Varalakshmi Nombu Part 2 - the day of the pujai

 Needless to say, wake up early, please. There's so much to do.


Check on the kolam and line it with semmannu if you have not already done so.

Take a head bath (no need to apply oil) and wear washed clothes.

Puja Prep: wash the vettalai, fruits and coconut for neivedyam.

Neivedyam: Make neivedyam prep as per the menu of the day.

Soak rice for half an hour and then grind it as for dosa batter (if this is the kozhakottai method you follow). Add a spoon of oil in kadai, add water, a pinch of salt and stir in the batter and cook till it forms a lumpy mass and keep it closed to cool. 

Soak ulundu for vadai. Grind it in an hour with whatever you usually add.

Make saadam, paruppu, payasam, vadai ( at least 3-4), kozhakotai (a few), sundal, idli, kosumbari before going on to other food items. 

Puja Prep continuation:  Do this before amman azhaippu which should be around 8.30. So wind up the kitchen work by 7.45 and move on to the puja space. 

Start by replacing flowers in your nithya puja, light the daily lamp and agarbathi.

Keep the puja vessels ready. add water in panchapatram. Put sandanam-kumkumam in panchapatram, uthirini, the main puja lamp, the mani and karpooram thattu.

Keep thiri, krpooram, agarbathi, match box, ghee kinnam ready.

Take out the flowers you have purchased, sort the archanai uthiri, the stringed flowers for garland, open up the lotuses

Keep kumkumam, sandanam, akshadai ( mix a bit of manjal podi and a spoon ful of raw rice for this), vastra malai and vastram, a gold chain to be put on gooddess (you can do this after the azhaippu or later during the puja), 

Keep the sharadu ready by tying a flower in each and putting a spot of kumkumam on the knot.

You can make madhuparkam with honey and raw milk. (if you can't it can be substituted with akshadai).

Keep the amman neivedyam fruits ready in a basket (keep a few for the evening neivedyam and for punarpujai). Keep a vettalai paaku thattu for neivedyam - 4 vettalai, 4 paaku on the fruit basket. Later when you break the coconut, you can add them to this basket.

Make a thambulam vettalai paakku ready for amman with cocnut, seepu, kannadi, kumm, manjal, paakku, blouse piece. This will be placed beside the amman after she is moved to the main pandal. If you have not been able to put silver coin, lemon, etc inside the kalasam, keep them on this vettalai paaku set.

Keep a small brass plate for manjal pillaiyar and keep a vettalai on it with the kaambu facing east. Make a manjal pillayar and place it on the vettalai. put a dot of kumkumam on the peak. Keep this in front of the amman manai in the pandal. 

Make a neivedyam thattu ready for manjal pillayar - 2 vettalai, 2 paakku, 1 vazhai pazham.

Amman azhaippu: Make the amman azhaippu preparation. Place the thambaalam or manai with kolam in the azhaippu space where you have put the kolam. Place the decorated amman kalasam on the manai.

Take a tray/plate and keep the kumkumam, sandanam, akshadai, one more vettalai paakku with vazhaipazham for neivedyam at azhaippu,, a villakku wiht oil and thiri, match box, agarbathi, karpooram thattu, some flowers, a string of flowers. Also pancha patra uthirini, mani.

Start by lighting the lamp and agarbathi. Start with pillayar pujai (do shuklambaradharam and pray to vinayagar.). Do aachamanam. Then put sandanam, kumkumam and akshadai and pushpam on amman. Put the string of flowers around her. Show dhoopam, deepam, neivedyam, karpooram. Then playing a song like lakshmi baaramma in the background, carefully carry the amman from the azhaippu space to the main pandal.

Puja at the main pandal: 




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