Pick a deity and it lays out the complete home puja for that deity - the favoured day and tithi, the mantra, the flowers and leaves to use, the bhog, the aarti, the special rules that apply, and the samagri checklist. Ten deities are covered, from Ganesha and Shiva to Satyanarayan, in English and Hindi, with a PDF you can print. The packing list on its own is Puja Samagri; this page is the order of worship.

Broadly: bathe and set the altar, then sankalpa stating what you are doing and why, avahana inviting the deity, snana and vastra, then chandan, akshat, flowers and leaves, dhoop and lamp, naivedya with water, and finally aarti, pushpanjali and pradakshina. The prasad is shared at the end and the daan given.

Not for the daily or weekly worship on this page - it is written to be done by the householder. A priest is engaged for the larger ceremonies with a havan, a specific sankalpa or life-event rituals, where the Sanskrit procedure and fire ritual need someone trained.

East or north for the worshipper, with the deity facing west or south accordingly - so the altar sits on the eastern or northern side of the room. Sit on a woollen or cotton asana rather than on the bare floor, and keep the lamp to the deity's right.

Bathe and wear clean clothes; keep the altar and vessels clean; use copper, brass, silver or clay rather than iron and steel; prepare the bhog fresh and never taste it before it is offered; keep onion and garlic out of it. Menstruating women traditionally do not perform the puja, though families differ, and there is no bar on reciting or listening.

Follow your family. What is given here is the mainstream procedure, and regional and household variations - in the offerings, the number of items, the order of the aarti - are all legitimate. The vidhi is a guide for those who have no one to ask, not a correction of anyone's tradition.