Satyanarayan Puja invitations: when it is held, what happens, and what to write
The Satyanarayan Puja is the most commonly performed household puja in India, and it is the one families reach for at almost every turning point: a new home, a wedding, a new job, a recovery, a vehicle, or simply a vow being fulfilled.
It is deliberately accessible. There is no restriction on who may perform or attend it, it needs no elaborate arrangements, and it can be done at home in an afternoon.
When it is held
- Purnima, the full moon, is the most common choice and the one most families default to.
- Sankranti, when the sun changes sign.
- Ekadashi, or Kartik Purnima and Vaishakh Purnima, which are considered particularly favourable.
- After a specific event: moving into a new home, a wedding, a birth, a new business, or the fulfilment of a vow made earlier.
It is usually held in the evening, though a morning puja is equally acceptable. Most run about two hours including the Katha, followed by the meal.
What actually happens
- SankalpThe family states the intention, naming who is performing the puja and why.
- Ganesh Puja and NavagrahaGanesh first, then the nine planets, then the ancestors are remembered.
- The KathaFive chapters read aloud. They tell linked stories about people who promised a puja, prospered, then forgot the promise and suffered until they kept it.
- AartiSung together at the end.
- PrasadDistributed to everyone present.
The moral of the Katha is unusually blunt for a devotional text: keep the promise you made. That is the whole point of it, and it is why the puja is so often performed to fulfil a vow rather than to make one.
There is also a strong custom that nobody should leave without taking the prasad. It appears in the stories themselves, where refusing or ignoring the prasad has consequences. Practically, it means the invitation should make clear that guests are expected to stay for it.
The prasad, and why the recipe is a ratio
The prasad is a sheera, made from semolina, ghee, sugar and milk, with banana added at the end.
The traditional measure is sava, meaning one and a quarter. A quarter measure more than a whole one of each ingredient. The reasoning usually given is that one should always offer a little more than the full amount, never exactly enough and never less.
Many families use exactly one and a quarter cups of each, which is a nice detail to know if you are the one cooking it for the first time.
What to put on the invitation
- The start time of the Katha, since guests should be seated for it rather than arriving in the middle.
- Whether there is a meal afterwards, and when.
- A line asking guests to stay for the prasad, which is customary and prevents people slipping away.
- The occasion, if there is one, such as a new home or a vow being fulfilled. Guests like knowing why.
Satyanarayan Puja invitation wording you can copy
Copy any of these and change the names, dates and places. They are written to be read out loud, so they sound right on a phone screen too.
Shree Ganeshaya Namah
With the blessings of Lord Satyanarayan,
we invite you and your family to a Satyanarayan Puja and Katha at our home.
[Day, Date]
Puja begins at [Time]
[Address]
Do stay for the prasad and dinner.
Shree Ganeshaya Namah
Hamare nivas par Shree Satyanarayan Bhagwan ki Puja evam Katha ka aayojan hai.
[Din, Tithi] · [Samay]
[Pata]
Aap sapariwar padharein. Prasad grahan kiye bina na jaayein.
Shree Ganeshaya Namah
We have moved into our new home, and we would like to begin it properly.
Satyanarayan Puja and Katha
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Address]
Your blessings are all we ask for. Please stay for the prasad.
Satyanarayan Puja at ours.
[Day, Date] · Katha at [Time]
[Address]
Do come on time for the Katha, and stay for dinner.
Want these words on a real invitation website? See the designs
Satyanarayan Puja Invitation invitation designs
6 designs you can personalise, from ₹2499. Tap any one to open it full size with a live demo.
Questions people actually ask
When is Satyanarayan Puja performed?
Most commonly on Purnima, the full moon. Also on Sankranti and Ekadashi, or after a significant event such as moving into a new home, a wedding, a birth or the fulfilment of a vow.
What is the Satyanarayan Katha about?
Five chapters of linked stories about people who promised a puja, prospered, then forgot the promise and suffered until they kept it. The moral is unusually direct: keep the promise you made.
Why is the prasad made in a one and a quarter measure?
The traditional measure is sava, one and a quarter of each ingredient. The reasoning given is that one should always offer a little more than exactly enough, never less.
Do guests have to stay for the prasad?
It is a strong custom, and it appears in the Katha itself. Put a line on the invitation asking guests to stay for it, since it is easy to slip away otherwise.
Who can perform a Satyanarayan Puja?
There is no restriction. It is deliberately the most accessible household puja, which is a large part of why it is the most commonly performed one in India.