Pratyaksha Pada Puja

Pratyaksha Pada Puja is the direct, physical worship of the Guru's own feet — Pratyaksha meaning "direct, before one's own eyes." Throughout KAILASA's Navaratri 2026 it is offered every day to the divine lotus feet of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAVAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM, celebrated as the ultimate manifestation of Devi Paramashivashakti in that day's form.

Significance

During Navaratri, Pada Puja takes on the added weight of being offered to the Guru precisely as the Cosmic Mother, so that the devotee's oldest and most natural relationship — the child at the mother's feet — becomes the doorway to that day's Devi. THE SPH teaches that Matru Bhava, the attitude of a child toward the Cosmic Mother, is the most direct and least resistant doorway into surrender and Oneness.

The Ritual

Various upacharas (sacred offerings) such as paadya (water to wash the feet) and madhuparka (a nectarine drink) are made as per the Agamic and Tantric traditions, in the royal atmosphere of that day's alankaram.

Each Day's Pada Puja

• Mandagappadi · Thu 8 Oct — 1:30 PM IST (Thu 8 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Navaratri Purvangam · Fri 9 Oct — 1:30 PM IST (Fri 9 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Mahalaya Amavasya · Sat 10 Oct — 1:30 PM IST (Sat 10 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 1 · Sun 11 Oct — Rajarajeshwari Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Sun 11 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 2 · Mon 12 Oct — Meenakshi Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Mon 12 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 3 · Tue 13 Oct — Kamakshi Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Tue 13 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 4 · Wed 14 Oct — Annapurna Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Wed 14 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 5 · Thu 15 Oct — Vishalakshi Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Thu 15 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 6 · Fri 16 Oct — Venkateshwara Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Fri 16 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 7 · Sat 17 Oct — Mahalakshmi Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Sat 17 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 8 · Sun 18 Oct — Durga Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Sun 18 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 9 · Mon 19 Oct — Maha Saraswati Alankaram — 1:30 PM IST (Mon 19 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Day 10 · Tue 20 Oct — Nithyanandeshwari Alankaram (Vijaya Dashami Special) — 1:30 PM IST (Tue 20 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)
• Dashami Puja & Darpan Visarjan · Wed 21 Oct — 1:30 PM IST (Wed 21 Oct, 4:00 AM ET)

Shastra Pramana

गुरोः पादोदकं यत्तु देवतानां च तर्पणम् । कृत्वा च सर्वदेवानां तत्तोयं शिरसि क्षिपेत् ॥

guroḥ pādodakaṃ yattu devatānāṃ ca tarpaṇam | kṛtvā ca sarvadevānāṃ tattoyaṃ śirasi kṣipet ||

Translation: “The water that has washed the Guru's feet is the same as the offering (tarpana) made to all the gods; having offered to all the deities, one should sprinkle that very water upon one's own head.” — Guru Gita

Benefits

• The priceless gift of Parama-Advaita Bhakti — absolute Oneness with existence, with Paramashiva, with the Guru.
• Boundless joy in relationships.
• Overflowing prosperity and abundance.
• A profound spiritual awakening at the feet of the living Guru.
• The specific grace of that day's form of the Cosmic Mother.