Do we need special pots?
Two clean brass or copper lota are traditional. Many families already have them; if not, they are part of the samagri that can be arranged for you.
Vedic Wisdom
Randal Mata na Lota — a Gujarati household vidhi explained
A ceremony many Gujarati families hold to honour Randal Mata, often around a wedding or the birth of a child, or to fulfil a promise made long ago. Here is what it is and what happens.
Quick answer
In short
What is Randal Mata na Lota?
A Gujarati household vidhi in which Randal Mata, honoured in Gujarati tradition as the consort of Surya Dev, the sun, is invited into the home. Two brass or copper pots — the lota — are filled with water, dressed and adorned to represent her, and worshipped. Families hold it to give thanks, to mark a wedding or a birth, or to fulfil a vow, and it usually ends with a meal shared with invited women and girls.
When do families hold it?
Most often after a wedding, after the birth of a child, or when a family has promised to hold it once a hope was fulfilled — a manta, or vow. Some families hold it every few years as a matter of tradition. There is no fixed calendar date; it is arranged when the family is ready and a suitable day is agreed.
Inviting the Mata into the home
Randal Mata na Lota is one of the most distinctively Gujarati household ceremonies, and one that families often carry across generations with great affection. Randal Mata — also called Randal Ma or Ranna Devi — is honoured in Gujarati tradition as the wife of Surya Dev. She is regarded as a Mata who blesses the home, and families turn to her with gratitude at the turning points of life.
The name describes the ceremony. Lota are the pots — usually two, of brass or copper — which are filled with water, topped with coconuts, given faces and dressed in small saris, bangles and ornaments so that they represent the Mata in the home. They are established with mantras and worshipped over the course of the day, with garba sung in her honour, before being respectfully taken down.
What gives the day its warmth is the goyani — the invited women and girls who are fed as an offering to the Mata. In many families an odd number is invited, and the meal is traditional: lapsi, the sweet wheat dish associated with auspicious occasions, alongside khichdi and other simple foods. Which dishes, how many guests and how much of the day is given over to singing all vary between families. Your own family’s way is the right way.
Commonly
How the day unfolds
A widely followed pattern. Families differ in the detail, and the vidhi is led according to your own tradition.
01
Preparing the lota
The two pots are cleaned, filled with water and set on a decorated platform. Coconuts, faces and clothing are added so that the Mata is represented.
02
Sthapana
installation
With sankalp and mantras the Mata is invited into the lota. Ganesh is invoked first, as at the start of every Hindu rite.
03
Puja
Offerings of flowers, kumkum, rice, sweets and a lamp are made, led by the women of the family and guided by the priest.
04
Garba and song
Garba and devotional songs for Randal Mata are sung around the lota. In many families this is the heart of the day.
05
Feeding the goyani
The invited women and girls are welcomed, served the traditional meal and given a small gift as an offering to the Mata.
06
Visarjan
conclusion
After the aarti the lota are respectfully dismantled and the water is poured somewhere clean — a garden or a plant is common in UK homes.
In a UK home
Practical questions families ask
How many goyani should we invite?
This is a family decision. An odd number is customary in many homes, and the guests are usually women and girls from family and close friends. The vidhi is complete regardless of the number.
Can it be held in a flat?
Yes. The Randal Mata vidhi does not require a fire, so it is well suited to flats and smaller homes. Space for the lota, for the family to sit and for the meal is all that is needed.
Who leads it?
A priest leads the sthapana, the puja and the aarti; the women of the family lead the songs and the hospitality. Both are essential to the day and neither replaces the other.
Questions
Common questions
Randal Mata, also called Randal Ma or Ranna Devi, is honoured in Gujarati tradition as the consort of Surya Dev, the sun. Families turn to her with gratitude at turning points such as a wedding or a birth, and to fulfil vows.
Two brass or copper pots filled with water, topped with coconuts and dressed to represent the Mata in the home. They are installed with mantras, worshipped through the day and respectfully taken down at the end.
Feeding the goyani — the invited women and girls — is offered to the Mata as part of the vidhi. An odd number is customary in many families, and a traditional meal such as lapsi and khichdi is served.
No. It is often held after a wedding or a birth, but also to fulfil a vow or simply as a family tradition every few years. There is no fixed date; a suitable day is agreed with the family.
Generally not, which makes it well suited to flats and smaller homes. Anything your family’s tradition adds is discussed beforehand.
Written by Shastri Ji Manishbhai Pandya. Last reviewed . Hindu practice varies between regions, communities, families and sampradayas; this guide explains a widely recognised form and is not a ruling on how any family should observe it.
A question is always welcome
Thinking of holding Randal Mata na Lota?
Tell us the occasion and roughly when you would like to hold it. A samagri list is prepared for you and the day is planned around your family’s own custom.