What Happens During a Puja: Every Step and What It Means
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What happens during a puja is a welcome: the family receives the deity as an honoured guest, from the sankalpa that fixes the moment to the visarjan that sees the guest off. Each step is a courtesy you would show a beloved elder at your door.
Last updated: 14 October 2026
You have sat through many pujas: a griha pravesh, a havan, a festival at home. Panditji chants, water moves from vessel to vessel, and no one has ever explained the plate.
Here is every step, what it means, and how to do it yourself.
What happens during a puja, step by step
A puja moves through five steps: the sankalpa, the invitation (avahana), the offerings (upacharas), the aarti, and the send-off (visarjan). Once you see the guest, every step makes sense.
What is sankalpa in a puja?
Sankalpa is the declaration at the start of a puja that states the exact moment, the place, who is performing it and why. Nothing else begins until it is said.
The moment is stated in full: the samvat (year), ayana, ritu (season), month, paksha, tithi, weekday and nakshatra. Then the place, then your name and gotra, then the purpose.
What do you say in a sankalpa?
You hold water, akshat (unbroken rice) and a flower in your right palm, state the moment, the place, your name, gotra and purpose, then release them onto a plate.
- Panditji's sankalpa opens with "Om Vishnur Vishnur Vishnuh" and names the time down to the nakshatra.
- At home, say it in your own words and language: the deity, the day, your family, your purpose.
Why it matters: the sankalpa ties your puja to one moment and one place. That is why the moment you choose counts.
The 16 upacharas (shodashopachara) and what each one means
Shodashopachara means sixteen services, the sixteen courtesies offered to the deity as an honoured guest. Read without the Sanskrit, it is how a household receives a guest.
| # | Upachara | What is offered |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avahana | The invitation |
| 2 | Asana | A seat |
| 3 | Padya | Water for the feet |
| 4 | Arghya | Water for the hands |
| 5 | Achamana | Water to sip |
| 6 | Snana | A bath |
| 7 | Vastra | Clothes |
| 8 | Yajnopavita | The sacred thread |
| 9 | Gandha | Sandal paste |
| 10 | Pushpa | Flowers |
| 11 | Dhupa | Incense |
| 12 | Dipa | A lamp |
| 13 | Naivedya | Food |
| 14 | Tambula | Betel leaf and nut, after the meal |
| 15 | Nirajana | The aarti |
| 16 | Pradakshina and namaskara | Circling and the bow |
Many traditions also offer madhuparka (honey, curd and ghee) and ornaments, and Panditji follows your family's order.
The short five-step puja for every day (panchopachara)
Panchopachara is the five-offering puja for daily worship at home: gandha, pushpa, dhupa, dipa and naivedya. Sandal paste, flowers, incense, a lamp and food, in that order.
Why a puja is a welcome for an honoured guest
A puja is hospitality: every step mirrors how a household receives the guest it most wants to honour. Puja means honouring.
- A seat, then water for the feet and hands
- A bath, clothes, sandal paste and flowers
- A meal, then betel to settle it
- A lamp, a bow, and a proper farewell
The result? The family's attention, from start to finish, rests on the guest. That is the heart of every puja.
What is avahana?
Avahana is the invitation that calls the deity into the image, the kalash or the lamp, in the language a family uses for an honoured guest. It opens the welcome.
For a murti already worshipped every day at home, the family begins with dhyana (meditation on the deity). Avahana is for a new image, a kalash or a picture set up for the puja.
What is visarjan and why is it done?
Visarjan is the send-off at the end of a puja that releases the deity from the form it was invited into, with a prayer of pardon for any lapse. It closes what the sankalpa opened.
At a festival, visarjan is the immersion of the murti in water. At home it is the farewell itself, said with folded hands.
When should you do a puja?
Do a puja on a day and hour that suit it: in the morning for the daily puja, on the festival's own tithi, and outside Rahu Kaal. For a larger rite, choose a muhurat.
- Daily puja: morning, after the bath
- Festival puja: the festival's own timings for your city
- Never in Rahu Kaal: check today's panchang for your city
- Havan, griha pravesh, murti sthapana: a muhurat
Read why on Rahu Kaal, the hours to avoid.
Does a havan or griha pravesh puja need a muhurat?
Yes, a havan, griha pravesh or murti sthapana needs its own muhurat: the shastras name the tithis, nakshatras and days that suit each rite. The sankalpa then names a moment chosen with care.
See every shubh date on havan muhurat 2026 and murti sthapana muhurat 2026, or get the havan muhurat for your family.
Can I do a puja at home without a pandit?
Yes, you can do the daily puja and most festival pujas at home yourself, with the five or sixteen offerings. Panditji leads the larger rites, such as a havan, griha pravesh or consecration, in your family's tradition.
Frequently asked questions
What happens during a puja?
During a puja the family receives the deity as an honoured guest: the sankalpa states the moment and purpose, avahana invites the deity, sixteen offerings serve the guest, the aarti honours them, and visarjan sees them off.
What is sankalpa in a puja?
Sankalpa is the opening declaration of a puja. It states the year, season, month, paksha, tithi, weekday and nakshatra, then the place, the performer's name and gotra, and the purpose of the puja.
What are the 16 steps of shodashopachara puja?
The 16 steps of shodashopachara puja are avahana, asana, padya, arghya, achamana, snana, vastra, yajnopavita, gandha, pushpa, dhupa, dipa, naivedya, tambula, nirajana, and pradakshina with namaskara.
What is the difference between panchopachara and shodashopachara?
Panchopachara is the five-offering puja (sandal paste, flowers, incense, lamp, food) for daily worship. Shodashopachara is the full sixteen-offering puja for festivals and special occasions.
Can I do puja at home without a pandit?
Yes, the daily puja and most festival pujas can be done at home with the five or sixteen offerings. Panditji leads the larger rites, such as a havan or griha pravesh, in the family's tradition.
What is the best time to do a puja?
The best time for a daily puja is the morning after the bath, outside Rahu Kaal. A festival puja follows the festival's timings for your city, and a havan or griha pravesh follows its own muhurat.
What is visarjan and why is it done?
Visarjan is the send-off that closes a puja. It releases the deity from the form it was invited into, with a prayer of pardon for any lapse; at a festival it is the immersion of the murti.
Your next three steps
- Check Rahu Kaal in today's panchang for your city.
- Set the plate: water, akshat, flowers, a lamp, incense and the offering.
- Begin with the sankalpa, and welcome the guest step by step.
Related: Rahu Kaal: the hours to avoid 路 Griha pravesh: what the tradition asks of a new home 路 The 16 sanskaras in order 路 Brahma muhurta