FAQ of Swarna Gowri Pooja:
Disclaimer: Procedures vary from region to region and vary from paddathi to paddati. It is best to consult elders at Home to know about your paddat hi . What ever we have t ried t o Answer here is as I have seen at my home (we are Hindu-Brahmin- Smart ha -Mulakanadu)
1. What direction should the God face:
Pl. keep t he god facing East – Best Opt ion
Or Nort h – Medium Option. Please note that God can be kept facing any in Direction………. “Daivataha : Sarvato mukhaha”….(that means, Gods are facing all directions)……as far as possible, keep god facing in such a way t hat , as soon as somebody ent ers t he house, t hey are able t o see t he god direct ly… it is your convenience….. How ever, You must face t o t he East or North while sitting for pooja and sankalpa that is important.
2. What direction we should sit for pooja:Pl. sit facing East or North Direction.
3.Can I St art t he pooja in Raahu Kaala: Pl. Note that the Raahu Kaala is followed only for Journy purpose and starting any big events. But it is not followed for daily event s and periodical rituals. This is a periodical rit ual (Varshe, Varshe kart avya: …. That means every year rit ual….).. so in my opinion, you need not see rahukaala t o observe his vrat ha. Shara---- Pl. look at rahu kaala if t his is first year of your pooja (newly married first timers)
4.When do I t ake Mangala Snaana: People who are all doing pooja…sumangalis and t he children should t ake mangala snaana on t he previous day of t he pooja…. That is on Bidige(2nd day of the lunar Mont h) …. On t he pooja day (t rit eeya), you should t ake normal bat h…
5.How many Threads should be kept for pooja: It depends on how many people are sit t ing for pooja. Normally Minimum of two threads are to be made……... Suppose, two of you are sitting, then two is enough. If three of you are sitting keep 4 like that.
6.Each Daara should be of how many t hreads, and how many Gant us.(Knot s): t he Shast r a says, Shodasha Grant hi Sanyukt am, Krut am Shodasha Tant ubihi…. That means, it should be made of 16 t hreads and 16 gant us. But Normally, you t ake single t hread hasi daarada unde, make five folds of daara with a length of about little more than a mola and put 16 gantus. Take one Shavantige hoova and tie it at the center of the daara. You need to soak the daara with arishina.. keep it on viledele (2) and adike(2) and dakshine, keep it in a small plat e and pl ace it on t o t he right side of t he Devi and do Pooja.
7.What i s t he pr ocedur e t o t i e t hi s daar a(Door a Gr ant hi ): Normally, aft er t he pooja, if Husband is around, (with Panche and shalya), He will tie this. Give this Daara to him. You keep one t aambula wit h a fruit and dakshine in Bot h of your hands…….. t aambula facing Husband…you facing North or East…and Sit. Husband will show/ t ouch this daara first to right hand, and later left hand (at the place where you tie watch)……like this for three times and finally tie the daara with three knots on to your right hand. After that, he will put arishina and kumkuma to the knot s. You will keep t he t aambula down,…get up and give him akshaat e and do namaskaara.
If Husband is not around, next choice is amma, or atte, or any other sumangali around….The
daara tieing procedure is same.
8.Minimum - How many co-conuts you need for pooja – Tot ally 4……One for Nivedya, one for Poorna Phala… Two for Upayana Daana……… if two of you are sitting, you need to keep two more extra ….. Multiplies of two for any additional Sumangali sitting for pooja.
9.Minimum How many Bananas You need for pooja..About ½ KG Banana t ot aling about 6 in Nos.
10.What i s M adhu par ka:…….. Madhu means .. Honey…. Parka me ans Curds… so t ake a Banana and
peel it from t he flower side of the fruit and immerse it in Honey, Sugar, and Curds and keep it on
beet le leaves and beet le nut s wit h Dakshine and do nivedya aft er shast riji recit ing Mantra……….
