Frequently Asked Questions on Kuladev and Kuldevi

1. Should we chant the Name of Kuladev (Male family Deity) or Kuldevi (Female family Deity) ?

1. If we have only Kuladev (Male family Deity), then we should chant His Name and if only a Kuldevi (Female family Deity), then we should chant Her Name.

2. If we have both, the Kuladev and Kuldevi, then we should chant the Name of the Kuldevi for the following reasons.

   • Children are more demanding with the mother because the mother fulfils their demands faster. The Kuldevi, too, is appeased faster than the Kuladevata.

   • Kuldevi is associated with the Pruthvitattva (Absolute Earth Principle) more than the Kuladev.

   • The Name imparted by the Supreme Guru (Paratpar Guru) is 100% conducive for our spiritual progress; Kuldevi’s Name is 30%, whereas Kuladev’s Name is 25% conducive for our spiritual progress.

2. What If our Kuladevata (Family Deity) is of the nature of the Ganesh Panchayatan ? 

          If our Kuladevata is of the nature of the Ganesh Panchayatan (Five Deities in which Ganesh is the main Deity) or the Vishnu Panchayatan, etc., then we should consider the main Deity in the Panchayatan such as Ganesh, Vishnu, etc. respectively to be the Kuladevata.

3. What If we are not aware of the Name of our Kuladevata ?

          If we are not aware of the Name of our Kuladevata, we should try to trace it from the elders in our family, others who have the same surname as ours, or others from the same caste as ours, or the priest, etc. In case the information is still not available, we should chant the Name of our Ishtadevata (Deity of worship) or ‘Shri Kuladevatayai Namaha’. When the stage of this chanting is over, we come across people who tell us the Name of our Kuladevata. Many people find it difficult to chant ‘Shri Kuladevatayai Namaha’ as they are not able to visualise the form of the Deity. On the contrary, if we chant the Name of our Ishtadevata, the chanting becomes easy.

4. What should be prefixed to the Name of the Kuladevata ?

        Shri should be prefixed to the Name of the Kuladevata, the Name that follows should be in dative case (Chaturthi pratyay) and should conclude with Namaha. For instance, if the Kuladevata is Shri Ganesh then chant ‘Shri Ganeshaya Namaha’, if it is Bhavani, then ‘Shri Bhavanidevyai Namaha’. Since it is difficult to pronounce ‘Shri Bhavanyai Namaha’ one should use devyai and chant ‘Shri Bhavanidevyai Namaha’.

5. Which Kuladevata’s Name should a married woman chant – that of her parent’s family or that of the husband’s family ?

        Generally, a woman changes her surname after marriage. She leaves behind everything in her parent’s house and comes to the husband’s house. In a way, it is a rebirth for her. Hence, after marriage a woman should chant the Name of the Kuladevata from the husband’s side. However, if a woman has been chanting a specific Deity’s Name right from her childhood and is an evolved seeker, she should continue the same chant. If her Guru has given her some Name, she should continue to chant that Name only. 

6. How much should we chant Kuladevata’s Name ?

        We should chant the Name of Kuladevata for minimum 1 to 2 hours per day. There is no upper limit for chanting. 

7. What is the Benefit of chanting Kuladevata’s Name ?

        Once the chanting of the Name of the Kuladevata is completed, the Guru Himself comes into the seeker’s life and blesses him with a Gurumantra. 

 Reference : Sanatan Sanstha’s Holy text ‘Shakti (Part 1) Introduction to Divine Energy’.