Satyanarayan Vrat Katha

Satyanarayan Vrat Katha is the process of worshipping the “highest truthful being.” Indirectly, Lord Vishnu is worshipped on this day, and Satyanarayan Vrat is a vow, or, in short, an obligation, that humans often fulfill. Satyanarayan Vrat Katha ensures humans are blessed with health, wealth, and prosperity. Even on social functions, some people prefer keeping a Satyanarayan Vrat Katha or Satyanarayan Katha.

Satyanarayan Vrat

Satyanarayan Vrat is mentioned for the first time in the Purana. Skanda Purana mentions Reva Kanda by Suta Puranik and it was delivered to the Rishis in Naimisharanya. The details of the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha are mandatorily recited every time someone keeps the Pooja. Satyanarayan Vrat is quite popular in almost all parts of India and regions of Gujarat, Assam, Bengal, Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Manipur.

When do people observe Satyanarayan Vrat?

Satyanarayan Bhagwan Ki Katha is recited and observed primarily on the occasions of Poornima, Ekadashi, Kartik Poornima, Vaisakh Poornima, solar eclipses, or during Sankranti. Usually, Asadha Chandra Masa is an exception to the recitation of the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha. So, mainly the Satyanarayan Pooja dates would very much be these personal occasions and other festivals.

Even special days like marriage days, birthdays, our small successes in life, during Griha Pravesh (the housewarming ceremony), and many more such smaller occasions are reasons for reciting the Satyanarayan ji ki katha.

You can do a Satyanarayan Bhagwan Ki Katha any day, and it is not a puja that you can do only on simpler occasions but also on any occasion that holds even little significance in your life. It is especially auspicious on a Poornima, and it is more apt to perform the Pooja in the evening. But you can also opt for Satya Narayan Katha to be performed in the evening.

See Aslo:- Next Satyanarayan Vrat puja and Katha date

Details of observing Satyanarayan Vrat

The Satyanarayan Vrat Katha is an extremely simple Pooja. It can be done by anyone. Even you can do it, and a priest is usually not necessary for performing the Satyanarayan Pooja at home. Originally, the instructions were given by Rishi Narada Muni. While touring the Earth, Narada Muni noted that there was a lot of suffering, mainly due to malnutrition around the surface of the Earth.

So he went to Lord Vishnu and described the entire condition on Earth. Lord Vishnu told Lord Narada the specific ways in which Satya Narayan Vrat Katha could save people from dying of malnutrition.

The key instruction from Lord Vishnu was to invite a lot of people- friends, relatives, and neighbors—to the observance of Satyanarayan Vrat Katha. Fruit was to be fed to all of them and this alone could eliminate the deficiencies amongst people.

Preparation of Satyanarayan Katha

According to customs and traditions, on the day of Satyanarayan Swami Katha, one must abstain from worldly pleasures for 48 hours. Call all your friends and family on the previous day, and on the day when Satya Narayan Ki Katha is performed, ensure that you have taken a head bath and that the family members must participate in it. Married couples, unmarried friends, and relatives can participate, and you should also ensure that you wear some clean garments and dresses during Satyanarayan bhagwan ki katha.

Observe fast. After bathing and wearing new clothes, arrange everything around the altar. It takes almost 3 hours to complete the Satya narayan vrat katha. Keep mango leaves on the front door. Some people clean the altar area with cow dung, or you can also clean the floor plainly.

Satyanarayan Pooja Items are to be kept near the altar, and the idol is placed on the altar in an East-West direction. Devotees pray facing the eastern side. Some people make floral designs using either rice flour or other powders that are colored for Satya Narayan Katha. Now, a new white cloth is placed over the altar and layered with raw rice.

A small pot is kept above the altar. It could either be made of silver, copper, or brass, and it could even be of earthen origin and be used for Satyanarayan Katha Samagri. In that small pot, you need to keep a betel nut, one rupee coin, and some wheat or jowar. Now, you have to fill the pot with Gangajal or simple clean water. Wrap a coconut in a cloth and place it on top of the pot. You can keep a branch containing 5 mango leaves or 5 Ashoke leaves between the coconut and the water in the pot. When you perform Satyanarayana ji ki katha, ensure you wrap a red thread three times around the neck of the pot. Use a combination of vermilion and oil to form a Swastika and decorate it with Sandalwood paste. Now, this process marks the end of Kalash sthapna.

