The short answer
For a patient in the ICU, or before an operation, the puja the tradition prescribes is the Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap — usually at 51,000 for a major operation or a serious ICU stay, and at 1.25 lakh (sawa lakh) when the condition is critical or the surgery is high-risk. It is a prayer made in the patient’s name alongside the doctors’ work, never instead of it.
11,000 JaapMaha Mrityunjaya Jaap — 11,000 JaapOrdinary or recurring illness · 4 pandits₹5,500Includes dakshina, samagri and all — no other chargesBook Now 51,000 JaapMaha Mrityunjaya Jaap — 51,000 JaapSerious illness, long treatment · 15 pandits₹15,000Includes dakshina, samagri and all — no other chargesBook Now 1.25 Lakh JaapMaha Mrityunjaya Jaap — 1.25 Lakh JaapCritical condition, major surgery · 35 pandits₹31,000Includes dakshina, samagri and all — no other chargesBook Now
11,000 JaapMaha Mrityunjaya Jaap — 11,000 JaapOrdinary or recurring illness · 4 pandits₹5,500Includes dakshina, samagri and all — no other chargesBook Now 51,000 JaapMaha Mrityunjaya Jaap — 51,000 JaapSerious illness, long treatment · 15 pandits₹15,000Includes dakshina, samagri and all — no other chargesBook Now 1.25 Lakh JaapMaha Mrityunjaya Jaap — 1.25 Lakh JaapCritical condition, major surgery · 35 pandits₹31,000Includes dakshina, samagri and all — no other chargesBook Now If the surgery is tomorrow
- Book the jaap for tomorrow — the earliest day the booking form offers — and choose a start time close to the operation. Add on WhatsApp that it is for a surgery, with the time.
- Give the patient’s name and gotra for the sankalp. If you do not know the gotra, the sankalp is taken with Kashyap gotra, as tradition allows.
- Tonight, chant the mantra yourself — 108 times, at home or by the bedside. Many families also tie a red thread or keep a little vibhuti with the patient, if the hospital permits.
- Tomorrow, follow every instruction the surgeons give — fasting, medicines, timings. The jaap runs alongside; it asks nothing of the patient.
If the patient is in the ICU
In the ICU the family usually cannot be at the bedside, and that helplessness is often the hardest part. This is the situation for which the sawa lakh jaap is traditionally performed. The patient does not need to be conscious, present or told: the sankalp is taken in their name and gotra, given by the family. Many families chant the mantra in the waiting area in turns, so that it is being said through the day.
Which count to choose
- 51,000 — a major but routine operation, or an ICU stay after a procedure. 15 pandits.
- 1.25 lakh — heart, brain, transplant or other high-risk surgery; a ventilator; any condition where life is in danger. 35 pandits.
- 11,000 — a minor procedure, or when the family wants a smaller prayer. 4 pandits.
What the jaap is — and is not
It is a prayer to Shiva for the patient’s protection and for the treatment to succeed. It is not a treatment, and no one can promise an outcome. Never delay, refuse or change medical care because a puja has been booked. What families tell us they find in it is something to do at a time when they can do nothing else — a prayer being said, by name, for the person they love.
Arranging it from abroad
Families in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the Gulf often book this for a parent in hospital in India. Book online, give the name and gotra, and message us on WhatsApp with the hospital situation; the video of the jaap is sent to you. The puja: Maha Mrityunjaya Jaap in Ujjain.