Satyanarayan Pooja

Preparations
First you need to decide on which day you are going to perform the vratam and then make necessary arrangements for the pooja. You can call any of the local priest who can visit your home on the specific day to perform the vratam. Once you are done with it, you need to purchase the necessary pooja items.

List of items
Turmeric powder - 100 gm
Vermilion / Kumkuma - 100 gm
Chandan powder - 50 gm
Betel leaves - 100
Betel nuts (vakkalu) - 150 gm
Dry dates - 250 gm
Currency coins (Re.1) - 75
Mango leaves
Turmeric pods (pasupu kommulu) - 200 gm
Sugandha Dravyalu (powdered cardamom / elaichi, cloves, nutmeg / jajikai, pachcha karpooram / camphor)
New Panchala chapu (dhoti set) - 9 x 5 size.
Silver / copper Kalasam - 1
Blouse pieces (preferably yellow, green or red) - 1
Silver or gold pratima (impression) of Satyanarayana Swamy
Rice - 3 Kg
Coconuts - 10
Banana - 1 dozen
Panchamrutam made of cow's milk and curd, honey, sugar and cow's ghee i.e. melted butter)
Camphor - 100 gm
Agarbathi - 1 packet
Sambrani - 50 gm
Sooji prasadam made of sooji, sugar, ghee, cashew and raisins (kishmish)
Loose flowers - 500 gm
Jasmine or lily garlands - 5
Pancha patra and udharini (i.e small tumbler and spoon preferably silver or copper one)
Harathi plate - 1
Pooja bell - 1
Thread roll - 1
Pooja mats - 5
Pooja wicks
Silver lamps - 2
Pooja oil
Any other fruits of your choice like oranges.
Satyanarayana Swamy photo
A small brass plate full of rice for Ganapati pooja.

Pooja Vidhanam
You can make all the necessary arrangements the previous day itself like tying mango leaves to the main entrance doors. Place everything ready in the specified room or place preferably in the North East corner of the house. Keep all the list of items in separate bowls and keep these handy in a place close to the place where you sit and perform pooja. Clean the place where you keep the mandapam, draw traditional muggulu / floor designs and place the mandapam. Smear turmeric paste on the mandapam and draw muggu with rice flour.

On the specified day, get up early in the morning and finish your daily chores. You need to wash your hair on this day, smear turmeric paste to your feet and dress yourself in traditional attire.

Place the dhoti set / panchala chapu on the mandapam and spread rice on it. Apply chandan and kumkuma to the Kalasam, place one copper coin it, fill it with three fourths water and add powdered sugandha dravyalu in it. Place the Kalasam at the center of the mandapam. Apply chandan and kumkuma to the photo of Satyanarayana Swamy and place one flower garland to it. Place it behind the Kalasam, keep a clean mango twig containing 3-5 leaves i.e dalam in the Kalasam and then place a coconut upside down in the Kalasam.

Fold one blouse piece into a cone shape and place it on the coir tip of the coconut and apply chandan and kumkuma to this cone shaped blouse piece. Place one flower on top of the cone and place one flower garland round the neck of the Kalasam. If you have Satyanarayana pratima, you need to apply chandan and kumkuma to it, place it on a betel leaf or in a small silver bowl and keep this in front of the Kalasam.

Place two silver lamps or brass lamps on either side of the mandapam and use either cow's ghee or pooja oil for lighting the lamps. When you sit for performing the pooja in front of the mandapam, ensure that husband is sitting to the right of wife.

Once you are ready for performing the pooja, ensure that you sit till the end of the pooja. Begin the pooja with lighting the lamps, then Ganapati pooja which is followed by pooja to Dikpalakas and Nava Grahas / nine planets. Then the main pooja to Satyanarayana begins which is followed by the recitation of 5 stories. This is the important part of pooja as the stories describe the procedure for pooja and its importance.

The 1st story is a description of Lord Narayana narrating the importance of the vratam to Narada Mahamuni which is being retold by Suta Mahamuni to the sages in Naimisharanya. The 2nd story is about a poor brahmin residing in Kasi (the present Varanasi) gets all the riches on performing the vratam, He was told to do so by Sri Vishnu who comes in the guise of a brahmin. The 3rd story is about a merchant and his wife Leelavati - the childless couple who were blessed with a daughter named Kalavati. The 4th story is about the imprison of the merchant and his son-in-law in the King's imprisonment and their release with the blessing of Lord Satyanaryana. And the last story is very important which is about the a King who refuses to take the prasad of Satyanarayana Vratam and how he suffers due to this.

At the end of each story, you have to break one coconut and keep it aside to offer it to the Lord at the time of Maha Naivedyam. Not only performing the vratam but taking the prasad of Satyanarayana vratam is equally important. Though the performers forget to offer you prasadam, you should not hesitate to ask and take the prasadam as you it marks the completion of the pooja / vratam.
Recipe for Sooji prasadam
The method of preparation of prasadam for the vratam is too simple. Fry cashew nuts and raisins (kishmish) in pure ghee and keep it aside. Fry sooji in little ghee and keep it aside. Boil equal measure of sugar in a mixture of milk and water, add elaichi (cardamom) powder and then sooji to it. Keep stirring till it thickens. Take it in a serving bowl and decorate with fried dry fruits. Prasadam is ready.

Satyanarayana Swamy Vratam / pooja is one of the most important pooja performed by the people of all categories on a regular basis for all occasions. It is believed that all the wishes are sure to be fulfilled on performing this pooja.

Punah Pooja / Udyapanam / Mandapa Daanam
For this particular vratam, punah pooja / udyapanam is performed immediately after the pooja is over. Generally, the mandapam along with the rice, betel leaves, dry dates, coins, coconut on the Kalasam and blouse piece is offered to the priest who performs the vratam. In case, the priest doesn't take these items, you can give these to a temple priest.