Keep a picture of Lord Satyanarayan on the altar. You can buy it in all the shops where they sell Hindu religious items. Now, place some flowers, incense, offerings of fruits, sweets, and money on a clean, unused plate, preferably in front of the Lord Satyanarayan.

Satyanarayan Prasad

You can offer rice, dal, and vegetables to God. Ensure you do not offer a non-vegetarian diet to God and avoid garlic and onions in your meals and preparations during the Satyanarayan Katha.

The main prasad of Satya Narayan Katha is called Sheera, and semolina is cooked in ghee and sugar and garnished with cardamom. Cashew nuts, raisins, and ripe bananas are also added to the food during the Satya Narayan Ki Katha.

In Bihar, for Satyanarayana ji ki katha, they fry the wheat flour in ghee and sugar and mix fruits into it. This is dry Prasad, whereas in Bengal, they mix the wheat flour with equal amounts of water, ghee, and sugar and then add Chironjee and other dry fruits to it. In Maharashtra, it is called Marathi Sheera; in Gujarat, it is called Gujarati Sheera; in Bengal, it is called Bengali Sinni; and in Punjabi, it is called Panjiri.

There is also something called Panchamrutham that consists of equal amounts of uncooked or raw milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, and sugar.

Items required for Satya Narayan Katha

Satyanarayan Katha samagri that are required on the occasion of Satyanarayan Vrat include,

Turmeric powder, red vermilion, a mixture of nine herbs, incense sticks, camphor, sandalwood paste, Lord Satyanarayan photo, a small idol if possible, wheat or jowar, 100 betel leaves, 50 betel nuts, 40 coins, 50 almonds or dry dates as you like, and 8 coconuts. For Satyanarayana Ji Ki Katha, you must also have flowers and a garland made of Tulasi leaves.

You would also need two jars, one to create the Kalash and another for various rituals, two flat plates, a bell, a large altar, a yellow or red cloth, a ghee lamp, cotton wicks, and panchamrit that consists of milk, yogurt, honey, sugar, and ghee during the Satyanarayan bhagwan ki katha.

Blow a conch shell; try to have some Tulsi Manjari and one thousand Tulasi leaves; have a banana tree or leaves. Two tablespoons and a white sesame seed are favorites of Lord Satyanarayan, and the rose is the favorite flower of Lord Satyanarayan and would be a good addition to the Satyanarayan Katha Samagri.

Process of performing the Satyanarayan Pooja

You can perform the Satyanarayan Pooja yourself at home, or you can also call the priest who can perform the Pooja for you. Begin Satyanarayana Ji Ki Katha by purifying yourself. Now, after purifying in any way, you must begin by praying to Lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is the God who ensures the removal of obstacles that might arise during the Pooja and also ensures that if there are some errors while performing the Pooja, those are taken into consideration by the gods in question.

During the Satya narayan vrat katha, offer Prasad to Lord Ganesha. Offer a banana, modak (a round sweet made out of gram flour and sugar), and grated coconut, and shower upon him flowers while offering the prayers.

Now, you must pray to the Kalash (symbolizing Lord Varuna).

A very important part of the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha is that all nine planets and their consorts are prayed along with eight dikpalakas. So, together (9+ (9x2) + 8+5) entities are worshipped; in total, 40 entities are prayed during Satya Narayan Katha.

Every Vedic god is represented by a unique metal since coins nowadays are created from several metals; hence, each of the guest gods is represented by a certain coin. Each of the coins is placed on the betel leaves, and the betel nut, akshit (rice and a little of everything), and dry dates are given on each betel leaf as an offering for Satya narayan vrat katha.

Now, you must bathe the Lord’s idol using Panchamrutam and then pour Gangajal over it. After the idol is placed in the correct order, you need to recite the 108 names of Sri Satyanarayan. If it is a portrait, then you can clean it using Gangajal and apply vermilion and sandalwood paste over it. Now you must offer Prasad and flowers over the idol during Satya Narayan Vrat Katha.

