Setting Up the Pooja Room
When you move into a new house, or on any good day when you clean the house.
Significance
It is fine if you do not have a separate room. A small shelf or a clean corner is enough. What matters is keeping it clean at all times.
Things you need
- A small platform or shelf
- Pictures or small idols of deities
- Lamp
- Bell
- Plate, sembu (water pot), panchapathiram (small water vessel with a spoon)
- Powder for drawing kolam
How to do it
- The north-east corner of the house is said to be best for pooja. If that is not possible, choose a quiet, clean place in the house.
- In many families, the custom is to set it up so that you face east or north when you pray.
- People avoid placing it against a toilet wall or under the stairs.
- Keep the pictures a little away from the wall, where damp cannot reach them.
- Do not keep broken idols or torn pictures in the pooja space.
- At least once a week, wash the lamp and the vessels and clean the space.
This is only a general guide. If your family custom is different, follow that. Ask your elders and your priest.