59-659: Gangasagar is a village and a gram panchayat in the Sagar CD block in the Kakdwip subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal . According to regional legend , Kardama made a pact with Vishnu , in which he agreed to undergo the rigours of marital life, on the condition that the deity would incarnate as his son. As agreed, Kapila was born to him as an incarnation of Vishnu, and became
118-447: A Darshanam . 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
177-419: A Vedic puja, according to Wade Wheelock, is: Indra-Agni, slayers of Vrtra with the beautiful thunderbolt, prosper us with new gifts; O Indra, bring treasures with your right hand; O Agni grant the enjoyments of a good household; Give [us] vigour, wealth in cattle, and possession of good horses. – ÄsvSü The purpose of the requests are to burn the past karmas to be able to experience oneness with
236-429: A deity is present. In both ceremonies, a lamp (Diya) or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or a hymn is sung. Puja is typically performed by a Hindu worshiper alone, though sometimes in the presence of a priest who is well-versed in complex rituals and hymns. In temples and priest-assisted events puja , food, fruits, and sweets may be included as sacrificial offerings to the ceremony or deity, which, after
295-520: A ferry runs to Kachuberia at the north end of the Gangasagar. The Panchyat Samity maintains a parking area near the ferry landing. The ferry travels about 3.5 km across a distributary of the Ganges river (also known as Hooghly River or Muriganga river locally) to reach Kachuberia. Small boats also cross from Harwood Point to Kachuberia. Private cars and buses travel the roughly 32 km to
354-446: 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. According to Natalia Lidova, puja is unlikely to be of Indo-Aryan and Vedic origin because it lacks a Sanskrit root and it also lacks cognate parallels in other Indo-European languages. Its root are probably Dravidian in origin, but
413-557: A gram Panchayat are elected from among the elected ward members. the term of office for elected members in a Gram Panchayat, including the Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch, is typically five years. All people over the age of 18 who are residents of the territory of that village's Gram panchayat can vote. For women's empowerment and to encourage participation of women in the democratic process, the government of India has set some restrictions on Gram panchayat elections , reserving one-third of
472-399: A great saint. Kapila's ashram is believed to have been located in this village. One day, King Sagara's sacrificial horse, which was necessary for the performance of his ashvamedha yajna ceremony, disappeared; it had been stolen by Indra . The king sent his 60,000 sons to find the horse, and they found it next to Kapila's ashram, where Indra had hidden it. Mistaking Kapila for the thief,
531-467: A house of worship, the temple. 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
590-532: 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
649-429: A temple puja , there is often less active participation, with the priest acting on behalf of others. A full home or temple puja can include several traditional upacaras or "attendances". The following is an example puja ; these steps may vary according to region, tradition, setting, or time particularly in ways the deity is hosted. In this example, the deity is invited as a guest, the devotee hosts and takes care of
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#1732783161365708-404: 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. Although pujā is accepted as
767-587: A valid religious activity by Hindus at large, it has long been criticised by Mīmāṃsā thinkers. The foundational work of this school was the Karmamīmāṃsāsūtra or "Aphorisms for Enquiry into the Act," composed by Jaimini . The earliest surviving commentary was by Śabara who lived around the end of the fourth century. Śabara's commentary, known as Śabarabhāṣya held pride of place in Mīmāṃsā in that Sabara's understanding
826-524: 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
885-417: Is a brief intercessionary puja on behalf of an individual that can be undertaken after the main puja. 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
944-610: 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
1003-536: Is divided into wards and each ward is represented by a Ward Member or Commissioner, also referred to as a Panch or Panchayat Member, who is directly elected by the villagers. The Panchayat is chaired by the president of the village, known as a Sarpanch . The term of the elected representatives is five years. The Secretary of the Panchayat is a non-elected representative, appointed by the state government, to oversee Panchayat activities. According to Section. 6 (3) of
1062-569: Is held annually on Sagar Island's southern tip, where the Ganges enters the Bay of Bengal. This confluence is also called Gangasagar or Gangasagara. Near the confluence is the Kapila Temple. The Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the triennial ritual bathing of Kumbha Mela . In 2007, about 300,000 pilgrims took the holy dip where the Hooghly meets
1121-500: Is more elaborate than the domestic versions and typically done several times a day. They are also performed by a temple priest, or pujari . In addition, the temple deity (patron god or goddess) is considered a resident rather than a guest, so the puja is modified to reflect that; for example the deity is "awakened" rather than "invoked" in the morning. Temple pujas vary widely from region to region and for different sects, with devotional hymns sung at Vaishnava temples for example. At
1180-404: Is roughly translated into English as 'reverence, honour, homage, adoration, or worship'. Puja (পুজো / পুজা in bangla), 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
