What is "Panchayatan" Puja

Panchayatan Pooja is the specific ritual worship of the 5 major gods of Hinduism and attain the spiritual oneness with the powers around us: Shiva Vishnu Shakti Ganesh and Surya. Shri Adi Shankaracharya brought it out as a way to unify the different practices under Hinduism. I was initiated into this order in 2019 and here is my Pooja setup shown above. I have labelled the 5 gods in the centre of this image.

There are 5 important stones. Vishnu is represented as Shaligram (a fossil from the Gandaki river in Nepal), Ganesh as a Sonabhadra stone from the Son river in Madhya Pradesh, Surya as a quartz crystal taken from Vellam in Tamil Nadu, Shiva as Banalinga from the Narmada river in Maharashtra, and Shakti as a Swarnamukhi river stone from Andhra. You can see just in the stones how much of national integration is brought in.

It is an elaborate ritual that takes about 30-45 min to do and has to be done every morning. It is an amazing one that brings great calm and clarity. Here is the ritual order: First, you start with the Sandhya Vandana. Without the nitya karma (daily duty) no kind of spiritual activity can be started. Next, you go about doing a Sankalpa. Here you pray for the family’s and world’s prosperity by recounting the time and location. There is an enormous level of detail. See my earlier answer on how Hindus measure time.

After that you ritually consecrate the vessel (Kalasha) that you will be using to do the Pooja. The fourth step is to ritually place the figures of the 5 gods. The fifth step is the Abhishek — ritual washing with water (Shuddhodak), milk (Dugdhodak), sandalwood (Gandhodak) paste. Next, we do the archana for each god individually. Finally, we offer special things to ignite the 5 senses — a food offering as Naivedya for taste, incense stick for smell, ghee based lamp for sight, lit up camphor arti for touch & feel and bells for the sense of hearing. We touch these each sense as we close the prayer.

Post this, comes the usual duties — afternoon prayer (Madhyamika) and Brahmayajnam. These would take about 10 minutes. Like in most things in Hinduism, it is best to get an initialization for the Pooja from a guru. If you already have a guru or a priest you can ask them. You can also visit one of the Shankaracharya Mutts in your location and ask for directions. It is important to involve the whole family in the activity as their support is essential for doing this. It is a great way for different generations to seek spiritual oneness. We are just one branch in a whole tree. Although not necessary, before I got the initiation I went to Varanasi for a holy dip in the Ganges and also got the blessing of the acharya (religious leader) — Shankaracharya of Kanchi. It is an important life transition and you can make it as big or as small as you need.

Benefits: A great spiritual connect. The discipline of a daily activity. Especially in times of high stress and depression, this guides as a daily source of breaking the negative energy. A great historical connect with the Vedas — the oldest of surviving literature and religion. A great way to connect the entire family. Tips for travel: I’m constantly traveling and it is a little tricky to handle the Pooja when you are on long flights around the world. I carry a small box for the carrying the idols, keep a Pancha patra (the vessel), akshada (turmeric coated rice), paper tissues and some dry fruits to offer. Om Namah Shivay