Puja should be done after a bath. An altar should be prepared with a yantra or an idol of the Devi
This altar should be kept on the eastern or northeastern side so that the devotee sits facing the east or north-east. Items for puja should be kept ready before starting.
A lamp and an incense stick should be kept burning throughout the puja.
Flowers, clean water in a vessel, fruit or some cooked food should also be kept ready.
1. Repeat the Surya Gayatri mantra three times and ask Savitri Devi to focus in our puja.
2. We activate the chakras by touching the points starting with the sahasrara chakra on top of the head. We invoke the energy of the Devi while doing this and chant her mantra at every point that we touch.
Aim Hreem Kleem
3. Next step is known a “sankalpa”. This is our wish. The desire in us that we want to be realized from this puja. We touch the plate with the flowers; repeat our name and the name/s of anyone whom we want to benefit from our puja and mentally reiterate our wish. It can be for material benefits or for spiritual benefits.
4.Next we pray to Ganesha to remove any obstacles in the puja.
5. We touch the pot containing water and invoke all the holy rivers starting with Ganga to come into it.
6. Take a little of this consecrated water either with a spoon or a small conch and sprinkle it over yourself as well as the articles for puja with the request that they may all be purified.
7. Then place the palms of your hands over your heart and invoke the atman inside you to come out and take the form of the goddess in front of you. So actually you are really worshipping the atman itself when you do the puja to any deity.
8. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the altar with a prayer to all the gods of the different directions and to the mother earth to allow you to conduct this puja.
9. Now meditate on your guru and repeat the guru mantra.
Guru Brahma guru Vishnur,
Guru devo Maheshwara,
Guru saakshath param Brahma,
Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha!
10. Next we meditate and invoke the Devi to come and take the seat in the place prepared for her. She is the Shakti or divine energy, which is motivating power inside us. Without her we would be inert and senseless beings. Mentally we invite her to come and energize the little idol, which we have kept before us in order to aid our meditation.
Sarva mangala mangalye, shive sarvarta sadhike,
Sharanye tryambake Gouri,
Narayani namostute.
O Narayani! O Protrectress!,
O Three-eyed Gauri
You are blessed with every felicity, auspiciousness and capable of accomplishing our every desire,
Praise be to you!
11. We place her on the throne, which has been kept ready for her (asanam)
12 We wash her feet with a little of the water. (padyam)
13 Water is offered for washing the hands and mouth (arghyam and achamaniyam)
14.Then we put her on the plate for a ceremonial bath known as abhishekam.
As the water is poured over her we repeat the Devi Gayatri three times
\ Mahalakshmyai cha vidmahe,
Maha Shaktyai cha dheemahi,
Tanno Devi prachodaayth
Abhishekam can be done with different ingredients like, milk, honey.
After this the idol should be wiped with a clean piece of cloth or napkin and kept back on the seat.
15 Offer a flower to her in place of a garment.(vastram)
16 Offer some unguent or perfume (parimala dravyam)
17 Place some sandal paste on the deity (gandham)
18 Then some kum kum or red powder beloved by the goddess (kumkumam)
19 Offer some whole grains of rice at the feet (akshadan)
20 Offer a flower garland (mala)
21 Adorn her with all types of jewellery. (All this is to be done mentally)
22 She is the cosmic Mother and we meditate on her blissful countenance and worship her limb by limb. With each limb we repeat a mantra and place a flower mentally on that particular limb at the appropriate place. When you do this puja by yourself this can be done using real flowers. Nine names of the goddess are repeated with each flower
Aum Mahalakshmai Namaha! I worship your feet. (place one flower at her feet)
Aum Mahasaraswathyai Namaha! I worship your knees.
Aum Maha Kaalyai Namaha! I worship your shapely legs.
Aum Durgayai Namaha! I worship your stomach, which holds many universes.
Aum Parvathyai Namaha! I worship your chest.
Aum Chandikaayai Namaha! I worship your slender waist
Aum Kartyayanyai Namaha! I worship your beauteous breasts.
Aum Naarayanyai Namaha! I worship your lotus eyes
Aum Maha Devyai Namaha! I worship your whole body
With these nine mantras I worship thy whole body O Mother Divine.
After this if time permits we can chant the following seed mantra to the three aspects of the Divine Mother as Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kaali. We can repeat this mantra 108 times or as many times as we have time. While repeating a mantra we can place one flower at her feel or the petal of a flower
_Aim, Hreem, Kleem
23. Next we offer incense to the deity and sprinkle water and place a flower at her feet (dhupam)
25 Then we wave the lamp before her and sprinkle water and place a flower at her feet (deepam)
26. Then we make some food offerings. This can either be fruit or some cooked food.(naivedyam)
We touch the plate containing the food and repeat the Surya Gayatri mantra and then we offer the five vital breaths within our body to her with these mantras
Aum Pranaaya Swaaha!