11.How many Gow r i s w i l l have t o be kept i n t hi s pooj a ……. One Maralu Gowri (or Mannina Gowri
called saikat a Gowri), One Arishina Gowri(called Daakshayini Gowri)…. Five of Mangala Gowri (if
applicable t o you)…. One Mannina Gowri (called alankaara Gowri)…. One Mukawada (Opt ional)
12.How to decorate the god for this pooja……. It is actually left to your imagination…but I will tell you what I have seen……..The best is t o keep God in a Mant apa(Wooden)… ot herwise, Take a Stool or Teepai(Center Table) Clean it…. Put rangoli on it Asta Dala Padma….……. Take Annada Tappale with big base and small top… Place it on the stool and fill this with Rice to gain Weight ……. And decorat e t his t appale wit h Saree nerige and Blouse Piece…… let t he fall of t he saree come downwards, so that pallu and border are visible… Take one Silver Thatte big and drape arishina (cot t on) blouse piece on the plate and Pour Akki about ½ KG in it …… place the Gowramma on t his. Take small silver kalasha and put ganga/ wat er (aft er gange pooje) in t o t his and decorat e wit h five viledele….keep a small mirror in front of kalasha….Keep the Mukhavada in t he cent er and keep big bindi of kumkum t o t he mukhavada….Keep one Gangast aali and one Annapoorneswari Vigraha for pooja purpose…..keep one set of bale, bichole, kaadige, kannadi and other aabharana items of Gowramma to the right side of Mannina Gowramma……. Keep one belli (silver) Ganesha Vigraha in a separate plate for Ganesha Pooja Purpose….. Now decorat e t he t able wit h Balekambha and t orana (Mango leaves) and put rangoli…Keep Deepada Kambha on eit her side of t he t able (st ool)…Keep one small Devi Vigraha in small silver plat e at the center of the stool on the ground on a Mane or some thing to gain a little height to enable you to do kumkumaarchane……Please take care to bring only Mud type Gowramma and not plast er of paris and ot her mat erials et c.,…. Keep a Devi phot o at t he back t o give more look.. decorate with Flowers, Torana etc.,….
13. .How to get Gange(sacred water collection) for this pooja…….. go near a well or go to nadi(River) , or kere or any good wat er body…..clean t he well area…(earlier days, people used t o whit e wash t he wells for t he pooja day)….. put rangole……. keep deepa(2) t here….. put arishina kumkuma for t he face of t he well……..Do small Ganapathi pooja there… ask his permi ssion to take care of pooja well (NirviGhnam kurume deva, sarva kaaryeshu sarvadaa) …..get the water from t he well soak t he black blouse and whit e piece and squeeze it… keep good quality mud ready (t aken from t ulasi mannu) and lit t le bit of maralu…make maralu gowri and arishina gowri there……… decorate with arishina kumkuma… do small pooja with flowers , gejje vastra etc.,… keep small nivedya as well…. Some people will break coconut here……… make aarathi….with gowri haadu…. Bring it near the door of the house with ghanta naada and haadu etc.,……..do tulasi pooja and hosti l a pooja…. Keep deepa at host ilu….decorat e face of t he house door wit h
gejje vastra….. Do aarat hi for gowramma… wit h gant a naada… place t he Gowramma at pooja place.. adjust t o t he god cent ering et c.,….dry t his black blouse piece and whit e blouse piece and put it on gowramma…some people put kari mani sara also…..place a ganga staali and annapurneswari vigraha… keep one ganesha vigraha also in separat e plate in front for purpose of Ganesha Pooja…. Use the same water for the whole pooja….
