Answers
Common questions about the gods, their days, prayers and temples, each answered in a few lines.
Which Hindu god is worshipped on each day of the week?
Each day of the week is kept for its own deities: Sunday is Surya Dev’s, Monday is Lord Shiva’s, Tuesday is Lord Hanuman’s and Goddess Durga’s, Wednesday is Lord Ganesha’s, Thursday is Lord Vishnu’s, Friday is Goddess Lakshmi’s and Saturday is Shani Dev’s. Each day also belongs to one of the nine grahas, from Surya on Sunday to Lord Shani on Saturday, while Rahu and Ketu have no day of their own.
Which aarti is sung to each Hindu god?
Each god has an aarti of their own: Om Jai Jagdish Hare is sung to Lord Vishnu, Om Jai Shiv Omkara to Lord Shiva, Jai Ganesh Deva to Lord Ganesha, Jai Ambe Gauri to Goddess Durga and Om Jai Lakshmi Mata to Goddess Lakshmi. Lord Hanuman’s is the Hanuman Aarti, and Lord Krishna’s is Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki.
What is the mantra of each Hindu god?
Most gods have a short mantra of their own: Om Namah Shivaya for Lord Shiva, Om Namo Narayanaya for Lord Vishnu, Om Gan Ganapataye Namah for Lord Ganesha, Om Ham Hanumate Namah for Lord Hanuman and Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah for Goddess Lakshmi. Of the 33 below, 21 begin with Om and end with Namah, “I bow”.
What is offered to each Hindu god in puja?
Each god has offerings of their own: bilva leaves for Lord Shiva, tulsi leaves for Lord Vishnu, durva grass for Lord Ganesha, sindoor mixed with jasmine oil for Lord Hanuman, red flowers for Goddess Durga and a lamp of sesame or mustard oil for Shani Dev. Lord Krishna is offered butter and sugar (makhan mishri), and Goddess Lakshmi lotus or red flowers.
What are the 12 Jyotirlingas, and where are they?
The 12 Jyotirlingas, where Lord Shiva is worshipped as a pillar of light, are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Vaidyanath in Jharkhand, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, Nageshwar in Gujarat, Kashi Vishwanath in Uttar Pradesh, Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand and Grishneshwar in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has the most, three: Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar and Grishneshwar.
What are the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, in order?
The ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, in order, are Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. Matsya, the first, is the fish, and Kalki, the tenth, is the one to come. Four came in the Satya Yuga, three in the Treta Yuga and one in the Dvapara Yuga; Buddha and Kalki belong to the Kali Yuga.
What are the nine forms of Goddess Durga, one for each night of Navratri?
The nine forms of Goddess Durga, one for each night of Navratri, are Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. The first night is for Shailaputri, daughter of the mountain, and the ninth for Siddhidatri, giver of the siddhis.
Who are the ten Mahavidyas, in order?
The ten Mahavidyas, the wisdom goddesses, are Goddess Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala. Kali is the first, the dark one, who is Time, and Bagalamukhi, also written Baglamukhi, is the eighth.
What are the eight Ashtavinayaka temples, and where are they?
The Ashtavinayaka are eight temples of Lord Ganesha in Maharashtra: Mayureshwar at Morgaon, Siddhivinayak at Siddhatek, Ballaleshwar at Pali, Varadavinayak at Mahad, Chintamani at Theur, Girijatmaj at Lenyadri, Vighneshwar at Ozar and Mahaganapati at Ranjangaon. The yatra begins and ends at Morgaon and takes about three days.
What are the day, colour and gem of each of the Navagraha?
Each of the seven grahas from Surya to Lord Shani rules a day of the week, with a gem of its own: Surya on Sunday (ruby), Chandra on Monday (pearl), Mangala on Tuesday (red coral), Budha on Wednesday (emerald), Guru on Thursday (yellow sapphire), Shukra on Friday (diamond) and Shani on Saturday (blue sapphire). Rahu and Ketu, the shadow planets, have no day of their own; their gems are hessonite and cat’s eye.
Why does Vitthal stand on a brick?
When Lord Krishna came to the devotee Sant Pundalik, Sant Pundalik was serving his old parents and would not leave them. He threw out a brick for Krishna to stand on and asked him to wait. Krishna waited, and at Sant Pundalik’s wish he stayed, as Vitthal, the one who stands on the brick.
Who wrote the Hanuman Chalisa, and how many verses does it have?
The Hanuman Chalisa was written by Sant Goswami Tulsidas, in Awadhi, in the 16th century. It has 40 chaupais, between two dohas at the start and one at the end.
About these answers
These are questions people often ask about Hindu practice, each answered first in two or three sentences: which god is worshipped on which day, which aarti and mantra belong to each deity, what to offer in puja, and the well-known lists, such as the 12 Jyotirlingas, the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, the nine forms of Goddess Durga, the ten Mahavidyas and the eight Ashtavinayaka temples.
After the short answer, each page gives the full list, a few related questions and links to the pages that go deeper. The answers are drawn from the site’s own deity, prayer and temple pages, where every fact has been checked against at least two independent sources, so the answer and the full page always agree.