What Tamil families usually keep ready for a griha pravesam: the entrance decoration, the cow pooja, the Ganapathi and Navagraha homams, the kalasam and the first milk boiling in the new kitchen.
தமிழில் படிக்க →Griha pravesam (கிரகப்பிரவேசம், also called puthumanai pugu vizha) is the ceremony for entering a new home. The date and time are fixed with your priest or family astrologer, and the order of rituals and the items differ from family to family. Use this as a checklist to discuss with your priest, and ask what the priest will bring.
1. How the day usually runs
Many Tamil families follow an order like this. Your priest will set the exact sequence.
- The entrance is decorated with a mango-leaf thoranam and kolam.
- A cow and its calf are brought into the house first, and honoured with a cow pooja.
- Ganapathi homam is done first, followed by the other homams the family chooses, often a Navagraha homam and a Vastu pooja.
- The kalasam is carried in and the house is purified.
- Milk is boiled in a new vessel in the new kitchen.
- A lamp lit in your present home is brought to the new house and kept burning, and a lamp is lit again in the evening.
2. Entrance and decoration
- Mango leaves for the thoranam over the doorway.
- Kolam at the entrance.
- Turmeric and kumkum, among the first auspicious items taken into the new home.
- A banana tree with its flower, tied at the entrance by many families.
3. Cow pooja
In many Tamil homes the cow and calf are the first to step into the new house, and the cow is honoured with a pooja. Many families drape a cloth over the cow.
4. Homams and kalasam
Many griha pravesams include a Ganapathi homam and a Navagraha homam, and many add a Vastu pooja or Vastu homam. The items are the same as in our homam items list: ghee, samithu, a whole dried coconut for the poornahuti, kalasam cloths, navadhaniyam, Navagraha samithu and the Navagraha cloths.
For the kalasam carried into the house, a common practice is a copper pot of water with navadhaniyam and a coin, covered with a red cloth and topped with a coconut. Temple housewarming lists also include a white pumpkin (ash gourd) and lemons, honey, dates, aval and sugar candy.
5. Milk boiling and the first meal
Boiling milk in a new vessel is one of the first things done in the new kitchen. Many families then cook a sweet, such as sweet pongal or payasam.
- A new vessel and milk, bought for the day.
- Raw rice, jaggery or sugar, and cashews, raisins and cardamom for the sweet.
6. Griha pravesam checklist
| For | Item | Tamil name | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrance | Kolam powder | கோல மாவு | View |
| Entrance, pooja | Turmeric, kumkum, sandalwood | மஞ்சள், குங்குமம், சந்தனம் | View |
| Cow pooja | Cow cloth | பசுமாடு துண்டு | View |
| Homams | Ghee, samithu, dried coconut | நெய், சமித்து, கொப்பரை தேங்காய் | Ghee · Samithu · Coconut |
| Navagraha homam | Navadhaniyam, Navagraha samithu, Navagraha cloths | நவதானியம், நவக்கிரக சமித்து, வஸ்திரம் | Grains · Samithu · Cloths |
| Kalasam | Kalasam cloth or kumba vasthram | கலச வஸ்திரம் | Kalasam cloth · Kumba vasthram |
| Poornahuti | Poornahuti silk | பூர்ணாஹுதி பட்டு | View |
| Offerings | Honey, dates, aval, sugar candy | தேன், பேரீச்சம்பழம், அவல், கல்கண்டு | Honey · Dates · Aval · Kalkandu |
| Milk boiling, sweet | Raw rice, jaggery, cashews, raisins, cardamom | பச்சரிசி, வெல்லம், முந்திரி, கிஸ்மிஸ், ஏலக்காய் | Rice · Jaggery · Dry fruits |
| Lamps, aarti | Lamp wicks, sesame oil, camphor, incense, sambrani | திரி, நல்லெண்ணெய், கற்பூரம், பத்தி, சாம்பிராணி | Wicks · Oil · Camphor · Pathi · Sambrani |
| Fresh on the day | Mango leaves, flowers, garlands, coconuts, betel leaves and nuts, fruits, white pumpkin, lemons, milk | மாவிலை, பூ, மாலை, தேங்காய், வெற்றிலை பாக்கு, பழங்கள், பூசணிக்காய், எலுமிச்சை, பால் | Buy fresh locally |
| Not sold here | Kalasam pot, new milk vessel, lamps, homa kundam | கலசம், புதுப் பாத்திரம், விளக்கு, ஹோம குண்டம் | Buy locally or ask your priest |
Getting ready for your griha pravesam
Delivery typically takes 3–7 business days depending on your location (see our Shipping Policy), so order at least a week before the date.
In Dindigul? Visit us at 44, VM Complex, Big Bazaar Street, Begambur. We are open Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 9 PM, and closed on Sundays. Bring your priest's list and we'll pack everything together.
See the 54-item homa setCall 99420 38038Common questions
How do we choose the date and time?
Your priest or family astrologer fixes the muhurtham. To see the Gowri nalla neram and Rahu kalam for a day, use our Gowri Panchangam 2026–2027, worked out for Dindigul.
Which homams are done at a griha pravesam?
Ganapathi homam usually comes first. Many families add a Navagraha homam and a Vastu pooja or homam, and some add others such as Lakshmi Kubera homam. Your priest will advise.
What should we bring from our old house?
Many families bring a lamp lit in the old home and keep it burning in the new one, along with turmeric and kumkum.
Do you sell a complete griha pravesam kit?
Our 54-item homa set covers the homam items, and everything else in the checklist is sold individually. Fresh items such as flowers, fruits and milk are best bought locally on the day.
Do you sell kalasam pots or lamps?
No. We sell the cloths, grains, samithu, ghee, wicks, oils and pooja items.
More guides
Sources, checked 14 October 2026: AstroVed: puthumanai pugu vizha (Tamil) for the cow entry, homam order, lamp and entrance decoration; Parashakthi Temple housewarming list (PDF) for milk boiling, white pumpkin, lemons and offerings; Hindu Blog: pujas in a housewarming; Casagrand: gruhapravesam tips for the kalasam; SmartPuja: South Indian griha pravesh. Customs vary by family and community.