Most people setting up a pooja room for the first time ask the same two questions: which deities, and where do they go. There is no single correct answer — practice varies by region, community and family — but there are widely followed conventions, and it helps to know them before you buy.
The deities and what they are kept for
Ganesha comes first in almost every tradition. He is invoked at the start of anything — a business, a house, a wedding, a course of study. If you own one idol, this is usually it.
Lakshmi is kept for prosperity in its broad sense, not only money. Gaja Lakshmi, flanked by elephants pouring water, is the form most associated with abundance and is the common Diwali choice. Vastu Lakshmi is specifically the household form, associated with the dwelling itself, which is why it is the standard griha pravesh gift.
Saraswathi is kept in study rooms, music rooms and workspaces. She is central to Saraswathi Pooja and Ayudha Pooja during Navratri, when books and instruments are placed before her.
Balaji, Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati, is among the most widely kept forms in South India, often alongside Padmavathi. Murugan is particularly Tamil. Ayyappan comes out for the Sabarimala season. Sai Baba crosses regional lines more than most.
Kuber is the one people forget. He is the treasurer of the gods and traditionally belongs in the Dhanteras pooja alongside Lakshmi, but is rarely kept year-round.
The Lakshmi-Ganesh-Saraswathi triad is the most common single purchase we sell, because it covers the three things households actually pray for together: prosperity, an unobstructed path, and the wisdom to handle both.
Placement conventions
The most consistently followed rules across traditions:
The pooja space faces east or north, and the person praying faces east or north while doing so. The north-east corner of the house is the preferred location. Idols should not sit directly on the floor — they go on a raised platform, shelf or peetha.
Idols should not face directly at the entrance door of the room, and should not be placed under a staircase, against a bathroom wall, or in a bedroom if that can be avoided. Damaged or chipped idols are traditionally not kept in the pooja space.
On quantity, the conventional guidance is one idol per deity rather than several of the same form, and to keep the space uncrowded. Two Ganeshas facing each other is specifically avoided in most practice.
Lakshmi Padam, the divine footsteps, is the exception to all of the above — it goes at the entrance of the home, facing inward, so the goddess is understood to be walking in.
Material and size
Silver is the traditional material for pooja idols across most of India, partly for its associations and partly for a practical reason: it can be washed, oiled and handled daily without degrading, which matters for an object involved in abhishekam.
On size, the conventional guidance is that a home pooja idol should be modest — roughly the span of a hand rather than temple scale. Larger pieces are traditionally understood to carry heavier ritual obligation. In practice most households settle between 100 and 500 grams of silver for a principal idol.
What matters more than size is weight honesty. Silver idols are the easiest category in which to sell a hollow or under-weighted piece, because nobody weighs a deity. We list the real weight in grams on every idol page before you buy, and a purity certificate ships with every order. Weigh it when it arrives.
If you are setting up a pooja room from scratch, the practical starting set is Ganesha, a form of Lakshmi, a vilakku, and Lakshmi Padam at the door. Everything else can be added over years, which is how most families build one anyway.