Shloka 14

Prahlada's Instructions to Bali — Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

एतानि हि प्रशस्तानि कुसुमान्यच्युतार्चने सुरभीणि तथान्यानि वर्जयित्वा तु केतकीम्

Transliteration

etāni hi praśastāni kusumānyacyutārcane surabhīṇi tathānyāni varjayitvā tu ketakīm

Translation

ดอกไม้เหล่านี้แลเป็นที่รับรองสำหรับการบูชาอจุตะ (วิษณุ) ดอกหอมชนิดอื่นก็ใช้ได้เช่นกัน แต่พึงเว้นดอกเกตกี

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (instructional voice of the Purāṇa’s pūjā-vidhi section).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Pūjā-vidhi (rules of worship)
• Ritual purity and suitability of offerings
• Vaiṣṇava devotional practice

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why is ketakī (screw-pine flower) singled out as to be avoided?

Across Purāṇic and later ritual traditions, ketakī is frequently marked as ritually unsuitable in specific deity-worship contexts due to mythic-ritual associations (especially in narratives where it is linked with improper testimony or inauspiciousness). Here the text gives a clear normative rule: even if fragrant, ketakī is excluded for Acyuta’s arcana.

Does the verse restrict worship only to a fixed list of flowers?

No. It affirms certain flowers as ‘praśasta’ (approved) and then allows ‘other fragrant’ flowers as well, while explicitly carving out an exception (ketakī). The governing principle is suitability plus fragrance, with stated prohibitions.

What does ‘Acyuta’ emphasize in this worship instruction?

Acyuta highlights Viṣṇu’s unfailing, unfallen nature—an epithet commonly used in devotional and ritual manuals. In a pūjā-vidhi setting, it frames the offerings as directed to Viṣṇu in his stable, protective sovereignty.