The Lord, Who holds the holy ganga 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 shiva li~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 (punniyam cheyvarkkup puvundu nirundu) 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 howsoever 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:
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
Gingerly oil
Flour (rice flour)
nellimulli
panchagavyam (Cow’s milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine mixture)
panchamritam (explained below)
Milk
Curd
Ghee
Honey
Sugarcane juice
Fruits
Tender coconut
sandal
shringa nir
dhara nir
snapana nir
shankAbhiShekam
Holy ash
Cooked rice
kumba nir
