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 simply 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 — 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 everything 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. Not their owner — their treasurer: 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 — the welcome stays lit.
Note: Pradosh kaal with a sthir lagna is preferred for the main puja; exact city muhurat differs — check a local panchang. Business communities add Sharda/Chopda pujan per their tradition.