Diwali Lakshmi Puja Vidhi · दीपावली लक्ष्मी पूजन विधि

When

The Lakshmi puja is done in the evening of Diwali, on Kartik Amavasya, in the auspicious time after sunset (pradosh kaal). The exact time depends on your city's sunset; see the Diwali page for the date.

Samagri to gather

• A wooden chowki (low platform) and a red cloth to cover it
• Murtis or pictures of Lakshmi and Ganesha
• A kalash (pot) with water or Ganga jal, a betel nut (supari), a coin, akshat (unbroken rice) and mango leaves
• Roli or kumkum, chandan (sandalwood paste) and haldi (turmeric)
• Flowers and garlands, including a lotus if you can get one
• Panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, ghee and honey) and Ganga jal
• Paan (betel) leaves, supari, kalava (sacred red thread) and durva grass
• Dhoop or incense sticks and camphor
• Diyas with ghee or oil and cotton wicks
• Khil and batashe, sweets and fruits for the offering
• Silver or gold coins
• For business families: the account books (bahi-khata)

Before the puja

• Clean the house and the place of worship, and decorate the entrance with flowers, rangoli and lamps.
• Bathe and put on clean or new clothes.
• Gather all the samagri before you sit down.

Setting up

• Place the chowki in the cleaned place and spread the red cloth on it.
• Fill the kalash with water, put in the supari, coin and akshat, arrange mango leaves at its mouth, and place it on the chowki.
• Seat Lakshmi and Ganesha on the chowki; most guides place Lakshmi on the right and Ganesha on the left as you face them.
• Put the coins on a plate in front of Lakshmi.
• Light the puja lamp.

The puja

• Take flowers and akshat in your hand and, with a prayer, invite Lakshmi to the puja.
• Worship Ganesha first, as the remover of obstacles who is honoured before every puja.
• Bathe the murti with panchamrit, and seat it again on the chowki.
• Apply a tilak of chandan and kumkum, and offer a garland and flowers, including the lotus.
• Offer khil-batashe, sweets, fruits and coins, then paan and supari; show incense and the lamp. You can recite Lakshmi mantras or simply pray.
• Business families place the account books on the chowki and worship them too (chopda pujan).
• Many families also worship Kubera, the guardian of wealth.

Aarti and close

• With the whole family, do the aarti of Lakshmi and Ganesha with the lamp: Om Jai Lakshmi Mata and Jai Ganesh Deva.
• Close with a prayer to Lakshmi, and share the prasad with the family.
• Light diyas, often 11 or 21, and place them at every door and corner of the house.

On Diwali evening families worship Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, together with Ganesha, who is worshipped first so that the puja proceeds without obstacles. This page gives a simple home puja: the samagri and the steps that the published guides listed below agree on.

Fuller forms of the puja, such as the sixteen-step shodashopachara with Sanskrit mantras for each offering and navagraha and kalash puja, are usually done with a priest; we have not included mantras that we have not compared across editions. Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.