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Dharamkira

Our intention

Dharamkira — the way of dharam — is a home for Sanatan Dharma online: a place to learn the tradition, keep a daily practice, and trust that what you read has been checked with care.

What lives here today

A mantra library of 112 mantras — each with Devanagari, simple pronunciation, word-by-word meaning, its source, when to recite it, and its own jaap counter with a full-screen japa mode and countdown timer. A festival calendar of 85 festivals, vrats, and jayantis with verified dates for 2026 and 2027, live countdowns, the stories behind each day, and honest notes wherever panchangs differ. 42 step-by-step puja and vrat guides — from daily aarti and surya arghya to Chhath, Karwa Chauth, and griha pravesh — where every mantra appears in full, never as 'recite X 108 times'.

A meditation section of 27 practices — breathing, gazing, mantra, and witness practices, each with its source, steps, and honest cautions, plus a breath pacer, candle room, and timer. A yoga section of 25 asanas and 11 routines, including Surya Namaskar and Chandra Namaskar with their mantras and breath cues, performed step by step with a guided player. And the histories of 15 deities — origins, tales with their scriptures named, teachings, and how to learn from them — each shown through a real classical painting, credited below.

Every page opens with a card 'in the simplest words' for children and newcomers, and every hub carries a small glossary. A private sadhana page keeps your jaap, meditation, yoga, and puja records on your own device.

Everything is bilingual — English and Hindi — and free.

How we treat the tradition

With care, and with humility. Nothing on Dharamkira is invented or published unreviewed. Sources are named; long shlokas are checked letter by letter; and festival dates are verified against multiple panchang sources every year — where they genuinely differ, the page says so instead of pretending certainty.

Practice differs between regions and families, and that is a strength of the tradition, not a problem to be smoothed over. Our guides say 'your elders' way is the right way for your home' — and mean it. Where a rite truly belongs with a family priest — tarpan, pran pratishtha, tantric vidhi — the guide says that too, and steps back.

If you find something inaccurate here, telling us is a kindness. Corrections are taken seriously and fixed fast.

Your practice stays yours

There are no accounts, no trackers, and no analytics on Dharamkira today. Your jaap counts, meditation and yoga sessions, streaks, checklists, and any mantras you add for yourself live only in your browser, on your device — we cannot see them. Practice is between you and the divine; we keep it that way by design.

Who is behind this

Dharamkira is built independently, with devotion and no shortcuts, by a young founder who wanted a place like this to exist — accurate, beautiful, and open to everyone. It grows feature by feature, each one finished and verified before the next begins.

Image credits

The deities are shown through real classical paintings and prints — public-domain works (Raja Ravi Varma, the Ravi Varma Press, the Pahari and Jaipur schools) and open-licensed museum scans — chosen by hand, one by one. Nothing on Dharamkira is AI-generated imagery. For the screen each work is cropped to a portrait and gently tone-restored (levels, colour cast, sharpening); nothing is added or invented. Each work is listed here with its source and licence.

  • Lakshmi — Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1896 (Ravi Varma Press print). Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Goddess Saraswati — Raja Ravi Varma, 1896 painting; Ravi Varma Press print c. 1930. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Durga Mahishasura-mardini — Ravi Varma Press, c. 1910. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Kali — Raja Ravi Varma / Ravi Varma Press, c. 1910. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Parvati as Ambika, the Mother — Ravi Varma Press, Malavli, early 20th century. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Shiva in contemplation — Popular colour lithograph, Calcutta (British Museum album), c. 1895. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Rama Panchayatan — Raja Ravi Varma, before 1906 (lithograph). Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Hanuman carrying the herb-bearing mountain — Ravi Varma Press, 1910s. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Murugan (Kartikeya) with his consorts — Raja Ravi Varma / Ravi Varma Press, c. 1900s. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Vishnu on Shesha with his two consorts — Chromolithograph after Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1890s. Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan.
  • Brahma on the hamsa — Pahari (Mankot) school; Ashmolean Museum, c. 1720. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Ganesha on his mouse — Bazaar print, 1910, 1910. Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Krishna playing the flute to Radha — Unknown press, chromolithograph, 1897. Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan.
  • Surya Narayana — Ravi Varma Press, early 1900s. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Shani on his chariot, drawn by the crow — Early 20th-century print (Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery), early 20th century. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Evening aarti on the bank of the Narmada, Jabalpur — Mity05, 2019. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.
  • A kalasha dressed for puja, Karnataka — MikeLynch, 2011. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.
  • The nine grahas, Bihar, 10th century — Daderot (photograph); sculptor unknown, 10th century (photographed 2016). Wikimedia Commons / San Diego Museum of Art · CC0
  • Rakhi threads for Raksha Bandhan — Suyash Dwivedi, 2017. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.
  • A blacksmith at his anvil, Punjab — Gurdeepdali, 2021. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.
  • Tarpan at Jagannath Ghat, Kolkata — Biswarup Ganguly, 2012. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan.
  • Floating a lamp on the Ganges — William Simpson, 19th century. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • The Jain temple at Ranakpur, Rajasthan — Ingo Mehling, 2012. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.
  • The Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya — Rohit Sharma, 2023. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.
  • Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple, Amritsar — Bernard Gagnon, 2016. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and tone-restored for the screen from the source scan. · Our cropped copy of this photograph is offered under the same ShareAlike licence.

