Within the Smarta fold, ritual life is shaped by the vision that the many deities are diverse faces of a single, underlying Brahman. The most characteristic expression of this is the Panchayatana Puja, in which five principal deities—Shiva, Vishnu, Devi (Shakti), Surya, and Ganesha—are arranged on one altar and worshiped together, sometimes with a sixth such as Skanda included. One of these is chosen as the iṣṭa-devatā, the personally cherished form of the Divine, and is placed at the center, yet the others are honored with equal reverence as manifestations of the same ultimate reality. This practice, traditionally linked with the Advaita Vedanta outlook, allows devotion to move freely among forms without losing sight of their essential unity.

Daily observances among Smarta practitioners typically include nitya-karma, the “obligatory” rites that structure the rhythm of the day. Sandhyāvandana at dawn, noon, and dusk, recitation of the Gāyatrī mantra, and, for those qualified and so inclined, fire offerings such as Agnihotra, are all seen as foundational disciplines. Alongside these, there is often a home shrine where images or symbols of the Panchayatana deities receive regular worship through offerings of light, incense, flowers, water, and food, accompanied by mantras and prayers. Many also maintain daily japa (mantra repetition) and meditation, orienting the mind toward the non-dual Brahman that these rites are meant to reveal.

The Smarta tradition also preserves the broader Vedic and Dharmaśāstra-based framework of life-cycle and communal rituals. Upanayana (the sacred thread initiation) for entry into Vedic study, various saṃskāras, and ancestral rites such as śrāddha are conducted in accordance with scriptural injunctions. Festivals dedicated to different deities—Śivarātri, Navarātri, Janmāṣṭamī, and others—are observed without sectarian rivalry, since each celebration is understood as honoring the same supreme reality under a particular name and form. Pilgrimage to temples and sacred sites associated with various deities naturally follows from this inclusive outlook.

Underlying and supporting all of this is a strong emphasis on scriptural study and philosophical reflection. Texts such as the Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gītā, Brahma Sūtras, and traditional Dharmaśāstras are not merely read but contemplated as guides to understanding the unity that the rituals symbolically enact. The guru–śiṣya relationship, where present, provides a living channel for this transmission, integrating ritual practice, ethical discipline, and Advaitic insight. In this way, Smarta worship does not treat ritual as an end in itself, but as a many-sided path leading from devotion to discernment, and from the worship of many forms to the realization of one Brahman.