Lakshmi Puja at home on Diwali: a step-by-step guide with a samagri list
A plain, step-by-step way to do Diwali Lakshmi Puja at home, from cleaning and setting up the altar to aarti and prasad, with a samagri list and substitutes that are easy to find outside India.
About 6 min read
Checked by an AI-assisted fact-check on 24 October 2026. Human review by Abhishek Kumar: pending. Fact-checked against the cited sources. Not yet reviewed by a pandit.
How do you do Lakshmi Puja at home on Diwali? Clean the house, set up a small altar with Ganesha and Lakshmi on a red cloth, place a kalash, worship Ganesha first, then offer Lakshmi flowers, rice, sweets and a lamp, do aarti together and share prasad. That is the core. Everything else on this page is detail you can add or leave out depending on time, space and your family's custom.
One thing to say up front. There is no single correct Lakshmi Puja. A Gujarati household, a Bengali one and a Marathi one will do it differently, and many families follow what a grandparent taught them. The steps below are drawn from common published guides. If your elders or priest do it another way, theirs is the version to follow. Customs vary by family and region; your family pandit's guidance comes first.
When to do it
In 2026, Diwali Lakshmi Puja falls on Sunday 8 November. The usual time is the evening Pradosh Kaal, a window of about 2 hours 24 minutes after sunset, which Drik Panchang recommends for households. Drik advises against picking a Choghadiya slot for this puja. Our article on the Diwali 2026 Lakshmi Puja muhurat by city has the windows for Delhi, Mumbai, Dubai, London, New York, Toronto and San Francisco. For any other city, check sunset on our panchang page.
Samagri list, with substitutes for abroad
You don't need every item. A picture, a lamp, a flower and something sweet is a complete puja in many homes.
| Item | What it's for | If you can't find it |
|---|---|---|
| Lakshmi and Ganesha murti or picture | The deities you worship | A printed picture or a framed card works |
| Red cloth (and a white cloth if you make Navagraha heaps) | Covers the altar | Any clean red fabric, scarf or napkin |
| Kalash (small pot) | Water pot set on the altar | A clean brass, steel or glass bowl or jar |
| Mango leaves (often five) | Placed in the mouth of the kalash | Ask an Indian grocer, or leave them out if you cannot find them |
| Coconut | Sits on top of the kalash | Supermarket coconuts are fine |
| Coin, supari (betel nut) | Placed inside the kalash | Any coin; supari is sold at Indian grocers |
| Akshat (unbroken rice) | Offerings and Navagraha heaps | Any plain uncooked white rice |
| Kumkum or roli, haldi, chandan | Tilak and offerings | Indian grocers; haldi is turmeric from the spice aisle |
| Moli (red thread) | Tied on the kalash | Plain red cotton thread |
| Flowers, marigold or lotus | Offerings and garlands | Any fresh flowers; supermarket chrysanthemums or roses |
| Diyas, ghee or oil, cotton wicks | Lamps | Tealights in metal cups; battery diyas if your building bans flames |
| Incense, camphor | Fragrance and aarti | Skip if your smoke alarm is sensitive |
| Panchamrit, Gangajal | Bathing or sprinkling | Plain clean water if you have no Gangajal |
| Fruits, sweets (kheer, laddu, batasha) | Naivedya (food offering) | Any home-made or shop sweet and fresh fruit |
| Coins or notes, jewellery, account books | Placed before Lakshmi or Kubera | Whatever money or ledgers you use, even a chequebook |
| Bell, thali (plate) | Aarti | Any clean plate |
One caution for abroad: read our guide to diyas, incense and smoke alarms in flats before Diwali night.
Step by step
1. Clean and decorate
Clean the house, and the puja corner first. Many families decorate the entrance with rangoli, marigold garlands, mango or banana leaves and diyas. Some draw small footprints in rice flour leading from the door to the puja room, as if Lakshmi is walking in.
2. Set up the altar
Spread the red cloth on a clean low table or shelf. One published guide places Lakshmi on the right and Ganesha on the left. Some families also make nine small heaps of rice on a white cloth for the Navagraha, the nine planets. Keep the lamp, flowers, offerings and aarti plate within reach.
3. Prepare the kalash
Fill the pot with water and add a little rice, a coin and a supari. Set mango leaves in the mouth, put the coconut on top, and tie moli around the neck. Place it on the altar. Some families also keep one at the entrance.
4. Take the sankalp
Sit down, hold a little water, a few grains of rice and a flower in your right hand, and state who you are, the day, and that you are doing this puja. Then let them fall onto a plate. If you don't know the Sanskrit, say it in your own language.
5. Worship Ganesha first
The guides place Ganesha puja before Lakshmi. Offer him durva grass if you have it, red flowers, chandan, a sweet such as a modak or laddu, and a lamp.
6. Invoke and worship Lakshmi
Invite Lakshmi with a flower, a lotus if you can find one. Offer, in turn, water, haldi and kumkum, rice, flowers, incense, a lamp, fruit and sweets. A full ritual offers sixteen of these services (the sixteen upacharas). Many families keep it shorter. Place coins, notes or jewellery near her.
7. Kubera and the account books
Some families worship Kubera alongside Lakshmi and place cash, jewellery and account books before him. Drik Panchang lists Chopda Puja and Sharda Puja on the same day; see our article on Chopda Pujan and Sharda Puja.
8. Prayers and mantras
Recite whatever your family uses. Common choices are the Shri Suktam, the Kanakadhara Stotram, or a Lakshmi mantra repeated 108 times on a mala. Simple prayer in your own words is also fine.
9. Light the diyas
Light lamps around the puja area, at the front door and on windowsills. One guide suggests eleven. Never leave a flame unattended, and keep lamps away from curtains and children.
10. Aarti and prasad
Do the Lakshmi aarti with the whole family, then a final offering of flowers (pushpanjali). Share the sweets and fruit as prasad with the household and neighbours. Many families keep one lamp burning through the night. If you do, use a covered lamp or a battery diya.
Questions people ask
Can I do Lakshmi Puja without a pandit? Yes. Many families do it themselves every year. If you would like a priest, our guide to booking a Hindu priest abroad explains how.
Which direction should I face? One of the guides we used says to sit facing east or north for the sankalp; the others give no rule. Follow your household custom or ask your priest.
Do I need a gold or silver coin? One guide mentions gold or silver coins, another simply says coins. Many families use whatever coins or notes they have.
What if I live in a flat and can't use real flames? Use battery diyas and skip camphor and incense. The prayer and offerings are the heart of it.
About this article: it is for general information only, researched from the public sources listed above. It may contain errors or leave out local customs, and it is not religious, medical, legal or financial advice. Practices vary by family, region and tradition, so please follow your family pandit's guidance. Spotted a mistake? Tell us on WhatsApp and we'll correct it.