Satyanarayan Puja
A family puja to Vishnu, with the katha and sheera prasad
Common way — most homes
Usually on Purnima, in the evening; also for a new home, a wedding, or any thanksgiving. Any day works if the family is together.
About 1 to 1½ hours with the katha
Satyanarayan is Vishnu as the Lord of Truth. Families gather, set up a small mandap, offer the puja and read the five chapters of the katha, then everyone shares the prasad. It needs no priest, and the sharing of prasad matters as much as the puja. If a mantra is hard, "Om Shri Satyanarayanaya Namah" can stand in for any of them.
Prayers in this puja
Shubham Karoti ›Vakratunda Mahakaya ›Shuklambaradharam ›Mushikavahana ›Om Jai Jagdish Hare ›Shantakaram ›Om Namo Narayanaya ›
Get ready
A day or two before
- Invite family and neighbours; a Satyanarayan puja is meant to be shared.
- Buy banana stems or leaves, tulasi, and the ingredients for the sheera.
On the day
- Keep a fast until the puja if you wish, and bathe before starting.
- Make the sheera fresh, using equal measures of rava, ghee and sugar, with banana and milk.
What you need
For Satyanarayan
- 1Picture of Satyanarayan or Vishnu, or a shaligram
- 2–4Banana stems or leaves for the mandapA garland of flowers around the picture is fine if you cannot find them.
- 1Kalash with water, mango leaves and a coconut
- A handfulTulasi leavesVishnu's naivedya is offered with tulasi.
- Equal measures of the first threeSheera: rava, ghee, sugar, banana, milkThe traditional measure is 1¼ of each, called sava.
- 1 platePanchamrit, fruit and betel leaves
For the altar
- 1Clean cloth to place it onRed or yellow is traditional.
- 1Puja plate (thali)
On the plate
- 1Oil lamp (diya) with a cotton wickGhee or sesame oil.
- 2Incense sticks (agarbatti)
- A pinch eachKumkum and haldi
- A littleSandal paste (chandan)No chandan? Use kumkum.
- 1 tablespoonAkshat — unbroken rice grains mixed with a little kumkum
- A handfulFresh flowers
- 1Small vessel of clean water with a spoon
- 1Small bellOptional.
To offer
- A littleFruit, jaggery, sugar crystals (mishri) or anything cooked fresh at home
- 1 or 2 piecesCamphor for the aartiOptional; the lamp can be used instead.
The puja
Set up the mandap
Tie the banana stems or leaves to a low table, cover it with a clean cloth, and place the picture on it. Put the kalash in front on a little rice.
Settle in
Sit facing east or north before the deity on a mat or folded cloth. Keep the plate on your right. Take a breath and let the day wait for a few minutes.
Achamana — sip water three times
Pour a little water into your right palm and sip it three times, saying the first three names, one with each sip. Then wash your right hand with a little water while saying the fourth.
ōm kēśavāya namaḥ. ōm nārāyaṇāya namaḥ. ōm mādhavāya namaḥ. ōm gōvindāya namaḥ.Salutations to Keshava, Narayana and Madhava; salutations to Govinda.Purify yourself and the place
Hold a flower dipped in water and sprinkle a few drops on yourself, the plate and the altar while saying this verse.
ōm apavitraḥ pavitrō vā sarvāvasthāṁ gatō'pi vā. yaḥ smarēt puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ.Whether pure or impure, in whatever state, one who remembers the lotus-eyed Lord is pure within and without.Light the lamp
Light the lamp and place it to the right of the deity. Fold your hands to it.
śubhaṁ karōti kalyāṇamārōgyaṁ dhanasampadaḥ. śatrubuddhivināśāya dīpajyōtirnamō'stu tē.I bow to the flame of the lamp, which brings good fortune, well-being, health and wealth, and destroys ill will.Remember Ganesha
Every puja begins with Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Fold your hands and say the verse once.
vakratuṇḍa mahākāya sūryakōṭisamaprabha. nirvighnaṁ kuru mē dēva sarvakāryēṣu sarvadā.O Ganesha of the curved trunk and mighty form, radiant as a crore suns, keep my every work free of obstacles, always.Sankalpa — state your intention
Hold a little water, akshat and a flower in your right palm. Say your name, today's date in the Hindu calendar, and why you are doing the puja — for example, for the well-being of the family. Then let the water fall on the ground or into a plate. Tap "Make sankalpa" to read today's full sankalpa.
Dhyana — invite the deity
Close your eyes and picture the deity before you. Offer a pinch of akshat as you invite them to be present.
ōm śrī satyanārāyaṇāya namaḥ. dhyāyāmi, āvāhayāmi.Gandha — sandal paste
Apply a dot of chandan or kumkum to the deity with your ring finger.
ōm śrī satyanārāyaṇāya namaḥ. gandhaṁ samarpayāmi.Pushpa — flowers
Offer the flowers at the deity's feet, one or a few at a time.
ōm śrī satyanārāyaṇāya namaḥ. puṣpāṇi samarpayāmi.Dhupa — incense
Light the incense and wave it gently before the deity three times, clockwise. Ring the bell with your left hand if you have one.
ōm śrī satyanārāyaṇāya namaḥ. dhūpam āghrāpayāmi.Deepa — the lamp
Lift the lamp and show it to the deity, circling it clockwise three times.
ōm śrī satyanārāyaṇāya namaḥ. dīpaṁ darśayāmi.Naivedya — sheera
Place the sheera, panchamrit and fruit before him, with a tulasi leaf on each. Sprinkle a little water around it and offer it with folded hands.
Read the katha
Everyone sits together while one person reads the five chapters of the Satyanarayan katha aloud, in whatever language the family follows. Listen with a flower or akshat in your hands, and offer it at the end of each chapter.
Aarti
Light camphor and sing Om Jai Jagdish Hare with the family, circling the flame clockwise. Pass the aarti around so everyone can take its warmth.
Pradakshina — circle in reverence
Turn around clockwise in your place three times (or walk around the altar if there is room), saying this verse.
yāni kāni ca pāpāni janmāntarakr̥tāni ca. tāni tāni vinaśyanti pradakṣiṇapadē padē.Whatever wrongs were done in past lives are destroyed with every step taken around the Lord.Kshama prarthana — ask forgiveness
With folded hands, ask forgiveness for anything done wrong or left out. This closes every puja.
āvāhanaṁ na jānāmi na jānāmi visarjanam. pūjāṁ caiva na jānāmi kṣamasva paramēśvara. mantrahīnaṁ kriyāhīnaṁ bhaktihīnaṁ surēśvara. yatpūjitaṁ mayā dēva paripūrṇaṁ tadastu mē.I do not know how to invite you, nor how to send you off, nor even how to worship; forgive me, O Lord. Whatever I have offered — lacking in mantra, in action or in devotion — may it be made whole.Share the prasad
Give the sheera to everyone present, and send some to those who could not come. Tradition holds that nobody should leave without prasad, and that it is never refused.
Fasting
Those doing the puja often fast until it is over, then eat the prasad first. It is not required.
Good to do
- Invite people and share the prasad widely.
- Keep your word on anything you promised in the sankalpa; this puja is about truth.
Tradition avoids
- Tradition holds it wrong to refuse or belittle the prasad, and the katha's stories turn on this.
- Do not rush the katha; read a shorter version if time is short, rather than skipping it.
The stories in the katha come back to one thought: keep your promises, give thanks, and share. That is the puja.
Traditions vary. Follow your own family's way.