Puja (Hinduism)Puja (Sanskrit: पूजा, romanized: pūjā) is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their memories after they die. The word puja is roughly translated into English as 'reverence, honour, homage, adoration, or worship'.
Hindu templeA Hindu temple, also known as a Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, Kshetram, Ambalam or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. Hindu temple architecture, which makes extensive use of squares and circles, has its roots in later Vedic traditions, which also influence the temples' construction and symbolism.
DhupaDhupa (Sanskrit: धुप, IAST: dhūpa) is, in Indian religions (such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.), the ritual offering of incense during puja to an image of a deity, or other object of veneration. It is also the Sanskrit word for incense or perfume itself. The Thai language also borrows this word from Sanskrit to call joss sticks or incense sticks, by omitting "a" in the word Dhupa.
BellA bell () is a directly struck idiophonepercussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that—when struck—vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an internal "clapper" or "uvula", an external hammer, or—in small bells—by a small loose sphere enclosed within the body of the bell (jingle bell).
SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language of South AsiaSanskrit (; stem form संस्कृत; nominal singular संस्कृतम्, saṃskṛtam,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age.
PujariPūjari is a designation given to a Hindu temple priest who performs pūja. The word comes from the Sanskrit word "पूजा" meaning worship. They are responsible for performing temple rituals, including pūjā and aarti. Pujari are mainly drawn from the Brahminvarna.YajnaIn Hinduism, Yajña or Yagna (Sanskrit: यज्ञ, lit.'act of devotion, worship, offering in fire', IAST: yajña), also known as Havana in modern contexts, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire (agni), often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called the Brahmanas, as well as in the Yajurveda.
HinduismHinduism () is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions (sampradayas) that are unified by adherence to Dharma, a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word Hindu originated as an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest surviving religion in the world, it is also described since the 19th century by the term Sanātana Dharma (lit. 'eternal dharma').
PrasadaReligious food offered in Hinduism and Sikhism temples Naivedya offered to Radha Krishna in Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur, India Prasāda (Sanskrit pronunciation: [pɽɐsaːdɐ], Sanskrit: प्रसाद), prasad or prasadam is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most often prasada is vegetarian food especially cooked for devotees after praise and thanksgiving to a god.
Darshan (Indian religions)In Indian religions, a darshan (Sanskrit: दर्शन, IAST: darśana; lit. 'showing, appearance, view, sight') or darshanam is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person. The term also refers to any one of the six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy and their literature on spirituality and soteriology. Here, the term connotes the 'instrument of vision'.
Arti (Hinduism)Arti or Arartikya is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a puja, in which light from a flame (fuelled by camphor, ghee, or oil) is ritually waved in a clock-wise motion to venerate deities. Arti also refers to the hymns sung in praise of the deity, when the light is being offered. Sikhs have Artikirtan which involves only devotional singing; the Nihang order of Sikhs also use light for arti.
FlowerFlowers, also known as blossoms and blooms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants. Typically, they are structured in four circular levels around the end of a stalk. These include: sepals, which are modified leaves that support the flower; petals, often designed to attract pollinators; male stamens, where pollen is presented; and female gynoecia, where pollen is received and its movement is facilitated to the egg.
Machig LabdrönMachig Labdrön (Tibetan: མ་གཅིག་ལབ་སྒྲོན་, Wylie: ma gcig lab sgron, sometimes referred to as Ahdrön Chödron, Tibetan: ཨ་སྒྲོན་ཆོས་སྒྲོན་, Wylie: A sgron Chos sgron), or "Singular Mother Torch from Lab" (1055–1149), was a Tibetan Buddhist nun believed to be a reincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal, and the renowned 11th-century Tibetan tantric Buddhist master and yogini that originated several Tibetan lineages of the Vajrayana practice of Chöd (Tibetan: གཅོད་, Wylie: gcod).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.