Satyanarayan Puja
Shri Satyanarayan puja is performed to seek blessings of God Narayan – which is one of the forms of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu in this form is considered an embodiment of truth.
The puja starts by a prayer to Lord Ganesha, to remove all obstacles that may occur as a result of incorrectly performing the puja. This is done by chanting all the names of Lord Ganesha and offering prasad (a food offering, usually consisting of one of Lord Ganesha's favorite foods - modak, a sugar and coconut mixture, or laddu) and the showering of flower petals.**
Next part of the prayer involves a prayer to the Navagraha's - the nine important celestial beings in the universe. They consist of Surya (the Sun), Chandra (the moon), Angaaraka/Chevaai (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru aka Bruhaspati (Jupiter),Shukra (Venus), Sani (Saturn), Rahu (the head of the Demon snake), and Ketu (the tail of the Demon snake).**
The rest of the puja consists of worship to Satyanarayana, an extremely benevolent form of Lord Vishnu. First "panchamritam" is used to clean the place where the deity is placed. After placing the deity in the correct position, Satyanaraya swami is worshipped. Names of Satyanarayana are chanted along with offering of a variety of prasad (including a mixture of milk, honey,ghee/butter, yogurt, sugar) and flower petals.**
Another requirement of the puja is that the story of the puja be heard among all those observing and partaking in the puja. The story involves the origin of the puja, the benefits of it, and the potential mishaps that may occur with the forgetting performance of the puja.**
The prayer concludes with an Aarti, which consists of revolving a small fire-lit-lamp in the vicinity of an image of the Lord. After the puja is over, participants and observers of the puja are required to ingest in the prasad that was offered and blessed by the Lord.**
