ritual of wearing holy ash (vibhuti) and its spiritual significance. The narratives illustrate the philosophical teachings of experiencing truth and devotion, underscoring the transformative power of Shiva's guidance and practices in Hinduism.

1. Different “Swaroop” of Lord Shiva and
Interesting Vedic facts behind it
- H.H Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar
DakshiNAmUrti
DakshiNamurthydhyAnaSlokam:
The leg pressing over a demon, on the top of which the Embodiment of merits is sitting
with one leg folded, the one who teaches difficult words (vedas) with ease, the sages
enjoying (the teachings, sitting) on ground, with the (hand) posture of explaining, a fire
pot, book and akshamAla in the four hands, Who trembles away my ignorance, to That
dakshiNAmUrti (salutations).
PurANa of the dakshinamurthy:
DakshiNAmUrti: south faced Lord (yOgamUrti)
The four sons, of brahmA, sanaka, sanandana, sanAtana, sanatkumAra did austere tapas
and analysis, but they were unclear of the Supreme Truth. They finally decided to come
to Lord Shiva to get the knowledge of the Truth. The Lord sat under the banyan tree, and
the four sages also sat down around Him. Lord stayed in the yOga posture without saying
a single word. The four sages got all their doubts cleared just by that posture. The form in
which God appeared as a Supreme Guide is the form of wisdom dakshiNAmUrti.
This explains that the Truth cannot be explained in words and must be experienced.
Including the great chinmudra posture, the posture of shrIdhakshiNAmUrti, who is the
teacher of all the teachers, indicates a lot of information that needs days to explain. As
thirumUlar says, the posture of the guru is a thing to be thought about always. That is the
clarity ! (theLivuguruvuruchin^dhiththalthAnE)
Chandrashekharar
Shlokam:
With the hands in abhaya (protecting) and varada (boon giving) postures, with a pleasing
and decorated expression, a blossomed face and eye, with the shadow created by moon
on the crown, with an upright body, and feet in the same level, Coral like formed, holding
the deer and axe, (He) stay in the lotus pedestal. (of my heart)

2. PurANa of the deity:
cha.ndrashEkharar : moon ornamented Lord (bhOgamUrti)
daksha had twenty seven stars as daughters. All of them were married to moon. But the
moon had special attraction towards rOhiNi. So all the other wives complained it to the
father dakasha that their husband moon is not treating them fairly.daksha got angry and
cursed the moon to lose its luminance (kala) day by day. Every day the moon started
losing one luminance part (kala) out of his 16 parts. Afraid and ashamed moon
disappeared into the ocean. There are many herbs that require the light of the moon to
grow. Without moon, they were harmed. Consequently there was suffering in the world.
To end the problem the celestials advised moon to take refuge in the Great Divine, Lord
shiva. Left with only one kalA, he took refuge in Lord Shiva. Being the graceful
Almighty, He wore the moon crescent on His head, making him grow for 15 days and
decay for 15 days periodically.Thuschan^drashEkharar is considered a giver of refuge.
kirAtar
shlokam:
Body black in color, two shoulders holding bows and arrows, hair falling on the forehead,
posing comfortably, with two piercing eyes, blossomed nice face, with feathers and
fragrant flowers in his head, wearing the skin of tiger, Terrific, I meditate that Hunter
(kirAta), the thief (hara).
PurANa of the deity
kirAtar : the hunter
This is the only form of Lord Shiva in which He appeared black in color. Arjuna wanted
to get the peerless weapon pAsupatAstram from Lord Shiva for the battle of
mahAbharata. He left the other four pANdavAs, went to the forest and did austere tapas
for getting the boon of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was satisfied with his prayer, wanted to
give the pAsupatAstram to him, but wanted to play a bit too. He took the form of a
Hunter with Shakthi as Huntress. That time a demon by name mUkAsura, who was in the
form of wild pig came to kill Arjuna. To kill the wild pig Arjuna fired an arrow from the
front, at the same time the Hunter, Who is none other than God Himself, attacked it from
the back and killed the pig.
Arjuna mocked at the Hunter for firing the arrow from the back. Having great pride of his
valor, he was als angry at the Hunter because He aimed at his prey. The Hunter
responded that attacking an animal from the back is not against rules of hunting. An
argument broke out. They decided to fight deciding who was more valorous between
them. The Hunter cut the string in Arjuna's bow with His arrow in the fight! Angered and

