Sathya Narayana Pooja

Description:

             The Satyanarayana Pooja is done to gain blessings of the Satyanarayana Swamy avatar of Lord Vishnu. The word “Satya” means “truth” and “Narayana” stands for “the ultimate being”. Those who perform this pooja with genuine devotion are endowed with truthfulness, peace and good fortune by the deity.

Procedure:

The Satyanarayan puja starts by offering a prayer to Lord Ganesha so that all obstacles that could probably occur if the puja is performed incorrectly is removed successfully. This can be achieved by chanting different names of Lord Ganesha and offering him prasada (food served to Lords that consist of their favourite foods). Lord Ganesha is fond of modak, which is a mixture of coconut and sugar, or he may be offered laddoo too. Showering the lord with flower petals is the final procedure.

Another important part of this prayer involves praying to the Navagraha – or the nine significant celestial beings in this universe. They consists of the following names

• Surya – The Sun
• Chandra – The Moon
• Angaraka – Mars
• Buddha – Mercury
• Brihaspati – Jupiter
• Suka – Venus
• Sani – Saturn
• Rahu – North Node, or the head of Svarbhanu
• Ketu – South Node as the body with the tail of Svarbhanu

The remaining ritual consists of offering prayers and worshipping Satyanarayan, one of the most benevolent forms of Lord Vishnu. The first step is to clean the place where the deity is to be placed. Once the deity is placed in correct position, Satyanarayan Swami can be worshipped. Names of Lord Satynarayana can be chanted along with various offerings like prasadas in the form of fruits, sweets etc.