Purpose
The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra from the Rigveda is a prayer to Shiva as the conqueror of death. Families arrange a set count of japa (11,000, 51,000 or 1.25 lakh) with sankalp in the name of the person who needs support, ending with a havan.
Benefits
- A prayerful support during illness or surgery (alongside medical care, never instead of it)
- Offered for longevity and protection
- Can be done in the name of a family member in another country
- Concludes with havan and dashansh (tenth-part) offerings
When to perform
Whenever someone is unwell or facing a critical period; Mondays and Shravan are preferred; can begin immediately in urgent situations.
Vidhi — step by step
- Sankalp — the family states names, gotra, place and purpose of the puja
- Ganesh Puja and Gauri-Ganesh invocation for an obstacle-free ritual
- Kalash sthapana and Punyahavachan (purification)
- Sankalp of japa count in the name of the beneficiary
- Japa of the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra by the pandits over one or several days
- Shiva abhishek
- Havan with dashansh ahutis, tarpan and marjan
- Aarti with camphor and ghee lamp
- Pushpanjali, prayer for forgiveness (kshama prarthana) and distribution of prasad
Samagri (items needed) – and where to find it abroad
For online pujas we send a printable list before the day. Most items are sold at Indian grocery stores and by online Indian grocers in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia; the list marks what is essential and suggests a substitute for anything you can't find locally. For tirth pujas, our pandits arrange everything.
- Kalash (copper/brass pot) with mango leaves and coconut
- Roli, kumkum, haldi, chandan and akshat (unbroken rice)
- Fresh flowers and garlands
- Ghee lamp (diya), cotton wicks, camphor, incense
- Fruits, sweets for naivedya, betel leaves and supari
- Red and yellow cloth, sacred thread (mauli)
- Panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar)
- Havan kund (or a safe metal havan pot for indoor use)
- Mango wood (samidha), havan samagri mix, ghee
- Black sesame, barley and rice for ahutis
- Rudraksha mala
- Bilva leaves
- Guggul and dhoop
What to set up at home
- A clean, quiet corner or table facing east or north if you can, with a cloth for the altar (chowki).
- A picture or murti of Lord Shiva, a lamp (diya), incense and a small plate (thali) for offerings.
- The samagri from our list laid out within reach, plus a jug of water and a small bowl for achaman.
- A phone or laptop on a stand so pandit ji can see the altar, with charger plugged in and notifications muted.
- For the havan: a havan kund or a heat-proof tray in a ventilated spot, or ask for our smoke-free havan option for flats and condos with smoke alarms.
- Names, gotra and the wish (sankalp) for each family member written down, so the sankalp goes smoothly.
Duration & pandits
1 day (11,000) to 7–11 days (1.25 lakh japa); 1–11 depending on japa count pandit(s).
Booking from abroad: time zones & what we send you
You choose a date and send a request (or message us on WhatsApp). We reply with a muhurat for your city, written in your local time and in IST, because our pandits work from India. Daylight-saving changes in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand shift the gap to India by an hour, so we recheck the time when a clock change falls near your date.
- Before the puja: the confirmed time in both zones, the dakshina, the samagri list and a short guide to setting up the altar.
- On the day: a Zoom / Google Meet / WhatsApp video link. Relatives in India or other countries can join the same call.
- Language: the mantras are in Sanskrit; pandit ji explains each step in Hindi or English.
How you'll know it was done
The puja is not done out of sight: it happens live on the video call with you. Pandit ji reads out the sankalp with your names, gotra and wish while you watch, and guides each offering you make at home. You receive the recording after the puja, and for pujas at a tirth in India we also send photos. Every muhurat is confirmed to you in writing beforehand.
Free tools that go with this puja
- Vimshottari dasha calculator →
See which planetary period is running; families often begin the jaap in a difficult dasha.
Also available at a tirth in India
New to online puja? Read how online puja works · Your pandit: Pandit Shastri Gyan Nidhi Pandey · More Shiva pujas
Puja is a spiritual practice. We do not promise specific outcomes, and puja is never a substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
