Pratishṭhā Vidhi: Consecration of Images

Pratishṭhā Vidhi, “the rite of consecration”

Pratishṭhā is the consecration of a divine image (mūrti) or other sacred object. It is the central rite of temple worship. It is described in detail in the Agni Purāṇa (Chapters 39–41, 57–70 and 94–96) and in the Matsya Purāṇa (Chapters 263–267). Through mantra and the prescribed rite, a stone or metal image becomes the living presence of the deva.

The Agni Purāṇa gives the fullest account. Agni Deva first tells the phala (fruit) of building temples and installing images, and says that Bhagavān Hayagrīva taught the whole rite to Brahmā (Chapter 38). Then Hayagrīva teaches Brahmā, chapter by chapter: who may perform the rite and how the ground is taken (Chapter 39), the offerings to the vāstu-devatās and the arghya at the pit (Chapter 40), the laying of the foundation stones (Chapter 41), the choosing and cutting of the stone in the forest (Chapter 43), the maṇḍapa and the invocation of the ten dikpālas (Chapter 56), the kalaśas (Chapter 57), the bath of the image and its laying to rest (Chapter 58), the adhivāsana (Chapter 59), the installation of Vāsudeva and the bringing of life into the image (Chapter 60), the door, the temple and the dhvaja (Chapter 61), the installation of Lakshmī, of Garuḍa, Sudarśana, Brahmā, Nṛsiṃha and Trailokyamohana Vishṇu, of a sacred book, of wells and tanks, of halls and houses and of the groups of devatās (Chapters 62–66), and the renewal of a worn image (Chapter 67).

Later in the same Purāṇa, Parameśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, teaches Skanda the rite for the Śiva-liṅga: the kinds of pratishṭhā and the laying of the stones (Chapters 92 and 94), the time and the materials (Chapter 95), the adhivāsana (Chapter 96), the installation of the liṅga (Chapter 97), of Gaurī and of Sūrya (Chapters 98–99), of the door, the temple, the śikhara and the dhvaja (Chapters 100–102), and the restoring of a worn liṅga or a ruined temple (Chapter 103). The Agni Purāṇa calls the installation of an image a yajña of endless fruit, and says that one who installs the image of Bhagavān Vishṇu takes his whole lineage with him to the presence of Śrī Mahāvishṇu.

What pratishṭhā means

The Agni Purāṇa teaches that before pratishṭhā a deva’s image is only stone, metal or wood. In the ritual sense it carries no divine presence. Consecration with mantra and the prescribed rite gives life (prāṇa) to the image. It becomes a living, conscious presence of the deva. From the moment prāṇa-pratishṭhā is complete, the image is to be served with all the care and devotion one gives to a revered guest. All later rites are service to this living presence: the daily pūjā, the yearly festivals and the great abhishekas (ritual baths).

The Agni Purāṇa gives this teaching in Chapters 57–70.

Bhagavān Hayagrīva gives Brahmā the meaning of the word itself. If the image (pratimā) is Purusha, the pedestal (piṇḍikā) is Prakṛti. Or the image is the very form of Nārāyaṇa, and the pedestal is the form of Lakshmī. The union of the two is called pratishṭhā. So those who seek a particular phala install the devatā who grants it (Chapter 56). When the image is set on its pedestal, the ācārya asks Parameśvara, the jīva-caitanya (living consciousness) that pervades the twenty-five tattvas, to enter the image from the heart, stay firm and make it living (Chapter 60). The rite taught for Vāsudeva is the general method for all devatās: only the mūla-mantra (root mantra) of each devatā differs (Chapter 60).

Parameśvara teaches Skanda the same truth for Bhagavān Śiva. The pīṭha is Śakti and the liṅga is Śiva, and from their union pratishṭhā is done with the mantras of Śiva. He names five kinds of Śiva-pratishṭhā: pratishṭhā itself, done with the brahma-śilā; sthāpana, when the image is set on the pīṭha itself; sthira-sthāpana; utthāpana, the installation of the liṅga with a base (ādhāra); and āsthāpana, when the liṅga is installed and given its saṃskāra. The pratishṭhā of Vishṇu and the other devatās is of two kinds, āsthāna and utthāna. In every pratishṭhā, Paramaśiva, whose form is consciousness, is to be placed. Temples too have five kinds of pratishṭhā (Chapter 92).

The phala of building and installing

Agni Deva tells the phala of temple building before the rite itself is taught.

The mere resolve “I shall build temples and tanks” destroys the pāpa of thousands of births. One who builds a temple only in thought is freed of the pāpa of many births. One who approves when another builds a temple is freed of all pāpa and reaches Vishṇuloka.
One who builds a temple for Śrī Mahāvishṇu makes a thousand generations before him and a thousand after him fit to dwell in Vishṇuloka. The pitṛs (ancestors) of one who builds a temple for Śrī Kṛshṇa are freed at once from naraka and live joyfully in Vishṇuloka.
Temple building removes pāpas such as brahmahatyā, gives even the fruits a yajña does not give, and gives the fruit of bathing in all tīrthas.
A temple of one shrine (ekāyatana) gives svarga; of three shrines, Brahmaloka; of five, Śivaloka; of eight, the presence of Śrī Hari; of sixteen, both bhoga (enjoyment) and moksha.
A temple of Śrī Hari of the lowest, middle and best grade gives Svargaloka, Vishṇuloka and moksha. What a rich man gains by building the best grade, a poor man gains by building the lowest. Even children who build a Vishṇu temple of earth in play reach Vishṇuloka. A temple at a tīrtha, a siddha-kshetra or an āśrama gives three times the fruit.
One who restores a fallen or falling temple gains twice the fruit of one who builds a new one. As long as the bricks of the temple stand, its builder stays in Vishṇuloka with his family.
Those who build temples for Śiva, Brahmā, Sūrya, Gaṇeśa, Durgā, Lakshmī and the other devatās gain the same fruit as the builder of a Vishṇu temple.
Having an image made gives more fruit than building a temple, and the installation of an image is a yajña of endless fruit. An image of wood is better than one of earth, brick better than wood, stone better than brick, and gold and the other metals best of all.

Yamadharmarāja commanded his dūtas (messengers) not to bring to naraka those who have made or worshipped an image of a devatā, the bhaktas who have taken refuge in Ananta, those who remember the name of Śrī Kṛshṇa while sleeping or walking, or the descendants of those who smear the temple floor and draw rangoli. “One who makes an image of Bhagavān Vishṇu reaches Vishṇuloka. One who installs it merges into Bhagavān Vishṇu. One who builds a temple and installs an image in it dwells for ever in Vishṇuloka.”

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 38

Hayagrīva adds that even one who performs only the consecration of the foundation (pāda-pratishṭhā) is freed of all pāpa and enjoys bliss in Devaloka, and that the bodily pāpas of one who resolves to build a temple perish that very day (Chapter 41). One who builds a temple dwells in Vishṇuloka for as many thousands of years as there are atoms in the materials of the temple and its image (Chapter 61). In the teaching of Parameśvara, the yajamāna (patron) who builds a temple and performs its pratishṭhā enjoys the bhogas of the divine loka for as many thousands of yugas as there are atoms in the image, the liṅga and the vedis (Chapter 102).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 41, 61, 102

Who may perform the rite

Hayagrīva tells Brahmā that the ṛshis spread in the human world the Pañcarātra teachings he himself had given on this subject. They are twenty-five tantras, of which the text names twenty-four: Ādi-Hayaśīrsha, Trailokyamohana, Vaibhava, Paushkara, Prahlāda, Gārgya, Gālava, Nāradīya, Śrīpraśna, Śāṇḍilya, Īśvara, Satya, Śaunaka, the Jñānasāgara spoken by Vasishṭha, Svāyambhuva, Kāpila, Tārkshya, Nārāyaṇīya, Ātreya, Nārasiṃha, Ānanda, Baudhāyana, Ashṭāṅga and Viśva.

According to these tantras, a dvija born in Madhyadeśa and similar lands should install the mūrtis of devatās. A brāhmaṇa born in Kaccha, in the lands on the banks of the Kāverī, in Koṅkaṇa, Kāmarūpa, Kaliṅga, Kāñcī or Kāśmīra should not perform deva-pratishṭhā. The deśika, the teacher who performs the rite, is one who holds the bhāvanā (inner conviction) “I am the Parabrahman, freed from pāpa; I am Vishṇu“. Even without any outward mark or dress, he is called an ācārya who knows the tantra.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 39

Site and foundation

Before any consecration, the site must be prepared and purified. The Agni Purāṇa (Chapters 39–41 and 94) gives these steps.

Bhūparīkshā, the examination of the soil. The colour, smell, taste and character of the earth at the chosen site are tested.
The arghya rite is offered to the presiding deva of the site before any digging.
Śalya, the obstacles under the soil, are found by divination. These are bones, charcoal, metals and animal burrows. They are removed, with purifying offerings to the vāstu-purusha.
After the clearing, the śilā-nyāsa (laying of the foundation stone) is done.
In the foundation pit the navadravya (nine sacred materials) are placed. They are gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, aśvattha wood, the vishṇukrānta herb and consecrated soil. The navaratna (nine gems) are placed with them. The mantra is “Ananta-pṛthivī namāmi.”
The kalaśa (water pot) is set up above the foundation.
Ananta-pūjā is done. It invokes Ananta, the cosmic serpent who holds up the earth, as the divine foundation of the new temple or sacred structure.

Placing the temple

The image is installed facing the town. The back of the devatā must never be turned towards the town. Temples are built at tīrthas such as Kurukshetra and Gayā, or near a river. In a town, the temple of Brahmā stands in the middle; of Indra in the east; of Agni Deva and the Mātṛkās in the south-east; of the bhūta-gaṇas and Yamadharmarāja in the south; of Caṇḍikā, the pitṛ-gaṇas and the daityas in the south-west; of Varuṇa in the west; of Vāyu Deva and the nāgas in the north-west; of Kubera in the north; and of Caṇḍīśa-Maheśa in the north-east. A temple of Vishṇu may stand in any direction. An existing temple must never be made smaller, nor replaced by a smaller, an equal or a deformed one. A new temple near an old one is built beyond a space twice the combined height of the two (Chapter 39).

A temple in the middle of the village or to its east has its door facing west. One in an intermediate direction has its door facing the village. One to the south, north or west of the village has its door to the east (Chapter 41).

Taking possession of the ground

After the ground is purified, it is taken into possession (bhū-parigraha). Bali is given to the bhūtas up to the boundary of the enclosure, with black gram, turmeric, puffed grain, curd and barley flour. Reciting the ashṭākshara mantra (the eight-syllable mantra), one scatters barley flour in the eight directions and says: “May the rākshasas, piśācas and others who live in this place go away from here. I am about to build a temple of Mahāvishṇu here.” The ground is ploughed, and cows are made to walk over it (Chapter 39).

In the teaching of Parameśvara the ground is tested by its earth. For brāhmaṇas, white earth with the fragrance of ghee is best; for kshatriyas, red earth with the smell of blood; for vaiśyas, yellow earth with a good fragrance; for śūdras, black earth with the smell of surā. Ground that is low to the east, to the north-east or on all sides, and high in the middle, is praised. A pit one hasta deep is dug and filled back with its own soil: if soil is left over, the ground is excellent. Ground defiled by bones, charcoal and such things is purified by digging, by tethering cows there and by ploughing many times. After the Ghorāstra yāga of a thousand offerings and the pūjā of Śiva in a water-filled kalaśa in the north-east, the ground is first dug with a crowbar in the south-east square at the chosen lagna (auspicious moment), and the pit is smeared with honey. Then a brāhmaṇa carries the Rudra-kalaśa on his shoulder, with music and Vedic recitation, round the four sides of the city from the east to the north-east, wetting the boundary marks as he goes. This is the bhū-parigraha, also called the arghya-dāna (Chapter 92).

