I’ll answer in three parts: pushpa, coloured rice, and arghya.

---

1. What is acceptable as pushpa?

In Ashta‑prakari pūjā, pushpa traditionally means real flowers:

• fresh
• fragrant if possible
• clean and free from insects

This is the ideal and most common understanding in both Śvetāmbara and Digambara traditions.

Yellow rice is not originally “pushpa” – it belongs more naturally to the akṣat (rice) offering, not the flower offering.

---

2. Yellow‑coloured rice – can sandalwood or turmeric be used?

(a) As pushpa If your local derāsar/ācārya allows, some people do use coloured rice as a symbolic pushpa, especially where flowers are not easily available. In that case:

• It should be clean, dry and unbroken (if used as akṣat).
• It is still better to keep real flowers as the main “pushpa” when possible.

(b) Colouring the rice

• Sandalwood (chandan):

- Applying a little chandan paste to rice is generally acceptable. - Chandan is itself an accepted pūjā‑dravya, so rice lightly touched with chandan is fine in most traditions.

• Turmeric (haldi):

- Turmeric comes from a root, obtained by working the soil, which involves more violence (hiṃsā) to earth‑bodied beings. - For this reason, many traditional Jain households avoid using turmeric and kumkum in dravya‑pūjā, especially on the mūrti or as a main dravya. - So, if you want to be closer to strict Jain practice, avoid colouring rice with turmeric for pūjā. - If yellow is desired, better use a very small amount of chandan + kesar (if available) or follow exactly what your temple/ācārya instructs.

Best, safest practice:

• Keep akṣat plain white, unbroken – this best preserves the symbolism of akṣaya (imperishable).
• Use real flowers as pushpa.
• Use chandan separately as chandan‑dravya.

You can read more about the basic 8 dravyas of pūjā here .

---

3. Is arghya compulsory?

In Jain worship the key outer offerings are the aṣṭa‑dravya (jal, chandan, pushpa, dhūp, dīp, akṣat, naivedya, phal). Arghya (a special mixture offered with mantras, common in snātra‑pūjā etc.) is:

• Highly respected and auspicious,
• But not absolutely compulsory for every darśan or short pūjā.

Core Jain teaching is very clear:

• Bhāva‑pūjā (inner devotion, right faith, purity of mind) is more important than dravya‑pūjā.
• If you cannot arrange full arghya, aṣṭa‑dravya, etc., you can still do:

- Namokār Mantra - Darśan of Tīrthankar - Stavan / prārthanā - Silent contemplation

This is fully acceptable and spiritually meaningful.

You can also see a simple guide to basic derāsar pūjā and its inner meaning here .

---

Summary

• Pushpa ideally = real flowers; yellow rice is not the original form of pushpa.
• Rice: keep it plain, white, unbroken; if you colour, prefer chandan/kesar, and avoid turmeric for stricter ahimsā‑based practice.
• Arghya is highly auspicious but not compulsory; sincere bhāva is more important than the full external ritual.