Importance and method of worship of Panchayatana (five deities)

In the Hindu worship system, at the beginning of any work or chanting rituals and at the beginning of every auspicious work, the five deities who give happiness and prosperity, the same God, are worshipped in five desired forms.

ek param prabhu chidaanandaghan param tatv hain sarvaadhaar.

sarvaateet, sarvagat ve hee akhilavishvamay roop apaar..

hari, har, bhaanu, shakti, ganapati ye paanch roop hain udaar.

man upasy unhen bhajate jan bhakt svaruchi shraddha:. (pad-ratnaakar)

Panchdev are the embodied forms of the formless Brahma.

The Supreme Being is formless and bodiless, so knowledge of His true nature is impossible for ordinary humans. Therefore, the formless Brahman, in His embodied form, designated five deities for worship, known as the Panchdevas. These five gods are Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya and Shakti.

aadityan niyatan ch deveen rudran ch keshavam.

panchadaivatabhityuktan sarvakarmasu poojyet..

evan yo bhajate vishnun rudran durgaan ganaadhipam.

bhaaskaran ch dhiya nityan sa kadaachinn seedati.. (upaasanattv)

Meaning: Surya, Ganesha, Devi, Rudra and Vishnu – these five gods are worthy of worship in all works, those who worship them with respect are never inferior, their fame, virtue and name remain forever.

The Vedas and Puranas describe worship of the Five Gods as highly rewarding and as essential as bathing daily. Serving them leads to worship of the Supreme Being.

Why are these five gods more prominent than other gods?

There are two reasons for the predominance of the five gods over other gods:

1. 👉 The Panchdevas are the presiding deities (lords) of the five elements.

The Panchdevas are the rulers of the five elements—sky, air, fire, water, and earth.

👉 The Sun is the ruler of the air element, so he is worshipped with offerings and salutations.

👉 Since Ganesha is the lord of the water element, there is a rule to worship him first, because in the beginning of creation, there was only ‘water’ element everywhere.

👉 Shakti (Goddess, Jagadamba) is the ruler of the fire element, hence there is a tradition of worshipping Goddess Bhagwati by performing havan in the fire pit.

👉 Shiva is the ruler of the earth element, hence it is customary to worship him on earth in the form of Shivalinga.

👉 Vishnu is the ruler of the sky element, hence it is customary to praise him through words.

2. 👉 Compared to other gods, the meanings of the names of these Panchdevas are such that they indicate their being Brahma.

Vishnu means omnipresent, Shiva means welfare, Ganesha means lord of all the Ganas of the world, Surya means omnipresent (going everywhere), Shakti means power.

To perpetuate the worship of gods in the world, Ved Vyas composed separate Puranas for various deities. In their respective Puranas, these deities are considered the creator, sustainer, and destroyer of the universe, i.e., Brahma. Like Vishnu in Vishnupuran, Shiva in Shivapuran, Ganesh in Ganeshpuran, Surya in Suryapuran and Shakti in Shaktipuran are considered as Brahma. Therefore, no matter which god a person worships according to his interest or feelings, the worship is of only one Brahma because the Panchdevas are the embodiment of Brahma. In their worship or adoration, only Brahma is meditated upon and it is He who, by remaining present in the Ishtadev, gives the desired results. The same God, sitting in his glory, is calling himself the greatest. In reality, neither is any god big nor is any small.

ek upasy dev hee karate leela vividh anant prakaar.

pooje jaate hain ve alag-alag siddhaanton mein nij-nij ruchi ke anusaar.. (paad ratnaakar)

Panchdev and their worshippers

Worshippers of Vishnu are called Vaishnavas, worshippers of Shiva are known as Shaivas, worshippers of Ganesha are called Ganapatyas, worshippers of Surya are called Saura, and worshippers of Shakti are called Shaktas. Among these, Shaivas, Vaishnavas, and Shaktas are particularly well-known.

Panchdevas have different names and forms.

Other deities like Shalagram, Lakshminarayan, Satyanarayan, Govinddev, Siddhivinayak, Hanuman, Bhavani, Bhairav, Sheetala, Santoshimata, Vaishnodevi, Kamakhya, Annapurna etc. are variations (different forms) and names of these Panchadevs.

Which deity should be installed in which angle (direction) in Panchayatan?

Panchayatana Method: Five deities are worshipped in Panchadeva worship. On the worship platform or throne, the chosen deity is placed in the center, and the other four deities are placed in the four directions. This is called “Panchayatan.” According to the scriptures, there is a specific order for installing the idols of these five deities on the throne, according to one’s chosen deity. This is called the “Panchayatan method.”
For example: 👉

Vishnu Panchayatana
When Vishnu is the deity, Vishnu is placed in the center, Shiva in the northeast corner, Ganesha in the southeast corner, Surya in the southwest corner, and Shakti in the northwest corner.

Surya Panchayatana
If the Sun is placed in the center as the deity, then Shiva will be placed in the north-east corner, Ganesha in the south-east corner, Vishnu in the south-west corner, and Shakti in the north-west corner.

Devi Panchayatan
When Goddess Bhavani is in the center in her desired form, Vishnu will be in the north-east corner, Shiva in the south-east corner, Ganesha in the south-west corner, and Surya in the north-west corner.

Shiva Panchayatana
When Shiva is in the center in his presiding form, Vishnu is in the north-east corner, Surya in the south-east corner, Ganesha in the south-west corner, and Shakti in the north-west corner.

Ganesh Panchayat
When Ganesha is installed in the center in the presiding form, Vishnu is worshipped in the north-east corner, Shiva in the south-east corner, Surya in the south-west corner, and Shakti in the north-west corner.

Whether there is one deity, many, three, or thirty-three crore, worship of the “Five Gods” is popular. Among these, worship of Ganesha is essential.