‹ Puja Vidhi

Vat Savitri Puja

Savitri's story, thread around the banyan, and a prayer for a long marriage

Common way — most homes

Vat Savitri on Jyeshtha Amavasya in the North; Vat Purnima on Jyeshtha Purnima in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the South. Muhurtha shows your date on the festival card.

About 40 minutes

Savitri won her husband back from Yama by wit and steadfastness. Married women worship the banyan, which stands for long life, walk around it with thread, and hear her story. If you have no banyan nearby, a picture or a small branch is accepted. If a mantra is hard, "Om Namah Shivaya" can stand in for any of them.

Prayers in this puja

Shubham Karoti ›Vakratunda Mahakaya ›Shuklambaradharam ›Mushikavahana ›

Get ready

The day before

• Find the nearest banyan, and ask if the place allows thread and lamps.
• Soak black gram and keep fruit ready.

In the morning

• Bathe and dress as you do for festivals.
• Take the plate and water to the tree, or set up the picture at home.

What you need

For the banyan

• 1 rollRaw cotton thread
• 1Pot of water
• 1 bowlSoaked black gram
• 1 plateFruit, especially mango
• A little of eachKumkum, turmeric, flowers and lamp
• 1Picture of Savitri and Satyavan, or a banyan branchIf you cannot reach a tree.

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

1. 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.

   Shubham Karoti ›

2. 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.

   Vakratunda Mahakaya ›Shuklambaradharam ›Mushikavahana ›

3. 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.

4. Worship the tree

   Pour water at the root, then offer kumkum, turmeric, flowers, gram and fruit. Light the lamp at a safe distance from the bark.

5. Wind the thread

   Walk around the trunk clockwise 7, 11 or 108 times, winding the thread as you go, with a prayer for your husband's health and long life.

6. Hear the story

   Sit together and read or tell the story of Savitri and Satyavan: how she followed Yama and won her husband's life through her questions.

7. 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.

8. Close the fast

   After the story, take the elders' blessings. Eat the gram and fruit as prasad; many keep to fruit until evening.

Fasting

Many fast through the worship or the day. Those who are unwell or pregnant should eat as they need.

Good to do

• Water the tree, and plant a sapling if you can.
• Remember Savitri's courage; the story is about her mind as much as her devotion.

Tradition avoids

• Do not leave plastic or thread litter at the tree.
• Do not break branches to bring home; use one already fallen, or a picture.

Savitri did not plead; she reasoned, and kept walking. That steadiness is what the day honours.

Traditions vary. Follow your own family's way.

Muhurtha Puja Vidhi