Narayan Bali Puja is a potent Vedic ritual in Kashi dedicated to liberating ancestors who met untimely, unnatural, or unceremonious deaths — preventing their souls from lingering as restless Preta spirits. Invoking Vishnu's grace, symbolised by "Bali" (sacrifice), it severs karmic ties and removes Pitru Dosha.
Left unaddressed, such souls are believed to spawn generational curses like infertility, financial hardship, illness, and marital discord. The ritual constructs a symbolic effigy of the deceased, enacting a mock funeral to satiate the soul and escort it toward Vishnu Loka — considered especially potent when performed in Shiva's own city.
Sankalp: The deceased's name and Gotra are recited before the Pandit begins.
Ganesh Puja: Lord Ganesh is invoked to remove obstacles from the rite.
Effigy & Pind Offerings: A symbolic effigy is crafted from flour and banana leaves, with 24 or more Pind offerings made in the deceased's name.
Vishnu Homa: A fire ritual with 108 ahutis invokes Vishnu's grace for the soul's liberation.
Brahmin Bhojan & Ganga Visarjan: The rite concludes with a Brahmin feast and immersion in the Ganga.
Soul Liberation: Ancestors trapped as restless Preta spirits are freed and guided toward Vishnu Loka.
Curse Removal: Generational troubles linked to infertility, financial hardship, and marital discord are believed to ease.
Family Harmony: Descendants report renewed peace and prosperity once the rite is complete.
