The sixteen steps of puja

Shodashopachara means "sixteen services". It is the full form of puja, in which the deity is treated as an honoured guest: invited, given a seat, water, a bath, clothing, fragrance, flowers, light, food and a farewell. Lists vary a little between traditions; the one below is the most common.

1. Dhyana: meditation on the deity
2. Avahana: inviting the deity
3. Asana: offering a seat
4. Padya: water to wash the feet
5. Arghya: water for the hands
6. Achamana: water to sip
7. Snana: the bath, by sprinkling water or abhishek
8. Vastra: offering cloth
9. Yajnopavita or Abharana: a sacred thread or ornaments
10. Gandha: sandal paste or fragrance
11. Pushpa: flowers
12. Dhupa: incense
13. Dipa: the lamp
14. Naivedya: food offered
15. Tambula: betel leaf and nut, or a fruit and water
16. Pradakshina and namaskara: circling and bowing, ending with the offering of flowers

A simple version for daily use

Most families do not do all sixteen every day. A short puja might be: light the lamp (dipa); offer flowers (pushpa); offer incense (dhupa); offer a fruit or sweet (naivedya); bow (namaskara). Whatever the length, the sincerity of the offering is the point.

Order

Begin with Ganesha, whom many invoke before every puja. Light the lamp early so that it burns throughout. Offer the food before the aarti, and share it as prasad afterwards.

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.