In the Vaishnava vision, Vishnu and his avatars such as Krishna and Rama are approached as living, personal presences, and temple worship unfolds as a carefully structured service to this indwelling Lord. The consecrated mūrti in the sanctum is awakened at dawn with hymns and lamps, bathed in the abhiṣeka with water, milk, honey, and similar substances, then adorned with fresh garments, ornaments, flowers, and sandalwood. Priests offer the traditional upacāras: water, a seat, incense, lamp, flowers, and food, with the food (bhoga or naivedya) later received as prasāda. Throughout the day, ārati is performed with flames and incense, accompanied by bells, mantras, and devotional songs, while devotees receive darśan and may circumambulate the shrine in reverence. Festivals such as Janmāṣṭamī, Rāma Navamī, and Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī intensify this pattern with more elaborate pūjās, decorations, and dramatic or musical celebrations of the divine līlā. Kīrtan and bhajan—congregational chanting of the names and stories of Vishnu—pervade the temple atmosphere, reinforcing the sense that the deity is being honored as a royal guest and intimate Lord.

In home shrines, the same devotional grammar appears in a simpler, more intimate register. Households establish a small altar with images or mūrtis of Vishnu, Krishna, or Rama, and daily pūjā typically includes cleaning the shrine, lighting a lamp, and offering water, incense, flowers, and simple foods such as fruit or sweets. Mantras like “Om Namo Nārāyaṇāya” or “Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya” may be recited, and many devotees chant Vishnu’s names on beads or sing brief bhajans, allowing remembrance to permeate ordinary domestic life. Tulsi leaves, held to be especially dear to Vishnu, are often included among the offerings, and some households observe fasts on days such as Ekādaśī, framing even bodily discipline as an offering. Reading or reciting texts like the Bhagavad Gītā, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the Rāmāyaṇa, or the Vishnu Sahasranāma extends worship into study and meditation, so that the deity is honored not only with ritual gestures but also with attentive contemplation. Whether in the grandeur of a temple or the quiet of a home shrine, the underlying orientation is one of sevā and śaraṇāgati—loving service and surrender—through which every act of bathing, dressing, feeding, and praising the mūrti becomes a way of dwelling in the presence of Vishnu.