How online puja works: sankalp, video and prasad explained
Devotees often ask us: “If I am not present, how does the puja reach me?” It is a fair question — and the answer lies in something our shastras have always held: it is the sankalp, not the seat, that carries a puja to its yajman. Here is exactly what happens when you book an online puja with us, step by step.
Step 1: Your sankalp is taken
When you message us on WhatsApp, we note three things: your name, your gotra (if you do not know it, we use the traditional provision of Kashyap gotra), and your wish or occasion — health, marriage, santaan, shanti of a departed soul, a birthday, or simply love of Baba.
At the start of your puja, the pujari recites the sankalp aloud at the Jyotirlinga: your name, your gotra, your place, and your prayer. From that moment, the entire vidhi that follows is performed on your behalf — exactly as if you were seated there yourself.
Step 2: The puja is performed with full vidhi
Nothing is shortened because you are far away. A Rudrabhishek booked online receives the same panchamrit, the same bel patra, the same Rudra path as one performed with the yajman present. Our pujaris perform your puja personally — we never pass bookings to third parties.
Choosing the right day
We suggest auspicious dates for your intention — Mondays for Shiva puja, Pradosh and Shivratri tithis, the month of Shravan, or a muhurat matched to your occasion. If you have a specific date (a birthday, an anniversary, a barsi), we perform it that day.
Step 3: You receive the video
During the puja we record the key moments — the sankalp with your name, the abhishek, the aarti — and send the video snippets to you on WhatsApp within 2–3 days. Many families gather to watch it together and take Baba’s darshan on the screen with folded hands. Distance dissolves surprisingly quickly.
Step 4: Prasad reaches your home
The prasad from your own puja — peda, bel patra, sindoor, chandan and the sacred thread — is packed and couriered to your address anywhere in India, typically reaching you within 8–10 days. What was offered to Baba in your name comes back to your hands.
Is online puja as effective as being there?
Our shastras describe pujas performed through a representative — pratinidhi puja — as an established practice going back centuries. Kings had pujas performed in distant tirthas; families have always sent pandits to holy places on their behalf. The bhaav (devotion) of the yajman and the shuddhata (purity) of the vidhi are what matter. When both are present, Baba listens — whether you stand in the garbha griha or in your own puja room a thousand kilometres away.
Ready to offer your first online puja?
Send us your name and gotra — we will guide you from there.