The rite at the first pit

No temple or other building may be raised before the devatās of the sixty-four padas (squares) of the vāstu-purusha are satisfied with vāstu-homa and bali. At the central Brahma-sthāna, Śrī Hari, Lakshmī and the gaṇa-devatās are worshipped. Then Bhūmi, the vāstu-purusha and the kalaśas with their vardhanī (companion pot) are worshipped, with Brahmā and the dikpālas in the kalaśa. After svastivācana and the pūrṇāhuti (final oblation), the master of the house turns a stream of water from a pierced vessel along the line of the cord, in clockwise circles. Seven kinds of seed are sown along the same path, and the digging begins there. In the middle a pit one hasta wide and four aṅgulas deep is dug and smeared. Meditating on four-armed Śrī Mahāvishṇu, one offers arghya with a kalaśa, fills the pit with water and white flowers, and then with seeds and earth. The ācārya receives a cow and cloth, and the astrologer and the master builder are honoured.

The ground is dug until water appears. Bones lying deeper than a man’s height bring no fault. Bones within that depth crack the walls of the house and take away the householder’s happiness. Whatever animal’s name is heard while digging, the bone of that animal lies there (Chapter 40).

Parameśvara gives more signs for finding the buried objects (śalya). The letters spoken by someone who asks a question at the lagna, birds that alight, a disorder in a limb of the one performing the rite, and the cries of animals and birds all show where they lie. With the letters of the alphabet written in groups, the śalya is read from its group: iron in the east, charcoal in the south-east, ash in the south, bones in the south-west, bricks in the west, potsherds in the north-west, corpses and insects in the north, and iron in the north-east; the ha group shows silver. Nine stones, each a hasta long, are then driven into the ground with a mallet until three parts of their length have gone in (Chapter 92).

The consecration of the foundation

Hayagrīva calls the laying of the stones the pāda-pratishṭhā. A maṇḍapa is built with four kuṇḍas (pits): the seats for placing the jars, the bricks, the door and the pillars. Three of the four parts of each kuṇḍa are filled with gravel and levelled, and the vāstu-devatās are worshipped on them. The foundation bricks are well fired, twelve aṅgulas long and four thick. For a temple of stone, stones one hasta long are laid instead. Nine kalaśas of copper or clay are filled with water, all the herbs and sandal-water, with gold and grain in them. With their water the stones and bricks are wetted while these are recited: the three ṛks Āpo hi shṭhā, Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye, Taratsamandaḥ, the Pāvamānī ṛks, Ud uttamaṃ varuṇa, Kayā naḥ, Varuṇasyottambhanam asi, Haṃsaḥ śucishat and the Śrī Sūkta.

Śrī Mahāvishṇu is worshipped on a bed in the eastern maṇḍala. In fire churned from the araṇi, samidhs (sacred sticks) are offered with the twelve-syllable mantra; the āghāra and ājyabhāga oblations with the praṇava (Oṃ); eight āhutis with the ashṭākshara; and then, with oṃ bhūḥ svāhā, oṃ bhuvaḥ svāhā and oṃ suvaḥ svāhā, oblations to Agni, to Soma and to Śrī Mahāvishṇu. Then come the prāyaścitta-homa and a pūrṇāhuti of black gram, ghee and sesame.

Facing east, the ācārya installs devatās on the nine kalaśas: Padma, Mahāpadma, Makara, Kacchapa, Kumuda, Ānanda, Padma and Śaṅkha on the eight around, and Padminī on the central one. These kalaśas must not be moved. Beside them, from the east round to the north-east, a brick is set at each, with the śaktis beginning with Vimalā installed on them and Anugrahā in the middle. The ācārya prays: “O Ishṭakā Devī, daughter of Aṅgiras, best of munis! Not one of your limbs is broken or deformed; you are complete in every limb. Now I install you.”

Then comes the garbhādhāna, the placing of the sacred deposit. Śrī Mahāvishṇu and Śrī Mahālakshmī are installed on a kalaśa, with earth, flowers, minerals and gems beside them. A deposit vessel of metal, twelve aṅgulas across and four high, is worshipped, and Pṛthivī is worshipped in a lotus-shaped copper vessel with this prayer: “O Bhūdevī, ruler of all beings, seated on the mountains, girdled by the oceans, receive the garbha. O Nandā, daughter of Vasishṭha, with the Vasus and the people, make me joyful. O Jayā, daughter of Bhārgava, who give victory to the people, give victory to me also. O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras, fulfil my wishes. O Bhadrā, daughter of Kaśyapa Maharshi, give me an auspicious mind.” The prayer goes on to ask Jayā and Nandā, full of all seeds, gems and herbs, Bhadrā, daughter of Prajāpati, and Bhārgavī Devī, giver of wealth, to delight in the house, and to increase the riches of the lord of the land, the lord of the town, the lord of the house and all who live in it. The vāstu-kuṇḍa is wetted with cow’s urine and the deposit is placed. The ācārya is given a cow and cloth, food is given to others, and the pit is filled.

Then the pīṭha (pedestal) of the main devatā is built according to the height of the temple. The best is as high as half the width of the temple, the middle a fourth less, and the lowest half the height of the best. After the pīṭha is set, vāstu-pūjā is done again (Chapter 41).

The foundation stones of a Śiva temple

In the teaching of Parameśvara, the building begins with marked stones: nine stones (or bricks) marked with the vajra and other signs, or five stones marked with the lotus. In a temple of stone, stones are used; in a temple of brick, bricks, half the measure of the stones. The five stones are Nandā, Bhadrā, Jayā, Riktā and Pūrṇā, with the five treasure-jars Padma, Mahāpadma, Śaṅkha, Makara and Samudra. The nine stones are Nandā, Bhadrā, Jayā, Pūrṇā, Ajitā, Aparājitā, Vijayā, Maṅgalā and Dharaṇī, with the jars Subhadra, Vibhadra, Sunanda, Pushpadanta, Jaya, Vijaya, Kumbha, Pūrva and Uttara.

The stones are bathed in their own maṇḍapa with earth, cow-dung, cow’s urine, astringent decoctions and scented water, then with pañcagavya and pañcāmṛta. They are smeared with fruits, gems, gold, cow-horn and sandal, wrapped in cloth, carried round the yāga-maṇḍapa on a golden seat and laid on a bed of kuśa. On them are placed the Śiva-tattva, Vidyā-tattva and Ātma-tattva with their lords Rudra, Vishṇu and Brahmā; the eight mūrtis (earth, fire, the yajamāna, sun, water, wind, moon and ākāśa) with their lords Śarva, Paśupati, Ugra, Rudra, Bhava, Īśāna, Mahādeva and Bhīma; and the lokapālas beginning with Ananta. The presiding devatās of the stones are meditated upon as forms of vidyā, freshly bathed, shining like gold, in bright garments and adorned. A hundred homas with the astra-mantra remove every fault of deficiency and purify the ground (Chapter 92).

Outside the vāstu-maṇḍala, Carakī and the other devatās are worshipped with three homas each, bali is given to the bhūtas, and the śilānyāsa (laying of the stones) begins at a chosen lagna. In the middle of the pit, over the ādhāra-śakti (supporting power), a kalaśa consecrated with the mantra of Ananta is set, and on it, with laṃ pṛthivyai namaḥ, the stone that is the form of Pṛthvī. Around it stand eight kalaśas beginning with Subhadra, set with the mantras of Indra and the other lokapālas, and on them the stones Nandā and the rest. Over all of them Brahmā and the all-pervading Maheśvara are installed. In the five-stone way, Pūrṇā is placed in the middle on the Subhadra kalaśa, and Nandā and the others in the corners on the Padma kalaśas. Then the stones are prayed to:

“O Pūrṇā, gathering of all, Mahāvidyā, daughter of Aṅgiras Ṛshi! Make everything in this pratishṭhā complete.”
“O Nandā, who delight all beings, I install you here. As long as the sun, the moon and the stars shine in the sky, stay firm on this prāsāda. O Nandā, daughter of Vasishṭha, give living beings long life, every wish and Lakshmī, and protect this prāsāda with care.”
“O Bhadrā, daughter of Kaśyapa, always bring welfare to all the worlds, and give us long life and the fruit of our wishes.”
“O Devī Jayā, daughter of Bhṛgu, give us Lakshmī and long life, and give the master of this house victory and aiśvarya every day.”
“O Riktā, who destroy excess faults, be the giver of siddhi and moksha. O Śubhā, whose dwelling is in every place and time, whose form is Īśa, stay always in this prāsāda.”

Then the house is meditated on as ākāśa and the three tattvas are placed in it. Prāyaścitta homas are offered and the yajña is concluded (Chapter 94).

The stone for the image

Hayagrīva teaches that the image of Bhagavān Vishṇu is made of seven materials: clay, wood, metal, gems, stone, sandalwood and flowers. An image of flowers, clay or sandal is worshipped at once and not kept long; worshipped so, it quickly fulfils every desire. Stone from a mountain is best; where there are no mountains, stone found in the earth may be used. For the brāhmaṇa and the other varṇas, stones of white, red, yellow and black are best, in that order. If a stone of the right colour is not found, a homa with the Narasiṃha mantra makes up the lack. A white line on the stone is very good; a stone with a black line becomes good after the Narasiṃha homa. A stone that rings like bell-metal and throws sparks when struck is male; one with fewer of these signs is female; one with neither is neuter. A stone with a mark like a circle is “with an embryo” (sagarbhā) and is rejected.

To bring the stone, the ācārya goes into the forest and performs the vana-yāga. A kuṇḍa is dug and smeared, Vishṇu is worshipped on a maṇḍapa, bali is offered to him, and the chisel (ṭaṅka) and the other tools of the image-maker are worshipped. After the homa the stone is sprinkled with rice-water while the astra-mantra astrāya phaṭ is said. It is protected with the Narasiṃha mantra and worshipped with oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya. After the pūrṇāhuti the ācārya offers bali to the bhūtas, and honours all who live there unseen, the creatures, rākshasas, yakshas, siddhas and the rest, saying: “By the command of Keśava we have come here for images. The work of Śrī Mahāvishṇu is your work too, so we have given you this. Satisfied by this bali, leave this place at once and go in well-being to another place.” Pleased, they leave. Then the ācārya eats the yajña-caru (the cooked offering) with the śilpīs (sculptors).

At bedtime he recites the svapna-mantra (dream mantra): “Namaskāra to Śrī Hari, the dwelling place of all beings, the all-pervading, the creator of all, whose form is the universe, the lord of dreams. O Deva, O Deveśvara, I sleep near you. Make known to me all about the works I have resolved in my mind.” Then he says oṃ oṃ hrūṃvaṭ vishṇave svāhā and sleeps. An auspicious dream brings good; after a bad dream, a homa with the Narasiṃha mantra brings good. In the morning he offers arghya on the stone with the astra-mantra, worships the tools, and shows the stone the faces of the crowbar, the chisel and the others. The śilpī, his senses controlled, squares the stone with the chisel and makes it a little smaller for the image block. The stone is wrapped in cloth, carried on a chariot to the workshop, worshipped again, and the image is made.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 43

The pedestal is as long as the image and half its height. It is marked into sixty-four squares and cut with its girdle (mekhalā), its hollow, its water-spout and the channel in front. This pedestal of varied form is called Bhadrā.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 45

The maṇḍapa and the dikpāla-yāga

Before the installation the ācārya builds a maṇḍapa in front of the temple: of eight hastas (the lowest), sixteen (the middle) or twenty (the best). Half of it is set apart for the bath of the devatā, for the kalaśas and for the materials of the yāga. In the other half, or in a third of it, a vedi (altar) is made and adorned with large and small kalaśas and canopies. The maṇḍapa is sprinkled with pañcagavya and all the materials are kept there. Adorned with cloth and garlands, the ācārya meditates on Vishṇu and worships him. He gives rings and other ornaments to the learned mūrtipālakas, the guardians of the image, and seats them at the kuṇḍas, which are square, half-moon, round or lotus-shaped.

