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ISKCON deity worship chart
Circle counts for mangala, Nrsimha, and tulasi arati. Numbered table for the usual ISKCON altar sequence, with a PDF you can keep by the tray.
Kirtan Book ·
This sheet is a pujari’s counting aid. Rows are people you offer to. Columns are articles in your right hand. The number in a cell is how many clockwise circles that person gets before you move on.
If you still need what each article is, read Deity worship in ISKCON first. On a phone, swipe the table sideways. The name column stays put.
Download the ISKCON deity worship chart (PDF)
The dedication line names the altar it was drawn for. Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra, Jagannath Baladev Subhadra, Gaur Nitai, Srila Prabhupada, and the Vaishnavas in the hall. If your temple does not have Jagannath, skip that row. Do not invent one.
Srila Prabhupada (inside) is Prabhupada sitting with the Deities in the small wooden altar. Srila Prabhupada (outside) is his picture in the hall, not in that altar.
| # | Offered to | Mangal arati, 18 min | Narasimha arati, 5 min | Tulasi arati, 7 min | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incense | Aarati | Water | Vastra | Flower | Chamar | Peacock feather | Perfume | Incense | Aarati | Flower | ||
| 1 | Srila Prabhupada (inside) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 2 | Nityanand Prabhu | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Caitanya Mahaprabhu | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Permission from Radha Rani | Permission from Radha Rani | ||||||||||
| 5 | Krishna | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Permission from Srila Prabhupada (outside) | ||
| 6 | Radha | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 7 | Jagannath | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 8 | Baladev | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 9 | Subhadra | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 10 | Caitanya Mahaprabhu | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 11 | Nityanand Prabhu | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 12 | Narasimha Dev | 3 | 3 | 3F, 7, pour back | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 13 | Tulasi Maharani | 3 | 3 | 3F, 7, pour back | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 7, keep back |
| 14 | Srila Prabhupada (inside) | 7 | 4, 2, 3, 7 | 3F, 7, pour back | 7 | 7, keep back to all | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 15 | Srila Prabhupada (outside) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 16 | Vaishnavas | 3 | 3 | 3, pour back | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
How to read it
Work a column from the top.
First the small numbers. That is permission. Prabhupada inside the altar, then Nitai, then Gaura. Then the green bar, permission from Radha Rani. Then the real offering, the 7s. Then the same article comes back down as prasada: Prabhupada inside again, his picture outside, then the people in the hall. Perfume is the Nrsimha column. After mangala and perfume, shift to the tulasi columns on the right.
The green cells are stops. Do not cross them on autopilot.
On this sheet the lamp column is labelled “Aarati.” In temple English that word sometimes means the whole ceremony and sometimes means the diya. Here it means the diya.
Inside the altar, and the picture outside
ISKCON altars are often a small wooden temple. The Deities live in it. A form of Srila Prabhupada sits in there with them. That is (inside).
In the hall there is also a picture of Prabhupada, not in that wooden temple. That is (outside). Tulasi is in the hall too, so her arati takes permission from that outside picture.
The counts that actually matter
Lamp is 4, 2, 3, 7. Four to the lotus feet, two to the navel, three to the face, seven around the whole form.
3F is three circles to the face. Pour back means a little offered water goes into the visarjaniya-patra before you fill for the next person.
Keep back means you do not put the flower plate down. “Keep back to all” sits on Prabhupada inside at the end of the full offering. Those flowers continue to the picture outside and to the Vaishnavas.
Narasimha Dev and Tulasi Maharani do not get the royal 7 during mangala. They get 3 of incense, lamp, vastra, flower, chamar, peacock, and perfume. Water is still 3F, 7, pour back.
Tulasi arati is a different job. Most of that block is permission from Prabhupada (outside). Only Tulasi Maharani gets incense 7, lamp 4, 2, 3, 7, and flower 7 keep back. Then 3, 3, 3 as prasada to the outside picture and to the Vaishnavas. Prabhupada inside the altar is blank in the tulasi columns. You already served him in there.
Gurvastakam covers mangala. Perfume sits with Namaste Narasimhaya. The tulasi minutes are tulasi kirtana.
The table will not teach you which hand holds the bell. Left hand, above the waist, the whole time. It will not replace the article-by-article walkthrough. Keep the PDF with the tray if you want paper.
If you have a spiritual master and offer to him on the altar, use the chart with spiritual master.
Blog FAQ
What do the numbers on the chart mean?
- They are clockwise circles. 7 is around the whole body. 4,2,3,7 is four to the feet, two to the navel, three to the face, seven around the whole form. 3F is three to the face. 1 or 3 in the top rows is the permission round, not the full offering.
What is Prabhupada inside versus Prabhupada outside?
- Inside is Srila Prabhupada sitting in the altar with the Deities, the small wooden temple. Outside is his picture in the hall, not in that altar.
What is "pour back" and "keep back"?
- Pour back means a little of the offered water goes into the throw-out pot before the next person. Keep back means you hold the flowers and keep using them, instead of setting the plate down. "Keep back to all" is that same flower plate offered onward to everyone else.
How long is this morning block?
- The sheet budgets 18 minutes for mangala, 5 minutes for Nrsimha with perfume, and 7 minutes for tulasi.