Aum Apaanaaya Swaaha!
Aum Vyaanaaya Swaaha!
Aum Udaanaaya Swaaha!
Aum Samaanaaya Swaaha!
At the end of the offering all things are once more offered to the supreme Brahman to remind us that She is indeed Parabrahma Swarupini, the form of the Brahman.
Aum Brahmane Namaha!
We close our eyes and wait a while and beg her to partake of the food that has been prepared so lovingly for her.
27. Now water is offered for cleansing.
28. Next we offer sweet smelling betel leaves to her
29. Then we do an arati to her with these words,
Devi Maheswari Parvati Shankari Sharanam me tava paada yugam.
O Devi your lotus feet are my only recourse.
These 29 steps can be done daily by those who wish to offer puja to the goddess.
30. Optional if you have time recite Lalitha sahasranama
31. Repeat Peace Mantra.
31 Take some flowers in the cupped palms and repeat your wish from the puja. Recite Mantra Puspham.
32 Finally we offer the camphor arati and wave the camphor lamp in front of her
Sing
Karpoora gauram karunavataaram,
Samsaarasaaram bhujagendra haaram,
Sadaa vasantam hridayaaravinde,
Bhavam bhavani sahitam namaami
during Aarti.
33. The final act of the puja is to go round her and prostrate to her. Since it might not be possible to go round the idol, we get up and turn round at the same spot that we are standing and then do full prostration repeating this mantra.
Yaani kaani cha paapaani, Brahmahatya samaani cha,
Taani taani vinashyanti, pradakshinam pade pade.
Rotate 3 times yourself and recite
Mantra heenam kriya heenam bhakti heenam Sureshwara,
Yad pujitam maya deva paripoornam tadastu te,
Aparaadha sahasraani kriyante hanisham maya,
Dasyoham iti mam matwa,
Kshamaswa Parameswari.
Ask God to forgive you if any errors in Puja.
I have no idea how to conduct a puja, how to invoke you or to revoke you into myself.
This is the end of the puja and the prasadam (food offerings) can be distributed to all.
This altar should be kept on the eastern or northeastern side so that the devotee sits facing the east or north-east. Items for puja should be kept ready before starting.
A lamp and an incense stick should be kept burning throughout the puja.
Flowers, clean water in a vessel, fruit or some cooked food should also be kept ready.
1. Repeat the Surya Gayatri mantra three times and ask Savitri Devi to focus in our puja.
2. We activate the chakras by touching the points starting with the sahasrara chakra on top of the head. We invoke the energy of the Devi while doing this and chant her mantra at every point that we touch.
Aim Hreem Kleem
3. Next step is known a “sankalpa”. This is our wish. The desire in us that we want to be realized from this puja. We touch the plate with the flowers; repeat our name and the name/s of anyone whom we want to benefit from our puja and mentally reiterate our wish. It can be for material benefits or for spiritual benefits.
4.Next we pray to Ganesha to remove any obstacles in the puja.
5. We touch the pot containing water and invoke all the holy rivers starting with Ganga to come into it.
6. Take a little of this consecrated water either with a spoon or a small conch and sprinkle it over yourself as well as the articles for puja with the request that they may all be purified.
7. Then place the palms of your hands over your heart and invoke the atman inside you to come out and take the form of the goddess in front of you. So actually you are really worshipping the atman itself when you do the puja to any deity.
8. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the altar with a prayer to all the gods of the different directions and to the mother earth to allow you to conduct this puja.
9. Now meditate on your guru and repeat the guru mantra.
Guru Brahma guru Vishnur,
Guru devo Maheshwara,
Guru saakshath param Brahma,
Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha!
10. Next we meditate and invoke the Devi to come and take the seat in the place prepared for her. She is the Shakti or divine energy, which is motivating power inside us. Without her we would be inert and senseless beings. Mentally we invite her to come and energize the little idol, which we have kept before us in order to aid our meditation.
Sarva mangala mangalye, shive sarvarta sadhike,
Sharanye tryambake Gouri,
Narayani namostute.
O Narayani! O Protrectress!,
O Three-eyed Gauri
You are blessed with every felicity, auspiciousness and capable of accomplishing our every desire,
Praise be to you!
