snÄnÄlaá¹…karaṇaá¹ preṣṭham
arcÄyÄm eva tÅ«ddhava
sthaṇá¸ile tattva-vinyÄso
vahnÄv Äjya-plutaá¹ haviḥ
sÅ«rye cÄbhyarhaṇaá¹ preṣṭhaá¹
salile salilÄdibhiḥ
Å›raddhayopÄhá¹›taá¹ preṣṭhaá¹
bhaktena mama vÄry api

 snÄna - bathing; alaá¹…karaṇam - and decorating with clothing and ornaments; preṣṭham - is most appreciated; arcÄyÄm - for the Deity form; eva - certainly; tu - and; uddhava - O Uddhava; sthaṇá¸ile - for the Deity drawn upon the ground; tattva-vinyÄsaḥ - establishing the expansions and potencies of the Lord within the various limbs of the Deity by chanting the respective mantras; vahnau - for the sacrificial fire; Äjya - in ghee; plutam - drenched; haviḥ - the oblations of sesame, barley and so on; sÅ«rye - for the sun; ca - and; abhyarhaṇam - the yoga meditation of twelve Äsanas and offerings of arghya; preṣṭham - most dear; salile - for the water; salila-Ädibhiḥ - by offerings of water and so on; Å›raddhayÄ - with faith; upÄhá¹›tam - presented; preṣṭham - most dear; bhaktena - by the devotee; mama - My; vÄri - water; api - even.


Text

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

Purport

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