SB 11.27.17 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

स्‍नानालङ्करणं प्रेष्ठमर्चायामेव तूद्धव । स्थण्डिले तत्त्वविन्यासो वह्नावाज्यप्लुतं हवि: ॥ १६ ॥ सूर्ये चाभ्यर्हणं प्रेष्ठं सलिले सलिलादिभि: । श्रद्धयोपाहृतं प्रेष्ठं भक्तेन मम वार्यपि ॥ १७ ॥

Verse text

snānālaṅkaraṇaṁ preṣṭham arcāyām eva tūddhava sthaṇḍile tattva-vinyāso vahnāv ājya-plutaṁ haviḥ sūrye cābhyarhaṇaṁ preṣṭhaṁ salile salilādibhiḥ śraddhayopāhṛtaṁ preṣṭhaṁ bhaktena mama vāry api

Synonyms

snāna — bathing ; alaṅkaraṇam — and decorating with clothing and ornaments ; preṣṭham — is most appreciated ; arcāyām — for the Deity form ; eva — certainly ; tu — and ; uddhava — O Uddhava ; sthaṇḍile — for the Deity drawn upon the ground ; tattva — vinyāsaḥ — establishing the expansions and potencies of the Lord within the various limbs of the Deity by chanting the respective mantras ; vahnau — for the sacrificial fire ; ājya — in ghee ; plutam — drenched ; haviḥ — the oblations of sesame, barley and so on ; sūrye — for the sun ; ca — and ; abhyarhaṇam — the yoga meditation of twelve āsanas and offerings of arghya ; preṣṭham — most dear ; salile — for the water ; salila — ādibhiḥ — by offerings of water and so on ; śraddhayā — with faith ; upāhṛtam — presented ; preṣṭham — most dear ; bhaktena — by the devotee ; mama — My ; vāri — water ; api — even .

Translation

In worshiping the temple Deity, my dear Uddhava, bathing and decoration are the most pleasing offerings. For the Deity traced on sacred ground, the process of tattva-vinyāsa is most dear. Oblations of sesame and barley soaked in ghee are the preferred offering to the sacrificial fire, whereas worship consisting of upasthāna and arghya is preferred for the sun. One should worship Me in the form of water by offering water itself. Actually, whatever is offered to Me with faith by My devotee — even if only a little water — is most dear to Me.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In worshiping the deity forms, my dear Uddhava, bathing and decoration are the most pleasing offerings. For the deity traced on sacred ground, the process of tattva-vinyāsa is most dear. Oblations of sesame and barley soaked in ghee are the preferred offering to the sacrificial fire. Worship consisting of offering arghya is preferred for the sun. One should worship me in the form of water by offering water itself. Actually, whatever is offered to me with faith by my devotee—even if only a little water—is most dear to me. One should worship forms on the ground (such as vastu-puruṣa-maṇḍala), simply by placing the devatās of the principle limbs in particular places using specific mantras. In that worship one does not offer ornaments and other items. One worships the Lord in fire by offering sacrificial items like sesame, soaked in ghee. One worships the Lord in the sun by performing arghya offerings (abhyarhaṇam). One worships the Lord in water by offering water and other items.

Purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present everywhere, and Vedic culture prescribes various ritualistic methods for worshiping the Lord in His various manifestations. The principal item is the faith and devotion of the worshiper, without which everything else is useless, as the Lord describes in the next verse.