Satyanarayan Vrat

Religious observance that may be
observed any day of the month but is
most commonly performed on the day
of the full moon. The presiding deity is
Vishnu, worshiped in his form as
Satyanarayan (“Lord of Truth”). The rite
is believed to destroy evil and to promote the prosperity of its sponsors
(those who hire a brahmin to perform
the rite), its performers, and even its
hearers. The rite’s major features involve
modification of diet and worship, the
two general characteristics of most
Hindu religious observances. On the day
this rite is performed, the observant
must keep a strict fast (upavasa) until
the ceremony is over. A pavilion is prepared in which an image of Satyanarayan is installed and worshiped (part
of the worship includes reading the rite’s
charter myth), and after which prasad is
given to all those present.