Lakshmi Puja at Home: Step-by-Step Guide for Diwali Night
A practical, respectful guide to performing Lakshmi Puja at home on Diwali — the materials, the timing, the mantras, and the deeper meaning behind each step.
Diwali night — the new moon (amāvasyā) of the month of Kārtika — is the most important puja of the Hindu calendar. Across India, hundreds of millions of homes at the same evening hour light a lamp and invite Goddess Lakshmi to enter. The ritual has been refined over centuries but remains simple enough that any family can do it with sincerity and a handful of items.
When to perform
Traditionally the puja begins at pradosha kāla — the 2½ hour window that starts at sunset. The specific muhurta for each city is published every year by Drik Panchang and major temples. In 2026, for most of north and central India, the ideal muhurta is around 18:45–20:45. Check locally.
What you need
- ✦A clean low wooden platform or red silk cloth for the altar
- ✦An image or silver coin of Goddess Lakshmi, and one of Lord Ganesha
- ✦One kalash (brass/copper pot) filled with clean water, topped with a coconut wrapped in a red cloth
- ✦Five diyas filled with pure ghee (or mustard oil)
- ✦Flowers — red lotus, marigold, or red rose
- ✦Fruits (banana, apple, pomegranate), kheer or kheel-batashe, sweets
- ✦Rice grains (akshata), turmeric, kumkum, sandalwood paste, incense sticks, camphor
- ✦A small bell, a conch if available
Step 1 — Clean and decorate
In the afternoon clean the house thoroughly. Lakshmi is famously said never to enter a dirty or chaotic space. Draw a simple rangoli at the main entrance with rice flour or coloured powder. Place a row of unlit diyas along the threshold.
Step 2 — Set up the altar
Spread the red cloth on the platform. Place Ganesha on the left (from the worshipper's perspective) and Lakshmi in the centre or right — Ganesha is always worshipped first. Position the kalash behind or beside them. Arrange diyas, flowers, fruits, sweets and ritual items neatly in front.
Step 3 — Purify yourself and the space
Bathe and wear clean, preferably new, clothes. Sit facing east or north. Sprinkle a few drops of water on your head and around the altar saying "Om Apavitrah Pavitro Vā". Take āchamana (sip water three times) with the names of Vishnu.
Step 4 — Sankalpa
Hold a spoonful of water and rice in the right palm and make the resolve: "Today, on Kārtika Amāvasyā, I perform Mahā-Lakshmi Pūjā with my family for harmony, prosperity and spiritual upliftment." Release the water onto the plate.
Step 5 — Ganesha Puja
Light the first diya. Offer flowers and akshata to Ganesha while chanting "Om Gam Ganapataye Namah" or Vakratunda Mahakāya. Bow once.
Step 6 — Invoke Lakshmi
Light the remaining diyas. Offer flowers, sandal paste, kumkum, akshata and incense to Lakshmi. Chant at least 11 repetitions of the bīja mantra "Om Shreem Mahalakshmyai Namah" or recite the full Shri Sūktam (16 verses of the Rig Veda).
Step 7 — Naivedya and Ārati
Offer the fruits, kheer and sweets. Place the plate before the deities, sprinkle tulsi water or Ganga jal on it. Perform ārati with camphor (3 or 5 circular motions in front of each deity) while the family sings "Om Jai Lakshmī Mātā". Ring the bell.
Step 8 — Distribute prasād
Apply tilak. Take a morsel of the offered food as prasād. Distribute to every family member and guest. Later in the night, take one lit diya to each room — especially the front door, the kitchen, the safe or cupboard where money is kept, and the study — silently inviting Lakshmi to bless each space.
The deeper meaning
Every step points inward. The clean house is the clean mind. The lit lamp is awareness itself. The sweets are the generosity we vow to practice all year. Lakshmi does not stay where wealth is hoarded — she stays where it flows outward. Make a concrete promise on Diwali night (time, money or attention you will donate in the coming year). That promise is the puja.