Frequently asked questions

You choose a service, the place, and a date and time Pandit Ji has open, then tap "See Booking Sarathi's estimate". If the estimate works for you, tap "I agree, let's chat with Pandit Ji": your request is saved, the time is held for you for 48 hours, and a chat with Pandit Ji opens with your details written for him. You settle everything with him there, and he confirms the booking on the site. You are told at once, and you get the list of items to prepare, the chat with him and a reminder the day before. If he does not confirm within 48 hours, or the date passes first, the request is released and you are both told. A same-day request for an urgent rite works the same way, and Pandit Ji sets the time when he confirms.

In our tradition a pandit does not name a price for his service; dakshina is offered with respect. So the site shows no prices. When you choose a service, a place, a date and a time, Booking Sarathi shows you its own estimate for that day, and you settle everything with Pandit Ji directly.

Booking Sarathi works it out for the service, the place and the day you chose. It is a little higher for a weekend, a request fewer than 7 days ahead, a festival day or a day Pandit Ji is already busy. If you asked Pandit Ji for the same service at the same place in the last 3 months, you see the same amount as last time. It is our estimate, not a price Pandit Ji named: you settle everything with him in the chat.

Yes, until the ceremony starts, from your booking page: type "Cancel" to confirm, so a slip of the finger cannot do it, and Pandit Ji is told at once. If a confirmed date has to move, for example because the tithi shifted, agree the new date and time with Pandit Ji and he moves the booking on the site.

You pick a day and time Pandit Ji has open, each shown with its Nepali calendar date and tithi. For a puja, Pandit Ji checks the auspicious timing himself and confirms it when he confirms your booking; the site never confirms a timing on its own. Not sure of the date? Tick "I don't know the date" at checkout: Pandit Ji finds the tithi and sets the date and time when he confirms.

Each provider sets a minimum notice, 12 hours unless they chose otherwise, and the calendar simply does not offer earlier times. A same-day request can always be sent for an urgent rite.

Yes. As soon as you send your request, your booking page has a button to chat with him; that is where you agree the details and the dakshina. If Pandit Ji writes to you on the site, his message appears on your booking page; until he confirms, phone numbers and other contact details typed there are hidden to protect both sides. The phone number you give at checkout is shown to Pandit Ji once he confirms; when you chat with him, he also sees the number you chat from.

Everything is in Nepali and English, and you can switch at any time. Emails and reminders arrive in the language you chose.

From your account page, choose "Delete my account", type "Delete" and open the link we email you. The account is frozen at once and deleted for good after 30 days; signing in before then keeps it. You can download a copy of your data first from the same page.

Booking Sarathi prepares it every morning from the Nepali panchang, the traditional way: the moon's rashi at sunrise decides each rashi's reading, in Nepali and English, and the tithi and the weekday give the lucky number and colour. Pandit Ji may write any day himself; when he does, his name is on it. No text is made up by an AI or taken from a feed.

Yes. It is on when you create an account with your email, unless you untick the box, and anyone can subscribe on the rashifal page. It arrives every day at 4:00 AM US Central, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.

Pandit Jis can create their profile today; other ceremony services open as families ask for them. Every account is reviewed by the Booking Sarathi team before its page goes live.

For each service, at each place you offer it, you set two amounts: the lowest and the highest dakshina you would accept. Families never see them. When a family chooses a day, Booking Sarathi shows them its estimate for that day, worked out from your two prices: a little higher for weekends, requests fewer than 7 days ahead, festival days and days you are already booked. A family who asks again for the same service at the same place within 3 months sees the same amount as last time: the one you confirmed, or the estimate they agreed to. Your services page shows the range those estimates fall in.

A family who agrees to Booking Sarathi's estimate sends you their request, and a chat with you opens for them with the details written for you: the ceremony, the day and time, the place, the estimate, the booking number and a link to confirm. Settle everything with them there, then confirm the booking from that link or your dashboard with the date and time you settled; the dakshina starts at the estimate they agreed to. The family is told it is confirmed and gets the samagri list and reminders, and you see their phone number. A request you do not confirm within 48 hours is released, and you are both told.

No. You sign in with your email and password, or with a sign-in link we email you. You can turn on two-step verification from your dashboard for extra protection.

Not yet. For now only you can sign in to your listing. If you need help, write to support@bookingsarathi.com.

Booking Sarathi may suspend a provider for inaccurate listings, misconduct or repeated complaints; suspended listings are hidden but the account and history remain. Accounts with no bookings may be removed on request.