Narayan Bali Puja in Varanasi

Narayan Bali Puja, also written as Narayan Bali Pooja or Narayana Bali Pooja, is the scriptural rite performed for a family member who has died an unnatural death, and it is undertaken to release the departed atma from the restless preta state and to relieve the Pitra Dosh that such a death leaves upon the family. Pitradev arranges the complete ritual in Varanasi at the Ganga ghats and at Pishach Mochan Kund, with packages beginning at ₹15,000, all samagri included, and with experienced pandits who perform this specific vidhi regularly. Families who are unable to travel to Varanasi can have the rite performed on their behalf, with full photo and video documentation shared afterwards.

Book Narayanbali Puja Now

Who needs Narayan Bali Puja

Narayan Bali Puja is prescribed where a death in the family has occurred by unnatural means, which the scriptures classify as akaal mrityu, the untimely death. This includes death by accident, drowning, fire, snakebite, poisoning, suicide, murder, or any sudden and unexpected cause that took the person before the natural span of life was complete.

The reason the ordinary rites do not suffice in such cases is set out in the Garuda Puran. When a person dies an untimely death, the atma is held to remain trapped in preta yoni, an unsettled intermediate state, and in that condition it cannot receive the offerings made through routine Shraadh or Pind Daan, so the offerings do not reach their intended recipient and the family continues to carry the burden. Narayan Bali Puja addresses this directly, by performing the funeral rites afresh in symbolic form so that the atma is released from that state and the normal ancestral rites become effective once again.

Families generally come to this ritual for one of two reasons. Either a recent unnatural death has occurred and the family has been advised to perform the rite before or shortly after the twelfth-day observances, or a jyotishi has read Pitra Dosh in the kundali and traced it back to an unnatural death in an earlier generation whose rites were never completed.

Sacred places to perform Narayan Bali Puja

Narayan Bali Puja is performed at a small number of tirthas that the scriptures recognise as suitable for rites concerning trapped and unsettled souls. These are Gokarna, Trimbakeshwar, Kashi Varanasi, Haridwar, Prayagraj and Gaya.

Each of these places carries its own scriptural association. Gokarna and Trimbakeshwar are the seats most traditionally named for this rite in the western texts, while Kashi Varanasi, being the city of Lord Shiva and the seat of moksha, is held to be the most powerful location of all for the liberation of an atma. Haridwar and Prayagraj draw their sanctity from the Ganga and from the Triveni Sangam, and Gaya is the foremost tirtha for Pind Daan and the rites of the ancestors. A family may perform Narayan Bali at any of these places, and the choice generally rests on which is nearest, which the family is able to travel to, and how many days it is able to set aside for the ritual.

Narayan Bali Puja is completed in 1 day or 3 days depending on the place

The duration of the ritual differs by location, and this is worth understanding before a family fixes its travel and its dates.

At Kashi Varanasi, Haridwar and Gaya, Narayan Bali Puja is completed in a single day, and the vidhi runs for 3 to 4 hours. At Triambakeshwar also, the same ritual is performed in 3 to 4 hours only but when Narayan bali is clubbed with Nag bali, the puja duration extends for 3 days. But for Narayan bali pooja, duration is 3-4 hours only whether it is done at Kashi, Gaya, Prayagraj, Gokarna or Triambakeshwar.  

Why Narayan Bali Puja is performed in Varanasi

Varanasi holds a singular place in the scriptures for rites concerning the departed, being the city of Lord Shiva and the seat of moksha, where the Ganga is believed to carry the offerings of the living directly to the ancestral realm. For a ritual whose entire purpose is the liberation of a trapped atma, no location is more fitting, and the merit of the rite performed here is held to be multiplied many times over.

Within Varanasi, Pishach Mochan Kund is the site specifically associated with this purpose, its name itself denoting the release of souls held in a trapped or restless state, and it is here that Narayan Bali Puja is most appropriately conducted, alongside the Ganga ghats where the Tarpan and the closing offerings are made.

When Narayan Bali Puja should be performed

The scripturally ideal time to perform Narayan Bali is on eleventh-day after death, so that the atma is released before the ordinary Shraadh offerings begin, and where a family is able to arrange it within that window it should do so.

In practice, however, most families come to this ritual much later, often years or even generations after the death, having discovered the omission only through a kundali reading or through a persistent pattern of obstacles at home. In such cases the delay does not disqualify the rite in any way, and the ritual remains fully effective whenever it is performed. The suitable days are Amavasya, Chaturdashi and Ekadashi, and the fortnight of Pitru Paksha carries the greatest merit of the year for rites of this kind. 

