This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.
In Nepal, for any big auspicious occasion, people perform a Satyanarayan puja. My mum had planned it to be done a week before the wedding.
Lord Satyanarayana is another form of Lord Vishnu. The Lord Vishnu in this form is considered an embodiment of truth (Satya). Satyanarayan is worshipped at home with family and friends by reciting the miraculous story of Lord Satyanarayan. This puja is performed before big events like weddings to bless everyone and to keep evil away so there is no problem during the important occasions.
We had a priest come to our place early in the morning and my mum and aunties made all the preparation. On this auspicious day, we had lots of relatives come over to be in the puja. On the day of the puja, the devotee has to fast and it was going to be my mum, my SIL, me and a few of my cousins. I also asked AS to fast with us. Generally, men don’t do the fasting but but AS was nice enough to be supportive and be in puja with us and fast with us.
The priest organised all the things for puja and asked us to do certain things from time to time. Here are the details of what you need for the puja and the procedure.
Puja Material
A book on the Puja (in consultation with a Brahmin), a square platform (Chaurang), mango leaves, two new cloth pieces, kalasha, lord’s idol or a photograph, turmeric, kumkum, panchamrut, six coconuts, prasad, four oil lamps, sandal paste, incense sticks, betel leaves, two garlands, areca nuts, turmeric pods, dry dates or almonds, camphor, offerings in form of cash or coins, tulsi leaves and flowers.
Puja Procedure
The puja consists of five parts. The first one deals with the timing of the vrat and the procedure. The other four parts describe stories of the greatness of the God. The stories convince the importance of the puja. On the day of the puja, it is required to fast and perform the puja in the evening.
In a clean room, a new clean cloth is spread on an elevated platform (Chaurang) and rice-grains, about a kilo are spread on it, in the centre. A kalash (Copper pot) capped with a new cloth piece is placed and a small idol of the Lord Vishnu is positioned on it.
The puja begins with the lighting of the lamp and praying to the God Ganesha, Lakshmi, Dikpaalakaas, Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Parvathi, Sun, the nine planets and Lord Indra.
Lord Ganesha and Panchaloka Paalakaas should be positioned to the north of the Kalash and can be worshipped through areca nuts or almonds or turmeric pods or dry dates. Then, the nine planets should be worshipped by placing areca nuts on betel leaves followed by Lord Indra and other Dikpaalakaas.
Later the Lord Satyanarayana‘s idol or image on betel leaf should be worshipped by Panchamrut (a mixture of ghee, milk, sugar, honey and curds) abhishek (sprinkle). At the end of the puja, there is udvaasana, a formal way of concluding the puja.
After the puja, we all had lunch and rested for a while. That day I didn’t stress much but enjoyed being at home with everyone and staying positive that our wedding would go smoothly and would be good.
Take care,
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO
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