Lakshmi · Ganesha · Kubera · 45–60 minutes
Diwali Lakshmi Puja
Diwali night (8 Nov 2026), Pradosh kaal
In the simplest words
Diwali evening's main event: clean house, rangoli, rows of lamps, and then inviting Ma Lakshmi in with lotus, sweets and the family together.
On the year's darkest night, the house is made a lamp: cleaned, lit, and opened to Lakshmi. Ganesha is worshipped first, as always; Lakshmi is welcomed as the guest of the year; the ledgers and tools of one's work receive her glance too.
The vidhi begins with brooms and rangoli rather than bells: Lakshmi, the tradition says, walks at pradosh looking for homes that are clean, lit and unquarrelling, and the puja below makes sure she recognises yours.
Samagri: what you need
0/9 gatheredThe vidhi, step by step
0/10 doneThe house made ready
Clean through the day; rangoli at the threshold; a diya at the door before the puja. Lakshmi is drawn to light and order.
Chowki & kalash sthapana
Lay the red cloth; seat Ganesha to Lakshmi's left, since she sits at her son's right, as the tradition puts it; place the kalash with mango leaves and coconut; coins before Lakshmi.
Achaman & sankalp
Three sips; then the family together states the sankalp: home, wellbeing, and honest prosperity in the coming year.
Ganesh puja first
Chandan, akshat, flowers, and a short jaap to the remover of obstacles before anything else begins.
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Oṁ Gaṁ Gaṇapataye Namaḥ
Om. Gam. Salutations to Ganapati, lord of the ganas. The ganas are the hosts that attend Shiva; devotional commentators widen the word to every ordered set of forces in the world, and Ganapati is the intelligence that marshals them. The mantra is a request in miniature: let what stands in the way step aside, and let what scatters come into order.
Source: Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa (Ganapati Upaniṣad)
Lakshmi avahan & shodashopachara
Invite Lakshmi with the Namastestu verse (and the Shri Suktam, if your family recites it), then offer the sixteen honours: snan-touch with panchamrit and water, vastra, chandan, haldi-kumkum, akshat, lotus or marigold, dhoop, deep, and naivedya of kheel-batashe and fruit.
नमस्तेऽस्तु महामाये श्रीपीठे सुरपूजिते । शङ्खचक्रगदाहस्ते महालक्ष्मि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
Namas te'stu mahāmāye śrīpīṭhe sura-pūjite, śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-haste mahālakṣmi namo'stu te
Salutations to you, O Mahamaya, enthroned on the seat of shri, worshipped by the gods; O Mahalakshmi bearing conch, discus, and mace, salutations to you. Mahamaya comes first, the weapons after: the ashtakam opens by conceding that her power to veil and reveal precedes all that is held in her hands. Wealth, the order implies, is one more of her appearances.
Source: Mahālakṣmy-aṣṭakam 1 (Padma Purāṇa tradition)
Shreem jaap: the heart of the night
A full seated mala of the Mahalakshmi mantra, unhurried: the puja's still centre.
ॐ श्रीं महालक्ष्म्यै नमः
Oṁ Śrīṁ Mahālakṣmyai Namaḥ
Om. Shreem. Salutations to Mahalakshmi. Shreem is shri compressed into a seed, planted by repetition. The mantra asks the goddess of abundance for her presence rather than her presents. Where Lakshmi dwells, the tradition says, sufficiency follows on its own.
Source: Traditional bīja-mantra of the Devi worship corpus
Chopda / tool pujan
Mark the account book or your work's instruments with kumkum and a swastika; ask that the year's work stay honest and blessed.
ॐ कुबेराय नमः
Oṁ Kuberāya Namaḥ
Om, salutations to Kubera, treasurer of the gods. He is their treasurer, not their owner: in this theology wealth is held in trust, guarded at the northern door, released where it serves. The mantra asks for the treasurer's own relationship with money: custody without capture.
Source: Traditional nāma-mantra
Aarti
Lakshmi aarti with the full family, ghanti ringing; 'Om Jai Lakshmi Mata' in most homes.
Deep daan
Carry lamps to every threshold, window, and dark corner of the home. The puja walks the whole house.
Prasad & the open door
Distribute kheel-batashe and mithai; traditionally the main door stays open a while, so the welcome stays lit.
Note: Pradosh kaal with a sthir lagna is preferred for the main puja; exact city muhurat differs, so check a local panchang. Business communities add Sharda/Chopda pujan per their tradition.