Sudasha Brata Puja Vidhi (How to do Sudasha Brata Puja)
To know all about the rituals associated with it and how Sudasha Brata puja is performed, watch this video:
https://youtu.be/7FnMzhZcDIU
Mummy is performing
Sudasha Brata puja in the video and all the steps have been explained in detail.
Let me reiterate that more than the rituals associated with the puja, it is the devotion with which one performs the puja that will please Goddess Lakshmi the most. Strict adherence to the rules and rituals associated with Sudasha Brata puja mayn't be possible for everyone all the time. For instance, those who live outside of Odisha or are abroad, mayn't find all the puja items. But fret not. Instead of stressing over what puja items you have got and what you couldn't find, just perform the puja with whatever you have got. What matters the most to Maa Lakshmi is the devotion in your heart. So if you pray with fervent devotion, she will surely acknowledge your puja and will listen to your prayers.
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| Sudasha Brata - Maa Lakshmi Puja In Odisha |
Maa Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth, fortune and auspiciousness, loves cleanliness the most. A clean and tidy home ensures that Maa Lakshmi will reside there and thus will bring prosperity and joy to the family. Therefore the first and foremost thing Odia women do the night before the puja is to wash and clean the Puja room and the entire house. That is followed by another activity early morning - sprinkling of water mixed with a little bit of cow dung by a twig of 5 mango leaves as a way to purify the place.
I come from a very modest background, we weren't that well-off when I was a child and mummy, papa had to go through a lot of economic hardships to raise us up but I have seen our fortunes grow gradually over the years. I firmly believe that the change in our fortunes had a lot to do with mummy and her virtuous ways. She has all along had immense faith in Maa Lakshmi and has worshipped her in the true spirit - mummy herself is very particular about maintaining cleanliness. At any time of the year, one would find our house spick-and-span but especially the night before Lakshmi Puja, I have seen mummy washing and cleaning all the rooms of the house (be it for Manabasa Gurubaar Puja or the Sudasha Brata or the evening of Diwali). Even today at her age, she still continues to devote half of her time to keeping the house clean.
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| Sudasha Brata - Maa Lakshmi Puja In Odisha |
Goddess Lakshmi, mummy says, loves chittaa and jhotis done outside and inside the house. Therefore on the night preceding the Sudasha Brata day, women draw "Chittaa" or jhoti patterns, especially the feet of Maa Lakshmi, using paste of grounded rice grains mixed with water at the entrance of the house, at the Entry Hall (Baata Ghara), in the kitchen as well as outside the doors of every room. A chita jhoti of "Dasa Pakhuda Padma" (10 petalled Lotus) should also be drawn, preferably in front of an almirah where you keep your cash and valuables.
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| Chita Jhoti at the Entrance of the house drawn using paste of grounded rice grains on Sudasha Brata |
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| "Dasa Pakhuda Padma" should also be drawn, ideally in front your almirah |
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| Chita Jhoti at the entrances of each room |
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| Chita Jhoti in the kitchen |
Then on the Sudasha Brata day, ideally the puja should be started at the Brahma Muhurta (the period between 2 AM to 4 AM) before sunrise because it is widely believed that during this period, Goddess Lakshmi sets out from the temple visiting the houses of her devotees. However, given the responsibilities of the daily chores, that (starting the puja at the Brahma Muhurta) might not be practically possible for every one. Therefore most women make sure to perform the puja during the early hours of the morning, if not before sunrise. After taking bath using turmeric paste and wearing clean clothes (preferably a yellow saree or a white-red saree), one needs to do the "paada puja" to welcome the Goddess i.e. all the chita patterns of Maa Lakshmi's feet that one would have drawn at the main entrance of the house and everywhere else in the house are to be given a ritualistic cleaning - a small amount of cow dung along with duba grass, rice grains and gooseberry (bara koli) leaves are placed over them, invoking the Goddess.