14.How many Yele Gejje Vastra Should be there for this vrata…. This is called Swarna Gowri
Vrat a…please make 16 yele Gejje Vast ra….and soak it arishina
15.What ar e t he Ni vedya It ems f or t hi s pooj a………. I will t ell you only what is minimum required…. Hannu (5 t ypes each t wo nos.) …t engina Kaayi (1) …Viledele(16), Adike (16), (Adike Pudi --- if you are doing maha nivedya)…dakshine…..is enough… but normally I have seen… 16 Bele Obbattu, kosambri (2 t ypes), Paanaka, gulpapde….16 nos.-Chigali (16) .. Tambit t u(16)....----Maha nivedya ( wit h full of t he adige what you have prepared …Keep it in silver plat e or Baleyele wit h agra)
16.How t o keep t hese it ems for Nivedya……. Make a Mandala…take water in you hand sprinkle it on t he floor with full of palm facing down…..if you are facing east…use your first three fingers put it on t he ground…start towards your left…….complete to Make a square….. do not lift your hand… make a diagonal to end mandala in north east direction… put akshate in all the four corners of the square and a little at the center. This is called mandala. If you are facing north… use your first three fingers put it on the ground… start upwards… turn right….. complete the square…. Do not lift t he hand…. Complet e t he diagonal wit h nort h east direct ion….. put akshat e as t old above… if you are keeping hannu kayi… keep it on a plat e wit h t aambula and dakshine and keep it at one corner of mandala…… keep fruits also along with it…. All the flowers of the fruits should be looking up…..avoid keeping papaya……papaya not allowed as an item of nivedya....if you are keeping maha nivedya…. Please use t wo banana leaves (some people use wit h only one banana leave.. t his is wrong)…..Banana leave should be wit h agra and place it in front of t he god wit h agra facing as t hough god is eat ing. That means, if god is facing east , t hen agra should come t o nort h…(left hand side of god) ……. first put ghee on t o t he bale yele with help of flower (paatra abhigara)…. Then start serving in bale yele in the traditional way as we do .. with two kosambri, two palya… one payasa.. one chitranna… poppu…maggige huli/ Kuutu.. Obbattu…etc., Lastly serve Anna Two times…now in the end you should put tuppa (abhigaara)….. Please note that tuppa has to be served in t he last aft er every thing is over…..
(t hat means… you shouldnot serve every t hing in t he plat e and put t uppa in t he kit chen and
bring it keep it in front of god)….. all the items like…. payasa lota.. paanaka lota… halu lot a…mosaru lot a.. should come t o t he left corner of bale yele…keep one glass of wat er(silver or copper) at t he right side of t he yele… all t he bakshya like obbat t u, bonda/ bajjji/ Aaambode …. should come below chit ranna…. And in t he end you should put abhigaara t o anna first , payasa next .. and t o bakshya t hird……keep t wo line rangoli in front of yele…. Keep t wo t uppada deepa in front of yele…….Keep viledele (16 or 5 will do) and adike pudi in a separat e plat e ……now you do nivedya as per shast ry ji’s mant ra…….
17.When we have t o give t his shurpa vaayana dana (Baagina).. …. The answer for t his is, soon after the vratha and before lunch… on the same day….. if not possible… you should give this before udwaasana of Gowri …..(t hat is before immersion)
18.How t o make r eady Baagi na f or t hi s pooj a……t ake one set Jodi mora…. Decorat e t he same wit h arishina, Kumkuma and color paper et c.,…. Take a small Banana leave and cut it t o size, drape it on one of t he mora…. Put all types of Bele(pulses like t ogari, hesaru, uddu, kadale) in zip lock covers small, Gowri Saamanu, Fruit s 5 t ypes, blouse piece, godhi or rave, bella one acchu, all in small zip lock covers and one lit t le big cover of Rice, bale, bichole.. arisina kumkuma packet, jacket piece,Tengina Kayi, silver bowl (optional), Saree (must for taayi baagina)…. Keep one taambula, with one type of fruit on the top while giving away this baagina…..,
19.How many Baaginas for this pooja…… one t aayi baagina…. One Gowri Baagina… anot her t hree may be optional….. total five…. Keep it ready before pooja and place it to the right side of the teepoi or stool. After taayi Bagina and Gowri Baagina,…. you can rotate remaining three baaginaas bet ween t he guest s….. please do not mix up t aayi baagina.. and gowri baagina…..and don’t ’ indulge in ‘give and t ake’ of t hese t wo baaginaas
20.Can I prepare more baginaas??? How many baaginaas we should keep ready…….. Pl. keep ready minimum two…… or five……if your guest(count sumangalis only) list is more… then do additional…….pl. note first year sumangalis should make ready 16 baaginas…. But the rule is whatever nos, you have prepared are t o be dist ribut ed among sumangalis before udwaasana of Gowri ….. you should not keep it pending with out distributing….