The toraṇas (arched gateways) of the four directions are of aśvattha, udumbara, vaṭa and plaksha wood. The gates are named Suśobhana in the east, Subhadra in the south, Sukarma in the west and Suhotra in the north. The toraṇa pillars are five hastas high and are worshipped with the mantra Syonā pṛthivi. At their base stand auspicious kalaśas with mango shoots and barley sprouts, and on top of the pillar the Sudarśana cakra is placed. The dhvaja-staff is seven hastas high, with banners coloured in turn for the directions, and on the banners eight devatās are worshipped: Kumuda, Kumudā, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Śaṅkukarṇa, Sarvanetra, Sumukha and Supratishṭhita, who all have crores of good qualities. One hundred and twenty-eight kalaśas, fired until red, are filled with water at a time free of the Kāladaṇḍa yoga. Cloth is tied round the neck of each, gold is placed inside, and they are set outside the toraṇas and around the vedi.

On four kalaśas the ten dikpālas are invoked, each with a prayer to come with the devatās and guard his quarter, and each is worshipped with his own mantra:

Indra, king of the devas, on Airāvata, the vajra in his hand, for the east: Trātāram indram.
Agni, mighty, mounted on a ram, holding the śakti, for the south-east: Agnir mūrdhā or Agnaye namaḥ.
Yama, son of Sūrya, great in strength, on a buffalo, holding the daṇḍa, for the south: Vaivasvataṃ saṅgamanam.
Nirṛti, strong and with his vāhana, bearer of the sword, for the south-west, given arghya and pādya.
Varuṇa, great in strength, on the makara, bearer of the pāśa (noose), for the west: Uruṃ hi rājā varuṇaḥ.
Vāyu, great in strength, holding the dhvaja, with the devatās and the Maruts, for the north-west: Vāta ā vātu or Oṃ namo vāyave.
Soma, bearer of the gadā, together with Kubera, for the north: Somaṃ rājānam or Somāya namaḥ.
Īśāna, on the bull, bearer of the śūla, for the north-east of the yajña-maṇḍapa: Īśānam asya or Īśānāya namaḥ.
Brahmā, on the haṃsa, holding the sruk and sruva (the homa ladles), unborn, for the upward direction: Hiraṇyagarbha or Namaste brahmaṇe.
Ananta, seated on the back of the tortoise, lord of the nāgas, bearer of the cakra, for the downward direction: Namo’stu sarvebhyaḥ or Anantāya namaḥ.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 56

The kalaśa-adhivāsa

The pratishṭhā begins with the kalaśa-adhivāsa. This is the overnight stay of the deva in the ceremonial pot. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapter 57.

The kalaśa is filled with pañcagavya (the five products of the cow) and with waters consecrated by the deva’s main mantra.
It is set on an ashṭadala-padma maṇḍala, a diagram of an eight-petalled lotus.
The deva is formally invoked into the kalaśa. All sixteen upacāras (offerings) are made through the night.
The kalaśa is the deva’s temporary home until the permanent image is brought to life.
In this part of the rite all the materials for the great bath (snapana) and for the consecration are made ready and sanctified.

Hayagrīva gives this rite in full. On the ground taken for the pratishṭhā, akshata (unbroken rice), mustard and pañcagavya are scattered with the Nārasiṃha mantra to drive away the rākshasas. Śrī Hari with his aṅga-devatās is worshipped on a kalaśa holding gems, and a hundred and eight vessels are worshipped with the astra-mantra. The vedi is wetted with an unbroken stream of water and grain is scattered on it. The kalaśa is carried round and set on the grain, wrapped in cloth, and Lakshmī and Nārāyaṇa are worshipped on it. With the mantra Yoge yoge the bed (śayyā) is set in the maṇḍala, and in the bathing maṇḍapa a bed with a mattress is laid on kuśa grass. In the directions the forms of Vishṇu are worshipped: Vishṇu in the east, Madhusūdana in the south, Trivikrama in the west, Vāmana in the north, Śrīdhara in the south-east, Hṛshīkeśa in the south-west, Padmanābha in the north-west and Dāmodara in the north-east.

On the north-east vedi of the bathing maṇḍapa four kalaśas are set with great reverence for the abhisheka of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The eastern kalaśa holds the shoots of twelve trees: vaṭa, udumbara, aśvattha, campaka, aśoka, bilva, palāśa, arjuna, plaksha, kadamba, vakula and mango. The southern holds lotus, gorocanā, dūrvā, darbha, jātī and kunda flowers, sandal, red sandal, white mustard, tagara and rice. The western holds gold, silver, earth from both banks of a river that flows into the sea, Gaṅgā earth, cow-dung, barley and rice. The northern holds ten herbs, among them vishṇuparṇī, bhṛṅgarāja, śatāvarī, sahadevī, vacā, balā, vyāghrī and lakshmaṇā. Other kalaśas hold auspicious things; earth from seven places; Gaṅgā sand and Gaṅgā water; earth dug up by the tusks and horns of a boar, a bull and an elephant, and earth from the root of a lotus; earth from the roots of darbha grass; water with mountain earth; the filaments of nāgakesara flowers; water with sandal, aguru and camphor and with cat’s-eye, coral, pearl, crystal and diamond; and water from rivers, mountain streams and tanks. All these are put into one kalaśa, and the chosen devatā is installed on it. The remaining kalaśas are set in the vāstu-maṇḍapa of eighty-one padas, filled with fragrant water and consecrated with the Śrī Sūkta.

The vessels of the upacāras are set in their directions: arghya in the east, pādya in the south, madhuparka in the west, ācamana in the north, nīrājana (the waving of lights) in the south-east, and the vessel of fragrant paste in the north-east. Sixty-eight lamps are set for the nīrājana, and the śaṅkha, cakra, śrīvatsa, vajra and lotus emblems, flowers of many colours and vessels of gold and other metals are made ready (Chapter 57).

The four-phase adhivāsa

On the night before the main pratishṭhā, the image passes through four successive states of rest. This is the catur-adhivāsa. It prepares the image to receive the deva’s permanent presence. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapters 59 and 96.

Dhānya-adhivāsa. The image is laid on a bed of grain (dhānya). The grain stands for abundance, fertility and the earth that sustains.
Gandha-adhivāsa. The image rests on fragrant woods and sweet-smelling substances. This establishes the deva’s pleasure and comfort.
Pushpa-adhivāsa. The image is laid on a bed of auspicious flowers, each offered with the deva’s mantra.
Jala-adhivāsa. The image is placed in consecrated water, or surrounded by it, for the last stage of purification.

Each phase has its own mantras. After the four phases, the dreams of the officiating priests are examined. Auspicious dreams show that the deva is pleased and has accepted the invitation. Inauspicious signs call for more purifying rites before the consecration goes on.

The snapana

The great snapana (bath) is the act just before prāṇa-pratishṭhā. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapter 58. The image is bathed in turn with five sacred substances, the pañcāmṛta. Each has its own mantra and purpose.

Kshīra (milk). It purifies the image, with the Vishṇu mantra.
Dadhi (curd). It brings prosperity to the temple and its community.
Ghṛta (ghee). It gives strength and life to the deva’s presence.
Madhu (honey). It brings eloquence and sweetness to the rite.
Śarkarā (sugar). It gives happiness and auspiciousness.

After the pañcāmṛta, the image is bathed with pure water and then with scented waters. It is wiped with a silk cloth, anointed with sandalwood paste and turmeric, and decorated with flowers. The high point is the mahābhisheka, the great royal bath. It is done with one hundred and eight kalaśas of consecrated water. The Purusha Sūkta and the Śrī Sūkta are chanted while the water is poured, one verse for each kalaśa.

In the Agni Purāṇa’s own order, the bath begins at the workshop. The ācārya builds a homa-kuṇḍa in the north-east, establishes the Vaishṇava fire, offers a hundred and eight homas with the Gāyatrī and sprinkles the kalaśas with the remnant of the homa. The yajamāna goes with the mūrtipālakas and the śilpīs, with music, to the workshop. There, with Vishṇave śipivishṭāya namaḥ, he ties the protective thread (kautuka-sūtra) on the right hand of the image, and a thread of wool, mustard and silk is tied on the ācārya’s hand too. The image, wrapped in cloth, is placed on the maṇḍala and praised: “O pratimā made by Viśvakarmā, O Deveśvarī, namaskāra to you. O Jagadambā, who influence the whole world, I bow to you again and again. O Īśvarī, on you I worship Nārāyaṇa, who is free of all affliction. May no fault of the sculptor’s craft remain in you. Be always full of prosperity for me.” It is taken to the bathing house. The śilpī is given wealth, and the guru is given a cow. With Citraṃ devānām the eyes of the image are opened (netronmīlana), and with Agnir jyotiḥ the sight is made to move. White flowers, ghee, mustard, dūrvā and kuśa are placed on its head, and with Madhu vātā collyrium is applied to the eyes.

Then come the baths, each with its own mantra: ghee with the Ghṛtavatī ṛk; rubbing with chickpea flour; anointing with Drupadād iva; abhisheka with Āpo hi shṭhā; the water of river-tīrthas; water touched by gems with the Pāvamānī ṛks; tīrtha-earth and kalaśa water with Samudraṃ gaccha svāhā; hot water with Śaṃ no devī and the Gāyatrī; five kinds of earth with Hiraṇyagarbhaḥ; water with sand with Imaṃ me gaṅge yamune; water with ant-hill earth with Tad vishṇoḥ paramaṃ padam; herb water with Oshadhīḥ; astringent water such as āmalaka with Yajñā yajñā; pañcagavya with Payaḥ pṛthivyām; fruit water with Yāḥ phalinīḥ; the cleansing bath from the four kalaśas of the north, east, south and west with Viśvataścakshuḥ, Somaṃ rājānam, Vishṇor arāṭam asi and Haṃsaḥ śucishat; āmalaka water with Mūrdhānaṃ divo; jaṭāmāṃsī water with Mā nas toke; fragrant water with Gandhadvārām; and the kalaśas of the eighty-one-pada maṇḍapa with Idam āpaḥ.

After the bath, Bhagavān Vishṇu is invoked: “O Bhagavān Mahāvishṇu, who show grace to all the worlds, come, come; accept this share of the yajña; namaskāra to you.” With Muñcāmi tvā the threads on the image and on the ācārya are untied. Each upacāra (offering) has its mantra: pādya with Hiraṇmayena, arghya with Ato devāḥ, madhuparka with Madhu vātā, ācamana with Mayi gṛhṇāmi, fragrant paste with Gandhavatī, a garland with Unnayāmi, the pavitraka with Idaṃ vishṇuḥ, a pair of cloths with Bṛhaspate, the upper cloth with Vedāham etam, flowers and herbs with Mahāvratena, incense with Dhūr asi, collyrium with the Virāṭ sūkta, a garland with Dīrghāyutvāya, the parasol with Indra kshatram abhi, the mirror with the Virāṭ mantra, the whisk with the Vikarṇa mantra, ornaments with the Rathantara and the fan with the mantras of Vāyu. Then Śrī Hari is praised with the Purusha Sūkta. The same offerings are made on the pedestal and to Śiva and the other devatās.

The Sauparṇa Sūkta is recited as the devatā is lifted. Saying “Prabho, arise!”, the ācārya lifts Śrī Mahāvishṇu and, reciting the Śakuni Sūkta, carries him on a brahmaratha or a palanquin to the bed in the maṇḍapa. With Ato devāḥ and Śrīś ca te lakshmīś ca, the image and the pedestal are laid on the bed. The eight auspicious objects, a lion, a bull, an elephant, a fan, a kalaśa, a banner, a drum and a lamp, are shown to Bhagavān Vishṇu with the Aśva Sūkta. With the Tripād mantra, household vessels are placed at his feet: a pot with its lid, a small pan, a ladle, a mortar and pestle, a grinding stone, a broom and an eating vessel. At his head are placed cloths and a kalaśa with gems, filled with sugar-candy, called Nidrā (sleep). This is the rite of laying Bhagavān Vishṇu to rest (Chapter 58).

