Lakshmi Puja Vidhi at Home for Diwali 2026, Step by Step

Lakshmi Puja on Diwali 2026 is on Sunday 8 November. In Delhi the muhurat is 5:54 PM to 7:50 PM, and in Mumbai 6:27 PM to 8:27 PM. The Lakshmi Puja vidhi below follows the order published by DrikPanchang, written out for a family doing the puja at home for the first time.

DrikPanchang says the puja can begin before the muhurat and carry on after it. The full sequence takes longer than the window, so start the early steps a little ahead and aim to reach the Lakshmi puja itself inside it.

What to set up in the afternoon

New idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi go on a wooden stool, on a red cloth. Lakshmi gets a red silk cloth of her own. A white cloth is laid separately for the Navagraha, the nine planets, with nine small heaps of unbroken rice on it. Sixteen small heaps of wheat or wheat flour are made for the goddess.

Keep ready a fresh clay kalash, five large clay lamps and at least twenty-five small ones, three fresh garlands and loose flowers, bel and tulsi leaves, durva grass, sweets, fruit, sugarcane, puffed rice and at least three sweet paans.

If the family keeps account books, put the books, a pen and an inkpot near the idols. A yellow cloth goes with them.

The full DrikPanchang list also includes twigs of five trees, ten herbs and earth from seven places. These are harder to gather in a city, so ask the elders how strictly your household follows the list.

The order of the puja

The sequence has fifteen parts, done in this order.

Self-purification comes first, then the sankalp, a spoken resolve to do the puja, naming yourself and the day. A short prayer for peace follows, and then one for good fortune.

The kalash is installed next. After that comes a short worship of Ganesha, then of the Navagraha, then of the sixteen mother goddesses on the wheat heaps.

Then the new idols are worshipped in full. Ganesha comes first and Lakshmi second, each with sixteen offerings. The offerings begin with meditation and an invitation, then a seat of flowers and a welcome, washing of the feet, bathing and dressing, and food, and they end with a full prostration.

Three shorter pujas come next, for the tools of the household's work. Kali is worshipped on the pen and inkpot, Saraswati on the account books, and Kubera on the cash box or safe.

The Deep-Malika puja follows, the worship of the row of lamps. The puja closes with Visarjan, a prayer that formally ends it.

After the puja

The lamp lit during the puja is meant to stay alight all night. DrikPanchang suggests reading the Shri Sukta and Lakshmi Sukta afterwards, and staying awake through the night if you can.

DrikPanchang also recommends a fast through the day, either without water or on fruit and milk, depending on what you can manage.

Timings by city

Delhi 5:54 PM to 7:50 PM. Mumbai 6:27 PM to 8:27 PM. Kolkata 5:20 PM to 7:18 PM. Chennai 6:06 PM to 8:09 PM. Bengaluru 6:17 PM to 8:20 PM. Hyderabad 6:07 PM to 8:08 PM.

Abroad the date is the same, but the window opens at 4:35 PM in London and 5:04 PM in New York. The full city list, with the five days of the festival, is in our Diwali 2026 date and muhurat guide.

Why the timing matters

The puja is placed in Pradosh Kaal, after sunset, during Vrishabha Kaal, when a fixed sign is rising. The belief is that Lakshmi stays where she is welcomed under a steady sign. The Amavasya tithi runs from 11:27 AM on 8 November to 12:31 PM on the 9th, Indian time.

If you are writing to family before the puja, our Diwali wishes are grouped by who you are sending them to. The festival begins two days earlier with Dhanteras on 6 November.