Pūjā and Rituals

Pradosha is the sacred twilight of Trayodaśī, when Śiva dances on Mount Meru. Pūjā to Śiva at this hour, however simple, brings the highest fruit.

The Puṇyaka Vrata is a vow for married women, first kept by Devī Pārvatī and taught by her to the divine women. It brings saubhāgya, children and prosperity.

The Skanda Purāṇa teaches the great merit of listening to the Purāṇas, the qualities of speaker and listener, and why hearing is the highest dharma in Kali Yuga.

Three vratas from the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa for the health, protection and long life of children, taught by Pushkara.

The Skanda Purāṇa praises the Rudrādhyāya (Śrī Rudram) as the essence of the Upanishads, whose japa leads straight to liberation and can even overcome death.

The Skanda Purāṇa praises the rudrāksha bead as Śiva's own, the holiest ornament a devotee can wear, whose power works even for animals.

The Rūpa-Satra Vrata is a year-long vow of fasting on each nakshatra and honouring a part of Bhagavān Vishṇu's body, taught by Atri to King Purūravas for beauty.

A nine-day vrata that Vālmīki Ṛshi gave to Sītā for her reunion with Śrī Rāma, based on reading a sacred text a growing number of times each day.

The Sattva Bādhā Praśamana is a Vaishṇava rite of healing and protection from the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, done by a devotee of Vishṇu for someone else.

The Sauravrata is a month-long vrata to Sūrya centred on the Sūryasaptamī. In the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Śaunaka Ṛshi teaches it to the childless King Cakrapāṇi.

In the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Gaṇeśa declares the śamī leaf supremely dear to him. Its offering can grant liberation and even bring a dying child back to life.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa gives a full system of śānti rites for calming bad omens: twenty-one kinds of śānti, their deities, colours and protective amulets.

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā teaches how food is offered to Śiva in pūjā and praises the bilva tree as Mahādeva's own form, where all tīrthas dwell.

Brahmā's teaching to Nārada in the Śiva Purāṇa on how to offer pūjā to Śiva: daily purity, abhisheka, the inner liṅga, flowers, grains and their fruits.

The Somavāra Vrata is a Monday vow to Bhagavān Śiva. Kept with full faith, the Skanda Purāṇa says it can turn back even a foretold widowhood.

Pushkara teaches Paraśurāma that pūjā in a temple is the easiest and surest path to both worldly welfare and moksha.

Taptamudrā is the Vaishṇava practice of marking the upper arms with the heated symbols of Vishṇu's cakra and śaṅkha, as taught by Śiva in the Padma Purāṇa.

The Garuḍa Purāṇa gives vratas for each tithi of the lunar fortnight, from Pratipadā to Dvādaśī, each with its own devatā, method and fruit.

The Umā-Maheśvara Vrata is a year-long great vow of pūjā to golden images of Śiva and Pārvatī on every Ashṭamī and Caturdaśī, taught in the Skanda Purāṇa.

The Umā Vrata is a set of year-long observances taught by Devī Pārvatī in the Harivaṃśa, each aimed at the beauty or good character of one part of a woman's body.

The ūrdhvapuṇḍra is the vertical tilaka worn by Vaishṇavas. The Padma Purāṇa teaches that Vishṇu himself is seated in the space between its lines.

Gargācārya's teaching to Atri on reading omens in the sky, the air and on earth, what they mean for the king and kingdom, and the śānti rite for each.

Pushkara teaches Paraśurāma nine sacred ritual baths for prosperity, healing, purification and protection, each ending in pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The Garuḍa Purāṇa gives vratas for the weekdays, the nakshatras and the last tithis of the month, and names the devatā of each of the fifteen tithis.

The Śiva Purāṇa's weekly plan of Śiva pūjā, with a form of Śiva and a fruit for each day, and the three daily yajñas of the householder.

Pushkara's teaching on the sacred science of building: the Vāstu-maṇḍala of sixty-four deities, testing the ground, and laying the foundation stone.

How the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa teaches the use of mantras from all four Vedas for particular purposes, ending with the Śrī Sūkta and Purusha-sūkta.

The Vishṇu Kavaca, spoken by Maheśvara, calls on the names and avatāras of Vishṇu to guard every part of the body, every direction and every danger.

The Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra is a hymn of protection that places Bhagavān Vishṇu and his weapons in every direction around the devotee, like a divine fortress.

The daily method of Vishṇu pūjā in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa: the mantra for each of the sixteen services and which offerings are and are not fit for Vishṇu.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa praises two humble services at Vishṇu's temple: offering forest flowers gathered by hand, and sweeping and cleaning the temple.

The Vishṇumaṇḍala Pūjā is a rite in which a sacred maṇḍala is drawn and honoured, with Bhagavān Vāsudeva at its heart. It is said to end rebirth.

The Garuḍa Purāṇa sets out the rules that apply to every vrata: daily duties, what to avoid, the ten common dharmas, pañcagavya, calendar rules and what to do if a vrata is broken.

Vṛshotsarjana is the Vedic rite of releasing a consecrated bull to roam free in honour of one's ancestors, giving them never-ending merit.

Akshaya Tṛtīyā, the third day of the bright half of Vaiśākha, is the day whose good deeds never run out. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa links it to Skanda's boon to Gaṅgā.

A twelve-month vrata in which one part of Vishṇu's divine body is honoured each month, kept for sons, wealth and, with true knowledge, liberation.

