PRIVATE PUJA SERVICE
In an effort to streamline our religious services to the Hindu community and to improve The temple’s standing in the social media, all private pujas that are performed either at the temple or in a devotee’s home or any other location, within or outside the temple operating hours, will be closely regulated. All bookings will be recorded in the temple’s register for Private Pujas. A Private Puja Services Request Form needs to be completed for every puja. All service requests will be administered by the Temple, in consultation with the priest(s).
For Puja services at the Temple (Vehicle Puja, Namakaranam, Annaprasana, Aksharabhyasam), the suggested Dakshina/Sambhavana for the performing priest is:
Vehicle Puja – $20
All Others – 20% of the charged fee for the said puja
Under no circumstances shall a performing priest ask for, suggest or demand an additional sambhavana from devotees sponsoring the puja. The Private Puja Administrator or the office manager will be advising the devotees on this when they book the puja.
For outside private services performed in a devotee’s home or any chosen venue, the Temple Administration will send an invoice, by email, that will confirm their booking and itemize payments to be made. This invoice will include an Administrative Fee of either $50 or $150, depending on whether the booked puja falls within or outside of temple operating hours. In addition to the Administrative Fee, a priest sambhavana @$100/h will be charged. This hourly rate is a compounded rate that takes into account the time the priest takes to make the trip to the devotee’s home within the greater Charlotte area, travel charges, gas mileage, any preparation/set up time and the actual time taken for the performance of the puja. Please see Table below for the expected duration for each puja:
Private Pujas List
As an example, the typical time it takes for performing at-home Satyanarayana puja outside of temple operating hours is 2.5h. For this, the Temple will invoice the devotee $300 at the time of confirmation. This includes sambhavana of $250 (2.5h x $100) plus an Administrative Fee of $50. If the same puja was scheduled for a time the temple is open, then the charge would be $400 ($250 + $150).
The performing priest is not encouraged to demand or negotiate any set amount from the devotee.
Performing priests are reminded that they are considered Temple ambassadors to the community and, as such, are asked to refrain from any actions that will tarnish the temple’s image in the community it serves.
Please click the link to book the priest for your pujas Priest Booking Form.
Once your Private Puja is completed, you will be able to provide your feedback using the link Private Puja Feedback.