The adhivāsana of Śrī Hari

Hayagrīva defines adhivāsana as gaining the presence (sānnidhya) of Śrī Hari. The sādhaka first meditates “I am Purushottama, all-knowing and all-pervading” and, in his bhāvanā, dissolves earth into fire, fire into air, air into ākāśa, the bhūtas into the tanmātras, ākāśa into manas, manas into ahaṅkāra, ahaṅkāra into mahat, and mahat into the unmanifest Prakṛti, and that into the Paramātmā whose form is knowledge. “This Paramātmā is Vāsudeva.” Then he contemplates creation coming forth again. From Vāsudeva, whose form is sound, came Saṅkarshaṇa, named touch; from him Pradyumna, whose form is light; from him Aniruddha, whose form is taste; and from him Brahmā, whose form is smell. Brahmā created the waters and in them the golden egg with the five bhūtas, in which the jīva-śakti began to move. From it came buddhi, ahaṅkāra, manas, the five objects of the senses, the five senses of knowing, the five organs of action and the five mahābhūtas.

Each tattva is then placed on the image by nyāsa with its bīja letter, from maṃ for the jīva over the whole body to kaṃ for ākāśa on the head. In the heart-lotus yaṃ is placed; in the seventy-two thousand nāḍīs saṃ with its sixteen kalās; and haṃ with the praṇava on the maṇḍala of fire. The five śaktis, called the upanishads, are invoked: parameshṭhyātmā, purushātmā, nityātmā, viśvātmā and sarvātmā, used in turn for the bath, the seat, the laying to rest, the carrying and the pūjā. Among them Śrī Hari, made of mantra, is meditated on and kshaṃ is placed. For Vishṇu the mūla-mantra Oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya is placed syllable by syllable on the head, nose, forehead, face, throat, heart, arms, shanks and feet, and the twelve names: Keśava on the head, Nārāyaṇa on the face, Mādhava on the throat, Govinda on the arms, Vishṇu on the heart, Madhusūdana on the back, Vāmana on the belly, Trivikrama on the waist, Śrīdhara on the shanks, Hṛshīkeśa on the right side, Padmanābha on the ankles and Dāmodara on the feet. Or the image is brought to life with the mūla-mantra of the devatā being installed, its first letter joined to the twelve vowels to form the limb-mantras. The same nyāsa is done on the ācārya’s own body.

On a lotus-maṇḍala shaped like a wheel, Mahāvishṇu is worshipped. Above, the ācārya meditates on the Sudarśana cakra of twelve spokes, with three naves and two rims, the twelve Sūryas at the tips of the spokes and Candra with sixteen kalās, and within it a twelve-petalled lotus with the Purusha-śakti. The deśika places Śrī Hari on the image and worships him with his aṅgas and āvaraṇas (surrounding devatās). He worships the forms beginning with Keśava, and the lokapālas on the twelve-petalled maṇḍala; images of the Purusha with the Purusha Sūkta, and pedestals with the Śrī Sūkta.

The Vaishṇava fire is brought forth by the saṃskāras of birth and the rest, and carried to the kuṇḍas: to the southern with Agniṃ dūtam, to the eastern with Agnim agnim, to the northern with Agnim agniṃ havīmabhiḥ, while Tvam agne dyubhiḥ is recited. In each kuṇḍa a thousand and eight palāśa samidhs are offered with the praṇava, with barley and the rest; sesame with ghee with the vyāhṛtis; ghee with the mūla-mantra; and a śānti-homa with ghee, honey and sugar. With the twelve-syllable mantra the feet, navel, heart and head of the image are touched; after offerings of ghee, curd and milk the head is touched again, and the rivers Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Godāvarī and Sarasvatī are invoked. Caru is cooked with the Gāyatrī, balis are given and brāhmaṇas are fed. For the twelve Ādityas, the lords of the months, the ācārya receives gold and a cow; bali is given to the dikpālas; and the night passes in vigil (jāgaraṇa) with recitation of the Vedas, songs and kīrtana. One who completes the adhivāsana in this way obtains every fruit.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 59

Prāṇa-pratishṭhā

Prāṇa-pratishṭhā is the highest moment of temple worship. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapter 60.

The priest does nyāsa on the image. By mantra and touch he places the deva’s consciousness in each limb.
The āvāhana (formal invitation) calls the deva from his divine home into the image.
The prāṇa-pratishṭhā mantra is breathed by the priest straight into the image. It puts the deva’s life-force into the consecrated form.
The netra-unmīlana (opening of the eyes) follows. The eyes of the deva are opened with a golden needle or the tip of a kuśa blade. For the first time the deva sees the world.
The full sixteen-upacāra pūjā is offered as the first formal worship of the now living deva.
Bali offerings are made to the directions and to the kshetrapālas (guardians of the place).
A procession around the temple (pradakshiṇā) marks the end of the pratishṭhā.

The Agni Purāṇa gives the installation of Vāsudeva step by step. The garbhagṛha is divided into seven parts. The image belongs in the Brahma-bhāga, never in the parts of the devas, of humans or of piśācas, and the pedestal is set on ground taken from part of the Brahma-bhāga with parts of the Deva and Manushya bhāgas. With the Nṛsiṃha mantra, homa and the ratna-nyāsa (placing of gems) are done on a neuter stone: grains, gems, iron and other metals, sandal and the like are placed in pits in the directions and in the middle, and the pits are covered with guggulu with the mantras of the dikpālas. The image is rubbed with kuśa and the herb Sahadevā, purified with pañcagavya, and sprinkled with kuśa-water, river water and tīrtha water.

On a square vedi of sand one and a half hastas across, with kalaśas of eight colours in the eight directions, fire is installed. Samidhs are offered with Tvam agne dyubhiḥ and the Gāyatrī, a hundred and eight āhutis of ghee with the ashṭākshara, and the pūrṇāhuti. After a hundred japas of the mūla-mantra, the śānti-water (water of peace) is sprinkled with mango sprouts on the head of the image while Śrīś ca lakshmīś ca is recited. With Uttishṭha brahmaṇaspate the image is lifted onto the brahmaratha and taken toward the temple with Tad vishṇoḥ. Then it is carried in a palanquin through the city with song, music and Vedic chant, and brought back to the temple door. The guru, with suvāsinīs (married women whose husbands live) and brāhmaṇas, bathes Śrī Hari with eight maṅgala-kalaśas, worships him, and offers cloth and arghya with Ato devāḥ.

At a fixed lagna (sthira-lagna), with Devasya tvā, the image is installed with this prayer: “Saccidānanda-svarūpa! Trivikrama! You covered the three worlds with three steps. Namaskāra to you.” It is set firm on the pedestal with Dhruvā dyauḥ and Viśvataścakshuḥ, bathed with pañcagavya and fragrant water, and after sakalīkaraṇa it receives the full general pūjā.

Then the ācārya meditates that ākāśa is the body of Śrī Mahāvishṇu and the earth his seat, and that his body is formed of atoms of light. He invokes the jīva that pervades the twenty-five tattvas, whose nature is consciousness and supreme bliss, free of waking, dream and deep sleep, free of body, senses, mind, buddhi, prāṇa and ahaṅkāra, dwelling in the heart of all from Brahmā down to the insect: “Parameśvara! You are that jīva-caitanya. Enter from the heart into the image and stay firm. Make this image living. In all bodies is the Purusha the size of a thumb, whose nature is light and knowledge, the one Parabrahman without a second.” He awakens Bhagavān Vishṇu with the praṇava and, touching the heart of the image, recites the Purusha Sūkta. This is the act of making Bhagavān Vishṇu present (sānnidhya-karaṇa). Then he recites the secret mantra: “Prabhu Mahāvishṇu, lord of all devas, namaskāra to you. Jñāna and vijñāna are your nature, beyond the three guṇas. You are the indweller, the Paramātmā, the imperishable Purāṇa-purusha. Namaskāra to you. Mahāvishṇu, be present here. May your supreme nature and your body of knowledge come together as one and become manifest in this image.” That Śrī Hari is present there is known from the pilgrims who come for his darśana and from the varas (blessings) they receive, and from the bowing, praise and japa offered there.

Brahmā and the other attendant devatās are installed before him with their weapons and mudrās. Outside, the ācārya worships the dvārapālakas Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa at the door. Garuḍa is installed in the maṇḍapa, the dikpālas in their directions, the śaṅkha, cakra and the other weapons are worshipped, and bali is given to the pārshadas (attendants of Vishṇu) and the bhūtas. The yajamāna gives the ācārya a village, cloth, gold and the materials of the yajña; the ṛtviks (officiating priests) receive half the ācārya’s dakshiṇā; and every brāhmaṇa who comes is given dakshiṇā and fed, none turned away. Then the guru gives the phala of the rite to the yajamāna. The puṇyātmā who installs the image of Bhagavān Vishṇu takes his whole lineage with him to the presence of Śrī Mahāvishṇu (Chapter 60).

An installed image without a festival bears no fruit. So in the very year of the installation a festival (utsava) of one night, three nights or eight nights is held (Chapter 68).

Pratishṭhā of particular forms and structures

The Agni Purāṇa gives separate consecration rites for particular divine forms and sacred structures (Chapters 62–66).

Lakshmī-pratishṭhā (Chapter 62). The consecration of Śrī Lakshmī uses the Śrī Sūkta and the Śrīṃ bīja mantra as its main mantras. The eight forms of Lakshmī are invoked in their own places.
Sudarśana-cakra-pratishṭhā (Chapter 63). The Sudarśana cakra is consecrated in its six-spoked form (shaṭara), with a mantra of its own. Sudarśana is worshipped both as the weapon of Bhagavān Vishṇu and as an independent deva with its own fierce power.
Kūpa, vāpī and taḍāga pratishṭhā (Chapter 64). This is the consecration of wells, stepped tanks and lakes. It invokes Varuṇa as the presiding deva of the waters, with Vedic water mantras.
Sabhā-pratishṭhā (Chapter 65). The consecration of an assembly hall has its own procedure. It makes the space holy for sacred discourse.
Sādhāraṇa-pratishṭhā (Chapter 66). This is a general procedure for other sacred objects and structures that the specific rites above do not cover.

The Agni Purāṇa gives these rites in more detail.

Lakshmī (Chapter 62). Hayagrīva begins the installation of devatās together with Lakshmī. The maṇḍapa and the bath are as before. The Devī is placed on a bhadra-pīṭha with eight kalaśas in the eight directions, anointed with ghee and bathed with pañcagavya. Each step takes a ṛk of the Śrī Sūkta. Her eyes are opened with Hiraṇyavarṇāṃ hariṇīm; honey, ghee and sugar are offered with Tāṃ ma āvaha; the eight kalaśas are poured with Aśvapūrvām (east), Kāṃsosmitām (south), Candrāṃ prabhāsām (west), Ādityavarṇe (north), Upaitu mām (south-east), Kshutpipāsāmalām (south-west), Gandhadvārām (north-west) and Manasaḥ kāmam ākūtim (north-east); the golden kalaśa on her head with Kardamena prajābhūtā; eighty-one kalaśas with Āpaḥ sṛjantu; fragrant paste and a garland with Ārdrāṃ pushkariṇīm and Ārdrāṃ yaḥ kariṇīm. She is laid to rest, made present with the Śrī Sūkta, and the śakti of consciousness is placed in her with the bīja śrīṃ. A thousand or a hundred homas of lotuses or karavīra flowers are offered with the Śrī Sūkta. She is installed on her pedestal in the consecrated temple, each ṛk of the Śrī Sūkta is recited, and land, gold, cloth and cows are given to the ācārya, the brahmā-priest, the ṛtviks and the brāhmaṇas. One who installs all the Devīs in this way attains kingdom, svarga and the rest.

