Sanskar & Puja
The sixteen sanskars, puja at home, vrat and katha, as families have practised them for centuries.
The 16 Sanskars (Shodasha Samskara)
Sixteen sacred thresholds, from before birth to the final farewell
The Shodasha Samskaras are the sixteen life-cycle rites of Hindu tradition, beginning with Garbhadhana before conception and ending with Antyeshti, the last rites. Each marks a turning point in life with prayer, fire and family, and the ancient texts list them in slightly different ways.
Antyeshti and Shraddha: Hindu Last Rites and Remembrance
Returning the body to the elements, and keeping the departed in loving memory
Antyeshti, the 'last offering', is the final sanskar: the funeral rite in which the body is usually cremated and returned to the five elements. It is followed by days of mourning and offerings, and in later years by Shraddha, the ritual remembrance of ancestors, especially during Pitru Paksha. Practices vary widely by region, community and family, and this guide is meant to help families, not to replace the guidance of their own priest and elders.
Daily Puja Vidhi at Home
Welcoming God as an honoured guest, every day
Daily puja at home is the simplest and most personal form of Hindu worship. The classical method is shodashopachara, sixteen offerings that treat the deity as a beloved guest: inviting, seating, washing, bathing, clothing, adorning, feeding and finally waving the lamp. On busy days families often do panchopachara, the five essential offerings of fragrance, flower, incense, lamp and food.
Ekadashi Vrat: Rules, the 24 Ekadashis and Parana
The eleventh day, sacred to Vishnu, kept twice every lunar month
Ekadashi is the eleventh lunar day (tithi) of each fortnight, observed by millions of Hindus as a fast dedicated to Vishnu. There are usually 24 Ekadashis in a year, each with its own name and story, and two more in a year with an extra (adhika) month. The fast runs from sunrise on Ekadashi and is broken with parana on Dwadashi, the next day, at the proper time.
Mundan Sanskar (Chudakarana)
A child's first haircut, offered with prayers for a long and healthy life
Mundan, known in the texts as Chudakarana or Chaula, is the eighth of the sixteen sanskars: the child's first ceremonial head-shave. The Paraskara Grihya Sutra places it in the first year or the third, and families today usually hold it between the first and fifth year, often at a temple or on a river bank, with prayers for long life.
Namkaran Sanskar
The day a child is first called by name before family and the gods
Namkaran (Namakarana) is the fifth of the sixteen sanskars, in which a newborn is formally given its name. The Grihya Sutras place it on the tenth or twelfth day after birth, and today most families hold it between the eleventh day and the first few months, with a short puja, the announcement of the name and a family meal.
Pradosh Vrat
Worshipping Shiva in the sacred hour of twilight on Trayodashi
Pradosh Vrat is a fast for Shiva and Parvati kept on Trayodashi, the thirteenth lunar day of both fortnights, so it comes about twice a month. The worship is done in pradosh kaal, the twilight period around sunset, when Shiva is believed to be especially gracious. A Pradosh falling on a Monday, Tuesday or Saturday is called Soma, Bhauma or Shani Pradosh and is considered especially auspicious.
Satyanarayan Katha and Puja Vidhi
Worship of Vishnu as the Lord of Truth, and the five chapters of his story
The Satyanarayan Puja is a vrat in honour of Vishnu as Satyanarayan, the Lord of Truth, performed at home on Purnima, on a family occasion or after a wish is fulfilled. It combines a simple puja with the reading of a five-chapter katha, popularly ascribed to the Reva Khanda of the Skanda Purana, about devotees who prospered by keeping their vow and suffered when they neglected it or the prasad.
Upanayana Sanskar (Janeu)
The sacred thread, the Gayatri mantra and the second birth into learning
Upanayana, popularly called the Janeu or sacred-thread ceremony, is the sanskar by which a child is taken to a teacher and begins formal study. He is invested with the yajnopavita, taught the Gayatri mantra and asks for his first alms, and the tradition calls him dvija, twice-born. Texts set it at eight years for Brahmins, eleven for Kshatriyas and twelve for Vaishyas, though families today choose many different ages.
Vivah Sanskar: Hindu Marriage, Pheras and Saptapadi
Seven steps before the sacred fire, and a friendship for life
Vivah is the fifteenth sanskar and the most elaborate rite of a Hindu's life. Its heart is kanyadaan, panigrahana (taking the hand), the circling of the sacred fire and the saptapadi, the seven steps the couple take together with Agni as witness. Under Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, where the rites include saptapadi, the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.