21.How many baaginas for first year(after Marriage) Gowri Pooja..16 (Sixteen) Baaginas …. This t ype you should give 16 baaginaas for cont inuous Five years. If not possible t o give all t he five years, give 16 baaginaas for t he first year, and the fift h year.
22. Should I put Belli Battalu in all the Baaginaas… Yatha shakti… or One minimum….to taayi
Baagina.
23.Is it a Must t o put Saree in all Baaginaas….. Yat ha shakt i… not a must … at least one in Taaayi
Baagina is a must …. Rest all Blouse Piece will do.
24.How t o give baagina t o sumangalis…………….preferably make t he sumangali sit in East or Nort h direction. Give Arishina, Kumkuma, Chandra, Prasadada Hoova ….. take the Baagina…. Keep one Taambula with fruit on the top of baagina try to balace the fruit or try to keep the fruit (tip use your bot h t humbs)…. Take baagina along wit h pallu and hand it over t o t he sumangali….. while holding t he baagina you should swing it sideways t hree t imes and keep it down. Give akshat e and do namaskaara.
25.Should I make baaginas ready for my small daught er/ s also…… yes. We make ready small baaginaas for daughters also. We keep their interesting items like chocolate and small ata samanu in t his…. Not a must …but feels good…….
26.What i s uppakki , Poppakki ……….. Pl. not e t his uppakki and poppakki is kept before t he lunch on Gowri udwasana day….. this is done after punah pooja…..Take one plate of Rice, one plate of bele (t ogari)and keep it ready……Draw go-padma rangoli on a mane (peet ha)……keep t wo plat es on t his mane….keep t his mane near Gowri t o t he right side…….t ake one hand full of t ogari bele in right hand… take a hand full of rice in left hand…..cris cross the hand three times……tell “atthe dhandana galagi” and drop rice and bele in a cris cros way on to the plate on the peetha. Repeat t his t hree t imes. Pl. not e t hat all t he sumangalis who have done pooja, should keep t his uppakki and poppakki, after this, madilut umbuvudu should be done.
27.What ar e al l t he i t ems f or M adi l u t umbuvudu…..blouse piece, t enginkayi(coconut ), bella(achu),
copra, akki, viledele,dakshine, arishina Kumkuma
28.What is the procedure for madilu tumbuvudu….Aft er udwasana and uppakki, poppakki, keep the whole silver plate down along with gowri Sari….. and put the Madlakki items one by one in both hands. Sing Madlakki haadu also…..Gowri seeriyalle madilu tumbuvudu.
29. When is madilu tumbuvudu done… after the udvaasane and after upppakki and poppakki………..Normally udwasane should be done after punah pooja and aarathi and ooota (Lunch) for that day. Please note that all the sumangalis who have done pooja should participate in this.
30.What is the procedure to do punah pooja…… lamp t he deepas…. Do pooja in normal way….. t ake t he poornaphala kept at t he right side of t he god …. Use t he same for Nivedya………. And chant yesyessmrityacha……… anena Swarna Gowri Pooja Vidhanena Bhagavathi sarvaatmikaa swarnaGowri supreet a suprasannaa varadaa bhavat u……. t ake a spoon full of wat er, akshat e,and flower and leave it in anot her bowl. Do aarat hi wit h Mangala Haadu and t hen t ake permission f rom elders at home and do udvaasane.