Garuḍa, Sudarśana, Brahmā and Nṛsiṃha (Chapter 63). Their images are installed as Vishṇu’s is, each with its own mantras. The hero who worships the cakra with the Sudarśana mantra tears apart his enemies in battle. The Narasiṃha mantra is oṃ śeṃ narasiṃha ugrarūpa jvala jvala prajvala prajvala svāhā. Hayagrīva also teaches the Pātāla-Nṛsiṃha mantra, the Nṛsiṃha-vidyā, which is of the form of Śrī Hari and gives every aim.

Trailokyamohana Vishṇu and the other forms (Chapter 63). Trailokyamohana Vishṇu, “who enchants the three worlds”, is installed with the Trailokyamohana mantras. Two-armed, he holds the gadā in the left hand and shows the abhaya-mudrā with the right; four-armed, he holds the cakra in the upper right hand and the Pāñcajanya in the upper left. Beside him are installed Śrī and Pushṭi, or Balarāma and Subhadrā. Śrī Vishṇu, Vāmana, Vaikuṇṭha, Hayagrīva and Aniruddha are installed in a temple, a house or a maṇḍapa, and Matsya and the other avatāras lying on a bed of water. In the same way are installed Saṅkarshaṇa, Viśvarūpa, the Rudra-mūrti, the liṅga, Ardhanārīśvara, Harihara, the Mātṛkās, Bhairava, Sūrya, the grahas, Vināyaka, Gaurī served by Indra and the devas, Citrajā and the Balābala-vidyā.

A sacred book (Chapter 63). On a svastika-maṇḍala the ācārya worships what is to be written, the book, Vidyā and Śrī Hari, and the yajamāna worships the guru, Vidyā, Śrī Mahāvishṇu and the writer. Facing east and meditating on Padminī, the writer dips a golden pen in a silver ink-pot and writes five ślokas in the Devanāgarī script; brāhmaṇas are fed, and he begins writing the Purāṇas. The book is placed on a mirror in the north-east and sprinkled with kalaśa water. The yajamāna opens its eyes and lays it on the bed. It receives the nyāsa of the Purusha Sūkta and the Vedas, prāṇa-pratishṭhā and caru-homa. At the end it is installed in a house or a temple, kept covered with cloth and worshipped at the beginning and end of each reading. The reader resolves for the peace of the world and reads one adhyāya, and the guru sprinkles the yajamāna and the others with the water of the kumbha. The gift of a book to a brāhmaṇa brings endless fruit: the giver is honoured in Vishṇuloka for as many thousands of years as there are pages and letters. One who gives the Pañcarātra, the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata lifts up twenty-one generations of his line and merges in the supreme tattva.

Wells, step-wells and tanks (Chapter 64). Śrī Hari himself, in the form of water, became Soma and Varuṇa. An image of Varuṇa of gold, silver or gems, two-armed and mounted on a haṃsa, with the abhaya-mudrā and the nāga-pāśa, is bathed from eight kalaśas of sea, Gaṅgā, rain, spring, river, mountain-stream, stream and tīrtha water. His eyes are opened with honey, ghee and sugar while Citraṃ devānām and Taccakshur devahitam are recited. He is given adhivāsana that night, made present with Varuṇaṃ vā, brought to life with the mūla-mantra, meditated on with his consort Gaurī amid the rivers, carried in procession and set in the water, and a yūpa (post) is installed there. Releasing the water, the yajamāna says: “From Brahmā down to the blade of grass, may all who are thirsty be satisfied by this water.” The puṇya of one who builds a single water-body is a thousand times that of a lakh of aśvamedha yajñas.

Halls and houses (Chapter 65). A deva-sabhā (hall for the devatās) is built at a crossing of four roads in a city or in a village, never in a place empty of people. Its builder is freed of pāpa, lifts up his whole lineage and enjoys bliss in svarga. For Śrī Hari a temple of seven storeys is built like a royal palace, and so for the other devatās. Houses of one to four wings are reckoned by income and expense (āya and vyaya). At the entry into a new house the householder, hands joined before a cow, prays to Nandā, Jayā, Pūrṇā, Bhadrā and Ishṭakā Devī to dwell in the house and bring it increase.

Groups of devatās (Chapter 66). The Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Sādhyas, Viśvedevas, the Aśvinī-kumāras and the ṛshis are installed as Vāsudeva is. The first letter of each name, joined to the long vowels, gives the bījas for the aṅga-nyāsa; with bindu it is the bīja, and with praṇava and namaḥ the mantra; all are worshipped with the mūla-mantra. The householder should also install the groups of devatās of Śiva and the others.

The temple door and the flagpole

The Agni Purāṇa gives this in Chapter 61.

The dvāra-pratishṭhā consecrates the temple door as a sacred threshold.
At Vishṇu temples, Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa, the divine doorkeepers, are installed below the two door-jambs, and Lakshmī on their upper part.
At Śiva temples, Nandī and Mahākāla are installed.
The dhvaja-daṇḍa (flagpole) is raised to exact measures. Its height is equal to, or a prescribed fraction of, the śikhara (tower) of the temple.
At one-third of its height a cakra-disc is fixed.
At the top, Garuḍa is installed for Vaishṇava temples. Śiva temples carry other fitting emblems.
The dhvaja-pratishṭhā is done with its own mantras. The flag stands for the royal presence of the deva. It tells the world that the divine sovereign lives within.

The Agni Purāṇa gives this rite in full. First comes the closing bath (avabhṛtha-snāna): homa is done with Vishṇor nu kaṃ vīryāṇi, and Śrī Hari is bathed from kalaśas set in the vāstu-maṇḍapa of eighty-one padas, worshipped with offerings, and the guru is honoured. For the door, the guru places gold beneath it and sets up two jambs of udumbara wood. After homa and the gift of a bed, he installs Ādhāra-śakti below, Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa below the two jambs, and Lakshmī, worshipped by the hosts of devas, on their upper part, worshipping her with the Śrī Sūkta. Brahmā is worshipped, the ācārya receives a coconut as dakshiṇā, and Śrī Hari is installed on the door.

The temple itself is installed with the mantra hṛt-pratishṭhā. Where the śukanāsā (the projecting front of the tower) ends, at the head of the garbhagṛha, a golden or silver kalaśa is set up, holding eight kinds of gems, herbs, minerals, seeds and gold. Its neck is wrapped with cloth, it is filled with water and sprouts, and it is given adhivāsana on a maṇḍala. Homa is done with the Nṛsiṃha mantra, and prāṇa is placed with the Nārāyaṇa-tattva. The kalaśa is contemplated as the Virāṭ-rūpa (cosmic form) and the whole temple as the Purusha. Above it the Sudarśana cakra is set, and eight Vighneśvaras are installed on the four sides of the vedi, or four in the four directions.

The temple is the body of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The flag is prakṛti, the staff is the purusha, and the temple is the form of Vāsudeva. The śukanāsā is its nose, the projecting rathakas its arms, the egg-shaped crown of the śikhara its head, the kalaśa its hair-knot, the neck of the temple its neck, the vedi its shoulder, the two water outlets its organs of excretion and generation, the lime plaster its skin, and the door its mouth. The image is the jīvātmā of the temple, the pedestal its jīva-śakti, its shape is prakṛti, its stillness is its inner core, and Nārāyaṇa is its presiding lord. Thus Mahāvishṇu himself stands in the form of the temple; Śiva is its feet, and Brahmā is on its shoulder.

The devas once set up a dhvaja bearing the emblems of weapons and conquered the daityas; so a dhvaja is raised on the temple. It stands on a kalaśa set on the egg-shaped crown. The cakra is made with one third of the length of the staff, with eight or twelve spokes, and an image of Nṛsiṃha or Garuḍa in its middle. The staff must be unbroken and free of holes. Its length equals the width of the temple, or half or a third of the śikhara, or twice the height of the door, and it is set up in the north-east or the north-west. The flag-cloth is of silk, of many colours or of one. A cloth that hangs from the top of the staff to the ground is called a mahādhvaja and fulfils every wish; one a fourth smaller also fulfils every wish when worshipped. With a bell, whisks and small bells tied to it, the dhvaja destroys all pāpa. Its width is twenty aṅgulas.

The cakra, the staff and the dhvaja receive adhivāsana like images, with every act except the opening of the eyes, and are laid on a bed. On the cakra are placed the Purusha Sūkta, the Sudarśana mantra and the manas-tattva, which brings it to life in the form of mind; Keśava and the other forms are placed on its twelve spokes, and Nṛsiṃha or Viśvarūpa on its central lotus. On the staff the Sūtrātmā is placed with the jīva; on the dhvaja the partless Paramātmā, whose all-pervading śakti is meditated on in the form of the dhvaja. The golden cakra is installed with the astra-mantra over a piece of gold and the five gems, dipped in mercury and covered with a fine cloth. Hari is installed with oṃ kraiṃ nṛsiṃhāya namaḥ. The yajamāna, with his relatives, dips the tip of the dhvaja in a vessel of curd and worships it with oṃ phaṭ; carrying the vessel on his head and remembering Nārāyaṇa, he goes round the temple with music; the staff is set up with the ashṭākshara, and with Muñcāmi tvā the dhvaja is hoisted. The ācārya receives the vessel, the dhvaja and elephants as dāna. For each devatā the dhvaja bears that devatā’s own emblem and is raised with that devatā’s mantra. One who gives a dhvaja goes to svarga and in this world becomes a mighty king. When the wind wraps the dhvaja-cloth round the kalaśa, the vedi and the neck of the temple, its builder gains a fruit ten million times that of the raising of the dhvaja itself (Chapter 61).

Jīrṇoddhāra: renovation of a temple

A consecrated temple or image may need renovation. The causes named are cracks in the image, the fall of the dhvaja and damage from time. The Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 67) gives the jīrṇoddhāra procedure for this.

A prāyaścitta (expiation) is done first, for disturbing the living presence of the deva.
The utsava-mūrti (processional image) serves as the deva’s temporary home during the work.
The damaged structure is taken down carefully, by the prescribed procedure.
After rebuilding, a full re-consecration is done. The deva is invited anew into the restored form.

In the Agni Purāṇa’s own teaching on this rite (Chapter 67), an image that is extremely worn, missing a limb, broken, or reduced to bare stone is given up, and a new, fixed image is installed in its place. The ācārya adorns and bathes the old image, withdraws all the tattvas from it by the saṃhāra rite, as in bhūtaśuddhi, offers a thousand oblations with the Nṛsiṃha mantra and lifts it out. A wooden image is burned in fire, a stone image is left in water, and an image of metal or gems is cast into the deep waters of the ocean. The old image goes on a vehicle, covered with cloths, with music, and the ācārya is given dakshiṇā. On that very day a new image of the same material and the same measure is installed. The restoration of old wells, step-wells and tanks likewise gives great fruit. If an image falls from the hand, the remedy is a fast and a hundred homas (Chapter 174).

Parameśvara gives the rite for the Śiva-liṅga (Chapter 103). A liṅga, pedestal or bull whose marks are worn away, or which is cracked, thick with dirt, struck by lightning, broken or missing a limb, is given up at once. A liṅga that someone has moved, that has moved by itself, sunk too far, stands unevenly, faces the wrong way or has fallen is installed again, but only if it is free of wounds; so too a liṅga carried away by a river. A firm liṅga must never be moved, nor a worn liṅga whose daily pūjā goes on. If an unsteady liṅga is moved, a thousand homas are offered for śānti and a hundred for its re-installation. A liṅga installed by asuras, munis, devas or knowers of the tattvas must never be moved, even if it is worn or broken.

