How to do the Lakshmi-Ganesh puja at home on Diwali दीपावली पर घर में लक्ष्मी-गणेश पूजा कैसे करें

The article

A simple guide to the Lakshmi-Ganesh puja at home on Diwali: what to set out, the steps in order, what to do when something is missing, and how families across India keep the evening. It is written for anyone doing the puja on their own for the first time, at home or far from home.

Diwali, the Lakshmi puja night, falls on Sunday 8 November 2026 (Drik Panchang, New Delhi, the same in all eight cities checked, cross-checked with the Government of India holiday list). This year Naraka Chaturdashi falls on the same day, so the morning bath of Naraka Chaturdashi and the evening Lakshmi puja are both on 8 November. The puja is done in the evening, after sunset. Families look up the right time for their own city, in a panchang or with their priest, often in the Pradosh kaal or the sthir lagna of the evening. We do not give a time here, because it changes from city to city.

**What you'll need**

- A clean chowki or low table with a red or yellow cloth - Murtis or a picture of Lakshmi and Ganesha; many families buy a new clay pair each year - A kalash: a copper or brass pot with water, mango leaves and a coconut, with mauli tied around it - Roli, haldi, rice grains, sandal paste, mauli, incense and camphor - Fresh flowers and a garland; a lotus if you can find one - Kheel and batashe, sweets, fruit, betel leaves, supari and cloves - A few coins, and if you keep accounts, your new account book or diary - One large diya for the puja, and as many small diyas as you like for the house, with ghee or oil - Rangoli colours or rice flour for the doorway

**Steps**

1. **Clean the home and the puja place.** Many families clean for days before Diwali. On the evening itself, bathe, wear clean clothes, and wipe the puja corner. 2. **Make a rangoli at the door** and place a diya on either side. Lakshmi is welcomed into a clean, lit home. 3. **Set the chowki.** Place Lakshmi and Ganesha side by side, in the way your family keeps them. Place the kalash beside them and the large diya in front. 4. **Light the large diya** and make the sankalpa. With water, rice and a flower in your hand, say quietly: I, with my family, do the Lakshmi-Ganesh puja on this Diwali with faith. Leave the water beside the chowki. 5. **Worship Ganesha first.** Offer roli, rice, a flower and a sweet. Every puja begins with him. 6. **Worship the kalash.** Mauli, sandal and a flower on the kalash. 7. **Worship Lakshmi.** Sprinkle water, then offer roli, haldi, rice, flowers, the garland, kheel and batashe, sweets and fruit. Place the coins and the account book before her. In many homes Kuber is remembered here too. Keep the name of Lakshmi in your mind. 8. **Do the aarti.** The family sings the Lakshmi aarti it knows, or sits quietly with the lamp. Wave the lamp, then light the camphor. 9. **Light the diyas of the house.** Take the flame from the puja lamp to the doorway, the windows, the kitchen, the water pot and the tulsi plant. 10. **Share the prasad** with everyone at home, and with a neighbour if you can.

**If you can't…**

- **No murti or picture:** sit before a lit diya and a clean kalash. A lamp and a sincere heart are enough. - **No priest:** you do not need one for this puja. Any member of the family can do it, in any order of seniority. - **Short of time or materials:** a diya, a flower, a sweet and a few quiet minutes with the names of Ganesha and Lakshmi are a complete puja. - **Far from home or living alone:** do the puja wherever you are, and join your family on a video call for the aarti. - **In a flat with no open flame allowed:** use electric diyas or lights. - **Elders, the unwell, or anyone who cannot sit on the floor:** sit on a chair. Comfort does not take anything away from the puja. - **If you keep a fast until the puja:** that is a family custom, not a rule for everyone. Pregnant women, people with diabetes, the elderly and anyone on medicines should eat as their doctor advises, and taking prescribed medicine does not break a fast. - **Safety:** keep diyas away from curtains and children's clothes, and never leave a lamp burning where no one is awake to watch it.

**Customs differ across India**

In Bengal, Odisha and Assam the same night is Kali Puja, and Lakshmi is worshipped earlier, on Kojagari Purnima. In Gujarat, traders worship their new account books in the Chopda puja, and the new year begins soon after. In Maharashtra the Lakshmi puja is the heart of Diwali, and in many homes the broom is honoured as a form of Lakshmi. In Tamil Nadu and much of the South, Deepavali is the morning of Naraka Chaturdashi, with an oil bath before dawn. In the North, Diwali is also remembered as the night Ayodhya welcomed Rama home. All these customs are equally right.

**Why we do this**

Lakshmi is the goddess of abundance, beauty and good order, and Ganesha removes obstacles and is honoured first in every beginning. Diwali falls on the Amavasya of Kartik, the darkest night of the month, and the house is filled with lamps against that dark. Account books, tools and coins are placed before Lakshmi as a way of giving thanks for the year's work and asking for a steady year ahead. The link between Diwali and Rama's return to Ayodhya comes from later tradition and is very dear to many families.

**Sources**

- The steps describe common household practice; every family follows its own tradition and its priest's advice. - Cross-check only: DharmikVibes, *The Complete Handbook of Hindu Pujas, Temples and Rituals* (DV's own book) - Dates: DharmikVibes festival calendar (Drik Panchang, New Delhi, the same in all eight cities checked; cross-checked with the DoPT holiday order for 2026), read 30 September 2026

*Traditions differ by family and region. When in doubt, follow your elders, your family priest and your doctor.*

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