Diwali night is when families across India welcome Goddess Lakshmi into their homes and workplaces. Lamps are lit on every balcony and doorstep, rangoli brightens the entrance, and after sunset the family sits together for the Lakshmi Ganesh puja. For shopkeepers and business owners the same evening often begins a new account book, so the puja carries both a household and a commercial meaning.
This guide explains how the puja is traditionally arranged, what samagri to keep ready, the order of the steps, and how a business puja differs from one done at home. Customs vary between North Indian, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and South Indian families, so use this as a starting point and follow what your own family has always done.
Why Lakshmi and Ganesha are worshipped together
Goddess Lakshmi is revered as the giver of prosperity, wellbeing and good fortune. Lord Ganesha is worshipped first in almost every Hindu ritual as the remover of obstacles and the lord of wisdom. Worshipping them together on Diwali reflects a simple traditional idea: wealth is welcomed alongside the wisdom to use it well.
Many families also honour Goddess Saraswati, who is associated with learning, and Lord Kuber, the treasurer of the gods, who is traditionally associated with keeping wealth steady once it arrives. In business homes, the account books, the cash box and the weighing scale or computer are often placed near the altar and worshipped too.
The puja is traditionally performed during Pradosh Kaal, the window after sunset, and many families prefer the Sthir Lagna within it, a period considered steady and therefore suited to welcoming lasting prosperity. The exact window changes each year and from city to city, so your Pandit confirms the muhurat for Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad or wherever you live.
Preparing the home or shop
Preparation usually begins days before Diwali. Homes are cleaned thoroughly, because tradition holds that Lakshmi enters a clean and well lit home. Broken items are cleared, fresh flowers and torans are hung over the main door, and the threshold is decorated with rangoli. Small footprints drawn with rice flour or kumkum, leading inside, symbolise the Goddess entering the house.
Choose the puja spot in advance. In most homes this is the regular puja corner or a clean space in the living room, ideally facing east or north. In a shop or office it is often near the cash counter. A low wooden chowki covered with a red or yellow cloth serves as the altar.
In apartments and societies, check that diyas placed on balconies and corridors are away from curtains, dry plants and wiring, and keep a bucket of water or sand nearby on Diwali night.
Samagri checklist
Your Pandit will share a list suited to your family's vidhi, but most Diwali Lakshmi pujas use the following.
- Idols or pictures of Lakshmi and Ganesha, and Saraswati or Kuber if your family includes them
- A wooden chowki and a red or yellow cloth
- A kalash of copper or brass with water, mango leaves and a coconut
- Roli, kumkum, haldi, chandan and akshat (unbroken rice)
- Flowers, especially lotus and marigold, and garlands
- Diyas with ghee or oil, cotton wicks, camphor and incense
- Silver or gold coins, which many families wash and worship each year
- Sweets, fruits, kheel and batashe, and dry fruits for naivedya
- Panchamrit made of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar
- Account books, a pen and a new ledger for business owners
- Supari, paan leaves, cloves, cardamom and a small amount of dakshina
Step by step: the Lakshmi Ganesh puja
A household puja usually takes one to two hours. The broad sequence below is followed in many North Indian homes, and other traditions follow a similar flow with their own mantras.
- 1Setting the altarThe chowki is placed, the cloth spread and a small heap of rice or grain made on it. Ganesha is placed on the left and Lakshmi on the right, with the kalash beside them.
- 2Achaman and sankalpThe family sips water three times for purification, and the Pandit takes the sankalp, stating the names, gotra and intention of the family for the puja.
- 3Ganesh pujaLord Ganesha is worshipped first with water, roli, akshat, flowers, durva grass and modak or sweets, so that the rest of the puja proceeds without obstacles.
- 4Kalash and Navagraha pujaThe kalash is worshipped as the seat of the deities, and in fuller vidhis the nine grahas are invoked as well.
