Shri Satyanarayana Vrata and Pooja
Last week we attended a “Satyanarayana Vrata pooja” at a friend’s place. The host did an awesome job of arranging everything fabulously and had invited quite a few people to participate with them in the rituals. I have attended this pooja a few times in the past as well. Usually the ritual also involves reading the story of Lord Satyanarayana that is expected to absolve the listeners from all their sins and set them on the path of salvation. I listened to the entire story dutifully trying to understand a few questions –
Unfortunately, the prevalent story and the ritual did not help me in my quest. Either I was too ignorant to have understood the deep rooted messages, or I was not eligible enough to listen to the voice of God hidden in the story. To help myself with the understanding and preparing myself for the “Satyanarayana Katha and Vrat”, I decided to write this article. Please forgive me if you feel I have crossed the lines somewhere. My only intention is to know what we do and why!
Lord Satyanarayana is supposed to be another form of God Vishnu. His name actually is a combination of two words – Satya (Truth) and Narayana (God). Lord Satyanarayana is also viewed as an incarnation of Vishnu in the current epoch of time where we ae all mired by the illusion or God’s maya. Truth is the only path that can lead us to salvation in this world. Believing in the truth and following the path of truth can help us keep away from losing our focus. This shall help one to become one with the God and attain salvation from the cycle of rebirth. The path of truth is important for one’s spiritual and material growth in the time of Kaliyuga. This is also what is read in the story in the first few lines when Narad muni requests Lord Vishnu to tell him the easy way for the welfare of humans.
The ritual Satyanarayana pooja is usually performed by householders who seek for an easy way to please the God and seek his blessings in return for worshipping him. The ritual is thus recommended to be performed in the open space in house and in the presence of the family and friends. The benefits are supposed to be extended not only to the performer, but also to those who attend the ritual. The ritual emphasizes on one’s remembering the mother earth, Ganesha, the family deity, parents, the seven sages and all your teachers.
The Satyanarayana pooja is conducted with the idols of Rama and Sita or Lakshmi and Vishnu. The way the idols and all the gods are arranged can be seen in the figure below (the legend is provided below the figure) –
During the ritual, every god is invoked and is worshipped. In the last Lord SatyaNarayana is invoked and is worshipped. When the story recital is completed, all the gods are then requested to go back to their respective abodes.
The “Satyanarayana Vrata and Katha” ritual was designed in an easy format for its wide acceptance. As per the norms attached to the ritual, it can be performed on any day, at any time of the day and by anyone. Though there is no specified time, it is recommended to perform the ritual after the sunset. The 11th day of the moon, full moon day and the Sankranti are recommended as the best days for the ritual. Also, men and women can equally participate in this ritual with or without their spouses. This flexibility of time, place and person made the ritual very popular. It amazed me on listening to the story from the priest. The story had 4 sections, and each section focused on the 4 varnas of people as per the Hindu belief – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. A common story or a ritual that binds the four pillars of the society has to be popular and powerful. The popularity of the ritual was also fuelled by the renditions offered today – express, short or regular!
Let’s look at the renditions so that we can understand the ritual better –
- Who is Lord Satyanarayana?
- What is so important in the story that can lead to one’s absolvation?
- Who can perform this ritual, when and where?
Unfortunately, the prevalent story and the ritual did not help me in my quest. Either I was too ignorant to have understood the deep rooted messages, or I was not eligible enough to listen to the voice of God hidden in the story. To help myself with the understanding and preparing myself for the “Satyanarayana Katha and Vrat”, I decided to write this article. Please forgive me if you feel I have crossed the lines somewhere. My only intention is to know what we do and why!
Lord Satyanarayana is supposed to be another form of God Vishnu. His name actually is a combination of two words – Satya (Truth) and Narayana (God). Lord Satyanarayana is also viewed as an incarnation of Vishnu in the current epoch of time where we ae all mired by the illusion or God’s maya. Truth is the only path that can lead us to salvation in this world. Believing in the truth and following the path of truth can help us keep away from losing our focus. This shall help one to become one with the God and attain salvation from the cycle of rebirth. The path of truth is important for one’s spiritual and material growth in the time of Kaliyuga. This is also what is read in the story in the first few lines when Narad muni requests Lord Vishnu to tell him the easy way for the welfare of humans.
The ritual Satyanarayana pooja is usually performed by householders who seek for an easy way to please the God and seek his blessings in return for worshipping him. The ritual is thus recommended to be performed in the open space in house and in the presence of the family and friends. The benefits are supposed to be extended not only to the performer, but also to those who attend the ritual. The ritual emphasizes on one’s remembering the mother earth, Ganesha, the family deity, parents, the seven sages and all your teachers.
The Satyanarayana pooja is conducted with the idols of Rama and Sita or Lakshmi and Vishnu. The way the idols and all the gods are arranged can be seen in the figure below (the legend is provided below the figure) –
Figure - Organization of Peetha
Legend –
During the ritual, every god is invoked and is worshipped. In the last Lord SatyaNarayana is invoked and is worshipped. When the story recital is completed, all the gods are then requested to go back to their respective abodes.
The “Satyanarayana Vrata and Katha” ritual was designed in an easy format for its wide acceptance. As per the norms attached to the ritual, it can be performed on any day, at any time of the day and by anyone. Though there is no specified time, it is recommended to perform the ritual after the sunset. The 11th day of the moon, full moon day and the Sankranti are recommended as the best days for the ritual. Also, men and women can equally participate in this ritual with or without their spouses. This flexibility of time, place and person made the ritual very popular. It amazed me on listening to the story from the priest. The story had 4 sections, and each section focused on the 4 varnas of people as per the Hindu belief – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. A common story or a ritual that binds the four pillars of the society has to be popular and powerful. The popularity of the ritual was also fuelled by the renditions offered today – express, short or regular!
Let’s look at the renditions so that we can understand the ritual better –
- Regular procedure – Elaborate external procedure replete with vedic mantras – Involves Shodashopchara pooja (16 service worship) for every god invoked
- Short procedure – Slightly elaborate ritual for those comfortable with the Sanskrit language – Involves pachopchara pooja (5 service worship) for every god invoked
- Express procedure – Extremely short procedure for those who are not comfortable with Sanskrit language, those who are short on time and those who are not attracted to external rituals and want to spend more time in internal meditation than in an external ritual. – Involves 1 service worship for every god involved
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