For the uddhāra a maṇḍapa is built in the south or the north-east, with its door on the west. After the door-pūjā, Śiva-pūjā and vāstu-pūjā, bali to the bhūtas and the feeding of brāhmaṇas, the guru petitions Śiva: “Śambhu! This liṅga has become faulty. You yourself have said that if it is lifted out, śānti will come; so this work is being done by rule. Śiva, dwelling in me, bring this work to fulfilment.” He offers a hundred and eight homas of pāyasa with honey, ghee and dūrvā, worships the liṅga with Vyāpakeśvarāya śivāya namaḥ, and bids any bhūta in it to leave by Śiva’s command, for Bhagavān Śiva will dwell there with the vidyās and the vidyeśvaras. After a thousand homas with the Pāśupata mantra for each part, the tattvas, their lords and the eight mūrtīśvaras are drawn out of the liṅga and the pedestal. The old liṅga is tied to a bull and taken with a crowd of people singing the names of Śiva, and cast into the water. After homas for nourishment, for the dikpālas and for the purity of the ground, the temple is protected with the Mahāpāśupata mantra and another liṅga is installed there by rule. A ruined temple is restored by the same rite. The new temple must be of exactly the size of the first, built with the old materials or other good ones; a smaller one brings death to the builder and a larger one loss of wealth.

Auspicious timing in the Agni Purāṇa

Choosing the right time (kāla-nirṇaya) is itself a ritual science in the Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 95).

Auspicious months for pratishṭhā are named. So are auspicious fortnights (pakshas), tithis, nakshatras and yogas.
The materials (sāmagrī) needed for each kind of pratishṭhā are listed. They include the navadravya, the navaratna and particular herbs.
Some periods are plainly inauspicious and must be avoided. They include certain lunar phases, certain nakshatras of hard character, and times of eclipse.

Parameśvara gives the time in detail. A liṅga-pratishṭhā done for moksha may be done at any time. One done for bhoga and siddhi is done only in uttarāyaṇa, in the five months beginning with Māgha, leaving out Caitra, when Bṛhaspati and Śukra have risen, and in the first three karaṇas. In both pakshas the tithis up to pañcamī are auspicious; caturthī, navamī, shashṭhī and caturdaśī are left out. Śatabhishak, Dhanishṭhā, Ārdrā, Anurādhā, the three Uttarās, Rohiṇī and Śravaṇa are excellent for beginning a fixed installation. Kumbha, Siṃha, Vṛścika, Kanyā and Vṛshabha are the best lagnas, and of the fixed lagnas Siṃha, Vṛshabha and Kumbha give siddhi. Bṛhaspati in the ninth or seventh place, Budha in the sixth, eighth, tenth or fourth, Śukra in those places except the sixth, the Moon in the third, seventh, sixth or tenth, the Sun in the tenth, third or sixth, Rāhu in the third, sixth or seventh, and Śani, Kuja and Ketu in the sixth or third are auspicious, and every graha in the eleventh place is auspicious. All grahas aspect the seventh place fully, the fifth and ninth by half, the third and tenth by a quarter and the eighth by three quarters. Bṛhaspati, Śukra and Budha in the lagna or in the kendras (the first, fourth, seventh and tenth places) give wealth, long life, kingdom, valour, strength, sons, fame and dharma in abundance (Chapter 95). Temples, gardens, tanks and wells are installed in uttarāyaṇa (Chapter 121).

The same chapter lists the materials. There are twelve kinds of earth for the bath, from a mountain peak, the king’s gate, a river bank, an anthill, earth dug up by an elephant’s tusks, a bull’s horns and a boar, a cow-pen, a crossroads and other places; twelve kinds are used for the installation of Vishṇu and eight for that of Śiva. There are five decoctions from the bark of the nyagrodha, udumbara, aśvattha, mango and jambū; tīrtha water, fragrant water, water with all the herbs, with grain and flowers, with gold, with gems and touched by a cow’s horn, pañcagavya and pañcāmṛta; weapons such as the vajra made of flour, to frighten those who cause obstacles; a kalaśa with a thousand holes; gorocana; and the roots of a hundred herbs. A bed with mattresses, pillow and sheet is set in a decorated chamber. A vessel of ghee and honey, a golden needle, the vardhanī, the Śiva-kumbha, the kalaśas of the lokapālas, the Nidrā kalaśa, the śānti-kalaśas, and kalaśas for the dvārapālas, for Dharma and the rest, for Praśānta and the rest, and for Vāstu-deva, Lakshmī and Gaṇeśa are made ready, with samidhs of arka, palāśa, khadira, apāmārga, aśvattha, udumbara and śamī for the grahas. The eight gems are diamond, sūryakānta, sapphire, atinīla, pearl, topaz, ruby and cat’s-eye; the eight grains are rice, wheat, sesame, green gram, black gram, barley, wild rice and millet; herbs, metals and eight minerals are gathered too. No miserliness may be shown in spending. The brāhmaṇas who bear the image and recite the mantras receive a quarter less than the ācārya, and the astrologers and sculptors the same (Chapter 95).

The pratishṭhā of Śiva in the Agni Purāṇa

Parameśvara teaches Skanda the installation of the Śiva-liṅga, its pedestal, the brahmaśilā and the bull Vṛshabha, and then of Gaurī, Sūrya, the door, the temple, the śikhara and the dhvaja.

The maṇḍapa and the kuṇḍas

In front of the temple a square maṇḍapa with four doors is built, with a bathing maṇḍapa on half its ground, in the north-east, the east or the north. In the middle stands a vedi of four hastas with four pillars at its corners, and around it nine or ten kuṇḍas, or a single kuṇḍa in the north-east or the east, the place of the guru. The kuṇḍa is a fist across for fifty homas, a span for a hundred, a hasta for a thousand, two hastas for ten thousand, four for a lakh and eight for a crore. In the south-east it is shaped like a yoni, in the south like a half-moon, in the south-west a triangle, in the north-west six-cornered, in the north a lotus and in the north-east eight-cornered. It has girdles of four, three and two aṅgulas and a yoni shaped like an aśvattha leaf. The four toraṇas, of plaksha, udumbara, aśvattha and vaṭa wood, are named Śānti, Bhūti, Bala and Ārogya; they are five, six or seven hastas high, set a hasta deep, half as wide as they are high, and hung with mango leaves. Flags of the colours of the rainbow, red, black, grey, white, green, gold and crystal fly in the eight directions, with a red flag for Brahmā and a blue one for Ananta.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 95

The adhivāsana of the liṅga

On the day of the adhivāsana the purohita goes with the brāhmaṇas who guard the image to the yajña-maṇḍapa. At each door the dvārapālas are worshipped on the two jambs: Nandī and Mahākāla at the east, Bhṛṅgi and Vināyaka at the south, Vṛshabha and Skanda at the west, Devī and Caṇḍa at the north. At the foot of each door stand two kalaśas: Praśānta and Śiśira in the east, Parjanya and Aśoka in the south, Bhūtasaṃjīvana and Amṛta in the west, Dhanada and Śrīprada in the north, each worshipped as Praśānta-śiśirābhyāṃ namaḥ and so on. The ten weapons, the vajra, śakti, daṇḍa, khaḍga, pāśa, dhvaja, gadā, triśūla, cakra and lotus, are worshipped in the ten directions with the banners of the dikpālas; the eight dhvaja-devatās, Kumuda, Kumudāksha, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Śaṅkukarṇa, Sarvanetra, Sumukha and Supratishṭhita, with crores of bhūtas; and the eight kshetrapālas, Heruka, Tripuraghna, Śakti, Yamajihva, Kāla, Karālī, Ekāṅghri and Bhīma.

The maṇḍapa, pervaded by Sadāśiva, is seen as the abode of Śaṅkara. The ācārya enters by the western door, sits south of the vedi facing north, and purifies the elements of his body. He places the Śiva-tattva on his forehead, the Vidyā-tattva on his shoulders and the Ātma-tattva on his feet, with their lords Rudra, Nārāyaṇa and Brahmā. He contemplates a light entering through the crown of his head and destroying all darkness within and without. Adorned with cloth and crown like the mūrtipālakas, meditating “I am Śiva“, he raises the sword of knowledge. He worships the Śiva-kumbha and the astra, and the dikpālas on their kalaśas in their forms: Indra on Airāvata with the vajra, thousand-eyed; Agni with seven tongues of flame, on a goat; Yama on a buffalo with the daṇḍa, shining like the fire of time; Nirṛti on a donkey with the sword; Varuṇa, white, on the makara with the nāga-pāśa; Vāyu, blue, on a deer; Kubera on a ram; Īśāna with the triśūla on the bull; Ananta on the tortoise with the cakra; and four-faced, four-armed Brahmā on the haṃsa. Announcing Śiva’s command, he sets the kalaśa and the vardhanī in place and prays: “Jagannātha! Out of grace for your devotee, protect this yajña of yours.”

The fire is brought to all the kuṇḍas, and the brāhmaṇas recite at the four sides: the Ṛgvedins in the east, the Śrī Sūkta, the Pāvamānī ṛks, the Maitreya Brāhmaṇa and the Vṛshākapi mantras; the Sāmavedins in the south, the Devavrata, Bhāruṇḍa, Jyeshṭha and Rathantara sāmans and the Purusha-gīta; the Yajurvedins in the west, the Rudra Sūkta, the Purusha Sūkta and the Ślokādhyāya; the Atharvavedins in the north, the Nīlarudra, the Sūkshma and the Atharvaśiras.

In the bathing maṇḍapa the image of Śiva is set on the bhadra-pīṭha and bathed with earth, astringent water, cow-dung and cow’s urine, with plain water between each, then with ash and fragrant water. Laid on a bed on the northern vedi, its limbs are divided with a kuṅkuma-coloured thread. The ācārya marks the eyes with a golden needle and collyrium, and the śilpī carves the mark with his tool. Opening the eyes on the face part is necessary, and the mark is made for it. The width of the marked part is the length of the liṅga less a third, and the mark-lines grow with the size of the liṅga until, in a liṅga of nine hastas, they are eight yavas deep and wide. Liṅgas of gems need no marks, for their pure lustre is their mark; nor do self-born liṅgas or liṅgas from rivers such as the Narmadā. The marks are worshipped with the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra and ghee and honey. The liṅga is bathed to remove the faults of the sculptor, the śilpī is pleased with gifts and honour, and a cow is given to the guru. Married women worship the liṅga with lamps and incense and sing auspicious songs.

Then the liṅga is bathed in turn with pañcagavya, pañcāmṛta, astringent substances, water with all herbs, white flowers, fruits, gold, gems, horn, barley water, the thousand-streamed pot, divine herbs, tīrtha water, Gaṅgā water, sandal water, the water of the ocean of milk and the other oceans, kalaśa water and the water of the Śiva-kalaśa. With many kinds of ārati, song, cries of “jaya jaya” and stutis, Parameśvara is pleased and worshipped. Saying “O Prabhu Śiva, rise!”, the ācārya carries the devatā on the brahmaratha round the four directions to the western door and seats it on the bed. In a west-facing temple the pedestal is placed on the west with the brahmaśilā on it. In the north-east the Nidrā kalaśa, consecrated a hundred times with the astra-mantra, and the seat of Śiva are made ready, and the liṅga is laid with its head to the east, worshipped, and given cloth, household articles and naivedya.

The ācārya places the thirty-six tattvas from Śakti down to Bhūmi with their lords, divided into three parts whose lords are Brahmā, Vishṇu and Śiva; the eight mūrtis, earth, fire, the yajamāna, sun, water, wind, moon and ākāśa, with their lords; or, for a yajamāna who seeks moksha, the five kalās beginning with Nivṛtti. Meditating on Śiva, all-pervading and partless, possessed of thirty-six kalās, shining with a thousand rays and full of every śakti, he brings him from the dvādaśānta (the point above the crown of the head) and establishes him on the liṅga. The pedestal is bathed, anointed, clothed, given the five gems in its opening, and set north of the liṅga. It receives the same nyāsa and is worshipped as the support joined with Kriyā-śakti, with Oṃ hrīṃ ādhāraśaktaye namaḥ and Oṃ pravṛshabhāya namaḥ. The bull Vṛshabha is bathed and installed too. Three enclosures of ash, kuśa and sesame are made, with the lokapālas and their weapons guarding them.

