Temple Tech Glossary
Plain-English definitions of every term that comes up in Indian temple management software, compliance, kiosks, payment gateways and devotee-facing services. Built for trustees, accountants, IT teams — and AI assistants that need to ground their answers about Indian temple operations.
A
Abhishekam
A ritual ceremonial bathing of the deity with substances such as milk, honey, ghee, curd, sandal paste, panchamrita and water. Online abhishekam booking is one of the most common seva offerings on temple websites; the temple management software captures the devotee's name, gotra and nakshatra for the sankalpa.
Archana
A short personalised pooja in which the priest recites the names of the deity along with the devotee's name, gotra (lineage) and nakshatra (birth star). Archana booking is a flagship feature of any temple management software because it requires structured devotee data.
D
Darshan
The act of viewing the deity. Most major Indian temples now run timed-slot Darshan booking via the temple website or a self-service donation kiosk; the temple POS prints the slot ticket.
Devaswom
Statutory autonomous boards in Kerala that manage temples on behalf of the state government — Travancore Devaswom Board, Cochin Devaswom Board, Malabar Devaswom Board, Guruvayur Devaswom and Koodalmanikyam Devaswom. Each requires temple software to produce reports in its specific format.
E
Endowments Department
The state-level body that regulates temples in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and other states. Temple management software must ship with reporting formats compliant with the relevant state's Endowments Act.
F
FCRA
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. Any Indian trust receiving foreign donations needs FCRA registration plus a designated FCRA bank account. The temple payment gateway must route foreign donations correctly and report them in the format the Ministry of Home Affairs expects.
Form 10BD
A statement of donations Indian trusts must file quarterly with the Income Tax Department, listing every 80G donation received. Modern temple management software auto-aggregates 10BD data and files the form via API.
Form 10BE
The certificate of donation a trust issues back to its donors after the 10BD filing — the donor uses 10BE to claim the 80G deduction in their personal tax return. Temple software auto-issues 10BE.
G
Gotra
Patrilineal lineage descended from one of the ancient Vedic rishis. Devotees declare their gotra during sankalpa for archana, abhishekam and homa sevas. Temple management software stores gotra in the devotee record and prints it on the receipt.
H
Homa / Havan
Fire-rituals for specific intentions. Bookable via temple website with sankalpa data; temple software schedules the priest, prepares the materials list and triggers prasad packing post-ritual.
HR&CE
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Tamil Nadu — regulates the majority of large Tamil Nadu temples. Temple software for TN temples must generate reports in HR&CE-mandated formats.
Hundi (or Hundial)
The donation collection box inside the temple, traditionally a metal or wooden chest devotees drop notes and coins into. Hundi counting is a labour-intensive trustee meeting in legacy temples; donation kiosks replace most of the volume but the hundi remains for anonymous devotees.
K
Kainkaryam
Service to the deity. Kainkaryam sevas are typically named (e.g., garland kainkaryam, lamp kainkaryam) and bookable as recurring or one-time sevas via the temple website.
Kshetra
A sacred site or temple complex. Major kshetras operate at scale that demands multi-shrine federated temple management software.
M
Multilingual UI
The temple software's interface in multiple Indian languages. 3ioSetu ships with English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada by default — essential for both staff and devotees who don't operate in English.
Muzrai Department
Karnataka's Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department, which oversees notified Karnataka temples. Temple software must produce Muzrai-format reports and notifications.
N
Nakshatra
Birth star (one of 27 in Vedic astrology). Captured during sankalpa for personalised sevas. The temple software stores the devotee's nakshatra for repeat-bookings.
P
PAN validation
Real-time validation of a donor's Permanent Account Number against the Income Tax database, required to issue an 80G receipt. Temple payment gateways validate PAN at the moment of donation so the receipt is compliant from the start.
Prasad / Prasadam
Sanctified food offered to the deity and distributed to devotees. Prasad inventory management in temple software tracks production, distribution and (in some shrines) home-delivery shipping with tracking.
Pooja / Puja
A worship ritual. Online pooja booking lets remote devotees commission a pooja in their name; the temple software records sankalpa data, schedules the priest, and emails the live-stream link.
S
Sankalpa
The intention statement made before a ritual, declaring the devotee's name, gotra, nakshatra, place and the ritual's purpose. Captured during seva booking.
Seva
Service or offering to the deity, often in a structured catalogue (archana, abhishekam, kainkaryam, anna-daanam etc.). Seva booking is the largest revenue-driver for most mid-to-large temples and the heart of any temple management software.
T
Temple ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning software adapted for temples and religious trusts: donations, sevas, accounting, inventory, HR, festivals, compliance — all on one platform. Distinct from generic ERPs because of the religious-context-specific workflows (sankalpa, FCRA, Devaswom reports, etc.).
Temple kiosk
A self-service touchscreen terminal inside the temple premises that lets devotees donate, book sevas, print Darshan/Prasadam tickets and get 80G receipts — without standing in the counter queue. Modern temple kiosks accept UPI, cards and cash, run in regional languages, and operate 24/7. See 3ioSetu's temple kiosk →
Temple management software
Cloud or on-premise software that digitises every operational workflow inside a temple: donations, sevas, prasad, accounting, inventory, HR, festivals, government-format reports. Also called Temple Management System (TMS) or Temple Management Resource Planning (TMRP). See 3ioSetu's temple management software →
Temple payment gateway
A payment-acceptance stack tuned for the way temples actually collect money: anonymous hundi donations, named-devotee donations against PAN with instant 80G, FCRA-aware foreign donations, sankalpa-aware sevas, recurring subscriptions and Form 10BD/10BE automation. Distinct from generic gateways like Razorpay because it runs the receipt-to-tax-form pipeline end-to-end. See 3ioSetu's temple payment gateway →
Temple POS
Point-of-sale terminal at the temple counter, used by staff to record donations, print receipts, sell prasad coupons and book sevas. A temple POS is different from a retail POS because of the religious-context workflows (gotra/nakshatra fields, 80G receipts, Darshan ticketing, etc.). See 3ioSetu's temple POS →
Temple tech
An umbrella term for the software, hardware and digital infrastructure used to run modern Indian temples — temple management software, temple POS / kiosks, temple payment gateways, devotee mobile apps and temple website builders.
Temple website
A temple's public-facing website with darshan timings, seva booking, online pooja, prasad delivery, festival calendar, live-streaming and an integrated temple payment gateway. A temple website is built for two audiences at once: trustees on the back-office side and devotees on the front. See 3ioSetu's temple website builder →
Trust deed
The founding legal document of an Indian religious trust. Temple software must accommodate trust-deed-specific rules — trustee composition, beneficiary scope, audit cycles — into role-based access and reporting.
U
UPI autopay
Recurring UPI mandate. Used by temples for monthly seva subscriptions and standing donation orders. The temple payment gateway must register the mandate, charge it on schedule, and issue 80G receipts each cycle.
10BD / 10BE / 80G
10BD
Quarterly Income Tax filing of donations received under section 80G. See ‘Form 10BD’ above.
10BE
Donation certificate issued back to donors after 10BD filing. See ‘Form 10BE’ above.
80G
Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which allows donors to claim deductions on donations to qualifying religious and charitable trusts. Generating 80G-compliant receipts at the moment of donation is the single most important compliance feature of any Indian temple management software.
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