Simple Daily Home Puja

In brief

A puja (= worship with simple offerings) does not have to be long. A daily home puja is a few quiet minutes in front of a picture or small image of the deity your family worships, your ishta devata (= the form of God you feel closest to). Many families do a short version every day and a fuller one on festivals. Steady practice matters more than length. Customs differ between families and regions, so follow the way you were taught and ask your priest or an elder about anything beyond these basics.

When to do it

• Morning, after a bath and before breakfast, is the most usual time. Some families rise in Brahma muhurta (= the pre-dawn period, roughly an hour and a half before sunrise). Others pray after sunrise.
• Evening, at sunset or soon after, is the second common time. Many families light the lamp at dusk and sing a short aarti.
• If your altar allows it, face east or north. This is a custom, not a requirement.

No special tithi is needed.

What you need

• A clean shelf or small mandir (= home shrine) with a picture or murti (= image) of your deity
• A diya (= small lamp) with ghee or oil and a cotton wick, and a lighter
• A vessel of clean water with a spoon, and a bell
• A few flowers or leaves, and sandalwood paste or kumkum (= red powder)
• Fruit or a sweet as an offering; incense and camphor are optional

Puja vidhi (steps)

1. Bathe, or at least wash your hands, feet and face, and put on clean clothes. Remove old flowers from the altar and wipe it.
2. Sit facing the altar and take three slow breaths.
3. Do achamana (= sipping water to purify mouth and mind). Sip a little water from your right palm three times, saying one name with each sip: "ॐ केशवाय नमः, ॐ नारायणाय नमः, ॐ माधवाय नमः" (om keshavaya namah, om narayanaya namah, om madhavaya namah). Some traditions use other names, so follow your family's custom.
4. Light the lamp. Many families say the lamp verse: "शुभं करोति कल्याणम् आरोग्यं धनसंपदा। शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योतिर्नमोऽस्तु ते॥" (shubham karoti kalyanam arogyam dhanasampada, shatrubuddhi vinashaya dipajyotir namostu te). It is a bow to the light of the lamp.
5. Light incense if you use it, and ring the bell once or twice.
6. Remember Ganesha first, the remover of obstacles: "ॐ गं गणपतये नमः" (om gam ganapataye namah). Then fold your hands and name your own deity.
7. Offer a few drops of water, a touch of sandalwood or kumkum, and a flower or leaf.
8. Do japa (= quiet repetition of a mantra) 11, 21 or 108 times, with a mala (= string of beads) if you wish. Or read a few verses of a text you love, such as the Gita or the Hanuman Chalisa.
9. Offer naivedya (= food offering). Place the fruit or sweet before the deity for a minute with a short prayer. It then becomes prasad (= blessed food).
10. Do aarti. Wave the lit lamp or camphor flame clockwise before the deity, ring the bell, and sing the aarti if you know it.
11. Close with folded hands. Ask forgiveness for any mistakes and pray for all: "लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु" (lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, may all beings be happy). Bow, then share the prasad with the family.

Mantras and aarti

Many families sing the Ganesha aarti, Jai Ganesh Deva, first and then the aarti of their own deity. Om Jai Jagdish Hare is also sung in many homes. Their texts are on the aarti pages of this section.

For japa, use the mantra of your deity, as named on the Ganesha, Shiva and Vishnu vidhi pages. The Gayatri Mantra and the shanti mantras (prayers for peace) have their own pages. Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation. A simple prayer in your own language is also welcome.

Doing it in the USA

Lamps. A ghee or oil diya is an open flame. Set it on a metal or stone plate, at least a foot (30 cm) from curtains, paper and shelves above it, and never leave it burning when you go out or to bed. Some leases ban open flames, so check yours. A battery or LED diya is a sensible stand-in in a rented apartment.

Incense and camphor. Smoke can set off an alarm. Use one stick or cone, open a window, or skip incense and offer fresh flowers instead. Camphor burns with heavy smoke, so use a small piece in a metal holder. Never cover or disable a smoke alarm.

Items. Supermarkets sell marigolds and fruit. Indian grocery stores sell ghee, wicks, kumkum and sandalwood.

Time. Sunrise and sunset move through the year, and clocks change with daylight saving time, so use the times shown on this site for your city. On a workday, a ten-minute puja before leaving, or at dusk after you get home, is complete. Keep the fuller puja for the weekend.