In the kuṇḍas homas are offered to the tattvas, their lords, the mūrtis and the mūrtīśvaras, and the mūrtipālakas offer homa too. The liṅga is touched with kuśa at its base, middle and tip; Brahmā is worshipped at its top and Vishṇu at its base; and the liṅga, the pedestal, the stone and the bull are joined (sandhāna) with their mantras. A hundred and eight homas with the Śiva-mantra remove any deficiency, and the rite that has been done is told to Śiva in his ear. The ācārya prays: “Prabhu Rudra! I could do this work only by your śakti. Namaskāra to Bhagavān Rudra. Rudradeva, namaskāra to you. Whether the rite has been done fully or not, complete it by your own śakti and accept it.” With Oṃ śāṅkari pūraya svāhā he places the śakti on the pedestal, Kriyā-śakti in the liṅga, and the supporting śakti in the pedestal and the brahmaśilā.

The adhivāsana lasts seven nights, five, or one. Each day a hundred homas are offered to the devatās, the Śiva-kalaśa and the rest are worshipped, and bali is given in the directions. A yāga done without adhivāsana bears no fruit, so it must be done. Adhivāsa is the dwelling through the night with the guru and the others under niyama (rule); the word comes from the root vas with the prefix adhi.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 96

The installation of the liṅga

In the morning the ācārya completes his daily rites, worships the door-devatās, the dikpālas, the Śiva-kalaśa and the vardhanī, worships the liṅga with eight flowers, offers homa, and with Śiva‘s leave enters the shrine saying astrāya phaṭ. The liṅga is never set at the exact centre of its base stone, for fear of the fault of piercing (vedha-dosha); it is moved one yava or half a yava toward the north-east. The base stone, named Ananta, the support of all and all-pervading, is installed with the mūla-mantra and prayed to: “O śilā, form of the ādhāra-śakti, by Śiva’s command stay here firmly for ever.” Then it is sealed with the avarodhinī mudrā.

Into the pits, beginning from the east, the ācārya places gems beginning with the diamond, herbs beginning with vetiver, metals, orpiment, grains and the rest, contemplating them as lustre, health, body, vigour and power, with the mantras of the lokapālas and of Śiva. A tortoise or a bull of gold or copper is set facing the door, and earth from a river bank or a mountain peak goes into the central pit; or a golden Meru, a figure of gold or silver with all the seeds, a golden lotus, or an image of the nāga Ananta. The pit is covered with cloth and protected with the kavaca and astra mantras. A hundred homas remove the fault of contact with the stone, and each vāstu-devatā receives an offering.

The liṅga is lifted with the hṛdaya-mantra and carried round the temple with auspicious music and recitation, the guru walking in front, the yajamāna behind and the mūrtipas at the four sides. It is bathed before the main door, given arghya, and taken in through the door without touching it. Only while a temple is still being begun may a liṅga enter from any corner, for the śāstra says that one who enters a house other than by its door brings the destruction of his family line. Before the door, with dūrvā and akshata, the Mahāpāśupata mantra is recited.

The ācārya contemplates the oneness of śakti and the one who holds it, and places the liṅga in the pit. One part, two parts, half, an eighth, or the whole of its Brahmā portion goes into the pit, which is filled with sand, and he prays: “Deva, may you remain firm.” Meditating on Parameśvara, the giver of varas, he touches the liṅga and places the partless Śiva in it. If the liṅga gives out a sound, its face moves, or it cracks, a hundred homas are offered with the mūla-mantra or the Bahurūpa mantra. The pedestal is bound to it with the Gaurī mantra, and the gap is filled with sand and vajra-lepa. The liṅga is bathed from the śānti-kalaśa, the other kalaśas and pañcāmṛta. After the nyāsa of the six paths, the three tattvas, the mūrtis, the dikpālas, the aṅgas and the Brahma-mantras, jñāna-śakti is placed on the liṅga and kriyā-śakti on the pedestal. The japa is offered into the vara-giving hand of Parameśvara, and the ācārya prays: “Deva! As long as the Sun, the Moon and the stars endure, dwell here in this temple always, as you will, with the mūrtipas and the dikpālas.” Then the bull Vṛshabha is installed with the hṛdaya-mantra.

A hundred homas of samidhs with the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra and a pāyasa-homa make good any deficiency, and the ācārya prays that every lapse, known or unknown, be made complete. For four days without break there are dāna and festivals with song and music for Śiva, the cause of all, the beloved of Ambikā; on the fourth day the pūrṇāhuti is given and caru offered with the Bahurūpa mantra. The nirmālya (used offerings) is not removed for those four days. Seven homas at the end secure the seven natures of Śiva: firm, immeasurable, beginningless, of the nature of awareness, all-pervading, imperishable and content in himself, the first being oṃ namaḥ śivāya sthiro bhava namaḥ svāhā.

Caṇḍa is installed outside the yāga-maṇḍapa in the north-east and prayed to stay as long as Śiva is there; Caṇḍeśvara has no right over the nirmālya of a bāṇa-liṅga, a metal liṅga, a siddha-liṅga or a self-born liṅga. The five faces, Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha and Īśāna, are installed with their mantras. The yajamāna, with his wife and sons, is bathed with the water of a kalaśa; he worships the guru as Maheśvara himself and gives land, gold and the rest without greed. The mūrtipas, the reciters, the astrologer and the sculptor are honoured, and the poor and helpless are fed. The yajamāna asks the guru to forgive the trouble he has given, and the guru, with kuśa, flowers and akshata, hands him the puṇya of the pratishṭhā, shining like a star. The guru takes the yāga-maṇḍapa with its cloths, and the śilpī the bathing maṇḍapa with its implements.

Other devatās are installed with the mantras of the Āgamas. In the garbhagṛha an image stands in the fifth of six parts, or the seventh of eight; a movable liṅga in the third or second of three or five parts. Painted images are bathed only in the mind and worshipped with flowers free of water. Crystal liṅgas are given their saṃskāra with the chosen mantra. Self-born liṅgas and bāṇa-liṅgas need no saṃskāra; they are bathed with the saṃhitā mantras by the Vedic rite. Liṅgas taken from rivers or the ocean are installed as before. A liṅga of clay or flour made for one pūjā is worshipped and then cast into water; done so for a year, it gives the fruit the mind desires.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 97

Gaurī and Sūrya

Gaurī is installed in the same kind of maṇḍapa, with the laying to rest on a bed, the nyāsa of the Ātma, Vidyā and Śiva tattvas, and the placing of gems on the pedestal, which is the form of kriyā-śakti. The Devī, who is the form of Parāśakti, is installed on it with her own mantra. Kriyā-śakti is placed on the pedestal and jñāna-śakti in her image, and the all-pervading śakti is joined to the image of Devī Ambikā, who bears the name Śivā. Her seat is worshipped with the Ādhāra-śakti, Kūrma, the lotus, Dharma, Jñāna, Vairāgya, Aiśvarya and their opposites, and the śaktis beginning with Vāc, Jvālinī, Śamā, Jyeshṭhā and Navaśakti. Then Gaurī is worshipped with her mūla-mantra oṃ hrīṃ saḥ mahāgauri rudradayite svāhā gauryai namaḥ and her limb-mantras, the dikpālas in their directions, and Subhagā, Lalitā, Kāminī and Kāmamālinī. By the pratishṭhā, pūjā and japa of Gaurī with these mantras the upāsaka obtains everything (Chapter 98).

Sūrya is installed in the same way, with the nyāsa of the tattvas, of Īśvara and of the five bhūtas, and the purification of the pedestal, and is invoked with the Sūrya-mantras. The installed form of Sūrya takes svāmī or pāda at the end of its name (Chapter 99).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 98–99

The door, the temple, the śikhara and the dhvaja

For the door, its parts are purified with astringent water and laid on a bed, and the Ātma, Vidyā and Śiva tattvas are placed in its base, middle and top. Beneath it the vāstu-devatā is worshipped with the mantra of Ananta, and the five gems are placed there with a śānti-homa. Barley, mustard, the herbs Ākrāntā, Ṛddhi and Vṛddhi, white mustard, large sesame, gopīcandana, cinnabar, nāgakesara, mohinī, lakshmaṇā, amṛtā, gorocana, āragvadha and dūrvā are put under the foundations, and tied in packets over the door with the praṇava for its protection. The door is set a little toward the north. The Ātma-tattva is placed under it, the Vidyā-tattva on its two sides and the Śiva-tattva over the whole frame; Maheśa is placed on it with the mūla-mantra, and a hundred or fifty homas are offered for Nandī and the other dvārapālas (Chapter 100).

For the temple itself, Parameśvara shows its link with consciousness. Where the śukanāsā ends, in the middle of the eastern vedi, a lotus is placed with the praṇava and on it a kalaśa of gold or another metal, holding pañcagavya, honey, milk and gems, covered with cloth and with the sprouts of five trees beginning with the mango. The guru draws in his breath, holds it, and with Īśvara’s leave awakens the jīva-caitanya, which is not different from the Self of all. Breathing out, he brings it like a blazing spark of fire from the dvādaśānta and places it in the kalaśa, with the tattvas up to earth, the thirteen senses and their lords, the vidyeśas and the all-pervading Śiva. Or a golden human figure, purified and laid on a bed, receives Śiva by nyāsa as Rudra, the consort of Umā, and is placed in the kalaśa (Chapter 101).

The śūla (trident-finial) is set half into the śikhara. In a brick temple the śūla is of wood, in a stone temple of stone. In the temples of Vishṇu and the other devas the kalaśa on top is joined with a cakra, in proportion to the image. A finial with a triśūla is called agra-cūla, and one with a liṅga on top Īśa-sthala. The staff of the dhvaja is fourteen hastas at best, nine in the middle and six at the least, of bamboo or śāla wood, and fulfils every desire. If it breaks during the adhivāsa, harm comes to the king or the yajamāna, and śānti is done with the Bahurūpa mantra. The dhvaja is bathed with the astra-mantra, laid on a bed and given nyāsa as a liṅga is, but without the jñāna-śakti and kriyā-śakti. The Vidyā-tattva and the five faces beginning with Sadyojāta are placed on the staff, and the Śiva-tattva and the partless Śiva on the dhvaja.

The temple is then contemplated as the all-pervading body of Śiva, made of all the tattvas: Ananta and Kālarudra at Śiva’s lotus feet; Kūshmāṇḍa, Hāṭaka, the pātālas and the narakas on the pīṭha; the brahmāṇḍa with its worlds, lokapālas and Śatarudras on the jaṅghā-vedi; the four vidyā-tattvas on the mañjarī-vedikā; the Rudras on the neck; the vidyās on the āmalasāra; Īśvara, bindu and the vidyeśvaras on the kalaśa; Śiva’s matted locks and the three śaktis on the triśūla; and the kuṇḍalinī-śakti on the dhvaja. The temple is joined in contemplation with its platform, as the liṅga with its pedestal. Then, with auspicious music and Vedic chant, the guru and the mūrtidharas raise the staff, whose base is the form of Śiva, onto the place where the lotus of śakti and the five gems were laid. When the dhvaja stands on the śikhara and the yajamāna with his relatives and friends walks round the temple, he gains every fruit he desires. The guru meditates on Pāśupata with the astras and prays to the lords who bear weapons to protect the temple, and the yajamāna gives the guru dakshiṇā (Chapter 102).

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 100–102

The Matsya Purāṇa on pratishṭhā

Sūta tells the ṛshis the Pratishṭhā Vidhi in the Matsya Purāṇa, Chapters 263–267. It gives the same main sequence as the Agni Purāṇa, with more technical detail. It sits inside the wider account of building and architecture in Chapters 263–269.

