How to worship in a temple

In almost all temples in South India, the following method is practiced for worshiping in a temple. The following rules were laid down in accordance with shastras to get the complete grace of the Lord. This worshiping method could be applied in any Hindu Temple.

1. First we have to take bath and wear washed and dried clothes.
2. The symbolic on the forehead has to be worn, i.e. we have to apply vibhuti (sacred ash) or kumkum (vermilion) as per the custom. Besides this, rudraksha or sphatika has to be worn as per the direction of Guru or as the family custom.
3. We have to take offerings like coconut, betel leaves, betel nut, flowers, fruits, garlands etc as per our capacity or wish.
4. Before entering the temple we have to take gopuram darshan i.e. Rajagopuram and then proceed towards the parikrama.
5. Once we reach the first parikrama, we have to bow down to the dhwajasthambha (flagstaff)
6. Next we have to bow down at the balipitha (sacred sacrificial stone) and offer a token of offering there. Then we enter the main temple (inner parikrama) with hands above our head. Here we pay homage to the deity in the following manner.
1. For Shri Ganapati - one or three pradakshina
2. For Shri Shiva (wherever it can be done) - five or seven or nine or fifteen or twenty one
3. Shri Vishnu - four pradakshina
4. All devis (goddesses) - four pradakshina
5. Shri Somaskanda, Shri Dakshinamurti and Shri Subramaniam - three pradakshina
6. For Shri Maruti - 11 or 16 pradakshina
7. Where we cannot do pradakshina we have to do pradakshina around ourselves three times.
7. Then we accept the archana, abhishek and prasad after taking the arti. It is essential to fully concentrate on the idol at the time of worship, archana and abhishek. 
8. Please note that we have to take the darshan of Shri Nandi dev first in a Shiva temple
9. If there is Shri Chandikeshwar idol we have to take leave from him finally by clapping hands once in front of idol.
10. Finally all men folk have to do sashtang namaskar in front of dhawajasthambha (called kodimaram in Tamil). Ladies have to perform namaskar three times with their head, two hands and two knees touching the ground. If the temple is in the east west direction, namaskar should be done towards the north. If the temple is in the north south direction, then namaskar should be done towards east.