Worship and rituals have special importance in Hindu religion. It is believed that while performing any puja it is important to maintain purity of body and mind. Many rules of worship have been mentioned in religious texts and Puranas, one of them is that worship should always be done only after taking bath.
It is believed that any ritual related to God is successful only if you perform it with a pure mind and body. For this reason, we enter the puja or temple only after waking up in the morning and taking bath etc. Bathing is given great importance before the puja, as bathing is considered a symbol of purity.
However, sometimes such a situation arises when people have to perform any ritual related to worship without taking bath. In such a situation, the biggest question that arises is whether it is necessary to take bath before puja? Let us know about this from Astrologer Pandit Ramesh Bhojraj Dwivedi and what our scriptures say about this.
Importance of bathing for worship according to the scriptures
According to the scriptures, bathing is considered a symbol of physical and mental purity. By taking bath, a person cleans both external and internal impurities from his body.
In the scriptures, bathing before worship is considered very important, as it is considered a symbol of physical and mental purity. Taking bath before puja frees one’s body and mind from external and internal impurities, thereby achieving complete purity at the time of puja.
According to religious beliefs, worship without bathing does not yield its full results and worship done with an impure body is not completely accepted. Therefore, taking bath before worship is not only mandatory, but is also considered the basis of pure and successful worship. The process of bathing easily leads the person to meditation and devotion, making the person feel peace and purity in the mind. According to the scriptures, this purity increases devotion and dedication in worship, which leads to God’s blessings.
Can puja be done without bathing?
According to the scriptures, taking a bath is considered a necessary procedure before worshiping God or entering the temple, but in some special circumstances, even if you cannot take a bath, the worship can be done.
According to the scriptures, if a person is ill or cannot take bath due to any other circumstance such as during a journey, he is allowed to perform the puja with purity of mind. In such a situation, you can worship with mental purity even if you are not able to take bath.
It is said in the scriptures that the importance of worship lies in the resolution and emotion of the person. Even if a person cannot take bath for some reason, he should still maintain devotion and purity towards the puja. If you do mental puja or chant mantra, there is no compulsion to take bath for this.
You can do mental puja anywhere without taking bath and can also meditate on God. However, your body must be clean to touch the idols in a temple or home, which means you should touch the idols only after taking bath.
Importance of mental bath for worship.
Mental purity and meditation have also been given great importance in the scriptures. If a person is unable to take bath with water for some reason then he is advised to take a mental bath.
Mental purification refers to the act of purifying one’s mind through meditation and prayer before performing puja. After this he can worship. It is also believed that if one keeps his thoughts pure and has complete purity of mind, then he is a true devotee of God and his worship is considered acceptable.
By chanting mantras you can purify your body even without bathing.
According to some rules of the scriptures, if you are not able to take bath then chanting mantras is also considered fruitful. Through these mantras you can purify your mind and soul. In these mantras ‘Apitrah Pavitra Va Sarvasthangato ऽपि वा’. ‘Yam smret pundarikaksham sa bhayabyantarh chucchih..’ is the main one.
By chanting this mantra, the person gets purified internally and externally and even if you are not able to take bath due to some reason, you must chant this mantra to purify the body.
Under what circumstances can worship be done without bathing?
To perform puja after bath, it is also important to know at what time you are performing the puja. If the puja is done at night instead of in the morning, then the puja can be done with mental purity by washing hands and feet.
If for some reason a sudden opportunity arises to perform puja and there is no time to take bath, the puja can still be performed with pure feelings. Such a situation has been accepted as an exception in the scriptures.
According to the scriptures for worship, it is very important to have a pure body and mind along with determination and devotion in this ritual. It is said that God is pleased not only by external purity but by reverence and devotion. If one’s mind is pure with true feelings and he is completely dedicated to the worship of God, then God is pleased with him and he gets the full fruits of worship.