31. When do you do devara kadalisuvudu.. (Udwasane)….. on an auspicious day as per panchaanga…. This time, since it has come together, we plan to leave on the same day……. Ot herwise, as per panchanga on t he 11th day(2-09-09).
32.What i s t he pr ocedur e t o i mmer se Gow r i Ganesha…. After udvaasane, with ghante and haadu, come near the well … decorate well with rangoli, deepa etc.,.. keep the god to the east direct ion… do t he shodashopachaara pooja… do hannu kaayi nivedya.. and do mosaru avalakki nivedya….. do mangalaarati and end the pooja.. now do aaarathi… take prasada hoova etc.,… now t ake gowramma first along wit h small Ganesha and immerse in wat er aft er t hree rounds of rinsing in water. …Chant Ganapathi mantras and Gowri Mantras… or Haadu… or Ganapathi Bappa mouria, Mangala Moorthy Moria slogan(this is North Style)……. Then take Ganesha and repeat the procedure…. Now take a piece e of gejje vastra and tie it to your taali sara…….. Look at t he wat er in t he well and do t he final namaskaara and come back t o house. Do not clean t he pooja area immediat ely.. clean t he area aft er some t ime…. Or probably t he next day…
33. What is the nivedya at the time of Idol Immersion….. For the immersion day, you should prepare 5 t ypes of rice(chitraanna, puliyogare,shaalyanna,pongal, and normal white rice) this is for Nivedya for lunch…at t he t ime of immersion, aft er t he pooja near well , please keep - mosaru avalakki, hannu kaayi Nivedya.dist ribut e t his mosaru avalakki near t he well aft e r idol immersion.
34.What should be t he mindset of a person, while doing any vrat ha……..Any person doing vrat ha should posses these qualities Kshama(pardon), Satya(truth), Daye(kind to others), Daana(give away), Shuchitva(Cleanliness), Indriya Nigraha(control on your body and soul), Devathaarchane(house hold pooja of your family diety), havana, santhosha(you should be happy), achourya(opp. Of st ealing). This is in general…. At t he t ime of pooja, t he mind should be calm and concentrated towards the god only. Kanniru surisuvudu (crying) and sittu maduvudu(kopa) is totally prohibited. No use of doing vratha in this mind set.(the house hold GAS burner should be off(joke))
35.What i s t he pr ocedur e t o gi ve upaayana daana f or Pur ohi t ……Give gandha, t hen akshat e, t hen
keep some prasaadada flowers in a plate and give. Afterwards, give upayanadana after putting
a drop of wat er on t o bot h of t he co-conut s. Give along wit h dakshine. Do namaskaara. Then,
purohit aru will accept t he t aambula and give you flowers wit h aashirvaada.
Points to note in General:
PS: Please avoid bringing out side food it ems/ ordered food items like obbat t u and Ambode et c., and keeping it for nivedya…. It is advisable t o do t he same at home and keep it for nivedya. Pl. note that Preparing for Nivedya is part of bhakti.
Dress code: Traditional Saree only. (if any other dress like selvar etc.,, it is difficult to give baagina.
Pl. avoid such dresses). Traditional saree means, the one with pallu and border on both top and
bottom.
Hair do:While doing pooja, your hair should be well tied(you should not let loose the hair while
doing pooja. This is as per dharma Shaast ra) and you should wear a flower also.
About Bale: Pl. wear Minimum Jodi bale at least at t he t ime of pooja. (I mention this because, some
wear only one on each hand)
Please avoid keeping bindi while doing pooja…use pudi kumkuma only….
No eat out s please on t his day….
Bhakti Shraddha Gariyasi………. Only Bhakti and Shraadha(devotion with concentration) is
required in spite of all the above procedures………….Pl. keep in Mind….
Om Tat Sat u………. Shubham.. Mangalam…. Kalyanam….. Shivam………Sri Jagambaarpanamast u…
