Rituals
Abhisheka
Devotional Rituals
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Origin 100 to 800 CE
Abhisheka is the ritual bathing and anointing of the image of a deity, in which water, milk, curds, clarified butter, honey and other substances are poured over the icon in sequence to the sound of mantras, the pouring of the five together forming the panchamrita. It is a central act of temple worship, performed daily for the principal image in large temples and at greater length on festivals, and it is the characteristic mode of worship of the Shiva linga, over which water drips continually. The same word names the consecration bath of a king at his accession and of an image at its installation, so that the anointing of the god and the making of a sovereign are spoken of in one term. What is poured off after the bath is distributed to devotees as blessed substance.
Facts
Origins
Origin Period Place of OriginThe Indian subcontinent 2 Historical OriginAttested from Vedic ritual literature onward as the ceremonial pouring or sprinkling of consecrated liquids over an image, a person or an object, the coronation of kings historically drawing on the same rite as temple image consecration. 3 Meaning
Literal MeaningThe Sanskrit term itself means a ceremonial sprinkling or anointing, the root sense from which the rite's use as a consecration for both deities and rulers derives. 1 Use
OccasionPerformed both as part of the regular daily worship of a temple deity and, in its more elaborate form, at temple consecrations and royal coronations, where the ritual bathing of an image or a person marks a formal installation into sacred or sovereign office. 1 Form
Implements and MaterialsWater, milk, curds, clarified butter and honey, poured over the image in sequence 1 Status
Current StatusA Survey of Hinduism notes the ceremonial bathing of a deity's image remains a living part of temple worship, performed regularly with substances such as water, milk, honey and yogurt poured over the murti before it is dressed and presented to worshippers. 1 Attributions
PurposeConsecrates the object or person it is poured over, most visibly a temple image being ritually installed or a ruler being formally invested with sovereign authority. 1 Practice
Who Performs ItTrained or authorised specialists 1 FrequencyAs the occasion requires 1 Solitary or CommunalPerformed by a gathered group 1 Text
Source TextIts ritual bathing of a deity's image or a consecrated object with substances such as water, milk and honey is documented among the reference entries of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism as a core act of temple worship distinct from the simpler daily aarti. 4 Learn More
Bathing the Deity
Abhisheka is the ritual bathing and anointing of the image or symbol of a deity, in which water, milk, curds, clarified butter, honey and other substances are poured over it in sequence, often to the accompaniment of chanted verses. It belongs to the daily and festival service of the deity in temple and home worship, an act of honour and hospitality by which the divine guest is bathed as a revered person would be, and it is performed with special elaboration on great occasions, the abhisheka of the Shiva linga with the five products of the cow, or the grand bathing of temple images at festivals. The same term names the consecratory sprinkling or anointing that installed a king in ancient India, and this royal sense carries over into the ritual: to perform abhisheka on a deity is to treat the image with the honours of a sovereign. The substances used and the accompanying liturgy vary by tradition, sect and deity, but the gesture of reverent bathing is common across Hindu worship.
A Word Shared by Gods and Kings
Abhisheka's detailed procedure for bathing a deity's image is set out in the Agama and Tantra literature that governs temple ritual, texts that specify not only the panchamrita, the five substances poured over the icon, but the order, accompanying mantras, and timing appropriate to different deities and occasions, a body of technical instruction distinct from the more general devotional puja an ordinary worshipper might perform. The same word and the same core gesture of ritual anointing were historically applied to something quite different in ancient India: a king's formal consecration to rule, rajyabhisheka, in which water and other substances were poured over the sovereign in a ceremony modeled on the same logic of anointing used for a deity, treating royal authority as something conferred through ritual consecration rather than assumed automatically by inheritance alone. This dual use, the same term and the same core act applied to both a temple icon and a reigning king, reflects a broader pattern in which abhisheka functions as a ritual technology for establishing or renewing legitimate authority and presence, whether that authority belongs to a deity newly installed in a temple or a monarch newly installed on a throne, rather than being understood as two coincidentally similar but unrelated ceremonies.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Conducted By
The ritual bathing of the image is performed by the pujari.
Ritual Implements
Sources
1. A Survey of Hinduism
Klaus K. Klostermaier, State University of New York Press, 2007On temple worship and abhishekaView the Source 2. An Introduction to Hinduism
Gavin Flood, Cambridge University Press, 1996On puja and anointingView the Source 3. History of Dharmasastra, Volume V
P. V. Kane, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1958Kane, History of DharmasastraView the Source 4. Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.), Routledge, 2008Encyclopedia of Hinduism, s.v. abhishekaView the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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