Puja
A Hindu act of worship in which offerings are made to a deity.
Also: pooja, worship
Puja is the ritual worship at the centre of Hindu devotion. A family may perform it every morning before a small home shrine, or a priest may lead it at a temple on a festival day. The usual offerings are flowers, incense, a lamp, fruit, water and sweets, and the worshipper speaks or sings prayers while presenting each one. The god is greeted as an honoured guest, bathed, dressed and fed in symbolic form. At the end, the offered food returns as prasad. Puja can be as simple as a lit lamp or as elaborate as a many-day ceremony with chanting and music.
Region: South Asia