Why tradition matters when booking
The same ritual is performed differently across sampradayas: different mantras, different sequence, different deities invoked, sometimes a different calendar. Matching the purohit to your family's tradition is not a formality — it determines whether the ritual is performed the way your elders would recognise.
The main traditions we match on
Smartha — follows Adi Shankara's panchayatana worship of five deities. Common among Kannada and Tamil brahmin families. Rituals follow the Ashvalayana or Bodhayana sutra depending on the Veda shakha.
Vaishnava (Sri Vaishnava / Iyengar) — follows the Pancharatra or Vaikhanasa agama, with Vishnu-Lakshmi as the sole object of worship. Distinctive urdhva pundra markings and Tamil prabandham alongside Sanskrit.
Madhwa — Dvaita tradition following Madhvacharya, strong in coastal and southern Karnataka. Distinct sequence for shraddha and specific tarpana procedures.
North Indian — broadly follows the Purnimanta calendar and the Shukla Yajur Veda tradition, with regional variation across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Punjab.
Bengali — follows its own almanac and ritual sequence; Durga Pooja, Lakshmi Pooja on Kojagari Purnima, and distinct shraddha procedures.
Tamil Iyer — Krishna Yajur Veda, Bodhayana sutra, with rituals timed to the Tamil solar calendar for some observances.
Telugu Brahmin and Marathi Deshastha each follow their own regional conventions in the sequencing of samskaras.
What to tell your purohit
Your gotra, pravara, Veda shakha and sutra. If you do not know them, ask the eldest member of the family — they are needed for the sankalpa. If they are genuinely unknown, a purohit can perform the ritual using Kashyapa gotra, which is the accepted default.