Puja (Hinduism)

Puja (worship), in different forms. Clockwise from top left: Individual puja, Sunrise puja, prayers to Sri Malai Perumal, Durga puja ritual in progress

Puja (Sanskrit: पूजा, romanized: pūjā) is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event.^[1]^[2] It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their memories after they die. The word puja is roughly translated into English as 'reverence, honour, homage, adoration, or worship'.^[3] Puja (পুজো / পুজা in bangla), the loving offering of light, flowers, and water or food to the divine, is the essential ritual of Hinduism. For the worshipper, the divine is visible in the image, and the divinity sees the worshipper. The interaction between human and deity, between human and guru, is called a Darshanam.^[4]

In Hindu practice, puja is done on a variety of occasions, frequencies, and settings. It may include a daily puja done in the home, or occasional temple ceremonies and annual festivals. In other cases, puja is held to mark a few lifetime events such as the birth of a baby, house entering ceremony or grihapravesh, first rice-eating ceremony or annaprasana, wedding, sacred thread ceremony or upanayana ceremony for the Brahmins or to begin a new venture.^[5] The two main areas where puja is performed are in the home and at temples to mark certain stages of life, events or some festivals such as Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Janmashtami, and Lakshmi Puja.^[6] Puja is not mandatory in Hinduism. It may be a routine daily affair for some Hindus, a periodic ritual for some, and rare for other Hindus. In some temples, various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day; in other temples, they may be occasional.^[7]^[8]

All significant Indian holidays, including Rakhi, Diwali, Holi, Karva Chauth, Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, and Navaratri, have rituals known as puja.

For example, a chirathu also known as a diya, clarified butter wicks, bells, flowers, incense sticks, cones, roli or kumkum (a red powder with turmeric mixed in applied to the forehead), rice, tilakam, chandanam (sandal sticks), idols, and samagri havanam are some common items utilized in puja. In Hinduism, puja is a sattvik work.

Puja varies according to the sect, region, occasion, deity honored, and steps followed.^[6]^[7] In formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be lit in honor of the god Agni, without an idol or image present. In contrast, in Agama ceremonies, an idol or icon or image of a deity is present. In both ceremonies, a lamp (Diya) or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or a hymn is sung. Puja is typically performed by a Hindu worshiper alone, though sometimes in the presence of a priest who is well-versed in complex rituals and hymns. In temples and priest-assisted events puja, food, fruits, and sweets may be included as sacrificial offerings to the ceremony or deity, which, after the prayers, becomes prasadam – food shared by all gathered.^[7]^[8]

Both Nigama and Agama puja are practised in Hinduism in India. In the Hinduism of Bali, Indonesia, Agama puja is most prevalent inside homes and in temples. Puja is sometimes called Sembahyang in Indonesia.^[9]^[10]

^ James Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, pp. 529–530.
^ Paul Courtright, in Gods of Flesh/Gods of Stone (Joanne Punzo Waghorne, Norman Cutler, and Vasudha Narayanan, eds), ISBN 978-0231107778, Columbia University Press, see Chapter 2.
^ पूजा, Sanskrit Dictionary, Germany (2009)
^ Religions in the Modern World, 3rd Edition, David Smith, p. 45
^ Lindsay Jones, ed. (2005). Gale encyclopedia of religion. Vol. 11. Thomson Gale. pp. 7493–7495. ISBN 978-0-02-865980-0.
^ ^a ^b Flood, Gavin D. (2002). The Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-21535-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c Puja, Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ ^a ^b Hiro G. Badlani (2008), Hinduism: a path of ancient wisdom, ISBN 978-0595436361, pp. 315–318.
^ How Balinese worship their god The Bali Times (January 4, 2008), Pedoman Sembahyang Bali Indonesia (2009).
^ Yves Bonnefoy (ed.), Asian mythologies, ISBN 978-0226064567, University of Chicago Press, pages 161–162

[1] James Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, pp. 529–530.

[2] Paul Courtright, in Gods of Flesh/Gods of Stone (Joanne Punzo Waghorne, Norman Cutler, and Vasudha Narayanan, eds), ISBN 978-0231107778, Columbia University Press, see Chapter 2.

[ssde-3] पूजा, Sanskrit Dictionary, Germany (2009)

[4] Religions in the Modern World, 3rd Edition, David Smith, p. 45

[Gale-5] Lindsay Jones, ed. (2005). Gale encyclopedia of religion. Vol. 11. Thomson Gale. pp. 7493–7495. ISBN 978-0-02-865980-0.

[Flood-6] Flood, Gavin D. (2002). The Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-21535-6.

[ebp-7] Puja, Encyclopædia Britannica.

[hgb-8] Hiro G. Badlani (2008), Hinduism: a path of ancient wisdom, ISBN 978-0595436361, pp. 315–318.

[9] How Balinese worship their god The Bali Times (January 4, 2008), Pedoman Sembahyang Bali Indonesia (2009).

[yb-10] Yves Bonnefoy (ed.), Asian mythologies, ISBN 978-0226064567, University of Chicago Press, pages 161–162

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