Charan Padukas

A charan paduka is the sculpted footprints of a deity, kept and honoured in place of the figure. It rests on a genuine and old idea in the tradition: that the feet of the divine are where a devotee touches, and that the footprints carry the deity's presence without depicting the form. Padukas are venerated at temples and pilgrimage sites across India, and the domestic version brings that home.

Whose feet, and where they go

Lakshmi's charan paduka is by far the most kept, for the obvious association with prosperity entering the home. It is traditionally placed at the entrance or in the pooja room, and there is a lovely and widespread custom of orienting the footprints as though the goddess is walking into the house, not out of it.

Krishna's charan paduka, the lotus feet, is central to Vaishnava and especially Pushtimarg devotion, where the feet of the deity are a primary object of seva.

Balaji's charan, the feet of Venkateswara with shankha, chakra and namam, connects to the Tirumala tradition, where receiving the darshan of the feet is central.

For the full figures, see Maa Lakshmi, Krishna and Tirupati Balaji.

Why a paduka rather than a murti

Two practical reasons alongside the devotional one. A paduka is compact and flat, so it suits a threshold, a small shelf or an office entrance where a standing figure would not fit or would be in the way. And for some households the footprints are a more comfortable object at a business or shop entrance than a full deity figure, since they are unmistakably devotional yet unobtrusive.

Material and care

Ours are gold and silver plated, some on a decorative base: a real layer of precious metal, light and finely detailed. As with all plating, these are display pieces, kept dry and dusted with a soft cloth, never cleaned with metal polish or an acidic paste, which strip the plating. They are not for abhishek. The wider plated range is in gold and silver plated idols.

As a gift

A Lakshmi charan paduka is a natural gift for a housewarming, a new shop or office, and Dhanteras or Diwali, since it carries the prosperity association and places easily at any entrance. See griha pravesh and housewarming gifts, Dhanteras and corporate gifts, or the bulk order enquiry page. To furnish the mandir, pooja essentials; for the wider pantheon, god idols and figurines.

Before you order

• Lakshmi's is the most kept, traditionally placed facing into the home.
• Compact and flat, so it suits a threshold or an office entrance where a figure will not fit.
• Plated pieces are for display. Keep dry, dust only, no abhishek.
• Check whether it comes on a base or as the padukas alone.