Introduction

Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs and rituals.

Puja (alternative transliteration pooja, Sanskrit: reverence or worship, loosely) is a religious ritual that Hindus perform for a variety of occasions.

In Hinduism, the term puja refers to the worship of deities. Such worship can take one of three forms in Hinduism: temple worship, domestic worship and communal worship. Temple worship occurs in a temple, a mandira, where the deities are served by priests (pujari). Domestic worship happens at home, where most people have set aside some small area reserved for ritual purity and where prayers can be said. Communal worship often occurs in the singing of hymns or the recitation of religious texts.

Most practicing Hindus perform Puja daily and say one should perform Puja twice a day. Puja should only be done after a shower or bath and it is recomended that it is done before breakfast to ensure sattvic qualities and full concentration dhyan. Puja is performed on a variety of occasions aside of the daily ritual. These include Durga Puja, Pongal and Lakshmi Puja to name a few.