- 5Lakshmi pujaGoddess Lakshmi is offered panchamrit snan, vastra, chandan, kumkum, lotus flowers, coins, sweets and fruits while Shri Suktam or Lakshmi mantras are chanted.
- 6Kuber and ledger pujaIn business homes the account books, cash box and keys are marked with roli and a swastik and worshipped, and Lord Kuber is honoured.
- 7Deepdaan and aartiThe family lights the main lamp and then the diyas around the home, performs the Lakshmi aarti together, and offers prasad to everyone present.
Puja at home and puja in a shop
A home puja centres on the family. Elders usually lead, children help light diyas, and the evening ends with prasad and sweets shared among relatives and neighbours. Many families keep one ghee diya burning through the night.
A shop or office puja is often held earlier in the evening or on Dhanteras so that staff can attend before going home. The new ledger, or Chopda Pujan in Gujarati and Marwari families, is opened with the first entries written as a blessing. Some businesses add a short havan for the new financial cycle.
If you run a shop in a busy market in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Pune or Hyderabad, speak to your Pandit early, because demand for Pandits on Diwali evening is very high and the muhurat window is short.
The five days of Diwali
Diwali is not a single evening but a festival that unfolds over five days, and many families plan their pujas across all of them. Knowing the sequence helps you decide which rituals to arrange and when to book a Pandit.
Dhanteras opens the festival. It is traditionally a day for buying new utensils, silver or gold, and in many homes a lamp is lit for Yamraj at the doorstep in the evening. Businesses often hold their Kuber or Dhanvantari puja on this day. The second day is Naraka Chaturdashi, also called Choti Diwali, marked by an early bath, a few lamps and, in South India, the main celebration.
The third day is the Lakshmi puja itself, the heart of the festival. The fourth day is Govardhan Puja, when many North Indian families prepare Annakut, a large offering of many dishes, and Gujarati families celebrate the new year. The fifth day is Bhai Dooj, when sisters pray for their brothers, and Kayastha families perform Chitragupta puja with pen and ink.
Mistakes families commonly try to avoid
None of these are strict rules, and every family adapts the puja to its own home. Planning a few days ahead simply lets the family enjoy the evening rather than hurry through it.
- Leaving the cleaning and decoration for the last day, which makes the evening rushed and tiring.
- Placing idols directly on the floor; a chowki with a fresh cloth is the traditional seat.
- Choosing a muhurat from a generic calendar instead of one calculated for your own city.
- Lighting many diyas without a safe spot for them, especially near curtains or in crowded balconies.
- Forgetting to keep prasad, flowers and coins ready before the Pandit arrives, which delays the sankalp.
- Booking a Pandit only on the day itself, when most are already committed to other families.
Regional customs worth knowing
- North Indian homes usually worship Lakshmi and Ganesha together with Kuber, and many make kheel and batashe offerings.
- Gujarati and Marwari businesses perform Chopda Pujan to bless the new account books.
- Bengali families worship Goddess Kali on the same night, and Lakshmi is honoured a few days earlier on Kojagari Purnima.
- Marathi families celebrate Lakshmi Pujan with new brooms, a traditional symbol of Lakshmi, alongside the lamps.
- Many South Indian families mark Naraka Chaturdashi with an early morning oil bath, and the Lakshmi Kubera puja is popular in Telugu and Tamil homes.
Cost and booking a Pandit
With PujaKarma, Lakshmi puja dakshina starts at ₹3,100 for a household puja. The final amount depends on the length of the vidhi, whether a havan or Kuber puja is added, whether samagri is arranged for you, and how much travel is needed on a busy evening. Every quote is confirmed on WhatsApp before you book.
Because many families want the same short window, it helps to book a week or two in advance. Share your city, area, the number of family members and whether it is a home or shop puja, and we connect you with a Pandit in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad or Bangalore, or arrange an online sankalp if you are abroad.
Ask your Pandit to confirm the Pradosh Kaal muhurat for your own city a day or two before Diwali, since the timing differs between cities.
