How to Do Puja in the

Tantric Way
Step of the Tantric Puja Hindu Ritual
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Hindu Puja Mantras

Mantra

Hindu

Worship

The Puja

God

Hinduism

Puja Puja

Temple
Mahalakshmi Puja

The devotees of Goddess Kali dance around the idol before immersing it in the river as part of the final
'visarjana' ritual. Getty Images

Subhamoy Das

Hinduism Expert

Puja means ritual worship of a deity through a series of steps. It is part of the Hindu
traditional rites or samskaras. Traditionally, Hindus follow the Vedic steps of performing a
puja. However, there is also a Tantric method of doing puja which is generally devoted to the
cult of Shakti or the Divine Mother Goddess. Puja or ritualistic worship of Hindu deities is a
very important part of Tantra-Sadhana or Tantric worship.
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Hindu Puja Mantras

Mantra
Hindu

Worship
The Puja
Read more about Tantrism.
12 Steps of the Tantric Puja Ritual
Here are the various steps of worship according to the tantric tradition:
1. Since external cleanliness is conducive to internal purity, the first thing
a worshiper should do before starting puja is to take a bath and
wearwashed clothes. It may be a good custom to keep two sets of
clothes to be worn by turns just for ritual worship.
2. Then clean the puja room and the surrounding area thoroughly.
3. After properly arranging all the vessels and materials needed for the
puja, the worshiper should sit on the puja-seat, which should be used
only for the purpose of puja, in such a way that he either faces the deity
or keeps the deity to his left. Generally, one should face East or North.
Facing South is forbidden. [See also:How to set up a puja room]

1. The whole rite of puja, or for that matter, any religious or ritualistic act
should begin with acamana or ceremonial sipping of water with certain
mantras.
2. This is followed by sankalpa or religious resolve. Apart from the details
of that particular day according to the Hindu calendar, followed in the
tradition of the worshipers family, the sankalpa-mantra also contains
some other statements such as the destruction of ones sins,
acquisition of religious merit and some other particulars connected with
the mode of worship.
1. Then come some purification processes like asanasuddhi or ritual
sanctification of the seat;bhutapasarana or driving away the evil
spirits; pushpasuddhi or ritual cleansing of flowers, bilva (wood apple
leaves), and tulsi (holy basil leaves); and agniprakarachinta or
erecting a wall of fire through imagination and so on.
2. The next steps are pranayama or breath-control to calm the nerves,
concentrate and bring in peace; andbhutasuddhi or creating a spiritual
body in place of the physical one.
3. These steps are followed by pranapratistha or filling the spiritual body
with the presence of the deity;nyasas or ritual purification of limbs;
and mudras or postures of fingers and hands.
1. Next is dhyana or meditation on the deity in ones heart and transferring
the same into the image or symbol.
2. Upacharas or modes of direct service. These upacharas can be 5 or
10 or 16. Sometimes they are raised to 64 or even 108. Normally,
between 5 and 10 are common for daily worship and 16 for special
worship. 64 and 108 upacharas are performed in temples on very
special occasions. These upacharas are ceremonially offered with
appropriate mantras to the deity invoked into the image or symbol. The
ten upacharas are: 1. Padya, water for washing the feet; 2. Arghya,
water for washing the hands; 3. Acamaniya, water for rinsing the
mouth; 4. Snaniya , giving a bath by pouring water over the image or
the symbol with Vedic mantras; 5. Gandha, applying fresh sandal
paste; 6. Pushpa, offering of flowers, bilva and tulasi leaves; 7. Dhupa,
lighting incense sticks and showing it to the deity; 8. Deepa, offering a
lighted oil lamp; 9. Naivedya, food offering and drinking water; and 10.
Punaracamaniya, giving water for rinsing the mouth at the end. [See
also: Steps of Puja in the Vedic Tradition]

3. The next step is pushpanjali or offering of a handful of flowers which is

laid at the feet of the deity, indicating the conclusion of the whole ritual.
4. Where the puja is done to the deity in a temporarily invoked image as
in the worship of clay icons
ofGanesha or Durga, udvasana or visarjana also has to be done. It is
the ceremonial withdrawal of the deity from the image, back into ones
own heart, after which the image or the symbol, like a flower, can be
disposed of.
Note: The above method is as prescribed by Swami Harshananda of Ramakrishna Mission,
Bangalore.
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