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How to perform Swarna Gowri Vrata - FAQ Formatted: Font: 22 pt

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NVR

09
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 paddathi. What ever we have tried to Answer here is as I have seen at my home (we are Hindu-Brahmin-
Smartha-Mulakanadu)

1. What direction should the God face:

Pl. keep the god facing East – Best Option

Or North – 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 that, as soon as somebody enters the house, they are
able to see the god directly… it is your convenience….. How ever, You must face to the East or
North while sitting for pooja and san kalpa that is important.

2. What direction we should sit for pooja: Pl. sit facing East or North Direction.
3. Can I Start the 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 events and periodical rituals.
This is a periodical ritual (Varshe, Varshe kartavya: …. That means every year ritual….).. so in my
opinion, you need not see rahukaala to observe his vratha. Shara---- Pl. look at rahu kaala if this
is first year of your pooja (newly married first timers)
4. When do I take Mangala Snaana: People who are all doing pooja… sumangalis and the children
nd
should take mangala snaana on the previous day of the pooja…. That is on Bidige(2 day of the
lunar Month) …. On the pooja day (triteeya), you should take normal bath…

5. How many Threads should be kept for pooja: It depends on how many people are sitting 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 threads, and how many Gantus.(Knots): the Shastra says,
Shodasha Granthi Sanyuktam, Krutam Shodasha Tantubihi…. That means, it should be made of
16 threads and 16 gantus. But Normally, you take single thread 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 plate and place it
on to the right side of the Devi and do Pooja.
7. What is the procedure to tie this daara(Doora Granthi): Normally, after the pooja, if Husband
is around, (with Panche and shalya), He will tie this. Give this Daara to him. You keep one
taambula with a fruit and dakshine in Both of your hands…….. taambula facing Husband… you
facing North or East…and Sit. Husband will show/touch 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
knots. You will keep the taambula down,… get up and give him akshaate 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 – Totally 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 totaling about 6 in Nos.
10. What is Madhu parka:…….. Madhu means .. Honey…. Parka means Curds… so take a Banana and
peel it from the flower side of the fruit and immerse it in Honey, Sugar, and Curds and keep it on
beetle leaves and beetle nuts with Dakshine and do nivedya after shastriji reciting Mantra……….
11. How many Gowris will have to be kept in this pooja ……. One Maralu Gowri (or Mannina Gowri
called saikata Gowri), One Arishina Gowri(called Daakshayini Gowri)…. Five of Mangala Gowri (if
applicable to you)…. One Mannina Gowri(called alankaara Gowri)…. One Mukawada (Optional)
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 to keep God in a Mantapa(Wooden)… otherwise, 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 decorate this tappale with Saree nerige and Blouse Piece…… let the fall of the
saree come downwards, so that pallu and border are visible… Take one Silver Thatte big and
drape arishina (cotton) blouse piece on the plate and Pour Akki about ½ KG in it…… place the
Gowramma on this. Take small silver kalasha and put ganga /water (after gange pooje) in to this
and decorate with five viledele….keep a small mirror in front of kalasha….Keep the Mukhavada
in the center and keep big bindi of kumkum to the mukhavada….Keep one Gangastaali 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
decorate the table with Balekambha and torana (Mango leaves) and put rangoli… Keep Deepada
Kambha on either side of the table (stool)…Keep one small Devi Vigraha in small silver plate 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
plaster of paris and other materials etc.,…. Keep a Devi photo at the back to 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 water body…..clean the well area…(earlier days, people used to
white wash the wells for the pooja day)….. put rangole……. keep deepa(2) there….. put arishina
kumkuma for the face of the well……..Do small Ganapathi pooja there… ask his permission to
take care of pooja well (NirviGhnam kurume deva, sarva kaaryeshu sarvadaa)…..get the water
from the well soak the black blouse and white piece and squeeze it… keep good quality mud
ready (taken from tulasi mannu) and little 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 co conut here……… make aarathi….with
gowri haadu…. Bring it near the door of the house with ghanta naada and haadu etc.,……..do
tulasi pooja and hostila pooja…. Keep deepa at hostilu….decorate face of the house door with
 gejje vastra….. Do aarathi for gowramma… with ganta naada… place the Gowramma at pooja
place.. adjust to the god centering etc.,….dry this black blouse piece and white 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 separate 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
Vrata… please make 16 yele Gejje Vastra….and soak it arishina
15. What are the Nivedya Items for this pooja………. I will tell you only what is minimum required….
Hannu (5 types each two nos.) … tengina 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 types), Paanaka, gulpapde….16 nos.-Chigali (16) .. Tambittu(16).... ----Maha nivedya (
with full of the adige what you have prepared … Keep it in silver plate or Baleyele with agra)
16. How to keep these items for Nivedya……. Make a Mandala… take water in you hand sprinkle it
on the floor with full of palm facing down…..if you are facing east… use your first three fingers
put it on the 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 the hand…. Complete the diagonal with north east direction….. put akshate
as told above… if you are keeping hannu kayi… keep it on a plate with taambula 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 two banana leaves (some people use
with only one banana leave.. this is wrong)…..Banana leave should be with agra and place it in
front of the god with agra facing as though god is eating. That means, if god is facing east, then
agra should come to north…(left hand side of god) ……. first put ghee on to the 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 the last after every thing is over…..
