Lakshmi Puja on the night of Diwali is the central ritual of the festival, performed on Kartik Amavasya (the new moon of Kartik) in the Pradosh Kaal (the period after sunset). In 2026, Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November; the Pradosh Kaal Lakshmi Puja muhurat in north India runs from approximately 5:31 PM to 7:55 PM, with the Sthir Lagna window (the period of fixed ascendant when Lakshmi’s blessings are considered to “stabilise” in the home) running within this period. This article documents the full step-by-step procedure for the home Lakshmi Puja, the materials needed (samagri), the order of worship, and the principal mantras recited.
The full samagri list
- Murtis or images: idol or framed image of Lakshmi (centre), Ganesha (right of Lakshmi from the worshipper’s view), and either a Saraswati image or a Kuber image (left). Some households add Indra and Vishnu images.
- Chowki (raised platform): a small wooden platform, covered with a red or yellow cloth.
- Kalash (sacred pot): a brass, copper, or earthen pot filled with water, with five mango leaves arranged at the rim and a coconut placed on top wrapped in red cloth.
- Rice grains (akshat): for the rangoli base under the kalash and for tilak.
- Lotus and marigold flowers: Lakshmi’s two principal flowers; lotus particularly important.
- Five fruits: banana, pomegranate, apple, orange, and one seasonal fruit.
- Panchamrit: a mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar in five small bowls.
- Diyas (oil lamps): minimum five (corresponding to the five elements), ideally eleven or twenty-one. Cotton wicks and ghee or mustard oil.
- Incense (dhoop, agarbatti): sandalwood and rose are the preferred fragrances.
- Sandalwood paste, kumkum, haldi: for tilak on the murti and on family members.
- New currency notes and coins: placed before the Lakshmi murti; some households include the year’s account books or business ledgers (chopra puja).
- Sweets: kheer, ladoo, peda, or any traditional mithai for prasad.
- Betel leaves and supari (areca nut): traditional tambula offering.
- Cloves, cardamom, dry fruits: small portions in separate plates.
- Conch (shankha) and bell (ghanti): for the puja sequence.
- Camphor (kapur): for the aarti.
- Gangajal: for sanctifying water.
- Cotton thread (mauli): for tying around the kalash and on family members’ wrists.
The puja in its full order
- Pre-puja preparation: the household should be cleaned through the day; rangoli is laid at the threshold and at the puja area; the chowki is placed facing east or north, with the family seated facing east, west, or north (never south during Lakshmi Puja).
- Sthapana (installation of the kalash and the murtis): draw a small lotus pattern with rice grains on the chowki. Place the kalash in the centre with the coconut on top. Place the Lakshmi murti at the centre-back of the chowki, Ganesha to the right, and the Saraswati or Kuber image to the left.
- Achamana (purification): the principal performer of the puja sips three small portions of water from the right hand, reciting the names Keshava, Narayana, Madhava.
- Sankalpa: the formal vow naming the date (Kartik Amavasya), the year (Vikram Samvat 2083), the gotra, the place, the deity (Lakshmi), and the intention (typically the prosperity of the household and the well-being of all members).
- Ganesh Puja first: all puja begins with Ganesha. Offer flowers, akshat, sandalwood paste, kumkum, haldi, and durva grass to the Ganesha murti. Recite the Vakratunda Mahakaya mantra and the Ganesh Atharvasheersha (if known; the shorter Vakratunda alone is acceptable). Offer modak or any sweet as naivedya.
- Kalash Puja: the kalash itself is treated as a deity (representing all the tirthas). Tie the mauli thread around the kalash neck. Offer water, akshat, kumkum, flowers. Recite the Kalash Puja mantra invoking all rivers and tirthas to be present.
- Lakshmi Avahan (invocation): with folded hands the household invokes Lakshmi to be present in the murti through the puja. The Sri Suktam (a hymn to Lakshmi from the Rig Veda khila section) is the most-cited Lakshmi invocation; the Lakshmi Ashtakam is an alternative.
- Panchamrit Snan (panchamrit bath): the Lakshmi murti (if a small one and the household has one suitable for abhishekam) is bathed in the panchamrit, then rinsed with water. Larger printed images or idols not suited to physical bathing receive a symbolic offering of a few drops of each panchamrit in front of them.
- Shringar (adornment): Lakshmi is offered new clothes (a small piece of fresh red or yellow silk cloth), jewellery if available, sandalwood paste, kumkum, haldi, the bindi, the mangalsutra (red and gold cotton thread for the murti). Lotus flowers are placed at the feet.
