Puja Catalogue

Sixteen rituals that belong to one place rather than to a pan-Indian deity category — Theyyam in north Kerala, Bastar's seventy-five-day Dussehra, the Ganga aarti at Kashi. India's ritual life is not one practice but many, and this guide records that plainly.

Fourteen annual temple festivals and ten elaborate sponsored sevas — the grand tier above the daily cycle. This guide covers what a Brahmotsavam is, which pilgrimage seasons open when, and what the larger sponsored sevas involve.

Two smaller groups: four rituals of the agrarian year, and eight performed for the protection of home, family and work. This guide covers both, and is careful about the second, because it is the corner of the tradition where people are most easily exploited.

A sampradaya is a living lineage of teaching and practice. This final category records seven observances distinctive to particular Vaishnava, Shaiva and Advaita lineages — and explains why a catalogue can list them but not supply them.

Thirty-five festival observances across the year — the specific worship performed on each major festival day, spanning the pan-Indian calendar and the regional observances that sit alongside it.