(that means… you should not serve every thing in the plate and put tuppa in the kitchen and
bring it keep it in front of god)….. all the items like…. payasa lota.. paanaka lota… halu
lota…mosaru lota.. should come to the left corner of bale yele… keep one glass of water(silver or
copper) at the right side of the yele… all the bakshya like obbattu, bonda /bajjji/Aaambode ….
should come below chitranna…. And in the end you should put abhigaara to anna first, payasa
next.. and to bakshya third…… keep two line rangoli in front of yele…. Keep two tuppada deepa
in front of yele…….Keep viledele (16 or 5 will do) and adike pudi in a separate plate……now you
do nivedya as per shastry ji’s mantra…….
17. When we have to give this shurpa vaayana dana (Baagina).. …. The answer for this is, soon
after the vratha and before lunch… on the same day….. if not possible… you should give this
before udwaasana of Gowri…..(that is before immersion)
18. How to make ready Baagina for this pooja…… take one set Jodi mora…. Decorate the same with
arishina , Kumkuma and color paper etc.,…. Take a small Banana leave and cut it to size, drape it
on one of the mora …. Put all types of Bele(pulses like togari, hesaru, uddu, kadale) in zip lock
covers small, Gowri Saamanu, Fruits 5 types, blouse piece, godhi or rave, bella one acchu, all in
small zip lock covers and one little 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 taayi baagina…. One Gowri Baagina… another three
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 between the guests….. please do not mix up taayi baagina.. and gowri baagina…..and
don’t’ indulge in ‘give and take’ of these two 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 to be distributed 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
type you should give 16 baaginaas for continuous Five years. If not possible to give all the five
years, give 16 baaginaas for the first year, and the fifth year.
22. Should I put Belli Battalu in all the Baaginaas… Yatha shakti… or One minimum….to taayi
Baagina.
23. Is it a Must to put Saree in all Baaginaas….. Yatha shakti… not a must… atleast one in Taaayi
Baagina is a must…. Rest all Blouse Piece will do.
24. How to give baagina to sumangalis…………… .preferably make the sumangali sit in East or North
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 both thumbs)…. Take baagina along with pallu and hand it over to the sumangali….. while
holding the baagina you should swing it sideways three times and keep it down. Give akshate
and do namaskaara.
25. Should I make baaginas ready for my small daughter/s also…… yes. We make ready small
baaginaas for daughters also. We keep their interesting items like chocolate and small ata
samanu in this…. Not a must… but feels good…….
26. What is uppakki, Poppakki……….. Pl. note this uppakki and poppakki is kept before the lunch on
Gowri udwasana day….. this is done after punah pooja…..Take one plate of Rice, one plate of
bele (togari)and keep it ready……Draw go-padma rangoli on a mane (peetha)……keep two plates
on this mane….keep this mane near Gowri to the right side…….take one hand full of togari bele
in right hand… take a hand full of rice in left hand…..cris cross the hand three times……tell
“a tthe dhandana galagi ” and drop rice and bele in a cris cros way on to the plate on the peetha.
Repeat this three times. Pl. note that all the sumangalis who have done pooja, should keep this
uppakki and poppakki, after this, madilutumbuvudu should be done.
27. What are all the items for Madilu tumbuvudu…..blouse piece, tenginka yi(coconut), bella(achu),
copra, akki, viledele,dakshine, arishina Kumkuma
28. What is the procedure for madilu tumbuvudu ….After 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 the deepas…. Do pooja in normal way…..
take the poornaphala kept at the right side of the god …. Use the same for Nivedya………. And
chant yes yessmrityacha……… anena Swarna Gowri Pooja Vidhanena Bhagavathi sarvaatmikaa
swarnaGowri supreeta suprasannaa varadaa bhavatu……. take a spoon full of water, akshate,and
flower and leave it in another bowl. Do aarathi with Mangala Haadu and then take permission
from 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…….
Otherwise, as per panchanga on the 11th day(2-09-09).
32. What is the procedure to immerse Gowri Ganesha…. After udvaasane, with ghante and haadu,
come near the well … decorate well with rangoli, deepa etc.,.. keep the god to the east
direction… do the 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 take gowramma first along with small Ganesha and immerse in water after three 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 the water in the well and do the final namaskaara and come back to house. Do not clean the
pooja area immediately.. clean the area after some time…. Or probablythe next day…
33. What is the nivedya at the time of Idol Immersion….. For the immersion day, you should
prepare 5 types of rice(chitraanna, puliyogare,shaalyanna,pongal, and normal white rice) this is
for Nivedya for lunch … at the time of immersion, after the pooja near well, please keep - mosaru
avalakki, hannu kaayi Nivedya.distribute this mosaru avalakki near the well after idol immersion.
34. What should be the mindset of a person, while doing any vratha……..Any person doing vratha
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 stealing). This is in general…. At the time of pooja, the 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 is the procedure to give upaayana daana for Purohit…… Give gandha, then akshate, then
keep some prasaadada flowers in a plate and give. Afterwards, give upayanadana after putting
 a drop of water on to both of the co -conuts . Give along with dakshine. Do namaskaara. Then,
purohitaru will accept the taambula and give you flowers with aashirvaada.

Points to note in General:

PS: Please avoid bringing out side food items/ordered food items like obbattu and Ambode etc.,
and keeping it for nivedya…. It is advisable to do the 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 Shaastra) and you should wear a flower also.

About Bale: Pl. wear Minimum Jodi baleat least at the time 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 outs please on this 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 Satu………. Shubham.. Mangalam…. Kalyanam….. Shivam………Sri Jagambaarpanamastu…..