5 items
The pooja kalash in brass and copper for the kalasam sthapana, the panchapatra and uddharini for the water offerings, the copper dhara patra that keeps an abhishekam stream continuous, the compartment pooja thali for the archana items, and the brass bell. What each is used for, and how to choose the size, is below.
About these items
Every ceremony runs through the same few vessels. The kalasam — a pot filled with water, a coin and akshata, dressed with mango leaves and a coconut — is the seat the deity is invoked into, at a Lakshmi Pooja, a Satyanarayana vratam, a Gruha Pravesham and every Navaratri kalasha sthapana. The panchapatra and uddharini, a small cup and spoon, hold and offer the water that every upachara uses. The dhara patra, a copper pot with a hole in its base, is hung over a lingam or image so the abhishekam falls in a continuous stream.
A compartment thali holds the archana items in one plate, and the ghanta is rung at the harathi. Most are bought once: brass for the kalasam and the thali, copper for the panchapatra and the dhara patra because water offerings are traditionally made from copper. Sizes are by the pooja — a small kalasam for a daily peetham, a large one with the Lakshmi face for Varalakshmi Vratam.
In this category
Per piece, by size
Brass and copper kalasam, with or without the deity face.
Brass and copper kalasam by size — from a small daily-peetham pot to the large one a Varalakshmi Vratam or Navaratri kalasha sthapana uses — plain or with the Lakshmi face fitted. Copper is customary for a Vastu or abhishekam kalasam; brass for the household.
Per set
The water vessel and spoon used through the ritual.
The copper cup and the uddharini spoon, sold as a set, for the water that every upachara — achamanam, arghyam, padyam — is offered with. One set per purohit; a silver set for the family's own peetham.
Per piece
Copper dhara patra for a continuous abhishekam.
The copper dhara patra with a fine hole in its base, hung by chains over the lingam or image so the abhishekam falls in one continuous stream through the Rudram. One size serves a household lingam; a larger one for a temple-scale abhishekam.
Per piece
Compartment plate for the archana items.
A brass thali with compartments for kumkum, turmeric, sandal, akshata and flowers, so the archana set is in one plate at the purohit's hand. In two sizes; the larger holds a coconut and the tamboolam too.
Per piece
Brass ritual bell.
A cast brass ghanta with a clear tone, rung through the harathi and at the naivedyam. With a Garuda or Nandi finial in the traditional forms, in heights from four to eight inches.
Sizes and pack quantities vary by supplier and season. Fresh items — flowers, mango leaves, banana stems and tamboolam — are supplied against your ceremony date, so tell us the date when you enquire.
Choosing and using
A daily peetham takes a small pot; a Satyanarayana Pooja or Lakshmi Pooja a medium one; Varalakshmi Vratam and Navaratri the large one with the face. Order with the ceremony named and the size follows.
Water offerings — the panchapatra, the dhara patra, the Vastu kalasam — are traditionally copper. The household kalasam, the thali, the lamps and the bell are brass.
It is suspended by chains over the lingam — from a stand, a hook or a rod across two supports. Check the height of the space above the peetham.
Brass and copper are cleaned with tamarind and salt or a brass polish before each ceremony; a kalasam is dried fully before it is stored so it does not spot.
Common questions
It is the seat the deity is invoked into: filled with water, a coin and akshata, wound with thread, dressed with mango leaves and topped with a coconut. Used at Lakshmi Pooja, Satyanarayana Pooja, Varalakshmi Vratam, Gruha Pravesham, Vastu Pooja and every Navaratri kalasha sthapana.
Brass for the household pooja and the vratams; copper for a Vastu kalasam, a Bhoomi Pooja and any kalasam whose water is poured as an abhishekam. Both are here by size.
A small copper cup and a long spoon: the cup holds the water and the spoon offers it at each upachara that calls for water — achamanam, padyam, arghyam — and pours it into the family's palms for the theertham.
A copper pot with a fine hole in the base, hung over the lingam so the abhishekam water or milk falls in an unbroken stream while the Rudram is chanted — the vessel every Rudrabhishekam at home needs.
A compartment thali that holds the archana set in one plate; the larger size takes a coconut and the tamboolam as well. Brass, in two sizes.
Tell us the ceremony date when you enquire. We confirm availability, the final contents and the price before anything is charged; fresh items are supplied against the date.
Other categories
If you are starting from nothing, a ceremony kit gathers all of this in one box with the contents listed.
