Kula-Devata ( Forefathers/Clan -Diety) Puja

It is a old custom/tradition in almost all Hindu families in India to worship their Kula-Devata in the month of Sawan ( July-August). Sawan is also known as the month of Shiva and every Monday special worship of Shiva being done by all Shaivites across the country in Shiva temple  but particularly very important in North India.

The Kula-devata or Kuladeva or Kuldevi puja takes place every year in the  month of Sawan and thats'why also known as Sawani puja. The kuladevata is actually the ancestral patron God worshiped by successive generations of a clan and treated as the divine protector and guardian of the family.

The Kuladevata is different from the personal God ( Isht-Devata) or village deities.

This year I got an opportunity to be part of Kuladevata puja at my ancestral house which is  more than 100 years old and the Kuladevata worship place is at same place since the construction of ancestral house by our forefathers. I don't remember my last  Kuladevata puja but it must be in my childhood some four decades ago.

Traditionally each clan has their own Kuladevata , male,female , animal or an object like a sacred or holy stone or empty space or sacred sign/symbol/inscription . The annual puja is very sacred and every year it is being celebrated with lot of sincerity, devotion,faith and strict adherence of customs being passed from generation to generation. This year it was on 29th July, Wednesday and one day before on Tuesday 28th a new flag was hoisted on a long bamboo in the inner courtyard of house. 

The Kuladevata puja also takes place on auspicious occasion in the family like wedding or birth of a child. The custom is to seek blessings of guardian deity.

Like us every family has a demarcated puja room in the ancestral home where Kuladevata puja takes place. The Kuladevata is normally manifestation of Shiva or Shakti chosen by their forefathers with different localized names.

This custom is still prevalent throughout India and each ancestral family house  has a kuladevata often the devi.

This puja is very personal in nature and limited to family members , no outsiders in the Puja  and normally only households takes the prasada. This is the only Puja in which householders completes entire puja without any help from brahmins to conduct the puja.

Every family has immense respect for their Kuladevata and they strongly  believe that the divine guardian always protecting the family members from negative events.

After visiting this time what I understood that the philosophy of Kuladevata puja is to remember our ancestors/ forefathers and pay homage to them by all family members. Like a day in year for all family members to assemble and worship together and show the immense gratitude and devotion. But slowly the focus shift from forefathers to deity. But one thing is still intact in Kuladevata puja that there is no pictorial image put in the worship room of kuladevta . This signifies that the idea of worshiping and remembering forefathers are embedded  through a manifestation of devi.

With changing time one also need to include  respect to  living senior family members of family together with the forefathers who left us. It will be in true sense a tribute to our past by respecting the present.

Like all Hindu festivals/puja  this  puja also ends with feast of stuffed puri, kheer etc. In some sense the food items are also being kept same as  liked by forefathers which keep activated our  genetic taste buds.

Some of the photographs of permanent Kuldevata puja room ( high/double roof) at my ancestral home.