Kartik Purnima Puja Vidhi · कार्तिक पूर्णिमा पूजा विधि

How Kartik Purnima is kept: the early-morning holy bath, worship of Vishnu, charity, and lighting lamps in the evening for Dev Deepawali, as the published guides describe it.

How the puja is done

When

Kartik Purnima is the full moon of Kartik. The holy bath is taken early in the morning, and the lamps are lit in the evening; see the Kartik Purnima page for the date.

Snan (the holy bath)

Rise early and bathe, in the Ganga or another river if you can. If no river is near, add Ganga jal to your bath water.

Puja

After the bath, worship Vishnu, with Lakshmi. Many spread a yellow cloth on the chowki, place Vishnu on it, and offer tulsi leaves, flowers and a lamp.
You can recite the Vishnu Chalisa or the mantra Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Daan (charity)

Giving on this day is held to bring lasting merit: food grains, clothes, sesame, ghee and other gifts to those in need.

Deepdaan and Dev Deepawali

In the evening, light lamps at home, at temples and on riverbanks, and set lamps afloat on the water. In Varanasi the ghats are lit with lamps for Dev Deepawali, "the Diwali of the gods".

These steps are written in our own words; each appears in at least two of the published sources linked below, and steps found in only one source are left out. Puja customs differ by family, region and tradition; your family priest or family custom comes first.

About this text

Kartik Purnima, the full moon of Kartik, closes the holy month of Kartik. It is the day Shiva is said to have destroyed the demon Tripurasura, so it is also called Tripuri Purnima, and the gods are said to celebrate it with lamps, which is why it is kept as Dev Deepawali. The holy bath, charity and the lighting of lamps are its main observances. This page gives them as the published guides listed below describe them. Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.