Kula Devatha (or Kula Deivam) is a family deity or ancestral deity worshipped by a specific lineage or family over generations. In Hindu tradition, each family is believed to have a divine protector who blesses and safeguards the family members. This deity is typically chosen based on ancestral worship, regional beliefs, or divine experiences of forefathers.
Key Aspects of Kula Devatha Worship:
Family-Specific Worship – Unlike Ishta Devata (personal deity) or Grama Devata (village deity), Kula Devatha is specific to a family and is passed down through generations.
Annual Rituals & Festivals – Many families conduct special poojas or pilgrimages to the deity’s temple, often on specific days or festivals.
Protection & Blessings – The deity is believed to protect family members from misfortunes and bring prosperity.
Ancestor Connection – Worship is often linked to ancestral traditions, ensuring continuity in devotion.
Location-Based Temples – The Kula Devatha temple is often located in the native place of the family’s forefathers. In some traditions both the Kula Devi and Kula Deva are worshipped.
Benefits of Kula Devatha worship:
- Quite easy to invoke since it belongs to your ancestry
- Prathyaksha smarana alone is necessary
- Offers unconditional protection to the entire family / clan in all walks of life
- Continuously offers guidance in every walk of life
Our religion believes that generations have been protected through the worship of Kula Devatha. As people relocate from native places by means of work, relationships and other influencing factors tend to lose touch with their respective Kula Devatha’s.
After generations, when day today living becomes harder, people tend to approach seers or astrologers seeking remedy or to ease the situation. Often the solution turns out to be to go back to Kula Devatha temple and seek blessings.
Like a mother never forgets the child and always waits for the child to come back so that she can serve her best, Kula Devatha is always waiting to bless her children, regardless of how many generations down the line. Scripures describe that Kula Devatha’s must be visited at least two times every year, if not every week.
Even though many of us know our Kula Devatha’s, second and third generations tend to forget who they are, over a period of time. In order to potentially prevent them from facing hardships in life which could be avoided, Sree Rama Dasa Ashram is making a humble initiative to create a Kula Devatha Complex of 1008 Kula Devatha’s.
These small structures contain representations from each family of their own Kula Devatha. It could be a symbolic representation – a coin, picture, pinch of soil from within the four walls of the temple, or a small statue from their own temple. It has to be collected by a family member with a prayer that “Since I and my immediate family members are not able to come here and worship every now and then, please come along with us and bless me and the generations down my lineage”.
These offerings will be tagged to your family and maintained in the Kula Devatha Temple at Houston, which shall be visited by the respective family with their children and grand children at least once a year. At that time, respective poojas will be done for those deity(ies) in the presence of the family for their protection. As children and grand children watch and follow these customs, they continue to maintain their channel of communication with the family deity, gathering protection and success in all their endeavors. A side effect is that lighting a ghee lamp in the temple complex will be as good as lighting 1008 ghee lamps in as many temples as they are all represented. Cost of reserving a spot is one time contribution of $1001. Temple will be live in March 2026. Registrations will be closed by September 2025 so that construction can be completed on time.
One family need to have only one registration since it will be the same Devatha. There are various techniques to identify one’s Kuladevatha. Easiest is to inquire with most elderly in the family. There are certain upasana practices for one to discover and finally there are also some astrologers who will guide.
Preregistration can be made with just the the basic details of requester. Here is the preregistration form.
Kula Devatha Temple – Pre-Registration form