- Naivedya: the food offerings are placed before the murti. Sweets, fruits, panchamrit prasad, and any prepared dishes (khichdi, halwa, kheer) are offered. The puja thali with all the materials is placed in front of the murti.
- Mantra japa: the principal Lakshmi mantras are recited. The most-cited:
Om Shreem Mahalakshmiyei Namaha (the principal Lakshmi mantra; 108 cycles)
Om Hreem Shreem Kleem Mahalakshmi Namaha (the Lakshmi Beej mantra; 108 cycles)
Om Mahadeyvyaicha Vidmahe; Vishnu Patnyaicha Dheemahe; Tanno Lakshmi Prachodayat (the Lakshmi Gayatri; 108 cycles)
The aarti and closure
- Aarti: camphor is lit on a small aarti plate. The aarti is performed in front of Lakshmi, Ganesha, and the kalash, with all family members standing and singing the Lakshmi aarti “Om Jai Lakshmi Mata”. The aarti plate is then circulated to each family member who places hands over the flame and touches the warmth to their forehead.
- Pradakshina (circumambulation): family members walk three times clockwise around the puja area.
- Pushpanjali: a final offering of flowers in cupped hands, released onto the murti with a final prayer.
- Prasad distribution: the prasad is distributed to all family members, then to visitors. The first portion is reserved for the kalash; the second for the principal deity; the third onward for the family.
- Lamp lighting through the house: diyas are lit and placed in every room of the house, on the threshold, around the courtyard, and on the terrace. Some households leave diyas burning through the night; others let them burn out naturally.
- Chopra Puja (account book worship): in business households the year’s new account books are placed before the murti, marked with kumkum, and inaugurated; this is the Marwari and Gujarati merchant tradition.
The order of the day around the puja
The Diwali day’s complete sequence:
- Morning: abhyangasnan (an oil bath at the auspicious pre-dawn moment), the day’s cleaning, the rangoli at the threshold, the morning visit to the temple.
- Afternoon: cooking of the puja’s offerings and the family meal.
- Early evening: the home is decorated with diyas and lights; the puja area is set up.
- Pradosh Kaal (after sunset): the Lakshmi Puja, in the published muhurat window.
- Night: family meal after the puja; visiting of neighbours; firework display (where regulation permits and air quality allows).
For what it’s worth, the most defensible single addition to the puja that households often skip is the Sri Suktam recitation. The 15-verse Vedic hymn from the Rig Veda khila section is the oldest and most directly Vedic Lakshmi invocation in the tradition; reading it (even from a transliteration) gives the puja a textual depth that the popular mantras alone do not provide. The recitation takes about ten minutes.
Common questions
Why Ganesha alongside Lakshmi?
Ganesha is the deity of beginnings and obstacle-removal; any new puja starts with Ganesha’s invocation regardless of the principal deity. On Diwali, Ganesha is also paired with Lakshmi because of the regional Vaishnava reading: Ganesha is invited as the witness to Lakshmi’s annual visit to the household, the auspiciousness that ensures Lakshmi’s residence is undisturbed. The pairing is universal across north and west India.
What is Sthir Lagna and why does it matter?
Sthir Lagna is a fixed ascendant (Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika, or Kumbha) in Vedic astrology, treated as the most auspicious lagna for Lakshmi Puja because the fixed ascendant ensures the goddess’s stay (sthiti) in the household. The Pradosh Kaal on Diwali night typically includes one fixed ascendant; the published muhurat targets that window. Households without access to a panchang use the general Pradosh Kaal window (the two hours after sunset) and treat the puja as performed within the auspicious period; the Sthir Lagna refinement is for the more astrology-strict households.
Are non-veg dishes acceptable on Diwali?
The orthodox observance is fully vegetarian on Diwali day; the puja’s offerings are vegetarian (sweets, fruits, kheer, halwa). Some households extend this to the family meal; others are more flexible. The strict reading is that Lakshmi Puja’s prasad and the food prepared in the puja kitchen on the day should be vegetarian; family meals from non-puja kitchens may follow household preference.
A limitation worth noting
Specific muhurat times for Pradosh Kaal, Sthir Lagna, and Mahanishita Kaal differ by city longitude and by year. The 2026 figures above are for New Delhi per Drik Panchang. The puja sequence described is the broad north Indian household form; Maharashtrian, Gujarati Marwari, Bengali (Kali Puja on Diwali night instead of Lakshmi Puja), and South Indian (Lakshmi Puja typically a separate day) traditions have their own structures. For local-city muhurats consult the local panchang at the time of observance. For wider context see the Wikipedia entry on Diwali and the Sri Suktam overview.
