Which Puja to Do for Paralysis, Stroke and Joint Disease — Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap and Shani Shanti

For paralysis and stroke, the puja tradition names first is the Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap — Shiva’s mantra for protection from illness and untimely death, chanted by pandits with the sankalp in the patient’s name and gotra. Where the kundli shows Saturn (Shani) afflicted, that planet’s own shanti is added. Both are prayers made alongside medical treatment, never instead of it.

Jyotish gives Saturn the bones, the joints, the nerves’ slow decline and every long, chronic illness. An afflicted Saturn — or Saturn’s Mahadasha or Sade Sati — is the traditional reading for paralysis, arthritis and conditions that last for years. That does not mean everyone with paralysis and stroke has an afflicted Saturn (Shani): whether the planet is involved is read in the person’s own kundli. You can check it free in Find Your Puja — enter the birth details and the problem, and the kundli is read for it. If it is involved, the remedy is Shani Shanti Puja.

1.25 lakh in the days after a stroke or a brain haemorrhage; 51,000 during long recovery from paralysis; 11,000 for arthritis or chronic joint pain. A larger count is a larger prayer by more pandits; no count is a guarantee of recovery. The sankalp can be given by a family member — the patient need not be present.

Nothing in the tradition asks anyone to stop, delay or change treatment for paralysis and stroke. Follow every instruction of your doctor; the puja is a prayer for strength and for the treatment to go well. For an emergency, an ICU stay or an operation, see which puja when someone is in the ICU or has surgery tomorrow. To book: Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap in Ujjain.