1239-578: Is the guarding of the coastal areas by special coastal forces. The area attracts large number of tourists – Gangasagar and Fraserganj-Bakkhali are worth mentioning. Gobardhanpur holds a promise for the future. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map. Gangasagar is located at 21°39′10″N 88°04′31″E / 21.6528°N 88.0753°E / 21.6528; 88.0753 . It has an average elevation of 4 metres (13 ft). According to
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#17327831613651298-642: The Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act of 1994 , that state's gram sabha has to conduct a meeting at least twice a year. Gram Panchayat elections in India occur every five years. The village is divided into wards, and people in each ward vote for their representative. These elected members, along with the president ( sarpanch ) and vice president, form the Gram Panchayat. The president (sarpanch) and vice president (upa-sarpanch) in
1357-518: The 2011 Census of India , Gangasagar had a total population of 10,340, of which 5,228 (51%) were males and 5,112 (49%) were females. There were 1,440 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate people in Gangasagar was 7,437 (83.56% of the population over 6 years). Gangasagar Coastal police station covers an area of 77.72 km. It has jurisdiction over parts of the Sagar CD block. The coastal police stations were formed with
1416-488: The Bay of Bengal on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. Almost five-hundred thousand pilgrims thronged Gangasagar in 2008. For the rest of the year about 500,000 people come to the island. According to reports on 14 January 2018, 18-2 million people had visited Gangasagar in 2018, against 1.5 million in 2017. From Kolkata , Diamond Harbour Road ( NH-12 ) runs south around 90 km to Harwood Point , near Kakdwip , where
1475-488: The Dravidian languages . Two possible Malayalam roots may be pūSa 'to smear with something' or pūcey "to do with flowers" (from pū 'flower' and cey 'to do'). Tamil roots have also been suggested: pūsai 'to smear with something' or pūcey "to do with flowers" (from pū 'flower' and cey 'to do') or similar Telugu roots pūjēi (from pū 'flower' and cēyi 'to do'). According to
1534-605: 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
1593-460: 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
1652-595: The cabinet of a village or group of villages. The Gram Sabha works as the general body of the Gram Panchayat. The members of the gram panchayat are elected directly by the people. The gram panchayat is headed by an elected President and Vice President, assisted by a Secretary who serves as the administrative head of the panchayat. The president of a gram panchayat is known as a "Pradhan" or " Sarpanch " in Northern India . There are about 250,000 gram panchayats present in India. Established in various states of India,
1711-455: The Brahman through the help of the deity. It is a form of bhakti Yoga whose final result aims to be the consciousness of god through homage to god. Nevertheless, even with this evolved theoretical spiritual significance, many people use puja as vehicle to petition desires and appeals, such as for good health of one's child, speedy recovery from illness, success in venture envisioned or such. In
1770-518: 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
1829-486: The Constitution re-introduced panchayats as the institutions of local self-governance, with a basic structure for operations at three administrative levels; villages, groups of villages and districts. Gram Panchayats are at the lowest level of Panchayat Raj institutions (PRIs), whose legal authority is the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992, which is concerned with rural local governments. The Gram Panchayat
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1888-457: 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
1947-518: The Panchayat Raj system has three tiers: Zila Parishad , at the district level; Panchayat Samiti , at the block level; and Gram Panchayat, at the village level. Rajasthan was the first state to establish Gram Panchayat, Bagdari Village, Nagaur District being the first village where Gram Panchayat was established, on 2 October 1959. In 1992, the institution of Gram Panchayat was modified in order to deepen democracy. The 73rd Amendment to
2006-488: 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
2065-466: The choice left to the Hindu. As a historical practice, pūjā in Hinduism, has been modelled on the idea of hosting a deity, or important person, as an honoured and dearest guest in the best way one can, given one's resources, and receiving their happiness and blessing in return. Paul Thieme suggests from passages in the Rāmāyaṇa that the word pūjā referred to the hospitable reception of guests and that
2124-400: The day; in other temples, they may be occasional. All significant Indian holidays, including Rakhi , Diwali , Holi , Karva Chauth , Ganesh Chaturthi , Janmashtami , and Navaratri , have rituals known as puja . For example, a chirathu also known as a diya , clarified butter wicks, bells, flowers, incense sticks, cones, roli or kumkum (a red powder with turmeric mixed in applied to
2183-505: The deity are brought together. This ritual puja process, in different parts of India, is considered to be liberating, releasing, purifying and a form of Yoga of spirit and emotions. Puja in Hinduism sometimes involves themes beyond idols or images. Even persons, places, rivers, concrete objects or anything is seen as manifestations of divine reality by some Hindus. The access to the divine is not limited to renunciatory meditation as in yoga school of Hinduism or idols in bhakti school. For some
