Upalepana
Upalepana · upa-lepana, “smearing”
Grammar: neuter noun, from upa and the root lip (to smear): “smearing”.
Meaning: the smearing of the floor of a temple with gomaya (cow dung), clay and mineral earths.
In the scriptures: the Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells of upalepana in the Satrājitopākhyāna of the Saptamī Kalpa, and its Chapter 117 is the māhātmya of upalepana and snāpana. Parāvasu Muni tells King Satrājit that in his former birth he did upalepana with bhakti in a temple of Bhagavān Sūrya, with various dhātus, gomaya and clay, and that this destroyed his pāpa and brought its fruit (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 116). Bhagavān Sūrya says to Aruṇa of the Bhojaka: “Because he always does the sweeping, the smearing and other work of my mandira, he is dear to me.” Satrājit, wherever Sūrya temples were seen on this earth, had upalepana and the like done in them with bhakti (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 117).
Related terms: Saṃmārjana · Gomaya · Snāpana · Bhojaka
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 116–117