This is a velvet pooja aasan cloth, 45 cm by 45 cm, with a woven swastik and kalash border and a matching cotton cloth on the back. It sits on a chowki, mandir shelf, singhasan or puja table and gives your murti a clean, soft base. Take a set of two in one colour, or a set of three with one maroon, one red and one yellow.

Velvet on the face, cotton on the back

The top is a deep pile velvet that keeps its colour under diya light instead of flattening out. The back is a plain cotton cloth in the same shade, stitched right through, so the aasan settles on polished marble or a wooden chowki instead of slipping when you lift the idol.

The border is woven rather than printed. Swastik and kalash motifs run in red on gold, and every corner is mitred and stitched on the diagonal, the way a properly hemmed cloth should be. The pattern meets and breaks at the corner because the cloth is joined there, not wrapped around it.

Where this aasan is used

A 45 cm square covers most home chowkis and takes a single idol comfortably, or a small group. It works for daily aarti and for the bigger days alike.

• Under Ganpati during Ganesh Chaturthi, on the chowki and along the front edge
• Navratri ghatasthapana, under the kalash and the Devi photo
• Satyanarayan katha, Grah Pravesh and housewarming pooja
• Laddu Gopal and Krishna singhasan dressing
• A base layer for a pooja thali, a Lakshmi charan set or a diya arrangement
• Everyday mandir lining, changed by colour through the week

Choosing your colour

Maroon reads as the quiet, formal choice and sits well in a wooden or brass mandir. Red is the traditional pick for Durga, Hanuman and Lakshmi pooja and photographs beautifully against marigold. Yellow, the peela vastra, is what many families keep for Vishnu, Krishna, Brihaspati and Thursday pooja, and for haldi and Gauri ceremonies.

The set of three gives you one of each, which is the practical answer if you change the mandir cloth by occasion rather than keeping one on all year.

Care

Shake out the loose flowers and akshat after pooja. Spot clean with a damp cloth and let it air dry flat, away from direct sun. Do not machine wash or wring the velvet. A cool iron on the cotton back, never on the velvet face, brings the square back flat if it has been folded away.

For homes across the UAE

We ship from within the UAE, so this reaches Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain without customs delays or a wait on an India parcel. That matters in festival weeks, when the mandir gets set up the night before. Both the set of two and the set of three cross AED 30, so UAE delivery is free.

If you are putting a home mandir together, the rest of the altar pieces sit in our Hindu Home Altar and Mandir collection, from chowkis and singhasans to mandir mats and idol dressing.

Frequently asked questions

What size is the aasan?

Each piece is 45 cm by 45 cm, which is about 18 inches square. That covers a standard home chowki top with a little fall over the front edge.

What is on the back of the cloth?

A matching cotton cloth in the same colour, stitched to the velvet. It gives the aasan weight and a clean finish, and it grips a smooth chowki better than a loose single layer of velvet.

How many pieces do I get?

The set of two gives you two aasans in the colour you pick. The set of three gives you one maroon, one red and one yellow.

Can I use this under a heavy brass or marble idol?

Yes. The velvet is soft against the base of the murti and the cotton backing stops the cloth from bunching under the weight. For a very heavy idol, place it once and avoid dragging it across the cloth.

Is the border printed or woven?

Woven. The swastik and kalash run in the weave with a gold zari edge, so the pattern does not crack or peel the way a printed border does after a few washes.

Which colour should I buy for Navratri?

Red is the usual choice for Devi pooja and for the ghatasthapana kalash. Many families also keep yellow for the days of Devi worship that call for it, which is why the set of three is popular in the run up to Navratri.

Can I wash it?

Spot clean only. Velvet loses its pile in a machine wash. A damp cloth on the mark and flat air drying keeps the colour and the pile as they are.

How is it packed?

Each set is folded and sealed in a clear protective bag, so it arrives pressed and clean and can be stored the same way between festivals.

Add Divine to your Rituals.