Satyanarayan Puja

In brief

Satyanarayan is Vishnu worshipped as Truth (satya = truth, Narayana = Vishnu). The Satyanarayan puja is a household thanksgiving. A family worships Vishnu, listens to the katha (= story) in five chapters, performs aarti and shares sheera, a sweet semolina or wheat pudding, with everyone who comes. Many families hold it for a new home, a wedding, a new job, a recovery, or simply every month. Householders can perform it themselves, and a priest can add the Sanskrit and guide a first-time family. Customs vary a great deal, so follow your family's way or your priest's.

When to do it

• Purnima, the full moon, is the most common day, and many families hold the puja in the evening.
• Ekadashi, Sankranti or any day that feels right. The tradition does not require one fixed day.
• Happy occasions: housewarming, wedding or anniversary, a birthday, the start of a business, or thanks after a challenge has passed.

Some families do the puja in the morning, others in the evening. The Satyanarayan Puja muhurat page on this site shows good times for your city.

What you need

• A picture or murti of Vishnu or Satyanarayan, on a low table covered with yellow cloth
• A kalash (= pot of water) with mango leaves and a coconut, and a red thread
• Tulsi leaves, flowers, akshat (= unbroken rice), sandalwood paste, betel leaves and nuts
• Panchamrit (= milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar), fruit, a lamp, incense and camphor
• A katha book, and enough sheera for everyone
• Sheera: coarse wheat flour or semolina, ghee, sugar, milk, ripe banana, and cardamom. Families differ on the flour.

Puja vidhi (steps)

1. Bathe and wear clean clothes; yellow or white is often chosen. Many families fast until the puja is done, which is optional. Set up the table with the image at the centre and the kalash on its right.
2. Sip water three times (see the daily puja page). State your sankalpa (= spoken intention) in your own words, naming the occasion and the family, while holding water and a flower.
3. Worship Ganesha first with "ॐ गं गणपतये नमः" (om gam ganapataye namah) and a flower.
4. Honour the kalash with a little rice and a flower, asking that holy waters be present in it.
5. Some families briefly honour the nine planets and the guardians of the directions with rice and flowers. Your priest will know the form.
6. Invite Satyanarayan with a flower, and chant "ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय" (om namo bhagavate vasudevaya).
7. Bathe the image with panchamrit, then clean water, and dress it in yellow cloth. A picture is not bathed.
8. Offer the sixteen traditional services in a simple form: seat, water, sandalwood, flowers, tulsi, incense, lamp and naivedya.
9. Read or hear the five chapters of the katha. Many families pause after each chapter to offer rice or flowers.
10. Do aarti. Circle the lamp or camphor flame clockwise, ring the bell and sing the Satyanarayan aarti.
11. Offer a handful of flowers, bow, and ask forgiveness for any mistakes.
12. Offer the warm sheera as naivedya. Do not taste it first.
13. Share the prasad with everyone present. No one should leave without receiving it. Then many families eat a meal together.

Mantras and aarti

The aarti for this puja is the Satyanarayan aarti, with its text on the aarti page. The katha is summarised on the Satyanarayan katha page of this section, and the full chapters come from your katha book or priest. The main mantras are om gam ganapataye namah and om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, with Vishnu prayers on the Vishnu mantra page. Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.

Doing it in the USA

Priest and setting. If you want a priest, ask your temple well ahead, because weekends fill early. Many families do the puja themselves with a katha book in English, Hindi or another language.

Items. Coconuts, tulsi, ghee and flour are sold at Indian grocery stores. If you cannot find mango leaves, ask your priest about a substitute; betel leaves are often used. Any clean steel, brass or copper pot serves as the kalash.

Sheera. Make it fresh on the day. Check for nut, wheat and milk allergies before serving a crowd, and offer fruit as an alternative.

Lamps and smoke. Use a metal plate for the lamp, keep it away from curtains, and use camphor sparingly near smoke alarms. A battery lamp is a sensible stand-in in a rental apartment.

Time. Purnima starts and ends at different clock times in different time zones. Use the Purnima times shown for your city, and ask your priest which evening or weekend day is acceptable if the tithi falls in working hours.