Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.11.15

dvāri dvāri gṛhāṇāḿ ca

dadhy-akṣata-phalekṣubhiḥ

alańkṛtāḿ pūrṇa-kumbhair

balibhir dhūpa-dīpakaiḥ

SYNONYMS

dvāri dvāri — the door of each and every house; gṛhāṇām — of all the residential buildings; ca — and; dadhi — curd; akṣata — unbroken; phala — fruit; ikṣubhiḥ — sugarcane; alańkṛtām — decorated; pūrṇa-kumbhaiḥ — full water pots; balibhiḥ — along with articles for worship; dhūpa — incense; dīpakaiḥ — with lamps and candles.

TRANSLATION

In each and every door of the residential houses, auspicious things like curd, unbroken fruits, sugarcane and full waterpots with articles for worship, incense and candles were all displayed.

PURPORT

The process of reception according to Vedic rites is not at all dry. The reception was made not simply by decorating the roads and streets as above mentioned, but by worshiping the Lord with requisite ingredients like incense, lamps, flowers, sweets, fruits and other palatable eatables, according to one's capacity. All were offered to the Lord, and the remnants of the foodstuff were distributed amongst the gathering citizens. So it was not like a dry reception of these modern days. Each and every house was ready to receive the Lord in a similar way, and thus each and every house on the roads and streets distributed such remnants of food to the citizens, and therefore the festival was successful. Without distribution of food, no function is complete, and that is the way of Vedic culture.