The complete Narayan Bali Puja vidhi

The ritual runs for 3 to 4 hours in the Basic package and 4 to 5 hours in the fuller packages, and follows the sequence set out in the Garuda Puran.

• Sankalp. The rite opens with a formal declaration taken in the name and gotra of the family member performing it, naming the departed and stating the purpose of the ritual.
• Kalash and Ganesh Puja. The sacred vessel is established and the presiding deities are invoked so that the ritual proceeds without obstruction.

• Installation of 5 deities. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Yama and tatpurusha
• Yam Pujan. Yama, the lord of the departed, is worshipped and petitioned for the release of the atma from the state in which it is held.

• Preparation of the putala. A symbolic body is prepared, traditionally from wheat flour or darbha grass, to stand in place of the physical body that could not receive its proper rites at the time of death.
• Narayan Bali Homa. The fire ritual is performed with the mantras prescribed for the liberation of the atma from preta yoni, and this is the core of the rite.
• Pind Daan. The symbolic pinds are offered to nourish and settle the departed, completing the funeral that was left unfinished.
• Tarpan. Water offerings are made at the ghat for the peace of the atma and of the ancestral line.
• Brahman Bhojan and Daan. The rite is concluded with offerings and dakshina, and in the Premium package with Gho Daan and Brahman Bhojan for 11 brahmins.

Cost of Narayan Bali Puja in Varanasi

Narayan Bali Puja in Varanasi is offered in 3 packages, and every package includes all puja materials and samagri, the pandit dakshina, and the complete ritual arrangement, so that there are no additional charges of any kind at the ghat.

• Basic Package — ₹15,000. A 4-hour puja conducted by 3 pandits, with all puja materials and samagri included. Sankalp, deity worship, the Narayan Bali Homa, the symbolic pind preparation and the symbolic funeral rites for the trapped atma are all performed in full. This is the most commonly booked package and it covers the core scriptural requirement of the ritual.

• Standard Package — ₹25,000. The same 4 to 5 hour vidhi conducted by 5 pandits, providing the fuller scriptural form prescribed in the Garuda Puran, where the Navagraha and supplementary devata worship benefits from multiple priests performing parallel recitations. The added pandit strength matters most for families with 3 or more unnatural deaths across generations to liberate in a single Sankalp.

• Premium Package — ₹51,000. The full vidhi performed by 5 pandits, followed by Gho Daan, the gifting of a cow, which the scriptures hold to be the most meritorious daan a family can perform for an ancestor's peace, and Brahman Bhojan for 11 brahmins after the puja. The post-puja bhojan completes the ritual cycle as the scriptures intend, since the merit of feeding 11 brahmins is transferred directly to the atma being liberated.

Families who arrive at the ghats without a booking frequently encounter confusion over the procedure, uncertainty over what has actually been included, and prices that shift once the ritual has begun. A pre-booked puja removes all of this, because the pandits, the samagri, the muhurat and the cost are settled in advance and confirmed in writing before the family arrives.

What you need to carry for Narayanbali Puja

The arrangements are handled in full, and the family is not required to bring or source anything. You need to bring only white dhoti or kurta and pajama which you will wear at the time of ritual. You need to also have names and gotra of deceased person. Where the gotra is not known, the pandit will structure the Sankalp in the form the scriptures prescribe for such cases, and the ritual remains entirely valid.

For families who cannot travel to Varanasi

Where a family is unable to come to Varanasi, whether because of distance, health or the circumstances of the bereavement, the ritual is performed at Varanasi on the family's behalf.  We will assign a brahmin who will perform the Narayan bali puja in Varanasi on your behalf and you can participate in puja through video call. The Sankalp is taken in the name and gotra of the family member arranging it, the full vidhi is conducted exactly as it would be with the family present, and photographs and video of the complete ritual are shared afterwards along with the details of the pandits who performed it. Families living in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and other cities have had the rite performed in this manner.

How to book Narayan Bali Puja in Varanasi

To book, Narayan Bali Puja in Varanasi, please visit contact us page and call or send enquiry on Whatsapp with your preferred date and package, team will check availability and confirm the booking. You need to make 20% advance for booking and rest after puja. 

In case you want to make booking directly from website, please visit Narayanbali Pooja Varanasi page and select date and make booking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Narayan Bali Puja and who should perform it?

What is the difference between Tripindi Shraadh and Narayan Bali Puja?

Is Narayan Bali Pooja the same as Narayan Nagbali?

How long does Narayan Bali Puja take?

How many pandits perform the ritual?

What is the cost of Narayan Bali Puja in Varanasi?

When should Narayan Bali Puja be performed, and is it too late if years have passed?

Where in Varanasi is Narayan Bali Puja performed?

Can Narayan Bali Puja be done if the family cannot travel to Varanasi?