Photograph credits

The Start-here guide is illustrated with photographs from Wikimedia Commons — Featured and Quality pictures wherever one existed for the subject — each chosen by hand and credited on the image itself. Nothing is AI-generated. For the screen each photograph is cropped and resized; colours are not altered.

Several are published under a Creative Commons ShareAlike licence. Our cropped and resized copies of those photographs are available under the same licence as the original; the text and code of Dharamkira are not affected.

  • Lighting the evening lamps around a rangoli, West Bengal — AjoyDutta1997 (edit: Aristeas), 2023. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Munshi Ghat, Varanasi, from the Ganga — Marcin Białek, 2010. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Sunrise over the clouds, Nandi Hills, Karnataka — Sri Chakra Pranav (edit: UnpetitproleX), 2016. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Sculpted gods on the south gopuram, Meenakshi Temple, Madurai — Madhuranthakan Jagadeesan, 2016. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Durga with her family, Durga Puja pandal, Salt Lake, Kolkata — Subhrajyoti07, 2018. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Shiva as Nataraja, Chola bronze, c. 950–1000 (LACMA) — Unknown Chola artist; photograph Los Angeles County Museum of Art, c. 950–1000. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • A puja thali with a lit lamp, kumkum, rice and sweets — Suyash Dwivedi, 2021. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Lathmar Holi, Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh — Sachinghai09 (edit: Radomianin), 2022. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Jagannath Temple, Puri, at dusk — Kalyanpuranand, 2022. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Deepavali lights on Serangoon Road, Singapore — Cpgfella, 2016. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad before Dussehra — Snehrashmi, 2019. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Bhagavad Gita commentary (Gudhartha Dipika) in Devanagari — Ms Sarah Welch, 2018. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur, on Maha Shivaratri — Rainer Halama (edit: UnpetitproleX), 2025. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Sabha Mandap of the Sun Temple, Modhera, Gujarat — Bernard Gagnon, 2013. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Vitthala Temple, Hampi, reflected after rain — Basavaraj M, 2019. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Evening Ganga aarti, Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi — AKS.9955, 2012. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Greeting the sunrise on the Ganga, Varanasi — jeminichronicles, 2010. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • A clay lamp with five wicks, Diwali — Moneysha26, 2017. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Chaukhamba from Buda Madhyamaheshwar, Uttarakhand — Abhishek Ghosh, 2015. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Stone wheel of the Sun Temple, Konark (13th century) — Joydeep, 2025. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • A small Hanuman shrine on Hemakuta hill, Hampi — iMahesh, 2024. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Diyas set in a rangoli, Diwali — siddarth varanasi, 2011. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Dulhadeo Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh — Marcin Białek, 2010. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Sculptures in Rani ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat — Snehrashmi, 2019. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Vishvamitra counting his beads — Raja Ravi Varma, 1897 — Raja Ravi Varma, 1897. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Lighting the evening lamps at home, Tihar, Nepal — Mithun Kunwar (edit: Radomianin), 2020. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Lalbaugcha Raja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Mumbai — Karthikndr, 2011. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Shore Temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu (8th century) — Bernard Gagnon, 2006. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand — Rohit Sharma, 2021. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Thousands of oil lamps, Rakher Upobash, Barodi Temple, Dhaka — Muhammad Amdad Hossain (edit: W.carter), 2024. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Evening puja at a Varanasi ghat — Jorge Royan, 2005. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.
  • Tree pose at sunrise, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Odisha — Sneha G Gupta, 2017. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped and resized for the screen.