3. excited, Arjuna started wrestling. He couldn't match the Lord, and the Lord enjoyed his
fighting. At one point of time in wrestling Arjuna held the foot of the Hunter. As the Lord
is pleased when somebody catches His holy feet, He stopped wrestling appeared with
pArvati revealing who He is.
Shocked Arjuna pleaded for forgiveness, as he was trying to fight with the Supreme out
of his ignorance. However the God, Who is pleased by devotion, blessed him and gave
him the invincible pAsupatAstra. (In some books it is told that Arjuna couldn't fight with
the Hunter, he started worshipping the Shiva Lingam. To his astonishment he found the
flowers he offered to the Lingam on the head of the Hunter. Then he prostrated before the
Hunter and the Lord revealed Himself). This can be found in detail in kirAtArjuniyam of
bhAravi and mahAbhArata.
Jala.ndharAri
Shlokam:
Smeared in red (blood), moving fierce, with three nice eyes, Protection posture, axe, deer,
bow decorating the hands, cutting the head of jala.ndhara who is trying to hold the disc
(chakra) of earth (ground), I pray, the destroyer of jala.ndhara.
PurANa of the deity:
jala.ndharaari : enemy of jala.ndhara (vIrAmUrti)
Jalandhara was a demon king. After doing harsh austerities he got lots of boons. By the
power he got out of those boons, he captured and ruled the worlds. He went to the dEvAs
to fight against. Since nobody was ready to fight against such a powerful enemy,
everybody subdued to him without much resistance. He then proceeded to more powerful
worlds of satyalOka and vaikuNTha. There too nobody was ready to fight against him.
But he was told that only Lord Shiva can fight against him. Stupid jalandhara not
realizing what he is doing, went to KailAsa, the abode of Lord shiva, to fight with the
God! Lord Shiva took the form of an old man and stood on his way. He asked Jalandhara
where he was going. Jalandhara replied that he was going to fight against Lord Shiva.
Smiling the Old Man marked a disc (chakra) on the ground. He said, "Before fighting
with the powerful Lord shiva, check your strength by lifting this disc above your head."
jalandhara laughed at the Old man that he did not realize jalandhara's strength. He
decided to show off his strength by lifting that disc. As he started liftingJala.ndhara
realized that it was not an easy job. He took that disc with great difficulty and placed on
his head. The disc cut his head off cutting him into pieces!

4. (That disc is the sudarshana chakra part of which was given to mahAvishhNu by the Lord
chakrapradhar). ThiruviRkudi is the temple associated with this valorous deed of Lord
Shiva
GangAdharar
PurANa of the deity:
ga.ngAdharar : Lord wearing ga.ngA (river to head).
bhagIratha was the renowned king forefather of rAma of raghuvamsa. His forefathers
known as sagaras were burnt down due to a curse. For the upliftment of those ancestors
from the cursed state to get to the heavens, he wanted to bring the river ga.ngA to earth.
The idea is that when ganga waters touch the ash of sagaras, they would be uplifted from
their sin. He did very severe austerities and to get the permission from indra. He gave
permission to bring the ganaga flowing in the heaven to the earth, however he told,
coming down to earth would be the decision of ganga. So bagIrata again started his
penance and prayed the goddess ga.ngA. She agreed to come down, but warned him that
he should find a person who could withstand the force with which she will descend to
earth! He agreed and found out that the refuge would be at Lord shiva. He did the
austerities pleasing Lord Shiva. Appreciating his devotion and efforts, Lord agreed to
hold the ga.ngA when she descends to earth. ga.ngA out of her pride and ignorance
thought that the Lord won't be able to withstand the force! She came down with an
intention to gush down the Lord with heavy force. Can the Lord, Who holds the entire
world He created, be pushed down by a river ? The Lord, who is the creator of the entire
universe and who has taken the forms just out of the grace on creatures, arrested her flow
in His matted hair! She tried her best to rush out of His matted hair, but in vain. Not a
drop of water could escape! bhagIratha, worried by this (as he would not get ganga to
earth otherwise), prayed to the Lord to show mercy on her. The Gracious Lord allowed
the ga.ngA through a strand of His matted hair. ga.ngA then flowed humbly, gracefully
and giving prosperity on her way to pAtALa. Thus the ancestors of bhagIratha were
resurrected by the holy water of ga.ngA.
The Lord in the posture holding the ganga in the matted hair is called gangAdharamUrthi.
How to worship in the Hindu- (Shiva) Temples?
ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar
Temples are the connecting points of high importance in our religion and culture. The
absolute necessity of the temple worship is stressed throughout by the great saints of the
religion. It is not very difficult to realize the important role they play in cultivating the
spiritualism in people. It is the place for collective worship. Given these significant roles
of the temples it is required to have some discipline to be followed in the temples for