The Purāṇas call annadāna, the gift of food, the most basic and powerful of all gifts. The Padma Purāṇa shows why through the story of King Śveta.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa gives four vratas for health and healing, joining Āyurvedic herbs with pūjā of Dhanvantari, Sūrya and Varuṇa.

Aśva Śānti is the ritual of divine protection for royal horses taught in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, calling on the Aśvins, Sūrya, Indra and Varuṇa.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa teaches an autumn pūjā of Devī Bhadrakālī, done by the king on the 8th and 9th days of bright Āśvayuja before the campaign season.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa praises the Gāyatrī mantra as Bhagavān Vishṇu's own śakti and explains its japa, prāṇāyāma, homa and twenty-four syllables.

The Bhāgavata Saptāha is the seven-day recitation of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, praised in the Padma Purāṇa as the highest remedy for pāpa in the Kali Yuga.

The daily Vaiśvadeva rite of the householder: fire offerings to the devas, food shared with all beings, and the great merit of honouring guests.

The Skanda Purāṇa's teaching on the glory of bhasma, Śiva's sacred ash, and the tripuṇḍra, the three lines of ash worn on the forehead.

Bhasma Dhāraṇa is the wearing of sacred ash and the tripuṇḍra, the three lines on the forehead, as taught in the Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa.

Bhīma Ekādaśī, the bright Ekādaśī of Māgha under Hasta nakshatra, is praised in the Garuḍa Purāṇa as able to remove even the gravest pāpas.

The Bhīshmapañcaka is a five-day vrata in the last days of bright Kārtika, in which Vishṇu is worshipped from his feet up to his head, one part each day.

The offering of lamps to Bhagavān Vishṇu, one of the most meritorious acts of devotion for a householder, especially at Dīpāvalī and through Kārttika.

Dīpāvali is the great festival of lights in the month of Kārtika. The Padma and Skanda Purāṇas describe each of its days, from the lamp for Yama to Yamadvitīyā.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa teaches many vratas for Dvādaśī, the twelfth lunar day, which is especially dear to Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The Padma Purāṇa gives rules for the Ekādaśī and Dvādaśī vow: how to fast, how to offer pūjā, what to avoid, and the fruits it brings.

Ekādaśī, the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight, is the holiest fast day for devotees of Vishṇu. The Padma Purāṇa describes twenty-five Ekādaśīs and their stories.

Gaja Śānti is the ritual of divine protection for royal elephants in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, calling on Airāvata, the eight elephants of the directions, Indra and Vishṇu.

Go Śānti is the ritual of divine protection for cattle taught in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, calling on Surabhi, Indra, Varuṇa and Vishṇu as Gopāla.

The Skanda Purāṇa teaches that Caturdaśī pūjā of Śiva at Gokarṇa brings immeasurable merit, even to those who offer it by accident.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa explains how to perform pūjā to the grahas and nakshatras to calm troubles, with maṇḍalas, baths, fire rites and offerings.

The Indradhvaja Utsava is the royal festival of Indra's banner, taught in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa and begun on the day Vishṇu goes to sleep for four months.

Jala Pradāna, the giving of water, is the offering of water to the recently departed, one of the first rites after a death. It gives its name to a section of the Mahābhārata.

The Kārtika vrata is the month-long practice of early-morning bathing, lamp-lighting, tulasī pūjā and devotion to Vishṇu in the month of Kārtika.

Kṛttikā Pūjā honours the six Kṛttikā stars who nursed the infant Skanda. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa records Skanda's boon to those who worship them in Kārttika.

Kṛttikā Snāna is a sacred bath taken on the day of the Kṛttikā nakshatra, taught in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa with a companion rite for overcoming enemies.

Liṅga Pratishṭhā is the rite of installing a Śivaliṅga in a temple or sacred place, as taught in the Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa.

Maṇi Dhāraṇa is the Atharva Vedic practice of wearing consecrated amulets for healing and protection, taught with a long list of herbs in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa.

The Padma Purāṇa calls the eight-syllable mantra Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya the mantra-ratna, the gem of mantras, and the essence of all the Vedas.

The Māsa Nakshatra Pūjā is a year-long cycle of pūjā to Bhagavān Vishṇu, each month tied to a nakshatra, said to grant liberating knowledge and Brahmaloka.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa gives sacred baths for the days of the nakshatras (lunar mansions), each with its own ingredients, offerings, amulet and fruit.

The Navarātra Vrata is the nine-night vow of the Devī. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa calls it the greatest of all vratas and says even Śrī Rāma kept it.

Nīrājana Śānti is the royal ceremony of waving lights to purify and bless the king's army, weapons and animals, taught in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa.

Śiva's teaching to Pārvatī in the Padma Purāṇa on the daily pūjā of Vishṇu, from waking before dawn to the evening meal, with monthly flowers and offerings.

Pañcāyatana pūjā is the pūjā of five forms of the divine together: Gaṇeśa, Vishṇu, Śiva, Durgā and Sūrya, seen as one reality.

The Skanda Purāṇa praises the Pañcākshara, “Namaḥ Śivāya”, as the king of mantras, open to everyone and needing no initiation.

Pārthiva liṅga pūjā is the pūjā of Śiva through a liṅga shaped by hand from pure clay, named the best form of Śiva pūjā for the Kali Yuga.