Offerings

One of the pervasive realities in Hindu
religious life is the importance of transactions or exchanges—both between
human beings, and between humans and
superhuman beings. The importance of
these exchanges makes various offerings a
fundamental part of Hindu worship. One
set of sixteen offerings, known as the
upacharas, are given to a deity as part of
worship, on the model of treating the deity
as an honored guest—inviting the deity
inside, offering the deity a seat, a drink of
water, and so forth. In the naivedya, one
offers the deity food, perhaps the most
fundamental courtesy of all.