How to Do Puja in the

Tantric Way
Step of the Tantric Puja Hindu Ritual
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The devotees of Goddess Kali dance around the idol before immersing it in the river as part of the
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By Subhamoy Das
Updated January 30, 2015.

Puja means ritual worship of a deity through a series of steps. It is part of the Hindu
traditional rites or samskaras. Traditionally, Hindus follow the Vedic steps of
performing a puja. However, there is also a Tantric method of doing puja which is
generally devoted to the cult of Shakti or the Divine Mother Goddess. Puja or
ritualistic worship of Hindu deities is a very important part of Tantra-Sadhana or
Tantric worship. Read more about Tantrism.
12 Steps of the Tantric Puja Ritual
Here are the various steps of worship according to the tantric tradition:
1. Since external cleanliness is conducive to internal purity, the first thing a
worshiper should do before starting puja is to take a bath and
wear washed clothes. It may be a good custom to keep two sets of
clothes to be worn by turns just for ritual worship.
2. Then clean the puja room and the surrounding area thoroughly.
3. After properly arranging all the vessels and materials needed for the puja,
the worshiper should sit on the puja-seat, which should be used only for
the purpose of puja, in such a way that he either faces the deity or keeps
the deity to his left. Generally, one should face East or North. Facing South
is forbidden. [See also: How to set up a puja room]

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Kali
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 How to Meditate
1. The whole rite of puja, or for that matter, any religious or ritualistic act
should begin withacamana or ceremonial sipping of water with certain
mantras.
2. This is followed by sankalpaor religious resolve. Apart from the details of
that particular day according to the Hindu calendar, followed in the
tradition of the worshipers family, the sankalpa-mantra also contains some
other statements such as the destruction of ones sins, acquisition of
religious merit and some other particulars connected with the mode of
worship.
3. Then come some purification processes like asanasuddhi or ritual
sanctification of the seat; bhutapasarana or driving away the evil
spirits;pushpasuddhi or ritual cleansing of flowers, bilva (wood apple
leaves), andtulsi (holy basil leaves); and agniprakarachinta or erecting a
wall of fire through imagination and so on.
4. The next steps are pranayama or breath-control to calm the nerves,
concentrate and bring in peace; and bhutasuddhi or creating a spiritual
body in place of the physical one.
5. These steps are followed by pranapratistha or filling the spiritual body
with the presence of the deity; nyasas or ritual purification of limbs;
and mudrasor postures of fingers and hands.
6. Next is dhyana or meditation on the deity in ones heart and transferring
the same into the image or symbol.
7. Upacharas or modes of direct service. These upacharas can be 5 or 10
or 16. Sometimes they are raised to 64 or even 108. Normally, between 5
and 10 are common for daily worship and 16 for special worship. 64 and
108 upacharas are performed in temples on very special occasions. These
upacharas are ceremonially offered with appropriate mantras to the deity
invoked into the image or symbol. The ten upacharas are: 1. Padya, water
for washing the feet; 2. Arghya, water for washing the hands; 3.
Acamaniya, water for rinsing the mouth; 4. Snaniya , giving a bath by
pouring water over the image or the symbol with Vedic mantras; 5.
Gandha, applying fresh sandal paste; 6. Pushpa, offering of flowers, bilva
and tulasi leaves; 7. Dhupa, lighting incense sticks and showing it to the
deity; 8. Deepa, offering a lighted oil lamp; 9. Naivedya, food offering and
drinking water; and 10. Punaracamaniya, giving water for rinsing the mouth
at the end. [See also: Steps of Puja in the Vedic Tradition]

8. The next step is pushpanjali or offering of a handful of flowers which is

laid at the feet of the deity, indicating the conclusion of the whole ritual.
9. Where the puja is done to the deity in a temporarily invoked image as in
the worship of clay icons
of Ganesha or Durga, udvasana or visarjana also has to be done. It is the
ceremonial withdrawal of the deity from the image, back into ones own
heart, after which the image or the symbol, like a flower, can be disposed
of.
Note: The above method is as prescribed by Swami Harshananda of Ramakrishna
Mission, Bangalore.