5. having the real expected out of the worship. Here are a few one can follow to set that
harmony. Most of these are in general applicable to all Hindu temples though a few are
specific to shaivite temples.
Going to the temple with a clean body. Legs and hands shall be cleaned at entering the
temple.
Going to the temple adorned with holy symbols like the Holy Ash, rudrAxam.
Taking something to offer to the Lord. It is an offering out of devotion. It would be nice
if the offering is the one required in the worship.
Not to enter the temple with foot wear.
Prostrating in front of the flag column (dwajastaMbham) (towards the North) on entering
the temple.
Not to prostrate anywhere else in the temple.
not to prostrate to anybody else in the temple premises.
Taking the permission of nandidEvar mentally before entering His abode.
Saluting the elephant headed Lord enter the Lord's abode.
In Lord shiva's abode, engage the mind in the thinking of the God. Avoid any gossip.
Temple is not the place for gossiping. Can sing or chant His names loudly and sweetly if
it would not disturb others. Otherwise it could be done internally without making noise.
The Holy ash given as the blessings should be worn saying "shivAyanamaH". It should
not be spilled on the ground or wasted.
It is normally a procedure to offer something to the priest whose whole life should be in
the service of the Lord.
Circumambulating the Lord saluting the Goddess and the deities in the temple. The
circumambulation would be done at least for three times. On special occasions like
pradoshhamthe are special circumambulation methods like soma sUktapradhaxiNam are
followed.
While in the temple either the Holy five letters or any praise could be chanted.
Before coming out of the temple go to the place of chaNdEshwarar and take permission
for the materials which after worship are taken out of the temple as blessings. One must
not take anything out in excess and things taken from the temple should be only as the

6. mark of blessings. If nothing is taken it is the normal practice to wipe (rub) the hands
together in his place.
Should do something in the promotion of the temple physically or materially or
whichever is convenient and required.
On coming out of the temple, again prostrate in front of the flag column towards the
north. Sit facing the north and meditate on the God chanting the Holy five letters.
While inside the temple should not make the place dirty in any way or make any noise.
Going to the temple at least once in a week with the family.
The mind should be focussed on the Lord like the dust of iron that stick to the magnet. A
worship with such an orientation would have very good effect in us by the grace of the
Almighty.
Holy Ash- Viboothi- Facts & Importance
- ParamPujyaSwamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar
Lord kAlAgnirudra teaches bhusu.ndi - earth came out of the sadyojAta face of the Lord. From
this came the gray colored cow called nanda from the dung of which came vibhUti. From the
vAmadeva face came the water, from that came the black colored cow bhadra giving bhasita.
From the aghora face came the fire, from that the copper colored cow t the copper colored cow
surabhi giving bhasma. From the tatpuruSha face came the gas/air, from which came shAnti and
from that came the white colored cow sushIle giving xAra. From the IshAna face came the space,
from which came the multi colored cow sumanA giving raksha.
The Holy Ash which is called by five names, when pronunced raises the spiritual power of the
individual and hence is called vibhUti. Since it burns the sins to ashes it is called bhasita. Since it
gives the wisdom to all it is called bhasmam. Since it neutralises the bad things it is called xAra.
Since it protects the people from evil forces, it is called raxa.
Irrespective of caste, creed, sex and all other differences all the people shall wear the Holy Ash. It
is an old adage the says the forehead without the ash is a ruined one. The Holy Ash having the
powers of agni and soma refreshes the one who wears it. For the seekers of yoga this Holy Ash
kindles the spirit and provides early fruit. When wearing the Holy Ash the mantra
shivAyanamaH(The Holy Five Letters(1)) is chanted or the sadyojAtAdipaJNcha brahma
mantra(2) or the tryambakaM or mAnomahAntam from rudrasUktam(3).
The Holy Ash purifies the one who wears it. This purification (bath) is called AgneyasnAna. In
this the renouced ones would smear the ash in the remains of ritual fire from the leg to the head.
Others would smear in the ash from the head to the leg.
ska.ndhapurANam says that the Holy Ash would have to be worn at the following fifteen places
in the body: Head. ForeheadNeckChestBoth sides of the bellyTwo armsTwo AnklesTwo
wristsTwo sides of the backBehind the neck.

