What is the meaning of pooja

Pooja (puja) in Jainism means reverence and worship. It is an act of paying respect to a Tirthankara, Arihant, or Siddha, and to the ideals they stand for.

Key points:

• It is an expression of devotion, gratitude, and remembrance, not a request for material gifts.
• Pooja includes three aspects you may see in practice: manasi (mental), vachiki (spoken), and kaya (physical) offerings—e.g., prayers, bhajans or stotras, and symbolic offerings like flowers or lamps.
• The inner aim of pooja is to cultivate right faith (samyak darshan), right knowledge (samyak jnana), and right conduct, along with compassion and non-violence.
• There are minor ritual differences between Digambar and Shwetambar traditions, but the core meaning—devotion to the enlightened beings and their ethical teachings—remains the same.

If you’d like, I can share a simple example of a Jain puja stanza or describe how a typical puja is performed in a Jain temple.