Sankalpa (resolve or intention) is the verbal vow that begins virtually every formal Hindu ritual. Holding water, rice, and often a flower in the right palm, the performer states the cosmic and calendrical context (yuga, samvatsara, month, paksha, tithi), the location, their own name and gotra, and the specific purpose of the rite, then releases the water to seal the commitment. The sankalpa transforms a generic ritual into a directed act — without it, a puja or vrat is traditionally considered incomplete. In modern yoga and meditation contexts, sankalpa has also come to mean a short positive resolution repeated during practices like yoga nidra, an extension of the same idea of consciously directed will.