Pūjā or
Poojan is a prayer ritual performed by
Hindus to host, honour and worship one or more deities, or to spiritually celebrate an event. Sometimes spelt phonetically as
pooja or
poojah, it may honour or celebrate the presence of special guest(s), or their memories after they pass away. The word
pūjā (
Devanagari: पूजा) comes from
Sanskrit, and means reverence, honour, homage, adoration, and worship. Puja rituals are also held by
Buddhists, Jains and
Sikhs.