7. The holy Ash is the substance the devotees wear on their bodies with adoration and respect. This
along with the rudrAxa beads (1) shows up the devotees of the Simple but Supreme Lord shiva.
The holy Ash has lots of spiritual sense. There are lots of hymns telling the glory of the holy Ash.
((2) - for example). Ash - the substance that is arrived when things are completely burnt off. In
natural terms it is a final state. The state where it has nothing left to burn off ! This indicates the
transience of the beings and the Permanence of the Supreme that smears in this ash. This also
indicates the matured state of bliss the devotees would be heading towards which stands beyond
perturbance - transformation (nothing to burn off).
The purANic events associated with the holy Ash show its significance. When the three daemons
of impurities (tripura) were burnt down by the mere smile of the God, the ash that remained got
settled on the Lord, Who danced there. Thus the tripurAri was smeared in the Ash that came out
of burning out of the three impurities. When the cupid - the deva of lust, tried to fire his arrows on
the yogic Lord, he was burnt by the Lord into a heap of ash. The unruffled Lord appeared
decorated with that ash. At the times when everything reduces unto It, the Everexistant Lord
wears that ash.
The devotees of the Lord, Who gives His form to the ardent worshipper, wear the same way the
holy Ash on their body. This holy Ash is prepared in the ritual fire in a specified way (3) along
with the chanting of the Holy Five Letters (4) and other vedic hymns. Thus obtained Holy Ash is
worn on various specified places of the body including the forehead chanting the Holy Five
Letters. (There are two broad categories of wearing the Holy Ash. One is uddUlanam that is
sprinkling the Holy Ash on the body and the other is tripuNDram that is in three distinct bands)
Some of the upanishads that hail the glory of holy ash.
kAlAgnirudram : aitrIya: yogatattva ;jApAli : sanyAsa :vAsudeva :bhasmajApAla :jApAla
(bR^ihajjApAla) :nAradaparivrAja :rAmarahasya: chANDilya :tripurAtApini :atharvashira
AnAngry God – Lord Shiva ?
There has been a misconception with some people that Lord Shiva is a fierce One. This
misconception stems from the portrayals that He is the god of destruction, He is adorned with the
skulls and snakes, the ways of worship are quite strict and yogic in nature. A more closer look
into the Shaivism would clarify these.
First of all the word shiva itself means auspicious and perfection(1). Can there be a more
auspicious thing than the Auspicious ?! This great God who is adorned with skulls and snakes, is
the one the great devas worship. Because those great divines realise this Supreme'spotence and
glorious qualities.(2) Saluting this Lord, who goes on alms as if He has nothing but in reality
made the kubhEra the king of wealth, all the divines get their greatness and prosperity. This
Supreme, who could not be explored by even the great devas, get very easily pleased and showers
on the devotee with boons. It is said when one wants even hard to get boons, worship of Lord
shiva would be the way. Very naturally our Lord is called ashutosha (fast pleased) and
bholenath(innocent Lord) !!
When one evolves in the worship of Lord shiva to be a devotee, the worship is more out of love
than a fear for a supernatural power. When the devotee experiances the Glorious qualities of the
Lord the love blooms and this love, knowledge and experiance paves way for the spiritual success

