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Prayer ritual in Hinduism

Puja is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their memories after they die. The word pūjā is Sanskrit, and means reverence, honor, homage, adoration and worship. Puja, the loving offering of light, flowers, and water or food to the divine, is the essential ritual of Hinduism. For the worshipper, the divine is visible in the image, and the divinity sees the worshipper. The interaction between human and deity, between human and guru, is called darshan, seeing. In Hindu practice, puja is done on a variety of occasions, frequencies, and settings. It may include a daily puja done in the home, or occasional temple ceremonies and annual festivals. In other cases, puja is held to mark a few lifetime events such as the birth of a baby, house entering ceremony or grihapravesh, first rice eating ceremony or annaprasana, wedding, sacred thread ceremony or upanayana ceremony for the Brahmins or to begin a new venture. The two main areas where puja is performed are in the home and at temples to mark certain stages of life, events or some festivals such as Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Janmashtami and Lakshmi Puja. Puja is not mandatory in Hinduism. It may be a routine daily affair for some Hindus, a periodic ritual for some, and rare for other Hindus. In some temples, various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day; in other temples, they may be occasional. Both Nigama and Agama puja are practised in Hinduism in India. In the Hinduism of Bali, Indonesia, Agama puja is most prevalent inside homes and in temples. Puja is sometimes called Sembahyang in Indonesia.

Puja has unclear origins. J. A. B. van Buitenen states that "puja" emerged from yajna rituals, linking it to the Pravargya Vedic rite. The Rigveda in hymn 8.17 uses the word "Sachipujanayam" (शाचिपूजनायं) in the twelfth verse, where it is an epithet for god Indra in a context of vocative singular "praise". The ancient scholar and Vedic text commentator Sāyana explains the term as a form of "praise, worship, invocation". The Grhyasutras use puj in the context of rites, as does Sanskrit scholar Pāṇini. However, none of these texts imply puja as a form of devotional prayer worship. Collins states that the roots may be "pu" (flower) and "ge" (make), or a form of "making flower sacrifice". However, this proposal is problematic because "pu" comes from an Indo European root, while "ge" from Dravidian. the origin of the word puja may lie in the Dravidian languages. Two possible Tamil roots have been suggested: pūsai 'to smear with something' or ISO "to do with flowers" (from ISO 'flower' and ISO 'to do'). or similar Telugu roots ISO (from ISO 'flower' and ISO 'to do'). According to the Shiva Purana, puja is derived from cognate of two Sanskrit words puh and jayate, puh meaning 'achievement of fruits of enjoyment' while jayate refers to 'something to be born'. Hence puja refers to the rite by which one attains fruits of enjoyment of things like good ideas and knowledge.

According to scholars, one of the earliest mentions of pūjā is in the Grihya Sutras, which provide rules for domestic rites. These sutras, dated to be about 500 BC, use the term puja to describe the hospitality to honour priests who were invited to one's home to lead rituals for departed ancestors. As with vedic times, the general concept of puja remained the same, but expanded to welcoming the deity along with the deity's spiritual essence as one's honored guest. The rituals in question were the "five great sacrifices" or pañcamahāyajña recorded in the Gṛhyasūtra texts (for this literature, see Kalpa). The development of pūjā thus emerged from Vedic domestic traditions and was carried into the temple environment by analogy: just as important guests had long been welcomed in well to do homes and offered things that pleased them, so too were the gods welcomed in temple homes and offered things that pleased them. Copper plate charters recording grants of lands to temples show that this religious practice was actively encouraged from the mid 4th century.

Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsav, is an annual festival celebrated in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Bengal, Assam, and other eastern Indian states as well as in Bangladesh. It honors the Hindu goddess Durga and celebrates her victory over the demon Mahishasura. The festival spans ten days, with the last five being the most significant. During this time, elaborate rituals are performed both in homes and public spaces, including the construction of temporary structures called pandals. Durga Puja features scripture recitations, performances, feasting, gift giving, and public processions known as melā. It holds great significance in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism and coincides with Navaratri and Dussehra celebrations observed by other Hindu traditions. The festival celebrates not only the triumph of good over evil but also serves as a harvest festival, honoring Durga as the motherly power behind life and creation. Durga Puja involves the worship of various deities, including Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, alongside Durga. It culminates with the immersion of clay sculptures of the goddess into rivers or water bodies, symbolizing her return to the divine cosmos.

