Daily puja at home

You do not need a large house or a priest for a daily puja. A small clean corner and ten minutes are enough.

Setting up the home mandir

Choose a clean, quiet corner, preferably facing east or north-east if the house allows, away from the bathroom and the bedroom floor. A small shelf or a wooden stand with a cloth, pictures or small images of the deities your family worships, a lamp, a bell and a small plate for flowers is all you need. Keep it clean and dust it each day.

A ten-minute order

1. Bathe and wear clean clothes. Light the lamp and incense.
2. Sit on a mat or asan and take a little water (achaman).
3. Bow to Ganesha and your family deity.
4. Offer a flower and the akshat and roli to each image.
5. Recite a prayer or mantra that your family uses (see our mantra section).
6. Ring the bell, do a short aarti with the lamp, and bow.

Care of the mandir

Remove old flowers each day and put them in the garden or a river-safe compost, not in the bin; wipe the images; keep the lamp's oil or ghee fresh. If you are going away, a short prayer and the lamp lit by a family member is enough.

This page describes common practice in plain words. Families, regions and priests differ in the details, and your own family tradition or your priest comes first. Dates and muhurat (auspicious times) change every year: ask a priest or use a trusted panchang. Nothing here promises any result.