8. and not the fear. (This is in fact the speciality of Hinduism not compelling the follower to fear for
a super natural power but to know,experiance and be in It). The disciplined paths of worshiping
the Lord may appear difficult but sure to bring lots of marvel in return. Also not all the worship
paths are so strict. If this God would get pleased only for highly strict rituals what would one
have to say about kaNNappa ?(3)
Lord Shiva is not the the god of destruction, but is the Supreme who plays the five activites of
Creation, Protection, Destruction, Concealing and Blessing. The God shiva who is known as
parashiva (the Supreme Shiva) plays these actions that run the Universe through Its forms and
powers but is above all these specific deeds.(4) But like an owner of a firm who also works with
the people he employed, the Supreme Shiva in spite of being the Master of all these great deeds
also enacts as the doer of some deeds like the destruction, Concealing and Blessing.
Various forms of the Lord Shiva show Him Ash smeared with skulls and snakes dancing in the
cemetries. But it should be understood that these are the glories of the Supreme that It is adorned
with nature since It is beyond the human ornations.(5) It is this Lord the wise worship when they
want the most auspicious boons.
O, Giver of the Boons, the bull, the parts of a cot, chisel, the elephant-skin, Ashes, the serpent, the
skull : these are the articles of your house-hold. And yet gods get all their riches merely by the
movement of your eye-brows. Really, false desires for worldly things do not deceive ( mislead )
one who is always is absorbed in his soul
shivamahimna
Love and shivam, there exist two things, say the fools.
Love is shivam, that nobody understands.
When everybody realise that Love is shivam,
they sit in love as shivam.
Thirumuular
Lord shiva, the Supreme Potent and Yogeshwara is also the absolute Auspicious One the devoted
mind loves in extremity.
How can the god of destruction be the Supreme?
Destruction is one among the three activities that is undertaken by the Three Holy Manifestations
of sanAtana dharma respectively. That being the case how could one say Lord Shiva who gets
associated with the destruction be the Supreme God ?
braHma, viShNu, rudra, often referred to collectively as trimUrti, play the role of masters of
creation, protection and destruction respectively. If we take this world as an example it is an easy
task for almost everybody to involve in the acts of creation. (This is not to say that the Universal
creation is a trivial task. All due respects to Lord braHma). Whereas as for as protection is
concerned it is only few good hearted people, who have the strength and inclination to help for
the cause of goodness do the protection deeds. But... not everybody is provided with the power of
destruction. When anybody starts doing the destruction then there would be chaos which they call
the law and order problem. There is normally one authority called government is given the
authority to destroy and not others. This would show how difficult is the action of destruction and
how carefully it has to be dealt with. This is the reason the act of destruction (to be correct this
word should be actually "reduction", as things are not getting destroyed but only a change of state

