Panchayatana puja

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Panchayatana puja (IAST Pañcāyatana pūjā) also known as Pancha Devi Deva Puja is a system of puja (worship) in the Smarta sampradaya, which is one of four major sampradayas of Hinduism. It consists of the worship of five deities set in a quincunx pattern, the five deities being Ganesha, Mahadevi, Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. Sometimes an Ishta Devata (any personal god of devotee's preference) or Kartikeya is the sixth deity in the mandala (see Shanmata). Panchayatana puja has been attributed to Adi Shankara, the 8th century CE Hindu philosopher. It is a practice that became popular in medieval India. However, archaeological evidence suggests that this practice long predates the birth of Adi Shankara. Many Panchayatana mandalas and temples have been uncovered that are from the Gupta Empire period, and one Panchayatana set from the village of Nand (about 24 kilometers from Ajmer) has been dated to belong to the Kushan Empire era (pre-300 CE). The Kushan period set includes Shiva, Vishnu, Surya...

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