The Vrat of Lord Satyanarayan is to be heard by all who participate in the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha. The story has five parts and this involves

The origin of the Satyanarayana Ji Ki Katha
The benefits of performing the Satyanarayan bhagwan ki katha.
Mishaps might occur if the Satyanarayan Katha is not performed properly.
Lord’s benevolence and the importance of the Prasad
Consequences of mocking the ritual of Satya narayan ki katha.

After the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha, you must try to perform a Satyanarayan Arti. You must light camphor and incense and also burn coconut fibers with the use of lac. Light it in the vicinity of the idol, and after the Satyanarayan bhagwan ki katha is over, mix all the prasad and serve it to everyone, feeding them all in the process.

In Satya Narayan Ki Katha, the number of guest gods may vary, and the number of betel nuts and betel leaves may also vary from state to state.

Satyanarayan Vrat Katha has five chapters-

Let’s find out what each chapter of Satya Narayan Vrat Katha holds.

1. First Chapter: It narrates the story of the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha. The Rishis were performing a yagna that was supposed to last for a thousand years. The Yagna was to benefit human civilization.

2. Second Chapter: The benefits of the Satyanarayan Pooja Katha are described in this chapter. A poor Brahmin approached the Lord, and the Lord advised him to do the Pooja himself. After performing the Satyanarayan Pooja Katha, the Brahmin could overcome all the obstacles and was able to enjoy his life and blessings immensely. A woodcutter who stood watching the Brahmin perform the pooja in Satya narayan ki katha was also blessed, and understanding the source of the blessings when the woodcutter performed the Satya Narayan Katha, he too benefited immensely from it.

3. Third Chapter: When a merchant vows to perform the Satyanarayan Pooja according to the Satyanarayana Ji Ki Katha, after his child’s birth, he postpones it until his child’s marriage and forgets it after the child is married. He is punished by the Lord. The merchant is accused falsely, is put on trial, and is saved only when the merchant’s wife is reminded of the vow he had taken years ago. Only after the wife successfully completed the vow was the husband relieved of his accusations and released from prison.

4. Fourth Chapter: The Prasad’s significance and the loving nature of the Lord are reminded in the fourth chapter of Satya narayan ki katha. It is usually a continuation of the same story in the previous chapter. While the daughter and the wife were praying to the lord on one such occasion, upon hearing the arrival of the father in the dockyard, who had also eventually understood the usefulness of the prayers, ran to the dockyard without accepting the Prasad. Annoyed by this act, the Lord curses the ship that sinks and only comes up when the wife and the daughter eat the Prasad.

5. Final Chapter: The last chapter speaks about the significance of the Satyanarayan Bhagawan Ki Katha. A few backwoodsmen were performing the Satya narayan vrat katha, and the offerings were thrown away by the King, thus invoking the anger of God. The king eventually loses the kingdom and his wealth, and he also ends up losing his family. Only when the King accepts the offerings do the belongings slowly begin to return to him.

Satyanarayan Vrat Katha is a common practice in some homes. There are some homes where Satyanarayan Pooja Katha is performed on every Poornima. It initially began as a practice where the slightly richer people were expected to perform the Satya narayan katha, and they were supposed to call all the poor and needy neighbors for a wholesome dinner.

Satyanarayan Pooja Katha was a medium by which nutritious food was served to the poor, thus helping them retain strength. Usually, the Satyanarayan Pooja Prasad, according to the Satyanarayana ji ki katha, comprises wheat flour mixed with equal amounts of milk and ghee. Dry fruits and fresh fruits, including the rich seeds of Buchanania lansan (Chironjee), are mixed together with adequate sugar content and served to hungry people during the Satya narayan ki katha. This food has a very high food value, and people suffering from dietary deficiency diseases can often find respite and also have a healthy survival rate even if they can consume it 2-3 times a month.

Thus, now, with the rise of modern India, it is difficult to find a person who would be interested in feeding the poor on a monthly basis. However, some homes do the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha to ensure well-being within the family, even to date, and rigorously go through all five chapters. Some people also request the priest to tie the thread of protection on their hands after the completion of the Satyanarayan bhagwan ki katha.

Though the value of the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha is declining rapidly, some people are still trying to ensure that they keep up the old customs and traditions. Thus, you may find a few homes where the fervor of the Satyanarayan Vrat Katha is also preserved in some homes even now.