Shri Satya Narayan Vrat Katha

Shri Satya Narayan Vrat Katha

Performed in many Hindu homes on important occasions.

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  Overview

  People in various parts of the India and overseas perform the ritual to overcome difficulty and misfortune. It is usally performed to neutralise adversity and overcome difficulites with divine intervention.

  The Satyanarayan Vrat katha is found in Skanda Puran. The Vrat Katha should be performed with the subtle mind and intelligence. The puja performed with the heart is more significant than the puja performed with the body and mind. This is affirmed in the Vedas itself. When the ritual is performed with total devotion it purifies us and makes us remember our duties and obligations in the world and earn good Karma.

  The reason to perform Shri Satyanarayan katha is to be acquainted with the truth. Lord Narayan himself is a form of Truth. Satya means both truth and existence. Lord Narayan himself is the highest supreme self (Bhrahma).

  He represents truth and personifies truth in action (dharma). The true worship of Shri Satyanarayan dev involves the truthful performance of obligatory duties, practice of truth in daily conduct and commitment to truth in all aspects of life. The Vrat-katha is a promise to God that one lives truthfully and honestly in the service of God and works for one’s salvation. Truthfulness is one of the highest virtues in Hinduism.

  Truth has to be worshipped not only ritually but also spiritually. The mental and spiritual worship of the Lord of Truth is more important than the physical and superficial worship. The Satyanarayan puja serves as a reminder that one should practice truth and embody it in oneself through righteous and truthful conduct.

  If you analyse the stories associated with the Satyanaran puja, the symbolism becomes self-evident. In them you will notice that people suffer when they fail to honour truth, but overcome their difficulties when they observe it. Truth leads to light, wisdom and liberation while falsehood leads to adversity, darkness and suffering. People suffer from difficulty and misfortune when they indulge in falsehood and deception, fail to keep their promises or live dishonestly. Such negative consequences can be overcome only when they renounce their sinful ways and worship truth in thought and deed.

  The idea presented here is observance of truth will help the people on earth to overcome their negative karma, fulfil their desires, and achieve freedom from the cycle of births and deaths.