9. happens odukkam in thamiz and pralayam in saMskR^itam) is handled by a form of Lord shiva
Itself, Who is called rudra. Since rudra is a form of the Lord, rudra is considered as Lord shiva
Itself.
Ok, so far only one part of the question is answered. Agreed, the importance of the act of
reduction (destruction). But when this Lord being one among the Trinity, how can this Lord be
considered the Supreme ?
Let us take an example of a small shop. The owner employs a few skilled people to do the regular
work and at peak hours or at critical periods, he/she also takes some important work and executes
it. Now that individual wears two caps. One as the owner of the shop and other as the worker in
the shop, but the individual is the same irrespective of whether he /she is acting as the owner or as
a worker. Nobody questions his/her ownership because he/she shares the work load with the
others in the shop. The same way though the Supreme Lord shiva is beyond the five deeds, It also
takes roles in the critical deeds assuming a form specific to that role. So though Lord shiva gets
associated with one of the three in the Trinity, He is the Supreme Itself.
A point to note here is that it is not just these three actions, but there are totally five deeds which
are the acts of/on behalf of the Supreme. These five activities referred to as panychakR^ityam are
creation, sustenance, reduction, illusioning and blessing. The holy masters for these five activities
are braHma, viShNu, rudra, maheshwara, sadAshiva respectively. Of these the later three are
nothing but the forms of the Supreme shiva (called parashivA). So to conclude Lord Shiva is the
Supreme, Who assumes various critical roles and assumes appropriate names and forms, and also
stands transcending all these.
Lord Shiva - God of All
-Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar( The only living Siddhar in
USA)
Many of the asurAs worship Lord shiva and get boons as observed in the purANAs. Whereas
very few of them worship the other divines. Why is it so ? Why should the God show grace to
asurAs ?
Lord shiva is the Supreme, Which does not have any parents Which never takes birth Which is all
alone without association with any of the creatures or creations enjoying in the Self. God is the
only one Who is dependable for anybody / anything to surrender to as It is the only perennial
Being. Hence God is the Lord of all creatures (lives/souls). For this reason the Lord is hailed
as pashupati (Lord of living beings). Whether it is devas or asuras or humans or other creatures
all are pashus. That being the case how could the Lord be partial to one section of pashus and
withdrawing the Grace for the other ? So anybody who worships the Lord sincerely could get
blessed with Its Grace irrespective of the caste, creed, race, power, status and qualities.

10. It is in fact to be noted that Lord shiva is worshipped by the devas like viShNu, braHma, indra, by
asuras like bANa, rAvaNa, tripura, sUrapadma, by humans like sha~NkarabhagavatpAda,
samban^dhar, appar, by other creatures like jaTAyu, sampAdi (eagles), vAli (monkey) and the list
goes on and on. One finds in the purANas the variety of people of different backgrounds and
qualities worship the Lord shiva. There are many histories of temples which talk of the cranes,
bees, elephants, spiders, snakes worshipping the Lord and getting blessed. So the Lord as the
Supreme blesses anyone who worships in sincere devotion. There is no discrimination on who
the seeker is. The Lord is so merciful that He showers the boons one look for when there is a
determination to seek Him. It is evident from the history of asurabANa who attained a great fame
of his valor and got the place in the abode of Lord shiva all due to his determined worship of the
Lord.
But..., if the receiver of the boons does not use them in proper way and misuses to disturb others,
in the Lord defined system of this universe they get punished for the misdeeds. A closer analysis
would show that the devas are the divine elements of nature that are essential for all of us to
survive (like air, sun, fire etc). Very often asuras are the one who disturb the nature as evident
from purANas. So when the asuras misuse the boons got to disturb the other lives they get
punished as evident from the histories of hiraNya, rAvaNa and others. When the misuse goes
beyond a point by the powerful forces so as to question the existence of the whole system, the
Lord the One Who is essential for all the essentials, Who has devised this whole Universe, takes
the action to restore normalcy for example like tripuradahana.
Lord shiva is the God of all. Like the mother He showers the grace for all the children, but the
misusing children get punished. This Supreme Lord better than a mother does not withhold the
grace, He is our belovedpashupati.
Translation:
The above vedic scripture was written in Tamil – Indian Laguage. The meaning is as
follows:
Daemons, kinnaras, deva of death, deva of rain, mobile fire, air, sun and moon, illusionless tiger,

11. monkey, snake, vasus, heavenly people and under the earth people - of all these, the ones who
worship Your Holy Feet relentlessly - seeing the great glory out of Your grace they have attained,
without any surprise I surrender to Your Holy Feet, Oh the Lord of fertile thiruppunkUr !
Upacharas&Darshana
-Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar
( The only living Siddhar in USA)
Sixteen Upacharas
During the worship of the Lord 16 types of services/honoring are done to the
Lord. Evidently these are the outpouring of love that are channelized and
suggested by the Agamas.
AvAhana - Welcome/installation
Asana - Giving seat
pAdya - Washing the leg
arghya - Washing the hands
Achaman - Water to drink
madhuparka - Sweet (honey) mixture to eat
snAna - Bathe
vastra - Clothe
upavIta - Offering holy thread
gandha - Scenting
pushpa - Floral decoration
dhUpa - Incence smoke
dIpa - Light decor
nivedana - Offering (food)
karpUra - Camphor light
pradaxiNanamaskAra - circumambulation and salutation
SixDarshana
The darshanas are the philosophy schools. As against the philosophies that do not account the
vedas like lokAyata, charvaka etc., these six accept the vedas. They are not necessorily
contradicting, but often extending from the one another.
nyAya of gautama - Based on logic to explain the world and God.
vaisheShika of kaNAda - Allied to nyAya and explains how the world is created.
sAnkya of kapila - Lists down 25 tattvas (hence called so). Taken basis by the later mentioned
philosophies.
yoga of pata~nchali - Prescribes the yogic practices required to attain the final state.

