Dear
Puja room: Vastu guidelines
• The puja room is best located at
the NE corner of the house in terms of Vastu. A water source such as
the well, is also best located at the NE of the house plot.
• Other desired directions for location of the puja room are East or North, but not South.
• If it is a very big plot the puja room can be constructed in the center of the plot or center of the building.
...• Puja room or shrine should not be located in the bedroom.
• Puja room should not be above electrical appliances or gas stoves.
• Puja room wall should not touch or share the same wall as the toilet.
Ensure that the toilet is not adjoining the puja room, not opposite,
and not even above or below the prayer room.
• Puja room and shrine should be immaculately clean and neat; avoid dirt or clutter and keep it fragrant.
• Puja room should always be on the ground floor and never in the basement.
• The roof of the puja room should be lower in comparison to the other
rooms on the same floor. One can use false ceiling for the same, if
major renovation not possible. It is beneficial to build a threshold at
the entrance of the puja room.
• White or light yellow marble work in the room is auspicious. The color of the walls can be white, light yellow or light blue.
• The doors of the puja room should not close or open automatically. A spring or door-closer should not be fixed on this door.
• The materials required for the Puja or the Puja Samigri should be
kept in the South East direction. The puja room should not be used as a
store for other materials. Any item, showpiece, images of god etc.
removed from puja room for any reason should not be kept elsewhere in
the house, and should be properly 'visarjit' (disposed of) in a river.
• If you are forced to have your prayer in the kitchen, have your deity
in the North-east of the kitchen, facing west. Never have the prayer
area in the bedroom.
Puja room shrine
The puja room shrine
is usually a shelf with wooden/concrete or Cuddapah/marble/granite
stone partitions with an altar at the bottom of the shelf for doing
puja. It is convenient to have the shelf closed with doors which can
have decorative perforations to hang little bells that chime as you open
or close the doors. The bells can also chimed during a puja, in
addition to chiming the bell exclusively used in pujas.
• If a mandir (shrine) is built of wood, steel etc. the top of the shrine should never be pointed/sharp.
• The image or portrait of the Kula Devata (family deity) as well as
the IShTa Devata (preferred deity) should have prominent places in the
puja room. Since Ganesha is worshipped first in all pujas, it is
customary to place his image or portrait too in a prominent position.
Portraits of other Gods are placed according to preferences and
convenience.
• Since we do puja sitting on the floor of the room,
it is convenient to have the images/portraits we do puja to, in the
bottom row of the shrine. The image/portrait we do puja to may be taken
out and placed on the altar (that usually prutrudes the bottom
compartments of the shrine-shelf, decorated and worshipped. Where this
is not possible, puja can be done to the portrait in its own area in the
shrine, although some pujas might have regulations regarding placement
of image/portrait.
• East and the north are the two acceptable
orientations for the base of Shiva lingam in any temple as stipulated in
Agama Shastra. So the base Shiva lingam is noticed either facing East
or North direction in any temple. While the devotee, who is worshipping
Shiva Lingam is facing the East the base of Shiva Lingam shall be
oriented towards north dirction. When the disciple is facing north while
worshipping, the base of Shiva Lingam shall be oriented towards East.
Base here shall mean the point from where the Abhishek liquid (Water or
Panchamrit) flows out of Shiva Lingam.
• The images/portraits of
Gods may face any direction except South. Images should not be kept
facing each other. Broken images and torn pictures should not be kept in
the puja room. We should not face South as we prostrate to the deities.
• The faces of god should not be covered with anything including garlands and flowers.
• If a lamp is placed in the puja room, it should always be in front of the god.
• No bell should be hung in the puja room.
• Never place any photographs to dead people in the pooja room.