पृष्ठम्:ईशानशिवगुरुदेवपद्धतिः (प्रथमः भागः).djvu/१२

Isanaśivagurudevepaddhati idol very early in the morning, followed by Alankara (decoration). The first puja called Uṣaḥpuja is then conducted. At about noon, we get the second Puja called Madhyähnapujā or Uccapūjā. The temple is closed after this. It is reopened in the evening and the third Pujā is done in the early part of the night. This is called Ardhayāmapuja after which the temple remains closed till the next morning. All these Püjās have certain peculiarties in detail, but the one that is most note-worthy is the offering of Bali to the Dikpalas and other connected Devatas after the Naivedyas to the principal deity, followed by a procession of the Utsavamürti (portable idol of the principal deity) along the Bahyahāra to the accompaniment of drums and other musical instruments. In some temples we get an additional Pūjă called Pantirati between the Uşaḥpuja and Uccapuja and in certain temples yet another Pūjā called Etirttapuja between the Uṣaḥpüja and Pantīraţi. The rituals during the Utsavas are very elaborate and have their own special features. But the item called Śrībhūtabali deserves special mention. This takes quite a long time and has to be done with special care and in strict adherence to the rules laid down for each Devata connected with it. Even the Timilä, which is, by the bye, a long drum indigenous to Kerala to be played with the hand, has to be beaten for each Devata in a different manner and for different duration." Iśanaśivagurudevapaddhati has dealt with many of these aspects peculiar to Kerala temples. Hence without a knowledge of the practices current there the details enumerated by the author could not be fully understood. Many words are used as technical terms signifying features peculiar to Kerala shrines. Such words have no relevance to Tantra in general. Very often words Dravidian origin are sanskritised to coin new technical words. Tantra literature in Kerala Kerala's contribution to the Tântric field of Sanskrit litera- ture is vast and varied. The beginnings of this literature is buried in obscurity and what we have is only some tradition which may contain some grains of truth. The existence of a large number of works pertaining to Tantras, Agamas and Samhitäs show the