2242-509: The deity as an honored guest, hymns and food are offered to the deity, after an expression of love and respect the host takes leave and with affection expresses good bye to the deity. Indologist Jan Gonda has identified 16 steps (shodasha upachara) that are common in all varieties of puja: Sometimes additional steps are included: There are variations in this puja method such as: The structure of elaborate puja also varies significantly between temples, regions, and occasions. Archana puja
2301-609: The divine is everywhere, without limit to its form, and a puja to these manifestations signifies the same spiritual meaning to those who choose to offer a prayer to persons, places, rivers, concrete objects or anything else. 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
2360-421: The evidence for this alternative hypothesis is also largely missing possibly because devotional worship is not as ancient as Hinduism. 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. Charpentier suggests the origin of the word puja may lie in
2419-484: The forehead), rice, tilakam, chandanam (sandal sticks), idols, and samagri havanam are some common items utilized in puja. In Hinduism, puja is a sattvik work. Puja varies according to the sect, region, occasion, deity honored, and steps followed. In formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be lit in honor of the god Agni , without an idol or image present. In contrast, in Agama ceremonies, an idol or icon or image of
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2478-401: 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. In the earliest texts describing Vedic puja, the significance of puja was to host the priest so that he could make direct requests to the gods. An example petition prayer made during
2537-667: 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,
2596-473: The objective of effective policing of the remote areas of the Sundarbans. The police has regular river patrols. Gangasagar is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti (14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the confluence of river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers ( puja ) in the Kapila Temple. The Gangasagar Mela and pilgrimage
2655-408: The occasion, needs, and personal preferences. 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)
2714-403: The pilgrimage site at Gangasagar. From the pilgrimage parking area the Kapila Temple is about 200 meters and the Gangasagar confluence is about 700 meters. There is a primary health centre at Gangasagar, with 6 beds. Gram panchayat Gram Panchayat ( transl. 'village council' ) is a basic governing institution in Indian villages. It is a political institution, acting as
2773-535: The prayers, becomes prasadam – food shared by all gathered. 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 ’पूजा’ in Sanskrit means to "honour, respect; homage, worship, adoration; hospitable reception or showing honour or homage in
2832-472: The seats for women, as well as reserving seats for scheduled castes and tribes . Puja (Hinduism) Traditional Puja ( Sanskrit : पूजा , romanized : pūjā ) 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 puja
2891-421: The sons accused the sage of the theft, who in his wrath at the false accusation burned the sons to ash and sent their souls to hell . Later, having compassion for the king's sons, Kapila acceded to the prayers of Sagara's descendants, agreeing to the restoration of the sons, if the goddess Ganga would descend upon the earth to perform the tarpana ritual of mixing the ashes with holy water ( niravapanjali ) for
2950-482: The sons of Sagara. Through the performance of penance , King Bhagiratha induced Shiva to order Ganga down from heaven and the 60,000 sons were freed ( moksha ) and ascended to heaven, but the river Ganges stayed on earth. The date of the descent of Ganga is regarded to be the 15th day of January of the Gregorian Calendar , which coincides with the observance of Makara Sankranti . On this occasion,
3009-436: 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. A quick meditative puja is sometimes offered by some Hindus without an idol or image. According to Chris Fuller , an anthropologist, Hindu texts allow flexibility and abbreviated puja according to
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#17327831613653068-403: The structure and practice of puja, the mantras and rituals focus on spirituality, and any petitions and appeals are tacked only to the end of the puja. Zimmer relates puja to yantras , with the rituals helping the devotee focus on the spiritual concepts. Puja in Hinduism, writes Zimmer, is a path and process of transformation of consciousness, where the devotee and the spiritual significance of
3127-768: The sun god, Surya , is believed to enter the Makara Constellation ( Uttarayana of the Hindu calendar ). Kakdwip subdivision has full rural population. The entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta . The southern part of the delta has numerous channels and islands such as the Henry Island , Sagar Island , Frederick Island and Fraserganj Island. The subdivision is a part of the Sundarbans settlements . A comparatively recent country-wide development
3186-611: 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 Puranic corpus of literature, dating from about 6th century CE, contain extensive outline on how to perform deity puja ( deva pūjā ). Deity puja thus melds Vedic rites with devotion to deity in its ritual form. As with many others aspects of Hinduism, both Vedic puja and devotional deity puja continued,
3245-526: The things offered to guests could be offered to the gods and their dwellings. 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
3304-412: 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. Temple ( Mandir ) pūjā
3363-405: 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
3422-481: 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
3481-536: 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
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