What is Archana
Archana is a short worship offered before the deity on behalf of one devotee or one family. A priest chants the names of the Lord, offering flowers as he chants, and tradition has him speak the devotee's own name, birth star and family lineage (gotra) before the deity. At Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Yadagirigutta, it is offered to Lord Lakshmi Narasimha, and the temple lists it among its daily sevas.
What devotees seek
The temple's main worship is offered for everyone. Archana is personal. Devotees traditionally ask for it to receive the Lord's blessing on something happening in their life, and seek peace and prosperity for themselves and their family.
It can be done on any day. Most people have it done on a birthday or another auspicious occasion, and some have it done on their birth star (nakshatra) every month.
What happens
In tradition, the archana begins with a short Sanskrit statement of intent (sankalpa), in which the devotee's name, birth star and gotra are spoken before the deity. The priest then chants the names of the Lord, most often the 108 names (ashtottara), offering flowers as he chants.
Longer forms exist. Sahasranama archana, in which a thousand names are chanted, is listed by the temple as a seva of its own.
Archana also has a place in the story of Narasimha. It is one of the nine ways of devotion that the boy Prahlada named before his father, the king Hiranyakashipu: the story told in The Nine Ways of Prahlada.
What you receive
When you book through VedaJyoti, you receive a recorded video of the archana.