Text 334] Explanations of the Atmarama Verse 279

pafica, sodasa, paficasat upacdre arcana
pafica-kdla puja drati, krsnera bhojana-sayana

SYNONYMS
pafica—five; sodasa—sixteen; paficdsat fifty; upacdre—with ingredients; ar-
cana—offering worship; pafica-kdla—five times; pujd—worshiping; drati—
offering drati; krsnera bhojana-sayana—in this way offering eatables to Krsna and
laying Him down to rest.

TRANSLATION

“Also describe Deity worship, wherein one should offer food to Krsna at
least five times daily. One should in due time place Krsna on a bed. You
should also describe the process for offering arati and the worship of the Lord
according to the list of five, sixteen or fifty ingredients.

PURPORT

The five ingredients are (1) very good scents, (2) very good flowers,
(3) incense, (4) a lamp and (5) something edible. As for sodasopacara, the six-
teen ingredients, one should (1) provide a sitting place (asana), (2) ask Krsna to
sit down, (3) offer arghya, (4) offer water to wash the legs, (5) wash the mouth,
(6) offer madhu-parka, (7) offer water for washing the mouth, (8) bathe,
(9) offer garments, (10) decorate the Lord’s body with ornaments, (11) offer
sweet scents, (12) offer flowers with good fragrance, like the rose or campaka,
(13) offer incense, (14) offer a lamp, (15) give good food, and (16) offer prayers.

In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (Eleventh Vildsa, verses 127-140) there is a vivid
description of what is required in Deity worship. There are sixty-four items men-
tioned. In the temple, worship should be so gorgeous that all sixty-four items
should be available for the satisfaction of the Personality of Godhead. Sometimes
it is impossible to get all sixty-four items; therefore we recommend that at least
on the first day of installation all sixty-four items should be available. When the
Lord is established, worship with all sixty-four items should continue as far as
possible. The sixty-four items are as follows: (1) There must be a big bell hanging
in front of the temple room so that whoever comes in the room can ring the bell.
This item is called prabodhana, or offering oneself submissively to the Lord. This is
the first item. (2) The visitor must chant jaya Sri Radhad-Govinda, or jaya Sri Radha-
Madhava when he rings the bell. In either case, the word jaya must be uttered.
(3) One should immediately offer obeisances to the Lord, falling down like a stick.
(4) There must be regular mangala-drati in the temple during the early morning,
an hour and a half before the sun rises. (5) There must be an dsana, a sitting place
before the altar. This dsana is for the spiritual master. The disciple brings every-
thing before the spiritual master, and the spiritual master offers everything to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. (6) After mangala-drati, the Deity is supposed