Auspicious timing (Chapter 263)

Auspicious months: Caitra, Vaiśākha, Jyeshṭha, Māgha and Phālguna.
Paksha and ayana: the śukla paksha, and Uttarāyaṇa.
Auspicious tithis: Dvitīyā, Tṛtīyā, Pañcamī, Saptamī, Daśamī, Trayodaśī and Pūrṇimā.
Auspicious nakshatras: Pūrvāshāḍhā, Uttarāshāḍhā, Mūla, Uttaraphālgunī, Uttarābhādrapada, Jyeshṭhā, Śravaṇa, Rohiṇī, Pūrvābhādra, Hasta, Aśvinī, Revatī, Pushya, Mṛgaśīra, Anurādhā and Svāti.
Auspicious planets: any lagna or nakshatra ruled by Budha, Bṛhaspati or Śukra.
The muhūrtas: the image is laid to rest (śayana) in the Prājāpatya muhūrta. It is raised (utthāpana) in the Śveta muhūrta. The formal installation (sthāpana, pratishṭhā) is done in the Brāhma muhūrta, before dawn.

The maṇḍapa and the kalaśas (Chapter 263)

The adhivāsana maṇḍapa is 16 or 12 hastas (cubits) square. It has a central vedī (altar) of 4, 5 or 7 hastas square.
It has four gateways, one in each direction. Each is made of a particular sacred wood. The east gate is of udumbara (cluster fig). The south gate is of plaksha. The west gate is of aśvattha (pīpal). The north gate is of vaṭa (banyan).
The gate-posts are 5 hastas tall, with one hasta set in the ground.
Eight kalaśas are set up, two at each gateway, at the two door-jambs. They must be without flaw. They are filled with sandalwood water and sealed with mango sprouts. They are wrapped in two fresh cloths and have gold put inside, with fruits and flowers. They are worshipped with gandha (fragrance), dhūpa (incense) and arcanā.
Flags of all the dikpālas (guardians of the directions) are raised on the maṇḍapa. In the centre, above, a large flag like a cloud is flown.
Bhagavān Brahmā is honoured at the highest point. Śesha and Vāsuki are honoured at the lowest. Each dikpāla receives bali with his own mantra.
The adhivāsa vigil lasts 1, 3, 5 or 7 nights.

Adhivāsana (Chapter 264)

The number of ṛtvijs (officiating priests) depends on the size of the liṅga.

Jyeshṭha (large) liṅga: 32 mūrtipas.
Madhyama (middle) liṅga: 16 mūrtipas.
Kanishṭha (small) liṅga: 8 mūrtipas.

The image is first bathed with pañcagavya, kashāya water, mṛttikā (earth) and bhasmāmbu (water with ash). The ācārya chants four Vedic water mantras: Samudra-jyeshṭhāḥ, Yā āpo divyā, Yāsāṃ rājā and Āpo hishṭhā. The image is then anointed with gandha and wrapped in cloth.

The image is brought on a brahma-ratha (chariot). It is laid on a bed of darbha grass and flowers, facing east. A kalaśa with gold inside, wrapped in fresh cloth, is placed at the head of the image. The image is anointed with honey and ghee and worshipped with white mustard. The mantras “Āpyāyasva” and “Yā te rudra” are chanted.

Four Vedic scholars stand at the four gateways through the vigil. Each chants the texts of his own Veda.

East gateway (the Bahvṛca, a Ṛgvedin): Śrī Sūkta, Pavamāna, Soma-śānti and the Indra-rakshoghna Sūkta.
South gateway (the Adhvaryu, of the Kṛshṇa Yajur Veda): Raudra Sūkta, Purusha Sūkta and the Śukriyānuvāka.
West gateway (the Sāmavedin): Vāmadevya Sāma, Bṛhat, Rathantara, Jyeshṭha Sāma, Purusha Sūkta, Raudra Sūkta and Dharuṇa Sāma.
North gateway (the Ātharvavedin): the Atharvāṅgirasa mantras, Nīla Sūkta, Raudra Sūkta and the Aparājitā-devī-sūkta-saptaka.

At every yāma (watch of the night) the ācārya does abhisheka with sandalwood water, dhūpa and naivedya (food offering). Homa is done again and again. The whole night is filled with dance, song and a great festival (mahotsava).

The pratishṭhā act (Chapter 265)

Before installation, two guide lines are laid in the garbhagṛha (inner sanctum).

The dvāra-sūtra is a cord running east to west, from the main door to the inner face of the west wall.
The paksha-sūtra is a cord running north to south through the middle of the garbhagṛha.

Where they cross is the centre of the garbhagṛha. The mūrti is set a little to the north-east of this centre. The deva then faces north or north-east, and the devas themselves worship the deva installed in that direction. This placement is called āyur-ārogya-phala-prada (it gives long life and health) and śubhakara (auspicious). Any other direction is held to be inauspicious.

The order of the foundation stones:

The kūrmaśilā (tortoise stone) is at the bottom.
The brahmaśilā lies on top of it. It is a little larger.
The pīṭhikā (also called piṇḍikā) lies on top of the brahmaśilā.

The pīṭhikā is washed with pañcagavya, with the deva’s own mantra. The image is raised with the mantra “Uttishṭha brahmaṇaspate” and placed on the pīṭhikā. Arghya, pādya and madhuparka are offered.

Ratna-nyāsa

After a muhūrta of rest, the ratna-nyāsa is done. Gems, metals, herbs, seeds and minerals are placed in the eight directions around the brahmasthāna (the centre).

Gems in the eight directions: Vajra (diamond), Maukṭika (pearl), Vaidūrya, Śaṅkha, Sphaṭika, Pushyarāga, Indranīla and Nīla.
Metals in the eight directions, from the east: gold (Kañcana), coral (Vidruma), copper (Tāmra), bronze (Kāṃsya), brass (Ārakūṭa), silver (Rajata), white flower (Vimala-pushpa) and iron (Loha).
More substances in the brahmasthāna: Pārada (mercury) and the Padma, Kūrma, Dhara and Vṛsha preparations; all seeds; the minerals Manaḥśilā and Kāsīsa; and the medicines Vaishṇavī, Sahadevī and Lakshmaṇā.

The invocation mantras of the dikpālas

The Matsya Purāṇa gives an āvāhana (invitation) mantra for each dikpāla. In each, the last words are “to him always namaskāra”. They describe the dikpālas this way.

Indra: firmly blazing, master of all devas, great, holder of the vajra, of great strength.
Agni: red in colour, of the form of all devas, blazing, with smoke for his flag, unconquerable.
Yama: the colour of the dark-blue lotus, crowned, bearer of the daṇḍa (rod), witness of dharma.
Nirṛti: black, king of all rākshasas, bearer of the sword (khaḍga).
Varuṇa: white, of the form of Vishṇu, master of rivers, bearer of the noose (pāśa).
Vāyu: of all colours, bearer of all fragrances, bearer of the flag (dhvaja).
Soma: fair in colour (gaura), master of all herbs and nakshatras.
Īśāna: white, master of all vidyās, bearer of the trident (śūla), virūpāksha.
Brahmā: born from the lotus, four-faced, master of all yajñas, grandfather of all.
Ananta: he who carries the whole moving and unmoving universe on his head like a flower.

The Rudra āvāhana mantra invokes him in these words. His chariot carries lions, tigers, bhūtas and serpents. Around him are ṛshis, lokapālas, Nandī, Nandiṛshabha, the dear pramathagaṇas, the Mātṛkās, Soma, Vishṇu, Brahmā, and the nāgas, yakshas, gandharvas and sky-goers. He is the three-eyed Īśāna, Śiva, Rudra, Umāpati and Mahādeva, who bears the bull on his banner. “I invite him together with his consort and his pramathagaṇas. All is full of the praṇava (Om). Bhagavān Rudra, come to give me grace. Śiva, be gracious. Bhagavān Śiva, stay here always and accept my worship. Namo namaḥ.”

Seven days of anointing

The Matsya Purāṇa prescribes seven days in a row of lepana (anointing) of the image.

Honey.
Turmeric and white mustard powder.
Sandal paste and barley flour.
Priyaṅgu powder and manaḥśilā.
Kṛshṇāñjana and tila (sesame) powder.
Ghee, sandal and padmakesara.
Gorocanā, aguru and flowers.

Each anointing brings saubhāgya (good fortune) and śubha (auspiciousness). It removes disease and brings happiness and joy to all who worship. Chapter 265 gives all of this.

The snapana: the great bath (Chapter 266)

The Matsya Purāṇa prescribes a full ritual bath. It uses 8 kinds of sacred mṛttikā (earth). They are taken from these places.

The ground of elephants and horses.
A sacred four-way crossing.
An ant-hill (valmīka).
Earth dug up by a boar.
The agni-gṛha (fire house).
A sacred tīrtha.
A cowherd settlement (gopāḷī).
The gomaṇḍala (cow pen).

The bath uses a particular mantra for each substance.

Kalaśa water with mṛttikā: the “Uddhṛtāsi” mantra.
Water: the “Śaṃno devī” and “Āpo hishṭhā” mantras.
Cow urine (go-mūtra): the Gāyatrī (Sāvitrī).
Cow dung (go-maya): “Gandha-dvārāṃ”.
Milk (kshīra): “Āpyāyasva”.
Curd (dadhi): “Dadhikrāvṇo”.
Ghee (ghṛta): “Tejo’si”.
Water mixed with kuśa grass: “Devasyatvā”.

After the pañcagavya come more baths in turn. They are with curd, milk, ghee, honey, flower water (pushpodaka), gem water (ratna-jala), kuśa water (kuśodaka), fruit water (phalodaka) and scented water (gandha-jala). These are 9 different bathing substances.

The number of kalaśas for the mahāsnāna depends on one’s means: 1000, 500, 108, 64, 32, 16, 8 or 4. Any of these counts is acceptable.

The ashṭamahaushadhis (eight great herbs) for the bath: Sahadevī, Vacā, Vyāghī, Balā, Atibalā, Śaṅkhapushpī, Siṃhī and Suvarcalā.

The ashṭadhānyāni (eight grains): Yava, Godhūma, Nīvāra, Tila, Śyāmāka, Śāli, Priyaṅgu and Drohi.

The mṛnmaya ashṭaka (eight auspicious forms made of clay): Svastika, Padmaka, Śaṅkha, Utpala, Kamala, Śrīvatsa, Darpaṇa and Nandyāvarta.

Forty lamps are lit, in the order of circumambulation. After the snapana, a festival (mahotsava) of 7 days and 7 nights is held. The last abhisheka is done with 1, 2, 4 or 8 deva-kalaśas that hold five kinds of gems. The “Devasyatvā” mantra is used, with mantras of the Sāma and Atharva Vedas.

The ācārya is honoured with all the yajña vessels, with the maṇḍapa itself and with all the sacred tools.

The text gives a clear warning. If pratishṭhā is done by a pāshaṇḍī (one outside Vedic dharma) instead of a learned vipra, the deva will become unfavourable and the temple will become a home of piśācas.

Vāstu-śānti: guarding the temple space (Chapter 267)

After installation, bali is offered to the rākshasī powers who stand in each direction of the temple grounds. This is so that they do not disturb the consecrated space. The offerings are made by name, with the proper food and substances.

Direction	Rākshasī	Offering
Īśānya (north-east)	Carakī	Māṃsānna (meat and rice), ghee, padmakesara, blood
Āgneya (south-east)	Vidārī	Matsyānna (fish and rice), blood, turmeric
Nairṛtya (south-west)	Pūtanā	Dadhyanna (curd and rice), blood, pieces of bone
Vāyavya (north-west)	Pāparākshasī	Fish and meat, wine or pāyasa

All these offerings are made with the names of the deva of each direction and with the proper mantras. Gold is given to all brāhmaṇas. Cows are given to brāhmaṇas in particular.

Sources

Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 38–41, 43, 45, 56–68, 92, 94–103, 121, 174
Matsya Purāṇa, Chapters 263–267. Chapter 263 (timing, maṇḍapa and kalaśas), Chapter 264 (adhivāsana), Chapter 265 (the pratishṭhā act, ratna-nyāsa, seven anointings), Chapter 266 (snapana), Chapter 267 (vāstu-śānti).

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