11. We place her on the throne, which has been kept ready for her (asanam)
12 We wash her feet with a little of the water. (padyam)
13 Water is offered for washing the hands and mouth (arghyam and achamaniyam)
14.Then we put her on the plate for a ceremonial bath known as abhishekam.
As the water is poured over her we repeat the Devi Gayatri three times
\ Mahalakshmyai cha vidmahe,
Maha Shaktyai cha dheemahi,
Tanno Devi prachodaayth
Abhishekam can be done with different ingredients like, milk, honey.
After this the idol should be wiped with a clean piece of cloth or napkin and kept back on the seat.
15 Offer a flower to her in place of a garment.(vastram)
16 Offer some unguent or perfume (parimala dravyam)
17 Place some sandal paste on the deity (gandham)
18 Then some kum kum or red powder beloved by the goddess (kumkumam)
19 Offer some whole grains of rice at the feet (akshadan)
20 Offer a flower garland (mala)
21 Adorn her with all types of jewellery. (All this is to be done mentally)
22 She is the cosmic Mother and we meditate on her blissful countenance and worship her limb by limb. With each limb we repeat a mantra and place a flower mentally on that particular limb at the appropriate place. When you do this puja by yourself this can be done using real flowers. Nine names of the goddess are repeated with each flower
Aum Mahalakshmai Namaha! I worship your feet. (place one flower at her feet)
Aum Mahasaraswathyai Namaha! I worship your knees.
Aum Maha Kaalyai Namaha! I worship your shapely legs.
Aum Durgayai Namaha! I worship your stomach, which holds many universes.
Aum Parvathyai Namaha! I worship your chest.
Aum Chandikaayai Namaha! I worship your slender waist
Aum Kartyayanyai Namaha! I worship your beauteous breasts.
Aum Naarayanyai Namaha! I worship your lotus eyes
Aum Maha Devyai Namaha! I worship your whole body
With these nine mantras I worship thy whole body O Mother Divine.
After this if time permits we can chant the following seed mantra to the three aspects of the Divine Mother as Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kaali. We can repeat this mantra 108 times or as many times as we have time. While repeating a mantra we can place one flower at her feel or the petal of a flower
_Aim, Hreem, Kleem
23. Next we offer incense to the deity and sprinkle water and place a flower at her feet (dhupam)
25 Then we wave the lamp before her and sprinkle water and place a flower at her feet (deepam)
26. Then we make some food offerings. This can either be fruit or some cooked food.(naivedyam)
We touch the plate containing the food and repeat the Surya Gayatri mantra and then we offer the five vital breaths within our body to her with these mantras
Aum Pranaaya Swaaha!
Aum Apaanaaya Swaaha!
Aum Vyaanaaya Swaaha!
Aum Udaanaaya Swaaha!
Aum Samaanaaya Swaaha!
At the end of the offering all things are once more offered to the supreme Brahman to remind us that She is indeed Parabrahma Swarupini, the form of the Brahman.
Aum Brahmane Namaha!
We close our eyes and wait a while and beg her to partake of the food that has been prepared so lovingly for her.
27. Now water is offered for cleansing.
28. Next we offer sweet smelling betel leaves to her
29. Then we do an arati to her with these words,
Devi Maheswari Parvati Shankari Sharanam me tava paada yugam.
O Devi your lotus feet are my only recourse.
These 29 steps can be done daily by those who wish to offer puja to the goddess.
30. Optional if you have time recite Lalitha sahasranama
31. Repeat Peace Mantra.
31 Take some flowers in the cupped palms and repeat your wish from the puja. Recite Mantra Puspham.
32 Finally we offer the camphor arati and wave the camphor lamp in front of her
Sing
Karpoora gauram karunavataaram,
Samsaarasaaram bhujagendra haaram,
Sadaa vasantam hridayaaravinde,
Bhavam bhavani sahitam namaami
during Aarti.
33. The final act of the puja is to go round her and prostrate to her. Since it might not be possible to go round the idol, we get up and turn round at the same spot that we are standing and then do full prostration repeating this mantra.
Yaani kaani cha paapaani, Brahmahatya samaani cha,
Taani taani vinashyanti, pradakshinam pade pade.
Rotate 3 times yourself and recite
Mantra heenam kriya heenam bhakti heenam Sureshwara,
Yad pujitam maya deva paripoornam tadastu te,
Aparaadha sahasraani kriyante hanisham maya,
Dasyoham iti mam matwa,
Kshamaswa Parameswari.
Ask God to forgive you if any errors in Puja.
I have no idea how to conduct a puja, how to invoke you or to revoke you into myself.
This is the end of the puja and the prasadam (food offerings) can be distributed to all.
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