arcana – special

A special arċana is a personal, detailed puja done by temple priests in which the name, birth star (nakṣatra) and family lineage (gotra) of a devotee are recited to invoke individual guidance and blessings. Priests chant 108 names of the devata at whose sannidhi (shrine) the arċana is being performed.

Special items for various deities include kumkuma for devī (parvati, lakṣmi, durga, et al), bilva leaves for ṣiva, betel leaves for ānjaneya, garika (grass) for gaṇeṣa.

kumkuma rather than flowers is considered to be very auspicious for devī. The composition of kumkuma attracts, śakti, the ultimate force of the universe. devī is the manifestation of śakti.  All forms of puruṣārtha i.e dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa are obtained in life by performing kumkum arċana for devī.  Another perspective is, śakti tatva was created from red light. kumkuma symbolises śakti tatva and hence, devī puja with kumkuma is considered auspicious.  kumkuma arċana is performed to awaken the saguṇa tatva in devī’s idol, which symbolizes śakti.

After the war, ānjaneya comes to aśoka vāṭikā to escort sītā mātā to Lord rāma.  sītā mātā does not find any flowers near her to express her happiness and gratitude to ānjaneya.  So, she offers him leaves from the nearest tree, which happens to be betel tree.  Hence, we devotees, can offer betel leaves as our token of gratitude to ānjaneya.

bilva patra appears in threes.  It symbolizes his three eyes, the three main gods of Hinduism, and the three gunas of nature.  It represents surrendering one’s ego and the three aspects of human nature to seek oneness with the divine.

After incurring the wrath of a demon, gaṇeṣa experiences severe burning in his stomach.  This extreme discomfort could be overcome only by placing garika (durva grass) on gaṇeṣa.  It is believed that garika also removes negative energy.