12. pUrvamImAsa of jaimini - It is kriyamArgar (path of action) based on the samhita, brahmana and
Aranyakas of vedas.
uttaramImAmsa of bAdarAyaNa - It is the philosophy school taking basis upaniShad also called
as vedanta.
The offering substances to the Gods &
procedures
To yield Good wealth& Health
-Swamiji Sri SelvamSiddhar
(The only living Siddhar in USA)
The Lord, Who holds the holy ga~Nga in His matted hair, is delighted by the holy anointment that is done by
the devotees. When this was done with sincerity He gave the small child vichAracharuma the
great chaNdIsha post (1, 2). The Lord, Who is adorned with bilva leaves on His glittering long hair, also
enjoys the fresh leaves and flowers the devotees offer in their fragrance of care. The Lord is so Gracious
that when a monkey shed the leaves of bilva tree on a shivali~Nga below just out of habit, He made the
monkey the famous muchukun^dha emperor (3). So are the greatness of flowers and anointment materials.
For the good people would be available the flowers and water (puNNIyamcheyvArkkuppUvuNdun^IruNdu)
asserts the sage thirumUlar. We should try to do as much as possible the worship complete with these holy
substances and pure love. This page talks about the procedure prescribed in the scriptures as the worship
procedure. This could be followed howmuchever possible.
When doing the worship whether at home or at the temple, it is of utmost importance to maintain cleanliness
of body and mind. the surroundings should be clean, the worship substances should be clean ad also the
body should be clean. Before the worship one should bath and wear clean dry clothes. It is also required to
wear the Holy Ash. When going for the worship of the Lord should take something like amointment
substances or flowers or food offering or any other offering as a token of the love for the Supreme. These
offering should not be taken in the lower part of the body. These offerings could be kept only at clean places.
When doing the worship it is advised to be in a proper convenient posture (Asana) so that the concentration
would be on the Sweet Lord without physical disturbances.
Anointment

13. Pure river water, well water are qualified for the holy anointment of the Lord. The water for holy anointment
would be brought by clean people escorted by musicians. The fragrant flowers like pAdhiri, uthpalam, alari,
lotus would be put in this water for anointment. Old water should not be used.
The following anointments are done in that order
Gingily oil : Flour (rice flour) : n^ellimuLLi : pa~nchagavyam (Cow's milk, curd, ghee, dung and
urine mixture) : pa~nchAmR^itam (explained below) : Milk : Curd : Ghee : Honey: Sugarcane juice:
FruitsL” : Tender coconut : Smellful sandal : shR^i~Ngan^Ir : dhArAn^Ir : snapanan^Ir :
sha~NkAbhiShekam : Holy ash : Cooked rice : kumban^Ir
A text called sakalAgamasaN^graham suggest the following order
1. Oil : pa~nchagavyam : Flour : n^ellimuLLi : Turmeric : pa~nchAmR^itam :Milk :Curd : Ghee : Honey
2. Sugarcane Juice : Fruit juice : Tender coconut : Cooked rice : Sandal
3. snapann^Ir
pa~nchAmR^itam
rasapa~nchAmR^itam
A sweet mixture of cow's milk, curd, ghee (boiled butter), sugar
and honey. (cardamom like nice smelling spices could also be
added.)
pazapa~nchAmR^itam
In the above if the fruits like mango, jack, banana are added this
fruit pa~nchamR^itam could be got
pa~nchagavyam
The mixture of the cow's milk, curd, ghee, water and dung.
It is said that
Pure Water fulfils desires
Perfumed oil gives comfort
Milk gives long life
Ghee gives liberated state
Curd gives good children
Honey gives melodious voice
Rice powder frees from debts