In the case of great spiritual masters, there is also a custom to perform puja for a living person especially at Guru Purnima. Gurus are sometimes chosen as objects of puja and honoured as living gods or seen as the embodiment of specific deities. Gurus are sometimes adorned with symbolic clothes, garlands and other ornaments, and celebrated with incense, washing and anointing their feet, giving them fruits, food and drink and meditating at their feet, asking for their blessing.

Govardhan Puja, also known as Annakut or Annakoot, is a Hindu festival celebrated on the first lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartika, typically falling on the fourth day of Diwali. During this festival, devotees honor Govardhan Hill and express gratitude to Lord Krishna by preparing and offering a diverse array of vegetarian foods. For followers of Vaishnavism, Govardhan Puja commemorates the event described in the Bhagavata Purana where Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill to shield the villagers of Vrindavan from heavy rainfall. This act symbolizes divine protection for devotees who wholly rely on God for refuge. To mark this occasion, devotees present a symbolic "mountain of food" representing Govardhan Hill as an offering to God, reaffirming their faith and devotion. Govardhan Puja is widely observed by various Hindu denominations across India and beyond.

A quick puja has the same structure as acts people would ordinarily perform for a quick reception, hospitality and affectionate interaction with a beloved guest. First the deity is greeted, acknowledged by name and welcomed, sometimes with a diya or lighted incense stick. The devotee proceeds to connect with the spiritual manifestation by meditating (a form of darshan), or chanting hymns and mantras, then personal prayers follow. After the prayer is finished, the spiritual visitor as the guest is affectionately thanked and greeted goodbye.

In Hinduism of Bali Indonesia, puja is sometimes called Sembahyang. The word originates from two words in old Javanese: sembah and hyang. Sembah means to respect and bow down; Hyang means divine, God or Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, holy man, and ancestors. So to pray means to respect, bow down, surrender to the divine and ancestors. Sembahyang (puja) is an obligation for Balinese Hindus, the prayers and hymns are derived from the Vedas. A family typically offers prayers every day, with Kewangen and other offerings. Kewangen means aromatic, and it is made from leaves and flowers in form of auspicious Vedic symbols. Balinese use kewangen to worship the divine, both in form of Purusha (soul) and Pradana (body). As with India, Balinese make offerings, including symbolic inclusion of fire, incense and mantras.

Pūjā in Hinduism has served as a means for Hindu communities outside India to gather, socialize, discover new friends and sometimes discuss ways to address social discrimination of Hindus. For example, Marion O'Callaghan reports that the Hindu diaspora brought as indentured laborers to Trinidad by the British colonial government, suffered discriminatory laws that did not recognize traditional Hindu marriages or inheritance rights of children from a traditional Hindu marriage, nor did the non Hindu majority government allow pyre cremation or construction of crematorium. These Hindu rituals were considered pagan and uncivilized. Pujas offered a way for Hindus to meet, socially organize and petition their human rights. Over time, pujas became as much a social and community recreational event as a religious event. Śabara's commentary, known as Śabarabhāṣya held pride of place in Mīmāṃsā in that Sabara's understanding was taken as definitive by all later writers. In his chapter entitled Devatādikaraṇa (9: 1: 5: 6–9), Śabara examined the popular understanding of the gods and attempted to refute the belief that they have material bodies, are able to eat the offerings made to them, and are capable of being pleased and so able to reward worshippers. Basing himself on the Vedas (he refused to accept the Mahābhārata, Purāṇa texts or even the Smṛti literatures as valid sources of authority), Śabara concluded that the gods are neither corporeal nor sentient and thus unable to enjoy offerings or own property. For this he appealed to empirical observation, noting that offerings do not decrease in size when given to the gods; any decrease is simply due to exposure to the air. Likewise he argued that substances are offered to gods not according to the wishes of the gods, but that "what is vouched for by direct perception is that the things are used according to the wishes of the temple servants (pratyakṣāt pramāṇāt devatāparicārakāṇām abhiprāyaḥ). In the course of his discussion, Śabara's asserted that "there is no relation between the case of guests and the sacrificial act." This incidental remark provided sound historical proof that pūjā was built on analogy with atithi, the ancient Vedic tradition of welcoming guests. What Śabara was maintaining was that this analogy was not valid. While the Mīmāṃsakas continued to maintain this interpretation for centuries, their defeat in debate at the hands of Śaṅkarācārya led to theirs being a minority view. Mīmāṃsakas flourished even into the 17th century, as evidenced by the commentaries of Nīlakaṇṭha.

Puja is called பூசை ISO in Tamil, bucha (บูชา) in Thai, and sometimes also পুজো ISO in Bengali.