Puja

祭祀

Puja refers to a variety of Hindu rituals in which offerings are made to a deity or to honored people. Individual Hindus often perform a daily puja at small personal shrines they have constructed to familial and personal gods in their own homes. Offerings used in home pujas are usually simple, such as incense, fruit, and water. More elaborate pujas take place at temples, where the resident priests perform the ceremony on behalf of other worshipers in devotion to the deity of that particular temple. Pujas are somewhat conversational in nature, as devotees typically begin by inviting the deity to the puja, offering it a seat, and inquiring as to how its “journey” to the puja went, followed by making offerings and paying homage.