14. Sugar cane juice gives good health
pa~nchAmR^itam gives wealth, body strength
pa~nchagavyam drives off sins
Lemon removes fear of death
Sugar removes enmity
Tender coconut gives enjoyment
Cooked Rice(Annam) gives mejestic life
Sandal gives Lakshmi's grace
nellimuLLi cures diseases
sha~NkhAbhiShekam gives good-deedful life
Offering gives land lordship
thAmbUlam gives comfort
ShoDashaupachAram (Sixteen honors to the God/ Goddesses)
1. dhUpam (scented smoke)
2. dIpam (lamp/light)
3. mahAdIpam
4. nAgadIpam
5. vR^iShabhadIpam
6. puruShadIpam
7. pUrNakumbam
8. pa~nchadIpam 1
9. pa~nchadIpam 2
10. pa~nchadIpam 3
11. pa~nchadIpam 4
12. pa~nchadIpam 5 (five lights)
13. naxatradIpam
14. merudIpam
15. karppUram (Camphor)
16. mahAnIrA~njanam
MhAdIpam could have 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 light plates in the layered form.
dhUpam needs to be shown near the nose and the dIpam in front of the
eyes.

15. Soft and clean clothes should be used to clad the Lord's form. It is said that the offering of clothes would
lead to life in shivalokam. Sandal mixed with agar, goshtam, saffron, camphor and rose water could be
applied to the Lord.
Ornaments
Any ornament could be used to ornate the Lord any day, but the
following are suggested as speciality.
Days and Ornament Gem
Day Ornament
Sunday Ruby
Monday Pearl
Tuesday pavaLam
Wednesday Emerald
Thursday Topaz
Friday Diamond
Saturday indranIlam
Flowers
God's head should be ever decorated with flower. In the morning lotus, purachampU, tulasi, navamallikai
(jasmine), n^an^dhiyAvattai, man^thArai, mullai, shaNbakam, punnAgam are the preferred flowers. In
the noon white lotus, araLi, purachu, tulasi, n^eydhal, bilvam, shankupushpam, marudhANi, kovithAram,
Oridhaz are best suited. In the evening red lotus, lily, jasmine, jAtimullai, marukkozun^dhu, vettivEr,
gajakarNikai, tulasi, bilvam are suggested.
There are eight flowers renowned as aShTapuShpam much preferred for the worship of the Lord.
(ettukkolAmavarchUduminamalar). They are
1. aRugu
2. chaNbakam
3. punnAkam
4. n^an^dhiyAvattai
5. pAdhiri
6. brugati
7. araLi

16. 8. thumbai
Expiry period for the flowers
After plucking the flower the flowers would have to be used for worship
before the following specified number of days.
Lotus 5 days
araLi 3 days
bilvam 6 months
tulasi 3 months
n^eydhal 3 days
shaNbakam 1 day
viLAmichchai ever (no expiry)
The flowers that were brought in hands, those fell by itself from the plant, dried up ones, those were smelt,
those kept in dirty places, materials are not to be offered to the Lord. The petals of the flowers should not be
pulled apart while offering. The leaves could be pulled separately and offered.
Leaves preferred for worship
tulasi
mukiz
shaNbakam
lotus
bilvam
kalhAram
marukkozun^dhu
marudhANi
dharppam
aRugu
achivalli
n^Ayuruvi
vishNugran^thi
n^elli
The flowers not suited for divines
The following flowers should not be offered for the respective devas.

17. Lord shiva thAzai
viShNu axata (rice), veLLerukku, Umaththai
Goddess aRugu, veLLerukku, man^dhAram
sun (sUrya) bilvam
vignesha tulasi
Five bilvas
1. mullai
2. kiLuvai
3. n^ochchi
4. bilvam
5. viLA